Do You Want Your Name In Lights?

Write your first draft with your heart.  Re-write with your head.  ~From the movie Finding Forrester

 

Of course you do!!

Whether we tell ourselves that we want to be published or not is irrelevant. Deep down inside we all want the same thing. Thankfully, there are choices and different paths we can now take to achieve that end goal. I have something for you that will help- a writing contest.

Before you dismiss this because you’re self publishing, or you’re already published in another genre, you better check this out. The Lone Star Writing Contest gives you tangibles that you won’t necessarily find anywhere else. No matter how you decide to publish, an author always needs outside help. I’ve yet to meet a writer that could spot all of their mistakes. For a very small fee, your pages will be read by two published and one non-published judge. If you final, your story will be sent to an agent, an editor, and an e-publisher editor. (Wow- three for the price of one!)

How is this any different? Well, besides providing training for the judges, revamping the score sheet to reflect the writing not “romance” rules, this contest also offers a few bonuses! If you win your category, you will receive a banner for your website, FB etc. This is worth its weight in gold! Free advertising screaming how good you are! If you final, you will receive a seal that you can use in the same way. How cool is that?

Everyone who enters also has a chance to win a 50 page critique by a published author whether they final or not. This is an open playing field where all have the same chance to win. There will be a drawing for each category and the winner’s name will be drawn irregardless of how they placed!

I know I’ll enter this year. Don’t miss the Early Bird Special which ends in a few days!

 

 

Northwest Houston RWA announces The 20th Annual Lone Star Writing Competition.

Along with awesome feedback and a new and improved score sheet, the Lone Star offers a NEW Special Prize!!!

All entrants will be entered into a drawing for a 50 page critique by one of NWHRWA’s published authors. There will be 7 winners, one for each category.

Romantic Suspense: Teri Thackston
Historical: Melinda Porter (Anna Katherine Lanier)
FF&P: Suzan Harden
Inspirational: Carla Rossi
YA: Christie Craig (CC Hunter)
Single Title: PJ Mellor
Contemporary Series: Cheri Jetton

The Lone Star Writing Competition is one of the few contests with two published authors and one unpublished author judging the first round. Finalists will be sent to BOTH an agent and an editor for judging. In addition they will be sent to an e-publishing editor.

EARLY BIRD ENTRY FEE: $5 discount on all entries submitted by midnight May 26, 2012; $15 for NWH members/$20 non-NHW members.

Entry fee: After May 26, 2012 – $20 NWH members; $25 non-NWH members.

Winners will receive a custom made sterling silver pin and a website banner !!!! Finalists will receive a seal to put on their website.

For more information including rules, the score sheet, and entry form, see our new, updated website at www.nwhrwa.com.

Hump Day Kick Start – Smoldering Edition

Song of the Day: End of Me by Apocalyptica

Hump Day Kick Start for your muse, a writing picture prompt, or just a visual treat.

Theo seemed to be a favorite among MuseTrackers, so I brought him back.

Tell me about him. Who is he? Is he a hero or a villain? Is he a vampire? An apocalyptic warrior? A surfer? A drummer for a grungy alternative band?  What is he thinking? Is he plotting or is he seducing?

Do you care? Are you still staring?

I’d also like to hear what from you on what types of Hump Day Kick Start photos you’d like to see. Please take a quick moment to cast your vote. Thanks!

Don’t forget to comment on today’s prompt!

MuseTracks Link of the Week – KindleGraph

Want to get an autograph on your favorite e-book on your Kindle but don’t know how? Are you e-published and want to know how you can offer a signature on your digital works available on the Kindle? Check out this awesome and FREE site!

You can get and make personalized inscriptions that go directly to e-reading device. How cool is that?

http://www.kindlegraph.com/

Try it out and request a signed cover from me.

http://www.kindlegraph.com/authors/jbrayweber

MuseTracks Guest – Angela Campbell – Cry Wolf

Hear that? Sounds like the theme song to The Twilight Zone. Or maybe that’s the X-Files. Whatever that strange music is, it’s perfect for today’s special MuseTracks Guest.

Witty romantic suspense author Angela Campbell as joined us  to tell us about her quirky writing. And she’s brought us an excerpt of her latest Carina Press contemporary romance CRY WOLF.

Take it away Angela!

Some of the best writing advice I ever received was from a professor at the University of South Carolina, who told me simply, “Write the type of stories you enjoy reading.”

For me, that must mean, “Write weird stuff.”

I’ve always gravitated toward reading books that feature paranormal elements or unusual heroes, heroines or situations. The stranger, the better. When I read the news online each morning, I don’t start with the regular headlines. Oh, no, not me. I go straight to the “news of the weird” link first. I also have a strange sense of humor, so I usually sit snickering at my desk for a while even after I’ve moved onto the regular news.

When I sit down to write fiction, I usually start with a premise most would label as “out there” and try to shape it into something that isn’t, or at least something that seems a little more realistic and fun. My favorite question to ask myself is “what if?”

The book I’m writing now is another unusual one, featuring a pet psychic who gets drawn into protecting two snarky pets and their sexy owner. I’m having so much fun writing it, you have no idea.

My debut novel from Carina Press, “Cry Wolf,” was also ridiculously fun to write, and its reception has been overwhelmingly positive — so I guess I’m not the only one who enjoys reading “weird stuff.”

In “Cry Wolf,” Andrea Lockhart’s job as a reporter for cheesy tabloid The Naked Truth isn’t exactly where she thought her journalism career would end up. She’s determined to make the best of it, but when her editor sends her to Woodbine, South Carolina, to investigate a werewolf sighting, Andrea decides the ridiculous assignment will be her last. Until she meets Sean Hunter.

The last time she saw Sean, he had just beat her out for the position of editor of their college newspaper, and told her she’d never make it as a reporter. Given his grand ambitions, she’s shocked to find him editing the Woodbine Weekly. Once they start competing for leads on the werewolf, Andrea becomes determined to break the story first—she can’t let Sean beat her again.

As they each get closer to finding the source of the rumors, the only thing more surprising than the truth are the feelings Sean is able to stir in her, feelings she thought she had left behind…

 

EXCERPT / CRY WOLF

Andrea glanced at the man sitting across from her. “You actually keep records on this…werewolf?”

“Yep.” The animal control officer cocked a grin and slid a manila file folder with bold, black writing on it across the desk. The Werewolf Files.

Charles Browder snickered and leaned back in his chair. His voice was heavy with a Southern drawl. “Go on, take a peek if ya want. I doubt there’s anything in there of any real use, but some of it’s plenty interestin’ to read. Probably twenty or more incident reports this year alone.”

She took advantage of his generosity and picked up the folder and its contents. No matter how much she wanted this to be a non-story so she could get out of town tonight, few officials were as accommodating as Mr. Browder. It was at least an hour past his quitting time, but he’d stayed to meet with her instead of rescheduling their appointment. She’d be both rude and a fool not to at least look at the reports he’d compiled.

Andrea despised deliberate rudeness, and she was no fool, despite what those familiar with the publication she wrote for these days might think.

Damn Sean.

Working at The Naked Truth didn’t embarrass her. So why did running into Sean suddenly make her self-conscious about it? Okay, she admitted, working for a tabloid sometimes bothered her. She’d been an award-winning reporter at a large newspaper on the fast track to management. A life time ago. Before the accident. Before Lisa died. Everyone had said it wasn’t Andrea’s fault, that she shouldn’t feel responsible.

Yeah, right. Even now, four years later, Andrea lived with the guilt of her friend’s death. Living with that guilt— living with what had happened, period— had changed Andrea in so many ways.

So, writing for a tabloid wasn’t that bad in the scheme of things. After everything she’d been through, Andrea was simply glad to have a job reporting anything.

Whether you believe in things like werewolves or the Loch Ness Monster or not, I hope you’ll give my novel a chance to entertain you with the possibilities. After all, the best relationships seem to start with “What if…?”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Angela Campbell is an overachiever with a soft spot for men who dress funny. Superman, Charlie Chaplin, Dracula…she loves them all (and don’t get her started on Elvis!). In her spare time, she can usually be found browsing the comic book store or has her rear-end planted somewhere watching Intelligent television (you know – Scooby Doo/Hell’s Kitchen/ Supernatural) or having a profound movie marathon (ah, The Twilight Saga); that is, if she’s not obsessing over a good book! She currently channels all of her enthusiasm and weirdness into blogging and fiction writing. A mild-mannered reporter with almost 15 years experience as a general assignment reporter, features editor and page designer, Angela has also worked as a production assistant on TV shows, small film projects and commercials. She lives in the Southeast with her loyal companion, writing supervisor and furry best friend, Dusti.

www.angelacampbellonline.com

MuesTracks Guest – Jessica Lauryn – Dangerous Ally

Diamonds smuggling, a handsome kingpin, and saucy reporter determined to bring him down. Sounds like MuseTracks’ guest Jessica Lauryn has an adventuresome romantic suspense on her hands. And guess what? She’s brought us an excerpt.

Welcome, Jessica!

As both an author and a reader alike, I am drawn by dark heroes, heroes who, though villainous as they may be, are also masters of enticement.  In The Pinnacles of Power Series, I’ll introduce five of these men, all villains in and of their own right, each of which is driven strongly by his ambition and greed.  In each five edge-of-your-seat stories, we’ll see if these said-villains can come to reform, becoming heroes that their heroines can love.

In Dangerous Ally, the first release in my exciting romantic suspense series, Lucas Ramone, leader of a diamond smuggling operation called Project Gemstone will come head to head with top New York Times Reporter Lilah Benson.  Lilah, younger sister of Lucas’s ex-fiancé, swears she has no interest in the handsome, cunning young billionaire and sets out to write the story of a lifetime, which will essentially win her the admiration of all those around her, her father most especially.  But Lucas, a practiced con artist, has other ideas.  He decides to set a trap for the savvy journalist, playing at her very point of vulnerability.  His plan?  A steamy, surefire seduction…

Dangerous Ally is a story about temptation, a forbidden attraction between a hero and heroine who, as far as the rest of the world is concerned, ought to hate one another.  What man wouldn’t despise the woman responsible for trying to destroy his enterprise, in turn, what woman wouldn’t despise the man who tried to lock her sister into a marriage she didn’t want?  But as feelings deepen and stakes rise, Lilah realizes she must turn to her mysterious adversary, even knowing he is a dangerous ally indeed.

Excerpt:

“Lilah, you’re a guest in this room, as well as this house,” Lucas said. “You don’t have to turn down my bed. That’s not why you’re here.”

“No.” She looked at the floor, avoiding his tender gaze. “I’m here because of the nightmare, which, I’ve basically put out of my mind. So, I think it’s time I started sleeping in my own room again.”

He came toward her, taking her hands in his. He lowered his voice. “Are you sure that’s what you want?”

Of course it wasn’t what she wanted. Dear God, she wanted him to rip the nightgown from her body and kiss every last inch of her skin! But if she stayed with him another night, that was exactly what was going to happen. She was beginning to forget why it was a bad thing.

“Have I done something to upset you?” Lucas asked, brushing her face with the tips of his fingers.

She shook her head, doing her best to ignore how warm he was making her feel. “Not at all. You’ve been wonderful to me, Lucas. Nicer than any guy’s ever been. I just can’t stay in this room another night. I’m afraid if I do, that I’ll…”

“If you do, that you’ll what?” He tipped her chin, forcing it upward. It was the first time he’d ever been rough with her. Or anything less than gentle for that matter. “You’re afraid I’ll take advantage of you?”

“Of course not. I—”

“Force you to be with me? Coerce you into a marriage and lock you away, like Lena believed I was going to? Maybe I haven’t changed, Lilah, and you saw what you wanted to in me to justify your own feelings. Go ahead. I won’t keep you when it’s obvious you’re no longer comfortable here.”

Her cheeks flamed with anger as she deliberately thought up the meanest thing she could say back. “Maybe you really are the monster everyone says.”

“If that’s true,” Lucas demanded, “then why didn’t it bother you last night? You’ve slept in my bed for two nights, not showing the slightest indication of fear. So why don’t you tell me the real reason you’re reluctant to stay here tonight?”

Lilah was dumbfounded. What could she say? That she couldn’t sleep in the same bed with him because she wanted him so badly it kept her up in the middle of the night? That she thought constantly of touching him, of inching her way against his body, of making the mistake she’d sworn she wouldn’t since the day they’d met?

“Do you think it was easy for me,” Lucas asked, his voice falling to a whisper, “lying next to you the last two nights, knowing you were right there and I could just reach out and touch your soft skin? No other man in his right mind would have undergone that amount of torture. Yet, I behaved like a gentleman. I did that because I care about you.”

His tone grew angered as he released her. “I can’t do it another night. If you stay with me, I won’t hold back. I’m giving you a choice. You can leave right now, and I’ll never pressure you about this again. It’ll be like it never happened.”

Lilah eyed the door, her last chance for escape. The sensible thing to do—the only thing to do—was leave, and never look back. But her legs remained in place. Her body ached with heat at the wicked thought of Lucas touching her, of him kissing her neck and throat, the sensitive spots behind her ears. She was dying for him to hold her against his body, to admire his broad chest. She’d never even seen him without a shirt.

“What are you waiting for?” he asked impatiently.

She took a deep breath. “I’m not leaving,” she said firmly.

“Then you leave me no choice,” he said and pressed his warm, open mouth against hers.

BLURB:

For five lonely years, diamond smuggling kingpin Lucas Ramone has hidden himself from the world. With a father who has baited him all his life, made a game of trying to trip him up at every turn, Lucas will do whatever is necessary to protect what is rightfully his. What he isn’t prepared for is Lilah Benson…

Upon accepting a job in the home of her sister’s maniacal ex-fiancé, reporter Lilah Benson believes she has finally found the perfect way to make her mark on the world. Exposing the criminal endeavors of Lucas Ramone won’t soon be forgotten. But as she comes to know the man who was supposed to be her adversary, Lilah is tempted by a passion far stronger than the desire to see her name in print…

Power and control are tools of survival, critical in a world of thievery and deception. Lilah, an innocent in a land of criminals, may be the one person capable of bringing Lucas to his knees. But Lucas will stop at nothing to keep his empire secure.

He will have it all: His Fortune, His Legacy, and Lilah Benson in his bed…

For more on Jessica, visit her website at www.jessicalauryn.com

Buy the e-book:

SirenBookStrand:  http://www.bookstrand.com/jessica-lauryn

Amazon:  http://www.amazon.com/Dangerous-Pinnacles-BookStrand-Publishing-ebook/dp/B0054ROAR8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1308661625&sr=8-1

Barnes & Noble:  http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dangerous-ally-jessica-lauryn/1103392690?ean=9781610342810&itm=2&usri=dangerous%2bally

Buy the Paperback:

Amazon:  http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1610346971/bookstrand-20

Barnes & Noble:  http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dangerous-ally-jessica-lauryn/1103392690

Dead Babies In A Suitcase

It’s good to have mysteries. It reminds us that there’s more to the world than just making do and having a bit of fun.- Charles De Lint

Good morning Muse Trackers!

I’ve thought quite a bit about The Artists Way especially since our Link Of The Week brought you to a wonderful tool based on one of the exercises found in that book. The premise is that you are to write three pages (preferably handwritten) every morning. The tool that I found creates a platform for you to do it electronically and store your pages to be retrieved when you need them. I was excited that many of you chose to comment and share your own spin on Morning Pages. Based on that, I thought you might like a spark. Give it a try, who knows what might happen

 

Today I would like to share a story with you. It’s so intriguing and has the bones of a fantastic novel, but it’s real life. Someone once told me that you just can’t make this s*** up- and I believe they’re right. This proves the old saying that truth is stranger than fiction.

Two women made a shocking discovery when they began to clean out their apartment building’s basement. It was full of items left from tenants long gone and forgotten. As they made their way through the piles of stuff, they came across three suitcases obviously left there for decades. The women brushed away years of dust and mildew and flipped the latch on the top two cases. They were empty. Disappointed, they went for the last case on the bottom. No one could have prepared them for what they would find hiding inside the leather luggage.

Stacks of books were neatly set on the left side and on the right side were two doctor’s satchels tightly wedged into the small space. You can imagine their excitement when the books proved to be copies from the 1920s and 30s. Surely, they had found a time capsule from a long ago era. The ladies carefully pulled out both satchels and opened them up. They seemed to be stuffed with newspaper also from that time period. They each took a bundle from the bags and unrolled the ball of paper. One discovered a mummified infant and the other unrolled a fetus about 20 weeks along.

Investigators determined the luggage belonged to Janet M. Barrie who had emigrated to the U.S. from Scotland in the 1920s. She was the home nurse for a Los Angeles dentist and died in 1992. Her belongings had been packed up and stored in the basement- apparently forgotten until these two decided they wanted to clean things up. The cause of death for the babies has not been determined. (I don’t know if the cause of death has ever been determined or not.)

The rest of her belongings did give a slight picture of the women who harbored this grisly secret for so many years. Janet Barrie appeared to have an interest in J.M. Barrie who wrote Peter Pan. There was a copy of the book as well as a membership certificate for the Peter Pan Woodland Club, an upscale resort. They surmise it’s because he was also from Scotland and carried the same initials. They also found postcards from exotic places like Korea and South America sent to Janet bundled together in the case. The mystery deepened when they pulled up a ticket stub from the closing ceremonies of the 1932 Olympics at the L.A. Coliseum

At the time when this article was written, the authorities had tracked down some of Janet Barrie’s relatives living in Canada and were DNA testing the remains of the babies.

 

If this doesn’t get the writer juices going, I don’t know what would! Why did she keep those bodies all those years? Who are those post cards from? Did she meet someone at the Olympics? Is there more of a connection to the author Barrie? Was she a killer? Did she hide them for the dentist? Are they her babies? Why didn’t any of her relatives claim her belongings? Why? Why? Why?

 

What is your take on this story? Who is Janet Barrie?

 

Keep on writing!

The Siren’s Song – Release Par-Tay!

Break open another bottle of rum! Today is the official release party of THE SIREN’S SONG.

What, you say? Another release soiree? Why, yes. Carina Press has published the third book in my Romancing the Pirate series. And if you missed out on the last shindig, here’s your chance to boogie down with me. Besides, is there such a thing as too much partying?

True to my pirate wenching nature, I’ve got booty to share.

• Read an excerpt here.
• Get in touch with your Inner Pirate. Find out what kind of pirate you are!
• Name your pirate ship.
• Learn to talk like a Regency Pirate.
• Got a pirate question? Ask me!
• Leave a comment for a chance to plunder a copy of THE SIREN’S SONG or a skull and crossbones necklace. (Don’t wear necklaces? Hang it from your rear view mirror!)

The Siren’s Song Blurb:

Pirate captain Thayer Drake lures ships onto reefs for plunder, and business is lucrative. Yet, saving a lass from drowning after her ship wrecks becomes more than he bargained for when the crazy wench dives back into the raging sea for her blasted purse.

Tavern songstress Gilly McCoy, penniless and fleeing from the man who murdered her lover, stowed away on the doomed ship. Now at Drake’s mercy, Gilly must earn her passage by performing for the captain. And that is not all: she must also kiss the captain at every ring of the ship’s bell. But she discovers kissing the handsome rogue is not entirely a bad bargain…

Drake is intrigued by the beauty, but there is no room in his black heart for a woman. He has demons that he drinks nightly to forget. Meanwhile, Gilly has her own secrets to keep–including why her purse is more valuable to her than her life…

One of my favorite scenes from the book:

“Sometimes, you must circle your quarry.” He stalked around her, shedding his jacket as he came up behind her and whispered in her ear. “Tease her with the skirmish to come.” Her floral scent wrapped tendrils of desire around his every nerve. He shrugged out of his bandolier and tossed it into a chair. “Don’t raise your flag too soon.” He swept her golden locks aside and kissed the milky white column of her neck. “Leverage is when she doesn’t know what move to expect.”

“What would you do next, Captain?” she whispered. She bit her full puckered bottom lip like a coy and naughty child. But she wasn’t a child. She was a full, blossomed woman. The coy and naughty part was debatable.

“I’d brand her as my own.” Drake stared deep into her eyes before placing a chaste kiss to her luscious lips. Pulling back only a breath, he continued. “But, then, I branded her during my first pass around her bow.”

“Does she surrender?” Gilly whispered against his lips.

“She should.”

“Perhaps she would seek to even the advantage.” She rubbed her hands over his shoulders and gently tugged on his sleeves.

“Having me naked does not give you an advantage.”

“What? No more innuendos?” she asked playfully.

“There is less negotiating when the battle begins. And the battle has begun, love.”

One of my favorite quotes from the book:

“Ah. Rum and a new flintlock.” Henri grinned. “Brings a tear to me eye.”

And yet another:

“Remind me to raise my cup to gluttony tonight,” Drake said.

“No need, Thayer. ’Tis what we toast to every night.”

~~~~~

Want to HEAR an excerpt. Click here to listen to a snippet. I get all giggly listening to the narrator’s British accent.

Click HERE for your copy of THE SIREN’S SONG.

The book is also available at Amazon, B&N, All Romance, and Audible.

Want more booty? Did you read A KISS IN THE WIND? Did you know there’s an epilogue the publisher decided not to include that links the book to THE SIREN’S SONG? Want to read it? Tell me so in a comment and I’ll send you s SPECIAL link!

Don’t forget to leave a comment! You could win a copy of THE SIREN’S SONG or the skull and crossbones necklace.

Link Of The Week

http://750words.com/about

I’m so excited I found this link for this week! It was based on an exercise given in The Artists Way called Morning Pages. The idea is to write 750 words everyday about anything- no censuring. It’s a daily free for all! Your words could be brainstorming something from your project or it could be about anything rumbling around in your head.

What about a blog? Tumbler? Well, these are possible avenues but what happens if you forget to push the “private” button? This site allows you to write and keep it to yourself but all in one place where you can check back over your words. Enjoy!!!

“I’ve long been inspired by an idea I first learned about in The Artist’s Way called morning pages. Morning pages are three pages of writing done every day, typically encouraged to be in “long hand”, typically done in the morning, that can be about anything and everything that comes into your head. It’s about getting it all out of your head, and is not supposed to be edited or censored in any way. The idea is that if you can get in the habit of writing three pages a day, that it will help clear your mind and get the ideas flowing for the rest of the day. Unlike many of the other exercises in that book, I found that this one actually worked and was really really useful.

I’ve used the exercise as a great way to think out loud without having to worry about half-formed ideas, random tangents, private stuff, and all the other things in our heads that we often filter out before ever voicing them or writing about them. It’s a daily brain dump. Over time, I’ve found that it’s also very helpful as a tool to get thoughts going that have become stuck, or to help get to the bottom of a rotten mood.”

MuseTracks Guest – Veronica Scott – Wreck of the Nebula Dream

Like Sci-Fi? Like romance? Like disastrous historic events? Well, you’re in luck. Today’s MuseTracks guest, Veronica Scott,  just so happens to write historical romance and  moonlights as a science fiction, action, adventure romance writer, too.

Let’s see how she brings all these elements together. Check out her excerpt.

Welcome, Veronica!

WRECK OF THE NEBULA DREAM by Veronica Scott

I’ve always been fascinated by the story of the Titanic, beginning with my childhood, since a distant relative of my grandfather’s was a Second Class passenger who survived. She also rescued a Steerage baby that was handed to her just as the lifeboat began to lower away, returning the child to its mother on board the rescue ship Carpathia. Even without the family connection, there are so many poignant tales, “what ifs” and and intriguing details about Titanic, making the whole disaster irresistible to a writer. My novel WRECK OF THE NEBULA DREAM is the result of my gentle obsession with the events of that fatal April 14^th night, 100 years ago.

As an author, I’m drawn to science fiction and paranormal romance, so when I decided to write a re-imagining of Titanic’s events, I immediately set the plot in the far future, on a luxury spaceliner roaming the stars rather than the seas. It was a fun challenge to translate aspects of the Titanic itself into the features of my Nebula Dream.  Of course, being science fiction, the Dream is a sentient being, run by an Artificial Intelligence (AI). Nick, my Special Forces captain, spends quite a bit of time interacting with the fairly inexperienced AI early in the voyage.

Here’s an excerpt from their first conversation:

Nick came suddenly awake, sitting up, momentarily confused by his surroundings and the unfamiliar, soft bed, before falling onto the pillows again. Screwing his eyes tight shut, rubbing his temples and then the back of his neck, he tried to relieve some of the hot pain from his truly stellar hangover.

“Ship, I need headclear, fast,” he said, clearing his dry throat and hoping his stomach would stop its contortions. Was I actually mixing Suavarian brandy with Taychelle vodka last night? What, was I trying to kill myself?

“Calculated dosage coming up on the bedside server now, Captain Jameson,” answered the AI ganglion assigned to this room and his wellbeing. “Do you wish a consumable or an inject, sir?”

“Inject.” Why is the damn thing asking me – there isn’t time to wait for a consumable, my stomach wouldn’t tolerate it anyway. An inject was his only hope of not disgracing himself right then and there and losing whatever his poor gut had left. Grabbing the gleaming inject as it popped out of the retro nightstand’s top, he slammed it into his left bicep and leaned against the pillows with a groan. Within ten seconds the headclear had taken hold and he felt halfway human. Best invention in the Sectors, bar none.

“Ship, remind me not to do that again,” he said, more to himself than to the AI.

“The name is Nebula Dream.” Icicles couldn’t have been colder than the Ship’s voice.

Great, an AI with attitude. But then, what else would be expected from the premier luxury liner in the Sector?

***********************************************************

I have a feeling that if the Titanic had been equipped with an AI, she’d have been a lovely lady, with an attitude somewhere between the haughty First Class grande dames and the calm professionalism of the White Star Line officers. Sailors always speak of their ships as “she” after all!

WRECK OF THE NEBULA DREAM is available from  Smashwords ,  Amazon for the kindle and Barnes & Noble for the Nook at a special 99 cent price through May.

Here’s the story:

Traveling unexpectedly aboard the luxury liner Nebula Dream on its maiden voyage across the galaxy, Sectors Special Forces Captain Nick Jameson is ready for ten relaxing days, and hoping to forget his last disastrous mission behind enemy lines. He figures he’ll gamble at the casino, take in the shows, maybe even have a shipboard fling with Mara Lyrae, the beautiful but reserved businesswoman he meets.

All his plans vaporize when the ship suffers a wreck of Titanic proportions. Captain and crew abandon ship, leaving the 8000 passengers stranded without enough lifeboats and drifting unarmed in enemy territory. Aided by Mara, Nick must find a way off the doomed ship for himself and several other innocent people before deadly enemy forces reach them or the ship’s malfunctioning engines finish ticking down to self destruction.

But can Nick conquer the demons from his past that tell him he’ll fail these innocent people just as he failed to save his Special Forces team? Will he outpace his own doubts to win this vital race against time?

You can visit Veronica at  http://veronicascott.wordpress.com/

Dating Myself- Finding The Joy In Writing Again

Every blade of grass has its Angel that bends over it and whispers, “Grow, grow.”       The Talmud

 

How many of you sit at your computer and stare at a blank screen? Perhaps you have words on said blank screen, but you know it’s total crap.

I would suggest you go on a date with yourself.

Julia Cameron, who is a noted Hollywood screenwriter and director, wrote The Artists Way. It is a gem of a book. I’ve pulled it back off my shelves because I desperately need to do something different if I ever want to get back on track to being creative.

Before I begin with the meat of this article, I’d like you to get to know me a tiny bit so you can see that the writers here at Muse Tracks are the same as all of you struggling to find the road (and stay on it) to being an author.

Well, here goes…

I am a dabbler. I have a closet full of pencil sketches from copies of Leonardo da Vinci’s drawings to pen and ink creations of my own imagination. I have watercolor paintings stacked at my mother’s house I dabble in textile arts and have woven, crosstitched, needlepointed, and even threaded fabrics through my paintings. I love to paint walls and decorate- my house is an ever changing canvas. Photographs clog the memory banks of my computer. Cooking is a total creative outlet for me and travel feeds my soul. Through all of this dabbling, I have learned quite a bit about the arts and am a lover of museums and artists from all walks.

While I’m a dabbler at all those things and have had varying successes at them, I consider them fun endeavors. It really doesn’t matter if I’m any good at them or not. I simply create.

Did you notice something missing?

I never once mentioned writing. I realized this while I was talking to a friend of mine the other day. We were talking about things we enjoyed and writing wasn’t on the list. He questioned me about its absence. I couldn’t answer him during that conversation, but it’s been waddling around in my head like a drunk duck ever since.

The Artists Way is a wonderful book that first and foremost gives us permission to be creative. It empowers us to delve into the fanciful, explore the beauty and remember that we are not whole if we deny this side of our being. (OK- I now officially feel like Earth Mother holding up a peace sign.) However artsy and spiritual this book may sound, the message is one that I believe everyone should hear. Is it fear, guilt, jealousy, or some other force that limits your beliefs in yourself? What causes you to self-sabotage? (My specialty) We have our own unique answers built on our own unique lives. Julia Cameron provides exercises that offer ways to inhibit the roadblocks we throw up for ourselves.

One of my favorites is dating myself. Basically, the advice is to spend time with ourselves nurturing and refilling the well of creativity.  Tomorrow I will attempt to have a date with myself all day. There will be no TV, no computer, no radio, no electronics of any type, no books- just me. The day will be spent in my garden, sitting on my back porch with a pad and paper, and visiting with my friends. I might go to an artist’s shop to wander the aisles or I might drive up to my brother’s lake house and sit on the dock. I will not think about the rest of my life. I want to remember the joy I had when writing was also simply about creating. Somehow it became about editing, publishing, marketing etc. Those issues are important, but are meaningless if it dive bombs the writing. Writing was fun, wasn’t it? It was a wonderful place to get lost in another world with characters who told us a fabulous tale. I want to get back to that.