Misha Gericke and Beth Fred host the monthly goal update. You can sign up and track your progress by clicking the magic bar under their names.
My goal for this year was to publish two books. That isn't going to happen, but I am making progress. Defying Reason is with the publisher awaiting edits. It will be available soon. As a matter of fact- it even has a cover. I mean, once a book has a cover, it's as good as done, right?
Defying Reasonis the fourth book in the Coulter Men Series. Each novel is a stand alone story chronicling each of the three brothers' happily-ever-afters. There were only three Coulter sons, but fans of the series wanted more. Some suggested a love child should surface. Not a horrible idea, but I couldn't wrap my brain around that. Instead, I moved the time line forward a few years to see what young Tanner Coulter was into. Surprisingly, the ornery teen from Past Due was partying it up in college, having the time of his life...until his dad cut off his funds. Forced to return to his island home, he has to pass the time chasing the beautiful new genius girl next door.
Never read the Coulter series? Now is the perfect time to catch up. All three books are on sale for .99 each today through Monday.
It's time again for the Miss You blogfest! What bloggers have dropped out of the bogosphere that you miss. and what bloggers would you miss if they disappeared, er well, stopped blogging? Not suggesting anyone was abducted by aliens or anything...though that hasn't been completely ruled out.
The rules say pick three, but I make my own rules, so I am only picking one. And that very sorely missed AWOL blogger is the lovely Leigh Covington. A visit from Leigh always brings a smile, and I like to smile...so come on back Leigh!!!
I miss chatting with Leigh about books. She has such good taste ;)
Number 1 on the list was: People often ask you why you don't have a thick Southern Drawl.
This is true. We do have an accent, but it lacks the drawl, or that slow, leisurely stretching out of our vowels. Usually, when we travel North or West, people know we sound different, but they can never put a finger on our geographic location, usually they just give up and guess Texas. We have the Southern lingo- we know all about not giving a rat's ass, ya'll. We just say it a lot quicker and we don't add the ya'll.
BUT, when we go South, they peg us real quick as...gasp...Yankees.
And by saying, "Go South", I mean just go a few hours by way a bird flies within the state and Ya'll will be greeted by a Daisy Duke sounding farmer's daughter.
So, why are we so weird?
I know the answer (or at least the answer according to historian, Ray Swick, of the Blennerhassett Island Historical State Park)! There was a colony at Marietta, Ohio made up of affluent, well-educated Yankees. These Northerners overflowed south, following the Ohio River into what was then the frontier. And the difference in dialect stops at Parkersburg, WV because the settlement at Marietta (which is across the Ohio River from Parkersburg) was considered the last stop for civilized society.
So, now you know. Yankees infiltrated the Northern Panhandle following the Ohio River to the frontier town of Marietta.
Now, follow me on a tangent.
Me, being amazingly efficient at becoming completely distracted, I started googling Southern Drawl to see where that came from.
It's like she understands our Northern Panhandle dilemma-
Big Bette says if you don't talk Southern, you must be a Yankee. And she ain't prejudice against Yankees- so long as they stay above the Mason Dixon**
And she admits she doesn't want her kin marrying Yankees, cause the children suffer. They don't know where they belong. Give them a cup of tea and they don't know whether or not to ice it or stick it in the microwave.
Here in the Northern Panhandle, we are much like the confused offspring she worries about.
Give us tea and we'll drink it hot or cold. We swing both ways. I didn't realize that was so odd until I asked for a cup of hot tea in a South Carolina restaurant. The poor waitress was so confused, she had to have a pow wow with her manager. The end result? They microwaved me a cup of iced tea.
*Since most people are still confused about the whole West Virginia is no longer part of Virginia thing...I've decided a brief geography lesson on where to find the Panhandle may be in order.
This is the state of West Virginia The top stick looking part of the state, that looks a bit like the handle on a pan? That's the Northern Panhandle.
Here it is blown up- you know, made bigger?
**The Mason Dixon line is the imaginary line that separates the North from the South. Notice it runs below the Northern Panhandle.
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comments:
When America Was 200...
12:00 AM
Elizabeth Seckman
59 Comments
The year was 1976
My husband and I were 7 years-old, and these are our elementary school pictures.
(I'm the blond girl, he's the dark haired guy.)
Please note: the camera man asked us to NOT touch the bell.
I remember, because I really wanted to touch that bell...to know whether or not it rang.
But, being the good kid I was, I did NOT touch the bell.
Then there was my husband-
Notice how he man-handled the bell?
He ignored the NO TOUCH rule and happily reports that the clapper was gone and it wouldn't ring.
Some people crave solving mysteries in life. Some people prefer to follow the rules and satisfy their curiosity in a healthy way...like by reading a good book.
If you're one of those- check out this bell ringer of a story!
(I must admit, calling a story set in 1976 historical fiction makes me feel OLD!)
Middle Grade Historical and Fantasy, Featherweight Press, November 2014
Lily, a learning disabled girl, attempts to unravel the mystery of her abducted mother using supernatural clues from an ancient stranger, even when it means posing a danger to herself.
Learning-disabled Lily desires to prove herself, although her mind freezes when presented with big problems - such as her mother's abduction. With a French father and Egyptian mother, Lily worries that her mother hid her ethnicity from her French in-laws. However, there's something deeper going on. Lily finds a way into an attic that's normally locked and encounters a mysterious, moonlit Egyptian night world. There she finds Khadijah, an ancient stranger who guides her to finding clues about her mother's whereabouts. Lily becomes a sleuth in both the real world and magical desert, endangering herself as she gets closer to the kidnapper.
I was tagged by the lovelyTara Tyler to list my Seven Deadly Book Sins!!
What are my 7 sins in literature. . .
Greed - What is your most inexpensive book? Man's Search for Meaning. I spend the most money on that book because I am always giving away my copy and having to buy another. If life has you down, if you need direction- you NEED to own this book. Just don't ask to borrow my copy, you know you won't return it!
Wrath - Who's the author with whom you have a love/hate relationship with? Stephen King. Love his books and articles on writing. Love most of his stories, but cannot, for the life of me, finish The Dark Tower series.
Gluttony - What book have you devoured over and over again with no shame? Gone with the Wind
Sloth - What book have you neglected reading due to laziness? Pride and Prejudice- I've read the first page a hundred times, never want to keep reading on.
Pride - What books do you talk about most in order to sound like an intellectual reader? Shades of Grey- I like to roll my eyes and point out its flaws, even though I've never read it.
Lust - What attributes do you find attractive in a male or female character? I just want personality. Just make me love you- that's not so hard, right? Envy - What book would you like to receive most as a gift? One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is on this year's Christmas list
I'm jousting at M Pax's blog. No, I'm not picking up the spear looking thingy and poking knights in the chest. I'm just asking you guys to go on over to Mary's and say this in a comment- by say this, I mean copy and paste the following in a comment or just mention the words that are in bold print:
Lady Margaret and her trusty spear thingy, Bella's Point, says fare-thee-anon!
(Or use those words in any combo to gain me points. No wonder I am so fluffy, right? I joust with words from my comfy chair!)
Now, for the begs and bribes...for all of my huzzah-eers, I will reward you with a chance at showers of ale!**
Begging over...onto the post!
No more pennies?
While cleaning out my mom's house* to get it ready for sale, I picked up a pocket full of pennies. They were hiding everywhere- under furniture, in boxes of letters, and in their favorite place- in drawers full of junk. My husband pointed out that pennies may be on the way out.
On the way out?
Yes, on the way out- like no longer minted.
Seriously? How can we do without the penny? I mean if you want to get rid of something, ditch that bulky, awkward, quarter wanna-be nickel. Nobody gives a plug about the nickel, right?
Come on, we all know pennies are from Heaven. If you find a penny and pick it up, all day long you'll have good luck.
Without the penny, how will you make wishes? It's a penny well people! A quarter doesn't get you twenty-five wishes, it gets you less bubble gum. You have to toss a penny to get the wish.
And how will you buy someone's thoughts? I mean a penny for your thoughts is like, a really good bargain. A dime for those same thoughts just shows we have a sad inflation issue.
Stop the change in change! PROTECT WISHES, THOUGHTS, AND BLESSINGS FROM ABOVE....SAVE THE PENNY!!
*My mom is alive and well and living in Alaska- don't anyone panic.
**By showers of ale, I mean this Amazon gift card valued at $10.00
And hopefully a longevity far better than Sonny and Cher.
Ellie, Drew, and Jason are BFF's- the for real forever kind of buddies. But as Drew and Jason's band, Razes Hell, begins to climb the charts, things start to change. Brooding Drew and quiet Ellie aren't much for the party scene, so hanging out together just comes natural- as does their growing affection. Everything seems perfect for the new couple- well, if you ignore the stress of fame, drug abuse, and torn allegiances. But hey, they're part of the rock band glam- you've got to expect some hiccups and drama, right? This is an excellent story of love, friendship, and family. Congratulations to Kyra Lennon on another job well done.
It's IWSG Day!! Time to whine, err, I mean share our concerns, fears, and insecurities. Thanks to our founder/host, Alex Cavanaugh and his trusty co-hosts: LG Keltner,Donna Hole,Lisa Buie-Collard and SL Hennessy!
Writing is hard work. Sure, you get to do most of it in your pajamas...it's still hard work.
There are stories to write. I know it seems like it's as easy as typing words on a page, but it's a bit more complicated than that. It's good to study craft so you can weave together character, plot, and setting while wearing your master-of-proper-syntax cap.
There are stories to edit. Seriously? You thought giving a story the once over a few dozen times was enough? Aren't you a cute little newbie! I suppose you still believe in the Tooth Fairy too?
There are stories to market. How will you get the word out? Facebooking, blogging, Tweeting, praying, begging- which will you choose? Where will your precious time be spent?
Simple fact: There is no magic bullet. Writing isn't a quick route to fame or fortune. Truth is, it may never bring you seven digits or a trip to Oprah's couch. If that's a problem, well, it's just my opinion, but you're in it for the wrong reasons. I'm betting frustration will be your constant companion. Quit now.
I've said it before, I'll say it again. Writing is hard work. You want easy money? I suggest lottery tickets and slot machines. At least then if you lose, you can blame bad luck, curse a crooked system, and move on to another game sans identity crisis.
If you want to make it in writing, then you better be able to suck it up buttercup. No part of this is easy. Stories aren't carried in by angelic little muses and then promoted by a team of Madison
Avenue hot shots.
It's all on you. It's your book and no one else rightly gives a crap whether or not it fails.
And there's a lot of competition...with more arriving every day. Hell, everyone who owns a pencil thinks he can write a book.
To succeed, you'll have to hang in there. And work. Then work some more.
Simple fact: The only thing that will stop you is you.
You can't be fired; you can only quit. ###### For all you crazy NaNo'ers (I say crazy because I fail every single year and said heck with it) out there, Eva Solar is helping the NaNo organization by trying to raise money for them. If you're all about NaNo'ing and want to keep it going...you can donate HERE!
I tell him all the time he’d be a hot, hot mess without me.
I assure him he wouldn’t know where to find his clean
clothes, or know what kind of dressing to put on his salad if I was gone.
But the truth is, I’d be the one lost.
In real life- I can be a backward, awkward,
neurotic coward. I’m the type who’s afraid to go into the basement after dark;
loathes new situations and changes; and has walked out of a store more than
once without working up the gumption to approach the stranger/clerk for help
finding an item I needed.
That’s me- a leave-a-night-light-
blazing sort of gal.
Yet, here I am chasing dreams…taking risks and chances
knowing full well that I can fail. Or be made fun of. Or ripped apart in my
next review. Scary stuff for a quiet coward.
But it’s all right. I do have a spine. He’s the guy I’ve
always counted on to have my back. He believes in me when I don’t. He thinks I’m
the best when I feel like I’m the worst. He’s the shoulders I stand on while I
reach for stars.
He’s my husband and my hero. And I am a lucky girl.
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