Early (waaaay too early) Morning Ruminations

Sometimes I struggle with insomnia. I freely admit that this is because my brain races in too many directions at once.

Last night, for example, I went to bed around 1am because I was writing and didn't realize how tired I was until I finished the chapter. You'd think, after putting in an 11 hour day on the job and then staying up to write, I would fall instantly to sleep.

Not me.

I had too many things to think about. Someone once suggested that if I write down the ideas racing through my brain, I can somehow empty it out and sleep. (This person obviously missed the point that once I start writing ANYTHING I get so interested in the process that I lose another hour or two without realizing).

Anyway, in the spirit of following that advice (and just to see on paper what kept me awake until past 2), here is what I obsessed about last night: (in no particular order)

*How do I explain ______ about Alexa?

*How many more seasons of Lost will they produce before they pull the plug and leave me bereft?

*I really should clean my shower.

*I hate cleaning my shower.

*I bet I can finish this book by the end of July like I orignially planned. Who needs sleep anyway?

*Ooooh, a half-elven/half-human outcast Bounty Hunter. Cool idea! Let's see....

*Alexa, Alexa, Alexa...

*I wonder when I should invite Mike and Lori over for dinner? Do I even have their phone number?

*Crap, I fogot to charge my cell phone. Again. At least my gas tank is full.

*Or is it?

*I need to buy milk. What can I make the kids for breakfast if I have no milk?

*I need to go spend a long weekend in New York City for research. Strictly for research.

*Shoe shopping counts as research.

*Speaking of shoes, I need an outfit to go with my new pair.

*Dragon scales. Yes, dragon scales. Definite possibilities there. Can I combine that series with the fae Bounty Hunter or will that water them both down?

*Who dies in the last Harry Potter book?

*I should probably dust my house.

*Nah.

*I miss Paul and Kelly. Saturday. They come back Saturday.

*Would my hubby freak if I put pretty green streaks in my hair for the month of October?

*I really should clean my shower.

*I need to think of a really cool name for ______ in Alexa's story.

*What is the point of goats, anyway?

*Shoot, I forgot to buy a birthday present for ______.

*I need to ride a Harley at least once. For research. Can I ride a Harley in gorgeous strappy diamond crusted stilettos?

*You only live once.

*Maybe I should just get up and write another chapter. I have to finish this book so I can start on the next and get some of these voices to be quiet.

*I am so not cleaning my shower tomorrow. It's Friday, July 6th. That's like National You Don't Have To Clean Your Shower Day or something.

*Can't wait to see the new Harry Potter film.

*Can't wait to go to sleep.

*I'll make a deal with myself. Either I go to sleep in the next ten minutes or I just get up and clean my shower.

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Let Freedom Ring

It's July 4th and before I head out the door to a cookout and an obscene amount of fireworks, I decided to spent a moment considering what freedom means to me.

Freedom means I can say what I think about our country, our laws, and our leaders without going to prison.

Freedom means I can believe in God and worship God without fearing for my life.

Freedom means others who worship differently from me can do so without fearing for their lives either.

Freedom means the government does not control the press.

Freedom means I can live anywhere I want.

Freedom means I can choose any career I want.

Freedom means I can have as many children (or choose not to have any) as I like.

Freedom means my life, my liberty, and my pursuit of happiness cannot be taken from me without due process.

Freedom means even if I completely screw up, the government will still make sure my rights remain unviolated as I go through the court system.

Freedom means my children will not be taken from me because of my religious beliefs, because of my economic status, or because I've had one too many.

Freedom means as a woman, I can own property, I can vote, I can press charges against anyone who abuses or hurts me.

Freedom means I can peacefully protest without being shot or run down by a tank.

Freedom means I can speak to anyone without fear that I will be stoned to death in the middle of a street.

Freedom means I will not be hunted down and slaughtered because my ancestors were not the same color as the current dictator.

Freedom means I can own any book ever published.

Freedom means soldiers will not ransack my home looking for any hint of dissent from the current political climate.

Freedom means my children will not witness rape, torture, or murder before they are old enough to walk.


I am grateful for this freedom. Grateful because I know it comes to me with a heavy price. Grateful because my grandfather who fought in World War II paid that price for me. Grateful because my father who fought in Vietnam paid it for me too. Grateful because my friend Rob who just returned from Iraq is still paying the price for my freedom.

I don't take the celebration of our freedom lightly. I don't take those who pay for it lightly either.

Let freedom ring and let us never become so comfortable that we forget the cost of what is ours.

Revise, Revise, Revise!

Fitzgerald once said that the act of writing was really the act of rewriting. I've certainly found that to be true. In the spirit of getting under Alexa's skin and in response to a constructive comment from a published author, I decided to revise the first few paragraphs of the novel.

I hope this captures Alexa's voice better than the original and transitions smoothly to her clinging to the side of that apartment building. Let me know what you think.

ORIGINAL:

Evil has a voice all its own. It sounds like insatiable greed, impotent rage, and terrible grief blended into one throbbing hunger for power. To the best of my knowledge, I am the only one who hears it. It haunts me, compelling me to make it silent.

It’s not as crazy as it sounds.

Why else would I be clinging to the side of an old brick apartment building on Fifth Avenue wearing a little red dress and a gorgeous pair of leopard print Manolo Blahnik stilettos?


REVISED:

Few things are as thrilling as hunting down evil in a kicking pair of four-inch stilettos. I have no control over the fact that I can hear the worst emotions people have to offer: they sound like insatiable greed, impotent rage, and terrible grief blended into one throbbing hunger for power. To the best of my knowledge, I’m the only one who hears evil in others and it haunts me, compelling me to make it silent.

Like I said, I have no control over this. My wardrobe is another matter. I never know when the need to hunt will strike and the fact that I can wipe the pavement with a man twice my size while wearing stilettos is a pretty satisfactory bonus. It’s like being Wonder Woman without all that tacky spandex.

It’s not as crazy as it sounds.

Why else would I be clinging to the side of an old brick apartment building on Fifth Avenue wearing a little red dress and a gorgeous pair of leopard print Manolo Blahnik stilettos?

Cake Results

Thanks to all of you who put your two cents in on choosing a name for my hubby's new cake decorating/sculpting venture.

We've decided to name it Once Upon A Cake. He's working on building the web site now (and finishing the Fourth of July cake we're taking to a party tomorrow...we'll be lighting fireworks out of the cake. I'll try to post a video.) and when the site is up and running, I'll post a link.

Character Building

As I get deeper into writing the first book in the Alexa Tate series, I'm realizing that to capture the complete essence of my characters, I need to know every little thing about them, even the things I'll probably never use.

With that in mind, I thought I would share some of the facts about Alexa that I'm using to understand how she acts/reacts/thinks/feels.

MUSIC: Alexa likes alternative rock with a bite. Her current favorites are Evanescence, Linkin Park, Breaking Benjamin, and Three Days Grace. I think it's because no one who hunts villains (even a girl who hunts in stilhettos) could possibly listen to anything less than hard, edgy rock and roll. I also think the darker undertones in her life find a voice in these type of lyrics. Whatever her reasons, she relaxes better listening to Evanescence's FALLEN than to anything else. Her MP3 player is her lifesaver when she wants to go anywhere and stay blissfully ignorant of any evil intentions. Of course, with Alexa, the desire for blissful ignorance is always fleeting.

BOOKS: Honestly, with a full time job, a string of blind dates from hell, two men stalking her, and a city full of evil waiting for her to hear it, she rarely has time to read.

TV: Ditto the book thing. Although she does make an exception for E.R. But then, who doesn't?

HOBBIES: Shopping. Alexa believes strongly in shoe therapy. She buys name brand clothes, not because she's conscious of her image but because she enjoys spending money on nicer pieces of clothing. As a result, she owns less but the items in her closet are amazing. She also loves to hang with her best friend Trisha. She hates clubs and bars. Without the buffer of her MP3 player, the sound of lust, lies, and hunger for power are deafening. She loves to play sports, especially tackle football and swimming. She learned early on, however, to hold herself back. A girl who can swim 400 meters without ever coming up for air or who can flatten a 280 pound man with one shove of her hand tends to draw unwanted attention to herself.

FEARS: Just one: failing. After her parents were murdered, a hard kernel of blame lodged in her heart and stayed. Despite the fact that she was on a vacation with Trisha's family at the time (her one foray beyond the boundaries of NYC and one she isn't anxious to repeat), she is convinced she should have known something in time to save them. It drives her relentlessly to hunt down those who hurt others.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: 5ft 9in, lightly tanned, straight black hair falling down below the middle of her back, light green eyes, clothing size 8, shoe size 9, athletic and toned.

FOODS: Alexa loves meat. Any kind, doesn't matter. She craves protein the way some women crave chocolate. I don't know if this is because she is athletic and her metabolism needs protein or if her kind have to feed on meat. She doesn't have much of a sweet tooth but she does love donuts. Especially cream filled.

DRINKS: Diet Coke. Bottled water. Never any alchohol. The one time she drank, it lowered her defenses enough that every stray emotion in the room rushed violently through her. Once was enough, thank you very much, and she never touches the stuff now.

PARENTS: Benjamin and Elizabeth (Ben and Libby to their friends) were returning from an antiquing trip through Virginia (one of Libby's many short-lived hobbies) when they found a little black-haired, green-eyed baby girl sitting silently beside the road, miles from anywhere. They loaded her into their car, drove to the next town, didn't care for the local authorities so they took her home with them to NYC and long story short, petitioned for adoption and were able to bring their daughter home eight months later (these things take time, you know). Ben taught history at a local high school. Libby managed their apartment building and raised Alexa.

CHILDHOOD: Alexa was a silent, serious child for the first few months with the Tates but then she slowly blossomed into a happy, friendly girl. The only time she reverted to her earlier silence was when the Tate's traveled outside of NYC. They soon stopped planning outings to the country. Alexa was encouraged to explore her strengths but even her parents were a little freaked at her first swimming lesson when she refused to come up for air and indeed, didn't need to. From Libby, Alexa learned to love shopping, to hide her talents when necessary, and to fiercely protect those who couldn't protect themselves. From Ben she learned to to play football, to cling to family, and to treat others with quiet respect.

HER NAME: Libby refused to name her for several months as they worked through the adoption process. She claimed she needed to know her child before she could choose the right name. Ben did what he did best and humored Libby. On the day the adoption became final, Libby announced that her daughter was Alexa (no middle name) which means "savior of mankind".

Okay, okay, I'm sure you're bored stiff by this but this is just the start of the details (many of which will never see print) that I need to know to be sure of who Alexa is in any situation.

Off to turn Alexa loose to hunt.

Welcome Home Mya Leigh

My good friend and sister of my heart, Leigh, and her husband recently brought their first daughter home from India. They struggled for years with infertility and the adoption process itself was (as ours is) a long, sometimes painful journey. Check out the link below for a heartwarming news story done on their little family.

Click on the following link and go down three or four articles to the "Answered Prayers" with the picture of beautiful Mya Leigh and then click on Watch the video

Things To See in Arkansas and Texas

I'm back from Texas (and don't you love me for running right to this blog and posting before I even unpack??). The wedding was beautiful and I absolutely LOVE my new sister and her huge, generous, loving family.

But enough mushy stuff.

Here is my Top Ten List of Things to See in Arkansas and Texas:

10. Mosquitoes. No, not those namby-pamby little irritants you folks north and west of the Mason-Dixon imagine. These are GIANT BLOODTHIRSTY CARRIERS OF DEATH. And they loved me. They really did.

9. Double-wides whose porch/yard conveniently contains any and all appliances ever made from the year 1908 to present.

8. Dogs. Everyone who calls themselves a self-respecting southerner has at least three dogs ready to run at your car as you enter their driveway. This is not a problem when you are greeted with wiener dogs or toy poodles. This is a MAJOR issue when the dog in question is a full-grown (horse) Mastiff.

7. Walmart Supercenter. Where else can you buy deodorant, a box of Fruit Loops, the latest Harry Potter movie, a pair of boots, a set of tires for your car, a new bedspread, a shotgun, and a beach ball all in one place?

6. Trucks. Everyone who calls themselves a self-respecting southerner has at least three trucks to go along with their three dogs.

5. Snakes. Water mocassins and rattlers (or something equally unsavory). Thankfully I did not see any (thought I'm told they run rampant through people's lawns). As I cannot tell the difference between a dangerous snake and one that is simply toying with my mind, I would have ruined the good impression I made on my new family by going G.I. Jane on a common garden snake.

4. A town called Widener Hughes. I don't know what's in that town or why they wanted someone to (bad joke alert) widen her hughes but any town with a name like that has to be worth a quick stop.

3. The posted speed limit sign as you leave Arkansas and enter Texas. Never mind the day and nighttime speed limits posted for semi-trucks, buses, and passenger cars. I was much more enthralled with the posted speed limits for MANUFACTURED HOMES. What kind of license do you need to be able to pilot your double-wide down the highway and where do I get one?

2. Hope, Arkansas - birthplace of President Clinton. We stopped there overnight just to be able to say we used the bathroom in Hope. I was very disappointed that no one offered us a complimentary cigar.

1. Mennonites in drag. Seriously. My sister Shelley and I were shopping (where else?) at Walmart and I kid you not, we saw a man dressed as a Mennonite woman. Adam's Apple, hairy arms, and five o'clock shadow included. It wasn't the most flattering look for him.

There's my list of interesting things to see in Arkansas and Texas. I really loved vacationing there and meeting my wonderful new family and can't wait to see them again.

Now, to go unpack...