tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-61659089333802214852023-11-15T10:54:38.010-05:00Writer Mama DramaI'm a married Author, with six children and a spare pen name. Add all the characters in my head and that makes one big family. My life is chaos, but my kids and my writing are my two great loves and I wouldn't give up either for the world. This blog is about how I blend both and how things can get a little insane at times.writermamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03934075867966842931noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6165908933380221485.post-17683456365450421942011-11-25T01:10:00.000-05:002011-11-25T01:10:34.821-05:00Thanksgiving BirthdayThis year my daughter's birthday fell on Thanksgiving. It would have been a nightmare if we hadn't celebrated early. Scarlett had a concert she wanted to attend on November 4th so she had a party the night before and went to the concert with some of her friends the next night. She said it was the best night of her life. A mother couldn't hope for more. The lead singer fell on her while body surfacing the crowd and in her mind that was a good thing. He even talked to her alone and gave her a kiss on the cheek. She was in heaven. It certainly made Thanksgiving easier for us, though I felt weird about not celebrating the day of her birth on the actual day. Today was the day she made me a mom, which is a big deal. It even rates above getting my first book published 'Painted Jezebel'. I did make her listen to her birth story, a tradition I started for all my kids.On the positive side, I had time to surf the web for promo opportunities for my novel. Raising kids, dealing with teen drama, writing and promoting is hard as a parent. I would love to hear how other parents with writing careers juggle these responsibilities. Leave a comment. I could always use more advice on the subject.Being super mom is super hard when you're pulled in so many directions.writermamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03934075867966842931noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6165908933380221485.post-8102424302090857332011-10-27T01:27:00.000-04:002011-10-27T01:27:15.172-04:00Ravencraft's Romance Realm: KDR Interview with Jezebel Jinx (MC of Painted Jezebel) at Ravencraft’s Romance Realm<a href="http://ravencraftrealm.blogspot.com/2011/10/kdr-interview-with-jezebel-jinx-mc-of.html#links">Ravencraft's Romance Realm: KDR Interview with Jezebel Jinx (MC of Painted Jezebel) at Ravencraft’s Romance Realm</a>writermamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03934075867966842931noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6165908933380221485.post-34027433257003665672011-05-31T16:13:00.000-04:002011-05-31T16:46:57.382-04:00How I took my muse on a mini vacationThe kids have been driving me stark raving mad. It's understandable, I suppose. End of the school year, summer on the horizon, naturally they would be hyped up. What do you do though, when you're a stay at home writer mom and you work where you live? My muse was threatening to go on strike. I was catching a bad case of writer's block and they don't have a cure for that yet. No spoon full of inspiration to get the creative juices flowing again. I was desperate. <br />
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I couldn't do what I normally do when I'm blocked and switch to a different project before the infection spreads to every artistic cell in my brain. I have a deadline I set for myself to have this particular book done and it wasn't even fully plotted yet. In such dire circumstances, what is a writer mama to do? Run away. Those two words were my salvation. <br />
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It's not really as bad as it sounds. I did not abandon my husband and six kids...well, not for long anyway. I just needed to stay away long enough to regain my sanity and pamper my muse. So I packed a bag for myself and Jolie Pethtel, my alter ego for the Jezebel Jinx mysteries or rather they'll only be mysteries plural if I get this second book done. Otherwise Jezebel will make her solitary debut in September and who knows when she'll be heard from again. <br />
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Just so you don't think I'm a split personality, I write under two different names because I have a Young Adult series that I'm writing under my legal name with my daughter Scarlett. The young adult well never runs dry because I have a teenager at home who tells me the most interesting stories about high school, which I then spin into something she at least finds positively brilliant. I'm hoping other teenagers agree. But this isn't about Billi's books. This is about poor Jolie and her inability to function in such chaos. She writes about adult situations...is murder an adult situation? Well, let's just say her stories are fun, but you won't find many kids galloping through the pages. She really needed the break and so did our muse. We have a time share arrangement, our muse and us or is that we? Maybe I do have a split personality.<br />
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Soooo, I packed a bag. Luckily, Jolie and I wear the same size. A mighty fine coincidence, don't you think? Now what happened next scared my husband more than a little bit, but we all have to face our demons sometime and it was his turn to put up or shut up. He bought me a pizza, then loaded up my bag and my laptop into the minivan. For once all the seats weren't taken and no one was yelling about who hit who. It was incredibly peaceful. Even the weather was cooperating with my creative goals. It was a dark and stormy night... what could be better for plotting a murder mystery? <br />
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Next we arrive at the hotel. It isn't a big fancy place, but it has everything I require. A comfy bed, a television, eletricity, air conditioning and of the most critical importance...wireless internet. No, I didn't want to play yoville or update my face book status. I needed to do research. Just the usual, how to posion people in such a way they experience a horrifyingly original and entertaining death or in the case of survivors, how to prevent a horrifyingly original and entertaining death. Yeah, fellow writers, I know that was repetitive. So I had everything I needed or did I?<br />
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My loving son forgot to pack the charge chord to my laptop. I wouldn't get far without my computer. Was it a last ditch attempt to stop me from jumping ship? If so, it was destined to fail. I chose my course and I had to stay on it no matter what. So I settled down and with a clear concience, ate some pizza and watched a bit of the Harry Potter marathon while I waited for my devoted husband to run home and fetch the charger for me. <br />
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This is the pampered mom segment of my mini vacation. Just me, myself and Jolie. I'm not sure if my muse was there yet because well...she's invisible. I only know she's there when inspiration strikes or doesn't, as the case may be. Moving on, my hubby did come back, but he brought children with him. It was terrifying, I have to tell you. No, not really, but it was not really conductive to my evil plotting ends to have them there at that particular time. Thankfully they weren't staying or my book would have died before the first character. <br />
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There were hugs and assurances that I would indeed return, then I sent them on their merry way. Well, not quite merry. My husband had a look in his eye like a man condemned to Hell, but hey we all have to make sacrifices in this life and he was mine.<br />
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I'd like to say I plotted like a madwoman, but truthfully I'm more of a pantser, although in this case I was determined to plot or die trying...well maybe just take a nap. It was tempting really. I never get to sleep alone anymore and for those of you with children, you know sleeping alone isn't always a bad thing. I was determined to make the most of my one day hotel stay, so I surfed the web a bit. I even invented a cool widget for my website. Neither are finished yet, the widget or the web site, but really that's not why I was here. <br />
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Truthfully, my muse was more into Harry Potter than helping me write my book, so I watched the first three installments, until my husband called to see how much progress I'd made. He wasn't surprised I hadn't accomplished anything which made me more determined than ever to jump start my muse. At this point, the most magnifiscent thing happened. The storm worsened. <br />
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Thunder rolled, lightning struck and the heaven's opened pouring down pure inspiration. Okay, that was probably over the top, but you get my drift. I plotted. I don't know everything yet. Sometimes, not even I know the end. I usually work backwards rather than forward, but Jolie prefers to be surprised. I do have a stable of suspects and victims and best of all...a premise. <br />
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I was up late...we write best at night and the best part is I got to skip the whole tedious get the cranky kids up for school nightmare. When my husband, who survived the night,came to pick me up he was almost kid free. The others were already safely escorted to school, having also survived a night without mom, leaving only my four year old to shower me with affection. My husband couldn't return the room key to the front desk fast enough. It's nice to know I was missed, but next time...oh yeah there's gonna be a next time; my muse, Jolie and I may take an entire weekend.writermamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03934075867966842931noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6165908933380221485.post-75930493296181991272010-10-12T05:38:00.000-04:002010-10-12T05:38:29.862-04:00My Muse is shamelessly exploiting my childI admit I can be neglectful at times, when I'm working on a story, but I'm writing my first Young Adult novel and who better to exploit than my teenage daughter, Scarlett? Don't feel sorry for her though. She loves every minute of it. <br />
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I read an article online about audio or visual thinkers and it turns out I'm the latter. Finding or creating pictures of my characters inspire my writing and assist in avoiding the dreaded 'Writer's Block'. I know cover artists design the book covers when a story is contracted, but I love to make my own covers. They keep that end goal in sight-getting my novel published and keep me typing away on the keyboard. <br />
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I'll go to extraordinary lengths to find or create the perfect photo to fuel my muse. My main character in my current project 'Kindred Spirits' is loosely based on my daughter Scarlett (She even came up with the name Hallow, but don't tell anyone) so it was only natural she be my cover model. Isn't she beautiful? And yes, her hair is really purple. <br />
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Splat color washes out in about a month and she likes to change colors frequently, as she goes to a uniform school and it's a creative way to express herself. My younger girls do a streak on each side. Believe me, it does wonders for their self esteem and popularity. Not to mention, they think I'm the coolest mom, though I draw the line at tatoos and lip piercings. <br />
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I took her to the cemetary in a formal gown-repeatedly-to get that perfect shot for my cover. She thought that was cool too and added some of the pics to her facebook account for her friends to see. In the end though, a special effect made for a better picture, though the journey was fun. Mother and daughter spending quality time in a graveyard. It's weird, but true. What can I say? I'm a paranormal writer. I don't think like normal people. <br />
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I've also been pumping her shamelessly for information about her highschool, friends and teen slang to spin into ideas for my story. I think I may have to give her cover credit if I sell the book after all the hard work and notes she's taken for me. Scarlett wants to be a writer, as well as a million other things, so helping with the creative process has been fun for her and it's something we can do together. Now the question is what should I do with the other five while I finish this novel?writermamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03934075867966842931noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6165908933380221485.post-56386558782250579802009-06-24T21:18:00.000-04:002009-06-24T22:18:13.231-04:00Blame it on my museIf I don't get the housework done or the kids clothes are mismatched, don't blame me. Blame it on my muse. She is a stern taskmaster. She doesn't let me quit writing even when my eyes are all bleary and I'm begging for sleep. Just one more page, one more paragraph, one more line. I've never seen her, so how do I know she's real? Is she a figment of my imagination? I could say yes, but then all the voices I hear in my head demanding their stories be told would just make me crazy. Instead I choose to believe in <strong>her</strong>.<br /><br /><strong>She's</strong> the one cracking the whip, keeping me up all night, even though I have to get up after two hours sleep to wake up the kids for school. She's the one who had me so lost in my own mind, I neglected my hubby on his day off.<br /><br />I prefer the term domestic goddess over housewife, despite the fact that there is nothing in the least domestic about me. I justify myself with the fact that my husband knew that before he married me. I didn't spend my life longing to be someone's maid. I was born to be a writer, so write is what I do. Just because I haven't got paid for it yet, doesn't change what I am. Becoming a mother gave me pause. With six kids to take care of, I silenced her voice for as long as I could, but she is like another child demanding her share of the attention.<br /><br />To be honest, I'm grateful. If she weren't around, it would be pretty boring inside my head. Nothing there, but thoughts of dirty diapers, teacher meetings and dinner menus. Oh, the horror of it! Life is quite interesting inside my own mind. I get to murder without fear of consequence, especially people annoy me in my every day life. I meet the most interesting characters, not just vampires, witches and the like, but fascinating people I enjoy having in my head. As much as I love my children, my characters are more stimulating conversationalists. Don't worry, we speak telepathically. No one sees my lips move at all...just my fingers clicking on the keyboard.<br /><br />If I never sell a manuscript and believe me I hope I do, but even if I don't, my head will always be full of stories. As long as she stays close. I know what keeps her happiest. She has simple tastes. Moonlight or a good thunderstorm are her best inspiration. So I'll put up with the late nights and her occaisional mood swings for the sake of my art. Just remember if you pass by me with a wave and I seem to be ignoring you, my eyes glazed with a faraway look...don't blame me. Blame it on my <strong>muse</strong>.writermamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03934075867966842931noreply@blogger.com1