Harley Q. Turner (Author)

Okay, it's not secret that my grandma isn't doing well. I can't even wrap my head around the possibility of losing her. I already know that I will hide and shut the entire world out. I can't go on without my grandma. Being raised by a single mother, I spent a lot of time at my grandparent's house when my mom was either working or in school. Starting before I was even a year old, my grandma packed me up, put me in the truck, and took my camping with them every summer. Before I could even walk, I spent entire summers away from my mother. Once I started preschool, I primarily lived at my grandparent's so grandma could get me to school. I continued disappearing with them every summer. When they bought their new camper, I was mad because they didn't let me sign the ownership papers with them. It was my camper too! Yea, I was only four at the time, but it was mine! Once I got in to school full time, I still continued to spend most of my time with my grandpar

I spent a lot of time telling my fans what I am working on. Today, I have decided that instead of telling you, I am going to show you. My latest project is a small novella for the Self Inflicted Series. In this novella, you learn more about the past of some of the characters from the series, including Liam, Aislynn, Gabe, and Trent. If you don't know who Gabe and Trent are, don't worry. They don't appear until Scars Fade, which will be released on August 14. Today, I am enclosing Liam's story. Obviously I can't post his entire story, or there would be too many spoilers for Scars Fade. Eventually this book will be available to every member of my reader's group, but it is a work in progress at the moment. Let me know what you think! Liam “I’m so sick of being sick,” my big brother Gavin complained from his hospital bed. “Maybe some of these new tests will finally figure out what’s wrong so they can fix you,” I told him. I was barely thirteen years o

Every writer has his or her own way of doing things. Some sit in the front of their computers with either MS Word or Schrivener or another type of word processing software and type whatever comes to their mind. Some listen to certain types of music to keep the creative flow. Some need silence. Some need no interruptions, while others can multi task. I know some writers who can only get work done while sitting in a coffee shop all day. Personally, I can't seem to think when I am sitting in front of a computer. I hand write all of my books. I don't wait until they are done to start typing, but I do wait until there are at least a few chapters complete before I open Word and get to work. With five kids at home, I know I will never be able to work in uninterrupted silence, and I'm okay with that. I can't write with music playing, which is kind of surprising since music is such an important part of my life. At the moment of writing this blog post, I am doing everything c

Well, after a lot of thought, I have cancelled my vacation to Tennessee. It was not an easy decision, because this Harley Quinn really needs her Poison Ivy, but unfortunately, at this time it's just not going to work. Grandma is slowly starting to improve, but she starts radiation this week, and with her doctor schedule, I lose my babysitters that I had arranged for while I was gone. My biggest reason for not going, is that I know I would never forgive myself if she passed away while I was so far away. Grandma is basically my mother. I have spent all my childhood summers with her. I lived at her house when I was in preschool. I spent much more time with my grandparents than I did my own parents. I know I am letting my friends down. I know my Ivy was looking forward to having guests, and with me not going, my other friend is not going either. I feel bad for breaking the plans, but I feel I have no other choice.

My writing has been slacking lately. My grandmother's health took a turn for the worst last week, and we were afraid we were going to lose her. She seems to be getting better now, and I hope she continues to improve. Summer hockey is finally over, as of yesterday. I'm sure my daughter will miss it, but I am glad to see it end. I don't particularly enjoy dragging two or three small children to an ice arena for two hours two days a week. We have a break for a few weeks before we start fall skills and drills in August... I am back to work, and even though it is only two days each week, I'm not used to it. Those days used to be reserved for writing, and now I spend the day dealing with IRS audits and people who didn't get their tax returns filed on time for whatever reason. I have probably spent WAY too much time reading, and not enough time writing. Every night this week, I have been awake until 3, 4, or even 5 in the morning simply because I was reading a book

My daughter's summer hockey season is coming to a close, and I must admit I am not upset to see it end! I'm getting so sick of getting up earlier than I have to and dragging tired children to be bored out of their minds for 2 hours at an ice arena. Of course, my daughter is always asking when the next season starts. Unfortunately for me, it starts up again in the beginning of September, so I am looking at about a six week break before I am back to being a hockey mom. So far, I have written the first chapter of my children's book Girls Can Too! By writing just that first chapter, I was able to break through the writer's block that was preventing me from continuing with Scars Fade, so obviously Scars Fade has the priority. My only problem with Scars now is that I have absolutely no idea what I want the cover of this book to look like. Not a clue! When I started the book, I had an idea in mind, but as I wrote, the plot took a turn that I hadn't expected, so now t

One thing that has always bothered me is the belief that boys can do some things better than girls. I have never believed in that, and have taught my children that it is not true as well. My daughter plays hockey. Yes, she is constantly dealing with people telling her she shouldn't play a "boy's sport" and with boys on the team not thinking she is good enough. Most of the time, once the boys see her trying, they leave her alone, but there is always that one boy who cannot play well with a girl. On her squirt team last season, there was a boy named Zach. For whatever reason, Zach had a problem with Hayleigh. Every time she got the puck, he would push her down and steal it from her. They were on the same team!  There were times that Zach would do this to other players on the team as well (especially another boy named Alex), but Hayleigh always seemed to be his target. I had hoped that when she moved up to the peewee level that this would stop. Not the case. Ther

Yesterday felt strange. For the first time since we got together, my husband and I spent a holiday apart. I went with my mom to take my older two children to the beach (the younger two were with their father), while Joker took his daughter to a family cookout. Yes, I'll admit I was probably selfish at spending the day at the beach instead of with my husband's family, but I feel so out of place at their get togethers. First of all, I'm expected to know everyone. That's not going to happen. His family is just too big! He only really sees that side of his family once a year, so obviously I won't ever really get to know them enough to be comfortable around them.  I had already planned the beach day with my mom before he even mentioned the cookout. I didn't want to change my plans, especially since the kids were already looking forward to it, so we decided to do our own things this year. The beach was beyond relaxing. I have had a lot of things on my mind latel

Like regular Mike, but Magic. I couldn't resist. If you didn't see Channing Tatum on Jimmy Fallon acting out Magic Mike scenes written by elementary kids, I definitely recommend finding that video on YouTube. Last night, three amazing friends and I ventured to Madison for the premiere of Magic Mike XXL after winning tickets from a radio station. First of all, the theater itself was amazing! Marcus Cinema in Sun Prairie is without a doubt the best movie theater I have ever seen! Super comfortable, reclining chairs. The screen was huge. The sound was amazing. Waiters brought us whatever food or drink we ordered (yes they even had a bar). Knowing that I had an hour drive ahead of me after the movie, I decided to drink my usual Mountain Dew, but one of my friends did splurge for the Magic Mike specialty drink. At $9 for a tiny glass, barely bigger than a double shot glass, wasn't worth it. The drink itself was horrible. Grapefruit and lime should not be mixed...ever...