Dude, Where's My Muse?

Because I am SO super forgetful lately...here's what's happening in August at the Romance Divas site:

Romance Divas
Author of the Month : Gemma Halliday – Contests workshop from the Golden Heart winner
Aug 5-7: Paranormal Event with Carrie Vaughn, LA Banks, CT Adams/Cathy Clamp, Gena Showalter, and Kelley Armstrong.
Aug 11 Jessica Faust: Bookends-inc agent in the Chatroom. 9 Eastern
August 8-18 :: Getting To Know The Voices in Your Head Workshop with Jo Ann Ferguson/Jocelyn Kelley
Aug 18 :: Theresa Meyers: PR/Promo in the Chatroom.
August 25 :: Ann Christopher, Patricia Sargeant, Maureen Smith and Sophia Shaw Multi-cultural Authors Chat

I'm making notes on the alternate version of the first few chapters of VW. I'll try and put them together later and see which ones I like best. Part of me is resisting the change (ala the huge struggle I had getting them to cooperate so far) and this way I change those first four chapters completely around. But I guess I have to ask myself which makes the story better right? And go with the gut. So you know what I'll be doing tonight while watching RAW *g*

I'm trying to figure out my YA idea and find a way to plot. Most of the time I'm a pantster *listens to the fake gasps of shock* which seems to work most of the time. But this one...well like Sabrina did, it needs a little guidance, a little bit of a map to tell me where the heck it is they're going. so if you know of any good sites, or blog entries, on plotting please let me know.

Why does my story decide to rewrite itself at 2 am in the sweltering heat when the last thing I want to do is roll out of bed (and out of the nearness of the rotating fan) and at the same time clear up a bunch of glaring pot holes and gift me with a brand new story idea.

I don't know but I think my muse is screwed up (or as I've said before, lives in some weird European country. Hmmmm maybe he's finnish...in which case that's perfectly acceptable *g*)

Other then that, plants are doing good. 2 of the petunia heads actually went to seed *gasp* and I caught them this afternoon so yay, first petunia seeds I've ever saved.

From Lauren's Blog

Introducing....

THE REALITY CHICK BUZZ THE BOOK contest!

The PRIZES:

(1) Your choice of either an iPod Shuffle, OR a fifty dollar Amazon.com gift certificate
(2) An autographed copy of REALITY CHICK by Lauren Barnholdt
(3) A copy of the August issue of Teen People, which lists REALITY CHICK as a Can't-Miss Pick for August
(4) Free tuition to a session of Lauren's YA writing class

THE CONTEST:

STEP ONE: Simply copy and paste this whole message (including the info about the contest) into any blog, message board, email list, myspace bulletin, or anywhere a lot of people will see it!

REALITY CHICK by Lauren Barnholdt is NOW IN STORES!

Going away to college means total independence and freedom. Unless of
course your freshman year is taped and televised for all the world to
watch. On uncensored cable.

Sweet and normal Ally Cavanaugh is one of five freshpeople shacking up
on In the House, a reality show filmed on her college campus. (As if
school isn't panic-inducing enough!) The cameras stalk her like
paparazzi, but they also capture the fun that is new friends, old
crushes, and learning to live on your own.

Sure, the camera adds ten pounds, but with the freshman fifteen a given anyway, who cares?
Ally's got bigger issues -- like how her long-distance bf can watch her
loopy late-night "episode" with a certain housemate...

Freshman year on film.
It's outrageous.
It's juicy.
And like all good reality TV, it's impossible to turn off.

IN STORES NOW!

Check out Lauren on the web at www.laurenbarnholdt.com or on her myspace at www.myspace.com/laurenbarnholdt

Still in a heatwave. I feel like I'm glued to my chair (tmi? lol) and its even hotter outside. Yuck. We had a nice 15 second rain shower yesterday followed by one at three in the morning that woke me up an hour after I went to bed.

In other news, lots of blogs about the RWA conference. I'll post a few links below in case your interested and if your stuck left behind join the party at Lucy's blog. Its fun :o) I'm seriously thinking though about buying the conference cds, think maybe they might be worth it.

http://www.bloggingnational.blogspot.com
http://www.literarychicks.com/
http://www.stephaniefeagan.com/blog/?p=76

if you find any others, leave me the link and I'll update

Its TOO HOT. WAY TOO HOT.

I think I'm tempted to live in my basement. I have 5 cans of coke left down here. A fan three feet away aimed right at me. I can watch dvds. I can listen to my music. I can work if I want. There's the 2 Cara Summers books I haven't read yet sitting nearby and even better, chocolate. See, I could happily survive down here if I had to.

And I think I want to. Its like 40 C out there today (which translates to like 100F if I'm not mistaking) and this is the only place in the house where it actually feels like you can breathe.

Now that I'm done my heat inspired ranting, the writing blog world this week is probably going to get quiet with the RWA going on. But for all of us left behind *sniffle sniffle* Lucy Monroe's hosting a week long blog party. Should be fun! Here's the link - http://lucymonroeblog.blogspot.com

And if your wondering why I'm posting, its because my memory's fried in this heat and I'll forget it if I don't put it somewhere lol

A year makes -- or not.

A year ago right now I was waiting (impatiently mind you) to hear back from M&B Modern Extra on something to talk about.

Now - I'm waiting (and patiently mind you) to hear back from Dorchestor's contest on Something To Talk About. (And from a few queries on Sabrina...and a partial...)

I entered 2 into the RJ writing contest this year instead of one (last year's was that favorite of faves, HER PROTECTOR) this year, its well...take a wild guess *g*

As some of you know, the block has cleared on what the problem with chapter three was all along and its been muchly revamped and rewritten and broken down into two chapters. Once I fix the end of the last bit of what's now 4, I can cruise easily into fixing up 5 which I'm toying with right now as I type.

Other then that, really not a lot different. Except more hits on the blog! hehe

Anything different for you from last year to this one?

One of my most awaited books of the summer, Diana Peterfreund's SECRET SOCIETY GIRL comes out today. Ever since I first read the blurb for this one, its been on my TBB list. Here's a version of the blurb, courtesy of the chapters.ca website:

In a fabulous blend of the bestselling traditions of Prep and The Devil Wears Prada, Secret Society Girl takes us into the heart of the Ivy League's ultraexclusive secret societies when a young woman is invited to join as one of their first female members.
Elite Eli University junior Amy Haskel never expected to be tapped into Rose & Grave, the country's most powerful-and notorious-secret society. She isn't rich, politically connected, or...well, male.
So when Amy receives the distinctive black-lined invitation with the Rose & Grave seal, she's blown away. Could they really mean her?
Whisked off into an initiation rite that's a blend of Harry Potter and Alfred Hitchcock, Amy awakens the next day to a new reality and a whole new set of "friends"-from the gorgeous son of a conservative governor to an Afrocentric lesbian activist whose society name is Thorndike. And that's when Amy starts to discover the truth about getting what you wish for. Because Rose & Grave is quickly taking her away from her familiar world of classes and keggers, fueling a feud, and undermining a very promising friendship with benefits. And that's before Amy finds out that her first duty as a member of Rose & Grave is to take on a conspiracy of money and power that could, quite possibly, ruin her whole life.
A smart, sexy introduction to the life and times of a young woman in way over her head, Secret Society Girl is a charming and witty debut from a writer who knows her turf-and isn't afraid to tell all....

Stolen from Bailey! :o)

1. Yourself: creative
2. Your boyfriend/girlfriend: onorder? lmao
3. Your hair: blonde
4. Your Mother: sleeping
5. Your Father: gardening
6. Your Favorite Item: laptop
7. Your dream last night: cena
8. Your Favorite Drink: coca-cola
9. Your Dream Home: bigger
10. The Room You Are In: livingroom
12. Your fear: lots
13. Where you Want to be in Ten Years? published (its a universal answer for us writerly types)
14. Who you hung out with last night: my parents, exciting life I lead no?
15. What You’re Not: anorexically thin like the blonde bimbo
16. Your Best Friends: priceless <- ditto
17. One of Your Wish List Items: a publishing contract
18. Your Gender: female
19. The Last Thing You Did: checked email
20. What You Are Wearing: my green shorts and my old white and pink 90210 top with Dylan on it
21. Your favorite weather: nice warm
22. Your Favorite Book? i really love the goddess grail series by Evelyn Vaughn
23.Last thing you ate? erm, taco salad last night
24. Your Life: boring sometimes
25. Your mood: normal
26. The last person you talked to on the phone: telemarketer from rogers wireless
27. Who are you thinking about right now? Now? The agents who have my partial

From the title, you can probably guess I've finally got a little color. The tops of my shoulders are now a delightful cherry red as it a bit of the back of my neck. That'll teach me to go outside in a tank top. I showed it to dad and he can't figure out how I got so red so fast. Apparently this is what happens to us pale, pale people. So I'm now slathered in my lovely lime mint shea butter hoping I won't peel (tmi? hehe)

Other then that, went out for awhile yesterday. Got a new pot. See earlier in the week we went to home depot to pick up some more $3 impatiens to fill in the gaps where the mini pansies aren't taking in the garden and since that morning dad had pulled some of my zinnia in the one flower bed swearing it was a weed, he decided to make it up and by me some ruffled double petunias (the same type I started from seed but didn't make it more then a day outside) which is all well and good. Except I had 16 plants and only room enough for let's say six. Hence the need for a new pot. Plus when we went by Canadian Tire (hardware store) yesterday they had all their annuals on sale for 25 cents per little 2 inch cube. So I cleaned them out of the 7 fushcias they had left (fills in some little spots in my window boxes I wanted fushcia for in the first place)
So now have everything planted, including all 11 petunia plants in one big pot with a nice big pink fushia in the middle :)

And even better, found two of the books I most wanted yesterday at wal-mart when i went in to get some coke. I now have WHAT NO ROSES? and ANGELS WITH ATTITUDE on my tbr pile! woohoo

Because I can't think of a title. And my brain is fried.

So, the one show I've really gotten into lately (say the last month) is Most Haunted on the w network up here in Canada (and let's not forget the new show, Derek Acorah's ghost towns, just as good) on Friday's they show about three or four episodes back to back. Which I count as research for Sabrina and whatever follows it. There's only been a few episodes that creeped me out so much I refused to go downstairs to turn off the computer (its a dark dark basement is my excuse) For those of you who aren't familiar with the exploits of Derek, Yvette, Karl and crew, they go to a most haunted site (mostly in Britain though there have been a few in the California region) where they spend twenty-four hours. Some of which occur in complete darkness with night vision cameras, where Yvette will command everyone to shush or shut up; orbs will most likely be seen and there's a good chance Derek may become possessed. Oh and Richard, I think that's his name will venture off on his own with camcorder in hand to be scared witless. And half the time, so will Karl. Though he's much more fun.

Excitement at its best :o) No really. It is. Except when they creep me out too much. I can handle orbs. I can handle the episode where the bed moved on its own and no one was in the room. But the creepiest one by far was when they went to the house of detention. Still gives me the creeps thinking about it.

Anyways, off to watch another ep at ten.

So what have you been watching lately?

(blame this pointless babble on the heat)

Sort of a fly by post right now. We're in a thunderstorm watch, the satellite is on the fritz ( a sure sign something's on its way) I'm just hoping it hits before raw at 7. I wanna see some DX tonight! *g*

Remember me complaining about having to move files from my 13 yr old mac over to the pc? I thought I whined about it on here anyways. so I googled it and found a great program with a free trial! MACDRIVE lets you read Mac files on a pc. Thank god! I had 60 some mb to move over (1.4 mb at a time thank you very much) but everything I think is now moved over, except for a few captures that need to be printed off. But what a great program. I was afraid I'd have to head over to island inkjet and get all those old mac printer cartridges refilled and lose my stash of paper. So I'm a happy gal. All my emails from my good buddies, friend's stories they sent. Bunch of bsb and wwf stuff all saved. Happy dance time! hehe

What else is new, weather here was heatwave hot all weekend. Humid muggy where it felt like you couldn't breathe so I barricaded myself in the basement yesterday and cleaned up a little in the 'office' area. Still have a couple more boxes to sort through (2 banker boxes filled with writing info) that I want to put in hanging folders and organize more. I hate to say it but I don't think my stuff's been this organized in quite a while. Eeks.

Spent some time out this morning weeding my back flower bed. Then spraying all my baskets with amonia/soap mixture. The spruce worms that were attacking my pine tree apparently one or two of them found my small basket with snaps in it. Yuck. Got rid of the green bugs quickly, but they did a good job destroying the leaves and a few buds. :(

Other then that, writing's a little slow going at the moment, though I've made some progress in my head on what the block was. And I had a new character/new story introduce themselves at 3 am in the heat. I told them thanks for coming but the line-up's a little long right now lol

Have you ever felt like you were in a rut?

Definitely feels like I am and lovely *pep* talks from my dad aren't helping. Not like they really ever have, but that's not what this blog entry's about. I had a request via a pitch slam on father's day for the first 30 pages of Sabrina. They haven't been mailed yet. In fact they haven't even been printed off yet. I haven't been able to get down to the post office and I'm really wondering about sending them in at all right now.

I'm slowly making some progress with edits (after a good month of nothingness) and it just still doesn't feel like everything's falling into place yet. Maybe that's part of the problem, the length of time this ones taking. And in chat with an author tonight, she said if you don't love the project that comes through. Erm, uh oh? I don't know.

Anyways, to go with a better topic. What books coming out this summer are you all looking forward to reading? I'm hoping to pick up a few if I get lucky and find them - the new Carly Phillips in the Hot Zone trilogy; Angels with Attitude by Michelle Rowen; What, No Roses? by Marianne Marcusi (I hope I spelt that right); and Secret Society Girl, which I actually forgot the last 3 came out this month. Doh.

From father's day...

these were on the rolls we took in yesteday

Flowers a week and a half ago....

And now...




As of Tuesday...

These are my thumbelina Zinnias with the normal zinnias in the middle

I don't know why, but telus has a huge problems with blogs. It'll cut me off when I upload photos and I'm no longer able to comment on Jill and Suzanne's blogs. But anyhoos, hopefully this'll work. I may do each pic individually.

I'm typing this up now because I'm afraid if I don't well I'll forget some of it. Anyways, went to the wedding, was very nice. A little long in the sweltering heat (no air in the church, just open windows). So we're the first ones at the reception, we sit in the car for awhile then finally go in. Sign the guest book. Get to our table and stake out our seats at the back of the room, near the doors because we figure once they open them we can get a nice breeze. Watch the rest of the people file in (including one guy who decided to change an entire table's name). Had a really nice couple at our table. I'm sure I used to be friends with someone who looked like the wife, I'm pretty darn sure they have to be cousins or something.

Okay, now here's where things get odd. I noticed this guy in church with his girlfriend a few rows back and at the reception he's sitting at the table over. (And let me point out, because I feel its important. Completely not my type. I have a certain type, and this guy...really wasn't it) And he keeps kinda looking over and he's blowing bubbles our way and stuff. Fine. Whatever. There's weird people everywhere right? This one's just another one of them. But a few hours go by and he comes to the table (its just me and my parents at that point) and goes 'are you finnish?' er no, just blonde thanks. So yeah he goes away after asking how i know the groom and then about half hour later mom and dad go out to get some air and I'm left alone and he comes back and he goes 'are you sad?' uh excuse me? Why? 'you look sad just sitting here. don't you have a date?' now here ladies and gents I should have lied, well yes..or my boyfriend, my big muscular boyfriend is just out of town at the moment... but I didn't. So I said no. And he says well how old are you and I tell him and he asks what I do and I told him I write and he says he's a journalist (erm ok? I'm supposed to be impressed?) and then he goes i met my girlfriend on lavalife. you should try it. I about fell off my chair!! And then he recommends another one, while staring down my dress. Yes, thank you very much sleazy boy. Hitting on me while your girlfriend's dancing on the dance floor. *insert eye roll here* Completely ruined my night by that point. And I had the oddest unnerving vibes. Maybe I'm just not used to guys being that blatent staring at my cleavage.

But it has possibilities for a book no?