Paracon 2013

Paracon 2013

 

 

Even though this isn't for a looooooooong time, I'm SUPER excited to announce that I will be signing copies of On Haunted Ground and Angelina's Secret at this event.

This amazing event will be held at the historic Ft. Reno in El Reno, Oklahoma. If you're interested in going, click here for more information and tickets.

 

This is going to be so much fun!!! And look, there

will even be a Masquerade Ball.

 

 

 

Hope to see you there!!!!!!!!

 

 

 





Shout out to all authors

There’s more than one way to skin a cat…or write a book for that matter.

 

There’s an old saying, at least in the south, “There’s more than one way to skin a cat.” Thankfully, that is of course, just another way of saying that there are multiple ways to accomplish the same goal.

During the writing/publishing process, I’ve had the honor of getting to know many authors. As a result, I’ve learned that we ALL do it differently. Some spend countless hours outlining their books from start to finish. While others, like me, have a general idea of where the book is going, but we basically write from the hip.

As with anything else, these two methods both have their ups and downs. For me it doesn’t get any better than “getting in the zone” and letting the characters do what they will. On the down side, sometimes they don’t do anything at all and I wind up sitting at my computer watching the cursor blink.

During these times, I do what all good writers do and I get on facebook or other social websites to see what’s going on in the world. Of course when I see fellow authors talking about how they reached their goal of writing 3,000, 5,000, or yes even 10,000 words in a single day I want to slam my head on the keyboard and rethink my method of writing.

Truth is, no matter how you do it, a career in writing can be both fulfilling and frustrating. So here’s to you all of my awesome and creative writing friends, *lifts glasses of chocolate milk to all* Whether you’re on a roll or staring at the evil mocking cursor, thank you for all that you do, after all I’m a reader too.

New Ghost Pic

 

 

New follower, Stephanie Blackwell Gutierrez, sent me this awesome picture. (Thanks Stephanie!) She took it at a restaurant while she was on vacation in New Orleans. After seeing the image of what she thought was a smiling man, she went back to the restaurant and asked them if any one recognized him. Unfortunately, no one did, but as Stephanie pointed out, the building, like many in New Orleans, was very old so it is possible that he was there long before this restaurant came into existence. Can you see him?

Falling in love

Some of you may recall that back in November, I sent the publisher my latest MS, so with fingers crossed, I decided to take a little time off and enjoy the holidays. All the while, I had an idea for a new book niggling away in the crevices of my mind. I pushed it back and lovingly whispered later.

This idea refused to be put off any longer so on January 22, 2013; I blew the dust off my keyboard and sat down. As with most new relationships, I was a little timid at first—not quite sure what to expect, but a mere two days and only 2,500 words later I must say I think I’m falling in love. I find I can’t eat, I can’t sleep, I think about it all of the time. Life. Is. Good.

 

Apparently, “George,” Doesn’t like the holidays.

As many of you know by now, we have a ghost that we call George, who lives in the back part of our house. George isn’t a malevolent spirit, but as the paranormal investigators said, “He’s a bit grouchy and just wants to be left alone.”

This usually isn’t a problem since he stays in what used to be my daughters room. When she got married three and a half years ago, George had the place to himself and was very content with the new arrangement.

However, with the holidays, we’ve needed to utilize “George’s room” much more than usual. We’ve used it to store things and even house over night guests. At first, George didn’t seem to mind too much, but that soon changed.

George completely minded his manners with our guests. (Which I am truly appreciative of) The problem came after the holidays. With all of the hustle and bustle that holidays bring, I was simply worn out. When the guests were gone and the mess was cleared away, I found that I NEEDED sleep. Serious sleep, but between my husband’s snoring and him having to get up at 4:00 a.m. this seemed like an impossible dream—until a little light bulb went off in my head. We have a perfectly good guest room, I thought.

My husband, the sweet man that he is, agreed to sleep in our daughter’s old room. The first night was wonderful. I slept better than I had in a long, long time. My husband said that he too had slept well, so we agreed to stick with this arrangement for a while.

I was happy—my husband was happy—George was not.

The first thing I noticed happened on about day three of our new sleeping arrangement. I woke up late after another restful night and I stumbled into the kitchen for my coffee. As I sipped the magical liquid down, I heard the door to my daughter’s old room slam shut. I giggled to myself, thinking George must want to be left alone.

I honored his wishes by leaving the door shut and staying out of the room. When nighttime rolled around, my husband and I kissed each other goodnight and went our separate ways.

After falling into a blissful sleep, I woke to the sound of my closet door slowly creaking open and just as slowly creaking closed. Even though it is not unusual to experience paranormal activity in any part of the house from several different entities, I had a feeling that this was George’s way of telling me that he had had enough of his room being invaded and was wanting me to see what it felt like.

Even though the opening and closing of my closet door was irritating, it still wasn’t as bad as hearing my husband snore all night so we continued with our new sleeping arrangement.

A couple of nights later, my husband said that he was awoken by unseen hands poking him in the shoulder. He told George to stop and then he rolled over and went back to sleep. He was later woke up by a loud thud and again he went back to sleep. The next morning he found a book that had previously been on a table in the adjoining room laying by the closet door. I think poor George has had enough.