Stampin Up Cards - So Much Fun!!

I love to be creative and not just in my writing. There the characters lives weave a tale of their own making. Sure, I know my plot and I know my characters, but more than once (way more), they've taken a road that wasn't on the map. And each time they do I'm amazed at the turn of events. Things I never knew about the H/H or even the secondary characters will change my plot line. Most the time I'm happy about it and it works. Other times...well, that's another post altogether.

Crafts on the other hand are mere relaxation for me. I love seeing what I can come up with and really there isn't ever a right or wrong way.

This past weekend I went to a Stampin Up party. Yep, I went to a card party. It's the third one I've been to in the past year (umm, including all of 09). There, you don't choose the cards you'll make, BUT you can change them up a bit if you like. And the best thing is when you leave, you're taking 6 cards that you made yourself.

So, I thought I'd share my cards from yesterday with you. Let me know which one is your favorite. I love them all, but two of them really rock, at least to me they do. :)

Hugs,

Vicki

Interview Helen Scott Taylor on the Group Blog - And Someone Wins a Book

I'm interviewing Helen Scott Taylor over on the group blog  today and I'm giving away a copy of The Phoenix Charm!! So, if you didn't win last week when she was here, head on over and leave a comment.

She was a blast to interview and I loved hearing more about her books, characters, and herself...does she like sexy hunky hero's or nerdy, but still sexy hero's??

See you there!!!

Hugs,
Vicki

Music Kick….

Currently, I’m listening to the best storytelling genre on the planet—music.

As most of you know I haven’t been writing as I should, but I can tell you I’ve been listening to music like a fiend.

I’m not a writer who listens to music while I’m writing, but music is such an integral part of my process that I tend to play an artist/group over and over until the story has practically turned into a movie in my head.

Side note: If only there was a program to go from the visions in my head, directly onto the paper—I’d be golden.

Okay, back to music…
For RTN the most perfect song out there was Leona Lewis’ – “Bleeding Love”. Now I have to say RTN was written before this song came out, but for this book I can’t imagine a better song. So if you know the book, can’t you just picture it?

The current CD, that hasn’t left the car in oh…I don’t know, a month or more, is: Shinedown. Their CD “Sound of Madness” is currently in the car, but I’m switching back and forth between a few of their older CD’s as well.

Something about the above CD and Brent Smith’s voice has totally enthralled me (okay full disclosure here—he’s pretty hot too—totally my type). I’m trying to bring others into my madness too. I sent a few Shinedown songs to another writer friend because they reminded me of her characters—even if she doesn’t use the songs for her muse, I won’t be able to read her books without hearing “Call Me”. Now if only I could get any of my characters to rise up and take this musical bait.

What songs resonate with me currently by Shinedown, you ask? “I Dare You”, “Call Me”, "Simple Man", “If You Only Knew”, "Sin with a Grin"—just to name a few.
As you can see I'm pretty eclectic in my listening pleasures (honestly, I'm that way in a lot of things). But enough about me, I want to know about you.

So what’s got you singing, when you think no one’s watching??? (BTW...I do a mean "I Dare You") ;-D


Muahhhh

Laurie/ LKap

We Have a Winner - The Phoenix Charm

Wasn't it a blast having Helen Scott Taylor with us, sharing about her newest release, The Phoenix Charm!! She is such fun and an amazing author.

It was really tough for her, but she's selected a winner.  Zina!!

Please email me at vickilanewrites@yahoo.com with you snail mail addy and Helen will be sending you a signed copy of The Phoenix Charm.

I know, I know, everyone wanted to win. But I've got good news. Next Friday, I'll be interviewing Helen on my group blog (which I've got the link to on the sidebar), and I'll remind you guys again before Friday. So if you didn't win this time check it out. I'll be giving away a copy of her book to someone.

Hope you're all having a wonderful weekend and if you're off work on Monday then enjoy that extra day doing what you love best.

Hugs,
Vicki

Excuses…..

Well, It's a New Year and this is officially my 1st blog. Slacker, you say?

Well, yes. Yes, I have been. Not only here, on the blog, but in my personal writing as well. I have a few excuses why--retrograde (which, I just found out about. BTW--we're out of it today), a new puppy, can't concentrate, new no-sugar eating plan, work, and it's too damn cold to think.

We can all think of excuses why we don't do something, or anything, for that matter. Funny thing is I haven't made one excuse for my new eating plan (oh and in 1 week - 3lbs, 2" - yay me), nor have I made excuses about going to the gym.

So why is it so easy to stop writing, when this is supposed to be my passion?

That I don't have an answer for, only more excuses. Because that's really what it comes down to. Honestly, I'm surprised I'm writing this, but look at me go, one goal met. I have a few days off and I've promised myself I'm going to write--come hell or high water (or low temperatures).

I made a promise to myself that I would send out a book by Nationals, and I'm totally off track for that. Why? More excuses, of course. Am I built to do this business? Yes. Am I good enough? Well, I think so. Can I give up family time to write? Humm, that one's a hard one. How do writers work and write? Don't know, but I've done it before, I can do it again.

The questions and self fulfilling excuses are endless. But, in the spirit of it being a new year, I really want to keep all the promises I've made to myself. I don't seem to have a problem keeping them to other people, so...

Hummm, why is it so easy to let the things for ourselves go so easily?

What are your excuses and how did you tackle them?
I need to hear it--anything to stop the procrastination and excuses.

Have a great day with no excuses! Just do it! I'm going to try :-)

Hugs,
Laurie
Lkap

Helen Scott Taylor is in the House

It's an honor and pleasure to welcome Helen Scott Taylor to the blog today. Not only is she an amazing writer, but she's an incredible person.  Thank you Helen for coming by and I'll turn it over to you now.

I’m a real softie where animals are concerned and I love books that contain animals as characters or where pets figure in the plot. I especially love the concept of spirit animals or familiars where the animals have a spiritual or magical connection with the characters.


I have two Shih Tzu dogs and a burmilla cat, but I have to admit that my heart belongs to my cat (the bit of my heart that doesn’t belong to my husband and kids!). I indulged myself in the second book in my Magic Knot Fairies series, The Phoenix Charm, and gave my heroine a cat inspired by my own cat. My heroine Cordelia is a pisky witch and her cat Tamsy is her familiar. She rescued Tamsy, who was an abandoned kitten, and has been bonded to her ever since. She can sense Tamsy emotionally. In stressful or frightening situations, she and her cat anchor and calm each other. She doesn’t exactly take Tamsy’s advice—they don’t communicate in words—but she can sense her cat’s reactions to people and events to help her make decisions. Cordelia can also send her consciousness into her cat’s mind and see through her eyes.


I have a villain who is bonded to a dragon and can take on some of the dragon’s characteristics: he armors his torso with dragon-like scales when fighting and gains strength from the bond. He isn’t a shape shifter, but he has internalized the dragon’s aggressive nature.


The concept that our favorite animal reveals something about us often appears in myths and folk law. For me, the peculiar wisdom of animals gives a peek into a mysterious world that exists outside of our understanding. We think we know what goes on in their world, but we see everything through the lens of our human understanding and values. The rules of nature are both harsh and pure, a conflict that is elemental, but honest in its brutal demands. I find the duality of nature fascinating: the fact that to me my cat is a sweet-natured friend while to a mouse she’s a merciless killer. This conflict has an otherworldly quality that lends itself perfectly to the paranormal romance genre.


I guess taking this to its ultimate extreme is the melding of human and animal consciousness in a shape shifter, with the innate conflict of civilized man and wild animal embodied in one being.

What type of animals do you enjoy reading about? Do you like cute pets or dangerous shape-shifters?

To celebrate the release of The Phoenix Charm, I have a free fantasy romance short story on the Dorchester website called Jack’s Garden. (link http://www.dorchesterpub.com/Dorch/SpecialFeatures.cfm?Special_ID=2759)

To read book excerpts or for more information on my work go to here.

I have a novella linked to my Magic Knot Fairy world called The Feast of Beauty in The Mammoth Book of Irish Romance coming out on Jan 26. This story is about the people of Lir the Irish Sea god.

The Feast of Beauty 


Kate’s grandmother’s dying wish is that she should return her pearl pendant to the tiny fishing village in Ireland where she was born. At the village’s Midsummer Feast of Beauty, the unearthly silver hair and emerald eyes of Esras, the wealthy local landowner, mesmerize Kate. But how can she trust her heart to a man who claims to be a sea fairy king?


The Phoenix Charm  

HE’S PURE TEMPTATION.


Cordelia has sworn she’ll abstain from looking into Michael’s future—particularly when the image in the gilded smoke of her divination mirror shows him half naked. Yet she can’t resist watching the sexy rascal slowly running his hand down his ribs, over his abdomen, flicking open the button on his jeans with a little flourish like a magician performing a trick.

SHE’S TRYING TO RESIST.

Respectable wise woman Cordelia restrains her secret water nymph sensuality with the Celtic symbols painted on her skin. But Michael’s powerful fairy glamour leaves her breathless, off balance, struggling for control. When Gwyn ap Nudd, the Welsh King of the Underworld, steals away Michael’s infant nephew, Cordelia must work with him to save the child. But how can she trust her instincts with Michael tempting her to explore the hidden elemental depths of her nature and insisting that she believe in the power of…The Phoenix Charm.

And here's the trailer. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8JvYC2ljzE

Vicki here. I can't wait to read both books!! I love the covers and the hero's sound to die for. :)


Leave your questions and comments for Helen and someone is going to win The Phoenix Charm. Nice!


Vicki

Helen Scott Taylor Will Be Here On Wednesday!!

I am so excited to have Helen Scott Taylor with us this Wednesday that I had to give you a heads up.

Her second book The Phoenix Charm has just released. She'll be here sharing with us information on the book as well as other stuff (you gotta come back to find out, always a surprise).

And if you're like me and just can't wait to know a little more, then click here to read the excerpt.

Don't you just love the cover!!! 

xoxoxo,

Vicki

2010 Handbook

This was sent to me in an email and I thought it was cool.

HANDBOOK 2010

Health:
1. Drink plenty of water.
2. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a beggar.
3. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.
4. Live with the 3 E's -- Energy, Enthusiasm and Empathy
5. Make time to pray.
6. Play more games
7. Read more books than you did in 2009.
8. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day
9. Sleep for 7 hours.
10. Take a 10-30 minute walk daily. And while you walk, smile.

Personality:
11. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
12. Don't have negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.
13. Don't over do. Keep your limits.
14. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
15. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip.
16. Dream more while you are awake
17. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need..
18. Forget issues of the past. Don't remind your partner with His/her mistakes of the past. That will ruin your present happiness.
19. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Don't hate others.
20. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.
21. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
22. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
23. Smile and laugh more.
24. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree...

Society:
25. Call your family often.
26. Each day give something good to others.
27. Forgive everyone for everything..
28. Spend time w/ people over the age of 70 & under the age of 6.
29. Try to make at least three people smile each day.
30. What other people think of you is none of your business.
31. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.

Life:
32. Do the right thing!
33. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
34. GOD heals everything.
35. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
36. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
37. The best is yet to come.
38. When you awake alive in the morning, thank GOD for it.
39. Your Inner most is always happy. So, be happy.
40. Enjoy the life you’ve been given, because somewhere there’s someone who wishes they had yours instead of theirs.

xoxoxo,
Vicki

Reflections

Yep, it’s that time of year again. Time to reflect on 2009 and the decade we’re leaving behind as we embark on a new one.

I don’t know about you, but 09 was a crazy year all the way around. With the crash of the economy we learned what really counts in our lives, what we could live with and without. As writers (aspiring or published), we learned that we can still become published or sell that next book, it just might be a little bit harder. Writing the best book we can became even more important.

When looking back at my goals for last year (you knew I would get the ‘goal’ word in here), I realized I didn’t do too badly. I didn’t do all that great either. I didn’t write as much as I should have and thus my goals were not completed.

Sure, I can blame it on the day job. This past year has been one of the busiest we’ve had and that’s saying something since it’s a 24/7 TV retail show. And I could blame it on the house searching Science Guy and I did. That took tons of time, both with the realtor and on our own. Maybe I could say it was finally finding and buying our home back in June, but really, there were still six months of the 09 year left. Yes, it took time moving and settling into a new home, one that was ours to do with as we please (Home Depot knows us well).

Then there was Science Guy’s health issues resulting in a four-day hospital stay and many doctor appointments which I needed to take off work to go with him. Thankfully, he is doing so much better now.

Last, but certainly not least, has been being the president of my local chapter. I’ve been on the board in the capacity of secretary and vice president, but the role of presidency takes a little more time. At least for me it does because I want to make sure everything is the best it can be for our chapter.

Don’t think that all of the above is a whining stage or a leave a ‘bless your heart’ in the comments. It’s not. We’ve all had our share of life turned upside down this past year.

Here’s what I’ve learned from my reflections. Life is hard, it gets in the way and it doesn’t slow down for you just because you want it to. When the race picks up speed, you have a choice to accelerate and keep in that top five position (of course, NASCAR is always in here somewhere) or take a pit stop or two and fall back in your positioning.

The biggest thing I do know is that although I took a few pit stops I didn’t head for the garage. Sure, I may have been in the front of my race and ended somewhere towards the middle of the race, but I KEPT ON RACING. I crossed the finish line even if it wasn’t where I wanted to be when I crossed it.

So long post short, it wasn’t the most stellar of years, but it wasn’t all that bad either. I learned a lot about myself, and what I need to do in order to make 2010 all that it can be and more.


My first priority in 2010? Write.

How about you? Have you reflected on the 2009? Did it meet your expectations?

Here’s looking towards a new year with new goals and seeing our heart’s desires come true.

Xoxoxox,


Vicki