Another Relaxing Day Today

We started off the day with storms. For a while there, I didn't think they'd ever move out. They didn't seem too bad, just...prolonged. Now the sky is mostly blue with clouds here and there. The sun is shining nicely and our high is supposed to be around 84°. :)

The only definite plans we have for today are to go shopping...and Jeff plans to do some things around the house. Otherwise, I'd like to do some reading and maybe some outlining, but I don't know. We'll see.

I had a good phone call yesterday. I was a little nervous at first. Business calls always make me nervous, but I wasn't as nervous as I was the day before....probably because the call the day before was just an "ice breaker." LOL! Anyway, it went well yesterday and I'm happy. :)

Jeff returned most of my library books yesterday afternoon while I fixed dinner, then he went and got some snacks. He didn't tell me he was going to do that, but I had a feeling he would.

We watched Spirit last night. It had a slight bit of entertainment value, but it wasn't really that great. Can anyone say "lame"?

This morning, I made us some omelets with sweet onions, bell peppers and chicken in them, then we watched Coraline...finally! I loved it! :D

Well, there's nothing interesting going on here at the moment, so I'll let you move on to more interesting entries. ;)

Have a good one!

Lois

A Day for Relaxing?

I don't have much planned for today. At some point, we've got to return some of my books to the library.

The phone call yesterday went well. It was only supposed to take about fifteen minutes, but it ended up taking a little over an hour. It was worth it though. :)

I'll be getting another phone call today. This one's supposed to take a while.

I'd like to work on my outlines and maybe do some brainstorming. If I can, I'd also like to do a little reading and writing.

And that's all I've got going on for today.

Have a good one!

Lois

Today Is More of A Heinz 57 Day

It's been stormy here this morning, but I think it's supposed to clear at some point. I sure hope it does. It's too dark and wet outside!

Anyway, today I'm going to start by working on the project I'm working on with Patti. That's my top priority right now. Then I'll either work on some outlining / brainstorming or do some reading.

I have two important phone calls to take over the next couple of days, too. Tomorrow's call will take a bit of time, so I want to make sure I get some things done that I need to do before then so my time is free.

Eric hurt his toe pretty bad last night. He and Chelsey went to the emergency room. They gave him some painkillers and a butterfly bandage and told him to stay off his feet for a few days. That means he can't work. That means Chelsey and I get the "pleasure of his company." Oh, joy! A bored Eric is not an Eric you want to be around for too long. ;)

Anyway, I need to check my account at the Library real quick, order some more stamps and upload my novels to Box.net, then I'll get started on that project.

Have a great day! :D

Lois

Wednesday Writing Sprints Results

I've finished writing and posting my latest character journal entries.

Jack Hunter: 295
Lucky Raven: 282
Zane Greywolf: 649
Fox Redman: 1,621
Sawyer Redman: 649
Xander Greywolf: 963

Grand Total: 3,859

It's been a good day. I accomplished the main things I wanted to accomplish. I'm currently printing them out, but I also have a document in two different formats for each character and I add each new entry to them.

Tomorrow's another day and I need to figure out what things I want to work on. One of them will be the project I've been working on with Patti. I haven't been able to find the time to work on it, so I plan to do that first thing tomorrow.

Have a great evening! :D

Lois

Wednesday Writing Sprints, September 2, 2009:

I've already begun Wednesday Writing Sprints for today.

I've written character journal entries for Jack Hunter and Lucky Raven. I wanted to start the day working on a couple of the character journals so I'd be motivated to go back to writing after I finish online. So far, it's working. I can't wait to write more! :D

I still have to write up Zane Greywolf's entry, as well as Fox and Sawyer's entries. Then I want to work on Xander Greywolf's first entry.

After that, who knows? :)

Have a great day!

Lois

I Did It!

I'm finally finished with my writing for today.

Sons of the Wild Frontier: Phoenix Rising: 2,957
Cutter's Revenge (additions to the outline): 1,911
Katie's Journal Entry: 1,072
Vaughn's Journal Entry: 885
Weston's Journal Entry: 669

Grand Total: 7,494

I wrote 1,287 words more than yesterday! :D

I got a bit of a late start, for some reason, but I'm finished now.

Tomorrow, for Wednesday Writing Sprints, I'm going to try to finish working on the things I didn't get to today. Plus, I plan on writing the other character journal entries.

I also need to upload the latest versions of my stories and outlines to Box.net.

Have a great evening! :D

Lois

The Stories I'm Working On:

My friend, Patti, asked me how many stories I'm working on.

I was shocked when I counted them and discovered that there are nine! :D

I've been busier than I thought! :P

Here's what I'm currently working on:

1. Cottage on Crystal Bay (Romance/ Paranormal): writing
2. From the Ashes (Zane Greywolf): writing
3. Sons of the Wild Frontier: Phoenix Rising (Fox and Sawyer Redman): writing
4. Blood Ties (Lucky Raven): still outlining
5. Cutter's Revenge (Katie Cavanaugh, Vaughn Cutter, Weston Cutter): outlining (may write during Nanowrimo)
6. Western Fantasy (screenplay): outlining
7. The Amnesiac (Jack Hunter): waiting to write
8. Xander Greywolf: ideas stage
9. Another thriller, most likely political: ideas stage

And there you have it! :D Out of all nine of those, I've been posting character journal entries to Native Heroes for five of them and I'll be adding a category for Xander Greywolf soon, too. :)

This past winter, I wrote two novels at once and found it hard to keep them straight. I believe that was because they shared some characters. The three I'm currently in the process of writing are different genres with no characters in common. Cottage is a romance with an underlying ghost story in it. From the Ashes is a drama with some action and intrigue. Sons of the Wild Frontier: Phoenix Rising is a full-blown western drama with action, but it's very character based, as I try to focus on the characters in all my stories. It's easy to separate these current stories from each other. :)

And, of course, it helps that I love my stories so much.

I loved the ones I wrote this past winter, too, and I plan to edit them at some point. I may even add them to Native Heroes when I start rewriting them. ;)

Another Day of Writing:

So on the same subject I'm sure many of you find boring, today will be another writing day for me. I'm going to attempt to beat yesterday's word count, just for fun. I'm not pressuring myself. As you know, I wrote over 15K in one day before, so beating 6,702 isn't out of the question. The most important thing is to work on Sons of the Wild Frontier. Then I'll work on some ideas for Cutter's Revenge and the western fantasy screenplay. I'm thinking of working on that other project, too...the one I'm working on with my friend, Patti.

By the way, here's an excerpt from Cottage:

“Orly,” I heard Gabriel call out.

I took the steps two at a time, worried that something might have happened to him. My heart and mind were racing as I ran into the house. I looked around but didn't see him.

“In here,” he called from the living room.

I went into the living room, afraid of what I would find. Gabriel was alright, but he was standing on the far side of the room staring at the furniture. The sofa and loveseat, the coffee table and end tables and the bookcases all sat in the middle of the room. Someone had moved them while I was at Gabriel's house.

Anger shoved fear aside as I stared up at the ceiling and clenched my hands into fists at my sides. “Alright!” I shouted. “This has gone far enough!”

“What are you doing?” Gabriel asked, puzzled, stepping around the furniture to stand beside me.

“I'm tired of this!” I shouted without looking at him. Angrily, I raised a fist into the air. “I want everything back where it's supposed to be by morning!”

Gabriel looked at me with a mixture of admiration and doubt. “Are you sure anyone's listening?” he asked.

“I don't know, but I'm not going to stand for this in my own house,” I muttered.

“Good for you, Orly. Take control. Let 'em have it!” he laughed, then more quietly, he murmured, “I hope you know what you're doing.”

“How could I possibly know what I'm doing?” I asked just as quietly. “I've never lived in a haunted house before. I'm just getting tired of these antics. I've got to let this spirit know that I won't tolerate his shenanigans.”

“That's the spirit,” Gabriel smiled. He turned to me and pushed my hair back over my shoulder, a look of concern replacing the smile. “If anything happens, you'll let me know?”

I nodded, letting my gaze meet his, then he touched my face. I didn't know what to do. I was more afraid of him than of the spirit that haunted my cottage, but I couldn't let him know that. I needed to be strong.

I turned away.

“Orly?” he asked.

“It's getting late. I still want to read some of the diary, some of the letters,” I said quietly.

“Alright,” he said quietly, not pushing the issue, but clearly wondering about my abruptness. “You'll call me if anything happens?”

“I said I would,” I said.

“Yes, you did,” he nodded. “I just want to make sure you won't change your mind.”

“I won't,” I assured him, walking him to the door.

“Alright, then I guess I'd better be going. I'll see you soon?”

“Of course,” I said, wanting both to see him as soon as possible and to run away and never see his handsome face again. I was quite torn by my emotions at that moment. I didn't know if I should keep him at bay or take a chance and let him into my heart. All I knew was that I'd been hurt horribly before and I didn't want to go through that kind of torment again. I was afraid to take the chance that he would break my heart. “Good night.”

“Good night, Orly,” he said quietly, lingering at the door. He touched my face, reluctant to go. “I don't know what happened to you in the past, but I'm not him. You can trust me,” he said, then he turned to go, giving me no chance to respond.

I went back inside and closed the door before he'd even started his car. I couldn't watch him leave. I was in danger of letting myself be vulnerable to him and I didn't want him to know it. I had no doubt that I would run after him and beg him to stay, but I forced myself to turn away and head back inside. Once I closed the door, I leaned against it, fighting the tears that welled up in my eyes. I reminded myself that I had to be strong, then I walked to the stairway leading up to my room.

It's not great, I'll admit, but it was fun to write! :D

Anyway, I've already got a pot of beans going in the slow cooker. I got the veggies ready last night so I wouldn't have to worry about them this morning. I've also cooked the fajita chicken so I won't have to worry about that for the next couple of days. I've eaten breakfast, even had about a quarter cup of coffee. Now I just need to finish up online, then I can get to work! :)

Have a great day! :D

Lois

I've Been A Busy Author Today:

First, I wrote the essay. I just sat down and wrote it, then set it aside and worked on two novels. Then I went back and polished the essay, making it smoother (I hope).

Here are my results from today:

Essay: 564 words
Cottage on Crystal Bay: 1,653 words
From the Ashes (Zane Greywolf): 3,990 words
Grand Total: 6,207 words! :D

I really got into Cottage while I was writing it. I set the timer for an hour and just started writing, using my outline as a general guide. My writing always detours slightly from the outline, but I make sure to stick to the general storyline. I was surprised to get as many words as I did during that first 60 minutes.

Then I began working on From the Ashes. I took a break for lunch, then started up again. I didn't use the timer. I was going to use it after lunch, but forgot. I was so into the story that I just kept writing and writing and writing.

I could keep going, but I need to take a shower, then start dinner, so I found a good stopping point and put it away, then worked on polishing that essay.

I'm hoping to write more tomorrow. If I do, I'll work on Sons of the Wild Frontier: Phoenix Rising, then work on developing the ideas for the western fantasy and Cutter's Revenge. I may even work on some character journal entries for Katie, Vaughn and Weston. :)

That all depends on whether or not something else comes up. Hopefully, nothing will. I really want to write more tomorrow!

So, that's my progress for today. I hope y'all are having a great Monday! :D

Lois

Monday's Are for Writing!

Today is going to be a writing day. Writing was the only thing on my To Do List yesterday that I never got around to doing. I have an essay to write, then I'll move on to my own writing, my novels. I can't wait! :D

It was a pretty good weekend. Saturday was a sleepy kind of a day. Jeff took lots of catnaps and I spent a good part of the day babysitting and reading. Yesterday, Jeff was back at work and I managed to get quite a few things done.

I have ideas for another new story, but I need a co-writer for this, so don't know if it'll work out. I have someone in mind, but don't know if he'll even have the time. I'll broach the subject today and see if he's interested.

Anyway, that's about it for now. I'm going to go fix myself some breakfast, then get started on the essay.

Have a great day! :D

Lois

Photos!

Eric and Chelsey were married on Friday, August 28, 2009 at The Cajun Back Door. The ceremony was short, but sweet and we followed it with dinner.















































Yay! Now, if only I could marry off the other one! ;-)

Lois

My New To Do List:

Today's a cloudy day. It's only supposed to be "partly cloudy," but it sure doesn't look that way. It's just a gray, dreary day.

I plan to do some writing today, but I don't know when I'll get to it.

I have several other things to do:

1. Make two or three message CDs
2. Upload photos to laptop and edit
3. Put new books on hold at the library
4. Laundry
5. Copy character journal entries into new documents on the laptop so I can have electronic copies
6. Do two online photo searches
7. Edit scenes and get them ready to send to my mom
8. Read (I'm currently reading Terry C. Johnston's Sioux Dawn)
9. WRITE! :D

Jeff's back at work today. He got really bored yesterday. He had stuff he wanted to do outside, but just never quite got around to it. He likely just needed lots of rest, and he got that, but then he couldn't get to sleep last night, so he took antihistamines to help him get to sleep. He seemed better this morning.

Anyway, after I do everything else on my list, I plan to work on my novels. Those are the plans. We'll see if I can carry them out! LOL!

But first, I've got to fix myself a cup of Rose Scented tea! :)

Have a great day! :D

Lois