Thursday, April 28, 2011

Hop to it

Well, better late than never I guess, I have our guest all lined up. Join me in welcoming this week's featured writer, MD Christie!




The Question: 
Who has been most supportive of your writing?


Now here's MD with her answer:

OOOOHHH, that's a really good question!! Several people have been supportive of my writing... My Husband, Children, and my Parents have all been extremely supportive. Without the blink of an eye they were on board with my being a full time writer. I know that I am very fortunate to have such a great support system. 
     However, I don't think I could get through the bumps in the road and the day to day life of a writer without my amazing writers group, and my friends and partners in crime, the women of 4 Corners Press! They are who I can turn to and trust, they are so supportive of me and I know they have my back, they walk the same walk and understand where I'm coming from. They want to see me succeed as much as I do! So thank you to my Writers Group & 4CP Partners... you have no idea how much I treasure each of you!
     My advice to any aspiring author, or established author for that matter is to have a support system of fellow writers, it's the best tool you can have!


Your rules
1)      Follow this blog.
2)      Follow Elizabeth Sharp, the originator of this hop
3)      Follow the featured author of the week, MD Christie.
4)      Go to Sharp words and copy the image code found there and paste it in your blog. Add your name to the link at the bottom of the post while you are there.
5)      Copy and paste the rules in your blog, as well as this week’s question.
6)      Answer the question
7)      Follow, follow, follow. This is about networking, people, making connections with people in your community. So talk to us. We don't bite!
8)      If someone stops by, says hi and follows you, the polite thing to do is follow back.
9)      Comment here and introduce yourself and you just might find a new follower or two.

Your picture:








And the linky:






If you want your own linky:
<a href=http://www.inlinkz.com/script.php?id=50122&nojump=1&key=ILFyZYBRBmWH2>get the InLinkz code</a>

I'ma  bad host and promise a return to my normal standards soon, but no promises next week...

Sunday, April 24, 2011

Love and the Land of Melcor (Part One - Peter's Story)

So today I thought it would be fun to give you a peek into my own twelve year old mind. When I said I had stories squirreled away from my childhood. This is one of them. I don't promise it is good. I deliberately presented it in it's unedited form, so you can see the writing skills I had at the time. I only corrected my spelling. If you like it and want more, I might work on adding more over the weeks. I have no intention of ever publishing this as a book, but thought I'd share it...

*********************

Peter swirled the wine in his mug as he sat musing. He had watched three life-long friends led off in shackles, one executed for a murder he did not commit, one for a purse he did not snatch and on for adultery she did not commit. Prince Jack had to be stopped.

"Forgive me, Father," he muttered as he went to his sister to tell her of her upcoming nuptials.

********************

Peter watched as the prince eyed Kimberly. The Bentons both had red-gold hair and silver green eyes. He eyed Kim's hair bobbing from its piled mass of curls. Her well tailored red dress was cut low and accented with fire opals, glittering at her neck, wrists, ears, and dangling from the chain in her hair to the middle of her forehead. She was beautiful in the bright sunlight.

He was a more masculine version. His matching hair was cut short and his features were more masculine. He wore blue silk trousers and a coat with golden embroidered brambles on the sleeves and the collar.

"No! I'm not going to marry Prince Velcro! He's... he's... he's... Quite unsuitable!" He hated when they argued. He wanted to keep her ignorant of the true reasons.

"You have no choice!" he shouted harshly. Then his voice softened. "Kimmy, you're a lady. He asked for your hand, refusing your dowry. What could I say?"

Kimberly was relentless. "How about no? It's worked before," she added with sarcasm.

Peter lost his temper with her childishness. "Kim, you'll swallow your attitude and marry the man. He come's for you at sunset."

"Please, Petey, no. Please, I'll do anything!"

"My mind's made up. You shall marry him. Go home. You need to prepare for your wedding."

Kim ran off in tears.

He was sorry he had to do it, but it was necessary.

********************

Peter had riled the villagers and gone to the palace. It had been a month since he had married his sister to Jack and the unnecessary killing hadn't stopped. Today another man was led off for a theft that had not even happened.

He marched to the castle at the head of the men. A a short, red-haired woman stepped out, the villagers prepared to attack. A cry was raised as they realized it was indeed a woman. Peter felt hatred for the man who would send a serving girl to do his work.

"Go find your husband, woman," he said scornfully. "This doesn't involve serving girls."

The girl clenched her fists and her eyes flashed. Then a curious look spread across her face, followed again by anger. "Peter Michael Benton, how dare you speak to me this way! If Father heard you he'd roll over in his grave! I wake to see the home you sent me to being attacked, so I came to divert it. Little did I know it was my rude, insulting, inconsiderate, incorrigible big brother!" She turned to storm back inside.

"Kimmy?" Peter asked in disbelief.

"No there's more than one red-haired woman who knows your full name and is your little sister!" she spat sarcastically. "Dolt!" She turned again to go, then looked back over her shoulder. "Why are you attacking the castle?"
"We can't afford to let our king kill us one by one. We're fighting back!" Peter yelled hefting his ax and hating Jackson Tremain. The villagers chorused agreement.

"Let me speak to Jack. Stay put." She disappeared inside and the men waited impatiently.

When Kim came back out she was fuming and carrying a suitcase. She handed it to Peter and turned to the men. 

"Kill him."

Peter held Kim as she sobbed, then helped her mount his horse.

********************

Peter stopped his horse and stood in the stirrups. He shielded his eyes from the sun with his hand."

"It's about an hour's journey," he said, glancing at Kim. Her mussed red hair and ruddy cheeks nestled inside the yellow cloak reminded him so much of their mother. 

"Goody! Warm beds, hot baths, soft pillows, clean clothes... Let's go!" She heeled Sunrunner, her horse, into a run.

Peter felt dirty from the two week journey. He followed with a laugh.

********************

An hour later, he no longer felt like laughing. The beautiful palace of Tredom was in ruins. The outlying buildings still smoldered. The building was a hollow shell in the warm spring sunlight.

The surrounding garden was rubble. The once beautiful courtyard was littered with dead bodies. Peter felt anger swell within him. He'd kill whoever did this.

They entered the castle through the kitchen. Peter led the way with his sword drawn.

Hot stew was still cooking on the stove. Kim tasted it as Peter poked around. If the bandits hadn't left, they were dead.

"It's delicious!" Kim exclaimed. "Definitely royal!"

"They haven't been dead long. Their bodies are still warm."

"You touched one? Ugh!" The look of disgust she gave him made Peter have to smother a laugh.

"Well, let's take advantage of the situation and eat, sleep, and have good hot baths. Besides, you want to clean your gowns."

Kim brushed at her blue dress self-consciously.

"I'll clear away the dead bodies so we can stand it."

They dined in the strangely silent kitchen, bathed in an empty wash chamber and shared a large bed in a damp, dark room. As they lay falling asleep, Peter felt the loneliness close in around him and he fell asleep praying for love.

********************

Peter came into the sitting room, rubbing the small of his back. They'd slowly been turning the rubble into a home. It was beautiful, once they had cleared away the bodies. It was a rather pleasant place to live. Kim had sewn golden flags that fluttered and snapped in the wind. The few rooms they used were scrubbed until they gleamed. Kim had mopped for hours to clean them.

As Kim cleaned the palace for suitable living, Peter buried the dead. It was back breaking labor. As he flopped into a chair, Kim practically pounced on him.

"Peter, we've got a problem," she said, her eyes swimming with tears.

"What's wrong?" Peter felt panic chase away his pain and exhaustion.

"I'm pregnant!"

Relief flooded him. She'd had him worried. "Don't worry, Kimmy. I'll take care of you."

Kim curled up in his lap, the way she had when they were children. "I'm scared Pete."

"Don't be. We'll get through this," he said reassuringly. Somehow, he added mentally.

*********************

Peter ran to Kim's room and urgently shook her. She looked startled as she saw the wild look in his eyes.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"Quiet. We're being attacked! Take my ring and go to Eltar, Astar, everywhare! Warn the people. Go!"

"Where will you go?" Kim asked annoyingly. Why wouldn't women just go?

"The other way. I'll draw them away and warn people along the way."

He helped her stand and pack in the darkness. They went to the stables then sadled their horses. As they were about to seperate, they had a softly whispered conversation.

"Be careful," he said. "They aren't from around here."

"Ok Peter. What about the baby? What if I go into labor?" she asked, frightened.

"Go to the nearest town." He glanced toward the torch-bearing intruders. Dread crept through his stomach. He felt tears burn his eyes. "Be careful... I love you Kimmy."

"I love you too Petey." Peter felt her tears as she hugged him. He never wanted to let go. Before she could see his tears, he spurred Charger into a gallop.

"God speed," he whispered to the night wind. "Keep her safe."

*********************

The rising sun woke Peter. He rubbed his eyes and sat up. The dirt didn't make a very good bed and his back hurt. He rose and went to the nearby stream. He tore a piece off of his shirt and wet it, cleaning the wound in his side he had laboriously hidden from Kim last night. After trying to stop the intruders, he supposed he deserved it. He winced as he stood and mounted. He had to keep going.

*********************

Ninya Meyers had been raised by her mother. Her father had been locked away in debtors' prison when she was very young. She had been taught herbs by the old woman in the village. When the plague had come, Ninya was the only one to survive. 

As she roamed through the empty streets, a man with longish red-gold hair and silver green eyes bright with fever appeared. He was wearing a torn, blood-soaked green silk shirt and filthy silk pants. He was slumped in his saddle. 

Ninya ran forward and grabbed the reins of the horse. She pulled the man out of the saddle. She felt for a pulse. He was a alive - but barely. She pulled him into a house and pulled off the filthy clothes. She gasped at the enormous hole in his side. She got some cold water and cleaned the festering wound. As her hands touched his skin, she realized he was icy cold. She ran into the bedroom that she used and grabbed every blanket she could find and took them to the man. Then she went and pulled the mattress off her Mom's old bed and drug it in front of the fire. Tugging steadily she pulled the man over to the mattress and lifted him into the soft, hay filled mattress. As she did so, her hand brushed his cold clammy skin.

As an after thought, she undid the buttons on her home-spun blue and gold dress and pulled it off. Her slip followed. Steadily she undressed, then climbed under the covers, using her own body heat to warm him. She didn't realize she was tired until she fell asleep.

********************

As Peter woke, he felt a light pressure on his chest. As he lifted his hand he felt a gauze about his waist. Someone had bandaged his wounded side. As he lifted his hand higher he felt silky hair. His eyes snapped open. 

Slowly the blur above him began to take shape. The high ceiling was criss-crossed wit wooden beams. He closed his eyes and looked down at himself. Then he opened his eyes. The covers were pulled up to his waist, leaving his chest completely bare except for the bandages. His eyes widened as he saw the girl. Here blond hair was braided and came to the back of her knees. He scanned her delicate features and gave a start when he realized he was as undressed, as was she.

His movements having woken her, Ninya darted out from underneath the blankets. She was convinced he would survive. His skin was fiery hot. It sent heat from her head to her toes. She hastily dressed as she thought this. She fumbled with the buttons of her dress, then turned around.

"I see you are awake," she said.

"Yeah... Who are you" Better question, where am I?"

"I am Ninya, and this is the once proud town of Polk."

"But all the inhabitants of Polk were killed," he declared, standing up.

"I'm the only one who survived. I tried to save them, but none of my herbs worked. Only I survived. I still regret it." Her voice was cold, miserable.

"I apologize." Peter said. "Truly. I am sorry."

Ninya studied him. His red-gold hair was slightly grimy and he had a slight beard. With his large build he towered over her. Her dainty violet eyes met his large silver-green ones. Suddenly, without having broken eye contact, she was in the iron circle that was Peter's arms.

*********************

Twelve months later, Peter, having gotten others to warn everyone, had built a good population in Polk. He was content as their mayor. He paced the room as waited for Ninya, now his wife, to give birth. She had been in labor for six hours.

The midwife came out. "Lord Benton? You are the proud father of a bouncing baby boy."

"You're kidding!" Peter could not control his excitement, and he kept babbling. 

After he calmed down, they led him in to see Ninya. Her blond hair was pony-tailed and the escaped strands were plastered to her forehead with sweat. I her arms she held their child.

"Hey gorgeous. How are you feeling?"

"I want to go to sleep, but I don't want this day to end. Just think. Yesterday we were just two married people. Now we're parents."

Peter kissed her forehead and took their son. "Hello Dylan Carter Benton," he whispered.

"I like that. Whatever made you think of it?" Ninya's voice was quiet.

"My father's name was Dylan. Your father's name was Carter." He held his son in one arm and, sitting on the edge of the bed, pulled his wife close with the other. "I love you Ninya."

"I love you too Peter."

In the midst of their extreme happiness, Peter missed Kim very much.

Friday, April 22, 2011

4Corners Press

I am excited and honored to be part of a wonderful new venture with five AMAZING people! And today we are proud to announce the launch of 4Corners press!! Check us out the event and enter to win several cool prizes, including a great selection of gift cards, a blog blitz, or a beautiful necklace. There is an essay contest about dreams which will be included in an upcoming short story collection. You can find us on Facebook, Twitter, or our website.

Who are we? Four Corners Press is an publishing company started by a group of independent writers. We have a talented staff to help prepare your book every step of the way. We are not currently accepting submissions but we are offering some ala carte services, like book covers, editing, promotions and so much more. See the website for details!

I am so proud an humbled to be working with these amazing women and hope we have a long, successful future together! And I hope you don't mind coming along for the ride.

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Everybody hop!


Welcome to the Writer’s Follow Friday Blog Hop! Not sure if you qualify? If you have a blog to add, guess what, you’re a writer! So check out the rules, grab the link and join the hop! We’re small for now, but we hope to continue to grow.

This week’s featured guest is Michelle Ferguson of Michelle Ferguson Books. I asked her to tell us a little bit about her before she got started with the question.



Mind blowing information about me--I'm at every Metal concert that comes to town--I love the paranormal and spend the entire month of October ghost hunting--Don't show me French fries, because I will eat them--Have crazy pets that I love dearly--Want it to stop raining so I can hike--Pretend I like to workout in order to phsyche myself out--Laugh at almost anything--If I could go back in time and meet one person it would be Queen Elizabeth 1st--Dream vacation is England--Okay that's enough boring stuff about me, I feel like I just answered a online dating questionnaire


This weeks question:
For me one of the most useful tool in my writing arsenal is Urban dictionary. What is your most referred to website for your writing?


Michelle's answer:
Google. I google everything. For Legion I googled Angel names in order to get character names.


How do you join in the fun? So glad you asked. It’s really quite simple.

The rules
  • 1)      Follow me, Elizabeth Sharp, the host of this hop
  • 2)      Follow the featured author of the week.
  • 3)      Go to Sharp words and copy the image code found there and paste it in your blog. Add your name to the link at the bottom of the post while you are there.
  • 4)      Copy and paste the rules in your blog, as well as this week’s question.
  • 5)      Answer the question
  • 6)      Follow, follow, follow. This is about networking, people, making connections with people in your community. So talk to us. We don't bite! This post serves as the perfect place for you to say hello.
  • 7)      If someone stops by, says hi and follows you, the polite thing to do is follow back.
  • 8)      Comment here and introduce yourself and you just might find a new follower or two.



Breaking it down, here, in this box, is the code for the snazzy quill link to the hop. Copy it and paste it into your own blog in "Edit HTML" mode.




Next, get the question here and answer it in your own blog.
For Elizabeth Sharp one of the most useful tool in my writing arsenal is Urban dictionary. What is your most referred to website for your writing?

Now, copy and paste these rules to your blog (they’re a little different than mine and designed to help your blog)

The rules
  • 1)      Follow this blog.
  • 2)      Follow Elizabeth Sharp, the host of this hop
  • 3)      Follow the featured author of the week.
  • 4)      Go to Sharp words and copy the image code found there and paste it in your blog. Add your name to the link at the bottom of the post while you are there.
  • 5)      Copy and paste the rules in your blog, as well as this week’s question.
  • 6)      Answer the question
  • 7)      Follow, follow, follow. This is about networking, people, making connections with people in your community. So talk to us. We don't bite! This post serves as a perfect place for you to say hello!
  • 8)      If someone stops by, says hi and follows you, the polite thing to do is follow back.
  • 9)      Comment here and introduce yourself and you just might find a new follower or two.


Finally add your name to this list of wonderful blog authors by clicking the frog link at the bottom and adding your name and blog address. Make sure you actually answer the question and link to the hop. And please comment, we all like to hear someone out there is listening. 

And now we'll see who's paying attention. Bring in a new hopper, or if you're a new hopper who just wandered in, comment below with a way for me to contact you and you will be entered for a chance to win a $10 Amazon gift card. All you have to do to enter is recruit a friend and you both are eligible. We're trying to grow and need all the help we can get! I do go through the blogs every week and have access to past linky lists, so don't try to pull a fast one. If you don't know anyone with a blog and would like to enter, post a link to where you tweeted/facebooked/myspaced it and you can enter that way as well. Help me get the word out! 





And for those of you who would like to host the list as well, here's the coding for it....
<a href=http://www.inlinkz.com/script.php?id=47621&nojump=1&key=ILZQ8gQUTsIB.>get the InLinkz code</a>



Tuesday, April 19, 2011

A quick bit to let you know I'm still here!

I know the updates are getting less and less frequent, but it is a hazard of having a life. I try to peek in once in a while to let you know I'm still here and still writing. I am currently working on a short story for a collaboration I've been invited to be a part of which is exciting. I'm working on a cover for someone as well. And I'm starting the new job today, so that means this will most likely be a short entry.

Had a small heart attack the other night. My computer crashed and when it booted back up it had to use restore, so I lost all the files I'd saved in the last 24 hours. Which included a chapter I had taken from 622 words to 2,000 or so words. I almost cried. And it was one of the few times I hadn't backed it up on the laptop because the battery on it had died and it had shut off. But thankfully I was able to get it out of the autosave files. Why it was in the autosave and the actual file was gone I'll never know, but I did my happy dance and backed all my files up in all the places I save it. I also realized I haven't been backing up my art, so that has now been added to the files tat get frequently backed up.

Saturday, April 16, 2011

The Week to come and other stuff

First off, I'd like to let everyone know how very much I've enjoyed reading all of your answers to the hop question this week. I can't wait to read your answer to some of the other questions I have in store for you! I seriously have gone through every last blog and read your answers. Whether they were simple "It's my name" or "tastes like chicken" I loved them all!

I have big news 4 you this coming Friday, so if you don't read any other blogs, make sure you come back 4 that! Big, exciting news, I promise!

I've been super sick with allergies, as well as busy with starting the new job, so my editing is going kind of slow. Since I'm sick, I try to be easy on myself, but it's hard. I want to get the story finished, and since that's what this edit is, I'm getting impatient to be done with it. Then I start the near overwhelming task of editing my stinking grammar. I might be an author, but that does NOT make me good with grammar. ;) I have Chapter One in it's final before the editor state, but i need to flesh out the rest of the story before I worry about it too much. If you're interested in the next-to-final draft, it's on the tab at the top of this blog. But hopefully I can get over being sick soon and get back on pace. I want to have this edit done by the end of the month, which shouldn't be a problem as long as I do at least one chapter a day. Then I give myself until the end of May for the next edit, giving the editor and I the summer to polish it up and get it ready for publishing. I'm flexible if that timeline doesn't work out, but here's hoping it does...

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Follow Friday Again



Welcome to the Writer’s Follow Friday Blog Hop! Not sure if you qualify? If you have a blog to add, guess what, you’re a writer! So check out the rules, grab the link and join the hop! We’re small for now, but we hope to continue to grow.

This week's question is Shakespeare asked What's in a name? But we all know better. So let's talk about names, specifically our blog's name. How did you come up with yours?

Please join in in welcoming Paige W. Pendleton from Gustatus Similis Pullus, this week's featured author, with her answer.

Okay! I'm laughing.

It is Latin for tastes like chicken. I wanted something irreverent, and phrase seemed to fit. I've since looked it up, and found ""Tastes like chicken is also used for incongruous humor, deployed for situations which have no real relevance."

Yep. That worked. Perfectly.


How do you join in the fun? So glad you asked. It’s really quite simple.

The rules
1)      Follow me, Elizabeth Sharp, the originator of this hop
2)      Follow the featured author of the week, Paige W. Pendleton.
3)      Go to Sharp words and copy the image code found there and paste it in your blog. Add your name to the link at the bottom of the post while you are there.
4)      Copy and paste the rules in your blog, as well as this week’s question.
5)      Answer the question
6)      Follow, follow, follow. This is about networking, people, making connections with people in your community. So talk to us. We don't bite!
7)      If someone stops by, says hi and follows you, the polite thing to do is follow back.
8)      Comment here and introduce yourself and you just might find a new follower or two.

Breaking it down, here, in this box, is the code for the snazzy quill link to the hop. Copy it and paste it into your own blog.


Copy and paste these rules to your blog (they’re a little different than mine and designed to help your blog)
The rules
1)      Follow this blog.
2)      Follow Elizabeth Sharp, the originator of this hop
3)      Follow the featured author of the week.
4)      Go to Sharp words and copy the image code found there and paste it in your blog. Add your name to the link at the bottom of the post while you are there.
5)      Copy and paste the rules in your blog, as well as this week’s question.
6)      Answer the question
7)      Follow, follow, follow. This is about networking, people, making connections with people in your community. So talk to us. We don't bite!
8)      If someone stops by, says hi and follows you, the polite thing to do is follow back.
9)      Comment here and introduce yourself and you just might find a new follower or two.



Next click this link bar to add yourself to the list.


Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Edit, edit, edit, sigh

Five chapters edited in the last two days. Not too shabby considering all the other things weighing on my time. The next chapter is the first of the heavily noted ones by my critique partner, but it's all good stuff so I'm ok with it. I think I'm going to send her the first half soon but I want to get it a little more polished before I do. I noticed a plot line I suddenly added and i need to go back into some of the early chapters. I'm up to 80% of my word goal, though that still leaves 13,000 words, but I think the second half of the book is where i"m going to see the most work needed.

So much has been going on for me, it's hard for me to tear myself away from the computer, but I"m going to spend the day hanging out with Amelia. I don't know what we're going to do but I bet we'll have fun. Still waiting to hear back about whether or not I will be starting the new job Saturday or not. Amelia interviews at Best Buy Monday and i hope she gets it, so we can work together and maybe see more of each other.

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Writer's Block Tricks

Today I thought I'd talk about some of the things i like to do when my muse isn't singing. Sometimes they work and sometimes they don't. They may not work for everyone but these are what tend to kick start my writing muses.

Driving
It doesn't matter if it's a five minute trip to the grocery store or a cross-country road trip, driving really gets me thinking. Especially if it's nice enough to have the windows open and the radio on, my hair whipping around in the breeze. Contentment. I keep a digital voice recorder in my car and if an idea comes to me I record it. This is the way Performance Machine was written.

Cooking
I love to cook. I learned to cook because I love to eat, and after cooking for nine kids over the course of nearly thirty years, my mom was phoning it in at best. It started small with simple things, mostly home-made French fries or baked goods. From there I slowly branched out. Most of what i make if home-style with strong German and Irish influences, since that the way my parents were taught. Say what you will about my father (please, I love I to hear the man get back what he gave me over the years) but the man could cook! His fried chicken could beat the Colonel, Popeye's and Churches on a bad night. And when he grilled it was a symphony in food. It is from him that I honed my culinary skills. That might be simple, prefer garlic, onion and salt as my seasonings, but it's always good and it always makes me think.

Other creative projects
Sometimes all my writing muse needs is another muse hogging my attention. Brittney doesn't like that. So if my art muse, or jewelry, or whatever muse starts singing, it often brings me some good ideas. Sometimes I get lost in the idea of a new project and all of a sudden, words start flying through my head so fast I can't get them all down. Those are good times.

Reading other people's books
Whether it's hot off the presses, a classic or an old favorite, reading what someone else has to say always reminds me of things I want to say too. Sometimes they give me idea for a direction I hadn't planned on in the story. There is a major one of these in Natural Selection, but I'm not going to give a spoiler so you'll just have to wait until October.

So what does it take to get your muse dancing again? I'd love to hear (and possibly try) all of your ideas!

Monday, April 11, 2011

Giveaway winner announcement and more

So the gift card giveaway is now over. I would like to thank all my new followers. I will try to entertain and inform you. And to all those who have been with me for a little while longer, thank you for hanging in there and I hope it's been worth it. Congratulations CG Powell, the winner of the Amazon gift card, and Lae, the 100th follower and winner of the autographed Warden book. Didn't win this time? Stick around I have more giveaways in store...

Exciting things going on for me, some I can't write about right now. I just got a part time job to help me pay for all the fun stuff I like to do. It's working with cell phones, something I'm very passionate about. You will probably never see me without mine. Also, my hockey team made the playoffs, which is always good. I don't care if you don't care about hockey, it's exciting to me, therefore it must be inflicted upon you .;D I am working on a project with some friends that I cannot and will not discuss until we are officially ready to launch, but it excites me. I love the idea, what we are creating and what my role will be.

Editing is going so-so. I have made it through nine chapters (ten if you count the one that became two chapters) but there are still 19 more to go. So my goal for the week is to get ten chapters this week and nine next. That might seem like a lot, but this is the first informal edit, fleshing out the story and checking for plot holes and dropped plot lines. My wonderful critique partner has been amazing at giving me notes, making me feel very insecure about my own abilities as a critiquer. ;) The problem I have with this edit is actually sitting down to do it. I'm still creating so it's more fun than grammer checks, but it's not the kind of fun writing it in the first place was. But I want it done by September, and with a job coming to steal my time, I'll have to get cracking and do better.

Saturday, April 9, 2011

Giveaway Announcement

So as of the hop yesterday I realized I am obscenely close to 100 followers and I decided to do a two part giveaway. I have two prizes I will be giving away. For my 100th follower, whoever you happen to be, I will procure an autographed copy of the dead tree version of The Vampire's Warden by SJ Wright. All you have to do is follow this blog!

I don't want to neglect those of you who have been with me from the start, of the five new followers who will NOT be lucky number 100, so for you I offer a $20 Amazon gift card. The way to win? Be a follower, and comment on this blog with an email address. The winner will be chosen at random.org as soon as I get 100 followers. So tell your neighbors, your friends, and your Twitterers. The sooner I get there the sooner you can win. Don't forget to comment for your chance to win, whether you've been with me since the day the blog was created or you happened to be number 99!

In other news, I have launched a new endeavorer. I call it Sharp Cover Designs, and it is just that. Custom designed cover art that could grace the covers of books in your bookshelf someday soon. If your an author about to publish, I strive for reasonable prices. As I'm just starting, prices are negotiable. Just click the tab that says Book Covers and use the email submission form to submit a request. The covers will be designed for you, so you get creative control and final say. Please don't comment on this blog for it, but you can Facebook, Twitter message or use the email submission form.

Here's to reaching 100 followers soon and good luck!

Edit: Since I made it to 100 before anyone had a chance to blink, you can still enter to win the $20 Amazon gift card until Monday morning. Still comment with email, and I will random.org a winner.

Edit 4/11/11: Contest is now closed.

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Follow Friday again!




Welcome to the Writer’s Follow Friday Blog Hop! Not sure if you qualify? If you have a blog to add, guess what, you’re a writer! So check out the rules, grab the link and join the hop! We’re small for now, but we hope to continue to grow.

This week’s question:
Inspired by the spectacular melt down of Jacqueline Howett on Big Al’s Book Blog, how do you deal with a bad review?

Please join in in welcoming Nichole Chase from Nichole Chase  with this week’s answer.
I haven't officially published any of my works yet, but I hope that I would handle a bad review with grace. I think that the only appropriate way to respond to a review is to say thank you, and in most cases only in a private forum (email, or private message). Bad reviews hurt, even if they are handled in a professional manner. The hurt the author experiences should be kept private, and only shared with friends. Eat some chocolate cake, and watch a good movie- That is how I would handle a bad review. Probably shed a few tears to my friends or my husband, and then move on! You can always get better!





How do you join in the fun? So glad you asked. It’s really quite simple.


The rules
1)      Follow me, the originator of this hop
2)      Follow the featured author of the week.
3)      Copy the image code found below and paste it in your blog. Add your name to the link at the bottom of this post while you are here.
4)      Copy and paste the rules (the ones down below customized for all the other blogs) in your blog, as well as this week’s question.
5)      Answer the question
6)      Follow, follow, follow. This is about networking, people, making connections with people in your community. So talk to us. We don't bite!
7)      If someone stops by, says hi and follows you, the polite thing to do is follow back.
8)      Comment here and introduce yourself and you just might find a new follower or two.





Breaking it down: Here, in this box, is the code for the snazzy quill link to the hop. Copy it and paste it into your own blog. You musy paste it in the "edit HTML" tab











Copy and paste these rules to your blog (they’re a little different than mine and designed to help your blog)




The rules
1)      Follow this blog.
2)      Click the quill photo and follow Elizabeth Sharp, the originator of this hop.
3)      Follow the featured author of the week, Nichole Chase
4)      Copy the image code found there and paste it in your blog. Add your name to the link at the bottom of the post while you are there.
5)      Copy and paste the rules in your blog, as well as this week’s question.
6)      Answer the question
7)      Follow, follow, follow. This is about networking, people, making connections with people in your community. So talk to us. We don't bite!
8)      If someone stops by, says hi and follows you, the polite thing to do is follow back.
9)      Comment here and introduce yourself and you just might find a new follower or two.



Next click this link bar to add yourself to the list.



Want the linksy list? Copy this code. 


get the InLinkz code

Writing Exercises

So someone asked me some questions about writing exercises today and I thought I actually have some valuable tools in my box that I should share. So without further adu, here they are

Stealing Faces
I do this one all the time, when I'm bored in the grocery store line, sitting at a red light, in the waiting room at a doctor's office. If I wrote down half of them I'd never need to think up an idea for a story again. You start out describing someone, then expand it until they have a back story and a personality. You don't talk to them, just observe them from afar. Feel free to embellish and add things that aren't there, remember this is fiction. tH idea is to get you started creating.

Location, location, location
Think of somewhere you go all the time. Or go somewhere and sit and look at something new. Get out a notebook and write about it. Whether you're talking about your grocery store or your favorite hiking trail or an underpass you've never stopped under before, try to make the reader "see" what you're writing.

Rewrite a classic
Take a classic story you love (I did Shirley Jackson's the Lottery when I did this) and rewrite it. Play with it as much as you want. Get as creative as possible Shake up the characters, the setting, the plot, the back story, whatever trips your trigger. (I might post mine, "The Lotto" one of these days)

Random connections
Pick three books. Any books. They don't have to be connected in anyway. The more different they are, the better. Pick a random sentence on a random page of one. Now pick the same numbered sentence on the same numbered page in the other two. Find a way to connect the three. 
ex: "We no longer burn witches and we no longer, in groups, persecute cats" (Tiger in the House, Carl Van Vechten) 
"The feeling of all-pervasive evil had, in the last few moments, grown unendurable" (Diplomacy of Wolves, Holly Lisle
"They were not demons, they were just men who had too much power and not enough sense." (The Way of the Kings, Brandon Sanderson
 p 153, sentence 5
All three sentences came from literally the closest three books to me. The paragraph I get from this:

"The two old men glared at each other across the table, unaware of the wretched girl in rags edging away for fear of her master's wrath. When these two old timers came together, tempers always flared. She did not want to be a convenient target.

"Come now, Mort, surely you cannot argue! The men in charge simply must be possessed!"

"They were not demons, they were just men who had too much power and not enough sense." Mort said, waiving his wine glass about and slopping some over the rim.

"Then what of the evil they have done? They have practically ripped the very foundations of our very society!"

"We no longer burn witches and we no longer, in groups, persecute cats. Can't you see that things are looking up, Howard? Why by spring all the nonsense will be forgotten"

"And this makes it all better?"

"You girl!" She froze, fear making her hands feel cold. The feeling of all-pervasive evil had, in the last few moments, grown unendurable. She was afraid of Mort, of the cruelty she could see in his eyes. She wouldn't be surprised to find he had had a hand in many of the deaths laid at the devil's door. "Why do you shirk away from honest men engaged in intellectual conversation? Are you a God-fearing child?"

"I'm only a slave girl, sir, bought and sold to serve however my master deems fit." I lowered my eyes. Scars criss-crossed my back, teaching me the mistake of being to brazen or forward.

"Leave the girl be, Mort. She is a bit skittish, but who can blame her. Her father sold her to the duke to cancel his debts, and he was not easy on her. She keeps the wine flowing and does as she's asked without prompting."

"I don't trust her," Mort said, eying her askance. She struggled with her barbed tongue,  lest she earn his unwanted attention as well as another lashing."She has an unholiness about her."

"You see the devil in every woman, Mort. I assure you, he does not reside in the fairer sex. Now leave the girl to do her job."

This is completely random and don on the spot, so it's probably full of errors, but I wanted to show how this excercies worked.

Headlines
Find and clip an article out of the paper. Write the story that would end with the incident described in the article.

I'm sure there are more, but my brain is done and my bed is calling.



Monday, April 4, 2011

Aaahhhh!!! Zombies!!!! - A photo story

It started like a normal day, because all stories such as this always start as a normal day. Bonnie and Crystal were out enjoying the first really nice day of Spring.


Spirits were high as they drove aimlessly enjoying the fine weather.


With Crystal behind the wheel...


...and Bonnie riding shotgun, they had no idea this was far from an ordinary day.



They were exploring an old cemetery
and generally having fun as they usually did.



But then Bonnie noticed something that wasn't so normal.



Crystal was oblivious at first.



But then Bonnie pointed it out to her.

ZOMBIES!!!!

There was really nowhere to hide.

So the only other option was to run away.

Zombies don't like fast food.

Bonnie found the only thing she could to protect herself with and turned, only to see that Crystal was nowhere in sight.

The slower and less nimble girl had lost her flip flop.

She stumbled and fell, helpless as her friend disappeared from sight.

She screamed as the decaying corpses shuffled forward, eager to feast on her abnormally large brain.

Realizing she was now alone, Bonnie dropped her makeshift club and fled.

When the coast was clear Bonnie returned to see what had become of Crystal, but was overwhelmed with what she found.

All that remained of her friend was the flip flop she had run out of in her final moments.

The moral of the story?

When zombie's attack, it's important to wear appropriate footwear.