editing...waiting...and waiting

One of the tough parts, I think, of the editing process is waiting enough time to be able to go back and find the mistakes in your own writing. I've got a short story, and I do want to work on it, but I only finished it last week, so it is in its roughest form at the moment. I already have some ideas of things that must be fixed (oh, so so so much to fix) but going back too soon would mean I'd have to wait more time to give it another edit, and of course, there are always deadlines. I may have to bite the bullet and edit it anyway. Sometimes writing is just as much about scheduling as it is finding creative energy!!

The One Hundred Foot Journey

I went to see this movie tonight and it was so enjoyable! It had a lovely story within it and the setting was beautiful. The characters were interesting and the food especially was captivating. It made me want to rush right out and find either French food or Indian food, or both. The journey for the viewer is just as long, or short, as you want it to be. Either you find it across the street, or not, or you travel many miles to learn where your heart is. It has some of the same sensibilities of The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, and the romances in it are sweet.

such a striking color

I went for a nice walk this past weekend and came across these striking mushroom/fungus things. What a color!

last 2 weeks of the Charity Sip Blitz

I was reminded by another author that the Charity Sips from last summer will be gone, gone, gone on September 15th. And it appears that there will not be future charity sips. So, this is your last chance to participate.

The full package is quite large, here's a link to the Charity Sip page: 2013 Charity Sip Blitz complete Package and all the little packages, or choose one of the many excellent stories. (Mine, or not mine, take a look and find something that makes you squirm in a good way.)

Nuts, Bolts, and Chihuahuas *extra, extra*

More adventures of Arlo and TJ! Following on from my short story "Nuts, Bolts, and Chihuahuas" in the Dawg Days Anthology, and also set after the first little extra I'd included. This time, they've gone to the dog park so that Arlo can practice some of his arcane guardian skills. I've tucked the story away over at my Dreamwidth blog (I have the easiest time editing posts over there, so I tend to favor it.) It's just under 1500 words, so it is a very 'meaty' extra. There's a link there as well to the short story and to the other freebie extra. Enjoy! http://trayellis.dreamwidth.org/52073.html

things I do not understand: beans

I've got the slow cooker going today. I was up early and chopped up onions and carrots and added in a tempting mix of BBQ sauce, ginger ale, brown sugar, and honey over a very nice piece of roast. It is going to be fabulous! In 12 hours.

Right at the end, the recipe calls for adding in beans. I already had some dried cannellini beans in the pantry, so I soaked them in water overnight. They wrinkled up, but by morning, they were still hard. I soaked them some more. Still hard. I put them in a pot on the stove and have kept it on low for several hours now. Still hard. I'm going to boil them now and let them sit. They will BOIL.

The package assures me that if you let them sit overnight, they'd have been good to go. As many times as I have done this, they have *never* been good to go. Why, package, why do you lie to me?!?

Nuts, Bolts, and Chihuahuas *extra*

Torquere encourages extras for our stories -- little extra bits of stories, anecdotes, recipes, photos, any and all manner of little lagniappes.

So for "Nuts, Bolts, and Chihuahuas", I wrote a little extra story. It is set after the story itself. (I also have another little extra coming, but it needs one last spit & shine!) It's sort of weird actually, to keep writing more tidbits, but very enjoyable!

You can find the extra here: http://glbtromance.blogspot.com/2014/08/author-extra-nuts-bolts-and-chihuahuas.html

And to celebrate the release of DAWG DAYS (the anthology wherein which I have my story), there is a 20% off coupon for using the code HOWL at torquerebooks.com -- good until Sunday on any of the books and stories.

a certain level of clean

I got a fantastic night's sleep last night -- early to bed and not so early to rise, and I feel better than I have all week. I then thoroughly scoured and cleaned my kitchen sink and the dishes therein. I know that probably doesn't sound like a great way to spend time, but when i stand back and look at how neat and clean it is, I feel so much more settled and ready to sit down and work on projects. We each of us have a certain level of 'acceptable' for our surroundings, and when I don't meet mine, it is hard to focus completely on writing or blogging, or anything else. It is always nagging at me that I have a big mess. I certainly don't live in a pristine home (far, far, far, FAR from it) but I do like to have at least a particular level of neat that I can co-exist with.

So, now that I have that major cleaning 'plot point' done, I can be off to have fun for the day! I'm meeting a girl friend in a little bit for some shopping time and lunch, and I'm looking forward to it. She's got a new baby and needs stuff, and I have a few friends who also have babies either on the way or new, and I have gifts to search for.

progression of a day's plans

6:00 am : I promise that as soon as I get home from work, I will go to bed. 10:00 : I have so much energy! When I get home from work I should work out and write and watch a movie and pay bills! 1:00 : Hmm. Sleepier. Maybe just write some tonight. Or watch a movie. Read a little. 3:00 : Why is the day so looooong? 4:00 : I will not eat all of the snacks hidden in my snack drawer. I will not eat.... 5:30 : So tired! I'll just sit here in my chair and veg out to a movie I had no intention of watching. 9:00 : When did the movie end? I should go to bed but brushing my teeth would take so loooong. 9:01 : Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Nuts, Bolts, and Chihuahuas -- the Dawg Days of Summer are here

The Dawg Days of Summer Anthology is here, including my short story "Nuts, Bolts, and Chihuahuas"!

These last weeks of summer are flying fast, but there's still plenty of time to enjoy a good read outside in the warm sunshine. Maybe find a grassy hill, stretch out on a blanket, and sip a drink while you peruse the fun, hot, wickedly interesting anthology with variations on shifter stories that will keep you engaged.

Nuts, Bolts, and Chihuahuas at Torquere Press (story by itself) and The Dawg Days Anthology (story as part of the Anthology)

Story Summary: TJ has been spending his summer learning how to manage the family hardware store. He expects another ordinary work day when he stumbles into a brawl involving Arlo, a frequent customer he’s been flirting with. If TJ survives this fight, he wants an explanation, and it should start with where the extra-smart dog came from.

Guest Post: Inspiration for Stories

I've got a guest post at Grace Duncan's blog, talking about some sources of inspiration for me when I was working on How Sweetly the Whippoorwill Sings. It includes some very interesting links to some scientific concepts that really helped push along certain aspects of this story, and are concepts that I think are relevant to all romance stories out there. So, go check it out: http://www.grace-duncan.com/guest-author-tray-ellis/

when the extras practically write themselves

I've been busy today with some actual writing! I got the final proofing for the upcoming Dawg Days Anthology. (I'm starting to feel ridiculously lucky to be in on anthologies. I get to read all the other stories and omg, some of them are seriously captivating.) Diligently did I search for typos, although I'm starting to get that "blind eye" from looking something over too many times, too soon together. I have already written a meaty little extra for when the anthology is released. And then I had another idea, so I've been scribbling that down this week. I just finished the rough draft today and I'm going to let it sit. It took a turn right at the end and is a little bit more provocative that I had thought it would be. At the moment it is (pre-editing) at 1400 words. It is so interesting when the mythos building done in a story ends up keeping its claws in you and even though the story is done, there are tendrils of story still left to tell. I feel that way about this one. I could just keep writing snippets and snippets of these two characters together. My plan is to post that extra a couple days or so after the release. It really will make far more sense to read it after the main story, although knowing the gist of the whole thing, it is easy enough to decipher. I wish I could do this with all my stories!

more puppy shenanigans

Puppy-girl and I have been playing "gimme that" and "my buffalo" with her new squeaky-toy buffalo. (I love buffalo, I could not resist it!) My weekend has definitely been rearranged! But her being here reminds me that my dog-shifter story is coming out later this month, *and* also that I should be watching her behavior and try to get some inspiration to write a short addendum to that shifter story. I do have one already written that will be an 'extra' when the story comes out, but it ended up being such a vibrant world-building story with so much untold behind-the-scenes ideas, that I'd like to write some more for it. Oh...wait. She and I just played tug-of-war with a rope toy, and now I do have an idea. Sweet!!!

my stories -- sticky post!

I finally worked up a sticky post that has links to all my stories. I have been meaning to do this for so, so long. It just always seemed to escape me! I'm sure there's a way to do it here on this blog, but I haven't figure it out yet, so in the meantime, if you're looking for my links, you can find them all sticky-fied at dreamwidth: http://trayellis.dreamwidth.org/49808.html

the agenda, it is changing

Puppy and I had a fine time at the pet store. I updated her chew toys, bones, and fitted her out in a new harness. (It's a gift. She needed it. And she's practically 'family'.) She looks rather fetching! Then we went to the dog park and she ran about until she was hot and tired and I took her home. I've given her new chew bones and she's spent time 'burying' them in my hamper and hiding them behind the bed. And one was left out and camouflaged by the rug, so I've now stubbed my big toe. I had plans to spend the day a certain way, but I'm re-organizing now. All stuff I had wanted to do and get done, but some things will now get done this weekend, and other things will be left undone. Pups do like to make you change your plans!

writing? ach, no, off to the dog park!

I'm dog-sitting this weekend, since I intended to stay home and take care of 1) cleaning up my disheveled space of a home and 2) writing. Such a sweet dog! But, she's only 1 1/2! And she's only been here for an hour and she's driving me crazy! I'm going to walk her to the dog park and walk her back. The walk will be good for me, and time at the dog park will be good for her. I just wish I'd gotten my writing time in first. Catch you on the way back!

sitting under a tree

I had a few minutes to myself today and I was able to lie down on the ground and gaze up at the sky through the waving branches of a tree. There was a slight breeze and it was just perfectly warm and cool. It was a very restful moment, those rare sorts that replenish the soul.

free read!! Please Don't Feed the Alligators

The Torquere Press free read is now available to download! Go and get it!

the link is right here

My story is called Alligator on the Green, and it is a gentle tongue-in-cheek tall tale. And the other stories are amazing reads, too.

thunderstorms and mysteries

It has been a very warm, humid day, full of impeding storms. All weekend, the thunder has rumbled ominously in the distance. Normally, I would say a perfect day for writing! But I had a commitment this morning that kept me quite busy and I was tired out when I got home, so I went down for a nap. (Ah, the joys of a weekend day!) I just haven't recovered my equanimity yet, at least in terms of being creative. I really need to find some time to rest and rejuvenate so I can hit the keyboard hard. (Well, so to speak, anyway!) So, I guess I will indulge this evening in a murder mystery, I believe Hercule Poirot will be solving an unsolvable homicide tonight, and I think I will tag along to see how he fares.

loads of stuff

This weekend so far has been quite nice. I got some exercise in, I spent some time at a party (eating far too much, and weirdly, i just realized, there was no music at all, just a lot of people talking), and I got to spend some time with family. I'm working on some guest posts for How Sweetly the Whippoorwill Sings and for Nuts, Bolts, and Chihuahuas, and I had an idea for fun little short story that might be a good free read. I'm waiting to hear if the little short I submitted for the newsletter is liked/accepted. (If not, I'll still post it here-abouts for reading.) And on Tuesday, my flash fic in the Please Don't Feed the Alligators anthology becomes available. I've still got loads of other things to take care of -- stories to edit, stories to finish writing, a short story I'd like to turn into something longer. Some days the process of writing just seems very slow. I wish I could speed it up!