I almost forgot today was Thursday. I guess in this case it's better late than never. In trying to come up with something for today I'd like to refer to a blog written by Maura K. Nye "Imaginary Lives" over at Romance Roundtable. If you check the comments section you'll discover something about me. But here, I'm going to list 13 things I'd never imagine myself as.

1. A daycare provider







2. A hairstylist

3. A dentist

4. A urologist

5. An oncologist

6. A mortician

7. A porn star

8. A veterinarian

Although I do have to say working with exotic animals such as this white tiger would be fascinating.









9. A neonatologist

10. A dermatologist

11. A geriatric nurse

12. A waste management worker

13. A herpetologist
















Links to other Thursday Thirteens!

Alice Audrey
Harris Channing
bettythegeek
Don't make me get the flying monkeys!
Buck Naked Politics
Jackie Does Dish
nichtszusagen
My Life~AUTHOR Adelle Laudan
I'll add more...

I didn't know if you all would come back or not to see what these ships had to do with me, but here it is--I've collected pictures of tall ships and sailboats for a very long time. The Flying Cloud is one of the many I have around the house, although not this very one. The one I have has been made out of some sort of copper.

Many of the ships I listed have broken some sort of record, most of them were naval ships of some sort. They all have interesting tidbits, like those Lara Lee mentioned.

The cool thing about being a writer is the research involved. I didn't realize how much inspiration I had hanging on my walls.

Alice Audrey had suggested that the ships were something I'm currently working on and I had said no. Now that I think about it Liam, my hero in The Guardian's Angel will have to step foot on a ship much like the one Sir Francis Drake captained to rescue Anne his heroine. The problem is that Liam would rather hang than ride the ocean's waves again. It'll be interesting to see the outcome of Liam's voyage.

I hope you take the time to do some research on The Flying Cloud. She is a magnificent sailing vessel with an interesting history.

Oh and don't forget to check out my blogging over at Romance Roundtable, on The Art of Courtly Love. If this link doesn't work there's a button on the side.

Thirteen Thursday Trivia-They all have something in common, which will be quite obvious from the get go, but can you find anything interesting about each one? Feel free to post your findings in the comments section. Yes, this has something to do with me. :) Can you guess what that is?

1. Santa Maria de Jesus
2. Flying Cloud
3. Sea Witch
4. Montreal
5. Numidian
6. Reefer
7. Essex
8. Nymph
9. Elfin
10. Laura Reed
11. Maud
12. Sans-Culotte
13. Keying



Links to other Thursday Thirteens!

Alice Audrey
Harris Channing
bettythegeek
Don't make me get the flying monkeys!
Buck Naked Politics
Jackie Does Dish
nichtszusagen
My Life~AUTHOR Adelle Laudan
I'll add more...

Forgive me. I'm hitting the Theraflu again trying to get rid of this cold completely. Once I think it is over it rears its ugly head. I'm finding immense comfort and a tad bit of guilt that my hero is now sniffling and sneezing.

It's time for a confession. I'm a bit of a historical snot. I don't read much outside the historical fiction genre, which can make it hard to critique someones work when you're not familiar with the genre the manuscript is written in. But I have to say after the last few days of reading and critiquing and a few nights of dreaming about delicious vampires I might have to expand my reading to the paranormal. Feel free to leave suggestions in the comment box if you have any favorites.

Now on to the real reason you stopped by-villains.

I love to write villains, almost as much as my hero and heroine. In fact I spend almost as much time getting to know them and developing their character as I do on my h and h.

One thing I've learned from critiquing-you can tell something about a person when they write their villains. One of my cps seems to try and redeem all the villains. It warms my heart, because she tries to see the good in everyone. There is nothing wrong with that at all.

Now me, I have three villains, one which dies before the end of the third chapter. I consider him one of my main villains because of the power he has over my h and h throughout the story. Then I have an obvious and a not so obvious villain. Each villain is evil in their own way. They've been shaped and molded by their environment, a product of their society. I feel empathy for them to an extent, but I can't for some reason redeem them. Maybe it's because I feel realistically not everyone is redeemable. I'll have to think on that a bit more.

What is your favorite villain to write? Do you kill them all or redeem them all? Who is your all time favorite villain?

I'm blogging over at Romance Roundtable, I'd appreciate it if you stop by and give me a shout out. I'm on my 8th week of The Art of Courtly Rules. Check it out it's pretty interesting, the rules that is. :)

Thirteen blogs I subscribe to.

1. Alice Audrey
2. BookEnds, LLC
3. Delusions of Grandeur
4. The Gentle Art of Conversation
5. History Hoydens
6. Romance Vagabonds
7. Yo Ho, A Writer's Life For Me

8. Sindee's Scribbles
9. Tessa Dare
10. The Rejecter
11. The Knight Agency Blog
12. Courtney's Blog
13. edittorrent


Links to other Thursday Thirteens!

Alice Audrey
Harris Channing
bettythegeek
Don't make me get the flying monkeys!
Buck Naked Politics
Jackie Does Dish
nichtszusagen
My Life~AUTHOR Adelle Laudan
I'll add more...

I'm not talking about the kind that get you motivated to sit in a chair and write your butt off. I'm talking about obstacles, like ADD/ADHD, OCD, chronic fatigue, that kind of thing. For me it's migraines (I suffer from OCD too but don't tell). I know others deal with blindness, deafness, and paraplegicness. I only bring this up because I've been trying very hard to fight through my migraines and keep on writing.

What kind of obstacles do you deal with? And I'm not talking paranoia schizophrenia:)

This is one of my mother's favorite sayings. Her optimism is very catching at times. I stopped by Gillian Layne's blog and found yet another great blog. Check her blog out she states it better than I can. And thanks again Gillian.

I would really like to go to conference this year. Like my mammma says if it was meant to be it will be.

I'll post one of those fancy little buttons here.

But first I'm blogging over at Romance Roundtable.

So here we go, the other day my lame Great Dane fell on my dd's puppy. There is at least 100 pound difference. Long story short the puppy made a trip to the vet. I've been borrowing my mother's car, which has a grandma tag on the front of it, for a few months now. Saves me from having to take dh back and forth to work. Anyway, on my mom's car you have to pretty much pop the hood and turn a toggle switch on the battery every time you get in and out of the thing. Something is draining the battery and my father doesn't want to put out the money for it, understandable. So I'm at the vets office carrying this puppy with a sprained leg trying not to hurt him, yadayadayada.

I put him in the car, pop the hood, twist the toggle and the car doesn't start. I'm about in tears. I know dh is on a job and can't come rescue me. Nobody in dd's workplace (she works at the vet office) has jumper cables. So, I break down and call my dad.

He shows up with a charger and an extra battery, this has happened several times to my mother. And nothing. It doesn't turn over. The dome light came on which has never done it the whole time I've had the car. Anyway he gets in, and yep here it is folks......I forgot to put the car in park. In my defense I was upset about the puppy if you would have seen the poor pitiful thing. And this car you can turn on without the key, you can take the key out while it's running.And this car does have a problem with recharging itself.

So I will never live this down. I will have idiot tattooed across my forehead at every family gathering from here on out. My mom did call and say that this very thing has happened to her on several occasions and just as she was about to hit panic mode she figured it out.

Thirteen lines from my works in progresses.

1. “I have borne you an heir and two to spare, as well as a darling angel.”
Say You Love Me

2. She supposed it would be a good idea to atone for her sins, after all, she was in the holiest place on earth.
Eliana

3. She wanted to slip off her leather sandals, strip off her clothing and dance naked with all her might in the streets to the sound of the mandolins that wafted through the air.
Eliana

4. “Besides, according to the latest studies there are eight steps to healing from a heartache, and the last I checked I am still somewhere between fear and numbness.”
Eliana

5. The bladder pipe droned in his ears, weaving a magical spell lulling him into relaxation.
Eliana

6. With sleek stealth and the quietness of a nighttime predator, Aedan returned to his human form as he landed upon the Mistress, careful not to dislodge the gannets that had taken shelter within her nooks and crannies.
Mistress of Stone

7. An Amazonian warrior stepped from the tales of Herodotus and into his cave brandishing a log with the ease of a Highland broadsword.
The Guardian's Angel

8. If the boy had said the very devil stood behind her she wouldn’t have been more shocked.
The Guardian's Angel

9. Tucking the spyglass away in her borrowed great coat, she pulled out a pistol.
A Champion for Charolette

10. “Oh, but was it nay moments ago that you told me the lord of this castle was nay available? Does your ability to communicate fly like the peregrine?”
Hellion's Haven

11. “It’s a good day to die,” Old Jack said, pushing his mount between them.
Hellion's Haven

12. “Why sir, we Grahams are but a modest God fearin’ lot,” she teased, feigning innocence. “Perhaps by day’s end we can show you our prayer beds.”
Hellion's Haven

13. “I doubt my brother has acted mare to your stallion, but if that is your price, then honor demands my capitulation.”
Hellion's Haven

Copyright 2008 ReneeLynnScott
Hellion's Haven is requested material.


Links to other Thursday Thirteens!

Alice Audrey
Harris Channing
bettythegeek
Don't make me get the flying monkeys!
Buck Naked Politics
Jackie Does Dish
nichtszusagen
I'll add more...

I was really trying to stay away from these kinds of things. They can be addicting. They can also be silly. But I like this one, especially the 2 parts Tolerance. Not sure how much glamor I contain I've never had my nails done, very rarely get my hair done and I've never had any kind of laser hair removal. (OKay on a side note if you haven't visited Tessa's blog, you've got to. Her TMI's are to die for.)

Thanks Cara, for sharing this with me.

The Recipe For Renee

3 parts Glamour 2 parts Tolerance 1 part Vigor Splash of Kindness Limit yourself to one serving. This cocktail is strong!

I'm blogging at Romance Roundtable today.

There's a lot of talk about inspiration when it comes to writing. Music, movies, books, etc. I've heard it said that real life events don't make good fiction. One of my past times is genealogy and I've found some interesting plot lines in ancient family gossip.

Like my great, great, great, great grandfather or such was a cooper. It's very possible he smuggled whiskey. And it is very highly likely that he was part of the Whiskey Wars in Michigan. My great, great, great grandmother married a Mormon, she was born in Ireland to a very strict Catholic family, yeah the whiskey smugglers. Ironically she disgraced her family when she married the Mormon.

Then there is my great grandmother who became pregnant. She never told my great grandfather who was a boxer, he found out when he read the announcement in the paper. He intervened before my grandmother was put up for adoption. They married and divorced and my grandmother was raised by her strict Catholic grandmother.

These stories are sad but true and for some reason I can see the romance in it all.

Are there any family stories that inspire you?

Article



On a side note, is the picture in my header broken to all of you? Or is it just me?

It's the first Friday of 2008, which leads us to the first weekend. Some of us are still reflecting on the past year. Others of us are trying to figure out what it is we wish to accomplish this year.

Blogland is filled with post about goals. How to set your goals, how to make sure you accomplish your goals, and what their goals are over all.

My favorite post-Courtney Milan You have got to love her perspective on life. Her priorities take the cake. I never would have thought of that one and who wouldn't want to have sex on every continent including Antarctica, bedsides my Mr. Scott of course, who wears long johns in the springtime. Oh and dare I mention he dislikes to travel. He's perfectly content to hang out in the Midwest and have sex in the comfort of his own bed.

So I ask you readers, ehem, A. A. would you like to join in on this conversation? How many continents have you had sex on? Was it as romantic as those of us who are less fortunate to travel dream?

A.A, maybe you should blog about it.

To be honest, with the holidays I'm having a hard time keeping track of what day of the week it is. Soon, I will get into the swing of Thursday Thirteen.

Thirteen Resolutions

1. Finish revisions on Hellion's Haven
2. Wait for Dorchester's response
3. Write Liam's story, The Guardian's Angel
4. Join RWA
5. Enter at least two contests
6. Plot Feagan's story, The Devil's Bargain
7. Write a submission for Highland Press
8. Attend three online workshops
9. Learn to eat healthy
10. Add cardio into my daily routine
11. Add resistance training into my daily routine
12. Begin learning a foreign language
13. Live, learn, and be happy.

Of course this doesn't include the most important thing in my life, my family.

Links to other Thursday Thirteens!

Alice Audrey
Harris Channing
bettythegeek
Don't make me get the flying monkeys!
Buck Naked Politics
I'll add more...

If you want to learn something new google Hogmanay.

I haven't thought on my resolutions for this year or if I'll even make any. If I make them I break them so what's the point?

But here's to wishing you all many blessings for 2008.

Does anyone want to make any predictions? If I had mine to make I'd say that a certain I.C., S.S.,B.K., and A.A. will see 08 as their year to get that contract they've been waiting for. L.L. will be following close behind. It's hard to say who will make it first but I'm almost betting on a certain Twist. It's too good of a story not to get picked up. At least in my humble opinion.

Those who I've mention are talented and persistent. I can't wait to see you all in print. Good luck and best wishes.

Feel free to make your own predictions.

*I'm not a psychic. No I don't read palms or cards.

If you have good news to share feel free to email me and I'll help spread the word.