Post Birthday Post

I had a special birthday, yesterday. But I was scheduled to work. So was my husband. There should be a law passed that you do not have to work on your birthday.

However, because I worked, and my husband could "get away" for about an hour, he was able to go to town and get me stuff for a birthday surprise. So, I couldn't wait to see what he bought me.

Dennis greeted me at 2:20 at the door, helped bring in my things and got into the air conditioning. There on the dining room table was a large bag with "Happy Birthday" all over it, and stuffed with lots of turquoise paper. Off to one side was an African violet--it was orchid with white centers. The card I read first and it was pretty good. Almost like he had the person who makes card write out exactly what I needed to hear and what was true about me and turning sixty.

Then, I went into the bag. Well, inside a large latte cup (not unlike the one above) were two bags of special coffees. One was French vanilla/decaf, and the other was chocolate macadamia, a Godiva chocolate bar and to the side of this large cup was a gift box with a large gourmet mocha espresso cupcake! OH! The frosting was to die for! I want one for every day I get off the bus and come home! Anyway, I ate it with a glass of milk right away because I was hungry.

While I ate the cupcake, he told me how he went to town with the old park truck--not knowing if he'd get it back or not! He went blow-by-blow how he went to the bakery and selected this cupcake from the special window and they put it into the fancy box for him (he had wondered how the heck he was going to get it home and put it into the bag--hahah!) Then he had to find the coffees and the chocolate and a cup. Then he went to the florest and picked out the violet. And of course the paper and bag and card.

I do not question that I married the right guy. I did. He pampered me all day, not letting me do dishes, or put anything away after we ate our easy deli chicken and coleslaw. He did it all!

I'm drinking a cup of one of my coffees right now. Need to get some whipping cream, however. What luck! It's actually on my diet! The cupcake was not, but I get to be naughty at least once a year!

Vampire Fans Wanted, Dead or Alive

Ha. Ha. Joke. Get it?

I have been working all summer on the 8th book. I have had this further section written, it seems like forever. A few months ago, probably. I finally got the in between and middle sections written, just today. I've got over 260 pages done in this. I'm not the type who puts some sort of word count per day on myself. If it feels right, I write. If not, I won't force it. All summer I've had things to do, other things to occupy my time, like gardening, and crocheting. I was feeling somewhat burned out back in the spring and just needed to chill on the writing. This was a good plan of action. Each day I did write, I got a little further along. It adds up.

Yep. I've got a birthday coming up (August 27th). I've always hated the date my birthday came on. It was always after school started. In this case, I begin work again, next week--NIU starts back up and I'm driving the big bus again. And Wednesday I'll be on it for 7 hours. Bummer.

But I've been celebrating it all month long by having my first two ebooks of the Sabrina Strong series at 99 cents each.

Vampire Ascending
&
Vampire's Trill

I won't be doing this again. I only turn (60) once in a life time.

That's a lot a BULL! (And updates)

Largest statue of a bison, Jamestown, SD

Yeah, had way too many "anonymous" comments on both blogs, and had to get rid of them. These people are not interested in me or my posts, their aim is to sell something from their web-site. Among a number of things which tips anyone of us off that they are not one of us, is their leaving their website and asking you to come and check them out. Plus, they've got no NAME!

NO

THANK

YOU!!!!

So, hopefully, I've eliminated their comments from getting into my email--yes, it goes there and I can DELETE them! 

Now, on to other things.

All aboard!

Silverton, Colorado

Work on WIP, is coming along. I've been writing a couple of scenes which take place on board a train--yes a locomotive, as a matter of fact. This book takes Sabrina back to the world she visited in the 3rd in series Vampire Nocturne, called Black Veil. Since I've never been on a train, I went and did some checking about trains, best I could. I found out that the conductor takes care of all passengers and everything else except for driving the train, and there's a man who feeds the train either coal or firewood called a "fireman".

I've found some pics of inside of trains on the web to help me out.

seating car

I would love to be able to buy a ticket on a locomotive out west and experience the ride, some day. I've been on short rides where you're cramped in with other people. I've even rode a stagecoach at least twice. Like this one in Silverton, Colorado. It's a dusty ride, in case you have the chance to ride one--bring a scarf--yeah there was a reason cowboys had those scarves around their necks. In our case it rained and we had to put down the window coverings. That was a new experience. In case you haven't noticed, I'm a throw-back--I was born in the wrong century (Dennis and I both). So, these sorts of experiences are something we both enjoy.

Stage ride in Silverton, Colorado 2010

I'm also hunting for a picture of a statue of a woman's face--from the neck up (tight). I may have to ask someone to take a picture of one, if I find something suitable. It's for the next book. Not an angel by no means. I'm not certain where I'll find something, but my search is on.

Other than that I've figured out where the title of my 8th book comes from (usually it takes me a while to either come up with it, or invent it). Six Shades of Hell is the name of a desert that Sabrina must cross in order to get to where she needs to find clues about the missing princess Aljehambra.

My summer has been pretty good, so far. I've gotten a lot of gardening work done--some of it involved moving large, heavy rocks, and setting them down in a spot I needed for run-off when it rains. Still uncertain we'll get away for a day or more. We'll see. I know my husband needs a break from mowing--bouncing on a mower several hours a day does terrible things to your insides.

That's all for now. See ya around. You know I'm busy, but I'll check in with everyone now and then!

Screw Writing What You Know!

Make it all up as you go. It's more fun that way!

That's my advice for the day. Plus a few more tips that I've had clipped to the back of my upright desk for a while.

When starting out in a new book, you've got to ask and answer two main questions:

IS ENOUGH AT STAKE?

In other words, are the stakes high enough?
There has to be DEATH.
Either physical, professional, psychological or spiritual.
You pick one of the above.

HOW CAN IT GET WORSE?

This one is one that I sometimes have to kick myself on the behind to produce. I hate putting my favorite characters through so much horror/terror. But, you gotta do what you gotta do.

I remember one fan of my Sabrina Strong series asking me why I had killed off Dante in the end of second book, Vampire's Trill.

Why, indeed. Because he made Sabrina happy. But he couldn't be with her, because he was Tremayne's scion. If Dante (a handsome Native American hunk who happened to be both a shape-shifter and shaman in life), had continued his wooing of Sabrina, Tremayne would have had a hissy-fit in vampire terms. He'd of killed him. Which would have fit nicely in the above. But I needed her to loose him in a different way.
Besides, I brought him back to be Sabrina's biggest secret weapon when shit hits the fan in the third book.

With my current WIP I'm working my way into the meat of the story, and am plotting things to go awry, in every damn way I can think of. Dante, who is now an Undead, can't always be with her physically. He has to feed. Since I've invented this sort of unusual vampire, I'll explain that he has to feed either on the soul of the dying, or on sex. Because at this point I've written books 5,6, & 7, a lot has happened. Let me just say I've made things more difficult for these two to be together--either intimately, or him being able to become a physical being. Otherwise, he's a spirit who can reach her only through a mirror. As long as she carries one, or there's one wherever she happens to be.

I'm working up the villains in this story. One worse than the next. And sometimes, it'll be hard to figure out if the one that's supposed to have been the bad guy, is really all that bad. I'm having fun with it.

Rule #1:
HAVE FUN!

That's the other unwritten rule. If you aren't having fun writing whatever it is you're writing, then stop. Take a break away from it. If ideas aren't coming to you, you need to rest. Your brain needs to rest. Find something else to occupy your time, but above all, don't let the inability to write get to you. We won't call it "writer's block". To me that's a fancy schmancy word that the "professionals" have invented to make you paranoid about your inability to produce every day.

Rule #2
BREAK THE RULES!

If you pay too much attention to what the "professionals" say about the craft, you'll become constipated on the page. Don't. Listen. To. Crap.

I once attended a critique class a long, long time ago. The word "was" was considered bad, and if you used it in your writing, well, you weren't very good at writing. I busted my buns to try and write without using that word too much. All I got was crap on the page. I got nowhere with that rule. I'm not going to take out every last damned word that other writers - "professionals" - say we mustn't use. I've read all the masters from King to Rowling. What do you know? They don't pay much attention to "the rules". They most definitely break the "rules". So why shouldn't I?

Your main objective is to get the story down, first. Worry about the flow of words later. But the plot is number one. You also have to know who's going to suffer and how and where and who the bad guy's going to do this to your good guy from the beginning. Even if you don't have a name, names and descriptions can come later.

Eventually, "Six Shades of Hell" will get Sabrina down into some hot, nasty, hard to travel territory--that's why the title was chosen. This takes place in a world which is poised in the 1870's. How will she get through it, to her destination on horseback?  Will she be attacked by marauders? Will Dante be able to help her?

Her objective is to get to a small village named Elvira, and find the man who is supposed to have abducted the Princess Aljehambra (we know her from 3rd book, Vampire Nocturne). If she doesn't find Ali, they will kill her.

To top things off, Sabrina becomes romantically involved with the man, Hawk, who may have abducted her. Plus, in the very beginning of the book a wizard, named Booth, has asked her to find his wife and child, who he claims has been abducted by King Drakulya. (Drakulya/his son, Joha, denies this.) Sabrina declines to work for Booth, as she feels there is conflict of interest, since she has worked for Drakulya in the past, and would rather work for the Drakulyas to find the princess, instead.

So, you see, the stakes not only are high, but they become stacked higher and higher. Ali is Sabrina's friend and an innocent waif of a girl. When Sabrina digs deeper, she is startled to find that something more sinister is afoot in another place all together, and by someone else, who may be the most sinister villain I will write as yet.

Lorelei is author of Sabrina Strong series,
Spell of the Black Unicorn,
and short stories

The "F" Word

This is a rant, if anyone is not interested in my rant you may leave now.
The subject it's a word that is creeping into so-called "romance" books. It's the F word, and I don't mean Fork. See Definition from Dictionary.com

I have no problem in using the word, if appropriate in my writing. My character Bjorn Tremayne uses it as an expletive--a lot. But I'm not a big fan of it in using it as a--well--verb. I find it vulgar. Especially when used by women. But then I'm from the old school where women were taught not to swear (and I do my share of it on a daily basis), or spit (I only spit when I'm brushing my teeth, or eating watermelon at a picnic).

Anyway, I got something in my e-mail box the other day, and it simply bothered me, when I read the excerpt. I don't know why I went ahead and opened it. The title [of book] should have warned me off. It's called "Carnal Magic" by Lila Dubois. The site is Paranormal Book Reviews. If you read the excerpt (here). You'll see that the POV is the woman's. And from descriptions I'm guessing it's sort of "high fantasy". But what I don't get is the use of fuck. Twice in the same passage. The rest of the excerpt was well written. But using that word ruins the whole atmosphere of it.

In a way the use of this word is becoming all to common in this way, in writing and speaking. I hear it used a lot by not just men, but women too. Back to the the writing. To me, when I read it in such a book, I feel that the writer didn't use her writing abilities to say what this woman actually wanted to do. Why didn't she say something like rip my clothes off and rape me, or visa versa? There's a lot of ways I would have written it and it would have been more fitting. But then, I'm not a young writer. I'm more seasoned and know that if you're going to write something that you want a broad array of people to read, you don't want to use foul language to do it, or in this manner, and in such a fantasy genre. But that's just me.

It's usage, I read at my Dictionary.com is that it's first use was in the 1400's, but it has been used before this. I have read somewhere that it is a German word for "strike", but because it was considered a banned word, it's history has been lost.

Anyway, I had to get this off my chest. As a writer, I hate to see women resort to the word in such passages as the example above. If you're going for gritty novels, fine. However, think about who your audience is, and consider if your female character would really think I want to fuck him.

Have a Happy 4th, everyone!

Time In A Bottle

Not sure why I chose that title, only that I liked the song by Jim Croche. And possibly, that's what time is for me. Segments. Memories. Cycles...

What's up for Lorelei this summer:
I'm taking time off from my "regular" job. 2 months, to be exact. This is my birthday present from my husband to get me off that stupid bus, and to enjoy the summer. We plan on doing a few things together. He's taking a 4-day weekend for his birthday from the fourth of July through the seventh, so, we'll be on the loose. But we won't be going far. Just a stay-around the area, sort of time.

Dennis and me 2010 vacation in Taos, NM

I plan on doing some gardening--not that it's anything extraordinary, just small flower gardens. And trying to keep the wild grapevines tamed back in our jungle. I do have another brick pathway to put in, and that will require some muscle and digging. But I'm up to the task. Last year I was suffering from being over-weight. This year, after getting on the Atkins diet, I've trimmed 15 pounds off, and still have about 12 more lbs. to go to get to my goal weight of 125. I know it's possible, because I did it when the diet first came out. Now, they have meals, meal bars and so forth to keep me satisfied, and the carb counter booklet to help me plan meals.

Anyway, because my metabolism has been boosted, I've more energy, can go much longer doing the outdoor activities (as long as the rain stays away), than I have been able to do in years.

My birthday: Can you say "sexagenarian" without giggling?

My birthday is in August. I am a proud "Baby Boomer", but one who never did illegal drugs, and one or two drinks late afternoon is my limit. (With Atkins, I've gone to zero to occasional, because of the carbs and your body has to fight the alcohol first before it goes after the carbs.) And I don't look my age. Something in my father's genes, I'm sure. Plus, never smoked, or lay out in the sun, and never had children. So, I'm ahead of the game where stress is concerned.

Dennis doesn't like me to tell people my age. My sister always lies about hers--she's 10 years older--but I've never been embarrassed about my age. At the moment, I'm not certain about turning 60 (am I really that old?) The whole thing about being only as old as you feel is true--sort of. You are as YOUNG as you feel, in my opinion. I've always had this in the back of my mind "I'll never act my age." I'm still a kid at heart, have a lot of interests, which include outdoors, crafts and writing.

Health:
I'm fortunate to not have any health issues, and for that I am grateful. I actually don't trust doctors. I think they're too into $ money $ to really care about you as a person. A few years ago, I had a palpating heart beat--stress was the cause of it--I did go to a doctor, and he assured me there was nothing wrong with my heart. I was relieved. He gave me prescription for a sleep aide. Then, he wanted me to set up an appointment to have my cholesterol checked. Right. After not really having the money to pay for this doctor's visit, I was not going to spend more money on that test. I am not the type who goes off to a doctor at the first sniffle. At the first sniffle, I'm proactive about how I'm feeling. You'd be amazed at what gargling with hydrogen peroxide will do. I get a bit of tonsillitis every spring and I gargle and in a week it's gone. No sore throats either, probably because we use hand wipes or Purell to keep from catching and spreading germs. Another thing to stay away from is the all too-popular buffets. Think about how many people have touched the spoons to serve everything. Plus, it's not so good on the waistline, either.

The writer:
I'm calculating how long ago I began writing. Holy Crap! 42 years ago I began taking a big interest in writing. I think back to all the years spent where no one really took me under their wing and helped me get a few things right--the mechanics. I was also bad at grammar, and horrible at spelling. I'm dyslexic. I had to learn how to spell--I'm not quite as horrible as I used to be, surprised when I write some difficult word down and the little red line doesn't appear underneath it--I know how to spell that word?

Achievements:

Me in April 2013

Despite the fact that my publisher quit on me, last year, I've moved on and have gotten my books out there as an Indie. This year, number four in the Sabrina Strong series, Vampire Caprice, is published.
I am working on editing # 5 Vampire Crescendo, and am writing # 8, (Six Shades of Hell) so time off will help, since I need to concentrate on getting the plot worked out.

I've also got to put an ending to the book I worked on over the winter, Dhampir Legacy. I'll work on it when I feel I've a handle on the eighth book. Not sure when either one will be done. But I think 9 weeks is a good goal for me to get Six Shades at least 3/4's done, and try and put the end on Legacy.

Other Interests:
Over the winter I began crocheting, and am still working on 3 afghans at this time. This is something I picked up again, after years of not having any interest. Now, I find I enjoy the down-time from writing. It's an extension of my creative side that doesn't get stroked enough, so, picking this activity up again is something that makes me happy, and my husband likes to see it too. Especially when I made one huge granny square afghan for the bed, and two lap-ghans for each of us over the winter.

With summer I'll be outside more, when the weather cooperates. I've got raspberries coming on and I enjoy picking them, but don't like being stuck by the thorns. That's why earlier this spring I went in and cleared out the snarl in the small area where they grow. I had to go in there yesterday too, and trim back a few new growths. Once I get my berries, these can do whatever they want the rest of the growing period.

I don't want to think about working at my job, after tomorrow (Monday is my last day to work), as I want to be as far away from that mind-set as possible. Need to relax my mind and try and do the writing and other things I enjoy more than two hours a day.

That's my up-dates for now. Have a good week, all.