Novel decisions ...

I've been busy this past week with preparations for both Christmas and Club Justice. My family will all be home this year! My youngest brother is a MP and just returned from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. He will be stationed at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri now, but will be bringing his wife and two sons home to Indiana for a visit. The second to the youngest will be coming in from a more tame local of Houston, but we will be happy to see him just the same! LOL The other three of us just stayed right here. *wink* 

Between the phone calls, emails, and texts that surround this time of year I have found little time to write. Don't think I have been idle though! I commissioned a book cover made for Club Justice that I can use to publish it in ebook format and in part for print through CreateSpace. So part of those emails flying was looking at mockups, requesting changes, and trying to bring the vision/dream in my head to fruition. I also spent a lot of time looking into CreateSpace. If anyone has any experience with it I would LOVE to hear about it, bad or good. 

Other than that ... I've sent the MS to a trusted friend for a read over for story line and have spoke with another who is very good at proofreading for both content and technical aspects. I don't expect anyone to have time until after the first of the year, but it feels good to be shuffling forward in my quest. So that is my update. I hope you all have a Merry Christmas and are gifted with family, love, and creativity. 

Love, 

     

I Finished my Novel!!

Yes I have been writing something, just not BLOG entries! LOL 87,608 words of blood, sweat, and tears! Finishing felt AMAZING! I was on top of the world. I read through it, start to finish tweaking and editing, and loved it! *Thank God I trusted my writing partner in those moments of doubt* Call it vanity, but it is a good feeling to read back over your work and enjoy it. 

So, with that finished, I have a couple people that have agreed to read over it and offer their thoughts and expertise. *hugs!* However, what no one warned me of ... now comes the hard part. What do I do with my baby now? Do I go for ease and instant gratification and put it up on Amazon through the KDP program, or do I shop it around to try and find a publisher interested? It doesn't fall easily into a genre category. The tale is of family and love. It involves drama, crime, & passion. Maybe the encompassing mainstream? Ughhh I'm in uncharted waters here people. Any thoughts will be greatly appreciated! 

Love, 

Mara   

BLOGGER procrastination of the worst kind!

I can't believe it has been 6 months! *BLUSHES* Unbelievable! I wish I had some fabulously creative excuse that would inspire you all, something to tug at the heart strings and put you all firmly behind me ... but truth be known it was just pure laziness and life that kept me away.

For much of those six months I've indulged my creative side with little tales inspired by contest prompts on Writing.com or played at a round robin story with a dear friend. TONS of fun, but not the step towards further publication I had hoped for. I've recently picked up my novel WIP, Club Justice, and dusted it off in hopes of digging back in. I hope that I can stick to the task there, as well as here, and continue my journey towards publication of a longer piece. Funny how you have to finish it first. lol

Oh! And what would a BLOG visit be with out a bit of shameless self promotion?  LOL I did have a couple more short stories hit the Amazon site while I was gone. These stories are of the naughty erotic variety, always a genre near and dear to my heart. *Wink* Give them a peek if you get at chance!

http://www.amazon.com/Daily-Flashes-Erotica-Quarterly-April/dp/1617060984/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_3

http://www.amazon.com/Erotica-Quarterly-July-Shauni-Barencourte/dp/1617061158/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_1

It is good to be back and I look forward to catching up with everyone! <3

~ Mara McBain

Bernard Pivot BLOGFEST!

What is your favorite word? ~ Minion ... I don't know why other than it makes me laugh and I want one! 

What is your least favorite word? ~ Cunt ... enough said.

What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally? ~ Reading, Incense, laughter

What turns you off? ~ Noise and confusion 

What is your favorite curse word? ~ Fuck .. it can be used sooo many ways!

What sound or noise do you love? ~ Water 

What sound or noise do you hate? ~ Fingernails on a chalkboard ... random noise and confusion.

What profession other than your own would you like to attempt? ~ Hmmm other than author ... serial killer has often intrigued me. 

What profession would you not like to do? ~ Child Protective Services ... it would send me into the serial killer profession for sure. 

If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates? ~ "Ahhh there you are! Come on in." 

Fear ...

I don't know if it is a case of mid-manuscript blues or laziness. I've surpassed the 50k mark on my WIP and crept to a near halt. I have maintained my 5k a week goal for a month and a half now, but this week ... this week it is like I am afraid to write. I know that sounds crazy, but that is what it feels like. I don't know if it is fear of not meeting my weekly goals, I mean after all I am only answering to myself, or if it is fear what I am writing is just not going to be good enough as a whole.

My calender for February is brutal when it comes to things that will cut into my writing time. Hitting my 5k mark will be all but impossible with the mixture of no school days, dentist appointments (not to mention the haze I will be in after my wisdom tooth is cut out), working on normal days off, holidays, an anniversary, and two birthdays!

Spilling all that to my beloved writing partner,  Adriana , yesterday she quietly suggested easing up on myself. Her thought was backing off on the word count goal would allow me to breathe and break through the icy fear, allowing me to move forward, even if at a slower pace. Soo we are going to try that. I've backed the magic goal off to 2k a week for this month, obviously more when/if I can manage it. I ended up with with a little over 900 words yesterday, which are the first words of the week. Not a bad start.

Wish me luck.

Love,

MM

Weekly Word Count and Another Publication!

It has been a strange week for writing. I have Wednesday and Friday off and I have to thank God for previously unheard of production this Wednesday. I ended up with 3026 words. That's A new high for me. In comparison, Friday's word count was a paltry 973. This wouldn't be such an issue, I have my 5000 weekly goal broke into 833 words a day 6 days a week with a day off, BUT I didn't write a word Mon., Tue., or Thurs. *winces* I'm not sure what the problem has been this week. I'm confident I will meet my goal with today and tomorrow yet to churn out a mere 1000 words, but it bothers me that really slacked off this week. I could have had 7-8 k this week if I had followed my normal schedule the other days.

Onto good news, two of my short stories, On the Chance and Promise of Tomorrow, were accepted to the Static Movement Anthology, Something from the Attic 2! The editor, the fabulous Chris Bartholomew had such kind words to say about my writing. It is amazing how a couple words of praise can inspire a writer's confidence.

Lotsa Love and Creativity
~MM

A bit of Exposure and Progress

I had a bit of wonderful news the other day...the anthology Literary Foray is now available on Amazon for purchase and they used an excerpt from one of my stories in the description! It really was unexpected and an honor not to mention a great little bit of exposure for me.

Literary Foray

Those that know me well know I am an incredibly slow writer. Those that don't know me ... now you know too. LOL So with the success of my short stories the last two months of 2010 I wanted to build on that in 2011 with my WIP novel. I have a horrible track record of setting novels aside and never picking them back up. I did not want that to happen to Club Justice. I knew I needed goals to keep me moving, but really struggled with what type of goals to set for it. I finally settled on 5000 words a week. Many of you can blow that out in a day, I know, but not me and I figured it was another step in the right direction and a way to keep the words flowing. I started December 27th with 18589 words and when I closed up Word last night I was at 30965. It is humbling to mark the progress and it gives me great hope. I've added a word count widget to my BLOG to publicly track my progress. Maybe it will help keep me on track.

Another thing that I did for the first time is I created an outline for my WIP. How professional of an outline I can't say, however it is something for me to jot down ideas and high points for the story and refer back to when I hit those blank moments at the beginning of a new chapter. Is there anything as terrifying as a blank page? UGH!

I know it has only been two weeks, but as I am getting fond of saying ... it is another step in the right direction. Wish me luck and the same to you my friends.

~ Love
~ MM



Wishing all a Happy, Creative 2011!

I wish all my BLOGGER friends a Happy and CREATIVE 2011! Welcome the year of the Novel!

Love,

MM