Liebster Blogger Award

I was nominated, not once, but twice, for the Liebster blog award! So I will post one on this blog, and one on my other blog at http://karensdifferentcorners.wordpress.com/

Thank you Vanessa. Sorry it has taken me sooo long to get it posted.
Find Vanessa here; 
http://vanessawesterwriter.blogspot.com

Okay here are the rules!

*Post 11 random facts about oneself and answer the 11 questions asked by the person who nominated you.
*Pass the award onto 11 other blogs.
*Write 11 NEW questions directed towards YOUR nominees.
*Paste the award picture into your blog.

Okay, Eleven random facts about me.

1. I drive an 83 Suburban that can seat 9 people, but most of the time, I'm the only one in it!
2. My favorite song is "Here I go Again" by Whitesnake
3. My favorite singer is Ozzy!
4. I got to meet Ozzy at a book signing and have attended 6 Ozzfests
5. I'm a procrastinator.
6. I'm a perfectionist at times. (At least my son says I am, but I don't believe him)
7. I like helping others, even if they are my competitors.
8. I hate clutter
9. I'm addicted to Doublemint gum and coffee
10. I love everything vanilla. Candles, fragrance, bath products, etc.
11. I love to eat, like to cook, and hate cleaning up!

Eleven questions Vanessa asked.

1. At what age did you have your first kiss? 

1. thirteen

1. Do you remember who it was with ?

1. His name was Ray

1. When did you first get hurt by love and how? 

1. I was 15 and his family moved to Washington. I cried for weeks!

1. What is your favourite book? 

1. Cell by Stephen King

1. What is the best film you have ever seen, and why?

1. Shrek, because I like big green ogres. 

1. What is your favourite treat?

1. Bordeaux and butterscotch squares from See's candies

1. What languages can you speak?

1. English and a little Spanish

1. When on holiday, what do you love to do?

1. I love to go camping, especially near the water.

1. How many shoes do you own?

1. 3 pairs of sandals, 2 pairs of sneakers, and 1 pair of Ugg boots. Good thing you didn't ask about  socks or I'd be counting all day. I'm a socks person.

1. What makes you smile the most? 

1. people 

1. Name your favourite animal.

1. dogs

Okay, nine blogs I’m passing this on to.  I ran out of ideas! Haha!
http://blog.pauldorset.com/

http://twdittmer.wordpress.com/

http://dianadouglas.wordpress.com/

http://getbetweenthebookends.blogspot.com/

http://marciaarichards.com/her-blog

http://tashaseegmiller.blogspot.com/

http://www.theredheadriter.com/

http://hadeshellhounds.blogspot.com/

http://dianamurdock.wordpress.com/


Note to bloggers; I know how busy everyone is, especially at this time of year, so it is totally up to you if you want to participate, or you can put it aside and then post about it in the new year.
And now eleven questions! Are you ready to be in the hot seat? I’ll try not to make you squirm or think too hard. 

1. If you wrote a bucket list, what would be the #1 thing on it?
2. Favorite sport? To play? To watch?
3. If you were going on your first date, what would you do to impress her/him?
4. Dancing or bowling?
5. If you could blink your eyes and be anywhere right this minute, where would you be?
6. Favorite holiday?
7. Are you an only child? Or first, middle, or baby in the family?
8. Do you have a favorite color?
9. What is your favorite word or expression, that you use most often? Could you base a short story on it?
10. What color are your eyes?
11. Do you have a favorite song?

Let's Talk About Sex

HaHa! I knew that would get your attention! I have questions...
I know... mother of three and I had to google, "How to write a sex scene"
Hangs head in shame. But I still have questions!

I was reading a blog post and the guy said something to the point of,
"And make sure they have safe sex. Always use a condom, unless they are procreating."
Does your hero stop and say, "Wait, let me put my condom on?"
I know with STD's and aids and unwanted pregnancies, that yes they should, but do you write about it?
When my sons first started going out, I'd give them the speech...
"No drinking, no drugs and wear a rubber."
And you'd think they'd be shocked, but normally their response,
"No problem, no problem, and always."
No wonder I don't have any grandbabies!
And if you find my little speech shocking let me point out that
here in my city we have a special class for 14 year old pregnant girls.
Maybe more parents should give my little speech...

Okay next question! And maybe it's not really a question, but I would like to hear your thoughts on it.
A publisher's submission guidelines
"No sex under 21"
I had my hero and heroine wait until they were 18 and yes, they forgot the condom, and yes she got pregnant and yes, I am breaking all the rules here, I know, but 21?

Okay last question and it's for the guys, so if you're not a guy grab the closest one and ask them...
Does a guy worry that his partner is comparing "him" to their ex while having sex?
I know we are from two different planets and that some guys do worry, "Did they satisfy them." but I'm talking on a deeper self esteem level.
Okay that's my questions :-) Hope everyone is having a great day!

Queries!

Aak! Eek! Ugh! Okay now that I've got that out of the way...I want to ask a question...At least I think I wanted to ask a question....Wait, let me think about this. I've got all these questions rolling around in my head.  Stop! Okay had to stop the roulette wheel and pick the one I wanted. Okay here's my question... No wait let me give you a little history first then I'll ask.

I am writing a series of 3 books. I am almost finished with the third. I just need to fill in a couple of gaps, tie it together, and make sure it's flows and keeps you reading. But the thing is I haven't written the first 2 books. They are still in my head. When I first started writing the third book I had no plans on writing the first two, because the third book has enough merit to stand on it's own, is a good read, and has the happily ever after, and yet leaves some questions unanswered, that would make the reader wanting more, which then I could write the first two books. I just feel that if any get published, I want it to be the third.

Okay so here's my question for you....

When sending out my query letter, Do I just query the one book as a stand alone? Or do I need to put in the query, that it could be a series?

Is there a difference in tactics when sending to an agent? Or a publisher?

As to that I mean... Do you tell the publisher that you are querying that it could be a series or not?

Do you tell the agent that it could be a series or not?

Time and Descriptions

Good morning from my Different Corners! Which feel very busy and confused this morning.

I was going to do my blog post on "Descriptions" this morning, But then I also wanted to do one on "How do you manage your time?" So I thought I'd combine the two.

A little history to help you along.

I have an 87 year old dad and an 88 year old step mom. Whom I love dearly. Dad is hard of hearing, even though he has hearing aides, he has a hard time understanding people on the phone otherwise he's in excellent health and full of energy. My step mom has had a few strokes which have affected her speech and some of her motor skills.So my dad has taken over all the basic household chores. They can afford to have someone come in a few days a week, but dad is frugal and stubborn. They live 35 miles from me, which isn't bad, but you have to take two major freeways to get there. Anyway my dad loves his computer. He can check emails, his stocks, and now bank accounts, but if he enters a wrong password and gets kicked out of accounts, he calls me. There are weeks where I am on the phone with dad, his stockbroker, banks, customer service reps, 3 way calling, trying to explain to everyone, who I am, and what my dad needs and then trying to take care of my own priorities.

I went down to San Diego over the weekend to visit my son and to catch the "Blue Angels" air show and there was an accident on the freeway on the way down which put me behind schedule an hour. While sitting in this massive parking lot that we call a CA freeway, my dad calls me and starts rattling off a phone # to one of his banks and because I am not at home, he gets mad at me and hangs up. (I'm used to that)
                                               And this is what the freeway looked like :-(

 I only took my writing laptop and not my internet laptop, (Yes, I use separate ones to keep me from getting distracted) hoping to finish up my novel so I can get it out to my proofreader. (and I hardly got any writing done.)
So for the first part, how do you organize your time? Do you set aside a certain amount of time for writing, cleaning, promoting (FB, twitter, blogs, etc), I see people tweeting, writing blogs, facebooking, and can't help but wonder, "When do they have time to write a novel, much less accomplish anything else."
         
            So my  first question for you is...Do you write a list or make yourself a schedule? 


Okay as for Descriptions... I was in a motel in San Diego over the weekend and sitting there at the desk trying to get some writing done, when I start looking around the room thinking, "How would I describe the room?" Just working on my description skills, something everyone should do, right? In my novel they are currently staying in a motel at the Grand Canyon. But I am not focusing on what the room looks like. I am putting the detail into their thoughts, feelings, emotions, and conversations. The most I've said about their room is, it has two beds, a sliding glass door that leads out to the pool area, and a single knob in the shower confusing a five year old, who is used to the customary 3 knobs. Oh and there must be a TV in there, because I did mention they were watching TV. To me, unless you are going to use the description later in the story, I really don't feel it's important, but is the reader going to want that bird's eye view of every detail?

This is where I'm confused. Every reader, just like every person on this earth has their own tastes as to writing, reading, even eating. We are all unique.  


And here's my second question for you......

How do you come up with a happy medium on details and descriptions?
Are you giving all those little details just to have filler or are they vital to your story line?

Epilogue or Happily Ever After

Do you write an epilogue? Or do you just write the Happily ever After? I've been doing a little research on the differences but would like to know what other writers feel about the two. See the ending of my story will partly be a summary of what happened in the character's lives. It takes place 17 years in the future. And it is told mainly in the second person point of view.
I did find some info here http://www.ehow.com/how_5001509_write-epilogue-novel.html
But by  #4 Avoid the "happily ever after" trap. Happy endings are uplifting, but they should not be used as a way to minimize the conflict that occurred in the novel.


 I am thinking they are telling me not to change my "Happily ever after" into an epilogue.


I will continue to do more research, but I would love your viewpoints on the two.


Wishing you all a great weekend and as always, "Happy Writing"

Agent or Publisher?

Good morning and Happy Friday to everyone!

 My question today is Literary Agent or Publisher?
When you wrote your first book, which did you go through and why?
How did you find them?
Were they referred to you?
And what are the traits you looked for?

  My fear is that I will choose the wrong one and after jumping through all the hoops
I will find myself right back where I started from.

As always would love to hear you views, comments
and any helpful tips that you have learned along your path
to being published!

Have a great day and a beautiful weekend!

If you don't ask

Growing up I was encouraged to ask questions. Learning that, If you don't ask, you may never know.
I am new to writing and am working on my first novel. It's an exciting process of putting everything down on paper, seeing how the characters develop, and the story twists and turns. I was about 1/3 of the way through when I told myself, "You have got to do some research!" So I have been reading blogs on writing tips, publishing, editing, second person viewpoint, just about everything I can get my hands on, but as usual, I still have questions and some of them might be silly to you, but to me every detail is a major detail....so here goes today's topic questions...

Which paper do you use for your final print?
What font do you use and what size?
Is there a preference that literary agents and/or publishers prefer?

I know these might seem insignificant, but presentation is a big thing to me as I am sure it is to all of you.

Love to hear all your comments, opinions, and advice.
Have a beautiful and productive day!