Do Better! 2011

Short and simple. My goal for 2011. Do better. Personally, professionally, physically, spiritually, socially, economically. Do better.

Sesame Street: Herry & John John Count 20

Sesame Street: Bert, John John, and Sherlock

I wonder where John John is now!

All I want for Christmas

 I am craving this two piece luggage set. It's a fake python print in an outrageous fuschia pink and orange print. FABULOUS! I LOVE IT!. I have been scouring the internet for this set a cheaper price but not one seems to have it. It's discontinued. Kathy Van Zeeland is the designer and she has a matching print slouchy purse.

It is for sale on ebay for $199.00 plus shipping and handling. I know, I know its a small forture for a rolling suitcase and a matching dome bag. Both are just the right size to carry on an airplane.

The dome bag slides onto the handle of the suitcase so that you can easily pull them both through the airport with ease.

I've got the money but I'm trying not to make this an impulse purchase that I will regret later. I am trying to clean out my closet sell some unused stuff on ebay to get $200 to buy this set. That would be all right wouldn't it be?

What would I use it for? I go to one or two overnight retreats during the year? Sometimes a scrapbook retreat and one or two writers retreats. I go visit my husband's family out of town 4 to 6 times a year. We travel by car but I hate the navy blue duffles or the brown suitcases that he bought so these would be fun to use.

So this is all I want for Christmas this year. Except may a color e-reader like an ipad with 3G or at least the matching purse to go with this suitcase set. It looks like this.

Should I buy it?

Tuesday Morning Flash Fiction

I took a class on writing flash fiction and many of the participants formed a group to work on crafting compelling and interesting stories in 1000 words or less. The moderator/instructor gave us four words to include in a 400 word story. The words were bulldog, intimidate, fundamental and concrete.

Here's what I wrote.

Labor

By Pamela Anderson-Moore

It began without warning. The waves squeezed, tightened and washed over her core. They slammed into her pelvis, her back and her sides like the surf pounding into the shore during a hurricane. She ran her hand over her belly feeling the taunt skin and the underlying muscles momentarily harden into concrete.


“Two more weeks, you’re not due for two more weeks. Now stop it.” She ordered trying to intimidate the muscles into submission even though a part of her realized they had taken on a life of their own. The muscle loosened and she turned back to the work cluttering her desk.

The cheerful voices of her employees and the aroma of various homemade foods spilled out of the conference room and carried down the hallway further distracting her from the fundamental assignments she felt compelled to complete. For a moment she considered rejoining them at her baby shower but she had much too much work and they all wanted the shower more than she did.

Another contraction rocked her body, the numbers on her computer screen blurred as her eyes glazed over from the pain. She sank back in the chair realizing that she no longer had control of the body she once propelled through several triathlons. Stubborn like a bulldog with its jaws locked on its favorite bone, she refused to give up and turned once again to the work before her.

The gush of amniotic fluid signaled the inevitable and she struggled to her feet. Gathering some things from her desk, she headed out barking orders to her staff. Startled employees rushed to her side offering reassurances that all would be taken care of.

She settled into the passenger seat of a car as employees gathered around the car shouting
words of encouragement. “Your husband will meet you at the hospital.” Her assistant said taking her laptop and briefcase before handing it to a co-worker. The assistant climbed into the driver seat and started the engine.

“Hey.” She screamed realizing that she was alone without the items which occupied most of her time and attention. “Go back and get my stuff. I’ve got work to do.”

“Yes, you do have work to do.” The elderly woman steering the car said. “But you won’t need anything from the office."

Great Romantic Movies ~ Love Jones

So I'm watching just a little bit of the BET Awards re-run and I catch Nia Long and Lorentz Tate reciting a bit of their poem from the movie Love Jones. So with a little help from my friends at YouTube and Google, I bring you one of the best "I want to get to know you better" poems in movie history if not eva.

Love Jones is a 1997 romantic drama film Written and Directed by Theodore Witcher. It stars Larenz Tate and Nia Long.
Dariaus( played by Lorentz Tate) a struggling writer meets Nina ( Nia Long)  a photographer as he is going into the club and spontaneously renames this poem for her before he recites it. Enjoy.


"I'm the blues in your left thigh, trying to be the funk in your right."

Man Candy Alert!

Does anyone else need a nap right now? Ok,nevermind...

My writing assignment for this evening: What is he dreaming about?
Thigh love you!

My new e-reader!

A few weeks ago, I asked a few of the yahoo  groups that I belong to which e-reader they liked best. I also posted here asking for recommendations on which e-reader people preferred. The responses were varied. I am happy to let you know that my mom gifted me a brand new Sony Reader Pocket Edition in Rose (a just because present). It is so cute and easy to carry with me just like a paperback book. I have already purchased one novel and two short stories to read. I transferred a couple of stories that I had stored on my computer.

The reader works great outside and in bright light. It is difficult if not impossible to use in dim light. There is a light that you can purchase to go with it. You can make the font size larger or smaller in .pdf format, which is helpful.

I definitely need a case or rubber sleeve to prevent the pretty rose coating from scratching. t comes with a little sleeve to store it in. I really like it and was able to comfortably sit up in bed to read a story last night. My kid tried to operate it by touching the screen. I had to tell him that it was "old fashion" and didn't have a touch screen.

Eventually, I might want to try one of the color readers or a larger size reader that I can read newspapers or magazines on. It also might be fun to have one that can read audio books to me. Right now, this is a great entry into the realm of e-readers.

Thanks.

Just for fun!

I saw this on Nathan Bransford blog and decided to put it on mine.
Evidently, someone made this out of post it notes using stop motion animation. I LOVE it! Fun Times.

Black Diamonds

The Black Diamond chapter of RWA met today. Beth Barany (BethBarany.com) gave a presentation entitled  3 Essential Tips to Building Your Author Platform Now. Her tips included List Building, Crafting a Compelling Message and Finding your Style of Networking.

I learned so much and her advice is applicable to unpublished authors too. The communication and networking skills will be helpful in all aspects of  my professional life not to mention my writing career. Check out her website and upcoming workshop.

On a personal goal note, I have a personal goal to write 500 words a week until the next Black Diamond RWA meeting which will be at the new location. I think that this is doable.

Sweeten up your daydreams with a little chocolate!!

Yum!

Learning to write well...by reading

I have been stumbling along writing the best that I can. I've purchased quite a few books on writing. They line the bookshelf next to my bed right next to the unread novels that arrive in the mail. 

I have taken a course in writing at UCLA extention online, I have attended RWA conferences and workshops, I enrolled in several workshop via savvyauthors.com. I still haven't been able to "get it."

Recently I began participating in an online critique group. I received some wonderful feedback and realized that I have much more work to do. It's not just about the grammar. It's not just about the punctuation. It's not even just about the story. It's really about how you put it all together.

There are so many elements to a story. I want someone to just spell it out. First, do this. Then do this, then introduce this. I became very frustrated with the saavyauthors.com workshop on writing romantic suspense because the first assignment was to take apart a suspenseful story that we enjoyed chapter by chapter. I hate homework and I told the teacher that. I didn't do the homework but I read the lessons.

A few weeks later, I read a fantastic story from The Wild Roses Press and there it was. All the elements of a FANTASTIC romantic suspense. The elements were spelled out right there for me.

I haven't had a chance to go back and deconstruct the story but it is there when I get ready to. I've heard  these messages several times at RWA workshops, read what you like, read what the publishers that you are interested in are buying and selling,  read what the agents you are querying are selling and representing. 

Initially, I thought that it was just a way of trying to sell more books (it probably is) but it is also a perfect lesson on writing if you do the homework and deconstruct the story.

So there you go. I will continue to purchase and read stories from the lines that I am targeting because they will help me become a better writer and eventually become published. I learn the most from reading good well written stories.

Pam

Just a little eye candy for today!

I have a fondness for cowboy hats this week.
Check out the exotic erotic e-cards available on runduecards.com. Yum!

I love e-publishers and stories

I love Harlequin category series novels. I love the Kimani line, the Steeple Hill Love Inspired line, and the SPICE line. I invest in books.  I am one of those people who subscribe to the monthly series and review the websites for works from my favorite authors. When I can find a copy of Romantic Times, I carefully study it and then pick out which books I will order from Amazon. I can spend anywhere from $20-$40+ dollars a month on books.

I recently won a membership to SavvyAuthors.com and began reading the wonderful blogs of the authors there. The stories that they were promoting looked fantastic and so I took the plunge and purchased a few short stories that sounded good. The price was right. $2.00-$3.00 for a short story. I fell in love. The stories are just the right length,  are very well written and entertaining. I like them better than some of the Harlequin stories.

I have found that I am purchasing $10-20  a month on e-published short stories a month. There are some great e publishers out there. I am really disappointed that one publisher didn't let me save the story to a disc and I could only download it twice. Huh! It was a super erotic short story from Breathless Press that wasn't very good anyway but I would have liked to have a copy since I purchased it.

The second reason that I love the epublished short stories is because I don't have a lot of time to read just for entertainment. I work, I have a family and I am trying to write. I have a limited amount of time to get into a story. These e published stories allow me to read a variety of authors. I am also participating in a critique group which requires me to review work of others. An e-reader which allows me to read .rtf or .pdf would be useful when reviewing the work of others in my critique group.

Finally, ebooks save space. I don't mind collecting and or building a library of ebooks because it saves so much space. I have a e bookshelf full of paperback books next to my bed. Recently, I donated a large box of my favorite books to the local library. I hated to part with them. I just wanted to read and re-read them but after watching a few episodes of Horders: Buried Alive, I decided that I would pass them on to the library. I can't wait to start a new collection of ebooks.

As I wrote in my post  yesterday, I am looking into purchasing an e-reader. I want to buy some of the longer length stories but I don't think that I could sit at my laptop to read the story.

I posted a message on several blogs that I participate in asking for recommendations. I only received a few replys. I am wondering if authors or aspiring authors are actually investing in e-readers or are they reading on their laptops only?

Let me know who your favorite e-published authors are? What e-readers do you use? I love comments.

Which e reader?

I have decided to take the plunge and purchase an e reader. I have been purchasing short stories online from a variety of e-publishers and I would like to be able to read a novel online without being tied to the laptop. 

My favorite epublishers ( publishers who primarily publish electronic books) are the wild rose press, cobblestone press, breathless press, red rose press, and ellora's cave. I have found their short stories well written and entertaining. I would be honored and priviledged to have any one of them purchase and publish one of my short stories or one my novels.

Anyway, I am trying to figure out which type of e-book reader I should purchase. I am really interested in the ipad but I am afraid that it is too much like a laptop and I will be distracted by all the other things that I am able to do with it instead of reading. The entry level price of $499 is reasonable for a small laptop but since I already have full sized laptop and a netbook purse sized laptop I can't really justify another. Can I? It would be cool to be able to watch movies but I really want to focus on reading so it does seem a bit much.

The Kindle from Amazon seems to be the industry standard but I don't want to have to buy books from Amazon. I ususally do but I don't want to have to.

The Nook from Barnes and Noble seems to be a good option and from what I hear you can order books from other publishers. It also has some expandable sD card which may prove helpful in the future. I think that I heard the Nook has wifi capability which would be useful if I am inside the Barnes and Nobles store or at home. Unfortunately, they closed the huge Barnes and Nobles at Hilltop Mall. Sigh....so I will have to drive to El Cerrito or Emeryville to play with one before buying.

My mom has the Sony reader that she got free with her American Express points. So far she has been only reading the free books that came with the thing so she hasn't been able to tell me whether or not she can purchase books from online publishers or anything else about the thing. They have a good price on the Sony at Best Buy. It is really small and portable so that could be a plus.

I just don't know. Recommendations?

RWA Chapter Meeting 3 page read TODAY

I had a great time at the Black Diamond RWA chapter meeting this morning. A small group of 8 people attended and we sat on the patio while we waited for the restaurant to open. I am so impressed with the successes and professionalism of the group.

This was my first regular meeting this year as the Black Diamonds have been very busy co-hosting conferences (Donald Maass Fire in the Fiction), retreats (Alexandra Sokolov) and special guests (Diamond and Roses Event- Bigger Book).

The three page read was fun and I think that we all were able to get some great feedback on the beginning 3 pages of our novels. I am so blessed to have been able to attend and to have people to motivate me.

Oh, I entered a contest where  I pledge $5 towards my goal for the month. This month, I pledge that I would finish my short story. If I finish the story then I get the entire pot of money. If not, it rolls over into the next month. I think that is how it works.

Anyway, I've started a new romantic suspense short story, its called Collision. I got some great feedback today. People thought that I had a great opening and it was suspenseful so "so far so good".

I haven't completely abandoned my other romantic suspense story, it is just that I am in the middle and it is sagging a little bit.

Fun Times!

Hubby and I had a great time learning salsa dance at the school last night. Salsa was a little harder than we thought. It's funny because my husband loves to watch Dancing with the Stars and I had a feeling that he secretly wanted to learn ballroom dancing. Our kid's school had a fund raiser where they hired a professional Latin dance coach for a big group lesson in the schools multipurpose room. It was fabulous. Each couple paid $20 and we danced the night away.

I want to send a shot out to my hairstylist Adrienne C.  She finally cut my hair the way that I like it. Thanks sweetie. Good luck with your business.

Woo Hoo!

Woo Hoo! I just won a one year subscription to SavvyAuthors.com from author Virna DePaul just for registering at her site. Check out her book and her website. Thanks for the great gift.

Critique Group

Geez. I wish that I had some followers. I guess that will come in time. It might also help if I wrote about something other than myself. Sigh...

Anyway, I found a critique group. We haven't started sharing stories but I am sure that that will come soon. We are still in the introducing ourselves stage. I am not sure who is going to take the plunge first and share their story. We'll see.

Today is a mandatory furlough day for me so I am hoping to get some work done on my story. I plan to get a few hours of writing and editing done before I tackle the housework.

Oh, I renamed my story to make it reflect the suspense genre. I am concerned that there is not too much suspense in the story. We'll see what the critique group says.

 I really can't wait to get the manuscript finished and edited so that I can start querying. I also want to start another story.

March

Attended the Diamond and Roses writing event yesterday in Brentwood. Great advice from agents, authors and a life coach.

Life coach, Karen Motekaitis recommended that I figure out what the minimum amount of time that I can devote to writing per week and then committ to it. She used to be a swimmer and I think I know her from somewhere. I wish that I could hire her for a personal coaching session.

Agent Elaine English discussed the difficulties of new authors breaking into the business as well as some of the intricacies of contracts that she is now seeing. She was very accomadating and answered many, many questions.

Mary Beckham and Dianna Love authors of Break Into Fiction, gave some excellent steps to building a story that sells.

Met some interesting people.

Status of Writing Goals for the year:
I am still looking for a critique partner/ group.
I have managed to attend 3 educational workshop/ conferences out of the 6 so far.
Enterered 2 contests so far. Recieved feedback from one that was brutal but very helpful.
Still working on manuscript.
Decided to target romantic suspense lines of harlequin such as Steeple Love Inspired.

2010 Goals

I hate visiting an authors blog and only seeing promotions for their books. I understand that the ultimate purpose of a authors website and or blog is to create name recognition and sell books but I want to find out something about the author. I want to know what their hobbies are, what type of work that they do, how long they have been writing and what they look like. Isn't that the reason that we "google" someone? Those are some of the reasons that I look up people. Anyway, I don't have any of those great "glamour shots" photos to upload yet but I will upload some as soon as I get some.

It's January 1st, 2010 and I have quite a few goals for myself this year. In addition to losing a few (quite a few) pounds, getting back in touch with my tennis buddies, and buying and moving to a new house; I want to finish a manuscript.

Other writing related goals include:
Participate in local RWA chapters meetings in order to network with other local writers;
Take at least 6 online or in person workshops to improve writing;
Enter at least 3 RWA contests for feedback;
Find a critique group to participate in;
Complete a manuscript;
Create a compelling synopsis for completed manuscript;
Submit synopsis and query to agent or editor;
Become a PRO member of RWA;
Attend RWA National Conference.

Yes, this is a lot of goals but I have to set my sights high in order to get a book in published.

I would love to write a multicultural romance and get it published by the Harlequin Kimani Line or some other publisher. I would also love to write an erotic short story. I have the outline but I am having trouble writing the erotic scenes. LOL

I will let you all know how it goes.