06/02/2013
Next week I'm taking a class at the Florida Tech Creative Writing Institute. I didn't attend last year and am happy to be able to go again. The classes are very basic, really, but it doesn't seem to matter where we are in our writing experience, there is always something to be learned. The best parts of the event are the bonus talks at lunch and late afternoon.

I finalized, I think, the cover for Camelia, but I don't think I'll be able to get it published before the end of the year. I was hoping to have it for the Florida Writers Association Conference in October and the Meet the Authors event in November. But I don't want to rush it. It's not an ordinary story.

Check out what I've been reading.

05/15/2013
I had a wonderful trip to Alabama for a bit of research for my novel Camelia. I wrote a blog post about it at the Wayward Cat Publishing blog called Where death is held more sacred than life... I've been absorbed in formatting and publishing the second book in The Kell Stone Prophecy series, The Wretched, for the past two weeks and when I returned to writing the first draft of Camelia, I was afraid I would be at a loss.

But last night proved brilliant and unnerving. One day's writing on Camelia and I was up all night with scenes running through my head. Fearful that I'd forget them, I got up twice to write out notes. Today I'm exhausted, but not tired enough yet to sleep more. We'll just have to see how well I focus. And yet, I have to admit that focus isn't exactly necessary for this particular book.

For me, Camelia is the closest thing I've come to in my writing career that qualifies as a "life's work." It's truly one of those projects during which I feel like I'm opening wounds and exposing pain. It's cathartic to be able to do that through a character that is very little like me.

04/06/2013
It's tax time. The time during which I am constantly reminded about how unorganized I am. There's nothing like digging through piles of un-filed papers looking for a receipt. It's enough to make you want to clean!

Next weekend, we're off on a trip to Alabama to visit a grave for research on my next novel: Camelia. I love a good cemetery, but I fear this one won't be much to look at. In a way, that will make it all the more endearing. I'll blog about it when I get back and give you all the deadly details.

02/17/2013
Yesterday I posted a humorous piece on the Wayward Cat Publishing blog: The new dystopian bondage genre. Here is a brief excerpt:

Gabe Habash at Publishers Weekly tells us that "[h]alf of the top 20 bestselling books of 2012 in print were either Fifty Shades titles or Hunger Games titles, and only one book not written by E.L. James or Suzanne Collins...cracked the one-million-copies-sold mark for the year..."

Nerds, please join me in a deep, unsexy, all-too-normal sigh. Bondage and dystopia, dystopia and bondage. The people have spoken. It’s time to strap on the–uh...pen–and get to work.

Behold, the battle plan for 2013.

Step one: Get thyself to the nearest sex-toy-extravaganza warehouse and buy up all the paraphernalia you can find. You can’t expect to write about bondage without getting tied up. My husband won’t mind helping me out with this research–and no doubt you too can find someone willing. How bad could it be? Bring on the feathered handcuffs and cutesy leopard-print whips. Don’t forget the stilettos. And men, you’re not getting out of it–you have wear the eight-inch heels, too.

Then...you know...bond. Or whatever it is they do. Be masochistic–is that like whining? ‘Cause I’m good at that. And then be sadistic. That’s the nagging part. I think I could do this!

I first wrote this piece hoping to get a humor column on a wonderful blog, but alas, I was passed over for someone, no doubt, funnier. But I had a lot of fun writing it.

Today, on my various forms of social media, I posted a link to an article about a brief spat between Philip Roth and Elizabeth Gilbert on writing: Is writing hell, or heaven? Philip Roth and Elizabeth Gilbert disagree, while 20 writers tell all in 'Why We Write'

My first reaction to the idea was that writing is both. It truly can be hell. It's hell to know you have a story in your head that insists on being put to paper, but you sit and stare at the screen knowing that the first thing you write (from that very first beginning--the one you know won't make it to print--to merely the first thing in that writing session) is going to be pure crap. And you resist writing crap. Naturally.

Then there's the staring because you just don't know what to write. You don't know where to start, what to say, how to say it. You think maybe this writing thing isn't for you. Maybe you're a fraud. People were going to find out sooner or later; it's high time you realized it yourself.

And it's hell when you sit out in the family computer room blogging, or scrolling down Facebook's endless drivel looking for some diversion, playing Words with Friends, or a PopCap Mystery P.I. game, all the while knowing full well the novel is calling you. You can hear it. It's saying, "Get your fat bottom in here and write me." But you don't. And that's hell.

The day gets by you. Then a week. Sometimes more. That's hell. And it's a hell we create. All by ourselves. Fully knowing we're creating it.

We know we're making our own hell, because we've experienced heaven.

We know that once we get in there, sit down, and just start writing, even if it's crap, even if it's just some stupid thought that comes into our heads--once we do it, we start making art. We make ourselves laugh, and cry, and tingle with excitement. We're in heaven when we write, even when we write crap, because we know that once the crap is on the screen, it can be turned to molding clay, and that clay can be shaped into our hearts and our desires and our art.

So, why do we continue to put ourselves through the hell of it? Maybe we think, subconsciously, that we have to suffer for it. Or maybe...maybe the heaven is soul-wrenching, as wonderful as it is. It's frightening. It leaves us exposed and raw. We come away from heaven spent and satisfied, and worried that we won't get it back.

Maybe the heaven and the hell are both the same. The heaven is hell and the hell is heaven. And we just have to deal with it.

I hate philosophy.

Anyway, I've taken to planting candy in my work room as a lure. It doesn't really work. I may have come to the conclusion that there should be no lure. There should be no heaven, and no hell. There should only be my job. And as a job, I would have to agree with Elizabeth Gilbert, it's fantastic.

But, I don't have to pay the bills.

01/24/2013
I'm going to the Cocoa Beach Writers Conference this weekend. Looking forward to it. This week's writing was a struggle. I know the conference will get me back into gear. Here's the corresponding Wayward Cat Publishing blog about the weekend.

My main struggle is writing when I know I have to do something shortly. I can understand not wanting to get started when I have to do something in a half hour, maybe even an hour. But if it's 9:15 and I don't have to do something until 11:45, what's the problem? Why can't I spend that time writing? It's a struggle for me and I'm just going to have to force myself to get over it.

I'm eager to get back to The Wretched and finish it up. But I'm forcing myself to only take a few notes on the thoughts that come to me and instead finish up The Story Runner. It's not easy to keep away from something I'm excited about and unfortunately, that excitement seems to be lessening my attraction to the new book! Maybe I should just give in, finish and publish The Wretched, and then my subconscious will be relatively free to devote itself to The Story Runner.

But I have this idea that The Wretched must rest! It must rest for a long time! Do I know if this is true? No! But nonetheless, the book will be rested. Well rested.

11/19/2012
I had such a wonderful time at the Meet the Authors event. I sold a few books and bought a few--and two authors gave me a copy of theirs. The time went by rather quickly and for that I was glad, because it wasn't as great as a garage sale where you can go inside and grab a bite to eat whenever you want. My husband came along, though, so I had someone at my table when I needed a break--and he brought me lunch!

My two favorite sales were an older lady and a young girl.

I was over at John Ryan's table; he was telling me some of his history, when my husband pulled me away. One of the organizers was looking for me--she said there was a woman out in the lobby that wanted to meet me, so I followed her out there. An attractive, gray-haired, well-dressed lady was sitting on a bench outside, with a cane, and she had clipping of the Hometown News article that featured me and my books with her.

She'd come all that way just to get a copy of each of my books for her grandsons! But she'd recently developed vertigo, she said, and she just didn't think she could make it through the room to my table. What an awesome lady! I felt so honored--and not unlike a celebrity.

But I suppose my most favorite sale was the twin! Adorable teenaged twins were at my table while their father hovered around. One was very interested in Children of Path, while the other was not. The one looking at my book told me her sister could read a book in just a few hours. This avid reader then told me how she had read many series of books in a day, and the entire Harry Potter series in a week!

Anyway, the one looking at my book read the front, then the back; she asked about the picture of the panther on the cover, were there panthers in the story? Then she opened it up in the middle and read, then went to the first page and started reading. Her sister said, "What are you doing?" Impatient girl! Her twin said, "I'm reading this book!" Like, duh. Then the reader abruptly put the book down and went to her father and said, "I want that book."

She told her dad she had money for it at home and would pay him back. He made her promise. Then he made both girls say pretty please. And while getting out his money, he made them both call him "most awesome dad." And they did!

I loved this sale because I felt like my book was connecting with that young woman--in the way it connects with me. It was a wonderful feeling and I hope the book doesn't disappoint her.

At the book fair, I purchased Finn Flanagan and the Fledglings by Kip Taylor. This is a series book about a boy who dies, becomes an angel, then joins a league of young angels to save the world. At least that's what Taylor's rep told me. The cover picture is cool (I met the illustrator there and she signed the book for me) and I found the story idea intriguing.

I also purchased The Zen of Max by Lou Belcher. I'd heard about Lou's book subtitled "a memoir of great wisdom and many naps" and about her late cat Max some time ago and was glad to finally be able to get a copy.

Across from my table was Charles Nothe with his massive tome Proscriptii, historical fiction set in ancient Rome. I really wanted the book because I like really big books. But I knew that wasn't a good reason to spend $20 on a book and, after all, my husband was with me to remind me to be more frugal.

Unfortunately, when I went to speak with Nothe, I told him my dilemma and his response was to give me a copy of the book. Part of me understands why he did it. It was clear in talking with him that he and I were both passionate about history and historical fiction--he much more so than I because he actually researched and wrote, whereas I have only read and enjoyed, the subject (except for that little BA degree, of course). But, like with that young twin, when you find someone who clearly wants to read your book--you want them to read it!

Well, my husband refused the offer and insisted I pay, an idea I had no qualms with. But when I tried to give Nothe money he absolutely refused. So we decided upon an exchange. I gave him a copy of Zombie Revolution for a son or nephew, I can't exactly recall. I really don't think it was a fair exchange and depending on who you ask (me or hubs) one of us got the better deal. (Hubs isn't all that fond of heavy tomes of history.)

In fact, hubs later looked at me with a smile and said, I read the first sentence and almost put the book down, but it was okay after that. And he had me read the first sentence of Proscriptii. It was a long, complicated, glorious sentence and I told him, "I'm going to love this book!" We shared a good laugh at our differences.

I shared a table with Stanton Bronstein who writes under the name S.N. Bronstein. He turned out to be a fabulous table mate! Great sense of humor, great attitude--I think he and I and hubs all shared a basic outlook or worldview. I mean, imagine us sharing a table with Debra John who apparently brought along a psychic! (Don't get me wrong, Debra was a lovely person...but if you know me...you know what I mean.)

Stanton was much more of a pitchman than I could ever be. People were first drawn to his table by the covers of his detective book series--photos of places in Miami. He only had to give them his spiel and then turn to the children's book at the end of the table with its picture of a way-cool black cat and they were sold--if not on the adult series, then definitely on the kids book. He outsold me by a large margin.

And I am now intimately familiar with his books; if he had left for a while, by Sunday, I could have given shoppers the entire spiel in his stead.

When he was packing up, Stanton gave me a copy of the kids book, Private Eye Cats Book One: The Case of the Neighborhood Burglars. I was grateful. I didn't insist on paying Stanton, mostly because I hadn't slobbered all over the book practically asking for it. He shouldn't have given it to me though. But I'll definitely enjoy the read so I'm really thankful.

11/10/2012
Next weekend, November 17 & 18, is the Meet the Authors event at the Eau Gallie Arts Festival! Two days from 10 'til 4. Forty local authors, including yours truly. Come visit. Come purchase books for Christmas, or for yourself.

This is my first year attending and I'm very excited about it. I'll have copies of Children of Path by Dana Trantham, and Zombie Revolution by D.D. Charles for sale.

10/23/2012
I hesitate to create this post, because it could be hurtful. My aim is not to trash the endeavors of others, especially children...but it's weighing on my mind. I attended the Florida Writers Association conference this past weekend and had a wonderful time.

However, it's clear that there still remains a bias against self-publishing. I attended one workshop in which the presenter said that one of the "pros" of being traditionally published is a guarantee of quality. I called bull crap. Not out loud, of course.

Don't get me wrong. I perused the bookstore at the conference and found self-published books that were below my standards. One woman had misspelled "its" on the first page. The first page! I understand there will be errors in a 90,000-word book. But the first page? And I actually purchased a book in which the author starts many of his chapters on the left side. I picked up a little card advertising one woman's book and in the description, she spelled "but" as "butt." Seriously? I don't care how much I paid for those cards, I would have tossed them in the trash. No excuse.

But then I purchased a book touted as a traditionally-published book by a sweet young boy of twelve. He had a publisher and a father who is a writer. And yet, in his forty-five page picture book I found no fewer than ten errors, along with a few questionable items.

Let me be clear: There is absolutely no excuse--none whatsoever--to have typos, misspellings, or consistency errors in a short picture book. No excuse. Yes, it is excusable in very long works. But in a forty-five page book? No. Sorry. And let me also be clear that I do not blame this child. I blame his publisher and his father for letting it happen.

Being traditionally published is no guarantee of quality. At all. Don't even go there with me.

Yes, you can find horrible books by self-published authors. But you will also find quality books at, or exceeding, the standards of traditional publishers.

Now that that uncomfortable nonsense is out of the way, I'd like to give a thankful shout out to Janice Decker. Janice was at the conference and sat in on a panel discussion on self-publishing. Strangely enough, most of the others on the panel were actually publishers. Not publishers like myself who only publish their own works, but publishers who help authors "self-publish." I know; it's confusing. But this is what the new world of publishing has wrought.

Janice was not a publisher. She self-published her book Take the War.

Before the discussion began, I conversed a bit with the guy sitting next to me and somehow our conversation wound around to him telling me how he hired a professional editor for all of his books. I'm beginning to see what's happening here. Self-publishers are ashamed of themselves. They still consider themselves the step-children of the writing world. So, they have to prove themselves whenever they talk about their books. Having someone professionally edit their books is like saying, "My books may be self-published, but they're good. Honest."

And, oh, he went on about how important it is to hire a professional editor. He had to go through several edits, he said, to weed out all the mistakes. And his editor helped him to see where his writing was weak and where the story needed improvement. And I'm sitting there thinking, "That's your job, dude! If you have to hire someone to figure all that out, you're not doing your job."

But instead, I fell into the same trap and explained that I self edit because I'm a control freak, so I'm good at it. And while I would think that being a grammar control freak would make someone a good editor, I should have just told him what I really thought. Editing, and knowing how to write a well-structured, well-paced story is your job as the author. The more you write, the better you should get at it. If you have to hire in help, or send your book through the round of critique groups, agents, and editors, you are not the author of your book. It's a collaboration.

So, naturally, during the panel discussion, this very topic was brought up and kudos to Janice Decker who did not hesitate or falter. To the question: Do you really need to hire a professional editor? She said, "No." Editing is part of the writing process, she said. It's part of the craft of writing. Learn it.

I was so happy to hear someone else say it, I was giddy. And I missed the comment that Eugene Orlando made. When I finally came down from my cloud he was saying something about teaching his writers reverse editing and how well it worked. So, he might have been in agreement with Decker and I as well.

But the others, especially one woman who offered us a patronizing smile and shake of her head, continued on with the myth that writers are not capable of producing quality work without the help of other people. Bull crap.

10/12/2012
Cat treasures...

The article about me, and Wayward Cat Publishing, and my books is in The Hometown News today! It's called, "Bringing fantasy to life: Palm Bay author publishes two books, with more on the way."

Writer Brittany Llorente did a wonderful job. In the print edition, they printed the covers of both my current books; only one is online. I sound a tad odd and I can't remember saying things exactly the way I'm quoted. But it's so hard to remember what you said, and when you're talking, you feel like you're babbling. Being interviewed is definitely something to get used to.

This morning I was up early because there was an estate sale down the street. My neighbor died a while ago and left a few cats. I took care of them for a while until they could be placed in foster homes. Though I didn't know my neighbor, I could tell she was a very cool lady--her home was filled with cat stuff. Her sister gave me a lovely gift of a small cat statue for helping out.

I knew they were planning a sale and was excited to go over today and find more cat treasures. I got a lot! A white ceramic cat that sits atop a shelf with his head looking over the edge. Another larger white ceramic long-hair that sits on the floor. A fabulous heavy statue of a leopard lounging on a branch. Cat Christmas tree ornaments; little cat figures for my shelves; a cat teapot; cat salt and pepper shakers (my second set!). And I found a long, narrow plate of fired clay with pictures of cats on it. Its "handles" on either end look like kitty paws grasping it from behind. Love that! I have no idea where to put it so the cats won't break it; but I love it.

It was rather awful to feel the want of things that belonged to my neighbor. I felt greedy for going over early and buying up all the best things. I thought I should leave some for others. But of course, the people handling the estate don't care if one person buys it all. And not everyone is out for cat treasures.

I may be at my limit now. Although, there's a bare spot on my desk that just cries out for some sort of cat. The live ones generally prefer the spot just in front of the screen...

10/11/2012
Things are changing right and left around here. I started a blog over at Wayward Cat Publishing, but I've decided to delete it from the website. I have too many blogs, and I don't think a publisher needs a blog. So, I am incorporating my few posts into this blog. Here they are:

10/08/2012
Why buy the cow...

Maybe your mom was right after all...

Last Friday I had a phone interview with Brittany Llorente, staff writer for The Hometown News. When she contacted me for the interview I was excited, but nervous. I'm a writer after all, not a speaker. I was worried that I would babble and ramble and say very stupid things. (The article hasn't appeared in the paper yet, so I'm still worried.)

It's said that writers these days have to market themselves. I fear that I'm not going to be very good at it. Not only am I rather shy and reserved, but I am loathe to push my work on others. Do I want you to read my books, sure I do. But only if you want to. Somehow, I don't think this is the proper attitude for marketing.

Once I went to hear Richard Lederer speak. Before the speech (not after, strangely enough) he was at a table hawking his books. He was so personable and funny, I ended up buying an armful without thinking. He was a salesman, I realized. And he was selling what he loved: his thoughts on the fascinating subject of language. One of the things he said in his speech (I can't remember when or where this was, but I remember this one thing from his speech) was that you should give away some of what you're selling. And he certainly did that. His speech was like his books. And he left us wanting more, so we bought more books.

Some time later, probably in 2003 after my non-fiction book, Like Rolling Uphill, was published, I sat in on a book signing with other local authors at the Space Coast Writers Guild conference. I was put next to a woman who wrote a book on marketing. She gave me some good advice. And what did I do? Well, I bought her book, of course. I didn't find any more advice in the book that pertained to me at the time than what she'd already given me, but it didn't matter...I'd already bought the book.

I wonder if this advice is what has fiction writers giving away their books. There are authors who swear their readership goes up when they give their book away. But what actually goes up is the downloads. It's hard to know who is downloading the book simply because it's free and who will actually read it afterwards. And there is some debate about whether or not giving away books actually results in increased sales later.

It's not hard to find blogs extolling the benefits of giving your work away. Harder to find are people willing to say, hold on there a minute. But they're out there if you look hard enough.

I'm not interested in giving my books away. I see my books as my work, and writers ought to be, and should have no shame in getting, paid for their work. I believe my work has value. If I treat it as if it doesn't have value, others won't value it.

I don't think that giving your books away is at all what Lederer meant by his advice anyway. After all, none of his books were free. What he gave away was information, passion, part of himself and his enthusiasm for his subject.

For some of us, even that can be a challenge.


10/04/2012
Nice work if you can get it...

Tom Rizzo, author of Last Stand at Bitter Creek, posted a bit of Ray Bradbury over at Linkedin the other day.

"Writing is not a serious business. It’s a joy and a celebration ... If it’s work, stop and do something else."

My first reaction was to choke on my Diet Coke. My second was to clatter off a quick response: That's like telling a group of older women that you never had hot flashes while going through menopause.
I know, because I've done something quite like that. I went to see Menopause The Musical last weekend with my mother, my sisters-in-law, and their mothers. And I innocently explained that I am not suffering, for which I was leered at menacingly. I was no longer one of them--I was...suspicious.

Anyway, writing can be work. Often. It can be hard work.

Bradbury himself said, "I know you've heard it a thousand times before. But it's true - hard work pays off. If you want to be good, you have to practice, practice, practice. If you don't love something, then don't do it."

Of course he explains that said hard work has to be engaged in what you love doing. I can agree with that.

Writing is, and frankly ought to be, work. Most of the time, that work is joyful, for me. Sometimes it's positively dreary, and sure, it's best at those times to switch to another project or get up and take a walk. But there are times in our creative process that slog. God, they slog.

The only saving action, for me, is to read what I've already got. Then I see that it's a jewel, maybe rough, but it's got so much potential. Heck, there are even sentences...or paragraphs!...that sing. This thing's going to be great. If I could just get through this scene. What the heck am I going to do with this scene?

So, after muttering curses about men and how they all too often bliss their way through life not recognizing how hard it really is, probably because they've got some woman making their damn sandwiches for them, I decided to check out this Ray Bradbury quote. Surely Mr. Bradbury isn't really saying that writing is pure, unadulterated joy (unadulterated by hard work).

And you'll notice in Tom's quote, there is an ellipsis. Damn those ellipses. You've got to really watch out for those little buggers. Here's the actual quote:

"I want your loves to be multiple. I don’t want you to be a snob about anything. Anything you love, you do it. It’s got to be with a great sense of fun. Writing is not a serious business. It’s a joy and a celebration. You should be having fun with it. Ignore the authors who say ‘Oh, my God, what word? Oh, Jesus Christ…,’ you know. Now, to hell with that. It’s not work. If it’s work, stop and do something else."

And this, I can agree with. Do the things (plural) that you love doing. But if you're constantly carping over the smallest element of that activity (I'd call it work, because it is actually work--creative, rewarding, joyful work, yes. But work.), then don't do it.

If you labor over every verb, frustrated that you can't get it right, are you having any fun at all? Just write the damn thing. If you're rewriting the heck out of your manuscript, you're writing your own voice out of it. And that means you're writing all the passion and individuality out of it.

Just write it. Then read it and listen for its song. It has one. It has to have one.

But if you don't like the song you're singing, maybe you should go do something else.



09/27/2012
Today, I read the "Top 10 Self-Sabotaging Mistakes of Author-Bloggers" by Anne R. Allen, whose blog is, not coincidentally, called Anne R. Allen's Blog. You can catch all ten at her blog, but here is the one that got me started today. (Thank you Anne, for the inspiration!)

Number Four: Having too many blogs. (She also said that it wasn't necessary for an author to have a blog and a website, because the blog is perfectly useful in itself.)

I have three websites.

Atheist View was first, because I realized I was an atheist about twenty years ago and freaked out. I'm still pretty freaked out, so I keep that website going--it keeps me sane--with its blog doing double time there and at Blogger.

I also have an author website, Dianna Dann/Narciso (the one you're reading now) because there is so much more to me than atheism. Fiction, for one thing. And for a long time, Dianna Dann was my only pen name.

Then, this year, I created my own publishing company and the Wayward Cat Publishing website was born. The blog there is also mirrored at Blogger. (Not anymore. Now it's this blog! Confused yet?)

Anne says it's not necessary to have a blog and a website. Well, it is for me. It's just the way I do things. Is it bad? Maybe. Maybe I'll confuse people. Maybe that's a good thing. I don't know. But Anne does make the very good point that I should have my sites linked back and forth and every which way. And my books should be present at all three sites.

But but the biggest problem I have with Anne's list is, of course, that she said I shouldn't have more than one blog. Oh, dear. That's a problem. But maybe she means more than one author blog. That would be silly, wouldn't it? Unless you have a pen name that you'd like to separate from your other names. Anne says Blogger has something called "pages" that you can use for your pen names. I don't know what these "pages" are...maybe I'll look into it, if I have time in between all this blogging/writing/websiteupdating.

I blog Project Runway in The Project Runway Diaries. It's a blog unto itself for a reason. It's...like a calling. It's a life-long project that I work on when I can. It's my gift to the world. Snark. It deserves its own blog.

And I blog as a grammar Nazi with Poultry Apologies and Foot Holes. I'm just not sure that I want grammar Nazi involved too intimately with my websites or other blogs, but we'll see if we can stand a little more linkage.

That right there is four blogs, including Wayward Cat Publishing and Atheist View with their websites. But I have more! I also just blog life at The Sunshine State. I might be able to combine that with Wayward Cat Publishing...but it's The Sunshine State. I like it. It has its own personality. Merging would be like killing it!

(The other blogs mentioned previously have been discontinued.)

Sure, nobody's reading them! But they're mine. My babies. And yes, maybe I'll stop one or two. And maybe they take up too much time. Maybe they keep me from doing the real writing. Maybe.

But I'm a big fan of doing what you love as often as possible. As long as it works for you. Enjoy.

(However, I'm totally with Anne on the black background with white lettering thing. Please stop doing that.)



09/25/2012
Wayward Cat Publishing has put its books up on BookDaily.com. If you love to read, you can sign up for emails from BookDaily and they will send samples of books to your inbox with an option to purchase. You can also browse samples right at the website. Authors can have samples of their books sent out to Book Daily's thousands of subscribers for $49 a month. We're thinking about it here...thinking. Would it be worth it?

I have to admit, the main thing that makes me hesitate is that you don't just sign up for one month at a time. You sign up, and when you want to stop the service, you have to do so "in writing." I hate that "in writing" proviso wherever I find it. If I can't just log on and click "stop," I don't really want to get involved. But maybe... For now, though, the books are simply there.

Here are the links for Zombie Revolution and Children of Path.

Another resource I'm using is GoodReads. But to have your book in the general population of books, it has to be listed by a librarian. Still, authors can put samples of their work on the site; people can read them and "like" them. I can't say if it's worth it at this point or not.

Today I donated one copy of each of my books to Palm Bay High School. They're having a book drive right now for the teachers' classrooms. If any of my fellow local authors are interested, and have age-appropriate books, just drop them off at the front office.



09/24/2012
I'm getting ready to attend the Florida Writers Association conference, "The Magic of the Pen." October 19-21 in Orlando. Our books, Children of Path and Zombie Revolution, will be for sale in the conference bookstore.

I love attending writers conferences. There is always inspiration to be had, even in attending the most basic workshops.

It's true, however, that not all workshops are valuable. When you attend a conference regularly, you learn which speakers will not actually address the topic and instead spend your time pitching their books to you. So far, I've only met one speaker who does that. Knowing better, I sat in on her workshop this past year at the Space Coast Writers' Guild conference. We were supposed to hear all about finding our niche. But instead, we heard about how she found her niche and details about all the books she published in that niche. Never again.

If you are unfamiliar with the speakers at a conference, try not to worry. There's nothing you can do but choose and hope for the best. If you find yourself hearing nothing but advertisement of the author's books, feel free to get up and walk out. That's right. Just get up and leave. No one will care. They'll think you have an agent appointment.

But at conferences, the good will far outweigh those awkward moments. There are authors who can tell their stories and inspire you to go home and write! And there are many, perhaps most at conferences, who are there to help you on your journey--no matter where you are on the road.

Agent and editor appointments (if you're into that sort of thing) can be purchased for a modest sum and the secret is that they always ask you to send them your manuscript. You paid for it, after all. It's no guarantee, but it's a great shot. Don't be nervous. Just memorize your pitch and relay it professionally and with enthusiasm. Don't stutter, don't giggle, don't say stupid things, don't go off on tangents, don't ask the agent/editor if they know what you're talking about. Oh, they'll still ask for your baby, but you'll feel very silly for the rest of the conference--and maybe days later. (These are things I tell you from experience.)

Take notes, or don't take notes. I used to take notes madly--and then come home and tuck them away somewhere never to be seen again. Now I only jot down the inspirations I get for stories and blogs. Then I tuck those away somewhere and never look at them again. Whichever works for you.

A lot of people (okay, well, a majority of the people) will tell you that networking is the greatest thing about conferences. Apparently, writers should get to know other writers and rub elbows with agents and editors. That's all good and well, if that's your style. It's not mine. I'm the wallflower sort. Always was. Only alcohol can tear me away from my seat in the corner, and pretty things do not happen after that. I don't drink alcohol much anymore. It makes me sick, anyway. No loss, let me tell you (trust me on this one).

Sure, I talk to some people when I can. I do my best. But I'm just not very good at "marketing" myself. And I'm rather leery of people who are quick to tell you all about their books and shove a business card at you. I get it. I just get icky all over when it happens.

My point is this (okay, maybe there are two points, but the first one is this): If you are shy, or not the talkative type, and don't feel comfortable trying to be sociable, don't worry about it! You are a writer! Not a socialite. It's not necessary. You will take away so much inspiration from the conference that it will be worth it. And, if you paid for your minutes with your agent/editor, you get to put your book in front of them. It's all good.

And, I guess the other point is, if you spend the whole conference pitching your book to everyone within earshot, you might miss a lot. That's all I'm saying.

If you're in the Orlando area, drop by the FWA website and sign up! This will be my first year with FWA and I'm very excited. The SCWG will host their conference again early in 2013. No details up yet, but I'm looking forward to that as well.

On another note, I'm having a bit of fun with this royal "we." We at Wayward Cat Publishing. We do that. We did that. Sometimes it is a "we;" and certainly there are several author names here. But mostly it's just me, feeling full and satisfied, like I've given birth to a baby and I must speak of us as one. We'll get over it at some point, I'm sure.

09/20/2012
Wayward Cat Publishing is up and running. The following is a brief and exciting history of this endeavor.

I've been a writer since middle school when I wrote my first book. I have no recollection of it; no doubt it was awful. In high school I wrote short stories (had one published in Impetus, the high school journal of poetry and prose) and another novel.

This second novel, I remember. The main character was Sherland. Yes, I made her a country. She had long, straight, shiny, black hair (the opposite of my wavy, often frizzy, blonde). Sherland was stunningly beautiful (also opposite of the author). After her mother's death, she moved to the east coast to live with her father (who had gray eyes...uh huh, that's right), her step-sister, -brother, and -mother. She promptly tried out for the cheerleading squad and made it, naturally, to the fury of her step-sister, whose spot she'd taken.

Lots of conflict at the get-go.

The love interest was Greg. He was obviously also the love interest of the step-sister. I wish I could remember her name; it was probably a name I didn't like. Sherland, who was sweet and kind, (opposite the author?), took on an unpopular girl, made her over, and she became popular. Then she turned on our lovely Sherland and joined forces with the evil step-sister.

In the end, Greg was crossing the street to tell Sherland how much he loved her, and as Sherland watched from an upstairs window at the house, the step-sister, upset about another awful thing our heroine had done to her, ran him down with the car. It was raining, though. And she was crying. So, it was an accident. Really. At the hospital, the last person Greg wanted to see before he died was Sherland. Not his parents. It's a YA novel.

And with his last dying breath....I can't remember what he said.

Let's not forget the father with the gray eyes. Sherland and he had been at odds since she moved in. It must have been difficult trying to fit in with your dad's new family and I can't imagine I explored that aspect very much, being immature and never having experienced such a thing. But at least I had the good sense to put the father and daughter at odds. At some point, either after Greg's demise or shortly before, the man fell down the stairs. And when our Sherland realized how much she loved her father, his gray eyes turned to blue.

O-M-G. Could I tell a story or what?

Then I discovered alcohol.

Cut to the time when I'm, like, 50. I've published a non-fiction book with Llumina press on rationalism and atheism. I've continued to dabble in fiction, and even written a couple of books. Over the course of 30-some odd years of writing, we can only assume it has improved. My books and short stories found a tad bit of interest from the powers that be--good rejections, but no takers. And then it dawned on me (probably after reading Dean Wesley Smith's blog) that I didn't need a publisher anymore...not even for fiction.

Wayward Cat Publishing was born. My husband, George, is in charge of art. He drew the logo, and helps with some book cover art. He is also the computer expert and helps with formatting problems that plague me.

Now that two of my books (Children of Path and Zombie Revolution) are out and selling at Amazon, on Kindle, and other electronic devices, I look back and realize that I've broken all the rules. But I would highly recommend doing so to others. Sure, listen to what they tell you. And take what sounds right for you. Leave the rest and stop worrying about it. Here are some of the rules I was given:

1. Be a drunk.
Okay, not a rule, really. But seriously. When I was a teenager, this was the vision of a writer in my head: A desk in a dark room lit by a dim lamp. An ashtray filled with butts and one lit cigarette. A typewriter. (You remember those, don't you?) And a bottle of some kind of booze. This is odd, really, as my preference was for beer. You see, I was already breaking rules.

2. Polish those prose. Polish the hell out of them.
Or, in another words, strip them of your heart and soul.

3. Join a critique group.
Right. This isn't your book--it belongs in committee. Go over it line by line, word by word, and let's all make it work.

4. You must, absolutely must, hire a copy-editor.
For me, hiring a copy-editor is a lot like taking my book to a critique group. Why would I need someone else to do my job? Yes, it's difficult to find errors and typos. But it's my job to write clean copy. It's part of what writing is all about. If you can't do it, by all means, get someone to do it for you. But if you can't edit, or rewrite, or, heck, come up with a plot, who's going to do that?

5. Get an agent.
For the life of me I can't understand why writers hire someone who doesn't write and doesn't publish to tell them how to rewrite their books and then give them fifteen percent of their profits (forever) to put it in front of an editor. Why do we do this?

6. Find a publisher.
Well, certainly when I started out in this game, there were only three routes to take. 1. Traditional (or what they're calling legacy now) publishing. 2. Vanity publishing. That's where you pay some people a lot of money and they produce your book for you and it costs a ridiculous amount of money. And 3. Self-publishing. Here you went to a printer and did the whole thing yourself and then had boxes of books sent to your house.

Back in the day, the only good way to go was traditional. But that's just not where it's at anymore. Is it? So, I didn't do that one either. I'm not ruling it out. I'm not saying that I wouldn't take a good contract if one presented itself to me. But, with traditional publishing you give up a lot. Money, for one thing. Rights to your work. Control--control over the manuscript, control over the title and the cover. We don't have to do that anymore and I think the world is better for it.

So, I'm a rule-breaker. I'm a rebel. And like everything else in life, practice makes perfect. We here at Wayward Cat Publishing are practicing the art of waywardness and the craft of writing what we please, naming it what we want, creating our own covers, and offering it all up to the world of readers.

Sure, copy-editing is hard. Formatting is hard. Covers are hard. Blurbs are hard. Marketing is hard. But it's also thrilling!
Go wayward, my friends!

And that's the end of our integration. Back to our regular blog--now filled no doubt with some redundancy.
 

10/05/2012
I was interviewed this afternoon for a newspaper feature in The Hometown News. Very scary stuff, interviewing. My motto going in was simply, be yourself. What else can one do? I've tried being other people, it never works.

I remember as a child, I didn't have a good relationship with myself. I didn't think people liked me the way I was. I can remember figuring out what I was going to "be like" before going to family get-togethers where I would spend time with my cousins, whom I deemed much prettier, more popular, and better all-round than me. I had to make myself into someone different, someone better. It never, ever worked. I always ended up being "stupid old me" (in my eyes, then).

The last time my high school reunion came around...last summer?...someone started up a website for us and we re-introduced ourselves. My first try was downright morose. I talked about how awkward and depressed I was in school. Someone actually emailed me and said, basically, "What are you talking about? I don't remember you that way at all."

It doesn't matter, of course, how others see us. It matters only how we see ourselves. If we see ourselves as personable, confident, and funny, we'll come off that way.

Wait a minute. I just contradicted myself. In high school I was a complete wreck, but few people knew it, apparently. Now, I'm a confident, personable...oh, dear. Oh, dear, oh dear. Well, we'll just have to wait until Friday to see how the interview went!

09/25/2012
Well, the publishing has begun. Children of Path: The Kell Stone Prophecy Book One is available in paperback, on Kindle, and via other electronic devices through Smashwords. All the above goes for Zombie Revolution, too! (Here's the Smashwords link.)

You know, I didn't really intend to publish Zombie Revolution at all. And then, when I reread it and thought, "why not," I only planned to release it as an ebook. But my mentor, Dean Wesley Smith said that would be stupid. (Not to me--he doesn't even know me--but on his blog.) So, I was on again with the "why not" and there you have it. Zombies. Who knew?

But not only that...I have another idea for a D.D. Charles book. So, I guess I'm a paranormal humor writer now.

I am concerned that I wear too many pen names. Readers like to find more books by authors they like. But I am adamant against publishing in different genres under the same name. So, I'm pushing Wayward Cat Publishing as much as I can.

Well, I have four books due out in 2013. So, it's off to work. You may not hear from me again for a long time. If you do, I'll be hearing your voice in my head saying, "get back to work!" And thank you for that.

08/13/2012
This past week I had the pleasure of attending the Zumba Instructors Convention at the Peabody Hotel and Orange County Convention Center. While I enjoyed the visit from the Rockettes, the Daddy Yankee concert, the fabulous Zumbathon for Party in Pink, and the march of the Peabody ducks, the best part for me was the people watching.

So many people really need to look in the mirror more often before they leave their hotel rooms. A style that can be rocked out by someone in their twenties, is probably a bad idea for those of us in our fifties. Just because Tanya Beardsley does it, doesn't mean it looks good on the rest of us--in other words, roll that pant leg back down for god's sake. Always cover your midsection if it bulges out like a doughnut. And whatever you do, don't try to squeeze your rolls into stretchy tops and pants that are clearly three sizes too small for you.

I saw large people and scrawny people who knew their age and knew how to rock out Zumba wear. And I saw large people and scrawny people who didn't have a clue. It was quite a lot of fun.

The worst problem was watching people dance. As I posted on facebook: they will let anyone become a Zumba instructor. If you can't dance, no problem. If you can't hear the beat in music, come on in! Zumba is like a culture that everyone wants to be a part of...and can be a part of. And in many ways that's wonderful. But when you watch complete body nerds try to rock out even something as simple as a salsa, it can be painful.

And then, after seeing that, if you don't question your own appearance trying a body roll, you clearly have too much ego.

The keynote speaker for the event was Kathy Najimy who has apparently lost a bit of weight recently and credits her Zumba classes. She gave us a funny, inspiring message of inclusiveness and confidence and perseverance. She said that someone (I'm sure she named the person, but I can't recall who it was) told her once that if you write a book and no one wants to publish it, find a printer, start a publishing company. Do it yourself.

Naturally, I thought she was talking directly to me. Kathy Najimy was speaking to me!

Wayward Cat Publishing is striving to put out my first book, The Kell Stone Prophecy: Book One by the end of September. Shortly after that, Zombie Revolution will debut.

I have a lot of work to do.

07/18/2012
We lost our logo cat, JJ, this past May; it was tragic. I still think of him when I pass various spots in the house, or when his litter mate requires extra attention.

I've been fast and furious with fiction lately and have been lax at blogging, but I'm holding my own.

My first novel, The Kell Stone Prophecy Book One, is coming soon from Wayward Cat Publishing. Once that is put to print, I will have no choice but to finish the series. It's always good to have a deadline looming. Isn't it?

As always, check out the fiction page for more blog and my book list.

02/02/2012
The highlight of the Space Coast Writers' Conference this year was The Nardini Sisters. They presented two workshops on publishing with CreateSpace and marketing on Amazon. They were engaging, funny, and very helpful. They wrote and self-published The Underwear Dare. It's a fabulous book for kids--lots of vomit and farts.

At dinner the evening after I sat in on their presentations, one of them mentioned that boys eventually grow out of their immature love of fart jokes and potty humor. I said, "No they don't." My husband's favorite word is "duty," always interpreted by him as "doody."

So when I purchased their book from the author store, I had one of them write "doody," and the other was kind enough to draw a picture of a steaming pile. Wonderful people!

I have much work to do, and so very little time to do it. I'm threatening myself with a time-clock. And I'm serious.

10/10/2011
It's time, already, to sign up for the Space Coast Writers' Conference! This conference is always inspiring; I'm looking forward to it.

I've added links to two of my blogs. The Sunshine State is a blog I started to get myself writing first thing in the morning. Sometimes I'm amazed at what comes to my mind. Bananas, for instance. I really was concerned about the bananas. And poop. There's still time to write about poop. Poultry apologies and foot holes came to me after reading so many silly errors on the Internet tubes. I finally had to speak out.

NaNoWriMo* is just around the corner. For some time, I'd been thinking that I wouldn't participate. The rule is that you start something new for NaNo. And I have several projects in the works that I want to finish. I didn't think I wanted to spend so much energy on something new.

But I have an idea for something new. And I'm wondering if I force myself to do the NaNo, I might gain some discipline to actually continue on the older projects at the same time. Then again, maybe I'm out of my mind.

I've not had good luck with NaNo. I finished one year, but I'm pretty sure I wrote 50,000+ words of utter crap. I'm not sure the premise of NaNo works for me. On the other hand, I tend to lean too far to the other side and "wait" for the inspiration, knowing full well all the time that inspiration comes through writing.

Why am I such a complicated bird?

*Frontpage never lets me add a hyperlink to NaNoWriMo directly. It won't give me the option in a right click, like it will for other things. It keeps wanting me to add it to my dictionary, like I've made up a word.

09/21/2011
I think I neglect this page and spend all my time over on the fiction page. But this is the home page, right? I should be here more often.

I'm writing regularly again and it feels good. I've immersed myself in the writing life--reading The Writer and Writer's Digest. I have all of my Writer's Market books up to date. I'm ready to write some short stories again (already have one nearly complete) and work on my novels almost daily--I'll get that up to daily very soon.

I feel like I have a ton of work to do and won't ever finish it all. But I am glad I have work to do. There's never a blank screen--never a moment when I wonder, what will I write. I just need to write and write and write.

04/15/2011
Again I'm suffering with motivation and discipline. I suppose I will have to accept the lack of them as part of my core personality like my other negative behaviors.

I created a schedule for writing; it's a schedule for my life actually. The days of the week are each divided into blocks of time during which I should do certain things: fiction writing, blogging, articles, and Zumba. The thing I tend toward most, other than Frontierville, of course, is writing articles for Examiner. It can eat up most of a day going through news items looking for topics and then writing on them.

I wish I enjoyed all aspects of fiction writing as much. But there are only certain times during a fiction project in which the excitement motivates me onward without pause. Getting to those points is dreadful! But I intend to force myself into it with my new calendar book.

It's hard cover. Oooh. And deep maroon. Inside, the open book features a week across left and right pages. Saturday and Sunday are scrunched up over on the far right. No problem! Monday through Friday are divided by hours and below each is a spot for notes. Bitchy, get your ass out of that chair and get into your office notes! I can hardly wait to yell at myself!

01/30/2011
How do you turn a capable, confident, well-spoken author into a blithering idiot? Sit her down in front of an agent at a writer's conference. Oh-my-gawd! Did I blabber like a fool? Did I chatter without a break for breathing? Did I not turn around and ask, "Am I talking too loud?" And did I or did I not ask the agent if she had to fly far to get home when I knew damn well she worked in New York?

Some people need "slow down and breathe" buttons to go along with their deserved "off" and "smile" buttons.

Well, now that another writer's conference is over, I'm ready for a productive year. I'll be finishing the first book in my second middle grade series. And I still need to finish that one about the zc's. (Do you see how close to the vest I'm holding that idea?)

And I think I may have finally hit on an idea for women's fiction that can hold up to my tediously exacting standards for a complete novel! (Have I heard something like this in my head before?)

11/08/2010
Well, it's NaNoWriMo day number eight and I'm--let me get out my calculator--3588 words behind. So today I only have to write 5255 words and I'll be fine.

09/08/2010
After six months of heavy stress, things are settling back down here at the Narciso household. I'm still homeschooling one child, now a high schooler. But with a good schedule, I think I can work in most of the important things. Darn, housework may just have to fall by the wayside...again. And again and again. I'm learning how to embrace the filth. I never was much of a cleaner. I was that little girl with crap shoved under her bed. Mom would come in, in a rage, fall to her hands and knees and yank stuff out while ranting about what a pig I was. Yes, crispy, stale, half-eaten peanut butter sandwiches, toys, clothes, trash, shoes, papers, books, long lost lists and trinkets. All under my bed.

Unfortunately, there aren't enough beds here.

05/12/2010
This year has flown past! I had to do a total reworking of the premise for my latest book. Almost finished. Once I start the actual writing it should be done in no time. In the mean time, I'm trying to (gasp!) clean my house.

I've taken on writing short articles a few times a week for an online newspaper of sorts. I was hoping this work would break my daily addiction to facebook and nonsensical games and bring me closer to writing most of the day and it certainly worked. Nothing like writing to keep one's focus on writing.

03/23/2010
I passed the AFAA and I finished the really awful book and don't feel slimy or anything. I'm still working on marketing the two completed babies and outlining the third. I won't be able to update the website again until late April, early May, so don't miss me too much.

03/03/2010
I've been so curious about the title of that horrible, horrible book I couldn't finish reading. I think the description I gave (about a perfectly beautiful woman who had a perfect singing voice--and let me add, she was so beautiful everyone turned to look at her every time she entered any room) was for the book Star, by Danielle Steel. I didn't finish reading that one, either.

But I was thinking of another book and I can't remember anything about it now, except that it was awful. It would have been in hardcover in about 1987. There, that's all I know. I should go to the bookstore and amuse the clerks.

"I'm looking for a novel."
"Wonderful, what is the title?"
"I don't recall the title or the author. But it was a romance novel, except I'm pretty sure it wasn't found in the romance section. It was hardcover in 1987. And it might have been white, with some purple on it."

LOL. Yes. People really do ask bookstore clerks to find books for them when they know absolutely nothing about them.

Speaking of bookstore clerks, I have something to get off my chest. It's been bugging me for over twenty years.

I used to manage a bookstore. One day, a woman came in with a hardcover book that she'd received as a gift from a friend. She didn't like it and wanted a refund or credit. She had no receipt. I looked that book up from here to Sunday and could not find it. I was pretty sure it was a remainder. It was one of those books we'd have in a big bin in the store that would be marked down to a dollar, then to fifty cents, and then I don't remember what we did with them. Maybe they were free.

I tried to explain to this woman that the book she had was probably not worth fourteen or fifteen dollars that was on the jacket, and the only way I could find out about it would be to call the home office for advice. But by that time she was livid and stormed out of the store.

A month or so later, she was back again and made a purchase. She mentioned something to the clerk who checked her out about the book being for a friend and hoping she'd like it. The clerk said, "she can always return it." And the woman called out, as she left, "I've heard that before!"

That always bugged me. It bugs me because I never told that lady the truth: that her "friend" bought her a book for a dollar or less and passed it off as a new title.

02/25/2010
I just posted a link to "10 Rules for Writing Fiction." Great article with writing advice from several authors. One piece of advice stood out to me. PD James said, "Read widely and with discrimination. Bad writing is contagious."

Well, I'm reading a badly written novel right now! Oh, dear.

I just finished reading The Night Watchman by Mark Mynheir, a local cop. I wouldn't say his was badly written; not bad at all, actually. The characters came alive for me in that I could picture them and I liked them, but the dialogue was a tad stilted and often felt forced. However, the story was satisfying and did keep my interest. What interested me the most, though, was that Mynheir is an evangelical Christian and his protagonist is an atheist. I just had to see how he did it! I was very pleased with the result.

The book (remaining nameless to protect the author's reputation, which I'm sure needs no protecting from me; she is published and I'm not, after all) I'm reading now is just awful. Part of my distaste is due to a clash of styles. I don't like her style, but don't have much against it personally. But another part of it is bad writing. Her characters are always saying each other's names in dialogue. "Why yes, Mary, I would like a piece of that lovely cherry pie." "I love you, Tom." "I love you, too, Beatrice." "Oh, Tom." "Yes, Beatrice?"

Drives me nuts! And the characters do talk that way, as if they're in a play. They're cardboard. And this is most definitely why I have trouble telling them apart through the book. And worse, I don't care about them. I don't feel them. But I keep reading because I'm stubborn.

I've not finished very few books in my entire life. One was a romance novel I picked up so long ago I don't remember the title. It was so bad I think I threw it. The main character was so perfectly beautiful and she had this perfect singing voice. Perfection is not interesting. The writing and the story were awful. How do these things get published?

Another was Atlas Shrugged. I've tried twice to read it. It's just too boring for words. My husband is reading it now and he says it's all about railroads and how one group of people think you should run the railroad for profit and one group thinks you should run it for the good of mankind. Boring? Yes, boring. I still want to read it, though, because it's supposed to be a life-changing book for someone like myself.

I didn't finish The Lord of the Rings. I don't know which book I'm on--I read The Hobbit and I may be on The Two Towers in the trilogy. It wasn't bad, though. Just...long; and there are so many exciting books begging me to read them. It probably didn't help that I'd already seen the movies (though that hasn't stopped me from enjoying many other books).

And then, last year, I tried a book written so poorly (it had the same dialogue problems as the aforementioned, only worse...much worse, and several other problems to boot) I had to put it down. I thought I'd better take a look at the end in case the author asks me how I liked it. And there I found an uncomfortably graphic sex scene. This book gives all other self-published (or POD) books a really bad name.

So, should I put the book I'm reading down? Should I do something to exorcise the other bad writing I've read? I'd hate to catch something.

02/14/2010
The AFAA workshop and exams are finally behind me! I won't get the results for 4-6 weeks; so, just as with writing, time to forget about it and move on to the next project.

I've been having dreams about my next planned middle grade novel, so I'll probably put a lot of my time into that. But I do need to finish one that I started last year.

02/03/2010
I attended the Space coast Writer's Guild conference and it was fabulous, as usual. Last year I bought a huge armful of books, both traditionally published and self-published. I still haven't read them all. This year I only bought one book: The Night Watchman by Mark Mynheir. He's a local cop and I always enjoy his lectures on the cop's life. I had to bypass a lot of interesting reads, but the stack on my dresser is still pretty high. We can't read everything, I guess.

I'm studying like mad to take the Aerobics and Fitness Association of America's group exercise instructor certification, so I haven't written as much as I'd like. I can't wait until this test is behind me!

01/02/2010
Welcome to the new year! I finished the two books on my schedule last year. I have three books planned this year with a fourth working in my head. Maybe I'll get them all finished.

11/17/09
Check out the Oxford word of the year. Mostly check out the comments section in which a lot of people (much like me) argue over whether it's defriend or unfriend and over the true meaning of the term teabagger. Nuts.

Don't yell at me, but I've decided to go back to teaching Zumba. I originally stopped teaching because I felt I spent too much time practicing when I could be writing. But, as it turns out, I am an afternoon writer. I did write a few mornings, but I spent most "gearing up" for the writing session on Facebook and Farm Town. Well, I'd rather be dancing! So, I'm back to "having it all." (Not to mention the fact that I regained 10 pounds after quitting Zumba. And now here it is a week before the holidays officially start and I have to lose 10 before I can, in good conscience, gain the holiday 5. Dang it.)

My latest novel is almost complete! I should be sending it out next month. I really enjoyed this one: zombies! The zombie/vampire craze may be over, but when you have a book in you that wants to get out, well, you let it out.

10/20/09
Wow, I haven't updated this site for a long time. Yes, I've been playing Farm Town. But I've been writing quite a bit, too. I'm nearly finished with one of my YA titles and I've got a couple of short stories completed for the Space Coast Writer's Guild contest. I'm certain I'll enter one, but I'm not sure about the other. Either way, wish me luck!

07/10/09
Curses upon the man who ever thought of the app Farm Town! Arghh. I've never spent so much time being virtually productive in my entire life.

06/14/09
Web 2.0 is not a word. That sort of makes me curious about all the other new words they've added over the years. How many of them are truly words? Just because I can type it and use it in a novel doesn't really make it a word. I suppose I can't adequately define the word word, but like art, I know it's not when I see it's not.

Writing is going well. Progressing on the two main novels I'm working on. I still have the middle grade story in the back of my head as well as an adult fantasy. I feel like I could write more. After some great advice from Kristine Kathryn Rusch in her blog, I've given up Zumba so that I can write in the mornings as well as the afternoons. This was something I was already battling with. Sometimes it takes another person to tell you what you know in your gut to get you to take action. And yet, I still feel that I could produce more if I was more disciplined. So the next two weeks will be devoted to discipline.

05/25/09
Today is Towel Day, by the way. So sad.

I spent last week at Florida Tech's Creative Writing Institute. All in all, it was fabulous. We started it all off with a keynote by Philip Deaver. I sat in on two lectures, one on writing historical fiction and one on monsters in film and literature. We had lunches with David Johansson, Robert L. Shearer, and Martha Powers and an evening coffee hour with Anna Flowers. If that weren't enough, we had three-day classes. I initially signed up for a sci fi class, but it was canceled. I opted for a mystery writing class with Martha Powers instead. And I took a fiction class and an advanced fiction classes, both with Florida Tech professors.

I learned a bit and had a great week. But, I ate too much, and didn't take a single Zumba class. I feel fat today. Tomorrow, I'll pursue skinny again. And I've come away with a renewed enthusiasm for writing full time. Two novels are up front in my mind. One was a story I had all but given up on. But I took it to class for a bit of critique and got some great responses to it. I think I can pull it off. And the other is percolating very nicely. Between the two, I think I have enough work to keep me occupied full time.

And I got a Roomba! Ooh, I love my Roomba. The floors are always the worst thing, don't you think? Now I can sit in my office and type all day and let Rosita Roomba vacuum for me. (Yes, I realize it's a bit discriminatory, but it's the name that fits.) And I'm going to train my cats to do this.

05/09/09
I've decided to read Doctor Zhivago again. This may come as a surprise, if you read my earlier review, which basically stated, 'this is the worst book I've ever read.' But, yes, I will read it again. I think I may be able to appreciate the book a lot more after a review of Russian history, now that I think I know what it's actually about.

I was finally able to see the film and I liked it very much. But the film is not like the book. The film is the story of a quiet, emotional man, struggling against the revolution and between the two women he loves. The film is a love story. Man marries woman, man meets soul mate, oops. That sort of story. And in the end, of course, we learn he has a bad heart (aww) and he sees Lara! He tries to get off the bus! He manages! He chases after her! He collapses! (kind of funny collapse) And dies! Oh, the sadness.

Well, that's not at all like the book. The book is about, in my opinion, a weak man--an opportunist, in the way that a person floats from one opportunity to the next--a man struggling against a changing world. He's married with a family. Then he takes up with a beautiful woman. There is no mention of love or desire. We find out he's been sleeping with Lara almost offhandedly, and at the same time we find out he plans to end the affair. Zhivago is conscripted into the Red Army, and after he escapes, he only takes up with Lara again because his wife and family have been deported. He sends Lara away to save her life.

Then Zhivago, growing weaker and weaker, takes up with another woman and has another family. He dies getting off a bus. His death is in no way meaningful or monumental. There is nothing romantic about it.

And that is why I think I will read the book again. I have a suspicion that Pasternak did not intend to write one of the greatest love stories of all time, simply because he clearly did not do that. I think Pasternak may have written a book about a man never being allowed to become what he could have become. Pasternak's story isn't about a beautiful soul and love, it's bare, tedious, melancholy, downright sad--it's, frankly, human. And that's the kind of book I'd like to read.

04/21/09
I was over at the Lipstick Chronicles reading about Lisa Daily's crush on Shaun Cassidy (snork). I was going to reply but there were already 68 responses and they all sound like they know each other, don't they? I guess part of me is still stuck in wallflower land.

Anyway. I was going to reply about two things. First, she only had one poster of said crush? Pfflbt. That's childish. Every inch of my wall space was plastered with posters of Donny Osmond. His eyes moved and followed me around the room. He watched me dress and primp and pick my nose! Oh, Donny. All we've been through together! Donny was only four years older than I was (still is, I suppose), so my chances of marrying him were much greater than Lisa's of marrying Shaun. I had a little record player over in the corner of my room and my mother had a little collection of fancy bottles. I mean a collection of fancy little bottles. And I used to turn this particular one upside-down and use it for a microphone and pretend to be a singer, just like Donny (only female--wait, no, uh, yeah).

And, I was going to reply about the PG-13 film that she wouldn't let her six-year old daughter see. Child. My youngest son was 2 1/2 when he would beg us to let him watch 'great big T-rex get out the boat and eat the guys', aka Jurassic Park 2, The Lost World. And he's not warped a bit. Strange. Sarcastic. Possibly devoid of true compassion. But hey, he gets that from his father, not Hollywood. (snork)

Let the kid watch the movie. She's too young to understand the things she shouldn't understand anyway. But that's me and my weird family. Maybe it's a good thing that our weirdness doesn't spread too far. Then what would the world be? I mean, I might have to be sociable if everyone was cool like me, right?

03/16/09

Announcing the winner of Dianna's Next Top Cat Model! JJ!

JJ easily beat out his competitors: Squeakers, who was too large and black and looked like something out of a B-rated horror flick; Rice Cake, who kept giving the photographer 'Southern Madam' instead of intellectual feline; and Tiger, who wanted nothing whatsoever to do with a book or a seat by the window...until the shoot was over, of course.

So, congratulations, JJ (also known as Jeffrey Junior, to his owner, Jeffrey, who clearly has something of an ego). Your reward is fame, such as you can get here on my little website.

I still have a bit of work to do on the site, but thank you for reading as it is!