Might as Well Make a Few Resolutions

Call it a fad, call it peer pressure, call it being responsible...whatever you call it, I'm breaking my resolution to never make resolutions and...well...resolving to accomplish a few things this year.  Nothing fancy, just gonna try to accomplish a little here and there.  2013 is shaping up to be my lucky year, so here are my 2013 resolutions that will get me started:

1.  Blog regularly, and to that end, make Saturday my day to get blogposts written and scheduled.
2.  Journal at least five times a week so that I have something to blog about.
3.  Carry my journal with me everywhere because my brain doesn't have an on/off switch, more's the pity.
4.  Finish my current projects--two full-length YA's and a fantasy romance novella by the end of July.
5.  Write one hour, five days a week, about 1000 words a day.
6.  Schedule four fun, interesting, and informative writing meetings for KYRW for 2013 (somehow they got into their minds I could be the president of the organization)
7.  Don't get discouraged.  When things don't go as planned, pick up and keep moving forward.
8.  Continue to explore options.  Both trad and self-pub are viable in today's market.
9.  Marketing will be a tool, not an obsession.  I will interact with my social media about thirty minutes five days a week and most of that will be actual interaction.
10. I will read six books this year, at least three outside of my genre of choice.

So there it is.  My plan for 2013.  Nothing about working out or eating more nutritionally.  Just highly-motivating, ambitious goals of heart-nudging greatness-unearthed.

Join me if you'd like.  Comment on some thangs you're planning to do to change your life into a rhythmic swirl of awesomeness this year.

Happy Reading and Writing!

C. C. Marks

Holiday Gifts of Love Blog Hop

Top Ten Reasons I Love The Christmas Season

We're hopping, peeps!  It's holiday time, and for me and mine, that means time to celebrate one of the holiest Christian holidays--Christmas!  So many things I love about this time of year, so I wanted to share my Top Ten Reasons I Love the Christmas Season.  I hope you can totally relate.

10. The goofy kid in the holiday school program who waves and shouts at his or her family and sings loudly off key the whole time. (Yeah, it's usually mine.)

9.   The growing (and lovable) mish-mash of kid-made ornaments decorating my once gold and silver Christmas tree.

8.   "O Holy Night," "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer," "Jingle Bell Rock," and "Breath of Heaven"--the songs I crank and belt out anytime they play on the all-Christmas-all-the-time radio.

7.   Despite the holiday stress, despite the crazy to-do lists, despite the increased traffic...everywhere, people still seem to be at their happiest.

6.   Light displays give my kiddos free entertainment with every street we turn onto.

5.   People actually invite me to parties!

4.   Finally getting to see family that all my early fond memories surround.

3.   Fooooood! Need I say more?

2.   No school for the holidays! (Can you tell I'm a teacher?)  And more time for denting the TBR pile!

1.   The reason behind the season--my Lord and Savior--Jesus Christ.  May I never forget this.

There you go.  Leave me a comment about your favorite part of the holidays for a chance to win a $10.00 gift card to the e-tailer of your choice.  You must comment to be entered into the grand prize drawings.  Don't forget to leave your e-mail address.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

And don't forget to keep hoppin' through to the other sites for more chances to win.  You can find them here:  http://carrieannbloghops.blogspot.com/

There are THREE grand prizes. You as a reader can go to EACH blog and comment with your email address and be entered to win. Yep, you can enter over 200 times, including this one!

Now what are those prizes?

1st Grand Prize: A Kindle Fire or Nook Tablet

2nd Grand Prize: A $200 Amazon or B&N Gift Card

3rd Grand Prize: A Swag Pack that contains paperbacks, ebooks, 50+ bookmarks, cover flats, magnets, pens, coffee cozies, and more!

Happy Reading and Writing!



Charlie hides her true identity inside a community made up only of males, but her presence places everyone around her in danger. This community is surrounded by Draghoul, once-human creatures bent on infecting others. Left with no other choice but to remain, she fears her secret will be discovered, and she’ll be thrown to the creatures she dreads. Yet, the longer she stays with these survivors, the less benevolent they appear. 

In this new and dangerous version of the world, where the friend beside you might be an enemy and an enemy might be your only friend, seventeen-year-old Charlie protects her baby sister and herself from grotesque monsters outside the community as well as human ones inside. Will the truth she discovers about her protectors save her or ultimately doom her to a fate worse than death?

This is the first full-length novel in the Mercy Series.

C. C. Marks

View From the Grown-Up Table

Okay, so I'm old enough to know better, right?  Believe me, my butt sits squarely at the grown-up table.  No doubt about it.  Yet, so often I find myself cleaning up childish messes of my own making.

The latest one was losing my wallet--complete with credit cards, driver's license, and insurance cards.  With the attention span of a gnat's twitchy minuscule brain, I dropped it in a parking lot next to my car and drove off none the wiser.  Didn't even notice it was gone until later that evening--not because I needed to buy anything, but because I swear I have a guardian angel who whispers in my ear when something's not quite right.  After an exhaustive search of the usual places, I called the gas station, which was my only stop that morning, and asked if they'd found a wallet.  I felt like such a goof just asking, but was even more disappointed to hear that no lost wallets had turned up.

Now, I really panicked.  I called my bank to put a hold on my debit/credit card and cancelled my other credit cards immediately.  Fortunately, there hadn't been any activity on any of them all day.  That meant one of two things.  Either A. it was just somewhere I hadn't looked yet or B. someone had figured out they weren't going to get far with the maxed-out credit cards in my wallet.  Of course, they were more than welcome to pay some down while they had them in their possession.  I might have even bought them something nice if they had.

Alas, still no clues as to where it could possibly be.  So, I re-ordered insurance cards and prepped myself to file a police report.  After all, that would be the grown-up thing to do.

However, my super-secret guardian angel seemed to be telling me to wait, and so I figured if it still hadn't turned up by the end of the week, I'd file the report and cross my fingers no one tried to pretend to be me--poor fool that they'd be.

The next morning, I stopped at the same gas station, cash in hand this time, gathered a few items and went to pay.  The cashier looked nice enough, so I swallowed my pride and asked, "Did anyone, by chance, turn in a wallet recently?"

He glanced below the counter and asked, "What color?"

Oh, my hopes soared as I said, "Pink, with flowers."

"Yeah, this one?"

And you know what?  It was my wallet.  Aaaaah!  Needless to say, I gushed profusely about how he'd made my day and how beyond happy I was now.

Of course, it wasn't all rainbows and unicorns.  I still have to wait for all my cancelled cards to be re-issued in seven to ten business days.  But life is good again, and though I still feel very much like a *cough*-year-old child playing grown-up most days, I guess I don't have to worry about anyone else doing a better job of being me now that I have my identity back.

Anyway, one of these days, I might actually grow up.  Until then, happy reading and writing.

C. C. Marks

When My Big Moment is Your Meh...

Overheard someone in a store the other day say, "So I said it right to the teacher's face."  But I couldn't help but wonder if the moment was as momentous to the teacher as to this person.  As a teacher, I couldn't help but wonder how many students felt they'd had a moment in my room that I wasn't even aware I was a part of.  I've had students say shocking things in my room, but I'm not easily shocked, so I can't say that too much has left that strong of an impact.

So when I tell you that lately I'm dealing with some heavy stuff, I know it won't impact your life very much at all, and I'm okay with that.  Just know, I'm still here, but life is a slog through a bog lately.  Please forgive me for not being as active lately.  I'm still writing and reading, but I've gone a little quiet lately as I consider a few life changes.

Thanks for understanding.

C. C. Marks

I'm On Edin Road Radio

Come listen to me at 6:30, Thursday night (November 8, 2012) at http://www.edinroad.com/radio 

I'm excited to be doing my first live interview.

It's going to be a great time, and I'm soooo excited!

Happy Reading (and Listening)

C. C.

Emerald Talisman $100 Audio Book Blast

The Emerald Talisman Audio Book by Brenda Pandos  
Read by Mary Morgan

You can run from your destiny, but you can't hide.

If for no other reason than to help endure the hormonal rush of high school, sixteen-year-old Julia Parker would trade her ability to feel her fellow students' emotions in a heartbeat, especially half the boys in class.

When the beguiling Nicholas uses his superhuman strength to rescue Julia from the edge of a cliff before she's devoured by a bloodthirsty stalker, Julia is suddenly thrust into an underground world where people and animals are often one and the same. Fellow high school students disappear and only Julia and Nicholas know the truth. While Nicholas, a vampire hunter, is out stopping the ever-growing coven, an old friend entices Julia to join him on the dark side and a psychic tells Julia she alone is the key to stopping the madness, problem is it'll require Nicholas' life. 

Amazon * Audible * Goodreads * Sample

Author Brenda Pandos:  

Brenda Pandos lives in California with her husband and two boys. She attempts to balance her busy life filled with writing, being a mother and wife, and spending time with friends and family. Working formerly as an I.T. Administrator, she never believed her imagination would be put to good use. After her son was diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder her life completely changed. Writing paranormal romance became something she could do at home while tending to the new needs of her family, household, and herself.

Three years later, Brenda now has five books published, The Talisman Trilogy: The Emerald Talisman, The Sapphire Talisman, and The Onyx Talisman, and Mer Tales: Everblue and Evergreen. She is currently working on the third book of Mer Tales, Everlost, coming February 2013.

LINKS:

Website * Blog * Goodreads * Twitter * Facebook 


Audio Book Tour 

Readers are invited to participate in The Emerald Talisman blog tour from 10/26-11/23 hosted by Confessions of a Bookaholic. There will be giveaways, interviews and a scavenger hunt! 

Book Blast Giveaway Details:

$100 Amazon Gift Card or $100 PayPal Cash from Author Brenda Pandos

Ends 10/30/12
*You need not enter your twitter name for each entry.  Simply enter it when you follow Brenda and leave the others blank.

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Open to anyone who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent's permission. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.

Why Supernatural is My New Addiction

I wouldn't say I'm OCD.  Believe me, if you saw the mess that trails behind me, you'd agree that I'm possibly the long, lost fraternal twin of Charles Schultz's character Pigpen.  Sorry if that is TMI, but the point is, despite my messiness, I do get obsessive about some things.

For instance, I'm obsessing over finishing a paranormal romance right now.  Unfortunately, it's not Heart of Mercy, which is progressing, but not as quickly as I wanted.  Instead, I should have The Fae Next Door finished by the weekend.

Lately, I'm also obsessing over Sam and Dean Winchester and their perpetual fight against evil also.  I readily admit I don't watch a lot of TV lately.  You see, I've vowed to DVR all my shows and watch them when time allows, so that I can be a responsible, contributing member of my family (cough, cough...something about needing clean underwear...cough, cough).  As a result, I have been practically living under a rock the past few years, and though I'd heard of the show Supernatural, I thought my life would be whole without having watched it.  Poor, pitiful, ignorant me!  This show rocks it hard!

Now, I'm busy watching Netflix on the Ipad, catching myself up on the earlier seasons.  I've got two more episodes in season 3 (the writer strike season, so only 16 episodes), and it's getting more and more difficult to pretend I don't have to have the Ipad right at this moment when all I can think about is how Dean is going to keep from spending eternity in Hell, and doesn't everyone realize how hard it is to concentrate on anything else until I know the answer; I mean, come on already, how many Disney shows about talking dogs do you have to watch tonight, really?

::Deep breath::  Okay, so it's a tad obsession that I'll move on from eventually, but for now Supernatural is my new addiction.

Happy Reading and Writing (And Supernatural watching),

C. C.