Jamie DeBree's Blog, page 48
January 8, 2012
Storytime: The Seductive Leaf
The Seductive Leaf
They came on fast, handbags swinging, heels clicking heavily on the dark asphalt, lips moving. For a moment, it seemed they would pass without so much as a hello, but then she - the one in the back - looked at him.There was always one in the back, one slightly apart, quieter, more observant. She made eye contact.
He raised his eyebrows, and nodded.
She smiled, nodded back. Stopped as her pack continued on.
"May I?" she asked, her tone pleasantly modulated.
"Please." He held out a hand, indicating the chair across from him. He turned on the battery-operated kettle, counting the seconds in his brain as he waited.
The clicking stopped. Started again, coming back.
"What are you doing, Audrey?" The brunette looked down at his temporary companion as if she were insane. Audrey - a name that suited her well - gave him an apologetic look before answering the woman at her side.
"Having tea. You guys go ahead. I'll catch up."
A short blond grabbed her hand, trying to pull her up. "You can't have tea with a stranger in a parking lot. It's weird and dangerous. He could be a killer! The tea could be poisoned!"
Audrey pulled her hand free, a soft chuckle escaping her lips. Lovely lips.
"You're paranoid. This isn't an amateur set-up. I'll be fine. Or you could join us, if that's okay." She looked across the table, and he nodded again.
"Of course. All are welcome."
"Oh let her stay if she wants." A second brunette grabbed her friends' arms, and started to pull them away. "If she wants to get killed by some freak - no offense, sir - in a parking lot, that's her deal. Let's go."
The women slowly moved away, albeit not quietly. One threatened to call the authorities, another took his picture with her phone. Audrey sat still, hands in her lap until the others faded away.
The water boiled, large bubbles visible through the glass walls of the pot. He turned it off, then started packing a small reddish clay pot with twisted dry black leaves.
"Puerh?" she asked, delicately sniffing the air. He held out the canister for her, and she inhaled deeply, her eyes fluttering shut. "Mmm, very nice."
"Indeed." His lips turned up at the corners as he replaced the lid. "Thank you." She licked her lips and he focused on the movement, so sensual. A blush tinged her cheeks, and he knew she was aware of his appreciation. He reached across the table, and she followed the movement as he placed one of the tiny cups filled with dark liquor in front of her.
Lifting it with three fingers, she waited until he had his in hand, then tipped the liquid into her mouth. Her eyes closed again, and a low moan of ecstasy rumbled from her throat as she swallowed.
"Wow," she breathed, her eyes not quite meeting his as she steadied herself. It had been a long time since he'd met one like her. Sensitive. Mindful.
Exquisite.
He filled the pot again, letting it sit a few seconds longer this time before pouring the cups. Again, she waited politely for him. Again her eyes closed, and her beautiful, expressive face and quiet vocalization telling him all he needed to know.
Three more pours, three more cups, an exchange of names and numbers.
A brief, gentle kiss before he sent her, reluctantly, to find her friends.
He'd have need of her later.
She'd come.
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January 6, 2012
Serial Novel: Falling in Public, Ch. 32
Ch.1|Ch. 2|Ch. 3|Ch. 4|Ch. 5|Ch. 6|Ch. 7|Ch. 8|Ch. 9|Ch. 10|Ch. 11|Ch. 12|Ch.13|Ch. 14|Ch. 15| Ch. 16| Ch. 17|Ch. 18| Ch. 19 | Ch. 20 | Ch. 21 | Ch. 22 | Ch. 23 | Ch. 24 | Ch. 25 | Ch. 26 | Ch. 27 | Ch. 28 | Ch. 29 | Ch. 30 | Ch. 31
Falling in Public
Chapter 32
Eddie didn't wait for Natalie's answer. He took off at a jog across the open area between boarding gates, pushing Holly in front of him. As he closed in on the doors, debating whether to slow down and open them gently for Holly, she stuck her good leg out and looked up at him.
"Don't stop," she said. Then she faced forward again and grabbed the armrests. "Okay. I'm ready."
Eddie sped up again, barely escaping an involuntary cringe as Holly's foot hit the door with a bang. She flinched, but only a little and then put her leg back on the metal footrest. Pushing her as quickly as the chair could easily go, he saw the far wall at the end of what seemed like an interminable length ahead. The men chasing them would be on thier tail before he and Holly could reach it - there didn't seem to be any question about that.
A few doors dotted the hall on either side, and he picked one on the left, surprised when the handle turned easily. Chosing to forgo the lights, he backed through the doorway, pulling Holly in her chair with him. Light was coming into the room from somewhere on the far wall, but he couldn't see where or how.
"You don't think we can outrun them."
Eddie nodded, then remembered that she couldn't see him standing behind her. "I don't think I can run that fast, and I know you can't," he said, locking the door and pulling her farther away. "If we can hide out here for awhile, maybe they'll go all the way to the parking lot."
"And then we run the other way?" Her tone was dubious, but not annoyingly so.
Eddie left her for a moment, ducking behind a tall row of file cabinets where the light seemed to be coming from. He was relieved to find a generous window in the corner, the glass frosted. That might turn out to be their salvation.
"No," he said, returning to wheel her back to the window with him. "Then we run after them."
He could almost feel her thoughts as she silently considered that. "But what if they come back this way? How do we get past them outside?"
He stepped around her and motioned to the window. "I was thinking we could just crawl out the window."
Holly frowned, leaning forward to brush her fingers lightly over the dirty sill. "Does it open?"
"I haven't tried it yet. But--" he put a finger to his lips as the sound of heavy footfalls drew closer and dropped into a crouch. He moved closer to Holly's chair, hands on her knees. "They're coming," he whispered, glancing in the general direction of the door.
She nodded, sliding her hands under his. The steps halted in front of the door, and Eddie could hear them trying the dorknob. Holly squeezed his hands, then pointed to the window. He shook his head.
"Not yet," he mouthed back. She gave him an exasperated look as the footsteps started moving again, going forward down the corridor.
"Now?" she whispered.
He nodded, rising and moving to the window. The two latches at the bottom were tight, but came lose with a little force. When he pushed against the frame though, the panel wouldn't move.
"Good thing they kept going," he said, keeping his voice low. "We aren't getting out this way."
Two seconds later, they heard the clatter of footsteps running back up the corridor before coming to a stop right outside the door.
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January 4, 2012
Writer's Notes: Superheroes & Confidence (or lack thereof)
never really gotten into comic books themselves, mainly because I've
just never gotten into the format. So the likelihood that I'll ever
*read* the comic books these movies are based on is slim to none...and
I'm grateful for the chance to get the story in a different format.
Recently my husband and I watched two superhero movies: Thor, and Captain America.
And after being left in a rather tragic Shakespearean frame of mind
after them both, I started wondering - why does the guy *never* get the
girl in the end?
If you think
about it, all the superheroes suffer this plight. Superman never really
gets Lois Lane. Batman never gets...oh, what's her name? Dang...it's
been awhile. Spiderman screws up his relationship just about every way imaginable. Thor got stuck back up in his home world, and Captain
America slept through his first real date. By a lot of years.
In
all fairness, I haven't seen the "green" movies yet - does Green
Lantern get his lady-love (surely there must be one)? Does the Green
Hornet fly off into the sunset with Ms. Right-for-Him? Does anyone know
of a superhero who manages to live "happily ever after"?
Somehow, I doubt it. But why?
When
I asked on twitter, I got crickets. On Facebook, there were a few
theories: one that it's honorable for the hero to sacrifice everything
in order to make the world a better place, another that to protect those
he loves, he has to remain separate from them. Yet another theory
brings in ninjas (ninjas are sneaky devils - ever notice how they always
seem to pop up when you least expect them to?).
But
I have a different theory.
Deep down, the type of people who are normally elevated to superhero
status seem to be those people who never actually believe that they are
worthy of winning in the end. They're humble to a fault - and it's
normally both their greatest asset as well as their biggest weakness. When it comes down to it, they have low self-esteem, and while
they will use whatever power they get for as much good as they can
possibly do, they never *quite* believe that they deserve that power, or
that it won't disappear as quickly as it came.
Because of that, they are also the type of people who never quite believe
that they deserve to get the girl (or guy). So I think in the case of a
lot of comic book heroes, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy - they
can't believe that they will ever be worthy of true love, so they walk
away under the guise of "protecting" their loved one or some other
honorable-sounding excuse. Because that's actually easier than daring to
stay, and risking whatever might come (including happiness and a
lasting relationship - neither of which they "deserve", or so they feel deep inside).Naturally, this dooms them to a life of unrequited love. They are ultimately protecting themselves more than anyone else.
It's romantic and annoying all at the same time, in my opinion. And I think it happens all too often in real life - more than any of us care to admit, and that's why we relate to stories like this on such a basic level. Some people manage to take the risk and reap the rewards or pay the price, and others never do. And the fact is, the superhero archetype is highly unlikely to ever change on that point because it's what distinguishes them from the villains they fight, who are confident to the extreme.
Interesting I think, in any case. Although I
suppose it *could* just be a case of writers reading too many Shakespearean or Greek tragedies...but somehow, I think not...
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January 3, 2012
I'm Visiting Writer Revealed Today...
Pssst! Wanna see what's on my bookshelves? Hop on over to Dolly Garland's blog, and let's talk books...
Writer Revealed: Bookshelf Snooping
January 2, 2012
Weekly Flash Prompt & News - January 2, 2012
1 story per week, 52 stories for the
year. Read below for details...
Flash 52: Week 1 Prompt:
A
man in his early thirties sits at a folding table in the middle of a
vast parking lot. On the table, he has an electric kettle, a medium
sized teapot and several tiny teacups. A group of five women are
approaching...
******
Happy New Year! I'm off work today,
and I'm grateful for the extra time to get things in order for the
resolutions I've made. I listed them yesterday if you want a peek,
but I'm making some fairly substantial changes, especially with
regards to business and marketing, but also in regards to my writing
schedule and personal life. Many of those changes hinge on changes to
my after-work routines, so I'm using this long weekend to rework my
daily and weekly lists to incorporate the changes I want to make.
There will be a few changes to the
blog, but minimal. I'm not going to post my goals for the week any
longer, mainly because I don't feel like it's really useful for
anyone aside from myself (interesting to few, perhaps, but that's
about it). I work more off of a daily list now anyway, so the weekly
list kind of depends on my daily schedule. Mondays will be a brief
(aside from this one) note about what's going on with regards to my
writing that week, and the weekly flash fiction prompt I'm working
on.
One of my resolutions is to write 1
flash fiction piece each week next year – that's 52 stories of
1000 words or less. In order to make it slightly easier on myself, I
wrote out 52 prompts, one to use each week. Every Monday, I'll post
the prompt I'm working from that week. Anyone is welcome to join me
in the challenge, and I'll be making all the prompts available in
an ebook that will be available in the BSB store and other online
retailers within the next couple of weeks. I'll post my stories
here on Sundays – and if you write/post yours somewhere, leave a
comment with the link on my Sunday post, so people can read yours as
well. It will be a lot of fun, I think, and a good way to practice
the craft and different techniques. Something for readers every
Sunday too, a complete story, rather than the serial stories for
those who prefer that. The flash pieces will eventually be bundled
into collections when I have enough that seem to go together, and put
up for sale.
Wednesday will become "Writer's
Notes" rather than "Writing Notes" and will be a post about
whatever I feel like blathering on about that day – but it may not
be every week, and I'm not going to necessarily lock it into my
schedule. If I get to it, I'll post, if not, oh well. Tues/Thursday
are still open for guests/interviews, and Friday remains the serial
story. So small changes, is all.
I think that's it for today. I hope
you all had a very happy/safe start to the new year!
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January 1, 2012
Resolutions 2012 - Bring it on!
Yep - it's that time of year again. I know a lot of people scoff at resolutions (which is really just a very determined goal), but they tend to fall into two camps as I see it: those who prefer to live life spontaneously (something I simply can't do), and those who are too afraid of failure to put specific goals down on paper. If you like living moment to moment, rolling with whatever comes, I salute you for your bravery. If you're simply afraid that you'll fail, so you'd rather not take the chance of reaching for something specific, I challenge you to buck up, take a chance, and make some goals that you *know you can reach* for the year.
How do you do that? It's very simple. In order to make something a goal or resolution, that something needs to be three things: within your control, reasonably attainable, and measurable. If it's one but not the others, it isn't eligible for "resolution" status. Goals like "I want to be a better person" are not measurable - so there's no way to say whether you reached them or not (it's also not within your control - because whether you are a "good person" or not is determined by others as much as by you). It's a cop-out, in my opinion. A better goal would be, "I want to give one person something they need every month." That's both within your control and measurable. And some people would say it makes you a better person. Even if you only have one thing on your resolution list, make sure it meets the criteria above. Otherwise it's practically meaningless.
In the same vein, if you're busy or lazy or whatever, and know it's not probable that you'll be able or willing to help someone every month, then make it every other month. Or once a quarter. Don't put your goal out of reach right from the start - make it something you can reasonably accomplish. Set yourself up to win, not to fail!
One last thing - resolutions need to be flexible, just like a book outline. Things will happen throughout the year that may make you want to switch directions, and that's okay. If at the end of the year you didn't accomplish everything on your list, that's not failure - it just means things went differently than you'd planned. Such is life. And we *all* have to roll with that, whether we like it or not. You evaluate why things changed, and then decide where to go from there. That's all any of use can do.
Thus ends my little pep talk on goals for the year. If you want to know how to set writing goals that are within your reach, read Dean Wesley Smith's series this week on goals and goal setting for writers (linked yesterday too). It's excellent, and full of really great advice.
So what are my goals, you ask? Here's my list. Don't be daunted by it's size - all of these items meet the criteria for me of being within my control, reasonably attainable, and measurable.
Writing
- 1 flash story per week (challenge coming Monday)
- 15 short stories in three genres (5 each), culminating in 3 collections
- 1 thriller novella (already in progress)
- 1 romantic suspense novel (already in progress)
- 1 romantic suspense novella (already in progress)
- 1000 words 5 days per week (Sunday and Weds nights off)
- Develop a plotting/planning method that won't kill my interest in stories
- Read three craft books
- Pick one craft element to focus on for each project during the year.
Business
- Get a handle on my bookkeeping by January 30th and stay on top of it monthly - this is an absolute must if I want to keep running my own writing business.
- Drop plans for alternate formats, bookstore sales, etc. I need to focus on writing, not marketing at this point.
- Minimal promotion - blog, twitter, FB & newsletters, occasional guest posts. That's it.
- Cut out services offered to other authors. I'm a writer. My publishing house isn't intended to be a traditional publisher, it's main and most important purpose is to publish my own books. Anything else is just extraneous.
Personal
- Develop and following new cleaning/household paperwork schedules. I genuinely want a cleaner, more kept up house, and bills paid on time.
- Take time out daily for TV/movies/FB games (during/after dinner), and reading (before bed, lunch).
- Keep up with the 3x weekly workout habit I've established, and keep portion sizes right for my body.
- Keep up with my dental-treatment plan...one visit per month until it's done (or until insurance runs out for the year and I can't afford out of pocket).
- Take better care of my feet & hands, including toenails, cuticles and skin. Develop a schedule for this by Jan. 15th, and follow all year.
- Make/use my own homemade moisturizer and makeup remover. It's better for my skin in a major way, and I'm tired of trying to find the perfect all-natural makeup remover wipe. It really doesn't take that much time or effort, so there's no reason not to do that.
That's it! I have my list in Evernote so I can refer to it anytime, and my publishing schedule "lives" on a virtual sticky note on my desktop, always visible and available for me to cross books off as I publish them. It's important, I think, to keep goals/resolutions visible, so they don't just fade off into oblivion when we're not looking.
Are you making resolutions this year? Why or why not? Do they meet the criteria outlined above?
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December 31, 2011
Year in Review - 2011 Resolutions Recap
Anyways, today I'm looking at last year's resolutions, and thinking about which direction I want to head in 2012. For now, let's peek at my 2011 list:
Writing
At least 500-800 words per day, six days per week.
Complete & publish two more romantic suspense books.
Complete my first thriller/suspense novel and prepare to publish in early January 2012.
Complete several (3-5) erotic short stories and publish both individually and as a collection.
Read The Novel Writer's Toolkit by Bob Mayer for craft study.
Write ahead on my serial novels as much as possible, and stay ahead until at least next fall.
I did pretty well with these, at least until this fall. Even with all the craziness though, I did meet my writing goals at least 5 days most weeks, I published two romantic suspense novels, I published my first thriller/suspense novella (I write 'em whatever length they need to be), and I published 4 erotic novelettes (and am nearly done with a 5th - a few of 'em just went longer than expected). I didn't exactly stay ahead of my serial stories (or even write ahead, and I fell behind several times last fall), but even so, I have two more romantic suspense stories and another thriller story in progress for publishing next year. That's a pretty good writing year, IMO.
The only thing I didn't do was read the craft book I planned to - or any craft books. Mostly because I was reading other things (fiction). And writing a lot. Still, even though I learn more about writing with everything I write, I know it's still a good idea to at least look through craft books and experiment with new methods and techniques, so that will still be on next year's list.
Business
Continue to grow the Brazen Snake Books name via new titles
Explore the possibilities of a publishing collaboration with a few select authors
Build up a library of resources on the site for all writers to refer to and use.
I managed the first two on this list - a little too well in some aspects, as it took a lot more time than I'd originally planned for it to. Which is why the last one never quite got done...and probably won't. More on the business goals tomorrow...
Personal
Listen to music more. It's one of the only things that quiets (or drowns out) my racing mind, and I think more of those breaks will be beneficial to all aspects of my life.
Read 85 books, as I committed to on Dolly's yearly reading challenge .
Take better care of my eyes, my feet and my teeth. All chronic issues that can be kept from getting worse with a little daily attention.
Re-establish and follow healthier habits as far as working out and eating go.
Go easier on myself when stuff doesn't get done around the house, when blog posts are late, etc. I can only do so much, and I need to remember that and allow for it.
These were kind of on again, off again, but overall, I think I did pretty well. I bought a Zune (shortly before they discontinued them, but I *adore* it), and now listen to tunes in the shower every morning and while I'm working in the kitchen on weekends. On the occasional night I find myself with a few extra minutes online, I listen to samples and have downloaded several singles & albums this year. So I'm on it as far as music goes. One of my current WIPs was even inspired by a musician...
I didn't make 85 books read this year - more like 55 (or 57 now, I guess, since I last counted). A little over one per week though, so still not bad considering I'm at the day job or writing most of my waking hours. Next year, I'll just stick with a goal of 55. Anything over that will be a bonus.
I've been slowly-but-surely getting my teeth put back together again (quite literally, in some cases). This year I've had numerous fillings and a few root canals, and according to the dentist, I have two more fillings, two more root canals and seven or eight crowns yet to come. But I have been diligently getting work done every month, so that's good. I'll continue that next year. I've been taking better care of my teeth at home too - oddly, I find that brushing my teeth before my nightly writing sessions wakes me up. Kind of ruins the whole tea thing though...
My poor feet, eyes and cuticles are suffering though - so they need to move up the priority list next year.
I have established better eating and workout habits, and I even managed to lose and keep off 4 pounds - which doesn't sound like much, but it's something, and that's with taking several months off for fall craziness. So that's good too.
I'm still not very good about going easy on myself - in fact, I really want to take better care of house and home, and I also really want to be more organized with my blogging and online time. Lately the day job has been sucking up all available mental space, so I'm kind of a vegetable when I get home these days, but that's just more of a reason to be *organized* with things like this, in my opinion.
All in all, I'd say I did well with last year's list. I always keep my resolutions to things I have control over, and that tends to serve me very well. Tomorrow I'll post my resolutions for 2012, and while you're waiting, you should go read Dean Wesley Smith's blog this week. He not only spells out the difference between goals & dreams, but he also lays out an excellent technique for writers to figure out what a good basic daily writing goal would be. Read all of this week's posts (and as many as you can going back as well) - they're fabulous!
How did you do with your goals/resolutions last year?
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December 27, 2011
Guest Author - Jolyn Palliata
Did you ever get a song stuck in your head? Or part of one? How did you get it out? Did you avoid the song at all costs in the blind hope it would stop hammering you into submission? Or did you listen to the song over, and over, and over, until you were so obsessed that all you could think about was that delicious, devilish little laugh….er, what was I saying? (Right. Song stuck in my head. Ahh...I mean, your head.) Now, I know this has happened to every person reading this post, so I'm hoping you'll relate to my little story here.
Let me give you some background. In October, I released Connected (Twists of Fate #1), and here's a brief description of the story: A rock group's rhythm guitarist, Rhys Alexander, dies and finds himself bound inside the body of a woman he's never met. Can she help him move on to the other side, or will he end up finding the love of his life…after his has already ended?
For a time, I had this for free on Wattpad (where I posted as I wrote it). And several readers asked me how in the world I came up with the concept. The short answer was 'By taking the longest route possible.' The more involved answer is this…
It all started with a song—Imagine that, huh?—which began with a synthesized-sounding guitar and a sinful, maniacal laugh that made my gut quiver. (Yes, I do realize this may be an issue I need to fully address later.) It was Disturbed's "Inside The Fire". Add a little Framing Hanley (with that oh-so-sexy voice), and Tavion, lead singer of the band Persevere, was born. And what kind of woman would knock a strapping rock star to his knees? Why, a best-selling author, of course.
So here I had two people who worked in the entertainment industry, but were worlds apart. What could possibly bring them together? The answer seemed so simple, really: Fate. Then my next though was "What if Fate was a living, sometimes-breathing, entity? What an interesting point-of-view that would be!" And it spiraled from there. I dug deep into the protag, Devan (the name of the girl in Disturbed's song), and put pieces of me and my personality into the mix. Naturally, then I had to mock myself and my works along the way. (i.e., Suddenly Impending Reprisals became Devan's masterpiece, and guess what…it made it all the way to the NYT Bestsellers list! Way to go, Devan!!)
Now, the question was 'What inspired me to write Connected', and so far, I'm telling you how I started writing Twisted (Book 2). Yeah, well, I'm getting there. (Remember how I said it was the longest route possible?)
So there I was, writing Twisted and having a hell of a time. And then the unthinkable happened (insert suspenseful music here)…I got writer's block. I'm talking a stint of writer's block that could only have originated from the deepest, most vile and sulfuric, bowels of Hell. And, man, was it stubborn! Over a year went by before I picked it up again, and even then it wasn't because I came up with a grand master plan, or that my head was swimming with ideas. No. It was simply because I missed my characters. So I started to reread/revise/edit the 30K words I had written, hoping it would shake something loose. Enter: two new inspirations.
The first was the Demonica series by Larissa Ione. In the series, paired up mates can sense each other's emotions and I got to wondering "What would that be like?"
The next piece of inspiration came from Avenged Sevenfold (A7X). I was studying up on rock bands for Twisted (and can A7X ever ROCK!!), and checking out the band members (*drool*) and it inspired a new character—Rhys.
From Ione and A7X blossomed Connected (finally!) where Rhys' spirit was stuck inside Addison (my protag), and they could sense each other's emotions.
But I had one problem. I absolutely REFUSED to walk away from Twisted again. Soooo…how could I use this? Well, first of all, Rhys couldn't be a lead singer since that's what Tavion is. And secondly, I wanted this to be a fast-hitting novella used to compliment Twisted's story. What I needed was a supporting member of the band... Hello, Rhys, my luscious rhythm guitarist!
But then I had another problem. (Because I needed more, right?) I couldn't picture Rhys in Tavion's band, Persevere, which is a more mature, established group. No, he belonged with some just-making-it-big band that wasn't afraid to play with the formula, to take chances, and was just enjoying the ride and what life had to offer. He belonged with the guys of Black Codex.
Then problem #3: How did Black Codex and Persevere tie in to each other? I mean, if Connected leads into Twisted, they have to know each other somehow, right? Well, as luck would have it, they're all friends. (Who knew?!) Eh, okay, so actually two members from Black Codex are brothers and they grew up with a guy from Persevere, so, by association, they became friends. (It's all in the details, right?) 
All right. Now what? I didn't want to introduce Fate (my sassy, capricious entity) in Connected even though he's definitely hard at work behind the scenes. It would've been too distracting from the plot, and I had plenty to maneuver already! (Hello…dead rock star stuck in some chicks head!!) So what I did was plot Connected so it all occurs during the same timeframe as the first half of Twisted. Perfect! Then when people read Twisted, they'll get all the behind-the-scenes-extras that were going on in Connected that either 1) I didn't have time for, or 2) I couldn't smoothly transition in.
At the end of my long-ass journey, not only did I have Connected, but I shook myself loose on Twisted…aaand came up with storylines for the other eight band members. (I'll spare you the details on those. LOL) Thusly, the Twists of Fate series was born.
So, let me ask you again: Did you ever get a song stuck in your head…?
For more information on the Twists of Fate series, visit Jolyn's web site.
Twists of Fate series Facebook Page
Thanks for visiting, Jolyn - it's great to meet you, and I've started your book - very intriguing! Always fun to meet another serial drafter as well.**Please note, comments may take a few minutes to post. Your first comment will be moderated.
December 26, 2011
The Morning After
I know - I wasn't going to blog this week, but I like blogging. And I don't really want to let my serial novels hang mid-story for another week...so while normal, non-fic blogging will be spotty, the serial novels will still go on, they just might be posted at odd times as I get to them. Writing is like breathing to me, so it's not like I wouldn't be writing anyways...no point in not sharing while I'm at it.
On the 31st, I'll be posting a "year in review", and on January 1, my resolutions for 2012. In any case, the house is very still at the moment, save my aquarium bubbling (it needs to be topped off). My husband is still in bed, and I've been drinking tea and perusing after Christmas blog posts, fascinated at the different perspectives and topics that the people I either know or know of have chosen for this morning.
The posts that speak to me most this time of year are from people in a similar place to myself as we start the slide into a new year. Reflective posts from people examining the past year, and thinking about what it might mean for the one ahead. Two such posts really stood out for me this morning - I encourage you to read them:
Wishes & Dreams by Regan Leigh
Disconnecting with the World/Reconnecting with Myself by Lisa Stull
I'm not going to comment just yet on either...sometimes I really need to just think about things like this, not what my reply will be, but rather just how it applies to me in my own life. Sometimes it's good to just be still and take it all in.
This week is always a very thoughtful one for me. I know that for some people, the turning over of the calendar isn't all that big of a deal, it's just a continuation of what came before. For me, it's time to take stock, to see where I wanted to go last year, and how that has or needs to change and evolve for the next year. It's a time to celebrate successes, and examine failures. It's a time to set new goals and take up new challenges, to push myself and change direction if necessary.
It's a time of renewed focus.
Now it's time to go wake my husband and start cleaning up the house - this week is also a time when I try to make sure Christmas and any other holiday (*ahem*) that is still out gets put away before January 1, so we can start the new year with a clean, blank slate for our environment as well.
Wishing you a quiet and thoughtful week...
December 25, 2011
A Gift for You - Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays or whatever warm greeting you prefer to all my fabulous blog readers. I wish you all peace, good food, and plenty of time to read and/or write in the coming year.
My gift to you today is free ebooks - every ebook in the Brazen Snake Books store is free all day today when you use code XMAS2011 at checkout. If you have trouble downloading your choices, email me and I'll send you copies. No strings attached, and no DRM, so if you like them, by all means share them with a friend or family member, just like a paperback.
Happy, Merry day, and good reading to all!
