Compliments Matter

Last week I sent my current Work in Progress out to three beta readers.

I'm still waiting to hear back from two of them, and the first is working on notes to send me, but the first to finish sent me an email on Sunday that made me feel like I'd just signed with an agent. Here it is:

So I've just finished reading SIGHT and I am going crazy! I want more!!!!! It was absolutely fabulous. I was not bored at all. I am working on notes to send you, but I wanted you to know that I finished it and loved it and need the next book! I feel honored you would trust me with this. I can tell you've worked really hard since it is so fabulous. I'll send you my notes soon.


Aaaaahhhhhhhhh!!!!! I seriously smiled for the rest of the day, and was in the best mood EVER! 


Also, I've been working with the Amazing Red Headed Morgan Shamy to perfect my query letter. I want it to be the best it can be, (as with my Manuscript) and she's like, a query queen. I'm so blessed that she's agreed to help me with it. As we've gone back and forth over the past week or so, I've started to see how to find the weak/awkward spots in a query and fix them. Her last email to me said:


Yessss... now we're talking! This is definitely your best version so far. 


(a couple of notes on things she liked and some to change followed by,) 


See? So many good things in here! Go, go, Darci! *waves pom poms* 

:D

Honestly, I think I've felt better about being a writer in the past week than I have in the past year I've been doing it. Receiving constructive criticism as well as compliments makes me feel like I'm doing something right and I'm not just putzing around. 


How do you feel when someone compliments you or your efforts?


I love it... It makes me want to work even harder.


-DC

Tasty Tuesday - Pasta!

We love pasta over here at the Cole house. It's relatively inexpensive, and a great fall-back if you're not sure what to make for dinner. But my favorite thing *ever* is when I find a pasta recipe that includes the following:

NO red sauce (explained below).

Vegetables.

Delicious Flavor.

THIS is one of those recipes. I saw it on Pinterest and knew I had to try it.

So, the red sauce thing... growing up in my family's house, my parents often made dishes that were either Mexicany or Italiany. Usually, this included some kind of reddish-ness (enchilada sauce, taco seasoning, marinara, etc.) So when I got married and my husband said, "I love food, I'll eat whatever you make," I made all my favorite dishes. And he ate them.

It was about a year and a half into our marriage I think when he said to me one day that he was getting tired of the "red sauce" trend. Being an emotional woman, and having been either on birth control or pregnant at the time, I flipped out, but eventually calmed down and realized it was not a personal attack on my cooking. Turner simply noticed that too much "red" made him feel sick.

Thus began the search for other recipes.

I've since found an *awesome* recipe for homemade alfredo sauce (I tried using some on-sale store-bought stuff a month ago, and it was nasty in comparison... it may have also been the pregnancy...). We use that alfredo sauce all the time in plain pasta, lasagna, etc. It's great. Unfortunately, green enchilada sauce had basically the same effect on Turner as red, so Mexican food just has to be limited. I'm cool with that.

ANYWAY... This recipe...


Spinach Artichoke Baked Pasta.
Courtesy of Budget Savvy Diva.

It basically tasted like spinach artichoke dip poured over pasta. Fantastic. It would be really easy to make this low-fat too, just by using low fat cream cheese and sour cream, and probably cutting down the amount of cheese used, or using low fat versions of those too.

I did some things differently, some on purpose, some not. I knew I wanted to add chicken, because we love chicken, it makes the pasta stretch, and chicken goes great with those flavors.

I used a 16ox box of small shell pasta, so I had a bit more pasta than she calls for.

I didn't put in as much artichoke as it calls for, because I only had a small jar on hand, but the flavor came through anyway and was delicious.

I used fresh spinach instead of frozen, and I think I probably didn't use as much here either, though that was more on accident. I chopped the spinach and steamed it right before putting it in.

I used about 6 oz cream cheese instead of 4, and I didn't exactly measure how much sour cream I put in... just kind of eye-balled it. Oh, and I didn't use as much pepper, because Turner isn't a big fan.

With the chicken and extra pasta it made a pan and a half instead of just one. I made it on Saturday, and we're eating the last of it today. I'm sad... I want more.

Also, Monkey literally inhales the stuff! I couldn't believe it, but he ate it so fast and then asked for more whenever I heated it up for him. (By the way, it's great as leftovers.)

Do you like pasta?

What's your favorite pasta recipe?

Happy eating friends!

-DC

Baby Update

Saturday, I officially hit the thirteen-week mark. For those of you unaware, here's what that means:

via

-My first trimester is now behind me.

-My baby is now the size of a medium shrimp (almost 3 inches head to bottom, and weighs nearly an ounce).

-My "morning sickness" is on it's way out.

-I'm slowly turning back into a normal person.

-I've got a baby bump.

-*Hopefully* my energy will return soon...

It's really weird... when I was pregnant with Monkey, I never really looked up how big he was as he grew inside me. Knowing that I have a 3-inch-long little human inside me is a new feeling! It's kind of surreal. We did have our first ultrasound this past week though, which was amazing.

Aaaaand... because this is a picture of a picture, it's pretty bad. But you can see his/her head there on the left, and an arm down at the bottom. His/her legs are curled up by the tummy, so they're not quite visible in this picture. You can also see a tiny fist up by his/her face near the top.

So amazing!

I love being able to see my baby. For some reason it makes pregnancy feel a little more real, especially at this early stage.

And, not to be out done, Monkey has been making big changes lately.

My dad (Monkey's grandpa) was given this rock-awesome bed by a neighbor last week, and - surprisingly - Monkey *actually* sleeps in his bed now!

We used to just have a twin mattress on the floor that we'd lay him down on, but he'd always end up crashing on the floor somewhere. We didn't mind it, figured he'd learn eventually that the bed was a softer option...

Looks like giving him a "real bed" made a big difference!

Turner and I have been talking lately about how we felt when Monkey was born. How our love didn't become split in two, and our love for each other did not lessen in the slightest, but rather our capacity for love grew to include Monkey.

It is hard to imagine loving anyone as much as I love Turner and Monkey. But this new little"shrimp" is coming relatively soon, and we can't wait to meet him/her.

Monkey will be a fantastic big brother.

Question for you: do you have kids? How did you feel when your first was born? Your second? Was having two more difficult than one?

Thanks for following!

-DC

Once Upon a Time...

Isn't that how every great story starts?

Or should a great story begin with, "It was a dark and stormy night..."?

Or maybe, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times..."

... or "Concerning hobbits..."

Today, I'd like to know what your favorite story is, and please tell me it's opening line. We're talking chapter ONE - no prologues please.

And you're welcome to share a few! I'd love to hear what kinds of books my readers like to read!

As for me, I'm working my way through Return of the King and am hoping to do a little review sometime next week. I'm only a few chapters in, but I've started reading with the intent of learning how to write. A lot of little thoughts have occurred to me as I've done this. I'm very excited to share!

In the comments, please tell me the title of your favorite book, and quote the first line of Chapter One.


I'll start... my favorite book series is (NOT Harry Potter, but) The Belgariad, by David Eddings. The first book of which is called, Pawn of Prophecy. The first line says:

The first thing the boy Garion remembered was the kitchen at Faldor's Farm.


I love it.

What's yours?

-DC

You Know You're a Writer If...

You know you're a writer if...

...you can't stand to lay in bed any longer - this idea/scene/dialogue/description MUST be written down NOW!

...you enjoy alone time - it means more writing.

...you cringe when you see a typo in someone else's work.

...you fail to miss EVERY typo in your own work.

...clicking keyboard sounds are calming to you; like raindrops on the window.

...when you're halfway through writing a kissing scene, and your spouse tries to sneak a kiss to you, you freak out.

...you know the difference between contemporary, paranormal, fantasy, commercial, and literary... mostly.

...it bothers you to read books you think are worse than yours - even after professional editing.

...you hate it when you tell people, "I'm a writer," and they say, "Can you really say that if you're not published?"

...you dream of receiving a letter from a reader thanking you for your work because it made a difference in their life.

...you love to write.

Got any more?

I love being a writer :-)

-DC

P.S.
For your entertainment:

You know you're pregnant if...

...you wake up at 11:45pm craving cheap ramen soup... you proceed to cook said soup, and eat it as non-slurpily as possible so you don't wake the rest of your sleeping household. You then eat a tomato too, for good measure, before going back to bed happy.

I speak from recent experience.

What Do You Want?

I read a post the other day on Jack Flacco's blog called, Me? A Published Author? I've actually read a lot of posts like this in the relatively short time I've been writing. I'd like to believe that most writers write because they feel the need to do it. It's like great musicians and composers; something inside them is inspired to create, and they follow that instinct. Whether their motivation is to change lives, share a story, make a difference (for good or ill) or just because they enjoy it, they MUST create.

For me, I'm being completely honest when I say that I really do feel that pull. I haven't been writing very long, but in the time I have been, that desire to create has only grown. But what is my motivating factor?

In the months before I started writing, I had been thinking and praying about our lifestyle and finances a great deal. I'd been asking and hoping for some way to help our lives become more stable. It wasn't long before the idea for a story came into my mind, and I began the long process.

At the time, I knew very little about the publishing industry, but it wasn't hard to learn. I did as much research as I could, and I wrote. I found friends both in person and in the online writing community and learned a great deal from them. I started to wonder if maybe my writing was the thing that would bring us stability in our finances.

Around this time, my husband was hired at a new job that gave us a more predictable and higher income. We had what I'd been praying for.

But, I continued writing. The draw to do so was still there. Is still there.

So why do I write? Why would I like to be published? Because perhaps it would mean a better life for my family. A home we can comfortably grow into over the years, and more freedom to create memories with my husband and for my children.

My family is the most important thing in the world to me; their safety and comfort weigh heavily on my mind all the time. This has been especially so in the past couple of years, when we've had weeks of little food, and having to ask our family or our church for financial support. So, I don't mean having the largest house, or the nicest car, or even the best new technology. I only hope that someday - through my writing or not - we will be able to live in a safe neighborhood, in a home fit for us, and the ability to do fun things and learn and grow in the process.

Is this selfish of me? I write because I want to, but with the eventual *possible* goal of comfort for my family as well.


Why do you want to be published?


-DC

P.P.S. Today's my little brother-in-law's 17th birthday! Happy birthday Tater!

Animal Madness

So, since our first little one is nicknamed Monkey, I decided that all our other kids should be animals as well. I'm not sure how keen Turner is on this topic... I mentioned it to him once, but I don't really recall the conversation that followed... though I know there was a conversation...

Wait! In thinking what I'd write next, I remembered...


See, my favorite animal is the tiger. Bengal, Siberian, white or orange, I love tigers. Always have. So I'd like to nickname one of my boys Tiger. But because Turner identifies me so closely with tigers, he thinks that title should be saved for me alone.

Plus, when I was pregnant with Monkey, he just seemed like... a Monkey. Even before he came out. Maybe it was just self-fulfilling-prophecy, but either way, it worked.

For girls we were thinking simply Bird, or Squirrel, or Chipmunk... cute little cuddly-type animals.
(We'll probably stay away from Bunny though...)

But I was also thinking, what about Bear... is that more girl-ish, or boy-ish? Then there's Croc, probably for a boy. Frog... that could go either way, but I'd say boy...

Any other ideas? We obviously need more "girl" animals, just so we have options, but I'd like more for "boy" animals too.

What do you think?

-DC

P.S.
This week, baby Dos is the size of a LIME! Getting so BIG!

Eleven Questions

I love these games...

Seriously? Back in the day when they were "all the rage" on email, I used to pretend I was answering questions for some famous magazine because I was famous...

Maybe someday, right?

Moving on... I was tagged in this game by the great Batma--- I mean... Ryan Dalton...

So here are the rules: I answer these eleven questions he gave me, then I tag some other friends, and give them eleven different questions to answer...

Sounds fun, right? Right.

So, without further ado, here are my answers to Ryan's queries...

1. What was the first thing you wrote that you were genuinely proud of?
I'd have to say... the prologue to my WIP that will probably not end up being included. After having written blog posts for a while it was my first "real" attempt at writing the kind of fiction that I love. I was surprised by how good it was (though I'll be the first to admit it wasn't perfect ;-)

2. If you were a food, what would you be?
...probably either tomatoes or pizza, because I eat them all the time.
Or maybe strawberries... I'm sweet, but I can be tart and firm too.

3. What would your superhero name be, and what superpower would you have?
White Tiger - Invisibility and flight. (Can I have two? I really like both...)

4. Your all time favorite movie?
The Princess Bride.

5. What's one thing that helps you write your best?
I have to be sitting up in a chair at a table or desk. If I'm on the couch or bed I get distracted waaaaaaayyyy easier.

6. Sweet or salty?
Um... I'm pregnant. It depends on when you ask me. At the moment though, salty.

7. What's one genre that you'd love to write in, but haven't yet?
Middle-grade mystery. Encyclopedia Brown style. I loved those books.

8. Your favorite time-wasting activity?
Eating... but the one I do most often is Facebook.

9. If you were an evil overlord, what would you name your main henchman?
The Thorn. I'm sure he'd be a thorn in my side as much as our enemies... henchmen usually are.

10. What's your favorite word?
Supercalifragalisticexpialidocious. First thing that came to mind...

11. Can I have ten bucks?
Ask me when I'm published.


There you have 'em folks! I know I'm probably not the wittiest answer-er, but I enjoy doing it :-)

Now! I will tag in this post some fellow writers, and they will get to play... heeeeeere they are!

Hero London
Adrian Waller
Gloria Sigountos
Tiana Smith
Todd Chapman
Julie Ann Lindsey
Leigh Ann Kopans


Consider yourselves tagged! Here are your questions (to interpret any way you wish):

1. Fruit or vegetable?
2. Do you snack while writing? If so, what is your snack of choice?
3. If you could go anywhere to feel inspired, where would you choose to go?
4. What is your favorite animal?
5. Have you written a story? What was your first one about?
6. Favorite pizza topping(s)?
7. What's one odd thing you can do that few people know about?
8. Chocolate or flowers?
9. Name one fictional character you wish you'd been the author behind (besides Harry Potter! That's too obvious for some of us...).
10. What does your Christmas stocking look like?
11. What's your least favorite genre to read?


I can't wait to hear your answers! Good luck!

-DC

To Write, or Not to Write?

Just a heads up, I'm going to vent a little bit today, and I hope you'll all forgive me. It's been a rather rough week; full of good things, of course, but full of hard things as well.

This accurately shows how I feel today...

I mentioned last week that I was lucky enough to get "passed" into the agent round of Cupid's "Agent Speed Dating" contest. I'll be completely honest and say I was hoping for the best and expecting the worst. This is my first, like VERY first, manuscript. And while I feel really good about it, I've wanted to make some changes to it for a while. I'm taking this time before the agent round begins to do that, in the hopes that if I do get chosen for a partial or full I'll have something really amazing to show.

I know I can edit. I'm great at spotting typo's, and I can usually catch awkward sentences and word placement, though I have a bit harder time of it in my own work.

Because of that I'm not nervous about making changes so quickly. However, I am a little hesitant about adding some of the sub-plot ideas that have been floating around in my head for a while...

I guess my question is, do I complicate things now? The elements I want to put in don't change any of the information in the query, so I'm not worried about that... or do I wait until I have an agent and throw the ideas at them hoping they'll like them?

Like I said, this is my first MS, so I may just end up scrapping the whole thing eventually anyway. But if my mess of a query and *pretty good* first 250 got past the bouncers, that tells me I've got something... right?

Am I being too hopeful for a beginner?

Help...


-DC


P.S.
Have you ever had this dilemma? I haven't even started querying yet, because I've been so nervous. I've been working on this MS off and on for a year, and I still don't feel like it's really where I want it to be. At the same time, I'm anxious to get started!
Baaaaahhhh!

Winner!

Just in case you're wondering, there was only one "official" entry. So, again, no voting. Just a winner!

Sooooo...... I'm afraid I didn't explain myself very well in the "rules" for the contest. What I wanted was for each entrant to write a short bit of a story, or a poem or something literary based on what you thought of that photo I put up. I know it's a really random thing, but I thought it was hilarious. Also, I didn't really have any expectations as to what I wanted, so I didn't specify anything. The winner, however (the only "real" entrant) did an awesome job.

Congratulations to Gloria from A Different Drum Beat! Here's her entry (which she emailed to me, rather than posting in the comments, but it still counts). I love it because it's well written, and incorporates life, death AND hair! Way to go Glo :-)

***

Freya gasped, her body contracted replacing the odd sensation of her spirit reentering her body with pain. 


“Easy,” said a gentle and familiar voice. Hands caught her and situated her in a lounging position. Her eyes adjusted to the strange light and she looked into the face that went with the voice. It was Liugh, her father's priest.

She groaned, “I knew it would be you old man.”

He smiled at the complement, “Best be careful. I don't know what you did to make him so mad,”

She chuckled, “Well I did kill him right?”

“Oh yes we found your sword still sticking out of him. However you were in a couple of pieces and that is going to take time to heal.”

“What, are we above ground? And how did you find me?”

“Your lover.” Liugh was setting bones and using his skills as a healer to mend the muscles that had been ripped. “he saw what was happening and your friend Nate called in a favor from the king.”

Freya gasped in pain as continued to work. He paused to give her time to recover before he began again.

“It was weird,” she said, “being dead, I mean.”

“You weren't out too long, only a day at most.”

“It wasn't what I though it would be.” Liugh brought her a cup to drink from she took it in her good hand, the one that wasn't broken, “it was soft, and light.” She took a drink, grimacing at the bitter herbs, “I saw my parents.”

“Really?” Liugh took the cup and started to smooth a poultice over the open wounds that were now bleeding. “And?”

“They forgave me,” she whispered.

“Well, looks like God has blessed you with something most people never get.”

She raised an eyebrow.

“It's often that people wish they could speak to their dead loved ones once more. You got to do that, and come back from the dead.” Liugh secured the final bandage, “Please tell me that you are going to let go of the idea that God cursed you?”

Before she could say anything the The door flap opened and in came Terin, her lover. “Liugh, you told me you would come get me as soon as she was back.” He rushed to her side.

Liugh said something as he left. But the two didn't hear him.

“How did you know?” asked Freya.

Terin held up the lock of her hair she had given him. “I've been using it to scry you.”

She smiled and put her hand oh his face, “I didn't give that to you so you could spy on me.”

He took her hand in his and kissed it, “But aren't you glad I did?”


***


Great scene Gloria! Whenever you're ready, write up a post on one of the following:


- Your favorite book,
or
- One of your books, or WIP.

Thanks for participating!

-DC


P.S.
What did everyone think of Glo's story? Would you like to read the rest of that book?

Writing Exercize: Life and Death

Apologies for the lateness of the post today...

For all you writers (and anyone else who would like to participate) I have a photo prompt for you today... Let's see what you can come up with. An analogy, a story, a poem, whatever; just keep it quick. Then I'll post the entries tomorrow and we'll vote... winner gets to guest post for me on their favorite (or most recent favorite) book.

Ready? GO!

Keep it short, and clean.

Other than that, anything goes.

Voting will commence tomorrow.

Tell all your writer friends! Good luck!

-DC

P.S. Since my "tag line" DC got good comments, I've decided to go with that rather than have you guys vote on it... I feel like voting would just be redundant. I'll just start using it :-) Thanks for your comments on it everyone!

Festive Discoveries

On Saturday we took the afternoon and went to the Arizona Renaissance Festival.

This has been one of my favorite events for years. When I was in sixth grade, my school teacher was cast as the Queen! So on their special student day, we got to go on a field trip to see her as royalty. It was so much fun for a twelve-year-old! Every spring since, I get so excited to go and get my merry on.

Along with some awesome pics of Monkey in the petting zoo (see below) Turner and I learned a valuable lesson about each other.

{EDIT: I suppose it's appropriate that I'm posting this on Valentine's Day... love is always throwing curves... you're always learning new things and having to change your perception about your love, no matter how long you've been together.}

See, aside from tickets to get in, we decided to budget out only $20 for spending money, "In case we find something we can't live without" as Turner kept saying. As we walked through the various shops, we saw some amazing wares, but nothing caught my eye.

As the day was ending, I told Turner that all I really wanted was a bite of food (like a turkey leg or something) or possibly a Henna tattoo (temporary natural ink that lasts for about a month before wearing off). Turner refused to spend our money on stuff that wasn't stuff... he'd wanted to get a trinket or something to remember our visit. Well, most trinkets start at about $10, and I didn't really want to spend so much on something that would most likely get lost or broken.

We've been married for four years and never knew this about each other... Turner prefers spending money on mementos, where I prefer spending money on making memories.

We didn't end up getting anything. Instead we stopped at Subway on our way home because I was seriously in need of nourishment. Now that we know this, however, I think trips to the Ren Fest, or the Zoo, or amusement parks, or whatever, will be easier! We can divide between us whatever budget we have, and satisfy both of us.

Have you ever had a "lightbulb" moment with your spouse or partner, where you learned something as random as this?

I'd really like to know, because I feel like it's been happening to us more and more often lately.

Now, for cuteness. (New camera came!) Enjoy.

Don't you love how he just walks away from his parents without a backward glance?
Monkey is the best...

Monday, Monday...

Yesterday we got to go see the newest member of our family.

Introducing, baby Rhyat (like Wyatt, but R)
Born 2-10-12 at 4:30am.

After over 40 hours of labor and four hours of pushing alone, this sweet little angel came into the world via Turner's younger sister. I am so proud of her for being so strong during her labor. Her heart rate never rose above normal, nor did Rhyat's. Both are healthy and happy after a successful, albeit long, home birth.

We found out last week that our insurance will only cover midwives who do hospital births. Luckily, I have a couple friends in the homebirthing community who recommended a specific hospital that is very natural-birth- and Midwife-friendly. It's a bit of a drive, but I feel like it will be worth it to have the kind of birth I want.

Holding that tiny new baby was incredible. It's astounding to think that we, as mortal, imperfect beings are loved so much by our Father in Heaven that He has given us such a sacred gift and responsibility: that of giving life to another spirit, and caring for it during the beginning of its mortal existence.

Our new camera came Saturday, so my pics will
soon be way awesomer than this.

I love my little Monkey boy, and I couldn't be more excited to meet our new addition come this September. I'm eleven weeks, and baby Dos is now about the size of a fig; just over 1 & 1/2 inches from head to bottom. It's amazing to me how quickly they grow when they're that tiny.

<---- Monkey actually did this on his own the other day. He climbed up on top of the chair and laid down on the blankets. He does the cutest things lately... well, he's always done the cutest things. We took him to the Renaissance Festival on Saturday, but that's worth a post of its own :-)

What kids do you have in your life? Whether your own, or nieces, nephews, friends' kids, etc, what are some of the things that surprise you about little kids?

Happy Monday!

-Darci

Random Weekend Post: Tag-Line

Ok... serious business today.

I've put this off long enough.

I need a sign off phrase! I've tried to think of my own and use them in the past, but they've never felt right. I guess I could just use my name, and possibly create a cool graphic for it that would appear at the end of each post... there. That's one option...

So today I want to ask you what you think. You're all funny, creative people, so I'd like you to think for me. When it comes to this blog, I'm a mom, wife, and writer. I do a lot more than that, but for the purposes of "branding" and creating a name for myself, I think I need to limit it to a couple defining things.

For example: Morgan identifies herself as a "red head writer," and my buddy Ryan's line is, "If I can't be Batman, I'll be a writer." Then there's Tymothy who says, "A writer with a few tricks up his sleeves... and moves like Jagger." Or Jack, whose blog simply says, "Lost in the Shuffle."

Now, I think the only one of them who actually has a tag line is Morgan, which is: "Red. Head. Out." And I think it rocks. The others don't really even sign their posts at all... which, I suppose, is another option, but I'd like to.

SO! Gimme your best shot, and we'll vote on them next week. You guys rock.

-Darci


P.S.
One that I've used in email for a while is simply "DC." It's my initials obviously, but ever since I married into Turner's family, a couple of them have called me that. Like, "DeeCee" because it sounds kind of like a kid saying "Darci." So there's a starting point, if you like that one, just say so ;-)
(Their family has a lot of those... i.e. Brandon is Dannon, Chalise is Cheesy, Taylor is Tater, and Heather is Feather... I think it's really cute :-)

Bloom Blog Tour: Writing with Kids

Today I am SO excited to be a part of the Bloom Blog Tour for the amazing Julie A. Lindsey. 

We met through Twitter, and I immediately pegged her as one of my favorite tweeps because she's always tweeting about writing and family and kids. She's very easy to relate to! Her new book, Bloom, has just been released, and I'm SO looking forward to reading it! Without further ado, I'll turn the time over to Julie!

Thank you so much, Darci, for letting me stop by today on my very first blog tour!  Writing for publication is a huge dream of mine and I hope this new novella series is just the beginning. Having incredible reader/writer/blogger friends like you is the icing on my awesome-cake LOL and I am right at home! The journey this far has already been major nuts and I have three small Lindseys to thank for much of that. I thought I’d give you and your readers a peek into my life so you’ll know you’re not alone if you are also covered in Polly Pockets and Play-Doh when you stand up from a long day of writing.

Writing with Children is A Wild & Crazy Ride!

It all started three years ago while I was up all night nursing a cranky newborn. You see, Little Miss came along and swiped my office.She now has a pink princess castle room filled with toys, and I have a laptop on the couch. Unfair, maybe. Motherhood? Totally. I used to write for sanity sake and log the ins and outs of my kids’ lives for posterity. Then I caught a movie on late one night. I loved it. I was captivated. When my husband told me he thought it was a book, I couldn’t wait to read it.

The book did not disappoint. After that, my life changed completely. I wanted more than anything to write a story that would affect other readers the way my favorite authors have affected me. Suddenly, writing snippets didn’t suit me anymore. I wanted to impact someone too. I want this very much. To reach out and put a smile on a stranger’s face is my new goal and where I have focused all my extra energy.

But. (isn’t there always a but?) I am a stay at home mother to three kids. The oldest is now 8. When I started this journey they were 5, 3, and brand new. I also juggled home schooling until this year. It was NUTS with a capital crazy. Teaching one kid how to draw letters and another to go in the potty and another how to hold a cup…plus all the other things we women handle every single day made for a very tired Julie. The good and also tragic of it all is that kids grow up fast. A simultaneous 'Hooray' and flood of tears hits every time I think about it. Fast forward three little years and today my boys get on a bus and leave for 8 hours every day and my then newborn is now a proud part time pre-school student and tiny ballerina.

So, my days are quieter, but Little Miss still keeps me on my toes. She paints my nails with markers while I type one handed. She sends tweets before I’m finished by landing a little pony on the keyboard. My B key sticks from tiny peanut butter fingers trying to give me a hug while I’m still writing. Like everything else worth doing, it’s a matter of balance and routine. She knows she has my undivided attention a couple times a day plus meals. In between times I clean and she helps, but when I write, I can block out a hurricane from sheer necessity. I become oblivious to all that is happening to me. I’ve answered the door with a tiara and feather boa, never realizing she’d dolled me up while I typed away.

The writer life has taught me to go with it. I roll with whatever comes my way and have learned to be thankful for the blessings that come together so I can be in this chaos. I can stay home with my kids who are healthy and well. I have a job I love, and my kids see me chasing my dream. My life is blessed. Reader/Writer/Blogger/Mommy is a super extra crazy job description, but I know I’m way more fun because of it. All us women carrying that title need to take a bow and smile wider because we are a force to be reckoned with!

If you get a mommy minute and need a little escape, I hope you’ll visit Honey Creek. It’s a beautiful place where anything can happen. Kick off your shoes, relax into that porch swing and cuddle up to a steamy mug of cider. Taking a trip to Honey Creek is as easy as Amazon : ) See you there!

Bloom by Julie Anne Lindsey

In a town filled with her past, she never expected to find her future…

Seven years ago Cynthia left Honey Creek with a broken heart. Three years ago Mitchell arrived with one.  Now Cynthia’s come home, and these two hardened hearts can’t stop arguing. If they’d only take a break long enough to find some common ground, they might be surprised to find love can grow anywhere.

If they’ll let it, love will find a way to Bloom.

*Bloom is book one in my new Seeds of Love series.  I’ll be planting those seeds all year.

Purchase Bloom here on Amazon!

About Julie:

I am a mother of three, wife to a sane person and Ring Master at the Lindsey Circus. Most days you'll find me online, amped up on caffeine & wielding a book.

You can find my blogging about the writer life at Musings from the Slush Pile

Tweeting my crazy at @JulieALindsey

Reading to soothe my obsession on GoodReads

And other books by me on Amazon

Inspiration Identification

I've been working on this MS lately, and it got me thinking a bit... Soooo....

Because I'm a nerd, and I love movies and books alike, I can't help but match my characters with existing people. For those of you familiar with these characters, hopefully you'll tell me if you agree or not. For SIGHT, here are the people I imagine would fit the voices and appearances of my characters.

Kolina: Ashley Letizia.

-She's my friend, she's an actress, and she is the inspiration for Kolina. Their personalities differ, but Ashley is an amazing actress and could totally pull it off.

In this pic, she was actually going for an Alice in Wonderland feel. Knowing that, I think it's perfect. But putting her in Kolina's place just works for me.

Ashley is cute, funny, adorable, and sweet. It's really hard for me to imagine her changing into the warrior that Kolina does. I mean look at her... she's like a kitten! I'll have to work on that image in my mind a bit more... So far, in my writing, Kolina hasn't done much actual combat fighting... I think she should do more...

Gunnar: (the real Gunnar vs. an actor)
-Will Mosely? Dylan or Cole Sprouse? Tom Felton? Cody Linley? None of them have curly hair!

-Gunnar was a tough one, because I have such a set image of the REAL Gunnar in my mind already. Even so, the character in my head doesn't exactly match the real Gunnar either. The character's hair is longer, like to his jaw at the beginning of the story, and grows even longer throughout, though he'll probably keep it above his shoulders... kind of like Heath Ledger in "A Knights Tale"...

On the left is the REAL Gunnar, who inspired this character a lot, from his appearance, to his loyalty, to his musical talent on the guitar, this kid rocks my socks. Honestly, I couldn't find any actors young enough that fit the look of the Gunnar in my head. So I'll stick with the real Gunnar for now.

Grampa Ton: Ian Holm...

-Here's the thing. Grampa Ton is short. Shorter than Dusan, even though they look similar in appearance. I think Ian Holm would do an amazing job at portraying the trust and history of Grampa Ton, as well as his love for his granddaughter.

Dusan: Jim Broadbent

-This is absolute. every time I write Dusan's lines it's like I can hear Professor Slughorn saying them; it's uncanny. I honestly didn't plan it that way. I was literally reading through Dusan's lines one night and I kept thinking, "Whose voice is that?" It took me a while, but it came to me. Definitely Jim Broadbent.

He's awesome.




Those are the main characters! There are a few others in the "motley crew" but I haven't quite solidified their looks yet... I suppose I should do that...

Anyway, what do you think? I hope you like them :-)

Do you ever imagine your characters being portrayed by real people or famous actors? 
Does it help you to write them?

-DC

Cupid Update

Remember how I mentioned on Monday that I entered a contest?

Well, I'd like to inform you (just in case you haven't seen my squeals of excitement all over Twitter and Facebook) that

I GOT IN!!!

I literally was giddy with excitement when I read the bouncer's comment telling me I made it in. It was yesterday morning, I'd been up for two hours with morning sickness, and that news just sent me into smiles for the rest of the day!

It makes me even more excited for my friend and fellow Typeling, Hero London whose query will go before the bouncers next week. I love her writing, and I hope she makes it in as well.

I'd love it if you wonderful people could go check out my query and let me know what YOU think of it. All the comments I've gotten so far have been pretty similar, so at least I know where my weak spot is... which was my purpose for entering in the first place anyway.

Thanks friends! You're the bestest ever.

-Darci

Liebster Love

I am so happy...

My very good friend, writing buddy, and fellow Typeling Amy has graciously awarded me the most awesome of all awesome awards.

The Liebster Award.

Liebster, in German, means favorite, dearest, or beloved. This award was created to give love and attention to blogs with smaller followings. I've heard from different places it's sometimes less than 100, sometimes less than 200. Either way, today I'm going to give you the rules, and then tell you about my favorites.

1) Acknowledge the blogger who gave you the award by linking back to them. Piece of cake. Visit Amy HERE HERE HERE!

2) Give this award to 5 other bloggers who have fewer than 200 readers. Let them know through a comment on their blog. These are listed belooooowwww...

3) Post this wonderful award on your blog. See cute badge above. 
{If you're confused about how to do this, simply right-click on the image and save it; then, upload it as you would normally add a picture to a blog post.}

4) Bask in the glory bestowed upon you and appreciate all the amazing bloggers out there. Done.




NOW for the fun part! In no particular order, here are the five blogs, with the fewest followers, that I follow ALL the time... like I check em every day.




@Chapman. Todd Chapman is one awesome kid, let me tell ya. I met him while we were both serving as missionaries for our church in Oregon, and got my first impression of him when he did an UNCANNY imitation of Captain Jack Sparrow (not gonna lie, it made me like him... moving on). Now he's a husband and father, and a writer of epic talent, working on a fantasy novel that I can not WAIT to read in its entirety.


Morgan Shamy. One of my amazing new twitter/writer buddies who never ceases to amaze me with her thoughts on how writing and life mix. She's absolutely hilarious in her tweets and on her blog, and has a knack for asking questions and making points that really make you think. She's a mom, wife, writer, dancer, and best of all: GINGER! Could it get any better? I submit that it cannot.


Life Before the Bucket. Because we're all going to kick the bucket someday. Adrian has been an amazing friend to me through the last year as I've grown my blog and following. He's faithful, inspiring, happy, and dedicated to everything he chooses to do. ...and he always answers any bloggy/technical questions I have without asking anything in return - because he's just that cool.


Big Red Clifford. I met Meg in our junior high choir. We ended up being on the same cheer squad as well before going to different high schools. Then, after more than ten years, we got reconnected  in 2011 through blogs and Facebook. She is a stay-at-home-mom, and writes about her life and crafty projects with very honest insight, accompanied by amazing photography skillz.


Jack Flacco. First of all, how awesome is his name? I mean seriously... Jack commented on my blog just last week, and he was so funny I had to look him up - so I did. He's a Canadan author from Canadia (yes, I spelled it wrong on purpose, I think it's funny) and, from what I've seen, writes about writing, movies, storylines, life, and how awesome it is to live in Canada... for which, who can blame him?




Well, there you have 'em folks! My top five fave's who have under 200 followers... some WAAAYYY less than that, so go visit them and give 'em a follow!


Happy Love month!


-Darci

Fruits, Time-outs, and Cupid's Arrows

First order of business:

BABY UPDATE!

According to BabyCenter.com, our new little one is now barely the size of a KUMQUAT! He/she weighs less than a quarter of an ounce, and is a little over an inch long, head to bottom.

Funny story... my dad (Monkey's grandpa) has said for a long time that he wants to get a dog and name it Quat... just so he can say, "Come Quat! Come here Quat! Come Quat!"

I don't know if he'd spell it the same, but I always thought it was funny...

As for me, I'm still feeling nauseous, and almost actually got sick the other day, but I've been able to keep it under control. I haven't had any weird cravings this week like last week, but rather I've only wanted to eat one thing - pasta salad. My mom's pasta salad, to be specific. It's really easy: pasta, mayo, salt, tomatoes, and shredded cheese. Sometimes I'll throw in some basil too, but I haven't this week. It's been kind of crazy. .. just when I think I'm getting sick of it, I want more. Not the healthiest snack, but hey... I'm pregnant.

Now, second order of business: Letters!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dear Monkey,

{he did this on his own}

You have been so adorable this week. You've started saying new words here and there, and  are definitely asserting your independence. For most of your life, I've been okay letting you do as you please, but lately I've noticed that you're starting to not believe me when I tell you to stop. You just eye me impishly and keep doing what it is you're doing.

Thus a higher count of time-outs.

You gotta learn sometime, right?

{he climbed up there on his own too}

Other than that, you've just been really stinkin cute! And since I started implementing time-outs when you disobey, you've actually improved a lot. You don't really like sitting in your high chair to eat anymore, which was kind of a problem for a while. But we've set up the dining table in the living room (we don't have a use-able dining space) and you really like sitting up there for meals and snacks.

We love you little Monkey. We're so excited that you're understanding us more, and learning to communicate more effectively. I can't wait to see what you're like as a big brother.

Love,

Mom

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Third order of business: a special announcement.

My dear friend Hero London and I have entered a contest on Cupids Literary Connection. This is a pretty new site, but it's already got a huge following. The undercover Cupid holds contests to connect writers with agents they might never get through to, or not have the nerve to actually query. If you go to the site and read about it, you'll understand first of all how lucky we feel to have even made it in - it was really rough!

This week, my round of queries goes up, to be judged by four literary "bouncers". Hero's goes up the following week. The bouncers will decide if we get to make it through the doors to do a "speed dating" session with eleven awesome Literary Agents during the week of the 20th. I will most definitely be keeping you informed on the progress of our queries, and if we get requests for partials or fulls you will be the first to know.

I saw this opportunity and decided to go for it. I have NOT started querying ANY of my works yet, specifically because I only have one "finished" (I use "" because it needs re-written, in my opinion, which means I'd better get crackin'!) And because I kind of just want to see what kind of response my query gets. I think it's pretty good, but I'm not sure either... Oh well. Guess we'll all have to wait and see how the next couple of weeks go!

-Darci

Here Goes Nothin'...

This blog began as a reading/writing project. It still serves that purpose, but I feel like it has given me a bigger view of my future as a writer. 

Because of that, as I mentioned yesterday, I've been thinking a lot about changing it to showcase my name. From the comments I received from fellow writers (and the fact that I DON'T want to have a pen name or alias) I've decided to do it.

After some research and a little interrogation of an awesome-web-master-friend (Adrian, at Life Before the Bucket) I now know the easiest way to make it happen.... however, the easy way costs money... and we don't have money to spare at the moment........

SO! The ever amazing Turner has helped me figure out a less-easy, though still effective enough way to do it. It'll take a bit of work, but I think we can make it happen. Turner put it nicely last night when he said,

"You've gotten near the top of a mountain and realized you're on the wrong one. So go find the right one, and climb it."

I agree. I started this blog with the intent to be a blogger, not a writer. Now, I'm a writer, and I need a professional "writer" blog. The only thing is, I'm definitely going to need YOUR help. Once I have it ready, I'll let you know here, and ask you to pretty please go to my new blog and become a follower! You all are such great followers, and I'm seriously so blessed to have come as far as I have in the last year... now I get to do it all over again!

To this end, the following new URL is my new "I'm-a-way-awesome-writer" blog:

DarciCole.blogspot.com

Go ahead, click on it... it's still under construction, so don't judge, but you're welcome to have a little look-see.

I had other available options, but I have a feeling this is the one... it's the easiest and most obvious.

I feel like this change is a big step somehow, like I'm "coming out"... maybe that's a bad example, but I hope you understand what I mean. I can't wait to see what 2012 brings for all of us. 

-Darci

P.S. 

SHOOT! Now I need a tag line! Morgan! You were great at making those up for yourself, can you think of some for me and we'll vote on them? Haha!

Thoughtful Thursday

I am taking a moment to be thankful today, but there's something else I'd like to talk about here...

Me and Monkey

I've been thinking a lot lately about changing some things around here on the blog. See, I want to be an author, and I want it to be my name on the books. I like my name.

Currently, my "online presence" is known as "Page Traveler." Here's the thing... that was never meant to be my name, only a title... "THE Page Traveler"... does that make sense?

So I'm thinking of changing the URL and title of this blog to something with my name in it (Darci Cole... I like my name...). Then also changing the Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ titles to match. The only thing that would remain "Page Traveler" would be my email for writing-related stuff... though I could probably change that too....

Anyway, my questions for you today are these:

1. Should I make the change?


2. If your answer is yes, what would you suggest I change it to?

Thanks so much travelers, it means a lot to me to know what you think. I don't want to lose any of you to this change, so please share your thoughts and opinions.


- Darci - The Page Traveler -

WW - Back to the Beginning!

I'm beginning to get rather frustrated on this front...

I love to write, and before the holidays I did a lot of it. But since then with Christmas and then becoming pregnant, I haven't had the *oomph* I've needed to really get anything done. Because of that, I feel like i'm almost back where i started in terms of quality writing.

I mean, I spent ALL of August finishing Sight's first draft, then September and October were spent learning how to edit and what it means to polish, then I edited someone else's book.

Then I spent the first half of November writing Netàe for NaNoWriMo, and the second half of November finishing Sight; I went through and added bits, then tried to polish and hone it as much as I could. Doing that made my actual writing WAY better. When I sat down to start writing book two, I noticed how much better my writing was. That was when I decided to re-write book one, but I never got around to it (holidays & pregnancy).

Then, at the beginning of January I felt like I really needed to work on Shift:Black Phoenix which is the one you read an excerpt of last week. I feel like that could be a really amazing story, but the more I try to write it, the less I feel like I'm where I need to be to write it well.

As you can see, I have a lot of partially finished projects. I love them all, but I think I'm mostly attached to the one I've actually finished (Sight). I need to write... I don't think it matters what I write, but I've got to get back in the groove of things. I think what I'm going to do is start back in on Netàe for now, since it's only half way finished, and it's not one I particularly care if it's done poorly (plus it needs some major revisions anyway), then I'll turn to Sight's sequel (which I think will be called Light) and then re-write Sight itself, and THEN, maybe I'll feel good about coming back to Shift...

Help me! What do you do to get in your writing zone?


- Darci - The Page Traveler -