But I thought I should pop in since I had been doing a pretty good job of at least staying current. :) My streak of writing was interrupted with edits of a book I hope will be out soon. This is good, very good in fact, but it also was necessary to stop my new shiny and tackle the old tarnished that needs more shining :)
Had a great time this weekend at City Island. We went for a walk around the park thinking there was nothing going on. But lo and behold there was a freaking MARATHON going on! My paltry one hour walk with weights on my ankle was almost funny next to these people running 26.2 miles around and through Harrisburg - some of them in less than three hours! I told my mother we should sign up for next year and then we both almost fell over laughing. Not going to happen. But the walk felt good and movement is movement even if I'm not going to qualify for the Boston Marathon :)
Misty
Monday, November 15, 2010
Monday, October 25, 2010
Shiny New Broad Fiction
I have a shiny new project and I am super excited for it. Wrote over 6000 words on it just yesterday. When it flows it flows, baby!
I am hereby calling this Broad Fiction and all other single title book ideas that I have will henceforth also be known as Broad Fiction, not women's fiction (though I assume I'll use that in a query letter - because Broad ficton might not be well known yet!), not Mainstream fiction with romantic elements, not a novel, or a literary journey. Oh no, not me.
So Broad fiction you say - Let me define it - Can be fiction that is broad in scope. But - I prefer:
FICTION FOR BROAD'S!!!!!!
Yeehaw!
Misty - very much a broad :)
I am hereby calling this Broad Fiction and all other single title book ideas that I have will henceforth also be known as Broad Fiction, not women's fiction (though I assume I'll use that in a query letter - because Broad ficton might not be well known yet!), not Mainstream fiction with romantic elements, not a novel, or a literary journey. Oh no, not me.
So Broad fiction you say - Let me define it - Can be fiction that is broad in scope. But - I prefer:
FICTION FOR BROAD'S!!!!!!
Yeehaw!
Misty - very much a broad :)
Monday, October 18, 2010
Rejection
Last week I got a rejection for a short story I had submitted. It was a fair rejection and I appreciated the time that the editor took to send me a personal message regarding why it didn't work for them. She also told me she sees potential in my work and would look forward to another submission. That is all fine and well and I do really mean that.
But sometimes you need to bolster yourself after a rejection. I know what you're saying, this is a business and she's not rejecting YOU. She's rejecting the manuscript. And maybe she had a bad day, or a fight with her significant other, or she had a rip in her panty hose, or she just got bitched out by her boss and THAT'S why she didn't see the brilliantness of my work.
I agree. It could be any one of those things. Or maybe she just didn't like it and it didn't resonate with her enough to want to look at it over and over during the next several months trying to edit and line edit and typo edit and go through galleys. Maybe she just didn't WANT it enough. And I assure you I want someone who WANTS my work, because I'll have to go through all that too.
Th point of this blog though is, what do you tell yourself to get through? I got this quote a couple days ago and it spoke to me...
Or maybe:
"If you're going through hell, keep going" - Winston Churchill
Maybe you subscribe to the burning of the rejection letter with incense and wicked thoughts in your heart :)
I'd like to know. Tell me what works for you and what makes you move past the feeling of let down when you thought you held something so tight and it slid through like sand.
Misty
P.S. I'm going to start chronicling some of my diabetes exploits. Today sucked as far as food goes since I just started eating the right things in the right amounts. Come back for more "What the hell did I just eat!" soon.
But sometimes you need to bolster yourself after a rejection. I know what you're saying, this is a business and she's not rejecting YOU. She's rejecting the manuscript. And maybe she had a bad day, or a fight with her significant other, or she had a rip in her panty hose, or she just got bitched out by her boss and THAT'S why she didn't see the brilliantness of my work.
I agree. It could be any one of those things. Or maybe she just didn't like it and it didn't resonate with her enough to want to look at it over and over during the next several months trying to edit and line edit and typo edit and go through galleys. Maybe she just didn't WANT it enough. And I assure you I want someone who WANTS my work, because I'll have to go through all that too.
Th point of this blog though is, what do you tell yourself to get through? I got this quote a couple days ago and it spoke to me...
"I discovered that rejections are not altogether a bad thing. They teach a writer to rely on his own judgment and to say in his heart of hearts, 'To hell with you.'"
~~~Saul Bellow
Or maybe:
"If you're going through hell, keep going" - Winston Churchill
Maybe you subscribe to the burning of the rejection letter with incense and wicked thoughts in your heart :)
I'd like to know. Tell me what works for you and what makes you move past the feeling of let down when you thought you held something so tight and it slid through like sand.
Misty
P.S. I'm going to start chronicling some of my diabetes exploits. Today sucked as far as food goes since I just started eating the right things in the right amounts. Come back for more "What the hell did I just eat!" soon.
Monday, October 11, 2010
My Friend Flo
Did you ever have a friend who challenged you? Who made you better than you are? Who made you think twice and then think again about your path? I have and last week marked the first year since her passing. I don't like to call it an anniversary since there is really not a lot to celebrate. But then I thought and I thought again and I thought once more. And maybe there is.
Flo came into my life during a writing challenge like NaNoWriMo which starts next month. In fact it was Oct 15th of 2004 when a big bunch of people decided they wanted the NaNo experience and the interaction but not the restriction of starting something totally new. We had deadlines, real and imagined, we had published and pre-published. We had those who were almost done and those who were starting out and didn't want to wait until Nov. 1st. So i took the reins (shocking, huh?) and started a group called Month To Write on Yahoo. We set goals. I was a cheerleader and a drill sergeant and whatever else anyone needed to get the fricking work DONE! Some feared me :) We came up with phrases to get us going. Most noteworthy BDB but I'm not going to explain that here :)
And then we got writing. We sweated, we swore. We accomplished a ton of work. And when the month was done, some people started to drift off and on to other things. The month was up, we'd done what we set out to do and it was time. But for others, we hung around and kept writing. And then a few more found other paths and went their own direction. We ended up with a core group of seven of us.
Sometimes we would go months without really posting anything then someone would pop on to say hi and the back and forth was fast and furious. And then life would intrude. And the cycle would begin again. Things got steadier and we all started getting to really know each other as people not just writers. We shared pregnancies, births, miscarriages, moves, deaths of parents and set backs. We cheered when someone got a contract/agent/new release. We sighed and commiserated when rejection came or something we thought we held tight in our hands dissolved like sugar in a glass of warm water. Some of us left only to come back again. But we were cohesive and those who left always came back :)
And there was Flo Moyer who had written as Florence Moyer and Hayley Gardner and was starting her career for the third time as Florence Case. She gave me my first ever quote to be put on the front of Poison Ivy. She was a mentor, a friend, always there with some quirky piece of information or a quote or an anecdote. She sent me emails on writing and listened to me bitch. I read her work and critiqued for her, cried in joy when she got a contract with Love Inspired Suspense and the second time too. Was honored when she put me and the other girly whirlies in her dedication.
I loved her and love her still.
But she went to be with God last September and it was one of the bleakest days of my life, to know that that spirit, that generosity was now out of my reach. But was it? I think of her often. I can hear her say I can do this just get my butt in the chair. And the girly whirlies and I were talking about her the other day, about sending her family a card. And I thought about how much she was hurting before she passed on. And I thought about how we pass around a writing muse named Larry sometimes. And I wrote "... I miss her too and wish she were here but i bet she and Larry are having a grand old time where she no longer hurts except if she's been laughing too hard."
May you laugh long and hard, Flo, and never feel pain again. I'll see you up there and join right in the joke.
Misty
Flo came into my life during a writing challenge like NaNoWriMo which starts next month. In fact it was Oct 15th of 2004 when a big bunch of people decided they wanted the NaNo experience and the interaction but not the restriction of starting something totally new. We had deadlines, real and imagined, we had published and pre-published. We had those who were almost done and those who were starting out and didn't want to wait until Nov. 1st. So i took the reins (shocking, huh?) and started a group called Month To Write on Yahoo. We set goals. I was a cheerleader and a drill sergeant and whatever else anyone needed to get the fricking work DONE! Some feared me :) We came up with phrases to get us going. Most noteworthy BDB but I'm not going to explain that here :)
And then we got writing. We sweated, we swore. We accomplished a ton of work. And when the month was done, some people started to drift off and on to other things. The month was up, we'd done what we set out to do and it was time. But for others, we hung around and kept writing. And then a few more found other paths and went their own direction. We ended up with a core group of seven of us.
Sometimes we would go months without really posting anything then someone would pop on to say hi and the back and forth was fast and furious. And then life would intrude. And the cycle would begin again. Things got steadier and we all started getting to really know each other as people not just writers. We shared pregnancies, births, miscarriages, moves, deaths of parents and set backs. We cheered when someone got a contract/agent/new release. We sighed and commiserated when rejection came or something we thought we held tight in our hands dissolved like sugar in a glass of warm water. Some of us left only to come back again. But we were cohesive and those who left always came back :)
And there was Flo Moyer who had written as Florence Moyer and Hayley Gardner and was starting her career for the third time as Florence Case. She gave me my first ever quote to be put on the front of Poison Ivy. She was a mentor, a friend, always there with some quirky piece of information or a quote or an anecdote. She sent me emails on writing and listened to me bitch. I read her work and critiqued for her, cried in joy when she got a contract with Love Inspired Suspense and the second time too. Was honored when she put me and the other girly whirlies in her dedication.
I loved her and love her still.
But she went to be with God last September and it was one of the bleakest days of my life, to know that that spirit, that generosity was now out of my reach. But was it? I think of her often. I can hear her say I can do this just get my butt in the chair. And the girly whirlies and I were talking about her the other day, about sending her family a card. And I thought about how much she was hurting before she passed on. And I thought about how we pass around a writing muse named Larry sometimes. And I wrote "... I miss her too and wish she were here but i bet she and Larry are having a grand old time where she no longer hurts except if she's been laughing too hard."
May you laugh long and hard, Flo, and never feel pain again. I'll see you up there and join right in the joke.
Misty
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Renn Faire fun!
If you have never been to the Renaissance Faire and you live in PA or the surrounding states, I highly recommend you go. Where else can you be insulted or cajoled by people sitting on top of walls? Have the queen acknowledge you and have peasants genuflect when you walk by in your costume? I didn't dress up this year but I have before. And it was fun.
This year though it was all about the jeans and the sneakers. Though I did wear a peasant blouse I bought from a Fairy Festival a few years ago and put on my Celtic knot necklace :)
Anyhoo! we watched a circus and a magic show and a joust, a human chess game, jugglers and a guy on really tall stilts that had old time white leather baby shoes on the bottom. I got to step over fake drunks sprawled in the middle of the road and warn people away from the frisky guy playing his ukulele on the wall by Ms. Cluckie's Hen House.
Really. Don't miss it :) It was a wonderful "gathering day"* for this author who is feeling a little unraveled right now. I have thought recently that my brain was in danger of leaking out of my ear. But then Saturday happened and the following seemed more possible - I'm signing up for NaNo and have a 50/50 starting up in my chapter. And my writing goal for this month is to finish this damn book. I needed a gthering day and it feels like it stoked my fire for getting back to the writing and shored up the leak in the brain. Which is always good :)
Have a good day!
Misty
*gathering day is a term courtesy of Jane Yolen and found in the book Take Joy: A Book For Writers - another thing I highly recommend to get your brain back where it belongs or at least keep in mostly intact!
This year though it was all about the jeans and the sneakers. Though I did wear a peasant blouse I bought from a Fairy Festival a few years ago and put on my Celtic knot necklace :)
Anyhoo! we watched a circus and a magic show and a joust, a human chess game, jugglers and a guy on really tall stilts that had old time white leather baby shoes on the bottom. I got to step over fake drunks sprawled in the middle of the road and warn people away from the frisky guy playing his ukulele on the wall by Ms. Cluckie's Hen House.
Really. Don't miss it :) It was a wonderful "gathering day"* for this author who is feeling a little unraveled right now. I have thought recently that my brain was in danger of leaking out of my ear. But then Saturday happened and the following seemed more possible - I'm signing up for NaNo and have a 50/50 starting up in my chapter. And my writing goal for this month is to finish this damn book. I needed a gthering day and it feels like it stoked my fire for getting back to the writing and shored up the leak in the brain. Which is always good :)
Have a good day!
Misty
*gathering day is a term courtesy of Jane Yolen and found in the book Take Joy: A Book For Writers - another thing I highly recommend to get your brain back where it belongs or at least keep in mostly intact!
Wednesday, October 06, 2010
New Blog worth checking out!
Hi! I have the privilege of being friends with one of the women starting this great new blog and wanted to post the link for anyone interested. Here's their blurb :)
"Welcome to Novel Adventurers, the blog that celebrates the great cultural diversity of our planet. We are four suspense novelists whose books and stories are set in locations around the world, from Turkey, Iran, and South America to Russia, India, and New York. In the coming weeks and months, join us for lively discussions of the cross-cultural adventures and misadventures that inspire our books. We will showcase our favorite travel destinations and review international movies, books, and plays. And don't miss Fridays, when we invite guest bloggers to tell us about their own journeys off the beaten path."
And here is the link. I hope you'll go check out my friend Alli and her cohorts :)
http://noveladventurers.blogspot.com
Have fun and tell her I sent you!
Misty
"Welcome to Novel Adventurers, the blog that celebrates the great cultural diversity of our planet. We are four suspense novelists whose books and stories are set in locations around the world, from Turkey, Iran, and South America to Russia, India, and New York. In the coming weeks and months, join us for lively discussions of the cross-cultural adventures and misadventures that inspire our books. We will showcase our favorite travel destinations and review international movies, books, and plays. And don't miss Fridays, when we invite guest bloggers to tell us about their own journeys off the beaten path."
And here is the link. I hope you'll go check out my friend Alli and her cohorts :)
http://noveladventurers.blogspot.com
Have fun and tell her I sent you!
Misty
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Facebook is a funny thing
I have to laugh about facebook. I actually have people who are asking to be my friends that I have not seen or heard from since Junior High and it is a blast! SO cool to see people all grown up, to see some of them have their JH pics on there pages and I can say, LOL I knew you when! And now I am also connecting with some of the people I had to leave behind when we moved here from CA. I haven't used it much to talk to everyone since I have been playing way too much FrontierVille, but it's cool to be able to see everyone or have a name pop up in my inbox that I haven't seen or heard in forever.
I also got to see my nieces and nephews and inlaws online and chat for the first time in a long time. All very cool! Now if I could just dedicate myself to my writing the way I dedicated myself to feeding the damn chickens and ox in my new town, I should be a go!
Misty
I also got to see my nieces and nephews and inlaws online and chat for the first time in a long time. All very cool! Now if I could just dedicate myself to my writing the way I dedicated myself to feeding the damn chickens and ox in my new town, I should be a go!
Misty
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Baby, I'm LIVE!
Okay, I've had a kid and so I know what it feels like to hold new life that came from you for the first time. And this isn't quite like that, but it's freaking close!!!!!
I just jumped over to bigfishgames.com where I buy games (all the time - don't tell my husband) and lo and behold THERE IS ROYAL TROUBLE!!!! OMG OMG OMG! So very exciting to see it on an official gaming site. With "hilarious characters" in the pitch and all :) I hope you'll go check it out. I am so very excited to have been a part of this and to see it all come together so awesomely! YEEHAW!
I just jumped over to bigfishgames.com where I buy games (all the time - don't tell my husband) and lo and behold THERE IS ROYAL TROUBLE!!!! OMG OMG OMG! So very exciting to see it on an official gaming site. With "hilarious characters" in the pitch and all :) I hope you'll go check it out. I am so very excited to have been a part of this and to see it all come together so awesomely! YEEHAW!
Tuesday, September 07, 2010
Horrorfind Recap
So I went to Horrorfind weekend in Gettysburg this last weekend with my husband and while horror is not my usual thing, I will say that I had a great time. There were many things there that I just did not get (AT ALL! like the cross with the skeleton and barbed wire that gets hung on your wall, or the movie called Human Centipede!) but there were many more that I loved. I am SO going to write a horror novel. Seriously! It will be fantastic and gross and damaging :) Heehee!
One thing I totally got while there was talking with other authors at their tables where they were hawking their books. Spent some time with a guy named Stephen Anthony who is making a go of it through self-publishing. I was wearing my Rejection Builds Character t-shirt and he said, "Let me guess, you're a writer" LOL! Nothing like bonding :) Oh, and THEN we bonded over the fact that he has his book cover on his arm as a tattoo and I have mine on my back - pics are on the internet for those who haven't seen mine :)
His picture is below but first lets talk about the book I bought from him. It's dark, it's angsty, it scared the bejesus out of me with a few stories (yikes on the reindeer and Mr. Jolly!). But there were several that I absolutely loved and I highly recommend picking up your very own copy of COSM - a collection of 16 short stories. He was fun and funny (which you know I love) and we had a good time yakking about writing and various other stuff. And I even got him to do a cheesy smile pic with me. He was going to go for serious and scary but you know how persuasive I can be! Huge thanks to Stephen for his book which kept me up really late and then followed me into my nightmares. You should buy the book, people. You want to buy the book. You must buy the book...
Or Paulie might come and get you (have to read Cosm to figure out what I mean!)
Here we are! Like two freaks on dress down prom night. But where in the hell is my corsage?!?!?
One thing I totally got while there was talking with other authors at their tables where they were hawking their books. Spent some time with a guy named Stephen Anthony who is making a go of it through self-publishing. I was wearing my Rejection Builds Character t-shirt and he said, "Let me guess, you're a writer" LOL! Nothing like bonding :) Oh, and THEN we bonded over the fact that he has his book cover on his arm as a tattoo and I have mine on my back - pics are on the internet for those who haven't seen mine :)
His picture is below but first lets talk about the book I bought from him. It's dark, it's angsty, it scared the bejesus out of me with a few stories (yikes on the reindeer and Mr. Jolly!). But there were several that I absolutely loved and I highly recommend picking up your very own copy of COSM - a collection of 16 short stories. He was fun and funny (which you know I love) and we had a good time yakking about writing and various other stuff. And I even got him to do a cheesy smile pic with me. He was going to go for serious and scary but you know how persuasive I can be! Huge thanks to Stephen for his book which kept me up really late and then followed me into my nightmares. You should buy the book, people. You want to buy the book. You must buy the book...
Or Paulie might come and get you (have to read Cosm to figure out what I mean!)
Here we are! Like two freaks on dress down prom night. But where in the hell is my corsage?!?!?
Thursday, September 02, 2010
ROYAL TROUBLE is coming!
Okay so I said I would let you know if I heard about when things were popping for Royal Trouble and they're going off like popcorn in a tin kettle!
The game - a casual downloadable game with adventure, romance and hidden object qualities - will be released from the OrchidGames.com website on Saturday (yeeee!)! I highly recommend it even with my bias :)
Here is a link to the first preview/review that I've seen:
http://www.gamezebo.com/download-games/royal-trouble/preview
And here's the snippet from that site that applies to what I did! I wrote the dialogue (just as a refresher for you) after the story was given to me by one of the creators. They think I'm funny! Go figure :)
"...writing seems to be one of Royal Trouble's strong points as well. Even though we could only spend a limited amount of time with our preview demo, there were plenty of funny moments and light-hearted dialog that moved ahead at a good clip."
And once you play all the way through the game (after you buy it of course) then you will see my name under the Dialogue heading. This is so much fun!
Misty - who is happy dancing to her own tune
The game - a casual downloadable game with adventure, romance and hidden object qualities - will be released from the OrchidGames.com website on Saturday (yeeee!)! I highly recommend it even with my bias :)
Here is a link to the first preview/review that I've seen:
http://www.gamezebo.com/download-games/royal-trouble/preview
And here's the snippet from that site that applies to what I did! I wrote the dialogue (just as a refresher for you) after the story was given to me by one of the creators. They think I'm funny! Go figure :)
"...writing seems to be one of Royal Trouble's strong points as well. Even though we could only spend a limited amount of time with our preview demo, there were plenty of funny moments and light-hearted dialog that moved ahead at a good clip."
And once you play all the way through the game (after you buy it of course) then you will see my name under the Dialogue heading. This is so much fun!
Misty - who is happy dancing to her own tune
Booksigning Pics!
Natalie, who is lovely, just reminded me that I never did post those pics of the book signing. So here you go!
This is the view of our table from the side.
Me and the lovely Natalie Damschroder.
The Byron Sandwich! Me, Byron and Vicki Smith.
Me, Heather (event planner extraordinaire!) and Vicki Smith.
Me and my Stormtrooper buddies from the 501st!
Me misbehaving! I know, it's just not possible, but they were misinformed. It wasn't me!
Okay, so what I did was actually worse :) And I got me some Stormtrooper action to top it all off!
And that's it! Thanks so much to Natalie for the pictures!
Misty
This is the view of our table from the side.
Me and the lovely Natalie Damschroder.
The Byron Sandwich! Me, Byron and Vicki Smith.
Me, Heather (event planner extraordinaire!) and Vicki Smith.
Me and my Stormtrooper buddies from the 501st!
Me misbehaving! I know, it's just not possible, but they were misinformed. It wasn't me!
Okay, so what I did was actually worse :) And I got me some Stormtrooper action to top it all off!And that's it! Thanks so much to Natalie for the pictures!
Misty
Monday, August 30, 2010
Back to School!
I find myself completely amazed that today is the first day of school. Where oh where did the summer go? We went to the pool. we went to the beach for three days, we did little day trips and sleepovers, but it doesn't feel like a whole summer passed already. Weird. I wonder if this means that I going to be saying - Why is it Christmas already?!?! anytime soon!
So I have to laugh at myself because I haven't been submitting much material lately and now I have three submissions out. LOL! Feels good though! But the waiting...OY!
Since this is a catch up post, I must also make mention of the fact that the casual hidden object game, Royal Trouble, that I talked about in a previous post is now essentially DONE! Woo! I'm waiting to find out a release date for those who have expressed interest. I'll let you know as soon as I do.
Last but not least, I hope to have a more productive year in the rest of 2010 than the first part of it. I'm busy writing my little heart out after several personal setbacks. Here's to the remainder of 2010 ROCKING THE CASBAH!!!!
Misty
So I have to laugh at myself because I haven't been submitting much material lately and now I have three submissions out. LOL! Feels good though! But the waiting...OY!
Since this is a catch up post, I must also make mention of the fact that the casual hidden object game, Royal Trouble, that I talked about in a previous post is now essentially DONE! Woo! I'm waiting to find out a release date for those who have expressed interest. I'll let you know as soon as I do.
Last but not least, I hope to have a more productive year in the rest of 2010 than the first part of it. I'm busy writing my little heart out after several personal setbacks. Here's to the remainder of 2010 ROCKING THE CASBAH!!!!
Misty
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Funny thing happened on the way to the store today...
Okay, so today we had an awesome, fantastic book signing with 34 total authors at the Lebanon Valley Mall. I LURVE Heather who is the coordinator because she rocks and Borders is lucky to have her! So are we! Vicky B, Smith, Megan and Natalie and I were all next to each other naturally :) We talked, we laughed, everyone else took pictures because I forgot the camera my husband had packed for me in the car. Totally typical.
A rumor hit my little ears earlier this week that there were going to be Storm Troopers at the event. I was excited but nothing compared to my husband who immediately asked if they were part of the 501st. I'm with you, I said "HUH?!!?!" Then good nerd that my lovely husband is he pulled up a site about them and how they are the elite of the dress up crowd for Storm Troopers. Color me impressed. So of course today when the Storm Troopers showed up I couldn't resist asking if they were part of the 501st and the answer was a thumbs up! My husband was so jealous. LOL! Got my pic taken with them multiple times, once on my knees under arrest and another in handcuffs :) Apparently I was wanted on at least three planets! Waiting to share those since I am relying on Natalie to get them to me off her camera (remember mine was in the car - useless!). Will post as soon as I can.
Not so funny, but lovely and so incredibly brave, I met a man named Dashaun "Jiwe" Morris. Lord above I bought his book War of the Bloods in My Veins. I'm not going to get into too much history because this isn't the place, but I have experience from my growing up years that is going to make this doubly hard to read, but it has already captured me and I'm only 8 pages in. He writes slang so fluidly and so brutally honest. I know I'm going to cry but meeting him was an honor and a privilege.
And to top it all off on a fun and funny note, which is what we're all about here at Big Writer! I met Byron Morrison, who is a lovely lovely man and I swear (poor thing) my male counterpart. We were very naughty together and had a blast. Insta friend! You have to check out his stuff :) Very dark and yet he had me rolling on the floor (almost, though I did rub his head). I will link when I find one.
Also, one more and then....20% of the proceeds went to fund the library in the area and we made more than last year. Can't beat that with a stick! All in all a good day and reminds me why I became an author in the first place! I love talking to people about writing and encouraging them to read. And I have at least 8 new readers with my 11 books I sold today. WOOT!
Misty
A rumor hit my little ears earlier this week that there were going to be Storm Troopers at the event. I was excited but nothing compared to my husband who immediately asked if they were part of the 501st. I'm with you, I said "HUH?!!?!" Then good nerd that my lovely husband is he pulled up a site about them and how they are the elite of the dress up crowd for Storm Troopers. Color me impressed. So of course today when the Storm Troopers showed up I couldn't resist asking if they were part of the 501st and the answer was a thumbs up! My husband was so jealous. LOL! Got my pic taken with them multiple times, once on my knees under arrest and another in handcuffs :) Apparently I was wanted on at least three planets! Waiting to share those since I am relying on Natalie to get them to me off her camera (remember mine was in the car - useless!). Will post as soon as I can.
Not so funny, but lovely and so incredibly brave, I met a man named Dashaun "Jiwe" Morris. Lord above I bought his book War of the Bloods in My Veins. I'm not going to get into too much history because this isn't the place, but I have experience from my growing up years that is going to make this doubly hard to read, but it has already captured me and I'm only 8 pages in. He writes slang so fluidly and so brutally honest. I know I'm going to cry but meeting him was an honor and a privilege.
And to top it all off on a fun and funny note, which is what we're all about here at Big Writer! I met Byron Morrison, who is a lovely lovely man and I swear (poor thing) my male counterpart. We were very naughty together and had a blast. Insta friend! You have to check out his stuff :) Very dark and yet he had me rolling on the floor (almost, though I did rub his head). I will link when I find one.
Also, one more and then....20% of the proceeds went to fund the library in the area and we made more than last year. Can't beat that with a stick! All in all a good day and reminds me why I became an author in the first place! I love talking to people about writing and encouraging them to read. And I have at least 8 new readers with my 11 books I sold today. WOOT!
Misty
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Progress is gooooooood
for the liver.
Seriously though, I managed to cut an entire chapter of the manuscript today and start somewhere completely new. I wrote two new pages which I haven't done in a while now with everything we've had going on. I won't say I'm back in the groove since that would be a lie for what my groove used to be. And yet I feel hopeful because I might be nearing the groove :) That's always a good thing.
Grooveless=bad
Nearly groovy=good
So good it is :)
Have a good night.
Misty
Seriously though, I managed to cut an entire chapter of the manuscript today and start somewhere completely new. I wrote two new pages which I haven't done in a while now with everything we've had going on. I won't say I'm back in the groove since that would be a lie for what my groove used to be. And yet I feel hopeful because I might be nearing the groove :) That's always a good thing.
Grooveless=bad
Nearly groovy=good
So good it is :)
Have a good night.
Misty
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Writing, Playing and Figuring Stuff out
So HELLO! How's everyone doing? Summer is finally upon us and I am feeling good. I have a book that needs to be seriously edited/rewritten/revised that hopefully will come out from Draumr Publishing in the next six or seven months called Strings Attached. It's part of a series that Rida Allen started with The Crooner. Good stuff that! My hero is a guitar player which is a career I've never written before. And I think my heroine has just become an electrician instead of a magazine writer. LOL!
I'm also working on writing the text/story for an online game. If you've never played a hidden object game I suggest you go at least play a free trial over at bigfishgames.com or Spin Top Games. Both great places with a lot of fantastic games. So back to my part. Orchid Games, who has put out several beautiful Solitaire games asked me to help them write a hidden object game that has really turned into an adventure game. The experience has been very cool! I never have had to depend on only dialogue to convey the story and let me tell you it is HARD to make a romance happen when you primarily have them talking to each other through letters and tubes! I can't wait for it to come out! We're almost done :)
I also have a submission out with a newer digital publisher that I am waiting for word on, though I don't expect to hear anything until August on that.
And finally, I am targeting Superromance with my next new project. This line at Harlequin has been my favorite for years! I flirted with submitting to them before and have received several very positive rejections from them over the years but I've never submitted consistently to them. I hope to do so with my current project. I love the stories they put out and would be proud to call myself one of their authors! There I said it, and now that it is in black and white I feel like I've solidified it for myself.
Phew! That was a long post after a long absence. :) If you've read this blog at all, you'll know that I hate to say I'm going to do this more often because I always end up disappointing myself. But I will say I'm going to try now that I have some really positive stuff going on and hoping to make more positives happen.
Take care,
Misty
I'm also working on writing the text/story for an online game. If you've never played a hidden object game I suggest you go at least play a free trial over at bigfishgames.com or Spin Top Games. Both great places with a lot of fantastic games. So back to my part. Orchid Games, who has put out several beautiful Solitaire games asked me to help them write a hidden object game that has really turned into an adventure game. The experience has been very cool! I never have had to depend on only dialogue to convey the story and let me tell you it is HARD to make a romance happen when you primarily have them talking to each other through letters and tubes! I can't wait for it to come out! We're almost done :)
I also have a submission out with a newer digital publisher that I am waiting for word on, though I don't expect to hear anything until August on that.
And finally, I am targeting Superromance with my next new project. This line at Harlequin has been my favorite for years! I flirted with submitting to them before and have received several very positive rejections from them over the years but I've never submitted consistently to them. I hope to do so with my current project. I love the stories they put out and would be proud to call myself one of their authors! There I said it, and now that it is in black and white I feel like I've solidified it for myself.
Phew! That was a long post after a long absence. :) If you've read this blog at all, you'll know that I hate to say I'm going to do this more often because I always end up disappointing myself. But I will say I'm going to try now that I have some really positive stuff going on and hoping to make more positives happen.
Take care,
Misty
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
New Book Out!
No, not one of mine, though I hope to have something new soon :) But a friend of mine, Victoria Allen, has a new release today called Aces and Eights and I highly encourage you to run on over to Captiva Press and get one of your very own. It's a short, erotic romance tale and looks fascinating! So speed mouse, don't click through websites and get yourself a slice of Victoria Allen!
Since I have never mastered the whole embedding links thing so it has a cute little HERE that you can click, here's the whole link:
http://placidapublishing.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=18_20&products_id=8
Until later :)
Misty
Since I have never mastered the whole embedding links thing so it has a cute little HERE that you can click, here's the whole link:
http://placidapublishing.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=18_20&products_id=8
Until later :)
Misty
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Snow, snow and more SNOW!
Well, I haven't been here though I have no excuse. Moving on...
I am totally addicted to hidden object games. I just had to put that out there. Something about finding all the hidden things and especially when they are mixed with adventure games. LOVE! And now I get to help write one!!!! Woot! It will hopefully be coming out through Orchid Games. I highly recommend going over to orchidgames.com and picking up one of their solitaire games. THEY ROCK! But be prepared to get sucked in and do nothing else. I'm just warning you...
On the writing front, there isn't much right now other than I am writing every day, even when I don't really want to. Which is good for me. Grows character!
Ta for now! Off to more writing where I wrangle my muse and hog tie him while I type out my five pages.
Misty
I am totally addicted to hidden object games. I just had to put that out there. Something about finding all the hidden things and especially when they are mixed with adventure games. LOVE! And now I get to help write one!!!! Woot! It will hopefully be coming out through Orchid Games. I highly recommend going over to orchidgames.com and picking up one of their solitaire games. THEY ROCK! But be prepared to get sucked in and do nothing else. I'm just warning you...
On the writing front, there isn't much right now other than I am writing every day, even when I don't really want to. Which is good for me. Grows character!
Ta for now! Off to more writing where I wrangle my muse and hog tie him while I type out my five pages.
Misty
Monday, February 01, 2010
Back from the Be-ach!
Okay, so I went to the beach in Delaware because one of my awesome friends bought a beach house and let us take a test run. I am in love and can't wait to go back. I do not have a cool time line break down of what I was doing there like Natalie. Nor do I have a rambling one like Vicki Smith (or Wiki Smit if you have listened to our impromptu ridiculousness on Megan's Twitter or Facebook about microwaves). I do not have a thorough one like Vicky Burkholder either. But that doesn't mean I didn't have a blast :)
It was wonderful and so very relaxing. Lots of writing done. Since I am trying something new I decided in my normal all or nothing fashion to try it completely new and took out my tablet and chisel. Just kidding, but I am writing this book long hand which on the one hand is like OMG it's going to take FOREVER and I can type much faster, and on the other hand it is very freeing and has forced me to think a little bit more before moving on to the next word or phrase. If I had a third hand, I would say it was fun (and I'd be a favorite at stag parties!).
I wrote about 55 hand written pages in a cool composition notebook like the ones I used to use in elementary school for english stuff - generously donated by Wiki Smit since it was the one fricking tool I did not bring. I had my laptop and AlphaSmart and yet still wrote it out long hand. But it's working. And honestly that's all that matters to me :)
I will say that it snowed between 7 and 10 inches while we were there. Seriously! Snowing on the beach. It was awesome. The whole thing was.
Misty
It was wonderful and so very relaxing. Lots of writing done. Since I am trying something new I decided in my normal all or nothing fashion to try it completely new and took out my tablet and chisel. Just kidding, but I am writing this book long hand which on the one hand is like OMG it's going to take FOREVER and I can type much faster, and on the other hand it is very freeing and has forced me to think a little bit more before moving on to the next word or phrase. If I had a third hand, I would say it was fun (and I'd be a favorite at stag parties!).
I wrote about 55 hand written pages in a cool composition notebook like the ones I used to use in elementary school for english stuff - generously donated by Wiki Smit since it was the one fricking tool I did not bring. I had my laptop and AlphaSmart and yet still wrote it out long hand. But it's working. And honestly that's all that matters to me :)
I will say that it snowed between 7 and 10 inches while we were there. Seriously! Snowing on the beach. It was awesome. The whole thing was.
Misty
Monday, January 25, 2010
Week 2 and dreaming
Actually - and surprisingly - I'm doing very well on my habitforge stuff. It's amazing what having to say no and start over again will do to my psyche :)
Have you ever had a dream that seems so real you wake up and have to take a moment to reorient yourself to the real world? I had one the other night and shot straight up in bed, absolutely convinced that my husband had divorced me and we had a second child that I could not for the life of me find. It was very disconcerting, not to mention that it started my whole day off poorly. I wonder why they seem so real and what they are all about. Needless to say, my husband is not planning on getting rid of me (not that I know of LOL! He doesn't even know our bank account number without asking me, I think he'd have a hard time functioning) and we are definitely not having any more children, but it was really strange. Have you ever dreamed of something so real it hurts to wake up?
I have a book that details what certain dreams mean but I've never been able to effectively use it. I either can't remember what exactly happened or nothing specific stands out to be interpreted. I don't think I've ever dreamed of falling, there are no specific animals in my dreams, or watches, or dark trees, or anything like that. But I do have recurring dreams of certains rooms or houses I've never been in. I always own them and they look either Victorian or Medieval to me :) I have no idea.
I took a class once and have read many books that suggest thinking about a problem in your story before you go to bed and you will often dream about the answer, your subconscious doing the work for you while you are asleep. Inevitably I have some freaky dream that involves chickens running around or being in high school again though I'm my current age while every one else is the age they were then.
So that doesn't exactly work :) Is there anything you do to control your dreams?
Just wondering :)
Misty
Have you ever had a dream that seems so real you wake up and have to take a moment to reorient yourself to the real world? I had one the other night and shot straight up in bed, absolutely convinced that my husband had divorced me and we had a second child that I could not for the life of me find. It was very disconcerting, not to mention that it started my whole day off poorly. I wonder why they seem so real and what they are all about. Needless to say, my husband is not planning on getting rid of me (not that I know of LOL! He doesn't even know our bank account number without asking me, I think he'd have a hard time functioning) and we are definitely not having any more children, but it was really strange. Have you ever dreamed of something so real it hurts to wake up?
I have a book that details what certain dreams mean but I've never been able to effectively use it. I either can't remember what exactly happened or nothing specific stands out to be interpreted. I don't think I've ever dreamed of falling, there are no specific animals in my dreams, or watches, or dark trees, or anything like that. But I do have recurring dreams of certains rooms or houses I've never been in. I always own them and they look either Victorian or Medieval to me :) I have no idea.
I took a class once and have read many books that suggest thinking about a problem in your story before you go to bed and you will often dream about the answer, your subconscious doing the work for you while you are asleep. Inevitably I have some freaky dream that involves chickens running around or being in high school again though I'm my current age while every one else is the age they were then.
So that doesn't exactly work :) Is there anything you do to control your dreams?
Just wondering :)
Misty
Monday, January 18, 2010
Making and Breaking Habits
I am not one for making resolutions, especially since whenever I have in the past I've always broken them. But a new site HabitForge.com has come to my attention through my friend Natalie and it's too good to pass up. You set a goal, you have to do it for 21 days to make it a habit. Every day they email you to see if you've made your goal. If yes, you move on to the next day with a congrats. If not, you are back at square one, buddy, so soddy cho ta matty.
So I'm on there. I've done my goals every darn day and it rocks!!! Plus, the added embarrassment of having other people see that I have failed is enough to spark me :)
Try it out!
Misty
So I'm on there. I've done my goals every darn day and it rocks!!! Plus, the added embarrassment of having other people see that I have failed is enough to spark me :)
Try it out!
Misty
Monday, January 11, 2010
Back from winter vacation
Here I am! Had a great set of holidays and my birthday in there somewhere. My father actually bought me a book. He has never that I know of bought my birthday present, that is for my mom to do or for me to just get moolah, but he bought me a book MONTHS AGO! I am muy impressed and can't wait to dig in. It's called The Haunting of America. Go DAD!
Just finished a fabulous book by Susan Gourley. Her first fantasy and I am completely and utterly hooked on the series already. Come on, Sue, hurry up with the next one!
I honestly do not know why I ever say I am kicking around any certain idea or the genre I want to write it in. Inevitably (and invariably, for that matter) the very next thing I do is change my mind and feel like an idiot. So I'm not saying this time. Suffice it say that I've changed my mind and am tinkering with something else.
Misty
Just finished a fabulous book by Susan Gourley. Her first fantasy and I am completely and utterly hooked on the series already. Come on, Sue, hurry up with the next one!
I honestly do not know why I ever say I am kicking around any certain idea or the genre I want to write it in. Inevitably (and invariably, for that matter) the very next thing I do is change my mind and feel like an idiot. So I'm not saying this time. Suffice it say that I've changed my mind and am tinkering with something else.
Misty
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