FREAKING PANDEMONIUM!!!

Oh my GOD People! I don't even know where to begin with this post. It's freaking pandemonium around the writing lair this week. I downloaded anti-spyware onto my Mac, something I've always used just for extra peace of mind. But the program is a picture eating, document hiding, web-site blocking NAZI, and said NAZI is clearly having a seizure. For those of you who have entrusted me with your manuscripts. Fear not. They've been recovered.

Speaking of manuscripts. A super amazing beta reader has shared her super amazing beta reader with me. And guess what! I'm an idiot! Did you guys know you're not supposed to end sentences with propositions? Well, apparently my character had no idea cause she keeps doing it. SMH (shake my head). That MC is going to be the death of me. Thank god for beta's who take the time to read, gut, shred, and glue our manuscripts back together. I think we should have an award ceremony once a month. We'll call it the Beta Awards. At this moment, there is a text going out to my secretary to get on that. And, in just a moment, she's going to text me back. It will read something like this: What the hell r u talking about? I'm not ur secretary. U can't afford one of those cause ur a loser! I'm the assistant manager. And maybe ur a beta-head too. Did u ever think of that? Are u drinking wine again? What the hell is a beta anyway? Did you call me a fish? This is what I get for hiring my BFF to work at a company that has absolutely nothing to do with writing.

To which I will reply with this: You're fired until 9 a.m. tomorrow morning for insubordination and for not knowing what a beta reader is. I'm withholding a portion of your earning to pay for therapy. I need it after the whole loser thing. And yes, I'm drinking wine again!

In other news. The kiddos have gone bat-shit crazy. Apparently we're experiencing some sort of lunar apocalypse within the household, and its making co-domiciling with the Blair Witch look pretty damn enticing. Jesus. I'm cursing in my blogpost. See. Told you. Total pandemonium.

:)

AN INTERVIEW WITH MARY WAIBEL

Writer people! I'm playing interviewer today.  Mary Waibel actually trusted me to ask questions about her new book, QUEST OF THE HART. She even said I could ask anything. Anything? I know right. A total risk on her part, but I decided to behave. Almost.

Princess Kaylee has never had to fight for anything. Her entire life has been arranged, even her marriage. But when Prince Devlin falls under an enchantment, she finds she is willing to do anything to save him, even if it means fighting a dragon.

Devlin's own sister, Princess Arabella, is behind the deadly plot. She wants the throne and will use any means necessary to gain it. Her perfect plan unravels, leaving Devlin caught in a magical sleep that is slowly spreading through the kingdom of Breniera. All Arabella needs to finish her spell and claim the crown is a drop of Kaylee's blood, but obtaining the single drop is proving more difficult than expected.

To save her betrothed, Kaylee embarks on a quest to find an ancient sword and gather a drop of dragon's blood, while trying to stay out of Arabella's traps. But Arabella's traps aren't the only danger. Time is everything. For once the last inhabitant of the kingdom falls asleep, the spell will be sealed, and not even true love's kiss will break it.

Ooh! Intriguing. 

1. So Mare, can you tell us what Quest is about? Quest is a reverse Sleeping Beauty tale, where the princess goes on the quest to wake the prince from the spell.

Nice! I wonder if she messes with him while he's asleep? That would be wrong but totally fun.

2. Is this a stand alone novel or a series?  It is a stand alone novel, but there are companion novels to follow. Charmed Memories, releasing in August from MuseItUp Publishing, follows Kaylee's brother Trevor as he searches for his missing bride. I am currently working on a third book that follows another character from Charmed Memories, as well as toying with an idea for Arabella, the villainess from Quest.

Exciting!

3. Who is your favorite character in Quest? Of course, I always find myself rooting for Kaylee, the heroine. Then there's Sabrina, the one who helps her. And Grizzelda, the old crone. Of course, Arabella, the villainess, was fun to write. And then there's Thaddeus, the knight betrayed by his princess. I have a feeling we might be seeing Thaddeus and Sabrina, and maybe another character from Quest in a future tale.

4. Who's the hottie? Will we swoon? Devlin is certainly a hottie. Unfortunately, he's asleep for most of the story. Enter Thaddeus. He's a knight, sworn to protect his princess, and he takes his duties seriously. And his looks don't hurt, either.

Looks never hurt!

5. Does he wear a kilt or breaches?  Trousers. Leather trousers. 

Damn! What's a girl have to do to get a man in a kilt?

6. Is it true what they say about kilts? I'm just asking in the name of fictional history here. I think most of us would like to know if dudes really wear underwear or not.  Well, I've heard the answer is no. But, I've never tested it to see.

We are now accepting volunteers for kilt wearers...Tapping fingers. Smiling mischievously. Husband is studying me closely. 

We will be suspending the call for kilt submissions until further notice.

7. Is your blog interviewer asking you appropriate questions? LOL! Were they supposed to be? I'm still waiting for the underwear one I was warned about.  Darn! Should've kept my mouth shut on that one :-)

Evil grin.

8. Where can we find Quest? Quest of the Hart is available at MuseItUp Publishing (you get to pick the version you want, but they send you all there are, so if you ever switch readers, you don't lose your book) and Amazon and at Barnes and Noble soon. 

9. What can we expect from you in the future?  Charmed Memories is coming in August and I'm finishing up a third for submission. I'm waiting for CP (critique partner) feedback on a fantasy/paranormal romance (faeries and sorceresses and lots of cool things!) so I can tweak that and submit. I just started playing mentally with what I think will be a NA (New Adult) romance based on a kiss on the kiss-cam. And there are more ideas partly done, in need of work, or waiting for me to sit down and write. If anyone figures out how to add more time to the day, and still get sleep, let me know! I'm always in need of more time.

Time? Interviewer sighs deeply. It's s lovely concept. 

Author Bio:

Mary lives with her husband, son and two cats. When she isn't twisting fairytales, she enjoys reading, playing games, watching hockey, and camping. Her debut novel, Quest of the Hart, is available from MuseItUp Publishing right now. The Lost Princess, a companion novel, will be available from MuseItUp Publishing in August 2013

 You can find Mary Waibel at:

http://marywaibel.blogspot.com

https://www.facebook.com/authormarywaibel

@mewtweety14 (twitter)

Buy Link (Quest):

https://museituppublishing.com/bookstore2/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=620&category_id=6&manufacturer_id=292&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=1

Book Trailers (Quest):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5SvEAbFQtE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3d-ohY2CEVo

A huge thank you to Mary for sharing with us! And stay tuned for more information about kilts and what to wear or not wear with them. ;)

Happy week people! 

HUMANITY

Today's post isn't about writing. It's about humanity. My heart is saddened tonight. When is it ever okay to blow up a human being? A child? At this hour, I don't know who's to blame for the Boston bombings. I just know that human beings did this to other human beings. Human beings sat and planned for this day. They created bombs to destroy, maim, and kill. And I'm sure they smiled when they succeeded. The first word that comes to mind for such madness is EVIL. But are we capable, as a society, to wrap our heads around that word? In the short term, I think so. But as the days pass on, I'm not so sure. We seem to forget as though we have to. As though a false sense of peace depends upon us forgetting the atrocities that drive us to pick up arms. But let us not forget the wounded. The dead. Not today. Not ever. My thoughts and prayers go out to the people of Boston.

WHAT THE HECK DOES THIS MEAN?

The desk of a writer can be a scary and confusing place for outsiders. Entering uninvited should be met with the same caution as entering Poe's lair. And yes, I believe he had a lair. You cannot write The Raven and not have one.

In slightly lighter environments, writer's doodle. When the muse hits, we rush to jot down our ramblings on paper.  We open a new doc. Enter a few lines, knowing that only we will be able to piece together the puzzling thoughts we've jotted down on random pieces of paper. We target old bills, envelopes, and shamefully, a child's report card. Relax. It only happened once. I was out of Post Its and the legal pads were out of reach. No judging.

So it's true to say that no notable surface is safe. But sometimes our notes get lost, shuffled around, and buried under piles of other crazy-sauce. Weeks pass. Dust settles. We cough and decide to clean up the clutter. Only to discover that old Post It. The envelope. The kids report card that was supposed to be signed and returned. I emailed the teacher. It's fine. Let it go.

But what's to be done about deciphering my own ramblings after all this time? Well, it took me a minute, but I finally got that I needed dog food. I must have picked that up already. The dog looks fine. Check. Deli meat, also check. My daughter definitely got a haircut. I do recall that much. And then it all came together. I was not vowing to never leave some dude named Lesley Nelson Burns. He wrote a song a character was going to sing in one of my stories, and they were going to play an instrument, something soothing and romantic. This was also good news for my daughter who had read my crazy-sauce and thought I was getting her a 'stupid flute' for a graduation present. I think I might call the consignment shop. I bet they'll have one for cheap.

She'll never read my notes again. Good times.

So what's some of your crazy-sauce? Find the nearest scrap of paper and do tell.


Happy Friday!

Holy Heck!

I visited my own blog today. Yes this one. I heard crickets. Is anyone else hearing crickets, or is it just me?

I have not posted since Christmas. CHRISTMAS! How pathetic is that? I had no idea it had been so long. I pulled my gaze away from revisions and glanced at the calendar. Did you guys know it's March? How did that happen? I didn't even get an email that it was March. When revising, one should verbally be alerted as to what day it is. Just putting that out there.

So now it's on to creeping. I must know what you've all been up to. I have to know. I've missed you!

:)

Merry Christmas!!!

I thought I'd venture out from underneath my writing holiday rock to wish you all a very Merry Christmas. For those of you who wished for a literary agent, I hope there's one under the tree when you get up in the morning, and for your sake, I hope they were willing to be under your tree. If not I'm afraid the new year may be looking a little dismal for you. Anyhoo best of wishes to everyone!

Merry Christmas!

Errrmiiigaaawd!!!!

 The Next Big Blog Hop!

I've been tagged, people. The lovely cheese eating, hoarding, composing goddess, Crystal Collier has taken time out of her busy day to whop me on the blog. So, now I get to do something uber-amazing and answer a few questions about my WIP then I'll be whopping a few bloggers back so they can tell us all about theirs. Itchy fingers...

Okay, just because I need major motivation, and because I have contemplated self-publishing for many reasons (that's another blog), I actually have a cover for my WIP. It's slightly unfinished but I loves it!

Cover design by: Amanda Mathews of AMD Design Studios. Go check out what she can do for you! Amanda just rocks!

Now on with the rest of this: 

1. What is the working title of your book?    THE BONE TREATY (Subject as always to change).

2. Where did the idea come from?    I haven't the foggiest. I was shampooing my hair I think, and bam, I had three chapters before the end of the night. Freaking scary. 

3. What genre does your WIP fall under?   I'm going with YA Paranormal Romance. 

4. Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?     Ooh, let the casting calls begin....taps fingers.

                           Meet Alexia Fast playing the part of Addie.

                                                      

                                    And now for the love triangle. 

                              Alex Pettyfur as Conal Reed Grrr...                 

                

                                                                   And

                                                  Chace Crawford as Griffin 

 Now all we need is a vote for Team Conal or Team Griffin.  NO They are so not ready for T-shirts people ;)

5. What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?   

When a stranger shows up ready to kill, an orphaned girl must unlock the mysteries of her heritage after her body reacts to him in supernatural ways. (Okay, its not perfect but it will have to do for now)

6. Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?  

I'm still on the fence with this one. I guess I'll know when I know, right?

7. How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript? 

About nine months for the first draft. 

8. What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?  

Hm...no pressure. I always hate this question. I'll just name one. Maybe the Premonition Series by Amy Bartol. Although I'd hate to even put myself in that category. If you haven't read the series yet, do so right this minute. It's amazing and completely swoon-worthy. My story differs from hers, there are no angels in The Bone Treaty. But my MC must come to grips with a supernatural ability she has no idea she has, and it leads her on a quest for survival, discovery, and inevitably torn between Conal and Griffin. (There have been worse days)

9. Who or What inspired you to write this book? 

Hm...not sure on this one. Since I was shampooing my hair, I might have to say Kenra since that was the shampoo. (Chuckles)

10. What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest? 

There's a new kind of shapeshifter breaking onto the scene and you'll just have to read The Bone Treaty to find out more. Unfortunately, you'll have to wait until the revisions are done, the agent is landed, and the book deal is complete, or until I can launch this baby onto Amazon, whatever I end up doing. (Sighs)

P.S. I have no idea why some of this is showing up with the white background. (shakes head)

Okay, now enough about me and The Bone Treaty. Now I get to whop 5 people.

Mary Waibel

Katie S. Pendergrass

PK Hrezo

EJ Wesley

Justine Dell

Time to spill it people! What is your WIP about?