January 2016 Do You Have Goals? Update and Story Submission Link

Many thanks to Misha and Beth who keep this hop rocking! :)

My goals this year are a little "wide" in generality, with some specifics I'll give each month.

1. Write Strong

Champion's Destiny is out for kindle, smashwords, kobo, and nook. The paperback is still in progress. 

A friend asked me to write a study guide for her high school class because they are reading Champion in the Darkness! (wow!) So, I wrote a 3,000 word study guide. 

I wrote 21,000 words of "other" stuff (top secret for now).

I wrote a short story for a contest and sent it out, then belatedly discovered that Write 1 Sub 1 closed it's doors. I'm sad that has happened, but yet thankful that I was able to take part for a short time.

And, I'm excited for The Turning Points Anthology that's coming later this year! 

2. Market with Strength (use what works for me)

I tried thunderclap. It went. I had one sale that day. It wasn't what I wanted from that.

I used buffer, twitter, and facebook groups. 

Overall, I had more sales this month than last year in January.

3. Publish with Strength (use the method that works for the project)

I self(indie)-published Champion's Destiny.

4. Live Strong!

I've been keeping track of my goals and my "accomplishments." Accomplishments are anything that I get done in a day that I consider "good." 

This month, I biked 31 miles, and walked 17 miles. Plus, I did some other random "good" things.

5. Worship with Strength. 

Prayer life and Bible study are still having ups and downs - wow - over an hour of prayer and Bible study in one day, and then five minutes the next. I've been repeating that pattern throughout each week. Hmm. 

6. Gratitude and Grace = Strength.

I'm working on this. I had a seriously bad attitude for a few days this month. I did some growling around the house when no one else was home, and had a few cranky prayers. I wondered if I could skip this attitude goal next month? 

7. Rest, as needed

I did this. I actually did it. I took a much-needed nap one afternoon. My family and I had some"just us" moments, and we went to see Stomp, which was a huge treat for my oldest daughter's 17th birthday and for our whole family.

I also did a bit of reading - some of which poured over from Christmas break into the New Year. One of my favorites so far this year was: The Eighth Day by Diane K. Salerni. Fun, exciting, and action-packed fantasy!

Favorite movie of the month on DVD/Netflix was: The Martian. My whole family loved this one and my hubs and I appreciated how closely it stuck to the book, but we also liked the "added" bit at the end.

Current series my family is watching on netflix: Malcom in the Middle.

 It's humor-filled, slightly off-kilter, and fast-paced.











We love it, and it's decidedly a bit different than what we were watching before that . . . Gotham, Blacklist, White Collar, and Once Upon a Time, although it does remind me a bit of Chuck and Psych.
We also enjoyed but didn't love the newest Sherlock Holmes "special" from BBC. (My kids are teens so we are into slightly older fare these days.)

Story Submission Link:

Brilliant Flash Fiction has a contest going for prize money! The subject is "the future" and the judge is Opal Palmer Adisa. For more specific information, go here: Springtime Fiction Writing Contest.

What are your goals this year and are you keeping track of them daily or monthly?