A Brand New World

It's coming y'all. And no, I'm not talking the second coming. I'm talking the Big K.

Kindergarten.

The word gives me shivers of excitement, immense pride in my child and feelings of sudden loss. What am I going to do after five years of having my child CONSTANTLY with me? Write for most of the day, workout and make minor repairs to the house. And even though I have my day planned, I think for the first few days, I won't know what to do with myself, with this sudden onslaught of individual freedom.

The big day is Thursday...

Public Displays of Affection

Now, now...minds out of the gutter! :) This isn't about anything I may (or may not) have done. Ha!

I finished Susan Donovan's 'Public Displays of Affection' the other night. Man, was it good. Susan writes sexy, fun contemporary romance. Her heroines are everyday women, usually single moms and so easy to relate to - they're like mirror images of most any woman I know (myself included) and are just so damn real. And then she does these heros, guys who could live down the street or in your town, but they're so incredibly hot and complex. It makes you want to put down the book and go driving around town to find one of your own! 'Take a Chance on Me' is another one of her books that I loved...

Give her a try -- I think you'll like her! Her bio on her website is really funny, too.

Corn chips, Bryan Ferry, and The Cure

Barbeque corn chips to be exact - a strange, weekend long craving for the spicy, orange chips. Haven't had them in years.

And what do I hear yesterday, but the oh so sexy sound of Brian Ferry coming from the closet - where the child found a box of old cassette tapes, which she's been playing on her karaoke player ever since. Brings back memories - not that I ever had any heavy make-out sessions to 'Slave to Love' or 'More than This'. :) Listened to The Cure last night; 'Pictures of You', Fascination Street', 'Just Like Heaven' - I'd forgotten how much I loved those songs, and amazing the way I remembered every single word.

Had a retro weekend, which coincidentally has coincided with an invite to my fifteen year high school reunion. Part of me wants to go, part of me doesn't. Anyone else here ever go to theirs? What's it like? It's not until October. Plenty of time to decide, I suppose. And to lose a few pounds, but with this corn chip craving, I may just gain a few!

Cool Stuff

The writing is still going fast and easy right now, so I haven't been spending too much time online. But a few contests I thought were cool and wanted to mention:

Trish Millburn is giving away a pile of books. Contest ends this Sunday, so get on over there and enter! Click on the link to Trish's blog (in my sidebar) to enter.

Gena Showalter is running a "Become a Character in my Book" contest. You can visit Gena's site or click on her blog link in my sidebar to enter.

Found!

I am writing.

I have found my muse -- that little devil. My characters are speaking, the story is flowing, and life is good. Yee-haw. :)

Writing is only part of the equation

There comes a point in your writing endeavors where the actual writing becomes just part of the writer's life. There's promotion, networking, and business related duties, such as bookeeping. Today's the last day to file with our extension, so we're doing the mad dash to get things filed out and in the mail. If you are actively pursuing a career in writing, and fit the criteria to deduct expenses, it's in your best interest to keep a record. It's never too late to start, whether it be a spreadsheet on your PC or jotted down in a ledger. And don't forget to keep those receipts!

There also comes a time where you must delegate part of your day/week/month to these other duties, which inevitably cuts into writing time. If you're like me, you can lose yourself in hours and hours of web surfing, anything from promotional stuff, to networking on line with writer friends - or which many of us like to call, "research". I need structure here in a bad way, so my goal this week to to come up with a schedule that allows me my writing time as well as a certain amount of web time. I've heard a 'timer' works well for this. What do you do to help structure your writing time?

Writing Progress: zilch. Hoping to write today, after we cruch numbers...

A Good Morning

St. Martin's Press requested the full manuscript of Darkness Breaking, the first book in my Wardsmen series! I love St. Martin's, they publish some of my favorite paranormal authors, and I was so hopeful that this book would appeal to them. Funny thing is; I sent them a query almost nine months ago, and figured it was a pass, or lost, or that I never got beyond the gate-keepers. So, when I signed with my agent, we decided to send the book in. And then I get this full request in the mail! At least we know that there's interest in the book to begin with!

What I'm reading: Tiger Eye by Marjorie M. Lui

Writing Progress: edited 80 pages yesterday

Ghosts Anyone?

I watched that ghost invesitgation show, TAPPS, on Sci-fi last night. Interesting program.

I thought I saw the ghost of a young girl before, peering down at me by the side of my bed as I slept (very close to my face) - at which time, I shot out of the bed and flailed around for the light. Was this a sighting? I can't say b/c it may have been some sort of 'waking' dream.

So, my question this morning: Has anyone here ever experienced their own ghostly encounter?

Aliens are people too...

Many years ago, a good friend of mine mentioned this phrase when talking about a sci-fi story he was writing, and the relationships that existed between the human and alien characters. It was said so naturally - "because, you know, aliens are people, too, and.." And the conversation kept on going. I think this is one of the funniest things I've ever heard, and this very well may be my warped sense of humor coming out here, but think about it. Repeat it in your head. It's damn funny.

Okay, so maybe I'm the only one who thinks so. Moving on...

I keep finding a million other things to do instead of writing my book. The lure of the web is strong! I even cleaned house yesterday instead of writing. My muse is playing coy with me this week. Must regain control. Soon. As soon as I check email, fix something on my website, and check in on my favorite sites. :)

Oh, an awesome book I finished last night - Elphame's Choice by P.C. Cast. http://www.pccast.net/pages/main.html It's a fantasy/romance series. If you love Celtic and Greek mythology, you'll love P.C. Cast!

Welcome to my Life...

I love early morning thunderstorms - makes me all reflective and creative. And instead of putting that creativity to good use on my latest book, I've decided to write my first post. So, a little about me: I'm a wife, mother to a 5yr old, and aspiring writer of mainstream, romance and film. I adore books of all types and genres, and as a young girl (around ten or eleven) I had a peculair obsession with works by Homer and Herodotus, and TimeLife book series of any subject...strange, I know. This led to my fascination of all things mythological as well as human nature. And then I read 'Interview with a Vampire' at sixteen, and I knew what I wanted to do -- write my own dark, sweeping, funny, fantastical tales. So here I am in pursuit of the publishing dream, but more than that; to evoke emotion in my readers, to inspire them as I was inspired.

And on the flipside of that -- my darling child has just colored half the kittie's face with pink marker.... Welcome to my life!

Kelly