Up, up and away, I'm off on holiday.

Today's the day. I'm going on the A380 to Sydney tonight arriving in Sydney in the morning. Not how long it'll be before I get back online so I'm checking in now to let everyone know just in case I drop off the face of the earth. (At least I'm warning you before I disappear this time.)

I got myself a new toy to play with. It's a My Space page. I'm still learning how it all works over there, it's very confusing and I'm still have some trouble finding my way around but you can pop over and check me out. (I've put a link on the side of the blog.)

www.myspace.com/rachelacharlton

Go on over there and check out who some of my friends are. You'll notice lots of changes as I get the hang of it over there and play around.
Well, off to check every thing is packed.
'See' you all soon.

Wishing everyone a safe, happy and bountiful Christmas and New Year.

Rachel.C

Spring Cleaning!

Out with the old, in with the new.
I know it's winter where I live and it's summer where I'm going for the next month but I've had a spring anyway. What do you think? I'm not sure. I had a few complaints about the old look hurting the eyes so I thought I'd see how this went. Who knows, I'll probably change it again anyway.

Change is as good as a holiday, everyone should have one!

Rachel C

Getting into the spirit of giving.

I visited the Naughty and Spice Blog today and found Amie Stuart's blog very interesting. She's blogging about another author, Colleen Gleason, who runs an unusual contest. Pay It Forward. For anyone that's seen the movie you'll know what I'm talking about, well the idea anyway. So Colleen sets a challenge, pay it forward, do something nice for someone else this holiday season, then make a comment about it on her blog and on the 20th Dec she'll pick some winners. I didn't check out the prizes but I'm sure they're cool. And Amie, 'good' girl that she is, is running a parallel contest. That's right, she's spreading the word and adding incentive. She's giving a free critique or course to the winning author and a half dozen books to the winning reader of her contest. But it's not the prizes that get me it's the things people do for nothing, I mean really, the prizes aren't that fantastic. So I checked out some of the comments and the things people are talking about are so small, just seconds out of our day or, as in one case, change out of our pocket. Then I got to thinking what's the one thing we can all give, everyday, that costs nothing? (picture light bulb moment here) A smile. Yep, costs nothing and yet we have the power to give it to everyone we meet, even if it is just in the line while waiting to use the bathroom at the local shopping mall. Think about a smile for a minute. How good does it make you feel to see someone smiling? How good do you feel when you're smiling? I know they say that laughter is the best kind of medicine so wouldn't it stand to reason that a smile is a small dose? Imagine how much better you're day would be if everyone you past had a smile on their face. I know that after our move to Singapore the kids didn't smile at all for quite a while, then as life began to settle and they got more comfortable the smiles came back, and there's nothing better in this world than a grinning child. If you give nothing else this Christmas give the gift that's free at every opportunity. The best bit is that it's a gift that gives back. Not many people can resist smiling back.
Naughty and Spice Blog
http://www.naughty-and-spice.com/
Colleen Gleason Blog
www.colleengleason.com/wordpress/
Visit both blogs and check out some of the things people are doing. Enter the contests if you want. I'm entering Amie's because I think it's cool the way she's riding Colleen's coat tails. I only wish I had something to give away in a contest as well. Maybe next year, until then I'll just pass the word along.

Sometimes your joy is the sauce of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the sauce of your joy.
Thich Nhat Hanh.

Rachel.C

Karin Tabke One Line Comp.

I've said it before I'll say it again, I can't work it out, how do I keep staying in? Round 9 was posted today, and yes there was my entry, still in. This boggles the mind, well either that or the fact that I'm hyperventilating with excitement. Probably the breathing, I did nearly fall out of the hot seat. Not that I was writing, no reading and reviewing are the order of the day. It's only five days till I board the plane to Oz and I've got nothing ready. Plus I wanted the books out of the way. Not going to happen. Can't sit still now.
ROUND 9!
That's more than halfway. (I think, well I can't think so who knows.) We started with, oh God! I can't remember how many, 70? 75? Not sure anymore. If my maths is good it was 70. So, yeah, over halfway. (Excuse me while I do a happy dance around the room.)
Ahh... back again. Where was I? Yes, that's right, more than halfway through and I'm still there! Okay, I know I'm bragging but really, it's my horn and if I want to blow the damn thing I will. Are you deaf yet? No, seriously, oh who am I kidding? I can't be serious right now! I don't want to be serious right now. I want to laugh and yell and generally enjoy it. It doesn't happen very often. I've said before a writer's life is full of rejection, so any form of acceptance is going to be grabbed with both hands, (might wrap the legs around to hold it down too) and thrown up for the world to see. Can you see?? Okay, no more bragging. I leave you all in peace and quiet.

I've just done spellcheck and re-read the post and it occurs to me that I sound just a tad insane. So that's what all the people in my head are about. I see now, I'm not a writer, I've insane. Well that makes me feel better. There a drug for this, right? Right? Anyone?
No! Did someone say no?
What? The cure is writing everything they say and do down? But that's being a writer....... and they get rejected......
What? Not all the time? Really? Some times they get accepted? I should look at what? Oh, the Karin Tabke One Line Comp.

Okay, going now to add my next line.

Happiness.... it lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

Rachel.C

Happy Season????? Silly Season!!!!!

Who said this was 'happy' season? More like here's a years load of stress, she what you can do with it. Silly Season is far closer. Christmas is always a busy time, what with getting every one's presents, kids end of school activities, preparing for some time off, working out where you need to be on what day's, the list is endless. Try doing all that plus getting organised to be away from home for 4 weeks. Not just away from home but out of country. First you need to sort out what has to be taken with you, eg: chrissie presents, clothes, chargers, any work you might need to do while away. Then there's what needs to be done before you leave the house for four weeks (for me that's proving a little easy, Melma will be here), are the animals organised? Snickers is looking forward to having Melma's undivided attention. As the mother I've got to make sure the kids have got everything they need before I can even start getting my own stuff together. Then there's the little things you want to do before going, hair cuts, nails done (girls), de-fur if you're off to a sunny climate (we're live in one so that's up to date), purchase those last minute things to take with you, get the last dentist appointment in before going. Make sure all work is handed in before you leave. This one is hard, I might not get paid for reviewing but it's an everyday job, I need to read and review all the time. I try to be reading a book everyday, some of them I can read in one day, others take longer, once they're read I like to 'sit' on it for a few hours at least before doing the review, so I'm 'working' every day. This requires internet access. I have 24/7 access here but when we're in Sydney I won't have that, so I've been working like a madman to get as many reviews in before end of month as I can. That way it won't matter too much if I can only get a couple done while we're away. Last week I did six reviews bringing my total for the month to 14 (our month ends on the 25th), so I'm well ahead there. But that's meant no writing. I have jotted quite a few notes though, this latest story has me branching out in the paranormal/fantasy genre, and for a first attempt it's not that bad. I've also had another look at my ms that has given me nothing but grief for over a year now. I made a change that, well let's say it wasn't the best change, and when I'd been through the whole thing I realised I'd pretty much destroyed the story. Sooooo.... back I went to remove the change and stand all those domino's back up. Now, I'm back to square one with it and don't really want to talk about it, never mind look at it. So Devon's doing that. Isn't she wonderful! Yep, she's been kind enough to offer and I'm not stupid, so off it went. Now I just get to sit here biting my nails until she's finished with the red pen. (cringe) So there's a good chance that it'll be ready to send out in the new year, (more cringing) which is scary, not the being ready part, the sending out part. the writers life is full with fear of rejection but you can't get accepted without putting yourself up for rejection so it's just a matter of sucking it up and sticking you head on the chopping block. I'm trying to get my head around that, and I will but in the mean time I've got to get back on the keyboard, drag the muse out of the cupboard and start writing again. I need to be more disciplined, I know I lost a lot of it when I got sick and I'm finally back on my feet again so I'll be pulling that into line too. But I got to say it's really hard to do when you've got so much going on. It's only six days til I fly to Sydney and it'll be a month before we're back, that's an awful long time away from home. I'm looking forward to spending time with friends and family, some we haven't seen in 8 months or more, catching up with what's been going on and who's been doing what. I'm also looking forward to not getting up at 6am to get the kids on the bus by 7:20am, they're even happier about that. With every thing we've got planned for while we're down in Sydney it'll be interesting to see if I can get any writing done. I will be doing reviews because there's no way I'm not going to read. Plus I've stocked up on a few e-books, ready for lying in the sun with a cold drink. I will update before we go and while we're there, I'm just not sure how much access I'll have but I promise to be on once a week at least. Even if I have to drive to the library.
Okay, off to check the shopping list to see what needs to be bought today.
'See' you soon.

Happy holidays this Silly Season.

Rachel.C

Girl Power!

Today was a day off. Well not really, I did do a review and about 6 review edits with the help of Dana the trusty review editor. Then I went out for a girls day. Now you may recall the girls from a previous blog about our girls weekend in Vietnam, this time it was just the three of us that live here in Singapore. Jody the birthday girl had some how got hold of three freebies for a spa and Danielle the goddess of pampering had her hand in the air volunteering before Jody finished reading the fine print. So off we went to enjoy a morning of self indulgence. Now I have to say I learnt something today. Something as a writer I should have known. It's all in how you say it. Yep, what words you use to describe something is the most important thing. Let me explain.
45 minute de-stress and relaxation massage.
Translation - 45 minutes of me sticking my fingers in the tight muscles on you back until it hurts and the relaxation part is the end when I stop with the torture.
10 minute back scrub to exfoliate the dead skin and leave you with smooth, refreshed skin.
Translation - 10 minutes where I rub stuff into your back that feels and acts like sand paper, therefore removing the top three layers of skin to the barely formed layer beneath.
15 minute steam bath.
Translation - 15 minutes where I lock you in a room full of steam so you sweat your ass off and can't breath properly.
See? It's all in the words.
For instance, that last one, I swear it's what I know as a sauna but call it a steam bath and you can charge more money. And lets face it, would any of be lining up for these things if they were describe the second way? No, nope, no way.
So anyway, this got me thinking. What else could I describe in a different way that would make something that was appealing not, or vice versa? Mmmm.... Sounds like a good exercise to me.
Tomorrow, not today cause this is girls day, I'm going to sit down and try my new exercise. It might even be fun. Think about, for those of us that write it should be easy, how could you describe something differently and come up with two different feelings. Here's an example, sex. Think about the way you've written a sex scene in your wip, now re-write it. Use different words to give it a whole new feeling. You could have a scene that was soft and tender originally but with a few changes it could be hard and rough. See where I'm going with this?
Here's the challenge. Who can come up with the best one. There's no price. Not unless you want me to send you which ever kid is annoying me this week. I can't wait to see what everyone comes up with.
Back to my girls day. After our time in the spa, free time remember, we were nice and relaxed and ready for some lunch. Jody suggested a short walk to a place she knows on the river that serves great sandwiches. Short walk? I'd hate to go on a long one with her. But I have to say, she knew what she was talking about. Fresh bread and fresh fillings, the shop even smelt yummy. I had a BLT, which I haven't had in years, which Melma is now going to learn to make. And if she picks this up as quick as everything else we've taught her I could be in trouble. I'm already putting the weight on again but if I get Melma making me BLT's every day..... (shudder)
We're planning our next girls day but with Christmas, me heading back to Sydney for four weeks, Jody going to Perth and Danielle off to Phuket it'll be the end of January before we can indulge ourselves again. I got a real boost out of today and the dreaded Ms. D and Ms. G seemed to have moved on to greener pastures. It's amazing what a little girl power can do.

I am woman! Hear me roar! (If you stroke me the right way I might purr)

Rachel.C

The 'D' word!

Okay, so everyone knows I'm a fan of the three P's and I hate the fourth one. Well now I'm getting to know the D one. Depressed! And let me tell you she's huge. Sitting up there on my shoulders giving me a hard time, all because I blew out of Nano. But that's not all, oh no, she didn't just come on her own, no sir, she's brought a friend. Everyone knows the more the merrier, right? So who'd she bring I hear you ask. Guilt! Yet, she bought the biggest guilt she could find and they're up there having a grand old time at my expense. So here I am feeling depressed and guilty as hell because I didn't get done what I wanted. I can't get motivated and I'm having a party of my own. Yet, it's the good old pity party. I've got the big trip back to Australia, which just quietly is going to put a definite crimp in my online life, but for one month I'll be scrabbling to get online when I can and write when I can. In between all the Christmas events and catching up with friends I'm beginning to think I'm not going to get anything done. So other than the wonderful Devon screaming at from the US, to send her the second chapter of On A Wing And A Prayer, I've only got myself pushing me at the moment. And I can't hear me over Depressed and Guilty partying away on my shoulder. So here's what I did. I signed up for Sven. For those out of the loop on this one it's 70 days of sweat. You have to write between 60,000 and 100,000 words in the 70 days. You have 93 days to the whole event, so for 23 days you can rest, have a meltdown, visit family, whatever you're required to do in your everyday life. There is a whole network of authors doing this. Newbies, like me, and published authors. It has author sponsors who cheer us on and give little inspirational talks, or kick our butts, whatever we need they provide. Except the story, that's up to us. Sounds great, the authors life is a very solitary one after all, so if we can have some buddies online going through the same thing as us, at the same time we won't feel so alone. And with all those people talking they just might drown out Ms. D and Ms. G. The catch? I signed up today. Sven finishes on January 15th, it started on October 15th. I'm late! Very late. But as they say, better late than never. So, I'm writing the rest of On A Wing And A Prayer and I'm not going to be too hard on myself over not finishing Nano or, heaven forbid, not finishing it during Sven. I'm doing it for the moral boost, the friendship of other authors and best of all 'meeting' new people. I even noticed when I signed up that a couple of the authors I've 'met' since I started reviewing are in this. And of course my good buddy Sandie Hudson is doing it, in fact she's been raving about it since before Nano and it's kind of her fault I signed up. I was on her blog and she's got the Sven logo on there and well, I couldn't help it, I clicked and off I went. I read the whole blog site for Sven and was hooked. It probably didn't help that the author sponsors are ones I've been reading for years. I'm such a sucker for a recognisable name. As of tomorrow I'm kicking Ms. D and Ms. G to the curb and getting back in the hot seat. It also helped that when I logged on to check out the latest round for the Karin Tabke One Line Comp my entry was still there. Yep, round 8 and going strong. Now if I could just figure out why..... I really don't know. I'm convinced that the other entries are better than mine, so I've got to be missing something. I don't see why it works and the other ones that get bumped out don't. If someone has the answer I'd love to know what it is. Come on, share. Fine! Don't share, leave me sitting here in the dark biting my nails till next week when round 9 gets announced.

Today is the first day of the rest of your life. Make it count.

Rachel.C

My Baby?

I wouldn't normally post family pix on here but I had to share these with you. This is my 'baby' Timothy and his girl, Tamara, yes they're TimTam. Anyway, they're on the way to their Year 12 Formal. Hubby was in Sydney that week for work so he was lucky enough to go see them. They both looked so gorgeous, Tim scrubbed up rather well and Tam looked soooo pretty. It was a really cold and windy afternoon but we still managed to get some good pix. In the car with them are Tam's bestmate Rachel and her boyfriend Ben. The different colours the girls picked actually look great together. I can't believe how quick they grow up. Tim turned 18 at the beginning of November and I can remember the day he was born like it was yesterday.

Love them for what they are, not what you expect them to be.

Rachel.C

Nano Update.

Nano is officially over. I'm pleased because now I don't have to spend every day feeling guilty about not having the energy to type. I've managed to get 22,143 words done. No quite half way. Oh well, better luck next year. I figure I've done about 15 hours solid writing in the whole 30 days, which is really disappointing but what can you do when everything conspires against you? Anyway, the show must go on, and is. A Wing And A Prayer is moving along nicely and will be finished, if not before Christmas then in the first weeks of January. The bonus to all of this is that the piece is still in the one line comp. We're down to 35 entries and of those there's about 6 or so Aussie's, me being one of them. I'm looking forward to tomorrow with excitement and trepidation, the results are posted on Monday evening each week but as we're ahead over here it's Tuesday my time.

Remember to smile. It costs nothing.

Rachel.C

Nano update.

Day 23 - 3,356 words. Taking the total to 15,739 words. Five chapters and I think 74 pages. If I keep up the pace I'll go close to making the 50,000 but at this point with only 7 days left I'll be happy to make the half way mark.

Keep the dream alive.

Rachel.C

Did you miss me?

Well? Did ya?
I know I miss me.
I've discovered a bit about myself this month that I really could have done without. Oh, not altogether, just after Nano. I sooooo wanted to make the 50,000. I bet you all thought I was shut away somewhere tapping away at the keyboard. Don't I wish. No such luck.
My boy and his girl arrived from Sydney on the 6th of Nov and we went as a family to Phuket for a week on the 8th, which, if you remember I accounted for those lost days of writing. So I was cool with all that. You know I made the 5,895 on the first day, I didn't tell you about the 3,104 on the fifth day, taking my total to 8,999 before going on hols. Manageable. Doable. (did I just make up a word?) What I didn't count on was a health crisis. Day surgery and a bacterial infection that's slowly eating my insides. Not as bad as it sounds, so don't panic, but it is an eye opener. Top that with being weighed down with multiple amounts of antibiotics, enough to kill a small nation, and you have a recipe for lots of lazing around. I'm on the road back to good health even if a do rattle a bit with all the tablets I'm taking, and I've got some good things going on as well.
I had such a wonderful time with Tim and Tam, and seeing how it was the first time in 6 months we've been together as a family, it was balm to a very sorry for herself mum. Getting the news of the impending hospital visit before they arrived I think gave me a push to really enjoy just being with my family. Not knowing what any of the outcome would be was enough to get me to forget about all the shit happening and just be with everyone and enjoy ourselves. And enjoy ourselves we did. Phuket was a blast.
Having them still here when I went in was both a pain and a comfort. The only down side was having to say goodbye to them last Sunday. It didn't help that Chris flew to Sydney for work half an hour after they left. My results weren't all in yet and I spent a very sleepless night on Sunday and a restless day Monday till the doctor rang with the good news. And really, if it wasn't for the fact I was looking pregnant but losing weight I probably wouldn't have gone to the doctors when I did. But eating enough to feed a small nation and still losing 2 kilos in one week has got to be a wake up call. It seems I've been feeding a greedy nation of bacteria and leaving nothing for me. Typical mother behaviour. So now it's all about me. That small nation is being evicted as I write.
So I'm back in the hot seat and I've managed to get some writing done on my Nano project. Day 19 I did 3,384 words and already today I'm over the 3,000 mark. Now if I can just stay awake to get the words out. That's the most frustrating part. The story is there, finished, in my head. I'm just too exhausted to sit and write it. (killing a small nation is tough work) But I'm happy with where I am because of where I've been. And even if this doesn't get finished at the end of Nano and I don't make the 50,000, I still have a really great story that I didn't have before. One good enough to be polished and submitted. Remember this started life as one line for the Karin Tabke one line comp. I'm pleased to say, that as of this week I'm still in. The next round comes out Monday night US time. Fingers crossed for that.
I mentioned in an earlier blog about two pieces I'd entered in another contest. Well, I got those results during my troubles and haven't had a real good look but so far, even though I didn't make the cut, I'm happy with the judges comments. And the scores. Particularly on one that hasn't even been polished yet. I only did the bit needed to enter it.
Well, I'm off to do some more writing to crank up the word count and hopefully I'll be able to stay awake long enough to get to 50,000. Not today, I'm not that hopeful. I just want to get to the 50 by the time I head to Oz for Christmas. I'd be happy with that much.
'See' you all soon.

Every breath you take is precious, use it to the fullest.

Rachel.C

Day one.

Day one.
What can I say?
I'm shocked, I mean I know when I write it always surprises me when I check the word count but today I got the surprise of my life. See the thing is, when you look at where we are and how far we're into the story you think, not much there. Well, d'oh, yeah there is. So far we've had heroine and three lines. Yep, that's where we started. Remember this is the entry I've got going in the Karin Tabke one line comp. And each week I've added a new line. Off the top of my head, no clue about a story, no ideas about a story. So when we start with that we can be forgiven for hesitating when stepping up to the keyboard. But the show, or in this case story, must go on. And go on it did. We've had the heroine, Lana, hiding from the bad guys. Meeting of hero, Trey, and then escape with hero. Zooming off into the dark of night to end up in hero's shower, with hero (no hanky panky). Then sleeping in hero's bed naked, without hero. Waking in hero's bed naked, with hero, who is fully clothed (mmm... something wrong there). Anyway, that's where I've left them, in bed. Again for the slow ones, no hanky panky. (Definitely something wrong there.) Think I better have a word with Lana tomorrow, I mean Trey is one hot dude, what is she thinking? Oh, I know what she'd thinking. No hanky panky. Mmmm.... these people really do take on a life of their own. Trey is big and dark and for some reason I'm thinking of Vin Diesel when I write. Not so much the face but definitely the bod. And Lana is coming across as a tiny blonde. She may be tiny in size but she's not tiny in spirit. So, doesn't seem like much yet, I mean I've just summed it up in a couple of sentences, right? Wrong.
At the moment ON A WING AND A PRAYER weighs in at: (drum roll)
27 pages
2 chapters
5,895 words
Now remember my aim is 1,700 per day. Whoa! That's nearly three and a half times what I need to put out. Now I'm sure this pace is not going to last, we have to get to the dreaded sagging middle yet, and then there's the days where I won't be able to write at all. So getting this much out when I can is probably a good thing. The scary bit is I wasn't really pushing that hard. I could have worked a lot harder and for longer, but once I started seeing how far I'd gotten I slowed down a bit.
For me Nano is turning out to be enjoyable and I'm thinking that this is probably the calm before the storm. So I'll keep my fingers and toes crossed.
I'm stealing my quote from someone but I don't know who so I'll just say it's not mine and leave you with it.

What doesn't kill me makes me stronger.

Rachel.C

Ready! Set! Go!

Nooo.... Wait!
I'm not ready. I've changed my mind, I know, nothing new there, but I have. I want to write a different story. Well I'm gunna and you can't stop me. So there! (do I sound like a two year old?)
The new title is up on the Nano site. Yep, On a Wing and a Prayer. At least that what I think I'm calling it. It'll do for now.
Everyone is nervous, especially all us virgin Nano participants. We're all madly sending good luck email to the loop, going no-mail on our e-groups and updating our blogs. If fact one has even gone as far as to say she's not available for anything until Dec 1. I'm with her on that. Don't ring me, don't email me, oh, no, hang on, if you're a publisher but all means ring me, email me. I'm here, I'm not going anywhere. Well, I am, we're off to Phuket next week but I'll take my phone. I'd hate to miss THAT call.
Okay, so we're all straight on what's happening. That's good. Now if I could just remember.....
I know I'll write it down. Stick it to the wall in front of me. There, now I won't forget what's going on. All right, now for the good bit. Writing. Lots and lots of writing.
50,000 words in 30 days.
We can and will do it.
I'll leave you with the sign I think I'll put on the office door. Actually, I can't decide which one so I might rotate them so people know I'm still alive in here.

Out of my mind back in 30 days.
or
Out to lunch, back in an hour.

Rachel.C

Where have you been?

I bet you all thought I'd gone off the deep end and they'd locked me up. No such luck. I've been busy. Sorting things out ready for the beginning of Nano. Thursday is D Day! I've worked out I need about 1700 words a day to meet the target of 50,000 in 30 days. No problem. Well I'll need to minus a day for a short story workshop I'm doing with Alison Stuart, then there's the seven days we're in Phuket. Oh, and the six days my son and his girlfriend are here. So that makes...... 14 days, okay, 30 minus 14 is 16, 50,000 divided by 16... does anyone have a calculator? Hold on.
Got one. 50,000 divided by 16 = 3,125.
Oh God!
No way!
I'm not gonna winnnnn........
Wait a minute, hyperventilating here.
All right, fine now. I can do this, it's not like I have to go to work, this is work. And there's nothing else I have to do during November. Well, there is the reviews for FAR, plus I've signed up to interview an author, but that's online so I don't need to leave my chair. Plus there's the hand I waved in the air to help with the Passionate Ink newsletter, and it's not like I need any sleep. Or food. Or drink. And if I'm not fed or watered I won't need to go to the bathroom, which means more time in the chair. And nobody wants any Christmas presents this year, do they? No, no, I'm sure they'll be happy to know I've spent the time on my writing and not on them. It's not like I know what to get anyone anyway. So, in November you'll find me with my butt glued to the chair, (is that starting to sound like the one at the end of death row? It sure is starting to feel like it), with my finger busy tapping away and a smile on my face because the words are flowing so freely. And any minute now I'll wake up and find I haven't signed myself up for something I don't have time for. Damn, it sounded so doable (is that a word?) when I signed on. I guess it doesn't matter if I win or not, it's the writing. I just hope it's not one more thing that will have to be locked in the bottom draw.
On to bigger and better things.
I entered Karen Tabke's One Line comp. On a whim. It was posted on the ROMAUS e-group and I had a look and went of what the hell, you only live once. I posted my first line and thought this will be funny, I'm gone in the first cut. Ten lines go, then everyone left adds their second line, another ten go and everyone left adds their third line, you get the picture. So I'm still in after the first line, I have my self a laugh and post a second. Let me just say that these lines are coming off the top of my head. Never been heard from before and each Tuesday I think up the next one. So imagine me sitting here this morning with my mouth hanging open because there's my lines. Waiting for the third to join them! Okay, now what? I don't have a story. I don't even have an idea! So I sat on it for about three hours then added the next. Still have no idea where we're going or what we're doing. The more I look at the lines the more I realise they could actually be going anywhere. And I chose to do this now! Did some say insane? I'm sure I've heard that before somewhere. Oh well, just keep plodding along. What else can I do? I'm not going to pull out of anything, I might fail at some things but I don't quit them. So I'm getting ready to have an intense couple of weeks and I'm not sure I'll be around much but I'll get the Hubby to post if it all gets too much and I just head down to the pool with a drink.
'See' you all around cyberspace.

My quote this week is from me and it's not really a quote, it's kind of the way I'm going to treat things the next couple of weeks.
When the hurdles in my life are too tall to get over I'm improvising, I've bought my shovel, I'm going under the bloody things.

Rachel.C

No, no, don't answer the door!!

Damn, why did you answer the door? I know I wasn't here but really you shouldn't have answer the bloody thing. Now look what you've done!
No I'm not having a conversation with myself, I'm talking to my muse. At some point she opened the door and let in Procrastination. I've warned and warned Muse but it's like talking to a brick wall. I she let the bitch in while I was at the dentist getting tortured with needles and drills and cement, is it just me or should those things have nothing to do with the mouth? So here I am home and the pair of them are having a cuppa and a chat. I can't even have the cuppa, half my face is numb and what isn't numb hurts like hell. So I've shooed them off the couch so I can get some work done which is fine except Procrastination took Muse with her! Now what? Me head hurts, I can't drink or eat for a couple of hours and the pain killers are wearing off. Now they're back but we're not fighting, I'm co-operating, hopefully if I do they'll be nice and Procrastination will leave so that Muse and I can get back to work. Picture if you can, me pushing furniture around constantly wiping my mouth and nose with a tissue because I still can't tell if either is running, the sun is streaming in making the room hot without my physical activity and that pair telling where they want everything to go. All I wanted was to move my desk out of the morning sun. Since we headed into autumn I've got sun coming in on the desk which means I can't see the laptop screen without squinting or getting my sunnies out. Oh yeah, go on, laugh. I'm laughing with you, I can only be grateful that no one's home to take pictures. Anyway, we've rearranged and I still have the sea view if I turn to the right and the ocean breeze blows straight across me to keep me cool while writing all those steamy scenes. I'm ready. Okay, Muse.... I'm ready.
What do you mean you're busy? You're what? Going out? No you're not. Get back over here, we need to get this story finished before November 15 or there's not point writing it. Miss the deadline and we wait till next year to submit it. Yes I know no writing is pointless but it was your idea to do a piece with a valentine theme...... (hear me whine. Loud.) All right! Fine! When will you be back? What? You don't know? How could you not know? Damn lady you are going to be the death of me. Okay. I'll read then. I've got two books to review I don't need you to be here to get work done. I'll read then review them and if you're not here when I finish I'll start on the next one. Oh, right, now that I don't need you you're ready. Well that's just typical isn't it? Where's your friend? She's gone? Really? Oh, oh, okay then, what are we doing? Right, right, I'm getting off. Yes I'm coming, let me just say goodbye.
I'm going. She's ready. I knew if I had a bitch about her she'd get back here, sometimes she's sooo predictable. Off to get some words on the page.

Immature love says, "I love you because I need you."
Mature love says, "I need you because I love you."
Erich Fromm

Rachel.C

We're out of control...Somebody stop us!!!

Well here's a taste of a girls weekend. I thought it best not to blog any of the incriminating photos so here we are, from left to right, Miz, Jody, Danielle and Me, waiting to board our boat on the Mekong River. We had great weather and even though we were a little under par from the night before we still managed to get up at dawn and drag our butts down to meet our own personal tour guide. Yep, just the four of us, how cool was that? The Mekong is amazing and I'm still not over going there. We spent the day on the river going through the channels between the islands that make their home along the Mekong. I had no idea how big the Mekong is. When we arrived on the Friday the first thing after checking in was shopping. Woo hoo..... I love the markets and Miz and Jody both agree that it's better shopping in Ho Chi Minh than Bangkok. And the art work, let's just say only one of us came home without some. My painting is going up in the bedroom and once I've done that I'll have to go back for more, couldn't fit anything else in the luggage if I tried. Then we found this little spa place where we had foot massages that included legs, arms, back and neck. Mmmm.... sounds like a full body massage to me, anyway, $5 later (yes, US) I splurged on a manicure. Almost broke the budget though at another $5 I had to really think about it. NOT!!!!
We're getting together this week to have lunch and exchange photos, if you're lucky I might tease you some more with a photo of us at the spa.
We're busy planning the next weekend away, although I've got Phuket in two weeks and Danielle wants me to go with her to Cambodia to drop off some things to the orphanage where they're adopting from, plus I fly back to Oz on the 16th of December for Christmas. None of us wanted to get on the plane to come home but we had to. If you're looking for somewhere to go I recommend Vietnam, this was my second trip and I'm definitely going back.

Rachel.C

GOING AWOL!

Yep, that's me. I'm going away, and before you ask, no the men in the white coats aren't coming to get me. I'm off on a girls weekend away. We're going to Vietnam! Woo hoo!!! I get to go on another plane. We leave in the morning, 7:25, so I'm trying to clear up everything before I go. I'm taking my new PDA, well it's new to me, it's a hand-me-down from Hubby, he got a blackberry. I swear, it's a good thing I don't have any buttons or do fancy tricks or he'd never leave me alone. The man loves gadgets. He's trying to get the PDA working so I can log on over there but it doesn't seem to be happening, nothing ever does when I'm around, maybe I'll tell you about zapping my laptop one of these days.
Anyway, I'm out of here until Monday.
Enjoy your weekend.

Some love lasts a life time, true love lasts forever.

Rachel.C

Got my bearings and moving forward.

For a while there things were a bit confusing, all turned around and nothing looked familiar. But now after some mad scribbling with pen on paper, things have become a little clearer and I'm not so concerned about being on a road not travelled before. As words and sentences began to take shape and a story unfolded I realised this was something that was going to push me out of my comfort zone in more ways than one. First, it's nothing like I've done before, scary enough by it's self. Second, it's definitely a single title, mmm.... 100,000 words is a lot of letters! And third? Research! Lots of research. In fact I would say I'm going to learn a hell of a lot about the 'conflict' my hero and heroine are going to face. I'm not even sure if it's going to have a happy ending, and that would have to be the biggest scare of all. The other major 'problem' I'm having with it is it seems to hit a little too close to home. Is that going to make it easier or harder to write? Time will tell, I guess. I'm not that comfortable talking about the subject matter yet and probably won't for a while. It's really hard to explain how this story has me all bent out of shape. I've read stories that have made my cry and stories that have made me laugh, I've even read a couple that have done both and it scares the sh** out of me that this is one of those. I'm still not sure I have the skill to pull it off. But I'll never know unless I try and so I go forth into the great blue yonder and read some more of my research. Damn there's a lot of it. I've only just scratched the surface. Back to the tombs. I mean desk. Actually, I think I'll go to bed and start fresh in the morning. With the kids back at school they're out of the house by 7:30 so there'll be plenty of peace and quiet.

Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars. (Les Brown)

Rachel.C

Change of direction.

For my first year in Nano I had a rough idea of what I wanted to work on, I will admit to the idea being around for a while and it even has the first scene written. (I didn't intend to count those words in my total) But then this afternoon, while in the shower washing my hair of all places, an idea began to unfold in my mind. The further the idea got the more I wanted to run with it, so I sat down to jot some notes. Only it didn't work out that way. The opening just flowed from the end of my pen and as usual I went with the flow. Now my mind keeps jumping forward and I jot a note on a separate page but then I'm back to the beginning and so it goes. The problem I'm having is that the more I write and the more I think up, the more I realise this is big. Bigger than anything I've attempted before. It's scares me to think this has come from me, I know I love to read the big emotional/dramatic stories that have a lot have heartache but always the happily ever after, but I've never felt the urge to write them. All my writing has be geared towards the erotic end of the market, and I know that that doesn't exclude them from having the emotional/dramatic story line, but I've never written that way. This story has the potential to be something I'm not sure I'm qualified to do. The fact that I'm sitting here getting teary and chocked up over what I'm writing and thinking, is enough for me to think, shit! Can I do this? I don't know that I can. But I've never stopped anything from coming out and appearing on paper or screen. So what do I do? Do I go with this for Nano because Nano is about getting words on paper and not quality or do I go back to what I'm used to doing? And why suddenly has this bigger deeper writing shown up? The only thing I can think of is a conversation I had some weeks ago with the lovely Melissa James. She was asking what I writing and then what I read and she actually asked why I didn't write something deeper and more emotional seeing how I love them so much. At this point I'm going the blame/thank her for putting the kernel in my subconscious. There's no other explanation.
As authors we live with the fear of rejection and I guess we live with the fear that the stories will dry up or in my case be to big for us. I'm left with not much choice, even if I don't use this for Nano I'm going to do it anyway. I have to. It's up there swanning around like it runs the joint, pushing aside everyone else and talking the loudest. If I don't listen I risk it getting so loud that nothing else gets through and that brings me back to the dam on my river. Why did I ever think of that? Now every time I think about stopping an idea I have visions of all these bare chested workmen building a wall with all my little people on the other side trying to peer round them while they work. All sweaty and muscles bulging.... Oops, got a little side tracked there.
So back to Nano. Should I work on this new direction? Is it the perfect opportunity to get words on paper to see if this is going some where? Do I go back to what I know? And if I do will I be stuck with this one running round my head screaming, 'pick me, pick me!'.
I'm counting on some advises from the elders in my buddy group, and I'd also like to know what the rest of you virgins think. I'm off to add more words before I need a panadol.

Nothing endures but change. (Heraclitus)

Rachel.C

THE THREE P's!

I love the three P's, Patience, Persistence and Perseverance, there's just one problem. I've found another P. Only I don't like this one. In fact I want to beat the thing out of existence. Really!
PROCRASTINATION!!!!
Ahhh.....
I'm doing it. Big time. I'm bad, I know I am, but I can't seem to stop. Is it a drug? Well whoever the bastard was that injected me better watch out because I've had enough. I can't even seem to read a book, which anyone that knows me will tell you is unheard of. So, how did I get here and more importantly how do I get back? I don't like the view from here. Nothing is motivating me in the slightest. All I'm doing is going through the motions and anyone can do that so what I'm doing can't be that special. A little retail therapy didn't even help. (Books of course)
So, I'm sitting here with the ocean breeze blowing in the window, I've put to bed my latest FAR review and now I'm surfing the net. Now I'm not exactly the best surfer, in fact I'm surprised I haven't shut the whole thing down. Don't laugh, I did zap my laptop with static electricity once and shut it off. So I'm surfing and catching up with some of my favourite blogs when I got to Sandie's. Have I told you lately that I'm glad we're buddies? Sandie has written in her latest blog entry that things clicked after reading somethings on mine and Devon's blogs. Devon and I are on opposite sides of the globe with no chance of connecting in the real world but managed to get thrown together in an online course, we've been cyberbuddies ever since. Sandie I picked up in cyberspace as well, through ROMAUS, and she's rapidly becoming just as important as Devon. Devon always seems to be able to understand or sympathize with me and have me bouncing back in no time. Now Sandie has done the same without even knowing it. After commenting about how we inspired her to get back to the flow of things I was suddenly confronted with what I've known all along. I'm not a conformer. No way, no how. In fact, box me in and I'll come out throwing punches. I realised I've been sitting here doing exactly what I'd been saying not to. The old so as I say not as I do. Only I'm an idiot because I've never done anything any one's said, just ask my mother, so why the hell have I suddenly started trying to plot and plan?
Temporary insanity!
So I'm taking my own advise and letting it flow. And guess what? Those pesky people in my head just came out to play. I've managed to put down 2 pages of A4 notebook in ten minutes! Writer's cramp and shorthand are well and truly my friends. The thing is, it's not from anything I'm already working on. Nope. Whole new story. So, do I leave it and head back when Nano starts of do I keep going because that's what works best for me? And what about during Nano? Do I work on a few different stories, like normal, or do I attempt to focus on one? Remember that river analogy?
I will say this. I'm going to allocate time. Time to read and review, time to read for fun and time for writing. What? Oh yeah, time for family. As long as I spend the right amount of time on everything I should be fine. And seeing how I'm really good at going with the flow, it'll be easy to work around the fact that those pesky people have come out to play at 10:30 at night.
Here's hoping that the flow flows because time certainly isn't going to stop.

If it were not for hope, the heart would break. (Thomas Fuller)

Rachel.C

Kid in a candy store!

Yep, that's what I feel like. A kid in a candy store. I don't know which way to go first. I'm checking in on the blog and what do I find? Two, yes two authors have sent me comments. Breathing is under control now. It was touch and go there for a while. Friday night my time I hoped on to the Fallen Angel Reviews Chatter site to join in with the authors from Cobblestone Press. Oh what fun I had. These ladies were great, answering question, leaving excerpt of their work and just chatting back and forth. It took me a while to get up to speed but once I did I was off and running. I've collected a lot of new websites to check out and a lot of new titles for my list to buy. Budget? What budget? (LOL) So I'm chatting away and up pops a familiar name Karen Erickson. Another author I've reviewed, had to say hello. Then in pops Shelli Stevens and here we are talking in real time instead of by email. I have to admit to being a bit star struck and even though it was well after midnight there was no way I was going to go to sleep. Not that I sleep that much anyway, but I live in hope. I asked some questions, got some great advise and encouragement and now I'm getting ready to get where I want to be. Published. I've decided it's all in the mind, I want to be published so that's what I'll be. And as they say in Star Wars, 'may the force be with you'.
I'm going to ignore that pesky voice that says 'that sux! redo it!', I'm going to ignore the fact that I can't write and plot, I know, what do you mean 'no plot'? I can't, if I plot the whole thing falls apart. I'm a scener, no order and not always the same story, but I love joining the dots. It works for me and my best writing comes when I just let it flow. Kind of like a river. If you dam it up and force it to flow your way you take the life out of it. Then it just all builds up until it over flows and goes where it wants anyway. What a waste of manpower.
I don't even think I'm making sense now. Hope everyone has fun joining my dots.
I'm looking forward to the NaNoWriMo even though I'm not sure what I'm going to write. I guess I'll just wing it, it's what I do best anyway.
Enough of the rambling back to the writing. Oops, got a couple of reviews to do too.
To all the wonderful girls who were on Chatters on Friday, thank you for a wonderful time. It was great to 'meet' you all. To Shelli and Karen, I can't believe I did the pair thing. To Shelli and J.T. thanks for leaving a message on my blog, even if it did make me look like a two year old on a sugar high when I read them.

Life is like a cup of tea. It's how you make it!

Rachel.C

More bragging!

J.T. Schultz has also put my review up on her site, and like Shelli, I've added her link on the right side under author links. I'll have to check out all the other books I've reviewed and add any more that have kindly added me to their websites.

So many happy bubbles I could pose as a glass of champagne!

Rachel.C

Bragging rights!!!!

Woohoo......
Everyone knows by now that I'm reviewing for Fallen Angel Reviews (FAR), the first of my reviews went up on the site this month and I received a lovely thank you from one author. While browsing the Passionate Ink forum I came across a name that was familiar but I couldn't place it until I flicked through my little black book of reviews. So then I pulled up Shelli Stevens website and guess what? There I am! Yep. She's posted my review on her site. I reviewed her book Cabin Fever and now not only is it on the FAR site it's on the author site as well. All this is going to my head. Not sure how I'll cope when I finally sell, good thing my hubby knows CPR it just might be necessary.
It cheered me up to see this as I've been to the dentist this morning and now I have a numb face and it still feels like someone punch me in the jaw. And the best bit, it'll feel like that for a few days yet. I think I'm over teeth, I'm not really that fond of food anyway. (LOL)
Off to slurp up some soup.

Happy, happy, happy..... (no it's not the drugs!)

Rachel.C

Am I in over my head?

Today I signed up for National Novel Writing Month. It's in November and the idea is head down bum up write as much as you can for the whole month. The aim is to put out 50,000 words. Mmm.... Am I in over my head? Not sure if I'll make the 50,000, November is such a busy month for us. Timothy turns 18 on the 7th, Robbie turns 11 on the 8th, Sammi turns 15 on the 29th and we're taking a family holiday to Phuket for week on the 8th. I've signed up for a workshop with the wonderful Alison Stuart here in Singapore as well. I'm trying to get something ready to submit, I'm still reviewing (and loving it) and I'm thinking of joining a local writing group. Plus we've got visitors galore turning up, my mum's here now, when she leaves friends from Melbourne arrive, then I duck off to Vietnam for a girls weekend, then Tim comes up from Oz with Tamara. Hang on, just have to catch my breath. Okay, some serious organising needs to go into the next few months or I'll never be ready to fly home at Christmas. Christmas? Damn, when will I do the shopping?
Back to the National Novel Writing Month, I signed up and being completely unsavvy with computers, it takes me a while to get around and see what's what. So of course it had to me that had a problem. My profile won't show up. I can add buddies no problem, I can even edit my profile but the damn thing just disappears into cyberspace. I should be used to that by now but I thought I was getting better. In the end I gave up and asked the tech people. Guess what? It wasn't me. And I'm not the only one having the problem. (sigh of relief) It'll be fixed soon and then all the wonderful buddies I've added can add me. I'm not deluding myself about this event, it's more to get me a little more savvy with the Internet and hopefully get some words on the page. I'm looking forward to it even though I'm feeling a little intimidated by all the old timers. I'm over being the newbie everywhere I go.
The biggest news this week is I got myself the start of a website. Yep, registered my domain name and set up a page on it. No detailed website yet but I'm hoping to have it up and running by earlier next year, I'm in no rush, for now I've got the blog and the website points to that. I'm planning to know how the thing works and run it myself, so that'll take time to learn. Tim can probably help me with that. If you're interested in taking a look I've put a link on the side panel under author websites.
Time to get back to the words.

Love is life, miss love and you miss life.

Rachel.C

Happy endings.

As a romance writer a happy ending is part of the deal and I couldn't have written a better happy ending than this one. I'm in Sydney at the moment visiting my son who is just finishing high school. We had his presentation assembly on Thursday and he made me cry. Not only is he almost 18 and about 5 weeks from his final exam but he managed to keep his grades up while the rest of his family left the country. We knew he had first in year for Biology and English and second in year for Maths but what we didn't know until the assembly was that he was receiving the Academic Excellence Award for excelling in 4 or more of his subjects. He also received the Reuben F Scarf Award For Commitment, this award is voted by the teachers and only goes to one student. I haven't watched the video yet to listen to the speech made about him but his Nani said I better get the tissues ready. It's a bit of a shock to realise that we've produced such a wonderful human being. I'm really not sure how we did it and I'm not sure how to do it again another three times. For the boy who often struggled with school, to watch him do so well because he wants something, (to be a marine biologist), I'm reminded that it's all up to us as individuals to go after what we want. So once I'm back in Singapore it'll be head down and nose back into that MS that's been giving me so much frustration in the last few weeks. For now I'm going to sit back and soak up my very own happy ending.

All birds most leave the nest to build their own, but it doesn't mean they can't come back to visit.

Rachel.C

Sanity? Is it a relative thing?

Sanity? Is it relative?
I can honestly say that I'm relatively sane. Most of the time. There are other time when I think I have to be completely insane. But when I look at it closely I'm not sure I'd want it any other way. I'm mean, really, if everything was calm and peaceful would we feel as alive? I know I wouldn't. Without all the people around me and in my head trying to get out my life would be very boring, that's not to say I don't want a bit of peace and quiet now and then. I'm getting lots of advice and sympathy from fellow authors about the editing and polishing process and I'm grateful to find I'm not alone in my struggles. One such author was kind enough to offer her experience with the editing process after sale, all I can say is, at least she's sold it. We really are in an interesting industry. I might produce something fantastic that should be published but gets rejected because that editor on that day had something better cross her desk, or I might produce something complete unworthy of paper but get published because it was the shining light of the day. Go figure. A lot of it comes down to luck as much as craft, skill and the three P's. Patience, persistence and perseverance. Of course the middle one should read stubbornness but I like the three P's, they sound good. When I finish the MS I'm working on I had planned for it to be long gone by now but with the move to Singapore, and the adjustment to our new life minus one child, it's been almost twelve months since it was finished. I've changed things and then changed them back again, if I didn't know better I'd think I was on a merry-go-round. Oh no, wait a minute, it was the giant swing and that was over a week ago. LOL
So, after succumbing to a couple of drinks to drown the sorrows we're back to work and hoping for the best. When all is said and done the only thing I can be sure of is that I've given it a go.

Don't regret the things you do, only the ones you don't have the courage to do.

Rachel.C

Editing, editing, editing....

Why is editing so hard? Why does everything seem to suck? How come everything felt so right the first time and now it doesn't?
I've asked around and it seems I'm not alone. Published as well as not are saying the same thing. As a not published I was hoping someone would say it got better. No such luck. The worst bit is I don't want to read the bloody thing again. No choice. If I want it out there on the shop shelf it's got to be edited, polished, primped and pruned. Grrrr....
I've got to the point where I don't want to get published with these 70,000 words, it's just too hard. When do you give up and start again? When do you cut your loses and move on? The answer is simple, you don't. Not if you want it. The hardest part about this is perseverance and practise and patience. I'm thinking stubbornness myself. So taking a breather should help but I want it now! Damn that patience fairy, she forgot to visit.
Okay, enough ranting and raving and back to the book. I'm really beginning to hate the thing. I guess that's just the way it'll be. I suppose if I hate it and I send it off and it gets a rejection letter I won't care. Ha! Of course I'll care. That's why I'm doing this to myself.
You know all those times I thought I might be insane having all these people living in my head might not have been far from the truth. Surely putting myself through this and then waiting for someone to tell my it stinks is insanity? Then again, having someone tell me it's great let's put it in print wouldn't be insane. Well, it would be insane, insanely great.
Okay, it's official, I'm going mad.
I'll leave you with something John F Kennedy said.
We should not let our fears hold us back from pursuing our hopes.
Rachel.C

Smooth sailing all the way.

Now that the boat's no longer rocking I might be able to get back to work. Well, nothing like a couple of little earthquakes to shake things up. Nothing's been right since yesterday and I'm just waiting for the kids to go to bed so I can have some peace and quiet. Melma's hovered all day, I'm sure she thought I'd leave her behind if I left. There's no way that's happening, who'd do all the work while I write? The kids have been noisy and annoying since they got home, more than normal. Chris is out to dinner, thank God, or he'd be a pain too. And to top it all off, I've got nothing done today. Well, I did read the final lecture for my course and I did read the piece I need to critique and I did start my homework for this week and I've updated both my blogs, twice. Wow, I did get a bit done. It didn't seem like it but now that I've put it in writing it's quite a bit. I don't feel so bad now.

I've been receiving emails from some of the writers on the romaus online group. I even got one from a fellow Aussie who's just moved to Switzerland. And being new to this online chat business I nearly fell over when this flashing started on my screen while I was checking my emails. I thought I'd killed something, again. But no, there I was chatting with Switzerland. Live! It still amazes me that we can do that. So, I learnt how to msn when we moved up her 5 months ago and now I'm learning to IM (I think that's what it's called) on yahoo! Sometimes I scare myself. I'm learning so many new things about cyber-space, who knows, maybe I'll find all those missing things I've sent out there over the last few years.

Tomorrow's going to be a non-productive (am I making up words again?) day, what with Robbie's teacher interview and a visit to the tax man. (shudder) Gotta finalize all the Aussie stuff.

Spread the sunshine, smile it costs nothing.

Rachel.C

Oh, no, not again!

This is not what I planned for when we planned the experience of a life time. Moving to a new country, experiencing a new culture, living the expat life. I did not sign on for a geology/geography lesson. All this shaking is disrupting my muse, she keeps thinking up the worst disasters. You know buildings crumbling, the ground opening up and swallowing things whole. Damn, she's a scary bitch!
Not sure what to do, the nausea is the worst for me. I feel sick every day as it is, but now that I'm swinging from the chandelier, so to speak, it's not that appealing. No water movement out front, we're in our third tsunami warning. There telling us on the TV to go out to open space, has anyone been in Singapore? There's very little open space. The only open space I have around here is the beach out front. Not much choice, really. I can stay inside and hope the building is fine, or I can go outside and hope there isn't a tsunami. Mmm.....
Mother nature is a fickle thing.
Live every moment, you have no idea how many you have.
Rachel.C

I feel the earth move under my feet.....

Oh, yeah! I fell the earth move under my feet.....
Yeah, Baby! Was it good for you, too?

Where's the best place to be when the earth moves?
Not sitting at your laptop on the 11th floor, that's for sure. It's kind of like standing on a floating jetty, and for someone that suffers from vertigo it's even worse. I thought for a minute I'd been drinking and forgot to tell myself. It starts with nausea, then that dizzy feeling we all loved as children. I even grabbed the desk to make sure it wasn't me moving. It wasn't. The kids freaked, the cat freaked and Melma wanted to know if we should go down stairs. Having been through an earthquake up here before I wasn't too concerned, but then I remembered where Chris was. Indonesia. Luckily for him he'd already taken off from Jakarta and was in the air happily oblivious to our earth shaking experience.
So how many stories can I get out of this?
Can't wait to see.
No matter what happens always keep your feet firmly on the ground.
Rachel.C

Writing and reading up a storm.

Three short story book reviews over the last few day, homework for my online class, giving feed back on another class mates work and writing about 5,000 words. Okay, breathing now. I'm not sure how I've managed it, there seems to be a lot there and it is only Wednesday. The good news I'm busy, the bad news, nothings finished and ready to go off to the submission gods. It's getting there though, so I shouldn't complain.
I've joined the online group for Romance Writers of Australia, so I can keep in touch with what's happening in down under. Forgive me for getting star struck every time a recognisable name pops up. And there are so many I recognise. I can't believe we moved up here the year the conference was in Sydney. There was no way I could fly down for it and then back down for TJ's farewell assembly. This time in two weeks I'll be in Sydney seeing my baby for the first time in five months. That's reason enough to write up a storm so I can take the whole week off while I'm down there.

Rachel.C

It's wonderful to be inspired, but even more so to do something about it.

Busy, busy, busy!!

On the advice of a fellow writer busy tapping her way to publication, I signed up to be a reviewer for Fallen Angel Reviews. After becoming a member of Passionate Ink, (for those out of the industry it's a chapter of Romance Writers of America), I've become quite good at the message boards, (anyone that thinks otherwise please be quiet and let me dream). I thought no worries I can handle the computer element of being a reviewer. Wrong! I had to get my 14 year old to come and help me. But I think I've got it now. I better have or there won't be any reviews from me. I read so many books for myself that I thought why not read them and offer my opinion, I mean who doesn't want to offer their opinion. So now I get to pick books and they send them to me so I can read them and send back what I thought. How cool is that! Did I mention I don't have to pay for the books? Or that I don't get paid for my opinion? The free book bit makes Chris happy. Mind you, I don't smoke or drink, well the drinking bit is changing but that's because my lovely friend Danielle can't be expected to drink alone. (LOL)
I have to say that after all the years I spent at home with my four kids and then working part time and doing all the housework, taxi services etc, I've fallen into this life of luxury really well. After spending a couple of hours by the pool the other day and getting a lot of re-writing done, I can see how someone could get very used to the expat lifestyle. The kids are all gone by 7:30 in the morning and aren't back until 4:00pm. And Melma, the best domestic home helper ever, does all the housework. So if I'm not able to get myself in gear and published before I'm 40 someone better come and check the pool area for the layabout Aussie.
I'm taking a break tonight, we're off to dinner, just me and the hubby. It's his birthday today, so we're the same age again. No more but you're older comments for 5 months!!! It's okay, though, he looks older. (LOL)
The only dumb questions are the ones you don't ask.
Rachel.C

Going on the record!

Here it is, the record of my journey to publication.
Things are getting serious now.
I'm just about finished an on-line course at Gotham Writer's Workshop. I've 'met' some great girls during these last few weeks. Five of them are in the US and one is in the UK, which gets confusing when you think about all the time differences. My writing has been getting back to a steady flow since I signed up. I have to tell you I was getting just a little concerned that my muse had some how been packed in with the things that went to storage or was lost on the trip up here. But she found me again. Good thing too, because I was about to send out a search party.
I had such plans for my writing when we moved to Singapore from Australia and finally they're falling into place. So if I'm having to put down here what I'm up to and what I've sent off, it'll motivate me to keep pushing forward.
Speaking of pushing forward, yesterday I sent off two entries for a contest. Only small ones, the contest is called High Five, and as the name suggests, it's the first five pages of your MS. So polishing done, I sent the first five from my fully finished MS and the first five of the one I've moved onto. I don't even know when it'll be judged. It's been so long since I entered anything that I just wanted to get something out there. You gotta be in it to win it, right?
As well as the course, editing and re-writing my MS and moving onto the next one, I'm working on a small word count story that I'm thinking off submitting to an e-publisher. This is a new thing for me, having only just discovered e-books, so I'm looking forward to seeing how it turns out. I've also got an idea for a story set here in Singapore, but I think I'll just put it in my ideas book and get back to it later.
Well, I'm off to get some more editing done, I think I'll take it down by the pool as it's another sunny day in Singapore.
Hope all are well and dreams are coming true.
Rachel