Walking down the bridal path...
Yes, it's been a long time since I posted a blog or sent out a newsletter--please forgive me! I guess my best excuse for not writing lately is that I've had a lot on my mind, and now I have another good reason--and all six foot and handsome it is!
Here are some pictures from our recent wedding ceremony.
We are gathered here...
Adrian is British and a writer, too. Here is his web site. He enjoys historical re-enacting, hence our rather unique wedding apparel. I'm encouraging him to write now while he's waiting on Uncle Sam to process his paperwork to work legally in this country. But in the meantime, I'm working long hours in the "real world" to pay our bills. Sigh! I do miss writing fiction, non-fiction, anything but emails and brief Twitter or Facebook messages to friends and family, but I have simply neither the time nor the energy to do more. I have to also take care of my college-age daughters (translation: money, more of it needed) and I still do freelance editorial work on the side. There aren't enough hours in the day to really start a writing project, let alone finish one.
The happy couple in 1750s era costume.
I do have some ideas for future novels and stories, and eventually I hope to have my act together so I can at least get started on them. I'll be posting things here when I can, and I'll let you all know when I have any good news about my books in my monthly newsletter.
In the meantime, enjoy the photos of our happy wedding day! (I know I do!)
I got some print copies of my novel LOVING WHO. Looks nice! Available at Amazon, too.
I know it’s been a while—almost two months since I checked in. Forgive me. It’s been stressful, but I’ve made it through to the end of May and happy days are right around the corner.
My fiancé is arriving this week! And I’ve been cleaning house like mad. I’ve not had the energy to do so recently, and I pulled my back out a few weeks ago, but somehow piece by piece I’ve picked up around here. Now to tackle the vacuuming… That might just send me back to the chiropractor if I’m not careful.
I’ve not done much in the way of creative writing, but I’ve been watching a lot of DVDs from the library lately. They’re free and if they’re not quite “latest releases” that’s okay with me. I’ve not been to a movie in the theatre in eons. Well, I’ll take that back. I did see one new movie this past month, Star Trek.
What did I think about it? Hmm… Do I give a spoiler alert or assume you’ve seen it (or heard all about it) already? I hate to spoil a movie for anyone, so I’ll take a neutral position. I’m withholding my opinion on it until I see a sequel. There’s got to be a sequel… It just seems too obvious they introduced all these characters in less than two hours not to bring them back for another two hours of action. Action junkies will love this new incarnation of Star Trek. Fans of the classic series might have a few quibbles with a few plot points (I did), but overall I think its heart is in the right place.
My heart is getting back to its “right place” too. Once my fiancé is here we’ll be planning our wedding in earnest. The Fourth of July is our tentative date. Why not celebrate Independence Day with a wedding? The fireworks are built in!
It’s shaping up to be an exciting summer. Hopefully I’ll find a moment free to do some writing, too.
The sun sets over Caister Castle--and so do I.Another month has come and gone—and I didn’t get hardly anything I wanted to get done in March, done. For some reason, I just can’t give up sleeping, eating or taking daily showers. Those sorts of things really cut into your free time, you know—especially the sleeping.
I’m not getting any creative writing projects I’ve started finished. I’d had hoped to do so during my week off, but I just didn’t have the will to write more than a few pages on my work-in-progress. I’ll admit it, too—my heart simply isn’t into writing fiction lately. E-publishers are folding right and left it seems, taking some of my books along with them. I can’t afford to go to writing conferences and schmooze with the agents and editors from the big houses, so I can’t get a foot in the door by making a personal connection. And having a foot in the door seems to be the only way to gain the big guys’ attention these days.
Everyone with a computer seems to have written a book this past year. The submissions are flooding the slushpiles. You have to do something outrageous or illegal—or both—to get an editor’s attention. Just look at former governor Rod Blagojevich. He’s done both—and now he’s got his own radio talk show. You really wonder if becoming a criminal is where it’s at for becoming a best-selling author.
Oh, well. I can sit around and mope and groan, or I can crawl back into the saddle and get going again. Since I like horses, I’ll go the saddle route.
I think I’ll put the novel writing on hiatus until I’m unemployed at the end of May. Between trying to find another job and keeping the work I have currently, I don’t have energy to write creatively. I can write a short piece here or there (like my blogs), but the stamina to keep my concentration focused for 50,000 words or more isn’t there. I have to spend my free time sending out resumes and dealing with the rejection emails/snail mails. You think an editor’s rejection of your manuscript is bad? “Sorry, but we don’t want you to work for us,” is a lot worse, especially when your bills are due.
Lots of writers tell me this phase will pass, but I’m not so sure. It just feels like that if I give up writing fiction for a short while I’ll never return to it, and that’s tantamount to cutting out my heart. The good news is that my heart is in good hands. April may bring showers, but I’m hoping to have plenty of flowers by May when my fiancé arrives in the US. Then I’ll have another excuse for not writing—but it will be a much happier one!
You ever hear of the Book-in-a-Month challenge? I successfully completed one such challenge a few years back (My Brandi Whyne series). Recently, life has gotten in the way of me taking up another one. I need to get back into the habit of writing fiction regularly. I don’t have a month free at this point, but I do have a week. One whole week. I thought in March I’d do a “Book-in-a-Week” challenge during my spring break.
Am I insane? Well, of course I am! But everyone needs a goal, a swift kick to the pants to get them moving again. This certainly will motivate me to write, because to draft a whole novel (50,000 words approx.) in one week I will have to average twenty pages or more a day. That’s about twice as many pages as I’ve ever written in my life. Talk about a lofty goal!
The book I want to write in March is tentatively titled Leaving Who. It's the sequel to my fantasy-adventure-romantic-comedy Loving Who, which is now available in print at Amazon as well as in e-formats from Mojocastle Press.
Habits are hard to break, and I’m out of the habit of writing everyday. Sure, I write emails and work on other paying writing projects, but I’m exhausted by the end of the day from my day job. I fall into my desk chair after I come home from work and turn into an email junkie most nights. It’s not a pretty sight. I seem to be related to or befriended by every email joke junkie from here to Alpha Centauri. I can’t resist junk email, either. I sit brain dead for hours forwarding funnies and Maxine cartoons and chain prayers to friends and family members—who in return send them back to me—and soon I’m drowning in them. Help!
Long ago in the early days of the Internet, I purposefully didn’t check my email until after I’d written my “pages” for the day. I was more disciplined. I made myself write the scene, or as much as I could of a scene, before I dialed up and opened the email box that day. And I only had the one email address, too, and not the multitude I have nowadays.
I can’t easily get rid of the email addresses (they do come in handy at times), and I can’t tell my friends and relatives not to send me email jokes, funnies, prayers, links, and spoofs without hurting their feelings. But there is one thing I can do: I can make a promise to myself for one week to write those pages before I crack open the email box.
It’s going to be tough. I know it. I’ll have to get up early in the morning and not open the “box”… but the email will still be there, calling to me, enticing me away from my task. But I will persevere and make that valiant attempt to finish a novel manuscript. Wish me luck!
PS Check out my latest blog about St. Louis at the Examiner.com Feel free to leave a comment there--or here for that matter! I enjoy hearing back from readers.
These times are a'changing... Find out what these thousands are up to in the blog below!Happy Chinese New Year!
It’s the Year of the Ox they say. Okay, it’s not as flashy as the Year of the Dragon or as comical as the Year of the Monkey, but where would we be without the dependable ol’ ox? We’d all be starving—or at least our ancestors would have starved and we wouldn’t be here now, would we? The ox pulls the plow, the plow tills the field so the farmer can sow grain, and the grain grows so we can have bread. Slow and steady, the ox is a dependable animal that shouldn’t be thought less of or teased for his understated elegance. So, Happy Year of the Ox! May all of us have the strength to trudge along, pulling our plows, like the sturdy, reliable ox.
I realize my New Year’s resolutions are already off, as this blog wasn’t updated earlier in the month as I had intended. I hit the ground running in 2009 with several freelance work projects, and I haven’t had a chance to come up for air until now. But it’s been an exciting year so far, right? We have a new president and hopefully a new sense of optimism. It’s time for a change. I agree.
I know I personally and professionally need to make some changes. I’m working on them—it is difficult and I’m a great procrastinator. I need more people in my life to hold me to my goals and make me work toward my dreams. I confess that I’ve not been writing fiction lately at all. My heart hasn’t been in it. I miss my daughters a lot, and I don’t hear from them often. I work a long, draining job and make a hideous commute daily, and it’s exacting a toll on my body and soul. I seem to catch all the viruses going around. I suffer back and leg pain to an excruciating degree some days. Bitch, bitch, whine, whine, moan, moan…
I would like to say my New Year’s resolutions include getting a decent paying job that isn’t located halfway across the county, but I have to be realistic. The unemployment rate is dismal here as it elsewhere. I’m pretty much stuck with what I’ve stumbled upon until I stumble upon another position. But I can make changes.
I can say that I will write more fiction this year and get those promised sequels to my fantasy-romantic-comedy LOVING WHO and the next story in “The Paranormal Lovers of St. Louis” series out there. I don’t make much money from my fiction writing, but I do enjoy it. Occasionally, one of my readers tells me that they enjoy it, too. That makes it all worth it.
One tiny bit of “change” I did today was go to an open casting call right here in the St. Louis area. Yeah—a movie with George Clooney is going to start filming here in March. It’s based on the novel Up in the Air, and they needed an airport terminal. Guess what? Since St. Louis is no longer a hub airport, Lambert Field has a completely empty concourse for them to use as a set. They need something like 2100 extras to fill it up. I thought, “Why not?” I might not get “the call” but at least I can say I tried.
(I actually have been an extra before, once on an indie film. I went running and screaming up a dark street in a low budget zombie flick. I had fun. Everyone should have to run away from zombies now and then.)
So in case I ever make it big on the Silver Screen, you can say you knew me when I was just a lowly, underpaid, struggling writer. Autographs will still be free, too. ;)
Christmas is a time for angels—angels on my tree, angels on my cards, angels on my door wreath. But angels don’t only present themselves for the holidays. Even if we don’t acknowledge them, they exist all year round. Angels surround us and guide us and nurture us. How can I honor some of my “angels”—those wonderful individuals who have helped me navigate through the rough waters of this past year?
I hand-painted some angel ornaments to present my personal angels as “awards” for their love and assistance, but my poor excuse for art can never be enough to thank them for the help and understanding they’ve given me.
To Elaine (and Doris), my angels at Authorlink: Thanks for another year of work and wonderment reading all those fascinating manuscripts. Here's to a better year in 2009!
To Irfan and Alma, my angels of car repair: Thanks for helping me band-aid my 12 year-old car together for yet another year. Your friendly optimism and auto expertise have kept me on the road for a minimum of cash outlay. And Alma—your Bosnian coffee can’t be beat!
To Joyce and Jerry, my angels of understanding and moral support: You’ve allowed me to help you with your mission to teach English as a Second Language to the immigrant community for six years now. You rescued me from the hospital E.R. when I was without transportation, and given me rides to a job interview and to the airport. Your smiles and belief in me keep me going when I feel overwhelmed. A mere “thank you” can never cover all the wonderful feelings I have for you two!
To Diane, Brooke and John, my angels of vocal music: Thank you all for allowing me to sing with your respective Sweet Adelines’ chorus, Praise Band, and Festival Choir. Singing saves my sanity—I owe you, big time!
To Kathryn, my angel of DVD lending: Thanks for letting me borrow and watch your Babylon 5 episodes. I now know who G’Kar and Londo Mollari are now—and have enjoyed every minute of watching their story play out on the small screen. It’s always great to have a fellow sci-fi geek to chat about our favorite shows and movies with. You’re the best!
To Jenny and Mike, my angels of cell phones and socialization: Thanks for helping me keep connected with the world through your phone plan and through your social opportunities (and good eats). I’ve met some very interesting people at your parties… Call it “geek networking” but it’s always great to know you’re not alone in your interest in things of a science fiction nature. One of these days I’m going to see your names in print (Jenny) and on the silver screen (Mike—special effects guru) and say, “I knew them when!”
To Rob and Rona, my angels of computer repair and Thursday “Happy Hours”: Thanks for your technical expertise and patience when my old PC did the inevitable meltdown. And thanks for all the great get-togethers you’ve hosted at your place. Happy hour is truly a happy time on your patio!
To Zo and Mark, my angels of fun on the river: I enjoyed becoming a "lieutenant commander" on your float trip. May the good ship sail forever!
To Gwen and Ryu, my angels of artistic geekdom and great turkey and stuffing: Thanks for inviting me to your home last year for Thanksgiving dinner and for letting me jabber your ears off about things of a movie nature. Thanks for tips on looking for jobs in the area, too. I can’t wait to see your names someday on the Hollywood Walk of Fame!
To Linda, Sue, Sue, Barb and all my fellow writers at MoRWA and online: Thanks for the inspiration!
To Donna, my angel of tax preparation: Wow—I could have never figured it all out without you. You literally saved my bacon and saved me bacon, so I didn’t starve later. See you next April!
To Mom, my eternal angel and cheerleader: Enough said!
To Adrian, my angel of all time: Thanks for always being there for me. You’ve dried my tears and listened to my rants and ravings and still didn’t desert me. You put my feelings first and sacrificed so much to keep me on an even keel. You’re my bestest friend ever. I hope to be your bestest friend forever in an official sense one day soon, too. Love ya, my handsome man!
Do you have any “angels” you’d like to honor with a shout out this year? Leave their names and their stories in the comment section below. Everyone who leaves a comment this month will have their name thrown into the hat for an e-book prize drawing.
Merry Christmas to one and all, and especially to my dear angels.
P.S. Speaking of giving out awards, I received one myself recently—my writers’ guide THE CURSE OF THE MANUSCRIPT EATING SLUSHPILE MONSTER has been nominated for an EPPIE Award! The finalists will be announced in March. Read more about my funny, “how NOT to” book at Uncial Press: http://www.uncialpress.com/books/curseoft/curseoft.html and at my web site: http://www.cynthianna.com/slushpile.html
I’ve rapidly grown tired of this presidential campaign season. My weariness of all things political includes local, state and regional campaigns as well. No matter what the major political party is nowadays, they all seem to have one thing in common: They universally resort to slinging mud at their opponents rather than show how they’d go about to positively change the outcome of our current situation. In other words, negativity is the big thing in campaign 2008.
If you don’t think I know what I’m talking about, you could be right. I’m not a pundit or a Ph.D. in poly-sci. But I’ve been conducting my own non-scientific survey since the first political flyer landed in my overcrowded mailbox a month or two back. I’ve kept them all, and I’ve carefully gone through them, dividing them into “positive” and “negative” advertisements. Guess which side enjoyed a landslide victory?
Yes, I know I’m weird. I like to write—enough said. But if even a non-politically astute person such as myself can discern from the mountain of political ads that things have taken a decidedly negative tone in 2008 (even compared to the negativity of past years), then something is amiss. It seems no one has a positive outlook on life, our country or our form of government in general. Every candidate only sees the black clouds, never the silver linings.
Other than throwing open a window and yelling, “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take this anymore!” (that famous quote from the movie Network), I think the only thing I can do is to “vote positive”. I will vote only for candidates and issues that present their platform in a positive manner. If this means I’ll have to skip voting for a few offices, then so be it.
A blank ballot is a statement in and of itself, isn’t it?
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