Why Am I Not Following Ryan Seacrest on Instagram and Other Great Mysteries of Life

So, my phone is one useful smart tool.  I use it to call people, text people, check my e-mail, check Facebook, check Twitter, check Goodreads, check Instagram, pin stuff on Pinterest, oh, and read on my Kindle, Nook, or Kobo platforms.

It's a handy-dandy little device that I couldn't live without at this point.  That was proven this past year when I had to change phones and, AAACCKK, my appointments I'd saved to my calendar didn't transfer.  You see, one way I've learned to battle ADD is to put reminders in my phone and to set alerts with alarm bells so that I don't forget appointments or items on the old To-Do list.

I even schedule my own deadlines for my writing, and trust me, that's an important way for me to keep up with making progress.  And let me tell you, if I didn't have my phone, I wouldn't remember half of what I manage to remember.  Does that make sense?  It is a key to managing my life and paying attention to the details my brain just can't seem to hold on to.

Oh, and I'm under the impression that if you don't have time to keep up with all the celebs on Instagram, you know because you have appointments to keep, the one celebrity you should follow just happens to post pics of himself with all the current A-list peeps--none other than--Ryan Seacrest.  So the question is...now that I'm following RC, how do I set my reminders to alert me when he posts a pic with shirtless Ryan Reynolds.  Ryan squared, anyone?



Happy Reading and Writing!

C. C.

Everyone Needs a To-Do List, Oh, and a Pin-up of the Magic Mike Version of Channing Tatum

When you're ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder), you're often very talented at a little-known sport called "Dropping the Ball."  As I said last week, it's not for lack of motivation that I forget to take out the trash on trash day or forget to fold the laundry before it wrinkles, or forget to pick up my sister after her high school band performance at 11:00 at night and only remember when my mom calls me at my cousin's later that night.  Yeah, that last one was bad. Usually, the attention problem starts when I have multiple things going on at once.  My brain can't seem to focus on everything.

But, over the years I've developed a few tricks to at least make multiple tasks manageable when they all come at the same time.  Unfortunately, it took me a long time to realize taking the extra time to write out a To-Do List is worth the effort.  It probably wouldn't have helped me with my sister (she forgave me, btw), but it does help with several areas of my life, including writing.

If I take the time to make a list of the major story events I have coming up, I fly through my writing session.  However, if I'm short on time and just sit down and begin writing, I often get stuck and frustrated, or just simply don't get too many words onto the page.

None of my lists are formal.  I don't follow any systems (Save the Cat or Scene and Sequel).  I just write what I know has to happen next in the story for it to get told.  And though Dean Wesley Smith advises never to go back and re-write, I don't really re-write, but I do go back later to tweak and add things and remove stuff to make the scenes better.  Not usually in the same writing session, but I don't always wait until the end either.

If you've read Heart of Mercy, the scene in the back room of the bunker didn't have a television at all the first time I wrote it.  It wasn't until I was over half-way through the manuscript and several scenes past that one that I knew I needed to add that detail to the story.  Of course, I had to tweak other areas along the way to make sure it fit in smoothly, and one of my Beta Readers found a place where I'd "dropped the ball" with the details of that scene.  Yep, that's ADD for you.

So, as painfully tedious as making a To-Do List is, it is SO worth it if I want to accomplish something with all the minute details accounted for.

Oh, and if there were a list of the hottest, hot-bodies ever in a male-stripper movie, Channing Tatum might just be at the top.  What do you think?

Happy Reading and Writing!

C. C. Marks

Post-post addition--Forgot to update current WIP status (shocker, there).  One week later, I've managed to make it to 20,400 words.  Not great progress, but realistic for me with all my other responsibilities.

Justin Timberlake, An Attention Span Longer Than a Gnat's, And Other Things I Can't Have

Attention Deficit Disorder is a very real thing. When I was younger, it was labeled as lazy, unfocused, and not quite all-there.  Trust me, my short attention span is not for a lack of trying to stay focused.  I make lists; I write things on my calendar; I put reminders in my phone.  Things still seem to slip through the holes in my Swiss cheese memory.

Yet, I know I'm not the only one dealing with this and certainly not the only writer.  So, over the next few weeks, I'm going to research techniques and give my two-cents about how an ADD panster like me, and possibly you, can focus enough to get at least one work-in-progress finished. I've got a rather long list of writing to-do's, not the least of which is the third book in The Mercy Series, tentatively titled End of Mercy. It is officially rolling, but a few other projects are taking precedence lately.

Just to get this started though, my current WIP is a paranormal romance, and it is nearly at the half-way mark at 18,784 words.  I'll give updates as to progress made and what techniques help this ADD panster make it to the end of a manuscript.

Happy Reading and Writing!

C. C.

Welcome to the Ch-ch-ch-changes Young Adult Blog Hop

Welcome!  So glad you hopped in for a visit to Dark and Dreamy with C. C. Marks for the Changes YA Blog Hop.  It's all about change today, and what's more of a transition than the aftermath of an apocalypse and the surviving dystopian society?

Charlie Little (AKA Charlotte Baker) copes with the changes the best she can by disguising herself as a boy and protecting her little sister, first in the community (Edge of Mercy), then in the Dead Forest (Heart of Mercy).  If that wasn't trouble enough, human beings are no longer at the top of the food chain.  Now they must protect themselves from Draghoul--once human, now monsters--bent on infecting others.

This is not the typical "zombie" story.  Instead, the story focuses on Charlie's changing, daily journey and the mystery of her world as it develops.

Blurb:
Charlie Little exists in a dangerous world. Her best chance of survival is to disguise herself as a boy and guard her secrets well. Yet just when things can’t possibly get worse, they spin completely out of control.

With Zeke and her sister Star by her side and the fresh memory of Thomas’s kiss still on her lips, she narrowly escapes the horrid plans of Jonas Bannon, a monster of a human being. Forfeiting the safety of the community, they leave and begin the search for the city of Mercy, the one secure place Charlie knows. However, as she struggles to reach her sanctuary, doubts creep in that anywhere is truly safe. If the Draghoul don’t get them, the human scavengers just might, and the assumption Mercy will be a place of protection could be the most dangerous risk of all.

Click for an Excerpt or skip down to the YA mini-book of excerpts to read them all.

Buylink: AMAZON


Now, here's a little more fun.  I found a jigsaw puzzle maker, and with HoM's amazing cover, put together by LFD Designs for Authors, I couldn't help but want to share it with you all as a puzzle.

Also, you'll find a mini-booklet of excerpts from all the hop participants.  Feel free to open it and read all the great offerings.

Finally, I decided to giveaway a $10 gift card to the e-tailer of the winner's choice.  Just enter the Rafflecopter giveaway if you are interested.




YA Mini-Book of Excerpts








a Rafflecopter giveaway


Don't forget to hop on over to the other blogs!

Happy Reading and Writing!

Summer Giveaway Hop! Who Likes to Win?

Who doesn't like to win? Okay, put your hand down, Debbie Downer. The rest of us are here for some prizes and fun. So, let's get right to it.

First of all, thank you for stopping by. I'm verra, verra excited to share my brand-spanking new release, Heart of Mercy, the second book in the Mercy Series. I know I'm biased, but it is action-packed, suspenseful, blended with a little romance. I'll let you judge for yourself:

Charlie Little exists in a dangerous world. Her best chance of survival is to disguise herself as a boy and guard her secrets well. Yet just when things can’t possibly get worse, they spin completely out of control.

With Zeke and her sister Star by her side and the fresh memory of Thomas’s kiss still on her lips, she narrowly escapes the horrid plans of Jonas Bannon, a monster of a human being. Forfeiting the safety of the community, they leave and begin the search for the city of Mercy, the one secure place Charlie knows. However, as she struggles to reach her sanctuary, doubts creep in that anywhere is truly safe. If the Draghoul don’t get them, the human scavengers just might, and the assumption Mercy is a place of protection could be the most dangerous risk of all.

Interested? Link to an excerpt here. Just don't forget to come back and enter the drawing.

Just in case you want to start with book 1, Edge of Mercy, I want to let you know that it is currently on sale for the bargain price of $.99. That means you could get both books for less than $5. Here's a little about EoM:

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?

And if you just need a taste to see if you might like this series, you can get "Mercy," a short story of about 30 pages that introduces you to Charlie's world. Oh, and it's FREE.

Charlie’s true identity is a secret, but her very presence places everyone around her in danger. With no other choice but to remain where she is, she stays with a community that might not be as benevolent as it appears. In this short dystopian romance where a friend might be an enemy and an enemy might be a friend, seventeen-year-old Charlie must protect 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?

Around 9800 words. Part of a larger work titled Edge of Mercy.

All three can also be found at Barnes and Noble: "Mercy," Edge of Mercy, Heart of Mercy

Kobo: "Mercy," Edge of Mercy, Heart of Mercy

And Smashwords: "Mercy,"

Now, on to the good stuff: a Rafflecopter giveaway

And don't forget to look for more great giveaways on the list:

Edge of Mercy Goodreads Giveaway and Story Cartel

Winner, Winner, Reading Through Dinner! I just snail-mailed paperback copies of Edge of Mercy to five different winners of my very first Goodreads giveaway.  I love that I get to share this amazing cover in real-life with reader-peeps.  So cool!

Don't worry if you didn't get a chance to enter to win.  It was a little bit of a surprise to me that the giveaway was approved and going on (that'll teach me for not checking my e-mail).  I have another opportunity for you to get Edge of Mercy for FREE! All you have to do is go to storycartel.com, sign up, and if you feel compelled, submit an honest review.  That's right.  I want your honest opinion.

Okay, so let's be real a minute.  You might not have time (or the inclination) to sign up for an account at storycartel.  I aim to please, so I've dropped the price of EoM to $.99 for a limited time.  It's to celebrate the release of Heart of Mercy, the second book in the Mercy Series.

I've also decided to start on some bonus material while I'm working on book 3, and I'm so excited about these stories.  The series is told in first person, from the main character Charlie's point of view.  But two secondary characters have particular interest in her.  What if we could go inside Thomas's and Zeke's heads?  I'm seriously so anxious to get working on two short stories that coincide time-wise with Charlie's account, but their told from the boys' POV's instead.

If you'd like to be notified when new reads are available, sign up for my news-only newsletter here: New Release Newsletter or it's also on the side panel of my blog.

Happy Reading and Writing!

C. C. Marks
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No Room for Oneitis-Or How to Get Your Books Noticed

According to Mo'Urban Dictionary, compiled by Aaron Peckham, Oneitis is "the dreaded ailment of liking that 'one special girl' and wanting her more than any other woman on earth.  A want so intense that it's actually painful."

That's all well and good, and I'm sure it's a real phenomenon, but I suffer from a different kind of Oneitis. Many authors do.  Though I've finished multiple manuscripts over the years, I only have one book/short story published under each pen name.  I've spent too much time promoting the same book with very little to show for it. At one time, it was part of my plan to only publish short stories so I could continue to enter contests, but somewhere along the way, I figured out I'm not really a short story writer.

Unfortunately, I'm hesitant to put my work out there myself, so I still have one manuscript on submission, and I'm hanging onto another until I finish at least one more in the series.  So, this puts me in the awkward position of still suffering from Oneitis.

Let's face it though, if an author is going to get noticed, the more books, the better the chance. Wallowing in a sad case of Oneitis is no longer an option for me.

However, that is soon to be rectified.  The medicine is coming fast.  I'm about to publish the second in the Mercy series of books, titled, Heart of Mercy.  It's in the final editing stages, and I will be purchasing a professional cover at the end of the month.

Here's the blurb for the book:

Charlie Little exists in a dangerous world. Her best chance of survival is to disguise herself as a boy and guard her secrets well. Yet just when it seems things couldn’t get worse, they spin completely out of control.

With Zeke and her sister Star by her side and the fresh memory of Thomas’s kiss still on her lips, she narrowly escapes the horrid plans of Jonas Bannon, the self-proclaimed leader of the community, and begins the search for the city of Mercy, the one secure place she knows. However, as she struggles to reach her sanctuary, doubts creep in that anywhere is truly safe. If the Draghoul don’t get them, the human scavengers just might, and the protection of Mercy could be a costly lie for them all.

I'll also be dropping the price of Edge of Mercy for a month, so hopefully some folks will take a chance on a new author, and I'll soon be cured of my Oneitis.

To completely eradicate Oneitis from my writing career, I'll be releasing a series of novellas, beginning in August.  And I can't wait to share those.

Do you suffer from Oneitis?  If so, what's your plan to move past it?

Happy Writing and Reading,

C. C.