Dear Lucky Agent Contest

Talk about last minute and maybe a little luck. This contest actually ended yesterday. I found out about today and was bummed. Then I learned they extended the deadline to midnight tonight. So, here I am entering my next novel, How Lucy Got Lucky!

Wish me luck!!!

Check out these PRIZES! Top 3 winners all get a critique of the first 10 double-spaced pages by the agent judge, a free one-year subscription to WritersMarket.com ($50 value) and 3 writing/promoting tips books ... and maybe if you're really, super lucky the agent judging the contest will sign you! Boom! That's the sound of my head exploding.

Fingers Crossed, People. Fingers Crossed.

Winners will be notified in three weeks. Like I said, fingers crossed.

"You are enough." If I say it enough times I might believe it.

First, the big news: The re-release of the professionally edited version of Going Barefoot in Greener Grass will go on sale March 21st! In honor of it's re-release, here's the first in series of "Going Barefoot" blog posts. *Plus go to www.audryfryer.com & sign up for my next newsletter which will include a free first chapter and when you'll be able to download Going Barefoot in Greener Grass for free!* 

As I prep for the grand re-release of Going Barefoot in Greener Grass I'm reminded of one of its themes. Yes one of them definitely is envy, but there's another equally important theme: not being enough. Oh how I myself have felt like I'm not enough, not doing enough, not creating enough! On and on it goes. Just in the case of Going Barefoot in Greener Grass, I decided to hire an editor so I would stop rereading it and making changes. (More on my fabulous editor in an upcoming post.) Not to mention, I still need to build my email list, create a platform and get out there and hustle. But hold everything, because while I'm at it, I need to figure out what's for dinner, fold the laundry and help my son who just told me his project is due - sigh - tomorrow. 

Being enough is tough

As most women would agree, it's not enough to just to be in a relatively happy marriage or to raise well-adjusted, healthy children. We also need to be providers, have a career, be awesome on the inside and beautiful on the outside. It's insanely impossible like a ridiculous hamster wheel of falling short. In Going Barefoot in Greener Grass, Olivia has the big wedding, the family and the home. She doesn't have a career, enough money to pay the bills or an ideal weight. On the opposite side, Bethany has the career, money to live comfortably and is physically attractive. Yet, she feels the sting of being single each night.  Put these two characters together and they make the perfect woman. That's the insane part. It takes two of them to do and to be it all.

I can relate. Can you?

For those of you who don't know my story, I left my teaching career to focus on raising my newborn twins and toddler son. Nine years later, my first priority is being a stay-at-home mom followed by growing my writing career. Full disclosure, while writing this blog and my novels have been infinitely rewarding, they are not nearly enough in the financial arena. I'm always wishing I had more time and more resources toward getting my novels to the top of a bestseller list all the while making sure I don't sacrifice being here and present for my family.

That's what she said ...

“You alone are enough. You have nothing to prove to anybody." This original quote comes from the wise sage of a woman, Maya Angelou. Without giving away the ending of Going Barefoot in Greener Grass, Olivia and Bethany discover this sentiment. Throughout the novel, they fight to become bigger and better only to nearly lose everything precious to them. The only peace these two characters (and any of us for that matter) find are in believing they are enough. And, I'll admit, it's a daily practice. 

This Elizabeth Gilbert quote seems to make the most sense when I'm in need of a boost. "Embrace the glorious mess that you are." Perfectionism is overrated. All that matters is we strive for excellence within ourselves. And the only way to grow is by allowing ourselves to make mistakes, fall short, learn from it, get up, brush ourselves off and try again and again. (Now that I wrote that, I better darn well follow my own advice! That's the hard part!)

What about you? 

Do you ever feel "not enough"? How do you deal with it? What practices do you do to feel enough?

I'd love to hear from you. Comment here or on my Facebook Page or Tweet it @AudryFryer! 

Embrace the "Free": Free First Chapter! Free Giveaway!

Sign up at www.audryfryer.com! My next newsletter includes the newly revised entire first chapter of Going Barefoot in Greener Grass and insider info of when I'll be giving away Going Barefoot in Greener Grass for free! Go, go, go to www.audryfryer.com

>>> Going Barefoot in Greener Grass is your next feel-good read! But don't take my word for it. Click the "More About Going Barefoot in Greener Grass" tab above this post to hear what other readers had to say! <<< 

Flaking Out

Hello from my backyard tundra. Behind me, my twins brave the storm despite my pleas to get back inside. Read on to learn about my hot chocolate discovery, my random deep thought and to see my snowman crafting skills at their finest.  

Some called it a blizzard. Some called it Jonas. I called it cold.

Nothing like a good old fashioned blizzard to put things into perspective. For example, while milk, bread and eggs make great french toast, you can only eat it so many times before you wished you'd instead bought ingredients for chile on that final mad rush to the store. In retrospect, I regret sending my husband on that last ditch shopping trip. He brought home the world's largest box of frozen mozzarella sticks. Pass the marinara sauce.

Flaking on the outside. Baking on the inside.  

There are several things I did manage to accomplish during our blast of 27 inches of snow. None of them involved writing, editing or - sigh - reading (I read two pages of my latest book before promptly falling into hibernation). All of them involved wishing I could go back in time and buy a snowblower, complaining I was tired from shoveling, wondering how melted snow clumps found their way into every room of the house, baking banana bread which I ate in great quantities to offset any weight loss from the constant shoveling and discovering how hot chocolate spiked with Bailey's makes everything better. 

When life gives you snowflakes by the ba-zillions ...

... make a snowman. I had a deep thought while trudging through the deep snow to help my daughter build a snowman. This onslaught of snow was actually made up of individual flakes. It reminded me of the story I was working on prior to the storm. Each word was like a snowflake. When consistently piled one after another, it becomes a blizzard of words, a complete novel. Thinking further, I figured the editing process was then like building this snowman. Then, my stomach grumbled for more banana bread, my daughter complained her fingers had turned into little popsicles and my fleeting thought melted in the forty degree sun. 

A snowman named Jonas 

The resemblance is uncanny. Don't you think?

How's the weather where you are?

Comments make me feel warm and toasty!

Saying "Hi" on my Facebook Page is like a mug of hot chocolate!

Tweet this post like warm banana bread!

www.audryfryer.com may cure Cabin Fever!