Get a Life

Sometimes I have to remind myself there is more to life than writing and marketing. Today was one of those days when I just buckled down and spent tons of hours on basement cleaning.

The good news is I got something accomplished.

The bad news is there's way too much more to do to get the basement in order.

I had to stop because I was exhausted.

Until I find time to make more progress down there, I'm reminding myself there's more to life than a clean basement.

Morgan Mandel

To find evidence of my writing life, you'll find
excerpts and buy links to all four of my books
at http://morgansbooklinks.blogspot.com/

Traditions

Holidays are such a wonderful time to remember and carry on traditions.

Later today both sides of the family will be over and we'll feast on ham, potatos, green been casserole, deviled eggs, and a lamb cake from Jewel.

Grandma and Grandpa will bring Easter baskets for our nieces and nephews, and an egg hunt will ensue.

In a few moments I'll head off to church and sing those age-old hymns.

One Easter tradition that has gone by the wayside is Easter bonnets. No one (young or old) seems to wear them anymore. It kind of makes me sad.

What traditions will you celebrate today? Are there any you miss? Any you can do without?

Happy Easter!

Until next time,

Happy Reading!

Debra
www.debrastjohnromance.com

All I Need To Know I Learned From the Easter Bunny! by DL Larson

Spring is here and so is Easter! The Easter Bunny is one funny dude, hopping around hiding colored eggs for children to find and enjoy. His philosphy on life is pretty awesome too. No matter your age or attitude, the Easter Bunny has the solution to living a good life:

Here's a few lessons in life from the Easter Bunny:

- Don't put all your eggs in one basket.

- Everyone needs a friend who is all ears.

- There's no such thing as too much candy.

- All work and no play can make you a basket case.

- A cute tail attracts a lot of attention.

- Everyone is entitled to a bad hare day.

- Let happy thoughts multiply like rabbits.

- Some body parts should be floppy.

- Keep your paws off of other people's jelly beans.

- Good things come in small, sugar-coated packages.

- The grass is always greener in someone else's basket.

- To show your true colors, you have to come out of your shell.

- The best things in life are still sweet and gooey!


May the joy of the season fill your heart ~ and may you never be a rotten egg!

God Bless You!

Til next time ~

DL Larson

Books Gone Viral

If you're on Facebook, like to read or write books, come on over to Books Gone Viral -
http://facebook.com/groups/booksgoneviral 

Our group is young, yet already has over 650 members!

Our purpose is to promote and find books, so stop by and find a book to read or tell us about yours, and also add yours to the Docs.

Also, there's lots of Likes and Tags going on for Amazon pages and Facebook Author Pages, for those who like to participate.

Morgan Mandel
http://facebook.com/morgan.mandel
Find excerpts and buy links for all of Morgan's books at:
http://http//morgansbooklinks.blogspot.com

The Tax Man Cometh

So, we all know that the deadline for filing our federal and state income taxes is just around the corner, but this year we actually have until Tuesday, April 17th.  The reason?  Well April 15th in 2012 is on a Sunday and April 16th, which would be the next date set by the IRS, falls on Emancipation Day in the District of Columbia and apparently we just don't mix the two so we have until Tuesday, April 17th this year.

The problem is that those extra two days may help in the short run, but in the long run if you're a procrastinator it just drags out the inevitable pain of filing taxes.  The key is keeping good tax records year long and then taking the time to sit down and correlate your writing income and expenses with your federal and state income tax returns.

The leading income tax preparation software makes filing your taxes from home so much easier than it has ever been BUT you still have to keep records and receipts and know how to enter this information into the program.

So, after you feel that relief from filing your taxes this year, take some time to sit down and figure out what you'll do starting today to ensure that you have all your writing income and expenses well documented before the next tax filing season.  After all, since we have an extra two days this year, it means we have two days less to focus on the current tax year.

Imagine...

Today let's play Imagine...

Imagine:
Your book becoming a best-seller.
Your book becoming a movie.
Your book becoming a series of movies.
Your book raking in millions.
A theme park named after it.
The studio movie lot becoming a new tourist destination.
Wow.

Imagine....

Saw on TV how the Harry Potter Studio Tour is now open on the Warner Brothers lot in London.

I have to admit I never got into the books, though I did like the movies and saw several. The scope and theme of the theme park and seeing all the stuff on the movie set sounds like something that would be incredible to view in person.

** What's the one place you'd like to go or see your book turn into?

Back in the Swing of Things

I just returned yesterday from a fabulous Spring Break in Florida. It's been a long time since we've taken the whole week and gone somewhere, and this was simply delightful.

We got to catch up with family, friends, and even got a chance to spend our anniversary with Mickey at Disney.

The weather was perfect: we went to the pool everyday, cruised in the convertible, and I for one, read and read and read (six novellas and two full-lengths). All in all, a much needed time away to rest and relax.

And now it's back to reality. Back to chores at home. Back to work tomorrow. Back to chilly temperatures. (Which really isn't fair because when I left for Florida, the Midwest was having Florida-like temperatures up here.) Back to long sleeves and pants - yeesh, no one is even going to see my tan.

But, all in all, it's actually nice to think about getting back into a routine. I've been spinning some ideas for edits on a mss in my head (my hubby even helped me do a little brainstorming in the car while we drove) and I'm itching to work on that today. School will be in the home stretch: One more quarter to go. And I do have to say it's lovely to be back in my own bed.

Vacation is a little like opening a really good book: it's a time to escape, a time away, a time to be somewhere else. And now it's time for "The End."

Until next time,

Happy Reading!

Debra
www.debrastjohnromance.com