Are You in the Spirit?

I tend to lose my head a little over halloween. We had a party last weekend and we're having another this weekend. The house is looking particulary scary and I've had more than a few people afraid to approach my front door without assurance nothing is going to jump out at them. I won't be able to make that same promise on Halloween night though he he he.

Not everyone in the family is in the spirit though.
After trying to convince Bella to try on her dragon costume she took it and buried the thing beneath the blankets in her kennel. I guess she'll be going as a cute yorky like usual :/

How about you? Are you in the spirit?

Ahhhh The Classics

Tis the season to start with the classics. You know the ones that make you scream ...
Friday the 13th
Halloween
The Shining

The one that brings back memories for me is The Creature from the Black Lagoon. I was 10 when I crept downstairs in the middle of the night to watch this movie on tv and I couldn't sleep for a week!

So who makes you scream? Is it Freddie, Jason, or do you avoid scary movies all together?

When Life Gives You Lemons ... ask for salt & tequila

Heard back from my fabulous agent and I need to re-work the main character in the new book. I trust her instincts so I'm going to ruminate and reflect about her suggestions ... possibly with some tequila.

No, not right now. It's only 9 am! Need to work up to ruminating and reflecting later.

Right now I'm off to walk the dog. Some of my best thought process is done while being yanked around by a tiny yorkie in the sniffing zone down the street!

How about you? Do you find good thoughts come your way when you're otherwise preoccupied or do you need to completely focus on the task at hand?

Whodunit?

A few days ago I finished reading A Field of Darkness by Cornelia Read. I recommended it to a friend who promptly asked, Did you figure out who dunit?
Answer? Yes. I did.

For some mystery lovers it’s important to maintain the element of surprise. They really get annoyed if they figure out the perpetrator of the crime before the final moments in the book. Trust me; I’ve got the emailed fan mail to prove it LOL!

When I write a mystery, I personally don’t even know who committed the crime until I’m at least ¾ of the way through the first draft. It’s in the 2nd draft that I go back and weave clues, drop in red herrings and make sure the perpetrator is true to the story. Of course, it’s nearly impossible to truly pull one over on avid mystery fans. Let’s face it, it’s going to end up being one of the characters within the book itself so that alone narrows down the search considerably. It’s not like we’re looking for a murderer within a city wide population of possibilities.

Okay, so I did figure out the criminal in Field of Darkness early on but it didn’t dieter me one iota from my enjoyment of the story. For me, the journey an author weaves in the telling of any tale is more important than the end revelation. I thrive in the little nuggets of storytelling along the way and, in this case, found Cornelia’s literary bend mixed with humor to be something to be savored.

So, how about you? Do you get ticked off if you know in advance who dunit?

Things aren't always as they appear

Yesterday was Canadian Thanksgiving so, yup, I'm full of turkey and exhausted from all the work. That's my defense for my momentary lack of brain power this morning.

You see, this morning I went to Wal-mart to stock up on a few things. Mainly Halloween candy because I'm craving chocolate. Anyhow, I come out of Wally-land after an hour and I start heading for my blue Dodge Caravan. I stop in mid-tracks when I notice that my antenna ball appears to be missing. How annoying is that?! First of all I LOVE my Mickey Football antenna ball because it's cute and I'm a football mom. Plus, have you ever noticed how many blue minivans there are out there? Millions. Probably even billions. And they're all at Wal-mart on a Tuesday morning.

Anyway, so I'm standing in the parking lot loudly cursing at the van and digging in my purse for my keys when this lovely old lady brushes past me and puts her keys in the door of her van. That's right. HER van. It's not even my vehicle. Mine was right next to it, antenna ball intact.

So there you go. A perfectly good temper tantrum and rant wasted there in the parking lot for no reason. On a high note, I laughed at myself all the way home because I'm just happy nobody was with me at the time.

How's your week going so far?

On My Bedside Table

As always, I’m reading up a storm. In the last month I’ve read three books and I’m working on my fourth so I thought I’d share:

Showdown in Mudbug by Jana DeLeon – If you’ve read Jana’s other Mudbug books (Mischief and Trouble) you already know you’re in for a treat. It was funny and intriguing and the characters were colorful in a way that Jana has down to a fine art.

The Geometry of Sisters by Luanne Rice – This story is about three women all with their own issues (a mom with sister trouble) and her two daughters (one of whom has run away). It was a moving story that reminded me of how delicate our relationships are and it had enough suspense (a haunted school) to keep things running along at a quick pace.

Gloss by Jennifer Oko – I think this one has been on my shelf for 2 years but I finally got around to reading it and I thoroughly enjoyed the story. It’s all about a fluff journalist who becomes embroiled in an international scandal involving cosmetics. It’s chick lit told with a drama, edge and just enough romance to be fun.

A Field of Darkness by Cornelia Read – I’m just 90 pages into this book but I’m hooked. This is Read’s debut novel and it makes me wonder how many she had under her belt before she published because it’s so polished and witty. An old unsolved mystery is dragging the heroine out of her comfort zone and I’m enjoying the ride.
What’s on your bookstand?

Updates and Ramblings

Life is funny.
Not always funny ha ha.
Sometimes it’s just funny strange.

It’s not that I totally abandoned the idea of blogging. I just needed to put it on the back burner for a while in order to deal with more pressing issues:

1) Health issues that involved my gallbladder as well as a host of other issues that seemed to suck the life right out of me.

2) My publisher decided not to renew the Ghost Dusters series beyond three books. I’ve received many emails asking about the next book but, unfortunately, it’s not to be. Publishing is, after all, a business and this was purely a business decision and doesn’t affect my opinion of my wonderful agent and amazing editor.

3) I’ve been going through (highlight only if you want to see the personal information that may be TMI for most of you) … the divorce from hell. For all of those who have gone through this, I don’t know how you manage to keep your sense of humour and sanity!

4) I’m working on an amazing new story that I hope my editor and agent will also find amazing. Unfortunately, “amazing” is in the eye of the beholder and the economy being what it is right now, the powers that be must be very picky. The beginning stages of the proposal are with my agent now so in God’s hands so to speak ;)

Now enough about me! How about you? What is the most amazing and or challenging thing that’s happened to you over the last few months?