NaNoWriMo 2015

So, it is day 4 of NaNoWriMo and so far so good. I know as a mom with three kids, weekends are out, and I was recently informed my kids have 4 days off this month, so no writing then as well. This means getting in as many words on the days I can write as I can. Right now I am at 8,169 which is not too bad seeing as if I was able to write daily I should be at about 6,667 by the end of today.

What am I working on, you might be wondering... Well, do you remember me mentioning a Salem witch story a while back? Well, here it is on its way to fruition thanks to NaNoWriMo. If you are also going for the goal, why not buddy up with me, and good luck!

Public Speaking (aka torture)

So I realized over the weekend just how hard it is for me to do public speaking, even if it is just among a large group of friends. Now don't get me wrong, I do not get nervous in social situations. Actually I can be quite the social butterfly, but that is because I am usually only talking to one or two people at any one time. When a group gets larger than what I can fit in a car, I start to get nervous. There is just something uncomfortable about all those eyes looking at me, I feel as if I will make a fool out of myself, stumbling over my words, or that I have something on by face of a booger hanging out of my nose. I feel as if they are judging me.

I'm not exactly sure when this fear of public speaking kicked in, in high school English class I could read Edgar Allen Poe with no issue. Then in college... Well we won't go into that. So now, as an author, I am occasionally asked to do a reading and it takes all my willpower not to break down in tears or hide under a table. My heart starts to beat so hard I am afraid it will beat right out of my chest, my hands shake and I have to fight to hold my breath. This is no easy task when speaking.

I know as I sell more books I will eventually be asked to do things with larger groups, I just hope I can get over whatever this is by then. I have tried different ways of getting past the fear that have been suggested to me, and it seems like every time I do it just gets worse. Perhaps after I finish the Buddhist class I am taking through Coursera I will be able to calm myself and do it. If not, I wonder if they would let me wear a mask or blindfold. hehe

Writer's Block and Summer Vacation

So summer's vacation for my kids is slowly coming to an end, which means I might actually get some writing done. One thing I have found with the kids home is, even if its quiet it does not last long enough to get an entire thought down. Don't get me wrong, I love having my kids home but as a writer, it makes it very difficult to do my job. I've had people say, just take an hour or two and close yourself away. These people are usually ones without kids and to those people, I give you a slice of writing with kids.

Writing Day
House is quiet, kids are in their rooms playing on their computers or doing homework, perhaps even playing outside. I grab a mug of Green Tea with lime and a bag of Cool Ranch Doritos and sit down at the keyboard. The first few words spill from my fingers onto the computer screen.

Mommmmmmm
Set writing aside to find out what the problem is. Go back downstairs to continue writing. Forgot what I was in the middle of putting down. Spend ten minutes trying to remember, finally do.

Repeat this routine three or four more times until I finally give up.

Non-writing Day
{{crickets}}

So there you go. I know, it's not much of an excuse, as I promised some more writing but I am still waiting to hear back from my editor on the stuff I sent so be patient and soon there will be more.

Returned from Pennsic

So I am sure for many of my readers, your first question is "what is Pennsic?"

According to the Wiki:

The Pennsic War is an annual American medieval camping event held by the Society for Creative Anachronism—a "war" between two large regional SCA groups: the Kingdom of the East and the Middle Kingdom.

According to the Pennsic War Website:

Pennsic is an annual event, in the guise of a "War", between the Kingdoms of the East and the Middle of the Society for Creative Anachronism Pennsic is also the largest Society event, with attendance in recent years exceeding 10,000. The scheduled activities include large melee battles, tournaments, archery, stage performances, dancing, and hundreds of classes on medieval topics. The marketplace has over 200 merchants selling a variety of wares.

To me Pennsic is two weeks of camping with some very awesome people. It is catching up with old friends, meeting new ones, new experiences and wonderful times.... Usually. This Pennsic I almost died. No, I am not joking or exaggerating. One of the groups across from us thought it would be okay to use Backyard Fogger with everyone in camp. This is after they were told not to because there were children and people with severe allergies to it within range. I am one of the severely allergic and went into anaphylactic shock. I got to ride in an ambulance and my blood pressure rose so high they were afraid I was going to have a stroke. I was given wonderful care by the on site EMS crew and with lots of IV Benadryl they were able to get the anaphylaxis under control and slowly bring my blood pressure down. On a side note, if you are looking at someone's EKG readings, turn your back if you are going to make the "oh this is not good" face. So, after recovering I had several more instances where my BP started to hit the higher side, and eventually I ended up going home a day early with my mom. 

Now I am back in the air conditioning with my kitties and although my BP has not returned to "normal" levels at least I am comfortable. My two girls are with me and they are keeping an eye on me until the rest of the family returns.

Moral of this story, if someone asks you not to use chemicals around them... Don't.

Another short in the works!

Nightmares & Lies: A Short Story (Bandages on the Soul 5) is now in the works as well...

When Kelly turned 21, she went on a drinking spree with a couple of her friends. After an accident that left her dead for nearly two minutes, she acquired a gift although she sees it more as a curse. Victims of violent crimes visit her in her dreams begging for her help. Having moved to the country to try to avoid these dreams, she finds herself plagued by the worst nightmares yet. A serial killer that goes for young women around her age, and she has no idea who it can be.

Feeling Accomplished

Yesterday I finished my Introduction to Philosophy course through the The University of Edinburgh on Coursera and received a final grade of 84.9%. This was a really tough class, especially since every section was taught by a different professor, but I did it and I feel really good about it. This is one of their open courses, so you can take it at any time on your own pace.

I am also currently halfway through my Introduction to Forensic Science class through Nanyang Technological University, Singapore on Coursera and I am absolutely loving this class! The professor, Roderick Bates, is both informative and entertaining and makes the lessons go down smoothly. This class is not open, but he intends to offer it again in the future so you can request a notification for when it is available.

If you have never taken a class through Coursera I highly recommend it. For one, most of them are free, but you have the option to purchase a Verified Certificate. I've not bothered as I am only taking them for my own pleasure, but if I find one related to my writing it may be worth it. For two, it's a great way to keep your mind active and learn new things.

If you are wondering if I have taken any other classes through them, yes... Yes I have. I have also taken Greek and Roman Mythology through the University of Pennsylvania (96.5 final grade) and Modern European Mysticism and Psychological Thought (87 final grade) through the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Both excellent classes.

If I can do it, so can you!

Bullying

So even with all the media about bullying, you never think "that could happen to my kid(s)" until it does. Bullying is a very real thing, and there are some out there that say "oh the bullied kid is just being oversensitive" or "weak" or "should learn to stand up for themselves" but that is not the case. Any child can be bullied, and going to an adult is not always an option because of peer pressure. What child wants to be labeled a "tattler" or worse?

In today's digital world, I think schools should offer an email address for students to send in reports of kids that are starting to harass them. This of course does not offer an immediate solution, but if it is a choice between it being reported later or not at all... Easy decision. If email is not available, maybe a box in the office for them to drop a note into, even if it is sent anonymously it is still a start and the school can have the accused child watched a little more to see if they are causing issues.

Really though, the process needs to start at home. Parents need to explain to their kids that if a child is being mean to them in any way, they should say something. Bullying does not always start hard. Sometimes they will test the water, see which kids they can get away with harassing, but if multiple students say "so-and-so has been saying negative things to me" or "has been taking things from me" or whatever they are doing, then the school will see this child is a problem and will deal with them. Or at least you hope they will.

Why am I going on about this you might ask? Well, it hit home. One of my children was bullied yesterday by another student that has been mean in the past. It got out of hand, but thankfully nobody was hurt. The school was notified and immediate action was taken. I was called by the vice-principal, the gym teacher (the incident happened in during physical education) as well as the athletic director. They let me know it was being dealt with, asked if I had questions or concerns and told me I can call them at any time. This is they way it should be! However, not all schools are this diligent so it is your responsibility as a parent to ensure the safety of your child. If a report is made about a bully and nothing is done, make calls. Your child's safety and well being is what is important.

I'm going to step off my soap box now, but I hope everyone that has read this takes something away from it.

Updates

Still waiting for Midnight Town to return from the editors, but hopefully by the end of the month it will be available!

Working on the fourth chapter of Witch Way Now? and it is coming together beautifully! Having a lot of fun with this one. :)

It's been a couple weeks since the Evil Man freebie so if you've had a chance to read it, mind leaving a review? They are always Greatly appreciated!

Spent a few hours in the hospital Saturday with heat exhaustion after my son's little league game. I guess even keeping hydrated, eating and hiding under a UV protected pop-up just isn't enough when it's 90*F out and not a cloud int he sky. I am doing a lot better now but the first couple days afterwards I was wiped out. Even though I feel better now, I know to avoid the heat from this point on. Heck even George was suffering from the heat, as you can see by the pic.

Started an awesome new class through Coursera, Introduction to Forensic Science. It started Monday, but the first week's lectures are only about an hour and a half long total and the quiz is a single question, so you have time to join. It has been quite interesting so far and I am looking forward to seeing what else we learn.

In the garden, the ground covers are going insane as you can see from all the pics. Had a frost warning for last night but everything looks to have survived okay. Yes, you read that correctly, a frost warning five days after 90* weather. LOL This is going to be a crazy year weather wise by the looks!

Have a wonderful day!

Shrooms

So, yet again there are mushrooms growing in my garden box. If they were not so cute i might be upset but all I can imagine are tiny little faeries using them as seats. :)

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

It is the fifth of May and the sun is out, my flowers are blooming and it is a wonderful day to be outside. Dinner was a combination of Spanish and Mexican to celebrate the day. Now off to do some more research and perhaps knit. 

They DO Still Exist!

So I saw one of these on the way home the other day, anyone else remember when it was $.10 to make a call on one of these, and it was the only way to call someone when you were out and about?

On another note, my son had his first game of the season on Saturday and guess who threw the first pitch?

Something new in the works...

I have some exciting news to share with everyone, I have recently started working on the first book in a new series. The book is called Witch Way Now? Book one in The Dorothy Thompson Series.

This is going to be something quite different than my Dark Angel Trilogy in that it is nowhere near as dark and disturbing. Instead it focuses on a young lady who has her life thrown upside down after finding out her grandmother left her entire estate to her and that she is a direct descendant to Sarah and Dorothy Good, both victims of the Salem witch trials. As she travels to Salem to sign the papers, she learns there is a dark secret attached to her family, and she may have been the one to activate a long ago cast hex. I have been putting a lot of research into this one, and I am very excited about it.

 “The hex, it was created by our five descendants long ago but it was sealed by a mentally unstable four-year-old girl and thus it went into hibernation until you turned twenty-one.” He pauses and I ask, “what is the curse?” His eyebrows furrow and he sits back, rubbing his face with both hands, “that we do not know, all we know is that all five of our grandmothers will die on our twenty-first birthdays and then something is going to hit the town of Salem.” - Witch Way Now?

Stay tuned for more!

Crazy Morning

So, sometimes being a mom and a writer can make things.... Interesting. Take this morning. Their school calender said it was a Superintendents Conference Day. This means a day off and I can sleep in. Woken by the sound of my youngest's school bus out front. Wait, what? So I call the school, it was moved to Friday and the kids were notified last week. An email went out at almost 9pm last night to the parents notifying us of the change. LAST NIGHT! So, I jump out of bed, give the cats their canned food, start my coffee, get the kids dressed, run out the door (leaving coffee behind) and drive them to school then stopped at the grocery store to get snacks and drinks for my son's little league team for tomorrow. Came home, made better coffee, finally able to take a breath.

Sadly my muse decided to take the day off so now what? I have good coffee but my books are not transferred to my local library branch to do more research and my allergies are in overdrive. Guess I will play a little Dragon Age: Inquisition on the PS3.

Have a great day all.

Meet Georgette the acrobatic squirrel...

As I was looking out at the snow flurries coming down yet again, I found George's wife working her acrobatics in my Rose of Sharon to get at the suet cake.

She and her male counterpart have a tendency to do such amazing acrobatics I somewhat feel guilty chasing them off. I mean, look at her? Isn't that some amazing work?

Well, back to writing. Started a new series and very excited to see where it goes.

Snow on my Tulips?

So, I woke up this morning, went downstairs to look to see if my tulips have bloomed yet and found this...

Yes, that is snow on my poor flowers. Yes, I live in upstate NY, yes I am 20 minutes form the lake but still? Snow? In April? On my tulips? It's not fair. :(

Teaser...

So, I spent the day doing research for a new book (possibly series) about witches and the Salem witch trials but it is not going to be anything like what you have read before.

Sometimes a hex can surpass generations.

News!

First off, I have gotten Midnight Town off to the editors, how very exciting! Stay tuned for more on this coming soon. In other news...

Old Wounds: A Short Story (Bandages on the Soul 2)

Old Wounds is about a young woman with a very rare talent, the ability to communicate with the dead.

When she meets a nice young man at college who shows a sudden interest in her, she worries about his motives... And with good reason.

Buy it now on Amazon.com for Kindle, only $0.99US.

Exciting Update

It looks like I will be releasing my latest short in the Bandages on the Soul Collection in Kindle format on Amazon Monday. It is called Old Wounds and is about a young woman with a very rare talent, the ability to communicate with the dead. When she meets a young man at college she worries about his motives...and with good reason.

Also coming out, hopefully next month, will be my next full length stand-alone novel Midnight Town available in both print and Kindle formats. Midnight Town brings you to the small town of Braxville where not everything is as it seems. When Nick, a drifter with a white knight complex, wanders through he finds himself enthralled with a young gypsy girl with a dark secret. Will his need to save her be his end...or hers?

Mother Nature has gone insane!

So on Friday this happened in our neighbors yard thanks to a major wind storm. Had the row of trees not been between us, that tree would have hit our house as well. As it is, we had a huge mess to clean up in our driveway.

Since the neighbor hired a Tree Removal person to come take care of it, we were able to hire them to take down the two trees that were heavily damaged by the incident for a discounted price. The equipment was already on site so we didn't have to pay the extra fee for that.

Then yesterday we were hit with 80*F weather. Yes, from 50*s to 80*. I decided to get a little cleaning done in my flower bed out front. I managed to get 1/4 of it done but it is looking so much better, now to get to the store and pick up some more decorative stones to put down in there.

I know it does not look like much, but most of the plants have not come up yet, right now it's just the tulips, irises and possibly the daffodils. In a couple of weeks this portion will be filled with a lush green carpet of ground cover plants as well.

On the writing side, I have finally finished the first draft of Midnight Town, just need to read through it and then I can get it off to the editor. So excited to get some feedback on this one, it is new and different for me.

Will see.

For the Birds...

House Sparrow

The rainy season has come and the poor birds are not enjoying it one bit. While I am in here working on the first draft of Midnight Town they are out there getting wet, but at least they have the suet cakes and when I can get to the store I will get them more seed.

I love taking care of these little guys, they can be so entertaining. I have a large flock of house sparrows that make an absolute mess of the porch with their seeds, with the help of George the squirrel. I also have a downy woodpecker I named Woodrow, cardinals, blue jays, assorted other birds and the cutest pair of black-capped chickadees you will ever see. 

As you can see, this spring is going to be a crazy clean-up time. The winter was really harsh and caused a lot of damage as well as left quite the gross mess in my yard and garden. I'm thinking the first day the temperatures get above 60* F I will get the kids, lots of rubber gloves, the wheelbarrow and get out there, putting them to work.

Downy Woodpecker with a blurry House Sparrow

On the bright side, my bulbs are coming up and soon there will be color everywhere, hiding the dinginess of the thaw and bringing a smile to my face.

Spring is my favorite season, with everything coming back to life and color everywhere. If it were not for the rain, I would probably be working out there.

Happy spring everyone.

Spring is in the Air

Although the temperatures are still on the low side, Mother Nature is giving me hope. This was a long rough winter, and spring is usually killer for my allergies but it is worth it with all the colors around. It is as if nature is playing with watercolors. Ahhhh happy little trees.

The Crocuses are in bloom!

 I have been fighting the urge to go out and clean up my front flower bed, which looks like someone dumped a ton of seed husks on. Oh wait, technically I did. I have a couple bird feeders on the porch and all the waste got shoveled off with the snow, right into my garden. Anyone have any good suggestions for cleaning the mess up? LOL I would use the Shop Vac, but then I would suck up all the decorative stones in the process.

Well, time to get back to work. Midnight Town won't finish itself.

Coming Soon - Midnight Town

Nick was a drifter, always on the go, working odd jobs and just trying to get by. It has been a long time since he has called someplace home, and he prefers it that way. Settling down, being a permanent part of something, it’s just not his thing. Not any more anyway.

Ripley came from a long line of Gypsies. Untrained and untamed her curiosity about magic combined with the brashness of her youth has put her in a horrible situation.

When the two meet it becomes a battle of wills but will the white knight be able to save the young Gypsy before it is too late? Find out in Midnight Town. Coming soon to Amazon.

News

This has been a very busy time for me, what with working on three more shorts and revamping the website which is now mobile ready. Feel free to stop by and check it out at www.faerybug.com

Currently in the works for the Bandages on the Soul series are:

• Old Wounds, which brings us into the life of a young lady with a very special talent and a fear of commitment. When a new boyfriend brings on a ghost hunting expedition, she begins to question not only his plans for her, but her own sanity.
• Losing Innocence reminds us that sometimes those we lose to death are not always gone. After a tragic accidents takes away her best friend, she is not alone.
• Drawing Insanity is the story of one woman's life after a terrible accident tears it apart. When given the opportunity to move on, Claire asks for guidance from the spirit world.