Chelle Sandell

A new day. A beautiful one at that...

2011-10-24T09:33:00.000-05:00

As usual I sat out on the porch this morning watching little man as he waited for the bus. The fog was low and heavy across the street where the countryside dips into a valley. There are a few pluses to living on a hill, and the view is one of them. Being a lightening magnet is not one of the positives, though. LOL. The tree cut up in the front yard is proof there is a negative side to the new house. Oh well. Still wouldn't trade it for another.

This weekend went by quickly, which can be good and bad. We were able to get some cleaning done so I won't have as much to do this week. I have two service appointments for the house this week and a doctor appointment in the city. So it's looking to be a busy week. But the good about it being Monday? The guys are out of the house and it's quiet. My plans today are to try to root around in the last remaining unpacked boxes and find my rolling pin. I found a yummy recipe for sugar cookies and want to start experimenting with icing decorations. Little man has a fall party Friday and I'll make Halloween cake pops. I bought a plastic black witch's cauldron and spiderweb material. Hopefully my fingers will work so I can mold spooky characters and I'll put them on sticks. I plan to lay foam in the bottom of the cauldron with the spiderweb on top to look like smoke. If I can get it to work I'll upload pictures before I take it to the school.

Off to work on critiques and getting my partial request ready to mail. Just a few tweaks and it's ready to go. And yes...I am getting a little nervous. The 3-4 month wait will be unbearable but I have plenty of projects to keep me busy. Have a wonderful and productive Monday, my friends!

Happy Monday!

2011-10-17T20:15:00.000-05:00

And what a weekend it was. I don't think we did a whole lot of anything. Except get the house dirty. *sigh* So I spent today catching up the laundry, cleaning little man's room, cleaning up after the cowboy, and made the man/child bring me his dirty clothes and dishes. I try not to venture into his cave very often if I can help it. But I also finished the revisions on my partial and sent it out to the crit partners. I've already heard back from two of them and it looks like I can get it submitted by Wednesday. Which means I might be able to finish the second request and get it sent to the crit partners by next Monday. Man...that would be HUGE if I could get them both sent out and off my to-do list. I've got two short stories that need attention. Like yesterday.

I found the secret to getting more writing time. Keep the family stuffed with good food. The boys are extremely happy with me because I've been cooking more lately. Last night I made homemade sausage/bacon pizza. My man/child is usually the picky one, but he ate three huge pieces. They are so big it's like a deep dish. Tonight? I made parmesan crusted chicken with a vodka cream sauce spaghetti. Tomorrow I'll have to do a thick and hearty soup with vegetables and pasta. Maybe even some homemade bread. It'll be perfect for the cold front we've got coming in as I type and it'll also be an easy fix.

Okay...as promised. Here is my recipe for chocolate pecan pie. I've found similiar recipes but I think the reason we like it is because I add Kahlua. Yummo. Add/delete ingredients to your taste...but enjoy.

Aunt Susie’s Chocolate Pecan Pie

Deep dish pie shell or handmade
¾ cup white sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
½ cup real butter
4 eggs
2 tbsp bourbon (I tried Kahlua)
1 tsp. vanilla extract (

Madagascar

pref.)
¼ tsp. salt
½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Combine sugar, corn syrup, and butter in a small pan over medium heat, constantly stirring until sugar dissolves. Set aside and let it cool. Combine eggs, liquor, vanilla, and salt in a large bowl and mix well. Pour sugar mixture slowly into the egg mixture, whisking constantly. Pour chocolate chips and chopped pecans into bottom of the pie crust. Pour pie mixture on top and bake for at least 50 minutes or lightly brown. If you want it to be pretty for company, before baking you can top the pie with pecan halves in circles or designs.

I found very similar pecan pie recipes online but I think the bourbon or Kahlua makes a richer pie for holidays.

Finally Friday!!

2011-10-14T09:45:00.000-05:00

Woohoo!! Are you proud of me?! I've blogged twice in one week. I actually tried to blog on Wednesday and had an emergency call from little man. They took school pictures and I'd forgotten to put the order form and check in his backpack. So I made a mad dash to brush my hair and change out of my pink flannel jammies. He probably would've appreciated it more if I'd taken the tiara out of my hair. Just kidding. I did brush my teeth though.

Fall? You say it's fall in Oklahoma? Really?! *sigh* It's still hitting the mid to high 80's here during the day. And because of the severe drought, I doubt the trees will come back to life to turn spectacular colors to signal that my favorite time of year has arrived. Oh well. Little man and I decorated pumpkins last week and I pulled out the fall scents for my warmers. At least the house is telling me it's time. I believe we're supposed to get a cold front next week that will drop the temps by 30 degrees. Which also means my body will rebel a day or two in advance. But it'll be well worth it. I'm so ready for jeans and sweaters. Of course I'll still have my flip-flops on. Ha.

Another favorite for this time of year are the fall recipes coming out of the drawer. Monday I'll post a recipe my aunt gave me years ago for her chocolate pecan pie. But for now...I'm off to work on my chapter and critiques for my girlies. Hope you guys are having an awesome Friday!! Be productive and get that word count!!

XOXO

Good Monday morning!

2011-10-10T09:56:00.001-05:00

As requested...I'm sharing a picture of our new fur baby, Lilly. My heart still hurts when I remember Gracie and Joe Boxer, but Lilly is doing an awesome job of keeping us occupied. She is soooo smart, sometimes a little too much. ;)

I hope all is well with you! Life is as usual chaotic in our household. But I have to admit, I am loving the quiet time while the boys are in school and the husband at work. Makes for a peaceful working atmosphere. I've had my coffee this morning but listening to the soft hum of the dryer is making me sleepy. LOL. I've got chicken breasts in the slow cooker so that dinner will be ready when the guys descend on me once again. Easy, peasy recipe...I added frozen chicken breasts to cans of cream of chicken, 2 cans of cream of cheddar cheese, and a can of fire roasted diced tomotoes with green chilis. I set it on low and will let it slow cook for 6 hours. I'll serve the chicken shredded with some of the sauce on flour tortillas and with rice I've doctored up with a tablespoon of butter, the juice of one lime, a tablespoon of chopped cilantro, and a teaspoon of garlic-pepper seasoning. If you question any of those ingredients, either leave them out or start with a smaller amount and taste as you add. I know my husband isn't fond of cilantro and usually just eats his chicken with the tortillas.

So with the house semi-clean and dinner in the slow cooker, I'm motivated to open my Word files and get to work. What are you guys working on? I'm almost finished with the revisions on a partial I had requested by Harlequin Superromance. A LONG time ago. I'm thinking I won't put requested material on the envelope since it has been so long that it was requested. I've learned from experience that requested material doesn't necessarily speed up the response.

Good day to you all!! Hope it's the wonderful start to a productive week.

TGIF!

2011-08-26T06:59:00.000-05:00

Got coffee? I'm on my second cup as I watch the sky wake up before the sun rises over the trees and I'm ready to catch up with you guys!!

Yes, my friends, I am alive and around to terrorize you with my boring journey. Hope all is well in your corner of the world. My journey has been chaotic as usual including the loss of two of my precious dogs to the heat. My heart is still broken but we started the healing process with a new puppy. She's a gorgeous Blue Heeler we named Lilly. So far she has been easy going and great to train. Still...she's a rambunctious fur ball that keeps me walking crooked during the day as I do my chores. She thinks I need to be directed and nips at my heels. I've tripped a few times. *sigh* But she is spoiled rotten and not allowed to go outside by herself because I refuse to lose another pet in this Gawd-awful Oklahoma weather.

My friends along the East coast...please be safe and keep your eyes on the weather. Hurricane Irene looks to be in full PMS mode.

Let's see. What have I been up to... *deep breath*

We finally found a beautiful house back out in the country where my rowdy bunch belongs and have most of our stuff moved. The house was completely renovated and even has all new flooring and heating/AC. We're not completely unpacked and I'm slowly working on getting organized. I had to take a side trip to the hospital for a couple of days because my RA apparently felt like it was being ignored. Rude heifer. But all is well and I was released after promising to be a good girl and not overdo it again. And I have tried. Really. I do not like the consequences and being stuck with needles repeatedly. My hands are still swollen and the meds don't seem to be working as well. I went back to my original Rheumatologist and he was pretty upset at the lack of care the other docs seemed to think was best for me. I have my follow up visit next week and I believe he'll add Humira to my daily meds. I'm starting to feel really old with all of the medicine bottles in my cabinet. Grrrr. But it's worth it if the doc can find the right combination and get this disease into remission.

The boys are back in school. YAY!! I'm loving the quiet time during the week and I've tried to get the house situated where I can get on a writing schedule. I have a nice little office area off of the living room but found that the kitchen table is more comfortable until I can get a comfy office chair. I guess I could take a kitchen chair to my desk to use...but that would be too easy. LOL. This weekend I have two beta reads to critique and my goal is to finish a requested partial and get it sent to crit partners. My goal is to have it revised and mailed by next Friday. I still have the two novellas promised to e-pubs and a single title I've had to put on the back burner until I can get this requested material out the door. So I have plenty of work to keep me busy.

Hope you guys have a great weekend!! Maybe I can post again before another 6 months goes by...

Elaina Lee ~ Cover artist and author extraordinaire!!

2011-01-17T11:00:00.006-06:00

Hey, guys!! I want to introduce you to a good friend of mine and her extraordinary talents!! And one lucky person that posts a comment will win a copy of her book, Written in Blood!!

Welcome, Elaina!!!

First of all, I have to tell you I absolutely love your book cover art! I was already a fan of your book, Written in Blood, but you are a very talented graphic artist. And since you designed my header for the cupcake business…I know from experience that you are also a REALLY patient person and easy to work with. Well thank you, Chelle! But I have to admit I didn't design the cover for Written in Blood, though it is gorgeous and I couldn't be happier!

Tell us a bit about yourself first… I'm a mother of a toddler and a teenager and the wife of a soldier. We live in the deep south, brought here by fate, so we haven't argued! Just found our place here and have been counting our awesome blessings ever since!

WOW! I want to thank you and your husband for your sacrifice in serving our country. The family needs to be remembered because you have to survive without him while he's stationed away from home!

So….which came first ~ art or writing? Writing! The art was just by accident. I didn't want a bad cover (isn't that awful?) so I decided, if I wanted to make sure I didn't get one, I'd better learn how to make them. I had no idea I'd do well at it.

What was your first step in getting started? In which area? Writing or the art? Well, for writing I just wrote. My first step in getting published was joining a crit group, then entering contests (to get over my fear of submissions), then gathering the guts to sub! For art, it was finding a good program.)

What genre do you enjoy reading the most? What genre do you enjoy writing? I found I really enjoy reading action novels that have just enough romance to make you go 'awww'. And I love writing all genre's, but romantic suspense, while the most grueling, is definitely the funnest to write.

Where do you find your inspiration? I find a lot of inspiration on learning channels. The plots really get going when they talk about mysterious happenings in history or recent times. I wonder 'hmmm, how would that work in a book?'.

Do you have a favorite writing tip to share? Don't second guess yourself. Just keep writing and don't worry about how the words are appearing on paper, just that they're there. That's what editing's for, but first you have to have a story to edit!

How did you find out you’d sold your first book? An email. She said "Wow, what an awesome story! I'm going to send this to Jill with a request to send you a contract." I was screaming I was so excited. I'd worked so hard on Written in Blood and I couldn't believe the rest of the world was going to be able to read them too!

Who was the first person you told and how did you celebrate? I called my mom first, but she didn't answer! So my crit partner, Cate Chase, ended up being the first person I told.

Where can we find your book? You can find it on Amazon, Bookstrand, All Romance and of course my publishers site, Noble Romance.

Where can we find you hanging out? Oh gosh, Facebook and my blog.

What is your favorite show on television? I have to pick just one? Well I guess the one I'm currently watching then, Leverage. That is a fun show!

More importantly… Boxers or briefs? *Very Big Grin* Boxers *wink*

Website info - Elaina Lee and Blog

The first week...

2011-01-08T08:24:00.002-06:00

of the rest of my life is complete. I was moaning that I didn't hit my goals when I came across my horoscope this morning. It is also accompanied by a daily slam. I guess it's meant to be more "in your face". But mine had me laughing out loud.

Your pathetic juggling act has caused a few minor setbacks. You can't do it all, even if you're under the ridiculous impression you're some sort of invincible multi-tasking superhero or something. Get back to basics and focus on one thing at a time.

I'm still smiling. So this first week of the new year has come and gone and I've accomplished zilch. Nada. Absolutely nothing. That I can remember anyways. My cowboy has to work today because Monday's forecast is calling for snow and his foreman is worried the guys won't be able to drive to work. My guy would because he thinks his four-wheel drive one ton diesel can go anywhere. *sigh* And who am I to argue since last year we were able to get out and around when most were stranded at home. But today I plan to finish texturing the wall and window upstairs and the staircase hall so we can paint tomorrow. Then the walls will officially be done. I'm hoping my hands will cooperate and hold the stupid tool. They're pretty swollen and tender today but life goes on and I've got things to do. Having RA is a bump in the road and I'll go miles around it before I let it push me to the side of the road. I'll just have to use my Dragon software if I can't write Monday.

Speaking of Monday...it's the kick off day for the The Ruby Slippered Sisterhood Writing Festival. They will be offering moderated writing sprints, tips, and resources. Even if you're not struggling with your manuscript they'll offer some great advice and a bragging room where you can share your journey. I love that this inspiring group of writers have opened their doors to the writing community to offer fellowship and motivation.

Okay guys, I'm off to work on my shopping cart for the cupcake website before I get down and dirty with the manual labor. Next Friday I'll be giving away a dozen cake truffles at my buddy Diane Estrella's blog. She's generously hosting an entire week of give-aways. Go by and show her some love if you have time.

Hope you're having a blessed and productive weekend!!

Happy New Year! Now get to work!

2011-01-03T14:56:00.004-06:00

Resolutions. Do you make them? Do you stick to them? Do you have any goals that you'd like to reach this year?

In past years I've gotten frustrated with myself when I fail early with the resolutions. So I began setting goals. I'm not even sure that has worked. I know I'm progressing, but I remain in the unpublished category. I could self-publish although I don't think I'm up to the standard of books I enjoy reading.

My goals this year? Try harder. And really push myself to be better.

Where am I at? My family is healthy and happy. My health has improved which is a HUGE plus compared to where I was last year. Doc still insists I have Rheumatoid Arthritis and hopefully the Remicade infusions will start within the next couple of weeks and help with the inflammation and pain. I have two requests for books with two lines at Harlequin and working with one of the editors on developing my four book series. I also have two novellas I'm working on for two different e-pubs. The cupcake business has slowed down after the holiday madness, and I almost hate to admit that I'm glad. That's hard work to do by myself with a regular oven. We have a commercial grade double oven that can handle the load...but getting my brother over here to hook it up is another story. And the restaurant is still an option we are putting together.

Where do I want to be? Published. And I love the idea of having the restaurant up and running successfully. Can I do it? Sure I can. I know I can. But MAKING it happen is another story. It'll take motivation and persistence. And that's where I fall short. I read a wonderful motivational post today by Kristen Lamb, Warrior Writer blog. I always know I can get a kick start when reading her blog. She definitely gave me the much needed inspiration I was looking for to kick 2011 off on a positive note. I think one of the aspects was her perspective on remaining positive. But I also realized my failure is the lack of focus. I've allowed myself to become overwhelmed with what's on my plate instead of celebrating the positive. I've become lazy and play on the social media playground. And I've become a Master Procrastinator. Imagine that.

My goal? Celebrate the positive and focus on my projects, even if it's stepping back and taking one at a time. I need to sit down and organize my priorities and become better at time management. My goal is to just do it!

What are your goals for 2011?

It's almost time...

2010-12-29T08:38:00.003-06:00

Aw, man...have you guys looked at the date lately? It's almost time to make those pesky resolutions. How did you do with last years goals? Any carryovers from last year? Mine are basically the same every year. Work on my relationships, health, wealth, and writing. So I guess my resolutions can be considered re-inspirations. ;) Ya think? I think I'll do good just to write 2011 instead of '10 on my correspondence. Ha.

As much as I love the holidays...I will be relieved to escape some of this chaos. Yeah, I know. That's funny coming from me. Chaos reigns in our household. Now it's time for me to focus on the cupcake website and the restaurant. I had the website shopping cart fixed and halfway redesigned and was told I needed to upgrade the module. Yep. It erased everything I'd put back in. *sigh* As for the restaurant we've decided on a location, I just have to iron out the business plan and start-up costs. My cowboy has promised to help me get the house back in order this weekend. I thought the week of Christmas was stressful, but this week we've got several doctor appointments and yesterday I had a meeting that lasted until it was dark outside.

As usual, one of my resolutions is to focus more on my writing. My goal for last year was to become published. I'm a little closer because I am working with an editor on a four book series and he's waiting on my revisions. I'm also working on two short stories for e-publishers. So a little progress anyways.

I ran across a post at the Ruby Slippered Sisterhood that I thought might interest some of you. They are having a Winter Writing Festival beginning January 10, 2011. One of my crit partners and I will be there for motivation. We hope to see you guys there!

Christmas Chaos

2010-12-20T06:34:00.002-06:00

Good Monday morning, my peeps! Hope all is well in your world? Today marks 10 days of chaos in our household. Hubby was more than happy to skip off to work this morning. The weather is cooperating and he escapes our kid and holiday chaos for 10 hours. We have my nephews for the Christmas break and this week is the Christmas countdown. Next week signals the New Year countdown.

Have you finished your shopping and wrapping? It'll be another tight year for us but we were very fortunate to get the kids what they asked for. The lucky part is they are good kids and understand that quality matters over quantity. They really didn't ask for much. Although what they asked for was expensive...at least it wasn't a long list. Hubby and I got away Friday evening and enjoyed a quiet, relaxing dinner together before we hit the shopping madness. It really wasn't as bad as what we had geared ourselves up for though. We only encountered one angry mob at the video game store and tried to skirt the troublemakers. Our goal was to smile and spread good cheer. Most people agreed. The highlight of our evening - we hadn't realized how late it was (1 am) when we hit Walmart. The funny part...we ran into friends and stood chatting when we looked at the time. Saturday we wrapped almost everything until we ran out of clothing boxes.

On the professional front...I received a call from the governor's office last week. And I was officially sworn in to the Oklahoma Judicial Nominating Commission. The commission is responsible for screening judicial candidates for vacancies on state courts. So this new adventure will definitely be interesting. And I'm still plugging away with my writing, just not as successful as I'd like. I feel like I'm spinning my wheels but getting nothing accomplished. The cupcake business is doing well and keeping me busy. I can't believe I'm hoping things slow down after the holidays. LOL.

Wishing you all are productive in all aspects of your life and healthy!! Hopefully this week I will have multi-talented author and cover artist Elaina Lee talking with us about her exciting new adventures!

Hello world!!

2010-12-02T08:23:00.003-06:00

It's been a long time! I hope all is well with all of you! Nothing but normal in our chaotic life. My health has been back and forth but I'm scooting around now, always behind in schedule of course. :D Especially this time of year with the holidays rapidly approaching.

Congrats to all of you with new releases and good luck with sales. May you be richly blessed!! I haven't been as dedicated as I'd like to be. As usual I'll make my resolutions to become focused after the holidays slip by.

This year has been a roller coaster ride for sure in the publishing world. WOW! Several of my crit partners have taken the leap to pub through Amazon/Kindle and have made the jump a little less scary if I decide to go that route eventually. I'm still working on requested mss and have had several requests through e-pubs for short stories. I just wish I had the focus to sit down and actually write. It really chaps my hide that I have so much opportunity and can't seem to motivate myself. Bad girl. Bad girl!!

Hopefully I can keep in touch a little more and hope to bring you news and interviews for new releases. In the meantime...walk with faith in yourselves, my sweet friends!! Be productive and prosper!!

Doubting Thomas

2010-08-11T12:47:00.005-05:00

It's that time of year when everyone is gearing up to send kiddos back to school and ready to welcome back cooler temps. I know my hubby is begging for relief from the heat. I may want to smack him upside the head occasionally, but I am constantly amazed by my husband. He is up and out the door every morning by 5am to face a day recently as hot as 106 degrees outside. To make matters worse...he is a welder and works in long sleeve shirts with a welding hood covering his face. No air. Me? No way!

I'd be crying after only 15 minutes of that kind of heat. But I'm a weenie like that. So kudos go out from me to anyone working outside in the heat!! I'll just keep my weenie-self inside the air-conditioned house and find another book to read. Which brings me to my post today. I want to introduce you guys to a fabulous author, Stephanie Taylor. She has a new release, Doubting Thomas, at Eternal Press. You can also join her on Facebook ~ Stephanie Taylor.

Welcome, Stephanie!!! Congrats on the new release!

Hello everyone and thanks to Chelle for having me! I’m excited to announce the release of my first book, Doubting Thomas. I’m currently hosting a Scavenger Hunt on my facebook page. Join me there to win some great prizes. Also, on Saturday, there will be a grand prize with questions to answer based on the book. Hope to see you there and I hope you love reading Doubting Thomas as much as I loved writing it!

He doesn’t remember...but she does.

For five years, Thomas has lived without a past. A motorcycle accident left him with scars, permanent amnesia and a lot of anger. But the scars aren't all on the outside. He knows one day he'll need to figure out who he used to be, but for now, he's content in his misery and denial. If his family doesn't care to find him, the feeling is mutual—until the love of a tender-hearted, sassy redhead changes his mind.

Alyssa Morgan vowed to locate her missing husband and has followed every clue, every lead, every hunch, hoping to find him and the reason for his disappearance. But fate has something else in store for her and puts in her path an aloof man who has her husband’s voice and the disfigured face of a stranger.

Torn between his past and their future, can they put their doubts aside and let love in?

Excerpt:

Curiosity got the best of her. Slowly, she raised her hand to his cheek, needing to feel him. He flinched and grabbed her wrist, squeezing hard, but she wasn’t afraid of him. The strained look on his face told her he was scared enough for the both of them.

She pushed against his hold, wanting so badly for him to trust her and let her in. After a few moments, his grasp loosened and her fingertips touched his skin.

He inhaled sharply as his eyes turned into thin slits.

“Does this hurt?” she asked him, amazed by the smoothness of the taut scars that made one side of his face unrecognizable.

“Some of my nerve endings are still pretty raw,” he said quietly, his voice low and raspy.

“Is that a yes?”

“No.”

She grinned, continuing her exploration. She trailed her fingertips up to his eye, where the lid was mangled and half closed, then traced around to his nose and then down to his lips, feeling the jagged lines that marred his perfection. If he moved a little to the right, she couldn’t even tell he was injured. But if he moved to the left… He was so scarred her heart hurt for him. All the while, he didn’t move a muscle, but kept his jaw tight and his eyes on her mouth. She knew he wanted to kiss her. This tight control in a man who seemed to have no control over his emotions fascinated her.

Finally, very softly, she laid her entire palm on his cheek, and he closed his eyes. His arms came around her waist and hauled her roughly against him. She felt his fingertips digging into her flesh at her hips, his need echoed in the desperation of his touch. She was still touching his face, when his head descended, his golden hair illuminated by the porch light behind him, like anangel.

She waited. She anticipated. She needed. She suddenly didn’t care if Chris was still alive. She lifted her chin to meet his lips.

Just when she forgot to breathe, his lips moved past her mouth, directly to her ear.

“Thank you for dinner,” he whispered.

With that, he released her and strode away.

WOW!! I hope you guys enjoy reading it as much as I did!! Stephanie is definitely a must-read on my list now. You can find her at the links I've posted above and trust me, it'll be well worth the read. Hope you guys have a great and productive week!

I haz coffee...

2010-07-28T06:29:00.002-05:00

Much needed coffee. Ugh. There has been so much going on around here that I haven't been sleeping well. Our dogs have decided they need middle of the night breaks and have been waking me up every morning before 3am for the last week. Which really sucks because about the time I get comfortable and start falling back to sleep...my husbands stupid crowing rooster alarm goes off at 4am. So of course, little man wakes up and wants to climb into the big bed with me. *sigh*

But we've had two horrific car accidents locally and teenagers have been killed, which has my mind focused on my man/child. My heart is breaking for the families, I just can't imagine losing a child. School starts in a couple of weeks (YAY!) which means I'll be watching the clock and worried about my man/child driving to and from school. We've also had several good family friends running in local political races and dealing with campaigns. Cool news is that Oklahoma will have it's first female governor this year. Mary Fallin is a home-girl and a Republican...which is two strong positives for me. But her Democratic opponent has a great voting record as Lt. Governor. So I'll be digging and looking at both women to check out what they've actually done in their careers that I think will benefit our state and my family. One of my beliefs is to not listen to campaign ads. I don't care what you TELL me you think you can do...prove it. Actions and experience speak so much louder than words.

And...*deep breath*....lots of other fun issues. So no sleepy for me. And definitely more coffee. I'm wide awake and ready to work on critiques. I'm stuck on how to end my current revised chapter and will send it to a friend to see if my sketched out thoughts will work before I finish off the last 3-4 chapters.

Hope you guys are having a great and productive week so far!

Doubt demons be gone!!!

2010-07-19T08:08:00.004-05:00

It's just too easy to be our own worst enemy. I finally finished revising my chapter and sent it off to my crit partners. And cringed the minute I hit the send button. I've received two crits back and hesitated to open it both times. Most of the chapter has been revised multiple times, but the new beginning was a struggle for me and I was expecting the worst. I even caught myself holding my breath as I scrolled down looking for comments. So far, so good. I'm actually excited about working on the next chapter today. Woohoo!!

Keeping it short and sweet. Little man is still asleep and I'm hoping to get the next chapter revised and sent off today. I've got to get this request sent out as soon as possible.

Hope you guys have a productive day!!

First Chapters

2010-07-07T09:25:00.003-05:00

I am struggling right now with mine. I've had several crit partners remark about my heroine which made me wonder if I should maybe begin the story in the hero POV. So I spent yesterday tearing apart my chapter to see if I could make it stronger. And AHHHHHHHHH! I want to just tear my hair out today. Good thing I saved the original. But I wrote 4 new pages to begin in the hero POV. I think I'll add a couple more and play with the ending again including the heroine material I had in previously. It has been easy to take the kiddo out of it as requested, but the hero didn't make an appearance until the last part of chapter one. From the books in the line that I've read...the hero usually makes his debut up front and BOLD.

Do you struggle with your beginnings? When you read--what catches your eye? Dialogue or action?

Have You Seen Her?

2010-06-30T19:17:00.005-05:00

Some of us have talked recently about the opportunity to self-publish our books through Kindle and other e-reader services. I backed off because of the technical aspects involved. But one of my crit partners has taken the leap and pushed through the evil world of technology and...

I am excited to post the announcement for my crit partner's new Amazon Kindle release!

Have You Seen Her?
Chicki Brown, author

If she’d stayed any longer, her husband would have killed her.

Frantic to escape his drug-induced brutality, socialite Marcia Hadley escapes Santa Barbara and flees to Atlantic City. She’s sold everything she owns, rents a seedy inner city apartment and attempts to disappear as Dani Reynolds, cocktail waitress at Frenzy, a neighborhood nightclub.

Taylor Villanova, the club’s sexy multi-racial bouncer recognizes her naiveté and volunteers to teach her about surviving in the “hood.” Fearful and suspicious of men, Dani is at first repelled by his violent profession yet drawn to the compassionate nature that contradicts Taylor’s macho persona. But when her well-laid plans go awry, and Dani discovers someone is following her, she must put her complete trust in Taylor. Her time is running out.

Buy now at Amazon! Have You Seen Her?

Don't have a Kindle? You can download apps for free at Amazon! Here's the link I used for my PC and I LOVE it! Get yours here.

Just saying...

2010-06-28T05:29:00.002-05:00

I suck at grammar.

There, I admit it. For someone who LOVES to read, and LOVES to write, I hate punctuation. I've had to use voice recognition software since my RA has flared in my hands and there's nothing like trying to think about the correct puncuation needed to make a girl feel like an idiot.

And to top it off my teen man/child walked in on me when I was "writing" a particularly spicy scene. Lovely. It was hard enough letting my mom read my manuscripts, but the kids are a whole different story. My hubby encourages the spicier tones and keeps offering to help with research. Big surprise.

I'm off to get the coffee brewing and get started working. I'm working on my synopsis and plan to get it polished today so I can move on to the partial.

Have you ever been embarrassed about showing your stories to family/friends? Whether it was your writing or what you're reading?

Moving on up...

2010-06-25T11:34:00.002-05:00

Yup. I heard from Mr. Editor and he says the series proposal was very well conceived and particularly liked the first two stories. Woohoo!! He has requested the synopsis and three chapters from the first book. He answered my revision questions and I'll have to go unplugged to get the partial ready.

I just wanted to check-in with you guys to see how everyone was enjoying summer so far?! Anyone with exciting news or wanting to vent?

The Next Step

2010-06-14T06:21:00.004-05:00

One foot in front of the other. Unless you're like me and often tangle the feet and trip. Well...I did it, guys. Even though I was sure I'd bombed with my rambling explanation when the editor asked "The Question".

"What is your book about?"

Que the crickets...

"Ummmm...well, you see, there's this guy..."

*sigh* I didn't totally suck though, the kind hearted gentleman took pity on my poor self and requested a proposal for all four books in my series. Done. I sent that in last week. Now the waiting game. He'd asked for a change in the subplot so we'll see if it's acceptable or not when...if he responds to my email. LOL. The next step will be a two page synopsis for the first book. My current synopsis is five pages so I'm working on shaving it down and revising the subplot.

But this entire situation brings about a question. What is the next step? I've been writing seriously toward publication for almost three years now. I've had several obstacles between trying to find time to write and health issues, to becoming frustrated and backing off from writing until I couldn't ignore the voices. I'm confident enough to believe I've improved and reached another level in my journey, but not arrogant enough to ignore the fact that there are so many more talented authors out there than me. I know I still have so much more to learn and improve on.

What is the next step? Is it time to start working on my multi-tasking skills and building a marketing platform? I'd love to stick my head in a hole and concentrate on revising and just hanging out with my characters.

When and how do you start building your marketing?

Pre-conference jitters...

2010-06-03T05:17:00.003-05:00

WOW! Has it really been almost a month since I've blogged?! I promise I didn't disappear off the face of the earth. LOL. We've just had some major chaos going on down here in Oklahoma. And remember me griping about winter? I take it all back. We went from occasional 70's to high 90's. And my RA/Lupus did not go into hibernation with the warm weather. What a rip off! ;)

Good news...maybe? I was having a bad time of it last week, so hubby found a local job and doesn't have to travel anymore. But even with him helping out more, the housework/cooking thing seems to have increased tenfold. *sigh* Guess it's time to pull out more recipes. Especially with summer and the hubster being the grillmaster, I'll just center most of the meals around the grill...less cooking for me. Wahoo!

I really wished you guys lived closer so you could pop by our OKRWA mini-conference. We have Charles Greimsman, HQN and Silhouette Desire, and agent Lucienne Diver coming in for a 3 hour presentation and taking pitches. We'll have a meet and greet social at Merline Lovelace's house Friday night with the editor and agent. And Saturdays schedule includes a continental breakfast, workshops presented by Merline Lovelace and Margaret Daley, lunch and time set aside for pitches.

And even though it's not my first rodeo, I'm still nervous. Ugh. But at least I'm prepared and nailed down which story I'll pitch. Now if I can get the family to stop hovering and let me write!

What do you think...

August Carter’s dream has been the same every night for over a week: a child’s dirty, blood-crusted hand reaching for her, his pleading whispers for help digging into her heart. August knows a child will die if she doesn’t find him, but she’ll have to trust the one man who destroyed her heart, her family, and her life.

Sheriff Levi Colbert has never believed in superstitions but he can’t ignore his dreams, especially the one of a young, desperate woman begging for his help to find her missing family. He’ll risk everything when the beautiful dark-eyed August shows up claiming to have had a dream, and the life of another child depends on his investigative skills. Sparks will fly as August and Levi battle not only time, but each other, to find the child before the dreams stop.

Nothing, nada, zilch!

2010-05-03T18:22:00.002-05:00

I've gotten absolutely nothing accomplished today. I couldn't sleep last night and ended up reading until 1 am. Then hubby's alarm went off at 3 am so he could head back to work. The dogs woke me up at 5:30, and I just wanted to throw the alarm when it went off again at 7 am. Ugh. Today was not one of my finest. I won't torture you with laughter...let's just say I had to chase chickens today.

Thankfully the 16 yo offered to take his little brother and get takeout for dinner. I've had at least an hour of quiet sanity today. LOL. I've already warned the little man to plan for an early shower and only two books read tonight. Short ones at that.

Early to bed, early to rise. And hopefully I'll still have chickens. *sigh*

TGIF

2010-04-30T10:10:00.004-05:00

I can't believe the weekend is here already. And on top of that...April is at an end and my oldest will be out of school in a few weeks. Which is scary because it'll mean alot of sibling bickering while I'm trying to write. I was hoping my new RA meds would kick in and take away some of the health issues I'm dealing with, no such luck. But I am determined to push through with my writing. My hands are so swollen that I can't even wear my wedding ring. *sigh* I think I'm at least learning how to read my body and how to schedule my outings and activities. Hubby gives me the shots on Saturday when he can be home to help with the kiddos and the chores. I'm also learning to let go and ask for help around the house. My mom has been a real trooper and calls everyday to see what needs to be done, or just to see how I'm feeling. We know that the first three days are pajama days. It helps that the oldest can drive himself to school and helps with the 7 yo during the week.

On the writing side...I'm taking one day at a time. I've set goals and timelines, and joined several challenges to push myself. I have a pitch coming up at my OKRWA mini-conference in June. Not sure what I'm pitching yet...I'm thinking my western historical. We've got an editor from Harlequin coming, and an agent from the Knight Agency. Woohoo!! I've also committed myself to writing a novella with some of my OKRWA sisters, and a short story challenge with some writing buddies.

So....starting Monday morning, I'm planning to get up before kiddos and get my social media out of the way, leaving the rest of the day to work on deadline materials. I'm hoping I can push myself to be more consistent with my blogging. This should be interesting!

Have a beautiful weekend!!

How do you do it?!

2010-04-20T22:32:00.004-05:00

Aaaaaaaggggghhhhhhh! My 7 yo is working on my last nerve. He's going through a phase that I assure you, may be the death of me. *deep breath* I feel like these last couple of weeks, he's been testing my patience. We've been so busy around here getting ready for spring and summer, and little man just seems determined to whine and argue about everything. I'm truly blessed though because my mom came over tonight and helped us put up the pool. Afterwards she helped me prepare dinner, and even washed dishes while I ate and put little man in the shower.

I have to admit that I recently became a little envious of friends talking about planting gardens. So I shared with hubby and he tilled up a spot for me and we've been planting all kinds of stuff. I noticed tonight that I'm already getting blooms on my roma and grape tomato plants. My red and sweet white onions are growing strong, and well...pretty much everything seems to be living. Which is a good thing for me since hubby hasn't been able to help much. I think I may have lost 2 lettuce plants, and I didn't get the potatoes in on time. I'll try to get them dug tomorrow just in case one of them survives. My mom told me to plant some garlic cloves and I almost didn't, but I have three shoots that have popped up. Too cool. My herbs are ready to start harvesting so I'll have to find some yummy recipes to share and use my fresh herbs. We started buying our canning supplies and I'm soooo looking forward to fresh pico, salsa, and spaghetti sauce.

And he is asleep!! YES!! Okay guys, I'm off to get some writing time in before I crash for the night. How do you do it? Anyone else struggling with life interrupting your writing?

Get Busy

2010-04-11T16:01:00.002-05:00

Wow. I can't believe it's been so long since I blogged. I really need to make an effort to be more consistent. But as usual...life happens. ;) We finally made it back from Savannah. We were able to do some sight-seeing, but unfortunately my health didn't cooperate and we didn't make it by the historic cemeteries or museums. We did however go to the Tara Feis Irish heritage celebration, which was awesome, and scooted over to Tybee Island, where we froze to death. LOL.

This week looks to be uneventful. But ya know if I plan it out, something will pop up to sidetrack me. So no plans or goals...I have to kick butt and get my request sent in, and I've been asked to participate in an Oklahoma based series with a few of my OKRWA sistahs.

As soon as I rewrite my synopsis and tweak the partial, I'll have to outline and sketch out the historical novella I'll be writing for the American Rose line at The Wild Rose Press. Hope you all had a fabulous weekend.

Smooches.

Waaaaahhhh!

2010-03-16T12:41:00.002-05:00

Sorry. Had to let off a little steam. I think this sucknopsis will be the death of me. Ya know, I've done several and they never seem to get any easier. Guess I'll try another method. I think I'll pull up my last synopsis and keep it open beside the one I'm working on. I've got a few examples from workshops and links from helpful authors, maybe I'll go through a few of those before I work on mine further. My hero is doing all the talking and it's like my heroine is playing the quiet game or something. *sigh* The ms is an old one and I've been tweaking it to add depth to a couple of my secondary characters.

Something else I didn't do with this ms was to pick out character photos to help myself envision the scenes. Maybe I need to find a couple of pictures...

Dagnabit. Stop procrastinating and get back to work. Love you guys and all, but I need to get back to work! We're headed home on Thursday and I have a ton to do before then. Hope you all are having a warm and productive week so far?!

Request!!

2010-03-05T09:55:00.002-06:00

Well...ya'll know that I was chosen as a finalist to pitch online to Ms. Victoria Curran, editor with Harlequin Superromance. Being pubbed with Superromances has been a dream of mine from the beginning. I'd done well with a previous pitch and had a partial requested, though it was ultimately rejected with some wonderful advice attached.

I've done it again. *squuuuueeeeeee* Ms. Curran has requested a partial with a synopsis on my Call of Duty manuscript. I was incredibly nervous and had the whole sweating palms-could electrocute-myself thing going on. I prepared by setting up a document listing my H/h goals, motivations, and conflicts. I figured I could just cut and paste to answer Ms. Curran's questions. She was the one that came prepared, and probably the reason she's the editor and I'm the peon stumbling around sounding like a raving idiot. LOL. Anyhoo...I'm assuming I halfway answered her question because she said something to the effect that my author voice would fit with the Supers line.

So here we go again. I'm off to torture myself with the synopsis and then to tweak the partial with her suggestions on a secondary character. Hope you guys have a wonderful weekend!! Anything exciting?

Successful Pitch!

2010-02-24T12:45:00.002-06:00

Woooohoooo! I found out yesterday that my two paragraph pitch was one of the 6 out of 45 pitches subbed chosen by Victoria Curran, Superromance line editor at Harlequin. On Friday I will have the opportunity to participate in an online pitch with her to see if she wants to read my book, Call of Duty.

*sigh* It also means if she wants to read it...I have to prepare a synopsis. Ack!! I have a basic outline I had completed for another pitch a couple of years ago. Maybe it won't require too much wrangling to get ready. The rest of this week will be a little busy for me. We're trying to get our stuff ready to be in Savannah for a month. The travel trailer has to be cleaned and restocked, and I want to leave the house clean so I won't come home to a nasty pit. Hubby and I both have doc appts Thursday and Friday. Busy, busy, busy...

Have a great weekend, my peeps. Huge hugs!!

No rest for the weary...

2010-02-23T11:51:00.005-06:00

My poor hubby. He's home and working on his Honey-Do list. We finally got the Suburban and our 5th wheel trailer moved over to the new house. And he's just finished painting the living room wall and is headed off to pick up a lighter shade of taupe for the hall. I think he's feeling the stress a little because we're going to Savannah and have little time to get some of this stuff done. Good news...we're going to Savannah. OMG!!! I've always wanted to go and now I'll get the chance to spend some real time there. We're going to leave a couple of days early so we can stop when I need to. Hopefully my body won't give me too much trouble. I'm a little worried about the long trip, but I'm hoping to make a couple of stops along the way to meet some of my online writing buddies.

I wanted to thank Rae, Bella, and Vanessa for giving me a couple of blog awards. I still haven't figured out how to post them permanently. *sigh*

Thanks, Rae!
Thanks, Vanessa & Bella!

I'll try to come up with facts you guys haven't already heard me gripe about. LOL.

1. My whole family took karate lessons when I was about 13 yrs old, young and skinny.

2. I absolutely LOVE eating red meat. Give this girl a medium rare ribeye steak or juicy hamburger any day. Of course with my health in the toilet right now...I've made an effort to eat more white meat. Ugh.

3. I've always had a passion for most things western. I've always thought I was born a century too late and could totally see myself living among my Chickasaw ancestors. My hubby thinks it's ironic that I married a cowboy.

4. I was a tomboy. The neighborhood guys always came by to see if I wanted to play soccer, basketball, baseball...anything outside, I was game. I was a closet girly-girl. I had the Barbie's and dolls...just played them when I couldn't be outside.

5. I HATE to wear shoes. Summer is not just my favorite because of the warm weather...I can get away with wearing flip-flops everywhere. I'll wear the sandals with bling when I have to dress up.

6. I am not a cat person. They can be quite cute and cuddly. But I think they can also be rude, manipulative, and just plain evil. Have you ever watched Pet Cemetary? I rest my case.

7. I have the travel bug. I hate being away from my 16 yr old when we travel, he stays with my mom, but I love the adventure of checking out local history.

8. I guess #7 could lead into this...I love our rich and colorful history. I used to dream of being a pioneer woman. Guess that's WHY I married a cowboy.

9. I hate to swim in murky water. I don't mind getting dirty...just hate not knowing what's swimming around me. LOL. Oklahoma lakes are rich with red clay so I'm kinda stuck with that.

10. And last, but not least...I would LOVE to have a little girl. I'm stuck in a manly-man house full of guys.

Okay guys...I'll pass these awards on to...

Jennifer Bianco

Natalie Bahm

What is that I hear?

2010-02-15T09:24:00.002-06:00

Absolutely nothing. Well, almost. The dog won't stop licking herself and I can hear the trickle of the water filtering in the fish tank. But the house is quiet. *deep breath....and sigh* Mr. Chelle is finally home and took little man with him to run errands this morning after he took the man-child to school.

So here I am, enjoying my cup of coffee, hoping my toes will warm up. :) Did everyone have a great weekend? A good Valentine's Day? Mr. Chelle took me to a movie Saturday night and we met his dad and his girlfriend for dinner at our favorite Italian restaurant. Yum. Yesterday? We just hung out and took it easy. Mom took little man to see a movie so we could have some quiet time. Overall? Not a bad weekend at all.

Ok. We talked about what elements are important in a pitch. I guess alot of it depends on what kind of pitch you are looking at as to how detailed it can be. Is it a logline? A basic sentence has to make an impact. I personally HATE loglines and think it's not a valid way to gather enough info about the story to make an informed decision. My first pitch was a one page, simplified synopsis. I was fortunate enough to have been chosen to pitch to a Harlequin editor and had a partial request. The next two pitches I participated in dealt with loglines. They suck. Or I guess I should say...I suck at writing them. You've got to pack alot of punch within just a few words, and you have to choose your words wisely. That's when it's especially important to know exactly who and what line you are targeting.

That's what we're dealing with today. Key words that pack a punch. A pad and pen is my friend at that point unless I'm having a day where I simply cannot hold or grasp small objects. But rolling with the punches is another post, another day. I'll sit down and try to write out descriptive words for each character, the conflict, and what their ultimate goal needs to be. Know your target audience. Use key words to acknowledge you've done your homework. Is your story about home and hearth, or inspirational? Full of desire and passion, exotic or erotic? Is your heroine a single mom struggling to survive only to have a billionaire boss that can give her a Cinderella HEA?

You don't have enough room in a logline for names or places. But the small amount of words used need to include key words to tempt an editor or agent. Know your story. Who are your main protagonists and what do they want/need?

Perfect Pitch?

2010-02-05T08:58:00.002-06:00

I don't think I'll ever hear those words. I HAVE been told that I'm wordy, so imagine my extreme panic when I try to come up with a condensed version of what my book is about. I think I actually begin to sweat. Over the course of my writing journey to the ultimate destination of "Pubbed Land", I have forced myself to pitch several of my manuscripts. Some of you have mentioned having the same angst over preparing pitches or blurbs. I thought today maybe we could go over a few of the basics and work up from there. Just know that...I am in no way an expert. LOL. I have had a few requests out of my attempts, and even won or finaled in a couple of contests. But I've also been passed over. You are the ultimate storyteller. Have faith in your story!!

The pitch is basically a high concept showcase of your manuscript. The first thing I do is to open a Word file, or you can just grab a piece of paper. I list my two main protagonists, my heroine and hero. Make a basic list of WHO they are, WHAT they want, and WHY it is important to them. It's the basic goal, motivation, and conflict of the story. Try to use genre specific key words.

And a final thought for today... It's really important to KNOW who you are pitching to. My advice?? Read through the submission guidelines and write down specific key words that are listed to describe the line.

Have a great weekend!! I'll try to get back as soon as possible to work more on the pitching process.

Blog Award

2010-02-02T09:11:00.005-06:00

Thanks so much, Jennifer!!

I'm not sure my kiddos would agree though. LOL. Jennifer deserves this one so much that I should resend it to her. She always has such an upbeat outlook. I've been stuck indoors with two boys fighting over anything, and everything. Ugh. Thankfully, before I ate my young, the oldest went back to school today. But we're supposed to get more snow and ice tomorrow night. Ack!!!!

So here are 10 things that make me happy:

1) My hubby, especially when he's home and not traveling. I also like it when he leaves after being home for a long time. JK. Kinda. ;) He really is a huge help with the house and boys when he's home, but I truly love him and enjoy being with him. Even when he's home for long stretches of time.

2) My kids keep me going. There are some mornings that I'm hurting pretty bad and can barely get out of bed, but I know they need to see me doing normal mom things and it helps give me strength. They are growing up so fast and have such cool personalities.

3) Our new house. It feels so good to be back out in the country. When I went outside with the little man during the recent snowstorm, I felt almost overwhelmed by how pretty the house and trees looked covered in snow.

4) My Mom. She is truly an inspiration to me. She has been a huge source of comfort and support my entire life, especially now that I've been diagnosed with the stupid auto-immune diseases. She has a heart of gold and is always involved in helping someone, whether it's her family or employees and local charities.

5) My cousin. She's also my best friend, and I know that I can always share my morbid sense of humor with her. She agrees that we can laugh even in the worst of times and I can count on her to make me laugh.

6) My friends. And that includes my online crit partners and blog buddies. I love sharing my writing journey with you.

7) My pets. We recently lost my sweet Boston Terrier and sent her sister to live with my brother. That doesn't make me happy, but when they were here...and along with the remaining two pups...they make me happy. It's got to be that unconditional love thing.

8) Rain. I don't like to drive in bad weather...but I love to sit and read or relax and listen to the rain.

9) Reading. I LOVE to find books that I can't put down. Ellen Hartman and Helen Brenna are two of my favorite Superromance authors and I know I can always count on them for a feel good story.

10) And lastly...I have to agree with Ms. Jennifer...getting blog awards! It makes me feel like someone really likes me. ;)

I have to admit that I dreaded coming up with 10 things that make me happy. It definitely beats coming up with 10 things I hate. I wonder if someone has come up with that one? The Venting Award, maybe?! LOL

The hard part is coming up with people to pass the award over to, but here goes:

1) Heather Rae Scott

2) Bethanne Strasser

3) Diane Estrella

Perfect Day

2010-01-29T10:52:00.003-06:00

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

2010-01-28T18:52:00.003-06:00

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!!

2010-01-08T08:47:00.002-06:00

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...

2010-01-06T12:01:00.002-06:00

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...

2010-01-05T09:23:00.002-06:00

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!!

2010-01-03T09:43:00.002-06:00

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. =)

sigh of relief

2009-12-08T11:31:00.002-06:00

Hubby has left the building. I'm sad to see him heading off to California for their next job, but the last couple of weeks have been hectic. No time for Christmas decorations. No time for shopping. No Christmas spirit. Must change that. I'll rest up a bit today and work with little man on his schoolwork. Maybe tonight I can get the man/child to help me move things around and get the tree up. Maybe I'll even light some candles and play a few Christmas CDs to get in the mood.

Anyone busy working? This time of year tends to play havoc with my writing time. Not that I've been able to get back in the game. I can't seem to get fully engaged. Not sure if it's me or the new meds. I'm going to try to keep taking them at least until I go back to the Rhuematologist on the 18th. It sounds like several of my writer friends are struggling for various reasons. A few of us joined NaNoWriMo this year and didn't complete the word count. Others blasted right through and kudos to you if you're one of them.

Hope you guys are having a productive week. I'm off to check out a few blogs to see what's new. I'm determined to finish a beta read for a buddy today and submit 10 pages of my contemporary category to my RWA chapter contest.

Happy writing!

Season of Giving

2009-11-25T08:36:00.004-06:00

Today feels like a Friday. Most likely because my oldest is out of school today, and my nephews are here to spend the night. Hubby will be getting off work early and will head home to help get the house ready for our Thanksgiving feast tomorrow.

This is my favorite time of year for many reasons. It always begins with the start of school to occupy the kiddos and college football. My Sooners are having a really bad, injury plagued year. I know we can't win them all, but this hasn't been a fun year to watch. The excitement continues on though with most of our family birthdays leading up to Thanksgiving and Christmas.

This year we will spend the first part of Thanksgiving day at my aunt's house with her family. Then we'll head home to have our own celebration with my brother and his kids. I have NEVER EVER wanted to torture myself with Black Friday and it wouldn't even be an option this year.

Thank you all so much for your prayers and good thoughts. I'm feeling much better and getting around pretty well. The rash on my face is still visible but just looks as if my face is a little flushed. The Rheumatologist has diagnosed me with Fibromyalgia and is testing for an underlying illness. While he believes that I have arthritis, he's feeling optimistic that it's not Rheumatoid Arthritis. I have an appointment today at the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation for more tests for the Lupus.

Even if I wasn't dealing with illness, I have so much to be thankful for. My family is a huge source of comfort for me. My boys are well behaved and have become protective of me. My husband hates to leave me to go to work, and is willing to get up at 4am every morning and work his patootie off for us. They will be leaving next week to start the next tank in California, but we are so fortunate that he even has a job in this economy. My mother has had a few episodes with her health problems from battling cancer, but she is celebrating another year cancer free.

Yes, God has truly blessed us. We have a warm, safe home with a table full of good food. We were fortunate enough to buy food for three other families to make sure they are able to have the same meal we're having with leftovers to enjoy for another week. We will even prepare the meal for one of the families because she admitted to not knowing how to cook. Of course I'll have a plate ready for our homeless alley guy, Gary. He'll eat well this week for sure. Things are tough right now for so many families. I can only hope that we spread some of our good fortune as far as possible and it makes a difference somehow.

As for my writing? I'm trying to decide which story I'll submit to my chapter's contest for the members. I'm thinking it'll be my contemporary category romance, but lately I've been working a little on my historical. I have a couple of weeks to decide.

In the meantime...I hope you guys have a very blessed Thanksgiving!

Silence...

2009-11-18T08:09:00.002-06:00

Awwww...the house is so quiet. Except for the dog's collar jingling when she scratches at those pesky fleas. Man. We have four dogs and having a really hard time getting rid of the fleas this year. We've never had a problem like this. We usually bathe the 3 little dogs in our utility sink and the lab mix outside. But Mom decided to graciously offer to take Possum to the groomer since I'm having health problems. Well...she came home with fleas. Not my Mom. Possum. ;)

Hubby started back to work after having his five day break, and man-child is headed off to school. Little man is still zonked out, snoring quietly. Isn't it amazing how peaceful and sweet they look when they're asleep? LOL. Give him another hour and we'll be dealing with breakfast and getting his schoolwork started.

Until then...I'll work on a beta read for a friend. As soon as we finish little man's homework, hopefully I can work on my chapter. Is everyone enjoying the change in the weather? Are the leaves beautiful where you live?

Have a productive day and happy writing!

Happy NaNo!

2009-11-06T16:46:00.002-06:00

I know, I know. I'm a little late. NaNoWriMo officially began on November 1. I signed up, but my WIP is my first manuscript that I wrote during NaNo in 2007 and needs a complete rewrite. I have a chapter and a half revised and will use suggestions I received back from judges in the FAB contest to tweak a few issues before I move on. I found out that I came within 3 points of being a finalist. I had thought seriously that it was time to put this ms away for good...methinks it just earned itself another chance. Anyone else participating? What are you working on?

You guys would be proud of me...I've been able to get up and around the last two days and got out of the house. Hubby took me to dinner last night and I was actually brave enough to go grocery shopping with Mom at Walmart. Thank you so much for your encouragement, love, and support. I'm still hurting but can at least get out of bed and my recliner by myself. I absolutely HATE feeling so independent. I gave in last Thursday and went to the hospital. They gave me something to help ease my symptoms until my appointment on the 20th with the specialist. I've been a good girl and increased my daily water intake and decreased the amount of crap I usually inhale. As soon as the pain in my hips and back ease up, I'll slowly start exercising to a yoga DVD I have. We've decided to sell the building so the hot tub is on hold until we move. I checked with a gym I used to go to and they have water aerobics I can try.

Well...little man did better with his new glasses than we thought he would. The frames lasted a whole month before he found a way to break them. LOL. I talked with the doc office today and they may be under warranty. *sigh* It didn't come as a surprise but it's amazing how well behaved he has become with the loss of television and video games. So much so that we've decided this is a great time to set a higher limit. I take full credit for allowing him to pretty much have no limits. As long as he got his homeschool work finished, he was allowed to watch or play unlimited. Bad Mommy. He hasn't argued or given me a hard time the last two days so it has given me the incentive to set higher limits. We had fun today and started preparing our materials for planned Thanksgiving crafts. Hopefully we'll get dinner and shower over early tonight and keep the newly scheduled bedtime. If I can be strong and committed...I should have plenty of writing time tonight. Yay me.

Hope you guys have a wonderful weekend!!

Adversity

2009-10-27T05:59:00.002-05:00

Well...hopefully all of you made it through Monday without a scratch. My day turned out to be pretty ok. Little man had Taekwondo practice and as much as I hated to drag myself out of my pj's, he needed the exercise and kiddo interaction. Hubby finally sold our extra 5th wheel hitch which means I'll get the charm necklace that I've been drooling over for my birthday. Yay me!! I'll have to take pictures and post on Thursday. And I actually cooked dinner last night. The boys were kind enough to let me know I'd slacked off lately and they were due for a homecooked meal. I made ranch style fried chicken, cheddar-garlic mashed potatoes with fresh parsley, and a salad. I'm sure I could've been more creative with the veggies but that's another story.

Several of you mentioned struggling with your chosen path. That was the reason for my post. I think we're all faced at some point, or on a regular basis, with doubts or roadblocks. While my first instinct and reaction is to pray, I eventually have to make a decision to move on. The reason I'm so nostaligic recently is because I've been faced with some difficult choices and my path is changing because of possible roadblocks.

I've openly shared with you guys my passion to bulldoze forward with our family dream to own a restaurant. We've started and stopped in the past for various reasons but I really thought this was the time to move forward. I've put alot of time and energy lately into the business planning and building a solid foundation so we wouldn't be faced with problems later down the line. The website for my bath & body shop is ready for product pictures and descriptions. I've been so busy that I've had to put my publishing dreams on hold.

Until now. I think the decision has been made for me. I finally have a name for my health issues. Recently my body has been telling me to slow down and I prayed that I could find the strength to keep pushing and would slow down once we could hire people to step in and help. Wrong. My lab tests came back positive and the diagnosis is Rheumatoid Arthritis. I have an appointment with a specialist to begin my treatment plan to stop the progression, but my doctor believes I also have Lupus with possible lung and kidney involvement. Which really sucks because I'll have to start taking pills on a daily basis.

My doc says that RA and Lupus affects everyone differently but because of my symptoms and apparent progression, I need to forget the restaurant plans. He believes that once they begin the treatment I'll have some pain relief, but the stress and physical demands of owning a restaurant will be too much. They'll send me to occupational/physical therapy to help with the pain in my joints and muscles. My son's Taekwondo instructor says he'll add Yoga and Tai-Chi to his classes and that will help with my fatigue. And we'll have an excuse to get a hot tub. Darn it. ;)

Chosen path? What about roadblocks? Methinks my writing has sabotaged the restaurant. It looks as if my writing will take center stage again. I'll deal with rejections and editing just like I have in the past. If it doesn't work...find a way to fix it or move on. God answers prayers in mysterious ways. ;)

Chosen Path

2009-10-26T09:03:00.002-05:00

Good Monday morning! I hope ya'll had a spectactular weekend...or at least didn't hurt yourselves?! ;) I began my Monday morning with a sick teen man/child and a dog who couldn't wait to be let out. *sigh* Lovely. I want to be grouchy, but I just read a post from one of my blog friends and feel uplifted for some odd reason.

Have you ever wondered how some people manage to work through adversity? Whether you're working full-time outside of the home and go home exhausted only to start your second job as mom in charge, or you're a stay-at-home mom trying to find time to write between children wanting, fighting or whining. I'm a stay-at-home mom and I don't know how I ever worked two jobs as a single parent. You just do it. You could have 10 children or none at all. You may have a simple cold or life altering disease. Maybe it is/was a rejection on a manuscript you absolutely feel is a best-seller. We all have our conflicts, internal and external roadblocks.

Isn't that what we torture our characters with? It's our job to create substantial conflict to sustain it through to the end. Have you had a professional, a reader or crit partner question the character's motive or strength of conflict? What may be enough to some, may not be worthy to another.

You may not even be a writer, but I think most of us have a chosen path. It may change tomorrow for whatever reason, choices come with consequences. Good or bad. I think it's all about how we roll with the punches. Good or bad. Is it fate or a higher power that changes the path for us or helps us keep our feet planted firmly along the journey? Have faith and confidence in your choices. Have faith in your path and it'll shine through to those chosen to be a part of that path.

Self-Publishing

2009-10-20T09:23:00.006-05:00

One of my crit partners posted an interesting link the other day and I thought I'd run it past you guys. I've never known anyone who went the self-publishing route, that I know of anyways, and I hadn't really looked in to it. It is definitely a dream of mine to be published, but not if I have to fork out the money to do it.

Author J.A. (Joe) Konrath has an interesting blog that I check out often. When I followed the link my crit partner posted, I wasn't surprised to see where it took me. I found this particular post interesting because I hadn't heard about self-publishing directly through Kindle or any of the digital readers. It's something I'd like to check into further to see if there are any hidden snags we should be aware of. One thing I wonder about is if there is a contract involved that would tie up my rights in case I get an offer through a print publisher. The only cost involved seems to be for the cover art. You'd have to be serious about marketing yourself and getting your name out there, but I believe it could be something worth considering.

See what ya think...

A Newbie's Guide to Publishing

AHA!!

2009-10-17T08:42:00.004-05:00

I came across a post on one of my favorite blogs that I have to share. I've talked before about layering character emotions but I had an "aha" moment after reading this post...

Method to the madness - How Acting Can Make You a Better Writer

I've mentioned before that I'm a huge Bob Mayer fan and love to visit the Warriorwriter's Blog to see what industry tips I can pick up that might help me on my writing journey to pubbed land. Warriorwarrior's Blog is a publishing industry blog presenting the main principles from NY TIMES Best-Selling Author Bob Mayer's, "Who Dares Wins: Special Operations Tactics for Success." The contributing author of the blog is professional editor Kristen Lamb.

As I read the blog post, I began to think about the western historical I've been working on. I've been stuck on the plot and the internal conflict for my hero. So I came at it from a different angle. I usually interview my characters but this time I tried to look at it strictly from his POV. But it still seemed lacking something for me. I think I'll go ahead and interview him and then try the role play. I'll put myself in the hero POV in a scene instead of working from the dialogue reactions.

Hope ya'll have a great weekend! My Sooners are playing Texas. BOOMER SOONERS!!

Grrrr.

2009-10-14T08:23:00.002-05:00

It's one of those days. I just want to growl at everyone. Hubby has been home alot due to the fact that their current job is located in town and he hasn't had to travel. The weather has been rainy and wet the last couple of days and too dangerous for the guys to work. I love him being home, but he's worse than the kids sometimes and I can't focus on my to-do list. I finally finished critting a beta read for a crit partner and I'm trying to get through the chapters I'm judging for a contest. I've had two doctors appointments in a week and driving in to the city has severely limited my writing time. Grrrr.

The teen man/child is on Fall Break and I let a friend spend the night. They wanted to go over to the girlfriend's house to hang out. No problem. Of course...boys will be boys and they woke us up around 1 am. Hubby wasn't happy because he had to be up for work at 5 am. So being a grouchy butt today, I decided to check out the man/child's grades online. Not good. His grades have dropped. I'm sure he'll be surprised and have issues with being on restriction for the rest of the break. Which means he will be under my feet, and just as grouchy. Grrrr.

Our local writers conference is coming up in November. I found a couple of workshops and registered, but overall was disappointed with the selections this year. At least I can get together with some of my OKRWA sisters and spend quality adult time away from the house. Maybe some of their pubbed creative dust will rub off and I can refill my well. ;)

How do you motivate yourself when chaos reigns around you? Maybe...if I growl loud enough the family will back off and let me spill my guts on paper. Maybe...if I unload some of this emotion...it won't be a grrrr day.

I am woman. Hear me grrrrrrrrrrr.

Bad Blogger

2009-10-05T13:43:00.004-05:00

Sorry I've been neglecting you guys lately. Things have been pretty hectic around here as usual. Hubby is home working on a local job for a couple of months, which means I can't get away with simple meals. Fortunately he helps with preparation and clean-up, but it still means more elaborate meal planning, shopping and cooking.

The restaurant plans are on hold until we can get our architectural plans back and approved by the city inspector. I've ordered an update for my website software so I can finish the shopping cart for my bath & body products. I've ordered new fragrances and will hopefully start making the soaps and lotions. I'm looking forward to putting on my scientist coat and experimenting. Mwahaha.

As for my passion?! I submitted the first chapter of my WIP to OKRWA's Finally A Bride contest. I'm thinking we might know something by the end of the month. This week...I'm working on finishing up a beta read for one of my crit partners and judging 6 entries for a contest.

AND....a HUGE shout out for my crit partner, Ami Weaver!!! Girlfriend won the Georgia RWA Maggie award for the Unpublished Contemporary Series Romance category!!! You rock, honey!! She'll definitely be busy polishing her ms because they've requested the full manuscript. Congrats!

Sourdough Starter Pancakes

2009-09-21T11:05:00.002-05:00

Hey guys! Happy Monday. :) I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. Hubby is due home this week so I am super swamped trying to get my to-do list whittled down. I thought I'd give ya a link to a recipe I found for So
urdough Pancakes. You can make these from the recipe I gave you for the sourdough starter. Have fun!

Sourdough Pancakes

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

1 c sourdough starter
2 Tb vegetable oil
1 egg
2 Tb sugar
3/4 c flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

Step 1
Pour one cup of sourdough starter, or sponge, into a clean mixing bowl.

Step 2
Stir in two tablespoons of vegetable cooking oil.

Step 3
Add one egg and two tablespoons of sugar. Mix well.

Step 4
Stir in ¾ cup of flour. If you want pancakes that are more “sour”, see the tip below.

Step 5
Dissolve one teaspoon of baking soda and ¼ teaspoon of salt into a tablespoon of warm water.

Step 6
Right before you are ready to cook the pancakes, add the baking soda mixture to your sourdough pancake batter. Gently fold it in.

Step 7
Let your sourdough pancake batter sit for a few minutes, while it foams and rises in the bowl. This is a good time to prepare any bacon or sausage you are having with your pancakes.

Step 8
Heat your griddle or pan until it is fairly hot, grease it, and pour ¼ to ½ cup of batter onto the skillet for each pancake. Cook on each side for 1-2 minutes. Serve hot.

State Fair = Rain

2009-09-17T06:42:00.003-05:00

It's that time of year. I've always loved the beginning of the school year because it means the start of college football!! Go Sooners!! I can sigh with relief when the kiddos are occupied more often with homework, activities, and renewed friendships. But it also signals the start of the Oklahoma State Fair. We used to take the boys when they were little but we're old and grouchy now. The boys stopped enjoying the looooooong lines. It stops being fun when they figure out the rides last 2 minutes and we have to stand in line for 20. And it rains. Every year. It has become a standing joke that you know when the fair is in town because we have rain. Every day. And this year is no different.

Normally I would LOVE the rain. I hate driving in it because of the way people drive, but I love the smell. The cool air it brings with it. I enjoy spending time out on the patio because everything seems refreshed and clean. But this year...hubby has to monkey around on the top of water towers. They can't climb and weld when it rains. No work - no pay. At this point the rain is causing delays in the crew completing a tank. They plan to be home by next Tuesday. Oh well. So life goes on. We often have to make adjustments in our lives for the unexpected.

Which makes me think of my writing. How many times have you had a story idea play out in your head...but when you began putting it on paper, it doesn't work for whatever reason. Maybe the conflict can't be sustained to the end. Maybe one of your characters doesn't have believable motivation. Do you roll with the punches and revise? Or make adjustments?

I haven't had the misfortune of having to scrap a story yet. I have had a crit partner who has. Sometimes it's easier to just move on. You can't submit an unwritten story. I do have two manuscripts that I've put away. I love the storyline, the characters, but for various reasons I'm at a standstill on them. But we push on. Do we need a good kick in the buttocks for inspiration? I often do.

I got one the other day. Awhile back I was clicking around the blogosphere within my writing buddies circle and was fortunate to find Jody Hedlund. She usually has such informative and interesting posts, and I was thrilled for her recently when she announced she'd signed with an agent. But wow. WOW. She can now add published author to her name!! Congrats to Jody for being offered a three book contract with Bethany House Publishers. Doing the Snoopy dance for ya girl!!

What wonderful inspiration to those of us on the journey with her. And a good kick in the hiney to get busy. I've got two WIP's as we speak. My first manuscript was a series contemporary targeting Harlequin Superromance. I received a rejection on a partial with some really great editorial suggestions on how to strengthen the heroine's internal conflict. I had placed third in a contest and was recently encouraged to send the revised first chapter to another contest for feedback. The assistant editor suggested I resubmit...we'll see if I can fix it. The other WIP is a historical, and a huge challenge for me. I'm having "issues" as to how to begin the story. But that's another blog post. ;) The trouble is finding time to work on them.

I thought I would post my recipe for the Sourdough Starter. Erin...I forgot that I have your old email addy and it kicked it back to me. So here ya go...

Sourdough Starter

1 ½ ounces fresh compressed yeast
3 cups warm water
1 ounce granulated sugar
1 pound 8 ounces unbleached flour (I use bread flour)

In a plastic container with a large opening so your starter can expand with each feeding, dissolve yeast in the water and add sugar. Stir in the flour using a wooden spoon, until you have a smooth paste. Make sure the container is pretty large. I use a gallon size freezer bag and put it inside of a plastic bowl to keep it from falling over. After I add ingredients I can pull the bag out and squeeze the bag to mix the contents.

Cover loosely to allow gases to escape (I leave a corner of the plastic bag open) and place in a warm spot in your kitchen for 2 to 3 days. The mixture should bubble and give off a sour odor. Stir down the starter once a day during this time and make sure to stir in any crust that’s formed. After this point, store the starter in the fridge.

The starter needs to be fed every 10 days, otherwise it will die. Add half as much flour and water as the original recipe if you aren’t using the starter regularly. Use less if you’re actually using your started regularly. Stir in the flour and water and keep refrigerated.

And he's gone...

2009-09-15T12:22:00.003-05:00

The hubster is officially out of the building. The first item on my to-do list was to try out several new recipes for bread. I put together a sour dough starter for future loaves, and have dough rising for a loaf of foccacia. I've also pulled out the ingredients for chocolate gooey butter cookies. The turtle brownies for hubby's birthday didn't last long. I think for dinner tonight we'll have beef and rice. I usually make 1/2 pound burgers and cook until medium. In the same pan, I add butter and sautee finely chopped sweet onions, garlic, and italian seasonings. Add flour until the butter/oil makes a paste and add heavy cream until it becomes a gravy. I make a cilantro rice and lay the beef patties on the rice and cover with the gravy.

I guess I'll have to quit playing on the computer so I can clean the carpets in the kitchen. Hopefully it won't wipe me out because I need to get little man's schoolwork done and try to make some headway with the restaurant business plan. It doesn't look like I'll have the time to work on my chapter until tonight. Maybe since hubster is gone...I can get little man in bed early. Keep your fingers crossed. ;)

Back to Chaos

2009-09-14T13:00:00.002-05:00

If I've learned one thing from traveling with hubby to his jobsites, it's that I was on VACATION. I hate the driving and living out of a suitcase, but I have to actually work at home.

I am glad to be home though and sleeping in my big bed. The weekend was spent getting things back to our normal, chaotic schedule. And...little man had a running virus. We had to run back and forth with him to the bathroom all weekend. *sigh* Sorry if that was TMI. LOL...He's getting really cranky with me today because I'm forcing liquids down him. No other symptoms...just an upset stomach. My hands are raw from the constant washing. I do not want his running virus. ;)

I found the architectural drawings my mom originally had drawn up for the building that we're wanting to use for the restaurant. And it doesn't look good. My mom and aunt had some incredible ideas for what they wanted to do...but we won't need a back lobby because I can't handle patio seating right now. And they wanted to add a drop ceiling. Not only is it expensive and complicated...but I LOVE the high, old tin ceilings. I think we can live with the kitchen set up. It's larger than what we need or planned on having. But at least we won't need to expand when we blow up the town and become a huge overnight success. :)

I haven't had a chance to work out my actual logline yet for my historical. Hubby leaves out again in the morning to go back to work. His boss is thinking that they'll be back in Oklahoma by next week. Hopefully I can get little man busy working on schoolwork tomorrow and spend a little time on my logline. I need to also finish my chapter for my series contemporary romance. Ready...set...work!

Going home!

2009-09-10T08:50:00.005-05:00

I could hardly sleep last night for some reason. Maybe I'm excited about going home today? That's a given. I may have to come back to Memphis in a couple of weeks to help hubby get the 5th wheel home, and that'll be for one night only. But I think I'm nervous about taking a class on cake decorating. It begins on the 17th and I received an email reminder last night. I actually got butterflies. Wow. I've been cooking, baking, and experimenting with food since I was 13 years old. Maybe it's because I'll have someone grading me this time. Eh...I face the crowd everytime I cook.

Thank you so much for your well wishes for my husband. Hopefully the antibiotics will kick in soon because the swelling is getting alot worse. Since we're going home, he'll go see our family doc tomorrow.

Loglines. *sigh* I feel like doing a dramatic swoon at just hearing the stupid word. But I am sooo glad I am not alone in my angst. Man, give me a chance with a one page synopsis and I can kick some word booty. One or two sentences. Ouch. So what I worked on last night? I looked at the loglines for two of my favorite movies. Here's what I found.

Tombstone: Wyatt Earp tries to live a normal life with his family but is forced to fight outlaws, leading to the infamous showdown at the OK Corral.

Steel Magnolias: Story of female friends in a small town and the hardships and happiness they endure together.

Now, I can see the Tombstone logline working because you've got strong key words and historical facts. Wyatt Earp. Forced to fight. And the infamous showdown at the OK Corral. But when I look at Steel Magnolias...I'm thinking it probably wouldn't have pulled me in if I hadn't already seen the movie.

So I made a list of the elements in my Native American historical romance. It can also be considered a paranormal because of the dreamwalking. My goal today is to look at the list and start trying to put sentences together.

Loglines

2009-09-09T12:39:00.005-05:00

Well, hubby had an interesting birthday. Considering he spent three hours in an AM/PM clinic. He's had a bump on his arm steadily swelling the last few days. It began with what we thought was a mosquito bite. It's not. He's a welder and often goes without wearing his leather welding shirt when the temperatures are extremely hot outside.

Have you ever had a small burn...like you accidently touch yourself with a curling iron or grease pop on you while cooking? They hurt like all get out. I know his job requires him to work in extreme temperatures, but it's not as bad as when he was in Iraq. So why not endure the leather shirt to keep from having small burns all over his upper body?

One of his burns has apparently gotten a staph infection. The swelling has tripled in size and his forearm is extremely painful and hot to the touch. They've started him on antibiotics and something for pain. I doubt he'll take the pain meds because he needs clarity when climbing up a hundred feet in the air to dangle from a harness, or to walk on a 6 inch wide platform.

So last night as we're falling asleep. I teased him with a line from one of our favorite movies, Tombstone. If you've ever watched it, it's where Sam Elliot's character, Virgil Earp, has been shot in the arm and is told he'll lose the use of it. He tells his wife something like, "I've still got one good arm to hold you with Ellie."

At least I got a goofy grin. Maybe it wasn't such a great birthday, but he still got a warm, gooey turtle brownie.

Okay...back to business. Loglines. If you were having a conversation with someone, how many of you can just toss out a decent one or two line description of your book. Several editor or agent pitches rely on a high concept logline to hook immediate interest.

I personally suck at it. So it peaked my interest when I received an email from one of my Yahoo groups, it was a virtual class on loglines from Rosemary Clement-Moore. It's the Four Elements of a Winning Pitch through the Candy Havens Writer's Workshop. And just what I needed. So I thought I would share my process as I go through the motions.

The first thing she has us doing is looking at the movie descriptions in TV Guide, or the online guide for your cable/satellite service will work. Also...look online for your favorite movie descriptions. Study the strength of the verbs to create a mental image. She also has us look at how the irony in a logline or title can add strength to your hook.

After I work on crits today, I'll start listing the unique elements of my story and strong verbs to tie it together. Interested in playing along? If not...sit back and enjoy my pain. ;)

Happy Birthday to the Man

2009-09-08T17:09:00.003-05:00

Today is my hubby's birthday. Of course it's just a reminder that I'm old. He whines about turning 32 and the grey hairs taking over. I whine because...well, let's just say I'm a "few" years older than my husband. Little man and I went shopping today and bought hubby a new watch. And I made million calorie turtle brownies. Just oozing with caramel. Yeah, there goes what pounds I had managed to shave off my "voluptuous" figure. And mom called from home today to tell me we needed to hurry home because an 8th grader died of the Swine Flu here in Memphis. Does she not realize how big this city is. We're not even within city limits. Hubby's work crew is staying in Southhaven, just south of Memphis.

I didn't have a chance to work on crits or my chapter today. But while we were out shopping, I looked for Linda Howard's new book, Burn. No luck. I wonder if that's a good sign that it'll be a great read. That's our first selection for the Book End Babes book club. I've conned, um, convinced a few friends to join with me.

Nothing exciting to share or pass on today. Just hope you guys had a productive day!

Fear

2009-09-07T09:30:00.002-05:00

I want to share an interesting industry blog I ran across when I got a recommendation from a friend. The Warriorwriter's Blog has a wonderful post today about fear. I think it's something every writer has dealt with at some point in their career. It really hit home with me this morning because I've been struggling...and not sure why. I thought maybe it was because my life is so chaotic with the different directions I'm being pulled in right now. That may play a big part of my issues with not writing, but I think fear could be a part of it.

If you've ever had writer's block, she urges you to dig into your brain for the reason why. She talks about writers avoiding rewrites, and I can tell you that I am definitely NOT guilty of that. If anything I can't turn off my anal internal editor. But I think the one thing that struck me as interesting was she mentioned changing genres as a symptom of fear. Do I agree? I wonder. I've wanted to change genres a couple of times. I thought that came from the unknown though, not knowing where my voice fits and wanting to experiment. Is it fear of pushing through my issues on a current ms?

Good question. What do you do when you're blocked? Have you ever wanted to change genre? If you get a chance...read her post for today.

Boo!

2009-09-06T11:49:00.003-05:00

Yesterday was a good day...and a bad day. It started out with soooo much excitement. College football is one of the only sports I love to spend time watching. I get so excited this time of year. The heat of summer is sliding away, and it's time for my Oklahoma Sooners to play some football! We really get into our game days. Always a cookout or muchies available and our family and friends know where they can come to watch the games.

That wasn't going to change just because we're in Memphis with hubby's job. The guys are feeling down because of some big problems that arrived with the roof they were supposed to put on the water tank. Which means a delay in going home and takes away the possibility for bonus. So hubby and I thought we'd cook for our second family here on the jobsite. I smoked a pork roast so we could have pulled pork sandwiches with cole slaw and hubby's favorite cheese dip. He put together my favorite jalapeno poppers. He cuts them in half, scrapes out the inside veins and seeds, fills with cream cheese, wraps them in bacon and grills until bacon is crispy. I think I was able to swipe three of them. LOL. They go pretty fast in this crowd of big ol' manly-men. One of the wives made baked beans and corn-on-the-cob. So we had an awesome meal!

But the game is another story. My Sooners not only lost their game, but our quarterback was taken out with a shoulder injury. We probably won't know how serious it is until next week. *sigh* The back up played well. But this season is looking a little rough at this point. Oh well, ya win some-ya lose some. I'm a diehard fan and will cheer my guys on regardless. Plus...I think everyone will still show up for chow. I'll have to have something ready for the guys to eat while they play armchair quarterbacks. LOL.

So I guess...it wasn't so bad. Good food, good friends. The guys also had a good talk last night and decided to work today on their day off. For free. They won't get paid, but they wanted to go in to the jobsite to see if they can figure out how to fix the problems on this job. Their Foreman is a great boss and they want to help him out. This crew is our second family. We take care of each other. That my friends...is what it's all about.

Hope you guys had a great weekend!! Anything fun or exciting?

Busy, busy, busy...

2009-09-03T09:23:00.004-05:00

*deep breath....release*

Summer is officially over for me. My oldest is a sophomore in high school and has decided to let us know that he's not going to college. He's determined to enlist as soon as he turns eighteen. He knows I'm not happy with his decision and I'm sure I'll continue to voice my opinion, but it's a family thing. He's following quite a few family members into serving our country. He's keeping college in mind because he says he'll be able to go on the GI bill if he decides to go later. I won't go all political because this post would become a very angry rant. And I personally hate when people cram or politely hint their politics down my throat. Anyhoo...my little one has also started his homeschooling. He's in the first grade this year. WOW. Time sure flies.

Ta-Da...here's our logo!

The restaurant planning goes well. I've got our logo and marketing plan developed. The business has been incorporated and we received our federal ID number. I'm in the process of filing our Oklahoma business registration form, and we're waiting on the architectural drawings to be completed before we can begin construction. I'm also working on finalizing the menu. We've got a basic idea of what we'll serve, but I've got to put together a full menu with descriptions for the food service company.

Well...we're back in Memphis as this job is closing out. Hubby thinks they'll be finished with this water tank by the 16th. I am so ready to be home for good. After this hitch...the traveling has to be over for me. Their next tank is within 30 miles of home and the tank after that is in California. Too far for me and little man to tag along. And the restaurant will need my full attention as soon as contruction begins. At least the oldest kiddo is getting excited and seeing his role in the family business.

As for my writing...I'm polishing a contest entry for my RWA chapter FAB contest. It has to be sent by midnight tomorrow. I'm also heading over to pull files and crit for my peeps. Like I said...summer is over and I don't have anymore excuses for being a bad critter. LOL.

*deep breath...and release*

Weekend Warriors?

2009-08-24T08:42:00.006-05:00

How did your weekend go? Peaceful, busy, lazy? I finally finished texturing the walls in the kitchen. I did such a good job...I kinda screwed myself. LOL. Now I've been nominated to do the rest of the building. *sigh* I guess I'll try to work on the pantry today. The laundry room will be next. We can't finish one of the walls in the kitchen with the beadboard because we realized the 3rd floor window is leaking down the back wall.

And more progress...I found the images I want to use as our restaurant logo.

I talked with the talented artist and he's going to replace the pig with the cowboy. I can put the restaurant name on the wooden board. Hubby hasn't been home to approve it but says he trusts me. Even our teen said he would be ok with wearing it as a uniform shirt. And that's gold coming from that kid.

And...as of today...we are legal, girls!! I filed the corporation papers and trademark this morning. It's a done deal. As soon as I receive the certification in the mail I'll file for a federal employer id number. Then the state tax commission is next for a resale certificate.

I didn't get any writing done this weekend...I took a break to read a western historical. I'm halfway finished and not real excited about reading more. *sigh* Makes me regret not working on my own. But today I need to shave off another two pages from my synopsis for my contemporary category romance. My OKRWA weekend retreat is coming up in September and I have to submit my chapter, synopsis, and query letter to the guest speaker. She's a reader for an agent and she'll work with each one of the members attending the workshop.

Hope everyone has a productive day with whatever you're working on!!

Finally a Bride Contest

2009-08-20T15:43:00.003-05:00

****Eighth Annual Finally a Bride Contest****

Get your manuscript in front of TWO EDITORS!!!

Fantastic news!!! Jennifer Morey, the Finally a Bride 2006 Romantic Suspense winner SOLD as a result of the FAB contest. This year, she is a 2009 Double RITA Finalist for Best First Book and Contemporary Series Romance: Suspense/Adventure.

Breaking news!!! Ruth Logan Herne, Inspirational Winner of last year's FAB, sold to Steeple Hill as a result of her contest win.

Congratulations to both these ladies!

***1/3 of the Finalists in last year's contest received Editor Requests***

Sponsor: Oklahoma Romance Writers of America

***NEW - Young Adult CATEGORY***

Fee: $25 (RWA Members) - $30 (All non RWA Members)
Deadline: September 4, 2009
Eligibility: not contracted/published

Entry: First pages of MS (30 pages max) that has finaled, but not won, in a previous RWA or RWA chapter-sponsored contest. NOTE: Finalists ONLY must provide a no more than 5 page synopsis for the final editor round. Manuscripts finishing in the top quarter of GH also qualify.

Judges: First round: experienced, pubbed, and/or RWA trained judges.

Final Judges: Two Editors and/or agents judge each category.

Inspirational/Traditional: Melissa Endlich with Steeple Hill and Nicola Martinez with White Rose Publishing.
Series Contemporary: Patience Smith with Silhouette and Wanda Ottewell with Harlequin.
Paranormal/Time Travel/Futuristic: Margo Lipschultz with HQN and Leah Hultenschmidt with Dorchester.
Romantic Suspense: Charles Griemsman with Silhouette and Alex Logan with Grand Central Publishing.
Historical/Regency: Deb Werksman with Casablanca Sourcebooks and Chris Keeslar with Dorchester
Mainstream: Keyren Gerlach with HQN and Megan McKeever with Pocket Books
Young Adult: Anne Bensson with St. Martin's and Leah Wilson with BenBella Books

FMI, entry form and rules, go to http://www.okrwa.com/ or send SASE to OKRWA FAB contest, 9805 Red Oak Lane, Parkville, MO 64152, okrwabride@aol.com,

Alice Clary
2009 Finally a Bride
Coordinator

Progress

2009-08-19T13:25:00.002-05:00

WooHoo!!!! I actually made progress today and pushed through 19 pages of revisions on an old ms. My OKRWA chapter has a contest that I qualify for. It's the FAB...I'll make it my post for tomorrow. It's a wonderful opportunity for unpubbed authors to get that revised ms back in front of an editor. It definitely feels good to accomplish something though. My goal today is to finish contest revisions by getting the 8 pg sucknopsis down to 5 pages.

Business wise...I'm frustrated because I've been trying to find an image to use for our logo. The restaurant name we decided on is...drumroll please... The Hungry Cowboy. Ta-daaaaaa. Please tell me it doesn't suck. I did a trademark/business search in Oklahoma and we're safe. But there is a restaurant with that name in Texas. Hopefully it won't cause any issues in the future. But I'm slowly pushing forward with the little details that go along with setting up a business.

Back to work...

Happy Monday!

2009-08-18T15:59:00.002-05:00

I hope everyone is well! Hubby has left the building. LOL. His company is finishing up the job in Memphis and should head to Oklahoma in a few weeks. Cool beans. We've made a little progress in the family business department. We've settled on a restaurant name and theme. I'm in the planning and organizing process of setting the business up and trying to finalize a menu. I'm soooo excited that we've all come to an agreement as to what we'll do and now it's time to start the actual process. Finally!! Mom and I ate at a place today and my mind was going crazy as to how we could make it better.

On the writing front...I was able to make my monthly OKRWA meeting and came home energized!! Several of us made a promise to recommit ourselves to our writing. The incredibly talented Merline Lovelace encouraged us to submit something...and soon. My issue is more time management than NOT wanting to write or being blocked. School starts soon for my teenager and homeschool will begin at the same time for my 6 yo. Hopefully I can get up before the kiddos and set aside a block of time every morning to write. It's nice having Mom downstairs and she's offered to help in any way she can.

Okay...I think I'll sneak away and try to scratch out some words toward my crit group daily challenge.

Put Up or Shut Up...

2009-08-12T10:49:00.003-05:00

Deep breath. OK. You guys know that I've been going back and forth with my family about opening a restaurant or shop...or both. Well. We've been having work done around the building upgrading the electrical and gas so we can at least have utilities while living there. We keep playing a stop and go thing with the restaurant business idea because I'm not sure I can do this by myself. My husband works out of town 9 days at a time and only home for 5. My mom is still battling exhaustion and plagued with health problems from cancer treatments. I'm not sure how much help I'd have unless we hired full time people.

We have a decision to make. We ran up against a major obstacle which is forcing a final decision. The city code enforcement dude came by to inspect the gas line work we had done so we can have heat this winter. The plumber was able to pull a permit and do the work. But our building is zoned commercial. Which means...the work passed inspection but we can't have the gas turned on unless we go ahead with our business and have complete architectural drawings for both buildings. We just spent over $10k to have the utilities upgraded but it's worthless unless we go ahead with the business. We'd have to sell the building and move if we don't push forward.

I guess I'd better start exercising to build up my stamina. Ugh. I can do this. Other writers have full-time jobs and families. I've enjoyed a couple of years off from working outside of the home. At least this way...I won't have to drive to work...I'll be right next door or downstairs.

Now the decision is which business do I do first?! The restaurant or the shop? I wonder where my writing fits into the big picture...

Proud Moment

2009-08-07T11:45:00.003-05:00

Guys...I'm a little teary-eyed right now. I'm so proud of one of my crit partners and have to share something with you. Several years ago when I began my journey to become a published author, I was fortunate enough to become a member of a great crit group and met some talented women. Several of us moved on into a smaller, more intimate group. I also joined a second group of dedicated, creative women and there was one common factor, my friendship with Jennifer Shirk. I was so proud and excited for her when she published The Role of a Lifetime with Samhain Publishing. But the girl is on a roll!! She's just heard from Avalon Books and she will soon join their ranks as published author.

She is a true testament to perseverance. She's got a hectic schedule like many of us do...and she hits those days like we all do...where she'd rather just toss the computer out of the window than fight with the words needed to finish the book. But she pushed on and kept her butt in the chair, hands on keyboard.

Proud of you girlfriend. Just sayin'. Congrats!!!

Road Trip

2009-08-06T10:17:00.006-05:00

Well guys...I'm back in Memphis with the hubster and little man. I had a brilliant idea and had to follow through. School for the man child begins on the 26th and I knew this would be my last chance to do anything sightseeing worthy in this area. Of course we'll have to visit a few of the more famous BBQ joints.

But...

Sunday the hubster will have a day off and we're planning a road trip. I've traced my family's Native American history back to the 1700's and some of it is actually documented in the history books. This is also where I got the idea for my historical. My 4th g-grandfather was a Chickasaw Chief and lived the last days of his life with his married daughter...the woman I am modeling my heroine after. Unfortunately I don't have story details to work with, but something in my writer's brain clicked when I read the genealogy comments about this particular daughter. The history is documented along the Natchez Trace Parkway along the Mississippi-Alabama border. It's just a two hour drive from here, so off we go with a picnic loaded ice chest, full tank of gas, and a camera. I'm pretty excited. Not so sure about little man. He asked if they had an amusement park. *sigh*

Let's get it on...

2009-07-26T21:17:00.005-05:00

I have a crap load of stuff on my plate right now and worked this weekend on getting mentally prepared. So...game on. I did take a little break though, knowing chaos would be the norm for awhile. Mom and I went to see a movie, The Ugly Truth. I love Gerald Butler. It was good...but not a movie I would've gone to see with my mom. I was a bit embarrassed because the 'F' word was used quite frequently. And ALOT of sexual references. It was a little too sexual for me and not one I'll be waiting for to come out on DVD.

I've been a good girl this weekend and made a game plan for this week. The only thing I didn't get done was a beta read for a crit partner. I hate not being able to concentrate and put my full attention on my crits, so I kept having to stop every other page. Finishing the beta read is first on my list.

Okay. I DO NOT want to put my writing on the backburner just because the family restaurant and website is back on my plate, front and center. School will be starting soon and I'll have to take the oldest to and from until he gets his license, and I homeschool our 6 yo. Let's see how far I can get before I have a mental breakdown. ;) We keep going back and forth on what type of restaurant we should do. We LOVE burgers and barbeque, but there are quite a few in town. We thought maybe a specialty burger joint could compete if we looked around us and tried to shake things up a bit. But...there are only two specialty sweet shops. And I KNOW we can more than compete with them.

So with hubster gone all week, mom and I were able to hook up the stove. We still have to pull the sheetrock off and replace the wall in the kitchen...but I'm so sick of living without a way to cook. There's only so many things you can bake in a roaster oven. This next week we'll work on remodeling and recipes. I'll also work more on developing the website. As soon as I can get more pages built, I'll upload it and see what you guys think so far.

I also have to finalize a name for the sweet shop. The website name is The Velvet Cowgirl. We'll use that name if we ever decide to open a brick and mortar store in the building. At least now I can slowly build a product line. So what about...

Cowgirl Cupcakes (I thought of this because we could also sell my candles and bath products, The Velvet Cowgirl, in the store.) or.... The Main Cupcake. Our building is on Main Street and I thought The Main Cupcake was a simple play on words. I've got to finalize a menu and name so I can incorporate the business, apply for federal id number and an Oklahoma resale certificate. We'll offer a HUGE variety of homemade cupcakes, sweets and breads. We'll have sandwiches, a hot potato bar and a salad bar.

My writing?! I can't give up my passion. Not even among all this organized chaos. I'm trying to get away from the research heaven hole I've been sucked into and get into writing mode. So today I'll take an hour to begin my prep plotting work. I've got a notebook started and will work on the central conflict. My heroine has a GMC and I've gotten an idea about my hero. They both want the same thing, but for different reasons. Someone will have to lose. Maybe they'll both learn something along the way as they work toward a resolution. I've even had a thought about the black moment which will put my heroine in danger.

I've moved my printer upstairs and will have to wait until hubster gets home to get my desk up here. It's massive and impossible to move!! Poor hubster. He gets to come home from work to finish out the sheetrock, put in two windows and help me move furniture so we can tape and texture. I should've taken a before picture. People are really amazed at what we've accomplished so far. We've carved an apartment out of a space that was 6736 sq. ft down to about 2500 sq. feet. So we have a TON of storage. *sigh* Which is another task for another day. We'll have to sort through all of our crap on the 3rd floor and repack the stuff we'll keep. Hopefully by Christmas we can have the 3rd floor cleared out and start remodeling it. Our long term goal is to have mom up on the 4th floor in her own little apartment of 3368 sq. ft. Then the staircase down to our apartment on the 3rd floor will have 3368 sq. ft for a family living room, game room and kitchen. Then the other side of the 3rd floor will be 3368 sq. ft of bedrooms and bathrooms. What I love the most about the 3rd floor...old wood floors, high ceilings and brick walls. When my oldest is ready to move out...the 2nd floor will be ready for him and he'll have his own apartment. The good thing....the restaurant and shop will be down on the 1rst floor and in the building next door that is connected. We won't even have to drive to work. And my oldest is at the right age to start working. He's not excited about working in a "cupcake" shop. But he'll be good about the baking and prep work.

Sorry. Didn't mean to barrage you with my chaos. LOL. ;) Off to work I go...

Excuses, Excuses

2009-07-22T09:36:00.004-05:00

Let's see how many I can come up with...

I've been swamped with life. LOL. Seriously. I've been sucked completely into historical research heaven. Facebook. Sickness. Remodeling. Children actually wanting me to take care of them. Nephews needing adult supervision. A retail website needing to be designed for my bath and body products. A restaurant business plan to be written. Hmmmm. Give me a minute. I'm sure I can come up with plenty more. I thought I'd check in with yous guys and get some human interaction. Did I tell you that we've decided to add a sweet shop to the retail website? Meaning I've got to come up with recipes and ideas as to what we'll sell online.

*sigh*

Where does my writing come into the picture? It hasn't. Not one word. But please...do NOT tell my novel bootcamp instructor. She'll make me do pushups. LOL. I've got my nephews for two days a week until school starts. OMG. It seriously needs to hurry. I'm pretty thankful at this point that we stopped at 2 kids. LOL. Right now I've got two 6 yo's and a 4 yo running around in circles having Star Wars battles with action figures. My 15 yo is pretty independent except for the taxi duties. My mom is pretty good about helping me in that regard.

Hubby left yesterday to go back to work and if I can get the kiddos to bed early....bwahaha, like that'll happen...I'm hoping to get some words on paper. My crit group is working on a July challenge and in cahoots with Candace Havens Writing Game challenge. I think todays required word count was 1142. Can I do that tonight....????

Good Monday!

2009-07-06T09:40:00.002-05:00

Hope you all had a fun but safe holiday weekend?! We had a cookout and let the little one do a few of the safer fireworks. Nothing exciting but we were all together, healthy and happy, and so very thankful for the men and women who fight for our country.

Hubby is home and has been trying to get some remodeling done before he has to go back to work on Tuesday. The new airconditioner works like a dream. *sigh* We'll get the rest of our belongings moved back upstairs and get settled in before I try to start putting texture on the walls and painting. Of course this means we need a new bedspread for our bedroom. Darn. LOL.

Hopefully when hubby leaves tomorrow I can get back to my writing. I'm getting pretty anxious and really want to start the chapter. I've had a few days away from it and think I may know where I want the story to begin. I had so much fun looking up tribal records from 1818 and finally settled on the main character's names. I think I'll use today to start character charts. I'd love to visit the historical society this week and check out a few books from the library for reference. My short term goal is to start the rough draft.

Shiny Excitement

2009-06-30T10:55:00.003-05:00

I feel like a little kid in a toy store. I've been researching timelines for my new historical ms and haven't hit any road blocks so far, everything is at that bright and shiny stage. Oooooh....awwwww. Cool beans. I do have to admit though...I'm a little nervous about venturing out of my comfort zone. This project will definitely be a challenge. I think if I try to stay organized and plot this out it'll make the writing flow easier. Hopefully. My next step is to sit down and interview my characters. I wonder if a bottle of sweet Oklahoma wine would help? Big thanks to Chicki for sharing the wonderful articles!!

Hubby will be home on Thursday and we've got a big cookout planned for the 4th of July. Mom and I went this morning to Sams Club to stock up on meats that hubby will put in the smoker early Saturday morning. His brisket and baby back ribs are soooo tender and to die for. Our secret spice rub...we add cinnamon and brown sugar to common bbq seasonings. Of course I'll have to make baked beans (add onion flakes, hickory bbq sauce and brown sugar to several cans of Bush's baked beans), macaroni salad and potato salad. I can't give out my secret sauce on those two salad's or I won't get invited to bbq's anymore if someone else can make it. LOL.

Does anyone else have big plans for this weekend?

I'm still alive...

2009-06-29T08:05:00.002-05:00

Kinda. LOL. Mom has had her first surgery and did very well. Thanks so much for all of the prayers and support. Also...my cowboy story was passed up again by my target editor. Which had me doing some soul searching and talking with writer friends/crit partners.

I have several friends who will shoot straight with me and tell it like it is. One in particular, Rae, really held my feet to the fire. She asked me if I was writing what I love or merely to target a particular publisher with hopes to publish. As we talked, I realized that I've been chasing editors and lines that I "enjoy" reading. And to be honest...that's not saying alot. I absolutely love to read. And I can read just about any genre. Except academics. Something in my brain rebels and shuts down into sleep mode. But I wasn't targeting Harlequin/Silhouette simply because I'd expected it to be easy, it was because I grew up reading Harlequin.

When I first decided to seriously write geared toward becoming published, I searched the different publishers and came across eHarlequin Online Community. They were the only publisher at the time with an active online outreach to their authors, unpubbed writers, and their readers. I read alot about their "formula" for the different lines and thought that by keeping my word count short, and targeting a publisher who accepts unagented material and supposedly is always looking for new talent, that I might actually have a better shot. Not that I thought I was a better writer than the thousands of others sending in submissions, just that with so much information available...I had an idea as to what the editors wanted and it wasn't as much of a crap shoot. It also helped that the lines I wanted to target published at least four books a month and may be more apt to take on fresh voices.

And I still believe that. Sorta. I'm just wondering if my writing fits in that category. Is that where I really want to be? So instead of babying me and letting me feel sorry for myself, my friend asked if I had a particular story that I kept going back to. Why, yes. Yes I do. When I was in college, I wrote a paper over my Native American family history. (Brag alert! Be warned!) The history professor was known for his snide comments and not being generous with A's. I was completely shocked when I received an A-. He even went on to discuss it with my literature professor and they both nominated my paper to be presented at an upcoming symposium. I thought I would vomit. I'm not really sure how I made it through the presentation but finally relaxed after it was over when I had several people ask questions and seem interested in what I had found. People actually clapped when I finished.

Little did they know that they'd created a monster. But life happened. I married and immediately had a baby and had to put off the college dream for a full-time mom job and a full-time day job working for a law firm. Writing didn't seem to fit into that schedule until much, much later. Actually another husband and another baby later. I was put on bed rest during the pregnancy and my hubby got tired of me whining about how bored I was. A laptop seemed to quench that thirst, on top of lots and lots of books to read. Put the two together...and there ya go. My writing dream smacked me in the face.

Anywho...didn't mean to ramble and bore you guys. So now I'm back to square one...just with a little more experience. What do I want to write? REALLY write? I think I'll take that giant leap off the cliff...I'm going to challenge myself and work on a historical. So there ya go. Ya had to wade through all that crap to hear that I'm going in another direction. *sigh*

Happy Monday!!

O Monday, Monday...wherefore art thou Tuesday?

2009-06-15T17:16:00.002-05:00

Not a bad day. Just not a productive one. I got up with great intentions of getting something accomplished today. Little man easily distracted me by insisting he NEEDED to go swimming this morning. And then it was like I had water on the brain and just kinda lost track after that. At least we had a great sandwich at McAlister's Deli and their sweet tea is to die for. The weather was a little warm but we enjoyed running our errands. And Jennifer tempted me by changing her blog design...so of course it inspired me to play around with mine;)

Thanks for all of your well wishes for mom. She's still feeling under the weather but we go tomorrow to talk with the doc's about the surgery on her neck. Hopefully everything will go as planned and we can proceed on with doing something about her stomach.

Hubby comes home Thursday night for 5 days so I'll try to get as many pages down as possible. Good thing is that he'll take little man on Sunday and go fishing with his dad, so they'll both be out of my hair for the day and I can crank out some pages. I went to the Southern Cross SoCNoC challenge page to update my measly word count and was blown away by how many people had logged close to or over 30k words already! One of my crit partners included. WOW!! Kickin' some major word count booty guys. Rock on!! One person already had 42k...in 15 days!! Wish I could channel Speedy Gonzales...

Happy Friday :)

2009-06-12T10:30:00.002-05:00

It's so nice to feel like we're getting back to an organized life. Bwahaha. Those that know me can quit laughing now. I don't think we'll ever actually BE organized...but a semi-scheduled day is a wonderful thing. At least I was able to press the send button for my pitch submission. I've officially entered the online pitch for Silhouette Desires. There were a ton of entries last time so I'm not expecting to final this time either. But I'm back to subbing. That's the most important thing of all.

But...I definitely came home at the right time. My mom's health is worse than what I was being told. It's hard to see a parent getting older and becoming frail and dependent. She really scared me when she went through her cancer ordeal. It was a very eye-opening time for me. Well now...I'm seeing her frustration with her failing strength. She's also started getting really grouchy and forgetful. We saw this happen when she was first diagnosed with cancer. But they've done blood work and CAT scans...and nothing new. She's so weak now though that she can hardly walk through a store without having to sit down.

Sucks to get old. For me anyways....Can't imagine what it's like for our parents. *sigh* Sorry to be a Debbie Downer...just hug someone you love today.

Hugging you guys! Have a great weekend.

Home, Sweet Home

2009-06-11T19:54:00.002-05:00

I'm not quite settled in, but I've made a good dent in getting a little more organized. Hubby has gone back to work...sad and lonely...he understands why we need a little more stability and is willing to sacrifice for the greater good. I'm sure I'll have some major pampering duties ahead on his next break. LOL. Little man is happy to be home with his jungle gym and swimming pool, but really misses the alligators.

I worked last night on my pitch ideas for the 15th. Why am I so nervous this time around? I really, really, really....really want this. Maybe that's it. Friends helped me today with my pitch submission and I think it's just about ready to go. Which means a serious writing marathon in my very near future...like tomorrow. LOL. I have some serious pages to crank out to get this thing finished.

I hope everyone is well and having a great week?!

Bittersweet

2009-06-01T06:33:00.006-05:00

A week ago I was counting the days until we left for home. Now? I'm wishing we lived closer to New Orleans and the beaches. This past weekend we were able to visit Nottoway Plantation, New Orleans and the famous historic cemeteries. I hated to spend $20 bucks per person to participate in the many tours walking around, but we paid $5 for a little two page guide that listed a few of the more famous burial sites. Even my little guy and big ol' corn fed cowboy seemed to be interested in my morbid fascination with history.

Today is the first day of my writer's challenge so I'm not going to be able to go into full poetic detail...I'll leave you with a few pictures. I've also found a cool link to share about the different tomb descriptions.

New Orleans Cemeteries

Down in the bayou...

2009-05-26T09:46:00.008-05:00

Hope everyone had a peaceful or decent holiday weekend. Nothing accomplished here except maybe a few additional pounds. I made a deal with Mr. Chelle and bet him if I could lose a certain amount of weight he'd have to quit smoking. Well...of course he's trying to feed my face at every opportunity he has. *sigh* We had several cookouts with his friends/co-workers and took little man on a swamp tour.

The tour was alot of fun and little man got to hold a baby alligator and feed them marshmallows. It rained on us for a bit and even though the boat was covered...my back and butt was fair game. So yes...I walked around a bit looking as if I'd peed my pants. Oh well, the things we do for love. I also got 6 inches chopped off my hair when we were back home last week. It was nice not to have my mop laying on my neck as we toured through the humid bayou. Our tour guide had been raised in the back bayou and was a hoot.

What I loved the most though wasn't the staged bayou cabin or corny cajun jokes...or little man's huge grin as he watched the alligators jump up to devour the chicken legs the guide hand fed to them. It was the scenery. The majestic moss draped cypress trees.

My piddly little digital camera can't do them justice though. But my writer's brain wandered along the slow ride through the swamp. I thought of history and what it would've been like to slide among the moss and mosquitos over two hundred years ago, listening to a man's deep cajun accent as he told me his family history.

What a wonderful ride...

Back to the real world and my manuscript. My well was refilled this weekend and I'm so ready to dig deep into my main character's motivation for being a bad boy.

Challenge

2009-05-22T11:09:00.005-05:00

I'm throwing down the gauntlet. One of my crit partners has encouraged our group to join in a fun challenge put together by a writers group. It's pretty similar to NaNoWriMo where you write a novel in a month. KiWi Writers has made their challenge a little more flexible. 50,000 words written in a month. Doesn't matter if it's one book or three. It's the Southern Cross Novel Challenge 2009, or SoCNoC for short. What matters is that you've got a 50,000 word goal from June 1 until the 30th of June.

Southern Cross Novel Challenge

I'm signed up...are you game? Let's do it!!

Fork in the Road

2009-05-21T07:10:00.002-05:00

I'm back in Louisiana safe and sound. Tired as all get out...but back on a schedule. Kinda. As much of one as I can seem to stick to anyways. I was working on my chapter yesterday and realized I was a little lost. Once upon a time, I had a four book series outlined and a basic plot down for each book. When I decided to put the first book I was working on to the side because of the similiar plot in a current pubbed book, I chose book number three as my next work-in-progress. For some odd reason I changed the plot. *sigh* But knowing what I do about the line I'm targeting and what the editors have been buying...I'm a little lost as to which direction I should go.

I guess today will be spent going over both plots with my critique partner. She targets the same line and might have more clarity and distance from what's in my head. She needs to WAKE UP so I can pick her brain!!!!! LOL. I'll use this "free" time to get my thoughts together so I can figure out how to present both options without confusing the crap out of her. Maybe I should FedEx her some super strong coffee.

How is everyone?! I hate missing in action and wondering what everyone is up to. Hope you guys are having a productive week so far;)

Should be sleeping...

2009-05-14T06:13:00.002-05:00

I've got a long drive coming up today. I should be sleeping in this morning. But nooooo. I'm wide awake. *sigh* I finished mapping out where I want to go with this first chapter. I just need to go in and do the dirty work. Layering in the dialogue and details. I know alot of us struggle with our beginnings. Hopefully mine will be original and the perfect hook. Yeah, ok. I WILL be optimistic. At least until it's time to send to my crit partners. LOL.

How do you write? Huh? Well...when you attack a blank page, do you outline your chapter? Do you start with dialogue first? Or do you write a clean first draft without having to do much layering? My approach varies. This chapter was a little harder for me for some reason. I had to outline what I had in my mind as to what I wanted to happen. I'll start out this morning with layering in dialogue, setting, action and emotion tags. I've had chapters that just flowed right and was a decent first draft. But this time it seems I had to do more on the plotting before it flowed. Are you pretty consistent?

OMG! I just thought of something...I'll be driving until about midnight tonight. Which means I'll miss the Grey's Anatomy season finale show tonight. I need to call and have someone at home set the DVR for me so I can watch it when we get up in the morning.

Ok. Off to do laundry and start packing. Hope you guys have a great day!

I told ya so!

2009-05-13T08:31:00.002-05:00

We're leaving to take a trip home this weekend to Oklahoma. They've been having a cool spell making the start of summer a little easier to slide into. I was actually looking forward to going home to escape this muggy, oppressive heat in Louisiana. No such luck. Oklahoma is predicted to get into the high 80's this weekend. And this area of Louisiana is getting a cold front and rain. *sigh* Figures. I jinxed myself by whining about it. At least Mr. Chelle's job here is almost finished and we're moving on in a couple of weeks. My teen is almost out of school for the summer and I'll be having to find things to entertain the boys. I'm sure we can find some fun to get into in Tennessee;) Watch out...here we come!

Ok. Deep breath. Focus. No more whining because it's time to get back to work. I was working on my chapter yesterday and hero whispered in my ear again and distracted me. How could I not listen? He revealed something else that happened when he was a wild child and gives me more insight as to why he hates his father. So I just kept typing the entire time he spilled his guts. Today...I get to cut and paste his rambling into my rough synopsis file and try to figure out where I was at in the chapter.

Coffee made...first cup down...go!

Have a productive day guys;)

Hot and sultry...

2009-05-12T13:09:00.002-05:00

Whoever it was that said summertime in the South was sexy and sultry needs to be shot. Seriously. It is hot as hades here. Good gracious people. 91 degrees with 94% humidity. I'm melting. Wilting...whatever. I may be a Southern girl, but enough is enough. I used to say I was born a 100 years too late and would have loved being a Southern Belle. Not. Can you imagine...summer in Louisiana or Alabama...yards and yards of cloth, petticoats, stockings. Forget the dainty umbrella and fan...get this spoiled brat an electric airconditioner. And I want my sweet tea with LOTS of ice. I'd definitely be one of those girls in the romance novel that is caught skinny dipping in the lake or river. Add my mouth and independent streak to the mix...and I'd be a spinster at 40 for sure.

It sounds like everyone's short term goals are doable. Keep at it!! Can you hear me cracking that whip? We're headed back home on Thursday so I'm pushing to do what I can by the time hubby gets off work Thursday afternoon. Next week when we come back to Louisiana, we're taking little man to see the alligators. I definitely need to make sure I'm getting up at 5am with Mr. Chelle so I can get my words down for the day.

Okay guys...back to work!! Have a good one;)

I'm baaaack...

2009-05-11T05:59:00.003-05:00

...to torment and tease! I've truly missed you guys. I got my computer cord back on Thursday but spent that time catching up with little man's homework. I also had to finish up a beta read for a very talented YA author from my OKRWA chapter. *sigh* But I'm more than ready to get back into the swing of things.

My short term goal is to finish my rough synopsis for my new story. I've had some really cool chats lately with my heroine. Her character will hopefully inspire my hero to get his mojo back and get out of the pit he'd dug for himself. And I need to work on showing some love to a few of my crit partners.

Did everyone have a great weekend? My guys spoiled me rotten. The only decision I had to make this weekend was what I wanted to eat. I didn't have to lift a finger...no cooking or cleaning up...all weekend!! Woohoo!! We swam with little man yesterday and hubby grilled some of the best chicken he's ever made. He's pretty handy when it comes to cooking. Nothing exciting but plenty of down town...my favorite thing to do.

But it's time to crack the whip. Back to work;) Now that the work week has rolled back around...what are your short term goals?

Ack!!

2009-05-03T21:06:00.002-05:00

I am officially stuck in no computer land. Little man destroyed my laptop charger and the battery died. Hubby's boss man asked me to help fix his email program and I thought I'd give it a try. I almost killed HIS poor computer. So we were almost stuck without any computers or internet access. I tried to download a new anti-virus program but the operating system was too old. I updated his version of XP and installed the new software and the computer crashed. And yeah...I panicked! But fortunately I was able restore his system...about the time he decided to buy a new computer. Hopefully I won't screw it up tomorrow when I install the software. *sigh* I also went online and bought a new charger for my laptop. Hopefully I'll be back online by Wednesday or Thursday. Try not to miss me too much. Haha. :)

So no new progress on the chapter. Nothing to report. I'm not one to write down thoughts and it almost seems as if I've shut my writer's brain off. I might need a bit of a kick start to get it going again. I hope everyone had a great weekend!

Brenda Novak's Online Auction for Diabetes Research!

2009-04-30T22:19:00.002-05:00

Yes, ma'm! It's my favorite time of year!! It's time to shop for a very worthy cause. Starting in 2005, Brenda Novak created an online auction to benefit diabetes research. It's a personal vendetta for her...to help fund research for a disease that struck close to her heart. Her son. I began following the auction a couple of years ago through word of mouth at eHarlequin.com. We were so tight with our budget in order for me to stay home and write, that I was unable to bid. I so wanted to though. Last year...I took the plunge and actually set a budget and bid as much as possible on some incredible opportunities. There were quite a few editor and author critique and ms evaluations offered for auction. I was quickly outbid above my budget. I slunk away disappointed but made a local donation in my father's name because of his medical history with diabetes.

This year...while surfing through the awesome offerings, I found several auction buttons strictly for donations only. I have my wish list set and plan to bid, and bid often;) But this year...if I'm outbid, I won't slink off in disappointment...because it means that someone cares just as much as I do about her cause and the auction is still making money. Even more than what I can offer. So I'll proudly donate what I can, even without a reward. After all, the money could actually help someones child.

Brenda Novak's Auction for Diabetes Research

Have a great weekend!!

What?! You're kidding me, right?

2009-04-30T06:04:00.002-05:00

Today is Thursday? Then why does it feel so much like Friday. *sigh* Crud. That means today is laundry day. I could put it off until this weekend so hubby could help. Can't do that though, all of our beach clothes are starting to smell. Ugh. I got off easy for dinner last night cause the guys wanted my homemade pizza which is super easy and quick. But I didn't even get a chance to open any files to work...played on Facebook talking with an old friend for a bit. Then I was soooo sleepy that we were in bed by 9:00. Do I feel rested this morning....noooooo. Why can't it just be Friday. *insert whiny voice*

I thought todays blog might be a good time to talk about character development. When I first started writing I had the basic concept down. I usually had a specific character and situation in mind. Got the looks and personality traits down on paper. Then I found a romance writing tips website that had link to a psychology site describing certain types and how it showed through behavior. I went back recently and the MSN group was closed. I've heard some people use astrology and signs. Using the traits normal for a certain sign.

My next step is to sit down and interview my main character. I usually have a certain conflict in mind and most of the time it's tweaked throughout the ms due to problems presented. Maybe the conflict isn't strong enough to keep the plot going to the end of the book. But I will try to find out what made my character interesting. Their childhood and environment. And I start asking why. Why is he/she angry? Why is he/she so down on marriage? What kind of woman/man does he/she despise?

That usually leads to more questions. And it also helps me form my next character. What kind of woman would cause the main character the most angst. And why. Alot of times he/she will be the exact opposite of what the MC wants. What kind of personality would compliment my MC to bring about the happily-ever-after. We often seem to be drawn to our opposite which can make life quite interesting.

Character charts can be great to keep track of details. I'm not that organized. I'll do research like I'm doing now. I'll look up a certain occupation and see what types of personalitites usually fall within that group. Then I just open a file and start typing a really rough synopsis, which comes in handy later. And I'll add to it as I develop my characters. How do you develop your characters? Do you keep detailed notes?

Moving forward:)

2009-04-29T08:04:00.004-05:00

Rise and shine. I'm doing much, much better at this blogging thing. I LOVE blog hopping in the mornings when I wake up to see what everyone is up to. I feel good with what I accomplished yesterday. And my support staff deserves a bow. Little man did his schoolwork and played quietly (well not really so quiet as much as out of my focus) in his room after I bribed him with a game of soccer later. I took a break as promised and ran his little tush off outside to wear him out. It worked and allowed me more time with my research. Hubby was so supportive when he came home last night and dinner was cold...well...raw. He offered to help but I felt so bad I jumped up and pushed him toward the shower so I could fry up some chicken for him. I threw together some corn and garlic-chive mashed potatoes. Honey went to bed with a full tummy and was happy.

I actually had a good talk with my hero yesterday. He revealed a few things, but to tell the truth...it was what he DIDN'T say that spoke the loudest. He's very angry. Like...needs therapy angry. He was robbed as a child. Neither one of his parents showed any type of emotion. His family life was non-existent. The housekeeper raised him and thank God for that. She's a sassy, southern woman (think Paula Deen) and he developed a dry southern sense of humor because of her. She'll also play a pivotal role in smacking him on the back of his head when it comes to making nice with the heroine. *sigh* I'll try to dig a little deeper today and then start on HER. Heroine is a southern good girl that reminds him of the mouthy housekeeper. So he'll try to keep his distance because the last thing he wants is another loud woman telling him what to do. But he won't be able to resist that sexy, swinging walk and slow, southern drawl.

Back to being nosy...hope you guys have a happy, productive day!!

Going on a date;)

2009-04-28T08:35:00.003-05:00

If I can keep my 6 yo holed up in his room for a bit. LOL. I'm trying to flesh out my characters for my new story and really need to interview my hero. I need to know why he's so lost. He doesn't want to care about anything and hasn't for a long time. Until SHE walks into his life bringing a baby that he doesn't want, and feelings for living a life he never thought he could have. So maybe I can entice him to spill his thoughts with a warm strawberry cake, fresh from the oven. And a sassy blonde southern girl as the heroine can be a bit tempting.

Today will be a good day. I love creating characters and figuring out what makes them tick. Because the conflict has to be strong enough to make it to the end. On the other hand...you don't want it to be so complicated that it confuses the reader. It's the perfect balance I'm working to find. *sigh* I love my job.

I wonder if I can bribe little man to take a nap so I can be alone with Cash;)

Ahhhh...

2009-04-27T06:50:00.004-05:00

It felt so good to shower and get into my own bed last night. Not that I've been getting into anyone's elses...I just love coming home from vacation. We made triple sure little man had plenty of sunscreen and only his cheeks got a wee bit pink. Which is REALLY good for a strawberry blonde kiddo with fair skin. Hubby and I are crispy fried. I even reapplied sunscreen 3 times. *sigh* I definitely didn't get the Native American skin from my family. The beaches aren't nearly as pretty as they are in Florida and hopefully we'll be able to go there next time. Little man had fun so that's what matters the most. The concerts made the entire trip worth it. Super crowded, hot and muggy...but we loved every sweaty minute!! My tummy is a little mad at me because of all the crap I shoveled into it. But I promised I would be good this week and started my morning out with All Bran cereal and yogurt. *Ugh*

And although the weekend was fabulous...I am soooooo ready to get back to work. I've talked with crit partners and I've decided to put my current WIP aside and work on another story I have outlined. they believe that I would have a better chance with my ms at a later date due to the current release that is similar to my plot. A friend/crit partner has read the published book and agreed that the plot is too similar to mine. At this point if I were going to submit within a few months...it would be easy for the editor to have the pubbed book fresh in mind and reject mine.

So this brings up a good question. Do you write the story of your heart or do you write geared toward the market? I love writing, but I also look at this as a career. A job. If the boss wants a particular story...then I'll do my best to give her what she wants. I've talked with several author friends who have editors request a certain story or twist in the plot. I hate shifting gears away from current characters I've grown to love...but my fun begins with creating another conflict filled story. Call me crazy. My favorite exercise in school was when the professor wrote a paragraph on the board and we had to write a story based off of the blurb. eHarlequin has done this several times and it's called Pass the Plot. I'd love to participate but I feel guilty enough taking time away from my work to blog;)

Have a very productive day!

Good Night

2009-04-24T06:21:00.002-05:00

Yep. We had a pretty nice evening. We grilled steaks out on the patio and talked with a few long distance friends we hadn't heard from in awhile. A new baby in the works for dear ol' Auntie Chelle.

And to top it all off....my favorite shows came on and did not disappoint me. I was able to catch the tail end of last weeks Grey's Anatomy that the network ran again before the new episode. I need to go to the network website and watch them both again. It was another night that proved why I love the writers so much. I wondered how they would have McDreamy propose in Meredith style. It was perfect.

I was drifting off to sleep tonight and my hero started whispering in my ear. I'm sure hubby would've been a little upset if he knew, but it meant a breakthrough for my chapter. I should've gotten up and put it down on paper. But I'm up and about and ready to work on it today. Then we're off to the beach again.

Hope everyone has a beautiful weekend!!

No plot is a new plot.

2009-04-23T06:27:00.002-05:00

I wanted to touch on something that several of us have faced recently. I've heard this said before and even offered the advice. But there's a sickening gut reaction that can't be explained when you come across a book that has a familiar plot or elements to the manuscript you are pouring your heart into.

I was looking at the new releases in the category romance line I am currently targeting. I saw a western book which immediately caught my eye because most of the books tend to be about CEO's and often have international settings. But after reading the blurb on the back...my face got hot and I thought I was going to be sick. Every single element of her book matched my plot. It's easy to see how a few elements might be similiar because...get this...no plot is new. But I've had this book outlined for TWO years and put it aside when I didn't get a response for an editor pitch contest the line had offered online. I mean...it was like my book twisted to fit her characters. My first thought was I'm wasting my time. Now it will look as if I took her idea after reading her book and twisted it with my voice and characters. Why would an editor take my ms seriously when she published one with the EXACT same plot? I've often heard of ed's passing on a ms because they'd recently pubbed one similiar to the submission.

*sigh*

So I started reading. I could barely get through the first chapter. It starts out with three cousins meeting on an airport tarmac...all three have private jets...and they're making a bet as to who can increase their net worth the most within a certain time limit... My book does include a bet in the beginning, but my character has a competitive quirk.

I didn't like it. Not because I was upset at the similiarities...but I genuinely did not like the heroine. She supposedly hates the hero, yet she agrees to having dinner with him just so she can tell him no. She would NEVER even consider selling her ranch to him. But she shows up...to a private dinner on a ranch...in a designer gown. She's hiding a secret...the man is her baby's daddy and she doesn't want him to find out...yet she gives in to have dinner with the man the first time he asks.

*sigh*

I can do this. If the editor turns it down...I'll try to send it somewhere else. I LOVE my story. It's easy to see the differences but with the plot being almost exactly the same, I'm afraid that even with the different voices it will be too similiar. Maybe if I wait awhile before submitting it'll put enough distance between books. At least I know the ed likes the plot premise;) Voices are different which can make our characters and reactions unique. So I'm off to work on my next chapter.

Summertime...

2009-04-22T06:42:00.002-05:00

I am sooo loving this weather!! I am definitely not a winter baby. Give me a mild 80's temperature and a light breeze...I'm all set. I'm getting so excited about our weekend. The weather is supposed to be beautiful. We've decided to take little man back down to the beach in Biloxi and made our hotel reservations. They told us we were lucky that we made them in advance...because...because...

JASON ALDEAN will be in concert at the arena two blocks away!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It'll be an outdoor concert and the cheap tickets are only $23 for all three of us. Little man is so excited. A very sweet added bonus? Blake Shelton is another country singer that we love, and he'll be in concert Saturday night. We love his music...and not just because he's a fellow Okie. In fact, he's from a small town just South of where we live. But he has a great sense of humor and it shows in his music. He's also very giving and active in promoting hometown concerts to benefit Oklahoma wildfire victims.

Anyhew...I'm working on my chapter today. Hopefully I can at least get the basic outline done and go back to layer in action/reactions. But first I'm reading a partial for one of my crit partners. She's had a request on this thing for awhile but life got in the way. It's a very promising situation so hopefully she'll get it in the mail today and get the rest of the story down on paper.

Have a warm and sunny day!!

Inspiration...

2009-04-21T14:07:00.002-05:00

Hmmmm. My inspiration for today was an early morning drive. The weather is absolutely beautiful and warm. Little man and I had to run out to get the 5th wheel trailer propane tanks filled. I thought the guys might want to eat tonight. LOL. Anyhew...

I waited until around 10ish so we'd miss most of the morning commuters. Traffic was light and we didn't really have far to go, maybe 15 miles. I turned our new Jason Aldean CD on and watched little man rock out. I loved how JA sang about wanting to be a better man. I know that's where my hero needs to be by the time I wind up typing The End. It's the journey there that I need to pound out and polish. Right now...it's torture time. Bwahaha.

Have you listened to music today?

TGIM

2009-04-20T09:35:00.002-05:00

Thank God it's Monday. *sigh* I don't know about you, but I'm ready to start the week out buried in my story. We had an uneventful weekend. Just glad it's over. We splurged and bought the new Jason Aldean CD. We've been waiting for it because we love just about everything he sings. It's VERY rare that I've been able to sit/drive and listen to an entire CD without skipping to the next song. Jason Aldean is just one of those artists that I can listen to over and over again. The last time I felt this way about a singer...George Strait. I love Tim McGraw and several other artists...but too many times we've bought a CD and was disappointed because we really only listened to a couple of songs. It's been too easy to just buy a favorite song off of iTunes and burn a CD. But George Strait and Jason Aldean have turned out to be musthaves for our household.

So I was browsing the new book releases this weekend and was determined to buy just one. I was looking at the back cover blurbs...and I came across a book that sounded almost exactly like the plot in my current WIP. I was a little upset. Even worse...she's an Oklahoma writer. *sigh* I know that no plot is a new plot. It's VERY hard to write something somebody hasn't already used in some manner. But I'm talking the same exact plot outline. So I bought the book. As much as it pained me to spend my hard earned money on a book that could possibly be what keeps an editor from taking my story seriously...I had to see how she twisted the storyline. I can happily say I didn't like it. So back to work. Hopefully the editors or independent reader will have had time to distance themselves between plots and will see enough in my storyline to see promise.

Happy Monday everyone! Hope you had a great weekend.

Brain fried...

2009-04-17T21:20:00.002-05:00

After the week I've had...my brain is in fried mode. So I'll leave you guys with something to think about from my favorite life guru.

The wisdom of Larry the Cable Guy......

1. A day without sunshine is like night.

2. On the other hand, you have different fingers.

3. 42.7 percent of all statistics are made up on the spot.

4. 99 percent of lawyers give the rest a bad name.

5. Remember, half the people you know are below average.

6. He who laughs last, thinks slowest.

7. Depression is merely anger without enthusiasm.

8. The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese in the trap.

9. Support bacteria. They're the only culture some people have.

10. A clear conscience is usually the sign of a bad memory.

11. Change is inevitable, except from vending machines.

12. If you think nobody cares, try missing a couple of payments.

13. OK, so what's the speed of dark?

14. When everything is coming your way, you're in the wrong lane.

15. Hard work pays off in the future. Laziness pays off now.

16. How much deeper would the ocean be without sponges?

17. Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines.

18. What happens if you get scared half to death, twice?

19. Why do psychics have to ask you your name?

20. Inside every older person is a younger person wondering, 'What the heck happened?'

21. Just remember -- if the world didn't suck, we would all fall off.

22. Light travels faster than sound. That's why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.

23. Life isn't like a box of chocolates. It's more like a jar of jalapenos.. What you do today, might burn your butt tomorrow.

Good Monday morning my friends!!

2009-04-13T09:16:00.004-05:00

Hope everyone had a beautiful and very blessed Easter weekend. Ours was different but nice. Little man got to hunt Easter eggs on the beach this year. Weather wasn't what he hoped for...the important thing was that he had a blast. I missed the big family get together and didn't miss having to cook a big meal.

Back to reality. Today is going to be a productive one if I have to pull teeth to do it. Well...not mine anyways...little man still has a few he can afford to lose. Anyhoo. I am determined to finish revising my chapter today. I need to finish and get it sent off to a few contests next month. I think I'll actually try the Golden Hearts this year. My short term goal is to finish making the changes and complete the manuscript.

Have you ever heard a song that inspired you? Not necessarily as a writer, maybe just on some personal level. I've had struggles, as I'm sure many of you have had, in my personal life when it comes to letting go. I heard a song this morning by LeAnn Rimes that made me tear up. What I Cannot Change was beautifully written from her heart. She tells the song history about how she was venting with a songwriting friend and he took notes. She thought it was strange at first...but understood as the song emerged from her words. It struck a chord with me this morning as I work on layering internal emotion with my heroine. But the words went far deeper for me on a personal level. Not that I needed anymore emotional layering of my own right now, thank you very much.

Okay...back to work. Have a productive day everyone!!!

Hello.

2009-04-08T08:06:00.011-05:00

Hello. My name is Chelle, and I'm a stress addict.

I had a long drawn out post griping about my life. But I will spare you guys the whining. Long story short...I'm logging off and will work on some crits and then finish editing my chapter. I'm going to shut up and put up.

We're finally settled in Louisiana...part of that long story. Here are some pictures of our ventures from this last weekend while walking the streets in the French Quarter. We got some great shots of the interesting people we came across...but the pictures and details are hard to see in these smaller images. I absolutely loved the unique atmosphere and architecture. The walled courtyards and iron balconies were so intimate and incredibly romantic. We're definitely going back for the annual Jazz Festival. Little man loved eating alligator and even got to have his picture taken with the famous pirate...Captain Jack Sparrow.

Do something!

2009-03-23T08:27:00.002-05:00

I want to dedicate todays post to an issue weighing heavily on my mind. I have a teenage boy who has been dealing with relationship issues for a couple of years now. I can look at it only from where I stand...and it seems he has been on the receiving end so far. He's had to deal with several little girls who want to play emotional games and he ends up getting hurt because he's the "nice" guy. I try to listen carefully and read between the lines because I want to make sure he's as healthy emotionally as we can possibly influence. I want to make sure he's not doing the hurting...if he has to break up with someone I don't want him to do it in an abusive way. I've tried to teach him that words can have a profound effect on people, young or old, for his sake and the people he will come across in his relationships. We can't always help or fix things for our kids...but we can make sure they have the tools to deal with issues whenever we can. I've always tried to teach my boys and nephews to use words and not their fists. But I also refuse to allow them to become verbal sparring partners or punching bags for some. My babies also have a right to defend themselves. My oldest had early lessons with a bully in third grade. A big kid kept picking on my scrawny baby with glasses. The bully was constantly making fun of him and we talked with the teacher and principal, which only angered the kid. The issue escalated and the kid started pushing and tripping my son at every chance he found. One day the kid was pushing my son on the playground, behind the slide and out of sight of the "group" of playground monitors that should've been individuals walking around so there weren't "blind spots". Kiddo had enough and punched the boy in the mouth. Guess who got sent home for fighting. I insisted on a meeting with the teacher, parents and principal. During the meeting it came out that this was far from the first time that this little boy was in trouble for being a bully. The parents were very defensive and I could see where the kid got his attitude. Short story...we pulled kiddo out of the school and homeschooled him until they did something about the bully. Several months later the superintendent called and asked if we'd bring kiddo back. The family had moved and bully was no longer in kiddo's class. But he's still out there somewhere.

I had a story idea about six months ago for a young adult/teen book about domestic violence. But my current WIP's are front and center at the moment and I haven't had the time or desire to start something new. Teenage domestic violence has been a talked about issue recently and tragically brought into the spotlight with the news reports about the Chris Brown/Rhianna altercation. The Today Show on NBC had a short segment on the issue this morning so I want to send out the link in case anyone is interested. Dosomething.org galvanizes teens/tweens to take action. There is a section on violence and bullying but it also just encourages teens to become active at a young age with issues we all deal with.

I was devastated to hear that one in three teens will be abused in peer relationships whether it's physical, mental or online. It's easy to say they've learned this through environment but that's not always the case. I remember how emotional I was in high school when it came to my first real love. I thought I would DIE when we broke up. Don't ask me the specifics because I can't remember all the drama behind it...I was the one that did the heartbreaking but wanted him back the second he started dating someone else. But between hormones and teenage angst...I'm sure it was made out to be more than it should've been. I even had a boy slap me once. ONCE. Little did he know that my mama raised me to be strong and independent and I had had enough crap in my young life to deal with for some silly little boy trying to put his hands on me. He left my house with the thought that I was a star player on my softball team and knew how to use my bat. Looking back...it could've turned out really bad.

Education is the key. We've got to remember that regardless of age, color or financial status...we all have the right to live our lives without the fear of someone hurting us, emotionally or physically.

Good day...

2009-03-20T17:55:00.003-05:00

Today was a bit relaxing even though I accomplished alot. I think I'm just happy that I'm not having to drive anywhere. Tomorrow will be another busy day because I'll be pulling out all of my candle, soap and lotion supplies to do an inventory. We're thinking that the restaurant is too risky to try right now with the economy in the toilet.

Anyhoo... My family has agreed that the safest way to start a business right now is to finish the website and start out small. As soon as we see things that work or don't work, we can tweak our product line and not have a high overhead. I need to start making products and figure out what we'll start with. The website has to be designed/programmed and products packaged so I can take pictures. Our plan is to have the website up and running by the end of April. My handmade bars of soap need at least 30 days to cure.

The problem is that I can envision a brick and mortar shop. I can see the building and how I think it should look. It's not really a problem I guess because if the website does well we can start funneling the money into renovating the building and not borrow money. The whole point is that we DO NOT want to borrow money. We have made it our personal mission to pay off ALL of our loans and credit cards. No more debt. This way our overhead will be at a minimum and if we have a slow week or month, we won't be freaking out and worried about making ends meet. But if I can't have my southern comfort food...I can see a little sweet shop with goodies and shelves filled with pretty bling things.

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. I'll be thinking about you when I'm playing scientist and mixing my potions;)

I'm baaaaack!

2009-03-19T22:15:00.003-05:00

*huge sigh* Feels good to be home and not planning on what needs to be packed for the next trip. At least not in the immediate future. We'll join hubby in Louisiana on the 30th with the new travel trailer. I'll have to buy dishes and linens to stock it but at least those are things that won't have to be packed and moved with every new jobsite. I had a nice relaxing lunch with a friend today and he unloaded some work stress. His job is pretty fascinating to me so it was really interesting just hearing him vent. Grey's Anatomy was good tonight, and next week's episode looks just as promising.

Right now? I'm working on catching up with my crit partners. Hopefully by Monday I'll be ready to work on my WIP without wanting to peek at everyone else's story. That's definitely an issue when I get sucked into the creative world of my writing buddies.

Hope everyone has been productive?!

Happy weekend, guys!

2009-02-28T08:43:00.002-06:00

I hope everyone had a productive week. I didn't. *sigh* I found out that I didn't win Donna Alward's contest but she gave me some wonderful advice. Basically...she suggested I do a small amount of emotional layering in a few places. Easy-peasy. We were at the cabin and I didn't even feel like opening my laptop. Been feeling kinda crappy the last couple of days with a little chest cold. No biggie but enough to drag down my energy and motivation. Especially since I didn't have a deadline looming.

So...what's up for the weekend? Any big plans? I think we're going out to eat breakfast in a few minutes and then home to take care of a few small chores. We have to leave out again tomorrow to take Mr. Chelle back to the cabin/jobsite. This afternoon and evening I'll try to work on crits and upload everything. Maybe grill some ribs and smoked sausage when it warms up. Which of course means I have to make my famous potato salad and guacamole dip.

Enjoy your weekend!

Gooooooood Monday morning, beautiful people!

2009-02-23T06:44:00.002-06:00

Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. Ours was uneventful. Saturday I had my OKRWA writer's bootcamp meeting and Sunday we had a birthday party here at the building for my cousin's daughter. She needed the room because it was sort of like a miniature carnival. They had a bouncy jump thingy (which I couldn't keep little man out of;) and a bunch of different game stations where the kids won tickets for prizes. They also played games and the kids just had a blast. I even caught a few parents playing along. The cake was screwed up so I ran down to the local market and found a cute American Idol cake that replaced it perfectly. My cousin had a karaoke machine set up for the kids. Overall...chaos but fun.

My bootcamp was great. Drill Sarge read from a current Nocturne to point out how backstory can slow pacing. Amazing how easy it is to see from an objective perspective. One minute the woman was on the verge of having a villain capture her and the next she's discussing why they were picking on her and she was trying to put on her seatbelt. I don't know about you guys...but if an evil psycho was after me--I wouldn't be looking for my seatbelt. It sounded like a great read though.

Off to take teen to school. Have a productive day!

Finally Friday!

2009-02-20T08:36:00.007-06:00

Wow. What a week. Lots of ups and downs. I've been home since Wednesday but feel as if I just walked in the door. I don't think I've accomplished anything this week. Left hubby behind in Arkansas and miss him terribly for some reason. I mean...I usually miss him...just ALOT this time. At least I'll see him next week instead of 2-3 weeks or even 4 months. The weather has been cooperating with us and he's been able to work a full week. Looks good for next week, too. Maybe this will be a recurring trend and he won't reconsider going back to Iraq.

Maybe I can get a few things done this weekend. Teen kiddo will be gone until Sunday and with hubby gone...just me and little man. We bought a new US map kit yesterday and will probably set up the computer program so he can start playing with the puzzles. He's so excited to learn which is a refreshing change from the teen.

Just wanted to share a couple of things with you guys before I call it the weekend. A writing friend from eHarlequin has lost her sister tragically this week. It's a heartbreaking story because she lost her brother not too long ago, and when the sister died this week she left behind four beautiful children. Dee has seven kids to care for now. The family is in need of burial assistance and I'm sure a little help for the kids as well. If anyone is interested in hearing their story, here's the link...

Dee Tenorio and Family

Hope you guys had a productive week and enjoy your weekend. Here's a little something that might leave you with a smile...

A Day In The Life Of A Romance Writer (aka) My Cup Runneth Over...With Cat Vomit

Chelle Sandell

A new day. A beautiful one at that...

Happy Monday!

Finally Friday!!

Good Monday morning!

TGIF!

Elaina Lee ~ Cover artist and author extraordinaire!!

The first week...

Happy New Year! Now get to work!

It's almost time...

Christmas Chaos

Hello world!!

Doubting Thomas

I haz coffee...

Doubt demons be gone!!!

First Chapters

Have You Seen Her?

Just saying...

Moving on up...

The Next Step

Pre-conference jitters...

Nothing, nada, zilch!

TGIF

How do you do it?!

Get Busy

Waaaaahhhh!

Request!!

Successful Pitch!

No rest for the weary...

What is that I hear?

Perfect Pitch?

Blog Award

Perfect Day

Jinx

Happy Friday!!

Digging in...

Brrrrr...

Happy New Year!!

*sigh of relief*

Season of Giving

Silence...

Happy NaNo!

Adversity

Chosen Path

Self-Publishing

AHA!!

Grrrr.

Bad Blogger

Sourdough Starter Pancakes

State Fair = Rain

And he's gone...

Back to Chaos

Going home!

Loglines

Happy Birthday to the Man

Fear

Boo!

Busy, busy, busy...

Weekend Warriors?

Finally a Bride Contest

Progress

Happy Monday!

Put Up or Shut Up...

Proud Moment

Road Trip

Let's get it on...

Excuses, Excuses

Good Monday!

Shiny Excitement

I'm still alive...

O Monday, Monday...wherefore art thou Tuesday?

Happy Friday :)

Home, Sweet Home

Bittersweet

Down in the bayou...

Challenge

Fork in the Road

Should be sleeping...

I told ya so!

Hot and sultry...

sigh of relief