Summer is now a Memory, Bring in Fall

Well, the shorts are packed up and safely in the attic until the sun warms the land again. The sweaters and jackets are washed and put in the closet ready to take on the cold winter air. The fireplace insert is cleaned and ready for the first crackling fire that may come today. The fire wood is stacked on the back patio where the pool supplies stood just last week. It’s finally Fall in Georgia and it’s beautiful.

Fall is one of my favorite times of the year. I’ve planted pansies and mum to keep the color splash as the cool night bring on the orange, yellow, red and brown leaves. Soon the only color will be the blue skies and the mums and pansies. The leaves will fall away and the trees will hibernate and replenish waiting on Spring. The sun comes up later and descends early. The nights are longer, but cozy by the fire.

It’s time to bring out the hot chocolate and marshmellows. It’s time to sit outside by the chimnea and watch as the fire sparkles bright yellow, orange and red. Oh what a wonderful time to be alive.

It’s also a wonderful time to curl up with a good book or with a unfinished manuscript. I’m always inspired when the air grows cool. Amazingly enough, most of my work is done during the cooler time of the year. Even as I sit with my coffee and still warm cinnamon roll twists this morning I’m drawn to my latest work. I just feel creative this morning. Too bad I have clothes to wash, bathrooms to clean and floors to mop, but they will wait until possibly after lunch.

So as always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Alls well that Ends well!

Well, I’m back from three days of court. The jury voted unanimous for our side. I’m just glad it’s over with and we can have closure. It’s never good to hear details that were held from you for a reason. Let’s just say “All’s Well That End’s Well”. I do want to send out a big thanks to all my friends from all around that sent out prayers and thoughts. I do thank you with all my heart. Prayers and support are key elements to help keep things together.

I’ve got to catch up on Tweeting, Blogging and writing. I feel like I’ve been out of pocket for a while, but mostly just my heart. Now I’m back full force so watch out 🙂

I’ve got a great giveaway on Goodreads so go over to my Goodreads page and join up. I set it up for several countries. I’ve got fans in so many places, but I tried to grab the countries that I see the most. I have 5 copies of “Victoria to give away” so get over there before it’s over with.

As I set in the court room it was interesting in a way. I learned a lot about the legal system and how it works. As I’m a people watcher, I sat and watched the lawyers, judge and the jurors as they went about their job. It’s comical the things you can see and figure out if you watch close enough.

I might just have to work on a legal romance soon. And no, nothing from this case will be in it, but I will use some of the legal things I learned. Some of the inspiration I gathered from just people watching. Even watching the officers as they stood at their posts. It could make for an interesting twist. Hum…

Oh well, no one is safe from the pen of a writer. Especially this one. I’ve always been a people watcher. If you sit on a sidewalk and just watch people walk by, it’s amazing the stories you can think of just by seeing a couple holding hands, an older couple walking side by side, or even a single person just walking along window shopping. You wonder about their lives. What do they like, what brought them together or have they got someone at home? Try it, you might be surprised.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Trying to see the surface with a Giveaway…

Come over to Goodreads and sign up for my Giveaway. Of all weeks for me to set up a Giveaway and need to be positive. Well, I guess it will help to keep my mind occupied. Here’s the link: https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/69641?utm_medium=api&utm_source=giveaway_widget

Putting salt in old wounds…

Today is a day to be anxious. Over 7 years ago we lost my Dad to a heart attack. He was driving when it hit, but fortunately he was slowing for a red light and his speed was under 15 mph. He bumped into a deputy and now that deputy is suing. The case goes to court tommorow and I am not looking forward to reliving the wreck and all the sadness. This man needs to get a grip on his morals and remember what his badge stands for. He’s supposed to help, not hurt.

I tried to work on one of my manuscripts last night, but my mind is so blasted with, I don’t even know how to explain what my mind is blasted with. It’s a mixture of intense anger, grief, anxiousness, hurt, and worry. I tried several times to start a sentence, but my mind kept straying.

So as you go about your daily writing and just life, could you please throw a prayer our way. This is like putting salt in old wounds that haven’t healed.

As always, great writing and May God Bless You…

Fall In Love With A Cowboy Collection

Ok, I’ve listened. Lately several of my fans have contacted me regarding putting these three stand alone books together. So here it is in one neat little download. All three are Cowboy Romances and now you can get three cowboys wrapped into one for only $8.99. It’s available on Amazon ony for the moment. I will be expanding it’s reach when I see how it’s received.

Hope everyone is having an awesome Sunday. As for me today is our Fall Festival at Church. I’m excited and ready for the challenge. We’ve got food, games, inflatables, prizes, and lots of worshipping. So if you are anywhere near Milner, GA come by Friendship Church and check it out. I’d love to see you there.

It’s such a beautiful day in Georgia so get out and enjoy a festival or just a walk outside today. Get some fresh air.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Falling for Fall

Fall is one of my favorite times of the year. This is the time of year that I feel like shedding my problems as the trees shed their leaves. I feel like it’s time to go dormant and rewaken refreshed in the Spring. I love the beauty of this time of the year. The many colors are the work of God’s hand and he really shows out this time of the year.

As the colors change I get inspired to write. As the air starts to get crisp I feel the need to express it. Soon a fire will crackle in the fireplace. I’ll curl up by the fire and type out my thoughts. As the days grow shorter and Christmas nears I get the excitement of a child. During Christmas I keep a smile on my face and a giggle in my throat.

Today I’m going to the Church to decorate with my fellow members for our annual Fall Festival. We will have games, food, a 64′ obstacle course and just plain out Christian fun. I get so excited. I’ve been getting my supplies together for a couple of weeks and as the time nears me heart swells with the excitement of the moment.

So go out today and enjoy the day. It’s a fleeting time we have on this earth, so enjoy every day…

As always, great writing and May God Bless You…

Is your main character perfect?

For as long as I can remember I’ve been a reader. The trend I’ve seen over the years and I won’t be saying how many, has been that the hero or heroine was perfect. They were always beautiful, handsome, flawless and a perfect body. That’s what people wanted to read.

Well, I’ve noticed a new trend. I’ve read a couple of novels lately that had not so perfect main characters. I think it’s refreshing because we’re not perfect. We have flaws, it’s just a fact. One of the books even stated that the leading man was not overly handsome, actually the writer went on to explain that his beauty came from his heart. I think that’s what we all need to hear.

Take Jane Eyre for instance. She’s not perceived as a beautiful woman. She’s more let’s just say severe. But you still come to love her for her heart that eventually warms. It’s one of my favorites because I love the stories of a plain, poor girl getting the rich flawed man.

So, how does your main character look? Is he ruggedly handsome or does his beauty come to you from his heart? Is she gorgeous and built like a model or does she need to exercise to stay at a maintained weight?

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Never Give Up Your Dream…

Well, the SYTYCW2013 emails have been sent out and I didn’t receive one. I’m not sad or mad or upset, just gives me more drive. There was 640 really good entries and the editors had to choose only 50 to go on to the next step. I don’t envy their job. But you never know, my work was read by an editor at Harlequin.

I had a really nice message from a fellow author that’s published with Harlequin and she gave support and her experience. She entered last year and she too did not get picked. Well guess what, she still heard from one of the editors and now has published a couple of books through Harlequin. They told her that all though for the contest they can only pick 50 that doesn’t mean that they don’t look seriously at the others.

So, I still have hope. Anyone that knows me wil know that I’m resilient. Writing is a dream passion of mine and it’s been such a crazy year and a half. I’ve been featured in two magazines and several blogs. Also this week I’ve been honored with being featured as the Must Read of the week in the Southern Writers Magazine blog. Here’s the link: http://southernwritersmagazine.blogspot.com/. Scroll down and I’m on the right. Then when I was on a Children’s Ministry website getting a game for last night I noticed a Barnes and Noble advertisement. I had three of my books featured in the ad along with some other great reads. Needless to say I did a happy dance. So I’m still on a high right now.

As we move on from the drama of the contest wait, there’s always some writing contest going on and our name is out there. Let’s focus on what we as writers do best, let’s write. You never know when that call might come in saying, “We want you to write for us.”

Good writing and May God Bless You…

How to draw out a story

Have you ever been writing a story and suddenly you’re at the end and only have a couple thousand words. You sit there going, “It seemed longer in my brain.” Well, it could be. This is when you open it back up and you read over it. Look at the descriptions. Have you given the read enough to imagine the place or the real character?

A lot of times we get the story down and forget that the reader can’t see it in their mind. We as writers have got to show the reader the story around the story. Meaning, if the story takes place in a small town and that’s significant, then let the reader know about this small town. Give it life.

If the character has a flaw, bring it out in descriptions, the reader won’t know unless you let them know. Remember this story that you can see clearly has to be brought out vividly to the reader. They can’t jump into your brain and see what you see. I had to learn this. My first couple of books needed more descriptions and one day they’ll get them.

So give your character a life, home and description, not only a name.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Still waiting on SYTYCW2013 decisions to be made. Keep fingers crossed and good luck to all entered 🙂

When stories fill your head…

It’s crazy how a writer’s brain works. Of course I’m working on a deadline that’s looming pretty quickly. As my vacation helped knock some of that out, I still need to finish the manuscript. The funny thing is another story is filling my brain.

I was watching a movie Saturday and suddenly I was inspired. No, I’m not going to write about the story that I was watching or copy what that show was about. It was someone in the movie, or rather the job that they held. As I watched the romance unfold on television, the story was unfolding in my brain.

What made it even worse, I had my laptop in my lap working on my manuscript with a deadline. My hands were just laying on the keyboard as I daydreamed about the story going through my head. So in the next couple of weeks I will fill you in on the story, but for now I’ll get back to the work at hand. Oh, and waiting to hear if I made it to the next level of the SYTYCW2013 Harlequin writing contest.

Hope you’re all having a productive Monday…

So, good writing and May God Bless You…