Getting Back...

I am still trying to get back on track with writing and blogging. I know that my long absence has sort of left me in the blogosphere "limbo", but sadly there is nothing I can do about that.

I am back to editing. I have edited Chapter 1 and am working on Chapter 2. I don't have a word count, because I am handwriting these pages. I have about 23 pages in the first chapter finished for the most part. Just have to get them into the computer and be done. I am really enjoying this though. The scratch of a pencil over paper... what excitement!

So thanks, everyone, for hanging in there. I will do my best to blog more, to at least schedule posts if I am not able to actually sit down and write one. It's all good.

Have a great week!

I'm Excited...

I believe I have finally come up with the synopsis for my book, "Crowning Absolution". I have the single sentence description as well. Something I have been thinking about all week after having taken a break from writing, even if it was not a planned break, per se.

So without further ado, here is my one sentence description:

"An arranged marriage is about to end an Ages old war...if the bride regains her memory."

My synopsis would go something like this:

"Kayta Ni'adzul has been the protector of her kingdom for only a few short years. Now she will become the one to unite her kingdom with their enemy. But change brings fear and the only way to stop these changes is to take action. Kayta soon finds herself in strange company, with no memory of who she is or of the life she once lead.

Alabassin Li'endrin is the sole heir to the throne. Going against generations of tyrannical rule, he intends to enter into a marriage that would end an Ages old war. His father has other plans for his son's reign. When Alabassin's intended bride suddenly disappears, he has a difficult choice to make. Go to war or find his betrothed, no matter the cost."

By all means, everyone, let me know what you think! I may be excited, but I do realize this is something that might need tweaking, so critique me, baby!

Writing The Old Fashioned Way...

First, I just want to say *gasp!* I lost a follower! *Hangs head and cries*

I do apologize for my lack of blogging these days. Sometimes finding the balance in my life between work and free time just leaves me with very little time to do things. I have to eke out things I used to do just because I had all the time in the world. Priorities have to come first.

I love my job, but the hours are a little difficult to manage, especially if you have insomnia... like me! But I am managing to find time, post little snippets here and there, etc. So for those of you who are still hanging around, thank you!! Bless you and you are awesome!!

So, writing the old fashioned way means I have taken my MS, printed it out, put it through the three-hole punch and plopped it into a binder. I have loose-leaf paper and a pencil (with a really good eraser), my iPod and headphones and I am rockin' and rollin'! I am editing my MS this way to slow myself down, take the time to really look things over and watch the flow. Not to mention the fact that whenever I sit down to do my editing on my laptop, the internet calls to me like a siren's song. I cannot resist the pull and allure of gaming with my friends, writing e-mails and trying to think of ridiculous sayings to post on FaceBook. I have stopped with the FaceBook thing, unless I am letting people know how far my editing process is going.

So what have I accomplished? I have 13 hand-written pages of editing done. That might not seem like a lot compared to the 50 pages I could edit on the computer, but again, I am taking the time to look through what really needs to be there. I have cut out a lot of background stuff that can come out in conversations or be dropped into a scene. I'm very excited about it! I love it.

And again, thanks everyone for hanging in there with me. I hope that person who left did so because of no other option. You're all awesome!

Personality...

I have been sitting here for some time thinking of my characters and their creation. Every author wants to be able to create a character with personality, charm, an overall presence that just leaps off the page. Or perhaps subtly slips into the readers heart on little cat feet.

I think I am not being egotistical when I say that my characters are charming. At the very least, they are entertaining. They are not flat, boring people. I've known some real life people like that. But that is another story. However, I've also known some real characters in my life.

I had yet another discussion with someone about the "Twilight" series and while the person enjoyed the books, they also agreed with me that the ending of the entire story seemed to just fall apart. *Insert group of Vamps shrugging and saying, "Yeah, you win. But we're watching you! You won't be able to sip soup without us knowing..."* Anyway, I do have to give Miss Meyers kudos in one department.

She created two yummy men.

What can I say? I mean... Edward is totally not my type. But Jacob? Oh, yeah. But some women are drawn to the Edward types. If I were to fall in love with someone else's fictional character, it would totally be Jacob. I have known authors who have fallen in love with their own characters. Again... another story.

I love my characters. Each one is special, unique and quite entertaining. Their wit and sarcasm astound me, but then again they do get that from me. Wow. That sounds a lot like bragging, but it isn't. I can be funny, yes, but not nearly as funny as the voices in my head. My assassin is dark and sarcastic. She's got a morbid sense of humor. My Alabassin, he's a doll. Honorable young man that he is, he'd duel any man who would dare to insult those he loves. Vendras, well he is just my comic relief, that boy. Bit of a gambling addiction as well. But, everyone has their flaws, even in fiction. Trinara tends to be a bit of a ... well, I do not exactly know how to put it politely that she LOVES men. A lot and often. There, I suppose that is a good way of putting it nicely. She just hasn't found the right one and has sort of deemed all men are just playthings and leaves it at that. Or at least that is what she thinks. Boy, does she have a rude awakening... Ha!

So what about your characters? It's okay to brag. They're like your kids, you created them, take the credit for their presence. Do you have dynamic characters people will just fall in love with?

I Have A Voice...

I have a voice and it is a good one. I may not have a professional credit, such as having published a book (the right way...hehe!) but my voice has captured the attention of people.

I have an opinion. Usually about a lot of things.

Does my voice and my opinion ever get me in trouble. More than you might realize. Unless of course you know me really well. *Insert evil grin here* But seriously, I do not know any other way than being honest about my opinions or whatever it is I have to say. I do try to be as respectful as I can possibly be, but there are times when being politically correct isn't going to work.

So why this blog? I dunno. Just sometimes people tend to look at me strange when I speak. Then there are times when I really don't have anything to say. My writing voice is trying to be heard these days more than anything, so a blog about speaking out seemed appropriate. Do I have anything important to say? Not exactly. I'll keep it short so I don't waste too much of your time.

I am editing again. I am filtering through it slowly and it is coming along. "Crowning Absolution" is the one I am working on. I am giving Black Rose a break to collect his thoughts. I hope everyone is doing well and having a good week! I will see you all next time.

Ebb And Flow...

I have not had much opportunity to sit here in front of the computer and take advantage of late night writing binges. Were that the case, I'd be further along in my editing of "Crowning Absolution" than I am at the current moment. The busier I get, the more I pull from writing, the more it seems to draw me back in.

I tend to read more when I don't write, then feel inspired to post up silly little things like my limericks about my cats on FaceBook. Yes, I was reading the "Cat Who..." books by Lillian Jackson Braun and posted up some of my own limericks. They were cute. But a few of my friends seemed concerned for the well being of one of my cats and I had to explain it was just a limerick. I was being silly. I hate having to explain things like that. Okay, maybe not 'hate' per se, but strongly dislike.

So the limerick I wrote for Osiris went like this:

"There once was a cat named Osiris,
Whose name sounded like a virus.
His owner went to bed
And sat on his head.
Now he looks a lot like papyrus."

I wrote one for Gir as well.

"There once was a cat named Gir,
Who had the softest, shiniest black fur.
Her mad ninja skills
Gave us all thrills
And we have finally got her to purr!"

Her sister, Oona, was a tough one and I had to tweak it a bit, but it goes like this:

"There once was a cat named Oona
Who ate a whole case of tuna.
She flopped on her side
And said with a sigh,
'I am now ready for dinner!'"

So that's enough of me being silly. But yes, writing has crept in on little cat feet... okay in Oona's case, LARGE cat feet... and has begged me to listen to its siren song. I'll have much better luck, I think, if I print it out and work on it that way. Sitting at the computer has become uncomfortable as I do not have a chair with arms. My shoulders start to hurt too much. I know! Excuses, excuses. ::winks::

Hope you all had a safe, wonderful holiday and continue to have an awesome week!

Tis The Season...

I love Christmas. Halloween is my all time favorite holiday, but Christmas comes in a close second. I remember as a teenager, we didn't have much, but my brother always got me what I asked for. Birthdays as well. He was cool like that. But the one thing I remember the most was the year I went door to door asking for canned goods for our food drive. I was a personable teenager, I suppose. I was always polite to my elders, held the doors open for people and usually didn't give anyone a hard time (unless they were snobby....well we won't go there...).

So why do I remember that year so much? Because the feeling it gave me. The feeling that I was doing something good. I was GIVING.

I love kids, but sometimes I just want to go door to door and not ask for canned goods this time, but to give lessons on what it means to be a good parent. Working with kids these past few months I've heard and seen a lot! How kids talk to their parents, how they treat their parents and how parents just don't seem to care. Their lack of concern isn't always bad, I just think the parents get so wrapped up in their own private issues and stop communicating. They don't discipline either. Whatever the kids want, they get. So when it comes to teaching children proper manners or respect, that falls to the people who take care of them the most. Teachers and essentially in the end, us glorified babysitters. I feel like I am mean to them a lot, but when it comes down to it, those kids respect me and I respect the heck out of them as well. I try my best not to treat them like idiots, because they aren't. They are smarter than people, especially their parents, give them credit. They just lack the skills to verbalize their emotions.

Okay, so enough of that tangent. The whole reason for this post was to talk about the giving aspect of Christmas. I had to give you a little insight to kids these days. (Yes, I realize that makes me sound ancient...) Most kids these days have developed a Greed Syndrome that just astounds me. They expect everything to be handed to them and don't seem to be thankful for it. I have to stress again that I don't believe this to be the kid's problem, but the parents. You know, those ones who are all wrapped up in themselves and forget the kids. So when the kids ask for something, rather than question it, the parent just gives in. They don't "have time" to "deal" with their children, so they do everything they can to pacify them and get on with their lives. As the kids get older, they demand more and get more.

So who is teaching those kids to give?

Not very many people, I tell ya. I think the only kids who truly understand the giving and the receiving are those who have parents who are struggling to make ends meet, the parents who haven't turned to some form of addiction to help them get by; the ones who meet these challenges head on even if they hate how their lives have turned out. There are those parents who don't have to struggle and still don't give their children everything they ask for, but these sort of families seem to be a dying breed. More often than not, I hear about children demanding something from their parents and getting super snotty when they don't get it or worse, don't say thank you when they do.

We need to teach our children the importance of giving, not just to kill that Greed thing, but so they can experience the feeling it gives them. The pure joy of knowing that they are good people and doing good things can lead to greater rewards than the latest xBox game or iPod Touch.

Merry Christmas to all of you, my unselfish friends, the ones who truly care, who give from the heart and pass their wisdom on to their own! May your new year be blessed with most of your wishes coming true, because we all know that God answers all prayers, just sometimes the answer is 'No'.

Yes, It Is Me...

I know, I have been scarce. Work is creeping up to Winter Break, which begins on Friday for me. It is nice, I get to have the same school holidays off as my daughter. It makes things a little easier on her as she has been struggling with the fact that I am working during her Senior year and not always here to help her when she gets home from school. We're making it work, though. Dinner might be late on the table some nights, but dinner gets done. Somehow.

I'm going to try to schedule a couple of posts and spend as much of this break as I can catching up on all of yours! I need to, at the very least, read the current ones just to know what is going on. Or you can all comment here and catch me up on the details. *Nudge, nudge*

When I have been writing, I worked on "Legend of Black Rose". Then the other night, my creative juices were flowing so much I couldn't sleep, so I opened up "Crowning Absolution". Most of you know, this is my re-write of my first book that was published through Publish America. I'm still waiting for that contract to end, hopefully soon. We'll see. They probably read my blog and point at the screen and laugh maniacally. This deep booming voice from the large crack in their floor bellows, "You wish, lady!!"

Annaway...

I have been getting back to writing, very slowly, now that things are settling down on the business proposal stuff as well. Almost done with it!

Just wanted to drop in, say hello and to work on those scheduled posts. I miss you all!

It Has Been Awhile...

Phew! That about sums things up at the moment. Life is a little chaotic, a little unbalanced still. I don't complain because the outcome is going to be something amazing. I do have two weeks off coming up, Christmas break for the kids at school means a break for us as well. The downside, I won't be paid, but I can live with that!

So I promised you all, when I got a moment to breathe I would share my brother-in-law's invention with you. Since we have been going public with things lately, I figured I better get this out there to you all first! I did promise.

First, I am going to share a couple of facts with you.

1) December is the worst month of the year for electrical fires.
- The reason behind this fact is all of the overloaded outlets with Christmas lights plugged in, people in cold climates running electric heaters and things like that.

2) Electrical fires cause over $1.2 Billion dollars in direct property damage. (As of 2007, noted by the National Fire Protection Association.)

3) Electrical fires cause 451 deaths per year and 1,641 injuries.

With that being said, enter my brother-in-law's invention. The "Hot Shot" and "Sentry" are fire prevention products that are installed into existing fixtures. The "Hot Shot" is a small canister that connects to an outlet. There are ways to figure out how many amps are being drawn through an outlet and if the amps are too high, that outlet is a potential risk. If and when the outlet reaches a certain temperature due to the amount of restricted electricity running through it, and continues to do so, the canister will eject a foam filling the outlet area, spilling a little out to alert the home owner. Prevention is the key word here... this is not suppression. This effect does not happen after a fire has started, it stops it from starting at all by eliminating the fire triangle.

The fire triangle has three elements: Source of ignition (heat), oxygen and fuel.

The "Sentry" does the exact same thing as the "Hot Shot", only on a larger scale and is installed on top of or outside of the load center (circuit breaker box).

How do you clean up the mess? Well, imagine dried shaving cream. The foam ejected from the canisters will basically dry up enough to turn to a dusty powder which can be easily swept away.

So there you have it. That is the invention. I know lots of you are on Face Book and now I have a favor to ask. I have a "fan page" up for Chesley Inventive Products and would like you all to "Like" the page, only if you like what you read here.

I'd also like to ask, would you want to see this product on the market in a few years? Oh, and I will share some pics of a mock up prototype. Our website is currently under construction and as soon as that is up I will let you all know. Thanks!!!
Patent Pending USSN 12/221,113