Musings of Colorado, Writing and a Gown

From a foot of snow on Tuesday to sunshine and 45 degrees, I'm loving everything about Colorado today.  Here's the view from my front window.

This week has gone by so quickly, but I've been able to write every day. I'm not entirely satisfied with the excerpts I have been posting from my Out of Focus book. But the deadline is helping me to finish a chapter at a time. And it is coming along better than when I give myself a deadline and then fail to meet it. Any comments on it would be greatly appreciated.

Below is another gown that my daughter made for me. It goes along with my Regency book. And yes, I'm still editing it. My sister/editor has given me a March 1st deadline, and so I'm reading every line and making sure each one reveals something or I'm cutting it. With 114,773 words, it is in desperate need of losing a few words here and there.    

Downtown and Writing

My niece finished "A Series of Scandals". It was incredibly nice for her to agree to read it. She first wrote that she enjoyed it and that any questions that she had were answered by the end. I sent her back an e-mail asking if there were certain parts where she was confused. There were a couple of places. So now, I need to go back into the book and clean it up. I hate cleaning.

This weekend my husband and I decided to go downtown. The weather was perfect for a walk and so after we parked and put money in the meter, we headed toward the 16th Street Mall. But before we were even a few feet away from the car two women, one black, one white started yelling at each other. From there it went to fists. Pulling each other's hair and name calling. I kept thinking why?

What was so heinous that these two felt compelled to put the other in her place using punches. Neither won and to make it worse, the boyfriend of one joined in a few minutes later. Eventually, they finished and then went on their way. Very unsettling. But downtown is downtown and with its coolness comes its underside.

The rest of the day was beautiful. We walked into the Holy Ghost Catholic Church built in 1943. Utterly, beautiful. Went to Coors Field and then to Union Station.

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Gown and Writing

In looking through the gowns my daughter made for me, these are my favorites. Along with the one below.

Looking for test readers for my book. My sister/editor thought since I had already used the pool of my other sisters, maybe my nieces would read it. So I approached one and it is in her hands (computer) as we speak. Looking for a couple more nieces to read it. The problem is that the nieces that are not in college, work alot. So I hate to ask. I'll keep you updated.

Writing the first chapter of my second book

I have written it, re-written it and then have tossed out what I have written, repeatedly. I have mapped out where I want to take the reader, but have not been able to establish the right route. So yesterday, I started with the dreaded outline. Working on it was not as hard as I had thought it would be, although it took all afternoon to complete. I only have the outline for two scenes and hope this week, I can actually write something that I can keep.

And as I work, I can't help remembering London and France where on display were all sorts of treats at various bakery shops. We did sample a few and found the cheaper ones to be beautiful but not tasty. The more expensive pastries were both wonderful to look at and to eat.

In the same way I would like the books I write to have substance, not just be a book. I've read so many books that were just . . . .fine. Very few were inspirational, and even fewer were exceptional. I suppose what I wish for is what all writer's aspire to. We all want to be amazing.

I'm sure each of the bakeries want their customers coming back to sample and buy their newest creations, also.

Which causes me to wonder why my absolute best is only okay, and another's first attempt can be exceptional.

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Writing and remembering trip to London

I keep looking at my blog and thinking, "You need to post something." But nothing earth shattering has come to mind. But, I've been thinking alot about this time last year. It was the beginning of preparing for my trip to London and Paris. I was contemplating getting a passport, thinking about what places my sister and I were going to see. I read about what articles to bring and then which of those items the airlines would allow. I wondered if my sister and I would get along and be like-minded travelers. And then in an instand it was all over. But the memories of traveling, of the long plane ride, of all the places we went and all the different foods we tasted are still vivid. The times we stayed up until 2:00a.m. telling each other to get to bed. Only needing a few hours of sleep and traveling all over the city.

Maybe I've already posted some of these pictures, but since I was in a reminiscent type mood, I wanted to see each of them again.  The bus was just like the one we rode on all through the streets of Westminster and London. The apartments were across the street from the Cavendish hotel. We were on the 9th floor so the picture was taken from our window.

These last couple of weeks, I have taken a writing course. I did learn new things, but what I could immediately start working on was the organization of any book. The instructor said it best when she said that in planning a trip to CA to see her son, she must map out her route. There are many different ways to get there in a car, but if she doesn't plan which route to take. She will never get there.So mapping out a story a writer must do the same thing."

Writing and Reading

This week my son found  this Brief History of the Royal Family. It runs approsimately 9 minutes but it is wonderful and quirky. https://youtu.be/jNgP6d9HraI  It starts with William the Conqueror and ends with Baby George.

The poster below is one that I bought at Westminster Abbey of the British Monarchy. When my sister and I were in London, we studied it almost every evening. It was extremely helpful when we toured The Tower of London, Westminster Abbey and St Paul's Cathedral. Who is this guy? When did he reign?

I finished reading two books this week, of course, Regency. They were new books that two of my favorite authors had just released. However I was vastly disappointed. The first one was predictable and the second one came to the conclusion who was the murderer based off of no clues other than they were the only other character introduced in the book. So naturally she had done it.

I wonder if both authors who have written over 50 books each have run out of plots. Run out of themes, run out of steam. The writing was wonderful. The story lines dull.

Sometimes I feel that way and I haven't even published one of the five books I've written. Getting closer and closer with my first one. I know I've been writing that now for almost two years, but I think by December I will be able to put it down and start on revising book 2.  

100th Post

This is my 100th post - YEAH. It's amazing that I've had something to say 100 different times. But as a reader who may have stumbled across this blog, you may not have a quarrel with the 100 posts figure but more with the dull content. I'm the one writing and often I find fault with the post too. So you see we are in agreement. 

What a great Labor Day Weekend. The much needed rest before heading into the fall and winter. Up to our favorite campsite near Cheesman Reservoir. It was so beautiful. It brings such a refreshment to my soul to see such beauty.  A little cold at times, but nothing a light jacket couldn't combat. 

Still working on A Series of Scandals. I think one part is great and then let a couple of weeks go by and when I re-read it there is still something off in the wording of a phrase or in the character's actions. But slowly I believe my editor and I are making headway. We are almost three quarters of the way through reading it once again. Each time we revise it it seems to get better.  

Writing Contest

I received the scores from the contest I entered last December for my novel "A Series of Scandals." It just makes my disappointment all that much more final. The highest and lowest scores were disqualified. But even with that . . . .it was only the first three chapters. And it seems it is not actually a true contest with only five people reading those chapters. And only three scores counting. 

It's weird because I read fourteen different entries in another category when I was a judge. Even the ones I gave high 8's and 9's to didn't make the semi-finals. Maybe we are all horrible writers and no one wants to read what pours forth onto the pages. Or. . . maybe the judges weren't as objective as they should have been. I've heard of contests where friends read each other's manuscripts and gave high ratings. I hope that was not the case.

I don't know what to think. 
A friend read my book last year in May and said, she couldn't put it down. I had forgotten that I had sent it to her, and she had forgotten that it was in her inbox. Months went by and then she called me up and gave such rave reviews. 

Maybe she wasn't as objective either.      

In my category someone did win. So I guess I'm just ranting. 

Historical Romance	Judge 1	Judge 2	Judge 3	Judge 4	Judge 5
Score	8.00	4.10	7.00	8.00	8.70
Is the love story the main focus of the book?	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
Is the resolution of the romance emotionally satisfying and optimistic?	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes

Final Score: 7.666666667

Ceilings and Hallways

Two more weeks until my back is healed, I hope. It's never taken longer than that, so I have hope. It has been a crazy week. But it is summertime and what better time to have it crazy. The following pictures are from the Louvre. I've entitled this post as Ceilings and Hallways. Places that most people don't show off and yet at the Lourve these particular areas were impressive. Ornate and full of character.

I have contemplated these pictures more than the others and I wonder why. I have come up with the conclusion that I feel at peace looking at them.  Other rooms require something from you and so I feel that when you are in them you imagine the people from another time doing those actions. Eating, sleeping relaxing or working. A hallway requires nothing except walking and the ceiling is just there whether you look at it or not.

My writing has continued at a good pace. My editor keeps me hopping. I wonder how she finds the time to read and re-read it and ask questions like - Where did she get money?  Where is the carriage being housed? My first reaction is to say they don't matter. But if she's asking questions then maybe my readers will ask those same questions. And there is nothing worse then waiting to hear answers that are never addressed. So I'm off to figure out how my main character found some cash and where is that ghastly carriage. Or I'll look down more hallways and gaze at more ceilings in an attempt to discover their secrets.

Garden, Rain and London

Went for a walk in the rain last night. It was wonderful. There is a peace that comes from simple things. 

This is a flower blooming in my front garden. I took it from my childhood home before my parents moved a few years ago. This is the first year it has bloomed. Hail and errant basketballs annihilated them in previous years.

Still missing Chip, and Libby is still listless. Poor dog misses her friend.  My back is getting better every day.
And vacation to the mountains of Colorado is only two weeks away. 

Working on the second chapter of my second book. I have set goals for the next 20 weeks -- one chapter a week. I have not been great about reaching them, but inspiration has struck and I'm excited to write something new.  Edits on my first book are slowly edging forward. My editor is going to a writing conference in August and will bring my book with her. We shall see. 

Can't post without  pictures from London. Trafalgar Square and Nelson's Column. The city is full of beautiful old architecture. The building with the clock is from 1832

   

Views of London

The sun is shining, and as I scan the skies and see only white clouds I am refreshed. But it will take some time for me to warm up. A month of greyness and rain has taken its toll. However, it has caused the backyard lawn and my flowers to flourish. The snow and hail left marks, but the sunshine is repairing it all. Little leaves are beginning to form on my geraniums and I feel the same way. Little by little I am coming alive. Although it was not a harsh winter by any means, the greyness lasted longer than I can remember .

         

This view is from our hotel room. And the next one is the side view from outside the Cavendish Hotel. I wish I would have taken a picture of the front of the Cavendish. But going through my pictures found I must not have taken any of it.

Along the streets of London, one minute we were walking and enjoying the scenery and in the next we had  become ensconsed in a protest. Fighting our way to become free of the route the protest was taking, we emerged to take this picture of the tail end of the procession.  The last picture is another wonderful example of great architecture from days gone by.   

My editor/sister believes my regency novel is ready to send out to publishers. And so this week also brings optimism that perhaps all the work we have done on this book may have brought it to a level that others might enjoy reading. To enter the world we've created and for a few minutes in time be transported back to a time of romance, intrigue and murder. 

She assures me it is a long process, but I'm ever hopeful. 

  

Book covers and Writing

Happy Memorial Day.

I went to visit my 97 year old friend in her nursing home. She was a nurse in England during WWII. I thanked her for her service and she said, "You're Welcome."

Just like that. But what else could she say.  The times were tough, but she found out what she was made of. She saw things, places and people she would have never met but for those times. It took something from her and in return gave her something. She's a better person and yet images of those events run through her deteriorating memories. Some as friends and some still adversarial. On a good day, she talks of a doctor that she met at the hospital. He wanted to marry her and said he would find her. He never did, but sometimes she asks about him. She remembers, her heart remembers.    

She also told me how to heat up tea properly and thought it wasn't that hard. I agreed but told her that I did not have access to a stove. Her look of disgust told me she didn't believe me.

Another week of writing. I worked hard this weekend and was able to go through my entire Regency novel reviewing and reworking certain sections.  The amount of time that I have spent on this book, one would assume it has to be amazing. But you would have to know where I started to understand why it has taken years to be able to offer anything.

My daughter Jordan from http://zoundsdesigns.com/ made these covers for my modern day book. The first one I’ve posted earlier.  My second daughter, Bailey likes the first one. I like the one below the best. But there is something about the 3rd and 4th one that intrigue me.  I'd love to hear what you think. 

  

France and Writing

Like the English during Regency times, I'm intrigued by France and all things French.  Spending a day in Paris, of course was not enough but at the same time gave us a flavor for the place. The Arc de Triomphe at the end of the Champs-Elysees was amazing to see. Champs-Elysees is French for Elysian Fields, the paradise for dead heroes in Greek mythology. This statue was in a round-about and in the background stands the majestic Eiffel Tower. Leaving the Louvre we saw the Chateau de Vincennes on the Seine River, and on the right was what we thought looked like a church with its spire missing. An amazing place. 

Now I am making my way through reading and editing my Regency novel once again.  (Perhaps the 100th time) I scan through each page looking for grammatical mistakes and then for plot holes. My sister reviews one chapter a week doing the same thing. It is tedious work and has its own challenges as well as surprisingly bringing a strange type of satisfaction with it.      

 

Jumbled Mind

 Yesterday, after I had brought my flower pots outside to soak up the sun, it began to rain. Then it downpoured, from slush, it turned to hail. I could not stand by and watch plants I've kept alive for eight months especially through the long winter die. So I rushed outside and began to rescue each pot. But it was too late, all the blooms are gone, too delicate to withstand such adversity. But I am not disheartened for in a few weeks, they will bloom again.

And so I take heart in my writing. Once again, I am stuck in the middle chapters of both of the books I'm working on. When I begin writing, I have so much to tell. When I finish a book, I have the feeling of a great accomplishment. Good or bad, I worked hard and have something to show for it. But now in the middle - Chapter Five to Chapter Fifteen, I have to work hard keeping the reader interested, putting out crumbs so that they can think they know what is going on and then twist it so that they are astounded and keep reading.

And so in my pictures this week, I have chosen an assortment that do not go together in the least. Above, a ship is passing below the clear walk-way of London's Tower Bridge.

Below is Moulin Rouge in France.

A jumble of pictures to match my jumbled mind.

Revisiting Persuasion by Jane Austen

The results are in and my book did not make the finals. Although a great disappointment, I press on. I enjoy writing. I revel in crafting a story. I relish the moment when a family member or friend reads my work and comments on it.

One of my favorite comments was . . "it's like a gallop into the unknown."  Another favorite was. . "I've stayed up way too late reading it (your book) wanting to know what will happen next."

So I continue on. . .

I've mentioned before that my favorite book is Persuasion by Jane Austen. My daughters bought the book for me for Christmas one year. I have read this book every year for a number of years. It is beyond wonderful.  Although Pride and Prejudice is a close second.

I find new jewels in the story every time I read it. For instance, when Anne knows she will meet Captain Wentworth for the first time since she sent him away seven years before, she begins to analyze what he must be going through.

"He must be indifferent or unwilling. Had he wished ever to see her again, he need not have waited till this time; he would have done what she could not but believe that in his place she should have done long ago, when events had been early giving him the independence which alone had been wanting."

It breaks my heart to think that her heart was steadfast, but the man she loved's heart had changed toward her. She comes to the conclusion that he no longer loves her and no longer has a wish to see her. The reason that Lady Russell did not give her blessing to their romance in the beginning was that he was not able to support Anne. Now he has the income, why didn't he return?

London

The sun is out and it makes me want to write. This last week I was able to write twenty pages. It sure feels good to be in the middle of a story again. While my sister/editor and I are going through the plot lines of the book I entered into the contest in December, I'm starting to work on a new story in my spare time.

The picture to the right is The Sherlock Holmes Restaurant in London. We met a nice English chap there while eating fish and chips and enjoying a pint of beer.

To the left are Londoners in front of the National Gallery showing support for France. This was right after the terrorist
act there.







To the right is the French flag displayed in projected lights on the National Gallery later that evening.  Below is the advertisements the size of a large building on one corner of Trafalgar Square.





 Right before we left for London, my great Uncle Dee (92) passed away. My sister and I had long talks about him and went ahead with our plans to go to London because we knew he had wanted us to. I miss him and think of him often.

Then a month to the day, my husband's Uncle Ray (78) passed away unexpectedly. That was another shock.

Yesterday just a month later, I received a call that a friend, only 43 passed away last Tuesday. My heart is still missing Uncle Dee and Uncle Ray. Now my heart is sad again for Kortnee's family. Her 4 children, the youngest, Max only 8.

Tower of London

More pictures from the Tower of London.The view to the left is from a street bridge looking onto the fortress. It seems so strange that William the Conquorer built a fortress here in 1066. Kings after him continued building. And the place is quite grand with all of its various buildings.

The cage below is where raven's live. The rumor goes that if the ravens ever leave the monarchy will fall. So their wings are clipped ensuring the realm's prosperity.




Below is what used to be a waterway bringing water in from the Thames. It has since been made into a gate.



And now onto writing. The contest I entered will let us know at the end of March if we made it into the semi-finals. Since I was put in another category, I do not have high hopes. So once again, my sister/editor and I are working on revisions. Another once over and then she will be making queries in August when she goes to a writing conference. That is only five months away. However, with three inches of snow falling today, August seems light years away. Regardless, I'm back to re-writes. Until next week . . . . .    

Missed Writing Contest

I've been writing at least two hours everyday hoping to enter another contest with the deadline of March 2. I went on their website today to make sure they had not reached their limit of entries. And they had. I should have entered and then edited my entry until the deadline. I didn't want to do that because I was afraid that I would not have the full book re-worked by then. I had planned to work all weekend and submit it on Monday, but now I guess I can take my time.










 The rooms are in the Napoleon's wing in the Louvre. They were opulent and wonderful to see. Reds and gold everywhere. The ceilings and the rugs were works of art.

Snow has been falling now for three days and is supposed to continue all through next week. With my husband in Chicago on business, it looks like I'll be outside shoveling. I don't really mind it, and at times enjoy being outside. One year when we were in the middle of a blizzard with two feet of snow in two days, I shoveled in the moonlight. That was so peaceful, and I was sad when the job was done.