Category Archives: mermaids

Thankful for Being…Crazy?

Loni Lynne, mermaids, ,

Not my usual ‘thankful’ Thanksgiving idea but I had a brain spasm this morning–or my Muse kicked me in the seat of the pants or something…

Needless to say, I could rant poetically about all the ‘sweet, gooey things’ I’m thankful for and everyone would agree with me in a sentimental sort of way but what about all the ‘Crazy things’ we are thankful for?

Here goes:

I’m Thankful for…

  • My hubby not being able to put his clothes in the hamper. This means I have a ‘normal’ husband and we’ve lived to tell tales ‘good and bad’.
  • My daughters who enjoy goofy conversations, movie quotes at the dinner table and feeding off the crazy energy of each other. This means my daughters can entertain, hold conversations that will take anyone out of a sad or bad mood, and work together doing so.
  • Screwy schedules.  Over the years as a mother, housewife, volunteer, writer/author and all around ‘Jane of all trades’, I’ve developed the talent for multi-tasking and dealing with chaos.
  • Friends who love me no matter what. They see me with make-up, without–in stressed out moods, happy go lucky, etc. and accept every one of my ‘Sybil-like’ moments and still call me up for coffee days and writing sprints.
  • My laptop–for taking all my frustrations in words and stories and still being there for me the next day (most of the time). Hey, laptops get sick, too.
  • My editor. She learned how weird my sense of humor is with the side notes/changes in the review margins of my recent story–and we’ve become friends since then. (You are the best, Judy!)
  • For the times my hubby has had to go away on business. With him gone, absence makes the heart grow fonder. We cherish the moments we spend together when he is home.
  • For Skype–and whoever created the program. It’s as close sometimes as we can get as a family–when hubby is away.

There are so many other ‘crazy’ things to be thankful for, I’m not sure I could list them all.  What are some of the ‘crazy’ things you are thankful for?  Would love to hear them.

All the best and a blessed ‘crazy’ Thanksgiving…wherever you may be!

Who Wants to Hump with Me?

Kimberly MacCarron, mermaids, , , ,

Who immediately took that innocent question straight into the gutter? For shame, for shame!

I meant with NaNo. For those of you not familiar with this, it’s a time when we writers decide to torture ourselves for one entire month. We try, and sometimes succeed, in writing a 50,000-word book in one month.

Usually when I first start my book, I’m a little bit excited but mostly fearful that every word I write will be utter and complete crap. Then, a week into writing the novel, I start to enjoy it. My characters pick up speed. It starts to feel real. Although I may not see the light at the end of the tunnel, I can certainly see that I’m staying on the tracks. And then…

And then comes that damn hump. It’s a big one, too.

I’m looking at it right now. Although it’s not Wednesday anymore, today will be my own “Over the Hump” day. It’s when my story should very well hit 25,000 words. But I’m a little concerned that I won’t make it up that hump. My main character has been put through the wringer lately. And now I can’t figure out how to make her life better, so she’s just sitting there waiting for me to save her. To make things right.

I know it’s my responsibility. I made her poor life miserable, and only I have the power to change her fate. Poor Brynn. She’s hanging all her hopes on someone who doesn’t have the gumption to make it over the hump.

However, the nice thing about NaNo is the encouragement we get from other writers going through the same thing. For instance, when I don’t feel like writing another blasted word, the chime on my phone lets me know that Pintip has texted with a half-hour sprint challenge. Okay. I can do a half hour. That’s nothing.

And then a half hour sometimes turns into an hour. Or two.

So, if you’re like me, and you’re struggling to reach that halfway mark in your novel, reach out to a friend. Reach out and challenge them to finish with you. To be a part of something that’s bigger than either of you.

I challenge you all—whether you’re participating in NaNo this year or not—to encourage your friends to reach their goals. It doesn’t have to be about writing. It can be about dieting. Or organizing the house. Or physical exercise. Anything that makes you struggle.

As Mary Anne Radmacher once said, “As we light a path for others, we naturally light our own way.”

Go! Light your path.

I’m getting ready to hump.

Dead-to-Writes: National Novel Writing Month Goes EXTREME

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Have you ever done it? Ever tried it? Started it? Quit or Won it? The “it” I’m talking about is National Novel Writing Month aka NaNoWriMo with its challenge of writing a 50,000 word book in the month of November. Well, it ain’t easy, but somehow this year I ended up joining something called the Entangled Smackdown, via Savvy Authors, and yes, Entangled is Entangled Publishing LLC. I had no idea what I was stepping into, but whoa, it’s been extra-exciting, and fun, but still hard, exhausting and messy, and its only day EIGHT! Adding to the joy, this year I’m on a TEAM called Dead to Writes (cool name, huh?), and yes, we are writing romantic suspense. In fact we’re writing category romantic suspense using Entangled Publishing’s Dead Sexy guidelines for inspiration, motivation and who knows what else:). So I was thinking, what are my teammates willing to say about the Smackdown eight days into it? So, I asked them:

Tell us a little about your story, and what has been the biggest surprise (so far) about participating in this year’s NaNoWriMo Entangled Smackdown?

The Art of Dialogue

Dana Rodgers, mermaids, Writing

Courtesy of Netflix, and my teenage daughters, I have been sucked into the television series “Supernatural.” After a “Supernatural” marathon on Sunday afternoon—when I should have been writing—I had a moment of clarity.

It all comes down to dialogue.

I know, what the heck is she talking about? Well, as we watched episode after episode I was enjoying the action and adventure, great music and witty dialogue, and then in a particularly sentimental scene where the brothers, Dean and Sam, are having somewhat of a heart to heart, talking about their feelings and how much they care about each other my husband turns to me and says, “Jesus, are all the writers for this show a bunch of women?”

You have to understand that my husband is the original alpha male. He is six foot six and a retired Marine so he knows a little something about how men interact. But his comment made me realize that he was right. The dialogue in that particular segment was way too sappy for the characters and it took the viewers out of the scene. So much so, it had us all giggling instead of feeling the heartfelt emotion the scene writers had so obviously been going for.

Anyway, that led me to the realization that, for me, what makes a book or show work versus what doesn’t is the dialogue. Is it real? Is it genuine and fresh? Does it seem consistent for the characters personalities or does it seem like something that would come out of a fifteen-year-old girl’s mouth, not a thirty-year-old badass mercenary’s? You get my drift, is it believable? So, am I the only one, or have you had that same experience of being pulled out of the story?

Book Review: The Groom Wanted Seconds

mermaids

Sweet, funny, witty and tear-jerking.  That’s the best way to describe all Shirley Jump’s books, and soon-to-be released novella The Groom Wanted Seconds is no exception.  Jeremy is your typical engineer.  Young, smart, ambitious and very much in-the-box kind of guy.  So when his girlfriend Rebecca dumps him, after he proposes to her, Jeremy is bewildered.  After realizing he’s lost the best thing he ever had, he tries his hand at winning her back, but can he do enough?

Rebecca loves Jeremy, that she knows.  But she’s never been a priority in his life, mainly because Jeremy is so focused on his career.  Reliable?  Yes.  Dependable?  Yes.  But spontaneous, passionate, exuberant?  No, Jeremy is a bit too staid for that.  Besides, his eye is on the career prize.  Tired of being in a predictable relationship where she isn’t number one, Rebecca breaks up with Jeremy and that’s where things get fun.

Continue reading →

My Bucket List Challenge – What’s Your Top Five?

Denny S. Bryce, Free Read, mermaids

I’ve got three things on my mind and want to blog about all of them, but, well, no, I can’t because it’s late, and I’ve got to return to the writer’s cave! So I decided to narrow the playing field and focus on one topic (or maybe two).

So keep reading for a tease about what’s coming up in October here in the pond…of the Waterworld Mermaids!

My Bucket List – For Lovers of Books with Strong Romantic Elements (catchy title, huh? and yeah, I went there writers world!)…

The rules of my bucket list game are that you can’t list anything about your own writing or books…I know, jeez, but it’s my game!

Here’s my top five! Continue reading →

Moving Day

mermaids

A house is a lot like a manuscript.
Sometimes, you have to tear it apart.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rebuild it bit by painstaking bit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Make more decisions than you ever thought possible.
Experience a series of delays, mistakes, and set-backs.
Drop your head into your hands and wonder, seriously and sincerely, if you will ever finish.
Push forward nonetheless.

And then, months or maybe even a year later, you have a completed product.

People say, “It’s like a brand new house/book!”
To which you reply: “It was totally worth it.”

Character Development: Lady Macbeth, Cristina Yang and Anastasia Steele

Denny S. Bryce, mermaids, Writing,

When I think about Lady Macbeth, Cristina Yang and Anastasia Steele, I wish I had something profound, insightful, and enlightening to say about character development. But it’s a winding road that’s freaking rocky and tough as all get out to wade through. Just ask my underdeveloped character Nikki in my current WIP. Okay, then again, let’s not. It’s only the first draft:)…

This past Saturday at the WRW-DC  meeting, Cathy Maxwell, New York Times Best Selling romance author and all around fabulous gal, conducted a workshop that started with a discussion on Voice. She hit on a number of topics during her talk, but when she shared a story about an author who told her she (the author) wasn’t going to take any more classes on character development it resonated. Cathy’s a theatre and dance undergrad, like moi, and she said the author’s statement struck her as not making a lot of sense (paraphrasing here). She added that Al Pacino still takes classes on character development. Actors are constantly working on character development. The take away – as authors, we should always be working on character development, too. No matter where we are in our career. Continue reading →

Remembering Andy Whitfield

Carlene Love Flores, mermaids, , ,

“I am going to go to sleep now as my body won’t work anymore.  I am like a butterfly with broken wings.  I will always be with you and will always be watching over you. I love you.’”—Andy Whitfield

One year ago today, my heart hiccupped for the loss of Andy Whitfield.  If you are a fan of the Starz series, Spartacus, I know you are in this exact moment with me now as you were the day you heard the news that this champion had lost his 18-month long battle with cancer.

When you’re reading a book and the hero is a fierce champion with a gentle soul and does things merely with his eyes like smile, bring calmness, flash fear, stand defiant, crumble from heartache, promise death—and you wonder what that looks like in a flesh and blood man?  It’s Andy. Continue reading →

Passion, Wigs & Double Stuffed Oreos with Avery Flynn

Avery Flynn, Interview, Kerri Carpenter, mermaids,

The Waterworld Mermaids are thrilled to have one of our own back in the lagoon today. Welcome, Avery Flynn!

Avery has just released her third book, Passion Creek. She was kind enough (or crazy enough) to chat with me on Facebook about this hot and steamy thriller. Let’s get right to it…. 

 

Kerri:I think we have to start out with the REALLY big thing everyone is talking about…

We’ve noticed your hair has changed. Care to comment?

Avery: The color of my underwear?

Kerri: Oh this chat is gonna be good! Continue reading →