Happy Friday! I’m making progress on my novella–although I really need to think of a title soon. And while I’m not breaking any speed records here, I’m happy for the progress. It’s nice to be moving forward.  Meanwhile, I’m waiting for the first editorial letter on Savaged Dreams. I have all the usual doubts, but so far I’m able to distract myself. I really feel like I’m (hopefully!) getting my groove back.

Today is three weeks on Weight Watchers and I’m doing fine. I like the program because it’s real food I can work into my daily life. I doing the online version, the meetings don’t interest me. So it’s really been fairly easy so far, but I obsessively read dessert recipes like this one (recipe here):

Do you think that’s weird? But come on, they look amazing! One day, I’ll make them! Maybe for Mother’s Day I plan to indulge that weekend then go right back to the program.

As for this weekend, I think we’re going to the movies to see the new Mother’s Day Comedy. Otherwise it’ll be the usual. What are your plans?

Eli from the Wing Slayer Hunter series is bugging me. For a while he was quiet, but now, he’s getting more urgent about finding his witch, Savina.

I explained, “Um dude, get in line! I have a novella and one and a half other books to write before I can write your story.”

“Don’t care. I need to find her.”

Sigh…we both have to wait. But it’s reaching such a critical point that I was dreaming about my current book and just when I thought I was going to get an answer I need, Eli dropped into the dream to nag me.  So rude!

Now let’s move onto Wednesday Worthy. Since we’re talking (sort of) about Wing Slayer Hunters…

What do you think, is he worthy?

My weekend was not interesting at all. I cleaned, did some writing and dealt with a small stomach issue. But I’m back here on the blog

After a herculean effort, I have this novella started, and at least partially plotted. This  latest writing snafu is 100% my fault. I want to blame it on stress and worry and all the usual things but the truth is a little more embarrassing: Arrogance. I was so sure I could do this that I didn’t do the pre-work necessary to write this novella. I believed I knew Ethan and Ana, who were secondary characters in The Plus One Chronicles.

I forgot ( and this is such an amateur mistake) that I knew Ethan and Ana from KAT AND SLOANE’S point of view, not their own! So for instance, Sloane is seven or eight years older than Ethan, and comes for a background just as dark and difficult. To him, Ethan’s “a kid” who needs his guidance, and in Sloane’s world Ethan is normal. But Ethan’s view of himself is entirely different, which is what is important for this story. His self view will influence every decision he makes. The same thing with Ana. So I needed to really discover who these characters are in their own minds and to each other.

Amateur mistake born of arrogance. I’m not proud of it, but there it is!

And also, I have major trouble spelling amateur and give spellcheck a migraine

Now it’s your turn! How was your weekend?

My weekend was good but I’m sinking in work right now, and desperately trying to get my head around too many projects. As a result, I’m going to take a week off the blog. I’ll really miss you guys! Please come back Monday, April 25th!

Have a great week!

Happy Friday! I’m rerunning this post from 2012 because I noticed I really need a pedicure, and that made me this of this story. Probably because anytime I try to do a pedicure myself–Wizard laughs at me So here it is:

I decided I should give myself a pedicure. Sometimes, I get lucky, and it turns out okay.

This was not one of those nights.

So I go upstairs, do all the pre work, then gather up my stuff and sit on the floor in front of the TV. And I start polishing.

Wizard, and I don’t know how he does it, will sense when I have been rendered a “captive audience.” It’s freaky how finely tuned this sense of this is. He had been out in his garage for a while, not bothering me. But once I have polish on and can’t move until it dries?

Wizard appears in the room. “What are you doing, Witch?”

I narrow my eyes and say,  “I’m mixing chemicals that will kill you. Run while you can.”

He’s not the least bit worried.  He tilts his head. “Why don’t you just go get a pedicure?”

“Shut up.” I can soooo do this. I can. Really. I used to decorate cakes, damn it. Okay not professionally, but still, I wasn’t embarrassed by my cakes. I can do this!

Wizard totally ignores my outburst and goes on, “Are you making yourself pretty?” Then he starts walking around the room singing “Prettyyyy Girrllls” in the creepiest Wizard voice possible.

I cave in and do the worst possible thing.  I laugh. I can’t help it. Wizard is so not creepy, and when he does that voice, it sends me into fits of giggles every freaking time.

But then he starts to leave, and I sigh in relief. He’s done and I can have some peace.

And then he spots this:

It’s sitting on my upstairs desk. I have no clue what it is–but Biker Witch gave it to me.  Probably because she’s in cohoots with Wizard to DRIVE ME INSANE.

How?

Well Wizard’s face lit up when he sees this. He picks it up, them LOOMS over me.  “Say, Whoo Hoo.”

“No. Leave me alone. I want to watch TV.”

“You have to say Woo Hoo. Then I throw this to you. That’s the game, I saw it on a TV show.”

I swear to you I Am Not Making This Up. I can’t get up and escape because…hello, wet toes. Dark grape polish. Light carpet. I am trapped.

So I say Woo Hoo.  And he throws that weird ass thing at me. I catch it before it attacks me.

Then he stands there sing-songing Woo Hoo! And won’t leave until I throw it back.

I seriously had to play this game while trapped on the floor with wet toes until he was done torturing me.

Finally, he puts the stupid ass thing down and said,  “Fork out the money for a pedicure you cheap witch,” and leaves, laughing all the way down the stairs. Why? Why does this amuse him so much?And he’s wrong, because I can so do a pedicure if I try!

So finally my toes dry, I go downstairs and he’s like totally NORMAL for awhile. Then I look at my toes. Damn it.  I stomp upstairs totally pissed because my toes aren’t right at all and I take off the stupid polish.

I’ll probably pay for a pedicure as soon as I’m done sulking.  I can’t even blame Wizard, he didn’t touch my toes. He’s totally responsible for making me insane, but not the poor polish job. Heck, he didn’t even say “I told you so.”

If you actually made it through this story–all true because yes, we are that boring–have a great weekend everyone!

I can’t seem to shake The Blah’s lately. Does that ever happen to you guys? It’s been weeks now, and it’s sucking out my motivation to write and making me second guess every idea. But enough of that, like most things,  it will pass. So to amuse myself, and hopefully you, I’ve arranged a little Cage Fight for Wednesday Worthy. And here we go!

Fighter Number #1 is armed with a whip and a serious frown. 

(I think he might have a man-crush on a character from a certain well-known “fifty” novel–or is that just me?)

Fighter Number Two brings his towel and death glare to the match. 

(Anyone else wonder if he’s hiding a weapon under that towel? What? *looks around innocently* I’m just asking.)

Man in red towel

Time to lay down your bet–who do you think will win?

My weekend was quiet. I cleaned, worked on Ethan and Ana’s novella while waiting for edits on Savaged Dreams and hung out with Wizard.  Oh and I rejoined Weight Watchers Online. I debated even mentioning this because I’m not a fan of defining a woman by her weight in any way. Plus… I’m not hugely overweight. This is just about staying in control and this helps me regain a sense of control. My days of wanting to be fashionably thin (LOL, I’ve NEVER been that, my body build is short, muscular and curvy, not tall and slender) or rocking a bikini are over. I’m just interested in getting dressed and feeling confident and comfortable. And FYI I wear a bikini around the pool at my house anyway

So…I told Wizard that I rejoined Weight Watchers.

Wizard’s response? “If that’s what you want, I’ll help you. I like most of the stuff you cook on Weight Watchers.”

That’s my hero! I love that he supports me when I want to make a change. (My weight loss goals are smallish, which he also supports.)

And then two days later, which would be last night, Wizard says, “I heard there’s a chocolate festival in San Diego.”

Hmm…he meant he’d support me when he said it, LOL! Okay seriously, one day at a chocolate festival  isn’t a big deal in the scheme of things. So as soon as I post this blog, I’m going to look up this chocolate festival and see if we can go. I just thought it was funny he mentioned it two days after vowing to help me.

On the work end of things, I’m enjoying getting to know Ethan and Ana again, and digging in deeper now that they are the hero and heroine of the story rather than secondary characters. For me, they were immensely likeable characters in the Plus One Chronicles, but for this novella, I had to get past that likableness to find their real flows. That’s still a work in progress, but I’m getting there! Flaws make a hero/heroine so much more interesting in my opinion!

So how was your weekend?