April showers

Apparently brings freezing temperatures the next day. I'm glad I was lazy and hadn't brought out any spring clothes yet! Sweaters all the way!

Today is another long day for me. One day I'd like to sleep in, be lazy, NOT do anything but watch a NCIS marathon or a House or Stargate SG-1 one...or my Sharpe movies again. I long for that day. :)

That day is not today. Today I'll be fiddling with my website. Bought Dreamweaver which came with NO instructions, so went to my library and badgered the NF buyer into buying a Dreamweaver book. I reasoned I wasn't the only one in need. She bought it but then she's nice like that. Between that and Denise's help (she has the same book and actually made notes. I'm so impressed!) I managed to figure out cascading windows and text wrapping. Still a little iffy on the color thing, thought I had it, now I'm not so sure.

Finish last Wicked Seduction story. Cherrie on Top is a contemporary romance that takes place in a popular San Fransisco bakery. I'm about 1/4 through that and hope to finish it up tonight.

After I paint my bathroom. It needed a second coat. *sigh* Which meant I needed more paint. And now that I moved everything INTO the bathroom to have room in the hall, I need to move it back OUT to paint. Again. The whole thing should be finished by this weekend and it'll be nice to have

The joys & pitfalls of writing

If you're a writer you already know this. If you're not but know a writer you've probably tuned out over some of the venting that comes with being friends with a writer. I try to limit that kind of interaction with non-writing friends. They don't get it. Or think I'm crazy. Probably both. In the end, we're all ok with that, and let it slide. I am crazy, but then so are they.

I love writing - plotting, characterization, breaking the story, fixing the holes. What I don't love, and what is obvious to even non-writers is being stuck. Last night I spent several hours doing nothing but playing Sid Meier's Pirates. I love that game. it's highly addicting and even though I have stories to write, edit, polish, and send off, I spent the night attacking ships and plundering towns.

Because I was stuck. Trapped. Couldn't write a thing and didn't really want to. I needed a break. Not a crash, like what happened immediately after Christmas when I spent 4 days watching 14 Richard Sharpe movies. Sean Bean...yum...

Today's a new day but I still don't feel like writing. It's gray and cold out with snow predicted. I should at least open a file. And probably will. After breakfast. Usually once I putter a bit around the house things start to flow again. So laundry here I come. Then Gareth & Arabella in Book 3: Desert & Destiny.

Dark Desire of the Druids I: Murder & Magick available now from Ravenous Romance

First post of the year

I thought about what to write for this most important post, my FIRST ONE OF 2009 how I'm going to stick with my 2009 goals, what I've done so far, all this energy, enthusiasm, so on and so forth; ditto, ditto; Et cetera, Et cetera...You don't what to know what I've done with the first 4 days of the new year. Nope.

There's been very little energy, some slight enthusiasm, little actual work, but over all, mostly Richard Sharpe and his various movies because of which I'm now reading Bernard Cornwell's books. I did finish a short story for Ravenous, Love Birds, a Valentine's Day story.

Promised to get off my lazy arse and write something else, but yeah, that didn't happen. And I have a deadline January 15 for the 2nd in my Dark Desire of the Druids series, Sex & Subterfuge. That's pretty well done, but I do have to finish it then edit it, but I have great faith in this weekend. Which conveniently gives me this week to finish reading the Sharpe books. *G* Yup. I'm addicted. It's a thing.

I did manage a blog for Unusual Historicals on Professions: Female Writers in the 1800s. Will start working on part 2 of y Panic of 1873 blog for Slip into Something Victorian, too.

2009 Resolutions

Resolved:

• To keep all deadlines already contracted for. (Coming up January 1...)
• To market my stories far and wide.
• To break two further wolfie stories (Shadow State), set in pre-WWII/early days of WWII.
• To widdle down my 100,000+ word romantic suspense with romance and suspense and somehow merge them into a true romantic suspense.

Let's see how far I get in 6 months. I have high hopes (come on now, sing.) that I can do this. It's merely a matter of time. And no distraction by Richard Sharpe.

Research

For some reason, all this wrapping and Christmas cheer got me thinking about research. OK, that and Sharpe's Eagle which I watched while wrapping. Sharpe's Eagle is the 2nd in the Richard Sharpe movie series based on the series of books by Bernard Cornwell. Sean Bean...yum. And I just discovered as I was checking Mr. Cornwell's website (and loving every link on his page!), that there are 2 more Sharpe movies with Sean Bean! Oooh, I can't wait to check them out.

On to research!

Googling something is all well and good but make sure you verify the source. Is it a government or educational source? Or some random .com. As you all know, anyone can have a website. Don't let Hollywood fool you with their version of history. Wikipedia is a great start for almost any search, but always, always, follow their references link to verify stuff and search any facts you intend to use.

Off line, the World Book Encyclopedia is a excellent source for beginning research. Libraries, while many aren't the repository of historic texts you may need, often have access to an Interlibrary Loan system that can get what you need. Be careful in what you request - if anything happens to that 100 year old book, you're responsible!

Do use other historic authors. Mr. Cornwell is a excellent example of a man who knows the Napoleonic Wars. Patrick O'Brien is his counterpart for the Napoleonic Naval War. Kathy Reichs of Bones fame is a forensic anthropologist. Jane Austen lived in the Regency.

Or documentaries...Ken Burns is known for his (really long) but excellently researched series involving letters ad interviews with the 'common man'.