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Archive for November, 2012

My Recent Silence

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , on November 24, 2012| 18 Comments »

I’ve been fairly silent the last week or so. Most of you know my dad has been seriously ill, and I’ve been spending a lot of time at the hospital. My dad passed away on Thanksgiving day. It happened when no one was in the room. The nurse had told my brother-in-law that many times a patient will not pass while someone is in the room. We’ve been constantly making sure someone was with him at all times. The nurse told my brother-in-law (he was the only family at the hospital at the time) to go get something to eat. My dad died while he was gone. So all of us constantly talking to him and being there might have been what caused him to hang on. Maybe we were keeping his soul trapped instead of letting it be released. I’m just not sure. Our family has been exhausted this whole time, so his passing was a mixture of grief and relief. We’ll all miss him.

Anyway, I just haven’t had the energy to blog or comment much lately. I’ve visited a few and maybe said a word or two, but I just can’t get up the energy to say much. Hopefully, my life will return to a semblance of order on Monday. I’ll still be sad, of course, but I have to get back to life.

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Donation to the Hospital

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , on November 19, 2012| 5 Comments »

I don’t have words to describe the care my dad is getting at the hospital. Every nurse, doctor, and other staff member that we have come in contact with has been amazing. They are so nice and understanding, and they want to attend to our every need. Because I’m so impressed with them and their great care of my dad, I’m going to try to do something good for them. I don’t know how this will work out. I’m going to have to count on all of you to spread the word, because I’m just too wiped out to do anything. So here it is. Starting today through the end of the year, for every copy of Soul of a Vampire sold on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or Smashwords, I’m going to donate 50% of the proceeds to the hospital. I might not have enough sales to even make a drop in a bucket, but I’m going to try. I can’t afford to donate a large amount personally to them, but I hope I can get enough sales to at least give them something. I know money is tight, but SoaV is only $2.99, so maybe this will work. 🙂

Spread the word!

Find Soul of a Vampire on:
Amazon
Barnes and Noble
Smashwords

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My Dad

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , on November 18, 2012| 13 Comments »

No writing news. They took my dad off the ventilator yesterday at noon. As of right now, he’s still breathing on his own. So…it’s still a waiting game. We thought we would be saying goodbye yesterday. On my way back to the hospital at this moment.

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Wednesday Update 11/14/12

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , on November 14, 2012| 26 Comments »

There’s been no progress in writing or health this week so far. As most of you saw on my previous post, I have a family situation. What happened is that my dad had a massive stroke on Sunday. As of right now, he is still unconscious. They are calling it a coma because he’s been out longer than 48 hours. He does hear us, though, because he moves his legs and his heart rate goes up every time we talk to him. He was squeezing our hands in response, but he is no longer doing that. My step-sister, my half-sister, and I may have to make some decisions soon. My half-sister is going to look at his living will to see what his wishes are.

So I’ve been working until about 2:45 or 3:00 every day, then going to the hospital (about 40-45 miles away) to go to the first visitation at 4:00 PM. There’s another one at 8:30 PM, and I stayed for that one, too, yesterday. We can only stay for 30 minutes, and only 2 at a time (although, the three of us went in and they didn’t say anything). My half-sister has been there constantly, only going home at night to sleep. When Dad first went into the hospital, she was up 38 hours with no sleep. She’s superwoman.

Keep my family in your prayers, and if you don’t pray, please send us some good thoughts.

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Family Situation

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , on November 12, 2012| 21 Comments »

My ROW80 sponsor duties are going to be late this week. I’ve had a serious family situation come up, so that’s what’s on my mind right now. I hope I can catch up with everyone tonight or tomorrow. Depends on what happens.

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Late Sunday Update 11/11/12

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , on November 11, 2012| 14 Comments »

A so-so week….

Writing: I only wrote 1748 words this past week. The only bright side to that is that it’s more than twice what I wrote the previous week. But I would really like to write a minimum of 2500, even though my goals are time goals, not word goals. But I do keep up with words. I just wish I could love this WIP. I’m working on that. There are many times I’l start a book, and I just can’t love it, but then after a few chapters, things start working. This one is just slower getting to that point.

Health: I’m on track with exercise. I walked on the treadmill at the gym four days. I ramped it up a little on Friday, going a little faster and a little longer. I’m having some trouble with feet, ankles, and knees, but I’m just working through the pain. If it gets bad, I might have to think about doing something different. It sucks getting older. 😦 I still need to work on my eating habits. I’m doing a little better. I had soup and salad for lunch today, and I didn’t eat it all. Of course, now I’m starving. LOL

And on a topic that has nothing to do with goals…but it’s my blog, so you can either read on or not. LOL I’ve been searching for an actor that I think would be a good fit for my character, John, in Haunted Lake. I’ve never been able to find just that right guy. But I’ve finally found him! Jay Ryan from Beauty and the Beast! Not only does he have the scar (on the show, not in real life), but he has the raspy voice my character has. John actually has more scars than Vincent from BatB, but he is a LOT like I pictured him in my story. I’m so glad to have finally found him! Here’s a link to his picture on IMDB. Jay Ryan as Vincent

What’s new with the rest of you?

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The Next Big Thing

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , on November 8, 2012| 10 Comments »

I was tagged by Kait Nolan for this meme, and I thought it would be a lot of fun to do this one. I also feel like it might inspire me to work out the problems I’ve having with the story. So here’s the 10 questions I’m supposed to answer:

1. What is the working title of your book?

Well, I actually don’t have one yet. But I’ve been calling it Reaper or Soul Reaper.

2. Where did the idea come from?

Straight from my husband’s brain. He just started talking to me about a plot he had thought up, and I was amazed at how interesting it sounded. So I told him I would write it for him. 🙂

3. What genre does your book fall under?

This is a tough one. I usually write paranormal romance, but the romance in this book isn’t the focus. It’s more a story of redemption. I guess it might be “supernatural” or “fantasy”. I hesitate to use “fantasy” because that term is usually used for books like Lord of the Rings and other epics. I think “supernatural” is the best fit.

4. Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

This one is the toughest question. There are four major characters in this book. Two are supernatural and two are human. I’m just going to tell who I think would be great for the main character. That would be Jim Caviezel. 🙂

5. What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

A man (still don’t know main characters name) kills himself and someone else in an accident while driving drunk. When he goes to hell, he is given a choice…the lake of fire or a very special job for 1000 years. (Okay, that’s two sentences.)

6. Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

Definitely self-published.

7. How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

I’m only a little over 4,000 words into the manuscript.

8. What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

I’ve read other stories about reapers, but nothing like this one. There may be some, but I haven’t read them.

9. Who or What inspired you to write this book?

My husband. His idea.

10. What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

There is a guardian angel who is there to thwart all his plans for reaping a soul.

I’m not going to tag anyone right now because I’m at work, and I’ve got a lot to do. I’ve been slacking today doing this kind of stuff. LOL

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Wednesday Update 11/7/12

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , on November 7, 2012| 13 Comments »

This week is starting off a little better. Monday, I only wrote 361 words, but last night I managed 505. I’m still not sure how to fill in the blanks on this story. It might end up being a novella instead of a novel. I’ve been trying to write novels instead of being the queen of novellas, but this one may not make it. We’ll see. It will be as long as it wants to be.

I went to the gym Monday and Tuesday, doing cardio only. As I posted earlier, I’m going to focus on cardio this week and then see how it goes with weight work. When I go at lunch, there’s a time constraint, so I might have to change the times of my workouts.

How are ya’ll doing? (Yes, I’m from the south.)

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WIP is Kicking my Butt & Fall Leaves Picture

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , on November 6, 2012| 10 Comments »

I sat down at my computer last night, in my office, determined to stay there an hour no matter what. Guess how many words I wrote? 361. That’s right, 361. I’m having so much trouble with this book. I know the major plot points. I know the ending. But I have no idea what to put in between there to get to those points. This is as close as I’ve ever come to writing with an outline. It should be easier. But I can’t figure out how to write the in between stuff without it being boring. You know, just a day in the life until THIS comes up. I wonder if this is because the story wasn’t my idea? I mean, it’s a GOOD story. A REALLY good story. So maybe I just need to sit down with hubby and see what else HE wants to happen. He pretty much gave me the outline, with some input from me. I don’t want to abandon this project. I want it to work.

On the bright side. The picture below shows one of the reasons I love living out in the country. I snapped this picture with my iPad as I drove down my driveway on the way to work this morning. Most of my property looks like this. Oh, and that truck is my son’s. It doesn’t run, and it’s going to be crushed by a dead tree soon if he doesn’t figure out how to move it.

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Changing my Workout Strategy

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , on November 5, 2012| 6 Comments »

There are many reasons people work out. Looks, health, strength, etc. For me, it’s about health first, then looks. My original workout strategy was to work out with weights, legs on Monday and Thursday, arms on Tuesday and Friday. Some weeks I did okay, some not. If I had to skip a workout, I would work both arms AND legs the next day. My plan for cardio was to walk on the treadmill at home. Well, there has been no walking on the treadmill. You know how it is…when you’re at home, there are so many other things to do.

So here’s my new plan. I’m going to start doing cardio at the gym. They have state of the art treadmills, better than the ones at the bigger gym where I used to be a member. They actually have COMFORTABLE places to put your hands when you’re walking. The reason I want to focus on cardio for a bit is that my blood pressure has been high and, historically, cardio exercise has brought it back down with no medication. Then I’m going to start adding weight work back. I have a friend who won a month at this gym, so I would have to go in the evenings instead of at lunch if I go with her. Which makes me think…I could do some cardio at lunch and go back for weight work in the evenings. Maybe….

Another thing I’ve started doing is keeping an exercise journal so I’ll know exactly where I’m improving. Longer times and faster speeds on the treadmill. Heavier weights or more sets on weight work. I think this will help me stay on track, too.

So what about you? What are you doing to take care of your health? Do you have health issues that exercise would help with?

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