Moira Keith

You ever have someone totally surprise you? It doesn’t happen often for me which is a shame considering how I love a good surprise. Though the few I have had the pleasure of receiving were quite memorable. One will always stick out in my mind from my childhood. When I was in junior high, I wanted a ten speed. My parents gave me a card. A card! Okay, well there was more to this card than met the eye. In the very corner of the envelope was a paper clip and a string was tied to it. I had to follow the string to find my gift. In between our house and the neighbors….yep you guessed it! My ten speed was waiting tied to the end of the string. There were other surprises, but that one in particular is one that sticks out for me. Now years later, I have another memorable one to add to the list.

I am a HUGE Laurell K Hamilton fan. (I have all the Anita Blake and Gentry series in hard back if that gives you any indication to my level of appreciation for her writing.) Laurell K Hamilton was here in Vegas about two weeks ago for a book signing at the local library. (Not entirely surprising seeing as Laurell is a woman of great taste and she appreciates the draw the Vegas valley has. ) Well, I was unable to make this book signing, much to my disappointment. A co-worker was planning to attend and told me if I brought in one of my LKH books, she would have it signed for me. I didn’t have any of my books at the house where I am currently staying. So Friday came and went, as did the weekend and Monday, with an occasional thought on how much I might have garnered from attending an event with an author I hold in high esteem. Truly both fan and writer in me would have benefited. Tuesday I got to work and there on my desk sat Laurell’s brand new Anita Blake book, Skin Trade, autographed to yours truly with a special little inscription:

“To M, best wishes from a fellow writer, Laurell K Hamilton”

Now if that isn’t just pure awesomeness topped with awesome sauce I don’t know what is. I have adored LKH since I picked up my first Anita Blake. I know there are fans out there who do not like the direction the series has taken, but as a writer, I can see and appreciate the growth Anita has undergone in the series and no one can deny the talent that Laurell posesses. A special and very heartfelt thank you goes out to Carol for giving me another surprise to add to my memorable surprises list.

With multiple stories in the works, it is always difficult to decide which one to focus on. I’ve done everything from story hop to forcing myself to concentrating on one project regardless of whether or not I was ‘feeling’ it. The latter is not my recommended way of doing things, but then again neither is the former. Hopping from story to story tends to lend itself well towards leaving a writer (or at least this writer) with the feeling that they never finish anything. On the other hand, if you force yourself to write a story that you are not feeling at the moment, it will show in the end result because it will undoubtedly be lacking the writers passion and excitement…at least on that first draft.

So, I TRY to focus on no more than two stories at any given time. My intentions usually fall short because my muse is a finicky little wench who usually decides that we should work on a project that I had previously relegated into the idea folder. See how she is? Can you blame a girl for hogging the ice cream after such an atrocity?

Anyhow, now I find myself without my muse. Maybe I need to find a new one? Or possibly a spare? A male perhaps. One with dark hair and a nice accent since that always seems to do the trick for me. Maybe he could help me tame my more fickle female muse, though I will not hold my breath on that one. She tends to be far too much like me, which only makes me both understand and loather her all at the same time. Of course if she should return, I will welcome her back with open arms. I can be a heartless and cruel bitch at times, but a good muse is hard to find. So please, if you see her, let her know that I am willing to bend…. a little.

Yep that’s right! I am making an appearance at Mean Kitty’s Blog today. If you are not familiar with Mean Kitty, maybe you know who Mean Kitty bosses on a regular basis-author Jody Wallace. Please pop on over and show a little love! (If you click on Jody’s name be sure to go to her blog to peruse my interview with Mean Kitty.) 

Also, I had the pleasure of receiving a wonderful email last night. I was reviewed at Fallen Angel Reviews! Buckling Down received four fallen angels and I couldn’t be happier! What a way to start off the week. I don’t know how the rest of the week will stack up. 

All I can say at this point is… Happy Dance!

Sláinte!