Monday Check In

Last week...

Writing Related:  Camp NaNoWriMo is held in April and July. I participated in the camp in April and didn't quite make my goal. I want to push really hard this month and finish Caine's book so instead of doing Camp again in July, I'm doing it this month. I figure I've got about 40k left to write if I follow my plot outline. That should be doable this month if I don't waste time and write when I should instead of doing other things. 

Motivational Quote: "When you're given an opportunity to change your life, be ready to do whatever it takes to make it happen. The world doesn't give things, you take things. ~ Taylor Jenkins Reid

What I'm Reading: I'm about halfway through Look on the Bright Side by Kristan Higgins. I'm feeling kind of ambivalent about it and hoping it gets better in the second half. I usually enjoy Ms. Higgins' books, this one, not so much as of right now.

Random Thoughts: I'm going to have some extra free time so I'm hoping to get a lot of small projects done this summer. I started a list of things I want to get done (mainly things around the house) and ended up with 25 items on my list. Thankfully, some of them are quick, tiny projects that I can knock out in 30 minutes or so, maybe less. I just couldn't seem to find the time to do them. Now that I have an actual list of things I want to take care of, it'll be easier to get them done, I hope. And I'll have that sense of accomplishment as I cross each completed project off. 

Random Photo:

   I find Mrs. Green cuddled up with the strangest things...like the cord to my laptop.

Monday Check In

Last week...

Writing Related: I heard back from my beta readers and editor on Mississippi's story. It was all good feedback but...Eek! It seems the story suffers from a sagging middle. I have quite a bit of rewriting and editing to do so the middle doesn't slow the pace down like it apparently does now. Other than the first part of the middle section dragging and a few minor tweaks such as adding a bit more description in some scenes and changing a couple of areas where there's more telling than showing, the manuscript seems to be in good shape over all. 

Motivational Quote: "Yes, I am optimistic, but one must go through a long period of purgatory." ~ Eugene Ionesco. For the most part, I try to keep an optimistic outlook, but some days it's harder than others. 😀

What I'm Reading: I still reading Second Chance Spring by JoAnn Ross. I set it aside to read A Little Ray of Sunshine by Kristan Higgins which I'd had on hold at my local library for weeks. When I was notified the book was available for me to borrow/pick up, I knew I'd need to read it asap because other people were waiting to borrow it and I wouldn't be able to renew it if I didn't have it done by the time it was due back.

Random Things:  It's time for school supply sales. While I don't have anyone in school, I shop the school supply sales to stock up on index cards, pens, one subject spiral notebooks, composition books, and Post-It notes. I use these items all year long in my writing, so I pick them up at the cheaper prices while I can. In my area right now, one subject notebooks are on sale for 25 cents. Packages of plain white index cards are on sale for the same price. Composition books are on sale for 50 cents. Can't beat those prices. 

Random Photo:

 

A miniature sunflower that I grew in a pot from a seed. I'm really happy about it. I don't usually have good luck growing flowers in pots.

 

Monday Check In

Last week...

Writing Related:  I asked my cover artist to redo the cover for Honor Bound, the first book in my Echo Company series. She did minor tweaking, but I like it better than the previous cover. I'll be changing it out at the same time that Ivan's story, Broken Trust, is released in a couple of weeks or so. I'll put the revised cover down below under my Random Photo section so you can check it out. Let me know what you think.

Motivational Quote: "If you keep working, keep striving, and try always to move forward a little bit with every job you do, you'll eventually make it." ~ Cass Elliot

What I'm Reading: I'm reading Out of the Clear Blue Sky by Kristan Higgins. I should finish it tonight.

Random Things:  School starts next week here in upstate NY. I always feel like it's a good time for a fresh start so I'm taking this week to look over my goals, personal and writing related, and seeing where I stand at this point in the year. I know I'm behind in a couple of areas so I'm going to try and set up some new processes to get me back on track. 

Random Photo:

                     Here's the new cover of Honor Bound that I mentioned above.
  

What's Up Wednesday

This week...

My Current WIP (Work in Progress): I wrote about 15 pages of new material smoothing out a couple of scenes. I didn't expect to need to write new material, but those pages make the story better. 

Quote of the Week: "I don't believe you have to be better than everybody else. I believe you have to be better than you ever thought you could be." ~ Ken Venturi

What I'm Reading:  I finished the Kristan Higgins book I was reading last week, but haven't started anything new yet. I've been reading magazines that have piled up the last couple of months. 

Random Thoughts:  We are having a much smaller Thanksgiving gathering this year. While I'm sad that not everyone can come, I'm looking foward to having less cooking, not to mention the clean up after the meal, to do. 

Random Photo of the Week:

                             Mrs. Green likes to try out the blanket I'm making.

What's Up Wednesday

This week...

My Current WIP (Work in Progress): I only managed five pages last week due to commitments that took up my usual writing time. I should be able to get back on track this week.

Quote of the Week: "Action is the foundational key to all sucess." ~ Pablo Picasso

What I'm Reading: I started reading Life and Other Inconveniences by Kristan Higgins this past weekend. I'm really enjoying it.

Random Thoughts: I've been making a lot of different kinds of bread the last few weeks. Last week I made a chocolate walnut twist bread recipe for the first time. It came out really well. We ate a loaf and a half within the week. I gave the other half of the loaf to my sister who stopped by for a visit. I will definitely making this recipe again.

Random Photo of the Week:

                  This is a photo of the chocolate walnut twist bread I mentioned above.
 

What's Up Wednesday

This week...

My Current WIP (Work in Progress): I wrote two transitional scenes that were needed to make the story flow better. They didn't add a lot to the total page count, but I think they improved the story.

Quote of the Week:  "Think like a queen. A queen is not afraid to fail." ~ Oprah Winfrey

What I'm Reading: I started reading Murder By The Book by Lauren Elliott last night. This is the first book in the Beyond The Page Bookstore mystery series. I haven't read anything by this author before, but am a big fan of the cozy mystery genre.

Random Thoughts: I read Good Luck With That by Kristan Higgins over this past weekend. The book stirred up a lot of controversy when it was first released, actually even before that, due to the content of the book. It deals with being female and overweight and how that weight affects three women's lives. I have been overweight at times in my life (like most women) and found myself identifying with some of the things the women feel and are subjected to because of their weight. I really enjoyed it and would recommend it to anyone.

Random Photo of the Week:

                                    The cats sharing the window and bird watching. 

Borrow vs. Buy

I read quite a bit, usually whenever I have some free time though lately free time seems to be coming at a premium. I wanted to write that I read a lot, but I set a goal of reading 52 books last year and fell short. I only read 48 books so I can't say I read "a lot." My mom read 94 books so I guess she can say she reads a lot.

I happened to mention to a friend that I was going to the library this past weekend. She looked at me like I'd just said I was going to commit murder. She asked in an astounded tone, "You don't buy the books you read? You're a writer. I can't believe you don't support your fellow authors."

While I do borrow the majority of the books I read from the library or friends and family, I also buy about a third of them. It would be next to impossible for me to buy all the books I want to read. I do occasionally buy a new to me author especially if the author and/or book has been recommended to me by a friend or family member. For example a friend raved over the Brooklyn Bruisers Series by Sarina Bowen. I borrowed the first book from the friend, purchased both the first and second books, and when the third book came out, I purchased that as well. I do plan on looking into other books written by Ms. Bowen, but unless they grab me like the Brooklyn Bruisers series did, I most likely will borrow them from the library.

Most of the books I do purchase are automatic buys by certain authors. Whenever these authors release a new book, I don't even have to know what the book is about. I make a trip to Barnes & Noble or hop online to Amazon to buy that latest book.

Some of my auto buy authors are Susan Mallery, Kristan Higgins, Laura Trentham, Jill Shalvis, Sarah MacLean, Lisa Kleypas, Laura Lee Guhrke, Laura Griffin, the Charlie Davidson series by Darynda Jones, and the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich.

Do you utilize your local library or do you purchase the majority of the books you read? What are some of your automatic buy authors?

Feeding My Habit

Most writers I know are also avid readers. As Stephen King has said, "If you want to be a writer you must do two things above all others: Read a lot and write a lot."  Reading a lot is easy for me. It's my favorite way to spend any free time I have. I'd rather read than do almost anything else.

Before I decided to seriously pursue publication, I read two books a week on average. Most of the time I average just one book a week although at this time of the year, it's considerably less. So far I've only read two books this month. As much as I enjoy the holidays, I give up my reading time with great reluctance so I can shop for gifts, visit with family, go to the occasional holiday party, bake Christmas cookies and other sweets, and my least favorite thing to do - wrap presents. 

One gift I always ask for every year is either a gift card from Barnes & Noble or Amazon so that I can feed my book buying habit. I have quite a few authors that are automatic buys whenever they release a new book. They are Sarah MacLean, Julie Ann Walker, Lucy Arlington, Kristin Higgins, Lisa Kleypas, and Jill Shalvis just to name a few.  Both Sarah MacLean and Kristin Higgins have new releases coming out on December 29th - Just in time for me to use that new gift card. ;o)

Do you have any authors that are on your automatic buy list? Who are they? What do they write?

What I'm Reading Wednesday

This week I'm reading the contemporary romance Somebody to Love by Kristan Higgins. My sister picked it up at the library for me. I'm only about 90 pages in and I'm really enjoying it.

Here's the blurb:
After her father loses the family fortune in an insider-trading scheme, single mom Parker Welles is faced with some hard decisions. First order of business: go to Gideon's Cove, Maine, to sell the only thing she now owns—a decrepit house in need of some serious flipping. When her father's wingman, James Cahill, asks to go with her, she's not thrilled…even if he is fairly gorgeous and knows his way around a toolbox.

Having to fend for herself financially for the first time in her life, Parker signs on as a florist's assistant and starts to find out who she really is. Maybe James isn't the glib lawyer she always thought he was. And maybe the house isn't the only thing that needs a little TLC….

Never Say Never

I met a fellow writer yesterday for coffee and after bemoaning the current states of our works in progress we started talking about all the "rules" we were told had to be followed if we ever hoped to become published. The funny thing is nearly all of these rules have been broken and some of them by the best writers in the Romance industry.

Here are a few of the more prominent "Rules" we were told were never to be broken. These words were always delivered in an authoritative, "you're going to kill your writing career before it gets started if you even think about breaking these rules" tone of voice.

• Never use a hero that plays professional sports.  This goes hand in hand with the rule that your hero should never be a professional musician, artist, or actor.  (I guess no one ever told Susan Elizabeth Phillips (SEP) this rule. She writes some of the best sports playing heroes out there. One of my favorite books is Nobody's Baby But Mine written by SEP. The hero, Cal Bonner, is a professional football player.)

• Never write in sentence fragments.  My reaction to this statement was, "huh?" We all want to write realistic dialogue. If you listen to people when they speak, they don't always speak in complete sentences. I know I don't. 

• Never write using first-person point of view.  (I guess no one told Kristan Higgins or Janet Evanovich this rule. Kristan Higgins writes some of the best first person romance novels out there. And while Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series isn't technically romance, there is the romantic triangle between Stephanie, Joe, and Ranger in every one of her books.) I will admit I tried writing in the first-person. It was hard. I kept wanting to go into the hero's point of view.

• Never head hop or jump from one character's point of view (POV) to another's to another's and back again. I have to agree with this rule. It drives me crazy when I'm in the heroine's POV and then I'm in the hero's, then I'm in the villain's and then I'm back in the heroine's. I feel jumping POVs all the time creates distance between the reader and the hero/heroine. (Of course, Nora Roberts is well known for head hopping but if you can do it as well as she does, I say go for it.)

So in my experience, I've learned to never say the word never when asked about writing advice. If you need to break a rule to tell the best possible story you can tell, then make sure you do it well. I'd love to hear anyone else's rules they were told should never be broken.