Ok folks, the holidays are over and the University of South Carolina Gamecocks pulled off an outstanding win over Nebraska yesterday. Today was back to reality. Hmm. Can we skip the rest of winter now and go straight to spring?

Didn't think so. Crap.

This is when winter starts to hurt. The excitement of the holidays are over and it's time to get back in our routine that has us out at sunrise and coming back at sunset as we muddle through the cold days of winter. Everything seems bare, dead, and cold. Yes, it's depressing. The trees and decorations are down. No goodies lie around the office to munch on anymore. No more presents will be given or received. And there were no Christmas lights to welcome me home.

Well, blah!

Truth is, though, it's not all dead - it's merely resting to put forth that burst of energy that brings vibrancy and life during the other three seasons of the year. The trees and grass are dormant, not dead. Just as I needed the past 11 days off work to keep from getting burned out, so too does nature need to rest in order to bring us life and bounty through the rest of the year.

Truth be told, the season isn't without merit. I usually do my most (and best) writing in the winter. In fact, I wrote the rough drafts of Blurry and Anywhere But Here in January and February, and did major work on Splinter during that same time frame last year. My productivity with my writing seems to be at it's highest during the winter. I guess that makes sense. If everything is dull routine, then that means fewer distractions to pull me away from my computer. A resting world gives my muse time and energy to come alive. And I hope that pattern resumes this winter - considering that I haven't written anything  new since November and am itching to create more new work in the new year! (All of the work on my writing has been in the area of publicity and promotion - good, but I miss creating new work too!)

Winter is a good time to catch up on indoor activities that seem to move to the back burner during the busy summer and holiday seasons. It's a great time to read, for example, or take up an art or craft. I've been doing a lot of reading lately, and I used to stitch a good bit in the winter when I wasn't working on novels. Cold days are also good fo DVD marathons of your favorite movie series or TV shows or playing games. I noticed yesterday when I went out that most stores are having some of their best sales of the season, so there are deals to be had on winter clothes. Treadmills and gyms make it possible to exercise indoors to keep you active. And, of course, the Internet is an endless source of information and entertainment to keep you occupied, from joining online groups that focus on an interest or hobby, finding new recipes to try cooking this weekend, or looking up entertainment in books, music, etc from independent artists.

Hmm. Suddenly winter doesn't seem so glum. In fact, it sounds like I could find plenty to do that will make the next two months pass painlessly.

Here's hoping your new year is off to a great start. Take care and I'll see you next time.

Bye!

I cant' believe tomorrow is Labor Day and the summer will be over. Well, summer isn't "officially" over for a few more weeks - maybe a month or more based solely on the weather - but Labor Day is the end of the summer season. Wow, where did it go?

If I had to sum up this summer, I'd call it a perfect reflection of real life. There have been highs - like publishing a book, and lows - like 2 friends dying of cancer. And everything in between. It hasn't been perfect, but I honestly can't call it bad either. And I feel I must add that there were so many great movies out this summer too - the DVD's coming out this fall are going to be awesome!

I know a lot of people say it's been a long, hot summer. I'll agree with hot, but long? No. It seems we were just having our spring free thrift day at the church - but that was in mid May. It doesn't seem like over 3 months ago but it was. Time flies. Granddaddy always warned me to not wish my life away, but I suppose it's equally futile to cling to the past. Best to live in the present.

Am I ready for fall? Doesn't seem to matter - it's coming at the speed of time and it is what it is. I suppose one thing I do need to accomplish this fall is finishing up Splinter. That's the novel I was working on before the contracts for Blurry and Anywhere But Here came along. I suppose I better get that wrapped up before Anywhere But Here goes into pre-production in early 2012 if I want to submit it for publication next spring.

Well, that's my musing for the day. Enjoy your Labor Day. It's supposed to be a rainy one here, but that's ok. The summer came in with some vicious storms (and power outages at interesting times and under interesting circumstances too). I suppose it's natural it should go out that way.

Goodbye, Summer 2011! It's been real.

Howdy ho, folks, and I hope this entry finds you in the middle of a good and productive week. I’d like to open by welcoming many new people that I’ve connected with in recent days: Friends on Facebook, followers on Twitter, and anybody that graces my Author Page on Amazon.com, where this blog has a feed. Some are old friends from days gone by and some are fellow writers or connections with writers. I welcome and thank each and every one of you. Thanks to all of you for the connection, friendship and support!

In honor of my recent book release and new connections, I’d like to dedicate this blog post by sharing a bit more about myself with you. Here we go!

Want to know what inspired Blurry? Nightmares. That’s right, the novel came about based on dreams I had about being in high school in college while Rick (my husband) and I built our house in 2007. Some say that dreams of school days represents a subconscious desire to return to a simpler time in life. Maybe, but I weaved a heck of a tale from those
dreams!

I’ve actually been writing for over 10 years. I started out as an inspirational writer and published a Christian book titled Battleground Earth – Living by Faith in a Pagan World in 2004. It’s still for sale on www.publishamerica.com and on Amazon.com . Unfortunately, my muse for the inspirational work went dry so I switched to fiction. I read an article on CNN about the rise of E-publishing last summer and decided that perhaps that would be more appropriate for my fiction work, so I dusted off a few manuscripts and now, here we are.

I’m publishing another novel titled Anywhere But Here in April 2012 and I have another novel in progress. It’s a sci-fi apocalyptic thriller titled Splinter and I do hope to publish it. 

The birds outnumber the people in my house. To you new folks, Rick and I have three birds: Two sun conures named Zack and Chloe and a budgie named Oliver. We lovingly adopted Zack and Chloe and rescued Ollie – the principal at one of the schools Rick works at found him in the school yard. And of course, being bird people, well, we wound out with Bird #3. Hmm. Do you think Ollie was really a rescue, or part of Zack and Chloe’s clever plan to shift the balance of power in our home from human to avian?

By the way, the birds have their own website. Rick started a test site when he was designing the church website. When he was done with it, he told me to do what I wished with it. So many people ask me about the birds that I decided to redo the website as theirs. You can check it out at http://conurecorner.weebly.com . It also includes some silly stories I wrote inspired by each bird.

I don’t have one kind of music I listen to, as it depends on my mood. But you absolutely cannot borrow one CD. It’s Cold’s “13 Ways to Bleed On Stage” from 2000. I know,  that dark stuff isn’t like me at all, but it’s catchy and I love it! My favorite songs:“Just Got Wicked,” “End of the World,” and “Bleed” (truly a ballad appreciated by all bleeding artists).

Movie that came out of left field and smacked me thissummer: Thor. That movie was awesome.

Movie that was better than I expected: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2. Folks, it was a bloodbath! And about time that people started whopping up on one another! That was too long in coming. 

Movie that wasn’t what I hoped: The Green Lantern. I hoped for less personal angst and more intergalactic warfare from my favorite childhood superhero.

What was as good as I expected: The series finale of Smallville. 

In case you didn’t notice, I really like science fiction and fantasy. Suspense is also high on my list. Romance is near the bottom. I’ve given it a chance and frankly, it’s unrealistic. I’ve been married for 13 years, folks, and I know the reality of romantic relationships. 
 
I don’t watch much TV, but I will make time to watch one TV show, and that’s Supernatural. I sure hope Bobby, Sam and Dean find a way to reign Castielle in, or at least beat the crap out of him in Season 7. After that finale, Cas could use a good whopping.

I don’t like having my picture taken. That’s why I don’t have many pictures posted. I don’t think they look like me. And I don’t own a video camera either. 

Pink is my favorite color. My laptop, my iPod Touch cover, several of my purses, and most of my clothes are pink. Yellow is my second favorite color, with purple as close third. I don’t care for brown or orange.

I like purple nail polish, strappy sandals in the summer, and hiking boots in the winter. 

I think Walmart is the fifth level of Dante’s Inferno and that everybody needs to get off the cell phone while they’re in there. It doesn’t help and that line to the outside world is a false sense of security. If you’re in Walmart, you’re still in Hell. I feel like I pay for those low prices with a piece of my soul every time I go there. 

I don’t have kids, but my first job was working in a 2 year old room for a daycare. So whine at your own risk because I know how to deal with tantrums “professionally.” 

I don’t lead or follow. I just go along my own way. And that drives some people absolutely batty!

We built in the woods and truthfully, I feel safer there than I did in a neighborhood. If I hear a noise outside at night, it’s likely wildlife doing what wildlife does and that’s normal. If I heard a noise outside at night in a neighborhood, that was nothing but people creeping around – and why were they creeping around at a late hour when they thought nobody was aware of it?

Speaking of living in the woods, we’ve disproved a few old wives tales in the nearly 4 years since we moved out there. Snakes don’t writhe until sundown if you kill them, especially if they’re hacked into 4 pieces. An owl hooting doesn’t always mean death is coming, and they won’t stop hooting if you turn your pillow over (they don’t know or care that you did it). You can’t overwater anything in sandy soil. And a yard light out doesn’t scare much of anything.

Well, I think that’s enough for this time. I hope you’ve enjoyed this silly list of trivia and that you’ll visit this site often to keep up with my continuing adventures in publishing and in life. Enjoy the rest of your week.

Bye!

Man, you can't go anywhere without getting hit full on by Harry Potter mania. Excitement is high as we approach the release of the final movie in the series - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2.

You know what I say? Have fun with it. The journey with the boy wizard has been a fun one, and this is where it ends. We won't pass this way again. So let's enjoy the excitement and fun of the wizarding world - one last time.

I think that's what trends are all about: Discovering new things and having fun learning about them. Who knows how many people have been introduced to fantasy through Harry Potter? All along, my response to the critics that claim it's inappropriate for kids has been how? It has them reading. It helped them discover a genre they might not have discovered for themselves for a long time - if at all. It's opened a new world to countless people, and that world will enrich their own lives by letting them have a glimpse at things they may have never discovered.

I'll admit that I have done my share of complaining. I've griped that it seemed to rip off Tolkein, Lewis, and even Star Wars from time to time. But then again, there's nothing new under the sun. I once read that there are about 20 basic plots, and every story created (written or performed) is a variation on those plots. I believe it. The job of the artist is to create by mixing up reality in ways that are rare and, at times, perhaps forgotten. I think I  have learned to see the merit of Harry Potter more fully over the past few years and, in my own journeys through writing and now publication, have learned to forgive some of what I came down too hard on.

Yes, Harry Potter is everywhere now, but that's ok. As I said, we won't pass this way again. So I don't mind meeting him every time I log on, or tune in. It is kind of nice. Yes, it's a bit sad that the journey is ending - but also exciting. After all, who knows what awaits to dazzle us next?

I can't believe it: I twisted my ankle on the treadmill again. The last time I did this was almost 2 years ago, and I wound out with a sprain. Darn if it isn't the same ankle, in the same place, again.

I must either be clumsy, a special kind of idiot, or a little bit of both!But on the bright side, at least it's not the wrist. I got tendinitis in my right wrist a year ago. The sprained ankle hurt more, but the tendinitis in the arm was a lot more inconveient. Between my day job in professional licensing and my writing, I type a lot. That arm injury put me to a lot more trouble than dragging around a bum ankle did.

Ok, truth is that any injury is inconvenient. I guess the wrist injury just threatened me more psychologically because so much of my life depends on typing. Anyway, I'll pray it's not sprained and will heal quickly and make do until it quits pinching/aching.

In other news, I typically do my big, super duper season finale round up in my blog this time each year, but this year it won't be so big because, well, I didn't watch much TV. I guess between the mind-blowing changes of a new jobs and the in-laws moving, writing a novel, researching publishing and then promotion once I got the contract for Anywhere But Here, and Rick working on the church website, we just didn't tune it to much this season. In fact, all we really watched were our normal shows: Smallville and Supernatural. So here goes with my take on those shows:

Smallville - the final season was a good one, although I feel they really should have played up the Justice Society a lot more than they did. Still, they squeezed a lot in, and there's no denying that the finale was epic. I'd go so far to say that's the best finale I've ever seen - so well done. This show had it's ups and downs over it's 10 year run, but overall I say well done. I'm going to miss it.

Supernatural - not as good as the previous 5 years. I can't say I was overly enthusiastic about the turn they took towards creatures this season. It would seem to me that averting the Apocolypse would have bigger ramifications on the sides of angels and demons than we saw. Indeed, they built up to that late in the season, but I believe that's a story line they could have played all season, if they wanted. I also can't help but wonder if they couldn't have done more with the whole purgatory thing. I knew all along that the wall in Sam's head would come crashing down, but they did surprise me in how it happened, and that finale did not end the way I expected at all. So overall I was not as impressed with this season, but I do see potential for development next season. I would say to them to use it wisely. 

Now I ask the question I ask every year this time: What am I going to do now that everything is in reruns for the summer? I should be hearing from my publisher on Anywhere But Here in the next month, so I expect that ball will be rolling this summer. More reading, of course, and more researching on improving my writing and promoting it. Hopefully this writer's block will life and I'll be able to get back to writing short stories like I planned this summer. And, of course, we have Netflix - so between that and a summer of super hero movies, I imagine I will be well entertained in the coming months (if Thor is any indication, amazing stories and special effects will rule this summer!). I don't believe there's any chance of me being bored during this long, hot summer - which, by the way, has already started. It was 97 degrees today. No joke! And forecast to be more of the same through mid week. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, summer has hit the Southeast U.S. whether we're ready or not!

That's all for this time. I hope you have a great week and will try to check in again soon. Take care and stay cool!

Bye!

Not a Royal Watcher? Take heart! It's a big world out there, and if Prince William and Kate Middleton's wedding doesn't captivate you, you can rest in knowing there are plenty of things coming this summer that, in my opinion, are much more interesting. For example: 

1. Smallville Series Finale - The longest running sci-fi series comes to a close on May 13th, when young Clark Kent finally meets his destiny and becomes the Man of Steel. And to add more excitement, the original Lex Luthor is coming back. Check out espisodes, previews and more at http://www.cwtv.com/shows/smallville .

2. X-Men - First Class. Oh come on, you know you love the muntants! Opens June 3, but you can check out the preview at http://movies.yahoo.com/feature/x-men-first-class.html?showVideo=1#belowNav .

3. The Green Lantern - This was my favorite superhero as a child, and the preview I saw this past weekend blew me away! They're getting all the way into the story: Aliens, universal war, and the end of the world - hooray! Movie opens in 3D on June 17. Check it out at  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/23/green-lantern-extended-trailer_n_852851.html

4. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 - opens on July 15th. Even though I found myself saying "the board is set; the pieces are moving" at the end of Part 1, I'm interested in seeing how "it all ends." The first preview comes tonight on ABC Family and, no doubt, will be just a web search away come tomorrow morning.

5. Captain America - The First Avenger opens July 22. Watch the trailer at http://www.bing.com/movies/search/trailers?q=The+First+Avenger%3a+Captain+America&id=222f3d09-83db-4249-97c6-11c4e1ad3dcb&v=15b91e31-0187-447b-828e-66d60c1fba4a&FORM=DTPMVO .

Maybe it's silly, but it seems to me that this summer, fiction will be much more interesting than reality. Then again, I'm a novelist. You should expect as much from me.

So if you aren't setting your DVR for 4AM Friday morning, don't fret. There are 6 billion people in the world. If they expect 2 billion to tune in, well, that makes the non-watchers the majority!

Have a happy week all, whether you watch the wedding or not.