Fabulous Blog Ribbon for Me!

James Anderson has passed this Fabulous Blog Ribbon to me. Thank you so much; I love the lists on this one. If you haven't checked out James' blog, then I suggest you do! He's juts getting himself established on the blogosphere and has some outstanding posts (including flash fiction)!

Here are the rules of the award:

1. Post the rules on your blog.

2. Name five of your most fabulous moments, either in real life or in the blogosphere.

3. Name five things you love.

4. Name five things you hate.

5. Pass the ribbon on to five other bloggers. (Leave them a comment to notify them of their win.)

 

Here are my answers:

 

5 Most Fabulous Moments

1.   When my daughter was born

2.   When I married my soul mate

3.   When I held the first paperback copy of Provex City

4.   When I learned the guitar intro to Sweet Child O’ Mine     

5.   When I attended my first Tool concert     

5 Things I Love

1.   My family

2.   Music (listening and playing)

3.   Chocolate

4.   Ping-pong

5.   Coffee

5 Things I Hate

1.   Lousy coffee

2.   Loud people     

3.   People on their cell phones while ordering     

4.   Hearing bass from the neighbors     

5.   Erratic drivers     

Now to pass this award onto a few lucky bloggers (I'm picking two)...

Cherie Reich
The Golden Eagle @ The Eagle's Aerial Perspective

"G" is for Gwendolyn

I became a father 11 weeks ago and it has been quite a journey. It's been a magical, emotional, and trying experience...and it's just the beginning.

Her name is Gwendolyn, which my wife and I arrived on months ago from a five minute conversation. It was probably the easiest decision we've ever and will ever make. It was almost as easy as my decision to propose, but that's another story.

I wasn't around many kids earlier in my life, and definitely not babies. The only baby I remember holding before Gwendolyn was my sister when I was four years old. But after a few minutes of holding my daughter for the first time it just felt so natural.

She has such a firm grip and the bluest eyes, and now that she's learning to smile, she melts my heart. She's going to be deadly, my kryptonite. The dogs love to give her aggressive kisses, and one day they will be the best of friends. I'll talk later about the ghost Gwendolyn converses with. It's hilarious and creepy. She's grown so much in just a few months and I can't wait until we can do more together...the whole family.

It hasn't been easy and I've never been so tired, but I wouldn't change it for anything in the world...well, maybe...no, nothing. I don't get much time when I'm home to pursue the great dream, all this and my books at your fingertips, but I've never had the drive before that I have now. It's not just for me anymore; I want to pass something on. I want to provide for her the best I can. I want her to be proud of me. I want her to be happy and pursue her dreams.

The best gifts come in small packages. And thus far, my arms are thankful of that.

Lucky Me & the Secret to Bubbles

Thank you to Candy Lynn Fite over at On the Trail to Publication. She tagged me with the Lucky 7 Meme & answering her 10 questions and gave me the secret to her Bubbles nickname (continue reading to find out). Here are the rules for Lucky 7 Meme:

1. Go to page 77 of your current MS.
2. Go to line 7.
3. Copy the next 7 lines - sentences or paragraphs - and post them as they're written. No cheating!
4. Tag 7 authors.
5. Let them know.

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“That’s the trippiest thing I’ve ever seen!” Greg said.

The florescent lights hanging from the ceiling began to crackle and flicker.

“I’m not feeling good about being here,” Logan whispered.

“This is obviously some elaborate prank. Good one!” Greg yelled out to the room.

“No, I don’t think so,” Logan said, stepping away from the other two.

The florescent lights on the far end of the locker room went out, followed by the next row, and the next—until the only lights illuminated were directly above the row where the three boys stood.

“I’m getting out of here,” Logan said and ventured into the shadows, headed toward the door. He dragged his left hand along the cement wall and stepped slowly and carefully as the room in front of him darkened. Upon finding the door, he pushed as hard as he could, but it still wouldn’t open.

- p. 77 (in my formatting), Provex City (The Lorne Family Vault, Book 1)

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Now, on to The Lucky 7 questions (but there are 10 of them...I know):

1.   What is your dream vacation? There are many places I’ve never been to that I really want to visit and explore. But one place I had the opportunity to visit for an afternoon and swim with dolphins was the Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas. When we were there, I told my wife that we absolutely must come back and actually stay here—in a suite.

 

2. Are you spontaneous or do you like to plan? I like to plan for spontaneity.

3. Tell us one thing you want to do, but don't dare do. I’d love to be the lead singer of a band, but I don’t sing very well and I’m petrified of being up in front of a crowd, so I probably won’t be doing that any time soon.

4. What's your biggest phobia? Public speaking—it’s a fear worse than death. Kind of irrational, but true.

5. If you were stranded on a desert island--what 3 things would you want with you (not including laptop or family)? One notebook, one pen, and one boat to get off the island when I'm done writing the next great American novel. 

6. Name 3 blessings in your life. Family, friends, and work (it's still a tough economy!)

7. What was your nickname in high school? "Mikey Likes It," from the old Life cereal commercials. 

8. If you could meet the President of the US, what would you say to him? I'd like to ask him about his family, his most memorable moment in office, and see if he’d be willing to promote Provex City on national television. Haha.

9. If you could be any literary character for a day, who would you be? Roland of Gilead, from Stephen King’s The Dark Tower Series. He’s just bad-ass in every sense of the word. Though I’d want to be him before he lost two vital fingers on his shooting hand.

10. What is your favorite quote? “Every passing moment is another chance to turn it all around.” – Sofia Serrano from Vanilla Sky

Now, it’s time to extend the Lucky 7 to a few fellow writers of my choice (oh, the power!). Since I’m new to the Insecure Writer’s Support Group, I’m choosing 7 members of Alex J. Cavanaugh's IWSG. I'm interested and anxious to meet more members. If you’ve been chosen, then I hope you have fun with this. If you’ve been chosen before, then I’m sorry, but do it again. Just kidding, that would be mean. :) Lastly, I'm also sorry, but I lied. I don't have the answer to Candy's Bubbles nickname. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me.

Now, without delay, please join me on a journey through the blogs of these seven “lucky” writers:

Angeline Trevena

Misha Gericke 

Laura Eno

Callie Leuck 

Kaye Draper 

Hope Roberson 

Gabriel M Clarke

Slow and Steady, Steady and Slow

The blog hop was a lot of fun and now it's back to my regular routine for awhile. I've already signed up for a few more, so like a vacation, I've got things to look forward to. I've also joined the Insecure Writer's Support Group and looking into joining the A to Z April Blogging Challenge. It's fun finding these things while surfing through other blogs. It feels like that old game/show Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego. One link leads me to another, and then another, and I keep picking up clues--tips, groups to join, and people to meet. It is quite the virtual adventure.

Yesterday I reached 50,000 words on my second book on the Lorne Family Vault Series. I don't have a lot of time to write with my long days at work and a six-week-old baby at home, but I'm feeling good about the routine I've gotten into over the past month. I'm excited about the progress I'm making, even though it's slow--slow and steady wins the race in the end. It's a lot better than spending my time stressing about how I have no time to write, time spent stressing instead of writing. I'm excited to get a draft finished so I can have someone read it. With Provex City, I let my wife read each chapter as I finished it. I started the second book that way, but stopped it a few chapters in. I really want her to read it, so it is another way of keeping me motivated to stay focused and write faster.

Provex City is coming along. The paperback design with Createspace is going well, but just takes time. Hopefully, it should be ready in 6 weeks or so. The ebook will hopefully be ready much sooner than that. I've just been having complications with the company I'm going through to format it. I paid them to format the ebook and it seems like I'm having to reformat everything myself to get it to look the way I want it to. I wanted to have it ready this weekend, which isn't happening, but I am actively working on it. As long as I'm making progress, then I have something to be thankful for. Slow and steady, right? Right. It's time for more coffee.