Where were you when the lights when out?

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With family on Long Island and the east coast, my heart goes out to all those who lost...family, homes, power. If you're thinking an Armageddon journey...Colorado's looking pretty good! Otherwise, take care of each other out there.

...and if you're one of the crazies who decided to hang tough...ON FIRE ISLAND, shame on you. First Responders should have you last on their list. [That's my crank coming out.] My own family originates from Great River, which is on the Great South Bay. So as a kid, I spent many summers back and forth from Long Island to Fire Island on my Grandpa's boat. It's times like this that makes me nostalgic for those days.

A special prayer goes out to my husband's cousin who, for the second time, has lost everything in a fire. Thank God for the safety of our families on the East Coast. May they all find peace after this upheaval and tragedy. Amen.

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Happy Halloweenie to all you young and young at heart!
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Last but not least, tomorrow is DAY ONE of National Novel Writing Month, and like an idiot and have put off [okay, I have to stop because my daughter just asked if I was alive during the Great Depression]....moment of silence...[back on track]. I have put off a task that is going to be time consuming. Mad at myself, I spent the late part of the evening getting mad at my husband for no reason at all... And that makes perfect sense, of course. :P *eyeroll* Don't worry. I apologized.

Man! It's just so easy to throw off those frustrations and irritations!

Just so you know? I wrote 22K in October. I think that's a good sign of what I can do for November because I did NOT push myself a ton in October. I wrote more than I usually do, but--no late nights, no extra early mornings, etc. To all you Nano-ers, Good Luck! Happy Writing!

An Angel's Sword

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Just to shake things up a little on the blog: I'm skipping Sunday Summation for a discussion on Angels [which, despite how the image portrays, I don't believe have a gender...][another reason for fiction!! :D].
zwani.com myspace graphic commentsPhoto courtesy of Zwani Graphics
Angel comments & graphics

Besides Truth, what is an Angel's sword composed of? [yes, i'm ending my sentence with a preposition]

That's my contemplation for the day. I'm finishing my October Novella, my story of Aarden the angel and Rachel the granddaughter of Mother Nature. It wouldn't be a true angel story without at least one battle, and this story has one, as well as a few other instances of conflict.

When I asked my husband, he thoughtfully made the suggestion that an Angel's sword was made of light. 
"Like, a light saber?" I asked, and we both laughed. 
Yup. That right. It's a great idea, but as I told him...my angel, in angel form--cuz he's got a human form, too--wears light. Sort of. Not like he's naked, but just that he's an angel so he doesn't exactly have clothes as we do on earth. 

Then I was thinking, maybe silver! Silver is harder than gold, anyway. And it's a natural, God-made, element from the earth. Not like steel, which is forged. What are your thoughts on this topic? Do you think silver is strong enough? Maybe it doesn't matter if it is strong enough, eh? It's all make-believe anyway...

Besides, we all know the truth cuts like a sword, so maybe I should play with that idea a little more. I mean, if my demons are developing anti-angel arms [like armory arms], why shouldn't the truth actually be a substance you can cut with? hmmmm?

Sunday Summations

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Look at me!! Actually getting to my regularly scheduled programming. :D I'm just going to chat today about a number of things.

In my writing world, things have picked up again. Phew! Seriously dudes! I'm such an impatient sick person. Today, though I'm over 11,000 words on the story I started 10-1-12. That's no record, believe me. And I wanted it to be LOTS more, but I'm satisfied for now. This has been a fun story for me. It's got a Mythical [smartass] Granddaughter of Mother Nature paired up with a Guardian Angel. I don't often write outside of reality...well, I take that back--dead bodies and stuff aren't really part of my reality either. :D But you know what I mean. :) I'm really enjoying this...it's a story where almost anything goes. If I want it there--and it makes "Celestial" sense--there it goes. I've created a world. I'm still creating a world.

I've been reading a little more this month. Back to the basics romance. I read a story this week, written by a good friend of mine, Nina Croft. It's not a story that's out yet just one that she wanted feedback on. It was so good. And it just hit me, I really miss the romance... the sexual tension of those good ol' fashioned romances, even the sex. I love that about romances. I started reading romances when I was 22. Late in life compared to some, but if I take a step back I can see that really, I've been reading romance all my life. Fiction has always been my mainstay...and most fiction, including YA and juvenile, have elements of romance. Not always romance in a man/woman way but also in the HEA, overcoming conflict kind of way.

National Novel Writing Month is in November. I'm gearing up...plotting, thinking, getting ready. I'm going to pick a day of the week to blog on how that's going. There really should be a day that starts with N. Don't you think?? Wednesday though. That could work. Feel free to pop in and tell me how you're doing as well! I want to hear and be inspired by your progress. Also, if you want, I'll be spending a good bit of time--while writing--on the forum SavvyAuthors. They've got a Nano Boot Camp, not affiliated with the official NANOWRIMO webpage. Good spot though. Looking forward to the accountability and motivation.

Enough about writing...actually, if you've made it this far, I commend you. I don't read blogs that are more than 3 long paragraphs in length. So, I'll stop.  Enjoy this Sunday!
With Love,
Bethanne

Sick as a Dog

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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

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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!

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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

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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

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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!

Friday Fanks

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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