Here is a little taste of the madness that is my life. This is for you Lady J…

“I went to theme party that was come as your favorite Canadian Stereo type. My brother’s friend wore snow pants and a Celine Dion t-shirt.”

“That’s cool.”

“Hollywood is completely void of creative ideas. Did you know they were remaking Footloose?”

“I did hear about that.”

“If they remake The Breakfast Club, The Outsiders or Sixteen Candles, I’ll lose it.”

“Yeah, well, get ready. It’s coming.”

“I hate throwing up, and I’ve never thrown up from drinking too much.”

“Never?!”

“Never. I’ve thrown up from the flu, but never from drinking too much.”

“That is so rare. You should totally blog about that.”

“Why are you wearing a princess sash?”

“My friend gave it to me. She said I should where it around the house so you and your dad remember I’m a princess.”

“Mom, you’re not a princess. You’re a queen.”

“Why am I queen, but not a princess?”

“Because you’re old and married.”

Hope everyone had a fun weekend!

Gasp, can it be? Yes, that’s right. Two blog posts in the same week. I don’t want to jinx myself, but I seem to be getting back into the swing of things. You know, in an attempt to write faster, I had kind of adjusted my normal process for writing, and I can’t help but wonder if that poorly conceived decision is what threw me into four weeks of creative drought.

I probably shouldn’t say anything, for fear of tempting fate, but I’m relieved to get be getting the pages down again. And I’m sure my family is relieved now that I’m not snarking at them anymore. I just hope it keeps up. And in the mean time, I’ll stick with the process that I know works.

Mood: Cautiously Optimistic

Music: I’ll Be There for You, Bon Jovi

So whether it’s the hot weather or the on going struggle to carve out time to write over the summer, I’ve been dealing with the worst case of writer’s block.

I really have never had writer’s block before this. I’ve written myself into a corner, even had a story fizzle out on me, but for a while there the well felt like it had completely run dry. I don’t do well when I’m not writing. It makes a little…cranky. (And I’m being generous here.) After weeks of trying force things, I gave up and took a week off. No writing at all. I read, sat out by the pool and walked.

Now, at the risk of jinxing myself. Things are beginning to flow again. Actually, flow is probably too strong a word. Trickle is more accurate. Still something is better than nothing.

So just in case this happens again, what does everyone else do when the ideas dry up?

Mood: Uneasy

Well, summer is in full swing here. The kid is home from school, and last week the temperatures were scorching creeping into the high nineties and low hundreds with the humidity. Did I mention I don’t have air conditioning? For the most part, I don’t mind the hot weather. We have one of those inflatable above ground pool which is great to cool off in and keeps the kid entertained. (It also attracts all the neighborhood kids making it difficult to maintain my writing schedule, but I’m getting back into the swing of things.) But at night it’s tough trying to sleep.

I am getting into a more regular writing routine. Between some computer hassles and the kid being home, my normal schedule had gone to pot, but it’s getting better now. On a side note, I wish someone would invent a laptop that’s screen can still be visible in sunlight. Would make working outside easier.

 This summer I have decided to try and avoid the bookstore–or shopping for new ebooks–until I’ve made a decent dent on the my TBR piles on the shelf and on my e-reader. I believe I’ve mentioned my particular book buying addiction before. So this is a little game I’m playing with myself over the next couple of months that I’m hoping will eventually wind up clearing some space on my shelves…for when I go on book buying frenzy in September. Right now I’m reading Stephen King’s Wolves of Calla. It has been sitting on my shelf unread for ages…years, actually. Anyway, it’s pretty good so far, but I’m only at the beginning.

Mood: Busy

Music: You Know I’m No Good – Amy Winehouse

Oops, meant to post yesterday, but didn’t get the chance. As my little potato man word meter from Writertopia indicates, the wheels on my WIP kind of fell off over the weekend. But I’m not worried. I’m back at this week, and making up for lost time. (Touch Wood.)

I plan to start subbing Blood and Bone this week, finally. It’s actually been ready to go for a while, but I’ve been humming and hawing over the first chapter. From the beginning, I’ve been unsure about whether or not keep that scene. I must have gone back and forth on it a hundred times. Well yesterday, I came up with a compromise that I think works quite nicely. Now, my plan is to start submitting as soon as possible before I change my mind…again.

Happy belated mother’s day, by the way. I hope you all enjoyed yourselves. I had lovely day. DH and the kid gave me some fancy teas and chocolate truffles. My favorite things. DH also made pancakes for breakfast and cooked dinner while I enjoyed a quiet, lazy day. Very nice.

I’m really enjoying the teas, maybe even more than the chocolates. I know, how shocking is that? Today’s tea is vanilla orchid. Of the flavors I’ve tried so far, this, I think, is my favorite.

Mood: Up

Music: Trouble Me, 10,000 Maniacs

So I’m dog sitting Diva this week. Now, despite the coming rant let me just say, I’m a dog person. I love dogs. You know how some women see babies and want to have another child? I’m like that with puppies. I see a puppy and I want another dog. However, these visits from Diva remind me why sometimes one dog is just right.

The hysterical barking going on in my house this week is beginning to ware on nerves. Now, Hellhound will bark. Usually, when someone comes to the door or if he happens to see another dog walking by. Diva, on the other hand, will bark at everything. She barks at things out side, she barks when she wants something, she barks when I come downstairs, she barks when I stand up from the couch. The whole thing is exhausting. When her barking would usually inspire Hellhound to join in, even he’s too tired these days to do more than lift his head.

Now, for the most part Diva is a nice–if somewhat demanding–dog, and she’s probably out of sorts staying with us this week instead of in her own home. But I have to admit, I’m kind of looking forward to her going home and we go back to being a one dog family again. Ahh, the blessed quiet.  

Mood: Tired

Music: Hash Pipe, Weazer

I know, I know, it’s been a while. I’ve been a bad blogger, but on the upside I’ve been writing like crazy.  Yay! It always goes so much smoother when I let the characters tell the story instead of forcing them to do what I want to move the plot forward. In fact, I’ve learned two very important things while working on this novel.

The first, never underestimate the importance of chemistry. This is not my first stab at this story . I had actually written a few chapters some months back. While the hero and heroine were okay together–they didn’t seem to genuinely hate each other or anything–but there was no spark between them. I kept hoping that as I dug deeper into the story, they would gel, that the chemistry would appear. Then I wrote a scene where the hero was interacting with a potential suspect and the chemistry between those two was smokin’.  I had no choice. I was forced to tweak a few things and introduce a new hero. What a difference. Incidentally, that first hero and potential suspect will likely be getting a book of their own.

The second lesson, the power of momentum. Though, to be fair this was a lesson I already knew. Maybe to say that I was reminded of that particular truth while working on this book would be more accurate. A common piece of writing advice is to write every day. This isn’t just as a means of upping your word count and finishing faster, though, writing every day will do that too. But writing every day keeps your momentum going forward, keeps your head in the story, let’s you stay connected to your characters. When I stop writing for more than a day, it’s harder to dig back into the story and find my way back into my characters’ heads. Also, taking too much time away from a story gives self-doubt the chance to creep in and rear its ugly head, which can either stall your progress or halt it all together.

So that’s where I’ve been the past couple of weeks. I’m trying to get back to blogging three days a week again, but if I miss a day, you’ll know it’s because I’m writing.

Mood: Busy

Music: Karma Police, Radiohead

The first, yours truly has been featured in the E-Authur Spotlight colum over at Nights and Weekends. Go over and have a look when you can. I’m very excited about it.

The second… I’ve been given an award from Roni over at Fiction Groupie.

 And the rules are …
1) Five recipients.

2) Make up something about the people you give the award to.

3)Link to the people you give it to.

4)Link back to the original award post.

So here we go…

Jennifer Laurens - because of her appreciation for the angsty hero and her kick ass contests.

Bella McFarland - because I keep hoping she’ll eventually write a story for Eddie the cop.  

Jerri Drennan – because she understands how much it sucks when your computer freezes up before you’ve saved your work.

Gina Ardito – because she may have murdered more coffeemakers than even I have.

I realize I’ve been a hermit this week. The kid’s been home with a bad cold, but I am getting a fair amount done on my WIP. And I don’t hate it, which is nice. I will be back to my regular schedule next week…I hope.

In the mean time, Happy Easter!

Your Easter Egg Says You Are Philosophical

You are incredibly introspective and thoughtful. You strive to understand the world in a deep way. Culture, art, and literature of all types interests you. Almost anything can get you thinking. You don’t take anything at face value.

Wow, it took me a while to get get my butt in gear today. Honestly, the slightest distraction and I was all over it.  Hence, why this post is so late. But better late than never. I don’t know why, but for some reason I just couldn’t get motivated. So I reverted to my favorite time wasters. Email, Facebook, Twitter and Google. Oh, and then I threw in two long, chatty phone calls. By this time it’s nearing 1 p.m., and I’ve written about 300 words not good. Time was running out, and I’d barely put a scratch in my to do list.

Clearly, I needed to stop wasting time and get serious. I closed the windows with my many distractions, ignored my ringing phone (they can always leave a message), made myself a cup of tea and turned on some music. Before I knew it, I had my word count on the WIP done, answered all the questions I needed to for an up coming interview and now I’m nearly done my blog. I still need to tweak my three chapters for Blood and Bone, but there’s still time.

So, I’m curious what are your favorite time wasters, and what do you do to buckle down and get to work?

Mood: Distracted.

Music: Karma Police, Radiohead