Sunday, July 29, 2012

Where has the year gone?

In just a few days the year will be half over. I'm always amazed at how quickly the months go by. At least two of my Facebook friends said last week that they have started their Christmas shopping. That's probably not a bad idea. I think I will at least start on a list.

I'm feverishly working on my next novel. It's set in the fall and winter from Thanksgiving to Valentine's Day. I worry that I won't get it finished in time for it to be released this winter and may have to wait a year and I don't want that to happen. I have two and a half more chapters to go and pretty much have them plotted out, sort of. I don't go by an outline, but when I get an idea for a chapter, I jot it down on a Post-it Note. God bless Post-it Notes, a writer's best friend, but that's another topic for later.

Happy Christmas in July and I hope that you get your shopping done early.

Carol

Sunday, July 22, 2012

Six Sentence Sunday - Saved by the Sheriff

Today, for my Six Sentence Sunday, I have a small excerpt from my book Saved by the Sheriff.


You can choose from several formats of Saved by the Sheriff on the Sweet Cravings Publishing web page, or for your Kindle, or for your Nook.

Blurb:
When writer Jaime Wilson visits Indiana to investigate an unsolved mystery, she finds herself becoming the next target and Sheriff Ben Hunter comes to her rescue. She didn't count on falling in love with him and he didn't think he'd have to work so hard to keep her safe.
 
Six Sentences:
   The next thing Jaime knew they had slid down flat on the seat of the truck as she and Ben continued kissing.
   She felt his hand move under her sweater, making his way to her bra. Her hands were just as busy trying to get to his belt when his cell phone started ringing.
   "Damn. I have to answer this." They both moved back to a sitting position with Jaime still next to him.



Sunday, July 15, 2012

Where I Write

A couple blogs by authors that I regularly read recently posted photos of their offices where they write. Most of them were neat and clean. No clutter on the desks, no wadded up papers, dirty coffee cups, or candy wrappers and I just can't believe that is how they really work. Now, I understand how they would want to have a nice photo of their office because it's being put out there on the world wide web for everyone to see. But seriously, it reminds me of the photo going around Facebook about authors and how different people perceive what we do. I love that by the way, and have saved it for my computer wallpaper. For today's post, I decided to show some photos of my offices. Yes, I said the plural. I do the majority of my writing in two different places, my day job office and my home office.

Day job office
Monday through Friday, I spend my lunch hour every day working on my manuscript. Yes, my day job office is very tidy. I pride myself on being organized and since my day job involves confidential files, I have to keep many things filed away. My home office, well that's another matter.

Home office


On the weekends, I mostly work in my home at my desk. I share the office with my husband, whose desk is on the other side of my laptop.My desk is cluttered, but everything on my desk is for research and within reach at anytime. My dictionary and thesaurus are on the floor next to me because there is no room on my desk for them. Honestly, I do clean it off occasionally, but then I can't find anything.


 Obviously, with having a laptop I can be mobile and can sit on the couch or even type a little while in bed before going to sleep. I've written while on vacation with my husband driving down the highway. I've written on an airplane while flying to visit my best friend or my daughter and I've made notes while driving down the highway on the way home from a business meeting. In that case, I was talking into a micro-recorder. But, I think the strangest place I've ever written was when I was sitting in the dentist chair while waiting for my mouth to get numb.

So now when you read any of my books, you will know where I likely was sitting while composing.

Carol

Sunday, July 8, 2012

The Weather and J.K. Rowling's New Book

It's been way too hot around here for me to sit for very long at my computer. The heat is finally breaking today, so I wanted to make sure you all knew I was still around. We had rain today and puddles. Oh my gosh, we have puddles in our driveway! It's the first really good rain we've had since Mother's Day in May.

But onto what I really wanted to write about. Have you seen the cover for the new J.K. Rowling's book, A Casual Vacancy, due out later this year? I'm really looking forward to reading the book. I want to see how she handles writing for adults vs writing for young adults. But, the cover, oh my. I'm so disappointed in the plain book cover. I really thought that her book was have a cover that is more reflective of what the book will be about. Maybe once I read it, it will make more sense.



So, my questions to you are, what do you think about the cover and do you plan on reading the book?

Carol

An Interview with E.M. Munsch

Today, I welcome author E.M. Munsch for some questions, answers, and maybe a little hot tea.. Elaine writes the Dash Hammond series and her ...