WIP Wednesday: Brenda Stinnett

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Today’s Work-In-Progress guest is Brenda Stinnett. Welcome Brenda!

MJ: Let’s jump right in. Do you have a life memory you think of often that you would be willing to share with us?

BRENDA: I remember when I was young and my mother would read stories to me at bedtime. I loved it because it was our special time and I didn’t have to share her with my older brother or sister.

MJ: Oh, nice! What are your top three dream destinations and why?

BRENDA: Tuscany, Italy, Cobh, Ireland, and Lourdes, France. I love Italy for the art & architecture, Ireland for its ghostly feel, and France for its spiritual healing.

MJ: Nice mixture. Name one thing most people don’t know about you.

BRENDA: When I was young, I was so terrified of water that baths scared me, I was afraid I’d go down the drain with the water.

MJ: Well, that is a scary thought. What’s your secret talent?

BRENDA: I’m pretty good at chess.

MJ: What’s the top book on your TBR pile?

BRENDA:  I’m determined to read Vanity Fair.

MJ: Do you have any recurring dreams? If so, will you share one with us?

BRENDA: Yes, I do have a recurring dream. Sometimes when I’m in strange situations, I dream that the ‘bad guys’ are after me and I’m running away from them.

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

BRENDA: My creative outlet would be learning to play the guitar.

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

BRENDA: I would love to be a marriage/family psychologist.

MJ: If you had a theme song, what would it be?

BRENDA:  “What You Gonna Do”

MJ: Name one thing you won’t leave home without.

BRENDA: My pink lipstick, no matter what I’m wearing, I have to have my pink lipstick.

MJ: If you could trade places with anyone for just one day, who would you be and why?

BRENDA: I would love to be Stephen King one day and just see what goes on in his mind.

MJ: Now that’s scary! Is there a particular movie that you preferred over the book version of the story?

BRENDA: The Life of Pi. Somehow, I think I ‘got’ the book more when it was a movie, and I especially liked the special effects.

MJ: What do you normally eat for breakfast, of do you skip it and get straight to work?

BRENDA: I like pizza for breakfast, but most days I eat the eggs & bacon my husband loves.

MJ: Describe your ideal/dream writing space.

BRENDA: My dream writing space would be a lanai overlooking a warm, tropical beach.

MJ: Briefly describe your writing day/process.

BRENDA: I get up, eat breakfast, and write for a couple of hours, then go do other important family stuff, do my media stuff, write for another hour or two, and then do something fun, go to the show, Disney World, or read.

MJ: Name one writing-related website you use a lot.

BRENDA: Addicted to Ebooks.

MJ: What book do you wish you could have written?

BRENDA: The Language of Flowers. It’s Vanessa Diffenbaugh’s first novel, and it’s fabulous.

MJ: Plotter or Pantser?

BRENDA: Definitely a pantser, even though I admire plotters tremendously.

MJ: What romance convention/cliche most sets your teeth on edge?

BRENDA: I think all romance conventions can be good if they are done originally.  I do think smart, snarky characters can be overdone.

MJ: Do you believe in writer’s block?

BRENDA: Yes I do, and I also believe in Santa!

MJ: Name 3 things on your desk right now.

BRENDA: A small quilt made by my sister talking about Faith, Hope, & Love, a calendar, and a clock.

MJ: Love and true love – what is the difference and what do your characters believe about love?

BRENDA: I think that all love can be true, but we just have to give it a chance. If love isn’t true, then it’s not really love. My characters all want to believe in love, but they are often afraid of confronting it, and sometimes find out that it wasn’t what they expected, but they will know real love when they find it.

MJ: Would you consider self-publishing?

BRENDA: Yes, I have self-published my last book.

MJ: Do you listen to music when you write? Explain.

BRENDA: I love to listen to music when I write, but I have to have the rough draft already committed to paper before I can do this.

MJ: Do you collage your story before writing? Explain.

BRENDA: No, but it sounds wonderful. It sounds so creative and flowing, but I don’t do it.

MJ: Synopses: love them or hate them?

BRENDA: Yes and double-yes. I have to have a synopsis, but I find them difficult to write.

MJ: Thanks for the insight into your writing. Here’s the Lightning Round. Addams Family or Munsters?

BRENDA: Addams Family.

MJ:  Wine-red or white?

BRENDA: Red.

MJ: Beer-can or bottle?

BRENDA: Bottle.

MJ: Stephanie Plum or Eve Dallas?

BRENDA: Stephanie Plum.

MJ: Cinco de Mayo or St. Patrick’s Day?

BRENDA: St. Patrick’s Day.

MJ: Last movie you saw in a theater?

BRENDA: Jersey Boys.

MJ: Favorite TV show?

BRENDA: Big Bang Theory

MJ: Paper or e books?

BRENDA: Paper.

MJ: Favorite band when you were in high school (Marching band doesn’t count)?

BRENDA: Rolling Stones

MJ: Coke or Pepsi?

BRENDA: Please, no contest, Coke

MJ: Introvert or extrovert?

BRENDA: Introvert.

MJ: Favorite ethnic food?

BRENDA: Mexican.

MJ: Now for the meat of the blog: Please share the first 5 to 10 sentences of your current WIP.

Escorted by a guard, her face frozen into a sculpture of ice, he watched Anna head toward his booth where nothing divided him and her but a wall and the Plexiglass window. The corridor, greasy gray, same as the cinder-block walls, echoed with each footstep she took.

When she finally reached him, he cut his eyes away, but then slowly drew his gaze back to her. He admired the way she pretended these were normal circumstances.

A folding chair awaited her, close, but not too near the window. She glanced at the guard, and he nodded.

“If you need anything, press the buzzer along the panel on the wall. I’ll be right over there, at the end of the corridor.”

MJ: Wow. Great opening. Do you have buy links for any current releases?

BRENDA: You can purchase Tenth Degree of the Paranormal on Amazon at amzn.to/1sBlyyu

cover2MJ: Great cover! And how can readers find you?

BRENDA: My website:  http://brendastinnett.com, on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/AuthorBrendaStinnett and on Twitter at https://twitter.com/brendastinnett

MJ: Thanks so much for joining me today. Good luck with your books!

 

Book Review: LEAN IN

Just finished reading Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg.

The book is about women in the work place and how nothing has changed in several decades, how the home place also needs to change to enable women to get to the top. She makes a lot of valid points, but says nothing new. Hopefully a new voice taking up the rallying call will galvanize some change.

Granted, my “career” in the corporate world has come and gone (see bio link above), and I was lucky enough to work in a business that allowed for flexibility when it came to my children. I am also married to great man who was a very hands-on dad. When something came up, we would compare schedules and adjust things as needed. If that meant I worked mornings while he stayed home with a sick child, then he went in in the afternoon, we did it. He prefers working late anyway, so I would drop the children off at after school activities/classes (or car pool with other other parents to do this), then he would pick them up on his way home.

Sandberg is lucky (she doesn’t like that word, but what’s true is true) in that she works for innovative companies (Facebook, Google) that are changing the world starting with the workplace culture. Her maternity leave options were way different than mine were. I do recall telling the first woman general manager of my company that we needed access to personal products in the restrooms. A week later a machine was installed. And that was cutting edge at the time.

I think Sandberg’s relative youth bothers me, too, because she doesn’t always connect the dots, especially if the dots were drawn before she was cognizant. Example: why people are working more hours. She blames technology. I blame reduction in workforce, spreading more tasks to few people. The work still has to get done, even if you do lay-off your entire graphics department. DUH!

If I were a younger woman, I might find this book valuable. I found nothing new, some ignorance, and probably shouldn’t have read it because it mostly annoyed me.

Attitude is a decision.

 

WIP Wednesday: What I’m Working On

Due to a SNAFU, the scheduled author was unable to make it today, so here are the first several lines of my next werewolf book, tentatively titled, And Jericho Burned.

Toke Lobo

Toke Lobo

 

Summoned as if she were a disobedient child, Lucy Callahan stood with her sister before her crazy brother-in-law, her hands, teeth, and stomach muscles clenched. She tried to focus on her irritation with Michelle instead of the wariness Randy inspired.

“You can’t leave,” he said, slamming his fist on his dilapidated wooden desk. “Michelle needs her family.”

His voice was too big for his physical presence and had a mesmerizing effect on certain segments of the population, much like the Pied Piper and rodents or St. Patrick and snakes.

My Summer of the Living Beatles, Pt 2: SIR PAUL McCARTNEY

Paul McCartney

Sir Paul McCartney kicked off his US tour in a city a few hours away from where I live. TV Stevie somehow managed to get tickets (the concert was sold out in 28 minutes or so). Yes, I saw the two living Beatles within 10 days of each other. Our seats were shockingly good–not on the floor, because I hate floor seats, being just under five feet tall. Crowds tend to trigger claustrophobia in me.

We arrived in Albany early enough to take our time finding a place to park (free, on the street, about 6 blocks from the venue) and to find a restaurant that would seat us without reservations for a light meal before the show. I love taking my time like that.

I’m sure you’ve all seen the story about the couple from Rochester, NY who held up signs: “He won’t marry me until he meets you,” and “I have the ring, and I’m 64.” (ABC Nightly News showed the story, although they had the concert location wrong.) It was a lot of fun seeing the whole thing–especially when the security guard kept trying to drag the couple off the stage–as it happened.

The whole concert was–incredible. Just seeing a legend perform would have been enough, but Sir Paul played for 3 hours. The ROI was in the black. Sir Paul looked good, sounded great. He connected with the audience in a way I’d never seen before, even in smaller venues. When women in the front rows screamed, he jumped back and said, “Don’t do that to me. Those days are gone!” He paid tribute to John Lennon and George Harrison. There were pyrotechnics during “Live and Let Die,” something I’ve never seen at a concert before.

Other Sir Paul quips:

“People have these signs, but I can’t really read them, because I’m trying to remember the words and the chords for the songs I’m playing.”

“People always applaud when I play a song from my new album, but when I play something really old, they whip out the cell phones and start recording.”

Now, I’m going to admit, I was never a huge, die-hard Beatles fan. A co-worker once quipped: “One was either a Beatles fan or a Rolling Stones fan.” I replied, “Neither. Dylan.”  That’s not to say I didn’t like their music, but I also didn’t consider them the be all, end all. In retrospect, they probably were tied with Dylan as Be-All, End-All. And I’m really, really glad I got to see Sir Paul perform live.

 

WIP Wednesday: Angela Archer

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Today I am most pleased to welcome Angela Archer to WIP Wednesday here on Comptonplations.

Angela, what are your top three dream destinations and why?

ANGELA: Ireland, Bora Bora, and Alaska. I’ve always wanted to see Ireland to see the beauty of it. In all the pictures I see, it just looks like such beautiful countryside. Bora Bora, is my dream beach destination, or really any of the Islands of Tahiti. And, lastly, if I don’t do anything else on my bucket list, or go to any of the other places, one thing I will do someday is see the Northern Lights.

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

ANGELA: I don’t know about creative, but my other stress outlet is riding my horse. I wish I had more time in the day to write and ride, but alas, time evades me most days. I also love cooking and baking–especially from scratch. I’m working on adding a bunch of yummy, healthy, homemade recipes on my blog.

MJ: If you ever need a taster . . . okay, other than writing, what would be your dream job?

ANGELA: When I was young I wanted to be a marine biologist and study whales. When I found out how much school that job required I reconsidered. 🙂 I was never really one that loved school. I don’t know why, I just didn’t like it.

MJ: Is there a particular movie that you preferred over the book version of the story?

ANGELA: The Last of the Mohicans. I fell in love with the movie before I read the book. When I started the book, everything was different and I freaked out and stopped reading it. Probably not the best thing to do, but I just couldn’t wrap my head around all the changes.

MJ: What do you normally eat for breakfast, of do you skip it and get straight to work?

ANGELA: I’ve been trying to live a more healthier life and lose a few pounds, and since to do that you should eat a breakfast, I eat one. Usually, a banana, Greek vanilla yogurt, and raspberries.

MJ: Plotter or pantser?

ANGELA: I’m a plotter. I have an insane outlining process. I don’t just write a few sentences, I do paragraphs about each chapter and scene. If I don’t, I get lost with what to do next and then weeks go by and I haven’t touched my manuscript because I’m stuck.

MJ: Do you believe in writer’s block?

ANGELA: I believe in writer’s block with my own personal writing. Every author is different, though so while I might get stuck or write myself into a corner, or head down a direction I didn’t plan that sends me slamming my head into the wall or my desk, other writers might not ever experience that. To those lucky enough to never have it, I bow down to their awesomeness.

MJ: Name three things on your desk right now.

ANGELA: Haha. Seriously? A Jessie doll from Toy Story, stencils, markers, and paper, and a bowl of my homemade potato salad. What? I’m hungry, and I have a 21 month old and a 7 year old.

MJ: Would you consider self-publishing?

ANGELA: Yes, I would. I’ve gone back and forth with it, though. As with everything I believe there are pros and cons with traditional publishing and self publishing. Each writer is different and has different goals for their work. If a certain writer thinks self publishing is the better route for them, then I say bravo for doing what is right for them. I have a few friends who are self published and their books are doing really good.

MJ: Do you listen to music when you write? Explain.

ANGELA: I listen to instrumental music, it helps me immensely. While I prefer Celtic music, really any instrumental music works, and I really love soundtracks. A few good ones are The Last of the Mohicans, Braveheart, Secretariat, and Harry Potter.

MJ: Thanks for sharing that! Now, for the lightning round. Beer-can or bottle?

ANGELA: Bottle

MJ: Last movie you saw in a theater?

ANGELA: How to Train Your Dragon 2

MJ: Favorite TV show?

ANGELA:  Game of Thrones

MJ: Paper or e-books?

ANGELA: Paper.

MJ: Favorite band when you were in high school (Marching band doesn’t count).

ANGELA: Def Leppard (And they are still my all time favorite ever!)

MJ: Would you be willing to share the first five to ten sentences of your current work in progress?

ANGELA:  Of course! This is from When the Black Roses Grow, a Historical Romance set in 1692 during the
Salem Witch Trials.

The gentle breeze blew the soft flower petals against my chest. Laying
against my black, cotton dress and clutched in my arms, the bouquet
fluttered from side to side as my feet crunched through the twigs and
rocks along the dirt path. Of course, the flowers were nothing more than
the wild vegetation that bloomed around my home, not like the pretty
sprays of flora most set upon the crosses of their departed loved ones.
Nice flowers weren’t allowed in this part of the cemetery.

I tiptoed down the path past other mourners crying over different
headstones or huddled in the arms of another while they prayed—their
whispers the same echoed prayers I’ve heard dozens of times. Tightening
my grip on the stems, and tucking my chin deeper toward my chest, I
lifted my hand to my face to block my eyes and continued down through
the maze of overgrown weeds, debris, and the broken, rotten wood gate.
A few of the mourners watched me, knowing where I traveled to, and
judging me for my betrayal to God, the Church, and to everyone in Salem.
How dare I mourn my loss. How dare I visit her, my mother—the condemned
witch.

Along the outskirts of town, near the peddlers road, and buried in the
plot of land furthest from the church, the damned and cursed lay in
shallow graves, unmarked, unless a family member willing to bear the
burden of the shame bestowed them with one. Outlined by overgrown brush
that never received care, this cursed part of the cemetery was rarely
visited.

In all honesty, I shouldn’t have traveled here.

MJ: Oh, my! You’ve certainly hooked my attention here. Where can readers purchase your current release?

ANGELA: The Woman on the Painted Horse is available on Amazon. (Click the title for the link.)

MJ: And where can readers follow you?

ANGELA:  I have a website– http://www.angelachristinaarcher.com/,

a blog–http://authorangelachristinaarcher.wordpress.com/

a Face Book page–https://www.facebook.com/pages/Angela-Christina-Archer/121833387901997?ref_type=bookmark

plus I’m on Twitter https://twitter.com/AuthorACArcher and

Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8073551.Angela_Christina_Archer

MJ: Thanks a lot for stopping by today. Good luck with your writing and your sales!