Monday, April 27, 2009

Themes

Has anyone asked you what your theme is when you write, someone besides and English teacher? I see this stressed at writer's workshops and was not clear what was meant.


Then I looked at my cozy paranormal mysteries. I seem to have two basic themes. One, Family loyalty, even if the family includes more friends than blood relatives. Placing ordinary people into extraordinary circumstances and play around with their vision of their world. The boogy monster is real and the one under the bed might really eat you.

Now place that in a small, Bible belt town in Texas with born again preachers and small town politics. Mix in murder, magic and mayhem and you have Tali Cates' world. All Tali wants is life without her cheating ex-the one with the live-in boyfriend, raise her kids and survive living at home with her mother.

Tali is a mixture of me, who I'd like to be, my grown daughters and Sandra Bullock. Mumsie is all the strong older women I admire. I fun writing and living in that world vicariously.

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Getting Started

I've been asked a lot how I got started writing. I'm never sure what to answer because it's such an accumulative thing.

I've loved reading since about the third grade and I realized I could read anything in the library whether I understood it or not. Mother never restricted my reading choices so I read anything I got my hands on.

I actually enjoyed writing essays in school, other kids hated me of course. But it wasn't until I saw some romance writers on a talk show in the early eighties that it occurred to me that I could write, get published even though I didn't live in NY.

Even then, everything else took precedence. I wrote short articles and stories, got some published, wrote a couple of text books but had yet to buckle down to writing fiction. My fifties loomed on the horizon and I decided I'd better get off my ass, or rather sit on it, and get the writing done or I'd be 80 without a book out there. Then I had to decide what kind of fiction I really wanted to write.

Once I discovered urban fantasy, mixed in mystery and paranormal elements, It all fell into place, plus setting word counts, actually finishing books, submitting and being published.

On another post, I'll talk about how I decided where to submit the book and what I'm doing now and talk more about the characters in my mysteries and Urban Fantasy.

I have a book basket at the Romantic Times Convention so feel like I'm almost really there. At least Tali and Mumsie are there, and other writers I know.

Sunday, April 19, 2009

Twit and Tweet on Twitter


Sorry, couldn't resist. Twitter is addicting. See to the right. Several followers already. Following some. It's fun and easy and faster than blogging or even email. Mini blogging, like that idea.

Back to Changling. I'm Working on the darker aspect since it's urban fantasy and not a cozy paranormal, the tone needs to be a bit different, more menacing. Worked on character and plotting a bit more. Now have to work hard. Have new names to try and query when I'm done.

Now the trick is to keep it dark and keep the humor at the same time, always a tight rope but I don't think I can write without a little humor in the thing, just my quirk. Come follow me on twitter or just read twitter on the blog.

Don't forget, print books are on Amazon.

Monday, April 13, 2009

Tweet Tweet

Come follow me on Twitter when you can. It should be fun. Of course even twitter gets too full of Tweets, or would that be twits. Anyway, it will be interesting to see how it works. Never tried it before but I'm not always the first one on a band wagon, then I get busy writing and etc. and don't follow-up like I should, even with my blog.

I haven't been keeping up with blogging or anything like marketing since I hurt my hand, much less writing and that must change or else. See how I talk to myself. Like I have any business trying to Twitter too.

Friday, April 10, 2009

Fires Galore

Watched grass fires overtake dozens of houses in Midwest City and other Oklahoma areas. Scary to watch and the thought of those poor families. The 50mph winds didn't help any, plus gusts up to 70mph. Gotta love Oklahoma winds sweeping down the plains. Reminds me, I need to take down my large wind chimes until the wind tames a little or my neighbors will be leaping over my back fence to cut them down. They even bothered me last night.

Decided to re-look at the outline for Changeling and synopsis before I get back into deadlines, just to make sure everything flows as far as plot. Still like it. I think it will have enough meat for me to have a good story. I'll feel better when I'm back to meeting daily goals. I'm hoping the typing improves too. Still having a little motor trouble with the middle and ring fingers on the right hand so I get some strange typos at times. But then, I used to get strange typos before I could blame it on surgery. So much for that excuse.

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Weekends, Taxes, and other fun stuff.

It's been a weekend for panic. Got a letter from Social Security that said my check was going to be about $1500 less than usual. Of course I received it on Friday, too late to call anyone and find out what that was about. Then, I get the taxes done and yes, I owe, the house that should have helped this year didn't because the money I took out of retirement for the down payment, put the income up too high to receive the 1st home incentive and the taxes taken out of that money wasn't enough. Life in the way as usual. I also had spent a lot when I got a supply of my books to have for a writer's conference. Oh well.

The Social Security issue was taken care of. I'm stuck with the taxes but my splint is off my hand so I can get back to writing soon, finish the WIP, Changeling. Not by conference but at least begin making progress again.

Thursday, April 2, 2009

New books




There is a new book out I have to have. Sounds delicious, if you like Jane Austen, oh yeah, and Zombies. It's called "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies." Yes, the Bennett sisters and Mr. Darcy fight zombies in the British countryside after a plague. Can't wait to read it and it is on Amazon, where you can now find "Fairy Dust," also in print. How's that for a segue?