FUZZY LAPELS

Well it didn't make sense but hopefully it got your attention.



BLUSH AND CRINGE:
I left the phone off the hook today...well actually when I switched from landline to cordless I forgot to hang up the landline. Someone business related called my house to talk to my husband and I've told them a hundred times he can't be reached at home during the day but they keep calling anyway saying they can't get hold of him by cell phone. This wasn't an emergency call mind you. So if they can't reach him, that probably means he's in the metal pole barn and I can't reach him either because the signal won't pass through the walls. So anyway, I was having a "Calgon, take me awaaaaaaaayyyyyyyy!!" moment and acted similar to a toddler having a tantrum of epic proportions. Said, "the best thing I can tell you is to keep trying to call him ON HIS CELL PHONE." I was nice, but direct on that point. I don't want my husband to lose business because his wife is being a witch with a capital "B." So I hit "end" and stomped across the floor and slammed the beeping cordless back on the base before the battery died, spouting multiple complaints in not so Christian language about this blankety blank annoying person who keeps calling for my blankety blank husband when I've told them repeatedly he can't blankety blank be reached at home during the blankety blank day and why can't they get that through their blankety blank head and, murmuring about how I don't have blankety blank time to field blankety blank calls every five minutes and yada yada yada." Then I stop short when I realize the landline phone....which is three inches away from my fiesty mouth....is OFF THE HOOK! I gasp then snatch it up and stick it to my ear.

Ugh. Same flowery elevator music in the background as when I spoke with the person before. Then a click resounded in my ear. Whoops. Oh well. LOL!

TO GET THE FULL EFFECT: Insert "Blankety Blank" with #$&(%&)#$!

LOL.

Okay, going to read James and repent for my serpant mouth. GRrrr. God got ahold of my heart a long, long time ago....He'll get a hold of my mouth eventually.....there's still hope....I'm not dead yet.....

BORROWED PRAYERS

Father, create in me a clean heart. Temper my speech and tailor my heart to your liking. Help me to be mindful of what other people are going through, Lord and not just focused on what's going wrong in my day. Bless those who've bore the brunt of my verbal monsoon and heal any hurt feelings this caused. Sorry if I offended you, too, Lord. Thanks for the diffusion of humor. Thank you for grace and you love me despite my mouth. May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you. In Jesus' name. Amen.

WRITING PROGRESS:

I'm diving into research for my newest WIP (Work in Progress) which is book 2 of my Navy SEAL series. I'm LOVING the title. TO GOVERN THE NIGHT. It's based on the scripture in Genesis 1:14-19. After writing several novels, I've finally figured out how I do it. My method so to speak. I HAVE to know my characters. Down to every hair fiber. What they'd keep in their purses. What their childhood was like. Wierd I know but I can't really dive into the plot without being acquainted with my main characters. I have plot snippets and a mental outline, as usual. But since most of my heros are Alpha males, and most of my heroine's are tough on the outside bombshell types, they usually never obey the plots I set out before them so I anticipate my plot will change as I get to know my characters more.

WRITING UPDATES:

Became a board member for the Library we're opening, as did several members of the local writer's group I'm in. Interesting trying to figure out all that Articles of Incorporations stuff.

Nothing new as far as submissions. OMINOUS CODE is still under serious consideration by Steeple Hill publishers. www.steeplehill.com

I received two beautiful plaques today from Colorado Romance Writer's Heart of the Rockies contest 2006. One was for 1st place in the Inspirational category (Covenant SEAL0 and the other was for third place in the Inspirational category (Stealth Surrender). I also received a three page critique of my entries from teh final judge, who is Jim Peterson of Peterson, Ink. Senior acquisitions editor from Barbour publishing's Heartsong Presents line.

www.heartsongpresents.com

His comments made me laugh out loud. His appraisal of my work was kind but honest, for which I'm thankful. He helped me see some changes I need to make and why. One part he thought I had a typo though was an intentional mistake. A character had said, "I'm deeply embedded." and the editor mentioned that should have read, "Deeply indebted," but the very next line, my hero has an internal monologue where he acknowledges CO Pike's verbal blunder. Then one judge marked the word MAROON! on my ms to Moron. But I intended it to be MOROON! because it was in reference to something on her t-shirt. It was supposed to be a display of her sarcastic humor, but that brings me to a question:

How to balance these subtle things with not RUE...or resisting the urge to explain. Because if I explain, I'm taking the reader out of the story. So I need to figure out how to execute this sort of thing better.

Interestingly, one of the scenes this editor loved, another judge hated and said I should delete it. So again, judging is subjective. What one judge hates, another will love. Then some will be indifferent. I don't change those things right off the bat. The things I do know I need to change however are things that get consistantly brought up. Such as the fact that, Oh...9 or 10 people, two of which are editors, are telling me I'm waaaaaay too technical in Stealth Surrender. So this is definitely an issue and I'll change it hands down. No question readers will have a problem with it. Jim put it nicely. He said, "You don't want to alienate or frustrate your readers." True. I don't.

I don't want to talk above them and I don't want to talk below them. So I'm heading for the delete key now.....

BLESSINGS!

Squirrel

BL