A teaser for YOU!

Wonder what it is like in the mind of a killer? Well, here is how my book Mirror Images begins.

This one was harder to kill than the others. You would think a skinny little second grader wouldn’t be so hard to drown. I mean really! The other ones it was just hit ‘em in the head with a rock, smear a little blood on the pool’s edge, and then roll ‘em in the water. None of this fighting to the top stuff. I can’t be waiting around forever. The sun’s coming up and I need to get home before I am missed.

Time to take the plunge.

Literally.


And that is just the beginning...you might want to learn more when you read about my male protagonist Marty's trip through adolescence with his twin brother Max. Girls, family issues, trust, and some deaths. Can Marty figure out who the killer is? And does he want to? Might be too close to home for comfort!

This book for teens has it all.

Go Me! Go Me!

So after a slow start partly due to being sick and partly due to a lack of confidence, I am now writing away on my YA Mirror Images. I have had the time to go back and take what I have written, spread it all out, and make a plan to make everything flow. I can actually say I am in more of the polishing portion of editing. Yep, it isn't just a rough draft anymore. So Go ME! Go ME!

Today I unleashed my improved first chapter on my critique partners and comments were favorable. I have some things to fix and I learned some things to do and not do from my partners and from comments on their works.

Self-doubt is always my biggest problem when it comes to writing and now even I can see some progress. I like my stories. I like my characters. And I am ready to bring this book home.

Good times!

School's OUT!

School's out! School's out! Teacher let the TEACHER out!

Hurray! I am officially finished for was a really LONG year! (Okay, a couple of meetings, but not too bad.)

I love summer vacation! Although I would like to point out that I never get three months off. We end late and start early and I have recover and prepare for school year onslaught on my time.

But for now...it is summer. I can sleep late if I want, don't have to wash clothes during the weekend, eat lunch in restaurants, and wear comfortable clothes...like my all day pajamas. I can garden, go shopping, swim, and visit with friends and family.

But I can also write. And thank goodness. End of school I am just too busy. I know others can work, raise kids, and still write. I have found I simply cannot. Maybe it is my age or maybe teaching is harder...and it is, I find myself too tired at night to write.

So, now is my golden time. I can organize, regroup, set new goals, and get to meet with the other writers I do not have time to meet with during the year. I can write early or late and as much or as often as I want without having to hurry off to take care of something. I can shut the door to my office, crank the volume on my I-pod, and actually have regular writing time.

But first...laundry.

What MOTIVATES you?

I like to write. Some days I love it!

But some days I have doubts just like you do. I'll never learn what I need to be writer! What I have written is crap! No agent will want this! No one will want to buy this or even worse...no one will want to read this! And so on...

What do I do to crawl out that place of darkness?

I turn around and look at my bulletin board on "People I actually know who have PUBLISHED". It helps to remind me that they are real people like me who faced the same doubts I do, but persevered and made their dreams come true.

Sometimes I need some tangible reminders that published writers are out there!

SWAG Baby!

I love all the SWAG an promotional items that I get at conferences and workshops. First, it is presents! Second, it is FREE! And I find it fun to see all the things authors come up with to promote their books. There is such a variety! And today author, Angie Fox, introduced me to another one. Trading Cards.

Here are some of the other things I have received.

My Own Soul Soup

I have a post that goes here about my son being re-deployed. He would rather not have me publish it for all of the world to see, so email me at galicesonedwards@earthlink.net if you are interested in seeing it. I think it is worth the effort. Much more serious tone than you might expect from me.

Spring at LAST!

Wow! It is officially Spring and I am way past officially welcoming it. I am so glad to have the opportunity for a new beginning for my writing life. I have had a lot of regular life get in the way recently.

Things to look forward to.

April-My writer friend Judy and I are loading up and heading to St. Louis to the Missouri Writers Guild Conference. There I will see other writer friends and I am excited to meet some other types of writers too.

I am regrouping my writing goals. I got a rejection letter from Deidre Knight on something I am working on. Dejected, not so much. I am more excited to be able to apply some of her advice.

I am ready to SPRING forward!