Write Through the Heart

Live for Now

2010-09-26T17:52:00.006-04:00

Oprah has announced this is the last season of her talk show, does this mean the dream of my book being her pick of the month is just a fleeting hope? I haven't written a word in so long I don't even consider myself a writer anymore. Every time I hear the announcement of a writer in my network getting that call that all writers live for, it kicks a spark deep in my soul. A desire to poise my fingers over the keyboard, and tell a story.

Life moves so quickly. One blink of an eye, and another year has gone. I find when I do have time to write, exhaustion wins over desire. Sometimes circumstances make one stop and realize that dreams don't happen when wishes die. We often wish our lives away by longing for the weekend. I've recently realized that wonderful things can happen during the work week as well as on a Saturday or Sunday. It's all in the will to grasp opportunities to live for the moment. Once a day is gone, it can never be recovered.

My new motto is- live for now. I intend to make everyday a Saturday or Sunday. I will learn from my work, but I won't wish for any minute to be over. Life is too good not to savor!

My Newest Inspiration

2009-06-18T20:32:00.013-04:00

Many people have passed through my life and left footprints on my heart. They gifted me with legacies that shaped my soul, and made me the person I am today. I find inspiration in memories of my dad and my grandparents. They taught me about God from the time I was a small child, and I live through their examples. I desire the ability to be a witness to the people in my life, just as my loved ones have inspired me.

A character from a favorite book series inspired me to pursue a writing career. I fell in love with his mysterious bad boy persona. I didn't care for the lack of direction in his character arc, so I helped him along by writing a 52K fanfic. Ranger got the girl in the end, and I found a never ending desire to create the next great American novel. I still haven't completed an MS or even came close, but I found the inspiration I needed to start. I may never write a traditional romance, but my desire is to inspire readers to seek a higher power through Jesus Christ.

My latest inspiration is my Pastor Mr. Timothy Throckmorton. For the past several years, Tim has written a weekly article in our local town newspapers. He applies and illustrates the word of God through his own life experiences. He reaches out to thousands of people every week by tapping words on his keyboard, sometimes describing some of his most embarrassing and humbling moments. I love and respect Tim because of the reasons he writes. He has such a deep and profound belief in God, he uses every avenue available to reach those who have never read a bible, and those who have, but need a spiritual lift.

Tuesday, June 20th, Tim's first book entitled You Bought the Book, You Name It will be released. I can't express the excitement, and joy I feel for his accomplishment. His book is compiled of some of his past newspaper articles. He didn't publish this book in hopes of fame or fortune. He loves the Lord and wants to share that love with anyone who picks up a copy of this book. I wish this book and Tim much success. May this publication change lives, and show the everlasting glory in God's love. Bless you Pastor.

Lisa Kleypas Does it Again

2009-03-29T15:01:00.008-04:00

My favorite romance author is Lisa Kleypas. I adore her writing voice, and her memorable characters. I just finished the newest release in her Texas contemporary series. Smooth Talking Stranger is another gem in this awesome series. The heroine, Ella Varner is tough, soft hearted, and the glue of her dysfunctional family. When she is faced with the responsibility of caring for her newborn nephew, after her sister abandons him, her life is turned upside down. However, Ella takes it in stride, and in the process meets Jack Travis, a sexy, self- made millionaire. Although Ella and Jack are polar opposites, they share an undeniable sexual chemistry. In caring for baby Luke, Ella finds herself, and discovers she wants far more out of life than she was receiving. This is a love story in double proportion. Ella falls in love with two men. One that slobbers, and totally depends on her, and the other, who makes her drool, and wants to take care of her. Also in the mix is the reappearance of Hardy Cates *swoon*, Haven, Liberty, Carrington, Churchill, and Gage Travis. We loved them in Sugar Daddy and Blue Eyed Devil. They play memorable roles in this one as well, and their appearance gives the reader a much wanted update on their lives. Lisa introduces Joe Travis who is the youngest Travis sibling. One can only hope that Lisa's next offering in this wonderful series is a book for Joe. I give this book 5 stars. In my opinion, when you read the last words in a book, and you want to start all over again, you've found a winner. Lisa Kleypas gives her readers another literary gift with the third book in this Texas series.

A Character is Born

2009-02-21T15:38:00.006-05:00

A thousand random thoughts travel through my mind at the speed of light. I reach out trying to grasp one that will make me, or break me. A scenario is waiting just behind the next wall of fog, dying to become my next WIP. I'll form a character from the images that flutter through the darkness, whispering to me the snippets of their existence.

Characters are like real people. They want, they dream, and they disappoint. As writers we create a shell of existence on the page. We breathe emotion, physical features, and actions into the outer and inter shell of their existence. The shell becomes a person with conflicts, flaws, and the desire to love and to be loved. Sometimes our characters never expect what we have in store for them, and most of the time they fight us tooth and nail with their own agenda. In each character, whether male or female, we leave a part of ourselves behind. We grow, we cry, and we conquer the world with them. And in the end, we are better writers for having created them.

We can never dream too high, or work too hard to make a character more real. The characters that I can remember from favorite authors are memorable for a reason. They spoke the right dialogue, they made me laugh, and they were good even when they were bad. But most of all, they made me want to be a better writer. They made me want to put a pen to paper.

I have a character wreaking havoc in my mind. He's strong, dark, and fleeting. He's a mystery man. He's a loner. He has the physical strike of a rattler, and the stealth of a ninja warrior. He doesn't know it yet, but he wants a woman in his life. He could use his brawn to make a dire situation change for the better, but he doesn't see it that way. He lives by his own rules, and when he talks, people listen. When a certain lady enters the picture he discovers a voice of reason, and that maybe women weren't created for one use only.

His name is Jack Blue. And he has a story to be told.

How do your characters present themselves? Do you see a part of yourself in each character you create?

Write On

2008-09-12T20:47:00.003-04:00

I haven't writen an original thought in over five months.

I thought by taking a break from writing I would find out if writing was as important to my existence as I once thought. I was very surprised to find that I didn't miss writing.

So should I surmise that being a writer is not who I really am?

Writing is hard work, and I found writing an original stressful. I'm a perfectionist at heart, and I revise as I write. I want to be the type of writer who writes now and thinks later, but it's not in my constitution. I truly miss the idea of writing. At this point I feel stagnate... as if I'm letting an opportunity of a lifetime pass me by. Writing the next great American novel has to be a driving force in one's existence to make a difference. Without the desire to get words on a page, the realm of appearing on a local bookshelf seems a pipe dream.

At this point in my life publishing is not even a thought. I just want an idea for a story that I truly believe has to be told. I want the burning desire to type words.

I want to feel like a writer all over again.

A Walk on the Dark Side

2008-08-28T16:37:00.007-04:00

All of my life I've been conservative. I've always been leery of the unknown, and a creature of habit. Unfortunately I make assumptions about things in life before ever exploring the possibilities.

Shopping is the only thing I do impulsively:)

I love to read, have no idea how many books I have consumed in my lifetime, but I assume the number would be in the thousands. I've always read books with a romantic theme. I've often had books recommended to me by friends. Over the years I've been recommended several paranormal series, but refused to read them because I could never grasp the concept of shape shifters, vampires, and fantasy. I like to read what I can relate to, and I like to dream about my fantasies. Before I found the JR Ward Black Dagger Brotherhood series I never dreamed about vampires, but now I do.

JR Ward has created a world out of vampires, lessors, ans shellans that pulls a reader in to the dark side until you never want to escape. You become apart of this world where a group of vampires form a brotherhood and fight the lessors who are out to destroy their race. In the process they love, forgive, and make you forget they aren't human. The vampires in the Brotherhood are strong, mean as hell, and hot enough to make you squirm at the vision Ward creates. What I love about this series is that the characters are so real it seems incidental that they are vampires.

Ward's sarcastic writing voice, and ability to paint a realistic picture of vampires bonding as true male friends makes this series get better with every book. I'm so glad I discovered the Twilight series. Thanks to Sin's recommendation it opened my eyes to a world of paranormal books that I would have otherwise never sampled.

Oh Boy, what I've been missing!

Twilight~The Movie

2008-07-05T10:39:00.002-04:00

I recently had the pleasure of reading the Twilight Series by Stephenie Meyer. I picked up Twilight in the bookstore many times before I read it, I was fascinated by the cover art. The blurb on the book also fascinated me, but since it mentioned the word vampire I declined reading the books because I'm not a paranormal fan. What a mistake on my part. This is undoubtedly one of the best series I have ever read. I'm hooked! I can't believe how the romance in this series carries the entire plot of all three books. I can't stress enough how if you are a romance lover at heart you will enjoy this young adult series. I am highly anticipating the release of Breaking Dawn on August the 2nd, it will be the fourth and final book in the series. Twilight-the movie will be released on December 12th in a theatre near you!

Failure to Launch

2008-06-28T11:11:00.003-04:00

After much thought and hair pulling, I've decided to take a break from writing and reassess my goals. It seems the past few months I've been writing in limbo, nothing seems to click anymore, and the burning desire to publish seems to have burnt out. I know a lot of writers experience this, and take time to step away and reevaluate their approach to writing. I feel I jumped into blog mode long before I got my writing sea legs, so my plan is to put the horse in front of the cart and slowly start at square one again.

This may seem discouraging because it appears I'm doing things at a snail's pace, but that is usually how I operate. I never want to approach anything in a half way manner. I always have my ducks in a row before I try to make a statement.

I'll check in from time to time, and I'll still be floating around in cyber space researching and finding my way in the great big world of writing.

So this is not goodbye, it's hello until we meet again.

Confessions of a Conference Virgin

2008-05-03T13:12:00.003-04:00

I have my first writer's conference under my belt!

What an awe inspiring experience. It was so interesting to see things through the eyes of an agent, and two publishers. I learned about classifying the genre of my WIP, and using my internal editor to my advantage. I also gained a valuable resource through an ATF agent that gave a workshop on guns, ammo, and the ATF's relationship to other law enforcement divisions.

I heard a beautiful keynote speech by author Pamela Cable entitled "Coming Out of the Darkness Into the Life of a Writer." What a powerful and thought provoking speech. She discussed using the hardships in your life as fodder for ideas in your WIP or for new imaginative stories. She was once homeless with two children, and today she is a wonderful, talented author, with a book called Southern Fried Women.

I was so excited to receive some very nice compliments on my WIP during an open critique. I also won a full critique of the first three pages of my WIP from an agent as a door prize. I look forward to seeing what advice she has for me. I hope to use it to push me in the right direction with my WIP.

Most entertaining workshop of all was given by a publisher from Ellora's Cave. She gave out a list of inappropriate terms to use for the human anatomy when writing sex scenes. I won't bore you with any since I already shot my load on the pirate ship... but I'll leave you with the thought of my favorite.

Lacy trailed her fingertips down his muscular chest, over his washboard abs, stopping just above the object of her oral affection.

Conference Time

2008-04-20T00:50:00.006-04:00

This coming weekend I'll be attending my first writer's conference. I'm very excited to say the least. I hope to approach the workshops with an open mind and come away with many awe inspiring, new ideas. I hope to gain confidence about my writing ability and meet some influential writers who become long term friends.

If anyone has attended a conference before, feel free to share pointers that will enhance my experience. I'm a green horn in need of a push in the right direction.

Wish me luck!

Books- My Drug of Choice

2008-03-30T00:13:00.005-04:00

There are material things in my life that hold value to me. They are not necessities for sustaining life, but they help in times of self preservation. I love spending an afternoon in my local bookstore. I can walk through the door, and all the cares of the world seem to fall away. Buying new books is as addictive for me as cocaine is to an addict. I love the smell of the new pages tantalizing my sense of smell, causing a euphoria that only an avid reader can appreciate. It's exciting to be the first person to open a new book. It's like opening a new lease on life. You're opening the trap door to your mind, and letting in a new set of characters that might intrigue you for a lifetime.

I also have a love for book marks. I like all kinds. The paper laminated kind, the bejeweled kind, and the ones that clip over the top of the page. I'm also fasinated with the tiny reading lights that clip onto your book, so you can sneek a read late at night.

I admit that I like a book cover and title that catches my eye. The more colorful the photo and font on the front of the book the more interested I become. I also enjoy the stalking phase of finding one of my favorite author's books. I like reading books that are series, so I look and buy until I have every last title. The hunt of a desired book is a beautiful thing.

I also love to browse the clearance table. I have found some of the best buys, and new authors by taking the time to dig through each and every stack. It's like a archaeologist uncovering a new artifact when I unearth a book I've been coveting for so long.

The only thing bad about a trip to the bookstore is they never seem long enough. I think I should be allowed to pitch a tent and camp out for a few days, unfortunately most book stores have this pesky thing called business hours. Seesh.

Don't Forget Your Squirt Gun...

2008-02-08T23:42:00.001-05:00

I've become my own worst enemy. I've started sucking the joy out of my writing by over analyzing every aspect of my WIP. I need to relax and remember that I'm a writer because I enjoy writing. It's the one aspect in my life that I have full reign. I can allow my characters to do things that I would never attempt, and I can travel anywhere I want to right from the comfort of my own desk chair.

Writing doesn't have t be a chore. It deserves to be done correctly, but there's no 9-5 rules, and no boss standing over your shoulder telling you to remember to stay within the guidelines of the policies and procedures of the company. Forget that. I'm the CEO of this company, I make and break all the rules. I can bring a squirt gun to work if I want to, and I can take more than 30 minutes for lunch without getting yelled at for returning too late.

I send out all the memos on changes in policy, and I don't make policies I can't tolerate. My newest memo was issued today.

Note to self...write something fantastic, while having fun, so I can get paid.

The Awe Factor

2007-11-16T16:11:00.000-05:00

Have you ever wanted to create an awe moment in your latest WIP? Do you want your readers to remember your book long after they've closed the cover?

I'm on a quest to create the awe factor in my WIP.

I strive to enthrall my readers, and give them the desire to always want more. I feel the only way to do this, is to write from my heart. I take life experiences that I feel connects with my readers, and I bring it alive with words on the page.

I simply want to give the reader a gift of a lasting memory.