Jordan Summers

I’m fortunate that so many published and soon-to-be published authors stop by my blog. This wealth of knowledge should be tapped. With that in mind, I’ve decided to open up my blog to questions.

What is it you’d really like to know? It can pertain to anything, books, writing, etc. If I don’t know the answer, then hopefully one of the wonderful people stopping by can help. I do reserve the right to refuse to answer if the question gets too personal.

I’m a little sore and don’t feel like typing a whole lot. Plus, I must get back to the WIP, so I’m going to leave you with info on a new fun blog. Enjoy!

Knowledge is Power, and You Deserve Abundance.

SKYLIGHT ASTROLOGY and
SACRED LOMI MASSAGE AND HEALING

MADELEINE HILL

I am announcing the grand opening of my new BLOG.

I will post PREDICTIONS and astrological tidbits, info on healing and abundance, and an affirmation to add to the
hub- bub in your head for the day.

I specialize in WOMEN’S READINGS AND SACRED LOMI SESSIONS.

If you’d like a spiritual appetizer of ASTROLOGY ,TAROT AND HEALING, check me out at:

here

This post probably falls in the too much information category, but…

After I worked out, I went to take a shower. Should’ve been simple enough. Turn water on. Make sure it’s warm. Get towels ready. Check, Check, Check! I step into the shower and happen to glance down at the soap rack. Crap! I needed a new bar of soap. I figure this shouldn’t be a problem since I’m not soaked yet. I go to step out of the shower and the friggin’ bathmat (that I’ve been doing battle with for some time) decides it’s going to head toward the drain…taking my feet with it. Grr.

I went down HARD. Luckily, my weak arm, my tricep, my ribcage, and my left thigh caught me, slowing my descent by removing skin. I must thank them later. (wg)

I’m laughing now, but I CAN feel it in my wrist when I type. By tomorrow, I should be one big bruise from my shoulder on down.

Sigh. Bathmat one, Jordan zero.

What is the ‘dorkiest’ thing you’ve done lately?

I’m strangely tired today even though I managed to get quite a bit of sleep. I really hope I wake up since I’d like to add the material I came up with to my current WIP. Yesterday, while waiting in the car for my dh to get out of Guitar Center, I figured out the rules for my Gargoyle/Grotesque world. I was excited about this because it told me where Lazarus came from and established some things about his behavior. Things I plan to use. Yah!

I’m a tad bummed we didn’t make it to the movies yesterday. Dh and I needed to pick up a few things from a home store and it turned into an all day event. That’s not a bad thing, since we really got a lot accomplished. We’ve been searching for a small dining table to take the place of a large one that was way too big for the space. We found it yesterday, while we were picking up extra dishes, glasses, and towels.

It’s been a long time since I glanced at a clock and did a double take because I couldn’t believe how early it was. We’d been cleaning things out and hauling so many items that when I looked at the time and it read 6:55 pm, I couldn’t believe it. It felt like midnight. Snort. We’re still nowhere near done with the place, but at least yesterday brought us a step closer.

Going through the spare bedroom and the office yesterday, I realized I hang onto items for three different reasons. The first is due to sentimental attachment. The second is my concern that I might ‘need’ the item at some point (even though I haven’t for years). The third is guilt. I truly hate the latter, but there it is. This got me thinking about how different people deal with taking care of their homes. So I’m wondering, do you have clutter in your house? If so, why? Have you ever felt guilty about throwing something away? How did you get over the guilt?

I really don’t have much to say today. Went grocery shopping…so very exciting. (wg) Tomorrow we’re going to see the Corpse Bride by Tim Burton. Should be fun. Also have to pick up a few things before dh’s folks hit town in a week and a half. We’re really looking forward to their visit. (No, I am not kidding. They are great people.)

Cheyenne McCray has a new blog. Stop by and check out the eye candy.

I’m still not sure exactly what’s happening in my story now, but I’ve decided to allow Lazarus to stay. I think he’s going to stir the pot a bit, but I suppose that’s to be expected from a character who’s been trapped in stone for centuries. (wg)

I’m trying to ignore all the crap on television about the hurricane. I simply hope everyone is safe.

I’ve been thinking about the reality versus the fantasy of having a writing career. I know, for me, that publishing has turned out to be NOTHING like I expected. (Not sure exactly what I expected, but it certainly wasn’t this.

What I’d like to hear are your thoughts. What’s been your fantasy about publishing? Has the reality stacked up?

I mentioned this in a comment yesterday, but I thought I’d expand upon it here. I was working on my Scottish Regency Vampire tale going over the pages I’d already written. (I was doing this to tighten prose and to see if I can’t pick up the story where I left off.)

I’m writing along and things seem to be going okay. I’d set a scene up to have description of the manor house my heroine now owns. In it, I describe a couple of stone statues. I’d meant for them to remind us that a vampire once owned this manor. Everything was going fine until my fingers typed that the heroine saw one of these statues move.

Huh?

I keep writing and figure it’s simply shadows and light at play since the sun is setting in this particular scene. I feel instant relief. Or did, until a neighbor drops by to visit my heroine and she sees the stone statue’s eyes glowing red.

Okay, WTF?

This is a vampire story. I already know ‘who’ the vampire is. I certainly don’t need another creature (let’s just call it what it is…gargoyle) entering the picture, especially one I know nothing about. (Unless you count Scooby Doo and Jonny Quest cartoons as background knowledge.) Snort. I didn’t think so.

Today will be spent trying to figure out ‘who’ this new character is and how I can still manage to keep the story novella length. My goal is to have the first draft finished by the end of this month. (Add laughter here.) We’ll see if I can stay on target. I should probably also mention that I’ve been trying to make my work easier to categorize. A gargoyle isn’t helping that latter goal. What is the matter with me, can’t I write a straight story without throwing in a strange twist? The obvious answer is NO!!! (Shaking head)

My question to you all is how do you deal with an unexpected/uninvited character that refuses to leave?

The auction for Larissa ends in a few hours. It seems to be quite a success. I’m truly awed by your generosity.

Today marks the third day of getting back into the habit of writing. So far everything is chugging along. I’m managed to write 2500 words in the last two days, which isn’t great, but far better than my usual ‘nothing’. It’s strange, but this book seems to be coming to me from back to front. I’d started writing the book from the beginning and then stalled. When I picked it up again I ended up writing the last chapter. Yesterday, I wrote the second to the last chapter. It’s very strange. I’m actually not sure which end to work on today, so I’ll probably read through the first three chapters I wrote and see if I can’t pick it up from there.

Have any of you written the last chapter of a book first?

When starting a new workout regime consider holding off on the Tahitian Cardio until after you’ve been exercising for a couple of weeks. *ggg*

I’m hurting and it’s only been a few hours since I did the ‘warm up’. Yes, I said warm up. I didn’t even make it to the workout because the thirty minute warm up kicked my ass so bad. I’m hurting in places I didn’t even know I had muscles in. I see a Tai Chi workout in my NEAR future. I need something slow and less painful to do over the next couple of days.

On a positive note, the auction is up to $38.00 dollars with a day and a half left to go. I’m hoping we can make it an even $40.00 for Larissa! Thanks again to everyone who’s taken the time to bid on my critiques, along with all the others. You guys are the best!

I managed to finish my daily word count early, so I think I’m going to read or tackle my closet. Such decisions.

What’s keeping you busy right now?

So many things happening this week. Today is my anniversary. I feel beyond blessed to be married to a brilliant man who can make me laugh, doesn’t mind if I cry, knows the meaning of romance, and can rock my world with just a glance. I love you. Always.

I’d like to thank the people bidding on my critiques. Keep those bids coming. Larissa will be very happy.

My dh went to a software conference last week in L.A. I’d planned to work, but productivity eluded me. Instead, I spent the week thinking. As you know from reading past blog entries, that’s always a dangerous thing.(wg)

I should probably back up here and explain a few things. Over the last couple of months I’ve been experiencing one of those phases where nothing holds my interest…and I mean NOTHING. I’ve tried reading, watching movies, writing, etc. Nothing has worked. So I spent last week trying to figure out what changes I needed to make in order to disrupt this unproductive pattern.

The first thing I did was pick up books I don’t normally read. It worked. I’m now reading, ‘For the New Intellectual’ by Ayn Rand and ‘The Power of the Kabbalah’ by Yehuda Berg. Talk about polar opposites! Truth is I’m finding ‘both’ books fascinating.

The next thing I did was address my productivity. I’m not just talking my writing productivity here. I also mean working out and diet. I figured out in order for me to workout or write I have to set specific parameters. In my case, I’ve set an exact time that I will workout everyday. If working out is left to whenever I feel like it, nothing will get done. I also realized my writing is much the same way. It’s MANDATORY for me to set daily word limits, if I want to be productive and remain in the habit of writing. (Yes, I said habit because that’s what it is.) I’m going to take Stephen King’s advice and only take one day off a week until I get back into the groove. Perhaps then, I’ll take the entire weekend off. Not sure yet.

On top of everything else, I’ve decided to clean my closet out and get rid of ALL the clothes that don’t fit me anymore. I’m not going to ’save’ them until I can wear them again. Nope, I’m getting rid of them. When I manage to lose the weight I want to lose, then I’ll re-fill the closet with new clothes. (I should’ve done this one a LONG time ago.)

What habits are you hanging onto that should’ve been kicked to the curb? Do you have a ritual you do in order to get yourself to do the stuff you don’t want to do? (How’s that for the most ‘do’s’ in a sentence? *ggg*) Come on spill it. NOW is the time to change.