Category: WIP Wednesday

Office Reclamation

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It was nearly a year ago when I started my office reclamation project. And while it has been on hiatus for a while, at least I’ve managed to keep the clutter at bay.

While going through some papers earlier this spring, I came across print-outs of my novels. Now I’m wondering why I need to keep them? All of my books are stored on the cloud. Several are published. I also e-mail the final manuscripts to a special e-mail account I have just for that purpose.

I think that before the county has its next Shred-a-thon/Shred-O-Rama, I’m going to revisit those files and purge them.

Unless you can think of a reason I should keep them.

 

 

Story Bibles

One thing I cannot do without while writing my Toke Lobo & the Pack werewolf series is my story bible. I wish I’d kept it up to date a little better than I did. I’m correcting that now.

The story bible is a 3-ring binder that contains all the pertinent information about the series in one place:

  • how the characters are related to each other
  • hair and eye color; build; etc.
  • who plays which instrument in the band
  • pack status
  • all of my wolf, werewolf, and country music research
  • casual mentions of people in one book who might actually show up in another–example: in Moonlight Serenade, the character Luke mentions his cousin Drioni is the band’s webmistress. My first draft of Luke’s story mentioned Drioni was related to another character. Oops! Glad I thought to check that.
  • The physical sensations a human experiences when in the energy field of a shifting werewolf.

I have read series where the author changes something three or four books into the series, and I always find that discombobulating.

Solution: a story bible.

 

 

WIP Wednesday: Nona Raines

MJ: I’m delighted to have author Nona Raines as my guest today. Nona, July is National Creative Ice Cream Flavors Day. If you could create a “new” flavor of ice cream what would it be? Why?

NR: If I could, I would re-instate a now defunct Ben and Jerry’s flavor–it is my all-time favorite! It was a pineapple ice cream with swirls of mango sorbet. It was delicious. Unfortunately, it was only around for a short time. Boo hoo.

MJ: If you didn’t write, what would be your creative outlet?

NR: Gee, if I didn’t write, I’m not sure what I would do creatively. I’ve tried knitting and crocheting, but could never get beyond scarves. I’m too old to get back to roller skating. If I couldn’t write, I’d probably just keep making up stories in my head.

MJ: Other than writing, what would be your dream job? Why?

NR: I would be a librarian in the world’s biggest library, and I’d have the place all to myself. All those lovely books–mine, all mine!

MJ: Describe your ideal or dream writing space.

NR: I like to move around when I write, so my dream writing space would be a beautiful house with plenty of rooms. When I got tired of one room, I’d move to another. And of course there would be a garden in case I wanted to bring my laptop outside. 

MJ: What do you love most about your WIP hero?

NR: I love the fact that he is playful and mischievous, a bit naughty, but underneath it all has a level head and a kind heart.

MJ: What do you least like about your WIP heroine?

NR: I think what I like least about her is her insecurity about her body. But the hero helps her work that out, lol.

MJ: What genre is your current WIP?

NR: It is a sexy contemporary New Adult romance.

MJ: How did you come up with your hero and heroine’s names?

NR: For Cam I wanted something short and kind of sexy. His last name is Cleary, because I wanted to make him Irish American. My heroine is Layla Messner. Her first name just sounded pretty. I like to give my characters names that aren’t run of the mill Smith/Jones etc. Messner sounded like a good solid Germanic last name.

MJ: How did you choose the setting for your current WIP?

NR: The setting is Buffalo, NY. Usually I create fictional towns, but because I’ve been to Buffalo a number of times and I know someone who lives there, I thought it would be fun to place a story there.

MJ: Can you share the first few sentences of Layla and Cam’s story?

NR: I’d love to. The working title is Not the Hot Chick

Jessi Wallace eyed the cute bartender’s butt the way a hungry cat might eye an unsuspecting bird. She actually licked her lips. “I am so going to do him.”

Layla Messner held back a sigh, took another sip of her lemon drop martini and asked herself for the sixth time that night, Why am I here, again?

Oh, right. Because I’m the wingman. Wingwoman. Whatever.

MJ: Oooh. I’m hooked!  And do you have a book out now?

NR: Yes, Don’t Let Go. 

perf5.000x8.000.indd

Here’s a blurb:

Annalee wants a no-strings fling. Eric’s all about the strings.

Twelve years ago, when Eric Sorenson’s date dumped him right before the Senior Prom, his older sister’s best friend stepped in to save him from total humiliation. He never forgot Annalee or what she did for him that night…or the kiss they shared. He wants Annalee, and if he has his way, they’ll take up where they left off. And this time, he won’t let go.

After a messy divorce, Annalee’s not looking forward to her high school reunion. She’s shocked when Eric appears at her door ready to return the favor and play escort. Gone is the inexperienced boy with a severe stutter—he’s a striking, confident man. The memory of the kiss they shared rekindles an attraction that never died, and she’s been on her own for a year. Isn’t she entitled to kick loose and have a let’s-go-crazy night?

MJ: And where can people purchase it?

The Wild Rose Press 

Amazon

Barnes & Noble 

All Romance 

Kobo 

iTunes

MJ: And how can readers stay in touch with you?

NR: I have a website, I’m on Facebook, and Twitter. I also have a blog and am on Goodreads.

MJ: Thanks so much for joining me today, and good luck with your books!

AlphaSmart: The Writer’s Dream Machine

In 2000, I bought a miracle machine. It was called an AlphaSmart. It was a portable key board with memory for 100 pages in 8 separate files. It ran (forever) on 3 double A batteries. It weighed next to nothing. The screen showed only 4 lines at a time, but could be read outside. It came with cable to hook to a computer to upload what you’d written into a file. And you didn’t have to worry about hitting a save button. “Alph” automatically saved everything. The unit was more portable than a laptop.

alphasmart

Other authors discovered AlphaSmart. In the Reno airport in 2004, after the RWA national conference, I overheard an airport employee saying he’d never heard of them until that week, and it seemed all these women were traveling with them.

I used Alph for years. I had to replace a couple of keys, the space bar, and the batteries, but entire books were written on Alph. Eventually the LCD screen popped a vessel or something a couple of years ago and the liquid crystal bled across the viewing window. The plastic holding the metal springy thingy for the spacebar broke. The “B” key split in half and fell off. The company had been sold, the new owners no longer sold replacement parts, and discontinued making the Writer’s Dream Machine. After nearly 10 years of slave labor, my original Alph had to retire. My $200 investment had been a great one.

Last year, one of my critique partners was cleaning out her office. She had an AlphaSmart she’d rarely used and offered to give it to me. I hemmed. I hawed. Eventually I caved.

Why did I hesitate for even a second?

I can pound out a page before I leave for work in the morning; another page is written on my lunch hour–all without waiting for my laptop to boot up. There’s no Internet distraction. I can sit on my patio-in-progress and just write. I still have an index card I wrote out years ago with a page conversion table on it: 0.6 Alph pages = 1 “old-fashioned” 250-word page; 1.2 = 2; 1.8=3; and so on.

Other authors I know still use their AlphaSmarts. I’m glad I rediscovered the joy of mine.

 

Tiffany!

Sometimes I’ll mention “Tiffany” in my blog. Maybe I should explain who–er, what–“Tiffany” is.

Many years ago, I’d picked up my children from day care and was driving home when Y-Chromo–about 3 years old at the time–asked me about that “holiday after Christmas.”

“New Years?” I asked.

“No. It’s one Christians celebrate.”

He kept trying to explain the holiday to me, but my work-drained brain wasn’t making connections. And X-Chromo (8 or 9 months old) might have been fussing, too. This went on for several blocks. The he popped out with, “Oh! I remember what it’s called. Tiffany!”

Considering he was only three at the time, I was pretty darned impressed he was discussing Epiphany.

Several years later, I shared the story with my writing friends. They thought it was adorable. (I thought so, but I might be the tiniest bit biased.) And from that moment on, whenever one of us has a breakthrough while plotting a book, writing, or anything else in life, it’s a “tiffany.” The mispronunciation/misunderstanding has become so much a part of our language, we use it without thinking, forgetting other people might not know what we mean.

I had several tiffanies over the past weekend while I was on a two and a half day writing retreat.

Early morning on Owasco Lake, one of the Finger Lakes in upstate NY.

Early morning on Owasco Lake, one of the Finger Lakes in upstate NY.

My WIP, the next book in my Toke Lobo and the Pack werewolf series, is just flowing. When one is typing along and a plot point or incident you hadn’t consciously planned falls into place and it all makes sense–Tiffany!