I’m getting closer to finishing Keeping Kai, my newest book. I was going to join NaNo this year, until I realized the trial will begin November 2 and NaNo starts November 1. The last thing I’m going to be thinking about is NaNo…

I’m off to watch Monster’s Ball again; I’ve watched it before but a very long time ago.

I hope everyone is having a great night.

Yup. I’ve spent the last couple of days making dolls. And bookmarks. And stuff to go with the dolls. I’m not sure why the urge to make dolls, but here I am, ignoring my ms in favor of stuffing and sewing (which I’m really not good at. Must get sewing machine!) and beads and buttons. Maybe because I finished The Shifter’s Heart and Sanctuary so close together, I just needed a short break from writing. A vacation of sorts.

I put my dolls on Etsy if you’d like to take a look. Some of them, the yarn dolls, are really a piece of cake to make. Especially when compared with the doll I’ve named December, and her doll, Christabel! Here they are:

I made December the little doll named Christabel, and knitted her a crossbody bag that looks sorta like a demented frog, but she likes strange things. You can probably tell that from looking at her big crooked eyes. She’s wearing some jewelry, too.

Anyway, she and Christabel and the yarn dolls will be up on Etsy soon.

And the yarn dolls…

I also made tiny pink girl yarn dolls with purple boy dolls, and I’ll post those as sets. They’re safe for little kids, unlike Ms. December who has beads and all sorts of little kid un-friendly stuff.

Fun fun

The monster who shot my brother, sister in law, and niece has a trial scheduled for this November. I haven’t gotten over any of my anger and I haven’t stopped missing my family; I never will. But as the months go by, it gets a little easier to bear, somehow.

But sometimes I’ll hear something that brings it back full force and it’s like a train hitting me.

My seven year old nephew, who witnessed the killings, told my niece the other day, ‘After I got out from under sissy, I had to walk over mammaw and pappaw, then I ran down the hill and called the cops. After all, they did shoot my people.’ And my heart broke all over again.

Hi everyone:)

I hope you all had a great 4th! The last couple of days have been gloomy and wet here, so I’ve been writing quite a bit. What else can one do on a rainy day?:)

I really want to get Sanctuary wrapped up in the next few days so I can start on the new book.

Anyway, for those of you curious about the giver of flowers, come on over to my website. I’ve posted a photo

I’ve posted a three part writing exercise at Textyladies. Come on over and participate!

There are many sites out there where you can illegally download copies of an author’s book. These sites pop up like weeds; if one goes down, three more sprout up to take its place.

The internet makes it easy for people to steal; music, movies, books…

As writers, we work hard at what we do. Very hard. And believe me, every sale counts. It’s discouraging to see so many books being downloaded for free. If you want the book enough to read it, please buy it. Don’t steal it. As author Lynn Lorenz points out, you wouldn’t walk into a B&N and steal the books off the shelves.

She writes:

“What we have to do is to attack the companies that advertise on the sites that offer pirated material.
Bring them to the forefront with a campaign like #Amazonfail, letting everyone know that such and such promotes the crime of illegal downloads.

And remember, as I’ve said before, it’s supply and demand. Pablo wouldn’t have wasted a moment of his time if the hordes of people clamoring for a way to steal music, video, books an movies weren’t so damn loud and insistant.

So, at the bottom of this pit lie the readers.

That’s right. Readers.

The same people who would never dream of walking into a B&N and stealing a book off the shelf, much less fifty books, but think nothing of downloading their equivalent from a pirate site.

Whe the demand stops, so does the piracy.”

Author Roscoe James wrote a fantastic post about the issue on his blog. There are some great comments there, too.

There are many loyal readers out there who buy the books and support the authors. We so appreciate you. Thank you

Okay. I’ve finally picked a few favorite names, and have posted a poll on my website. Please help me out by voting for your favorite!

And thanks to everyone who emailed or posted ideas for me.

Today is a little overcast and cool, but actually nice. One of those days where I could go out on the deck and write. And order in pizza so I wouldn’t have to cook, but seeing as how I’m on the diet from hell, I can’t be doing that. And that’s a shame, because pizza is one of my weaknesses

I plan on critting my friend Kiki’s ms, then settling in to write. I’m not sure if I’ll spend today mapping out the plot a little, or just writing what comes out. Maybe a bit of both.

I downloaded an application called Evernote last night; I signed up for the Evernote web app as well. I haven’t had time to figure it out yet, but from what I hear it’s a very handy program. If you want to check it out, you can find it here. I do love finding new programs for writers!

My writing exercise post is up at Textyladies. If you’d like to participate, I’d love to have you. Come on over!

HELP!!!

I’ve posted this week’s writing exercise at Textyladies. I took out the 200 word or less requirement, so you’re free to write whatever length you feel like writing. Come on over and check out the photo! It may just inspire you to write something amazing.

I got my first review of Puppy Love yesterday and posted it on my website. Have a look!

Today my friend and fellow Textylady, Pamela, wrote a very touching post for me at her blog. I’m lucky to have her for a friend, truly.

Thank you, Pam…I love you.

And to all the people who commented, thank you so much!

The interview I did of Teri Wilson is now up at Textyladies. Stop by and get to know her, she’s fantastic!

I’m still writing my island romance, thinking about backtracking a few pages because I’m not sure I like the direction in which the story is going. I can’t put my finger on it, exactly, but it just doesn’t feel right. Better to fix it now, though I’m tempted to let it go and see what happens. Nah.

I have two interviews out, one with Freya’s Bower publisher Marci Baun, and one with author Teri Wilson. Look for them starting next Tuesday. Because I had no interview to post this week at TL, I instead went back to the old standby, the writing exercise. It’s an interesting photo, so if you happen over there, feel free to show us what you got