Motivation, Manuscripts & Mustard

So I am known to be a self-driven, motivated writer who pushes very hard to get her books written. And, for the most part, I can juggle multiple projects and manage the household without going bonkers. No wait. I fibbed. I do go nuts every once in a while, but I blame the moon in Venus rising or some other tidal wave pattern for the madness.

Here's the thing. I set high bars for myself. I want to reach the bar and exceed my expectations. No one is harder on me than I am. I am a task master who can't be tamed.

But life happens. Like moving the College Kid to College Town, USA. Or housework (which should be outlawed, but it keeps coming back to claim my time). Then there are friends, phone calls, long chats with the CK, other stuff like that and it's hard to get back on track.

Right now my motivation to finish revising a requested manuscript is super low because I've called it my "throwaway book." I don't know why I did that other than I thought one person would want it and wrote it for that person and poof--she wants to send it somewhere else. And double poof, I'm not sure I want it to go there. And triple poof, I have two other books that people want me to write and I'm under a contract to do so and these books are not anything like this current manuscript.

So how do I move on? I add mustard. Mustard spices up my life and my food and my manuscripts. Where do you put mustard in a manuscript? How does it flavor the words? Will the manuscript finally leave a satisfying taste in my mouth with the addition of mustard?

Heck yah! Here's the ticket. I signed up for an in depth course via Margie Lawson which is about Visceral Emotion and powering up your words. I am using this formally-known-as-a-throwaway manuscript to my in-depth homework. (And it's in-depth--ask my editing partners). And you know what? When I rework the manuscript as part of her homework, my writing starts exciting me again. And best of all, I think that it will energize the new books I have to write. I'm learning and writing and testing my writing muscles because it's a great way to bolster my motivation.

I probably won't finish the book by the end of August (which was my intention), but I will have a solid amount of it completed. And while I'm building my small town USA and beginning the process of writing my series of books I can continue to revise this manuscript now known as a potential-to-be-published story as part of my homework.

It's a win-win.

How do you add mustard to your manuscripts?

Makeover Madness on the Veranda

The Veranda has been undergoing a lot of reconstruction ever since I got "The Call AKA the Amazing Email." I'm really excited about the changes that the College Kid is implementing to the Veranda's design and the logo. There have been discussions about Roses versus Hearts, font names bandied about (which the College Kid has memorized and I have not), and sleek lettering to look at when she's finished coding stuff (which is my fancy way of saying "doing something I have no idea how to do and if I tried my brain would pop").

Stay tuned. This work is still in progress. Kind of like my current novella and my other draft in revision.  So while the College Kid has been working on my blog, my tumblr site and more, I've been doing what I know best: writing and revising and studying my craft online via a wonderful course offered by my Southern Magic Writing Chapter.

Oh, and when I haven't been Digging Out of the Distractions of reconstruction noise, I have been working with the website designer and there are a few minor changes to the site. Check it out at www.christinegloversite.com. Press my shiny new Entangled Publishing button and pop over to see their fabulous new titles.

If you're in the mood for something different, then my new Tumblr site might be the ticket. Though I originally joined it to follow the amazing John Green, author of The Fault in Our Stars (which is an amazing, beautiful soul-searing read), now I'm having fun exploring my new tumblr world. Here's the link: www.christinejhglover.tumblr.com

The College Kid designed the site for me. I think it looks amazing. I'm so lucky she's got this crazy math and designer gifted brain. That way she can do cool computer-like stuff while I do what I love to do: write.

I'm stoked about the novella's direction. I have been pre-writing Jessie and Blake's story. Jessie is tough, but Blake is the perfect Alpha-licious hero and I know he'll release her from her prison of pain, frustration, anger, and grief. Of course, I have to do this in a quick way, which will be a challenge. But I'm still researching her background thoroughly and can't wait to learn more about her career which means conducting an interview or two about her dangerous profession. Meanwhile, my plotting class has given Roxy & Stefano's story a great new direction for the revisions. I'm sensing a little suspense and action, but the core of the story is their romance. And that's what brings a big grin to my face when I'm writing. I love *love*.

So be on the lookout for the grand unveiling of the new look and title for the blog. The contents will likely evolve, but all in a good way. And one thing will always stay the same: me. I'm still a writer who loves to write and is constantly figuring out how to squeeze in more time to do what she loves.

How about you? Any big changes? How do you handle change? Do you like it, embrace it, or run from it?

Separation Anxiety: Juggling My Two Worlds

As many of you know, I've been on social media for about five years. Originally, I signed up for the Big Daddy of Social Media because I had moved AGAIN, and I wanted to keep up with my long distance friends. Then my Social Media world grew because I became very active in my writing world. After four years, I created a fan page off of my original site because I knew I'd need one when I finally get the "call." Or the "email" or the "you've done it Sister!" shout out.

My Social Media profile began growing with new contacts via the writing world, the College Kid's friends, the Physicist's family and friends, my new writing friends, and so forth. Pretty soon I wasn't able to see all of my close friends' posts because I had too many people flowing through my newsfeed. And I had all these writing chapter groups that I belonged to and that ate up my newsfeed. I tried to manage it all, but it was becoming very difficult.

Add to the mix the fact that I couldn't mention my kid's name, my husband's name, etc. and it was getting super crazy. I knew I had to separate the Writing World from my Personal World (really, who wants to see posts by my husband's cousin thrice removed about when he was ten?), but I was at a loss about how to do it.

Enter Sarah Wendell AKA Smart B*tch Book Reviewer and an awesome Southern Magic Chapter meeting about Digital Media and Promotion. I expressed my concerns to her and she waved her magic wand of knowledge which gave me the key to untangling both worlds. Thank you very much!!

I came home jazzed about how to untangle my worlds and begin again. But let me tell you, it was hard and I'm still figuring out how to complete the changes. Here's what I have learned:

1. Unfriending people is hard -- it takes a lot of effort and I needed to have two computers side-by-side to do it properly. Then I had to re-friend people on my new personal page. Somehow during the process I accidentally unfriended someone in my writing world, but thankfully that person checked in with me and I explained my issue and we are re-friended. Frankly, I've NEVER unfriended anyone deliberately--even if I have a tiff with that person--because I just don't think relationships should live and die by the push of a button. But that's just how I roll.

2. I'm still not sure I have my original email address for the Linda Howard contest up and running because I had to get a new email addy to create the new personal profile. So I'm running a test on that even as I write this blog.

3. Now I have yet another Social Media world to keep up with and it means keeping my new passwords with me and switching back and forth by signing in and signing out. I manage it right now by keeping one Social Media world on my iPad and the other on my laptop. We'll see how that rolls when I'm traveling.

4. I am enjoying being able to converse freely in both my worlds because they are really important worlds to me. I love my writer friends. They have great senses of humor, are super supportive of my writing efforts, and they matter to me. Many of my "professional" friends are really dear and important to me. But it's also nice to keep my family and long distance non-writing friends in a separate world because now I can say their names, see their news and updates, and be more relaxed about my posts. So it is a win-win for me all around.

Social Media is important. It's part of my life because I love being able to connect with the people I love and the people I admire. So now I'm liberated in both worlds.

How do you manage your Social Media? Do you need to play with more than one profile? Is it a love-hate relationship? Or is it a love-love relationship?

Juggling While Walking the Tightrope

I'm a romance writer. Not published yet, but I put in just as many hours in the chair as a published writer because I treat this dream like a job. I act like a professional and I expect to be treated with equal professional courtesy by other people in this industry as well as in the "real" world.

Do unto others as you wish them to do unto you is a good manifesto to live by.

As I write and pursue this dream of publication, I am blown away by the myriad of real life issues that published and unpublished romance writers face. Let's face it, the majority of romance writers are women. The word woman means that regardless of where we are in our writing careers, we have a multitude of other tasks and jobs to perform because of our gender.

Disclaimer: I'm not saying that male writers don't have many of these demands, but by virtue of their gender they can compartmentalize these different tasks more easily. I'm actually quite jealous of that ability.

OK, so back to romance writers. And especially women writers. I'll use me for the most part as a living example.

In the past two weeks I have been working diligently on my revisions for the editor. But I'm not just a writer, I'm a mother, a wife, a friend. And then some... and with these other roles comes other challenges. I think these challenges confront most of my friends in the writing world. They're juggling writing careers, other jobs, families, relationships while they're generating new stories.

Let me tell you folks, it's tough to generate a story when your College Kid's university emergency center calls you to ask where your College Kid is because she is supposed to come in for follow up work. Full on Momma Red Alert and Defcom a Gazillion hits all nerves. This momma's doing recon and emergency dialing for three hours. She's juggling two doctors' offices, a husband who wants to be kept in the loop, and a daughter who is hurting and doesn't know why.

Momma is not writing stories during this time. I can't. Could you? Could you turn off your emergency parental alert system and write? Fortunately, the emergency room doctor told me that I could step down my alert system to yellow and go into a holding pattern. Let's see, that was Wednesday. Good thing I always write a bit in the morning before I go to the gym which salvaged part of the day.

Thursday morning I get home and there's a call from a friend that I've just spent a wonderful time with at a winery. I did a little job for her (generated some RWA Conference moola) on the side so I thought it was about that little job. No. Unfortunately not. Bad news. Stinky rotten news about a friend in another city who just passed away that morning. So many years had passed since we'd seen him and his wife, but we were close during those early dating and marital years. We were close when we were starting our families. We didn't stop caring for each other because we moved, we just got busy with being responsible citizens in different corners of the world.

Now this woman writer begins chasing down information. When is the funeral? Where? What day? What time? I'm emailing mutual friends and checking out the local paper's obituaries for information. I'm texting and emailing three people to find out the information because this person was important to me and my husband. We care and we are sad. So that took some time, but it was time well spent. Original plans go out the door, fly out the window, leave the building. New plans are quickly made. Real world trumps writer's world in these situations.

Now in all of this, the College Kid still needs me to be available. So I'm grocery shopping in our new Walmart when the cell rings. I have a pretty strict policy about not taking calls in public places except when I hear the College Kid's ring tone. She's been sick and we still don't know why. So I take her calls. Even my husband takes her calls at work. She's our number one priority. Always will be. We chatted (I mostly listened) while I cruised the produce section.

All this is just my world. But I know so many other women who are juggling complicated situations and lives while they're generating new stories, revising old stories, attending writer conferences, leading chapter meetings. We're women who have multiple roles. We juggle them all while walking a tightrope between the writer's world and the real world.

Despite all of these interruptions and real world events, I did finish my third round revisions and layered in more story elements. Because I'm a professional. And I treat this dream like a job.

Why? Because at the end of my days I want to be able to say I did my best. The results may not be what I had hoped for because this industry is fickle and changes on a dime and who knows? I may never get it "right." But no matter what happens, I will be able to look into my mirror and have no regrets.

And that's what it is about for me.

What will you say to yourself at the end of your days?

Did You Miss Me?

Hi there! Remember me? That writer who blogs and travels and writes and revises and then does it all again? I'm back! Well, sort of. I've been super busy writing and revising a new story which is highly important to me. It's a foot in the door and I can't squander it. And, to be honest, when everything is said and done, the books must come first.

This story has been kicking my little tushie. I've reworked the first three chapters so often that I think I want to kick it back! I have to write the story to know the people, so I wrote the entire manuscript in two weeks after I took the kid to college. Then I revised the first three chapters, reworked them. Then I revised the entire book again. Then I sent the first three chapters to my critique partners and they made me think about the conflict some more.

Ah!!! But now I think I have a better start to the first three chapters. And I know what I need to do to fix the rest of the book. But I really have to finish this partial and send it to publishing house. I do. However, I'm not rushing this opportunity to shine. I want the partial to be strong. Super strong and powerful enough to get that request for more OR a revise and resubmit letter. I've been getting a lot of R&R letters. A good thing, but certainly not restful or relaxing in a writer's world.

When I haven't been writing, I've been doing what we all do in the real world. Still guiding the College Kid, still supporting my friends and family, still working out and dieting, still traveling and attending writer's conferences.

And I've got fun events coming up. Celebrating three debut novelists on the blog, coordinating the Linda Howard Award of Excellence contest, going to the Southern Magic Readers Luncheon with my very own basket to raffle (stay tuned--photos will follow after I build it), and gearing up for a fantastic holiday season.

So I'm back, but I'll be flitting in and out of the blogger world like a manic social butterfly. Seriously, there are not enough hours in the day! But whenever I have to make a choice between writing, revising, or other writerly stuff, the book trumps it all.

James Scott Bell said it best:

What are the ten best forms of SELF-PROMOTION?

1. Your book.
2. Your book.
3. Your book.
4. Your web presence.
5. Reviews
6. Publicity (shortened for the blog-get THE ART OF WAR FOR WRITERS)Face time.
7. Face time
8. Your book.
9. Your book.
10. Your book.

If your books do deliver the goods, word of mouth will do more than all your self-promotion efforts combined. 

I'm not published yet. But I WILL BE ONE DAY. My way. I have an ongoing theory. If I don't have a product, then time spent on blogs and building web sites and frittering on social media is pointless.

So guess what I'm working on the rest of today?

MY BOOK.

How New Health Care Questions Make My Writer's Brain Work

I have been experiencing trouble with extremely dry eyes. My eye doctor--a wonderful woman and great doctor--has been working hard to help me overcome this irritating issue. Consequently, I have to go see her about every 2-4 weeks as we try to restore the eyeballs to normal health. Between the last visit and my most recent one, there have been new questions put into place as a result of changes in how the government runs our health care system.

Cool beans, says I when the assistant tells me about the new questions. Fire away, I say, thinking that the questions will run the usual gamut of how much I weigh (don't ask, don't tell is my usual motto), how tall I am, whether or not I drink (socially, but then every day is social at my house--want to join the party?) have I ever smoked and so forth.

So here come the questions. Most are what I expected. I fudged on the weight (I seriously have no idea right now) and I always say I'm a social drinker--what social means to one person is quite different than what it means to another. On good days--Pilates days--I am 5'7". On bad days, I might shrink a half inch. Whatever. Apparently, fudging on the weight and giving myself a Pilates' height puts me in the proper Body Mass Index of GREEN. Yay me!!

All is well until the following questions come up:

1) Where are you in the birth order? First I answer.
2) Do you have siblings? Uh, yah.
3) Do you have a twin? Not that I know of--but hey stranger things have happened.
4) Are you an only child? Uh, see number 1 & 2
5) How many siblings do you have? Just one the last time I checked.

OK, I have no idea why the government needs to know if I have a twin, but naturally, being a writer, these questions made me think about a lot of "what if" scenarios. For instance, what if you're adopted and you have a twin and you don't know it? Or what if you're adopted and you don't know you're adopted and you're mother is actually your older sister? Or what if you're adopted and you're an only child in that family, but your biological family is filled with dozens of siblings and you would have been THE BABY of the family? What if you were kidnapped as a baby and you had siblings but you're raised as an only child by the kidnappers? What if you always wondered if you had a twin sister/brother and these health care questions awaken an innate "knowing" within you that has you searching for the truth?

And there's more.

What if you are a foster child/a person who grew up in the foster care system. How do you know what the truth is about your family of origin? Or what if you were abandoned at birth and raised by nuns? Or what if you're actually the crown princess of an obscure principality in Europe and the government has been seeking you and this is all a ruse? Or what if the government has decided to create a huge database of people who are twins so they can run experiments on them without their consent or knowledge because an Alien Nation has overtaken our world?

Do you see where I am going with this line of reasoning? I'd love to know what kind of scenarios you come up with regarding these new questions. Oh, and if you're my twin, please contact me off loop.

:-)

Spider Solitaire and My Writing World

I have a confession. I like Spider Solitaire. I love the hardest version on my Nook. I play endless games of 4 deck Spider Solitaire. Sometimes I can tell pretty quickly whether I will win or not. I end the game early and start again. Other times it looks like I might have a chance, but alas, no. So I deal again. Every once in a while I win.

I win one game out of every gazillion tries. So why play? Well, it's addictive. It empties my brain and for some reason that helps me with my writing. And finally, I LOVE it when I win. It's a wonderful, heady feeling to beat the game. To win and to have the little screen tell me I've won is awesome.

I play to win.

This Spider Solitaire is a lot like my writing world. It's been 7 plus years. I've written 8 books (some should never see the light of day). I've come CLOSE. Oh so close it hurts. But I haven't won yet. I can either give up altogether, or I can deal again.

I choose to deal again.

I had a great opportunity. I almost made it to the other side of the publishing world. Instead, I got a very nice letter about my book and my writing and why it wouldn't fly with this line. Sadly, I agree with all the reasons the book won't fly. Won't lie. I was a bit down afterward.

But I got over it.

Why? Because I am addicted to writing. I am addicted to solving the puzzle. I am addicted to the elusive idea of WINNING. I am so close to winning it hurts to come in second. And I don't like hurting. I like winning. So guess what I'm doing?

I'm taking that letter's advice and suggestions to heart. They are the blueprint for the kind of books I want to write. They gave me encouraging words like "promisingly high standards as a writer" and "lots of things to love about your writing like..." And "I'd be happy to read your next book's first three chapters."

That's like getting a stacked deck, folks.  That's a "you're so close that if you're willing to sit down and do all the work to understand and incorporate what we've suggested, then I will give you another chance because I LOVE MUCH ABOUT YOUR WRITING" kind of deck.

I like those odds. I like those words. I like this opportunity to break through.

Some people would give up. Some people would cave in under the weight of the pressure. Some people would go elsewhere. Why don't I go somewhere else? Try some other publisher? Take a chance on me on my own? Why? Because I want my first published book to break out of the gate as a thoroughbred. I want my first published book to rush out of the gate and get to the front of the pack and be amazing and awesome and a "wow" book. I want my first book that gets published to land me readers who will say "where has this author been my whole life because I want to read more of her books."

So that is why I am taking a break, reading a lot of books, making notes, taking time to think think think and analyze the elements of these books. I am figuring out the final braiding of the pieces of the puzzle. I have everything I need in my toolbox to write a good book. Now I have the final puzzle piece. The elusive blueprint that will lead to my books becoming great.

Yah, I'm that cocky. I'm that "on fire." I'm that determined. I have to be this way or I will turn around and crawl back into my hole and hide. I will quit if I don't play to win.

I don't want to quit on myself. I want to take this opportunity and turn it into a winning hand of 4 Deck Spider Solitaire. I want to see that little screen pop up and say "You Win!!"

Do you play to win?

Emotional Evasion

I've been in the trenches and revising for over a week. Some of it has taken me ages, other bits haven't been too hard to handle. But I'm nowhere near where I need to be as far as wanting to send it to the editor. Not yet.

First I have to rework the most difficult sections. Sections I hope will impact the readers' emotionally and supercharge them with empathy for my heroine. She's a feisty woman with lots of backbone, but even my heroine has her breaking point. And I just couldn't bear to write the scene today. Not at the end of the day.

I made notes, jotted down ideas, and arrived at the painful conclusion that I need to ramp up the action and pump adrenaline into these scenes' arteries. This is how it is going for me. I have to write something painful, something deeply emotional, and it's going to hurt. Not just my heroine, but me.

The truth is this heroine and I have been together quite some time. I've discovered a truth about her during this revision that is deeply painful. But I don't blame her for hiding it all these years. I know she's deeply private. I know she's trying to protect herself and her family from this pain.

There's no way I can force her to go through this right now. Or myself. It's emotionally draining. I have to mine her emotional experience from the depths of my soul.

I shall do that after a good night's sleep.

Flexible Writing (Yoga Optional)

I once met a mother who said she liked me because I was a "flexible" parent. No. I can't do the splits or turn a cartwheel, but I have learned that sometimes rolling with the child's schedule and adjusting the parenting dial of discipline helps me be a better mother.

I wish I could say I am always in tune and know when to adjust the dial, but I am not perfect. Sometimes I just realize that there are too many bumps in the parenting road and I rethink my position about how to handle my attempts to raise a well-rounded citizen of the world.

The same can be said about my writing. I'm a writer. I write stories. I have goals and personal deadlines because I treat my writing like a job, not a hobby. I am a professional, unpaid writer who desires publication. I tend to move forward in a nice, linear fashion when I start my books. I write fast. Messy, sloppy first drafts are my game. I like to get the story out.

It doesn't seem to matter how much I plan, the map is not even a guideline by the time I get to the middle of the book. Things get quite murky and I toss the dang outline aside just to keep writing forward. I've learned I'm better at tearing apart a first draft and finding the real story inside the shell I've created so I'm always itchy to finish my first draft. That's when the real writing can begin.

Last year I set my writing goals. One goal was to complete two books in a four book series. I outlined four books. I had my characters all planned out. I had the story arc for the entire series written out in an overview. I had the first book plotted/outlined and I began writing it in earnest in January. It's "finished" but not really, because I had another project pop into my life that required my setting aside the book I was working on, rethinking the entire series in a new way, and working on a revision for another book.

I had to do the "downward facing dog" of writing yoga and look at everything from a different perspective. I had to be flexible as a writer. Twist my brain inside out and make it work in a new way. The only thing I knew I was capable of doing was the cutting of the debris that was no longer deemed necessary. But once I cut the debris out, would I have a story? Would the characters I had not hung out with for a long while actually come out to play again? I immediately went into "child's pose" and whimpered a bit at the prospect.

Even worse, I had to wait to start. I am not a patient sort, so waiting was very hard. Very very very very very hard. I admit it: I am not good at biding my time. I was actually quite worried about the waiting period. The dominoes of time were falling fast. I panicked. I was very scared I'd fail before I started because I'd lost so much time (my freakish obsession with time is legendary in my family--I'm not allowed to wear a watch when we go on vacation as a result). Thankfully, I have amazing friends and writing partners who encouraged me and told me I had plenty of time. The dominoes slowly reassembled into their neat little timelines during my biding time.

Waiting was actually a good thing. It gave me time to think, mull, ask questions, search my mind for solutions, and cajole my characters out of my noggin. Biding my time meant I could gently tiptoe back into the story while banging out the first draft of the other story I was writing. When I finally sat down to work on the revision, I had a more flexible attitude about the entire process.

When I was in revision mode, I realized that the type of writing I do often impacts where I sit down to write. I can write a first draft anywhere, any time, any amount of words. There are no constrictions to the writing. It flows. I can tune out the people and noises so easily when I am in first draft mode. I can write in airports, restaurants, coffee shops. I just write.

Revisions? Not so easy. I have move around and go to other places inside the house so I'm not tempted to do the "business" of writing--okay, check emails and facebook and tweet. I readily confess that I am great at distracting myself in the cyber world. During revisions, I often sit at a table, in the kitchen area, with my notebook close at hand. I have to think more, jot notes, walk away, come back, sit down, pour tea, anything I can do to trick my characters into telling me more about their story.

It is their story. I know their story. I have it inside me. I'm slowly letting it come out and trying really hard to be patient with my characters. Whenever my patience is tried, I get up and walk away. I adjust my thinking. I return with a new idea and ask them, "Is this what you were trying to tell me two years ago? Oh, okay, I get it. Then I will write it for you."

I also take a lot of showers. No matter what kind of writing phase I am in, I tend to get the greatest inspiration while washing my hair and putting on my makeup.

How do you switch gears between different kinds of writing? Does place or time matter to you? And what brand shampoo works best for you should your go-to method for inspiration be the same as mine?

Break Out the Bubbly and Dark Chocolate: Celebrating Debut Author Kimberly Brock's Book THE RIVER WITCH

Hi Everyone, I'm so excited to introduce you to a wonderful person and friend Kimberly Brock and celebrate her Women's Fiction debut novel THE RIVER WITCH. I'm so excited for her and let me tell you, she deserves this honor so much! I can't wait to share her writing experiences and journey to publication. So pop*sizzle*pour and sip. 

Tell me Kim, how did you end up becoming a writer?  

Debut Author Kimberly Brock

      I’ve been a storyteller all my life. Ask my family, who endured many hours of reenacted Disney films or impromptu plays. Ask my childhood friends and teachers, who swallowed tall tales and ghost stories whole on the playground and paid the price later, afraid to sleep in their beds. They believed I had descended from an angry Cherokee Indian Chief. They believed I was going blind like Helen Keller. I was in trouble all the time for inventing and embellishing. And then, around the age of five somebody gave me a crayon and that was that. That’s when I became a writer. 

I love the crayon story!! That's a great start to your writing career. When you write are you a plotter or do you follow the muse?

I write like a Pirate. I outline, but it’s more of a suggestion than a rule. I fill notebooks from the time I start to think about a story until the day I finish the last draft. I clip pictures or print things I see online. I research and pile that in the notebook, too. I might not use half of it, but I never throw any of it out. And sometimes I put the notebook away for a while if I’m struggling with the writing, then pick it up weeks later and reading through it fresh can be like a new perspective. I’ll see things differently, or have a thought that takes me in a whole new direction. My notebook isn’t exactly an outline, but in the end it’s a map. I don’t necessarily realize where it’s going while I’m writing, but I can trace my steps back like breadcrumbs when I’m finished. If you could take the top of my head off and look inside to see the book I want to write, that would be my notebook.

Sounds like you're a collage writer. I love to work with multi-mediums as well during the planning stages. Best part of writing is the first draft. After you finish writing, how do you relax after a writing day?

I have three children under the age of twelve and the youngest is four. I hide in the bathroom like all smart Mamas. I love to cook. I love a glass of wine. When I can, I love to travel. I love water, the southern coast. But we lived on Puget Sound for a few years and I miss it, too. I’m a complete coffee addict. And I discovered France a few years ago. Part of the novel was actually written in a tiny hotel room in Paris on a New Year’s Eve.

We are huge fans of France. And I remember the early years. Bathroom is a great place to hide. And next time we see each other, we'll sip wine on a veranda overlooking the Atlanta skylilne! What do you read? What are your favorite genres? Who are your favorite authors?

I love fiction. I’m inclined to southern voices, in particular Kaye Gibbons, Lee Smith, Janis Owens, Joshilyn Jackson. I enjoy anything atmospheric, something that transports me and reminds me of the stories I loved in my childhood. Characters that grab me with their voice.

All are wonderful writers. What are you working on currently? 

I’m working on another southern mystical work that involves a lot of American history, some of it very obscure. I love to find that strange little detail, something forgotten or especially something intentionally hidden, and see what happens when you sit it out in the light. This story is set in the southeast, mostly in Virginia. But I’m not saying more than that yet.

The story sounds very intriguing. I can't wait to read it as well--once you're finished writing it and it's sold! Any new releases? 

This Mother’s Day I have a short piece of fiction in an anthology entitled Sweeter Than Tea, May 2012, Bellebooks.

Gorgeous cover!!

Where do you get your ideas for your stories?

I am a great observer – yes, that is a nice word for a snoop. It’s my one true talent. I notice everything and I have a memory like an elephant. If I’m looking at you, I’m not remembering your name or what you write or how our kids know each other. I’m figuring out other things, little idiosyncrasies that distract and fascinate me about people. I remember what people were wearing on the playground in first grade. I remember certain conversations word for word. It takes forever for me to memorize a pin number or an address, and I’ll forget your name as soon as you tell me, but I’ll always remember your face. I’ll remember expressions and freckles and the way you chewed your lip, and how that started a story in my head.

Dreams, sometimes. I have crazy vivid dreams that are long and convoluted and I remember them like movies or memories and make people listen to me recall them in awful, boring conversations where I’m the only one who cares. There are scenes in The River Witch that came straight from dreams.

I also analyze everything to death. It makes my husband crazy. I fixate on places that have histories and wonder about the people who lived there. Or a person will catch my attention, and before long I’m all worked up about whole lives and families I’ve imagined attached to them. And this goes on for years sometimes before I figure out what to do with them. At other times, a character or a story can come from memories or experiences I’ve had, or been told about. Then I think it’s just a matter of my brain trying to work out why people are as they are or why the world is as it is, until I’m satisfied enough to start wondering about something new. Until I get bored.

Your dreams and overanalyzing sound familiar. And I'm with you on the names and PIN number memory loss. *grin* How long were you trying to get published before you got the “call?”

I came out of the womb trying to get published, I just didn’t know it until my first short piece was part of an anthology eleven years ago. I wrote it and sold it in a matter of a week and a half. I had no idea what I was doing. After that I wrote several pathetic novels, found an agent, submitted my work for years and grew frustrated at the very encouraging rejections from NYC. Some editors even called to speak with my agent about my future work, but no one wanted what I was submitting. I took the last novel and revised for two years, eventually leaving my agent and submitting it to a small press. I sold the novel myself and began working with my current agent the same month.

I am so amazed at your PIRATE writing skills and selling skills. After a while a writer might have to take the work she/he's trying to sell into her own hands. I'm glad you did because now you have this new release and a brand new agent who believes in you! How did you celebrate the new book contract?

I cried over bar-b-que and a box of donuts.

Awe. Sweet. Was the “call” an actual phone conversation or an email or a snail mail?

It was an email.

Do you have an agent?

Yes, I’m working with the most fabulous Jenny Bent of The Bent Agency. I cried over that call, too. I was on vacation with my husband and kids and I took the call in my hot car in a Florida parking lot, looking out at the ocean. I jabbered at her like an idiot and she was very gracious. I’ll remember that moment all of my life.

Sounds like she's a perfect match for you! What advice would you give aspiring writers?

Write the story you imagined under your bed covers as a child, the one that thrilled you and kept you up all night, giddy and full of wonder.

Great advice. What is the most difficult part about writing for you?

Trusting the process. That’s kind of like trying to convince a woman she doesn’t really want an epidural because the natural process of labor is beautiful and rewarding, but seriously, it’s true. I keep trying to read something or watch some presentation that will give me the secret, but that’s just stupid. No one writer’s process is the same just like no two books are the same. There’s no use rushing it. I’m a global thinker and I have this broad idea, a kind of amorphous vision of a work and I want to get to the finished piece in this neat, controlled way that never happens. I have to force myself to relax in the bog of my imagination until something floats to the top that I can latch on to. And all that time, I’m convincing myself I’m not crazy. I have to know that I’m going to come full circle, and that I am an idiot kind of writer who is going to do it all the hard way. And then I have to hope I’m eventually going to be smart enough to write the book of my dreams, because when I’m writing I always know I’m not smart enough. I have to let the book teach me something first.  

I'm glad I'm not alone in learning to trust the process. But in the end you have a wonderful book and that's what is great about developing our own methods of madness. Thank you so much for coming to the Veranda and sharing your story, Kim.

Best of all, today a lucky commenter has a chance to win THE RIVER WITCH. I'll post the winner on Wednesday!

Kimberly lives north of Atlanta, where she has been for the last eight years. A former actor and 

special needs educator, she spends much of her non-writing time working as a Pilates instructor, 

enjoying her husband and three children, and encouraging storytelling in all its many forms. 

THE RIVER WITCH/Bell Bridge Books

On Sale April 30, 2012

$14.95

Post Its On my Wall

I am a very visual person, so I have a lot of little visual cues taped to the wall above my lap top desk. I also have a list of things taped to the inside of my closet door that motivate me. Not all of the post its are about writing. I also have sheets of information and quotes posted on my wall and inside my closet door. I thought I'd share what I currently up on my "working wall."

Cooler to Picnic-that's for my neighborhood picnic next week. I also have to bake cupcakes. I'm looking forward to the picnic.

Wendy-Celebration Blog-Wednesday, May 11: another friend is debuting her first medical romance with Mills and Boon. I can't wait to share her story with everyone.

Character Chart--Traits for current H/H and how they change throughout the course of the story. Major turning points are listed. This is for part of my revision process--deep revision, not little line edits.

Character Reaction/Order of Events: 1) physical 2) thought 3) dialogue 4) purposeful action BE VIVID
What I love about this is I read it somewhere in a blog and it has helped me as I try to ramp up the writing of the story. This will stay up on the wall--probably make it into my WRITING CRAFT BIBLE.

Need more conflict in Tycoon. Premise clear? in Chapter 4 Paige and Kendra state what the conflict is for Alex and Sarah internally. I have to add that--read somewhere to do that--it made sense.

A long list of scenes in Tycoon where I want to ADD words, make the writing better. I have this penchant for creating weird lists and goals that just make me feel like I have some measure of control, but really, I don't. Not till I wrestle it into shape.

Write the book you want to read! Got this from a blog Tawny Weber posted about in Twitterland. Love that quote.

Two post-its about agents I want to query. My passwords to yahoo, and blogger because I can't ever remember them. My Disney ID number. Query Tracker's PW, A post it with Enid Blyton written on it. I loved her books when I was a girl. Would like to read them again. My RWA# (though for some reason I do have that memorized).

In addition to the post its and tiny reminders, I also have Michael Hauge's Six Stage Plot Structure taped to the wall, Tami Cowden's from Lust to Love sheet, the 12 Stages of Intimacy, my calendar week printed and taped to wall with tasks on it, and a Donald Maass quote.

"I hope that your measure of success will be not the gratification of getting an agent or seeing your name on the cover, but putting together a novel of real depth--of having something to say and saying it in a story with lasting power." Donald Maass

The inside of my closet door has a list of my strengths, things that make me smile, my successes, a James Michener quote, a Delle Jacobs' quote, and a letter from a friend telling me how much she admires me.

Some strengths include: persistent, self-motivated, hard-working, organized, goal setter, eager to learn, willing to ask for help, supported by my family.

Some things that make me smile: flowers, walking with a friend, sunshine, petting my cat, spending time with my family, the Dowager Feline Clancy.

Some Successes: Graduated Top of Dean's list, teaching myself to be a parent, writing despite multiple changes and upheavals, supporting myself since I was 16 (that's a blog for another day), finaling in contests.

The object of goals is getting there... the object of dreams is the journey. Delle Jacobs

The master in the art of living makes little distinction between his work and his play, his labor and his leisure, his mind and his body, his information and his recreation, his love and his religion. He hardly knows which is which. He simply pursues his vision of excellence at whatever he does, leaving others to decide whether he is working or playing. To him it is always both. James Michener

But the most important thing I have on my wall is this sentence from my friend: I just want to tell you again what a great mom you are and a great dad (DH) is. You have a wonderful daughter who is happy and enjoys being with you and who you can trust. 


So that's what is on my wall. What's on your wall? Do you need visual cues? How are you motivated to get the job done?