Ah, at last!

I have a break. An unplanned one that started out a little stressed, but is wrapping up fairly quickly. The nice thing is I will have time to sit and write for a long stretch at last.

Paul has been bugging me to hurry up and finish up the second book in the Jess Barker series, so I can get on to "his" book in the series. Jess, in the meantime, has been harrassing me to hurry up and finish edits on the first book and hit up more agents.

The Scot is patiently waiting in the wings, while I do more research. Merie has been unusually quiet, while Collie has been chattering like crazy of late. I think it has something to do with the weather as she's not happy about the weird weather pattern we've been having. I, however, have been loving it!

Jess and Paul will be appeased. There is a competition coming up that I think fits Jess pretty well. I'll be checking into that tomorrow and see if it's a good fit for Jess' book or not. I'm crossing my fingers that it is.

My Characters Wreak Havoc - Again!

I'm SO glad to know that I'm not alone in having people in my head telling me their stories. But I often wonder if other writers have characters that make them laugh at inappropriate times and buy way too many of something.

For example, The Scot has me buying sewing machines like they're going out of style. I did manage to stop him after my last two acquistions: a gorgeous White treadle machine and an old Kenmore in amazing shape. But now I have to work on getting some of these machines out of my house, and try to get back at least what they cost me to begin with.  I am learning quite a bit about their mechanics though, and how to fix them, so there is a positive side to his "influence.  I mean really, how many of these can you keep around?

Jess had me laughing all morning with comments like: "Just because you're dead doesn't mean you can't be a complete asshat!" and "You're dead. I'm alive. Get over it and let me get some damn sleep!".  And the one that made me really snort today: "Honey, your boobs are all crooked, here let me fix 'em." (She was helping Jolita into a new costume).

Since I've been sick and on cold meds, when I laugh my co-workers stare at me strangely and ask if I'm okay.  What makes it funnier to me is her thick Texas drawl and the way some of her dead groupies whine at her.  Visuals of Jolita in a bad costume don't help any either, especially given that she looks a lot like the ever-gorgeous RuPaul.

Then there's Merie. She gives me images of God (who's a woman by the way) grabbing Satan by his blond curly locks, looking into his baby blue eyes and shaking him like a ragdoll while she chastises him for something evil he had his minions do. Again. And she has a habit of doing so at the most inappropriate times, like when I'm in the middle of some really difficult tech problem or on the phone with a customer or in a meeting with the owners of the company.

And finally, there's Collie. My fey-hybrid who's basically a  supermodel and an environmentalist - of which I am most definitely neither! She rants at me for throwing something out that she feels should be recycled. Actually, she's kind of annoying, but I adore Bambi, her vegan fey-hybrid servant who chastises Collie as much as Collie chastises me.

On the other hand, Collie does give me some really fun craft ideas. She's behind some of my latest additions to my fabric stash, and encourages me in trying new shopping bag designs to put on my etsy shop (www.etsy.com/pyrhaven). Bambi gave me the idea of modifying some apron designs that are really cute, but that makes my fabric stash grow even more.

I wonder if the IRS would understand writing off a fabric stash as a "mental health" issue?

Memory Fail! due to Writing

It's definitely been one of those Mondays.  Long after posting the first iteration of this post, I realized I only got the last paragraph copied properly.  How did I miss that?!?  So let's see if I can get it put back to some semblance of what it was...and I doubt it'll be as good.

This weekend was a busy one.  It started with writing Saturday morning before the GRRWG monthly meeting, followed by picking up one of my favorite 16 year-olds on the planet, and returning home to a nice long nap.  Which was followed by more writing.

I was so busy I forgot to go download some really great writing books from Writer's Digest and now the deadline has passed.  The good news is I got a lot of progress done on Collie's book and more of the rewrite done on Jess' book.  Barring any barriers, I should hit both the ROAR and NaNoWriMo deadlines.

The good news is that next week I'm on vacation!  Yay!  First time in over a year and well deserved.  I'm not going anywhere.  Instead I'll be having lunch with friends I haven't seen in a long time, over multiple days, working on a vintage machine that needs some TLC before sending her on to her new home, where she's being purchased as decoration (which is good as I need to steal parts, and why I bought her), and writing!  Of course I'll be writing, I've got some self-imposed deadlines to meet.

The bad news is The Scot keeps interrupting to fill me on what I should write for him, but he requires a TON of research to get it right.  I need a timelines, correct dates, and re-education on both WWI and WWII.  And possibly the Cold War.  I'm hoping to task my hubby with some of that as he's a BIG military history buff.

Oh and I just submitted a 1-sentence competition for Writer's Digest - my first ever!

Who knew? I love research!

Did you know that Gimbels once had a sewing machine made for them?  I saw this poor, neglected vintage machine up for auction and laughed when I read them name.  Of course I was instantly whisked off to Christmas movies like Miracle on 34th Street, and A Christmas Story.  So I had to go digging.

There isn't much information out there, but I needed it for Stewart's storyline.  (Of course he kept smugly chiming in "I already knew this.")  I've discovered that in addition to Sears' Kenmore lines - Gimbels, Montgomery Wards, and even RH Macy's had sewing machines made for them from factories in Japan.  Models were pretty much interchangeable, but the name and color would change from time to time.

This practice also led to the wide variety of colors we see in the 40's/50's/60's machines.  Anything from light teal to bright red was fair game. I've found some bubble-gum pink machines that are amazing!  The more I learn about these vintage machines the more I miss the variety and style from back then.  Not only are they solid metal, but they're quite beautiful as well; especially when compared to today's plain, boring, white colored plastic machines.


I mean seriously, how can you NOT like a machine that looks like this?  (And I'm only a fan of pink for Breast Cancer ribbons).

The Scot's getting me in trouble again!

As is normal with all of my characters, Stewart - a.k.a. The Scot - talks to me.  He loves to go along on my perusal of the various thrift shop sites where sewing machines may be listed.  The thrill of the hunt for a vintage machine.  He's been pushing me to get a Singer "Rocketeer" for the past few months, and while I've found some, none of them are quite in the price range or condition I would like them to be.  They're really kind of cool and techie looking though, and have a wide range of stitches available.

Here's one to give you an idea - very 50's Jetson-y styling.

He got more excited about a find for a vintage Singer that is aluminum, was built in Scotland, and is available within my state.  Best part is the case would also fit my grandmother's machine.  Hard part is deciding how much I'm willing to spend on a new "toy" when I still have 10 at home that need attention.

Besides, I have tons of writing to do, NaNoWriMo is coming up and I have technical presentations and several exams to pass for work.  Why do my characters not understand that I have to make a living and can't devote all of my time to their stories?  Am I the only one with this particular problem?

New Inspiration for The Scot

A friend of mine's been looking for a vintage machine to sew leather on.  I happened to find one for her at the local Goodwill and, after a bit of confusion on the payment side of things, I picked it up this afternoon.  Pleased at my new found "treasure" I bustled into the back of my truck without looking at it much.

Back home after a day of work, I hauled it into the house (it's not really heavy, just awkward with no case), and took a good look.  The second I get a good look at the decals The Scot pops up.  "Oh, lookie lassie, she's a beauty!"  Stewart's doing a jig over this one.  Other than a layer of dust and a bit of minor rust on the bobbin slide plate (easily removed with vinegar), she's in great shape.

According to Stewart, she should be "right as rain" with a bit of gentle cleaning on the deck, elbow grease to remove the old dried up gunk, and a good oiling.  I hope he's right.  Looks to be that way to me.  Take a look for yourself:

Stewart's been "advising" me ever since, all evening in fact, as to the best place to start and what to use.  The funny part is he's showing me a side of himself I didn't know yet.  He really, truly loves to tinker on this "wee beasties" as he puts it.  His hands twitch a bit when he tells me what I should work on next.  It makes me laugh, because I understand his eagerness to get his hands on something, but there's still something dark lurking about in the background. So far I've only caught glimpses of his past, most of the time I only get the fun part of the treasure hunting for old machines.

I hate to tell him I'm full up now.  At 10 machines and counting, I need to get rid of some before bringing any more home.  I'm betting he'll pout a bit, but I'm hoping I can keep him popping up and feeding me his story line as he could really be fun to write a series on.

I've been baaaadddd....

I haven't blogged here in way too long. That's because I've been busy with my 2 other blogs (which I will eventually link here - but later). One's my techie blog, that acts as my purse for all my tech notes that I need for my day job. The other one is my new blog for my new etsy site, and which holds the clue as to why I've been bad here.

To be fair, I did get a huge chunk written on Collie's first book (25,000+ words - she was very chatty), I got editing done on Jess' first book, rewrote the synopsis for A Reluctant Psychic, and added some to Merie's story, so I've been busy.

Also, I have a new obsession which has resulted in a new character popping up, and a possible new series, revolving around an older, talented, gentleman who restores vintage sewing machines. He's in the back of my head telling me "Oh, lookie there, what a nice little machine that could be with just a bit of TLC and elbow grease". Great. Thanks. Just what I need, another vintage sewing machine. Aren't 6 enough? My Kenmore doesn't count yet, it's still in it's teen years.

Here's what I know about "The Scot". He's from the UK, I'm thinking Scotland, but I'm not sure as his accent isn't hugely thick. He's a widow, and I keep picturing him in the NorthEast, but I also see him in the UK, so he may be hopping back and forth. His wife got him into saving old machines, and he continues it as a labor of love for his late wife. She's a cute little thing, about 5'1', masses of red curls, with a touch of grey, fiesty, with a perpetual twinkle in deep blue eyes. He's about 5'10" now, a bit shorter due to age, salt and pepper wavy hair, with dark eyes, and BIG hands from years of mechanical work. Always with a twinkle in his eye and a quick smile, I'm not sure of his name yet either. He makes me smile like Merie makes me smile. He was a whisper in the back of my head when I got this little beauty home and out of it's trapped location inside a bent wood case with a bent lock.

The Scot popped in full force when I decided on a name for this old, neglected beauty that was my grandmother's and is now mine. I've named her Black Betty, and have dubbed her restoration project "The Black Betty Project" at which he let out a musical belly laugh. He's really quite charming.

So please forgive my lapses in posting here, I promise to try to get better at it. I have so much to do, machines to restore, pages to write, an agent to find, and a short story to get ePublished. Oh, and I've learned how to can, make jam and pickles, and next weekend I'm learning how to make and can salsa. It's a very good thing I'm a Gemini...otherwise I'd be a bit freaked out about all the people in my head. :)