Works In Progress: Dawn Brown's Blog http://dawnbrown.org/blog Spine Tingling Tales of Mystery and Romance Fri, 15 Aug 2008 00:55:02 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 en Mamma Mia! http://dawnbrown.org/blog/2008/08/15/mamma-mia/ http://dawnbrown.org/blog/2008/08/15/mamma-mia/#comments Fri, 15 Aug 2008 00:55:02 +0000 Dawn Brown http://dawnbrown.org/blog/?p=102 I saw Mamma Mia last weekend, and I’m not sure what I thought of it. I didn’t hate it. But I didn’t love it either.

I loved the music, of course. Much to DH’s dismay, I enjoyed the music so much I was inspired to dig out my ABBA Gold CD. And I loved Colin Firth. Though to be fair, the man could stand and read the telephone book for two hours and I’d be thoroughly entertained.

That said, was I the only one who thought Pierce Brosnan looked a touch uncomfortable belting out the ABBA? He seemed kind of angry when he sang. Or maybe it was me not being able to get past the idea of James Bond belting out the ABBA. Very possible. 

I think I’ll need watch it again on DVD before I decide if I liked it or not.

Music: What is This Love - Blue Rodeo

Mood: Good 

]]> http://dawnbrown.org/blog/2008/08/15/mamma-mia/feed/ Summertime Writing http://dawnbrown.org/blog/2008/08/12/summertime-writing/ http://dawnbrown.org/blog/2008/08/12/summertime-writing/#comments Tue, 12 Aug 2008 15:04:45 +0000 Dawn Brown http://dawnbrown.org/blog/?p=101 There’s a strange sort of irony that since I typed the above title, I’ve had Jehovah Witnesses at my door, made a peanutbutter and jam sandwich and barely sat down again when I had to make another peanutbutter and jam sandwich after HellHound stole the first one. It’s ten after ten, and while I’ve hit my word goal for my WIP today (only because the cat woke me up at 5:30.) I haven’t really managed to get much else done. And yet oddly, in the grand scheme of things this summer has been slightly more productive than others.

When school finished, I’d planned a very simple schedule that I thought would be easy to keep over the two months school was out. WIP in the morning, rewrites in the evening and crits and extra stuff before starting rewrites. (I had initially planned WIP in the evening, but  creatively I’m a morning person.)  Simple right? Hmmm. Nothing ever seems to go as planned, does it?

So now, I’m kind of all ‘to hell with schedules!’ That said, I may start setting the alarm to get me up earlier. After this morning, I remembered how nice it is to get up and write when the whole house is asleep.  

Anyway hit 17K on the wip today. Not bad considering DH was home all last week on vacation and we were out a lot.

Blood and Bone is going slower that I would have liked. I’m reading it through from the beginning making notes for what needs to be done and coming up with solutions for plot holes. Currently, I have a pretty big one where I my heroine’s actions could be considered a little…well…criminal. Sadly, said action makes for a pretty big plot twist.

Wow, I’ve managed to complete this entire entry with only one interruption. That must be a new record.  :-)

Mood: Good

Music: Babe I’m Gonna Leave You - Led Zeppelin

 

 

]]> http://dawnbrown.org/blog/2008/08/12/summertime-writing/feed/ A Great Mood! http://dawnbrown.org/blog/2008/07/29/a-great-mood/ http://dawnbrown.org/blog/2008/07/29/a-great-mood/#comments Tue, 29 Jul 2008 14:45:16 +0000 Dawn Brown http://dawnbrown.org/blog/?p=99 I’m in an fantastic mood today.

First, I’ve finally finished my revisions for The Witch’s Stone and sent it off. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

Second, I received an awesome review from Fallen Angels Reviews for Living Lies. Five angels and a recommended read. WooHoo!

So with Witch finally finished and off my desk for now, I’m going to get back to Blood & Bone–I would love to have done and ready for submission by September–and back to the WIP. I put aside last week to finish with Witch and I can’t wait to get back to it.

Hellhound is doing better. I wound up cancelling his vet appointment as the spray seemed to bring the hotspot under control in a matter of days.

I guess that’s it for now.

Mood: Excellent

Music: I Feel it All - Feist

]]> http://dawnbrown.org/blog/2008/07/29/a-great-mood/feed/ Huge Book Giveaway Contest! http://dawnbrown.org/blog/2008/07/27/huge-book-giveaway-contest/ http://dawnbrown.org/blog/2008/07/27/huge-book-giveaway-contest/#comments Sun, 27 Jul 2008 15:08:43 +0000 Dawn Brown http://dawnbrown.org/blog/?p=97 Toronto Romance Writers is running a fantastic contest, giving away LOTS of books. Some of the participating authors–besides me of course:

 

  • Kelley Armstrong
  • Kate Bridges
  • Deborah Cooke
  • Claire Delacroix
  • Brenda Harlen
  • Margaret Moore
  • Molly O’Keefe
  • Kayla Perrin
  • Michelle Rowen
  • Eve Silver
  • Michele Ann Young

 

And many, many more!

 

Click here to enter. 

]]> http://dawnbrown.org/blog/2008/07/27/huge-book-giveaway-contest/feed/ HellHound and Other News http://dawnbrown.org/blog/2008/07/21/hellhound-and-other-news/ http://dawnbrown.org/blog/2008/07/21/hellhound-and-other-news/#comments Mon, 21 Jul 2008 22:17:22 +0000 Dawn Brown http://dawnbrown.org/blog/?p=96 So after just saying on Saturday how lucky I’ve been with HellHound not developing hot spots this summer, guess what I found on his stomach near his back leg? I have an appointment with the vet tomorrow and I’ve been using the spray I had left over from last year. Hopefully that will keep it from spreading too much and I hope caught it in time to keep tomorrow’s visit from being overly expensive. I must admit, I’m a little frustrated. I’ve been absolutely militant in keeping him from getting wet and he still got it. Grrr. Fortunately, he doesn’t seem to be feeling too uncomfortable and he’s trying to be good about not licking. Poor dog. :-(

As for other news, I actually don’t have much. I would like to say thanks to family and friends for such a fun night on Saturday. I love you all.

I guess that’s it.

Mood: Would be better if I wasn’t worried about my dog.

Music: Alone, Heart.

 

]]> http://dawnbrown.org/blog/2008/07/21/hellhound-and-other-news/feed/ Well, Summer’s Here http://dawnbrown.org/blog/2008/07/08/well-summers-here/ http://dawnbrown.org/blog/2008/07/08/well-summers-here/#comments Tue, 08 Jul 2008 16:03:08 +0000 Dawn Brown http://dawnbrown.org/blog/?p=94 I can tell because the attic feels like it’s about ninety degrees by noon. This makes for a rather busy morning, followed by a slightly more leisurely afternoon. All I can say, is thank God for laptop. The purchase of my lovely laptop really pushed me to the edge of my budget, but for the convenience of being able to work where ever I need to, it was well worth it.

Okay, enough of my love affair with my laptop. (If I keep it up, I’m liable to get into my great love for my new/used laser-jet printer. After that piece of crap ink-jet, how could I not.) I must say, despite claims that all a writer needs is a pen, paper and imagination–one can not submit hand written manuscripts to an editor–an absolute must for any writer is a decent computer and good printer. Oh, and place you can hide to get the work done. Makes life sooo much easier. 

Okay, made some changes to the opening of my WIP, that I’m much happier with. The cold really slowed me down last week, so I did not get as far on Witch as I would have liked, but I’m back to it this week and am moving right along. I did reread Blood and Bone last week (while sniffly and feeling sorry for myself), and I’m back to rewriting. I have a pretty decent writing schedule in place right now and things really seem to moving right along. (Touch Wood.)

Over the next couple of days I’ll be updating the links page on my website and my blog. I’ve been woefully neglectful here. And I guess that’s it for now.

Mood: Good

Music: If The Sun Refused to Shine - Led Zepplin

]]> http://dawnbrown.org/blog/2008/07/08/well-summers-here/feed/ Burning the Candle at Both Ends http://dawnbrown.org/blog/2008/06/30/burning-the-candle-at-both-ends/ http://dawnbrown.org/blog/2008/06/30/burning-the-candle-at-both-ends/#comments Mon, 30 Jun 2008 13:48:29 +0000 Dawn Brown http://dawnbrown.org/blog/?p=93 This expression is a favorite of my mother’s and today it fits. After week of staying up too late, getting up too early, doing too many things without any down time in between and not eating properly (yes, I realize coffee is not it’s own food group) I’m sick. Just a head cold, but it’s enough to force me to slow down. Fortunately, we didn’t have any plans this past weekend (a first since early May) so I could take it easy. Well, as easy as I take it. I get bored when I’m not doing anything. So I did catch up on some crits and kept working through The Witch’s Stone. I’d hoped to be finished my revisions yesterday, but I may have been a touch ambitious. This week for sure.

The WIP has slowed a little over the weekend. I just couldn’t stay awake past nine to write. I’m hoping that now that the cold is primarily in my head, (ears and throat no longer sore) I won’t feel so tired and wiped out. Blood and Bone is moving at crawl again, part of the reason I want The Witch’s Stone done. Okay, enough worrying about what I have to do, time to get to it.

Mood: Tired

Music: Babe I’m Gonna Leave You - Led Zeppelin

]]> http://dawnbrown.org/blog/2008/06/30/burning-the-candle-at-both-ends/feed/ The Orphanage http://dawnbrown.org/blog/2008/06/25/the-orphanage/ http://dawnbrown.org/blog/2008/06/25/the-orphanage/#comments Wed, 25 Jun 2008 16:47:24 +0000 Dawn Brown http://dawnbrown.org/blog/?p=92 Well summer is here and evening television is awful right now. (The only bright spot being the return of Coronation Street now that hockey is finally over. Yay!!) I have also determined that the powers-that-be will make a reality show about ANYTHING. Please T.V. executives, no more.

So with that in mind, DH and I have been renting a lot of movies. Last week we rented The Orphanage. This is a Spanish film that I kept hearing really good things about.  The movie is about a woman who returns the the orphanage by the sea where she grew up in hopes of opening a home for special needs children and meets with a ghostly presence. (This is bare bones, but I don’t want to say to much and spoil any twists and turns for anyone.)

Now, I like a good scary movie (and please don’t confuse scary with gory, they’re not the same thing) but in the end this movie just didn’t seem all that scary. There was some decent creepiness at the beginning, but I felt once the ghost’s identity was revealed, the rest of the movie was fairly predictable. Still the setting was wonderfully atmospheric and their were a few scenes that made the hairs on the back of my neck bristle. Perhaps if I’d discovered the movie on my own without hearing anything about it, I would have enjoyed it more.

Mood: Relaxed

Music: Closing Time - Leonard Cohen  

]]> http://dawnbrown.org/blog/2008/06/25/the-orphanage/feed/ My First Review & Other Happenings http://dawnbrown.org/blog/2008/06/23/my-first-review-other-happenings/ http://dawnbrown.org/blog/2008/06/23/my-first-review-other-happenings/#comments Mon, 23 Jun 2008 18:44:37 +0000 Dawn Brown http://dawnbrown.org/blog/?p=91 I received my first review for Living Lies, and it was a good one. WooHoo!!! You can read it at ParaNormal Romance. I must admit, as nerve wracking as this part of the process is, it’s exciting too.

This week I am determined to finish up the changes for The Witch’s Stone. This is DS’s last week of school and I want to be finished with that MS so I can really concentrate on Blood & Bone and Thicker Than Water over the summer.

The past week I’ve been working to switch my writing schedule from working the WIP in the morning to after DS has gone to bed. So far, so good. Though, it’s tougher on weekends.

Tonight, I’m going out to dinner with some friends. I’m really looking forward it. What’s better than great coversation and great food? Not much!

Mood: Good

Music: Hello, I Love You - The Doors

 

]]> http://dawnbrown.org/blog/2008/06/23/my-first-review-other-happenings/feed/ And the Winner is… http://dawnbrown.org/blog/2008/06/20/and-the-winner-is/ http://dawnbrown.org/blog/2008/06/20/and-the-winner-is/#comments Fri, 20 Jun 2008 13:41:25 +0000 Dawn Brown http://dawnbrown.org/blog/?p=90 Congratulations PamK!!!

Thanks to everyone who participated. And thanks again for the well wishes, I really appreciated them.

I will be having more contests in the future. Actually, I’m taking part in a really great one with my RWA chapter. I should have more details on that soon. So keep checking back.

 

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