Perfect Day

Almost. Of course it would be better if Mr. Chelle were here enjoying a cup of coffee with me as I watch the snow fall. It's not often we get snow in Oklahoma. When we do, I try to take some quiet time and relax. I didn't have much time to myself this morning though. The 16 yo is home from school due to the weather so no early morning rush, but everyone decided to call to check on us this morning. I love my family and friends, don't get me wrong, but the calls started at 6 am. No big deal...except they woke up the little man. And when he realized it was snowing... I had to hog tie him from putting on his snow gear. The ground is frozen solid from the ice storm yesterday. After a major meltdown, he figured out I wasn't letting him outside until the snow covered some of the ice. I warned him I wasn't driving the 20 minutes to the ER if he fell and busted his head. I'd just sew it up myself with a needle and thread. That did it. The boy gags at the word blood. LOL. My luck though, it'd be me falling and busting my butt bone. I'm having a hard enough time getting my poor bones moving to take the dogs out. So I bribed the kid with no homeschool work today since brother is out of school.

My plotting bootcamp is winding down and although I haven't kept up with the assignments, I saved all of the files and plan to work on them today. I printd out more of my outline on index cards. I need to finish the character details and then move on to the actual conflict outline. One of the things that has distracted me is so many pitches going on right now. I participated in Donna Alward's mentor pitch, and now Harlequin/Silhouette have a few coming up soon. Which makes it very tempting to put away the historical WIP to work on my contemporary romances.

I'm off to say hi to a couple of my blog buddies...and unplug so I can make an attempt at an assignment or two. Have a happy and productive day!!

Jinx

Well...I opened my mouth and jinxed myself. I was so ready to give away some of our dogs. We had four of them. When we moved, Mr. Chelle promised to build a large pen to keep them contained when they go out to do their thing. He built the pen, but it doesn't contain the dogs. *sigh* And now he's back at work so it won't get repaired for another two weeks. The Boston Terrier sisters got out. Bella and Gracie took off and a couple of hours later, Gracie showed up and was completely freaked out. I seriously thought she'd need the Dog Whisperer. Bella still hasn't come home and we're afraid she's fallen victim to a pack of strays that are terrorizing this section of the county. Instead of therapy my brother offered to take Gracie hoping she wouldn't be able to get out of their fence. I insisted she remain a house dog, and so far she hasn't played Houdini and escaped. As frustrated as I was with the pups...my heart is broken that they're gone. At least I can still see Gracie.

How has everyone's writing/life been? I've been trying to stay in touch, but I started my new meds and it has kinda wiped me out this week. We'll give it until I go back on Feb 26th. I did submit a two paragraph pitch to Donna Alward's pitch. She's a fabulous HQ Romance author and has offered her mentorship to an unpubbed author for another year. Last year I was fortunate enough to have made it into the final 5. This year...top 11. Not too bad out of 80 something entries. She said the pitch was good...the storyline just didn't excite her. Guess I need to work on making it a little more conflict filled before I sub to Silhouette.

Hope yous guys are well and warm!!

Happy Friday!!

Awwww! Got the teen man/child to school, and the little man fed. I'm a bad mom...bribed him with a large mug of hot chocolate, and put his homeschool lessons on hold until after lunch. Maybe I can get my character outlines finished today. First thing though, I need to finish a beta read before my crit partner thinks I've abandoned her.

I'm so glad today is Friday and I have nothing to do this weekend that requires going out in this ridiculous weather. Our high today is supposed to be 19. *sigh* The low....3 degress. I'm so ready to give away a couple of dogs. The Chihuahua won't go to the bathroom outside when it's this cold and just stands by the door shivering. So he's using his carrier and my laundry room smells awful. Which means he smells awful. Ugh. The two Boston Terrier sisters keep getting out of the fence and running off. We've been hearing a pack of coyotes or wild dogs recently, and I'm afraid the girls will disappear. The rescue lab? She loves me. She goes out, does her business and comes into the warm house to lay around quietly. Good dog. Anyone want a couple of adorable lap dogs? I'll even pay to ship them.

I actually got another box emptied yesterday. By this rate...I'll have everything put up in it's place by 2013. Hubby was supposed to paint a couple of walls before he left, but didn't. I'm trying not to stare at the baby blue walls with gold glitter. Thankfully my chair faces the log walls and I can look out at the trees and landscape. I'm looking forward to Spring when the leaves will be full. The front porch will be beautiful. It spans all the way across the front of the house and has hooks for plenty of hanging baskets, draped with vibrant colored flowers. I took a ton of pictures during our recent "blizzard" and will try to post when I find all of my computer cords. In 2013?

Happy Friday!! Hope your week was productive!

Digging in...

So far so good. I actually got something accomplished last night and will upload my book theme, logline, and premise today to the bootcamp group. I really suck at the short stuff though. I'm so wordy and have been struggling with the heroes side of the premise. This story came to me after I'd done some searching through my ancestry documents and family records.

I meant to send out a plug for the lovely group running the bootcamp. They've got some great info and resources available for writers. Check it out...

Rose Colored Glasses ~ Writer's Resources

Okay...want to see how bad my attempt was at my first assignment? Here goes nothing.

Logline: A forbidden dreamwalker will risk her father’s reputation, and her own life, in order to save the man in her dreams, even if he refuses to let go of the past and trust her.

I'm off to work on my next assignment...character roles. Easy peasy.

Brrrrr...

I am soooo not liking this weather. But at least it's not distracting me today by enticing me out into the warm sunshine. Cold, cold, and reallllly cold. I think our lows this week are expected into the single digits. That's not typical Oklahoma at all. And my RA doesn't like the cold either. My poor fingers are protesting my attempts to make them work today. My sweet buddy sent me the voice recognition software. I'm thinking today would be a good day to set that up.

Okay. Got the teen monster off to school and just fed the little man monster. I say that because hubby has gone back to work and the boys are picking at each other constantly. Ugh. Last night I told them they would have to go outside and sit for 10 minutes every time I broke up a fight. So the teen slammed off to his room. Problem solved. At least I can use the weather to my advantage. ;)

Heading offline to get my first bootcamp assignment finished. I decided to go with the historical. I'm even cringing at the introduction. *sigh* Why am I feeling so shy all of a sudden? More like terror and anxiety. I absolutely suck at taglines. Guess what my first assignment is?

Happy New Year!!

Hope ya had a wonderful holiday season! Any resolutions? Me? Not so much. I'm definitely motivated with what looks like a clean slate. The start of new year always brings with it a determination. Motivation. To do more. Be better. In all aspects of my life.

So while my motivation and determination are at an all time high, I've joined a plotting bootcamp group. I've got several story ideas running around rampant in my poor little brain. And every time I sit down to write, I have a difficult time choosing. My Native American/western historical keeps yelling the loudest, but I keep putting it away because I guess I'm scared to try something out of my element. I absolutely love reading historicals...but am I capable of writing one?

I can do just about anything if I put my mind to it. That's what I tell my children anyways. LOL. So I must practice what I preach and stop procrastinating. The plotting bootcamp begins tomorrow. Hopefully I'll maintain my level of motivation and also be a better blogger. I love my online blogger buddies, you guys ALWAYS lend me the support and encouragement I need. I only hope to be more active online this coming year so that I may be the support and encouragement you guys need.

Here's to a bright and shiny new year!! May you have an abundance of good health, happiness, and prosperity! A couple of publishing contracts would be nice, too. =)