Sabrina's Blog

For many, the winter is about snowball fights, making snowmen, sledding, snow angels, hot cocoa, sleigh rides under warm blankets, and Christmas lights. Children's laughter can be heard up and down the streets of most neighborhoods. The words of holiday songs seem to come to life. I hate the cold. I don't like playing in the snow. I don't like the biting wind. I force myself to smile through chattering teeth. I endure snow hitting my face and sliding into the neck of my coat. I chance frostbite in my fingers to make misshapen snowmen. I grit my teeth so the car windows can be down in below freezing temps in order to drive through the park's Christmas light exhibit. Did I mention that laying back into the snow's icy embrace to form a snow angel makes me jump for joy? Yet, all of this I do for my precious child, who is worth every ice cold moment.  Despite my dislike of cold temperatures, I love the winter. Specifically, snow days. For me, it's about h...

NaNoWriMo is OVER!!! It's HAPPY DANCE TIME!!!! I reached 15K words this year, which was more than I managed to get last year. I am very proud of this, but mostly I'm just glad it's over. The pressure that NaNoWriMo brings is so intense, it almost makes writing no fun for me. I'm not sure why I thought I should do it again. I'm actually excited to write again tomorrow. No worries about what my word count is. Just writing for the pure fun of it. I think my main problem was that I had a new world I wanted to build and I felt like I couldn't because I needed to write and get my word count in. Guess what I'm doing now that NaNo is over?!! While we're on the subject of having fun, have you read Shine 1 or Shine 2  by William Bernhardt, yet? Shine 3 will be coming out this month, so you still have time to get caught up. Though they are generally $2.99, there will be a 5 day period when they'll be sold for $0.99 each. I'll be sure to...

I just realized I haven't posted in 2 weeks, nor have I said why. So sorry, friends. For the rest of November, all writing time I manage to find will be dedicated to NaNoWriMo. I'm working long days, so those hours I get to write are precious. I'll be back regularly in December. Until then, happy writing and good luck to anyone else participating. Thought for the month:

My 6 year old is very much like me, a bit of sci-fi/fantasy nerd. A bit. *cheesy grin* Lately, he is very much into anything that has to do with the undead: ghosts, zombies, vampires, witches, necromancers. Our latest conversation centered around the last. He wanted to know what the difference between a necromancer's magic and a witch's magic. As with any conversation with this beautiful child, it became a snowball of: "What if this?" and "What if that?" questions. And soon I had the beginning kernels of a book idea. I have to say, some of the most entertaining and thought provoking conversations I've experienced in my life have been with this child of mine. I know one day soon, he'll grow up and begin to pull away to do his own thing. He'll go through the 'my parent's are so uncool' stage. It makes me sad when I think about it. Until that happens, I'm determined to bask in being his favorite person and I continue encouraging ...

My earliest memories of my love for the Sci-Fi/Fantasy genre are of sitting down with my mom to enjoy Star Trek: The Next Generation. They're followed by the endless run of seriously odd stuff shown on the Sci/Fi Channel over the years, countless movie motion pictures, and books. Lots and lots of books. Despite this upbringing, I never once heard of/watched/discovered the world of Doctor Who. A tragedy, I now know. For the last 5 years or so, I've had friends and acquaintances express shock at this void in my sci-fi/fantasy experience. "How can you call yourself a real fan of the genre?" has been asked of me, over and over and over. I always rolled my eyes and laughed them off. I prefer books anyway and simply don't watch much TV, so its been easy to continue missing out in blissful ignorance. Earlier today, avoiding the current writing project because of yet another plot snag, I was playing on Facebook and an ad for a Doctor Who fan group popped up on m...

It's FREE!!! SHINE 1: Childhoods End is available HERE for the next 5 days at NO cost to you!! Please check it out and if you like what you read, I hope you'll leave a review. It's a novella, so quick to read. The next 4 installments, also written by SHINE universe creator William Bernhardt, will come out each consecutive month for only $0.99 each. This is a ongoing serialized novel in which multiple authors will write. Bill honored me, by asking me to be one of the writers creating stories in this universe and as soon as I know when my SHINE story comes out, I'll be sure to let you all know. Did you watch the trailer I posted earlier this week? Have you read SHINE 1: Childhood's End? Did you leave a review? Feel free to tell me what you think on here as well. Thanks for reaching out and supporting this fun new project I am so excited to be part of, blog friends!

I mentioned a while back that I was excited to be asked to write in a fun new project and I'm super excited to finally be able to share the details!!! The photo above is the cover for the first installment of a fun new serialized ongoing novel that will release one installment a month. The first 5 installments were written by the SHINE Universe creator and bestselling author, William Bernhardt. He invited several other writers, including yours truly, to also write in the fabulous SHINE Universe, which will come out sometime after the first 5 installments.  SEE! I told you, exciting! Even better, this first installment to release THIS Thursday, is absolutely FREE  for the 1st 5 days!! After Monday, each one will be only $0.99! There is also a really cool trailer for it. It isn't a comic book or graphic novel, but fully prose, each at novella length. Bill just really likes comic books and so the trailer was made in that fashion. If you'd like to check o...

Pitch your nonfiction theme. Every work of fiction has one. This little nugget of wisdom came from author, David Morrell, creator of the original Rambo character that inspired the Sylvester Stallone movies at a local conference I attended this weekend. I love conferences. I always learn something that helps me grow as a writer. This one was no exception. Like most writers, I struggle with pitching my book. I can talk about it at great length to anyone who'll listen, but put a restraint on me and my brain wants to freeze up. It's so frustrating. How do I put a 127,000 word epic fantasy into one minute? The closer I came to being ready to submit, the harder I found this question to answer. How could I know my story so well, yet be completely at a loss when it comes time to pitch? How do I condense it down and still keep it interesting? Mr. Morrell suggests pitching on the nonfiction topic. Human's gravitate toward that which they identify. Every writer has a reason...

Hey all, Darci Cole did this over on her blog, and I thought it was so fun, so I thought I'd take a stab at it! Favorite book cover The cover of  The Great Gatsby. That face seemingly floating in the sky is eerie. What are you reading right now? I'm trying a new author out and really enjoying her so far. Daughter of Mythos by Melissa Drake Do you have any idea what you'll read when you're done with that? The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher What five books have you always wanted to read but haven't gotten round to? The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher, finally! What magazines do you have in your bathroom/lounge right now? None. What's the worst book you've ever read? I truly try to forget them. I see no reason to change that now. What book seemed really popular but you didn't like it? 50 Shades...I mean, seriously. Thankfully, I simply tried the free excerpt and didn't waste my money. What's the one book you alwa...

Yesterday I took the kiddo to his first piano lesson. Turns out it's his last for at least another year. Apparently, playing your own music instead of playing what your piano teacher wants you to play is bad. *shrug* Go figure. When I asked him what he thought about piano lessons, he looked me right in the eye and stated, "It was fun, but would have been a lot funner if she'd have let me play the music I wanted to play. My music is way better than hers, mom. Can you just get me my own keyboard? I'll teach my own piano lessons to myself." How do I even argue with that? Today begins my obligation to the kiddo's school PTA. *sigh* I am not one of those moms who enjoys being up at my kids school, well, ever. I 'did' school already. It's boring and tedious. I made good grades, because when you're forced to be some place for most of the hours of the day, there's nothing else to do but accept the inevitable and make the best of it. The ki...

Last weekend, I celebrated my 7th wedding anniversary by surprising my hard to surprise hub with a trip to Vegas. *pats self on back* I hate secrets and this one nearly killed me trying to keep it. But I did it! The hub, never to be outdone, had these waiting in our room upon arrival! Love him! We took in a few shows. The first of which I ran 2 miles across the strip in 2.5" platform shoes b/c I might have planned poorly. (My feet are still recovering).   It was worth it though to see, Chris Angel, the fuzzy one on the right. That dude has serious skills. You think the Anti-Christ would appear as a magician? *shrug* Probably not a big enough platform for dreams of world domination, but it was straight up eerie how good he was. We also gambled, albeit responsibly. Meaning we took money we didn't mind losing and proceeded to lose some of it. I love the craps tables, while the hub is into blackjack. Both of us really enjoyed ourselves and pretty much broke even on...

Dragoncon is next weekend. I'm sad I don't get to go, but I do have plans to make it with girlfriends next year so I'm telling myself it's okay. *sigh* Anyone going next weekend? Let me know so I can stalk your pictures in envy. To be fair, the conference starts on the day of my 7th anniversary. The hub is taking me to the very posh Vast Restaurant at the top of the Devon Tower in OKC. I'm exicted. I'm also hoping I can rope him into snuggling on the couch afterward with this movie, which comes out on DVD this week. Since it IS our anniversary, my chances are pretty good. The hub does spoil me so! Last night I celebrated the upcoming marriage of one of my oldest and best friends, Kendra. Her and her soon-to-be-husband, Dean, are so perfect for each other and all I can say is it is about time!!! I wish them all the best, and pray God's blessings rain down on them and their life together.  As a result of last evening's wild antics, I...

Today is the Anti-Blogfest Gary Fest, a blogfest in honor of anti-bloghop himself, Gary at Klahanie ! How could I not join something that specifically tells me not to...it's like sticking your finger into an electrical outlet and expecting to get shocked...you know its bad news, but you JUST.CAN'T.HELP.YOURSELF. *cheesy-grin* Hosted by none other than: Mark "Madman" Koopmans Ninja Alex J. Cavanaugh Morgan "The Sweetest Friend Ever" Shamy Robyn Engel Life is good Tina So what's this all about, you're wondering? Well, it's simple really. Create the titles of three PG-13 blogfests you would never join--and then add a descriptive sentence or two. The 3 Blogfest I would never join: 1) The Dig Out Your Biggest Booger and Take a Photo of It Bloghop- Ack, can you see posts and posts of nasty green slime posted all over the blogosphere?! 2) The Post a Sample of your Very First Attempts At Writing Bloghop-I'd be so embarrassed to...

Wanted to share with my bloggy friends, in case you haven't been over to Rach Writes  recently, she is gearing up with the the help of Cally Writes  for Platform Building Campaign 5. Signups are in September, so make sure you're on the list!!! This campaign helped my blog get off the ground and set me up to meet some of the most fantastic bloggers that I can call close friends today. *winks at Morgan Shamy * If your a bloggy friend that hasn't had the pleasure of experiencing one of these campaigns, then I would encourage you to give it a go. You won't regret it! I hope to see you on the list!

Risa opened her eyes. She lay among an unfamiliar moonlit forest, her cheek resting on her outstretched arm. No sound broke the stillness around her. Where was she? How had she come to be here? She searched her memory, but could remember only her name. Her heart hammered in her chest. Why couldn't she remember? She rolled to her feet and waited in a crouch. Only stillness surrounded her. Her breath rushed in and out of her chest. She closed her eyes and willed herself to calm. She peered through the trees, compelled to go forward. She moved from shadow to shadow, careful to avoid breaking twigs under her feet. Straining eyes and ears, she studied the forest around her. No breeze sighed through the trees. No night creatures chattered. She shivered. The hairs on her arms lifted. Goose-flesh dotted her arms and legs. The glimmer of moonlight on water shimmered ahead. Crouching behind the closest tree, she peaked from between the foliage. A still pond covered, almost entirely...

Here in the States, our Independence Day celebration is only days away(July 4th) and I am so excited. Camping plans with friends are set, our gear is ready to go, we've had the first of many barbeques, and even had a neighbor come yell at us about shooting fireworks off in our neighborhood-on a Saturday night- the weekend before July 4th. What a grumpy old goat. To be fair, the hub and kiddo might have gone a bit overboard with the fireworks. *shrug* They only get to blow things up once a year. Boys will be boys, no? To top it all off,  my sister is coming to visit for a couple of weeks. Woot! Despite all of the fun, or maybe because of it, the creative juices are gushing. I've been finishing up my first novel and hope to get serious about submitting by the end of this summer. I've started another project, a novella, that is going to be killer! And I have a 3rd project that is singing to me in my dreams. Oh yeah, I am awesome! My kiddo agrees. Yum, I love ...

I just spent the last hour reading from the list of blogs I follow and it occurred to me that this list is fairly eclectic. I'm rather picky about who I follow and have no problem with unfollowing someone if that blog floods my blog feed with junk. Today, I've read a blog on politics, one on cooking, several on writing, one on parenthood, and one written by a comedian. I love getting to know such a diverse collection of people. So I thought I'd share the 3 that stood out to me the most. (This by no means represents all of my favorite blogs. That list would take much too long to share. These are just some I read today.) I love blogs that make me think, make me laugh out loud, and that teach me things each time I visit. I hope you find these as interesting. The first blog I'd like to share comes from Arlee over at Tossing It Out . He touched on a subject that I truly feel is one of the biggest issues in our country today...Apathy: If it doesn't directly affe...

I'm so honored to announce that I was asked if my blog could be featured today on Write. Blog. Connect. It's a new blog and website set up by blogger and writers, Angela Christina Archer and Regina Walker  as a place for writers and readers of all walks to unite. I hope you'll go on over and show them encouragement and support for this new endeavor. Thank you Write. Blog. Connect. for choosing my blog as today's feature. Today I'd like to talk about stress...and my newest method for getting rid of it. For the last 7 years, I've been avid and consistent in making fitness a part of my daily routine. My goal was to avoid the tendency toward obesity in my family, to set a good example for my son, and to avoid things like diabetes, heart disease, and high cholesterol, if possible. What I hadn't considered was that it would also be good for ridding oneself of stress. I prefer high intensity workouts that really make me sweat, elevate my heart rat...