Sunday, July 31, 2005

Strike

I bowled yesterday for the first time in many years. Started out rolling gutter balls, but by the third game rolled two strikes and a couple of spares. My finger hurts today LOL. It was a lot of fun. Went with my friend who works for a local TV station so got to bowl with some of the local on-air and production people. That was neat.

Got to see that friend's Emmy too. I am so happy for him!

Didn't get any writing done yesterday *sigh*. But wrote around three pages today. Still hope to meet my goal. I was wrong on the other author ego's count for Law. Wrote 15 pages, not 19. LOL what I get for adding stuff in the beginning late at night (the heroine's biography) and not taking it into account.

May the muses have good aim
Mechele

Friday, July 29, 2005

We're going to have babies

No, not me personally. LOL heavens no. And not my puppy dog who gave me a dirty look at the mere thought.

A bird has made her nest in the elbow of our gutter drainspout. It's a nice place, protected by the roof. Mama Bird has been sitting in the nest about a week now so I assume she has eggs in there. With the heat, she's been standing up, still protecting the eggs but not sitting on them at times. I can't wait to see the little babies. I also hope to figure out what kind of bird she is.

Yes, the heat is gone for now. Over a 100 degrees several days in a row! I'm still amazed by that.

The girls finished swim lessons so next week I won't know what to do with myself, not HAVING to be at the YMCA every day. They both did really well.

I wrote 19 pages for my other author ego (the hero is very chatty, he could have written more) and 3 on the Viking so met my goals. I'm up to 111 pages in Conduit. The hero and heroine are throwing me some curves that I've had to go back and add things. The heroine has a fear of committment. Who knew? Early goal...up to 125 pages by early next week in Conduit.

May the muses have chocolate
Mechele

Tuesday, July 26, 2005

Inferno

And I don't mean Jeanne Barrack's Amber Inferno or Dante's either. It's HOT. All across the country and here is no exception. It's so weird to look at the temperature and see 100 and 101. And the humidity makes it downright stifling. Sad but over the weekend I talked about it being cooler and it was in the low 90's.

I am now on page 105 of Conduit. I'm plugging away. It's going to get to the thriller parts so they should write quickly. It's nice to know where it's all going.

I have made a new goal. With my other author ego, Melany Logen. I plan to write 10 pages on the new hero and 5 or so on the Viking.

Course what did I decide to do yesterday? Do a complete revamp (*g* I love saying that word LOL) of the kidlet's playroom. I swear the next time they say they are "bored!" I'm going to send them in there to "find something."

May the muses have ice
Mechele

Saturday, July 23, 2005

Tonight's the night!

I reached 100 pages!!! *does the snoopy dance* I'm so happy. I set a goal and I reached it!

Not to mention, I think this puts me about half way in.

*snoopy dances with the muse*
Mechele

Friday, July 22, 2005

A hodgepodge

I was going to write on a single topic but too much is floating around the brain today.



Bummed

Was supposed to go see the siblings today. But the youngest kidlet is sick and the older one is acting suspiciously. Summer cold. *sigh* Very disappointed I couldn't go play with my sisters.



Naked dolls

What is it with little girls and naked dolls? The first thing they do when they get a Barbie is strip the clothes off. This morning the girls were playing Barbie. And the youngest one's Barbies are all naked. So are her Strawberry Shortcakes.

I used to do the same thing. My Barbie had wigs so she never had hair either.

It is so disconcerting to see a naked Barbie. I'm sure even fashion models look at them and look down at themselves and go "That's just plain wrong."

I think I read somewhere that you have a 1 in a 1000000 chance of meeting someone who looked like Barbie and a 1 in 50 chance of meeting someone who looked like Ken.

They now make Barbies with painted on swimsuits/underwear. I guess some parents didn't like the completely naked Barbie. In ways, that looks even odder.



I'm going to change my name

Why, when you are sitting two feet away from the kidlet, have been talking to them, do they puncuate everything with "Mom?" I must hear the Mom title over a 100 times a day. Especially when I'm sitting right there with them, not everything needs the Mom tag.

I remember when they first started talking and how excited I was when they first said it. I still get excited some days. But not when it's the 10th sentence started with "Mom" in the last two minutes.



The naked tickler

LOL I was reading Yahoo news and saw this headline and went "Wha?" You have to wonder about a man who sneaks into people's houses to tickle their feet while they are asleep. While naked.

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/wireStory?id=967294



Ukrop's

Here where I live we have a local grocery store chain. They are the bomb. From their bakery to the prepared food, everything is just wonderful. I sit here eating my yummy chicken salad from them and am having Ukrop's warm fuzzies.



Workshop at Divas

Jess Michaels has been doing a workshop on things to do after writing the book. Lots of great information and advice. www.romancedivas.com in the Forums sections. Registration is free.

It's a great place to get lost in *grins*. LOL especially when procrastinating.



The newsletter is out

The second issue of my newsletter is out. I have had a lot of fun doing them. Has been a great way to get to know other authors too. Raine Weaver was my first victim, interviewed her in the first issue. This issue interviewed Alyssa Brooks, had an excerpt from Jeanne Barrack, and did a review of Christy's Ghost by Sable Grey.



Writing

I wrote around 9 pages. *blinks* but not on Conduit, the work in progress. Wrote three on one project and six on another. I'm at 85 pages on Conduit still, hope to get more written today on it. Yes, the goal of 100 pages is Sunday. I still have hopes I can get there.

I did have to skip a small scene in Conduit. Usually my character lead me pretty well, even with things I'm not always that accustomed to. But they abandoned me on this one. I knew what needed to happen before it. Knew what had to happen after it. But I needed two characters to get really snarky with each other. I wrote, deleted, a half dozen times. Nothing flowed well. I finally skipped it and went on and that has moved me forward nicely. Heh heh, it's a great moment, after that scene. I'm glad I went ahead with writing on it instead of waiting to get that scene perfect before I moved on.




May the muses have air conditioning
Mechele

Wednesday, July 20, 2005

It's all about the perception

Life is all about perceptions.

My oldest, who is finally learning to swim, is most comfortable in three feet of water. It's where she can stand up. She doesn't like to be in water over her head. Nothing can convince her what she can do in three foot, she can do in five foot.

The youngest, who started swimming last summer, has always been in water over her head, except for brief stints in the wading pool last year when Mommy got tired of heart attacks from her in the big pool. Five foot doesn't bother her at all because she knows what she can do in three foot, she can do in five.

The water isn't any different. But they perceive it very differently.

It has been hot here, with heat advisories the past three days. We didn't have one today, it only got up to 95 *blinks* and the humidity was down slightly. It's been sweltering. I've been loving the air conditioning.

However, I remember days in the past where it was just as hot with heat advisories and warnings and high humidity. I grew up without air conditioning in my house. Yes, my parents got an a/c unit after I left home. LOL I shook my head at them. My school system didn't get central air until I was in high school for all its schools. Yes, there was one low ninety degree day where the boiler came on at the elderly high school, and no one could get it off. The third floor classrooms felt like saunas. So I know that I did without air conditioning once upon a time.

The heat this particularly bad summer hasn't changed from what it was in bad summers past. But my perception has changed, I'm used to air conditioning now.

Everyone has heard for every incident and argument there are three sides. My side, your side, and the truth. And the sides are colored by what we perceive of the situation.

We go through life viewing it by our perceptions, be they good or bad.

*******
Ha ha!! Up to 85 pages. Whooo hooo!!
And I did more time on the tread mill today than I ever have. I'm trying to exercise four days a week. It's been three weeks. Of course, today I logged in to enter my workout. I put in 94 miles instead of .94 and accidentally saved it. *blinks* LOL I have to get that fixed.

May the muses have fans
Mechele

Sunday, July 17, 2005

Get into the groove

I have been working on the new novel, another vampire. It's been going pretty well. But yesterday, I got bummed that I'm not further along on it.

So last night when I got on my computer, I didn't sign into IM and email. I wrote 13 pages. For me, that's huge!! I'm so excited. Wrote seven more this morning between mid-morning and lunch and doing stuff for the kidlets. I now sit at a little over 70 pages. I'm psyched. *snoopy dances*

So I set a goal. By next Sunday, I want to sit at 100 pages. I think that will put me about half way through. I'd like to write at least five on the next project with my writing partner. I'll keep you updated on how its going.

May the muses be kind
Mechele

Friday, July 15, 2005

Happy Friday!

I think I have mentioned, I'm easily amused. Got excited to see Virginia Romance Writer's link to me, my name coming up on Google (I am a Google babe *g*), etc. Now, the other day I went to Loose Id's site to look at something. And swung by the page where they list authors/artists/editors/management. Saw my name and started bouncing in the chair! Said "Oh wow! My publisher has a link to me!"

So I click it. LOL and it leads nowhere. The link was wrong. It was a funny "I'm author, hear me roar!" moment quickly followed by an "Or not" moment.

Now I contacted Loose Id, and they already fixed it! I was quite happy they did it already, didn't take long at all. My hat is off to their webmistress for getting to it so quickly and efficiently.

So now I can go to Loose Id (www.loose-id.com) and click on my name to get to my website *beams*. Why yes, I have done that a few times now already.

When "Blood Kiss" is listed on the web site, I'm thinking I'm going to have to visit it a few times...a day. For a while at least.

I applied for and got my PRO status from RWA. It recognizes that you've completed a manuscript and queried a publisher or an agent or have been published by a non-RWA recognized publisher. I received a PRO pin. I'm excited about it. I know every little bit of information you can get to improve writing and make connections helps. Loose Id has been a godsend in that area. I've learned a lot from being there in the Loose Id community and the author community.

I read an advanced reading copy of "Christy's Ghost." Wow! It was an eerie, sensual read that had me turning pages until the end. It's being released soon from Loose Id. Check it out and look at that cover. Haunting *g*. http://www.loose-id.com/searchresult.aspx?CategoryID=123


May the muses have Reeses
Mechele

Tuesday, July 12, 2005

I'm dashing in

I know I got a little behind on posting here. *takes a big breath* What a week!

First of all, the edits are going really well to "Blood Kiss". Everything I'm doing makes sense. I sent some back today. I'm getting even more excited than I already was. Each new happening brings me that much closer to P Day.

And, the new project that I've been concentrating heavily on, working title "Conduit," has been going well. I'm over fifty pages, I know where it is going. And while I'm writing it, I have the next vampire book talking too. I think this series will be four if not five books (I hope!).

Now I'm going to do something I won't usually do here. But I co-write with another author under the pseudonym Melany Logen (www.melanylogen.com). We've had a lot of fun completing our first futuristic erotic romance novel, the first in a series.

We entered the JERR/Ellora's Cave Erotic Pen writing contest. Honestly, I didn't expect anything from it. It was free to enter, I figured there would be tons of entries, but thought it would be great to get back feedback from the judges.

So last Tuesday, we get our scores back. We did extremely well!! Lot's of high scores, 9's and 10's, and lots of positive comments. We appreciated all the judges' input. However on Wednesday morning...Ellora's Cave asked us to submit the full manuscript because of our high scores!!

It also meant instant panic. We needed to do one last grammar check before we send it off. So I have been in editingland for the past week, working on "Blood Kiss" and also firming up grammar in "Torc's Salvation."

It's been quite a week and usually when I have the "I am author hear me roar" days, I have a "bring down to earth moment," and that hasn't happened yet.

Other things have been going on too.

The youngest kidlet now does flips under water and can retrieve stuff from the bottom. She's in swim lessons, loving it. The oldest has written another book, is still putting her head under the water, and starts swim lessons next week.

We pretty much live at the YMCA this month.

I have also been trying to exercise. It's only been a couple of weeks. But I'm proud of myself for sticking with it this long. The treadmill has become my nemesis. They have fitpoints you can earn for logging in your exercise. My goal is to get "something." Course you have to have mucho points to do it. So it will be a while. I'll keep you updated.

And I won a copy of The Honeymoon Man, from Suzanne McMinn. She also sent me a few promo materials. (http://www.suzannemcminn.com/blog/)

I won a copy of Water Crystal at Writerspace by Anya Bast (http://www.anyabast.com). I never win anything!!! Made me very happy.

Now I just have to find some time to read them *grins*.

I did finish "Sins of the Night" by Sherrilyn Kenyon (www.sherrilynkenyon.com). GREAT book. Lots of action, humor, and sexy scenes. I'm looking forward to the next one in her Darkhunter series.

May the muses have chocolate
Mechele

Monday, July 04, 2005

Happy Fourth!!

I hope everyone had a safe fireworky fourth!!

Every fourth of July when I was a kid, we used to go to a little place on the James River. They had a Fourth festival where we'd play games, listen to music, and see fireworks.

As I got older, and it got more crowded, we'd go to the other side of the river and watch from a sandbar where it was more secluded. One year, right before dusk, several dozen bats came flying out from some old bridgework left standing after some floods. I grew up on Stephen King, not a good thing.

Fireworks have gotten harder to find here.

A few years ago, we discovered An Old Fashioned Fourth of July. It's a great place to go with ice sculptures, a petting zoo, face painting, watermelon, music, balloon animals. It's at an actual working farm, where they work it like they did in the 1800's.

Today, I got to hear the reading of the Declaration of Independence by an orator. It was a moving experience. I had to learn it in elementary school. But today, the words meant so much to me than they did back then, as I stood there listening to him read them, watching a fife and drum band with a musketman. I thought about all the struggles of the forefathers to fight the Revolutionary War. And all the battles since then to keep our country established. I also thought about immigrants who come to this country and take the citizenship oath. To become American citizens.

Fireworks lost their importance to me in that moment. Don't get me wrong, I love to watch them. But somehow the day's meaning was reinforced.

So Happy Fourth! And I hope your day was a fun safe one!

May the muses have fireworks
Mechele

Sunday, July 03, 2005

The apple doesn't fall far from the tree?

So yesterday I get back from the grocery store and the six year old kidlet is hard at work. On what? A book. *beams*.

She illustrated it and wrote dialogue in the pictures. It turned into about 10 pages, a whole little story. Starts off with a couple getting married. They have a baby. LOL I've always been honest with her as to where babies come from...so the picture is a bit graphic.

LOL it has romance. The couple get married. There's a conflict. The house burns down. There's a resolution. They get a new house complete with pool and hot tub.

I love her attention to detail. The tights on the women getting married have designs on them. There is a dress with flowers on it.

I think I have a budding artist and who knows, maybe a budding author in the house *grins*. She was very proud that she'd written a book just like Mommy.

*****

Romance Divas (www.romancedivas.com) is running another great FREE workshop this month. Author Jess Michaels will be hosting her "So I Wrote This Book... Now What?" workshop in the Forum. Just register to become a member and you're eligible for the workshop and the monthly giveaway. The workshop starts July 18th.

I read their workshop done by Sasha White on love scenes. It was good. I've read back through their Point of View workshop. Great stuff and good people there.


May the muses have chocolate
Mechele

Friday, July 01, 2005

The horror, the horror

So last night the dh had the TV on and "Kill Bill 2" was on. I've watched parts of it. Some scenes I have to look away, it's a gory blood movie. The movie that came on after it was "Cold Mountain." I've never read the book, though I've heard a lot about it. I think I'm going to go find it and read it. At first, I wasn't paying that much attention to it, but started watching it. Oddly enough it's a scene in "Cold Mountain" that wouldn't let me sleep last night and has been on my mind all day today. I won't spoil the movie for anyone and tell the scene, but it's a harsh violent one.

Alongside romances, I grew up reading thrillers, mysteries, and a steady diet of Stephen King. LOL I still remember when my brother gave me "The Talisman" by Stephan King and Peter Straub and wanted to go through and mark out all the bad stuff with black marker. Stephen King had some pretty gory, creepy stuff at times. "It" had two scenes that haunted me. After reading his story "The Boogeyman" I had many nightmares and started keeping my closet door open, which to my husband's annoyance, I still do.

I read Laurell K. Hamilton's "Obsidian Butterfly" back in the Spring. And had to put it down twice. Was too squicked out to continue. On a fanfiction loop, there have been several posts that have made me stop reading or get teary because of violence. "Alien" has the creepiest scenes and still sets me on edge whenever it's on.

I've been trying to puzzle out why the scene in "Cold Mountain" bothered me so much. "Kill Bill 2" is much bloodier. Gorier. Maybe it's the comic bookish nature of it. All the violence doesn't seem as real as the scene in "Cold Mountain." The scene was very "real" and maybe while I can't imagine myself in the place of the characters in "Kill Bill 2," I can in "Cold Mountain."

Maybe that's something the scenes that bother me have in common. I can imagine myself in them.

So what scenes in movies or books have given you the willies or kept you up at night?

May the muses have flashlights
Mechele