...That's What She Said

Sporadic observations and accounts of my daily world and creative pursuits

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Volunteers needed to critique a sci-fi short. Please feel free to comment if up for the challenge!

Quote of the Week:

“A short story is a different thing all together - a short story is like a kiss in the dark from a stranger.” ~Stephen King

IWSG: Your First

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Thank goodness for First Wednesdays... and thanks to Alex J. Cavanaugh, it's the day we insecure writers come together to share our pitfalls and inspirations.  To learn more and read other's posts, click the photo link!

Well hello out there, fellow bloggers! I can't imagine that too many of you are glued to your screens this week, as everyone I know seems to be packing up and taking a trip due to the four day holiday weekend.  Sadly, I had to cancel my trip home to Florida (see prior posts)... [whomp, whomp]. But on the bright side, I will now have the opportunity to check out some of the local festivities that I would have missed otherwise. One of my favorite memories takes place on a beach on the fourth of July, as I counted the fireworks in Spanish with my grandparent's summer guest, an orphan from Mexico.  This scene will be featured in my memoir style novel (yes, still in progress), so I'll talk more about that in a future insecurity post, I'm sure!

In the meantime, every single one of you is probably familiar with Ernest Hemingway's quote, "The first draft of anything is sh*t." If that statement is 100% accurate, then I've been sitting on the "S" word for nearly six months... and it's starting to reek.  I'm not going to lie, I've had zero motivation to edit my sci-fi short story.  Worse yet, I don't want to give it to any critique partners because I wanted to at least share a second draft, not my first.  My first is literally stream-of-consciousness writing.  I could only imagine the red ink that would come back from someone's critique analysis.  I desperately want to share it with someone after I've at least made some of the improvements that I am already aware of.  So... I guess my question is this:  How many of you let someone read the first draft of your work... that very first, steaming mess of words that you just know isn't your best?  If not, at what point do you share?  And how do you feel about Hemingway's famous quote?


The Not-So-Great Depression

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I have spent the better part of this month reflecting on things and digging up some fairly ingenious insights for my one-day book.  And first off, for anyone who was worried about my last post, I'd like to clarify that there is a difference between suffering from clinical depression and just "feeling" depressed as a result of recent events. Many believe that clinical depression is a result of a chemical imbalance and requires medication to correct. However, experiencing depression can also be fleeting, if you don't sink too far. I use the word "feeling" lightly, as I mentioned before that it's been my personal opinion that depression isn't actually a feeling, but rather the lack of feeling. It can be a very thin and dangerous line, crossing between sadness or grief into depression... but I count myself lucky to also believe that happiness is a choice. 

The problem I had was nostalgia. Yes, nostalgia is an evil thing... it comes off as a bittersweet emotion and some may use it to describe a happy reflection of past event, but those who do so are wrong.  Feeling nostalgic means that you are longing for something you no longer have. The perfect example is homesickness. I spent nearly ten years plotting my departure from Florida, but then I spent my first year in Texas missing that old people and alligator filled swamp. I got to the point where I wasted hours scrolling through my friends and family's Facebook posts from a thousand miles away... wishing I was there with them to eat at my favorite local spots or hug their babies. I let the nostalgia consume me to the point where I began to feel numb.  I'd respond to texts or click "like" on their posts, but I felt nothing... I was just an empty shell looking through a window to a place I no longer belonged. All the while, I focused on my career and my home life, playing the role of legal executive, wife and mother without skipping a beat. I made sure I was doing everything right for everyone else, which made it much easier not to think about myself or what I thought I was missing. I am over thirty now, with a preschooler, and absolutely no idea how to make new friends. I had no one at the office that I could truly relate to and most of the parents I attempted to interact with at my kid's school were about as fake as it gets. My introverted nature took over and I withdrew from the present, discouraged and eventually depressed as a result of my lack of social interaction outside of my household. 

I think when adults are going through depression, but open to reclaiming their emotions, the universe will slap them with a game changer.  My life changing event was being laid off from my job just over two weeks ago. Two days after posting my IWSG post about making a commitment to write more, I was unexpectedly let go, along with my entire department, my boss and many others (a total of 52% of the current workforce of the company) with no notice, no severance and no idea about what to do next.  I relocated to the Dallas area for this job... without it, I had no ties.  Talk about a wake-up call, right?  I promptly pulled my son out of his fancy-pants expensive preschool for the summer and spent a couple of hours registering for unemployment and putting the family budget into an Excel spreadsheet. Thereafter, my days have been spent sharing breakfast with the kiddo, then job hunting and resume tweaking for about 3 hours while he plays on his own, followed my lunch and Scooby Doo, followed by nap & shower time, followed by summer fun activities until dinner when Dad gets home. I just completed week three of unemployment and I can say this... I would have made an awful stay-at-home mom.  I don't know how those ladies do it.  I've already run low on Pinterest crafts and thanks to all the visits to the pool, I've got a tan for the first time in about five years... what next?  It's exhausting keeping up with a four year old. I play 20 questions with him all day... literally non-stop for at least 12 hours.  I might snap and go insane... except for the fact that I am utterly filled with joy and appreciation for the time that I am getting to spend with him.  I've laughed, I've cried, I've lived.  I'm back. My family has shown me what truly matters and reminded me why we moved out here in the first place. I love my friends dearly, but family comes first and it was my mission to provide the best possible life for my son that I could. Instead of looking at old photos and shutting down my emotions, I'm calling up my long distance besties and catching up.  I'm making plans to get my finances back to a good place so that I can go home to visit while still making a great new life in the Lone Star State... and no longer will I refer to it as the Lonely Star State. I've made peace with the present and I'm letting the past be what it was... something great that lead me to where I am.

So with that, I think it's safe to say that I am almost to the point where I've applied to every job in existence in my field and I won't feel too guilty if I reduce the job hunting down to one or two hours per day and spend at least one of them writing. I should have a new job within the next month or two, so I'll never have this much time on my hands again... I'd be a fool not to continue to make the best of it!  I only hope I can repay the kindness of others in this network by being a better participant.  These last few months, I was certainly not at my best.  But I think we all go through rough patches in life... I think the important thing is what we do after we make it through them. 

IWSG: No press, but depress(ed)

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Thank goodness for First Wednesdays... and thanks to Alex J. Cavanaugh, it's the day we insecure writers come together to share our pitfalls and inspirations.  To learn more and read other's posts, click the photo link!

*Ahem* Hi there.  It's me again... long, lost Tanya... attempting to post something before being banished forever from the IWSG.  One writer I sincerely admire once said something to the effect of me not posting very often, but when I do it really means something.  I hope that's true... not so much that tonight's entry will be a life-changing prolific event, by any means.  But I do hope it means something to someone somewhere, perhaps even will be helpful in some way.  I know I cannot be alone in my thoughts, so why not share them and see if I can spark inspiration from the depths of what will hopefully not sound like a pity party.

I avoided the blogosphere in April like the plague.  Sure, March was a busy month with family visits and birthday junk... but the only excuse I thought I had for April was shame.  If I'd committed myself to it, I could have done the A-Z challenge.  I probably would have had fun and been pretty proud of myself, too.  But no, I was too busy, too distracted, too tired... even far too exhausted to participate in supporting my fellow bloggers with commentary... or so I thought.  Then along came May.  My band of misfit employees rallied together with insubordination and disrespect when I hired a team lead from outside the company. This caused a reduction in staff and long hours for me to pick up the slack. Once again, I told myself that after working 10+ hours at the office and then being on mom duty was just too much and there was no way I could make time to write. Of course, after getting the little one down for the count, I'd spend an hour lying in bed in the dark with the light blue glow of my iPhone illuminating my face.  What was I doing every night?  Lurking on Facebook and Instagram.  Lamenting over the social circle I left behind in Florida over a year ago.  Feeling like a sad, lonely voyeur... when I could have been writing.

Now it's June (yikes!) and it wasn't until today when a random someone left me a comment on my last post... from April (yikes again!) that the source of my trouble revealed its true identity.  The comment said that I must not love writing first, or I'd have made time for it.  Tanya Tip: The best way to get me to do something is to challenge me that I can't.  And so, that was my inadvertent wake-up call.  I've thought about it all day.  Could it be true that I really don't love writing?  Is it not actually one of my passions? What is my problem?  Then I got a text on my way home from a Florida friend complaining about her baby continuously pooping in the bath tub, which cracked me up and made my heart sink all at once.  I had laughed at the humor in the situation, but I was not happy to hear from my friend.  Just like I couldn't feel happiness for all those social media posts I'd "liked" but didn't put forth the effort into making actual comments as to why.  I just felt sad.  Then I realized I felt depressed.  And then I realized that I've been depressed for a while.  Depression isn't something you know you have until it's pretty well set in.  And depression isn't a feeling.  It's a state of mind that prevents you from feeling... anything... even finding joy in the things you love the most, something that I'd mistaken for simply being sad and nostalgic for my friends.  Instead, you just pass through life from day to day, remembering what it used to be like to feel things and not understanding the fact that you aren't feeling things in the present.  I think that acknowledging depression is the first step in recovering from it and finding yourself again, but I also think that exploring your state of mind and expressing what caused it will help the feelings return.  So either, I'll write to rediscover my feelings or I'll start feeling my love of writing as it happens.  Either way, the stalemate ends tonight.  Thank you, IWSG.


IWSG: April Challenges

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Thank goodness for First Wednesdays... and thanks to Alex J. Cavanaugh, it's the day we insecure writers come together to share our pitfalls and inspirations.  To learn more and read other's posts, click the photo link!

Who's feeling like an April Fool for not participating in the A - Z challenge this month?  This gal, right here.  My contribution to IWSG this month won't be inspiration to others this time around, unfortunately.  Instead, I'm wallowing in a slump of insecurity about my abilities to commit to writing... this blog, or otherwise. 

In the last three months, I took a little time away from blogging to work on editing my completed sci-fi short that clocks in at about 7,000 words.  Then, all heck broke loose at work.  So, after nine hours of non-stop stress at the office, an hour in traffic, mom duty, puppy duty and clean-up... these last few weeks I haven't mustered the energy to even sit down at the computer, let alone type something at the end of the night.  What about the weekends?  Ah yes... those... well, first my mother was in town, then my hub's best friend, then it was my birthday... 

So, dear blogging friends, how do all of you find the time to dedicate so much of yourselves to your writing, to your readers... just to yourself? At this point, I'll take any and all the advice I can get!


Belated Liebster Award

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So, it has been several weeks... and I've had out-of-town visitors staying at my house over the past 3 weeks... but I'm finally able to get back on here to announce that I was awarded the Liebster Award from Nancy LaRonda Johnson at Writer's Mark! Like her, I'm very honored as this is also my first nomination for a blog award not related to a flash fiction or writing contest. I'm starting to get sucked into this little blogging community more and more... and I think it's a good thing!

 Here are the rules:

  1. Thank the blogger who presented this award and link back to their blog –
    2. Thanks Nancy! This was just what I needed to get back into the swing of blogging & it's a fun way to get to know one another better.
  2. Answer 11 questions posted by the presenter, ask your nominees 11 questions, and list eleven random facts about yourself.
    3. Check.
  3. Nominate 11 bloggers who you feel deserve this award and who have less than 200 followers.
    4. Check.
  4. Post the award on your blog.
    5. And check!
Here are 11 *random* facts about me:
  1. I am the only person I know who has successfully escaped a high speed police chase.
  2. I have a pension for adopting defective animals - the more disease ridden, strange looking and/or neurotic, the better.
  3. I met my mother for the first time when I was 24 years old.
  4. I was inspired to track down my mother and start a relationship with her as a result of my love of watching my second favorite TV series, Gilmore Girls.
  5. My first favorite TV series is Battlestar Gallactica.
  6. The only broken bone I've ever had was a hairline fracture in my jaw, from being sucker punched in the bathroom of a country bar.
  7. I don't like or listen to country music, especially since my one and only visit to a country bar.
  8. R.E.M.'s Automatic For The People album was the sole reason I survived high school.
  9. I find cat vomit hilarious... in fact, I'm giggling right now having merely typed the words.
  10. I have been attacked, chased and/or bitten by the following animals: dog, cat, horse, bobcat, mole, squirrel, raccoon, barracuda, giraffe, goat, snake, hamster, rat, alligator, wolf spider and sand shark.
  11. I've only had rabies once.
The 11 questions asked by Nancy with my answers are:
  1. Does your name have a backstory? Were you named after someone, does it have a special meaning, etc.  
    2. I don't have a lot of info on any childhood backstories, unfortunately... so, I don't know if it's true, but my grandmother once told me that my name was going to be Dawn until my father met a little girl in the hospital who was dying from leukemia named Tanya while my mother was in labor. I do know that roughly translated, my name means "Russian Fairy Princess"... The princess part couldn't be further from the truth and I'm not Russian, but fairies are ok, I guess.
  2. What’s the one thing you wish you could brag to everyone about?
    3. Well, of course that would be that I am a published author, but I can't do that until I've finished a project worth publishing.
  3. What’s your favorite word and why? Actually, "why" is my favorite current word... because it's so much fun to answer when my 4 year old son asks it.
  4. If you could eat as much of anything you wanted without stopping until you could pop whenever you wanted, what would it be?  Without hesitation, I pick NY style cheescake. Wait... maybe pizza... No, I'm going to stick to my soon-to-explode gut and say cheesecake.
  5. What’s the one thing you wish you could say to your spouse/parents/siblings/best friend but haven’t?  I'm pretty open with my spouse and best friends... but parents and sibling, oooh... that's a tough one... and personal, too... I will say that it wouldn't be something very positive.
  6. If you could make someone in your family the MC in a book or story, who would it be and what type of character would they be?  Well, my current WIP is a memoir, so they are all playing themselves.
  7. If you could be a #1 NY Times bestseller for the one book you’ve written and can ever write, or be a relatively unknown writer of many books, what would you choose and why?  I think my answer might be the opposite of most, as most people have tons of stories to share... Myself, on the other hand, I have many stories to put into a memoir that could very well turn out to be my life's work at the pace I'm going, so I'll go with the #1 bestseller for a single book... because I would be very happy to have that one thing do well.
  8. Who’s your favorite actor and in what movie?  I loved Tim Robins in The Shawshank Redemption, Robert Dinero in Heat, Brad Pitt in Fight Club, Jim Carrey in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Bradley Cooper in Silver Linings Playbook... equally, don't make me pick.
  9. If you could only have a TV or stereo system (and no other music playing device), which would you pick?  This must be a trick question.  Does this stereo system have a built-in MP3 player or how about satellite radio?  I don't listen to the radio if it can be avoided, but I do prefer music over television these days since nearly all of my favorite shows are off the air.
  10. Would you rather vacation somewhere hot or cold, and where would that be? I grew up in Miami, FL, where many people vacation, so I would love to take a trip to the mountains soon... Montana or Colorado.
  11. What’s your most controversial belief? There are two things I never bring up at family dinners, and those same two things I generally keep out of my blog, too: religion and politics. But to not skirt the question entirely, I will say that I believe that both science and religion go hand in hand and should balance each other out.
The 11 nominees I am choosing to keep the Liebster Award going are:
  1. Millie Burns
  2. Kristen Hart
  3. Ed Venture
  4. Leslie Starr O'Hara
  5. Jessica Marcarelli
  6. Rachel Featherstone
  7. Sarah Chafin
  8. Lexie C.
  9. Mencara
  10. Jess Schira
  11. Sarah
And the 11 questions for my nominees to answer are:
  1. Why did you start your blog?
  2. Are you going to participate in the A-Z writing challenge in April? Why or why not?
  3. Enough about writing, we talk about that all the time... let's get to know you! What was the very last thing you ate?
  4. How many pairs of shoes do you own?
  5. What book are you currently reading?
  6. What is your least favorite thing about yourself?
  7. What is your favorite thing about yourself?
  8. What are your thoughts on happy endings?
  9. What was the last movie you watched? Did you like it?
  10. What is the farthest you've ever been from home?
  11. Do you have any odd or special talents?
There we have it... let the Liebstering continue!  I'm looking forward to sharing with some new people and making new connections, how about you?  :-)

IWSG: Your Craft

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Thank goodness for First Wednesdays... and thanks to Alex J. Cavanaugh, it's the day we insecure writers come together to share our pitfalls and inspirations.  To learn more and read other's posts, click the photo link!

For anyone following my slow progress, I am still editing my first work of science fiction.  Over the past few IWSG posts, I've received some great feedback to calm my insecurities as well as a couple of comments that have spun a few of them into overdrive. I suppose that's what happens when you ask for honest critiques, and it's not always a bad thing. For better or worse, they make you think... and thinking about your work is good.  The problem occurs when too much thinking leads to questioning your written voice. For this round, I'm going to do my best to share some inspiration that I've been tossing around in my head over the last month. 

Just as an example, I learned a lot from the commentary being posted to competing stories in last year's Write Club challenge, but there were some voters offering up personal preferences instead of sharing unbiased critiquing. One such scenario was advice as to the tense used in a piece. Some people prefer to write in first person narrative, others in third, and others in a plethora of variations. One thing I've given some thought to is the definition of one's writing craft.  Your craft is personal and any manner in which you purposely use words to display your ideas should be considered your signature.  If you use first person narrative on purpose to make your point hit home, then it doesn't matter that I prefer a different style. Moreover, if you use all caps to make a statement and you purposely use it consistently throughout your writing, then who are we to tell you that it isn't grammatically correct?  Do you love semicolons and oxford commas? You do? Well, then by all means, use them if it lends to your craft! And hey look, I just used an exclamation point!  I bet you've read some writing books that tell you not to... but I say, listen to you heart... and always stay true to your craft.  Your writing is meant to define you.  You are what you write.  Never let one critique create doubt in the style that represents your voice.  Your editor will help you sell your book... just be careful not to sell your soul.  There's a big difference between correcting grammar to reflect skillful writing and completely changing the fundamental style that makes you, well... "you".  I suppose that's my long-winded way of saying that we should never make a change unless it feels right and true to our own personal craft.  Happy writing!

Review of a Review

Posted on 9:20 PM comments (3)
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It is my opinion that a good book review will convey to potential readers why they would or would not enjoy a particular work without giving away the whole story.  I've read quite a few reviews in the past year that have actually deterred me from making a purchase because I felt as though I'd already gotten the whole gist of it without actually reading a page of the novel.  With that being said, here is my attempt to get more of you, as well as anyone who happens to scour reviews on Amazon, to purchase this book... I did, and it was money well spent:

YA Paranormal/Sci-Fi for ALL ages

Do you love Harry Potter and dislike Twilight? Do you listen to indie music instead of Top 40? After watching 'The Matrix' for the first time did you spend days thinking about all the "what ifs"? Have you ever lost someone that you wish you could connect with again? If you answered yes to any of those questions, I am willing to guarantee that you will like Provex City. For some strange reason, this book is...

Continue reading on Amazon.com

This review is from: Provex City (The Lorne Family Vault Series, Book 1) (Kindle Edition)
 
 
Provex City (The Lorne Family Vault Series, Book 1) Provex City (The Lorne Family Vault Series, Book 1)
by Michael Pierce
4.9 out of 5 stars (22 customer reviews)
Kindle Price: $2.99
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The author, Michael Pierce, is in the midst of a blog tour for this book now, so grab a copy and help him reach his goal of 100 reviews on Amazon!


Beginnings Blogfest

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Happy Blogoversary to L.G. Keltner! Completing a first year in this writing community with just shy of 200 followers is an accomplishment in itself, but doing so while sending out enormous amounts of positive energy and dedicating tons of time to supporting fellow writers deserves some recognition.  I'm a fan of this blog mostly because L.G. writes awesome flash fiction in one of my favorite genres, but also because her entries never fail to inspire me to focus on the positive side of writing.  If you're not a follower, you probably should be!  In celebration, some of us are participating in the Beginnings Blogfest... which you can find more info on by clicking the photo link to the left.  As for my entry... It all began long ago in a far away place... no really, it did!

Much like another planet, I started my blogging journey on LiveJournal and by long ago, I mean December 22, 2004.  Holy cow... now that I've put that in writing I feel SUPER old.  Was that really 9 years ago?  Yikes.  I was 25 years old, newly (again) single and trying to find my way through transition. I complained about boys, friends who were boys and boys that I worked with. Basically, if I'd set my mind to it, I could have written the scripts for the new HBO series "Girls" back then.  I had an audience of maybe 5 followers, but I wrote with dedication and ferocity just about every single day. The venting was my stress relief and the party recaps were my bragging rights.  Then on March 19, 2005, I posted a goodbye to LiveJournal with the announcement that I was moving over to MySpace "in an attempt to make real friends, not just computer friends".  Spoiler alert: it worked.  My daily blog on MySpace was a hit... I received friend requests left and right... and I even got plagiarized once by an elementary school English teacher.  Through that site I made a few life long friends and racked up a couple more ex-boyfriends.  I fed off the energy of all the commentary and discussion threads that my posts ignited. Of course, my biggest fan was myself.  I would go back and re-read how clever and witty my entires were and laugh to myself in the middle of the night.  Yes, I truly was full of myself back then. Many of my favorite entries were transfered here to Blogger when MySpace died off and Facebook became supreme ruler of social networking. If you were bored and had about a week of free time on your hands, you could probably read through them all, as they were posted during the month of December 2009... but I wouldn't recommend it.  Not a single one is about creative writing or anything truly constructive. So, years later, here I am with a repurposed blog focusing on my intent to get myself published (eventually) and I have to wonder... when would my "blogoversary" be?  Surely, I can't count all the years spent pontificating my existence and making friends laugh within in a private circle. I guess I'd have to set my start date to May 24, 2012 when I shifted from a private blog meant for friends only to a public blog where I meant to join an online writing community.  That was also the point when the complete and total confidence shifted to modesty and insecurity.  No longer was I making jokes about my social life (partly because as a wife and mom, I no longer had one), but instead I was sharing my writing journey with *gasp*... strangers! Of course, I soon found out that these "strangers" were actually a group of the kindest, most supportive people I'd ever come into contact with.  Alex J. Cavanaugh's IWSG blog hop every month was instrumental in pulling me out of my shell and forcing me not to give up, even when I'd slacked off for a week or two without posting a word.  And there were several other flash fiction style blog hops that were a blast.  It's been such a positive experience and I look forward to finishing my WIPs so that I can spend more time giving back to the blogging community that has helped me so much... but back to the point: this is about beginnings.  In summary, I suppose you could say that my beginnings are really just beginning.

Thanks again to L.G. for not only hosting this blogfest, but also for providing months of inspiration and entertaining reading. Cheers to year two!

IWSG: Learning to Share

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It's a new year, but luckily, traditions carry over... thanks to Alex J. Cavanaugh, we insecure writers come together to share our pitfalls and inspirations on the first Wednesday of every month.  To learn more, click the photo link.

My first IWSG installment is going to be a brief one, mainly because I won't be able to hop around to everyone else's posts to offer support and draw inspiration until the weekend after I've gotten some rest... that's right, if you actually read my previous post, you'll know that I'm still recovering from some minor brain trauma and the computer screen is not my best friend right now.  That being said, I do have an insecurity to share and I'll stop back by in a few days to participate with a little more gusto. My question for those much farther along in their pursuit of becoming a published author is this: Where/how/when do you find good critique partners? I've finally completed one of my WIPs and I'm doing my first round of editing on the first draft. At what point to you take this work, this thing of your own creation, and just trustingly hand it over to someone? And where do you find that someone (or someones)... how many should there be?

Year End Recap

Posted on 11:22 PM comments (3)
I started last year with some champagne at home with the hubs in a strange new town over a thousand miles away from everyone we knew.  Last night was more or less the same, but despite that, 2012 was the year of change.  This Florida girl had to learn how to be a Texan, and at first I thought that would mean using hairspray, putting rhinestones on the butt pockets of all my jeans and saying things like "ya'll"(you all), "podna' (partner), "airs" (ears), and "unner-yunner" (underneath and over there).  However, this was (thankfully) not the case.  All I had to do was love red meat (check) and adapt to store clerks being genuinely friendly (still working on it). Wow... I just noticed the heavy parenthesis usage in this post.  Sorry about that. It could be due to the beer I am drinking (I don't usually drink beer) or the mild concussion I am recovering from (I'm drinking the beer because it's the only thing helping the headache from the concussion)... but more about my head injury later.

Anyway, here is my list of highlights for prosperity's sake:
  1. Survived the relocation from Florida and excelled at the new job in Texas.
  2. Enrolled my kiddo in an artsy fancy-pants "green" preschool where he flourished and learned to read by the time he turned 4 (take that, Florida!).
  3. Survived months of my spouse's unemployment and managed financial recovery (for the most part).
  4. Adopted a defective, smelly, cross-eyed, asthmatic cat from a local rescue because I thought my old cat "needed a friend".  They hated each other.
  5. Had an awesome birthday with fantastic food when my mother flew out to visit.  Then had 2 awesome visits back home to Orlando for BOTH of my best friends' respective baby showers (oh, now they start having kids...).
  6. Did the Texas tourist thing by attending the Scarborough Rennesance Festival, The Ft. Worth Stockyards, the Grapevine Vintage Railroad (complete with staged robbery on horseback), and the Texas State Fair.
  7. Decided to pick up my forgotten hobby of creative writing again and re-vamped my private blog that had been dormant for nearly a year. Then participated in blog hops and flash fiction contests for the first time and made a bunch of awesome writing connections in the blogging community.
  8. Completed a 10 day juice cleanse and jump-started a healthier lifestyle by kicking my caffeine habit.
  9. Finished my first ever sci-fi short weighing in at approximately 6000 words and began the editing process in preparation for publishing contest submission.
  10. Adopted a seemingly normal, healthy and cute puppy... immediately labeled puppy as "worst family Christmas gift ever".  After several nights of waking every two hours to let puppy outside, began drinking caffeine again.
  11. Bonus: Experienced my first ever "White Christmas" and had an unsuccessful snowball fight with my family, followed a few days later by my first ever fall down a flight of stairs and resulting head concussion.
With that, let me say a fond farewell to 2012 and set some goals for the new year that started today:
  1. Write more often. Finish my memoir style novel.
  2. Find critique partners for my writing.
  3. Attend dog training classes.
  4. Save more money. Move out of our townhouse (with all the stairs) and into a house (preferably without stairs).
  5. Work out more. Participate in the Run For Your Lives 5k zombie marathon.
And since I'm on this kick where I'm posting lists of things, I think I will now try another first and participate in a blog award related questionnaire.  This one comes from a blog that I follow because it never ceases to make me giggle.  You can check out the original post here: Tammy Theriault 

 11 QUESTIONS:
1. If you could interview one celebrity, who & what is your million dollar question?
This should be an easy question for me because I thought about it in great detail in the weeks before I was scheduled to meet Stephen King at a book signing just before I moved out here to Texas.  I had it all planned out and not only was I going to thank him for his writing that showed me when I was growing up that there was beauty within darkness... but I had prepared my original question for him. I was going to ask if he had any rituals that he always practiced when he finished writing a novel (kinda like the MC in Bag of Bones).  Of course, I was too emotional and perhaps star-struck when I finally met him, that I had to suppress tears and all I could muster was a meek, "Thank you for writing"... and all I got was a smile and a nod. Epic fail on my part. So, to answer this question, I'd like a re-do.

2. Did you ever carry a pager when they were cool?
Just how old do I look? Geez... I wasn't even allowed to drive or have a phone in my bedroom when pagers were cool. Of course, my parents were super strict, so I didn't get to have a car or a landline phone of my own until I was out on my own... and then, I got an answering machine instead.  It was digital.

3. What is your fav home decor that you would be mad if I stole?
I am pretty attached to my handmade dining room table runner that I ordered from some lady on Etsy. I fixed up the dining room to compensate for the bachelor pad hollywood/movie poster theme thing my other half has going on in the living room.  If you stole his 1000 DVDs, I would not report you.

4. Pet peeves?
It's a tie between bad grammar and bad driving.  I take both very seriously and take pride in how awesome I am at both.

5. Fav magazine?
Not applicable. For what little time I have to read, I prefer to spend it on books.

6. Will you give me $100?
Yes, but only if you give me $100 in return. Fair is fair.

7. Furthest you've traveled?
As a Florida resident, I traveled to my birthplace of NY, as well as Mexico, and also Albuquerque, NM for a work conference. Each of those trumps the milage it took to move to Texas, but I couldn't tell you which one was the furthest, as I'm too lazy to Google it at the moment.

8. Do these pants make my butt look big?
It's not the pants that make your butt look big, Deary... it's the Holiday Hibernation Suit™ underneath.

9. What radio station is playing in your car as I drive off in it?
Not applicable. I've been asking Santa to put better music on the radio for like the last 8 years and I still haven't received that gift, so my iPod is hooked up in my car at all times.

10. What are you making me for breakfast because I'm not a morning person?
What wouldn't I make for breakfast? There are SO many delicious options... but I guess if I'm cooking to impress, I'd have to go with center-cut bacon and stuffed french toast.

11. How's that $100 coming along?
Show me yours, I'll show you mine.  Hey, pervs... this is still about the money.

Well, that was interesting... or at least to me, since my head hurts.  :-)  I hope each and everyone of you out there in the blogosphere had a safe and happy holiday and cheers to a new year!  I hope everyone has a prosperous and joyous 2013... and I'll see some (if not most) of you all later this week for IWSG!

Cheers, Cavanaugh Blogfest!

Posted on 2:00 AM comments (18)
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There are a lot of blog fests happening this holiday season, but so far, only one has stood out enough to compel me to join in.  In the spirit of giving, and more specifically giving thanks, who better to say "Cheers" to than a member of the blogosphere who has created a safe haven for aspiring writers, published writers and even dabblers to all come together and provide one another with monthly support?  I do my very best to post on the first Wednesday of every month for IWSG, and sometimes it's that deadline alone that keeps me from completely losing track of my blog when life gets hectic... and generally the encouragement I receive just from those posts alone is what keeps me writing.  And so, today is the day we all gather to collectively shower the founder of such a special networking blog hop with thanks, praise and possibly even severe embarrassment: Mr. Alex J. Cavanaugh a/k/a The Ninja Captain!  With a handful of followers (that I'm very thankful for) and only portions of writing projects completed, one might ask how I know Alex or why such a small spec in this blog circle would participate.  The answer is easy. I don't know him at all... but I'm joining in because Alex obviously cares about each and every writer he's connected to... even little ol' me. You can tell by the insane amount of commentary he leaves across hundreds of blogs throughout the month, as well as the thoughtful words he offers.  Alex is never generic, never fake, never rushed... it truly is amazing.  His words have meant a lot to me, so a public thank you is really the least I could do.

The rules of this blog fest are pretty simple... We all must complete the following:

1. In +/- 20 words, what does Alex look like? 

Like this, of course:













2. In +/- 20 words, who could play Alex in a documentary? (Living or dead.) 

Alex is so fast he cannot be caught on film, therefore, Morgan Freeman would have to play him via narration.

3. In +/- 20 words, who does Alex remind you of? 

I'd have to say my favorite high school journalism teacher who always took the time to give one-on-one advice to every student.

4. In +/- 100 words, (excluding the title) write flash fiction using all these prompts: 

Cavanaugh
Ninja
IWSG
Cosbolt
Guitar

An Insecure Future

The girl touched her finger to the square labeled "5" on the digital calendar, marking the end of the fifth day of December in the year 2096. She fell into her reading chair and reached for her guitar, intent on strumming away the day's stresses. Her elbow caught the end of the small stack of books that called her end table home, and her less than ninja-like reflexes were of no help. As she cursed lightly under her breath and stooped down to gather them up, the title of the most weathered cover caught her eye. Her father had given her his copy of CassaStar over ten years ago. Byron the Cosbolt pilot had been an icon of adventure to her growing up, but now, nearly a woman, she felt a special kinship with the lone soldier. After the loss of her father, she buried herself in the stories told by Alex J. Cavanaugh.  It wasn't until a year ago after researching the author a bit more that she discovered that he'd been the one that founded the infamous IWSG network nearly a hundred years before. Her desire to document her own struggles was fueled by the intergalactic support group that kept the written languages of thousands of different races alive. At times she felt as though fate had had put that old book in her hands instead of her father. She glanced up at the calendar again... it was Wednesday. Cursing a second time for the evening, she returned her beloved novels to the table with all thoughts of playing music forgotten... and rushed to log in to the reoccurring monthly meeting that gave her the courage to share with others.

For Bonus Points: 
In +/- 40 words, leave a comment for Mrs. Cavanaugh - thanking her for sharing.

Considering that I have such a hard time dedicating time to my own writing let alone generating support for my fellow bloggers due to a husband, kiddo, pets and job to cater to... and considering that my own spouse often competes with my writing for attention... I can only imagine that Mrs. Cavanaugh must be a saint.  Even if she's not Catholic.  Seriously.  Behind every great man, there is a great woman... and so I must thank you both for allowing this network of support and encouragement to keep on growing!


Want to read more tributes to Alex? 
Of course you do, so click here!
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