Momma Update

A huge THANK YOU to all of those who had us in your thoughts and prayers. Everything went well and she is back home and doing great. She is already up and moving around walking her dog. She is back on the right track so far. The doctors aren’t certain when we start back doing the dialysis, but I will try to keep everyone posted that wants to know.

I am just glad that I had so many prayers sent my way…that helped a bunch. I believe in the power of prayer. I have had so many well wishes from some of my friends here, and they were powerful to my heart that made me realize that I am lucky to be able to call you friends.

And your families are lucky to have you as well, because you are genuine, honest and caring people who took me in through the writing community and have treated me like family. I just want you all to know that I think you are fantabulous people and think the WORLD of all of you.

They say you never know who your real friends are until something detrimental happens in your life and let me tell you…I would keep everyone of you as friends today, tomorrow, next week…forever.  Big Hugs…you are truly amazing people and today I am blessed. Thank you for allowing me to be in your circle and embracing me with your words.

Take care of you.

Weekly Chapter Challenge Update # 2

So far things are going great. I have stumbled a couple of times because I am having some split personality issues of wanting to write in first person and then switch to third limited and then back to first and so on and so on.

Thankfully, I have someone who is understanding and helping me cope with my dilemma of wanting to portray the other person’s POV other than the MC. It has been a tough road, but I have been diligently reworking my thoughts to convey the first person POV only.

When we are done, I will go back and revamp the MS with it written all in first POV. I thought about it for a while and stewed on it and then decided I liked the voice it had when I wrote it in first.  I liked the third person vision to give light to the pain of my other characters so that I could explain their intensity of passion/feelings within the MS, but if I do it the right way in first person, you will get it.

I guess that means I just need to work that much harder. So thanks to my buddy, I am doing just that. I am trying to morph my multiple personality into one so that I can write my MS the best I can.

Best of luck to you writers. I believe in you. Keep writing… and take care of you.

Mind in Many Places

I apologize to many of you if my mind is in many places and I do not seem on my game.

My momma is having surgery today. She is having a port put in her arm for dialysis because she is going to have to do it again because her kidneys are just about shot. And they are fixing a hernia that she received when she had to have a feeding tube in her stomach.

Momma had a heart attack a couple years ago and went down hill to where they put in stints to open blocked arteries in her heart and eventually did a valve replacement. Through the process she got an infection and it spread throughout her body-- when to her brain causing lesions and her spine turning parts of it to mush causing her to be bed ridden for 10 months. We almost lost her twice because she also has COPD and has congestive heart failure to where she would just fill up with fluid.

I took care of her for those two years that it took to get her up and running again and it took and emotional, physical toll on me. I had to take her to dialysis twice a week and be at her beckon call when my father and nephew couldn't take care of her. My sisters didn't live in the same town so they were not much help.

I wore down and I have been worried that with another procedure that she may get sick again. I know she needs the port in order for dialysis to remedy the kidney issue for a time, but all I ask is that all of you keep her in your prayers today.

So if I am sporadic, random, lost, brainless or anything else. I apologize. I do try my best to stay connected to the real world outside. Sometimes it is just really hard to do. Ok, sorry for the rambles. Everyone have a wonderful weekend and I hope to talk to you next week. Thank you and take care of you.

BETA READERS FOUND!!

Ok everyone, I promised to talk about beta readers. I have a few and I have a place where you can find them. My friend Nathalie from Writer's Digest has just started a new community for you to join if you are looking for beta readers to look over your work. Go to Writer's Digest and join Beta Reader Central.

I promise that you won't be disappointed that you join and have others read your work and give you insight. It will be fun and you will meet new people. So go--Yes, I mean RIGHT NOW!! Get your ass moving. Sign up and help an aspiring writer out.

I read all genres. I don't care, as long as I can help someone else out. I am there, come find me. I would be honored to beta read for anyone. You never know, one day, I could be asking you for a signed copy reminding you that I once beta read for you and that even though you didn't take any of my advice...I was there for you. lol

Anyway, I think that it has been a wonderful experience for me so far and I am enjoying it more and more every day that I do it and hope to get to meet more people and read more work. It does give you a break from your own work and then puts me back into the mode where I feel I can make my MS worth reading. Sometimes it is good to hear what a reader thinks since they may be the one that picks it up in the store someday. IMPORTANT!

Weekly Chapter Challenge Post Prompt

Ok…so I am a little behind on this post because I was promising to do it on Monday and life happened as usual. Thank goodness, I am breathing. Wheew!

So I am part of the Weekly Chapter Challenge on the Writer’s Digest Website and anyone who is aspiring to be a writer really should become a member of Writer’s Digest and go to the Weekly Chapter Challenge and find a writing buddy.

I wasn’t sure I was ready for one at first so I put it off for a couple of months and then I joined and hooked up with a wonderful YA writer, Trisha Leaver, who is represented by Jessica Sinsheimer of The Sarah Jane Freymann Literary Agency and is diligently working on edits for her manuscript Cedar.

In her spare time, she is exchanging chapters with me, beta reading for others and maintaining her family. I look at her with awe, because she is a magnificent beta reader and she tells me directly what she thinks…with tact. She never comes across the wrong way. She is always appropriate in her comments

If it hadn’t been for EJ starting the group, then I wouldn’t have found her. So thank you EJ. Much appreciated. I also found a couple of other people that I beta read with and am having a blast sharing my work and reading others. I guess I never thought in a million years I would be brave enough to let anyone read my work, but everyone has been so kind and honest with their feedback and that makes it easier to want to share it with the WORLD.


Also, this is the fist time that I have tried to work with links and such on my blog, so forgive me if they aren't working out. I haven't mastered the blog world yet. Post me and let me know if I miffed it up bad, real bad, really, really bad, or just forget trying it again Regina. LOL.


So this is mainly about the WCC so watch out later when I give a huge shout out to my beta crew who I hope to continue to work with them on future projects. I like their input. So go... yes, RIGHT NOW to Writer's Digest and friend me. Then go to the Weekly Chapter Challenge and get cracken on those chapters. I know you can do it. I believe in you. So go, get movin and take care of you. See you there.

TGIAO 'Thanking God it's almost Over!!'

Fair week that is..

My step son shows pigs for 4-H which consumes most of my week. Preparing them, transporting them and maintaining them for the week at the fair grounds. I am exhausted already and my son does most of the work.

Last year he showed just one pig and won Grand Champion for his show. This year, he had the idea to show a whole litter (four pigs). Wow. That is not as easy as he thought it would be. Regardless, he won Reserve Champion for his classes and we are very proud of him.

Here is a pic of him and the litter.

These little piggies go to market on Saturday night. My step-son Brandon is in the maroon shirt with white stripes. He raises Landrace. We purchase them when they are younger from one of the local breeders and feed them and grow them out until fair.

It is something fun for him and all of the family pitches in to help out which is nice too. We are all supportive of each other so this is a great experience.

Soon this will all be over and I will hopefully be back to writing and getting back to everyday life. So until I can get back to normal, take care of you. Thank you for all of my new joined friends for stopping by. I appreciate the support, and if I am not already following yours, I will be soon. Thanks.

Migraine Suffers I sympathize

I am about half out of my mind at this point. I am having several people carefully screening over my MS showing all of my muck ups and am trying diligently to fix them and get it in tip top shape.

With a killer migraine that I suffer from often, I just want to shut myself off from the world for a couple of hours…OK, I LIED. Days would be better. It is hard to stay focused and controlled when fighting these. The doctors try to manage them with medications, but sometimes I get so side tracked with all the things that I am trying to do (ie: with work full time, family (five kids 16, 15, 15, 13, 6), injured hubby (see below ***) and of course………Writing. That I sometimes forget to take it. {ALL OF THIS MAKES ME MORE CREATIVE…..I HOPE!!}

Today I am to blame. It will cost me a couple of days and I need to kick my own ass if the migraine wasn’t already doing a great job. Anyone who suffers from them, you know what I am talking about. DARK HOLE, here I come. Climbing down in to hide for several hours. It is best if I just pass out unconscious.

Hubby wants to go workout at the gym tonight, so I don’t know when I will get to the dark hole. Don’t judge yet. ***Hubby comes first, because he, unlike me, was injured three years ago in a construction accident and can no longer drive or work because he has moments where he blanks out causing him to (if he were driving …he would wreck.) or sometimes he takes a walk and ends up out in the middle of our field. He also suffers from short term memory issues. (Let me tell you this helps give me a lot to write about also).

So when hubby is stranded at home all day and cannot go anywhere until I get there to take him, then it is my duty to take him where he wants to go. He needs exercise too. I love him to the ends of the Earth and that means that I can endure the migraine until he gets his workout in.***

Enough about my pity party. I know from now on I need to take my meds. Crazy biznatch shouldn’t forget anymore, but any of you that know me knows that I will forget occasionally because that is the nature of the beast.

Best of luck to all of my writer friends out there…keep it going and keep it strong and remember to take care of you.

~Regina