Lisa's Journey

Disappointments..

2007-02-16T17:20:00.000-05:00

I remember growing up the worst thing I could do is to disappoint my parents... Mom in particular. I could ignore the negative feelings when I had fights with friends or get over insignificant hurts caused by classmates... but when I let my Mom down, it was hard to get over. That sick feeling in my gut lingered for days.

Interestingly enough, now that I'm Mom ... the worst thing I can do is to disappoint myself. To not think highly enough of myself to make the correct decisions and ensure that others around me give me the proper respect. I abhor making mistakes and my occasional errors in judgment. I slipped recently and am kicking myself. Should I have known better? Definitely. Will I make the same mistake in the future? Nope. Am I going to tell everyone what that mistake was? Not bloody likely. lol But I will take this lesson and learn.

Hopefully my kids are desperately afraid of disappointing me. Let the cycle continue...

Lisa's Journey

2007-02-15T01:47:00.000-05:00

OK, so shoot me. It's been over a month since I last wrote. A friend mentioned reading this, and I suddenly remembered my intention to write weekly. Uh..huh.
mput
So what's on my mind today ... in the news I heard Bush talking about how Iran is sending bombs and other weapons to our enemies in Iraq, and that he intends to stand up to anyone who is going to be harming our soldiers. I'm terribly afraid of where this is leading. It makes my stomach churn when I think too deeply about it. "Peace" isn't the answer because our enemies don't want peace ... but I'm not wise enough to know where the answer lies.

Today was a snow day for us. It was lovely having a day off. I'm listening to the snow plow grinding its way up our street now. The ice from this storm was terrible. The kids have a delayed opening tomorrow. They're wearing pj's inside out as good mojo for another day off tomorrow.

I'm still catching up on my book since losing my hard drive late last year. That computer disaster set me back in more ways than one - my muse has taken a trip somewhere and I've been trying to locate her ever since. It's slow going, even though I have it all outlined.

Let's see ... current events. Anna Nicole Smith - I'm bored to tears. There is no great mystery why she ended up dying young.

It's early to get interested in who is running for president in 2008 - too many candidates will burn out. I like Guiliani on the republican side. Haven't found anyone on the democratic side that I could support as of yet.

Interesting item about how Anne Frank's father tried to get his family out of Germany to flee the Nazis, but was unsuccessful. He tested the waters for a Visa in both the US and Cuba, but didn't manage to get them out before they had to go into hiding.I'm curious that Cuba was considered a possibility - I'm not sure about the political climate of the country at that time. Anne died of typhoid at a concentration camp at the age of 15.

Random musings late on a Tuesday night ... be well all! Ah, and Happy Valentine's Day!

Freya's Bower Call for Submissions

2007-01-02T23:10:00.000-05:00

Call for Submissions!

Freya’s Bower.com Celebrates Its One-Year Anniversary

To celebrate our one-year anniversary on March 5, 2007, we’re having a call for submissions and offering a nice advance against royalties for the top two manuscripts that fit the following categories.

For general submissions, we’re looking for sweet and/or tangy erotic romance manuscripts of category length (30,001-45,000 words) and longer of any genre. See our guidelines for regular submissions and how we rate sweet and tangy: http://www.freyasbower.com/content/view/12/31/

For our T.R.O.U.B.L.E. line, we’re looking for sweet to beyond sizzling ratings for category length and longer only.

Out of the accepted manuscripts, two will be chosen to receive a publishing contract, a print version of the manuscript six months from eBook release date, and a nice advance against first royalties, which will be discussed upon signing the contract. One winning manuscript will be chosen from the sweet and/or tangy submissions and one will be chosen for our T.R.O.U.B.L.E. line. Second place manuscripts for each of these two categories will receive a smaller advance, but the print option will depend solely on eBook sales.

Other outstanding manuscripts will receive a publishing contract with Freya’s Bower.

T.R.O.U.B.L.E. Guidelines:
(For male or female protagonists)

She’s gorgeous and causes chaos wherever she goes. Perhaps she’s a klutz, a walking disaster. Maybe she has the worst luck imaginable.

For males: He’s dangerous. The bad boy you can’t help but love. Maybe he’s a chick magnet, or maybe he’s the guy flipping burgers at the local diner. Catastrophe and mayhem seem to follow him around.

Use your imagination for the trouble theme. Any ethnicity, any genre welcome.

Protagonists can also be characters such as Valkyries (for our Valkyrie series), werewolves, vampires, wallflowers, etc.

Category length and longer. (30,001-45,000 words.)

Ratings can be from sweet to beyond sizzling for the TROUBLE line, but we are very open to sweet submissions right now.

First person submissions must be well written.

Please read our guidelines http://www.freyasbower.com/content/view/12/31/ for formatting and any questions you might have before submitting. Paste your query and first chapter directly into the body of the email.

ATTN: We have also opened an Angels and Demons category. If the angel or demon fits the TROUBLE theme or the sweet and/or tangy rating, these novels are eligible for the top novel decisions.

Final words: Submissions may be semi-rough drafts, but please don’t send something to us that you obviously have not checked over at least once. The key is semi-rough. Send the entire manuscript attached as an MS Word file to submit@freyasbower.com with the word TROUBLE or SWEET/TANGY in the subject line.

Deadline for this call is February 20, 2007. If you have questions email Faith at editorfaith@sbcglobal.net or Marci at mbaun@freyasbower.com

2007

2007-01-01T20:36:00.000-05:00

I'm one of those people who looks forward to beginnings. I enjoy making resolutions, even though most won't last through the end of January. I like the freshness of a new year - the possibilities.

It is with this sense of hope that I wish everyone a happy and healthy 2007.

I confess...

2006-12-12T18:03:00.000-05:00

I am a serial procrastinator. It's true, friends.....as evidenced by the fact that I haven't blogged here since October. Horrible of me when I wanted to do it every day. LOL I'll have to pull back on that commitment to myself and make it once a week. See, I'm very good at planning. I plan on making Monday my blogging day. Then Monday will roll around and the laundry won't be done...or I'll have to edit something...or it may snow and we'll be outside playing instead. I'm 41 and I think I finally have to accept this as a character fault and deal with it rather than try and change.

I had a horrible computer crash in November over the Thanksgiving holiday which resulted in my losing tons of work, both editing and my own writing. That, of course, has put me even more behind than usual. Our living room is almost complete - I'm painting today and tomorrow then furniture is being delivered. Then we can decorate for Christmas. We look like pagans amongst all the decorated houses in the neighborhood. My kids have volunteered to do the outside lights this year. I can only imagine how this will turn out. I'll post a picture on the blog to share their decorating abilities. Who knows - perhaps it'll be spectacular. At least it'll be done.

So beyond work, decorating, cleaning, Christmas shopping and photos, there just hasn't been enough time in the day these past few months. I'll never undertake such a large redo in the house again - we'll move first!

Ack! It's been a month!

2006-10-16T17:30:00.000-04:00

This is the longest I've gone without blogging. Real life has gotten crazy lately. I started working at our local community hospital and while it's a part-time position I've been working full-time for the past four weeks training. I'm finally on part-time status and one of the women I work with was in a bad car accident and I've been covering some of her hours. Whew! I'm finally able to concentrate on my editing and writing duties.

I'm finding hospital work interesting. I'm working in admissions, doing registrations and also running the "bed control desk" for a few shifts. This is the desk that coordinates all the patients/ beds in the hospital and involves working with the ER and nursing staff through the hospital. It's a busy, hectic kind of job which I adore - it makes the time fly. My mom and sister are both RN's and I've always abhored their hospital banter. It's an inside joke with us that I hate talking medicine. Now here I am using their slang, which they love. lol

We also had a ton of work done on the house in the past month. We have a bi-level house, with the kitchen, living room, dining room and 3 bedrooms upstairs. Downstairs is a family room, laundry, and a 4th bedroom. We first knocked a wall down between the LR and DR, creating one large living space and put a half wall between the kitchen and former DR so it's all open and wonderful. The light spilling into the rooms makes me so happy - we have direct southern exposure on the front of the house and the back rooms were dark and unhappy. Not anymore! We also built a deck off the 2nd floor with a door leading from the former DR onto the deck. It's gorgeous - I just wish it were June instead of October so I could enjoy it more!

Anyway, enough ranting about myself. I've been in "avoidance" mode with the world. I haven't had the time to sit and watch the horrible news stories that have been out there - the Amish story in particular. Sometimes I just need to take a step back and concentrate on me and mine and forget that the rest of it all exists. Someone commented today on the radio that the "talking heads" on tv seemed disappointed Hawaii's earthquake wasn't more dramatic. Apparently there isn't much footage of disastrous things happening during it. That is the very thing that turns me off to the news.

Until tomorrow, friends...

Oh, one last thing - Freya's Bower is announcing their release of a collection of erotic and romance stories which will be sold with all net proceeds going to benefit a battered women's shelter. Check out www.freyasbower.com for the details. The book will be available in either e-book format, softcover and hardcover and will be released in February. Cool beans! The women that run FB are true class acts.

New Beginnings

2006-09-17T23:20:00.000-04:00

Pray for me. LOL

I'm starting work tomorrow at a hospital, and while I'm only going to be working 8 days a month, I'm working full-time for training purposes for a couple of weeks. Ack! I haven't had to get up, showered and moving in eons. And I never had to do it while getting 3 kids out of the house and letting the contractor in to work on the house! DH and I just figure we'll muddle our way through it.

I'm going to be working on what's called the "bed desk". I will control (mmmwwwwaaahhhhhaaaa haaaa) the beds in the hospital, for patients in the ER who need a bed, keeping track of who left that day, docs will call with direct admits, etc. I like the job because it involves a lot of chatting on the phone, shmoozing the RN's for beds, etc. They warn me it's a stressful job, but heck, I'm working Wednesday one week, Thursday the next and every other weekend, Saturday and Sunday. All on the 3p-11p shift. No biggie, really. It will be nice to get out!

But in the meantime, working full-time is gonna hurt. I've planned ahead as much as I can with meals (bought tons of ready-to-cook crap today) and clothes (yep, folded and ironed - an amazing feat). So here goes nothing!

A Good Cause

2006-09-17T23:16:00.000-04:00

Michelle E. Ellis is a phenomenal writer. I am very happy to call her both colleague and co-worker. She is donating all proceeds from QUITS, her horror e-book, to a children's charity, National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC), an English organization. QUITS will also soon be in print for you to buy. The link below is for a fabulous trailer for the book. The trailer is suspenseful and has a creepiness to it which is surprising - exactly like the book itself!

C'mon, support the kids. You know you wanna. ;-)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xp6iLDnyseE

Call for Submissions

2006-09-17T23:14:00.000-04:00

Hey everyone!

I wanted to take a moment and let my readers know that Freya's Bower and Wild Child Publishing (www.freyasbower.com and www.wildchildpublishing.com) are looking for sweet and mainstream romances. Erotic romance is also accepted at Freya's Bower, but both houses are searching for wonderful writers who tell sweeter stories.

If you are interested, please check our submissions guidelines, blog here or email me at Lisaba1@aol.com. Thank you!

9/11

2006-09-11T16:13:00.000-04:00

God Bless America

2006-09-04T23:31:00.000-04:00

I just figured out to upload a picture to Blogger. ::blushing:: I'm a little behind in the technology department. I thought I'd share the cover for my book published with Freya's Bower, Spirit of Dawn. Here is the blurb: Ashkii's wife and infant son died of smallpox, leaving him bereft, yet he must carry out his duties as eldest male of his Navajo clan. Jack Conover has lost faith in love and has resigned himself to a life alone on the ranch. In Spirit of Dawn and Angel of Dawn, each man is comforted by a mystical woman he discovers on the frontier. Who is she? Neither know, but she eases each man's heartache, allowing him to move forward with life.

If you would like to enjoy these two short stories, please visit Freya's Bower at www.freyasbower.com.

The end of summer...

2006-09-04T23:08:00.000-04:00

Summer is officially over. The pool club is closed for the season. I'm sitting on my bed with the windows open, listening to the crickets chirping and the frogs from the park up the street singing. And my 5yo lays next to me, snoring gently. lol I have a small fan on and the air feels beautiful. It's clean and crisp. I love the fall. Of course, it's not officially here yet. In fact, the heat and humidity will probably come back in a week or so, but I'm going to enjoy the coolness while we have it.

I did something interesting with my daughter, Abigail, this evening. She just turned 11 this weekend and is starting middle school. She came into my room asking why "one eyebrow has one hair that goes straight up right here". LOL Obviously she wanted to pluck 'em, but didn't want to ask. Friends of hers have already had their brows waxed - they're exceptionally hairy young ladies! So I laid her down with her head in my lap and judiciously plucked several hairs out from each brow. Not much of a difference, but a bit - enough that she and I could tell. She was very good about it, very patient and just said "ow" each time I pulled. We have to go jeans shopping tomorrow. School starts Thursday and the jeans she wanted to wear are too tight in the thighs. Her best friend gave her them for her b-day and got her the usual 10-slim size - we all did a happy dance when Abby found them too tight. She's been in a 10-slim for what feels like forever - yay, she's growing! LOL This friend, Julie, has had her period already and is so much more developed than Abigail, so it's a private joke (well, not so private anymore!) among us.

Off to do more editing. Night, all!

Must blog...

2006-08-29T01:20:00.000-04:00

That was my professional goal for the day. To blog. It's now 1AM and I'm finaly blogging. LOL This was a nutty day - mainly because I'm, well, at that time of the month, and feeling pretty awful, popping Advils, etc. My energy on these days goes from nada to zooming high. So I laid on my bed and watched tv half the day and the other half I cleaned. My kitchen floor is mopped. That's the upside. lol I got the kids involved in working too. Hell, all they wanted to do is fight all day and I've had enough! I had to crack the whip. Then they got to play with friends, and I got a cleaner house. Not a bad deal.

My "baby" got her introduction letter and package from her kindergarten teacher today. ::sniff:: I had no idea I was going to feel so sentimental about it. She's such a pip, and I love her company. I'm looking forward to having my time alone, but I will miss her, I think. The form asked me to list anything Maddie might be afraid of. I asked Maddie what she was scared of and she said after a minute of thought, "Skeletons, vampires, Darth Vader and skulls." Geez, if I put that in, the teacher will expect her mom to walk into class goth head to toe! ROFL. I told Maddie she's going to have a tough time at Halloween, and she nodded and said "Tell me about it." Oh, Lordie, she's a pip. ;-)

She's my night owl - just like her mama. I started tonight getting her ready to get up at 6:30 for school. We got her a new Hello Kitty alarm clock and I set it for 10 am. I had to wake her today at 10:00 and she was complaining she wanted to sleep more. So tonight she went to bed by 8:30. This was the first night in a LONG while that she didn't come out 10 times to ask for a drink of water, food, to read, etc. She's definitely been spoiled over the summer. lol But she's so cute - we typed out a list of things she has to do both when she gets up in the morning and when she goes to bed. This is something we did last year for preschool and she asked to do "my list" again. My favorite on the list is "pick up 10 things in my room". LOL Her room is such a disaster because of all the toys she's inherited over the years I'm happy if there's a path between the doorway and her bed.

Wow, didn't mean to ramble so much about her, but it's nice to share lovely thoughts about your kids sometimes. In real life, you don't want to come off as bragging, so chatting about her here is cool.

Oh, I have to mention the Emmy's. I was so happy 24 and Kiefer won - it made my night. And the dresses the women wore were mainly stunning. I hate turning on the tv and seeing a hideous dress. Don't these people pay stylists to make them look *good*? I hated Sandra Oh's gown and accessories - she called it "Russian Czarina meets Run DMC". Uh, ok. And Cheryl Hines looked silly with all the beading on her back. And what was up with Nick Lachey's chick Vanessa Millano (is that how you spell it?) Her dress was 80's trashy. Weird.

Love, love Denis Leary. He's such a sexy SOB. If you're not watching Rescue Me on FX, Tuesdays, 10pm and 11pm, you're really missing out. I hope to see it recognized next year for both Denis' acting, which is phenomenal, and for best dramatic series. Fabulous show.

Off to bed now. I have a bunch of new crossword books to do. They always slow my mind down from worrying about day to day stuff, though I can't do much higher than the medium challenges. Sometimes I feel like an idiot doing the puzzles. ;-)

Peace and Quiet?

2006-08-27T01:36:00.000-04:00

Was I just complaining on Monday about needing the kids to go to school? LOL Right after blogging that I spoke with my mom in Pennsylvania who invited the girls to come and visit for a few days. Soooo I brought them on Monday and picked them up Thursday, then wound up leaving my son with my mom and my oldest daughter with my brother and his family for a visit. The 5yo had to come home - she missed us. :-) So it's been a much quieter week than I expected. Which was nice, but at the same time - too quiet! LOL The grass is always greener...

My 5yo had a sleepover Friday night to make up for the fact that she didn't get to stay with her cousins. We had a severe thunderstorm that night at about 2am. Both girls came into our room. I sent my DH to another bed and snuggled with the 2 girls for hours while thunder raged outside. Lordie, it was a large storm. My son in Pennsylvania said the hail hitting my mom's aluminum awnings kept him up all night!

I watched Raising Helen tonight - it's a movie with Kate Hudson. Very cute film, but it brought up the usual angst-filled questions that come to mind when I think about writing my will - who are the kids going to be left to if both DH and I die together? Morbid, horrible thoughts, but practical. DH and I had asked his sister and husband to take the kids years ago, but honestly, we just raise the kids really differently than they do, so we approached my brother and his wife and they said yes. Awful, fear-filled thoughts of a parent.

But now I'm in the mood to write. I haven't been in a long time, so I'm going to stay up late tonight and take advantage. I had a massive headache most of the day and had to take Excedrin, which is keeping me up now, so I'm going to take advantage of the time.

I'm still on Chapter 1 of the WIP. Argh!! I'm going to get a move on.

Oh, one last thought. My middle daughter turns 11 in a few days. I saw my niece the other day for the first time in awhile - and she was wearing a bra. She doesn't turn 10 until November - my daughter isn't anywhere near needing a bra yet. It's amazing how girls change - all at their own time and pace. Makes me shake my head and wonder where the time has gone...

Busy busy busy

2006-08-21T20:58:00.000-04:00

Busy days here. 17 days until school begins, but who's counting? ;-) I can't wait for a few moments of peace and quiet during my week. Can't wait!!

I've been lurking and posting on some very interesting yahoo groups the last couple of days - Romance Junkies Readers and World Romance Readers. I'd love to get the word out about Freya's Bower and Wild Child Publishing and the amazing books we offer, but I'm also enjoying chatting with different people about books - one of my favorite topics! The calendar at Romance Junkies Readers has a chat wtih JR Ward on Thursday which I can't wait for - she's a phenomenal author who has opened me up to the paranormal world. Her writing pulls the reader into the story by the second paragraph. Her heroes are stellar vamps, with one human in the mix. Sexy as all get-out with cool heroines.

Did I mention school begins in 17 days??

Tomorrow I have an interview at our local hospital to work every Thursday 3pm-11pm and every other weekend for those hours. It would be great to get out of the house and get paid for doing so instead of spending money when I escape! lol It averages out to maybe 10 days/month, so it's fine. DH is perfectly happy being home with the kids the weekends I'm "on", so I'm hoping all goes well tomorrow. Fingers and toes crossed.

Both my girls are sitting in the living room glued to another Disney movie, The Cheetah Girls - yet another phenomenon like High School Musical, I think. It's a harmless story with good morals and cute fashion. Right up their alley.

Off to do some writing. Or maybe I'll make it an early night tonight. I've been having insomnia issues - going to sleep around 4am and getting up around 11am. Not good, especially considering ... yep, school starts in 17 days. ;-)

Work in Progress

2006-08-14T17:57:00.000-04:00

I'm working on an outline for my WIP due in December with Freya's Bower. I need to get more proactive on my writing. I've put it aside a bit due to swim and editing, but the muse is back, I'm happy to say!

So... today's count is up to Chapter 3 is completed. I've got to find myself one of those fancy progress bars online somewhere....

This is a contemporary novel-length story about a man and a woman who get pregnant very early on in their relationship and marry to provide a steady homelife for the child and how they figure out whether or not they made a mistake getting married.

Crabby Cows

2006-08-13T18:40:00.000-04:00

Whoo-hoo. Just had to blog about being excited. I posted a short piece on the Crabby Cows and #1 said "I find this fucking marvelous. Great tone, voice, and damn good images." Wow. I'm floating on air right now. LOL The main reason I'm so excited is that this is the first tension-filled chase scene I've worked on and I sweated out sending it in to CC because I was so sure it sucked eggs. I also like the characters and kept thinking about them all day, so I'm going to have to lengthen this. I haven't had characters talking to me in my head this way in quite a while.

Other than that, it's a quiet weekend here. I took Penny, our 8mo golden retriever to a park today with my friend and a few kids and 2 of my friend's dogs. I had to walk Penny for over a mile before she calmed down enough to be around people. LOL She's so sweet, yet so energetic. She started foaming at the mouth because she was panting so much, the poor thing. Now she's lying next to me passed out for a nice long nap. A tired dog is a happy dog. :-)

SPIRIT OF DAWN

2006-08-11T21:31:00.000-04:00

Hi all. This is an excerpt from one of my Bites, ANGEL OF DAWN from my Bites stories entitled SPIRIT OF DAWN available at www.freyasbower.com. Thanks for reading!

He joined her on the blankets, slipping off his boots and pants along the way. She smiled and took off her shift. He ran the back of his hand down her cheek.

“You are so beautiful, sweetheart.”

Hell, he was almost ready to propose to this mystery woman. Based on nothing but a good tumble and a need to rescue her, though from what, he wasn’t sure. Wouldn’t that make a great story? God knows, he had heard flimsier reasons to get hitched.

Before he could say anything more, she knelt next to him, running her hands down his chest to his abs, caressing the muscles. The heat of her hands warmed his cool skin. She placed both hands over his heart, staring into his eyes until their breathing was as one. Tears pooled in her eyes and spilled onto her cheeks, sorrow shadowing her angelic features.

“Everything is alright, Honey.” Jack used his thumbs to wipe away the tears trailing down her cheekbones.

“What’s the matter?”

She shook her head. His heart beat against her palms. Jack gathered her to him, hugging her, absorbing her warmth as a weight lifted from him. Laying her back on the blanket, linking their hands, he slipped into her body. Seeing her so upset disturbed him, and he needed to see her face light up with pleasure again. He captured her lips under his, moving slowly, lingering over the sweetness of her mouth.

Their skin heated as they moved against one another in a smooth, soulful dance. He rolled to his side, taking her with him and pulling her smooth thigh to lie over his hip. He tucked her close against him. Her hand caressed his rough, stubbly cheek. He closed his eyes and drifted on the sensations rolling through his body. Her body tightened around his as they reached their peak together, giving one another comfort.

In that moment, the weight of Susie’s betrayal left his soul. He shuddered in his mystery woman’s arms, feeling renewed and hopeful again for the first time in ages.

Exhausted, he dropped down next to her, staring at the midnight blue sky. Wild nickered in the background, and a breeze rustled in the trees. The gurgling of the stream echoed into the empty night. Jack summoned the energy to kiss her, then gathered them both into the bedding, wrapped his body around hers, and slipped off into a dreamless sleep.

So much to do...so little time

2006-08-10T12:22:00.000-04:00

As usual! Tons of housework to do. (Yuck) Lots of editing to do. (Fun!) Need to do a lot of writing too. (Fun, also, but much harder! LOL) Besides that, not much going on.

I could blog about the scariness of travel in today's world. Or about how watching the trailer for Nick Cage's 9/11 movie gives me horrible flashbacks about waiting at home in NJ for friends to make it home from the city that day. But that would be depressing. I think the movie looks well-done and well-acted, but it just brings back too many awful feelings. I wonder how it will do in the box office and whether today's security issues with the attacks thwarted in London will make a difference in its numbers.

Onto happier news...my middle daughter (almost 11) made the winter swim team she was trying out for with a bunch of her friends, so this will be wonderful for her. She's been on a team that has great coaches and nice kids, but she hasn't bonded with any of them, and as she gets older, this matters more. She'll be much happier, I think, with this team. My son (13) will remain on the other winter team, so that means tons of running for me, but that's alright because he's doing great on the team.

My youngest starts kindergarten on 9/7. It's full-day here, which is very nice indeed because being the 3rd child, she's used to a lot of activity and being stimulated by the older kids - which makes for one very bored kid when no one but me is around the house and I've got to get stuff done! I can't wait to have those hours to myself for the first time in almost 14 years. Sheer bliss. Sheer writing bliss!

Off to do laundry. Oh, joy....

Lazy Days

2006-08-08T20:54:00.000-04:00

Lazy days...

I just got in from spending the latter half of the day at the beach with the kids. Gorgeous day. Warm water, sunny, cooler after 6 p.m. Perfect. I'm checking emails, etc. before I put the burgers on the grill for dinner.

I've got a lot of work to do tonight... AFTER Rescue Me, that is. I hope everyone is watching this incredible show. It's on FX at 10 pm Tuesdays and also at 11PM. Denis Leary is a genius - the writing is phenomenal and the acting is believable - hysterical at times; heartbreaking at others. Just like real life.

I was mentioning to a friend today (while bobbing in the ocean - bliss!) about how I'm doing review coordinating for Historical Romance Club (www.historicalromanceclub.com) and she asked me how I found the time to do all that I do on the computer and whether I didn't watch much television anymore. That's definitely changed since I have been concentrating on my writing. I only catch a few shows a week - Rescue Me, Project Runway (a guilty pleasure, but my girls love to watch with me!), Entourage and occasionally So You Think You Can Dance. That's it. Otherwise my tv is tuned to the cable music stations as background noise only. How refreshing!

Oh, right - I wanted to mention the chat that we're having at Freya's Bower on Friday from 5pm-10pm, EST. They're a wonderful new epub that is doing very well.

This chat is all about the senses. Be prepared to be titillated. You must be 18 to participate. Just sign in and join us. :) Authors and editors will be popping in and out throughout this time. Join us at: http://www.freyasbower.com/content/view/39/.

That's it for the night! Off to feed the family.

Lisa's Journey

2006-08-06T19:05:00.000-04:00

I just got in from "playing tennis" with the kids. I put that in quotes because all I really did was chase balls for two hours, but at least we were outside enjoying the weather. The heat has broken a bit, and the humidity levels are low. I spent last night and this morning doing my Review Coordinator job for Historical Romance Club - www.historicalromanceclub.com. We publish reviews monthly for all historic romances plus those with a paranormal bent - ghosts, time travel, etc. I'm also playing catch-up with my crit group on Yahoo. I'd been so busy in July a lot got past me. Next year I'll have to let the world know I'm on a break for two months from online because of my "real life" responsibilities for June and July.

We are awaiting an important email tomorrow morning. Our daughter tried out for a rather elite swim team and they are sending out responses via email tomorrow. She can't wait. I think she'll make it, but we'll see! Other than that, it's a quiet week coming up. I have breakfast with friends tomorrow morning, a beach date at 4 pm and friends visiting this coming weekend. Very nice and slow-paced! I think I might actually make progress on cleaning this house!

Another thing I need to put back on my priority list is writing. I have a draft due in December, and I haven't done enough work on it to be comfortable. I was warned that editing took a lot of time away from my writing, and that's correct. But once school starts my time will free up tremendously!

I'm off to start dinner. Ribs on the BBQ, corn on the cob and potatoes in their jackets. Yummy! A happy and safe night to all...

Lisa's Journey

2006-08-06T18:59:00.000-04:00

Lisa's Journey

Lovely day on the beach

2006-08-04T02:20:00.000-04:00

The title says it all. Great day on the beach with the kids and friends. I spent a quiet evening with our girls, playing games. I opened a few that Santa brought that were never opened in the hustle and bustle of school days. I taught them how to play Mystery Date, that classic from the 70's. Sexist as all get-out, but fun! Then Abby creamed me in Monopoly.

I got a ton of editing work done this evening. My writing is flowing once again, and it feels just marvelous. It's 2am and I feel like it's 10am. I have such a weird nocturnal clock!

Not too many worries or concerns today. I'm trying to make a list of those before I try and drop off to sleep so that I am able to sleep well. Work is going great. The kids are doing well. Hubby is ok and settling into his new job. It's been a lovely, relatively quiet week after the last two months that were so hectic and stressful.

A trip to the mall with the girls is scheduled tomorrow, along with haircuts and some work in between.

I was talking with my 13yo tonight - he wanted to know what I thought the world would be like in 2050 - in terms of technology. I told him there wouldn't be flying cars, which he sees in older movies as being "futuristic". I said I'd be happy if each car is battery-operated! Wouldn't that be lovely??? Maybe by then the Middle East will be a safe place.

A safe good night to all.

Behind, behind, behind....

2006-08-03T00:09:00.000-04:00

I'm so far behind with this blog that I won't even try to play catch-up! Real life interferes with my best cyber intentions. Swim season is behind me now, however, so time is my own again. Time to get back to what I love, writing, reading and editing!

I had a lovely interview by a fellow Diva and Freya's Bower author, Amanda Brice, at her blog: www.amandabrice.blogspot.com. It was an interesting perspective, having to answer questions. I'm setting up to do some author interviews for FB, so it was a great exercise for me. Thanks, Amanda! Amanda's Bites, She's Got Legs, are available at www.freyasbower.com.

More to come tomorrow. I have to get offline and do some actual work now!

TGIF!

2006-06-09T11:05:00.000-04:00

Thank God. It's been a long and busy week here. Actually, the weekend is going to be even busier. Both of our girls have their dance recital tomorrow. Baptism party in the city on Sunday. Busy, busy.. can't wait for school to get out so we can just relax a bit. Wait, WTF am I saying - that means the kids will be home full-time...yikes.

The WIP is moving right along. It's such a struggle to not edit as I go along. My goal is to type through to the end, type "THE END" and then edit. I'm battling with myself. My goal is 2,000 words this weekend.

I'm reading about the "controversy" in Philly with Geno's cheesesteak place requesting that customers order in English. My reaction is: "So?" The owner of the joint's parents came over from Italy and learned the language - if a person living in South Philly can't say "cheesesteak" in English, he should learn to do so. In fact, it should be one of their first words - they're that delicious! Stores shouldn't have to learn Spanish or any other language in order to serve their customers in the U.S. Period. Assimilate, people, assimilate. OK, political rant over.

Thought For The Day:

Of course I don't look busy - I did it right the first time!

Our Little Secret

2006-06-07T19:53:00.000-04:00

I've got to bitch and moan about something that has to stay in cyberspace. My husband is being laid off as of 6/30. Not good news, of course, especially since I don't work outside the home - for a paycheck, that is. He is very close to accepting a job, which is the good news. The bad news is that he doesn't want to do this job. It's not a good fit for him, but it does have the potential to be good financially. I feel bad. Really bad that in order to support our family he has to do something that probably doesn't suit him. I'm not talking "it's not much fun" ... it's in sales, and he's so *not* a salesguy. He's so damned smart and is rather high up on the management and salary rung, which makes finding another position tough.

I don't want to stress him out by bitching to him that I'm worried. I'm trying to suppress the angst I feel inside 'cause he just doesn't need to hear it now. I'm being as supportive as possible. But it's killing me. Sheesh. This sales job pays 1/3 of what he makes now in base pay, then more than covers his current salary in bonuses throughout the year. But he wouldn't get his first bonus for four months... which leaves us in a bit of a bind. I think we can make do, but it'll be tight. He's more of a "glass is half empty" kind of person, so he's really worried. I go back and forth - gee can you tell?

I'm hoping that it all turns out for the best and that he loves his new job and makes oodles of money and everything is dandy. I just had to unload on someone - being the positive one all the time is a drain.

Sigh....

2006-06-07T08:10:00.000-04:00

Not much to say today beyond the thought for the day. It's rainy here. Crappy rainy day - again. We haven't had much sun here for awhile. Loads of stuff to do today. Not much time for my writing ... again. I got over 1,000 words last night - will try for the same tonight.

I definitely will make time for my writing exercise, though - another flash 500 from the Crabby Cows. I'm thinking dark, murderous thoughts for this one to see where it goes. I'm much too sunshine and light in my writing to suit one bovine's tastes. :)

Thought For The Day:

If we are what we eat, I'm fast, cheap and easy.

Tuesday ramblings...boring!

2006-06-06T11:53:00.000-04:00

So.... it's not Lyme's Disease. Thank God. It was only a spider bite. She does have an infection, though, of which I had no clue. Her tonsils and ears are red and inflamed and she has swollen glands. She's running around and eating, so I had no clue. LOL Her dance recital is Saturday, so I'm glad we caught this.

Today's humdrum schedule is laundry. Piles of it. Jabba the Hut sized piles. Ick. And writing in between loads. I'm at a good jumping off point for my second Freya's Bower work and would love 2 or 3 hours alone to get some words on the page. Maybe later tonight after swim practice.

Today's Thought for the Day:

Don't worry. It'll only seem kinky the first time.

Damn ticks...

2006-06-05T13:19:00.000-04:00

I'm off to bring my 5 year old to the doc's. She's got a suspicious rash. Looks damned near like a bullseye. Shit, shit, double shit. I just had to let out some of my tension here. I've been trying to tell myself it's nothing to be worried about, but I saw a doctor-friend over the weekend, who said she would get her in on Monday to be looked at. Ticks are prevalent here in NJ, and I'm worried. I'm hoping if it is Lymes Disease, all she needs is some antibiotics. But I've got that bad pit in the middle of my stomach feeling. All she wants to know is whether she's going to need to get a needle. Fuck. I hope they don't have to draw blood. Deep breath. OK. I'm off...

Celeb Rant

2006-06-04T01:41:00.000-04:00

I just got done watching the last few minutes of SNL tonight. Fortunately, I didn't catch most of the show because Lindsay Lohan was the guest star. Good God, it's time for a rant against celebrities. This chickie is freakin' 19 or 20 years old. Why the hell is she a celebrity? What has she done that's been so earth-shatteringly wonderful? Argh. This crap is driving me nuts. Why does America seem to care that the Pitt-Jolie baby was born? Do I feel sorry for Jennifer Aniston? For Christ's sake, NO! Can I please have her money and looks and life and then see how awful things are for her? Criminey. But all the attention on the younger celebs really gets to me. Paris, Nicole, Lindsay, Jessica, Britney... who gives a rat's ass? Not me. These people know nothing about life. They're just too young to know anything yet - there's certainly no reason for me to care about theirs. Stop the madness! Turn off Extra! Boycot Entertainment Tonight and People Magazine! Start now!

2006-06-03T10:51:00.000-04:00

So I know it's typical to blog more than once a month. I'm on it. I swear. My goal is to blog every other day. We'll see about that. Life is hectic right now. I'm the parent rep for our summer swim team and that means craziness. But it's fun - I love hanging at the club each night, chatting with friends, watching the kids swim. All we need are a few beers and it would be perfect. ;)

I'm working on my second work for Freya's Bower, a novel-length contemporary. The draft is due 9/15. I've worked out an outline this time around. Divas know that I suffered angst and a sagging middle with my first WIP - from not outlining! Argh! That's not going to happen this go-round. Well, that's the plan anyway...

My Bites are out at www.freyasbower.com! It's amazing to see my name and story available for sale. It's still a little surreal to me. They have some great stories at FB. Take a look at their website. My editor, Faith, was wonderful, and I've learned so much from her. Speaking of editing and learning...

for shits and giggles, take a gander at this blog - http://www.crabbycows.blogspot.com/ Good stuff, and writers might learn something in all the sarcasm. I know I did.

A Simple Life

2006-05-05T13:14:00.000-04:00

Today is a simple day. My daughter has a friend over. They're both five years old. It's gorgeous outside, and we're taking advantage, playing with the hose, bouncing on the trampoline and playing all sorts of imaginary games. It's the first day warm enough to put on bathing suits. If only life could be so uncomplicated for adults. They're waiting for our ten year old to come home from school so she will play with them.

I can't stand to look at the news anymore. I go through cycles where I'm so "news'ed" out that I withdraw and don't watch or read anything. I'm in one of those cycles now. I've buried myself in my writing and feel much more at peace. Sometimes I have to remind myself to focus on my family and my goals and let the world go on without me for awhile.

I'm going to go do that now. The girls want me to spray them with the hose. Life is good.

First Time Blogging

2006-05-05T00:28:00.000-04:00

I can't believe how easy it is to start a blog these days. A few clicks, and here I am. Blogging.

I'm a romance writer who just committed a few months ago to finally following through on my dreams of being published. My laptop and I have been inseparable since I purchased it at that time, and I've learned so much about writing and the world of publishing. I am indescribably grateful to several websites, www.romancedivas.com and my Yahoo group, Muse It Up.

I have a flash fiction piece published in May's edition of the Muse Marquee, an online monthly literary magazine. http://themusemarquee.tripod.com/id145.html I was excited about this one.

I have two short stories coming out shortly, date TBA, with Freya's Bower, www.freyasbower.com. They are westerns and mystic in nature.

I am also working on my baby, a contemporary romance set in Suffolk County, England on a winery. I love the hero and heroine of this story and am looking forward to finishing writing it. I plan on having the first draft completed by June and editing through the summer.

Thanks for joining me!