Natasha Deen's Blog, page 49

Monday Laugh

From Jay Leno: “A rattlesnake handler in Texas is recovering in the hospital after being bitten for the 12th time. If you’re a rattlesnake handler & you’re been bitten 12 times, are you really a handler? Aren’t you just a guywho doesn’t know how to pick up snakes?”

25% Done?!

Man, it’s hard to believe I’m into my second quarter as Regional Writer in Residence. On the one hand, I feel like time is screaming by…on the other hand (as I stare at the latest chapter of my Christmas mystery, I feel like time has stopped–or maybe that’s just my brain).

I think I’m doing okay. I have the first draft of WNB done, I’m 30% finished the CM…I’m really hoping to keep at the pace–actually, I’m hoping to pick it up a little, so I can finish faster…I just wish my brain would kick in...

Remus 1, Mom 0

Why oh why do pet food companies reinvent their food? The brand of kibble we’d had the boys on since forever re-jigged their formula to include a lot of corn…not such a great choice for filler, so in an effort to be a good cat mom, I bought a new (better, I thought) brand.

Gus loved it.

Remus would have none of it.

I tried everything from trying to give him it as a treat, to chucking the pieces down the hallway (cat parents know, don’t they, how much their kitties like to play food hockey), to m...

Growing Pains

© Anki21 | Dreamstime Stock Photos & Stock Free Images

Now, don’t get me wrong: I love technology…I just don’t love having to update: change from one phone to the other, upgrade computers…which is why it took me so long to suck it up and buy a new computer.

I’ve managed to be a tiny bit more efficient (back to work after 5 days of transferring software, upgrading drivers, moving furniture, etc–usually it takes me a week), but I admit there’s a bit of frustration as I learn the new places Micros...

The Crack

I think I might know what’s going wrong with the manuscript…a combination of interesting (but not in the right place) writing, along with some gaps in the logic of the world I’m building…okay, problem (at least part of it) identified…now on to trying to solve it…

Messages in the Snow

Edmonton’s been in the grip of a cold snap that’s left 6 inches of snow on the ground (at least), along with grey skies, and even greyer landscape…and it all feels like my writing, really…grey, unchanging, no light, no color, no life.

And it’s really hard to maintain enthusiasm in the face of bad writing, but it’s the reality of being a writer. To me, it’s all well and good to call yourself a writer when the words are flowing, calling yourself a writer when it’s all going sideways is another t...

Author Question – Business Cards

I’ve had a few people asking about business cards, so much so, I thought I’d post some information here.

Being an author is being a business of one, and like any well-run company, you should always have cards that you can hand out to interested parties (editors/agents/fans).

Now, of course, the question becomes: exactly what should you have (or not have) on your card. This is only my opinion, but some of the things you should look at including:

Your name (obviously). If you’re writing under a pe...

Head Down, Chin Up

© Crashoran | Dreamstime Stock Photos & Stock Free Images

The good thing with being anal-retentive is that when you’re going through the valleys of writing, you can always go back to your stats and see if the current manuscript trouble is unique to the story or if it’s a global thing…

In my case, it’s global. According to the records I keep, drafts 1-3 usually take the longest, have the most blank spots, and usually have me banging my head against the wall…

Heartening news. At least, it’s a head...

Author Question

Q: When I query an agent or editor, do I use my pen name or my legal name?

A: You use your legal name. The question/use of pen names only comes up once you have received a contract.

Ignore Him

Was out and overheard a girl telling a guy that another guy (Joe) had followed her home and left a note in her mailbox. She was creeped out by it. The friend thought it was romantic and that love “is creepy.”

The conversation went on for a while and in the end, she agreed with his opinion, but I couldn’t help but disagree…

If you think the gesture is creepy, then it is creepy, and let’s face it. If this Joe character goes all whacka-doo, it won’t be the guy he takes the machete to, it’ll be the...