VS Grenier ~ Award-Winning Author, Speaker & Podcaster

Lakisha Spletzer is a single parent of two highly creative children. She has been writing stories since the tender age of eight. It was always for school or her own amusement; never for others. Lakisha has written fan fics (mostly during high school) and the stories tended to favor such shows as Star Trek, SeaQuest, and Highlander, just to name a few. She did a lot of poetry writing too during high school year; mainly to release all her angst, woes and emotions buried deep inside. After high school, Lakisha went to college and received two degrees: an AAS from Mountain Empire Community College (Big Stone Gap, Virginia) and a BA in Communications from the University of Virginia-Wise. It was not until after the birth of her first child she considered writing a novel. Once Lakisha moved from Virginia to Florida in 2004, her goal solidified and she began working on a novel called "Moonbeams and Moonlight." Lakisha met a local writer's workshop group at the pu

Have you ever had one of those days where you just want to lay in bed doing nothing? I found myself feeling exactly like this today. But as much as I wanted to just lay there in my warm cozy bed . . . I could not. Nope, there was just so much time and so little to do! Strike that . . . reverse it, as the wise Willy Wonka once said. I have always loved that line from the 1971 version of Willy Wonka. I find I say it a lot, because it seems my life is always full of things to do. Wouldn’t it be nice to really have so much time and very little to do once in awhile? I would love to say today was one of those days, but it wasn’t. Instead of relaxing, I start planning next week’s workload. I also look at the things on my To-Do list and see which ones might have to be moved out to the following week. I am glad to say … not too many things need to be moved out, however, website updates will be. All authors know having a website is very important to building your marketing platform. After

By: Mayra Calvani “Nothing has a stronger influence psychologically on their environment and especially on their children than the unlived life of the parent.” --C. G. Jung After a bad night of hardly any sleep, you’re sitting at the computer staring at the blank screen. You wonder if you’ll be able to do it—finish that article, short story or novel which you started months ago. The urge to write is overwhelming, yet you freeze. Not only are you exhausted, but the baby, who you put to sleep less than half hour ago, is whimpering in the crib. Your four-year old has just barged into the office and is tugging at your elbow begging for a snack, even though he had lunch an hour ago. This is hopeless, I may as well quit, you say to yourself while trying to suppress a scream. To your horror, you suddenly find yourself sympathizing with those animals that eat their young… Don’t despair. Calm down. I’ve been there and know perfectly well what you’re going through. The truth is, y

I was thinking about some great blog posts last night I could do, but then I thought wait a minute . . . I'm a guest blogger today on Karen Cioffi's blog today. So instead of sharing some of my thought here today, I'm going to link you over to my guest blog, Does Marketing Really Matter with VS Grenier at Writing for Children . In this guest blog you'll learn about my trials of marketing my picture book, Babysitting SugarPaw while being pregnant. There are lots of tips and inspiration. Okay, at least I think there is. LOL. I hope you enjoy it and please leave a comment. I'm going to be popping in throughout the day to answer any questions, too. And please be sure to stop by tomorrow for Article Wed. I have a great blog post to share with you. It's one you're not going to want to miss.

The dictionary atop your shelf has more than 200,000 words defined. Why don’t you blow off some of the dust on its cover and randomly pick out 10 words? Don’t look at the meanings; just concentrate on the words. Write down your chosen words on a blank sheet of paper. Now, you’re going to have fun creating meanings for those words. What do the words make you think of? What do you think should they mean? (Get other writing prompts at http://www.creativewritingprompts.com/# ) Craven – The leader of the Raven race. A magical being half bird, half man. Fixation – A mental state in which you can posses someone’s mind. Hummock – An herb used in potions. Paradise – An altered reality. Clean. Pure. Diversely – A deep underwater world. Brassiere – Leader of the human race. Astrakhan – Magical kingdom. Place where wizards live. Postal – Crazy person. Lack of mind. Superstition – Magically enhanced physical strength. Unitar

Okay it is time to get in shape after having my baby and sitting on my butt all day writing. I promised you all I would post every Monday about how I am doing to not only help keep me going, but to help get you up and moving as well. You do not have to post your weight in the comments section (unless you’re crazy like me), but I do ask that you share what you did during the week to help get you up and moving. Actual weight on May 31, 2010 188 Goal weight by December 31, 2010 130 Total weight loss planned 58 Instead of me listing everything I have done throughout the week to help lose weight, I am going to post a link to a site I have been using to log my activity level and food each day. The site is totally FREE! You can join me on FitDay.com . Having a log helps you stay on track and really lets you see where you need to make improvements or adjustments to help shed those unwanted pounds. Here’s the link to my overview http://www.fitd

Karen McGrath is a wife, mother, homeschool advocate, author and an editor for MuseItUp Publishing. A three time cancer survivor, Karen writes short stories and novels in several genres with a core message of hope in overcoming life’s numerous challenges. You can find her in the suburbs and streets of Boston corralling children, socializing with parents and jotting notes madly about imaginary characters, while carrying on real life conversations. No one finds this unusual but her. Karen, I want to thank you for being my first interview here on The Writing Mama. I know being a parent and writer can be a bit much to swallow on some days. Finding time to write is not the only problem. I find myself sometimes wondering if I am giving my three children enough attention as well. I am sure you have been in my shoes from time to time. So to start here is the first question. VS: Karen I am sure, before we begin our readers would love to know how many children you have and what ages. Kare

After reading some of the comments from today's post I'm thinking I should do a weekly post on how I'm working to lose my weight to help motivate you to join me. (Or help motivated those who don't need to lose but want to get toned.) So starting on Monday, I will not only post my writing prompt, I will also do a post on my weight, my goal weight, and a picture of what I look like now. Let's Get Up and Get Moving Together!

Recently I just talked with you all about the “Butt in Chair” theory. As important as it is to sit down everyday to write, you also need to find time to get out of your writing chair. This can be hard to do if you have not only manuscripts to work on, but also, websites, blogs, social site updates, workshops to prepare/do, PR/marketing, etc. However, finding the balance is very important in every writer’s life. This does not mean just finding the time to spend with your children, spouse, friends, or even finding the time to clean your house. You also need to get up and get moving for your health. I would love to tell you the pounds I packed on over the last year were because of my pregnancy. But that would be partly a lie. I had a few extra pounds to lose way before I got pregnant with Sabrina; about 40 to 45 pounds to be exact. My excuse use to be, “Why lose the extra weight when we’re trying to have another baby and I’m going to get fat anyway.” But the truth behind this state real

By: TJ Philpott Far too many people fail to actually achieve goals they have set for themselves. Although reasons vary and circumstances differ the basis for most people's failure often is common one. Setting goals is a process that should be well thought out but it does not stop there. The ability or desire to actually motivate yourself to pursue your goals seems to be a common 'sticking point' for most people. The obstacles that confront most everyone in the successful pursuit of any tangible goals can be narrowed down to three stages. Let's review these stages to see the best way for you to achieve your goals after setting them. Determine 'Your Own' Desires In setting goals for yourself take conscious note that these goals you have elected to pursue are yours. Often times even as adults we find ourselves striving to achieve milestones that others want for us. For instance, the influence of a parent for you to be a doctor or attend their alma mat