Layering

While I was sitting in rush hour traffic, which I thankfully rarely have to sit in, a thought occurred to me about my wip. There has been something not clicking in the development of my hero. Something that seems incomplete. Then it hit me like ice cream on a cold slab of marble, my hero and heroine are not just meeting. They have a past!

My brain immediately slammed to a halt, stripped a few gears popping into reverse and said, "Nope, no way. That means rethinking everything and we're not going to do that." The other side of my brain, the side routing for the change declared, "Sure we can! Not THAT much is written and adjusting the story to make it BETTER is never a bad idea."

The anti-change side is pretty stubborn, but I have a feeling I can get the two to compromise. Which sounds completely bizarre and troublesome because I shouldn't have two sides of my own mind arguing with each other. Who's driving the car while righty and lefty are going at it? Apparently they can each drive with one hand on the wheel because I made it home safely.

I'm sure that this delimma is not new to me. So I'm curious, how often, once you've done the ground work if you're a plotter or once you've got words on the page if you're a pantser, have you had a major revelation that changes the entire story enough that it's an overhaul? And how often have you ground your teeth about the idea? :o)

April

A New Do...

Okay, the other blog template had issues so I searched and searched and settled for this. It's a bit on the predictable side, but hey... when I sell my first book I'll work harder to make it unique.

The thing that sucks the most about changing it was that I had finally put some of my blog links back up and it removes and deletes them. Grrr! But that's okay, I'll find everyone and that's what matters most!

Speaking of selling books... I have written a full chapter plus another scene. WOO HOO! I thought of some things I need to go back and add in to the scene that foreshadow, but it's nice to have stuff on paper--or screen, which ever is more proper.

Okay, I'm off to write!

April

I Wrote Something!!!

Okay, it's not going to win me a Pulitzer, but I wrote something and it felt wonderful.

In fact, I wrote the entire first chapter of my new wip. YAY, I finally have a real wip. It's a nice feeling. Of course this means I get to deal with bickering characters and Lord help me, these two people are going to put up one heck of a fight as far as the whole romance thing is involved.

But chemistry is something they can't fight and I won't either.

So now I'm off to bed where I'm sure to dream of bickering and squabbles... oh this is gonna be great!

April

PS If you don't see your blog on my blog roll, please comment me with your web addy. I've lost some!

Hmmm...

That's been a commonly muttered sound in my head lately. Hmmm... My poor little abused mind has been Hmmming all over the place.

I've been reading up on craft because having been away from writing, it's so easy to let some of it go. And reading that lead me to go back and explore some of my favorite books. I read a wide variety. I like everything from contemporary comedy, to historical, paranormal, suspense... you name it, I read it.

But for some reason, I was drawn back to reading Judith McNaught. Her historials. While I love the classics as much as any other person and I still swoon at the thought of Mr. Darby, Judith McNaught's stories always manage to grasp me in a way I'm not grasped every day. Hers are not the only ones, but they are just where my mind has been recently.

It's odd for me, because I have never been drawn to writing historicals and I'm not now. But I am drawn to the turmoil and journey her stories put me through. If I could do the same with my stories, I would be a very happy writer. No kidding, you say...

I'm planning to explore some other authors whose writing pulls me in that way as well. There are well known recent authors that are almost always a guaranteed good read for me. I enjoy Susan Elizabeth Phillip's refreshing wit and I always love the way Karen Marie Moning weaves me right into her Faeland fantasies. There are many others, too many to name.

So I'm curious, whose writing have you found a particular pull from and what have you taken from their writing and used to enhance your own?

April

Finding the groove again...

I had a wonderful Mother's Day weekend and I pray all the other mothers out there did too. Hubby gave me a trip to a local spa for a manicure and pedicure. His brother is getting married at the end of the month and so I will put it to good use!

To be perfectly honest, I have never had a pedicure. It sort of freaks me out to think about someone working on my feet. I don't know, it seems sort of mean... "Clean my toes!" I'm probably making too much of it, but it's what has held me back.

I've had manicures. I love them! I don't get them really often because I wash my hands so much that I ruin them and they are a guilty pleasure.

So, I'm curious... Have you ever had a pedicure and did you like it?

April

PS I know that has nothing to do with writing... But it does. You just don't know it.

Cha-cha-cha-changes...

Since it's been forever since I regularly blogged and since I took down the ole' website for now, I decided I'd start with a fresh look for the blog too. It's a template which goes against my DIY propensities, but it's easier than redoing it myself for now and it gives me a fresh perspective.

I thought it would be kind of fun because it looks like a well used desk. Mine looks messier, so much so that I'm using my lap for one right now. But it spurred my creative juices and that's all that really matters.

I'm excited for the weekend. This will be my first Mother's Day as a mom. It's also the first weekend in a long while that we don't have jam packed with stuff to do. So I am planning to enjoy it to the fullest. Maybe I'll even get some plotting time in!

How about you, what are you doing this weekend?

April

PS I have discovered that many of the old blog links I had were old and no longer worked. Poo. So I'm going to be working on getting my links list up-to-date. So, if you're link is missing, just know I'm working on it! :o)

Two in a row!

It's a record, I'm posting two days in a row! Woo Hoo!

I'm having trouble getting my thoughts in order. I've been in survival mode for a little while which means any thoughts outside of making it through the day get lost in file 13.

So I guess this means one change to my writing habits I'm going to have to make is note taking, note taking, note taking. And I guess this means I'm going to have to accept that I may not be able to just sit down and start tappity tappity tapping on the keyboard. I may have to do a little refreshing of my memory.

Anyone else face similar challenges? Anything you can recommend to assist me with getting my head back into the story and picking up where I left off easier. It's sad that I can't sometimes remember what I did several hours ago. LOL!

April

This time I mean it...

Okay, so it's well past time I get back on the horse. Or wagon... I can never remember how that saying goes. Hubby and I talked yesterday evening and I'm setting aside two evenings a week for writing.

This is a very exciting development for me and for the characters sitting around reading dusty magazines in my mind. You know those plastic chairs at the DMV, (unless your DMV isn't as truly fun as ours that is) the poor people have been sitting around reading magazines from 2007 and wondering when the heck I'm going to get back to working out their stories. Well, the time is now. WOO HOO!

I just hope the clamboring doesn't turn into a five ring circus as suspense characters try to judo chop my loveable romantic comedy characters. I have a feeling we may need some medics thrown in just to ensure safety. Maybe a few military heroes to keep the peace. They're all in there and hopefully I'll be able to get into the swing of things quickly enough to make them happy.

The best thing is that this will hopefully afford me a little time to blog hop and check in on all my wonderful buddies I haven't seen or read in forever. YAY!

So I'll be seeing you soon!
April

Keeping Blogs Straight...

Okay, in an effort to avoid turning this blog into a family update blog and to avoid shocking my 87 year-old grandmother with my writing (heaven knows she'd be rethinking the decision to NOT push me to be a doctor), I decided to set up a more "personal" less "professional" blog for updates on the family. You all have become like family too, so I wanted to invite you all to stop by when you feel like it. www.mattandaprilupdates.blogspot.com. No, a shorter, appropriate name was not available. I tried. :o)

I've been keeping an idea notebook. And I even got to read recently. Dh had a conference and we tagged along to play. I read two whole books. Tara Janzen's most recent featuring her Steele Street team and a suspense which escapes my memory. It wasn't bad. It just wasn't that memorable. Although I have to give the author a break since I seem to have brain farts at least 3 times a day.

Okie dokie, that's it for now.

April

Baby Madness

Hello everyone,

I know it has been a long time since I last posted. Things have been nuts to say the least. But I wanted to post an update!

We settled into our new home in Mid-May. Just in time to get started on the nursery. Then on July 2, at 10:30AM, she was born weighing 8lbs even and measuring 20 1/4 inches.

She did really well and the delivery was smooth. Her cord was wrapped around her neck, but the dr was able to get it unwrapped during delivery and an emergency c-section was not necessary. There was one minor complication because our blood types are so different there was a concern over jaundice, but her billiruben levels never went out of the normal range. YAY!

Here's a picture of our new little angel:



Hope everyone is doing well and the writing is going great! I'm hoping to just be able to READ some soon. LOL!

April

Pardon The Interruption...

It's not often I get political. Not here anyway. But there's an issue my home state has been dealing with. In fact, every state has been dealing with. Which has some very serious consequences that in my very humble opinion have been kept largely out of the public domain.

Recently, the Homeland Security Administration passed a new regulation requiring states to adopt new policies regarding the issuance of IDs to residents. It's called the RealID, you may have heard of it. They did so without any real debate in congress.

Their premise for these new policies, they say, is to increase the difficulty of obtaining an state ID under false pretenses. Which is something I and I don't believe anyone else has a problem with. In some states it is all too easy to get an driver's license or ID with false information.

Most states have bent to Homeland Security's demands and agreed to implement the new measures, despite the fact that it will mean millions of dollars of increase expense to the states in order to implement the changes. Which really should be the first red flag for citizens.

I say the first, because their are several. What hasn't received much attention in the public domain is WHAT makes the implementation so expensive. Included in the "upgrades" Homeland Security is attempting to require states to implement is the placement of RFID tags in all IDs.

For those unfamiliar with RFID tags, they are tiny chips which have often been used by manufacturers to reduce loss by tracking products and where they go. An RFID tag, also known as Radio Frequency Identification tags, are a small thing which can be tracked via GPS. Which means if you have one on/in your driver's license as Homeland Security is trying to enforce, you can be tracked anytime as long as you have your ID on you.

"What's the big deal, I don't do anything wrong or go anywhere I shouldn't?" here's the big deal... Even the most secure, safe-guarded systems get hacked. The Pentagon, the CIA, the FBI... It happens. Which means some of the most unscrupulous people in the world would have access to your every single move.

What's more, when asked by opponents what measures Homeland Security plans to take in order to ensure there are no abuses of American Privacy, their only response is to basically say, "We have it handled."

I am proud say that our state governor has refused to comply with the demands of Homeland Security. And furthermore, our governor issued a letter to the head of Homeland Security making it clear he felt certain aspects of RealID were a clear violation of the privacy and security of Americans. In addition, RealIDs make it much easier for nefarious people to get your information and steal your identity.

The ACLU has been fighting the good fight against RealID, but it still shocks me to discover so few people realize just what implementing RealID would mean to each of us.

I am no expert in this area. RealNightmare.org is a website with more information on the subject. The ACLU has several articles on the subject as well.

Only a handful of states have still not bent to the will of the all-powerful Dept. of Homeland Security. Whether your state has or has not bent, I encourage you to explore the issue, pass along the awareness, and consider speaking out to those who are in a position to stop this from happening.

April
(who promises not to turn this into a political blog) :o)

Am I insane?

Maybe...

Well, I'm in my 26th week. In all honesty this hasn't been the most enjoyable week so far.

My little darling's movements have grown a bit painful at times. She's definately going to want to be a trapeeze artist, I'm telling you! And my bladder has not been happy with me. I have a hard time dragging my behind out of bed to pee every 2 hours at night. I think I can sleep 10 more minutes, but then 10 turn into 45 and then I'm in serious pain. Not good, I know. And I'm trying to work on it. If only my concious-rational-self could have more control over my unconcious-sleep-deprived-self. Oh well, that's life.

I'm not complaining. No siree. Just sharing :o)

In other news, I think my darling hubby and I may have totally lost our minds. As in gone bonkers for the summer, check in with us when we are delivered home from the looney bin. We made an offer on a house this week.

We've been shopping on and off for a long time, but we're picky. We found a home the beginning of March we liked and made an offer. It finished foreclosing the exact same day and the bank wouldn't look at any offers till they listed it for sale through their broker. Which was Friday. So, after redebating the house on Monday, we made an offer Tuesday. Now we're waiting on word from the bank, which can take anywhere from 2 hours to 2 years. Okay, I exaggerate, but still... banks work on THEIR time, so who knows. In the mean time, it'll take at least 30 days to get us closed which means I'm looking at moving around my 31st week of pregnancy. Now you understand the title of this blog, yes?

I figure dh and I will do the packing and we'll hire movers to do the moving. before we were married I always used movers and it was nice to just label my boxes, furniture and rooms and point. The first move went better than the last, so we'll be going back to that company. I think dh thinks he and our family and friends can do it, but I'm thinking movers are the way to go...

Of course, all of this is IF we get the house, which is yet to be determined. We have enough room for now at our home. We're squished. That's what happens when you live in a place alone, get married and another person moves in with you. But we're just waiting to see what door God opens or chooses not to open for now.

In the mean time, I'm just keeping busy with everyday work which went nuts on me a few weeks ago and trying to catch naps here and there. Oh yeah, and going potty seems to be taking up a great percentage of my time lately too. LOL!

So I'm not the only insane person out there, right?

April

Spay Day USA

The National Human Society holds a Spay Day USA every year. The hold events all over that raise awareness of the need to spay and neuter pets.

They also hold a photo contest and this year we decided for the fun of it to enter our little furbaby, Buckley. He's a mess, but he's our mess :o)

If you have some spare time (don't laugh too loud, I know we're all busy) will you pop over and cast a vote for our little guy?

Here is where you go: http://www.spaydayusa.org/bin/Rate?image_id=1003134808

Thanks!
April

It's a Girl!

We had a wonderful Valentine's Day. It started off bright and early with a trip to the OB's office. There we got to spend an hour or so in the ultrasound room looking out our little developing bundle. During all of her twisting, turning, and somersaults, we discovered she's a little baby girl. It was also apparent she's going to be a little chatterbox because her mouth was moving a mile a minute.

Here are some pictures:

She's laying on her back, with her hand at her forehead, palm up... So woebegon that mommy got up early. :o)



This one is marked, but note that her arm is up like she's waving at us...



Precious little hand...



This is the tech's attempt at a 3D ultrasound... Our little pea was busy moving so it was difficult to get a good shot of her, but you can see her mouth is wide open :o)


When I got to the office after our appointment, dh had had an edible arrangement sent for Valentine's Day. It looks like a bouquet, but it has fruit instead of flowers. The pineapple was cut into hearts and since I've been craving fruit it was the perfect thing to do. We went to dinner with the in-laws because they wanted to celebrate the ultrasound.

Thought I would pop by and share our news and some pictures. I hope everyone is doing well and writing tons of great stuff! I haven't written much this week, but I'm eager to get back to it... And Lis's comment about fan fiction keeps popping up in my head too. Maybe I'll have to play around with a bit of that!

How was your Valentine's Day? Do anything special?

Happy Writing,
April :o)

I Wrote Something!!!!

And I posted it over at Word Flirts... Who knew, 2 posts in less than 30 days... :o)

April

Time for an Update

Hi Everyone,

I thought I would pop by and update how things are going...

Overall things are going pretty well. I am 17 weeks today and we get to hear the baby's heartbeat at each appointment. Last week we had our appointment for January and my blood pressure was on the low side which is a great sign for the blood clotting issues.

I lost 7 pounds in my first trimester. I've regained 3 pounds, so I am still down over all. My dr says that's just fine with him because the baby seems to be growing just fine. And he's not kidding there. I'm already starting to show.

We go on Valentine's day to find out the sex. We're really excited. Maybe then we'll finally start to work on getting the cluttered nursery cleared. :o)

There's been time here and there I get to read. Not nearly as much as I want. And it seems when I feel like reading and have the time to do it, I can't find anything that I really want to read right at that moment. So I'm wondering if any of you have read anything really good recently you'd like to recommend... I know you all well enough to know I won't have to beg ;o)

Thanks & Happy Writing,
April

It's Time For a Break...

Okay, it's officially time for a break. I've fought it for a while. But I'm now at the point of inevitablility.

Today I am 12 weeks pregnant. YAY! And I'll admit the pregnancy and recent events have been quite the distraction. There are also a couple of concerns which place me in the high risk category. Namely a blood disorder I have called factor V Leiden which causes me to be prone to clotting. Which wouldn't be such an issue if I weren't allergic to aspirin which is the easiest and most common solution for the problem during pregnancy. So my focus just hasn't been on writing.

With work and family and the baby on the way there's just been so little time to spend on writing or even writing activities. So I finally decided I need to just give myself permission to take an extended break.

I'll still be around, lurking to see what everyone is up to. And it's definately a temporary thing. It's just a long temporary thing. Lord knows the characters in my head will not permit me to live in peace for long. LOL!

Smooches and happy writing to all of my blog buddies!
April

It's Christmas Time!!!

This is my favorite time of the year. I start getting Christmas tunes in my head in July or August. So when it actually comes around, I'm super duper happy about it.

To dispell the gloom this weekend, hubby and I put up the tree and it really did brighten the day. Now we just need to decorate it. LOL! And decorate everything else. I think we'll finish it off this weekend. I've been a little under the weather, so we just couldn't get it finished yet.

I tried to convince hubby we need to do something like the guy in the video below. And while he's all about working out the technical aspects, I think he's afraid of the prospect of climbing up on our roof (it's steep). So I told him we'd skip it and just do what we usually do. Of course that whole proposition could have back fired on me because he could have been all for it, then where would I be? Probably on You Tube like this guy. LOL!



What about you? Planning any "show" staging for the holidays?

April

What I'm Thankful For...

I'm thankful for my family and all of the friends and loved ones I have or have had in my life. I'm thankful for the time I get to spend with them. I'm thankful for those special people who enter my life and leave me a different, maybe better person.

One of those people is a friend of my husband. And yesterday he lost his battle with lung cancer. It was a relatively short battle, his having been diagnosed just this past spring with stage IV cancer. Short did not mean painless. Through treatments which nearly cut his life even shorter, he persevered and continued to pray for healing and have faith that all would happen as was meant to be.

In June we even celebrated a short remission. However, it was discovered the remission was to be short lived. News that he would be undergoing a procedure spread recently and we all began the prayers for another miracle. However, it simply was not meant to be.

Chris' life itself was a miracle. A talented musician, he's been touching lives for a very long time and when he was diagnosed with lung cancer, he made it his mission to make clubs smoke free.

You see Chris had not been a smoker for MANY years. However, as a musician, he had no choice but to be in smokey places. Thanks to him and his tenacity, we now have an organization for a smoke free SC. And he's raised awareness among local people who thought being under 40 and a non-smoker meant there was no reason to get screened for lung cancer.

So on this day of family and thankfullness, I celebrate the life of Chris Conner and the many ways he touched those around him. And I pray his son who is much too young to understand what is going on will know what an amazing person his father was and will be able to celebrate the legacy he left.

I also pray you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and you were able to cherish the time spent with family and friends for the gift that it is...

Love,
April

Does Anyone Smell Turkey?

Well, I know I've been a bad Blogger AGAIN! I am dreadfully sorry for that. My reasons for being such a terrible blogger will hopefully be better explained soon.

In the meantime, Thursday is Thanksgiving for those of us in the U.S. And this will be the first year hubby and I host Thanksgiving dinner at our house. We'll be hosting both of our families and possibly my sister's MIL. So there will be 11 or 12 of us (including a precocious 8 year-old)

My mother, lovely and wonderful person that she is, is bringing the turkey. I think it's because she's scared I can't cook one, but she says it's because she wants to help. She is the helper sort, so who knows... I still think I scare her. LOL! And my MIL is bringing dressing and pumpkin pies...

So that leaves sides (which run the gamut in our family) It seems no one likes the same thing and so there's always a bevy of sides. Mashed potatoes, corn, mac and cheese (for the nephew) and then the traditional biscuits and cranberry sauce. Then, half the family likes pumpkin pie, the other half coconut cake... So baking will need to be done...

And usually there's a fruit tray for appetizers... We're going to be up to our ears in food!

So here's my question. Really two... First, what is your BEST tip for hosting Thanksgiving (large quantities of alcohol excluded) and can you think of anything I've forgotten?

April
(who will try not to have a coronary this week. LOL!)