Patti O'Shea's Blog, page 201

June 8, 2010

Dropping the F Bomb

I've been thinking about the swearing my heroes do. My heroines, too, to some extent, but they never seem to sink into the depths of profanity that my guys do. When do I curb them or do I curb them at all?

No one's said anything to me, but the hero in the proposal I'm working on now goes farther down the road than any other hero I've had. It's not so much the frequency as his choice of words. I'm used to hearing the F bomb from my guys--they all use it, although in my first few books, I ce...
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Published on June 08, 2010 16:55

June 6, 2010

Which Casino Are You?

I'm posting a quiz today. Sorry for not having a new entry on the blog, but I spent all weekend revising the Work In Progress and I'm too brain fried to write anything longer than a couple of sentences. Back to normal on Tuesday night, I promise. :-)



You Are the Venetian




You are a true romantic, and you are enchanted with the idea of small European towns.

You live life at a slower pace than most people. You savor every moment.



You fall in love easily - whether it's with the same person or...
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Published on June 06, 2010 17:59

June 3, 2010

The Kiribati Revelation

I've been to Kiribati. I just found that out over the weekend.

I did know I'd been to Fanning Island. I was just unaware that Fanning Island belonged to the country of Kiribati. Next time I'll have to check my passport more closely and see who stamps it. :-)

It's actually kind of sad. Because I work for an airline, my geography skills are pretty strong. It's all self-taught, too. When I was in school, they quit teaching geography when I was in the second grade. That isn't enough time to...
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Published on June 03, 2010 14:54

June 1, 2010

Adventures With Glasses

Friday, May 14th at 6:10 am, I'm cleaning my glasses at the Evil Day Job (EDJ), when tragedy struck. My glasses broke at the solder point between the bridge and the rim around the lens. The thing that's ironic is just two days earlier, I'd been talking to my parents about picking up some new glasses, but earlier that Friday morning, I'd decided I didn't feel like going shopping on Saturday and maybe I'd wait until the next week. That decision was taken out of my hands.

But now I have a prob...
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Published on June 01, 2010 14:33

May 30, 2010

Memorial Day

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Memorial Day Comments and Graphics for MySpace, Tagged, Facebook
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Take a moment to remember those who've given their lives to keep this country safe, please. Thank you to the soldiers, past and present, who fought for the US.
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Published on May 30, 2010 15:40

May 27, 2010

Living With a Troll

I woke up Wednesday morning with Troll on my mind. He's the hero in The Troll Bridge from The Mammoth Book of Time Travel Romance.

Yes, I'm going to riff about characters again. They're why I write and I live with them in my head for months and not just the months while I'm writing their story. They come in before that, spend time telling me who they are and letting me see who they are, and they're with me while I write their proposal. They stick with me while I wait to find out if their s...
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Published on May 27, 2010 19:08

May 25, 2010

The Proposal In Progress

Sunday in the late afternoon, I finally finished the rough draft of my proposal chapters for the latest Work In Progress(WIP). I was beginning to wonder if I'd ever reach this point, especially after my heroine was determined to hide her personality from me. I wrote and rewrote her first scene again and again trying to find her.

The work isn't done yet, though. I have to revise and polish this opening and get the three chapters all bright and shiny. I have to write a synopsis where I lay o...
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Published on May 25, 2010 16:46

May 23, 2010

Sharing My Pretties

I can't believe how beautiful my peonies are this year, especially since these plants just went in the ground last spring. I'm like a kid on Christmas morning and I get so excited whenever I go out and look at my flowers. I want to share some of the awesomeness with y'all.




This is what the coral peonies looked like on Friday afternoon.



And here's what they look like today.



Group shot and yes, that is a creamy yellow peony in with the coral.


Coral flower



Close up on the coral



Double coral



Coral...
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Published on May 23, 2010 17:03

May 20, 2010

Listening To My Own Books

Just like I reread my books to visit with my characters, I also listen to my stories on audio (Through a Crimson Veil and Shards of Crimson) for the same reason.

When I write, I hear a lot more often than I actually see anything. It's always been like this and maybe this is why it's so hard for me to listen to my books. Nothing against the narrator, but when they read, they don't have the same cadence/rhythm/intonation as my characters do when they talk.

It throws me off every time.

I can hear...
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Published on May 20, 2010 14:36

May 18, 2010

In Search Of a Personality

Characters come in my head, talk to me, let me get to know them, and I write their stories. They're not always cooperative. I've had them lie to me, refuse to talk, stonewall me, and a bunch of other maneuvers, but I've always gotten around them. I've never had a character hold back their personality--until the Work In Progress (WIP).

The book opens in the hero's Point of View (POV) and he didn't give me any problems, but my heroine! I wrote and rewrote her scene over and over and over and...
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Published on May 18, 2010 13:48