Still alive! Exhausted, but alive. We've been slammed at the shop, which is a good thing. And I've been fighting sleep to stay up to write on CM, I'm a bit shy of 60k on the first draft. I haven't gotten much done in the way of polish for BTH, the first 50 pages have been sent off to critique partners and I'm feeling pretty darn good about it.

I've also picked up a book. It's a book I saw on Romance Writer's Revenge a long while back.

So far, I'm really enjoying this book. It's smooth and funny.

If you haven't yet, you should check out Christie Craig's website.

Off to work, Ciao!

*Click on the book cover and Christie's name for more information.

No, this isn't my backyard. It's a block away. This tree stood about 50-60 feet tall. I believe it was the smallest that fell due to a microburst. I've lived in Kansas all my life and have experience lots of bad weather, but never a microburst.

In case you're wondering nobody was hurt, even though the boy was standing on the front porch when a medium size branch landed on it and we didn't receive any damage that we know of. We still have to check out the property. There are plenty of 5-6 ft branches all over the yard. I glanced at the roof and all seemed well. Things (not sure what) fell from the carport, but it was falling apart anyway.

Pre-storm driving home trying to beat it.

Gosh, this tree was quite tall, but I'm not sure how tall.


Round, three.


In between storms.

Shhh, don't tell anyone, but I just finished Rachel Hawthorn's Full Moon, put out by HarperTeen.


And I have to say I was somewhat impressed. I began reading it to see if it was appropriate for my teenager. I couldn't put it down.

For those of you who don't know, Rachel Hawthorne also writes as Lorraine Heath, an author I've heard a lot about but have never read. She happened to be a RWA Nationals signing In Bed With the Devil.

It takes quite a bit for me to step outside of my tried and true. But, I'm thinking since I traveled to DC and that was filled with all kinds of outside the box things, I can try a new author. Besides, I've heard so much about her and how good she is, and since I really enjoyed Full Moon by her alter ego, I think I'll love her writing.

*Click on the covers to find out more information about the author and the books.

Blogging @ Romance Roundtable today.

As you can see from the side bar, I'm a 2009 Golden Claddagh finalist in the Celtic Category. It had been over a year since I had entered a contest, the Tampa Area Romance Authors and the Smokey Mountain Romance Writers in 2008, both of which my manuscript had been a finalist. I had chosen not to enter any more because those last two were enough for me. But after some careful consideration I made some changes and wanted to see how I'd do. I never expected to final. I was surprised that I did.

One of the things that you have to be extra careful with when writing historicals is research. I researched the area where my manuscript takes place until I was blue in the face, but I believe it is inevitable that there will always be some details missing. Something that was pointed out by one of my judges, who is obviously an authority on the area, was that I may have some details wrong. Knowing this was a high possibility, I double checked.

Thankfully, hopefully, my information is on spot.

The following information is more for myself than for anyone so that I have it for easy reference in case it is brought up again or in case doubt begins to creep in.

According to the Brackenhill Tower The Graham Stronghold prepared by Giles Quarme on behalf of the Brackenhill Trust, Brackenhill was indeed part of the "Debatable Lands". See link page 6 first paragraph.

I know I've seen this information elsewhere, but I'd have to dig through all my notes to find it. The thing is, I love these historical purists, they keep me on my toes. I want my information to be correct and not misleading. I have to say, these kind of judges, these are the ones I love. They strive to make you a better writer, to help you along the way. They encourage and offer suggestions on how to better your manuscript. I have a goal in mind for my manuscript and it's not for it to be laying at the bottom of some slush pile for months upon months. Keeping information clear and interesting is one way to keep it from the slush.

There's a bit of other information that this particular judge pointed out as well. I'll touch on those tidbits tomorrow. In the meantime I'll work on clarifying my details so that they don't get lost in the words without boring the pants off my readers.

I was one of those kids loved roller coasters. As far back as I can remember I'd ride them by myself. It was one of the only things I'd do by myself. I had no fear of the climbs or the sudden drops. No fear of being jostled around and turned upside down. I loved every moment of the sixty thrilling seconds. So, why did flying on a commercial airplane scare the stuffing out of me?

Who knows. None of it really makes since. My father is a pilot, he's been one as far back as I can remember. And I really don't think the plane is what scared me, other than the fact that my first flight had been delayed because of a piston somewhere in some hydraulic system. Honestly, I would rather have a delayed flight and arrive safely than not, even if I missed my second flight.

Although the flight to D.C. from Atlanta was short and all in all was fabulous, I near had a panic attack, and here is where my fear comes from. I hate crowds. I hate crowded small places even more. EXCEPT, when I'm scared of something. Like during storms, I feel comfortable and more at peace when I'm in a tight, closed-in space. The second leg of the flight, I was by myself. And in a total state of panic. Not only that, as you can see from the picture, I had a window seat. On the wing! I did a lot of praying on that flight. Eventually, I opened the window all the way and looked down. The scenery was breath taking. Absolutely phenomenal. And as you can see, I got a fabulous picture. Yes, that is my plane's shadow within the halo. I really wish they would have allowed me to take pictures as we came in over D.C., landing at Reagan was a true experience as we flew near the Pentagon and over the Potomac, which was my favorite part.

Today will be to hectic to put more than two words together. I fee like I'm a horse waiting for the gates to open.

Have a blessed week!

In less than 48 hours I'll be on my way to RWA Nationals. And I'm scared! I'm excited, and I'm overwhelmed trying to make sure I have everything packed. My mind is also running a hundred miles a minute with all the 'what ifs'. So when you read my blog, say a quick prayer for my nerves, for safety, for my family, for a successful trip, and for our finances, since this probably isn't the best time for me to take off, and pray that my kids will eat something more than pizza and Mickey D's. (Okay, maybe this prayer will be a little longer than quick.) Oh, yeah, and pray that I whiz through the rest of my rewrites so I have something 100% complete to pitch.

Hope to see you there.

Yesterday, I was working at the shop when the phone rang. It was an elderly lady (84). She told me she had an old sofa, possibly Victorian, that needed upholstered and was looking for someone to take it. Well, sheesh, my mind didn't wrap around the 'looking for someone to take it' part. So I handed the phone to hubs. As he was talking to her, I got to thinking. Just as he was about to say no, I interrupted and said if she's giving it away, I want it.

He tells her the 'boss' said yes. Then he gets off the phone and asks me why I want a piece of junk. Uh, duh! If it's junk we'll deal with it, if it isn't, then well, Duh!

I know, nobody gives furniture away. Yeah, yeah, yeah, especially if it is in mint condition.

Ever since I was little I wanted antique furniture. Look what the Lord provided. :)

I've been a bit absent and I apologize. Work has been hectic. And since we own our shop we can always leave when eight or ten hours are up. I'm trying to get far enough of hubs so that when I leave for D.C. he'll be fine without me. So instead of packing and working on my pitch, I've been cutting and sewing so hubs can recover the furniture.

Owning an upholstery shop has its perks. I hope to share one with you tomorrow.

Oh, by the way, Loki, my most awesome, wonderulest, fantabulous muse is blogging at Romance Roundtable, with me as his guest. :)

Romance Roundtable

I think I'll take a break today from blogging. I'd rather spend the time working on my manuscript.

Have a wonderful, blessed day!

This picture was taken at the Kansas Museum of History.

Friday, the girls and I went to the Kansas Historical Society Museum. My intention was only to run in and grab some brochures for the Hearts Through History literacy basket that will be given away during our AGM meeting at Romance Writers Of America. Surprisingly, the older of the two begged me to let them go in and look around. Since it was mid-afternoon and we had a birthday party to attend, I was hesitant, especially since we still had bookoos of errands to run before the party.

Who could resist the pouty faces and the bouncing begs? I mean this was history after all, right? So we compromised. I paid for their entrance and then I headed to the gift shop.

I browsed looking for chocolate covered sunflower seeds, which I didn't get. Hmmm, now that I think about it I probably should go back and get the buffalo beef jerky, Kansas made honey, and the seeds. Anyway, I found a bookmark and bought some postcards. That is when I saw a sign advertising the Cyrus K. Holliday!

Now, I knew the museum had a train, I just hadn't realized it was my train. All right, so it wasn't my train since the two I use in my manuscript are Locomotive No. 1 and Locomotive No. 2. The one at the museum is Locomotive No. 132, but since I haven't been able to find pictures of No. 1, No. 132 will have to do.

I believe the red photo below is No. 1, the trains look exactly alike, except for the No. (Just look at that lock ;)


The bright 132 was painted around the dome. I'm not positive what this was used for, but it seems to be where the whistle is located.

Identification written along the side of a private passenger car. According to the information I read, No. 1 didn't consist of private cars (I'll blog about the private car another day).
It's a bit dark, but this is a picture of the smokestackThe lantern. Not only was the lantern used for the conductor to see further down the track, but also to warn people of a coming train.
Interesting, do you know what this is called? A cowcatcher.
Coal. ;)
A look at the passenger car. When No. 1 first began to roll toward Wakarusa and Carbondale, it carried one passenger car. I guess afternoon excursions were popular so they added a second.

Through the door was another room about the size of this one. It held a set of metal bunk beds. Beyond that was a coat closet and a bathroom.

As you can see there are four seats. I can't imagine putting anymore than sixteen passengers in this car.
Not sure I'd enjoy sitting in the first row. The heat radiating off the stove would have been intense.
I'm taking a wild guess, water?
These are compartments above the seats. They weren't very big, my laptop would fit in there but not much else.
I loved these baskets. And do you see the etching on the glass? I didn't notice it until I was going through the pictures.
They thought of everything. I wonder if a train caught on fire and that is why they have the vent holes above the lamps.
This is the coat rack area I was telling you about. Directly to the right is a bathroom. Very, very small.

Does she look sinister, or what? She's been daydreaming about robbing a train in the old west ever since. ;) She's even been watching westerns on television.
No, we aren't a pre-teen and we don't have an attitude. I wanted you to see how big the driving wheels were. She's just under five foot.

Did you know that the smaller wheels in front of the driving wheels were called bogie wheels? They were invented by U.S. engineers so the trains could maneuver the sharp curves on the rugged terrain.

A mural at the museum.

I see authors talk about their processes and I wonder about my own. Sometimes I plot, sometimes I pants, most of the time I plants. But I've discovered something today, I absolutely love the first draft. It took me a few manuscripts to make that discovery. I mean really, the first ms I hated the first draft. Hated it so much that I never went back to do revisions. The second manuscript has gone through many revisions and now rewrites, but I think (Okay, I know) that is because I didn't listen to my voice and stick to my guns.

With Cherish Me, I'm writing and listening along the way. Before I started writing this work-in-progress I bought several things of index cards and plotted. Occasionally I'll dig out the cards and refer to them, but mostly I've just allowed my creative side take over and write whatever comes to mind. This is a good thing, because it has allowed me to get to know my characters better. It has allowed me to let my characters get out of the neat little box I had put them in at the beginning of the plotting. I've also seen huge elements that I want to weave into the story itself, and I can't wait to get it all in there.

The first draft is like a courtship of sorts. It's a time for introductions and getting to know each other. The first draft if a place of discoveries. Like digging through the dirt on an archeological dig with the expectation of finding something small but with the hope of discovering the ultimate find that will put your name in history.

Gosh, I hope I'm saying this tomorrow, or even the day after. :)