I forgot to post the contest winners!!!! The winners are everyone who posted (by the due date) their list of favorite authors/favorite books. If you posted your list on my blog, send your mailing address to cherlyn@cherlynmichaels.com and I will send you an autographed copy of my book! I'm on vacation, but you will get them the first of the year! LOL Congratulations and Happy Holidays!!!

_____________________________________________

I guess I'm getting a hang of this writing vacation thing! LOL Yes, I've still been taking care of "life" stuff and relaxing, talking, and hanging out with the friends I haven't spent much time with since I've been back in St. Louis. It's been really great. This is my last week of vacation, as I've planned to start working on book three beginning January 2, 2005.

But don't get me wrong, even while I'm on vacation, I'm still an author. I carry my promotional cards with me everywhere I go and everytime I come across readers, I give out my cards. I also keep a small stash of books either on me or in the trunk of my car. Since I'm no longer self-published, I don't have the box of books like I used to. But I figured a way around that. I invested in a small stash and every time I make a sale from it, I used the funds to restock the stash. So, I can still bring the bookstore to the people. And I've also shared a handful of books with several family members for the same thing too. They take the autographed books to their jobs. So, I'm still out here trying to work it while I'm having fun.

A colleague of mine sent me an email to congratulate me on the review of my book in Black Issues Book Review. It's in the January/February issue if you want to check it out.

Well, I'm out. Going sportbike shopping today! I hope not to be away too long. :-) But I'll be back in the swing of things at the beginning of the year. :-)

Read more...

Isn't it funny how time flies? I know I said I'd be back December 1st. I can't believe it's the 7th already!

Okay, so I can breathe a little bit. It's like, you know when you get a cold, and both your nasal passages are blocked? Then, things get a little better and one of them opens up so that you're breathing through only one side of your nose? It's not 100% clear, but hey, at least you can breathe a little? Well, that's what it's like for me right now. LOL And first, let me say that if you've sent messages to my inbox, I'm not ignoring them and I promise I will answer. :-)

So, I finally finished up that short story that I was working on for an anthology. My story is called Kettle Black and it's about a young woman who has been scarred in a marriage and thus has developed some trust issues for her future relationships. Sounds familiar doesn't it? But you know me. There's always got to be a twist. Let's just say that when we are wronged, sometimes we can come up with some pretty trifling answers and try to justify them to ourselves as reasonable. Also, while we're busy pointing out what's wrong in others and the world, sometimes we need to look within. So, when will this story surface? I don't know but I'll be sure to let you know. The line up of authors on this project is pretty awesome and I'm sitting here wondering how in the heck did I get selected. :-) It's cool, though. I'll let you know.

So, I finished the story last week and basically took another week of to relax and enjoy life. I've retired my pen for the remainder of the year and I'm trying to have a social life (while I still promote and sell out of my bag on the streets. You can never stop promoting and selling! LOL) Trying to hang with my new Ruff Ryder family (I discovered that I may have to adjust my 10PM bedtime schedule on certain days and take a nap in the afternoon!), meeting new friends and going out, hanging out with old friends. It's been cool. A girlfriend of mine called to give me two tickets to the Rams game on X-mas Eve. So, you know I'm excited about that. I've already invited a friend to go. Finding a football enthusiast who wants a free ticket is never hard to find!

But, of course, this is life and nothing is ever all fun and games. I had to go back to making a "to-do" list. All the things I neglected while trying to complete my short story, and now are urgent items that I must do if I don't want to be sued, pistol-whipped, or disowned by family and friends. And the plan is to get as much reading done as possible before I start on another short story for another anthology at the beginning of the year. Next year's writing goal is to write a minimum of 3 short stories and 2 novels. And I've learned my lesson. The plan is to do it immediately and at my leisure to prevent myself from writing under a deadline. Because that really sucks!

Read more...