Life of Fish

Life of fish. Right. I know so much about fish. NOT. Actually, nothing at all. But I know my kids. Big hearted, every one of them. My youngest had a school project where they had a large aquarium as soon as you walked into the school, in the lobby. They got salmon eggs, watched them hatch, start swimming, all that stuff. The next stage was releasing them into the pond.

And that's when the trouble started. My daughter, nine years old, did not want them released. She cried for days, going to miss her pets, worried about where they would get their food - she was so good at feeding them, right? Whether they would get eaten themselves because they were so tiny. She refused to go on the field trip. Refused.

What could I do? Hmmm? What? So I did. The aquarium. The rocks. The castle and plants to decorate it. Right. And then two fish. Tiny aquarium, just for her room. Two betas, a pretty pink named Sparkles, and boy does she shine! Not shy at all, friendly and on the go constantly. And the blue female beta named Elsa. She was named before she was home, before ever seeing the aquarium. And what is Elsa like? She lives in the castle and refuses to come out. We set up my phone, pressed record, and left the room. She peeks out when no one is around, so we know she's still alive. We worry because she rarely comes out when we're around and Sparkles eats all the food she finds! We keep watching,.........she ate a few days ago......... force feed her soon...........I'm not sure.

And yes, she already knows she's going to be a vet. No, scratch that, maybe a vet's assistant, since she found out about surgery and stuff. Or a groomer. She's got years left to decide.

And on the writing side - I wrote the ending of Survival Zone! FINALLY! DONE!! Using my new Phillips hand held recorder - loving it! and my new Dragon software - always loved it! I am getting it onto the computer for the first rough draft! My sighs of relief.........my giddy joy.............dancing...squealing.........yup. All of it. Then second draft, third, tenth - we'll see. And cover. Ideas in my head, trying to explain, but have faith in my cover maker. Except I might change the title. Survival Zone might be the second in the series. Worry about that later. Still celebrating writing THE END in my scribbler!

Speaking of that, enough procrastinating - I'm gone to write!

PS.......anyone know any tips about fish? I'll take it! Thanks!

Best Selling Author - say what?!

I went to a trivia contest last night with some of my writing friends - and new friends! Fun fun! I think I answered one question correct, and even that was a guess. I might not be good at trivia, but hey, I sit at the right table so hah! I think we came in second. Pretty sure we did. Okay maybe tied with three other tables but still second. The point - it was fun.

But some of the questions really got me thinking about what a best-selling author was. And how to be a best selling author. So I googled. Spent too much time googling instead of working on Survival Zone, but I still might get there.

What did I learn today - The odds of winning the lottery, in Canada, that's 6-49, are 1 in 14 million. Whoa. Not bad, right? Yeah. No, I'm not rushing out to get a ticket. Lotto Max, the odds are 1 in over 28 million. You've got a better chance at getting hit by lightning, by far, because those odds are one in less than a million. I do not like those odds.  In the US, your odds of winning the power ball are 1 in almost 300 million!

There's the odds. Now, let's talk about being a best selling author. Sell 5000 books a week - that show up in Bookscan. So technically, you could be selling more copies than the bestseller, but still not be counted as a best seller. But this number is just a number, and in a slow week of sales, it could be a lot less than 5000, on a busy week, it may be much higher. We're talking odds again.

To be in the top 5 for Amazon, you need to sell maybe 300 books a week. There's a big difference from 5000 a week down to 300 a week. But the odds of this happening, after writing the best book I can, hiring editors, etc., to make it even better, marketing in all the right spots - yeah, I think I'll take my chances here. I like my odds better for being a best-selling author much better than winning the lottery - or getting hit by lightning. And now, back to work on writing to better improve my odds! Have a great day and Happy Valentine's day!

And if you've got any better tips for making the odds better - I'm all ears!  

I'm baaaaack!

I'm baaaaack!

Yes I've been busy. Who hasn't? And this is the first year I did NaNo. And I did it! I set my alarm for five every morning, got up, and worked on it. I wrote Survival Zone, and I'm down to the last two or three chapters! And then...............well, it's close to Christmas, and guess what? I didn't have three things bought! Yeah, time to move. If there's anything left in the stores.

Next year, I am going to have it all finished before December - make that November. I really liked having that deadline. The last two days in November I don't think I even fed my family. Or myself. But hey, we're alive and have eaten since. And after Christmas, before the kids go back to school, I'm going to finish the rough draft. I really am. I'll get up that hour earlier and work on it.

First I will make it through Christmas. I've had my tree up for a week. Decorations  up. I am terrible at decorating, I have to be honest. Horrible.

I'm also editing The Lair (second in the Blurs series) and need to finish that on the computer, and White Magic. Done in the proofs not on the computer, so I can re-order the proofs. Before or after Survival Zone? Hmmmmm. Not sure. Want them all finished. And my wonderful artist is working on more illustrations for my fairy series! Can't wait to see that one finished either.

That's all I'm writing tonight. Except Merry Christmas! Happy holidays!

Any I'd love any and all decoration tips..............Please?

Red Magic

I have the Red Magic started (my last blog post, write-in) yes. But I really want to work on Survival Zone! It goes away, the urges, because I force myself to work on something else, but I don't know. I think I'm going to do it. For real. Red Magic is about a quarter done, but still.

And I love the cover! And I have the outline pretty well done, love the way the book will go..........but still. Survival Zone here I come!

Here's the covers! White Magic has a new cover now, too, and I also have the cover for Black Magic finished. Love it too! Loooooove them all!

And the fonts, I laughed when I asked someone's opinion on the cover, she said, 'Nope, don't like it."

I asked why?

"Too WITCHY!"

I laughed and laughed! She had no idea what the book was about, she thought it was a kids book, supposed to be cute and bubbly!

Good job, Tina, with the fonts, don't you think? And the covers! LOVE IT!

Jessica and the Ripjohn

I went to my yearly writing write-in, where a group of writers gathered from 9-4 from Monday to Friday. I was late most mornings, and usually had to leave before four. I worked on the second in my Magic series and got quite a bit of work done! I love these write-ins, they are such a great group. 

On Friday, one of the writers came up with a fun idea. We came up with a story idea, age group, genre and character, then put our names in a hat and created the story, a few paragraphs each. This is how it turned out! 

I can not wait for next year! 

rin emoticon

Jessica and the Ripjohn

I covered my head again.

“Jessica. Get up!” Mom called. Again.

No. I can’t. I won’t.

I keep hearing that buzzing noise. I don’t want to see what it is.

“Jessica! You have thirty seconds to get down here!”

I shook my head under the blanket.

Whirrr!

There! Again! What is it? Was it louder?

I don’t know. It was mad, whatever it was.

“Are you food for me?” Someone close to my ear said.

I whipped the covers away from me and jumped from my resting place, eyes scanning my pillow, the bed, then when I saw nothing but my bedclothes in a tangle, underneath the bed.

I heard a squeak, then that whirr again, coming from behind me. I spun around, ready to use my newly installed finger nail polish stunner on whoever or whatever waited to eat me. On the wall, smeared like peanut butter come alive, was a baby ripjohn.

“Food for me?” It squeaked.

“No…no?” I stammered, turning my response into a question. My lack of confidence in not being food only made it excited.

The ripjohn jiggled with delight, pulling away from the wall toward me. I backed as far away as I could and tried to smack the sensor to open my bedroom door.

The buzzing sound returned as the ripjohn pulled from the wall, gooey wings sprouting from its back and flew at my head.

My escape forgotten, I swung wildly around my face to bat it away and shouted, “No food. I’m not food!”

The ripjohn backed away with a hummingbird’s capabilities. I opened my eyes and saw it stare back at me with an expression that looked something between amusement and assessment. Was he sizing me up? I wondered how much time I had before he oozed himself over me and devoured me with jellyfish jaws.

I scanned the room, wondering what I had available that would best serve my survival.

The remains of last night’s snack sat on a plate next to my bed, the tantalizing scent of peanut butter and jelly giving me the best idea I’d ever had.

“Hungry?” I dove for the plate, holding the now glowing disc between me and the winged menace. Self-warming, the plate hummed in my hand, heavy enough to be a weapon, perhaps?

With a buzzing cackle of delight, the ripjohn dove for the sandwich, settling on my right hand for balance. As it devoured the tasty treat—my own stomach now rumbling as Mom continued to yell for me to come down to breakfast—the formerly squidgy, ugly creature’s wings began to dry and its mushy, wet body to take a more pleasing shape.

“What are you?” I had to ask the ripjohn even if the answer was obvious.
The ripjohn bounced off my hand and landed on the floor with a splat and a squeak.

“Shhh. If Mom hears you, she’ll ground me for weeks!” I shook my wet hand frantically, trying to get the goo off, then rubbed it against my left hand. “Owww!” I yelped. I had forgotten I still had the hot plate in my other hand and promptly dropped it on the floor where it spun before clattering to a noisy stop.

“Now you’ve done it! Mom will come running up any minute now and… hey, wait! Where are you? Where’d you go?” The riphohn was nowhere to be seen.

Clunk. Clunk. Clunk. “Jessica, Jessica!” Mom said after racing up the stairs and frantically knocking on the door. “What’s the matter with you? I told you breakfast is ready five minutes ago. That’s it!”

She opened the door to my room and saw confusion, fear, sadness and fatigue on my face.

“Mom, Mom, a ripjohn—that monster—wanted to eat me. I gave him my peanut butter and jelly sandwich. He’s gone…” I said slowly as I turned my body in a circle to survey the room. I held out my arm to show the goo the ripjohn left on me.

“Oh, Jessica, I’m so sorry he got you. He didn’t eat you, sweetie. Thank goodness for that.” She hugged my shivering body and kissed my forehead. “You were so smart to give him the PB and J. Come to the bathroom and I’ll clean you up. You are brave. I love you.”

I smiled at Mom as we went arm in arm to the bathroom. “I love you, too. Mom. What’s for breakfast? I’m hungry.”

brilliant teenager!

I'm going to tell a story. A true story that happened yesterday.

My thirteen year old daughter decided to bake a cake. Out of the box, yes, but it's still baking, right?
Except we are out of vegetable oil. Three things we need, it says soon the box. Eggs, vegetable oil, and water. I usually run out of eggs, but hey, this was a special day.

What would I have done? Put the cake mix back in the pantry for another day. Yup. I would have.

Do you know what she did? She used WHIPPED CREAM! Yes she did! Dream Whip Topping! Instead of vegetable oil! And guess what? The cake is delicious! As good as always, even better! And how much less fat is there in the cake? Sorry, I really should look into that. I'm really assuming that the whipped cream would be better than vegetable oil. I know I'd rather eat a spoonful of dream whip than vegetable oil, for sure.

How creative was she! Smart! Brilliant I say!

Except there was a little problem. No, a big one.

The cake was smaller than normal. Why you ask? Because half the batter was ALL OVER MY KITCHEN FLOOR! And did she try to clean it up? Nope. Not even the tiniest bit.And the mess on my counter. My stove. Dripping down the front of my cupboards............

Sigh. But the cake was delightful. And she mixed the frosting with whipped cream and drizzled chocolate sauce over it.

Yum. Unbelievably delicious.

But such hard work.

And that is my story.

Got any creative stories to tell me? If you've got any kids running around, I bet you do! Let's hear it!

White Magic is available for kindles, FINALLY!
It's listed for 99 cents for a while before the price goes up to 3.99.

http://www.amazon.com/White-Magic-Julie-Affleck-ebook/dp/B0113IJ44U/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1436235662&sr=1-1&keywords=julie+affleck

Fifteen year old Lily has a secret, has kept it hidden for as long as she can remember. 
What teenager wants to be shunned for daring to be different? And wanting to become a witch is as different as it gets. 
She is obsessed with witches. While other little girls dream of being princesses, that has never crossed Lily’s mind. Her only dream is becoming a witch. 
She has her own spell book, none of witch - oops, none of which actually work, but it's her very own, and she's spent years building it up. She's tried to give up on her dream time after time, but it's impossible. It's part of who she is. 
Lily's friends end up in the hospital, one after another, deathly sick. While Lily’s dream comes true and she’s gifted with powerful magic, is it worth the price she may be forced to pay? 
White Magic fights Dark Magic. 

Open Day Writing Competition

Well the results are in for the Open Day Writing Competition. I made it to the top 8 - sooooooo exciting! More than I could have dreamed! But not the final three. Bad news? No! I'm ready to publish! Well, a little left - my cover finalized, and the back cover blurb. But then.....

Actually I am thinking about ways to market it. I think paid advertising and book blog tour. Definitely. So I will set those up while I get the cover finished. And then - all finished!

I am almost finished the last book in the blurs series. I had to put it on hold while I revamped my Unbelievers manuscript. Like double the word count! I came pretty close, and its sitting with an editor right now. Waiting, waiting.

And life rolls in so I haven't got much writing done. But I will! I want the blurs series finished, then I will be finishing Survival Zone. Can not wait to get into that one again. Can't! But I will. I am. I will be sitting backstage at my daughter's acro recital so I figure I can get stuff done then.

So while I am still so excited to have been shortlisted (so excited!) I am ready to move forward with the book. Not very patient, I know I'm not. But I've learned to deal with it.

So have a wonderful day! And write on!

Exciting Shortlist for Open Day Competition - and I'M ON IT!!!!

Well isn't this one of the most exciting days! I've been shortlisted! Best words for all of us hard-working writers to hear! I'm serious! Look!

Exciting Shortlist for Open Day Competition

Published: 20 Mar 2015

The SilverWood-Kobo-Berforts Open Day Writing Competition drew a high standard of writing and some very strong entries.

After weeks of reading, deliberations and discussions the eight-strong shortlist was selected. The reading panel was impressed at the high standard of entries.

The judging panel now have the challenge of selecting their final two entries as winner and runner-up. The finalists will be announced later in April.

The Shortlist...

In no particular order, the eight manuscripts selected are:

• Bedsit Three by Sally Jenkins
• Inventing Madness by Joyce G Schwartz
• Cat Under a Hot Tin Roof by Kelly Melang
• The Frozen Dream by Edward James
• White Magic by Julie Affleck
• 3 Pints Full by Phoebe Powell-Moore
• The Angels of Islington by Sarah Channing Wright
• Filthy Luca by Andrew Stevens

The Prizes...

First prize for the winning entry is an ebook publishing package provided by SilverWood Books, with an additional print edition sponsored by Berforts Information Press. The publishing package will include a full copy-edit, proofreading, ebook and paperback cover design, formatting and conversion to epub, with a corresponding print edition. More information about SilverWood Publishing Packages is available here.

Kobo Writing Life will support the title when the ebook is published on the Kobo Store, with promotion through Facebook and Twitter announcements, and a feature in the Kobo Writing Life blog, Kobo Writing Life Newsletter and Kobo Next Page.

SilverWood Books and Berforts will support the print edition, with UK wholesaler and retail distribution plus worldwide listing on online retail sites, Nielsen Enhanced Data Listing and SilverWood Books online bookshop availability.

The prize for the runner up entry is a brand new Kobo Aura H2O e-reader.

Contests! Win win win!

I've been trying to finish the Blurs series - and have a name for the final one! INCUBATION.

Yup. Incubation.

It fits. Not saying why yet, but it fits.

I'm still editing Zapped - actually, no, that's not true. But I will, when I've finished Incubation, get back to it. I don't have a cover for it either. Working on it.

In the meantime, Kobo and Aquafadas ran a contest and I was one of the winners! It's for an interactive book for Ipads, etc. And that is with my illustrator right now. Can't wait to see it!

And #PitMad on Twitter. I'm not much of a tweeter, but I did it. I tweeted.  And got one favorite! Yay! Had to send part of Unbelievers to a potential agent. Soooooooooo excited!

If I'm spending too much time entering contests will I ever finish what I've started? Yup! And more exciting news - C IS FOR CALASTROPHE IS ALMOST FINISHED! Just saw the pictures for the first time! Love them!

And now, in the middle of the blizzard - yes blizzard again, that is my news. Great to have time at home to write, right? But its hard to focus when you're kind of stuck. And can't get out. Oh well. I can dream of Florida.

Here's one picture out of the C book!

Did I tell you I loved it?! 

Books, books and more book.......

I've never listed my books here on my blog before, and because I can not for the life of me figure out how to link things - oh its so easy you just do this and add this and do that - yeah, no, its all alien to me. Ain't nothing easy that has to do with computers. Well, I do love my Dragon, because it's hilarious trying to fix the mistakes! And I have to edit anyway, so why not have fun with it for a little while?
No that's a lie. Sorry. I still hate editing. Bleck.
Yeah, back to the point of my blog. Did I ever say I love writing? Because I do. I really really absolutely positively love it.

Life goes from strange to terrifying when Gavin sees things, things that move so quickly –they’re only a BLUR.

The blurs are back in Zapped, but Gavin is no longer afraid. In the second book of The Blurs series, Gavin meets another gifted - or cursed - child who can see the blurs: Jade. But unlike Gavin, Jade will do anything to get rid of her power. Can Gavin help Jade overcome her fears in time to combat the rising number of blurs? One thing is for sure - he has to try!

Unexplained deaths have occurred in the tiny village of Mount Stewart, Prince Edward Island, for more than half a century. Every five years, to be exact, the river claims a victim.

This year, thirteen year old Leigh Kennedy and her friends are destined to die. Can Leigh find out why this has been happening in time to escape their fate?

(look close at the railing - see anything? I do!)

Thirteen-year olds Emily and Katherine befriend the new girl in town, Lanie. But when strange and terrifying events occur, is Lanie innocent, as she claims to be, or is she really to blame?

A is for Applesauce is the first in the Arthur & Zita Alphabet Book series. Nine year old Zita loves WORDS! and her favourite book is the DICTIONARY! Today is "A WORDS DAY". While she and her younger brother Arthur await the arrival of awesome Aunt Alice, Zita searches for all the words she can that begin with the letter A. A is for Applesauce tells of a trip to the Animal Zoo cut short, and other commotions, accompanied by A Words such as applesauce, ants, attempted arrest, angel food cake, awards, arguing, and antics. As a "day in the life" family adventure with expressive and colourful illustrations, A is for Applesauce is a read alone or read aloud book to be enjoyed by both children and parents. A is for Applesauce is a good choice to expand your child's A Words vocabulary using A Words in context and with a lively A WORDS GLOSSARY at the end of the story.

B is for Bubblegum! is the second in the Arthur & Zita Alphabet Book series, following A is for Applesauce. Nine year old Zita loves WORDS!... and her favourite book is still.... THE DICTIONARY! Today is B WORDS DAY. Arthur is baffled by B WORDS DAY, but he does like bubblegum - with three B's. Zita has a ballet recital tonight, but there is lots of time before the evening, for barging, banishment, beads, belching, bubblegum, and a beautiful bun, before the day comes to a brilliant end with a blazing blitz, bonbons and begonias. This "day in the life" family adventure series by Julie Affleck, continues with Julie's "in the moment" style of writing and Alexander MacAdam's expressive, observant and colourful watercolour illustrations. B is for Bubblegum! is a read alone or read aloud book to be enjoyed by both children and parents. B is for Bubblegum! continues in the same style as A is for Applesauce, and is the same good choice to expand your child's B Word Vocabulary. The bright B WORDS BLITZ GLOSSARY found at the end of the book lists over one hundred B Words used in the story, some very familiar, others less so. For those who may be interested, B is for Bubblegum! is accompanied by B is for Bubblegum! Word Play as a separate colourful activity book, directed to the grade three to five level.

An engaging narrative in rhyme tells of the magic and joy of Christmas preparation as seen by two young children and their teddy bears.

Fifteen year old Lily has a secret, has kept it hidden for as long as she can remember.
What teenager wants to be shunned for daring to be different? And wanting to become a witch is as different as it gets.

She is obsessed with witches. While other little girls dream of being princesses, that has never crossed Lily’s mind. Her only dream is becoming a witch.

She has her own spell book, none of witch - oops, none of which actually work, but it's her very own, and she's spent years building it up. She's tried to give up on her dream time after time, but it's impossible. It's part of who she is.

Lily's friends end up in the hospital, one after another, deathly sick. While Lily’s dream comes true and she’s gifted with powerful magic, is it worth the price she may be forced to pay?

Good battles evil.

White Magic. Dark Magic.

And here is a picture of my newest series started - Glimmershine School for Fairies! Just a picture - not the actual title yet. Its coming! Love it!

Coming Soon - WHITE MAGIC

White Magic is almost ready! Can't wait! Here's what will be on the back cover.I think.

Fifteen year old Lily has a secret, has kept it hidden for as long as she can remember.

What teenager wants to be shunned for daring to be different? And wanting to become a witch is as different as it gets.

While other little girls dream of being princesses, that has never crossed Lily’s mind. Her only dream is becoming a witch.

She has her own spell book, none of witch - oops, none of which actually work, but it's her very own, and she's spent years building it up. She's tried to give up on her dream time after time, but it's impossible. It's part of who she is.

Lily's friends end up in the hospital, one after another, deathly sick. While Lily’s dream comes true and she’s gifted with powerful magic, is it worth the price she may be forced to pay?

Good battles evil.

White Magic fights Dark Magic.

Everyone enter the contest to win a Kindle Fire?
Check it out!
You only have until January 7 so hurry up!
P.S.... you can check out Unbelievers if you haven't already done so.
Here's the link:

 https://www.thekindlebookreview.net/new-year-kindle-fire-giveaway/

I LOVE contests!

last day for edits!

December 31, 2014. Last day of the year.
Happy New Year everyone!
Back to last days . This will be a short quick post.
Today is my last day to finish editing White Magic.
Twenty pages left - a few hours. I'm going to finish it! Make my own deadline.
Okay okay, I didn't make the first couple of deadlines but I will today!
If I stop procrastinating and get to work.
So wish me luck, hope you have a great year too!

WORLD'S BEST STORY!

WORLD'S BEST STORY!

WON BY THE ONE AND ONLY PATTI LARSEN! THE BEST AUTHOR IN THE WORLD!

Breathing again. Every time I say it I scream it. So excited. So proud. And so true.

Imagine the talent one person has! Enough for dozens of people! And she always has time to share! All the little questions and problems - she'd be there with an offer to help. Love her! And this on top of writing over 50 books in a few years! FIFTY! FIFTY BOOKS!

Sigh. If you don't already have Family Magic, you're going to have to wait for it. Too long as far as I'm concerned. But worth the wait. Ever get really into a series and were disappointed by the events way too far into it? Yeah, won't happen here. Not in the twenty book series. 

Did I say twenty books in the series? Yeah. I did. And every one of them a world's best story. Not to mention the other spin-off series. 

Celebration! Woo hoo!

A group of really great ladies - myself included - went out to supper with Patti to congratulate her. Great time! And some went to her VERY FIRST INTERVIEW AS THE WINNER OF WORLD'S BEST STORY!

It was at The Guild, a small spot in Charlottetown. "What’s Up Tonight, hosted by actor/comedian Ben Hartley".

I laughed. And laughed. Ben had two other guests for interviews, and two sidekicks. I loved it. They were wonderful! And they did a wonderful job interviewing Patti. 

And back home I went after a lovely day - to my eight year old wide awake watching television. Not a show for eight year olds, either. Of course. Nope. One about airplane crashes. Nightmare material. Did she have nightmares? Are you kidding! She was so tired she almost fell asleep walking to the bedroom! 

I forgot to mention it was fifteen minutes before midnight. Late night for me.

What else did I come to?

'Someone' tried to clean a little bit for me. Yup. They sure did. There were dishes stacked in the sink (yes I leave the dishwasher door WIDE OPEN beside the sink in the hopes they will notice it is there and there are no fairies coming around when they sleep to wash the dishes) there feet above the counter. THREE FEET. Sounds impossible right? Yeah it's not. And on the dishes were clumps of wet, soggy food that no one put in the garbage before putting a dish in the sink.

I'm still gagging.

And laundry. The laundry room I just cleaned. Well, spare room right in front of the laundry room. Someone was thoughtful enough to do laundry for me! Half wet towels dumped on the floor. Mmmm hmmmm. Sweet. And clothes. Wrinkled. Smushed. Damp. Dumped on top of the towels. And mixed in the middle of this? Dirty laundry. Yup. Kids just dump. A few more steps, boys, and THERE'S THE HAMPER! 

"But I thought this was the dirty laundry........."

Yeah. Fine. Brownie points for effort right? Right. 

Back to Patti - SO EXCITED! GO PATTI GO! I WILL ALWAYS BE (ONE OF- I KNOW TOO MANY MORE) YOUR NUMBER ONE FAN!

 

Smoky white magic

Back to editing - shiver shiver. Some people like editing - not me. It means I can't write. And I can't - won't - until I get this done. But I'm working on it, one page at a time.

So here's the cover. Can't tell how nice it looks because it's white on white, but it's perfect. And so will the other covers be - Red Magic, Blue Magic.,,,,, Can't wait!

One thing bothers me though. My photographer is learning how to use smoke...........and my mind says- anyway, it starts this rotten thing called thinking. Does that too much at times. Sadly, not always when I want it to. Anyway, back to thinking. I'm thinking I might want to get some smokiness in that picture. Maybe. We'll try it out, but I've been really happy with this one for so long - don't get too mad, but it's hard to edit! Not fun!

Okay okay. I'm done whining. And yes this little blog post was procrastination. I'm going back toi edit now. I was just thinking about the cover.............

Candles are DONE!

THIS - THIS many candles have taken so much of my time! Almost all of my time for the past month! All of my dining room...........oh the mess!

The pots of water on the stove..........the box of molds, the packages of dyes and scents, the wine glasses, mugs, glasses and candle holders.

All of it - oh don't forget the box of wicks and the kettle to melt the wax in - oh and the sheets of WAX  and the thermometer and the dripped wax.............

You can imagine the mess right? And boxes to pack them in. THAT was my dining room for over a month. And because it was so messy I though, oh well, what the heck, right? What's a little more? So I dragged up my sewing machine and serger to join the fun. And the fabric. And the beads. And the lace. And made some cute little barbie clothes!

But that's all finished! Thank goodness! And I found my tabl;e again! Woo hoo! I really found it! Have we eaten in there yet? Nope. But its there!

I am doing two birthday parties today for my daughters, 2-4 and 5-8. Rented the community center so I will be gone for the day - and THEN I have no excuses for not not finishing editing White Magic! I really wanted it finished for November so I could finally enter the NANO, but nope, next year.  I want this book finished! Now!

Crap. Didn't work. I checked. It isn't finished. Sigh............guess I'd better get on that. First - balloons. And streamers. And a happy birthday sign. And glow sticks for decorations.

And on another note, you should see the cute illustrations for my Fairy series! They are so adorable! Perfect! Exactly what I wanted! Now hopefully before Christmas I should get the first one out too! Yay!

Think it's possible to get three books out by Christmas? I' don't know.........White Mogic - I'm pushing. Zapped - if I finish White Magic editing I'll finish editing Zapped, and the Fairy series I am waiting for illustrations. I said it would be done but now, its November. November December. December Christmas.

Maybe. I'll work harder. Really I will.

But could you please explain to the kids why I'm ignoring them? Or why there's no clean clothes to wear?

Any one out there got a housekeeper to loan me/?





Please?

White Magic

Yup.

White Magic.

I love Charmed. It is the only Television series I've bought the entire set of. Love that show, love the idea of good witches.

And White Magic began to form in my head. It is the first in a five book series.

Lily, a fifteen year old, is obsessed with witches. Charmed, yes, but I mean all witches. I Dream of Jeannie, Sabrina the Teenaged Witch, Witches of East End...........that is the world she wants to be part of.

Lily dreams of becoming a witch. She has her own spell book, none of witch - oops, I mean which- actually work, but it's her very own, and she's spent years working on it. She's tried to give up on her dream, but that's impossible. It's part of who she is.

It's a secret, of course. What teenager wants to be shunned for daring to be different? And wanting to become a witch is as different as it gets. Over the years her peers and classmates have noticed how odd she was, but there is one close friend that Lily can be open and honest with.

Here comes the new guy to town, And Lily's friends end up in the hospital, deathly sick. Good guys, and bad guys, and the battles that follow. White magic fighting dark magic.

And you'll be able to meet Lily soon - as soon as the edits are finished.

This book is for the Charmed ones, my obsession that wouldn't let go!

Anyone else remember how great that show was?

White Magic...again!

I finally pushed myself to finish the worst edit - the first- and yesterday I breathed a huge sigh of relief. Done! Now for beta readers and then more edits, and hopefully, within 6 weeks, I will have it out there for you! On Amazon, hopefully Kobo, then Smashwords, unless I get stuck on one! Me and computers, I tell ya....

I did not allow myself to do any writing for the past two weeks- or however long it would take me to edit White Magic. And I didn't! Proud of me? Addicted any, yes? It was hard! And you'll never guess what I want to do today!

Sigh. Of course the floors need to be done first......maybe the bathrooms. But the dusting? Nope! I am putting my foot down! I am going to get in at least an hours worth of writing before the kids get home from school and then tonight, maybe, but we all know I am not a night person. Night owl, yes, but not a happy one. I'm grumpy at night. But I make up for it in the morning because I am just a bright ray of sunshine! See me bubbling? It's morning! Yay!

I will work on the Fairy series no to get those finished this week, and then back to Survival Zone. After that......well, I've got more series on my mind! An adult one, paranormal, a YA one, paranormal, or middle-grade, not sure yet, and another early reader one - superheroes! We'll see how that works out, because before I start another series I really would like to have the second ones finished in the Survival Zone series and the White Magic series, and the second and third finished in the Blurs series.

And I think I'm going to be doing another stand alone novel. Mmmm Hmmm. A horror. Gotta love Stephen King and Dean Koontz! And I do! I've got pages of notes for it but I am trying to stay organized and focused! But if I can't wait, I just can't wait. For now it's leaving me alone long enough to get edited. So now on to writing!

Oh stop nagging I didn't forget the floor.........

Barbie clothes!

I did title this blog post 'Barbie clothes', but no, I am not writing a book named Barbie clothes. Seriously did you think I was? No/ Oh. Okay.

Now I started making barbie clothes for my two daughters because writing time was scarce when they were younger. Now, its still scarce, I am just better at ignoring them.

I still do the barbie clothes, usually for Christmas presents for my family, but I absolutely love doing it. I had to do some little tiny dresses for someone, for the little girl barbies. I do them really cheap for her because she takes them to Mexico, so it costs her for material, and maybe a few cents an hour? Maybe. Probably not. But its for a good cause, neither one of us are going to get rich doing it.
Now, in the middle of my editing White Magic - which is so exciting because I am so ready for it to be finished! I am really loving writing/thinking/dreaming about this series all the way to the end!

Back to barbie clothes. I think I will come up with a few outfits, make a website and start selling them again. I have another sister that is a fantastic photographer, and she does amazing prints with her pictures, of Prince Edward Island, or anywhere or anything. I want her to put some for sale because they are amazing! Her flowers.....landscapes......beaches...........everything! Stunning.

So here's a few pictures I took of my first few batches of barbie clothes. These are gone, so I can't put them on the website to sell, but I hope kids are still playing with barbies! and dolls, I will make those clothes too............and skirts or dresses to match for the girls that play. My own girls loved that. One still does, the other - well, we'll not get into pre-teens yet. Not in this post.

Abd back to barbie clothes! Boys I get off track easy..........here's the pictures. Oh, and I was the photographer, so I am not the professional - remember that when you are looking at these! And it will be fun to see what the new pictures will look like with the new clothes because I know who will be taking them!

Oh, stop complaining - I know I make you work but you have lots of time because the outfits aren't made yet. Here I go..............(love Ken's hair - he could have at least combed it before the wedding!)