Jody Hedlund: Secret #11

Tell Me Your Story Tuesday

Welcome

 Jody Hedlund

Jody is awesome and I am so excited to have her sharing secrets with us today! Before we get to the juicy stuff, I absolutely have to recommend her latest book: 

Unending Devotion

I may or may not have devoured this book in basically one setting. I read the first two chapters on the treadmill and had every intention of only letting myself read it in the mornings while I was working out. Yeah, that night I stayed up until my eyes wouldn't focus getting it finished. So much for my reading-to-improve my thighs plan. 

But, the book was just that awesome! 

Enough about me!
Today is about Jody.

Secret #11: The area in my life I'm the most inconsistent.

By Jody Hedlund, @JodyHedlund

Overall, I count myself a very self-disciplined person. I  water my plants every Monday. I set my coffee maker every night before going to bed.  I always get up early. I write a certain number of words per day.  I pay my bills on time. I respond promptly to emails. 

Yes, I'm consistent and self-disciplined with most of my life.

But I'm terrible at being self-disciplined in one particular area. And that is exercising regularly.

I have good intentions when it comes to exercising. I always tell myself I need to exercise more and come up with plans. But for some reason, I can't seem to stick with those plans for very long.

Last winter, my goal was to walk with my Leslie Sanone DVD each weekday morning for approximately twenty minutes. I started out walking most mornings. But then occasionally I skipped because of an early morning headache or because I had too many emails to respond to. 

And once you get into the habit of skipping occasionally, it becomes all too easy to skip more regularly, until you're hardly doing it at all anymore.

Then I went in for a yearly doctor's visit and discovered that my blood pressure is borderline high. As I evaluated ways I could work on getting it down (without having to take meds), I learned that exercise was one way to work on lowering blood pressure. 

So, once again, I vamped up my efforts to be more consistent with exercising. Over the summer, I tried to take a twenty minute power walk every weekday morning before the kids woke up. And I realized it's a beautiful, cool time of the morning, with very few people out—mostly just me and my dog.

I realized it's easier to stay consistent with something if you plan it into your schedule for the same time every day, eliminate excuses, and just do it whether you feel like it or not.

Even with all my resolutions, I still find myself missing days now and then. But I'm getting better at becoming more consistent at this area in my life where I've always been completely inconsistent.

Maybe one day, I finally get there.

How about you? In what area of your life do you struggle to be consistent?

Publisher's Weekly calls Unending Devotion " A meaty tale of life amid the debauchery of the lumber camps of 1880s Michigan . . . exciting and unpredictable to the very end."

To celebrate the release of Unending Devotion, Jody is giving away a signed copy. Leave a comment (along with your email address) to enter the drawing. Valid only with US or Canadian addresses. Giveaway ends Friday, Sept. 21st. A winner will be chosen on Saturday. 

For more secrets about Jody and additional chances to win her newest release, visit her Events Page to see where she'll be next in her "Fun Secrets About Author Jody Hedlund" blog tour.

Also join in the Pinterest Photo Contest she's hosting. Find more information about it on her Contest Page.

Jody would love to connect with you! Find her in one of these places:

Website: http://jodyhedlund.com/

Blog: http://jodyhedlund.blogspot.com/

Facebook: Author Jody Hedlund

Twitter: http://twitter.com/JodyHedlund

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/jodyhedlund/

Welcome to Oz:The land of Social Media

Thinking about Thursday

 

OH, MY!

 

     I am a social person by nature. Call it an "only-child-who-moved-alot-" thing. I enjoy public speaking, love meeting new people and rarely find myself in a situation where I have nothing to say.  So, it baffles me to hear authors who feel like the Cowardly Lion when using social media. 

To help that, here is my overly-themed explanation of

"The Big Three."

Twitter is my favorite. The yellow brick road so to speak...'cause, you know, you "follow" it. Um, anyway. I love twitter. Why? Because I love eavesdropping. And eavesdropping when you can jump in the conversation whenever you want is even better.

I strongly suggest checking out Tweetdeck. If you follow more than a few people, traditional twitter can get overwhelming. Tweetdeck puts everyone in nice, organized columns for you.

If you are worried about proper etiquette, there are multiple post to guide you, like this one by Jody Hedlund or this list of what not to do by Roni Loren.

Let's move on to:

Facebook is like the Wicked Witch's crystal ball. I mean that in the best possible way. It provides a glimpse into your world. The great part is, unlike Dorothy running from flying monkeys, you get to chose what glimpse you offer. You can set up a Page (which is different from a Profile) to limit what personal information you share. This is a great post about using Facebook as an author by Aaron Patterson.

I will admit to not using Facebook as much as Twitter. I got spoiled to the immediate interaction of twitter, but I do like Facebook for personal use and posting blog links.

and that brings us to Blogger (or your platform of choice). Blogger is the end of the movie, when Dorothy wakes up at home and tells her incredible story. "and you were there... and you.."
I love blogging. It reminds me of passing notes in class, back when students actually had to write on paper instead of texting under the desk. First, I would write a paragraph about whatever drama was weighing on me (and, clearly, more important than whatever was being taught). Then, I passed it to a friend. That person would comment on it, I'd respond. Lather, rinse, repeat. We have a conversation going!

 Of course the heart of all this is YOU. You are the great and powerful Oz. Hopefully, a little less green, but if you are... that's cool. I don't judge.  The key to social media is that you are in control of how much you share. There is nothing to fear because, as we all know:

No one gets into see the Wizard. No way! No how!

So, what is your experience with social media? What do you love? What do you hate? Any rules of the road you want to share?

Jody Hedlund

Tell Me Your Story Tuesday

Please Welcome

JODY HEDLUND

Jody was actually my very first follower on this blog and I am beyond excited to have the opportunity to feature her. 

First, let  me tell you about her new book The Doctor's Lady. You can check out the beautiful book trailer below.

The Doctor's Lady

I will openly admit I am not an avid historical fiction reader. I finished The Doctor's Lady in one day, staying up until the wee hours of the morning, because I had to know what happened. It is a quick moving, fascinating read about the life of a woman travel across the country in the 1830's. The characters suck you in. By the time I turned the last page, I was sad to end my journey with them.

You can enter to win a free, signed copy of the book by leaving a comment this week. 

The winner will be chosen on Monday, October 3rd.

*U.S. mailing address only, please*

Let's get to know Jody!

  What was the inspiration behind The Doctor’s Lady?

This book is inspired by the true life story of Narcissa Whitman, the first white woman to brave the dangers of overland trail and travel west. In 1836, she married Dr. Whitman, and then the next day left her childhood home and would never return for the purpose of starting a mission among the Nez Perce natives.

It was my hope in this story to bring Narcissa Whitman to life. This heroic woman has often been ignored and at times even disparaged. In reality, she exuded incredible courage to attempt a trip many proclaimed foolishly dangerous. It was called an “unheard-of-journey for females.” Because of her willingness to brave the unknown, she led the way for the many women who would follow in her footsteps in what would later become known as the Oregon Trail.

 

What message do you hope readers take away?

I hope readers are inspired to try new things and brave dangerous prospects in the pursuit of their dreams. When we go after the things that matter, we’ll have to take risks and we’ll experience setbacks and obstacles. But if we persevere, we can reach our destination and do great things along the way.

What do you like most about writing and being a published author?

As a writer, I love telling stories. I especially like the feeling that comes as I near the end of the book when everything looks hopeless, the characters are in big trouble, and somehow I’m able to wrap up the book in a satisfying way. I call it the first-draft love affair! I fall absolutely and madly in love with the story and think it’s the best thing I’ve ever written.

As a published author, I love hearing from readers. I’m always thrilled to get emails or hand-written notes from readers telling me how much my story touched them.

 

What do you like least?

I struggle the most during the editing phase of each of my books. The love affair that started during the first draft comes to an end. I fall out of love with my books. By the last edit—called the Galley Review—I finally reach a point where I loathe the book, think it’s the worst thing I’ve ever written, and wish I could just throw it away. During the Galley stage, I’m fraught with insecurity and fear. My agent did a great job of talking me off the cliff during my fears with The Doctor’s Lady. She encouraged and inspired me to keep going no matter what happens. 

  What’s coming next?

 In 2012, my next historical romance releases. I’m really excited about this story because it’s set in my home state of Michigan. It takes place during the 1880’s at a time in history when the lumber era was at its height. Although the story isn’t inspired by a true person the way my first two books have been, I do include several real people, particularly a real villain by the name of James Carr who was notorious in central Michigan for his violence and for introducing white slavery into the state.

 The heroine of the story is a young woman, Lily Young, who is looking for her sister who’s caught up into the degradation of lumber camp life. While Lily searches for her missing sister, she fights against the evil that runs rampant around her, and she fights not to lose her heart to the lumber baron who turns a blind eye to the lawlessness of the lumber business.

   Where can readers find you?

I hang out on Facebook here: Author Jody Hedlund

I also love to chat on Twitter: @JodyHedlund

My home base is at my website: jodyhedlund.com

 Thank you so much for stopping by, Jody!

Psst, you should also check out her first book 

The Preacher's Bride.

So, do you like to read historical fiction?
Leave a comment or question for Jody to be entered  for a chance to win a free, signed copy of 

The Doctor's Lady!

My apologies to those who have tried to leave a comment and were unable to. Blogger must be having a hiccup because it is set for anyone to comment. 
Please email me at writer in waiting at gmail dot com and I will be happy to enter you in the drawing.