LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL

I know, I know---I have been very neglectful about keeping my peeps updated with the wild goings on in my life.  I can tell you that nothing much has changed over the course of the last few months.  I did move---twice.  The girls are impressively resilient to everything that has been going on and I must say I am truly proud of them for being strong through all of this.

In between everything else, I managed to complete my YA novel--most of you will remember its title Death & The Dreamers.  My truly good friend Christine Green--Green Proofing on FB--did some great editing for me very early on and after some great feedback from several beta readers,  I was ready!  We writers all know what happens from this point.  The queries go out, the rejections come back. 

The white light, my angel (mom), God or whoever your faith is in, trust it!  Through some very strange series of events, I found WAMM  http://thewritersblock.forumotion.net/   With some very dedicated and extremely helpful peeps there, I was able to see deep into my story and began more editing, adding nearly 15,000 more words, creating a novel from a novella and excited with the results!  During the process, I felt a need to change the title... so I did!!  It is now titled Fool Me Once.

I submitted my newly completed work and was offered a contract!  I can tell you, it is an amazing feeling to receive an e-mail that doesn't start with... At this time, we are not looking for---or Although your writing style is good, we don't have a need for... or any other form letter ya get from agents.  I admit, when I opened that e-mail---I cried, yeppers I did!!  I have put off a dream of mine that I have had for as long as I can remember, to be a mom.  The girls have always been first!  That's just me.  I still volunteer with D#4's Color Guard, and D#5 is ready for high school now, so I feel comfortable in taking MY time.  So yeah, it was a tearful event for us all.  I always had their support with this novel---we all cried happy tears!

Contract signed---duuhhh---we are now in the phase of creating the book cover!  My light at the end of the tunnel is right there!!  Tip of my fingers.  Here is the cover---

I know right!!  Fo' Shizzle!!  The reality of it all is still sinking in and I can't wait for the day when I can report to you all the release date, book signing dates and all the other things authors do!!  (Did ya catch that?---AUTHOR!!)  In the meantime, you should all visit WAMM for all of their books---I know you will see some very familiar names!    http://www.writersamuseme.com/  Amazing Fiction writer, Trish Stewart with Taking Lessons From Ernest, Multi-talented June Kramin with Come And Talk To Me and several MG books also and one of my favs---Mary Cote with The Red of Flowing Blood I See.  You can find these and much, much, much more on the website---so what are ya waiting for??  Get on over there now and make sure you keep your eyes out for my very first YA novel!!  I will expect feedback!! 

See ya soon... 



WRITER'S MONTHLY!!

Yes, I know it's been a couple of months since I have indulged my once a month rantings on writing.  I'm here now and ready to dive in!  Topic?  Hmm...I have contemplated this for a while and have decided to try to figure out what makes a writer write about their personal genere.  We all have it!  Whether it's PB, YR, MG or YA; Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Dystopia or Steampunk.  Choosing whether to write in 1st Person, 3rd Person---past, present is yet aother obstacle to deal with. So many different choices, so many different levels.

Me... I dabble in a bit of, well, let's just say I've done a couple of different ones.  I started off with what I thought would be appropriate for YR Fantasy.  Everything written, I now wonder if I want to break up the stories and individualize them.  I know I'm not really making sense with this one--it's a difficult one to explain.  After completing several stories, (and more to come)  I decided to put them on the back burner and dabble with YA Fantasy choosing 3rd Person, Past, Omniscent Voice.  Yeah, I know right!!

Now complete, and working on the beginnings of 2nd novel, this time choosing 1st Person, Past---just to challenge myself.  I began to notice a pattern of my writing.  DEATH.  Yeppers---everything I have written so far has death involved in one way or another.  Not the blood and guts, devil comin for ya, zombie's wanna eat ya kinda death, but death nontheless.  Yes, even in my YR stories death is involved---but not the way you think.  It's more about children dealing with the loss of someone they loved.  So, yes death, but in a really good way.

I know my writing comes from dreams I had/have.  These particular dreams taunted me forever and became one of my main forces to put pen to paper.  Writing about dreams is a difficult genre to overcome.  There's just too much out there and very competitve so uniqueness is key.  I think I have that, but only time will tell.

So, I pose this question to you, my dear friends.  What is it that drives you to write in the genre you chose?  Why PB, YR, MG or YA?  Why Fantasy, Sci-Fi?  Do you write in 1st, 2nd, 3rd?  Past or Present?  What goes on in your head that causes the paper to dance as you type?

There you have it!  Dig deep and try to figure out why you write in the style you write and let me know!!                                                             See ya soon!!

On The Upside!!

So my last post, dreary as it may have been, was just my way of venting.  I have said up front, my blogging is going to be more geared to my life and all that goes with it so if I bored you with that one, I apologize.  NOT!!!  We all have the need to vent every now and again... I'm glad some of you were here to listen (or read.)  Things have gotten somewhat better and there may be light at the end of this dark tunnel.  If I could get ahold of my flashlight it might be better but as luck has it, my batteries are dead!

Happier and much calmer days are ahead.  This is the end of November and while I didn't fully commit myself to NaNo, I did start a new YA Novel.  I find myself becoming a writer about death!!  Some of you are familiar with my first YA Novel--Death & the Dreamers.  I am sending queries for that one now.  My new one also involves death, but in a different way.  I haven't quite decided on a title yet but I'm leaning towards Dimensions.  Is this a weird fixation I have or what!!??  Come to think of it... the YR stories that I have completed also involve death.  Those stories however are meant to help children deal with the loss of a loved one---so yeah, quite different.  (Still---death)

There's more good news for D#4 and her Color Guard team.  The entire team (band & guard) took 2nd place or what they call Grand Champions for placing 2nd three years running.  They are continually beat out by the Lafayette team and we continually hear--y'all should have taken 1st!! The comments following the video speak for themselves.  Other statewide band members gave them rave reviews.  If you have 10 minutes to spare you should watch.  http://youtu.be/yIdMwxWhmw0  They really are a talented bunch of kids and I hate to brag but I will.  Myself and another mom were single handly responsible for the flags the girls used.  That's 21 girls, three different flags--the purple ones were X2.  That's a grand total of 84 flags we made in a month's time.  WHEW!!!  It was a huge task to take on---but very well worth it to see them on the field!

Next up is the Winter Guard season and that means new flags, costumes, dancing and more competitions!!  Me thinks I'm gonna wear down before she does.  I couldn't be more proud of her and already D#5 is wanting to join next year.  I may be getting myself in way over my head---what mom wouldn't want to be a part of their child's life in this way??  I definitely count my blessings!!!

See ya soon!!
Honey

On The Down Side

As you may have noticed, it has been quite some time since I've last been here.  Unfortunately, I have been going through some rough patches.  (Yes, more than one!!)  It all started with my computer crashing a few months ago and my panic state of mind to find and replace all of my files---pics & novel (holy shit) being most important to me.  In my defense, I was steadily working on rewrites and edits and had just completed them and was ready to use my flash sticky thingy when my world came crumbling down.  Now, having recovered my entire story (Thank God) I am on the move again. 

During all of that time, I was able to dedicate myself to D#4's Color Guard team.  I became the new mom to the girls and I have loved every second!!  I'm the mom out on the field during practices supplying them with water, snacks and stuffs.  I'm not alone, of course.  There are 150 band and color guard students to take care of, so it takes two of us to handle them.  We have had 2 competitions so far and have had placed in both but the showcase is this weekend and it is the one where we really want to take the top prize!!

In the midst of all of this, I have to begin packing my house.  Yes, foreclosure is at my doorstep.  It seems to be taking over the country right now and I have been awaiting my turn for a while.  I have ended my marriage of thirteen years but I'm in a very good place with that.  It may have well ended the life the girls and I have come accustomed to, but in my heart, I know I have done the right thing.  We may have to leave what they have come to love behind (because he does not believe he should pay for where he does not live anymore)-- but I think through it all they are handling things quite well.  In the end, it will be him that suffers...the girls are smarter than he thinks.

My next step is to hopefully find a stay at home job (hard find--I know) before we lose everything.  Bad thing is... my time is very (very very) short!!  So I pack, go to school for mom duty, look for job and pray, pray, pray.  In the end, I believe everything will work itself out and things happen for a reason and one door closes another opens and every other cliche you can think of.  For now... I take things one day at a time and keep moving forward.

I know I'm not alone!!!! 

Summer Fun

What did I sign up for here???  Most of you know that D#4 made the Color Guard Team for her high school.  What you don't know is that our summer has been shot to hell and back again.  While I couldn't be more proud of her, my body is aching for her.  It started in July with a week long camp to learn flag throws.  9am - 5pm---not so bad.  She was excited every day and came home afterwards to practice.

Last week was a toughie.  Again 9am-5pm but they had to now put their moves to music.  The day started with an extremely rough workout.  Outside, in the heat (and here the heat is unbearable) for 2 hours!  A mile run, push-ups, crunches--you name it, the drill instructor had them dropping like flies.  I know this because like a good loving mom, I volunteered for the week.  Thank goodness I did!!  Mine was one of the ones that dropped!!  I administered the water and gator-aid to the victims and escorted them into the gym where they could re-coup in time to start the aerobics session of the day.

All in all the week didn't go so bad.  A few kids dehydrating, some puking and a sprained ankle (again--mine) caught some very demanding instructions to make sure they eat fruit and drink plenty water before returning to camp.  These next two weeks are the worst of the worst!!  We start at 8am and don't finish until 8pm!!  Yes, that's right a whopping 12 hour day.

I decided, since I was there the entire week last week, that I would take a couple of days off this week.  I will be right back there again tomorrow morning watching these kids put all of their hard work together for their performance at the end of next week.  They are a very hard working group and intend to win a competition held in Lafayette, LA at the end of October.  Though they return to their homes every day exhausted, smelly and looking like wet mops, their efforts will be paid off in the end.

Of course, I am especially proud of D#4 for sticking this through and can't wait to be sitting in the stands watching the football team lose (hate to say it but they are not one of the best football teams in the area.) and waiting like everyone else in the stands for the half-time performance.  Even the opposing teams' band comes over to our side of the stands to watch a trophy winning Band & Color Guard perform!!!  Will definitely try to post some video when they perform---although my footage may be bias!!  I will be focusing on my baby girl for the whole thing!!  Wish us luck!!                   See ya soon!!

Monthly Writer Moment

So June seemed to slip by without me noticing.  Too much of the drama interferes with my commitment to my blog.  For this session of writing I have chosen to pose a question.  If you have read any of my blogs, you may have noticed that I love exclamation points!!!  Here's the question:  What is your favorite punctuation mark?

I actually have two and love to use them expressively!  The first, of course, is the exclamation.  It says so much, don't you think.  I use it for surprise, shock, happiness and mostly to express that particular sentence with a did-you-catch-that kinda punch.  Ex:  My daughter made Color-guard at her school!!!  I'm excited, thrilled, happy, proud and boasting all in one sentence using exclamations to shout about her achievement.  I luvs being expressive!!

My second favorite is the ... (dot-dot-dot)  Why?  I'm not really sure.  I think it's because it kinda leaves ya hangin.  It's open to leave you to decide what your thoughts are after the ...   I like the wondering, the what was he/she gonna say?  The where did he/she mean to say?  Is this gonna end good or bad?  Does it do that for you?  I like that it leaves you, the reader, to guessing and prompts you to read on.  Recently, (and I'm a sucker for reality TV) the ... was used to end a relationship on the Bachlorette.  The lying shithead left the show telling her let's not end this with a period, let's see how things go with you and the rest of the guys and we'll keep our relationship open with a dot-dot-dot.  Naturally, she had fallen for the guy and continued to believe that there may be more to them because of his comment; leaving the rest of the guys hangin.  What a douch!!! (notice exclamations)  You get the idea of what a ... can do!  What else was she suppose to think!

So there it is.  My two favorite punctuation marks!  I sometimes have to contain myself while writing, of course, but in my e-mails, blogs or chats, you will very often find my !!!!  and ...  appearing everywhere.  Favorites anyone???  (Question mark coming in close third)                       See ya soon!

Father's Day Delight

In the spirit of Father's Day, I shall dedicate this to my dad!  In the great realm of things, I must say I (along with 5 other siblings) was quite blessed having two of the best parents anyone could have.  As a young girl, I knew my dad to be a very loving, caring, devoted and strong man.  He worked for the telephone company all of his life.  He climbed telephone poles in those days.  He stayed quite fit.  He was also in the Army; a Sergeant Major in rank.  Paratrooper, Green Beret, Special Forces.  Needless to say, he was the one to dole out discipline when needed.  If my mother uttered the words, "Wait till your dad gets home," we knew we were in big trouble.  I'm sure many of you have heard those words---that was back in the day where a good ass whoopin did not involve 1-800-child-abuse.  I wasn't so much on the receiving end of the paddle, but I had my fair share of spanks.

No matter what, every couple of years, the six of us, mom & dad and two selected cousins hit the road for a two week vacation.  Trust me when I say we were no where near rich.  We drank powdered milk just like most in those days but together they managed to save enough money to take us on a traveling frenzie; sometimes east, sometimes west.  At the time, we had a station wagon jam packed with kids, luggage, tent and camping gear strapped on top.  They called it an adventure; we called it boring---then.  Now, I relish and hold on to the memory of each one of those trips.  Some memories as a young girl, some as a teenager (my personal favorite--Grand Canyon) I still hold dear to my heart.  I didn't know then how those times would impact my life as an adult.  What kid does?  I could really tell ya some stories from some of those trips.  I'll save that for another time.

My dad has literally been a great force in the person I am today.  His strength has given me strength, his love and devotion has given me a huge heart to which I can only hope to pass on the my girls.  I take a few things away from my mother who's love and dedication was to her children and other family.  (Which is why the cousins were always included on several trips.)  I know I get that from her!

My mother was with us until 2003 then passed away peacefully after fighting cancer for five years.  I was fortunate enough to be there for her during her last month on this earth and what pained me more then letting her go was watching my dad let her go.  It was excruciating to see the love of his life leave him.  He sat, everyday, dedicated.  Vigilant.  Worn and exhausted.  Drained and hopeless.  Lost and alone was what he would say.  To which I would remind him that he still had the six of us.  Nothing could describe what he must have been feeling.  I would lose my mother any day and feared my dad would follow her.

Thankfully, I still have my dad!  We did make it through one of the toughest times any of us could have imagined.  Today, I can write about this... then I couldn't even fathom it.  My dad has found peace in knowing that he is doing exactly what my mother would have wanted.  They always planned on traveling after we had all grown---married---and left the house.  They did for a short time before mom became ill.  To this day, this eighty year old strong willed, strong minded and stubborn man still travels.  "It's what mom would want me to do," he tells us.  "I take her with me everywhere I go."

I couldn't have been more blessed to have you as my dad and only hope that I have met your expectations as much as you have met mine.  I love you Daddy!