Jacqui Jacoby & Miguel

Please welcome Jacqui Jacoby to the blog today! Her book With a Vengeance was a lot of fun - kick ass heroine and a twisty plot that surprises you.

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Meet Miguel.  He’s my computerized day planner and the genius behind my getting anything done.  We check in every morning to discuss what it is I need to do for the day. Whether it is the list of daily house chores that keeps the home running smooth, or a list of deadlines of upcoming projects, he will know exactly where I need to be.

For me, turning to a day planner was a necessity and not a pleasure, as I am sure it is for most people who take the initial first step.  I started using mine back in 1997 when I was a working housewife, homeschooling my kids and I needed a concrete method to know what I needed to do when.  I have continued the practice as the kids have grown up and gone their ways as I find there is still so much to do.

When a deadline arrives in my inbox, the first thing I do it break it down, making sure my completion date is one week before the actual due date. All that time with those kids taught me that you need to be prepared for the unexpected.  I enter all these dates and projects into Miguel first thing, before I even think of tackling the project.  Then I can forget about it until it pops up on my screen.  It’s a great way to relieve the stress of something hanging over your head.

Day planners don’t have to be fancy. A simple notebook where you can keep track of what is due when and what you need to work on is fine.  Or they can be more complicated with special features.  They can be paper, bound or loose leaf or they can in installed on your computer, safe with a back up flash drive handy for those unexpected events. 

Right now I am editing a book, one I want to have submitted by my birthday.  So I choose the date a week before and I open the feature in Miguel.  Then it’s a matter of breaking it down into steps. 

·         First read through. Update to 2013.

·         Second read through.

·         Wait two weeks.

·         Print Copy. Read with Fine Tooth Comb While locked in room alone.

·         Contact agent.

·         Contact editor.

·         Submit

Each entry is given a due date, posting to Miguel’s page daily until it’s complete.  This keeps me on track; it keeps me from falling behind.

I recommend day planners to everyone who has goals in their lives though I know they are not for everyone.  I doubt many people have as close a relationship to any program on my computer that I do with Miguel.  But I say Why Not?  What have you got to lose?

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WITH A VENGEANCE

The more she wanted out, the more they dragged her back in!

Daughter to murdered CIA officers, niece to a deputy director, Jaime Walsh has never known life outside the world of espionage. Until a high-action case in Buenos Aires leaves her gutted. Physically, emotionally…and professionally.

She’d planned for her long-overdue vacation to be a time to rest and reassess. With her longtime partner Stephen not far behind, it’s a tropical paradise away from work. A paradise where boundaries will be tested.

From their training days, Stephen Reid has watched Jaime kick ass while performing what has become his second job—watching her back. But now his feelings have grown.

As best friends look at each other in a new light, they like what they see. And Jaime dreams of a new life outside “the company”.

Except someone from their past won’t be satisfied until Jaime and the man she loves are hunted to the brink of death. Now Jaime must find the strength to trust her heart and let go of her fear. Before she loses everything…

 

Jacqui Jacoby on the web:

Website          Facebook           Twitter   Author Page

Buy Links:

Samhain

Amazon

B&N
PowellsBooks

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That sounds very much like the way my daughter (ruthlessly) organizes things! I'm envious! :)

Are you a day planner type? Do you have/crave a Miguel?