Modern Marvels

Have you ever run across a new gadget or device and thought, "What rock have I been hiding under that I didn't know this existed?"

Well, this is me.

Browsing the store in the 'computer' department I ran across a little gadget that left me in awe. lol My laptop doesn't have a 'floppy' drive. It never did. Saving documents was always done on CD. Now, this is fine and well unless the CD rom drive decides to be a butt, which mine does on occasion. So, when I saw this little 'thingy' I was thrilled.

Its about the size of a cigarette lighter and plugs in to a USB port. The one I have is called a 'jump drive'. It stores files. Audio, pictures, text documents. I bought 2 of them and now have all my pictures and stories saved on this tiny little thing. My computer runs faster now, too! lol The 16MB drive cost me around 20bucks while the 128MB about 38.00 Expensive, IMHO, but to hold so much information? Pricless. No clutter of disk taking up space on my desk. Just pop the thing in, save my files and toss it in a drawer until I need it again. If you haven't seen these, get one!

*this is the end of my commercial.*

Good News!

The short story I submitted to Whiskey Creek Press for their Torrid Teasers Line was accepted! Now I have contracts to read through. lol I'll post more when I find something out.

Writing Progress & Woes

I've finally had to sit down and make myself write. I stayed up until 3:30 am this morning, yawning through the scene in order to make my word count. So many days my family life just doesn't leave me the time to actually write anything and before I know it, it's been 3 days with no writing. I made myself write those 1,000 words last night. I made myself write them Monday, too. If it means I have to stay up until the wee hours of the morning, then I guess that's what I'll have to do. I've been writing this story forever now it seems and I'm no where even close to half-way. At this rate, it'll take me 5 years to write a full length novel. LOL We can't have that. At 1,000 words a day minimum, it'll take me 2 months to finish what I already have started. I suppose that's better than nothing, right?

It's been 6 months since A TOUCH OF HEAVEN was released. It doesn't seem like it's been that long. I'm getting itchy about not having anything 'new' out there. Sure, I've got the free read on my site and a short story off to a publisher, but that doesn't seem like much to me for the length of time it's been. I'm so new to the publishing thing I'm actually wondering if my 'shelf life' is used up. lol What is the standard for a new writer to get something new to the masses? I guess I'm just feeling left out. Every other author I know has went on to produce more stories and here I sit, still pounding away on a story that should have been finished ages ago.

Okay - I'm starting to depress myself. I suppose I should get to work on those 1,000 words.

Sick

It seems the weariness I've been feeling was actually some sort of 'bug' after all. The day me and my husband arrived in Charleston - I got sick. And I stayed sick. *sigh* We actually came home a day early. We didn't get to do any of the home tours or the plantation like we'd planned or do any of the other things we'd spent time researching. Now - I'm sitting here so stopped up I can barely breathe and I can't wait for bed time. LOL I didn't sleep well AT ALL the entire weekend. I kept waking up every 2 hours for some reason. Maybe because I knew my 'practically grown' kids were home alone? hehe They're 17 an 18 and I still don't like leaving them by themselves. Do you ever grow out of that over protectivness or not?

Off to watch Harry Potter then hitting the bed.

Recharging the batteries

I'm not sure why it happens, but every time I finish a story - the muse takes a hike. I haven't been able to write much of anything since I sent my last story off to the publisher. I feel drained for some reason. My creativity, my desire to write--its all just gone.

I think its time for a little bit of recharging. I've been writing, editing and networking since mid 2005 and I think its just cauight up with me. We all need a little down time from time to time, right?

I've taken to veg-ing out in front of the TV, which normally I don't do, but I've enjoyed it. PLUS - a weekend trip is coming up! My husband and I are stealing away for the weekend. Leaving the kids at home! hehe We're headed to Charleston, SC for 4 nights of just - whatever. I have the new Laurell K. Hamilton book, Micah, packed away and 2 new Blaze titles (not sure who the authors are) so I'm covered. A little sigh-seeing, lounging around reading, NO kids. Who could ask for more? Hopefully I'll find that inspiration I've been lacking. And who knows? With a city that old, I may even find a new idea or two.