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Thanks, OCC

June 6, 2012 by in category Pets, Romance & Lots of Suspense by Linda O. Johnston tagged as , , ,


OCC is the Orange County Chapter of Romance Writers of America. We’re romance writers. But some of us also are mystery writers. Writers of romantic suspense. Both.
I’m always delighted to attend OCC meetings, but I’m especially looking forward to the one next weekend. Why? It’ll be chock full of excellent research info for those of us who are mystery and suspense writers as well as romance authors.

First, I see that Debra Holland is giving a morning workshop on “Creating Fighting and
Self-Defense Scenes.” That should be fascinating. The chapter’s published authors are even forgoing a Published Authors Workshop that morning to be able to attend Debra’s presentation.

And then, in the afternoon, our guest speaker Dennis Kee, a weapons expert, will present a program on “Don’t Blame the Gun, Blame the Writer.” It sounds as if it’ll be full of excellent information on weapons.

I had thought I’d be out of town next weekend, but fortunately my plans changed. I’ll be there! See you all soon–and I’m really looking forward to the June OCC meeting.

Linda O. Johnston
http://www.lindaojohnston.com/
http://www.killerhobbies.blogspot.com/
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It’s Never Too Late

June 2, 2012 by in category Archives tagged as , ,

by Jann Audiss


Barb is on vacation, so I’m solo today.

I don’t know about everyone else, but have you ever had one of those days when life seems to be closing in and you wish you could just stop time for awhile? You find yourself looking back at the choices you made and wish you had gone left instead of right, or said no instead of yes and wondered if things would be different? I remember a few years ago when the book “Eat, Pray, Love” by Elizabeth Gilberts hit the bookshelves and everyone was talking about it. I didn’t read the book, in fact I haven’t read many inspirational or self-help books. I did, however see the movie when it hit the big screen with Julia Roberts.  The movie was enjoyable, but I had a hard time trying to related to it. If I had enough money to escape from all my responsibilities and travel the world, or for that matter move to Hawaii for a year, who knows maybe I would ditch it for a big adventure.  But it got me thinking about my dreams and goals, and it motivated me to dig a little deeper to reach them.  


Last weekend I went to see “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel” with Jaimee Mayotte, a friend and fellow writer. I call it “a senior’s Eat, Pray, Love” adventure.  I really enjoyed it (possibly because I could relate to the age group), but I think it was more than that. I don’t want to reveal too much in case you haven’t seen the movie.  But for me, the timing couldn’t have been better, because life is once again closing in around me. I’ve been clawing through my current story and came close to giving up writing this blog (I don’t know what scared me more – telling Marianne I wasn’t going to make the deadline or facing another goal unaccomplished). This movie, with a cast of some of the best actors on the big screen today, gave me just the boot I needed to realize that it’s never too late and we are never too old to reach our goals or to start a new life journey.

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A Fantasy Life by Janet Quinn Cornelow

May 28, 2012 by in category A Fantasy Life by Janet Cornelow tagged as ,

I have gotten the rights back to The River’s Treasure and put it up on Kindle and Nook. Lex Valentine made a new cover for the book. She does such a great job.
Genevieve Rawlings awakens on the banks of the Mississippi River, cold, half drowned and with no recollection of how she came to be there or of who she is. Cooper Monroe rescues her and makes her part of his family while he tries to figure out who she is and where she came from. Then someone tries to steal her diamond and ruby necklace and her life. Cooper must protect her as well as his family.
As they try to find out who wants the necklace and Genevieve’s life, they travel down the Mississippi and to New Orleans. Can they find safety for everyone? Can she convince him that she’ll be happy as a farm wife? Can they find true love?
Rob finally graduated from Cal State Fullerton a week ago Saturday. There were times I was beginning to think he was never going to make it. Of course it stated at 8 a.m. and went for two hours. Then there was a break while everyone changed locations. Rob’s group was small and he was sitting on the stage, so there was no sneaking out once he crossed the stage. I could see him and I was fairly well in the back. We had Bella with us and I was so tired from walking all over the place, I just sat. That campus is huge. I did get a picture of my three boys together and a picture of Bella and Michael. They were the most important.

Then we went to lunch and Rob picked a place that didn’t open until 3 p.m. and it was 11:30 a.m. Michael and Tom decided on Sizzler since it was nearby and open. Then both of them tried calling Rob’s dad, Rob, and Rob’s wife Loki. Did any of them answer their cell phones? Of course not. Everyone finally found us except Loki who Rob dropped at home because she wasn’t feeling well. She’s pregnant and seldom feels well.
My granddaughter Bella had her first birthday in May also. Boy, this has been a busy month. All this socializing is cutting into my writing time with my teaching seven classes. Bella looked so beautiful. We had a bit of trouble getting her to break her cake up to eat it since mom and dad always break her food into bite size pieces. Grandpa had to demonstrate taking a bite. Once she figured it out, she was into the cake. Mom doesn’t let her have sweets so she was happy. She didn’t get really messy. She is the neatest eating baby I have ever seen.
Hopefully by the time is my turn to blog again, I will be a lot closer to the end of my new time travel. I know every scene. I just need time other than the middle of the night to write. By then I am half blind and my grammar is gone from grading papers.
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Determination

May 25, 2012 by in category Archives tagged as , , ,

Recently I was musing about my writing career. I’ve been fortunate to have published almost 60 books. While I’m not likely to make the New York Time Best Seller List with my Love Inspired romances, I’m pleased with my ‘body of work.’ (My actual ‘body’ needs considerably more work. )
How have I succeeded? Determination.
When I was as yet unpublished, my first agent called to tell me my latest submission had been rejected. That rejection was not my first nor my last. She went on to say, “Older women can’t write love scenes.”
Huh? I wasn’t that old; at least my long-term memory was excellent, and I have always been blessed with a really good imagination.
I remained polite until we hung up. Then I said aloud, “Watch me!”
Subsequently, I managed to author more than 40 books for various Harlequin secular lines – most included a love scene or two.
I come by my determination naturally. Or perhaps it comes from my mother, who when told in business school that she didn’t type fast enough to get a job, she simply went out and got a job.
When I was about four-years-old, my older brother and his friend were playing with their toy soldiers. Digging trenches. Leading tank attacks. Shouting ‘bang’ you’re dead.
Naturally, I wanted to play too. I had my own collection of lead soldiers. My brother was used to having me tag along; not so his friend Skipper. To get rid of me, Skipper offered to buy me a lead soldier (the plastic ones were boring) if I would dig a hole to China.
That sounded like a good idea to me. But I hadn’t been born yesterday. I asked Skipper to be more specific about the depth of the hole I was to dig. He found a stick that was maybe two or three feet long to use as a measure. So off I went to dig the prescribed hole.
In a matter of an hour or two I was back to play with my brother and Skipper. Poor Skipper procrastinated about getting me the promised soldier until finally my mother intervened.
That’s what DETERMINATION gets you – your goal.
What are you Determined to achieve?
Char……
Books that leave you smiling…
Montana Love Letter, Love Inspired, 10/2012
Montana Home Coming, Love Inspired, Spring 2013

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What Is It About Virginity?

May 24, 2012 by in category Archives

No, not just that kind.  I’m thinking of all kinds of firsts, any first.
While virginity in other areas don’t get nearly the play that sexual innocence/experience gets (why is that?), many firsts are paradigm-altering experiences.
In youth, life starts with non-stop firsts.  Everything is a first—first breath, first cry, first word, first smile, first tooth, first food, first step.  Of course the proportions change over time—from 100% firsts in those intial hours, dropping to a still demanding percentage of firsts Vs familiar: first school, first friend, first fight, first love, first job, etc.
As we explore, experiment and stake out our ground, we often build a life around the familiar, shrinking that percentage of demanding firsts we have to experience.  We’ve found our sweet spot, our comfort zone, our wheelhouse.  
Yes, we understand our job as parents and mentors: we must push children, students, trainees to expand their horizons, open their eyes and minds to a world of possibilities, but hey, we’ve BTDT (Been There, Done That).  We don’t need to do it again.  It’s exhausting, time consuming, scary, disappointing, uncomfortable.  Something we encourage others to do, extolling the benefits of remaining open to new ideas, continuous learning, etc.
So I was wondering—what makes it hard to try something new?
And I realized that when you are a virgin/newbie approaching any new situation, you maintain a constant 360º scan of the situation, holding all potential options (given the lack of prior experience) open and possible.  Depending on your personality or level of experience in related areas, your need to maintain a high-gain assessment of all information can vary, but the constant data flow can be significant and challenging to process.
Powering that constant scan consumes energy—you are not only trying to assess all the possibilities, but may (if more compulsive, or if this is a value-laden or important first) do some scenario building off of that 360 degrees of possibility, increasing the amount of information that has to stay active and running on your “screen.”
When that 360º energy-intensive radar goes on for anyone who feels compelled to think ahead, it is tiring.  If we are frequently trying new things, we get used to it.  Like daily exercise, our mental muscles adjust and accommodate.  But for those who aren’t in shape, the learning curve of newness can feel very daunting, a steep hill to climb.  We may give up, forgetting how quickly that initial learning curve can pass with minimal experience, narrowing that 360º circle into an ever smaller and more focused slice of the pie, enabling us to rapidly eliminate and jettison inappropriate options or scenarios.
Learning can be a heady experience, as we offload unecessary information that has been cluttering our mind, like cleaning house.
In general, I have observed three broad attitudes/approaches—perhaps you have experienced others…
The Laissez Faire:  So if you’re not so compulsive or caring, and something new comes up, you might not switch into high gear.  You’re in the “Whatever” school that believes in minimum to no effort and deal with it (or abandon it) if things blow up. Relatively low increased energy required for approaching something new.
The Go For Its: Another mindset falls in the toss-it-in-the-air-and-See-If-It-Sticks (SIIS) school.  Simultaneously adventurous and lazy, this group is afraid to pre-think much, as that will lead to a never-ending list of what-ifs, inaction and depression.  However, there’s some kind of mental mechanism that kicks in while they are dithering which launches them into the challenge willy-nilly.  They, closing their eyes, take the leap and deal real-time with the possible consequences of unthought-through actions. Energy only required if things go awry!
I Am, Therefore I Think: The third group are the pre-thinkers, sometimes so good at their job that no action is ever able to be taken!  The wide spectrum of this group can range from the thoughtful plan-aheader to the truly obsessive I-must-think-of-everything-or-else-there-will-be-a-break-in-the-Force-and-the-world-will-end. Required energy can be medium, to high…to off the charts. For the extremists in this segment, seemingly “simple” tasks or decisions can be overwhelming.  To illustrate this, consider taking a small number, say 2, but then saying you have to think of it to the tenth power.  The complexity increases exponentially.
Of course, there’s always the straightforward fear of looking like an idiot, which is always a disincentive to trying something new.  Get over it. Try something new. Don’t expect yourself to be perfect from the start.  
Embrace failure, for without it, there is no learning. And remember that something not working out the way you had planned (“failure”) may be a door that opens a new direction, insight, opportunity.
Really.
Isabel Swift (learning to knit…)
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