Real Life... what's that...?

Real life's been a bit of a bugger at the moment and is playing havoc with my writing.

Er, okay. So that's just a big fat excuse as to why I've managed sweet zero on the writing front over the last couple of weeks. Three weeks? OMG. Is it really coming up to four weeks?

So here's some less buggerish stuff going on in my life at the moment:

Eldest daughter recently started her nursing course and is really enjoying it. (This is the child who faints at the sight of a needle. I'm agog as to how she's going to handle that side of things and let's just not mention bed baths. Like, please.)

Youngest daughter is doing work experience at a child care centre and is being given a lot of dirty bottoms to clean. Heh heh. Not that I find that funny. Not at all. At least she's given disposal gloves. Heh heh.

My baby (aka only son) is going on his school camp in just over a week and is very excited. I'm not sure how we're going to get through four nights without his noisy presence in the house. Might need to stock up on lots of chocolate.

Oh yes. And driving home from college the other day the tyre on my car exploded. I was just a little bit traumatised.

Wish my muse would buck up and drop a fully formed plot in my lap. I mean come on. Is that really so much to ask?!

Skeleton

The jitters through not writing have now got sooo bad I'm doing crazy unpredictable things. Things like ironing (don't faint). I even washed the kitchen floor for the second time in a fortnight (unheard of). If I don't pull myself together soon and get my nose back to the computer screen who knows where this might end? Cleaning out the wardrobes? Tidying up my desk?

I'm so totally not a panster by choice. I like to have my skeleton in place so I have the general roadmap of where we're going (even if my characters do constantly nip off into the bushes once we start for, um, inspiration). But so far all I have is the beginning, a bit sort of in the middle and a rough idea of the ending.

Which, as one of the witches has been telling me, is more than enough to get started with. Er, excuse me? Are you sure? Isn't that, like, scary?

So why am I getting all excited at the thought?!

Limbo Land

I'm between books. It's a place I don't like to be because it gives me a severe case of the twitchies.

The day after I finished Neo my brain felt like it'd been scrubbed out with a wire brush and was scarily empty of clamouring voices. I think it's a form of shock, as in OMG I finally finished the book. How did I manage to do that? Where did all the words come from and will I ever be able to write another one again?

So the day after that I tricked myself into polishing and editing the ms, agent searching and query letter drafting. Yes, very good! I was Keeping Busy.

But it's not the same as writing! I hate not having something on the go. I feel all disconnected and it's like having a wobbly tooth hanging by a thread. I keep having to prod it with my tongue (I'm not being absolutely literal here...this is just the warped way my brain works when it isn't plotting dreadful dilemmas for my characters).

After a couple of days stumbling around in the abyss, inspiration struck for my next effort. Can I just say Thank Goodness for That?! Of course it involves a bit of research (all hail the mighty internet!) but at least it's a glimmer of something I can sink my fangs into!

Next Up

So now I'm agent hunting. A brilliant place to start is here http://www.agentquery.com I use it all the time, lots of great info on that site.

Half of me can't wait to query, the other half is sick with nerves. I always think I'm going to make some huge pathetic blunder on my letter, such as forgetting to actually type a vital word (I've done that before - AND I read the flipping thing at least twenty times before printing and sending it off. Can I just say.... ARGH)

And let's not go to my weird aversion to the copy and paste function. I tried to copy some pages of my ms today and every time I hit paste what did I get? The blurb! Cue me having a hot flush and heart palpitations thinking I'd somehow buggered up my ms. I mean, the blurb? I couldn't get rid of it. It's still there, lurking in my paste function waiting to leap out at me when I least expect it. What I'd like to know is - where have my copied pages got to??

Ta Da

Yesterday I typed THE END on my very first full length paranormal romance!

Yay! I am sooo excited.

I spent today reading it from start to finish, editing and polishing, tweaking and twiddling. My head is throbbing and my eyes are fit to pop out of my sockets but hey, it's done!

Guess what happens now?!

Timeslip

It's a good job there are 32 days in January. Otherwise I might have gone over my deadline to finish WIP before the beginning of February.

Phew.

AWOL

Don't you just hate it when email plays up? As in, for whatever reason, just not arriving at their destination?

The Mail Administrator is currently my New Best Friend (ha! It's totally one sided, I might add. And not on my side). My emails to one of my brilliant CPs bounces back faster than a speeding donut (in other words, within 5 days. I mean, come on. How are we supposed to have a clue what emails we sent FIVE DAYS AGO???)

It's not that I'm an especially paranoid person (sorry? what was that comment from the back...?) but I do get twitchy when stuff goes missing. I mean, WHERE do missing emails end up? Do they plop into some stranger's inbox? Disappear into some crazy alternate reality? Or just float around out there for eternity?

Whoops

I've started researching my next novel.

This isn't a bad thing as I have a Real Horror of one day waking up and not having a clue what I might write next. The trouble is I am sooo near the end with Neo, and I really have to get a move on to finish by Wednesday, but...

My new characters are calling me. And they rock.

It was okay as they chatted away while I was cleaning my teeth, and having my breakfast and nodding intelligently as various kidlets demanded my attention (luckily they didn't also require me to make conversation beyond the occasional aha, oh yeah, right then), no that's fine. The problem is I spent hours on the net yesterday researching - when I should have been finishing wip.

I have this theory. Deep in my subconscious I don't think I quite want to finish with Neo and so I'm putting it off. I always seem to get this problem when the end's in sight... sigh.

Hopping Off

Going away for a couple of days with dh and the kidlets to meet up with my little bro and his family. So what does the weather do? It pours. And not only does it pour but we get a storm warning as well. In fact there's thunder and lightning as I type. Isn't that typical?

On the writing front I've just left my hero unconscious at my heroine's feet, and not in a good way. Unfortunately he's going to have to stay like that for the next 3 days until I return home. Argh. I am soooo near the end on this one! And how many days left in January... I can't remember... are there enough for me to reach The End??

Steamy Paranormals

Seeing as my wip is a little different from my previous novels (what with the curse, enchanted mirror and totally Alpha male who, amazingly, I do not wish to kill with an eyelash curler) I thought it was about time I updated my website to reflect this.

My website was very pink and girly, and was perfectly suited to my contemp romances but now...? Hmm.

Before my wonderful cps think all this was merely a Ruse to procrastinate away from wip, I just want to assure them - they are absolutely right. I mean wrong. Perish the thought (snort!)

Here's the link if anyone wants to have a quick peek. It's more or less done. I kept having to nip out and check on the dinner... you know how it is... http://www.christinaphillips.com

Sex on the Brain

Or in other words writing a love scene. In my head I had it happening in about three days time, but my hero had other ideas (seeing as he's gone without for four thousand years I suppose I can't blame the poor guy). Still, he did sort of spring it on me and I wasn't quite Mentally Prepared as he morphed into Sex Slave mode. Despite my gentle coaxing he wasn't having any more procrastination and I spent the next five hours massaging the scene into shape. Talk about exhausting. I think I ended up more shattered than my heroine but while she could take it easy in the Jacuzzi I had to edit. No rest for the wicked.

Hooray for Sara Hantz!!!

I am soooo thrilled because yesterday my great friend and brilliant CP Sara signed with her agent!

However, because I live In Oz I did, of course, miss out on all the excitement as I was zzzing at the time. So annoying! I logged on this morning to about a trillion emails from our crit group, and I'm like, 'but hey I wasn't there to join in all the fun!'

But seriously Sara, I am so happy for you and may this be the start of a long, successful and prosperous career!

Tagged

Thank you Amanda, for tagging me. Here's my list.

7 Things to do before I die

Umm, I want to do a lot of things before I die so I'm not going to make a list!

7 Things that Attracted me to my DH

His blue eyes
His motorbike
His leathers (should I mention I was only 15 at the time and these things are IMPORTANT when a girl is 15??)
His evil sense of humour
His patience
His sense of adventure
He never panics (unlike me - panic central)

7 Books I Love Most

Defy the Eagle by Lynn Bartlett
Early Stephen King novels
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis
Harry Potter (especially Prisoner of Azkaban) by J.K. Rowling
Am loving Gena Showalter novels
The Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M Auel

(did I cheat on that one?)

7 Films I Love Most

Love, Actually
Notting Hill
While you were Sleeping
The Sixth Sense
When Harry met Sally
12 Monkeys
Aliens

7 Things I Can't Do

what only 7... haha, if I started making a list of all the things I can't do I'd never stop!

7 Words or Phrases I Say Most Often

Get off the computer (to my son)
Get off chat (to my youngest daughter)
Argh. What shall I do for dinner tonight
Argh. Dinner's burning (usually squealed to CPs while on Instant Messenger)
I must exercise more
I must stop drinking so many takeaway lattes
I must finish this chapter today!

Twitching

Call me mad (I'm a writer, so I've been called worse... snigger) but if I go for several days without writing I get the twitchies. Generally I don't write at weekends what with dear hubby and kidlets kicking about and whatnot, and only over the last year have I started to write productively during school holidays (I lock said kidlets in garden shed... what, that's frowned on? Oh, okay...)

However, when my current idea demanded to be written instantly, like right now, no now, not next month (and of course my adorable CPs also kicked my butt) it just so happened to be slap bang when the school summer holidays started. One week before Christmas. Right, very convenient!

Anyway, for some reason I thought okay, I'll give myself a 10 page a day personal deadline with the objective of having it finished by the end of January. So apart from Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, that's what I've managed (yes I even sneaked away on New Year's Day, I'm THAT dedicated!!)

However, today I didn't manage my 10 pages. And I've got the twitches. After one day. Unbelievable.

There's only thing to do in this type of situation. Eat chocolate. Lots of chocolate.

And drink takeaway latte. Mmmmmmmm!

Blurbing Well

I have huge problems hammering out blurbs. I don't know why because logically how hard can it be? I have the story in my head, I know all the major turning points and important scenes, so really it should be a doddle, yes?

Umm, no.

Yesterday I got into such a state while attempting to blurbify (is that a word? if not it should be) my wip I ended up giving myself an eyebrow pluck. With finger and thumb (not recommended, btw). Unfortunately it didn't help on the lightbulb front, although I do now possess a very trendy eyebrow.

Luckily for me I have a critique partner who is not only awesome at creating blurbs but, I have the sneaking suspicion, actually enjoys writing them! So I want to say a huge Thank You to her for the totally fabulous blurb she did. I love it!

Friday the 13th

Not that I realised it was Friday 13th until half way through the day, as I was (and still am) convinced it's the 12th today. So moving swiftly on...

After a marathon writing session yesterday where I managed 18 pages but didn't see more than a glimpse of my kidlets or hubby, today I decided to take my son to the beach as that is a Good Motherly Thing to Do. So I got up early, wrote 6 pages, then off we set.

The weather's a bit dodgy at the moment, due to the cyclone up north, so it was a bit breezy on the beach and while my son collected those tiny shell fishy things (I'll edit that when the right name comes to me!) I ogled the half naked talent jogging on the sand in the name of research. Well, I feel morally obliged to squeeze in research whenever possible and at least this way I can say I was mixing business with pleasure. Ahem.

Parrot Love

Even after seven years of living in Oz, I haven't got over my fascination with the wild parrots. Whenever they sweep overhead I have to stop whatever I'm doing and stand and gawp at them. They're just... so adorably cheeky and I love them.

I even loved them when they ruined our sunflowers the other year because I enjoyed watching them eat the middles. A few weeks ago, while hard at it on my computer (typing... in case you were wondering) a couple of parrots flew into the courtyard and started pecking at my husband's pride and joy (his baby grapes... ) Oddly, I didn't find this disturbing and instead stopped working to gaze out of the window at them, thinking, awwww! Aren't they just sooooo cute?

I 'forgot' to mention this to dear husband, sub consciously realising he wouldn't find it nearly so entertaining as I did. hehe.

But whoops. Yesterday, he caught them at it. He went wild. His baby grapes, which in previous years have never matured beyond the size of shrunken sultanas, do actually now resemble plump juicy grapes and he wants to keep them that way. He chased off the parrots then yelled at me to hold the fort while he went to find some netting.

So I stood on the steps scanning the skies. The parrots were nowhere to be seen. I went up another couple of steps and there they were hiding behind the garden shed, waiting for their moment. Awwww, bless!

The grapes are now safe and the parrots are off sulking. Just like kids, really.

Hot & Steamy

It's been brought to my attention I haven't been updating as promised. However, I do have (another) brilliant excuse. It's been H-O-T.

Oh what, you thought the title referred to my wip? Sorry! That's still powering ahead and I've just hit the half way mark, so am still on target to reach my personal deadline of finishing by the end of January.

But nah. It's been really hot and sticky here over the last few days. My fingers swell up into little sausages and my knees stick to the sides of the desk. Not a pretty sight, and not for the weak of stomach to witness. Turn off the A/C and within seconds it's like trying to breathe inside an oven.

Not that I'm complaining cause I love the summer but it would be handy to have a temp control for when I step outside into the furnace.

Hot and steamy signing off.

Good Start

Well oops. So much for my New Year's resolution of blogging on a daily basis. But it's the thought that counts, and I have been thinking of doing it...

Okay, I've just come up with the perfect excuse. My current hero! Yes, that'll do. And it's not even a lie, because this Alpha is one major time consuming guy. Talk about demanding. I'm seriously knackered!

Happy New Year

My New Year's Resolution is... to try and keep this blog updated. heh heh. I can but try.

My other resolution is to finish my WIP before the end of January. I'm sooo excited by my current hero, and the paranormal premise is a bit of a departure from my usual style. But I'm having so much fun with him I'm already a third of the way through the book and I only started it two weeks ago.

Here's hoping I don't flag at the half way mark!