I love my kids, I really do, but I have to admit....summertime kills me!
I wish I could take the summer off just to have fun. But that never happens. I take days off to have fun and "play" and weekends are always for fun, but weekdays are for work. Children don't "get" that. Just because Mom is home, does not mean she's not working.
I need to have a big sign made that says exactly that.
I still write at my desk in the formal living room. It's just far enough away so I can think straight, yet it's still upstairs so I can supervise. If I retreated to the dungeon in the basement to work, all "bleep" would break loose up here. Yet being "accessible" means the little monsters think they can interrupt me every, oh....SECOND!
I mean, I get it. The month of July is always nuts with lacrosse, and August is when football starts up, so it really only leaves a couple of weeks at the beginning of August to do any type of vacation. But still....most parents don't stay home all summer, they have jobs! And their kids have to learn to entertain themselves. Why is it kids don't take writing seriously as a job. It has to be because writers stay home. If only I could afford an office out of the house.
This summer especially has been hard because it coincided with my release day for Tempest. That involves an insane amount of time participating in my blog tour! So my question is, how do you all handle summer and children, family visiting, vacations, etc, and still get your writing done? I get up at 6 AM and try to work before everyone gets up, but it's still not enough. All I know is my brain is fried....gone for good. Or at least until September 7th when the kiddies go back to school.
Where's the schoolbus when you need it?
THIS is what a Blog Tour looks like! I'm only 2 weeks in and still have 3 weeks left and this is how much I've done so far! All of this takes tons of preplanning to set up and then tons of writing to and promoting and commenting to make successful. I think it's working, since I just found out Tempest is number 11 on B&N Mass Market Mystery List after being out just one week. So excited, but still...I have a new deadline I need to be working on, this book to promote, and distractions at home.
Writers are not HUMAN! We're superheroes! (copy and paste the links below if you want to check anything out. Darn links wasn't working for me)
Blog Tour Guest Posts & Interviews!
To request an autograph on your kindle (my author page) http://kindlegraph.com/authors/karileetownsend
RT Book Reviews Blog (Guest post) http://www.rtbookreviews.com/rt-daily-blog/mystery-month-author-kari-lee-townsends-psychic-heroine-gives-her-reading
Penguin Blog: The Author’s Desk (Guest Post 1) http://community.penguin.com/_Thats-My-Story-and-Im-Sticking-to-it-by-Kari-Lee-Townsend/blog/4987280/150186.html
Penguin Blog: The Author’s Desk (Guest Post 2) http://community.penguin.com/_Never-Judge-a-Book-By-its-Cover-RightWrong-by-Kari-Lee-Townsend/blog/4994192/150186.html
Penguin Blog: the Author’s Desk (Guest Post 3) http://community.penguin.com/_To-Tease-or-not-to-Teasethat-is-the-Question-by-Kari-Lee-Townsend/blog/4999753/150186.html
The Crime Scene: Penguin’s Facebook Page (Transcript of my author chat) https://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=238236066209220
The Richmond Times Dispatch (Review) http://www.mytimesdispatch.com/index.php/bookbag/tea_and_felony/The
Killer characters Blog (Guest Post) http://www.killercharacters.com/2011/07/sunny-is-in-house.html
Femmes Fatales Blog (Interview) http://femmesfatales.typepad.com/my_weblog/2011/07/an-interview-with-kari-lee-townsend.html
Cozy Mystery Challenge Blog (Guest Post) http://cozymysterychallenge.blogspot.com/2011/08/guest-post-and-giveaway-kari-lee.html
Babs Book Bistro Blog (Interview) http://www.babsbookbistro.net/blog/2011/08/guest-kari-townsend-book-giveaway.htmlKiller
Crafts & Crafty Killers Blog (Guest Post) http://anastasiapollack.blogspot.com/2011/08/decorating-with-jeanie-guest-author.html?showComment=1312371216397#c8316245475617811825
Sharon’s Garden of Book Reviews Blog (Q&A) http://sharonsgardenofbookreviews.blogspot.com/2011/08/five-questions-with-kari-lee-townsend.html
The Naked Hero Blog (Guest Post) http://thenakedhero.com/guest-kari-townsend/comment-page-1#comment-6623
Bea’s Book Nook Blog (Guest Post) http://beasbooknook.blogspot.com/2011/08/fine-art-of-book-promotion-guest-post.html
Freda’s Voice Blog (Interview) http://fredasvoice.blogspot.com/2011/08/114-tempest-in-tea-leaves-kari-lee.html
Dames of Dialogue Blog (Interview) http://damesofdialogue.wordpress.com/2011/08/09/kari-lee-townsend-answers-the-dames%e2%80%99-dozen/
Dru’s Book Musings Blog (Guest Post) http://notesfromme.wordpress.com/2011/08/10/my-day-sunshine-meadows-by-kari-lee-townsend/
Blog Tour Reviews!
Genre Wench (July 8) http://genrewench.blogspot.com/2011/07/tempest-in-tea-leaves.html
Bab’s Book Bistro (July 9) http://www.babsbookbistro.net/blog/2011/07/new-review-tempest-in-the-tea-leaves-by-kari-lee-townsend.html
Murders and Mysteries (July 14) http://murdersandmysteries.wordpress.com/2011/07/14/review-tempest-in-the-tea-leaves/
Nora Adrienne’s Reviews (July 18) http://noraadrienne.wordpress.com/2011/07/18/340/
Stuff and Nonsense (July 28) http://marlyn-stuff.blogspot.com/2011/07/just-finished-reading_28.html
Pudgy Penguin Perusals (August 2) http://kayespenguinposts.blogspot.com/2011/08/review-giveaway-tempest-in-tea-leaves.html
The Merry Go Round Reviews (August 2) http://harstan.wordpress.com/2011/07/21/tempest-in-the-tea-leaves-kari-lee-townsend/
RT Book Reviews (August Issue) http://www.rtbookreviews.com/book-review/tempest-tea-leaves
Lori’s Reading Corner (August 5) http://www.lorisreadingcorner.com/2011/08/giveaway-tempest-in-tea-leaves-by-kari-lee-townsend.html
The Mystery Bookshelf (August 6) http://themysterybookshelf.blogspot.com/2011/08/tempest-in-tea-leaves-book-review.html
Book of Secrets (August 8) http://www.bookofsecretsblog.com/2011/08/cozy-mystery-monday-review-and-giveaway.html
Bea’s Book Nook ((August 9) http://beasbooknook.blogspot.com/2011/08/dual-review-of-tempest-in-tea-leaves-by.html
Freda’s Voice (August 9) http://fredasvoice.blogspot.com/2011/08/114-tempest-in-tea-leaves-kari-lee.html
17 comments:
Any tips for surviving the summer as a writer, people? Desperate minds want to know :-)
Okay, this is probably a bit drastic but I get lots of quiet time because my husband and I separated years ago and he has the kids a lot during the Summer. (I don't think I'd recommend this as a solution though!)
Hmmm,tempting at times, Sarah, LOL, but I think I'll keep him :-)
I think it's just this particular summer since it happens to be my first mystery release. I'm trying to be everywhere to make sure the book does well, but man, it's not easy!
Hmmmm, at this moment I feel guilty for 1, not having kids and 2, having no valid excuse for ignoring my WIP.
My day job is eating up 12 hours of my day, 5 days a week, but when I'm up early like this on my day off and my house is silent, I should be writing not reading blogs. :)
So all I can say is Good Luck... and maybe assign a job to the culprit each time you're interrupted?
cheers
Kathy.
PS. Indiana kids (according to my facebook friends) went back to school this week.
Kari, I feel your pain, and my kids have all left the nest...except for the older "one." He tries to honor my "I'm writing" reprimand when he interrupts, but there always seems to be something that he has to tell me right then. "You know I'm writing, right?" sounds like a broken record.
But if I were being honest, I would have to say that kids aren't the only ones who think just because you're home, you're assessable. Friends, long distance family and telemarketers do, too!
Unfortunately, even when I do get absolute quiet, I find another reason to procrastinate.
Hope you're busy writing book 3!!
I'm dying to write book 3, but so busy with this blog tour and my family visiting from Florida, I haven't even begun!
I will soon, though! Probably the end of Aug when the book tour ends. Sept 1st is my goal to start it. That gives me 6 months to write it since it's due on March 1st.
Trust me, Katt, I don't know how people who work outside the home do it. Good luck to you :-)
Sorry Kari, I'm no help. No kids.
I feel your pain, Kari! I'm trying to edit with Disney Channel blasting ten feet away, but I think that's better than the alternative - breaking up fights because brother went into sister's room. Good luck with the new release!
Okay, Kari, here is my 2 cents. I have 4 kids and I'm known as the Night Writer. My kids and hubby go to bed and I go to work. During the school year everyone goes to bed at 9pm and I sit down at the computer and usually write until 2am. This works great for new writing. Editing, I do during all the noise.
It's probably too late to sign them up for camp, but play dates if they are young, money, movies and mall if they are older. It really helps me to write somewhere besides home. When things get real bad, I pack up my computer and head to Starbucks and leave the kids with Dad. Really they are watching him more than him watching them.
Good luck!
Thanks guys. I am fried at night, so that's out. I'm pretty much a zombie then. I'd do better going to be early and getting up at 4 am.
And yeah, they are overscheduled in sports camps but of course all at different times so then there's the constant dropping off and picking up.
Mostly it's the diva that can't sit still....ugh.
After the tweet you just sent out you not sitting still is understandable
LOL....it's paying off, Lindsay, even if it's killing me!!!!
Well you're not dying until the series is finished.
LOL Lindsay, I'll try to keep kicking it, but can't make any promises. If this series doesn't kill me, surely my little monsters will :-)
Better you than me. I'll take four legged monsters any day
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