Wake up!

For those of you who don't know, I have a small dog that is very much like my child.  She belonged to my mother-in-law, Karen, and when she passed away, Karen willed us her dog.  She knew that we would take good care of her, which we do.  The dog's name is Callie.  She's an 8-pound Malti-poo that's smarter than most toddlers.  I'm not kidding.  We thought her intellect was unusual until we started researching poodle breeds.  They're freakin' smart!  Seriously.  She knows so many words that we have to spell things around her.  She can literally complete some of the tests that are designed to measure a 2-3 year old's  thought processes. It's insane!  Annnnnyway, it drives her nuts when Mr. Leighton lies in the floor and snores, pretending to sleep.  She can't stand it!  She whines until I tell her to wake him up, at which point she will scratch his head until he moves or I praise her.  It's adorable, and I secretly (okay, maybe not so secretly) snicker over her taking off a few layers of Mr. Leighton's scalp. hehe  <------Is that mean?  Probably.  But it's just so cute!  And listening to him yelp-laugh (which is what he does when she digs in) makes ME  laugh for some reason.

Here's a video of the little devil doing it. So. Cute.  As I taped it, sitting in the living room with my family when I should've been working, I was reminded of the important things in life.  Family, friends, love, laughter.  In that moment, I realized that I had it all, right there three feet away. That makes me blessed beyond measure, doesn't it?  Yep, it sure does. #Perspective

If any of you have cute pet tricks and stories, share away! I'm a huge animal lover, so...that never gets old to me:)  LOL

Happy Monday, y'all! I hope that you get to spend time with your family and friends this week, and that it's filled with loads and loads of love and laughter:)

Oops!

Well, here we are on Thursday.  Two days post release of All Things Pretty part two.  It was supposed to go out to all newsletter subscribers automatically and seamlessly.  <------that's where things got hairy.

Rather than using negative terms like "epic fail" or "disaster" I'll just say that the day was not without it's challenges.  *snort*  Neither was yesterday, which I compare to the writer's life version of cleaning up after a hurricane.  But I survived.  Just a few cuts and scrapes.  Nothing life threatening.  And I learned some really valuable lessons along the way, which I'm going to share with you. You knew I would, right?  That's my M.O.---->  Overshare.

#1:  Don't let an epic fail rob you of your desire to try again or to do nice things.  For about 30+ hours, I was telling myself that I will never...NEVER, NEVER, NEVER try to do something like this again.  I probably won't, actually. Not exactly like this anyway, but I WILL still do what I think is right and kind and fair.  When life kicks you in the teeth, despite your good intentions, you can't stay down on the ground and roll around.  As much as we'd sometimes like to, we can't wallow (or waller, as we say here in the south).  It's far too easy to get comfortable in the defeated position.  We have to pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and take a step forward.  We just have to tread more carefully and USE the wisdom that we learned when we were face down on the ground. LOL

#2:  For all the rotten apples in the world, there are a hundred beautiful, shiny, sweet ones.  I'm not sure how accurate my ratio is.  1:100 is probably very low. Maybe I should say 1:10,000.  That's probably closer.  Regardless of the real statistics, I'm learning to appreciate the bad apples.  Sounds crazy, right?  But seriously, that the one bad, nasty bitter apple can make you so, so, SO much better appreciate the good ones, know what I mean?  How would we know light if we didn't see darkness?  How would we know the sweetness of honey if we never tasted vinegar?  Sometimes it takes a trial to remind us of what's important, to make us SEE what's important. They make us grateful.

#3:  Focus.  Focus, focus, focus.  For me, this one is super important!  I can be trucking along beautifully one minute and then BAM!  One little thing will throw a kink in my whole day.  You know what that is?  INSANE!  That's what that is!  I can waste a ridiculous amount of time beating myself up over a mistake or crying over something small when there is still so much good and right and positive everywhere around me.  Just because All Things Pretty had every problem imaginable from release day of part one on 9-30 all the way through release part of part two on 10-14 doesn't mean that I need to dwell on it.  I can't change it. I can only go forward smarter. Smarter yet still happy.  I can't let this snafu sour my job or my life or my outlook.  I have to focus on the POSITIVE, take the bad for what it's worth and then move on. Learn my lesson and go.  So that's what I'm doing.

Today, I'm back in the saddle.  Focusing on the good.  I've apologized a million times for the problems that occurred with the free copy of All Things Pretty, part two.  I can't go back and undo it, and letting it ruin even one more hour would be an irresponsible tragedy on my part.  I have more books to write (my next three for my publisher, in fact), something that I'm sooooo looking forward to.  I love my job and I won't let a bad day or two steal my thunder.  Life is about balance and appreciation, taking the bad with the good.  We suffer through the icky and revel in the WOW.

So today I'm diving into my next story, which I already love because it's kind of dark and totally delicious.  I'll be gushing about it as soon as I can.  And I'll have a cover to share soon, hopefully. I've seen it already and O. M. G.  I adore it!  The art folks at Berkley really outdid themselves.  It speaks so perfectly to the book that I can't...I can't even... Yeah, you know how that goes.

Annnnnnywho, go on with your day.  Enjoy the good.  Every day deserves that.  More importantly, YOU deserve that.  Be happy.  Live smart.

Love, peace and bacon <-------my new ending thanks to the wonderful Michelle Lee.  Girl!  That is just perfect for me!

p.s.  For those who were waiting for live links to purchase All Things Pretty, part two for $0.99 (even though it is still available for free for those who want it), here are the sites that are up and running:

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

iTunes:  (pending)

Kobo

Amazon UK

All Things Pretty. Part two

****  UPDATE FROM 11:00 AM EST--  Hi, y'all!  So, when I wrote this book, I wanted to give you the best story that I could, but that meant going over my word count.  The only thing I could come up with was to break All Things Pretty into two parts. I didn't want to charge you for both parts, though, so I thought to offer the second part for free.  The problem with doing that via normal etailers is that Amazon won't let you put something for free initially. It has to be free everywhere else for a certain amount of time FIRST and then they price match it.  So if I did it that way, I knew I'd get lots of emails from people upset because they have to pay for the book on Amazon when it's free everywhere else.  So what was I to do? 

Well, I have a Mailchimp account for my newsletter subscribers. It has an automated feature that would allow for the file to be sent automatically based on your response to the questions that you were asked in the form that I requested you fill out.  Unfortunately, some of the instructions were overlooked by quite a few subscribers, which resulted in some confusion. Below, I'm pasting the instructions from the form you filled out to help you remedy this if you haven't already.

I have spent the entire morning responding to you as quickly as I can, only now I'm locked out of my google account because I've sent too many messages.  

I know you're frustrated, as am I.  This was intended to be a good thing, and I apologize for the inconvenience.  I'm doing everything I can, which isn't much since my email is frozen, but this is what I CAN do.  I'm going to get through today and get the file to as many of you as I can, with as little effort on your part as possible, and then I'm going to upload the file to all etailer sites for $0.99.  Hopefully at least Amazon (since the problem is primarily with kindles) will be live today.  The first part is novel length and the second part is novella length, so a buck is a fair price.  I'm still going to offer it to newsletter subscribers for free, but it will have to be downloaded a different way.  But still, there will be the option to purchase it online if downloading it for free is too cumbersome.

To those of you who have been so extraordinarily patient and understanding, you have my deepest gratitude.  If it weren't for you, I might've just run away today.  LOL  From the moment Amazon didn't publish the book until 4pm on release day until today, this book has had everything working against it.  Luckily, I love it so very much and I'm not giving up. It's one of my favorite stories, period.  So I'm going to do what I can to salvage this release and make it available to those who truly want to read and appreciate Sig.  I love y'all more than you know.  ****



Oh.  Em.  Geeeeeeeee!  It's finally here! I know it's only been 2 weeks since part one came out, but I've never had to cut up a book before and it has been almost excruciating to wait on the ending like this.  UGH!  But, I wanted to write the story the way that it needed to be written, which was longer than what I can publish, contractually, so... here we are.  Finally getting the ending. A little later, but so worth it, in my opinion.  Eeeeeeeeeep  I hope you love it as much as I do!

When I started out on this journey with Sig and Tommi, I never expected to encounter some of the things that I did.  Sig was even more amazing than I ever thought he could be.  He's funny and charming and strong and delicious.  But, as you'll see in this part, he's also fiercely protective.  I couldn't love him one bit more.

And Tommi...I knew she was tough. I knew she was determined.  But I never expected her to be so fragile.  She's like a delicate glass sculpture that's been bathed in steel. Life kicked and dented her, but never managed to break her.  I admire her so, so much.

I hope that y'all find as much love and happiness and satisfaction as I did in this ending.  And, as always, you know I'd love to hear from you after you read it:)

So, without further ado...

If you haven't read part one, you can find it everywhere!

Amazon 
Amazon UK
Barnes and Noble
iTunes
Kobo
Smashwords

If you HAVE read part one and you want to read the conclusion, you can sign up to receive it FREE OF CHARGE automatically through my newsletter here if you haven't already done so.

Happy reading and thank y'all so, so much for loving this story as much as I have!

Dracula and a winner

Just in case you're stopping by to check out the winner announcement from my "Therapy" post, I'll get to that first and then babble about my Dracula...errrr, I mean about Dracula next:)  hehe

Let me first thank y'all for your wonderful comments! I read every single one of them and they all made me so, so happy!  Happy that I shared with you and happy that many of YOU shared with ME, which was just more awesome than words.  So thank you.  Truly.

The winner via Random.org is Lauren Rosa.  Lauren, please contact me with your mailing address at m.leighton.books@gmail.com to receive your signed paperback:)

Now, Dracula...

*sigh*

Y'all this movie... OMG it was fabulous!

• It had great character development-- I loved Vlad from the beginning.  Almost his whole story is tragic, but that's what makes the sweet parts sweeter.  And he's sexy.  Very, VERY sexy.  That always helps:D hehe

• It had great action-- lots of epic battles and cool special effects.  

• It had a fantastic story-- hard-luck underdog willing to fight to the death for those he loves, even if it means becoming a monster to save them.  *swoon*

• It had vampires-- enough said.  

• And, the best part, it had tons of romance-- undying love, loyalty, and, of course, sacrifice.  *sniff sniff*  There was even one part where I was blinking away a few stray tears. In a vampire movie no less!  Y'all, it was  little embarrassing, which was why I was blinking them away. hehe  But I'm a sucker for that kind of...well, you'll know the part I mean when you get to it.

Yes, it was a "scary" action movie with a paranormal theme, but at it's heart (although most men will probably argue), it's a romance.  A wonderful romance!   I hope they make the sequel!

I know, I know. It's just a movie, but for me, it was also an incredible (and visual) reminder of what I adore about my job.  It reminded me that if I lovingly develop my characters, that if I let you see into all their parts (good and bad, strong and weak, broken and working), that if I carefully and meticulously tell you their story, there's a great chance that you'll love them as much as I do.  That you'll see them as I do, know them as I do.  And, to me, that's the most amazing thing in the world.  It's a large part of why I do what I do.  But it's also a privilege.  And I won't ever forget that it is.

So, in short, Dracula Untold is:  a fabulous Dracula origin story, a wonderful romance, a tragedy that somehow ends in hope and it has a sexy leading guy.  And it's a great date movie.  What's not to love?  If you've seen it, let me know your thoughts. If not, what the heck are you waiting for?  LOL

Happy Saturday, y'all!  Be safe and enjoy:)

Therapy

I feel like I should preface this (and every post forEVER after this) with the warning that rambling, divulging of inconsequential information, sharing of too much personal crap and the general telling of things that I probably ought-notta shall commence in 3--2--1...

So, you notice that the title of this post is THERAPY.  Because that's what I need.  I once heard a therapist say that even therapists need therapy, that everyone needs a safe place to talk about their problems, air out their feelings.  Is this a safe place?  I hope so.  It's certainly public enough. LOL  For that reason alone, I'll try to keep more...sensitive stuff to a minimum. hehe  I'd hate to get flagged or something.  If I'm not already.  *looks over shoulder*

For about the last year, I've struggled quite a bit, career-wise.  Add to that some health issues involving my family and it makes for some significant stress.  My knee-jerk reaction when I'm stressed or overwhelmed is to withdraw.  That's just the way I am.  That's probably not always the best course of action, though, so today I'm gonna use y'all (bless your hearts) as my therapists.  The cool thing is, you don't really have to do anything. Just listen.  Maybe make an encouraging comment here or there as you feel the need to.  If you do, that's fine. If you don't, that's fine, too.

See, what I'm learning is that you can't always rely on your friends to see when you're hurting and offer you some encouragement.  Sometimes NO ONE can fix what hurts, if it even CAN be fixed.  But hurt doesn't last forever. Thank God. You just have to figure out how best to weather the tough times.  Whether it's yoga or actual therapy or mediation or, like for me, seeking spiritual guidance, do what you have to do get through to the next day. Or the one after that.  Weeping may endure for the night, but joy comes in the morning.  And it always does.  Eventually.  But in the meantime, look around.   What I've noticed recently is that God always gives me somebody, whether my wonderful husband who lets me know I'm loved a million times every day or an email from a reader telling me that, while she doesn't interact much on social media, she follows me and loves my work.  We always have what we need in our lives.  We are surrounded by people who keep us humble, keep us encouraged, keep us laughing, keep us wise.  It just might not be the same people all the time.  But they're there, nonetheless.  They pick you up, or sometimes HOLD you up, until you can stand on your own again.  And then, when it's all said and done, you blog about it. Or at least that's what I'm doing. hehehe

The moral of this story is that life isn't perfect for anyone.  Everybody has rough days or weeks or months or sometimes years.  We all help each other through it, whether on the giving or the receiving end.  We take turns. And that's what's so cool about the human race.  When we aren't buried in our own misery, we're helping someone else out of theirs.  And that's a good thing, because it might be THEIR hand that reaches into the quicksand for us next time.  #Truth

Just an FYI, because I'm feeling so, so good today, I'm going to choose someone who comments on this post to receive a signed paperback of ALL THINGS PRETTY.  I'll post the winner on Saturday:)

Have a  marvelous week!

All Things Pretty Scavenger Hunt, third and final day!

If you've missed the first two days, no need to worry!  Each day has its own fun excerpt and prize, so feel free to join in.  There's plenty of delicious Sig to go around.  #Truth

Here's how and where you play:

What we have for you today is an excerpt. It's not just any excerpt, we want you to find the pretty in the excerpt. Your guess at what the pretty is, will be your entry for the giveaway! 

Ex: My mile high Louboutin's were killing my feet.

Guess: shoes

Stuck In Books

Nose Stuck In A Book

Schmexy Girl Book Blog

Book Bitches

Always YA At Heart

Holly's Red Hot Reviews

Retailers: Amazon | Barnes and Noble  | iTunes | Kobo | Smashwords

Goodreads

All Things Pretty Scavenger Hunt, day 2!

More yummy Sig is happening!  Don't miss it!!

Here's how you play:

What we have for you today is an excerpt. It's not just any excerpt, we want you to find the pretty in the excerpt. Your guess at what the pretty is, will be your entry for the giveaway! 

Ex: My mile high Louboutin's were killing my feet.

Guess: shoes

A Bookish Escape

I Read Indie

The Autumn Review

Vilma's Book Blog

Retailers: Amazon | Barnes and Noble  | iTunes | Kobo | Smashwords

Goodreads