The Organized Writer pt 2

If you follow my blog, you know I’m trying to get myself organized. I’m looking into systems for 2017. The first thing I need to decide on is what do I really need from a planner.

I think I still need a physical planner as opposed to a digital one. Maybe. Because my Dayrunner is so bulky,

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it’s not working for me. Part of the problem is the way I have it set up. I don’t want to be flipping from section to section to section.

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What worked in the Day Job isn’t working for my new life.

In the new Day Job, I use a combination of digital and physical: I color-code my incoming emails and flag them as to priorities. I keep a running list in a note book of what needs to be done. This method works very well for me. In fact, several of my colleagues who depend on me for follow-through now call me to add items to my list, knowing I will stay on top of what needs to be done.

It’s a list. In a notebook. Not sections I need to flip between.

It’s simple. I think I need simple.

The Purse Project: Maggie Mundy

At first glance, the items in my bag seems just like anyone else’s contents, but there are a few giveaways about me.

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  • I am asthmatic, so I have to carry a puffer unless you want me to sound like Darth Vader.
  • The lanyard on my car key is from Romance Writers of Australia, so my writing gig is out of the bag, so to speak.
  • The owl tape measure is due to the fact I collect owls. I reckon it is my totem animal.
  • I am an operating room nurse, and the nail file keeps my nails clean and neat. No false nails for me.
  • Last but not least I have my business card. It has a lady with blood dripping from her mouth. Maybe people should be afraid. Don’t worry it’s all just in my head  or in the books I write.

I also carry:

  • Lipstick
  • Car and house keys
  • Wallet
  • Notebook
  • Brush
  • Pen
  • Hand cream
  • Tissues
  • Perfume spray

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You can’t be found if no one knows where you are.

Idolize is book one in the The Dark Storm series. The books are based around the lives of actors on the show.

Cassi moved to LA to escape a violent past and wants anonymity for herself and her son. She is starting to get her life back on track when she meets Declan Reed. He is latest hit on the Hollywood scene, playing the lead in the TV series Dark Storm. She gets the love of a TV star and the fame that comes with it causes her past to come back and haunt her with what could be fatal consequences.

Excerpt

Cassi knew it was the brandy talking, but when would she have a Hollywood actor captive in a cabin again? He put his glass down and raised one eyebrow as he peered at her. Then he patted the couch in front of him. Okay, she had drunk two big brandies, but what was he suggesting here?

He placed a finger under her chin and lifted it so she gazed in his eyes. She gulped. He didn’t need to say anything. She would kiss him anyway. All he needed to do was ask.

“When you left that day, you took part of me with you. I’ve been looking around and meeting other people and other women trying to find it. I was a fool to let you go then. Now you’re here, Cassi, I’m not going to let you go without telling you how much I care.”

His face was close as his palm cupped her cheek. Her mouth hung open and she felt a strong ache between her legs showing the need for physical contact she had not received for so long. She could feel his breath on her lips. His eyes connected with hers and then moved down to her lips. He ran his thumb along her lower lip and she moved forward. She knew this wasn’t real and something he had rehearsed, but didn’t care. He only had to say the word and she would have sex with him all night long. He didn’t say anything more, but their lips almost touched. Then he moved away.

Breathe.

“It’s a scene from our next episode. It doesn’t turn out well as she’s a vampire and sells me out. I get back at her through some crazy ritual, though. Sorry I took the advantage by adding your name.”

Declan was still holding his palm against her cheek and she didn’t want him to move away.

“You’re good.” He was more than good as she was putty in his hands right now.

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Buy now at Amazon.

About Maggie Mundy: 

I live in Adelaide, Australia with my husband, one cat, two dogs and a snake. I have a motorbike that I would like to ride more than I do and I love walking at the beach and listening to the waves.  I’ve always loved reading all forms of fiction from high fantasy and paranormal to contemporary and decided the stories in my head needed to be written down. It was either that or start on medication. Unlike many, I didn’t know I wanted to be a writer until a few years back.  I started off doing a degree in drama but soon realized my love was in writing, though there is a play lurking somewhere on my computer. My day job is as a nurse in the operating room. I believe romance can be fun to read and write but it’s exciting to spice it up with the uncertainty that comes with suspense where the rules can be broken.

Follow Maggie on Social Media:

 

The Organized Writer, Part 1

Last year, I tried to organize my Day Runner, leftover from my Important Day Job, into something that would work for me as a writer. (You can read about it here.)

The result: I’m not happy with the system. The Day Runner is just too bulky for my current life situation.

Last week, one of my publishers’ author loop started talking about systems for organizing. Several electronic versions were mentioned, as were some non-digital methods. I am intrigued and am investigating.

I have switched all of my electronic calendars to Google calendars. My iPhone wouldn’t play nice with the Kindle Fire, which wouldn’t play nice with whatever my laptop is using–the Chromos urged me to go to Google. And I do like it. Now I can enter an appointment on my phone and it shows up every else I need it to show up.

The next step is to think about what I really need from a planner.

Summer Love

I love summer. I love the heat. I love the sun. I love the colors. I love the food.

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There’s nothing like grabbing a perfectly ripe peach or plum and sinking your teeth into it.

summer01  I love sitting outside with a glass of iced tea and reading.

summer02  I enjoy my flowers.

 

summer04My happy Buddha plays hide & seek.

Summer: I am going to miss you.

The Future Is Now

I was at a drive-thru window getting breakfast one morning and didn’t understand a word the cashier said to me. Not. One. Word. I periodically have this problem with my 20-something children and a couple of 30-something co-workers. They speak too quickly and don’t enunciate.

I couldn’t help but think of Linda Howard’s Killing Time, in which an FBI agent from the futures comes to the present to solve a crime. Part of the future world Howard created included people speaking much faster than they do now.

This past winter, I (re)read JD Robb‘s “In Death” series from beginning to newest release. Naked Death came out in 1995. Robb set her series in the not-terribly distant future-2058.

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One thing that struck me with the re-reading was how of the technology she created for her books has come to pass. Palm Link anyone? Try your smart phone. We didn’t have those in 1995.

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Can the Urban Wars be far behind?

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