Just one more thing...

As if I need one more thing interfering with my writing time, my computer has decided to act possessed. It randomly decides that even though there are little black bars on the connectivity icon, it is not connected to the internet.

But it is lying.

I've been fighting this for over a month now. Every fifth or sixth click will go through. The other clicks tell me I am not connected.

Much like a car when taken to the mechanic, my computer behaved like an angel when I took it to the Genius Bar at the Apple Store last week. So I know the problem is not with the airport card, or the computer itself. It's with the location, or the electrical system in my house, or... maybe my husband's computer (where the router is) just doesn't like mine.

I am wasting more writing time trying to GET on the internet than I would be normally SPENDING on the internet.

Maybe someone is trying to tell me something- like when the TV I used to have in my writing area (just for background noise) died.

Or maybe I need to have an IT heroine since I am doing so much research into the computer problem. There are tons of stories with computer geek heroes. They are very popular (I know, I married one). Why not a computer geek heroine?

If I could only get on-line...

If You Can't Say Something Nice...

Piggybacking on the other Muses' topic this week...

I've always believed you shouldn't say anything behind someone's back that you wouldn't want to say to their face.

I learned early on with a certain relative, that no matter what she was told, she'd embellish and then tell the person her new and improved version of what I (or anyone else) said.

I also seem to be the Repository of The Secrets in my family, because I can keep them. Gets amusing sometimes to have the same secret told to you by more than one person- and you realize it isn't a secret, because no one realizes they all already know.

I can stay quiet about anyone ELSE'S stuff.

I just wish I could learn when to shut up about my OWN business!

Research and Musing

I ordered a new book to use for research today, and I thought I’d ask the other Muses- What do you find most helpful when researching?

I’m one of those “write what you know” people, but “what I know” isn’t necessarily what I have lived. Many times a bit of knowledge from a class I took, or a book I read will be lodged in my brain and will present itself while I am writing.

I don’t usually say, Okay I want to write about X and then go purchase ten books on X, because what if I don’t like X after all? If I need a word or need technical knowledge of something, then I dig for information on it.

I had three majors and a minor in college, so I, needless to say, am a reader in many subjects (and languages!). I always thought I’d do well on Jeopardy, since I am filled with tons of useless knowledge that way!

My current research is still in the form of books that I read for joy or curiosity. If the information proves useful later, great- if not, I gained insight into a topic I was curious about.

I love history books, police research books, forensics texts, and the Worst Case Scenario series. My shelf is also filled with dictionaries: English, French, Spanish, Italian, German, Polish, cowboy (yes, cowboy), and slang dictionaries from various periods.

Sometimes just the right word is the trick.

And I do love words.

The best lesson I've learned since getting published...

... is the value of having friends who write.

Not everyone in my life would understand if I tried to tell them that people live in my head. Or that I watch them interact in my head and that I write down what happens.

But say that to a fellow writer and you'll most likely get a nod.

Nods mean so much.

As a writer you can feel really alone sometimes. You are on your computer, or scrunched in a comfy spot with a laptop or a notebook and pen, and you're listening to people no one else can hear or see. And you are by yourself.


If I tell my family I'm going to be upstairs writing for a while, they'll look through me and ask what's for dinner. As long as my writing doesn't interfere with their lives, they are fine with it.

If I told another writer that I'm working on a deadline, the writer not only wouldn't bother me, but might let others know not to bug me if they got wind of an impending interruption. Writers understand what it's like for other writers.

The Muses and the Bats are two of the best groups. The Muses are there for a pat on the back or encouragement. Commiseration. Information. The Bats (in the Bat Cave at eHarl) let you howl and scream and then cover you gently with slime and let you wallow in the pit until you're better.

Yes, even though writing is a lonely profession, I have more friends I've never met than friends I see on a regular basis. Strangest thing is, that it isn't strange at all!

SOLD!

I'm so excited! My romantic suspense novel, ROMANCING THE STONES, just sold to Samhain Publishing!

This book was inspired by a legendary black dog that roams the streets of Richmond, Virginia. No one can catch him, and no one knows where he came from or where he goes. He just...is.

The black dog in my novel appears when the heroine, Charlie Blair, most needs him, or when paranormal events are at hand.
You see, she has found a golden...er... rod on an archeological dig in Peru, but the find has disappeared. Instead she's left with a handful of Ica Stones that it seems someone is willing to kill to possess, and a police detective on the trail of a serial killer.

Oh, and did I mention that she's naked, in the shower, and holding a Glock on him when they first meet?

The novel should be out this fall, and I can't wait for you to read it!

If I Could Go Back in Time, I'd Love to Go Back To...

In my December release from www.CerridwenPress.com, RETURN TO ME, my heroine has been reincarnated over and over for centuries. In every life she was subject to the will of men. She couldn't save herself because she didn't have a chance, didn't have power, couldn't break the rules...

One thing she learned in her current life is that finally, in today's modern period, she has a chance to survive. She becomes a self-defense expert and she goes after the man who has hunted her and her lover down each lifetime. No more waiting for her date with destiny- she goes after it with fists flying!

So I guess what I am saying is, I love the pageantry of many, many ages in the past, but I don't think I'd like to live in any of them forever. There's no guarantee I'd have money or status or power of any sort. In fact, I'd be much more likely to be a peasant, have poor health, and die of malnutrition or disease long before I was old enough to die in childbirth.

That's why I love romance books so very, very much. I can live through the heroine, experiencing life the way she does, and I can know for certain that my happy ending is coming before the back cover closes.

What Do I Find Sexy/Romantic in a Man…

Sexy is…

…my husband’s arms, especially his forearms. He’s a drummer and that must have something to do with it. Watching him play, those sinews twisting and flexing. Don’t even get me started on the look on his face when he’s drumming. Heavens, it’s enough to make my feet tingle.

…a man’s arm settling protectively on your arm or lower back, even if you don’t need protecting.

…catching him looking at you with a warm glint in his eye.

Romantic is…

…walking in to find he has put away the dishes(even if I have to look around to find what I need), folded the laundry (even if he doesn’t do it the way I would), or swept the floor. And he doesn't expect a parade for it.

…when he gets up first and gets the newspaper or puts out the dog.

…arriving with the DVD of a TV show you loved as a kid, that he’s never heard of, but he buys it anyway. And watches it with you. Even if he has no idea why it appeals to you.

…bringing you a Twix when he stops by the store on his way home.

…just sitting quietly together. Anywhere.

Mmmm… I need to go write now…

MY Guilty Pleasure Is...

My guilty pleasure is SLEEP.

I have to wake up first in my house, because I need to get MYSELF ready for work before I wake the kids to get ready for school.

And even though I am not the last to go to bed, I am the last to fall asleep. My mind takes a while to slow down and rest.

However right around 3PM, if I am anywhere near a chair or a couch or my bedroom, I fall asleep. Especially if I have had any sort of sugary snack. In fact, if I eat something sweet, no matter WHAT time of day it is, I get sleepy.

And when I fall asleep, I am out like a light. It only last a half an hour or so, due to the kids and the dog, but it's wonderful.

Part of my guilty pleasure is that I almost always come up with story ideas while sleeping. Sometimes if I am stuck in a plot spot, the dreams I have will work it out and I wake with ideas of how to fix a story.