Good evening everyone! I hope all of you didn't get hit too hard yesterday. I had one friend try to fool a lot of us, but he didn't get me. LOL
It's been absolutely insane here the last week or so. I'm busy in real life, and things are picking up with my online work schedule. Plus I'm trying to do my own writing in between helping others promote theirs and doing critiques!
As you see, I'm hosting more and more Blog Tours - all from Silver Dagger Tours. Look for tours on Mondays and Tuesdays - I am hosting THREE next week alone!
I've become more active in Book Carousel - THE place for readers to hang out and chat with their favorite eXtasy Books/Devine Destinies authors. It's been a while since I've helped out to this magnitude, but it feels good to be back in the saddle again, so to speak. If you haven't joined yet, DO SO. We have a lot of fun stuff happening, from Meet the Author Mondays to the Question of the Day (every day!) and Reader Appreciation Thursdays. The link is in my links area to the left!
By the way, sometimes free goodies are up for grabs in Book Carousel. Keep a watch out for the way to win something sweet, like a free e-book or a gift card from eXtasy Books/Devine Destinies!
I have a lot of fellow eXtasy Books/Devine Destinies authors scheduled to do guest spots this month too... Keep watching on Thursdays and Fridays later this month!
Well.... The writing....
I've set "Something About Alexis" on the back burner. I was having a tough time with the revisions - getting into the really deep POV was difficult for me and that story.
However, BOOK 2 has completely taken a life of its own. I'm able to get deep POV without even trying in that one, and although it's going by fits and starts, it's coming along. So I plan on working on it as long as I can and will hopefully have its first draft finished soon. I'd love to have Draft 1 in stasis before school gets out but I'm not expecting it. More like sometime this coming fall. I AM working just so everyone knows. Sometimes your mojo leaps around, and you wind up working on more than one project at a time. I don't know how some do it though...
Tomorrow, Denise Wheatley returns to my blog. Her latest book, "The Road to Bliss" came out a full month early, and she's really excited! I have all updated links and we're ready to go first thing tomorrow morning.
Have a great night, everyone. Tonight's music features my brother-in-law Adam cooking himself over an open fire in the official video for "She May Be Evil" by Whom Gods Destroy. Enjoy!
Good afternoon everyone. I hope all of you are doing wonderfully.
YES, the rumor is TRUE.
I am in the middle of writing a series!! *Happy dance!*
The MSIP is Book 2 of it, and I've started the preliminary work for Book 3. What the name is, what's the first book in it, and everything else is between myself, my fellow eXtasy Books and Devine Destinies authors, and a few select friends (authors and trusted friends). I have a name for the series too, but like the name of the MSIP, that is Top Secret until I decide to let the Maine Coon out of the bag (figuratively speaking).
I worked on Book 2/MSIP last Thursday in between things... I didn't get a lot actually written, but I added just enough to be able to splice in a bunch of scenes I had written back in January. It's a huge revelation for the mains, and it wasn't an easy part to write.
Book 2 went from just over 6K to over 11k with one copy/paste. I may remove the final scene of what I added, because it isn't working at this point in time. I may take it out and put it back in later on in the story. It feels passive at this point, and may not even go back in.
Detailed updates regarding the series and "Something About Alexis" are in my Facebook group, "Romancing the Maritimes". You HAVE to be a member to get the updates about this and the inside scoop on what's going on with my first series and everything else related to my writing, including an occasional excerpt! My beloved fans should get preferential treatment, after all! ;)
Things are going great with the healthy lifestyle. I haven't been up to going to the track - migraines and neuralgia flare ups - but I'm still walking, up and down the stairs here, and if I run errands, I do a few laps around the store to make up for not going to the LCLC. I haven't had any junk food in over 6 weeks, and I'm feeling great! My jeans and rings are really starting to get loose now. Woo-hoo!!!
That's all for now. I'll update as things progress. Have a great week everyone!
I leave you with my favorite Warrant song, "Heaven". Jani Lane had such a beautiful voice... Gone too soon.
CONGRATS to my longtime friend and fellow eXtasy Books author, Maggie Blackbird, who is now in the process of getting her second book published! I'm not sure when "Redeemed" is coming out, but I promise to keep everyone updated when she allows it. This is awesome! KUDOS Maggie! ♥
As for my own work, it's progressing. I wish it was faster than it is, but some progression is better than none, right? I added 1864 words to the MSIP (code name Fourteen) today, and I'm close to tacking in the part I wrote up a few weeks ago. That will close to double its current word count, which is fine with me. I've also figured out a way to end it, but I'm not sure if I will use it or not. I have to see how things go. I only started CHAPTER THREE today, so I'm a ways from its ending. Hopefully I'll get there before school's out for the summer!
The big news is that I have a working title for it! It's TOP SECRET for now. Only a few of my fellow eXtasy Books/Devine Destinies authors and a few select others (including authors from other publishers) know the title. I'm keeping it quiet for now due to the story line. It may change too, so I'd rather give the formal title once it's finalized than give one now and have to change it later. Look at what happened with Stricken. That one went through two other names before its final one came to me.
Real life continues. We didn't get the polar vortex that most of the continent was getting this week. It's easing, or so I'm hearing from my friends in those areas. Thank heavens. The temperatures were brutal! -32 Fahrenheit - or colder! Yikes! I'll keep the -10 Celsius we get on average over here, thanks...
It is tough to write or see the monitor when you have a Maine Coon cat's butt in your face. Princess Fluffy Butt, aka MARNIE, decided she wanted snuggles right as I was trying to wrap up the final scene of the day, and I wound up getting her butt in my face. I can still feel some of her tail floof on my nose. I love her to pieces, but she is NOT exactly beneficial to the writing mojo, especially with the bum in the face routine. CATS.
Have a great weekend, everyone! Today, I'm leaving you with the title track from Disturbed's debut album: "Down With the Sickness". Enjoy!
Yes, I have been cooking lately, healthier things for myself. I really went off course with eating right over the holidays, so I decided to stick to a very strict regime of eating right and no junk food, not even in moderation. Whole grains, no more than 50 carbs per meal, 10 carbs in a snack, lots of liquids - coffee does count as a liquid, right? - and no added sugar, sugar alcohols or anything that may up the glucose or the A1C glucose. Very little processed foods, they have a lot of added sugars, salt, and other things that will mess with a person's system. Whole foods are best. I work from home, so I can take the extra time to prepare healthy meals, and if I can purchase locally grown and raised foods, I will.
I'm 12 days in to it, and I'm feeling a lot better. My mind is much clearer, and although I would love a bowl of my favorite cheese chips once in a while, I can't do it. It's either all or nothing. I admit I will treat myself to a diabetic friendly dessert once in a while - I have a few amazing recipes thanks to various diabetes sites and friends who do low carb! - or even a mug of sugar free hot chocolate (cocoa, milk, sweetener and real cream), but nothing that will make my glucose or weight go skyward.
THANK YOU to my husband... Although he is still purchasing junk food for himself, he is buying stuff I do NOT like, which means I will not want any. Brilliant on his part. I didn't even ask him to do it. He's a wonderful man, I'm so lucky to be his wife...
It's been so cold the last few days, so I'm not walking outside at the moment. The cold and the wind make my trigeminal neuralgia go bonkers, which means I'm in constant agony while outside. I've been using the stairs in our house as an exercise machine. Walking up and down them a few times in a row burns a few calories, and helps my body's endurance. They're there, they are free to use, and I can do it at any time of day or night. Why not? Plus, I haven't felt like going to the track, which I should be doing too... So the stairs is a good compromise.
Writing wise, there's been a few changes...
Work on "Something About Alexis" is done until further notice. For the time being, I will not be posting public updates. For updates on it, you must join ROMANCING THE MARITIMES.
Work on the unnamed MSIP continues. I've hit a few snags, but I'm hoping to get this latest one untangled soon. I have an idea of where to go with it, thanks to my longtime pal and fellow eXtasy Author, Maggie Blackbird, so with a little luck, I'll be zipping along in that one in no time.
That's all for now... I leave you with "Right Through You" by Alanis Morissette.
"You scan the credits for your name, and wonder why it's not there..."
Happy New Year everyone! 2018 saw a lot of changes in my life, and except for the last three months of it, it was a rough year.
Marnie says "2018 can kiss my fluffy grey pantaloons, Mama!", which sums up how I felt about most of the year. We all know the horrible things that happened last year in my end of the world, so I'm not going to rehash it. I am still crying over Amber's passing, a lot. She left a huge hole behind, one that Marnie is helping to heal. 2019 is starting off with a bang... A huge one! I am still working on the four projects I've mentioned in other blogs - an unnamed MSIP, a short story, revising a finished draft, and getting "Something About Alexis" ready for submission - and they are priority unless something comes up. Lewen has joined the team of beta readers, which is greatly appreciated. I have gotten the first round of critiques for "Something About Alexis" from Sara, and it's not as bad as I thought it would be. A few typos here and there, and a small plot hole that can easily be fixed. I gave everyone the deadline of January 30th to get back to me, so I have a couple of weeks to wait on that one. Last night, I did something spontaneous... I started a Facebook Group attached to my author page! It's called "Romancing the Maritimes", and although it's brand new, I'm starting to get a few people interested in it. Certain things like early excerpts from works in progress, the first sneak peeks at upcoming releases and a few draws will be EXCLUSIVE to members. You can find Romancing the Maritmes HERE... Thank you for joining everyone! ♥ My goals for 2019 include: WRITING:
Submit "Something About Alexis", and if I'm lucky, see it published.
Finish the unnamed MSIP.
Finish the short story.
Start a new story.
PERSONAL:
Get back to the track on a regular basis, and go swimming once in a while at the Lifestyle Centre.
Lower my A1C hemoglobin glucose.
Remind myself that it is okay to reject toxic people, no matter who is demanding I talk to them.
Avoid drama at all costs - it makes my neuralgia flare up, and knocks me off the writing mojo.
Stay positive!
Thanks again for sticking with me everyone... Have a fantastic 2019!
I've been meaning to post something, but things have been crazy here. Between the holidays, *two* major storms that caused long power outages, holiday vacation, and trying to write AND get to the theater, it's been crazy.
First of all, our holidays were pretty good, despite a 24 hour outage that started around 5:30 p.m. on the 25th and lasted until about 6 p.m. on the 26th. We've been back here 15 years, and that is the longest outage we have had in that time. My son wasn't impressed. Thankfully we went to my mom in law's on Boxing Day (the 26th) for a few hours, she had power, and my son was happy to be with Nanny as well as be able to watch her Star Trek DVDs.
So... The second power outage was this past weekend, from Thursday the 4th at 9:40 p.m. to about 1 p.m. Friday the 5th, after that huge nor'easter clobbered the eastern seaboard of the States and the Maritime Provinces in Canada. We spent a good chunk of that morning at Hubby's gas station with him. Schools were canceled both days, so it's not like I could have worked even if schools had been open.
Speaking of working, I took the entire holiday break OFF from writing. My anemia is back, full force, and it's affecting my concentration a lot. I can't seem to focus on anything except maybe a movie for more than a few minutes. I'm always exhausted, and feeling ill from this crap.
My iron didn't come up at all last time either... BUT I found out why. I was taking 28 mg of iron once a day... I'm supposed to be taking *six* times that amount - 150 to 200 mg a day, due to the anemia. The smaller pills are just to supplement someone with a normal iron level, not help full blown iron deficiency anemia. So, I'm now popping the iron pills given to me by my doctor, and hoping my ferratin comes up, even a little. I'm off to Internal Medicine if it doesn't move this time. More poking and prodding. Fun stuff. Not.
I hope to get back into things either later this week or sometime next week. I have some ideas I've been bouncing around, so I may be feeling a little more up to working. I'll keep y'all posted.
Anyone who knows me or has been following me for a while knows I am a *huge* Star Wars geek. I first saw A New Hope in 1982, and I was instantly HOOKED. I've seen every single film except for Attack of the Clones in the theater, and I have a lot of the old EU/Legends books.
I saw "The Force Awakens" two years ago, and "Rogue One" last year... This year, I finally saw my favorite character, Luke Skywalker, speak on screen for the first time in over 3 decades in "The Last Jedi".
Oh.
My.
Heavens.
So many fan theories were blown out of the water during this film... Which was fine with me, I am so goddamn SICK of theorists thinking they know it all when in reality they have NO BLOODY CLUE what's going on...
I admit I cried throughout the movie. It was Carrie Fisher's last role before her death, and it was so fitting it was the role that she was so famous for.
NOW....I will warn everyone that if you haven't seen the movie yet, STOP NOW.
SPOILERS AHEAD!!!
I mean it gang. Stop if you don't want spoilers....
STOP.
NOW.
OR YOU WILL SEE SPOILERS!
Okay, don't say I didn't warn you.................
It was pretty good. It didn't have the amount of action into it that TFA, ROTJ or ROTS had... But it had a lot of deeper, more intellectual things you really had to look for.
Flaws? YES. Lots of them. Like Leia impersonating Mary Poppins. The sublight chase that took up half the movie. The bit with Finn and Rose going after the slicer... Um.. Nope. That was supposed to establish their characters a bit more, but to me, it felt awfully dragged out, and unnecessary. Same goes with Poe and the mutiny. Admiral Ackbar's death pissed me off too.
However, there were redeeming qualities....
Mark Hamill's performance was the highlight of the movie for me. That man has more talent in his pinkie finger than some out there have in their entire body. Seriously.
I think it was his best performance to date, even if I really couldn't connect the Luke I saw for the majority of the movie with the one from the original trilogy for the first while. By the time we saw Luke and Leia's brief reunion on Crait, I had finally gotten my head around things.
Then again, the Luke we saw there wasn't a broken man either. It was the old Luke, the one we fans were used to seeing.
I bawled at the end.
To see my favorite character of the entire franchise "ascend" and become one with the force was a touch too much for me... It was a case of goodbye eyeliner and mascara, hello rivers of black running down my cheeks! I had an odd feeling it was on the way from the instant I saw him appear on Crait... And hated that I was right about Luke's death, just like I had been with Han's in The Force Awakens. It was one of those moments when I wanted to bash my head against the seat in front of me.
Luke's final scene was really well done... A throwback and tribute to where he started off in A New Hope.... Even if it made a lot of us in the theater cry.
*SNIFF!!!*
It does leave things wide open for Luke to come back as a Force apparition, like Yoda and Obi Wan have. I'd love it if Mark Hamill was back in IX, even if it was just as a cameo.
You hear that JJ Abrams? Bring Luke back for IX, since you're not going to do CGI with Leia!!!
And PLEASE... Do NOT kill off Chewbacca!!!
Ugh....
I do wish JJ Abrams the best though... He's going to need it, big time. IX was supposed to focus on Leia, but apparently they are not going to have her in the movie.... No old footage and no CGI. So, it's really up in the air what Abrams is going to yank out of his butt this time...
If it's half as good as The Force Awakens, he'll have another winner on his hands in my opinion.
However, if it's a movie similar to the Star Trek reboots...
*TWITCH!!!*
Nope, NOT going down that road......................
On that note, I'm going to share a new group with you. They had the top single of 2017 on Q104.3 in Halifax, NS, and I just got their latest album...
From the EP, "Popestar", here's GHOST with "Square Hammer"... Enjoy!
Whoa, another week gone. This year is going so darn fast!
I'm finally seeing the light at the end of the "Holiday Shopping" tunnel - gift wise. We managed to get the majority of the remainder of the gifts out of the way this past week, thanks to a few orders from my favorite online shopping site, and a trip to Halifax. We have two full and two partial gifts to get, as well as the "extras" for Son.
The next major bit will be the wrapping. I need more paper, tags, and tape. Thank the stars I have over a month to get *that* done. I abhor wrapping almost as I hate shopping. I despise shopping for the record... Unless it's earring or book related. Then I tend to go overboard...
We started our shopping in January so we could just pick up things as we saw them, and wouldn't have a huge bill right at the holiday season. I like it, it's much more relaxed to do it that way.
Our outdoor holiday decorations are almost finished too... We have a kaleidoscope LED light that shines red, green and blue splashes of light over the front of the house, and Nanny's old light up candles framing the main door on the side. I still want a huge, sparkly silver bow to put on the front door to make it ultra pretty.
Yeah, I'm actually trying this year. Shocker, eh? I haven't enjoyed the holidays since my father passed away in 1997, and it got worse after we lost Nanny in 2010. It's not a good time of year for me. Daddy's birthday was December 25th... That says a lot.
Anyway........ The thumb is better. I took the bandages off completely the day after I wrote the previous entry... I kind of took things off to change the bandage and the flap of skin just fell off. Since it looked really clean, I left it open. It's not bothering me at all now. It's almost healed. No scabs. Just a small patch of newer looking skin, and the possibility of a scar. Better than losing the thumb....
Amber is still improving, and getting sassier by the day. She's been on the vet food for four weeks now and is like her old self. I'm getting dive bombed upwards of six, seven, or more times a day. Anyone who follows my main profile will sometimes see score tallies for "Shithead" and myself. She dive bombs me, I kiss her tummy... She gets revenge, and I get her back.
In other words, a typical day at my house.
I am still writing for anyone who is interested. I'm almost done chapter one of the MSIP, and I hope to wrap that up later this week, so I can get moving in chapter two before the school holiday break. I've started a timeline of the entire story so I don't get mixed up and have them "going at it" in chapter three.... Like I did in another one. Oops! (That one is now in the "rewrite pile"!)
Finally.... On a sad note, I see Malcolm Young of AC/DC has passed away, at the young age of 64.
I leave all of you with "For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)" from 1981.
It's time for me to come out of the "chronic illness closet" and announce what I have that's a "life long condition".
In 2015, I was diagnosed with Type II diabetes (insulin resistant or inefficient insulin). It is *genetic* in my case - it was inherited from my Daddy, who is suspected of having it for over 20 years before he was diagnosed... The doctors could tell by the amount of damage to his eyes, and to the veins in his legs.
Daddy passed away less than six months after his diagnosis in 1997... He was only 56 years old.
Since November is Diabetes Awareness month, I ask everyone reading this to get their A1C hemoglobin glucose checked - especially if you have a parent or another relative with type II diabetes. Kids of parents who had/have it have a 50-50 chance of developing it later in life. The sooner it's caught, the better your chances for a longer, fuller and healthier life.
***Contrary to what some will tell you, there is NO cure for Type I or Type II diabetes. Anyone who claims that is severely misinformed.***
This little accident prone author did something ultra stupid last weekend...
I was slicing carrots using a mandoline slicer, and my hand slipped.... I wound up slicing my thumb wide open. It's at an angle which means there's a flap of skin that's holding the clot in place. Yeah.... I was using the grip but things slipped and that's when I cut myself.
It's healing slowly, but still sore... It is right on the spot that touches the space bar when I hit it. Not fun. In fact, it's quite uncomfortable, and was quite painful during the first day or so after the injury occurred.
The worst of it is, it's my right thumb. I'm right handed......... *SIGH*
I won't show you the aftermath. It's bloody, and gross all around. I do have photos of the bandages an hour after the accident, and a photo of the wound itself taken a few days later, but it's all too nasty for public viewing. I'll show photos in the "later parts of healing" instead.......
Two days later, at the afternoon bus stop... Bandages galore.
November 7, 2017.
It wasn't very comfortable then but it was a LOT better than throbbing all of the time like it was on Sunday...
Taken just today. I'm down to one bandage! I'd let it go without, but it is still pretty uncomfortable to hit the space bar..........
November 13, 2017.
It's still pretty gross looking too, but not like it did the day it happened. Yuck!
WRITING...
Even with the injured thumb, I still managed to get some writing done this week... I'm on a roll with this one manuscript again so far, and I hope this continues. If things go right, I hope to have its first draft done by the end of June. Hopefully with a little luck, this one will be off to my beloved publisher sometime before the end of next year. (And if I'm really lucky, I'll have the final companion book at least on the go by then too!)
I've been getting dive bombed by a crazy cat while working too... Or just sitting at the computer.
Amber wasn't doing well for the longest time. That poor cat had gas galore, and couldn't pass any without "splattering" a bit most times... Plus her feces were not normal. Think runny. She lost a lot of weight, and hasn't been feeling great.
We discussed things, and I remembered that she was on the vet recommended food when we adopted her, Noelle and Angel. We couldn't afford to keep four cats on it - Birdie HATED it anyway - so they were switched over to one of the supermarket brands once the remainder of the food from Nanny's ran out.
Amber started losing weight, which became a little noticeable after we lost the dog in 2011, but it really started showing up once Noelle passed away. She wasn't getting the canned food either, because she didn't eat it. So we kept her on the dye free supermarket stuff, not realizing the cat wasn't going to do well off it.
The bottom line is she is now back on the vet recommended food, and is doing marvelously! Within three days, her eyes had brightened considerably, and her catitude was back to normal. I noticed an increase in dive bombing over the following week, and her energy level has jumped considerably.
Best of all, she *rarely* passes gas, she's no longer having accidents all of the time, and things are no longer messy! AND she's gained a little weight! Her tummy is getting a touch bigger.
Her fur is a LOT thicker and silkier, she's taking much better care of herself too.
It's a relief to see our Amber back to being herself. I really thought we were going to lose her, and soon. She's only 11 years old, and has at least a few more years left in her. The longer she lives with a better quality of life the better.
Sure, the food is ultra expensive - think four times what the supermarket brand costs for the same amount - but she's our one and only right now, and she's worth it. More than worth it.
She doesn't eat as much of this stuff either, so in a way it balances out. Instead of going through a 3 KG bag of food in two weeks like she was before, she's going through one in about five to six weeks. She's been on it just over 3 weeks and there's more than half a bag left. I'd say that is a good thing!
Finally, we had an amazing Halloween/Samhain. Son dressed up in his usual, and I did all black and purple this year. Black shirt and jeans, my black sneakers with the purple laces, and even my black hoodie with my pen name on it in purple (gift from the mom in law and youngest brother in law last year).... Heck even my rings were black and purple for the most part - the exception being my wedding band, which is plain with gold. I have a gothic style ring that's black with purple stones, and a black band that has purple stones in it, as well as two eternity bands in... you guessed it, PURPLE!!! I also had a black and purple witch hat and even feather earrings... Yeah, I went nuts, but who cares? At least my normal, every day look was actually toned down compared to what else was out there that night!
Witchy metal chick alert!
You can see my earrings better in this one:
Left hand:
Right hand!
Normally I wear an assortment of colors from my birth stone (pale green peridot) to the amethyst, but I wanted straight black and purple for the day. I'll probably do something similar IF I ever make a public appearance as an author... Yeah, like that will happen! LOL
I leave you with the official video for "Aces High" by Iron Maiden. Have a great week everyone!
The end of October... Halloween and Samhain (pronounced "Sa-wane", it's the Pagan New Year) are now almost upon us, and it does not feel like it in my area. We're still getting summer temperatures here. Think in the high teens, low twenties Celsius - that's 60s and 70s for my American readers and friends. I am normally bundled up in sweaters, or at least socks, this time of year, but I'm walking around the house in capris and flip flops - with the windows wide open, and fans going full tilt!!! This is more like late May weather, *not* late October! No complaints, I'm bragging! It's saving on the heating bill, even if we are still cranking up the bedroom AC at night, but that's negligible compared to having both infared heaters on, as well as the baseboard ones in the bathroom and bedrooms! I hope it's nice like this for trick or treating Tuesday night. I don't want my son wearing a heavy jacket under his costume. Things have improved health wise for me, again. I'm down another three pounds. I'm not walking like I should be either, which is horrible... But, I am eating less carbohydrates again, which is a huge help. My jeans are getting a little looser! I am down a full six pounds since May, and it feels like I've lost more. My doctor is back from her maternity leave - we really, REALLY missed her! - and she's pleased with my progress in that department. However, my ferratin - iron stores - are low again. Not low enough that I'm anemic, but close. Since I don't think I'm getting enough of certain vitamins like D, B12, and so on, she approved me taking a multi vitamin with iron in it. I found one that's sugar free, which will keep things balanced on that end, thank heavens. I haven't noticed much of a difference for the most part yet, I'm still tired and such, but it's been less than a month since I started taking it. I have noticed a little more mental clarity though. I feel more like writing instead of procrastinating, and I find I'm not seeing as many squirrels as I was even a month ago. That's good, right? Writing news.... So I've been looking through the draft of "Dream On" and it's not good. The second half does need work, as all first drafts do, but the first half is filled with repetitive items, passive areas, and a *lot* of bull shit in general. The name wasn't right either, so I've changed it. Just what I renamed it is between me, my beta team, and a few other like minded people. I'm still up in the air about a few things with Fourteen, although a lot more is starting to gel with it. I'm hoping to get that one's first draft restarted and well underway before the holidays if I can do it. I haven't had a lot of writing time lately between my son being sick or having a Friday off - he had today off due to an inservice. No worries, I worked yesterday and made a lot of progress even if I didn't actually write anything! I have also been working on a few promo posters/banners, as well as updating my website. Like here, I updated everything in a black and purple theme, including a new banner. I also added a list of links to where you can purchase Stricken online. That is one long list! (Thank you eXtasy Books!!!) I used white font on the banner because you couldn't see the black much, it blended in with the shadows of the rose. Go check out my updated look at V.J. Allison Online. Have a peek at my latest promo poster. It's a quote from Chapter Five of Stricken.
I'm still not happy with the amount and kinds of fonts I have on the computer, so I'll be digging for more as time goes on. I want some really eye catching promo posters and banners for future books, better than I have for Stricken. I think I have about half the amount on here that I had before the rebuild. I want more, and a lot of script fonts if possible. Other news... I made my own "ice cream" this week. It's sugar free, low carb, and if you want, dairy free. It's made using coconut cream. I found a recipe for it online, and it's really good. I did add some heavy cream to it, and some aspartame, along with some vanilla extract. I think next time I'll be using vanilla beans, because the extract didn't really mask the coconut flavor. It was still really tasty, and had the right consistency too. I was pleased, and I'll be making it again. This is what the end product looks like:
It's so good... And best of all, healthy compared to the real thing! I hope all of you have an amazing weekend, and have a safe and fun Halloween... If you celebrate Samhain, BLESSED BE, and all the best to you in the New Year. I leave you with one of my favorite melodic metal songs of all time... "Tears of the Dragon" by Iron Maiden front man Bruce Dickinson. Enjoy!!!!
The main part of Afterglow Art Festival happened last night.
Our friend Kyle O (spray paint artist) wasn't there this year, but we still had a lot of fun. There were a lot of interactive things to do for kids and adults alike, as well as gorgeous art, and shows by various buskers (street performers).
Son really enjoyed watching the Jugglin' Bubblers, a pair of circus performers who were creating a lot of interesting - think LARGE - bubbles and using the breeze to create a dazzling display of rainbow colored fun for everyone. He loved it so much that we spent most of the night watching their performances, and he even helped them with making some bubbles, like other children and adults. They had a juggling act after the sun set, with flashing pins that really looked cool in the shadows on King Street. They also had a small light show that was beautiful... The girl put on a cape lit with white LED lights and she danced while her partner let loose with some bubbles around her in a chaotic ballet. Talk about amazing!!! I loved everything I saw them do but that was probably my favorite out of their work. They're really nice people too, showing the kids and encouraging them to use certain techniques to get the perfect, HUGE bubble, sometimes with many little ones inside of it.
There was a lot of interesting things there, but my favorite wasn't exactly art related...
While looking at the program, I noted there was something called "Write Now"... An interactive writing and coloring fun area.
You know I had to go see it.
I'm so glad I did too. I met another writer, Candice, who is a poet. Although she's not published yet, she hopes to get there sometime. She's really sweet, I liked her a lot.
It was so wonderful to be able to "talk shop" with another writer, face to face. I don't get that too often - I don't socialize much locally due to my anxiety - but it is nice to do it once in a while. We had a great chat and I learned a little more about the local writing scene. It turns out there are a lot more writers in the area than I had thought. I know Laurie Lacey (he writes non fiction, and he's a sweet guy too), and a couple of others, but not as many as I'd like to know.
I think it's time to get out more, and meet like-minded others. I don't care if we write the same genre - or we're in different parts of the writing world (poets, etc, I'm a novelist) - just meeting other writers and authors would be awesome. So I am going to take her up on her invite to join her and a few other local writers for writing sessions at a local hangout. Even if I only go once in a while, it'll be wonderful. (I have to purchase a laptop bag so I can take that thing with me... it's kind of hard to haul my desktop there for only a short while!)
She writes the blog "Hope in a Handbasket".. She shares her poetry there, as well as bits and pieces of her life. Like me, she's a cat lover... Which led to us sharing photos of our cats. I just wish I had photos if Amber with her butt parked on top of the computer monitor, but unfortunately, I had cleaned the photos off my phone recently and forgot to leave a few on just for times like last night.
Next time. LOL
WRITING:
As for my own work, things are not progressing as fast as I would like them to be... I'm having problems seeing where the leads in Fourteen trip over each other at the start of the story... Even though I have most of the rest of it figured out. I like having the first scene in my brain before I put anything down, for fear of messing things up later on. It's just an odd quirk of mine.
I'm also deep in the "Dream On" revisions... I see a *lot* of problems with that one, from the town it's set in to various grammatical mistakes, as well as not plausible things happening between the mains. I see myself being buried in that for at least another month or so...Ugh.
PHOOEY ON EDITING!! (It's a necessary evil in my opinion!)
Finally... My healthier journey continues. I finally got back to the track this week. It was so humid through September that I wanted to do nothing more than nap in front of the bedroom AC, I was so sick from it.
The ice is in at the LCLC and it was borderline freezing in there, perfect for walking. You don't sweat so much when it's icy and you're not really zipping around too fast. I did a km (2/3 mile) because I was scared of pushing myself again. I'll be back to a mile (or more!) in no time. I'm that stubborn!
I am glad I'm able to do that amount of walking in one session.... We had a LONG walk from where we parked the car to King Street, and a long walk back and UPHILL on the return trip - AFTER we had walked up and down King Street several times! I was ready to drop by the time we got home, but it was worth it.
Let's start the week off right with a song from one of my favorite bands... DISTURBED. "The Night", live from Raleigh. Have a lovely week everyone!
First of all... If you are in the path of #HurricaneIrma, PLEASE... Stay safe! If you are told to evacuate, DO SO. Don't forget about the pets... Make sure they're safe too!
Summer is officially over. Labour Day marked the end of the summer season in Canada, and school started last week in our district.
Son started Grade Seven on Thursday, and although he was sad to see his vacation time over, he was happy to jump back into the thick of things at his school. We took him into the school to see his homeroom teacher, find out where his locker is, and to get situated overall. Two days in, and he's loving it. Thank heavens.
He said summer vacation was a lot of fun. He and I spent a lot of time home this year - I needed new glasses and could barely see enough to drive the last going off, more on that later - but we did have a lot of fun with Hubby on day trips and other fun activities like bowling.
Oddly he hardly played the Wii for the last month of vacation. I guess he was too busy using the laptop or having fun on our Acer tablet when he wasn't on his Nintendo DS.
I needed a break from hearing the soundtrack to "Star Wars: The Force Unleashed" anyway. It was starting to grate on my nerves by the second week of July, and had me driven stark raving crazy by the time August rolled around.
Day trips... Our first full day one was to Shubenacadie Provincial Wildlife Park, and then we hooked over to Wolfville to zip up to Grande Pre and Evangeline Beach, which is on the Minas Basin, part of The Bay of Fundy - Highest tides in the world! Unfortunately, we were there at "half tide", it was slowly on its way out, but not fully out. It was still out a lot further than it would have been at somewhere like Crescent Beach down here.
The soil there is really red, it reminds me of Prince Edward Island (yes, I've been there, but it's been close to 30 years).
Barred Owl staring at us.
One of the most iconic sights in my province, the statue of Longfellow's Heroine, Evangeline, in front the church at Grande-Pre, representing the site of the Acadian Expulsion in 1755.
These gorgeous flowers are MYSTIC ILLUSION Dahlias, a hybrid, they were in the front of the Grande-Pre church.
Evangeline Beach on the Minas Basin, which is part of the Bay of Fundy - highest tides in the world. This is at half tide, when it's starting to go out. Note the red soil.
Our (currently last) trip for the summer saw us going to the other end of the Annapolis Valley - Annapolis Royal, Fort Anne, Port Royal (Habitation), and lastly, a fun spot for kids and adults alike. They have go-carts, mini golf, a driving range, a batting cage, an arcade and a lot of other cool stuff. One could spend an entire day in there and *not* get bored!
We played a round of mini golf. The course Par was 51 - I was the loser with a score of 82. However, I got the *only* ace - hole in one - for the day, which royally ticked off my son. He's the golfer in the family, not me. I stink at it!
The guys played a few rounds of pinball, while I watched. They tried the driving range too, while I sat in the sunshine with a diet cola and relaxed.
Fort Anne, Officer's Quarters.
The Ammunition Building at Fort Anne.
Port Royal (Habitation).
Bust of Samuel de Champlain, founder of Port Royal.
The Annapolis River, on its way out toward low tide.
The courtyard of Port Royal (Habitation).
The Tidal Generating Station, the ONLY one of its kind in North America. It uses tidal power to create electricity for thousands of people.
View of the North Mountain and part of the mini golf at the fun stop, just outside of Annapolis Royal, NS.
All in all, it was a great summer. We're talking about taking one last trip before it gets too cold, not sure when or where we're going though.
When I said I had problems seeing properly, it was a case of needing my prescription glasses updated. So far so good, my eyes are extremely healthy and have *no* damage from my lifelong condition. My new glasses arrived on Tuesday and I'm tickled with them.
The regular glasses are identical to my previous prescription, while this time, I got sunglasses for driving during the daytime, without the bifocals. It's the same style of frame, just black instead of silver. I love them.
Finally...............
Office 2016 is on my computer, it took me over an hour to download it and get it set up for my computer. I'm happy with it, I'm back to working and it feels awesome to be writing and editing again... FINALLY!!
Speaking of which, I'm now working on fixing "FOURTEEN". It's a *huge* mess, and won't work as a story the way it's currently going. Back to the drawing board for that one. Thank heavens I was able to do a lot of thinking over the summer when I wasn't able to work and found solutions for the problems. Hopefully I can get things right this time around. If not, I can always do yet another rewrite.
You do know STRICKEN is a rewrite, right?...... Read previous blog entries, and you'll get it. ;)
Dream On is currently back in "edit mode", I'll be working on that when I'm not going nuts writing.
Have a great weekend everyone! I leave you with one of my favorite covers of all time, "TURN THE PAGE" by Metallica - original version done by Bob Seger. (WARNING: CONTAINS ADULT IMAGERY - NOT SAFE FOR WORK!!)
