Back to Writing!

Last Monday, I was proud of myself. There's been so much negativity in my writing career, I've been down in the dumps. After wallowing in self pity, I told myself to look at the great authors out there who have had worse things happen to them, yet they still keep writing.

So, I put my big girl pants on and sat down with my NHRA book and took it apart. I jotted notes in the margins and as my mind opened up, I now know where I want to go with this story.

But, I had to put it on hold for the rest of the week, which was okay. There was a lot going on in my life!

I had scheduled my second colonoscopy for Friday. That meant, switching from my high fiber diet to a low fiber one. After I've trained myself to eat healthy, I had to eat junk. On Tuesday, I gagged and hoped I didn't die of a heart attack before the actual procedure.

Wednesday, wasn't too bad. I discovered mac and cheese from the blue box and for dinner? I treated myself to the greasiest pizza ever. It was so good!

Come Thursday, it was all liquids before the prep started. I went to Dairy Queen to get a Lime Arctic Blast to sip on all day but the machine was broken! Really? I discovered lime popsicles at WalMart which worked well.

Needless to say, once I started the prep, I didn't get an ounce of sleep. I read two books within twenty-four hours. *Note to self: We need better lighting in the bathroom!

The day of the procedure came and the results were amazing! I only had two small polyps and the doctor put me on the five year plan, rather than the three year! Yay!

The next day, I felt like a Mack Truck had hit me. Found out that I still had the anesthesia in me. WebMd told me to drink lots of water with Sea Salt in it to rid my body of the toxins. It helped a little, but I was in bed by 9 pm. (I'm such a swinger!)

But today, I feel back to normal and come Monday, full speed ahead on my writing!

Applying What I've Learned

Where did I find the time to write before? I swear, these last two weeks have been exhausting with taking care of personal business!  I've spent only one hour of writing.

This has got to change. It's been nice outside and I've taken advantage of walking outside. It's only then do my characters for my next book, Breakout Heat, have been talking to me. And they keep changing their minds about how the story goes.

When I started this last year, I had it all mapped out. But after publishing The Sin Bin and having Cruise Into My Heart rejected, I sat back and took a good long look at what I had written and sat back. There were so many errors in it, I couldn't believe it.

I absolutely love my editor at Resplendence Publishing and she gave me excellent advice and tutoring during The Sin Bin. I want to apply everything she taught me to this endeavor.

I have a Wellness procedure on Friday so my mind will be on that. Maybe while I'm under anesthesia, the characters and I can have some productive conversations!!!

Moving Forward

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Last week, I posted about how some publishers (not all!) are not paying their author's royalties. It breaks my heart that this situation is allowed to happen. I have so many author friends who are owed thousands of dollars and won't see a cent of it.

I am praying that this situation will soon end and the author's will be appreciated and compensated accordingly.

In the meantime, I will continue to work on my NHRA story. I have the rights back to my first three books. I am taking this as a positive sign because once you see it in print, you see where you could make it a better story. At the time of editing, I was always under time constraints and was afraid to challenge what the editor wanted me to do even though I disagreed with some of their suggestions.

A good example was with my work, Play for Me. The editor had me change the heroine's mother's personality saying she was too mean. I had based this character on someone I knew, but is no longer with us. This lady was a character who told it like it was whether you liked it or not! I changed it anyway thinking the editor knew what they were doing to sell the book.

I've learned a great deal from my editors and thank them for their knowledge and help. I particularly love the help I get with writing the blurb for my books. It's funny how you can write a story, but to sum it up into two paragraphs to get the audience's attention? It's a stumper! Kudos to all of you who have helped me!

Loss

It is with a heavy heart that I have to announce that my first three books;When the Runway Went South, Play for Me and Flag on the Play, are no longer available. It was not my decision, but that of Blushing Books to no longer publish the Lazy Day imprint.

I have asked for the rights back to these books with the intention of re-editing them for future publication.

I am learning more about the publishing world and am saddened how authors are being treated. Authors are not alone in this treatment. Music composers are facing the same dilemma. The population loves music and reading yet these people are not getting their royalties.

I still want to promote my other works; Not Just an Act, For the Love of Par, Intercepted  by Blushing Books and The Sin Bin by Resplendence Press.

Once again, thank you for your support!