Waiting for moments of brilliance

I love Excel

2012-01-24T00:27:00.002-05:00

Well, I suppose that because in my rather normal hum drum life as a pricing coordinator, my work life revolves around spreadsheets. It's a natural progression to use Excel for my book template. Need another page? Voila, insert sheet. I actually have around twenty sheets now of plotting notes (I know *gasp*) I'm plotting. I find it necessary these days as my writing time is scarce these days. I can grab an hour here, an hour there and the plotting makes it easier. Extensive notes are even better. This seems to be working for me. I have divided up my story into thirds. (Beginning, middle, and end of course). All my little cheat sheets are there in one great big file. Oh happy me. I've found more music. I am addicted to Pandora. I stream it from my phone all day at work and keep an extra legal pad near by for little notes and songs that I like. Songs that spark an idea or fit well into a scene. I probably couldn't work without music or write for that matter. The important part is I'm working. Writing. Loving it.

Music, Writing, and those infamous White Blank Pages

2012-01-20T00:49:00.002-05:00

I've been writing tonight, and listening to music. Who else watched The Secret Circle tonight? I'm so addicted to that show. I love Cassie and Jake and well if you've read the books you know who she ends up with but who knew that Adam's father could be such a well you will just have to watch the show as I am not one to give away spoilers in this day of DVR'ING. LOL

Anyway, back to writing. I've updated my writing soundtrack. Loving it! Really loving it and loving the writing : )

"White Blank Page" - Mumford & Sons (Official Lyrics)

2012-01-20T00:47:00.000-05:00

I am in love with this man's voice.

New Blogger Template

2012-01-11T23:30:00.003-05:00

I just love it. It has all that I was looking for in a new template. Great color scheme and the ability to add pages! Woot! What a happy girl small things make me. Stand by for more changes to come soon.

Also if you look over to the right you will see my writing soundtrack. I will keep updating it as we go along.

Happy Friday Eve everyone!

Birdy - Shelter (Official Video)

2011-11-16T00:00:00.000-05:00

Blue Velvet Cupcakes

2011-09-24T23:39:00.004-04:00

Meghan, my daughter, and I love Pinterest. It is a virtual bulletin board that allows you to create boards from the things you like on the intenet. Such as recipes, hairstyles, clothes, books, movies etc. So much fun.

So we are going to a shower tomorrow and Megs wanted to make something quite special and she ran across this receipe for Blue Velvet cupcakes. (A version of red velvet but blue! We thought how could this be bad? Right?

Well--they are insanely good. I am going to go find the website that we received the recipe from and re-post here!

What a great Saturday. One spent in the kitchen with my very talented daughter. : )

Recipe received from Sprinkle Bakes.com love her blog

Oh yeah! Fall T.V. is Hereeeeeee

2011-09-23T00:48:00.002-04:00

Okay, who is with me on this? So far here is the line up!

Thursdays are my favorite of course with...

The Vampire Diaries:
I mean really, there are so many cool little sub plots going on that it always keeps me on pins and needles. (psssst...and yeah my favorite is Damon. Sorry all but tis true)

The Secret Circle:
I LOVE that scary theme music. It's so cool and dark and well were are into our second week aren't we and yes I must admit I am already hooked. :)

Supernatural:
Premiers this FRIDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Sam and Dean forever!

The Big Bang Theory
I DVR'D this because there are just too many good new shows to watch. Wonder if that messes up the Neilson ratings? Just a random thought there.

What are everyone elses new or old tried and true favorites?

Anyone going to watch the new Charlie's Angels?

Crystal Light Energy Drinks--Strawberry...Yeah, they work.

2011-09-06T00:11:00.002-04:00

Just a passing thought as my mind is whirling this evening after not really thinking and deciding at oh around 7:30 p.m. to have one of my guilty pleasures A Crystal Light Engergy packet with my water. These things work. Do not, and I repeat this with much "energy" ha ha ha drink this right before bedtime or you will, alas, be like me, awake half the night. Argh! And 7:00 a.m. is going to come way too early.

Always: The Prince's Tale// Harry Potter

2011-09-03T00:40:00.000-04:00

A snippet of what i'm writing. It's been a long long time : )

2011-08-23T00:42:00.003-04:00

It's very rough, but the fact that I am actually writing is such a thrill--good or not--I'm posting it. I think I had forgotten how much FUN it is to write.

Swirls of shadow moved around Miranda, trying to obscure her vision. It didn’t work.

Another of their nasty tricks.

Sitting up in bed, in her own room, safe for the moment in her own house, she wondered why she dreamed of him. No one told her that might happen as the days drew closer to her eighteenth birthday. Maybe they hadn’t known. Resting her cheek against her knees, she tried to calm her racing heart.

It wasn’t working.

She’d never really gotten a good look at his eyes before tonight. In her dreams he always looked so haunted and sad. His expression remained and it shouldn’t have. She should want him dead. She should want to kill him, before he had the chance to kill her. Wasn’t that what she should be feeling? Anger, rage, a blind violence born from the need to survive? Miranda took a deep breath, concentrating on pulling the air into her lungs and then pushing it back out again all the while counting to ten.

She wanted to forget about it. Every last bit. The curse, all the stupid rules. What would happen, really happen, if she stuck her hand out the window into the moonlight? Would she turn into a phantom? A ghost? Would it make her sick or leave a scar?

Did she have the courage to find out?

Wasn’t it better to know what could hurt you and how to deal with it? It wouldn’t kill her, she knew that much.

She laughed.

There was only one thing that could kill her.

A Fae knife wielded by the Prince of Nyght.

Immediately, a picture of his face formed in her mind. She sighed. Why did he have to be so beautiful?

Beauty kills. Beauty Kills. Beauty kills.

She heard the words like a drum beat to the rhythm of her heart. Her gaze went back to the window. She should do it. She should just go over to the window and stick her hand out. No one was there to stop her. Throwing the covers back, she swung her legs down and walked to the window. How pretty. A stupid thought considering the inky midnight was the enemy. She didn’t belong to the dark. She came from the light.

Yet still, she stood at the window staring out into the front yard. She opened the window. The late summer wind washed over her with a hint of magnolia, an undertone of tea olive. She let her eyes drift close.

Not so dangerous.

Maybe.

Opening her eyes, she reached out and pushed the screen open to one side. A deep breath for courage, she counted again in her head. One. Two. Three. She opened her hand and wriggled her fingers closer to the freedom beyond the screen.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

Miranda jumped, jerking her hand back to her chest like a child who’d been scolded.

“What? It won’t kill me.” She told Hannah, the older woman who had been her guardian for as long as she could remember. “How am I supposed to protect myself, if I don’t know what I’m up against?”

“There is a time and a place for everything. It’s not that the night or even the moon that will hurt you. It’s those that crave that same night and that same moon above them. Those that dance under the light of the moon that you must be careful of. Now, don’t give me that look. You know I’m only doing this for your own good. What if someone had been lurking outside that window? They’d have an easier way of getting to you wouldn’t they now?”

It was hard to fight with Hannah. Miranda knew she truly wanted only the best for her. Deflated, she walked back to her bed and flopped down. “I hate waiting.”

Hannah’s gray eyes darkened, and her expression became concerned as she crossed over to Miranda. “It wasn’t my intention to tell you, so that your every waking moment would be consumed by a curse that should’ve never been. I’m sorry for it. Come here now, love. Let old Hannah take care of you.”

The older woman pulled Miranda into her plump arms, and for all that Hannah worried about her, Miranda worried as much about Hannah. “

“I dreamed about him,” she said absently.

Hannah pulled back, her hands on Miranda’s shoulders. “What’s this?”

“I saw his face. He’s young. Like me.”

“Is he now?” Hannah’s fuzzy gray eyebrows crunched together to form a single line.

They went through this every single time she had a dream. Hannah wanted every detail. “He’s sad.” Miranda looked away from Hannah’s knowing gaze. “Very sad.” And that sadness bothered her more than she cared to admit.

“What did he look like?”

How did you describe haunted beauty? And it’s affect on you. “He’s handsome.”

“Well, of course he would be, we assumed as much.” Hannah replied.

“He has dark hair, to his shoulders, very straight. Blue eyes, I think. A dimple in his chin. Tall, a bit thin.” She didn’t want to talk about this anymore. It hurt her heart. A physical pain, one that hadn’t quite left her since waking from the dream.

“Would you recognize him if you saw him in the light of day?”

“Yes.” She said tucking her head in the crook of Hannah’s warm embrace. Oh yes, she thought, she would recognize him anywhere, at any time.

He was her destiny.

James Vincent McMorrow on The View

2011-07-14T22:57:00.000-04:00

Love this!

Dance Me to the End of Love, The Civil Wars Live at Eddie's Attic

2011-07-01T00:07:00.000-04:00

The Civil Wars...
OH MY GOSH....I HAVE NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Words...
totally speachless with this one.

The Civil Wars - Barton Hollow - With Lyrics

2011-06-30T23:32:00.000-04:00

Chill bumps. Serious chill bumps. These are amazing and for some reason he reminds me of Johnny Depp with a great singing voice LOL

The Civil Wars - Poison And Wine - With Lyrics

2011-06-30T23:25:00.000-04:00

AMAZING!!!! I love this group or rather these two. Faulkner would approve. : )

Chicken Marsala and I'm a happy girl

2011-06-26T23:20:00.000-04:00

It is one of my favorite dishes. I didn't do much this weekend but vegitate and think. I plied my mind with wonderful cinematic visions, of which I'll tell you more about in a couple of paragraphs if you decide to read further. You see, Chicken Marsala is one of my favorites and I'm happy to say I believe I've mastered it. Tenderizing the chicken, browning it after a quick bath of spice induced flour. I do believe I've mastered my chicken marsala receipe. I love the flavor of Marsala wine steeped with delicate mushrooms and roasted garlic. Mmmmmm. It makes me hungry again just thinking about it. This meal made me think about taste.

Then later, I was reading over some old work. Good work. Work about taste, the sweet and the sour. Words that I wrote several years ago and found myself hardly believing that I wrote them. Those words seemed so foreign to me.

Words about chocolate, rich and creamy, simply melting in your mouth. Words about two people, who loved chocolate in a world where simple pleasures were not taken for granted but languished over as pleasure was found far less often and for that certainly much more treasured.

The work was good. So good that I was pulled into the story. What a great story it is, and what amazing characters. Dresses of scarlet, and not simply the color. Such rich words. A word to my friend Janie, don't disgard that story. It is fresh and unique and you should write it. If you don't I might be tempted to give it a go, and perhaps convince you to join me in the endeavor.

Hopefully, one day in the future, I'll write that well again. I'm hoping. My brain is a-flutter with activity. I haven't written a thing in three years, and well there is reason for that. However, in my time away from the written word, my brain has still been working I've realized. Silently, biding it's time. I've taken to carrying around a small notebook again in my purse as the ideas hit me at the oddest moments.
Truly. My little notebook is full and I have progressed to a larger notebook.

Now on to the movies.

Let's see Saturday I watched "Red Riding Hood", "The Tourist" with Johnny Depp which I thought might have moved a little slow but got really good at the end, and "The Adjustment Bureau" which my husband had little patience for but that I enjoyed. I have also recently seen "I am Four" which I loved along with "Beastly." I really loved my Saturday of not doing one thing. Not one thing. I felt extravagant and lazy.

What did everyone else do this weekend? Have you seen the movies above? If so, I welcome your opinions.

What do you know...it wasn't a train after all

2011-06-17T23:06:00.000-04:00

The last three years have been hard, oh who am I kidding they were worse than hard. I thought I was going to have to move into my mother's garage. That was stress enough to make my hair fall out, and I'm not talking a little bit either. I'm talking about huge hunks of hair--poof--gone. Thankfully my hair is growing back, albeit it is "Someone scared the shit out of you white, not simply just gray but WHITE. Like Albino WHITE. Okay--I won't rant about my hair. Well, maybe. I might later, but I am sooooooo glad that I can say--wait for it.

WE HAVE MADE IT THROUGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We still have our house, we still have our sanity (some of us may have less than others in the family--we won't say who, although I'm sure you all knew that I never really was quite sane to begin with.)And we are digging out. My husband and I are both working, thank the Good Lord and it has been a really long road and we're still not totally out of the woods yet but we are getting there.

I have this strong urge to knock on wood by saying the above. LOL. How many people out there in the world feel the same way? I know I'm not alone, and there are still so many people are in desperate straits and are still looking for work.

So while so many times over the last three years I thought the light at the end of the tunnel was a train ready to take me out--maybe it was simply a light.

So anyone else going through hard financial times take heart, it can and with faith get better.

I have an urge to write. How crazy is that? I haven't felt this need in a long time.
Hence, the song below. It says so much and I think it is Tambor's song. :)

Aqualung - Strange & Beautiful (Live)

2011-06-17T22:51:00.000-04:00

I've been watching your world from afar,
I've been trying to be where you are,
And I've been secretly falling apart, unseen.
To me, you're strange and you're beautiful,
You'd be so perfect with me but you just can't see,
You turn every head but you don't see me.

I'll put a spell on you,
You'll fall asleep and I'll put a spell on you.
And when I wake you,
I'll be the first thing you see, lyric's top
And you'll realise that you love me.

Yeah...
Yeah...

Sometimes, the last thing you want comes in first,
Sometimes, the first thing you want never comes,
And I know, the waiting is all you can do,
Sometimes...

I'll put a spell on you,
You'll fall asleep,
I'll put a spell on you,
And when I wake you,
I'll be the first thing you see,
And you'll realise that you love me.

I'll put a spell on you,
You'll fall asleep 'cos I'll put a spell on you,
And when I wake you,
I'll be the first thing you see,
And you'll realise that you love me, yeah...

Yeah...
Yeah...
Yeah...
Yeah...

For Janie...Jar of Hearts

2011-04-18T00:10:00.001-04:00

Beastly...the movie

2011-04-05T23:04:00.000-04:00

Well--the book was better. Then again the book is always better. *smile* However, it was a fun night with myself and the girl (my daughter) who recently got her drivers license and who, by all the stars, is a very good driver. Must have been all those times I broke the law and let her drive back and forth from home to the barn. She is very comfortable--yet cautious--behind the wheel.

I am dithering. I do that a lot these days. Start out on one topic and then get distracted by my own thoughts only seconds later to be brought back to where I began.

Beastly. I read the book several years ago. I liked it. A modern retelling of Beauty and the Beast. The movie was good. I loved seeing Mary Kate Olsen as "Kendra" and there was quite a bit of humor. All in all a sweet little movie.

Didn't get much sleep last night with that nasty snicker doodle of a storm we had here that caused all kinds of chaos. Anyone else but me check out the little Eaglets today? Love it!

Inspiration?

2011-03-24T00:18:00.000-04:00

Several images hit me recently. First this one. Once upon a time I had invisioned a scene in a still unfinished novel where Faeries left a message on my heroine's door step written in flowers. I imagine it might look something like this--however the words were definately different. LOL.

Then this picture--Scary how sometimes you can see a picture and it can almost feel like something out of your imagination suddenly has come to life. This would be Tambor.

IBC Rootbeer and the Mississippi Mud Rebellion

2010-09-11T00:54:00.000-04:00

Buwhahahaha...gotcha with the Mississippi Mud rebellion didn't I? Well, honestly that popped into my head earlier tonight--I have no idea why- and it has stayed, unwanted, for the duration. Sounds like a title to some kind of twisted Mark Twain story doesn't it?

Tonight, I was thinking, I know, huge shocker there and realized I haven't posted on my blog since June. I'm over due. First I was thinking tonight of things I love. Here is a list. I love lists. They make me happy.

Things I love...
The sound of my daughter's laughter

The smell of sweaty horses (this one is all mine--not everyone will agree)

COLD IBC Rootbeer in a bottle. The kind you need a bottle opener for

A good book. I mean a really good book, one that I can't put down and stay up all night and lose precious hours of sleep to finish.

The smile of a good friend, a secret smirk, where you don't have to say a word but they know exactly what you're thinking.

Malibu Cocconut Rum

Woodchuck Apple Cider

Good Music (all genres)

A name brand piece of clothing at a Goodwill price. (doesn't happen often)

My husband's hands.

My mother's sense of humor and her ability to cut right to the chase.

Sitting on the back deck when the temperature outside is 100% perfect. Not too cold and not too hot.

A hot cup of coffee brewed for me before my eyes are open.

Fireflies

Waking up on my own, feeling rested, without the aid of an alarm clock, wrapped in blankets and again not too cold and not too hot.

When hot "flashes" disappear for a while.

A good movie.

Long deep conversations with people I don't really know.

Sunday night dinners with friends and then winning at poker.

Maybe I got a little carried away. :)

Summer already

2010-06-17T13:26:00.001-04:00

It seems like just yesterday that it was cold and rainy and perhaps even snowing. Today it is H-O-T. I've got the girls for a few days and what a joy they are, they keep me young and happy. A blessing to be sure.

It's been a while since I've posted. Yes, still here, still breathing and on most days still smiling.

Hope everyone is doing well. I'm off to go watch the "Lovely Bones" with the girls. They are all excited to watch drama. Earlier we were watching the first few episodes of "Dark Shadows" The entire series is available to watch instantly on Netflix. We chose to watch the revived edition. But "Dark Shadows" has always been a favorite. So spooky and scary and well danger, danger, danger lurks around every corner.

: )

T.V. Shows for 2010 so far

2010-02-11T00:54:00.000-05:00

Okay...here is what I'm watching :)

Mondays 9:30 Big Bang Theory.
I'm half in love with Sheldon. Truly. He cracks me up and makes me realize that I'm not nearly as neurotic as I think I am. What a relief to finally realize.

Tuesdays:
Its MTV Land
My Life as Liz 10:30
The Buried Life after Liz

I'm truly addicted to both of these shows. My Life as Liz I think is a half scripted half real maybe show? But I love it. I love Liz. She cracks me up. I love the way she pauses when she speaks and I love her red hair. I would dye my hair red if I thought I could get away with it and the child can sing so yeah...I'll be watching until she moves on to bigger and better things plus it's about high school. Love it.

The Buried Life:
This is another REAL fav. Four young men who have decided to make a list of things they want to do before they die. (Their own bucket list) and for every thing they cross off their list they help someone else do something they want to do before they die. This week they watched and could you call it participating in a child birth? I thought one of the guys was going to lose it. He was so afraid that it would ruin his sex life forever. I loved that episode and then they helped a young woman go to Denver to find out where her mother was buried. Her family was one of the victims of Katrina and the daughter got seperated from the mother and then the mother passed away. How simply AWFUL. But they helped her and she finally got some closure. It baffles me how we in this country can do these things. And we think we are so much better than others. We're not.

So that is my life for now.

Oh and well on Wednesday nights on Discovery there is always TAPS. The Paranormal investigator guys. I like to watch them too!!!

Books read so far for 2010

2010-02-11T00:06:00.001-05:00

Well. While I'm outlining and working on my big project thought I might post some of the books I've read for 2010 so far.

The Morganville Vampire Series by Rachel Caine:
The Glass House
The Dead Girls Dance
Midnight Alley
Feast of Fools

**I love these books. Found them via a teen recommendation on my librarys website*** Teens do know what they love. I like these because the vampires are exactly that--not exactly loving creatures but something to be fearful of but even some of the humans in this series are extremely dangerous. But they are full of knock'em sock'em drama.

Dear John by Nicholas Sparks (I know everyone loved this book but after the Moranville vampire series I found that this book moved very slow for me.)

The Hollow by Jessica Verday

The Vampire Academy Novels by Richelle Mead (I love ALL of these books as well. Rose is a kick butt take names later kind of gal.) Can't wait for Spirit Bound to come out in May.

The Vampire Diaries by L.J. Smith (Read in December of 2009) but thought I might go ahead and include them. My daughter loved this series. Eh...me they were okay but I liked the Vampire Academy better.

Fallen by Lauren Kate Liked this one as well. It was good. Fallen Angels and the fight between good and evil? Never a bad thing. I liked it.

Give Up the Ghost by Megan Crewe I liked this one as well. It was different which was nice. And not everything was coming up roses either.

***Edited to add***
Beating Heart by A.M. Jenkins
I loved her use of Point of View in this novel. It is a ghost story. Very unusual. I don't want to give it away but I liked the ghosty parts best. Really loved them. I hope Janie will read this book and give me her opinion on this one. I'd love to discuss it with you Janie.

So to say the least I'm using the snot out of my library card. There are a few books on my 'want to read list' that are not in my library but I'll give them some time. Hopefully they'll add them to the catalogue.

Next Up?
The next three in the Morganville Series
Lords of Misrule
Carpe Corpus
Fade Out
and then in March Kiss of Death which I think is the last in the series

On my Wish List:
Fire by Kristin Cashore (I loved her Graceling)
The Dark Devine (I love the cover) It's purple what can I say?
Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
Bleeding Violet by Dia Reeves
13 Reasons Why
The Lovely Bones
So I think it's safe to say that I REALLY am in a reading frenzy right now. I'm not sweating it though, just sitting back and enjoying.

2010...Reflection and Personal Redemption

2010-01-05T22:11:00.000-05:00

I have spent the better part of this week going back and reading my old blog posts. I've been making a list of sorts. A list of things about myself. The good, the bad, and the ugly. There is lots of ugly. But before I move on to 2010 and a brand new decade. I want to learn more about myself or acknowledge those nasty habits of mine. If we don't face up to those nasty little critters it's hard to do anything about them. To say 2009 was a hard year is an understatement. Getting laid off in May I spent the later part of the year trying to start a new business in the midst of the worst economic climate in three decades. I must be a glutton for punishment. However there were some very good things that came out of 2009.

1. My faith.

2. My friends.

3. My ability to adapt and change my lifestyle--which is still occuring to this day or even this very moment.

4. My daughter and my husband. It's a miracle we haven't clobbered each other. But we are still a family. A strong family. Resilient, unwavering, and steadfast.

Now back to 2010. Before I set goals, or even thought about what I wanted to do in 2010 I wanted to see what I'd done in the past several years. What was good, and what was crap. (There was a lot of the latter).

I've learned several things:
The bad first...

I'm lazy.
I let things de-rail me.
Distractions. People.
Time management. Laundry. You name it.
I'm a procrastinator.
Sometimes I'd rather talk about doing something instead of actually doing it.
I say "yes" too often and not necessarily to the good things.
I over stretch myself and my family.
I'm horrible with money. I should turn my finances over to my father--but I don't think he'd take them.
I don't want to do sales anymore forever amen.

Now the good:
I'm a good friend.
I'm a good wife.
I'm a good mother.
I'm a good writer when I write. Notice the emphatic 'when'
And I'm a good daughter and daughter-in-law.
I am a faithful servant.

So what to do with all this information. The next thing I did was make a list. What am I passionate about now? What has changed since 2004?
I am passionate about my faith.
I am passionate about my music (all of it)
I am passionate about my young adults of which they have made this past year bearable.
I am passionate about my family first of all.

So that leads me back to what I want to write. I think it will have to encompass all of those things I'm passionate about. It is different than what I was passionate about in 2004. I think deeper now, and longer and in some ways I think I'm trying to find myself.

So instead of setting goals for 2010 I'm going to set a list of things I don't want to do:

I don't want to procrastinate any longer.
I want to write something worth reading, something with grit and something I can be proud of. Something my daughter can read, something my friends can read without cringing and something most of all my mother can read.

That's about it. I have some ideas. I have some plans. But I'll more than likely keep those to myself. I do love my blogs and am glad I never deleted them. How wonderful it is to go back and read something that is in effect what I did at that day, that moment, and to think I shared it with the world. Not a bad thing at all...

Invictus

2010-01-04T13:23:00.000-05:00

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

Looking Back...

2010-01-03T20:24:00.000-05:00

It has been five years. A long time to play at writing. Smile. Here is a bit I wrote in January of 2005, but still so true even to this day.

The Vigil...
By D.M. Bailey

Writers are eccentric creatures. No one really understands us. Not even our very talented mothers, spouses or our children. They cannot understand the way our brains work. How we can sit hour upon hour with only a pencil and a piece of paper in our hands for company or perhaps only our computer and our music to guide us through the maze of our minds.

Worlds are created, mythologies built, and characters are brought to life all in the mind of a neurotic writer. We create the hero, the heroine, the dastardly villain everyone loves to hate, and the mentor. All within our minds. I think it is safe to say that sometimes we are not totally present in this world.

We can go days without speaking to another soul, go without food or sleep just to write the next word.

Normal people do not understand this. They do not understand the drive, the compulsion to go on or the absolute need to create. It is like inhaling air into our lungs. The life blood of our soul.

It is not something that can be explained. That one exquisite moment when you know what you have written is special, if only to you. But who do we share it with? No one. We sit in our darkened tower, alone, weaving a tapestry of the deepest, darkest, richest threads we can find, praying that one day someone may be able to experience the beauty of what we have created.

Countless hours are spent planning and plotting, dropping breadcrumbs along the way hoping that whomever reads our stories will get to the end of our book and say..."I have got to read that again."

Only then, when our spell has been cast, have we as writers, done our job.

It can be a lonely life when you have no one to share the glory or the pain of creation. I am lucky. I have my goblin sisters. Some are not so fortunate. However, even within the confines of the sisterhood, no one sits with me when I write, or plot, or pull at my hair.

It is only me and the sound of tapping keys.

"Magnolia"

2009-10-02T00:17:00.000-04:00

My dear friend posted a picture of one of her favorite childhood "haunts" so I wanted to share with her one of mine. Many a lazy Sunday has been spent in this place. These gardens. It's like a fairytale in and of itself. Perhaps here is where my imagination began to run wild pulling at the tethers of my own reality as a child.

Once seeing Magnolia, it's not a far stretch to realize that there are indeed magical places here on this earth.

So then there was light...

2009-09-28T00:23:00.001-04:00

And it's a train. Laughing hysterically here, and sometimes silently and sometimes not so silently. Let's see--ant's attack through the kitchen window no less, an absessed tooth that thankfully doesn't hurt anymore not for going to see a professional but a handy dandy left over bottle of penicillin which will truly probably not hold off the infection for long, my husband's unemployment running out, a looming dentist bill that will probably set me back hundreds and um...gee is there anything else that could possibly go wrong this week? I'm doubtful.

"That which does not kill you makes you stronger."

Hell, if I had any insurance I think medication would be totally called for in this instance. Honestly, putting one foot in front of the other is becoming more and more of a challege.

I'd really like to go curl up in a corner and just forget about the world for a bit.

In fact I did a bit of that today. I read the first book of The "Vampire Academy" by Richelle Mead. (I hope I got that right, I'm frankly just too lazy to go look it up at the present time to make sure)I read it on my daughter's recommendation. Do you hear that, Janie? Her recommendation. Quite shocking. Almost as shocking as finding her reading poems by Byron and copying them in her neat little handwriting into her book of favorite poems.

I'm so proud.

But I digress. I really like the Vampire Academy and wasn't sure if I would. I tried reading some other Vampire YA fiction that left me feeling a little flat but I'm totally into Ms. Rose and her companions. And thankfully, Meg's has the other three books in the series. Yeah me!

So hmmm...what to do at 12:33 a.m. in the morning? I can't go snag the other books from the daughter as she's asleep and probably is sleeping with her arms around the book just so I can't have it as she's not finished with it yet. You know, I can't get ahead of her in the story because well...that just would be wrong. According to her anyway.

Guess I'll have to figure out something else.

Hope all my dear friends have had better weeks than I.

Alexander Rybak - Fairytale (2009 Eurovision Song Contest Wi

2009-09-08T23:55:00.001-04:00

Same guy! Tons of talent. See what searching you tube for the world "fairytale" will do for you when you have the flu?

Alexander Rybak - Song from a secret garden

2009-09-08T23:47:00.001-04:00

This could be love--fever still hasn't broken. Wait till you hear this guy sing. Amazing.

[English Subbed] Kalafina - fairytale

2009-09-08T23:18:00.001-04:00

This is THE MOST BEAUTIFUL SONG I'VE HEARD IN FOREVER!!!!! Holy Smokes!

Another year older?

2009-08-21T21:37:00.000-04:00

Tee hee. I'm kind of amazed at that. I spent today looking at some older blogs. Friends have come and gone and some are silent and some are screaming. Some doing both at the same time.

For myself, I find that I put one foot in front of the other and make it day to day, taking the challenges and obstacles as they come. I've had laughter this past year and tears. I must say the laughter was better for the tears. I've always been a firm beliver that with no rain there is no appreciation for the sun.

I actually grew tomatoes this year on my little patio in pots. A first for me as I normally never remember to water them.

I've learned this past year what true stress is and now what it is like to live without it. Oh, there's stress enough I suppose but it's of my own making these days.

I've gotten to watch my lovely daughter grow a year older and what more can you ask for than that? She's still mad about vampires and who can blame her? She's moved on from Twilight to the Vampire Diaries (which is going to be a new series on the CW here come September 10th) and now we're onto the Vampire Acadamy books. LOL. Do I care? No. She hasn't gotten to Faulkner yet but she had read Mark Twain. Not bad for a year. What a comparasion. Hmm...going from Stephanie Myer to Mark Twain. He might laugh at that.

Hope all my friends are doing well. I'm writing again but not going to talk much about it other than the fact that I love the story. It's new and wonderful and still fresh. And OMG...I actually wrote an outline. It's almost an entire spiral notebook. LOL And I still love it. Which is a miracle in and of itself.

Ta for now and hopefully I'll be blogging more often.

Alice in Wonderland Official Trailer

2009-08-04T11:43:00.001-04:00

Oh my! Oh me oh my! Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter? Bless you Tim Burton! Just Bless you!

Young Adult? Really?

2009-08-03T23:52:00.000-04:00

I gotta tell you. I rarely buy hard back books these days. Not having a lot of money is one thing, but trying to find good appropriate books for my young teen age daughter is starting to seem nearly impossible.

Over the weekend my daughter and I went to the book store to pick up some books for her. She's into vampires. (Oh, yeah. Like that is a big surprise to those of you who know me right?) Anyway, I pick up this book. It has beautiful cover art. (Thank you S&S) I flip to the back page and I'm browsing the author blurbs.

"If you loved Twilight, here's a new heroine to root for."

"Edgy, sexy, and funny."

Normally, I'll read a few pages but was short on time. I sure wish I had. I'm half a mind to take this book out of trash and take it back to B&N and get my frickin money back.

Number one? No way should this book have been in the Young Adult section.

Number Two? No way should it even in the same breath be compared to Twilight. (especially as Twilight readers are primarily young girls)

Number Three? I felt like I needed a shower after getting about half way through the book. It just made me feel nasty. And all you Amazon book reviewers who just loved this book? Well, all I can say is Wow. Just Wow. You really think teenagers are like this? Orgies? Oh, yeah I know all kinds of teenagers who get together at their parents houses (girls and guys alike here) to watch porn and then act out the scenes in front of everyone! NOT!!!! Can I just say Ewwww?

I really wanted to like this book. I really did. But there were so many problems. The least of which was marketing. This book really and truly has no business being in young adult.

If you want to know the name of the book? Email me privately and I'll be happy to tell you name, ISBN etc...

I did read a FANTASTIC Young Adult this weekend as well but I'll save that for another post. I don't want THAT book tainted by my current rant.

I certainly hope that this is NOT the new trend in YA publishing. Truly. I feel like everything but the kitchen sink was thrown into this book for shock value. Not to mention the hero? Well, he was no hero. He was a true villain. There was not one redeeming quality to him. Bad boys can be cool as long as they are good at heart. But a bad, bad guy? Well, they are just bad.

too funny!!!

2009-07-31T08:41:00.001-04:00

Odd

2009-06-22T23:59:00.000-04:00

It is so odd to be blogging right now. Strange and surreal and I'm not sure I really feel like myself some days.

Maybe I'm numb?

I'm trying to dig up my old wip's and take a look at them. It's been quite a while since I've written anything other than a letter, email or blog post (and those have been few and far between).

I'm trying to dig deep to find that ambition I used to have and while I may be scratching around for it, sometimes I feel it and then it and just when I get close it scurries away in the other direction.

I think I'm just tired tonight. Great day though. I worked this morning and will be visiting some friends later in the week. Went and sat out by the pool with a friend of mine while the girls splashed around. It's still VBS time here in the deep South (Vacation Bible School time) and we're busy with that, or my daughter is busy with that which means that I have morphed into a taxi driver for most of the time.

It's been very hot here the last few days. Humid and hot and I actually killed a mosquito which is rare for North Carolina. Probably from all this rain.

Looking forward to my few days at the beach coming up. I think I need them. A little away time never hurt anyone!

I want a really good book to lose myself in and I've tried a few but nothing seems to be hitting the spot.

Hugs,
M

Summertime

2009-06-22T00:01:00.000-04:00

Wow. It's really here. I'm excited to have my first tomato plants that have survived me. Amazing really, but I think that it is my hubbys doing and not so much mine. Our days have been filled with lots to do. Filling out unemployment paperwork, and realizing that even though both hubby and I are unemployed that we still make too much for food stamps. Laughing. Isn't that always the way? Still haven't been able to get a copy of my non-compete from 'that' company and really does that mean that it doesn't exist? I'd really like to know as some companies that I'm interviewing with want a copy of it before they'll hire me.

But the fun things are wonderful. My good friends and M's best friend boarded a plane for Paris on Thursday. They'll be gone for three weeks. I'd love to go to Paris. Doesn't it just sound wonderful? Excuse, I won't be here because I'll be in Paris, even if it only in my mind.

We've been busy with the plants. I have cilantro, basil, parsley, tomatoes of course, oh and with some sweet pepers. I'll have to take some pictures and post them.

The DD is teaching Vacation Bible School and she has a boyfriend. How did that happen? They are too funny. They won't talk on the phone but will only text each other. I wonder what they say to each other in person and wonder if they can have a conversation at all?

Anyway hope everyone had a good weekend! I'll be trying to blog more often now that I have some time on my hands.

Hello...

2009-06-16T09:21:00.000-04:00

Well, it's been a long time since I've posted. A very long time. I think I'm going to change the colors of my blog. I'm really kind of tired of the purple. A lot has been happening in the last few months. I finally joined the ranks of millions of other Americans and got laid off from my job and have gone through the red tape of filing for unemployment. Yee haaa. (note the sarcasm here).

Have spent some time filling out applications and job searching and then I have another endeavor that has been keeping me busy and will hopefully get me out of the muck.

For so many months I thought I might have lost my touch. That I wasn't really as good as I thought I was and that the client base that has taken years to build up had failed me.

But that wasn't really true. It was not I who failed but the company that I worked for. The inability to get good competitive pricing combined with the ever shrinking companies that needed our services and let's face it the economy was to blame.

However, I've been busy with other things the last few weeks while fighting with my computer (it's crashed twice now) First time the graphics card and the second the fan but it seems to be up and running now.

So, hopefully will have a bit more time to blog about all sorts of things.

I want to get rid of a bunch of stuff first. I'm packing up a bunch of paperbacks and sending them to the second hand book store. I need the room in my office, which is truly an office again and then I'm getting rid of all this clutter in my house.

I swear I have more clothes than anyone should have. I have made a vow that if I haven't worn it in a year? It's gone. GONE! No more holding on to things in the event I might lose a few pounds. It's gone. I no longer want to be owned by my "stuff"

Will keep you all updated on how it goes.

"A Very Long Engagement" Beautiful Film

2009-04-30T22:29:00.000-04:00

I watched this movie tonight and thought that the English sub titles might distract me from the film but it didn't. What a great film. There were several things that really spoke to me of the artistry of this film. One thing that Janie and I always talk about for characters are static traits. In this film Matilde has a fantastic static trait.

She plays this game with herself about whether her fiance is still alive by saying and doing certain things. For example, she's peeling an apple and tells her self if she finishes peeling the apple without breaking the skin, Mannech is still alive. While on a train she says if we reach the tunnel before the inspector asks to see my ticket Mannech is still alive. It really brought the character to life for me and it was something I recognized. That simple act created a wealth of empathy for the character from me.

I cannot say enough about this film. It is mystery, and love story, and war all rolled into one. If you have the opportunity to see it. (I watched it online on Netflick) DO IT!!!!

It made me want to write and that's something that hasn't happened to me in months.

A favorite from a long long time ago found once again...

2009-04-04T22:31:00.000-04:00

Sleep eludes me...

2009-03-17T00:53:00.000-04:00

Oh, the rain while I know is so good for the earth is really playing havoc with my mental stability. It feels like it has either been raining or snowing for weeks. Where did Mr. Sunshine go?

I'm still here, still breathing for the moment.

My mother and aunt were here over the weekend and it is always such a joy to see them. They came for Meg's birthday and we had red velvet cake. I made Aunt Judy ice it since I never have much luck with making it look beautiful the way they do.

Mother says hello Janie.

Don't they always say that which does not kill us makes us stronger? I'm beggining to think it just makes us more crazy. Crazy as a loon. And who is "they" anyway?

My main computer crashed last week. I caught a virus of all things. It was a nasty one and wiped out my hard drive, but as fate would have it I had bought a passport several weeks ago to back up this computer. I have loaded everything back up but I was able to salvage my emails and pictures and thank the good lord all my writing.

Did I say craziness ensues?

I do believe I did. Hope that my wonderful friends are doing well and staying safe.

Ciao

Presents are a wonderful thing...If your child doesn't snatch them right from your fingertips

2009-02-21T19:09:00.000-05:00

My wonderful friend Janie sent me this great "Team Edward" shirt just knowing that I would love it. What neither she nor I counted on was the fact that Megs would love it too. Here she is sporting her spoils--grabbed right out of the mail before I could even get a chance to lay my fingers on it. Thanks so much Janie! Megs and I will wear this shirt in good health! LOL!

Calgon...Take me away

2009-01-29T22:21:00.000-05:00

Oh, my achin' BUTT! This week has been crazy. I can't decide if I'm making it crazy? If the world is making it crazy? Or if it's a combination of both. Work is insane. Everybody is scrambling for the little bit of business that is out there which means that we're all spinning around in circles, quoting rates and not only trying to hang on to the itsy teeny weeny bit of business that we have but still trying to go out there and find other business.

I've spent the majority of my day staring at rates, looking at trade routes, and evaluating foreign currencies until I think my eyes are going to roll back in my head.

Way more than I can get done in a two weeks, much less one day.

But at least I have a job.

For the moment.

I wanted to try and work on the story tonight but I just don't have the energy. I'm thinking about going and hitting the hay and calling it a night.

Sorry I haven't been by to say hello to everyone, but I hope you'll understand. I'm ready for the world to quit spinning out of control and straighten out on its axis.

Hugs to you all.

I do believe the Hobgoblins have won the round. I'll be back after a good nights sleep ready to tackle it all again.

Hitting the Home Stretch

2009-01-25T01:15:00.001-05:00

Wow. I'm almost done. It's pretty wild that I'm actually doing it after so long. I haven't been very good on my nightly check ins but I promise to be better.

I ended up adding roughly 2000 words to the story this week which is not bad since I've been tweaking a lot and fixing things. It's still not ready by a long stretch for submission but I know that I will definately have it done by the end of January. First daft.

I can't tell you how long it's been since I wrote 15,000 words. I probably wrote more than that this month so far but I always get carried away when the story is hot and end up cutting because I have a bad habit of being redundant.

Looks like everyone else had a good week writing as well. Yeah us!

A couple of new artists I've found that I like, Plumb & Barlowe Girls which you see reflected in the You Tube posts I've done this week. I found them through Pandora. Love that website.

Will be writing more tomorrow.

Oh, and guess what I got this week? Books!!!!!! Yeah!!!!!! Wonderful, wonderful books. I'll be sharing about those as well! Thank you, J!

A favorite fan video done to a song I love of New Moon

2009-01-25T01:09:00.001-05:00

My new favorite song. "In my arms" by Plumb

2009-01-22T22:40:00.000-05:00

This is a video of it I found on You Tube. I think this artist did a great job!!!

Enjoy!

Working hard and long hours this week

2009-01-21T23:01:00.000-05:00

Wow. We had snow. Thunder isn't quite sure what snow is.

This week has been crazy so far. Worked from home yesterday and was on the road today. Will have a really really long day tomorrow. Will have to leave the house by 7:30 and won't get home until nine if I'm lucky. Oye.

Got done about 652 words tonight.
Yesterday got done about 800 words.

It's slow going because I'm trying to smooth it out and make it cohesive.

Then it's the wrap up which I should be done with this weekend if all goes well.

Hope everyone is staying warm and cozy in all this cold weather!

Writing Update & Check in. Sunday Night

2009-01-18T23:20:00.000-05:00

Well, it was cold. Cold. Cold today. The water pipes burst down at the barn so we had to get all my daughter's stuff and get it dried off. Looks like it's going to be nasty this week. Or at least Monday and Tuesday. Argh. I'd really love a snow day but know that's not going to happen. Wouldn't it be great to wake up to a world covered in white? Oh, well. Miracles can happen, I guess.

Tonight, did a lot of tweaking and smoothing. Not sure about word count because that wasn't the focus of tonights assignment. I need to give this piece some continuity. So I worked on that for several hours and am very pleased with my progress. I've added in some sublties that I think will make the romance more believable and my characters a little bit more three dimensional.

Then I went and pulled out all my notes from TWAB. OMG! How many times have I changed this story line? Like a million. I've started to tweak the original synopsis I did to incorporate the changes that I've made in my TWAB notebook. I really like some of the elements of the original story and some of the new 'twists' which really make it a much more sound story, with a lot of action, and a strong romance between the two main characters. I'll be working on the synopsis in my spare time while not taking away from the progress of the short story. The short story comes first in the heiarchy. LOL. First things first. I know how I am. Easily distracted so I can't let myself get too carried away.

But I made some decisions tonight about TWAB. This story is really good. It brings in a lot of really strong emotions that I love. I've always loved this story. But it's scattered, and unorganized. Once I give it some time to stew and get my outline completed, and after I finish LK, I will begin work on it again.

Research: I also did some research on the middle grade series I want to work on. I found my house of which sometime later I'll post a picture of. It's lovely, old and needs a lot of work. I wish I had the money to buy it. But I need to do the research. And that is going to take a while.

So-bottom line. Report for tonight
Revised 15 pages
Revised and worked on synopsis (the first two pages of TWAB)
Did some initial research for PP

All in all a good day. And my Christmas tree is still up. Gosh, I hate taking the thing down. I love my Christmas tree.

I hope that all my sisters in crime had a great, wonderful, warm and productive day!

Belief

2009-01-18T22:56:00.000-05:00

Tonight I'm going to touch on a subject that as writers we all face. Writing a book, a short story, or a novella is hard. It is not something that is easily done. Most times when you come in and sit down to your desk, or your laptop to write the task seems daunting. Insurmountable.

Questions pepper your brain.

"Where to begin?"
"I must be off my rocker."
"This is too hard."
"I suck."
"Who am I? What makes me think I could write? I'm wasting my time, and there is tons of laundry left to do."

"I really, really, suck."

And the list of doubts goes on and on. It's easy to open internet explorer and go browse your friends blogs, get lost in you tube, or bury yourself in research. All forms of procrastination.

You have to push past the doubts. You have to be firm. Believe in what your doing. You have to love it. Cherish it. Curse it. Whine about it. Crumple up tons of wasted words and throw them away.

But beyond it, beyond all those self doubts, you have to push through it. Write. Even if it's drivel. Even if it's brilliant.

Writers write.
Writers write until THE END.

Period. It's how we learn. It's how we grow in our craft. Over the last few years I've faced many internal blocks, mostly of my own making.

But it really comes down to a few simple truths.

1) Write for yourself.
2) Love what you're writing
3) Be dedicated. Even if you only eek out 500 words per night, keep the
story fresh in your mind.
4) Remember that those doubts are going to plague you and push them aside.
5) Never give up. Never give up. Never give up.
6) Write. Write. Write. Write.

The story is everything.

Honey it's cold outside

2009-01-17T22:57:00.000-05:00

For real right? OMG! I about froze to death today. We had to go buy a new dryer. Anyone need one that will dry clothes fine as long as you dry them for three cycles? LOL.

Anyway, we're gonna hook it all up after church tomorrow if we don't have snow. I'm gonna have to get up early to see if we're gonna be blessed with the white stuff. We don't often get snow here in the piedmont of the state so we take what we can get.

(You all would laugh) I'm sitting here in my office wrapped in blankets because we are trying to be frugal and keep the heat on 68'. Argh. Spring anyone? Saw my brother and sister-in-law today. It was good to see them. It's been quite a long time.

On the writing front I think I've actually done pretty good. My wip is now at 10,192 words but needs a good bit of tightening up. Getting rid of redundancies which seem to be my speciality. Once that's all done I should be able to have a nice little scene to wrap all the loose ends up. Well, some of them. Some of them will you wondering but isn't that what you love about short stories?

Hope everyone has had a wonderful day!
Michelle is going to go snuggle with her hubby for a bit!

For J, to make her smile...

2009-01-17T20:56:00.001-05:00

This is an old post from a previous blog that I found. I posted it on August 7th, of 2004 for a dear dear friend. It is a poem about two lovers. A story, as yet unwritten. This is a plea from one friend to another for her to finish it.

For Janie...From Caroline to Aeschere...Lead me Astray

Lead me down the path
Where the blue crocus grows
Great secrets here are hidden
Among the dark and cold

The castle now has crumbled
Stone has turned to dust
The forest has grown stronger
But whom can you trust

This place where you hide
This place where death doth play
I see your face among them
The decrepit and depraved
How long shall you linger
In this secret hell
How long shall I wait
For you to break her evil spell

Your castle walls have crumbled
Your love has turned to dust
The forest is no longer
Whom can you trust

Leave that death behind you
Come walk within the light
I long to have you near me
Every day and every night

The moon is cast in shadow
Twilight turns to Dusk
Must you linger long dear
Oh whom can I trust

Come to me tonight love
Visit in my dreams
For if I shall not see you
My silent voice shall scream
This empty world may shatter
My heart will surely break
For what good is living
Empty and afraid

Come build a castle strong with me
Against the cold cold wind
Death shall go her own way
Far away from mice and men

I know my love could save you
From this cursed hell
If only I could reach you
And pull you free as well

Your haven is at stake love
The time is growing short
Shall the strong stand beside you?
Shall the weak fall beneath you?

Lead me Astray, love
Among the forest walk
Lead me
Love me
Save me
Or death shall have us all.

copyright 2004, all rights reserved, by Michelle Bailey

Writing through the thorns

2009-01-16T18:11:00.001-05:00

First of all let me say that it is colder than a witch's you know what here. We never got above 27'F today. Making sales calls was brutal.

Secondly, let me say that I will be writing my tail off this weekend to make up for the last couple of days of freezing my tail off while working like a mad woman trying to find freight. Yowza! Had a meeting today with a poor woman who was a single mother and she'd just found that she'd be laid off the end of the month. That's brutal. Let me tell you.

I really didn't do as bad as all that really other than Tuesday night, where I didn't write at all.

Tuesday-Zilch in the old word meter
Wednesday- 782 words in the word meter-who knows whether they will stay or not.
Thursday- 981 and I just couldn't push past the mark to hit 1,000k.

However, I did write or at least read over the short story. If I can stay on track this weekend (meaning write my butt off) then I'll still make my Jan end of the month goal and then I'll start revising. Right now I'm just trying to get this puppy on paper.

I'll post again later tonight with my words count. Sorry girls, that I wasn't the cheerleader that I have been but its been a brutal work week. Dang day jobs.

So...if you hear little from me this weekend you'll know why. Shhh...she's writing, lord help don't lets disturb her or she's gonna start screaming!

Um...Michelle was a bad bad girl?

2009-01-13T23:03:00.001-05:00

Part of my New Year's resolutions is not only to write everyday but to also be honest with myself and others when I don't. It's no surprise to my friends that my darling hubby has been out of work since March. (He's doing much better than I would under the circumstances) so pretty much the household expenses are dependent upon me and my job. I really love my day job. I'm in sales but right now with the economic crisis it's harder and harder to do my job. With plant layoffs and the basic reduction of the gross economic product I'm having to work five times harder than I was last April just to get appointments. And let me tell you I was working pretty damn hard then. I'm not whining--this is simply a fact.

Which is the reason that I didn't write last night. I am going to write tonight. I've promised myself. And I'm tired. And I ended up not leaving the office until after 7:00 p.m. However, sales people have to make numbers and you do what you have to do to survive.

However, I'm still really proud of myself and I'm not going to beat myself up. I know there will be days like yesterday and I'm sure to have more of them in the future. The key I think is to get back on track immediately. Which I will do tonight.

I'm at the halfway point tonight at six hundred words and will be shutting it down here shortly.

Girls, if there is a will, there is a way. That's all I know and this is something that is drastically critical to my self satisfaction. My feeling that I am in control of my own destiny. So when it feels like you just can't sit down to the computer and write? Don't think about it. Just do it.

2009 is the year. I'm going to make it happen come hell or high water.

Will come back after I'm done and update word meters and post.

Steady as she goes

2009-01-11T22:52:00.001-05:00

Well, I've made it five days. That's progress. Tonight I upped the tension in my short story. I'm really liking this now and have a decent villain. Hopefully.
I hit 8229 words tonight and yes they are going to need a lot of spit polishing before I'm done, but right now I'm just trying to get the words on the paper. I can already see that I've used a lot of repetitive words and will have to pull out my handy dandy thesarus to fix all those nasty little buggars. But hey, I'm just happy to get my words count.

1,117 words tonight.

Today was a good day, went to church, and then came home and made some supper. I should have done some work work but just couldn't bring myself to do it. Helped Megs take some pictures for her jewelry website. She sold a really pretty necklace last night. She's doing well and all her sales help buy food, and necessitities for the horse.

Megs finished Eclipse tonight and says she going to start Breaking Dawn tomorrow. I don't know what she'll do when she finishes but it will be fun to finally be able to talk to her about it. She's taking the Phantom of the Opera with her to school tomorrow so they can watch it. I'm sure we'll have more Gerry converts after that. Should be fun.

Wish me luck on making appointments tomorrow. Hopefully I'll find someone who needs international transportation. Oye.

Hope everyone had a great and productive day! Oh, and I talked to J tonight. Finally. She's one busy lady, I tell you! Hang tough girls. This is our year! Do or die time.

I'm on a roll

2009-01-11T00:52:00.000-05:00

Well, I've made it four nights in a row. Granted, I've lost some sleep but who needs sleep anyway? I wish our weather would smooth out some though, it's killing my allergies.

There must be something funny going on with my word counts because when I started tonight my WIP count was 6024 and when I ended it was 7166 which is exactly 1142 words. Isn't that what I hit last night? Oye. Maybe not. Maybe I'm delirious. It's definatly possible. The Panther's let us down tonight. This city will be in mourning come next week once it all sinks in. Oye...

Anyway, I'm still in a Gerry mood so you get lucky and get to see his gorgeous face instead of mine! LOL

I hope everyone had a great day, and a productive one at that!

Fun on Saturday

2009-01-10T11:42:00.000-05:00

I thought it would be fun to go back and see what I posted on blogs in January of 2006. This one is cute. It's of Dixie Belle and Midnight when they were in their "younger days"

Enjoy!

Caption Title: Let me s'plain this to you, Monsieur Puppydog.

You are a dog and I am a cat. You don't invade my space, I won't invade your space. Got it? Now secondly...I rule this house. No, no, do not interupt me. This is important shit. I get to eat first, I really don't care how big you are, I still get to eat first. My food is better than your food but lets face it dude, Cat's are royalty...See? now was that so hard to understand?

Three days in a row...

2009-01-10T01:26:00.001-05:00

I've met my goal. I'm kinda proud of myself if not a little bit more tired. Every day that goes by it gets a little bit easier to come into my office and put my heinie in the chair. I think that is half the battle. Getting in here while there are no distractions and I can crank up my favorite Pandora radio station whichs happens to be Apocalyptica at the moment. Oh, and I found a new artist I really like a lot as well. Her name is Suzanne Ciani and the album is called The Silver Ship. Fantastic stuff.

Anyway. Now I'm tired and I did a good bit of editing today and then ended up with 1,235 words. Yeah!!!

Tonight's pic is of my favorite Gerard Butler from his younger days. Love that man's eyes.

Oh, I didn't wanna

2009-01-09T01:44:00.000-05:00

But I did and I'm glad. It was really hard to put my butt in the chair tonight. I've given myself a goal of a 1000 words per day. No more, no less. Once I meet that goal I'm done for the night. So my short story LK is know at 4789 words. Not bad for a full work week coming off the holdiays.

I'm determined though. I've got to get these writing muscles of mine back into shape. So whether I feel like, or not, I'm going to hit this mark everyday.

Hope all my sisters in crime made their goals today!

Hugs and best wishes to you all.

Yikes...Here comes the cold

2009-01-08T00:44:00.000-05:00

Well, at least the rain is gone but they are saying we are going to be cold, cold, cold next week. We lost a lot of trees today with wind gusts up to 60 mph. This is just a quick update and I'm really tired. Looks like Wednesdays are going to be late nights for writing.

Went to work, made sales calls, more people getting laid off. When on earth is this going to end? Came home made dinner, went to choir practice, got home at nine watched like ten minutes of the people's choice awards and then came in here and worked on Last Kiss and got 1042 new words. I hope in the light of day they will be good ones. I'm not so sure. LOL. But I wrote. And that's the important thing.

How did everyone else do?

Still hooked on the Roswell guy. I bought the third season off ebay. Can't wait to read it.

Rain, Rain go away

2009-01-06T23:44:00.001-05:00

Is it so wrong to want to see some sunshine? It seems like forever since I've seen the bright cheery rays. I really think I suffer from light deprivation or something. The horses are half mad as they haven't been out to the pasture in days and I can only imagine how I would feel if I was stuck in a 10 by 10 stall for the last five days with only hay and grain to eat. Oye.

Somebody please tell me there is an end in sight? My allergies are all kattawhumpus and if I wake up tomorrow morning and my head feels like it's going to split open and Godzilla's baby pop out I may swoon. For real, folks.

Anyway, as for the writing update. I've promised myself I'm going to put the butt in the chair and be a good girl this year. No more procrastinating, and no more putting off a good story because I'm stressed out because of the economy. Not. Doing. It. Anymore. Period.

Made good progress tonight. I cut, cut, cut, and somehow my wip is still at 5,000 and some odd words. Which is good I guess. I still have to make this story work in 15,000 words or less. Big challenge. Huge. But I'm going to do it if it kills me.
Maybe tomorrow, if I see the sun, I'll add a word meter to the blog. If not, I'll def do it by Friday.

The pic is because I love that guy from Roswell. Even if he did make that weird Dragon Wars movie that was totally underneath him.

Oh. And Megs is halfway through New Moon. Will wonders never cease?

Audio Books for Reluctant Readers

2009-01-05T22:30:00.000-05:00

I almost feel I should write this as an open letter to Stephanie Meyer and Random House. You see,I have a child who abhors reading. For her reading is painful, not fun, and a chore at best. Can you imagine how a child who struggles to read must feel being brought up in a house with a mother that writes? For years I have struggled with different ways to get her to read. I tried asking, pleading, begging, and even resorted to bribery which got me no where fast.

A good friend of mine once told me that to read well, you must read well. I thought about it and it made sense. There is something to be said for fluency. If every other word stopped you, or if you read slow, the story would never even get a fighting chance. Which is how it was for my daughter.

For her, reading a book was kin to going to the dentist for me. Something that had to be done, but not thought about unless forced.

Whatever you may think about the "Twight Series" written by Stephanie Meyer I have to say I owe her a debt of gratitude. Perhaps I owe even more to Random House for taking these huge volumes and converting them into audio books.

It started two years ago when I bought the first book in the series on a mountain trip with my girl friends. My very adult girl friends with whom I share a deep and abiding love of scrap booking. We were in Boone, NC and I was in Black Bear Books when I saw a book that caught my attention. A solid black cover with two pale outstretched hands holding an apple. The image grabbed me. The back cover sold me and I ordered a Vanilla Latte and sat down to read a chapter to decide if this was something I might like. You all know the answer to that. I loved it. I shared it with my then eleven year old daughter's best friend Katie, who devoured it as well. That is where it all started. I read the books and then passed them over to Katie, who would talk animatedly with me about Edward,Bella, and Jacob.

The books came to life for us. Katie and I tried diligently to get my daughter to read them. "Not happening, Mom." She'd tell me. They are too big and I'll get too bored. Then the movie "Twilight" came out and yes we all went to see it. This was the first real spark Megs showed toward wanting to read the books. Again, I wasn't sure how I could convince her to read this huge six-hundred page volume of words without making her nauseous.

Then for Christmas this year I got an inspiration while playing and searching for gifts on Amazon. I saw the audio-book of Twilight and thought maybe, just maybe, this might entice Megs to read it. I purchased it and waited patiently for her to jump up and down for joy-the way I would have--on Christmas morning. Again, it didn't happen. Then my daughter's best friend Katie, who has now moved away to the coast came for a visit and of course we talked about Twilight. What they would do with the second movie, and how we hoped that it was as good as the first. Megs of course joined in on this discussion. She'd seen the movie. Then Katie saw the audio book that Megs had left sitting on our coffee table from where she had opened it on Christmas morning. Untouched. I'd been devastated at her lack of interest. I thought I had finally lost the battle with her.

Until it was time to take Katie home, and Katie grabbed it and told my daughter to grab the books and that they were going to listen and read on the way up the mountain to meet her parents.

They listened. They read along with the narrator and when we got home from dropping Katie off Megs asked me to put the rest of the discs on her IPOD. I did.

Today, less than twenty four hours later, my daughter finished her first book, or rather her first novel. She loved it. I'll never forget her tromping down the stairs telling me "You have to put the rest of the discs on my IPOD. Mom, reading is like having your very own movie going in your head." I simply smiled. Finally, she understood what I had been trying to convince her of all along.

Books can make you forget, they can make you escape reality even if only for a little while. I'm glad that I can finally share my love of reading with her.

So for anyone else out there who has a reluctant reader--give audio books a try. Granted, you may not have a boy crazy tween like I do but surely there is something out there that will grab your child's attention.

So thank you to Ms. Stephanie Myer for writing books that captured my daughter's attention and thank you to Random House for putting them in Audio Format and last but not least thank you to Katie, who never gave up on Megs and never made her feel inadequate or less for not wanting to read but kept at her like the little bulldog she is until Megs had no other choice but to give in. After all what are best friends for?

Happy New Year

2009-01-03T22:49:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year everyone! 2009 has got to better than 2008. We've been facing and still face a lot of financial hardships. I only hope and pray that thing will turn around this year for us.

However, I have made goals this year. I have spent a lot of time worrying and that doesn't really help anything does it? Nope. Not to mention I've put something that is very dear to me on the back burner due to stress. This year I have put some goals on paper that I'm going to accomplish.

January
Finish Last Kiss-A short story that I am targeting for the Harlequin ebook line Silhouette Nocturne Bites. Target 15,000 words. The trick to this one will be getting this story cut down to the bone.

February
Remember Me-Another short story targeted to the Harlequin Historical Undone line. Target 15,000 words again which should be fairly workable.

May 1st- Finish first draft of TWAB. I have been tweaking the plot and working hit or miss with this thing. I'm going to just put the internal editor away and just write the damn thing. Good, bad or indifferent. That's what first drafts are for anyway.

I hope everyone has a great 2009!

The Rose Labyrinth...def on my wish list

2008-12-22T22:25:00.000-05:00

I happened to be in Target tonight. Stopping in to pick up some necessities and while there I stopped by to check out the new releases. This is what I found.

What unusual packaging. It's very unique. And riddles? I love riddles. This book is definitely on my wish list for 2009. When you open up the box to the left are pages of riddles, the book. Who could resist such a title? Certainly not me. Plus she has moths.

I'm very curious about this book. Is it on any one else's list?

You better watch out...

2008-12-20T21:15:00.000-05:00

Because Christmas is coming whether we are ready or not. I'm so on the latter part this year. I think part of the problem is the fact that Thanksgiving came so late this year.

Well, and everything else as well.

We had a minor emergency on Friday. Midnight, our beloved kitty, got sick. Real sick. Which constituted an emergency trip to the vet where she had to have surgery. She's all better now but it was a touch and go thing there for a bit. We're so glad she's recuperating. How could we have had Christmas without her?

Have been busy watching Roswell. I can blame Janie for that. Teasing me about Liz and Max the way she did on her blog, but well, I always hate to admit when she's right, but what a great series. Sorry it didn't go for longer.

Will be finishing up shopping here in the next few days and then time to partaaaaay! Woot! And will be waiting for the Jolly guy dressed in red.

Merry Christmas everybody!

A spill of words

2008-11-16T22:04:00.000-05:00

Wow. I can hardly believe it. Since Friday I have had this little niggling spark in my brain on how to begin TWAB in a new and better way. It makes more sense. I still think that my two characters are being drawn together perhaps a little too easily but there are reasons for it. Using Tam's pain is basically brilliant. It's a character flaw. A big one. It's very telling. He's not comfortable in his own skin and well, who wouldn't want to be around someone who made them feel miraculously better? It's a much more subtle way to begin. He comes across as so normal in this first scene and almost tragic-which of course he is. He's not had a good life.

So I sat down tonight and sketched out the scene and then I sat down and opened a new file. I've got about twenty-three hundred really good words. Oh, they'll have to be polished up and enhanced as I write a very sparse first draft but the action is there. The motivation and it sets the scene for his character. We know there is something wrong with him, we just don't know what it is. He doesn't know either so it's not really a secret from the reader which always worries me.

Anyway. A great night of writing and I'm calling it quits. I don't want to over stretch it and my left hand feels like it might have a spasm. LOL.

I love nights like this.

A spill of words. A very appropriate name for this post.

P.S. If I could be close to the guys that started Pandora I would kiss them. I created a radio station with artists like Secondhand Serenade, Dashboard confessional, Boys like Girls, Silverstine, Anberlin, A Change of Pace...Yeppers I'd give those boys a big smackeroo right on the lips. Talk about creating a great playlist. I really really do love Pandora. It's a writers dream!

Pandora

2008-11-07T21:41:00.000-05:00

Pandora is a chose your own music, or rather pick the music that you like, online radio station. This thing is way cool. You can create genre stations and then by groups that you choose you can pick and chose whether or not you like the picks, can skip songs, and it just keeps giving you what you like? OMG! I'm always looking for new music. It's a passion of mine.

Thank you to whomever created Pandora. It's way awesome.

Love Love Love Love it!

www.pandora.com

Get your own stations

Ants

2008-11-06T23:57:00.000-05:00

I know that some of you who have not known me for long, or for those of you who have, realize that I have this on going battle ( I mean for years--I tell you) with the little six legged creatures. I'm knocking on wood as I write this post because I certainly don't want them back in my house and the ant terro is working remarkably well. At least I hope it is.

This morning, when I woke up in a hotel room in Raleigh, you could imagine my surprise. Right where I left my laptop on the desk were ants. Lots and lots of ants. Crawling over and under my laptop, over and around the power cord. It gave me the heebie jeebies I've got to tell you. Ick...I don't think I ever want to stay in room 116 ever again. Nope. Uh-uh. Put me back in 121 next time folks.

Waving hello to everyone. Just stopping in to update my playlist and I've turned it off again for those of you who don't like music to automatically play. And well, my taste in music is eclectic I'm sure and no one has the same taste in music except perhaps Janie and I.

I'm off to bed where hopefully I will be ant free.

Blessings to you Janie for your family and your wee one tomorrow. I'll be thinking of you all.

A bit from my work in progress.

2008-11-02T23:36:00.000-05:00

It's still very rough and needs some help but what the heck. I want to share tonight.
********************************
Isabelle Lamont hailed a cab two blocks from her high rise apartment on Glenmeadow drive. The sun had begun to set, casting an orange glow against the purple clouds in the sky. She stood still while all around her people ran about completing last minute errands before the sun completely slipped beyond their grasp and fell into night.

The witching hour.

A time when it wasn’t safe to be on the streets, even here in Fairhaven, for only dark forces moved in shadow. All good citizens knew better than to be caught out in the pitch black of night.

A deep breath brought the smell of autumn to her lungs, the air clean and crisp, almost painful to inhale. It would be cold tonight. When had the leaves on the trees turned such beautiful colors and how had she missed such a simple pleasure? It was odd how everything looked so normal outside while inside her a tempest raged, tossing her emotions from one end of the spectrum to the other. Fear, desperation and finally hope that it would all be over soon.

She let out a tired sigh, the street lights would come on and people would vanish into their homes, afraid to be caught on the streets after dark. A single thread of doubt wove its way through her conscious. Was she doing the right thing?

Probably not.

A yellow cab pulled over to the side of the street where she stood and the window rolled down to reveal a ruddy, weathered face. The driver’s weary eyes betrayed his exhaustion. “Where to?”

Isabelle straightened her shoulders before she answered, ready for any resistance. “4355 Hells Circle.”

The driver did a double take, his steel gray brows shooting straight toward the receding hairline he tried hard to hide. “Are you nuts? Men don’t go to that place. Much less a woman.”

Prepared for this, she took a deep breath, counted to ten, and then replied. “If you won’t take me, there are others that will.”

“Yeah, others with a death wish. Nobody comes out of that place in one piece.”
Did his hands actually tremble on the steering wheel at the thought? Isabelle shrugged. That was exactly what she was counting on.

“Fine. Get in, but it’s gonna cost you.”

Money wasn’t a problem. Taking her right hand out of her black leather jacket she showed the driver a wad of credits. “I think this should cover it.”

“Christ.” The man shook his head. “I must have a death wish.”

Somehow she doubted it. She opened the back door of the vehicle and slid in taking note of the trash and empty beer bottles littering the floorboard and shoved them aside so she’d have a place to put her feet. Desperate times called for desperate measures she reminded herself.

4355 Hells Circle would take her into the heart of the Inner Sanctum. A half hours drive from the pristine streets of Fairhaven, and time enough that she might change her mind if she lost her nerve.

She couldn’t lose her nerve. He was her only chance.

Isabelle had been close to the Inner Sanctum only once before, when she’d found Mouse on her search for him. She knew the well kept streets of Fairhaven would fall away slowly, street by street, to be replaced by dirt and run down buildings. Places that the ‘good’ people would shun and turn their back on, and actually that’s what they’d done hadn’t they? Politics had changed little in the last hundred or so years, at least according to the history books. The rich only got richer and the poor only got poorer. It was no where more evident than on the streets of the Inner Sanctum, where you could find drug dealers or prostitutes. Lives could be bought or sold, begun or ended for a handful of precious credits.

Mankind had sunk to a new low. A low where the only concern was not that of a fellow man but only thoughts of self preservation and the need to survive. She’d been lucky, born to a life of privilege, but fate had a sense of humor. There were always sacrifices. Even for the rich.

Lost in her own thoughts, Isabelle was surprised when the driver pulled to a stop on a street corner a block away from her destination.

“That’ll be a hundred and fifty credits.”

Isabelle shook her head knowing the man was taking advantage of her, but really, she couldn’t take the money with her, could she? She handed the driver a wad of bills, not even bothering to count it and leaned over to get out of the cab.

“Hey, wait.” The driver looked uncomfortable, a lock of his thinning gray hair falling down from where he had pulled it over his far left part. “This can’t be a good idea for a lady like you. Lemme take you somewhere else.”

Isabelle hardened her gaze, even with nerves knotting in her stomach, she’d come this far, she wasn’t going to back down. “I’ll be fine.”

“Well, I tried.” The driver shook his head. “Can’t save ‘em all.”

Head high she stepped away from the cab. She’d finish the last leg of her journey on foot. A prickle along her spine gave away the beady eyes that watched every step she took. She could feel the malevolent stares at her back. She didn’t belong here. They knew it and she knew it but the knowledge wouldn’t stop her. Letting no emotion show on her face, she kept a careful watch out for those that might do her harm. She’d been prepared for this, and with a fluid movement swept back one side of her full length black leather coat to make visible the gun at her hip. It might not stop them, but it would make them think twice. She was a crack shot and no one would fault her for killing one of them. They were quarantined to the Inner Sanctum where the ‘others’ were kept away from the good citizens of Fairhaven. Fair? She mentally snickered, No. But then little in life was fair.

Isabelle came to stand in front of the steel gray granite building that seemed to sprawl like outstretched cold stone hands to the left and right. It had to take up an entire city block. Not to mention being hundreds and hundreds of years old. There was character is such older buildings. Memories of a better time and place, and even now hundreds of years later you could still see glimpses of a grandeur that man hadn’t been able to steal away.

She glanced up and saw the numbers four-three-five-five in red above the gothic wrought iron doorway. This was it. She paused, took a deep breath for courage, and then walked up the steps and quietly slipped inside.

copyright 2008 by D.M. Bailey

inspiration...

2008-11-02T19:47:00.000-05:00

This video is one I created for my own entertainment purposes. It is not intended for any other purpose than for enjoyment. I've always loved the series "Witchblade" and especially Ian Nottingham. I hope you enjoy this...

Why I love Indie Music

2008-10-09T22:42:00.000-04:00

Lovedrug
"Ghost by your side"

"Ghost By Your Side"

Remember i told you "in life and death"
Don't bury our secrets
They will not tear us apart
Because love means going this far
Even when the ending is only the start

If you dive into the ocean then i
Will be the wave around you tonight
And if you're sinking, then oh, it's alright
Because i will be the ghost who is at your side

Remember, you're demons will surface and fight
But i will be a good phantom
And keep on romancing this cold little devils tribe
And hold them away while you are escaping into the light

So tell me where you've gone by now
I'm getting no reception on my heart radio
Now meet me where the angels collide
And i will be the ghost who is at your side

Yeah
Now i'm changing, i'm changing, i'm changing
Oh i'm changing for you now

When you dive into the ocean alive
Oh i will be the ghost at your side
If you fall into the devils tribe
Oh i will be the ghost at your side
And when anywhere the angels collide
Oh i will be the ghost at your side

Now dive into the blinding light

Art...Etsy style

2008-09-22T23:54:00.000-04:00

I love art. I always have. I guess it's been a part of me from the time my Mother and Aunts taught me to draw my own paper dolls and clothes for them to wear. My daughter is extremely creative as you can see from her Etsy shop Meniba up in the right hand corner. Browsing last night I found a new artist who is simply wonderful. I love her use of color. It is one of her paintings that you see featured in this post. I love it. I don't know why, but I do. It speaks to me.

Support your artists, they are the dreamers of the world and I don't know where we'd be without them.

To see more "Madart" click this link.

Rain...

2008-09-16T23:10:00.000-04:00

Today was full of it. Lots of it. Buckets full. We've had our fair share here lately it seems. Of course, as usual, I was out driving in it. Two hundred miles in fact. A lot for one day. I'm aggravated because I've lost the sign in for my music player on my blog and I've a mind to write tonight. On what? Hmmm...therein lies the question. Scary enough, I've actually written every day for five days. That may be a record since April. It seems I can't help myself.

I tried to quit.

Writing that is. Didn't stick. I don't why it would've worked now when it never has before. I've tried quitting before, like other bad habits I've kicked to the curb, this one has this strange way of hitting me where it hurts. That would be robbing me of sleep. One minute there you are laying(or would that be lying? Someone can tell me as I'm too damn tired to give tense much thought at the moment) in the bed, dreaming of Gerard Butler and then WHAMO!

Story Fragment!

Worse? It's this same old story that keeps whapping me upside the back of my head. I'm beginning to think it wants my attention. So dutifully, I grab pen and paper or crayon, or pencil, whatever may be handy and jot the notes down.

And jot, and scribble, and draw funny pictures in the margins. (Actually, drawing funny pictures really means that I draw obscene gestures to myself, which is kinda fun and scares me all at the same time.)

It's a sickness, yeah?

Laughing. We'll see where it takes me.

Hope everyone is doing fine. We're scraping by like the rest of the world. Barely. I do believe I've eaten enough peanut butter to last a lifetime. In fact, I don't think I ate this much peanut butter when I was a child.

Ciao for now!
Stay dry and safe...
M

A possible beginning...

2008-08-27T22:33:00.000-04:00

One beginning:

Miranda had known, for a long time that her days were numbered. Sometimes she could forget when she was with her friends, other normal teenagers, but other times, the times when they talked about their future, their dreams, or what they wanted to do with their lives? She couldn’t. Future equaled one big black wall with no writing, no color, just a big ever growing hungry void. It was difficult to shove the knowledge to the back of her brain and forget it existed. Forget that somewhere, out in the vast world and beyond, someone wanted her dead, and they’d do anything to make sure she didn’t reach her eighteenth birthday. Which was exactly three hundred and sixty-two days away.

Busy~Sick~Interesting...

2008-08-22T21:42:00.000-04:00

Well, the darling one has been working on new and inventive things. We've now given rings a go. Take a look. It's always fun trying to figure things out, if not finishing them.

Got a stomach flu. Ugh! I've spent the last two days holding my head in my hands wishing that the world would stop spinning. It's slowly starting to slow down, thankfully. Thank heaven for anti-nausea pills. I'm still wondering if it's an inner ear thing. I've always been a bit dizzy. It wouldn't surprise me...

Miss everyone.

Waving hello.

Thinking of Miranda and Tam today and perhaps this fits Miranda and her feelings for Tam

2008-07-12T19:45:00.001-04:00

Nicest Thing Lyrics

Change is good

2008-06-30T23:31:00.000-04:00

I think change is good. Hence the changes to my header. Who knows? Maybe I'll change it once a week. I'm in a JRM frame of mind. Tired, have to travel tomorrow. Love my play list and I have it to where you can't hear it unless you start it up. Found a lot of my old favorites and some new ones as well. The daughter has sold some of her jewelry. So much for the Hardee's parking lot. She's also put the blue bracelet on sale at Ebay. Yawning. Tired. Must go to sleep. Will write more tomorrow.

ZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzz...

Precious Jewels...

2008-06-29T23:06:00.001-04:00

My darling daughter, by no fault of mine, takes after my mother. In fact, I sometimes wonder if she IS my mother, reincarnated or perhaps they just share one gene cell between them. Anyway...Megs went to spend the week with my mother and while there painting, and going to the beach, and shopping, shopping and more shopping, she learned to create jewelery. Not just any jewelery but nice stuff. So she has been beading and creating her "pieces of art" as she calls them and has decided to sell them on ebay. I told her she'd have better luck in the Hardee's parking lot, but what do I know? Oh, I know, I could take her to the flea market!!! That actually might be worth considering as I have a bunch of stuff I'd like to sell and I really don't have the patience for ebay. I'm all about that instant gratification. LOL. Anyway the next couple of pictures are Meg's creations. She uses all sterling silver findings. She has standards of course. Told you she is my mother.

More goodies...

2008-06-29T23:01:00.000-04:00

A daughter's jewels or her creations anyway

2008-06-29T23:00:00.000-04:00

Are you screaming?

2008-06-27T22:59:00.000-04:00

I keep waiting to get this email or a phone call or I dunno something for the header on my blog...LOL I thought it would get Janie's attention.

*snort*

The Light House Tale

2008-06-27T00:46:00.000-04:00

I've always loved this song by Nickel Creek. Here's a vid someone did to it that is wonderful. I love songs that tell a story...

A snippet from Davarian

2008-06-26T00:41:00.000-04:00

A snippet of Davarian. He's quite the character. I'm going to have to be very careful that he doesn't become more important than my lead.

**************************
How disgusting. It was a shame really, that one of his own, especially one of his own blood line,would act so distastefully discreet over a slip of a girl. He circled round a low granite stone, the toe of his boot catching the corner causing him to trip.

"Pardon, excuse me," he mumbled. "So sorry." Straitening, he squared his shoulders. His toe throbbed from its sudden cease of forward motion. It occurred to him that he was not in a garden, but a yard for the dead. He wished his apology had been a bit more sincere.

Davarian cast a quick look about. One never knew when the dead might pop out at you, all offended for some slight you never even knew you'd committed. Yes, he thought, better not to irritate them. He shrugged his shoulders, the dead simply had no sense of humor at all, and why should they? If they were still hanging around, more than likely their end had not gone well. He wrinkled his nose, not wanting to think about endings. They were so very final. Much better to plot and to plan. Hard to be ended if you had a plan.

Silence

2008-06-20T00:01:00.000-04:00

It's been quiet at my house. Nice. There's something to be said for silence. No music. No television, just beautiful abundant silence.

Picture is just cause...

I have only two words...

2008-06-14T00:26:00.000-04:00

AUGUST RUSH

OMG! I'm not sure I can say anything else. JRM, Janie's Mick talking Irish and well OMG...what a beautiful beautiful film.

Still the tears are in my eyes...

Sigh

Daily Photo for June11, 2008

2008-06-11T20:31:00.000-04:00

A favorite spot for the Fae

2008-06-10T07:53:00.000-04:00

Wildflowers 2

2008-06-10T07:51:00.000-04:00

Mountain Wildflowers

2008-06-10T07:49:00.000-04:00

Headed in a gallop

2008-06-10T06:46:00.000-04:00

A girl and her horse

2008-06-09T22:15:00.000-04:00

I finished reading The Host

2008-05-22T21:44:00.000-04:00

I really really liked this book. It made me think. I like books that make me think. Ms. Meyer did a couple of things that I'm not sure I would have done in the beginning however in getting to the end of her novel I can see that her choices were logical. Let me say this. I am not a sci-fi kinda girl. Never have been. Fantasy? Well, that's another matter entirely, I love fantasy. I guess I've always felt sci-fi hit a little too close to home in the fact that "it could happen."

I recommend The Host. Highly. Right now, it's in the top three books I've read this year and it's vying for the top spot. And best of all, one of the coolest things that I love about Ms. Meyers' books is the fact that I can't read it in one night.

Get The Host, you won't regret it.

Love this song. "Spell" by Marie Digby

2008-05-21T00:29:00.000-04:00

Writing Update

2008-05-18T22:57:00.001-04:00

I'll be posting stuff here, just for me and those who are friends. First chapter edited today to account for some changes.

Back to work on TWAB. The book that won't die.

I forgot Lilly. She wouldn't be happy about that

2008-05-18T22:51:00.001-04:00

And last but not least Miranda

2008-05-18T22:49:00.000-04:00

A pocket full of sunshine

Tam

2008-05-18T22:44:00.001-04:00

Chosen but not choosing. An interesting concept

Introduction of a character

2008-05-18T22:36:00.000-04:00

Davarian, mischief maker extraordinare

It's amazing how one picture can spark something in your imagination. Something wild and a bit feral. (Which both of those words really mean the same thing don't they?)

A Weekend away

2008-05-18T21:54:00.000-04:00

Oh, and I needed it so badly. I'll be posting pictures here soon. I know, I know, it's been oh so very long since I've posted. Would it help to know that I've been insanely busy? That actually working for a living, in your own field and getting paid appropriately is less worrisome but still worrisome in a way because it leaves you less time to write?

Gosh I'm a selfish creature aren't I?

I want my cake and want to eat it too. I've never been one where things have easily come to me. Something is always wrong if it happens that way. I remember the first short story I sold to a real live magazine. Know what happened? They accepted it and then closed their doors before it could be published. Shame that, I was so proud for about two seconds. LOL.

I'm currently reading Stephanie Meyer's new book THE HOST. If you haven't read it and did read Twilight and thought she might have perhaps just gotten lucky? Been in the right spot at the right time? Well, think again. She has written this wonderfully complex novel that is HUGE...again...but so wonderful. *sigh* So wonderful in fact, and I'm not a science fiction person mind you, that I'm trying to only read two or three chapters a night so I can savor it slowly like a fine wine. This is so hard for me and I think I'm going to have re-read it again because I know I haven't gotten all the little nuances and slights of hand she has thrown in there. Can't say enough good about it.

One of my dear friend's and my daughter's best friend (mother and daughter combo) are leaving us at the end of the month. I'm going to miss them so badly. I promised Katie that if did nothing else this year, I would finish her book. She's read the first couple of chapters and said she will nag me forever if I don't finish. So I suppose I must.

Hope all is going well for everyone else. I'll be back to post some wildflower pictures from the "Cottage"

Updating

2008-04-21T22:56:00.000-04:00

Gosh...what a crazy few months this has been. I've gone back to work and have been travelling a bit with work which has left me tired. Who knew that getting up at six a.m. every morning would wipe me out like this? Heavens only knows I didn't. Slowly but surely things are falling back into place and everyone is getting used to the changes. We may have more changes before we're all done but hey that's life for you. Get comfortable and whammo--more change. Laughing.

Just posting that I haven't really done a lot of writing lately but maybe I'll post a bit for some inspiration. That never hurts. We'll see.

Hope all my friends out in cyber-land are doing well. I miss you guys