Shadowed Road 

TGIF

Ah, Friday--the beginning of the weekend. I have gotten started on my 3,000 wds for today, but still have quite a ways to go. I feel is important to my career to maintain a disciplined schedule. :D I sent off a short story today. Can't wait to hear how that goes. Will try to find some time to work on edit tonight for SR. Need to sent it off before too much longer. Well, back to work. :) Most of the day has been spent on marketing one way or the other. Updating bios and checking out publishers. Oh, well. Just part of it. :D Hope to get more words before I turn in. :)

Hidden House 

Challenges and Victories

Doesn't it always seem that the bigger the challenge, the greater the victory? Well, some days the challenges seem almost impossible to overcome. This morning I had to have the car at the repair shop at 7:00. I took my laptop and floppy to continue working on my writing. The floppy, however, didn't work. No biggie, I just worked on an alternate story. Except that when I got home, I discovered that the problem wasn't the floppy but the drive. This meant that I would have a problem moving my morning's work to my main computer. Then, I got a call to babysit. (which of course, I rushed out to do) :D So, now I am facing another 3,000 wd night. :D (and I still have the baby) Oh, well. I will be so pleased when I have completed my goal. Onward and upward. Will post at the first 1,000. Soon, I hope. :) Well I've reached the 1000 wds point--only 2,000 more to go. And the baby??? Well, all I can say is: Ahhhhhhh........ Baby go bye-bye, Baby's toys out of office, Baby's cookies off rug, Baby's cartoon's off TV, Baby's memaw get her sanity back. :D Onward and Upward! Finished the last of the 3,000 at 12:27. Not too bad. Now I can rest in peace. :D

The Face Tree 

First thousand & Update

Yepee!  I've got my first thousand of the day despite the fact that my youngest darling is paying me a visit.  :D  Right now, he's in the middle of a nap.  I hadn't done any significant work on this story in a while and spent a while just re-reading and getting the threads sorted firmly in my mind.  But finally, the words are flowing nicely, and I feel as though I'm on target.  After a short break, I'm going to go for the next thousand.  Sometimes a writer will hit a barrier like any exporer does when opening up new territory.  So what does he do?  He pushes--going over, under, around, or though until he is past it.  That's the fun of living, isn't it?  Pushing our limits.  Breaking through the barriers as we seek to continue to grow and develop.  :)  Back to work.   

Update

 

I just finished the second thousand and am going for the third.  This has proved to be a good writing day.  The story is fleshing out nicely with lots of loose threads hanging everywhere.  LOL Almost everyone has been introduced, and events are now in place for the first major twist.  Let the games begin!  Onward and upward! 

Newest Update!

The three thousand words are done.  I am so pleased.  It is 12:15, and I'm going to take the rest of the night off.  :D  Have a nice evening.  Onward and Upward!!!

 

Flowers from Amanda 

Determined to Persevere

      When an author dies, should another continue that writer's work through ghost writing?  Weird concept to my way of thinking.  What singing group was booed for miming their songs?  Laurence Sanders's books are done that way and many others.  Who should replace Twain, Fitzgerald, or Shakespeare?  Who could we get to replace Stephen King--should the need ever arise?  What ever happened to people writing their own books?        My weblog--my topic.  Okay?  :D  Today was deadline day.  Yesterday was supposed to be deadline day, but one of my interviews got moved to today--hence the added day.  I wrote almost one thousand wds there, before I started on my fiction.  Of course, that counts.  LOL  I'm dedicating the first thousand to you Z.  (what a shining example)  :)         I still have some editing to do on the Mallory novel--Road of Shadows. (Don't have a cow, Sal.  Just testing the waters.)  :D  Then, I have to work on a little story I am working on that is set in two different time periods.  I am writing both of the time periods at the same time alternating between the past and the present showing, of course, the effect of actions and events in the past on the lives of the people in the present.  It is challenging and a lot of fun.  I'm only 8,097 in right now, but hope to be a lot farther soon.  That's my mission for tonight.  I'll post the results.  I am determined to up my daily writing totals and meet my goals.  :D       

Rose of Sharon 

Mystery Night

Another Monday mystery night.  Does than mean that the night is mysterious?  No there is no mystery about what to do on Mondays.  Monday is the night BBC America shows back to back mystery shows.  :D  That I watch them religiously shouldn't surprise anyone who knows me.  Just like they wouldn't be mystified to find me absorbing Poirot or Morse on Sunday afternoons.  Why murder and mayhem?  And why do the nicest, most law-abiding people seem to find them so facinating?  Well, my theory is that the crime of murder is so hard to comprehend that they struggle with the puzzle, striving to come to grips with the harsh reality of human nature that motivates such wanton acts.  Unfortunately, I have several writing deadlines on Monday, which vie for my attention, competiting with my love of British mysteries.   Life is so hard.  :D  Well, back to work.  It is only 10:30, and I have many miles to go before I sleep. 

A Quiet Sunday 

Pleasant Valley Sunday

Another Sunday almost gone and still so much to be done.  Monday is the deadline for several of my stories so I usually spend part of Sunday working on them.  I have finished my chapter for Blonde Logic which was quite a feat since I have had Duncan until just a few minutes ago.  :D  Children can be so sweet.  I am trying to average 3,000 wds a day (absolute minimum is 1,000), but I am thrilled when I am able to write 4 ,000 or 5,000.  I have recently re-done a room in my house into an office and am really enjoying it.  Summer on the lake is always fun with the kids coming over to swim all the time, eating watermelon until the juice runs down your chin, and barge riding on a Sunday afternoon.  We usually grill hamburgers as we run down the Neches shoreline and enjoy the water.  Of course, there was the time the barge took a sharp turn and my box of condiments turned over into the water and we had to dive down and rescue them.  LOL  Luckily, it happened right in front of our dock so it wasn't too bad.  Weston swims like a fish and Duncan loves the water also.  When you live on the lake, swimming is a requirement.  *g*

Weston and Duncan breakfast in Arkansas. 

Shrimp and the Barbee

The fried shrimp was delicious--of course the food is always good at Unk's Shrimp Shack, owned by Dan and Barbara Burks.  That's where Randy took me for supper.  I ran into an old friend from gradeschool--the third time in as many months and always at Unks.  Some philsophers say there's no such thing as coincidence so what does that make the three time chance meeting?  A divine act?  ESP maybe?  The phase of the moon?  We took Duncan with us.  He's now eleven months old.  Been walking since he was 10 months.  I'll add him in above this.  His brother, Weston, is 7.  What a cutie.    Got a new idea for Stargate.  I'm adding a prologue.  Hope I remember it tomorrow.  I'm too sleepy to write it down now.  Falling asleep as I write.  Must go.

Open water in front of house 

Sunny day on water 

Saturday

Weekends are so relaxing, even if I have a million things to do.  Why is that?  Just knowing that it is a weekend seems to present the day's events in a different light.  I seem to have more time than I do on the weekdays, as if time magically stretches. I took some pics in front of the house of the water.  They are above this post.  Randy is re-building our other pier and adding a barge slip.  The barge is currently dry-docked.  Hope to have it on the water soon.  

Book Club

      The meeting with the book club was great.  I got to meet readers and hear their views of the novel Red Red Rose, my second Mallory novel.  The remarks were positive and enthuiastic and gave me insight into a reader's view of the story.  They liked the style in which the story was written, commenting specifically on the stream of consciousness narration.         I stayed at the house of my dearest friend and had a wonderful time.  My digital camera went on the blink, but I should have pics from my other camera in a few days.        I love to travel, but coming home was nice.  Today I went to the grocery store and came home to sew new curtains for my office.  After I had them hung, it was time to cook supper.  Now, if I can get some writing in, the day will be perfect.  :D

Book of the Month

It's late.  I just got home from an out of town discussion group centered around one of my books, Red Red Rose.  The novel was chosen by a book of the month club for their July meeting.  It was nice hearing everyone discuss elements of the novel and how different events in the story affected the plot.  The group seemed to really enjoy the book and were very welcoming.  While there in Coppell, I got a chance to visit with a great friend and illustrator of  the book's cover, Lyn Calley Haney.  We ate out and did a bit of shopping the day after the meeting.  The trip was a lot of fun and insightful as well.

Winter Picture

I wanted to post a picture showing the view outside my back door.  Of course all I had were winter pics.  I will take a summer one to post. It is really beautiful on the lake.

Winter picture 

Early Morning Thoughts

Well, I was trying to post the picture in my profile.  Not much surprise that I got it up in the wrong place--no the surprise was that I got it up at all.  LOL  I am supposed to be packing for a trip to Dallas right now, but I wanted to be posting first.  I'm meeting with a book club tonight who have chosen my novel Red Red Rose for their book of the month.  I am looking forward to visiting with them.  My writing currently?  Well, I am not even touching my goal in that area.  The books are selling well, but I have several started that need to be finished and edited.  Ugh!  I will love finishing them and can even enjoy the editing up to a point.  LOL  Then, there is the formatting etc.  Nose to the grindstone and all that.  Now, isn't that an attractive image!!!  :D  Going to go and pack now.  Am trying to leave in a couple of hours.  Will have some good pics to post later.

C Rowe-Myers 

BLOGGING

Today, I wrote an article on blogging and decided to try it for myself.  This is what I've done so far.  Impressive, huh?  Don't know how faithful I'll be to this log, but if you'll write to encourage me, maybe.  Who knows?  I should probably be doing my fiction writing first.  (That's what SS would tell me anyway)  I'm anxious to see how this comes out on the page.  The site seems very friendly.  What I am really interested in is posting pics.  If it does that well, then we're in business.  Well, I'm going to post this now.  Here goes.