Good Reads on Good Friday

Let them eat cake!!!

Chocolate cake for breakfast = weight loss!. (Please please please please please let this study be true?!?)

I’ve said for years that chocolate is clearly a vegetable.  I mean...hellooo...cocoa BEANS!!!  Need I say more?  Now there is scientific evidence to sooo prove I’ve been right all this time.  Everyone make a note...this is one time I can say (whole heartedly and with feeling) I love science! 

Oh...and there is a sentence in there somewhere that says it can be psychologically damaging to avoid sweets entirely.  Yeah...THAT explains a lot. J  I know a few people who should avoid dieting for this reason alone.

True Facts about Bottled Water that Science doesn’t want you to know

And we’re back to hating science!  Yes...short lived, I know.

This information was released by the True Facts Institute of America, so it’s gotta be true! Right?!?  From now on I will only drink water that originates in heaven.

Thanks again, Internet.

Extreme Parenting 101 : Why you shouldn’t shoot your daughter’s laptop

Ok...I’ll be the first to admit...there have been times I was pushed to the edge of chunking my laptop out the front door while screaming explicatives loud enough for all the neighbors to hear...and my neighbors aren’t that close.  But seriously...firearms never crossed my mind.   Really!  But hey....to each his own, right?

Snails....They’re not just for lunch anymore!

I’m sorry...snails remind me way too much of leeches with shells to allow this to happen.  Much less to PAY them to do it.  I mean...can’t they just find snails out in the woods somewhere and try it at home...for free?  Just weird.

An employee gives a medical-cosmetic massage to a client using African snails at a beauty salon in Russia's Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk March 23, 2012. The beauty salon is the only one in the region using the snails' method, which is believed to help in speeding up regeneration of the skin, eliminating wrinkles, scars and traces of burn marks, according to the owner Alyona Zlotnikova.   REUTERS/Ilya Naymushin

I had NO idea Obama was a cat person!

Sooo many headings I could put on this picture...sooo little space

MOSCOW - President Dmitry Medvedev reassured Russians on Wednesday that his cat Dorofei was safe after reports that it had run away made him an object of satire on Twitter.  - 28 Mar 2012

Ok...I would love to hear the captions you come up with for this photo.
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As for a few Good Reads that will carry you through the weekend, here are a few books that might be something to check out.

If you're up for a real life "haunting" I recommend:

220 Fifth Street by Patrick Meechan
A terrifying true story of a seemingly ordinary house in a small mid-western town, 220 FIFTH STREET rivals the all-time great novels of its genre. This time however, there is no Hollywood hype. The story is entirely true and will have you on the edge of your seat, rethinking what you thought you knew about the spiritual realm. Finally, a haunted house story of truly Biblical proportions!

For a feel good, love is in the air but no one wants to acknowlege it story, I recommend:

Bloom by Julie Anne Lindsey
(I plan to read it in its entirety this weekend.)
In a town filled with her past, she never expected to find her future….
Seven years ago Cynthia left Honey Creek with a broken heart. Three years ago Mitchell arrived with one. Now Cynthia’s come home, and these two hardened hearts can’t stop arguing. If they’d only take a break long enough to find some common ground, they might be surprised to find love can grow anywhere.

If they let it, love will find a way to Bloom.


And...as if this book isn't alread popular enough...
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
(It really is better than the movie!!!)
In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV. Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, regards it as a death sentence when she is forced to represent her district in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before-and survival, for her, is second nature. Without really meaning to, she becomes a contender. But if she is to win, she will have to start making choices that weigh survival against humanity and life against love.


So....that concludes my Good Reads for Good Friday post.  I do hope you will check out my post on Everyday Sideways today as well.  I've been blessed beyond what I deserve...I hope & pray each of you are as well on this Easter weekend.  

Happy Easter!!

Talk is cheap...Results are priceless

The other night I was in bed, oddly remembering a scene from my past life.  No, not like a different lifetime ago...don’t wig out,  from a few years back.  YES...that was a different life, I assure you!  Anyway...back to the scene.  I was TRYING to go to sleep and the then husband was there with his handy dandy notebook (yes, I just made a Blue’s Clues reference) brainstorming…LOUDLY… about a blog he wanted to start for the money pit, I mean race team he and his brother had.  So there I was…half asleep, spouting off half witted blog titles for him, trying to ignore the ones he was bringing to the table (you don’t want to hear those…believe me) when out spouted something so profound that I actually woke myself from my  uncommitted slumber.  Don’t ask why I was remembering this...who knows why we think of some of the things we think of???  The mind is a strange creature. 

Now...for those perceptive few of you reading this (which would be approximately all of you since there are most likely only a FEW reading this) you may have figured out my sleep induced epiphany by now.  Yep…it’s the title of today’s blog.

Talk is cheap…results are priceless.

I need to truly take my own advice on this one and stop running my mouth and get serious about my, thus far, half ass efforts to make my dreams a reality.  This is supposed to be a commitment to myself.  I don’t know why I continue to sabotage my efforts or let those around me sabotage them unknowingly.  I mean...I didn’t used to be such a slacker. 

So....it’s time to put my money (what little I have of it) where my mouth is.  Talk is cheap.  I need to start seeing some results....after all...I said so myself...they are PRICELESS!!!

Thoughts for the day:

Why doesn't onomatopoeia sound like what it is?

If the #2 pencil is so popular, why is it still #2?

What NOT to do

        Ok...this blog is a little different than what I typically have been throwing at you.  It’s about friendship.  It’s about being there for someone when they need you.

Ask yourself this....Have you ever had a friend in crisis?  Didn’t really know how to react, what to say or do for them?  Yeah, I’d bet we’ve all been there and could really use some pointers on what to do in those situations.  Unfortunately I don’t have any straight forward answers, but I do have some insight into what NOT to do and how to learn from that.  These “what not to do” moments of clarity have come from personal experiences and can also be found abundantly in a rather popular, NY Times bestselling book a lot of people like to call The Bible.  More specifically the Book of Job.

Ok, here’s the scenario (which can be found in Chapters 1 and 2 of Job).  There’s this guy named....well...Job.  Job lost everything:  livestock, family, even his health (and that isn’t necessarily in order of importance).   So, Job has these friends, right?  These “friends” decide they are going to give him some advice, try to cheer him up, you know…a little friendly intervention.   Now, I’m sure that in their minds these friends had good intentions and all, but boy were they hitting the head of that nail just a bit left of center.   Without a doubt, these friends had a questionable view of friendship and I’m not even going to mention their excruciating lack of tactfulness…ok, maybe I am.  They really needed a little sensitivity training.

So these friends are “cheering” him up, but it seems to me that they made a couple of mistakes in their attempt to do so.  Their first mistake was one we all make at times.  They assumed they could relate to Job’s losses.  AS IF!  I mean, this guy just lost EVERYTHING.  Not just his home, not just a child, not just a part of his health ALL OF THESE THINGS…..EVERYTHING….and these friends acted as if they understood.  I don’t know about you, but I’m pretty certain I wouldn’t know how Job felt.  I wouldn’t even be able to begin to imagine how it would feel to lose everything.

On top of that, they made light of his pain.  Seriously?!?!  These friends tell Job that if he would just repent to God then maybe he would be vindicated.  Wow.  Really???  So essentially they were just telling Job that they KNEW he had to have done SOMETHING to bring this upon himself.  What kind of friends were these people?  They may as well have just said “Job, stop lying.  You know you screwed up, just admit it so God will forgive you already.” 

Is this something you’d want YOUR friends to say to you?  Yeah, me neither.  If I had been Job, I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t consider any of them a friend after all this. 

Which brings me to the timeless phrase: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”   I would dare say they are words to live by…well in my house they are words to live by (I find myself sounding like a broken record repeating them to my kids sometimes), in my Mom’s house they were words to live by and in homes the world over I’d be willing to bet (if I were a betting kind of gal) that they are words to live by.  That many Moms can’t possibly be wrong, can they?  Kids...you aren’t allowed to answer that for another 15-20 years.

It all comes down to this…as friends we will never be perfect.  After all, we ARE human.  However, we CAN treat our friends the way we would want them to treat us in a similar situation.  With love, compassion, understanding and a strong dose of sensitivity.  There will be times when we are faced with a friend who is suffering, a friend who is hurting, a friend who has lost something or someone and maybe we can’t truly relate.  Maybe we can’t know how they really feel…but we can be there for them.  We can pray for them and with them.  We can show them the kind of love that God shows us when we need comfort and understanding.  Take a lesson from Job’s friends (a what NOT to do lesson, that is) and do for that friend what you would want a friend to do for you.  Making the world a better place really only starts with one small act of kindness.

Thoughts for the day:

How come Superman can stop bullets with his chest but he always ducks when someone throws a gun at him?

Before they invented drawing boards what did they go back to?

Life....does it get in OUR way, or do we get in it's way?

Apologies for the light (ok, ok...nonexistent) blogging lately. I've been preoccupied with personal matters and haven't been able to give much attention to this blog -- or, unfortunately, my writing in general.  Sometimes, life runs perfectly...just like you imagine it should (ok, maybe not MY life..but I’ve heard it happens...I think this is how Urban Legends get started), sometimes...life can be chaotic at best... kids need a little extra attention, the dog decides to go off the deep end and drag everything not bolted down in the neighbor’s yard to your porch, you have 200 errands to run and only 2 days to run them.  You get my point.  Then throw in the roller coaster that your emotional life can turn into and you just don’t know how to make the danged thing stop. 

Thing is...I love roller coasters.  I remember a trip with the youth group at church to Bush Gardens one year....it was late in the season, the park was fairly empty (which is the best time to go) and the Loch Nest Monster coaster was a free for all.  You got off the ride, walked around and got right back on.  It was GREAT!  Life isn’t always like that.  Sometimes, the coaster is just not so great.  Though, I can see how life works that way.  You get off the roller coaster....sometimes maybe a little sick to your stomach, maybe a little dizzy from the ride....but you have to walk around and get back on.  You can’t let the side effects of the loops and turns keep you from riding.

I honestly don’t know how people do it when they don’t have God to lean on though.  I know I haven’t mentioned my faith much in my blogging thus far, but I am who I am.  I believe what I believe.  We are all entitled to that.  I don’t judge anyone for their beliefs...as a Christian, that sooo isn’t my place.  But if you don’t have somewhere to lean, someone to lean on...what do you do when life feels like it’s just too much?  When the roller coaster feels like it isn’t ever going to stop long enough for you to catch your breath, get your bearings, and get ready to get back on? 

Anyway...I’m catching my breath, getting my bearings and preparing to get back on the roller coaster...hopefully for a more enjoyable ride.  I’ll be back to posting soon.  Until then....

I pray your roller coaster is going at just the speed you like.

Character Development - Hold on Loosely

Recently I began taking a writing class.  Because you know...I just had sooo much free time on my hands, I felt like I needed to fill it with something.  Actually...I wanted to take it way more than any of the college courses I’m taking.  Helloooo...it’s a WRITING class.  I LOVE writing.  Biology...not so much.

Anyhow...It’s being taught by author Candace Havens (you should absolutely check out her work!  http://www.candacehavens.com/  ) & I am only a week into it, but I can tell it’s going to really give me a push in the right direction with my literary endeavors.  (See...using professionally sounding verbage already)

Our assignment this week partially focuses on character development.  Now, as we all know, I am not yet a published author...heck, I’m not even finished with the first manuscript...but I am an avid reader, and for me...the characters pull me into a story quicker than the plot does.  I’m easily fascinated by a complex character.  Characters can make or break a novel.    

One of our questions this week was “What do you want your characters to say to the reader?”  My first response was that I want my characters to say “I am real.  I exist.”  I want them to get in the reader’s face and say “Do you get it yet?  Don’t you want to know more?”  In other words...I want the reader to feel so engrossed by my characters that they think of them as a REAL PERSON.  Someone they know.  Someone they can relate to.  I want my reader to become emotionally involved.  To me, THAT is what will make my characters come to life, make my readers want more.

The truly great characters aren’t the perfect ones.  They are flawed.  They have limitations to overcome.  They have to grow into who they are meant to be.   If they were perfect...well, they’d just be completely unrealistic and boring.  I don’t like boring.  Not in real life and not in my writing.  Besides, perfection is highly overrated.

So, in order to try to keep my characters as imperfect as you and me...I use the character development tools that I’ve acquired and refined over the past year or so.  I have a few that help me flesh out the deep, dark complexities of my fictional entourage. The one I always start out with is my Character Development Sheet (click the link to download it & use it yourself).

I’d love to be able to give credit where it’s due, but the truth is...I got ideas from so many different places, Frankenstein would be jealous.  Some thoughts are mine...some are from other minds far, far away.  (Susan...be nice...I can hear you from across the state line – my mind isn’t THAT far away)  Regardless of the sources...hopefully the final product will be useful.

Planning your characters out is majorly important.  You need to know how their personality factors into the story, how they will move the story along.  Just like in life...it’s hard to know which way to go to get where you’re going, if you don’t have some direction.  Your character needs direction.  However...don’t smother them.  Hen pecking your characters will only turn them into teenager-like mutineers who roll their eyes at you and make faces behind your back when you try to force them in a direction they don’t want to go.  You have to let them be free to express themselves and find their own paths sometimes too...much like teens.  Hold the reins too tight...you’ll lose them.

Thoughts to ponder...

If a cow laughed would milk come out of its nose?

If a turtle doesn't have a shell is he homeless or naked?

Disclaimers and Victoria Secret Models

I’ve been giving some thought since I started writing the blog as to what I should write about next  (I realize for those who know me well it’s a stretch to comprehend me thinking about something aside from my book for more than 24 hours) and it occurred to me…I should probably be thinking about what I’m going to write about from here on out. 

After all…I realize everyone could eventually get bored with my constant rambling regarding the unfair state of vegetable classification (I still say chocolate is a vegetable...it IS derived from beans)  and how if we were all TRULY created equal either I’d consistently be a size 5 or all Victoria Secret models would look like me.  That’s right...think about it.

So  what have I come up with?  This should be a blog about more.  Not just my struggles and victories, but yours too.  Not just topics that will help me, but topics that will also help all those who venture to read…at your own risk of course.  My skilled team of lawyers say I should probably print some kind of disclaimer spouting off about how I can’t be held liable for any actions, comments or likely heated discussions this blog may, at some point, initiate between the reader and any significant others.

In other words…

Ladies - it’s not my fault if your man begins a downward spiral in relevant conversation when you bring up the blatant  inequality between real women and Victoria Secret models.

Men (I highly recommend you heed the following advice closely) – if you have even an ounce of decency and sense the words “Victoria Secret models” will never fall from your lips in the presence of female company.  Never.  (when it does...don’t say you weren’t forewarned)

With all that said…I’m off to think about the next topic of discussion.  If anyone has anything they have questions about, would like more information on or just wants to comment…please feel free to…well…comment. J

Until next time, phrases to ponder....
   Gag a maggot
   Try to relax and enjoy the crisis.
   Everyone has a photographic memory. Some just don't have film.
   Why is it called lipstick if you can still move your lips?

Back to the Grindstone

Don't you just LOVE old sayings?
No?
Ok...I can respect that. 

Half the time I don't know what they mean or where they came from anyway.  And, like my food, I like to know where things came from.  I mean, you wouldn't eat a slice of pizza if you were a little bit leery of its origins....would you?  I'm banking on anyone reading this NOT being that creepy kid who would eat anything at the lunch table (or anywhere else for that matter) for a dollar.  Actually a disturbing mental movie just began playing in my mind from junior high....but I won't go into detail.  One - because I'd really like for you to keep reading and two - if I started naming names and some of those "characters" from the mental movie were to read this...there would be some explaining to do. (Not by me...by them...to their current spouses most likely.  I don't want that hangin' over my head.  Especially since I think I'm friends with most of their spouses...hmmm)  Anyway...I digress.  Old sayings.  That's where I was.  The grindstone.

I chose that saying because I took some time off.  Yes, I realize it was over a month, almost two.  But hey, you dealt with the holidays too.  You know how it is.  So it's time to get back to "work."  And obviously...I didn't make that whole ridiculously short deadline.  Guess God just didn't mean for me to enter that one this year.  Anyway...

I had a few adventures since we last met.  Ok...really only one...in Florida.  Key West to be precise.  It involved a scooter...but that deserves a blog post ALLLLLLLL it's own.  Trust me.

I've been rewriting the book too.  I'm a few chapters into the "rewrite."  I'm thinking I will post the first few chapters at some point.(for all 5 of you that have been reading.)  ..just not right now.  I want to make sure I won't be changing them....again.
Meantime...I do hope and pray that everyone's 2011 has gotten off to a blessed beginning.

**************
Before I go...a bit of fairly useless knowledge.

Merriam-Webster offers the following info on Grindstones.

Definition: a flat circular stone of natural sandstone that revolves on an axle and is used for grinding, shaping, or smoothing  (don't know about you, but I seriously can't say I've ever used one of these...much less gotten "back to it".  I think I need a new phrase.)

First Known Use of GRINDSTONE :  13th century

Rhymes with GRINDSTONE  (I had no idea there were so many types of stones.  Frankly I'm a bit shocked they didn't name every bone in the body.  You're humming it now aren't you?  "The hip bone's connected to the thigh bone"...yep.  You're humming it)

agon, aitchbone, alone, atone, backbone, Bastogne, bemoan, Blackstone, bloodstone, bluestone, bondstone, Boulogne, breastbone, bridge loan, brimstone, brownstone, calzone, Capone, capstone, cell phone, cheekbone, chinbone, cogon, cologne, colón, condone, copestone, corn pone, curbstone, cyclone, daimon, dapsone, debone, depone, dethrone, dial tone, disown, Dordogne, downzone, dripstone, drop zone, drystone, earphone, earth tone, end zone, enthrone, estrone, fieldstone, firestone, flagstone, flowstone, flyblown, footstone, freestone, free zone, full-blown, gallstone, gemstone, Gijón, goldstone, gravestone, greenstone, hailstone, halftone, handblown, hard stone, headphone, headstone, hearthstone, high-flown, hip bone, homegrown, hormone, hornstone, impone, ingrown, inkstone, in stone, intone, jawbone, jewel tone, keystone, León, life zone, limestone, lodestone, long bone, Maidstone, milestone, millstone, moonstone, mudstone, nose cone, oilstone, orgone, ozone, pay phone, peptone, pinbone, pinecone, piñon, pipestone, postpone, potstone, propone, redbone, red zone, rhinestone, sandstone, shade-grown, shinbone, siltstone, snow cone, soapstone, splint bone, strike zone, T-bone, tailbone, thighbone, time zone, toadstone, tombstone, touchstone, touch-tone, tritone, trombone, turnstone, twelve-tone, two-tone, Tyrone, unknown, unthrone, war zone, well-known, whalebone, wheel-thrown, whetstone, windblown, wishbone, Yangon

The Toothbrush Backstory

Ok...so I know many of you have been on the edge of your seats, anxiously awaiting the story behind last Friday's "Question of the Day"....haven't you?  It's ok to admit it.  So here it is.

Last Thursday night my toothbrush was wet....and I hadn't brushed MY teeth with it yet.  It kind of freaked me out a bit.  But I handled it well...really...I did.  I opened the bottom drawer of the bathroom cabinet and pulled out one of the stash that always comes home with us from every visit to the dentist (at least we get something from the seriously inflated bill).  Anyway...I used THAT toothbrush.  My new, personal, hot pink toothbrush.  A girly toothbrush.  One that will (hopefully) deter any future male inclinations to even touch it, much less go through the process of using it for any reason.  I even left the other TWO toothbrushes in the holder so he still has options.

Needless to say, the Dear Hubby (aka DH) doesn't seem to see anything wrong with sharing a toothbrush.  Makes me wonder how many times in the past he has used it that I'm oblivious to.  (Truthfully....I don't think I WANT to know...really)

I would go into detail about my rant and subsequent "hissy fit" that occurred the following morning.  But I want you all to continue reading....plus...it's good for you to exercise your imaginations.  I'll leave it at that.

So now you know my answer.  Unless there is an emergency situation - like say a hurricane or tsunami wiped out the significant other's toothbrush - then that's a no go on sharing.  As I told my DH:
DO NOT TOUCH MY TOOTHBRUSH.  EWWW.

The Toothbrush That Broke the Camel's Back

This morning something came up...it's not even remotely closely related to my writing this book.
Nope. Not at all.

It was one of those things that comes out of the blue and has led me to think I need a "Question of the Day"

So here it is...I'd love to hear what you think about it.  By all means...chime in with a comment.  I'm fairly curious if everyone else feels the same as I do...or what the overall consensus is.  (I've already learned a few heated opinions - for Tink, apparently...this is a major deal breaker).

I won't tell my "story" about the question until I've heard a few inputs. :)

Question of the Day:

Is it okay to share a toothbrush with your significant other?  Why or why not?

So let's hear it!

It's official...I need therapy

I realize that it's a good thing to push yourself, to expect more from yourself...to strive for greater things.  But, at what point do you declare yourself nuts and seek professional help?

Ok, ok...so the professional help I need may not REALLY be in a therapeutic sense. (Though I am a firm believer in chocolate therapy...big fan)  What I really need is help with my tendency to think a little too big at times.

I decided Tuesday that I'm going to try very hard to finish this manuscript (aka...book) by Nov. 28th.  That will give me a couple of days for reading over it and seeing if I need any major revisions that would have to happen at warp speed in order to get said manuscript in the mail to reach the deadline of Dec. 2...which is the date it needs to arrive at the RWA office to be considered for the Golden Heart Award. 

The Golden Heart is awarded each year to one unpublished author (for which I qualify).   I'm not sure what flash of brilliance convinced me it could be done (by Nov 28)...but Jenny (my friend) assures me it's "doable."  I do love her confidence in me..or is it in my muse?

Regardless....I am up for the challenge.  I'll keep you up to date on the progress.
Wish me luck.

Synopsis (That's an author's word for "Summary")

Book of Dreams: (this part of title to be determined)

Halle Michaels is a not so typical seventeen year old with two unusual gifts… her dreams become reality and she hears voices. 

Aeden is an unwavering Guardian… one of a host of immortals assigned as protectors of humanity. One who doesn’t allow emotion to cloud his judgment. 

When Aeden is assigned to guard Halle, life for both of them changes forever and for an immortal...forever is a long time.

The Hellions, enemies of the Guardians and all of humanity, believe that Halle is the key to finding The Book of Dreams, a book of ancient truths.  The Book holds knowledge that could lead the Hellions to the Tree of Life, lost at the beginning of time when humanity fell from grace.  Finding the Tree of Life would give the Hellions power to control the mortal world and wage war once more against the heavenly Kingdom of Marom.

The High Guardian, Gabriel, learns of the dangers Halle faces and assigns Aiden to protect her.  An assignment Aiden thought would be simple enough. He didn’t count on her unusual abilities factoring in to the equation, nor was he prepared for the effect this mortal would have on him.  Learning that she was the daughter of the one Guardian who gave up immortality to become human complicated his assignment even more.

Halle must find a way to make sense of the voices and her dreams in order to learn to use her abilities to save herself, those she loves and possibly mankind.  

Aeden must decide between duty and his heart, when Halle begins trying to prevent the terrible things that happen in her dreams from becoming reality.  Does he break the cardinal rule not to interfere in the decision of a mortal to save Halle’s life ultimately losing his chances of finding the Book? Or does he follow the rules he has protected for longer than humanity has existed, obtain The Book, and leave Halle to face her consequences, knowing she could be lost forever?

Hello World Wide Web!!!

I finally decided to join the rest of the world and start a blog. I admit, it was a tough decision considering the fact that I sometimes feel like I have to steal what time I get to write on my manuscript and now I'm adding a blog to the mix.  BUT...as an author aspiring to join the ranks of the published, I've been encouraged (strongly, might I add) to create a presence in the vast world of technology...aka: the web.  So...here I am, putting my thoughts and ramblings out there.  After all, as a writer, isn't that what its all REALLY about anyway?  Just writing.  So, I write for me and for all those who are brave enough to venture into the words that flow from my (twisted, genius, rambling, hyperactive, half-baked, curious, inventive, stubborn, amiable, perceptive, highly original but sometimes hard to fathom) mind.

What will I be posting about you ask? Excellent question.

I'll begin by documenting my journey through my first manuscript.  Hopefully my (mis)adventures will be helpful to others who may be on their own journey. 

I'll also post about sites and information I come across that could be helpful to other writers...or whoever.  I don't discriminate.

Once I've completed my manuscript (please...no one begin holding your breath...could be a while)  I'll continue on with the challenges, progress and adventures that present themselves along the road to published author.  Yes...I'm aware that I sound very confident.  I am.  I have to be...don't I?  If I dont' have confidence in my success who will?  Ok, besides my Mom.  But she HAS to believe in me...I'm pretty sure she signed some kind of contract stating so before she was allowed to bring me home from the hospital.

I am currently working on a YA paranormal romance, which is not yet officially titled.  I have a working title, but I've mentally changed it at least 7 times, so I'm sticking with the "no title" story for now. I will post a brief synopsis and sample chapters soon.

I'm looking forward to cementing my adventures in writing as I make my way through my first novel.  Hope you'll join me since I'm a social butterfly type and I hate being alone (which might be why I've started writing this novel...characters are always with you - yes, I know...I have a therapist on speed dial).

God bless!
Bridgette