Baking cookies and writing a plot...

Well, my title is fairly explanatory of what I have been working on in my spare time these days! As per my last post, I have decided to blog for pleasure and not income. I have also decided that in order to maintain my sanity, I need to be writing books. So, I started novel number 4. I have been studying what it takes to create a great plot and began working on mine.

Since the Holidays are here, I have also been spending time baking cookies with my daughter. Just the other night the 4 of us had our annual Christmas cookie decorating contest and we all had a blast creating crazy cookies together.

Thank you to those who reached out with encouragement after my previous post. I am truly thankful for those who care.

Now, go bake some cookies! Here are a couple pictures of mine to help inspire you..

Christmas Organizing book

Changes are coming for 2019

Book trailer: Hot Cocoa, Green Tea and the Man Who Sweetened My Heart

Changes are coming for 2019...I could use your opinions!

Sometimes we take a side road off our best path. Meaning... I have not written books in several months because I was focused on making a go with blogging. I purchased a book that outlined specifically how to make money blogging. I followed the steps exactly how they were presented. The only thing I did not do was start a pod cast.

I blogged daily, applied for and added advertising to the blog, started a second blog, self published a book and mini books. Spent countless hours reaching out to companies trying to gain connections and generate money with blog posts and blog advertising...the list goes on and on. And, as I took it to that next level; from hobby to career, I noticed that my numbers began to grow. I was happy with what I was seeing. Then, BAM! It ended. My numbers began to decrease.

In all honesty, I do not understand what happened. I do not know why or how this transpired. I just know that I feel like I wasted many months of my time and energy. I gave up on writing my books (with an exception of the one I self published...which was a brutal experience in itself. But, I will save that for another day.) and this alone makes me sad.

I could have gotten so much writing done and maybe even finished the book I had in the works. I still wonder if I should continue to push through or stop. I am not one to give up. I keep pushing and pushing until I see the desired result I have in my mind. However, I am beginning to wonder if that is not the path for me...the road I am supposed to be taking.

I was working on a novella series prior to my detour. Now, I want to scrap it and start fresh. This could possibly be the reason or part of the reason I got off track. Maybe I am not supposed to move forward with that series of books.

All this being said, I do not currently have a clear direction for my writing. I would love to somehow combine writing, food and photography into one package. I just don't know how.

2018 was a difficult year for me in many ways, in may areas of my life. I will spare you the details but I am looking forward to and hoping for a year of clarity and peace in 2019.

I am open to all and any ideas you may have on combining my passions into one (as I stated a few sentences ago). Please feel free to share your thoughts if you have any for me.

I am leaning towards letting the blogging go and focusing on writing books once again. Stay tuned for more...

Thank you all for your support. Thank you to each and every person who has purchased one of my books. Thank you for your encouragement, positive energy and compassion. Here's to a fabulous 2019!

More from me:

Self publishing books: yey or nah?

Goals vs. Resolutions

Book trailer for: Hot Cocoa, Green Tea and the Man Who Sweetened My Heart

Christmas Get It Organized is now available!

Hello friends! I have good news! My new book, Christmas...Get It Organized is now available for purchase through Amazon in Kindle and paperback!

Kindle: Christmas...Get It Organized

Paperback: Christmas...Get It Organized

Here is a description of my latest book:

Do you find yourself dreading the Holiday season? Does the word Christmas make you cringe? Christmas…Get It Organized by Deanna Martinez provides easy steps to be ready for the Holiday without all the stress, crowds and expenses.
Learn easy ways to stay organized, spend less and have more time to spend with the people you love, doing the things you love.
Deanna will show you how to make lists, shop ahead of time, have parties, bake treats, create drinks, add new family traditions and much more.
Gifts do not have to be things we buy. They can be things we make or time we can give.
Put Deanna’s organizing ideas into practice this year and find yourself laughing instead of crying this Christmas.

To view and purchase other works written by me: Author: Deanna Martinez

The Publishing Process: 
I have to say that the self publishing process was not a piece of cake. The digital version was easier to publish than the paperback for sure. But, neither were particularly EASY. I'm sure as I publish more books, it will come easier.
Formatting the text was difficult and to be honest, is not exactly how I want it to look. However, after trying and trying to fix it and make my text begin at the top of the pages, I was not successful.

The cover gave me gray hairs!!! I downloaded the cover I created and it would not fit. Finally, I went into the cover creator from Amazon (that I tried to use at the beginning of the process, but to no avail) and got it to work.

Thankfully, I now have a Kindle version AND a paperback version available for your to purchase. This book is filled with easy tips and ideas to help he Holidays go smoothly. Thank you for your support!

Book cover reveal: Christmas...Get it Organized (How I created my book cover)

Well... what do you think? This is the cover I created with Canva for my new book release! I tried using the Amazon cover creator, but it did not come easy for me.

So, I did a Google search and Canva popped up. I had used this free site before to create some book promotional materials and some Instagram posts for my baking events (Yes, I bake too: www.thefierywhisk.com)

Here is a brief description of what this book is about:

Do you find yourself dreading the Holiday season? Does the word Christmas make you cringe?
Christmas…Get It Organized by Deanna Martinez provides easy steps to be ready for the Holiday without all the stress, crowds and expenses.
Learn easy ways to stay organized, spend less and have more time to spend with the people you love, doing the things you love.
Deanna will show you how to make lists, shop ahead of time, have parties, bake treats, create drinks, add new family traditions and much more.
Gifts do not have to be things we buy. They can be things we make or time we can give.
Put Deanna’s organizing ideas into practice this year and find yourself laughing instead of crying this Christmas. 

I will post as soon as it is ready to be purchased!

Related articles:

Self publishing books: yey or nah?

Is Deanna still writing books? (Write Now writers conference)

Happy Sunday to you! And the answer is....YES! I am still writing books. I have started on a new endeavor...a novella series! I am super excited about this project too.

You may remember me blogging about going to the Write Now conference last year in Raleigh, NC. I am excited to say that I have registered to go again this year!
If you are interested in attending, click here: Triangle Area Freelancers: Write Now Conference (April 28, 2018)

You may also remember me blogging about author: Tara Jenkinson Cignarella and her books: Lilac Sand and Flutter. Well.... we have become close friends and she will be flying down to NC and attending the conference with me! I am SUPER excited!

Lots of good things happening!

Author Deanna Martinez-Bey: Facebook, Website, Amazon