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…

Monday morning chill in the South

There was a definite chill in the house this morning as I crept out of bed and headed to the kitchen to make the coffee. It felt good to wrap up in a throw as I watched the news and waited on the coffee to brew. My son actually wore a hoodie this morning. I love this weather. It will bring on the Fall transformation of beauty in the trees.

I’m working on several manuscripts. I can’t seem to stay put on one particular one. Hopefully this morning I can focus on just one. Hopefully my Christmas editions will be ready in the next couple of weeks.

How do you stay focused and away from the other characters and stories crowded your mind? Sometimes a deadline can put a wall of to the over crowding, but most of the time theses stories and characters just keep right on pushing their way through. Let’s just hope I can stay focused for the hour I have before going to the office.

Today’s question: Does anyone else have several manuscripts playing inside their head? What are you working on today?

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

2nd Cup of Coffee and Cool Fall Morning

I just love this time of the year. It’s so cozy curled up in the corner of the couch with my throw and coffee. I feel invigorated. The leaves are on the verge of change and the air is so clean. It’s amazing what God has given us.

I am nursing my second cup of coffee as I type this post. Yes, I’m still on vacation, so no hurry to shower and get dressed. I actually typed 4000 words yesterday. It was a very productive day. I have my outline beside me now and am pumped about today’s word count. If you’re a writer you know what I mean. It’s fun when the story is just spilling from your mind to your fingertips. The only problem I have is I want to get to the happenings of chapters ahead of where I am. Funny thing about a story is it unfolds sometimes in a crazy order. I can see the last act so clearly and it guides me through the middle story which leads you up to the final words.

I’ve taken some advice from a fellow blogger and writer that has helped so much with this manuscript. I am so guilty of editing and proofing as I go. It’s a slow process when you do it that way. I’m bad about going back and rewriting parts or correcting spelling or grammer. As she said in her post, don’t do that until the first draft is complete. It does hinder your rhythm as you work. If you stop and go several times your brain gets in a fog. I typed yesterday continuously and refused to go back and edit even though at times I wanted to sooooooo bad.

How do you write? What’s the pet peeve of your writing? If you have a finished piece of work and need some help with the polishing, go to the Horseshoe Publishing tab at the top of my page and check out our polishing services. Your hard work needs to be out there, so get it polished and shiny and ready for the public to ooh and awe over it.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Need another cup of coffee?

It’s a dreary morning here in Georgia. The rainy weather has got me in a state of drowsiness that goes beyond the usual. Already on second cup of coffee and contemplating another before I hit the shower.

I’ve been working on my soon to be released first book of the Saga ‘Women of Magnolia HIll’ which is “Victoria”. This book has been a work in progress for over a year. The changes have been on going and I’m pleased with the results. The cover is just awesome and depicts the feeling of the book.

As it’s based in Georgia, I’m totally engrossed in the history that goes with it. I’ve had to go back in time to make sure that I follow the right timelines. It’s been a fun journer and should have the official release date this week. It will be on presale at Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, and Apple very soon.

Hope everyone enjoys their morning cup of coffee, tea, or whatever you need to get going.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Friday morning Post – 2nd cup

As I start my second cup of coffee I smile. The day after the 4th of July celebration is always sad to me. It means summer is almost over. School will start in a little over four weeks and I need to start thinking about Christmas shopping. Wow time flies when you’re having fun 🙂

I spent my 4th of July at my mom’s lake house which was fun. Although it rained we had a great time with a fish fry and lots of conversation with friends and family. It was the first morning in a while that I didn’t get up and blog. No WiFi at the lake 😦

As for writing I’m busy working on two novels that are taking over my brain. The first one is a historical novel based on the time surrounding the Civil War called “Magnolia Hill” and the other is the 2nd book in the “Lean On Him” Christian series called “Faith Through the Tears”. Also just sent in a guest blog post to the Southern Writer’s Magazine and hope to hear soon when it will be posted. I’m still on a smiling high from being in that wonderful magazine this week.

I think I may need a 3rd cup of coffee before I head across the driveway to the office. Hope everyone had a great holiday.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Friday morning coffee & doughnut…

It’s Friday people! Get excited. The weekend is only a couple hours away or if you’re one of my friends across the pond it’s really close 🙂

As I sit and sip my coffee watching the sun start to beam through the window and dance across the floor I smile. The air is crisp and clean, the world is beautiful and it’s Friday.

I know my posts have been sporadic and I’m sorry. With tax season in full swing and this old cold, allergy thing I’ve had, it’s been a crazy week.

Hopefully this weekend I can work on one of my manuscripts. I’ve been having writing withdrawals. It’ s been almost a week since I was able to work That doesn’t stop the characters and plots from running around in my head. They keep poking me and telling me to pay attention to them. Well, if all goes well I will give them my full attention tomorrow.

So if you’re a full time writer I envy you and if you do as I do and juggle writing with a full time career, then hope you get to write this weekend.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Reflecting by the fire…

It’s a brisk, sunny southern morning here in Georgia. I’m enjoying my coffee while sitting by a cozy fire. A nice way to start my Saturday morning. My husband took our son fishing, so I’ve got the whole afternoon to work on cleaning the house, my manuscript and relaxing.

I woke this morning with a fresh new feeling. I feel like my writing muse is back. Hopefully it will continue so that I can finish “Rekindled Flame”.

This morning a whole new manuscript crossed my mind as I lay in bed not wanting to get out of the warmth of the blankets. The only problem is I have to finish the one that is on schedule and I have about eight more started. Funny how the writing mind works. One minute you’re only thinking about a manuscript and the next you’re working on eight at one time.

Well, as for me, I’m glad for the escape that my writing gives me. Sometimes in this busy world we need that to get by and other times we need it just to manage our stressful lives. Through my writing I can ride horses, run a ranch, go to exotic locations, and pretty much live out my fantasies. Don’t worry, nothing crazy, just a country girls dreams.

So, I hope this post finds all of you well, happy and content. Remember to never give up on your dreams because you only live once, so live the way God intended you to live through Him.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You!

Oatmeal, coffee and romance…

As I eat my apple cinnamon oatmeal and savor my second cup of coffee I muse over my newest manuscript. Writers block, well not really writers block, more like writers laziness has took over. I think it stems from way too much on my plate.

I did something yesterday that I really hate to do. I went shopping. It’s Christmas time and it was inevitable that I would have to hit the mall. I ordered as much as I could online, but I had to break down and jump into the frying pan of shopping. Anyone who knows me knows that I hate to shop, don’t know why, but I do. Of course my mom went with me as she loves to shop. We were stuck in traffic at a dead stop for over thirty minutes. That made the experience even happier. By the time we got to the outlet mall I was just a little stressed.

But while my mom stood in line in the store, I took my packages out to the sidewalk to sit and people watch. As a writer I get a lot of good ideas by people watching. I watched this elderly couple get out of their car and he helped with her coat. You could see the immense love shining in his eyes. They were so adorable as they walked to the sidewalk and started walking hand in hand. They would look at one another and smile, with eyes twinkling. It made things seem a little better.

It got me to thinking about romance and how you keep it alive through the years. You can love someone with all your heart, but not have romance. It happens everyday. But as I watched this elderly couple, i was in awe of the romance that just seeped out of them. It was obvious to anyone that just watched them that romance just dominated them. It inspired me to get busy writing. I was humbled too by the thought that even at their age they could keep the spark alive.

So as always, keep the romance alive. If you don’t have romance in your life, it’s not too late. Cook your sweetie a romantic dinner, light some candles, and sit in the candlelight talking. Don’t talk about the finances or the problems of the day. Just talk about each other. Make it special. You won’t regret it. Maybe send him a little note on his phone, but do make sure that he is the only one looking at the text. (Been there and it was so awkward explaining it to my son who read the text for his dad that was driving. Needless to say, he now waits til he gets where he’s going to read his texts. 🙂 )

As always, good writing and heightened romance. May God Bless you!

Black Friday! Not Me!

Ok, so I’m not sure if other countries have Black Friday Sales, but in America people go nuts. Why? I don’t like to shop on a regular day, I’m sure not going to go on the day 95% of America is too… People camp out at stores waiting for them to open the doors at or before daylight on Black Friday. That’s if they didn’t go right after filling up with turkey and dressing to the stores that opened on Thanksgiving night.

How on earth can you get your mind wrapped around Christmas shopping when you are miserable from eating so much? It amazes me how many people live for Black Friday. I guess I’m just weird, but I don’t like shopping and especially standing in line.

As for me, I shop online. Cyber Monday I will sitting at my laptop clicking away. All I have to do is find what I want and then click checkout. No lines, no angry people snatching items out of your hands, and no driving anywhere. I can shop in the comfort of my own home, sitting with a cup of coffee, just enjoying the Christmas season.

So, now that I’m done with my Black Friday rant, hope everyone is pleasantly full from their Thanksgiving meal. As always, good luck writing (remember November is almost over) and May God Bless you…

Top 10 ways to get through Monday.

It’s Monday! Yes, I know, don’t remind you, but the fact is it’s the start of the week. Well as I sit here, the house quiet, my son at school, my husband hunting (He has the week off), I ponder how to get through Mondays. It’s a question I ask every Monday when my alarm goes off. I hate my alarm, I want to slap it.

Well, here goes my top ten ways to get through Monday, hope these help:

1. Coffee, lots and lots of strong coffee. Already had 2 cups, headed for number 3.

2. Going back to bed, I know most of us can’t do that, but wouldn’t it be nice. Have looked at the bed longingly several times.

3. Take a deep breath and just jump into it.

4. Hot shower, stand there until water gets cold.

5. Take a walk in the crisp Fall air. Went to end of driveway and came back shivering.

6. Chocolate, lots of chocolate.

7. Smile, there’s only 5 days until the weekend. You are closer than your were 5 minutes ago. Not close enough.

8. Stop by the local doughnut shop and splurge big time. The sugar high only lasts for a little while, but boy while it’s active you enjoy those moments.

9. Me, I pray for the week ahead. That always makes me feel better.

10. Just accept the fact that it’s Monday and it happens every seven days whether you like it or not, so just go with it and smile.

Maybe these 10 points will help you. Remember, the day goes better when you smile and try to make it better.

As always, good writing and may God bless you on this Monday. ♥