My goal in life is to be interesting to talk to at parties

I've always been horrid at tag. Anything physical really. I might break a nail or get sweaty, and I am much better dewy and glowing than sweaty. But, MG wants to play tag, demanding to know 5 interesting things about me as touchpoints for research later on. Hmmm. Let's see what I can come up with...

1. I was a retail management genius. No seriously, I was darned good at keeping department stores in line, so much so that I still like to shop early in the morning so I can see the new freight roll out.
2. I've been a pimp. That's what temporary staffing feels like. Even when you do it right.
3. My girlfriends call me at all hours with their nursing dilemmas. I am a wealth of nursing knowledge.
4. My 5 year old can play chess. OK. So this is not interesting about me, but I am quite proud of this. I am not so proud that I have yet to beat him at backgammon.
5. I got married at 18, and I wasn't pregnant. Still married, as a matter of fact. That he is cute as can be does help, as does the fact that he does dishes and bathes the boys every night! Choosing who to marry is another skill I have...but like the nursing thing, I know longer have any use for it.

30 Worthwhile Writing Warm-Ups

This is for those of you I couldn't convince to NaNo with me next month :)

There are millions of writing prompts out there, taunts and teases to get you writing something anything, in the hopes that starting writing will get your story flowing.

As much as I appreciate writing prompts, I can't stand to waste my writing time. Sure, finding different ways to describe grass gets words on my page, but at the end of the exercise I don't need to save my work and I find that depressing. So much so I was skipping writing prompts all together for a while.

Until I realized there were lots of little things I always meant to write down, tidbits worth saving and remembering. Jotting them down has the same purpose as traditional writing prompts - it gets you writing - but more than that it helps you say what you always meant to say, to those people you always meant to say it to.

Try these ideas on for size this month. When you sit down to write, warm up with one of these practical prompts...and if you dare...share it with someone you love.

1. A Child is Born. Write about the day your first child was born, from morning to night write down what you remember. Write about the first time you witnessed a birth, or about the time your sister practically ran out the door, your brother-in-law practically tossing their toddler at you as they raced to the hospital. Great for a baby book, or a funny letter to the person in the story.
2. Let me count the ways. Write the name of your favorite person/animal at the top of a page. List 100 words to describe him. Great to slip into 'thinking of you cards'. Scrapbookers do pages like this with a picture in the middle and write the words around the photo in different fonts.
3. Creme de le crumb. List your top te favorite foods...and why. Pair with the recipes for an easy holiday or wedding shower gift.
4. And What Do You Do? What was your first job? How did you get it and what did you make? Great to share with kids about to start their first job.
5-11. What was your most memorable Thanksgiving? Christmas/Hannukah? Easter/Passover? New Years? Valentines? April Fools? Halloween? These stories are great to tuck into cards...and also for local newspapers or magazines during the time of the holiday.
12. Graduation Day. Write about your graduation, or the graduation of your child. Preschool graduation stories are great for baby books, stories of your graduation can be tucked into congratulations graduate cards for years to come.
13. Drive Me Crazy. Is there a story behind your first car? Tell the tale, and pass it to a teen saving for their first car...with a few bucks.
14. Back in My Day...Write down those stories your grandparents told you. Go into as much detail as you can.
15-20. Good things come in threes. Brothers, Sisters, Neighbors, Parents, Cousins, Friends. List your three favorite memories of the best people in your lives. Save the lists and tuck them into birthday cards.
21. 15 minutes of fame. Were you ever in the paper? on the news?
22. Music of My Heart? Have you ever played an instrument? Sung in public? If you really need to stretch, what is your personal anthem and why?
23. Book Report. What was your favorite book this year? Write a letter to the author expressing your appreciation. Mail, or email it.
24-25. Take me away. Relive your favorite vaction from childhood, and adulthood.
26. How does your garden grow. Is your thumb green or brown? What grows ni your backyard?
27. Man's Best Friend. What is the story of your first pet?
28. Love Letters. These can be simple, or extremely difficult. don't put too much pressure on yourself. a cute note to tuck inside and unexpected lunch sack or folder will be much appreciated.
29. Year in Review. Write your holiday letter a few months early. Tuck it into holiday cards at the end of the year.
30. Aspirations for next year. Pretend your are a reporter, and write teh article of your accomplishments for the year to come.

Love Books? Write One.

First Page Challenge!

Julie is challenging her fellow romance writers to show how they create character and conflict from the first page. Honestly, I don't think this hard when I write. But luckily, it seems to have worked for me.

COOKING UP A STORM

The gunmetal gray sky outside his office window mocked him. Cameron Price reminded himself that the Internet claimed it rained more in New York than here in Seattle, but that little tidbit hadn’t kept the leaden sky from unloading its fury each time he stepped outside.
He’s a fish out of water. He doesn’t want to be in Seattle, so why is he?

He needed to like it here. Maybe if he focused on the good. In the summer it would be beautiful, but he had to get through November without going mad. And the coffee tasted better, though he couldn’t decipher the way people ordered it. At least he got to drive a great car and live in a big house. But the car was a gas-guzzler and the house as white and cold as a hospital.
He’s trying to see the bright side, but is a pragmatist. Hopefully the reader identifies with this feeling.

He grunted in frustration and sat up straighter in the leather desk chair. The party tonight had him riled, and he needed to get over it. Which was why he’d driven into the city, to get a vision of the office in its Saturday relaxed attitude. Everyone expected him to show up on Monday, but he wanted to get a bead on the inner workings before he started meeting people at the party.
He’s always thinking, trying to do the unexpected to keep one step ahead of everyone else.

HER CINDERELLA COMPLEX (the book I JUST finished)

Absolute perfection. The most spectacular wedding Weed, California and its three thousand inhabitants had ever seen. The exact wedding Heather Tindall dreamed of while she waited eighteen long years for her chance to escape the tiny Northern California town.
Small town girl in the perfect wedding. How did she manage that?

The wedding details read like a who’s who of bridal magazines. Vera Wang designed the white wedding gown; Amsale did the petal pink bridesmaids dresses; the cake came from the bakery famous for bringing chocolate tiers en vogue; the florist had two books out; and the photographer already sold exclusive rights to the photos to People magazine. It didn’t look like she’d planned it all in two months. Why did she only have two months to plan it? And where did she get the money to fund such an occasion?

So why did she feel like a tsunami was about to hit? Her doubts begin to swirl.

No one knew none of it was real. No one would ever know. Sure, everyone had been surprised by how quickly things happened, but never doubted the story she fed them. No one, not even her three sisters already marching down the aisle realized Curtis Frye thought of her only as his personal assistant. Curtis Frye, one of People magazine’s most eligible bachelors for three years running, stood at the altar in the Kenneth Cole black tuxedo she’d ordered. He’d suggested wearing the Ralph Lauren he wore to most functions, but a simple reminder he’d allowed her carte blanche in planning the wedding and she’d scheduled him for a fitting. The same day she signed the contract. She's signed a contract to marry her boss, and everyone bought their story. Yet, in spite of the perfection, she doesn't seem happy.

The finish line!

Cinderella is done! Thanks in large part to the lovely picture of my couple in the surf. Truly, that's them. Think I can con M&B into buying the book and putting that picture on the cover?

Getting Hot in Hawaii (Modern Extra) by Kerri Leroy

Is there anything better than requited love? Only when a high school nerd is reunited with his brainy crush, on the beautiful island of Kauai. Professional student Paige Pipkin travels to a sexy singles resort, never suspecting the club is owned by the boy she turned down, repeatedly, as a teen. She’s relieved to see a friendly face, but the first time Jack Banta sees Paige, his motives are anything but friendly. He plans to show her what she turned down all those years ago, then give her a taste of her own medicine.

Except every minute Jack spends with Paige he’s remembering exactly why he fell so hard in high school. By the time Paige is responding to his advances, all thought of revenge are out the window. He’s forgotten all about his plan, until Paige learns his original intent.

With one liners like “Um, there’s a chicken in your pool” and “time for this swimsuit to walk the plank” Getting Hot in Hawaii will keep a smile on your face the whole way through. Kerri Leroy does a splendid job of incorporating all five senses so the reader feels in the scene. The flora and fauna of Hawaii are beautifully showcased, and the story delicately written.

MAKING TIME

To get your NaNo drafted in November a few things will have to be set aside so you have the time to write. For me, the first thing to go is the internet. I refuse to let myself on the internet until I have met my daily word count goal.

• Make a list, and check it twice. To keep myself from logging on periodically, I make a list of things I need to check on the net. Before I get online, I double check to make sure I really need to know the price of summer-themed scrapbook paper today. If it can wait until December, or getting ahead on my word count, it does.
• Junk it. Set your junk email filter on high. Mail from family and friends still comes through. Only check the junk folder if you have time.
• Garbage Day. Empty your recycle bin and temporary internet files to make your computer run faster.
• Put away the surfboard. Blog surfing, forum haunting, message boards and the like are on restriction. Just like kids don’t get to watch television without doing their homework, no internet candy for you until you’ve got your words in.
• Reward Yourself. On days you make your word count goal. Do more than give yourself a pat on the back. Indulge in your favorite guilty pleasure.