Although, this time it’s not actually a saddle, it’s a broomstick…

I’m writing again.  Leaving the world of the Old West and turning to modern times…witches are alive and well…and overrunning my thought processes. 

Thanks to the prodding of a good friend, and a little inspiration (from where, I do not know) - I wrote about 1650 words tonight.  I like them.  Quite a bit, actually.  My characters very quickly took on lives of their own and led me to places I was not expecting.  It’s exciting.  I want to write more, but tonight is no longer any good.  I’m tired, and my partner in crime is off to bed in preparation for an early appointment.  And really, Red Light Green Light is no fun alone.

It’s good to be back.  It’s good to see my crazy muses again (and to meet these new ones that are possibly more insane than the originals).  To reacquaint myself with familiar characters, and learn about new ones.  It still feels odd after so many years with my Lisabeth crew to be playing with new people; but I’m trying to just relax and enjoy the ride. 

And while I’m saying this is not a paranormal romance…I can’t have you meet Elijah and Gwen without using this small gem of interaction that they had tonight:

“Relax,” she tapped the side of her coffee cup with a nail. “I’m not about to beg you to take me back. I told you, I heard about your father. I wanted to see you again. Simple as that.”
“Simple as that?”
“Well…”
He narrowed his eyes.
She lifted her coffee cup back up to her lips with a wicked smile, “I may want to jump your bones a little, too.”

I don’t know why it took so long for me to come back.  But I’m here.  I’m happy again.  I have renewed vigor and joy in my writing.  A year of editing and querying is very draining.  I knew I needed to dive back in, but I struggled with it.  After 1600 words I think I can safely say that the struggle is over.  I’ll keep my muses plied with liquor, and hopefully they’ll continue to agree with me!

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Applying for SSI.

Having done both of these in the past year and experiencing the ups and downs of both situations I have to say that it’s comparable.  The big difference, of course, is that agents aren’t one big company all chattering about the best way to get you to STOP querying…or are they?

Step 1: You send out your first round of queries - You fill out the application for SSI
Step 2: You wait to hear back from agents (some get back quick, others filter in) - You WAIT to hear something from SSI
Step 3: You get several rejections, and maybe a nibble (a request for a partial!) - You get sent to the government-paid therapists for evaluation
Step 4: The ultimate rejection comes (your dream agent) - You get DENIED SSI, despite obvious need.

Rinse, Repeat…

Step 5: Send out MORE queries - Apply for an appeal

….

I think you get the picture.   I’m currently in the stage of appeal with agents.  I feel as though I’m being beaten down.  That we are going with the mindset of “deny many so they will never return” - so slushpiles migh decrease.

Yes, I am fully aware that this is not the ACTUAL case, but I’m just in that place.  I got that way with SSI, too - but I didn’t give up on that, and I’m not giving up on this.  I will keep plugging away and hope that the dream agent I recently emailed doesn’t reject me out of the gate *g* 

In the meantime I know a new 100 Word challenge is up, so I  must go find out what it is so that perhaps I can post this week!

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This past month has been very difficult and stressful in my home life.  The past two weeks in particular.  I have had way too much to do and not enough time to do it in. 

Today my husband had surgery on his sinuses and is recovering from that. 

My youngest, for those that don’t know, has CF.  Over the past two days she’s become ill.  We spoke to her pulmonologist today and she was set up for an appoitnment tomorrow.  I don’t know if she’ll stay in the hospital when we get there because she’s downgraded since I spoke to the office.

So the next two more weeks I’ll continue to be a bit MIA.  I will attempt to continue the 100 words to try to distract me, but everything depends on what happens tomorrow; and the day after that…etc.

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A darkened room, a flickering light, a whispered prayer, peace fills my soul.  The white, the red, the blue and the green; each flickering along together.  I sit and watch, absorb the peace, the few minutes I have on my own.  Tomorrow brings more turmoil and upheaval, but tonight is mine. 

I picture my family, and my friends, at peace, healthy and near me.  Imagery is a powerful tool, and I dream of it working again.

Light dims not with a breath, but a lack of as I snuff out each light by hand. Tonight I will dream in peace.

**********

This is my first week participating in the 100 Word Challenge hosted by VelvetVerbosity.  I’m hoping it sparks my creativity back into overdrive!! 

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A kickass female protagonist leads the charge in this alternate-earth fantasy. The Wildcat’s Victory is the second in a series (the first being Deadly Enterprise) by Christopher Hoare. 

Gisel Matah is not only beautiful, she’s strong and smart as a whip.  She knows more than she’s letting on as the book opens.  Through slow reveals we learn the backstory of the novel (for those that haven’t yet read Deadly Enterprise), and see the deception behind every character as they try to protect their own interests as well as the interests of their superiors.

At first I found the book confusing, but within 10 pages I was hooked and reading more to clear up any remaining confusion I felt.  Christopher shoves you knee-deep in intrigue and action and doesn’t let you go until the last page of this spell-binding novel. 

See an earth locked in a time of near-progress, hindered by sins of the past and present, a war of wits and weapons. 

Get The Wildcat’s Victory and prepare to sit on the edge of your seat, using your own wits to keep up with Gisel’s.

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My second post in a row on a similar subject.  The last post I mentioned how while it’s important to keep reading, it isn’t always easy to do when you’re a writer and your internal editor is always yelling at you.

 Last night I did something I haven’t done in about 4 years.

I went to Barnes and Noble.  I wandered the shelves with no specific book or genre in mind.  I let the pictures and titles catch my eye.  One did.  I picked it up, I read the blurb.  It was intriguing.

I set it down, grabbed another book by the same author.  I flipped through, got to the back where there was an excerpt of the first book.  I read that excerpt, and was hooked. 

I picked up the first book again, I glanced at the price.  I bit my lip…and then held onto the book.  All the way to the cash register where I paid for it. 

I bought a book.  For ME.  For FUN.  Because I WANTED to.  It’s one that I want to read, not that I have to read.  I have no obligation to get through the book or to review it or to do anything but sit back and enjoy it.

Don’t get me wrong, I love doing the reviews.  I have discovered several very good books that I’ve enjoyed thoroughly…but there is always that small sense of obligation.  

It’s been a VERY long time since I’ve purchased a book just by wandering the shelves (something I used to do frequently, but finances have curbed that small pleasure).  And honestly the last book I purchased that way left a VERY bad taste in my mouth.  But I’m excited.  To read a book for fun.  I’ve read all of my books through my April 11th review, so I can sit back and enjoy reading for the first time in a long time…with no deadline.

 Totally new concept.

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I know I’ve posted about this before, but this is a slightly different take on an old subject for me.  I’ve commented on how important it is to continue reading even while you’re writing, and while you’re editing…always, really.  But, well, HOW do you do that?

Most writers know that once they enter the mindset of writing and/or editing they are focused on making their novels tight and clean and as top notch as they can.  Your brain goes into auto-edit-mode no matter what you’re looking at.  A newspaper article, an online article, and books. 

I’ve found it tough picking up these books that I’m reviewing and reading them for enjoyment and for the stories sake.  My mind seizes on errors and grammar…and I wind up frustrated.

The toughest for me was the recent childrens book series.  It was also the biggest alarm clock I’ve ever had.  My pessimistic and evil internal editor shrieked at the voice, the way certain things were written.  I struggled with the first couple of pages, put the book down and didn’t touch it for two days.  Did I hate the book?  Heck no, I just couldn’t get past things that my mind was used to searching for…

I had to sit down and tell myself, “It’s a children’s book.  You are reading this for FUN.  Stop looking for what’s wrong, and start looking for what’s RIGHT!”

Turns out, I burned through the book in an hour.  I slipped right back into the mindset I had when I was reading the Babysitter’s Club books and really enjoyed myself!  Right after I picked up another book for an upcoming review.  I thought it was going to be tough (and it is) because of all of the facts to learn and get straight (familiarizing myself with the world/characters)…but I’m finding myself caught up in it only 20 pages in. 

It’s exciting to read again…

I just have to bitch-slap my internal editor every once in a while so that I can enjoy reading again!

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No matter whether you’re a pouting priestess, boardroom babe, feathery fairy, earth mother or warrior woman, there comes a time when every goddess gal needs to hold up her sword and claim her right to be true to her authentic self.

This is exactly what Anita Revel has been doing over the last 10 years. Tired of being a fizzled out corporate stress-chick, she made a sea change from Sydney to Margaret River in search of a happy beginning. What she found instead was a brown-eyed calf named Missy Moo and 52 archetypal goddesses with life lessons to share.

Anita wrote about her lessons for her column with United Press International. Sometimes poignant, infinitely insightful, but mostly snort-your-milk hilarious, Anita’s journey has led her to successfully ‘out’ her goddess within.

You can visit her website at http://www.igoddess.com/ or her blog at http://www.goddessgoodies.blogspot.com/.

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A Star Discovered by JoAnn S Dawson is the third book in the Lucky Foot Stables series.  A series of two girls, their love of horses, and an ornery beast named Star. 

 I had been graced to receive the first two books in the series, Lady’s Big Surprise and Star of Wonder, but due to commiting myself to so many reviews this week I had to dive right into the third in the series.  I didn’t miss a beat.  There was enough back story mixed in throughout the book.  The characters were dear and easy to like, and their youthful enthusiasm was contagious. 

In this book Mary and Jody are eagerly preparing Star for his first show, and learning that change isn’t always fun or easy.  After his first show is over, their every day lives become threatened with a change that could break their hearts.

As with all children’s books, it all works out in the end, but even you are left wondering how. 

I read this book with an eye to the future, as I have two young girls that are already interested in reading.  I was hoping to end up with a series as wonderful for them as the Babysitters Club was for me.  This book proved worthy, and I’ll be keeping my copies for my daughters as they age.

A wonderful touch that Ms Dawson has added into the books is a glossary of horse terms used in the book.  If you wonder what a bridle or a tack is, you can look in the back.  The other wonderful addition is a simple explanation woven into the story (such as “squaring off”) - even for terms that also appear in the glossary. 

 This series is a wonderful read for any young girl with even the slightest interest in horses (or none at all).  A very fast and pleasant read, even for an adult!!   I’d recommend picking up all three books (so far) in the series! I’ll be keeping my copies around, and most likely picking up others as they are released!

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Next week I’m scheduled to review Outing the Goddess Within by Anita Revel.  In preparation I went to her website, Reconnect With Your Inner Goddess to learn my Goddess Birth Sign.  I was curious what my Goddess Birth Sign would say about me, and if I found it accurrate. 

 I have to admit, my curiosity was even more piqued because of research for the novel I’m working on Descendants of Salem has led me to studying the Goddesses, and I’d already found a connection with Ixchel.  Who would be my birth sign, my Goddess from birth? 

I scrolled down, entered my birthdate and learned that my Goddess Birth Sign was Diana.  I already knew this to be a powerful Goddess, but I wasn’t quite sure how she could be determined as my birth goddess or how she fit.  Astrology-wise I’m a Cancer and there is no more apt description for me.  So, continuing my search I went to the page that went more in depth with the Birth Signs.  I read the history and then scrolled down, finding my Goddess quickly. 

Jun 22 - Jul 23 …DIANA… Powerful and protective, Diana is the Roman goddess of nature, fertility, children, providence and harvest. Finely tuned to their environment and the feelings of others, Diana-inspired women are hunted for their natural empathy and sensitivity. Deep down though, they want escape. They hunger for more than their daily routine, but can’t see their way past their busy lifestyle. Commitments and responsibilities make an escape (and “time out”) seem like an impossible dream. Diana-women should take time to look after their own need for love instead of always giving it away to others.

Do this: Take a stroll in a place with nature and pick up anything that catches your eye. Whether it’s a stone or a feather, keep it with you to keep you grounded.

I read this, and was floored.  It was more accurate to me than the astrology sign of Cancer.  The empathy/sympathy (not to toot my own horn) is extremely accurate.  The desire to escape from my daily routine, that is just way too busy and swamped to escape from (so I escape via my computer most of the time).  And the fertility thing…well…look at my 3 (all surprise) kids despite some major physical issues…yeah, fertility - I got that. 

I am definitely excited to dive into the book now and learn more.  So far what I’ve seen has been very promising, and my Birth Goddess quite accurate.  I can’t wait to learn how to Out my Goddess Within!

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