Observations

I owe all of my family, friends, readers and anyone else passing through an apology. Things have been crazy here, and I finally remembered to update my blog among the chaos.

Hearts Remembering is in its final stages of revisions and edits. After careful consideration, I already know who is getting it first, and pending rejections, any other publishers... Thank heavens I've done my research, and know where to look to see if they are taking unagented submissions or not. 

Eh, enough about Hearts Remembering... I'm almost "done" with that one as much as I can be, even with help from the Betas. (Speaking of which, they loved it!)... 

I'm recuperating. Before I post from what, I want to toss out a reminder that anyone who laughs at someone getting hurt, sick or anything else that may stop them from doing things is a complete narcissistic twat waffle. Same with wishing any kind of injury, harm, or illness on anyone else, especially if they saw your true nature... JUST SAYING.... 

I threw out my left shoulder - the rotator cuff - about six weeks ago, and it's just starting to heal now. It's the shoulder I injured a few times over the years, starting in high school, and several times since. So, it's a little weaker than the right shoulder. This has prevented me from doing the really heavy renovations around the house, which ticked me off. I'm not supposed to do any lifting with it, and my doctor said not to do any work with it that makes me lift it above my head. Husband has been doing what he can for me heavy lifting wise when he's home... Thank heavens.

It has NOT stopped me from writing and working on prelim stuff for various story ideas though. I can easily type with it held in place with a band around it to hold it against my side, and haven't really used that since before the equinox. I was using a sling when I left the house - especially during my walks - to keep it stabilized, so I wouldn't injure it further by swinging it back and forth like we humans tend to do when we're walking at all.

It's much better now. I can raise it above my head without any weakness or pain, and although my doctor still has the ban on me doing any heavy lifting or work above my head, I am no longer using a sling. I'm still doing strengthening exercises and being careful, but it's well on the mend, thank heavens.

My fall endurance is back, after not taking a lot of walks during the winter time due to icy conditions and just horrid weather in general. I'm able to make the full trip one way without stopping at all, and able to get up any hills without losing my breath. 

The fact I just hit 21 months smoke free this week is probably still a bit of a factor on my speed and endurance are holding up. Even with my allergies in full swing, I'm still motoring, despite sneezing constantly. I put the earbuds in, and crank up Creed, Whom Gods Destroy, or my newest discovery music wise, DISTURBED (heavy metal band out of Chicago, IL)... Their cover of "The Sound of Silence" is beyond amazing, and I love the rest of the "Immortalized" album, and two of their other albums, "Indestructible" and "Asylum"... It's platinum stuff! I have to get the rest of their work for my collection but it's all awesome so far... *grins*

ANYWAY... 

I've been practicing my photography too. I am still using the idiot proof point and shoot camera, but I'm learning a few things here and there to get better shots - thanks to a few tips from my photography pals around Facebook and other spots. 

Here's a few photos I snapped just this morning, during my walk....

All of these were taken within a mile of my home. I live in a former farming community, and it feels like the middle of nowhere, but in reality, I'm only a couple of miles away from a major highway.

I've also noticed I'm needing smaller jeans, or at least a belt. That's what happens when you're eating real, healthy food you prepare from scratch - not the processed garbage like convenience foods, fast food, or junk food - and getting your daily dose of exercise.

More on that another time though. :) 

I have to remember to get some sunblock though.. I'd rather not get a sunburn. I fry, and turn lobster red after a few minutes in the sun without protection. Thank you northern European ancestry... *grumbles*

We purchased Star Wars The Force Awakens on DVD, and my son finally saw it. He didn't like it when Han Solo died - hell, I CRIED when I saw that scene!!! - but loved the rest of it. 

Folks, my son has finally discovered my favorite franchise of all time. I'm so proud of him!

Have a great weekend everyone, and if you're in Nova Scotia, I hope you're loving this ultra warm weather like I am! :)

And on a final note, my cousin shared the following on Facebook yesterday... 

WARNING: SEXUAL CONTENT AHEAD!!!

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LMAO!

Milestone!

One year ago today was the first day of my new life.
July 18, 2014: After 2 weeks of being on Champix (Chantix in the States, it's a stop smoking prescription medication) I woke up and started my first smoke free day.

It was a lot of jitters, grouchiness, grumbling, panic attacks, soooooooooo many cravings including a few that had me in tears, and just pure HELL that first day.

It was tough and touch and go for that first bit, but I managed to get myself through the day and get into bed without begging my husband to buy me a pack of cigarettes.

That was my first smoke free day in over a decade. The last time I had tried to quit, I was pregnant with my son and lasted about 10 weeks before I caved in and started smoking again.

So this has really been the longest I was smoke free since my preteens. I had my first cigarette at the age of 12 years old, and smoked once in a while until I hit high school at 15, then it escalated to me being addicted and finally smoking constantly at the age of 18.

I smoked for the next 22 years. The last going off, I was up to 60 cigarettes or more a day. That's 3 twenty packs or as we east coast Canadians prefer, 2 1/2 packs of 25 cigs a day.

As of today, I reached my ONE YEAR SMOKE FREE anniversary.

Look, I never thought I'd last a week, let alone 52 weeks. I was seriously addicted. Everything took a back burner to my addiction, even my writing some days. Everything had to wait until *after* I had one more cigarette, one more drag.

A year later, I no longer have that problem. I'm not even using the nicotine free vapor sticks. I haven't had one of those in over 3 months.

I've even written a full manuscript draft in the last year, my first as a non smoker.

Speaking of which, "Hearts Remembering" is now back in stasis and will be sent to the beta team sometime next month. It's as done as I can get it, and now I'm just waiting for word that I can start sending it out to the gang. I'm now in the process of trying to come up with a great short and longer synopsis for it.

My health is slowly improving... I'm feeling more and more like my old self, even if things are not completely balanced yet. It's a slow process but I'm hoping to be more "normal" for me by the time the new year rolls around.

And lastly, new glasses!! My new condition requires me to see my optometrist every 2 years, and well, something amazingly weird happened to me last month. My eyes IMPROVED to almost what they were back in 2007. I was wearing the glasses from that time period for a while because my prescription from 2013 was too strong for me... I am happy that I always keep old glasses as a backup, cause I wouldn't have been able to drive myself to a local hospital for an information session/workshop if I had.

My new glasses are even similar to the 07 prescription... Silver half rims, but wider lenses this time.

Me in 2011, with the 2007 prescription.

Here's what the present glasses look like...

Current glasses, almost identical in looks and in strength.

All that's really different is the fact the new glasses are a little bigger in the lenses and it's slightly stronger.

Hubby likes them, and my best pal Heather helped me pick them out.

Yeah, I think I'm doing okay, considering.

Have a great weekend everyone! :)

Summer 2015, Round One...

First of all, Congrats to the Chicago Blackhawks on winning the Stanley Cup again this year!

And before anyone asks, no, I'd rather NOT talk about my Leafs. Ugh. (Can I shoot their former GM now or later??? GAH!!)

Secondly, summer vacation is HERE and Son will be going into Grade 5 with flying colors. Again, his report card was all As and Bs... minus a C in French. He despises speaking or hearing any language other than our mother tongue of English.

I've been learning a few Mi'kMaq words and throwing them at him sometimes, just for something to do. I get screamed at and a huge "I SPEAK ENGLISH!" screamed in my ear.

The ringing it causes is worth it though, just to get Son going... *looks innocent*

Well, this summer, it's official: I have no stories in progress so I'm not going batty for that reason. "Hearts Remembering" is in stasis again, after a few runs through, and my (now smaller) beta team will be getting it sometime soon, preferably before August 1 if I can do it. I just haven't been up to working the last while, that's why....

I owe all of my followers, family, friends and fans a huge apology for not posting any entries for the last three months.

You see, I've been very ill the last while.

So ill that one of the trips to a specialist saw me in bed, flat on my back and in full body agony for two days.

I've been foggy, feeling nauseated, weak, and a whole lot of other things I won't mention publicly since April, and it's only starting to improve now. I'm still not there by a long shot but I will be, sometime before the end of the year, or so I'm hoping!

It started out with a bad round of anemia - which I'm happy to say is gone! - and led into me finding out I had turned a huge corner and now have a lifelong condition that needs constant monitoring. It's not anything like cancer or something that serious, it's a condition that I had a 50-50 chance of getting thanks to a parent having it, and I was the unlucky one out of the three to have it. It's not a really big deal, once I get things under control. Unlike my parent, mine was diagnosed within six months of it starting, so with a lot of work, I should have a good long life after my diagnosis. It's just a matter of time, getting things balanced just so, and keeping it that way.

So far, so good, although the balance hasn't been reached yet. I'm getting there though! One day at a time. I've lost 15 pounds already - maybe more, I will know for sure at my next visit with our family doctor (I love her!) - and I've noticed my jeans are really starting to hang on me. My feet are not as swollen as they were before my diagnosis, I'm not retaining a lot of water because I've cut out a lot of salt in my diet, both via cutting out processed foods as well as adding a lot of salt to my homemade stuff, and I'm feeling a little more brighter and not as likely to shoot someone.

I do have STRICT orders to cut anything that stresses me out of my life - temporary or permanently - because a lot of stress will aggravate my condition. Some stress is expected but in some cases, it's perfectly avoidable, especially when one is surrounded by narcissistic, stupid and sneaky jerks.

Let's just say if I don't have you blocked in FB or other spots, I still care and there's a chance I will talk to you again in time.

That said, if I have you blocked anywhere, I'm indifferent and done with you permanently... So please, get over yourself, stop pretending I'm "lurking, watching and reading" everything you do, and face the fact I'm DONE and couldn't care less what you're doing or if you've found something new to play the victim about.

Oh, wait, that's right, people I've blocked can't face the truth.

Their fragile little egos would have a breakdown if they saw it.

*tsk* My bad.

I'm now wondering what the reactions would have been if I still hung out in certain spots.

I'm betting I'd be treated like I was still perfectly healthy, despite all of the evidence proving otherwise... And I would have been expected to do things ALONE again like I was expected for three days last summer this time... except I'm thinking this time around, it would have been a much, MUCH longer duration, out of spite... All because I WAS SICK and the others couldn't handle it, just like they couldn't last year when things were screwy after that hurricane hit us last year... Not that I fell for it. They can deny it all they want but the timing was just too "conveeeeeenient" for it to be as they claimed it was.

I wish people would stop thinking I'm stupid or naive, cause I'm really not.

You can't fool someone who has already been fooled like that before, because they can smell it a thousand miles away.

Anyway................ Have a wonderful week everyone! I'll update when things start picking up here again, possibly halfway through summer vacation.

Only 8 1/2 weeks to go until school starts in my district. Son can't wait.

Me, I'm fine having him home! :)

Reflections, an Anniversary and Disbelief....

On the one year anniversary of me finishing the first draft of my first book, "No Regrets", I look back on the past twelve months and still cannot believe that I have finished that part of my writing journey. My first book's first draft was finished, it's gone through several draft modes, my beloved mentor (Sandra Durham, author of the "Keyholder's Castle series) has read it (and will be reading the final draft of it), I've shared parts of the story with a small select group of trusted friends and fellow writers, and I've even started to work on getting it ready for publishers - packages with everything each publisher requires from an unknown author like myself.

Good grief, I was so out of it for a while after I finished draft one of "No Regrets" that I was driving myself (along with my husband) so insane that I was literally climbing the walls at one point, I made countless dreamcatchers and just behaved in a way that is NOT me whatsoever. I felt really bad for the guys, and my beloved mentor, who saw the worst of it, either directly at home, or indirectly via Sanctuary. What was going on is that I had NO idea what to do... I didn't have any new ideas at that point in time, I could still see the characters in my head, and I was so used to working on it that suddenly having to set it aside to let it perk for a while so it would fade from my mind was such a shock that I did lose it for a bit. The RH rewrite/overhaul wasn't working, and I really didn't feel like working on it at all and really couldn't get into the groove of it at all, even with the new ideas flowing for it. I just could not move on and I was at odds what to do writing wise. I didn't want to be known as a "one book wonder" like some in my genre wind up being. I wanted to write more than one book in my lifetime. 

After my brain settled down, and I started talking with various friends, my beloved mentor said I had two characters I "could" write about from "No Regrets" and of course I said "I'm not a series writer, I could never do that".

Guess who wound up eating her words... *sheepish grin*

November 6, 2012... The idea for a sequel to "No Regrets" came to me, and I started a file for it, as "Untitled #8". It wasn't fully gelling, but it was a start. I fiddled around with it, tried a few things and wound up doing more rewrites on the first two chapters than I had for the entirety of "No Regrets".

As all of you who read my blog, the status updates on my Twitter, the FB pages, my writing thread in Sanctuary and my personal FB profile know what a road it's been for me so far with both books.

Needless to say, on this first year anniversary of finishing draft one of "No Regrets", I see myself on the cusp of finishing my second double length book, and finishing the duology, and I'm in shock. I never thought I'd be at this point with Book 2 this soon, let alone ever, and here I am, almost finished the first draft of it.

You see, yesterday, I got the UH OH part finished. Seriously. I wasn't sure how to proceed with what I had after I spliced it in, but after I bounced a few ideas around, I went with one and the next thing I knew, I was near the end of Chapter 44. Things were still with me after Son came home, so I quickly wrapped up that chapter and stopped at the start of Chapter 45.

All that's left to write in Book 2 is the aftermath, the grand finale and the epilogues. Seriously, that is it, everyone. I've been writing like a squirrel on speed since school started almost two months ago (I did the same thing with No Regrets last year!) and it's paid off, despite feeling scatterbrained, eating, breathing, sleeping this book and not being able to think about much else. Unless you've been consumed by a project of any kind (writing music, artwork, writing, etc), you may not get it. It's so hard to describe how easily something like this can almost take over your entire life unless you've gone through it at one point yourself. 

You do have to take breaks from it once in a while, or lose yourself in your world... Thanks to my husband, son and mentor, I am reminded to take a day off from things once in a while to relax, enjoy my friends and family and of course, bring myself back to the real world once in a while. Today was a prime example of it. There was a fall bazaar at my son's school and my son wanted to go to it. Normally I wouldn't have gone, but where his father was working and I had strict orders to take a break "or else", I went, and had a lot of fun, even though I spent just about all of our cash on Son. I saw a few of his teachers, saw some of my old classmates and I think I even saw one or two of my old teacher from my junior high days in passing. It was fun, and I'm now glad we went. I had to drive Hubby to work and we have to go get him so we had the car, but it's worth it. I have strict orders to relax tomorrow, and watch the Doctor Who marathon on Space, even if I'm online... 

I still can't believe I have written one double length book and am on the verge of finishing my second one already. It's like I've walked around the world twice and have no recollection of how I did it sometimes. It's so hard to describe the feeling one has when they're at this point like I am. I mean, I look back and think, "Wow, did I really do that?"

Then I think... "Yes, I did!"

For anyone who hasn't seen this yet, my blog from October 20, 2012, "A Bittersweet Victory", which screams to the world that I finished "No Regrets", draft one.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Summer Writing Time 2013, Part 2!

Almost another month has passed and although things are going slowly, there has been some progression in Book 2...

The last time I posted an update, I was at the end of Chapter 27 and ready to dive into Chapter 28. I haven't had a lot of time to write the last few weeks because of my husband's crazy schedule at work (he can work either day shift or evening shift) and the fact that I've been going nuts working on other things in the meantime.

I know, I'm supposed to be reading and taking a break from my own work, but a few things have popped up that got me thinking and I'm now back to working on getting Book 1/NR (formerly Untitled #7) ready for publishers. I'm currently working on a package for a publisher I will not name and will be sending it out when it's ready and I think NR/Book 1 is the best it will be for a publisher. Those who matter already know which publisher, and only they will know when it goes out and if I get rejected or not. I don't talk about that publicly, I'm scared I'll jinx myself otherwise! I have been going through the book to make sure everything is kosher but am catching a few things like verb tense errors and other things. I've also changed a few things to line up more with Book 2 (just a couple of things so the reader isnt' taken aback when they read Book 2!) and it's back into a "perk" cycle while I work on other things related to it.

Book 2 is still coming along, slowly but surely. I am now in the middle of Chapter 29 and some things will be answered for the leading lady but more questions will pop up at the same time... This story is turning out to be a LOT more complicated and twisted than Book 1 did and I do hope I can get it written just right! There are days I have to double check my notes file or other parts of the manuscript to make sure I have everything down right and I'm not giving too much away too soon.

I wonder if other authors, besides myself and my mentor, have that problem...

Anyway, even with a scene that may not make the final cut, Chapter 29's foundation looks pretty solid so far and over time, will be expanded, tweaked, etc.

Whoever said the writing is the "hard part" of being an author needs their head examined in my opinion......

I hope everyone is having a wonderful summer and for those who are returning to school during the month of August, I hope your school year goes great! Schools here do not start for another four weeks and we're starting to gear up for Son to enter Grade 3 already... We're starting the back to school shopping NOW so we're not scrambling to get things three days before he goes back!

I hope to get back into things full time again once school starts in a few weeks. I'm doing my best to keep myself into the story and NOT chomp on the monitor so much... Being busy with getting Book 1/NR ready for publishers is helping and I'm glad I have that to keep me from going crazy. Last year, I didn't have anything like that to keep my mind off of things and I'd be back to losing my bloody mind or ripping the hair out if I didn't have a zillion things to do this year!

Have a great week everyone! I'll post another update after more happens.

Zooming Along, In More Ways Than One!

A couple of more writing days are done and I'm really moving along in FP/Book 2.

Right now, I'm in the middle of Chapter 24. There's been some silly stuff, and I'm now really starting to lead into the gem of an idea that my beloved mentor Sandra fired at me three months ago. The first big "uh, oh!" scene was added in last week and now I am starting to get things moving very quickly in regards to the build up to it. It's been rough going by times but it's slowly coming along. I've also tossed in a few shots of humor to balance out what's ahead for the characters, and some sweeter scenes.

On another note, today is a milestone of a type... I'd like to share something with you, from my writing thread in Sanctuary...

Three years ago today, I had an idea... One that would change my life forever.

June 17, 2010 was the very day that I came up with the initial idea for something. At the time, it was going to be just a regular romance novel, but due to life, it was put on the back burner for a while and I thought it was going to wind up in the "Dead Manuscripts" file on the computer... Well, after a year and a half, I got the story back and things took a turn for the better...

That little idea was Untitled #7, which eventually became "NR" and is now Book 1 of my duology!!! It's so hard to believe that it's been THREE WHOLE YEARS since I got the initial idea for the story and in that time it morphed from "just another romance" story into so much more and a LOT better than I ever expected or dreamed!

Since I got back into it, it's been tweaked/edited, had a zillion rewrites done on it, added to, had stuff 86'ed, and so much more. Its first draft was finished a bare 8 months ago, it's gone into THREE other draft modes since October of 2012 and has been read by at least one other person, our beloved Site Goddess herself!!!... It's been deemed "READY" to send out to publishers and has a sequel in the works.

I look back at the original idea for it and still can't believe how one little idea grew into something more than I have ever dreamed! When I first started writing this one, I NEVER thought I would actually finish it and here I am, three years later! NR/Book 1 is THE ONE that will see me published sometime, whether it's via a publishing house or self publishing... I promise all of you that, it will be out to the masses at some point!

Wow.

(I know, other authors have probably felt this way but it's my first full length novel, so I'm a little dazed by it all! LOL)  

Yeah, three years ago today, I had the initial idea for what turned into my first full length/double length novel... Hard to believe it's been that long already, and how most of it was written within a year! *BLINK!*

Needless to say, it's been quite a journey for those characters and the new ones in its sequel, aka Book 2/FP. The roller coaster ride isn't over yet, for myself and the characters, but I'm slowly working toward it!

I have two writing days left in the school year before I go into Summer Writing Time. Hopefully I can get things moving even more before I take a break and read something written by someone else for a change. I haven't really read anything since I reread Sandra's "Homecoming" and read a book called "Thy Brother's Wife" in the last year. I have a lot of new to me books here in the house and it's time I caught up on the reading while I'm in Sanctuary and Son is home...

Have a great week, everyone! I'll update again when more happens here.

The Final Countdown Begins...

It's been a long road but I'm finally starting to see the end of this journey ahead of me...
NR's first draft was finished almost five months ago... Since then, I've been letting it perk, editing it, I had my beloved mentor Sandra (Durham) read it and I've been making necessary changes to it.
It's time... To get moving with the final stages of getting it ready for publishers and hopefully landing a publishing contract with one of the ones on my list. If not, there is always the self publishing route!
The synopsis for publishers is now completed, I have the perfect nom de plume (my real name is a tongue twister!) and over the next few days, the first cover letters will be written up, a final reread/edit of the story will happen and finally, NR will be on its way to at least one publisher.
After this blog entry, I will probably not be posting much about NR except in passing, a recap of my journey with it, or in regards to what I hope will become its sequel, Untitled 8 or "WL" as the working title now stands.
The nervousness has settled in but only a little bit right now. I imagine it will settle in a lot more once NR is out into the world and I'm getting squirrelly while waiting for replies from the publishers I've chosen. I will not be revealing who those publishers are for fear of biasing them either to or against me one way or another, nor do I want to disappoint everyone when the rejections start rolling in. Yes, I am being realistic here... Even a great like Stephen King got rejections before he got his first publishing contract... So someone like me may get a lot more and I'm preparing myself for it. Not everyone is lucky enough to get a publishing contract after all and there are some who are very successful in the self publishing realm. If I don't get on with a publisher, I will definitely be going that way.
NR WILL be published one way or another. I promise all of you that.
I will continue to post blog entries from time to time, as work on WL/Untitled 8 progresses and I'll definitely be posting something when NR will be published, etc.
Thank you all, for reading and following me on this journey... It's been one heck of a long road from NR's conception to this last couple of steps before it's finally sent out to publishers, almost three years. It hasn't been easy, I've had so many ups and downs, good days and bad days, but I think in the end, it was all worth it. I finished one book in my lifetime and will see it published, some how and some day in the future.
The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step...
Blessings, love, peace, light and happiness be yours.
Always,
~Valerie-June~    

Goodbye 2012, Hello 2013!

It's that time of year again... My annual look back at what changed, what hasn't and the highlights of the year that's about to close.
2012 was an amazing year. Not only did I stay in touch with a lot of dear people, I met some new friends who have also become very dear to me. Friendship wise, life has been good to me again this past year and I can't ask for better people in my life. 
My family is growing again... I found out early this summer I am going to be an aunt again for the fourth time! It came as a bit of a shock, but a good one, and I cannot wait to meet my sister's new child in February. She's due around Valentine's Day and by the looks of things, she's having another girl. No complaints from my end, it's another child to love and spoil. Children are always welcome in my family after all. Sister, I wish you a very quick, safe and painless delivery and may both you and my baby niece be healthy! I have resolved to be the eccentric, loveable and cool auntie to her children... I can't have any more myself, as much as I would like to. So I'll just spoil my son and her kids as much as I can! *wink* I have the best son, nieces and nephew, what can I say?
Son went into Grade 2 with flying colors... He's mostly an A and B student with one or two Cs but that's okay, it's all stuff that is considered "normally difficult" for kids on the spectrum like he is... We are helping him, as is his teachers and his TAs. Speaking of which, one of his TAs is the same one he's had since Grade Primary... And when I found out Mrs. O was going to be with him again this year, I just about cried. She's been more than a helper to my son, she has been his FRIEND and that is what makes the difference. He's still doing great and is still way ahead of his classmates in regards to mathematics. That child is something else, I tell you. LOL
Hubby was moved up to full time at his workplace and I am very proud of him. In some ways it's like he never left, and I adore his boss, she is one sweet lady. 
Whom Gods Destroy had their first live performance at a memorial jam in May of this past year. I was there, it was awesome and both them and Billion Dollar Alice rocked the house! I am so proud of the guys, they've put a LOT of hard work into their music and I wish them all the best with their musical careers!
This year saw us lose two animal friends... My sister's beloved German Shepherd, Prince Shepherd, passed away this last fall. He was 11 years old and a big sweetheart. He is very missed. I can still see him walk into my house, go over to Birdie and NOT settle down until that cat beat the stuffing out of him. They loved each other and Prince was a dear, loveable boy. My sister was very heartbroken because he wasn't just a dog to her, he was her friend, and such a loyal and dear companion. Our home saw a loss this year too. Our fluffy white cat, Noelle, passed away from a stroke which was a complication of an ear infection this past June 30th. We were very upset over it... She was not quite 17 years old and wasn't just Hubby's buddy, she was mine too. She would sit on top of my computer tower, demanding attention constantly and when I was watching TV, she would lay on my lap and sleep, and purr like there was no tomorrow. There is still a big hole in our household although we still have one cat residing here, Amber, and she does her best to make sure all of us get plenty of kitty kisses, cuddles and purrs.
Our human family saw some losses too... We lost three beloved family members within two months in January and February... Aunt Barbara, Cousins Freddie and Naomi, we all miss you horribly and we know you're waiting with the rest of the family for our turn to cross the veil. Give Nanny, Grampie H, Uncle Bill, Aunt Doris, Uncle Tom and Aunt Betty our love and we will see you sometime... 
Samgaran Sanctuary, my main online home and mentor's forum, saw new skins added to its rotation. I currently use the o_Opacity skin, which we have set up with the picture of a red rose on slate in the background behind the posts and a banner with a red rose and the forum's name that I designed specifically for our little online home. My co global moderator, Sleepy, also has several of the banners he designed in the banner skins and the forum looks absolutely fantastic! P and I are so proud of the look of our main hangout spot, it's such a wonderful place with positive and loving energy! The link to Sanctuary is in my links section on the left hand side of the posts here. Feel free to check it out when you can. The banner on the "cream" skin is one I designed by the way. Sleepy's banners are on the Blue Noir, Yellow Noir, YaBB 2.1 and camo skins. We are still using YaBB 2.5 and we love it. Thank you again D for all of your hard work in the behind the scenes stuff, you do amazing work! (I still say he's the best tech guy anyone could ever ask for, he's that good! LOL)
As y'all know, my beloved mentor finally saw her dream of becoming a published author come true back in October! Keyholder's Castle, Book 1: Homecoming was released on Amazon.com as a self published work and YES I did purchase a copy of it. I'm very proud of her, I know she's been waiting for this for a very, very long time and I was almost as excited as she was to see her dream finally come true! I shook for days after it was released and if I was excited, she was even more so! Book 2 will be released on Amazon.com sometime in the new year but we are unsure of the publishing date at this time. I will let y'all know when it is published though! I have a prescreening copy of Book 2 but haven't had a chance to read it yet... I've been so busy working on my own writing projects!
Speaking of my writing projects, more has happened in this last year that I could have ever dreamed...
NR was still Untitled 7 when I started working on it again this past year. However, as it progressed and ideas for it started hitting me more and more, the name for it formed in my head... Since it's a journey of two people, and a long one, the name is VERY fitting. I just hope a publisher thinks so!
NR wasn't very long when I dove into it at the start of this past year. In fact, it had barely 23,000 words and most of that total was removed/86'ed because there was a part of it that I decided wasn't necessary... The "Interlude" as my mentor called it. That was taken out around springtime and once I decided to remove it, things started flowing easier for me. It wasn't writing, it had turned into a chore and was dragging me down. I couldnt' think of any ideas for that part, and what few I had, I kept changing... So I talked it over with a few of my writing pals including my beloved mentor and that's when the decision to use "flashbacks" to the gap between the end of Part One and the start of Part Two was made. It was one of the best decisions about NR that I had made yet. 
By the time summer vacation rolled around, I had not only Part One finished but I was well into Part Two, around what is now Chapter 30... And when September rolled around again, I was back into it like I hadn't taken a good chunk of the summer off from writing! Within seven weeks of school starting, NR's first draft was completed and I was feeling like a squirrel on speed... It took me a few days to settle down and once I did, I realized I was another step closer to my dream of becoming a published author too.
My Author's Page on Facebook was set up on October 15, 2012 and the link to it is in my links section also. It is updated once in a while, when I have anything major to report writing wise. I have less than 20 likes right now but all of the fans of the page are friends of mine, people who have supported me with the writing as NR progressed, and in some cases, LONG before that. I hope the fanbase will grow after I get published.
My mentor was the very first person other than myself to see NR in its entirety... She read it, wanted to shoot a few of the characters in it but overall, liked the story. I did have to add a couple of things into it the last few days and she picked up a few typos here and there but otherwise, it turned out pretty darn good for a second draft.
When she was finished reading it and I had made all of the necessary corrections and a couple of additions, NR finally went into DRAFT 3 MODE as of 8:40 p.m. December 30, 2012. I also double spaced the manuscript, meaning it went from 321 pages long to 642 pages, then I made sure all new chapters start on new pages... So NR is now 660 pages long, double spaced with size 12 Times New Roman font and 1 inch margins all around... Basically what most publishers like to see in a submitted work by a new/unknown author.
It's now back into perking mode and will remain there for a few more days, if not a few weeks... I'll update as things progress with Draft 3, but after it starts going out to publishers and agents, I will be silent about it. Only a few select people will know when it goes out and when I get a rejection. HOWEVER, if I ever find out that someone IS wanting to publish NR, and when I find out the date it will be coming out on shelves (traditional shelves or e-book shelves!) I wont' hesitate to announce it here, in FB and in Sanctuary!
NR will be sent to some publishers and agents as ONE full story, others will be getting it as a duology. It all depends on their requirements and the maximum length they're willing to publish as one novel. It's over 200,000 words... I'd prefer to keep it as ONE full novel but if I have to break it up into two (duology), I will. We'll just have to see what happens and who is willing to take a second look at it I guess. LOL
I also started two more writing projects this past year... I started the rewrite/overhaul of RH, a short story I had written back in 2000. The story wasnt' just out of date, it was not very logical in a lot of ways, and since I do want it published at some point, I thought redoing it with the basic idea of it still intact would be for the best. It's not going as well as I'd like it to be but it's slowly coming along.
The other project I started late in the year was what is called Untitled 8 at the moment. Some people would call it the "sequel" to NR because it focuses on a character one sees in that story and yes, a lot of that story's main characters WILL be in it at some point or another. It's another one of those complex stories filled with some twists and turns but I don't think it's going to be quite as intricate as NR turned out to be. NR wound up being a LOT longer, a LOT more complicated and sooooooooooo much better than I had hoped it would be when I first got the idea for the story back in June of 2010! Who knows, these two stories could be the very books that get me known a little bit in the writing world. I HOPE SO! LOL
The new year is less than 8 hours away in my timezone.. Other parts of the world are already in 2013... 
I wish all of you out there peace...
I wish all of you joy...
I wish you all prosperity...
And most of all, I wish you all the best in the new year.
Have a safe, fun and responsible new year everyone! I'll see you in 2013!