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Showing posts from 2012

'Tis the Season to be Overwhelmed!

Yes, the season to be overwhelmed! Lots of holiday events, gift exchanges and gatherings to attend, oh my! :D Let me take a step back and say a big helloooo since it's been forever since my last post! Okay, so that's a little dramatic it's been less than a month, but it's probably the longest I've gone without posting 'something'. Now, this is not to imply that I've been disconnected, no! Actually it's quite the opposite... First let me give you an update on the MS that I'd submitted to IRN. After all the changes and modifications done the material was still not up to par with IRN's inspirational/sweet romance theme ;-) This is okay - it's all part of the writer's process, you win some, you lose some (so I'm losing more than I'm winning but who's counting...lol). Second, let me say that NaNoWriMo went very well. Not only did I win with over 50K words written, but the experienced I gathered was invaluable. I am a diff

Confessions of a NaNoWrimo Virgin...

Family/Friends, Day eleven of my first NaNoWriMo journey ever and guess what?  I've managed to maintain the daily word quota necessary to keep me on track. Yay! This hasn't come without it's challenges however. I'll tell you there have been days when I sat there at computer for a half hour just staring at the blinking cursor on the screen, thinking...why did I sign up for this?! Thank God for wine...lol! All joking aside though, working on NaNo has given me discipline.  Committing to writing 50K by 11/30 puts a lot of pressure on someone :-) So I've made myself sit and type and do what I like to call, 'brain dump'. This is when I just sit and write whatever comes to mind. I can write chapter one, then turn around and write chapter six, I can even write the last chapter and it would still be okay. As you can see I've developed my own system for winning (completing 50K). But I can still certainly use good vibes my way so wish me good luck. Take car

T-Minus

Family/Friends, I'm six and a half days way from going into a NaNoWriMo 'leave of absence'. Yep, this means the Flash Fiction Friday section of my website will be on hold until 12/7.  Also, I don't expect to be online much (Twitter or Facebook), but will check email periodically. On a side note, I want to say thanks to those of you who have recently signed up to this blog, I appreciate you.  Oh, and thank you also to those folks who have visited this site from Russia,  Sweden, and Malaysia. I think that's pretty awe-SOME! Well, that's all for now. Until next time! Maria

NaNoWriMo, eBook Release, Submittals and more...

Family/friends, First off, I'd like to inform you that I did receive word back from the publishing firm, and I'm still working on edits/rewrites-round three!  And though this is all very exhausting right now I know it will all be worth it in the end. Second, I'd like to say that the Amazon release day for my eBook Captive in the Game was phenomenal as over 1,600 people downloaded free copies of my book, this put me at Top 150 Amazon Best Sellers Rank Free in Kindle Store (at #143) on 10/1. Thank you to everyone who pitched in to help disseminate the information. I truly appreciate you. Lastly, I want to advise those who follow my Flash Fiction Friday (FFF) Section that will be taking the month of November off from posting weekly stories as I will be dedicating my writing time solely to NaNoWriMo - FFF will resume on 12/7. That's all folks.  I hope you guys have a great weekend and for those lucky enough, have a great long weekend :-) Until next time! Maria

First Day of Fall!

Family/Friends, Yes, it is that time of year again when the leaves change colors and the days get shorter and cooler and....WAIT! That's everywhere but Phoenix of course :)  Our fall doesn't start until right around Halloween. So that means that we still have about five weeks of 90+ degree weather, YAY...not! Either which way folks, we are looking at just about ninety days out until Christmas, there, I said it! So don't say you didn't have enough time to buy your dear Auntie Mary a gift, you've been given plenty of warning....lol. Moving on to business, I'll tell you guys that at on 9/30, I will be publishing my fourth eBook, Captive in the Game and it will be FREE for 24 hours on Amazon.  I will be sending further communication via Twitter and FB, so stay tuned for that.  With respect to the MS that I submitted (to IRN) the Acquisitions Editor contacted me and stated that it may be until early next week before someone gets back to me, so they are appar

Lazy days of summer are coming to an end :)

Family/Friends: First and foremost happy Labor Day weekend to you all!  I hope you and yours are enjoying the time off and spending it doing something fun. Second, I want to let you know that I'm excited (and nervous of course) because just yesterday I sent in my 21K+ word story to the publisher for consideration.  I should point out that the publisher had already read the 1st Edition of the book which resulted in them requesting modifications and requesting extra word count, hence the 2nd Edition of the book.  In the meantime, until I hear back from them, I am furiously working on other projects some of which have fallen by the wayside when I took on the 2nd Edition challenge . Amongst my plans for the remainder of the year are the release of two other eBooks, several interviews in September & October, and time permitting I do want to delve into restructuring two books which were also submitted to other publishers but rejected, Memory of Heart and To Have and to Hold.  Re

Fiddling my thumbs...NOT! :)

Family/Friends, With the Snowed In - 2nd Edition MS still in revision, I've had time to catch up this last week with other pressing items, reviewed a story for a fellow romance writer, wrote up my monthly Social Media Corner article for the PWC Newsletter, helping the PWC board with website revisions, wrote up two guest posts for other blogs and of course daily reading and writing. Talking about reading and writing, my reading challenge has been going well as I've already met my one romance book a month quota last week. As far as my writing, the 1K word a day challenge went well the first week, but then with so much editing it became very difficult to do both edit endlessly and write (to meet my self-imposed quota). I will, however, resume my1K word a day challenge on 9/1. On a side note, I'll tell you that after attending an online workshop for romance writing plots just yesterday I'm psyched for my next project so be on the look out for that :-) Well folks, t

Reprieve for my Manuscript.

Family/Friends, Update to my Snowed In 2nd Edition , MS that was due to IRN on 8/10, I've been given an extension (YES!). So, I will be furiously working toward a polished copy to send in the next 1-2 weeks. As for my writing challenge, I've missed two days this week and about the reading, I've actually caught up.  I've finished two books, a paperback type (downloaded to my Nook) and a short story that I offer to read and critique for a fellow writer. I want to say congratulations to Tonya Kinzer, fellow Romance Writer who won a copy of my Snowed In 1st Edition  eBook via the  Brenda & Steve Blog where I was interviewed recently. That's all for now folks. Take care and until next time! Maria

Challenges...

Family/Friends, The first week of my writing challenge went well as I met my 1K word quota everyday.  As far as the reading challenge is concerned I'm lagging a bit, but I'll catch up this week. As it pertains to other challenges is finding the time to do promotions amongst they myriad of other commitments I have. Facebook and Twitter thankfully are great when it comes to disseminating information about promotions and book releases. As such, I'm using these two mediums exclusively. I'll tell you guys that another effective way of promoting has been online interviews, links which I've already shared. That said, I will be forwarding a new interview link tomorrow :-) Well that's all I have for now folks. Be well and until next time! Maria

Kobo, Lulu, Triond, Burrst, Wattpad...what others weird names can I add? :D

Family/Friends, Okay, so this week went in a flash! What with entering contests, writing articles, editing articles, attending meetings and uploading story after story, the week went by in the blink of an eye. The good thing about 'spreading yourself around' is notoriety and name recognition, at least that's what I keep telling myself :).  So if you happen to catch me in the airwaves or see my name pop up somewhere, do me a favor and send me a SHOUTOUT, it'll keep me motivated. Thanks! And now off to do the really exciting stuff, food shopping...YUK. Have a great Sunday folks! Maria

The weather in Phoneix is making me feel BLAH!

Family/Friends, The last couple of days here in Phoenix have been gloomy, cloudy, and rainy.  Now, anyone who is familiar with desert climate would know that this is atypical for us, unless of course we're talking about Monsoon season :-/ So, all in all I've been sort of 'unproductive' with continuing Chapter 3 of my newest eBook. I've only written about 500 words per day, a third of what I could do on a good day. Oh well!  I did however, spend Friday/Saturday catching up on my Social Media and on my reading and blogging, so that's still good :-)  Talking about reading, I have created an author profile on Goodreads if anyone ever wants to stop by and take a gander: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6398579.Maria_Piork That's all for now folks. Until next time! Maria

Summer time and the living is easy...RIGHT! :D

Family/Friends: As I communicated before my goals for this summer were to publish an eBook a month (June/July/August). To date I've already exceeded my quota for June and I'm target to meet July's and August's.  More importantly will be meetings my other goals this year: Increasing my word count per day Better self editing Read more Manuscript to major publishing firm Well folks got other other commitments to get to right now, so gotta run.  Oh and before I forget...if you haven't purchased one of my eBooks yet, what are you waiting for?? :D Amazon: http://amzn.to/Nygmv8 Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/Nb79HI Smashwords ( coming soon ) Until next time! Maria

Is this a HOLIDAY weekend or NOT?

Family/Friends, Last night as I was reading a few pages of The Last Precinct before I went to sleep I heard fireworks go off. At first I thought, am I imagining it? But my husband heard them too, sort of weird, but I guess with the 4th of July being in the middle week this year some of my neighbors have started on the festivities early. Holiday or not, I'm still working, and yes I know I'm always working. I have to say however, that my work/life balance is much better now than it was several weeks back when I'd be writing 60-70 hours a week, today that has been reduced to about 40 hours dedicated solely to eBooks, with another 10 hours dedicated to blogging/reading books/writing book reviews, emails and miscellaneous writing 'stuff'. On a side note, as some of you know I've been actively participating in all three of the writer groups I belong to here in the Phoenix area. As a matter of fact I was recently granted a monthly spot on the Phoenix Write

Anxiety & Fear - it's all part of growing.

Family/Friends,   I've always been aware that in order to grow one needed to take risks, but yet I spent many years of my life shying away from risk, particularly because I was afraid - there I said it!   Yes, mainly afraid of how I would measure up to expectations of family, friends, and peers.   So I fell back, flying under the radar in the ‘safe zone’.      Fast forward to 2007 and major changes occurred in my life, I took on a job that required me to handle greater responsibilities, a job that required me to mentor others as well.   But how could I do this effectively when I myself needed guidance?   This became a key time for growth and a pivotal time for self-discovery.   No longer was I going to sit on the sidelines and just be a spectator, no; I was going to be an active participant.   I would go on to set attainable goals and strive to meet them.   If I didn’t, I’d rework the plan and start anew.   Fast forward to present time; though I’d love to say that the last fi

Book Reviews

Family/Friends:: Now that I have a couple of books under my belt I've begun looking at book review sites.  As you can imagine having books reviewed is a very important step in becoming a great writer. Two weeks ago I created a profile on Goodreads and uploaded an excerpt of my book, to date I have not received any reviews.  I'm considering uploading an entire short story instead so reviewers can have something more substantial to critique.  On a side note, I want to mention that my Twitter following has increased by 10% in the month of June! Now if we only could do the same for my eBook sales and FB Fans :-) That's all for now folks.  Until next time!

eBooks and other exciting stuff!

Family/Friends, As busy and hectic as things have been in my professional life the last two weeks it's also been an exciting time. As some of you already know, I've recently published two eBooks on Amazon ( http://amzn.to/Nygmv8 ) and will be publishing a third via Barnes and Noble by the end of June. Also, this past week I was the featured author at www.hotlitbooks.com you will find me there next week as well (6/18-6/25). Drop by and read my bio and interview questions, you may learn something about me you never knew before. For those following Erotica Tales on my site ( www.mywritingden.net ) you know that this section has been suspended for the summer, but in its place I've incorporated a new section called Flash Fiction Friday. Flash Fiction Friday ( http://www.mywritingden.net/flash-fiction-friday-2/ ) an exercise that writers undertake to help them draw out a story/scene in short format; 6 words/6 sentences - in my case 6 paragraphs or more :-)  So if you h

First eBook PUBLISHED today!

Family/Friends, My 1st eBook (Love and Lust) went into circulation today at Amazon.  This is a long time coming for me, so I am extremely excited.  Should you be interested in previewing my book, please click here: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0089E10KS . Please note thatt although this book is a  novellette (indicating is a short read), by summer's end I will be publishing a full length novel, so stay tuned for that. Also, HotLit Books ( http://www.hotlitbooks.com/ ) will have me on their main page as their featured author for two weeks (6/11/12 - 6/25/12) and I am certainly excited about that . Well that's all for now folks.  Take care and until next time! Maria

eBook Sabbatical :-)

Family/Friends, As of this past week, I have made a decision to finally publish an eBook on Amazon - the goal is to have two eBoooks published by 8/31/12.  As such, I will be in hiatus from Erotica Tales for this summer working on content. I have also put the the manuscripts (for two online publishing firms) on hold to focus all my energy into the eBook/s. I will be active on my FB Fan Page https://www.facebook.com/pages/My-Writing-Den/368907206455014 # throughout, but other forms of Social Media (Twitter, Pinterest, etc.) will be kept to a minimum. A quick update on recent events: --Blogging Contest finished 5/28 and it yielded ten more fans on FB and three more followers on my Blogspot (here) along with a few other followers on my site http://www.mywritingden.net/ . --Woman's World has sent me the 'thanks but no thanks' letter and although it was disappointing, I'm moving on quickly. --I have gone back to attending the Romance Writer's of America - Desert

Memorial Day!

Family/Friends, Happy Memorial Day to you! Hope you are all enjoying the day off and spending quality time with loved ones. I myself have had a quiet weekend at home playing catch up with housework, and of course writing. As of last Friday I submitted four short stories to three different publishers and as usual it'll be a few weeks before I hear back. In the meantime, however, I started revising the Welcome to Miami  'tale' because the publisher who's interested in the story stated that I needed to invest more time in making the protagonist/s likable.  Working on that will keep me busy for sometime :-) Well folks, that's all I have for now. Until next time! Maria

A Long Weekend Ahead :-)

Family/Friends: For many Americans this is the first big holiday since New Year's (not many people get Civil Rights or even President's Day off for that matter), so I hope you have fun plans and enjoy the time outdoors with  family and friends. A quick update about my writing, I have received feedback from three publishers and although all of it has been positive it will require me to revise 75% of my work (each story  is >6K words), needless to say the task at hand is somewhat dauting.  I have, however, taken a couple of days just to think about the best approach and plan on implementing some of my ideas this weekend.  To those of you who keep up with me (Twitter, FB, this blog, etc.) I truly appreciate it.  You keep my spirits up when the 'doubt bug' creeps in. Take care and 'til next time! Maria

Rejection is GOOD :-)

Family/Friends, Just in the last week I've received three rejections and although these are rarely easy to take, they're important learning opportunities especially when the rejection is accompanied by constructive criticsm.  I'd like to point out that as a result of recommedations and suggestions from two publishers and a few writers, I have made immediate changes to: my writting style, my website, even my reading material.  In short I am revamping myself. In closing folks, I'd like to invite you to participate in my Blogging Contest (ends on 5/28).  Please visit my site www.mywritingden.net and click on Contest Guidelines from the top menu for details. Until next time. Be well! Maria

More Critique - this is good, really good.

Family/Friends, I received my second critique yesterday from another online publisher.  This one however, is far more conducive to my overall improvement than the first. I share this with you because I believe that her feedback will in no doubt bring me to the next level in my writing career. I'd also like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who's participated in the Blogging Contest so far, it is due to this interaction and that I've received invaluable information.  I want to point out that as a result of the feeback (from publishers and fans alike), I will be making changes to my website in the weeks to come. In closing folks, I want to remind you that the contest ends on 5/28, so gets those comments in and make sure you refer people my way, you get 30 points a pop for those! That's all for now. Take care and be well! Maria

Manuscript DONE and SENT!

Family/Friends, When Secret Cravings Publishing first reached out to me (2/23) for a manuscript I was excited, elated, nervous (I can probably come up with another ten adjectives, but I'll spare you) at the prospect of writing for a major publishing firm, I would soon discover, however, that writing a full manuscript would be somewhat more challenging than anticipated.  I say this because in writing a story that you envision to be read by hundreds if not thousands of people it needs to have all the right elements. And gathering by all the books I've read this past year (romance and otherwise) the most important elements are: good tension, interesting plot, engaging characters and humor. For now the story is in the publisher's hands and it'll be up to him/her to decide whether or not the story is worth publishing.  I, for now, need to move on fast and furious to the next project. I could however use some good vibes though, so please send me karma.  As a matter of

End of Week!

Family/Friends, As this week comes to an end I can finally exhale...pheww!  It was a very busy productive week and I must admit that it wasn't even planned, it just...happened.  I'm starting to think that the solar phenomenon we experienced Tuesday/Wednesday may have some weird cosmic effect on my energy level. I say this because as of this morning I have submitted four different stories to five different publishers this week alone, that's a record for me! Not to mention the other blogging I do in between stories and Twitter and YouTube...you get the picture?? Even as I'm writing all this I'm thinking imma crash soon...LOL! All joking aside though, I am concentrating all my available time to mastering this writing, which has to improve lots if I am to be taken seriously by any reputable publishing firm.  I can at least say that I'm enjoying the ride :-) In closing, I want to say to all the mother's out there reading this, for goodness sake don't

Calgon...take me away!

Family/Friends, I understand now why some companies/celebreties hire people to tend to their Social Media networking, it is very time consuming, not to mention mentally exhausting. Point in case, just today I spent over an hour on Blogger and YouTube working out some kinks with my profile/settings. My head's spinning and I'm pooped. On the topic of Social Media, I'd like to take a moment to thank my daughter, Pamela for acting as a consultant on the topic. Pamela works in the field and has actually helped launch my first AdWords campaign. Although it is progressing slowly, I have seen an increase in site ( www.mywritingden.net ) traffic and Twitter - 10 new followers in a week. I've also been receiving sporadic emails from 'fans' telling me how much they enjoy my stories...so this keeps me going. Ohhh, and a VERY notable mention to Linus Ly who gave me the idea to use a 'new' slogan Erotica, She Wrote . Liked it so much I'm already using it. T

Online Publishing Company Wants to Chat with ME!

Family/Friends, As you all know I've been diligently submitting writing samples to publishing companies the past six months; received two rejects and two maybes (working on manuscripts now).  Adding to the list of possible companies is an Adult Erotica Publisher that has contacted me back today.  I will be chatting with them sometime this week, as you can imagine I am thrilled!! On a side note, the first week of the Blogging Contest has gone well, the influx of traffic (post and other) happened over the weekend.  I will announce the winner of the 1st Week's Contest tomorrow on my site  www.mywritingden.net under the Maria's Corner section of the Home Page. That's all for now. Until next time! Maria

Woman's World Magazine Submission - SO EXCITED!

Family/Friends, I am so very excited to inform you that just today I submitted my very first short story to Woman's Day Magazine (WDM) for consideration.  Before I get off course, I want to say a give a big Thank You' to Dixon Hills who told me about the Romance Fiction section in the first place - and yes this is the newspapery type of magazine you see at checkout stands at the supermarket :-D For those of you who read my stories on www.mywritingden.net , what was submitted to WDM is a "very vanilla' adaptation of the  Seven Year Itch story I posted months ago.  I have to say that the main challenge in redacting the story was not having to take it down from a heat level (scale 1-10) of 5 to 1, but having to condense the story from 2.5K words to 800...800 happens to be WDM's requirements. I DID IT THOUGH! Now I have to wait and wait and wait.  Estimated time of review at WDM is 1 to 6 months, so I'll be fiddling my thumbs until then...yah right! I have

Stories, stories and more stories ...pheww!

Family/Friends - Hello and happy Tuesday to you! I am taking a quick break from writing my manuscript for Secret Cravings Publishing as I've been doing little else for approximately three days. If you recall the last time I provided an update I had given myself until 5/1 to submit the story...WELL, that won't be happening - revised deadline is 5/8 for now.  In addition to that story, I'm also working on next week's Erotica Tale and a Call for Submission for Women on Writing (WOW) organization.  I need to start taking vitamins to keep up with all this writing...lol! On a side note, I'd appreciate it if you were to stop by www.mywritingden.net and provide comments on any of the Erotic Tales posted.  Remember that the Blogging Contest started yesteday and posting comments will earn you points that in turn will earn you chances at scoring a $25.00 gift card. Read the rules :-) That's all for now folks. Take care! Maria

Internet Radio - You're on The Air!

Family/friends, I'm excited to report that today I initiated my first Internet Radio Talk Show.  Two individuals excluding myself were on the air and we tested functionalities and the like.  For the time being, the show will remain in BETA mode until the beginning of June when I will have my 'official' First Show. From then on in, the show will air on a monthly basis as a regularly scheduled program. Please stay tuned to further details by logging onto my website at www.mywritingden.net . That''s all for now. Be well! Maria

The Golden Era of Flash Fiction

Family/Friends, Just this week I read an online article that talked about flash/micro fiction. I get excited about this genre of writing because it's what I've been doing for over ten years except that back then there wasn't a label for it other than a 'bunch of unfinished work' :-) The article went on to say that in Japan flash/micro fiction is very popular as people download quick one page stories to their mobile devices while other writers allow chapters to be delivered in the same manner on a daily basis.  I find this absolutely fascinating and consequently it inspires me to continue to writing in flash fiction format.  It is what I like and what I prefer and now that there are more people than ever who enjoy it and embrace it, the sky is the limit!! Well, that's all for now.  Be well and until next time! Maria

4/22 is Earth Day!

Family/Friends, Have you heard of six-word essays or flash fiction? It's a unique genre of writing that focuses on sharing a meaningful story of idea in just six words.  The idea of very short stories and flash fiction began before the digital age, but has begun to thrive recently as people share their stories via social networks. Here are a few six-word essays that folks posted online: Many nations. One planet. Out Home - by Jessica Healthier families, cleaner communities, stronger America - By Lisa Breathe; A moment in nature. Breathe! - By Danny Our only. Our one. Home planet. - By Jeanethe Don't forget to do your part to make our planet a greener world.  Here's a link to things you can do every day: http://act.earthday.org/ Take are and until next time! Maria

Time for Spring Cleaning - BLAH!

Family/Friends, The back patio is dusty, the yard looks like a jungle and the weeds are sprouting everywhere, and then there's the inside cleaning of course, the carpet have to be steamed and the fans cleaned, pheww...I'm tired just thinking of all the work ahead :-/ For those of us in Phoenix, we are extremely lucky (sarcastic) to be hitting the 100 degree mark over the weekend. On the upswing of things, it's dry heat and we have central air :-) That's all for now folks. Take care and be well! Maria

Secret Cravings Publishing - 2nd Half of My Story

Family/Friends, I have been contending with starting the second half of my story for a while. I may add that Secret Publishigs requested it at he end of February. For a few weeks now, I chucked my procrastination to lack of inspiration, but the truth is much more deep rooted - I'm just afraid; yes, afraid of what the finish product will yield. Last night, however, I decided to push forward and finally finish the story (Love: Hollywood Style) which I hope to submit to Secret Cravings Publishing by 5/1, God willing. There I said it! For those of you following my stories on www.mywritingden.net you've already read the vanilla adaptation of the first half, the pulbished copy will be much 'juicier'. Take care and until next time!

American Lung Association Walk in Phoenix

Today was the first time in nearly nine months that I took part in a community event.  It not only felt good to do this walk in support of those suffering from lung associated illnesses, but it also felt good for my own health. Although I'm far from a couch potato or a sedentary person, I am guilty of ignoring important aspects of a healthy lifestyle, such as daily cardio, water consumption, taking vitamins, etc.  Going forward however, I will be reincorporating the items listed to my daily routine, I think it's important that we treat our bodies with care and respect so that we may live long and healthy lives. In closing, I encourage every single one of write down your own personal health and fitness goals.  See you at the Finish Line! :-) Take care and be well! Maria

Back in Phoenix!

Finally back home and back to my daily routine. Time to get back to the business of writing and promoting. That said, please take the time to visit www.mywritingden.net for details on my first blogging contest of 2012 to start on 4/30 - there will be prizes. Also, be sure to stop by my YouTube channel http://www.youtube.com/user/MyWritingDen1 from time to time to keep up with my latest escapades. That's all for now folks - take care and be well! PS: hope you guys like the new blogspot layout :-)

In New York City

Funny thing about New York, no matter how long one is gone it all looks the same.  Good old New York... FYI, for everyone's viewing pleasure I will be keeping a video journal of our time here in NY, so if you are so inclined, tune in to my YouTube channel to see what we're up to. http://www.youtube.com/user/MyWritingDen1 I will be recording more videos to showcase the city and places we visit, so check back often. Take care and until next time!  Maria

<<< Gone Fishing >>>

Family/Friends - I will be vacationing in New York the next couple of weeks, so I may not be able to blog often. Feel free to stop by my Twitter page and NEW YouTube Channel in the meantime -- details on my website @ mywritingden.net. Thanks and take care!

YouTube,Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google +

Family/Friends, Since becoming more active in the Social Media circle, I've been familiarizing myself the myriad of the venues available - it's actually quite mind boggling! Just a couple of days ago, I created my own YouTube channel ( http://www.youtube.com/user/MyWritingDen1 ) and was surprised at how easy it was and how much fun I had doing it. As for Twitter ( https://twitter.com/mariathewriter ), I've had the account nearly two years, but was not utilizing it.  Since December 2012 however, my followers have quadrupled and my Tweets have gone from 45 to 523 (quite a jump, ah?). Facebook ( https://www.facebook.com/pages/My-Writing-Den/368907206455014 ) is my everyday exposure to fans and potential fans, I keep the page open all day long and post periodic updates.  LinkedIn ( www.linkedin.com/in/mariapiork ) is trailing significantly in my list of priorities but since having to deliver a presentation to the Phoenix Writer's Club on the subject in June, I will nee

Blogging With Purpose

Family/Friends - To date most of my blog had the format of an online journal and it has worked for a couple of years. Going forward however, I will be providing much more variety, things suchb as helpful hints, links to useful information, quotes, anectodes and other type of interesting information. Stay tuned :-D Be well! Maria

Social Media & You

Family/Friends, Today Mike and I had a unique opportunity to attend a 3-hour SEO seminar.  With my new Wordpress site and Mike's ready for deployment in a week we need to learn the best way to stear traffic our way.  Tomorrow's class is Wordpress Intermediate. To anyone out there looking to launch a website I strongly recommend attending a class on SEO and  Social Media, it''ll be worth its weight in gold. Now, I need to catch up on paperwork and tend to my own social media circle Take care and be well!! Maria

Tax Time - yuk!

Family/Friends, I spent half of my weekend and two hours yesterday talling up receipts and logging all expenses, a task I so detest.  It is done, however and now we move on to the appointment with the accountant today. Wish me luck! Until next time. Bel well...Maria

Thank you!

Family/Friends: Establishing new habits this week, this blog in particular >>> need to blog more often :-D  So, here I am sitting in front of my computer rattling my brain to come up with something witty, intellectual to say, but the more I think about it, the more it occurs to me that what I write doesn't always have to be funny, and remarkable, it just to be from the heart, so here it goes: Thank you to: My husband who's very supportive of my writing, wherever it may take me. My daughter who's my friend and cheerleader oh and tech support of course. My sister Alice who sent me a congratulatory text and supports my writing. My sister Cheryl whose keen interest in my writing early on encouraged me to keep putting my thoughts on paper. My sister Lucy, who has read one of my steamiest stories and provided good feedback - Lucy and I share the same passion for writing so her input is invaluable. Charisse who's a dear friend and a cheerleader. Amy who

3/8/12 >>> International Women's Day

AIN'T I A WOMAN? by Sojourner Truth Delivered 1851 at the Women's Convention in Akron, Ohio Well, children, where there is so much racket there must be something out of kilter. I think that 'twixt the negroes of the South and the women at the North, all talking about rights, the white men will be in a fix pretty soon. But what's all this here talking about? That man over there says that women need to be helped into carriages, and lifted over ditches, and to have the best place everywhere. Nobody ever helps me into carriages, or over mud-puddles, or gives me any best place! And ain't I a woman? Look at me! Look at my arm! I have ploughed and planted, and gathered into barns, and no man could head me! And ain't I a woman? I could work as much and eat as much as a man - when I could get it - and bear the lash as well! And ain't I a woman? I have borne thirteen children, and seen most all sold off to slavery, and when I cried out with my mother's grief,

Good Week!

Family/Friends, This week was a very prductive week: --Fnished writing 5K words toward my Secret Cravings Publishing story, lots of editing already done. --I've taken the Social Media Coordinator volunteer post at the Phoenix Writer's Club --Made a contact with an erotica blogger at the East Valler Writer's Workshop today who is looking for contributing authors. --Applied to be a freelance writer at the examiner.com. --I've upgraded my site to Wordpress-unveiling of NEW & IMPROVED site on Tuesday, March 6 Now, at my desk Tweeting, blogging and catching up on my FB fan page :-) Until next time! Maria

I'm down!

Family/friends - as of now my site is down.  However, I'm working furiously to get it up and running as soon as humanly possible :-) In the meantime, I'd like to inform you that I'm working on a short story for Secret Cravings Publishing and I'm SO EXCITED!  Secret Publishing requires that the story be 6k-10k words so as usual I'm madly typing away.  Stay tuned for details! So long for now...Maria

Busy Week!

This was a busy week: 2/14 Arizona's Centennial, 2/14 Valentine's Day, 2/18 Phoenix Writer's Club monthly meeting where I met fellow Erotica Writer, Lark LaTroy (yes!) and last but not least 2/19 Scottsdale Society of Women Writers workshop...pheww. Amongst other things, I finished one flash fiction story and started a second one.  As reading is concerned I finally finished Predator and began reading The Last Precint by Patricia Cornwell and The 6th Target by James Patterson, yes at the same time ...never thought I'd say that, but yes. I've also been assisting the City of Chandler with compiling stories of centennerians, proofreading, editing, summarizing interviews, an interesting undertaking. Friends, that'll be all for this week...signing off.  Be well!

Promoting

Family/Friends: In keeping up with my goals for this year, I've been writing every day sometimes for an hour sometimes a lot more.  The investment in time is paying off greatly as I've compared my early stories to the stories I've recently written and I can see a significat improvement.  Also, just this week I sent a letter of 'promotion' to a select few family and friends.  This was my way of introducing my material to folks who are not yet acquainted with my work.  I will be checking my website on Sunday to see if traffic to the site spiked.  Wish I could have an opportunity like Gov. Jan Brewer...little humor there. For now, I'm signing off.  Have a good weekend and be well! PS: This Blogger site looks somewhat different than it the last time I logged in. That's what happens when you turn around for a second :-)

Trafficking

Family/Friends, My head is spinning from having worked over an hour in trying to get traffic to my site, Google and Bing/Yahoo...copy CNAME or add HTML tag to my browser and so on and so on. Pheww! Anyway, so until I get all that squared away, you my family and friends can help. If you know others you'd enjoy reading the stories I write, please forward my links (including this blog). Much appreciated! Until next time, be well...Maria

Submissions

Family/Friends, In the past few days I have been busy submitting my short stories to several eBook Publishing firms for consideration. My next step will be to submit a story to Smashwords (5K-1/31 deadline) & Ellora's Cave (25K words-3/31 deadline) respectively. Stay tuned for further updates...until then! Maria

2012

Family/Friends: Happy new year to you all! I start off this new year by implementing a goal: write everyday. I also want to be much more active in updating my blogs (this one and Triond) and be much more active on Twitter as well. I ask that you visit my site www.mywritingden.net as often as possible and pass on my links to others who may wish to read my stories, it'd be much appreciated. Be well! Maria