Stressed and Overwhelmed

Just a little update from Amber, who has been in hiding. In preparation of edits for Claimed by Dragons I was attempting to get a book finished. I knew I’d be getting edits for Protecting Grant, behind Dragons. If I hadn’t mentioned this before I received a contract from Loose Id for a new M/M coming out sometime in November. Loose Id had a theme call out and I answered, thus leading to the contract. Turns out Protecting Grant won’t be released as part of the theme series. Not a big deal though. It gives me more flexibility. Oh, and Katalina is doing the edits for Dragons! I love her.

In the meantime I’m plugging away at my wip and Loose Id did it again. They put out another call. This was a holiday themed call out. Not just any holiday. It’s actually two holidays in one. I thought how much fun. I wrote a proposal and sent it off to my editor. I’ll be honest I wasn’t expecting a contract. Guess what? Yup, my editor loved my idea and sent a contract. Now I’m under tight deadline to write the book. I’m about 11k into the book, not bad considering I’ve only been writing it for a week. Looks like the second half of this year I’ll see three books released.

In September I’ll be getting out the last two of my former Aspen books and a few under my real name. To say I’ve been busy is an understatement. Oh and add in that I’m now doing three people’s jobs at my day job. My poor hubby is looking forward to our vacation next week.

Which leads me to my hiatus. The hubby, Lexi and I are off to Florida next Tuesday. The baby will be staying with the in-laws and our other daughter will be staying at our house to house sit and take care of the dogs. It’s only a 4 night stay, but I need the break. I can’t wait to enjoy Universal and Busch Gardens. Lexi is really looking forward to the trip. Her two friends had to back out of the trip. It’s sad because now she’ll have no one her age to hang with.

Here a link to a nice review of I Wanna Sext U Up - http://whippedcream2.blogspot.com/2012/08/i-wanna-sext-u-up-by-amber-skyze.html?zx=3f3b9dad4f918dd2

That’s it! I’ll likely not be posting until September unless I find time. I will have guests during my absence so please drop by and say hello.

Cutting Ties

Life has become overwhelming for me lately. I’m having a difficult time juggling personal life, writer’s life and the dreaded day job. I’ve made some decisions to cut ties with a few blogs that guest on either a monthly or weekly basis. I belonged to six and have cut it down to one. Once a week might be manageable. If that becomes unmanageable I’ll have to say good-bye to them too.
It pains me to say good-bye but for my own sanity it had to be done. I’m not writing so trying to think up writing related topics is just impossible. I’m sure this won’t be the case forever, but for now.
I also missed my writer’s meeting on Saturday. This too caused me heartache because I really need this time away from the house. Instead I was in bed for almost 12 hours. It seems I’m suffering a case of post partem depression. Time for me to get some help. I don’t easily admit stuff like this, but I’ve come to the conclusion I can’t hide behind a false persona. This is all new to me. 5 kids and I never suffered from it. Though I'm a bit older so maybe that's why. Who knows.
I do have second round edits for I Wanna Sext U Up to work on. It isn’t easy but I so loved this story at one time and I want to see it published.
The day job is extremely busy today so this will be brief.
Hope you all have a Happy Monday!

Saturday

For some reason I thought I blogged yesterday, but apparently I didn’t. :o)
Yesterday I worked on edits for Chasing Forever. I was a bit surprised to see them in my inbox so fast. I just sent the contract last week. Usually my editor will send an email saying the contract was received and I’ll see edits in a few days or a week. This time she sent the edits with the email.
This morning I have to work on a blurb. Oh I don’t like writing blurb, almost as much as I dread writing the synopsis. I already picked out the quickie cover so I’m all set on that.
Our house is a huge MESS. I can barely walk around in the bar/workout/office area. I can’t wait until we can start putting things back where they belong. Today we can do that upstairs for the baby’s room and the upstairs bathroom, but it doesn’t look like the rest will get done before Tuesday. I don’t like chaos. I’m not a neat freak by any means, but disarray to this extreme stresses me out.
Tonight I think the DH and I will drive down to the beach and have dinner on the water. I’m sure the restaurants will be crowded because of Memorial Day weekend and we’re experiencing 80s here in New England. I just love watching the ocean while eating.
I should have a house with a water view. I’d never grow tired of the view. Maybe someday when I’m rich. Ha Ha!
Happy Saturday.

Mini Goals

A few weeks ago I talked about not knowing where I want to go with my writing and if I should just give up. A friend asked me if I’d made up my mind about my writing career.
The short term answer – YES. I want to be a writer. It’s in my blood. I can’t give it up. The problem is there’s so much going on in my life right now it’s difficult to put words to paper. I’ve started three new wips and can’t seem to move along with any of them. They start off full of potential and then I abandon them. Writing erotic romance has become almost impossible. I know all the reasons for this; I just can’t fix them right now.
This week I’ve promised myself to work on Chasing Forever. I want to get this story stronger and send it off. The story is written. An editor expressed a few issues, nothing major. The sex scenes aren’t the issue…YAY for me. :o) So addressing the concerns should be easy.
I managed to work on the first chapter this morning. I actually woke up early and had some time before the daughter woke. That’s a new issue. She has a job. The hour of 6-7 used to be my quiet writing time. Not any longer. B, gets up at 6am to get ready for work. One of the kids usually gets up with her. Guess who gets to take care of them. Lol I don’t mind. I enjoy that time with them, but I’m a creature of habit.
My schedule has been changed and I’m still trying to adjust. Not only am I sleeping later, I have company when I get up. Saturday I was excited about being awake early figuring the daughter would sleep in – she didn’t have work. NOPE. She came out all bubbly wanting to talk my ear off just before 6 am. Most people know not to talk to me before I’ve finished my morning coffee. That’s just the way I am. I need silence and time to wake up. No, I didn’t kill her. I smiled and nodded at the appropriate times. I also prayed. Prayed she’d go away. LOL
The house is full of sick people so I'm trying to keep my distance. I think the DH has pneumonia. He's a stubborn male. He is on antibiotic for a sinus infection. I hope it's strong enough. He has to return for a follow up next week. I'm trying to convince him to go sooner. Wish me luck.
So my mini goals this week is to finish Chasing Forever. Maybe that will spark the desire to write again.

First Round Edits Are Done

Whew! They were intense, but I must admit my editor had some great suggestions and I feel the story is MUCH stronger. I’m not sure what round two will bring but I’m sure they won’t be as intense. LOL
Not only are edits complete for now – it’s Friday. My kids are all in NY for the weekend for a family event so I get the house and DH to myself. Woo Hoo. We don’t get that often. Not sure what we’ll do but it doesn’t matter. It will be quiet in the house.
I want to give a big shout out to Katalina Leon who gave me some brilliant ideas to move Chasing Forever forward. This story was rejected – with a revision letter. I’ve been mulling it around for a few weeks, bouncing ideas off Kat. She made it all come together. It’s nice to have someone who lives on the West coast and knows a thing or two about surfing. :o) Love ya Kat!
I can’t wait to go back to writing this story.
Happy Friday!

It's All Unofficial ;)

Today is an unofficial anniversary for me and the DH. I say unofficial because he decided we weren’t going to celebrate it after we got married. LOL It’s still special to me because it was when we first started dating. So I’ll give him a card or something cute.
This week will be busy. I received edits for Naughty St. Nick, received a revision letter from one of my publishers for a story I subbed and finishing up another story before Nano. I’m doing an unofficial version – I know there’s that word again. Unofficial, unofficial, unofficial. Okay that’s it for that word today.
Two friends and I do Nano every year. I normally reach the goal, but I’ve yet to submit the finished manuscript. Why bother you’re asking. This year I’m determined to submit the one I’m writing. I’m using this story for the agent appointment I’m doing at the NEC Conference in April. Maybe it will be sold before then, maybe not.
We had a fun weekend, but it flew by too quickly. I worked until Friday night until something like 2am. Sunday we spent the day with the granddaughter. She’s growing so fast. She’s a smart little bugger. She knows how to worm her way with Grandma and Grandpa. More grandpa, who she has wrapped around her little bitty finger. :o)
Anyway off to get some of this work done.
Happy Anniversary Honey!
Happy Monday!

YAY! It's Friday.

One set of edits are off my desk and today I’ll finish the others. I’m looking forward to the weekend.
I bought the DH awesome seats to Bon Jovi for his b-day. So tomorrow we’ll head to Gillette stadium for the concert. The last time I went to Gillette for a concert was 2003 with my best friend. We rocked out to Metallica, Limp Bizkit, and Linkin Park for the Summer Sanitarium tour. Back then we were New Yorkers and not welcomed by Boston. Though no one would’ve known had my best friend not took it upon herself to tell anyone who’d listen Boston Red Sox suck. She’s a die-hard Yankees fan. I thought we were gonna get in a fight with a group of drunk guys.
Truth be told I’m not a huge fan of Bon Jovi’s new stuff. I loved him back in the 80s and early 90s, but I could take him or leave now. BUT because the DH enjoys his music I’ll go. I hope he plays more older stuff than newer. LOL Kid Rock is the opening act. Should draw an interesting crowd.
Sunday we’ll spend the day out on a boat in Boston with the B/SIL and then off to check out their new house and celebrate the BIL’s b-day. I doubt any writing will get done. I can’t party like I did back 20 years ago. I’m sure Monday I’ll be a vegetable. LOL
Hope everyone has a terrific weekend.

Craziness Magnified

So life is just insane. Yesterday I celebrated the release of Submit With Me, correction, I wanted to celebrate. My only wish was to spend the day promoting this little quickie on all the various loops, only I received edits for Play With Me. Now I’m not complaining because edits means a release date in the near future and with Spend The Night With Me releasing Sept 15th, I’d love for this book to follow shortly thereafter.
Play With Me is the final book in the Freedom Fantasies series. I happened to write this book first so needless to say there are a few edits to be made and loose ends to clean up. It’s more edits than I’ve seen in awhile and for some reason my brain freezes up when I have to make larger changes. I wish I knew why so I could remedy it, but I don’t.
Speaking of the series, Tuesday I received the cover art for Spend The Night With Me. I’m jumping up and down because Syneca nailed it. With Pretend With Me I asked for a manor or mansion on the cover because that’s where all the stories take place. I didn’t get what I asked for, but the cover was still yum worthy. What can I say Syneca is awesome. This time I received my vision. I want to share it with you, but have to wait that darn three days. Tomorrow I’ll happily showcase it! :o)
In other news, if my life couldn’t get any crazier, I received final edits for Adrift this morning. Now I’m working on two sets of edits. It’s a good thing I work from home. I don’t know how people work a full time job outside the home and publish. Personally I’m not sure I could handle it.
I did get a release date for Adrift – November 9th. I’m excited, but not rushing this release. November means winter and as most of you know Amber doesn’t like winter. LOL
I can’t wait to see what the cover artists come up with for Adrift.
So instead of playing today, I’ll be buried in edits. If you don’t hear from me send HELP! *big grins*
Happy Thursday!

Blurry-Eyed

The DH might come home from work later today and find me looking like this picture.

Yesterday the second half of my edits for Adrift arrived. Not too bad. I’ll get one more round and hopefully have a release date shortly after that.

I’m finishing up a partial to send off tomorrow.

Last night I attempted to watch Big Brother while putting together goody bags for RomantiCon. I say attempted because I have no clue what happened. I was so lost in the bags. I have 80 so far. I obviously have a lot more to do, but it’s a start. :O)

Add in day three of a migraine and I look like a train wreck!

Other than that looking forward to a work-free weekend. One more day!

Happy Thursday!

Clone Me

The first few days after vacation are always crazy for me. Add to the fact that I received edits for Spend the Night With Me, Cover Art request for Play With Me and other paperwork I’m going insane. I wish I could afford to quit the day job, but seriously, writing will NOT pay the bills.
The funny thing is I’m just about putting in full time hours with writing. I feel like I never sleep anymore. It feels like I’m always missing something. Promo takes up more time than the actual writing. Add in supporting fellow authors, because I HAVE to do that.
I’m not whining seriously. I’m thrilled that I’ve reached this point in my writing career. I’m in the process of building a website too. Geez, I definitely don’t know what I’m doing. But I know it’s a necessity.
I have to work all weekend at the day job. The DH’s family is having a huge family reunion picnic on Sunday. I need to be cloned.
Happy Hump Day Everyone!

Itching for Spring

Yesterday school was closed…for no good reason. They predicted we’d get 16 inches of snow. We got about 2! The heavy stuff didn’t even start falling until after four. The kids could have gone to school. But see two years ago we got a storm mid-morning, causing the schools to let the children go home early. Well kids were stuck on buses for almost five hours in some places. My daughter wasn’t one of them. It took the DH seven hours to get home from work that day. Normally it’s an hour drive. The city and state officials took so much heat. So instead of facing another fiasco they immediately close the schools. Lucky me… my daughter was home, driving me crazy. I don’t want to hear I’m bored again! LOL
Nothing got accomplished. I haven’t written all week. I’m in a slump. I open a document and stare at it. The words just won’t come. The DH and I are going away for the weekend. It will be nice to have a change of scenery.
Edits for Research Required were waiting in my inbox this morning, so I know what I’ll be doing today. I have to finish my cover art form for Dante’s Desire too.
In other news Ignited received its first review and it’s awesome. You can read it here:
http://seriouslyreviewed.blogspot.com/2010/02/ignited-by-amber-skyze.html

Progress is Sweet

I've been taking small steps to get back in the swing of things. I made a to-do list for each day this week. Nothing overly crazy to get me depressed if I didn't finish. As of today it's going good. I accomplished everything I've tasked myself and more. I even managed to open a wip and add four pages to it. I miss writing and everything that comes along with it, but there are times when I just couldn't do it.
This morning I realized that I have NOTHING new with any of my editors. It's a scary thought. I'm not waiting for any news of a new contract or a rejection. When did I let this fall by the wayside? I've had a manuscript in editors hands at all times for over a year and suddenly I don't. I need to fix this and fast. So, I have one story just about done that I'm determined to have submitted by the 1st. Let's hope I can accomplish this one!

Off to work on getting that manuscript polished.

Slowly Recovering

Wednesday I spent the morning in the ER. What I thought were contractions was gastric reflux. It's the most pain I've felt since labor. The baby is still just fine. Me, I'm getting there slowly. They changed my meds once again to the one medicine that has ALWAYS worked. Go figure. It annoys me because I know my body. I know what works and what doesn't. But doctors think they know better than me. Now I'm finally feeling a little better.
Yesterday my coffee pot bit the dust. I don't drink much. I make enough for one cup and normally don't finish it, but having none is NOT an option. The DH had to go into the office yesterday so he couldn't run out for coffee for me. The older kids traveled to NY, so they weren't an option either. Geez, being on bed rest wasn't working for me.
Today the DH went to Dunkin Donuts and got me coffee. God, I love him! lol
My youngest has been home all week with seasonal flu. I'm walking around with Lysol wipes and spray. Can't afford to add the flu to my list of issues.
Some good news, that I needed. My editor sent me edits for Ignited. It's been about six weeks since I've worked with any of my editors, so this was a pleasant surprise. Now if I can just finish a story so I can submit!

Happy Friday Everyone. Hope you have a wonderful weekend.

Life Holted

Life seems to be at a standstill for me lately. I'm writing, but not much. I have three books due out before the end of the year. Two have been thru edits, one hasn't. My editor is "away" like some of my writer friends at RomantiCon, so I won't see edits for Ignited for a bit.

I'm still waiting on two cover arts. Funny, I received the one for Ignited. I love this cover. I really really want to share it, but haven't been given final approval yet.

My mind is still in a fog most days. I've come down with a stomach bug. That's taking a toll on me. I ran to the doctor's yesterday to make sure it was nothing to worry about. The baby has a nice strong heartbeat, so all is well in that department. Now if only I could recuperate from this.

We have a weekend of softball tournaments and I'm hoping I'm well enough to sit at the field all weekend.

I've been trying to blog, but I get an idea and it passes just as quick as it came. LOL

I just want to crawl up and sleep until this passes. Hope all my writer friends are doing better.

How about some eye candy?

Sick

I woke up yesterday with a terrible sinus infection. I spent the day in bed, which after the weekend I had I deserved! I took the day off from the day job to finish edits on Heat Waves. I'm halfway thru. I keep taking short naps. If you care to see how insane my weekend was, I blogged about it over at: http://sevensexyscribes.blogspot.com



Otherwise have an awesome day. I'm going to try to recover.

Friendships Come and Friendships Go

A few months back I read on someones blog (sorry I can't remember who or I'd give you credit) that friendships seem to fade every seven years. I remember thinking how crazy that is. I've had a couple of friends for 20+ years.
Then it happened to me. Two friendships I thought would last forever have slowly fizzled out over the last couple of months. I'm not sure what they're feeling, but I can tell you that I've outgrown their friendship. Yes, that sounds harsh. I just can't explain it, but I have no desire to deal with their drama. One is narcissistic and the other is well a fair-weathered friend.
I've made many new friends in the writing world. I belong to a wonderful writer's group locally. This people understand me. They understand the solitude that comes along with writing.
It's a shame really that these friendships have faded, but such is life.

Today I'm working hard on Heat Waves. Editor was growing a bit worried about me. I've never held on to edits for longer than a day or two. I'll get them back to her later today and then I'll be free to enjoy this long weekend. Maybe I'll take Tuesday off as a mental health day. I might need it after the testing is over in the morning.

Happy Labor Day everyone. Have a safe weekend!

Need a Drink

Feeling a little better today. Accomplished a lot yesterday and this morning. This afternoon I'll begin to tackle the edits. That's all I have left.
I'm cleaning little by little for B's b-day party Sunday. I'm glad it's a three day weekend. I feel like I haven't stopped running for over two weeks.
Softball started up again. Fall Ball. This lasts until October. And if I'm correct Basketball will start in November. But she must stay active or she'll drive me nuts. She is a child that can not handle boredom. Thankfully she likes sports.

Back to the daily grind!

In a Funk

Today we must start off with a hottie!

My baby started junior high today. She was so nervous. I doubt she slept much last night. I know her mother didn't. lol I got up bright and early (4am). I had cinnamon buns ready for when she woke up. She loves them, so I thought a little comfort food would help. It always does for me. At 7am she walked up the road to the bus stop. All her friends are nervous so she'll find comfort with them. The good thing is the 8th graders don't start until tomorrow. Gives the 7th graders time to acclimate themselves to their new school.

Yesterday I accomplished a lot of work. Still have a cover art form to fill out and finish edits on Heat Waves. The day job will definitely get in the way today. Wednesdays are my extremely busy days.

I'm hoping to get back to Research Required by the weekend. Not much left to write - 3-5k at the most. I miss writing. :(

I'm in a funk and don't know how to get myself out. What do you do to pull yourself out?

Crazy Weekend

I need eye candy to get me motivated!

I feel like I haven't done anything writing related in a long time. I had to work the day job on Saturday, after I was done the DH took me to dinner and a movie. Saw The Time Traveler's Wife. I hadn't read the book, but enjoyed the movie. Family came back from the Cape. Went to dinner with them on Sunday. They just left to go home to NY!

I have Heat Wave edits waiting in my in box. Paperwork and Cover Art requests need to be filled out for another book. And I've yet to finish self-edits on another story.

School starts in two days. L, is not a happy camper. She went back to NY for a short, which has put a damper on things. We still need to get school supplies and a back pack. And mom can not even think about buying anything without her. So I'll likely be making the three hour journey to meet her father so she can come home today.





Off to try and accomplish some of this stuff! Happy Monday.

Titles

I've been pleased thus far with not having to change any of my titles. So when my editor explained that Cabin Fever had to be changed it threw me for a loop. I totally understand her reasons, but my mind went blank. That's what happens when I feel pressured. lol I racked my brain for anything I could pull from the story - nothing. The only thing from the story I could possible use was Mustang Love. Don't think she liked it that much and she shouldn't. Still waiting to hear if we can use the new title. I'm also assuming that since I'm working so hard on a title for a story that hasn't been contracted, one must be coming with the title change. Let's just say if I'm doing this for nothing, I won't be a happy camper! :o)

I wrote this morning. Only two pages, but it was more than I had yesterday. Today is a busy day. L has a dental and doctors appointment back-to-back. Originally they were a few hours apart, but she got an invite for a fun day of swimming, go-carts and a baseball game to end the day. Being a good mom I found a way to rearrange the dentist appt.

I have my own agenda for that too. It gives me an hour of waiting while she has a physical and cleaning, oh and lets not forget the shots. Waiting means time for editing. Woo Hoo.

Off to get ready to bring her to her appointments. Hope you enjoy this lovely day!