S.E.’s Comments (group member since Jan 16, 2013)

S.E.’s comments from the S. E. Lund - Author group.

Charlene wrote: "Yikes...I have been following along with the prairie weather patterns. One of the women who reports in to my team at work is located in Regina, and she gives us a play-by-play on our conference cal..."

We've been spoiled for a few years because the Arctic Oscillation was favourable to us here and we had very mild winters with less snow. This is payback...

Don't get me wrong -- I'm a climate blogger and doing something about the climate disruption is high on my priority list. I'd be quite happy to accept the old winter patterns with snow and cold if it meant we didn't have the Arctic melting at the rate it is. But still, one has to complain... ;)

Charlene wrote: "Cherish wrote: "❃ Brandy ❃ wrote: "lol! Yes, I suppose it would be for you. I couldn't imagine living in Canada where it happens all of the time!"

*lol* Not in my part of Canada. We haven't had ..."

Where I live on the prairies, we had as much snow in November as we did the entire previous year. It has been a real snowmageddon. And it has been cold, but really strange swings in temp from -49C with the windchill to +2C in the space of two days, sometimes even 24 hours...

Paris (kerbytejas) wrote: "S.E. wrote: "Cherish wrote: "❃ Brandy ❃ wrote: "lol! Yes, I suppose it would be for you. I couldn't imagine living in Canada where it happens all of the time!"

*lol* Not in my part of Canada. We..."

Absolutely -- I am looking to live a Zen life, with total minimalism for all parts of my life, esp. possessions and the home I live in. We're talking all natural fibers, sleek lines, natural colors, and the only think besides minimal furniture will be a smiling Buddha statue for good luck. Maybe a few plants for O2. And music. Right now, I have four teenagers under my roof and all that goes with them -- XBoxes, computers, and more computers, PS3s, movies, CDs, flat screen tvs, clothes everywhere, dishes plates food containers hats skateboards keyboards amps guitars ... I feel swamped by all this. I have a small corner for my "office" in a huge house that seems to be Grand Central Station to my kids and their friends. At any given time, there are five or six sets of huge converse or adidas or board shoes in my hallway...

Given the way kids are these days, I see several years ahead of me before I am able to live alone in peace...

Don't get me wrong -- I love my two boys, but the nest is getting rather cluttered...

Cherish wrote: "❃ Brandy ❃ wrote: "lol! Yes, I suppose it would be for you. I couldn't imagine living in Canada where it happens all of the time!"

*lol* Not in my part of Canada. We haven't had a single flurry,..."

OMG!!! I would move to the coast if it was cheaper but right now, it is hugely expensive to live and I am definitely looking to downsize my life so I can be a writer instead of superwoman...

❃ Brandy ❃ wrote: "lol! Yes, I suppose it would be for you. I couldn't imagine living in Canada where it happens all of the time!"

I am moving next year. I swear -- September 2014 I am moving away from this Siberian wasteland. It may only be to Toronto, but that's a helluva lot better than where I am now...

❃ Brandy ❃ wrote: "Sooooooo..... I know this is not a big deal for some, but for someone who has lived in the great state of Texas her whole life until recently, it kind of is to me. I now live in South Carolina & i..."

Oh, GOD that is my goal in life -- to live somewhere that snow is seen as a gift from God instead of the business as usual...

❃ Brandy ❃ wrote: "Paris (kerbytejas) wrote: "who needs a traditional publisher when you have a team of people who will tell you how to write your book ...hehehehe, but i do think we care about your success, ..."

That's a sweet sentiment, but I;d be happy if i could just write full time instead of trying to squeeze it in during the time between paid work and being a mother-goddess... Gets tiring at times! I mean, I write for my job all day and then I go home at night and after the second shift as mom and chief cook and bottle washer, I put in a few hours as wanna-be writer and then on the weekend, I write for several hours straight. No wonder I need reading glasses...

Charlene wrote: "Paris (kerbytejas) wrote: "who needs a traditional publisher when you have a team of people who will tell you how to write your book ...hehehehe, but i do think we care about your success, ..."

Not astray at all! I really like and agree with almost every suggestion that I have read from you first readers so TY! I think the book is much improved. And remember, I would be revising to editorial request if I was with a traditional publisher...

Paris (kerbytejas) wrote: "who needs a traditional publisher when you have a team of people who will tell you how to write your book ...hehehehe, but i do think we care about your success, and since we only have good books ..."

Unlike Mozart, who composed whole pieces in his head and then just transcribed onto the page with few or no corrections, I am more organic when writing. I start with a premise and several large events and motivation and then write intuitively, letting the characters tell the story.

Sometimes, that means you have to go back and rewrite because you get a sense of the characters and what works only through the writing process itself. Usually, after the first half, I have a better grasp of where I want to go and who the characters are and have done several major revisions. At that point, it's much faster but the first half can take some time.

I started writing this in December and have changed it significantly since I started. I think it is much improved thanks to all of your feedback! Now, I feel really clear on who the characters are and where I am going with them. I think it should be pretty fast from hereon in.

Michelle (Angelique Beau Pre) wrote: "This story has really changed a lot! Really liking the characters now, so much more than before. Love that Kate is tomboyish; not clumsy, just not graceful or girly. Obv she's got potential to be m..."

If I had a traditional publisher behind me, I'd have editors giving me rewrite suggestions, doing pretty much what you and other first readers are doing. Writing a novel is a huge undertaking and there is a lot that changes from start to finish so thanks to everyone for the help! *smoochies*

Paris (kerbytejas) wrote: "S.E. wrote: "Paris (kerbytejas) wrote: "Yes I liked the clumsy beginning as well.. it worked well to bring Kate & Drake together..is was very human and likeable"

Glad you liked, hope it's u..."

It's the damsel in distress meeting that brings out the Dom in these men. It's the awkward first meeting that breaks down barriers between strangers. I really like it as a romance trope but you have to be somewhat original and in character for it to feel authentic ...

❃ Brandy ❃ wrote: "I was talking about you today, E. Were your ears burning? I was talking about your D series & how you're in the middle of writing a CR. I had the person so intrigued by the time I was done, she ..."

Hee hee! I love it when readers reel other readers in! TY!

❃ Brandy ❃ wrote: "Oh, E! Could you add the bit about her trying the pogo stick to be like her brother to the beginning? Like have her exasperated thinking about all of the foolish things she used to do to try to b..."

Great minds think alike! Already done!

Wendy wrote: "Hi E, it's my birthday on the 15th of March. Just saying :)"

YAY! Incentive to finish! You'll get my draft novel as a present! ;)

Michelle (Angelique Beau Pre) wrote: "This story has really changed a lot! Really liking the characters now, so much more than before. Love that Kate is tomboyish; not clumsy, just not graceful or girly. Obv she's got potential to be m..."

That is definitely my intention -- they do bring out the best in each other. There are no deep dark secrets and no abuse or skeletons, just two people with the usual human foibles and tragedies, loss of a parent, struggles with one's identity and other's expectations, heartbreak, trying to find one's path in life, accepting one's self.

Michelle (Angelique Beau Pre) wrote: "I like the idea of Kate being a little older than she is in the current draft. More mature, still reserved, occasionally awkward or not so graceful (as opposed to full out clumsy). I think this wou..."

Yeah, Ana was based on Bella, who was supposed to be clumsy, but I never saw Kate as clumsy, just not used to the heels since she was more into casual clothes, desert boots and Doc Martens - you know, seeing herself as a foreign correspondent, not a pretty face on a television news show. In fact, I saw her as more of a tomboy, trying to do everything her brother did, including risky things like pogo stick jumping and stilts. She tries to be a serious person and not frivolous. Stiletto heels would be foreign to her.

You can see how much my story has morphed since I started writing it. The main story remains the same, but nuances of character change as you find your way through the story and flesh out the characters, their motivations, etc.

Paris (kerbytejas) wrote: "Yes I liked the clumsy beginning as well.. it worked well to bring Kate & Drake together..is was very human and likeable"

Glad you liked, hope it's unique enough although still similar to other hero/heroine meetings... They say as a writer that sometimes you have to murder your darlings (get rid of scenes you love because they are too self-indulgent) but that's one darling I don't want to kill.

Charlene wrote: "From the first half I've read, there hasn't been too much about her student life anyway, and more details about her journalism. Shouldn't be too much of a stretch to write her as a more established journalist. "

Yeah, there isn't much in the first half about school so it will be a cinch to change her to just a few years older, having finished her MoJ and having worked at Geist for a couple of years. I will have the trip to Africa to be the project she did for her Thesis and then have her get her job with Geist after she graduated. I don't think I could bear to change Drake. I love him as he is. Of course, I am the writer... I'm biased. ;)

Paris (kerbytejas) wrote: "so we could have him growing as a person as the romance blossoms - make sure he has redeeming qualities - I want to like him ."

You mean you don't already like him? :( He's protecting himself. He's wearing armour but it isn't the usual kind. His Dom personnal is a way to control himself as much as his subs. Kate breaks the barriers down he's constructed between himself and a relationship that is more than just contractual kinky sex, which is fine in itself but better if it's with a long-term lover - IMHO.

Paris (kerbytejas) wrote: "I like Brandy's suggestion it has merit but i hope we don't loose much...Maybe Kate could be a bit older then the women Drake generally seeks out as submissives... so we could have him growing as a..."

Oh, I like that...in my mind, Drake is still hurting from his divorce (she rejected him) and Kate is perhaps too much unlike his other subs and more like someone he would have dated, fallen for before he went heavily into BDSM. He is using D/s as a way to compartmentalize his needs and has given up entirely on romance. Kate screws up his usual modus operandi because she's too much the kind of woman he would have gone after before his heart was broken.