So You Want to Shoot a Gun

After wonderful week filled with excitement due to my New Release, "Faithful Deceptions", I was ready for a little rest.  But first....FIELD TRIP!!!

My wonderful RWA chapter took a field trip Friday night to a shooting range.  What terrific research.  I grew up around guns, can shoot them and I'm a pretty good shot.  LOL But that said, I respect guns.  Even after all the experience I've had handling them, I still never get too comfortable around them.  Learning everything I can about gun safety is a very high priority in my book.  We had an hour of great instructions and safety rules before we even thought about stepping into the firing range.



.460 Magnum Revolver on the end.

 We were able to shoot a variety of calibers and brands.  My friend allowed her husband to bring his Smith & Wesson’s .460 Magnum Revolver and yes, I shot that baby too! LOL  Talk about adrenaline rush!!  And intimidation!  Wow!  Biggest hand gun I've ever seen.  Needless to say I thoroughly enjoyed every minute. :)

Bulls Eye! No, really! LOL

Can't wait for the next one and the chance to get my license!  Like I said, Awesome Research!!  The fun was an added bonus! :)

Only Time Will Tell

It's been one hectic journey since the day I decided to take the next step in my writing career.  Talk about ups and downs.  I now understand why we go to school when we're young.  This tired brain of mine just refuses to learn like it used to.  Who was it that said, 'You can't teach an old dog new tricks'?  I'm beginning to think they were right on target with that!  This was one giant learning curve.  I know just enough about html codes to get myself in major trouble.  Let me put it this way.  Until my dear younger brother, who is the computer genius, told me otherwise, I thought html was an abbreviation for hotmail.  Go ahead.  Laugh.  He still does. :)

All this excited gibber to say:  If I've done everything right, (crossing everything I got) you should be able to find your copy of "Faithful Deceptions" both on Amazon and Barnes & Noble as an ebook.  The print copy is still in the works, but I should have that worked out by the middle of March. Again with the fingers crossed.

Wow!  I can barely stand the excitement of knowing someone can actually pick up my book and read it.  What a wonderful feeling and totally scary thought all wrapped up into one.

Only time will tell what the outcome will be.

Thanks for all the support and encourement!  I could never have taken my dream this far without all the great writers and friends I've made along the way.  You guys ROCK!

Links to make it easy:

AMAZON - For Kindle

BARNES & NOBLE - For Nook

Off to do some more happy dancing! LOL

Special Day

Hi, Everyone!

Happy Valentine's Day!  Hope it's special and full of laughter and love! :)

Today is extra special for me.  16 years ago, I got the best Valentine's present.  My oldest daughter was born.  I've blogged about her party over at   http://www.everybodyneedsalittleromance.com/  Stop in and say hello.  I'd love some advice on how to deal with this growing up stuff.  Especially the boy part! LOL

Enjoy your Special DAY!!

Crimson Snow by Cheri Jetton

Here's a great book to add to your list!  I've downloaded my copy and can't wait to start reading!

When high school teacher Sara Hansen witnesses a drive-by shooting, the Detroit police advise her to leave town for awhile. She goes to her brother’s Sugar Island home off Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, but finds no refuge.

She’s dropped by a rifle shot as she enjoys a snowy morning stroll. Her brother and sister-in-law are out of town at the time.

Daniel Leeds, a former Detroit homicide detective who has resigned in disillusionment, hears the shot from his cabin on the next property and finds Sara bleeding in the snow. He takes her home and cares for her until help arrives. He follows the ambulance to the hospital where he keeps vigil.

An idealistic educator and a dispirited ex-law enforcement officer. Can he keep her safe while solving the mystery? Can she make him see she’s a grown woman and can take care of herself? Come to the snowy Upper Peninsula with us and watch it all unfold.

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Crimson-Snow/Cheri-Jetton/e/2940012626165/?itm=1

Adventures in Formatting

It's colder than blue blazes down here in my part of Texas.  We rarely have temperatures in the 20's.  And snow in the forecast?  I don't think so.  Well, it didn't snow this year, but our highs hung around 35 all week.  Kids got a snow day off from school and everything.  But Mother Nature has taken a vacation or something.  Someone please wake her up so things can get back to normal around here.

Okay, enough whining.  So I've decided to self-publish.  Got my cover done.  Had to learn a few things on a new program, but all in all it wasn't too bad.  Next up, the formatting.

Yes, I'm a bit Frazzled!!

This is where it gets tricky.  No one told me that every e-reader out there works off a different kind of format.  We've got HTML, E-pub, Doc, PDF, ODT, use page breaks, don't use page breaks, line indents--did I mention I'm a bit ADD. LOL  Focus, dang it.  I need to pick one site, Amazon or Barnes and Noble, and work on getting it set up correctly before I move on to the next one.  But no, that control issue thing I have is pushing me to have them all ready at the same time so anyone who wants a copy can get a copy.  Ugh. 

It's okay.  I'm still wearing a smile.  Well sorta. :)  I've got links galore to help me.  All it will take is sitting down and concentrating till I work it out.  That's right kids, hubby, dog, cat, phone, mailman and whoever else just has to have my immediate attention.  I'm working here and distractions are not acceptable.

Great blogs I use to brighten my day after frustration sets in:

http://www.deanwesleysmith.com/?p=3167

http://jakonrath.blogspot.com/

Goal for the week:  Have book up and ready to download on Kindle to see how successful my formatting job is.

Wish me luck!  I'm gonna need it!

Falling Into Place

Don't you just love it when everything starts falling into place?  This has been one long, wild and harry journey and I'm so thankful for all the wonderful friends I've made along the way.  Even though we writers are a solitary bunch for the most part, this struggle is one we should never try to do alone.   

So thank you.  For your encouragement, your laughs, your willingness to listen even when things weren't going so well.  It means the world to me.

I wanted to wait a little closer to the release date, which may be moved up if things keep going this well, but I couldn't do it.  Not sure if this thrills me or terrifies me more.  The few people I've shared this with have been eagerly supportive about my decision to self-publish.  And here I feared I would be met with a list of why not's and nay sayers galore.  What does this tell me?  I guess I must be doing the right thing. LOL  There has been a giant weight lifted from my shoulders and it's the most wonderful feeling. Now if the darn butterflies would just quit attacking my insides, I'd be able to enjoy all this wonderful excitement. :)

A sneak peek at my cover. 

Shhhh....It's not quite ready yet and I'd hate to disappoint the masses. LOL  One can dream, right?

For those interested, here's a great link about self-publishing and Terri Reid's success. 
http://jakonrath.blogspot.com/2011/01/guest-post-by-terri-reid.html

New Beginnings

January.  It is still January, right? 

2011 is off to a zipping start.  We've already taken a short vacation with the kids, had a colorguard tournament, tennis tournament and high school finals for the first semester.  Ugh.  I'm exhausted. LOL

I'm also busy working out all the kinks on a new exciting venture.  I've been reading alot of books on how to deal with failure and the need to take risks in order to succeed.  No more sitting back and wondering what would happen "if".  I'm actually going to take that next step and see.  Yikes! I'm excited and terrified all at the same time.  Struggling through the blasted learning curve at the moment, but once the initial shock wears off I'll be good to go.

Hoping to have the big reveal ready by April.  There, I put it out there.  A deadline.  Yep.  Now it's set in stone. :)

Best of luck to everyone in 2011!  Here's to looking back at the end of the year and saying, "I'm so glad I took that risk."

The Write Path

Happy New Year!!!!

Here we are only a week into 2011 and I’ve had an epiphany already. It appears I’ve been climbing the wrong mountain according to Kristen Lamb’s Blog, “Searching For Treasure the-Winner Inside.” Heck the title alone was inspiring. LOL Thanks Kristen! :)

Imagine my shock and horror to discover that for the past two years I’ve been chasing after the wrong goal. Oh, I still long to publish my work so others can read it, but the path in which I must travel to get there isn’t the path I’ve been on all this time.

I’ve struggled with my stories, trying to make them fit into the guidelines of what editors and agents want. I’ve stifled my creativity because, well, these stories just don’t fit the norm according to all those well meaning experts out there trying to find that special voice that will carry them away. We have specific rules for contests, rules for publishing houses like word count and genre, rules about sentence structure, rules about head hopping, rules on formatting, rules about rules. And you know what I’ve discovered? Every Best Selling author I’ve read recently breaks one or more of these rules at some point in their story. I know. I’ve heard it so many times I could scream. Established authors can do this. They don’t have to follow the same rules as aspiring authors.

Here’s my question. Why not? Do they know something we don’t? Like it’s all about writing a great story readers will fall in love with. Or write what you love? Or how about just write the darn story. Yes, grammar and punctuation are important as well as the flow and storyline. And word count does matter. But if my story ends up over a certain word count for a certain line, why do I have to go back and cut out bits and pieces or even scenes to make it fit. If it has an inspirational theme, why do I have to worry about how much contact my characters are allowed to have? I mean, I don’t write those heavy scenes, but love does play a big part in my stories. In real life, people do kiss, curse and talk in funny little rhymes. The magical part of writing for me is a stories abilitiy to evolve into so much more than I first imagined. Suprise me, please! :)

I’ve been worrying about all these rules to the point they stop me cold in my tracks. My muse throws up her hands in frustration and exits the building. I’m left staring into my computer screen at a wonderful story trying its best to emerge, but that just won’t make it under the guidelines set for me to follow.

But there is hope. I’ve found a light at the end of my tunnel. I’ve said it before. Today is the best time to be an author. Our options are endless. And I for one find that very liberating.

I will write. I will let my muse play any way she likes. And I will find a way to succeed.

Avoid the Slush at All Costs

In my efforts to procrastinate this week, I came across a book I started reading last year by Jack Bickham. “The 38 Most Common Fiction Writing Mistakes (and How to Avoid Them)”. Chapter one is title “Don’t Make Excuses.” Gulp. This hits home with me on so many levels. “Writers write; everyone else makes excuses.” Well, that means if I’m a writer I must write. I’ve been doing pretty good with this ever since NaNoWriMo and have almost finished editing a book I plan to send out to a publisher the middle of January. The following are a few tips I’ve come across from several different sources along the way that I feel have made my work stronger.



1. Lead with a powerful scene, a witty exchange or a dazzling description.

2. Make sure the right person is telling the story.

3. Create the right amount of internal monologue.

4. Don't have too many characters.

5. Make sure the characters you do have don’t walk, talk and act the same.

6. Add texture to your story with echoes, allusions and metaphors.

7. Check to make sure every scene is necessary to move the story forward.

8. Be sure there is a sense of time and place in your story.

9. Make your dialogue lively. Listen to those around you, then use what you hear.

10. Up the ante where you can.



(Raising my glass of sparkling cider)  Here’s to avoiding the slush pile and reaching our publishing dreams!

Happy New Year Everyone!!