Veterans Day is Everyday.

I wanted to post this earlier, but I ran short on time then thought if I posted late, it could carry on into tomorrow. Today is Veterans Day-well, tonight is too. And in my opinion it should be everyday. I come from a military family. My father is retired from the Army and my brother served his country as a Marine. I doubt they truly know how very proud I am of them and their service to this country. I'm also blessed to have uncles, cousins, and dear friends who have served or are serving as well. (be safe Danny) And at the end of the day, it doesn't matter where our opinions fall. What side of the political aisle you're on or what religious belief you may have or don't have. What matters is that it's because of the brave that we get to have an opinion at all. And for that gift alone, if for nothing else, I am eternally grateful.

Letting Go.

Okay, so I'm in the land of dreaded revisions. At least I dread them. I know I shouldn't frown at the prospect of tightening up my MS, but writing just feels so free and exciting in that first draft, and I love watching how the story unfolds before me. But revisions are more like work, the serious stuff, no more writing with reckless abandon. Now it's time to remove all the overwriting and press the delete key a lot more than I would have ever imagined. (A whole lot more) And it's in these moments of revising my work that I tend to second guess myself the most. I used to wonder if this was normal. Did J.K. Rowling, Alyson Noel, or Stephanie Meyer ever stop and ask themselves: "What am I doing-I actually just created a football game for broom riding wizards, a vampire who reads people's thoughts and feeds off the blood of animals, and an immortal something or other, when I really should  be vacuuming." Well, of course they did. And self doubt is just another ingredient that makes us human. Without it, we'd walk around feeling superior and our work would suffer greatly. We'd never attempt to fix something, if we felt it wasn't broken to start with. It took me awhile to realize that we must learn to feed off of our self doubt. It is, after all, the driving force that makes our work better. The voice of self doubt is not an internal whisper trying to persuade you to quit. (mine sometimes like's to scream and say inappropriate things-truly hateful) It's actually a powerful asset forcing us to persevere and we must lean on that voice, use it, and allow it to mold us into the writer's we are destined to become-published or not. (published would be better than not) So tell me, have you made your peace with self doubt? If you're still battling it out, that's okay. You can tell us that too. It's what we're all here for. (Jeeze, I'm all serious today. Worry not people-it will not last;)

Just Write...Right!

Allow me to set up the scene: Calculating young fiend (my teenage daughter) comes into living room and announces that a friend (evil looking cretin who ends every word with an " A" due to attitude, worry not, she knows I perceive her in an aura of complete darkness ) should be allowed to visit. Then she proceeds onto her selling points. "It's not as though you should mind such a visit." she says "It's not like you're going to be doing anything except sitting around all day and writing (folds her arms, seems pleased with her argument)". And that's when I stopped mid-sentence to glare at young fiend over the top of writing machine, and at that moment, I was hoping to conjure up a brain producing laser beam to hurl into her empty head. No such luck. But I had to wonder, is this what she thinks of writing? That we just sit around all day in fantasy land, plotting the demise or the happily ever after of fictitious characters, producing scenes filled with crime, mayhem, lust, mystery, oh and kissing....we cannot forget the kissing- people? Well, what a "Who-Ra" of a time we've all been having haven't we. Bunch o' smut type 'rs!
Don't worry- I clued her in, brain notwithstanding, however, do you ever wonder if those around you really understand what goes into your writing? The research, the networking with other authors, the stalking of agents, the countless hours studying the do's and dont's of the publishing industry, the stalking of cats and dogs that belong to agents, the building of your brand, and hopefully, a following of fans to come whenever you do get that call, but most importantly the nurturing of those friendships you've made along the way. Then, and only then, when all of that is done, are you able to sit down and write. But then, damn it all, it's time for bed. I think it's safe to say after young fiends little life lesson on what is okay, and not okay to say to Mommy, she now views me as a superhero, I mean, how could she not. I get most of that done in a day, plus dinner, cleaning, work, and laundry. Heck sometimes, I even go all out and shave my legs and paint the toesies. I'd say that makes us super-heroes, don't you think?

Title Envy Contest!

Scroll down to join in the Title Envy Contest. Some interesting titles have already been listed. I look forward to seeing what everyone comes up with. In other news, I've heard that Nathan Bransford is no longer going to be a literary agent. This is such a shock. Some of you have already blogged about this, but for those who haven't heard the news, there you have it. He's still going to keep his blog, so if you are a follower as I am, rest assured, he will still be among us. We have not been abandoned completely. That's a relief.

My Titles

I thought I'd post some of my own titles. A few that I have found to be cool and a couple that I'm already using. I'm not a part of the contest of course, so these titles are opted out, but here is my tiny list of possible titles for a YA paranormal romance:
RESURRECTIONAL
RENASCENCE
OPULENCE
EMBODIED
DIVINITY
INTREPID
AFFINITY
Now onto the names of my current works in progress:

CRAVENNESS (formerly CHANCING MIDNIGHT): Sixteen year old vampire-Jada Craven, must discover who murdered her father and find his missing journal-a journal that holds a breakthrough that may reverse the curse of immortality and change the vampire world forever. 

CANEBRAKE:  In the darkened woods of Canebrake Mississippi, people have been disappearing  for decades, and detective Ashley Morgan has her hands full of bad leads and haunting tales. But as she digs deeper into each case, she discovers that each victim has something in common; they are all criminals. Now it's up to her to figure out how a patch of trees, or what's within them, has the power to discriminate or even kill.

WILL OF THE WALKERS:  Not a one worded title and I can't even begin to summarize this one. This baby was my first novel and it is so dear to my heart, but it's a little bigger than me for the moment, so more on this one when I figure it out.

So what do you guys think of my titles?

Title Envy Contest!

The weekend is almost here and manuscript number one is still in revisions(sometimes it's under the chaise or I contemplate feeding it to Cooper). It seems revisions never end. Manuscript number two is moving along very well and in between working on the both of them, I read books, other blogs, and review examples of query letters previously accepted by agents. That's just how I roll. I know, right up there with skydiving...which is never going to happen unless there's a fire aboard a plane (please note: if anyone ever hears of me skydiving, please call the police, I've been drugged and placed upon a plane against my will). But when I'm not busy with all of that, I'm wondering if I've chosen the right names for either MS. I wanted it to be a one word title. They're just so intriguing. It's like in music when you hear the name Madonna, Sting, Beyonce, or Usher (nothing like that usher at church who used to pretend he was making change for a twenty, we're onto you Mr. Name Redacted) And there's nothing like extensive research (Google) to discover the perfect name-or NOT! They're all taken! All of them! At least the one worded freaking awesomest (well aware that's not a word) ones ever as far as I can tell. So I've decided to have a contest. Can you think of a name for a YA Paranormal Romance that's not already taken? The winner will receive a $20.00 Gift Card to be used at Barnes and Noble. In addition to the gift card, we may help someone in picking out the most awesomest name ever for their own book. How cool would that be? The contest will start today and continue until the 20th of November. On the 21st, I will pick the top ten titles and post them for a vote on the blog. Together, we'll decide who came up with the best title. I will announce the winner on November 22nd. Let's see who can bring on the most envy...

Alive and Back!

I'm still alive and I cannot tell you how happy I am about that. The weekend was spent with a swollen teenager and a blender. Worry not people. I was making broccoli and fettuccine smoothies for the wee one. I wasn't mixing drinks or anything. Although, it could have made all the whining easily tolerable. Not being insensitive, but surprisingly enough, the wee one wasn't in all that much pain after having four wisdom teeth cut out. She was bored out of her mind and whining for a double cheeseburger. There are some things that I refuse to put into a blender. It's just not right. On a good note though, my husband and I carried out several acts of vengeance in return for all things stupid and vile she has done or has yet to do as a teenager. We ate Reese's peanut butter cups in front of her while listening to her mumble incoherent profanities. We'd ground her but we can't prove she actually cursed. Good times!
On another note, I was able to tear away from said blender long enough to work on my manuscript, which then made me want to add things to said blender and mumble incoherently along side of swollen teenager. This brings me to the days question. What do you do when a story seems to be getting bigger than your main characters? Do you know of a published book where the story was the main character? If so, did you enjoy it?