C.K. Bryant

Mar 16, 2012

OUCH! Branding Can Hurt

It doesn't take a genius to see that I've been neglecting my blog lately. I need to apologize for that. It's not that I don't love my followers, I've just hit a bit of a snag and am not sure how to get over it.

I'm empty. Got nothing to give.

I'm sure most of you have been in this situation at one point or another in your blogging lives and can understand my dilemma. To fix it (me), I decided to ask my BFF for help. Little did I know she'd be chasing me with a branding iron, forcing me to see the real me and asking questions that only made me feel more and more lost. Not her fault. It's me.

You see, I'm eclectic.

While finding a brand should be simple, it's only made me discover how different I am from the rest of the world. According to BFF Ninja Extraordinaire, Ali Cross, I need to FIND myself, discover my target audience, figure out what I have to say to them and run with it. Make that my theme, my mantra, my platform. I'm to consider things I'm passionate about, subjects I like to study or teach and causes I support. Even my favorite color.

So here's what I came up with.

Not a dang thing.

I like all kinds of music, all kinds of movies. Every room in my house is decorated differently. Nothing in my life is theme oriented or done because I rock at a certain subject matter. My favorite color is WHITE. I have a white car, white iPhone, white kitchen and I love to decorated with the shabby chic white on white look. Sure, I love color and I have lots of it around my house, but I LOVE WHITE.

BORING!!

I once told someone I was mashed potatoes. No gravy. No butter. Nothing. Just plain mashed potatoes. I believe that more now than ever. They said to think of it as a blank canvas, that I could create myself over again. BLECK! I'm 49 years old. Starting over scares the crap out of me.

And as far as a target audience and message I want to leave my readers, well . . . I just like to tell stories. Of course I think about the readers, but I think more about the characters and where they choose to take the story than I do about leaving a message or moral behind. I just want to entertain, take them to a different place for a few hours so they can escape the humdrum of day to day life.

What am I passionate about? Good question. What are YOU passionate about? Have any ideas on how I can get out of this slump?

Mar 5, 2012

Stuff, Stuff and More STUFF!!

Ever pack for a vacation and can't decide what to take? How do you narrow down all your STUFF and decide what's important and what's not?

Imagine you're given one hour to collect everything that's important to you . . . and it has to fit in these two cases at the left. Could you do it? Could you narrow it down to the things that mean the most to you?

Or is it just stuff? Insignificant THINGS that don't amount to anything?

My husband's mother was just placed in an assisted living home and we spent last night going through her things, trying to decide what she would need. Everything she owns fit in a small closet in a room in our house. She used to have more. A whole house filled with STUFF, but over the years she's given it away or sold it. Now she has photos, old letters, addresses scribbled on scraps of paper and a tiny jewelry box with a dozen or so sets of earrings in it. Besides her clothes and some linens, that's it.

I'm 49, the same age she was when I was married . . . 26 years ago. Back then we had nothing, drove junkers and scraped and saved just to buy a mismatched set of washer and dryer (one was rust, the other green). We felt rich then. No more going to the laundry mat. We've spent all these years collecting STUFF we really don't need. Will we spend the next 26 giving it away and narrowing down what's really important until it fits into one or two suitcases? It sure makes one think about what's important in life and why we waist our time making money to have more STUFF. We can't take it with us.

What's important to you? What would you put in your suitcase?

Feb 29, 2012

A Special Treat for BOUND Fans

First of all, thanks for all the great reviews you've all posted on your blogs and on various sites around the web. I'm humbled by how well BOUND has been received by its readers.

Second, I've also received a few emails asking about a playlist. While writing and editing this book, I listened to a full range of songs, so it's hard to pick just a few, but I will share this one with you (and maybe a few more later). But before you listen, take a peek at the book over on the right. IN HIS EYES. There's a deleted scene in it from BOUND that you're going to love. And it's free, so you can't beat that.

Okay, so here's the scene:

First chapter. Kira is kicked back on the hood of Lydia's car, waiting for her to get out of school, and she pops her ear-buds in and cranks up a little Colbie Caillat. Here's the song she's listening to. Tell me if you like the lyrics and if you think it says a lot about the love story that's about to happen between her and Octavion.

Feb 24, 2012

Featured Author - Elle Strauss

I'm happy to feature an awesome INDIE author on my blog today. Please make her feel welcome.

Elle Strauss

Elle Strauss writes Young Adult and Middle Grade fiction. She's a married mom of four, and lives in the beautiful Okanagan Valley, famous for beaches and vineyards. She's fond of Lindt's sea salt dark chocolate and hiking in good weather. Her Young Adult rom/com time-travel CLOCKWISE and contemporary/otherworldly Middle Grade IT'S A LITTLE HAYWIRE are now available on Amazon.

You can get to know Elle a little better by stalking her here:

Website: www.ellestraussbooks.com
Twitter: @elle_strauss
Facebook : Elle Strauss - Author
Goodreads: Elle Strauss Goodreads Author
Google+: Elle Strauss
Wattpad: Elle Strauss

Her newest Release:

IT'S A LITTLE HAYWIRE

by Elle Strauss

Illustrated by Tasia Strauss
Owen True is eleven and eleven twelfths and has been "exiled" to the small crazy town of Hayward, WA, aka, Haywire, while his mother is on her honeymoon. All he has to whittle away the time is the company of Gramps, his black lab Daisy, and his Haywire friends, Mason and Mikala Sweet. They don't look so hot this year, in fact, the whole town has gone to pot since the mill shut down.

Owen has his first encounter with a real life homeless man who ends up needing Owen's help in more ways than one. But how does a rich city kid help the small town's suffering citizens?

And what is Owen to make of the fog train and its scary, otherworldy occupants that appears out of thin air on the old tracks behind Gramps' house? Do they have the answer Owen is looking for?

Here's what Elle has to say about the illustrations inside her new book:

It’s a Little Haywire is the type of book that lends itself to illustrations. It’s been compared in style to Because of Winn Dixie, (which thrills me, I’m a big fan of that book) and it and Kate DiCamillo’s other books benefited by having illustrations.

The thing is, when you indie publish you have to hire out and pay for everything up front, and also finding the right illustrating style for your book could be a challenge too. I also wasn’t sure how the illustrations would “blend” in an e-book format, but one of the great things about indie publishing is the ability to try new things and test the waters.

There are a lot of great illustrators out there, and I’m sure I’m not the first to add illustrations to an e-book. The happy news for me was I have a terrific illustrator who lives in my house and already owed me money. (My seventeen year old daughter) Terrific! Let the bartering begin!

It was fabulous to be able to work on this book with her, and I love the fact I could add her name to the credits,Tasia Strauss.

Order your own copy of IT'S A LITTLE HAYWIRE here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0072Z5DWQ
It's normally 2.99 but it will be FREE for Feb 22 and 23 only.

Isn't she GREAT???? Be sure to follower her on all the links above and check out her other book, Clockwise, on her website.

Feb 16, 2012

My Inner Child

I've had a lot of stress in my life lately, so a little over a week ago I decided to take a break from everything internet and writing. I needed to step back and reevaluate a few things and get in touch with my inner child. I'd been neglecting her lately.

A lot!

In the process, I discovered a few unhealed wounds from when I was younger, wounds I tried to ignore and put aside for another day. Today is that other day and it's not going to be easy. In fact, it's going to take months, maybe years, to get through a lot of the crap in my head and come to terms with the verbal and psychological abuse I endured as a child. The old saying, "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me," is so not true. Sometimes the wounds left by other's words hurt far more than the ones left by their hands. And they take longer to heal because we hear them over and over in our heads long after the offender has been removed from our lives.

My demon? YOU'RE NOT GOOD ENOUGH!! YOU'LL NEVER AMOUNT TO ANYTHING!! NO MAN WILL EVER LOVE SOMEONE WHO IS FAT . . . LIKE YOU!!! That's the one that hurts the most. Not because I'm single, but because I have a man who loves me very much and proves it every day. And I still don't trust in that love. I still think he'll change his mind at any minute and take off. I need to get over that and let him love ME, fat and all.

Maybe that's why I stay overweight, to test him. To test everyone. To see if I can be loved as I am. To prove my abuser wrong. I know it's all in my head, that I'm the one that puts the food in my mouth. I'm the one that doesn't put the effort into exercising. But the voice still has its influence. And it's time I snuffed it out.

My inner child needs to be free. I need to be free. So, I plan to call a friend of mine who has offered to help with the weight loss thing. Another friend who has offered to help with the exercise. And another one who's a great listener and will understand "the voices." Friends are good for that kind of thing. I should have let them in sooner.

Like now.

How do you deal with your demons? Any advice you'd like to pass along to my inner child?

Feb 14, 2012

Happy V-Day . . . A Giveaway . . . And a New Release!

Whoa! I've been offline for a little over a week to deal with some personal/family issues and I've missed so much. My inbox is overflowing. My blog is such a mess. *Looks around* Dang! I lost two followers. That makes me sad. I'm sorry I wasn't here blogging away, but life decided to stand up and slap me on the face and the only way I could deal with all the stress was to take a step back and BREATHE for a few days.

Even though the challenges in my life haven't changed, I seem to have a better grip on them and my emotions. So hopefully things will be on the upswing.

So, how have you guys been?

OOOOH, I have a great idea. I feel like giving something away, so . . . leave a comment below telling me what you got for Valentine's Day and I'll put your name in a drawing and pick someone to win the ebook version of BOUND. If there's a bunch of comments, I'll draw more than one name. Sound like fun?

And here's a little BONUS for all of you. IN HIS EYES is now available and there's a deleted chapter from BOUND inside that you're going to LOVE. The purchase links are on the sidebar at the right, but use Smashwords because you can get it there for FREE!!! And TRUST ME! You're going to enjoy every story in this anthology. They're all about love told through the eyes of the HUNK in the story. All Young Adult. All totally yummy.

Don't forget to leave a comment to enter the drawing. I'll draw a winner at midnight MST, Wednesday, the 15th.

HUGS

Feb 6, 2012

Awesome Giveaway and Interview

Dudes!

Go check out my interview on Jean Book Nerd and enter to win a signed copy of my debut novel, BOUND.

Jean's such a cool chick. Tell her I said HI!!!

Feb 4, 2012

Great Gift Ideas for Valentine's Day

GUYS -- here's a Valentine's Day trivia question for you. What's

more romantic than a sizzling love story?

NOTHING!!

That's right. If you're in search of the perfect Valentine's Day gift, look no further,
because I'm about to point you in the direction of some dreamy
books. Whether you gift her a collection of e-books or wrap one
special paperback up in pretty paper with a single red rose on top,
you're bound to score BIG POINTS on Valentine's Day with these
novels.