Serials and Scenarios ~ Feedback Part 2

Get a copy here http://amzn.to/2ndM0qv

A follow-up to yesterday. Read it here. http://bit.ly/2q4y1BK  

An author should never enter a debate regarding a review. It's just a bad idea. However. A comment made by a reviewer made me pause a bit. Her review was great and I appreciate it. But her experience is very different than mine. So I am using this next couple paragraphs to give more information about some reasons why our characters are written the way they are. 

A 78 year-old-reviewer said she didn't know anyone who acted like the ladies of Paradise. I am glad for her that she doesn't know the following story. But I have observed a whole different group of folks. Note: Some of the elderly or older church ladies I've known would not fit in with Fern and Zula. However, as with every age, there are extremes on both sides. And a wide road of gray in the middle (pun intended though I prefer to call my gray silver!) The town I live in has a very high population of over 65. We are ranked as one of the best cities for a healthy retirement. So. I have a little bit of knowledge with the over 65 crowd. 

Beaches and a cruise ship are great places to people watch. What I have observed in those locations is that those who are shy and inhibited are that way at any age. I've seen older women buttoned up in seven layers and I've seen others in the exact age group out and about in yoga pants and crop tops. Or doing the back stroke, in a tiny swimsuit in one of the cruise ship swimming pools. I know a 90+ year-old diva-doll who dresses to the nines and possibly gets most of her wardrobe from the junior department...and talk about spicy tongue and attitude.

So. When you are on a beach look around. I promise you will see at least one 65+ man in a speedo and one leather-skinned-sun-goddess in her bikini. Silver hair glistening in the sun. Neither one seems a bit concerned about showing skin. Right next to the 20-somethings in their thong bikinis.

True story.

One elderly lady shared her concern about her Peyton Place retirement village with me. Once, while delivering greeting cards to her neighbors she encountered a naked man. He left the room of a 70-something gal and trucked across the hall in all his glory. Right past her. Not a word. He may have winked but I'm pretty sure she had buried her head in the sand at that point. That religious holiday was ruined for the poor innocent gal.

In my experience here's the bottom line. If grandma was a tiger as a kitten, chances are she still has a purr.

Serials and Scenarios ~ Yeah. Flapping Duck Feet and Tossing Things out There

You know how ducks just float serenely across the top of the water? That is unless they are heinie-up-face-down. And the only propelling is from their frantic little feet whipping the water under the glassy surface? 

Yeah. That's how this book tour feels to me. 

Disclaimer: I kinda don't have a clue. 

But, I do have someone who has a few clues in opposite areas so we may be appearing as graceful swans floating on a ripple-less pond. Har. Har. Har.

At least we are giving a book away and having some fun over at Zu-fer. 

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Fifi?

Posts over the next couple of weeks are going to be pretty Out of the Frying Pan centric. 

I'm posting all sorts of stuff all over the internet. Chances are good you'll see unique material when you follow the links. 

Now. I'm not going to lie. Gladys has some less than photogenic moments and she might be a little inspiration for Fifi. 

Fifi? You might ask. 

Fifi is a character in Out of the Frying Pan. Zula introduces her here. Gladys did her best to do a Fifi impression that was believable. 

Believe it or not. This book releases next Tuesday. As in a week. The last week of ten years worth of work. Not sure what else to say.  Maybe buckle that seatbelt. It's going to be a ride.  

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ A New Blog in Town

Out of the Frying Pan comes out in mere weeks. 

Holy MOLY!!!!!! I'm not feeling prepared to be a published author. This whole thing from start to finish is quite a bit of work and requires lots of stepping outside the ol comfort zone. 

Our main characters Fern and Zula have started a blog. Today is the first post. 

I'd love for you to stop by. Zu-fer And you will discover you indeed get a lot more than what you bargained for. 

Like I mentioned a few weeks ago, I'll be promoting lots of links in the next several months as we put ourselves out there to promote this novel. 

Can I just say I hope you will love Fern and Zula as much as we do. These are some ladies. And if it's okay we'll just use social media to promote them since we don't have a spider who can do amazing things with a web. 

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 ~ 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.