C. Lee McKenzie's Blog, page 99

Meet Rhonda Stapleton

While I'm pounding away on that ghost story and trying to ignore my edgy YA, I thought I'd pop in an interview with an old friend. RHONDA STAPLETON and I met at the 2009 Debutantes and since then she's published three books! Congratulations, Rhonda and thanks for stopping by to chat.



Me: You're about to see book number three on bookstore shelves across the U.S. Did you set out to write all of these books or did this wonderous thing happen without pre-planning?





Rhonda: I actually...

Almost Perfect

The other day I picked my first roses from the garden. This one was particularly stunning and yet it wasn't perfect. Two of the petals were slightly sunburned, but I didn't for a moment think about tossing this flower. Instead, those brown tinges were a part of its beauty. And it occurred to me that here was a perfect metaphor for those stories that are unfolding in my head.



I want to put them on the page so they're as beautiful and as colorful and exciting as possible.



Will they ever be pe...

The Benefits of Marination

When you put a story aside for a few months or even years does it stay in your head? Then when you take it out and reread it, has it changed? I mean changed from what you remember? Mine certainly has. It's not as riveting as I had it in my mind. That's definitely not good, but at least I recognize it. I didn't while I was hammering the story out on the keyboard.









Also I'm having some trouble making my MC older as I change the book from a Middle Grade to a YA. I keep thinking of him as 12 a...

The Ghost and C. Lee

When you put a story aside for a few months or even years does it stay in your head? Then when you take it out and reread it, has it changed? I mean changed from what you remember? Mine certainly has. It's not as riveting as I had it in my mind. That's definitely not good, but at least I recognize it. I didn't while I was hammering the story out on the keyboard.









Also I'm having some trouble making my characters older. I keep thinking of them as 10 and 12 and have to sit back and try to vi...

And Now . . . Back to Writing

Remember when I set out to share writing a book from the first idea to the last revision . . . with some side excursions along the way? Well, I think that's actually happening. If you've followed my bumpy journey, you've seen me travel from  EUPHORIA, through the discovery of CHARACTER, to the MISSTEP in plot, the need for a PRINT OUT, and then a need for a break.







You've seen me attend to some life issues, like, planting seeds for my summer garden, a book signing and an interview with a se...

When Everything is Just Right

There are days when everything is just right. Here's one of them.



Blue sky.



Perfect 80 degree temperature.



A breeze stirring across a field of poppies.



And I have the chance to be there.



The desert treated me like a queen this trip.









If you have a minute here's a short video of a few flowers that survive desert cold in winter and desert heat in summer for this one perfect time in spring. The contrast between the rock and the petals has to inspire poetry or at least a novel, right? Now...

Death Valley Beckons

The wildflower alert is out and I'm heading south to oooh and aaaw at the fields of color. I'll take pictures and post them when I return next week. 



Wish me luck. I'm going to renew my writing spirit which expired last month. 



















In the meantime here's a lovely moment of MUSIC to enjoy this fabulous spring week. A very good friend shared this with me this morning and it came at exactly the moment. I needed a bit of inspiration. Hope you take the time to listen. 

Great Contest News

I have to jump in while I'm waiting for my W.I.P. to settle down and start behaving and tell everyone about a great contest over at Steena Holmes' and Stina Lindenblatt's blogs. I hate to up the competition for the prizes, but it's only fair.



Plus I'm working on that positive thinking angle right now and I'll win anyway.



Jump on over and enter. If you, uh, well, win the chocolate are you willing to share a little?



Good luck!Sliding on the Edge, C. Lee McKenzie, WestSide Books, Spring '09img

What Day is it Anyway?

I've been buried in the middle of a book since last Friday . . . mine!



Remember a few weeks ago when I was jumping up and down, vowing this was the going to be the greatest book in the world?























I'd love to recapture that moment, brief as it was, because as of today my enthusiasm meter is registering 0.



So what to do? Here are my choices and they're by preference.



1) Take a hike for sure, except it's cold out there and threatening rain and I hiked yesterday and I'm kind of talking ...

Day 12 and 13 and 14

The print out worked. I saw HUGE gaps in the story. I saw MAJOR places for character deepening. I even wrote three more chapters--well, almost. 2.5 or 2.25 (Something in that neighborhood.)



I discovered I'd fallen in love with a minor character, Nyla, the fat girl with the brain. She really got to me, so she's no longer minor. Here's a bit of Nyla. Tell me if you like her as much as I do. Be honest. If you don't think she fabulous, tell me why, okay?

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