tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-48583675801396643982024-03-01T20:07:25.277-05:00Nicole McCaffrey Love... Laughter...AdventureNicole McCaffreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17438102631578521381noreply@blogger.comBlogger239125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4858367580139664398.post-33949554528664213022023-03-02T11:38:00.001-05:002023-03-02T11:45:22.387-05:00The Struggle is Real Week 8: When Life Hits Back It’s been nearly two weeks since my last post. Did anyone
notice I was missing?
But I have good news/bad news. The good news. I wrote. Finally.
The scene that had been in my head for well over a week. It poured onto the page and it felt really good to get it out there.
The bad news? Well pretty much everything since than has
been downhill. Nicole McCaffreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17438102631578521381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4858367580139664398.post-81718327675690992192023-02-18T11:47:00.003-05:002023-02-18T17:03:24.829-05:00Saturday Thoughts: The Joy of Reading
As I mentioned in last weeks “The Struggle is Real” post, I
have been trying to find ways to refill the creative well within that has gone
dry.
One of the ways I’ve been doing that is to make time to read
again. It may sound counterproductive,
reading instead of writing. But it was a
lifelong love of reading that made me want to be a writer in the first place.&Nicole McCaffreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17438102631578521381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4858367580139664398.post-305068841725392212023-02-16T09:36:00.004-05:002023-02-16T09:36:48.485-05:00The Struggle is Real Week 7: Refilling the Well
“Nicole, why didn’t you put your toys away when I asked
you to?”
“I meant to, Grandma, but…”
“The road to hell is paved with good intentions, young
lady.”
I had a lot of conversations like that with my Grandma growing
up. If you were raised Catholic or had an Irish
grandma, you may have heard similar phrases.
The sky was always falling.
Everything was Nicole McCaffreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17438102631578521381noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4858367580139664398.post-85734583473741222242023-02-08T07:05:00.004-05:002023-02-08T07:42:56.781-05:00The Struggle is Real Week 6: Oops, I Did it Again Did you ever play Dodge Ball? I won’t say I have fond memories of it. I was
pretty good at the “dodging” aspect but throwing and actually hitting something
wasn’t in my skill set. So yep, I was
one of those always chosen last.
Anyway, some weeks it feels like I am back there in Miss
Teeboone’s gym class at Virgil I Grissom elementary school dodging those flying balls. Nicole McCaffreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17438102631578521381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4858367580139664398.post-31431372852746201652023-01-31T13:41:00.001-05:002023-01-31T13:41:33.256-05:00The Struggle is Real week 5: A Day Late and a Dollar Short Well, I am a day late posting this. And not a lot has changed since last week.
Life still continues to hammer away at my writing time with
the intensity of a nor’easter in mid-winter.
Once again, I won’t bore you with details. Basically a “same
stuff/different day” scenario. But
despite my best efforts to get back on track this week, I fell somewhat Nicole McCaffreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17438102631578521381noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4858367580139664398.post-2971765176263101392023-01-23T00:30:00.045-05:002023-01-23T00:30:00.206-05:00The Struggle is Real - Week 4: Identifying Your Procrastination Triggers Have you ever started to sit down to write and found
yourself distracted by half a dozen little tasks that you absolutely must
do right now? Even if you’ve been
neglecting them forever?
The sudden need to clean off your desk, clean out your email inbox, straighten the throw pillows on the
living room sofa, sort the mismatched socks. Yep I am guilty of all of those this week.
Nicole McCaffreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17438102631578521381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4858367580139664398.post-81609870166449592892023-01-18T00:30:00.001-05:002023-01-18T00:30:00.195-05:00Wednesday on Writing Nicole McCaffreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17438102631578521381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4858367580139664398.post-77032903990605218682023-01-16T00:30:00.045-05:002023-01-16T00:30:00.225-05:00The Struggle is Real Week 3: Crash. Burn. Well, this past week saw me crash and burn with regard to
touching base with my story every day.
What happened?
Life.
First an unexpected appointment. Nothing serious, just something I had not planned my schedule around that day. The next day it was arguing with the power company over a $900 utility bill my
FIL got in the mail. The man has Nicole McCaffreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17438102631578521381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4858367580139664398.post-11820547564182378012023-01-11T00:30:00.005-05:002023-01-11T00:30:00.207-05:00Wednesday on Writing: Things I wish I'd said Nicole McCaffreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17438102631578521381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4858367580139664398.post-39075869573611331562023-01-09T00:30:00.016-05:002023-01-09T09:16:28.017-05:00The Struggle is Real - Week 2: Purging Procrastination and Ditching Distractions So this week I will share some of the small steps I am taking
to keep myself on track and adding writing back to my daily routine. I am
following along with author Kim
Turner’s blog and her Time to Write series.
If you have not already seen her posts, mosey on over and check it out!
Right now I don’t have the hour to give that she recommends,
but even I can do 15-30 minutes.&Nicole McCaffreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17438102631578521381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4858367580139664398.post-14321292982712672922023-01-04T01:00:00.001-05:002023-01-04T01:00:00.200-05:00Wednesday on Writing: Introvert Humor Nicole McCaffreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17438102631578521381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4858367580139664398.post-60141556372776855132023-01-02T14:05:00.001-05:002023-01-02T14:05:27.048-05:00The Struggle is Real Have you been struggling to write recently? Well, you are not alone. Sometimes it’s lifus interruptus,
sometimes you just cannot get your head in the game, and sometimes the
character you most want to talk to you just doesn’t have anything to say.
Yep, that’s me.
Like so many of you, my life changed in 2020. I am blessed in that we did not lose any
loved Nicole McCaffreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17438102631578521381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4858367580139664398.post-21139848146079269302022-07-28T00:00:00.001-04:002022-07-28T00:00:00.185-04:00The Other Heroes of Gettysburg
This is a re-post of a blog I originally posted in July, 2017I’ve always loved American history, in particular the Civil
War. And when it comes right down to it, I admit…I’m obsessed with Gettysburg. So obsessed that I set my 2014 release, Northern Temptress, right in the midst of it all.
But it's not just the bloody battle fought by soldiers in blue and grey that intrigues me— it's the Nicole McCaffreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17438102631578521381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4858367580139664398.post-7157546977928444562022-07-26T13:22:00.000-04:002022-07-26T13:22:30.543-04:00Let's Get "Back in Time" Normally when we hit late June/early July my thoughts turn
to the town of Gettysburg. I know, I
know, mildly obsessed. But it has been
that way most of my life and after the years of research I did into the battle
and what the civilians went through for my 2014 release Northern Temptress, it’s
not about to stop now.
Most years around the anniversary of the battle, I Nicole McCaffreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17438102631578521381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4858367580139664398.post-46350970980580679672022-07-22T06:00:00.018-04:002022-07-22T06:00:00.205-04:00Christmas in July Part III: Chocolate Chip Christmas Wishes Have you ever been waiting somewhere, such as a doctor’s
office waiting room, or in line at the grocery store or bank and someone just
starts chatting with you—and won’t stop?
Writing is a lot like that for me. One minute you are just minding your own
business trying to check everything off the "to do" list for that day-- and then some character shows up in your head, pulls upNicole McCaffreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17438102631578521381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4858367580139664398.post-32960739256301005192022-07-20T11:57:00.003-04:002022-07-20T12:13:39.672-04:00Christmas in July Part II: Christmas in the Wylder County Jail Some stories just write themselves…
When starting a new story, it’s a little like taking a
journey, and you never know who is going to join you for the ride. Well it’s that way for us “pantser” writers
anyway, I suspect plotters have fewer surprises along the way.
Sometimes there are characters who are larger than life
and can easily—if not kept in check—take over Nicole McCaffreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17438102631578521381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4858367580139664398.post-7547036667042443142022-07-19T13:41:00.006-04:002022-07-19T14:02:04.041-04:00Christmas in July - Times Two!"If I had a great big house, I'd have a Christmas room... when things about me all went wrong, I'd find Christmas still in bloom..." Jimmy DeanThere are two kinds of people in this world, I've decided. Christmas folks... and grinches! LOL. I could live Christmas all year long, and if I had that great big house that Jimmy Dean sang about on my mother's favorite Christmas album (Nicole McCaffreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17438102631578521381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4858367580139664398.post-50996043557371908922022-02-03T10:15:00.000-05:002022-02-03T10:15:08.029-05:00Thursday Thoughts: Where have I been?Pussycat, pussycat,
where have you been?
That is a
question I have been hearing a lot lately. Okay, so no one is calling me “pussycat”
but you know what I mean. LOL. And while I’d love to say I’ve been to London
to visit the queen, I am pretty sure she is not holding audience with random crazy
women from across the pond.(And yes, these are my spoiled kitties)
So Nicole McCaffreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17438102631578521381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4858367580139664398.post-9258213976926942452021-11-29T07:58:00.000-05:002021-11-29T07:58:18.609-05:00Monday Morning Musing: Chocolate Chip Christmas Wishes We interrupt our regular Monday Morning Musing “Look back” series to bring you this breaking news… Release day is tomorrow!!!Link
to purchase
Jake Mistletoe is the North Pole's resident bad boy. Half elf, half human, he is the only child of
a single mother who just happens to be Santa's head elf. Fed up with his wild,
partying ways and lack of direction, his mother Nicole McCaffreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17438102631578521381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4858367580139664398.post-32455079870919820842021-11-22T05:00:00.002-05:002021-11-22T05:00:00.203-05:00Monday Morning Musing: This Moment in Time For
the next few weeks, as I countdown to the release date for Chocolate Chip
Christmas Wishes and Christmas in the Wylder County Jail (co-written
with Kim Turner) I will be revisiting some of my older stories.
This
week I am talking about my Civil War era time travel, This Moment in Time.
Not
even captivity can sway Southern widow Josette Beaumont from spying for the
Nicole McCaffreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17438102631578521381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4858367580139664398.post-33740771895636469062021-11-15T00:00:00.011-05:002021-11-15T00:00:00.201-05:00Monday Morning Musing: Wild Texas Wind Publication date: June 18, 2010Amazon linkAudible For
the next few weeks, as I countdown to the release date for Chocolate Chip
Christmas Wishes and Christmas in the Wylder County Jail (co-written
with Kim Turner) I will be revisiting some of my older stories. ~*~All Raz Colt wants is land, a quiet peaceable existence and to put his life as a hired gun in the past. When the Nicole McCaffreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17438102631578521381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4858367580139664398.post-17941383090575430522021-11-10T05:00:00.005-05:002021-11-10T05:00:00.200-05:00Wednesday on Writing: Rejection Rejection. The very
word can bring up all sorts of negative feelings. We’ve all felt this way at one time or
another, and it takes a lot of courage to take something you’ve put your heart
and soul into and place it into the cold, uncaring hands of a stranger.
Getting a sterile rejection for that effort is
disheartening.
It may seem a bit like I am focusing on Nicole McCaffreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17438102631578521381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4858367580139664398.post-69214120662672463582021-11-08T05:00:00.009-05:002021-11-08T05:00:00.192-05:00Monday Morning Musing: The Model Man For the next few weeks, as I countdown
to the release date for Chocolate Chip Christmas Wishes I will be
revisiting some of my older stories. This week I am talking about my first full
length published story, The Model Man.Single mom and romance novelist Kelly Michaels has no time for a man in her life. But when mega-famous cover model Derek Calavicci puts the moves on her at a romance Nicole McCaffreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17438102631578521381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4858367580139664398.post-90636482250237130752021-11-03T04:00:00.001-04:002021-11-03T04:00:00.190-04:00Wednesday on Writing: The Query Part II. So one of the things I received emails about after last week’s
post was this comment:
This is another area where it’s
very important to give the publisher exactly what they asked for, no more, no
less and no different.
Boy you guys didn’t like that one. So let’s focus on that for a moment.
Most publishers will ask for the following:
<!--[if !Nicole McCaffreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17438102631578521381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4858367580139664398.post-31353074370813415772021-11-01T05:00:00.021-04:002021-11-01T05:00:00.194-04:00Monday Morning Musing: Small Town Christmas Welcome to yet another new weekly blog series. For the next few weeks, as I countdown to the release date for Chocolate Chip Christmas Wishes I will be revisiting some of my older stories. Starting with the story that began my career as a published author, Small Town Christmas.All Holland McCall ever wanted for Christmas or any other occasion was Tucker Callahan. Unfortunately, heNicole McCaffreyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17438102631578521381noreply@blogger.com0