Cooking!

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..."

Have a great day everyone!

Happy 2019!

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:

1. Submit "Something About Alexis", and if I'm lucky, see it published.
2. Finish the unnamed MSIP.
3. Finish the short story.
4. Start a new story.

PERSONAL:

1. Get back to the track on a regular basis, and go swimming once in a while at the Lifestyle Centre.
2. Lower my A1C hemoglobin glucose.
3. Remind myself that it is okay to reject toxic people, no matter who is demanding I talk to them.
4. Avoid drama at all costs - it makes my neuralgia flare up, and knocks me off the writing mojo.
5. Stay positive!

Thanks again for sticking with me everyone... Have a fantastic 2019!

What Holiday Break?

Schools are done for the holidays in my district, but that doesn't mean all of us are on vacation.

For authors like myself, we never really take a "vacation". We're always promoting, networking, writing, editing, thinking about writing, or revising even when we're doing our regular every day routine - housework for example. I get a lot of ideas for scenes or stories while I'm scrubbing the toilet, doing the dishes, or even tossing a load of clothing into the washer.

The last two months have been crazy for me, ever since Maggie [Blackbird] yanked me out of my shell and encouraged me to talk to more authors at eXtasy Books. It's been such a fun whirlwind of talking, networking, exchanging ideas, and promoting each other that I haven't had much time to think! 

I am adoring every single second of it, and I would not change a bit of it for all of the money in the world. I've met some amazing, talented people who have become dear friends in such a short time!

This entire year has been a roller coaster. I went from being extremely depressed and spaced out due to medications, to upbeat and alert. 

I am back to being MYSELF, and it feels great!

What's been going on in my writing world, other than having guests post on my blog?

I've been busy. I'm still writing the yet unnamed MSIP and the sports short story, as well as revising one I wrote a few years ago. (NO, not the ABOMINATION, that is so awful that it will NEVER see the light of day - it's so bad I don't even have it on my hard drive!) 

The big news is I sent a story to be critiqued for the first time since STRICKEN - over 2 years. "Something About Alexis" was read over, edited and revised (the stuff I could see), and it went to six special people yesterday afternoon for their enjoyment.  

Yes, I am nervous. Stricken has amazing reviews, but not all of my work was liked. The Abomination for example... It was touted as me "trying to write like someone else", and it didn't work - at all. 

This is why I insist on having someone else read my work, whether it's a voracious reader like myself, or another author who knows what to look for as well as industry standards. I tend to miss something or go on a zillion tangents if I am not kept in line. 

A huge thank you to my betas for "Something About Alexis" - Gordon, Amy, Erin, Erica, Heather, and Sara. It's really appreciated, I hope you like it!

I wish all of you a happy whatever your reason for the season, and may all of you have a lovely holiday season! 

I will be back at least one more time between now and 2019, I have another guest blogger appearing on FRIDAY December 28th! 

I leave all of you with something different. "Oh Come All Ye Faithful" heavy metal style, care of TWISTED SISTER.

Ahead of Schedule?

This past week has been very interesting.

Today, Whom Gods Destroy released their first vlog of 2017... It's less than 13 minutes long, so I decided to burn some bandwidth and watch the entire thing. Let's just say it's nuts. There's never a dull moment with the guys. However the last thing I wanted to see was Tim's butt crack. Thanks for imprinting that onto my memory for good, guys. *GAG!!!* 

It's shared on my author page, for anyone who wants to see it. Link to that is in the Links list in the left hand column. WARNING: Foul language! May not be suitable for all viewers!

On the writing front............

I didn't think I'd do it due to lack of writing time, but I have another rough draft finished. Husband took Son grocery shopping yesterday and I had the entire house to myself for the whole afternoon. I typed in "THE END" at 4:57 PM Atlantic Time yesterday. Finally. 

It's shorter than I expected, only about 90 pages, maybe 92. Less than 50K... BUT that's subject to change as things get edited and rewritten. It needs a *lot* of work before even my editor, Peapod, sees it. 

Right now, it looks like a bomb went off in the middle of an ink factory. The basics are there... I use Draft 1 to build the foundation and subsequent drafts (or incarnations) to erect the rest of it.

I do have a working title for it, but that's subject to change too... "Fugitive Dreams". 

It went into Draft 2 mode earlier today, and I will be cleaning it up a bit this week, when I'm not working on the next project that is... 

Or beta reading...

I think that as an aspiring author, being a beta at least a few times is essential for growth. You learn a lot by reading the rougher drafts of other people's stuff... And it trains your eyes to see similar mistakes in your own work. 

I took this morning off from my own stuff to do a beta read for one of my betas... Gang, this gent is *good*. It was a rougher draft, but the principle of the story was still there, and he has a solid foundation for this particular story. 

I'm hoping to do another round of beta reading for him or someone else soon. Sometimes you need to take a break from your own work and read someone else's for a change. 

Back to working on a blurb for the newly finished first draft. Hopefully I can come up with something coherent that won't give away the full story.

Have a great weekend everyone... I leave you with "Sea of Tears" by Whom Gods Destroy, from their 2007 Demo CD.

Follow the Mud Brown Road...

Today was a great day.

Yes, it was cool outside this morning, and we had *snow* yesterday (PUKE!!!), but once the sun was up, things warmed up fast and the white crap started melting. The car was pretty much cleaned off by the time I got to my longtime friend D's place, about five miles from here. 

As y'all know, I've been back to my routine of walking to the stream and back, while listening to heavy metal cranked up in my earbuds on the MP3 player.

I didn't have to do that today... My pal D - who I've known for about 30 years, we met in elementary school - and I have decided we are going to be walking more, and on days we're able to, do it together. If I'm unable to make it to her house, or she's working, we'll just do our regular routine each day. 

I'm still trying to build up my endurance, so D decided we'd take it slow and go at my pace. Her youngest Pembroke Welsh Corgi, Lucy, tagged along, and it made the walk more fun. Our route went along a dirt road not far from D's house, and it was pitted with lots of mud puddles. Of course, Miss Lucy loves water, and was walking through the deeper and bigger ones when she felt like it. She even tried swimming a few times, but the water wasn't deep enough even for a dog with dwarf legs. It was cute. 

D motivated me to keep going even after I started getting winded. I'm still overweight, still not used to being on the feet constantly, and still feeling the effects of being a smoker for over 20 years, even though I'm almost 2 years into my quit. Each time I started huffing and puffing, we'd stop for a few, long enough for my breath to even out, and as soon as I felt ready, we'd start again. 

We walked all the way back to the beaver dam, not far from the former town reservoir... We stood on the bridge, noted a few things, didn't see the beavers swimming around, and kept Lucy from jumping off the bridge for a swim - I understand she loves to swim, and would have loved to go this morning. Unfortunately the water is too dirty and murky, so no swimming back there for the dogs. Or humans too.

The way back went so much faster, and I had a second wind. By the time we reached D's house, I was starting to get winded again but felt great mentally. 

We told her father where we stopped and turned back. He thought for a moment and told us it was a total of two miles to the beaver dam, or thereabouts.

Wait, two miles one way means the round trip was... 

FOUR MILES...?????

Seriously??? 

Are you fecking kidding me??? 

I walked four miles in ONE stint? My regular routine to the stream and back is a QUARTER MILE, ROUND TRIP. I'm just getting to the point of doing the entire thing without getting tired or winded. 

Whoa. *blinking!* 

I thought we were going to do half a mile one way, tops... Wound up doing four times that! LOL 

Well, it looks like I'm going to be able to add more to the routine, starting tomorrow. I'm still going to gradually build things up... Today was D's way of showing me I *CAN* do it, with motivation... And an adorable corgi loving me up when I needed it. It was Lucy's way of saying I can do this, and I did. :) 

My goal is to be able to go to the line for the next community and back without getting sick, tired or overly winded by the end of summer. That's one mile one way, or two miles round trip. D wants my endurance to be higher than that, but I'm going to set a goal I know I can reach on my own... I can't always get out walking with her, so I think a mile one way is good for the time being. 

Note to self: I am going to wear out the sneakers much faster now... Oh well! LOL 

Of course, my reward for the walk was extra loving from Lucy and the rest of D's dogs and her cat... Her cat seems to love me, because whenever I go there, she talks to me a lot and today, let me pet her on her head, and she even gave me a smooch. I just love Cat, and she knows it too... She's pure gray and so pretty. 

My old corgi pal Tucker, who was at the beach with D and I a couple of years ago, was very happy to see me once he clued in I was there. When I was copying a file from my portable hard drive to her computer, he laid on my feet and made a lot of contented noises. Yeah, I love him too and he knows it. LOL 

D has about six dogs at the moment, but one is her nephew's... That baby girl is staying with her "Auntie" for a visit. I just love each and every one of them, they are all sweet natured, and all beautiful... So easy to love. 

She gave me a LOT of tea bags too, various flavors. I've discovered I love English Breakfast, and she included other ones that look awesome... One cup of the brewed stuff per day, tea is loaded with anti-oxidents, and it's healthy. 

I may replace the old green tea with the English Breakfast. Fermented (black) tea is really good for you too... Tee hee. 

I'm tired, and sore, and I may not make it down the stairs without help tomorrow morning, but it's worth it. 

D proved to me that with a lot of motivation, some extra coaxing, frequent rests, a slower pace, and of course, the most adorable and sweet natured corgi walking companion, that I can do it... 

Taking a Vitamin B tablet before I went helped too, it woke me up and gave me extra energy... Natural too, no caffeine. Tee hee. 

I'm so grateful she did. Now that I know I can, maybe, just maybe I'll be able to get myself back on track and get back into my ultra small jeans sometime in the future.

Have a great week everyone, enjoy the remainder of your Wednesday! :)

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!

Where Did Summer Go? (And More)

Ten weeks can go by in the wink of an eyelash.

I can't believe summer is over already, and Son is in Grade 5. School started last Thursday, and Son is more than happy to be back amongst his friends and classmates, learning and having fun with everyone.

It's his last year in the elementary end of his school, and it's bittersweet. He's worked so hard to make it this far, and he loves it there... Yet he has to move on and grow, and go on to new adventures in new places.

I'm so proud of him.

This past weekend also saw me finally getting off my "tush" and opening "Hearts Remembering" for the first time in a few weeks. It needed one last full edit before my new team of critique readers got their paws on it.

It went into Critique Draft Mode on Friday, and later that evening, this one's team - two returning members from the Away to Me critique, and three new ones - got a copy of it for their enjoyment. The only one who may do some editing in it for me is my best friend Heather, because she just can't resist it. That said, my editing is improving and she's not seeing a lot of stuff in later drafts now, not like she was a few years ago.

I'm hoping to hear back from them in about a month's time. Once that's done and I make any suggested changes (that will work for this story), I guess it's off to a publisher, once I find one that will take a story like it.... I have a few in mind already.

Hearts Remembering turned out to be my saving grace this past weekend... The entire full edit was done in less than 12 hours, most of it on Friday.

You see, I had to have something to keep me busy. We found out early Friday morning that a close friend of ours (who was also one of Hubby's coworkers) was killed in a car crash about 3 hours before that.

I needed to focus on something other than what happened and all of the questions banging around in my skull. Those questions have been answered, but I'm not going to say what they were publicly. Those who were close to her know the truth, and that's all that matters.

We said goodbye to her yesterday. It was so hard to do that too. She was a sweet person, sunny natured like I am, and a lot of people loved her.

We're really going to miss her.

This one is for you KS. Soar with eagles, my dear friend. Universe Bless. ♥

Song: "Higher Planes" by Whom Gods Destroy

It's April? Well, It Doesn't Feel (or Look) Like It!

It's one of those years when I am nauseated each time I look outside.

It's April 7, and we had another four inches of snow come down yesterday into this morning. Our driveway and the road had been finally clear of snow and ice -I saw gravel in our driveway for the first time since December! - and now we're back to the endless blanket of white crap everywhere.

It's sickening. The west coast  has not had a true winter at all, and we got theirs on top of our own, and then some.

I'm so ready for it to be over with until at least November. I just want to open my windows and change the air in my house. Is that too much to ask?

Anyway.............

I haven't had much of a chance to work on editing or anything else writing wise the last couple of weeks... I decided that "Hearts Remembering" could perk for a bit longer and I'm glad I did it that way. I'm starting to see a LOT of stuff that I wasn't seeing before March Break, and I think it's going to be much easier to edit it now.

My best friend got a sneak peek of the ultra rough draft of one of the scenes... And she edited it for me! She and I just click when it comes to something like that. She knows my style (and loves it) and knows what I will like and dislike for editing suggestions. Thank heavens she's only been sending me the ideas/suggestions I'll consider. lol

Except for a few left out commas and one or two parts where she left out a word or two, it's pretty much perfect and will be going into Draft 2 of the manuscript. It took me a while to do because well, she kind of forgot to put in the paragraph breaks and I had to compare her gigantic paragraph to the three pages that scene covered in the manuscript to see where things went. lol

This week, I'm hoping to do a full reread on "Hearts Remembering", while editing and formatting the current draft of it... In between chatting sessions with my best friend on the messengers that is!

As for the weather, I would just like to see my lawn again. I don't care if the grass turns green or not, I just want to see something *other* than a blanket of white in my yard and around the neighborhood.

Please.

*Kicks Old Man Winter in the "family jewels"*

Knuckling Down...

It's been a wild March...

First of all, the week before March Break was a complete SNAFU. Son was sent home sick with a massive chest and head cold on the Tuesday before it started and was home the rest of the week. I had planned to use that Friday for preliminary work on another idea or to see what was salvageable from an older, unfinished manuscript to work on next.

It's okay. I didn't mind him being home and well, I kind of needed to bounce out of the shock that yes, I finished another manuscript draft, without knowing it.

Son rested and watched a lot of TV or movies while I started the process of switching gears to editing "Hearts Remembering" instead of writing it.

March Break went by too fast. Hubby caught Son's cold and he was resting a lot when he wasn't working, and the last going off, I had it too.

It wasn't the way we had planned to spend March Break. We were hoping to get up to the Valley to see my mom, my sister and my sister's family on one of Hubby's days off. Unfortunately that didn't happen between us being ill and the wild weather we had, so the trip is postponed AGAIN. *sigh* Hopefully some time in April, once the snow melts........

We had two very nasty storms during the Break... On March 15, we had an ice storm that made roads almost impassable and coated everything. Our power was out for over 7 hours, much to Son's disgust. Thankfully he was okay once he was set up with plenty of books and his MP3 player. I read that entire day in between doing the housework I could do without power. March 18th saw another storm, over a foot of snow came down. I could NOT see my back yard from the window above the sink. There was a six foot snow drift in between the dryer porch and the attached storage area on the back of the house. It was that bad!

I had hoped to see what was salvageable from one of the older, unfinished manuscripts this week, but I had strict orders to stay OUT of Word and take March Break off, all from my best friend.

It had been awfully tempting to fire up Word and sneak into an editing session, but the thought of her duct taping me to the roof with my son's help wasn't appealing. I do want her to visit sometime, but for more than a goofy prank... Hopefully next year or if I'm really lucky, later this year...

But now that March Break is over, I can get back to work - on editing/proofing/formatting "Hearts Remembering" Draft 2, preliminary work on another manuscript either a revamp or a completely new one, or even the longer synopses of "Away to Me" for publishers that want that kind of thing. Yesterday I started the long process of going over "Hearts Remembering" with a fine toothed comb and hope to continue doing that today in between things. My next "Writing Day" will see me either getting another publisher's package ready for "Away to Me" or trying to get into another first draft of something.

I'm also debating on who to send the manuscripts to when I'm ready... Soooooooo many wonderful and great publishing houses out there for the genres I write..... Decisions, decisions....

Have a great week, everyone! Hopefully your spring is going much better than ours. We still have snow banks around that tower over 20 feet, and in some spots, over 30! I can not wait until all of it is gone... I'm so sick of seeing a blank, white pallet... I need color, and soon, darnnit! *SIGH*

The snow drift blocking my view of the back yard.

Ice coating the branches of our ash tree.

Our backyard with everything covered in snow and ice.

What? Well, I Guess The International Space Station Caught That One!

You ever have one of those times that you did something and didn't realize it until a week or so later?

That happened to me today.

Now before anyone thinks something bad happened, it didn't. What I did was a good thing, and I can hear my best friend (who lives in Washington State, too freaking far away for my taste!) laughing her ass off right now. She's probably thinking "Leave it to you to do that, Valerie!", which is making her laugh even harder. (Love ya H!)

You see, last week, I finished the grand finale in Twelve, and had things set up for an epilogue, but wasn't sure how to proceed. It was bus time anyway, so I let it go and decided to think about it on the days I couldn't write.

I've tried writing the epilogue for this rewrite several times, but haven't been able to get it going. I thought it was because I couldn't quite figure out how to get things set up for a certain thing to be done, or I was too tired. I was getting images for it here and there, but only fleeting ones.

An epilogue for this one isn't happening by the looks of it right now, and I know why.

Last week, I made the decision that Twelve's sequel isn't likely to be written up any time soon, if ever. I've tried coming up with a story for it but other than the romance end of things and that you would see the first couple in it here and there, I still have no bloody clue on how to go about it.

The epilogue of Twelve was supposed to introduce one of the sequel's main characters, and tie up things up very neatly. The decision not to write a sequel to it right now is what told me why an epilogue for it isn't coming to me at all.

So yeah, it looks like I finished Twelve without really knowing it. LOL Duh!

So, what's next, you ask?

I've already dug out Ten's files and started converting them over to Word 2013, and reread some of the parts of that manuscript. Since I'm going back to basics on that one - the original version of it was ultra complicated, just like Twelve's original version - I have to do a rewrite on how things are set up for the mains, like how they meet for the first time, and so forth.

Some things will be kept - like the one sex scene and teasers for example, as well as the build up of sexual tension.

These characters are a little different from Twelve's or those in Away to Me, so it's going to be interesting to see how well I can write them up.

I'm also considering stepping out of my comfort zone for a few things in this one. Not saying what though... And if it doesn't work according to my Beta Team, I'll just go back to something that does work!

Hey, a good part of being a writer is the rewrites, after all! *wink!*

I leave you with stats on what was code named "Twelve"...

TWELVE STATS (Draft One):

Name: "Hearts Remembering"
Length: 114 pages.
Word count: 60,626.
Start date: October 3, 2014.
Finish Date: February 28, 2015.

Starting off 2015 With Some Mad Ramblings on Video!

Happy new year everyone! My apologies for now updating things regularly, but.. Well, it's all explained in my first ever video blog outside of my personal Facebook page!

I will apologize for my accent, I know it's akin to something one would hear in New England, but not quite "exactly" like it. If you want to hear the stereotypical "Canadian" accent, "hosers" included, go west, eh? *nyah*  

"My 2014, and Other Junk"

Sorry it's so long but I had a lot of stuff to update all of you on! My next blog will be a text one, I promise.

I hope y'all had a wonderful holiday season and a great start to 2015! Enjoy. :)

"Dark Matter"

Halloween/Samhain has come and gone and our little ghoul made out like a bandit again this year. Unfortunately his costume from previous years no longer fit him but with a little ingenuity, some quick thinking and some creativity on his father's part, he wound up getting a great costume, one that a lot of people loved this year. Thank the heavens Son's father and I are like minded a lot of the time!

I'm also on Day 109 of my quit smoking journey... Half the time I don't even think about cigarettes nowadays.

I guess that's a good thing, right? LOL

It is now the dark half of the year, post harvest and pre planting time. This is the time when I get ideas for my work but I generally do not write until things start turning toward the warmer months of the year.

It is official: I do have another story in the works. I am at the start of Chapter 5 of its main file and I am starting to get that "daffy doodle" feeling I normally get when I'm deep into a story. I admit I am daffy as a rule but I get worse when I'm deep into writing a story.

I've hit a few speed-bumps but it's coming along, better than I had hoped. Before anyone asks, yes, this is the one I have been working on since late September, with the character bios and other things. Its designation is "Twelve" right now.

I do have the title for it, and everything else including a list of key scenes in order. I find I'm getting more and more organized with prep work and other things before I'm deep into a story with each new manuscript I attempt or start.

Okay, that is VERY scary... Me, organized? Wow. That rarely happens!

(I can hear my two best pals, my brother and sister, and my sister in law laughing now...)

Today I was at a crossroads with the writing so I took a day off to do a reread of "Away to Me", something I've been putting off for the last couple of weeks. I've been too damn busy getting this new one off the ground that I keep forgetting to do checks on the old ones.

To me, it looks almost pristine, but my editing skills are horrid at best. I'm going to see what my sister in law, Bestie, G and A have to say before I do anything wonky, like send it out before it's ready!

I'll get back to Twelve later this week. I figured out where to go with the start of Chapter 5 so it should be smoother sailing from this point on in the story.

I don't know about anyone else, but man, this time change back to Standard time over daylight savings time has me knocked out of whack....

Have a great week everyone!

A-Rocking, A-Rolling, and A-Writing....

I've hit the three month smoke free mark in my quit smoking journey, and I am feeling great! I've been off the Champix for about two weeks and so far so good. No major cravings, none that I couldn't handle anyway.

The worst time for me wanting a cigarette these days is when I have a manuscript open and I'm writing new stuff into its file(s)... So... to keep the cravings there to a minimum, I now use a nicotine free vapor stick to help me transition writing as a non smoker. I'm liking either mint/menthol or blueberry flavor by a certain brand for those days.

LIVE MUSIC

It just happened to be that my 3 month anniversary as a non smoker fell on the same day that a friend of my brothers in law was holding a charity event, to raise money for a local fire department. I wasn't sure until about a week or so ago if I was going or not... It all depended on if my husband was working during the time my favorite local band Whom Gods Destroy had their set.

Luckily the guys were playing in the evening and my husband worked the day shift. So I was able to go.

Talk about a great lineup! It was an all day event, from noon on the 18th to 1 a.m. this morning (it's after midnight here on the 19th), and the musicians' genres ranged from soft rock to country, and alternative to heavy metal.

I can't remember the name of the band that was on before WGD, but they were good.

Whom Gods Destroy performed their set... They started off with "Signs of Life" and "Tears of My Immortal Soul", "Ready for the Bite", "The Traveller", "She May Be Evil", "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich", and "Higher Planes".

And like I said on my video blog on Facebook, I was going to shoot them for not playing "Sea of Tears" but I can forgive them for it since they did play "The Traveller" and "Higher Planes".

Whom Gods Destroy:
Adam Bondarenko, Drums and Lead Vocals
Eli Bondarenko, Bass
Tim Gaudet, Guitar and Backup Vocals

Now anyone who follows the local metal scene in Nova Scotia that says they have never heard of the band VICIOUS is either lying or has been living under a rock for the last few years. They are a hard rock/heavy metal band originally from Kingston, NS that is now calling the city of Halifax their home. Known as "The Beast from Canada's East", these four talented guys brought a lot of attention to yesterday's charity event, just by being on the roster. I swear some of the people there last evening were only there to see this particular quartet rock the house and strut their stuff.

I have seen them before, during "The Heart of the Metal" this past February, and knew they'd put on another great show. Watching lead singer/drummer Jake Gracie's ultra high energy with both his vocals and amazing percussion skills was more than worth the admission price. Yes, the band may have had a few lineup changes since I first saw them live last winter, but they can still kick ass and rock any venue they play.

Vicious:
Jake Gracie: Drums, Lead Vocals
Garth Potter: Bass, Vocals
Connor Riley: Guitar
Brandon Colborne: Guitar

Let's just say I hope Rockzilla Seven hosts another all day gig like this again sometime soon.... That man always winds up getting the best of the best of the local musicians in all genres!

WRITING UPDATE

"Away to Me":

The latest draft of it has been sent to the now final two members of my reading team, as of earlier today. It's a husband and wife team, so I will also get a male perspective on this one. I wasn't expecting G to see it until after it was sent out to various publishers. No complaints, he and his wife A are professionals and will let me know if I mess up or anything else. Nothing that I put into my stuff these days bothers them either, as in they don't projectile vomit at even the distant mention of "something"...

I'd like to have this one sent out by spring at the latest.

Other projects:

I'm still continuing to work in a WIP, the same one I've been working with the last few weeks... And although it is slow going by times, it's still going.

The nitty gritty? It's one I started a long time ago and am finally getting the original idea back for it... So I'm writing it, in my style, with my ideas, and what I can tolerate in the love scenes - and maybe more.

It won't be for the prudes with the ultra sensitive gag reflex that goes into overdrive at even a distant reference to oral sex, that's for sure..... Or anything I write period, for that matter...

I also have a possible name for another older story if I ever write that idea.....

And the original idea for another one is starting to come back to me as well.

So I have lots of ideas to keep me busy for a while.

I'm just glad I have a near photographic memory and I'm so darn meticulous about backups... Else the original ideas for all of the above may not have come back to me.

Lesson learned, Uni. Do things MY way and TO GENRE GUIDELINES, ETC.

Have a great night everyone... Keep rocking! :)

Yours truly, the ultra crazy rocker chick aspiring author.

Dropping By for a Second...

Hi everyone, just dropping by with another ultra quick update. Things have been nuts here, between Son and I both having colds (he got over his, I'm still feeling horrid), homework and other school related stuff, going out with friends, and me trying to get another story on the go.

Last week, D and I went to Mahone Bay, and we did some walking and shopping, notably in two shops she adores and that I adore now too. Tea isn't my normal hot drink but I do like it and I admit I kind of splurged on a large bag of cinnamon tea. It's good, or I think it is, I can't taste much with my senses dulled due to this *f-bomb* cold.

We also popped down to our favorite place to purchase stones and other related items... I kinda went nuts in there and got a gorgeous pair of dreamcatcher style rawhide earrings and a few other goodies.

And yes, we discussed what direction I'm taking with my writing. It's not one that D was recommending... I was kind of expecting her to whomp me in the arse a few times, but she is leaving me alone on one condition: I do it to my genre's standards but in my style, and my style only.

This idea was my original idea, so it's "legal" to use as a story, in all aspects for me as an aspiring author. I spent my writing time on Wednesday doing detailed character bios/profiles - from their physical appearance right down to the jewelery they wear - and jotting ideas down for it as they came to me.

I'm still in the early stages of that one, although I am close to getting its "hook" - the first line that gets the reader interested and keeps them reading to see what happens next.

Not saying what idea it is or anything else right now. That's between me, my readers/editors and my writing pals. Heck I'm not sure if it's going to stick or not, so I'm not saying anything publicly. I don't want to jinx myself.

I'm not sure if this one is going to work out or not... We'll just have to see. *wink*

Quick Update

It's hard to believe the 2014 - 2015 school year has started. Our summer went by in two blinks, and the leaves are already starting to turn in my end of Nova Scotia. Son is happy to be back with his friends and teachers, and gets up with eagerness each morning.

Day 54 of my quit smoking journey is here, and although I've been craving a lot, I'm still smoke free and determined to beat the nicotine addiction for good this time. 

So this is what's going on in my writing world...........

Last week, I had two full writing days and utilized them to do some polishing and rewrites in "Away to Me". I made a few POV changes, put something more in line with what my breed expert says would be right for that particular breed of dog, and made some other editing changes like compressions and other fun things we authors need to do during the editing phase of getting a manuscript ready for publishers.

I'm now in the "waiting period" for more edit suggestions from the readers again, so the current draft of the manuscript is set aside until they tell me where it needs work.

It's official: Ten has been shelved. It's too much like the "Legacies" duology in style and storyline to be "mine" at the moment. I'm not sure if I'll ever finish that one or if I do, it'll be completely revamped.

I don't have any other ideas grabbing me by the throat right now either, and it feels odd not to be working on something writing wise.

Please... Before anyone starts messaging me with ideas, don't bother. I do appreciate the sentiments, and y'all thinking of me, but I have enough ideas of my own. I'm trying to figure out which one is the best idea to run with, and which one will hit me like "Away to Me" did when I started working on it.

Besides, the last time I wrote a story that was someone else's idea, it turned into a huge disaster, known as "Family Portraits"... Or, if you prefer, "The Worst of VJ's Finished Manuscript Drafts".

The idea I run with has to be mine, in concept and everything else from the start, else we'll see a repeat of that mess.

The one bright spot of not having anything hitting me right now is that even with that, I'm still getting vague images and ideas for scenes in anonymous stories, and a title for one.

Have a great week everyone. I hope to be posting that I am deep into another story soon.... I just have to find it first! :)

Renovations and Revelations

Day 36 of my quit smoking journey is here and I'm really coming out of the brain fog, so much that I'm getting the urge to write. That hasn't really happened since I had my first smoke free day on July 18th! It feels great being back into it. I really missed seeing an open manuscript in some form open on my taskbar, and didn't have it all summer. I didn't want to risk messing things up while I was still waking up after being blindsided with BS for the last three years and still going through the "just quit smoking fog". 

"Away to Me" went into Draft 3 mode at 11:20 a.m. ADT today, and I've started another reread/edit on it. I'm focusing on things my sister in law has pointed out to me so far, along with things my longtime friend D noticed.

So far, so good. My sister in law is one hell of a great editor and caught a LOT in the first 8 pages of the manuscript. It may not seem like that much considering the manuscript itself is only 138 pages long at this point, but if she's catching that many mistakes already, awesome. It also shows just how awful I am at editing, and how much I need to learn about it.

D notes that I have to work on certain areas and has prescribed time with a certain breed of dog. No problem, I know who has two of the cute fellows and will be seeing them all on Tuesday! *Grins!* Other than that, she liked the story overall and said it needs to be polished.

Hey, I knew that much. My writing isn't perfect, I admit it. It needs a lot of work even in sixth draft, or it does in my opinion at least....

So, it looks like "Away to Me" may be deemed "good enough" to send out to publishers in time, once my sister in law, and my best friend are finished going over it for me. I may get someone from one of my writing forums to give me a critique on it too, just to be extra safe. There are some awesome folk at both of them, who know what they're doing...

I've also made a few changes with the Alpha and Beta Teams. Local Alpha A has been changed to "Critique Reader" and will be just reading the story to see how it flows overall and if it's good story wise, and believable. D is still Alpha Reader #1 and my "breed expert". Sister in Law and Bestie are the Betas.

D also noted a few things about something I thought she wouldn't read and comment on until after "Away to Me" was off to publishers... A while back, I had sent her a current draft of "Family Portraits" (sequel to "No Regrets") and told her not to worry about reading it. I'm not revamping those two for a while - IF EVER - and I want to focus on writing the shorter, less complicated stuff before I tackle THAT task.

She read it anyway...

And didn't like it.

The one thing she said that's really sticking out for me is that it didn't feel like it was me writing it. It felt like I was writing like someone else and it didn't work. She said a few other things and well, by the time she was done, I was thoroughly embarrassed that I had sent it to her. It's in horrible condition and if she didn't like it, it's gross.

Now that my brain fog has cleared and I can see the truth, I can easily understand D's point. Like "No Regrets", that story was heavily influenced by someone else, someone who wanted me to write their "ideal" romance story. Because I was stupid and listened to this person instead of my gut, my natural talent was so darn muffled and dulled, you can't read "me" as an author at all in it. It was like I was trying to ghost write for this other person, and it turned into a huge "FAIL", for me as an author and it is now one of the worst stories I've ever written.

No wonder why those two stories do not feel like "my" work, and now I can see why I'm so darn detached from them. It wasn't "my" style coming through, it was someone else's style and ideas.

I am rather ticked off at myself right now, for writing that story the way I had, and all of the hours/days/months/years wasted on two manuscripts that aren't worth using for kindling. Maybe if I had followed my gut and wrote them the way *I* wanted to write them when I first came up with the original idea four years ago, I wouldn't be feeling this way now.

Lesson learned, Uni.

I really don't know if either are salvageable or not. I'm thinking they're probably not, even if I rewrite them in my style and let my talent really shine. I have a feeling that hearing all of this stuff from D and knowing what I know now was the final death blows to the "Legacies" series. Hubby thinks I should rewrite them, after I have a few more books under my belt.

I don't know. I really don't know. I'm too damn embarrassed and ticked off at myself right now.

Boy talk about a revelation, a huge one.

Again, lesson learned, Uni. I got it this time.

Rejuvenation, Healing, and Corgis....

It's been an interesting two weeks.

I haven't done anything writing wise, but conditions still aren't ideal for it. I'm still feeling rotten physically and that's keeping my concentration at a bare minimum, which isn't good for writing or editing. I've been so bad the last couple of months that I've had to retire from admining all but my author's page and two of the groups I was running. I was too darn sick to watch those, but left them as "inactive" during the worst of it. I'm only starting to get my author's page going again, and I'm still not doing a lot with it.  

My sister in law is still sending me edits for "Away to Me" and I'll soon be hearing back from D and A, along with my best pal and her suggestions.

My goals for the rest of the month include giving "Away to Me" another read through while doing suggested edits, and going over Ten to see what can be kept, what can be tossed, and what has to be rewritten, and so on.

I'm starting to come out of the "just quit smoking" fog a little more so hopefully I will have the mental energy to do that soon. I'm on Day 23 now and things are finally starting to ease up in more ways than one. I'm finally bringing up interesting and gross gunk now, and I'm able to breathe a little easier. This is part of my lungs healing after abusing them for over 20 years, and heavily for the last 8 or so.

Tuesday, one of my longtime friends and alpha readers D and I spent the day together. It was so much fun! We went to my favorite beach, where she took some photos of me, and we had some fun with one of her corgis, a sweet fellow named T. He is so gentle and cuddly. I fell in love with him instantly!

I wish I had been smarter and worn shorter jeans but in the end it was worth it. Some of the pics turned out great and all of us had a great time. We went to her house for a few hours after that, and I met two of her other dogs, a Sheltie named "S" and her other corgi named "S". Sheltie S was pretty timid and wasn't sure of me at first, but she was soon accepting any treats I dropped for her and even let me touch her nose once or twice. She's a gentle and sweet girl, and so gorgeous. Corgi S is out of this world gorgeous, and he exudes a really upbeat, silly and fun energy one can't resist.

D's dogs are amazing. They stole my heart!

Fun fact: Her dogs are the inspiration for a dog in one of my manuscripts. She's helping me with getting the movements and everything else down pat in that story, that way I won't get lynched by the breed's loyal servants!

In other news... As part of my quit smoking journey, I'm giving myself rewards once in a while, as motivation to keep going and have something to look forward to. Part of my "Surviving Heck Week" reward came this week... Bejeweled 3 is one of the things in Part One of the reward. I did have it years ago but lost my copy of it before I purchased my current system. Son didn't like not having it and kept asking me to get it. I saw they finally had it on sale in an online store and ordered it. He's now VERY happy and is playing it a LOT during his evening computer time.

The other part of Part One of that reward is a CD I've been wanting for a while... "Proof of Life", which is the latest solo album by my favorite singer of all time, Scott Stapp, who also happens to be the frontman for my favorite band of all time, CREED. It's GOOD and I now have a lot of the songs from it in my main play list on Media Player.

The final part of the reward will be here within the next couple of weeks, it came from a store that advertises on this online shopping site. It's Bejeweled Twist, another game I had on the old system and lost the disk for it. Son didn't play that one a lot but he said he wants to learn this time... Okay with me as long as he doesn't mess up the computer or MY stuff at all! LOL

Have a great weekend everyone!

Summer Writing Time 2014, Part Deux....

Wow, has it really been over two weeks since I last updated the blog? Time's a-flying again...

So... Sister in law has started reading "Away to Me" and sent me her list of edits for the first two chapters and the synopsis so far. I have a lot to do with just her suggestions alone. Bestie got her copy about a week ago at the most but won't get into it until sometime next month. D and A are reading it now, or will be shortly, so that's all good.

I haven't worked on Ten much the last couple of weeks, other than a glance at it or jotting down an idea for it. I haven't been up to doing much writing wise this summer, between my health being the pits, the mosquito population and quitting smoking just over a week ago. I'm hoping now that the "just quit" fog is lifting that I can get back into it over the next month or so.

As for Ten, I may wind up having to rewrite it from the start... It's too wordy, which is part of what I'm trying to avoid. It is going in the right direction that I want to take my writing, somewhat, but not like "Away to Me" did, and it's starting to tick me off. I can do a lot better than this.

I know I can do so much better, and I know what has to be done to do it right, too. "Away to Me" isn't a failure, unlike my first two manuscripts. I don't want Ten going the wrong way after all.... Lesson learned!

Have a great week everyone!

Lazy Days of Summer? Get Real!

This past week has been crazy. Our internet finally went back to normal on Monday, and I've been going nuts catching up and other things... Including working on Ten, and getting "Away to Me" cleaned up even more for the Alpha Readers. 

I had a little writing time earlier this week, only 2 hours worth, and I managed to get 800 words added to Ten, in between some edits on it. Chapter 6 was finished, and Chapter 7 was started. It's not progressing as fast as I would like it to, but I'm lucky it's progressing at all between everything happening in real life and my writing life... It's crazy right now, and it's supposed to be my summer break/recharge time!

"Away to Me" came out of another stasis cycle this past week, so I could highlight any possible problem areas for the Alphas, and do another round of editing on it. I removed a lot of the repetitive stuff, compressed a few of the wordier areas, and if there was a missing word, added it.

I also did a word count on it last night, and it was shortened by almost 2K. It now stands at just under 76K words, for the record.

My three Alpha Readers got it in PDF form last night at 8 p.m. my time (Atlantic Time zone), and one of my two Beta Readers got it this morning. The only one who hasn't gotten a copy of it yet is my best friend, and she'll get it the instant she says she's ready for it! The Alphas have until August 19th to read it and give me their list of necessary edits, etc, and the one Beta reader is allowed to take her time with it... She has until the same deadline my best friend has, whenever that will be. Bestie isn't ready for it by a long shot, so at least the other Beta has lots of time to go over the story with a fine toothed comb....

I'm pretty darn nervous right now. It's the first time anyone other than me has seen the story in its entirety. I know it's better than "No Regrets" was when I sent it out to publishers last year, but I still know there are mistakes in it.... I just hope between the six of us, we can get it perfected enough for publishers' eyes sometime!

I just hope they like it......

So, now that "Away to Me" has been sent out to the helpers, I have more time to worry about Ten, and getting that one going again. I hope to get moving with it more now that I have more time, and don't have the edits/rereads of "Away to Me" at the back of my mind.... With a little luck, that one will be zooming along come fall, and I'll be going nuts trying to finish that one while my best friend is absorbed in writing up the loooooooooooong list of edits that "Away to Me" will need before it's perfected enough for publishers.

I just hope I have more than three stories in me, and hope I can finish a fourth manuscript before next year this time....

Have a great weekend everyone!

Summer Writing Time, 2014: Part One

Here we go... Summer writing time, 2014.

So far, it's been interesting. I haven't had much time to work on Ten since my last writing day of the 2013 - 2014 school year, other than a few quick rereads/edits of the last couple of chapters. I did have some quiet time the other day, but I wound up doing a read through of it and edit instead.

I was up till 3:30 a.m. the other night, working, but not on Ten as everyone would assume. You see, things have changed up with getting "Away to Me" ready for future publication - IF my Alpha and Beta teams think its story and how it is written will be perfect for it, either by a publishing house or going Indie (self/independent) publishing - with a lot of editing, of course.

Things changed with it because well, who says I can't change it up once in a while? I know my best friend, who is also a member of my awesome beta team, won't be ready to read it until very late this summer at the earliest, but I also have an amazing Alpha team, who are getting it first. There are three members of it, my local pal D - who was originally a beta reader, my BIL's girlfriend, and Sandra. All have their strengths in picking out different things, and all are either avid readers or writers like myself.

I thought where Bestie won't be ready for it for a bit, why not have a few others look at it while I'm waiting? She's good at both seeing the storyline AND any mistakes in grammar and sentence structure, etc., so she'll be one of the last ones to get it... And where the Alpha team needs some time to read it, give me their commentary/opinion on it, and I need time to make any necessary corrections in it, doing it during the summer months seems to be the perfect time to get it all out of the way.

It came out of stasis at 9:31 p.m. Atlantic time on June 25th, and its first read through as a second draft was finished last evening around 6:30 p.m. Atlantic time.

I did notice a few typos here and there, and those have been fixed. So far, so good with that part, at least! I probably missed a few but those will be picked up and corrected in time, between me and my amazing teams. I've compressed a few areas, taken out some repetitive stuff, added a word or two here and there if I thought it needed it and reworded a few things to make it easier to read.

It's back in stasis again, for a few more days. The next step is highlighting any areas that I think are "problem spots", like passive scenes or areas that seem too wordy in my opinion, so the Alpha team knows I've picked up a few areas like that already.

My deadline to get this round done and out to them is July 20th. In return, their deadline to read it and get back to me with comments, necessary edits, and their opinion on the entire story is August 19th.

As for the Beta team - my best friend, and my brother's wife, or the "Grammar Nazis" as I call them - the schedule with them depends on when my best friend is ready for it. When she tells me she's just about ready to go over it, I will dig it out again then, and do one last edit on it before I sent it to her and my SIL. Hopefully that will be sometime in September or early October at the latest.

You know, when I was reading it, I was comparing the set up of it to that of the Legacies series - "No Regrets" and "Family Portraits". It is very bare bones compared to those two... I do some detailed descriptions in it, but even those tend to be short and power packed, and I hardly describe the characters' physical attributes at all. I may mention the LF's eye color once, maybe twice, in the entire story, and there are hardly any repetitive character descriptions at all. The two "epics" have multiple descriptions of the mains, and well, I've learned that it can be ultra boring to most readers out there. Once is fine in some cases, but not much more than that.

"Away to Me" is my shortest novel length book to date, due to it being so bare boned. It's less than 78K long, which is in the right range for publishing via most romance publishers.

The question is, "Will it be up to publishing house standards, even after it's edited to perfection?"

I know it isn't now, and I'm not sure it ever will be. I'd like to think so, but it's only my first attempt to write a shorter, less complicated story, and I'm still learning. It may never be up to the publishing house standards, even after a thorough edit by everyone. I'll have to see what my Alpha and Beta teams say about it before I decide to send it out or not.

I know it's far from being perfect to be Indie published right now, and not sure if it ever will be good enough for an Indie publication. It has to be so perfect that not even a Grammar Nazi can find fault with it, and the storyline has to be dead on, unique and well written.

It's so far from being that good and that perfect grammar wise right now, I may as well be orbiting Eris!

I may never be good enough for an Indie publication for all I know. I know I'm far from ready for it now.

So glad I decided NOT to put the Legacies series out as Indie publications after I got rejections for "No Regrets" as it is, like some people out there suggested to me... That would have been a disaster. They are not ready for being published period, and may never be, even after being revamped.

As for Ten, I'm hoping to get a few hours to work on it here and there over the next week or two. I'd like to get at least the equivalent of a chapter written into it over summer vacation.

This summer is going to be crazy... And of course, I'm still wanting that salad dressing.... My words taste horrible by the way.

Have a great weekend everyone, and if you're in Canada, have a safe and fun Canada/Dominion Day on July 1st!