Sandra Cox's Blog, page 307

Happy B-Day

Birthdays are good for you. Statistics show that people who have the most live the longest.

Today is the hh's birthday. We're going out to eat tonight, but waiting to celebrate till the family is all together at Thanksgiving. In the meantime, here's a bit of trivia on the birthday boy.
1. He's a Bear's fan.
2.A Diehard Cub's fan
3. Grew up in Illinois
4. Was told in high school he wasn't smart enough to go to college
5. Got his master's degree in his fifties and if it hadn't been for getting a B in one of his courses would have aced everything he took
6. Worked in a factory setting for over twenty years and for the past ten has taught Developmental English at a community college
7. Has five sibs, all of them girls
8. Lost his mom to cancer when he was in his twenties
9. Had a great father who lived into his nineties
10. Writes poetry
and
Loves his children
Happy Birthday, M.
~*~
Blogs of interest:
Amarinda Jones
Anny Cook
Julia Barrett

Writing A Novel.....Where To Begin

For those of you who are thinking about writing a novel but don't know quite where to start, I'm blogging today on Where To Begin at Downtown YA.

Deadman's Blood

With us today is T. Lynn Tolles . Welcome Teresa. Please tell us about your current project.

Currently I am between projects. I spent the summer and fall marketing my books and doing a few blog tours. I have plans this winter to start on a new series about a witch and a hellhound pup she finds and raises. Needless to say they get into lots of trouble.

What will I as a reader like best about your heroes?

Well what I hope readers will like about my heroes and heroines is that they are strong loving people, but aren't full of themselves. My vampires don't sparkle but they also aren't "rip 'em-up, gothic hide-in-the-shadows" vampires either. They're more like real people with an affliction that requires them to drink blood, but really they just want to live their lives like we all do. They're just very REAL.

How will women identify with your heroines?

Probably the same way as above. The heroine in this series is a sweet woman who likes to help out whenever possible and loves her family and friends fiercely. She has a quirky sarcastic sense of humor, but she's REAL and she doesn't give up, even when some think she should and may even find this is a weakness.

Is your muse currently sitting on your shoulder or is she illusive?

I think writers tend to be a little schizophrenic in the sense that all my characters talk. Not necessarily to me but like a dream or a movie - the plot plays itself out, I am just the one who types into a form where others can read it. So to answer your question, my muses don't actually sit on my shoulder, but they do speak to me and mostly in that time just before I fall asleep. I do my best writing at this time.

Who is your favorite author?

I'm not sure I have one favorite, but a montage of different ones depending on my mood. I grew up reading Anne Rice and Stephen King so to not mention them would be a crime. I love Jim Butcher, Ellen Schreiber, L.J. Smith and way too many others to list.

Where can we purchase your books?

Pretty much anywhere….

Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Smashwords, All Romance, CreateSpace, Lulus, etc….I get around (giggles)

Thanks for dropping by, Theresa. Good luck with your series
Contest: for an opportunity to win a free download of Deadman's Blood just leave a comment along with your email addie.

Be Who You Are

myfreewallpapers.com
"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those that matter don't mind."~*~ Dr. Seuss

Smart Kitties

I'm showing a vid today at Night Writers on a cat caretaker who, inspired by Pepperberg's work with Alex the Parrot, has tapped into the cognitive powers of her once feral cats. Joan Kosby has taught her cats to identify some words, shapes and colors. If you're interested and have an opportunity pit stop by and see the Vid.

Glasses, Self Perception and Insurance

I went for an eye exam and ordered new glasses last week. While I was looking at fr ames, the technician told me, the pair I was looking at worked because I had a small face. My mental response. I do?
Why is it, the perceptions we have of our self is usually different from the way others perceive us? I look in the mirror and I see an extra five pounds that no one else seems to see. Hmm...maybe they didn't just get new glasses or have that eye exam like I did:)

Another eye opener (no pun intended, well maybe just a small one) was the cost. If I hadn't had insurance I would have been cooked. As it was, with insurance picking up the majority of it, I was still left with a few hundred dollars to pay. I was stunned. I did get extras that weren't covered by insurance or only partially and they quickly added up, transition lenses, a coating to prevent glare, and yes my frames were past the minimum. But it begs the question, what do folks do that don't have insurance? Okay that was a rhetorical question, they don't go to a doctor because they can't afford it.
For whatever reason, socialism is a bad word in our country.
When it comes to healthcare, I'm a huge proponent of socialism. Why shouldn't every American have the luxury of going to a doctor when they're sick? Or need glasses? And why should it be a luxury? And the biggest question of all, will it ever change?

Still Obsessing On Mary Sue-isms

graphicsfairy.blogspot.com

I'm fascinated with the Mary Sue thing: 'too perfect, a poorly developed character and lacking in realism.' So I decided to make a list of how the literary Mary Sue and I differ, at least as far as perfection. So to name a few:
1. I never think of clever comebacks till the wee-hours of the night
2. I obsess
3. I'm not a quick learner
4. Coordination isn't my strong suit
5. Without my glasses my vision is closer to 200 than 20
6. I'm not good at letting things go
7. Alas, I have thin hair
8. I don't do well before my morning cup of coffee or ten
9. I'm seldom on time unless its absolutely necessary
10. I have no sense of direction. If I say go right, it would be in your best interest to turn left.The GPS is right up there with chocolate as far as I'm concerned.
11. I have problems making decisions and when I do finally make them, usually change my mind

Okay what about you? What keeps you from being a MarySue or a Gary Stu?

Mary Sue-ish

Have you heard this term before? I'd heard it mentioned in an ambiguous way but wasn't that familiar with what it exactly meant. When my editor said she was afraid my character might be too Mary Sue-ish, I decided to do some researching. In a nutshell, the character is too perfect to be believable and the reader won't be able to relate. Okay, got that.
One of the suggestions, she made was to drop the XS size. Got that too. Although in defense of all the XS's out there, all it means is that you've got a small frame and won't have to worry about sag as you age:) Its one of those things you bemoan while you're young but appreciate as you get older:)
Besides losing the XS shirts, I also gave her size nine shoes and a total lack of understanding when it comes to chemistry. A bit of a blonde? Not at all, she's smart, just doesn't get chemistry. Is this enough to take away any Mary Sue-ish stigma...we'll see.
I can almost hear good mate Amarinda Jones saying, 'Looks aren't what make a woman' and I agree with her one hundred percent. Who we are is not depend on our bra size or our looks. Whether we're a size two or a size eighteen, whether we like manicures or tattoos, we still belong to the sisterhood.
Okay wondered off topic a bit, back to Mary Sue-ish. If you write, what do you do to humanize your character?
As a reader what characteristics do you appreciate in your heroine?
~*~
Re:Barry Eisler. Last week I mentioned he'd turned down St. Martin's to publish with Amazon. Just for grins and giggles I went in and looked at the price for his new release The Detachment.
Kindle: $5.99
Paperback: 7.73
Pretty reasonable prices, hey?

Blogging at Downtown YA

As you probably know, Manic Monday's are my DowntownYA Blog day. Today, I finally have an opportunity to interview a cat. If you have an opportunity, I'd love to have you stop by.
Have a quick work-a-day.

For Your Viewing Pleasure

Thanks to Toni Sweeney for putting this together for the authors at CAB.