After a crazy six weeks with my hubby home and the trip to Pennsylvania, I’m home again. Anyone miss me? No? Ah well, I’m a bad blogger.

Yes, I’ve been missing everywhere. Hubby’s visit is going great. Prom went smoothly and for the most part so did graduation. We had some annoying folks sitting behind us that needed a class in manners. And nowhere else for us to sit. ARGH.

Legal issues will hopefully be done this week. Oh wait...I forgot to tell everyone I was served foreclosure papers on a house I didn’t know I half owned. Or I was supposed to be half owner. I don’t know. Odd how no one got around to telling me that detail in my dad’s will way back in December when he died.

Writing wise, Brooklyn is slowly being revised. Emphasize on the word slow in that previous sentence. But hey, all progress is good.

I hope you all are having a good month.

I have a sick child to cotend with so this will probably end up being a choppy post. 

Revisions with Brooklyn are going great. I have been called warped by one friend; no make that two, for ending a scene with a character getting killed. What’s wrong with a dead body? Or two...? 

Speaking of the dead, has anyone read Carrie Ryan’s book, The Forest of Hands and Teeth? YA novel about zombies? No? Shoot. Get yourself a copy. Carrie’s voice and style lures the reader in and doesn’t let go. Heck, even after I finished reading the story it haunted me. There is tragedy, a little gore (remember, zombies) and love. I know it sounds odd, you know zombies and such, but I did enjoy it. The conflict kept me on edge, urging me to read faster. Anyway, no surprise about that is being made into a movie. 

A while back, I also meant to recommend Lament by Maggie Stiefvater. YA novel and another great read. My teenage daughter ran off with the book before I had a chance to read it and then she wouldn’t give it back. For about two months. No, she’s not a slow reader. She just kept re-reading it. Maggie is another wonderful storyteller with beautiful prose. I’m looking forward to Maggie’s new book, Shiver, coming out in August. 

Okay, I best stop here. I have to make the girl more tea.

I’m only on my second cup of coffee so be warned of any typos.

Today I have several links to share with you all. First off, my buddy, Valerie, requested a guest blog post on my muse. Some might find it interesting:

http://valeriecomer.com/?p=267&cpage=1#comment-36

Next up: Val is giving a workshop on the muse over on Forward Motions. This should be interesting and I really encourage you all to check it out to find some help when your muse is being...uncooperative.

http://fmwriters.com/community/dc/dcboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=13&topic_id=1012&mesg_id=1012&page=

Note: You need to be a member to see the announcement and the workshop. Membership is free and so is the workshop.

One last linkie. I thought this was so cool I wanted to share it. And yes, you’ll need to be a Forward Motion member to see this. Margaret created a new toy, the FM story idea generator. For those that are familiar with Justin’s story prompts/writing exercises, this generator will pull random posts from the past. I love these prompts. Wait--that might not be enthusiastic enough. I REALLY LOVE these exercises. They’ve sparked three of my novels. Check it out:

http://www.fmwriters.com/community/dc/Random_Zettercise.php

That’s all. Resume your coffee drinking. And remember, Wolverine opens tonight. Woot.

Yes, more snow. Cool...

You gotta love being a MOM because it’s never boring. Things as usual are hectic here, but even more so with all the end of the school year fun. My son is preparing for prom, graduation and all that good stuff. And yes, it would be wonderful if he did his homework in between it all. The debate is on whether to put my daughter on a waiting list to transfer her out of her present high school or put her in a homeschooling program. Colorado actually has an accredited online public school option, complete with her AP and honor classes. Isn’t that convenient. Plus, in three weeks, my hubby is coming home for a 28 day visit.

While Daniel’s story is completely outlined, Brooklyn demands to be revised. It’s funny how my characters act like my kids and beg for attention. Not sure, why or how I got into this habit of writing a story, write another story, then go back to the first story. Strange, don’t you think?

Anyway, I left it up to fate. If I had the black ink cartridges, I’d print Brooklyn off and work on her. No ink meant Daniel. First drawer I opened and there were not one, but two cartridges. I’d say that’s a sign from my muse.

A couple of weeks back, my writing friend Val and I were talking in chat. For once it wasn't about abusing characters and all the evil deeds that I plague upon them. Noooo, this time we were chatting about the publicity, marketing and what might be in store for publishing. Boring stuff but important.

One point that came up was the future of eBooks. My thoughts on this, I believe this is where publishing is heading. Not completely. (Even with the invasion of ipods and mp3 players, there are still CDs being sold.) But I think the time is coming quicker than expected. Days past, folks might've gotten a good chuckle at that or ridiculed writers who took an offer from an epublisher. Laugh all you want but now big houses like HarperCollins, Harlequin and others are formatting books for electronic format.

Granted, if you're looking for major deals--like brand new hardcover releases for five dollars--you'll be disappointed. Authors, agents, editors, copy editors and publicists all seem to like eating and keeping a roof over their heads. But still...I think the prices would come down some. Along with the portable eReaders like Kindle, Sony and Bookwise. Who wants to be trapped at their desk all day? Not me.

Who would've thought it?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7918960.stm

Who would've thought it?

Way too long actually but after my pc sort of caught fire--okay, there were no flames but plenty of smoke--I fell into a deep, gloomy place. Not a pretty place. And this is not something I'm proud to admit to, either. Normally, I don't have these issues. But this hasn't exactly been an ordinary year.

I needed to find some sense of peace in my upside down world. I needed to write. In January, Forward Motion set up the Advanced Writers Board and of course, it has monthly challenges, so I thought I'd jump in with a writing goal. Write ANYTHING.

First couple of weeks didn't go to plan. (Talk about feeling crappier.) Then it came down to tough love--no surfing the net until I wrote in the morning. Yes, that meant no yahoo IM, either. I still had my obligation for FM but that was it.

Every morning, after the last child was out the door, I went upstairs to work on my laptop. (I made sure the wireless was turned off.) I wrote. And wrote. Some days it came to only 900 words, other days I would hit 4000 without thinking. And for the first time in a very long time, I felt centered. I felt happy. Then it happened, on Thursday at 11:50 AM, I finished Brooklyn.

I had forgotten how crazy Mondays can be. Yesterday in Colorado we broke freezing temp records, and yeah, I was out in that miserable cold. Going to my doctor’s appointment by taxi was an adventure with the icy roads, car accidents and stalled vehicles.

For those that wonder, my knee is healing. I have a bad feeling it’s going to be slow going to get it back to full strength. And that bums me out some. Have I mentioned I hate not being able to move around? Oh and you all can forget bed rest. Seriously, it ain’t happening.

Writing front update: 13,978 words.

I have to admit I thought things were going to be easier after the original shock of losing Dad. Um, no. I mean, am I missing some unspoken rule that greed and bad behavior is acceptable after a death? Anyway, things are calming down.

A writing update

Yeah, I know. When was the last time I did this? I mean this is only a writing journal, right?

Stop laughing, Val.

Brooklyn so far has been an interesting adventure. I wrote the first 4300 words and thought, this is all wrong. No, as tempting as it was I didn’t delete it. I opened a new Word Doc and started over. New word count: 10,800 words. Progress has been slow, but I’ve been just a little busy here.

After a long day yesterday, my dad passed away early last night. He did put up a good fight but he was tired.  Rest in peace, Dad...

Because you all know, it really wouldn’t be a holiday without some drama.

The day before Thanksgiving a pipe cracked in my basement. Think indoor raingear.

Thankfully, two plumbers came to the rescue. For a pretty price, but hey, I couldn’t complain. It was 8 PM when they finished replacing 40 feet of pipe. Thanksgiving itself was crazy with the mad run to get EVERYTHING cooked, but the meal came off without a major disaster. And it was delicious.

The next day I fell down the stairs. Yeah, there I am kicking off the holiday season visiting the ER. Gotta love it. After a good deal of tests and three doctors later—a broken bone was found in my knee. Small fracture. Believe it or not, this is great news compared to the alternatives. All of them meant surgery. Yup, I’m extremely thankful over a broken bone.

My dad has gotten weaker and the doctors are warning it doesn’t look good. I’ve made peace with this. I love him, and if he’s ready to rest, then...well, like I said, I’m okay. The man is incredible and has more fight in him than most people I’ve met. We’ll just see what happens.

So, now that I’ve shared my zany holiday, how about you all? How’s everyone doing? That is  if anyone is still reading this blog.

I received a gentle reminder today that I hadn’t posted on my lj/blog in like a month. Surely, I thought, it hadn’t been that long. It had. I have completely lost track of time and neglected blog world.

It started weeks ago with a phone call from Florida. The type of call that comes in the off hours of the night and makes your stomach clench in that nauseating fashion. Except for me it was in the wee hours of the morning.

My dad is a special man in my life. Oh I’m not here to say we were the best of friends or anything like that. Dad was a workaholic-a stranger in some ways. Hell, most of my memories of him are from him yelling at me or my brothers. Or handing out that discipline. But growing up I liked talking to him. He’s funny, down to earth and a no nonsense type of guy.

Last night was another phone call. There had been another fall, causing a broken bone, and another surgery planned. The only difference this time is that there was a finality in my dad’s voice when I spoke to him this morning. A sadness of all he’d lost and of all that happened between us. He spoke of what he wanted when he passed on. He feared I’d be mad at him. He feared that I would think he didn’t love me as much as my little brother.

I assured him I loved him. That everything was okay between us.

And then his mind slipped into another era as he spoke of people long dead. Talking about them as if they were alive and he would see them soon. Something inside me sort of broke.  I won’t say this is the first time I noticed it. I traveled out east two weeks ago and knew something wasn’t right. No matter how the surgery goes today; things will never be quite the same. It’s okay. I am at peace with that for I had my dad today when it counted the most.

I believe I’ve mentioned a time or two about how I can’t stand censorship in any form. Stories not only entertain but share a glimpse into the era they were written. A great story challenges the way we view our world. For good or bad, we see insight into human nature--and sometimes, yes--the ugly side of it. To try to silence the storyteller is outrageous to me.

The top five stories in 2007:

1) “And Tango Makes Three,” by Justin Richardson/Peter Parnell
Reasons: Anti-Ethnic, Sexism, Homosexuality, Anti-Family, Religious Viewpoint, Unsuited to Age Group

2) The Chocolate War,” by Robert Cormier
Reasons: Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Violence

3) “Olive’s Ocean,” by Kevin Henkes
Reasons: Sexually Explicit and Offensive Language

4) “The Golden Compass,” by Philip Pullman
Reasons:  Religious Viewpoint

5) “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” by Mark Twain
Reasons:  Racism

And here is the link to the ALA Celebrating the Freedom to Read to find out more about the authors and books. Be sure to share the news.

So there I was. Surrounded by five thousand muses--and all I had was an empty coffee cup.

And what are they clamoring for? A real world to play in.

I do tend to do a lot of world building. Yeah, at times it gets a little tedious and time consuming. If time is an issue I move faster. Honest, I do. But if I have the time why not use it? Last week I did splurge and  spent a day looking at plants. (See, isn’t writing exciting?) A few folks would say such in depth world building is unnecessary, but you never know when it might come handy. I’ve had some world building lead to great plot twists. So for me, I have to have the bulk--not all--but the core of the world building in place before I sit down to plot. 
 

The reason I say ‘not all’ is because you never know what might happen as you’re writing and something comes up.

Does it mean I’ve found the perfect way of world building to enrich the story?

Oh hell no.
 
I have to be reminded from time to time to show the world building because I tend to hide stuff. Okay, not hide but I take stuff out because I worry I’m going to bore folks with  an info dump. Please note, omitting crucial details is an especially bad idea if you want to write SF. Yup, I've done that.

Right now I use a series of questions from Zette’s Two Year Novel course. Plus I use Holly Lisle’s course to look at conflict in the world building. This is the first time I’m using Holly’s technique and so far I like it. It’s definitely a thought provoking way of looking at things.

Anyone ever stop and think about their muse? Seriously, do we all have them?

I would say mine took on the embodiment of the main character of each story I wrote. Why yes, it can get pretty crowded in my mind at times. But lately my “muse” has taken on the persona of a dead guy. Flirty—but very much dead.

Heh. What does that say about how my mind works?

I have a friend whose muse doesn’t talk to her at all now. Instead her imaginary conduit dances and cuts her toenails. I’ve tried talking my friend into listening to the music of the prancing, toenail clipping story warden but so far no luck.

Another friend’s muse works overtime and sort of reminds me the EverReady bunny. You know, the cute pink bunny with the drum. I would imagine it does have its downfall because there’s only so much time in the day for her to write. Though I have to say my friend does give it a valiant try.

What about you all? Does your imagination have a persona? Maybe an animal guide? Ah, come on. It’s time to share.

Some of you that are familiar with FLYLADY will recognize the acronym. (Can’t Have Anyone Over Syndrome.) That’s not exactly what it means to me today but it is close. Yeah, my house is slowly getting back in order after being laid up for a while. Talk about tedious and slow with my leg.

I sort of feel like I’ve been on a rollercoaster for the last few weeks and it has cost me.

Writing? Ha.

Revising? A little better progress there but not by much.

The worst part is with my family. I feel like I’ve been ignoring my kiddies and that’s not acceptable. Sure, they’ll tell you I’m not, but I feel it. My dad’s health has also taken a turn for the worse, plus there are some other issues going down in Florida. I have no clue what to do about that.

I might be offline more. Maybe or maybe not. I’m taking it one day at a time. Not like anyone will miss me since I haven’t exactly been a great blogger. I need to focus more because I want to write. And yes, part of it is also revising. You can’t have one without the other.

I’ll be around.

Normally I post my goals on Forward Motion but I figured this week I’d share.

This week:

Keep up on online workshop: I caught up last week. Finally. Three weeks behind is not a good thing.

Three queries this week. Two are going to be snail mail which I just didn't want to fool with last week. Can you blame me?

Brooklyn: World building.

Mia: Two critiques came in and I'm making notes, planning how to fix them. Right now this is just a planning phase. Free writing, thinking—maybe I’ll even throw in some clustering.

Hm...looks like enough especially since this is the last week before school starts. Woo Hoo! I mean...sorry to see my kids go back to school. It's been such a pleasure. Really...

So, anyone else have goals for this week?

Hubby came home for a visit. We had a great time. Awesome even. But of course, I came away limping from it. That’s a sign it was fun, right?

I slid on gravel, doing a split. I’m sure that looked graceful. But hey I saved my camera from falling. That counts, right? You all want to see pictures. But I’m in pain now. Yeah, I know rest, ice, compression and elevation. I think last night I was dreaming that mantra. Have I mentioned I get stir crazy on bed rest? Even sitting on a couch for too long bothers me. I will it admit, I do make the lousiest patient.

So slowly I’m getting back into the swing of things.

Argh...my days are getting away from me again.

For those that missed the announcement Paperback Writer (author S.L. Viehl/ Lynn Viehl) is holding her yearly Left Behind and Loving It Virtual Workshop. Be sure to check out her lineup.

She is the nicest, funniest and hosts some of the best workshops I know of on blogger. And she’s also one the most generous folks I’ve ever met.