IWSG - April 2018

Click here to find out more and to see a list of other IWSG blogs.

The cohosts this month are  Olga Godim, Chemist Ken,Renee Scattergood, and Tamara Narayan!

ROFL - This was stuck in draft since last month. Too funny.

This Month's Question

When your writing life is a bit cloudy or filled with rain, what do you do to dig down and keep on writing?

Play a game of League of Legends, of course! It's my reward for accomplishing tasks.

News

1. I am now retired.
2. At the time this publishes, I will be on vacation in Hawaii hugging grandkids.
3. I am excited to be able to write full time!

Fun Stuff

April 1st was not only Easter but my youngest grandson's 3rd birthday. His parents had too much fun with the party!

What have you been up to since last month?

IWSG July 2015

Click here to find out more and to see a list of other IWSG blogs.

Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!

It feels like I've been gone forever!

FIRST, Authors Against Child Slavery campaign: 
This is where authors donated books to people donating to Operation Underground Railroad--we achieved our goal--with two days to spare. Well, with two days to spare, we met our goal! Thank you for everyone who contributed, whether by donating books, money, or helping to spread the word.

SECOND, Vacation
I'd like to say that my vacation to Hawaii to visit my daughter and the kids was a dream. Let's just say that the trip involved:
* a burning smell inside the plane on take off that which delayed our arrival
* calls from work that had me scrambling and turned the second half of my vacation into a working vacation
* charming grandkids who I just love being around
* MineCraft - yes, they taught me how to play

 THIRD but not last -- IWSG ... and grammar
Somehow, it seems fitting that after a long blogging break I should return on IWSG day. It will force me to keep it brief.

A grammar lesson from Game of Thrones:

How has your summer been going so far?
Have you taken your vacation yet or are you still making plans?

Insecure Writers Support Group

Click here to find out more and to see a list of other IWSG blogs.

Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!

And look what I almost forgot. Yeah, it's been that kind of month and I'm working on a deadline to finish my ghost story so I can go on vacation next month.

Did you read that?

Kauai ...

Grandkids ...

Beaches ...

Leisure reading ...

Catamaran trip ...

But no pirates allowed.

Yeah, I'm so ready.

Then I'll come back to do some editing and more editing and probably even more editing.

What about you? Got plans for the summer? What kinds of breaks do you take from your writing?

Monday Meandering

Wow. It's been a busy and wonderful three weeks with my oldest son and his family. We did a lot of fun stuff:

• Got to see How to Train Your Dragon 2.
• Went to the Utah Arts Festival. Pretty cool stuff there, especially the aerialists.

• Went to the rodeo. Haven't done that in a bazillion years. It rained on us.

• Went to a baseball game on July 3rd and got a great fireworks show. Scared the crap out of my grandson because we were so close. It had sprinkled on us earlier but it stopped before the fireworks.

• Had a BBQ and fireworks for the 4th.

• Saw a theater-in-the-round presentation of Man of La Mancha.

• Introduced the grandkids (who live in China) to movies like E.T., Shanghai Noon, and Secondhand Lions.
• They did other fun stuff like mountain hikes, sleepovers with old family friends, confidence course, and a visit to one of those bouncy places.

* * * * * * * * * *

Reading
I got some reading done. Here are the books I've read so far this year:

I actually listened to another book that Goodreads wouldn't let me list since I'd already read it once before and reviewed it. That was Brandon Sanderson's The Way of Kings. And it was a behemoth. But I read it in advance of the second book that came out in January.

* * * * * * * * * *

Pen Name?
The timing was good for this visit because I'd run into a roadblock with my next project and wasn't sure what to do. After talking about it with some writerly friends, I decided to go back to another project I wrote a couple of years ago and needed to be edited. This is very different than my previous books because it's YA and a fantasy. Good decision to shift to it! It's been a great break, and I'm excited to get to work on it when the vacation is over.

Question, though. I'm wondering if I should use a pen name for this YA fantasy series. Would people who like my contemporary adventure romances be put off  by this change in age group and genre?

What do you think?

Cruise Report - Using Real Life

Wow. Hubby and I went on a shorter version of this cruise five years ago. Interesting what a change in the length of the cruise and the weather can do to the overall vacation experience.

We made it to our snorkeling excursion this time.

Last time:

• Fifteen-day cruise
• More kids
• More middle-aged people
• Better weather
• Except for a squall on Kona that prevented us from going on a snorkeling excursion, it was a dream vacation.

This time:

• Eighteen-day cruise
• Three kids (seriously--three)
• We were some of the younger passengers--funny since our cruise was to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary.
• Rougher weather

We hadn't even been out a day when there was an accident on the stairs. Now, it takes time to get your sea legs, so it could have been that. I understand that a woman lost her balance and fell against another woman. The second woman ended up breaking a leg and sustaining a head injury, including bleeding from her ear.

They determined that they needed to turn around and connect with the Coast Guard helicopter so the woman could be transported. One of the ship's four doctors (he had the most trauma experience) accompanied her. Unfortunately, her husband wasn't able to come with her because the helicopter was too full.

Doctor or husband. What a choice. Her husband stayed with the ship and had to sail five more days before being able to fly home to be with his wife.

The seas had some good-sized swells anyway, and then the captain was trying to make up lost time so we didn't lose more than one day in Hawaii. We were traveling at almost top speed some of the time. Even the day before we got to Hawaii, we were still bouncing off the walls--literally.

I loved it. Fortunately, hubby and I don't get sea sick.

We arrived in Hawaii a day late. The cruise line did an incredible job of rescheduling the entire itinerary. They didn't just have to see how many port stops they could save but to try and provide the best experience while we were there--like not being in port at the same time as another cruise ship with twice as many passengers. That would have been an incredible press on the local excursion and car rental places.

There were complaints, of course. But, as the captain said, the woman's life was more important than our vacations.

The final stop, Maui, was a bust because of the weather. It's a tender port, meaning that they use the tenders (life boats--those orange boats in the picture to the left) to get passengers to shore. Um. No. Not with five or six foot swells that were bashing the tenders against the ship.

Because of the change in the itinerary, we got to see my daughter and her family. Kaua'i was supposed to be the last stop and it ended up being the second. We managed to see them before they went on their own cruise. And talk about drama! Their ship--finally--way late because of fog. Now, they're having to scramble to catch flights home. 

Moral of the story: anything can happen. Just take a deep breath and enjoy the journey!

We came across this place on Oahu by accident. Friendly, isn't it?

At the Polynesian Cultural Center on Oahu

Part of the procession of Polynesian cultures at the PCC. This group is from New Zealand.

The snorkeling excursion wasn't even supposed to be for whale watching, but holy cow! We saw two males doing battle over a female. There were also tons of dolphins. And check out how blue that water was:

Lighthouse on Kaua'i

 At Hilo, we visited the Hawaiian Botanical Gardens. It's an amazing place with a wonderful history--and it's all been done privately. You can see pictures of some of the beautiful flowers on my Pinterest page here.

These huge beauties were hanging from a tree.

Cannonball Tree

So, what about you?

Have you ever had some interesting things happen while on vacation?

Have you ever used any of your experiences in your writing?

I'll lead out because I have. In fact, at lot of Lyn's experiences on her  Hawaii days in A Change of Plans were inspired by my own on that first cruise we took five years ago. 

Anniversary Cruise

Hubby and I are flying to San Diego today for an anniversary cruise. I'll be back on February 10th. Here's a map of my itinerary:

Hodge Podge

Since I've been on vacation this week, I've had a little more time to flit around the web. Following are a few posts I found interesting.

Author Marsha Ward's suggestions for some last-minute gifts for writers.
Funny, but my family never thinks to get me writerly gifts for my birthday or holidays. I wonder what that means.

Deb Vanasse's post over at Self-Made Writer, about how and where to get your book reviewed.

She also has a post about the etiquette and ethics of book reviews. 

I took this picture.

My daughter is a professional photographer on the island of Kaua'i. She had a shoot Friday night at the gorgeous Hanalei Bay (which is a good hour's drive from where she lives). Grampa and I went to keep her company for the long drive there and back. We walked the beach while she worked. Gorgeous sunset, wasn't it?

The water was warm too. Kind of made me feel guilty when I saw the news report for home. Snow.

All right. Not guilty. But I am going to stop thinking about how muggy and humid it is here. There will be plenty of cold winter waiting for me when I return home.

I tried to capture the big waves breaking at the mouth of the bay. I had to blow this up several times. Those waves are much farther away than they appear. Unlike my daughter, I'm not a professional photographer. I even forgot the recharger for my camera so I'm stuck with my cell phone.

The beach at Hanalei has fine, two-colored sand. It makes for an interesting pattern when the waves crash in and out.

So, what would you want as a writerly gift?

What are your thoughts on exchanging book reviews with other writers?

Ever been to Hawaii?

What Do You Do?

Urban Fantasy--Details

Urban Fantasy--Details

I promised myself that when I finished my NaNo project early that I would take a break from writing and editing, enjoy the holiday time with family and catch on my reading.

So, I've been doing that. Have a lovely Thanksgiving and managed to see or talk to via Skype most of the kids and grandkids. My brother called and I chatted with him and his wife for a bit. Went to see Red Dawn (loved it--much better than the original though it's still a story about war and people die in war) though what we wanted to see was the new James Bond film. Also saw Breaking Dawn 2.

Regency Romance--Details

Time Travel Regency Romance--Details

I've read two books and am three quarters of the way through a third. I'm getting ready to start on a fourth ebook. I have plans to go to two local book signings tomorrow and a dinner gathering of local authors.

Did way more than I have in the last several years by decorating the house for Christmas. I hate doing that alone, and this year I managed to get the hubby involved. It was fun again.

I have a confession to make. I'm getting antsy to edit. I find myself going to sleep or waking up with ideas. But I've got another WEEK.

I love being able to spend so much more time reading. But it's usually a guilty pleasure, and I can't quite shake that feeling I should be doing something else.

How do you handle the adjustment to a forced vacation from writing?

Status and a Vacation

This is what I've been working on. Finally got all my post-its done for last November's NaNo project and my August Camp NaNo sequel. Now I can get down to the editing. Have to get some progress made before it's time to get the preliminary stuff done on my 2012 November NaNo project--a parallel novel for A Change of Plans.

Both of these books are written already. Had to do that in order to do the post-it notes.

And this is where I'll be, starting tomorrow:

We went last year. We're going this year to be with some of the grandkids.

Vacation . . . Again. Oh, and Self-Editing

Yep, I'm headed to paradise again.

I know. Rough life.

Robin Weeks posted an LTUE class update about self-editing. (I know! I've been a serious slacker/loser in this area myself, but repentance is coming. Someday). But it's an awesome recap of a class taught by the amazing Tristi Pinkston (author and editor).  It's definitely worth your time to check it out. 

When I find posts like this, I copy them and post the information in a document (with a link back to the original post), so I won't lose it. How do you keep track of useful information you find online?

Book Review - "Venom" by K.C. Grant

Book Description: 
Samantha Evans is determined to make a name for herself in the cutthroat world of advertising. Newly hired by a prestigious ad agency, she volunteers to work on location in Mexico City as a personal assistant to the beautiful and driven creative director Katrina Edwards. At first the association seems promising. But Ms. Edwards seems preoccupied in a way that makes Samantha increasingly uneasy. In fact, many in the group seem like they are not being completely open about the project, including David Ayala, the mysterious and moody photographer for whose attention the two women find themselves competing. After several strange accidents and numerous appearances by an unknown man, Samantha discovers the truth: not everyone on the team is in Mexico to create a stellar advertising pitch. When her sleuthing leads to her abduction, she is brought to the pyramids of Teotihuacan and comes face-to-face with the venomous evil of the South American crime boss known as The Serpent. Now Samantha must not only fight for her life, but she must also discover if she can trust the man she's come to love.

Samantha learns some important things about herself in this story, including whether or not she's got the disposition (or venomous lack of scruples--pun intended) to succeed in her chosen field. Her natural curiosity and interest in people lead her to notice things going on around her, and she discovers that something's not quite right. While she struggles to find her place in the group--with a boss determined to put her down at every opportunity--she also deals with news about her father's cancer diagnosis and surgery.

If you've never traveled around the Mexico City area and wondered about some great places to visit, this book will help you make a list. Should I ever get to make a trip to Mexico, I would love to visit the sites in the book and compare them with Samantha's experiences. I would hope my trip would turn out less eventful, since Samantha's was full of mystery and intrigue, to say nothing of a fight for her life.

And a dang cute guy.

Kaua'i

One of my granddaughters tiptoeing on Shipwreck Beach.

Hubby, daughter, son-in-Law, and two granddaughters.

View of the beach.

Three generations build a sandcastle at Shipwreck Beach.

Spouting Horn

Mt. Kipu on Wednesday. It was stormy most of the day.

Here's another view of Mt. Kipu on Thursday when the weather was much nicer.

At the Fishing Pond with Mt. Kipu in the distance.

A friend recommended that we try Puka Dogs, so we did. Yum!