Sunday Sundries—The Odd Week

I know, welcome to my world, huh? 

Truth is, my life has been odd lately. It’s been a series of series, coincidences, feeling overwhelmed and doing my best to play catch up. But mostly:

And

I did a fair amount of editing on SEVEN DAYS—ROB AND MARY. Had to do a bit of proofreading, because that’s how I roll. I found this one that made me laugh:

This is another I had to look at twice:

It kind of hit close to home because one of my friends is looking for work and frustrated because almost all the jobs require you to apply on-line now. She is suffering from a super slow computer:

I wish I could hire her as an editor/formatter, but alas, that is not her skill set. I need her help setting up an Etsy store, though.

But, my second book is essentially done. I wrote the three scenes that are the bulk of Saturday evening in various notebooks. Just need to get the words from them and in my mind onto the screen. But, Rob and Mary’s voices are so much different from his brother (Will) and her sister (Elizabeth), I re-read the first part of the book to get back in their heads and remind myself of the word choices and styles. 

And I’ve figured out a way to organize notes that works for me. For the past year, I would copy and paste something (recipe, quote, short article, etc.) into a Word document in no particular order. OneNote was frustrating, because when I work on the files on my desktop, I can’t save the changes from the flash drive to the laptop or to the netbook I use while at work. So, I copy and paste into MS Word documents on the specific topics. Food is sorted into Main Courses, Side Dishes, Breakfast, Beverages, etc. I have a file on military notes, a file on parenting, one for jokes, another for quotes and so on. I sorted over two hundred pages of notes last week.

I was told, after a MRI (one of the oddest experiences of my life) that I have “significant damage” to my right shoulder. I’m going in for an evaluation Monday to see if I need surgery or if I can get by with something minimally invasive. 

They were playing an oldies radio station in the headphones, some Foreigner and a Beach Boys song. Of course, my nose started itching and the metal under my right arm got hot enough to actually burn my skin. It was not pleasant. You better bet I'm working it into a novel somewhere.

But the oddest thing is this involved my right shoulder. When I started my novels seven years ago, I gave my hero a major injury in the right shoulder. Payback, huh?

Take care and have a great week!

Sunday Sundries--Slam Book Edition 1

A long, long time ago, back before the Interwebs, I spent a lot of time writing letters. I had dozens of pen pals all over the world. It was a thrill, every time I opened the clear glass mailbox at my mom and dad's to find notes from my friends.

Like this but without the slot at the top. The top is a little rusty, but I have it in my bookcase. I'm trying to figure out where I should hang it on my wall. The house it was attached to was torn down almost ten years ago.

Anyway, we all would get some cute paper, stationery with an "e."

There was an interview a few years back with Taylor Swift. She said an interviewer kind of made fun of her because she kept a bin on her tour bus with stationery and sealing wax and stamps. I perfectly understood. I'd glued my favorite artwork from letters all over a box. I sent my sealing wax and stamps to my niece who is proof that nature is stronger than nurture.

Anyway, we'd cut some paper up and make slam books. It was folded and stapled paper with silly questions that could be answered in a few words or a sentence. The sixth person was supposed to send it back to the person who originated it. I only got a few back, but they were little insights into a time and the minds of the mostly preteen girls who participated.

So, now we use Facebook and other social media to ask our questions. Electrons replaced postage stamps and mailboxes. That's cool. If I really want to save something, I can take a screen shot and put it on a flash drive.

But, with those changes, I'm going to make it a little more adult.

My first e-Slam book  question would be, "What is your most embarrassing moment?

Of course, the majority of my embarrassing moments involved alcohol. Number one would probably be my freshman year in college, when I went with my boyfriend to visit his sister. It involved drinking too much:

And chili and bodily functions. Yeah, that's right. Most certainly not my finest hour. But it was the last time I drank that particular beverage. Funny, I am watching Anthony Bourdain on The Travel Chanel and he just talked about Cuban rum.

I put the experience or rather the fear of repeating the experience into my fiction. Two of my heroes' parents were killed by a drunk driver. The brothers don't drink at the bachelor party at a strip club and only have two drinks when back at the hotel. Rob had a DUI when he was performing with a boy band. While the sisters take shots the night before the wedding, Mary Margaret is freaking out that she might overindulge at the open bar the next day. She does not want to embarrass herself in front of the family and the man who might be her family someday.

I do not drink very much anymore. I'm a lot different from the girl drinking with her boyfriend in her early 20s. But I remember her and will put those feelings in my fiction. So, what is your most embarrasing moment?

New Year's Sundries

I really don't have a clue how 2012 went by so fast. I do know this last week was spent in a haze of cough syrup and asthma steroids. There are two trash cans full of used tissues and a ton of undone projects, but you know, that's okay.

Yes, we're fabulous. And we're going to continue it into the new year. It is not lowered expectations, it is simply accepting that I will never be able to get everything I want to do done in the usually unreasonable time frame I tend to set. That's okay. I will do my best.

This is a picture out our front door the day after Christmas. It still hasn't all melted, which has caused some more delays in getting things done. No excuses, just a realization that we may have to adjust expectations. And that's okay.

I did do some Christmas decorating.

This was a wreath I made with some friends (including one who passed in 2004) that hadn't seen the light of day in many a year. I was pleased I got it up on the inside of the front door, so at least I would be able to smile and enjoy it. That's another thing I want to do this year--enjoy the lovely things I have. I have dishes that haven't been used, art and needlework that's never been displayed and clothes that still have tags on them. What I don't want or need will be sold or donated. I already have a big box of needlework patterns I will never do ready to go to a place that sells for you on eBay. My friends and I have agreed to work on getting an Etsy store up and going and I'll pass the links on to you as soon as we do. This will help fund my covers and promotional expenses.

 BTW, I'm totally in love with Grumpy Cat. I feel like her sometimes and I'm very proud of her owners for making her into the latest thing. Would that I would have the foresight and ambition to capitalize on talent or product.


One of the things I will continue to do in 2013 is transcribe my notebooks. I still have over twenty five blank books that hold scenes, notes from magazines/documentaries/books/etc. and quotes. I've been transcribing them during my lunch hour at work, sending them in emails. The notes are spread over about a dozen flash drives.

At Wal-mart, Big Lots and Best Buy, you can get a 16 GB flash drive for around $10. This is an amazing deal. Just last year, a 32 GB flash was over $300. You can find one for less than $40 now. I ask everyone to BACK UP YOUR WORK! I know of several people who lost whole chunks of work or whole documents when a hard drive crashed or a computer was stolen. Of course, now you can back your work up "in the Cloud." I'm not there yet, but I'm sure I will be soon. Not only will I continue to transcribe my notes, I am determined to figure out the best way to organize them. I've made a start to getting things into OneNote, but I still have a long way to go.

Another step I've made to get organized is this:

A Gateway "netbook" that is my Christmas present. It is a third smaller than my current laptop and a lot lighter. More importantly, it's easier to carry, travel with and bring into work. Before I can use it though, I have to find the information about the security software we purchased before Christmas. So, I have to get organized to get organized. Stop me if you've heard this before....

I think of how many people have never accomplished half of what I have. I have to get my act together and finish the first two of my books.

Another thing I promise to do that's not a New Year's resolution per se, but a necessity, is to eat better and continue to be aware of my food allergies. Eating what I shouldn't ought to has contributed to my recent asthma flare-up (why I didn't have a post on Sunday). This little froggie reminds me of myself a couple days this past week:

I will accept life gifts--like taking it as a sign that the "House Hunters" episode is set in New York City, where one of my characters lives. Here's the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center:

I've been working on a scene in the second series of books of my characters' first Christmas together. Also, one of the people I spoke with at work is a police officer and said, "Copy that" when I asked him to do something. Another character is a state trooper, so I'll work a couple of those into my dialog. Every day, I am given little gifts, coincidences and thoughts, to put into my fiction, enriching it. I just have to remember to listen.

So, please allow me to send to all of you:

Please join me on Pinterest, where I found this vintage card--I've tried to put the link in my layout, but Blogger isn't accepting it. I will try to post more regularly, but my concentration this year has to be on writing. Love to all and please have a happy and safe 2013!