Thursday 31 October 2013

Me and my girl...


Finally remembered to upload  the pictures onto my computer... We had fun this day getting our pictures taken... and afterwards, we went to a pub and had an awesome counter tea. So no one tell her that I have plastered her picture up everywhere or she'll kick my arse.

Wednesday 30 October 2013

Okay changed my mind back...


Two reasons why I've decided to stick with Sons of Evenmore: Blood to Blood as my NaNoWriMo story:

1. I saw these two pictures and it gave me a whole new run on the storyline itself (guy in picture by himself - Dominic Cervola. Taller man in other picture Ollun: Mercer & shorter guy Jhex Lunos).

2. And the most important reason - Em threatened to kick my arse if I didn't get this story written.

ON OTHER NEWS:

I have relatives coming to stay for the weekend... this should be interesting as one is a young kiddo who the last time I saw her two years ago talked a mile a minute.

I'm also going through my dropbox and have been checking on WIPS and seeing which to keep, which to toss & which to place on the back burner for now.


Tuesday 29 October 2013

I think I have changed my mind.

I saw this picture and got the insane urge to scrap my planned NaNoWriMo story and write this one instead... I have a ton of notes on a series: story... called Day-walkers: Together We'll Be Something More. Yet the story idea now running around inside my head is so different from all the notes I had planned out. So I will be starting from scratch... but this is the story that is waking me up at odd hours and demanding to be written.

Imagine if you will the guy on the left and the guy in the middle both have shoulder length black hair... Their names (L-R) are Claude Reynar, Hayden Gillis, & Mitch Evans.

I just wanted to let you all know where my mind was heading.

Monday 28 October 2013

Waking the Demon


Yes, today I feel like I have a demon inside of me and his name is Vladimir... my bastard of a muse is still off on vacation and I need him home ASAP. It has been a week since I have written anything at all, and it is starting to freak me the hell out.

On other news: I have spent that time cleaning my office after returning from the Oz MM Meet in Sydney earlier this month. I had so many ideas that it sent Vlad running. Looks like it is up to me this time to sort my head out... he's taken Michael Marsden & Doyle Kerwin with him - I hope he brings them back in one piece.

Sitting here I realise I need to rearrange my noticeboards again, so that it makes it easier to get to some important bits of information... Things I have tacked up - like story idea's/notes/my necklaces...etcetera - all the important stuff.

LASTLY

Sunday 27 October 2013

Red Sunday

Today I'm feeling a tad red... it could be because I have so much to do and no time to do it in... Or it could be because my Muse has gone on vacation with my Sanity and haven't left me a date they'll be back by- Hope it's by November 1st when NaNoWriMo starts.

My office looks like a cyclone has just blown through it - why do people think it's okay to dump there junk all over my office desk? Then I have to clean everything up by sorting through it and putting it away.

I have two of my nieces coming to visit next weekend it will be good to see them as I haven't seen them in two years.

I'm having a spruiking (being proud of myself) moment today as well... First time ever I am finally on top of all my taxes... & I plan on staying that way. I have finally gotten into a routine of sending everything off to my book keeper at the end of every month. Though while filing stuff away I didn't realise until I'd finished one folder that I have to pull everything out and do it all again because I put everything in the folder backwards.

I haven't heard back from Steve L (MLR editor) on The Lines Of Marsden: Living In Shadows... Nor do I know what stage Experimentals: Blessed With A Curse is at. I fricken hate waiting, but in all honesty - I don't know how busy Steve L is. I just hope I hear about them soon so I can let all of you know.

Saturday 26 October 2013

Today I am...

My hubs as wonderful as he is put up some more shelving in my office/library extension and I have just sorted and put up all my DVD's only to find that a shitload of them are missing - Fast & Furious number 4 is just gone - why would you only take one DVD out of a set and Harry Potter 7.2 is gone as well and a heap of my very bad vampire and werewolf books has vanished. - Man it pisses me off when they just magically seem to walk away and everyone you ask swears that they don't have them.

Wednesday 23 October 2013

You know you're having a bad day when...

  • When the first words out of your kiddo's mouth is "Mum, I'm so sorry." Then she brings her hands from behind her back to show you she has accidentally knocked water all over your marriage certificate and ruined it... Yes, the one she promised to be careful with...
  • When you have to drive for 15 hours to pick one of your workers up from hospital and then drive him all the way into Brisbane and not get home until 9:30 pm.
  • When you go to drink your coffee only to find the cat has beaten you to it, and left fur floating on the top.
  • When you want to write - something/anything and your mind has gone totally blank.
Well that pretty much sums up my days yesterday and today... 
I hope tomorrow is better.

Monday 21 October 2013

I can finally see it.

Weirdly, after all these years I can finally see it when people say Em and I look alike... not as in looks, but we have exactly the same mannerisms and stuff. 

Just finished some like edits on Experimentals: Blessed with a Curse... and returned them to the wonderful Steve L... I really can't wait for the cover art on this one.

I am supposed to be writing today, but as per usually a million other things have jumped to the head of the queue of important shit to complete.

I did see that The Connelly Chronicles: Family Connections... has been uploaded onto Amazon under the wrong name they misspelled Nielsen... hopefully it will get fixed soon. Then to top matter off I now have the damn book twice on my Goodreads... Sometimes I just SUCK!!! Luckily the talented and awesome Rebecca Bec fixed it all up for me

Sunday 20 October 2013

Pissed off and ranting...again.


Well, my life sucks at the moment because: there is something wrong with my computer... the stupid mouse/pointer thingy keeps sticking and driving me insane. This all started as soon as I tried to update windows to the 8.1 version... for the love of God don't do it... I have no clue how to make things better. Nothing is working like it should... this is seriously pissing me off. I'm at the stage where I want to hit the computer but in  all seriousness I was the one that clicked on the button...Why do I always have to click on the buttons?

Saturday 19 October 2013

Suck it up, Princess ~ it's another rambling day.




















This is how I am feeling today. My mind has decided to take a little vacation when I need it the most -- Typical!

I am supposed to catching up on sorting out the filing and then realised my book keeper still has some of the taxation folders I need. I will have to email her and see if I can get them back... weirdly I have a strange filing system but it works.

I'm trying to get all this done before NaNoWriMo rolls around and I find myself at the end of November with everything stacked up on various parts of my desk. 

Also my brother Ted is collecting me a whole heap of information on this healthier living regime he guarantees will help me lose some kilograms. He's lost 14 so far so I will keep you all informed on my progress.

Friday 18 October 2013

Sit back, relax, & let me ramble on...

Here I was realising that I have so much to do in the next 2 & a half months and then I see pictures like this, which put new story ideas in my head.

I'm trying not to start on something new when I have so much I need to finish by the end of the year... and I need to revise some of my writing schedule for 2014.

My major projects are:
  1. Sons of Evenmore: Blood to Blood, which I have decided will be my NaNoWriMo for this year & will go to MLR.
  2. The Connelly Chronicles: Beautiful Goodbyes, which is still just a happy for now book with one bit of heart breaking tragedy that I am working myself up to write for Silver.
  3. The Lines of Marsden: Living in Shadows, which I will hopefully have in edits with MLR
  4. The Experimentals: Blessed with a Curse, which will hopefully be released soon with MLR
  5. The Gaean Prophecies: Admetus Gaea, which is about to start edits with Silver.

Wednesday 16 October 2013

I'm home ~ this is what we did on Monday.
















On Monday a group of us all went to Taronga Zoo (my legs are still killing me) but it was so worth it for all he amazing animals we saw. Especially the wild cats, and monkeys. Here are some pictures of some of the animals we stopped and saw along the way.











And the scariest part for me...


Sunday 13 October 2013

OUT NOW!!!


OZ MM Meet

Well we arrived in Sydney on Friday and met up with a heap of wonderful authors and readers... I got to fan girl with Serena Yates & Toni Griffin... here I was ready to squee and I did... then I realised that they are just normal people. I have made so many friends here, Shaz, Allison Todd, Barry Lowe, Toni Griffin, Penny Brandon, Pelaam, E.E. Montgomery, Jess Buffet, Bec, Matthew Lang, A. B. Gayle, Isabelle Rowan, Mary, Serena Yates, Nicstar, Meredith Shayne, N.R. Walker, Byron, Sue M, and a few more that I will have to fill in later when I remember who they are... There was so much to take in but so far I'm loving it.

Tomorrow we are all heading to the Zoo... I am freaking out as we have to catch the sky rail - I so do not work well with heights... If you hear someone screaming than it's probably me.

Next year Oz MM Meet is scheduled to be in Melbourne so I' looking forward to that. It will be great to meet up with everyone again.

Wednesday 9 October 2013

Words of advice: Why is writing so confusing?

There are so many rules on words that sometimes I think people are just trying to screw with my head. Here are some examples I've learnt in the last few months.

RULES:
  1. Toward = American Vs Towards = English.
  2. Fiancé = Male Vs Fiancée = Female.
  3. Blond = Male Vs Blonde = Female.
  4. That = Introduces an essential clause (no comma) Vs Which = Introduces a non-essential clause (comma).
  5. Farther = Physical distance Vs Further = To pursue a topic; addition.
  6. Lay = To place Vs Lie = To recline; tell a lie.
  7. Discrete = Separate Vs Discreet = Secretive.
  8. Loath = Reluctant Vs Loathe = Detest.
  9. There was also one about Dialogue Tags Vs Action Tags that had to do with Comma Vs Period/full stop.  I just know it's fricken important... I always manage to get it wrong. 
Here is what my amazing editor Jamie D R sent me to help me keep track:

Dialogue tags are when the speaker is saying something and the tag clarifies who. For example… "Johnny, come away from the window," his mother said. Other words used in an action tag might be cried out, replied, screamed, whispered, etc. Dialogue tags are separated from the dialogue with a comma and the tag is not capitalized.

Action tags are those that more delineate the action of the speaker. For instance… "Johnny, come away from the window." Johnny's mother sighed. Other words commonly used and confused with dialogue tags are laughed, snorted, hiccuped, etc. An action tag is separated from the quote by the fact that the quote ends with a period and the action tag is capitalized and its own sentence.

Tuesday 8 October 2013

Just in case these don't make it into the book.

The Gaean World is a parallel universe to ours. Yet, as you can see there are differences.

This is where the story in book one: Admetus Gaea takes place.



Major Townships:
  1. Alverdine 
  2. Carew - Home of Centaurains horse shifters
  3. Channing Glenn - Home of the Deepwoods Faerie
  4. Gustave - Home of the Elven-kind
  5. Eldrid Stronghold - School where magical beings study
  6. Anthelstan
  7. Port Baruch
  8. Kenelm
  9. Dunmore - Home of more Centaurian horse shifters
  10. Arilpa's Keep
  11. Kazimir Falls
Rivers & Lakes
  • A: Lowell
  • B: Niald
  • C: Tam-Gen
  • D: Tam-Ni
  • E: Aldren
  • F: Lake Lewellen
  • G: Lake Kazimir
  • H: Kaldreth
  • I: Lake Dracona
  • J: Dercy
  • K: Calder
  • L: Lower Calder
  • M: Lake Gaea
This will be the next book I start edits on with Silver publishing... I will show you the cover art as soon as I get it... I can't wait to see what it looks like.

Monday 7 October 2013

Galley proof done...

Spent most of yesterday and today doing the galley proof on The Connelly Chronicles: Family Connections. I have just sent them back to the wonderful Kathy K.

Yesterday I also did galley edits on By the Way for the OZ MM Meet Anthology: Blokes in Love. That is off to finish being formatted now. 

So now I am back to drawing the maps for front of The Gaean Prophecies: Admetus Gaea. Still having problems with them but I will get them completed in the next couple of days before I head off to Sydney.

When I have the maps drawn I will post them here so you can all have a look-see at what I'm talking about...A cartographer I am not. They will be very basic, but hopefully they will do the job I have intended for them.

Weirdly, I think my brain is on overload at the moment. I feel like I don't have a second to spare with all the things I have going on in my life... And today the damn phone has been running off the hook and driving me insane... I hate talking on the damn phone.

Sunday 6 October 2013

Nickelback: Who they inspire me to write.




4 Nickelback songs that inspire me to write
I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.


This one is for Declan Vivvens from The Connelly Chronicles


This one is for Chester Roth from Lancaster's Way


This one is all Michael Marsden from The Lines of Marsden


This one is all Grayson Gillespie from The Gaean Prophecies

Friday 4 October 2013

Yesterday & today are busy...busy...busy

So let's start today off with a hugfest of epic proportions... Life is so worthwhile when you have someone to hug. I've been known to walk up and hug total strangers.

I' m up to the galley proof on The Connelly Chronicles: Family Connections... So once I have the final read through done it'll be off to be made perfect for the release date: October 12. I'll be at the Oz MM Meet in Sydney then, so I won't be able to spruik about it until the 16th when I'll be home.

I'm also drawing maps of Admetus for The Gaean Prophecies: Admetus Gaea... & I can tell you it's not as easy as I though it would be... but I'm giving it a go. I can draw and I know I can draw, but I suck at drawing geographical maps... I prefer to draw faces.

Just when I think it's all over for the taxes - I find out there is still more to do. I feel like beating my head against the wall some days - the only thing stopping me is knowing I'd more then likely end up with a headache, and would still have to do the taxes.

Hard to believe that there are only 27 days left until NaNoWriMo starts... Em has threatened me that the book I write - Sons of Evenmore: Blood to Blood had better be about Jhex & Mercer. So I agreed (Do I have that whole misery vibe happening? NO... But just to be on the safe side I've hidden all the sledgehammers, and keys to the shed - LOL). I'm thinking just to throw her a curve ball I'm going to write Jhex but not in the way she thinks I will... I can't wait until November 1st so I can find out myself what I want to do - my plans of thinking about the story before hand fell through - I'm so not a plotter/planner.

Wednesday 2 October 2013

Signed a new contract and other updates.

I am doing EIC edits on The Connelly Chronicles: Family Connections... and will try and get them back to the wonderful Kathy K at some stage today or tomorrow. At least these edits are not many... I did all the hard stuff with Jamie DR... who was a tremendous help to me. I like it when they explain things and give me example so that I can understand it... You all know how badly I suck at punctuation. I got them done and returned today which is a good thing just in case I have to go over them again.

I also signed another contract with Silver Publishing on The Gaean Prophecies: Admetus Gaea... to be honest I don't even remember subbing it but I received the contract today and filled in the cover art stuff twice because I lost the the first lot I filled in-- I managed to erase it all-- go me!!!