Quiet Keystrokes and Midnight Ramblings

I haven't had a lot of down time in the last few months (years?) but I do spend a couple hours here and there indulging in crappy tv to wind down at the end of the day every now and then. One of my indulgences is the show Wife Swap where two families switch Mom's for a week to discover how other families live and tackle all of the issues that come up when you're living as a family. Today I was thinking, when I am writing a lot it can be easy to get stuck in a rut and start writing in circles. There are lots of different writing exercises out there to get our creative juices flowing. But maybe the next time I get stuck in a rut I'll send an email to one of the other writers I know and ask what THEY are writing. Coordinating a swap with someone else stuck in a rut and switching ideas could help out a lot. What would happen if a Romance writer wrote a Mystery Thriller? Or a Journalist wrote a Fantasy? Even if you don't know someone else who writes, you can swap ...

The spring and summer are always really hectic for our family. We own an outdoors-focused business, and unfortunately that means that when the sun is out there is hardly time to write anything. My neighbor yesterday asked how "that journaling stuff" was going, and I must have looked absolutely dumbfounded. "Journaling?" I asked. "Yeah, you know, writing in books or whatever." Long story short, it gave me instant lessons about two things. First, that my neighbor doesn't really pay attention or remember the details of any conversations that we've had over the years. And second, that I need to find the time, no matter how crazy life is, to put some focus back on my writing. My third book has been sitting, half edited, since March. It's about time that I got back at that monster, and what better way to do that then to do what all great writers do when they have a project looming... procrastinate by updating this blog. I'm glad I did log...

A Giraffe In The Room written by Denise Kawaii. Cover art by Denise Kawaii. I really do need to update this blog more often. Well folks, it has been a long, hard winter. I'm busier than I think I have ever been, but somehow managed to work through editing my novelette length work, A Giraffe in the Room . I received an email from Amazon several months ago suggesting I give their self-publishing on Kindle a try, and I finally caved in. Which is great for all you readers out there! A Giraffe in the Room is now available to download on your Kindle devices. It is merely a dip of my toe into the self-publishing pool as I try to decide whether I will pursue traditional publishing for my next novel or not. Please feel free to take a look at the sample pages available on Amazon if you aren't sure about purchasing. I think it turned out great. To take look, here's the link: A Giraffe in the Room . And while you're over on Amazon, don't forget to check out my novel, A...

From Brighton Publishing this morning: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: MEDIA CONTACT: Kathie McGuire December 11, 2012 Kathie@BrightonPublishing.com Brighton Publishing announces print release of “Age/Sex/Location: Love is Just a Click Away” by Denise Kawaii Denise Kawaii captures the challenges of finding hope in the midst of turmoil, and love through the click of a mouse CHANDLER (AZ)—Brighton Publishing LLC is pleased to announce the print release of Age/Sex/Location: Love is Just a Click Away by author Denise Kawaii. Readers will be forced to strap-in for this emotional ride through frustration, heartache, pain, and—ultimately, redemption. Age/Sex/Location: Love is Just a Click Away is currently distributed in print through Ingram, the world’s largest book distributor, and is available in both print and eBook format from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other leading book retailers worldwide. When her fiancé, Steve, dumps her at the altar, Jo ends the chapter on one li...

I was sitting at my desk yesterday browsing through a series of very uninteresting e-mails (read: promotions form Huggies, Pandora and a couple of job offers for blogging about cheese) when suddenly I noticed an email from my publisher. "What's this?" I pondered as my cursor hovered over the e-mail link. When I clicked it, and it opened, the heavens above me opened and the angels started singing (read: the fluorescent lights above me flickered a little and the baby passed some gas). The note was a very pleasant one and there was an attachment. "Ooooh, what is this ?" I wondered aloud as I clicked on the download icon. When the attachment downloaded and finally opened I found... The layout of Age/Sex/Location as it will appear in paperback! No longer will the novel be confined to the pixelated screen or the e-ink of your reader device. No longer will it only be floating about the ether waiting for you to download it. No longer will it be bound by the in...

It has been years of writing, months of editing, and a lifetime of wishful thinking... and finally the dream has come true. Age/Sex/Location  is now available in e-reader format on Amazon.com , Smashwords.com , and will be coming soon to BarnesandNoble.com . It is very exciting, and I feel truly blessed to have come this far with my dream of becoming an author. I sincerely thank all of you for your encouragement, support, and cheer-leading. You each have helped this writer's dream become reality.

Although I haven't been updating this blog regularly - life having gotten extremely hectic recently - I am happy to report that Age / Sex / Location is continuing on its steady march towards the presses. Just today I returned another series of edits to the publisher, and marked one more step off of the long road to printing. As I have been working on Age / Sex / Location, I have also been working on a number of other projects. For one, I am now just a few weeks away from giving birth to my first child (an exhausting and all-encompassing project of its own accord). I also attended some amazing classes over the winter, have helped in the upcoming opening of the Gearheadz Paintball LLC showroom and am preparing for a full summer of paintball. Sticking with the writing is as difficult to do as it is rewarding. I enjoy it completely, and am looking forward to getting back to writing my second novel, Adaline. I constantly wonder when I will find the time and energy to finish the seco...