Idiot Wind is Blowing Strong

"Idiot wind, blowing every time you move your mouth/ Blowing down the backroads headin’ south/ Idiot wind, blowing every time you move your teeth/
You’re an idiot, babe/ It’s a wonder that you still know how to breathe." - "Idiot Wind" by Bob Dylan

I am outraged! Seriously, I have seen two things in the past few days that make me want to scream, call social services, and punch idiot parents in their stupid faces. What has gotten me so irate? Allow me to explain.

On Friday, I spent a couple of hours at the park with the girls. This is a nice park in one of the more upscale areas of my town. It's not the kind of place where one would expect to see graffiti on the bathroom walls, cigarette butts on the sidewalks, or evidence of teenage liasons left behind that almost certainly would provoke children to ask some very uncomfortable questions. And most of the people who visit this park fit right in with its wholesome feel. Most people. Then there is the family I saw last week. It was a young couple, late teens maybe, and their little boy who looked like he was about three years old. This sweet child that was running around happily, blissfully unaware that he is the offspring of morons, was wearing a t-shirt that had "Future Pimp" scrawled right across the front. Really? Seriously? Why would a parent do that?!

And please don't think that I feel the bad judgement shown by these parents has anything to do with their age. I think that even though most teenagers/young adults are not ready to be parents, there are always exceptions. That's one reason why I wanted to write the Willow Ryan series, with the main character being a teenage mother having and raising a baby on her own. There are some teenagers out there who are mature, responsible, and selfless enough to successfully raise children, and I find them incredibly inspiring. But these people at the playground, they are just idiots. It doesn't matter if you're 15, 30, or 45, dressing your child in a shirt that proclaims to the world that they will grow up to be a man who sells women for sex is a crime. Or at least it should be. And I am appalled that this shirt even exists.

Then today I saw something else that made smoke and fire shoot out of my ears and nostils like some crazed cartoon character. I had just dropped the kids off at school and was driving through a nice part of downtown Norfolk, VA, when I saw a woman walking with a little girl who was probably about four or five. The woman was dressed in a business suit, she was holding the child's hand, and everything seemed so normal they almost didn't even register in my brain. Until I stopped at a red light and looked at the child. On the back of her shirt was the word "Bootylicious", with an arrow pointing down toward her rear end. I was hoping that maybe I was losing my mind, I had forgotten how to read, or maybe I was going blind and didn't see the words clearly, but no, I was right upon taking a second look.

HOW IS THIS ACCEPTABLE?! Who does these things to their children? Part of a parent's job is to protect their kids, and dressing them in clothes that call negative attention to them, sexualize them, and disrepect them and those of us around them who have an ounce of class and decency, does the exact opposite. Why do things like this even happen? Apparently the idiot wind is blowing really strong in my part of the world.

The Name Game

"The name game/ Shirley!/ Shirley, Shirley bo Birley Bonana fanna fo Firley/ Fee fy mo Mirley, Shirley!" - "The Name Game" by Shirley Ellis

After reading my Tuesday's Top Ten post about names a few days ago, Mary Ellen Quigley wrote a great post on her blog, Mary Ellen's Musings (see link on the right hand side of the page), about how she names the characters in her books. Her blog inspired me to share my thought process on naming my characters as well.

When I first got the idea for the "Willow Ryan Series", I instantly knew what her name was going to be. I knew that the series would take place in the 80s, with Willow having been born to hippie parents in 1968. The name needed to have a hippie-dippy flare, but still be "normal" enough where it wouldn't distract readers from the story. So Willow Brook Ryan was created, as was her sister, Summer Star Ryan. Nothing too out there, but the names fit the characters' personalities, their history, and their time of birth. Those are the three main things I think of when choosing names for my characters, which is one of my favorite parts of beginning a new book.

For my current work in progress, Who We Thought We Were, I picked names that were fairly common or typical for people of my generation since these characters are around my age. This novel is set in Virginia, so I stuck with fairly average sounding names, nothing too wild or inventive, which is not the norm in this part of the country, especially during the early 80s when these characters would have been born. The next factor was personality. Now I know this can be up for debate because everyone has their own opinions on what kind of person a name sounds like, but I paired up the following names with what I thought would be their character traits:

Shawna Sharp - The Poet - intelligent, quick-witted, sarcastic, and independent

Ryder Harrison - The Musician - a practical yet creative dreamer with a powerful presence

Christen Romano - The Girl Next Door - kind, outgoing, smart, and patient

Jared Jenkins - The All-American Boy - high school football player, devoted family man, popular, and easy going

Megan Delaney - The Cheerleader - bubbly, perfectionistic, always smiling - even if it's forced

Matt Harper - The Jock - high school baseball star turned major league pitcher, charismatic, cocky, loved by millions

Nicole (Nikki) Castille - The Rebel - unconventional, driven, always reinventing herself, not afraid to speak up about anything and everything

Evan Schultz - The Brain - average looking, extremely gifted, had a very magnetic personality in high school, over thinks everything

So that is how I begin a story. I use my three guidelines and come up with the characters, and somehow the rest just falls into place, like magic. And sometimes that's what writing is. Yes, it's hard work and can be quite challenging and exhausting at times, but the act of creating a story that (hopefully) a lot of people will read and enjoy, is a very magical thing. And it all begins with a name.

Always Waiting

"We were always waiting, always waiting/ We were always waiting for something to happen!" - "Great Expectations" by The Gaslight Anthem

This weekend I was busy, once again, making my list of agents to send queries to for my first "Willow Ryan" novel, Secrets. I'm ready. More ready than I have ever been, and I'm almost afraid to say this because it has a hint of optimism to it, but I kind of have a good feeling about this round. I have a solid list of a couple of dozen agents who I think may be a good fit for me and my work, and I will be sending out letters to the top six or seven tomorrow. Then I play the waiting game again. I am not good at waiting.

But instead of agonizing and obsessing over these queries like I normally do, wondering if the agent has read my carefully chosen words about the book that I have poured my blood, sweat, and tears into, whether I will receive a request, a rejection, or any response at all, I will put myself to work instead. In addition to Who We Thought We Were, my latest work in progress, I am also going to fine-tune some articles I wrote a while back on child development and start submitting those. I am going to make my career happen. I am a writer, and if I have anything to say about it, soon I will be a published writer. :) Now to get some good responses from the agents...

Man, I hate waiting.

I Knew It Was a Dream When...

"I hope you have a good one/ I hope Mama gets her shopping done." - "Christmas All Over Again" by Tom Petty

Last night I had a dream that included some of the characters in my Willow Ryan series, and it seemed so real! I was shopping at Thyme to Play, the cutest toy store in Santa Elena, and talking with Willow and the store owner, the quirky Peggy Maguire. Willow, being the hardworking, friendly salesperson that I wrote her to be, was telling me about these new fairy wings that they just got in, and she said my nieces would love them. I was just about to hand my Visa card to Summer, who was working the register (all decked out in an acid wash jean skirt and off-the-shoulder hot pink sweater - the series is set in the 80s after all!), when I remembered that I was done shopping, so I left! That's when I knew it was a dream because I would never turn down the perfect gift, even if I had thought I was completely done shopping. I really wish Santa Elena and Thyme to Play were real places. I could have done a lot of Christmas shopping there this weekend!

Okay, back to reality. I am actually done with my Christmas shopping! And it's only November 28! I have been so consumed with buying and making gifts that I haven't written a single word for my work in progress all month. Isn't that terrible? I just can't concentrate on my novel right now when there are so many other things to do, so I am taking a break until after the holidays. I will still be updating my blog, but as for writing new chapters, the characters of Who We Thought We Were (and my notes for the next book in the Willow series) will just have to wait patiently until I can give them my undivided attention. I guess the freedom to stop and go as I please is one benefit (maybe the one and only benefit) of not having a publishing contract. I really hope that changes in the coming year!

No Surrender

"Tonight I hear the neighborhood drummer sound/ I can feel my heart begin to pound/ You say your tired and you just want to close your eyes and follow your dreams down." - "No Surrender" by Bruce Springsteen

This is my song of the day for two reasons, which leads itself to two separate posts. Here's part one:

As readers who have kept up with my blog for a while may remember, I finished my fourth novel in the "Willow Ryan" series in September...or so I thought. I had read through the manuscript so carefully, hoping to catch every typo, every fragment, every mispelled word that would hopefully jump right off the page in a glaring fashion that I would notice immediately. As all of my fellow writers know, this is rarely, if ever, the case. My mom and my sister read through this book after I declared it finished and attacked it with a red pen, much to my horror and appreciation. How could there be so many mistakes? So today I went back through and made corrections, again, and now it's finally done! So what's next (other than still trying to find an agent so I can eventually get published)?

Well, now it's time to get busy on "Who We Thought We Were", the new novel I told you about a few weeks ago. The problem is that I haven't worked on it since then! I am only one chapter in, and I just haven't been able to find the motivation to dive into it. Until now. Something happened while I was sitting at my computer fixing my mistakes from the fourth Willow book. I felt the need to write, to create, to follow my dreams and see where they take me.

I kind of feel alive again! I don't sleep as much as I should (stupid insomnia!) and I worry about everything under the sun (stupid worrywart genes!), and I felt like the creativity was completely squashed out of me. What I came to realize this morning is that I can change all of that instead of succumbing to it. "No Surrender" as Bruce said in the song of the day. I have to channel the anxiety, the stress, the fatigue, and everything else that tries to keep me down, into energy that will allow me to accomplish what I'm supposed to do. I am a writer. I may not have met my goals yet, I may not be making my living at it, I may not even be published yet, but in order to make those things happen, I have to sit down and write. And writing is what I will do.

A Story To Tell

"And I got nothing for you darling but a story to tell/ About the rain on the pavement and the sound as it fell." - "Wherefore Art Thou, Elvis?" by The Gaslight Anthem

Yes, today I do have a story to tell. In fact, it's a new novel I have been planning for over a year and just really started to write today. It is going to be mainstream commercial fiction, a slight departure from the Willow series which is most definitely women's fiction, and I am really excited about it. The title is Who We Thought We Were and it is the story of eight friends who grew up together and reunite twelve years after graduation, only to discover that they are not really the people they thought they were back in high school. Nothing sinister or anything, just exploring the real life fact that for most of us, we do not end up being the people we thought we would be when we pictured our future as teenagers. And we do not live those dreamed about lives either, which can be a good thing or a bad thing, as my characters come to realize. The working promo pitch is:

Sometimes knowing yourself in the present means reliving your past.

So, what do you think? Remember, this is just my first attempt at a pitch for this book, so there will be changes and improvements along the way.

Thank goodness for Columbus Day, which my very generous employer gave me off as a surprise holiday, because I was able to sit in a quiet house with nothing to do but focus on my writing. That is a rare commodity that I don't take for granted. I was afraid that I would have a hard time starting this new novel since it's quite different from my Willow Ryan books, but I actually got into it pretty quickly. I wrote 2,000 words today and am now on a writing high, feeling totally exhilarated that I started a new project and am back into the writing groove. Now to get published... that's a goal I'm still working on.

Mark my words, one of these days you will walk into a bookstore and see my work on the shelves. I'm still looking for an agent and have queries for my first Willow book out there, and I will keep trying until I succeed, which I will some day. My writing just means too much to me to ever stop, and that's not just the writing high talking! I am actually feeling strangely optimistic today. I wonder what tomorrow will bring?

What I'm Looking For

"And I still haven't found what I'm looking for." - U2

Those of you who have been reading my blog since its start last year are familiar with my struggle to break into the writing business, but for any new readers out there, let me fill you in. I finished my first novel, Secrets, about two years ago and have been trying (off and on) to get a literary agent and move toward publication ever since. I'm still trying. I won't quit because I know this is what I am meant to do - I can feel it in my soul. In between my work as a nanny and homeschool teacher, real life, and trying to get an agent, I have written three more books in the "Willow Ryan" series and am ready to start a new unrelated novel whenever I work up the motivation to turn my pages and pages of notes into something worthy of being on the shelves of Barnes & Noble.

Caught up? Good. Today I decided to try something different to get my book noticed and maybe, just maybe, break into the literary world with a bang (or even just a knock on the door that is met with an answer). I have been toying with the idea of entering a contest sponsored by the UK magazine for women writers, Mslexia, for several weeks now, and I finally took the plunge. For only 25 British pounds (about $40), I submitted the first 5,000 words of my novel with fingers crossed, a prayer floating up to Heaven, and a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. It's so hard to just put your work out there like that and it makes me a little nervous. As for the prayer, I didn't ask God to let me win the contest. That just wouldn't be the right. What I prayed for is to get something out of this experience, even if it's just that I learn that taking a chance on something might not be so bad, because at least I'm doing something other that what I've been doing - querying agents, getting depressed, rewriting, getting depressed, obsessing over unimportant details... and did I say getting depressed? The only thing that's saved my sanity for the last couple of years is my ability to write. Ironic isn't it? So, it's time for me to try something different. Albert Einstein once said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. This is me trying my hardest not to be insane. I have said before that my life has been spent toeing the line between genius and insanity, and I would like to avoid falling into the deep end of the crazy pool if at all possible.

So what is it that I am looking for with this contest? Winning hasn't even entered my mind as a possibility (totally glass half empty here), but I am really hoping to be shortlisted. If that happens, I would probably pass out from the shock, and then as soon as I came to, send out my full manuscript. That would be such an honor and would give a (relatively) new writer a huge sense of valedation, which we can all use every now and then. Maybe my novel will even be noticed by someone in the business. That would be amazing! I believe in my writing, even with all of the negativity that constantly pollutes my brain, so I should in turn believe that I have a shot at standing out in the Mslexia contest, right? I hope so.

Tuesday's Top Ten - Writing Mistakes

"And bad mistakes/ I've made a few." - "We Are the Champions" by Queen

First of all, I am not posting pictures of Hurricane Irene because we didn't actually get a hurricane! I have to say, I'm a little disappointed in Irene. I was expecting this big storm, equal or greater to Hurricane Isabel from 2003, but alas, it didn't happen (sigh). Okay, enough dramatics. We did get a tropical storm, but no damage and no significant power outages, so all is good.

Now, onto the latest Top Ten list. Today, I will be listing my top ten biggest mistakes I have made in my writing career (or what I hope will one day be a career) - so far. Hey, I'm honest enough to admit that I will always be making mistakes, but I also always learn from them. On that note, here's the list. I would love to hear what all of you have to say about this. What errors have you made along the way? Are mine totally stupid or embarrassingly familiar? Inquiring minds want to know...

1. Thinking this was going to be easy - My biggest flaw has been my own self confidence. Not that I'm full of myself or anything, but when I finished my first Willow Ryan novel, I was sure that I would land my dream agent right away (she requested a partial and ended up passing on it, but I got good feedback), get a publishing contract quickly, and become the next Melody Carlson/Meg Cabot/Robin Jones Gunn. I was so naive...

2. Having a typo on a query letter - This one killed me! I saw after I had emailed a carefully crafted letter to an agent that I had spent hours working on (very early on in the querying process), and I had accidentally typed "on" instead of "in". I will never forget that, and it bothered me to no end. I am positive that is why I never heard back from that agent.

3. Misspelling the agent's name - A huge, colossal, boneheaded mistake, and I made it! It was an unfamiliar name and for the first time in my life, I didn't triple check the salutation, and it came back to bite me. I was so mad at myself because of a stupid mistake that I should have caught, but didn't. I guess OCD was on vacation that day.

4. Taking rejections personally - I know you're not supposed to do this because it's strictly business, but to the writer who has invested so much in his/her work, it's very, very personal. I am trying to let it go, but those rejections still sting a little. Okay, sometimes a lot.

5. Opening with the weather - My first version of Secrets opened with Willow laying in the middle of a field as a thunderstorm approached. I spent so long making sure this scene was perfect, only to find out that this is a huge no-no. In fact, opening with the weather is on the top of tons of agents' pet peeve lists. Upon finding this out, I promptly began editing.

6. Thinking I was done with Secrets two years ago - Since then I have rewritten that novel at least eight times, the first chapter in particular. It is SO much better now than it was back then, and I have learned to never say that I am completely finished. Not until I see my book(s) in Barnes & Noble, that is.

7. Wanting to give up - There have been times over the past two years when I have felt that this will never happen, a publishing career is out of the question for me, and I should just forget about it. That is not a winning attitude, and I absolutely hate to lose, so I got over it. I still have my negative moments (days, weeks), but I will never quit.

8. Similarly named characters - I don't know how I missed this, but it wasn't until my third rewrite of Secrets that I noticed I had a character named Michael (Willow's dad) and another character named Mike (her friend). These characters never intertwined, so maybe that's why I didn't notice, but come on. How stupid is that? I changed Mr. Ryan's name to Patrick. At least that was an easy fix.

9. Song lyrics - This one took me a long time to discover. My first three novels were written with tons of song lyrics included, because Willow always has a song stuck in her head and tends to start singing without warning (autobiographical...). There are a lot of pop culture references in my books (they take place in the 1980s), and I had to do a ton of editing when I discovered that I could not use song lyrics, no matter how much I loved them, without permission. Very expensive permission. So, I worked around it, mentioning artists and song titles, but never exact lyrics, and I didn't lose any of the pop culture charm I originally had. Lesson learned and I'm a better writer for having made the mistake.

10. Checking my mailbox and email constantly - I nearly drove myself crazy looking for responses with my first couple rounds of submissions. Let me tell you, responses, when they do come, usually take forever! Often weeks, if not months, and I am not a patient person. I even got a response over a year after querying an agent. Once they are sent, I have learned to try to forget about them, and if I get a response, I am always surprised.

A Revised Query Letter

"Here I am, on the road again/ There I am, up on the stage." - "Turn the Page" by Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band

The road is the submissions process and the stage is my query letter. I am once again getting back into the game, hopefully with better results this time thanks to my newly revised query letter. I have been at this for a while, but I am still growing, still learning, and still working to make the dream come true, so I am posting my query in the hopes of getting some feedback from all of you out there, whether you are writers, working in the literary/publishing field, an avid reader, or just someone who has an opinion to share. I'd love to hear any comments you want to leave me. Thanks for reading, and I hope this letter is a winner. Fingers crossed!

Dear Ms. _______,

I read in Guide to Literary Agents that you specialize in representing new authors, and after looking at your website I feel my 99,000 word novel, Secrets, would be a good match for you. It is women’s fiction geared toward the twenty to thirty-something crowd.

Seventeen, pregnant, and on her own. This is the position that recent high school graduate Willow Ryan finds herself in during the summer of 1986. Not wanting to disappoint her family or ruin the father’s life, Willow leaves Indiana for charming Santa Elena, California, determined to raise her child on her own without telling a soul back home. She lands a job working for Peggy Maguire, a former Southern Belle with a knack for finding trouble - and humor - in the most unlikely places. Willow’s new neighbor, a friendly surfer dude named Denny, quickly becomes someone she can count on for anything, but could there be more to their relationship than Willow sees? Get ready to laugh out loud and a shed a tear or two as Secrets takes you on a journey that begins with an independent young woman trying her best to hide the truth, and ends with a pivotal event that turns her world upside down, forcing all of Willow’s secrets to come to light.

Although I definitely have my own unique style and voice, Secrets could be described as a combination of Kristin Hannah’s sincere emotion, Meg Cabot’s humor, and the welcoming tone of a Robin Jones Gunn novel, where the characters seem like old friends stopping by with an invitation to a beach party or to offer a much needed hug. I chose to write this book because Willow’s character has a story to tell, and many women will relate to her as she gives all she has to create the best possible life for her child.

This is a simultaneous submission, and my completed manuscript is ready to be sent at your request. While Secrets can definitely stand on its own, it is also the first novel in a series. I have completed the next three books and have plans for a fifth Willow Ryan novel as well. I have enclosed the first ten pages of Secrets for you to read as stated on your website. Thank you so much for your time and consideration, and I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

Shannon Higgins

Can Hardly Wait...

"And Mom and Dad can hardly wait for school to start again!" - "It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas" by Meredith Willson

This goes for nannies too! Maybe this song is stuck in my head because of Christmas in July, or maybe it's because there is only one month left until the girls are back in school. Yes, one month to go! Don't get me wrong, I have really enjoyed my time with them this summer (the 10-11 hour days, the sibling rivalry, the chaos that is my job - just kidding!), but I'm ready to get back to normal. We have been very busy with lessons, putting on plays, art projects, and studying various regions of the world, and I am exhausted!

So, will I use my time off while the girls are in school (until 2:30!) to sleep, lay around the house watching TV and eating bonbons, aimlessing surf the Internet? Of course not! I will be writing! I can't even tell you how excited I am to get back to my novels. I am still working on editing Dreams, the fourth book in the Willow Ryan series, and have pages and pages of notes on my next novel that I'm liking more and more each day. I do think it will be a challenge though, to write about different characters in a different time and place. Have any of you, my fellow writers, written a series and then moved on to something else? If so, did you find it difficult? All comments are welcome, as always!

Finished!

"I've just reached a place/ Where the willow don't bend/ There's not much more to be said/ It's the top of the end." - "Going, Going, Gone" by Bob Dylan

I finished book four in the Willow Ryan series this week! It took six months, quite a long time for me to write a novel, but I'm done. I'm really happy with the way it turned out and am excited that revisions are getting underway. As I'm rereading the book, there were several little things that I had forgotten about, and I am becoming more and more happy with this first draft as I read on. Maybe that means I won't have to take a hatchet to this novel and edit it to death. Wouldn't that be wonderful?

I have plans to write a fifth Willow book in the future, but my next big project will start after I finish editing this current novel. The next book I'm going to write is not related to the Willow series at all, but will instead be mainstream fiction set in Southeastern Virginia where I live. It will center around a group of friends from high school approximately ten years later. More info to come as the story progresses...

The Words and the Beat

"It took so long to get me back on my feet/ It takes so long to find the words and the beat." - "Stay Lucky" by The Gaslight Anthem

Brian Fallon and the guys of The Gaslight Anthem are musical geniuses. They have a way of putting poetry to music that stops me cold, makes me think, and impresses me so much, which is not an easy thing to do. With their songs like "Here's Looking at You Kid", "I Could'a Been a Contender", "Film Noir", "Stay Lucky", and so many more, they join the untouchable ranks of Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, and Tom Petty in music and storytelling, at least in my opinion.

The song I am using today has been my own personal anthem while writing the last half of my latest Willow Ryan novel, so it makes sense to use it as my song of the day since I am now on the final chapter. Yes, I am finishing the book! After six long months, about twice as long as it typically takes me to complete the first draft of a novel, I will type the final words this week. I haven't had as much time as I would have liked to write this year, so it took me a while to find the words and the beat at times. The important thing is that I kept going though.

When the words didn't read right, when the beat and the tone seemed a little off, I didn't give up or get discouraged, I just hit delete and tried again. I think that may be the key to succeeding in this business. For every rejection letter I get, for every negative thought I have about the odds stacked against me, I have to hit backspace and try again until I get it right. And I will. Maybe someday everybody will call me lucky, just like in the song, my anthem until further notice.

Red, White, and Blue

"Some folks are born, made to wave the flag/ Ooh they're red, white, and blue/ And when the band plays "Hail to the Chief"/ Ooh, they point the cannon at you, Lord." - "Fortunate Son" by Creedence Clearwater Revival

Happy 4th of July, everyone! No fireworks for me, just enjoying the last day of my vacation. Tomorrow I'm back to work and my days of writing for hours on end are over. Sigh... My goal for my vacation was to have Book 4 in The Willow Ryan series finished by today, but unfortunately that did not happen. I have two chapters to go and will finish this month, but I fell a little short. This book is the longest in the series, currently at 350 pages or so, and I have a little more work to do.

This latest installment in Willow's journey has brought some changes to the people of Santa Elena and I am so happy with the progress of this series. Sometimes I get so wrapped up in the story I forget that I'm the one who created it! Does that happen to any of my fellow writers out there? Maybe it's just me...

Anyway, have a happy and safe 4th!

From Me to You

"And every one of them words rang true/ And glowed like burnin' coal/ Pourin' off of every page/ Like it was written in my soul from me to you/ Tangled up in blue." - "Tangled Up in Blue" by Bob Dylan

Isn't this what every writer tries to achieve with their creations? To make the reader feel like the words were written just for them? I know I do.

Since the beginning of the "Willow Ryan" series, I have been wondering about my future readers and what they will take away from reading my books. My target audience is women in their twenties and thirties, but these book can be enjoyed by so many more people, from teenagers who could identify with Willow as she grows up quickly to older women who would love Peggy, Willow's hilarious 50-something boss and close friend who she calls her fairy godmother in disguise.

Whoever my readers are, I hope that they are able to take away three things from my work. 1) Willow's determination to succeed and survive her circumstances, by whatever means necessary, 2) an understanding of her reasons for keeping her pregnancy a secret, however right or wrong they may have been, and 3) her all-encompassing love for her child, the unexpected blessing she didn't realize she wanted and needed until it happened. If people can feel these things through my words, then I have succeeded.

Summer's Here and the Time is Right

"Tonight, tonight, the strip's just right/ I wanna blow 'em off in my first heat/ Summer's here and the time is right/ For goin' racing in the street." - Bruce Springsteen

No, I haven't been racing in the street, but don't think that idea hasn't crossed my mind once or twice. If my Mustang was more powerful than just a V-6 I might be even more tempted, but that would probably get me into a lot of trouble. My inclinations toward driving too fast and wondering if I could beat random strangers off the line at a red light are not the reason for this post though. The real reason is Willow's 19-year-old sister, Summer Ryan.

When I ended chapter 21 in my fourth Willow book on Tuesday, Summer was heading off in her Mustang on the way to the drag strip, presumably to race her ex-boyfriend, Mike. Is this a good thing for her to do? Probably not, but that won't stop Summer, who is just a little too fearless and impulsive for her own good. I revealed earlier in the series that Summer used to street race her dad's old Camaro when she was in high school back in Indiana, so now she's graduating to a real track.

I wrote her character this way as a contrast to Willow, who is much more practical and tries to focus on the big picture instead of what is going on right in the moment. They are pretty much classic first and last borns in terms of birth order personalities, but that is another topic for another day.

Now I have to go start chapter 22 and write about what happens when Summer and Mike meet up at the races. It should be interesting! "I met her on the strip three years ago/ In a Camaro with this dude from L.A./ I blew that Camaro off my back and drove that little girl away."

10 Pages Down

"Ooh, baby, baby it's a wild world/ It's hard to get by just upon a smile/ Ooh, baby, baby it's a wild world/ I'll always remember you like a child, girl." - "Wild World" by Cat Stevens

I completed another 10 pages in my work in progress yesterday and am well on my way to finishing this latest volume in Willow Ryan's life. I chose "Wild World" as my song of the day because yesterday I had Willow fall asleep while listening to a Cat Stevens record with her baby, and it's been in my head for the last 16 hours or so.

Here's a question for all of you writers out there. Can a character in a novel ever be too real? Willow is like so many women, trying her best to balance family, work, and doing what she can to achieve a lifelong dream for herself. Her toddler has temper tantrums, her husband doesn't always worry about the little details in life that plague her thoughts every day, and she's surrounded by a great group of friends and family that enrich her life so much but can also drive her a little bit crazy. I always try to make my characters relatable so a reader can nod her head in agreement and say, "I feel the exact same way" or "That's totally happened to me before!", which I think I have achieved in each book so far. Willow's character and story are in no way boring, but can her fictional life be too real? Any thoughts on this topic would be greatly appreciated!

Finally Back on Track

"Look for a while at the China Cat Sunflower/ Proud-walking jingle in the midnight sun/ Copper-dome bodhi drip a silver kimono/ Like a crazy-quilt star gown/ Through a dream night wind." - "China Cat Sunflower" by the Grateful Dead

I love the Dead, but this has to be the single most hippie-dippy song on the planet, although there is something magical about it. This song played a part in finishing chapter 20 of my work in progress, thanks to my mom who knows the song and printed out the lyrics for me. There is a character in my Willow series who I refer to as the hippie that time forgot, and this song is perfect for her! I just love when inspiration falls into my lap like that.

So, I am happy to say that I'm finally back on track with my writing. Knowing that I have some time off and can actually sit down and write uninterrupted has really gotten my creative energy flowing. I wrote another five pages this morning bringing me to a grand total of 92,000 words...so far. I'm not worried about the length of this novel since it's the fourth one in the series. I figure that if the first one gets published and it's a hit, then the other ones can be longer than average without it being an issue. If not, then I will edit/revise when the time comes. As for right now though, I'm on a roll and I have to get back to my manuscript!

Joy to the Fishes

"Joy to the world/ To all the boys and girls/ Joy to the fishes in the deep blue sea/ Joy to you and me." - "Joy to the World" by Three Dog Night

Today was our first field trip of the summer! We went to the aquarium, the girls' choice, and had a great time. They both got a kick out of petting the sting rays and we saw two seals kissing. How do you respond to a four-year-old's question of why would anyone, even a seal, do something so yucky? I got some great pictures too. I'll try and add one to my post later since I forgot my USB cable at home. Grr! I will also use a picture or two for a gift I making for them. At the end of the summer I will present them with a scrapbook that will have a photo from every single day we spent together this summer, which I think they'll really enjoy. It will be a fun project for me too!

Guess what? I have passed my love of writing on to another generation! The six-year-old I teach is an excellent writer (I know I may be biased, but I think this kid has a natural gift!) and she wants to write reports and stories about everything! It's so cool to share something so special with her. She wants to write a book with me this summer, so I think we will start working on a collaborative picture book (me and both girls) after they get back from their grandparents' in a few weeks. I bet that will be quite a bit different from working on my Willow novels! Wish me luck!

Ah, my Willow novels. I was just thinking the other day how much Willow has grown throughout this series, from starting off as a scared but determined 17-year-old, pregnant and alone, to the strong woman and mother she has become four years later. I wish she was real. We could grab a cup of her favorite vanilla cinnamon coffee or a spicy tamale from Paco's Tacos and hang out at the beach in Santa Elena. Okay, enough silly daydreaming. I can see the end in sight for book four, which is bittersweet. I always get just a little sad when a book comes to an end, even though it's a huge high to finish a novel and it gives me a great sense of accomplishment. It's kind of a mixed trip I guess. I know exactly where the rest of the story is going now, and I hope to get some writing done this weekend. Only five work days left until my two week vacation though, and then the writing will really take off! I can't wait!

It Was the Third of June...

"It was the third of June, another sleepy, dusty Delta day/ I was out choppin' cotton and my brother was bailin' hay." - "Ode to Billie Joe" by Bobbie Gentry

Since today is June 3, there was nothing else I could pick for my song of the day. I just love how the lyrics paint a very clear picture (amid a story of secrets and scandal) of what was happening in Carroll County, Choctaw Ridge, and of course that infamous Tallahatchie Bridge. Fantastic!

Nothing is new on the writing front, other than I've resumed working on my latest Willow novel - finally! I finished chapter 18 and am ready to continue her story. When I started writing after neglecting my characters from Santa Elena for a few weeks, I felt this huge sense of relief and calm, which I rarely feel in life. Normally I tend to be kind of high-strung and extreme, but writing pushes all of that anxiety, stress, and tension right out of me. I don't know what it is, but I know that is a sign that I am meant to do this. If I don't, I would probably spontaneously combust at some point! I have an hour before I have to get ready to go to work, my actual job that pays the bills, so I will try to get a few pages typed up. I wonder what those wacky, lovable, down-to-earth characters will do today? I better go find out!

Stormy Monday

"They call it stormy Monday/ But Tuesday's just as bad." - "Stormy Monday" by the Allman Brothers Band

Sigh. My family reunion is over and things are returning to normal. Back to work, back to the same old, same old. It rained my whole way to pick up the youngest kid I take care of from school, that summery rain that comes with the hot, sticky air that is a struggle just to walk through. Tomorrow is supposed to be worse, hence the reason for the song of the day.

Today is just not a good day. I can't concentrate to write, the very over-tired child upstairs is refusing to sleep and in a terrible mood, and I have a sneaking suspicion that I will have to work late today. Aren't Mondays great?

Tomorrow though, I plan on getting back to my writing. Poor Willow and the rest of the gang from Santa Elena have been frozen in time (1990 to be exact!)while I have been busy with family stuff, but now their journey can continue, much to my delight and relief. I have been working on this book since January, which is a long time for me. I have promised myself that it will be done by the 4th of July, and I think "it's very important to keep promises, especially to yourself". That quote was said by Barbara Stanwyck's character in "Christmas in Connecticut". What a great line!