Out of control characters

A Year to Remember - And It's Not Over Yet!

2011-11-12T08:57:00.003-05:00

All writers expect a good year when January rolls around and mine started with a bang. Frontier Tales posted my story, Desert Rose - Bounty Hunter, on their website on the first. That not only astonished me but when February rolled around, I found out the readers had voted it Best Loved. Other writer friends began predicting this was my year. They weren't wrong.

March brought a second story accepted at Frontier Tales, Jackie Ryan - US Marshal, wasn't selected Best Loved but was a good tale of two brothers, twins, who were as different as night and day in their callings. Or, as Jackie would say, Dwyer chose to wear dresses!

April and most of May passed without much in the way of acceptances. Then near the end of May, Paula Freda at The Pink Chameleon let me know my middle grade story, Dilemma, would be featured for the next year on her site. Things were improving. I now had three acceptances in a year, more than ever before. I began to believe this was my year. But I had to yet achieve a book contract and was beginning to worry, until MaryChris Bradley at Buddhapuss Ink notified me that I'd not only made the first cut for the Mystery Times Ten Anthology but had also been one of the winners. Oh, the excitement. I felt as if I'd finally broken through some kind of wall I'd never been able to do before.

However, June and went past without any acceptances and like all writers, I began to wonder if I'd finished my year of acceptances. Not that I wasn't busy. Current projects demanded my attention. Projects put to the aside screamed for me to pick them back up. There also was my commitment to promoting Mystery Times Ten to fulfill with a visit to the teen reading program at my local library. But then I heard from Duke Pennel at Frontier Tales telling me a third story of mine would appear on his website this year and that would happen in November. The Preacher's Daughter is on the current issue of Frontier Tales, a story of a young woman fighting the pervasive evil she feels in Tombstone.

July brought more good news and a bit of a panic. I proposed a serialized Western Story to The Western Online and the idea was accepted but wouldn't be published until I completed the tale. Oh, the panic I went through. I'd only written the first story and only had an incomplete idea on what I wanted to do with the rest. So, I did what I do best, set a deadline that would have made most people faint and set to work. Five weeks later, I emailed the finished product and was rewarded with this serialized story being featured from September to March of next year. You can view The Call Chronicles: Homecoming, The Call Chronicles: Bittersweet Reunion, and The Call Chronicles: Nefarious Plans at this website now and the rest on the first of each consecutive month.

I now believed this was my year. All the stories I'd had published in addition to the Passionate Hearts Anthology in 2010 gave me current work in all the genres I work with. But there was still one thing missing, one thing I desired to make me feel as if I'd had a year to remember. That thing happened on Sunday, November 6, 2011. My husband, teenage son, and I had just received news that my husband's job of more than seventeen years would end in January the previous Friday. We were, to say the least, devastated as we wondered how he would find a new job in this economy. The impact on our lives occupied our thoughts, until I opened my email that Sunday night.

Our teen thought I was having a panic attack. And I was, in a way. There, right in front of my eyes, was a way to take that hundred pound of lemons handed to us by the closing of the carpet mill where my husband works and turn the bitter fruit into the best Molten Chocolate Cake in the world. Solstice Publishing had accepted my YA novel, Softly Say Goodbye (working title). I began hyper-ventilating. My son was scared out of his mind and kept demanding what was wrong. I was finally able to scream that I'd sold my first single title book!

Needless to say, our family is now celebrating. Yes, my husband still has to search for a job but our hearts are lighter and I finally believe one thing.

THIS HAS BEEN MY YEAR!

UPDATE:
After going through my files, I discovered Softly Say Goodbye was my NaNoWriMo project last year. And it was also another winner. It took me six years to produce a great novel through the great November write-a-thon!

MYSTERY TIMES TEN Releases July 22, 2011!

2011-07-21T09:43:00.002-04:00

Tomorrow marks another milestone in my writing career, one I welcome with open arms. MYSTERY TIMES TEN Anthology, a compilation of ten mystery stories for teens, officially releases. In addition to having my work featured with nine other talented authors, I had the pleasurable experience of having the story judged by a panel of teen judges. For an individual who began this journey fifteen years ago and, at that time, decided to concentrate on the world of children's writing, this is one major goal achieved.

Not only have I met a great group of writers through our connection to this book, I've had the pleasure of seeing MYSTERY TIMES TEN at the number 13 position at Amazon.com's anthology list yesterday morning, a whole day before the actual release. I can only hope interest in this book remains high.

The story follows a young woman, confident in her career path after high school graduation and ready to have a bit of fun before she leaves for college. Little does she know that before the end of the day, she'll solve not one but two mysteries and find herself in the awkward position of proving her innocence in a criminal act. FALSELY ACCUSED came about after years of having a group of characters I loved but could find no platform for them. Three couples plus one other kept yammering for me to listen to their story and once I discovered the call for submissions from Buddhapuss Ink, the story became clear in my head.

To say more will give away the whole story, one that promises to be intriguing. To purchase your copy go to this link: http://amzn.to/oudUBr

Fantastic April

2011-05-05T21:12:00.000-04:00

Well a mix of fantastic and terrifying. I've always maintained I'd rather have a good, old fashioned earthquake than a tornado any day of the week. Well, April 27th sure proved that to me once and for all. It all started at 9:15 in the morning when the first warning came across and immediately changed to a watch. While I huddled on my sofa, shaking with fear, there was this horrendous THUMP on my front porch. Too scared to look, I nearly jumped out of my skin when my cell rang. Just hubby telling me about the watch. Got snippy when I told him I already knew and there was this thump on the porch but I wasn't moving until the storm ended. He laughed and said that was a good idea. Thump turned out to be nothing more than a plastic tub falling into driveway - and that's where it stayed until Friday! The rest of the day was more of the same as storm after storm pummelled us. School released at 11:30 but buses weren't running fast enough for both me and the kids. My son didn't get home until 2 hours later. By then, the first tornado had torn up Dade County and those storms were coming one upon another. Son and I shiver and shook, tried to divert ourselves but always the thunder and winds in addition to constant watches all afternoon had us on edge. Poor hubby had to work late and was driving home when the worst storm passed overhead. There we were, son and I, watching the constant weather updates on the news and catching tweets about the nasty weather, when suddenly on the weather map there were 4 - count them - 4 rotations swirling all around, one right over MY TOWN! Thankfully, the storm moved out very fast but it slammed into Ringgold 30 minutes later with an F4 tornado that could have slammed into us. We're very thankful we missed that but are sad for all those people in Ringgold.

Well, while the whole area still reeled from the destruction of those tornadoes, Friday I opened me email and discovered a message that had me screeching, singing, and dancing. My young adult mystery, FALSELY ACCUSED, was one of the winners in the Mystery Times Ten contest through Buddhapuss Ink! Oh, yeah, I have a second anthology coming out in May or June. Definitely a great way to end one of the weirdest months I've ever had. To make everything even better, DILEMMA, a middle grade short story about a tween who loves veggies on her hot dogs, will appear on http://www.thepinkchameleon.com/ in June.

Not to sit on my laurels, I'm currently over my head with several short projects for contests and finishing up a couple of books with final edits. These sales make numbers 4 and 5 for the year in only four months. Really have to work hard now to keep up this pace.

Local recognition for Passionate Hearts 2010 Anthology

2011-02-09T09:21:00.000-05:00

Hard work let me garner a place in the Passionate Hearts 2010 Anthology published by Vanilla Heart Publishing. Now, the people where I live know about this story and have a chance to purchase their own copy. Check this link: http://tiny.cc/qyq86 to read the story. The Walker County Messenger featured my press release on January 28, 2011.

Also, this anthology received recognition on a larger scale. In the critters.org annual polling, Passionate Hearts 2010 Anthology came in fifth in voting. A huge congrats to all the authors of this fantastic print and ebook. If you haven't purchased your copy yet, go to Vanilla Heart's website and follow the links. It's available at Barnes and Noble and Amazon.com.

It Just Feels Good

2010-11-25T09:25:00.000-05:00

Completing yet another NaNo, picking up yet another winner's certificate isn't just a moment taken from writing for me and never has been. No, this momentous occasion is the conclusion of yet another novel finished, another novel to go through line by line as I decide what stays and what goes. This year, I eased back from the heavy word counts of previous years and have come up with a compelling story for young adults. Underage drinking, teens being picked up for alcohol consumption or driving under the influence is on the rise. Yet, instead of seeing examples, our nation's young continue to put themselves on the fast track for disaster by testing the waters with more and more outrageous behavior. There are harsh consequences to drinking for anyone but teens face losing their dreams in addition to their lives. And the survivors have an even more harsh consequence, figuring out why they lived and someone else died. That's what Softly Say Goodbye is about. It's a love story between two high school seniors who've been together through a lot of ups and downs. Yet, they never lose their commitment not only to each other but to making a stand against teen drunks. Even with threats against them unless they back down, this couple and their friends continue to send out their message. Then the consequences leaves one dead and the other wondering if it's worth the effort - until a teen they thought lost to the dark side of drinking walks back into the light. The sense of loss is still acute but the book's main character continues on her crusade to take a hard line against teen drinking and tries to move on with her life by holding onto good things over the crushing grief.

Will Softly Say Goodbye find a home? I sure hope so. In that vein, I've already started revisions and edits in the hopes I feel it's in even better shape for the Delacorte Press Award. That submission has to be out before the end of December. Yup, I do mean next month. So, after more than a year of piddling around with my writing, I end 2010 on a fantastic note. One adult romance novella sold to Vanilla Heart Publishing and now available in both print and electronic versions. One NaNo project with the potential to become a hot message book for teens, without the message boring them. What will next year bring? One can only hope more of the same, or even better, demands for me to sign a contract.

A November to Remember - Part II

2010-11-15T10:59:00.000-05:00

November tests my skills as a writer when I try to comlete a 50,000 word minimum novel during the 30 days. Sure, easy, you say. 50,000 words breaks down to 1,667 words per day. Not so easy, I say. Unless I completely plan every aspect of the story and do every bit of research I can think of for the previous eleven months, it is almost impossible.

Yet, I have found in the past I slow as I get to certain points. Yes, I have completed five previous NaNoWriMo challenges. But those completions came with exhaustion and a sense I didn't tell the story I wanted to come out. This year, I complete my story halfway into the month. It's about teen drinking and one teen's fight to make her school alcohol free. She takes a proactive stance and pays a horrible price but survives and goes on to make adult decisions when she still feels like a child. Softly Say Goodbye shows how teens today interact with their peers by using the internet. Twitter and YouTube play a huge part of my main character's plans to overcome what she sees as a huge problem. And, I'm happy to say, I'm satisfied with the story I've told this time. I'm more than ready to do serious editing instead of vegging like I usually do. Erin, my main character, vitalized me into this story and I'll make sure she finds a great home.

NaNo 2010 completes for me at 51,473 words at 1050 AM on November 15.

A November to Remember - NaNo Takes A Twist

2010-11-10T08:21:00.000-05:00

Oh, I never saw this coming. First of all, my computer blew me a major raspberry near the end of October, the victim of a lightning strike right outside my office window. Fear and panic set in as I tried to boot up after the storm and knew, just knew, with everything deep inside me, I was sunk when it came to writing. All my precious files were on that hard drive and nothing was happening. Screaming and crying did nothing to repair the damage but my hubby, a wonderful man who is also a computer techie, came to the rescue, even going so far as to call in to work and take a day off in an effort to bring my system back up. First problem? Blown power supply, of which we only had one back up left but it was too large for my system. Well, several hours later, after he switched out his power supply and installed that one in my computer, I was back on track.

I thought.

That's when the next problem hit. This one was even worse. The boot up kept looping. Nothing either of us did stopped that darned loop. That's when I realized I might have lost more than ten years of writing files, including the e-book of my novella in the Passionate Hearts 2010 Anthology. Tears flowed faster this time. Nothing could replace what I had forgotten to back up. Lesson learned there. Well, hubby to the rescue again. This time, he hooked my monitor to his laptop, since the monitor on that thing was failing. I was back, in a limited way. Retrieving the files proved to take another three days - and NaNo started in another three days! How would I ever get all the stuff together I needed to do my planned project, especially since I decided I needed to do more development on the outline and plot. Oh, this was not happening. This was a nightmare. Well, I had one thing right. It was a nightmare - a waking nightmare from which I thought I would never awaken. But, awaken I did and just in time to realize Dogwood Winter was not the NaNo project for 2010. However, I had another project in the wings. When don't I have a project or two or ten waiting in the wings?

Softly Say Goodbye, a project I once thought finished, needed major revisions. The story is more focused now, more about teen drinking and one seventeen-year-old girl's quest to turn her high school back into a learning environment instead of the local bar. The consequences she pays are high, higher than most teens think they can handle, but she keeps going until she accomplishes the impossible. But there is another consequence, the loss of a friend who decides to stand with the teen drinkers rather than learning to deal with her own issues. My main character comes to some difficult decisions as she prepares for graduation but nothing will ever fill the hole left in her life after losing her guy and his best bud to an accident that was no accident.

Now that I am on track for NaNo, I use the lessons I learned at the end of October so I will never find myself in this position again. First, always backup, even if it is to the protected sector on my husband's computer. Second, never depend on what I've spent almost a year planning as my NaNo project. Always have a story waiting in the wings.

To date, even with my late start, I'm at 35,000 of the 50,000 required for NaNo completion. Horray!

NaNo 2010 - Countdown to November

2010-10-19T19:55:00.001-04:00

November, for me, has meant 30 days of intense writing in an attempt to begin and finish at least a 50,000 word novel. Now, for some, there's a shrug and a 'what's so hard about that?' Well, what is so hard about that? Imagine, if you will, thirty intense writing days of your brain working full speed creatively. Imagine, if you will, thirty exhausting days of putting words on the screen in an attempt to fulfill a goal. Imagine, if you will, how you cannot go backward and edit what you did at the beginning when your middle sags or your ending stinks. That's NaNo. That's the challenge I've taken on since 2005 and the challenge I've completed every year. This year presents my toughest challenge yet. A romance. A romance with two main characters and a town out of control. The reader will link this particular novel with another look at the South. However, I will say from the outset. I would never, ever, attempt to repeat the grand novel Harper Lee did. My look at the south reveals the pond scum lying just below the surface. This examination of Southern lives shows those who consider themselves elite and their condemnation of one of their own when she dares step out of the mold, as they define the mold. But getting to this point has meant many hours, days, weeks, and months of slogging through research and examining my own hometown and the towns in close proximity. My once blind view of these towns is now seeing the elitism that still rules the south but the color line is not as defined. The have's still lord over the have not's. But the have not's are as likely to be as whitebread as their neighbors of other ancestry. The have's are as likely to cross these lines, too. I've even taken on the church aspect in Southern lives. Folks down here live for church. Religion to them is a precious thing. Friendships end if one believer knowingly or unknowingly disparages the beliefs of another. Vicious counter-attacks ensue, with each side certain they are right. The sad part of all this can be summed up in a response in another blog I participate in after a well-publicized trial earlier this year: "When I hear about Georgia now, the music from Deliverance comes to mind.

Why is this sad? Because this person is only seeing the contempt for those without by those with money, status, and political connections to those whom these people would step all over. This person, from a northeastern state will never have the chance to get to know the people I do, the families who struggle to survive but will give their all to a neighbor in trouble, even a neighbor they really don't like. This northeasterner will never experience the warmth that comes from everyone waving as they drive or walk past. Small towns tend to hide their dirty laundry but when it's exposed, setting a cat among the pigeons seems like a minor breeze. However, there are very good elements about living in a small Southern town, elements I hope to bring out in this work which I fear may wring me out more than any other has. The good elements of having people who care even if they don't know you, people who'll stand for you in times of trouble, and mostly the much vaunted but not much in evidence of a village raising a child. Southern children know from the time they can leave their yards to visit their neighbors, mess up and half the town will call your parents before you get home. The other half will visit and during a pleasant chat happen to mention that little Johnny or Suzie was seen throwing whatever at their friend or riding their bike through traffic in a reckless manner. Nowhere else I've lived in this world have communities acted in this way. From the west coast to Europe, there is no community as tightly aligned as those in the South. So, while Dogwood Winter will examine the pond scum and their rule over all, it will also define what is best about the South, from grits to red eye gravy, from dogwood trees blooming in the spring to the parades along Main Street with the fire department leading the way, the high school band marching proudly, and the kids waving from homemade floats to those lining the streets. I'll try to show beneath the elitism using their money, or money they believe is theirs to spend, there is an element of home and family I have never seen anywhere else in this world.

Can I do 50,000 words in 30 days. Oh, I think I'll actually reach that amount in the first week. Finishing this novel is the big thing. Because I believe it will come in at more than 350,000 words. Then, over the next year, I'll have to start the long, arduous process of REVISION. But that's another story for another time. For now, finishing the outline of Dogwood Winter and setting up a schedule so I can accomplish the impossible, keep up with my other projects, and shuttle my teen in the HS marching band to and from his practices and games will more than keep me on the edge all month. That's not counting the holidays and two birthdays!

Stranger Than Fiction...Or Is It?

2010-09-02T06:37:00.003-04:00

UPDATE: The ebook format of Passionate Hearts 2010 Anthology is now available in AllRomance PDF and Smashwords Multiformat here:http://tinyurl.com/2flvfcm Also, you can pre-order the print version at the same link!

Writing is a life fraught with many pitfalls and many days of wondering if the story produced will bear fruit with the selected publisher. One of the things a writer learns from the very first day of their career is to make sure their work will never wear the label stranger than fiction. Well, Rediscovered Trust does just that. It's a romance, one of soul mates pulled apart by circumstance and coming back together. Interwoven through this story is a tale of judicial and prosecutorial misconduct in addition to law enforcement corruption. I submitted this novella to Vanilla Hearts Publishing for their Passionate Hearts 2010 Anthology in early August, never expecting the whirlwind that would next occur. See, I've always heard from successfully published writers that the trail from acceptance to publication always takes 18-24 months.

The first indicator I was on a fast track came when only two days after the anthology submission period ended. Vanilla Hearts accepted my story for their anthology. The mood in our home that night was one of excitement, or as we called it Snoopy dancing on the roof. I knew the anthology would come out in 2010 but in no way was I prepared for the next twelve days, twelve days when I learned of a video on YouTube advertising the anthology (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jgVkUZrsQTM) and that the publisher hoped to have the ebook out by Labor Day. Labor Day, as I write this is only four days away. A surreal feeling fell over me as I found out this information. There were bookmarks to print. Thank you Office Depot in Dalton. Your quick solution to this problem took one burden off my shoulders. Then there are all the products for sale at Vanilla Hearts associated with a romance anthology. Check out this link if you're interested in owning a coffee mug, canvas bag, or t-shirt: http://www.zazzle.com/vhpanthologies. Just remember to take off the period at the end. Then I learn Vanilla Heart expects to have the print book out in another month. One can now imagine my sense of everything moving far too fast. So many things to do and so little time to accomplish them.

For everyone I know, the last two weeks has been spent moving at either my normal pace or watching the hours speed past at light speed. But a dream I've lived for more than ten years is about to come to fruition. While I normally work with children's fiction, mostly middle grade and young adult fiction, I also have several romance novels in various stages. So, if you want the ebook, visit this link (http://www.vanillaheartbooksandauthors.com/Passionate_Hearts.html ) or this link (http://vanillaheartpublishing.xanga.com/732241471/passionate-hearts-contributors-video-and-gift-shop/) in the next few days for the release. If you'd like an autographed bookmark, contact me through the blog. I'll send you the bookmark as soon as possible.

This story is now going into the published world but I have not slowed in my determination to publish the many other stories cluttering my desk. And as September begins to cool into fall, and fall colors erupt on the trees, I prepare for my annual sojourn into madness. November looms, and with November comes NaNoWriMo – a thirty day quest to write a minimum of 50,000 words to complete a novel. Rediscovered Trust uses a suspense background to the romance by using fake drug trials to bring in federal money to a small Northwest Georgia county. I will stretch the bounds of stranger than fiction to pen a story reminiscent of To Kill A Mockingbird by using the rampant child molestation trials and the claimed 98% conviction rate in a tale of a teen watching her mom fight for her freedom and her life in Dogwood Winter. So, my days are now interspersed with keeping up with my friends, helping my teen traverse the first year of high school, and preparing for a novel that might very well break the 350,000 word mark – and write it in 30 days!

Review: The Search for the Madonna

2010-07-05T06:46:00.000-04:00

The Search for the Madonna by Donna Alice Patton is one of the most refreshing books I've read in a very long time. The story evolves around twins Maggie and Em during the Depression as they live with an aunt on a farm. Maggie, the main character, tries so very hard during the tale to maintain her faith even though money woes have divided her family, with her parents working elsewhere while she and her twin help their aunt. Backdropping the delightful story is a mysterious family legend about a missing Madonna and so much money, Maggie can't grasp how much it is, only that her aunt says they'll never want for anything again.

Firstly, I want to say, I know Donna and know how much of her own heart she put into this book. Her hard work is evident as the reader learns so much about the Depression years, of how people did so much with so little. She never cheats on little details like how most people walked instead of driving cars or their main source of entertainment were radio shows rather than Facebook or the internet. Hard work brought rewards in having another day of safety inside a home, something most of us take for granted. Maggie's search not only for the missing Madonna but her own faith took me back to my childhood. Like Maggie, I had a defining moment where I discovered that faith and embrace it today.

The Search for the Madonna leans heavily on Catholic beliefs but transcends religious lines to offer children as young as seven and as old as thirteen a way to understand financial difficulties and how their great-grandparents or grandparents may have survived them. Sprinkled throughout this tale of finding faith and security are tidbits that evoked pleasant memories of strawberry jam simmering or the spicy scent of pickles cooking. Donna Patton brings all this to life in a book destined to find a place in many hearts.

I recommend The Search for the Madonna for all readers, be they boy or girl. It's a journey into the past made memorable by how much it applies to the present. This book is available for a very reasonable $7.95 at Beyond Publications (http://www.eccehomopress.com/) .

Pushing forward but also stepping back

2010-06-14T10:49:00.000-04:00

It's amazing how life drags us in directions we never dreamed possible. The Tonya Craft trial mesmerized me during the agonizing five weeks it lasted. Watching her try to maintain her demeanor during the intense and entirely too personal cross examination taught me about class. Praying while the verdicts were read gave me insight into her personal strength as she stood there and listened to one not guilty after another, only finally breaking down after hearing those precious words the twenty-second time. Even then, her only concern was for her children, and the others dragged into this mess.

Then reality intruded in my life. I had a manuscript through the critique process, an extremely good story about another issue in this area: teen drinking. It's very timely, as kids were finishing school and having parties to celebrate. A lot of those teens would go onto college, where binge drinking is as common as weekly tests and term reports. One only has to look at the news to see stories of young adults with their lives forever ruined with DUI or underage drinking arrests to see how common this phenomenon is. But my story shows consequences for those who stand up against those having fun and partying. And the story needed refining and cleaning up. So, I dove into those edits, often forgetting the time as I got caught up in the tale I crafted. Then I had nothing more to do than write a synopsis and logline, two things that eluded me until this morning. Both are in first draft status and they'll stay that way until a very good, published friend has a chance to look them over for glaring errors. Then I take a shot at an agent, something I've avoided since I started writing. But agents have good going for them as well as bad.

While I await that final part of my submission package, I'm back to putting together what I call the background of my new project, one I'll actually write in first person, present tense during NaNo, the annual gathering of millions of writers electronically to finish a book of 50,000 words or more in 30 days. That means I'll have to accomplish at least 1,667 new words a day. Impossible, you say. Well, this will be my sixth NaNo competition and hopefully, my sixth win. The first year I barely broke 50,000 words but since then have increased what I write, even going so far as to do 3 first drafts that keep my occupied over the next year with editing. This year, I plan to only indicate chapter breaks with a quick sentence and keep going through the manuscript until I finish. The time it takes to actually format and cut in a new chapter is far too long to do it over and over.

Before that happens, though, I must wade through all the diverse characters and their motivations that make up this tale. Then I have to create the scenery and appearance of all important locations of this story. Finally, I must 'create' my town, a fictional one to protect the innocent from attacks from those determined to make everyone 'like' them. Finally, I'll set up my easel and write out a plan to attack this endeavor, a plan I'll put at eye level so I can type away all day whilst my teen struggles through his first semester of high school. I have no doubts I'll finish this novel during November, but then comes the hard part. Turning it into a story editors will demand, for this tale is long from finished down here. Ms. Craft's personal struggle goes on and her public struggle has brought forth stories of others in prison through the same methods used against her. She encouraged others, like me and my husband, to come out of the woodwork and stand up for what we believe is right. And we will keep shouting until the justice system in this small northwest Georgia area is as our forefathers desired when they crafted the Bill of Rights.

Real Life versus Fiction

2010-05-21T12:42:00.000-04:00

Real life wins the weird award every time. The Tonya Craft case was so compelling it drew in a nation. Here was a kindergarten teacher, a woman pursuing her career for 15 years while taking classes to make her a better teacher and out of the blue, three little girls accuse her of child molestation. Most people's first instinct is 'of course she's guilty'. But is she?

Take a few things into consideration. First, in her fifteen years of teaching, not one other student ever made such an accusation. Not one. I'll repeat that. No other student accused Ms. Craft of inappropriate touching in any manner. And some of those students are adults now or just graduating high school. The press surrounding her arrest and indictment by the prosecution team should have drawn children all over this country who had contact with her out of the woodwork. It did, to defend a woman they love and know would never harm a child in any way. The second item is called small town dynamics. Yeah, small town dynamics but taken to an nth degree.

So, while the dust settles and Ms. Craft works on getting her children back, I pull out a manuscript I put away years ago, taking advice an editor would never believe it, and brush it off. Long before I ever heard of Ms. Craft and her agony, I crafted a story of a teen helping her mom overcome these very same charges, with the very same background. I knew of the small town dynamics around here, how some people end up fighting for their reputations and lives due to false charges, yet none of that information ever made it into the public pool of knowledge. Now it has and I can bring this story into the forefront again. Thanks to 21st century technology, Ms. Craft's trial didn't end up happening quietly. The area swarmed with people demanding 'Truth for Tonya' the slogan used by those who support her. The prosecutors and judge kept on with their bizarre antics despite the entire community in Northwest Georgia and Middle Tennessee seeing them on the nightly news for updates. Two ADAs made fools of themselves by concentrating not on the charges against Ms. Craft during the defense portion of the trial but things that might destroy her character, such as getting drunk and falling asleep fully clothed in a bed with another woman, or mowing her lawn in shorts and a skimpy tank top, or even going to Las Vegas for a weekend with another couple after her divorce. Shocking! Even more shocking were the implications these were actions that make a child molester.

Yeah. Right. Even though I have minimal legal training, not enough to defend myself in court but enough to know when something's wrong, I could see the holes in this case from the start. Too many prosecution witnesses 'just remembered' or 'forgot' things until there was no video/audio recordings to back up their statements. Too many 'experts' had very little training, mostly consisting of seminars for a few weeks. Too many witnesses against Ms. Craft ground their personal ax into her in an attempt to punish her for childish slights. This whole case reeked from the beginning of a bunch of high school spoiled brats getting even for one girl taking another's guy. That's all. Very simple. And yet if found guilty, Ms. Craft faced the rest of her life in prison.

As I lay out the characters and scenery for this book, I wonder how many others in this area suffered as she did. Most of the chapters are already written but with the deeper characters and totally southern anachronisms, I'll have a novel worth reading when this is done. I only hope I can keep to the same tenet Ms. Craft uses to urge her supporters not to treat those who lied in the same way they did her. Make sure the children don't suffer.

Not Guilty but the fight goes on

2010-05-13T11:31:00.000-04:00

A jury took a day and a half to find Tonya Craft not guilty on 22 charges of child molestation. While the court clerk read the verdict in a sonorous voice said to shake defendants to the core, I knelt in front of my sofa praying to keep hearing those two words all the way through. Ms. Craft, to her credit, remained upright and in control until after the final not guilty. She had her life back but at what cost?

Her children still live with her ex-husband but the motions have already been filed to change that. Ms. Craft's professional life will never be the same. Teaching is now a long destroyed dream. She has expressed an interest in going back to school, to become a lawyer representing not only falsely accused people but the children. That's her one concern as she appears on talk shows from the national networks who finally came to find out what a small town in NW Georgia had going on that was causing so much hoopla.

I can only say I have half the courage and strength as Ms. Craft as I begin to plan a story that gave birth during this trial. A screenwriter friend made a great suggestion, one I plan to take. This story about Southern communities, churches with nothing more than social status on their minds, and revenge as only bored Southern housewives can wreak will come from the same person Ms. Craft is so bent on protecting, a child. But she'll tell the story in the one way Ms. Craft didn't have the chance to experience, as a vocal proponent of her mom's fight for survival and freedom. Thanks to Bill Anderson and the many people commenting on his blog, I have tons of information already. But it will take six months or more to discover the rest. I can only hope Ms. Craft doesn't have to wait that long to hold her babies in her arms again. As one mother to another, missed birthdays and mother's days can be fixed with one phrase that has no qualifications. I love you.

Prayers for Tonya

2010-05-06T15:12:00.002-04:00

[[update]]

This is one classy lady and sassy to boot. She got on the stand prepared for her throat getting dry and maybe crying with a cup of water and a hanky. Her answers to the first questions are concise and said without malice. I am so impressed with her. Even when the prosecutors and judge began attacking her attorney's line of questioning, she stayed strong. Prayers going out for you every second, Tonya. Don't let them shake you.

[[end update]]

Week 4 of the Tonya Craft trial is coming close to an end. Tonya's husband has spent most of the day testifying and has confirmed what all of us already know. None of these supposed acts ever happened! But what has happened is small town cattiness and pettiness. Two women with axes to grind and an ex husband made some awful decisions. They probably only thought their actions would cost Tonya her job and kids. None of them probably ever thought their lies would go this far. But this far they have gone. It's fish or cut bait time as my husband says occasionally.

What does that mean? Soon, the jury will have Tonya's fate in their hands. Will those 12 good men and women have the strength of will to look past the hyperbole and see the truth? Can they stand up against a powerhouse of men running this trial? All of the spectators know the truth after almost a month of watching the courtroom antics of Judge House, ADA Arnt, and ADA Gregor. None of those men have acted honorably but they demand that type of treatment from anyone in the courtroom as a spectator. Good thing I made the decision to stay away or I might right now be a guest of Catoosa County's detention center. Why? I have never, ever respected a person for the job they do. Doesn't matter if they are a general in the military, a CEO of a company, or the president of the United States. Respect is given when I know the person does the job to the best of their ability. I do respect people. People who accept they are human and can fail, and acknowledge that. People who don't prejudge a person based on vile rumors begun by a group of small minded individuals who hate anyone that doesn't do what they want the moment they want it. And mostly, I respect people with the guts to stand up for what they believe in.

My blog doesn't have many followers. But you have friends. And they have friends. Pray for Tonya Craft so she knows we are with her during this time of tribulation. Tell your friends to pray for Tonya when she takes the stand in her defense. Yes, in this country, a defendant doesn't have to prove their innocence. In theory. In fact, Tonya Craft cannot avoid taking the stand. Even though she faces screaming accusations from both prosecutors during her time on the stand, even though she must hold up and answers questions with no bearing on the charges, even though she is a private person baring her soul to the public, she must take the stand and defend her actions. The judge in this trial has demonstrated form the day he refused to recuse himself, since he represented her ex husband in a hearing, that he is not willing to be fair and impartial. So, as this week draws to a close, and we hold our children, grandchildren, nieces, and nephews close. As we take for granted the ability to hug a child on Mother's Day and rejoice in our motherhood, pray for Tonya Craft. It has been more than two years since she heard 'Happy Mother's Day' from her kids. And it may be a lifetime before she ever hears them say those words if the judge and prosecutors bully the jury into convicting her.

For more information on this trial, check out http://williamlanderson.blogspot.com/ or WRCB news: http://www.wrcbtv.com/ They more than most other news reporting agencies in this area, have presented a true view of this unfolding story. Tonya's trial probably won't end for another week. Her children probably won't seen their mother for another four years due to the way things run down here. But your prayers and those of your friends will give her the strength to remember she has support.

National Attention

2010-04-28T13:22:00.000-04:00

Do we really want the world to view the South as backwards fools who let a travesty such as the Tonya Craft trial happen? I thought that having national attention would give her a fair break but now that the Today Show will begin airing tomorrow, I'm not so sure anymore. The South is anything but what the rest of the nation will see of this travesty. We are intelligent, hard working people. Most have lived here all their lives, with maybe a year or two elsewhere for schooling or military. But, far and above, Southerners love their homes and come back to them.

On the other hand, the blatant problems associated with the Craft trial have to stop. Appeals are necessary, the very first one being the judge not recusing himself after it was revealed he represented Ms. Craft's ex in their divorce proceedings. However, that leaves Ms. Craft open for another trial, another recitation of stories that change to fit the circumstances, of having her character maligned by those she once called her closest friends. I feel for her and pray nightly for a miracle to remove her from this nightmare without end.

I've heard people say things like this only happen in poorly written fiction. Here's the real story. I could write a piece of fiction with this story as the linchpin. And some editor somewhere would send it back and tell me this kind of fantasy would never sell. Fiction is real life, taken down a million notches. Will I still develop a story with the actions I've seen these last three weeks. Of course. And I hope I can make my characters as sympathetic or as appalling as what I've seen in the three ring circus still going on in Catoosa County.

The witch hunts of the eighties have returned. Unfortunately, this will only get worse before it gets better. Thanks to a watchdog like William L. Anderson the people of the Lookout Mountain Judicial District have opened their eyes and mouths. Our protests may bring some good out of all this bad. All I can do at this point is wait and see, like Ms. Craft.

The Gloves Are Off

2010-04-27T12:19:00.000-04:00

Amazing. Just read the latest tweets from the Tonya Craft courtroom. One of her closest friends and supporters is on the stand. The Man (as self-described in one of his many interviews), prosecutor Len Gregor's attacks on the woman are amazing. It's the only word I can come up with describe this. Questions without foundation about the woman's sexual activities including Ms. Craft. Questions as to whether he considers accuser #1 a slut. Come on now, Mr. Gregor, this one of the innocent babes you are trying so hard to incarcerate Ms. Craft for molesting. You're supposed to treat this poor child with kid gloves and you dare to ask a question like that. I suppose you might actually answer this question, since you and your buddy Chris Arnt have taken to writing your version of answers on his blog. Bring it on. I can take it.

But can you live with your conscience. You made an aside after the judge overruled the defense yet again during this trial on a point of law even this civilian understands. You can't bring new information during cross-examination. Every CSI, Law and Order, Perry Mason, and any other crime show devotee knows this. But you did and your pet judge gave you permission to do that, then you had the never to tell the defense team that you knew the rules and they didn't. Obviously. There are rules for courtrooms and there are rules for Judge House's courtroom. Seems you should print up a copy and hand it out before the trial begins. That way, the defense can jump up and make their objections but already have the appeals done, just fill in the blanks of what particular point they are appealing on, and file them in the first court of appeals, but be ready to go up the line.

Now I want to know one thing. Why is our Attorney General, Thurbert E. Baker more interested in running for governor than stopping this travesty? Why are the citizens of Lookout Mountain Judicial District enduring the emotional pain of a woman denied access to her children while false accusations abound. The obvious contradictions by the prosecutions witnesses are only overshadowed by the vitruperative utterances you and your colleague bring forth in an effort to throw Ms. Craft away so she can never again sully the world in which you live. I am beginning to believe this prosecutorial zeal is nothing more than a punishment for the woman who refused to roll over and take the punishment you wanted to give her.

Have you ever thought that for just one minute of the consequences of your actions? Do you even care about the lives you are trashing with your commentary and inflammatory questions? I'm sure your boss is aware by now of the emotions running hard and fast about this trial. Is his opinion the same as yours?

I'm sure I'll have answers to those questions. But I have never before seen a case of this magnitude and with this kind of media exposure handled by anyone but the District Attorney himself. That question, I won't ask, because I'm sure the answer is, Mr. Franklin let the tag team of Arnt and Gregor run with this because they claimed they had what was necessary to take this evil woman off the streets.

News Flash: The only evil perpetrated in Catoosa County in regards to this case is in Judge House's courtroom, by the very people we depend on to protect us from criminals. Scary. I can only say again, thank you William L. Anderson for having the courage to speak up long, loud, and clear. May you be blessed forever for opening our eyes about this.

Musing on weather and more

2010-04-25T16:33:00.000-04:00

My goodness. Power off from 12:30 last night until about 6:30 this morning. That was the result of a very violent thunderstorm which also included hail. Such a storm immediately brought the thought about how the Lord is telling us what he thinks about the Tonya Craft case. And I don't think he's very happy at the moment.

We have a good woman, a fantastic teacher, a Sunday School teacher, a woman who has taught for a good many years. Her extremely public trial has not brought any other allegations of abuse by an other supposed victims. Gee? One has to wonder about this. No one else ever victimized in more than 25 years of teaching. How strange is that. All the experts agree on one thing, an abuser is rarely caught the first time they abuse a child. Yet this one kept it up until three children, one of them an actress, reported her awful behavior.

Well, let's look at the facts a bit more.

One witness, described as describing the acts in a clear, confident voice during questioning by the prosecution, an actress. A second child, described as her mother being told Ms. Craft did not consider her mature enough for 1st grade. And a third child giving testimony in such a way Ms. Craft broke down and cried. But those tears were for the child using her first name rather than her title, Mom. How awful. This poor child has to testify against her mom, and what's worse, that's after she tells a supposedly trusted therapist that her daddy said her mommy did and so she must have.

Sad. Pathetic. Enough to bring tears to anyone's eyes. Yet the uncaring prosecution attempts to say Ms. Craft is not acting like an adult by failing to control her emotions.

Which brings me to my next point. Controlling emotions. Seems to me, from the descriptions of the trial, the parents of these alleged victims are controlling their emotions rather well. During one pre-trial hearing, one parent controlled their emotions about the supposed abuse so well, they laughed hysterically as Ms. Craft came into the courtroom wearing jailhouse orange and chains. Okay, little history here. I, too have a child who accused a trusted adult of having sexually molesting her. I have been in a courtroom with that person dressed in jail clothing. And my only emotions were relief my child would never have to worry about their abuser again. One other, sadness my child experienced this awful crime. Oh yeah. One other emotion. The deep, abiding knowledge that if I ever ran into that woman again, I would beat her into a bloody pulp.

Political correctness aside, those were my gut reactions. No one could have stopped me. Laughing hysterically? Who are they kidding? It was at that point, reading about it in the news, when I decided Tonya Craft never molested those children. But I waited to make my voice heard until I read William L. Anderson's blogs because I live in Walker County, Georgia. My home is in the same judicial district as Ms. Craft. And, to my everlasting shame, I, too, afraid of those men persecuting...excuse me...prosecuting her. All of them are well known for their shenanigans in this area and none are the least bit sorry for the lives they have destroyed.

Tomorrow starts week 3 of the trial. Most of week 2 was prosecuterial overkill, better known as trash the defendant. I suppose we must listen to more of this drivel from witnesses that 'suddenly remembered vital information' when testifying for the prosecutor or 'don't know' when answering defense questions. Again. Sad. This is just so blatant, as if these men have no fear of reprisal.

And while they are destroying a good woman, I shall immerse myself in research for my latest teen social issue book. For this trial is far too full of what is wrong with our system to let lie. Consequences for those involved in the persecution...excuse me...prosecution of Tonya Craft are nowhere as bad as what they have already put her through and plan for her future. But maybe, somehow, somewhere, a fiction book most will say can never happen in real life will get people's attention.

Real Life versus Fiction

2010-04-24T11:10:00.000-04:00

North Georgia is experiencing what some call a rightful prosecution and others (most of the ordinary citizens) call an outright witch hunt. Some have even said one of the lead detectives in the case should write fiction rather than investigate crimes, so bad are his lies. Well, as a writer of fiction, I take offense at this comment. Fiction writers, as much as non-fiction writers, use real life when drawing up their stories. We research so much our middle names are research. Let one fact be wrong and we can find ourselves in a whole peck of trouble, the least being that no reputable publisher will look at our work.

That being said, I, for one, would never want any of the people responsible for prosecuting an innocent woman to detail their acts in a book or article. To see them chronicling their work where the world can stare in horror and thank their lucky stars they do not live near these people would sicken me beyond words. From the beginning, even before all the information came out in blogs, I never believed Tonya Craft guilty of child molestation. I am a children's writer and I in no way want to see her spend the rest of her life in prison for these supposed acts.

Why?

Tonya Craft is caught up in a good old boy network who is destroying her for nothing than good old fashioned revenge. As chronicled in William L. Anderson's blog postings since before the trial began, Ms. Craft suspected wrongdoing when her daughter visited her ex-husband and his much younger new wife. As a responsible parent, Ms. Craft took steps to ascertain this was true before making a formal accusation. Kudos to Ms. Craft. She did the right thing, perhaps the only adult involved in this scandal who has. The other players are not only guilty of criminal acts, admitted to in a court of law without fear of prosecution, they are guilty of destroying a good woman. To date, Ms. Craft has been arrested not once but twice for these charges. She has lost her job, as a kindergarten teacher, which she trained for over many years. She has lost her home because she had no job. She has lost her children; they are with the ex-husband and her daughter has not seen her mom for more than two years.

Shame on Lookout Mountain Judicial District. Shame on the judge for not recussing himself at the beginning of this farce when the defense requested he do so since he represented Ms. Craft's ex-husband in their divorce proceedings. Shame on the prosecutor for questioning Ms. Craft's sanity on his FaceBook page, and shame on all the prosecution witnesses who commented as his friends. Mostly, shame on the State of Georgia for not stopping this trial before it publicly destroyed the reputation of a good woman. Ms. Craft will never be able to hold her head up in any community where she lives after this is over. She may end up in prison for a few years but there are enough appeals to have her released sometime in the future.

What have I learned from this farce? Oh, a good young adult story. Reputations destroyed based on vindictive lies. A person literally fighting for her freedom and life. The system crashing around her and no one she once trusted supporting her. Yes, this will make a great work of fiction. Just like the trial that is costing taxpayers millions. In the end, who will pay.

Tonya Craft.

I support Tonya Craft's fight for freedom. Put the word out. Check out William L. Anderson's blog (in my blog roll) for the facts and let your voice be heard.

Rewriting and Revising

2010-03-13T06:25:00.000-05:00

Horrid, dreaded words every writer cringes when hearing. I worked so hard on my manuscript. Why should I rewrite or revise it? I can't tell everyone how much I've heard just those words, mostly from writers new to the game. Rewriting and revising is the major part of what we do. Creating the story is only like a very detailed outline. Then we must go through with red pencil and ruthlessly scratch out the chaff. We must also weigh each word for importance to plot movement. And all dialogue must sound natural. That being said, rewriting and revising is and will always be something I dread with every fiber of my being. I am a writer. Creativity is my middle name, along with research. But I learn so much about my stories during the rewriting and revising phase.

Take Secrets from the Flames, my current major rewrite project. This story started life as Earth Angel, about a teen seeking answers. Her answers weren't will my guy dump me or will the cool girls ever accept me. No, these answers have to do with a 50 year old mystery and clearing her family name of a scandal so old and horrid, no one believes her at first. Actually, at first, she believes what the town does. What teen wants to be different. So, Earth Angel limped along, an almost boiler plate story about a girl trying to do write in face of overwhelming odds. Then I saw the "Dear Lucky Agent" contest for March. Hmmm? Definitely a paranormal story with the ghosts and ghostly possession. Definitely a romance, a kind of Romeo and Juliet or maybe Hatfield and McCoy's type of romance (if any of the Hatfields or McCoys teens actually snuck around seeing each other before they signed their peace accord back in 2001). So, why not? I, after all, am a contest junkie. Show me a writing contest and I look through everything I have in an effort to find something suitable for it.

Thus began a journey to rewrite the entire first chapter of Secrets from the Flames, a journey I almost gave up on several times as too hard. But too hard is usually by battle cry. So, unexpected snow storms shutting schools for two consecutive days, leaving my bored teen driving me nuts had no impact on my creative wheels. They spun out of control, as out of control as wheels hitting the ice on our driveway one day. Running back and forth to school to help my teen prepare for his CRCTs (the state's annual assessment tests) only frustrated me and I made tons of notes in the journal I carry in my bag. And then finally, in the waning hours when I began to think I would never have anything good enough, the breakthrough came. The first 200 words set the scene of paranormal with a romance in the wings. The logline is one clear sentence that brings in all the elements of the story. All that's left is to blog about it and link the Guide to Literary Agents blog to mine. Done!

Therefore, let's go over the important elements of this contest, the third Lucky Agent contest run by Guide to Literary Agents blog.

1. The contest is live from February 27, 2010 to March 14, 2010. So, here I am at the last second ready to post. But it is the day before. If you're reading this prior to midnight March 14, 2010, and you have a great logline and first 200 words of a paranormal romance or urban fantasy young adult or adult novel, check out this link: http://www.guidetoliteraryagents.com/blog/default,month,2010-02.aspx Got that? Ready for step 2? Then let's go.

2. As stated previously, you need the first 150 to 200 words of your completed manuscript. Big emphasis on completed. Anything shorter or longer than the stated word count is not considered. Another big contest rule. Always follow the word or page count.

3. The contest is solely for completed works of urban fantasy or paranormal romance (adult or young adult). They have examples at the above link as to what those are. Good idea to check them out.

4. You can submit as many times as you want.

5. Contest is open to everyone of all ages except for a few people. They tell you all about it on the link.

The link also contains the email address where you have to send your work. So, without further ado, I must get on with my very busy day. But before I do anything else, I will send in this entry I labored over through many obstacles that only slowed me but never let me think of defeat more than once or twice, an hour

Another contest, another chance to put my work forward

2010-02-17T09:47:00.000-05:00

Okay, I'll admit it. I'm a writing contest junkie. Tell me about one, and if I have a manuscript applicable to the guidelines, I'll enter. That is if the fee isn't too outrageous or it's free. And this one is free. It's for young adult and middle grade stories, completed of course. Is there any other way to submit to a contest? My biggest worry is someone will call about a chapter I post to a contest and it's not finished, if I ever take that chance.

So, where is this contest you ask? Follow this link: http://www.guidetoliteraryagents.com/blog/Dear+Lucky+Agent+Contest+Middle+Grade+And+Young+Adult.aspx
and then read the rules well. You need a logline and the first 150 to 200 words. Then you have to either post twice on social media or post once and link to your blog. Okay, one requirement done here. Will post on FB later, and invite all my writer friends to submit.

What am I subbing? Well, during the 2008 NaNo writing experience, that is a month of pounding out a minimum of 50,000 words with more than a million other writers around the world, I managed to put out one of the most intense stories I had ever tried to that point. The entire 92,000 word novel (then) took me eight days of intense work, ignoring a house slowly succumbing to a Jurrasic era dust bunny, a child wanting me to listen to him practice his sax for the upcoming Christmas concert, Christmas shopping, even my loving hubbby to the point where he said goodbye as he was leaving for work and I was plotting out the high point. To say I put a hole in the ceiling, gave him a minor heart attack, and scared the life out of both of us screaming is an understatement. Since then, I've changed the story from third person past tense to first person present tense. It's even more intense and I'm hoping for a win in this contest, for a chance to have a professional critique done of my first 25 pages, to see if I'm on the right track.

So, like the title of this story, I'll Take A Chance.

Finding a bit of myself in my characters

2010-02-05T05:17:00.000-05:00

I've spent quite a bit of time lately seeing bits and pieces of myself in my characters but perhaps the strongest story so far involves a teen caught up in the middle of a high school with an increasing drinking problem. She's against it and those for it are the 'in crowd' the teens ready to do whatever it takes to continue their lifestyle. So, I wonder, as I take this story to its completion, if I am really ready to unleash so many of my insecurities on the world. Or maybe I should just give it a shot and see what comes of this.

My character learns how real life is when tragedy completely destroys her clique. I've learned this lesson far too many times. She fights back. I have, sometimes. Others, I set the action to story and provide a resolution I avoided. Maybe my imagination is setting me on a path to resolve unresolved issues in the same way my characters do.

Time shall see.

Busy - and exciting - month

2010-01-28T09:56:00.000-05:00

So, here I am preparing the first 500 words of Paradox Lost for entry into the KidLit contest, and hoping I get that first prize so I can figure out if this manuscript has possiblities before I start that slog through publishing houses, and I hear from a publisher. They want to see the full manuscript of The Landry Ghosties Tackle the Totally Baffling Silent Ghosts.

Woo Hoo!

Feet finally touched earth again. Did I give up on this contest (check here: http://kidlit.com/kidlit-contest/) to concentrate on just that manuscript? Never. Not in my genes. Give me more work than is possible to do in one day and I'm in seventh heaven. Push me to the limits while also throwing tons of son's extra activities at me and I'm happy. Upshot is I'm sending off both the contest entry and full manuscript this AM.

My fondest hope in this new month of a new year is that both are successful. Here we go!

So long gone. Did you miss me?

2010-01-04T10:42:00.003-05:00

I just realized I haven't blogged in ages. What a waste! But holidays and post-NaNo blues caught up to me. Am I working on a new project? Not in a real sense but a couple are simmering in my head. What I am doing is reworking a couple of current projects and getting contest entries and submissions ready to go out. The most interesting is one at kidlit.com. Posting the first 500 words of a finished MG or YA novel for a professional read. Winner gets a critique. Yes! Sounds very interesting. I have a couple of things that might work there. Will have to check out what state they're in and push myself to get them ready.

Are you intereseted in this? Go to http://kidlit.com/kidlit-contest/ and find out all the pertinent information. I only have to do a couple more things to qualify. Ask a question on one of the blog entries and go over what I want to send with the finest tooth comb that exists. Opportunity knocks. I never leave the door unanswered.

Another year, another win

2009-12-01T05:49:00.004-05:00

But this year I celebrate with the many friends I made in several new groups, and a few old friends. We all worked hard through family visits, turkey coma, and nay-sayers. Anyone that even attempts NaNo is a winner. To make 50,000 words is even better.

NaNo Day 27

2009-11-27T13:06:00.001-05:00

Technically, I finished last weekend, when I decided my third novel wouldn't finish. Okay, I could have included what I did write in the final word count. But it just didn't feel right. Kind of like a cheat. The book wasn't done. It needed more help than I could give it to revive the plot. That was due to poor planning, a natural disaster (we were part of the September flooding), and a family issue that ripped me away from my usual prep concentration. Long story short? Total NaNo Word Count 126,114. A respectable finish. More than twice the minimum word count.
I downloaded my certificates last night. NaNoWriMo 2009 is finished for me. But NaNoWriMo 2010 has already started.

NaNo Day 22

2009-11-22T09:57:00.002-05:00

Ah, what a difference 24 hours makes. As I looked at High Hopes today, I realized I had not done enough plotting. The world where my main character lives lacks so much. So...not quitting. Just putting back on the shelf for next year, while I create this world and all its rules. But I won't give up on a third NaNo project just yet. There is still a week until final countdown. And I have this cute middle grade idea all plotted out. Hmmmm?

NaNo Day 21

2009-11-21T08:58:00.002-05:00

And I'm on the big push. High Hopes moves forward 4440 words today. Totals looking better. Here they are: Paradox Lost - 76,004, Blaze - 50,057, High Hopes - 20,007! Three more days like this and I can count another successful year NaNoing.

NaNo Day 20

2009-11-20T09:52:00.003-05:00

Okay. Getting there. The middle is sagging badly but I can fix that over the next year. Totals for today are: Paradox Lost - 76004, Blaze - 50,057, High Hopes - 15,567. NaNo to date total: 141,628 - a rise of 2,689 words today. Just have to keep that up and I'll finish.

Shameless Self Promotion

2009-11-20T07:52:00.003-05:00

And what else is a blog for if not shameless self promotion? When I started November, I swore all I would blog about was NaNo. After all, that's been my November for five years now. But first there was the querytracker.net contest. And I made it. Only 70 of us and it only took 20 minutes to close that contest. Now, I find out I've been published in Frontier Tales. Woo Hoo! Check out my take on why Morgan Earp's ghost haunts Campbell & Hatches Saloon in Tombstone at http://frontiertales.com/ The story is titled Brothers Under the Skin.

NaNo Day 19

2009-11-19T11:16:00.003-05:00

Frustration is really biting my ankles. My third project is moving so slowly I'm beginning to despair finishing all of them this year. That'll be a first. But I plan to do a major write in, hiding in my office all weekend, to catch up so I can finish by Tuesday at 12:15. Why then? Well, it only takes 15 minutes to drive to son's school and he's out for Thanksgiving break then. So, I have to be done. A teen in the house is not an inducement to finish writing. To date I have a total of 138,939 words. Paradox Lost - 76004, Blaze - 50,057, High Hopes - 12,878. And I'm thinking about changing that title to Lost Cause. It's the only one I can't get into.

NaNo Day 18

2009-11-18T08:10:00.002-05:00

And I'm on a roll. Didn't do much in word count today but I finally have the characters, or most of them, figured out. The others will come as their part becomes clear to the story line. Now, I'm ready to start on the middle, and make sure it doesn't sag. That'll be fun but I think I can do it. Goal for finishing is still next Tuesday. Total word count: Paradox Lost - 76,004, Blaze - 50,057, High Hopes - 11,703 for a NaNo count of 137,764.

Yahoo!

NaNo Day 17

2009-11-17T11:53:00.001-05:00

Ah, figured out why I struggled so hard with this one. Had to go back to the beginning and flesh out the characters. It's a wonderful method of filling in spots where things slow down. With that in mind, and a new chapter 2 in addition to an expanded chapter 1 for High Hopes, I moved forward almost 3,000 words today in this last goal. Totals: Paradox Lost - 76,004, Blaze - 50,057, High Hopes - 9,106. It's moving slower than the rest but I'm starting to hear my main character telling me her story. And what a story it is. I only hope my fingers can keep up with her as she relates how she comes to save the world, condemned by a relative 100 years earlier.

NaNo Day 16

2009-11-16T10:30:00.001-05:00

Real life intrudes. I did get some words down today but not as much as I wanted to. But the dust build up in the house positively demanded I do something about it. So, Paradox Lost and Blaze are done. They're in the annals of NaNo history. But High Hopes is going slowly. Have to get my head back into this story. Word count to date: Paradox Lost - 76004, Blaze - 50057, High Hopes - 6328. Yippee! My total NaNo count is 132389. And fourteen more days of writing to finish my personal goals. Life is good.

NaNo Day 15

2009-11-15T12:18:00.001-05:00

Day 15 stats. Wrists and fingers feel awful. Pain. Incredible pain. Rest of me is cheering and jumping up and down. My marathon sessions have finished Blaze. Total NaNo count for first 15 days of November is 131,161. So ready to dive into final project tomorrow. High Hopes really describes my feelings for achieving my NaNo goals this year.

NaNo Day 14

2009-11-14T11:40:00.001-05:00

Day 14 brings a tough scene, even tougher situation, but I handled all and plodded on. Blaze increased by more than 7,000 words. My NaNo total now is 120,486. Phew, I was not sure I could do that much today. Not on schedule yet but I'm hoping I'll finish my projects now before my son gets out of school for the Thanksgiving holidays.

NaNo Day 13

2009-11-13T11:51:00.002-05:00

And I'm off and running with Blaze. Figured out the first chapter was too lean to help me at the ending. I needed much more to motivate me to bring in the emotions and backdrop of this futuristic fantasy. Did almost 8000 words today, bringing my overall total to 113,912

NaNo Day 12

2009-11-12T09:48:00.003-05:00

Another slow day. This one is really taking it out of me. Maybe because of all the outside stuff influencing my writing time. For the first time ever during NaNo, I have broken vehicles, child acting out, and horror of horrors, those close to me demanding I slow down. Not happening. However, I did manage to do more than 2,000 words today. Blaze is now at an outstanding 25, 849 words bringing my NaNo total to 106,953. Tomorrow, I promise, I will make it through the sub climax and maybe the climax. Who knows? Maybe I'll actually finish this thing so I can get a rough draft done on High Hopes. Then I can go back and add detail - the one thing that's holding me up now.

NaNo Day 11

2009-11-11T10:20:00.002-05:00

And I'm back on track. The characters are singing in my head again. The story is coming alive. Parts are still blank but that'll fill in when I'm editing. Today's installment of Blaze brings my total to 1104,928 for the month. Behind a bit still but catching up fast. Hopefully, I can finish the middle tomorrow and move onto the sub climax and climax Friday. Then it's down to the big finish Saturday. Sunday will see me celebrating my son turning 14 and starting on the middle of High Hopes. And I do have high hopes for finishing all three projects for NaNo this year.

What was I thinking?

2009-11-10T21:10:00.003-05:00

Or maybe the better title is what in the world did I just do? Well, I found not one but two YA Novel contests...but both were subbed during November. November. The month of NaNo. The month when I throw all caution to the winds and write my heart out, trying to speed write several novels I then spend the next year rewriting. So, I'm busier than Santa on Christmas Eve during November.

But...and it's a big but...I decided to push my well known limits just a little further. I can say when you're posting a contest (250 words of 1st chapter for one contest, synopsis and first five pages for the other) during days when you're already overwhelmed, your mind starts to play tricks on you. And play tricks my mind certainly did. I could not get into my NaNo stuff. No way. Going slow. Editing the life out of my submissions. Coming close to beating up the keyboard to try to make some sense. And the upshot?

I posted the first contest this afternoon. One agent and five editors at major publishing houses will read that one. Oh, I so hope someone's really impressed enough to want much more. Then at nine o'clock tonight, with millions of other young adult writers all across the country, I went for the querytracker.net contest. Only 70 get in. Just 70. I sat at my computer from 8:45 on. At 8:59, I entered my log in information. Then waited for 9:00 and just a few seconds. Didn't want to be caught up in what I was sure would be a logjam of folks getting on right away. Submission screen came up immediately. I put in the information, making sure everything was absolutely perfect. Checked three more times. Blew a kiss for good luck. Then clicked on submit and crossed my fingers. It went! Yippee! I'm one of the 70. Win in this contest is a request for a full manuscript with Anna Webman of Curtis Adams.

Do I have a chance? Oh, I hope so. All I know now is that I'm really ready to dive into the rest of my NaNo work and hope I won't slow down until the certificate prints out.

NaNo Day 11

2009-11-10T09:42:00.003-05:00

Oh, the woes of a rainy day. All I want to do is sleep. Lovely sleep. But I managed to shove out one chapter of Blaze, well under what I planned. I'll have to do better tomorrow or I'll never finish. Today's totals with Blaze's miserable 18,183 words is 99,287. Tomorrow I will do better. I swear it.

NaNo Day 10

2009-11-09T10:50:00.005-05:00

And it's off to the races with Blaze. Well into what a couple of boys at my son's school called the boring part. Can't get their words out of my head. Working hard to make my middles as interesting as the beginning, climax, and ending. Real work there. Learning how to blend description and action while NaNoing. Today's total count 98183. Paradox Lost remains at 76004 while High Hopes rests at 5100. Blaze jumped up to 17079. Hoping tomorrow will bring an end to the middle and I can move into the subclimas. Outlined that well. It should only take a day to write.

NaNo Day 8

2009-11-08T08:47:00.001-05:00

And it's slow today. The words won't come but I'm not worried. I did fix the ending of Paradox Lost, bringing that word count to 76,004. Blaze added a new chapter for a total of 13021. High Hopes remains the same at 5100. Total NaNo count only eight days in? 94,125.

NaNo Day 7

2009-11-07T08:45:00.001-05:00

As always, I came to a decision point as the first week of NaNo drew to a close. The three projects I decided to do were slowing. The characters stopped speaking to me. I was taking on too much and worried I would not finish. Then the solution presented itself as I struggled with going on, of not quitting in my fifth year.

I would break up the projects, complete them one at a time. That being said, Blaze begins the intense writing tomorrow. On the fifteenth, the day my youngest has his fourteenth birthday, I'll do the same with High Hopes. But Paradox Lost, my fantasy novel about time travel and fantastic powers, took all my attention yesterday and this morning.

So, word counts. Paradox Lost has The End on it with a grand total of 75,828 words. Blaze and High Hopes remain the same from yesterday. NaNo to date is at 92,441.

Will I finish in time? Sure will, and probably with about fifteen days left to think about a middle grade project I have simmering on the back burner.

NaNo Day 6

2009-11-06T11:03:00.003-05:00

Okay, on track. Real life is in the background thanks to my number four son. Paradox Lost heads for the finale with a grand total today of 58,704 words. Blaze is flaming along with 11,513 words. High Hopes struggles with only 5,100 words but I know it will break out of its rut next week. Yeah, the weekend promises several things and I only hope I can do it.

NaNo Day 5

2009-11-05T11:41:00.001-05:00

And the battle to finish three novels in 30 days continues. Took much longer to achieve goals today but I managed. High Hopes came in at the least with a total of 4,560 words. Blaze took off as the characters came alive with 9528 written so far. Paradox Lost, my tale of time travel and fantastic abilities is now at 50,722 words. What will tomorrow bring? Better, I can only hope.

NaNo Day 4

2009-11-04T06:23:00.003-05:00

And the push is now on. After fighting for every word since this year's NaNo started Sunday at 12:01 AM, I am now into the stories. And working all three of those I plan to complete at the stame time. Paradox Lost was the main focus for the first couple of days and is now at 45,999 words. Almost at the sub-climax there so I'm thinking it'll come in at around 80,000 words. That's only for the first draft.

Blaze is now at 5757 words. And the twist that came up after I did all my careful outlining is holding water. The story expands, with new twists and turns. It's more about the people involved than the powers they wield, but what a group of dysfunctional people. Kind of reminds of my own family growing up. And in my dictionary in this particular story, there is a picture of that group next to the definition of dysfunctional.

High Hopes is now taking on a life of its own, after I added a chapter near the begining. At only 3292 words, I'll have to really concentrate on this one next week while finishing up Blaze. Here's hoping I'll have Paradox Lost complete by Sunday, so I can get the others done.

And if there's time. Well, there always is time, isn't there? I have two other stories outlined and sitting in the wings. Let the push head into full gear.

NaNo day 3

2009-11-03T06:58:00.002-05:00

Better. Decided to work only two projects this first week. But I know I'll be back in full swing next week. So, Paradox Lost moved forward 8580 words today. Blaze came in at a steaming 1850 words. Total done this AM 10430 for an updated NaNo count of 50,181. A personal best. I've never finished the minimum word count so fast before. But I know serious editing is in my future.

NaNo day 2

2009-11-02T08:52:00.003-05:00

OMG! I can't believe it. Year five may be when I don't finish. I know. Only day 2, but I'm just super tired. Can't think. Can't stop yawing. Can't do much at all. Book 1, got 7217 finished; book 2 only 316; book 3, nada. Can you imagine that? Only 39,751 so far. What have I done wrong? I know! It's time to kick the cat out of the bed so he doesn't spend half the night playing.

NaNo Number 5

2009-11-01T09:52:00.004-05:00

And I started strong. More than 32,000 words in the first day. Paradox Lost, my tale of a time travel paradox, came in at the best with 28,014. Blaze, a fantasy novel about weather controlling abilities, was next with 2,343 words. High Hopes, a ghost story with a mystery, is third with 1,861 words. Can I keep going? Only time will tell.

NaNoWriMo

2009-10-27T09:48:00.002-04:00

Another year has come to pass. Almost. I've spent a good part of the last ten months preparing for my fifth NaNo and right at the last second found myself facing a conundrum. Do I continue with the three projects I've worked so hard to prepare or do I dump one so I can be a part-time NaNo Rebel to revise a project that came back from a contest in the last week?

The answer to this question eluded me until I started to look at the project. It's hot. It's good. It really is a good YA fantasy. And Claudia Gabel was right. The voice is right on target. So, I'm a part-time NaNo Rebel in addition to pounding out two new projects.

The first, Blaze, explores a growing natural problem. Do I answer questions such as is it due to global warming? Nope. Not going there. All I want to do with this story is explore a young woman's supernatural ability to control this event and her unwillingness to ever do that again, since the first and only other time she did it, too many people died. Designed for older young adults, or even people who just like a good story, I hope to bring about all the nuances I've built into the outline.

The second, High Hopes, has a multi-generational family blowing it big time against their competitors in trying to end a century old problem. Only everyone uses curses and counter-curses designed to blow up. Literally. And a manmade black hole starts chewing up northwest Georgia. Setting my stories where I live has been my favorite place for the longest time. And now I have to go against science and give a teen the ability to end the confusion, as soon as she figures out if all the people grabbed by this black hole are worth it. Are they? No, but she has to overcome her initial reluctance and remember the greater good. One can hope she does, since her worst enemy is trying to make things worse.

And the final project, Paradox Lost, tracks a young man as he finishes his education. DJ has many issues in his life, not the least is that he feels responsible for his twin's death almost a year earlier. Did he actually kill his twin? No, but that doesn't help. He was always the one to go with their dad before but stayed behind. A war is heating up between Travelers and Rogues, leaving DJ caught in the middle. His dad is caught in another, long before his birth, and dying of injuries inflicted during a calamity. If his dad does die, will DJ have ever existed? He is the True Neutral, the one designated to change Traveling, to forge a new relationship with WormHoles. How can he do that if he disappears? Who will stand up against the men and women determined to control the world?

Claudia Gabel, you rock. Your few words on how to improve just the first chapter have pushed me to expand this novel into a fantasy worth reading. Revisions are going ahead full steam as I plan out new scenes, improved characters, and an edge that will keep the reader turning the page until the end. I only hope I can do this right.

So, onto the final planning, the housecleaning I can't accomplish while I'm tied to the laptop, and the family who will demand my attention but I can't comply with their wishes. NaNo is here again and I'm more than ready to dive into it.

Wet, Wild, and Wow

2009-09-27T06:03:00.003-04:00

I've heard far too many times how writers should write about what we experience. Our characters are richer for the experiences. The depths of plot and story draw on those experiences to draw in the reader to the highs and lows. To that end, I find myself drawn to document the recent floods in Georgia and Tennessee along with family dynamics into a tale of growth and revelation, of pain and loss.

How much hardness does a character need to evolve into someone relating a compelling story? Does that character need to find a toughness to deal with a harsh world? Can he/she retain some of the innocence where a belief in family remains even though he/she knows with absolute certainty nothing can go back to the illusion he/she lost?

A new tale forms in my head as I clean up from the waters that ripped through my home this month. The same pain and loss of illusionment strengthens my character as I develop her likes and dislikes, her hopes and dreams, her acceptance of a situation far beyond her control. Where it will go is anyone's guess at this point but I feel somewhere deep within her she will find acceptance at some point and become a person ready to take on a world consumed with shallow goals but remain someone dedicated to following her dreams.

September - Fall is here

2009-09-04T06:49:00.003-04:00

September brings football, cooler weather, and a promise of a brighter future. But the fingers are faltering. The characters are on vacation. How can I do anything with no voices chattering in my head.

The thought of losing my characters should scare me but I feel something big coming down. And it's probably NaNo. Ah, November is right around the corner. I have three projects on the list of we can do it. The first is fantasy, about a teen scared of her own shadow but the only salvation of her town as a black-hole creation of her family's swallows everything. The second is a salute to NaNoWriMo's young writer's program. And you thought you'd seen every vampire twist there was. No more here. This one I want to savor. Finally, one about the evolution of tornados and fires into fire-nados. The greenhouse effect affects on this phenomenon and a young woman's journey from pariah to hero comes out of a deep desire to blend action and a bit of science fiction into an action/adventure book appealing to not only teens but also the twenty-somethings.

What a chance...

2009-08-18T10:03:00.001-04:00

I received one of those rare rejection letters last week. Everyone yearns for one. The letter that answers why that particular editor didn't accept our work enough to request the rest of the manusciprt. The editor in question outlined how she felt the voice of my character didn't come through right away. Excited, my mind whirled with possiblities of how to fix the problem. This would require many hours of rewriting, editing, tossing, more rewriting, editing, and tossing. Thanks to her, I believe I have the right mixture and am ready to move on to the next submission.

Fingers crossed...

Can an antagonist change to helping the main character?

2009-08-10T13:13:00.002-04:00

What a deep question for a Monday, a day devoted to reveling in youngest back at school and a completely quiet house. Yet, as I work through the first draft of my current YA, I find myself wondering if letting four characters my very alone MC thinks of as the pack become her supporters rather than her detractors is right - or is it right at this point. Okay, timing is everything, along with pacing, but it just plain feels right. Maybe I'll have some of the good, old buddy feelings back off as the middle progresses, taking it through to the sub-climax where my gal is forced into a do or die decision and then have those erstwhile friends realize their secrets can in no way be worse than the reason she made the wrong choice.

Hmmm? Deep thinking. Must mull this over with chocolate.

Is it a story? Or is it another good idea

2009-08-03T06:49:00.003-04:00

How do we tell if we have a good story or a fantastic idea? Where do we draw the line about how to plot a new book or whether we should tread the waters of short fiction, where the odds of selling that grow smaller by the day?

The newest YA project I undertook seemed so under control. I had a great premise. It's supported by fact and my characters were so proud to join my stable. Then, right as the beginning was winding down, as I headed for the middle (the part of the story, I learned last spring while working a book fair at my local middle school, where the kids just wish we wouldn't write! They told me those parts were boring!), the story seemed to fold. A cure? I went back over the beginning, fleshed out the characters a bit more, and as it headed for the middle, added a bit more tension for the protagonist, something she (and I) never expected.

Will this go to the end? What will my girl do now? Is it possible to even construct a story where the character breaks the law but does it for what she thinks are good reasons, all the while struggling with serious inner conflict? Only time shall tell.

A new tale demanding I tell it

2009-07-20T16:33:00.005-04:00

Okay, I've played with ghost stories before but always for children. Never once have I contemplated a paranormal romance story but...well...maybe now is the time. Paranormal romance often evokes of a ghost in love with a living human. Or maybe vamps doing their thing. Okay, I'm so over the vamp thing. There are too many vampire stories out there right now to even consider it. As for ghosts falling in love? Bleh! Not happening from the twist queen.

What am I working on? Well, this young woman, about 25, returns to her hometown. They hate her. Hate her with a purple-eyed passion. Seems she failed them seven years earlier when she couldn't identify a serial killer called The Wraith. Nope, he's not a ghost. Very human. Very nasty. So rank he'll kill a skunk in full bloom. She suspects who it is. There are forty...oops, forgot now forty-one victims of this murderer but the cops have only found five.

Really creepy part? The early twist? All these women could be my main character's twin. And they're all pestering her to tell the cops who killed them, but none of them will say his name. See, it seems they believe he'll add more to their ranks if they do. I haven't explained why these ancillary characters, most of whom will never have names, think that but I'll sure figure it out before the end. For now, I have another Southern fried romance going. This one is a paranormal with suspense elements. Dig in!

Warmer weather...Hotter writing

2009-07-09T15:23:00.003-04:00

Not working new but reworking old this month. Usually, I start my research for my NaNo project but I'm going to go with something I looked into years back so I can wait to do all the organizing on that until after school starts in August.

July, lovely, hot, humid, July has evolved into revising a project I tried to do a couple of years back but nothing ever came together. It has now. The characters formed so much better when I narrowed their world down and brought out the relationships earlier in the book. The first chapter is still giving me fits but I think I'll get that down in the next go around.

For now, edits demand my attention - changing those negatives to positives this time. Then it's a rest while I kick out a couple of short stories that I can't get out of my head.

Another month closes

2009-06-29T16:04:00.002-04:00

And I feel closer to some characters, let down others have yet to live up to their potential, and ready to take on more challenges. What have I learned this month? That I do have the ability to pick out pieces of those around me, to dredge up some of the horrors from years past and distill them into a cohesive story, and mostly, that I have the power to continue working on something no matter how intense it gets, or how much it affects me.

So, another lesson. I actually figured out how to do a first draft of a synopsis. This very vital part of submitting has always eluded me. Sure, I wrote them. All writers do. But mine stank. And that was putting it mildly. Then a thought came to me. I had the five elements of a synopsis: hook, book's beginning, conflict main character faces, how he/she resolves conflict, ending. Okay, how hard is it to put that into one page? Oh, much harder than anyone realizes. See, writing is about description, it's about dialogue that moves the plot forward while sounding normal, it's about getting all this into a format that will attract a reader. Now they tell me they want it all shoved into a single page? GET REAL!

Well, I'm not in a position to change an editor's mind. Don't want to now that I've learned what the synopsis does. I painstakingly sat down and wrote one out before my current project ever saw its first critique. Why? Because I wanted my first impressions, my initial thoughts as part of this process. It still needs tons of work but I feel I have taken an important step toward being able to write one of these without developing a migraine and pulling out my hair then having someone tell me it stinks. Oh, yes, I have mastered the synopsis! Hooray!

The ultimate goal...what is it?

2009-06-18T20:30:00.005-04:00

As I push myself to discover my characters as I write their stories, I also discover more about my life, things I've forgotten, things I never wanted to remember. So it goes with my current project.

I never wanted to relive some of the more painful moments from high school. Who does? Is it not more convenient to gloss over them, pretend to the popularity, the elitism that marked a successful school career? Who wants to admit they stood on the outside looking in, yet do not those things mark a person as strong as they make their way in an uncaring world?

So many now say world events age children before they really enjoy life. To them, I say phoeey. Sure, I depend on my children to show me the way as I wade through teen lingo but I also find myself leaning more and more heavily on the events of my childhood to find the true emotions. The current teen problems tied to relationships and other problems aren't new, they're only cloaked with new technology bringing out their consequences much faster. And so, I blend the old and the new, show the problems come from both sides of the generation gap (and have now marked myself from that particular generation), and find a solution more twenty-first century than twentieth, yet one that is fitting for both.

May we all look on our younger years with less jaded eyes and remember...take a deep breath and softly say goodbye.

New Project, Same Problems

2009-06-13T08:04:00.005-04:00

Or not. Whenever I start something new it's like I have a million things to do, and I don't mean on that project. I have home issues dragging me away from writing. I have other projects demanding my attention. Mostly, I wonder if I have the concentration to begin anew running through me. The first few days, chapters, are difficult at best. Distracting at worst as I begin to get to know my characters.

Yet, this project is far closer to home than I've ever done. The antagonist has the same issues of some of those around me. The protagonist closely resembles another near me. Am I too close to the issue? Do I have to back off, release the anger and pain I feel in order to write a cohesive book or should I transfer those emotions to my main character, giving her a strength beyond her years at the end, as she untangles her life and becomes almost rabid about preventing another accident like the one she survived? So many questions, maybe that's my milieu, to have the questions and find the answers. Time shall tell as I plot out this novel.

A new month, new goals, new obstacles

2009-06-04T18:31:00.003-04:00

Ah, June. A new month to accomplish new goals, to figure out how to improve my work so I can find that elusive contract, to take other steps to meet my ultimate goal of publishing a book.

One way I've figured out how to catch an editor's attention, to make my work more saleable, one I already knew, was reading books similar to mine. In other words, I needed more young adult fiction. Well, going to the library is definitely out. In addition to competing with teens doing their summer reading lists, I also have to bump right into the buying program. Believe me, our library depends heavily on donations, and they don't care what century they were printed in. Most of the stuff in the juvenile section is extremely old. Frustration sets in. I sure can't buy any more books since I blew the book budget for the year already. Just had to have the next installment of Michael Scott's Nicholas Flamel series. It's as good if not better than the Harry Potter books. Also, my youngest, a teen now, really wanted the last of Rick Riordan's Olympian series plus the Demigod Files, a kind of go along that explains all the unusual creatures in the series.

Now, just how would I figure out a way to read all those teen books and figure out what special element is missing from my work? Well, I found it. In http://www.bookdaily.com/ I choose what books I want to look over (all young adult fiction, since that's my focus now) and they e-mail me the first chapter every day.

I have to admit. The first few days I was about to toss out everything I'd ever done. I knew the Twilight series was hot now. I'd heard vampire books were hot now, but I never imagined they were quite that hot. To quote another writer friend: It amazes me that vampires seem to be a new metaphor for young love--a pairing that literally sucks the life out of the participants leaving them catatonic for eternity. Has our culture allowed the concept of love to evolve into such a dismal thought? I guess it is not any worse than believing that one day a prince will come and allow a girl to live happily ever after. Enough with vampires already!! Thank you, Dottie, for expressing my thoughts so eloquently.

However, I decided to plod through all the overdone vampire plots and look for the hidden nuggets within the chaff. And I found it. I discovered I'd found the right formula all along. Blend the sometimes boring descriptions into the action. Make them part of the plot, a reason for being. With that in mind, I've reworked a non-moving young adult novel into someting I hope will attract attention, sent to my local SCBWI contest, and am now reworking a historical fiction story about a girl who dreams of riding for the Pony Express. Slow going, that one, since I have to make sure I have all the facts right, but I think it will come out right in the end.

June goals? Submit new stories, look over a couple of magazines that accept fiction and maybe develop some stories for them, work on two already plotted books I've had on the back burner forever, and finish outlining a new story my daughter inspired me to write by one of her Facebook postings. Oh, and finally get a meeting together of local writers. The last one, I think, will be the hardest to accomplish.

MAYO - In Retrospect

2009-05-31T05:39:00.002-04:00

The last day of May. A little over a month ago, I heard about a challenge to write at least 20,000 words. They could be new, revisions, or rewrites. NaNoWriMo rules didn't apply. The only pressure as to how much or how little I did, or if I even participated, was up to me. Well, I'm not one to give up a challenge I see as reachable, so I decided to go for it.

Now, on the last day of the month, I can proudly say a good friend's challenge gave what I'd needed for so long - a kick in the tutu to start the first drafts of a six book saga. I'd talked about it with her. We'd brainstormed it over many email sessions. No one could say it was a new idea. Even modern television had approached my demons in some way or another, but it was something I had to do. Maybe no one will ever pick it up. That does't matter, I had to write it.

In addition to finishing the first two books of The Horseman Saga, I also rewrote a Southern mystery with a major romance element, an adult book. Another urge I had to itch, another story I'd thought of for a long time. It's now in the first draft stage, ready for me to expand or delete the scenes.

Do I have more than enough to occupy me for the next year? Sure. I could probably skip NaNo this year but I won't. June promises to bring long days going over my research while I also finish the last four first drafts for The Horseman Saga and start a second Southern mystery for adults. Then I have a couple of things to put out to publishers. No one can say I didn't try to find a contract this year.

So onward and upward. I won't post as often until November, but I will continue trekking to that elusive goal of a contract for one of my books.

MAYO Day 30

2009-05-30T11:30:00.003-04:00

Waa! Hoo! Goals met for this month in new work. Three projects started. Three projects finished. Final word count for Renegade Marshal, daily: 3071, for the month: 54013. All three? 158989! Again, not as good as my NaNo projects last year but I wasn't going for that. I know I'll really do November well now.

MAYO Day 29

2009-05-29T20:24:00.006-04:00

The end is in sight. I can see the last three chapters clearly in my head and will plot them out tomorrow. Renegade Marshal has cemented the relationship between Jackie and Hope. They now realize their feelings for the other but don't know they share them. So word counts. Renegade Marshal for the day came in at 3329 words. For the month at 50942. Total for all books: 153918. Oh well, not as good as last November's NaNo but still good.

MAYO Day 28

2009-05-28T13:12:00.004-04:00

I won't say back in the saddle again but my characters sure surprised me today. Just when I thought I'd wind down the story, get it ready for the ending, they threw a twist at me and I'm now scrambling to pick up the pieces tomorrow. But I did well today, taking the story to within seven chapters of finishing. Word count for the day - 3564. Book to date - 47613. All three books to date - 150589. Yes, I can see a stellar finish coming.

MAYO Day 27

2009-05-27T18:54:00.004-04:00

Well, day 27 only produced 2 chapters but I'm heading for the end with the series plot strings dangling nicely and the story lines closing up. Poor Jackie, I just threw him a twist he needs to think about all night before he comes up with an answer for what I've done to him. Hope's running on empty but determined to figure out what the demons have in store for her next. I can only hope she can swim long enough for Jackie to overcome his problems because she'll sure need him soon.

Word count today a measly 1295 but some very important turns of events. Total for the book: 43300. Total for the month on all three books: 146025. If all goes well tomorrow, I might wind this one up with a lot of editing and revising to do when I get into that.

MAYO Day 26

2009-05-26T13:32:00.003-04:00

Winding down. The story is finishing. I see the light at the end of the tunnel, I have the last chapter firmly in my mind, and all it needs are the elements between sketched out. I say sketeched because I firmly believe that all first drafts, even one done during power writing months, to be nothing more than an outline, to be expanded further, with far more detail, long after they're written.

On that end of things, great writing day. Storms battering us gave me tons of time to spend inside my story. Ended up with 4275 words for the day, bringing Renegade Marshal's total to 42005 and the three book total to 144730. Chanting I can do it from now until the 31st.

MAYO Day 25

2009-05-25T15:05:00.002-04:00

Another slow day but I'm plotting the next section in my head and didn't want to move back to the present without getting it right. I know I'll stay up all night going over this but I hope to get a ton done tomorrow. There are only 13 more chapters planned in this part of my epic, so I want to close out the Hope learns about Jackie, and how much she can trust him, but also set up the next story.

So, words today were 2972. Total for the book this month? 37730. Total for all three books this month? 140455. Probably won't do as well as NaNo last November. My brain purely hurt after doing almost 180000 words in 30 days, but I know I'll have a good start on a story that's kept me on tenterhooks for a couple of years.

MAYO Day 24

2009-05-24T20:37:00.002-04:00

Moved the story forward, threw in one of my infamous twists, and my male character is about to jump out of his skin. Today's installment of Renegade Marshal came in at 3100 words. Total for the month: 34757. Total words for the month: 137483.

MAYO Day 23

2009-05-23T16:40:00.002-04:00

Hello, blogging world, or those few folks I have reading this. I bet you thought I forgot to post today. Nope. Just another way to motivate myself. See, I wasn't getting enough done with my desktop inviting me to waste time on the net, so it's back to the laptop I deliberately keep disconnected from distraction.

Then I discovered I'd miscounted. So, today's installment of Renegade Marshal got going. Four chapters in the first draft stage, added to those I already have. I might have a chance of putting the end on this one, if I motivate a bit more tomorrow. Final counts?
Renegade Marshal - daily: 5367. Month-to-date total? 31657. Total for Cursed by a Pale Horse: 23,236 in May (and I promise I won't cheat here). Total for Deadly Trust: 76,490. Overall total for the month? 134,383. That's more like it. And I'll keep those numbers handy, so I don't get lost again.

Tomorrow promises more time for writing and less for mundane household chores. When the dust rises from the carpet, it's time to do something about it. Moving isn't in the cards. A maid won't come up my driveway, therefore I must clean. All sparkling now so I can devote another week to pushing myself to the max.

MAYO Day 22

2009-05-22T10:18:00.002-04:00

Well, today was a surprise. Just when I expected to get moving, to start on the middle and reveal a couple of plot points that have hung in the air for a while, and I just couldn't. The old brain cells couldn't get past all the drama in my real life over the last couple of weeks. This is my poorest showing yet. Daily word count 552. I'm not even going to update the book and total until I get really going again.

Blah! Time to drive all these distractions out of my mind. I will prevail! The battle cry echoing in my head, I'm about to clean house - literally and figurtively.

MAYO Day 21

2009-05-21T07:04:00.002-04:00

Well, getting there. Almost halfway done with Renegade Marshal. The tension goes up for Jackie as he has to decide between comforting Hope or going after his sister. His character, as a nineteenth century marshal given a sacred duty, is becoming very clear. Now I just have to define Hope's a bit better.

Word count for today: 1786. Total for book: 32239. Total for month on all three books: 115905. It's time to put my butt in chair and really dive into this one. Only ten days left to finish this one and start on number 3!

MAYO Day 20

2009-05-20T09:17:00.002-04:00

Well, today produced 2 chapter that went surprisingly fast once I got started. Renegade Marshal added 2430 words with a to date total of 30453 and a monthly total for all three projects of 113475 words.

I find myself getting to know Jackie Ryan so well in this book. While Hope has a meltdown and reacts like most modern teens would when faced with something out of her ability to handle, he's ready to jump into the fray, do anything it takes to protect those he's sworn to help. But he's now at a conundrum. Two need his assistance. Both have the more important need. He doesn't know what to do, so I'll have to let his pickle stew for a while, until tomorrow morning, so I can explore it right.

MAYO Chapter 19

2009-05-19T08:21:00.000-04:00

Still slow work but this is the set up time for the main action of the book in addition to blending in the series plot. Boy, I'd never realized how hard that can be. Renegade Marshal grew by 1147 words today, bringing the book's total up to 28023 and the month's total to 111045.

MAYO Day 18

2009-05-18T09:16:00.002-04:00

Renegade Marshal took one of my infamous twists today, and I even managed to surprise myself with it. My MC is now stuck in a time prison, a punishment for trying to give up on her quest. Not that she didn't have a good reason. What seventeen-year-old wants to give up malls, cell phones, and fun for boring old duty. Will she learn? I'm about to find out over the next week as I bring this story to a climax and Hope begins to understand her duty.

Today's installment of 1308 words brings me to 26876 total for the book and 109898 for the three I've worked on. It truly is a fun thing pushing myself so hard. Now, it's time to do those mundane household things that constantly interrupt my fun.

MAYO Day 17

2009-05-17T09:23:00.003-04:00

The story heats up. Hope is thrust into a harsh decision, and she makes what she thinks is the right one. Then the chapter ends with her uncertain. And so ends my writing for the day. Unfortunately, spring events wreak havoc with what I'd rather do and I'm forced to make a casserole for a family reunion. That's in a few hours and I don't have much time to go over all this.

So today's count for Renegade Marshal: 1380. Total for month: 25568. Add that to the stuff for Cursed by a Pale Horse and Deadly Trust and I'm at 108590 for the month. Not as good as last year's NaNo but I'm only 71,000 words off that. Gee, am I warming up for my annual November retreat into a story? Sure looks like it.

MAYO Day 16

2009-05-16T09:57:00.004-04:00

Back in the mode again and going slow but understand my characters so much better. Today's Renegade Marshal chapter came out at 1427 words. I'll try to start giving a running total for the month, maybe even broken down by book. It sure is fun, pushing myself creatively. Now that I've slowed down, and admitted I can't finish everything I wanted to accomplish, I feel like I'll get the important elements of this story down so I can clean up and add small but important details as I go through it.

So, the numbers start totaling today. Very impressive but I was never about making 20,000 words, just about getting some stuff off my to do list.
Horseman Saga 1: Cursed by a Pale Horse: 25944. Deadly Trust: 53838. Horseman Saga 2: Renegade Marshal: 21488.

All of them exceeded the word count but none have yet to give me the satisfaction of a job completed. That will come after I finish my goals.

MAYO Day 15

2009-05-15T07:04:00.002-04:00

Another day off my competition to see what I can finish in a month. Well, there is a lot of other things I have to do and school is winding up around here. Had to spend time with my 13 YO, since his grades are fantastic, he met or exceeded his state assessment test scores, and the concert last night was beyond great. Made him a celebratory breakfast this AM and am not getting him out the door to finish his sixth to the last day of school. Then I'll start prepping my chapter for the Southern Breeze contest. Looking good so far but I want to tweak up the first chapter so it really shines.

Here's hoping tomorrow will seem me pounding away on the keys as I set up the middle and sub-climax or Renegade Marshal. The story has me spellbound in so many ways.

MAYO Day 14

2009-05-14T09:30:00.001-04:00

Well, I've finally made my decision. I'll scale back this month's goals, hoping I finish Renegade Marshal and the next installment. In that vein, RM came in at 5094 words this AM. I know this is a smaller version of NaNO but I can't help but keep going as this story grabs me. It'll take a lot of editing to have it ready, along with tons of work to set up a viable series synopsis, but I hope I can find a home for the story one day.

MAYO Day 13

2009-05-13T09:41:00.001-04:00

Well, I didn't think I could get creative today but it happened. Stopped short, of course, since I have to work the middle school book fair later. Renegade Marshal added another 1420 words to the epic saga. Only hoping I get a first draft of the whole thing so it'll stop bothering me.

Tomorrow, partial day again. Son's final concert of the year happens. So happy I'll soon have uninterrupted writing time. I plan to make my goals if I have to give up sleep.

MAYO Day 12

2009-05-12T17:41:00.002-04:00

Have you ever had twelve uninterrupted hours to just write without worrying about housework, kids, or phones? I got that today and decided I'd put the finish screaming in my head on Deadly Trust. 12.3 hours and 15,841 words later, I put in those immortal words. The End.

The end only to the first draft. This one needs tons of work but I can now devote every free moment the rest of the week to finishing Renegade Marshal. Of course, tomorrow I won't have much time. Need to appear at son's middle school for book fair then bring home groceries. Thursday has concert-interruptus scheduled but it's the last one of the year. From Friday through a week from that day, I have people free days and tons of time to get into the struggle of accomplishing something I haven't even done for NaNo - seven full length projects. Then it's scaling back as I look at these projects and decide what I have to fix.

Tonight, however, is devoted to losing myself in someone else's writing. My brain needs a vacation.

MAYO Day 11

2009-05-11T09:48:00.003-04:00

Back in the swing again. I can't tell you how good that feels. While I didn't do more than one chapter per project this AM, I still accomplished what i set out to do. Deadly Trust: 3191 words. Renegade Marshal: 1148 words. I will finish both this week and start on the next round Saturday, even if I have to give up sleep!

MAYO Day 10

2009-05-10T08:34:00.002-04:00

Mother's Day, and this mom is hard at work on something she feels might make a difference. Or just get a story out of my head. Not sure which and I don't really care Deadly Trust came in at 5307 words for the day. Renegade Marshal didn't fare as well. Just can't get the story moving in my head. Oh, I have a outline plotted but something feels wrong. Well, tomorrow is another day. I think I can get it moving then.

MAYO Day 9

2009-05-09T10:09:00.002-04:00

Very slow work today but I'm in the middle of each story. That always goes slow. Deadly Trust only came out at 1566 words and Renegade Marshal at 827 but I promise I'll do better tomorrow. I have to. More stories are pouring into my head and I have to do something with them.

MAYO Day 8

2009-05-08T09:53:00.002-04:00

Well, really great morning. Managed to work on both projects before lunch. Deadly Trust moved forward 3610 words and Renegade Marshal 1302 for a total of 4912 words for the day. Now I have to dive into other projects.

Research, plotting, backgrounding, and thinking will occupy the rest of my day. Good luck, fellow MAYOers. I wish you luck in meeting your goals.

MAYO Day 7B

2009-05-07T19:16:00.001-04:00

Well, not as well as I wanted to accomplish with Renegade Marshal today but I'm getting more into the main character's growing feelings for her nineteenth century love. Using a modern teen and having her fall for a guy with old-fashioned ideas is kind of hard. She has to resist the urge to bring him up to date while also learning to accept how his lifestyle has shaped him. Word Count today: 1489. Total for both projects: 5451

MAYO Day 7A

2009-05-07T08:54:00.002-04:00

Well, I'm finally in the swing. Deadly Trust has grabbed me hard. I can visualize the final moment, the twist that will bring the story together. 3962 words today and I hope I'll reach the blend of past and present coming together to create the situation that will give me an ending that makes sense by early next week. Never fear, I have several other projects clamoring for the same attention.

MAYO Day 6B

2009-05-06T20:03:00.002-04:00

Okay, I'm in the stride now. Renegade Marshal started with a bang. In a lot of ways, it's like the Michael Scott series about Nicholas Flamel. An intense, short time frame for each book but each with a driven plot and great characters. Of course, he's published and I'm still trying for that elusive contract but I figure this series will take me a few years to get down pat.

To that end, Renegade Marshal came out with 3077 words today, bringing my Day 6 MAYO count up to 6607. I can't wait for the end of the month. If all goes well, and the crick don't rise much more, I should have completion on several projects. It feels good to be creative again.

MAYO Day 6A

2009-05-06T09:47:00.001-04:00

Well, not as much today but I'm plugging along. Some action, some backgroung, but Deadly Trust is winding up into the next evolution of the story. Today's word count - 3530.

MAYO Day 5A

2009-05-05T14:27:00.002-04:00

Oh yes! I'm back. Fingers working overtime. Story spilling out of them. Ready for another successful MAYO day. I'm really getting in practice for NaNo in November. Renegade Marshal came in at 5174 words for a daily total of 10,287. Time to veg for a while. I have earned it.

Haven't I?

MAYO Day 5A

2009-05-05T10:24:00.002-04:00

Well, day 4 was a bust. Couldn't get it together. Blame the weather. It didn't rain for the first time in almost a week. Thank goodness. I thought I was about to grow webs between my fingers and toes and start quacking. The frog population has exploded, which is great since it'll keep the mosquitos down. I have a lake (almost) at the bottom of my property and a stream running from where my neighbor dug out part of his hill. There's even a waterfall eroding my driveway. Groan!

Onto to progress. Deadly Trust, now my number 1 project, gained 5,174 words this morning. With the first book in the Horseman series finished, I'm taking an hour off then diving into the second book, Renegade Marshal. Different twist but a character I need to explore as my gal journeys into the realm of bringing the past and present together.

MAYO Day 3A

2009-05-03T16:33:00.002-04:00

Alas, not as well on my second project today. Only 3290 words bringing my total today to 14948. I do believe I might be slowing down but overall, objectives are being met.

Tomorrow is a new day, and one where I shall have peace and quiet for the writing adventure. I can only hope the spark reignites then.

MAYO Day 3

2009-05-03T10:27:00.003-04:00

Amazing. I actually made it through the first draft of Cursed by a Pale Horse, the first of the Horseman Saga. 11,658 words brings the book to a total of 76,000 words. With that finished, I'm starting another journey tomorrow. Maybe I'll actually finish the first draft of all six books this month. Oh, I hope so.

Now it's time to get to work on my adult mystery/romance. Deadly Trust, I do hope I can do as well with you.

MAYO Day 2A

2009-05-02T15:51:00.002-04:00

Woo! Hoo! This is crazy. Just started and I'm so motivated. My goals are meeting themselves without the usual stop and start. Deadly Trust came in at 5638 words for today with a total count of 14,782 for the day. This is so much more fun than NaNo. I don't feel the same pressure and the stories are just pouring out.

MAYO Day 2

2009-05-02T08:29:00.001-04:00

Great start today. Really motivated. Did 9144 words in Cursed by a Pale Horse. Have both main characters firmly set in my mind. Moving between the time frames isn't as hard as I'd imagined. Onto the new chapters in my adult novel. Will I do as well? That one I only want to do 2 chapters a day.

MAYO Day 1A

2009-05-01T13:21:00.001-04:00

Moving right along. Did Deadly Trust. Made 2790 words Total for the day 7928. Woo! Hoo! I feel great. Tomorrow, we'll see how much further I get.

MAYO Day 1A

2009-05-01T08:27:00.003-04:00

Day 1 of MAYO - that's a program a friend of mine is running. Only 20K to write and I'm well into it after only three hours. Cursed by a Pale Horse, the first book of a six book series I'm developing, gained another 5138 words today. This afternoon, I plan to do a couple of more chapters in Deadly Trust, an adult mystery/romance novel I've played with for a couple of years.

Yeah and love to Donna. She prodded me into getting these projects rolling. So, will we do JUNO, JULO, and AUGO until I finish the Horseman series? I'd so like to have rough drafts of all of these done before school starts in August.

And another one bites the dust, or comes up for air.

2009-04-10T09:29:00.002-04:00

Finished working on the story where I felt I had to interview the characters to find where they were coming from. Thank you Kathleen Duey for sharing this tidbit with me. It helped tons finding motivation for their actions and reactions in a tough story. It's on the shelf while I spin out a yarn that's simmered in my head for years.

So, all going well there. Have to finish up the first draft later then get to work on my sub to Knight Agency. Can't let a chance pass to wow an agent. Good folks there from what I've heard and I'd love for them to pick mine but not holding my breath. Only twenty lucky folks out of the probably thousands that apply will have their work read. Kind of makes you feel small in the writing world to realize that much.

Weekend is here, along with end of Spring Break. Can't wait for school to start again, but next big break is summer vacation. Yuck! That tells me the year is flying past and I just can't imagine that yet. Where has the year gone? What have I accomplished. No sales yet but I'm not letting that slow me down. Time to dig in my heels and make those publishers notice me.

I may be knocking on the door, but if I bang hard enough, I'll make them hear me.

Interviews Part 2 - Bec Janson

2009-03-22T08:37:00.003-04:00

Today, we're talking to Dy Andrews, Bec's best friend and one of her oldest friends. Dy, Bec ran out the other day before we finished. Can you explain why?

DA: Sure. Bec, well, she's always had a hard time with things that make her nervous. We call it her freak situations. Tests, new people, changes in her life, all of them make her run. So, since the accident, she's had a bad time. Everyone blamed her. (Blushes, looks away) Even us. We ... uh, we. Well, we kind of ignored her but it wasn't that we didn't believe her.

KC: Can you explain?

DA: She made a bad mistake but she thought it was good. So she went wild most of the last semester of our senior year. Not stealing or drugs, or anything like that. Mostly, the guy she dated convinced her to do some nasty stuff.

KC: Lots of teens find themselves in that position. Why did you think she went wild?

DA: 'Cause of where she did it. The guy, Lane Miller, convinced her to have sex in public places. (fingers twisting together). Jack, my guy, and I caught her. That's when we decided to do an intervention. You know, force her to make a choice between Lane and her life.

KC: What choice did she make?

DA: The wrong one. We thought. She decided to stick with Lane. Then she quit on everything important to her. But she kept freaking. We didn't know what was going on. Except Ev. He knew but he wouldn't share. He just kept telling us she needed us to stay her friends.

KC: Did you?

DA: Not like she needed. (Stands) You'll have to talk to Ev and Bec to find out the rest. I don't like how I acted. Bec needed me and I walked away from her. Some friend.

Dy said goodbye but refused to say anything else about her cryptic remarks. Just received a text. Ev Tinker wants to talk to me tomorrow. Stay tuned for the next installment with this interesting group of teens.

Interview: Bec Janson

2009-03-19T09:34:00.003-04:00

As part of a writing exercise I learned at Springmingle, I'm 'interviewing' my characters to learn more about them. Today, we have a guest with us. Her name is Rebecca Anne Janson but prefers we call her Bec. She has a story to tell, one she hopes other teens will hear. Welcome, Bec. Tell us something about you.

BJ: Well, I'm just a teen. Turned eighteen a few months back, on Valentines Day. My dad gave me a cool gift, but I put it off until I graduated.

KC: Tell us about your dad. What's he like?

BJ: Well, he's the district attorney for Wallis County. Kind of cool. Everyone at school thinks they can ask me to get them off stupid stuff like traffic tickets and curfew violations but I can't.

KC: What about your mom?

BJ: She died years ago, when I was four. That's when we found out I can't eat peanuts. They make me really sick.

KC: Oh, an allergy. Is that why you wear a MedicAlert bracelet?

BJ: Yeah. (Laughs but it's nervous.) I kind of went nuts after Mom died. Dad took me to work. Which is, I mean, kind of silly but I loved it at the time. He's so awesome when he's going after a defendant. Dad hates anyone who breaks the law. He wants them in prison for as long as possible.

KC: Which brings us to the e-mail I received about your problem. How do you feel about having your dad trying to put you in prison?

BJ: I didn't do it. Yeah. I know all defendants say that but I really didn't do it. See, the person who contacted you, Ev Tinker, he's the person I supposedly killed. Kind of strange for a ghost to send an e-mail.

KC: Sure is. Just what are you talking about? Convince me this isn't a hoax.

BJ: Well, see, I made a bunch of bad decisions after my eighteenth birthday. At the time, I figured they were okay but now I know they weren't. Then a guy I dated decided to use my stupidity. And, well, you know. It all messed up at graduation.

KC: I can see it's hard for you to talk about. Why don't we go back to growing up watching your dad in court. Can you tell us some more about that?

BJ: Yeah! (Smiles.) It was the greatest. See, I thought I'd lose him like I did Mom so he took me to prove I wouldn't. I would color in a book while he worked. And, you know, I think all those guys wouldn't cuss because I was there. Like it would be a bad thing in front of a little kid. I never heard anyone swear, even after the judge sentenced them to a long time in prison. (Sighs.) Then some dumb reporter ruined it by taking a bunch of pictures of me. He put them in the local paper and called me Pigtail Princess.

KC: How did that make you feel?

BJ: Dumb. Like I couldn't have a life because of what my dad did. It's so stupid. Why do I have to be perfect so he can keep his job? What I do isn't about him.

KC: But a district attorney is a politician. What their families do reflect on how they handle their lives.

BJ: So not! It's my life. I'm eighteen. Why should what I do reflect on him? Why can't I mess up and not have to worry about ruining his career?

KC: Wow! That's intense. I guess you're right. So, how are you working things out to prove you didn't do whatever the police accused you of doing?

BJ: Well, stuff like this. And posting on MySpace. And using Twitter for updates on my status. Things like that. A lot of teens support me. I don't know about some of them, though. They keep asking me to help them get out of trouble after I can come into the open.

KC: Why don't you want to help them?

BJ: Because I don't know for sure if they really are innocent. It's not about getting away with breaking the law. It's about making the real criminal pay.

KC: Who is the real criminal in your case?

BJ: I can't say right now.

KC: Have you thought about talking to a lawyer.

BJ: They all know my dad. I don't know what I'll do next.

She ran off at that point. Not sure what she means. I do hope she finds someone she trusts enough to figure out her problem. Tomorrow, another player in this fiasco joins us. Stay tuned.