#authorlife

Halloween Decorating Obsession

So, after maxing out the way I decorate for Christmas, I’ve moved on to my other favorite holiday, Halloween. I’m a paranormal romance author as one of my other pen names, y’all. Are you really that surprised?

I LOVE the colors, and the themes, and the funny signs, and all the different things you can do to decorate for Halloween. I don’t tend to go for spooky. More colorful. But I thought I’d share some of my best Halloween interior decorating tips.

Biggest Bang for the Buck

Glittery cheap boas from grocery stores. I have ones with pumpkins, one with ghosts, and one with witches. They take up a space so nicely. You can see parts of this one behind other decorations on the mantle. They’re also good for long tables, entertainment hutches, and wrapping around banisters.

Wall Signs

The biggest impact to holiday decorations I’ve found (for every holiday) are wall signs. Something about taking down the usual stuff to put up something seasonal and unique really stands out.

Combine Smaller Items on a Larger Item

I love to put some of my smaller items together on a runner or tablecloth.

Trees Aren’t Just for Christmas

Hey, they were a pagan hold over for the jolly holiday to begin with (sorry! I know that’s a hard truth). I find that a Halloween version adds some sparkle. Thinking of doing a life sized kind.

Table Clothes Are My Jam

Tablecloths decorate a very large/long space quickly and easily. I love this tablecloth (and finding fun ones for each holiday actually. I also loved finding the pieces to make the centerpiece!

Things That Light Up

A must at Halloween. After all, the actual celebration is held in the dark.

What about you? Are you a Halloween decorating nut like me? What are some of your favorite holiday decorating tricks?

If I Couldn’t Be a Writer?

If I couldn’t be a writer, what would I do?

I think I’ve been asking myself this question since I was old enough to know that there was a choice. One might say that, due to the staggeringly low chances of making a living at this gig, I should have a backup plan.

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There are the practical choices. Ones I’ve already taken at various points of my life. I have a degree in technical writing and did a year long internship. I’ve used that degree in almost every job I’ve had (everyone needs manuals and no one likes to write them). I also have an MBA somewhere in there.

I spent a year as a corporate trainer. I spent five years in a start up web design company doing HTML, graphic arts, and project management. I spent ten years at a major tech company doing business and customer analysis (living in spreadsheets and numbers) and project management again. And now I own a company (Authors On A Dime) where I put all those together with my passion.

I feel like I have the practical covered. That leaves the impractical, which I think is more what this question is about. If I dreamed another dream, what would it look like?

Honestly, I love being a writer so much, it’s a bit of an obsession. But…

I would LOVE to be one of the film historians/introducers/researchers/hosts at TCM (Turner Classic Movies).

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I have watched classic movies all my life. I’m not like 1980s. I’m talking all the way back to the beginning of film. It started with musicals, but that just led me to all the other fantastic films out there. The stories, the acting, the golden age of Hollywood. Love it all! I would be in hog heaven being able to delve into classics, talk about them with other classics lovers, view them, analyze them. In fact, in high school, that was my top job pick. I just had no idea how to go about getting that job.

But…sigh…it’s too late now. Guess I’ll just have to stick with this dream!

What about you? What would you do if you weren’t doing what you do? 😉

Do or Do Not | #MFRWAuthor Blog Challenge

Thanks to Yoda I have my marching orders. Do, or do not. There is no try.

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This week in the #MFRWAuthor Blog Challenge, we’ve been prompted to write about our biggest fears. I could certainly go on and on about the usual ones many of us share–heights (Yes, I was a skydiver. I’m kookey that way.), spiders, elevators don’t thrill me. You get the point. But, if I’m being honest, there is one fear that rules them all.

Failure.

Queue Pyscho music. (more…)