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Showing posts from November, 2013

Being Thankful

On this week of Thanksgiving, when we are already being bombarded with Holiday decorations, gift ideas and movies, it is sometimes hard to live in the moment and celebrate the holiday that is next.  I admit that my mind is already off in gift shopping land and I'm thinking about my trip home to visit my folks.  Despite jumping ahead to the next holiday, I am excited to celebrate this year with a small dinner on Thanksgiving with a few of my friends.  I lay in bed a few nights ago, thinking about how much I have to be thankful for due to having them all in my life.  They enrich my experiences constantly and I'm very  grateful each one of them wandered in - whether because they were walking in the 60 mile walk with me or playing Bunco or by some other happenstance.  I've been truly blessed through the years to be able to celebrate each and every day with these wonderful people. And although some of them don't know I,t they provide me with inspiration and story ideas f

Biking in Minnesota with my sister

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It was a few degrees warmer in Minnesota when we biked but seems like just yesterday.

Finding the perfect editor or how to stand up to your fear

One thing that I have avoided is sending my word to an editor.  I know that I'm motivated by fear that an editor may find so many faults with the work that I would be heart broken.  I hope that the reality is that it's mostly grammatical errors which need correcting and not the entire storyline. Everyone knows that you need another set of eyes to review your work.  A professional set of eyes who can catch the obvious and not so obvious flaws is a necessity in order to show the work in it's best light.  So my question is - what is more important, my fear of someone finding the flaws or the fear of not finding them?  If I want to be published, which of course I do, then I must overcome this fear and move forward. What things in your life have you not done because fear has held you back?  Start that diet, climb that mountain, quit a job that you hate and try for something that fulfills you?  I will admit to frequent episodes of clucking (yes, I can be a very big chicken).

When are you going to publish?

Menu for Murder has been completed for months and now I have to find a great editor.  I don't want a good one, I want a great one.  Someone who does this for a living but yet won't try to change my characters but rather tell me what I need to do to further enhance them.  Someone who can find my grammatical errors, which may be many, and make the difference between a story that is good and one that captures the reader. In the meantime, I continue working my nine to five job so I can pay my bills.  I squeeze in lots of other fun stuff and spend time with my lovely group of ladies.  Invariably, however the conversation will touch upon my book and the question will be asked, "So, when are you going to publish it?" I try to bite my tongue and smile politely but inside I'm churning.  If it was so easy to write a full size manuscript and then just pop it off in the mail to a publisher, everyone would do it.  It if didn't require hours pulling characters out of my h

Writing rewards

In the middle of another busy "real" work day, I have promised myself to take the time to jot down a few thoughts in this blog, especially what's been rolling around in my head for days. I caught myself thinking in terms of rewards.  How I reward myself with chocolate primarily and for all the wrong reasons.  I had a long day so I can have some chocolate.  My day was especially stressful, so I can have some chocolate.  I didn't each any (okay, change that to "much") chocolate yesterday so I can have some chocolate.  I hiked the mountain, I took a breath.... and you get the general idea.  Whatever my rationale at the moment, it always ends with the word chocolate.  That has been my reward for doing whatever I do on a daily basis. And in the words of Oprah Winfrey, one day the light bulb just went off in my head and I had that "Aha" moment.  I make no secret of my chocolate addiction but rather than using it as a reward for doing what I should, I

Southwest Writer's Conference

I recently attended the Southwest Writer's Conference in Arizona for a day of learning and motivation.  I was sorely in need of the motivation, as lately it's become more and more difficult for me to commit myself to doing what I love to do. When I write those words it shocks me.  If I love writing as much as I believe that I do, why then is it so hard for me to find the time to do it?  I don't enjoy going to the gym - okay I actually dislike it greatly - but I do it more regularly lately than I write.  It doesn't make me feel good about myself to admit that, but it's the truth. As I left a very enjoyable conference I had mixed emotions.  Part of me was thrilled that I had spoken with a local publisher and received some excellent advice about the Jayne Stanford series.  The other part of me was disappointed that so many days slip by me like the second hand on a clock.  Seconds lost that I cannot recover. I can easily excuse some of my lost time due to work obl

Walk for Hope

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One of my best friends Philomene and I at the Phoenix Walk for Hope.  Team Goddesses and their male supporters walked to help find a cure for breast cancer.