Monthly Archives: October 2012

Flash Finish Contest for a FREE COPY of “For the Love of Christmas”– Part of the Still Moments Halloween Blog Hop

Posted on October 22, 2012 | 20 comments

This post is just supposed to be a spooky story, but I decided to bend the rules a bit and have fun.  Yes, this is a giveaway.

One random participant will receive a free copy of Still Moments Publishing’s “For the Love of Christmas”, so you can cuddle up with my Holiday Tale “Connect the Dots” as soon as it is available.* Yay!  It’s so cool to be giving away something I wrote!  Wahooo!

Oh Yeah!  By entering here, you will automatically be entered into Still Moments’s main prize drawing, where you can win one of the prizes listed here:  Click me to see the pretty jewelry PLUS books too!!

Okay.  Rules.  Don’t worry, I’ll make it easy.

Click here to follow me on Goodreads (Extra brownie points if you add my book to your “to read” list

Follow this blog (Easy.  Just press the follow button on the right)

Click here to make friends on Facebook.

Okay.  Now the fun part.  I’m going to start a short Halloween story.  All you need to do is finish the story in as few as one line, or as many as 100 words.  (I won’t count your words 🙂 )

NOTE:  YOU MUST INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS IN YOUR COMMENT TO BE ENTERED INTO THE GRAND PRIZE DRAWINGS

Winners will be chosen at random from everyone who’s followed the rules.  (Which means this isn’t rocket science.  We are out to have fun here, by golly!)

Oh Yeah!  By entering, you will automatically be added to Still Moments list of participants, where you can win one of the prizes listed here.

Okay… The spooky story all ready for you to finish… Here we go!

The hinges creak as I push the door open with trembling fingertips.  The light from my candle casts an eerie glow throughout the chamber.  I set the taper down, and search the room.  Where had that sound come from?

A dull thud from behind chills the very blood in my veins, cooling my heart and transfixing me. No one else should have access to this hall.

The glow of the candle flickers over the poker leaning against the fireplace, the only weapon close enough for me to …

A footstep sounds behind be, and cold fingers wrap around my arm.

***

There you go!  What happens?  It could be one sentence, or a few.  I can’t wait to see what you come up with.  Have fun!

The contest will close October 26th and I will announce a winner soon after.

Note:  Still Moments will draw their Grand Prizes from all participants across the entire blog hop.  Please feel free to visit the other participating blogs to increase your chances.  Grand Prize drawings will take place on October 26th. Email Addresses are required for the Grand Prize drawings.  Entries without email addresses will be discarded.

Want extra chance to win?  Hop along the Blog Hop trail below, and good Luck! (I want that stinking necklace… so cool!)

Participating SMP Authors:

October 22, 2012
Terri Rochenski – http://www.terrirochenski.blogspot.com/
Jennifer Eaton – http://www.jennifermeaton.com/
Ceri Hebert – http://cerihebert.wordpress.com/

October 23, 2012

Liv Rancourt – http://www.livrancourt.com/
Denise Moncrief – http://denisemoncrief.blogspot.com/
Dani-Lyn Alexander – http://www.danilynalexander.com/blog.html

October 24,
2012
Mackenzie Crowne – http://mackenziecrowne.com/
Maggie Devine – http://maggiedevine.blogspot.com/
Liberty Blake – http://libertysspells.blogspot.com/

October 25, 2012

Darlene Henderson – http://dandwh.wordpress.com/
Em Epe – http://www.emeperomances.blogspot.com/
Clara Waibel – http://www.pomadness.blogspot.com/

*Note:  “For the Love of Christmas” Will not ba available until December, BUT I’M GOOD FOR IT! — PROMISE!

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Six Sentence Sunday – From my Work in Progress

Posted on October 21, 2012 | 16 comments

Yep… Gonna give ya a sneak peek at my latest little swarray (is that how you spell that?) into the world of Romance.  I’m still writing the Explosion novel Fire In the Woods, but so I don’t get stagnant, I’m mixing things up with some shorts for those days when I just need a break from it.

This is from my current WIP “A Test of Faith”.  It starts out with a line stated by our hero, Jack. He is driving, and Jill is in the passenger seat with her daughter Nicole in the rear.

“If I didn’t get drunk last night, I wouldn’t have woken up under your Christmas tree … I wouldn’t have had the guts to finally tell you how I feel.”

Nicole leaned up between our seats. “You woke up under our tree because God put you there, Uncle Jack. You were Mom’s Christmas present.”

His hand slipped back to my knee. “I’m not sure that I was her present. I think she was mine.”

Hmmm.  Okay so that was more than six sentences.  Sorry Counting Gods!  I’m a writer, not a mathematician!

So, Whattya think?

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Let’s take a few moments to talk about Fluff

Posted on October 20, 2012 | 57 comments

As most of you know, I am going through the beta-read process right now with my WIP Fire in the Woods. Odd things pop up when you read people’s comments. If I see one, and it doesn’t make sense to me, I make a mental note, and move on. If a second person says the same thing, then I take notice. This is what brings me to Fluff.

Fluff. Am I the only person in the world who knows what Fluff is?

Out of curiosity, I did a Google search. Yes. Fluff as I know it is the number one thing to pop up.

So, next I went to Wikipedia. Here is the definition of Fluff:

Fluff : From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Fluff is a noun for anything light, soft, or fuzzy and may also be Belly button fluff, also known as navel lint

A brand or product

  • The name of a lifestyle brand created by artist Claudette Barjoud
  • Marshmallow creme, a food product

So yes, Fluff was on Wikipedia too, but oddly listed below belly button lint… which is a bit weird.

Picture property of Wikipedia commons. Thanks!

Okay… so there is a point to this post. Fluff is a food… Well, I guess it’s debatable that it’s a food. I don’t actually think it has any nutritional value. But what it is – is delicious!I grew up with fluff. There is nothing better to take away the dreariness of a bad day than a big dollop of fluff on top of extra crunchy peanut butter hugged between two slices of bread. MMMMMmmmmm. Just makes me feel all warm and fuzzy thinking about it.

But the odd thing to me, is that my main character, Jess, rifles through a cabinet, finds the peanut butter, and is upset that she can’t find the Fluff.

I was shocked that several beta readers had no idea what Fluff was.

What is this world coming to?!

So, like a good little girl, I removed the reference to Fluff, because I do not want to confuse or offend today’s health-conscious society.

But I give everyone homework today. If you have never experienced the joy of Fluff, you can find it in the same aisle as the peanut butter. A Fluffernutter sandwich is bread, a small amount of peanut butter, and as much Fluff as the bread can handle.

Everyone should experience the joy of a Fluffernutter sandwich at least once in your life.

Go ahead. Take a bite. I dare you.

Then come back and share the sugar-shocked joy your body experiences.

Mmmmmm. I think I’ll run to my cupboard now and grab a jar to join you.

What’s your favorite food from when you were a kid that makes you smile every time you think about it?

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The Proper (and easy!) way to Market your Novel #3

Posted on October 19, 2012 | 25 comments

We’re talking about Marketing your novel the easy way.  Last week established author Danielle Ackley McPhail told us…

I was lucky enough to hear her elucidate, but it really made me think about my own experiences… and I realised that she’s absolutely right.

Let’s dig a little deeper into that thought.

I have personally read several Romance novels recently.  I don’t like Romance Novels.  Why did I read them?  I’ve cyber-met the authors, and we “chat” on Twitter, email, or through my blog.  They are Cyber-Friends, and I wanted to see their work (Now I am trying to convince them to blow a few things up to make their novels more exciting.)  But did I buy their novels?  Yes!

On the flip side… if I am having trouble writing a kiss (with bombs going off in the background) I can ask them for some guidance.  They don’t like explosions, but might they become interested in my work?  Hmmmm.  Maybe.

Recently, I contacted an author, and asked her some questions.  I told her I’d read her book.  She never asked me if I liked it.  We just chatted.  Now we are cyber-friends.  Will I buy her next novel?

Yep.  I sure will.  She didn’t push her book… she just marketed HERSELF.  I am not sure she even realized what she was doing… She was just being NICE.

Ya hear that?  NICE.

It’s easy to do that on the internet.  We can think about what we write, and edit if we sound stupid.  How about in person?

We’ll chat about that next Friday.

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Sooo… Did I lose 16 pounds in two weeks?

Posted on October 18, 2012 | 43 comments

Ha!  I didn’t think I could do it either.  Nope, didn’t happen.

After two weeks of exercise and careful diet, I hopped onto the nifty machine at work, and I weighed EXACTLY THE SAME AMOUNT as I did at the last screening.  I mean literally the same weight… right down to the ounce.

Then the nurse starts looking at the results and starts jumping up and down and getting all giggly (which is scary when she’s nine months pregnant and ready to pop at any minute.)

“Oh!  This is so exciting,”  she said.  “Look at these numbers!”

Honestly, I was glad she was there again to explain those numbers to me, because considering the short time frame, they WERE good.

My Lean body mass (What you want to be) went from 96.8 lbs to 100.3 lbs  and my Body Fat Mass (The bad stuff)  went from 55.3 lbs to 51.8 lbs.  I’d lost 3.5 lbs in body fat.  My Body Mass Index stayed exactly the same, but my Percentage of Body Fat dropped from 36.3 to 34.1.  Now, that’s still higher than it should be, but it’s pretty cool after just two weeks.

How can I lose fat and still weigh the same?

I gained GOOD WEIGHT – That’s muscle.  My arms went from 86.1 and 85.7% muscle (far too low) to 92.3 and 90.1 which is just inside the normal zone (one arm is stronger than the other).

My saggy belly (which is noticeably less saggy) went from 89.4% to 92.7 %  Even my legs, which I think look fat but the machine said had enough muscle two weeks ago… gained in muscle. (Yes, I can see the change in my legs too, but I still have a way to go, since that’s where most of my lard is)

I am now just tipping into the “normal range” instead being really low across the board. Yay!  Not scrawny anymore!  I lost three and a half pounds of fat, and gained three and a half pounds of muscle.

What did I do?

I really didn’t change my eating too much.  If we were having pasta, I just had one helping instead of two.  I ate three tacos instead of five.  I found if I ate slower, I filled up faster and did not have to eat as much.  I do admit to celebrating with an ice cream sandwich one night… but I made sure not to do it EVERY night.  Cut up fruit is just as yummy.

I still treated myself to a handful of dark chocolate covered pomegranates a day (ya gotta live a little)  What I did, though, is poured out a quarter cup or so, and left the rest sealed up in a cabinet, because I know if the bag is sitting on my desk while I’m working/writing a little gremlin comes along and steals them so I have to keep refilling my bowl (stinking gremlins)

I’m sure there was exercise involved

Yes, of course.  I also did the Tony Hornton Power Half Hour every other day with hubby (who recently lost about 70 pounds) and every other day we’d do weight training (I am lucky enough to live with someone who could show me how to do it correctly to get the results I wanted and not hurt myself.)

So, the big change was ½ hour a day of exercise to make up for sitting on my butt all day at a computer. Cardio one day, Weights the next, and one day off of exercise a week.

So far, so good.  I’m going to keep it up for the next three months, and hop on the machine again.  At this rate, I could quite possibly have my Babe-tastic figure back by January.

Go me!

What do you think?  You can find 30 minutes a day for a healthier you, can’t cha!  Come on!  Get healthy with me.

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Flash Fiction Friday on Wednesday – The Presence Behind

Posted on October 17, 2012 | 5 comments

Having no muse, I decided to build on the character and world of Marci from last week.  Five minutes on the clock…

Marci’s feet dragged through the cool water in the bay.  The boards of the dock beneath her bruised her bottom.  She didn’t care.  The water reminded her of Damien.

Her gaze rose to the opening of Tirusian sound, the exit the Queen Majesty had used in its final voyage away from the city.  Oh, how the people had rejoiced.  All but Marci.

She shifted her weight and smiled.  Just a day ago, it would have been illegal for her to sit on the dock.  The Queen’s occupation had smothered the people’s rights.  Today, celebrations abounded, but happiness escaped Marci… a feeling harder to grasp than the cooling water that ran between her fingers.

Footsteps on the boards caused a shiver to tingle through her spine.  She breathed deeply, cool calming breaths to remind her that she no longer faced the terror of the Queen’s guards. 

The steps stopped, but she forced her eyes forward, to the sea despite the threatening presence of the person behind her.

“Marci?”

Okay, seven minutes.  I cheated.

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Write a Story with Me – Part 16 – The Unmentionable by Shannon Blue Christensen

Posted on October 16, 2012 | 25 comments

Sooo… The plot thicken this week as Shannon blue brings in the internal thought… and a brand new backstory.  Hmmmmm…. what a tangled life daddy leads, huh?

If you are new to Write a Story with Me, please scroll down to see a list of previous posts.  Catch up on the story and have a great time!

16 (Shannon Blue Christensen)

“Bethany? Don’t just stand there. Help your mother find the herbs she needs for Marci.”

Bethany hovered for a moment, uncertain. She looked again at Marci, whose lips were beginning to turn blue, and hurried after her mother.

Yoran quickly turned back to Janosc, who had hidden behind the door while Yoran gave orders to Bethany. Janosc’s eyes glimmered. His lips quirked in what was intended to be a benevolent-appearing smile.

Yoran believed The Establishment was pure, regardless of sacrifice required. The guidances dictated by the ruling body preserved a peaceful existence for citizens. Like most young men, he was proud to be selected for service. Ridding the world of beings competing for power was noble.

A few years earlier, his unmentionable daughter was taken. She had acted out in school, asking why the Establishment came to power, who decided what was good. One evening his coworkers arrived. A summons signed “The Establishment” stated that they were taking the girl away. Yoran was warned to never think of her again.

Afterwards, his colleagues acted as if the girl has never existed, yet it was months before the usual banter resumed. The hairs on his neck told him that he was being watched. He began looking for others with hollow eyes and hesitation in their step. He wondered.

A year or two later, he met Janosc on a routine raid. He never looked the criminals in the eye, at first because he was sure they didn’t deserve the attention, now because he was afraid they did. As they tossed Janosc in the back of the wagon, the creature spoke, “I know where she is, you know. She’s not dead. They won’t allow it.”

Yoran fumbled the ropes. Janosc laughed, “Yes, wouldn’t you love to know?” Yoran pretended carelessness.

 

If you’d like to sign up, come on over.  There’s always room for more!

Part One – Jennifer M. Eaton

Part Two – J. Keller Ford

Part Three – Susan Roebuck

Part Four – Elin Gregory

Part Five – Eileen Snyder

Part Six – Mikaela Wire

Part Seven — Vanessa Chapman

Part Eight — Ravena Guron

Part Nine – Vikki Thompson

Part Ten — Susan Rocan mywithershins

Part Eleven — Kate Johnston  AKA 4AMWriter

Part Twelve — Julie Catherine

Part Thirteen — Kai Damian

Part Fourteen — Richard Leonard

Part Fifteen — Sharon Manship

Part Sixteen – Shannon Blue Christensen

Don’t forget to stop by next week to see what happens next.

Gryphonboy  —- TAG!  You are “It”

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Road to Publication #20: Setting up the Blog Tours

Posted on October 15, 2012 | 26 comments

OMIGOSH, my head is spinning.  Seriously, it is.

I started a few weeks ago, setting up my own dates for the blog tour for the “Make Believe” Anthology.  Then, after the Arcs went out, all of the sudden requests started coming in from people who contacted J.Taylor Publishing asking for interviews.

I’m really glad that I took someone’s advice and found the calendar feature in my email program.  I started making appointments for the different days in December… but December is filling up pretty quickly.

I also have to wiggle in a blog tour for Connect the Dots, coming out from Still Moments Publishing in their “For the Love of Christmas” Anthology the day after the “Make Believe” Anthology releases.

It looks like I’m going to have to double book dates – talking about Connect the Dots on one Web Site, and Last Winter Red on another.

Now, I’m starting to pull my hair out because I have a list of people who I “Cyber know” who I wanted to ask to host the blog tour, and all these dates are filling up fast.

I know, I know, just smack me.  These are good problems.

I am starting to feel what I’ve heard other authors talk about in the past…  Marketing is a full time job, and detracts from your writing.

I had all these lofty goals for when I would finish and submit Fire in the Woods, but they are falling by the wayside.

It’s true what you hear… this really is hard work.

What do you think… Do you hear about books on blogs?  Have you / would you buy a book after hearing about it on a blog?  What would make you interested in buying an anthology?

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Six Sentence Sunday – Something by me! – Six from Fire in the Woods

Posted on October 14, 2012 | 14 comments

For the while now I’ve been too lazy to put out my own stuff featuring other authors for Six Sentence Sunday.

Today, I thought I’d take a random Six from my current baby, “Fire in the Woods”.

I basically opened up the file, dragged the little doo-hicky down about a quarter into the document, and counted down ten lines. So, Bam, this is the six you get.

In this six, my main character, Jess, is describing her father. (Fire in the Woods is told in first person “I” from Jess’s perspective.)

“Well, he doesn’t really laugh much anymore. We used to play a lot together, and now he’s like, all business.” I closed my eyes, taking in the clear forest air. My mind wandered back to my mother’s funeral—Dad sitting on the bench, staring at Mom’s open coffin. “He never cried. He just sat there.”

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Having your novel Critiqued live in a chatroom. Crazy? Maybe.

Posted on October 13, 2012 | 8 comments

A few weeks ago, I sent the first page of “Fire in the Woods” to the Writers Chatroom.  They posted it, and the group critiqued it live, on-line.

Nerve racking?  A little, but overall it was a positive experience.

A few people asked me what I thought of the experience, and what it was like.  Well, going into it I felt good.  I think mine was number eight “at bat”.  As I watched the other critiques go up, I did get just a little nervous.  The critiquers had a whole lot to say, and they didn’t hold back.

The hard part about it is that everyone talks at the same time, and sometimes they are talking about different parts of your story.  Because of this, I copied the pages as they scrolled by, so I could be sure to go back later and make sense of it.

The big things I got out of this are

1.      The opening seems pretty good.

2.      Despite the necklace being important, I don’t want it distracting.  I’ll ease back on that a bit.

3.      The “Mirrored in the glass overhead” part need to be re-written.

4.      Change headphones to earbuds

I decided it would be fun if I posted the actual comments about my work below.  The only editing I will do is changing the names of the critiquers, since I did not get their permission (I wouldn’t know how to contact them anyway)

This may be confusing, because one person may be typing an answer to a previous post… but meanwhile three or four people have said something else, so the answer comes far down the “scroll” and not right after the original comment.  I was going to place everything in “easy to read” order, but I figured I’d show it to you exactly as I saw it.

My work was posted, and then there was one minute of “silent time” for everyone to think it over, and then the fun began.  Here is the “transcript”  (Which is just me cutting and pasting as the conversation scrolled by)  In case you are interested, the novel starts with an explosion (no surprise, right?)

[MODERATOR] End. One minute please!

<Everyone reads>

[MODERATOR] Comments!

[ZADA] great suspense & description!

[Karina] very nice. I’m interested!

[ZADA] nice “showing”

[SAGE] yeah it was very descriptive but not over the top

[Deadend] Deascription was awesome..

[boop] so sorry the full screen format is screwing me up when I try to scroll up

[SAGE] it got me interested

[DETROIT] Excellent word use and it definetly keeps me wondering what is actually going on. What’s next, the whole house crumbling down? Nice!

[MODERATOR] Boop, just use the scroll bar to the right.

[HORN] Where did the smoke and fire come from?

[BOOP] Pink headphones? the description are fantastic!

[MODERATOR] I agree. The descriptions are terrific.

[PIKE] Mirrored in the glass overhead, over the clouds? The lightbulb blew out, or blew up? caught my interest with the action, mental works for action too. good job

[MODERATOR] I am wondering if the necklace has significance.

[DEADEND] Teachers try so hard to teach us not to use adjectives and overloadinding description, maybe they should read your short?

[GIRLYGIRL] Good. I want to know what’s going to happen. Great suspense and action.

[MCDONALDS] Almost on the point of “less can be more” – possible OVER-use of adjectives? Places where ONE might be enough instead of 2 or 3

[ZADA] it seems the necklace does have significance – at least that’s how I took it

[LISA] I’d start at “The ground shook…” Good descriptions

User WARRIOR has signed out.

User WARRIOR has entered this room.

[BOOP] Yes, or magical I thought maybe on the neckllace

[LAURA] The description was fantastic, although I sometimes felt it was too much – a bit overwhelmed, as it were.

[WIDDER] ‘likness mirrored in the glass over the cloud of grey smoke …’ – this didn’t make sense …. otherwise great descriptions … love the macro and micro description.

[MODERATOR] I don’t know, MCDONALDS. There are a lot of adjectives, but I felt they made the scene come alive.

[GIRLYGIRL] Less commas makes the pace faster I noticed in some places.

[LISA] A minor detail. Headphones are worn on your ears. Earbuds are in your ears.

[FLOW] i like another kick-ass girl (pink headphones)

[PIKE] but LAURA, it needs to be overwhelming, war is like that

[WIRED] there were a couple sentences that need rewording/refining other wise great job very showing

[DEADEND] Jesus.. Isn’t it great that we all love what we do?

[BOOP] Is the character a guy/girl

[LAURA] That’s true

[WIDDER] sure is DEADEND

[MODERATOR] Laura, the pink headset said “girl” to me.

[LAURA] I guess the main character is overwhelmed, too

[WORKING] I like the imagry! But couldn’t follow this “My likeness mirrored in the glass over the cloud of gray smoke wafting into the air” – I am asking myself “glass over smoke?

[PIKE] I have shooting, helicopter crashing etc in mine, lol love those women who are strong

[KATTIE] Visual, lyric writing = engages the senses – action vivid, very visual, each image pulls the story forward from the speaker’s viewpoint – the descriptions draw me into the story = I would want to read more, significance of the necklace in the maelstrom

[WARRIOR] Nothing wrong with commas

[BOOP] That’s the word, Laura, I concur the imagery is fantastic. It’s what makes a writer effective, in my opinion and this author has it

[FLOW] i’m thinking locket from her deceased mom

[PIKE] who wrote this?

[MODERATOR] This one is from another relative newcomer, Jennifer M. Eaton.

[PIKE] ahhh

[BOOP] congrats Jennifer

[ZADA] great job Jennifer!

[WIDDER] excellent Jenifer! …. want to read the rest of this one too

[KATTIE] Mirror – maybe it’s ‘through’ the cloud of gray smoke ??

[MODERATOR] Jennifer, is the necklace important? We all want to know!

[PIKE] good job Jennifer

[DEADEND] excellent

[JenniferEaton] Thanks, guys

[MODERATOR] WB Jim.

[LISA] Very nice, Jennifer

[PIKE] sure it is, that’s why she mentioned it so much

[KATTIE] Jennifer! I’d love to read more of this excellent story ^_^ Write On!!

[JenniferEaton] Yes. THe necklace is very important, and belonged to her dead mother

[HORN] Good job Jennifer.

[WORKING] Back story on the necklace would be great.

[MCDONALDS] Good hook, Jennifer!

[JenniferEaton] You’ll get the backstory on the necklace later in the story

[WORKING] Prologue perhaps?

[MODERATOR] Great job Jennifer.

[JenniferEaton] Thanks everyone!

[PIKE] since it’s ‘future’ I was thinking the necklace had some sort of ‘power’

[PIKE] no prologue, work it into a conversation, or using it, or thinking about it. ‘holding the necklace brought her comfort as she thought about her mother’

[MODERATOR] ready for the next?

[WORKING] yepper

[SAGE] yes

[GIRLYGIRL] Ready.

[LAURA] Me too

There you have it.  So, What do you think?

Is this an interesting way to get a critique, or totally insane?

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