Carol Preflatish

I have lots of Valentine's Day memories from elementary school to adulthood. I think I had my first boyfriend when I was in the third grade. Remember the little boxes of valentines that our parents bought us to give to our classmates? I remember choosing a special one for my boyfriend. Oh wow, and I remember the one he gave me actually said, I love you. This was in the third grade! We were an on again, off again couple through the fifth grade. I remember one day when recess was over and we were all heading back to our class, he pulled me aside by the classroom door. I was so afraid I would be late getting to my desk, but he pleaded for me to wait. While his sister and her boyfriend watched, he gave me three little fur-covered ceramic rabbits, a mama and her two bunnies attached with a chain. My first boyfriend gift. Well, that relationship faded out over that year, but you know I still have those rabbits somewhere in a closet. When my husband and I were dating, he was quite the rom...

I love snow, as you can see by the background photo of my blog, but this winter has really tested my love for the soft white flakes. I haven't actually check the facts, but I think we have had at least one snow storm every week since Christmas. We've had so much snow on the ground that it seems strange to see grass once it's melted. I do know that last week was the first week since Christmas that school was in session every day. The poor kids are going to have attend into June now to make up the days. I'm really not a believer in global warmer, or climate change, or whatever they are calling it now. This has just been a freaky winter of continuous cold weather. The good news is that March is only a few weeks away and at that time, I'll be complaining about all the severe storms we get and wishing it were February again. Update on my writing: I only a have a few pages left to write on my synopsis. Have I mentioned I hate writing those things? Oh, yeah I guess I have....

Thanks to everyone who voted for my novel and myself in the 2010 Preditors & Editors Readers' Poll. My novel, Love, Lies & Deceit came in 8th place in the Romance Novel category and I came in 14th place in the Author category. Thanks again, everyone. Carol

As I take a break from working on the synopsis for the book I just finished writing, I have to think about the next project I will be working on. Okay, you all know me too well. I'm procrastinating my work on the synopsis. But, I promise to get right back to it once I am finished here. Honestly, I really do need to figure out what I want to write next. In October, after getting home from the Magna cum Murder Crime Writing Festival, I was certain that I wanted to turn my attention to writing a contemporary mystery. I was so sure of it, that I worked on a strict mystery during NaNo in November. It was actually the second book in a series, I started the first one last year for NaNo. However, now I'm not so sure I want to leave the romantic suspense genre. So, here I sit, close to wrapping things up on my latest romantic suspense and keeping my fingers crossed that a publisher will be interested in it, needing to figure out what to do next. Decisions, decisions. I actually have six...

Today is the birthday of my favorite author, Edgar Allan Poe. I first became interested in his works while taking a Poe and Twain class in high school. I had always heard of The Raven , but at the time, I wasn't familiar with his short stories. I suppose it's the mystery lover in me that resulted in me becoming a fan. One of the things I remember from my high school class was the English teacher bringing a Alan Parsons Project album (yes, those black vinyl discs) to class that were songs about some of Poe's works. I thought that was so cool. I'm still trying to find that album. My favorite was The Fall of the House of Usher , both on the album and the short story. I still love watching the Vincent Price movie of the same name. I also remember when in college, taking every literature class the school had to offer, my fellow students always gave me an odd look when I would tell them Poe was my favorite author. I always wondered if they were a little afraid of me because o...

UPDATE: You no longer have to write my vote in. I'm now on the ballot for both my novel and as an author. I would appreciate your vote. Thanks. I need a favor. There's a poll going on right now on the Preditors and Editors web site to vote for your favorite book, etc. I'm not listed, but there is a write-in field at the bottom of the list. I'm asking for your write-in vote for my book under the Romance category. You'll need to put my book's name, my name, link to my book, and my publishers name. I've listed the info below that you'll need. Just copy and paste the url, it's so long. Love, Lies & Deceit Carol Preflatish Red Rose Publishing http://redrosepublishing.com/books/product_info.php?manufacturers_id=254&products_id=399 Once you enter it, you'll get an email with a link in it to click to confirm your vote. It might take a bit to get the email, I just did mine and haven't got the confirmation email yet. If you feel the ...

I've felt so out of control lately. I wake up on the weekends with good intentions of getting back to my writing, but then other things get in the way. There's laundry to be done, a vacuum cleaner to fix, packing an overnight bag to keep in my car in case of icy weather (may have to use that this week), and finally helping with a family emergency. Now, the family emergency can't be helped and it will probably continue for a while. The other stuff? Well, those are things that need to be done, but not right away. I've lost my discipline. I'm not really surprised. It seems to happen about this time every year. I work hard during November on the NaNo project and then take December off for Christmas activities. January should be the month that I get back on track and so far, it hasn't happened. It's not for a lack of trying. I pulled out the partially completed projects that I have so I could decide which one I want to work on first and made that decision. I jus...