Weekend Survival

I did it. I went from modern me back to the 60's for a b-day party then transformed into a purple haired gal. And with a couple of modifications to my schedule due to time changes I made almost all my appearances and got where I was supposed to go *on time.* Tonks and Harry showed up and fended off the evil Lucius at a notable concert featuring the music of several great movies (Harry Potter included, obviously :-)).

Two workshops ended yesterday, though I'm still fielding a few questions, which is okay. My April workshop on characters began today with lesson 1 plus four information sheets. (Anyone interested, check the right sidebar.) It's one of those fun classes I don't teach too often. I enjoy the emails and posts (if it's on a forum) and being able to experience all those "oh, yeah!" light bulb moments when folks 'get' the information and successfully apply it to their stories.

So, that'll be going on for the next 4 weeks. On other fronts, our local Ren faire will be starting in two weeks, plus there's a slew of SciFi stuff to do over the next couple of months. And this is besides my usual day job, lol. I know where my fingers will be flying to create stuff. More later and maybe even pictures.

~R

Star Trek or Star Wars?

That's tough, I love both. I've been a Trekkie for sooo long, but lately Star Wars is winning more of my attention.

Ask me anything

What website do you spend the most time on?

Publishing/writing industry blog sites. Reading to fun and I stay up with current trends and events.

Ask me anything

Who inspires you the most?

My son because he's always so inquisitive and creative. :-)

Ask me anything

Character fun

When people learn I'm an author I get asked a lot of questions, one of those being are my characters based on real people?

Yes and no. Sometimes but usually not. I have many tools to help me write including resources from the all my years in the paranormal field of research like Tarot cards and Astrology books. Mumbo-jumbo some would call it. No problem. It's useful and I love working with a resource that gives me answers every time.

Astrology especially is helpful because there are so many possible combination of character traits to feed conflict and liven the plot. I never have character motivation issues or lack a sufficient scene goal. I don't have what some writers call the "sagging middle" syndrome, and I never get writer's block.

I can teach you all about this handy technique too. My April workshop "Writing By The Signs: Creating Believable Characters with Astrology" will teach anyone to overcome any character difficulty and give even more insight to write with. If you're interested see the right sidebar for the link to the Savvy Author and sign up to take my workshop.

Discover hidden facts about your characters with Astrology. I'll also be blogging at Savvy Author's tomorrow again about this subject, so come read and sign up. :-)


~R

formspring.me

Ask me anything http://formspring.me/RaquelRAuthor

formspring.me

Ask me anything http://formspring.me/RaquelRAuthor

Saturday

Well the weekend's off to a ... piddly start. Kiddo's still well. I'm almost well, but DH is not. Not going to our SF meeting today or the extra activities later with the group. Workshops are caught up. I need to read through a week of emails and concentrate on catching up with the class I'm taking. And write. I need to spend a few hours today doing that.

Oh, to be current with everything ... (sigh)

~R

Another week another Ramble

So, yeah, Spring Break's almost over. It's been more effort than I thought it would be to work with the kiddo around. Everyone's finally over being sick, and I have a few more minutes of peace and quiet before offspring gets home from day camp.

And writing, yeah. Been trying. And I'm actually not behind on that. Just need a few more details in order than it's back online I go and more Q & A. And lessons.

I just need a couple more hours in each day, and I can make both ends meet, lol.

So much for tackling wayward projects this week. Maybe this weekend ...

~R

Savvy Authors

Blogging today at Savvy Authors (scroll down) and teaching my workshop there next month! Check it out (link is in the right sidebar), sign up, learn stuff!

~R

Marathon Saturday

We have TRON from NetFlix! I usually do one day a month where I watch 2-3 movies (a 'Marathon Monday'), eat nachos and chocolate and popcorn and gummy worms, whatever, and thoroughly enjoy myself. This always refills the creative reservoir and makes my Muse (Maab) happy. Sometimes it's all pirate movies, sometimes it's all historicals, sometimes fantasy, sometimes spy. Whatever I'm in the mood to watch, all the movies have a common theme.

If I don't get my "play" day, Queen Maab gets cranky and uncooperative, and I have a difficult time writing.

Well, this isn't a full "day," but I love TRON and haven't seen it in years. My kiddo's never seen it. This is where all the artistic movie CGI began, and for at least a few hours I'm going to enjoy a creative refill.

~R

Graduation Day

The last six weeks of physical therapy went fast. I was determined and still have a little more to go, however I'm very satisfied with the progress of my left arm and wrist. I can do almost everything I used to and almost pain free. Because of the severity of the breaks and the non-existent range of motion in 80% of my wrist and lower arm the Dr.'s were doubtful, and I was told "it will NEVER be the same," and "don't expect too much."

As if today I have 95% ability, motion, and range back.

They don't know me very well. :-)

~R

Mean People Suck :-(

To whoever hacked into my email: GET A LIFE YOU STUPID IDIOT.

You may think it's fun to spam my friends and colleagues, but it's vicious and mean. You now have ultimate BAD KARMA, and you deserve it!

To everyone who got the crap email and junk attachment, this was NOT SENT by me. Ignore, disregard, and otherwise trash it.

Thanks,

~Raquel

Wintery Wonderland

This morning I took more snow pictures to add to my collection from yesterday.


12 Feb 2010, 7:01 am - Snowy morning greetings from my front porch.

12 Feb 2010, 7 am - Gnomes buried under 6-inches of snow.

12 Feb 2010, 7:05 am - Butterfly Garden.

12 Feb 2010, 7:10 am - Lots of thick whiteness on everything - check out the bird bath in the background.


I wanted to document the cold beauty of nature and how much snow we got. This probably won't happen again for a long time.


12 Feb 2010, 7:15 am - Land ho, 6-inches of snow! Butterfly Garden ahead!

12 Feb 2010, 7:16 am - The cold didn't phase my huddling pink Flamingos.


Yesterday I measured three places in the open yard and figured we ended up with about 5 inches. Yesterday mid-afternoon we were at 3 to 4 inches. As of now we've got 6+ inches on the ground. I have hot tea and coffee, brownies and yogurt, and I'm staying inside cuddled up at my computer to edit.

Wisely, school was canceled today. Pretty and white, the powdery snow's piled carefully high on the bare tree branches and the ground and snowman-ready for my kiddo. I'll watch from inside and sip my tea as I contemplate how to get my heroine out of her man-trouble. :-)

~R

Let It Snow

Wow. I woke up this morning and looked out the window and ... wow.

Yesterday I knew snow was in the forecast, so I expected some.


11 Feb 2010, 6:45am - It's been snowing all night.

11 Feb 2010, 6:50 am - My garden Gnomes are digging for cover under the Maple tree.

11 Feb 2010, 8 am - My front yard Butterfly Garden.

And we got some more snow, plus some MORE snow. It been snowing all day!

11 Feb 2010, 8:05 am - Merlin sneaked into the middle of some clean laundry I was putting away and made himself quite at home.


And the white flakes are still falling. A snow "event" as it's called. In north Texas we get maybe 1 or 2 days of snow every other year, and it's over. Only once every ten to fifteen years we see snow "events" that last days and cripple traffic and throw silly people into panic. We get ice storms, and that story's best left for another post.


11 Feb 2010, 12 noon - Butterfly Garden again. Accumulation is 3-1/2 inches, and it's still snowing.

11 Feb 2010, 12:15 pm - Pretty Holly and berries in the snow.

11 Feb 2010, 12:30 pm - Front yard. It's really coming down now.

11 Feb 2010, 3pm - Lexie (dog) & Alex in the back yard after school.


Anyway, yeah, panic. Native Texans know how to deal with a little snow and ice under the snow. Transplanted Texans don't, at least the vast majority I've deal with or seen. And yep, I'm one of the very few natives left here. There's a way to drive on ice if it's necessary, and it's NOT the normal way you drive. Innocents and idiots alike know this and so do their insurance companies.

I don't drive in severe weather of any kind if I don't have to. Sliding on the street in my car to go somewhere or ending up in a ditch by the side of the road is not my idea of a safe journey. You get out, do what you absolutely must, then then get home and stay off the roads until they're again clear. That may sound weird to those living up in the north USA. Not in central north Texas.

Last night, all night, power transformers blow out around our neighborhood continually. The explosive "BANG"'s were disconcerting, and hopefully everyone got their power back on quickly. (shiver!) That's a creepy sound, hearing one of those big electric boxes blow up. Ice and accumulating snow causes it. Yeah, we're not equipped here to deal with lots of snow, but the experience is great background for my stories.

Stay warm and safe.

~R

Need Inspiration

Watching Van Helsing today. Besides being a mega-hunk I'd love to meet, Hugh Jackman's my favorite action hero! Maybe Wolverine next. Hmm ...

~R

Tying up Loose Ends

Today's been long, and it's only half over. I've edited, done some laundry, written, pet my cat and talked to my dog, and got about half of my To-Do list accomplished and just picked up my kiddo for school. In the Rain. And cold. I'm reeeeaaally hoping all this nasty cold will kill the mosquito and bug eggs so next summer will at least be tolerable. Enough of that.

Little by little my WIP is getting whipped into shape. I don't have a word count today, don't ask. I'll have something official next Monday, hopefully. Hey, at least I'm trying to keep up this blog more than once every, say, 3-4 months, lol. I'm doing more editing than writing right now, actually, and I feel like I'm going at this story back-asswards. Usually I go at it head-on then sideways. If you don't understand, don't try, 'cuz it'll give you a headache. The process works for me, and I love it.

Anyway, keeping wayward characters in check is ... interesting. Yeah. I'm seeing lots of attitude from one and snark from his ex- (she's got the hots for someone else, of course!). But that's what makes reading fun, all the conflicts of interest. More about this in a future blog report. :-)

~R

90 Percent Me

For those wondering about my broken wrist from Halloween, I can now officially write that I'm out of the brace with a naked arm. I'm 12 weeks post-Op, and I've been in and out of Dr's offices all week for physical therapy and check-ups.

The PT is doing a world of good. I've been re-evaluated, and all my lifting of weight/pushing/pulling restrictions have been canceled. I'm sore this morning from all the different new exercises and increased reps to rebuild muscle and strength. Already since the beginning of the year I'm back to my normal range of motion in most areas and 73-80% with the remainder. Yesterday's x-ray showed marked improvement in bone growth over the past 4 weeks also, and I couldn't even find 2 of the 3 break lines because they'd healed so well. I don't need my wrap or metal support. For my own peace of mind I'll still wear it at the gym for a while (I'm allowed to use it "as needed") when I do my weight training and aerobics until I get the final okay from my surgeon. But hey, it's been a long road, and I'm totally hyped about doing so well!

This also means more keyboard time with both hands. And relearning to do things around the house 2-handed is, um, going to be interesting. For now I'm aiming for full use in the next 4 weeks.

~R

And now the new and improved ...

I've been changing over my links and trying to update this site to my main websit'. Until I can get something I like, I'll be here posting and updating my books and progress.

About that progress ... I'm so close to finishing the extension of the first draft, but I keep going back and editing to get to the points where I've inserted the extra scenes with that new character. Instead of feeling like a bouncing ball, I'm just going to keep on the editing and write the new stuff when I get there. Copious notes and scene ideas will ensue until I get there.

WIP

33,250 / 50,000 (66.5%)

~R

Happy 2010

I am so glad to be finished with 2009, the year almost everything went wrong. No boring details, however I'll be recovering for a few more months according to my surgeon. :-/ Thankfully I can type 2-handed again.

Injuries aren't good for getting stuff done or enjoying the holidays or even being able to do everyday things like grocery shopping, laundry and driving. Somehow I managed, and now I have all this totally emo gloom and doubt to add into stories. It'll get doled out a little at a time not all at once. No one would believe me if I told them what I've been though. Geez.

I listened to the Universe and things are hopefully better. My writing definitely reflects the changes plus I'm moving faster with the story. Yep, got another wild hair up my hoo-ha and decided yet again to change the middle and add a new character. So I'm busy writing him in.

So am I'm really not totally insane for doing this. I just wasn't happy with the way it was progressing. And maybe this time I'll complete it and send the darn thing to my editor. And amidst all this, my website's been down and will be for a few more weeks until I can get some help there. Cross your fingers for me and watch for my Twitter updates. This blog will be my home-on-the-web for the present.

Happy 2010,

~Raquel