Weekend Traditions

Ahhhh, I breathe to myself every Friday night. Tomorrow is Saturday. There is no rush to get out the door for school and I can have two cups of coffee while still wearing my pajamas. Is there anything more heavenly than that? Here are some of our weekend traditions that separate these two precious days from the five days of the working week.

Saturday morning means the T.V. is on a lot longer than at any other time during the week. My son (he’s almost 4) watches the Disney Channel and though I’m usually reading emails or typing up my blog post, I can’t help but tune in when Little Einsteins comes on. I love the cartoon journey using art and classical music. My son gets to skip healthy breakfasts in favor of a Pop-Tart and I make myself an Alabama flat egg. (It’s one egg, beaten to death with milk. I then cook it on both sides like a pancake, flipping it until it’s nice and firm and then I melt a layer of shredded cheese over the top. Yum).

I often take the kids to Target later in the morning and then go out to lunch at a sandwich shop. The whole day passes with more ease than any Monday-Friday day passes. We play outside and do laundry and pay bills and drink more coffee, but somehow, the lazy morning makes even the most menial tasks more enjoyable.

On special Sundays I make crepes. These delicious treats are from my father’s recipe and there’s nothing low fat about them. Slathered in butter and real maple syrup and coated with powdered sugar, they make it difficult to sit still during church later on. Sundays means lunch out at the bagel place and lots more coffee.

Well, here I am and it’s Saturday morning. I’m in my pajamas, I’ve got coffee, and my cats are feasting on a pile of treats. Today, I’m going to prep my perennial bed and go to Target for Easter basket goodies.

What are your weekend traditions?

Bullet Points

By Heather


I'm having no luck thinking of a themed blog today, so I’m just going with what’s on my mind this particular morning.


*Gas Prices

Okay, why is it when the price of oil drops, gas stations don’t lower prices immediately because they say the gas in the pumps was bought weeks ago, at the higher price… Yet when oil prices are suddenly raised (like today because of the Britain/Iran situation) prices immediately jump up thirty cents a gallon, with no mention whatsoever of how much oil prices were several weeks ago? Unfair.

*Grays

Ugh. Was brushing my hair this morning and saw a silvery glint, but couldn’t find the bugger when I went after it with the tweezers. But now I’m on the lookout. That gray’s days are numbered.

*New cover

Here’s the cover of my latest release, out April 27th. After an initial shock over the pink, I really like it.

*Complaint bracelet

Did you see this on Oprah? Supposedly there’s this new bracelet out (think yellow Livestrong) that you’re to wear for a month, and it’s to remind you not to complain. As in, no complaining for a month. I wouldn’t last an hour (see first bullet point).

*Chris Sligh

He’s the latest cast-off from American Idol. The man is hilarious. If a TV producer is reading this blog (ha!), I highly recommend giving this guy his own comedy show.

*Pilates

The rollover move is going to kill me one of these days. Mark my words.

*Blogger

We here at the Cozy Chicks are having issues switching to the new Blogger. Bear with us!

Okay, that’s about it. I feel better now. Until next week!

~heather

My secret identity

As delightful as Blogger may be, it does have its drawbacks.

Which is why I'm posting as not-myself.

Here's what happened. You may not be interested in the fascinating intricacies of blog creation and maintenance, but I need to vent, so feel free to skip to the next post, which is hopefully about something interesting and germane, like knitting, or gardening, or writing. I wouldn't know, because I've spent the last week LOOKING FOR BLOGGER HELP.

Oops, sorry. Was I shouting?

Anyway, back a few months ago, at Blogger's behest, I switched to the 'new and improved' Blogger, which is run by Google. My other blog switched with no trouble, but it told me Cozy Chicks wouldn't transfer until everyone else switched. Well, the rest of the chicks switched, but nothing happened. And then they all started e-mailing me, wondering why I hadn't taken the big step myself. Because according to the silly computer, I hadn't.

So after several delightful attempts to circumvent the problem, I had a brilliant idea. I (big mistake) deleted myself, and asked Heather to re-invite me. The upshot being that not only was the old blog still on old Blogger, but I couldn't get myself back on the roster. Until I got desperate and reinvented myself (quite cleverly) as karenmacinerney.

Grrr.

So, for those of you who knew me as Karen MacInerney, I'm now karenmacinerney, of a rather barren profile.

Hopefully this will all be resolved soon, or I will be purchasing a new laptop (after flinging this one out the window).

I'm off to buy milk now.

Ciao for today... and hope to be back to my old, more-fleshed-out self again soon.

I Wish It Were Easy

I just finished email, and one of them inspired this post. I'm doing a library talk next month and asked what topics they wanted me to cover. The suggestion was made that I could tell people how I "combined two passions (knitting and writing) into a successful writing career. " Whoa.

I realize that sounds nice, but it's just not true, folks. I was already an experienced (over 25 years) and published novelist when I fell down the rabbit hole into the wonderland of color and texture and met those great knitters. So, after reveling in the yarn and learning to knit and having a great time, when Kelly and her friends walked onstage in my mind and started telling their stories, I knew what to do with them. I recognized them as characters in a new mystery. I'd just finished my first amateur sleuth mystery, DYING TO SELL, the year before. In other words---I knew what to do and how to do it.

I already knew how to capture characters on the page. I knew how to plot a novel. I knew how to write good, realistic dialogue (not conversation). I knew how to create a scene. What a scene goal was. How to do it. Setting, pacing, scene, sequel, viewpoint, characterizaton, etc, etc---all of the elements that go into creating a novel. I'd learned how to do that and do it well over 25 years. That's how I knew what to do when Kelly and her friends walked onstage.

Dear friends and readers and bloggers and other cyber folk----I wish I had some words that could magically transform you into novelists, but I don't. Not even Tinkerbell can do that. I doubt there's that much Pixie Dust in all of Neverland. As you've heard us say many times, there is a path and it is not an easy path. It is definitely not for the faint-hearted. Or for those who would love to turn a wonderful, nourishing hobby or pastime into a "novel." Just like that. You CAN incorporate your beloved hobby or pastime into a novel, of course. Look at all the "niche" novels out there. But---those novelists already knew how to write a novel when they got their ideas. Just like I did.

So, if you're serious, really serious about writing, then join a professional writers group. Not a club. Not a gathering of friends. A professional organization that has conferences, workshops, seminars, & critique groups---they are key to progress.

As I said, it's not an easy path, but for some of us, there's no other career that satisfies. Good luck to you.

Imagination

I get the question quite often, and I'm sure the other chicks do as well--where do you get your ideas?

For me, everywhere. Since I was a kid, I would make up all sorts of imaginary things--characters, enchanted gardens, cowgirls & Indians when I'd ride my horse, etc. I could do this by myself or with a friend for hours. I am sure that everyone did this. Right? When we're kids, we're so open to creating. It's as we get older that we shut down or block out that creativity. Someone tells us our story is dumb or we can't draw, or that writers or actors don't make any money (well...Nora Roberts and Angelina Jolie do), but you know what I mean. For some reason, there is a need for some to squash out creativity. Maybe it's because people don't find it practical or worthy. Heck, I don't know. What I do think is that, we get sucked into this belief that we have to follow all these "rules" when telling a story. When we were kids, we didn't have rules about which way the story should go, we just played and went with it.

The reason I even thought of this idea for today--the idea of the imagination--was because we took our daughter to see The Bridge to Terabithia yesterday. Now, the last thing I wanted to do yesterday was go and see a kids' movie. On Saturday we had back to back little ones' birthday parties and by the time I made it home Sat. eve., I was zombied out from watching and hearing sugar highed children go at 120%. So, when my husband suggetsed we take our daughter to the movie after church, I wavered and then decided that I could at least take a nap. I know--bad mommy. Whatever. Anyway, the nap didn't happen. The movie is excellent! It touched me on so many levels. It reminded me about the imgination that children have because they are willing to be open minded and hearted. I won't give you a movie review, but I can tell you that my husband and I are still talking about it. This movie is for everyone, and there is also a book, which one of my sons has read and says is excellent. I will add that the three of us were in tears watching the movie because it is fairly emotionally heavy.

The one line that sticks out, I've already mentioned and that is to stay open minded and hearted. When you do that, imagination flows and stories are written.

Have a great week.

Cheers,
Michele

Lunch with Four Characters

I’m a day late with this post as I was at the Virginia Festival of the Book where I finally got to meet Heather face-to-face. I also got to chat with Sharon Short, Molly Weston, Donna Andrews, and Ellen Crosby. What fun, but I still apologize for not posting yesterday.

Anyway…Last week I wrote a post on four authors I would like to have lunch with. I thought it would be an interesting exercise to take that idea a step further and envision which four characters I’d like to have gathered around my table. As you will see by my choices, I like to read a variety of genres from sci-fi to thriller to fantasy.

1. Hieronymus Bosch – Michael Connelly’s L.A.P.D. detective might not be the most stunning conversationalist, but I find the guy so likable that I’d have to invite him. Hopefully, he’d drink a few beers and tell us about being raised in a series of foster homes, having a prostitute mother who met an unfortunate end, how he copes with Hollywood celebrity types, etc. Perhaps he’d enlighten us as to how he solves case after difficult case, even though he loses a piece of himself in each “closed” file. I like to think that if Harry Bosch were out on the streets today, no criminal would be safe. The law enforcement hero would be a good table mate, especially considering the next guest I’d invite.

2. Dracula – For lunch? Sure, we could order him a Bloody Mary – hold the tomato juice. By why invite a vampire to dine with me? I guess I’m of the mind-set that he is one of the most memorable characters ever created. He can be treacherous, lecherous, and downright menacing, but he is driven by an evil within him that is so tangible to readers that we cannot help but pity him. Some women have even developed a crush on the Prince of Darkness. He is so wonderfully, deliciously complex, that Dracula would steal the thunder of most modern-day criminal characters (and I don’t have the stomach to dine with Hannibal Lecter).

3. Temperance Brennan – I’d love to watch over Kathy Reich’s shoulder as the forensic anthropologist worked. There’s nothing I like better than a blend of history and mystery and Tempe is always getting involved with such interesting cases. I like her wit, sense of humor, and dedication. And though I also admire Patricia Cornwell’s Kay Scarpetta, I couldn’t take the sights and smells of the autopsies she is required to perform. For a mystery writer, I’m pretty squeamish about actual cadavers.

4. Merlin – Whether from the Stephen Lawhead's books or Mary Stewart’s, I’d love to hear stories of the world of magic from the most famous magician of all time. In addition to telling fabulous stories about spells and beautiful but cursed maidens, and fierce creatures that live in untold places of darkness, I’d love to know how Merlin managed to be both mother and father to the boy, Arthur, who would one-day become King of Britain. Shoot, my son has two parents and he’s ruling over us at a mere four-years-old!

(And if I could have a fifth seat just for lunchtime eye candy, the chair would go to Jane Austen’s Mr. Darcy).

What fictional friends would you invite to The Olive Garden?

We Call It Audrey

by Heather


This past Christmas I was given such a fun gift: a bulb garden. Red Envelope sells them, and essentially the garden consists of a single amaryllis bulb in a pretty ceramic pot.

The pot went on our kitchen table pretty much unnoticed until one day we couldn’t get the pot’s lid on. Seems the bulb had started to grow much sooner than we expected. Five little white fingery-looking leaves had emerged from the soil. I started watering according to the directions and soon the white leaves had turned green, and the stem started to get thicker. Day by day the stem grew taller and taller, finally emerging above the leaves after a couple of days. Not long after, the still-growing stem had a bloom.

The plant grew taller and taller. This is when we decided to name the plant Audrey, a tribute to the plant of the same name in The Little Shop of Horrors, since it felt as though one day we’d walk into the kitchen and it would reach out and grab us.

Audrey’s bloom remained closed tight for about a week until one day when we could see it starting to crack open. Over the next day or so, the crack widened and four separate blooms emerged.

Audrey is simply beautiful. It’s been so nice having a touch of spring in the house so early in the season. Although her leaves have started to droop now, and her flowers have lost some of their luster, it’s great knowing that this is a present that will keep on giving. I just need to figure out whether to keep it indoors or transplant the bulb outside. Decisions, decisions…

~heather

PS: The great sleep experiment didn't go so well. However, there's always next week, right?

PSS: I'll be at the Virginia Festival of the Book this weekend, where I'm on a panel with our very own JB! Sure to be lots of fun. I'll be back Monday!

Disneyfied

It's past midnight, and we just got back from Disneyland, and unless Tinkerbell shows up and hits me with a good dose of fairy dust, the blogging will have to wait.

A good time was had by all, and I'll tell you all about Mr. Snofeles and the Ruby Princess next week.

Staggering off to bed now.

BUT WHAT DO I KNOW?

Apologies for missing last week's blog!

This week I thought we could chat about one of the most confusing bits of advice new writers receive, namely: Write what you know.

Now, it's not that this is bad advice, exactly. Obviously, if you want to write a story about a twenty-something shopgirl falling in and out of love in New York city--and you are a twenty-something shopgirl living in New York city, you have a natural advantage. Same thing if you are PI in your day job, and you would like to write a PI novel. The fact that you actually are a PI is called a "platform." Editors and agents and marketing departments love platform.

But suppose you want to write a novel about a twenty-something shopgirl in New York city who solves a murder. Do you have to go work as a PI for six months or join the Police Academy? Of course not. That's what research and imagination and (this one is key) empathy are for.

If you don't have natural empathy for people, it's a drawback in writing--especially when it comes to characterization--but you can make up for it by being extra diligent with the research. If you don't have much imagination I can't imagine why you would want to be a writer, so that's not likely to be a problem.

Writing what you know is especially useful when it comes to the little telling details that add veracity to any story. And of course the more observant you are, the more you know, and the more you have to draw from.

You know how it feels to be cold, right? Maybe you've never been on the point of freezing to death, but you take the details of what you know (being cold) and add them to your research on freezing to death, and with the help of your imagination, you should be able to write a pretty good scene showing your heroine or hero struggling to avoid falling asleep in the snow after a car crash. Even if you've never been in a car crash.

You're still essentially writing what you know, right? But you're also using your imagination and research. The scene will be better if you can recapture the sting of snow melting against your face, breath freezing in your lungs, the sodden heavy feeling of just wanting to lie down for one little minute...

It's very interesting to me how often new and weak writers fail to capture...reality. So many characters in books and films fail to behave like real live people do. I think this is because writers are trying to make the characters fit into the plot instead of letting the plot evolve from the characters. This is not to say that real people don't behave in confusing and inconsistent ways, but books are not reality. They have to be more real than life, if you know what I mean.

We all have lifetimes of experiences to draw on for our writing, however most of our lives are not the stuff of spell-binding fiction. It's a matter of picking and choosing the stuff we need for the stories we want to tell. Just because you live in a small midwestern town doesn't mean you have to set your stories there--but if you do set them there, you have a natural advantage. However, even if you decide to set your stories in Los Angeles, you can still draw on what you've observed in your small midwestern town--kind of like what Miss Marple does when she's solving her crimes. Remember how everything reminds her of someone or something back at St. Mary's Meade? Well, that's what you're doing when you're drawing on what you know for your writing.

If you want to set your story in Alaska or Poland or the 17th Century, that's fine--your imagination is your only limit--but take what you know and work those details of things you know and have experienced--the feel of clean sheets on naked skin, the bite of wine on your tongue, the warmth of sunshine on your face, the smell of blood--into your stories to give them truth. To make them real.

Questions? Comments?

No Secret

Once again I wondered what to blog about today. Then, I read Michele's post from Monday. I agree. The Secret is no secret. It's as old as Time itself. And we've had wonderful messengers over the years who've let "the word out," so to speak. I don't believe it's an accident that there are so many "messengers" out there talking about these ageless principles. Not everyone responds to the same messenger. But it's all the same message. We just hear it a little differently from different sources. The Secret is simply another source.

I, too, think Napoleon Hill's fantastic book "Think and Grow Rich" is an excellent example of how to apply some of these principles in life. Hill is specific in detail and let's the reader know that it takes WORK to achieve one's life goals. Dreaming and visualizing is an essential step, yes. But we also have to start working toward those goals.

That's the scary part for most people, I think. They think they have to take some huge step. Not at all. The first steps toward your goal could be small steps. If, for example, you want to become a published author, then a good first step would be to join a professional writers' group and start on the path.. Start learning.

I think the dvd, The Secret, presented a wonderful overview of these age-old principles. But the message of working toward the goal doesn't get as much "screen time." I'm sure all those people interviewed spent years working toward their goals. Goals don't just drop into our laps overnight. I know mine didn't. I've been writing novels for 25 years. Success is just now happening. And I'm overwhelmingly grateful. More about gratitude another time.

One thing is certain, however. You have to BELIEVE that you can achieve those goals. Even if you're the only one who does.

The Secret

Okay by now, you have probably all heard of this "phenomena" called "The Secret" that has been talked about from Oprah to Larry King, CNN, The Today show, etc. The Secret is a book/DVD that is based on the concept of the law of attraction. I have read the book and watched the DVD four times. And, in case you care, here is what I think:

The Secret is no secret. It is positive attitude, good thoughts and basically a lot of hard work--yeah, one thing that The Secret doesn't touch on enough is that action has to be taken after you have these thoughts, visualizations and feelings. I don't think my books would get written on the positive thoughts and seeing it done, unless I sat my butt down and wrote them. It's mentioned in the movie, but not emphasized and I think that can be damaging to those people who think that all they have to do is be positive, think it, feel and see it and Viola!--there's your villa on the French Riviera. No! Well, yeah--in your dreams, but physically here--no!

However, my dad has been teaching me "The Secret" since I was a little girl and it cemented my dreams and goals in many ways. I believe it's what kept me going for 12 years when I received constant rejection letters from agents. That can be called many things--will, determination, whatever. For me, it was not giving up on a dream that I did know would become a reality for me. My dad studied many of the early positive/self-help guys like Napoleon Hill, Norman Vincent Peale, etc. He taught me the concept of thinking what you desire, seeing yourself doing it/being it and feeling those feelings. When he would tuck me in at night, we would do a run down of this, and he would tell me that I needed to do this every night before bed and every morning when I woke up. it has worked many times in my life. So, I totally believe in the law of attraction. I even have a vision board. I also think being grateful and being willing to serve others is a huge key in this process. We tend to forget about all of the beauty and wonderful things we already have in our life and live ooutside of the now--be thankful for the now and what you have in it. Take time out to do something for others without expectations of being served in return. I think when I do something for someone without any expectation my sense of peace expands.

The dangers of The Secret could be for those who get themeselves into a state of expectations that if they don't happen in their time line (been there, done that--even recently) or what they feel is a reasonable amount of time, then there could be some dissilussioned, unhappy people. If you've seen The Secret, you know that none of the authors put a time line on anything. So, if you're visualizing a million dollars by next week, well I suppose it's possible, but probably not likely. I believe in God. I believe that God knows our dreams, desires, hopes and needs. I also believe that God many times knows what is best for us, and it may not always be what our hopes, desires and what we think our needs are. I think when we allow ourselves to have these hopes, dreams and desires that what we should do is put them out there--dream the dream, want to villa, envision a peaceful world and perfect relationships. But let them go and accept that maybe what you're living in now is completely perfect, completely peaceful, exactly what you need at that time because ultimately you may think that you are in the driver's seat, but your passenger knows when to grab onto the wheel and drive.

I'd love to know your thoughts on The Secret.

Cheers,
Michele

Having Lunch with Agatha

Unusual title, right? Hear me out, this is fun!

Book Ends, my literary agency, has a wonderful blog that I read regularly. To check it out, visit http://bookendslitagency.blogspot.com/ . Anyway, one of the agents will occasionally interview an author client on their blog and one of the questions that has appeared goes something like Which four authors (dead or alive) would you most like to have lunch with? Well, I thought that would be a great blog topic as I’d love to see who you all would like to break bread with. Here are my choices:

1. Agatha Christie. This choice probably comes as no surprise. The woman is the Queen of the Mystery. I have read and loved every Hercule Poirot book and most of the Miss Marple books as well. (Though I'd rather lunch with Poirot than Marple). I’d love to talk to Agatha about how clever her mysteries are. Unlike many modern mysteries, I can rarely guess who the killer is. All of Agatha’s characters are always complex and difficult to read. I usually make an incorrect judgment about one of them and just when I think I've pegged the killer, Dame Christie draws back a literary curtain and reveals how her subtle clues led Poirot or Marple to the true villain.

2. F. Scott Fitzgerald. Honestly, I’ve had a crush on this man since I was in high school. It all started when I choose to do a book report on The Great Gatsby. Fitzgerald’s photo was on the inside cover of the paperback I owned and I thought there was something so intriguing about the handsome, young man. When I started researching his bio and discovered that he and his famous flapper wife, Zelda, led a tumultuous and tragic life, I was even more fascinated. I guess I’d like to see Fitzgerald as he was before he surrendered to alcoholism – back when he was courting his wife and writing such beautiful novels.

3. Michael Crichton. Writer of the TV series ER, novels like Jurassic Par, Timeline, Andromeda Strain. He’s just so brilliant, so multi-talented. I’d love to listen to him talk about how he conducts his research. This man jumps from replicating dinosaur DNA to time travel to biological warfare and everything he writes seems scarily believable. I read all of his books and am always impressed with his depth of research. I know I could really learn something from him.

4. The Bronte Sisters – I know this entry counts as two people, but I couldn’t chose between Charlotte or Emily. I wouldn’t even need them to talk about their works – what woman hasn’t read them with rapture. No. I’d just love to listen to them gossip about their friends, sisters, and the available young men in their circle. I think it would be just like reading one of their novels. I bet they’d even flirt with our waiters and especially with F. Scott!

If I had a bigger table, I wouldn’t mind a chat with Mary Shelley, James Michener, Ellery Queen, Christian Jacq (he writes the historical fiction novels on Ramses the Great), and my all-time favorite writer (whose books are moslty out of print) Mika Waltari.

What about you? Who would you like a lunch date with?

Who Needs Sleep

by Heather

(My apologies to the Barenaked Ladies for me borrowing their title.)

Last week’s blog got me on a sleep kick. As in actually thinking about how much I sleep.

As I may have mentioned, I like sleep. I wasn’t too happy to lose an hour last Saturday, but I have to admit it didn’t really affect me all that much. Life, gasp, does go on.

On average, I sleep seven to eight hours a night. Any less than that and let’s just say I get a little cranky. Any more than that and I’m in heaven.

I have a good friend who has no trouble getting by on three to four hours a night, sometimes less. Let me tell you, I’d be a zombie. A cranky-puss zombie at that.

My extremely handsome husband (ahem, it's true but don’t ask) sleeps four to five hours a night and is perfectly fine with that.

Not so with me.

I wasn’t always this way. It’s sort evolved over the years. As a little kid I was up early; as a teen I slept till afternoon as much as humanly possible; as a new mom I was happy with any sleep. Now that my kids have gotten older and have begun sleeping in, I started too.

I can’t decide if this is a good thing or a bad habit.

Part of me wishes I could sleep less. Just thinking about how much I could gone if I slept just six hours a night almost makes me want to try it.

Almost.

I’m not crazy, you know.

All right, maybe I am. I think I’m going to give it a whirl. After all, I have a deadline looming on my next Nina book, and I’m getting ready to heavily promote Trouble in Bloom. Maybe that extra hour a day will give the time I need to get everything done.

So, next week, Monday through Friday (weekends are off-limits!), I will get up at 5:30 a.m instead of my normal 6:30. I’ll report back to you all next week to see if this makes a big dent in my to-do list.

So how about all of you? How much sleep makes you happy? How much do you need simply to function?

~heather

PS: I’ll be without Internet access all weekend, so really, if you comment, I’m not ignoring you. I’ll be back Sunday night!

Oh, and Debbie, I hope your kids got their snow day!

Why? Why? Why?

Okay, I've been meaning to post on this for two weeks now, but I keep forgetting to take a picture of the darned thing and a fifteen minute google search came up empty, so I'll just have to tell you about it.

Every Tuesday night, on my way to my writing group, I have to sit at a traffic light and stare at a gigantic billboard advertising "Weetabix: A Cereal as Unique as You Are." In like six-foot high red letters, so you can't help but stare at it. The picture features two objects, which appear to be bricks made of sawdust, in a bowl of milk. No attractive berries or banana slices sprinkled around it. No dusting of powdered sugar to soften it. Not even a spoon. Just two brown, fibrous-looking bricks.

Now, maybe it's just me, but I every time I'm stranded there, I find myself (a) wondering why on God's green earth they chose that photo to advertise their product -- I mean, why not just take a picture of a bowl of bark? And (b) sure, cereal bricks are unique; but is that really the kind of 'unique' that most of us are going for? And finally, (c) how much did the advertising company get for producing that ad? And how much would they be willing to give ME to come up with something better? (Here's hoping none of you are responsible for said ad. If that is not in fact the case, I'm sure it was just a gross misinterpretation on my part.)

In other news, as some of you know, I axed 10K from my Wolf book this week; but I'm happy to report that in the last three days, I've managed to write 6,000 more... and I am very very happy with them, as they involve calf-roping (yes, calf-roping), runaway horses, and 18-wheelers. Michele and I did a cross-country writing challenge this afternoon; when we talked at 2:30, we were both at 1,800 words, and we decided (just for fun) to race to 3,000. Well, I thought I was pretty fast, but would you believe she e-mailed me at like 3:00 and told me she had just wrapped it up at 3,400? Slow-poke Karen clocked in at 3,000 on the nose quite a while later.

Obviously I need to do less chatting and more typing.

Oh, and the food editor of the Austin American-Statesman did a very nice article on the Gray Whale Inn mysteries this week. I had no idea how stressful it is to cook for a food critic who will be consuming and taking pictures of your creations. Thankfully my strata did not come out of the oven looking like a meteor hit it and my coffee cake was yellow, not green. I never want to see another lemon berry muffin as long as I live, though.

Ta for now, and hope your weeks are all wonderful!

Spring is coming. . .I think

I can't believe it. The snow that has covered my front yard, making it look like a giant sheet cake suitable for one of Laura's weddings, has finally melted. After three months. You heard right. Three months.

Our blizzard (first of two) struck in the middle of December, right before the holidays. In the midst of shopping and cooking and mailing packages and all the holiday fun and activities that set that month into a whirl. And it shut everything down, including Denver airport. You remember all those poor people sleeping on cots in the terminal?

Officially we had about two feet of snow in Fort Collins, but I live on the west side of town closer to the foothills, so we always get more. We got three feet. It looked like a giant white sheet cake right before decorating. And that sheet cake stayed put, thanks to a coating of ice on top, brought by the frigid temps that came early in January and stayed until early February.

But today----all that is forgotten. Thanks to the spring-like balmy temps of 50's, then 60's that we've had ever since the last weekend of February, the huge snow and ice berms all over town have melted. We can actually see our grass again, or what passes for grass in our yards. It's all dead and flattened and matted. But, it will come back, now that the sunshine can reach it.

Soon, crocus and tulips will push through the soil and burst into bloom, and I can't wait. Like all of my friends and neighbors in town, we don't want to see another snowflake until next winter. We just hope the weather gods are listening.

Who Drives You to the Bookstore?

Over the course of the last few months, I’ve received email alerts from Barnes & Noble.com detailing new releases I might be interested in based on past purchases. Nine out of ten times, I ignore the alerts. My TBR stack is already higher than a student I taught at a community college who told me his one goal in life was to legalize marijuana. Still, I occasionally get an alert that makes me sit up in my chair and plan an afternoon trip-with two screaming kids-to the bookstore.

A few weeks ago, the alert I responded to was M.C. Beaton’s Death of a Maid, but I have whipped out my credit card for Michael Connelly, P.D. James, Rhys Bowen, paperback re-releases of Christie’s Poirot mysteries, and several others. This got me thinking. We all have those series or those authors that are truly a part of our lives. We wait for their books to appear on the shelves in the same excited anticipation as a child waits for a birthday party.

When I took an hour off from writing yesterday to curl up in a chair with a cup of coffee and Hamish Macbeth, I was sublimely content. Sure, I plunked down $25 for the hardcover and I will immediately pass it on to a friend and then to my mother, so it will gets its use, but $25 is not a lot for a few hours of genuine pleasure.

This all led to me wondering which books got me into reading mysteries in the first place. I suspect the books were historical fiction (which have always been my favorite) that contained a mystery within the plot. I remember reading mysteries set in ancient Rome, Egypt, and Japan and then Medieval England before I even gave America its shot.

I’d love to know which books make you rush out to the bookstore EVERY TIME. The ones you’ve picked up for years. Does Grafton get you into your car? Evanovich? I’d love to know. And for those of you who can remember, was there a book that started it all (your love of mysteries?)

Time after Time

By Heather


Just when I was getting used to there being sunlight when I wake up Daylight Savings Time sneaks up on me.

For those who don’t know, this weekend is when we spring ahead, losing an hour in the space-time continuum (also sometimes known as Target—am I the only one who loses track of time in that store?).

But, really, I should just cut to the chase. We’re all going to lose an hour of sleep. I don’t know about you, but sleep is one of my favorite things. I’m not happy about losing an hour of it, even if it’s just for one night.

Whine, whine, whine. I know.

All right, I will admit that DST is easier to deal with now that my kids are older. Babies simply do not understand the concept. The ones used to going to bed at 8 aren’t going to stand for being put in at 7. Structured naptimes will be messed up, and as every tired parent knows this whole conundrum can take weeks to sort out. My sympathies to all of you.

I’m also really fond of the sun rising as I do, and am going to miss it. I like opening my eyes in the morning and seeing streaks of light slipping through the blinds. It helps me wake up in a less-than-cranky-manner (my family is not allowed to comment on this). On the bright (haha) side, I only have another month or so before the sun becomes my alarm clock again.

And I suppose it will be nice having sunlight later into the evening…

Oh, and there’s the whole “spring” part of spring forward. DST is the quintessential harbinger of what’s to come: Spring! Warmth! Flowers! T-shirts and shorts! Open windows!

Even I have to admit that’s worth losing an hour of sleep over.

~heather

Carpe diem

Well, today we worked out the details on the third Gray Whale Inn mystery, and I'm pleased to announce that it will be out next spring.

The issue, of course, is that I have to write it. And two other books. In the next fifteen months. :)

So did I pull out my laptop and start typing this afternoon?

Nope.

Instead, on a whim, I went kayaking with my five-year-old. Because he's only five for one short year, and today was one of those gorgeous days you just can't waste sitting in front of a computer screen.

I don't know what it's like where you are, but spring is in full glory here; the peach and plum trees are heavy with white blossoms, the mountain laurels are loaded with grape Kool-Aid scented purple flower clusters, and the redbuds are already starting to fade. (Probably because it was 80 here today.)

So after I picked my son up, we went down to Zilker Park, dropped 10 bucks on a kayak, and spent an hour lazing around with the ducks and turtles, dragging our fingers in the cool water, counting the kites that got stranded during last week's kite festival (another kayaker pointed out a 'kite-eating tree' that had snagged three) and watching for the silver flash of minnows.

My tank top is still slightly redolent of the aged and well-used life jacket I wore, but that's a small price to pay for a magical afternoon. It's important to grab those moments when you can, I think.

After all, my computer will still be there tomorrow.

PENCIL ME IN

A week or two ago, Lelia, one of our regular CC readers asked about finding the time to write when you've got work and kids and obligations and husbands and parents and...and...a life.

This is very good question. And one that frequently crosses the mind of many a published writer, belive it or not.

Here's the first thing you (and I am not speaking only and specifically to Lelia here) need to understand: THERE WILL NEVER BE A GOOD TIME TO START WRITING.

You will always be crazy-busy, life will always be challenging and exhausting (although the challenges and exhaustions will change), and you will never have enough time to do everything you need to do.

Happy now?

The truth is, if you want to write, writing must become one of the priorities in your life. Writing must become one of the things that cannot be put off for another day because it is simply too important. Writing must become one of those non-negotiables in your life.

You have to decide whether this is true for your or not, before you get to read the rest of the blog.


La da di da....











Finished thinking about it?






Okay, that said, you have to make it easy for yourself (all things being relative) to write. Part of making it easy on yourself is giving yourself the proper tools with which to write.

First and foremost, you need a place/space where everything you need to write is readily at hand. You do not want to try and settle down in the middle of the kitchen with the dinner burning on the stove (I'm imagining me cooking here) and the kids screaming. You need a chair you can sit in for several hours without crippling yourself, you need proper lighting, you need whatever reference books and notes you use, and you need your laptop/desktop in working shape. Or if you work long-hand, you need lots of clean paper and inky pens.

This is also a good place to mention that there is no "right" way to write. If you prefer to write on the couch with the TV on and the family huddled round, that's okay. Whatever works. Just make sure that you know from experience what works and that you make that available to yourself.

Everything has to be ready for you because you have to grab whatever time you can get in order to write. So you do not want to waste time looking around for your Thesaurus or your research notes on stamp collecting when opportunity presents itself.

Second thing you need is a writing schedule. You need to write every day, but when you choose to write is up to you and the needs of those you serve--i.e., your family and/or employers. And yes, I KNOW you are insanely, disastrously busy. Me too. Believe me, I feel your pain. I AM your pain. Well, maybe not, but I could be your pain if you don't listen up.

Everyone wastes at least one hour of one day. Oh, yes, even you. You know you do. Everyone does. I'm not saying you waste it all at once, but a few minutes here and there, and it all adds up. So what I'm suggesting is: get up and hour earlier or go to bed an hour later or use your lunch. Somewhere in your hectic day, you have an hour, and an hour is all you need--but you do need it every day.


Okay, you can have the weekends off, if you really really need them, but I think you should write every day.

(True, I don't have kids, and that does make a difference.)

And the third thing you need to do is set a realistic goal for your writing. DO NOT sit your lovely self down and think: Today I am going to write a novel. How scary is that? No, the goal is...a page a day. If you write one page a day, which is...what 250 words? Something sweet and bite-sized. By the end of a year you would have a 365 page novel -- which would be like...75 - 80,000 words. Perfecto!

And you can do a page a day because you're only working on your rough draft. And by that, I mean, you just bash the damn thing out. You get it out on paper however you can manage to do that. You write your 250 - 500 words a day and your writing muscles get strong, and the writing gets easier and goes faster. Once you get the writing habit down, it's like anything. You stop thinking about it, you Just Do It.

Does this help? Do we need more discussion on the subject? Do I need to crawl through your monitor screen and smack you? Don't make me crawl through this monitor, young lady!

Questions? Comments? Come on, let's hear what you have to say.

Mercury Is At It Again

You know, I'm beginning to be a believer in this "Mercury going retrograde" stuff. Apparently when that happens, communication problems appear everywhere. Phone calls, computers, people, you name it---it breaks down. I've heard some people blame missed flights and connections on that little planet that can't seem to figure out if it's coming or going.

Well, yesterday I read in one of my writers' loops that Mercury would be going retrograde for three more days. The information registered briefly, then disappeared into the quicksand that is my mind. Don't ask about yesterday. So many weird things happened I never did get to write and that makes me crazy.

I digress, yet again. See! See! Communication problems. Okay, if yesterday had problems, then today presented full out system failures.

I was kept waiting for an hour for a non-writing related business appt. No show. And no phone call to explain. Later, after I was settled in my favorite coffeeshop and firing up my laptop to blog. Guess what? Suddenly, the new laptop' wireless network connection told me: No network found. Impossible. I was just there yesterday. Packed up, went somewhere else. Same thing. Grrrr.

But wait, Mercury wasn't finished with me yet. My editor emailed and said she wanted to fax me something. I fired up fax program on desktop. It appeared to be working normally, only to deliver those immortal words: Fatal Error. After several minutes of "receiving fax" messages.
She faxed it again. Same result. Double grrrr.

Forgive the rant. It helps to "share the pain." And would someone please tell Mercury to get the heck back on the path and move forward again. Let's hope this blog gets thru.

Anybody else experience communication snafus today?

Ask an Author

The writer's path can be a lonely path filled with frustrations, set backs and plenty of rejections. However, those things are just a part of the journey and they are what helps in making a writer who they become, not only as a writer but as a person. On the flip side of the difficulties of writing, it can be completely rewarding, exciting, fun, and give you that feeling you get when you are totally passion driven--ecstasy.

It took me twelve years on the path before I reached the point of being accepted by a publisher. That was a great moment. And, at that time, I determined that I would do what I could to help other writers on the path. I am always learning. That's one of the joys of this journey--you never stop learning. And, hopefully, I have
something to give back.

At the San Diego RWA, the group does something that I think is really cool. They have an ask an author session each month before the meeting. I thought that today, I'd do a do a little of that here, and put out some great questions that I received from another writer. I'm sure the other chicks will chime in, but everyone should feel free to respond as these questions may spark something in you--be it more questions or advice.

1.What's the most important skill you feel that an aspiring writer
should have other than talent?

Good question! For me I would say that is tenacity. It means sitting your butt in the chair daily and writing, then editing, then sending work out and writing some more, and when the rejections come in (they will) keep writing. The point is--keep writing, keep learning, studying, immersing yourself into the craft.

2. What is one piece of invaluble advice you can give to aspiring
writers?

Find the balance. I know this from experience that writers can get so wrapped up in their writing that everything else falls to the side. It's important to keep a writing schedule and to learn your craft and stay focused. However, find the balance--go have lunch with a non-writer friend, make sure you spend time with your children, go on a date with your spouse, take a bubble bath, exercise. In other words, don't forget to do life. You need to write, but you also need to live and do life and that means balancing it out. Otherwise, you burn out.

3.What is the hardest part of the writing process?

For me, there is nothing hard about the Writing process itself. What is hard for me is understanding the business side of writing. It can be confusing and frustrating. You soon discover as a writer that you are not just a writer. You must become a business person, think about the best way to get books into the hands of the readers and write good books. You find out that the determination you had prior to pubication must remain. Now, you have to be patient as your readership grows and keep faith that your hard work will pay off.

4.How do you stay motivated when it feels like the weight of the world
is on your shoulders (besides drowning your sorrows in Red Wine & Dark
Chocolate)

That can be tough. Real tough when there are other factors in your life that also cause bumps in the road. Because we are not typically just writers, but also parents with our own parents, we have spouses, friends, all of that (life), well--throw some of the bumps in the road from those areas of your life along with writing woes, it can be difficult. For me (and this is just me, so I know there will be other writers with different thoughts on this), I throw myself into growth. What I mean by that is I will gather up my audios and books that are either in the category of spirituality, self-help, positive thinking, goal setting, parenting, writing, finances, etc--whatever areas of my life that I am feeling bogged down in and that are causing a block in my creativity--and by using those tools I will work through it. I also remind myself of what I am grateful for, and that I wanted this writer's dream. And, another thing I do is go and work in my daughter's class. Being around little children just lightens the load. It does. You see them and experience an hour or two through their eyes and your suddenly reminded to stop taking everything so damn seriously. One other thing to do is laugh--get a funny book, movie, whatever makes you laugh. And, of course as a last resort there is the red wine and dark chocolate.


5. Is there one book out there that you read and thought "Wow", I wish
I wrote that?

The Alchemist. I LOVE that book. It's beautiful and meaningful and is appropriate for everyone.


6.What are you reading now? If you still have time to read?

Well, I usually have a handful of books going at a time. I read every night before bed. Right now, in the "self-help" category, I am reading Jack Canfield's Success Principles, Yes Your Teenager is Crazy, and for my mystery selection this week--Karen MacInerney's Dead and Berried.

One day, I am going to go on a two week vacation and hang out at the beach and read all those books that are piling up by my bed. LOL.

Thank You to Heather Watkins for her great questions.

Have a wonderful week.

Cheers,
Michele

P.S. A little promo for the week--Silenced by Syrah is out tomorrow. Yeah. I loved writing the book and laughed quite a bit while working on it. Hope you'll all check it out and enjoy it.

New Neighbors in the 'hood

Since Heather brought up the subject of moving, it made me think about how stressful it is to relocate - even if your new house is located in the same town. Over the past two years, there has been a lot of turnover in our development. In fact, I had never met most of the former owners and was only aware they had moved when I saw the Allied or Starving Students Moving vans sitting in their driveways.

Since I have a tendency to romanticize small-town America, I felt bad about not having better connections with my neighbors. After all, when I was a kid, we knew every family on the block - from the names of the parents to the kids to the family goldfish. They had our emergency house keys and we had theirs. We had block parties and babysitter pools and teenagers slowed down when they drove on our road because someone would tell on them if they rounded the nasty curve toward the bottom too fast.

When a family moved out, it was a big deal. We were sad. Of course, we also made sure to greet and get to know the new family. Somehow, that tradition has dissipated a bit these days. I’m lucky if I know the folks flanking me, let alone on the next street over. The same has been true for most of the places I’ve lived as an adult, so I’m going to try to do better about welcoming and getting to know my latest neighbors.

Along those lines, I’m also trying to update the “welcome to the ‘hood” gift. After our last move, a neighbor brought over a mix for Friendship Bread. It was very sweet of her, but my house was a mess and I was exhausted. I didn’t want to bake bread - maybe not for the next six months. In fact, I never did make that mix. So, I’m trying to think of a cooler welcome gift. (To give along with one of my books, of course). Here are some suggestions I’ve paraphrased from a gift expert’s website.

· Entry fees for the whole family to the local children’s museum or if you’ve got one, a planetarium or IMAX show

· A subscription to the local paper

· Tickets to a local concert, sports event (like our hometown Richmond Braves), or community theater

· A gift certificate from one of the area grocery stores or your favorite restaurant

· A welcome mat

· Local food products – for us, that would be Virginia peanuts. Yum!

· An independent book store

What was the most memorable moving-in gift you ever received? Or what did you wish someone had brought you?

Striking a Chord

A little advice: if you have an upright player piano circa a looong time ago, don’t sell your house, because it’s going to be really hard to take the piano with you.

Trust me. I know this from experience.

You see, my husband’s parents are moving, downsizing after retirement. And one of the things that won’t fit in their new house is their player piano. So they set out to find a good home for it. Which wouldn’t be mine—no room, or my sister-in-law’s, ditto with her. However, one my husband's close friends would love it.

Perfect solution, right?

Wrong!

The original plan was to have a whole bunch of manly men try and wrangle this thing up a flight of stairs, truck it to Indiana, and bring it down a flight of stairs to its new home.

Apparently manly men are delusional. There’s no way. The piano is huge. Weighs hundreds and hundreds of pounds.

Plan B: hire a mover.

There I was scouring the yellow pages for movers whose ad listed “piano moving.” I called one I’d heard of, explained the situation, asked for an estimate.

“Oh, we don’t move those kinds of pianos, sorry.” But she was nice enough to recommend two other places that might.

I called the first one, who also said they don’t move those kinds of pianos. (I’m thinking player pianos must be the black sheep of the piano family!)

All-righty. Called the third place. Alleluia! Someone who could actually move the thing. Then he told me the price.

Ohhhkay. Told him I’d call him back.

Kept trying other places, to compare estimates.

No luck at places four, five, six.

Called the seventh place. He said, “Are there any stairs?” I said yes. He said, “No thanks,” and hung up on me!

Called the next one on the list. His reply, “Not interested in a job like that.” And that from a professional piano mover, found right there in the yellow pages under PIANOS—MOVERS.

Um, hellooo? Is the economy so good that people are just willing to give up earning several hundred dollars?

Called another place who explained to me that a team of six guys wouldn’t be able to get a piano like that up a set up stairs and it would need special equipment, stair climbers, I think he said, and he didn’t own them. But he gave me the name of another company who did.

Side note—I found it rather refreshing that several of these companies recommended other companies. They didn’t have to do that, and it saved me a lot of time. So, thank you to them.

Anyhoo, called the last place and yes, they move those pianos, however the man hemmed and hawed and couldn’t pin down a day he could move it, and his price was a couple hundred more than my other estimate, so I said thank you and called back the movers who gave me the first estimate.

They should be picking up the piano on Monday. Let’s hope the piano—and the movers—survive the trip.

I’ll keep you posted.

~heather

Laura Durham and Southern Living: An Addendum

Okay, so I thought my week was fabulous...

But I just found out that fellow Chick Laura Durham (winner of the Agatha for best first novel last year) has a feature in Southern Living magazine!

Bravo, Laura! I can't wait to get my copy!

My week. Holy smoke.

It has been one heck of a week. Whew.

I found out last Thursday that Murder on the Rocks had been nominated for an Agatha for Best First Novel. Which is so amazing I'm still pinching myself. Julia Buckley recommended I get a pet and name it Agatha, so that every time I called it I would be reminded. I'd love to get a cat, but I'm allergic, so I bought myself a new coffeemaker instead, and figure I'll just refer to it as 'Aggie.' It probably won't come when I call, but at least I'll see it every day. Six or seven times, at the rate I've been caffeinating lately.

And then, this morning, I met with reporter Dane Anderson from the Westlake Picayune, a weekly paper in my area; she's doing a feature article on me for next week, and even took a few shots of me in my favorite chair at my local coffee shop. And then, this afternoon, I got an e-mail back from Kitty Crider, who writes for the food section in Austin's big paper (the Austin American-Statesman); they're planning on coming to my house next week and doing an article on the Gray Whale Inn mysteries. In my kitchen. With a camera.

All I can say is, thank God we finally put the back splash in a few months ago.

Since I haven't managed to write a word yet today, I'm going to work for an hour now, but I just wanted to check in. Am I dreaming? Somebody please tell me I'm not.

And who knew all those bribes and blackmail photos would come in so handy? ;)

Hope you're all having fabulous weeks. Me, I'm waiting for the carriage to turn back into a pumpkin. I hope it doesn't, but if it does, at least I'll have the makings for a good batch of pumpkin bread.