Stories for the New Year

Hello everyone!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. Mine was pretty fantastic, aside from a few minor incidents. Nothing too major. When you have annoying people in your life, annoying things happen, but nothing fantastic food, lively games, and some presents couldn’t smooth over.

Here, have some baby opening Christmas presents spam. I’ll wait.

 

 

Anyway, Now that January is trucking right into the lot, I’ve got a couple new story ideas brewing that I think are going to be swell, and I thought I’d share them with you. Do you mind?

Bad Boy:

That’s just a working title, and nowhere close to anything I would actually officially name a story. This idea sprung up from my love of bad characters that I shouldn’t love. And by bad, I mean morally deficient.

For example, Sebastian Monroe in the TV series (gone too soon, may it rest in peace) Revolution. The guy is evil. And at times he helps out the good guys, but he’s never truly good. He’s always got his own motives and schemes going, and we know it. The writers didn’t try to fool us into thinking he’d changed for the good. He was bad for all to see.

Or Four in Divergent. Now, he wasn’t morally deficient, but he was creepy. I was actually really disappointed in the second and third book how much he softened up. He was such a hardnose in the first one, and he absolutely terrified me, and then all that was stripped away and I was devastated.

Or Dally in The Outsiders. The book, not the movie. The movie didn’t do a dang thing for me. But in the book Dally is a bad kid. Like, pretty sure he’s killed people. Pretty sure he wouldn’t hesitate to do it again. And he makes no bones about it. He’s a scary character, even though we like him.

What really sealed the deal for me on writing this story though is Six of Crows. Kaz Brecker is morally deficient and he’s frightening. And I LOVE him.

So, I created Brass. That’s not really his name, but it’s the only one you’re likely to get from him.

This story starts when the King of Khassan says that Brass is nothing more than a common criminal, and orders the Dukes to get him under control, as he’s been wreaking havoc hither and yon.

Brass takes that rather hard. No one calls him common. Of course he has to take that as a personal challenge, and sets out to kidnap the King’s daughter, Princess Tamille, just to show how common he is.

From there there’s a nice mix of plots. There’s a rebellion trying to form in the country, and the rebels leaders think someone like Brass is exactly what they need. But Brass isn’t exactly a shut up and follow orders type, and he’s too busy running his own web of destruction on the planet to be bothered by official rebellions. But then the rebels kidnap his princess, and he has to reassess his plans a bit.

It’s going to be delicious. I can’t wait. I’m really trying to go for that scary feeling. I want to make a reader feel guilty for liking this guy. *Evil laughter*

 

1886 Story:

Obviously, that’s not the title either. Cut me some slack.

When I was young, I read prairie romance novels. Not smutty romance novels, but stuff by Janette Oke, Hilda Stahl, and Diane Mills. Christian stories about women out in the west, and their families. I loved westerns (still do), but I wanted to read about girls, so that’s how I filled the need. Then I got out of that phase and read almost exclusively fantasy through my teen years. I hadn’t touched a prairie romance in many moons, when all the sudden this fall I got the itch. And I read like twelve of them, some new, some old.

And as I read them, I suddenly remembered why I had quit reading them during the crazy teen years.

1.       They preach.

2.       They’re cheesy. I’ve never met a man that sensitive, and when I did, he didn’t like women, just saying. Manly, sensitive guys exist, but not THAT sensitive. It’s just too much.

3.       The characters are perfect, or at least one of them is. Either the woman had a low life husband who wasn’t walking with the good Lord and she’s just praying for patience with him, or he was the perfect picture of a saint and she was a bit shadier.

4.       The conversion scene. Spare me.

5.       They preach.

6.       They’re unrealistic.

7.       They’re cheesy.

8.       They make a really big deal about these arranged marriages and mail order bride things where the couple gets married, and then he gallantly sleeps on the floor for six months. I could be wrong, (but I’m pretty sure I’m not, because I’ve read lots of real life diaries and biographies etc about people in those types of marriages) but I don’t think anybody was sleeping on the floor. They got married out of necessity and moved on with life. No big deal.

9.       Not everyone was in an arranged marriage. Out in the west men were a dime a dozen, but women were fewer. Women could essentially have their pick of the crop. It was the men who were more limited. If a girl didn’t like a guy, she didn’t have to marry him for fear of being a spinster forever. Some other guy would move right up in line and ask to court her instead.

So, as I mulled over these annoyances, but still loved the stories of women in the west, I decided I’d better take the expert advice and write the book I want to read.

Thus, I created Clara Parker, a young woman from Chicago, who after being repeatedly stalked and harassed by a reputable gentleman, answered a mail order bride ad in hopes of getting away. She travels to Wood River Centre Nebraska (which for you Nebraska peeps, is actually different from Wood River NE. Wood River Centre got renamed Shelton. Anyhoo) There she meets up with James Benton, a former Union soldier in the Civil War with a troubling secret in his past. After the war he moved out west to take advantage of the homestead act, and (like I said) there weren’t a whole lot of women to be had out there, and a lot of the men out east were gone after the war, so he sent out the ad.

After that there’s an awful lot of fun awkwardness as they try to get to know each other, and she tries to adjust to like if a sod house of all things. It’s all going splendidly, except for, Clara has a secret in her past too, and it won’t stay a secret for long.

 

So, that’s what I’ll be working on this new year. Well, technically, I’ve already started both of them, but I’ve only got a few thousand words down for each of them, so they’ll mostly be fresh projects come January.

What about you? Anything writerly on your agenda for the year? Who’s your favorite bad boy? What cliché’s do you want to kill? Hit me up with them!

I've Waited 365 Days, So Let It Snow Baby, Let It Reindeer

Sometimes it's unclear if I'm the Grinch, or Max. 

This year I'm the Grinch. 

Just let me open presents already!!!

I Have Arrived

Hello guys! 

My mother in law was here for Thanksgiving, and she is an avid coffee drinker. 

Now I love coffee, capuchino, lattes, the whole works, but I'm one of those coffee people who can get by with instant coffee and some liquid creamer from Walmart. 

All that to say, I don't have a coffee pot, and all I had in the house was fake coffee. 

My mother in law will drink it, but it doesn't make her soul happy. 

So I took her to the Medina Street Vault, a coffee shop a friend of mine started, and we had real coffee. Only problem is, said Vault is half an hour away. And as much as I'd like to drive there every morning for a salted caramel iced vanilla latte, I can't. 

To cut to the chase, Karen in all her amazing mother in lawness got me a Keurig. Now she was rather upset because the "discreet packaging" said turquoise Keurig right on the side. 

Every time I drink a coffee in the morning though, I'm really glad I didn't have to wait for the surprise. 

It's really more of a mint blue color, which is fabulous. My whole kitchen is outfitted with mint blue. Mint blue makes my heart happy. 

So obviously I went to Walmart and got kpods, and then on to Hobby Lobby for some coffee decor. You know, and maybe a few other things. (That's one of my best friends there with Henry. I'm not sure why the cashier is looking like that....don't mind him)

And, viola.

I made a coffee bar. 

Now, not only does it taste good, it's aesthetically pleasing. 

I can now die happy. 

Christmas Spirit

 

Hello everyone!

 

We're about midway through December now, so I feel safe posting Christmassy type things

 

My mom was always super crafty when I was growing up (Still is, technically). She was always painting something, building, quilting, sewing, designing, etc. Now she mostly sticks to the sewing and quilting aspect, but still, very creative.

 

I always tried  to be creative, but it just...never worked. I don't know why. Probably because crazy pink and purple preteen and black and red angsty teenager doesn't turn out into gorgeous home décor.

 

Don't get me wrong, my bedroom was flippin' awesome. When I was little I had purple and white walls, and the coolest bedspread everywhere, and the whole thing coordinated in bright crazy colors.

And then it all got covered with 24 band and movie posters, plus a whole bunch of drawings, and it turned into a pretty sweet teenager room. But not a Better Homes and Garden's look, that's for sure.

 

But now, I have my own house. And I still have parts of it that wholeheartedly embrace my angst ridden love of bright crazy colors and bands that scream too much, but now I have a whole house to work with. I'm not confined to one room. So some of the house gets to look real spiffy.

 

And I can decorate for Christmas!

 

I spent about a week building and painting all of this stuff. Nap times are entirely too short when you're trying to work with power tools, let me tell ya.

 

 

The inside of the house didn't take nearly so long to decorate, and I thought I was done until I went to Hobby Lobby and found the most gorgeous mint blue glass balls that match my kitchen, so now I have to find where to put them, but other than that, we're ready for the big day.

 

I'm not like a fanatic about Christmas. I mean, I love it, but I have friends that are absolute fanatics. I've been getting snapchats of Christmas carols since before Halloween. That's just fanaticism.

But, I have started to allow my Christmas playlist some airtime, and these are my favorites.

 

They're oldies, but goodies.

 

 

 Minion One was awesome enough to take a family picture for us, and I made it into a Christmas card. It's up there at the top. So we sent Christmas cards to basically everyone. It was a big stack my friends. Christmas presents are all bought, and he ones that needed mailed are. The rest are in a pile in the basement in my Maddie Cave where no sane person would ever venture, therefore they are safe from discovery.
 

This year I believe we're gonna go to my mom and dad's house on Christmas day, or possibly Christmas eve, depending on schedules, and then my extended family gets together around New Years and calls it Christmas. I've got three baby second cousins that are pretty close to Henry in age, so that'll be really fun this year, since he's mobile now, he should hopefully have fun playing with them.

Fingers crossed on that one. The last time he met a cousin his age the cousin hit him on the head, stole his toy and crawled away. At which point Henry took in after him, yanked the toy back (he's kind of a little power house) and crawled away. They stayed away from each other after that. It was awkward.

 

What are you guys doing for Christmas? Let me know! 

NaNWriMo Snippets

 

Hello everyone!

 

It's December, which means I can officially announce that my Christmas tree and a plethora of other decorations are up and ready, and all of my Christmas shopping is done.

 

Also with the coming of December, is the end of November, which means NaNoWriMo is over.

 

AND THIS YEAR I WON!!

 

SURPRISE! ;)

 

I hit fifty thousand words the day before it ended, and the finished story ended up being a smidgen over 60 thousand words. WooHoo!

 

So, today I'm gonna share some snippets with you.

 

Hope you enjoy.

 

 

                                                                                                         

 

 

 

“Only if I think you’re lying.” The man narrowed his eyes and grinned. “I think you’re lying. You talk funny. You ain’t from around here. How likely is it that you just wandered into town and decided to set your boots up?”

            Cole returned his gaze, not bothering with an answer. These men wanted trouble. Nothing he said was going to stop that.

            A muscle jumped in the man’s whiskered jaw. “I just called you a liar.”

            “I heard that.” Cole nodded. “I thought I’d let you slide the first time. Probably no one ever taught you any manners.” His mouth quirked up slightly. “Don’t do it again.”

                                                                           

 

The door to the office flung open and the owner came out, a shotgun cradled in her arms. “Now I told you no shooting!” She bellered.

            “You said not in the room.” He thumbed cartridges into his revolvers and holstered them.

            She scanned the parking lot and glared at the broken window. “You’ll have to pay for that.”

            “I’d send the wolves the bill, if I was you.” He holstered them and pointed at the three dead men. “They’re the ones who come looking for trouble and broke it.”

            The old granny yanked the hammer back and hefted the shotgun. “I said you’ll be paying for it.”

            Cole glanced from the shiny black barrels to her hard face and tipped his hat. “Yes ma’am, I sure will.”

                                                                      

“Dermott wants to see you at his cabin tomorrow morning.”

“What for?” He raised an eyebrow.

“I don’t know.” Calgary huffed. “Probably to kill you.”

“Is that all you’re gonna say to me?” He frowned. “Dermott’s gonna kill me.”

“No. The Wolf Bloods are gonna kill you now too.” She crossed her arms.

Cole scowled and shook his head. “Didn’t go so good for them the first time.”

“Won’t go so good for you the second.” She quipped.

                                                                              

“Well, I’m not sleeping in bed and leaving a lady on the floor.”

            “Don’t try and be chivalrous with me.” She frowned at him.

            “Would you rather I held you at gunpoint and told you to take the bed?” He tipped his head.

            “You’d find one pointing right back at you if you did.”

                                                                                     

“Hi there.” The girl twirled a black curl around her finger. “I’m Blake. I don’t think we’ve met properly.”

            “No.” Cole glanced down. “You were pretty mad, last time we talked.”

                                                                                      

“What’s your plan to take Dermott down?” The oldest of the bunch asked.

            Cole stared at her and Calgary frowned. “Guys, I said be discreet.”

            “Well, we kind of need to know what the plan is.” Blake shrugged. “If we’re gonna get out of here.”

            “Wait, what?”

            She nodded. “Life sucks here, newbie. If you know a place with hot water and electricity, we’re on your wagon.”

                                              

She brushed her friends hand aside and squared her shoulders. “How do I look?”

Blake scanned her up and down. “Like you could kill.”

“Good.” Calgary jerked a nod and marched out the door.

                                                            

“If I was ornery I’d push you in.” Cole said from behind her.

            She turned to look at him. “You know better.” She said warningly.

            He flashed a grin. “Yes ma’am, I sure do.” He dropped down onto the grassy shoreline and stretched his long legs out in front of him.
                                                                  



Writing Gloves

OK, so this post was supposed to be announcing that I completed NaNoWriMo, and a bunch of snippets from the story, but I got distracted. So later this week when I post snippets and announce try to act surprised, OK?
 Moving on.

I got writing gloves the other day from Storiarts. The add came across my Facebook page during black Friday and k just couldn't help myself. I've been eyeing them for like two years now, but they're so expensive normally.

But last week they weren't! So I ordered myself a pair of Peter Pan gloves.

They've got sections of the book on them, and illustrations, and I'm absolutely in love with them.

My one complaint is that I wish they were bigger. They it. But if I ever get fat (or ya know, get really muscular wrists and forearms) they're not gonna fit me.

I guess that's incentive to not get fat or work out. Go figure that one.

Aren't they adorable???