Laura Stapleton's Blog, page 10

You Are Here!

Who doesn’t love a clear label? And who doesn’t love a map that says “You are here?” Especially when you’re lost and all.

This is a great picture showing where exactly I’m herding my pioneers in Undesirable. Between South Pass and Lombard Ferry, there’s a whole lot of nothing. Well, sagebrush and gravel, but no water. Even if they take one of the green routes to the Green River, there are two small rivers that might have water for the people and animals. Heavy on the might, because even in Jul...

Procrastination and #MondayBlogs

I try to use procrastination to my advantage. Like, I can eat an entire chocolate cake tomorrow. I can also skip my workout, goof off, lay in bed all day…tomorrow.

The problem with such little mind games is, as my daughter said to me when I use them on her, they’ve not worked since any of us turned seven years old.

Do I have any suggestions? I wish! It’s a constant battle for me, as I suspect it is for a lot of other people. I even have a to do list titled “Things I Don’t Want to Do.” There’s a...

From Here to the Parting of the Ways.

I’m not sure what I love most, Google, or Google Earth. Using Google, I found this video from the University of Wyoming. Why is it relevant? In my current book, Undesirable, my group of people are camping here for the night. It’s high desert country, so the nights are cold but the days are hot.

Notice how the wind is blowing her hair around? In that part of the country, that’s not considered a windy day. Plus, very few trees meant not much wood for campfires. Or for hiding behind during a bath...

The Only Source of Water on the Trail

Where I am in writing Undesirable is shown in this photo. Lovely, and I wonder how cold is that water? Can you imagine this being your only way to bathe? And in July? It’s too early for this part of the United States to have snow melt runoff raising the water level. That happens in August.

Growing up on a farm with well water helped me appreciate turning on a faucet for clean water. Especially when the electricity would go out and the water pump didn’t work. I’ve not had to melt snow for drink...

Another Avenue!

Another Avenue!

Thanks to the very hard work of my husband, my books are available from Barnes and Noble. You’ll find them in paperback and ebook format for your Nooks. iBooks on Apple is taking a lot longer, maybe because they’re music focused and have a lot going on in that area.

I think the big thing going on, other than that, is still writing on Undesirable. Being a “Want it done YESTERDAY!” person is tough when facing, “It’s not done YET?” It’s all on me and my butt in the chair time. That...

Wyoming

Credit due goes first. Photograph by Drew Rush for National Geographic.

It’s super tough to find a great photo of the middle of Wyoming. I may have to go on an epic journey, taking amazing photos of the interior of this state. After driving from Caspar to Independence Rock, I know there’s great scenery. All I need is just the right light.

Lucky’s Christmas Wish releases today!

A sweet winter romance.

And oh my gosh, I LOVE the cover! My daughter and husband helped me pick out the photo and it’s perfect. Click on it to go directly to the Amazon store. By all means, try the “look inside” sample. As with any of my books, I encourage everyone to read the sample and if you don’t like that bit, don’t bother reading further. Life is too short and expensive to buy a book you end up disliking. So check out the sample!

Whew! Now that this story is out of my system, it’s back t...

Wait, what? Wednesday already?!

I totally missed Monday and Tuesday was taken up by a migraine and housecleaning. Throw holidays and crowded everywhere into the mix and it’s all yikes!

So anyway to the writing news…Chapter three of Undesirable is finally done. In all seriousness, giving birth took less time and was less painful. Saying there’s no way four could be as difficult to write would be inviting trouble for a visit.

I have all sorts of theories as to why three was a problem child. My main theory is my converting the p...

In Which I Distract With Pretty Colors

Why? Because the only writing news I have is I’m working on it! Undesirable is open and I’m typing like a fiend when I can. Who isn’t busy this time of the year? Even people who are done with the Christmas shopping, decorating, all that, are super busy having fun. Doesn’t that sound like a great thing to be, too busy to do anything else but have fun. I could so go for that as a career.

Now. Back to figuring out how to get my hero into serious trouble…

Questions!

I love questions! I checked my email via the ipod way too late last night and found Nina’s comment with questions. How tough was it to not hop out of bed to answer? Very! So now I get to finally answer, now that animals are fed and the laundry is drying!

As an overall answer, oop. This sort of thing is what happens when a writer knows everything about the characters. It’s also why I’ve hired a fantastic editor from now on to catch the “I know YOU know, but how are we to know?” things.

1) David...