Sick as a Dog

I really love my blog.
I promise, I'm not just popping in here out of obligation whenever the whim drives me.

For almost a week, I've been fighting some kind of Rhino Virus... am I the only one that hates that term? I don't think the word rhino should ever be used in conjunction with me or humans in general. Alas, that's what I'm dealing with.

I think I'm on the mend!! That's saying something considering I can't breathe, my sinuses are a mess, and I'm not sleeping well at night. BUT, my youngest is finally sleeping through the night! whoohoo. Of course, she's on drugs. Got the 'biotics for her ASAP. Within 24 hours she was back to a good 80% and gaining. Nothing is worse than an almost 2yo who has an earache and is not sleeping through the night.

Working on getting better before November.
Hope your life is looking better than mine right now.
With Love,
Bethanne

The Next Big Thing

Okay, so I wasn't actually tagged for this Blog Meme. But I hopped over to David Powers King's blog where he'd been tagged by the awesome Ilima Todd. David didn't tag me either so I stole it. Just out and out stole it from his blog. ...but it really is a great way to give you a heads up on what I'm working on...

The Next Big Thing.

1-What is the title of your book?
Final Intention[s], it's working. Give me a break. I just don't do titles well.

2-Where did the idea come from for the book?
It popped in my head...this one kind of came out of know where. I'd been looking for something short to write during the month of October. It started with a paragraph about a witch...

3-What genre does your book fall under?
Paranormal Romance

4-Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie?

Mila Kunis, I like her sass in That 70's Show, and that stands out to me more than how pretty she actually is...and she is pretty--on screen. :D

I'll admit it, my first thought for male lead would be Heath Ledger. That could be pretty telling for how I need to change up my male leads--his face comes up often... So, I'll stretch my imagination and pick this young actor Daniel Burda. Not much on his resume, yet... but he's got a nice smile.



5-What is the one sentence synopsis of your book?
With only 2 weeks left before crossing over to the afterlife, Rachel has nothing to lose when guardian angel, Aarden Marks, comes begging her to change the weather.

6-Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
No agent for me, and I will probably send to an epublisher or two before I decide if I want to self-publish this one. There's something about allowing an editor and company to guide you through marketing and promotion that is truly appealing. Still, I'm game, either way.

7-How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript? May we see an intro?
I’m still drafting it – about a week in with 6,000 words down.
But here’s the first bit of it:

The shimmering lights of the rooftop affair twinkled against the autumn New York sky line. A familiar tune thudded against the waist high brick wall that surrounded the party on three sides and the soaring exterior wall that rose another level on the fourth side. The caterer had chosen barbecue  a southern tribute, which had been approved several weeks in advance. The savory aroma drifted on the still, cold night air, enticing complete strangers from the street below to make their way up.

8-What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
I hate to admit it, but I don't know. I've never read an angel/demon novel...I don't think. I read paranormal occasionally. Hopefully that doesn't end up being my downfall.

9-Who or what inspired you to write this book?
I just wanted to do something fun and different that I could draft up quickly. <--this is exactly what David said, btw. But it just fits so well. I wanted something I could do in October. A sort of warm up for Nano in November. I intended the story to be short, short. It'll be closer to novella length at the rate I'm going....and I might end up writing into Nano a bit, too.

10-What else about your book might pique the reader's interest?
This book has an element of fun to it, putting aside the darker tones of a lot of other paranormal demon stories. As a gal of Faith, I like the idea of featuring a guardian angel [instead of a Fallen Angel]...well, at least, he's not fallen yet!

To pass this great Meme along, I'm going to tag a few people from my critique group:
Moira Keith
Silke
Debora Dennis
Tina Vaughn
Ava Delany

Have fun with it, gals!
With Love,
Bethanne

Happy New Week!

Having an extra long weekend here. One of the nice kind in which my hubby gets to be home on the Friday--no kids!--and the Monday--no kids! haha. Well, don't forget Darla. Still, it's nice. Today, I woke up with great intentions to do one thing.

ONE THING!

You know what that thing was? Go to the Post Office.

GO. TO. THE. POST. OFFICE!

Seriously, it is THE most tedious errand to have to do with kids, or even one kid. So, i was all excited about being able to get out without them. I meant to do it Friday, but kept putting it off. Had other things going on...

Happy Columbus Day, United States... your postal service is NOT open today. :(

Grrrr.

That's Murphy for ya.
Have a great week!
And if you work for the gov't, enjoy your day off.
With Love,
Bethanne

More on what I'm doing with my writing later this week.

Busy Plotting and Writing

This morning the DeeJay, DJ, Deejay announced a song by a newish singer... I'd never heard of her.

It occured to me that I'm not that up on new artists. Not only that, but there seem to be so many new ones--all the time! It's not like the 80s and 90s when we'd see a new artist on the scene every few years. Not only that, but aren't they all a bit similar? I was listening to country this morning and the song could have been sung by at least two other artists that I do know.

This made me think of writing.

There are so many similarities within a genre!
But, just like music, people eat it up. As a matter of fact, I'd go so far to say that people like having the familiar in their hands.

So, write away good writing friends.
And no worries about getting it just right.
...unless you're talking about grammar then please get it right.
:D

With Love,
Bethanne

September goal, complete--ms subbed to Entangled.
October goal, started--new story [can't wait to tell you about it!]

Editing Again

I'm almost done editing a ms, one that I subbed at the beginning of the year.
I never heard back from the publisher so I'm polishing it--again. And will send it out at the end of September back to the publisher with a little note about when I subbed it and if anyone would be interested in seeing it.

In October, I'm going to write a short story. I actually was thinking of finding a cover and writing a story inspired by that...rather than the other way around. Could be fun, ya know? And different. Time to work a few brain muscles, ya know?

November is Novel Writing Month, NanoWrimo, and I'm joining in with my YA Time Travel that I started when we were still in GA. WW2 story...

That's two new stories before the end of the year. December, I'll take off, in a manner of speaking...putz around doing this or that. Put a plan together for the New Year, etc.

I feel solid. Those are serious goals. Makes me feel better. :D

A big thanks to my husband who works his butt off to provide for his family.
I love that Man!

Thirty-Six

It's a good number.
I woke up yesterday and mentioned to my husband. Thirty-Six, it's an even number. And it works out well that the three goes into the six evenly, too.

I think that means it'll be a pretty good year.
:D

Friday Fanks

Sorry. Couldn't help myself. I LOVE ALLITERATION!

I should have done this yesterday. That would have made much more sense.

So, I happened to be on Goodreads this morning and I hopped over to my book's page. There were so many nice reviews!!  A couple I hadn't seen yet. :D People I don't know and who don't say they love me [or my books] because they have to. haha.

Thank you. Thank you to those who have read my book. And thanks to those who liked it and left a review for me, whether it was on Goodreads or Amazon or BN...

I feel a warm glow....

Swingers

Anyone else a swinger?

okay, yes... some words draw people in. It's like Newsies, and the paper business, and knowing what words sell papes, right? :D

But, I do mean swinger. No one can continue on a line at the same velocity forever. We slow down. We divert. Boredom sets in. Whatever the circumstances might be... so within the last year, I've lost most of my diabetes followers. [Lost seems to be a recurring theme for me lately!] I closed my 'Betes Blog all together because I just couldn't keep up with both. You remember that... :D

Perhaps it's time to hook that wagon back up to the horse and get on. New gadgets help to increase motivation! Right now, I'm waiting on a new insulin pump and a new Continuous Glucose Monitoring Sensor. The pump is a bonus. The sensor is a replacement, because mine finally broke in July. Technically though, I'd gone on a break months earlier and had only been wearing the thing once in a while. Which is why my A1c was 6.7 this week. :P Yuck. I knew it was going to be higher than I wanted, but I suppose the fact that's it's under 7 is pretty good. I expected it to be over 7, possibly as high as 8.

I'm looking around at myself eating like I haven't since I was pregnant. Not over-eating, just eating all the carb happy foods instead of the foods that will be good for me and help me keep my sugars down without pumping unGodly amounts of insulin into my body. More insulin = more body fat. And that's a big booo for me. More fats and proteins = less insulin = more stable sugars. Time to change my grocery list...

Now the question is... do I hurry up and finish all that zuchini bread I made yesterday? Or do I jump on the wagon now and watch everyone else eat it. :(

:)

Sunday Summation

Tomorrow is the first day of my new... routine.
Time to buckle down--again. Get off my pity party and find the direction to go.

Writing goal:
Short term, sub one of my Single Titles to Entangled Publishing. I'm going through a few small edits.

Long term, PRAY, and write. hahaha. It's true though. Part of me wonders if this loss of work isn't some kind of sign from God. But you know, with most of my work of the last several months gone, I've got nothing to lose.

How-to:
5am -- wake up call, write for one hour, no internet/social media
...followed by lots of your regularly scheduled programming: kids, housework, kids, errands, meals, kids...
8pm -- kids bedtime, write for one and a half hours

So, that's two and a half hours of writing work a day. Like hell if that's not enough time to get something done! Right?

Wish me luck, and if you're the praying sort, I could use some.
With Love,
Bethanne

Secret Ballot

I really wish people took secret ballot seriously.
I know I'm my own worst enemy by joining places like Facebook and Google+ or whatever it is...twitter, but I don't really care what you vote. I don't want to know what you vote. I don't want to hear how you think I believe a bunch of lies.

I like you.

I don't need to know your politics to know I like you and we can get along. We have things in common.

This is me, once again, sick of election year. Avoiding the news, avoiding--as much as possible--social media. Trying with all my heart to remember that my right to choose includes my political stance.

Hope you're all having a good week.
With Love,
Bethanne

Patriot Day

This is the first year I remember hearing that Title.
Did it sneak up on me like an elephant? Is the fact that I haven't heard the term more telling of me or how it came about?! haha. In any case, it's perfect. Of all the things I remember about that time, the strongest memories are of the feelings that came after the attack.

None of the usual political or social unrest seemed to matter. Our disagreements with each other became minuscule. Maybe it's a good reminder, especially in election year, that differences of opinion are what make our country unique. We should still be able to come together, to unify for the greater good--so to speak.

That's all.
In my prayers are all the victims and survivors of 9/11. The families who lost loved ones, especially.
With Love,
Bethanne

A Look in the Mirror

It's not always ATTRACTIVE!
Come on over to my other home on the web, Passionate Critters, and hear me talk [read me type] about whining. :D :P
Have a great end of the week.
I'm working on it and plan to have this self back in happy land by the end of the weekend.

/bethwritesromance/2012/09/a-look-in-mirror.html

Sunday Summation

Working on my motivation levels...
right now, that includes cleaning house, unpacking and organizing.
Losing the work from the last several weeks has been harder than I expected.
Even thinking about recreating has me in a bit of a rut.
I'm seriously considering driving over to the Colorado University Computer Department and seeing if there's a techie who wants to "practice" retrieving data. My Aunt Laurie suggested it... and it's looking more and more appealing with each passing day.

Now, I'm off to paint my daughter's fingernails.
Lord, help me learn to either let go or have a good deal more patience.
With Love,
Bethanne

PS this post is dedicated to my husband who often gives up his own comfort and needs for those of his family. He is a wonderful man, loving father, and selfless husband. Love you Matt.

I'm still here

Usually, I don't like to write blogs that start with... I'm still here! Or, I'm sorry I haven't blogged in so long... or the ever popular, I'm back! I figure, if I'm not posting, it doesn't come in the feed or whatever you use to surf blogs...therefore, out of sight, out of mind, eh?

I'm officially on my computer in my own home with my own connection. Thank you dear Lord, baby Jesus.

Stolen, security-less internet doesn't really work that well. :P

In case you're curious... I had a mishap with my writing technology. I've lost a good bit of work over the last few weeks. I am horribly disappointed in myself over it. Mostly what this means is that I've had to take a step back... In doing so, I wonder what the heck to do next. Try to piece it all back together? Or start new.

Hard to leave things behind. I think I will work to get some of the lost material back. But in the end, who knows? If it doesn't work, perhaps this is just a sign to move on. Start something new. I'm just disappointed that the manuscript I was working on for publication will have to put off for a while longer. Might take a few extra weeks or more to rewrite.

It's a little depressing...and that, in and of itself, makes it hard to work. :P

But we [stupid heads who didn't back up!] must carry on. I'll keep you posted.
Have a great rest of the week.
With Love,

KIDS LOVE CAMERAS! I LOOK GOOD BLURRY. CAN'T COMPLAIN.

Bethanne

New Release -- Moira Keith

There's a great woman I've been writing with for several years. This past week, I've had the pleasure of sharing her release day. We've both been working and waiting for this day for a long time. Almost since we met, actually. Before I met Moira Keith, I wasn't much into paranormal or urban fantasy. I read this story in its early day, and I have to admit, I was taken in, not just the story line but, by the prose of Moira's writing. Her words flow across the page, not only to tell the story but to create an atmosphere of beauty within your head. I look forward to watching her succeed with this book and go on to make the next two books even better than the first.

Welcome Moira! Thanks for visiting my blog and sharing Blood and Moonlight with my readers. As you know--because you've been here before, I've got cake and ice cream for any event worth celebrating. The bakery is always open. What will you have?

Moira: Favorite cake would be red velvet (which I'm debating on alcohol to pair with it) and ice cream would likely be vanilla bean. When it comes to my cake and ice cream, I'm not too outrageous in my taste, but I do like to infuse a little something extra into them.

...like Irish Cream?! I should have told you to bring some of yours...

I've been waiting a long to time for the release of your latest book, Blood and Moonlight. I can't tell you how excited I am for Kiara's story to finally be out there!! It's been a long time coming. Tell me, what makes this story so special?

Moira: This story was truly a labor of love for me. It doesn't really fit into the romance, paranormal, or urban fantasy box all nice and neatly. It blurs the lines as I see them. The POV is also something that is a bit different as I mix a first/third storytelling here because that was the way my characters stories unfolded for me. Because of it's differences, this story (as the others to follow in the Moonlight trilogy will surely be) very close to my heart.

One of the things I've always loved about this book is the Point of View. I love how it focuses the story and makes it truly the heroine's.

So, tell me. When you made that first sale, how did you celebrate? 

Moira: I celebrated with a Guinness of course. I did consider trying for the Irish whiskey to make my dad and my heroine, Kiara proud. Alas, I am a beer girl through and through.

What made you choose fairies and wolves? Did you always believe in Magic?

Moira: I've always been fascinated by fairies and the mythology of the Fae. While I'm sure there are books out there that pull wolves and Fae together, I haven't seen any, so it seemed like a unique story element. And yes, I've always believed in magic. Not the pull the rabbit out of your hat kind of magic, but the kind of magic that comes from fairytales and fantasy. Morgan Le Fay surely didn't wave a wand over a hat as a party trick, (though I'm sure she had her own brand of fear inducing party tricks). I find that we often need to believe in the impossible or unimaginable. It's what keeps the world interesting.

If there was one book [story] you could live, which one would it be?

Moira: Wow. Tough question. You really want me to choose just one? Could it be a series? Wait even that one is tough. Damn. Okay well if I was forced to choose just one, I would choose the first Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter novel - Guilty Pleasures. Anita Blake was serious kick butt heroine.

I've still never read any of the books by Laurell K. Hamilton. Mostly because I've never been that into vampires, but I do appreciate good writing... might have to do that.

What about your next project? Will there be more madness and mayhem for Kiara and Devlin?

Moira: There is definitely some more mayhem, madness, and magic in store for Kiara and Devlin. Their story isn't nearly over and there are plenty of obstacles they will have to overcome and some pieces that need to be solved. But there are additional projects in the works as well. A witch story and a young adult book are in process as we speak.

Awesome! I can't wait to read your YA. I know anyone who picks up Blood and Moonlight will be watching for new releases in the future. Have a great week, Moira. Thanks for coming by. I'm wishing you great sales all week long.

For all my wonderful followers, especially those who like a good story about shifters and fae, you can find Moira's book for sale...well, just about anywhere. :D follow the links for a great read. One lucky commenter will get a free copy of Blood and Moonlight. What a great way to start the new week.
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