Just an ordinary day for Karen Martin

A Day in the Life of...

Karen Martin

Well, first of all, most of my writing time isn’t spent writing novels, and my average day of writing is never average! I never know what I’m going to be working on next, as I get new assignments from my clients all the time. I write both fiction and nonfiction for a wide variety of educational publishers, such as Scholastic, National Geographic, and Oxford University. One day, I’m writing nonsense poems for 2^nd grade, and the next day, I’m creating the index for a university’s book on bio-terrorism. It keeps me on my toes, but I like it that way. I love learning about new things, and my work keeps me researching constantly.

But on a typical writing/work day, here’s how it goes:

9:36 am (approximately) – Wake up, after having been up late last night reading some book I just couldn’t put down, brainstorming for my upcoming novel and/or novella, or playing Jurassic Park Builder because I was too wired to sleep. #WorldsWorstSleeper

9:37 am – Stumble 16 steps to the “office” and prep a one-cup of extra bold, boot up computer. Proceed to social media, do not pass go, do not collect $200. Spend way too long putzing around on Facebook, Twitter, Amazon KDP, Smashwords, Goodreads, my blog, emails, and Pinterest. Cook and eat breakfast in there somewhere.

10:45 am – Realize I need to get down to business if I want to get any work done today. Sigh, and click open the folder to my external hard drive, where I store all my current work projects. Check my work email to make sure there are no urgent client messages I need to return, then get down to work.

11:45 am – Make lunch for Mom. (She lives with me in her own little suite in the house.) Back to work. No lunch for me yet; I just had breakfast.

2:15 – When the weather is nice, take a turn around the neighborhood with Mom to get some exercise, not to mention take a break from computer eyestrain/get some sunlight so I don’t start looking like one of those no-pigment-having creatures that hide away in caves at the bottom of the sea their entire lives. Twenty or thirty minutes later, back home and back to work.

4:30 pm – Look up and realize it’s time to make dinner for Mom. Some days we dine together, and some days I keep working through the dinner hour.

8:30 pm – Wrapping up work for the day because I’m too cross-eyed to see the screen anymore. At this point, I may be doing “work” work or personal projects:  blog posts, writing or editing my next creative piece, formatting a new book to upload to the internet, checking up on any marketing promos I’m currently running (such as blog hops or Rafflecopter contests), and so on.

9:00 pm – Spend an hour or so chilling with Mom, watching the shows we can both stand to watch together:  The Paradise, The White Queen, Two and a Half Men, American Pickers, Castle, Chopped, and Flea Market Flip are a few of the usual suspects.

10:15 pm – bubble bath, hot tub, and/or back to the computer for a stretch of evening productivity that sometimes lasts until 11:30 or midnight. Usually working on personal projects at this time, as my brain is too fatigued to do the intellectual heavy-lifting required by most of my work projects.

11:45 pm – head to bed with an e-book or a tree-book. Read until sleepy, fall asleep. Or, get a second wind and read until…

2:30 am – at which time I force myself to turn off the light. Meditate, hoping brain will cooperate and settle down into slumber. But some nights I’m up until…

5:30 or 6:00 am – If I’m really wired, I’ll hit the computer again. I finally fall asleep around bird o’clock, but still invariably wake up around 9:30. On days like this, I take a long nap in the afternoon.

Rinse and repeat, occasionally throwing in date night or an evening out with friends to break up the routine.

Glamorous, no? 

Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | LinkedIn | GoodReads | Blog | Pinterest | Amazon

Introducing...

Modogamous

Kate Adams has it all figured out. Five years out of college, she’s got a steady job, a home she loves in the big city, and good friends who always keep her laughing: her stylish but nosy roommate Evette, happily-married Cecie, and of course, good old Mitch, her seriously cute co-worker who’s been stuck in the Friend Zone since the day they met. 

Amazon.UK
Amazon.com
Smashwords

Everything is going just fine—until the night Kate crosses the line with Mitch, and the boundaries between friendship and love begin to blur. Things get even more complicated when hunky JP enters the scene. What’s a girl to do? Add to the mix a spunky little pug Kate never expected to fall for, and her neatly-ordered life is starting to look more like a dog’s dinner. Maybe her roommate has the right idea after all: forget the men, and stick with a canine companion instead. 

It’s time for Kate to figure out what she really wants in life. But can she dig her way out of the mess she’s created before she ends up permanently in the doghouse?


Karen E. Martin, M.Ed. is a full-time freelance writer/editor. She has been in the publishing business since 2004, working on books and publications for major and independent publishers, universities, businesses, and private individuals. 

Prior to entering the field of publishing, Ms. Martin worked as a Senior EFL Fellow (English as a Foreign Language) for the U.S. Department of State in Romania, a Junior EFL Fellow for the U.S. Department of State in Jordan, and a teacher-trainer for the U.S Peace Corps in Mauritania, Jordan, Romania, and Morocco.

Ms. Martin served as a Peace Corps volunteer for two years, teaching English in the Errachidia Province of Morocco. Modogamous is Ms. Martin’s first novel.

Giveaway!

Join the Modogamous Holiday Hop Giveaway to win a fabulous Swag Pack full of prizes! The Swag Pack winner will receive a signed copy of the paperback, tote bag, coffee mug, Christmas ornament, and more! Additional prizes include a copy of the e-book, a signed paperback, and a limited edition, signed art print of the book's cover art >~>~>
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Excerpt from Modogamous

Chapter 1

Chapter 1 ~ Keepin’ It Kate: “A New Year, A New Reason to Jump Off a Bridge”

~January 3~
Crappy New Year’s, folks!
Oh, don’t mind me. It’s just been a bit of a rough week.
“Come on, Kate. Surely it can’t be that bad,” you say.
Well, that’s very kind of you. But yes, it can be that bad.
“Why’s that?” you say.
You know, the usual. I got fired. My boyfriend dumped me. And I think I may have lost my best friend, too. ‘Cause I’m an idiot like that.
Pardon me while I wallow for a moment. **sigh**
Okay, moment over.
On the up-side, I wrote a special poem to commemorate the occasion, just for you, dear Readers. It’s a bit late for the Christmas theme, I know, but what the hell. I’ve messed everything else up lately, anyway. What’s one more screw-up to add to the list?
Would you like to read it? You would? Oh, thank you! Really, you’re too kind. I don’t know what I’d do without you guys sometimes. Well, without further ado, here it is:

‘Twas three days after New Year’s, and all through the house
The bottles were empty, my feelings to douse. 

The bills were all stacked on the table with care,
In hopes that some money would soon be paid there.
Alas! There was none, for the cash had dried up,
Since my job I did lose at the store known as Pup.

And I in my sweat pants and looking like crap,
Had just settled down for a post-drinking nap.
When up in my head, there arose such a clatter,
It rattled me! But I knew what was the matter.
Away to that night, my mind flew like a flash,
It tore open my heart, and my nerves it did smash.

‘Twas the Eve of New Year’s when things came to a head,
And my heart was ripped out, and they left it for dead.

But let me explain just what happened that night,
And you’ll see, reader dear, why I’m in such a fright.
The evening began with such cheer and such glee!

On the arm of my man, as glad as could be.
A handsome young lad, and so virile and strong,
I thought I might swoon! What could ever go wrong?
Now Prada! Now Vera! Armani! Dior!

On Gucci! On, Pucci! On, Chanel! And much more!
The dance floor was swirling with such fine array,
As the young and the hip danced the cold night away.
And then, in a twinkling, my heart hit the roof.

When I nearly committed the year’s biggest goof.
The moment when everything first went awry
Was the song where I danced with another young guy.
His eyes—how they twinkled! His spirit, how merry!

Then he whispered sweet nothings that turned my cheeks cherry. 
As he drew me in close, my heart started to pound,
But the next thing I knew, he was sprawled on the ground!
I had to escape; I was ready to leave, 
But alas, I’m afraid there would be no reprieve.

I raced ‘round the club, searching through every room,
‘Til at last what I found was my own dismal doom.
I peeked through a door, and my boyfriend I spied.
Thank God! I had found him. I started inside.

When, what to my wondering eyes should appear, 
But a ho-ho-ho-HO who was nibbling his ear!

Then came Bachelor Two, and things really got tense,
For that’s when the shouting and cursing commenced!
Then laying a fist just below my date’s nose,
He turned words on me, and my aching heart froze.
What was there to do but to bid them goodbye?

I gathered my things, and I held my head high.
But they heard me exclaim, ‘ere I tramped out of sight,
“Crappy New Year’s to all, and you all can me bite!”