What the Heck is a NaNoWriMo?

So Maria and I have both been very busy!

In addition to Maria working on her follow up book to Hold on Tight, she has been battling with the mess that is "Sandy" and all her aftermath. Fortunately, she is okay, despite having to deal with a few days of no power. If you haven't already, be sure to check out her beautiful new cover reveal.

I have been getting ready to release my third book Shymers, which was released today! You can find it on Amazon, Smashwords and my website. It should also appear on iBooks and Barnes and Noble in the very near future. Don't forget to enter to win a free paperback copy on Goodreads and through Author Deanna Lynn Sletten's blog!

In addition to everything, Maria and I both signed up to participate in the 2012 NaNoWriMo. If you're not a writer, I'm guessing you're not familiar with this term and you may be wondering what the heck it even is. National Novel Writing Month is a contest that takes place every November in which authors are challenged to write 50,000 words in the span of one month. You don't have to be a published author to participate - you don't even have to be a committed writer.

The whole point is to force yourself to finish that story you've always wanted to tell, but haven't had the time for. Last year, my first novel What I've Done was created during NaNoWriMo. I have wanted to write a book for as long as I can remember, but always had excuses that were holding me back. When November was over, I kept writing and added another 35,000 words, then re-wrote the story, and re-wrote again. Completing NaNoWriMo doesn't mean you'll finish with a book that's all ready to go, but means you'll have a great start to something big.

There isn't any official prize (although there is a great store online where you can buy yourself something), and it doesn't cost anything to enter (although they need donations to keep running). But it's a great way to give yourself that boost you needed to get started, and also a great way to meet new friends. If you think this sounds like a lot of fun (which it is), there is still time to sign up!

So in conclusion, we apologize in advance for our lack of posts, and for those we try to cram in late at night when our brains are fried from so much writing.

Write on.

~Jen