The Griswold’s Family Vacation AKA I'm on Vacation

I grew up in the Griswold family. My father wasn’t as clumsy or numbskullish as Clark Griswold, but we had our share of Griswold family moments. The dog didn’t get dragged behind the car, but he did nearly drowned in a lake, eat a fishing hook, was rescued from a freezing pool, and hit by a car. Yes, he did live thought it all, thank the doggie angels.

I do remember a Christmas where something was living in the Christmas tree, and the summer mom almost sat of the Copperhead under her chair. There was the time we tried to save money on a summer vacation by camping. Who knew that was the same week the frogs had all decided to mate and crock well into the night. Hoards of them!

Oh, and the time the hornets’ nest fell in the fire place. Alfresco dinner that night I tell you!

The point of my longwindedness is, I am going on vacation. Up there in them hills, also known as Ma and Pa’s place, I won’t have internet, so I won’t be in the blogosphere to update here. As a consolation, I promise to post uber funny pictures from the trip. I’m sure there will be more than a few, mostly of me doing things I would only do with the Griswold’s.

TTFN
Ann

Grammar Lesson: Subject/Verb Agreement with Prepositional Phrases

This just kills me!

Each one of us were sipping on our drinks as the party clown juggled the balls.


Each one of us was sipping on our drinks as the party clown juggled the balls.

Which is it, was or were?

First, take out the prepositional phrase, Each one…sipping.

Each one were sipping.

Each one was sipping.

Obviously, was is the correct verb as it agrees with the subject, one.

Happy Writing!

Ann

Back in the Office

No, I’m still on summer vacation, but I did return to my office this week—my writing office that is.

Two years ago, when I took up writing as more than just a spectator sport, I transformed a corner of Hubby’s Man Den into an office. I had my grandfather’s old desk, still filled with his drafting tools and even one of his razors, my old desk top PC, and a chair. I was in business. From that old PC I could blast the music (YouTube) and write away for hours without stopping.

It was the Bee’s Knee’s!!!

This farm girl’s idea of Hog Heaven!

Then came the laptop…

And soon after, laptop # 2…

Then, couch potato, TV watching, snacking, chatting with the fam— NOOOO writing.

Cue Susan Power. “STOP THE insanity!”

Well, old well-loved desk, piles of manly mags and sports books, dirty laundry that hasn’t seen the inside of a washing machine in my son's life time, and whatever other disgusting things are lucking just beyond the confines of my corner in the Man’s Den—I’M BACK!

The speakers are pumping, this time from Playlist.com (Tina Turner to be precise), I’m double fisting the caffeine, singing at the top of my lungs, and I’m back in business!

Granddaddy Jackson would be so proud!—He liked Tina too.

TTFN

Ann

Writing Advice

Writing advice with a side dish of humor. Totally stolen from Youtube!

Busy July

July is turning out to be a busy writing months for me, and I couldn’t be happier about it.

While I have more free time than normal with summer vacation in full swing, I sighed up for July Novel in A Month group (Nano WriMo). So far things are going well and I’m making great progress on my WIP. I only obligated myself to write 30,000 words and edit 10 chapters of another work, but at the halfway point I’m well into both goals and will be able to finish my current rough draft by the end of the month.

There was also a workshop that caught my eye this week at writing.com. Mystery Writer, M.B. Fields is hosting a Mystery Short Story class. He promises the completion of a publishable short story by the end of the month. How can anyone resist such a promising offer? Now, I’m not planning to dump my Romance roots for Mystery, but it never hurts to diverse ones writing.

Speaking being diverse, another workshop caught my eye for this month. Starting today, I’m participating in a week long Erotica Fantasy challenge. In case you missed it up in the left hand corner, my tag line is ‘The Sweeter Side of Romance’, so why such a change?

I learned from a young age that putting all your eggs in one basket guarantees a hungry tummy. When I showed horses, I only showed in one discipline, but I studied several. The thought of jumping horses, or riding sidesaddle, or even Western didn’t appeal to me, but I learned them because being diverse made me an all around better rider.

Writing is the same way. When the opportunity to branch out and try something new presents itself, take a hold with gusto! If nothing else, you’ll stretch your brain and make a few new friends in the business.

On to something completely different. After six months of trying to make a meeting, I finally made it to the Carolina Romance Writers this month. I don’t think I’ve been so nervous walking into a room of people in years. The workshop was great, about the differences between men and women; did you know blind men lose their sex drive, and women get frisker the older they get?

I learned so much and the opportunity to sit around for a few hours and talk books, and agents, and publishers and covers was priceless. I was impressed with how many people I already knew thanks to facebook and networking. Several of us seem to run in the same writing circles and hit it off. I’ll defiantly be back to that chapter.

The rest of my month will be just as busy planning Hubby’s 40th birthday party and trying to organize this crazy house of mine.

I know I’m not the only insanely busy writer in the blogosphere. What is everyone else up to these days?
Ann

Cover for Brigadoon's Guarded Hearts

I've just received the cover art for Brigadoon's Guarded Hearts.

There are few days in a writer's life when the weight of uncertainly is lifted off the shoulders; the day the rough draft is finished, after sending the MS, the acceptance letter, and the day the cover is announced.

Today is one of those days! Hope you enjoy!

Ann