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NaNoWriMo Again :)

2011-11-09T18:12:00.001-05:00

Every year I look forward to NaNoWriMo.

There’s just something amazingly productive about the pressure that’s put on that one time of year. I’m not entirely sure why the pressure is there when I really think about it. I mean, who am I letting down if I don’t finish? Just myself. But either way, I really love the rush of NaNoWriMo.

I’ve got myself up to writing about 2000 words an hour and about that much a night. I’ve more than half way finished and it’s not even half way through the month yet. If I can make it to 50k by the end of the month I’ll be very pleased with myself.

Really, when I think about it, what book is only 40k anymore, anyway? That, and with all the editing a book goes through there are a lot of words that get cut out and lost. I know I average about 10k. Things get added later and things get chopped later, but for now all I feel is the rush to the finish line.

After that I’ll worry about what stays, what goes, and what needs to be added in after the fact. I know the “must haves” for this book. I’ll worry about the rest later.

It brings me a strange comfort to know that the skeleton of my book – the bare basics, is amounting up to about 40k. I can add the rest in later.

Why No Pictures?

2011-09-27T17:38:00.001-04:00

Well, I’m about forty percent finished the first draft of my new manuscript. I like where it’s going so far and I’m thinking about what I’m going to end up doing with this. I have so many stories in my head right now that it’s actually getting hard to focus on just one. I’ve started writing intros and making notes on other books, and then keeping focused on just one.

The sad fact is that if I didn’t get distracted by every little thought that came into my mind (like this blog entry) my book would probably already be done. I just got a new job that should allow myself some more time, and a few other details got ironed out in my life. Some new wrinkles emerged, but you know – that’s life. I’m spending as much time as I can right now focusing on the positives and keeping myself busy.

Speaking of positives, I’ve been enjoying the weather now that it’s started to cool down and I’ve been spending a lot of time with my son. A lot of people ask me why I don’t put pictures of him online, and there’s a very simple answer for that.

I don’t need to and it’s not safe.

There are too many creepers online and too many people who will take a picture of a child and use it to scam other people. Those pictures of kids you get in your email with the message something like; “my name is sally and I’m dying of cancer. If you forward this to 100 people AT&T will give my family $1”?

Yeah, that’s a real child. That picture is probably taken off someone’s facebook account. I’m not willing to have my son attached to something like that – or to the worse, more obvious things.

I think people lose touch with the idea that the Internet is a very real place with real people who are both good and bad. I’ve met some amazingly helpful and good people online, and I’ve met some people who are the worse of the worst. We spend so much time telling our children to “be safe online!”

Unfortunately, many adults don’t follow by the same rules that they expect their children to. Apparently if you’re over the age of 18 or 25 or 40 the big bads can’t get you or your family.

I’d rather not take a risk. I love my son. He’s the most precious and amazing person I have in my life. I watch him grow up more every day. I watch him draw and learn and I listen to what he has to say about important topics (like Iron Man and monster trucks, oh yes) and I listen to the stories he tells me and to what he dreamt the night before. I couldn’t imagine anything bad ever happening to him.

Remember, people. Play it safe online. Not just for yourselves, but for your children, friends, and family members too.

This Public Announcement is brought to you by Elizabeth Darker. Enjoy <3

Word Count

2011-09-05T20:57:00.000-04:00

Word count.

It’s the plight of writers and a goal for authors. Something about the idea of a word count can either kill or make a novelist, I think. I know that when I first started writing the idea of writing 20,000 words was something to awe at. When I wrote my first “book” at just a little under 25k I thought it was amazing. Then came the awakening NaNoWriMo. 40,000 words in a month. Who could do that?

Not me.

At least, not my first try. The first time I joined NaNoWriMo I went in completely unprepared. No plot outline, no solid ideas. No idea of how I was going to write this and I attended no meetings. It was a bad idea, but, I learned from my mistakes and became a better writer for it.

Shortly after my second NaNoWriMo I started to look up word counts and what they meant. 20k or less was a short story, 20k – 40k was a novella, and anything over 40k was a novel. But, doing more research showed me that most publishers and agents want a manuscript at least 60,000 words long. That’s my first novel’s length added onto my NaNoWriMo novel. It seemed daunting at first, but I set my mind to it and started to hit 60k with my books. The Yellow Sun was my first novel to be published with 60,000 or so words.

It seems funny to look back and think about it. When I first started writing I had no idea what weight the word count of a book meant. It was all in pages. Then when I heard 20k wrote a story and added padding to it. When I did NaNoWriMo it was the first time I ever actively counted words, and I did it by hundreds. Every hundred words I would push myself to do another hundred. Of course, it didn’t take long to write one hundred words so it wasn’t a hard goal to meet each time.

With the novel I’m writing now, I’m looking at 1,000 word goals. For every thousand I write I do a quick glance, smile and write another thousand. For every three thousand I can take a breather, and for every five thousand I get a cookie and a pat on the head.

Oh, how times change!

Switched

2011-08-20T22:00:00.000-04:00

Okay, I know that I said that I normally don’t read within my genre anymore, but I took a chance on a book that I didn’t think I’d enjoy and now I’m in love with the series. I downloaded Switched about a month or so back, started to read the first chapter, and then had to move. I had initially downloaded it because I wanted some light reading material to keep me entertained through the process.

Boy, was I wrong.

As soon as I started to really read the book I couldn’t put it down. I finished the entire novel in less than 24 hours. At first, I wasn’t very fond of Wendy. She seemed like another Bella; spoiled, temperamental and ungrateful. It didn’t take long for the character to really gain depth though. The same goes for most of her characters and their first impressions on me. Finn seemed, well, lets face it – creepy. I almost put the book down when she let him into her room. I’ve had more than I can stand of Edward Cullin Syndrome (ECS, for you medical students out there) and thought it was going to be another one of those books.

I’m glad I kept reading though, because things panned out pretty well. Everything was explained, and I liked that. I didn’t have any questions that went unanswered and the plot kept moving along smoothly, so I kept reading along.

I have to say, I love Tove. He was by far my favorite character in the book so far. Willa is up in the top too. I actually think that Tove and Willa may play over Finn and Wendy for me. But that’s just me. It’s likely my love of Fiver from Watership Down that makes me love Tove so much. Fiver is one of my big inspirations for two of my characters that haven’t really been released to the public just yet.

Now I’m wondering if Amanda Hocking ever read Watership Down.

Hm.

Well, my recommendation is to read the Trylle Trilogy – or at least the first book. Switched held my interest, the characters had depth and despite my hatred for books with open endings, I guess that I’ll have to deal. She’s got me counting the days until February and waiting for Torn.

Only 165 days to go.

On Writing and Reading

2011-08-18T20:02:00.001-04:00

Lately, with the amount of reading and writing I’ve been doing I’ve noticed a few things that have changed about myself and my writing style, and a few things that just haven’t. I started thinking about it when I was reading a few blogs by other authors about getting into writing routines and how they go about it.

First off, I read – a lot. Lately it’s been very far out of my genre. No vampires. No werewolves. I’ve been reading things like The Golden Compass, Watership Down, Black Beauty, Alice and Wonderland, It’s Not Just About the Hair, and a few text books about writing and publishing (hey, you can always benefit from that!).

The less I’ve been reading in the genre that I write, the more I’ve found myself wanting to write it. I pick up tidbits of inspiration from what I read and while I’ve never been afraid of plagiarizing anything unknowingly, I sometimes get so caught up in the “been there, done that” and stop writing entire manuscripts because they feel old or worn because someone else has done something somewhat like it.

The more I read outside the lines, the more easily I can write. I’m surprising myself with what I’m reading lately with no Internet and no television. I like it.

As far as my actual writing style and routine, they’ve been morphing quite a bit too. I’ve been working on dialog a lot. After reading my own writing and really listening to the way people talk, it dawned on me that the way I’m writing is too formal for how a person would actually speak. I wish someone would have pointed it out to me earlier. So, I’ve been working on that a lot.

My routine hasn’t changed much though. I’m kind of a nit picker when it comes to how and where I can write. My brain will shut down if things aren’t the way it needs them to be. It’s the difference of really being in “the zone” and a few hundred words vs. a few thousand.

As strange as it might sound, when the lights are out and I’m in a small, dark room facing westward or locked inside a bathroom sitting on the floor in the dark I can write around two thousand words in an hour, and that’s on the low end. I type like a maniac! If things are too hot, too stuffy, or I don’t have a glass of water with me or it’s too bright my word count decreases dramatically.

I guess that it’s really just a matter of focus. Well, speaking of focus, I should get back to writing. I want to churn out another three thousand words today other than this blog.

Toodles!

Lack of Internet

2011-08-03T17:57:00.000-04:00

Sorry, again, for the long belated post.

With the lack of Internet at my house I've been mooching off my family's. They don't mind though, I'm sure they enjoy the extra company from time to time.

The road trip was traumatic. I'm just happy that it's done and over. Really, there wasn't anything of note that was overly positive to talk about, so I'll just skip it and move on to more positive things.

With things in the house settling in after the long trip, I've finally started to work on another book again. Nothing like a long trip to give you writer's block. But, like I said, I'm working on my next book and I'm hoping the first manuscript will be done by the end of the month.

On the bright side, while I haven't been writing I've been reading old books from my college writing classes. It's really reopening my eyes to the whole idea of how I write and where my weaknesses are (also, I had a friend point out just a few and really have been working on it since). I feel like this next book is going to come out stronger and overall better than the last. I'll give everyone more details once I'm well into the process of writing it.

Other than that, life is moving on as usual. I'm considering the idea of going back to college but that's another story all together. Until then!

On The Road

2011-07-09T10:11:00.000-04:00

Well, I'm on the road!

Road trips are fun, right? Well, sometimes.

The GPS has been our biggest enemy on the trip, and I keep thinking that maybe it'd be better go just go with a map. For whatever reason, it keeps taking us in very large circles.

On the other hand, we did end up staying in a very nice hotel and got some very nice shots of the sky. I'll upload them later when I have some spare time.

AJ seems like he's enjoying the trip so far, so that's a good thing. The rats... are on the fence. They don't like the car, but they do like the breakfast at the hotel. Charlie got his hard boiled egg and Sam and Orion got their waffles. Everyone on that end is happy, and the hotel staff didn't have a problem with the rats even in a non-pet room. Yay for small animals!

I'm already missing my family a little bit back home. My dad, my brother, Jesse, Sarah, Heidi... everyone. I'm going to have to call everyone later to let them know I'm thinking of them.

Well, we're getting ready to head out again, so I'll post again soon!

Saving Sassy

2011-06-27T09:46:00.001-04:00

Kittens are precious.
Animal hoarding is wrong.

It was a difficult day yesterday. Started off with a nice little get together and ended with me taking a very cute kitten to the vet to be put down. I'm very much for animal rights, and what happened yesterday was just... beyond anything I could ever imagine.

Two people dropped a bunch of cats off with two friends of mine and took off. My friends don't know what to do with the cats. There was one kitten, Sass, who was absolutely adorable. She was polite and every bit the little lady - unlike most of the other cats who snatch food, fight, and are turning a little feral from the amount of cats that these people keep. So, Sass was the cat that my friends were planning on keeping when these "people" came back to get the other cats "tomorrow".

Well, "tomorrow" turned into a few days later and one of the kittens in the hoard of cats died mysteriously. It turned out to be some sort of infection and when poor Sass fell ill my friend separated all of the many intruding cats away from their two cats and kept Sass in a very large cage of her own complete with bedding and water and everything else. They kept her in a nice cool place and were trying to keep her hydrated. I helped yesterday trying to get the cat to a vet or something and no one was willing to see her without an enormous down payment.

Finally, a vet in Whitehall agreed to see the kitten for only $150 and then would work with us from there. As we're getting ready to take this kitten, which is not ours, to a vet and give our own money into it to keep it safe they two real "owners" waltz in. They want to take the kitten down to Philly and want my friend to drive them there despite having a car.

When called on it, no, they didn't want to help the kitten, they wanted her to drive the car because it was an illegal vehicle and neither of them wanted to get pulled over with the drugs that they had. It had nothing to do with saving poor Sassy. When I said, "We're taking her to Valley Central Emergency Vet in Whitehall the two gave me this big "oh! I wish we could help!" and I said, "How about instead of partying, you pay the $150 for your cat's vet bill instead of making us do it?"
The response I got was flooring.
Ready? You might want to sit down.

"Yeah, well, we just had a cat die from this. We took that one to the vet so we're not really willing to go through that again."
Then the male of the two shoved a twenty my way and said; "This is for gas".

There was no "thank you" or any other offer of help. They wanted to let poor Sass just lay there to die and none of us could do it. She was in too much pain and it just would have been cruel.

We rushed Sass to the vet. They were all so amazingly helpful (I'll be writing something more detailed, but five stars on this vet hospital, I highly suggest them if you need emergency vet care), but unfortunately we weren't able to save Sassy. There was a lot of anger and tears, a lot of grief. This shouldn't have happened and there was no reason for it to happen if these people would have taken care of their own pets.

So, we take the long car ride home, thinking that's that and that the cats in my friends' house should be gone along with anything else these people had there. But when we returned to the house the cats were still there and the idiots were gone. They abandoned all the cats to my friends who now have no idea what to do with them.

We're looking into no-kill shelters, but this isn't a responsibility that should have to be taken on by us.

To the people who did this - I hope you guys are watching this blog. You're monsters. I said it to you once and now I'm going to say it again:

If you cannot afford to care for the animals you have, you shouldn't have them!

Especially when it's over 20 cats.

Prizes and Road Trip

2011-06-25T12:30:00.000-04:00

To the people who won prizes from me and did not receive them yet, they're in the mail now :)
I thought I'd give a quick update on the situation because I was starting to get nervous myself.

Well, Tasha gets here in less than a week and I'm bursting with excitement. We've got a lot of plans and things to do before the trip and the two of us have been pretty thrilled with the idea of finally living together. This should be the creative boost that I need to finish my book as well I'm really looking forward to getting that finished as well as getting into my new house - our new house, that is.

I'm looking forward to our road trip too. I think we're going to have to sit down and plan it out in full when she gets here on Friday, but otherwise we'll just have time to enjoy each other's company.

Movies, Hershey Park, dinner parties - it's a full schedule. My birthday is next week too, so we've got a lot on our hands. Two birthday parties plus an amusement park, waterfalls, a trip to the drive-in and finishing getting ready for our road trip. Busy, but fun.

I'll try to keep you updated along the way. I'll be sure to take pictures and keep a camera with me so I can upload them to my blog while we're on the road.

But that's not for another week yet. I'm too excited.

Moving and Moving Along

2011-06-22T19:44:00.000-04:00

I know that I haven't said much on it because I do like to keep my personal life off the Internet, but I thought that I'd finally say it - I'm moving. It's why I haven't really been able to update lately. A better job is taking me somewhere else, and packing and unpacking is a hassle. I'm just happy to be moving up in the world a little.

Beyond that, I've been working on a few new features for the site as well as my next book. I've got a lot more time on my hands as of this week, so there's no excuse for me to not have the next book done very, very soon. I'm pretty pumped about how easily I'm writing the sequel to The Yellow Sun. It's coming out nearly as easy as the first book did.

Soon, I'll have two down and one to go - and a thousand more stories inside my head!

The Yellow Sun Give-A-Way Winners!

2011-06-10T21:59:00.002-04:00

Now, with The Official EDarker.com The Yellow Sun GiveAWay closed, I'm happy to report the winners!

By process of random drawing and selection, the following people have been chosen for the following prizes.

But first, to recap!

The give-a-way was a random drawing that people could enter to win various prizes. Three top winners will receive a copy of The Yellow Sun on e-book. Two additional winners will get their choice of either a Zev or Spirit related sticker or a Zev or Spirit related keychain. The winners are being posted on this blog and contacted via the information that they'd given to me during the drawing.

I've been excitedly awaiting June 10th, and now it's finally here! I'm sure there have been a few other people who were waiting as well.

So, without further delay - a drum roll please!

The three people selected to receive a copy of The Yellow Sun in digital format are:

John Bumberger!
Kate (no last name provided, but don't worry, I'll be in touch! )
Laurie Young!

The two runners up who will be given stickers or a key chain are:

Amy Walburn!
Jennifer Myrna!

Congratulations to everyone who has been selected for a prize!

The Yellow Sun is available in E-book, Nook, Kindle, and print formats! Solve the murders today!

Contest Ending

2011-06-10T08:13:00.002-04:00

The contest for the Official EDarker.com The Yellow Sun giveaway is closed!

I'm excited to say that I'll be drawing the winners this afternoon and posting the results here on my blog, so tune in tonight for the exciting reveal!

See you soon!

The Great Escape

2011-06-07T12:35:00.000-04:00

I can't explain much now, but there's a reason that my blog has been so here and there lately. I'll say more about it later.

In the meantime, i'll tell you that the second book, the book that follows The Yellow Sun, is well into production :)

I'm also working on a novella and a book review for The Golden Compass. I've finished it.

The end is not like the movie >: \ In a good way? I'm not sure. You should read it :P

Update coming soon!

Contest for The Yellow Sun

2011-05-30T23:11:00.000-04:00

Just poking my head in to remind everyone about the contest I have going on through June 10th, 2011! Win a copy of The Yellow Sun or other prizes. For full details, visit my contest page at www.wix.com/edarker/edarkercom

And to all my American followers, Happy Memorial Day!

Thanks to all the veterans who have served this country so well, and helped to shape it into what it is today.

Storms

2011-05-28T00:37:00.000-04:00

Clouds in my yard.

I have to admit for once, I am a little afraid of the storms that have been hitting.
Weather is a freaky thing for me. Living in the area I do, we rarely get bad weather, so when we've suddenly got horrible weather, it makes me a little edgy. I went from enjoying thunderstorms to tensing every time I hear a rumble.
With hail the size of softballs raining from the sky and tornadoes touching down so close to home I've started to find myself listening for a train almost constantly.

Relatively small spiked hail in my hand.

Right now there are wall clouds outside and I know what that means. Poor Charlie (my pet rat) has been jittery since we were outside two hours ago. I think he knows that the storm is coming. While we were sitting there he started to pull on my hair and nibble at my ear and I said, "Charlie, what is wrong with you?" and he ducked for cover just as a spark of lightening raced through the clouds and lit up the sky to reveal the many wall clouds hiding the stars. I just stared for a moment, eyes wide and mouth agape, before I said; "I get it, Char," and we headed inside.

I'm exhausted and I want to go to bed, but with all the warnings we're under and the thunder booming at my doorstep I can't seem to calm down enough to fall asleep.

Storms... hmpf.

Hail. Lots and lots of hail.

The Eco-Friendly Ebook

2011-05-25T23:18:00.000-04:00

I had a small dispute with someone a few weeks ago, and decided that I can't really place my bets on something without knowing enough about it, so I started to do some research.

It all started in a chat room where someone asked about buying The Yellow Sun. I told them it was available in print, but that I suggest getting the ebook because it's more eco-friendly. I was met with a surprising response from one person. They claimed that paperback books were more environmentally safe because they are biodegradable and "publishers plant trees to replace the trees cut down for printing". This sounded a bit far fetched to me, so I did a little digging to find out what really was the way that polluted less.

The first thing I searched was about the pollution used when creating e-book reading materials such as the Nook, Kindle, or even a laptop computer. What I found was that while yes, these materials are heavy in pollution, if you contact the number given to you with the purchase before disposing of your electronics you can greatly cut back on the amount of materials wasted and the amount of hazardous materials being put into our systems. Don't just throw away your laptop computer, contact the 800 number in your user manual.

Now, lets look at the hazardous materials used in printing. I feel like it about evens out. Between the trees lost in the paper-making process (no, most publishers do not use recycled paper), the ink used, the binding materials and the energy used to do the work, I feel like this evens out with the creation of the e-readers.

Next, lets consider the statement of publishers replanting trees. When I searched for a publisher who did this I could turn up only a few. Actually, I found only one, but thought that I should mention "a few" to give the benefit of the doubt. When it comes down to it, the publishers aren't cutting down the trees, they're just using the materials made from said trees. Less trees means less oxygen and more pollution that's left in the air. E-books don't require paper, ink, or any of the other materials used in print creations.

Overall, I still feel that e-books are more eco-friendly and am still going to suggest to people that they buy the e-book rather than the print book.

What are your thoughts?

Chapter One

2011-05-25T10:26:00.000-04:00

I added something new to the page about The Yellow Sun.

A large part of the first chapter is now available as well as an excerpt from later in the book. Feel free to take a quick look at it. If you like it, you can pick up the book by the links on the page or at a local bookstore - though I always recommend getting the e-book because, in my mind at least, it saves trees.

I'd go on a tangent about how to stay green and how e-books help the environment, but I'm going to hold off on that and do a full post about it later.

Have a nice day!

A Day of Days!

2011-05-20T10:22:00.000-04:00

Well, I've been thinking about doing this for a while now and the time has finally come.

I'm doing a complete relaunch of my short stories section. The stories are newly edited, they each have a new cover, and the best part is that they're all available for FREE! I feel like the stories are better than they've been, and I'm happy to say that they've been properly edited this time around. So rather than reading some raw material, you're getting the full shebang.

Feel free to spread the word, share the downloads with friends, whatever. If you repost them elsewhere, however, I just ask that you have a link back to my site :)

Also! I've got more good news. I'm having a CONTEST! 3 winners will receive a FREE copy of my ebook for The Yellow Sun. 2 others will receive items from the EDarker Store. What do you have to do to enter? Just give me some contact information at ContestEDarker (at) gmail (dot) com.

For all the information and a nifty website, go to www.wix.com/edarker/edarkercom

Good luck! Enjoy the Elizabeth Darker Day of Free!

Broadening Horizions

2011-05-18T22:16:00.000-04:00

I've considered working outside my normal writing spectrum for a while now, and I finally have the chance.

When I was younger a friend of mine and I created two very successful role-playing websites. After a while though, we lost interest and did the thing that dumb kids do, rather than selling them off, we abandoned them completely and left it to the staff to figure out what was going on with the sites.

I keep glancing back and thinking that if I could do something like that at the age of thirteen or so, what could I do now? I don't want to dive into another project that I would someday abandon, and I don't have the time or patience to create my own site of any kind right now - I'm happy I can manage this one - so instead, I applied for a position as a writer for a site that is currently in production.

Today I received the good news that I've been hired on to the staff. I'm pretty excited about the whole thing because it means a little bit more of an income for me and a little bit more to dabble in with my past.

I think this is going to be fun.

Old Movies In a New Light

2011-05-17T14:01:00.000-04:00

I've got some time off work and I spent the day doing the usual, cleaning, cooking - and then watching old movies with my son. I'm talking about movies from my childhood that my son has apparently taken a liking to.

I never realized how many dark themes there were in these movies. I guess this sort of thing gets embedded into a child's subconscious and shows up later. Most, if not all, of the themes of my favorite movies are somehow in my books.

Homeward Bound

We all remember Homeward Bound, I'm sure. The incredible journey of three household pets who, in search of their family, set out across the Californian wilderness. As a child, I liked watching the animals run, laughing at the idea of a moose being a "big, razor-toothed animal that comes out at night to eat the tails off smaller animals", and Chance's "Bat Dog!" moment. Now that I'm older and watching it with my son I've realized that this really is an epic journey. The movie is filled with adventure and action and really, it's still a good movie to watch as an adult. Or at least I think so.

The Secret of NIMH

The Secret of NIMH was one of my favorite movies as a child. I liked the artwork in the movie, and I liked a movie about a field mouse. I remember running around my aunt's farm playing this movie out with my cousins. Too bad we didn't realize the weight the movie actually held until much later. I'm not sure we even fully comprehended what NIMH really was.

In a series of movies against animal experimentation (see also: Felide, Plague Dogs, Fern Gully...), this one has a lighter tone than some others, but still strikes a cord. When a group of rats and a few mice are injected with serum that increases their mental awareness (very reminiscent of Flowers for Algernon), they escape to make their home in a rosebush in the front yard of a farmer's home. The idea of what is right and what is wrong is very much prominent in the movie as the rats debate upon the idea of creating their own electrical source rather than stealing it from the farmer, and if they should help the widowed wife of one of their key group members.

This is one of those movies that I cry during now (being a mother, and watching the very well animated horror cross Ms. Brisby's face as she watches her home, filled with children, sink into the mud) that I don't remember crying for when I was young.

Of course, the oblivious crow and the wild children help with the humorous aspects of the movie, but overall, I think the movie is, once again, a great watch for adults as well as children.

All Dogs Go to Heaven

All Dogs Go To Heaven was one of my favorite movies. I must have watched it a thousand times growing up. In my mind, Charlie was a well meaning dog who was just in the wrong crowd, and Itchy always really liked the little girl. Watching it now, I've realized that Charlie makes suggestions of strippers for the casino that he and Scarface co-own, and that he and Itchy are, at first, truly using poor Ann-Marie to make money. They treat her with a certain nonchalance until they need her or she threatens to walk away - and more than once pull her away from a loving family who is looking to adopt her.

The scene I found cute as a child - Ann-Marie eating waffles and Charlie poking his head up through the flower bed to see her, I've realized was a horrible, manipulative move on Charlie's part and that Itchy never really liked the girl.

It's still one of my favorite movies though. There is a lot of character progression and a lot of action to keep my (semi)adult mind entertained through the film. Five stars, as a child, and an adult.

Looking back at your childhood, what movies do you think have influenced your current self and why?

Downtime

2011-05-17T13:19:00.002-04:00

I want to say sorry for the downtime that my site has been experiencing. Problems with the host have been, well, horrible.

They're all resolved now though and things are looking better. I'll be back with a new, better blog entry a little later today.

The full url to the site will be back within 48 hours, so sorry to anyone who has been experiencing problems.

General Update

2011-04-30T10:05:00.000-04:00

I haven't been on in a while, sorry everyone.

Generally, things have been a little bit crazy. I'm getting ready for my fiance' to move in and I'm trying to find a way to make a little extra money to help with that.

On top of that, my mom's been in town from Arizona and I've been trying to spend some time with her. With the nice weather we always seem to be outside which doesn't leave much time for writing, unfortunately.

I'm going to get back onto writing, tonight I think. I've been pretty sick lately with the pollen level through the roof, so sorry if this update is more of fractions of sentences and mumbling.

When I get a little more thought process going I'll update again, haha. Hopefully later tonight after work.

Writing a Book

2011-04-13T14:28:00.000-04:00

One of the questions I get most often is "how do you write?". That's a really hard question to answer. That's like asking someone how they breathe or sleep. After putting a lot of thought into the question, I decided to give whatever tips I can on the subject.

When I'm planning my next book I do a lot of things before I even start writing.

First, I make my synopsis, or my list of events that will happen through the book. It helps me stay motivated because it's a map that I can use to see where I need to go next. Ever since I've started using that technique I've gotten writers block a lot less. I know where I need to go so I've eliminated at least one problem.

Next, I'll do research. For example, in The Yellow Sun I knew that I needed at least some basics to police work and butchery. So, I did some reading up on butchers and parts of animals and I contacted a few local police officers and got the opportunity to talk to one very helpful FBI agent. A lot of the information I was given went into the book. I also ended up researching lock pick sets and a few other things as well. It's always best to know what you're writing about.

Then I set up my play list. This is something I'd do before each writing session. Whatever I needed to listen to while writing that scene or chapter I got ready.

Finally, I sat down and started to actually write the book.

A few helpful tips that I can give;

Have what you need before you start. You don't want to disrupt the creative flow by needing a drink.
If you can't think of a word for something, just type in something to help you remember to look it up later. For example, when I was writing The Yellow Sun and didn't know about a topic, I'd write "RESEARCH THIS!" and make myself a note but I'd just keep writing.
Don't edit until it's finished. If you keep going back again and again to rewrite something you'll never finish to begin with.
Stay focused. One of my plights is that I'll start surfing the Internet or talking to friends when I should be writing. I'm starting to learn that when I need to focus, I need to focus.

As always, this isn't the "say all" of writing. If anyone has any tips on their own writing experiences, please share!

Writing a Synopsis

2011-04-11T20:36:00.000-04:00

Synopsis writing is a delicate art. Its one of the more challenging things about being published and I think that one really needs it whether you're publishing yourself or publishing with a publisher. If you intend to market your book in any way, you should have a synopsis.

The problem is writing one. Its difficult, lets face it, but it's doable.

Let's start with the first question I normally get when I start to talk about this kind of thing; "What is a synopsis?"

A synopsis is a list of all the basic and needed events that will happen in your book. Anything that will make the reader keep reading, the meat and potatoes of the book. You can cut out the smaller scenes that tie things together and just keep this to the big events in your novel.

For example, a synopsis of The Lion King (in short, you can usually do much longer than this) could be;

Simba is born, the Pridelands rejoice at the event of his birth.
Mufasa confronts Scar about not being at the event. Scar alludes to the idea of killing Mufasa.
Simba grows up to become a child, he and his friend Nala go to the Elephant Graveyard.
Simba and Nala are chased by hyenas who are friends with Scar, but are saved by Mufasa.
Scar plots with the hyenas to kill Mufasa.
Touching scene, Mufasa tells Simba about the great lions in the stars.
etc...

Of course, you can go into a bit more detail, this is just a quick idea of what it is. When writing a synopsis, there are two options that I've generally used.

The first, my personal favorite, is to write it before you start writing your book. Then you have a sort of map on how to get from point A to points B, C,D, E, and F. Its a good way to keep track of your novel and what you are writing. Doing things this way also saves you the work of picking through your manuscript later to find all the juicy information that needs to be included.

The second option is to write your book completely and go back to pick out the major events and list them.

A synopsis is important because it's required by most agents and publishers for submission. Its also a very useful tool when it comes to publication, and can help you write your query letter as well.

So, think about what is right for you. How do you go about writing a synopsis?

Writing!

2011-04-03T22:59:00.000-04:00

So, I'm about 1/4th of the way through my next writing venture.
I'm thinking it's going to end up being a novella, which is what I had planned anyway, but from the way things were going I was thinking it might become a full length novel.

I'm going off my normal route with this book. It's not the sequel to The Yellow Sun, it's another series. I'm planning to either completely write the story out in one shot, or to make it a trilogy.

Basically, I'm writing a young adult novel (omg!). A friend asked me to do it. I wrote a book in high school about a girl and a demon and their adventures and growing love, she loved it, and she wanted me to rewrite it.

I tried - and failed horribly. But I took the ideas and the characters and I recreated them into something new. A few tweeks here and there, a few changes in ... everything... and there we go. New story that I think she'll like - and the more I write it the more I hope other people will like it too.

Lets hope I can churn out these stories in a timely manner so I can get back to The Black Swan.
I'm thinking the one I'm working on now will be done within the next few days.
Then I'll do the letting it sit for a few days, edit it myself, then see where I'm going with it from there.

Wish me luck!

Very Trying Day

2011-03-26T22:16:00.002-04:00

Well, yesterday I took my rats to the vet to get rid of their mites. The vet gave them each shots - that made them both sick. I guess the vet didn't realize that rats =/= horses and shouldn't have the same dosage of medication.
I'm very sorry to say that Jeremy has passed away. It's actually very painful for me. Jeremy was my little snuggle-bug. He was loving and compassionate up to his last moment. I don't think that there is a better rat out there.

Charlie seems very melancholy about it as well. He's been pretty upset since his playmate has gone. Aj is upset when he notices that Jeremy isn't in the cage with Charlie. He just says "he was a good ratty".

We're going to have to get Charlie a new buddy. Rats don't do good on their own.

But... obviously, I'm in the market for a new vet now.

Rest in Peace, Jeremy. You are loved.

Traditionally Vs. Self Published.

2011-03-21T18:22:00.002-04:00

First off, let me say that everything in life has it's ups and downs. Things are never black and white, just pale shades of gray in which the density of the color is only told by the eye of the onlooker.

There has been a lot of talk about self-publishing vs. traditional publishing in the past few months. At least, I've seen it escalate since then. I've also watched the reactions very closely. Some people scoff at self-published authors, saying that they just can't get a publisher who will look at their work. Others say that they're bold and point to self-published authors like Amanda Hocking who have really made their way in the world.
As for traditional publishing, some are making it out to be the old standby while others are grabbing their pitchforks and getting ready to start a revolution.

Lets take a quick look at them both for a minute.

Traditional publishing requires you to jump through hoops, yes. You need to, in many cases, find an agent. To do that, you need to submit a query and a synopsis. You need to make calls, write letters, make contacts, wade through a sea of rejection letters and finally get that request for the full manuscript and hopefully a signed contract.
Or, in some cases, a publisher will pick you up without an agent, but you still need to jump through the same rings of fire.
Then, they have control over the price of your book and the basics of the marketing plan.
On the other hand, you've got a powerful ally who will help promote your work, get it into the massive ocean of other books available, do all the editing, printing, copy-editing, the cover art - everything that self-published authors pay for. They announce your book on their website and even (in my experience) help you get guest blogs and book reviews.

Self published authors skip the rejection and go straight forward for the future! They say "screw you!" to the machine! They find their own editor who they can agree or disagree with, they get full reign with their cover art and marketing plan. They make the pace and they make the price of their book.
On the other hand, they need to pay - for everything. That, and they'll likely never see their book on a bookstore shelf unless they do a lot of hard footwork to get it there. They'll still need a synopsis and query letter - and a damned good one because it's for marketing this time, not just for finding an agent or publisher. There are printing fees and ISBNs to buy and every other cost will come out of their pocket.

I think that both are strong, powerful people who are doing what is best for themselves. There is no "one road" to anything in life. Each must find their own path. Both these types of publishing have one thing in common though - no one gives a damn about your book unless you get it out there, get it noticed, and people buy it.
You can't make a best sellers list if no one is buying your book - be it traditionally published or self-published.

Both have ups and both have downs. Self-publishing is a very tempting idea. I'd love to make a go of it on my own just once, unfortunately, at the moment traditional publishers won't look at authors who have self-published. I'd rather not risk one way to be left only with the other :(

Awesome Ostara

2011-03-20T19:01:00.002-04:00

Well, I'm not sure how today could have been much better.

I woke up and my son and I got showers and did some laundry. Then we headed out to my dear friend's house to celebrate Ostara. Her mom cooks one AMAZING ham. I've never had ham that just falls apart before. Chicken, yes. Roast, yes. But never ham. Fantastic.

Aj had an egg hunt after dinner and was excited to find that life-giving sustenance known as candy in the plastic eggs. Then we all went back inside, the kids played, the adults talked and joked... it was fantastic.

My 2nd mom gave me a GREAT gift too. She knows how I love Egyptian stuff and gave me a small keepsake box with an ankh keychain inside. I love it so much. It's so funny, she was just talking about how if she gives me anything Egyptian I freak out - and it's true. But I'll save that for another blog :P

After the party, Aj went with his "aunt" and friends to another party - and I was left to write at home. I got a lot of writing done on my next book. No, the book isn't the follow up to The Yellow Sun, it's a YA novella that I'm working on. I plan to finish it within a few weeks. Two at most. It's already got a good start, but then again, so does The Black Swan (the sequel to The Yellow Sun).

I spent the afternoon cleaning and writing -and when Aj came home he was ecstatic. I'm so happy he had such a great day.

Thanks to everyone for making Ostara amazing <3

There's more good news, but I'm going to wait until tomorrow to freak out about that in a blog entry.

Good night!

Burned Bridges

2011-03-19T21:29:00.002-04:00

I realized a long time ago that I'm one of those idiot people who never really burn a bridge. I sometimes check up on people who I've broken bonds with in the past just to make sure they're still alive (a habit started with a drug-addicted ex of mine. I always wanted to make sure that this particular person was still alive, though I've since stopped checking).

I honestly and genuinely stumbled across one of an old friend, who I've actually been thinking on lately. She'd really messed with me and worked really hard to ruin my life and even went so far as to put my son in some very real danger. I don't think that this bridge between us could ever be mended.

Reading through a journal entry that was posted ironically just a few days ago, I realized that her life has taken a massive turn for the worst. She seems like she's lamenting a lot of things that have happened. But, after everything, this one time, I can't find it in myself to take that first step to put my hand on her shoulder and say "things will be all right."

Normally, that's just what I do. It doesn't matter if someone has done something horrible to me, I'm the one who steps forward from the crowd and tries to help. Most of the time, it bites me in the butt. Most of the time it comes back to attack me later. It's not a show of good will toward fellow man, it's a trap that I fall into. It's what put her in the situation to where she could help put my son in harm's way. I think that's what really burned that bridge.

I wish things hadn't gone the way that they had, but I guess what's done is done. If it had only gone as far as stealing thousands of dollars off me and nearly making me homeless I think I could overlook it, but when someone knowingly puts my son at harm... I just can't.

I can't tell if this is me learning a lesson about not helping the hurtful or if it's part of me dying.

I hope it's a lesson I'm supposed to learn.

Book Signing On April 17th!

2011-03-17T18:28:00.003-04:00

I'll be having a book signing at I Said Read Me on April 17th.
Books there will be discounted, and of course I'll obviously be there to sign them :P

If you're in the area feel free to drop by. Don't forget to buy books to support our lovely local book store!

New Site - again.

2011-03-17T12:58:00.002-04:00

I wasn't as fond of my new website as I thought that I was.

I took some advice from a few other people and just changed up my blog here to make it my official home. Now, all the information is available here, and I don't have to worry about updating my main page with my new blog updates, I just type them here and they turn up!

It saves me time (and took a LOT less time to put this blog together like a website, by the way) so I'll be spending less time working on my site and more time writing. But, it's still got all the charm and information of the old site.
The only thing that I haven't switched over was the Character Profiles. They'll remain on the old site for now until I can get around to figuring out how to do that. They're still viewable, just not on the blog.

Well, now I'm going to go get dressed and ready and take my son out for lunch. Then I'll come back and, knowing that my site is taken care of, I'll start writing my novella.

Charlie, Jeremy, the Mites, and the Dreaded Bathtime.

2011-03-16T13:54:00.003-04:00

I was looking over Jeremy and Charlie today and realized that they have mites :(

Upset, I called the vet - who informed me that they can be easily taken care of and that this is something that happens fairly normally. Also, that the mites will not cross over to people - thank God.

Doesn't help me from being itchy though. Watching my little ratties scratch and lick away isn't very comforting. Neither is the fact that the vet can't get them in until next Friday. So, I did some searching online for a temporary cure or cover for them - and found that a mix of oil and tea tree can kill the mites or at least beat them down for a while.

So, I warmed up the water and grabbed Jeremy first. He's much better with baths. I bathed him up quick, toweled him and let him run. He be-bopped away as happy as can be (like usual).

Charlie, however, saw what was going on. He took one look at the bottle, another at Jeremy - and ran! After my son and I caught him I manged to give him a quick bath. He squeeked and cried and when I toweled him and put him down he ran, taking time between steps to shake himself off.

Well, now he's "talking to" Aj, but not me. He's been wandering around the house scowling and sitting in corners.

They're still going to the vet on Friday - but lets just hope that Charlie gets over his sour mood before then!

Mega Mind

2011-03-13T00:58:00.002-05:00

I just watched Mega Mind for the first time today. I didn't expect it to be as good of a movie as it is. Generally, I really hate Will Farell movies. They just piss me off. I was happily surprised how good this one was.

I can't believe it didn't win some kind of award for the story within the story. It was such a lighthearted and funny movie but it carried such an intense message. Be yourself and carve your own destiny. Utilize your natural abilities for good and you can overcome all odds.
Kids today need those messages again. While the world promotes bad guys and war, we need someone to stand up and say "It's okay to be the good guy!"

I just hadn't realized that it was a blue man with a giant blue head and a piranha in a robot body.
Hm. Takes all kinds, I suppose.

Either way, I loved the movie. It was funny and the music and effects were great.
I'll be adding this one to my great movies collection.

Torn Between Two

2011-03-10T13:23:00.004-05:00

I've been working hard lately. Setting up book signings and reviews. I'm trying to get a few guest blogs but I'm waiting on responses.

Generally, I'm just trying to break this rut I've found myself in. I want to write, but I'm not sure if I want to write the next book in my series of if I want to veer off and do a small novella. I've got ideas for both, and I've got my novel in progress. Generally, I can only write one at a time. If I try to write two books at one time I get sort of confused. At least, that's the best way that I can put it. I can't properly set into a character's mind set and follow the trail of events, I guess.

So, now I have two great stories in mind and not much time to work on them - and I'm not sure which to do first. Though, I'd like my novella to be around 25,000 words. I could write that in a week if I really put my mind to it. Then again, that's a week away from writing The Black Swan, the sequel to The Yellow Sun.

And the more time that I spend going backward and forward about if I am or am not going to write this or write that the more time I'm wasting. I need to stop procrastinating and start writing!

It's late though. I'm going to get a good night's rest and start on one or the other tomorrow.

End of story.
Well, start of two stories ;P

New Site Layout

2011-03-08T23:15:00.002-05:00

Well, once again I got bored of the old layout and added in a new one :P

I kept the page for The Yellow Sun the same because I felt like it deserved its own layout, though I may end up changing that as well.

I really had wanted something a lot more simple for a while now, and I finally have it. The old site seemed too cluttered to me with all the many sections and images and icons. This site is simple and direct.

I'll be updating more often now that I have all of this work done!

Much love,
Lizzie

The Yellow Sun, RELEASED!

2011-02-13T21:32:00.002-05:00

The Yellow Sun has OFFICIALLY been released :)

I'm looking forward hearing what everyone thinks of it, and I'm trying to set up a virtual book tour. If anyone has any blogs that they would like me to visit, let me know. I'll get in touch and see if they're willing to have an interview with me or guest blog :)

You can, of course, purchase your own copy of The Yellow Sun on Eternal Press's website!

http://www.eternalpress.biz/book.php?isbn=9781615722969

Site Updates!

2011-02-08T15:22:00.002-05:00

Well, at least having the flu has given me some time to do some much-needed updating to the website.

I took the time to remove a few links that weren't needed, and I added some content that I felt was needed.

I changed the picture on the front page to something a little more fitting, first of all. It just felt right to have something a little more "Big Bad Wolf meets New York City" on the page. After that, I felt like I needed to update The Yellow Sun's page on my website.

I added the blurb about the book that appears on the Eternal Press website, and also a few of the more frequently asked questions about the book that I've gotten. I gave these questions a page separate from the general "FAQ" page because I wanted to keep them easy to find and on topic.

I'm debating making something a bit more fun to go on the site. Lets see what I can come up with.

Post Chat Update

2011-02-08T13:10:00.002-05:00

A warm thank you to everyone who had attended by book release chat on Monday, Feb 7th.

It was a lot of fun and I got some great questions. I'm looking forward to my next interview.

If anyone has any suggestions as to where they would like to see me interview or if they would like to chat with me again, please feel free to get in touch!

Again, thanks very much to the kind folk at Eternal Press for their great cover art and amazing editing. Despite the bumps along the way, The Yellow Sun will be available on February 12th, 2011!

The Yellow Sun's Book Release Chat

2011-02-03T11:32:00.002-05:00

Join me for The Yellow Sun's Book Release Chat!

It's virtual, so you won't have to worry about travel costs or even where you should book your undead friend's. :)

To attend, simply go to http://www.eternalpress.biz/chat.php
Once you're there, you can "sign in" by putting your name in the box. No passwords or registration is necessary.

Invite your friends, I'll be giving away a free copy of my book at the chat!

Best Zombie Vacation Spots

2010-10-27T12:11:00.007-04:00

In honor of the upcoming holiday, I thought that I might do a favor to some of my viewers who are of the undead disposition. Here are a few vacationing ideas for my zombie readers.

Alaska (The United States)
In third place, comes anywhere in Alaska. Why, you ask? Well, having seen a poll a few days ago in which the human population stated that in the case of a zombie invasion they would be most likely to head to the great frozen state, I would imagine that this would be an ideal opportunity for any hungry zombie. The cold, dark weather will help preserve any rotting flesh, and if one were to travel far enough, the communication between humans could be cut short.
Not to mention the beautiful sights! I would suggest that between bites, you make an attempt to focus those glossy eyes over the beautiful bodies of water and forests of evergreens.

New York City (The United States)
Who doesn't enjoy the bright lights and site-seeing of the Big Apple? New York City falls in the number two spot as best vacation places for zombies because of those bright, amazing lights. While it does hold the world's third highest population, which makes for some fantastic and easy snack opportunities, those all those neon signs can be a little too fascinating at times. Try to not become too distracted by the luminescence and keep focus on your checklist of things that you'd like to see, experience, and brains you'll eat while in the big city.

Tokyo (Japan)
Taking the number one spot by a long shot is Tokyo, Japan! With everything to see and experience Tokyo makes an amazing travel spot for the living - and the dead. Tokyo holds the world's top population and the overcrowding issues may prove to give you some handy meals as well as a few new friends as long as you're willing to attempt to blend in. Be sure to keep an eye out for one of the zombie's most mortal of enemies while you're there, however - the ninjas, though as of late they've been fairly busy feuding with those pirate folk.

I hope that you've enjoyed my suggestions.
Until next time, my zombified friends!

Hugs and yargurbblegar~~~brains...

Warning - Publish America

2010-10-20T10:55:00.007-04:00

There are SO many sites out there to warn writers who are looking to be published about potential scammers who would love to take advantage of their love of their craft, unfortunately, there are too many people who are still not finding the information. Because of this, I've decided to set aside a few entries on my blog dedicated to helping protect the people who follow me, by warning them of these fraudulent practices.

Today's topic is one that, for a long time, I thought everyone was aware of. But with the business' cover and cloudy answers to questions in their F.A.Q., its still drawing in a lot of young and inexperienced writers and causing havoc to people who could have otherwise stood a chance in the publishing world.

Publish America
www.publishamerica.com

The first thing that one should do before ever doing business with anyone on the Internet is a quick, simple background check. It gives you a small sample of the history of said company or individual in order to see what they're about and what other people have to say about them. All you need to do is open up your favorite search engine (mine is Google) and type in the name.

Don't just go by the first entry or even the first page. Some misleading companies will go as far as to create multiple sites or to pay or bribe their employees to blog positive reviews or mention the company name on their social networking profile (like facebook, myspace, or twitter). This helps to bury any negative information and lure in new prey--- err, customers.

Even then, you can take an extra step and type in the name with the word "scam", "complaints", or "review". Be careful here! Every company has someone complaining about something. Just make sure you actually read what's there and be your own UNBIASED judge of what's going on.

Luckily, Publish America has such a long track record that they save us all some trouble. Simply typing in "Publish America" brings this as the first results in Google's suggestions:Don't believe it? Try it for yourself :)

So, the three key words that come up are the warning words that I'd previously suggested you search a name with. So, of course you research them to find unpaid royalties, editing horror stories, and a long train wreck of bad experiences. But, lets not take this all for granted, shall we? Giving Publish America the benefit of the doubt, we'll do a little more searching.

As writers, we have a fantastic resource at our fingertips - other writers. Lets not just look at what "armature" writers are saying! Lets jump a head! Lets get the real dirt, lets look at what published writers have to say! Now is a good time to check out Absolute Write Water Cooler.

This is a site for writers to collect and share information, be that on writing, how to get published or, in this case, how not to get published.

When we head to the forum for warnings - ouch! They've got an entire thread, and more, dedicated to Publish America.
http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=115

Take a look around here. You'll find so many red flags that it's insane. Publish America does no real campaigning for the books that it prints. Instead, the company asks that the authors buy their own books or try to sell them to friends and family. No real publisher would ever spam their authors with requests to purchase their own books. It's a sign of desperation.

But, the company says that they're legit, so lets take one more look at their website, hm? I'm sure you've read it all before if you've considered letting them have your book, right? Maybe. Lets take a close look.

The first place I'll look is the online bookstore. The site says that they print "quality" books, right? That means that they must have taken special care of each individually to be sure that the cover is polished to a shine. It's must be something that if I were walking through a bookstore that the cover would grab my attention and I would shout "I want that book!" Lets see, shall we?

Some of the covers are nice, sure, but having very nearly done work with "PA" myself, I know that the site and contract recommend that you use your own illustrator. Many of the covers look like stock images quickly manipulated in PhotoShop with the title and author's name slapped on. They look dodgy. They look like cheaply made, self published books. Like someone who was in a rush and told their friend "Hey, I'll give you $10 if you make me a cover for my book!"

Now, the prices of the books. Who on Earth would spend $30 + S&H for a book by an author that they've never heard of? Outrageous! It's a miracle if anyone sells these novels without spending a fortune in advertising themselves. The sad fact is that these books will likely never even see a bookstore's shelf. While Publish America says that they work closely with book stores and distributors, they also have a no return policy as their books are Print on Demand (or PoD). This means that if a bookstore buys the books and cannot sell them, the store cannot return them. They're stuck with nothing more than $30 paperweights. No bookstore is going to take that chance on an author that no one has ever heard of. Sad, but true. Bookstores aren't in the business of helping new authors sell books, that's the publisher's job, and if your publisher isn't willing to readily market your book, it's up to you.

One might think, "Oh, but I can still use Publish America as a free self-publishing service!" Sure, you could. But only if you want bad editing and a crappy cover. You'll also have to pay a grotesque amount for your own books. You'd be better off having them edited by a professional editor, the cover designed by a real artist you find yourself, and then paying to have them printed. You'll get more that way and you'll have a book that you can at least be proud of. No one will be emailing you saying "what's with all the typos? I can barely read your book!"

But, saving those facts, lets take a look at the Frequently Asked Questions. Any reputable publisher would have clear, crisp answers for whatever question a potential writer might have if they take the time to have a place to put up their most common questions, right? Well, not

Okay, so we'll move on now to how they accept submissions. The company asks for basic information, more basic than any other real publisher I've ever seen. They don't ask for a synopsis, the first few chapters, they don't ask for a breakdown of your book chapter by chapter or event by event. They don't gather any more information than a "Brief Description of Submission".
When I was young and naive and had submitted something to them the description was nothing more than "It's a vampire book about a vampire hunter hunting the vampire who killed her family". They accepted it within three days.

A real publisher will ask for more information than that - if they're not asking for an agent who is already has gathered that information. They'll want to know exactly what happens in the book. They'll want you to pitch the book to them. They'll want to know why you think you were the right person to write that book. It's a lot of work to get a book published after it's written, but it's worth it to take those steps rather than to cut corners and end up in a bad position.
One way this was put by another author was that "Your book is going on a job interview, and it needs to look its best." Publish America doesn't ask for any of that. It's not a benefit, it's a warning sign. They don't care what the book is about as long as you're going to get enough of your friends to buy it in order to cover their costs and maybe make them a few bucks in the process.

Even if you're not ready to submit to agents or real publishers, take the time to look at what people in the "big league" are asking for and what to expect. Talk to authors, agents, and editors. They'll give you a wealth of information.

In conclusion - do your own research on anyone you plan to do business with. Be it a publisher, a bank, a broker, or anything/anyone you're planning on risking part of yourself with online. Talk to people who know what they're doing and get as much information as you can before you make that leap.

As always, be safe online.

Nearly Halloween

2010-10-09T18:27:00.002-04:00

It's Halloween!

Okay, maybe not yet, but I wish that it were. Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. There's just something about the new chill in the air and the brilliant colors that seem to set the trees aflame. There's a crisp smell in the air and, for me at least, it screams "creativity!"
It's a good time to relax with a hot cup of cocoa or tea and to sit outside and write. I suggest that everyone takes some time to really enjoy themselves. Winter will be coming soon and there won't be much time to go outside (unless you enjoy the cold and snow - which I don't). I'm assuming that I'm not the only one who feels extra-creative in the autumn season. There are so many other authors who write this time of year.
But keep in mind all the other things that there are to do. Rediscover the area that you live in. Do things that you wouldn't normally do and break up the monotony. Take a scenic hay ride, visit a haunted corn maze or just take a walk in the local woods and pick up some leaves. You'd be surprise the money you can save on decorations that way!

Image from sxc.hu

Think Before You Tweet!

2010-10-08T22:35:00.002-04:00

Wait! Stop! Don't hit enter yet!

With the popularity of sites like Facebook and Twitter, Internet privacy has faded dramatically. People seem to be less guarded online than in their real lives - which is a strange thing, indeed.
Throughout our lives we are told to "think before we speak and act", yet online, people are willing to post private information that they normally wouldn't dare share with others, be it potentially toxic views on anything ranging from politics to their own personal lives.
Take the case of Karen Owens, who posted online a powerpoint presentation about her sex life while at Duke University - and now "deeply regrets" it.
Before you post something online you should be prepared for the potential consequences. It's best to avoid controversial topics such as religious and political views, the exception being - of course- unless this is a stand that you are ready to take. Be ready to defend your views if you put them online - no matter how personal they are to you.

Overall, if it's not something you would be willing to discuss face-to-face with someone, don't post it online. You could regret it later.

Battling the Block - How to Fight Writer's Block

2010-10-07T19:24:00.004-04:00

'Tis the season! NaNoWriMo is less than a month away and it's time to get ready for the self-inflicted torture that we as writers put ourselves through once a year. But with all the preparations - writing outlines, character bios, and stocking up on enough soda and candy to make even Mr. Wonka himself envious, there's still that one, terrifying idea that could break even the most confident writer's heart in the desperate month head - writer's block.

Oh, writer's block, that solid barrier that is the wall between your thoughts and your pen (or keys). Luckily, there are some really good suggestions on how to fight it back in this war of words.

Outline
My first NaNoWriMo was, by far, the hardest. One of my biggest tips to fight back writer's block is to know where you are going with your own story. Take the time to write an outline so you know what happens next. This way, you won't get lost in your own story or run out of things to do. Granted, I've always deviated from the actual guideline for a while, but having one generally helps.

Don't Get Distracted!
With everything that the Internet has to offer, it's very hard to stay focused on writing when it comes to sit down and actually do it. Turn off the television, mute your phone, and avoid the Internet - disconnect if you can. Another risk is the software that you're writing on. I've heard more than one person both wonder and complain about the new editions to some of their writing software. Stick to what you know. Bigger isn't always better.

Write Every Day
Even if it's not part of your story, write something constructive. If you get out of the habit of writing you'll only fall into bad habits and you'll have an even more demanding writing schedule in the following days.

Take a Break
If all else fails, clear your mind. Take a step back from the computer and get some fresh air. If your muse is taking a nap then you should take the time to do something that's unrelated to writing as well. Do the dishes or watch some television, but don't lose sight of what needs to be done! Come back later and try again!

Image from Stock.Xchng

Cover Art and more

2010-10-06T18:11:00.002-04:00

Well, a lot has been going on. I'd been out of the internet for a while, moved into my own house, and changed jobs - which I'll likely be doing again in a few days.

On the book end of things, I've been preparing for NaNoWriMo. I've got most of my outline set up as well as having tester chapters written out. Just sort of getting a feel of things. I've made up character profiles for new characters and I've been around the boards on and off. Fun!

I'm really looking forward to the parties and write-ins again. I really love getting to know other writers.

As far as The Yellow Sun's publication goes, it's nearing the big day and I'm excited. The cover art (which you'll find around the site here and there) looks amazing. You can find it here as well ;P

By the way, as a post script - Hi to my bff P. Kaa Choo

Yellow Sun Update + Overall Update

2010-08-04T22:58:00.002-04:00

Well, after some consideration, making some new friends, and going through some drama, everything with The Yellow Sun is still on.
I've been contacted by the cover artists now and am being assigned an editor, so things are really rolling.

I'm currently working on that quiz for everyone, and will be holding a contest in the very near future. I've got it planned out, and the reward will be something cute and awesome ;P

So stay tuned!

Much love,
Lizzie

(By the way - Thanks "Lupa", for the lulz with me tonight. You know what I mean :) )

The Yellow Sun and Site Updates

2010-07-25T14:11:00.003-04:00

Finally!
Now that I have some time to sit and blog I would love to give everyone a full update.

Normally, I'd save the best for last, but this all ties in together.

I'm pleased and excited to announce that I have signed with Eternal Press for the publication of The Yellow Sun!
I'm absolutely thrilled that they've accepted my manuscript for publication, and a tentative release date of February 2011 has been set. Until then, I'll be keeping everyone up to date with my website.

Speaking of the website, you may have noticed a few dramatic changes.
First off, I've switched back to my old layout. I just loved it too much to leave it behind. Carolyn worked very, very hard putting it together and modifying it for me, so I've gone back to it. There are, as you've probably seen, a few changes that have been made.

First off, the navigation menu contains a few new sections and has lost a few as well. The "F.A.Q." has been removed from the main navigation, and is now a mini-section on the "About" page.
Added to the menu are "The Yellow Sun", and "Press". The Yellow Sun is the area where you can find more information about my novel and about the characters, places, and businesses within it. Once a blurb of my book has been approved it will also be posted there. I also plan on adding a few more articles, spiffing up the character profiles a bit with images, and adding a few more fun things to this section of the website.
"Press" is just what you may think it would be. On second thought, I don't want anyone thinking it's for how to press cheese so I'll go on. It's the section where anyone who would like to conduct an interview or speak with me on a business level should go. It's got more in depth information on how to contact me for business reasons.

So, it's obviously been an exciting month so far. I'll update you more in a little while.

Much Love,
Elizabeth

Rennovations and A LOT more

2010-07-21T19:14:00.002-04:00

For now, until I have the time to do a full on update (hopefully tonight), I just want to say that the site is undergoing a major back step to the old format and a forward step with new content - for an important reason that I will blog about later.

So, sorry for any missing pages or broken links until it's finished within the next day or so!

Much Love,
Lizzie

Life

2010-05-22T18:06:00.002-04:00

Well, I finally have my laptop back! So much has happened in the past few weeks. I've been suddenly up heaved in my living situation and within the next few weeks I'm going to be making a very long trip to the "Golden State" and to a better life with AJ and some very reliable friends. It'll be a nice change of pace, I hope. I keep thinking "things are looking up" but now I've got to sell my car and I have new bills calling that I don't even remember and people calling for my ex-husband's bills... it's insane.

Things have to get better though. I mean, hey, I got my laptop back :)

Considering

2010-05-08T21:18:00.003-04:00

I've been considering things that begin with the letter "m".

I've been taking an abundance of time for reflection and contemplation lately, though I haven't really been trying to let on to that to everyone. I've come to terms with a few things that would have once hurt me to realize, and now I can happily say that it's water rolling off my back. I'm okay with the way things are, and the things that I am not okay with I plan on changing quite rapidly.

I've also been considering a novel that I'd like to write, but I don't feel that it would be lengthy enough to become a full novel, and as a novella I'm not sure how it would stand. So, I've decided to do it chapter by chapter (or in "parts" like episodes) and to put it online for free viewing. I haven't come up with a title yet, but I like the idea of it. It feels just a little bit "young adult" for what I normally write, which may be another reason I'm not considering it as a novel, but more of a collection of short stories that happen to involve the same characters and follow a chain of events to one final ending.

I think I may want to slip a few of my more... developed characters in there as well. As cameos or something, not as main characters. I have a feeling that I'm going to have fun with this, and that's a good thing, because with all the stress I've been under it's been increasingly hard to write.

Damn it.

No Computer

2010-05-07T14:06:00.002-04:00

Well, that's it. I officially say "DO NOT BUY AN ACER!" Seriously, do not buy one. At least not the laptop mini netbook things. It's been nothing but trouble since the day I've gotten it, and depsite having a warrenty they company refused to fix it. Yesterday it completely shut down. When I called I was told that (now, when the warranty has expired) they'll fix it if I send it to them. Granted, after speaking to five (yes, five) different people I finally had a big enough fit over it that they're going to fix it for free anyway. But the point is, if you're going to buy a laptop, buy a reliable one, not a cheap one. Lesson learned.

So, I'll be updating from my parents' computer here and there when I can, but overall, I don't have much in the ways of getting online :(

7-10 business days and I should have my computer back, though.

Sometimes People Are Stupid.

2010-05-02T23:28:00.003-04:00

Sometimes I sit and wonder what is wrong with the world around me. It's not just the big things, it's the stupid little things that bother me the most, oddly enough.

For example, logging into Facebook and seeing that someone is posting that I'm unattractive, that I'm a bad friend, that I'm not loyal - all sorts of things. So, of course, I start to look into it to see who exactly it is.

It's my school's main page.

Who DOES that? It's SO unprofessional! So now, first thing tomorrow, I have to go into my campus to find out who is in charge of the facebook page and find out why they're posting this about me. Ridiculous.

Then people wonder why it is that I want to get out of this area so badly. I know that I'm going to have to deal with strange and stupid people wherever I go, but for some reason I keep thinking that it has to be better somewhere else. Anywhere else.

Oh well, just a random mini-rant for today :)

PS: If anyone knows anything about webook.com let me know. I've been looking into it, I'm considering joining, but I'm not 100% sold yet. There's mixed reviews.

Host Gator

2010-04-28T09:12:00.002-04:00

I've been with HostGator for about a year now, and I have to say it's much much better than my previous host, but God... they make EVERYTHING so difficult! I'm not website savvy, I mean, I can code and design but when it comes to getting it up and running I'm generally baffled. So, I'm trying to downgrade my plan to a single domain plan because I really don't need or use the others (and no one else does anymore either) so what's the point in having them?
Unfortunately, I need to do a triathlon of events and then pay $10 to have it completed. It just seems a little bit excessive to me. I just want to keep my main domain and be rid of the rest! Is that so much to ask!?

Hopefully, I'll get this all figured out before I go completely insane.

Busy Day

2010-04-24T19:43:00.004-04:00

I spent the day doing some very productive things all around. I cleaned my car, changed my tires, changed my windshield wipers, took AJ out to lunch, bathed the dog, submitted to Tweet the Meat. I've still got to clean and pack for the trip this weekend.

It's been a busy day, but a good day. I'm hoping that I can get some more writing done before I leave. I'm super-excited for this weekend. It's a huge hair show that I've been looking forward to for weeks. I'm going with two of my best friends so it's going to be even more fun.

When I get back I should be all rejuvenated - or exhausted. Lets hope it's the first rather than the second ;P

Vampire Experiment

2010-04-22T17:09:00.003-04:00

So, a friend of mine had inspired me to do a little experiment. It happened a few days ago but I needed something to blog about so I thought that I would update my blog with what had happened :)

Carla (my friend) had said that she didn't understand why a vampire would only have fanged canine teeth rather than have the lower fangs as well because our jaw is what does most of our biting and chewing work. So, I gathered a few tools and put an experiment together.

What I used:
3 Oranges
1 Pair of Vampire Fangs
1 Hungry Liz Mouth

Orange A:
For the first orange, I simply bit it as if I were hungry and going to eat the orange. It showed that my front teeth were doing the work and not the canine teeth at all.

Orange B:
With the second orange, I took a huge bite, as if I were a vampire biting into someone's neck.

Orange C:
Finally, I put in my vampire teeth and took a bite as I had with Orange B.

What did I learn? That oranges taste mighty fine with or without vampire fangs!

But seriously? I learned that if I were a vampire, I would be okay having just the top teeth fanged. To my surprise (and Carla's objection) my top teeth did the work when I bit into the orange for Oranges B and C.

I'd love to have other people with cosmetic vampire fangs (the sort you can buy at a Halloween store) try this out as well! Add me on facebook and let me know what you've found!

So much going on...

2010-04-12T22:03:00.000-04:00

If ever I've been busy now is that time. I really feel like 2010 has been off to a really bizarre and busy start, and it's nowhere near over yet.

I think I'm a little more ready to open up about what's been going on. Maybe for now, but I'm taking it day by day. I've had someone very near and dear to me try something very stupid. It completely blew my life apart. It ended with me calling 911 and an ambulance being sent to their house and this particular person hasn't spoken to me since. It's hurts immensely. It's really been something that's been hard to get through because this person was my fiance and my relationship just sort of blew up randomly. It was random to me at least. I didn't see any of this coming at all.

Along with that my school has given me a schedule that is quite literally impossible for me to follow. I need to complete 10 perms in 3 weeks and I just don't think it's possible when we don't get that many perm wanting guests walking through the door.

There's also the realization that within the next few weeks I'll need a new place to live. I'll have to find it quickly and move in asap. Carolyn has offered me a place to stay, and she's beyond sweet for that. As much as I'd absolutely love to take her up on that offer (or rather, demand), it just feels like something is going to go wrong. I'd prefer if it didn't though. I'd love for everything to just go right and just pack up and go.

So, I haven't had much time to work on my query letter or any of my other stories, and I'm sorry. Things have just been very hard here. There's more going on than just that, but I actually CANNOT post them online. I'll update everyone on those things later when I'm allowed to post them.

What I'm Working On

2010-04-02T22:26:00.002-04:00

Life is still keeping me busy. For the next 5 weeks it's going to be just a tad bit insane. I feel like once I graduate and get a job I'll feel a lot better.

On the other hand, I'd like to just let everyone know that I'm working on a few things.

The first, is a piece of micro-fiction. It's just a very brief and general horror story. Something a bit like Hattie's Toys.

The second, is a short story that is steam punk in nature. I've had it in my head for some time now, a bit about a village being attacked by Sphinxes and building a steam powered "ship" to help them escape the attacks.

The third, is a vampire romance novella. Seems to be in right now, I'm fairly sure I'm just writing this for fun and that it'll be posted on the site here for free :)

And finally, of course, The Black Swan, which is part of my series. This is probably the thing that I enjoy writing the most. I almost wonder if that means it's the worst thing I'm writing? Who knows?

But, I've just taken some medicine for a bad cough I've gotten in the last week that seems to be getting worse rather than better, so I'm off to bed. Thanks for taking the time to read.

And to those who celebrate:
HAPPY HOLIDAYS! (Be it Easter, Passover (sorry I'm late for you guys), or just the Spring Weather! )

Quick Updates

2010-03-30T19:46:00.003-04:00

Well, it's been sort of a long day and a short day all at once. I spent the day in the doctor's office and harassing a friend via text message. I did come up with some good concepts for my next book and some good scenes playing in my head. But I really feel like I need to add another chapter to The Yellow Sun. It's just a few words short of the word count I want it at, but I can't think of what to add in if not something more to the end. Part of me likes how it tapers off with a sort of bright outlook and serenity and the other part of me would like it to end with another uplift in plot. A sort of extra climax to snag people into wanting the second book.

I'm going to sit down tonight and work on it. I'll write something up and show Carolyn and see what she thinks. Whichever she likes more I'll start stick with. I swear it this time. It's sad when i'm 20,000 words into the second book and think "I need to write more of the first one @-@'"

Well, that's just me, I guess. I'm never happy with my own work.
I'll check back in with you all later!

Changes

2010-03-28T10:28:00.002-04:00

Sorry it's been a while since I've been around. I've had a lot of personal things going on, but I'd rather not just post my life up on the Internet.

I've done a lot of different things with the site, over all, it's changed completely. I loved the last layout but I really needed something new. Carolyn and I both agreed that with the changes that needed to be made we couldn't really leave it as it was. So, I used one of those Wix sites to make a new one. I like it, it's simple but still good.

I'm starting to write more again, but I'm submitting my writing directly to magazines and such rather than putting it up here on the site. I'll like everyone to where they can find my new work, and I'll put up a few new free short stories here and there.

In personal updates, there's a new member of the family - Oz, the Shiba Inu. Don't ever get a shiba inu. They're horrible dogs. If I could convince my mother (who bought it) to take it back and exchange it for a boxer I would. I've tried, actually - haha!

That's really it for now, but I'll have another update for you shortly. I'm going to try to keep this baby going full speed again now that things are settling down a bit and the shock and stress is beginning to fade.

Much love,
Lizzie

PS: A big shout out and thank you to Lo for keeping me busy and to Carolyn for the late night calls. Love you guys!

Busy Holiday!

2010-01-02T23:01:00.003-05:00

It's been a little insane here. Well, a lot insane here. So many things have happened in my personal life and I've been very much caught up with my son, school and with Tasha. Unfortunately, I haven't had much time at all to write. I haven't had much inspiration either.

Just as I was about to announce the winner of my contest my computer failed and I had no way to get online. I'll be announcing that on Monday, because it feels right to be doing it at the start of the week. The book was put on hold until some final kinks were worked out, but that will be available within the next few days.

When I say alot has been going on I mean it!

I'll have a new short story for you all in a little while. I promise. I think I just need to wind down from the holidays and get over this flu that's tackled me. I haven't even been able to keep you all posted on Facebook! Oh man!

So I'm going to get to work making up for lost time.

Much love!

November

2009-11-02T18:29:00.002-05:00

November is here and so far it's started out with a mix.
The idea of putting out a book of short stories for Halloween got delayed, but it'll be ready to go this coming weekend. Halloween week was just HECTIC!

On the bright side though, "Hunter" is just about finished being edited and I'll be ready to take the next step.

And finally, it's NaNoWriMo! How much fun is that? For some people not so much, for me, it's a blast! I'm keeping a steady pace so far. I'm not going to rush to 10k like some people have done because I know I'll burn out. I'm just going to write the way I know how to best and have fun with it! I've made so many new friends and met so many cool people. I can't wait for the next meet-up this coming weekend - even if the drive is monstrous.

So by this weekend I'll have a lot of fun updates for everyone - and don't forget the contest! Sign up for the mailing list and you're automatically entered to win!

NaNoWriMo Meet-Up

2009-10-24T17:17:00.003-04:00

I just got back from my first NaNoWriMo Meet-Up. It was a blast! I got to meet some great people and have a lot of fun! I got so lost on my way to Wilkes-Barre. For those of you who don't know, I live a little over an hour away from there. I spent a half an hour driving around in circles. I was very thankful when I finally made it to the meeting.
I feel more confident in my ability to finish the 50k by the end of November. I think that with the group meetings it'll push me on to finish.

I got back just in time to watch AJ.

Now I plan to kick back with AJ and relax for a little while. Then I'm going to finish the short story I'm working on and finally finish the last few changes to my plot for next week.

And to everyone who was planning on meeting up with me at Dracula's Ball - it doesn't look like I'm going to be able to make it. I haven't heard anything from the people I was going with. Last I heard "there are problems" but they never clarified if they were going or not, but I haven't heard anything since so I'm assuming not.

Next time maybe :(

Changes to the Site

2009-10-18T17:02:00.002-04:00

You may have noticed a few changes to the site. Such as the mailing list. I'm also going to be adding an option for you to send some of the most popular content to friends or post it to your own website or blog! I've got a lot of plans for this month.
The newsletter will start going out for the end of October. Some of them will be more exciting than others. This one will be less exciting, I think. But I'm going to send them out once a month at the beginning of each month - the exception being October.
But I'll bet you're wondering "why should I sign up for a newsletter? I can just come here!"
Well, I like to think of the newsletters as an exclusive club. It's less of a newsletter and more of a free membership. When you sign up you'll be a list of elite fans who get the first updates on contests, exclusive sneak peeks to new stories and exerts that won't be on the website, and much more. And like I said, it's free, so why not sign up?

The "Share" option on the site is fairly simple. Lets say I post a story on here and you like it. You can easily email it to a friend or even post it to your facebook, myspace, or whatever else you'd like - and all without taking up the space on your server. No downloading files or anything complicated on your part. I've made it truly simple for everyone. So please, spread the love <3

The Contest... will be announced later tonight ;P No cost though. Just sign up for the mailing list to enter. Everyone who signs up before November 14th will be entered in to win. More details later!

Stay tuned and sign up on that list!

Finally Finished Hunter :D

2009-10-16T19:19:00.002-04:00

Finally!
I am absolutely thrilled to announce that I've finished Hunter - for real this time. Maybe a few typos will need to be fixed here and there but overall the book is completed. It meets the word count requirements and everything, so all I need to do now is fix up any typos and ship it out.

I wanna thank everyone who helped urge me through this, especially with the last 4,000 words because that proved to be the hardest part.

Thanks to Carolyn, Tasha, (Five Hand) Angie, and all the wonderful fans who took the time to write me emails or track me down on other sites to tell me that you like my work. You have no idea how encouraging it is.

Love to all,
Liz

Old Stories

2009-10-14T15:48:00.004-04:00

Sorry for the lack of updates. I feel like I start off like that more often than not. My son has been rather sick. He'll be okay though, no worries. It's given me some time and I only need 2k left on my book. For someone who writes 10k a night you'd think this last 2k would be easy, but my mind just isn't in the book right now. I'm hoping that I'll just be able to sit down, clear my head, and finish it tonight. That'd be a dream at this point.
I've taken some time to search through an old folder of stories I'd found in my bedroom as well. These are things I'd written from the time I was about 14 and up. I'd say fourteen to maybe... seventeen? Seventeen tops. Before I had my computer or while I was grounded from it. Caress will be thrilled. A long while ago I had written an entire book about a girl and a demon. She sort of fell in love with the male main character and the book ended up getting ruined. I found a few of the chapters! I started to read through it and felt inspired. Part of me wants to rewrite the entire idea. I'm not 100% sure that I'll be doing that yet, but it's at least an idea.
I've been so wrapped up with Chris, Raven, Stephanie, and Alexander that I hadn't even thought about my older characters. I would really love to recycle them and the world that they reside in - where there are stars during the day and the moon wanes and waxes within a single night. Very much through the looking glass sorts of things.

That's really it as far as updates. Hopefully I'll be getting on again tonight to scream "The book is done! The novel is finished!"

Love to all <3

October

2009-10-04T15:06:00.005-04:00

Welcome October! My favorite month of the year. There's something creative and empowering about autumn. Something that makes me want to sit and write. Lets all just pray it sticks around for November's NaNo -haha!

I haven't had a lot of time. School has been taking up more time than I would like it to, but that's okay - as long as I graduate on time I'll be happy. Right now things are busy, but it'll calm down in the future and give me time to write. I hope.

I did manage to churn out one of many stories I've had in my mind. Hattie's Marvelous Toys is now available in ebook form. That's always a victory for me, even just to get it up on here as an ebook. I've got another one in progress about an elderly couple, but I'll come to that after I write it. I need 4,000 more words for my book and I can't think of a thing to write. I'll sit down again tonight and stare blankly at the pages until something comes to me.

Yeah, that's the plan ;P

More updates to come, loves!

EDIT: CrimsonTearsBook.com is no longer an available domain name. So if you had it bookmarked please change that to crimsontears.edarker.com :) Thanks!

OH NO! NaNoWriMo!

2009-09-06T15:36:00.002-04:00

I was shifting through a forum for writers that I joined recently and realized something horrible. NaNoWriMo is very, very close. I had planned on participating last year but because of a stressful schedule I was unable to really write. I'm planning on participating this year, but want to have Hunter finished enough that it can be shipped off to a few friends for review - which means I need to get off my lazy butt and actually work on it. I don’t have much to finish, and I think that’s the problem. When I needed 20,000 words I was working hard-core toward that goal. Now that there are just a few final things to work on I’m admittedly slacking.
I’ll sit down tonight and try to officially finish V2 to get it out and about.

I’ve already started planning the next book, but don’t want to begin writing until this book is really finished - or at least as finished as I can get it on my own. Friends, if you see me online, tell me to get my butt in gear!

Now I just want to convince Tasha Jahn to commit to NaNoWriMo as well.

Writing Tip - Don't Write Where You Sleep!

2009-09-05T13:49:00.002-04:00

I've been putting thought into all the questions I get on how I write. I'm going to start putting up small articles and tips - I'm thinking about once a week or so.

Tip Number One: Don't Write Where You Sleep!

Back in college I took a course on how to properly study. I was never the sort of person who could simply sit down and memorize information. I would sit at the table and much on snacks while I hate, or start to doze off or do other things if I tried to study in my room. I took the course in college and it explained why this happened to me.
A person’s body becomes adjusted to the activities of a specific area. Over time, I had engineered myself to eat at the table in the dining room, to watch television in the living room, and to sleep or relax in my bedroom. I had never created a space to study and that was what I had needed to do.
Over time I’ve discovered that the same goes for writing.
Try to create a space for yourself to write each day. Think of the proper atmosphere and tone you want to add to that space as well. I enjoy a small, closed off space that cuts out noise and outside distractions. I turn off the lights, seal off a section around my desk, and turn on some music to set the mood. The closed off space makes me feel comfortable.
Now, this same atmosphere will most definitely not work for everyone - especially if you are claustrophobic! But taking the time to find out what you need as an individual will help improve your writing.
The most important part of writing is to take action and write. Once you get into the habit of this you’ll have less of a problem with things like writers block and outside world distractions. Create a space where you write - and only write - and you’ll find yourself writing more often and more easily!

Facebook +Basic Update

2009-09-04T11:33:00.002-04:00

I should really consider starting to blog daily so I don't forget that I have a blog here.

Not much has happened but I thought it was about time for an update.

The first thing I want to make public is that I now have a facebook account. You can find me at www.facebook.com/edarker
No surprise, huh?

Otherwise, I've been trying to finish up Hunter here and there but things have been fairly busy. Just to update everyone on a few things in my life:
I start school again on September 21st, the date was pushed back after one teacher had a death in the family or so I was told. I'm just waiting for it to roll around.

I've been trying to keep a dear friend of mine as busy as I can from a distance. She lives hundreds of miles away and just had a significant loss of her own. I hate to see her hurt so much but things have been very hard for her lately.

We lost one of my dogs. He was very old and needed to be put down. I won't go into much detail because I've avoided mentioning him much in here because we all saw it coming.

Now that I type it out there's been a lot of loss. But things haven't been all bad. My mother, who was terribly unhappy in her old job, recently got a new job that she is very happy with.
My other dog, Jester, is being unusually happy anymore. He even stands still for me to give him a bath. I think that he's happy he gets to sleep on the edge of a bed again.
My son is doing fantastic, although every day he gets up and the first thing he wants to do is go to an amusement park lol! He does take after his mother.

Well, that's everything I can think of. Remember to add me on facebook!

Finished V1 of Hunter!

2009-08-24T10:59:00.002-04:00

I'm absolutely thrilled to announce that I've finished the first draft of "Hunter", the rewrite of Blood Tainted Dreams, is finished! I've still got a few plot holes to patch up and to read over it myself one more time before I'll send it off to a few friends to review, then I'll do the terrifying part of sending it out to other people.
I'm already planning the next book. This time it's focus is going to be more on Christopher. This book gave three different viewpoints. Christopher, Raven, and Stephanie, more Raven than anyone else (and I have to say I don't hate her character so much anymore, though she's still far from my favorite). The next one will be more focused on Christopher's point of view. I've already got a book in mind for Stephanie too even though I didn't get too deep into her character for this one. She's sort of an odd ball in the group. Raven and Christopher have dark secrets and Stephanie is a cheery open book.

But I realize I'm going on and on about this book, I wrote an entire paragraph about what the book is about, then deleted it ;P I don't want to give TOO much away.

Needless to say, I'm very excited. I plan on patching up at least a few of the plot holes tonight and I'll give it a day or so before I read it myself so that I'll have a fresh set of eyes. In the meantime, I'm going to get to writing that short story that has been in my mind.

Have a great day, all!

About the Book, Stories, and More!

2009-08-21T23:36:00.003-04:00

Today was productive and unproductive at the same time.

I got up and wrote more in my book. I've been hankering to write a short story that's been stuck in my head but I know that if I deviate from the plot in my novel I'll end up losing my mojo. That's the way things are for me. I can't go back and fix things in my books either. If I realize that there is a glaring, horrid loop hole I can't go back and fix it or my mind loses it's pace. I need to just make myself a note to fix things later. "Oh, how did Raven know about Christopher's past anyway?" or "You forgot to include the villain here!" I keep writing like everything is fine and dandy. There's no problems in the plot - never! Then when it's finished I can go back and fix things up a bit.
That's why I always consider "V1" my sketch. It's just the basics. Shapes and lines if it were a picture. Later on I'll come back and add in the little details that I had missed before and refine things. A novel, or any story written for that matter, is a piece of art. It takes time, love, and devotion to really finish it.

After a while I went to work. It's very different having this position back. It's difficult. But I just need to struggle there until school is finished.

And as I'm sitting on my lunch break I was so very rudely interrupted by "5 Hand Angie" who informed me that a few of the links on the website were off. I did a little investigating and she was right! Thanks for telling me, everyone!
So I took the time to fix them rather than bother Carolyn with it. It was minor things, easy details to fix. Very nice. An extra "l" in the ".html" or one number off in a number variation. I'm no css queen but saying those things makes me feel like one.

I think I'll stick to being God over my characters. I can sit above them and laugh maniacally while Raven and Christopher bicker. While Stephanie pursues a hopeless relationship. And while Alexander works to make things even more awkward. All the while a juicy plot is cooking up in the background.
Better find that killer fast, Admin Hunters.

But I digress, the book is coming along swimmingly. Once "V1" is completed (I suspect within the next few days) adding the details won't take long at all. From there I plan to send copies to the 3 people whose opinions I trust most: Carolyn Mingo, Tasha Jahn, and "5 Hand Angie". I know a few other people have been wondering what's going to happen when and how is this book different since I've made such a fuss about it, but I'm sorry, you'll just have to wait. Lots of love going your way but three people are enough. Carolyn I trust for obvious reasons. She already knows the plot because she's helping me make things for the site to coincide with the book. Tasha Jahn has been my writing buddy for years upon years - if only we could get down to writing Crimson Tears :\ Mail her about it. Not me. And Angie is a dear friend who I just generally trust. I think she would tell me if my book were stupid. She's already told me how much she hates the endings of my short stories and that I need to stop leaving open endings.

But I like open endings. I like to let you all use your own imaginations a little bit. And as I said to her: "I write until my brain says the story is over. When the picture fades out it's done. This is where my mind left off." Or something to that extent.

This is a rather long journal post, however. I was going to write about my cheese making expedition but I suppose that will just have to wait.

Much love! Be safe all!

Mayor Tom Barrett

2009-08-20T09:34:00.000-04:00

I wanted to take just a moment to thank Mayor Tom Barrett of Milwaukee for his heroic display of self sacrifice to aid the people who had elected him.

Bravo!

Life is Good

2009-08-16T21:45:00.003-04:00

Today was one of those days where I actually sat back, took a deep breath, and thought "life is good".

Everything is sort of falling into place at last. Not just in my books, but overall in my life. I'm starting school again very soon. I have more time to make up than I had originally thought but that's okay, I'll be finished very soon. I cut my hours back at work so that I have time with my son while I'm attending class during the week. Sure, it's going to make things a bit more tight, but at least I'll have time for him. That's the number one thing I need time for.

I've been making fair time on my book. Not as good as before but I'm going to keep setting time aside every night. I only have a few more chapters until it's finished and I'm at the point now where if I stop I'll abandon the novel. I don't want that to happen again.

The site's visitors are statistically up, which is nice too.

But the big thing is that today I took the time to just go out with family again. We took a drive out to Hershey Park and just went on a few of the rides. Going there today, I had no idea that it would be one of those landmark days that I don't think I'll ever forget. Just a month or so ago when we too AJ he was still in the "minis" category. In other words, he can only ride the smallest of the small rides. When we went this time he was in the "Hershey Kiss" category. It's like he sprouted up another two inches over night. He rode the log flume, the Trail Blazer roller coaster, all the smaller rides and the bigger rides. He's even bored with the small rides now. That's my boy.

I'm so very proud of him. He's grown up so much within the past month. He speaks SO much more than he was. He's got all these new words and he does things all by himself. I don't think I've ever been so happy.

But now, I'm off to write.

I hope all of your lives feel just as good as mine does right now!

Awesome Pictures

2009-08-05T00:33:00.006-04:00

I had to showcase some of the awesome images I've been given recently by Carolyn. She's possibly the best artist I know. Absolutely awesome.

When she gave me the line art of this picture I died a little. It looked so absolutely amazing. Even the body language is perfect. And in case you don't know who this is - it's Alexander, my favorite character in my novels. He's arrogant but charming. He's the first one to step up for the 'better cause' - as long as it suites himself as well. I can just see him at some party cracking jokes about some serious topic. Laughing at something in bad taste. This is one of my favorite pictures of him that I've gotten - and I've gotten so many pictures of him overtime.

This one is just cute, haha! We were talking about pictures of Alexander and if we were going to put something in the merch store with him on it. She came up with this picture but we never really came up with some cute catch phrase to go with it (much like the "Fetch!" line). I still love this little picture though.

And now this comic. I'm surprised that she hasn't done more pictures of Kafele. She did one but I don't want to post it for fear of ruining any plots just yet :P Kafele is Alexander's cousin. They're very much different. Kafele is racist and hateful. He's not fond of women (with reason, but you'll have to read that later). Basically, he doesn't like anyone but Alexander. Carolyn loves him.
This is how he says "I love you", Carolyn! I swear!

I'm considering making a page on my website dedicated to all of the fan art I've gotten of him over time. It might be a neat idea. I'll think on it. :D

All of the artwork above is of course copyrighted to Carolyn Mingo. Please don't take her artwork :(

Book Update + Relaxing

2009-08-01T17:33:00.005-04:00

I've got good news. I'm officially 1/4th of the way through my book. This may not seem like much to some of you, but to me, it makes me happy. I'm expecting to be finished by the end of this month - maybe sooner. It's rather exciting for me. I haven't been able to write in quite some time so to finally have my mojo back is absolutely joyous. I've been really setting time side each day to write and what I'm writing I feel is coming out very well. 2,000 words is my daily goal and I've been meeting it each day. If I can exceed it I'll be even happier. Exceed it without losing the wording, detail, or overall love to write, that is.

Since coming home from Virginia I've been trying to take time to sit and relax too. I realized that I might have been pushing myself too far with too many obligations before. I was stressed out and it was effecting me both at work and with writing my book. No inspiration. I just wanted to come home after work and sleep.

I have since, been trying to make mini-vacations. For example, today I went out to a giant yard sale day. I bought AJ a toy he saw and wanted, brought it home, cleaned it and let him play with it. I'm always wary of yard sales. It might sound stuck up but I just don't know where each item has been. I have rules: Don't buy clothes. Don't buy stuffed animals. Don't buy anything that goes in or around your mouth, eyes, or nose.
But I made an exception today.
I came across a wine set, and for anyone who does not know, I love wine sets. I'm not a heavy drinker, I just love the look of them. They're so elegant. The family selling it looked like they weren't the sort to sit and have a glass of wine at night - they even had the price set oddly low. I looked the glasses over, no cracks or dents. Just general imperfections that some wine glasses have. The etching was perfect and I was awestruck. So, needless to say, I bought the set, brought it home, and cleaned in steaming water. Now I have a beautiful new set of glasses and one large wine vase.

Afterwards, we went to get some ice cream and then came home. It's been an awesome day - and I even think I'm going to exceed my goal of 2,000 words. I hereby swear that by the end of August, this manuscript will be FINISHED!

Back Home

2009-07-26T15:56:00.005-04:00

Finally back from my vacation to Virginia. I have to admit I'm just a tad bit disappointed to be back in Pennsylvania, but at the same time it's very nice to be home.

I spent a lot of my time at Busch Garden's amusement park. Took AJ on the rides. I haven't had such a good time on vacation in who knows how long. Having AJ there made it a thousand times more fun than it normally would have been. He learned so much in that one week that I'm amazed too.

As far as books go, spending an abundance of time in Williamsburg did me a world of good. I took a few tours and refreshed my memory about that time period. Yorktown, Jamestown, and Williamsburg are amazing places. If you're into the history of our United States then I would highly recommend that you visit it at least once in your lifetime. Buy the ticketed tour of Williamsburg, it's definitely worth every dime.

So I'm back. I'll be spending a lot of time working on my book now that I'm feeling refreshed. I go back to work tomorrow and I'm hoping that it doesn't kill my inspiration. That worry is what's going to keep me up all night writing tonight. When I was about fifteen I could pump out 20,000 words in two or three days. Now that I've got work and a two year old things are a little more difficult than that. If I get out 2,000 words tonight I'll be happy. 3,000 and I'll be thrilled. When I think about 3,000 words it doesn't seem like much. The Moon Festival is over 4,000 words and I wrote that in a single night. My goal for The Hunter* is between 20,000 and 30,000 words. I prefer novellas over novels. But if I make it to 40,000 I'm not going to complain either. So at 4,000 words a night I could get 30,000 words in about a week. I could have 20,000 words in five days.

But enough math. I've never been good at math. I'm going to sit and write with my word count goal infront of me, then have my two most trusted friends go over the finished process once it's done and work on the second copy. Luckilly, I've already go the book fully plotted out now (after starting it three times and tossing it out) and the ideas for the next one are rolling. Unfortunatally, I doubt that the next book will be about Alexander. I know a few people have been waiting for the books I have about him, mostly the people who have been following my work for a long time (sorry Caress, Shelby, and others). The reality of it is that I have to write what comes to me when it does. Alexander's major story just hasn't gotten it's turn yet.

It'll come though. I promise you that. Alex is my favorite of my characters - not that anyone could tell with how little I write about him. Then again, Keira is right up top and I think with the exception of my writing partner Tasha and my wonderful friend and assistant Carolyn no one has really heard of her.

I need to write more.

Virginia, Here I Come!

2009-07-16T11:12:00.002-04:00

It's been a while again and I'm truly sorry for the lack of updates. I've been fairly busy with work and writing. That, and it's summer time and I've been spending an abundance of time outside with my son.

I've got our family vacation booked for next week. We're headed out of state for a while to relax and get some fresh air and fun. We're headed to historical Williamsburg, Virginia as well as Busch Gardens, Chincoteague, and Virginia Beach. It'll give us a lot of bonding time as well as time to get my gears moving again. All the stress from work and constantly running running running has made me realize that I don't only want to get away for a few days - I need to.

The book is coming along nicely though. I recently told Carolyn that I should be able to finish the first draft in about ten days. That's an approximate, keep in mind. Going on vacation throws a wrench into that plan, I'm not sure how much time I'll have to write, but I'm going to try.

So until then, I'm going to be handing the reins for the site over to Ms. Mingo. She's a real wonder.

OH! Also, I've updated the "books" page because I wasn't happy with the unorganized look of it, so rather than bother her I did some basic html and fixed it up a little myself.

That's all for now. Have a happy two weeks!

A Quick Update

2009-06-18T10:51:00.003-04:00

Sorry I haven't updated in a while. I've been rather sick lately and have been spending a lot of my spare time sleeping rather than writing or updating. I took some time to bake cookies today, I'm finally feeling better.

One thing that I did want to update about is that I took some advice from a few other authors that I talk to and took two of my favorite works down and put them up as E-books instead. Although I'm leaving the musings up the way that they are now. I wanted to keep at least a little bit of my work up on the site.

Unfortunately, that's all I really have to update with. I'll post again soon though!

Novel

2009-06-02T01:11:00.003-04:00

I'm really rather happy with the way the novel is coming out. I'm thinking that Hunter may have evolved too far to be called Hunter, but I don't have another name for it just yet. I'll come up with one by the time it's ready to be published. Hunter is it's working title though.
So far, the first two chapters are finished and the third is on it's way. I'm very proud.

I was stopped twice by family members who were simply taking the time to say "Good job, Liz." It's funny, hearing that really made my day. I've been taking compliments more easily lately than I normally do. Not that I'm getting a big head, but I'm just taking the time to appreciate it that people think I'm doing a good job. I've been taking the time to tell other people the same thing. I don't think we as human beings take enough time to make other people feel good.

So think, what have you done that was an accomplishment today? Anything? Even something tiny?

Good job.

X-Men Evolutions

2009-05-31T21:39:00.002-04:00

I took some time over the weekend to relax. I had made plans to dedicate an entire day to writing, but it became apparent that it just wasn't going to happen - which is good, because the entire plot became clear. It's much easier for me to write when I know the plot of my own book.

Instead, I got home from work on Saturday and called a friend. We had made plans on Friday night to go out on Saturday night. This particular friend is rather unreliable, however. I should have seen it coming. I called her at seven, she said she was on her way. I called her at eight, she said she was leaving now, she'd just gotten held up. I asked "Is it safe for me to get ready? Are we really still going out?" and she responded "yes, I'm very sorry that we got held up. I'll be there as soon as I can." Nine thirty came along and I was sitting, looking pretty with my hair and makeup done and nowhere to go.
Right on cue, my mother asks if I want to go to the movies. We get together and start to look through the movies in our area to see if there is anything worth paying to see, and I say "I heard that new X-Men movie is fantastic."

Anyone who knows me very well - well, more well than the average person - knows that I've loved the X-Men since I was a little girl. Of course, though, I was different from all my friends and family. Everyone loved Logan. Everyone loved Wolverine. Not me.
I loved Gambit. For all my childhood he was my heartthrob, haha! So the movie was fantastic for me. I love going out with my mother from time to time, so it was so much fun.

Now it's Sunday night and I still haven't written. I spent the day out with AJ and I'm just settling in now. I'll take some time to write at least two pages, so that'll be nice. An achievement. Don't expect any more new short stories for a while, though I did find my old external drive with a bunch of my older (and still cherished) stories on it. But as stated, no new short stories unless something really strikes me. I'm getting my novel done!

Hope everyone has a fantastic week!

Herbs, Creole food, and a little writing.

2009-05-23T19:03:00.000-04:00

It was a productive Saturday to say the least.
I woke up early for a Saturday morning and immediately dressed. My son was still asleep at the time. I skipped my workout and cleaned the house. AJ, my son, woke up about half way through.
I asked my mother if she wanted to come out shopping with me and loaded AJ into the car (along with his trusty stuffed puppy) and we were off. The shopping center was horridly crowded but we made our way through, picking up some odds and ends for the weekend and a few herbs.
My last herb garden got blown away, I had started to grow the garden by hand. I haven't had one since AJ and I moved. Unfortunately, the wind took it during a sever thunderstorm and I haven't had fresh herbs since. So, I picked up a few half grown plants while we were out to nurture to their full potential. We'll have fresh thyme in no time (har har har).
When we got home I invited my neighbors over for dinner tomorrow night. I'm making a big Creole style dinner. I've got most of it marinading now. It needs to sit over night.

Tonight I'm planning to churn out a 2000 word story for a magazine that's not quite overdue and to work on my novel a bit more. Hunter really needs to get finished. I love the way it's turning out.

I'd rather not say how Crimson Tears is going, but lets all keep our fingers crossed for an update on that soon, shall we? It's been put on what I hope is a temporary hiatus.

Happy Memorial Saturday, everyone!

The Moon Festival and more

2009-05-19T23:56:00.001-04:00

First, I'd like to make the proud announcement that I'm writing again, and fairly long short stories (for lack of a better way to phrase things). I've been getting out more than a few musing or descriptive paragraphs and have started to work on various things again. There's a new story up.

The Moon Festival is about a pack of werewolves that happens to find one straggler from another pack. He's lost and cold and they invite him to join their pack "until the Great Wolf comes". He finds quickly that although this new pack is welcoming, they celebrate the full moon quite differently than his old pack.

In other news, there's more new merch in the store. I'm planning something a little special for June, so keep involved. It may come a bit earlier depending on the circumstances. Soon though, I hope.

Widgets coming back soon. I had to find a new host for them, but at least one will be back soon, just working out a few kinks.

Also, I'm very much anticipating a book by Ms. Mingo. I won't say the name out of respect of privacy, but I can already see that it's going to make my Liz's Picks!

Welcome Carolyn!

2009-05-12T09:35:00.000-04:00

First, I'd like to take a moment to welcome Carolyn to the team officially. She's been working with me for a while but rather than freelance now she's part of the team officially. So far she's coded the website, brainstormed with me, and created graphics. She's been a tremendous help.
Thanks, Carolyn!

Also, there is new (and I'd say rather adorable) merch in the store. I have to admit I'm rather fond of the new Fetch! line by Carolyn. I may have to get a mouse pad or something for myself.

Mother's Day Weekend

2009-05-11T09:21:00.000-04:00

It was a nice weekend, and to be honest, I'm a little upset that it's over.

I hadn't expected to do anything on Saturday other than take my mother out to Friendly's for ice cream, but when my parents decided we were taking a mini-vacation to Knoebles Grove Amusement Resort how could I say no? We packed for the day, I got my son in the car, and we all went out for a drive. The park was packed and we only got on 3 rides (all kiddy rides, of course, though if you've ever been to Knoebles Grove you know that there isn't much there for the roller coaster enthusiast ;P ), but overly, we had a fantastic day. Ate funnel cake, walked around, watched AJ ride the "Mini-Whip" - it was a blast.
On the way home we got a little lost and ended up a few miles from Centralia. It's been a long while since I've been up that way and I think it was the little boost that I've needed to get back to writing. Centralia is a small, isolated town in Pennsylvania. The town that the movie Silent Hill was based off of, and I would love to say that the opening scenery is very close - driving up the long highway and hill and into the town, well, I'd forgotten that it really happens that way. One small turn where the road splits and up the long stretch of highway. The town sort of comes out of nowhere and if you're not paying attention you can drive right through it. It's vastly overgrown with five houses and a garage left standing. The streets are unmarked and the plots where houses once stood are now empty, overgrown lots. The Centralialocal government offices still stand, but they're closed. As far as I am aware mail doesn't run up there. Not since they took away the postal codes for the town in an attempt to make the last few residents evacuate.
Centralia was the victim of a coal main fire. The vein that runs under the town was set aflame years and years ago and it just hasn't stopped burning. The ground there has opened up in many places, sucking down everything from people to entire sections of highway. It's Hell under there. A boy was lucky enough to get caught on a tree root once when the ground opened under him and escaped with massive 3rd degree burns and his life.

It's eerie up there. I think I'll be making another trip with my laptop and a bottle of water. Maybe this coming Sunday if I can get my parents to watch AJ.

Saturday was much different. I did a run with a good friend of mine, Caress, to Hershey Park. The park was virtually dead so it was easy to get on the rides. We took AJ and her daughter, Kitrina, down there so they could spend the day on the rides. It was Kitrina's first amusement park so she was really thrilled. We went into the Zoo America exhibit there and listened to the out of staters complain about the lack of Elephants in Zoo America, but overall it was great. That's half the fun though, isn't it?
AJ loved the swift fox exhibit. Kitrina loved the "dragons" (aka: alligators).

AJ and I never got home until 11, but he slept right through the night.

It was a fantastic weekend.

New Server!

2009-05-08T10:45:00.000-04:00

Well, I have to say, despite all the complications I've had with HostGator, thing finally started to work. The website has been transferred from our old server to our new server, all the links have been updated - and look! Now you can go directly to a page! Rather than everything being edarker.com you can now visit pages like books.edarker.com or about.edarker.com. We've also got an entirely new email, "contact at edarker dot com". Feel free to send us a message there!

With this finished, there's much less to do. I'll be updating www.store.edarker.com soon so keep an eye out. I'm trying to design a few new products, but it's difficult when I don't have much work up just yet. I'll get things moving as soon as possible though. Obviously, this was the biggest task.

I'll be setting time aside to work on what I love to do from now on (write) so expect updates on that soon.

Another Mishap

2009-05-07T01:20:00.000-04:00

Well, it seems like the closer I get to finishing what needs to be done the farther away it gets. My main email was hacked again, and this time I learned a lesson from it. Happily, I got all my personal information out of there ahead of time, but unfortunately I needed to swap my blog to here. So, just for the record edarker.blogspot.com is no longer a valid place to find information on me. You can no longer email me at lizdarker@gmail.com. The email is kaput.

On the bright side, the website's layout is updated and working on all servers! We can give a little clap to Caro for working so hard for so long on that. Thanks, Caro!

I just need to transfer the files to my new host and everything that is major should be finished. I made the... unfortunate choice of signing up with HostGator, I do not recommend. If they can't fix the many technical difficulties I'm having with the site and server by Friday I'll sign up with a new host. I paid enough money for this to work correctly and I'm a little bit angry that nothing they're doing is working just yet. But by Friday I'll have to have this sorted out.

Also, I'll have another announcement shortly, so keep in touch!

What is Going on

2009-04-26T01:43:00.000-04:00

Okay, so here's what is going on overall:The Website:The site is currently running on Internet Explorer only. There's some problem with the Div or something and honestly, I don't have the money to pay someone to fix every page. I'll be working hard on getting the site translated to HTML as quickly as possible, but until then, just bear with me, okay? View the site on IE if you can.Also, I'll be switching servers this week as well. The website will be a little bit more manageable with the new server and I'll be able to do more things with it. Overall, it's going to be a better site. This change will be for the best. I've (obviously) been having one heck of a time trying to keep everything together, but the walls keep falling in on me and it's stressing me out more than it should. I've gotten to the point where I can't focus on writing because I'm so worried about the website.Cafepress:I've gotten a few requests and questions about the EDarker.com Shoppe. What it boils down to is: the images are in production, hence, the merch. is in production. I've gotten a lot of requests for various products and I'm going to do the best that I can to make everyone happy. Writing:As I'd said earlier, I'm so stressed over the website that I can't focus on my writing, so I'm rather unhappy to say that I don't currently have anything new to post. I plan on setting time aside tomorrow just to write and get caught up to where I should be with things.Personal Life:And finally, a little update on my personal life (I don't normally do this, but I feel this is something worth noting). I've had less time than usual lately because I've gotten a promotion at my day job. The good news is that this means more money, the bad news is that it means less hours, but the work is more enjoyable, much more enjoyable. Don't get me wrong, I love the department I was in before, but middle-management is amazing. Also, were doing a few additions to the house as well as just some sprucing up. My father is adding a deck to extend out from the living room and down around the pool (and I'm helping!), tomorrow we're working on that. I'm also repainting the white areas of the fence around my porch and also I'm extending the fence at the top of the yard so my son won't be tempted to run over the dirt bank while he's playing on his play set. There are a few other odds and ends to do around the house but overall, I'm enjoying things. Life is good which makes for good writing - as long as I can get the website finished and off my mind!If I had the money, I'd hire a personal assistant!

Maybe Not So Much

2009-04-17T13:00:00.000-04:00

Okay, so after recieving a few complaints about the new layout I started to do some investigating. Silly me, the site doesn't work on anything but Internet Explorer. I should have thought and tested it on other browsers before hand. Not on Safari, not on FireFox, it only works in IE. SO, you know what that means... new website coming up. I really love this new layout. I really do. I'm going to be gravely disappointed if it doesn't work out. I have a friend who is an amazing web designer who is currently working on a new site for me, although (no offense to her) I'd really love to keep the one I've currently got. It has everything I need and space for the things that I plan on adding. (Though I do thank you, Carolyn!)I'm hoping that things will be sorted out soon. I haven't even had time to write I've been so worried about this. The code is turning into a mountain rather than a rather happy looking mole hill. Oi.

EDarker Returns!

2009-04-08T10:22:00.000-04:00

Finally! I've got the website back up and running.Of course, I had to completely rebuild the site so it's completely new. I took down a few of the stories that contained really obvious spoilers. But with those taken down I've added this blog, a store (yes, I'm going to get a coffee mug or something haha, I can't resist), and a few other nifty little ideas like "Liz's Pick", a monthly favorite of my whatever. It might be a book, a band, an artist, or a charity. Whatever I feel like having it be. I've also put on a new, updated bio and added a section for frequently asked questions. Everything is really updated and I think that I'm going to avoid using flash for a while. The exception being updated widgets that I'm working on. Overall, I really love the new site. Now lets all cross our fingers and hope nothing happens. This time I'm going to keep the files myself as well in case anything happens.

Update on "Hunter"

2009-04-05T12:11:00.000-04:00

I know that I haven't been saying much as far as "Hunter" has gone. There have been quite a few problems between the first publisher and then Amazon.com's mixup with the ISBN number (which they STILL have not fixed, I'm starting to wonder just what sort of company Amazon is). But I'm getting off track.I've gotten a few questions about the new "Hunter" and thought I would add a bit here on the topic.Firstly, "Hunter" is just the working name of the book, it will not be the title. There have been a lot of changes in comparison to the first book as well. Raven's character is slightly tweeked, and I've combined a few other stories in. Christopher will now be one of the main characters. Yes, Alexander and Raina are still in the book. The base of the plot is the same, Raven needs to hunt down Alexander to free herself, but now there's a nice little twist to make things inconvient. What? No, of course I'm not going to tell you the change!Needless to say, I've actually been working on the book. With everything going on right now in my personal life I don't have an excess of time, but I'm hoping to have the book completed by the summer.

Working on It

2009-03-22T23:05:00.000-04:00

So, I've decided that this blog SHALL be the new edarker.com. I'm getting my work up, I'll have a navigational menu up soon so it'll be just like a normal website! I've got a new "About Elizabeth" up, it's considerably shorter than the last but I think that we'll all live.BUT, it's late, at least for me on a day like today. I'll update more tomorrow.

Important Notice

2009-03-21T21:16:00.000-04:00

Well, I was hoping that I was wrong, but it looks like I've got a funny little gremlin. In the past week my paypal, email, website, and every other site I'm on online has been tampered with. I was keeping it quiet until I could figure out what was going on. I still haven't, but my bank is looking into the paypal situation and I'm going to ask the website for the IP of the person who was on it on anything other than my own. I'll figure this out, it'll just take some work.That's actually a large part of why the website is down, but I didn't want to say anything about it until I was sure it wasn't just some stupid mistake on my part. My friends and family know - I can be a little ditzy at times.Now I'm sure.Hopefully this will be sorted out soon. Some of the things I'm not so upset over losing, but my website, paypal and email are sort of important.

Layout Update + Reading

2009-03-21T00:58:00.000-04:00

I'm still working on updating a new layout. A friend of mine is putting me in touch with her cousin so I may have someone to create the new website for me. On the bright side, the new website I'm planning will have more content. More fun content. Character quizzes and things of the like. I'm truly and sincerely sorry that this is taking so long. I've already gotten emails about the lack of content, well, I'm sorry everyone, but this is a blog, not a website. I'll get my webbie back up and running ASAP.In other news, anyone who knows me personally knows that I'm a huge Anita Blake fan. Well, more of a flamethrower toting Edward fan lol. But anyway, I had such a hard time finding Bloody Bones that by the time I found it I read it within the span of two days. Keep in mind that I've got a child and work. I recommend these books to anyone who likes a little intestine with their romance. Nothing like a romantic candle-lit dinner followed by a little eviseration. So I finished the book and ran straight out to get the next, The Killing Dance. Overjoyed that Edward is within the first few chapters, I can't wait to read more.Laurell K. Hamilton really inspires me. While I'm not so much into romance or erotica, I absolutely love her work. I'm glad to have my friend Carolyn who quite steadily insisted that I pick up The Laughing Corpse. It was a good call on her part.On one final note, there is now an OFFICIAL website for Crimson Tears - CrimsonTearsBook.com

Hello Again

2009-03-15T13:05:00.000-04:00

Well, I hate to do this to everyone, but I've been forced to recreate EDarker.com :( You think it's upsetting for you? Oi... I've actually considered hiring someone else to do the work! But it'd be a blow to my pride.Why? Well, in short the tool I used to create the website previously wants to begin charging me a ridiculous fee in order for me to maintain my own website. Preposterous! I'd rather start again from scratch. I could understand if they were hosting my website for me, but they aren't doing anything for me at this point. The work has been done already. I may hire someone to create a flash banner or intro for the site, but otherwise, I think I'm going back to HTML, it's easier to edit and personally, I find it alot more fun. Flash got so old so quickly. I promise to have the site back up soon and am VERY sorry to everyone for this. What I thought would be a great improvement on the site has really just become a setback.I'll have the new EDarker.com up and running as soon as I possibly can :(