My Recent Comments

Love all the comments.  I agree that there are many things that make a relationship work, but after nearly 19 years of marriage - my anniversary is on the 30th - I've just recently discovered another important part of a relationship.

Tolerance.  For example my husband doesn't clean the house the same way I do.  He doesn't like the way I cook eggs and I don't like the way he cleans the bathroom.   It sounds silly but don't we all get mad about silly things from time to time?  

So now we've learned.  He cooks his own eggs and if there are a few things I want to change after he's done with the bathroom then I do it.  After all he's made the effort to clean it in the first place, so why get mad?  

He has different days off than I do so when I come home from work and he's played on the computer all day instead of empting the trash or folding the laundry, well, everyone deserves a day of rest from time to time.  Why get mad?  I used to get mad, but it's not really worth it.  

I've come to realize that my house will never be truly clean until all four of my children are grown and out of the house.  But what's more important?  Yelling about clutter or keeping things on even keel?  

I admit there are days when I lose my cool over things I probably shouldn't, and I'm farily mild mannered person, but we're all human.  My husband and children may have their faults, but I have mine, too.

Sandy

 

And since I'm on a roll and who knows when I'll find the time to get back in here, sigh, I'd thought a post a snip from my current WIP.  It's called Bluegrass State of Mind and it's been requested by HAR. 

That is if I can ever get the thing finished

Keeping her disgusted look to a minimum, Brittany Snow hunched farther down into her seat.  Under normal circumstance she would enjoy attending a local Bluegrass concert on a warm summer’s night, but given she and the lead singer were no longer on speaking terms this was the last place she wanted to be.

Well, okay, maybe not the last place.  Federal prison would be far worse, and the continent of Antarctica wasn’t a place she was especially anxious to visit, but attending this concert had to rank somewhere on the top ten.  It may rank below long term imprisonment and subjecting herself to absurdly cold temperatures, but being in the presence of Ryan Sawyer wasn’t something she contemplated cheerfully.

Sandy

I've been missing all of the fun!  Great snippets everyone.  The variety and talent of these snips are awesome. I've been busy making notes of books I need to find, and hoping I can soon read the yet to be pubbed ones.  

Anyway here's a snip from my story Paisley's Secret currently being considered by SSE.  Again it's probably a bit long.  Sorry.

Parties were supposed to be fun.  Parties were for laughing, dancing, maybe even flirting with the cute guy in the concert t-shirt while his ex-girlfriend looked jealousy on from the corner.  But so far all Paisley had accomplished this evening was to spill diet cola on her new party dress when a cute guy in a concert t-shirt pushed past to get to the bar, and she’d broken three fingernails.  

But it wasn’t the stain on her new dress, or even the lack of cute guys in concert t-shirts that was responsible for her current foul mood.  That blame lay exclusively with the hot looking guy sitting next to her brother.  Brandon Winters.  Her ex-boyfriend.  And she was still in love with him.  And if that wasn’t bad enough she was pregnant with his child, and she had no idea how to tell him.

Now the only thing she needed to complete this scene was a friend possessed by aliens, an evil twin sister, and a mother with a secret fetish for canned tuna.  Then she could audition for one of those daytime dramas, and at least get paid for her misery.

Sandy

 

Okay, this time I did take notes.  LOL

Angel - great job!  Did you say that was from your first ms?  Wow!  Never know it.

Jodie - I can't write intrique to save my life, but that was awesome.  No wonder you kicked everyone's butt, including mine, at the Big Finish contest.

Kay - Can't remember the last time I read a Super, been too involved reading SSE and American, my current targets, but I'm putting that one on my TBR list.  

Amanda - A fellow SSE wanna be.  I have one under consideration as well.  Interesting conflict.  Hope we both hear something positive.

Liz - HR is another line I haven't read in ages.  Apparently I've been missing out.

Jodie - At first I was thinking your's was a Nocturne, but an erotic futuristic, too cool.  My writer's vision seems to be limited to basic contemporaries.  At some point I'd love to do something outside the box.  Sounds like you've got a start of something pretty creative.  Great job!

My snippet was a bit long. Sorry.  Hope no one minds.

Anyway I reread the snippets and I now I'm intrigued. 

Sam, great job as usual. Love the hint of sexual tension and its obvious things are happening between this couple that neither quite understand.  Now I'm gonna have to read the book!

Ugh, I knew I should have taken notes.  More comments to follow.

Here's a snippet from my story Nothing To Hide.  I can't seem to find a home for it, but I still love the story.  Anyway here's a passage I always thought was a bit funny.  Enjoy!

BTW great snippets everyone!  

“Have you had lunch yet?” she asked, her eyes searching the confided space.

Jesse followed her and chose to lean against the counter a few inches away.  His nearness triggered a peevish urge to go elsewhere for lunch. 

“I could eat,” he said, his casual demeanor suggesting he was unaware of how his nearness affected her. “Anything look good?”

Lunch. 

He was talking about lunch. 

Needing a bit more breathing room, she backed away. 

“Help yourself,” she said, also talking about lunch, as she turned to examine what was in the cabinets.

Feeling her thoughts slip deeper into the gutter, Megan counted to ten.  Thirty seconds in the man’s presence and she felt the need for a cold shower.  And what was worse all they had talked about was lunch. 

Sandy

I have no idea but maybe you're thinking about a book from the Cavanaugh Justice series.   Not sure if that's what you're looking for but you check out the series on Amazon.

Sandy

When I started writing I decided to target Desire.  My reasons for doing so are totally laughable but I won't go there.  Anyway it took me a few years to get the hang of what Desire was really about, and I started getting requests.  For my second request I wrote a story that I just LOVED.  I finally found my voice, and even after reading through it countless times I still can't believe I actually wrote it.  I was soooo sure that was the one.  I was a thousand percent positive that was the one.  (And believe me, for me to be that positive about my writing is really weird.)

Three days after I submitted it Desire changed guidelines and my story was never even considered.  Added with all other the nonsense going on in my life at that time, don't worry, not going there, either, I was devastated.   I wallowed for a few days and started looking for another line to target as I knew the new guidelines just weren't for me.

I'm now targeting two lines, and have gotten requests from both.  One is still under consideration, the second is almost ready for submission.

So my long, drawn out point is - no, you don't have to pick just one line.  And in some cases it's actually better to be able to write for more one line.  I truly thought I was sunk when Desire changed, but have since discovered there are other lines and stories to get excited about.

Hi Neka

Love the name by the way.   I've been around eharl well, not really sure for how long, it's been a while, but I always love meeting new people no matter what their age. 

Anyway I too struggled with the can't finish anything blues.  It's not uncommon believe me.  It's seems that many new writers tend to fall into one of two traps.  Either unable to complete an entire story or working on the same story for sometimes years.  I've personally have experienced both problems to some degree.

My advice, and this is just what worked for me so it may not work for you, is to put yourself in a position where you feel obligated to finish the story.  Maybe get a critique partner.  That might help you.  What helped me was I got a request from an editor.  I submitted a query then a few weeks later decided I didn't think the story was going to work. I sat back waiting for the rejection but to my surprise they wanted it, and I then I HAD to write it. 

The story was later rejected, but I did finish it.   And I've gotten several more requests since.  So you never know.  It does take a while to get the feel for the market. and to find your writing process.  It's a major learning curve, but we all struggle with it.  No matter what stage of writing we're at.

Good luck and I hope to see you around.

Sandy

 

A while ago someone did a review on the Lord of the Rings audio book.  I tried reading the book but couldn't get past the first page because of all the strange words.  That's one of my reading pet peeves. If I have to struggle to pronounce a bunch of words, I usually won't bother.  It's even worse if I can't pronounce the main characters' names.  One of the reasons I'm not so big on historicals.  No offense anyone.  They're just not my thing.  Anyway my point being is I realized that audio would solve that problem.  I wouldn't have to struggle to read a story with words I'm not familiar with. 

Maybe once I finish with this Harry book I'll give the Lord of the Rings another shot.