Well, he left to go back to college today around three o’clock. I did a little better today. I cried for a few minutes and was about to put my hair up when my daughter told me she heard a car door. He came back to the house after getting gas in his car. I was happy to see him again, but it made him leaving the second time a little rougher. I waited until he left before I shed a few more tears. I’m not going to lie and say this new normal is great. I know it’s part of life and we have to let them go. I wasn’t READY! A lot of mothers out there can sympathize with me on this one. I get to see him again in six days, so that is good.

Along with the new normal, I am here at my happy place trying to work on my new book Dancing With A Stranger. You can tell how it’s going without me saying a word. I’m on here blogging, instead of writing. I will go back to writing here in a few minutes. Again, right frame of mind plays a big part on the writing process. More than you can even imagine. I need to remove my Queen Procrastinator crown and get back to work. I have a little over an hour to get some words down.

Hope everyone has a great evening! Thanks again, for reading.

Our youngest son is home from college this weekend. He’s the first one to go away to college. So, this whole college thing is new territory for all of us. It’s been quite an adjustment to say the least. This new normal took a toll on the creativity and threw me into a writer’s slump. It was worse than a writer’s block. I’m on here, while he’s sitting at the table doing his assignments for class and watching college football. He will be playing football in college. Super proud of him!

New life changes can hamper the creative flow and that is okay. I tried writing during that time and it was really rough. I know there are some of you out there that sent a child away to college for the first time. I’m saying it’s okay to be emotional right now. No one told us 18 years would fly by so quickly, to set them free to go start their own lives. For 18 years they have relied on us for everything, and if we are lucky they will text or call us once a day during their busy college lives.

If you know someone that has sent their child away to college for the first time, check on them. Most of the time we are not okay. We miss our kids terribly as we adjust to this new normal. It will get easier with time, but that time hasn’t arrived yet. So, be patient with us if we are moody or quiet. We will eventually come around and start being ourselves again.

Have a great evening! I think he is almost done with his work.

That’s right…The craptastic day continued into today. Woke up this morning feeling bad again. My throat was raw as if someone had ran sandpaper down it. I still managed to go to work, which I should have stayed home. If you are going to be grouchy and complain about someone saying something to you, then keep your cranky ass at home. I could go on forever about that subject, but I will spare you all the agony of listening to it. Then, my daughter came home upset over a situation, which made Mama Bear come out for a little bit. So, we went for coffee at a local place here where we live, and we ran into our favorite barista. He is amazing! We talked to him for a little bit, which helped cheer my daughter up. No one likes to see their kids upset, especially when there is nothing you can do to make it better. We did a little retail therapy too.

Now, it’s late and I’m supposed to be getting some writing done. Again, Queen Procrastinator is in her throne. I might try to get some sleep and get up early in the morning and write before my son comes home from college for the weekend. I’m not going to write while he’s at home. Then again, we might work on his characters for a little bit. He shares my love of writing. I admit it’s hard to help him sometimes because our writing styles are so different. He writes in third person, and I write in first person. I try my best to help him, though I fail sometimes.

Hope everyone had a great day today. Thanks for reading.

Yep, you read it right. Craptastic Day, that just keeps getting more crappy. It started out good, and went to crap in a matter of a few hours. Its turned into a bonafide Shit Show, starring yours truly A.L. Martin. Pull up a chair, and get you some popcorn. Hell, you will need a drink by the time you are done reading this.

First my new beautician calls to let me know she’s not at the salon anymore, and will be in touch when she finds a new place. Okay…No need to panic just yet because my hair still look fabulous after a month. So, I can go for another month before panic mode begins to set in. My day doesn’t end there. Yeah, it gets better.(sarcastic tone) I met my editor for lunch/dinner this afternoon and went to print off some more chapters to give to her. I had to take out the SD card and put it in my old computer to print the pages. Guess what? Here is where it goes to hell! The last 15 pages I had written for my new book were gone! Writers worst nightmare next to writer’s block. They didn’t save to my SD card! After a few minutes of spewing profanities, coming up with a plan to help my new computer have an accident, I had a revelation.

Maybe, they didn’t save because they were actual crap, meant to be written again. I told my editor and she laughed at me, telling me that wasn’t true. I told her it was true. So, here I am at Barnes(happy place) about to write those 15 pages again. Wish me luck! Thanks for reading. Have a great evening!

Yeah, I thought I was going to be able and get some writing done tonight. I’ve done everything except write, I checked facebook, Twitter, messaged my husband. I wrote probably a sentence. So, I guess writing isn’t going to happen tonight. Then again, I might put my earbuds in get my songs going and write a little bit more.

I think we are all bad about setting goals for the day, something comes up and those plans go right out the window. Sometimes, these things are out of our control and other times we are to blame for not getting those things done.

Do you ever feel guilty for not getting those things done that you planned on doing? I admit I do feel guilty for not writing when I should be. The book isn’t going to write itself. I know I need to stop procrastinating and just write it. I am the world’s biggest procrastinator. That’s me A.L. Martin Queen of The Procrastinators. Well, I need to step down off my throne for a little while and get some writing done.

Hope you all have a great evening.

Good Afternoon, everyone!

I stayed home from work today with a sore throat, headache, hoping the added rest will help me feel better tomorrow. I got tired of laying down, so now I’m sitting up in bed writing this out, before I start working on Dancing With a Stranger. I don’t know how much writing I will get done, but I’m going to try and finish up Chapter 14.

I’m coming out of a Writer’s slump, so I need to take advantage of that fact even though I feel horrible. Watching one of my favorite movies isn’t helping the concentration either. How can anyone not watch the original Ghostbusters? Who doesn’t love the Staypuff Marshmallow Man, right? Here, I go again off topic.

Hope everyone has a great day! I’m going to try and get some writing done before I start feeling like crap again.

Yeah, the day you are having can affect the writing process. I don’t know about other authors but it can definitely affect my writing. Like for instance…The city I live in all of sudden forgets how to drive during the rain. As if the rules on the road have suddenly changed because it’s raining. It gives them permission to drive like in the game of Mario Karts…Switching lanes with other drivers in those lanes, speeding up on other vehicles, then slamming on their brakes because they are about to kiss the ass of that vehicle. Most of you know what I’m talking about.

What was I talking about? Oh yeah, the kind of day you’re having can affect how you write.

Either your writing will be productive or the Grim Reaper will be busy collecting bodies throughout your story. If he’s busy, then your book is going to be really short and to the point. Then again, writing can help relieve the stress in your life. You can escape everyday troubles, by visiting the world you have created on paper. Things you can’t control in the real world, you can somewhat control in the fiction world. You still need conflicts in the story or it would be a rather boring read for your audience.

There is nothing more frustrating for a writer than the ever dreaded Writer’s Block. Our imaginary friends have stopped talking to us. Um, Hello! How can we tell their stories if they close the door in our face? So, we look like idiots standing there banging on the door until they decide to get up off their butts to unlock the stupid thing. By that time, we want to punch them in their imaginary faces. Good thing they are not real, or I think a lot of us would try. They want to talk then, and we are so frustrated that we are like Shut the Hell Up! You made us wait, so now you can wait on us. Yeah…If that were really true. We bow down to their wishes and follow them around like puppies waiting for a crumb to fall.

On a serious note, I try to push through the writer’s block even if I only write a sentence or two that day. It’s better than nothing. I keep pushing through in hopes I will bust through the locked door and smack them in their faces. If only I could smack them in their faces. My writer’s block usually last a couple of weeks, then I am back on the writing train.

Be yourself; Everyone else is already taken.

— Oscar Wilde.

Welcome to my first blog. Here, I will talk about everything dealing with writing and all that goes with it. You will here about my current work-in-progress, and when it will be released. I will also talk about the struggles of trying to find time to write, while taking care of my family and the craziness it brings.

I will be the first to admit, I get super crabby when I don’t get to write on my book. I’m talking crabby to the point my family has probably had secret meetings that have consisted of deciding which island to send Mom. All I ask is that they make sure there are holes in the container, and my computer goes with me wrapped up in a waterproof bag. Knowing them, they would forget my computer or not send it out of meanness. I can hear them now…”Have a safe trip, Mom.” followed by evil laughter as I peek through the tiny holes of my container.

Kidding aside, they are pretty great, even though I drive them bonkers here lately. They support me even though, they want to send me off sometimes.

Well, this is a little bit about myself and what this blog is going to be about. As you can guess, I am an Author and this blog will be about my every day life. Here, you will read about my struggles trying to find time to write, writer’s block, and my crazy family and how they sometimes contribute to all the above. Don’t get me wrong, I love them more than anything.

Let me introduce myself before I start rambling off about something else. Which according to my 16-year-old daughter, I have a habit of doing. My name is Amber and this is a little glimpse into my life. Here, you will here about my family, while I write my second novel- Dancing With a Stranger.