G is for Goals #NaNoWriMo2017

G is for Goals, and breaking them spells success. Today, I had a couple of personal bests:

• Wrote for more than six hours
• Broke 6,000 words in one day for the first time in NaNoWriMo
• Passed 25,000 words on the 7th day

Better yet, I've spent a lot of that writing time totally "in the zone." Time was absolutely transcendent, and today, I had to stop myself from jumping into yet another scene. Better to start with something fresh and pre-planned in the morning. 

Writing should always be this satisfying! May the rest of the month flow like this - for me and for you!

F is for Family and Friends #NaNoWriMo2017

I knew from the beginning that my hero would have sons and that family would be a big part of his personal paradigm, that his life and identity was firmly rooted in the land his family had tended for three generations, going on four.

I wasn't as clear about my heroine's family story - just that she was widowed too - and that her parents and grandparents were deceased. But she had friends - three women that came into her life after her husband died and left her destitute - that counted more in her life and heart than just about anyone.

Ann is in her 40s, an LL Bean kind of woman, who lives to be organized. There isn't a frivolous bone in her body. It's a good thing since she's a professional organizer. It was Ann who helped Elizabeth sort through the chaos of her husband's papers and financial mess, not to mention the barn he'd packed full of... well, everything imaginable, and nothing much useful. Apparently, an earlier stroke had left him a bit of a hoarder.

Penny is the flamboyant one - in her 50s, she's a professional wedding and celebrity photographer who does her best to stay single, but is readily entertained by any number of fine men willing to take a tumble with her. She's the one who took Elizabeth's artistic painting skills and helped apply them to a computer, along with a keenly developed graphic arts skill set. Pen was the foundation for E-Graphics and kept the heroine afloat financially more than once over those first few years. She's  a little bit snarky, but underneath the sarcasm and raunchy mouth is a heart of gold, and she'll go the distance for her friends every time.

The youngest member of the girlfriends club is Sierra, owner of Sexy as Sin, a fitness center that keeps all of them in shape, and gives them a place to gather (no excuses, ladies) several times a week to catch up with each other.

They might look like an unlikely team to outsiders, but no one could have a better support system, and Elizabeth figured her logical family was just as solid, if not more so, than any biological family. A whole lot easier to get along with too.

Today's writing day was awesome, with a first real date at the Broker restaurant in Denver for my two lust birds. Word count was 5,109 for a running total of 19, 460.

I need to set a fire under these two. Almost 20,000 words and they aren't close to trying out the eff-word. Talk about NOT misbehaving. Jeez, and it's not like they're getting any younger.

E is for Ellena #NaNoWriMo2017

Ellena Gordon is one half of my main character team. She goes by her full name in business as owner of E-Graphics, as El to her friends, and eventually as Elly to her lover.

She is also the epitome of elegance and aging gracefully, and to that end, I had to find a timeless image to work with. Model, Yazemeenah Rossi, was close to perfect for me, at least as far as body and style.

Youthful

Strong

Fit

Sexy

It's no wonder the hero, Jackson King, is smitten and ready to start a whole new chapter in his life.

Only 1,334 words today, but I'm set up and ready to go with a first love scene tomorrow. The next two chapters after that are lined up too. I should easily hit 20,000 words in the next few days.

Oh, and here's a pantser surprise. This guitar worked its way into my story. A mere $10 grand if the heroine wants it badly enough. What do you think? Might have to name her Yazemeenah.

D is for Diary and More #NaNoWriMo2017

Before National Novel Writing Month began, I started a short diary for my heroine outlining the five years since her husband's death up to the beginning of the novel. I wanted to really get to know her, and the internal experiences that would color the dynamics between her and the new love interest in The Lonely Rancher.

The conflict between them is more than just liberal vs. conservative. It's largely driven by the heroine's visceral need to never depend on anyone, especially a man, ever again. Not since her husband died, leaving her with a financial mess to clean up and absolutely no security. She climbed out of that hole, and dealt with a few other issues related to her marriage over the next five years, and no way was she ever again leaving her well-being to chance or the whims of another human.

The hero's need, being a conservative rancher, is (of course) to be needed. It's part of his mindset. He has a lot to learn dealing with an independent woman. I'm not making it easy for him. The guy is getting his ego stomped on a time or two before I type The End.

How they resolve these issues is what drives a lot of the story... and drives them a little crazy.

Another good writing day for me with 3,021 words. My goal is to break 20,000 words on Tuesday.

C is for Coal... as in Rolling Coal #NaNoWriMo2017

Today I got to write about my poor heroine nearly getting run down by a pick-up truck "rolling coal." Turns out that's a new game conservative youngsters like to play. They call it Prius Repellant. My main character happens to drive a Prius, being a long-time ecology-minded liberal. Here's pretty much what barrelled her way and had her swerving into a ditch.

Unfortunately, the driver was Tyler King, son of the hero, and her very new love interest. They haven't had their first date, and already there are family problems!

You can read more about coal-rolling here.

Better yet, get as pissed off as my main character(s) by watching this video. This just makes my blood boil!




It was a good writing day for me. 3,827 words for a running total of 10,004. How did you do? Did you write any irritating or upsetting scenes? Are they hard to write, or do they get your creativity going? Leave me a comment!

B is for Bad Boys #NaNoWriMo2017

It's kind of a cool thing when images for characters just fall into your lap. My hero has four sons. The oldest is actually a good guy, kind of a younger version of his dad. Tall, rangy, dark-haired, clean-shaven.

Photo credit: Sheplers

The middle boys - twins - look like bad boys. Logan is the good twin. Tyler is the bad twin. Very bad.

Good Twin - Logan

Bad Twin - Tyler

Little brother, Ben King, is a good guy like his oldest brother. He doesn't much look like the other boys. There has to be a story there! Not sure if I'll go down that path though. 

Special thanks for The Texas Tenors for inspiring the looks of three of the siblings! 

3,321 words today for a running total of 6,187. How's it going for you?

A is for Aging #NaNoWriMo2017

I'm taking a bit of a risk for National Novel Writing Month - writing a romance with two characters who are around sixty. Ewww. Who wants to read about that? Well. Maybe all the older people who still buy books?

Let me offer some clues about us:

• First of all, some people age fairly well.
• Second, we don't get tired of sex as we grow older.
• Next, we could maybe teach young people a trick or two. based on experience.
• At least you'll learn what's in store for YOU if you live right.

I cranked out almost 3,000 words today, with a workable prologue and a first chapter. I've also outlined my next two chapters, so am ready to write first thing tomorrow morning. Yay, me!

Oh, and I got some pictures from Pinterest of a few characters for inspiration. First the old people. 

Meet Ellena Rose Gordon, feminist and artist:

Photo credit: Valerie Ramsey modelwirenetwork.com

Jackson King, rancher and third-generation conservative:

Do you detect some conflicts with these lovebirds? We'll see where they take us in the next chapters of The Lonely Rancher.

Are we buddies over at the NaNoWriMo site? You can connect with me here. 

D is for Drinking

4/4/16 Scotch update - I've pretty much switched to Lagavulin. Not cheap at over $100 a bottle, but well worth the indulgence. In my opinion, drink good spirits, or don't drink at all.

4/4/15 My main characters, J. Lindsay Calhoun and Megan MacGregor are obviously of Scottish descent, so it makes sense at least one of them would be a Scotch whisky drinker. Right? Of course, the author would have to do a bit of research before choosing just the right Scotch for them, right? Right?

One would think that could be a pleasant job, save for a tiny little issue. I got horribly sick on Chivas Regal during a college night out. It took me almost 40 years to give this drink another try, and then only at the behest of my hero who simply insisted.

It turns out I have rather a fond taste for smoky liquors and the peaty single malt Scotches from Islay suited me just fine. I soon had a bottle of Laphroaig in my own cabinet. (Although yesterday I tried Ardveg and decided I might like it better.) I also decided the law firm of Calhoun and Sons would serve their clients a Highland single malt Scotch called The Dalmore. I chose it because the stag on the label is very similar to the Calhoun clan crest. I also don't like it, and neither do I like Lindsay's father, Daniel Calhoun, the head of the law firm who favors this Scotch. It gave me one more reason to villainize him.

As to the heroine, she really doesn't much care for Scotch at all, except perhaps Drambuie, an herbal variation made with heather honey, which she uses strictly for medicinal reasons. It's quite lovely in herbal tea. You should give that a try.

Do you go to such research lengths when deciding details for your own characters? I find it's half the fun of writing. What's more to say? Except perhaps Sláinte.

C is for Colorado Country and Cattle

4/3/16 We took a few more trips around the state, and I think I've found an imaginary location north of Denver that might work. We have yet to take a hike through Pawnee Buttes, and after that, I'll decide which of the landscapes most inspire the written descriptions in the novel. I'll probably combine characteristics and maybe even do some paintings to get the visuals clear in my head. Because what's the fun of creativity if you can't turn every project into a grand drama? 

4/3/15 When my protagonists were newly married, they spent their honeymoon traveling across America looking for the perfect place to build Viridian Farms, an intentional community and organic farm that would supply nearby cities with fresh locally-grown produce. Although both Lindsay and Megan had successful careers in major cities, they yearned for a different, more natural and sustainable lifestyle, and they had like-minded friends who were tired of their hectic modern lifestyles as well.

Seeking that perfect, special place to land eventually brought them full-circle back home to Colorado. I knew I would have to explore the state a bit more before settling on a location for them to call home, so I started to explore some options for the setting of this romantic mystery novel. It had to be a place that made sense for my characters who were highly-educated and fairly sophisticated people, with well-established and prosperous lifestyles. They could afford to spend a bit of money on their dreams.

It also had to be  place that provided logical conflicts with believable antagonists, and a landscape that provided not only visual beauty, but a place to hide dead bodies! Mountains nearby would be good, or at least rolling countryside with groves of trees.

So we started to explore areas of Colorado we thought might work - much of it dedicated to cattle production. I didn't realize the extent of that "production" until we headed north toward Greeley where large corporations raise and process hundreds of thousands of beef cattle yearly. (You can read more here.) On my stretch of the eastern plains, herds of cattle are spread out over thousands of acres and lead relatively peaceful and bucolic lives. Not so in this north central sector of Colorado where miles of Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) like these are common.

The smell was unbearably eye-watering and throat-clenching, and this on a cold winter day! I can only imagine how toxic the environment in the heat of summer. One thing I did know about my characters without reservation - none of them would willingly move to a place like this!

So my hunt for the perfect location continues, because I believe "place" has as much presence in a novel as the characters inhabiting that setting. If I don't find something just right, I'll probably create an imaginary county and town to suit my needs. A few more tours, and I'll have enough fodder to create a great mash-up. Then I'll be ready to plant my characters in a place where they can really blossom.

And considering the ecological and social themes in my stories, I'll probably make a few prickly comments about cattle feeding operations like these, which I find to be more than a little disgusting. What about you? Please do leave me a comment.

B is for Brownies

4/2/2016 I lost this recipe right after copying it a few years ago, and am thrilled to find it again!


4/3/2013 Because who doesn't love them? This easy peasy recipe crept into my kitchen via Pinterest:

EASY BROWNIES from Pampered Cooking with Rachael. Never buy boxed brownie mix again. Follow the recipe below and make brownies for approximately $.30 a mix. So simple, so easy. Not just frugal but cuts out the unknown ingredients.

1 Cup Sugar
1/2 Cup All-Purpose Flour
1/3 Cup Cocoa
1/4 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Baking Powder

At Baking Time Add:

2 Eggs
1/2 cup Vegetable Oil ( I used coconut oil)
1 tsp. Vanilla

Bake @ 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes in an 8x8 or 9x9 pan. Store premade mix in plastic bags or mason jars.

What about you? Have you found any really great recipes on Pinterest lately? Do you include food and recipes in your writing? I find I always like people more if they enjoy food - cooking and eating it - as much as I do. Not just characters in books, but real people too.