Sabrina's Blog

I love the Fantasy Fiction genre. The greats like C.S. Lewis, Tolkien, Mercedes Lackey, and Anne McCaffrey (just to name a few) introduced me to the wonder of this fabulous genre as a child and other greats like Robert Jordan, Terry Goodkind, Brandon Sanderson, Anne Bishop, and Patrick Rothfuss (again, there are SO many more) continued to feed this love as I grew older. And it's thanks to amazing paranormal/fantasy romance authors like Nalini Singh, G.A. Aiken, Ilona Andrews, Christine Feehan, Gena Showalter, and Kresley Cole that I've learned a good, happily-ever-after romance makes fantasy even more enjoyable for me. One of the reasons that the Fantasy genre is my favorite is due to the various types of magic systems. My fantasy romance series, The Gate Keeper Chronicles, has a combination elemental and life force based magic system, but I'd eventually like to have a series for each magic system that exists in fantasy fiction. Each time I read ...

Along with sending my novels to beta readers, I also have select family members that read them for me. My current work-in-progress is in the revision stage. As with all my books, I sent it to my grandma. And as I was counting on, she didn't just praise me. She saw issues and told me so. This blog is for my grandma, who, despite fighting cancer for the last 2 years, took time to read my books and give me criticism I can use to get better. Thanks, Gram! You're my hero. If I'm half the woman you are, I'll count my life a success. I love you. Do you have family and friends who love you enough to criticize you when you need it? Who is your personal hero? If you like what you read here, please consider visiting my  website  to check out out my books.

Ra-ra-ri, I made it to Z!!!! *Cue balloons, confetti, and celebratory trumpets* It's been a long month. If you've stuck with me through the entire A to Z Challenge , then you deserve a wild round of applause. To celebrate the letter Z, I'm sharing a character from one of my very favorite steam punk novels. Z is for Zenobia Fox from The Kraken King(The Iron Seas #4) by Meljean Brooks Zenobia is one of my very favorite characters because she's a writer who writes exciting stories based on the exciting adventures of her brother, the legendary Archimedes Fox, but longs for a real life adventure of her own. In The Kraken King, she gets exactly what she's longed for plus much more. I like Zenobia because she is funny, strong, brave, and lands the handsome Kraken King without the benefit of a beautiful face and body. She's a-typical, which makes me lover her all the more. Here is the official blurb about the book courtesy of Goodreads: T...

The month of April is all about the A to Z Challenge in the bloggy world. This month bloggers near and far have been posting about a theme shaped after the letters of the English alphabet. If you'd like to know more about it for next year, go here . My theme is Some of my Favorite Female Characters. Y is for Yasmeen from Heart of Steel(The Iron Seas #2) by Meljean Brooks I love strong, kick ass female characters as you might have noticed if you've been following my A to Z posts this month. Yasmeen is the audacious mercenary captain of an airship. I like that she doesn't take crap from anyone and her brash confidence. Despite her ability to be utterly ruthless, she still feels guilty for her part in the seeming death of the irritating, yet charming Archimedes Fox. I loved getting to know Yasmeen and can't wait to read more in this world. Here is the official blurb about the book courtesy of Amazon: Heart of Steel As the mercenary captain of th...

Hi friends! I hope this finds you all doing well and getting ready to tackle the A to Z Challenge in April. I took a much needed break from blogging, but now I'm ready to slowly get back into it. I'm still trying to decide if I'll participate in this year's A to Z, but regardless, I look forward to seeing all the great posts by those participating. Don't know what the A to Z Challenge is? Here is the link and button. If you're a blogger, I'd definitely encourage you to check it out. I always enjoy it when I participate. I've recently finished my 3rd Shine novella. *happy dance* I'm hoping it'll be published in April or May. If you've been following Camille and her gang of Shine friends, you'll be excited to know she's kept her promise and found a way to get Sophia to Russia. In fact, the whole gang is going to check out the claims about Russia being a Shine safe haven. If you haven't read my first 2 Shine novellas, you c...

Over the last month, I've been experiencing a building allergic reaction. Like a potion or spell gone wrong(or is that right?), a small patch of itchy and very tiny little blisters will pop up, drive me crazy, then disappear a few hours later. I ignored it at first, determined to see it as nothing other than a freak rash. I really should know better. I need the antidote or counterspell, if you will. You see, I'm allergic to formaldehyde.  Yeah, you read it correctly. This nasty substance, which puts any self respecting, evil witch's brew to shame and gives embalming fluid and fingernail polish it's nasty odor, builds up in my body over time until it's gained enough momentum to break my entire body out in a rash of tiny blisters that itch to no end. Weird, I know. I've only broken out a total of 4 times over the whole of my 31 years. The 1st time was due to an everyday use of fingernail polish when I was a teen. I stopped coloring my nails and the outbreak...

As many of you know, my first published work, Lost Haven-A Shine Novella was published in March. Having prepared for this day, I had my self-promotion tools lined up and it did very well. What many of you may not know is that I own a trophy company with my hub. The month of May is what I like to refer to as our 'hell month' as it is end of school awards time. Unfortunately, with long sixteen hour plus days, I barely had time to eat much less keep up with my promotions. With constant deadlines, I barely thought of my debut novella. My numbers plummeted. I knew self-promotion was important, but after this experience, I now realize it more than ever. So, I'm going to share 3 promotion tips that I've found to be the most important. 1. Consistency- This one has been made painfully clear for me. You have to keep up a consistent effort to promote your work. It won't promote itself. You can't expect to promote for a short amount of time, then just stop and ...

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...

Over the last 3 years, I've read many posts on the first Wednesday of each month that mirror my own insecurities and doubts. Writers I had connected with through the various blog challenges I'd participated in came out in force to support each other through admissions of the demons that plagued them on this long journey of finishing a novel. All of these posts were headed by the badge you see heading my own post today, the badge for The Insecure Writers Support Group. Curious about what exactly the IWSG was and who was responsible for putting it together, I investigated and discovered the amazing Alex J. Cavanaugh, aka Ninja Captain Alex. If you are new to blogging, you must visit him here . He is an invaluable source of support, news, and experience that you will be hard pressed to find anywhere else. I've learned so much just from visiting his blog each week. I don't always leave comments, but I ALWAYS visit to see what he's up to. I admire his ability to ma...

I lost track of time and forgot to post my Monday post yesterday, so it's a Tuesday post this week. *sheepish grin* Better late than never, right?! The ugly fish man creature surged toward me through the eerie green water, a sharp coral knife in each hand. The portal, my only hope for returning home, stood on the other side of him. I pushed against the water to propel myself backwards in a vain attempt to dodge the bite of his weapon. He moved like the viper of my homeland, quick and without mercy. Time slowed as he loomed closer, his right hand arcing toward my chest. My heart thundered in my ears as my thoughts splintered. Part of me wondered how it was I breathed under water, another part wondered that mermen weren’t as handsome as I’d always imagined, and still another part continued to watch the knife move closer. My mind gathered itself as the tip of the knife sliced through the odd seaweed shirt I wore. Just as I braced to feel the sting of its bite, I woke up.  ...

I am a goal setter and have been since I was a child. I just work better if I have something I am working towards. During high school my goal was getting into college. During college it was getting my degree. After college it was being a good wife and mommy. I have goals to complete by my 30th birthday , goals for my family, and goals for my writing group . It only makes sense that I would make a list of goals when I started writing a year and a half ago. So I thought I'd share it with you. Sabrina's Writer Goals 1. Get better at editing.  2. Be offered a contract by a major publisher. 3. Win a contest. 4. Keynote a conference. 5. Sell my books worldwide. 6. Inspire new writers. 7. Teach new writers my hard won knowledge. 8. Learn to like editing. (Yeah, I'm not holding my breath either. *grin*) I'm sure I'll add to this, but for now it's a good start.  How about you? What are your goals as a writer? Have you completed any ...

Last night I struggled to find motivation for my usual evening walk. I just wasn't feeling it. I wanted to plant my rear on the couch, eat another bowl of the homemade butterfinger  icrecream I had made the night before, and play on Facebook or watch a show. Definitely not one of my more shining moments. *laughs* You know you'd have a hard time choosing a walk over this, too!! Then I started thinking about the domino effect that would commence if I skipped the walk. One night of skipping would lead to another and another until all the progress I've made would go out the window like waste from a medieval chamber pot.   This struggle struck me as extremely familiar and I realized only a couple of weeks before, I had struggled with lack of motivation to write because I knew I had edits that needed done.  I HATE editing. Finding all the places I've made some grammar mistake, become repetitive, contradicted myself, or basically forgotten how to spell,...

One of my writer friends recently read my complete novel for the first time. She loved it, of course. *grin* However, like any great critique group buddy, she had suggestions for me. One of those suggested figuring a way to break up my novel into 'parts' to help the reader realize that years are passing.  In theory, I understand what she meant, but I wasn't sure how to actually go about doing it. So I turned to my trusty Google and this is the very helpful site it found for me. Anatomy of a Novel So I thought I'd share it with others of my writers friends who might understand something in a theoretical way, but like me, might need more of an explanation. In other news, my husband and I are in the process of becoming entrepreneurs. We are buying a company called Award Solutions . So beginning in about 2 weeks or so, if you are in Oklahoma and looking to purchase trophies, medals, certificates, name tags, plaques, or anything else listed on the website, give us...

If you're like me, you may be considering an afternoon nap to gear up for an evening of 4th of July festivities and fireworks at your local park. *wink* Before you seek out your pillow, head over to: A Feast of Fantasy I interviewed best-selling author, Brandon Sanderson, about his follow up novel to the Mistborn Trilogy, The Alloy of Law , and I know you'll enjoy reading what he had to say.

I was cleaning my son's playroom today and came across a promotional item I was given at a local wine festival last year. It was one of those little flashlights in the shape of a bottle advertising Captain Morgan Rum. (My son likes pirates...no judging!!! *sheepish-grin*) Seeing this item made me think about promotional items writers use. I know things like bookmarks, business cards, pens, or notepads are popular, but are these things worth the investment? Do they really make people want to buy your book? Also, should you put your name or the name of your book on the promo item? As I get into the submission process and start dreaming about a marketing plan (yeah, I know...roll your eyes), I find myself thinking about things like this. There are so many options. Excerpt books, lip balm, notebooks, pens, pencils, stress balls, posters, computer brushes, bookmarks, post cards, etc. So I thought I'd poll my writer friends with experience for curiosity sake since I am st...

This month marks the half-way point  of my term as President of the Oklahoma City Writers, Inc. As I prepare this week for our 1st summer workshop meeting, I must admit that I am smiling. So far I have managed to do exactly what I set out to do when I decided to take on this new endeavor. 1)I've brought new life into a group that seemed a bit tired. 2)I've reached many new writers that didn't even know this group, that has been around for almost 100 years, was here. 3)I've made so many new friends and valuable connections. 4)I've found a critique group home. And it is only half way!!!! I cannot wait to see what the 2nd half of my term brings. Hopefully a contract from the publishing house I submitted to 4 weeks ago! *wink wink* Do you belong to a writing community? If not, I would encourage you to look around. Google is an amazing tool for finding your local community. That is how I found my group! If you belong to a local group, give them a shout out an...