9/28/2005

Because people have been asking…

I’m working on a bit of a rewrite for Chapter 1, which I will post eventually. And *sigh* I know I’m behind on the character profiles. What can I say? I’m swamped here. First meeting with our teacher-advisor went well; we’re doing okay here our little school :-) I am also working on a modified version of Holly’s advice. Write me if you’re interested.

Well, off to hit the books…more later…..

sparta at 2:43 pm

Comments (2)

9/24/2005

PJ waves “Hi” - while beaming ear to ear

I received my critique from Holly just a little while ago. I have a feeling I’m going to be reading it over and over and over again just to make sure I’ve absorbed and understood her comments. I will say this: while I have some work to do, she liked it. :-D <— BIG SMILE That means a lot. And I can see her points - because I’d pretty much guessed them earlier, but wondered if I was looking at my work honestly or not - apparently I was! Which is good. So…..I may post a chapter, but it may not be the first - and I may want to rework it a bit first … using her comments, etc. Anyway, I just wanted to say how happy I was to be able to help Larissa - and to get feedback from Holly. Her schedule is quite cramped considering she’s revising one novel and beginning to write another and has designs on a third, I think! I’ll let you know when the chapter is ready (hopefully soon)!

sparta at 8:30 pm

Comments (1)

9/22/2005

I love surprise mail

I love getting surprise mail! Packages are even better! Today I got a surprise package. I didn’t know it was coming - and so opening it was like a little slice of Christmas. In the box there was a book for AJ - a book for me, some preserves (huckleberry I presume), some flashcards (japanese to be precise), and a nicely carved wooden elephant! :-D I was very happy. So THANK YOU to the person who sent that box - and you know who you are, Mrs. Anderson - oh, yeah, and Mr. LOL!

sparta at 7:14 pm

Comments (2)

9/21/2005

Okay okay

Okay - there’s been no new character posting - or any posting about writing - in fact, what’s been here is mostly fluff, I’ll admit it. There’s a good reason, though. See, my days are now being consumed by - you guessed it - my kids, and as hubby as taken a job where he has to commute to his office…sometimes 3 hours round trip…well, my days are filled with kids, and my evenings are filled with….kids….hmmmm - something’s not working here. ANYway, I am trying to work out a schedule with all of them so that I will have a few moments to myself that aren’t taken up by sleeping. Maybe I’ll be able to work out a character this evening and post it tomorrow. No promises. How is everyone else?

sparta at 11:20 am

Comments (2)

9/19/2005

Arrr - and don’t ye be forgettin’ it!

My pirate name is:

Captain Ethel Kidd

Even though there’s no legal rank on a pirate ship, everyone recognizes you’re the one in charge. Even though you’re not always the traditional swaggering gallant, your steadiness and planning make you a fine, reliable pirate. Arr!

Get your own pirate name from fidius.org.

sparta at 11:12 am

Comments (1)

In honor of this fine holiday

Arrrr, mateys! Go ye here and enjoy this comic made up, I’m sure, to honor this day. Tis a fine holiday! Go and read it I said!! You scurvy wags!

[Happy talk like a Pirate Day!]

sparta at 10:32 am

Comments Off

Okay - wow, I don’t remember this at all….


In a Past Life…


You Were: A Jittery Magician.

Where You Lived: Spain.

How You Died: Killed in Battle.
Who Were You In a Past Life?

sparta at 1:33 am

Comments Off

9/18/2005

Larissa Ione Auctions

Larissa Ione Fund Auctions Larissa is the writer who is the recepient of my donation. I don’t know why I didn’t post this earlier (smacks forehead), but there is a link to all the auctions. As Larissa is a romance author, most of the crits are (from what I can tell) from romance authors and editors (Holly seems to be a bit of a one off there…but I may be wrong)…and the autographed books are the same (except for Holly…I think). There are also some auctions for some writer’s retreats and so on. And come to think of it, the editors might work with other genres. Anyhow - it’s there - if you find anything you’d like to bid on, do so. It benefits someone who has been mistreated by Katrina. That witch! :-)

sparta at 11:38 am

Comments Off

Second….

I have been in contact with Holly Lisle - and my 30 manuscript pages are in her hands. :-) I am not going to post her e-mails to me - I am not going to post her e-mail address. I may post some of her advice, if I have her permission to do so. And maybe…maybe…I’ll post some of those pages…post-revision…maybe.

:cool:

sparta at 10:58 am

Comments (3)

First, an announcement

For those of you wondering “Hey, where’s my comment?” I have to approve some of the comments right now. This is to keep my blog from getting spammed. I am trying to work it out so that the trusted souls who comment here regularly don’t ever have to worry about that, but that’s why your comment doesn’t appear right away. There’s supposed to be a feature that emails me right away, but it appears to be broken right now. Just an FYI for folks …

sparta at 10:46 am

Comments (1)

9/17/2005

Update re: the previous post

For those interested, here is Larissa Ione’s website. Yes, she’s a romance author; no, I am not a romance author…well, not exactly…but I am still an author, and if you read through her blog, I think you will see that my contribution is going to a worthy cause. I am so excited about this; yes, sure, I am getting a crit from a pro out of it - but I am also doing something to help a person - a real person - and I’m directly helping that person. The Red Cross does some good things overall, but their structure with regards to donations really ticked me off when I first learned what it was - right after 9/11 - where your donations were just put into a large fund…and it was finally admitted that you couldn’t send your money directly to any certain cause. WTF? I’m sorry to say many organizations taking donations for the Katrina victims are probably operating the same way. So if you can give to a fund that is directly helping a group of victims - or you can find a way to help someone or their family directly - I suggest you do it. (I’ve been told the Salvation Army lets you choose, and doesn’t hold the recipients’ beliefs against them when offering aid.) If you can go down and donate your time, that’s good too. We need to show the Katrina victims the same generosity we showed the victims of the tsunami in Indonesia/Thailand..if not more…considering they are ours. (Speaking to the Americans in the audience) I’ll step off my soapbox now and get some sleep. And if you happen to be a victim of Katrina, my thoughts are with you especially.

sparta at 1:32 am

Comments Off

9/15/2005

OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG

I am bouncing off the walls - I am walking on Cloud 9!!! I have won an auction for Holly Lisle to critique 30 pages of my manuscript! AND - my money is going as a donation to help a Katrina victim! I love it! Win-win! I almost can’t type - I’m shaking and laughing and …OMG… Holly Lisle is going to review my work. EEEEKKKKK!!!!!

Update: Okay - that sounded a little too “fan girl.” I was just very excited because I like her work - it’s somewhat similar to mine - and she is well-respected and professional - and I value her advice highly. If you are an aspiring writer - her FAQs / how-to’s / advice columns / whatever you call them are very good.

sparta at 9:57 pm

Comments (2)

Well, we’re on the roller coaster now…

Went yesterday to pick up any textbooks and kits the kids need for their homeschooling. I’ve also started working on the lesson plans/ideas and calendars and so on. AUGH! My head is still spinning. There’s so much to do and plan for and be mindful of - and while Allison is easier in one way - Phillip is easier in another. Was I crazy to take this on? Maybe…but in for a penny, in for a pound. So here we go………………

sparta at 1:09 pm

Comments Off

9/13/2005

Where am I? Oh, yeah…..

Sorry, everybody, that posting has fallen off aaaaannndd I haven’t posted a new character. I’m trying to figure out what I’m supposed to do with regards to homeschooling - and I’m trying to prepare for a party - and tending to the other 800 things I have to/want to do. I haven’t forgotten about you….

sparta at 8:01 pm

Comments (1)

9/9/2005

You’ve read the texts - now go play the game….

How can you be a true Pastafarian if you don’t understand his noodlyness? You must play the Flying Spaghetti Monster game. Thanks to Venemous Kate for pointing that out. :-)

sparta at 11:59 am

Comments (3)

9/8/2005

Another link for ya’ll!

Stolen from Suburban Blight (who got it from someone else…hey, that’s how the Interwebs works, remember?):

Create your own hell

Haven’t finished mine yet….I’ll update here when it’s complete…

sparta at 10:27 am

Comments Off

9/7/2005

School

School starts for Allison and Phillip today. We’re homeschooling. I went to parent-teacher orientation - and to meet with my teacher-advisor. It’s going to be a lot of work on my part - our part - their part … but I think it will be good for them in the short and long run. So tomorrow is their orientation with me. We’ll see how it goes. Updates when I can.

sparta at 12:03 am

Comments (5)

9/4/2005

This is *SO* cool!

So I was listening to a Podcast of the Slice of Sci Fi show (I’m five behind - so this one was #17; they’re up to #22) - and heard about Earthcore. It’s a Podcast novel - I’ve just downloaded it myself - and haven’t listened to it yet - but I just had to blog about it. This guy gave away his Podcast novel for free…which I know some publishers had to shudder. But guess what? It’s now in print - for all to buy - on Amazon, even! Take that publishing industry! See - you can give things out for free - and still end up making money. In fact, the fans were ones screaming for it to be in print so they could buy it! I wonder if the novel I’m working on now would work as a Podcast-to-print. Guess we’ll see after the re-writes, won’t we?

sparta at 11:11 pm

Comments (8)

9/1/2005

Something to distract

Reading about the tragedy in New Orleans can really weigh on you, so go to Atom Films and watch THIS. [I’m not telling what it is, because you can’t tell anything from the title without an explanation, and that would take away some of the fun.] Then browse around and find other things in the Comedy section to watch.

sparta at 11:57 am

Comments (2)