What are *lizzie starr's Halloween Favorites?

If you've made your way here past blogger's defenses, congratulations. And if you're here for a second time because the first time there was nothing here...thank you for trying again! Whether it was gremlins or ghosts, something spooky stopped my original post.

And now.... a real, renewed blog post.

Welcome!

Click on the banner to return to the main event page for the Addictive Reads Halloween Favorites event and links to the other blogs. Don't forget to sign up for prizes with the Rafflecopter!

Okay, *lizzie's favorites. To be truthful, Halloween isn't one of my favorite times. But, that doesn't mean I don't have favorites. Like chocolate. What's a candy oriented holiday without chocolate? 

But, I can do without chocolate. (Oh my goodness--did I just say that?)

What I can't do without during the Halloween season is a viewing...or two...of Hocus Pocus!

Okay, I'll admit it. I don't have to wait for the crisp air and red leaves of fall to watch this movie. It's one of my all time, use the lines in everyday conversations, favorite movies. These witches can do no wrong. Oh, wait. They can. That's what makes them the Sanderson sisters.

I love this song, too. Pretty much by any artist. But Winnie, she does it best. (Hey, did you know my hero in Keltic Flight, participates in an amateur strip contest to this song?)

Happy Halloween!

#AReBlast First day of summer discounts!

All Romance eBooks is having a Summer Blast to celebrate the first day of summer. Hey, that's today!

Over 23,000 books--including mine--are on sale for 25% off. Well, not all my books. Not By Keltic Design or Dead Lily Blooms. It's difficult to give 25% off free.

It doesn't matter where you'll be reading this summer, you'll need some good books! Stop by the sale and complete a series, find something new from a favorite author or, most fun of all, discover a tale brand new to you that will become a favorite!

And if my books fit into one of those categories--thank you. 

Happy Reading!

 

Click here to go to *lizzie's author page!

Candy Guy--The Blurb

Candy Guy is in trouble. Winning a design contest will prove his abilities as a chocolatier, but creativity eludes him. An enchanting intruder invades Trace’s workspace. She may be real, or she might be a dream. It doesn’t matter. Desire consumes him at her lingering touch and the deep chocolate flavor of her kiss.

Deleesi hopes to end the ancient fey curse haunting her family, but the handsome wisher defies her sleep-inducing magic. Something in this human calls to her soul, and, unbelievably, to her heart. The sensual distraction proves impossible to ignore, even while granting his unspoken wish.

By the end of the rainy afternoon, Trace has his inspiration. But will he ever again see the tiny woman who captivated his heart and became his muse?

Available soon!

(Watch this space...)

Tax Relief--#AREBLAST

If you're in the United States, today's the day. For taxes. (Mine have been done for quite a while--thank goodness!) Did you survive?

For romance readers it's also...

http://www.allromanceebooks.com/

All of my books are 25% off at All Romance E Books for today only! Click on the banner to be taken to *lizzie starr's page at ARe. 

Happy book hunting and of course, happy reading!

**If you're here for the Authors In Bloom blog, just click here.

Authors in Bloom in the Stars

Welcome to starrwords, the blogging home of author *lizzie starr. I'm so glad you're joining us on this blog hop. As you hop from blog to blog you'll find gardening tips, recipes, and contests. It's not any different here. 

My main gardening tip--let someone else do the hard work. Just enjoy the beauty. Now, I don't mind getting my hands dirty, and the results are well worth the effort. But if all I had to do was wander, look, touch, dream, and inhale, I'd be delighted. 

Nature has a fascination with the star shape, just like I do. Although... most of the earthly star shapes aren't really the shape of an actual blazing, gaseous star, are they? 

 From wildflowers to cultivated lilies to cacti and succulents, those marvelous star shapes are everywhere.

Even in cooking. I'm not a fan of star anise, but the star fruit--that's a different story. In fact, I'll bet some star fruit would make a tasty addition and some delightful decoration to the following simple salad.

Awesome Apple Salad

4 apples cored and diced

1/3 cup orange juice

1 1/2 cup grapes-cut in half

2 large cans mandarin oranges-drained

Mix everything together gently. Chill and serve.

I have a giveaway, too. Let me know your favorite star shaped item--whether natural or man made--along with your email in the comments section below for a chance to win your choice of either a double strand, stretchy, spring flower bracelet or your pick of any download from the starr library. And hey, if you sign up for my newsletter and let me know that in your comment, your name will be entered not twice, but three times! Already get News from the Starr? Let me know and you'll get those three entries. Sounds like a deal to me! 

I know you're excited to visit more authors in the hop and increase your odds of winning our Grand Prize, so just click below for the list of blogs. 

Thanks for visiting! 
I hope to see you again, soon!

*lizzie always made up games and stories to keep her company. So, a cunning witch lived in Grampa’s weather research station and was only held at bay by waving a certain weed. An ancient road grader morphed into a boat carrying wild adventurers to islands filled with fierce lions and dangerous cannibals, which really looked a lot like sheep. Now, filled with fantasy, love, and romance with a sparkling twist, the stories of her imagination swirl their way into the mundane world. When *lizzie must return to a more routine life, she’s *the Lunch Lady* at a private school. Author and lunch lady~~what a combination!

 

Chocolate, Story Time and Newsletters

Last week a great writer friend, Sherri Shackleford, handed me a special piece of chocolate she'd saved from a box of gourmet chocolates. Now, the sharing of chocolate between authors isn't that big of a deal. Chocolate is a significant part of life's blood for many of us.

What made this particular treat special is that it reminded her of the chocolate on the cover of my next short story release.

Candy Guy and the Chocolate Brownie

Candy Guy is the first short story from The Keltic Multiverse, the worlds discovered and explored in The Double Keltic Triad, and Children of the Keltic Triad series. Serieses? What's the plural of series? (It's...duh, series.) Anyway, this is the tale of a man who is both a chocolate maker and a chocolatier. Distinction? Well, a chocolate maker makes chocolate from the cacao beans and a chocolatier makes confections from the chocolate.

But that's not important now.

I'd share the blurb with you, but I haven't written it yet. I find those so much more difficult than writing the story. For now I'll just tell you that this fantasy romance short story blends the human world with that of the fey as smooth as chocolate melts on your tongue.

And the cover? The first reveal will be in the premier issue of News From The Starr. So, please sign up using the contact form on the right. This newsletter will arrive in your email occasionally. I don't allow or condone spam or unauthorized sharing of information, so don't worry about that. Of course you can unsubscribe at any time. (yes, I know. Many of you have signed up for the newsletter and have seen nothing. That will change. Promise. ) I'll be sharing news, tidbits, contests...oh, who knows what!

Candy Guy and the Chocolate Brownie will be released mid-April. Stay tuned.

Need something to read before then? Click on the pic below (ha, click on the pic.) to visit the Starr Library. There's even a couple of free reads there for you.

Candy Guy likes deep, rich, dark chocolate. I'm a milk chocolate kinda girl. What type of chocolate do you like best?

Gifts of Love--An Addictive Reads Event

Welcome to Gifts of Love, the Addictive Reads Valentine Blog Hop.

For this hop the challenge is to list the best five gifts received--or given--for Valentine's day. I will admit to being a bit of a grinch on this day, so I've thought long and hard. And I'm still...ambivalent. So, since I write romance, and my characters are much better with romantic gestures, I thought I'd share a few of those gifts of love--even though none of these moments happen on Valentine's day.

A traditional gift--Chocolate. In the second book of the Double Keltic Triad, Fires of a Keltic Moon, Lara travels through time to ancient Scotland. Like time travelers aren't supposed to do, she takes a part of the modern world back with her--a bag of chocolates. Of course, Iain discovers the treat, and his own sweet tooth. Sharing something you love is an excellent gift.

A song. Picking the perfect song to represent your relationship, the joy of your wedding, the enduring affection through difficult times--I won't argue with that. Even though some of my relationship songs are a bit off beat. (The Pina Colada song for our honeymoon? Really?) Better than that, in one of my works in progress, Toccata and Fugue, Jeffrey is a cellist torn between his love of both classical music and cello rock. One thing he doesn't question is how he feels about Sapphire. So, he composes, and plays, special music just for her. Ah, now that's dreamy.

Creating a special moment. Those memorable moments don't have to include rose petals in a scented bath or the flicker of candlelight or the lazy drift of gauze curtains in a soft breeze. Sometimes you don't even need to step that far out of the ordinary. In By Keltic Design, Jaye prepares a meal for Allyn, and creates an amazing tablescape. In Birds Do It!, Garr and Birdie visit an antique fair and find a glass macaw to commemorate the day. Now, in Blue Keltic Moon, Gowthaman does create a romantic moment at a desert oasis, complete with those drifty curtains and tiny fairy musicians playing in the trees. But it's not the moment...it's the person you're with that's important.

I love dancing. In my work in progress, Ryder's Heart, Vianna doesn't know how to dance, well, how to slow dance to a country tune. Ryder, of course, teaches her. And not in public at the bar, but at home, to music only they can hear. Aw, I'm getting all...aw. For a totally different dance moment, in Keltic Flight, Korin dances only for Nanceen. In the bar this time. On amateur strip night. This dance makes me grin.

 Flowers should be given at any and all times. So there. This best gift of love doesn't come from one of my books, but rather from my day job. For the past couple of years there's been a fund raiser that fills the halls (and sometimes my walk-in refrigerator) with rose bouquets. Last year, one of the pre-kindergarten classes gave me a rose. I still have that rose, dried and hanging next to the calendar over my desk. Simply thinking about how proud those precious young ones were to hand me a flower makes me smile. 

And isn't that good feeling what gifts of love are all about?

Find out about the Addictive Reads prizes for this blog hop by visiting our event site here. Follow the links below to visit all the blogs to increase your chances of winning. 

And if you leave me a comment and mention the best flowers you've ever received, I'll enter you in a drawing for a flowery stretchy bracelet. 

May all your Valentine wishes come true!

smar-T Goals

(Today we finish up reviewing SMART goals. I've added to this post because it felt undone, incomplete, not finished...you get the picture.)

T for Timely, Time-based, Tangible and Trackable.

When you create a goal, there needs to be an end point to give a clear target for you to work towards. If you don't have a Target (hey, another T word), your goal is no longer SMART--it becomes vague. Why is this? Because without an ending, you can start any time. There is no built in urgency, so why start now?

When choosing a time frame, use many of the same aspects of a SMART goal. Your time must be measurable, attainable--and realistic. It would be great to start and finish a novel by the first day of spring, but how realistic is that for most of us? Is it attainable--oh, perhaps--if I don't go to my day job, interact with family and friends, or take showers. However, it is a reasonable, stretching goal for me to say I will write one chapter a week to take to critique.

One of the more difficult aspects of the T is striking a balance between having enough time to achieve and giving yourself too much time. Planning for too much time has the same result as not setting a time frame at all. Take my weekly chapter. Doable. I've done it before--just not consistently. But what if I change my goal to say I'll do one chapter a month for critique. How much you wanna bet I wouldn't even start that chapter until the last week of the month? There's no urgency until then. And, such a goal wouldn't stretch my abilities at any time--except that one week.

(I can't believe I didn't say anything about Tangible or Trackable. So, here's a few additional thoughts...

Tangible. That means your goal is concrete, touchable. Saying I'm going to write a short story and publish it is a dream. Dreams are great and can be an excellent starting point for a goal. To make your dreams tangible, follow the SMART goal letters and set a word count in a certain time period goal. 

Trackable. That's an easy one. Those who know me understand that I push the use of a calendar or planner of some sort to keep track of words/pages written, edits, submissions, oh, just about everything writing related. Tracking your progress can also be as easy as noting the word count on your document every day. An important part of tracking the progress to the completion of your goal is accountability. Hey, maybe I should add accountability to my 'A' words. Of course you are accountable to yourself. Writing that chapter weekly for critique makes you accountable. Find an accountability partner or two. And make a daily or weekly goal to check in with them!

I've re-learned some important things in reposting these blogs about SMART goals. Let me know if you've found these helpful, or if they hit home on some point (that's me!) or if they were merely irritating. Hey, you never know...

Happy writing and even happier reading!)



sma-R-t Goals

(welcome to day R, which today also stands for Repeat. Like I'm repeating this blog.)

 

Lots of Rs today: Realistic, Relevant, Reasonable, Rewarding, Results-oriented.

Much of what I said yesterday about Achievable goals is Relevant today. Your goals should fall within your personal resources, knowledge and time and should push you--your skills and knowledge--but not be so unReasonable that it breaks your writing spirit.

Having Realistic goals, doesn't mean you've made easy goals. If you aim too low, or don't frequently review your goal success and build upon it, you are sending the message to your subconscious that you aren't capable. It is difficult to reach a balance though, since making your goals too difficult is a simple set up for failure. Review your goals, over and over. Weekly is excellent, but take the time at least monthly for some serious goal review and consideration.

Continually set the bar high enough to give yourself the satisfaction of achievement.

(As I was reading this over, I Realized that I'm particularly bad at reviewing my goals on a timely and consistent basis. So I've been missing out on celebrating the small accomplishments that lead ultimately to large accomplishments--in this case, a completed story to share with the world. Which problem do you have with your goals? Do make them too easy--or too difficult to achieve?)

sm-A-rt Goals

(Talkin' about the letter A in your smart goals today.)

Attainable, Achievable, Action -Oriented

First you create goals that are important to YOU, then you figure out the ways needed to make them happen. In writing, this means you develop the attitudes, abilities and skills needed to reach those goals. One good way to do this is to make one of your goals each year a concentration on one aspect of your writing. Maybe you need to work on transitions so the reader will easily understand how much time has passed. Or you need to work on your layer of adding the five senses. Or using action verbs instead of writing passively. 

Each goal should stretch you. If you've consistently written 100 words a day this past year (theme alert) then your stretching goal could be 125 or 150 words a day. Then each day when you meet that goal, you give yourself a mental pat on the back and the encouragement to do the same thing tomorrow.

But if you've been writing 100 words a day then decide your goal needs to be 1000 words a day--you may be reaching too far. If your goal seems out of reach, will you really commit to it? Your subconscious will constantly remind you that the goal is out of reach (hmm rather like our internal editors, huh) and those reminders will undermine your goal by keeping you from doing your best.

If you do want to build to 1000 words a day, make smaller goals. Perhaps you will writer 150 words a day for two weeks. Once you discover you can do that easily, reevaluate your goals and set a new goal for 250 words a day for two weeks. Success will build upon success and keep you motivated.

As with so many things we put on our goal lists-- decluttering, losing weight, reading a certain number of books--building our writing career is best taken in small, manageable steps. Once you're used to taking those steps, you'll be amazed at how much faster you find yourself moving forward!

(I can't help it. I just had to add a little music for today. From one of my favorite and most inspiring movies. Enjoy.)

/i>

s-M-art Goals

(Good morning and welcome to the M of SMART goals.)

M stands for measurable, meaningful and motivational.

"If you can't measure it--you can't manage it."

In order to measure a goal you need to know if what you set out to accomplish is obtainable, as well as how far away the completion is. Otherwise, how will you know when the goal has been achieved?

One of the pitfalls of goal setting is making your goal too vague. For instance, your goal states 'I want to finish the damn book'. Sounds overwhelming doesn't it? When is the book considered finished? How will you see the changes that occur, the progress you make on a FTDB challenge?

Establish concrete criteria to measure your progress. How about something like... 'I will write X words a day (sense a theme here?) to complete a chapter each week to take to critique.' You can measure this easily by the words you write. This is a meaningful goal--you're working on your career. Motivational? Of course. When you measure your progress, it's easier to stay on track to reach your target completions. And, don't you feel good when you review your goal and see you wrote that weekly chapter? That excitement and exhilaration can and will carry you forward into the next week. And the one beyond that. 

(To infinity and beyond!--not to put too fine a point on it! Couldn't resist making a couple of movie references. Guess which movies.)

Before you know it, you've reached your major goal!

How cool is that? 

S-mart Goals

(The first post spelling out SMART. The question of the day for writer friends is this--did you have a goal to complete a book in 2011? I know that's taking us back a few years, but surely you remember. Was it a SMART goal? Did you meet that goal? Here we go... the letter S.)

The S of SMART goals stands for specific, significant, stretching.

Your specific goals should be well-defined, straight forward and emphasize what you want to accomplish. It's where you want to focus your efforts.

Specific is the What, Why, and How of your goal.

What: easy--what are you going to do? Use action words. Hmm, that's rather like showing rather than telling, isn't it?
Why: why is this goal important to you?
How:  how are you going to accomplish the goal. Here is where you really need to be specific by giving a time frame. Having a 'finish by' date helps further along in the SMART goal process, so you might as well be ready for it.

As an example--instead of making your goal to finish a book in 2011 (which only really generally gives a hint of what you want to do and by when...) a SMART goal might say something like : I will write X number of words a day (Hey! That sounds familiar!) to complete name of manuscript by this date.

Significant? That's pretty simple, too. If your goal wasn't significant to you, you probably wouldn't be thinking about it.

Stretching? Don't make your goal too easy. If you normally write, oh, say, 100 words a day--stretch to 150 words a day. Stretching isn't always easy (in either the mental or physical sense). Maybe you'll be a little sore, but the end results will be well worth the stretch.

So have a good stretch and start thinking seriously about your SMART goals.

(Oh, and today---Happy New Year 2015!)