Category Archives: Random Rambling

Where Does the Time Go?

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Seriously? I have been running around like a chicken with my head cut off these last few weeks. Getting ready to sign a lease and move and at the very same time that my book comes out in print. Speaking of which… it feels really official now that the print version is posted on the publisher’s site. Check it out…

http://samhainpublishing.com/romance/buckling-down

There you have it ladies and gents! So once my life seems to mellow out, I will hopefully get back into my groove. I lost it somewhere over the course of the past year… but I am damn determined to find it. If not I have several friends who have issued threats if I don’t get my act together. I am getting by with a little help from my friends I guess. ;) Talk to you all soon!

Sláinte!

Pigeon Impossible~

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Sorry, my mother shared this video with me and I found it quite entertaining. I needed a piece of mind moment and this kind of gave me just what I was looking for… a smile. This is a great animated short by Lucas Martell, a man who will undoubtedly have more in store for us in the future! Just click on his name to go to his site!

Where Did We Go Wrong?

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I remember certain things about the holidays from growing up. Sure there were toys that were memorable… though more often than not there were particular circumstances around the presents that left more of a mark (and not in a good way).

Truly the things I remember were the little things. When we were younger, we lived out of the country, but my parents still tried to keep family traditions the centerpiece of our holidays. Christmas Eve we were allowed one gift to open and it was always a pair of Christmas pajamas. Baking and home made chocolate covered cherries…well need I say more? Family and friends were also another major cornerstone in our holidays.

Later, when we came back to the states, we carried on a tradition that was something from my father’s side of the family. Christmas Eve was the night where the family did an open house. Friends, neighbors, and family stop by at the leisure and enjoy some time visiting. That has always been the one constant. Family and friends. Now I look at my kids. Granted they are only six, and to a child Christmas is about the gifts. I am sure it was for myself and my sister as well at that age. That being said, it is a bit disheartening, especially at a time when the economy is in the toilet, to see parents running around frantically trying to figure out how to buy their kids the hottest new toy, video game, etc.

I walked through the store and thought my kids don’t need any of this. They won’t appreciate it and its hard earned money that is getting dumped into things that will be broken in two weeks. Yes, I can hear people muttering under their breath about how it is about the children. Buy the damn toys and quit my whining. I get it and will be getting off the soap box shortly.

First though, I just have to say my peace. I think that this year has made me realize how over done things are and how far from the important things we’ve managed to stray. Traditions, family, and friends old and new are what make the holidays memorable. Twenty years from now the kids may remember the My Little Pony that was in their stocking or (dating myself here) the excitement of finding their first Cabbage Patch doll under the tree before Christmas morning and the hurt and disappointment that little re-wrapping fiasco brought on their parents, but more often than not the toys aren’t memorable. They aren’t what matters. We need to get back to what matters.

Okay I am done… my bah humbug moment has passed and I am off to re-discover the meaning of Christmas, because for my grandmother who’s absence is felt more and more every year, this was her time of year. She lived for this. She was good at it. She glowed, sparkled,and  lit up a room simply by being in it. One very important lady who helped teach us that laughter is an antidote to almost all of life’s ills. That as long as you had family and friends around you, well you were richer than Trump. I want to capture that. To be that woman. So grandma… I will try to make you proud.

Sláinte!

The Sweet Life~

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I have complained many times about my lack of progress over the last few months. Honestly, finding my groove again has been a bit difficult. The paranormal story that has been the very thorn in my side for the last year maybe two was shoved to the back of my mind. I felt I had altered the story so much that there was no way I could make the beginning mesh with the ending any longer and I was frustrated as hell.

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My sister has become quite the paranormal reader. Since she had recently devoured such books as SheWolf and Tigress By the Tail by my loverly Teresa D’Amario, Kiss of Midnight by Laurell K Hamilton (another huge love of mine), and the Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare, I figured it was time. I printed out the first ninety eight pages of my book and let her read it. All I can say is this.

There are many opinions out there that I value and you all know who you are, but there is just something about hearing the barrage of curse words streaming from my little sister’s mouth when she gets to page ninety eight and now has to wait for me to make up my mind to continue the story. Well how could I let my little sis down?

So, here we are and I finally broke the 60k mark. My characters took me on an unexpected turn and so far I am loving the direction. Hopefully, when all is said and done, I will soon type the last words with a sense of great satisfaction. That is what I am striving for… on top of attempting to blog more (you’ve heard that before), brainstorm my young adult story, and zombie story plotting. Full plate? Perhaps…

Divided~

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That is how I feel at the moment. Torn between two projects. As many of you know, the story formerly known as Chosen (which has yet to be renamed), has continually been the thorn in my side. I am in love with the characters, the story line…in fact there is very little I do not like about it. Well I digress, there is one thing. The fact that I can’t seem to finish it! So as I fight like the devil where that story is concerned, I put it to the side for fear of killing both it and my love for it.

Meanwhile, I brainstorm an idea with a friend. Fall in love. Decide to plot. It is working well. But the need to actually write pulls at me. I refuse to put pen to paper or fingers to keys until I really get the plotting stuff somewhat completed. Then the guilt hits. Why am I working on something new when I can’t finish what I was already working on? I truly have no business doing that. It’s no wonder I have anywhere from twenty to thirty partials on my desktop. Seriously, that is no joke.

So I have compromised. It was the best I could do with a divided heart. I will continue to plot the young adult book and not pen a word at this point, but I will also give in to my need to write with the other manuscript because it is just shy of 60k and that is a lot of work to just put to the side. Maybe the plotting will help renew my interest in the other. Maybe it will hinder me more. Who knows. All I know is… maybe if I hadn’t been so willing to share bits of my story prior to now, people wouldn’t be bugging for the finished version of it and I wouldn’t feel so guilty for putting it to the side. But as they say… I made my bed and now I must lay in it. Well I am getting nothing done at the moment. Time to get back to work.

Sláinte!

Plotting is the Devil~

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Okay, I have never plotted one of my stories. I have said it once and will say it a thousand times over… I am a fly by the seat of my pants kind of girl when it comes to writing. But it doesn’t always work to my benefit. So today I am trying to plot a story with a little help from my friends. Wanna know what that has landed me…

Zombies.

Oh yeah… interesting story in the making. Some conflicting ideas of course on where it should go, but ultimately I am the writer. I have the power…or my characters do. So with the ideas I am bouncing around, I decided to actually try and plot this story so that I can hopefully avoid the train wreck that inevitably happens on every story I have worked on thus far…plot holes and rewrites a plenty. Not sure if it will work to my benefit. I spent a lot of money on Dramatica and have yet to figure out that program even though it has tons of cool features. Also have Liquid Story Binder, it too I have yet to figure out all the details too.

For now, I am doing things the old fashioned way. Rough drafting scenes on paper. If I start drafting the story on the computer, eventually it will give way to writing by the seat of my pants, which one could argue has and has not worked for me in the past. Maybe approaching this story with a different writing process, might be just what I need to get me back in the swing of things. We’ll see.

On a side note… thanks Zombie Boy, I needed the brainstorming sessions.

Sláinte!

Ah, Let Me Count the Ways

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People find my blog. :D

I am horrible about updating my blog, but it has not escaped my notice, that there are some very interesting search terms that lead people here. Would you like to see? Of course you would!

Nice looking Irish men, the bad seed, male Scottish kilt and accessories, kilt, a man thousands have seen in their dream, man in kilt, irish kilts history, man kilt, moira comfort keith (don’t ask me where the comfort came from).

Some of this doesn’t surprise me. Anyways… I am trying to get myself back on schedule here. Been sick which has totally sucked, baseball playoffs have also been a huge draw for me, and believe it or not, I have been working on my story. The title needs to be rethought and elements smoothed out, but it is coming along nicely. I had to let the review site go, so those of you who followed the reviews from the girls over there… well it was a decision that came unexpectedly and with little other choice, though I think it is for the best.

Well this is my favorite time of year. Maybe this will be the time for me to move forward and actually see my second book come to fruition. Will update again soon.

Did Someone Say Football?

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packersMy kids LOOOOOVE football. They watch the games with their papa and grandma.They cheer when they cheer, scream when they scream, and consistently ask if their team is winning. Much to their grandparents disappointment though, the Wonder Twins have picked their own teams. They like the Cowboys and the Packers.

What I find more enjoyable than hearing them when a game is on, is their excitement when they catch a football. We went to a BBQ yesterday and my friends brother was throwing the ball to the boys. At first they couldn’t catch anything, but in a few minutes they were catching the football like pros. Their passing isn’t too

Dallas_Cowboys

bad either, considering the ball is a little too big for their small hands. However, I quickly discovered that if they saw mom watching them, their concentration was shot. They were told to keep practicing and maybe they would be the next Manning brothers. That if they mad lots of money then mom wouldn’t get mad at them anymore. (I am sure that Mrs. Manning still gets upset with Eli and Peyton from time to time although her reasons may have changed a bit.)

Who knows. Do I have the next Manning brothers on my hands? Maybe. Maybe not. I am a firm believer in playing something purely for the love of it.

So with that in mind, may the Wonder Twins continue to enjoy both watching and playing football. And should they decide to play on a team throughout their childhood or longer… mom will be there trying not to cause a distraction and cheering them on.

Getting it Right

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Moira's DeskTakes a lot of time. I know some people think the writing life is easy. It’s not. Each author is different in their approach to writing. Some plot, some fly by the seat of their pants, some do a combination of both, and some do it completely ass backwards. I would love to say that I just fly by the seat of my pants and everything magically falls into place, but that would be a lie. (And I don’t know about you, but my mama always told me not to tell a lie.)

The truth is, I probably fall into the ass backwards category. Now as cute as my ass may be, it does me no good when it comes to plotting or writing my story. I have worked and reworked my plot into, what I hope, is finally a solid story line. It took a while. Scenes were plentiful but they were lacking something. The title no longer fits. My characters weren’t giving me anything. Then I started questioning myself about one little issue. That turned into the ‘What If’ game. (Have I told you how much I hate the ‘What If’ game? Well on most occasions, I do.) This time, the ‘What If’s’ actually helped.

I am now on my way to tying together the two halves of my characters blood line, which until now was a major plot hole and now I have a lot of confidence that I am on the right track. Now to just work in the little changes here and there and I can get back on track.

In case you haven’t noticed, authors tend to be a very critical bunch, especially in regards to their own work. It takes a lot to make us happy and I would venture to say it is fairly common that we re-work a story to death. Thankfully, with the support of crit partners and beta readers, the madness ends and we sub a story. Otherwise that ten year novel, might turn into the fifty year novel. :) Oh btw, this picture, is what my desk looks like on any given day. (And no the manuscript in the picture is my distraction when I get to frustrated with the one I am working on.) Slàinte!

The Bad Seed~

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BadSeedBookOk, so I wasn’t really the bad seed. Neither my mother nor my father ever called me that. I was just the difficult, determined, challenging, stubborn, and most importantly …. hard headed child. Yes, it came as no surprise to me. But to actually hear those words spoken. Out loud. In front of others.

Granted, my actions throughout my childhood pretty much speaks for itself.

The determination to have my way and defy my mother while I was still young enough to be in a walker just so I could touch a plant.

The refusal to let a single tear slip from my eyes when a slapping war ensued over an ashtray. (Again, I was at a young age.)

Move to my teenage years and my poor parents were dealing with sneaking out, breaking curfews, ditching school, falling grades, calls from the police, and dropping out of high school. Still, and this is by no means an endorsement for bad behavior, but I didn’t turn out so bad. It took many years, yet I know that the person I am today is a direct result of my parents guidance.

Sometimes, I guess being a bad seed isn’t so bad, if you have the right guidance with a dash of carefully administered love, you just might be like the ugly duckling and manage to transform into something those you love can be proud of. Hope I have managed to do that.

Now that I am done sharing my very round about thanks to my parents, the update is as follows-

1. I hereby forbid myself to work on any other story (outside of plotting) other than my paranormal WIP ~ Chosen. – Again, doing well I think. I have thought about my Young Adult Book, but no writing…but then again there has been little writing at all since the last update.

2. All current 117 pages of said story have been printed out. I realize this is working ass backwards, but I will use that to help fill in my plot structure and story arc. While doing so, I will not open up the original document and all notations will be made in either a notebook or in the side margins of the printed version. – Ok, hard to do bad on this when I haven’t opened the document or worked on the story at all.

3. The nights when the kids are with their dad…. I will limit my online time (i.e. the devil Facebook) outside of a brief check in or status update. The kid-free time will be utilized for writing and research. - This didn’t really happen due to the kids not being able to go to their dad’s in the last two weeks.

4. I will gag my internal editor as much as possible during this process so that I may actually have a finished draft before all is said and done. – This would have worked better if I hadn’t decided to change the setting for my story, which I did during the course of the last few days.

5. Once a week, I will blog about my progress. – Has been more than a week, but I did it, so it is all good.