Celebrating Life

My post this month is short. Why? I'm celebrating.

In July, my husband and I celebrated our eighth wedding anniversary. I met my husband in November of 1999—just before the over-hyped Y2K crisis date—while hiking with the Appalachian Mountain Club along the NJ-NY border. I literally tripped over him when he bent to pick up a pinecone at the same time as I pulled my sweatshirt over my head. I fell head over heels in love.

In August, I celebrate a birthday. I'm not going to tell you exactly how old I will be, only that I was born at the tail end of the baby boom. And in September, my husband celebrates his birthday. For one month, he's a year younger than I am. Cradle robber, that's me.

Three month's of celebration. Ain't life grand?

A quick update for anyone who read my post last month, Waiting—So Hard to Do. We couldn't negotiate a deal on the house we wanted, so the hunt is back on.

Hope you're having a wonderful summer and celebrating life.

What are you celebrating this month?

Vacation Time!

After attending the RWA National Conference in New York, NY I flew back to Reno, NV. My husband’s job on the Ruby Pipeline had finished so we decided to see a few things and visit a friend before we headed back to Texas.

First stop, Yellowstone National Park.

We arrived at Yellowstone, only to find that all the campgrounds were full so we had to stay outside of the park. The next day, when we were again in the park, our daughter sent us a text asking if we were okay. She’d heard that a grizzly had attacked and killed a man who was hiking with his wife. This was the first bear killing in the park since 1986. Even so, we enjoyed our time in the park. Then we drove through the Grand Tetons and back to Nevada. Oh, and somewhere in the park someone stole our BBQ grill. We’re not sure where it happened but it had to be when we parked and hiked a few of the trails.

The park was beautiful, we saw several bison, a few elk, two black bears, and I saw a white wolf. My husband was taking pictures of an elk practically standing in the road. I stayed in the truck and saw the white wolf trot out of the woods, cross the road, and enter the woods on the other side of the road. I grabbed my camera but he was gone before I could get a decent picture of him.

Next stop, visit a friend and fellow writer.

Marlene was expecting us around 2 pm. We got there around 4 pm. Why? Well, we got stuck behind a fender bender in Tahoe, then road construction in Tahoe and over the mountain. I should have done a traffic search before heading out and I’d have known about the construction.

We had a wonderful time visiting Marlene (Paisley Kirkpatrick) and her husband. Ken. They were such gracious hosts and so comfortable to be around that even my husband and Ken, both forced into this contact, had a great time visiting. Marlene’s house is fantastic and Ken’s woodwork—absolutely beautiful. He’s a very talented man. Marlene even gave me a pillow decorated with Gerard Butler! I could have cried. Needless to say, that pillow hasn’t been out of my sight much since she gave it to me.

On our way back over the mountain, we encountered another accident. Unfortunately, this one was fatal. A semi with a tanker and a pickup truck collided. Hazmat was called in for the tanker truck. We saw both vehicles as they were towed away. I’m not sure how anyone could have survived that accident. We waited patiently and my husband talked to the worker keeping the road blocked, which is how we found out that there was one fatality and a possible second one.

Third stop, Death Valley.

This was our second time to visit Death Valley. The first time, it was on fire and we couldn’t get through the park. This time, it was flooded. Truly, I don’t think we’re meant to visit this park. We did get to see Scotty’s Castle this time though and the vegetation was very green from the flooding but we didn’t get to see everything.

Fourth stop, Las Vegas.

We’ve been to Las Vegas many times. So, we pulled into Sam’s Town’s RV park, found our name on the list with our lot number and we were set for the night. We’d arrived after the office closed so the park leaves a paper on the door with the person’s name and lot number. This lets anyone who doesn’t have a reservation know not to take those sites but any other empty site is available.

One thing that we’ve never had a problem with in any campground or RV park is theft. Not this time though. Someone stole our gas can out of the back of the truck. Now, we don’t carry that gas can for us. We have huge diesel tanks with pumps on them in the beds of both of our diesel trucks. No we carry that gas can for other people. If we see someone broke down who needs gas to get to the next exit, we can help them. I guess we helped someone, we just didn’t know it this time and we didn’t get to keep the can.

Fifth stop, Petroglyph National Monument

This was interesting but did require some hiking. The first stop did me in. I’d had a breakfast sandwich that didn’t agree with me and about 1/4 of the way up the hill, I got sick. Since I didn’t want to puke on the petroglyphs or on the trail, I headed back to our truck. My husband managed to do the whole trail. Then we did the next shorter trails together. It’s a quick little circle area, so if you’re ever in the area and want to see a lot of petroglyphs in one are, this is the place to visit.

Sixth stop, Carlsbad Caverns

All I can say is that I’m glad it was caverns because everything above ground had been burnt. The entire drive to the canyons was blackened. The scenic drive roads off the main roads were closed. We enjoyed visiting here, it was nice and cool but when I went into the Caverns my hair had a nice curl going on, it was a frizzy mess when I got back to the surface though. My son wouldn’t have been able to see the Caverns. He’s terrified of elevators. The elevator ride is 750 feet and takes one minute.

One question the man asked when we got our tickets—have you been in any mines or caves in the east in the past six years. I had to think about that since we do so much traveling. The answer was no but I did ask him why. He said it’s due to the white nose syndrome found in bats. I’d read a bit about it before going to the Lovelock, NV cave but didn’t realize humans could carry the disease. This syndrome has killed more than one million hibernating bats.

Seventh stop, Home

Finally, we arrived in Texas. I was exhausted and ready to hibernate for about a week. Not that I actually got to do that but thinking about it was pretty darn nice. Even though we traveled and saw a good bit of the US, the best part was spending time with my husband. It's nice to not be in a hurry to get anywhere. Just cruising around, doing what we wanted, and stopping to explore whatever caught our attention on our way home.

So, did you take a vacation this year? Was it exciting? Any thing special happen?

I'm Learning-- Vonnie Davis

Jazzie Miles Davis

Since I stepped into the writing arena late in life, my situation is much different than most of yours. I’m not trying to squeeze writing time in before I go to work at an outside job, or while the baby naps, or after the kids are finally in bed for the night. I’m retired; I can write whenever I want. My children are grown as are two of my six grandchildren. My obligations to others involve my husband and my cat.

Now here’s another difference: my husband is an author, too. Gee, what’s that like, you might ask. Actually, it’s fabulous. There’s great understanding of the time one must devote to writing and promotion. When one of us wakes up in the middle of the night, thanks to our characters or storyline, and needs to get up for a couple of hours to write, the other commiserates.

Calvin’s not writing anything right now, he’s more focused on seeing that I can write. He unloads the dishwasher and runs the vacuum. Sometimes he does the grocery shopping. And, as if he’s not perfect enough, every afternoon he makes me a cappuccino with frothy milk the way I like it. Yes, this man is a gem.

We found each other late in life. He was 70 and I was 55. We’re a match dot com success story. Our love for literature and writing brought us together—that and Cal’s sweet smile.

Do we bounce ideas off each other? To a degree. Do we read and critique each other’s work. Yes, somewhat. To be honest, we’re both so protective of the way we write, of our voice, that only half of the suggestions are taken.

We write differently, after all. Calvin writes sentences full of thunder and lightning. I write sentences full of emotion.

Calvin’s book, The Phantom Lady of Paris, was released on July 1^st. My Storm’s Interlude was released on July 15^th. Can you imagine double the excitement, double the promotion, double the craziness of book release time? We’re a little overwhelmed at the Davis household—and that’s putting it mildly.

 I’ve taught Calvin the lessons I’ve learned on blogging etiquette, and he’s a fast learner. Ladies, if you ever need a male prospective on your blog, he’s your man.

He’s taught me to stop overdoing. You see, I have a problem with saying, “No.” Then, suddenly I’m over-taxed with contest judging, mentoring, doing beta reads, blogging, tweeting and the whole smear. And I’ve no time left to write. My soul suffers. He says I have WWS—Wonder Woman Syndrome.

 I shake my head and smile. No, thinks I, the wonder women are the writers with outside jobs and children still at home. Those are the ladies I look up to and admire. Me, I’m the woman who simply takes on too much.

So, I’m learning. Learning to manage time wisely…and yes, learning to say, “No.” Why just last night when Calvin asked if I was going to fix any dinner, the word rolled off my tongue so trippingly, as Shakespeare would say, that all of you would have smiled with pride. Yup, I’m learning. What about you? Do you take on too much?

Birthday Resolutions

Unlike New Year's Resolutions that I constantly break, I treat my birthday month as a time of reflection of what I have accomplished so far this year and what I want to accomplish next.

This year saw me brave enough to submit to The Wild Rose Press and to see my first published book. This birthday's musing has really seen me digging deep for where I am and where I want to be. What kind of writer do I want to be?

For this coming year, starting now, I want to shop my paranormal romance to agents, self-publish at least two titles, and learn to promote more effectively. I want to use my time wisely and write at least three more books by the time the next birthday rolls around.

Do you use a specific day of the year as a time of reflection? New Year's? The end of the year? The Summer Solstice?

Jill James
Tempting Adam @ TWRP, Amazon, BN.com

A Book for All Seasons

This might seem a little coocoo but I believe some books fit into a season. And I'm not talking about holiday stories. After all, a margarita is yummy in July not January, hot chocolate works in December not August. Books are the same way.

Summertime just calls for the contemporary whether erotic or suspense, a hot alpha male and a sexy heroine enjoying all the great traits about summer. Less clothing, sweat dripping off a man's chest, dousing yourself in water, bodies sticking together. Everyone just trying to find relief. Oh la la summer.

As for autumn, a season when the leaves change color (unless you live down under or California or Hawaii) and you pull out your sweaters. The cool breeze that has a little snap so your skin prickles and curling up in a blanket. That's just perfect for a cozy mysteries, women's fiction, and of course, paranormals as we start to think of Halloween, gifts or talents even sides of yourself to explore on that all hallow night.

Then Jack Frost comes whipping the cold air down from the arctic and ripping the leaves off the branches and draping everything in a frosty gray. Winter is the one season when anything might go because your struggling to stay warm and travel to worlds that would banish the stillness of the winter. Historicals, Western, Regency, Victorian or all the other time periods that whisk you away. With the holidays, you might not be reading much, Hannakah, Christmas, New Year's Eve. There is much to do and perhaps not enough time to read. As for me, I purchase my holiday books, category and single title, however I read them in the new year when the endless winter just drags on and now I have that same holiday feeling through the winter.

However, winter works for the dark paranormal and erotica. When the dangers defrost your blood and gets it pumping with the creatures of these books. And erotica when being in a bed with a hot guy is a nice way to spend a February day.

Ah, then the trees sprout little green shoots, flowers bud and ice melts. And historicals have there fun in the sun. Extravagant fashion, commanding heroes and ladies who are more than their pretty dresses. Having a season, searching for a husband, and the cowboy who rides up on the ranch.

So it starts all over again.

I know crazy, right? You're probably giggling. Truthfully, I'm not rigid in my reading schedule since I'll read a good book no matter the season. But the seasons just help bring the stories alive. We generally pick books to read based on how we feel and seasons affect us. How many of us have said I tired of reading whatever and want to spice it up? I just might be right.

Do you have a sub-genre you like to read during a season? Or even a book that you read every season? Silent Night during the holidays or any others? Please share.

Antidote to Rejection

Rejection sucks more than the vacuum department of a Sears store!

~Bonnie Staring

As happens more often than not in the publishing industry, I received a rejection for a manuscript.

I huffed and puffed and blew around the house for a while. I whined to my ever-patient husband who read the email and pointed out all the nice things.

Then, for the first time, I reached out to my writing gals and pals. Notes dinged into my inbox and across my page offering cabana boys, chocolate, margaritas, and hugs. Empathy and encouragment filled the messages.

Little by little, I was cured of the rejection blues by the kind words of dear friends and cyber friends.

I’m back in the chair with my hands on the keyboard. My skin hasn’t been thickened by rejection, but strenghthened by friendship.

Thanks everybody!

photo credit: Slice of Gateaux by Simon Howden

How do you feel about the remake of classic fairy tales?

Recently, I read an article about the remake of Snow White with Julia Roberts. Then I saw another article which talked about Kristen Stewart as Snow White. Same movie. No. Last I read, they had not signed Julia Roberts’ Snow White. Kristen Stewart is Charlize Theron’s Snow White.

A while back Red Riding Hood was released by Warner Brothers, and coincidentally directed by Twilight’s Catherine Hardwickle. I have to admit, I was anxious to see this movie, and although I did enjoy the twists: wolf to werewolf, loner boyfriend, surreal dreams, etc., I don’t know how I feel over all about the rewrite of children’s fables into adult stories.

Now, having said that I have to also admit that I am one of those folks that always wondered why the princesses always were in some state of waiting on their heroes to rescue them.

Rapunzel locked away in a tower.

Sleeping Beauty…sleeping.

Snow White…poisoned and waiting.

All of this began to make me wonder what was the real purpose of fairy tales, and which came first the tales for adults or the tales for children.

Wait for it…

Yep, you guessed it…it would seem that in a lot of cases with the fables I researched they were originally intended for adults.

What I didn’t know was that originally not only were the fables for adults, but also had a sort of class association. Women of lower status told the tales to children sort of as teachings. As they became more associated with children inferences of sexual or violent natures were cut from the stories. Although some folks disagreed because they believed it took away the value of “teaching” from the tales. But, as this continued more and more we were left with the versions we have today.

All of it is fascinating to me. I find myself in conflict. A part of me loves the idea of fables that teach children the importance of making certain choices or decisions. Another part of me does not like the overtones: women need men to rescue them, women’s helplessness, etc.

So, why not rewrite them? Then another part of me asks “When do we write something new?”

Honestly, I’m completely confused, but I guess we’ll all find out how folks feel because the battle of the Snow Whites might tell us what we need to know. Will the children or the adults win?

10,000 Sales and Counting!!!

by Terry Spear

Marriage, Las Vegas Style

Ebook By Terry Spear

Published: July 23, 2011
Category: Fiction » Literature » Romance - Contemporary
Category: Fiction » Literature » Romance - Adult
Words: 48015
Amazon
B&N

I self-published for several reasons, but it turned into 10,000 in short order!

B & N

Amazon

1. I was giving away my stories for free in my newsletter and readers wanted to buy them to get them in one book instead of reading them as a serialized read.

2. Fans were asking me to write faster, but I already write fast and have tons of stories ready, or nearly ready, to be published.

3. Some were novellas and my publishers weren't interested in anything that short. Some had already sold, the companies have bitten the dust, and I had the rights back. The epub companies they had been with hadn't sold but maybe a couple of dozen of the stories during a time when ebooks weren't as much in demand.

4. Some were novels that other publishers turned down. I'm never one to start something and not see it through. But after a couple of rejections, I'd set the manuscript aside and figure, the next one will make it. I did this so often, that I have a huge stockpile of books.


B&N
5. I'm eclectic, so love to read just about anything, and when I find an author's voice I love, I read everything she or he writes. Some readers are like me and are willing to check out my other works even if they're not about wolves or Highlanders. :)

Lady Caroline and the Egotistical Earl

Ebook By Terry Spear
Published: Jun. 12, 2011
Category: Fiction » Literature » Romance - Paranormal
Category: Fiction » Literature » Romance - Historical
Words: 91825



6. I can't NOT write. I have to write about different stuff as the mood moves me. It's that old saying, "Write the book of your heart." When I do that, I can get it out of my system and continue to write fresh werewolf stories, or fresh Highlander stories without them sounding as if I'm writing the same story over again, just changing the character names. I love my Highlanders and I love my wolves and now my jaguars, but it really helps if I can take a short break and write something else. Or even write something else while I'm working on a longer book and am trying to figure out where to go with it.

7. I hoped that maybe short reads that weren't as expensive might catch new readers' eyes and after giving them a try, they'd check out my other books.

8. I hope that someday I can just write and quit the day job.

9. I love to create new stories and no publisher would publish them as fast as I can write. :)

10. I love being able to write out of the box.


B&N
So 10 reasons turned into 10,000 as I uploaded my very first three vampire shorts the last two days of February.

I made 21 sales on Amazon that first day. More than I had made at one of my ebook publishers in the two years they'd had any of the books.



And the sales would dip and rise daily as I continued to edit books and add them to the growing list of books offered for sale. Until I counted them all up and was shocked to find I had sold 10,000 books already!

One of the reasons I'm self-publishing is that I can. It's like when I was doing embroider work and cross-stitching and quilting and rug-hooking...I had given more than enough to my family members that they couldn't use or want any more. And I began to incorporate that work into original handmade teddy bears that began to win awards. I offered them to the world.

So it is with my writing. I have more than enough stories to share with the world. And now more than ever is the time to do so.

I'm working on revisions to a couple who made a hasty marriage in Las Vegas, and I'm over a quarter way done on writing the new book in the World of Fae series, The Winged Fae. No sense in stopping now!!!




Do you find you have more ideas than you can write???

I have so many partially written books in addition to the fully written books that it makes it fun when I have a break between contracted books to look them over and work on them some more.

Whatever way you go with publishing, never give up! Write to your heart's content and love what you do! Readers will appreciate you for it. :)

Terry
"Giving new meaning to the term alpha male."
www.terryspear.com

Stress as a cure for writer's block

As I've reported the last few months, I'm in the throes of moving. By the time this is published, I hope to be settled in our new home -- "settled" being a relative term, of course. Let me put it this way: I hope the furniture and our clothing has arrived by the time you read this. If not, well, it'll get interesting!

The Move Process has been relatively stress free until the last week. Then we had a glitch with the financing on the new house (resolved in a few hours), a glitch in the closing date & time on the old house (resolved in a few days), a glitch with the processing of the proceeds from the sale (resolved in a day)... you get the idea. Every day, a new stress, a new thing to resolve.

This has wreaked havoc with my writing. I'm still on target to finish my book by the end of summer, but dammit, life has to slow down just a tad. In an odd way, though, I'm finding that this is a great way to write. I leave the book alone for days at a time and barely remember the characters. Then I go back and re-read the last few chapters I wrote, make edits, dig in, and write a new chapter. The book constantly feels fresh and new to me. I'm going to be curious how it works out in the end. Will it hang together?

Only time will tell. But I may learn from this and try this process on my next WIP, once the dust has settled. If it works, then once again I've found the silver lining in my personal little raincloud. And if it doesn't work and it turns out I've written a disjointed mess, then I least I have some words on the page and something to start with.

Lemons/lemonade. That's my motto, and I'm sticking to it!

Beginning Lines and What They Can Do For a Story

We’ve all been told how important the beginning line is to our stories. I found a list of opening lines of well-known books. Would they be acceptable today? Some of them are quite well done, others…well, I am not so sure.

Writing and reading has changed so much over the years that I ponder what an editor or agent would have said to any of the authors of these classics. Opening lines have always been intriguing to me because I can’t write a decent one to save my life.

“Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again” - Rebecca

“In an old house in Paris that was covered with vines lived twelve little girls in two straight lines.” - Madeline

“Call me Ishmael.” – Moby Dick

“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.” – Pride and Prejudice

“Once upon a midnight dreary, as I pondered weak and weary” – The Raven

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times” – A tale of two Cities

“Dorothy lived in the midst of the great Kansas prairies, with Uncle Henry, who was a farmer, and Aunt Em, who was the farmer's wife.” – The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

“He was an old man who fished alone in a skiff in the Gulf Stream and he had gone eighty-four days now without taking a fish.” – The Old Man of the Sea

“The cold passed reluctantly from the earth, and the retiring fogs revealed an army stretched out on the hills, resting.” – The Red Badge of Courage

Do you have any favorites? I have always loved the beginning to Rebecca and it calls me back to read the story yet again.