It Wasn't Me, Officer!

There are about 6 police cars parked in or near my driveway. The good news, they didn't come looking for me, my husband or the dog. The bad news, they were chasing someone in a vehicle who tore up our driveway, stopped short of hitting the garage and bolted. So I'm locked inside my house with my cell phone and the dog and my husband is outside assisting the police as they look for whoever it is who tore up the driveway and abandoned their car.

Things like this don't happen to me. I'm a law-abiding citizen. Okay, for the most part I'm law abiding. But still, the bad guys generally leave me alone and the police have no reason to talk to me except to raise money for their charity events. It's kind of freaky to realize that some potentially dangerous person may be lurking outside my relatively safe home. And that if the police don't find him, he may come back. Oh, not to mention that car in my driveway blocking the garage. I hope they move that soon.

Since I'm a writer, I find myself thinking more about the "what ifs" then about my general safety. I figure, the police are still outside, the doors are locked and I'm going to be okay. My mind is actually going down the path of what if a person was in the wrong place at the wrong time and was mistaken for a wanted criminal. What if he was chased by the police into a residential setting. And what if he abandoned his car and took solace in a house not too far away. And what if that turned into a hostage situation, accidentally of course. And what if the police were actually in on this to protect one of their own. And what if the woman who lives in the house knew some of the truth and believed this stranger who is trying to get away. And what if...

I love what if exercises. I probably won't ever write that story above, but thinking about the what ifs get the mind pumping and the creative juices flowing. Not to mention it keeps my mind off the blinking red and blue lights in my driveway. The real story is some guy in the apartments down the street was evicted, showed up to the apartment up to no good, the cops were called, he has a suspended license so they were going to do whatever it is police do in that situation, he tried to flee, drove into our driveway thinking it was an alley, saw the garage so abandoned his car and fled. The police are impounding his car and issuing a war rent. He could be a drug dealer, a wife beater, a gambler, or just a jerk. Who knows. But it doesn't make for exciting or titillating fiction. What ifs are so much more interesting, don't you think?

300

Wow.

That's all I can say about the movie based on Frank Miller's interpretations of King Leonidus of Sparta and the famous battle of Thermopylae in which he and a contigent of 300 Spartan soldier and 1600 Thesbian and Thebians stood against a much greater horde of warriors and slaves of King Xerxes of Persia. I had read about the battle during one of my high school history classes back in the 80s, before Frank Miller wrote his graphic novels about the subject. School would have been a lot more interesting with graphic novels depicting historical events, don't you think? Sadly, my knowledge was based on dry text book accounts and the battle was barely a blip on the radar. Which is really too bad, because there are so many life lessons to be gleened and so many parallels to be made.

And it's quite funny how history repeats itself. I'm not going to get all political on my blog, because that's not the intent of my little corner of the internet. But I will say, it's interesting just how tenacious free men are when they fight for their land, their beliefs and their future. Very interesting.

Back to the movie - it was stunning. And not just because the men spent most of the time in leather short shorts and sweeping capes. The backdrops were stunning. The cinematography was amazing and the music was an incredible blend of sweeping lyrical threads and pumping metal beats. The storytelling was top notch and unlike Sin City, you didn't need to be familiar with the story in order to enjoy the movie. Also unlike Sin City, there are lessons built into the movie. I don't know if they were purposely inserted into the story or if they are just a by-product of history. Either way, I was moved, and not just by the very fit Spartans.

There is something for everyone. Epic storytelling. A fiesty heroine. A truly heroic hero. Battles. Blood. Bonding. Brotherhood. Honor. Really bad bad guys. Love. And betrayal.

If you haven't seen it yet, I encourage you to do so. And as you watch, think for a moment about what it means to be free. And the price attached to that freedom.

Happy Birthday To...

Me!

Yup, today is my birthday. My 36th to be exact. And I'm okay with that. There's nothing wrong with turning a year older. In fact, there's something wonderful about knowing there's a new year ahead. A new adventure. A fresh start. A time for reflection and celebration.

I'm not one to make New Year's resolutions. Birthdays are more a time of reflection for me. I look at my goals and determine how far I am from reaching them, decide if those goals are still valid, and write up a new goal statement for the upcoming year. This year is my year to really push the writing. To take some chances. To let this excitement over the story really bubble up and spill over into other areas of my life.

It's also my year to put the pain of past rejections behind me and to start submitting again. I'm done with excuses this year. I'm not too busy, this manuscrip is not shitty, and I have come a long way from my first novel. That's not to say I'll sell anything this year. Writing is so subjective. But I can't reach my goal of being a multi-published author if I don't let my work leave the house.

So this year, I'm pushing my boundaries. And hopefully in more than just writing. But I'll start there. *grin*

So, What Are You Writing Now?

 The more people who know I write, the more I find myself fending off this question. I don't often talk about the particulars of my stories. I find I'm almost afraid to talk about these fledgling works in process because in the talking I may lose the magic.

The second book I ever wrote was a wonderful story. It had danger, love, dirty little secrets, passion, location...well everything. But the more I talked about it, the less I wanted to write it. And so the story sits, a rough draft, a great idea, but not finished. Oh, the tenets of the story are there and it wouldn't take too much work to fill it out and get it out the door.

But I lost interest.

This is why I don't talk much about my stories while I'm writing the first draft. Not even my good writing friends hear much beyond the basics. I have a casual critique partner who reads the rough draft and then tells me how wonderful it is (it being the bones of the story, because trust me, there will be a ton of work after this draft is done). Ah, the joy of an "unbiased" fan. *grin* Still, I don't talk to her about the story. She doesn't know anything more than the pages I give her. She keeps notes and at the end, or when I'm stuck, she'll pull them out and go over things with me. It's a great system.

So what do I do when someone asks me what I'm writing now? I smile kindly and tell them I'm working on a story of love and redemption and hope. Which pretty much covers any plot I may actually write. When pressed, I may give some details like:

• It's a story set in Minnesota
• The hero and heroine are on paths of discovery - he with his faith, she with her past
• It's a little bit other, a little bit dark and a little bit romantic
• There will be a happy ending

Not much, but enough to satisfy the question. I hope.

I'm on this journey with my characters. I don't know any further into their story than what I put on the page. Oh, I may have ideas of scenes in the future. And I may have a hunch as to where the story is heading. But for me, the joy of writing is in the journey. I map out things, I figure out who my characters are and where they are coming from and where they are going t land. But if I talk about my story too much, those happy discoveries are discovered too early and when I sit to write that sense of adventure is gone. I lose my steam and my drive.

So, if you're one of those people who have have ever asked my what I'm writing now, sorry if it seemed like I brushed you off. I didn't mean it that way. I was simply trying to save the journey so Mallory and Jason can have the story the deserve from me. If things go in the right direction, perhaps you will be able read this story for yourself someday. Keep your fingers crossed!

Reading Can Be Useful

I'm avoiding the written page - and balancing my cheque book. On one of the web boards I frequent I found the following. It brought a smile to my face. I hope it brings a smile to yours.

One morning the husband returns after several hours of fishing and decides to take a nap. Although not familiar with the lake, the wife decides to take the boat out. She motors out a short distance, anchors, and reads her book.

Along comes a Game Warden in his boat. He pulls up alongside the woman and says, "Good morning, Ma'am. What are you doing?"

"Reading a book," she replies, (thinking, "Isn't that obvious?")
"You're in a Restricted Fishing Area," he informs her.
"I'm sorry, officer, but I'm not fishing. I'm reading."
"Yes, but you have all the equipment. For all I know you could start at any moment. I'll have to take you in and write you up."

"If you do that, I'll have to charge you with sexual assault," says the woman.
"But I haven't even touched you," says the game warden.
"That's true, but you have all the equipment. For all I know you could start at any moment."
"Have a nice day ma'am," and he left.

MORAL: Never argue with a woman who reads. It's likely she can also think .

Today Debut's An Amazing Author

It's a wonderful feeling to be able to support a dear friend on her journey to fulfilling her dreams.

I've known Farrah Rochon for many years. I met her on an author bulletin board and in person when I was in New Orleans for the 2001 RWA conference. She has such heart and such drive and she has been both a support and an inspiration to me on my own journey. You see, during this time Farrah and I have shared a common dream - to publish our novels. We would "meet" online to discuss our work and to prod each other on. We have both gone on to write several manuscripts.

Farrah has reached that next step that all aspiring writers hope to reach. She wrote the best damned book she could write at the time and she queried several agents and editors. One agent was smart enough to see amazing talent when it landed on his desk and he signed Farrah last year. Not long after, Farrah sold her first book, Deliver Me, to Dorchester Publishing and today it is officially released and on the bookshelves! Go Farrah!

I have a copy of the book in my hot little hands and while I haven't read past the first few chapters, I can tell you that the book is amazing!I Here is a summary of the book for you:

After being dumped by her boyfriend and passed over for yet another promotion, Monica Gardner moves to New Orleans, determined to make a name for herself as the new attending ER physician at Methodist Memorial Hospital. As for men--she's through with them. But when given the chance to chair the hospital's annual charity banquet, Monica must elicit the help of gorgeous Ob-gyn Elijah Holmes.

Eli will do anything to thwart his matchmaking Mama's plan to reunite him with his high school girlfriend. So, when the sexy new ER doc asks for his help in planning this year's charity banquet, Eli devises the perfect scheme: He'll help put on the best banquet the hospital has ever seen, if Monica poses as his new girlfriend. But when Eli finds himself falling in love, he realizes convincing Monica of his true feelings may be his greatest delivery yet.

So run, don't walk to your nearest bookstore...or head over to Amazon...and snatch up the debut contemporary romance novel by Farrah Rochon! And if you'd like to learn a bit more about Farrah, you can visit her website at:http://www.farrahrochon.com/

And Farrah, if you happen to catch this, I am so proud of you! You have struggled and you have questioned, but you never gave up and you did what needed to be done. I'm so happy to have been a small part of your journey and pray that God blesses you richly and beyond measure! You, my friend, deserve nothing less.

It's Freaking Cold Outside!

I'm not used to the cold anymore.

That may sound strange to those of you who know me and know I live in Minnesota, land of ten thousand lakes, mosquitoes, and icy winters. The last few years have been mild. We haven't dipped much below freezing and we haven't had much in the way of snow. Even this winter proved to be balmy, with January temperatures in the low 40's and the sun shining more often than not.

Then the cold came. That wonderful arctic chill that settled upon the Midwest, bringing with it bone-chilling winds and temperatures in the negative numbers. In a word, brrrrrr! Even my dog, who is part husky, is not immune to the cold. He usually loves to lay in the snow for hours on end, but this dip in temperatures has him hopping from foot to foot, begging to be let in mere minutes after we have let him outside to do his doggie thing. Poor baby!

I almost skipped church today so I could snuggle longer in my warm bed. I was to teach Sunday School so I decided to dress in layers, make the husband warm up the car and make a mad dash between house to car then car to church building. I swear my breath was freezing and dropping to the ground with tiny tinkling sounds every time I exhaled.

It's freaking cold here, people! I can't even focus on writing right now because my book takes place in late summer, early fall and I can't imagine ever being warm again. Ever. I know March will come and with it will come spring, or at least the promise of spring. But that's not soon enough. If the weather doesn't at least warm up to the 20's, I'm afraid we'll have to move. That will make the hubby happy. In case you didn't catch it, that last sentence was dripping with sarcasm. My husband loves MN. I think it's because he was born here. Me, I relocated after I married him. I'm from Canada, which you would think would make me immune to the sub-zero chills.

Um, no. I moved south (from the Calgary area of Alberta) to get away from the cold. The weather there is hovering just below freezing. And it's sunny. And at any moment a warn Chinook wind could blow down from the mountains, melting the snow and raising temperatures significantly. *sigh* But I live in freezing-my-butt-off Minnesota. And I'm here for the foreseeable future so I guess I better get used to it. And haul that down parka out of storage, because if the forecast is to be believed, MN is going to be the arctic for at least another couple of weeks.