Witch of the Cards Tour & Mega Giveaway Commences! March 28 - April 11

Witch of the Cards is on tour, hosted by Bewitching Books (How perfect for a witchy book). Also, a bunch of my fellow authors and bloggers are joining in the fun. A giant thanks to all! As always, tour stops go live on the day of, so make sure to pop back in to read new posts. There are guest posts about the Tarot, about why I love to set my novels in dilapidated, eerie locations, about my inspirations behind the story, and a really fun playlist, mashing up contemporary music (about witches and magic) with songs of the 1930s. A tour would not be complete without a great giveaway. So, make sure to enter the Rafflecopter below. Want to know what the prizes are? Here you go:

An earlier box - bewitching ones to come!

 One $40 gift card, two hand-painted heart-boxes (by me) with secret treasure inside, one signed paperback of Dorianna, one signed paperback of Witch of the Cards, one brand new collector Tarot deck along with an envelope full of special greeting cards (with envelopes) designed by me!

TOUR March 28 - April 11

March 28 - Guest Post - The Allure of Creepy Beach Towns as Settings
Addicted 2 Heroines

March 28 - Feature & Guest Post
In Pursuit of Publishness

March 30 - Playlist!
Dawn Brazil’s Brilliant Babbles About Books

March 29 - Feature & Excerpt
Leigh Anderson Romance

March 30 - Spotlight & Excerpt
Kristy Centeno

March 31 - Spotlight, Teasers
Ramblings of a Book Nerd

March 31 - Spotlight, Teasers
fuonlyknew

April 1 - What's in a Penname?
Mythical Books

April 1 - Spotlight
Extreme Bookaholic's Blog

April 1 - Inspirations Behind the Story!
Fresh Pot of Tea

April 4 - Guest Post - Magical Taffy & Other Weirdness
Hart’s Romance

April 4 - Feature & Why I Love Creepy Beach Towns
Christine Rains, Writer

April 4 - Feature
Ellie Garratt

April 5 - Interview - My Publishing Journey
Fang-tastic Books

April 5 - Guest Post on Settings
Julie Flanders

April 6 - Guest Post & all kinds of creepy!
Mary Pax Dimensions in Fiction

April 7 - Guest Blog - TAROT!
Juli D Revezzo
http://julidrevezzo.com/blog/

April 7 - Guest Post
Write Stuff

April 7 - Mini-excerpts!
Cherie Reich

April 7 - Spotlight
Roxanne’s Realm

April 7 - Feature
Liz Long - Your Doorway to Escape

April 8 - PLAYLIST!
Sapphyria's Book Reviews

April 8 - Review
Queen of All She Reads
http:queenofallshereads.blogspot.com

April 11 - Guest Blog & Review
Books Direct

April 11 - Feature (review TK!)
I Smell Sheep

April 11 - Feature
Bibliogal

Get it at: Amazon US, Amazon UK, iBooks, Kobo, B&N/Nook, Inktera, Amazon CA, Amazon AU, Amazon IN, Amazon DE

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Writing Retreat Renewal

photo by Helen

Recently I invited a few writer friends up to my country place for a winter retreat. We call it Idea Farm (as opposed to my Idea City blog, which I usually write while in NYC). A writing retreat is something I need to do every 6 months. In the summer, a bunch of us go to a bigger retreat, so I wanted to return the favor. One person was sidelined by gall bladder trouble, so our troop was down to three people who trust each other and work well together. Shawne is a talented novelist writing about family ghosts and Helen writes short stories, novels and reviews.

It was a perfect time to get some serious work done because it was snowy and icy outside and the wind was howling like a rabid wolf. Inside, we kept the fire stoked. I should say Helen did because I suck at arranging logs and kindling.

Our schedule: wake at 8 am and imbibe multiple cups of coffee while we gossip, talk shop, and run details of our WIPs and ideas by each other. This includes what we should name our characters and how steamy the characters and love scenes can get. Lots of belly laughs and unconditional support. Before work, we trundle off to my studio, while trying to stay aloft on the driveway aka skating rink. Once there, Helen does yoga while I use my weights, rebound trampoline and do about 75 crunches. Shawne, the sensible friend stays in the main house.

Pond view from my porch,
photo by Helen

Next it's writing time, each person to their own station. Mine is by the fire. Shawne's is in the kitchen, Helen works in a small room to "contain her abundance of energy".

I get 5,000 words done. Seems like a pittance. BUT, I'm so fired up that I finish a 65 page novella the next week! Shawne is struck by cosmic inspiration and devises a genius structure for her next novel, while Helen revises, revises and does creative strategizing for her writing-related business.

In the evening we cook (salmon, pasta, veggie curry) and read the Tarot for each other. We don't take it seriously, but I do love my new Breugel deck! Check 'em out here, they're absolutely stunning! One of us may meet a new business partner, someone else should not get overly impressed by her boss. And hey, my "outcome" card was the sun, which made me happy (sun card= vitality, success, positivity)

Incredibly blurry but kinda cute photo of us!

I'm already looking forward to our July retreat by a beach in New England. In the meantime, I'm refreshed and on fire.

For a view of my messy writing space read Nutschell's Wednesday Writers' Space post! Also, I guest posted on Beth's 52 Blog about my thoughts on Show Don't Tell (Or as I put it, Evoke, Don't Bludgeon) . But first, don't forget to leave a comment! How do YOU renew your writing passion? Any great tips?