Poem: The elevator

The car goes up
The car goes down
We ride for sup
We ride in town
Push the numbers
Watch it go
Some riders are hummers
Others just say make it so
A thrilling ride
Or a sedate coast
Elevators are the pride
Of buildings from coast to coast!

More Info than you Ever wanted to know about ME!

Okay, here's the deal: you've been hand picked by someone who likes you to fill out this survey. It's a great boredom buster and at the end you get to pick your own 5 people to fill it out. If you don't fill it out, the person that sent this to you will hunt you down and kill you -- not really, but it's fun so keep it going! Once you post your answers, pick 5 people of your own to do it. Have fun!

1. What is your middle name: Jo

2. Color pants are you wearing? Blue jeans

3. What are you listening to now? The birds

4. What was the last thing you had to drink? milk

5. Do you wish on stars? Yes, and I taught my kids too

6. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Teal

7. How is the weather right now? clear skies, 75 degrees

8. Last person you spoke to on the phone? My mother

9. Do you like the person who sent this to you? Yep

10. Favorite drink? Mudslide Shots

11. Favorite sport? Football (Detroit Lions) or Hockey (Detroit Redwings)

12. Hair color? Brown

13. Siblings? 3 sisters, 4 brothers (I am the baby girl)

14. Favorite month: May, everything is blooming

15. Favorite food? Pad Thai from Thai Spice in Vegas

16. What was the last movie you saw? Theatre-Transformers Home-The Mod Squad

17. Favorite day of the year: Christmas

18. What do you do to vent anger? Write

19. What was your favorite toy as a child? Miss Beasley

20. Summer or winter? Winter in Vegas, Summer in Michigan

21. Hugs or kisses? Hugs, nothing like snuggling with your special someone

22. Car or motorcycle? Car (Ford Mustang, old one or any year of the Corvette)

23. Chocolate or vanilla? Vanilla

24. Do you want your friends to do this? Sure

25. Who is most likely to do this self-survey? Jadey

26. Who is least likely to respond? Hera...Don't know

27. When was the last time you cried? Last time I watched a sad movie

28. What is under your bed? Nothing unless my kids stuffed stuff under there

29. Who is the friend you have had the longest? Sue Wulf

30. What did you do last night? Drove home from Missouri and vegged in front of the TV with pizza with the fam

31. What are you afraid of? heights, don't even like roller coasters

32. Plain or buttered or salted popcorn? buttered and salted

33. Favorite car? 1965 Ford Mustang convertable, Candy apple red with white top

34. Favorite flower? baby pink roses

35. How many keys on your key ring? 5

36. How many years at your current job? 11 months

37. What did you do on your last birthday? went out to dinner with the family even though I was sick

38. How many states have you lived in? 5 - Michigan, Virginia, Texas, Mississippi, Nevada

39. Did you have fun with this? Yeppers

40. Who are you going to send this to? Jadey, CD, Jayne, Morgy and Deidre (sorry all, but you have to pick somone :)

What to do?

What do you do when you have so many works going on that you can't figure out which one to work on first? Let me give you a couple of examples:

Mirror of Remembrance series (Time travel romance series that I am working on with a friend, first book published)

A series of novels about Atlantis

A new dungeon and dragon type of novel

Revised Fairy Tales

and a children's series about dragons

I have all of these books pushing at me to be finished or at least worked on but my question is how to do you decide which one to work on first. It is a tough decision. I have found that for me I have to force myself to finish one work before I move onto another or I have a problem finishing any of them. If I do this then I get pulled back into the story and I want to work on it and find out how the characters are going to react to certain situations or problems.

What do you do in this situation, or does anyone else have this problem? I actually start an outline of the new work and put it away until I can get to it. The hard part is when you finish one work and have to move onto another one, which one do you work on next....

Well, I hope everyone has a plethora of writing ideas saved up and is able to write for years to come. Enjoy

I've been tagged by KrazyBlonde and Darlin Jo

Okay since I have been tagged by KrazyBlonde and Darlin Jo I guess I had better give you the 8 random facts about me...hmmmm, could be interesting.

First here are the rules:

1. I have to post these rules before I give you the facts.
2. Each player starts with eight random facts/habits aboutthemselves.
3. People who are tagged need to write their own blog about their eightthings and post these rules.
4. At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.
5. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

Facts about me:

1. I am the youngest of 8 children. (Thankfully most of them moved out before I knew who they were)

2. I used to work with special needs kids. (The best and worst job I ever did)

3. I met my husband in the military. We were in Tech school together, surprisingly enough I studied electronics. (and you wonder why I have voices)

4. I separated my elbow when I tried to do a cartwheel (remember for the people in your thirties, leave it for the younger ones)

5. I lived in Las Vegas for 11 years and the most I ever won was $750 (Its important to remember these people build billion, yes I said billion dollar hotels without debt)

6. I love football and hockey. My favorite teams are the Detroit Lions (Yes I know they suck) and the Detroit Red Wings (I at least have one good team)

7. I have been married for almost 19 years (I think I will have the hubby take me on a cruise for our 20th anniversary)

8. I know more about cars than my husband does. (I have two brothers that are mechanics and they made sure I could take care of my own car)

Okay there are the facts about little ole me and the 8 people I am going to tag are: No, One. It seems like everyone has already been tagged :) I know I was late getting out the door.

The Voices are getting Louder

I haven't been writing much lately, but I figured it was time to start again. The voices are getting louder and clambering to come out. Does this happen to anyone else? When you are working on a book, how does the book form for you?

When I am starting on a book, I normally start with an idea and then work on an outline With the outline, I am able to flesh out the book and as I do this, it starts to come alive in my head. The characters take on a life of their own and they argue and sulk when the writing isn't going the way they expect it to go. As I picture the different books I am writing, the scenes for the books look like I visited the area as it seems so real. You can picture yourself walking down the boardwalk toward the ocean and feel the sea water mist your face. You can hear the voices blending together at the cafe across the street and feel the wind move through your hair.

I think the writing experience is different for everyone. But for me its like creating a whole new world, that is mine to explore and try and present to the people reading the book. It is my responsibility as an author to help them to see the world you create through your settings and your characters, because the characters are an integral part of any world.

So I think it is time to get back to the writing process. Keegan needs to work through his differences with Gwyn, Bryce and Delwyn need to straighten things out and Delysia and Delyth need to find their mates. I also need to work on my fairy tales as I am getting requests for them plus I have other ideas floating in my head...ah the voices!

Happy Writing

Keegan - fighting scene

Hi all here is a fighting scene in my new book but it seems to be missing something. Some suggestions would be great. Thanks for your help.

Keegan was watching the tree where one of the snipers was waiting when he felt Bryce tap his boot. It meant he had seen movement from the other sniper. Keegan slowly
lifted his scope to look at the other sniper and watched him change position to look
in another direction; if he had turned another couple of inches he would have seen Micheil on the edge of the woods. Bryce tapped his boot twice to let him know that Micheil was moving in and to be prepared. Keegan nodded and moved his attention back to the first sniper; Bryce would handle the second one. Keegan waited for the signal from Micheil to take down the first sniper when he felt Bryce prepare to shoot the second one. He lined up the shot to take out the branch underneath the first sniper and was squeezing off the shot when he felt Bryce gasp below him. Keegan finished his shot, watching while the first sniper fell to the ground and waited to see Micheil take over the situation before turning to look down at Bryce.

“Are you alright,” he asked.

“Yes, but I took one in the leg. I might need help getting out of the tree.”
Keegan leaned his head against the branch in front of him, Delwyn was going to kill him, he thought before turning to climb down out of the tree. “Did you get your guy to drop out of the tree?”

“No, he caught sight of me as I was getting ready to squeeze off a shot and it was all he needed to move just a fraction of a second before I would have shot the branch. I hit him with a bullet, but not before he managed to fire and hit my leg.”
Keegan dropped to the ground and looked over at Micheil and his team. They were securing the first sniper and the second lay on the ground in a pool of blood, Craig standing guard over him just in case. Keegan grabbed a bandana out of his pocket and used it to tie off the wound on Bryce’s leg before helping him down to the ground. He leaned him against the tree and walked over to Micheil.

Micheil looked over at him, “How bad is he hurt?”

“It’s a through and through. He should be fine as long as we get him back quickly so he doesn’t lose anymore blood. I am going to have Craig help me get him back to the house. Are you alright without us coming with you to the jail?”

“Yes, the brothers and I can handle getting these two back. We will buzz you when we get there so you know we made it without any difficulties. Are you alright with just Craig or did you need one of the brothers?”

“No you have your hands full with these two. Did Bryce kill the first one or just wound him?”

“He is dead. Hopefully we can make this one talk. I will let you know when we get back. Cathaoir, go guard the other prisoner while Craig helps Keegan.”

“Yes, sir.”

After Cathaoir walked over and relieved Craig, he came over to help Keegan get Bryce back to the house. Keegan helped Craig get Bryce over his shoulder before taking point on the walk back to the house. Craig felt Bryce slump down over his back and he signaled to Keegan to stop a moment. Keegan walked around Craig to check for a pulse.
Keegan nodded at Craig, “He still has a pulse, it is thready but there. We need to get him back quickly. Do you think you can step up the pace, I know he isn’t light?”

“Of course. It is just around the bend. Did you let your father know we would need Gwyn?”

“No, she should already be at the house and I didn’t want anyone to listen in to our conversation and know someone was hurt.”

Craig made sure Bryce was settled on his shoulder and the two men started jogging toward the house. They were almost there when someone started shooting at them. Keegan looked at Craig, “Get him to the house. I will cover you.”
Craig didn’t argue, just took off at a run toward the house that was only 50 yards ahead. Keegan took cover behind a boulder and shot toward the direction the bullets were coming from. He didn’t think he would hit anyone but he was going to try. He quickly looked over his shoulder to see Craig’s progress before turning and shooting toward the woods at the edge of the property.

Keegan started backing up while still shooting knowing he would have to sprint across the yard as soon as Craig was able to get Bryce inside. He looked over his shoulder one last time and noticed Craig had made it to the front porch. With all of his energy he sprinted across the lawn, he was out of bullets and hoped he would make it to the relative safety of the porch before they realized what he was doing. He had just cleared the fountain when he felt a burning sensation in his shoulder and left hip.

Keegan felt the world start to go black, but through sheer will he forced it back. He knew if he passed out he was dead. He continued to run toward the steps. His shoulder was burning as he felt the blood run down his arm. He had just hit the steps when Craig came out onto the porch and started firing toward the trees trying to give Keegan the time he needed to get into the house.

While Craig was firing, Iain grabbed Keegan and pulled him into the safety of the house before holding the door open for Craig. As soon as Craig made it through the door, Iain slammed it shut and dead bolted it. He buzzed Micheil. “You have at least one more sniper in the trees by the house. Keegan has been hit, but I don’t know how bad it is yet. I will keep you updated.”

“Yes, sir. I will send the brothers over to take care of the situation.”

Emily

Once upon a time there lived a little girl who was five years old. She lived in a village with her papa, mammy and her older brother. Her job was to help her mother keep the fire going in the large stone oven to bake the bread. She carried wood to her mother who would place it in the oven.

One day she had gathered the wood for the day and was watching her mother knead the dough for the bread she was making and Emily asked if she could help and her mother gave her a small piece of dough to work with.

Emily flattened the dough and squished it between her fingers but had forgotten to wash her hands first, so it got small pieces of sticks and dirt in the bread dough. She made it into a loaf of bread and her mother was nice and put it into the oven to bake.

She couldn't wait for her papa and brother to get home, she wanted to share the bread with them. She couldn't sit still while they trooped in and sat down for dinner. She immediately sat the bread down between them and told them she had made it for them.

They complimented her on how nice her bread looked and then each cut a piece to spread with butter. As her father took a bite of the bread, he realized there was something crunchy in the bread and reached into his mouth to remove a piece of wood from his mouth. But he continued to smile and thank his daughter, Emily for making him bread as he carefully slipped the bread to the dog.