It's just for research...really!

Hello peeps!

Still in downtime from finishing my book. I've been doing a little reading or as I like to call it ... research.

I'm not stealing anything but I do write down bits and pieces of dialogue and grammar usage for reference.

I've noticed that I don't format the way most published books do. I don't mean margins but more like sentences and paragraphs.

I'm not sure how one is supposed to know how to do that part. Just copy from others?

I'll read a short paragraph, two or three sentences max, then one sentence by itself and then dialogue.

I don't think I have anything formatted like that and now I wonder if I should be. 

I'm not very good with chapter placement either. I started the book with chapters and then it became one really long chapter. Gonna have to break that up.

But, that is for another day.

A special thanks to Tonja from Tonja's Musings for passing along a Stylish Blogger Award!


So, what are you guys up to? Are you reading anything for research?

Did you have a nice weekend? It was hazy, hot and humid here in NY for the guys to march in their navy blue uniforms for the Memorial Day parade.

DJ

Take that! WIP=WID!

Oh! Oh! Oh!!!

I finished my second book.

Thank the UNIVERSE!!!!

I am not a ONE-BOOK-WONDER!!!!

Thank you so much for helping me with my Un-scientific poll on Wednesday. As you can probably guess the majority of you commented that you like some sort of wrap-up.

Not too much...not too little. 

As I was reading your comments I was writing the ending and so pleased that all my contemporary peeps were 'on the same page' so to speak! :)


Now, we all know, it's not really finished. Lots of editing needs to be done, making sure all my loose ends are tied up, finding the OK and changing them to okay. Stuff like that. 


But...I did get the story all the way through to the end and that makes me completely happy.


After I typed THE END I took my son to the library to get books and movies for the weekend. I'm going to read a book written by someone else!

***

Funny thing happened the other day. I mentioned on Monday's post that I purchased and downloaded The Emotion Thesaurus.

I also follow Angela Ackerman on Twitter where she tweeted: Do you have a copy of The Emotion Thesaurus? Send me a pic of you & the book (print or digital) & I'll put it on The Bookshelf Muse blog! :)

Well, I couldn't resist. I took a picture of Stormy and sent it to her!

I'm Stormy the Weather Gnome and I approve of this book!

So I get this great tweet back from her!

Oh my Gosh--you know what's funny about that? I have the same gnome! Here he is with my proof.

Come on! How freakin' funny is that? I can't believe she took the time to send that back! It's Stormy's twin! (I'm so going to jail for trademark infringement.)

***

And finally...

Have a safe and enjoyable Memorial Day. Please remember why we have a long weekend. It's not just for the BBQ and mattress sales.

On Memorial Day, we remember and honor all the soldiers who gave their lives in defense of this country.

Go to a parade. Pause at a flag. Thank a soldier. Have a moment of silence. Share your knowledge with the next generation.

Give back to those who gave their all.

A very un-scientific poll.

I'm a few thousand words from finishing Maguire's Corner.

Thank the Universe.

But, as you guys are perfectly aware, the end is just as important as the beginning.

As a reader, it's what you will always remember about the book.

So, I'm going to give you guys a brief description of my book and then I'd like you to answer a quick question for me.

There are no right or wrong answers, it's purely opinion.

Deal?

Maguire's Corner is a contemporary romance set in a small town in NY. The book begins with a murder and car chase and contains multiple crimes, more murder, kidnapping and a steamy romance all through out.

I hope that's enough to go on.

My question is this. 

Do you prefer a book that ends at the culmination of an action scene?

Do you prefer a book that ends after the action scene but there is a short wrap up of events and characters? Where everything is explained and tied up in a nice neat bow?

Do you prefer a third option that I can't think of? 


Thank you for your time!

Are you sure its Monday?

Hi. How are ya?

Good here...for a Monday.

To answer your pressing question...yes, I did write this weekend. Quite a bit, actually.

Sunday turned out to be a writing kind of day. The boys slept in for a while and I was up early (go figure) so, I took full advantage of it. 

Then we went to the husband's softball game and I wrote some more in my notebook. I was quite pleased with my progress.

In other news...I have some info to pass along to you guys.

Saw this blog post the other day from Rachel Aaron. It's worth a read. Even if we were able to use 1/3 of her equation it would be worth it. How I Went From Writing 2,000 Words a Day to 10,000 Words a Day.

Carina Press put out a submissions call on May 18th for any of my romance writer friends. 



In support of mostly myself but also for Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi from The Bookshelf Muse I purchased The Emotion Thesaurus.

It's already been a help to me since I downloaded it on Kindle for PC on Friday for only $5.00! 

Excellent writing guide and I found out what all the Random Acts of Kindness Blitz buzz was about at their website.

I have received two lovely blog awards! 

Heather Murphy from Random Interruptions has graced me with the Stylish Blogger Award. If she knew me at all she would realize that I'm far from stylish but it's sweet of her to think I am! Thank you very much for picking me, Heather!

And thanks for having the same name!

Heather's rock! 

 

 

And...the one...the only...The TARA TYLER from Tara Tyler Talks...has bestowed upon me The Versatile Blogger Award! 

She not only re-designed The Versatile Blogger and The Kreativ Blogger Award boxes to give them an updated look she wrote a fantastic fantasy story to give them away to her blog buddies! Thank you, Tara! You made my day that much brighter! 

Psst...sometime over the weekend I snuck past 300 followers. Thank you and welcome! 

Wrap it up!

Happy Friday!

I am still trying to get through the First Loves Blogfest list. I'm determined to get further with that list than I did with the A to Z list.

***

I received a lovely blog award yesterday from Gossip_Grl. Thank you so much.

I tried not to look it up, I did, but I really wanted to know why Kreativ was spelled that way.




Turns out it's from a blogger from Norway and it was more of a hands on scrap book kind of creative than anything else.

It appears the rules on her blog are different too. I say appears because I don't speak, read or write Norwegian.

But, you guys know me well enough to know that I don't follow rules anyway.

So, I'm just going to say Thank You to Gossip_Grl and leave it at that.

***

I'm hoping to get right back into my story this weekend. This week has been very hectic. Doing some 'work for pay' work and hosting a blood drive has kept me from getting the words from the notebook into the laptop. Must make some progress soon before my brain explodes.

***

I did get to see The Avengers last weekend.

So. Freakin'. Good.

I won't post a lot of information here for those of you who haven't made it out to see it yet.

I'll just say...go see it.

Go see it.

Go now.

GO!

It was just the right balance of story to action. Great dialogue. Great acting by great actors. Great laughs.

It was everything I expected from Mr. Joss Whedon and yet so much more.

Really. I'm not even up-selling. (Go see the movie)

Well...that's all I've got. (Go see the movie)

I hope y'all have a great weekend. (Go see the movie)

Well? Did you GO yet?

All in a day's work.

Hello peeps!

Not a lot of time today but I wanted to share a couple of things.


Thanks to all of you that came by for the First Loves Blogfest on Monday. It was fun. I still have some on the list to check out and I'm looking forward to seeing what they posted.

I noticed one blog named a movie that I can't believe I didn't even consider.

Star Wars.

Hello? Duh! Earth to Heather!

I'm so ashamed. :(

I still love The Last of the Mohicans but certainly Star Wars has had much more of an impact on my entire life.

I can only call it a complete brain-fart and move on.

***

I didn't get the deets on the Random Acts of Kindness Blitz but I've been seeing posts and Tweets everywhere for it.


I basically think its to thank people that may have helped or influenced you in writing.


So, I would like to thank my two 'editors' that help me without complaint or monetary compensation with my books.

Suz and K. aka Anonymous. :)


So, a giant THANKS to you guys.

And ... I promise I will have Maguire's Corner completed soon for you to edit.

***

Lastly...I failed my big movie moment.

You know how you say you never know how you're going to react to a situation until you're in it?

Well, I had my potential scary movie moment the other morning and ... HUGE FAIL!

I swing open my front door and on my porch, next to StWG, is a glass canning jar. It contains a purplish liquid and whitish objects are suspended in said liquid. There is a note attached to the lid.

What do I do? Do I call my husband to come join me with a weapon? Do I put on my latex gloves? Do I get the camera to photograph the evidence? Do I check the porch for possible assailants? Do I flash the Bat signal?

Nope. 

I step out on the porch and pick up the jar.

Okay. So, the jar contained eggs that are pickled in beet juice that a friend made and dropped off for my husband.


Not the point.


It could have been anything. It could have been the prop to lure me out on the porch to my doom!

It could have been covered in forensic evidence that I just tampered with.

And ... there was a real moment when I thought the whitish objects floating in purple suspension were going to slowly spin to reveal they were human eyeballs.

Luckily, that didn't happen or I might still be scrubbing beet juice from my porch.

Guess I would be the one in the film that you're all throwing popcorn at and saying, "She deserved to get slaughtered! She didn't even look to see if the psycho-killer was on the porch!"

Amateur.


So, how are things with you? Want to thank anyone? Randomly? Change your mind about your Firsts after reading another list?

Find anything on your porch?

First Loves Blogfest!

First loves…

Sir Alex…you are evil and awesome at the very same time.

Thanks for coming up with a great and very challenging First Loves Blogfest!

Movie:

The first movie that I fell in love with was the 1992 film The Last of the Mohicans.

I mean, I did love lots of other movies before that, cause I’m old, but, this is the first one I left the theater, bought another ticket, and went right back in for.

And, it wasn’t just Daniel Day-Lewis and his hard to hide Irish accent that hooked me.

It was the whole package. The scenery. The soundtrack. The romances. The epic-ness. It’s what a lot of movies strive for but most can’t achieve.

Music:

I’m a lucky girl when it comes to music. Growing up we listened to everything across the board. Really. Listened, played and sang. To this day, in my own home, we listen to music of all genres. To pick a specific song or a band as my first love? Not easy. If I think back to the first music that I played repetitively on my own it would be my Aunt’s hand-me-down, cause I’m not that old, 45’s of The Beatles. After that probably my parent’s cassette tapes of Queen.

Book:

Books. Love them. I truly do. I don’t often re-read them which is odd because I do watch the same movies over and over again. One book that I have read more than once and will read again…Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton. Ignore the movie. Read the book. It’s a thrill ride. Just thinking about it makes me want to read it again. Makes me miss Mr. Crichton too.

Person:

This one…easy. I thought I had loved others…until I met my husband, Chris.

15 years together in July. 11 years married in July. I can’t believe it took me so long to find him but now I can’t imagine a day without him.

 

How about you guys? Got any firsts you want to share?

Words, words...don't fail me now.

Procrastination...the fact that I will do just about anything instead of finishing the biggest scene in the whole stupid book!

I need to get mad at it.
I need to smack it around some.
I need it to dare me to NOT finish it.
Then I'll rip those pages up!

I need some more coffee.

I'll finish. Not to worry. I'm not letting this opportunity pass me by. In just a few days I could have two, count them, two unpublished books!

***

Did I mention tomorrow is my blogversary? 
2 years. 323 posts. Just shy of 300 friends.

The stats page is like written in Latin for me but I think it says that a reasonable amount of people have come to visit.

It may even say that my most popular post was from last year's Blogging from A to Z Challenge. Yep, you may have guessed it. C is for Chocolate. I'm pretty sure it has nothing to do with the blog, just a lucky search topic. :)


I'd like to thank you guys for sticking it out with me. I'm not always on the ball, I'm not always nice, I'm not always dressed, but you've all hung in there and had my back.

So...Thanks.

***

Don't forget Alex J. Cavanaugh's First Love's Blogfest on Monday the 14th!

First movie, first song/band, first book, and first person. Four loves, one blogfest!

Holy crap, people!

I am one lucky gal.

I have very cool blog friends.

Not only did you guys leave me awesome comments about Stormy the entire challenge but also in Monday's Reflections Post!

You are too, too kind!

A very, special, amazing thank you to these guys who mentioned Stormy in their Reflections Posts!

Stephen Tremp

Kela McClelland 

MJ 

Clarissa Draper

If I missed anyone, I apologize, and I thank you.

Technically, Mr. Jeremy re-posted my comments on his challenge letters in his Reflections Post, which is confusing but totally cool!

Jeremy [Retro-Zombie] 

So. Freakin'. Awesome.

UPDATE!

Thank you, Ciara Knight! She just mentioned Stormy on her post today!




In other big news...I am still writing. I am very happy with my progress and I hope to have my major big incredible ending written very soon. Let's cross those fingers or toes or whatever it is you prefer to cross.

How is your writing going?

What's not to like? - Blogging from A to Z Reflections Post.

April? Done.
Challenge? Complete.
Reflections? I got some.

So, the developers/creators/MEGA-MINDS behind the April Blogging from A to Z Challenge are asking all of us to reflect on last month. To give them our perspective on the challenge.

Here's my take.

I had a freakin' blast.

Sure, I had some doubts about the letters and whether I was gonna come up with anything for all 26 days. It wasn't easy. 

It also wasn't rocket science. I was hanging out with a gnome for goodness sake.

Pros: Stormy is just funny.

Cons: Stormy became a permanent fixture in my life. I had to make sure I brought him and the camera every where I went. Just in case.

Pros: Posting pictures each day was a lot easier than writing. I mean, his face did most of the talking.

Cons: Posting pictures each day was a lot easier than writing. Which kept it from actually being a challenge. I do think next year I will pick a theme that doesn't rely so heavily on photos.

Pros: Stormy has all kinds of new fans, and not just on the blog. Every where I went people wanted to know what I was doing with a gnome.

Cons: I hate talking to people. I tried to be as covert as I could but sometimes its just not possible. You pull a gnome out of your bag and set him somewhere for a photo shoot...people want to know what the hell you're doing.

To sum it all up:
I'm glad I did it, just as I was last year.
I'm thankful so many people came to visit me, old and new.
I'm happy I convinced my MOM to do it. I think she had fun.
I'm thrilled I found so many new and interesting blogs.
AND...
I'm amazed at what some of my wonderful blog friends came up with to surprise us each day.

A giant THANK YOU to our wonderful hosts for all the hard work and long hours they put in on the challenge.

But...keep a weather eye on the horizon...you never know when someone might come out for a visit.

Tease.

Excerpt from Maguire's Corner.

Maggie tried not to express her complete surprise or disappointment. After the way he kissed her, when they had arrived, she was sure Jack would at least try to convince her why it was best to sleep together. There was only one bed. Share body heat. Save tiny kittens from a horrible fate.

“Sleep on that couch? You don’t even fit on the couch, sitting.”

“I’ll be fine,” he said, walking around the counter.

“I don’t know if you’re being stubborn or chivalrous.”

“You would be familiar with the stubborn part.”

“What was that for? Oh, wait. Is this because you shared some personal stuff with me so now you’re trying to put some emotional distance back between us so you won’t feel all vulnerable and unmanly?”

Jack crossed his arms over his chest. “What?”

She stood and moved between him and the bed. “That’s fine. We can do that. If you need me, I’ll be in the large comfortable bed over there. Here’s one piece of crucial information before I go. I’ll be sleeping in the nude.”

Maggie slowly pulled the t-shirt up over her head and then tossed it at Jack, who never even lifted his hands to catch it. Gracefully, she turned on her naked heel and strolled to the bed.