The Robin Gets the (Book) Worm

When last I wrote to you, it was to tell you that I was participating in NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month, from November 1 to November 30.  Writing a 50,000 word book in a month was destined to keep me too busy to work on a blog. Now that November is over, I am here to tell you that I received a badge for starting, then a 5,000 word badge, then 10,000 word badge, then 25,000, and a 40,000 word badge.  I did not, however, receive the 50,000 word badge. By November 30, I was at the 45,200 word mark. I might have stayed up until midnight writing babble to get to the coveted 50,000 word count, but my sleep and my integrity meant more to me! As far as I’m concerned, I did pretty darn good to write 45,200 words in one month. My book is nearly done. The trouble lies in the fact that I have no clue at the moment how the blasted book is going to end. The last 5,000 words are proving to be the hardest. My thanks to all of you who encouraged me in November.  Don’t stop now, I still need you.

I trust you all had a nice Thanksgiving, I certainly did. Being with family is the whole reason I’m on the East Coast. We (Cyndi and Bill) had thirteen people for dinner with enough food for fifty. We had enough pies for everyone to have half a pie! If we walked away from the table hungry, it certainly wasn’t Cyndi’s fault.

And now we look forward to Christmas. I am more ready than I have ever been in my life. Maybe getting productive on my book helped me get productive in all other areas. Indoor and outdoor decorating is done, gifts are bought, cards are sent, and I’m ready to do a little baking.

  
 
 

 

Last week Cyndi, Bill, and I went to Raleigh

to a Donald Trump rally. It was electric and

standing room only. I took a selfie while we

were waiting.

 

 

The robins are back with their little suitcases and maps of North Carolina. I still can’t get over seeing robins in the winter. When I lived in New England, a robin sighting meant the arrival of spring. So Happy Spring, everyone!

Quote of the Day: Happy Christmas to all, and to all a goodnight! Clement Clarke Moore

 

It's November

It’s November. It’s getting chilly. The frost is definitely about to be on the pumpkin. I just turned the space heater on in my office so I have warm air blowing on me. Ahhh, heat, wonderful heat.

It’s November. A time when we celebrate our servicemen and women. A big shout out to all of you who took the time to defend our country and way of life. Thank you for your service!

It’s November. The month we celebrate Thanksgiving. We’re having family over this year, the first time in decades we’ve been close enough to family to be able to have them at our Thanksgiving table. There will be ten of us, ranging from the oldest, me, to the youngest, my great grandson Aiden, who is seven. In our San Diego years, Fred and I would cook a small stuffed chicken, with a few of the accompaniments. If I was lucky, I could get him to eat at the table instead of in front of the TV. Rather than make a whole pie, or two because he likes apple and I like pumpkin, I’d buy one slice of each at the grocery store. This year, it will be turkey, ham, and all of the accompaniments, complete with apple pie, pumpkin pie, and maybe even a chocolate cream pie. What a difference having family around makes. For that I am very thankful.

It’s November. The month I turn a year older. Next week at this time I’ll be seventy-four and I find myself driven to complete the current book I'm writing, Leaving Mark. At this age, anything could happen at any time and I want to make sure my book gets finished before I do. And, who knows, I might just have a few more stories in me that need to be written.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Quote of the Day: Come, ye thankful people, come; raise the song of harvest home. Henry Alford

A Thanksgiving interview with Susan Burns

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.  I hope you’ll be spending the day with family or friends, but whether you do or don’t, please take the time to count your blessings. 

I am so thankful that for the first time in many years we’ll be spending Thanksgiving with family!  My daughter Cyndi and her husband are now living in North Carolina, about fifty minutes away from us and we are invited to their house for dinner next Thursday.  There will be a large group of people there making the day feel even more special.  A far cry from Fred and me cooking a three pound chicken to celebrate, or, going to a restaurant for dinner.  This year will be real.

I am also thankful that I have so many writing friends.  These writers all enjoy the thrill of putting words on paper and some have gone so far as to get published.  It has been my pleasure to introduce you to some of these published writers, including today’s guest author, Susan Burns (pen name: S.B.K.Burns).

Welcome, Susan. Tell me a little about yourself.  I live in sunny San Diego and am married to my mechanical engineer husband, Chief Science Officer of a hybrid-electric transportation company. We have a twenty-year-old son who works with him to pick up Dad’s knowledge.

How long have you been writing? Since I was a kid, but full-time for about five years.

What type of writing do you normally do? I write mainstream romance, mostly paranormal, with lots of sexual heat. My most recent release is Entangled. 

Give us a brief synopsis of Entangled. Like my other books, it has themes of both science and romance. The science theme involves a plot where a Stephen Hawking type wheelchair-bound scientist invents a time machine, a quantum computer that uses quantum entanglement to bring him back in time to a ten-year-old Scottish boy from 1717. Problem is, to accomplish what he must, the boy must die.

The romantic plot takes hero, Taylor, and heroine, Dawn, into the past where they intend to stop the scientist, Taylor’s brother.  Instead, hero and heroine become entangled in their emotions and each other, causing a time quake that may change their future so much that they never existed.

What prompted you to write this book? I like blending science (the quantum computer) and spirituality (past life regression), the two ways into the past; each team, scientific and spiritual, trying to stop the other back in 1717 Scotland.

How long did it take to write Entangled? Six months, as part of our local San Diego chapter of Romance Writers of America which each year challenges us to write a book in six months.

Do you have a favorite line from the book? “I’m sorry. I hope you don’t think me rude,” Taylor said, “how I barged in here, seducing your parrot and invading your video collection.”

     Had he just used the words seducing and invading in the same sentence?

    

Is it published and, if so, when and by whom? Entangled was released by Black Opal Books on September 21, 2013.

How can my readers get a copy of the book?

Paperback: http://www.amazon.com/Entangled-S-B-K-Burns/dp/1626940584/ref=sr_1_1_title_1_pap?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1381450405&sr=1-1&keywords=S.B.K.+Burns

Kindle Books out by S.B.K. Burns: http://www.amazon.com/S.-B.-K.-Burns/e/B00GFWV5PQ/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1

What do you do besides write? Like most published writers, I  spend most of my time outside of creative writing in revising each novel three or four times for my editors. I work with a group of artists on book cover art and comics. And I have a blog site, under construction, in which I post my musings about a possible language to link science and spirituality, called The Union of Opposites (theunionofopposites.com).

What else have you written?  Among others, Getting Them Up, is a coming-of-age story of a young male scientist who is abducted into a world of giant reptilian women with questionable motives, who run a hospital ship to presumably cure human diseases.

Kindle Version: www.amazon.com/Getting-Them-Up-ebook/dp/B00DXYXB56/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1382963175&sr=1-1&keywords=getting+them+up+by+s.b.k.+burns

This year’s RWASD Challenge novel is a sequel to Entangled, more of a mainstream steampunk called Fly Like An Eagle.

An inspirational holiday short sci-fi story, Lost and Found, is available as a Kindle version. http://www.amazon.com/Lost-Found-S-B-K-Burns-ebook/dp/B00G8RUH02/ref=la_B00GFWV5PQ_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1384945267&sr=1-2

What is your advice to would-be writers?  It is so much better to write poorly than not to write at all. You can always edit the poor writing and replace it with gems. In other words, never edit while you’re wearing your creative cap. It will shut your creative self down faster than a put-down followed by a colorful expletive.

What do you wish you knew when you started your writing career?  That it takes a village to write a novel. If you are lucky enough to get any criticism, at first take it to heart and then modify your work. Once you’ve written five novels or gotten a publisher to send you a contract, know your voice and be selective in the criticism you take.

And, something I learned from you when you, Linda, were presiding over our Alpine Writing Group in California: always be gracious, no matter whether or not you’re going to take the criticism.

Thank you, Susan, and a Happy Thanksgiving to you and everyone!

Quote of the Day:  Come, ye thankful people, come/Raise the song of harvest home/All is safely gathered in/Ere the winter storms begin.  Henry Alford.

A Few Things to Be Thankful For

As a child in Vermont, the only things good about November were my birthday and Thanksgiving.  Past that, it meant winter was coming and I absolutely hated winter.  My dad would go deer hunting but always made it home in time for my birthday.  Now that I'm in southern California, winter doesn't hold the dread and fear that it once did so now I actually enjoy November.

I read recently that we're the only country in the world that sets aside a day to be thankful for the blessings we have.  Isn't that heart-warming?  We may grumble about the economy, the price of gas, and the politicians, but I would rather live here and grumble than live in any other country in the world.  I have a feeling our problems would seem minor compared to what residents of other countries go through.

I, for one, am thankful that I have fingers that still work a keyboard, a mind that can still think rationally, and an office in a warm house in which to work.  I can write what I want and no one is going to censor me.  I have the latest technology at my fingertips to produce books or communicate with people around the globe.  This is a wonderful time to be living!

I have a family I love and who loves me.  My deepest thanks this year is that my daughter and her husband are around to enjoy Thanksgiving, after surviving a horrific motorcycle crash in June.  Every week that goes by, we're now at week 21, is one more week I've been able to talk and Skype with my daughter.  The situation could have been so different!  My children, my two daughters and my son, mean the world to me.

I have friends, near and far, that are dear to my heart.  My friends out here are my support since my family is all back East.  My writing friends and my church friends are more like close family than friends.  I have been truly blessed.

My husband is a love who is planning something special for my birthday.  I did right when I married him because he likes to cook more than I do and he does the dishes!

As you celebrate on Thursday, remember all you have to be thankful for--from the incredible country you live in to the fact that your eyes work and you can read this.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thought for the Day:  I Pray Heaven to Bestow The Best of Blessing on THIS HOUSE, and on ALL that shall hereafter Inhabit it. May none but Honest and Wise Men ever rule under This Roof! John Adams