Friday 6 December 2019

All the pretty things

Okay, so really it's just my cats: 

Oliveris the black and white━he's the oldest. He just turned 7. He is the mellowest of all cats that's out there.

He likes to have a bit of a cuddle beside me every day━never on my lap. Oliver is my rescue cat from the Toowoomba RSPCA. I got him to cheer up Willow after her brother Droogie passed, but alas Willow didn't take to him and died of a broken heart (vet's words not mine) a few short weeks later.

Robsonis the youngest he's just about to turn 3. He was gifted to me by the local Gatton Vet. He's the polar opposite of Olli. Robby loves climbing all over me (and anyone else in the house). I believe he thinks we are his own personal jungle gyms.


Robby basically thinks he rules the roost. He's forever bringing me in presents from the garden such as flowers, live lizards, live snakes (eastern browns━according to my brother 2nd deadliest snake in the world. Thank god he only brings me in the babies to deal with), Cockroaches, moths, though normally it's leaves he's ripped off one of the plants, (my side garden is one huge cat enclosure━my brother and I built it before I moved in. So they have the safety needed to go outdoors without the danger of getting run over or attacked by other wildlife).

Daisy only comes to visit every now and again as she is Grace's cat, but when she does her and my boys get on like a house on fire. Especially her and Robson, they chase each other all over the house playing tag. Olli just likes to sit back and watch. (I get to look after her whenever they go away on holiday or for family stuff that requires them from being away from home for more than a day or so. It's just easier to bring Daisy over to my house).


The other animals who have enjoyed time in our home have been loved every bit as much as the two we have right now. (I no longer have pictures of all the neighbour's animals who used to come for, but trust me I had cows at least 3, a pig, a rooster, 4 chickens, a turkey, about 120 ducks (though to be honest I believe they were wild ducks), 2 dogs, 2 possums (also wild), a family of plovers, a family of magpies, a family of crows, a family of Tawny Frogmouth owls, wild hares, 3 tortoises that live in the damAll of this was when I lived on 5 acres in the bush, and didn't really have fences and the animals would just wander in).

1) Andy CappDied when he was 14. He was attacked by a dog up the streeta Rottweiler named, Clyde. Who belonged to my friend Warren. (I got him when I was 4-years-old. I wanted to name him Dwayne after the guy down the road, but my dad made me name him Andy Capp instead. He was one of the smartest dogs I knew. If I was in plainclothes he followed me everywhere, but the second I put on a uniform he would sit and wait for me at the front gate).

2) SoxWas literally our first cat. (We adopted him from an RSPCA in Tassie. Strangely, he hated kids, so he wasn't any good to have around Emily who was only little, and he had to end up going to live with my sister up on her farm. he was a beautiful cat though. He loved eating cooked potato. Apparently, he liked to bring my sister live tiger snakes as presents).


3) Alexander:  Mr big boy pusselcatDied after being bitten by a king brown snake... he saved me from being bitten... (Alex came to us because I rescued him f some jack-arses up the road who had tied stuff to his tail and set their dogs on him━he took refuge in my niece's house━we lived next door to each other, and Alex looked so much like her cat Steerpike that at first, we didn't realise there were two cats).

4) MilsieActually he was cat-napped by a neighbour when they moved. I later heard he was one spoiled cat. (Milsie came to me when someone cut his legs and threw him out the window of a moving car and into the driveway of the flats I was living in. my husband at the time said you are not rescuing another catas we still had 3...Alex had just died━then no sooner had I agreed when all of a sudden he's the one out there feeding and tending to the cat. Milsie
was a tiny thing. he never grew much at all. Milsie was just a tiny little black bundle of fur who loved to hang with his adopted brother Nathan).

5) NathanDied aged 26+ (by the vet's calculations) after being bitten by a white-tailed spider. I never want to see that ever again. seriously so scary and so sad. (Nathan came to us because an old man up the road died and when the family cleaned the house out the cat ran away into the bush. It took me three months to coax that sucker back out. he was a beautiful dark orange colour and loved to be brushed. I loved that cat).

6) TobyDied from a stroke aged 16 (Toby came to us after my nephew's grandmother gave the kitten to him, which he named Phoenix... and then my mother gave my nephew $20 for the kitten and renamed him Tobyhe was always a shit of a cat who thought he should be boss of the house... though he did love him some cuddles. We also named him the million-dollar cat because he was always at the vet getting something fixed━and yes, that is a younger version of Emily in the picture. she'd like you all to believe that poor Toby who was on his death bead was photobombing her, but we all can see it was the other way around).

7) DroogieDied age 17 from a stroke. This is the cat I miss the most because he was my cat. and one of the first cat's I ever got. (Droogie came to us when ys sister thought it would be hilarious to give my daughter and me a kitten each for our birthdays. She gave my daughter said kitten's when I wasn't around. That cat would follow me anywhere then dump himself on my feet so I would carry him if he got tired of walking). He was one crazy bugger but he was my big boy. Though, in all honesty, I think Oliver might be a little larger than Droogie. They both have the same nature and remind me so much of each other.
8) WillowDied age 17. She belonged to Emily but always lived at my house. Emily was allergic to her. (See Droogie's info on how we got herYou can blame my eldest sister, Catherine Walker, for turning me into the cat lady that I am .today).

NOTE:I lost my last three fur babies all within 9 months. first Toby, seven months later it was Droogie, and then a few weeks after it was Willow. I suppose after 17 years together she couldn't go on without her brothers. Droogie was her littermate and Toby was adopted, but still... a lot of years to be together for it all to be over. Which amazed me when I got Oliver who was already 5 and then brought Robson home as a new kitten and they bonded instantly. And then to periodically throw Daisy into the mix and they all get along so well.

Thursday 5 December 2019

Em's Turn



Songs that get stuck in my head
& I can't get rid of them
sometimes for days on end
Enjoy!









Wednesday 4 December 2019

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.

Tuesday 3 December 2019

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.

Sunday 1 December 2019

Sick As...

I truly hate being sick, and summer colds are the worstIf I start seeing an abundance of crows around the area, there can only be three conclusions:

1> I just have a summer cold and we have an abundance of crows in the area.
2> I watched The Stand way too many times. (M.O.O.N that spells The Stand)
3> Someone really has released a superflu and we are all doomed to die.

I have a sore throat, sore ears, sore nose, a headache from hell, and my eyes won't stop leaking... very fricken annoying. I'm so tired, but I can't lie down to sleep because it's too damn hard to breathe.

But today, I've decided I have to at least try and feel human again. I'll see how long my headache lets me stay that way. Yesterday I slept for hours and hours sitting up in a chair, which wasn't too good in my lower spine━but it is what it is.

Though I have to ask, why is it when I'm sick does Vlad decided to let a whole passel of new story ideas invade my headspace? Especially, when he knows there's not a damn thing I can do about them right now.

Wednesday 27 November 2019

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 NaNoWriMoWatson 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.

Tuesday 26 November 2019

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.