I'm Just Lookin For Some Tush

There are times when my brain just does not want to listen to me when writing a story and decides 'Hey I know you're not done with this book but lets write a scene three books into this series' Yea, cause thats what I needed on my plate, a scene out of nowhere that relies on certain facts to be established in books I havent finished, havent started, and havent even contemplated the plots of. Why, oh why, brain, must you torment me so? I obviously write the scene because I dont want to forget it and lose it and then berate myself for the loss of what could possibly be a great scene. The sequel to Haven is almost completely finished simply because there were so many scenes (some I didnt even know where meant for it that just started out as random ideas and I found fit well with the storyline I had already established) flooding my brain that I had to get them out. Then of course because they were there I stitched them together with other scenes. My brain began to say 'Well how would you get from this one to the next?' and I couldnt refuse because, fuck, I was curious too! AND THEN! This son of a bitch brain of mine decided it already had a new character it wanted to introduce at the end of the second Haven book, but oh, wait for it-the full character couldnt be explained until THE NEXT BOOK! Thats right. I fucking started a third novel. So I have one in the midst of its second draft edit. Another that is almost finished except for the third act. And then a third book in its outline stages. And to put a perfect piece of shit cherry on top of the fuck all that is my brain, I wrote a scene today that I know cant go into any of those three because its too soon in the timeline. So whats that mean? Yup, you guessed it. I have a scene that needs to fit somewhere in a fourth or fifth book. *Flips table* Just fuck my life and the imaginary worlds I create.

The Bird and The Worm

This is the least amount of posts I've done in any of the years I've had this blog. Needless to say I am ashamed, but also I have an excuse. I moved away from home. I moved 730 miles. Three states over. I left the place I had lived my entire life to someplace completely new and different to me. It has definitely been an adventure and a change of pace for someone like me, so used to city life and easy access to travel and the like. Its been three months since the move but were still getting settled. I started a new job and for a while it was taking up all my time. This week I have time to myself though while my love is away for work. A whole two weeks without him, as if becoming habit with us, before I get to see him for Christmas. My events for this week are making cookies, chocolate pops, and chocolates candies to share with everyone. Still nothing good on the pregnancy front. I try to stay positive but its painful at times, hoping for something that really is up to chance. Unlike other things in my life I cant make it happen by more work, a change in habit or anything else. Money is always an option but not currently available so I will once again hope that by next year I will be blessed with a baby. I'm not sure if I could make it if I fail another year, I believe after a certain point you just have to give up on impossible dreams.

When the Levee Breaks

That moment of "what is this fool doing?" As i sit in our car, on the side of the road i watch my ridiculous husband try and take a city scape shot of Raleigh, North Carolina. He is, for lack of a better term, a madman. The lengths he will go to for a good shot, and his work. I know i go to certain lengths for my craft, but he gives new meaning to the phrase "above and beyond". All in all i will say i am proud of him for his dedication and his passion for always getting the best he can.

New York Snob?

So i know it can be hard working maintenance. Ive done my fair share of cleaning at jobs, and you cant always get everything done in a limited amount of time. But heres my issue. If a pool is to open at 9am and it is a quarter after 9 and i am still watching the pool lady clean, move chairs and smoke a cigarette while doing so, do i have a right to complain? I mean, after all i am paying to stay at the hotel and have full use of their amenities. If a pool is to be open at 9am that would imply the pool person should be cleaning from BEFORE 9am, not appear to be halfway through her duties at that time. To top it all off, her total "i wont even acknowlegde you're there" attitude is another reason to want to complain. I honestly witnessed her pick up one chair and move it less than two feet over to be on the opposite side of a sign. Does that really require the entire pool to be closed for you making sure the feng sui of the fucking place is in order? But maybe its just me, maybe i'm just a spoiled bitch who thinks i should get everything i pay for.

Follow the Black Kitten

Some authors like to leave puzzle pieces, easter eggs, bread crumbs, or whatever other analogy you would like to use, in their stories for their readers to follow through from one book to the next. I debated time and again what kind I would like to leave behind for my readers to search for. Stephen King always mentions a specific type of cigarette that doesn't really exist. But in his realm, and for his readers, it is a common theme. For a change of pace, in the television show Psych, they always manage to work a pineapple into a conversation, the food, or just somewhere in the background.

One thing I know I can surely work into every one of my stories, is my Princess Ed. She is a beautiful tortie and there is always a way to work an adorable kitten into a scene. Much like Alice in Wonderland  I will have you following a white rabbit down the hole into the madness of my world.

How to Disappear Completely

My year started out a lot more hectic than previous ones. My pseudo nephew turned 3 months old and I became his designated babysitter. Babies always take up a lot of time in a writers life, and take a lot out of you. Next, on my never ending list of time consuming life, my own attempts to get pregnant. Seven months later and I am still working on that, lets hope I get a nice birthday gift this year! After that we have house hunting. Nothing says stress like trying to move 730 miles away and trying to do it all WHILE being 730 miles away from the place you wish to move. Throw in a husband with a job that consumes all of his free time and incessantly sends him out of town, sprinkle on some bad credit and you have my spring time! Once the stress was packed on and piled in nice we got into the summer months. Short on time, short on patience, and short on coolness.

We are now currently the 1st day into a two week vacation. Traveling through states I have never been in. (I guess some good had to come of it) A trip to Universal Studios and getting to meet my first (official) nephew should help relieve some of this ever dwelling stress. Now if only I could get some writing done all would be well with the world. But genius me that I am, forgot to bring my latest novel that I've been editing along on this trip. It looks as though 'Haven' will not be touched until the beginning of September when we have moved into our new apartment (thankfully in Kentucky) to better facilitate purchasing our house.

Wish me luck and hopefully luck will follow in the form of a fully edited novel, ready for publication before my birthday.

Deja Technivu

So once I had finished my first try at truly editing my own novel I put that book aside and went on to another one I had finished. This one was Technicolor. This is a book I WANT out and need to be out, so I was very excited to go through. I also expected to have the same outcome as I did for Haven, nothing but red. Well I was wrong. There was quite a lot of red, but not for the reasons Haven had to endure. No, this time was because of all I needed to add in, as oppose to when I had to delete everything excess in Haven. The reason, I believe, for this is because I had edited Technicolor on the computer more than once. With Haven it was newly finished and was surely in the first draft stages of editing. Technicolor had gone through the washer more than once and was somewhere in between third draft and final draft. There weren't many plot holes as with Haven, or topics opened and left hanging. There wasn't inconsistances in character dynamics or personalities so the majority of my editing was expanding on dialog and descriptions. It was quite enjoyable to know that I wanted to add more into my story and not remove information because it was repetitive or contradictory. But, of course, like with Haven I now cannot re-read the story. It is secure in its designated folder just like Haven, waiting for me to put it into the computer and re-print it for another read through. Haven will be the first to go because I havent looked at it for over a month and it needs the most work. The whole editing process gets easier the more you do it and I have to say knowing you can work your book from beginning to end is truly a reward in and of itself.