Checking in for GUTGAA!! :)

Long time, no...blog.  :)  How's everyone doing??  So, so good, I hope!  I know it's been a while since I've checked in ~ no excuses.  It just kind of worked out that way.  But, my friend Deana Barnhart has such a fabulous event going on for the next 6 weeks that I just HAD to join in! (and, I've missed you all terribly, of course!)

If you haven't heard of it already - you need to get involved with GUTGAA, stat!

Gearing up to get an Agent - if you don't have one, of course, is going on now.  For all of my writer friends out there still querying and wishing/hoping/praying to work with an agent-extraordinaire - you simply have to get involved in this event.  You can access the master sign-up link HERE.

And to kick-off, Deana has asked participants to post a little meet-and-greet info.  Here's mine:

Questions for the Meet and Greet

-Where do you write?

Wherever I happen to be when I just need to get the words down.  I'm working on making my new home office space my writing haven...we'll see. :)

-Quick. Go to your writing space, sit down and look to your left. What is the first thing you see?

Desk reference set - dictionary, grammar, thesaurus...

-Favorite time to write?

Every time I'm doing it - especially when I'm on a roll!

-Drink of choice while writing?

Boring - but, I try to drink a lot of water...

-When writing , do you listen to music or do you need complete silence?

When I'm in my writing zone - I can tune just about anything out, but it's nice to have my favorite music playing in the background.

-What was your inspiration for your latest manuscript and where did you find it?

A while back, we had a crazy wind storm where I live that knocked down hundreds and hundreds of trees.  A lot of tall, old trees were uprooted at one of our local cemeteries.  Don't ask me why, but my daughter and I went driving through it one day and took pictures.  Some of the tree roots had grown under headstones and uprooted the grave markers as well.  That's just what brought us to the cemetery.  While there, I told my daughter about a local ghost and we stopped by her grave to pay our respects.  The seeds of a story idea were planted and my current wip "The Graves", was born.

-What's your most valuable writing tip?

Try to hammer out your first draft before you go back and edit anything.  Getting the WHOLE story out is usually the most difficult thing (for me, anyhow) and also the greatest accomplishment for a writer.  Give yourself the full story to edit to death, first.

 

Deana also asked for a short bio - I guess I'm the girl who's been writing stories for as long as I've known how to write.  YA/MG contemporary fantasy are my stories of choice, lately.  When I'm not writing ~ I'm a working stiff (aren't we all?), mother to a gorgeous teen girl, Alex, to the only boy I could have (his name is Sam, he's small and furry, and his ears are his best feature), and wife to a guy who does a killer chicken impression.  In addition to writing, I LOVE to travel!!  I wish I could do it more.  I also love to bake, spend time with family, watch clever t.v. shows, and read great books.

 

And, that's it!  Hope to see you all on the GUTGAA train.  Thanks, much, to Deana for organizing such a great event, thanks to the participating agents, and also to Deana's buddies helping her out with the judging.  And to those participating in the agent pitches ~ best of luck!! :)

Mi Cassafire, Es su Cassafire ~ :)

Hello, my bloggy friends!!  Oh, how I've missed you ~ :)  And I figured, if there was any one day to stage a comeback - it just had to be the day of my bloggy friend, Alex J. Cavanaugh's launch party and release of his second novel, CASSAFIRE!

Here's some info you'll definitely want to know about Alex and his newest book:

CassaFire

by Alex J. Cavanaugh

 CassaStar was just the beginning…

The Vindicarn War is a distant memory and Byron’s days of piloting Cosbolt fighters are over. He has kept the promise he made to his fallen mentor and friend - to probe space on an exploration vessel. Shuttle work is dull, but it’s a free and solitary existence. The senior officer is content with his life aboard the Rennather.

 The detection of alien ruins sends the exploration ship to the distant planet of Tgren. If their scientists can decipher the language, they can unlock the secrets of this device. Is it a key to the Tgren’s civilization or a weapon of unimaginable power? Tensions mount as their new allies are suspicious of the Cassan’s technology and strange mental abilities.

 To complicate matters, the Tgrens are showing signs of mental powers themselves; the strongest of which belongs to a pilot named Athee, a woman whose skills rival Byron’s unique abilities. Forced to train her mind and further develop her flying aptitude, he finds his patience strained. Add a reluctant friendship with a young scientist, and he feels invaded on every level. All Byron wanted was his privacy.…

 Available today!

Science fiction - space opera/adventure

Print ISBN 978-0-9827139-4-5, $15.95, 6x9 Trade paperback, 240 pages

EBook ISBN 978-0-9827139-6-9, $4.99, available in all formats

CassaFire is the sequel to Cavanaugh’s first book, CassaStar, an Amazon Top Ten Best Seller:
“…calls to mind the youthful focus of Robert Heinlein’s early military sf, as well as the excitement of space opera epitomized by the many Star Wars novels. Fast-paced military action and a youthful protagonist make this a good choice for both young adult and adult fans of space wars.” - Library Journal

I'm sure if you stroll around the blogosphere today, you will see CassaFire posted nearly EVERYWHERE!!  Don't worry - a bad case of Tgren mind control has not taken over our humble little on-line world.  It's simply that Alex ROCKS!!  He's one of the coolest ninja bloggers out there and a good guy to have in your corner.  So - check out his book, will ya???

 The goal of this massive blog party is to help CassaFire “catch fire” on the best seller charts and achieve the success of the first book, CassaStar. There’'s also a special package of prizes being given away at the author’s blog (copies of CassaFire, CassaStar, tote bag, mug, and bookmarks) as well as book giveaways during his two-week blog tour. See Alex'’s site for details: http://alexjcavanaugh.blogspot.com/  Check out this awesome prize pack:

The blog tour runs until  March 9th - and if you'd like to follow more info/comments on the book via Twitter - the party hashtag is #CatchFire

So, my friends - do Alex a solid (good heavens, did I seriously just type that???) and check out the blog, the book, and everything else you can get your hands on.

And I'll be back to post more exciting QoP quips soon!  Heck - I might even join in that A-Z blogger challenge thingy...you know the one, right?

Ciao for now.  Happy writing/reading/living out there today!!

The QoP ~ Wishing you all a WONDERFUL Thanksgiving!!

Hello, my awesome blogger friends! 

Yes ~ I'm still alive.  You know, in case your were wondering.  ;)  And I miss you ALL, of course!  I've just been trying to manage through some personal stuff.  Nothing to worry about - but, it needs my attention.  And since my time management skills kind of...suck (I'm thinking of a word that starts with "p"...)  ~ I'm sacrificing my blogging time for a little while.  No worries ~ I'll be back soon, and lurking around to see what's happening with my favorite people in the blogosphere.

But, I wanted to pop in today to wish you all a VERY HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!  And for my friends out there that may not celebrate Thanksgiving - I wish you ALL the BEST!

And I'm not leaving you totally empty handed!!!  I wouldn't think of it!!! So - here's an awesome recipe I'm making as an alternative to traditional pumpkin pie for my family's Thanksgiving Feast:

Double Layer Pumpkin Cheesecake from all.recipes.com

Ingredients:


2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 (9 inch) prepared graham cracker crust 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 pinch ground cloves
1 pinch ground nutmeg
1/2 cup frozen whipped topping, thawed

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).

2. In a large bowl, combine cream cheese, sugar and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Blend in eggs one at a time. Remove 1 cup of batter and spread into bottom of crust; set aside.

3. Add pumpkin, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg to the remaining batter and stir gently until well blended. Carefully spread over the batter in the crust.

4. Bake in preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes, or until center is almost set. Allow to cool, then refrigerate for 3 hours or overnight. Cover with whipped topping before serving.



YUM - right????  :)

And what Holiday would be complete without a few jokes:

Sooo morbid - but, I just love this one!!!  (source)

(source)

~ Warm Holiday wishes to you all - from Donea Lee :)

Writerly Wednesday ~ The Fairy Tale Twist

I'll have to admit...I've been in a bit of a funk, lately.  (HI!  btw... :))  Maybe you've noticed?  This blogging thing is HARD sometimes!  The thing is ~ I wandered into this lovely blogging community and I've met some wonderful people and I don't want to lose contact with you.  So - I hope you'll forgive my "good-blogger" shortcomings and stop by to say "hello" from time to time.

BUT ~ on to the post!!  I admit it.  I watch FAR too much television.  I'm kind of a TV-junkie.  My poor dvr...  My husband is frequently exiled to the bedroom to watch his sports on the small screen, while I get the big TV in the living room ALL to myself!  (I know...mean...sorry sport-lovin' hubbies out there...)

A few new shows I'm trying out lately are twists on fairy tales.  These appeal to me, of course, because I happen to be writing a twisty fairy-tale based story.  Plus - who doesn't love a good fairy tale???  And I humbly maintain that watching copious amounts of TV is good research for writers.  I mean - a good show schools me on dialogue that works, humor, drama, character development, transitions from story to story - ALL sorts of stuff!  Here are the shows:

Once Upon a Time:



(source)

 and Grimm:

(source)

It's too early to decide which one I like better.  They both have their take on the Grimm fairy tales, but completely different approaches.  I do like the flashbacks to the fairy tales, themselves, in Once Upon a Time.  But - the cop angle of Grimm lends to more possible stories...I think.  Maybe.  :)  Plus, the reformed "Big Bad Wolf" in Grimm is pretty funny.  What I like the best, I think - is that they are taking stories that the whole world knows and putting a whole new twist on them.  Because - really...that's what writers do.

Have you seen these shows?  Have a favorite yet?  What's your favorite fairy-tale twist?  Please share!

And I hope you all have a wonderful Wednesday!

Haunted Blogfest ~ Reminiscing about Flo

Hello, my blogger friends!!  I'm back.  Sorry I missed you all last week.  But, I'm here in full force today to participate in Bish Denham's:

The challenge is to write a haunted story - preferably real - in 300 words or less.  I fear mine is more of a reminisce/short vignette - but, it's a fun memory from my teenage years.  I hope you enjoy!

(source)

Florence Louise Grange, or as she’s more famously known as, “Flo”, was the ghost of ghosts back in the day. The best way to get Flo to come out and play was to drive to the top of her cemetery lane at night and park the car with the headlights pointed down towards her headstone. A brave volunteer would walk down to her headstone, recite the words carved on it precisely, then turn and walk back up the lane without looking back. Flo would erupt from her grave as a glowing green ball and follow (or chase) you up the street. (*TIP: this is where a date comes in handy, because I had a good excuse to fling myself into his arms…)



She would hover and hang around for a while. And if you got lucky, she would even morph into her original form – a sad young girl in a long dress. I only ever saw her as a ball of light. But, she’d say “hello” often, as often as we went to see her.


As more and more people started to visit Flo, the cops started to patrol the cemetery in force. My friends and I had a way around that. Instead of driving in, we would park in the neighborhood across the street and walk into the cemetery. This was an even bigger rush, at least for us. Not only were we excited to visit Flo – but the added “cool” factor of dodging the cops just amped up our fun. We dived behind headstones a time or two, leaning into the shadows and away from trolling patrol-car searchlights.


But, Flo never seemed to mind. Headlights or not – if we held to the ritual, she’d appear. As a grown-up with my own teenager, I can’t say I’d recommend this date/hang-out activity to my daughter. I’m a parent, of course. That would just be…wrong. Of course, if my stories and reminisces of my youth spur her to seek out these haunts on her own? I hope she’ll tell my old friend Flo that I say “hello”.

 
I hope you'll all click on Bish's name above to visit the others participating in the blogfest.  And thanks, so much, for stopping by.  Happy Wednesday!!

Pay it Forward Blogfest!!!! (not forgotten...just a little late!!)

Hi my fave bloggers/followers/friends ~

First of all I want to thank Matthew Macnish over at The QQQE for his tactful, round-a-bout reminder that I signed up for this blogfest ~ :)  (doh!)  I haven't been on track all week... (sorry if you stopped by for Writerly Wednesday or Find the Story Friday and found nothing...)  #Doneafail.

But, better late than never, right?  And I certainly don't want to miss the chance to Pay It Forward to some wonderful bloggers I know.

#1 - Alex J. Cavanaugh (who's also co-hosting this blogfest, of course!!)  He's seriously one of the nicest, pay-it-forward-est, sci-fi awesome, movie buffs and bloggers out there.  If you don't know Alex, go visit him.  NOW!  (pretty please?)

#2 - Michael Di Gesu of In Time...  another super nice guy/blogger.  Michael always seems to have just the right words I need to hear (read) when I need to hear (read) them.  Plus, he's a kick-a designer and illustrator.  Again - if you don't know Michael, VISIT!!!

#3 - Shannon Whitney Messenger.  This gal REALLY knows how to pay it forward.  She's always passing on her precious arcs, her knowledge, and sharing her wonderfully fun and funny personality.  I get a kick out of every single one of her posts.  You should visit her blog.  Today is good.  :)  Like, now.  I'll wait...

You're back?  Ok - I think I only needed to list 3.  I could list MANY more!  This blogger community is pretty darned awesome.  If anyone ever wants to organize a face-to-face blogger meet-and-greet one of these days, I would seriously consider coming!  (oh, you know I'd love to meet any one of you in person!)

I wanted to pay-it-forward to one more person, though.  That's my cousin, Amy Richardson.  She's new to this whole blogging thing - and I'm hoping if I can drive followers/readers her way, she'll keep at it.  She should.  She's a great writer/person with some wonderful ideas and talent to offer.  (LOVE you, cous!)

Please know that I think all of my blogger friends ROCK!  And if you'd like to discover even more great blogs and read more pay-it-forward blog tributes, make sure you click above on Matthew's or Alex's links for the full list of blog participants.

And I hope you all have a WONDERFUL weekend!!

Find the Story Friday ~ The Journey

First of all - I just wanted to thank everyone for their kind and encouraging words on Wednesday's post.  You prove my point time and time again - this blogger community ROCKS!!!  :)  As my daughter would say, "I <3 U!"

And so, as I was scrolling for pictures today, I came across this one:

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Writing/Publishing a novel ~ it's a LONG road.  Sometimes - it almost seems there is no end.  But, if you can just make it around that bend - hopefully what you see is a new path and a new adventure.  This applies to any goal, really.  Any dream.  And I'm happy to share the journey with AWESOME people like you.

Of course - for my writing friends out there,  you'll know that it's essential for your characters to make journeys as well.  Please share - What journey are/is you/your character taking right now??

And, as always, I wish you all a WONDERFUL weekend!  Happy Writing/Living ~ :) 

It's OK to HATE the world today....

....as long as you forgive it tomorrow.  :)

I'm joining the rest of Alex J. Cavanaugh's IWS groupers today, because it's just been one of those weeks, you know?

For the most part, I try to stay really upbeat and positive.  Anyone who's been following my blog for awhile - at least, I hope you'll agree with that statement?  (If you don't, can I bribe you with a cookie?)

But, it's hard sometimes.  I am ALWAYS my own worst critic.  I think I, well...pretty much suck, most of the time.  I can get the best critiques in the world one day, and then turn around and find myself in tears the next day, cursing every darn word I tap/write out on my MS.  I ride this emotional roller-coaster FAR too often.  I'm always sure that maybe - I'm just not that good.

The thing is ~ this is no way to live life.  This line of thinking will NOT get me closer to my dream.  I KNOW this - and, yet - I still have those off days.  Perhaps, aspiring writers are just predisposed to doubt.  I do realize how foolish my doubt is.  And I'll continue to persevere.  I'll keep writing because it's what I LOVE to do!  I know it's never too late.  And I've got this wonderful writing community at my fingertips, if I need you.

I don't know that too many people know this, but my doubts and my fears kept me from really writing for YEARS!  Since I've been blogging, I've met so many wonderful, positive, inspiring people!  You guys keep me going.  Really.  You do.  So, I just wanted to let you know that if you've ever had an off day like I have, you're not alone.  And also just wanted to say, "Thank you."  :)

Find the Story Friday ~ OCTOBER!!!

Ok, well I might be a little early for October...(just a day, though - c'mon, now!)  But, it's a month I happen to LOVE!

The weather is nearly perfect.  My mountains are absolutely gorgeous with all the fall colors!  And there's one or two days this month that I can go out in public looking like death and totally get away with it!! :)  I'll admit - I'm a sucker for anything Halloween-related.  I've got Haunted House night planned with my favorite gal pals.  I'm planning to get tickets to a fun Witchapalooza dinner theater.  CORN MAZES!!  Let me tell you - they're a BIG DEAL in Utah!  A local dance company does a production called "Thriller" that's absolutely amazing!  There's fall festivals, pumpkin patches, Witches Night Out, Oktoberfests ~ so much fun.

So, here's my pic of the day ~

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Does this picture evoke some spooky fun in you??  Any Halloween/Fall stories to tell?  Please share!!

And, as always, wishing you much happiness and a Fabulous Fall Weekend!!  Enjoy!

Writerly Wednesday ~ An Excuse...Limerick Style

(source)

There once was a girl named Donea

Who wished to be Dax, named Jadzia

‘Cause it’ll take lifetimes to do

All the things I need to

“Ah, heck. Quark? Give me a Sangria!”

 
(my apologies, blogger buddies - BUSY week!!  I'll have something better for you on Friday.  AND - I'll catch up my visiting this weekend.  Have a good one!!)