Thursday's Children 2/28/13

Welcome to the Thursday’s Children Blog Hop, where writers come together to share whatever inspires them throughout their writing journey. Make sure to check out the other bloggers via the Link List at the bottom of this post. We’d love for you to join us!

I didn't post last week. My 15-year-old daughter, Lindsey, and I were in Florida visiting family. Which brings me to the inspiration for this week's post.

Grateful. 

There have been two times in my life when I was truly afraid for my life. The second time happened last Thursday.

Lindsey and I were on a flight from Fort Myers, Florida, to Philadelphia, where we had a connecting flight to upstate New York. Before I go on, I should mention that I've been traveling since the age of 12. At 19, I worked for American Airlines. And, I was a travel agent for almost 10 years. That being said, I don't worry at the slightest bit of turbulence or bumpy landing. But what happened on this flight was completely terrifying.

We were minutes from landing -- the plane descending -- when it began to roll. First left. Then right. Left. Right. Left. Right. Left. Right. Still descending. Pressures building. Then suddenly, the plane shot up. What seemed like, STRAIGHT UP!

Lindsey and I were holding hands. No. Squeezing hands. I was seated on the aisle. I remember looking up and down the aisle and at everyone's face within view, thinking, what's happening?! Why hasn't anyone said anything? Why hasn't the pilot said ANYTHING?! We were still rising. But the airport is right there?!

Lindsey started crying and throwing up. She wasn't the only one throwing up. We could hear lots of those little bags crinkling open.

The whole thing lasted almost 30 minutes. That's a lot of time to fill with your own thoughts. Possible scenarios running through your head. The infamous "life flashing before your eyes." 

One thing I remember thinking was ...
My book. The novel that I have been working on for four years, will never see publication. The one thing, beside my children, that I am most proud of ... and no one will ever see it.

So ... I am grateful for the happy ending this story.

Lindsey bottle feeding a kangaroo

I am grateful

that we

got to spend

a great week,

in beautiful Florida,

with family.

Me feeding a giraffe

And

so

much

more!

I am more determined than ever to get REACH published. I would love a happy ending to that story.

PS - In the end, the pilot gave us a brief explanation, blowing it off as "a plane on the runway." I don't believe that was what happened, neither did a pilot friend.

Thursday's Children 2/14/13

Welcome to the Thursday’s Children Blog Hop, where writers come together to share whatever inspires them throughout their writing journey. Make sure to check out the other bloggers via the Link List at the bottom of this post. We’d love for you to join us!

I'm on vacation, so this I've kept this post short and sweet. Yep, I escaped cold and snowy New York to visit my mom in sunny Florida. I hadn't been to her house in 2 or 3 years, so I wandered around enjoying the many photos that adorned her walls.

Then one brought a tear to my eye. It's a picture of my mother and her brother from the 50's, they were both teenagers. They spent most of their adult lives on opposite coasts, and we lost him to tragic circumstances in 2009.

This is the picture. 

I had forgotten that I framed it for her and wrote this short and sweet poem:

Brother...

So many yesterdays forgotten,

And many miles apart.

You may not have been in my arms,

But you were always in my heart.

I think this is a reminder.

Don't think about calling a loved one. Do it!

Don't say "we should get together." Do it!

Thursday's Children 2/7/13

Welcome to the Thursday’s Children Blog Hop, where writers come together to share whatever inspires them throughout their writing journey. Make sure to check out the other bloggers via the Link List at the bottom of this post. We’d love for you to join us!

Music seems to be a theme this week, and as we can probably all agree, a huge inspiration for a writer. Which makes sense, after all, a song is like a book.

~They both tell a story, so there's your plot.

~They both usually have a climax, somewhere near the end.

~The music is your setting or theme.

~The pacing is in the rhythm of the song. 

~They both have a voice. Even an instrumental can have voice. You may hear it as a piano or a violin, but it's there.

One of my all time favorite songs is Somewhere Only We Know by Keane. And while it wasn't intentional, I think it inspired a big part of the setting in my paranormal romance REACH.

Max Schneider & Elizabeth Gillies did a cover of this song, and it's almost more perfect for REACH. Almost. (I love Elizabeth Gillies!)

I don't really have a playlist for REACH, per se, but I do have some songs in mind when I visualize scenes. Time by Paul Cardall is a beautiful instrumental. It speaks to me of innocence and discovery -- perfect for one of my favorite scenes with Luke and Melinda.

 

Enjoy the music and share a theme song from one of your manuscripts!

Thursday's Children 1/31/13

Welcome to the Thursday’s Children Blog Hop, where writers come together to share whatever inspires them throughout their writing journey. Make sure to check out the other bloggers via the Link List at the bottom of this post. We’d love for you to join us!

This is my first post with the Thursday’s Children Blog Hop, and therein lies my inspiration.

I want to work on my current WIP every day and I want to post on my blog more regularly. But I, like many others, suffer from seasonal affective disorder, and that makes it really hard for me to get motivated during the gloomy winter months in upstate New York. It doesn’t help that I have a nasty cold and haven’t had a voice for 3 days.

So, I decided that by joining Thursday’s Children, that might give me the kick in the pants to post on a weekly basis. Then I decided that I needed a new workspace. That might help me want to sit down and write every day. I miss being in that place, where you can't pull me away from the computer. During the warmer months I usually take my laptop outside and sit at the table on the patio. But, I didn’t have a special place to work inside. I’ve tried different rooms and different desks, but nothing felt “just right.” I’m starting to sound like Goldilocks. lol. Well, today I found it! And it’s totally genius, if I do say so myself.

I have this cool antique sewing machine that a friend gave me about a year ago. I just love it.

Today I found an oval glass top (with no bottom) at our local thrift store.

And voila, my new desk! Genius, right?

I carefully removed the top wood flap and placed the glass on top. I also used some of those little sticky rubber feet that you can buy in a package of 4 at Wal-mart, to help secure the glass.

I liked the idea of being able to see the antique sewing machine through the glass.

"Just right"

The foot pedal is also quite comfortable. It's even fun to peddle while I type!

My Liebster Award

First, I want to thank Rhiann Wynn-Nolet, YA writer and Thursday's Children blog hop creator, for presenting me with the 

The Liebster is for blogs with fewer than 200 followers. The rules require me to answer 11 questions, nominate 11 more bloggers, and make up 11 questions for them to answer.

The Eleven Questions I was asked:

1. What’s your writing goal for 2013? To finish writing my second novel. Then revise, edit, and polish it.

2. If you could write like any author (living or dead) who would it be, and why? Oh my. That’s a hard one. My first thought is Jane Austen, because even after 200 years, her works are still popular. But that seems like a cheat, because I don’t know if I’ve actually even read any of her stuff. There are so many current authors that I admire for their story telling: Kami Garcia, Kimberly Derting, Maggie Stiefvater, Stephenie Meyer, and Suzanne Collins just to name a few.

3. What was your favorite book as a teen? Flowers in the Attic by V.C. Andrews. I wasn’t a very good reader, so I didn’t read a lot as a teen. But FitA was different, I looked forward to sneaking away to read – probably because I was sheltered and FitA was considered naughty.

4. What would be the best thing about getting a book published? For people to read my words and connect in a way that leaves them wanting more. Also, seeing a beautiful cover with my name on it, on a shelf in a book store.

5. Ancient Egypt, Classical Greece, Renaissance Italy. You have to go live in one. Pick one, and tell me why. Renaissance Italy for the art and fashion. 

6. What’s the one thing that makes you decide not to finish reading a book you’ve started? I pretty much always finish reading, even if I’m not feeling it. I guess I’m always hoping it’ll get better. I am a true optimist. However, I have stopped reading on two occasions: once, because I just “wasn’t getting it” and the other was just “too slow” to keep my interest.

7. Tell me three things about the MC in the most recent book you’ve written. I’m only at about 5,000 words into my current WIP. She’s 15, angry, and keeps a photo face down under her socks in a drawer.

8. What’s the single best thing about writing? Creating.

9. Sea shell, oak leaf, rock, pine cone, cactus. Pick one, and tell me why. Definitely sea shell. There are so many different shapes, colors and sizes. And the creatures that live in them are amazing.

10. Do you hate or love editing/revising? I love editing. It’s like working on a piece of artwork, adding color and detail.

11. Scariest book. Ever. Why? The scariest book that I’ve read would have to be The House of Thunder by Dean Koontz. 

Here are my 11 Nominees:

1. Natalie Traver because she collects fortunes, and so do I.

2. Dannie Morin because I like her answers to 10 Questions, especially 9 & 10

3. Amber Mauldin because she is an amazingly strong woman, and a talented writer.

4. Angi Black because she has some awesome gifs – and Sam and Dean!

5. Wendy Knight because of dinosaurs, My Little Pony, and tumors. Lol

6. Sarah Fiete entirely because of the stuff in her sidebar. She cracks me up.

7. Jenny Kaczorowski because she’s from the duct tape capitol of the world. Awesome.

8. Paula Lesso because she’s my bff and has webbed toes, like me.

9. Mary Schneider because she’s also a friend and animal lover.

10. Jessika Fleck because my finger slipped (lol) and she writes paranormal.

11. Mary Holm because I liked some of the things she said in her April 11, 2012 post on The Hunger Games. "I'm not the arbiter of What is Good and What is Bad. Being a writer myself, I don't like to pronounce judgements on a work of art that someone just poured her heart, soul and guts into." I wish more people followed that rule.

And finally here are my Eleven Questions:

1. What inspired you to start writing?

2. What are your all-time favorite books?

3. What would be the best thing about being published?

4. What is your greatest achievement in life so far, and why?

5. Tell me about an embarrassing moment.

6. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?

7. What is the most exciting thing you’ve ever done?

8. Who would you be most excited to meet in person?

9. Fur, feathers, or scales. Pick one and tell me why.

10. What are your biggest pet peeves?

11. What are your hopes for 2013?

Dickless (Clark, that is) and Vomiting

New Year’s Eve 2012

1 minute 14 seconds on the clock: My 15-year-old daughter squeals in delight, with her noise maker in hand and her boyfriend by her side.

1 minute 10 seconds: 19-year-old daughter enters the room with her boyfriend. She wasn’t quite as bouncy, as she was coming off an evening long sugar high.

50 seconds on the clock: Ryan Seacrest announcing that the ball has begun its descent. 

15 seconds on the clock: “Dad! Get out here!” 15-year-old yells.

13 seconds on the clock: Greyhound vomits in the middle of the room. It’s green and it smells.

12 seconds on the clock: A chorus of “Ewwwww! That’s so gross!”

11 seconds on the clock: I’m on the run for the nearest towel.

4 seconds: I return with a towel, as daughter yells again, “Dad!”

3 seconds: I throw the towel over the throw-up.

2…

1!

I throw my arms in the air, cheering, “Happy New—“ To my left, 19-year-old is making out with her boyfriend. To my right, 15-year-old is making out with her boyfriend. Husband is still missing in action. “Whatever." I slump off. "I’m going to bed.”

So, how did you ring in the new year?

On the Heels of Pitch Wars

I recently took part in Pitch Wars. It was a contest for aspiring writers to get some help shining up their manuscripts and then pitch to a panel of awesome agents. They had 592 writers apply for the contest. And while I didn't get matched up with a mentor, I feel like I still walked away a winner.

• I received some awesome feedback.
• I will be getting a critique of my query and first five pages.
• I connected with a lot of talented writers.
• The mentors started CPseek.com. A community for writers to find others to bounce ideas off of and find new critique partners or beta readers.

• And one mentor offered to scout through the entries for two independent publishers.

All of this really gave me the boost I needed, as I had been stuck in a rut for a while. Query. Reject. Query. Reject. Query. Reject. Revise query. Reject. Query. Reject. Query. Reject. Query. Reject. Revise query. Reject. Query. Reject. Query. Reject. Well...you get the picture.

I updated my sad lonely blog, wrote this post, and added the 2,876,369 edition of my query. That may be an exaggeration, but I'm not sure. And, as we head into the holidays I have some hope, some work, and a lot of thinking to do. What's my next step?

photo credit: Nic's events via photopin cc