My Super-Busy January—Glad It’s Over!

February 1, 2026February 1, 2026 Larada Horner-Miller2 Comments

My super-busy January centered around my participation in the Ultimate Blog Challenge. The agreement was to post every day of the month, and Paul Taubman, the host, offered suggestions every day. You were free use them or do what you wanted. I had to complete four activities after writing the blog—I’ve listed them on the web page I created.

My Choice to Not Include My Email List

Just because I decided to make January a super-busy month, I didn’t want to inundate my regular readers with a blog post every day, so I only included you on Sunday, my regular day to post my weekly blog. I did post them on my Facebook pages though.

I hope that was okay.

Here’s What I wrote Super-Busy!

So, I created a web page with all the posts, except three because I missed three days. Look through the list—I hope you enjoy the vast choices you have to read from this list, if you choose!

This morning I had one regular reader message me about reading all of them, “Larada, you are an encouragement to me. I am in love with reading your blogs. I envy your commitment to work. And I was excited to see what you learned from the challenge. YES. You are a beautiful poet. Looking forward to your new book.” She apparently got them on linkedin.com – https://www.linkedin.com/in/larada-horner-miller-4a313261/

To get to the list of my 28 blog posts and the titles, go here:

Ulimate Blog Challenge, January 2026

Finally—Done with Super-Busy for Now,

Your opinion matters to me. Was I right in not sending you a link every day in the month of January for the Ultimate Blog Challenge? Would you have been offended? Or would you have wanted to receive them? I really need to know your answer, so please respond in a comment below or email me at Larada@laradasbooks.com

I certainly am glad it’s over. Midway through I thought it would never end, but I know I will receive many benefits from having participated—I’ve always been a participator and not an observer. It’s in my DNA!

February will be much calmer, I assure you, but be prepared for my rich, fascinating weekly blog! Also, Paul Taubman encouragedthe participants to post more than one blog a week—what do you think?

I do have an exciting experience coming up on February 17 I will be telling you about!

Larada Horner-Miller meme - super-busy — Whew! Glad it’s over, but what now?

My Newest Books

Time Measured Out!: Navigating Life’s Journey Through Poetry, Book #2 e-book

ISBN – 9798989688654

$.99 for limited time

Is My Truth Universal?: A Woman’s Poetic Odyssey e-book

ISBN – 979-8989688623

ALWAYS FREE

Was It a Dream?: Navigating Life’s Journey Through Poetry, Book #1 – e-book

ISBN – 979-8989688630

$3.99

Hair on Fire: A Heartwarming & Humorous Christmas Memoir e-book

ISBN – 978-0996614498

$3.99

Buy My Audio Books:

This Tumbleweed Landed

Let Me Tell You a Story

Hair on Fire: A Heartwarming & Humorous Memoir Audiobook

Hair on Fire: A Heartwarming & Humorous Christmas Memoir audiobook cover

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Blogs · Memories · My Books · MY LIFE · My Thoughts

Day 31 – January Ends Today—So What Did I Learn?

January 31, 2026February 2, 2026 Larada Horner-Miller7 Comments

January ends today, and so does the Ultimate Blog Challenge. Whew! The challenge was to write a blog post each day for thirty-days. Here’s answers to Paul Taubman, the organizer’s questions.

Did you finish the Ultimate Blog Challenge?

I proudly finished the Ultimate Blog Challenge, but I missed three days: 13, 16, and 20. The part that excites me—I don’t feel guilty for missing those three days. The 13^th we went to La Fería Internacional de Las Flores y del Café (International Flower and Coffee Festival). We had a blast there enjoying ourselves and seeing Alejandro Torres, a major music star in this area. I was too tired to write that night but I wrote about it for the next day’s blog.

Alejandro Torres & daughters - January — Alejandro Torres & daughters

Again, we returned to the festival on the 16^th. I wondered if returning was a good idea because our first time there on the 13^th was so magical, but we weren’t let down. We saw dancers from Panamá and from over the world. Again, we stayed late, and I fell into bed exhausted that night. No blog post!

As I remember the 20^th, I feel embarrassed! When I got up on the 21^st, I realized I had completely forgotten to do the blog post. Nothing significant happened—oh, well!

But again, I reiterate—I have no guilt about missing them, and I feel exhilarated today in finishing this challenge. That’s new for this perfectionist! To finish a commitment like this reminds me of my determination. After each missed day, I had to continue—no question asked!

Again, I gleaned ideas from other participants to enhance my blog through this Challenge. The daily assignment of reading two other blog posts in the Challenge helped me see choices, personalities come out in playful and professional ways, and the passions we all have! Thank you to each one who participated!

Have You Accomplished Any Other Goals Recently?

On December 21, 2025, I released my tenth book, Time Measured Out!: Navigating Life’s Journey and am so proud of it. It is the second book in a five-book poetry series. During January, I have been promoting the heck out of it!

Also, I have a marketing plan I’m following, so I have been promoting my first book, This Tumbeweed Landed, the month of January. To be honest, I started a little late, but I have already started my promotions for my second book, When Will Papa Get Home?, and I feel so much more organized than I have ever been.

At the end of 2025, I received notification my book, Was It a Dream?: Navigating Life’s Journey Through Poetry, won a bronze award in the Global Book Awards so I have been also promoting that book. It is the first book in the series.

I’ve scheduled a promotional experience with Let’s Fix Stories on February 17. I sent them the first 10-15 pages of my new book project which is an AutoFiction. The tentative title is Eye Witness to Life/Healing. I’m excited to see what they have to say about the beginning of my book. As we know, the reader either gets hooked by then or drops off! I want professional help on making it the best.

Why Did You Joined the Ultimate Blog Challenge?

In November 2021, I participated in my first Ultimate Blog Challenge, and I wrote every day. I gained so much from that challenge, picking up ideas from the blogs I read like the use of headings and subheadings and the use of coloring them. I have adapted these ideas and use them regularly.

Because my blog is on wordpress.com, each post is scored for SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and Readability analysis. When I looked at the other blogs, it spurred me on to be more detail-oriented on my blog, so I investigated the relevance of both of these scores. I realized their importance and work hard each blog post to be sure I receive a “green smiley face” instead of a yellow or red one.

Achieving Your Goals

I believe deeply in goals and have used the idea for years. Goals colored my work as a teacher and the computer coordinator at Washington middle school in Albuquerque, New Mexico. One year, I asked my committee to dream without limits for the next year—brainstorm the ideas possible. When I typed up the list, it was long and ambitious!

The next year, we achieved every goal on that list, even the outrageous ones! That’s why I believe in goals.

So, set some goals. Do something you’ve never done before like the Ultimate Blog Challenge then follow through. See the follow through is the important part. On my dream list at Washington middle school, we submitted our list to our senator, we canvassed him, we showed why everything we listed had importance—in other words, we did the footwork!

Finally,

January ends today. This is the last blog post for this Challenge, but I have my weekly blog post to do tomorrow. I’ve shared some vulnerable truths here, some fun-filled activities and my life in general. I will return to blog readers refreshed and invigorated by this month of writing, thinking up topics and sharing my life with the world. Yes, it was a commitment—a hefty one, but it fed my soul, because writing does!

Larada Horner-Miller - Janaury — Join me on my weekly blog at **https://laradasbooks.com/my-blogs/**

My Newest Books

Time Measured Out!: Navigating Life’s Journey Through Poetry, Book #2 e-book

ISBN – 9798989688654

$.99 for limited time

Is My Truth Universal?: A Woman’s Poetic Odyssey e-book

ISBN – 979-8989688623

ALWAYS FREE

Was It a Dream?: Navigating Life’s Journey Through Poetry, Book #1 – e-book

ISBN – 979-8989688630

$3.99

Hair on Fire: A Heartwarming & Humorous Christmas Memoir e-book

ISBN – 978-0996614498

$3.99

Buy My Audio Books:

This Tumbleweed Landed

Let Me Tell You a Story

Hair on Fire: A Heartwarming & Humorous Memoir Audiobook

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haiku · MY LIFE · My Thoughts · My Writing · Ranching

Day 22 – The Many Hats I Wear: Changing Constantly!

January 22, 2026January 23, 2026 Larada Horner-Miller1 Comment

I wear many different hats in my life today and have over the years. Currently the hats I wear vary and require different things from me.

Author/Poet

I love to write, and I enjoy writing in a variety of genres. My collection of ten books varies: poetry, memoir, biography, historical fiction, biography and essays. So I don’t stick to just one, and it’s worked for me for years. But recently, I have focused more on poetry—free verse poetry. I’ve published two poetry books in a five-book poetry series.

Also, I love to write haikus. As a literature & language arts teacher, I did a poetry unit every year with my students, and I had them write haiku. Back then, I didn’t write haikus though.

When the pandemic hit in 2020, I did a lot of walking on our lane in the east mountains above Albuquerque, winter and summer. The rhythmic walking and my interest in haikus opened the door to my writing them. While I walked, the lines came to me and I recorded them when I got home.

Then Natalie Goldberg’s book, Three Simple Lines: A Writer’s Pilgrimage into the Heart and Homeland of Haiku, inspired me to write more. I love the simple framework of the 3 lines—5 syllables, 7 syllables, 5 syllables—give me. It forces me to be selective about word choice—totally different than any other writing I do.

My next project is an autofiction book, part autobiography and part fiction. I’ve written 50,000 words already, so I just need to revise it, but I keep pushing it to the back burner because everything else pushes ahead of it.

Book Marketer

Because I self-publish my books, I have to do it all—write the book, layout of books, publishing and marketing. Deeply, I love all of it except marketing. It consumes my time with the ads, the questions what to do, the different social media apps, the financial demands and everything.

For years, I haven’t made a definite marketing plan, but this year I have, and I hope I stick to it!

Co-Owner of a Ranch

My brother and I co-own our family ranch in southeastern Colorado that has been our family for almost 100 years. He lives in the community near our ranch, so he’s the boots-on-the-ground guy. I do the business side. Today, I labored at balancing the checkbook. Usually, I balance it to the penny. Today, I’m $1.69 off and I hate that.

Also, I’ve been busy entering the checkbook into an Open-Source app to prepare for our 2025 taxes. Managing our finances keeps me connected to our ranch, even though I live 5,000+ miles away now. The only way I can possible do it is through the internet.

Dancer

Since I was viciously attacked by a dog on July24, 2024, my dance life disappeared, and that activity fed my soul. Coming from a dancing family, I have danced my whole life. My parents glided across the dance floor on sawdust and dirt at our country dances.

On New Year’s Eve, Lin, my husband, and I danced at a local bar here in Boquete, mostly just to rock and roll music, but it was movement to music! For one song, we danced a Cha Cha, and my heart soared. Later in the evening, another dance song came on and we did a mean jitterbug. Oh, I miss the days!

Christian

My faith keeps me going. I am Episcopalian by choice, but I haven’t found a church yet here in Boquete, Panama. There seems to be mostly Protestant and Catholic churches. Because of this, I have attended Hope in the Desert Episcopal Church in Albuquerque, New Mexico on Facebook, Livestream, my church before we moved.

I have issues today with so many Christians turning away from Jesus’ teachings in loving the immigrant, feeding the poor and loving our neighbors, so that has affected my attending any churches here so far. I will find a place and land, I’m sure.

In Recovery

I have been in recovery for 37 years and it’s the basis of my life. It saved my life. So a big plus here—a strong active recovery community. I still have my connections back in Albuquerque, but I see that I will fit in here for sure.

Denver Broncos’ Fan

Yes, that’s a big hat to wear today. We just won the game last week against the Buffalo Bills, a hard-fought fight. Immediately after the game we heard our quarterback, Bo Nix, broke a bone in his ankle and is out for the rest of the year. So, I’m preparing emotionally for the game on Sunday where our backup quarterback, Jarrett Stidham, will fill in the void.

I’ve been a fan for years—been happy with the winning years and stuck with them through the lean years.

Finally,

Yes, I wear a variety of hats, bouncing back and forth between activities, demands and loves of my life. The rich variety makes my life full—I wouldn’t want it any other way!

Larada in her pink hat — I love my pink hat!

My Newest Books

Time Measured Out!: Navigating Life’s Journey Through Poetry, Book #2 e-book

ISBN – 9798989688654

$.99 for limited time

Is My Truth Universal?: A Woman’s Poetic Odyssey e-book

ISBN – 979-8989688623

ALWAYS FREE

Was It a Dream?: Navigating Life’s Journey Through Poetry, Book #1 – e-book

ISBN – 979-8989688630

$3.99

Hair on Fire: A Heartwarming & Humorous Christmas Memoir e-book

ISBN – 978-0996614498

$3.99

Buy My Audio Books:

This Tumbleweed Landed

Let Me Tell You a Story

Hair on Fire: A Heartwarming & Humorous Memoir Audiobook

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Book Promotion · My Books · My Thoughts · My Writing · poetry · Self-publishing

Day 18 – Accidentally, A Great Week for My New Book!

January 18, 2026January 18, 2026 Larada Horner-Miller5 Comments

Accidentally, I had a great week promoting my new book, Time Measured Out!: Navigating Life’s Journey Through Poetry!

Much of my promotions for most of my twelve years in the book business have been accidental—and this week it was for sure!

Part 1 – Accidentally

As a promotional idea, I did a Goodreads Giveaway from December 28 – January 09, 2026. I gave away 100 copies of this book. 736 readers participated in the Giveaway. Because Amazon owns Goodreads, they downloaded the 100 copies without paying for them. Because I have been checking my Dashboard in KDP.com often, where I publish my books, the 100 copies shocked me. So, it took me awhile to figure out the increase in sales of 100 books with no royalties. The good news—that movement of books made Time Measured Out! #1 in three categories:

Book sellers rank on Amazon - accidentally

You might wonder why I would do a Giveaway of so many books? Here’s the stats after the Giveaway on Goodreads: 661 want to read it and 694 added the book to their shelf in Goodreads. It now has a 4.2 rating out 5 there. So I could benefit it in the future.

Part 2 – Accidentally

Because of my excellent coach, Derek Doepker, and coaching group, I entered my book in the possible “BookBub New Release for Less” promotional. I had been warned by Derek any of BookBub’s promotionals are highly sought after and well worth it. I have entered other books in the past and not been selected. This time I was, and it was for January 13, 2026. Yes, it costs a lot, but the results were supposed to offset the cost.

Part 3 – Accidentally

No, the sales did not cover the cost, but the promotion caused an increase in sales. Because of the increase in sales, the book bounced between #1 Best Seller in the Poetry about Love category and #1 New Release in Poetry About Women on January 11. Then on January 12, it stayed #1 Best Seller in about Love and #1 New Release in Poetry About Women and stayed there until on January 14. Then it was Top New Release in Poetry About Love. Amazon algorithms likes all of those identifications, so then they do more organic promoting of that book.

Amazon Ranking Data about Time book - accidentally

Two above on January 11, 2026

Happily, the promotion increased the sales of the first book in the poetry series, Was It a Dream?: Navigating Life’s Journey Through Poetry. And who know what the long-term results will be.

Finally,

Accidentally—yes, but I am going to write this formula down for my next book because it seemed to fit together nicely—first a Goodreads Giveaway and second apply for a promotion on BookBub in a timely manner. I’m proud of what happened, even if it was accidental.

I have a hard time with marketing and promoting my books. It costs money; it takes time to do all the work and it needs to be planned out and executed a month ahead of time—and I’d rather be writing! But guess what? I have put together a Marketing Plan for this year, so we’ll see what happens—wish me luck!

Larada Horner-Miller - accidentally — I’m working on my Marketing Plan for 2026. Any suggestions?

My Newest Books

Time Measured Out!: Navigating Life’s Journey Through Poetry, Book #2 e-book

ISBN – 9798989688654

$.99 for limited time

Is My Truth Universal?: A Woman’s Poetic Odyssey e-book

ISBN – 979-8989688623

ALWAYS FREE

Was It a Dream?: Navigating Life’s Journey Through Poetry, Book #1 – e-book

ISBN – 979-8989688630

$3.99

Hair on Fire: A Heartwarming & Humorous Christmas Memoir e-book

ISBN – 978-0996614498

$3.99

Buy My Audio Books:

This Tumbleweed Landed

Let Me Tell You a Story

Hair on Fire: A Heartwarming & Humorous Memoir Audiobook

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Category: Writing

My Super-Busy January—Glad It’s Over!

My Choice to Not Include My Email List

Here’s What I wrote Super-Busy!

Finally—Done with Super-Busy for Now,

My Newest Books

Buy My Audio Books:

Goodreads reviews for Coronavirus Reflections

Day 31 – January Ends Today—So What Did I Learn?

Did you finish the Ultimate Blog Challenge?

Have You Accomplished Any Other Goals Recently?

Why Did You Joined the Ultimate Blog Challenge?

Achieving Your Goals

Finally,

My Newest Books

Buy My Audio Books:

Goodreads reviews for Coronavirus Reflections

Day 22 – The Many Hats I Wear: Changing Constantly!

Author/Poet

Book Marketer

Co-Owner of a Ranch

Dancer

Christian

In Recovery

Denver Broncos’ Fan

Finally,

My Newest Books

Buy My Audio Books:

Goodreads reviews for Coronavirus Reflections

Day 18 – Accidentally, A Great Week for My New Book!

Part 1 – Accidentally

Part 2 – Accidentally

Part 3 – Accidentally

Finally,

My Newest Books

Buy My Audio Books:

Goodreads reviews for Coronavirus Reflections