Getting Organized

Sometime in January,  I usually share a post on how well I did at hitting my goals in the previous year and my goals for this year. I think maybe I’ll do that Sunday if y’all tune in then. I’ve been thinking a lot about what to blog and since I haven’t done so well at getting them published, I’ve got a backlog of words that are piling up. Multiple ideas, categories, things I’m dealing with, things I find interesting and things I think others would be interested in. I’m hoping that my readers can help me get organized on this blog!

Row Of Falling Files For Getting Office Organized

So, in that vein, here are a few categories that I’m thinking about making regular posts this year.  If you read this post, please leave a comment and let me know which categories you want to hear about, and which you do NOT.

• books – mine and other authors, cover reveals, releases, reviews.
• teasers and tasty tidbits – teasers of my current WIP, and a new recipe, hopefully with pictures of the finished product. (Keto, diabetic, sugar-free, regular)
• Monday mojo –  my Monday motivational posts,  they always seemed to be one of the categories that do well and that readers like.
• On Writing – plot, characters, story, mary sues, flat stanleys, writing prompts, contests, submission calls.
• Life – stuff we all go through,  dealing with difficult people, learning to say no, emotions, and all that stuff that gets in our head.
• Random madness – you know the ones,  those crazy posts that seem way out in left field,  but once you read through you go “ah yes, now I get it.”  Or something just off the wall, because creative minds are never waffles, but spaghetti.
• Crafts, DIY, hobbies – painting, BUJO, bullet journaling.
• Excerpts of my work.
• Deals – when books are on sale, when I am doing giveaways.
• Sports, politics, finance, – I won’t say never,  but 99% sure you won’t ever find these here.
• Humor – because if you can’t laugh once in a while, you seriously need to.

I plan to do a few more vlogs this year, getting a little more comfortable in front of the camera. I mean, hey if you aren’t put off by my mug on here,  then I’m willing to talk your ear off! By the way,  if you want to see some really embarrassing stuff, go check out my youtube channel and see my Splendies unboxing.  HAHA! I have to reload the latest one,  it cut off on me.

Anyway, that’s it for today, have had Doctor’s appointments, done my housework and got 1300 words down. I’m calling today a win! Oh, and I shared today’s fashion on Instagram!

Before I leave you,  I’ll drop the last few lines of my Current WIP, Fury: Book II of the Valkyrie’s Curse series, here:

Morning sunlight shimmered upon the waves. Elias Westergaard stood at the stern railing of his yacht, enjoying the rich bold flavor of his imported Colombian coffee.

He had done everything right. His timing had been impeccable, as always. Helena was to blame. She had somehow managed to thwart his plans. She would pay.

 For now though, he needed to lay low. There was no safer place for him than on the open sea. He preferred to stay within sight of the shore,  but the current situation demanded otherwise.

“More coffee sir?” Martin Tanner stood to his right, back a few paces behind him.

Elias held his cup out, allowing the boy to fill it. Martin was a nuisance to him, but he kept things running smoothly on the yacht.

“Will there be anything else, Dr. Westergaard?”

“No, that will be all.” He lifted his cup almost to his mouth, “Oh Martin,” pausing for a moment his arm in an odd angle as if posing for a magazine.

“Yes sir?”

“There is one more thing. Inform Walter I’d like the lobster bisque for lunch.”

“Yes sir.”

He lifted the cup the remaining distance, closing his eyes as he relished the hot liquid warming his throat while chasing away the chill of the air. He needed to brace himself for this dive.

Keep in mind this is only the first revision and hasn’t been touched since NANO camp last April.

Write on my friends, write on!

August – code for CRAZY

OH my! Wow it’s been a month, a  crazy, hectic, hair pulling month.
Apparently, I missed the memo that said August is code for CRAZY!!

I shared my newest book with y’all.  The ebook on Amazon is available,  but I’ve had a heck of a time with the print book. My cover that I was so proud of,  wouldn’t print right.  It became pixelated, blurry in spots, and there was a white line around the back cover.

Let’s try this again. OH, and to make things more interesting,  let’s have Amazon send out notices to authors that they are doing away with Createspace, and everyone has to switch over to the KDP print. *HEADDESK*

This is also the month that I have to take continuing ed classes in order to renew my mortgage professional’s license. UGH!

So, I thought I’d give you a teaser for book one,  and a snippet for book 2. Deal?

The Awakening: Book 1 

FURY: Book 2

Morning sunlight shimmered upon the waves. Elias Westergaard stood at the stern of his yacht, enjoying the rich bold flavor of his imported Colombian coffee that he preferred over what was readily available in Europe.

He had done everything right. His timing had been impeccable, as always. That blasted girl Helena was to blame, she had done something that thwarted his plans. She would pay but for now, he needed to lay low. There was no safer place for him than on the open sea.

“More coffee sir?” Martin Tanner stood to his right back a few paces behind him.

Elias held his cup out, allowing the boy to fill it. Martin was a nuisance to him, but he kept things running smoothly on the yacht.

“Will there be anything else, Mr. Westergaard?”

 

Let me know what you think!

Write on my friends, write on!

Viking Battle

Hello everyone!

Weekend Writing Warriors.

HOW IT WORKS

This is the description on their site:

       Welcome to Weekend Writing Warriors, the weekly hop for everyone who loves to write! Sign up below with your name, blog, and email and share an 8 to 10 sentence snippet of your writing on Sunday. Your post needs to be live between 12:00 noon on Saturday 01/27/18 and 09:00 AM on Sunday 01/28/18. Visit the other participants on the list and read, critique and comment on their 8sunday posts. 

I think they said it better than I could.

Look below the linky list for genre categories.
Spread the word, share the love, warriors. Twitter hashtag #8sunday.

It’s simple and fun. Sign up on the linky list with your name, blog URL, and email address on Mondays, 8:00 AM EST. Each week, the list remains open until Saturday, 11:59 PM. Then on Sunday, post 8 to 10 sentences from a current writing project, published or unpublished. Visit other participants and offer opinions, critiques, support. Writers hanging out with writers, a good time with a great group of people.

~~~~~~~~~

For my longtime readers, The Awakening, Book 1 in Valkyrie’s Curse series is slated to release on June 20th – I had to push it back a week as I don’t yet have the cover from the cover artist.  The cover reveal was supposed to go up Wednesday, May 9th. Can’t reveal a cover you don’t have now can you? The preorder is up however – 99 cents until release date! The cover on there is not the final cover – it’s a placeholder.

The Awakening: Book 1 in the Valkyrie’s Curse series preorder

So let’s jump in shall we?

This is from the prologue, continued from last week.

~~~~~

Aella saw a shadow move beyond the curtain. He took the sword from the hand of the second guard he had killed. Now armed with two swords he moved forward cautiously, muscles tensed at the ready. Aella moved behind the altar and found the secret compartment in the back opened. The key was gone!

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a movement. He had to get that key! Aella moved to follow the thief. Swiftly he thrust his sword forward spun around and struck again with both swords, removing the thief’s arm. As the arm fell to the ground, the key dropped free. For a split second, his eyes followed the key, enough time for the man to raise his broad axe, but Aella was faster and thrust again. One sword found its mark in the enemy’s chest, the other slashed across the man’s throat.

~~~~~

 Let me know what you think!

Be sure to check out the other author’s snippets as well HERE

Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms out there!

Write on my friends, write on! I need to go read those snippets –  catch ya later, gator!

Weekend Writing Warriors -Awakening

Hello everyone!

Weekend Writing Warriors.

HOW IT WORKS

This is the description on their site: Welcome to Weekend Writing Warriors, the weekly hop for everyone who loves to write! Sign up below with your name, blog, and email and share an 8 to 10 sentence snippet of your writing on Sunday. Your post needs to be live between 12:00 noon on Saturday 01/27/18 and 09:00 AM on Sunday 01/28/18. Visit the other participants on the list and read, critique and comment on their 8sunday posts. 

I think they said it better than I could.

Look below the linky list for genre categories.
Spread the word, share the love, warriors. Twitter hashtag #8sunday.

It’s simple and fun. Sign up on the linky list with your name, blog URL, and email address on Mondays, 8:00 AM EST. Each week, the list remains open until Saturday, 11:59 PM. Then on Sunday, post 8 to 10 sentences from a current writing project, published or unpublished. Visit other participants and offer opinions, critiques, support. Writers hanging out with writers, a good time with a great group of people.

~~~~~~~~~

Greetings! It’s been a while since I’ve tried to share anything for this. I’ve been plugging away at two shorts and revisions on the next novel. Before I shared from The Blood Key which was one of the shorts I was working on.  The anthology was canceled unfortunately. I will release this one though after I get the first and second books from the Fae series out.

For my longtime readers, The Awakening, book 1 in Valkyrie’s Curse series is slated to release on June 12th.  The cover reveal and preorders will go up soon, I promise.

So let’s jump in shall we?

~~~~~

Olaf, Sven, and Aella glanced between themselves nodding. They had fought together in other battles, but this was the first in their homelands. They touched their swords to their chest and made the family sign, mouthing silently together “united by birth, bound by blood”.

An insurgent had taken their lands, their women, and killed their king. Now it was time to reclaim what was rightfully theirs.

The ship slowed as the V-shaped hull found the soft sand. Jorvic gave the forward motion. Two men steadied the ship as the others slipped into the surf. IT was only knee-deep, the men sloshed forward as quietly as possible. By the stealth of moonlight, they slipped through the secret door on the outer wall.

 

~~~~~

 Let me know what you think!

Be sure to check out the other author’s snippets as well HERE

Write on my friends, write on!

The Song of Making

Welcome to Flash Fest December!

I have some author friends who have joined me in this challenge, and are contributing to the prize baskets!

 

Today is WEWRIWA!

I’ve been sharing from my current WIP, The Blood Key.

Weekend Writing Warriors.

HOW IT WORKS

It’s simple and fun. Sign up on the linky list with your name, blog url, and email address on Mondays, 8:00 AM EST. Each week, the list remains open until Saturday, 11:59 PM. Then on Sunday, post 8 to 10 sentences from a current writing project, published or unpublished. Visit other participants and offer opinions, critiques, support. Writers hanging out with writers, a good time with a great group of people.

~~~~~~~~~

8 sentences –  I can manage that, can’t I?  That sounded like a challenge and I was off!

Yes, it’s late in the year but what the heck! Maybe this will turn into a regular thing.  I ‘ve been thinking I should share more snippets anyway. I’ve had some issues with my links in the past few weeks, let’s hope it’s all straightened out now. Keep in mind, this is truly a first draft. So here goes:

~~~~~~~~~

Raelyn began to sing quietly the song of making before she realized what she was doing. When she came to the chorus, realization dawned and her voice quietly tapered off. She would have to learn new lullabies, new songs of comfort and a whole new way of life. She hoped and prayed that the part she had sung had not alerted one of the high priests to their whereabouts.

She had adapted quickly to life in Faery. Raeylan hoped that she would adapt as easily to life on earth once again.

The emotions rose up inside of her nearly choking her, but she squelched them down. She couldn’t fall apart now, she had to protect Iliana. It would be best if she and her child took on new names so that no one would find them. She offered a prayer to the gods of the Faery realm, offered a prayer to her own God from her childhood, and asked protection for her innocent child.

Whatever was to come, she would face it bravely for Iliana’s sake.

OK, well that was closer to 10,  but I felt I should complete the thought of that scene.

Leave a message and let me know what you think! You can check out other WEWRIWA authors HERE!

Write on my friends, write on!

April A to Z Challenge 2017

Greetings! I’ve been pondering what to do on the April challenge for the past couple of weeks.  I have been wondering how I would do this challenge and manage to continue posting the #MFRW challenges on Friday.

In doing so, I’ve managed to miss getting my posts up! Way to go Ellie, way to go!

I’m still not sure how to get them all in, but I will try my best. I’ve been going gangbusters on revisions to Roxy Sings the Blues. April is Camp Nanowrimo and I am working on a new project that is top-secret for now in addition to the rewrites on Roxy. This new project has a hard deadline, so I have to be diligent in getting this one finished.

Despite all of the advice that is the current trend, which was the opposite advice from the 80’s and 90’s, the best way to get it all in is to multitask. Really, women are conditioned to multitask from the get go.

First thing first –  I have promised an excerpt or teaser since the beginning of the year. I shared one in Inquisitive Minds,  One Phone Call,  and Life Isn’t Fair, but aside from those, I’ve been negligent in sharing. So, today I will share a Tuesday Teaser from Roxy Sings the Blues.

“Detective Miller, Detective Alvarez.”

Devon Miller nodded in acknowledgment. He hated these calls. He hated seeing veterans in the homeless shelter. It never made sense to him. “What have we got?”

“Two males. Looks like meth heads, but we need to find out what’s going on. This is the fourth time this month that homeless guys have shown up dead. I’m putting you two on the case. Check with Dickerson in narcotics, see if he has any leads.” Seargent Brenner stood, flipping the body bag back over the victim’s face. “I want to know what they are taking, who they are buying from, what the cause of death was. I want a full tox screen and have Simmons report anything out of the order. Anything. Talk to some of the regulars at the shelter up the street.” He tucked his hands into the pockets of his black leather jacket, eyes downcast to the ground. Hesitating as if he wanted to add something more, but then changing his mind. He added, “I want reports on my desk in the morning.”

Devon watched him walk away before bending to examine the body. He reached for a discarded straw in the pile of trash that the first body lay in. Using the straw, he opened the vic’s mouth checking for missing teeth, foaming, anything. “Still got his teeth. That’s something.”

Alvarez stood with his hands shoved into his jacket. “This kid is too young to be here.”  He bent swiping the hair out of the eyes of the second body. “Both of them are. I’d lay odds that test results are going to be the same as the last guys. I think our best bet is going to be Dickerson. See if he knows who’s dealing the designer drugs down here and find out how bums can afford it.”

Are you curious? Let me know in the comments! 

The second item on the agenda –  the A to Z challenge. With my push for Camp Nano, I ‘ve forgotten to put up my posts for Saturday and Monday.

First the rules of the challenge – every day of the week minus Sundays,  you are to post that letter of the alphabet. The theme is something that your blog is typically about. My theme is:

 

Are you surprised? I liked last year that there were categories to choose from but this year, there isn’t a list of themes it is make your own! Although, it did get me out of my comfort zone to try my hand at some photography which was fun!

That’s what this challenge is all about –  fun!

A – Attitude

(April 1) Writing requires a certain attitude. You have to have confidence in your ability. There is a certain egotism in thinking that others should read what you have written. I prefer to call it confidence but on the days that I am faltering in confidence, I go back to the word attitude. It’s a stance, a unique voice, your reason behind the desire to spend countless hours behind a laptop in solitude. It’s that gnawing at your soul that if you don’t get it down on paper it will make you go mad. It’s the knowing in your heart that drives you forward and overrides the countless times you’ve thought of giving up. In the end, there is a certain attitude, sometimes cocky sometimes timid, but overall it’s knowing that you can do this and do it well!

B -Books

(April 3) There are certain books that a writer should have on their bookshelf. I have:

On Writing Well by William Zinsser

On Writing by Stephen King

Writing Down the Bones  by Natalie Goldberg

Self-Editing for Fiction Writers

And . . . if you are anything like me more than a dozen others.

 

 C -Characters

Characters drive the story. The best stories are character driven because it’s the connection to the characters that keep us interested. If the character is nothing more than a flat Stanley then who cares what happens to him but if the character is well-developed, we become involved, putting ourselves in their shoes, sympathizing with them,  on the edge of our seat hoping they make it out of that dangerous situation. What would Gone With the Wind be without the narcissistic Scarlet O’Hara?

So, … two birds with one stone or rather two topics in one post and it is by far not my longest post! I call that a win.

Write on my friends, write on!

Till next time,

Ellie

Life Isn’t Fair

Since I didn’t share my snippet piece yesterday, I thought I’d fudge a bit and share today.

Wow! This story has really gone through the mill. Roxy Sings the Blues originally started as the serial post erotica that I shared on Storytime Tryst. Don’t bother trying to find it, I no longer have the time to manage Storytime and nothing has been posted since forever ago.

All rights reserved to original artist. Quotidiandose does not own rights to this image.

The only recognizable part of that original story is the characters, although they are more fully developed now as well. When I compiled all of my serial posts, I added bits and pieces here and there to  help it congeal. Yeah, it wasn’t really working for me. First of all,  the original story was erotica. It wasn’t even my best effort in erotica either. Something about this story just wouldn’t let me go. Although I wasn’t happy with it,  I knew there was something in it that screamed to be told. Maybe I had wax in my ears, maybe my internal editor was cringing so much she wouldn’t listen to the voice crying to be heard.  When the fecal matter hit the rotary blades with the previous small publishing house I was associated with, I fell into a pit of discouragement and shelved Valkyrie’s Curse, which was 90% complete.

When the fecal matter hit the rotary blades with the previous small publishing house I was associated with, I fell into a pit of discouragement and shelved Valkyrie’s Curse, which was 90% complete.

Valkyrie’s was ready to be sent out to my beta readers, but after some critical comments, I tucked it away, as I wasn’t ready to push ahead with doing it on my own just yet. I haven’t given up on it, but it was set aside before Penned Con 2016 with a bitter taste left in my mouth. Time heals all wounds, however, and I feel I can go that last 10% soon. In the meantime, I heard Roxy’s wails of sorrow crying to be heard.  I dusted off those files, cringing at points, but also seeing that she had a story worth being told. Not the story I had first written, but a much deeper, more encompassing story. I was giving a superficial glossing to her story, focusing on certain gritty aspects of her life. She deserved more.

I’m keeping a small portion of what I had written, but most of it has ended up in the recycle bin. The revision has turned into a complete rewrite. Sordid details of her bad mistakes really didn’t need to be aired as yesterday’s dirty laundry. I have to admit, it needed a rewrite desperately.

The original plot of transformation was heart wrenching, motivational, kitschy, and focused too much on the back story. Ironic since another shelved project I’ve talked about before, my Fae series – anyone remember me sharing about Faere Warrior? – was shelved because I needed to share more of the back story. I haven’t given up on that one either. Basically, I got myself into a state of being overwhelmed with numerous projects that are unfinished for one reason or another.

Just a quick note here, most of my projects are so very close, yet every one of them needs just a little more. This is where I kick myself with disgust. If I focused on just those in my unfinished files I will be writing until I am 60! Scary thing is, that isn’t that far away!

So anyway, back to Roxy. . . the deeper story. I think you’re going to like it.  Last time I shared a snippet from the intro. Let’s dive right into the thick of it, shall we?

Here’s a brief snippet from Chapter 1 to let you know where Roxy is starting from:

Two hours and twenty-four minutes later, I pulled up into a visitor’s spot by the main entrance. I barreled through the doors, racing down the hall to the oncology floor, running past the nurse’s station towards the room number Tara had texted me.

I stopped short just outside the door. This was it. This was reality. I did not want to face losing my mom. I gave myself a quick talk as I took several deep breaths. One step. Two steps. Three steps and I was at the side of mom’s bed. Tara was on the other side, her head down on the edge of the bed, holding mom’s hand.

My eyes welled with tears. “NO” My body racked with sobs as I lifted my mother’s cold lifeless hand to my cheek. Tara lifted her head slowly, looking up at me in such a forlorn and lost expression it broke my heart even more.  I ran to her, lifting her from her chair as we sobbed together.

It wasn’t fair. Even knowing it was coming someday, we were not prepared for this reality. Some day was not supposed to be this day or any day in the near future. At twenty-three and twenty we were not supposed to lose our mother. Before either of us were married, before either of us had children, before either of us had even had a chance to truly live, cancer took her from us. It. Wasn’t. Fair.

As I held my younger sister in my arms, my eyes clenched tightly to shut out the vision of the corpse that lay in the bed that was supposed to be my mother. My breath caught in my throat, feeling panicky and lost, so very lost. I turned quickly to the side, hitting the vase of flowers on the stand next to the bed rails. The vase that held a beautiful flower arrangement shattered into pieces as it made contact with the linoleum floor.

Shattered. Just like our lives were now.

Just like Steve Austin and Jaime Sommers, Roxy’s shattered life can be rebuilt. Slowly, piece by piece, and she will come out stronger than she began. Isn’t that kind of the point of a transformation plot? I guess I kind of gave that away, didn’t I? All I can say is don’t write her off just yet. Fate isn’t done jerking her around. 

Did you get the feels? Do you feel compassion for Roxy and her sister?

How have you dealt with the death of a close loved one?

When my father passed away, my world was suddenly shattered. When my mother passed away, I was only slightly more prepared having been her caregiver for the last year and a half of her life. I didn’t have to face it in my twenties, though, which I am grateful to have had them in my life as long as I did.  It took me a long time to find the good in life after both losses, but eventually, I did and I hope you have as well.

Write on my friends, write on!

Ellie

 

 

 

Cover Reveal: ROOK by Miranda Lynn

I know I promised a teaser today, but that will have to wait until tomorrow. Today I have the privilege of sharing a cover reveal for an author I met at Kentuckiana Book Blitz! This woman helped me calm my newbie nerves.  Kentuckiana was my very first author event and I was a nervous wreck.

Without further ado, I am honored to share with you the cover reveal for my friend Miranda Lynn’s newest book:

ROOK

Black Mountain Pack

Book 2

Coming April 2017

Come join us as the story of the Black Mountain Pack continues. Follow Rook as he takes on the challenge of helping Mack and Casey repair the South American Pride.

Rook heads to South America and finds his hands full with bringing the Pride out of the dark ages that Tomas had kept it in for years under his malicious ruling. He reunites with a few old friends and discovers a dark and twisted world he never knew existed behind the closed doors of the Alpha’s house. With the help of old military buddy Jonah he guides the Pride onto the path of a happy and fruitful living.

Fate has other plans when Rook is blindsided with the fact that his true mate had been kept in the clutches of the former Alpha. Locked behind doors and used as an object to be shared rather than respected and revered as all female shifters should be.

Will he be able to cull the evil from the Pride and make it safe enough for Casey to lead without fear? Will he be able to help his mate heal from the hell she has been put through and coax her cat to come out and play?

Find out this coming April!

 

About the Author

Time Travel and Paranormal Romance author. Her Destiny series takes you on a roller coaster ride through time with sexy Highlanders and sassy female heroines. If shifters are your kryptonite, then check out her Black Mountain Pack series which throws a twist on the traditional shifter lore. Miranda is a mother to two teenage boys who are sure they know it all, a 75lb lap dog, a 15lb foot warmer, and a cat that most days plans her demise. She is thankful her husband doesn’t mind the extra voices in her head. Miranda is an only child who grew up on a dairy farm in Illinois which left her plenty of time to make up stories in her head for entertainment. She currently resides in Tennessee where she wonders if Mother Nature will ever stop with the hormonal mood swings. She fuels herself with coffee, chocolate, and wine.

Make sure to follow Miranda Lynn to keep up to date on Rook and all the other players in the Black Mountain Pack.

FB: https://www.facebook.com/MirandaLynnBks/

Join her readers group for sneak peaks and exclusive giveaways: https://www.facebook.com/groups/367841766921211/

Website: www.mirandalynn.com

Amazon Author Page: http://amzn.to/2ldOuDe

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MirandaLynnBks

 

 

 

 

 

About the Author

Time Travel and Paranormal Romance author. Her Destiny series takes you on a roller coaster ride through time with sexy Highlanders and sassy female heroines. If shifters are your kryptonite then check out her Black Mountain Pack series which throws a twist on the traditional shifter lore. Miranda is a mother to two teenage boys who are sure they know it all, a 75lb lapdog, a 15lb foot warmer, and a cat that most days plans her demise. She is thankful her husband doesn’t mind the extra voices in her head. Miranda is an only child who grew up on a dairy farm in Illinois which left her plenty of time to make up stories in her head for entertainment. She currently resides in Tennessee where she wonder if Mother Nature will ever stop with the hormonal mood swings. She fuels herself with coffee, chocolate, and wine.

Make sure to follow Miranda Lynn to keep up to date on Rook and all the other players in the Black Mountain Pack.

FB: https://www.facebook.com/MirandaLynnBks/

Join her readers group for sneak peaks and exclusive giveaways: https://www.facebook.com/groups/367841766921211/

Website: www.mirandalynn.com

Amazon Author Page: http://amzn.to/2ldOuDe

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MirandaLynnBks

One Phone Call

I have spent the last two days on the phone trying to find out information on the exact requirements that I will need to fulfill for my job. I don’t know about you but waiting on hold is one of those time-wasters that I could do without. It’s that feeling of helplessness, this is out of your control, and you are at the mercy of the person on the other end.

If everything could be straight forward, the instant response then things would go much smoother. But, alas it isn’t to be. The forces that be have decided that it is a requirement to be put on hold for an untold specified amount of time. Please tell me that I”m not the only one who is impatient with these things!

In the meantime, while I continue my quest for answers, I thought I might share a teaser from Roxy Sings the Blues. Since phone calls seem to be first on my mind,  I thought I’d share this brief opener.

~~~~~~~~

One phone call can change your life forever.

I’ve heard it said many times and I get it. If you are a ball player waiting for that call to the majors, if you are waiting for the call that you got that job that you were hoping for. I always thought however, that most people are just being overly dramatic and using that as a cliché’ statement.

What if you didn’t get this job, but instead got a call from a different company that ended up being a better job? What if, as a ball player you didn’t ever get called to the majors but stayed in the minor leagues and ended up being a top-notch coach? What if that call was the worst thing that could happen?

It’s always been my view that there are multiple paths that our lives could take. There are multiple opportunities presented to us and that one phone call bit was a bunch of hogwash.

Until today.

Until I received the phone call that without a doubt, changed my life forever.

DO you want to read more? 

I”ll share a bit more soon . Until then I have to get back to my search.

Write on my friends, write on.

Ellie

 

Inquisitve Minds

 Writer’s are innately curious, you do understand that, right?  It’s an insatiable drive that urges us onward constantly asking why. If your child is asking you questions like “What did little red riding hood have in her basket? Did she forget her glasses that she couldn’t see that it was a wolf instead of Grandma?  How did Peter fit his wife in the pumpkin shell? Was she a fairy?”

My mother quit reading me fairy tales quite early, relegating that task to my sisters. I was a wiz at reciting my nursery rhymes just like I was taught.

Little Boy Blue,
Come blow your horn,
The sheep’s in the meadow,
The cow’s in the corn;
But where is the boy
Who looks after the sheep?
He’s under a haystack,
with little bo peep! 

Wait, that isn’t how you learned it?  Yeah, my sister’s had a wicked sense of humor. When I started asking questions of why, my mother deferred me to my siblings who are much older than me. They were quite creative in their answers and the more inquisitive I was in a line of questioning, the more abstract the answer would become until it satisfied my mind. At times I was slow to catch on because as a child I was naive and trusting.

I learned rather quickly that the things I had been taught, the answers I was given were rarely the correct ones. I also learned cynicism and sarcasm at an early age as well.

Why is the sky blue? Because God ran out of green after painting all the trees.

Why don’t apples grow in the garden like cucumbers? Because if they did, the rabbits would get fat. 

Why do fish eat worms? Because they like their insides tickled. 

Seriously, who does this to a child??  The thing is, most of the population accepts things on blind faith. Creatives, on the other hand, question everything. My mother had little tolerance for questions of any sort. The most common answer was ‘because I said so that’s why’.

In this vein, I made a point to answer my kid’s question to the best of my ability.

So what does this have to do with anything? It has everything to do with writing. If the person can’t ask questions,  they will never come up with original story ideas. You have to know facts before you can deviate from them. For instance,  gravity makes everything fall down towards the earth. So, if some alternate force were to be in effect, then objects would either float in the air or accelerate towards the sky.

From asking why is how abstract thinkers get strange, unique ideas for science fiction and fantasy. Romance writers have a different angle in their creativity. We have to come up with relational issues, not alternate laws of physics. Any writer takes the opportunity to ask what if, creating chaos for their characters.

Which leads me to my current WIP, Roxy Sings the Blues. Originally posted on Storytime Trysts as Oral Dilemma, I’ve been revising that hot mess to be something a little more substantial than serial posts to fill a time slot. I’m fairly pleased with some of the scenes as I hope you will be also.

Last year, I participated in a snippet share on Sundays with some blogger friends. I decided that on Tuesday I would share teasers from the WIP as those Sunday posts seemed to be a big hit but I am often not online on weekends. Here’s a little teaser for your pleasure:

“You’re up next Ms. Winters. Can I get you anything while you wait? A water with lemon? Hot tea?” David motioned a stagehand over towards us then instructed him to bring a chair for me while I waited. “Have a seat while Cameron finishes his set.”

I gladly took the offered seat, my legs were like jello in the platform heels. I was about to achieve a long time dream and to top it off, Devon was by my side. If I died today, I would die a happy woman.

What does all of that have to do with what I’m about to do now?

Everything! It’s not the string of bus stops along the route, it’s the entire journey. Allow me to share from the point where it really started.

I know, it’s just a teaser. Let me know what you think. Are you curious to read more? Would you like longer teasers? stick with short? Talk to me!

I’ve got a  schedule for release in my planner, a date that I am shooting for. I am really trying to focus on one project to completion this year. Hopefully, it won’t be too painful of a transition for me to actually be productive.

Write on my friends, write on!

Ellie