Is That a New Post I See?

Yes, it is!  You are not imagining things.  I finally found the time to update my readers on my life since my last post.

1.  I have bridged the gap I was working on in "The Shepherdess Princess," so now I can continue on with the rest of the story.

2.  I've decided to add a bibliography to the back of the manuscript to show my readers what resources I used in bringing the story together.  I've been working on that for the past few hours at the local library because some of the information I printed out from online resources didn't have website information and such.

I'm mostly done with the bibliography now except for the several documents I printed out that has the website information.  I have mostly Wikipedia articles to add to the bibliography now, and then I'll be done with that.

3.  I have started compiling a list of possible publishers I can send my manuscript to when it's done.  Yes, I am that close to being done with the book!  ;)  If I hunker down and write, I'm planning on being finished by October 8th, 2013.  Halloween at the latest!

TEASER

For being such a patient group of followers, here is another teaser from "The Shepherdess Princess" for your reading pleasure:

            As Jazelle and Philippe were walking out of the woods, side-by-side, Jazelle couldn’t help bringing up a subject that was still nagging at her.  “Philippe,” she began, anxious to think what the outcome might be, “Can I ask you to clarify something for me?”

            “Of course,” Philippe croaked out, wondering if he’d live to regret what came next.

            “Back there you said that you were withholding information to protect those you know and love,” Jazelle said, heart racing, “Does that include me?”

            Jazelle’s words caused Philippe to stop in his tracks, and face her.  What should I say? He thought, Should I finally come out with how I truly feel about her?  Would she reject me, or accept me without knowing everything about me?  “Of course, I love you,” Philippe admitted, “You’re my best friend, my only friend, that I’m really close to around here.”

            “I love you, too,” Jazelle’s face beamed as she threw her arms around his neck, and their lips met in a steamy kiss.

            “Whoa,” Philippe said once he was able to push her away before the kiss deepened anymore than it already had, “I didn’t mean it that way!” He lied.

            “Oh, I’m so embarrassed,” Jazelle replied, covering her face with her hands.

            “Don’t be,” Philippe said in an attempt to console her, “I liked it!”

            “Pig,” Jazelle said before pushing him aside as she stormed off.

            All Philippe could do was stand there and chuckle as  he watched her from behind.  “You know, you’re kind of cute when you’re pretending to be angry,” he called out to her.

            Jazelle stopped, turned around, and went charging back to him.  SMACK! Her right hand slapped his cheek so hard it began throbbing instantly.  He dropped the bread he carried onto the ground as his hand flew up to caress the red mark now forming there.  She hurt her hand, too, but was too pissed off to care about the pain as she left him again.

I hope I've left people salivating again.  Maybe the book will actually be distributed to the masses by the next time I have to share another teaser.

I Think I've Conquered my Writer's Block...

I guess my friend's contest was the jolt I needed to get out of my writer's block completely because after I shared the poem I wrote for the contest, I spent a sleepless night writing two more poems.  Here they are:

A Lover’s Lament

“Help me save her,” he pled

As multiple ideas flew around in my head.

I would love nothing more

To do what he asks, but for

Severals months I have been blocked

When it comes to them, and time ticks by on the clock

With his latest plea

Echoing inside of me.

I want to do what he asks,

But it seems like an insurmountable task.

My characters want me to finish what I began

Several years ago, and plan

To find a publisher for.

Teasers have left my fans wanting more.

I don’t like leaving a book unread,

So I’ll have to find time instead

To pluck the ideas from my head

For The Shepherdess Princess to be finished.  Enough said!

Searching for Words

I miss them, too,

And I feel blue

When I think of them

Waiting to be written.

I may not know them yet,

But I still get upset

When I think of all the possibilities

Awaiting my discovery.

I’m searching for words

Among voices unheard.

I will have to pay close attention

To release the friction.

I know it can be done,

And my challenge will be won.

Until the time comes, I have to rely

On my talent and the Big Man in the sky.

I now have a total of 45 pages in my poetry book- The Trifecta: A Collection of Poetry.

But that's not all...

I also spent part of the last couple nights working on The Shepherdess Princess some more.  I still have to figure out how I'm going to bridge a gap I have, but I'm going to start working on that tomorrow (Thursday) afternoon.  I did edit some of the story leading up to that spot, though.  Some sections seemed a little wordy, and some parts I wanted to change a descriptor.  I also broke out my French-English dictionary to change some of the dialog.  Don't worry!  I'm only using French words that everybody might know like oui for yes, monsieur for mister, mon princesse for my princess, and mon Dieu for my God.

I also wrote down part of a scene that's going to be near the end of the novel.  I'm going to be finishing that scene this weekend as well.  I had to leave it unfinished last night because I was tired, but it was also getting me a little bit hot and bothered while writing it.  *nudge, nudge, wink, wink, say no more*  ;) :)  I'll probably have to take a cold shower when I finish writing the scene anyway.  :D  If I had finished it before coming online tonight, I was thinking about sharing it as a new teaser.  That's only if I wouldn't get a reprimand from Google for having it on my blog.  :)  I do want to share a new teaser sometime, but that scene probably won't be it, so my fans will have to buy the book when it's finished to see that.

I have 83 pages total in The Shepherdess Princess so far.

A Contest Entry

My friend, Sara, started a contest on her blog to win a copy of her newest volume of poetry titled Alice at the Spa: Poems and More that was just published through Lulu.   The contest ends on July 31st, 2013.  I was the first entry with this poem:

Down the Rabbit Hole

Moonlight flowing in, dark as blood

How I long for its silvery light to flood

Over me, and save me

From the darkness enveloping me.

Day in and day out it's all the same

While the moon waxes and wanes.

A friend's challenge moves me to write a new poem,

And I'm finally feeling at home.

It's been so long for me creatively

That I jumped at the chance to break free.

Will this poem put an end

To the writing funk I've been in?

I've felt like Alice at the Spa

With my own rabbit hole to fall

Down as I grasp for reality

While fantasy surrounds me.

Whoever greets me in Wonderland,

Will make my life grand.

I would be more than happy to attend

An unbirthday party with all of my friends.

I had such a hard time writing this poem:  I rewrote several lines, I changed the title three times, and I had to change a word in the first line because I left something out.  I was beginning to wonder if I would ever finish writing the poem because of the obstacles I was facing.

I also feel like some people might not understand the significance of the last verse.  I was part of the drama club in High School and played the Dormouse in an interpretation of Alice in Wonderland.  My friend, Sara, who started this contest was The March Hare in the play.

Making a Crack in my Writer's Block...

The past two days I've actually been able to take time out of my day to work on "The Shepherdess Princess" some more.  It felt good to get the little bit down that I did, but I still feel like I have a long way to go.  I'm taking things one day at a time for now.

I've also been kicking around an idea to make some more progress in one of my volumes of poetry that I'm working on, but haven't completely decided if I want to go forward with it or leave what I have in the manuscript as is.  My idea has a lot of cutting and pasting involved.  I also have a poem in my notebook that needs to be rewritten completely.  I was having an off day when I wrote the poem several months ago, and it seems incoherent every time I reread it.  I've been thinking about working on that this weekend.

If the weather where I live isn't too bad, I was thinking about grabbing my writing materials and walking to a nearby park.  Sometimes the solitude, and communing with nature helps me creatively.  I'm also thinking of going somewhere that I could plug in my laptop for a bit, and take the time to write that way.  I was thinking the Public Library would be a good place for that, and I could use the free Wi-Fi access if I come across another subject that I might have to research.  I also might not do that because knowing I could go online would be a major distraction.  I would need somebody with me to hold me accountable, or something.

My First Writing Session of 2013!

After several months of inaction on the writing front, I have emerged a conqueror of writer's block.  I was able to add only a couple paragraphs over the weekend to "The Shepherdess Princess," but I'm still counting it as a victory because I haven't written anything new in so long.

I'm not sure yet when I'll get to make any more progress because I have to spend this coming weekend doing Spring cleaning.  Maybe I'll add a little more to my manuscript during a break from cleaning from time to time.

Beware the Inner Editor...

I've been trying really hard since I wrote my last blog entry to write a single word down in one of my novels, but my well feels like it has run dry.  I did have a few lines of a poem thought out a couple weeks ago, but I didn't have my notebook, or a pen handy.  The inevitable happened, and I couldn't remember a single word of the poem after I rushed to get a pen and paper.   I do have an idea forming in my head for the continuation of the chapter I'm writing in "The Shepherdess Princess," but that involves a little bit of a rewrite to make the transition flow better into the scene I plan on keeping and continue with the story from there.  It's not going to be a massive rewrite, but I'm kind of dreading sitting down to type it out because I don't want my inner editor to think she has free reign over the rest of the story up to that point, and she's already tried to get me to think of tidbits I could add in about one of my other characters earlier in the manuscript.  I think I will eventually succumb to my inner editor's bidding because I want to add more of a story line pertaining to a certain character, but I'm trying to keep her at bay until creatively I'm prepared to tackle what she wants me to do.  I'm also afraid if I add too much here and there in the beginning that I'll end up straying from the plot, and any potential readers of the final product would be very confused.

I have been spending a lot of my time lately reading several books.  The list is too extensive to share completely, but they have mainly been vampire-themed.  I'm currently reading "The Queen of the Damned" by Anne Rice which is the third book in the Vampire Chronicles.  I have requested book number four from the library: "The Tale of the Body Thief" since I'm almost done reading book number three.  Out of the entire series, "Interview With the Vampire," and "The Queen of the Damned" are the only ones that have been made into movies so far.

Happy New Year...

I can't believe another year has come and gone.  As a New Year and a new day dawns, I have thought of at least one resolution for myself to strive for:  I want to finish, and publish "The Shepherdess Princess."  I've been working on the manuscript for almost four years now, and I'm finally starting to "hear" from my characters again.  Last night I had a dream where my main male character asked me to help save his love.

I've been doing a lot of reading for the month of December to pass the time.  I've read: "Hidden" by PC and Kristin Cast; "Labyrinth: A Greywalker Novel" by Kat Richardson; "Twilight," "New Moon," and "Eclipse" by Stephenie Meyer; "Spirit Bound" by Richelle Mead; and "A Candlelit World" by Sara Megan Kay & Amanda Waley (Yes, I re-read a book I co-authored!  :) ).

So far in January, I've read "Downpour: A Greywalker Novel," and "Seawitch: A Greywalker Novel" by Kat Richardson; and "Eclipse" by Stephenie Meyer.  I'm currently reading "The Lincln Lawyer" by Michael Connelly.

I've also returned to working on "The Shepherdess Princess."  That's one of the reasons I haven't been able to come online very often lately.