Rum Runners and Morgue Visits

Hello friends!  Let's play a little game of "What's Up Wednesday"!  WUW is a blog hop created by Jaime and Erin to help writers connect.  Click here to see how you can join in the fun.

What I'm Reading:  I just started BLACK DUCK by Janet Taylor Lisle. It is about a rum runner's boat during prohibition.  My "research reads" pile is slowly getting smaller.

What I'm Writing:  Still researching for my YA Hist Fic.  My outline is coming along nicely, and I have found answers to some of my pressing questions.

What Works for Me:  Field Trips!  Nothing inspires me more than visiting an actual setting in my work.    Midway through my first draft of COMMITTED (a YA Hist Thriller that takes place in an asylum) I took a little trip to a real asylum turned museum.  It was fascinating, and I got to add lots to juicy details and sensory images to my WIP.


PS- the weird look on my face is due to the fact that I was ALL ALONE in the morgue when my phone decided to do this weird malfunction with all the blurry orbs flying around everywhere... I snapped my selfie and got the heck out of there!

What Else is Going on:  My husband whisked the kids away to visit his parents last weekend, so I got three whole days to myself!  You would think I would have been really productive and gotten a bunch of stuff done, but really I did this:

My sister-in-law and I, goofing off.

PS- I realize that I have been the world's worst comment-backer, so if you comment this week I swear that I will reply!  Cross my heart!

Hello Friends!  Welcome to another addition of "What's Up Wednesday," our friendly neighborhood blog hop.  Creators Jaime Morrow and Erin Funk have information on their blogs about how you can join in the fun!

What I'm Reading:  I just finished VIXEN by Jillian Larkin.  While I enjoyed the period details and the plot, I found some of the slang a little overused, and I didn't think there was enough distinction between the three girls who were the main characters.  

Next on my Prohibition Reading List is LUCK OF THE BUTTONS by Anne Ylvisaker.

It is MG, and I have only gotten to the second chapter so far but I am loving the main character and the storytelling.

What I am Writing:  Still researching and outlining for my next project.  Sigh.  I miss drafting.  But I know if I don't do this front-end work I would just stare blankly at a blinking cursor during writing time, and that isn't any fun either.

What Works for Me:  I tried something new this time around that I thought I would share with you guys.  I wanted to get a firm grip on my MC girl's personality, mostly because it is quite different from my own.  She is scientific and logical, yet not afraid to break rules.  She is shy a lot of the time, and enjoys time alone.  I wanted to know what other kinds of personality traits often accompany these, and so I took a free personality quiz online as my character.  It was fun answering the questions for Amelia, and it made me think hard about what choices she would make in different situations.  At the end, the site gave me a whole slew of information about this type of personality in relationships, in stress, etc.  I liked it so much I did it again as my boy MC.  There are a lot of these tests out there, but here is the one I used.

What Else is Going On:  We took our Camper (named Lennie) and our two children on the last camping trip of the season last weekend.  The kids had a great time riding bikes and fishing.  I have often wondered (while packing for days for a one night camping trip) what is the magic of camping?  I think the reason we love it is because it forces us to stay in close quarters for several hours at a time!  No phones, no computers, no TVs (ok, we do have a TV in the camper, but we rarely use it.)  Good old Family Time with a capital FT!

Flappers and Campers

Hello, Wednesday Warriors, and welcome to What's Up Wednesday, a writerly blog hop hosted by Erin Funk and Jaime Morrow.  Visit their blogs to find out how you can play along!

What I'm Reading:  I am trying to read through a huge stack of comps for my November WIP, and the one I am currently devouring is VIXEN by Jillian Larken.   I love it when historical fiction can be cool and edgy and relevant to today's readers like this one.  Hopefully my own will turn out that way as well.  Which brings me to...

What Am I Writing:  I am currently outlining for my Nano project.  It is a fun YA set during prohibition, called THE BOOTLEGGER'S LETTERS.

What Works for Me:  This is probably not that helpful of a tip, but right now I am querying my YA Historical Thriller COMMITTED, and of course you have to keep track of who has received all those brilliant letters.  I personally like to hand-write out the agent's name, agency, date, and response in one spiral notebook.  That way I don't have to open up a spreadsheet file or any of that nonsense.  Something about handwriting that big "R" after each agent's name makes you feel like you are really accomplishing something, right?

What Else is Happening:
  
Getting ready to go on our last camping trip of the season this weekend.  Can't wait for snuggles and S'mores with these guys!