Sacha Willys – Romance Writer
” Passionate love is a quenchless thirst….” ~ Kahlil GibranNaNoWriMo
I did it. I signed up for NaNoWriMo- National Novel Writing Month. In case you aren’t aware of what that is here is some info from their site – http://www.nanowrimo.org/
“National Novel Writing Month is a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to novel writing. Participants begin writing November 1. The goal is to write a 175-page (50,000-word) novel by midnight, November 30. Because of the limited writing window, the ONLY thing that matters in NaNoWriMo is output. It’s all about quantity, not quality. The kamikaze approach forces you to lower your expectations, take risks, and write on the fly.
Will I really do this? I have until Nov. 1 to decide. I’ll keep you posted.
They Like Me!
Yesterday I came home from Camp Swampy and found a box on my doorstep. That’s not unusual. JP and I do a lot of online shopping and my ARCs arrive by mail.
But this box engendered a lot of excitement. It was filled with books. There was no waiting to get it in the house. I had to open it right then and there. JP’s little knife came out, I lifted the flaps and there they were. Hot off the presses brand new copies of “A Cup of Comfort for Cat Lovers,” and each one containing my short story “The Power of the Purr.”
I went right to page 70 and read the story; then flipped to the back to read my bio. Let me tell you there is nothing like seeing your name in print. I wanted to knock on every door in the neighborhood and yell – Hey that’s me! It’s a high like no other. I felt enormous pride that others liked my baby enough to publish it.
I hadn’t let anyone read the story, preferring to wait until the book was released. Now I gave JP a copy and waited for judgment. He liked it, even seemed a little surprised – like it was way better than he expected. I’m not sure I like that, but you can’t complain about a good review.
Today I gave a copy to a co-worker and waited for a less biased opinion. She loved it, said it made her laugh and then cry. You can’t ask for more than that.
Every writer’s goal is to entertain, inspire and stir the emotions. That’s the best compensation ever.
Enter the contest on my website – win a copy of the book.
http://mysite.verizon.net/bookworm.gp/
The Power of the Purr
My alter ego has a story being published next month – “The Power of the Purr.” Here’s the press release. Visit her website to enter her contest for a copy of the book.
A CUP OF COMFORT® FOR CAT LOVERS
STORIES THAT CELEBRATE OUR FELINE FRIENDS
WHAT’S THE STORY?
There are more than 77milion pet cats in the United States according to the National Wildlife Federation. Peaceful, loyal, and loving cats bring joy to their owner’s lives in numerous ways. Now cat lovers everywhere will be uplifted by A Cup of Comfort ®for Cat Lovers: Stories That Celebrate Our Feline Friends (July 8, 2008; Adams Media) edited by Colleen Sell that celebrates the cherished bonds of over fifty cat owners and their favorite felines. From a wayward Calico that rescues his family from a deadly snake to a sophisticated Siamese that helps heal her ailing owner, A Cup of Comfort for Cat® Lovers—the latest in the A Cup of Comfort ® series—is a touching tribute to these furry friends.
The perfect follow-up to A Cup of Comfort® for Dog Lovers, this lovely assemblage is great for basking in the warmth only a pet cat can bring. A nationally best selling brand, A Cup of Comfort®- continues to delight and comfort readers everywhere with personal accounts of life’s sweetest moments. With stories like “A Cat Named Bob” and “The Purrfect Cure” this book is sure to capture the hearts of readers—one meow at a time.
Colleen Sell is the editor of more than sixty published books, including twenty
volumes in the Cup of Comfort® series. She has also been an author, ghostwriter, magazine editor, journalist, columnist, essayist and copywriter.
A CUP OF COMFORT® FOR CAT LOVERS: STORIES THAT CELEBRATE OUR FELINE FRIENDS
Edited by Colleen Sell
Adams Media, a division of F+W Publications
$9.95; ISBN: 1-59869-654-8
Lost in Paradise
It’s been awhile since I’ve posted mainly because I’ve been back and forth between beach and city so many times the station where I gas up hasn’t had to raise it’s prices for 1/2 day. I’m back in Paradise again and for once there are no railings to be painted, no walls to be spackled and no furniture to be replaced. So I’m making good use of my time by writing. I managed to get two contest entries out by the skin of my teeth and I have 2 out of 4 book reviews done. I’m really anxious to see the feedback I get from the contests. My fingers, toes and eyes are crossed.
I thought I’d share something that helped me get my writing spurt going. As a long time reader and subscriber to Holly Lisle’s newsletter I’ve gotten lots of good free advice that’s helped me with my writing. So when Holly put this course together I had no qualms shelling out some hard-earned cash for it. It was well worth the price. I’m not big on doing exercises but the ones in her book were short, painless and best of all they really helped me get my novel back on track. Check it out. You won’t be sorry.
Lost in Munchkin Land
This morning I woke up feeling like one of the survivors on “Lost.” The past two days were spent watching the munchkins while my son and his BW worked on the new house. My constant companions were a 3 year old, a 2.5 year old and a 9 month old.
Nobody was interested in a nap but me. The majority won. We played Wizard of Oz, went for a walk, watched SpongeBob SquarePants, read books and blew lots and lots of bubbles. Needless to say they had my full attention and there was no time to write.
We had a blast but never did I feel more like a baby boomer. There’s a reason why a woman’s fertility starts going downhill after thirty.
Because my life is so hectic – day job, writing, babysitting – I’m always looking for good software so I can work more efficiently. I started my novel in MS Word, a new file for each chapter. It wasn’t long before it became awkward and hard to handle so I looked around for software specifically for writers. There’s a lot out there and most of it is $$$$.
Luckily I came across yWriter when I entered a contest for one of Simon Haynes’ books. I didn’t win the book but I found out he writes great software and gives it away free. I downloaded a copy of yWriter and I’ve been using it ever since. Thank you Simon.
yWriter will organize your book using a “Project,” add scenes, chapters, characters and settings. It provides a word count, automatic back-ups and much more
And did I mention it’s free.
Someone told me about “WriteItNow” by Ravenshead Services and I downloaded the demo to give it a try. It’s user friendly with tabs at the top and a tree view on the left. The help is well documented and there are plenty of extras.
It comes with a short story that illustrates the various features. I chose to use a story idea of my own and start from scratch although I wasn’t able to save anything.
I started with the “Characters” and added a few descriptions. You can even generate new characters and names when you get stuck. There are tabs for “Locations,” “Events,” “Ideas,” “Chapters,” “Notes,” “Charts” and “Submissions.” “WriteItNow” has a thesaurus, spell checker, word count and exports your work in plain text, RTF or HTML.
At $49.95 for the download or $59.95 for the CD WriteItNow is a reasonably priced alternative if you want the extra features.
Transitions
"Life is pleasant. Death is peaceful. It's the transition that's troublesome." - Isaac Asimov
Welcome to my blog. This is my journey - a series of transitions that will take me from civil servant to full-time writer.
I’ll be posting updates on three short stories I’ve sold and you’ll get to share my ups and downs as I struggle to finish my first novel.
