Reading Kicks

Does anyone else go on reading kicks--you know, where you read lots and lots of one particular genre of book in a short period of time?

I do, and right now I'm on a Regency Romance kick. Perhaps its because I'm currently enmeshed in writing a contemporary romance, editing another,  just finished a post apocalyptic piece and am working on an urban fantasy that's definitely modern in scope. Or perhaps its because I cut my teeth on Barbara Cartland and Georgette Heyer.

Regardless, I do love a good regency romp.

And a friend (Anna Campbell) who writes historical noir romance (not something I'd ever come across before but man, she rocks it) was celebrating having not one, but two of her books on amazon's bestsellers for Regency Romance. Of course, I went to check it out, and ended up leaving with 6--count them 6 books on my kindle that were not there before. Happily  most of them were on sale, so I could justify picking that many up. http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/books/746228/ref=pd_zg_hrsr_b_2_3_last

I know, you're welcome. I had to share the wealth.

So the latest Regency I read was Secrets of a Wedding Night by Valerie Bowman. It was cute, funny, and had quite a few of the traditional tropes in there that the author riffed on. I enjoyed it--enough that I'll be getting the next one when it comes out.

But picking my favorite regency is impossible. I cannot even pick my favorite regency author--there are just too many amazing ones to pick just one. Or ten. Seriously. I couldn't narrow it down to ten, which makes me think I might be ripe for an intervention.

In which case, I'll move the focus over to you. What is your favorite regency? Or are you like me, where you couldn't possibly pick just one?

Cheating on your WIP

I don't know about other writers out there (perhaps I should do a poll) but sometimes I feel like I'm cheating on my work in progress.

It goes like this:

I begin with an idea. Its a fun idea, an exciting idea, an idea that makes me smile, that makes my heart go thump. I love the idea, so much, that I commit.

I sit down with the idea, and plan. I improve the idea, I try turning it into something more. A story.

I commit further, actually putting time in, and writing an opening scene. By now, i'm in love. I think I've never had a better idea.

So I write another scene and another. But sooner or later, somewhere down the road, I lose that obsession. I still love the idea, but not with a burning passion. I'm aware of its flaws by now. Its no longer this shining ideal of a thing I place on a pedestal at the beginning of the process.

I keep working at it, plugging along. I love it, but I'm not In Love with it.

And then another idea comes along. And this one, well, it really is the ideal I think it is--I'm sure of it. So I cheat. I don't abandon my first idea. I still work with it, advancing the story, continuing to commit to it with every new scene.

But--I have a story on the side. One I'm In Love with--at least for the time being.

This happens over and over until...I end up where I am right now, working on 4 stories actively, and have one story set aside for the time being.

I do think that its helpful to me, to have several stories going at once. It gives me a break when necessary. And lets face it--thinking of your story as a shining ideal when you first write it is a bad choice. Because it's going to need lots or rewriting and edits before it shines. That's the nature of writing, and having multiple projects allows me to give the WIP the time it needs to sit, so I can look at it objectively.

Does anyone else cheat on their WIPs?
Does it help or hinder your story telling?

Trying New Things: Neurofeedback? Scrivener?

Here it is, mid-September. It's the time of year that I always find myself wanting to start fresh. The weather is finally cooling to bearable--crisp mornings, toasty days, cool evenings--it's perfect.

I want to overhaul myself, my life, my--well, everything.

It's a sickness. I know.

And knowing that, this year I'm approaching the urge to toss it all out and start anew with a healthy dose of caution.

So here it is.

As you guys know, my middle kid is on the Autism spectrum. I've been researching therapies that might help him with some of the difficulties that go along with being on the spectrum, and came across Neurofeedback. Now, at first glance it honestly seems a bit like voodoo. Playing video games with your mind? And this helps what?

But in looking at the research and the information out there, the consensus seems to be that this is a viable therapy for many people. So we've found a certified, reputable therapist in Neurofeedback and we're taking kiddo for a trial run. Fingers crossed that it helps him. I'll post on this once we've gotten underway and I have something to say.

Secondly, Scrivener. I've been playing with the idea of purchasing Scrivener to help with the writing/rewriting process. And since I'm itching to make changes, I have gone ahead and made the leap. As of today, I'm a proud owner of the Scrivener for Windows platform. I'm playing with it, and once I've gained some proficiency with it I'll post about that as well.

For  now, I'll sign off and enjoy being self satisfied that I am curbing my sometimes destructive tendencies to demand huge change constantly.

Who knows--if I keep up the minimize change thing long enough we may get to the point where we only move once ever three years or so.

In the meantime, enjoy the crisp weather!

And Again With The Refrain

I'm a bad, bad blogger.

I know it. You know it. We all know it.

Oh well. I guess it's something I'll have to just accept.

I haven't posted in ages. I can't really say why. Maybe I've been so swamped I just haven't had anything left to share. It happens.

So, quick catch up:
I quit my full time job as a prosecutor a few weeks ago. A lot of you guys who follow my blog (or did before I quit posting) know that Middle Kid has been struggling since he was  just under 3 years old. We've tried and tried to help him, and to make things easier for him, but it's been an uphill battle for us and for him. We've suspected Autism for a while now. 


He's in pre-K at the local public school and had gotten to the point where he'd try to make himself sick every morning so I wouldn't take him to school. He hated going that much, but with his communication issues, we could never figure out why. He'd just say, "School bad, teacher bad."


Then we found finger mark bruises on his upper arms. I quit my job, made a police report, and took him out of school.


He's been much happier since. I don't know who, but someone was being mean to him at school. We've been trying to find a good way forward. Part of doing that was to get a formal evaluation, because without a diagnosis we couldn't make the school system give him things we know he'll need to succeed in kindergarten.  He was evaluated on Thursday by a team of child development professionals after being on a wait list for over 3 months. 


The verdict was what we expected it was. He's on the spectrum. One test came back as straight Autism, the other placed him on the spectrum but not quite in straight Autism territory.  Either way he is high functioning (average or above average intelligence), but he has a multitude of problems (beyond his communication issues) we're going to have to help him face. 


Even though I expected it, having my fears for him realized pretty much crushed me. 


Don't get me wrong. He's a beautiful, loving, super smart kid. But having the diagnosis confirmed my fear that he's going to have a long struggle ahead of him. I'm afraid for him. Already, I see the trouble he has connecting with other kids socially. I see how they withdraw from him almost immediately, even without any overt misbehavior. It seems almost instinctive. Every time it happens, I hurt for him. And I know it isn't going to get easier with time. 


I'm hopeful too. With a diagnosis, we can have access to therapy. There has been a lot of buzz about how well ABA therapy works for Autistic kids.  Speech Therapy, which he's been in for over a year now has worked wonders. And there are other therapies and interventions we can access as well. 


So. I miss work. But I'm glad I have the flexibility all the therapy is going to require. I'm still working part time as an attorney from home. Funnily enough, I make more working part time for myself than I did working full time for the State. Sad, but true. Regardless, prosecuting was never about the money for me. It was the utility. The knowledge that if I didn't show up for work, it mattered.  I guess I still have that. But now it's my kid at stake. That makes it scarier. 


Writing wise, I've been working on my "The Pass" manuscript. It's the first in a projected series of urban fantasy novels set in El Paso Texas. I'm loving the story, even when it comes hard. I also co-wrote a novella with a friend. Its a romantic comedy kind of novella--fun, quirky and fast paced. We're sending it out into the harsh world at the end of the month. I also have plans to re-work If careful Doesn't Cut It. I love the story and don't want to give up on it, but I do want to fix some plot and structure issues. So, I'm planning to take it apart and put it all back together again. 


I'm so glad I have writing and books in my life. They help me refocus, and relax when everything seems like more than I can handle. 


So hi again guys. 
Sorry it's been a while. 
But I'm glad to be back.