Overworked author's have a bevy of NY resolutions. Here are mine:
1. Write more
2. Market more
3. Exercise more
4. Read more
5. Get more reviews for my book
6. Publish my next book
7. Figure out how I'm going to market two books without going insane

Basically, I need a treadmill desk for my home. I'm going to look into that. 

​Happy New Year! 

My only complaint is that it's in St. Cloud. I'm nowhere near St. Cloud. I want a mentor too. Times Media, can you sponsor one of these events in DC? Of course, I need two mentors - one for my day job as a fundraiser and one for my career as an author. I wonder if Publisher's Weekly or Preditors and Editors would want to sponsor something like this for authors...

Reading is an essential skill for everyday life, and not enough kids are reading these days. Less and less children are reading books in particular (YouTube captions maybe, but not books!). Reading Partners, a national nonprofit who brings volunteers into schools to help kids learn to read is a great organization. Now they're expanding their work in Charlotte. Does your community need more volunteers reading in schools? Contact Reading Partners and volunteer. They may already be working with your school system!

I confess, I don't watch much TV. I have a few go-to shows that my husband and I watch to wind down after a long week. However, TV does shape and reflect our popular culture. According to this article on Takepart.com it was a banner year for women in TV. African American and Black women are finally getting some of the juicy roles they deserve, more older women are on the small screen, and portrayals of women having an abortion (and humanizing that choice) were even featured in some shows. I take this as a sign that we truly are progressing on women's rights and equal treatment. We've got a long way to go, but it's a start!

It is impossible to get cuter than that. Watch the video, and happy Monday!

Physical book sales are on the rise. Ebook sales for the big five publishers are collapsing. But indie authors and those that are published through small, independent presses make up a sizable chunk of the ebook market, and their gaining ground rapidly (that includes me!). Barnes and Noble is struggling, and Amazon is king in the book market. It's a wacky publishing world!

Well, Japan may be behind the times, but between the U.S. and Singapore, Singapore might be winning when it comes to cultivating female leadership. Over 24% of their Parliament leaders are women. 

It took me three years to get published. And then I got two contracts off of Twitter pitch festivals! New platforms that connect authors to publishers and agents are the way to go, and I can't wait to check out Authors.me!