Another Writing Challenge

Several months ago, I did a writing challenge. I've been collecting a number of prompts and I'm going to do another beginning in September 1. So, keep an eye out for that. I'm kind of creating my own with the prompts I've gathered. This is going to be a lot of fun. I've been sadly slacking in my blog so this will give me a boost in inspiration.

Keep an eye out and enjoy reading!

Carey

Problem Solved!

Some of my readers may remember back in December when I lost my NaNoWriMo novel. Well, recently, the little details have been coming to mind so I decided to rework the plot a bit and work it into my series. I was stuck on my idea for book 6 so I plan on using that. I'm sitting in the park making a rough outline for future reference so I don't forget anything.

Yay! So, losing my original story worked out for the better after all ^^.

Story Snippet- second draft

Hi, everyone. I haven't posted in ages, I know. Been busy. Doctor appointments and getting ready to go back to day job as soon as possible. In between, I've been writing like mad. Finally almost done with draft number 2 of my book and slowly sending it out to beta readers and getting ready for draft number three!

For a little treat, I thought I'd give you a little snippet of a scene between my main character, Tara, and a particular young man named Henry. Could he be a love interest? This scene takes place after people in town have come down with a mystery illness. Henry goes to see Tara after 2 weeks of not talking.

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“How are you feeling?” he asked.

“Better,” said Tara, trying to sound indifferent. “You?”

“Better.” Awkward pause. “Look, I’m sorry. I wanted to come see you the next day but my mom and aunt were driving me crazy. They still think I’m 8 and not 18.”

“That’s family for you,” said Tara with a smirk. “Gran made me stay home all that time. I had to fight to go back to work.”

“And, you must think I’m a complete creep after the way we said good bye last time.” He smiled when she turned red. Tara’s heart skipped a beat as he moved closer and took her hand. Gray eyes met green as he whispered, “Did you think I forgot our first kiss?”

Now, her heart really raced. It felt like it was pounding in her throat, making it impossible to speak. He leaned in closer. She closed her eyes and she felt his hand wrap around her waist. His fingers traveled slowly around her body, sending goose bumps up and down her spine. He pulled her closer and used his other arm to pull her arm around him. He ran a finger down her cheek, causing her to shudder. When she opened her eyes, their faces were barely inches apart. Her eyes were locked on his and she felt like she would drown in them.

“Henry…” Nothing else came out of her mouth because it was suddenly occupied in a kiss. She tightened her arm around him just so she could stand on legs that were quickly turning to rubber.

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Here you go! Please let me know in the comments what you think. Is there room for improvement? Fine the way it is? Scrap the whole thing and make them have a knock-down, drag-out fist fight? (Not a real option) Enjoy!

Random Rant- Plastic Surgery for Kids?

Since I'm off Day Job for a while, I've been watching a lot of television. And, I saw an ad for a news story that made me very upset. It was a story talking about if your child is bullied in school, should you allow them to get plastic surgery. And, instantly, I thought "What the hell?! How is that supposed to help the kid?"

Now, I've talked about this before. I was bullied when I was a kid. I know how much it hurts. When you're an emotional child or teenager, words can hurt and you can feel like you just want to crawl into a hole and bury yourself in it. But, how is plastic surgery supposed to help improve your self esteem and image? Wouldn't that prove the bullies right? It would prove that you really aren't good enough the way you are so you have to resort to drastic measures to change yourself? I just don't see how that is going to be helpful. And there are so many risks with plastic surgery. It could go horribly wrong. There could be infection. And it could also lead to more bullying. Because if there's one thing I know about bullies is once they know they can get under your skin, they will figure out every angle to do it more to give themselves that sick sense of satisfaction they get when making someone else miserable.

So many things could go wrong with plastic surgery, especially with someone so young because they are still growing and the risks for complications increase. Now, I'm not a doctor but I can imagine this is the case.

I was unable to catch the story and, for some reason, I couldn't find it online. But, I just wonder what could make a parent or guardian think that plastic surgery is the only solution to getting the bullying to stop. What happened to talking to teachers and school administrators? Helping the child learn that what the bullies say and do shouldn't mean anything? Helping the child learn that they are fine the way they are?

Thinking about this is getting me so upset, I can't keep my thoughts together.

So, tell me if you agree or disagree. I'd love to have a discussion in the comments section.

Have a great night!

Unexpected Experience

Hi all,
I know I've been quiet lately on social media. I had a pretty frightening experience this weekend and have only been home since Monday.

Turns out I had a very large blood clot in my right leg. I ignored it for over a week and it just kept getting worse so my mother woke me up Friday and said, "Take a shower. You're either making an appointment with your doctor or I'm taking you directly to the ER." So, I made an appointment with a doctor and was sent for blood work and an ultrasound. The doctor called right away while I was still in radiology and said he was sending me to the ER. Long story short, I was admitted, I had 2 procedures to remove the clot, I was on bed rest for most of the weekend. I came home Monday. I'm on blood thinners for a year and need to be much more active in the future.

This doesn't mean I am stopping my writing. But, I'm a little more behind on my current draft. And I won't be doing any YouTube videos for a while because I'm all bruised and look like I had the snot beaten out of me. That was partly the blood thinners and where they poked and prodded me. And I can't get upstairs where all my filming equipment is. But I will continue to post on the blog until I can record again. And there is always Facebook and Twitter.

So, I just wanted to give my loyal followers an update on what's going on and I'll be resuming work on my manuscript tonight.

Thanks so much!
Carey

Camp NaNoWriMo Day 2

Well, no writing done today. But, that's okay since I had such a huge start yesterday. Tomorrow, I am going to hit the coffee shop after I do my chores. (Laundry and cleaning and such) I also have to hit the library to print out the already typed chapters so I can prepare for when I get feedback from my beta readers.

I came home and was just so exhausted. Between the heat the past few days and being extremely busy at work, all I want to do today is watch America's Got Talent, put some ice on my foot, and relax.

I'm trying to come up with some new ideas for my YouTube channel. If anyone has any suggestions, please let me know in the comments. One of my ideas will only work if I can get my sister and a friend involved but more on that when I know for sure.

Have a great night! Thanks for reading.

Carey

Camp NaNoWriMo Day 1

Well, didn't get to a coffee shop but I did manage to type about 6300 words. Almost 20% of my goal already. Pretty good, I think. I also started sending chapters to my friends who agreed to be beta readers for me. I still have the final two chapters to edit. I should have those done by Thursday. Between taking the church chapters to work with me and having Thursday off, it shouldn't be a problem.

I still can't believe I've made it this far in my writing. Honestly, I have never completed a story before. And here I am working on the first of a series. But, I am off to a great start.

I'm going to take a break and get some food before heading to work.

I'll have another update tomorrow.

Thank you for reading. Have a great day.

Carey

Camp NaNoWriMo- Day before

Wow. 2014 is half over!! I had been debating doing July NaNoWriMo because I didn't want to start something new until my current project is closer to done. But, then, someone on Facebook reminded me I can write anything during Camp so I will be typing my second draft of my novel.

Still have to sign up but I'll do that after dinner. I'm setting my goal for 35K just because I don't know the exact count with all my additions and I don't want to over estimate. My first draft was just under 33K. So, another 2000 seems like a safe number.

I will be blogging and vlogging as often as possible. The first part of July is hectic for me at work because of Independence Day this weekend. But, since I'm rewriting something, it should be alright.

Tomorrow I don't begin work until 4:00 PM so I will be getting up early and seeking air conditioning so I can write and get a jump on my words. Wednesday, not sure how much I can do. Thursday should be another big word count day. Weekend, not so much with the holiday. Then, Monday, depending on my schedule for the week, it's back to my favorite coffee shop whenever I can.

Time for dinner. Then, off to officially sign up for Camp.

Thanks for reading and keep an eye out for more soon.

Have a great night,
Carey

Reflections on Family

Me with some of my older cousins.
Christmas long ago.

So, as I said in a previous post, my novel is delayed due to a situation and for privacy sake, I will not go into any details. But, I have been doing a lot of thinking, especially today, and in order for my brain to settle down so I can either work on my novel or sleep I wanted to express these thoughts however possible. I had thought of doing a video but I'm a little emotional right now and really don't want myself crying for the world to see. I don't mind getting personal... just not THAT personal.

Family has always been very important to me. I've been brought up in a very close knit, immediate family. My parents, sister and I moved in with my paternal grandmother when I was 8 years old after my grandfather and uncle died within a few months of each other. Obviously, Gram took it extremely hard, having to bury her husband and son so close together. So, we did what we could to help her out.


Now, I know not all families are like on Full House or the Brady Bunch where everything is perfect and no one ever argues and all issues are resolved right away with a kiss and "I love you" and life goes on. Yeah... no. I can say from just my sister and I alone how we fought like a couple of street cats on a near daily basis until my sister was about 17 and graduating high school. And we still have our moments when we fight and drive each other crazy with stupid sh*t. But, we work it out. Because we look at other members of our family, people who argued and got mad over really stupid sh*t or some misunderstanding or some fabricated wrong that could have been resolved right away when the real reason was minor but festered and was embellished over the years into this seething loathing, and we swore we didn't want to be like that. EVER. So, we have our argument, cool down for a day or two if need be, and then work on whatever we can to resolve the issue and be friends again.

And we've tried to share that thinking with other members of our family. Some cousins we are really close to. It's not always easy to keep in touch. Social media does help. Especially when you have family on the other end of the country and you maybe get to see them once a year. But, we try our hardest not to let stupid, minor issues get between us.

Family Baseball Game
Me, sis, Dad and cousins and uncle
photobombing in the background

Sure, we tease each other. It's what families do. We'll spend whole holiday dinners ragging on each other. And we'll embellish the story to make the person turn red. Like, the one time, when my one cousin bumped into my aunt. He literally did not see her because she's really small. He turned, she was there, and he bumped her in the head. So, over the years, we've added on to make it seem like he plowed into her like he was a football linebacker or something. He laughs and rolls with it and my aunt will shake her fist and say "I'm still plotting my revenge" and it's all good fun. When another cousin had her wisdoms out before Christmas couple years ago and was still swollen, someone bought her a Chippette doll as a joke. She laughed, even though it hurt her mouth. She took it pretty well. Or, just before Easter, my one aunt said something about how I had the best aunt ever (meaning her) and I said my other aunt was the best. So, all through Easter dinner, they would bring up embarrassing stories about me because I brought Boy along and they wanted to see me turn red. It kind of backfired because he was engrossed in the baseball game. Completely didn't hear what was being said. And that's how we keep things light and funny.

But, there's a line between "funny haha teasing" and being downright mean. And maybe some people don't mean to be mean. They'll say something in a way they think is trying to help. And it gets blown out of proportion. I knew a girl back in high school. She was a tall, curvy girl, like me. Her great-aunt would come from out of town couple times a year to visit. She worked at a department store and would always bring stuff that she bought on sale plus her employee discount. (She was a hoarder trying to pass off her junk) But, she always brought stuff that was size Small, Extra Small, maaaybe a medium or two. My friend couldn't wear it. She'd always end up giving it to other relatives who were smaller. Last time this aunt visited, she was saying her good byes, stood my friend in front of her, put her hands on the girl's hips and said "I want you 100 pounds lighter next time I see you." Now, her grandmother was also visiting at the time, heard this, and began a screaming match in the driveway with her sister, my friend's great aunt. The two sisters never spoke again. When the grandmother died, and the aunt was called and informed, she basically said "Oh, that sucks" and hung up. Didn't even attend her own sister's funeral. All because of a situation that could have been handled SO much differently. Now, both parties were at fault in this, my friend and I agree. The aunt shouldn't have said what she said, or she could have at least been a little nicer about it. And the grandmother didn't have to start a screaming match. They BOTH should have been on the phone after a day or two of cooling down, and resolving the problem. So, when I hear stories like that, I think how I wouldn't know what to do if I couldn't talk to my sister or any of my cousins.

Sis and I acting goofy for the camera
Christmas 2013

One thing I think helps keep us all together is we try to do big family events. We were trying to get Jersey Boy tickets for a girls night. Last year we did a baseball game together. My west coast family was in town, we got 25 tickets for whoever could come, and met up for the game. It was also dollar dog night. Best time to go with 20+ people because everyone can get fed for cheap... ish. Everything else is still cray expensive at the ballpark. I think my sis, Mom, and I split the soda. We got the massive souvenir cup with refills and passed it between us. We want to plan a bowling night sometime this summer. That'll be great, seeing as I'm hilariously bad at bowling. Maybe the Boy can give me some pointers. He's on a league and is really good. But, these big events help the core group of us get together, hang out, catch up on life in between birthdays and holidays and big family reunions.

Communication is also huge for us. I've mentioned social media- my cousin on the other end of the country and his wife and kids are all on Facebook and always posting pictures. Some of my younger cousins have Instagram. We also text each other like crazy and my mom and her sisters talk on conference call nearly every night. And, I can so see my sister and I doing the same thing in the future. Maybe not conference calls but Skype or something like that.

"Hey, Mom, Dad. Pose for a nice
 picture." *hide* -.-

My family loves food. Every family gathering, be it holidays, birthdays, family reunions, there is always a crap-ton of food. Like, rich, fattening, hearty, need to run ten miles to burn off a bite, good food. My mom's family is Polish and my dad's is a mixture of various parts of Europe and possibly some Irish. Haven't figured it all out yet. But all regions of really good, carb-filled food. Especially bakery. My grandmother made the BEST chocolate chip cookies in the world! My sister can recreate Gram's cheesecake recipe to perfection. We'll get together for a whole day and make from-scratch pierogies! Food is comfort. Food brings people together. Food is memories of Grandma's house with a freezer full of stuffed cabbage for a big party someone was having. If you don't have someone who can cook, go learn. You will be the most popular person at every gathering.

The strength of my family is incredible. We've banded together for good times like weddings and graduations, surprise birthday parties. And held each other up while we watched loved ones weaken and pass on to God either from cancer or some other illnesses. We've cried and blamed God and wondered why but, in the end, we know we still have those memories and we cherish them as much as we can and so when we have a wedding or a birthday we are able to celebrate those moments all the more because we know how precious those occasions can be and we don't know how many we're given.

Okay, emotional exhaustion is taking over right now. I need to nab a few hours sleep so I can function at work tomorrow without breaking down. Just wanted to talk a bit about my family and how awesome they are. What about your families? Share some stories in the comment box below.

Also, and I said this on Twitter earlier today but I'm saying it again. Treasure your family. They may drive you crazy but they're all you've got that really matters. Take an extra couple minutes to call that uncle in California. Or Grandma in Florida. Work things out. Don't hold grudges. Say "I love you" whenever you can. Because you never know what can happen and that moment's hesitation might make things too late.

Take care, guys. Thanks for reading.
~Carey

Deadline extension

One thing I've learned since seriously focusing on my writing is that, sometimes, you have to plow through no matter what roadblocks land in front of you. And the nice thing about self-publishing is you can be more flexible to work around those roadblocks.

My original deadline to have my novel first draft completed was May 31. Obviously, didn't work so I extended it to June 14, which is this Saturday. Unfortunately, there are some family emergencies that have popped up and my family always takes priority over everything. So, for now, I have extended the deadline, yet again, to June 30. I'm writing whenever I can along with my return to YouTube so please be patient with me. For privacy sake, I can't go into details but I wouldn't wish this situation on anyone. I will get this story done. It's just taking a little longer than planned.

Thank you all again for your continued support and patience.

Also, I have my spoiler review of Scarlet up in video form on my YouTube page. Click here.

Have a good day!
~Carey