...and then this happened.

We writers can easily fall into a funk. I'm not talking about writer's block. I'm talking about that questioning of why we do what we do. Book sales rise and fall and, when they fall, it's easy to begin to question the time and effort and the expense put into producing a book. When everything is quiet, sales are slow, no reviews are coming in, it's a challenge not to just put the laptop away and do something else. Of course, most of us can't do that. It would be like holding our breath until we pass out. I had a weekend of such questioning and decided I needed to call a family meeting. So I got us all together to remind myself of why I do what I do. Why do I invest so much time and energy and my own resources into putting out books? I looked at my website. My branding says, Writing for Women: Stories of strength, love, humor and hope. 

Well, there it is--why I write. Other than the fact that it's a passion that gives me much more than it demands. I write to give people hope. To bring a smile to someone. To make my readers feel--happy, sad, hopeful, not so much alone. I write to entertain. I write because--for as demanding and challenging as it can be--writing is a passion that is a constant for me. I sat down and began to browse through my books and then this happened:

Here we are at the family meeting. I'm so proud of all my children. And, yes, they did a great job of reminding why I write.

Finding the Real Thing

I'm not married. Have never been married. But I do know a little about relationships and, having worked for a time as a therapist providing couples counseling, I learned a lot more. One thing I know for sure: Marriage is not easy. In my new book, THE REAL THING, Jane and Mitch Devereaux have a nearly twenty-year marriage that is sorely tested by change. Writing as author Janelle DuMonde, Jane has been using her marriage and her husband to work out the finer points of her book plots. Mitch resents being used as a "sex slave-slash-model" for Janelle's heroes. He decides they need some time and distance between them; Jane is confused and terrified by his departure. But something keeps pulling them back to one another. Something won't allow them to just let go.

Jane and Mitch discover that sometimes love can be found in a most unexpected place -- right where you left it.

I hope you'll check out THE REAL THING, now available in ebook and trade paperback at Amazon.com. 

Being Your Own Best Friend

So, it's my birthday! Yay, me!!! And, no, I'm not telling which one. But if you go by the photo, you know I've been around a while. I like to think I'm old enough to know better and still young enough not to care.

I've had so many invitations from friends over this week, all wanting to celebrate this day with me. I'm so blessed with good and caring friends and so very grateful. Now some understand my decline of invitations on this particular day and some look a bit puzzled. I love to celebrate life with my friends. Just not ON my birthday. My tradition has long been to spend this day WITH myself. Not 'by myself' as some people suggested, saying that was not a good thing.

It took me a long time to grow into this person I am today, to get to know her, to accept her faults and failings and to acknowledge her gifts and talents. As narcissistic as this may sound, I like me and I enjoy spending time with me. I'll relax, reflect, offer thanks for this wonderful gift of life, remember losses and look ahead to the future. Most of all, I'll celebrate ME. No agenda, just options. No schedule, just time.

My wish for all of you is that you (if you haven't already) become your own best friend!

I'd like to celebrate today by giving something to others. To that end, I will give away AT LEAST five (maybe more) Audible copies of my Romantic Suspense novel, PROTECTION to the first people who comment on this post. You can check it out on Audible.com and listen to a sample here:
http://www.audible.com/pd/Romance/Protection-Audiobook/B012DWPABG/ref=a_search_c4_1_2_srImg?qid=1438968879&sr=1-2

Just click below and leave a comment about how you spend time WITH yourself. It's that simple. I'm off to play now. I'll check back in later and announce the winners. Oh, be sure you check back, too so you can send me your email addy if you win.

Cheers.

Linda