Happy New Year

I want to wish everyone a safe and Happy New Year for 2018!  Happy reading!

Required Holiday Reading

I want to wish everyone a wonderful holiday season.  

I reread my book on my Kindle and still got such a kick out of it. I have to admit I have very entertaining friends! My life would be dull without them!! Thank you for being in my life!!   

Where are the Angels?

I don't know what it is, but as I get older I can't handle bad news as well as I used to. I try and take a deep breath and rationalize how I'm going to deal with the situation. I try and look for the reason why things happen, but sometimes I can't. I count the blessings I have and make them my priority.

First thing that happened that really hurt as a senseless act was a traffic accident in the Dallas area. A  pregnant mother and her unborn son were killed when  they were hit from behind by a off duty fireman showing off his brand new BMW. He and his buddy had been drinking and a flask was found in his car. The baby was due on Christmas Day. You'd think that a fire fighter would know the dangers of drinking and driving.

Second? The employment situation. Big companies are being bought out by others causing good people to lose their jobs or forced into retirement. My husband included. Everyday we wonder when the axe is going to fall. We've tried to plan ahead but it sure makes one think twice about purchases.
It happened to one of my best friends and they're moving back to Chicago. They've been here for fourteen years. I can so empathize with her. Downsizing, selling the house, leaving her family here. She's devastated.

Third. You know we bought the Money Pit, hence my first book every published, When the Runway Went South. I found out you have to be very careful with repairmen around here. It's all a racket with wanting you to sign yearly contracts. I have found out the people here in Texas have a lot of money and will pay without blinking an eye. I'm not like that since I count every cent I have. In the eight years I've lived here, I found reputable electricians, HVAC, lawn care but have not found a good plumber.

On one of my daily walks, I saw a van in front of one of the houses on my route. It was a plumbing company I had never seen be. I made a note on my phone to check it out. The plumber saw me smiled and waved which I returned.  The next day, he was dead. There was a gas leak underneath that house and they had dug a trench to climb underneath the house to investigate. The foundation came crashing on top of him, burying him alive. The next day while walking the same route, there were two helicopters and six firetrucks from neighboring cities in front of the house and that's when I found out about his death. He was only 39 years old and leaves behind a wife and three young children. Right before Christmas.

Fourth? Someone ran into my daughter's car at a stoplight on her way home from work last night. They drove away before she could get their license plate. Granted, there was little damage but still.

We need angels!

But back to my writing. I'm still at it! I've got lots of material I can use!

A Sweet Christmas Romance

Who knows?

Chelsea Crawford, Chicago attorney, thought as she boarded the plane to begin her first ever, ten day Christmas cruise to Bora Bora. Would she find love in addition to warm sunshine and sandy beaches? Her question is answered on the plane when she meets handsome financial wizard Cameron Brooks. She learns that he is the brother and Best Man of famous model, Dylan Brooks, who is to be married in Bora Bora, to the daughter of a scandalous Hollywood couple.

To Cameron, meeting Chelsea was love at first sight. If he wasn’t responsible for his brother’s wedding, he would spend every moment with her, but he can’t. He tries to balance his time with Chelsea, but between his brother’s outlandish antics and the publicity seeking in-laws, things escalate out of hand.

Who knew?

Chelsea was Cameron’s aunt’s attorney! So what if his aunt doesn’t share his last name. But when Cameron accuses Chelsea of dating him for his money, it becomes a deal breaker. The cruise has ended and the relationship is off!

Cameron wishes he could take back his harsh words after a tongue lashing from his aunt. Now his family won’t speak to him. But how can he find her? He never learned Chelsea’s last name!

Editing Like Crazy!

I received the second round of edits and finished those! Next were the Copy edits and turned those into my editor. Getting excited!

I also worked more on my Billionaire series. The creative juices are flowing! And the holidays are right around the corner!

Finished the First Round of Edits!

Woo Hoo! I finished the first round of edits! Taking a breather and doing more research on my Billionaire project.

I hope everyone enjoyed their Thanksgiving!

Cover Draft for Cruise Into My Heart

Still in Editing Mode

I'm about 80% done. My editor is amazing how she's making this a better story!

First Round of Edits for Cruise Into My Heart

Came back from a week's vacation in San Antonio, TX. It was crazy weather where it was 90 the first three days we were there and the rest of the time, it dropped down into the 40's. The Riverwalk is fun but it was cold. And the condo was not built for cold weather especially when the heater didn't work.

We decided to come home early and don't know if that was a mistake because only two hours into our drive, we got a flat tire from a nail. We were fortunate that we pulled in front of an Auto Parts store and they helped my husband with the donut tire. They directed us to Discount Tire about a mile away. It was mobbed. There were over 50 people with flat tires. Most of them were like us and we were there for over four hours.  I made friends and will keep in touch. Back on the road to find out the cruise control no longer worked. My husband said to take the car in Monday to have them fix it.

When we got home late Friday night, I unpacked, did laundry and while watching our DVR full of shows. Saturday, I went grocery shopping and in the middle of this errand, I got a frantic call from my husband to come home ASAP! There was a huge fluid leak from my car on the garage floor. It didn't look like oil but maybe transmission fluid. Our repair shop is closed on weekends, but they have a drop off. The only thing I noticed was that it appeared to be close to overheating. But Jim met me there and we loaded the groceries into his car. Looks like his cruise control issue will wait.

Career-wise, I did not write. I read four books which gave me insight to my billionaire series which I planned to resume on Monday. But as I should know, never make plans. In my email was my editors edits for Cruise Into My Heart. I will be so busy for the next couple of days, I might go crazy. But it's a good crazy.

Trying to Keep a Positive Attitude

I don't know about you, but this weather has me all fouled up! Yes, I like warm weather but I also like the change of seasons. Somehow, watching the NFL and the NHL wearing shorts and sandals seems like all kinds of wrong to me.

Trying not to get discouraged about my writing career is hard as of late. The publishing world is changing rapidly with different formats to keep up with technology.

I love to write and always have. My mother gave me a journal at a very young age and I wrote in it daily. I was encouraged by my teacher is high school and even though I majored in Music Education, I still had to write papers.

My first career was in the field of programming where I wrote Functional Specifications and Designs.  (Very dry stuff!) Then I branched into writing stories and then novels.

But now as an author, not only are you expected to write, you are also expected to format your work to keep up with the latest technology. Marketing is also expected of you, however, the price of attending key groups have skyrocketed out of reach.

Then there is the price of books plummeting, giving your hard work away for free. Unfortunately, free doesn't pay for food, housing and other things one needs to survive.

I hope things turn around. Sigh.

Still Working!

I know I'm late this week, but I had a good cause! Sunday was my birthday and I had unexpected company!

There has been a delay in the release of Cruise Into My Heart. I will keep you posted when it is released.

I've been working on my Billionaire series and it has kept me hopping!

But please feel free to read my other books! I look forward to your reviews!

Thank you again!

Down Time

Have you ever had a phase in your life, where you can't stop running and things are not in your control?

I'm hoping I can find time for myself to do what I want to do and relax.

I've gone to too many funerals and weddings this last year. It's like when you graduate from high school or college and all of your friends are getting married. Well, my friends children are getting married now. I also acknowledge (even though I don't want to), that I'm at that age where yes, friends and colleagues are dying at such a young age. I guess it's all part of life.

But back to writing. I'm working on this Billionaire romance story and my characters are amazing. However, I ran into a technical problem with my hero. He invites his love interest to his mansion in another country (I can't give away the plot line just yet) along with the heroine's best friend. They discover cameras in their suites. Whoa! Stop! Is that legal? I stopped writing at that point, stumped. Do I want to go there?

Lo and behold on the evening news there was a segment about rental home owners are placing cameras in their homes to see what these guests do to their homes. I've learned that cameras are not allowed in bedrooms or bathrooms.

How ironic is that?  Well, now. I can continue with the story and get that camera out of the suite. Or can I because he's a billionaire and he can do anything he wants?

Always Writing!

Hope everyone had a great week! I've been a writing fool. I'm up to 20000 words on my new Billionaire story which doesn't have a name just yet. Soon, it will come to me.                       

Been working with my web designer on a new format for my website. Please check it out at www.LoisKasznia.com and let me know what you think. If you see something I should add, I'd love to hear from you! 

Thank you again for your support! I can't tell you how much I appreciate you!                                                                                                                                 

Works in Progress

The Sin Bin is bringing back fond memories as the hockey season is in full throttle.

Is available at www.Blushing Books.com

I love the NFL season but as usual, my team is in last place. Which is why I wrote Intercepted who is on a winning team.

For those of you who do not like sports, there's always Not Just an Act!

Waiting for the edits of my new book, Cruise Into My Heart!

Also, my mentor is reveiwing Breakout Heat.

Working on a new book that deals with Billionaires.

I'm busy and I love it!

On a Rant

How many of you have used Uber? Well, I hadn't and I thought it was time to join the forces.  I had a trip planned to New Jersey to attend my 94 year old cousin's WWII veteran Memorial Service. I flew into Philadelphia International Airport and since my cousin's widow lives in New Jersey, I decided to try Uber.

My husband and I went over the guide online of "How to Use Uber in Philadelphia, PA, so I felt rather confident. I landed, got my luggage and turned on my phone and fired up the Uber App.  Well, let me tell you, my APP looked nothing like the APP online. So I keyed in my destination and the closest vehicle was Valencia, 8 minutes away. I clicked on her and called her. She was on her way.

Well, Valencia had problems locating me but we finally connected. I was on my way. I learned she had only been on the job for a week. She is from North Carolina and moved here to be with her fiance. She figured the best way to learn the city of Philadelphia was to work with Uber. We're on on our way. NOT!

The address on her Uber GPS destination read Philadelphia airport, so all we did was circle the airport. On my phone, I kept trying over and over to enter the destination address and all was futile. Finaly, Valencia canceled the trip and I was charge $16.75 for not even leaving the airport.

We pulled into Terminal A and tried again to see what was wrong. She didn't know how to "change" the destination on her Uber GPS and there was no one for her to call. Well, that cost me an additional $6.75 and I haven't even left the airport.

Valencia and I decided to find someone who knew how to use Uber. We happened upon a young lady waiting for her ride and she was a blessing. I had keyed in the information correctly but for some reason, on Valencia's end, it did not compute. This young lady was from France and was visiting her brother in Delaware. She was stayed with me until John, my Uber driver came.

He came and told me he had to stop at the WaWa to get cash out for tolls. By this time, my cousin is concerned that I'm not there yet since we have to go to dinner and I'm late. I put her on speaker and she said, rather loudly, there is no toll. Stay on I-95 and you'll be good.

John was not happy. But he took me and then got lost. I had to call my cousin again to get us in the right direction. This cost be $89.00. So, all in all, my cheap Uber fare is over $200. I am livid!

I will try to recoup my money but something tells me I'm out of luck.

Fortunately on the way home, my cousin took me home and it was a breeze.

Why do these things happen to me?

Disciplining My Imagination As It Run Wild

It's been a busy week. I finished editing Breakout Heat and it's now in the hands of my mentor.

I started my next book for the Billionaire's Club and it's so exciting to be writing! The most frustrating part is when your characters stop talking to you. I had all afternoon free to write and Alex would not speak to me, so I turned it over to Valeria who does have a lot to say!

The weather here has been warmer than usual but I don't mind. I get to swim in my pool longer than I've ever had in the eight years I've lived here.

But good things come to an end, as they say. Cool/normal weather will return by the end of the week.  That will give me more time to stay indoors and write. And edit.

I had another person approach me to ask why I don't write stories about the Bible. I don't think I'm qualified. I venture into many areas but that's not one of them. Sorry!

Challenges!

There is nothing better than starting a new story. Last week, I had a vivid dream about a character who haunted me. I knew I could cast him into one of my stories in my head, but which one? I have started several stories but he wouldn't fit into any of them. He's a strong alpha male, yes, but not right for what I have.

Thanks to the suggestion of my editor, I now have a story for him. I've done the research and he's ready to talk. We agreed to take today off while I indulge in the NFL games but first thing Monday, he wants to get down to business and I'm ready!

Also, I'm should be receiving the Cover Art for Cruise Into My Heart in addition to the edits. I'm also working on Breakout Heat to hand over to my mentor by the end of the week.

And don't forget editing When the Runway Went South so I can work in the sequel.  No wonder I can'at sleep at night!

Harvey and Irma

I am still making progress on my books. Awaiting the Cover Art and the first round of edits on Cruise Into My Heart.

I'm still praying for the victims of  both hurricanes. I can't believe how nature changes our lives. I praise the people of the Houston area where there could've been more deaths. Those poor people on the small islands who have nothing because of Irma.

I can't help but watch the news constantly.

But the one bright spot is Football! Yes! It begins and then Hockey and I'm in my world. Love this time of year!

Busy, busy!

It's amazing what I can accomplish when I have uninterupted time to myself! What am I working on, yous ask?

1) Breakout Heat - I'm done with my edits and am going through it one more time until I turn it over to my mentor who is anxiously waiting for it.

2) When the Runway Went South - I am so sorry for all the mistakes it had in it's published version. I am correcting them all and tweaking it so I can add the sequel. I've got the cast of characters who are inpatient to tell their stories.

3) Also, with the upcoming NHL season, there are more characters asking to be heard.

However, I am enjoying the last days of summer while I wait for the Cover Art and edits for Cruise into My Heart!

I am helping with donations for the victims of Harvey. My heart goes out to those poor people.

No more storms!

Updates

What a week! Again.

First off, I am making progress with Breakout Heat. Catching a lot of errors from one of my beta readers before I send it off to my mentor.

When the Runway Went South is making slow progress so I can begin the sequel.

Hurricane Harvey has arrived. At first, I offered to be a host to my friends from PA who now live in Corpus Christie but it's a 7 hour drive for them. They were able to find a hotel in a town about three hours west of San Antonio.

It amazes me how many people thought I was in danger and I thank them for their prayers. I redirected the prayers to the folks 400 miles south of me.

We're getting bands of rain from the storm but nothing severe. Clouds, a quick downburst and then it's over. I can live with that.

More car problems with my husband's car, his baby. We were out Friday night with friends who live about an hour away from us when we heard this rumbling noise which we're guessing its the struts again.

Which means tomorrow, I have to drop it off at the repair shop, while he takes my car to work and then I use my daughter's car.

We have a dead tree out front that needs to come down. We don't have a saw to handle the job, so I'll have to call my trusted Romeo to help us out. Never a dull moment!

Which is why I need to write that sequel!!

Lois :)

Staying Focused

I don't know how other authors do it, but I need to stay focused on completing my books. I'm currently editing my NHRA book while editing my first book so I can make a sequel to it. It's no longer available and this is the time to clean up the gross mistakes that were made. The editing was terrible and I'm ashamed it got published the way it did. Maybe it was because it was my first book to be published and I made beginner's mistakes, I didn't know but I know now!

What is causing my distractions? Let's see. Sundays are my days of rest. I putter around the house watering my house plants, winding my antique clocks, doing word puzzles and reading.

My week days are devoted to an hour and a half work out and weather permitting, swimming laps in the pool. I do two loads of laundry a day which is fast for me because I can work while doing that.

Mondays, I go to the library in the morning and work on my books until noon. After lunch, I go back to author work at home.

Tuesdays it seems that's when things go downhill. My husband is not a morning person. Even though I lay things out on the counter for him to take to work, it seems he always forgets something important. This week it was his phone. It's been his wallet a couple of times as well. He can't leave the office so I have to make the trek to his work which cuts out an hour of my day. Now I have to play catch up.

We've had the wettest August I've ever experienced in my eight years of Texas. The storms are incredible as well as the rain totals. And let us not forget the electrical issues. We lost power for a good portion of the day on Thursday which meant no Internet connection. What made it worse was the power outage extended to my husband's office and guess who came home to work? Yup!  If this is going to continue, we need to set some ground rules. When he has a conference call, close the door. Same as phone calls. He walks around the house talking on his cell phone. He's a big guy and has a loud voice. STAY PUT!

This week I have made a vow to buckle down and work. I promise! Please! Let my life be a little boring for once!

Crazy Week

My one friend from high school, who is single and has no children told me she can't multi-task. I'm sure she can, but hasn't used that ability.

Then I think about my life this week and everything that has been thrown at me and you know what? I don't think I can either. I might try but I'm worn out!

Monday was crazy. I tried to work on two of my books, but then catching up after three days off, set me back. My daughter complained about her jaw and tooth hurting and she made an appointment with the dentist.

You see, she had braces when she was in college and they had to remove two teeth because she had too many teeth. She needs implants and can't afford them. Once she had the braces off, the orthodontst made a retainer for her so the teeth will stay straight. She's broken the retainer a few times and the assistant came up with this idea of adding another 'tooth' to the mixture. This was two weeks ago.

At the dentist, she found out that this retainer had cracked one of her molars and now needs a crown and the dentist told her that she should make the orthodontist pay for it.

Wednesday, it was back to the orthodontist who fixed the retainer and no, she's not going to pay for it because my daughter should have told them right away rather than wait two weeks. We're talking about $500. Tears! The dentist can't work on it until the swelling goes down.

Our pool. For pool owners, you'd understand. It's our first and last pool. Too much money! It's behaved for a good year but the luck ran out. The fountain and the cleaner motor worked, but the pump was leaking. In one night, I lost three inches of water. I called my pool repair, who usually is prompt and they said they would come out Wednesday. Okay. I turned on the outside spigot to fill the pool and guess what? The spigot is leaking. I contacted my handyman and he said he wouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole. That does not bode well with me because after the monetary charge from my regular plumber, they are a bunch of scam artists!

In the meantime, my roofer showed up for the last of his checks from the insurance company for our roof repair. When I showed the spigot to him, he said he had a great plumber so I called him. He said he would show up on Saturday to fix it.

Also on Wednesday, my high school girlfriend drove back from our reunion in Springfield, IL and spent the night with us.

Guess what? No pool repair guys show up.

Thursday, I called my pool company and they assured me I was on the ticket for Friday because they ran into unexpected work. The temps are in the upper 90's and with the pool not running, you can have green or black algae which is hard to correct. I'm not a happy camper.

I wait Friday for the repair men and by two o'clock, I'm fuming. I called the manager and I was not nice. She promised she would have a technician out there first thing Saturday morning. I replied that I have been told that for the last three days! Why should I believe her?

Saturday, lo and behold! The repair man shows up at 9 am. I know who he is. He used to be a pool cleaner and is now learning how to be a technician. He looks at it and tells me what needs to be done. He takes off in his work van and comes back with the senior technician, whom I know very well. It takes them until 3:30 to fix it.

In the mean time, where is the plumber? No word, nothing. At 4 pm, the heavens open up and it rains. I don't think he's going to make it. Call me to tell me he can't make it? Ha! We lost power seven times last night.

Can I please have a week where there is no drama? I know things could be worse and I thank God they aren't, but still....

More Characters are Surfacing

I told you that I would attend my XX (ha ha) High School reunion and I did. In Springfield, IL.  I had more fun than I thought I would. There were about three ladies I didn't recognize and had to ask them their names. Needless to say, I was embarrassed because they remembered me.

But I was good. I listened to each one who recounted their adventures and I thought to myself, what a great story. Needless to say, when I tried to sleep that night, my mind raced with ideas for a new book. I finally got up in the middle of the night and used the hotel's stationary to jot down what the characters wanted to do. (My husband is used to this by now.)

On the flight home to Dallas, which was delayed due to severe thunderstorms in the Dallas area, I got an email from my Beta reader who said she is not happy with the hero in Breakout Heat. Bo needs to be stronger.

I haven't had any time to talk to him today because of personal errands I had to run to play catch up for my days away. But we have to have a serious talk! He has a great story to be told and has to step up for the role.

Men!

Writing Keeps Me Busy!

It has been an exciting week! I completed the Cover Art Questionaire for Cruise Into My Heart and the talented Resplendence Publishings' artists are working on the request.

I also recieved and signed the contract and the book will be out October 4, 2017.

I completed my first edits on Breakout Heat and turned it over to by Beta readers for their comments and input.

In my last blog, I asked whether or not to write a sequel to When the Runway Went South, so while I wait for two sets of edits, I will review WTRWS to see how I can do a sequel. Believe you me, I have plenty of material!

I questioned what I should write about next when it dawned on me that I'm going to my xx (fill in the blanks) high school reunion this weekend. I went to an all girls Catholic High school in Springfield, IL. I haven't seen my classmates in years. Yes, I keep in touch with many of them via FB, but it will be interesting to see them in person.

Please remind me to keep my mouth shut so I can listen to their stories!

New Book Sent to my Editor

I am so excited to announce my manuscript for Cruise Into My Heart, has been submitted to my editor with a tentative publish date of October 4th!

I want to thank all of my beta readers for their comments and how to make it a better story. It is based on a true story but somewhat embellished by me.

Which brings me to my next work of art, Breakout Heat. I'm halfway through it's first set of Lois' edits trying to make the characters more vibrant. I'm reading my favorite authors books like crazy to assist in that goal. Then I will give the manuscript to my cohorts in crime for their opinions and comments.

However, I've been deterred by life events. When the Runway Went South is really my third attempt at writing a book. As you know, we bought the Money Pit when we moved to the Dallas area. We have never spent more money on a house in our first year of owning a home. Everything in the story is true. Because it was a true story written from my heart, Lazy Day Publishing accepted it and stood behind my work. Then Blushing Books acquired the Lazy Day name. Unfortunately, Blushing Books Publishing made the decision to no longer carry the imprint of Lazy Day and therefore the book is no longer available.

Which brings me to my next step. This last year, the house has acted up again where we've had incredibe repair bills beyond our worst nightmare. It's to the point where we can't afford to live in this house, but who would buy it? My mentor is screaming SEQUEL! The characters are talking to me.
Should I do it?

Funny Story

When I tell people that I'm an author, most of them can't believe it. (Well, sometimes I wonder myself, lol). But I love when they launch into their stories if they could write, it would be a best seller.

My 84 year old aunt said I should write about my husband's family. Um, she's never read any of my books and I hate to tell her that a lot of my characters are based on my husband's family. When Play for Me was being edited, my editor told me that the heroine's mother was too mean and to lighten up the character because it was not real. I wanted to introduce her to my relative but thought better about it and changed the character.

My husband's uncle is a retired Chicago Policeman and he does have great stories that I'm compiling.

Next, I was at a pool party and met a delightful young man and his husband. They couldn't wait to talk to me. They wanted me to write a story about our next president who would be gay and his husband would not be the first lady, he would be the first man. I'm still trying to wrap my mind around that one. I asked about the plot and they said that was it. A gay first man! I'd really have to do research on that topic....

While the plumber repaired my underground clogged pipe, ($$$$) he said I should write a book about Jesus as a salesman. How Jesus was able to sell his beliefs to the world and still maintain this belief to this day. I hated to burst his bubble, but I told him people have researched that very topic for years. I write contemporary romances, a feel good story that warms the heart. That topic is a little too heavy for me.

I wonder what will be next? Do other authors get the same reaction from people? I don't know!

Working with Characters of a Story

So sorry I haven't blogged for a while! We had out of town family come and visit us for seven days over the July 4th holiday. We also took three days of vacation to do much needed yard work. I think we're done and I'm ready to get back to writing. Having people around tends to do that to me.

I'm taking today and Sunday to read. There are so many inspirational authors that help me work through tough passages.

I'm finicky when it come to my characters and I want to make sure I'm portraying them the way I want them to come across. The latest book I wrote which I'm editing is not doing that for me. My heroine and hero are flat. Grrr! Spending ten days away from it is helping and each book I read gives me a picture of how the author gets their characters alive! Come Monday, I'm ready to tackle it again.

Granted, I have the best editor ever, Michele! But I want it to be perfect before it gets into her hands.

Back to personal stuff! It's been very hot and humid in Texas. We've had more rain than I can remember since we moved here in 2009. Usually, by this time of year, the grass is brown and there are fire warnings. Not so! We've had close to 6 inches of rain in one week. We've had to cut our grass twice in ten days. The pool is still cold from all the rain water, but at least it's refreshing!

I hope everyone had a great holiday!

How Innocent Suggestions Become True

It's ironic how things happen. I began my writing career in 2002. I wrote the book of my dreams, called The Network of Deceit, a Romantic Suspense. It was based upon my years in computer programming. Part of it was a true story but as first books go, well. It got rejected time after time. Looking back at it, I made every mistake known to the craft. I put it aside while I wrote it's sequel.

Then life got in the way. I got a full time job for the next three years; my daughter went off to get her Masters Degree in English, and we moved to Dallas.

That's when When the Runway Went South was born. Everything happened to our house and I cried the first year we were here. Me, being the organized person I am, made a spreadsheet of every incident that went wrong with the house. With the suggestion of a cousin, he told me to write a story about it. I did.

As of last year, guess what? Things are going wrong with the house again. It's been seven years since things were fixed but it still makes me sick to my stomach. Never have we had so many problems with home ownership. And the way businesses operate in Texas, verything is a racket and Texans just shrug their shoulders and pay. A good example is mosquitoes. The city sprays for mosquitos during the season to prevent West Nile Virus. Now there is the Zika! Guess what? Along comes Mosquito Joe, who will personally spray your yard twice a month for a costly fee and that's not all. You have to agree to a year long contract. The cost is close to $500 a year. And people are buying into this. I'm not like that, which makes it harder to deal with these firms.

My best friend suggested I write a sequel to When the Runway Went South, which unfortunately is out of print. That was last year. I toyed with the idea but put it aside. I ended the story with a happy ever after ending.

After posting my latest adventure with a rattlesnake, I'm getting more support to write the sequel. You know? Maybe I will!

Hang in There

I'm ready to start my next book. It will be a sequel to When the Runway Went South. I have enough material based upon my true life adventures with this house.

Since last August, I've had a clothes dryer burn out; a new dishwasher, stopped up kitchen sink, a two new lawnmowers from Sears go bad. (They fixed the last one, but I will never do business with Sears again. Hidden in their website's fine print, they will not accept returns after thirty days of purchase. Since we purchased the second one in November and we didn't use it until March when it became the smoking James Bond of the neighborhood, they would not let us return it.) A strut in my husband's new car broke, my washing machine died, the water pipe underneath my house backfilled and had to be re-routed to the price of $$$$$$. The roof was replaced forcing us to park our cars on the street. While on the street, my car, which was given a clean bill of health last week, got stuck in Park. We called to have it towed, but they can't tow it if you can't put it in Neutral. So, the driver took apart my console and found the spring to unleash the gear shift handle. It was still drivable, but I had no brake lights. It's now at the repair shop. $$$$

I know there are those of you who are going through worse things than this and I pray for all of you. I'm just asking for good things to come our way. Please?

However, I did get the synopsis done for my next book. Now, I'm fine tuning the first three chapters for submission.

Frustrated!

I've always been a planner. I think I was born with a 'to do' list in my hands. I try to be accomodating when things don't go as planned, but I'm Sicilian and passionate about everything.

I have two manuscripts I'm working on since The Sin Bin. The first was rejected because I 'told' rather than 'showed'. I've reworked it and now feel confident that it's great. The killer for me is the synopsis and the blurb. How can I write en entire book, yet struggle with a 'hook' of three sentences and write a three page synopsis? Argh!

Second manuscript needs a lot of work. I mean a lot! I'm not at all pleased with the relationship between the hero and heroine. It's too complacent. I need to breathe life into it. And the timing is all wrong. I've got them jumping from one thing to another without continuity. I know what I want to 'show' and have to find the right words. Both situations needs lots of concentration on my part.

With that being said, I've got a lot of work to do with my career. I'm anxious to get those two books out there. But, NOTHING in my life is going according to my schedule. FRUSTRATED!

I run our household. That should be my second job but for the last couple of months, it has become my primary job. And I don't get paid! It started in March when we had a devastating hail storm and had major damage to the house. Dealing with the insurance (which used to be one of my careers) and repairs being done has become a nightmare. I never know when the repairman are going to show up and I have to scan the receipts to the insurance adjuster to let them know I'm using the partial sum of money to really get things repaired. I did not pocket the money and run away to Las Vegas or Bora Bora. Until every penny is accounted for with the first insurance check, I will not get the second advance. I have 365 days to complete the repairs but still.

Moving on to cars. There are three in our household. Mine is a 2002 with only 56,000 miles on it. It's getting up there but it still runs fine. That car went in this week for a Service A check and they couldn't find anything wrong. Yay!

My daughter has a 2006 Mazda with only 48,000 miles on it. She works in Customer Service and needs her car to go to work.

My husband bought the car of his dreams two years ago, a 2009 Mercedes Benz S550. Because it was an older model, we bought a 5 year warranty package on it and we've used it. It has all the bells and whistles on it and guess what? They all go wrong at one point of time. For the first year and a half, I was petrified to drive it. The only thing I haven't driven in my life is a pick up truck and am normally not afraid to drive anything. But the way my husband has carried on about his baby. I sucked it up after the last repair when the strut broke. I'm no longer afraid.

His car went in for a Service B and of course they found two oil leaks and had to replace the spark plugs and belts which was a two day process.  He took my car (I will not be without a car!) which meant I had to drive my daughter to and from work for three days straight. When the 2009 was complete, I had to have a friend meet me at my daughter's work so I could drop off her car and take me to the repair shop to pick up the 2009. I became so confused about where everything was in the cars...especially the windshield wipers. I know where mine are, but I forgot about my daughter's car and realized she needed to new ones. I couldn't see out the windshield. Trip to the auto store.

The 2009 has the automatic windshield where it senses the amount of water on the window. My husband didn't tell me he had turned it off because it hadn't rained in a while. Fortunately, I went back to the repair shop where they told me where the switch is. I bet they had a good laugh on my account!

I couldn't find a block of time to work on my books. I praying for normal. Please!

School is Out

Which means our library will be filled with bored kids who have no place else to go.

When I'm writing, I need quiet. I can't listen to music because since I'm a trained musician, I listen to music rather than concentrate on my characters and story line. I can't do both!

At home is usually quiet except for the telemarketers. Yes, we still have a landline. We want to get rid of it, but our older relatives only know of that number and not our cell phones. Yes, I've reported the numbers to NOMOROBO and the Do Not Call but that doesn't work. Lately, I've been on a list of the best health care coverage. I'm covered under my husband's work coverage. Who knows what the options will be with all of the turmoil in politics? I receive about ten calls a day which is why I like to go to the library to avoid them.

But during the summer hours, kids and even parents don't follow the library rules and the staff is just happy people are using their facility and won't say anything. I bought a huge bottle of ear plugs at CVS which I'll use at home and the library!

On another note, it's funny how Facebook can change your life. The first job I had when I graduated from college, I was a Claims Supervisor at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois in downtown Chicago. A great deal of my employees were adjustors and batch and file clerks (all paper back then), the majority of them were from the inner city. They were a great group of workers with the exception of a few but I liked it.

Yesterday, I checked my many FB pages and I stumbled across a name from the past. One of my employees! I hadn't thought about him in decades! Yet, he liked my page. Of course I was nosy and checked him out. He was a good kid, about six years younger than me, but he managed to get into trouble out of work. My manager fired him because of it. I tried to stick up for him but I could only go so far.

Fast forward and I hope what he wrote on his page is true because I want to believe it. He managed to go to college and get a degree and a good job. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I see another story in the works.....

Remembering my Hero. Dad!

It's been hard to concentrate on writing this week. I've put in good hours but you have to understand. I love summer! I've been looking forward to this time of year since January.

Granted, I have to finish my current novel. It's my personal goal. No one is asking for it and I'm not under contract but I want to get it out there for submission.

Also, Memorial Day always makes me cry. I was very close with my father who was a LT Commander in the Navy in WWII. I almost lost him but he survived to come home and be the greatest dad ever!

He passed away from Prostate Cancer in 2007 and I still miss him to this day. I discovered a therapy of planting when this holiday rolls around because I like bringing things to life. My father loved to garden and would grow the best fruits and vegetables in his own garden and a community garden as well. I know I inherited that trait from him.

This week, I've planted over 84 plants in his honor and they are thriving so far. Yes, I do take it personally if one of them dies! I'm tired and my back is killing me, but it's so peaceful to look at my garden as it comes to life.

As of  Tuesday, I'll concentrate on writing and making my father proud of me!

Setting Realistic Goals for Writing Time

At times, I am too hard on myself. I feel like I should be glued to my chair and my laptop non stop writing. But I've learned that life doesn't work like that for me. I love my family and friends and want to make time with them too. I approach my writing as a career/job. I put in my time and when I'm done, then it's me time.

As of late, things are not going as planned. I don't mean that in a bad way, but I need to be more assertive of my writing schedule than I have been. I've written eleven books in five years, so why am I struggling with only two of them in this last year?

Maybe it was the five weddings, (four out of state) I've been to this year. Long lost family and friends coming for a visit; two years of appliance breakdowns and waiting for repair and service men between the hours of 8 - 5 to appear at my door. (Kind of breaks down a writer's concentration even though it's fuel for a new book...)

Oh! And let's not forget the many tornado warnings we've had this year and hanging out in our 'Fraidy Hole. (The closet under the stairs). That's not good for my concentration either.

Today, I'm making a new resolution to take advantage of my time to devote to writing. I'm going to let the creative process take over and embrace it fully.

After this tornado warning subsides. Sigh. Back to the 'Fraidy Hole. Again.

Getting into a Writing Mindset

I have tried writing every day since last Sunday and got all the way to Wednesday. Sigh. Things happen in my life that I can't just put aside and I have to deal with that crisis as it comes up.

Even my horoscope has told me to make writing a priority. So yesterday, I sat in my office raring to go and my husband came into my office very upset and emotional about an issue at work. First off, he's the level one. I'm Sicilian and fly off the handle at every turn. For him to come up to my office in the first place is a definite cry for help. He and my daughter are the most important people in my life.

We decided to tackle this issue together and the more he talked about it, the calmer he became and we came up with an idea how to tackle this without name calling and taking the high road. By lunch time, he had calmed down enough for me to get back to my writing.

Back at my computer, I started to write and got to maybe two thousand words and then my mind became a complete blank.

I'm taking today off to enjoy myself. I mowed the entire lawn while it was a cool 75 here. I had a leisurely breakfast and I will chill.

The lesson I learned is that people should not write emails while angry. I don't care what anyone says. Words hurt and cannot be taken back.

My Characters are Driving Me Crazy!

It's been a challenging week at the Kasznia's. Way too much stuff going on in the household. Makes working on the book take a back seat and I feel badly because I really want to finish this story and get it submitted!

I looked forward to Saturday because my daughter worked and my husband had a tee time. Five hours for me! Whoo Hoo!

I put a load of wash into my eight year old front loader and it didn't sound right, but I ignored it like I have since September when it started making that noise. Everytime I've started it up, I've crossed my fingers and said a little prayer.

I ran upstairs to my office and start writing and I'm on fire! The characters are talking to me as if we're trying to catch up with each other! It's great!  The signal goes off and I get to a stopping point and run downstairs to transfer the wash to the dryer. I load the second load and the control panel blinks at me. Huh? I pushed the OFF button and it didn't register. Now I'm pushing all the buttons and the door locks. My clothes are locked inside and I can't get them out! The control panel is blinking like it's possessed and I'm freaking out! How do I get the door unlocked?

Okay. I can do this. I used to fix computers and the best thing to do is to unplug it and plug it back in. Will I get electrocuted because things are still blinking? I ran back upstairs and texted my husband on the golf course. I know he can't drop what he's doing but I need someone to talk to about this. No answer. Hmmm.

I run back downstairs and the control panel is dark. But the door is unlocked! I snatched my clothes out of there in case the machine decided to change it's mind.

It's official. I need a new machine. I went online and looked. Home Depot had the best prices but it's still a lot of money. Since we've been married, my husband and I buy major appliances together looking at all of the options, making sure we've made the best decision. I did it once and he became very upset and hurt that I made a decision without consulting him. Won't do that again!

Checked my phone and there's no response to my text. I can't sit still and writing is out of the question at this point. I drove to Home Depot to see if I could look at the machines I saw online. They don't have the ones I wanted on display. Why would I expect they would?

Back home and now I'm really worried about my husband. Is he okay? It's not like him not to respond to my texts. Is he dead? Did he lose his job and they disabled his cell phone? Is it off? Did he leave it in the car? (If I did that, he'd read me the riot act!) Bingo! He left it in the car. I was not nice.

He got home and we ordered the machine online and it will be delivered on Wednesday. I told the family, there are plenty of bath towels to use until then but there's the, 'but it's my favorite towel' song and dance. I had choice words about that too!

My husband took me out to dinner to make up for it and I had wine and relaxed. At three in the morning, I woke up because I had a dream about my characters, I ran upstairs and started writing until five. I went back to bed and slept until seven. When I read what I wrote, it made no sense and didn't fit into the story at all. I bet they're having a good laugh at me while I'm rewriting the scenes! I'll get even with them! lol!

How to Write Through Home Repair...Is it possible?

Crazy week on the home front. I think I wrote about ten thousand words between visits from home repair visits.

Next week looks promising...but maybe not. That's right. Our roof and fence will be repaired this week and there's no way I can work through that!

I guess I'll have to stomach our noisy library where mothers let their young children run free, while screaming down the aisles.

What happened to QUIET! in the libraries? Is that a thing of the past that no one told me about?

Works in Progress

It has been a productive week of writing. Now that our social life has come back down to normal, I can breathe again and think clearly. I've been able to write almost everyday. I am anxious to get done with this story so this will be my first draft of it. I know how I want it to end but the characters keep taking me in different directions and throwing me off base.

Once I'm done, I'll reread and edit the story. I want the reader to 'feel' the characters which means I don't want to 'tell'. I have a bad habit of doing just that from my years of writing Functional Specifications for programming.

When I get stuck on reworking my books, I take time out to read other successful authors and how they present their stories which helps dramatically.

My mentor is anxious to read this story as well which is another reason I'm setting a goal for myself to get up to speed.

Unlike other authors, I can only concentrate on one book at a time. Yes, I have many books I've started writing but usually only one calls out to me to get it completed.

Happy reading!

Happy Easter!

I got a great night's sleep, raring to sit down and write, but guess what? My characters have decided to take the day off to enjoy Easter. I guess I will too!

Happy Easter to everyone!

Back to Normal! Writing it is!

The wedding season is over for us! Now it's back to disclipline and writing. My characters are chomping at the bit! I hear you! Let's go!

Life in Texas

I love living in Texas. You don't have to shovel sunshine and it doesn't get bitter cold. It's a big state and I'm still exploring it. You can travel all day by auto and still be in Texas. Out in western Texas and the Panhandle, it's mostly tumbleweeds and big sky! It's beautiful and I can't wait to see the rest of it. But there is a downside to the weather. The storms are more violent than I've ever experienced in my life!

I was born in Massachussets, lived in upstate New York for the first years of my life and then moved to Chicago, IL. Then my father transferred to Springfield, IL and lived there until my early twenties.

Springfield is tornado prone. I don't know how many times during the spring and summer, we hung out in our basement waiting out the storms. I loved watching the storms! Then, I moved back to Chicago and experienced more storms, snow and cold, cold weather.

Got married, had a child and moved back east to Pennsylvania. More snow, more cold but where we lived, we avoided tornadoes. I think it's because the house was on a mountain, the tornadoes would occur in the valley below us. We still had bad storms and lots of snow but I still was fascinated with storms.

I don't care what people say but the storms here in Texas are scary. I never used to be afraid but now I am. Maybe it's because the land of our development used to be a ranch that never recorded severe weather, but the storms are horrific leaving severe damage.

In 2011, we experienced a hail storm that damaged our roof, fence, air conditioning units, our patio furniture and window screens. It was expensive and our insurance rates went through the roof (no pun intended)! Having holes in your roof of your house makes you not take things for granted.

Silly me. I thought that was a once and done deal. Ha! We got home from Chicago on Saturday and of course I had errands to run. I spent most of Saturday doing just that. Yes, the forecast on Sunday called for severe storms and I thought nothing about it. Since 2011, we've been dodging them.

Sunday evening, the storm came out of nowhere and the hail was the size of a softball. It pummelled our roof for a good fifteen minutes! No! Not again! We didn't lose power and we ran around the inside of the house and didn't see any holes. But the next morning, we saw the damage outside. I'm not a roofer, but it didn't look as bad as in 2011, but what do I know? We had three damaged gutters and I checked the downspouts for signs of roof debris and only saw it one gutter. Two of our plastic deck chairs were broken and an outside planter was damaged. The holes in our lawn from the embedded hail made our lawn look like a putting green.

Then I heard from my friends in the development across the street from ours. Skylights were broken, windows were broken, cars were totalled and the list went on. Now, there are roofing contractor signs in everyone's yards except ours.

I called my insurance agent and he is sending a professional out to look at it, The roof is only six years old and I don't know the age of the other roofs. But I don't want my rates to go up again! I'm trying not to panic...

Oh? And as I write this, guess what? We are under another tornado warning....never a dull moment!

Back to Work!

Whew! Home sweet home! Back from a hectic trip to Chicago. It was good to catch up with my relatives and enjoyed their company.

The wedding was a blast and we are so happy for my husband's Goddaughter! Met lots of great people.

The best part of mingling with people are the stories you learn about them. I have plenty of material to use for future books. Not in a bad way mind you, but the experiences are life's lessons.

Now, I feel more optimistic about my NHRA story and am anxious to tackle it head on.

It's been a whole week since I've written anything and I'm chomping on the bit to get back to work!

Family Drama

Sorry to be late posting my blog! We were in Chicago attending our fourth wedding. What a blast!

Even though I'm not writing, my family is giving me lots of research for more stories! Do other folks have family mishaps like mine does?

If so, I'd love to hear about them! Feel free to email me at LoisKasznia@gmail.com.

As you know, The Sin Bin is about hockey, especially the Blackhawks. I'm excited they're doing well this year because they are in my story!!

Four Weddings....

So, next week will be our third wedding in eight months. I feel like I did when I graduated from college and all my friends got married at once. Now, it's the younger family and friends who are getting married.

In August, my nephew got married in Toronto. In October, our best friend's daughter got married in New Jersey. In February, my girlfriend's daughter got married here in Texas the day before we left on vacation.

Now, we're headed to Chicago to see our cousin, my husband's Goddaughter, get married. He will participate in the wedding by performing a reading.

In April, we're headed back to New Jersey for my cousin's Granddaughter's wedding. With the exception of my daughter's wedding (who knows when that will be), I'd like to take a break for a while.

And no funerals either. I know what you're thinking....Four Weddings and a Funeral, right?

Life in Pieces

Back to reality! My husband and I had won a free vacation and used it last week to visit Maui. With his work and my set back with four of my books, it was a much needed vacation.

It was a weather phenomenon in the state of Hawaii. The Big Island had a snow advisory after it received over a foot of snow in the mountains. Kauai and Maui received drenching rains which caused beach erosions. We were told to stay out of the brown water in the ocean because that's where sharks lurk, looking for food. The island of Oahu was hit just as badly as the others.

Other than having only two days to enjoy the sunshine and the pool...(remember, no swimming in the ocean and the beaches where we were staying were not safe), we still had a great time. The whales kept us entertained as well as the birds singing at sunset. There is plenty to see and do. The staff at the restaurants and hotels are great.

As with the Kasznia's, things always seem to happen to them. On Wednesday, we decided to explore the western part of Maui. We've always hung around up north because of the golf courses and our time share's location. As we set out, we rounded a curve and the dashboard lit up with an error message. We were losing tire pressure in the right rear tire of our rental car. I called the Roadside Assistance from Alamo and they were very helpful. If we could limp it back to the airport where the rental agency was located, they would give us a new rental with a full tank of gas. Or, if we didn't think we could make it, they would send a tow truck to repair the tire.

The road we were on is only a two lane road and heavily traveled. It wasn't raining yet, so we decided to continue our trip to the airport. We made it with seconds to spare. The tire went totally flat the minute we drove up to the gate. Alamo staff saw to our needs imediately and within ten mintues, we were in another car with a full tank of gas.

Back tracking our way to the highway, the skies opened up and the rain came down in sheets.  Now it was lunch time and my husband had a craving for Fish Tacos. He had read in the brochures that the best tacos are Maui Tacos, in a strip mall on our way to the west side of the island. We pulled in and ran through the parking lot to the shop. We looked around only to find it was a take out place. There was no indoor seating. You make do. We ordered our tacos and made a bee line to the car. The tacos were delicious but messy, but it was a way to pass the time as we sat in the car. When we were done, we looked at each other and decided we really needed to wash up before we continued. We stopped at an Outback and ordered a beer and used the facilities.

Back to our journey only to learn that the road we needed was closed due to flooding. We headed back to the condo and hunkered down for the night.

Thursday, the sun decided to make an appearance and we relished it. We went swimming and soaked it up. Friday, we played golf and had a great time.

Saturday was check out and that's the other thing I have to warn you about visiting Maui and other islands in Hawaii. Affordable flights are red eyes which leave during the evening hours. They range from five to eleven pm. The check out time is noon. What do you do from noon until eleven pm? I'm talking about the CST and EST. If you're on mountain or the west cost, this is not an issue for you. I wish they'd move the check out time to at least two.

After an eight hour flight, we arrived at DFW at six in the morning. Tired and cranky, we went to get our luggage. Oh. We watched the carasoul go round and round and only three bags of luggage were on there. Um, those three were not ours. We waited an hour while the clerk tried to locate our bags and couldn't. We had to file a missing luggage report and catch our bus to the Park N' Fly where our car was parked. Guess what? It was cold and pouring down rain.

The bags were finally located and we got them at two in the afternoon. I so need another vacation even if it's only two days to get back into my rhythm. These are life experiences which I call research are for my next book!

Finding Time to Write

I am by nature, a planner. I've been making 'To Do' lists since birth. Over the years, I have come to realize that not everything goes as planned. I now make my lists with plenty of wiggle room to accomodate the unexpected.

But lately, things have become a bit overwhelming and I find that I can't cross anything off of my list. Since when did my days become so out of control?

I've been working on my NHRA romance now for two years. TWO YEARS! Okay, granted The Sin Bin had to find a home, (THANK YOU, RESPLENDENCE PUBLISHING!!), Cruise Into My Heart needs to find a home but you'd think by now, I'd be done with the NHRA story.

For the last two years, it seems as if I've done nothing but put out fires. My house is haunted. There is no doubt about it. Every other day, something breaks down or Mother Nature decides to wreak havoc with me. (This week, we had an influx of black horse flies in the house. We killed over twenty of them. Where did they come from? Who knows? And let's not forget a broken ankle and now I'm dealing with Plantar Faciiatis...

It's as if the minute I sit down to write more on my story, something happens. Ugh.

Now, I'm preparing for our vacation to Maui (where the forecast is cool and rainy, really???) I told my husband I am taking my laptop with me to write. While he's on the golf course in the rain, I'll be at the condo writing. He's not too happy about it, but I told him that's the way it is. Maybe I can finish this story and move on to another!

How do other author's find the time? I must be missing something....

Double Standards

I am bad. I am SO addicted to my cell phone, it's not even funny. What did I do without one before? I am trying an experiment and let's just see how long I can hold off. I will not use it until Wednesday.

Okay. I admit I've used 90% of my data and my billing cycle doesn't end until the 21st of the month. That's how bad I am. I don't have unlimited texting which is okay. I don't text that much anyway. I email or FB message instead. I can go months without recieving or doing a text. But every once in a while, all of a sudden  my friends text me and I get the "I'm a being a bad person" warning from Verizon.

Now, my writing career is on hold. In all of my rejections, I've been told that I 'tell' rather than 'show'. I finally figured it out. I had a career as a technical writer for programming specifications. Yup. I'm trained to "telling' how the program functions. The program is to be seamless to the user, you can't 'show'.

You say, what's wrong with that? Well, I'm learning a lot even though my ego has taken a beating. I have three stories I'm rewriting to fix that very thing!

I've also done research on recent romantic releases. I've been told my stories have too many adverbs and I should shy away from them. Gee, those recent releases have tons of them. What about the word 'said'? I was told you should use 'said' rather than 'replied', 'answered', 'groaned', etc. By using the 'said' word, it makes the reader gloss over to the next sentence. Guess what I found in the four recent releases I read? Yup! Replied, groaned, growled and answered. And these are authors that I love their story telling. What gives?

Is there a double standard I should know about? Sigh, Back to the drawing board....

Never Ending Saga

You know, I would never bore my readers....working on a couple of projects....

1) I set aside my Holiday Cruise book to take a break from it. I'm not pleased with it, even though it's finished. I need another set of eyes to look at it...

2) Working on my NHRA romance....it's too serious and I have to change that. Then yesterday after writing over 1000 words, my characters stopped talking to me. Not nice!

3) Seque to When the Runway Went South keeps getting more material. Dead animals stuck in the walls of the house? This series is true to life. I swear this house is haunted....

Thanks again for all of your support! I really appreciate it!

Keep reading!