Scavenger Hunt

T is for Tickle - as in tickle my funny bone.

I love a book that can make me laugh and few are as funny as chicklit.

I could go all fan girl over Marian Keyes. She can make me laugh so hard I snort coffee through my nose. And that's as she faces serious issues.

I'd love to know which writers make you laugh! 

My own books mix murder, comedy, and a woman, Ellison Russell, who must deal with a meddling mother and times that are-a-changing.

A peek at my latest - Clouds in my Coffee

            The mouse, seemingly tired of running around in circles, ran past the footlights and launched himself into the seats.

            The man with the carving knife followed.

            Louder screams ensued. As did the crash of more tables.

            The stage had become the safest place to be. I stayed where I was.

            A man, perhaps a manager, bellowed, “Vic, stop!”

            If Vic was the man with the knife, he either didn’t hear or chose not to listen. He held his blade poised and ready to chop the poor mouse to bits, or, at the very least, cut off its tail with a carving knife.

            Aunt Sis still sat on a table, her foot in a butter dish, her gaze fixed on the man with the knife as if she’d never seen such a sight in her life.

GRAND PRIZE - Want to win a Kindle Paperwhite + a $100 Amazon gift card? Visit each of the 26 stops on the #ChickLitMay A to Z Scavenger Hunt and collect the alphabet word at each stop (A, B, C, D, etc.), then submit the A-Z list of words via e-mail with the subject line "A to Z Scavenger Hunt Entry." 

Entries will be accepted until Sunday, May 22nd at midnight E.D.T. A winner will be chosen on Monday, May 23rd. Good luck!

The next stop on the Scavenger Hunt (the letter U) is here.

If you'd like to start back at the beginning of the Scavenger Hunt (the letter A), go here. 

Got all the answers? Send them to  traciebanister@gmail.com.

Writing

I have been writing  - but not here.

If, by chance, you're interested in the words I string together, please visit me at www.juliemulhern.com. I do blog with the Stiletto Gang on the second Monday of the month.

And, I've been writing books. The first one, The Deep End, is available for pre-order.

Write. Revise. Repeat.

Recently I attended the RT Convention in Kansas City. It was filled with interesting people, fabulous writers and more books than I could carry. And a button.

The bright yellow button, courtesy of the incredibly funny and charming Cherry Adair, says, "Write. Revise. Repeat."

I've been doing that.

Writing - sometimes a river of words, sometimes a trickle.

Revisions - oh my... did I write that? Did I think it was good? Where's my red pen?

Repetition - an endless circle worthy of Dante.

Of course I've revised before. I took my first draft and polished to a high shine. I removed every crutch word, I rewrote passive into active, I added emotion and I learned how to show not tell.

And now I revise again. This time the revisions are more important and the choices are harder. Do I rewrite the first chapter for the fifth time or start anew? Do I sacrifice lyrical description to move the plot along? Do I torture my characters enough?

If only there was a right way and a wrong way. There isn't.

As long as I'm wishing, I'd like someone to stand at my shoulder (akin to my seventh grade English teacher) and point out what I should be doing.

No right way. No wrong way. And sadly, no Dottie McCord. Just a creative process in which the ultimate decisions are left in my newbie hands.

To the friends who read and tell me my heroine is sounding a bit schizophrenic, the agent who insists my first chapter must dazzle and my dreamy husband who cooks, thank you. The end is in sight.

 

Sunday Night

Tomorrow we return to a regular week - kids in school, Mom and Dad at work, soccer practice, skatifng practice, etc... Five days of routine. Five days of "What's for dinner?" Five days of "Mom, where is my fill-in-the-blank?" Five days of normal.  I can't wait.

Don't get me wrong, I love the holidays. Christmas carols and sparkling lights and anticipation. Christmas trees and packages wrapped in bright paper and a table full of nutcrackers. Cookies and chocolates and our new favorite - single malt scotch caramels. But...

Monday morning... up early to write, kiddos to school, work, what's for dinner?...it all sounds like heaven.

The Merry Widow

And....I'm back.

More than a year since my last post. How is that even possible? Illness, a new job, two children, the ongoing antics of one crazy Weimaraner...take your pick.

In the past year or so I have become oh so fascinated with transitional decades. The Edwardwian Era aka the Gilded Age in particular has caught my attention.

It wasn't Downton Abbey that struck my fancy. Nope, it was the hats. The hats. The hats. The hats.

I love hats. When it comes to historical hats, I love sweeping brims and the swirl of ostrich feathers. I adore double brims softened with tulle. And, of course, I love The Merry Widow - so named for its appearance in the operetta as presented on the English stage. Designed by Lady Lucile Gordon Duff, worn by Lily Elsie, it is the stuff hat dreams are made of.

The Merry Widow hat

NaNoWriMo

Yep. It's here again. National Novel Writing Month - that magical time of year when aspiring authors make personal commitments to write 60,000 words in a month - that averages 2,000 words a day.

Have I committed to same? Yes.

Please note I am writing my much neglected blog instead of creating memorable prose.

Last night, I wrote 1,100 words. Tonight I'm cruising the NaNoWriMo site.

Ah procrastination, thy name is Julie.

Seriously though, my heroine needs to be attacked a zombie - back to work.

The New Me...

I'm trying something. I can't create an many more hours in the day but I think there may be something I can do to impact my energy level. More energy means I'll get more writing done. Fingers crossed on that.

Oh, I also want to fit into an evening gown thats a few pounds too small....My brother-in-law started main-lining antioxidants and lost 25 pounds.

So, I am focusing on eating as many antioxidants as possible. Think berries, artichokes and apples. Also cinammon, cocoa, turmeric and cloves. The kids are not loving the new, healthier me or perhaps it's the dinners. Last night's gnocci with spinach, tomatoes and white beans was not a hit.

So far energy up, weight unchanged and word-count rising.

I'll keep you posted.