Viewing entries tagged
thoughts

Comment

OMG! It's 2017!!!!

I've been meaning to do a blog post. I keep telling myself to sit down and do it, but then something else goes wonky. Speaking of which, I still need to get back to laundry!

But, after this!

So, I know a lot of shit is going on in the world, but I maintain a politics free blog. Not because I don't care, but because I don't believe the internet gives birth to rational conversations about certain topics. It's one of those things I'm likely to be more open to discussing in person with someone I know at least a little than with the internet peoples. And I love my internet peoples!

Ok, that's out of the way!

What am I working on right now? I'm still furiously editing Mad Baron. I've fallen behind, but that happens. I shall get caught up once more! My eldest had his first date with a girl who is a friend. They attended the winter formal together. Super adorable. He styled in a three piece suit. He cleans up well, like his dad. 

See how I tangented off? I've been doing that a lot.

The beloved husband wants to work on something with me. We're currently in the planning stages of a fantasy trilogy. There will be fancy clothes, sword fights, and daemons. It's exciting! Or, it will be when it is done. Right now it is a shared notebook of scattered notes.

That is in addition to Mad Baron. Because, I have not given up on this story! It's just taking some time to rewrite. Because I dropped a POV character. Argh! And changed up the whole beginning. And switched positions of characters.

This March, we will be heading to Costa Rica for a week. Beloved husband won an award at work and we will be going on their dime. I will not even be bringing a computer with me. Other than my phone and I don't write more than notes on my phone. 

If I get these three scenes I am working on done, I am going to write a short story for my blog. Since I missed so much in December. Think I might do my month of short stories earlier in the year. Pre-flu season and all!

I hope you're doing well and I <3 you even if we disagree on things. 

Comment

Comment

Merry Christmas!

So, the flu has hit the Carpenter house. The kids are on some flu medicine after separate trips to urgent care because, of course. :) The beloved has been struck down as well. I am pretty ok. Superior genes and all. ;) Also, I tend to run last in the queue of illness. Everyone says I sound sick, but what to do they know? Sickos.

Everyone at Christmas was sick. So, I did not feel too bad about hauling my flu kids over to their grandmother's for the holiday. They made out like bandits. They always do! I didn't do too badly.

Merry Christmas! Which is what we celebrate although in a pretty secular way. I hope everyone enjoys whichever holiday, or none, you might celebrate this winter season. Personally, I'm more of a solstice person. The kids might celebrate with me next year. Even though it is not a present holiday.

So, as the flu runs its course I've had to halt stories. :( But, with three people sick, not counting the dog who is still on antibiotics and steroids, I am running around twice as much.

Blarg! As the beloved said to his youngest daughter, Merry Effin' Christmas!

 

Comment

Comment

But, Peggy, where did you go?

Hi! I live! Sorry for missing weekend updates. The beloved took the weekend off. His first days off since Thanksgiving Day. So, I set everything aside and we did the whole family thing.

I am not sure where yesterday went! Other than family time after school.

That being said! I will be catching up this week and by Friday have the proper amount of items posted. Even with Rogue One on Thursday.

Because I will!

Thanks for understanding, you awesome people in the ether!

Comment

Comment

It's been too long.

I saw the time since my last blog post and was shocked I had not updated sooner.

Yesterday, I broke 50k on my Nanowrimo project. The last few months I'd been thinking of skipping, despite the fun. Instead, I pushed myself on MBDD rewrites to get to here I might stop. For Nano this year, I did something completely off anything else I was working on currently. The idea is mashup of the show Person of Interest, one of my all time favorites. I rhapsodized back in June on the series finale. If you haven't seen the show it is currently on Netflix in all its glory. Just saying... :)

Anyway! Person of Interest in Ancient Rome. With monsters and magic and, truthfully, I do not know if I will every do anything at all with this or just store it away. That was the point of Nano this year for me. Just to be writing without worrying about anything. I definitely think it will set me to refresh for finishing up this latest draft of MBDD next month.

I've got an idea for a December project, but it is one I can do WHILE rewriting. I'll give more details once I settle them. So, if you liked my weird, barely edited, silly story last year, stay tuned for this year!

Since my last update I've been doing better. My thyroid medicine dosage has definitely fixed most of what ailed me. Yay! I even had a pap smear. Ladies, we all know it needs doing. Don't forget!

In September, the beloved husband took me to Tulsa to see Delta Rae. I could gush, but if you are awesome you already know how amazing they are and to see them live was so great. They are doing a Winter Acoustic tour along the east coast. Yes, if I lived less than two days away and did not have kids who want Christmas I would go. And, yes, it takes a lot to get me to willingly return to the east coast, but this would do it. It was a bright spot in an otherwise bleak feeling time. 

I'm not going to keep gushing over Delta Rae, but...well, maybe a little more. Every playlist for every novel I've written has had at least one Delta Rae song on it. The theme song for several novels has been one of their songs. And I write all kinds of different stuff, so, yea. THEY ARE AWESOME.

Did you think I was done gushing? Well, I am not! Because earlier this month, beloved took me to another show. The American Wake Tour came to OKC and you bet I was there. (We were right in front of the stage for both shows.) The AWT is winding down. Alas. If you missed them, I should have told you sooner! You can still find American Murder Song on their website and on YouTube. I absolutely love their recordings, but it does not compare to a live show. WHICH WAS SO AMAZING OMG! How amazing? Check this out:

Caught on camera.

That's right. A picture of me with a ridiculous smile. Check out those teeth. The fan on the table I left behind because it was admired so. I, yea, stuck a Halloween crow decoration to a black fan via rapidly applied pipe cleaner. I am so creative. Or, umm, desperate to make the damned thing work already! The outfit I wore was inspired by this song.

Oh, and the boys were heartbroken to miss the show, but we bought t-shirts for them. Sometimes we just need a night out. :) Even wearing boots not as broken in as I'd have liked did not dull my fun at the show. Because nothing could have done that! SO AMAZING. Sorry, I run out of superlatives when this excited about things.

This is our first Christmas since the beloved's dad died. It's not going to be easy, so I am clinging to all the things I love. Like, kids, dogs, and the beloved. His dad passing reminds me on occasion of my own brother's death. So, sometimes I cry over commercials because, well, even after 16 years it still gets me. If you're lucky enough to never have experienced losing someone close and you're curious, Patton Oswalt described it so well.

So, there you are. A nice long blog post to make up for the fact I have not blogged. I'm still posting on FB and am considering getting back into Twitter. Post election it was too much to bear so I stepped away. Speaking of the election, I love you all. That's it. Nothing else to say.

Before I go,  here's a peek at what I am working on. Poor Floriana's life was not easy even before I started writing he. Because I am a mean, mean character mom. :D

***

“Are you her daughter?”

Floriana looked away from the smoking torch. “Am I whose daughter?”

“Floriana’s. I know there was a legionnaire with that name. A scout. You would be the right age. Your armor is old.”

“My mother was a potter. My father, Florianus, served with the Eighteenth and I joined up because of him. Thirty-five years ago.”

“Does madness run in your blood? You would have to be, what, fifty for that to be true?”

“Fifty-one, in fact.”

The officer laughed and sat at her desk. “You are half that, if that. I should turn you out. Or whip you for impersonating a legionnaire and then turn you out.”

“You would have a hard time doing so.”

“Are you threatening me?”

Yes. Of course, she threatened the woman. Was she an idiot, or only trying to trap Floriana? Silence was her response.

Into the silence there was a knock on the door. Floriana turned to see Naevius enter. He looked every year she did not, but she would know him anywhere. The look he gave her showed no shared recognition. Impossible!

“We won’t take up much of your time, praefectus castrorum.”

“Naevius-”

“Silence.”

Floriana fumed in silence.

“Do you know this woman?”

Naevius stared at her. He met her eyes and did not even offer a silent apology before he said, “I do not know her.”

“Thank you, you may go.”

He turned and left.

“Naevius.” Floriana watched him leave before she returned her attention to the officer in the room. “What about Petronia? Vibius? They were with us when we left the forest. We carried the eagle together. They will surely not betray such a memory. Naevius be damned.”

 

***

Until next time! Happy Thanksgiving, my American friends! It is going to be less fun for me with the whole cutting carbs thing. Carbs are life blood! Just, alas, not so much for me any longer as I get older.

Comment

Comment

My Type of Guy

I read a fair amount, not as much as I want to, and I write...not as much as I should. ;) I also play video games. Oh, and I have been married for 14 years. Shocking! All of these things have one particular thing in common.

I gravitate towards the good guys. I have no intentions of going Rogue in Division. If I have a choice between two options in a game I always go with the one I find morally acceptable. Even though it is "just a game."

The types of characters who often wind up sidekicks are my favorite. You know, the character in the book who stands by his/her best friend and has a funny line and encouraging word always? SWOON. And, yea, I totally root for them to get the guy/girl even though I know it won't happen. Because, they are almost always the good guy. The nice guy. The dependable guy. Oh, and sometimes the dead one depending on the type of book. A GOOD death is as satisfying for me as a hea for my favorite character. Please note: A GOOD DEATH. Do not get me started on Wash. Hated how he died. In my head canon he does not die at that point.

So, the anti-hero trend....the dark brooding alpha male...these do nothing for me. Criminals? Nah. Nice guys* next door make my heart flutter. Which is why, I admit, the last two times I've watched Star Wars I've ignored the parts between when Poe is gone and he returns. Lovable X-Wing fighter than he is and always shall be!

Which is my the heroes in my stories almost always have that one thing in common. They are the good guys. Because, well, good guys make me hot. And, the way the world is somedays, a lot of days, it's nice to be able to write about people who do the right thing and get rewarded for it. Escapism? Hell, yea. What's wrong with that?

So, there you go! Fair warning. No brooding love interests here. And, yes, adorable husband IS one of the nicest people I've ever known. Considering the pure chance of our meeting I count myself lucky every day. :) 

*Guy does not necessarily refer to a male. I never limit my options on hotness! :D

Comment

Comment

Life Sometimes Kicks Your Rear

Sometimes things hit you and you're all, "I can deal." Then four more shoes drop and you realize a celestial spider is raining footwear on your parade. Damn that spider!

I've had several family emergencies hit lately and it's sapped my will to do much of anything. Still, the kids need clean clothes, as do I, and everyone including the dogs insist on being fed. So, I move a little more slowly with household chores. I do get them done. Eventually.

Now, to be fair, most of the stress has fallen on my husband. He is a rock and will endure and still be the freaking adorable smart ass I married, but...well, that's the main source of my stress. Worrying over him. It's always been that way. I may stress over outside situations, but nothing compares to worrying over him or the kids. Well, the dogs sometimes top them all, but if you've met my dogs you understand why. My dogs are adorable! ;)

The dog part may not be true.

It may be true.

I refuse to say.

Here's where I stand coming up on the end of the first quarter of the new year.

1. Mad Baron's Doomed Daughter is undergoing another round of outside eyes. I still hate XXXXX (in case they read this blog I don't want to taint their opinion) and will rewrite it no matter what feedback I get.

2. Widowed Witch of the West languishes with about 10-15k to the finish line. So close, but I so totally despise every word (thank you, stress inducing celestial spider) it is hard to work on it. I have a goal to finish the first draft by the end of the month. I WILL NOT work on anything else until this first draft is finished.

3. I kind of really want to write the next book in my historical romance series. Working title, Circe's Promise. Because I am on an Odyssey kick. There's a cyclops in book three! Book four is a real Odysseus kind of tale.

Truthfully, with all that's going on, I may not write anything else new this year after WWotW is finished. Instead, I might focus on reworking several existing projects. Like Tesia's book. I also might not.

Right now my focus is on finishing WWotW. I will do it!  Because not finishing it is not an option. I've only ever started and left one novel unfinished and I don't mean to make it two!



Comment

Comment

Here we go!

This blog is where I'll post longer thoughts and ideas. I'll also post a few excerpts from my existing and WIP projects. That's a lot of words to pull stuff from. Hopefully some of them are even good. 

Comment