Author Archives: Amani

Editing Time

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I scheduled a time slot with my editor! You know what that means – time to binge watch that Netflix show* I’ve been putting off… No, wait – that’s the old me, or at least – one part of her. Another part of the old me was good at scheduling time for projects on a calendar — I just wouldn’t follow through and do everything I scheduled. Now the new me has to actually do the tasks involved.

I think my dread of digging in to a project has simply become a habit, because I am both nervous and excited to work on this book. I titled it Flash Bang, although that could change. I also considered something like My Texas BFF to sound more like a chick lit title. It is satirical chick lit. Or does that sound like it’s a satire of chick lit? I’m resisting calling it “women’s literature” because to me that sounds like serious drama or women in historical novels, not like a clueless Hollywood celeb trying to prove she can play a Texan in a movie.

*The show is Evil – I can’t even remember if I’ve seen Season Two or just One, but someday I’ll binge them all, even though I’ll have to subscribe to another streaming service to get the later seasons.

Making the Most of Surprises

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Accidents happen. Usually we think about the kind that slows down or even reverses our progress, but there are “happy accidents” that can give us a tiny push forward.

Many years ago, I was about 25 pounds overweight and not actively trying to lose weight, even though I wished I would. One day I weighed myself and was surprised to find I had lost two pounds! That’s not an enormous loss, but a good one when you didn’t expect it. I decided as long as I was down a bit, I would try to keep it going. Back then, I would eat fast food every day and would often get a soft drink refill before I left the restaurant (and I’m talking those BIG cups that you could practically swim in). I wasn’t drinking diet drinks – leading to my consuming large quantities of sugar. The first change I made was to drink only unsweetened tea. Uh, yeah, it was an adjustment, but it didn’t take long. Soon I took another step, then another. About eighteen months later, I had lost over twenty pounds!

I know I could do more to write and market novels, but I get overwhelmed with the learning curves (yes, plural!) for all the different methods I’m “supposed” to be employing. Then, a week ago, while trekking in the Everest region of Nepal, I posted one short video of some yak hybrids I saw on the trail. That few seconds of video on my Facebook author page got almost nine thousand views in less than a week!

“Too bad,” I thought, “that it had *nothing* to do with my book! …but what if that video’s success helps me get views on book-related videos?” So I did my first TikTok video in some time, promoting Eliana-Who-Sees-Us as a good Halloween read. (I had done other TikToks about my book, but they got deleted when I was inactive for too long…more learning curve.) “But now how do I get more people to view the video?” That question led to (finally) doing a promo post in an authors’ group I’m in. “I guess I should update my Goodreads info too, so more people will go to my blog….uh, which is out of date.” And now I’m updating the blog.

It’s all work I knew I needed to do, but it seemed like too much when I thought about it. That happy accident encouraged me to take one step, which led to another, and it didn’t seem overwhelming anymore. I’m trying to focus on the fun or playful aspects of social media, rather than look at it as “work,” and hopefully that will feed my creative writing side as well. Check out the Halloween video here: https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZPR7bXLfS/

New Year, New…Life!

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“I took time off during the holidays.”

It sounds nice to say, but actually I felt exhausted after finishing the shorter-than-hoped-for first draft of my next novel. Rather than take a mere break, I basically developed amnesia about being a writer at all! I’m feeling somewhat refreshed now and getting ready for several months of intense work on a variety of things I’ve been putting off. Doctor visits, home maintenance, and a vacation of sorts top the list.

I hate when people make mysterious comments about what they’re preparing to do. It’s like, why did you bring it up if you won’t tell me? Unfortunately, I need to develop some of my plans a little more before I can talk about them publicly. One exciting thing I can mention is that I’ll be joining one of my critique partners at Houston’s Comicpalooza this year. It will be interesting – I have never been to a comic con. I’ve done plenty of trade shows as a vendor, but it was when I worked for a wallpaper company. You don’t see many people dressed in costumes at home improvement events.