Losing the heat

The temp has dropped ten degrees and so has the frantic hustle of life. One last summer spree with the kids and their back in school, one last chance to boost your suntan before you renew your membership to the tanning salon. What will you do with these last few days? If it were just that simple, right? Fall brings its own type of hustle and bustle with it. Harvest, homework, deadlines for getting your book in print in time for the Christmas rush, Halloween and NANOWRIMO! Holy moly, think of the fun and excitement! It is finally time for me and my writing voice to roar. It is amazing how many things we keep ourselves busy with that don't serve us well. I call it creative (summer) avoidance and it is oh so real. I was so busy all summer doing nothing of any great significance to bother to get much done. Sound familiar? Books are about life and experiences so living it is not a crime, give yourself a break. Have fun this season and let your writer shine.

Campcon

   Camping with writers and friends, does it get any better that this? Yes it does. Irene Radford, writer and Editor for Sky Warrior press,  and Manny Frishberg, also a writer and freelance editor, were there to mingle and share their knowledge with us. It was wonderful to be able to hear what they had to say. Wonderful people to get to know and I hope we will have a long-lasting professional relationship. The food and activities were wonderful, and I can't wait for next years Campcon. Thank you to Bob and Lars and all who put so much work into putting this on for us. Write a short story or have a first chapter ready for next years roundtable read, the helpful advice you will get is priceless. I'll keep you posted when we know the date, for now we just know that it will be in June next year. Have fun and write.

Injured shoulder blues

Still have an injured wing but managing to fly. Adverbs, adjectives and passive voice are my aim as I fly through my manuscript. Pilot whales inspired me this weekend as a pod of them swam just 100 yards from me on Monday. How wonderful to be so close to them as the fed and played. I'm sure I can find a way to include them in a story.

Full speed ahead! Ouch! I didn't see that wall coming.

Forever Italian will be out later this year, rather than the end of June. The edit process is in round two now. Love that story, but there are a few things that need to be ironed out before it can go to print. Meanwhile I am working on a story that starts in L.A. and takes us to China.

Summer has inspired me to shave my legs and soak up some vitamin D from the sun. Sorry to my neighbors for the blinding light. No, I am not an alien from a sunless planet, just a blond with sensitive skin who must hide from the sun. Stop staring. Any way, hope you are also enjoying summer and freaking out your neighbors any way you can. Have fun! Lol.

Wishing for summer.

I love summer. At least, as a writer, I love looking at summer from my desk. Why did I sign up for that class now? Oh yea, I need it to be a good writer. I think two books in the summer months is enough. Might need to plan better next year. Also better start eating smarter snacks if I am going to sit all summer. I need a portable Dragon program so I can walk or ride a bike and still write. Anyone know of such a thing? Hope you take time to have fun. That is how we get our inspiration isn't it. Yes. I must go and get inspired! Bye.

Where are we now?

Have you been here and seen this?
Still in Paris. Soon we will go to Italy!

Started my travel log.

Last month I received a travel log-book from my daughter. First entry: Ocean Shores, WA. Loved the beach, endless soft sand and wonderful shells I found. The salt on my lips was the best I'd ever tasted. The surf was calmer than I remember the Pacific being this time of year. I long for it now that I am back in the dry heat. Wish I could have stayed longer, thirty years or so would be good. Where will my next adventure take me? Looking forward to it. Hope you get to go somewhere new too.

Wonder

What if? What if I succeed, fail, gain freedom and independence from my job? What if I could move and build the house I already have plans for? What if my friends and family don't think I can? What if I can't? What if I try and fail? What if I don't care about all that and do it because I want to? Yeah, I think I'll do that. Wonder what that will feel like{:}

Where am I?

Have you ever seen this? Lauren has and will take you there.

 

This is the first place we go. The Gare du Nord station in Paris, France, is a busy and beautiful place to make your hub while visiting Paris.

Taking you there..

Still going through the edit of Forever Italian. Getting cover art and formatting down. This book should be available this summer. Paris, Lake Garda, Venice, Florence and Monaco, I'll take you there. New friendships and romances paired with danger and revenge. When you've lost so much, you learn to cherish your family and friends. And so, they become your life. You don't mess with Lauren and get away with it. Gosh I'm glad to know her.

Getting in someone's head.

         How do you really know someone? What if you could enter their mind? What if you knew what they thought, felt and kept secret. Where is this 16th century Chinese Warrior coming from? Who is he? I am working to find out and will share him with you when I do.
         Me? I'm someone who is in awe of the possibilities of life, of the heart and of the mind.

The week end is a memory

Saturday I was blessed to attend an author's debut. The thrill of your first book in print. Wow. The excitement was high and the twinkle in her eye never faded. The woman was sick last night with the flu. Even with it coming on she made it through the nervousness and anticipation. Her Postcards for signing for ebook purchasers went to Texas, got rerouted, and arrived in her box as she left her driveway. This weekend, though tough, will never be forgotten. Congratulations to you and your perseverance as a writer and a person. Best wishes to Michel Lee King, Author.

Moving to China

On my way to spending the next two months in (virtual) China for My Walk With a Warrior novel. Just temporarily finished with Europe. Taking a side trip to be home in WA for a while. I"m fighting my muse to go to Indonesia  but she thinks Australia is better. I think we can work out a fun trip including them both. Well, better get back to writing or we wont be going anywhere. Love the bunny! Save the Bunny! Save my sides from hurting from laughing to much.

Boggled

Boggled by the possibilities of self publishing, assisted self pubbing and going conventional. Need to reach all you readers out there and I'm not sure how.

The game has begun

So you want to know me a little better? Well, I had the most entertaining critique of our group this week because I understood the crazed killer in the horror piece we reviewed. Is that bad? 

Spring is in the air and waiting to pounce!

Things are moving, and shaking off the winter. Get your credit cards ready and watch for your next all time loved book to be released! They are springing up everywhere. The time of renewal has started and its time to create new things. I am glad to be working on my next book again and ironing out the language barrier from Mandarin to English. Very excited that I will be able to share this adventure with you in the coming months. Have fun and enjoy! 

Pachyderms never froget

Gee I wish I were a Pachyderm. I listened to several people talk about their futures and instantly wished I had a recorder in my purse. The future-my future and yours, is as bright as we make it. So get out your sunglasses when you lace up those boot straps and get moving! Often I feel that I NEED so much help from SO MANY people to keep up with this ever changing world. Well okay, maybe I do-right now.(Thank you honey.) When I find what I really want, my way is to find out who has what I want and how they got it. Follow the leaders and surround yourself with them and their knowledge. Old dogs can learn new tricks, finding the teachers, being open to learning the lessons that come your way even when you're not looking is paramount. Life has a way of bringing to you what you need more often than what you think you want. Look for lessons and connections that come your way and take advantage of them. Well I'm off to follow my wild and adventurous mind, glad I had my note book with me today. I found my muse working at the oddest and most inconvenient times today.

Special services being offered

Wow. Kristen Lamb is offering her services to one lucky person each month. What a great way to get your stuff reviewed by her. http://warriorwriters.wordpress.com/ is the link to Kristen's blog. Enter to win and read her books too. I have found them invaluable and I haven't even finished reading them yet! Tell your writing friends about this offer it's great!

Unexpected opportunities

This week at our writers meeting we were informed that we will be hosting Maggie Bonham, Publisher at Sky Warrior Books, this coming Thursday. Wow. Yeah, panic time. Words like pitch, Bio's, synopses, and platform are suddenly very big words to us. With one novel back from its first true critique and not fully revised, and the other only 67k words and not finished, I find myself the proverbial dear in the headlights. What to do? Confidence is on my side, but having unfinished work is not. Being prepared for whatever comes my way at any time is something I must master. Wish me luck in this crunch time. Good luck and grace to all who are open to, and step up to, what ever comes their way in life.

Let the story flow.

Funny how people seem to be on the same wave length some times. Recently was very tiered and trying to edit my book. Got a call then something to eat. After which I felt more like composing. Opening my next book I began stirring the creative juices in my brain and came up with things to embellish scenes and build characters. Yep you guessed it, only one paragraph farther into the story but what great strides I made in the 2500 words I added. Funny how the process works sometimes. Luckily, I did not cut out anything making it, a good thing in the end.

Ariving on the secene

A big shout out to Kristen Lamb for reaching me via her book We Are Not Alone and a thank you to Michel of Kind Critique for giving me the book. Writing adventure, and travel-romance books verging on paranormal, came to me naturally due to the 'wiled hairs' I have to get away. Couple that with an adventurous can-do attitude and I find all kinds of fun trouble to get into. Pictures to come of some of the places I write about.

Writing and editing

Some times I find it hard to spend time editing when I feel like writing. I want to launch a mass query this spring on a book that needs a little reworking/embellishing but I also love my new story. Time management can be hard for a lot of us. I like the fact that I am still in love with the book I'm editing, even though I know every line by heart. (self edited several layers now) I find myself addicted to the creative energy of writing and it's stopping me from putting in the hours needed to clean up the book for this spring. God help me focus. Do you have any helpful hints?

Where do you fit on the shelf?

Is there such a thing as an paranormal adventure romance? Or, how about an urban fantasy travel adventure romance? Yes there is. In fact most books are. Don't worry about this when you're writing, let your creative energy flow. There are different criteria between publishers as to where your book will land. Many books have been re-shelved at different times. I was asked what I write and I didn't have a candid answer but was commended for it. Diversifying is a good thing too, I have found. You might turn out to be a better fiction writer rather than the romance writer you thought you were. Have fun. Get addicted to your story and let it drive you.

Today I found my way to tell a story rather than Tell it. My little old stuffed elephant, which was my focus when I was in labor over thirty years ago, is now my listening buddy. Quite literally I'm telling him my new story, and "he" asks for qualifiers, which is helping me fill in my story as I write it. Strange maybe, but it's working; this stories ruff draft is much better than my others. This is also helping with structure of the subplot. Try it out, no one is watching.

I was sent to this article by Lee Child and found it very enlightening. Thought you would enjoy it. Keeping the suspense going in my novel and not just letting it become one big chase has been a hurdle for me, and now, I hope I have found a new bit of information to help. Happy writing and reading. 

An invaluable tool.

Hello, this is the first time I've sent my manuscript out to Kind Critique. Michel did such a fabulous job and I know I will use her again. The value of having an entire manuscript done professionally, outside the writer's group, has been immense.