Coincidence

October 29, 2007 Uncategorized

Sometimes I leave fantasy land and wander out into reality. I did that last week by reading some financial news. I know, pretty dull–but an excellent change of pace. I scanned through a few stories when a name caught my eye, Blackstone. I read on.

Recently I invented a privately held equity investment company and named it Blackstone Enterprises after its founder. Guess what, there really was a privately held equity investment company named, yep you got it–Blackstone.

It’s the kind of coincidence that never flies in fiction. Note to self Google all story names.

Milestones on the road to publication

October 28, 2007 Uncategorized

Cover art! It still gives me goosebumps. I spent way too many hours printing it out, admiring it and figuring out how to get it to post here and on myspace. Which reminds me I’ve never gotten that link to work on my own blogroll.

I’ll try to fix that later, one of things I struggle with constantly is getting distracted from my main job–writing.

Here’s the blurb for Dangerous Surrender–

Reluctant reporter, Ciara combines business with steamy pleasure when she investigates the backroom action at a local nightspot. She finds undercover cop, Zach posing as a boy-toy waiter. He’s there to find out what’s dirty at the club besides the dancing. Instead he finds is an irresistible attraction to Ciara. Seduction in the line of duty never sounded so good. Until he realizes that she’s his worst nightmare – a reporter hungry for a story.

Ciara wanted to transfer to finance but agreed to investigate one last hot lead. Tossing out caution, she finds reality much more dangerous than she ever imagined. She uncovers a shocking exposé. It has it all–sex, scandal, blackmail, and Zach. He’s in it, right up to his sexy square jaw. No matter how hot he is, she needs to remember he’s got a vested interest in keeping her in the dark. Now, with their hearts on the line, and the bad guys wearing badges, Ciara and Zach tumble into a dangerous surrender, which may prove lethal.

I’m so sorry, I don’t know when it will be released but the second I know I’ll tell you.

Cover Art!

October 26, 2007 Uncategorized

The Non-writing Life

October 21, 2007 Uncategorized

Let’s face it, I’m easily distracted. All too frequently, I get through only one page before something else (anything else) demands attention. Yes, the house and yard have been neglected for sometime and truly need lots of work. Leaky roofs, non-functioning furnaces, and the like require action. And then there’s the fact that I like things clean. Whether I move or stay (one of those big decisions I’m postponing) sparkling and tidy works for me.

Clutter makes this goal more challenging, hence the great sorting out project. Toss, donate, or sell are nice sensible designations. But honestly? At least half of the time I have no idea what it is. Here’s where ebay helps. They sell almost everything. Not sure what you have? No problem. They’ve got a search function that works almost as well as Google’s. Since I’m a newbie seller, I started with DVDs, figuring I’d work up to other stuff eventually.

Last week, I branched out, adding a pair of boots, a purse, and a couple of pairs of panties to the movie list. Everything is selling well, except the underwear. Apparently, intimate apparel doesn’t fly on ebay. They’re brand new–still in the package. I bought the thongs on clearance and tried one of the four pairs, finding them surprisingly comfortable. Still, I’m not thrilled with them and I like to be happy with my undies. Sadly, I’m shallow and vain, despite being both fat and old.

Inbetween polishing, cleaning, sorting, and selling I did get to the end of the most recent romantic suspense story making lots of nitpicky changes but finding nothing alarming now to input all those small corrections, and then on to a new pirate story. Even at my turtle pace, I may manage a sequel to the first pirate story this year.

Writing life

October 19, 2007 Uncategorized

Yesterday, we had the first big storm of the season, knocking out power for several hours. No writing got done at all, but a few pages were edited after power was restored. I did get a wall of the bedroom painted. . . .

The fact is, my concentration is still lacking, I may have been too optimistic signing up for the seventy days of sweat. The new story needs to grow in my mind and there’s nothing I know of that makes that happen fast. The characters, and the story world, have to become multi-layered to me before I can write the scenes, which in turn comprise the hopefully compelling fictional account.

Some time ago, I was participating on another challenge board. In my newbie ignorance, I offered one of the published author’s I admire advice about managing her writing career. Lack of knowledge can be empowering, but I cringe recalling this incident. I had the very best of intentions and great respect for her writing . . . but still. She responded graciously, that what I suggested (working on multiple projects simultaneously) simply wasn’t practical for her.

Now, I know there are authors who do manage multiple stories. There are some amazing writers out there. But I’m not one of them. I can only get my head into one story world at a time. Therefore, I need to finish editing Dangerous Rescue before I begin to build the new pirate world. Sven is going to have to sweat without me for another week or so.

Writing life

October 16, 2007 Uncategorized

Things that made me smile today:

Sheila’s Blog

http://70daysofsweat.com/wordpress/

Yep, I signed up–it’s nice to have company in one’s craziness.

Girlfriend by Avril Lavigne (French Version)

Le chat, the cat, Louie

La chienne, the dog, Katie

The mail, no bills, my copy of RWR

Working on a new story

Life

October 14, 2007 Uncategorized

Here’s what I’ve learned so far, continuing with the luggage analogy–there wasn’t any with my name on it–just a jumble of pieces with different price tags some of which might suit me. Now, back to reality.

I’ve become as irritating fussy about the house as I always feared I’d be, if not kept in check. If I spot a smear or piece of lint–I have to deal with it. Even if I’m in my nightie and on the way to bed, I reverse directions, grab cleaning supplies (I’ve acquired several new ones), and then attack the bit of disorder. It’s a sickness, promise not to tell anybody.

On the other hand, if I don’t see it–I can tolerate huge messes and the worst kind of filth. Just recently I found out the floor inside the downstairs closet is actually white not the medium brownish-gray it has always been. Of course, now that I know it has to be cleaned. Ditto the grouting between the entryway tiles. Yep, it too was once white. So far, the blackened grout has resisted all known cleaning methods. The floor may have to be replaced.

I still like to garden, a good thing. In fact, this week I’ve been out cutting back the spring and summer blooming perennials, as well as planting fall bulbs. The downside so all this vigorous garden activity was the reawakening my dormant appetite. Effortless healthy eating and steady weight loss was too good to last. I just wish it had gone on for at least one more size. Ah well, back to doing it the hard way or making peace with having a round body in a squared off world.

Along with the renewed interest in food came cooking–something else I’d neglected for a while. Made a delicious steak soup. The stuff was really great–it should be on the menu somewhere. To go with the soup, excellent homemade cheese bread. Was there ever a better smell than freshly baked bread? Got to be up there in the top ten–especially if when hungry. So cooking regained its spot on the A-list, though I’m not doing as much of it.

What else happened? The French lessons were hard, but fun. Concentration and decision-making weren’t one hundred percent yet. IAll non-urgent decisions were postponed, but sometimes action was demanded.

Last week I got a new furnace, since the old one quit. To replace the heating appliance seemed sensible, nothing to waver about there. Simple cost benefit analysis to decide between the available options, again an easy choice. The agreed upon furnace was installed and the workers slunk out the backdoor. Eventually, I noticed the quiet and made a trip downstairs. The wall they removed for installation was not replaced. I eyed the wall parts stacked against the bar and made a note to call the furnace people the next day (it was already after business hours). Then the new furnace made funny noises, emitted unpleasant smells, and then ceased all operation.

The following day, I phoned the furnace company and complained about the equipment failure, the smell, the noise, and the missing wall. They sent a repairperson. Unfortunately, a part which he did not have, was required. One more day passed before the furnace was operational.

The technician replaced the missing wall. Sort of. Instead of sneaking out the back door, this one said good bye politely, mentioning the furnace inspection had been scheduled for Monday morning. “Oh, by the way, you’ll need to remove that wall for the inspector. I had to use sheet metal screws to attach it,” he mentioned as he stood on the threshhold poised to flee.

While rubbing my hands over the stream of heat arriving via the floor registers–I nodded and actually thanked the fiend.

Yesterday, I examined the wall with the idea of loosening the screws (very ugly shiny large screws) to make Monday removal more convenient. The evil screws sneered at my screwdriver and refused to budge. A lengthy search of the shop unearthed an electric screwdriver (or more correctly, an electric drill outfitted with a screwdriver bit) more searching eventually revealed its charging unit. Unfortunately, its current bit is not the one needed for the job. Much more searching (it’s a good-sized shop full of mostly unidentified stuff) failed to locate an alternate screwdriver bit. Then I got the inspired idea of removing the currently installed bit (I’ve seen ones that have a flathead on one end and a Phillips on the other. But the stubborn bit resisted all attempts at removal.

By now, the day was nearly gone, the rest of the bulbs were unplanted, the animals were getting restless, and I was cranky. I took the dog for a walk, which made both of us feel better. On my way home, I said hi to my neighbor. He asked how the new furnace is working. I gave him an earful about the evil screws and the fiendish screwdriver. He generously offered to come over and help. When he arrived, he has a fully charged screwdriver, complete with a clever case of neatly organized bits. Within minutes, the offending screws were removed. I show him my recalcitrant tool, and he removed the errant bit with the aid of pliers and impressive knowledge about how such things are accomplished. Very tactfully, he mentioned my electric screwdriver is not first-rate. A fact I’d already tumbled to after comparing it to his. Do I need a good one? Yet another decision I’ve postponed.

Writing life

October 8, 2007 Uncategorized

About a third of the way through editing Urban Adventure a better ending came to me. Ah the relief, it’s a wonderful feeling. I always hope the swamp monster (who lives deep inside my subconscious) is going to send something to the surface when I draw a blank. But since we have no direct communication, it is a matter of sheer faith. Then in the second third of the story, I noticed a physical impossibility. Fixed that little problem, and decided to go watch a movie for the rest of the evening.

The last third will wait until tomorrow. I’m behind on French too. It also dawned on me as I puffed along behind my daughter, while she ran up Seattle’s hilly streets that I really should make an effort to get a bit more fit pre-embarking on a sightseeing trek with my very fit offspring. There’s always something isn’t there?