National Name Your Car Day

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It’s National Name Your Car Day.

Yes, people do really name their cars.

The first time I read about this was when I was in elementary school and I read a book that was to become one of my favorites for that time: Don’t Call Me Katie Rose by Leonora Mattingly Weber. One of the high school students had an old Mercedes Benz he called “Mercy Bee.”

The second time I read about this habit was in an old book club book that belonged to my mother, Cape Cod Summer.  I don’t know the author (and it’s not the book listed on Amazon). The heroine of the book called her ancient rust bucket, “Dear Ruin”, after a line in a poem.

My third encounter was with a 1965 Chevy Malibu (287 V8!) I owned that was indestructible. A co-worker dubbed it “The Tank.”

Since then, I have tried to name my vehicles, but nothing stuck. Until my current car. It’s a Buick Lacrosse and she it affectionately known as “La-la”.

Do you name your vehicle?

The Organized Writer, Part 3

If you follow my blog, you’ll know that I’m trying to get myself organized for 2017. I’m changing my calendar/planner setup. I’m looking at a variety of options.

One thing I need to consider is what I want the planner to keep track of.  To that end, I’ve started a list of things I would like to see on a daily or weekly basis.

  • Tarot Card of the Day
  • Random Act of Kindness
  • Blog Schedule
  • Brain Dump
  • Daily Hydration
  • Food journal
  • Inspirational Quote of the Day/Week/Month
  • One Good Thing
  • Promotional tasks
  • Rose Sheet (this is a CNYRW thing)
  • Weather
  • What I Am Listening to
  • What I am Reading
  • Writing Goals
  • Walk/Yoga
  • Meditation

These are just some of the ideas I’ve come up with. At this point, I’m just toying.

If you were creating your ideal planner, what would you include?

 

Snarky Sunday: A Rant About Labeling Books

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I have a pet peeve.(That doesn’t surprise anyone who knows me.) And I might offend some people. But the label or classification some people apply to certain books offends me.

It all came to a head when I read this advice in a recent article:  “write a clean book”.

A “clean” book.

Well, my books are trayf–which is Yiddish for UNCLEAN.

Examples:

  • In my upcoming  Halloween novella–there’s a shrimp appetizer in the form of a human brain. Definitely trayf. 
  • Pulled pork sliders put in an appearance, too.(Now there’s a dish with some double entendre built right in.)
  • Andouille (Cajun pork sausage) is eaten in the Mardi Gras novella I’m currently writing.
  • I’m sure one of my characters in one of my books eats a cheeseburger washed down with a glass of milk.
  • And bacon! Pages are spattered with bacon.

Why are Jewish dietary laws even a consideration in romance writing?

I don’t have a problem with sweet romance. I like reading sweet romance. And if the story I’m writing doesn’t call for a sex scene, then I won’t write one.

Labeling sex-free books “clean” is a passive-aggressive way of judging books that do contain physical love scenes. And it is insulting to the authors of those books by implying sex-free books are somehow better than others. They are not.

Insults, no matter how subtle, are not what the romance writing community is about. We lift each other up. We support each other.

So let’s get rid of the label “clean” and find a category description that is less polarizing.

 

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

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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.

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