He Gets His...

So my hero took me out for margaritas, got me sloshed and convinced me to finally write his scene. You know, that scene. He's been waiting and waiting and pacing and prowling and growling and being an all around pain in my derriere. But now? He's happy as a clam shell at an oyster bake. Is that a saying? If not, I'll use it anyway.

Yup, I'm finally writing it. He's still cursing everyone who suggested a few weeks ago that I make him wait longer. But that's okay. Because the heroine got what she wanted. She got the time she needed to feel like more intimacy and tension was built and well, being a tease can be fun too. So, that's what is important.

In honor of this momentous occasion for my hero and heroine, I'm sharing this:


Now go forth and... Celebrate :-)

April

Why I Write...

I recently read a post by Agent 007 which brought to mind why I write.

Ever since I was a little kid, I've had an overactive imagination. In my imagination, I've done some rather amazing things. I've traveled the globe, been a spy, even done a strip tease or two. But it's unlikely I will ever be a spy. And it's even less likely that I would really want to be one. No comment on the other. Although I like my privacy. But just the same, it's so fun to pretend.

A few years ago, I had a long list of hobbies I wanted to take up. I had an actual list and I meant to do them. Here's a sample of the list:
-I wanted to start taking flight lessons and get my pilot's license
-I wanted to do the formula car experience in Britain (obviously there was a need for speed in there)
-I wanted to go back to school and study criminal profiling
-I wanted to study medicine
-I wanted to participate in police ride alongs (the show cops is a guilty pleasure)
The list went on and on....

My dear hubby, who was then, my dear boyfriend, thought I was loosing my mind. And I did too. Ever the voice of sanity, he suggested I look into doing one or two first instead of tackling them all at the same time. Of course, I was raring to go. Other than for the finances, I had it all worked out.

Then I realized, I didn't want to really DO all of those things. I mean, I'd love to dip my toes in them. But I don't want to be a doctor. I don't want to fly a plane. Shoot, I'm terrified of heights. I had a hard time looking down from the balcony of our tenth floor hotel room.

What I realized is that I loved the adventure I experienced in reading and I wanted to immerse myself in that adventure. And I could. I could write it. I could create people and places and events. I could write about a surgeon and purge the need to study medicine. I could write about a sexy formula car driver and the race circuit all across Europe and travel and experience speed without ever leaving home.

It's one of the best benefits of being a writer. My imagination runs away with me. My goal is to relate that through the words I put to paper (or screen) in such a way that my imagination runs away with the reader too. That's my hope.

What about you? Why did you start writing?

April

Home...

So we're finally home. We had a great trip! The weather was great and we got to do a lot of stuff. We spent Saturday on the beach.

Hubby slathered up in sunscreen, well except for his legs which I told him he'd regret and he does. I didn't put on any sunscreen because we rented lounge chairs under a thick umbrella and I parked my behind there. And despite having been in the shade all day, my legs got sunburned. You know you are pale when you get a sunburn in the shade!

But we're both on the mend. I got a little reading done. But now I need to get some writing done. I'm definitely motivated. Lots of ideas floating around in my noggin.

How was your weekend?

April

Adieu...

So the hubby and I are prepping to leave tomorrow for the beach. Yay! And since I worked late tonight and still gotta pack, I'm not getting any writing done tonight. But the old laptop is coming too. Mainly because hubby needs it. I was going to leave it behind. Really. I'm bringing reading material :-)

In honor of my previous blog, I thought I would repost a blogthings quiz. Funny thing, I took the test again and got the same result. I posted it months ago, but I figured it was more appropriate now...

You Are Dr. Bunsen Honeydew

You take the title "mad scientist" to the extreme -with very scary things coming out of your lab. And you've invented some pretty cool things, from a banana sharpener to a robot politician. But while you're busy turning gold into cottage cheese, you need to watch out for poor little Beaker! "Oh, that's very naughty, Beaker! Now you eat these paper clips this minute."

The Muppet Personality Test

Of course, on my second go, this one is what I got... Surprise, surprise...

You Are the Swedish Chef

"Bork! Bork! Bork!" Your happy and energetic - with borderline manic tendencies. No one really gets you. And frankly, you don't even get you. But, you sure can whip up a great chocolate mousse

The Muppet Personality Test

So, what are your results?

April

The Swedish Chef...

I had a thought today. I know, it was a surprise to me too!

I'm in the middle of my wip. You know, that part you have to use to get your story and characters from the beginning to the end. Yeah, that part. And, I find I feel sort of like the Swedish chef from the muppets, appropriately named, Chef. I feel like I'm haplessly tossing ingredients around and singing, "smorgie borgie, stroodel poodle..." and hoping something decent comes out. Whether it's a souffle or stir-fry, I have no idea.

Ever feel like that? Or would you pick a different muppet? I love the muppets!

April

Half Week...

I'm excited because this is a half week for me. On Thursday, hubby and I will be heading out of town! Yay!

We've both been in desperate need of some vacation time. The mono may slow me down a little, but we have a relaxed trip planned. A lot of beach lounging included. And sipping on frosty drinks. At least with mono you can't take antibiotics so I don't have to worry about any of that!

We're just headed to a local beach. Only a couple of hours away. One nice part about living in a state with a coast.

So anyone else have any fun trips planned for sometime soon?

April

M.I.A....

So, I went all week without posting. Well, since Monday. Which is abnormal for me and I apologize. It seems that when I had strep throat last month, I developed mono. So, I have developed a bad habit of taking naps in the evening. Naps that last 14 hours. Yeah, going to sleep at 7PM is something new for me.

But tonight I have managed to stay awake and am happy to be posting. Although I can't guarantee the merit of this post. I promise to add eyecandy at the end so you at least get something out of it :-).

I'm getting ready to team up with another member of my RWA chapter in taking over the running of our online courses. This makes me nervous, because I have no clue what I'm doing. Hmm... not the best advertisement for our courses huh? Well, she has all the classes for this year scheduled. So, it's up to me and my partner to run them.

We have our duties all divided up, so I think it'll go okay. I hope. But we were talking about online courses and our experiences. Then I realized I haven't taken many. And so I thought I'd pose a question or two to you all. Have you taken any online courses? Are there any that were so good, they stick out in your memory? And, what did you like most and least about taking them?

Thanks for the input! Now here's your treat:



April

Sensuality...

Sensuality was the topic of the presentation at my chapter meeting this past Saturday. It was presented by one of our member authors who is known for writing particularly "hot" books. So, everyone expected her presentation on sensuality to apply to sex. But it didn't.

What we learned was that sensuality reaches beyond sex. It is found in every aspect of writing. Even genres other than romance. Sensuality is what pulls the reader into a story. It's what elicits the responses of the reader's senses.

She used Rudolph Steiner's Twelve Senses to describe how sensuality is used to pull in a reader and make a story more rich. Here's a link to a list of the senses.

I found the discussion really enlightening. I had always thought of the five senses. I hadn't taken the time to consider others such as "Life or well-being" which refers to the characters state of mind, happiness, sadness, etc... Or "Ego and the other" which is a person's sense of self and how they perceive others. This after all indicates if a character will immediately like or vilify someone.

Our presenter also pointed out recognizing the importance of certain senses. For instance, smell is something that illicits strong recollections in people. Smell can bring back an immediate memory. If you say, "the room smelled like old gym socks..." most people can immeditely identify with that and this pulls a reader in.

There are other senses that illicit strong responses. I point this one out because it is very strong for me. Sometimes when I'm in a store, I'll pass a woman wearing the same perfume of my first grade teacer, Ms. Dale. I LOVED her. She was an amazing teacher and person. And it sends me back to a very comfortable and happy place. So, I find the smell comforting. I also smell the same cologne my dad used to wear and I get nostalgic. Just smelling it, will take me back to a memory I thought long forgotten. Everytime we smell fresh cut grass, my hubby says, "reminds me of living in Arkansas..."

For some, taste does this, for others it's sounds or some other sense. This is why it's important to incorporate more than one into your writing. But don't flood it with ALL, because then you have a serious case of sensory overload!

So, what is it for you that grips you and can snap up a memory immediately? Smell? Taste? Hearing? Something else?

April

Fixed...

The computer is fixed, the printer is miraculously fixed, I'm fixed... wait, I wasn't broken, was I. Well, you get the gist. All is well in my computer world right now. Hmmm... I hope my saying it doesn't cause all hell to break loose. Maybe the printer will start spouting out pages like a vampid demon. But I hope not. I really hope not.

My computer guy told me what he did to fix it. It had to do with uninstalling the spooler and reinstalling it and then doing stuff with my registry. I can't remember what he did or what a registry is or why it fixed it, but it did and that's what's important.

So now I can print out my own hard copies of all those yummy pictures I post. See, the word yummy works well there.

Now that one technical problem is fixed, I think I shall tackle another. A website redo. I'm not so happy with it anymore. So, I think I'll take a look at fixing it. But it may be a while before any results are available for viewing!

Did you miss me? How did your weekend go?

April

Out of Touch...

I guess it's my turn to have technical difficulties. When I leave work today, I will be out of touch of a computer for the WHOLE weekend!

You see, that printer problem I talked about a few weeks ago... It never got resolved. So, yesterday, my handy dandy computer tech came to my house and tried to install the printer correctly. Because apparently installing a simple printer driver is too hard for this goof ball. After spending nearly 4 hours trying to get it installed, he finally decided to take my laptop and printer home with him to work on it.

He called today... After spending several more hours trying to fix it, he had called Epson, the manufacturer of the printer. And then he spent several hours on the phone with them, trying to fix it. In the end, Epson decided I needed to uninstall and reinstall windows. Not gonna happen.

I mean, I've used the computer with 4 seperate printers none of which have I had a problem with. Whey should I do something so drastic for this stupid printer?

The computer tech agreed with me. He asked if he could still hold it over the weekend and try unistalling and reinstalling just the spooler portion of windows. I said, sure. Because I'm willing to put off the fight I'm going to have with the store over taking the printer back. But if it doesn't work, that baby is going BACK!

You know what's sweeter? The computer tech is only charging me for an hour of labor. And he's spent countless hours on it already. Isn't he sweet? I send him a lot of business, cause I know a lot techno-num-nuts. I like him because he never treats me like I'm stupid. Even if I've done something really stupid. Like not ever made a backup of my system... :-). So, he's making me a backup before he does any work :-). See, isn't he a peach.

Am I the only one with technical problems? Boy... I'm sure going to go through internet withdrawl! Not to mention writing withdrawl. I guess this is a good time to read Ms. Crusie's new book!

April

Post edited to add:
PS Did anyone else get that 80's song "I'm Outta Touch..." in their head when they read that title? I can't get rid of it!!