Serials and Scenarios ~ Where I Was...Am...Uhhhh. Where I Visited

So. I wrote up a bit at Novel Rocket. It's all about the basics. The really, really bottom line stuff one needs to write a book. If you are so inclined, head over and check it out. 


http://www.novelrocket.com/2017/04/nearly-everything-i-need-to-write-book.html

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ I Shoulda Been a Writer...

The blog tour mania has left me a little bit worded out. How strange. That never happens. Right now I'm soaking in the fumes of varnish and so glad I wore gloves when staining so I don't have filthy fingernails. The dogs are wrestling on the newly carpeted stairs and I'm gearing up for a full 5 Day Grandma gig. Ha. Maybe that's why I'm speechless. 

A little funny which I will go into more of later at Modern Day Mishaps or elsewhere. My boss doesn't like to share his bathroom. But because he's only one lone discontented man and there are 13 others -- 12 of those women -- he pretty much has to. So he asked me to put up a sign in his bathroom spelling our the rules. 

I can not put up a sign that just states the facts. So I put up one that was snarky and sarcastic and pretty amusing to me. 

He came to me later. "That was hysterical he said. I was so impressed with your use of flotsam. You just don't see that word very often." I laughed and thought to myself. "He paid me to mess around at work and entertain myself. Jokes on him." Then he said. "You really are in the wrong career because you could be making 10 times what you are making now if you wrote for a show or something." 

I laughed even harder. Hello! I've blogged for years. I tweet an occasional show stopper, I have two cute dogs and two cute hedgehogs who have yet to have gone viral. Oh, and I just had a book published. I'm pretty sure my talent isn't going to be "moving me on up" any time soon. 

Oh, sweet mercy. I just said. "Thanks! Glad you liked your sign." 

Serials and Scenarios ~ My First Podcast!

Michelle and I were guests on Writers & Authors on Fire a few weeks ago. That conversation is now published. Here's the link. http://bit.ly/2dVDvuY This was so fun. We laughed quite a bit and John Vonhof was VERY PATIENT!!! We actually manage to give some tips and helpful advice along the way. 

So much fun. It's an hour. So if you are cleaning or cooking or folding laundry (my favorite times to listen to podcasts) pop it on and enjoy! 

Scraps and Snippets ~ Spicey Dicey Onion Rings and Frying Pan Factoids

Taking another break from posting puppies. I don't know why anyone would not want to look at the sweet puppies all day long, but I digress. 

A few months ago an author I Linked-In'd with, Nancy Jarvis, contacted me about a cookbook she was putting together. Nancy had the cool idea of gathering recipes from different cozy mystery authors. 

Because Michelle and I have an upcoming release (without a date, or...ummm exact publisher yet, the wheels turn veeerrrry slowly sometimes) she asked if we wanted to submit a few recipes. 

I asked Michelle. What would it hurt? We need a few recipes for the book anyway because Zula is an amazing cook who can whip up some mean dishes. But it turned out the deadline for recipe submission was looming and there was a whole lot of food mentioned in Out of the Frying Pan. I asked Michelle to send me dish names. (Zula names all her signature dishes.) Michelle tossed out the appetizer from a dinner party fail. (Well, the food didn't fail at all, unless you count the uneaten bombe when tension ramped up and sent everyone scurrying after their own agendas instead of toward dessert.) 

The appetizer winner? Spicey Dicey Onion Rings. Yum. And what did Michelle have in mind for this recipe? I asked her. "I don't know. I just liked the way it sounded," was her paraphrased response. "Make something up." So I did. And submitted it. We were able to submit two recipes and do a mini write-up of our character or a scene, etc. 

It was terribly fun. And the onion rings were off the charts. 

Here's the link to the cookbook. 

Here's one of our recipes. The write-up is on the sneak peek. Or it was when I looked. Some of the other recipes in the sneak peek looked pretty fabulous, too. Be sure to check it out.  

Spicey Dicey Onion Rings

1/3 Cup garbanzo bean flour (besan)

1/3 Cup water ( use 1/4 and add a 1/2 TBSP at a time until you get consistency for the batter you want, you may need less)

1/2 TBSP lemon pepper or lemon garlic blend or lemon peel/fried garlic

1/4 teaspoon sea salt (additional for cooked rings if desired)

1 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1 1/2 teaspoon of dried parsley

1/2 TBSP brown or yellow mustard

1/2 TBSP lemon juice

1 1/2 teaspoon of siracha sauce or pepper sauce of choice 

Mix dry ingredients until well mixed, add 1/4 cup of water to the wet ingredients and mix into the dry. Add more water if needed. You don't want watery nor so thick it's gooey. Just dippable. 

Slice a medium onion. 

Heat oil on a stove top or in a deep fryer. When hot add the dipped rings. When the rings are golden either flip if you don't have enough oil to cover the top of the onions or remove and place on paper towels to absorb the grease. Sprinkle with salt if desired. 

Serials and Scenarios ~ Book Update ~ A Little Somethin Somethin Tossed in the Frying Pan

So I'm learning stuff about editing. 

Stuff. Have you ever considered how useful that word is? So descriptive. 

What I'm learning is that when someone points out a glaring issue in your manuscript, you have to get really creative and rework massive amounts of prose. 

Case in point:

One of our lovely critique partners didn't buy what we were selling. 

Our secondary characters develop a romance, and it moved way too quick in her estimation. Michelle and I reread the scenes through our critter's eyes and yup, she was right. I wouldn't buy it either. 

So we had to layer an additional plot line into the mix and go back and revisit several scenes to add hints and foreshadowing and layers so it is now believable. 

It's kind of fun. It certainly made the relationship richer and I love that, and it was a puzzle to solve and that was kind of fun, too. 

I have one more scene to tweak and then I can reread all my scenes to make sure it makes sense to me then it's headed to our next victim critiquer. Michelle tells me she's ruthless. Yikes. I may learn a ton of STUFF before this process is over. 

Serials and Scenarios ~ Frying Pan Nonsense...

Baby Steps...

A few years ago, I had a huge attack of insecurity. I decided that I was a mediocre writer and lost my will to write. 

I judged my ability to review books. Why on earth would my opinion account for any thing? It didn't help that I got a couple of personal attack comments and emails from people who didn't care for some of my reviews, or me for that matter. Who was I to judge when I didn't have a clue what I was even doing? Writing rules and regulations, the mechanics messed with my mind. And I honestly didn't feel like I had any thing of value to say. (This, by the way, is a theme I'm currently struggling with in music. Feel free to remind me of this if I rant and whine about music later…k?)

Of course I didn't shut up. I wrestled my thoughts and actions and kept on keeping on. I still wonder why I write my blog sometimes. I hit dry spells where I shut down and use the words of others or even better, God's Word. Other times I resort to empty humor or chatter and in hindsight I wonder at the thousands of words that have come from my mouth and off my fingertips and I hope that they aren't a cacophony of clashing cymbals. 

Occasionally, I get feedback that something I share makes a difference. And that helps me want to continue to pour out my thoughts. 

This novel has been extra challenging for me. The insecurity had me in bondage. So when I promised Michelle I would finish it I had some more wrestling to do before I could even begin. And once I started and found some enjoyment in writing it, I was pleasantly surprised. Even more so, Michelle emailed me and told me that somehow I had grown as a writer over my long hiatus. 

We are putting the final tweaks on the story. Michelle's editing skills are tight, taut and ruthless. The lady is gifted in grammar and she loves to slice and dice. Tonight, I got this comment from her. 

"Laughing Out loud. No, really. I know I've read this several times, but as I'm going over Fern & Zula for the last time before I send it off, I still freaking laugh out loud at lines like this: 

Fern knew by the glazed eyes and faraway stare that Zula had gone to the happy hostess in the sky banquet hall and might have the party already planned down to the folded napkin sculptures and number of M&M’s in each little hideous hot-glued theme-of-the-week candy cup.

You are such a freak and I love you." 

I'm pretty sure this will insulate my heart from insecurities and negative bombs that are sure to come my way. 

Serials and Scenarios ~ A Book Update...

Gotta use this picture one more time. It amuses me. 

NaNoWriMo update: One more scene to go. We are almost done. One more scene. Woot. Woot. 

There, of course, it a whole, whole lot of editing to do. A whole lot. The way we were ping ponging scenes back and forth, whew, there's definitely some clean up in aisle five in our very near future. 

But it feels so good to have my final scene written and THE final scene written. Just one more transition scene for Michelle. 

Now. The editing. This might/could be very challenging. But the book is done, Dudes. 

Serials and Scenarios ~ Seriously, the Last Wrap Up Post AboutNaNoWriMo….

I never actually signed up for NaNoWriMo. And we didn't follow the directions. In NaNoWriMo you are supposed to crack out 50k words in the month of November.

That's about 1600ish words a day with a few days off. (if you are wondering what 1600 words looks like, this drivel right here, that you are reading, the whole column is probably about 400 (376 actual count) and clearly, I'm struggling…just sayin.)

That's a lotta words. Especially when you are trying to make them good ones, ya know? Our book, Out of the Frying Pan, went into NaNoWriMo with about 50k words already there with most of them spit-polished and shiny.

We need 80k for publishing purposes. (Drum roll….) We cracked out 21k in November leaving us with a mere 9000 words to go. I wrote a scene yesterday, as did Michelle, so now we are at 7.5. I also started writing a second scene. We have four more chapters to go to clean all the details up and at this point I think we are both so excited to finish we will have it cracked out very soon. We each only have five or six scenes to write. And the editing process will go pretty quick I think since we have several eyes who are offering to check it over for us once we are happy with the process.

Next? Get it published. Michelle has an agent who's shopping it. Here is my advice for any wannabe writers. Immerse yourself in the writing world for a decade or so. Learn everything you can, give away your time for free. Read a whole lot and review the work of others. Support your more talented friends who begin to publish. Then somehow attach yourself to at least one of them and weasel your way into being published by osmosis.

Sweet gig. Eh? Oh, and with the "1 Million Dollars" Michelle and I will split on the publishing of our book, we will probably be able to buy each other a fancy latte and maybe a gooey treat of some sort and if it's a really great advance, one for each of our husbands. Probably not the kids. But they will all get a copy of the book.

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ December Has Arrived and What a Month November Was...

That means NaNoWriMo is no mo. Ha Ha. Sorry. 

How did I do? Did we get it done? 

I cracked out four final scenes on Saturday in an epic attempt to throw myself at the finish line tape. But. The tape didn't snap. However. Michelle and I wrote THOUSANDS of words (most of them keepers) during our marathon month of writing. We are almost done. I think 10 more scenes will finish it. Trust me when I tell you this….it feels so good to have this thing almost done. And it feels amazing to have enjoyed the process. The last time I put effort into the novel I felt like a fake writer. But plugging away at my blog, reading some good books, honing my skillz, has paid off in that I think I have now somehow incorporated the knowledge I've been chasing into something I can now instinctively do. Worth a million bucks. Not really. Writing pays peanuts, but grasping something elusive. That's a big deal. 

You have a dream? You going for something that feels like it won't ever happen, keep on keeping on. Never give up. And I'm preaching to myself. Clearly, the same will be true with the violin. BTW. I was able to write several scenes on my I-phone while in the nursing home and hospital with my mother-in-law, but I was not able to practice violin while visiting or watching and waiting. My violin took a back seat. No. Let me be honest. My violin took it's place in the trunk of my life last month. 

But, the times I played I remembered what I was supposed to do. That's a plus. And, I have made a commitment to this instrument and I can play. Like my teacher said every time I play I'm adding to the cosmic music of life (He didn't really say that, I kinda just boiled it into a ridiculous weird cheesy line for entertainment purposes. He did say every time I played I was making art.) 

November was crazy. What with my mother-in-law's fall and broken bones, to the procrastinated article and recipes I put off writing til the last minute, to a foodie holiday, to a book writing frenzy, to a effort intensive Arbonne business building activity, to a clean out the basement and take a load of stuff I'm not using and not going to use to the local mission I am glad to look behind me and then turn my face forward and take on December. One day at a time. 

The picture? Vegan German Chocolate Bars before they slid into the oven. A delicious creation. Recipe coming soon! Have an awesome Monday!  

Serials and Scenarios ~ Random Words from Our Work In Progress

Just for fun. Just because I need something to post here. I've decided to share a few snippets of what I've been writing this month. 

Out of the Frying Pan…coming soon. Editors may allow the following words…


Red and black Jackson Pollack streaks everywhere, her hair had gotten plastered to her tears. Her eyes had turned into melted Hershey's kisses and everything was wet. Flynn sucked in a deep breath almost tasting the brine from her sadness,

Fern slid on her black track jacket and zipped it all the way up to her chin. Then dug out the black stocking cap tugging it down over her hair and tucking the silver wayward strands up under the knitted band. She turned to face the other two and quirked an eyebrow at their apparent lack of readiness. "Chop. Chop. Ladies. And Zula. I am not going anywhere with you all dressed up like an entire circus act."

Serials and Scenarios ~ NaNoWriMo Thought of the Day...

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Drive By Thoughts

I've discovered that you can write a book on an I-Phone. Do I recommend that? Nope. Not at all. But the commitment I made does not waver in the midst of lots of hours spent elsewhere than in front of my computer. I have now written two full scenes on our Work in Progress (WIP) from a hospital room.

Yesterday I mentioned what I had learned in this process about brokenness and surgery and the inevitable pain of life.

I'd like to add to that.

My Mother-in-Law was in horrible pain before surgery. Even though drugs are good, they confused her and didn't really ease her pain. Just masked it. After surgery, whoooo baby, she was so in the land of la la. Her pain was intense and her communication skills were deadened by the anesthesia. It was rough to see. She was as white as the hospital sheets and kept saying she wanted to understand but her brain was foggy. Once again, as they added pain medication, she would fall into a blessed sleep.

But what a difference yesterday morning made. I walked into her room bright and early and was shocked at her clarity and her color. She had turned from looking like death to very much alive. Her pain level was under control. she was completely tracking with the nurses, asking appropriate questions and remembered the night before, and she even smiled. The afternoon and evening brought even more improvement.

Not only is healing pain better because life is back in the house. Healing pain is quicker. Had she waited an extra day for surgery, there would not have been improvement. Not at all. There would have been more dying. Lying flat, unable to move, the consequences on her whole body were real and a concern. The gastrointestinal system, the circulatory system, the immune system. All were at danger of worsening….

I've got to go. I'll continue this tomorrow. Blessings on your day.

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Monday Blessings

Quite the eventful weekend. 

First up was 24 hours of Arbonne conversation where I was inspired and challenged. Plus the eight hours round trip which included more encouraging and challenging conversation.

I managed to crack out a few words here and there when I had a chance to work on Out of the Frying Pan. 

Also there was time for some reading for the book review that is due before Thanksgiving. 

And last night's snuggles on the couch with stinky, adorable grand dogs. 

The biggest event was spending time with my mother-in-law who fell and broke her hip, collar bone and elbow on Sunday morning.  Calling the ambulance, going to the ER, hearing that everything that hurt was broken, watching her slip into morphine induced sleep…thank you, Lord, for morphine. And realizing that no less than five details falling into perfect place were absolute God sends, because without them, things could have been so much worse. 

I am calling the rest of this month… No Room For Negativity November. Because there just isn't. Ain't nobody got time for that. 

Serials or Scenarios ~ NaNoWriMo Thought of the Day...

Not true. Some of my words were in email format. But…I was amused.

Serials and Scenarios ~ NaNoWriMo Adventure

 Michelle and I are cracking out this book now. Four scenes down and others mapped out. We ran into some serious road blockage trying to get the many characters to cooperate and get in the places we need them to be in to get to the ending we have charted. But I think we've got it. About 25 K more to go and all in this month. I'm glad I'm not signed up for the official challenge of 50K NaNoWriMo, though. 

Serials and Scenarios….Meet Fifi and Oh, Listen to the Music...

First day of NaNoWriMo. I didn't post anything yesterday because it was one of those days. Meeting myself coming and going. Have I mentioned anything exciting about violin lately? Oh, yeah, because NOTHING exciting is happening. I think I've entered the place where I just have to keep trudging until I get it. 

Eleven months after starting I know the main notes….know is used somewhat tongue in cheek because I "know" them but I don't. A fraction of an inch gives a completely wrong tone, and when my fingers are on all the strings flying this was and that and I can't really look at my fingers because then I get really screwed up, I'm playing by the seat-of-my-pants. Yesterday I got the lecture about enjoying the journey and how I shouldn't really give myself a goal that will tell me I've arrived. I am a violinist. I play the violin. And no matter how much I play or how much I practice, the chances are I am never going to nail, perfect or stand on a stage and have flowers thrown at me. If I do, then that's great, but the flowers aren't going to happen each and every time so then what? If I look at it as making art, making the world a more beautiful place just because I'm adding my voice in music to the world, whether I'm playing just for me or for others, then I'm going to feel more successful. 

I am a violinist. I make art. I make beauty. I am what I am. 

I'm also a writer. I create word pictures. 

Here's word picture for you. Michelle, the crazy counterpart of mine has chosen two pictures to represent Fifi, the wonder dog, from our novel, Out of the Frying Pan. 

She asked her readers to pick the picture that best represents Fifi. I should do the same. 

Here's the description (which I wrote, sigh, lovely picture is it not?) and the photos. Chime in with your thoughts. Maybe by the time the book is published I'll have created an artistic violin score. 


"We now have a dog Zula insists is “adorable.” Not a puppy, mind you, but a decrepit rat terrier who has to be lifted in order for it to fulfill its purpose in life — sitting on laps and yapping. Though other body parts fail, its barker is in perfect working order.

Fifi moved in three days ago when poor Randolph Johnson checked into Shady Rest. . . the nursing home, not to be confused with the cemetery of that same name three miles further south.

Zula walks the silly thing around the block with great drama but has to stop every few feet to let the rodent-on-a-leash catch its breath. It’s the most ridiculous sight here at Sunset Paradise. She’s sewn several doggy garments for their outings — which would look a lot less ridiculous without the bedazzling, but at least they hide the bald patches."

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Weekend Dronage...

I warned you that you'd be seeing him.  I love grumpy cat.

Over the weekend I accomplished quite a bit, none of it cleaning. We had a mini-conference at church that was cleansing. Best word for it.

I went to a book signing that ended up being a book reading for Isa's new book. Fun. She's so dry and so sarcastic. Needless to say her reading of her prologue with a side of extra sarcasm was hilarious. 

deadly butter chicken...yep that's why I'm Vegan.

Also, after I purchased Isa Does It and was carrying it around waiting for the signing to start I found a few contrast books. Isa Does It has some recipes that I will be trying. Expect a review sometime. Maybe not November because I will be writing instead of making meals for anyone. Not true. But. There will not be many memorable meals. Just sayin. Isa brought cookies from the book. Rosemary Chocolate Chip...yes. For reals. Very satisfying and bizarrely good. 


Then, my mom, daughter and I threw a costume party. Interesting turn of events as in last minute headaches, lateness issues, cars not starting. I had a great visit with my folks, enjoyed hanging with a few peeps, making pumpkin crafts and ate some good food. 

Sunday, instead of cleaning...do you see a common theme here? I refamiliarized myself with Out of the Frying Pan, KC, Fern, Zula and Flynn. And then I wrote a couple of scenes to really get a head start on the whole commitment to finishing this dang thing. Oddly. I'm really enjoying writing the scenes. Maybe I just needed a long break from writing. And I don't think writing is like violin....like if you don't touch it for years and years you don't remember a thing. Instead, I think the shorter writing and the reading I've been doing actually have been honing my skills a little. So far what I'm writing doesn't make me hurl. But, the month hasn't even begun. And I have thousands and thousands of words to write. So we'll see. 

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Announcing a Plan for November

So. Remember that novel I've been working on forever? You may not. It's been, oh, 18 months since I touched it. The last time I did I had promised Michelle, co-author, that I'd work every day in April of 2012 on the book. 

And I did. 

She has wondered a few times when the next focused energy might occur. 

In my "wisdom" I suggested that November, the month of novel writing all over the world, i.e. NaNoWriMo, might be the perfect month to do just that. 

And guess what. I promised. And bizarrely, November is just around the corner. 

I will be writing Fern and Flynn and solving a murder this next month. I will be bouncing off of Zula scenes and creating a bit of romance, too. Expect random. Who knows what kind of bits you'll get during NaNoWriMo.