What's Up?

I've been making a lot of notes on a NSI (new story idea), I have loved watching all the Forensic Files episodes and all the different crimes. I have come to the conclusion that most criminals are dumb. They honestly think they are smarter than the cops and that they won't get caught.

I have learnt so much that I have never even thought possible. I do know I'm not smart enough to commit murder. I'd get caught straight away. I'm hoping everything I'm learning will make for a great read once I get around to writing the book.

Also, I have to relearn my computer as it updated, and now everything has changed. So I have to relearn what everything does. It's a total pain in the arse.

My daughter still hasn't given birth to her baby girl... apparently, the hospital doesn't have an available bed and told her to come back next week. Dumbarses if you ask me, but what the hey. So she has to go back tomorrow. And hopefully, they will have a bed for her then.

What else has happened... I sighed a contract for Hidden Hearts 1: Harder & Harder to Breathe and did 1st edits and sent them back to Christie N at MLRPress.

I'm still alive and kicking.

I'm still doing well, though I have had some wicked-arsed migraines and my usual back problems.  But other than that I'm all good. My daughter is getting closer to having her baby, she's huge... but you didn't hear me say that. she has it all happening in the next two weeks. Baby # 2 and a wedding.

Today I spent the morning, doing proofing edits on The Lines of Marsden 4: The Trail of Red Roses. Most were easy and the rest was just disregarding the American spelling and keeping the Australian spelling. 

I've also been working on more of the background stuff for E.P.I.C. The characters just won't let up they want the world to know who they are. I'll be writing these books a little differently and will probably get into loads of trouble, but it's how they want to be written, and who are Vlad and I to argue? Really we sometimes have to give in and let the characters have their own way.

The winter weather is slowly creeping in, so I'm trying to get as much done as possible.  I've been going through me kindle and re-reading books. at the moment I' all about J.R. Ward and her Black Dagger Brotherhood universe. I'm getting myself ready for when I have to have a small surgery done again (or redone as the case may be). I had a small lump cut out of my throat and they used internal stitches that were supposed to melt away, but it feels like they didn't. So now they are going to re-open it and cut out what's still in there and give me external stitches and hopefully this time it will heal properly.

My brain is on overload.

I know what I should be working on, yet so many other stories are fighting to be put first. so right now instead f forcing myself to work on one story I'm just working on whichever one takes my fancy on any given day. Though I'm limiting myself to five on the go at once, any more than that and it might get confusing. 

That's not counting the ones I'm currently doing edits on for my publishers. So I'll be constantly busy. Here is the list of five, and you can keep track of the wordage on the left-hand side of my blog.

1) The Connelly Chronicles 3: Because of You (MM)

2) Lancaster's Way 3: Pre-loved (MM)

3) Experimentals 3: Messages from the Dead (MM)

4) Mountain Made 1: Haylee's Mountain Man (MF)

5) Cotter's Girls 1: Tash (MF)

While I've been sick.

While I've been sick I've actually been watching some shows on Netflix. Usually, I don't watch TV at all. But lately, I've watched The Witcher... Virgin River... October Faction... Anne with an E... & Northern Rescue. A couple of them only have one season so I have to wait for the next seasons to come out... Have I ever mentioned how much I hate waiting? Though I have enjoyed watching the shows I have.

Weirdly for the last three days, I've had pins and needles in both my hands and forearms. I've had a scan of my neck and upper spine today, I go back to the doctor on Friday to find out if there is anything going on.  I don't think it's anything it's too bad.

Other than that everything is going hunky-dory... I finished 2nd edits on The Lines of Marsden 4: The Trail of Red Roses and sent them back to Christie N at MLRPress.

Update time.

I finally finished the 1st edits on The Lines of Marsden 4: The Trail of Red Roses, so I have sent them back to the amazing Christie N at MLRPress, and now I'll have to wait for round 2.

I have some beta edits on The Connelly Chronicles 3: Because of You from James A to go through today, before I go back to working on Lancaster's Way 3: Pre-loved.

I also have some errands to run. I have to renew my driver's licence, go to the post office and collect the mail, go to the shops and buy some groceries, and mum's weekly magazines. Then this afternoon I'll have to mow the yard before it starts to look straggly. I already went out in the early morning (5:30am) and did some trimming in the garden. I still have a little more to do but I ran out of room in the bin, so I have to wait until they are emptied tomorrow to finish the rest. I'm still not feeling 100% so it's slow going.

Today I am...

1) Today I am working through 1st edits on The Lines of Marsden 4: The Trail of Red Roses... Actually, I've already done the edits, but there was a couple of questions my editor had that I couldn't answer, but I couldn't answer because I can't actually remember the story. So today I'm doing a re-read to be able to answer those couple of questions and get the edits back to Christie N at MLRPress.

2) Today I am feeling a little better than I was yesterday. I still have my headache, and for some reason, my forehead is tender to the touch. The good news is my throat is feeling a lot better. No, I haven't been to China, nor do I have the Coronavirus. Just unlucky to get sick at the same time as this is going down. Though, my doctor said I'm not allowed around my daughter who is pregnant or my grandaughter who isn't yet 2.

3) Today the heat is not exactly killing me, but it isn't helping with my low-grade temps or the wicked arse hot flushes I've been having, because yes, at the same time I'm going through menopause... Don't I seem to have all the fricken luck...LOL.

4) Today will be my last day of being 50 years old... Where has the time gone?

I hate being sick.

I went to the doctor on Wednesday... I was feeling like crap because I woke up with a sore throat. It felt like my throat was swollen→ I couldn't swallow without it hurting. It even hurt just to touch my neck... and I felt like I was burning up→ I thought I was having wicked hot flushes.

It turns out I have a viral infection, and a low-grade temperature. So now I'm on even more medication. God, I'm sick of taking medication, but I know I'd feel worse if I didn't take it.

Though the doctor was happy that I've lost 4kg (8.81lbs) this year started at 90kg (198.41lbs) and now I'm 86kg (189.59lbs) only 11kg (24.25lbs) to go until I reach my goal weight 75kg (165.34lbs)... when I started this whole thing 16 months ago I started at 106kg (233.68lbs)... so in that time, I've lost 20kg (44.09lbs).

The good news is I finally got 1st edits on The Lines of Marsden 4: The Trail of Red Roses so I'll be starting on them as soon as my head stops pounding, and I can stand to look at the computer screen for more than five minutes.

Busy, busy, busy...

This week I have a bloody full schedule ahead of me. It started Sunday. When I finally got the mowing done between rain showers. We aren't getting decent rain, but it keeps drizzling.

Yesterday, I have to go out and do a bit of trimming in the front garden. The clouds are building up again, so I got a little rained on.

Yesterday, I had a visit from my granddaughter this morning and I had to cook her some sausages, apparently, she needed them and a drink of Coke no sugar. So that's what she got. She stands on a chair out in the kitchen with me and helps me cook (and by help, I mean she talks to me while I do all the work→she's not quite 2 after all).

Today, I have to go to the hospital with my daughter as she is having a baby scan where we find out the sex of the baby, and I'm getting the ballon thing done so they can do the baby reveal. As both she and her partner want to be surprised. So I have to get the technician to write it out on a piece of paper for me so Emily doesn't find out.

Tomorrow, I have my weekly appointment/check-up with my doctor to see if they need to make any adjustments with my medication. Hopefully, they don't, it's taken me this long to get used to the dosage I'm on now.

That's it for the busy portion of my week. In and around all of that I have to fit in some writing. I'll get some done. I might not get as much as I would like done this week, but hey some is better than none... still working on Lancaster's Way 3: Pre-loved.

Back to writing.

My fingers are starting to ache the more I write. Anyone got any good remedies to help with that? I know it's more than likely arthritis. and it's not exactly painful yet, more of a dull ache. It's going to get worse in winter for sure. 

I've been rethinking my writing schedule... not the amount, but the order in which I want to write them.  I'll know better once I finish the three I'm currently working on.

I still haven't heard back from my editor at MLRPress, so I emailed her again to find out why the hold-up? I'll let you all know as soon as I hear anything. I was supposed to start 1st edits mid-December, I guess she needed more time with them. I may have made a big mistake in The Lines of Marsden 4: The Trail of Red Roses... This is me we're talking about→ we all know it's a big possibility because I suck at punctuation. Somedays I pity my editors. I hope she isn't sick.

Anyway. when I figure out which way I'm going to go with my schedule I'll fill you all in. I had it all set out in my head and then this morning everything changed, and by next month it could all change again. I may just have to take it one month at a time and keep updating you as I go along.

Updates

I'm doing edits on Wardens of the Guild 3: Heartstrings, There is a lot of little crap I have to fix up before we have to start on the real edits. Then the major thing I realised was I hadn't done the damn thing in American spelling, so I had to go through and change all of that→so much fun...not!

I'm still working on my current WIPS The Connelly Chronicles 3: Because of You, Experimentals 3: Messages from the Dead, & Lancaster's Way 3: Pre-loved. Though I might run over my end of January deadline by about a week. Not that I'm too worried about that at this stage.

I've emailed Christie N, my editor at MLRPress to find out about my The Lines of Marsden 4: The trail of Red Roses edits and see if we are any closer to starting them.

Other than that> I'm back at the doctors today for another checkup to make sure my medication is all up to date and they don't need to change anything for me→I'll have to tell him the new stuff gives me headaches, which isn't good.

Forwarding this on...

Traditions

Holiday traditions play such a part of our culture whether it’s something as simple as reading THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS on Christmas Eve or lighting the menorah at your grandparents’ house on the First Night of Hanukkah or remembering your ancestors with the Kinara during Kwanzaa or burning the Yule log on the night of Winter Solstice. Each culture has its own traditions and celebrations and during the months from November to January, so many are honored.

Submissions should:

   Have one of the MCs honoring a tradition or making new ones after separating from their family

   Be a minimum of 10k, maximum of 40k

   Stories will release during the months of November through January 2021

   Any subgenre is welcome and all prohibitive guidelines are observed

   Submissions should be sent to submissions@mlrpress.com

   SUBMISSION DEADLINE: August 10, 2020

   Any questions can be sent to Kris Jacen at KrisJacen@mlrpress.com

***Permission to forward***

Just One Moment

Our world can change in just one blink of an eye. It could be something amazing – the birth of a child, meeting your partner; or something not so much – the death of a partner, an accident that leaves your world different. There are so many little things that impact our lives, is it the event or how we react that is the most important?

Submissions should:

   Have an event that impacts the MC significantly; ideas – meeting your spouse; post-apocalyptic world; an accident that leaves the MC physically changed

   Be a minimum of 10k, maximum of 40k

   Any subgenre is welcome and all prohibitive guidelines are observed

   Submissions should be sent to submissions@mlrpress.com

   SUBMISSION DEADLINE: June 30, 2020

   Any questions can be sent to Kris Jacen at KrisJacen@mlrpress.com

***Permission to forward***

Up & Running...

The new Year has begun and I currently have 3 projects on the go. I will be this rushed for the first 2 months and then things will slow down because I will have caught up and be where I am supposed to be at in my writing schedule.

The Connelly Chronicles 3: Because of You I started the year off at 50K only another 50 to go.

Lancaster's Way 3: Pre-loved I started off at just over 5K so I still have 35K to go.

Experimentals 3: Messages from the Dead I started off at 1.5K mainly because I lost all my long-handed version and have to start again...go me. so that leaves me with 38.5K to go. 

Even with all of this I still say I will be caught up by the end of February. I will keep you all informed of my progress as I go along wish me luck.

Looking into the future

Okay, so maybe it's just the future inside my head or cleaning up the clutter in there. Since being sick, the abundance of new story ideas has multiplied. I really think Vlad is trying to lead me down the garden path where they are concerned and hiding the series I should be busy working on. He thinks he's hilarious when he does crap like that to me.

This year I meant to finish two more stories:

• The Connelly Chronicles 3: Because of You
• Wardens of the Guild 3: Heartstrings

The next couple of weeks will be telling of how much I can catch up as I think I actually have 87, 474 words left to write. If I crackdown I could probably still make it I'd at least 5.4K a day until the end of the month. That's with taking Christmas day off to spend with family. I think I'll give it a shot. If I don't make it then I'll let you know on December 31st and tell you how much time I'll need to play catch up next year. Because I'm due to start edits on The Lines of Marsden 4: The Trail of Red Roses soon.

Example Character Profile

Series Title: The Lines of Marsden.

Books: Fist line.

Name: Michael Alexander Marsden.

Age: 22 (at time of turning).

Species: Vampire (King).

Realm: SE Queensland, Australia.

Hair Colour/Type/Length: Dark brown almost black (in book one it is just past his shoulders in book 2 onward it is cropped short like in this picture except the fringe is a lot shorter like he has it shorn close to his scalp).

Eye Colour/Shape: Purple (shade varies depending on his moods).

Skin colour Type Pale, never was prone to tanning.

Scars/Blemishes: Facial scars - small one between the nose and the top lip and one that runs the length of his jaw on his left side, (due to his cousin Geoffrey tripping him into a barbwire fence when in high School – they hate each other).

Height: 5 feet 9.

Weight: 90 Kg.

Clothing preferred: Jeans, dress shirts. Though after meeting pack and the English vampires he does start wearing t-shirts.  He does have a lot of clothing with Dragons on (bought by Gypsy mostly black).

Mannerisms: At first Michael’s kind of shy and unsure of himself. But that couldn’t be further from the truth. Michael once comfortable, with who he is, makes the best damn leader (He’s destined to be king). Michael’s a jump in there all or nothing type of person. Not really an over-thinker, and gets frustrated when the others need to talk and think through everything. Probably why he ends up in trouble so much of the time. Once he sets his mind to something there’s no way he’ll give up until he has completed/mastered what he has set out to do. He’s compassionate up to a point. Hurt him, or who he claims as his, and your life isn’t worth living.

Favourite Colour: All shades of blue.

Favourite Food: Chicken Kiev and Salad

Favourite Drink: Coke/ Bourbon (even though Booze really has no effect on them—he just likes the taste)/ and Christian gets him hooked on green tea.

Favourite Band: He likes it all he’s pretty eclectic in his tastes

Favourite Book: David Eddings the Elenium series

Favourite Movie: Chronicles of Riddick.

NOTES: Siblings are Gypsy his twin sister in this lifetime and Benj from their original lifetime. He has three children with Doyle who was originally known by another name (Carleah)—children are Raphael who has been kidnapped by Venetia, and still missing, or rather hidden away are Michaela and Vladimir who will be introduced in future books. Michael always only ever wanted to live his life. But soon realised that words said in haste to piss someone off often have a way of coming back to bite him in the arse, and turning him into the king of a whole legion of beings, all looking to him for the answers.

Character Inspiration

Wardens of the Guild 3: Heartstrings

Gabriel Gillis━Human/Day Warden

Daven Banks━Vampire/Guild Member

Artemis Kohen━Fey 

The Connelly Chronicles 3: Because of You

Nathan 'Nate' Burkhart━Girly's brother

Daniel Marshal━Viv's brother

Sons of Evenmore 3: Fear the Scarlet Moon

Phoenix Lunos━Vampire/Challus Coven Leader

Linkin━Arctic Wolf/Ollun

Cooper Norton━Human

Finished and Submitted

 Sons of Evenmore 3
Fear the Scarlet Moon

➤The story is finished.

➤The blurb is done.

➤The synopsis has been written.

➤The story has been submitted. 

➤Where: MLRPress.

Little Things...

It's the little things in life I use that make it easier for me to write my stories. Here are a couple of my little things... tips if you will to what makes it easier for me to work.

First> I start with an idea. It might just be two people and I think to myself they look like they'd make great main characters in my next book.

Second> I might make a list of stuff I want to happen in the story. It might not all make it into the story, but I have the list as a guideline (they don't call me the list lady for nothing).

Third> I find pictures of people who closely resemble my characters in my head. That way I have a visual to fall back on. And I always make files to keep all the relevant information in. Just so it's always on hand when needed.

Forth> Figure out all the close bonds and family support for each main character, and who's the one person you can explain things to so the reader knows exactly what's happening (I read that little tidbit in a Stephen King book on writing). 

Fifth> Figure out where the hell they live and what's around them. Become familiar with the area. Hence the reason I love writing books in made-up realities because you can be anywhere and not have to be at all accurate. My hardest series is Lancaster's Way, which is set in Texas. the town might be made up, but the county and surrounding area are very real. Lucky for me I have great friends I can call on for hell when needed for accuracy.

Sixth> Decide if you are writing in first person or third person. I've tried both. I mainly do third, but lately, something has been scratching at my soul to do another first-person story. I'm not sure how that will work out for me.

Seventh> Remember while writing to periodically save your work and have a backup copy that's not just on your computer. After having lost a manuscript or two. I've learnt the hard way to save... save ... save...

Eighth> Take notes as you write the story... it'll make doing the synopsis way easier━trust me. I've learnt now to do my synopsis as I go along. Don't think I'm perfect at them because I can tell you now I do them wrong, but at least I do them. 

Nineth> If you suck at writing blurbs like I do. Write a couple of different versions to send in and then ask your editor to help turn it into the perfect one. If you self publish. You could always ask your beta reading team to do the same thing.

Tenth> Lastly━A rejection letter isn't a no way━now fuck off. It's simply you need to try elsewhere to find a home for your work. Because in the end, you'll definitely find the right fit for you. sometimes it's a long comfy stay and other times you might find yourself moving to a new and better home, but at least your work is out there for the world to see.

Okay, this is it.

Today  I'm still sick as all get-go, but I managed to drive myself and my 87-year-old mother to the doctor to get checked out... Good news is, it's just the flu, and mine hasn't turned into bronchitis like last year... Bad news is, we now have a ton of medication to take and it makes me as drowsy as hell. So hopefully now, I'll be on the mend.

Even though I haven't been able to concentrate enough to actually write. I have managed to fill in some of my spreadsheets and update my character profiles. Currently, I'm working on the preternatural universe that revolves around Sons of Evenmore and will eventually involve the beginning and end of the timeline = Pack Matters & Watson Falls.

I'm still waiting o hear back from my editor about two projects and expected timelines. As soon as I know the answer I can basically work out in which order I want to write everything next year. If I don't hear back from her soon I'll email her again. Christie N is actually in the midst of editing The Lines of Marsden 4: The Trail of Red Roses for me. I'm hoping to start writing again as soon as I get rid of my damn headache and my eyes stop watering.

On Hold...

My NaNoWriMo came to a halt yesterday because I had to do a little bit of research. Funnily enough, it's with the first book I ever wrote for NaNoWriMo, Watson Falls 1: Between One Heartbeat & the Next. Something that is happening in my current book relates to that one and I have to go back and see what the go was. Just so it all makes sense. I hope to finish Sons of Evenmore 3: Fear the Scarlet Moon today as planned. If not I'll come pretty damn close.

Dang that hurts...

I went to bed with a migraine last night and woke up this morning with a sore back. How is that fair. I can hardly bloody move. I hate it when my back is sore... 

At least I only have to go out once today, and then I'm at home writing all day. I'm well on the way to finishing Sons of Evemnore 3: Fear the Scarlet Moon by tomorrow. Then I start on Warden of the Guild 3: Heartstrings. Yes, these are the ones I'm doing for NaNoWriMo ━I might not make it to the whole 50K but I'll get damn close.

Summer hasn't even really started yet, and it is as hot as hell. I'm dreading for when we hit the peak of the hot season. Rain━forget it. It seems to want to rain everywhere, but where I am living. Not that I'm bitching━much. The fires are still going strong in and around the country.

Other than that, Vlad is telling me to wrap this up because we have writing to do. If we get on a good roll we might even finish Sons of Evenmore 3: Fear the Scarlet Moon today as we only have 7kish to write on it.