Happy New Year's Eve

Hi all,
I want to wish everyone a happy and safe New Year's Eve. Do you do anything special on this night? We used to host huge parties but not any more. They are just so much work. So I will be cuddling with the hubby tonight. Most likely, we will not make it to see the ball drop. Usually, one of will wake up and then wake the other up with a kiss and then back to dreamland for this house. Tomorrow, I will cook a big meal with some nice wine. I like the time together more than the big party scene.

Peace Out,
MRD

Call me Ms. Procrastinator

I feel that I should be made queen of Procrastinator-land. I am a huge procrastinator. I think that I actually have raised it to an art form. I will push off something that I don't want to do until the very last minute and I do it in every aspect of my life. Let's see some examples:

HOME- I hate doing dishes. I don't have a dishwasher, as I have blogged before. For a brief few years of my life, before we got our house, I did have one and my kitchen was one of the cleanest in the land. It was actually the major selling point of the place. When I saw it, all nice and shiny in the kitchen, it was like the heavens opened up and a choir of angels was singing. Now, since I have to use my two hands, the kitchen is perpetually a mess. I am not proud of this. It's a fact. So instead of doing dishes right now, I am blogging. Later, instead of doing dishes, I will be revision my manuscript. I might even take the husband to see a movie and out to lunch instead of doing dishes.  Who knows? I know that it has to be done either today or tomorrow.Don't think that I am a slob. The rest of the house is immaculate.  It's just those damn dishes!

WORK- I am on vacation this week, so it has been work-lite. I could have taken work home but I have devoted one week to my writing. In my work inbox, I received an e-mail from the university where I taught a class last semester. They want me back to teach the same class for the Spring semester. I am procrastinating responding. It was a lot of work. I know that there are a lot of people out there who think that teachers have a cushy job, blah, blah, blah... Well we really don't. I am not going to get on my soapbox here about that topic. I used to hate Tuesdays because of this course. I would have to drive 70 extra mile to get to the college and home. I hate bridges, so I would dive extra to avoid them, especially at night. My car really stinks.  I need brand new tires and the thought of driving on those dark windy roads frightens me to the core. So, if I hated it so much, why am I not sending a response rejecting the offer. I already have committed myself to supervising the homework club after school. I don't know why I haven't sent the letter yet.

So reporting from Procrastinator-land, my name is Marie Rose Dufour, and I'm signing off!

MRD

Shoveling really stinks

OMG! I have actually been down for the count for the past two days because of shoveling. The husband's back was acting up and couldn't do anymore shoveling. So, I had to do it. My neighbor usually takes pity on us but his snowblower died and he also wasn't feeling well. I was totally on my own. I don't want to sound bitter but all my sister had to do was put on Facebook that her snowblower wasn't working and my brother loaded his up in the truck and went over to get rid of the snow in her driveway. When I asked if he could just do the pile at the end, which I offered $20 for his gas (I can almost guarantee that my sister didn't offer), I was told that he had already put it away and wasn't going to struggle to get it into the truck again. I said a giant FU to the universe and did it myself but paid for it. My arms hurt so much yesterday that I could barely fasten my bra! I spent the whole day yesterday napping on the couch. I even had sandwiches delivered for dinner. I am feeling better today. Although, my mother reminded me about my birthday coming up (I would rather not celebrate it.  Thank you very much.) So a few errands to run today and then some much needed writing. I feel like I'm falling behind on my goal of getting this manuscript out by the end of the week. I think that it is realistic but not writing yesterday made me feel behind and unproductive.

Peace Out,
MRD

Snowed in

I don't know how much snow is covering my driveway right now but I would have to say that it is over a foot and still coming down.  The husband went out last night and shoveled at least 6 inches but you can't tell right now. We are officially having a blizzard. So, the first day of my vacation is going to be spent indoors. I plan on doing some writing. I have been doing a lot of revising on my manuscript and like it more and more. I actually had an epiphany about the "head popping".  What I am going to do is make it dialogue. So instead of hearing what is going on inside everyone's head and having a passive paragraph, I am going to make it active. I also think that it would be a good example of "showing, not telling".

It is a brief blog today but I hope to do some work before the husband gets up and asks me to help with the shoveling.

Peace out,
MRD

Happy Holidays

It has been crazy here in the house. At 2:15 today, I will be officially on vacation until January 3rd. Ironically, I go back to work on my birthday, which really stinks. I wish I could tell you that I am totally prepared right now for Christmas but it would be a lie. I still have to buy a few things but thankfully most of what I need to buy are gift cards and I can get them all in one place. I still have to buy a few things for the husband. I haven't decided if you is on the nice or naughty list this year but I will still probably cut him some slack.

We have been having snow showers for days, I was hoping for a snow day because I despise the white stuff but that was a no-go! All of the kids at school have been crazy with the holiday and vacation coming.  I keep on telling myself that it is almost over! I actually can't believe how quickly this year is going by.

I have been diligently revising and editing my manuscript. I am hoping to send it out to new publishers next week. I think that this time I will be sending it out to multiple ones at the same time.  I am determined to have this published.

Have a great holiday and new year,
MRD

After rejection, comes reflection

After complaining about not getting a response on my manuscript, I sent an inquiry letter in which I received an almost immediate response. The editor had read my partial and requested  the whole manuscript. I thought that this was a good sign because they wanted to see more of my writing. Ultimately, not even a few hours after I sent the completed manuscript, I received a rejection e-mail. So, I started reflecting on the feedback. Here it is:

The Good (Always start with the good, isn't that universal?)

1. The editor really liked my base story. The basis of the story was solid and she wanted to read more about it. Since the basis is the bones of the story, I took this as a good sign.
2. It wasn't rejected right away.  The editor wanted to read more of the manuscript.  I consider this another good sign. To me, it means that my writing doesn't TOTALLY stink.
3. She really liked my hero. She thought that he was a well developed and interesting character.
4. The editor liked my sex scenes.  She thought they were incredibly hot.

So the "goods" made me feel optimistic.  Then...

The Bad (With the good, always comes the bad, but I consider it part of the reflecting process of becoming a better writer.)

1.  The editor thought there should be more "meat" to the story.  I understand this. So, I am taking this as meaning that parts of the story should have been more developed. I actually agree with this. After reading, my manuscript, I feel it needed "more".
2.  She didn't like my female heroine as much. She thought that she needed a lot of work. This is one of the places that needed to have more "meat". I don't think that she was as well developed as the hero. (I wonder what it means that I write better about men than women. Could I always be thinking about men? Hmmm...)
3. The editor found a few places confusing because I "head pop". I will have to revise my manuscript with a lens on point of view, apparently in a few places, there is not one clear POV.
4. Lastly, I need to proofread my manuscript better.  This, I totally understand. As anyone who has every read anything by me knows, this is the weakest part of my writing. An example of this mistake happened to me this morning. I responded to an e-mail using some one's pen name instead of their real name. I sent a follow-up email, blaming the lack of coffee and the fact that it was 4:30 am but who am I fooling, it was because I didn't proofread my writing before I hit the send button.

All in all, I think that the "good" is very solid and the "bad" is fixable. So this week and especially next, when I am on vacation, I am going to work on my manuscript and send it to another publisher.

Peace Out,
MRD

Have you ever?

Have you ever just stared at the computer screen and nothing? I have been staring at the computer for about an hour and I have no ideas.  To be all fair, my staring at the computer screen has nothing to do with my writing.  It has to do with my day job.  I have to create agendas for some meetings this week and I have no idea of what to talk about.  This block only started this year.  I was transferred against my wished from a place I had been working at for 7 years.  To say that I was devastated would have been an understatement.  Half of my job is creating relationships with people.  With my old place, the relationships had already been established and serious work could be done.  I just know if I have it in my to start all over again. I am seriously thinking of a job change. I have never been in this position before.  I have always loved my job, some days more than others but I have never dreaded going into work in the morning like I do now.  It is days like today that I like to dream that someday I will become as famous an author as Nora Roberts, Hannah Howell, Christine Feehan, and Sherrilyn Kenyon.  Then, I would be paid for doing something that I love to do.

Step one.  Get something under contract.

Peace out,
MRD

What is the etiquette?

Here is the deal.  I submitted a story 7 weeks ago to a publishing house.  The initial response from the company stated that I would receive an answer in 5-6 weeks.  Do I continue to wait?  Do I drop them an e-mail? Do I start submitting it to other publishers?  What is the proper etiquette?  Being a newbie with this sort of thing, I would appreciate the advice.  Sometimes I think that writing the stories are the easy part and the hard part comes after it.

Plans didn't go off as planned yesterday.  The husband's insomnia stuck again but at least this time he was quiet about it.  Anyway, I headed off to Toys R Us with my mom.  So my niece and nephews are done.  My niece is now at the awkward age of 10.  She is no longer a little girl but not yet a teenager.  It was so much easier to buy her a baby doll.  She wanted Monster High Dolls. These are some of the ugliest dolls that I have ever seen. I found her some but not exactly the ones she wanted.  I am going with my sister's recommendation and bought them.  I made sure that I requested a gift receipt just in case she wants to exchange them.  I am sure that it will be fine.  The nephews both were easy but I'm sure that that will change in the coming years. 

Peace out,
MRD

Let's try it again

For the record, this is the second time that I am blogging this post.  The first time, last night, the cat deleted it by walking over the keyboard when I stepped away from the computer.

Yesterday was my husband's birthday.  For the past week, he has reminded me every day that "It's not every day that you turn 41." Ok.  So I had big plans.  I was going to get out of work early, fix him a nice dinner with filet mignon, wine, bakery sweets, and get his truck fixed.  I should know when I have specific plans, things usually go down the toilet.

Here is what really happened.  Not only did I not get out of work early, my meeting went over 90 minutes.  So I was running super late.  I ran into the bakery for the first stop and picked up two eclairs.  Little did I know that they were banana eclairs.  Who makes banana eclairs?  The husband does not like banana but ate them anyway because he was a starving fool by the time that I got home.  The next place that I went was the butcher shop to pick up the filet.  He brought out 2 nice 10 oz. pieces.  The only problem was that they were frozen solid.  What????  So I had to run them under water for 30 minutes before they were defrosted enough to cook them.  By the time that I was done, my husband actually had fallen asleep.  I wrapped up dinner after that.  Because I was so late, I missed the mechanic who according to the message on his machine, is taking a long weekend, so no truck.  The only thing that went right was the wine that I purchased and drank alone.

So which brings me to day, I took a personal day to make up for the disaster of yesterday.  I am taking him to a movie.  His choice is Tron in IMAX.  Maybe, I can smuggling in the rest of the wine!

Peace out,
MRD

Why I love romance

Romance, including Erotica, is a genre of possibilities.  I love the fact that those possibilities are out there in the world. It may not happen a lot in real life but it is out there. 

Some of the things that I especially love:

1. In a romance, you can have such an intense orgasm that you are screaming out loud.  Now it might be a sad thing to admit, I have never screamed while having an orgasm. I am not saying that I don't have them.  Don't get me wrong but never the screaming kind.  Have you?  But I love that somewhere in the world, there is someone who that actually happens to, even if they are fictional characters.

2.  I love how sex in romances are so incredibly hot and heavy.  No one is tired from their day job.  No one has to have "timed" intercourse.  There is no one that just goes with it, even though they are not in the mood.  A friend of mine has a 3 minute rule.  You have 3 minutes to get your partner into the mood or you wait for another time.  She jokes that all she has to do is show her husband her boobs and he is in the mood.  In a romance, you are "wanted" more than anything, even wine or chocolate.

3.  I love a happy ending.  There should be more happy endings in real life.  Why not? If all of this bad can happen why not a lot of good.

4.  In romances, no obstacle is insurmountable.  There is always a solution.  No one is perfect, everyone has flaws including the characters but they don't let things get them down forever.

5.  I love the fact that a slightly rounded, "older" woman can find romance with a hot looking younger man.  He doesn't care about her age or her rounded parts.  In fact, they turn him on.  (Oh, Tim Riggins would you be my cub?)

I guess ultimately, romances allows us to dream.  So everyone who writes romances lift your head up high.  You supply people with dreams and it is a wonderful thing to be the supplier of dreams.

Peace out,
MRD

Not going to be bringing my "A" game today

I came home yesterday and the husband was in a terrible mood.  It was one of those moods that with him just spirals and spirals.  Nothing goes right until he falls asleep.  Everything, even the slightest thing annoys him and further spirals him into a bad mood.  Normally with these type of moods, he also gets insomnia.  I think that he riles himself up, so that no matter what he takes to sleep, it doesn't work.  He also doesn't help himself.  He expects his sleeping pills to do all of the work.  I really don't think that it is how it goes.  You should be trying to relax, so that it does its job.  So all night long, I heard about everything that was wrong in his life.  His truck needs to be inspected.  He needs new glasses.  His back really hurts.  He needs to do something about his teeth.  The teeth are a big issue.  He supposedly needs to have 5 of them in the front replaced because of gum disease.  Here is the problem.  We only have one person working in this house.  I have excellent health care.  The procedures that I have gone through lately, the co payments have not been crazy but terrible dental coverage.  We are only allowed 1200 in dental a year.  What they want to do with my husband has been estimated at 11,000.  I don't have the rest in my back pocket.  I really wish I did.  So every time that he gets into one of these moods, he brings this and various other things up.  It is quite defeating.  He finally fell asleep around 1 am which is when I fell asleep.  I can already tell, it is not going to be a good day at work.  This curriculum work needs all of my brain power.  I can't even brainstorm which means that I am busy.  So the coffee better be flowing.

On a good note, I finally posted my grades for my college course.  So I am officially done with my first "professor" experience.  It will leave me a lot more time to do writing or cater to a crazy husband.  Who knows?  Hoping for the former!

I am still waiting on an answer for one of my submissions.  It has been over 6 weeks now.  I am going to start revising it and sub it out to different publishers.

Peace out,
MRD

Finally complete

My list is finally complete!!!  I can't believe it.  Yesterday I cleaned like a rock star.  I even took down the curtains in the kitchen and in the bathroom and washed them.  I don't know what came over me.  I am also done with all of my correcting for the college course that I taught.  All I have to do is now tally all of the grades and submit the final grade.  I will do that tonight.  Boy, what a weight is off of my shoulders.  I hadn't realized how time consuming that it would be.  Never mind how much gas I would spend and wear and tear on the old car.  I enjoyed the experience but don't think that I will do it again next semester if asked.  Of course, I haven't been asked yet, so it is easy in theory to say this.  When they are dangling more money in front of me, let's see how quick I am to say no.  I preparation for this income to go away in a few weeks, I have signed up to teach in an after school program at my school.  It pays far less than teaching the college course but I don't have to do any additional driving.  I think of this as a plus.  Half of what I made weekly went right into my gas tank.

I am in training/curriculum writing all week.  I tend to get my best ideas when I am in these types of workshops.  So I am looking forward to having the ideas flow. 

Peace out,
MRD

The good and the bad

When you make a list, it really can go a variety of ways.  You could accomplish everything on your list.  You could accomplish only a few things on the list. Or the very last option, you could have performance anxiety and accomplish nothing on the list.  I fall in the middle option. I accomplished a few things on my list.

Things that I accomplished:
1.  Going to Dunkin Donuts for coffee.  There has to be priorities.
2.  I went food shopping.  I will probably have to pop in again today because I forgot a few items.  I really should make a list for grocery shopping but that would be too organized.
3.  I decorated most of the house.  It looks good and with the candles in the windows, I can now hold my head high with the neighbors.
4.  I made the buffalo wings for my husband to take with him last night.  I also dropped him off because parking where he was going is nuts.
5.  Went to Rite-aid to pick up my husbands prescription for sleeping pills.  I really don't know why he takes them because they don't work.  He has been up all night playing Call of Duty Black Ops, a few feet from me and my laptop, as I write.  This is a problem for me on different levels.  I like to write on my laptop.  I have a home office but don't like to write on the ancient desktop there.  When he is playing his stupid games, I can't concentrate on writing.  So lately, he has been cramping my style.

The rest of the list, I didn't accomplish yesterday.  But the good things about lists is that you can pick up where you left off.  I have already cleaned the bathroom, taken down the curtains and am doing my first load of laundry.

Another thing that I did yesterday that wasn't on the list was go and drop off more money for an oil delivery for Monday.  As I was getting decorations from the basement, I decided to look at the oil level.  It was getting low which seems kind of quick but I don't want to run out.  So I went and made arrangements, with cash in hand, to have more come tomorrow.  I really wish there was another way.  Solar or wind power would be great.  I hate relying on oil to heat my house.

Peace out,
MRD

So much to do

There is so much to do today.  I am starting to get anxiety about it.  When you work five days a week, you have such an expectation for the weekend.  I think that we forget that it is only two days but we try to cram so much within those 48 hours.  So I figured that I should make a list.

To do list:
1.  Dunkin Donuts- You have to start the day off right.  Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, or so they say. Since I don't have much in food in the house, I am going to have to get some much needed coffee.

2.  Clean house-Start with the kitchen that it s total pit, if someone came to my door, I would have to pretend that I am not here.  The kitchen is such a mess.  I mean scary mess.  When I talk about my dream of getting a dishwasher, there is a reason.  I would rather scrub toilets than wash dishes.

3.  Go food shopping.  I am pretty sure that the husband is out of milk which is a crime in my house.  I am toying with the idea of getting a cow.  It would probably be cheaper.  My husband calls milk, "the nectar of the gods".  Go figure!  I'm more of a pinot noir woman but variety is the spice of life.

4.  Go to Rite-aid and pick up the husband's sleep pills.  Why?  I don't know.

5. Start decorating the house.  It is starting to look pathetic compared to the ones on the block.  Even the husband mentioned something about it in bed last night.  If I was more awake at 1 am when this conversation took place, I might have reminded him that he doesn't work and there is nothing stopping him from decorating when I am in work all day.

6.  Make buffalo wings for tonight.  Husband is going to a "guy thing" and volunteered to bring some wings. I can throw them in the oven while cleaning or decorating, no big deal.

7.  Correct papers for my college class.  I have three sets of papers to correct and input the grades.  I will be totally finished after that!

8.  Get in some writing time.  I am going to sub out Fated Mates to other publishers.  I have been waiting on one publisher for 6 weeks now and getting antsy.  So when the husband is doing his thing, I will have the house to myself and should be able to do some writing. 

Or pass out from trying to accomplish my list.  I will let you know tomorrow what I have accomplished.

Peace out,
MRD

Wall bangers

Doing research is part of my job, so when I committed to writing erotica I decided not only to read as much as I could (not a hardship) but also read about writing erotica.  What I have read over and over again is that readers do not like reading about wall bangers.  My question is why?  As a reader, I don't mind them.  As a matter of fact, I find them really hot.  What is there not to like about a hot, muscled man tunneling his hands in your hair.  He twists your hair around his hand and pulls your head back, lifting your lips. You gasp in pleasure with just a hint of pain.  He takes advantage of your parted lip and bends down to kiss you.  No, not just any kiss, he devours your lips like he is starving.  He is starving for the taste of you.  You taste better than a fine wine.  You are so desperate for each other that he lifts you up and plunges into you over and over again, against the wall.

See, nothing wrong with that.

Peace Out,
MRD

All I want for Christmas is home improvements

My house is old and outdated.  All I want for Christmas is some remodeling done.  The problem, in one word, is my husband.  Our house it the house that he grew up in.  So every change takes away from the house that he shared with his parents.  In the six years that we have lived there, I have been able to make improvements in a total of 2 rooms and considering that the house is the size of a doll's house, it is not a major accomplishment.  The first room that I was able to change was the living room.  Picture it, gold shag carpeting and orange and green velvet wallpaper.  A friend of mine called the wallpaper "carrots and peas."  I tore up the carpet and behold, hardwood floors! The walls are a beautiful Moroccan Red now.  He was happy with the outcome.  After a few more years, I was able to convince him to convert the old den into a home office.  Down came the textured brown tweed wallpaper to be replace with a nice sunny yellow.  There were hardwoods under that carpet too, so up came the brown and gold indoor/outdoor carpeting in that room. Again, happy with that outcome.  Now I am at a standstill and it is killing me.

You have to understand, I come from a house where my mother remodeled every few years.  My sister is constantly painting the rooms in her house.  The fact that my husband's parents hardly ever changed anything in all of the years that they lived their is foreign to me. 

So this brings me to the kitchen.  The wallpaper (yes more) is shot.  I picked out this wallpaper in 1988!  I had just met my husband and his mother asked me what I would choose.  Now, what I liked then is nothing like what I like now.  How could it be?  I was 18 years old at the time.  Small blue flowers on a white background and a chair rail of baskets and hears appealed to me.  I was in love with love at the time.  What did I know?  I also permed my hair that is curly to begin with!!  My idea is make the wall between the living room and the kitchen a half wall and then paint the kitchen and the hall.  I can't tell you how many ways that this idea was shot down.  I haven't even started on the white linoleum counter tops with gold fleck that is so old that it has lost its shine.  Or the flooring that was fixed with huge roofing nails because it squeaked.  The fridge that I have to defrost with a hair dryer every few weeks or the stove that 2 burners or no longer working.  All I want is a half wall and some paint.  WTF.

So the battle begins.

MRD

Need a weekend to get over my weekend

Boy did I have an interesting weekend.  It was filled with highs and lows. I have to say that going to the local chapter of Romance Writers totally invigorated me.  It was wonderful to meet such a wonderful and supportive group of people.  I had to say people because there was one man in attendance.  Let's hear it for the men in the house who love romance!!!  They treated me like I was one of their own.  Normally, when you go to meetings filled with strangers, there is a warming up period but that was not the case.  Everyone was so friendly and supportive, wanting to know about my own "writing" and my real life job.  It was so wonderful.  I was  a little star struck. I finally met Amber Skyze whose writing is amazing. What I couldn't believe was that Hannah Howell was part of the group and was as normal as normal can be (Of course what is really normal?).  I can't tell you how many of her books are on my shelves in my office.  I would embarrass myself.  I just couldn't believe it.  I met so many wonderful authors.  I spent some of Saturday night when I couldn't sleep (will explain) researching their books.  I came home and started writing ideas down.  Wonderful.

Couldn't sleep Saturday night.  Husband was going through a bout of his insomnia.  So I basically got about 2 hours of sleep.  When he is miserable, everyone is miserable.  Not the best trait but I have accepted that.  As he stays up longer and longer, the more he rants about everything that he feels "sucks" about his life.  Finally, he passed out around 7 in the morning.  I unfortunately was so tired that I never made it to my sister's house for breakfast and it was my week to pick up the Dunkin' Donuts.  No one was happy about that.

After not having any sleep, I now had to attend a "thing" as my aunt called it at her house with my mother.  The "thing" was meeting a cousin that I had never met before.  My mother's family is very fragmented for reasons that I will not go into, so this cousin wanted to meet all of my family.  My mother conned me into driving with her because she wasn't feeling well.  She also promised that we would be home at a decent hour.  I agreed but wasn't very happy.  The lack of sleep was starting to get to me.  So long story short, the decent hour to get home came and went and I didn't get home until 8.  The husband was ticked and all of the work that I planned on doing went undone.  To say that I have dishes piled up to the ceiling would be just about accurate (I am starting a dishwasher fund, if anyone is interested in donating!).  I am unplanned for my class tomorrow night, even though it is the last one.  And I am so unprepared for work today!  But I had to do some writing.

Peace out,
MRD

Daydreaming/Brainstorming

Yesterday, I attended more professional development on teaching children how to write expository and narrative texts.  Great information but I have to say that my mind was constantly daydreaming/brainstorming about the the story that I am writing, Saddle Up. I was totally consumed by the scenarios that I was creating in my mind.  It was killing me that I could not write them down.  The presenter, like any good presenter, walked around to keep the participants engaged. So sitting there writing a sex scene was totally out of the question.  Also, we were all sitting quite close together. So all of the people around me would have know exactly what I was writing.  We are a very intimate group.  Very few people who read this blog know my "real" name.  It is not that I am ashamed at what I write.  I am actually very proud of it.  It is just that with my day job, writing Erotica would be frowned upon. So I keep it private. I couldn't wait to get home and do some writing.

On another note, I am totally excited today to be attending the local chapter of Romance Writers.  The topic of conversation is going to be on brainstorming, I am excited about learning about something that will benefit my writing. I also can't wait to meet an author that I have read and have become "email" friendly with, Amber Skyze.

This morning, I also just finished a book by Tina Donahue called Lush Velvet Nights.  I highly recommend this book. I really enjoyed that her main character Nathan had to work through insecurities from his past before embracing love again for himself. 

Peace Out,
MRD

Writing Workshop

If you can believe it, I have been in a workshop all day on teaching children how to write.  Of course it is a program that the district purchased and we were learning how to implement it but it was very informational.  It taught me different techniques on how to teach expository writing.  Talking about writing made me think about all of the writing that I want to do and how I have been slacking a bit lately. Not that I want to make excuses but job number 1 has been crazy.  We are going to be partnering with a nonprofit group for educational reform, so I have been running around like a chicken with it's head cut off and bringing a lot of work home.  Job number 2 is winding down.  The last class of the semester is next week and I can't wait. I enjoyed teaching it but the hour ride home at night was a killer.  I am unsure if they ask me again, if I will do it. So I have not had a lot of time to do writing but I have been thinking about it a lot.  I am also waiting to see if my first story will be rejected. I was told the expected wait time was five to six weeks.  This week, I hit the five week mark, so I am getting more and more anxious every day.  I can't check personal e-mail at work, so every day, the minute I get home I am checking to see if I have received any news.

On another note, I was watching one of my favorite shows last night. The show is Psych.  They did a homage to Twin Peaks last night.  While the show was funny as usual, I have to say that I probably missed more than half of the jokes because I never have seen Twin Peaks before.  I had absolutely no background knowledge so instead of some of the things being funny, I just found them weird.  I don't know why I felt like sharing that but I just did!

A new appreciation for people who will be cold this winter

Yesterday, after coming home from The Christmas Spectacular with the Rockettes, I noticed that my house was pretty chilly.  At first, I blamed it on the fact that my husband likes to sleep with a window open.  Another bad sign was that there was no hot water.  So I armed myself with a flashlight and went into a section that I rarely visit.  The oil tank section and much to my horror.  The oil gauge read empty. 

I immediately called the oil company.  They wanted an extra one hundred dollars to come out on a Sunday.  Forget that, I thought to myself.  How cold could it really get inside the house?  I didn't really need a shower before going to work.  I could sponge it and put the hair up in a twist.  So thinking that I was doing the smart thing, I snuggled with the husband in bed early.  Can you say that it was 50 flipping degrees in the house this morning?  I thought that my hands and feet were going to fall off.

By the time that I got to work, the oil company called and told me that my order was being processed.  Was it ok for them to charge my card? A company that I have been with for over 5 years was asking me to pre-pay for my oil.  No offense, I was told, just policy.  What if I hadn't been able to come up with the money?  Would they have let me freeze?  I'm thinking, yes.

I am saddened by this.  How many inner city children that I work with every day will be cold this winter?  How many of them will count on the 6 hours that they are in school to be warm and fed 2 meals?

I guess the point is that even with my meager resources, I am thankful that I have them.

Peace out,
MRD

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.  I am up at the crack of dawn because I have to go to my sister's house to prepare the turkey.  Out of the two of us, I am the better cook but she has the house to accommodate the people.  Barbie's dream house is bigger than my house.  I don't usually care about this except around the holidays.  All of our apartments were bigger, so we would have people over.  I would take out the china and the crystal and cook up a storm.  I loved it.  Now I don't do it at all and I miss it.

Also, the husband is boycotting going to her house for dinner.  He has a lot of excuses- his back hurts, doesn't want to be around the kids (He has his reasons, he's not a bad guy.)... I understand them but I won't be able to fully enjoy myself knowing that he is at home, even though it is his choice.  I guess tomorrow, I will be cooking our own Thanksgiving dinner.  I don't do Black Friday.  I did it once with my mother and sister and thought that I was going to murder them around 5:00am when I was standing in a line at Toys R Us that seemed endless. 

Eat, drink, and enjoy your day,

MRD

Thank you, you strong women

I would like to give thanks to all of the strong woman in my life that inspire me, counsel me, and uplift me.

My mother is the strongest woman that I will ever know in my lifetime.  She married "late" in life and starting having us at what is considered an "advanced maternal age".  She had 4 children in 5 years.  My brother Carl and I are exactly one year apart.  So they were busy.  Unfortunately, she had to raise us alone.  Due to cancer, she was left with 4 small children ages 9-4.  She never complained.  We lived on Social Security but we never wanted for anything. She was able to put all four of us through college which is quite the accomplishment. My stubbornness comes from her.

I am thankful for the women who battle to have a baby every day.  Their strength is unparalleled.  Daily needles in the stomach and in the ass.  Getting headaches, nausea, bloat from all of the hormones when in actuality they only have a 20% of it working.  These women know their bodies possibly better than their doctors.  A holiday should be devoted to these women that struggle with this!  These women are my inspiration.

Lastly, women who stick up for themselves whether it be to a boyfriend, husband, boss, and/or doctor should be commended.  Don't let anyone keep you down.

This, Thanksgiving, I am giving thanks for all of the strong women in my life.  When I raise a glass of wine tomorrow (one of many), one of them will be a toast to you.

Peace out,
MRD

A royal wedding brings out the romantic in all of us

What is it about a royal wedding that has us all enthralled? I have to admit, it gives me a little thrill that there will be a wedding next year. I think that it really brings me back to the memory of my mother waking me up in the early morning to watch the wedding of Lady Di and Prince Charles.  We watched it on a very grainy tv but it was a special memory between the two of us.  She only woke me up to watch it with her, my brothers and sister remaining asleep throughout the event.

There is just something innately romantic about the whole royalty "thing".  Maybe it is because I am an American and we don't have official royalty. There is something mysterious about the whole thing.  I think that it is a romanticism of the fairy tales of our childhood. In modern society, I don't think that we believe that a prince will come and take care of us and all of our problems will be solved.  We live in a much too feministic society for that but it is the mystique and the romance of it that keeps us intrigued. We want to be swept off of our feet but we are also secure in our own lives to know that it is not the the ultimate culmination of our lives.

With that said, whatever date, I will be up and watching with stars in my eyes.

Peace out,
MRD

Half day today

I decided to take a half day today and go into work a little late.  I have a few errands that I would rather take care of in the morning than in the afternoon.  I have to drop off the husband's student loan in Warwick.  I totally forgot to put it in the mail and it is due today.  Oops! I have had just too much on my mind lately.  So now my head is screwed on straight and it is time to get back to life. I really wish that I had taken the whole day off but I have so much paperwork to do at school today. I just want to sit in front of the tv and watch all of my dvr shows.  I am also looking forward to having some pizza and wine tonight.  A lot of wine.  I can almost taste it!

Peace Out,
MRD

Ahhh.....

This morning for the first time in weeks I feel more like myself. I originally was kidding yesterday about a bath curing my writer's block but maybe I was on to something.  Last night after a heated discussion with the husband around why I should or should not take a bath, I did.  It was pure bliss. It felt purely orgasmic slipping into the steamy water. I eventually relaxed. Of course that was after my husband had to come into the bathroom to ask me a question. When he came in, one of the cats (The Dread Pirate Roberts, nickname Boo) came in after him and tried to jump in the tub with me.

When I finally settled in, I was able to think about the story that I started a few weeks ago.  I was able to envision the initial sex scene happening on an outside porch swing. Later today, I will start writing things down again.

So hopefully, the block is gone and I am back.  At least I am blogging again which I consider a good sign on the writing front.

Peace out,
MRD

Possible cure for my writing block

I have been thinking about one of the reasons why I haven't even been thinking about writing and I think that I have identified it.  One of my places to think about possible stories and current ones is in the bathtub.  I know it sounds weird but it's true.  Ever since childhood, I have taken a bath every night.  It helps me relax and is a place where I am my most creative.  It just seems like as I am soaking in the steaming water that the ideas just come to me. I haven't been able to take a bath in almost 2 weeks.  So I am missing part of my important writing ritual.  Never mind the ease of shaving my legs every day, I just can't get it right in the shower.

Well, I say no longer.  I am done with the tub "fast"! Tonight, hell, maybe even this afternoon, I am going to soak in a nice long bath.  Screw the cats clawing on the door to get to me and the litter box, the husband who wants to talk to me, the stress of the day, I am going to do it.  Let the ideas flow!

Peace out,
MRD

Can't sleep and a long day ahead

Hi all,
I know that I have been missing lately.  Things have been a little crazy in all aspects of "real" life, so I really haven't thought about writing.  What really scares me is that I REALLY have not thought about writing.  It is very unlike me not even to compose stories in my head as I am driving to school.  I guess, this could be called the"mother" of all writing blocks.  I hope that I will get back into the groove very soon.  I guess writing this blog today is a first step back towards my goal.

I also think that not qualifying for the writing contest really effected me.  I am not a person used to failure, which makes it so much harder for me when it happens.  Especially if I really believe in what I am doing and I really did believe in that story.  Well, that is water under the bridge.  I am planning to attend the local chapter of Romance Writers to surround myself with "people" like me.  Maybe that will be just the thing that I need right now.

Did I mention that I have now finished all of the laundry in the house?  I will be paying for it tonight when I am trying to teach undergrads at URI,  but right now I feel a sense of accomplishment.

MRD

Up early

I am up early.  I was going to get up and vote but I am so cold. I have decided to wait until the sun is fully up.  I have to vote at the college in my town, so I might have made a great mistake.  I could be waiting outside for a while and there's probably not going to be any parking.

I am feeling like crap today. I am totally hormonal! Even school being out today can't even lighten my spirit. I even cancelled my college course at night. I just can't stomach the long ride to stand in front of the students that try and text under their desks, like I can't see it.

My story didn't get picked for Tawny Taylor's contest, so I am a little bummed about that. I knew it wouldn't be that easy but I'm still bummed.

I am trying to stay positive.  Those who know me, send me positive vibes for tomorrow.

Peace out,
MRD

Some Like It Hot

I have entered my first writing contest.  Yesterday, I entered my first chapter of Sacred Mates into Tawny Taylor's Some Like It Hot contest. I was able to submit it in time for the first round, so I will only have to wait until Monday to see if I make it to the next round. I like the first chapter, so we'll see what happens.

I didn't do a lot of writing yesterday.  The husband decorated his friend's grave for Halloween.It was their favorite holiday. I have never been a fan of Halloween. Even as a child, I have been weary of "what's behind the mask". I'm a freak, I know.  Don't even ask me about clowns! So last night, he wanted to go see how it looked. Yes, I did say night.  He had placed some solar powered decorations. So I took a trek into the cemetery after dark. This presented a problem for me on two levels. One, I have an overactive imagination (Imagine that!). So I can totally find it believable that bad things could happen to you in a cemetery at night. Two, it's a cemetery at night, enough said! So I drove him. I wanted to be in control of the vehicle, just in case a zombie decided to come around a corner.

"Are you going to get out of the car and see it close up," he asked.
"Hell, no!" Does he think that I am that stupid, I could be the woman at the beginning of the horror movie that does a totally stupid thing (like going to a cemetery at night) and gets killed before the opening credits.
"Just so you know, you better have your sneakers on because if something comes out of the dark at you, you are totally on your own. I'm flooring it and leaving your ass behind."

Needless to say, he was not amused.

Have a great Saturday,
MRD

Saddle Up

Saddle Up is the working title of a new story that I am writing. It is a cowboy story because who doesn't love cowboys?  There is just something about a man in cowboy boots, tight jeans, and on a horse that makes the blood pump. The story is about Tasha and Dev. Her brother is working on his ranch in Colorado when he gets hurt. Tasha goes out there to make sure that he is going to fine and she meets the incredibly sexy owner of the ranch. He is 8 years her junior but that is not going to stop him from getting what he wants and that is Tasha.

I got a good start on it last night.  It was the first night all week that I felt like writing. Things at the house seem to be finally settle down and I got the itch to write. I don't think that it ever went away. In my head, I am always thinking about writing. I was able to write over 1,000 words down, which is not a lot but it is a start. Today, I am out of work at 10:30. It is a pd day at school, so I am taking a two hour workshop and then I'll be done. I am thinking of taking the laptop to the library for some quiet time but we will see.  It feels good to be back.

Peace out,
MRD

Drama, drama, drama

I have decided to take a mental heath day from the day job which is sorely needed.  I hate drama.  My family calls my husband "the Drama Queen".  It is almost like it looks and finds him.  I am going through somethings right now that studies show that stress could have a negative impact on the outcome.  So, I really didn't need what happened last night to have happened.

It all started innocently enough.  I had just gotten into the bath which I do nightly as a relaxation ritual, when the doorbell rang.  No one comes to my house without calling first.  I don't like it.  I like to be prepared before I let anyone in.  I am the type of person to let dishes sit in the sink if I am involved in my writing or some other type of project.  (I vow that some day, I will get a dishwasher!)

It was one of my husband's cousin, the crazy one.  Once I realized that she was going to stay a while, I got dressed again and went to be sociable.  It was the weirdest frigging conversation.  We haven't seen her since my MIL's passing and even then I can't remember if we talked.  She talked about how she bought a house in Illinois and is leaving her husband of 28 years.  She also talked about her children, grandchildren, and the son in jail.  If that wasn't bad enough, then things got really weird.  She started talking about the deaths of both of my husbands parents.  Then she dropped the bomb.

"Do yo know that your father was married before your mother?  He brought home a bride from Germany after WWII but the family didn't approve."

To say that my husband looked like he had been run over by a truck would have been an understatement.  Do you mean to tell me that in 40 years, the subject never came up anywhere in the family?  REALLY???

The ironic thing is that she didn't realize how upset he really was.  A good clue was the soup can he was holding was slowly being crushed in his hand, STUPID!  I honestly couldn't get her out of the house fast enough.  It took until midnight for my husband to stop pacing around the house.  I know the minute he gets up he will be on the phone to relatives.

I swear, I want to put my house in a bubble, right after I disconnect the doorbell.

Drama, drama, drama

A child in the '70s

Yesterday as I was waiting in the pharmacy, I caught myself bopping around to the Bee Gee's tune on the radio.  So it got me thinking, how do you know if you were were a true child of the the '70s?
1.  You wore a plaid polyester jumpsuit.
2.  You wore a shirt that said "Roller Boogie" on it in big sparkly letters.
3.  There was no cable tv.  In fact, there were only three major channels.
4.  Sid and Marty Krofft were the geniouses behind most of the best Saturday morning shows.
5.  Mom gave you a Dorothy Hamel haircut despite wanting it or not.
6.  Your Donnie and Marie dolls had holes in their hands where you stuck in their microphones.
7.  Davy Jones was the cute Monkey.
8.  You got to sit in the "way back" of a station wagon with your friends and no one worried about the safety of it.
9.  Your parents forced you to watch Lawrence Welk and you still can sing the goodbye song by heart.
10.  Your crushes were Shawn Cassidy, Andy Gibb, and  Robin (from Batman and Robin)
 And my ultimate...If you thought that by spinning around fast enough, you could turn into Wonder Woman, you were truly a child in the '70s!

Peace out,
MRD

My first query letter

I have finally sent out my first query letter to a publisher just now.  I actually got light headed as I hit the send button.  I know that this is part of the process but all of a sudden, I am terrified.  I actually think that my first three chapters are pretty good but I am a little biased.  I spend all morning long researching query letters on-line because I am really into research.  So once I was satisfied with the information that I gathered, I wrote one and submitted it along with the first three chapters.

Now I wait.

I will leave you as I lift a shot to celebrate this part of my journey.  Cheers!!

Peace out,
MRD

Branded

Where has the week gone?  I have been so busy that I neglected this blog and most writing.  I am not proud of this!  But it has been one hell of a crazy week.  On Tuesday, I had a doctor's appointment, so I decided that I better do some additional leg shaving.  While shaving the back of my left thigh, I nicked a mole.  A river was flowing down my leg (not the good kind either).  For some unknown reason (I blame the husband), there was not a band-aid to be found.  The only thing that we had were huge CVS bandages.  So I slapped one on and went to bed.  In the morning, I took it off only to start bleeding again!  So again, I put on the huge bandage.  I'm surprise that during my appointment, it was not brought up.  The entire day and into the evening, it hurt and burned but since I wasn't going to home until late, I sucked it up.

When I finally got home, I asked my husband to remove the bandage and take a look at what was happening back there.  Well, when he ripped off of the bandage, all of my skin came with it.  I must be allergic to the glue.  So now, I have a wound and around it is a perfect 3x4 rectangular outline.  I have been branded.  I go to the doctor's again in the morning.  I am not getting out of a question this time.  All I have to say is,only me!!!

To Keep or Not to Keep

Before starting on weekend errands yesterday, I was able to do some jotting on my final sex/love scene between my characters.  By the time I got home, I wasn't in the most "creative" mood, so I did some editing thanks to the wonderful advice of the talented Amber Skyze.  I am still floored that she would take valuable writing time to give someone like me advice. Back to editing!  Everything was going along fine until I started editing Chapter Three.  In the chapter, I go into Dragon's back story.  It talks about his military career, being a POW, and how he lost his eye and gained the eye patch.  (I have a thing about patches.  Its has nothing to do with pirates but more with the character of Patch on Day of Our Lives in the '80's!)  I actually had a dream about this chapter last night. The back story is good but I also think that it could be trimmed to one paragraph to keep the story moving.  Other than how he got the eye patch, the chapter really didn't move the story forward.  So today between meeting my sister, brother-in-law and the kids for breakfast, housework, scheduling for the week, getting a presentation ready, and correcting quizzes for a college course that I am teaching, I will be "trimming the fat" from Chapter Three.  I wish it was as easy to do it to the waistline as well.

Peace Out,
MRD

P.S. I probably still will be muddle over To Keep or Not to Keep long after the decision is made.

The Freebie List

A few weeks ago, I was listening to my sister and brother-in-law talk about a movie they had just seen, when my sister said that she was adding the actor to her "Freebie List".  The list of celebrities that you could sleep with if you ever ran across them in real life AND they wanted you, without "reprisals" from the spouse.

I thought of this conversation last night as my husband opened our new Netflix selection and rolled his eyes.  I have a crush!  I am going to freely admit that I have a crush on a young actor named Taylor Kitsch.  It is not scandalous. I could have been his very young babysitter not his mother.  There is only 11 years between us.  Not bad, right?  I started watching Friday Night Lights because of him and then grew to really love the show despite football not being my favorite sport.  I am a guys of summer type of gal.  There is just something about him that makes me want to lick him like an ice cream cone.  I know once I finish Lisa and Dragon's story, a character based on him will find its way into one of my stories.

So here is my "Freebie List":
1.  Taylor Kitsch
2. Vane- Night Play by Sherrilyn Kenyon
3. Aragon played by Viggo Mortensen but not Viggo, if that makes sense
4.  Mr. Knightly
5.  George Clooney (no list is complete without "The Clooney")
6.  Dragon (From my story, he would never forgive me!)

That's it for now.  I am sure that I have forgot many, many yummy men.  Who is on your Freebie List?

Peace Out,
MRD

MIA but still writing

I have neglected the blog for a few days for the sake of writing and editing my story.  I just got home from the day job and had to throw my clothes in the wash.  An order came in that I had to move and as I was doing it a cockroach ran across one of the boxes.  Probably not the best day to wear pants with a wide cuff!  I practically stripped in the doorway but since I didn't hear any of the neighbors screaming about being blind, I think that I am safe.  Let's hope washing the clothes on a super long cycle will kill anything that I may have brought home with me.  God, I hope not!!!!

Just threw some chicken in the oven, so I should have a good 40 minutes to write before I start making the sides for dinner.

Peace Out,
MRD

Shaky start but solid ending

Well, I was all prepared to start writing early today.  All house work was finished.  Husband was sure to be sleeping for hours.  There was nothing that was going to stop me.  Of course, I had not planned on a neighbor starting a chainsaw at 7 am and continuing until 1pm.  It was so distracting that for a while all I could do was stare at the computer screen.  The noise also woke up the husband who had just gotten to sleep a few hours before.  You can see where this is going.  So I also had to deal with a very cranky man (In real life, is there anything but?), who couldn't understand why someone would want to cut down trees early on a holiday.  It's not like we live in the woods!  I still want to know what they could have been cutting for so long.

After a few hours of trivial drama, I finally settled down to do some serious writing.  It felt really awesome when the ideas flowed out into the computer.   Sometimes I am a traditionalist.  I tend to write things down on paper first.  I have not graduated to just typing my thoughts on the computer.  I know that I am probably wasting a lot of time but it is my process.  Who knows if what I am writing is any good???  I like it, but doesn't every writer think what they are writing is good and going to be published.  I know that is my hope.  For the next few days, I plan to put in a few hours of writing after work.  If I stick to my plan, my story will be completed by the weekend.  I know that it will give me a sense of accomplishment to finally complete it.  I have been working on it, part-time, for a very long time.  I also have so many other stories rattling around in my brain begging to come out.

I have plans to join the local chapter of romance writers in my state soon.  Hopefully, I will be able to workon my craft and get some feedback on what I have already written.

I have the itch, so I might put some more time in this evening but Dancing with the Stars is on tonight and I have to put in some work for the daytime job.

Peace Out,
MRD

Almost done

I am almost done writing my first Sci-fi erotic novella.  While my mind is constantly thinking about the last few scenes to write, real life is getting in the way.  On a cool fall day like today, I should be doing so many different things, like cleaning the basement, bathroom, or doing work for the "real" job!  It is so tough to concentrate when Dragon and Lisa are hammering in my brain for their story to be finished.  He thinks me cruel.  I have finally mated him but have not gotten them together for some explosive sex.  I am hoping to get in some good writing time in the wee morning hours when I won't be bothered.  Once I am finished, I am hoping to do some more research on e-publishers.

Peace Out,
MRD