MONDAY MUSINGS: LIFE IS GOOD

I've been enjoying my work-cation. Much of the Manana list has been whittled down to a few things which will have to wait. But that's okay. We'll get there. I've also taken plenty of time to putter and relax. It's been a good month and I've needed guilt free time off.

We've had lots of rain and believe me I am not complaining after last summer's drought like conditions. Here it is at the end of July and everything is still lush and green. I still have lots of water in my ranch ponds instead of a dusty bottom with a 3 foot wide puddle of water. Granted, it is a puddle fed by a slow trickle spring, for which I'm very thankful as are many of the critters that drink there. But both ponds are full.

Thunderstorms or rainstorms have swung through almost daily. It's kinda cool when we have a heavy rain and then the sun comes out while the rain is still falling. We call them sun fluffies. Usually happens in the afternoon. The sun shines from the west and it's made for some bright and beautiful rainbows. We frequently get rainbows and quite a few double rainbows. 

You can click on anyone of the pictures to enlarge it.

The sun is shining from the west. The horses are under the community chat tree because it's still raining, although lightly. I love the texture and color contrast of the sky.

Looking in the opposite direction, with my back to the rainbows:

You can see the haze of falling rain. I loved seeing this. Lots of green and this angle of the sun just makes everything look beautiful and clean. It gives the feeling of peace.

This is the other side of the rainbow and part of my front side yard. Alas, no pots of gold were discovered. Damn those sneaky leprechauns.

A few other pretty things which made me smile from the past weeks. I found a gorgeous Lunar Moth in my Crape Myrtle tree. It was bigger than my hand.                                                      

There was another moth I found, one evening on my patio, that was a deep green with black crosshatch lines. I tried but the pictures just came out wrong. The light was off and I had the wrong camera to do it justice. But the Lunar was such a wonderful poser for me. I loved the play of sunlight and shadow. The markings were gorgeous.

I couldn't resist taking a shot of these sunshine yellow flowers with bees and other insects just sipping away at the flowers.

I have a very good sized shrub off my patio that is a favorite with my cats. It's as tall as my house and we work hard at keeping it trimmed.

At any given time you will find one or more either playing in the branches or snoozing. The only way you can really see them is coming up and under the boughs. Here is Mr. Bodie in the tree. He's looking down at Callie sitting below the tree. About two minutes after I shot these he decided to *drop* in on her, lol!

And so another day ends. The evening shadows crawl across the land and in the distance the fog rises in the fields. I again, didn't have the right camera with me to get a better shot but still, this give you a glimpse of it all. Now imagine the sounds of the night birds and Cicadas singing the sun down and away from the porch spotlights the lightning bugs are rising and twinkling.

For me, observing scenes like these puts things into perspective. Troubles don't seem as big. You can't help but soak in the beauty and the peace. I imagine this was one of the reasons such things were created. To touch our senses with beauty and contentment. I, for one, give thanks for that.

Life is good.

MONDAY MUSINGS: HAPPY WATERMELON MONTH

I’m a pretty traditional gal. Oh, I have my adventurous moments but for the most part I’m pretty tried and true.

This past week I had a hankering for watermelon. Tis the season you know. J In fact, July is National Watermelon month. So, here I am in the produce section of my local store and I wheeled my cart right on up to the nice display of melons. Thumped and smelled and chose a couple of cantaloupes and a nice watermelon. I’m the major consumer of melons in my house so the watermelon was a smaller one and so pretty.

I found a nice place for it in the refrigerator. Friday was the day. Got my watermelon out and sliced. My jaw drops. WTF? What happened to my watermelon?

It was yellow.

Yellow?? Peaches are yellow, mangoes and pineapple are yellow. Watermelons are bright red or deep pink. Not yellow. I sniff. Smells like a watermelon. I sliced a little piece and cautiously take a taste…okay, it tastes like a watermelon. Sort of. But, but…it’s YELLOW.

I say sort of, because there is a difference. Texture of the fruit is a bit lighter and finer and the taste is sweeter. Almost like a touch of honey to it. It a bit sweeter than I like, but it’s good and this would be nice change in a summer fruit salad, watermelon berry salad, or watermelon cucumber salad (which is very good, by the way). I prefer the flesh of the red fruit.

Tonight, I’m in my office and I hear the refrigerator door open.

“What the hell…?! Mom, what is this?” 

 “Its a watermelon, son.” 

 “It’s yellow. Is it spoiled?” 

 “Nope. Just a different color.” 

 “Huh. It looks weird. When did they start making watermelon yellow? Is it any good?” 

 I roll my eyes. “Why don’t you taste it and see what you think?” I figure the kitchen would be better place to have this conversation, so I walk in to find my son poking the watermelon like it was a dangerous alien. He bends his head and sniffs. 

 “It smells like a watermelon. Have you had any of it?” 

 “Obviously so, since half of it is gone, I’m still breathing, too.” He squares his shoulders and lifts the watermelon. 

 I grab the watermelon just before teeth meets yellow. “Oh no you don’t, buddy. Here’s a spoon. Scoop out a piece.” 

 “Wow. It’s really sweet.” Scoops out another bite for testing purposes you understand.

I recognize the look on his face and rescued my watermelon again and cut off a slice for him to eat.  It’s the same look mothers of grazing teen males understand. It’s the same look he gets when he’s looking in the fridge for something to eat but grabs the gallon of milk to guzzle and fortify him before choosing something to eat.

So, watermelon isn't just red anymore. Who would have thunk it? 

If you will excuse me, I'm going to go eat my purple, yellow, and orange tomato salad with purple cauliflower bits and crumbled feta cheese and contemplate some yellow watermelon for dessert. Who knows, maybe next time I'll add the yellow watermelon to the salad mix.

• Have you had any of the yellow watermelon? Did you know it was yellow flesh when you bought it or were you as surprised as I was when you cut into it?

MONDAY MUSINGS--Sweating The Mañana List

I'm mostly on  vacation this month. You may have noticed I haven't visited as much or even posted. The truth is I've barely been on the computer or online. I will be getting back to all that but July will be hit and miss.

I'd love to tell you it was for writing but, no. It's a working vacation. 

We've had projects pending around the ranch for sometime and July has been earmarked as the month to get them done. I've been working outside daily since the first of July. I don't mind telling you I'm sore and tired. But, it feels good to see progress made. Things need repairing and there are areas that have been in dire need of cutting and clearing, fences worked on, and accumulated clutter sorted and gone. 

A lot of stuff has accumulated over the past 3 years and with my being so very ill and and unable to do much of anything but hobble from bed to the recliner, the doctor, or brief times at the computer. Hubs works full time. Then last year, when I was in remission, and feeling much better, I went to work so we could knock out bills from that time. So these things got moved to the Mañana list (as in En el día del mañana or sometime in the future). 

So July is devoted to clearing as much of the Mañana list as possible. After the tornado the down trees were cut and loaded on trucks and sent to the mill. The remaining brush piles of unwanted limbs, fence posts, and old wood and roofing of the barns and sheds were piled in various areas around the property. They're out of the way but need to be disposed of.

We (that would be hubs since he's working only 4 days a week until October, kid, and I) have made a lot of progress on the immediate yard as well. It actually looks good again. The jungle in the Dane's pens (and these aren't little pens, they're 200' wide and 300' long) have been cleared and it almost looks pretty and that was last week's project. Still need to go over all the pens with the weed-eater. There is still several boundary areas of the yard that need brush cleared around fences and some of the trees--I have a miniature forest growing under several oak trees. That's this weeks project. 

Even though July has remained relatively cool, compared to last year, that sun is still hot. So this child is up very early in the morning and outside until about lunch and then back out about 4-ish. Still hot and sweaty work and the AC is godsend on these days when I'm done.  I slither into a wobbly pile of goo and rest. I am pacing myself and taking lots of small breaks and drinking tons of water. I've resorted to wearing a name tag because I'm usually too tired to recall my name or the day. I have mush brain. Ice packs and muscle ointments and I are really, really good friends. By 8 p.m. I'm usually crawling into bed.

I'll be back to normal blogging, erm, mañana.

LIFE IS A JOURNEY—WITHOUT A ROAD MAP!

It's my pleasure to welcome back romance author, Diana Duncan. It's been a while since I've had the pleasure of her company here. I will admit she was one of my early facebook buddies that gave me so much support when I first started my blog four years ago. I have her to thank for my hunk file—I have it on the best authority that all romance writers must have one for inspiration. Needless to say, I am very inspired.  J 

Diana's topic is on conquering fear when life throws you a major detour and appreciating the small things in life.

I confess, I’m terribly directionally challenged. I’ve been shopping at the same grocery store for over 20 years, but turn me around in there, and I can still get lost!

I’m not very good at decoding maps, either. They read like ancient hieroglyphics to my backwards brain. And the snotty GPS lady and I had an hostile parting of the ways after I followed her command to turn onto a one-way street going the wrong direction! I need specific, explicit instructions, and don’t tell me any of that bewildering north, south, east, west stuff…I need to know: “Turn left just past McDonald’s, go until you see Burger King, then make a right. If you get to Dairy Queen, you’ve gone too far. My house is the 3^rd one on the block on the left-hand side and it’s green with white trim.”

Then maybe, maybe, I can find my destination. At least within 2 tries. J

So when life diverts me onto an unexpected detour, I’m lost and confused.

And wow, last summer, I not only got diverted onto a detour, I got totally run off the road!

I’d been feeling tired and having a lot of heartburn for some time, several years in fact, but had attributed many of my symptoms to getting older, hormone changes, etc.—all the usual denial tactics we use to avoid believing we’re really sick. I was popping over-the-counter antacids like M&M’s and “coping.” Until without warning, I suddenly ended up at the doctor’s office unable to keep any food down and so exhausted, Hubby had to help me walk.

After several months and a whole lot of very unpleasant and obscenely expensive tests—and still unable to eat—I was diagnosed with a (scarily common) stomach bacteria that had eventually overrun my system with acid, which had turned the inside of my stomach into raw hamburger and caused 75% of my esophagus to erode. I had to take 2 super strong antibiotics, along with a bagful of other drugs for an extended period of time—all of which had miserable side effects like anxiety and insomnia and fatigue.

By the grace of God, I found an incredible acupuncturist/Chinese herbalist, who weaned me off all the damaging medications and provided me with natural supplements and a diet that would help my stomach and esophagus heal. I also found an online support forum for people with my condition, which encouraged me and made me feel like less of a freak for taking so much time to heal.

It’s been a year now, and I am finally beginning to have more good days than bad, with setbacks here and there in between.

I learned a lot during my illness:

• Planning is futile, because every day brings what it brings, and to survive, you need to roll with the painful punches.
• Biggest lesson I learned was to let go of the constant fear that gnawed at me. It served no purpose, except to hold me back from recovery.
• Trust that I was in God’s hands—His plan would turn out better than mine in the long run.
• Take delight in the smallest of pleasures—being able to eat, snuggling with my dog, watching finches at my birdfeeders.
• Celebrate progress—getting strong enough to walk out into my backyard, being able to read again, getting back to my writing.

I’d started writing my 11^th book before I got sick, titled Big Bad Wolfe, and was a little over halfway through it when I became too ill to write. The hero in the book is emotionally damaged from childhood abuse, and ironically, his story is about his journey toward healing.

Several months ago when I was finally able to begin writing again for short periods, helping Zane complete his journey became a personal mission for me. His faltering progress toward healing—two steps forward, one step back, and one day at a time—was the same as my own. Zane’s struggle mirrored my struggle in so many ways, and he will always hold a special place in my heart.

Just like Zane, I was broken down to the lowest point in my life…and just like him; I learned not to take anything, or anyone, for granted. To keep the faith, believe in hope, and appreciate the joy in tiny, everyday miracles.

My wish for you is that you take nothing for granted…and recognize each blessing in your life, no matter how small, as gifts to enjoy every day.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             

BUY: AMAZON AND B&N

FBI Special Agent Zane Wolfe fears nothing...
                    Except fatherhood. 

So suddenly discovering he's the father of a five-year-old son terrifies him.

Jillian Ramsay has had temporary custody of her best friend’s little boy since his mother recently died. As the assistant director of a school for disadvantaged children, she recognizes Zane is a survivor of childhood abuse. While Jillian understands Zane's trepidation, she also sees that behind his protective walls, her Big Bad Wolfe is good-hear ted and caring. She’s in a desperate fight for custody against the child’s vicious uncle…and she needs Zane to face his fears—just long enough to help her win permanent custody of his son.
Zane's ready to turn tail and run for the first time in his life. Until sinister motives behind the death of his son’s mother put both the boy and Jillian in danger. As Zane works with Jillian to secure his son's future, keeping his barricades intact becomes far more difficult than he imagined.

Because while Jillian might not huff and puff, her patience and tenderness are chipping away at his walls.
He’ll do anything to protect his son…including temporarily marrying Jillian. EXCERPT

 The Big Bad Wolfe fears nothing.

                                 Except failing those he loves.

                                                                                                                                             

When her dreams of becoming a ballerina were quashed by early-onset klutziness, Diana Duncan took up the safer vocation of writing. Her first thrilling masterpiece—written in orange crayon—was titled “Perky the Kitten,” and became an instant bestseller with her grandparents.

Di is famous for using seven words when one will do. She wields smart-assery like a samurai sword, and will be the first to volunteer in a catastrophe. Of course, she was probably the one who caused the catastrophe. 

She’s fiercely loyal to her friends and family…but in the event of the upcoming zombie apocalypse, she won’t hesitate to use them as human shields.

She loves her job as an author, and claims writing is the most fun she’s ever had while wearing her sock monkey pajamas. She also enjoys gardening, cooking, and adopting abandoned curbside furniture to refurbish into treasures.

Join her on Facebook, Goodreads, and Twitter. Feel free to stop by and ogle her kilted hunks on her website 

HOUR OF THE RAT-The Flawed Protagonist

Hi, Kat Sheridan hosting today so Sia can have a well-deserved long holiday weekend off for the Fourth of July!

I have a confession to make. I drink bourbon (and coffee), occasionally to excess. I can out-swear a Marine drill sergeant. I get pig-headed about the dumbest things. Sometimes I make bad decisions, do stupid stuff, or trust the wrong person. I try to do my best, and just hope my successes balance my failures. In other words, I’m human.

Which means I’m also a lot like Ellie Cooper, the protagonist in Hour of the Rat, the latest novel by Lisa Brackmann. I first encountered Ellie in Ms. Brackmann’s debut novel, Rock Paper Tiger. In Hour of the Rat, Ellie once again drags me along on an adventure through sprawling, bewildering, beautiful and treacherous China as she tries to help an old war buddy locate his missing brother, while being chased, used, and abused by shadowy government agencies, and stumbles into a truly terrifying real-world plot line having to do with GMOs (genetically modified organisms—if you want to get the willies every time you eat, look them up).

I’m going to say right up front that I loved this book. The synopsis is at the end, so I won’t repeat it here. What I want to talk about today is Ellie Cooper, and the way too many people may view a protagonist like her.

Let me tell you about Ellie. She was a medic in Iraq, a soldier who got caught in a terrible Abu Ghraib-like situation, and got torn between duty and horror. Her husband left her for a younger model. She got blown up and lost a chunk of muscle in her leg. It causes her deep physical pain and always will. She’s tough as old leather, but feminine enough to be embarrassed about the scars on her leg. She has PTSD. Between the pain and the nightmares, she doesn't always sleep well. She can’t function in the morning without coffee, her beverage choice the rest of the day is often beer, and though she tries to endure the constant physical and emotional pain, she sometimes resorts to popping Percocet for relief. She has a wry, dry, self deprecating sense of humor that comes out sometimes at the worst possible moment. She loves her uber-Christian mother, who drives her crazy, and is trying to heal past rifts with her. She’s an expat living in China, she’s trying to be a good friend to folks who may not deserve it, she’s trying to get her act together, and she’s trying to find some meaning in a world that exploded and spun out of control on her.

I haven’t read the reviews on Hour of the Rat yet, but I read them for Rock Paper Tiger (because I like to see what other people think of a book I adored). I was seriously appalled by folks who took issue with Ellie’s drinking and swearing and flawed decisions. As if they expected her, as a soldier, to say “gosh darn” and return home after the war to bake cookies and join the PTA. This weekend Americans celebrate our freedom, and the men who fought and died for it. Now that women are actively being allowed in combat positions (as if they already weren't de facto in those positions), are we ready for our books to have protagonists like Ellie Cooper?

My question is this: If Ellie Cooper had been Elliot Cooper, a male protagonist, would readers feel the same? Would you, as a reader, be more tolerant of a male character who’d been a soldier, been hit by an IED, who suffered the hell of PTSD, who swore, who coped with too much beer and painkillers, ran into dangerous situations, and was ambivalent about his mother?

Is there a subconscious prejudice toward the realistic portrayal of flawed female protagonists?

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

Hour of the Rat by Lisa Brackmann

Iraq War vet Ellie McEnroe has a pretty good life in Beijing, representing the work of controversial dissident Chinese artist Zhang Jianli. Even though Zhang's mysterious disappearance of over a year ago has attracted the attention of the Chinese authorities. Even though her Born-Again mother has come for a visit and shows no signs of leaving.

But things really get complicated when Ellie's search for an Army buddy's missing brother entangles her in a conspiracy that may or may not involve a sinister biotech company, eco-terrorists, and art-obsessed Chinese billionaire, and lots of cats—a conspiracy that will take her on a wild chase through some of China's most beautiful and most surreal places.

BUY: AMAZON, B&N, INDIEBOUND

Guest host Kat Sheridan is an aspiring romance author, fond of bourbon and shiny things. Creator of BlurbCopy.com, writing blurbs/back cover copy for indie authors. Bon vivant and diva. Her debut Victorian gothic romance novel, Echoes in Stone, will be published in the fall of 2013.

REACHING FOR THE BRASS RING—IWSG WEDNESDAY

There are about 300 members of Insecure Writers' Support Group, the idea of Alex Cavanaugh.  If you want to read any of their entries do check it out here. Co-hosts this month are Nancy Thompson, Mark Koopmans, and Heather Gardiner.

Brass Ring:  n slang An opportunity to achieve wealth or success; a prize or reward

Several friends and I were having a discussion. It's something that has been on my mind a lot lately. The gist of it was how we want to be published. Most want a traditional publisher, for various reasons.  We devote years of effort learning about the craft of writing. We suffer rejection after rejection and still we strive for publication. We keep abreast of the current market and want to write books that not only sell, but those we can see on the shelf of our local Barnes & Noble or Books-A-Million. Hell, Wal-Mart would be great. A form of validation? Maybe. But, all that effort expended reaching for the brass ring.

I have quite a few friends who have gotten contracts. Champagne corks popped, confetti thrown, resounding cheers echoed. Then reality sets in. The day-to-day work of a writer and living up to contract. Fighting to meet deadlines, edits, having to rewrite sections, and sometimes the tough job of consistently meeting the standards of a publisher and perhaps a picky acquiring editor. Then there is writing through the dam that holds back the words, on occasion, and juggling real life and writing fiction. It’s not a job for the faint of heart, that’s for sure.

Whether we create music, piece of art, or write a book, it all comes from our soul. It’s not like doing a report, or putting together a seminar, or creating a syllabus for the year, building a house from specs or rebuilding an engine. That takes talent, skill, and knowledge, yes. Creative works require the same but they also entail taking a flash of an idea, inspiration, inner vision, and giving it life. I think most creative endeavors are fraught with all sorts of insecurities. Are we good enough, can we continue to put out quality? If we do well with the first book will we do as well with the second? I have friends that have hit the bestseller’s list; more power to them, yet with each book there is still the worry, is it good enough? They haunt Amazon and Goodreads watching the reviews come in.

In this business, you can be golden with one book and the next out in the cold. Really, that’s true whether you have a traditional publisher (small or large), or are self-published. Readers love what they love and that may not be every book you write. Reviews are tough when they’re not at least 4 stars, or a reviewer shreds or snarks your work and then tweets about it. It hurts. It can be depressing. 

Sometimes, listening to friends talk about the good bad and ugly of the business is enough to make me wonder if that brass ring is worth reaching for.

The truth is, anything we want to make money from is a business. As writers I think we forget that. 

If you’re published with a traditional publisher that is their bottom line—the profit. It determines whether they want to take a chance on you or your story. Story might be good but can it sell enough to offset production and publicity costs? It is a determining factor on whether you’re offered another contract or released from the existing one. If you’re self-published it’s still a business of profit. Cost of an editor, cover work, uploading, ISBN numbers, the time involved in promotion, and sending out copies for reviews. While you might get 70% of the cover price in profit, does it offset the cost of producing it?

Reaching for that brass ring. Is it worth it? Only you, as a writer, can answer that.

FELLOW WRITERS—A GREAT SUPPORT NETWORK

Emily Greenwood is a new voice in historical romance. She writes playful, sexy Regency romance. Emily has written a three book MISCHIEF series and I'm highlight the first, A LITTLE NIGHT MISCHIEF. 

Emily's road to publication wasn't fast or easy but along the way she learn the value of associating with fellow writers. I'll let Emily tell you more about that.

Thanks so much for having me here today. Love the site music!

I’m pulling up my cup of herbal tea (wish I could drink coffee, but it does me in) and letting out a big sigh at the end of this month of promotion for my debut, A LITTLE NIGHT MISCHIEF.

Seems like the release of this novel has been a long time coming. I started writing it several years ago, put it away for a while, reworked it, and sent it out. I got requests from agents for partial and full manuscripts, and some really helpful suggestions from a few agents that helped me improve the story, but no offers. There was a little angst J

So I put that book aside and started another one. But when the Golden Heart submission deadline was looming, it wasn't ready to go. A writing pal suggested I enter the first book, A LITTLE NIGHT MISCHIEF, and I figured I had nothing to lose, so I made another pass at editing and entered it in the 2008 Golden Heart under a different title. It finaled! I was surprised and delighted.

Finaling brought me some great attention and also allowed me to connect with the other writers who finaled that year. We called ourselves the Pixies, and were immediately a great support network. Having this connection with other romance writers really made a difference in my publishing journey and helped me keep motivated as everybody shared inside knowledge and successes and failures on the road to publication. Finaling in the Golden Heart also helped when querying A LITTLE NIGHT MISCHIEF and the book I’d written after it. Two years later I signed with a terrific agent.

Then began the process of reworking my stories with my agent’s suggestions, which took a number of months. If there’s one thing I can say about writing, it’s that it takes a lot of time to get a finished product! Also, I hadn't really picked up on the whole “books in a series” thing, even though as a reader I’d enjoyed, like, Mary Balogh’s Slightly series. Somehow I hadn't figured out that I needed to write books that were linked together. A little slow on the uptake, wasn't I?

Finally the books were ready to go out on submission, and Sourcebooks picked up A LITTLE NIGHT MISCHIEF as part of the three-book Mischief series. Yay! The publication date was two years off, which is not uncommon, and it was a good thing, because it gave me extra time to write those other two books in the series.

Balancing writing and life is a struggle, but I suppose if I truly had loads of uninterrupted time to write, what I wrote would get stale. Or at least I tell myself that when I can’t write because I need to cook dinner, take kids to appointments, exercise, and do all the other things that can nibble up a day. They’re all also things I’m grateful to have in my day J

But it can be very hard to get back into the story when I've been away from it for a day or more. And it’s especially frustrating when I need to read all the way through to get a sense of how the story is working and I have to keep putting it down for interruptions. I try very hard to do something with whatever I’m working on every day.

So, there have been tears and smiles, and I’m sure there will be more, but one thing that is definitely a fun part of publication is interacting with readers through blogs like this one!

                                                                                                                                                                                                      

A LITTLE NIGHT OF MISCHIEF

Emily Greenwood

Every Prize Comes with Complications...

A game of chance saves James Collington from the prospect of debtors' prison, and grants him ownership to Tethering estate. Little does he know that his winnings come with serious complications--not least of which is a beautiful but impoverished young lady who insists his new manor belongs to her.

If He Can't Stop Her, He Might as Well Join Her...

Felicity Wilcox is determined to run Mr. Collington off her land, Though James's charm and devilish good looks are a serious distraction. What she doesn't know is that she may be haunting him right back.

EXCERPT (scroll down to excerpt heading on Publisher site)

BUY: AMAZON, B&N, BAM, INDIEBOUND

                                                                                                                             

Emily Greenwood has a degree in French and worked for a number of years as a writer, crafting newsletters and fundraising brochures. Bur she far prefers writing playful love stories set in Regency England, and she thinks romance is the chocolate of literature. A Golden Heart finalist, Emily lives in Maryland with her husband and two daughters.

You can find Emily on Facebook, Goodreads, Twitter, and her website.