The Chorus sings ‘Get back to writing!’

My Guest today is Eleni Konstantine. Welcome to my blog Eleni.


Hey there, my name is Zoe and I open and close gateways to hell. Yes, I know you haven’t heard of me because my creator has neglected me since June. I mean come on, I know I look like Miss Average but this is a remarkable gift…curse…whatever you want to call what I have. Surely she should be concentrating on me?




Hold on there a sec, Zoe. I’ve been around longer than you. I’m Alex and I’ve been around since June LAST year. Yep I started out great too with my story almost nutted out. You see I am a Dream Tamer. I don’t just walk in dreams I change them. And because of that I am a wanted woman. And my hunter is my true-mate. Don’t you think that is a story worth concentrating on?






Xeni here, well actually it’s Alexandra in our world, but I’m in another dimension and Alexandra isn’t a common name. Xeni makes me fit in. I’m a Finder or a Seeker. People hire me for all sorts of jobs, and that keeps the household running while I find out what my true purpose in this dimension is. Our creator has not even worked that one out yet. Surely mine is the best story so far?



My, you ladies have a different way of conversing. I am Tasean, Princess (though don’t say that too loud) of Arestia. I have been promised in marriage to the person who wins the tournament. I hate it, but my father is right (please do not tell him); our Kingdom is too small and powerless to fight a war on many fronts, hence why we need a marriage alliance. Still I was not at fault for stumbling across a dragon who has lost her tribe. A misunderstanding has occured and while I go with the dragon willingly, my father believes I am under a spell. Not to mention the travelling minstrel we have just encountered. While he seems harmless enough and reveres dragons, there is something about him I am not sure of. I have been waiting patiently since goodness knows when. Sofian (that’s my dragon friend) tells me to be patient, but it’s not easy. Creator come back and tell our tale.



Tasean, you think you’ve been waiting long? Well let me tell you, I have been running around the creator’s head for close to 15 years. Yes that’s right, you read right – 15 Long Years. Yes she jotted down ideas, but didn’t actually start writing my story until this year!! I mean sure let my story percolate but come on… I’m Mel or as I found out Melonia. I’ve lived in the Earth dimension all my life…or so I thought. Instead I come from Beyond World. And I really want to find out what the deal is. So Creator, where the hell are you?


Ladies, enough!! You are being very rude. We are here as guests on Sandie’s blog. The least you all can do is say thank you to her for inviting us here to talk about Eleni-fest.
(Sorry Sandie and thanks Sandie for having us here, the character chorus say).
Good now hush up you lot so I talk with Sandie.

(Grumbling in background from chorus)

Sorry about that Sandie. You see my characters are bothering me. This is only the girl contingent, the guys are even worse!! You see they are right, I have been neglecting them and letting them percolate. Partly because it’s my process. Partly because I’ve been concentrating on Irini’s story (Mel & Tasean – hey no fair, we were here first).

As I was saying, but also since July, I’ve been editing, getting ready for the conference, sending partials and this past month, Eleni-fest has been happening. That is near the end. It has been a blast (although exhausting), but I’m itching to get back to my characters.
(Hooray! – the chorus cries)

And from the answers from my guests, it’s going to be hard work and harder work when (like that when not if) I get published. I’m sure my characters will help me out as well as my support team of my CP and Bootcampers who look over my work.

As a person with CFS, should I be scared of this hard work?

Actually surprisingly it doesn’t scare me. This past month I’ve gone further than I have in a long time with anything ‘work’ related i.e. writing related without the actual writing. But I can do it – and Eleni-fest has been squeezed into a month period with not much prep time, so I have been laying down the tracks just as the train is on the horizon. I hope with my stories, that I will have a little bit more breathing room.

It’s been a draining month but my need to get back to writing has been intensified. I’ve truly missed it. So I need to rediscover my process in the next couple of months…or a routine that will suit me. This all hours at the computer is not a good thing (doesn’t help also we are renovating ATM, so life here is stressful on another level) and I need to watch my energy levels. So I’m constantly learning about my process and re-evaluating.

I’m mainly a pantser.
(yes we know, cry the chorus)

But I do have notes of the general direction I’m going. Though different things happen and new characters emerge. It’s fun playing around in my fantasy worlds – whether they are completely made up or my version of our world.

All I know is that I’m looking forward to getting reacquainted with my stories and characters again, and learning more about the writing process. After all the philosopher Socrates said we are students during all our lives. And I agree – there is something new to learn everyday, to expand on, to work on.

Now, for your chance to win a mini-pack, please tell me which of the 5 stories above you think I should on concentrate next and why?

Zoe is from Gateway to Hell

Alex is from DreamTamer

Xeni is from Finder

Tasean is from The Lady & the Dragon

Mel is from Beyond World.

They are all jumping up and down trying to get your attention. Not very heroic you know!

LOL, Eleni, you characters sound like mine, so it's good to know I'm not the only one who has problems like this.

Eleni thank you and your ladies for dropping by today.
Sandie

Comments will be open until 4th November 2009 for your chance to win this gift pack.

So What's Happening.

Well in my neck of the woods, not much. I started the 50/30 challenge with a bang. Writing was going well, editing moving along at a good pace and then, it all fell in a heap. So I'm sitting on just over 16,000 words for the month and 42 pages edited. Now I admit that's not too bad, but I had hoped to be a lot further along.

Now all my characters have disappeared. Can you believe it? I've opened four different WIPs today and nothing. Well except for 417 words to Surrender and that was like pulling teeth. It is painful and pitiful and down right frustrating. This would have to be the worst challenge I have ever done.

I'm thinking for the rest of this week, I might just concentrate on my editing. Get that done out of the way and hope by next week the MIA characters return ready to play nicely.

I also have one more novel to read and do a review on for FAR, sent four reviews in today. YAY. So all is not lost. Well not yet anyway.

See ya next time.

Sandie

Terrific Tuesday

There is action going on all around me at the moment. On the home front, we have two mares ready to check to see if they are in foal. Its school holidays, so I have my grandson staying with during the week. Not a great deal of writing being done, but I am having fun. We had a day at a Cutting Horse sale on Friday. Can you believe that some fool would pay $85,000 for a horse? Lord, I could pay a new car for that much. Anyway, I have been in pain since. I think I may have put my hip out again, oh the joys of old age.

Let’s move on to my writing. I’m getting organized. Yes, I’m told I need to be more organized with my writing. Well just more organized in general. So, I have set up my boards, calendars and charts to keep track of where I’m going and how I’m going to get there. The picture on the left is my monthly calendar for October. Busy, aren’t I? Most of it is an on line conference I’m doing. Muse Conference it runs all week, lots of interesting workshops and chats lined up. The down side is that most of them are run in the early hours of the morning over here, like 1am to 4am. I don’t think I’m going to get much sleep that week.

As I said not a great deal of writing on my unfinished WIP’s being done, put I am slowly getting my edits and re-write organized on ‘We Were In Love’. I have also organized charts and calendars so I can keep track of where I’m up to with my writing. Plan for the rest of this month is to get edits and re-writes finished on ‘We Were In Love’. The picture on the right is my WIP tracking board. I have this one so I know what my word count is on each WIP, which ones I’m editing and doing re-writes on and if they are ready to go to my CPs or to submit. I am slowly getting a few into the editing and re-write sections. Hehehe.

This chart is for twelve months. The plan is to work out which WIPs I’ll be working on each month whether its writing, editing or doing re-writes. Of course, most of this depends on my characters and cooperative they are feeling. It will only take one and the whole thing could go pear shape. Down the bottom of the chart, I have a list of publishers I’d like to submit my works with; I have their word count requirements so I know which novels will fit where.

As November approaches, I will have my research notes to organize, time lines to write up and character and scene charts to write up. The novel I’m writing for November is ‘Chains of Love’. This is an historical romance; I’m aiming for about 100 to 110K. I’m going to try and do my character charts and scene notes ahead of time with this one, as well as a time line. I need to make sure I have the historical facts right before I start writing.

News on my fellow writing pals. Christina Phillips novel ‘Foretaste of Forever’ is due for release in October, just in time for Halloween. How cool is that book cover? Don’t forget to go and visit Christina’s blog and get all the information. In addition, a couple of my other writing friends won runner-ups with the ‘Feel the Heat’ competition. Congratulations, Felicity Rogers and Rachael Blair, I am so proud of both girls they have worked so hard on their stories.

I’ve also had a spring clean of sorts. I made the decision to delete one of my pseudonyms, I mean, really did I need two erotic romance pen names? The short answer is NO! I’ve delete most of my profile network sites as well. I wasn’t going anywhere near them and if I did, I felt I was spending too much time away from my writing. Speaking of writing, my hubby is back at work today (we just had a long weekend) & my grandson is having the day with SIL, I have peace and quiet, what better time to write.

Catch ya next time.

Sandie

I've Been Busy, Honest

Now I don’t want you thinking I haven’t been busy. I have, I’ve been very busy writing, editing, doing a few critiques and that has all been in the last two days. Yes, up until two days ago I’d been plodding along, coasting in a world of my own. Just doing a little writing here, a little editing there, but nothing solid, nothing in the volume that I needed to doing. Yesterday I did some word sprints with a few girls for the US and I have to say it was just the kick in the pants that I needed. I wrote over 3,000 words on one novel and edited a few pages of another.

Today I’ve edited a full chapter of one novel, critiqued two chapters for other people and written 1,500 words. I’m hoping to add to that later tonight.

Last weekend I went to a horse show with my hubby. It wasn’t a bad weekend; the horses settled in okay to their stables, ate and drank well which is always a bonus when you go away from home. Hubby won a couple of events and placed in others, so over all he was happy. The only down side was that I’d signed on to do a challenge to write 2,000 words in a genre I don’t normally write. Thinking I’d have heaps of time while hubby was off riding or chatting I was sure I’d shoe it in. Wrong, time got away from me; because, of course I had to go and watch him ride, take a few photos and video a couple of events. So instead of writing 2,000 words I came home with 100 and something. I decided I’d write in first person, an interesting exercise. This also caught me up a bit. But never the less Sunday night I sat down and wrote the rest of my story finishing at 10.45pm. I was quite pleased with myself. Sure that my slump had passed and I would be once again on a roll, I woke Monday morning feeling like I’d been tackled by a forward pack. Every bone in my body ached, I had headaches, earaches you name it I had it. But that is now all behind me. I’m back in my groove, ready to take on the world. Write up a storm. Blaze my way to publication.

What else have I been up to of late? Oh RC and I are running this year’s Clayton’s Conference for RWAustraila. That should be interesting. They have no idea what they have let themselves in for, Hehehe. We also have our own group at yahoo Romance In All Its Flavors here’s the link;
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Romance_In_All_Its_Flavors/
It’s a jointly owned group between Rhian Cahill, Diane Curran, Rachel Charlton, Mari Carr and me. We are just in our early stages at the moment. RC is flat out in edit mode and you already know what I’ve been up to. Diane is off at Byron Bay this weekend; she has just finished her novel she was working on during the 50/30. Mari has a few excerpts of her writing up on the site, if you’re interested in having a read.

Okay I need to go if I am going to get some writing done. I’ll catch up with you all later. I really need to do an interview with a couple of my heroes and post on my Hero Blog, or find some more yummy pictures. LOL. May be I’ll do both. So I couldn't wait, he is yummy, isn't he.

See ya

Sandie

The end is here, yes 50ks In 30 Days has come to an end. What a wonderful month with have had. We started with the month with 51 challengers and ended with 46 either completing the challenge or at least getting some great word totals. Everyone has said that they have enjoyed the month and have never written so many words in a month before.

RC, you know Rachel C/Rhian is hoping to reach 100k. I’ve decided to call her Queen of the Bionic Fingers. She has had an amazing month. The last couple of days we have seen a lot of the girls make the sprint home, a few had not been sure at the start of the month if they would make it to the 50k, but true to the Aussie sprite they continued on. Other just had the whole universe fighting against them and no matter what they did event from the real world just would not leave them alone. Yet they continued, continued writing determined to at least work towards a personal best.

So what was my final total? Well that would be 75,080. I now have three novels of 50k to edit as well as two of 15k. So July is looking at being another busy month, I’m thinking this editing may roll over into August which is fine, as long as at the end I have something that will be worthwhile submitting.

Well that’s me for another challenge. I have a few BIAW coming up, but other than that life may be a little slower. WOOHOO won’t that be nice.

Hugs
Sandie

The Countdown is ON

I have two countdowns on the go at the moment. The first is CataU 'Novella in a Month' which finishes tomorrow. Yes I reached my target but still have heaps to do to the story and I haven't written anything for three days. I'm going to do this post and then try to get at least an hour in on it. I have finally done character chats for this one, that just leaves me with character chats to do on another ten WIP no big deal.

Now the other count down is the '50ks In 30 Days' challenge which starts on Sunday. It seems like we have been getting ready for this for so long it's hard to believe it is almost here. Now the doubt's are starting to set in, 'Can I do this?" "Have I got 50,000 words in me?" "What if I fail?" then I get this screaming in my head, it's like a platoon of soldiers yelling at me.

"FAIL? YOU WILL NOT FAIL, WE DO NOT ACCEPT FAILURE! YOU WILL WRITE OUR BLOODY STORIES AND GET THEM FINISHED!!!!"

Jezz talk about bossy characters. So all I can say is they had better deliver or there will be WAR! I'll kill the whole lot of them off and get some nice old people to write about. May not be as interesting but at least I'll be able to keep up with them.

So as I race out of one challenge and stroll into yet another challenge, I'm excited, scared, numb, stupid, crazy, out of my head, a nervous wreak, but come Sunday I'll be ready. Wish me luck because I'll need it.

Hugs
Sandie

What's It All About?

I'm up to 14,330 words for my novella, which I somehow don't think it will be a novella. (Diane I'll have no comment from you on this point thank you.) Anyway I thought I would share with you my blurb. I'm getting a good feel for this one: I like both Mac and Brooke because they have been playing nice. The only spanner thrown into the works was Brooke having a much younger Down syndrome brother which I didn't see coming. He is such a great kid anyway so I have forgiven her for that little hiccup. Even the secondary characters are playing nice. The ones that are suppose to be nice are and the ones who are toilet paper are. :-) I'm waiting for the bomb to fall to tell you the truth, none of my characters behave this good.


'If I Were A Rich Man'

Brooke Fairfax is the rebellious member of her family. It is a title she has carried for so long with pride she no longer knows how not to rebel against everything her father stands for. Now out on her own and earning a living from her art work, she resents even more her father’s interference in her life.

Being summon home after an altercation she found herself in doesn’t help matters. But after seeing the new mechanic working for old Fred she decides a little fun is just what she needs. Besides what better way to get her father back, then to start a torrid affair with the hired help, so to speak.



Mac Stafford arrived in Olive Grove not intending to stay. When Old Fred, who owns the garage offers him a job as his mechanic he changes his mind. After all it was an old country town, a perfect place to lay low for a while. He could leave his past behind him and come to terms with the death of his younger brother. A death he had caused.

One thing was for sure, the last thing he needed in his life was a woman. He’d had more than enough of lying cheating women. He sure didn’t need Brooke Fairfax sashaying her cute little butt around the place. She had trouble written all over her, and if he wasn’t careful he would have that trouble all over him.



I'm going to do an interview with Mac over the next couple of days, and I'll post that on my hero blog. By the way have you been over to have a look at my photo slid some very nice chests on display over there. Even if I do say so myself.

Hugs
Sandie

Haunted By The Past

Ever since I wrote my blog on how I got started, I've been getting bits and pieces of the stories I'd thrown out. Yes I'm being haunted by my past characters. At first I just thought they were new characters wanting to join the mad house that is living in my head these days. Until I got a flash of a young girl so excited about her wedding day, she rushes into her sisters bedroom with a newspaper in hand to show said sister the article about her wedding. What she finds changes her life forever.

In her sisters bed is none other then her expected bridegroom asleep with her sister wrapped in his arms. My thought was, crap had that vision before. Yes this is one of the stories I' tossed out all those years ago. I guess they feel they have a right to have their stories told as well as the rest of my characters. Yep, even the one about the widow and her boss is filtering through. All I can do is jot down the little bits I'm getting here and there and hope for the best.

So now I have no idea what I am going to do for '50ks In 30 Days' other then adding to my already over flowing collection of WIP. I'm not game to think about starting something new. I don't have the space for any more people in my 'Head City'. I'm having a population explosion. Does anyone know how to switch it off? Is there a switch somewhere I need to flick? It's Frantic Friday today, all I know for sure is that it is Friday and I'm frantic. Frantic for some peace.

Our '50ks In 30 Days' challenge is growing so we should have a great month. We have a few more people doing the nightly word sprints with us, although I had to pass on last night as I was just too wiped out from family commitments yesterday. But tonight I will be ready to take the world on, (well I'm telling myself that). By the time tonight comes around I just may have myself believing it as well.

WRW-BIAW is on again next week so that should be a very good fore-runner for June. Hubby is still home next week and he'll be hopping on the young horse he is breaking-in so I'll have to sit outside to keep an eye on him. At least I have my trusty lappy I can write and watch him at the same time.

Okay that is my rant for the moment, I off to do some washing. Catch ya later.

Hugs
Sandie

Putting Your Foot In It

Well I seem to have put my foot well and truly in it this week. No matter what did or where I did it, I stuffed up, (hurt someone’s feelings which I had not meant to do) or in one case sent a private email to someone I think is pretty special and left a very important word out. A small word, but one that changed the whole context of the sentence. What is the word 'not'. I then had to email this person back and tell them how sorry I was. Thank heavens they were gracious enough to forgive me.

What did I learn from this great mess up? Never, never, write a scene where your hero and heroine are having a disagreement about, who is or is not in the wrong and whose fault it is. Because it is very easy to mess up what you should be writing and to whom.

So what else have I been up too. I have three new stories in the pipeline. Heavens, this is getting way out of control. I have so many people running around in my head it is getting quiet crowded up there. It's like they are having one great bit party going on, (Yes I know there is a lot of area for them to play) they do get pretty noisy up there. So I've been busy writing, messing up email site with a couple of friends. Although in our defence we were doing writing sprints, got some really good word counts done. It is amazing how much you can get done in half an hour.

Well I better get back to my writing, have a hunky hero calling.

Catch ya later.
HugsSandie

How, When and Why I Started Writing

The wonderful Rachael Blair has a blog about how she started writing and asked how we all started. Now normally I’d write it to her post but it is such a long story I didn’t want to use up too much of her blogging with my answer. Click on the link and go and read about Rachael’s journey.

Why I started writing. I have no idea, because I hated English with a passion. I started reading Time Romance mag's in my teens and loved the stories. Then I read an article I think it was by Barbara Taylor Bradford about her writing romance novels and thought I could do that, yeah right. I’d also been reading Mills & Boons novels on and off for a while, one of Margaret Way’s was the first M&B I’d read. I loved reading about the Australian outback; Lindsay Armstrong was another I read a lot of at the time. I still have to pick up one of Margaret’s novels if I see a new one available.

When I started well that’s the long part. After reading the article by Barbara, I started my first story. It was about a girl who finds her fiancé in bed with her sister on their wedding day. Very dramatic. Back then in my early days of writing having a computer was a luxury, and not one that we could afford. (Heavens I think my age is showing now.) So I wrote long hand, had my exercise book and trusty pen and would spend hours writing. When I think about it, I wrote much the same way as I do today in that I had three stories going at once. One of my other stories was about a girl who after receiving her first modelling job arrives home to find her long lost father standing in her kitchen talking to her mother; he has also brought his step-son with him. (I might have to revisit that one.) Of course I don’t have said exercise books any more, it a fit one day when I was sure I’d never write again I throw them out. Bad move, very bad move. Anyway that’s getting a head of myself. The third story was about a woman who along with her husband and children moves to the outback to work on one of the large cattle stations. The husband dies in a plane crush (very sad), and cattle station owner steps in to help her through her grieving process, he had lost his wife a few years before hand. So you can see what was going to happen here. Really wish I hadn’t thrown those books out.

Anyway, we moved over to the farm and between getting said farm sorted out, children and school, working, in-laws separating, parents illness and so on, my writing got pushed to one side. Well really it got thrown in the bin. I started tracing my family history and thought it would be great if I could write about my ancestors and their battles to survive in a new colony. I think that was when it all started to happen. I’d allowed myself to dream of writing again even though I did put it off for a few more years.

About four years ago I started getting these mutterings in my head; have to say at first I thought I was going bonkers. I started writing down what they were saying; it was just bits and pieces of things nothing that I could put my finger on and say, “oh now I know what to do”. If that makes any sense at all. Then about two year ago it all come through like a title wave. It was like I opened the gates to a dam and in came all this information. I joined the Romance Writer’s of Australia six months later and as they say the rest is history.

You wouldn’t believe it, I’m going to do a Book in a Month in June with some of my RWAustralia friends, now I was going to finish a couple of my MS’s I have going ATM. But nooooo last night while watching T.V. I had this couple come and visit, seems they have a story to tell. Quiet a nice couple been best friends for years. Had me writing a five page sketch on them. A bit rude pushing in like that, but what can I do? They’ve blocked my other couples until I’m finished with their sketch, so I’ll go with the flow and let them have their time or until the other’s get feed up with waiting and push their way back to front and centre. So what about you? How did you start your writing journey?

Now you can see why I didn’t leave this on Rachael’s site. I ramble too much, anyway my son is here for a visit so I had better go and spend some time with him, I don’t get to see him anywhere near as much as I’d like too.

Bye for now.
Hugs
Sandie

Borders and Me

Well, I went on my shopping trip to Borders, and what did I buy?

1. Claiming the Courtesan by Anna Campbell. YEH I'd been looking for this one for ages.

2. Being Elizabeth Bennet, Create Your Own Jane Austen Adventure by Emma Campbell Webster. One of the girls from one of my groups recommended this and as I love Jane Austen I thought I'd give it a go.

3. Oxford A Century of New Words. I have a weakness for dictionaries for some reason anyway this tells you when a word was first used. From the 1900's to 2000's.

4. Whitaker's Almanack Pocket Reference 2008. Another little quirk of mine, I love knowing different facts, fun facts, silly facts, any sort of fact.

5. Writing Fantasy & Science Fiction. Do not ask me why. I saw it and some little voice said "Go on get it. You're going to need it soon." Who am I to argue with the voices, maybe I'll write a fantasy romance.

6. Roget's International Thesaurus. This is the big one. It is great, I LOVE it. There are more than 330,000 words and phrases, how cool is that? Thesaurus' are another weakness I have.

So there you have it, my day at Borders. If there was ever a shop I'd want to be locked into for the night Borders would be the place. My little slice of heaven on earth.

As you can see I'm feeling so much better, between Borders and my good friend Annie Doyle
I'm feeling on top of the world. Annie helped me to have a light bulb moment the other night.

I have come to realise that with my writing, that once I do a character profile I'm on track. Character profiles are about all the planning I do, I explained it like 'Field of Dreams' you know "Build it and they will come.", mine is do, character profile and they will come. Once I know who they are they come a runnin'.

Well that's it. I'm off to my daughters for dinner tonight. YEH no cooking for me. I'd also like to think all my blogging friends for your words of encouragement these past couple of weeks, your support means a lot. Thanks guys.

Hugs
Sandie