Crazy Time

I have been busy falling behind writing toward my National Novel Writing Month project, and thus have been a bit absent here. I’m experimenting with this Comic Sans font that some writers swear boosts their output. Not sure it’s working because I’m almost two full days’ word count behind, but real life issues have been dragging me down this November.

Meanwhile, I wanted to share something that a local friend posted on our NaNoWriMo FB page. Truer words could not be spoken (though I thought the last word was ‘bat’, which I find even funnier… Heh…).

Doesn’t the best comedy have a ring of truth? And what do you think of this font for blogging? Be well! 

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Where Am I? Happy News, &, What’s That You Say?

During this month’s Camp NaNo writing challenge, I decided to count hours instead of fresh words. That flexibility offers a chance to work on edits and new story as I see fit.

Yesterday and today I made minute changes to a short story. Finished reading those words, I moved back to a WIP with different characters. In one amusing moment this afternoon, I recognized a mistake. Switching between Nickolas and Alex in Cincinnati, I set Arick and Lita in that same region instead of their native US state of Idaho.

I rectified that with a chuckle. Meanwhile, I am enjoying this ongoing dedication as a writer sans the stress of attempts to publish. We shall see what the future holds in that department.

In other happy news, lunch with someone considered the little brother I never had and a lady who has been making him very happy rounded out another successful and rewarding day. Now I’m about to join my husband for some YouTube video content. On a less pleasant front, a few days ago his hearing seemed to take an abrupt and sever downturn.

Deaf in one ear for several years, attributed to otherwise asymptomatic mumps (shocking considering he received inoculations in the Air Force decades ago), my spouse has been turning broadcasts up to the point it makes me flinch on occasion. To combat this, I put cotton in my ears.

Even that proved inadequate the other evening and I located Styrofoam ear plugs. When spotted, that did not go over well. He stormed out of the room and got on his computer. Today I implored him to get a hearing test. He met that with stoic dissatisfaction. I guess we all are in denial over something.

Any suggestions for what I should do next? How far should I push, and how fast before things deteriorate further?

Anything exciting happening in your neck of the woods?

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A Review of ‘Bodies in the Boatyard’ by Ellen Jacobson

I am honored to have been gifted the second Mollie McGhie cozy sailing mystery in grateful exchange of a fair review. Thank you, Ellen, for this opportunity. Free reads are awesome, as is the opportunity to support other authors.

Again, Ms. Jacobson’s delightful and quirky sense of humor shines as Mollie fumbles her way toward solving another murder case. In fact, as the title implies, there are two. And the plot includes way more suspects than stiffs.

Favorite characters return, such as Ben the poor dressing wannabe pirate who does odd jobs around the marina and pines for his elusive lady friend. Readers are also given further glimpses into the protagonist’s loving marriage. Exchanges between Mollie and Scooter never fail to make me smile.

I get the distinct impression there is a good deal of Mr. Jacobson in Mollie’s protective, chocolate and Cap’n Crunch loving partner. Please let Mollie’s propensity for finding dead people remain fiction. ~grin~ The light romantic elements woven through the various relationships, meanwhile, provides a fun and realistic touch.

It’s not beach season here in my northern hemisphere neck of the Midwestern woods, but curling up with this e-book in the light of my Christmas tree almost made up for the grey and chilly venue. If you like demanding kitties, especially those worming their way into aspiring sailors’ hearts while helping her intrepid human find clues, you’ll enjoy this book.

“Bodies in the Boatyard” is available both as an eBook at Amazon and paperback both on Amazon and Barnesand Noble. I hope you’ll give it a read and perhaps visit Ellen’s humorous and interesting blog, The Cynical Sailor andHis Salty Sidekick. Other places to find Ellen Jacobson include Facebook and her author page.

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November Again

Hope You Had a Happy Halloween!

Hard to believe the year is coming to a close. Time moves so fast since I left the workforce. I’m blessed to have so much time to write for my enjoyment.

On that note, November means it’s time for National Novel Writing Month. I believe this is my eighth year of participation. The goal is to write fifty thousand words before December rolls around.

To be honest, I almost didn’t sign up this year. I wanted to work on unfinished tales from my series. There are so many project ideas resulting from prior writing challenges (I also wrote fifty thousand words for ‘Camp NaNo’ in both April and July).

A friend changed my mind. It will be his first attempt, and he told me he looked forward to my encouragement.

~gulp~

How could I back down after that? So, I am setting aside my beloved series and plan to rewrite something else started many years ago. Back then inspiration came from another writer’s original characters shared, of all places, on a fanfiction website (now defunct). I wanted to finish his or her story, in fact.

But this talented person (whose interesting pen name was DonkeyJaws19) was nowhere to be found to ask permission.

Thus, a very different original tale came into being. Today I’m going to start fresh on ‘Awakening Arick’, a tale of magic and love, adversity and discovery. Arick is a very special young man with no clue as to his potential.

First, I need to clean my two fresh water aquariums. It should have been done a week ago. If I start writing now there is a good chance the chore will be postponed yet another day.

I can’t have that. Guilt is weighing my mind as it is. But once I get moving the whole process only takes about an hour.

Wish me luck on the challenge. Should be fun.

Do you keep fish tanks?

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Not Technically a ‘Rainbow Snippet’ Snippet (Borderline NSFW)

As mentioned in the title, this post is not exactly family friendly. And if you are ill at ease reading intimacy, please feel free to give the following a skip. It’s a little beyond suggestive. Instead, feel free to enjoy once again a boy in a dress during this past LA Fashion Week.

~grin~

Remington Leith of Palaye Royale

If you are hanging in there, let me first say I’m sorry that I did not participate in the Facebook group Rainbow Snippets the last several weekends, in part due to our long trip out of town. Today I am too busy trying to get back into (re)writing and catching up on laundry to do those talented authors justice (reading their snippets and commenting).

But in the process of working on “The Cat Who Ate the Canary” this afternoon I decided to take a minute and share something anyway.

The five sentence snippet is meant to illustrate the weakness of a character who breaks off relations with his morally ambiguous, manipulative ex-wife. I’ve struggled with the sentence/paragraph structure before. Today I think I may have gotten it better.

If you have a minute, please read the former and latter incarnations and tell me what you think. I appreciate constructive feedback. As for back story, Jackson is getting turned on by a stranger and wonders if he should have continued relations with his ex. Thank you, Lisa, for mentioning the confusion.

Before today:

Lighting a cigarette, Pamela announced her pregnancy by the fertile new husband lying in post coital infidelity. Jackson held his breath and his tongue that day. He walked out that motel room door with socks stuffed in his jacket pocket and became a devoted hermit at the ripe old age of twenty-seven.

He had not regretted the decision for one minute. Until tonight.

My revision:

Lying with her ex-husband in post coital infidelity, Pamela waved a lit cigarette announcing her pregnancy by the fertile new spouse. Jackson held his breath and his tongue, and walked through that motel room door with socks stuffed in his jacket pocket.

A devoted hermit at the ripe old age of twenty-seven, he had not regretted the decision for one minute. Until tonight.

~

In the first one, doesn’t it read like the new husband is lying with his wife in post coital infidelity? ~snicker~ I hope you’re having a lovely weekend!

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Scratching an Itch

Yesterday I got partway through the fifth short story in my series. It’s been fun revisiting them, if for like the millionth time. ~shakes head~ Today I completed that polishing reread and opened the sixth document.

But something continued to niggle me after I posted about this series yesterday. The newly renamed “Cat Scratch Fever” is a few thousand words shorter than most of the others (it remains to be seen where the seventeenth goes, currently incomplete with almost a doubled word count).

So, poor me, I have to read through the first story again and beef up the word count. ~sigh~ It’s such a chore (not) working on these scenes again. There are always little phrases that can spice up showing my characters’ personalities. That said, I’ve already punched up the first few paragraphs a little. Joy!

'Kyros" is pouting because he wants me to finish his story.

What are you planning to do today?

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A Rainbow Snippet for April 28th and 29th

This weekend, my contribution to RainbowSnippets is all about angst. For some reason, I tend to torment these characters. I hope you enjoy this descriptive scene.

Story:

He looked toward the window. His lips formed a deep pink slash, almost like a healing knife wound. Would he, or we, ever get a chance to heal?

“Look at me, Nicky.”

Hollow eyes turned to me, bottomless irises and pupils flattening, becoming duller than a mud hole. I couldn’t understand how his mood shifted so fast even with my idiotic reminder of a painful incident.

~

Have you ever said the exact worst possible thing and hurt the one you love most? I hope you worked it out as these two manage to do.

Hope you enjoyed this and will check out what other authors have shared this weekend. Be well!

#‎RainbowSnippets
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A Rainbow Snippet for April 21st and 22nd

This weekend’s RainbowSnippets showcases a little adult humor. At

least I hope it’s funny. But if literary reference to intimacy makes you
uncomfortable you will probably want to stop reading here. It's not
my intent to upset or offend.

For back story, you need know one shape-shifter has lost her mind
under the animal id in the midst of ill-fated sexual power exchange.
While she retains humanoid thinking and shape, her surroundings
make no sense. And in her mind, her baffled lover has become her
assumed enemy.

Story:

I hobbled about searching for some suitable missile. My pathetic

nemesis followed at a safe distance, still chattering in a pointless way,

waving outspread arms.

Among so much human made garbage I discovered a smooth garish

club standing on end. Testing its heft I found the lined grip a little
narrow. Somehow those grooves spun and the thing awakened with a
rattle. To keep it from shaking free I tightened my hold.

~

Do you know what she picked up? I hope you enjoyed and will check out the Rainbow Snippets Facebook page for a plethora of compelling vignettes.

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A Minor Announcement and a Pretty Picture

I don’t believe I have ever written a post with so many tags before. And the first might be misleading. I want to formally announce that I will not be taking on the A to Z Blog Challenge this April.

As dear Annie of McGuffy’sReader reminded me, there is still time. And I even started out with plans to share music videos (and you know I would have touted Palaye Royale along with some awesome My Chemical Romance and Panic At the Disco).

Then I considered stealing Annie’s theme and sharing snippets of my prose. But in the end time, despite my lack of outside employment, is a constraint.

It’s not so much the posting but reading new blogs, which I feel compelled to do in support of fellow challengers. I already follow so many folks on a near daily basis, I just couldn’t see adding more. Not when I really want to spend all my time writing.

In fact, I should shout out to all of you with links but fictional characters are calling. ~grin~ Anyway, best wishes to all who endeavor to run in this spring blog race. And with that I’ll leave you with something shiny.

Drummer Emerson Barrett of Palaye Royale in Studio
I Cropped the Rude Gesture Toward a Brother

Do you have any special plans this spring?

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Friday Fill-Ins

(Disclaimer: to anyone visiting from the Feline Friday blog hop, I apologize if I don't visit to see your beautiful feline. I didn't expect the lovely host of Comedy Plus to include my Luna, whose photo is at bottom. I am busy with rewrites/editing and thus limiting my time on blogs right now. Be well!)

Thanks go to two lovely bloggers at McGuffy's Reader and Fifteen and Meowing for hosting a blog hop today. Every week, these lovely ladies provide open-ended statements they compile together. I didn’t join the hop officially because I need to write but decided to share here anyway.

Feel free to join in, however. And visit as many blogs as you can. There are some truly nice folks around, like you, dear readers. Here are the prompts:

1. The Winter Olympics are _________.

2. I think the most romantic movie (or book) is _________.

3. Recently, I had an odd experience when _________.

4. I believe that love _________.

1. The Winter Olympics are something I watched as a kid. Now, I don't care about them, though I wish the athletes all the best.

2. I think the most romantic movie (or book) is my 'BloodMoon' series. Heh...

3. Recently, I had an odd experience when I realized my character's early love interest becomes an unwilling villain years later. He and his sister 'gave it away' with their hair and eye color when I was working on their origin story yesterday, which was super cool.

4. I believe that love from my cat Luna was the soulmate type.

RIP Luna (1999 (?) - August 5, 2014)

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Review of "After Terra: Year 200" by Daniel Coldspring

Sometimes taking a chance for our heart’s desire brings us more than we bargained for. Matthew Garrison is about to learn that in the most unexpected ways.

“After Terra: Year 200” is a wild adventure across the reaches of space. But it’s also much, much more. Unlike so many of today’s movies in which characterization takes a back seat to phony CGI nonsense, Daniel Coldspring’s story focuses on character.

And this book has characters aplenty. I’d introduce you, but I think it’s best you meet them for yourself. When you do, say ‘hello’ to Matthew, Jessie, and the gang for me. Now I need to go buy the sequel.

You can get your copy here at Amazon in either e-book format or paperback. I hope that you do and tell me what you think.

Great Synopsis in Mr. Coldspring's Own Words

What are you reading these days?

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OCD, a Little Insane, or Just in Love with My Characters?

I believe I have the most minor, pleasant case of obsessive compulsive disorder possible (though friends tired of hearing about the same music groups during each phase may disagree; Palaye Royale, anyone?).

I'm polishing my short story series for like the thirteenth time and having as much if not more fun as I did writing them. Or maybe I'm just mildly deranged.

Go Ahead, Roll Your Eyes

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Characterization – Or How to Beat Lazy Afternoon Fatigue

The other morning I fulfilled a promise to go grocery shopping with my partner. I even made myself slow down instead of racing through the aisles. That was tough, though it helped listening through headphones to Black Veil Brides.

(stupid food, don’t you know I don’t have time for you during NaNo?)

Andy Beirsack of BVB

At least we left with lots of meals planned. That’s good. But then I drove us home where it took more precious time hauling and stowing all our finds. By one o’clock in the afternoon I had not written a single word toward my National Novel Writing Month project.

That decided me to go back out to a favorite writing location. There’s another market (pricier than where we shopped) with a public use area up on a mezzanine. I have a great time sitting up there above the produce department, spying on shoppers when my eyes and mind need to wander a moment.

It was really fun the day before Thanksgiving. The holiday brought out shoppers I don’t normally see, like the young couple who could not keep their hands off one another. ~leer~ For a moment I thought she might shove him against the strawberry display for a thorough grope.

(but that’s just my vivid imagination, which brings me to the real point)

On the way to the market I felt a creeping fatigue, probably due to the big fat deli sandwich I crammed down my throat while putting away groceries. Oh, and don’t try the blood orange flavored yogurt. Nothing like the fruit, this stuff was a sickly sweet glob of goo.

Anyway, driving through one neighborhood not far from our own I felt half tempted to turn around. However, I was not dangerous behind the wheel and figured writing would wake me up. How delightfully true that turned out to be!

I ended up creating a new character, secondary but with close ties to a main protagonist. As my word count reached the daily goal toward the coveted 50,000 due on November 30^th I had lined up my next day’s story arc.

Meet Kyros 'Andy' Andropoulos, Renounced Greek Heir
Thanks to Mr. Christian for Posting his Image

On that note, I’d better get going on that. The hour surpasses my magical 11am starting period. And those words don't write themselves.

What have you been up to today?

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Adventures in Writing – Experimenting with Music

Many of my fellow writers rely on music to set the tone. I am no different, except perhaps in musical taste. Instead of  atmospheric instrumentals such as most of my friends choose, I prefer hard driving rock tunes whose words are engrained on my brain. Mouthing the provocative lyrics by the band Korn is not distracting. In fact, I find my fingers fly across the keyboard.

Yesterday a tease from my partner about my obsession over Palaye Royale (“You’ve abandoned all your pretty Japanese bands.”) made me decide to experiment. For a change of pace I pulled up the visual kei concept album ‘merveilles’ by Malice Mizer.

As it turns out, the sometimes sweeping violins and oft sentimental tone of Gackt’s sweet baritone actually drove a main protagonist out of the room. To be fair, Nickolas was too ticked off at Alexandra for reasonable conversation, anyway.

Late, Great Malice Mizer Drummer Kami
He Also Inspires My Vision of Nickolas

And I decided what to do if the direction stalls out my National Novel Writing Month word count. I can always have Nicky and Alex ‘make up’ after Johnny leaves the room. ~wink~ We shall see. As I type this I’m in my key writing time and need to get back to NaNoWriMo.

What should I experiment with today? Any suggestions?

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Introducing My Favorite OC

Nearing the mid point of National Novel Writing Month is always a bit of a big deal to us participating novelists. As I type I’m planning to attend a gathering at the lavish new city library (actually a day early on Tuesday, November 14^th). I look forward to seeing what all the hype is about!

In the meantime, our great municipal liaisons are making the effort to keep us all motivated. And in honor of the midway party, one of these kind ladies asked for a brief introduction to our favorite original character. So, I decided to share here, as well.

Nickolas Sean Angelus Gravan is half Greek, half Irish, and one thousand percent rockstar aspiring werewolf. He sings me to sleep with the voice of Dave Gahan from Depeche Mode and haunts my dreams.

Nick Gravan, Rocker Extraordinaire
Lead Guitarist & Backing Vocalist of BloodMoon

Would you like to meet him?

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Ex-ing Exposition

Opening a story yesterday afternoon provided quite a surprise. For some reason, I noticed for the first time after several passes that the opening included a straight five hundred forty-two words of exposition. Whew! Not good.

It certainly gave me a goal. And I’m pleased to say that before evening arrived the important bits became part of a much more interesting telephone conversation between the narrator and her father. That dialog already existed, just in a shorter format with less tension.

They were disagreeing, after all. So the rewrite makes me feel better on many levels. Meanwhile, father and daughter are working things out. ~grin~ The widower dotes on her.

I also made sure not to delete the original exposition, saving it in a different file. As fellow writers say (or lament) again and again, never toss out anything you've written.

What little achievement made your weekend?

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Fun with Corel Painter 2017

For years now I have sat on a baker's dozen of short stories. They feature shapeshifters, angst, and lots of erotica. Recently I started rewrites and found myself falling in love with the characters all over again.

The male werewolf protagonist is way more of a licentious bad boy, his wereleopardess girlfriend more volatile. It's a blast to explore.

Meanwhile, I have a model's photograph that suits the look of my mid '90's era rebellious hair band holdover of an aspiring rock star (whew - that was a mouthful).

I know his look wouldn't be everyone's cup of tea but I adore him. Yet I found myself wanting to toy with his image, make him appear more ethereal. But how? After a quick search I found a free month's trial of Corel Painter 2017.

It's pricey and I'm not sure I could justify spending the money. All the same, with no kickback from the company, I want to give a shout-out to Corel. The product is amazing and a live chat with customer service proved fast, friendly, and informative.

Warning: half naked man ahead. Probably NSFW, so I'll make you scroll down if you want to see...

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On the left is the lovely model au naturel. I could eat him with a spoon just as he is...


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To the right is my tweaked image. I'm just tickled this old gal progressed so far learning the software in three days, but is the blue too much like a merman? Let me know what you think (as long as you like him ~grin~).

'Nicky' was very patient as I lavished attention upon one nipple

If anyone knows this model's name I'd be very grateful (I'm not hopeful, this image is nearly a decade old).

~

Stereotyped Women a la 1989

I’m a big fan of many Tim Burton directed films. In particular, I like his collaborations with composer Danny Elfman, whom I just learned wrote not only the theme songs to “The Simpsons” and “Tales from the Crypt” but also “Desperate Housewives”. But I digress.

Last night I wanted to watch something light and fun. 1989’s “Batman” grabbed my attention while I perused my DVD collection. Perfect, I thought. Jack Nickolson’s Joker is unforgettable. (Nothing against the late, great Heath Ledger, of course.) And the visuals are stunning.

Alas, I had forgotten Vicki Vale. She probably showed as much dimension in the original 1948 comic book appearance. What a painful character to watch.

Vicki starts out as a strong concept, a prize-winning photo journalist. Yet she never once acts the part besides pulling out a camera once or twice. Throughout the film, which Tim Burton proclaims he mainly considers boring (!), Kim Basinger gets to do little besides shriek, faint, and follow Bruce Wayne around like a puppy. At the end she meekly gets into the car with Alfred as if she has zero interest in championing the world.

I guess she is too busy being some overshadowing dude’s girlfriend now and must attend his needs. To use an eightie’s valley girl euphemism, gag me with a spoon.

Audiences purportedly disliked that Vicki earned a tour of the bat cave. But honestly, what does it matter? It’s not like this namby-pamby smudge upon female characterizations will do anything with this information. This flick shows Ms. Basinger even more mincing than as Elizabeth in “9 1/2 Weeks”.

I have no idea what might have ended up on the cutting room floor, of course. Was some redeeming scene left out with final cuts? Maybe I should write a converse sort of fanfic for myself, just to get the bad taste out of my mouth. Or maybe not. I’ve got more interesting things to do.

If you’ve seen the movie, what did you think of this portrayal?

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W is for What Dreams May Come - A Book Review

I’ve just finished reading a YA book by author Beth M. Honeycutt. I’m so glad my friend Rochelle Bradley introduced me because the story What Dreams May Come is very, very sweet. And Ms. Honeycutt is a professional editor, which makes this a very polished read.

Ellie Cross, our young protagonist, has a frequent dream companion named Gabe. He visits her regularly, appearing as if on cue to commiserate over deep sorrows or share surprising joys. And she can spill her heart to him utterly since there’s no reason for regret or hesitation simply because Gabe isn’t real.

After all, her mother even paid a therapist to help convince Ellie. So the shy, overlooked girl makes the best of the situation, enjoying this long-lasting companionship as a private sanctuary. If she must keep Gabe’s continued appearance secret from her mother, then so be it. At least someone accepts her without judgment or disappointment.

I feel that Ellie, however bullied at school, could have easily come across as terribly unappreciative of the good in her life. I mean, things could be so much worse as the young lady herself comes to learn. However, Ms. Honeycutt does a lovely job of balancing over-reactive teenage angst with deep human pain.

As for escapism, who wouldn’t want their own private guardian angel? And maybe, just maybe, they can take real human form. Wouldn’t that be wonderful?

You can find various retailers with some very reasonable prices here:

What Dreams May Come 

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Q is for Zachary Quinto

Zachary Quinto first came to my notice when he portrayed Spock in the 2009 movie “Star Trek”. I’m sure many fellow science fiction geeks are well aware of this. He really does a fantastic job, in my humble opinion. But I’m more of a horror fan than admirer of this rebooted cinematic series.

And Mr. Quinto was amazing as Dr. Oliver Thredson on television’s “American Horror Story: Asylum”. He looked the period part, too, with that black hair all slicked down and the sixties era conservative dark suit and tie. This is shallow, but he made that look sexy.

“AHS: Asylum” is definitely not for the faint of heart. Its introduction showed so many warning letters (TV-MA, L, S, V for the various parental guidelines) that my partner called it alphabet soup. And yet we could hardly wait for each week’s new episode.

Scary themes and dark storylines are somewhat of an addiction, I must admit. Is there a guilty pleasure on your DVR?

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