Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Alpha Female Adapting And Moving Forward

Since my back injury eighteen months ago, I've watched my world contract with modification after limitation after restriction. I used to do kickboxing workouts four times a week that made me feel more like my alpha female characters. Now, maybe once a week I seriously modify and pretend I'm kicking butt.

Hey, mind over matter, right?

I used to run, now I can't keep up with women twice my age walking through the grocery store. It's comical really. But I miss running. No matter how many

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Thursday, August 25, 2011

Illusions In The Real World Sort Of World Building

Have you ever watched a movie or read a book where the author tricked you with the pieces of world building? For me, most recently, Inception comes to mind. As you get swept into the movie you can lose sight of what's real and what's constructed, regardless of how closely you watch the story unfold.

The dream within a dream is an amazing illusion, a clever device of the elaborate world building applied to that script.

This illusion within the reality came into play in our real lives as

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Tuesday, August 23, 2011

A Small Detail In World Building For A Paranormal Romance Novel

I get my hair colored tomorrow, but that's probably not why you checked in. This is supposed to be a world building day... although hair color can be vitally important to the real world we build for ourselves. But, I digress.

As a paranormal romance author, I'll admit, hair color is something I often have to go back and double check as I'm crafting my novels. My beta readers are even warned to watch for it.

In short stories I usually keep pertinent details together without a cheat sheet,

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Saturday, August 20, 2011

Update On Our Adopted Greyhounds and the 'Zoo'

Well, for those of you who've tuned in for an update on our adopted greyhound Boo's tail, it seems all is well and she'll get to keep every last inch of it. We are all (probably most especially Boo) quite happy the tail survived in tact.

The hair's grown back so it no longer looks quite so (ahem) ugly and she's pretty good about leaving it alone.

Brody has maintained the status quo for effectively blending grumpy with adorable as he lumbers along through each day. Though he's started to

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Thursday, August 18, 2011

When The Writing Environment Is Just Wrong

Years ago, on the advice of other productive authors, I invested in an alphasmart NEO so I could write anywhere, anytime. While I'm waiting for the kids, a doctor appointment, car maintenance, or whatever else may otherwise interfere with my ideal daily writing progress for my paranormal romance novels.

Usually, during these waiting periods, I can tune out most noise and distractions. I just dive into the paranormal romance novel or short story and enjoy the bonus time with my characters.

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Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Please Keep Me In The Story!

Nothing irks me more than when I'm reading, happily lost in wherever the author has carried me, and I come across a word or phrase that doesn't fit the moment. I'm all about reading to build vocabulary, that's not what I mean. I mean those moments when the prose is too twisted, a bit too clever maybe, or even just out of character.

How characters think and speak is an integral part of world building for a paranormal romance novel - or any genre. It helps weave the spell that keeps the reader

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Sunday, August 14, 2011

The Tail Saga of an Adopted Greyhound

About a year ago there was the rather tragic post of the tail-less finch and for a week now I've wondered if I wasn't going to have to post about another tail loss among our domestic zoo.

Poor Boo. Not only are we wrestling with epilepsy (though the meds are a HUGE help), but recently her tail got caught in the door. It was my fault, though I lovingly blame Brody for stopping too soon, which made Boo stop, which meant her tail wasn't all the way in as the door closed. And I'd like to blame

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Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Alpha Female Author Doing It Anyway

Yup, it's time again for a another alpha female post on determination and inspiration. Hope you're not tired of those yet...because they're part of my daily life as I continue to struggle with my new physical limitations.

I suppose my can-do attitude battery is getting a major recharge because my first born, the brilliant daughter, is heading off to college in a few weeks. Watching her go through the process, taking care of the details only she can handle, makes me proud of her independent

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Thursday, August 4, 2011

Take Time for World Building

World building for a novel takes time. To build anything worthwhile takes time. A business, a house, a family, a meal. It all takes time.

As a reader I appreciate it when an author takes time for world building for a paranormal romance novel, or any other genre. It means I'm in for a terrific ride. Whether that ride is in a carriage through 1800s London, a runaway train in the American wild west of the early 1900s, or a restored 1957 Chevy modified to the strict environmental standards of

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Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Techno Fun and Paranormal Romance Novels

In my paranormal romance novels set in 2096 Chicago, I 'invented' cell cards. Basically a techie gadget unique to a person that you could use on any computer or public 'phone'.

Based on the current technology, it's not a completely new idea. There are all kinds of variations on the market even now and we get closer to that type of device with every generation of technological improvement. Just the amount of data stored in that stripe on the back of your credit or debit card - even your hotel

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