Jen's Blog

Jennifer McKenzie

Romance--Boy meets girl. Romantic Suspense--Boy meets girl with dead bodies.

Wednesday, August 30, 2006

Sweeter Romantic Notions

ROUGH SEAS

33,865 / 55,000
(61.6%)

PEANUT BUTTER ROMANCE

5,415 / 20,000
(27.1%)

As you can see, I've started a new one. I'm not sure where this is going, but this one will probably be a Contemporary. NOT under the my erotic romance pen name. I'm just thrilled to be getting some stuff done.
The Wild Rose Press requested a full for "Perfect"......again. LOL. I hope the changes are to their liking. We'll see if I fixed it or messed it up. I submitted "Garden Of Sin" for The Wild Rose Press contest. I'm hoping to make an impression.
Nicest thing, though. The editor I emailed my query to said she had been thinking about "Perfect" and whether I rewrote it. It made some kind of impression.
The best thing is that one of the Divas, Diana Castilleja, with the help of a few of us (Crystal Jordan, Dayna Hart and me) has started a Yahoo group.
Sweeter Romantic Notions is a place for readers, writers and publishers of "sweet" romance. All the books and discussion will be PG-13 or cleaner. There are several authors that write sweet romance and the buzz isn't quite as "buzzy" for them. This site will create some buzz for them too.

If the link doesn't show up (cause they haven't lately) go to groups.yahoo.group/SweeterRomanticNotions/

Give it a try.
Question of the Day? What is your take on the Erotic Romance buzz? Why do you think it's so popular?

posted at 12:42 PM by Jennifer :: 0 comments

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Monday, August 28, 2006

Day of Writing!! Yayyy!

ROUGH SEAS

33,773 / 55,000
(61.4%)

Finally some progress in the writing department to report. With the start of school and preschool, I'm more likely to get some done.
I'm aiming for the Golden Heart Contest. I've just about got the contest entry ready for Wild Rose Press and "Perfect" is almost ready for resub.
I'm working away. Sometimes it feels that my progress is too slow, but I'm getting it.
So Stacy Holmes has a great blog about that "I write crap" feeling. Check it out.
Question of the Day? How do you handle "Isuckitis"? Do you even get it? I do. You've heard me complain about it. I'm getting better at just writing through it. How about you?

posted at 11:35 AM by Jennifer :: 0 comments

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First Day Of School

So it begins. Off my kids go to experience, for good or evil, the joys of school. Supposedly, this means some time to write today. So, we'll see.
Anyway, I am hoping tomorrow will have a great word count to add. I've got two subs for Wild Rose Press. "Perfect" is revamped and I'm getting ready to send it off for another try at getting accepted. "Garden Of Sin" is a contest entry for Wild Rose Press anthology competition. Both will go in this week (I hope). Both are under my pen name Jennifer Leeland.
Question of the Day? Does the first day of school change your routine, whether it's increased traffic or alone time or more work?

posted at 6:21 AM by Jennifer :: 0 comments

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Saturday, August 26, 2006

Another Pointless Video

Though I don't have a Mac. I can relate. This gets better as it goes along so watch the whole thing. He feels our pain.

posted at 10:06 PM by Jennifer :: 0 comments

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Friday, August 25, 2006

Things That Get In The Way Of Writing

OMG!!! So, without adding the whole rant about subflooring, dry rot and sheet rock, I will tell you that my bathroom is in pieces now. I had a contrator out and while that was going on more crisis occurred adding more fun to the mix. What this means? No writing. My brain is whirling anyway, so I don't know that I could write a word without beginning to include angry step fathers and broken plumbing. Real life is intruding.
I have a convention this weekend and a workshop I'm facilitating Saturday morning at 7am along. I have a doctor's appointment this afternoon, groceries to buy and my husband comes home tonight. Doing it all seems overwhelming.
Luckily, I know I only have to do one thing at a time. I only have to do what's in front of me. I'm itching to get work done on my book. I have to believe the time will be there to work on it. Dell starts school on Monday, Paul starts preschool, the bathroom will get fixed when it gets fixed and life will keep flowing.
You know, writing is a priviledge in my life. It's dessert. It's the extra whipped cream on a Mocha.
And I'm glad that's how it is. As long as I can remember that writing in the midst of chaos is a treat, it will never seem like a chore to me. Sure, there's edits, corrections, parts of a book that just won't move forward, characters that piss me off and so on. But the fact is that writing is my joy. It's the one thing I can do that makes my life more interesting.
If I hadn't decided almost a year ago, that I was going to write, FINISH and submit something (since my Dad never did and always wanted to), I never would have met some of the fellow authors who have made my life better. I wouldn't have made it to Romance Divas. I wouldn't have watched others struggle through their own personal and professional demons and come out the other end.
An example of another such author, who is bogged down by personal crisis and still writes amazing stuff is Lucy Monroe. That woman is a tremendous writer and takes care of her mother too. Her family has personal tragedy and joys that she doesn't hesitate to share with her blog readers. And she's prolific.
I watch other authors go through some tough times and thank God they share them on Romance Divas. I have wonderful examples of how to get through tough times and STILL get the work done.
Real life may intrude, but I remember "This Too Shall Pass". It doesn't go on forever. Now, if I can just remember "Easy Does It" I'll be able to breath a little.
Question of the Day? When real life intrudes, how do YOU deal with it? What things get in the way of your writing and how do you get back on track?

posted at 6:40 AM by Jennifer :: 0 comments

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Wednesday, August 23, 2006

Grrrrrrrrrr! Watch out for biting Mommy

Wow! Looks like this is going to be another rant blog. *Shrugs*. It's unintentional, I promise.

31,006 / 55,000
(56.4%)

As you can see, I did get some work done on "Rough Seas". And while I was pounding away on the keyboard, you won't believe what happened.

My childcare options this summer have been Justin, my best friend's 19 year old son. He loves the kids and does a great job. He and his friend, Nick, were driving my boys to the river to swim. So, tooling down the main blvd in Fortuna, not speeding or weaving or anything, a cop pulls them over. When asked why? There was a pedestrian possibly going to cross the road (apparently no crosswalk, but in CA. they have the right of way).
OK. I get it. There's no profiling of course, but when two teenage boys are driving around..... I get it. BUT, the following actions were, IMHO, totally unacceptable. They asked question after question. Who owns the car. Are you smoking pot. Where are you going. Justin told them they could search the car. Now, at this point, I believe the cops should have called me to get my kids. But no, they (there were three cops now for these "dangerous" criminals) searched the car (which was my best friend's SUV and has pissed HER off) in front of my children. They proceeded to search Justin's friend in front of my kids. I am EXTREMELY unhappy about this. I've taught my kids to respect cops but when they see this kind of arbitrary action what will they learn?
Perhaps I'm overreacting, and I could see this action if Justin was a known drug user or something. The excuse given? The police recieved a tip that Justin and his friend were in Eureka getting drugs and selling them to kids in Fortuna. Not true, since I knew he'd been home all morning.
So the "Biting Mommy" in me comes out. You can mess with me, but don't mess with my kids. Oh I'm aware that drug users drive around with their kids in the car all the time, but once those cops found out these weren't Justin's, I deserved a damn phone call.
I'm taking my only option and filing a complaint. I'm pretty sure they didn't do anything wrong, but it still seems pretty screwed up. I'm willing to admit that most of the time when a cop pulls over a teenager, they find something. But once they didn't, I'd expect an apology, something, to let the "victim" know it was a bad tip or something. Nothing. *Sigh*.
This on top of broken plumbing, last minute birthday parties, psycho dog, and busy,busy week heading into busy weekend has just about put me over the edge.
I just remember. "It's all fodder for future books."
I'm going to get some writing done if it kills me, though. It's the one thing that I can sort of control at this point.
Just keep writing....just keep writing.....just keep writing.

posted at 7:07 AM by Jennifer :: 0 comments

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Tuesday, August 22, 2006

Emma Sanders New Release (And some complaining)

Emma Sander's has a new book out. And a contest. Hit her website and click on contest. (I know. I said it yesterday. But today I have PICTURES).

I won't give you the gory details of my plumbing issues, but I will say that I picked a bad day to not make it to the shower. *sigh*. The joys of homeownership.

Writing? None. My childcare is trying to fix his Mustang in my driveway. Needless to say, it's been a rough week so far.

I'll be getting some stuff done this weekend hopefully.
Send good writing thoughts my way, folks. I need 'em.

posted at 7:00 AM by Jennifer :: 0 comments

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Monday, August 21, 2006

A Contest and Some Wedding Comments

Man! Blogger is being a pain. Can't upload pictures. Can't leave comments. *sigh*. The curse of technology is upon me. Oh well.

First let me cover my wedding comments. As a romance writer, it's probably not politically correct for me to say that I hate weddings. My best friend calls them "pre-divorce parties". The funny thing is that she LOVES weddings. Maybe I'm a little cynical, but spending huge amounts of money, getting "family" together (that usually don't like each other) and having a "party" that involves panty hose and ties doesn't thrill me. My own wedding was a compromise for my MIL who didn't want her son married in a courthouse.......again. *Sigh*.
So yesterday, to support an unwilling, resentful future step-son, I went to a wedding between two people who are getting married at the objection of the bride's seventeen year old son. Fun. The usual drinking, family weirdness and dating manuevering ensued and I smoked incessantly and prayed for deliverance. I don't know why I'm so negative about weddings. My own weren't miserable experiences (both of them) and I'm usually happy people can have a "day" to express their love. Maybe it's because I believe that love is more than making promises for a day. The love I respect in other couples is the love that is expressed EVERYDAY. You know them. He's courteous and kind to her. Takes care of her when she's sick or depressed. She strokes his ego when he feels "less than". She does little things for him and doesn't trumpet it at the top of her lungs. Maybe weddings bug me because they come across as so temporary. And when kids object, it really rings hollow to me.
Perhaps I write romance because I really want those true happy endings. The ones where there are issues but resolution is possible. In the middle of this ceremony, while the reluctant son was forced to stand as best man looking miserable, my stomach churned and my heart went out to him. He wants to see his mom happy, so he sucked it up and stood there.
Yet, as the minister read the biblical definition of Love from Corinthians, I realized my own wedding day is a special place in my heart. "Love keeps no record of wrongs. Love is not rude. Love is patient." I realized, sitting there with a churning stomach, that I'm one of the lucky ones. How many people can say that marriage with their partner has been almost all good. Sure, Joe and I have had our "World War III" moments but it's always ended in love and acceptance. I may never get rid of my "thing" about weddings, but I'm grateful for my own.
But man, I HATE wearing panty hose.

Now, the contest. Emma Sanders (alegna on Divas) is having a FREE BOOK contest. If you haven't signed up already, it's really simple. Just head on over to Emma's webpage (for some reason Blogger won't publish the link. It's emmasanders.com) and click on "Contests" to enter and get a free book. You can even read an exerpt from the winnings. The deadline is August 31st.
It's tough to get the word out on an upcoming release. Head on over there and spread a little love.

posted at 7:53 AM by Jennifer :: 0 comments

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Friday, August 18, 2006

Character Conundrum

PERFECT

14,223 / 7,800
(182.3%)

ROUGH SEAS

29,241 / 55,000
(53.2%)

GARDEN OF SIN

8,052 / 8,052
(100.0%)

As you can see, "Perfect" has almost doubled in size. I'm running into some interesting problems with my characters. In Part II of "Perfect", the characters I've written are not characters I relate to personally. I've connected with people like Kenny and Shannon, but I'm nothing like them. Kenny does humor to keep distance between himself and other people, which I do, but he's very indirect, passive aggressive and casual. Those are traits I don't relate to at all. Shannon is a perfectionist. Neat, clean and intense, she holds herself to VERY high standards and keeps her feelings under control. Nope that's not me.
In Part III of "Perfect", I can relate to Holly, the woman who thinks about everyone else and needs someone to care for, but Jeff is a knothead. Good thing Holly loves him. He's oblivious to what's going on most of the time. Now, I KNOW people like Kenny, Shannon and Jeff, but getting inside their heads is a little difficult for me.
I found myself thinking yesterday "What does Kenny do all day long?". I think it was Lisa Pullum who was talking about journaling her character. What is he thinking? What is he doing? Great idea, except I think Kenny wouldn't write anything. He's too busy being the clown. Jeff wouldn't because he just doesn't want to think about anything. He just wants everything to be comfortable. When it gets tough, he pulls through....but barely. Shannon would find journaling messy. Of course, she finds feelings in general messy.
Have I conveyed that in my work? I don't know. I struggle with too much backstory, so I try and keep it subtle and indirect. *Sigh*. We'll see.
I've sent another revised version off to Dayna. I don't know if this is any better, but I hope so.
"Rough Seas" got interesting too, since I've added another villian to the story. This one is close to home and the confrontation between the heroine and the added villian is intense. I had a tough time getting it on paper.
Question of the Day? Do you find your characters that are three dimensional in your head end up two dimensional as you write? Or, do you find yourself wondering if there's more to people who seem shallow?

UPDATE: It wasn't Lisa Pullum, but Stacy Holmes that had the journal reference. Sorry Stacy.

posted at 6:53 AM by Jennifer :: 0 comments

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Wednesday, August 16, 2006

Stress Relievers

PERFECT

13,081 / 7,800
(167.7%)

ROUGH SEAS

29,241 / 55,000
(53.2%)

GARDEN OF SIN

8,052 / 7,802
(103.2%)

Here's a couple of youtube stuff. The first one is a bit......adult. The second one was just cute.

Thanks to Diva Brenda for this post on Romance Divas that I have to pass on to all of you.
Just in case you're having/had a rough day, here's an 8-step Stress Management Technique recommended in the latest psychological texts. The funny thing is that it really works.

1. Picture yourself near a stream.
2. Birds are softly chirping in the cool mountain air.
3. No one but you knows your secret place.
4. You are in total seclusion from the hectic place called "The World".
5. The soothing sound of a gentle waterfall fills the air with a soft
cascade of serenity.
6. The water is crystal clear.
7. You can easily make out the face of the person you're holding underwater.

8. See! You're smiling already. I told you it worked!

Question of the day? What do you do to relieve stress?

posted at 4:17 PM by Jennifer :: 0 comments

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Tuesday, August 15, 2006

Rejected but moving forward.

Perfect

13,081 / 7,800
(167.7%)

Rough Seas

26,807 / 55,000
(48.7%)

Garden Of Sin

8,052 / 7,802
(103.2%)

I recieved my response from Wild Rose Press. As you can guess from the blog title, it was a rejection. The email included a list of changes I could make to "Perfect" and they may consider it.
So yesterday and today, I spent banging it, kicking it and whacking it. As you can see by the word count, I ended up adding about 6K. LOL. The editor made some great suggestions and a lot of them gave me a spring board for better ideas. I'm going to resubmit it. They may still not like it, but I think it's a better group of stories.
I got a bit done on "Rough Seas" though I wonder if I'm aiming too high for a word count. *shrug* Who knows.
I'm keeping it short today. Just keeping y'all updated.
One more update. I've made a few changes to "Garden Of Sin". This is my contest entry for Wild Rose Press, due August 31st. It's off to Dayna for slash and burn. Let you know how that goes.

posted at 4:20 PM by Jennifer :: 0 comments

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Sunday, August 13, 2006

My Favorite Blogger Has A New Release

The only place they still communicate is between the sheets...a professional woman golfer and an Army Ranger struggle to save their marriage after he's seriously injured in combat and has to retire. Outside the bedroom, everything is falling apart because he believes she deserves better than a broken man, but she dreams of a future when they stop fighting and start talking long enough to reclaim the happily ever after that once seemed so certain.

If you've been watching my blog any length of time, you'll know one of my favorite blogs to visit is Crystal Jordan. So, to win her new release, I'm willing to pimp her new book. No problem.
You know, it's hard to keep up with new releases. There's been a bunch that I've missed, but being a blog hopper I see them all. Shelli Stevens is primo for getting the word out. Come to think of it, so is Crystal. Both are Cobblestone authors. Stacy Holmes is good at keeping up with The Wild Rose Press releases.
So many times, people think that blogging, and posting on forums and so on is "playing on the computer" but I've realized that the only way to get the word out about a book is the internet.
Question of the day? How do you find out about the books you read? Word of mouth? Read the back and hope for the best?

posted at 5:38 AM by Jennifer :: 0 comments

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Saturday, August 12, 2006

I'm A New Fan.

I have fallen in love with Christine Feehan. I've heard her name bandied around as a fabulous paranormal writer. Now, usually, paranormal isn't really my bag, but desperate one day for reading fodder, I picked up "Mind Game". I think a fabulous series is one that has me scrambling to find all the pieces. In other words, I read "Mind Game" and immediately went out and bought "Shadow Game" (Book I) and "Night Game" (Book III). She is BRILLIANT! Not only is this series sexy and romantic, but it's also really cool.
You know how you have authors that you'll go out and buy hardbound books for? Mine has always been Terry Brooks Shannara series, Elizabeth Peters Amelia Peabody Mysteries and Elizabeth Lowell romances. Now, I can Feehan to the list.
In "Shadow Game" we are introduced to "The Ghostwalkers", a group of military men who chose to be "enhanced" genetically but found themselves in physical pain and mortal danger. The man who developed the enhancements is apparently murdered and his daughter Lily steps in to save the men. She, herself, is enhanced. What she finds out about her father leads her to other young women, like herself, that have unbelievable powers. Her father's legacy is danger and guilt as she realizes that the experiments he was doing were deadly and immoral. With the help of one of the Ghostwalkers, Ryland, she delves into her father's secrets and finds passion as well. Now she must find all the other young girls sent out into the world unprepared for the consequences of her father's meddling.
In "Mind Game", Nicco is sent after an enhanced woman who is being used as a government operative. Danger and fear stalk them both but they find each other. The trick is to keep Dahlia from killing Nicco before he can help her.
In "Night Game" (my favorite) Lily sends a Ghostwalker after Flame, one of the enhanced girls. Gator is a cajun wonder and my absolute favorite Ghostwalker. He's sexy and has a smart mouth. The byplay between Flame and Gator was worth reading the book. The love scenes are fabulous and HOT. My absolute favorite ending EVER!!!!! Go and read this one.

FIVE DANCING HOBBES FOR MS. FEEHAN

posted at 6:04 AM by Jennifer :: 0 comments

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Friday, August 11, 2006

Just a Few Pics

Just a few more pictures of my cute nephew, Bryce. Yeah, I know. He's adorable.

Since my posts of recent have been pretty depressing, I'll skip the whole trip to my Mom's and get on with the writing news.

I'm rewriting portions of "Rough Seas" so that I can add a bit to the word count. We'll see if it works.

I still haven't heard from Wild Rose Press about my short story series "Perfect" by my alter ego. I did send a follow up email, so the waiting game begins again.

"Garden Of Sin" is in critique pergatory. All that means is that I'm letting it sit for a while before I tackle polishing it for the contest.

I've given up on the August 12th deadline I imposed on myself. I was hoping to make a couple of contests, but I think I'll enter the Golden Heart instead. Hopefully, I can get some feedback on "Rough Seas."

There isn't too much else happening. My focus has definitely been diverted. It's been tough to find time to write. Preparing for the kid's going to school, Joe going to Redding and other things have distracted me.

Question of the Day? What distracts you? Is it the internet? Kids? Other stuff?

posted at 7:12 AM by Jennifer :: 0 comments

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Tuesday, August 08, 2006

A Few Family Pics.

After yesterday's "fun" post, I've decided to lighten it up a little. Dominic is my nephew. I don't get to see him too much but he's usually pretty quiet and shy, leaving the "goofiness" to his brother, Mario. Yet, here is Dominic being a goof. I love this picture. The other picture is the latest picture of my Sister In Law Rachel and my 10 month old nephew. Isn't he precious?
Family is big on my mind. We are, as my husband calls it, into the downhill slide into the holidays. Also my birthday in in less than a month. These are times I reevaluate my relationships with family members.
Plus, I'm going to Mom's for three days. School shopping and a day at the County fair ought to make the visit full.
Surprisingly, I'm sticking to the No Carb thing.
If I'm incognito, it's only because I'm off visiting family.
Question of the Day? Who is the "goofiest" member of your family? Who is the most sympathetic and loving? And you know when I say family, I don't necessarily mean blood family. I always thought I was the goofiest in my family........until I got that picture. LOL

posted at 6:24 AM by Jennifer :: 0 comments

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Monday, August 07, 2006

Warning: Depressing Post

Change is really not my friend. I've always had a difficult time with it and now, I'm struggling to be positive...........and failing at the moment.

Joe left for Redding yesterday. He'll be working over there for two years. So, now we'll do nightly phonecalls, weekend visits and coordinating our lives together through Sprint. *Sigh*. Don't mind me. I'm feeling sorry for myself.
My writing isn't going at all. No time. I hope to get some done today. I'm so grateful to those who gave me their suggestions. Stacy is right. Finish the story and see what I have. That's the advice I give. I guess I could....I don't know....use it.
Crystal's idea is good too. Perhaps I could combine the brother's story and this story together for a double novella. It's an idea I like.
The Divas (as always) were supportive through the worst part of yesterday. Then Michelle drags me away so I can be depressed in private away from the kids. That's the worst part of this. I cry or breakdown, my boys will too. I keep it together as long as I can and then go in the bathroom for a quick cry and come back out to be sympathetic.
Last night my five year old asks me, "Why does Daddy have to work out of town? I miss him." I explain that Daddy and I want to live here and that means Daddy has to go work on the road. It's a good job yada yada yada. Somehow it all sounds empty in the face of Dell's agony. It will get better I know. We'll fall into a routine and it will have advantages and disadvantages.
Just to top it off, though, I decided to do the no carb thing to lose weight per my Doctor's suggestion. Don't worry. I'm not going to start pelting you with my menu of the day or anything. Two weeks NO carbs, then I can start incorporating some after that. If it works, I'll keep it up. If it doesn't, *shrugs* oh well. Try something else.
The doctor has decided I have migranes. Whether they are stress induced or I have pressure on my optic nerves she doesn't know. *Shakes head* I just thought I had headaches. LOL.
OK, I'm done with my depressing stuff now.
Oh! I emailed Wild Rose Press as follow up on "Perfect". The editor emailed it was with a reader and she hoped to get back to me by the end of the week. Whew. That's over anyway. Now, I'm back to waiting...........yee haw.
Hopefully this post didn't send you off to your Sylvia Plath anthology.
Question of the Day? When it all gets to be too much, do you buckle down? Do you pull the covers over your head? Do you ignore it? Always like to hear other methods.
Me, apparently I bitch to the Divas and on my blog.
Lucky you.

posted at 8:00 AM by Jennifer :: 0 comments

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Saturday, August 05, 2006

Problems Already? Rough Seas Hits Some Rough Seas.

OK, so I'm trying to write a romantic suspense 55-70K. I'm about half-way there and I'm running into problems. Mainly, that my word count isn't high enough. I hate the word count thing. If I follow my own advice ("Take my advice, I'm not using it") then I'd just keep writing the story and end when it ends. I've got the thing set up complete with a possible sequel, but it's almost "done" and I'm only at 25K+. *Sigh*
If it's not one thing it's another.
I brainstormed a little today to figure out how to add to my story without distracting from the main idea. The conflict between the hero/heroine is basically resolved and the mystery part is basically done too. Now, I need to figure out how to add to the body of the story without taking away from the romance or the mystery.
I wonder if readers would be interested in the rest of the crew. I plan to have them all come back in the sequel, but I'm not sure if anyone would be interested in the "mind of a fisherman". It all facinates me, but maybe I'm just weird. Being married to an ex-fisherman, I'm more likely to be interested in the fisherman way of life.
So, the question of the day is what do you think readers want? Do they want more backstory on the crew? Do they want more details on crab fishing? All opinions welcome. There were some (during the Romance Divas Synopsis contest) that weren't interested at all. What do you think?

25,306 / 70,000
(36.2%)

posted at 8:26 AM by Jennifer :: 0 comments

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Thursday, August 03, 2006

OK, It's Official. I'm Stressed.

OK, most of the time I stick to writing or little anecdotes of my home life without bitching.....too much. However, now I'm going completely nuts.

I've got sooooo much going on. We've got three extra people living with us. Now, that has it's positive and negative aspects. Mostly, it just adds to the noise level. Some help, some extra work, bad plumbing. Not a good combination.

I've got serious angst in the 16--21 age group. There's about six of them that hang around here and all of them are in various forms of drama. I know. It's not my shit, but difficult to live with.

I have headaches that pretty much mess with my eyesight and my attitude about two days a week.

My husband is getting ready to go on a job for two years that out of town. No Joe during the week. Only on weekends. I need batteries.

Add to that a 4 and 5 year old, three dogs, one opinionated redneck and a couple of self-imposed deadlines and you get.......INSANITY.

Now, I'm off to the doctor to tell her "No, I haven't quit smoking." "No the headaches are still bad." "No, I haven't reduced my stress. In fact, Doc, I added a few more things to make my life even more interesting."

*Sigh*.

Before you think my life sucks, let me say that I have several things that make it all worthwhile. Though it's Grand Central Station here, I also regularly laugh my ass off. The "Slacker Brigade" as my husband calls them are hilarious. They may not do dishes, but they're funny.

Also, Michelle is my best friend, more like a sister really, who helps me all the time. She actually listens to my book angst and never once rolls her eyes.

Then there's Dayna, Crystal, Nonny, and Shelli who Instant Message me and let me know someone out there in cyberspace knows I exist.....and it matters. My life is crazy, yet people still seem to want to be around me.

I don't know why I felt the need to share all that. Maybe it's because I know that you all know how it feels. Yes, things are crazy. Yes, I could have a nice calm boring life. But thank God I don't. It's Yin and Yang, Good and Bad, Positive and Negative. Without one, there wouldn't be the other.

I love my life for all it's imperfections. Maybe that's why I love to write. I incorporate that love as much as possible giving my characters all the angst and pain, joy and wonder that life gives me.

So, am I alone out there? Am I the only insane one out here? I happen to know a couple of you are as crazy as I am. Speak up lurkers. Share your pain and your joy. But because you want to. Not cause I told you to. LOL.

posted at 12:08 PM by Jennifer :: 0 comments

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Wednesday, August 02, 2006

Still Waiting and Unrealistic Goals.

It facinates me that I still, after years of living with myself, set unrealistic goals. It's not that I'm undisciplined (OK, maybe a little) or lazy. I often don't realize the extent that life intrudes on my plans.
I've set a goal to finish my ms "Rough Seas" before submitting the first 55 pages and a synopsis to a contest. The contest deadline? August 12th. Add to this all my other commitments and I created a recipe for frustration that drives me up a wall. *Sigh*. Then, I have a hard time letting go of that goal. I want it. I want to do it. I get really cranky when I can't find the time or the brain power to accomplish my goal. Right now, I'm beginning to realize that my goals aren't too realistic.
"Garden Of Sin" ended at 7K. I don't know why. The characters didn't want to continue with another 12K of conflict. The resolution between them came without much hoopla. My goal of 20K for this work wasn't realistic. Now, I may add a couple of thousand words, but I think this is the direction they wanted to go. It did feel good to finish it. I sent it to Dayna Hart and we'll see if it's any good.
"Rough Seas" is turning out to be a high adventure at sea book. THAT wasn't my intention either. Being a panster, I have a vague idea of where I'm going. Now, one of my secondary characters has the floor and he's very complex. He will, of course, have his own story and I have to struggle not to tell it here. As you can see, I'm aiming for 70K, but it may only be 55K.
It makes me wonder if I can write something complex that's 100+K. Many ideas fly through my head, but I think I rush too quickly to resolution because I want to see my characters happy and in love. LOL.
For other writers, do you find 100K a struggle? How is your word count goal expectations? For others, are your goals realistic? Or do you find yourself struggling to meet them?

GARDEN OF SIN