J. Lynn Rowan - Her Writerly Life!

Welcome J. Lynn Rowan!

When I was young, I dreamed of becoming a published author. I imagined the accolades, the throngs of adoring fans clamoring for me to autograph their copies of my best-selling novels. I expected to exist in a beautifully appointed office with lots of windows to admit natural light, where I would scribble out sagas and epics and otherwise live the writerly life.
Dreaming of such things is easy when you’re an imaginative preteen. Then, you learn.
Passion is a definitely a requirement for any author, at any stage of the journey. But writing requires more. It requires dedication. It requires time and energy. It requires you to put your butt in the chair and words on the page.
It requires you to, sometimes, choose between your craft and the other pieces of your life.
I wear many hats. On any given day, you could call me a teacher, a mom, and a wife. And when I manage my time the right way, or when my toddler naps longer than thirty minutes, or when I don’t have a stack of papers to grade at night, I get to also put on my author hat.
Every author would agree that productivity is the result of excellent time management. Some authors do best with marathon sessions at the keyboard. Before the birth of my daughter a year and some change ago, I often had days when inspiration hit, and I would look at the clock to discover five hours in the chair had passed and I’d forgotten to eat lunch. Other authors like to use some version of a “sprint” session, where you set a timer and write like mad until the timer goes off. After my daughter was born, I started using sprint sessions to get something – anything – done on my current WIP. Sometimes it was a chapter, other times just a couple pages. I recall one instance when my little one was about three months old that I wrote – no joke – a sentence before she woke up from an absurdly short nap.
Upon landing my contract with Soul Mate Publishing for my “Sweet Somethings” series, of which my debut novel, Better Than Chocolate, is the first installment, I made a deal with my husband. He would take charge of the baby for the entire morning every Saturday morning, up through the end of naptime. We would eat breakfast and lunch together as a family, but beyond that, Saturday would be my time to write. 
This agreement has proven vital. I’m the sort of person who wants to put 100% into whatever I’m doing. I want to be there 100% for my family, 100% for my students, and 100% for my writing. I’m not that great at math, but even I can see that those numbers don’t quite add up. You can’t be 100% for everything all the time. Many days, I have to take off my author hat in order to effectively wear my Mommy hat or my teacher hat. But if I didn’t take time, if I didn’t have that time, to put on my author hat, I would be short changing myself and the dreams I held when I was fourteen.
No author can operate in a vacuum. Yes, writing is, by its very nature, a solitary craft. But without the support of family and friends, it’s difficult to survive, let alone thrive, in this busy world as an author. Especially if you have many other full-time hats you need to wear.

J. Lynn's Newest Release 


Click HERE for an Excerpt

More About J. Lynn: 
J. Lynn Rowan started writing stories as a small child, usually starring her favorite cartoon characters. Most of her work through middle and high school was filled with typical teenage angst and melodrama, and usually mirrored the books she loved to read. But eventually she found her own author’s voice and decided to seriously pursue a writing career.

Historical fiction remains J. Lynn’s “first love”, but she has enjoyed the journey to becoming an author of romance and chick lit. She is a member of Romance Writers of America, the Central New York Romance Writers, and the Historical Novel Society. She is also a teacher who tries to instill a love of learning, reading, and writing in her students.

When she’s not writing, J. Lynn enjoys traveling, gardening poorly but enthusiastically, studying various topics in American history for her own expertise, and channeling Julia Child every time she steps into the kitchen.

A native of Oswego, NY, she now lives in Charlotte, NC, with her own Romantic Hero of a husband and the most adorable baby on the planet.


Connect with J. Lynn Rowan!

Email: jlynnrowanliterature@gmail.com
Website: http://jlynnrowanliterature.wordpress.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/JLynnRowan
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/JLynnRowanLit
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/jlynnrowan/
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/channel/UClfsVyA4LQYMA0Cq7T1rb6w
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14191767.J_Lynn_Rowan
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/J.-Lynn-Rowan/e/B012YC8PQ2/

 
Better Than Chocolate Buy Links:
http://www.amazon.com//dp/B012X1IJD8

Welcome Carly Jordynn! It's the Most Excellent Time of Year

Readers, 
Please welcome Carly Jordynn talking about the most Wonderful Busy Excellent Time of Year and her newest newest novel Forest of the Mist: Awakening.





It’s the Most Wonderful Busy Excellent Time of the Year
Yes, I am THAT person. I’m that annoying person who has the Christmas countdown from 99 days and down to THE DAY. I can’t help it, I love Christmas, the season, the meaning behind it, the food, the gifts, the sharing, and the laughter.
The season kicks in at Thanksgiving for me. Thanksgiving is a day to be grateful for all our blessings, families, and friends. The biggest shopping day of the year follows and then the Christmas season really gets going. There are parties to plan, food to prepare or buy if you are like me J, and presents to shop for. I love finding that special gift that someone will just adore. I get excited seeing the joy on their faces. Don’t get me wrong . . . I love the getting part too it’s just that I enjoy the giving more.
Christmas is also a very stressful time of year for all the reasons listed above. There is an extra strain on finances. My day job has the end of the year crunch so tension mounts daily to get all the work done. To add even more worry, try being an author too. You have edits, blogs, writing, all in preparation for the next book release. Lastly, let’s not forget about all the added activities for the kids. By time New Year’s rolls around, I am ready for a mini-vacation.
By mid-January, I’m back on my regular schedule and energized for all the possibilities and opportunities the New Year has to offer. So, readers, I hope you have a joyous Christmas season with your family and friends. By the way, books make a great gift. Just saying. . .
Forest of the Mist: Awakening Blurb:
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ALEX McGUIRE never dreamed his life would take such a turn. His plan to complete college, become a lawyer, and marry his girlfriend, LILY LAVERY, tanked following his kidnapping to the alternate realm known as Paradise Valley. Now Alex has been ordered by a dead man, DAVID KYLE, to marry his young wife, JENNIFER BURKE KYLE, and raise their infant son, DAVY KYLE, as his own. That would be a great plan if it weren’t for the fact that Jennifer is still in a coma, has never met him, and her son has some strange attributes too.

JENNIFER BURKE KYLE woke from the coma to the realization that she was a widow and the mother of a young son who could read minds, create portals to an alternate realm, and have unforeseen growth spurts when he is in or near Paradise Valley. As if that wasn’t enough, a complete stranger has stated he is to marry her and raise her son as his own. All on the order of her dead husband, David.

DAVY KYLE was tickled pink that Alex McGuire would be his Dad and couldn’t wait for his mother to wake from the coma so the wedding could take place. What Davy didn’t see, was the trouble in the form of PRI, otherwise known as the Percival Research Institute. PRI agents were after his family and it was going to be up to Davy to hide them all until it was safe.

Together, Alex, Jennifer, Davy, and their friends from Paradise Valley, must join together to keep the family safe, destroy PRI, and protect the still comatose COLIN O’BRIEN, the last member of their Paradise Valley family. With the help of student nurse, DEANA COOK, they may just succeed in their plan and find happiness along the way.



Hello Carly!
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Carly Jordynn is a writer from Northern Kentucky who loves to weave tales of fantasy, paranormal, and romance. When she isn’t writing a book, she writes lyrics for the Christian band, Phil Parks and One Step Closer.
Carly loves to travel. You can find her at various conferences and other author events throughout the year. Her hobbies include: travel, photography, reading, party-planning, dinner with friends, and hanging out with her family.
Carly is a member of the Romance Writers of America and the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators.

 Connect With Carly!