One of my friends put a cool new spin on her "30 Days of Thankfulness" this year, so I'm going to follow suit. 
For each day of November, I'll try to share something for which I am thankful, using each letter of the alphabet.  Not sure what I'll do for the last four days of the month, but you get the idea.  Some days, it might get a little mushy, but other days, eh.  No promises.  'Tis the season!
So, here goes:
A is for Army. I'm really grateful for the life experiences and the exposure that I might not have had if I had never joined the U.S. Army. (That's yesterday's letter.)

B is for battles (as in, battle buddies). These folks have been as close as or closer than family to me for more than half my life.  I'm thankful for all of my battles, past, present and future.  Here's  your mush.  I love you all.

Been thinking about it all day, and I can't quite decide if I'm flattered or mortified that someone compared the
spicy bits of my book to 50 Shades of Grey.  Honestly, though, a person can't help but be flattered to be compared to any bestselling work, but considering my own opinion of said work, I can't help but be pretty embarrassed, too. 
I mean, sure. I know I have a freaky side, but is the work really that raunchy?  Oh my goodness.
Hmmm.  I was actually going for a little more substance and a little less sauce, but the truth is that it all makes the soup. So, either way...Soup's on!
I'm just thankful as all get out to be read.  That's the point.  Readers are always the point.
But more than just read, I want to be respected. I want to be credible, memorable, substantial.  I don't want to just be fluff and filler.  Empty or guilty calories.  Mindless entertainment only.  Meh.  Although...mindless entertainment is not necessarily a bad thing.
But who says I can't have little bit of both, saucy and substantial?  I would like to have  achieved that balance for The Other Side of 30, but maybe the best stuff is leftover for The Other Side of 40.  Who really knows?  I sure don't.
As for the one minute or less elevator pitch, there may or may not be progress.  I keep re-pitching and re-thinking and re-pitching and re-thinking all of this stuff in my head, and I think I'm getting it just about down to roux level, but it's hard to tell without pitching it out loud to someone.  I guess I'll have to mix up a few words and pitch them at work tomorrow, just to get an idea of whether or not I'm headed in the right direction.

Every time someone asks me what my book, The Other Side of 30, is about, I find myself scrambling to fine tune my elevator pitch.  I was at my cousin's wedding reception this weekend, and when the subject came up, and I was asked for the "one minute of less" summary, I completely botched it.  So today, I worked on it a little more, and here's the latest one that rolled off my fingertips:

A young woman turns 30 and basically loses her mind, trying to hold on to her "last chance" at love before going "over the hill." The problem is that she sets her sights on an old boyfriend who is newly married, and his wife
is a friend of hers.  From one decision to the next, her biological clock and better judgment are constantly embattled.
Regardless of knowing better, she finds herself willing to do, on the other side of 30, whatever she thinks it takes to get what she thinks she wants:  A ring, a husband, a family, and such things that are suddenly so appealing about the "normal life" that she once rejected, but now she believes is passing her by.

I think I can rattle off that bit in a minute or less.  I think.

As for substance, I also tried to toss in a few messages about how easily some people, even those who seem the strong, smart types, can become completely unfocused and lose sight of their own self worth to social pressures, real and perceived. I mean, let's face it.  Perception is reality.  Mix that in with a little bit of the "grass is not always greener" angle, and the "people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones" philosophy, and that just about does it.  I just hope the delivery isn't too heavy-handed, but we'll see.

And of course, there are a few sex scenes sprinkled in for good measure, to help move the story along.
What I need is a good tag line.  "Trying to make a future out of her past will make a mess of her present," is fitting, but it doesn't pop!  And it doesn't speak to the whole biological clock/social pressures thing.  And I repeat the word, "make," so it still needs work.  Hmmm.

 

Thanks, so much, to everyone for supporting my 2nd release of The Other Side of 30 (TOST2). I'm pitching it as "a little saucy, seedy story of a good girl with bad intentions."  We'll see how that grabs folks.
I got some good feedback on my most recent elevator pitch, too.  I'm going to post it here.  If any of you want to offer feedback, I welcome it, as always.  Here goes:

The Other Side of 30 is a story about a woman who, after what was supposed to be this one last fling with an old boyfriend, a few weeks before his wedding to someone else, decides that she wants a second chance at what might have been.  Sebrina Cooper finds herself in unfamiliar territory on the other side of right, the other side of betrayal, the other side of friendship, and she also happens to be on the other side of the age of thirty.  

With all of these moral and ethical dilemmas embattling her biological clock, she's driven and manipulated most by whichever one is speaking the loudest at any given moment.  Sometimes, it doesn't matter that his new wife is a friend of hers, which was a complete accident.  It doesn't matter that glass house that she's unwittingly constructed for herself is only one misstep away from shattering into a mess of jagged little pieces.  Other times, it does.

No matter what happens with this title, if it takes off or not, people need to know that I'm thankful for their support and encouragement.  Without that, I'd surely have given up on this dream of writing something that matters to somebody besides me.  I think that gratitude is always a good look.  It's important to acknowledge people.  Period.  So again, you all are super awesome. Thanks, for reading, commenting, and spreading the word!

Sometimes, I have so much audacity, it scares me.  I can stand up tall, square-shouldered, sure-footed, bold, and focused, with ideas and dreams from here to high heaven.
Other times, I wonder, "Who am I to dare?  To expect?  To demand?"  Other times, my fears hover over me, bully me, tie me up in a dark room and leave me shaking and crying.
It's weird. 
I hope audacious me prevails.

So, to add to the awesomeness that is already my writing life, last week, I was nominated for the Liebster Blog Award by my friend, fellow blogger (and subscriber) Eva Rieder. 
As part of the nomination, I have been given a few questions to answer.  I am flattered and encouraged that someone is enjoying my blog.  I'm not sure what else to do besides answer the questions and post them here, so here goes:

1. What prompted you to set up a blog?
I started my first blog in/around 2005, on a site called BlogIt, because I wanted to connect with other writers and possible readers for my yet-to-be-born book, The Other Side of 30.  I guess I must have caught the blog bug, because I've had several blogs since the BlogIt blog, including on MySpace, Blogger, She Writes, Wordpress, and on my publishing site, New Renaissance Ink.  I started this Write on Time  blog in 2010, shortly after I self-published my book, again, hoping to connect with potential readers.

2. When did you discover you liked to write, and why?
I discovered my love for writing when I was about seven years old.  I wanted to be like my uncle Harvey, who wrote poems.  I like the way his poems made people think, and smile, and even moved to tears.  I wanted to do that.

3. What is your favorite writing setting? (Coffee shop, office, etc.)
I like to write at home on the weekends.  I guess that's because that's where and when I get most of my down time with very few distractions.

4. What is your favorite time of day? Least favorite?
My favorite time of day is around 4:30pm on Fridays.  My least favorite time of day is about 9:30pm on Sunday (or whatever day is the last day of the weekend).

5. If you could have anything you wanted, at this moment, what would it be?
At this moment, a bacon sandwich and a tall glass of cold raspberry lemonade.

6. What is your guilty pleasure?
Watching poorly done Youtube videos, and then talking about how poorly done they are.

7. If you were trapped on an island with only three things, what would they be?
Food, baby wipes, a good book.

8. What is your favorite animal?
I don't seem to have a favorite animal.

9. How would you describe yourself in five words or less?
Nerdy, but nearly normal

10. You are offered $100,000,000, but you may never write again. Do you take the money? (Crazy question, I know!)
Nope!

11. What is your favorite television show, and why?
The original Law & Order, whenever I catch it on. 

Now, I believe the rules require me to nominate other bloggers and ask a series of .  I don't read a lot of blogs, but I am subscribed to many of the ones that Eva already nominated.  One other to which I'm subscribed is Insatiable Booksluts.  It's a blog maintained by three bloggers who read and review books by lesser known authors.  I think they're pretty cool.

So...the hunk across the way apparently already has a love-lust interest. My chances of ravishing his body are a dwindling by the moment.  Well, if that don't beat all.
I suppose I knew this was possible. Not that my nameless neighbor would get his own potential boo-bunny-sex slave just when I was warming up to him.  But that I've created a post that leads to another post.  So be it. 
He really is completely lust-worthy.  To the point that if even says anything else to me, I'm just going to jump on him.  Nobody ovulates THAT much.
I think I must blame everything on ovulating.  How else do I explain my lingering thoughts and sudden tinges of envy?  Just when I was ready to flaunt my feminine wiles and let nature take its course.  Hmph.  That heffa.
All I know is that he just better not come around me talking and smiling, or I'm just gonna pass out and let him let me have my way with him.
Scene set up: 
Me:  Walking to the mailbox is bare, freshly pedicured feet, wearing a white camisole and black yoga pants.  (I'm still fine enough to pull it off.) 
Him:  Just happening to be coming home from work.  Flashes smile.  Says something. It doesn't matter what.
He holds the door.  I "clumsily" drop my mail, and perform one of those kneel down to pick it up in slow motion moves.  Smiling on the way down and on the way back up.  He says something else.  I jump his bones right there at the mailbox.
Okay.  Well, yeah.  That needs work.

I received a blog tag from a writer friend today called, "Tell Me About Yourself."  I'm supposed to post seven random things.  Here goes:

1.  Kindness and generosity are at the top of my 25 character strengths; yet, forgiveness and mercy are near the bottom.  Some grudges will have to be pried from my cold, dead fingers.
2.  I hate driving.  I'd rather buy ALL of the gas for a road trip than spend one minute behind the wheel.
3.  When I'm really amused, I laugh like Betty Rubble.  My shoulders shake and everything.
4.  I sing in the shower.
5.  Given the choice between sleeping and eating, I always choose sleeping.  I'll eat when I wake up.
6.  I still have my wisdom teeth.
7.  I can retire from the Army in about two years.  After that, I want to be a barber, and pursue writing and publishing part time.

Well, that's it.  While we're sharing, feel free to share something or things about yourself. :