I'm A Naive Nellie....#MFRWauthors #13

Last week was greatest strength....this week it's weakness.

I think I'm too trusting....

Plus, I have a sincere weakness for sweets, in particular at the moment, blackberry pie/cobbler.

Peanut Butter Twix bars.

Reeses Cups.

Whatchamacallits (yes, it's a deeeeelicious candy bar!).

Singing.  I will break out in song when the mood hits, or someone around me reminds me of a song lyric.

Drives.  My kids.  CRAZY!  (Hey, just doin' m'job!)

That's all I got at the moment.  I've been spending this week out in the yard, cleaning up leaves and pine needles.  Older grandkids return home on Saturday.....Miss Drama Queen has matured into a lovely babysitter for the 4-y/o granddaughter, so gotten a LOT accomplished!

In the mood for some general fiction stories?  My alter-ego's had her 11th book released this past week (eep, she's catching up to me!  I need to write RiKar's story pdq, lol!), anther anthology she was invited to contribute to.  Go check it out here; it's also in print.

Her stories are Family Secrets and Confessions Over Cold Eggs (remember our Title Topic?  Yeah....figure out that second title, lmao!)

Click here for more posts.

Faith, Compassion, Forgiveness....#MFRWauthors #12

What's my greatest strength?

I'm about to break a sacred rule.

You see, I attend a Women's Conference at church every year, and we're not supposed to divulge secrets.  But since this one's about me, I'll share it anyway.

I was raised in a Christ-oriented family, and thanks to some childhood bullying and anxiety issues, I clung to my faith, since I'd been taught about a loving God.  I pictured Him with gray hair and wrinkles, and a very loving manner, much like my own grandpa.  I didn't feel accepted by kids at school, but I was close to several friends whom I only saw once or twice a week.  Plus, I had Father God whom I could talk to any time of day or night:)

So yes, I have a deep faith in a Higher Power.....which may seem strange to romance writers.  Stranger still, I have many friends who don't believe, or are of other faiths.

My childhood issues gave me a unique compassion for others, and I've also been told I'm way too forgiving at times.

But that's how I was raised....and since I was an 'ugly duckling' who has blossomed into some sort of swan, it allowed me to develop my imagination, since I was a voracious reader.

I am loyal to a fault; I can be your greatest fan if I love your books; I can champion the underdog.

Hope:  I've never given up hope that one day I'd be published.  This has allowed me to be flexible, since at 1st I wanted to be published by age 20 and be a guest on Love Boat, and have that shipboard romance with either Doc or Gopher, but alas, it went off the air when I was 13 or 14!  Nevertheless, when it didn't happen at 30, I was thrilled when it finally happened before I hit 40!  Even then, I struggled with marketing, but through trial and error I've attained some small successes:)  The worst thing anyone can say to me?

"Why don't you give up on that writing thing?  You're not making any money!  Go get a 'real job'."

Ummmm....Yeah, I don't make a huge sum of money, but I would much rather be doing something I love than spend a lot of time and energy doing something I despise.

If those aren't strengths, then apparently I've misunderstood the topic.

For more, or even better posts, go here.

Or here.   You might get all the links on this one; there was some confusion at the beginning of the week!

How My Brain Works....#MFRWauthors #11

Welcome back!  This week's topic is 'What is your writing process?'

Answer:  I really don't know.

I've written books in a month, involving several hours' worth of pounding the keyboard and snarling at any interruption.

I've written books which have taken years, yanking every word from my brain, much like a toddler in the throes of a colossal temper tantrum.

Then there was last Wednesday......

I was working on a new short story, and being under an intense deadline (long story short, I thought my original story was accepted, but discovered two weeks before publication, they were asking me to revise it!  Thankfully, publication has been delayed another week...okay, that wasn't so short,,,,are you getting ANY sense of my thought process yet?  LOL!), I was rather stressing out about the way the new story was going.  I sat down to watch Jeopardy, when one of the clues sparked an idea.  As soon as the commercial break began, I jumped up and went to the computer and wrote.....then back to watch more Jeopardy.

Then Survivor began.  I'm a die-hard lover of this show, so, you guessed it....every commercial break I was back at the computer, pounding out the words and relying on my mother to yell, "It's back on!"  This went on for the next two hours.

Let me stop a minute and mention the fact we'd ordered Chinese for dinner.  I had fully intended to get another plate of Mu-Shu Pork while watching the premier of this season's Survivor.  With the brainstorm, this didn't happen!

After Survivor, I went back to the computer and finally finished that damn story ninety minutes later.  Then returned to the kitchen to find my dear mother had carefully packed up my food and placed it into the refrigerator!  So at eleven-thirty at night, I finally finished my meal, and watched an old Perry Mason episode with my mommy.

Mom asked how the story was coming along, so I told her I'd finally finished it.  She smiled at me and said, "It's so amazing how your brain works!"

I'm interested in seeing if the other authors on this hop share this, or are there those who actually plot, outline, and write, as we were taught in school, or if we're all pantsers?  When I write longer books, I like to have a sense of where the story is taking me, but occasionally it's nice when the characters simply hijack your brain and all you can do is hang on for the ride!

Normally at this time, I'd provide a link to the others on this hop, but no such link appears to exist...so keep checking back HERE. 

EDITED:  There's a new post with links:  Go Here. 

Inquiring MInds Want To Know.... #MFRWauthors #10

My top seven guilty pleasures?  *ahem*  In no particular order......

1)  Big Brother.  I've tried to stay away from this show, I really have.

2)  Pedicures and dying my hair blue:  I never thought I'd enjoy having red/green/purple/pink toenails, or even having streaks of blue in my hair!

3)  Binge-watching Classic TV on DVD:  I found Laverne and Shirley, What's Happening, Hill Street Blues, and Gilligan's Island.  I also own a few seasons of Mary Tyler Moore!

4)  Potato skins, bagal bites, and stuffed mushrooms.  'Nuff said.....or even playing Trivia at BW3....

5)  Binge-watching Law and Order.

6)  Going on vacation or even having a staycation, when the family leaves ME at home by myself:)

7)  Unleashing my inner rock star at karaoke:)  There's just something relaxing about getting up and belting out a Bon Jovi hit....or having other singers request that you sing with them:)

Bonus:  I also love to go out to eat.  I don't mind cooking, when I'm in the mood to do so, but it's so nice to only have lunch or breakfast dishes in the sink!

What's YOUR guilty pleasure?  Want more?  Go here. 

Words I Detest #MFRWauthors

This may sound strange, coming from someone who writes erotic romance, but there are several words I don't like to use, and certainly would NOT have them come out of my mouth!

Words I've Written, But Sparingly:
-Cunt
-Pussy
-Tits
-basically anything with a derogatory context for race, women, private parts, or people in general.  I have written a few, but only if I end up with a character who uses them.

I'm also not a fan of certain euphemisms; I once saw a post full of weird ones that I can't even recall them now, unless it is meant to be funny, as in the case of Spinal Tap:

"My baby fits me like a flesh tuxedo; I'd like to sink her with my pink torpedo..."

"My love gun's loaded and she's in my sight; big game's waiting there inside her tights...."

"Sex farm woman don't you see my silo risin' high...high....high..."

Words I Hope To Only Use Once Per Book:
-Smirk
-Murmur
This is only because of a Certain Book Which Shall Not Be Named, because they are in nearly every damn paragraph on every damn page!

Word I've Said In Anger, But Not All The Time:
-Fuck
Unless I'm seeing red from anger, this word usually does not come out of my mouth, even when it's in a song.  When She Hates Me by Puddle of Mud came out several years back, I realized I was singing every word, and even inserting it when the radio didn't!  Plus, it was creeping into every day language more and more, so I decided to purge it from my vocabulary.

Until I started reading and writing erotic romance.

Yes, there are some of my books where it is prolificly used....but I will say 'freaking' or even 'frickin' instead.

Unless, of course, you have me so mad I slip up!

What words make YOU cringe?  To find out more, go here.