When I Become a Rich and Famous Author....

The first thing I'm going to do is buy my mom a new red, Ford Edge. Four door, power steering, power breaks, CD player...all the bells and whistles.

Next stop is to the bank, where I withdraw a couple thousand dollars in cash, head on over to Plaza Frontenac dressed in my usual jeans and t-shirt with my hair in its customary ponytail, where of course I won't buy a single thing! Why the hell would I want to spend my hard earned money on over priced designer duds, sold by snooty bitches who probably had their finger on the security button the second I walked through the door.

From there, I'll take my little ass over to good old Kohl's, then Chesterfield Mall and buy something I like, not because of the tags, or price. Just because I liked them!

I'll buy my family a large home on some sprawling ranch, a few ATVs for myself and the kids, a couple of horses, and of course put money aside for my kids education.

Doesn't that all sound wonderful? If this is your goal for becoming a writer, well, turn your laptop into a paperweight....it ain't gonna happen.

Those of us who devote hours a day, or sometimes only a week, do it because we love it. We write because it's who we are, and because we really have no choice. I've constantly got stories and characters running through my mind, and if I didn't put them on paper (or screen), I may very well go stark raving mad! I've made many friends in the cyber world, some who have been published, some who are working at it, then there are others who only do it to keep the characters quiet in their heads. Sounds a little crazy I'm sure, but the writers are all sitting there nodding in understanding.

Someone once said they wanted to be a writer because it seems like such a glamorous life. For those of you who believe that, feel free to stop by my house any day of the week. You'll find me still in my pajamas around noon, drinking my, oh I don't know, tenth cup of coffee, sucking on a cancer stick and screaming at the laptop to tell me what it wants. Very glamorous I know. Hey, at least my teeth are brushed upon rising!

And by the way, I really will buy my mom that car with my first large advance. It may not be for a couple of years, but that doesn't mean I'll ever give up!

Am I good enough?

Oh, but where to start?

It's Thursday, which is one day closer to Friday, but unlike everyone else, I prefer the weekdays! Of course, I get to sleep in on the weekends, but I get time to write during the week. I like the quiet of the day.

Problem is, I haven't written hardly anything this week. I've been reading two fantastic authors of my genre, and now I feel inadequate as a writer. Now, I'm sure everyone goes through this at times, so I'm just gonna ride it out and wait until my wonderful muse decides she's done punishing me.

So, here goes the question of the day...do you often doubt your abilities? Do you push away the laptop, notebook, keyboard and think "Why am I trying? I suck!"?

Sound off, y'all! Let me hear that I'm not going completely insane!

Yep, It's Wednesday...Happy Hump Day

Wednesday morning, and two of my monkeys have doctor appointments this morning. Why the frown, you ask? Because they've been fighting since six am. Every morning, the same thing, kids screaming at each other, me threatening to ground them until their forties, then finally....the bus comes. Nope, not today.

While I'll still be dropping them off after the doc appointment, I still get to deal with my mentally challenged daughter doing everything in her power to piss of her brother, and my thirteen year old...well, behaving like a typical thirteen year old boy.

Is there a secret remote control to fast forward through the teen years? I'm ready for grandkids. That way, I can send them home at the end of the day!

Back to the Grind

Well, it's Sunday night, and the weekend is almost over. Finished a great book by Jeaniene Frost from her Night Huntress series, and loved it. I love reading awesome writers...it gives me something to strive toward. I'd love to write as well as Rachel Vincent (who made me cry...I don't cry), Jeaniene Frost (who's romances are more my taste), and Rob Thurman (who's imagination is unbelievable broad). Therefore, I read as many of their books as possible, perhaps to soak up their talent through osmosis.

So, I began to wonder...what do others read? And why? Is is because it was suggested to you? Do you take inspiration from their style? Is it a release, or escape?

Of course, you can answer all of the above as I do for these questions. I was an avid reader long before I decided to try for publication. I've been reading since before kindergarten, and will even read a cereal box if it's the only thing in front of me in the morning. If you saw my book shelves, you'd wonder how I have any time to do anything else. Lucky for me, I've always been a fast reader.

So, let me hear from y'all. Who's your favorite authors, what's their genre, and if you have a specific reason...why do you like them?

Founding Member of Adverbs Addicts Annonymous

Hello. My name is CL (or Christy to some of you), and I'm and adverbaholic. There, I feel so much better admitting it.

Sounds funny, but it's true. I have quite an affection, or would that be affliction, with adverbs. Stephen King, as well as countless others, refer to them as lazy. And they're right. While I love to lean on my adverbs, for fear of over describing a scene, or action, it allows my readers to become disconnected to my characters. I want them to love Reece, Marley, and Charlotte, or even Michael, Julianna, and Jeffrey as much as I do. These characters have become part of my life, and I've put my blood, sweat and tears into them.

(Ok, maybe I didn't bleed for them, but Lord knows, after I broke the flash drive there was plenty of tears.)

Now that I've admitted I have a problem, the next step is trying to fix it. Of course, I won't stop writing to go back through the entire story right now. I'll start right where I am, then fix it during the editing process. That's what's for after all, to edit out all the garbage, redundancy, and crappy writing.

For those of you who wish to join me in a meeting, feel free to stop by anytime. We lunatics don't hold banker's hours.

It's Thursday...one day closer!

Why is it when you sit around all day, the first thing on your mind around lunchtime is a nap? Granted, I'm usually not just sitting around...I'm usually cleaning, writing, running errands, etc. Either way, come around 1pm I just want to snuggle under the blankets and sleep for at least an hour.

Lately, I've been laying down until the kids come home, then writing until the hubby comes home. Then it's dinner, family time, and what ever book I'm reading at the time.

Oh well, guess it helps my creativity because as soon as I wake up the first thing on my mind is the next part of the new book!

Doing research on Native American Traditions has my head spinning!

Yuh Tsalagi. I am Cherokee. Perhaps not full blooded, as I've found Choctaw and Chickasee, as well. But I'm interested in learning more. My new book includes some embellished Native American traditions, and some Indian words. Unfortunately, Cherokee language is way more complex than I had originally thought. For the English word 'love' there are about six Cherokee words. The way to speak correctly is by gesturing with your hands. Not so easy when you're writing a book.

Today, I'm heading to a store in Maplewood called Mystic Valley on a hunt for more Native American goodies. It's a lot harder to find authentic material than I thought. Hell, the "authentic" ones on the Internet are hundreds of dollars, and that's just for little things like jewelry, throws, or mugs.

Now, I've heard some bad things about the employees at this store, so I'm dying to find out if they'll suffer my wrath like so many before them. Nothing worse than a hippie with an attitude! Peace and love, sister, peace and love!

Where did all my cool dreams go?

I've always been one to have vivid dreams, and be able to recall them with clarity. Everyone single detailed could be called upon in my waking hours. Not anymore. Now, if I dream something that seems remotely interesting, I have to roll over in the middle of the night and write it out on a notebook perched on my nightstand.
Someone told me once that I needed to remove all electronics from beside my bed, so I did. The only thing left on my nightstand is my alarm clock...no change.
I've tried reading, or not reading before bed. Writing and not writing, watching television, and...well, you get the point. Obviously, not every dream is worth remembering, but some of my best plots and story lines have come from a dream at some point in time or another.
Don't know where I'm going with this other than venting a little frustration. I still get ideas flooding my consciousness at neck breaking speed, but it was so fun when a whole book would play itself out in my sleep. I miss my wonderful, wacky, sometimes erotic dreams!

I've had better days!

The proverbial bull in the China store...that's me! Today, being the good wife that I am, I brought my laptop downstairs so my husband could sleep in on his vacation. I set the laptop on the couch, got up to get more coffee. On my approach to the couch, I tapped my long, monkey like toes against the laptop, or so I thought it was my laptop. Wrong, it was my flash drive.

Long story short, my flash drive is broken. Did I mention that all of my work is on that thing? I was able to recover my current work in progress from the laptop, and my nonfiction proposal and the revised The Reluctant King Reece from the sent box in my email. But all of my other work is now gone forever. I could spend hundreds of dollars to pay someone to save it all, but I have yet to win the lottery.

Can someone pass a tissue? And a beer?

Dear God, thank you for inventing Fridays!

Stephen King describes his muse in his book On Writing as a gruff man with a cigar hanging from his lips. He says his muse only comes after he's sat working for a bit. I tried my hardest to picture my muse in his way, but alas, the female and male brains really are completely different.
 
My muse, in my head anyway, looks a little like Amy Lee from Evanescence with blag wings. In my head she's beautiful but as an aloof as a cat, only popping in when she feels I'm worthy of her presence. Though she may not appear everyday, I'm convinced she's at least sending a friend, or fellow muse to watch over me, because though my current story may not flow as easily, something always seems to find itself screaming to put down on paper, or screen if you will.

Even as I sit here, at 7:03am, and before I've had so much as a sip of coffee, my brain is reeling with elements of both my current work in progress and possible future ones. I had started the sequel to The Reluctant King Reece months ago, but the more I think about it, the less I like the momentum of the story, therefore the rewrite is beating against the inside of my skull.

First things first, though. I'm determined to complete Repeated Life within the next few weeks, so if you call or email and I don't get back to immediately, you would be correct to assume I've got the laptop propped on my knees, my eyes glued to the screen, and my fingers are working feverishly on getting out as much as possible.

Until next time, have a great Friday. It's supposed to be a beautiful day.

Ugh, the sun isn't even up yet!

I've never been a morning person. Anyone who knows me will say that's an understatement, but honestly, it's the best I can do this morning. I didn't get to sleep until late, and as usual couldn't stay asleep. Then, my damn alarm started buzzing in my ears to drag me from a rather interesting dream...though I can't remember what the hell it was about.

This time of year has always saddened me. We have to get out of bed and get active before the sun is up, and frankly, I think it's for the birds. There should be a law against having to get up anytime before 8am.

So, here I sit, at 6:50am, on Thursday morning, trying to focus on the computer screen with sleep, itchy, swollen eyes, and at the same time I have to make sure the kids are dressed properly and ready for school, all while appearing cheerful and loving. Bah Humbug! I want to go back to bed.

On another note, I've sent the revised edition of The Reluctant King Reece and was asked for the exclusive first read. That's good, right? In the meantime, I'm hard at work on a complete rewrite of Repeated Life, which I'm contemplating renaming, though I haven't made up my mind yet.

Wish me luck, y'all. It's gonna be a long day. I will take a nap today, whether my family and friends like it or not!

Teeth Chattering Tuesday

I officially turned my heater on yesterday morning. This morning isn't a whole lot better. But, alas, the weatherman says not to be dismayed, as the warmer temps are returning this week. Either way, it's damn cold out right now.

So, I'm a little confused. If we're supposed to be afraid of global warming, where the hell is this unseasonably cold weather coming from? And according to the movie, The Day After Tomorrow, we're looking at another Ice Age. Whatever. I say live your life to the best of your ability, everything in moderation, and don't worry about tomorrow...it may never come!

On to a more cheerful topic...the agent whom I've been speaking to for the last few months has requested an exclusive read of the revised version of The Reluctant King Reece. Of course I'm going to oblige. I like her, not just her talents, but her extremely likable personality! Everyone knows how hard it can be coming across a complete stranger with whom you can totally mesh. Yeah, I know I'm rambling...It's seven in the morning, and I'm wrapped up in a robe. I don't think well in the morning, so deal with it!

Have a great day, y'all, and don't forget to head over to clparks.com and take a peak at the first chapter of The Reluctant King Reece.

My first published short story!

Here it is...my first short story. I have nothing to do with the print format. Hope you enjoy, and feel free to go and leave a comment! http://themomoreader.com/?p=354

Raise your hand if you missed me!

Ok, do you really think I can see your hand?

It's officially October, well, it has been for a few days, and the weather is absolutely amazing. A little cold last night, but all the better to snuggle with the hubby! Almost finished with revisions of The Reluctant King Reece, then on to the dreaded edits! Why is it all the best ideas flow when you should be focusing on an old story? I have a thousand stories floating through my head, and all I can do is jot them down on a notebook. I've been contemplating a writing program, but I'm still researching the ins and outs, pros and cons. Any suggestions would be great!

I've reserved my copy of Stephen King's On Writing today, and after I drag my tired butt upstairs to get cleaned up, I'll be heading to Borders to pick it up. I'll also be picking up my autographed copy of Legal Guardian by Beau Woodall. I was just informed it's sold out at my local Borders, but they're ordering more copies. It's also available on Amazon.com, so make sure to order your copy today!

Now, back to the juicy stuff...I'm completely rewriting Repeated Life, so those of you who've had the opportunity to read it are in for a surprise! I've added a lot more paranormal/fantasy element to it, so it's more my style than before. Don't worry, it's still heavy on the romance, just a lot more exciting, and faster paced.

Stay tuned for a sample chapter of Repeated Life!