PATH TO PUBLICATION

/

Yesterday I received both my galleys for BLOOD DIVINE from Wilde City Press and my editorial letter/notes for SOCIAL INTERCOURSE from Simon & Schuster. Exciting and a little intimidating!

RECENTLY READ

/

I recently read two books that I think every aspiring author should wolf down immediately. But you don't have to be a writer to enjoy these gems of literary porn.

BIRD BY BIRD by Anne Lamott I loved because she gives voice to many of the struggles we face as writers and she does so hysterically. Anne doesn't sugar coat anything and shares her own experiences for good measure. If you can cry into your literary beer with me while at the same time making me laugh out loud, I'm sold! That's what Anne Lamott does with this book.

When I was in the eighth or ninth grade, I remember wandering through the library at Southside Junior High in Florence, SC, looking for something to read. The librarian, Mrs. Davidson I believe, spotted me and asked what kind of movies I liked to watch. After I spouted off a list, she told me to wait and went into her office in the back and soon returned with a book that I don't think even belonged to the school. It was THE SHINING. I devoured it and was hooked—on reading, on writing, and on Stephen King. Stephen's King's, ON WRITING, was just fascinating. I loved hearing about his process, from the way he was rejected by agents a lot more than I have been to how some of his masterpieces came to be. Like Lamott, King is very funny as well.

I loved both of these books equally and will likely visit them again in the future when I get discouraged or just need some perspective.

WRITE NOW

/

For the last three months, I have been querying my new YA-LGBT Contemporary Romance to agents and hoping that process will be over soon!  Querying is not for the faint of heart, that's for sure. I am excited to share this new story entitled, SOMEWHERE IN BETWEEN. More to come soon!

WRITE NOW

/

I recently completed my first young adult, m/m contemporary romance. I'm deep in that glorious process of querying agents which is not for the faint of heart. Actually, I have received very positive response to this manuscript from agents, but still trying to find the right match. It might be a tad too raunchy for some, but hey, its about high school boys!

The working title is SOMEWHERE IN BETWEEN and it's set in Florence, SC where I lived from third grade through high school. The story is written in first person, present tense with a dual POV. The two main characters, Beckett Gaines and Jaxon Parker, couldn't be more different. Jaxon is the guarded star quarterback, president of the student body, and one of the most popular—and hottest—guys at school. Beckett, on the other hand is an out and proud choir nerd with an affinity for 80s television, especially The Golden Girls.

I'll share more about SOMEWHERE IN BETWEEN and its journey to publication soon!

South Carolina flooding: Gov. Nikki Haley urges Georgetown, coastal areas to evacuate - CBS News

/

Crossing my fingers that Georgetown will get some relief. Not only is it the setting of my novel BLOOD DIVINE, but I grew up there and all my family is there. 

Recommended Reading - The Hour Before Dark

/
the-hour-before-dark-ebook-261x416.jpg

On a recent 10 hour drive to the beach, I started the audiobook of THE HOUR BEFORE DARK by Douglas Clegg, and finished with the e-book once I arrived. This was a really fun ghost story that I enjoyed a lot. There is enough of a mystery to keep you thinking (and guessing) and the thrills and chills are on point. Five stars!

Debut novel to be published in 2016

/

I am beyond thrilled that my first completed manuscript, (working title - BLOOD DIVINE), will be published by Wilde City Press in 2016.  I don't have a firm release date yet, but will pass that info along as soon as I know. Stay tuned for information in the coming months as the journey continues!

Speed it up, Freedom

/

Guest blogger today is 9 year-old Violet Thomas-Bush of Charlotte, NC.  Violet wrote this for a school assignment on MLK.  Out of the mouths of babes.... Speed it up Freedom

by Violet Thomas-Bush

Freedom.

I cannot hear you. Ring louder.

Freedom speed it up.

People have been waiting and waiting.

Parents are not accepting their sons and daughters for who they are.

Lesbian and Gay.

Why would they not accept them?

God made these children to be gay and lesbian.

Knowing this would be a good life. A Fabulous, Amazing life.

Parents kicking these children out of their homes because of their sexuality.

Kicking them out because of who they are

It may not be the parents belief. Who cares!

Its about love.

Its about who we are.

Boys and Girls looking for their future love.

Find a better way to handle how you feel when someone of the same gender flirts with you.

This person is having a perfectly good life. Do not hurt them.

Or kill them.

Just say thank you. It’s just nice. Just deal with it.

At some point in our lives, we may like someone who does not like us back.

People just want to get home after a good day at work.

Getting fired for one’s sexuality? It doesn’t have anything to do with your job.

It is about the job, they are not looking for a date. Are you?

The company may have just fired their very best teacher, minister, worker.

For no good reason. Or importance.

Freedom… I can hear your bells ringing a little bit.

When states allow people to marry. Men now can marry men. Women can marry women.

Freedom we can hear you a little bit.

When I see a friend my age just be who they are. And we don’t care.

We are freedom speaking up. We are going to move things faster.

There is hope for these people I love.

Speed it up.

Love is needed here.

SUMMER TV - BEST BETS

/

Summer is no longer the vast wasteland of little to no quality TV programming. There are shows that have recently launched or about to launch that I couldn't be more excited about.  Here are a few to consider - 

ALREADY WATCHING:

FARGO - Just brilliant.  The writing, the acting...everything.  A perfect show.

PENNY DREADFUL - Though the previews looked promising, I was unsure about this one at first.  It can be a little on the gory side (if you have a problem with that - I don't), but I have thoroughly enjoyed it so far. And that scene between Josh Hartnett's Ethan Chandler and Reeve Carney's Dorian Gray?  Hot!

ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK - Have only caught the first episode of the new season, but I can tell it will be as riveting and fun as the first season. It's fun to watch Piper continue her descent down the dark, dark hole of her own making.

FROM DUSK TILL DAWN: THE SERIES - Based on Robert Rodriquez 1996 movie, starring George Clooney and Quentin Tarrantino as the infamous, bank-robbing, vampire-killing Gecko brothers, this is a helluva fun ride.  Warning: Gore factor is off the charts.  But Don Johnson is awesome! Who knew?

GANG RELATED - A cross between two shows I loved - THE SHIELD and SOUTHLAND, but with an interesting twist.

ORPHAN BLACK - Tatiana Maslany rules and if you are not watching this show, you are an idiot.  Nuff said.

Honorable mention: SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE - I cry at least once every episode. So sue me.  

COMING UP:

THE STRAIN - Can't wait! The book by Chuck Hogan and Guillermo del Toro was terrific and read like a fast paced movie. Yes...more vampires. But so good and the previews look just as creepy as the book.

THE LEFTOVERS - I have heard good things about this show from reviewers and previews look enticing. Rapture anyone?

TRUE BLOOD - FINAL SEASON - Yes it has gone off the rails the last couple of season's, but you know they will end it with a bang. And Pam should get her own spin off.  Am I right?

OUTLANDER - Sucker for a time travel romance? This is for you!  And the book series on which the show is based has a rabid legion of fans, so where there's smoke...

THE INTRUDERS - Maybe its the fact that BBC America's teasers are so unsettling and so - unrevealing, that I am so curious about this one.  Might be be a bomb, might be genius. Will report back!

EXTANT - I have been a Sci-Fi fan since birth, and this one has me intrigued. Pros?  Halle Berry, space travel and alien babies. Con? It's on CBS.

Honorable mention: ALMOST ROYAL. If the show is half as hilarious as the previews, this one is going to be a lot of fun.  Remember DAISY DOES AMERICA?

Happy watching!

 

They say getting old sucks...

/

They say getting old sucks...but does it?  We want to believe that it doesn't. We say we love getting older. We embrace it! We thumb our noses at society's predilection for dismissing aging as something to be feared. But when I visited my 88 year-old grandfather in a small nursing home in rural South Carolina today, I have to admit, I shared the fear. Here is a man, James Dimery, who spent his entire life working himself nearly to death for the International Paper Company Box Plant in Georgetown, SC for more than 40 years, to provide a modest but very decent and happy life for his family. He was a tall, handsome man that everyone in Georgetown knew and loved. He adored his children, his grandchildren and great grandchildren.

I didn't see if first hand, but I understand he was a pretty seasoned drinker and a hellcat before my mother died in 1971. I understand that shook him to his core and "settled" him.

I talk about him in the past tense, not because he has passed, but because for the last few years, this solid, steady-handed presence from my youth through adulthood has been relegated to a hospital bed in the clinical atmosphere of a depressing nursing home.  The place is eerily similar to the nursing home Granddaddy used to take me and my older brother to, to visit his father in final years of his life.

I remember Granddaddy saying to us... "Whatever you do, please don't leave me in a place like this when I get old."  I remember the statement struck me as odd, because he himself had put his father in that place. But, we came to understand and accept that it was the best solution Granddaddy had at the time.

Now my granddaddy is ending his life in the exact same kind of place he feared all those years ago.

I don't blame anyone. Hard choices were made. End of life care is immensely expensive. I am thankful that I will not have to make those hard choices for my parents since they are both deceased. I get it. But as I visited him today with my brother, my Aunt and my Uncle, I couldn't help but wonder what was going through his mind.

He has a hard time remembering faces, but today was a relatively good day.  Even though I had not seen him in several months, after only a few seconds of a scrunched up brow he seemed to recognize me. He even pointed to my picture on his TV to confirm it – proud of the small but significant accomplishment.

We sat around his bed getting caught up. We were loud and obnoxious and though we talked for almost two hours, we only spoke directly to Granddaddy maybe 10 minutes total. Granted, he doesn't have a lot to say these days. So as we sat and talked and laughed, as if he wasn't even in the room – as if his roommate, the sweet Mr. Keith, wasn't in the bed two feet away trying to watch The Price Is Right – I wondered. Was Granddaddy glad we were there? Was he annoyed by the racket we caused? Did he feel left out of the conversation? Even ignored?

Near the end of our two hour visit, my Aunt - his daughter-in-law - asked him, "Granddaddy, what are you thinking about?"

He mumbled something inaudible. She and I leaned in.

"What's that Granddaddy?" she asked again.

"Just listening," he said in a meager voice.

"Oh. Just listening?" she repeated to be certain.

"Yes," he said. "When you're in a place like this, its just nice to have visitors."

Did my heart break?  Yes. Did I feel guilty for not seeing him more often? Of course.

Did I feel guilty for the noise and chaos we caused while sitting a foot away from his bed while he faded in and out? Not as much.

Image

Location, location, location.

/

It was a great idea to spend a week, alone, writing in the locale where my story is set. 

Everything around me not only sends me right back to my childhood here, but inspires new characters and stories which live here in a world of their own - just out of reach. Its not the same world I new as a child, but the one of my overactive imagination. Its a world of misunderstood spirits, conflicted vampires and young witches who can't control the darkness inside them.

Staying at the beach doesn't hurt! Every morning when I walk on the sand that was the playground of my youth during yet another perfect sunrise, I am transported to my new world by the sound of crashing waves, the breeze that whistles over my ears and makes the seagrass wave at me as I pass by. So inspiring.

If only one of those misunderstood spirits could write my 5k words today so I could lay by the pool, life would be perfect.

Image