Remembering When

A few years ago, I was at my dad's and his wife pulled out a present she'd bought him. It was a shadow box with a picture and metal insde. It turns out my dad's dad had served in the Army during World War I. Yes. The first one not the second. He'd been wounded during the war and received the Purple Heart. I can't remember the details of the wound but I do remember hearing his lungs had been damaged by mustard gas. From the pictures I've seen of him, it's hard to believe he had any problems. He was a well-figured man.

So here's in memory to my dad's dad and all of those who served to protect me and my country. God bless you.

[Side note: I remember when I was in elementary school and told a classmate that my granddad had been in World War I, she'd said, "No Way!" And then perceded to tell me I couldn't have a grandfather old enough to be in that war. Obviously her grandparents had been younger than mine. I found out later that my granddad had been 15 years older that my grandmother. So there...pffff!]

Bumps In the Manuscript

I've hit another bump in manuscript. It's all in my head. LOL! I guess you could say figuratively and literally. I'm only around 80 pages away from completing my book, but I'm afraid it has become boring. I've thrown in a twist or two and even found out a good guy is actually a bad guy. My favorite type of twist. Most likely my concern stems from writing another book no one will want.

Sorry. My usual pity party here. At least, they're getting a little further apart. Maybe I need a little break from the book. I've been writing on it hard for a couple months. But I really want it finished by the time I go to Orlando in July. It would be nice to have a new paranormal to pitch.

How Wise

Every day on the way to work and back, I think of some great wisdom. When I arrive home, I take care of a few household chores and then open the computer and...nothing. I can't think of anything or I realize what I wanted to say was dumb.

Oh, I thought of something. This morning I was reading a new urban fantasy that I was struggling to finish. Then I realized what she was doing wrong. She wrote scenes that wouldn't move the story forward. If she was feeding us informaton to set up the big picture, I wasn't getting it. It was really a shame because the story had great potential. Realizing this boo-boo made me understand that at times I do the same thing. I worked too slow in giving the reader hints of what would happen next, they become bored. So off to my book. Time to correct some scenes.

Great First One Liners

It's so true the first line can hook you into buying/reading a book. Raelene Gorlinsky at Ellora's Cave gave some great examples.

I'm working on my most recent paranormal. When I first started writing it, I used the first line of "It sucks to be me." As I wrote on it (3/4 finished), I've changed it several times. I had for a while "Crap! I'm in trouble again." Then I decided that wasn't really the message I wanted to come across starting off. So I settled for the following. For now.

There was nothing like standing in front of your soul mate, while he gave you a lecture. Soul mate? Yeah. Triton Aleron was my soul mate. And it sucks. Why? Because nothing in the cosmic joke book of the universe promised he would know I was his soul mate.

Yeah, I know. It's more than one sentence, but what the heck?

To Be Or Not To Be First Person

The first person paranormal romance I’m writing and about to complete (again...cut/save ending I didn’t like), I wrote the synopsis two ways. One in present tense third person. The other in present tense first person. I believe the present tense first person is the strongest of the two, but I recently read in an agent’s blog (can’t remember whose), the synopsis should still be in present tense third person, even if the manuscript is in first person. I know it’s only one person’s opinion, but it threw me for a loop. Decisions, decisions.

Poor, Poor Characters

You know it's hard to write a book you believe won't sell. Not that it's bad or unmarketable. I've written several books I was CERTAIN would sell and didn't.

A large part of why I feel this way has to do with my ego, but there's another important part in play too. My characters. Being rejected means their voices would never be heard. Their story never to be told. I love my characters, even the villians, and when they're not published, I feel sorry for them more than I do for myself. So that's a lot, folks. LOL!

I Want To Go!

My buddy, Peggy Webb, has the best time at the Elvis Festival in Tupelo, MS signing her latest Southern Cousins Mystery Series. I want to go. She was kind enough to invite me to stay with her. I want to go. *whiny voice* Guess you can tell I want to go! Check it out at http://www.tupeloelvisfestival.com.

Stormy Weather

I love storms. Not the ones with hurricanes and tornados but nice rainstorms even with some lightning are beautiful. I love it when I'm driving down the road and I can see a line of rain up ahead. Amazing. The best part of a rainstorm is staying home and reading and writing all day. That's what I did last Sunday.

Today, another storm came through and I was driving from having my hair done. It takes about thirty minutes to get home. The lightning was so active, it looked like a strobe light in the dark sky. Scary but beautiful.

Things My Co-Workers Say

I just read that Sh*t That My Dad Says debuted at number 8 on the New York Times. Amazing. I glanced through the book last weekend. It was cute but #8?

Anyway, a friend of mine and I were teasing one of our co-workers about being gripey (complainer) and he said, "All it takes to make a man happy is for a naked woman to bring him a beer."

LOL! I couldn't help but believe that said it all.

Yeah, I'm A Glee-k!