Announcing a New Blog

We’re nearing the end of 2021, only a few months left to go and, I don’t know about you, but I’ve suddenly had the urge to make all sorts of changes. Energy is shoving itself down my lethargic body and I’ve “climbed back on the horse” of writing again after a very long dry spell.

And with that new found energy, I’ve created a new blog – Crowded vs Empty! In essence it will be a chance to entertain and maybe…, possibly…, hardly likely…, educate about the differences in living in a crowded nest versus living in an empty nest.

Yours truly is the author of The Crowded Nest Syndrome, surviving the return of adult children. And I’ve had a lot of fun with my tales of living with more people in my home than usual. It’s been that way since around 1993, almost thirty years. Well, recently, when I made a comment on a Facebook post that I was now “suffering” an empty nest, a delightful author friend replied, “You need to write a book, as I will be an empty nester some day.”

This new blog is in lieu of writing an actual book. Maybe someday, it will grow up to be its own trade paperback and eBook. But for now I’ll use the blog platform to let you know how I’m navigating the new territory. Stay tuned!

Advertisement

NaNoWriMo – Check

How many of you have heard of National Novel Writing Month? November is the official month each year where hundreds of thousand of writers from around the world compete against themselves to write a 50,000-word novel. It’s an intense push beginning after midnight of November 1st until midnight of November 30 for a writer to sit in their chair and crank out words.

These is no major prize at the end of the challenge other than the celebration and exuberant feeling of accomplishment. And a badge you can post on your website or Facebook page. There are t-shirts for sale and other writing fun things in their online store.

NaNoWriMo is something I’ve wanted to do for decades. Working fulltime plus various other excuses such as raising a family, then grandchildren, plus publishing my own novels and non-fiction kept me from dedicating thirty days on one storyline.

I can now check this event off my bucket list. That’s right I am a winner of the 2017 NaNo-2017-Winner-BadgeNaNoWriMo challenge. Whew. I’ve had an idea for a story stuck in my mind for these long decades and finally I declared my intentions in October. This year, by golly, I was going to join these thousands of writers and swim in the stress and glory. And, yes, I bought myself a t-shirt so I’ll always remember this excitement.

Too delicious. The drawback is unwinding now from the every day drive to get in x-amount of words and spending hours and hours with a band of characters. Granted, I plan on editing and revising my little jewel over the next few months. I worked too hard not to give the manuscript a chance at publishing.

So stay tuned and I’ll let you know how the process goes …

 

 

Zany Characters

My first romantic comedy, Changes in Attitude, included a marvelous side kick named Gillian Nation. He worked for the protagonist, Allie, and provided droll humor along the storyline. I saw Gillian as tall, blond and gorgeous – muscular yet slender, intelligent and gay. I fell in love with his wit and demeanor throughout the book.

I liked this character so much, he barged into my next novel Her Ghost Wears Kilts and brought along friends: Rafael and T-Cup. Seriously. Well, an entourage of sorts. Rafael and T are delightful drag queens who captured my heart with their dramatics. Interestingly, in the original manuscript there was a third Musketeer in the entourage named Stormy, she played a Cher impersonator. But the editor felt there were too many side characters and they overshadowed the main female and male leads. Stormy got the ax. (sniffles)

My zany characters add color and energy to the Baillie Castle trilogy. Together they are the Diva Squad, willing to do or sacrifice for their friends. One day they may have their own book where their stars and glitter can shine alone.

Who are your favorite side characters? Think about your favorite book and notice how relevant and important a part those characters play.

sales-divas-102017