Five minutes can change a life. In five minutes, you can have a cup of coffee, open an email, or post on social media sites. I like to think of my life in five minute segments. I almost see it as a challenge. What can I do in five minutes that can change my life? For me, my life revolves around two things: my family and my writing. Most recently it has been the book Montana Mustangs, the second book in the Nymph Series. This entire book was written in what always started as five minutes stretches. Once I started looking for five free minutes in my day I started finding them: while I waited for my kids to get out of school I made use of those few free minutes, while I waited for a meeting, or while I waited for dinner to cook. Sometimes I would start with those five minutes and they would stretch into hours. Sometimes all it was were those precious minutes. Yet, in just a few short months I had Montana Mustangs completed. When I was writing Montana Mustangs those minutes were reserved exclusively for writing—not daydreaming or thinking about the next plot point. Suddenly, when I was driving to pick up my children I had great book ideas (How I wish I had a marker I could write on windows with!). As a result, my characters were like my friends, visiting me during the day and telling me how the story should move ahead. It was amazing how I conditioned myself to plan ahead during moments of downtime so when I reached for my computer I was ready.In addition to writing Montana Mustangs (and then the next book in the series), I have had the fabulous opportunity of teaching courses on writing to published and yet-to-be-published authors. The most common excuse I hear as to why a person couldn’t finish a book was/is: “I don’t have the time.” I immediately think of my five minute challenge. Everyone has five minutes at some point in their day that isn’t occupied by crying kids, phone calls, cooking, or working at a nine-to-five job. The hard part is utilizing them. If you have a passion and you really want to change your life I recommend you start with my rule. It doesn’t have to be writing. Maybe you want to lose weight? Start knitting? Find those spare moments in your day and before long you will have attained a goal in which you had never thought possible. When you achieve your goal you will become empowered.
Books, For Readers, Guest Blogger, Special Operations
WHEN DEATH COMES FOR YOU
Sergeant Brooke Forester wants to live a life that means something, and one in which she isn’t perpetually shrouded by her father’s sins.
YOU MUST FIGHT
But in the blink-and-you-miss town of Sula, Montana, gossip constantly sweeps through the community… And, while Brooke has been the public’s target for years, soon no gossip is juicier than that about the sexy, new FBI agent Sawyer Reynolds who has come to investigate a series of strange and gruesome murders.
OR DIE
Just when Brooke thinks she escapes her past, her past returns—
and brings a cold, calculating psychopath right along with it.
And this time, the killer won’t stop until they take every last shred of her identity and eventually, her life.
For Readers
Excerpt from Hidden Truth (STEALTH Series, Book 1):
She clicked open the tabs of the gun case, exposing the M24 sniper rifle. It was a thing of beauty. Even without firing a single round from this particular gun, Trish Martin could recall the precise feel of pulling the trigger, smelling the spent powder and watching as her enemies fell to their knees.
There was no greater feeling in the world than a justified kill. The men standing around her, those dealing in death, would be easy to strip from this earth…
