Ugh...Trying to get Motivated....Really!

Well the one problem with having such a wonderful and relaxing vacation is coming home and getting back into the groove.  I don't think I'm there yet.  As you can see by the month-long lag in my blogs, I've haven't been motivated to do much writing.

So what have I've been doing?  Driving my daughter around to volleyball practice (she made the high school team), band practice (she plays the flute for the marching band), and to friends houses (she's trying to squeeze every little bit of summer vacation in before school starts on Monday).

Celebrating - OUTSIDE IN won the Prism Award in the YA category!! (And I'd thought I'd come in third again :)

Going to YA events - I was at the YA FEST in Easton on August 4 and had a blast.  I'll be at PAYA Festival this Saturday the 25th, signing from 2 to 3 p.m.  It's in West Chester, PA - here's a link to the event: http://www.facebook.com/#!/events/424728464243967/ 

Doing interviews and writing guest blogs. I'll post them when I can. One interview and giveaway is up now at saz101:  http://saz101.blogspot.com.au/2012/08/aaa-q-with-maria-v-snyder-giveaway.html

Procrastinating - my dad asked me how many total books I've sold and curious I added up the numbers from my 9 books from all over the world in both print and electronic format.  From Oct 2005 to Dec 2011, 821,010 books were sold.  Not bad.   

Working on revisions to STORM WATCHER.  Did you get my email newsletter at the end of July?  Check your spam folder if you didn't. The book is aimed for readers ages 8 to 14 years old, and will be published by Leap Books. The same publisher who put together the SPIRITED anthology. 

Here's a synopsis for the book: Luke Riley is lost. His mother's recent death has set Luke and his family adrift. Even though his father, twin brothers, and their three bloodhounds are search and rescue volunteers, they have been unable to rescue themselves and become a family again. The summer after sixth grade looms in Luke's mind as a long, lonely three months where the only thing he can look forward to is watching The Weather Channel. Luke is fascinated with the weather, but since his mother's death in a storm, he is also terrified. Even the promised 13th birthday present of a bloodhound puppy fails to lift Luke's spirits. He would rather have a different breed - a papillon, but his father insists he get a Bloodhound.

When Luke decides he wants a bloodhound from Willajean, a dog breeder who owns Storm Watcher Kennel, he works out a deal to help at her kennel in exchange for the expensive dog. Thrilled to have a summer with a purpose, Luke befriends Willajean's daughter, Megan and together they plan how Luke can get a papillon puppy instead of a bloodhound.

Revisions have been extensive - I'm a much stronger writer now that when I first wrote this so it needs a LOT of work  ;)  I'm not sure when it'll be released - probably sometime in 2013.   Once I finish STORM WATCHER, I'm going to start writing, TASTE OF DEATH, book 3 of the Healer series.  My son asks me daily if I've started TOD yet!  I think he liked the other two - the fact he wanted to read SCENT OF MAGIC while it was still in manuscript format told me lots :)I hope to get back into blogging at least once a week.  I have some author interviews and a Q&A with my editor that I want to post so stay tuned!