Didn't Write Today

Yup, you heard me. I didn't write. I woke up this morning with a headache and I thought it would go away on its own after I had coffee. I checked my blood sugar and found out why. My blood sugar was below 70. It didn't say how low it got, but I had a nice, little, red line below my target zone from 12am to 6a. That was a bit scary to see.

Then, I went to the cemetery to plant flowers on my parents grave and afterward, when I got home, went and bought fake succulents for my fairy garden. I still had my headache and it had become worse and my vision was feeling fuzzy. So, I checked my blood sugar...65 and going down. So, I had some orange juice and glucose tabs, 2. Then, I took meds for my headache.

Needless to say, it is almost 10pm, I did no writing. I actually feel like death warmed over. I'm completely exhausted. Stupid diabetes. Hopefully, tomorrow will be better and I will be able to write.

Have a great weekend! 

RESEARCH!

I thought I would do something different with my post and add a Scottish burr to my post, so you can see how it'll be in the book. Sort of, "a taste", a "sampling". So, here it goes;

Just when ye think ye've done enough research...think again. I thought I knew all I had to about Scotland, then when writing about Elspeth and the upcoming Yule Sabbat, I looked in the Green Witch Grimoire (Book of Shadows), what they did for this pagan event, it's pretty much what we do for Christmas. They decorate like we do, tree and all. The only thing different is that there is a ritual that they do and their Christmas carols or Yule carols are the same, but the wording is a "wee bit different."

Anyway, the decorations listed were Holly. Now, Dornoch, Scotland is in the Highlands. Aye, there are Pine trees, and they have deciduous trees (leaf barring), but I wasna sure if Holly grew there. So, here I go again, researching. I ken that if I didna, it would be questioned. So, I looked and looked and looked. Finally, I found it. It did. Good! Elspeth's house can be decorated with it.

By the by, ken means know.  For example, "I dinna ken." "I do not know." Now, I dinna have the burr to the point where ye dinna ken what I'm saying, because their language can be a wee bit difficult and my readers are young adults. So, I pretty much kept it simple, but enough to make it interesting.

Watching Outlander has helped me a lot, as far as, the geography and what grows there, to the housing and what not. I also read the books too. That has helped with the dialect. Like what ye are seeing now.

What ye think? Ye like it or no?

Anyway, I've got to get writing chapter 8 and the Yule Sabbat. I hope ye are enjoying my posts and are getting somewhat of a glimpse as to how it is to be a writer, writing a book.

Till tomorrow! 

Despite all odds I completed chapter 7

Trying to write a chapter with a pulled back is challenging at best. I pulled it this last night, bad enough to where I had to have my hubby help me put my socks on.

So, going to work, wasn't too bad. I managed to make it through the day. Even went out to dinner before coming home to write.

Chapter 7 is a short one, 5 pages long, but it's a funny one at that. Elspeth is hating winter, her mother is scrubbing the floor and working up a sweat, while Elspeth is complaining about winter. She is told to get back to her studies and finds that flowers and their magical powers are boring until she comes across a section where, more or less, you have to treat the flower as though it has feelings. This she finds absolutely hysterical, her mother tries to tell her that's it's not silly, that it's very true.

Toward the end of the chapter, Elspeth begins to see the importance of it. Finds it most interesting in fact. Her mother tells her that it's not so boring after all.

So, now it is 10:56pm I am going to call it a day. As for tomorrow, Chapter 8! Till then, adieu.

I did it again!

You'd think I would have learned by now, but nope. I am a gluten for punishment. Yup. I typed chapter 6 in Microsoft word and it would not 'save as'. I told my husband...again...and he gave me the what for? Did I not listen the last time? I know. I know. I'm my own worst enemy. Thank God it saved for I checked it in the folder on my desktop.

See, a writer's time is fought with technology that doesn't want to work properly. I sometimes wonder if using a regular typewriter and typing it all out...no, wouldn't work, because I self-publish and I would have to eventually have to type it out on the computer to submit it on KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing). It would just be more work. I don't want more work, I barely have enough time as it is!

Anyway, I just pulled my back out of whack so, I have to end this post. I do hope you all are enjoying my posts and have spread the word about this blog. I sometimes feel like I'm just talking to a blank wall or a void as it were.

Good night!

Music for Elspeth.

I just thought I would share the music I use when I am writing Elspeth. It's quite relaxing and sets the mood of the story perfectly. So, enjoy!

Elspeth music

RAIN...No Rhubarb Fest for this author!

I don't know about you guys, but I'm tired of all this rain. It reminds me of when I lived in Bremerton, Washington and I only lasted 5 months there. I had to go home. A home where you see, feel and live in the sunshine!

I did no writing yesterday because I wanted to be out in the sun. My sanctuary (backyard) needed fixing up. I still had all my yard decor in boxes and I had to figure out where to place all my shepherd hooks for all the hanging plants I bought.

So, I mowed the front and backyard. Had to take a break because I tend to overheat in warm weather, so my face looked like a lobster. On my break and went and bought stuff for dinner. Came back and put in all the yard decor where I saw fit. By then the sky began to look darker by the minute. I had also taken my headache medicine then too. This messed up weather is creating havoc with my headaches. 

Once the storm took hold, I didn't do any writing. I made dinner and took a nap. Meds make me extremely sleepy.

Today (Sunday), another storm is on the way. We were supposed to participate in the Rhubarb Fest in Kankakee, but with the weather being what it is and my husband's woodwork, along with my books, would not be conducive to the stormy weather. So, we opted out. Lost our fee, but I'd rather that then soggy books.

I remember going to Printer's Row in Chicago and a storm started to brew. Chicago lived up to its name, Windy City. The wind kicked in, garbage cans started flying, as did tents. Pamphlets, and whatever other paper went up in the air. It was scary! Good thing there were buildings to go into then. In Kankakee, the Rhubarb Fest is outdoors.  See my point.

I have yet again, another headache, but what I didn't get done house wise yesterday, I will do now. Hopefully, writing will take place tonight.

Have a blessed Sunday.

Started Chapter 6

Storms! Hail! And wind!

That was my day and now my night. I had a writing group meeting tonight, but I didn't go, as much as I wanted to, I didn't. Instead, I caught up on my laundry (which needed much catching up on) and wrote. Writer's multi-tasking. See what I mean by not having time just for writing?

Anyway, hubby was at a cruise night at Ace Drive-in with his brothers. I didn't want to go, for reasons I just stated. So, I had a nice, relaxing evening of catching up on my two ( one of them not being my favorite), but two important things.

Tomorrow is Friday, so that's a plus right there and Sunday my husband and I are participating in a craft show, but it's supposed to storm. It's all outside. I'm praying that, that will change, but I have a feeling it won't, so wish us luck. I made sure though, that I had enough books to sell.

It's 10:47p.m. and I'm tired, so I think I will make this a short post tonight. I will let you all know how Sunday went and post pictures.

So, for now...good night.

Big Scare!

Writers go through many emotions, upheavals, and whatnot, but we manage to come out of them alive. Today was my worst day. Let me explain...

Work, my full-time job was good. No complaints whatsoever, but...when I got home, I made dinner, steak, corn on the cob, then did my dishes, got my hair cut and came home to work on my book.
Now, Microsoft word has been the only thing I've ever used, but since we got updated to 2013 and Vista 10, I hate it. Never in my entire writing career have I ever had issues with saving a document.

Click on 'save as' and you're good to go right? Wrong.

Last night I went to 'save as' and it wouldn't let me, nor would it let me copy and paste it onto a new document. Now, I've had this issue before. Many times and it's frustrating as all get out. I don't do anything different. So, I noticed at the top of my word doc it said 'compatibility mode' so I thought maybe that was the reason for the issues. Means its an old version. Well, it didn't help. Still had the same issues.

So, I thought I would just 'save' like I did last night. Wouldn't even let me do that. So, how was I suppose to close it? So, I clicked on the 'Don't Save' which told me it would revert back to the old document...it disappeared! It wasn't even on the recent list in MS word! Panic ensued.

I ran to the basement where my hubby was working and told him. He hates it when he can't find things on computers and I tried to relay my actions as best as I could so that he could possibly find it. In the meantime, I prayed to St. Anthony to help. You know what? HE DID!  My husband and St. Anthony, together, found my document that I had been working on tonight and saved it in a new file on the desktop and I opened it in Open Office. I also saved it to my thumb drive as well.

Tip: Save often, save on a thumb drive. Have backups!

Life as a writer is never dull. Truly.

A Successful Night of Writing!

Let me tell you, last night was great! Chapter 5 is something else. Funny in all the right places.
I'll explain; winter has started and Elspeth's mother has arthritic hands, so it's hard for her do things. Elspeth, being the good daughter that she is, help out as best as she can.

In this chapter, her mother takes a break from darning and Elspeth is working on her Grimoire. She ends of showing her mother what she has done and impresses her. As she continues to work, her mother remembers something she forgot to teach Elspeth on, which is Magikal Pointers. How to go about asking for magikal tools and other things she may need. Elspeth, of course, is upset, because one of the things her mother tells her is that if she takes from nature, she must give back. Well,  she's gone out into the woods many times and has gotten stuff for her mother. Reassuring her daughter, she tells her that she only learned that she was a witch, so not to worry.

The conversation of magikal pointers goes on until her mother says something quite strange. Something about how to act with a dragon and a unicorn. Elspeth thought her mother was acting a wee bit numptie, but in actuality, she was quite serious. Elspeth doesn't know quite what to think.

The story is becoming quite interesting, wouldn't you agree? So, I am off to do my kitchen, then chapter 6. Life is good. 

Chapter 4 of Elspeth

This is going slow. Writing-wise that is. Writing a historical fiction book is not all that easy as I thought. For example; My story takes place in Scotland, ok, what I know of Scotland and its country is sparse, but enough to get by right? Wrong.

I had to make sure that the trees I had written about were actually grown there, that the floors of Elspeth's house, wooden, actually were around in the 18th century (they were). Elspeth's family have sheep. How many sheep? I said a dozen or so. Is that enough? One member of our writing group asks. Apparently, they would have a slew of sheep, not a few dozen. Or would they have had glass windows then, or the pantry they did have, made it into a room for Elspeth when she was little, so where did the food that was in the pantry go?

During this whole time, I am listening, trying not to lose it and saying, in my defense, "Does it really matter? This book is for young adults. They're not going to question stuff like that, they just want to read! Read a good story! Who cares if the glass windows should be there or not. Heck, most young readers could care less about our history, little lone something in the 18th century.

To put things in perspective, even if I didn't 'research' everything, I just knew and what I did know and write about was correct. TEN POINTS for me! I looked up everything they questioned and I was spot-on. I get what the meeting is for. I really do, but it was stressing me out big time.

Anyway, chapter 4 is the start of Mabon, the Autumn Equinox. As any practicing witch can tell you, the equinox is a powerful time energetically; the start of autumn, specifically, marks the point at which the light begins to wane. For pagans, equinoxes are particularly significant events, and the autumnal equinox—also referred to as Mabon by neo-Pagans—is somewhat equivalent to Thanksgiving. This is an important time to give thanks to Mother Goddess and the earth for her gifts. Those who practice Mabon see it as a time of balance between the opposing forces of light and dark, life and death: As you celebrate the harvest you've reaped, you simultaneously recognize that the soil is dying, that the nights will start to become longer, and that the earth is slowly going into hibernation.

So, until tomorrow, I will say to all those or those I wish and hope are reading this, a Happy Mother's Day.

First Day Without a Headache

Headaches are a part of a writers life. Mine is special. My headaches are not due to the writing, they are due to medicine and the effects it has on me.

For a whole week, I have not been able to write, which kills me because I have 143 days left to complete this novel of mine and lord knows it's going to be tricky. Back in the day of women writer's, so few were published only because they had so many other things to contend with. The house, children, cooking, cleaning, and husbands. They had no room of their own to write out their dreams. What room did they have to call their own? Do you know? Nothing. You'd say the kitchen, but everyone eats in the kitchen, dining room... the same thing, the bedroom she shares with her husband, the living room everyone shares. The husband though, he has his study, or nowadays, workshop or some younger men have what is called Man Caves. How Neanderthal can one get?

Even now, in 2019, women still don't have time to just write. I can attest to that. As soon as I sit down, the dog wants out, food or something. My husband will want me to see something on the tv, which most of the time I'm glad he did. I mean, I'm up and down...constantly!

Another thing about writing is that I feel guilty when I sit at my computer and start to write when my house is screaming to clean it up! I do feel better if I can do all my wifey things during the day and spend my nights' writing. I do my best writing at night anyway.

So, before I go, I will say one thing...I don't have a headache. For the first time in a week.  Why? I stopped my medication. Now, I can understand what my mother went through, though she had it worse than me. It's a bitch.

I will send this post out into the void and hopefully, someone out there will see what a clever idea this is and will pay my blog a visit and follow me and my journey.

For now, though, I will say, goodnight.

Back In The Saddle Again

From what I can see, I have no followers, so my telling you that I've been gone from sometimes would be pointless. Nevertheless, I am bound and determined to get followers, those who have read my books, and those who have not.

I have been extremely busy with other authors and foregoing my needs. Yes, I am the type who can't say no, but I will have to if I want my latest novel, Elspeth to get published before October 1st.
Thank goodness, my full-time job is ending for summer vacation (I work in a High School), so that will give me loads of time to write!)

Elspeth, my latest book, is a Historical Fiction. Takes place in Dornoch, Scotland and its about the last witch to die in Scotland, Janet Horne. Now, that may not be her real name, for back then, Janet was a generic name for witches or if unknown. This particular witch's name was not known, thus for the generic form.

I am using what information I do know of this person and her daughter, whose name is not known as well and am adding to it, which is the fictional part. It's all very exciting and I'm using an actual witch's Grimoire to help add in the storyline.

So, I promise you all or those of you who decide to find me and follow me in my conquest of finishing a great novel, that I will be posting every day or close to that.

For now, I will say, "I dinna ken, when I will be back to write ye all another post, but I promise I will."