Z: Zombies

My final A-Z Blog challenge post is about zombies. Believe me, I never thought I would ever be writing about zombies, but they seem to be all the rage now. I decided that I needed to see what all the fuss was about so I read Pay Me In Flesh by K. Bennent (aka James Scott Bell).

Until I read this book, my only knowledge of zombies was from watching the movie,  Shaun of the Dead and I laughed through the whole thing.

What I didn't do was laugh through this book. Pay Me In Flesh is about a lawyer in Los Angeles who finds, after being shot, that she was brought back from the dead and is now a zombie, or undead. While defending a vampire on a murder charge, she searches for the person who turned her into a zombie.

The end of the book left a lot of unresolved issues, enough that I assume there will be a sequel. The story was very well written, but I would expect no less from Mr. Scott, who is an excellent writer. I did find a few typos in the text, but not so many that it distracted my reading.

I asked myself if I would read another zombie book and my answer is maybe. If there is a sequel, I will likely read it, but I doubt I would add another zombie book to my library.

How about you? Do you like to read zombie books?

Carol

A-Z Blog Challenge

Y: Yippee, it's almost over

I suppose I really shouldn't say yippee, but I needed a Y word today and it seemed to fit. This was the first time I participated in the A to Z April Challenge and found it to be exactly that, a challenge.

Don't get me wrong, it was fun, but for me it was difficult to blog daily and coming up with the topics for a few of the letters was demanding. For the most part, the first thing that popped in my head is what I wrote about.

The toughest letters for me were P, T, W, and X. For the letter P, I came up with so many ideas, it was hard for me to choose just one. The letter that caused me the most difficulty was X and the one that caused me the most work was Z. Obviously, I haven't posted that one yet and I don't want to give it away. All I'll say is that I had to read a whole book for that letter.

Will I participate again next year? My answer right now is no, but I'm sure that when time rolls around, I'll suck it up and o it again. Hopefully, I've picked up some new followers. If you're one of them, please don't expect me to keep up with the daily posting. With a full time job and trying to write another book, there's just not time for me to do this daily and congratulations to my fellow bloggers who will complete the whole month.

Carol

A to Z Blog Challenge

X: Xenolith

I love collecting cool looking rocks, but I have never found a Xenolith rock. A Xenolith is a fragment of foreign rock within a host rock. To be considered a xenolith, the inclusion must be different in composition from the rock surrounding it.

Xenoliths most often occur in igneous rocks. For those of you who are a little rusty on Geology 101, igneous rocks are rocks which form by the cooling and solidification of molten material, either magma or lava.

That my friends, concludes the geology lesson for today. I'm going to start looking for one of these.

Carol

A - Z Blog Challenge

W: Waltz

I don't dance, well actually I don't dance because my husband doesn't dance. I think the waltz is my favorite dance to watch. It's so elegant. I love watching old movies with large crowds waltzing around a ballroom. I just watched the movie, Holiday with Cary Grant and Katherine Hepburn last weekend and it included a scene of people waltzing.

In the 1800's, California banned the waltz because of ho close the two partners danced together. Did you see The Legend of Zorro with Antonio Banderas and Catherine Zeta-Jones? In one scene, they danced a very risque version of the waltz. If you haven't seen the movie I highly recommend it.

There are many versions of the waltz, mostly based on the country of their origin. I've linked a couple videos below to see.

Video from Dancing with The Stars

Video from The Legend of Zorro



A - Z Blog Challenge

V: Vacation

Everyone has a favorite vacation spot and my husband and I are no exception. Our favorite vacation destination is the mountains of Tennessee. We love the area so much that it has always been our plan to retire there some day. The closer we get to retirement and the worse the economy gets, the more that dream seems to be fading.

The cabin that we usually rent sits on a small stream that flows by. My favorite thing in the morning is to sit out on the back porch and enjoy my first cup of coffee. My husband would have already left to go fly fishing, so its a calm way to start the day. The afternoons are for sightseeing, shopping, or just relaxing. We usually vacation in the spring, but have visited in every season.

One vacation that I never got to take was going to Florida to see a space shuttle launch. As a big fan and follower of the NASA space program, it had always been on my bucket list to see a launch, but since the shuttle program has been scrubbed, it looks like I'll never see one.

Just last week, the Space Shuttle Discovery was retired and delivered to the Smithsonian's Air & Space Museum as a permanent display at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center located in Chantilly, Virginia. Since I can't see a launch, I'm hoping to make this our next vacation so I can at least see the shuttle in person.

A - Z Blog Challenge

U: Upside Down Recipes

Normally, I put my recipes on my food blog, but this recipe, Upside Down Banana Muffins, is to yummy for just a food blog. I wanted to share it with everyone. However, as a little bonus, if you visit Carol's Food Bites, you will find a second upside down recipe for Caramel Apple Upside Down Cupcakes.

Upside Down Banana Muffins

Cake:

6 T. butter

1/2 c. milk

1 C. flour

1 1/2 t. baking powder

1/4 t. salt

2 eggs

3/4 C. sugar

1/2 t. vanilla

Topping:

12 T. butter

3/4 C. brown sugar, tightly packed

1 banana, thinly sliced

1 t. cinnamon

rum, to taste (optional)

Preheat oven to 350° f. To make the cake batter, place the butter and milk in a small pan over medium heat.. Warm the mixture, stirring occasionally until the butter is melted and then let mixture cool. 

Spray a little cooking spray in each cup in the muffin pan. Into each cup, put 1/2 T. of unmelted butter, 1 T. brown sugar, and a sprinkle of cinnamon. Place the pan into the oven until the butter melts. Remove from oven and add a few slices of bananas and a squirt of rum. 

To finish the cake batter, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt and mix well. In a separate bowl, beat eggs, sugar, and vanilla together. Add the flour mixture to the egg mixture and stir well into a smooth batter. Pour the batter on top of the bananas, dividing evenly among each cup. 

Bake for about 25 minutes, until lightly browned and dry around the edges and pulling away from pan.Cook pan on a rack for about 5 minutes. With a knife, loosen each cupcake from the edges and then place a cookie sheet over the pan and invert, turning the cupcakes onto the cookie sheet. Serve warm. Makes 12 cupcakes.

 

Enjoy,

Carol

A to Z Blog Challenge

T: Television

I have to admit that I'm addicted to television. I know it's a terrible habit, but it's one I've had for years. Luckily, my husband is not a big fan of TV, so I pretty much can watch what I want.

Police shows have always been my favorite, so you can probably guess that I watch most of the forensics shows on right now. But, my favorite show is ABC's Castle, about a mystery writer teaming up with a police detective. What a perfect match up for me to watch and Nathan Fillion, who plays Richard Castle is pretty easy on the eyes.

The main thing I wanted to write about is one particular television show and how it brought me so many friends from all over the country and even the world, and I have the internet to thank for that. Back around 1998, I started watching the military drama , JAG. It aired on NBC for one season, was cancelled, and the revived by CBS where it ran for nine more seasons. I've never gotten as hooked on a TV show as much as I was with JAG.

About that time is when I started becoming active on the internet. I did a search for JAG and found an email discussion group, several actually. I became rather involved with one of the groups and because of a mutual admiration of one of the recurring characters on the show, I met the person who eventually became my best friend. Although we don't see each very often because she lives in California, she still remains my best friend today.

But back to my involvement with the show. I was approached by some other fans with the idea of putting on a fan convention for the show and of course, I said yes. Soon after, the producers of JAG put their support behind the convention and before I knew it, I was on a plane for Los Angeles for my first convention.

I was a part of six conventions and they were all different and all great. I met all of the cast members and actually became friends with two of them, exchanging email addresses with one. I visited the production offices once, meeting many of the producers and writers.

My favorite visits were to the set, once during an actual taping of the show. My friend and I tried to stay out of  everyone's way and not to be noticed. But, the cast and crew wouldn't let that happen. Different cast members came up, introduced themselves, and wanted to know about us. Crew members asked us to join them on the lunch break and when we told them we wanted to take some pictures of the set first, we were warned that some of the crew sleep over lunch on some of the darkened sets and to be careful not to trip over anyone.


JAG ended in 2005 and so did the conventions, but my friendships with Sandy, Kathy, Rick, Susan, Cathy, and Maeve are still there and going strong.

S: "Saved by the Sheriff"

Saved by the Sheriff is my second romantic suspense novel and is available from Secret Cravings Publishing in several e-book formats at http://bit.ly/ScpPre or in paperback or Kindle at amazon.com or for your Nook at http://bit.ly/y72Po8

You can view the book trailer at http://bit.ly/xHn619

New York City writer, Jaime Wilson wants the Assistant Editor job at Real Mystery Magazine. In order to get it, she has to write a kick-ass story, and what could be better than a 30-year old unsolved murder in a small town.

When Jaime visits Royal, Indiana to investigate, she soon finds that someone in the town doesn't want the mystery solved and she becomes a target. After an arrest for trespassing and an attempt on her life, Sheriff Ben Hunter lets her stay at his place where he can keep an eye on her while she continues to work on her story.

She didn't count on falling in love with the sheriff and he didn't think he would have to work so hard to keep her safe. Finally, when she finishes her story, she has to make her choice whether to stay with Ben or go back to New York.

Carol

A to Z Blog Challenge

R: Research

When I'm writing a novel, one thing I try my best to do is be as accurate as I can with details. It could be as small as choosing the right wine with dinner or as big as describing what the Eiffel Tower looks like at night.

I think I realized how important it is to get the details correct from my husband. He's a former police officer who loves to read mysteries. He likes to point out errors in police procedure or in the type of guns used. His favorite is when someone uses a silencer on a revolver. The sound doesn't come out of the barrel on a revolver, but from around the cylinder. Hence, a silencer on a revolver does nothing. Yet in books, and even in movies, you still see it done.

In my recent book, Saved by the Sheriff, I wanted to give an accurate portrayal of a small town sheriff without making him look like Barney Fife. This is where I was able to pull from my own experience. The book takes place in rural southern Indiana, which is where I live. Between my husband being a former deputy sheriff and a former job, where I sometimes worked with local law enforcement, I had a good idea about the workings of a small Sheriff's Department.

Locations are another thing I like to research thoroughly. When I wrote my first manuscript, yet to be published, I located a part of it in Montana. I've never been to Montana and the internet was still fairly new, so I asked a friend who lived there to help me. She sent me brochures from the area that I was writing about and answered so many questions that I had. Now, I Google the city or town to start my research. I also usually request a vacation guide from the Tourism Office, which will give me maps of the area and information on landmarks, lodging, shops, and restaurants.

As I said, with Save by the Sheriff, I drew from my own experience. When you read the description of the fall colors along the river, you'll know that I was describing it from my personal experience.

Carol

A to Z Blog Challenge

Q: Quotes

"A table, a chair, a bowl of fruit and a violin; what else does a man need to be happy?" - Albert Einstein

"I have great faith in fools; self-confidence my friends call it." - Edgar Allen Poe

"A lot of companies have chosen to downsize, and maybe that was the right thing for them. We chose a different path. Our belief was that if we kept putting great products in front of customers, they would continue to open their wallets." Steve Jobs

"There are basically two types of people. People who accomplish things, and people who claim to have accomplished things. The first group is less crowded." - Mark Twain

"Eating rice cakes is like chewing on a foam coffee cup, only less filling." - Dave Berry

"I have a theory about the human mind. A brain is a lot like a computer. It will only take so many facts, and then it will go on overload and blow up." - Erma Bombeck

P: Photography

We all need a break from our normal routine, be it your day job, writing, or being retired. My break is taking pictures. I was in early high school when the photography bug hit. I suppose it started when I took the photography project in 4-H. Everyone told me what a good photographer I was and one year, I just knew I would be a shoe-in to win the Grand Champion ribbon. When I got to the county fair that night, I went straight to my project. There they were, my ribbons: Champion and First Place, but no Grand Champion. That ribbon went to Myron. I had one more year left in 4-H and I vowed to myself that I would beat Myron next year and I did, even scoring a Blue Ribbon at the State Fair, which was very hard to do back then.

I'm still taking pictures and still love it. Mostly, it's just for fun, but I've had photos published in my local newspaper several times, a regional newspaper along with an article I wrote, and once I even had several photos published in a national magazine.

Recently, I started participating in the year long, 365 Project, where you take and post a photo every day for at least a year on their web site. I started January 1, 2012 and did pretty good until I missed a day at the end of January. Unfortunately, since then I've missed several days. It sure didn't take long to exhaust all of the photo ops between my house and my office. Recently, I started back again, but it's going to take a while to play catch up at the end of the year. My 365 is going to have to extend well into 2013. All of the photos in this post were taken by me and if you want to see more of my pictures, click 365Project to visit my page there.

Carol

A- Z Blog Challenge

O: Organization

Part of my life is very organized and another part of my life isn't. With my writing and at my day job, everything has its place. But, at home, my desk is a disaster area, dishes are piled high sometimes, and the carpet usually needs vacuuming. Today, I'm going to talk about being an organized writer.

I think every writer has their own way of organizing their work. When I started, I never thought I would use a three-ring binder, as was suggested to me once by another writer. I thought it was too bulky and a hassle to deal with. I started out my keeping notes and research in a vinyl folder, but soon found that it was too easy for things to fall out of the folder. I tried the binder, actually only to prove that it wouldn't work. What I found out was that it was perfect. Now, I have a binder for each book that I write. Each binder has sections for tracking my word count, chapter outline and synopsis, research, and notes. Yes, it is still bulky, but nothing falls out of the binder like it did with the folder.

Other things that I have found invaluable in my organization are Project Folders. I found mine at Walmart. They are pre-printed on the outside and inside with places for project name, date, reference, contacts, action steps, and notes. I mostly use the Project Folders for non-fiction articles. I also keep a mini recorder with me most of the time to record ideas that come to me when I can't writ them down. A digital recorder works best, but I have a mini-cassette recorder which works best for me. There's also Post-it Notes®. There's also planners, calendar books, small notebooks, cell phones for notes, and don't forget to back-up your work often and on different drives. I use the hard-drive, two flash drives, and an external drive. Some people email the document to themselves.

Organization can be an important key to becoming published.

Carol

A - Z blog challenge

H: Husbands

I feel very lucky to have such a supportive husband when it comes to my writing. I finished my first novel in 2001 and he never really said much about my pursuit to be published. At least not until a literary agent requested I send her the first three chapters of my manuscript soon after.

I think it was at that point that he realized how serious I was about it and that I might just be good at it. From then on, he's been very supportive and has even helped with some of the technical details that he's had experience with. However, only recently did I realize that I had his full support. When I showed him the full page newspaper article, that included my book cover, about an Author's Fair I was attending, his response was, "This is a pretty big thing." I love my husband.

A month or so ago, I asked some of my fellow authors from Secret Cravings Publishing how their husband's supported them in their writing and have included some of the answers below.

Dawne M. Porchilo - "My current husband has always been very supportive of my writing. Now, granted some days, even his patience wears thin when I work 24/7, but we work through it. He jokes (at least, I think he is joking) that he is my PA. He drives me to all the writing conferences, is the first line editor of my work and encourages me at every turn.He actually will sit down with me, go over a scene and tell me what is wrong with it and help me reconfigure the structure and meaning.I'm not sure where I would be at in my career without his outstanding support."

Kimberly Gonzalez - "My husbands supports me, but it took me a while to see it. He's not a
big reader, but he's very practical. I stopped giving him my fiction to read because he isn't enthusiastic about reading it. But for Mother's Day a couple years ago, he bought me a very nice netbook that I can use just for my writing. He'll never be an enthusiastic reader or much of a cheerleader when it comes to praising my work -- but he always supports me in concrete, practical ways."

Catherine Greenfeder - "However, he is supportive of me in the following ways: he will read my books after they're published and tells me they're very good, he told everyone he knows that I have a book getting published, he might help do the laundry or cook a barbecue dinner when I'm pressed for writing or editing time, and he doesn't seem to mind those times when we do take-out dinners."

A - Z April Blog Challenge

G: Writing Different Genres

My first two books, Love, Lies & Deceit and Saved by the Sheriff are both romantic suspense books. I'm editing another one and am writing on a third, so I guess I'm categorized as a romantic suspense writer. However, I have a problem. I have two other romance novels that I'm working on that have no suspense in them at all, just contemporary romances.

Then, another problem popped up a couple years ago when I wanted to write a mystery with no romance involved at all. The mystery ideas has taken off for me in that I have several in books in the series plotted out.

I could write my mystery series under a pen name, but that would mean doing two of everything. Two web pages, two amazon author pages, and two Facebook author pages. I know it's been done before, Nora Roberts, for example, writes romantic suspense, but writes her mysteries under the name J.D. Robb.

Once a writer gets a few books under their belt, their backlist books start selling again, too. I would hate to miss out on those sales, if I wrote mysteries under another name. So, my question to you, what is your opinion about an author that writes in two different genres? If you bought a book expecting it to be romance, but it was a mystery, would you still read it? Let me know.

Carol

A - Z April Blogging Challenge