Judith Graves-On Finding Balance in Your Writing Life and Giveaway of Second Skin

Today I am happy to welcome Judith Graves,author of the Skinned series, to my blog. She's here to share her thoughts on finding balance as we blog, write, promote our books, ourselves. It is a tricky thing to do and often I find myself tipping the scales too far one way or the other.

Before I hand over the blog to Judith, though, I want to share a little bit about SECOND SKIN which is the second in her series, Under My Skin, being the first.

The book trailer:

My thoughts:

Just released. Just received a copy from the author...and well. It does not disappoint. In fact I think she upped her game with this one. Smart (a**) heroine with a huge secret (can you say wolven?) that keeps trying to bust out of her skin. She hangs with her friends doing the "usual" stuff- hunting paranorms (demons, vampires, hell spawn, werewolves)  while balancing school, relationships and all the fun of living in a small town that seems to be a magnet for all the baddies. The action is fast paced, heart stopping and heart breaking. Judith found a balance in her writing that I found compelling-kind of like the humour and feel of Supernatural (t.v. series). Speaking of T.V. I think this would translate well to the screen. 

From Goodreads:

With FIENDS like Eryn…

Monsters. Bloodsuckers. The evil. The damned. Eryn McCain knows they exist— she’s been hunting them since she was a child. At sixteen, she’s ready to take on all comers. Being a shapeshifter gives her an advantage when it comes to her unusual part-time job. The hours suck and the pay is, well, non-existent, but bonuses like inhuman strength and night vision make tracking scary beasties a dream come true. Especially in a town like Redgrave.

When an ancient demon targets Redgrave High, Eryn and her crew of hunters must face their innermost fears to prevent the Harvest Moon Dance from becoming one serious Monster Mash. Loyalties are tested and temptations abound. With questions ever brewing, can Eryn share a future with the brooding, noble, human Alec—the hunter after her heart? Or will she succumb to her enemy’s son, Wade, a seductive predator as bloodthirsty as she is?

What happens when you’re both the beauty and the beast?

Alright. Nuff from me. On with Judith's thoughts about finding balance in your writing life! More about her books and the giveaway at end of post.

On Finding Balance:

There are several things I struggle with in life. Constructing killer sentences, avoiding chocolate, and finding that elusive beastie known as BALANCE.

Each day of our lives is filled with things we hope to accomplish and while we’re tackling Today, we add a few dozen goals for Tomorrow. To keep us on track we’ve got daytimers, to-do lists, email alerts, and stickie note jungles growing around our laptops/workstations.

If we’re lucky, we might even build in some family / real life / fun time, although that will be penciled in and likely shifted around – or scratched out. Or forgotten.

The life of a young adult author is a frenzied, multi-tasking, social networking event – every single day. However, several years into this gig, I can finally say I think I have a handle on the whole work life versus social life issue.

At least, I do in theory. There are always hitches in my plans for a balanced day, let alone my hopes for a balanced life. But here’s how I attempt the impossible.

I have a schedule. And most days, I live by it. Rigid, you say? OCD? Perhaps, and yet in the few months since I’ve created this schedule I’ve managed to get more pages written, have more down time, and have been able to focus my attention when with my husband / my hyper labs (rather than obsessing over scenes I could be cranking out), and enjoying my other interests (playing guitar, singing/songwriting) than ever before.

If a few days here or there are wonky, so be it. I ALLOW myself to trip occasionally, as long as I get back up, and back on track.

I offer you my writing schedule in hopes that it helps fellow writers, or any other soul floundering in a sea of TO-DOs:

NOTE: 5am wake up time is usual for me, but might seem extreme to others. J

WRITING DAY SCHEDULE

5-8am: breakfast, reading, exercise

8-NOON: update blogs, answer interview questions, write guest posts/articles, update social media (FB/Twitter, etc.)

NOON-1pm: lunch – play with the pups / take them to mailbox

1-4pm: write (daily goal 3 pages can be on one or spread over multiple projects)

Evening: research, watch film/TV, outline, brainstorm…and live a little.

***

Thanks so much for doing this for us, Judith. Love your writing day schedule and how you do allow yourself the trip ups, but always get back in the saddle...or should say back in the boat! Now, if you'd liked to learn a little more about her, here are the places to go:

Author Website: www.judithgraves.com 

Steampunk series: www.strangewaysnovels.com

Twitter: @judithgraves and @AStrangeways
Blog Tour: Second Skin

To win a copy of Judith's book all I ask is that you comment. If you'd leave some thoughts, tips, techniques on how you find your balance, it will get you another entry. Contest is open until midnight on Monday. Open to U.S. and Canada.

Enjoy your day everyone!