Me and Sleep

     I LOVE SLEEP! Alas, it does not love me.
     I am 23 years old and I love to go to bed at 930 at night. Yes, I know that I am an old lady for going to bed that early. But trust me, if I don't get a lot of sleep, I can be a bear. I get really cranky when I don't get enough sleep. I guess I didn't grow out of that as a child. 
     Most nights I lie in my bed and wait for sleep. Some nights I wait hours for sleep to take me. This sucks. Most of the time it's because my brain will not shut up. And most of the time it is thinking of useless stuff. Or playing songs. UGH! Like, I appreciate that I have an active brain. It really helps to have an active brain being an author. But when I am tired and want to sleep, I wish I had a switch, like a light, that I could just turn it off. There are a few miraculous nights where I actually get to sleep in a reasonable amount of time. But like I said, these are rare occasions. There was a time that I knew every single word to It Will Rain by Bruno Mars. I would sing this to myself over and over again until I fell asleep. And it actually helped. It's that counting sheep theory.
     To get to my point. Sunday night, I was lying in bed, not able to sleep because, well, I just don't think I was tired. So, because I couldn't sleep, I decided to actively think, instead of trying to shut my brain up. Now, I recently published my first book. It is a stand alone book. Which means there will not be a sequel to it involving the same main characters. One of the people who read my book was said because there would not be a sequel. Now, before she had read my book, I was toying with the idea of writing, not a sequel, but a companion book to this one. I knew it would involve the first books' main character's roommate. Wow that was complicated. So, I knew who the main character would be, but that was it. I had no idea if I could even give him a story. I knew I wanted to, I just had no idea what was going to happen.
     So, as I laid in my bed, unable to fall asleep, I plotted out almost the entire book. I came up with the love interest. I knew what she would do. I knew what the conflict would be. I knew how it would end. I had it all down. And I was so proud of my brain. I wasn't even upset that I couldn't go to sleep. I hate to sound conceited, but sometimes I am really amazed by some of the things my brain comes up with and how it can connect dots.
     So, I use the word so a lot. But besides that, I turned a night of frustration into a night of productivity. I do have to say, even when I don't get sleep because my brain won't shut up, most of the time, right before I'm going to sleep is when I get some of my best ideas.
     In conclusion, lack of sleep is not always a bad thing. But only once in a while.

Writing Funny

     I love to laugh out loud while reading books. I love funny books and funny moments in serious books. Comedy is a huge part of entertainment, whether it be stand up, books, movies, or TV. So do you have to be a funny person to write funny, or can you just work at it?
     I would like to think I am a decently funny person. I get told I'm funny. I've been told I should be a comedian. I make people laugh. So writing funny scenes in my books should be a piece of cake, right? Wrong. Sure, I can write funny scenes, but they don't just come to me. I have to work hard at them. It is one thing to come up with a comeback when you are in a conversation with someone and your mind is sharp. But it is an entirely different thing when you are writing a scene and you need to write something funny, but also something that your character would say, not just how you would react to what the other person said.
     Then you have to figure out how funny you want it to be. How long do they have to be funny. Do you just want a good one liner for a punch? There is a lot to being funny in a book. Also, a one liner that may be common to you and your friends, a reader may have no clue what you are talking about. It's a complicated process. For me anyway. I'm sure other authors have no problem being funny.
     For me, I write a lot of serious stuff. A lot of dark moments. One of my problems is not having light moments to break up the darkness. Sometimes you need a little humor to break up the tension. Sometimes you need a character to say something funny to add awkwardness. Sometimes you should not put something funny in a serious scene because it will seem crass and break up what you have going. Humor is like walking a tight rope. One of the worst parts about using humor is offending someone. I hate judgmental people and I hate judging period. I hate hurting people's feelings. So when I add humor I have to make sure it doesn't offend anyone or hurt anyone's feelings.
     So in conclusion, humor is great, possibly bad, and almost always difficult for me.
    
     My book has been out in the world for two weeks now. I can hardly believe it. If you haven't gotten a digital copy yet, there are several places you can do so.

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/453465
Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/still-life-moving-laci-maskell/1119899273?ean=2940046048933
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Still-Life-Moving-Laci-Maskell-ebook/dp/B00LFZ1I64/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1405368152&sr=8-1&keywords=still+life+moving

Or, if you are waiting for a paperback copy, don't fret. I am working on that this week and will hopefully have that out to you soon.

Happy Monday

     Hello all. My book has been out for a week now. That is exciting. Who actually believed I would have published a book? I had my hopes but I had my doubts. Just kidding. This is what I have wanted to do the most, for the longest time. I could not live if I was not creating stories.
     My family likes to give me crap and bring up the story of the time I rehashed to them an episode of Friends I had seen. Now you might not think this would be something worth giving me crap. However, the episode was 30 minutes and it took me about an hour to tell them about it. When they talk about it now, I just tell them that should have given away that I would be a writer. I mean, I had to give them all of the good details. Well, anyway, my book is out!! I am an actual, legit author now. That is so exciting.
     IF anyone is interested, it is a great paranormal romance. Who doesn't love those, right? If you have any questions or want to reach me . . .

     You can find me at the following places:
     Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Laci-Maskell/1522986734597053
     Twitter: https://twitter.com/LaciMaskell
     Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/LaciMaskell

     Here is where you can find my book
     Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/453465
     Barnes and Noble: www.barnesandnoble.com/w/still-life-moving-laci-maskell/1119899273?ean=2940046048933
     Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Still-Life-Moving-Laci-Maskell-ebook/dp/B00LFZ1I64/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1404762449&sr=8-1&keywords=Still+life+moving

     If any of you have read my book, I would love it if you would leave a review on any of those websites. I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you. Also, if you've read my book, I hope you enjoyed it.
     Also, I am working on formatting my book so that I can get it out to you all in paperback, because I know a lot of you are waiting for that.
     Until next time.