Now that I’m working days, everything has to be preplanned. There’s no more saying I’ll pop out to the post office at any time to mail stuff because I have to be to work before they open, and they close before I get off work. And though I can arrange for my carrier to pick up packages at a “pre-disclosed location” that location hasn’t been agreed upon yet.

I don’t want to think about how to schedule house repairs or getting my car serviced.

And, cause it’s summer, I’ll add gardening (which I love to do a bit of) and mowing the lawn (which isn’t a bad job when I’m not rushed and it’s not 110 in the shade, to the to-do list.

Now if you’re an author, you know writing time is hard-won at times. More so if you work full time, or have at home obligations that demand the lion’s share.

When I was unpublished, I didn’t worry so much about time crunches. Oh, I’d bitch and holler at times, but really, I didn’t sweat it. I’m sweating now.

I’m published and have publisher deadlines that have to be met. Though I’m not at liberty yet to announce upcoming deals/sales, let’s just say I’m going to be very busy writing this year and through the next one.

So I looked at my to-do list, my everyday working schedule, and my writing schedule. If I limited sleep to six hours and ate a catch as catch can diet, I might be able to continue. But not for long.

Beyond the day job, writing comes first. So something had to go—actually several somethings had to go because I’d painted myself into a corner.

The one that I regret saying goodbye to in the MM blog. But I simply won’t have time to be part of an active blog on a weekly basis anymore, and it’s not fair to Edie, LaDonna, Liz, and Michelle for me to be a fly by blogger.

They know I love ‘em dearly and hated having to bow out of MM on the heels of joining, but it’s for the best.

Thanks to the MM gang for having me for this short time, and I hope to visit as often as I can. And I hope to announce my sales to the world soon, so drop by my website to see what’s new with my publishing career.

To all of you: live, laugh and love.

For years, I dealt with the constant phone calls in my beauty salon, and since the shop was in my home, I got calls day and night. The ringing of the phone was usually the sound of money, though those calls were an annoyance as well because I didn’t have a receptionist. I answered the phone, scheduled, dealt with whatever, which meant a day and evening filled with interruptions. Seven days a week. See, when your business is in your home, people fail to respect that you have “days off.” Big pain in the butt.

When I got out of that business, the silence of the phone was sweet music to my ears. Except for telemarketers, I lived what might be considered a normal home life dealing with personal calls. Bliss, especially when I’m writing.

Then came the wireless phone, which I love and don’t go anywhere without. Super convenience, and necessity, imo.

Now I’m learning to deal with the phone again at the new job. In a doctor’s office, the phone rings constantly and usually several lines at once. And for some ungodly reason, the calls tend to come in clusters–usually when several people are at the desk, waiting to see the doctor or waiting to get another appointment.

It gets chaotic at times, and like when I’m busy at home, I let the answering service pick up for me. When I’m free I return the calls–if they leave a name and number. I’ve had a string of them at work (and even at home) lately that didn’t respond.

Though it’s annoying at the receiving end, I have to admit I don’t always leave a message when prompted either for various reasons. What about you? Do you leave voice mail? And while I’m on the subject of phones, how do you feel about the automated voice options you get when you dial a business?

Invariably, it would rain hard at least one day and night to shorten the fun on the rides. My grandmother swore that bad weather followed carnivals. In fact, her theory (on this one–trust me she had oodles of bizarre theories/beliefs) was that the metal braces for the setups, the trailers, and such drew storms.

Now, what I know about weather you could stuff in a thimble with room to spare, but I don’t think there’s much truth to storms following carnivals. Fact is we live in the Midwest, and during the spring you have a 50/50 chance of having bad weather ruin any outdoor plans.

Kansas weather can change in a flash. Like this week. We were supposed to have one day of rainy weather, and now they’ve stretched it into four days of rain.

Stuff like this happens. It can’t have anything to do with the fact a carnival set up yesterday in town. So are there any odd coincidences you recall hearing that you know just can’t be true? And yet, something happens to make you pause and think well could it?

Think mini-RWA con, and you’ve got a good picture of the Spring Fling. The workshops were good and the two I attended were worth the price of the con.

But I felt the biggest bonus was meeting new people. First there was getting to talk with friends I don’t see often–like Cindy Kirk from Nebraska who attended the con and sat between me and Amy Knupp at the signing. She’ll tell you she’s the rose between two thorns, but don’t believe it.

Then Liz Kreger and Edie Ramer drove over on Sunday to lunch with me and Amy. That was an especially nice roundup to the con.

But I must also include the fabulous Barbara Vey from Publishers Weekly, who did the mini videos of us in the hallway. And meeting Dani–a voracrious reader who I’ve met via the net. She made my signing a huge success, and made me feel great to boot. There’s a pix of us on my website.

Through Amy, I met Tasha Hacaga, an unpublished author who will surely be published very soon. She was really great to hang with and helped us close down the bar. And, I had the chance to visit with Harlequin Supers editor Victorian Curran, who is really a fun person to hang out with. I have nothing on her desk, and nothing in the works for, but it was simply great fun to meet her.

And that’s basically the mindset I have going to a conference. Take the vital workshops now. Open your mind to new experiences, like on the spot videos. Embrace meeting new people. And don’t forget the industry professionals are people too, who enjoy simply talking to writers about stuff other than writing for a change.

Anything you’d like to add to the way you make a conference work for you?

Many people have writing rituals when they work on a manuscript. Some light scented candles. Others have a special writing place in the house. I’m among those who need music for writing.

There’s something about music that helps me tap into another place in my consciousness. Certain music sounds trigger different ways of writing. I tend to use a lot of movie soundtracks instead of music with words, because otherwise I’d be tempted to sing along. When I turn on the soundtrack, it becomes the soundtrack to my story. The subconscious tone and mood help me to reach into the emotion of the characters. Some of my favorite soundtracks include “Braveheart,” “Last of the Mohicans,” “Batman Begins,” “Gladiator,” and “Lord of the Rings.”

The strangest part is that, each of my books tends to have a theme song that does have words to it. Often a particular song on the radio will grab me, and as the lyrics start to percolate in my brain, story ideas form. The first time I heard “Bring Me to Life” by Evanescence on the radio, I started to imagine a hero who needed someone to literally bring him to life and help him to escape the horrors of his past. Eventually that novel became my first book, Her Irish Warrior.

Sometimes the songs create the stories, and sometimes I discover that I’ve been listening to a song in my off-time and it infiltrates the work. Nelly Fertado’s song “Say it Right” had the lines: “You don’t mean nothin’ at all to me. Oh, you could mean everything to me…” I kept listening to the song over and over, not understanding why the music was grabbing me. It was only after I finished my book that I realized what that line was. It represented the hero’s denial of his feelings to the heroine. Most of Her Warrior King was about a hero who was unwilling to love his Norman bride, and her steadfast patience and stubbornness brought him to his knees.

My current theme song is by Bonnie Raitt—”I Can’t Make You Love Me.” The story I’m working on involves an intricate love triangle, and this bittersweet song suits it perfectly.

What about you? Do you listen to music when you write? What kind of writing rituals do you have?

Title: Sunrise Song
ISBN:0380776340
Author: Kathleen Eagle
Publisher: Avon

In the darkness of yesterday’s shadows
Shines a golden promise for tomorrow

A mixed-blood Lakota Sioux, Zane Lone Bull spent long years fighting — on a distant foreign battlefield and in his own countryand has vowed to fight no more. Now a tragic crime has brought Michelle Benedict into his life. A beautiful woman seeking the truth, it is her courage and indomitable spirit that rekindle the lost fire in Zane’s heart — drawing them into a decades-old mystery of a lost boy, a dark place, and a daring passion. For in the beautiful, terrible secrets of a shrouded past, another love holds the key to their destiny together — and to a promise of devotion, desire, and honor that must stand for all time.

Makes sense to me, and I’m not the least bit concerned about the schooling. What does bother me is the commute to the city every day. Dreading that!

Battling rush hour traffic rates right up there with root canal. Toss in all the road construction, and it can be a challenge getting from point A to point B. So far, the two easiest routes to take are under construction. So the drive will be longer and more mentally draining because I’ll have to think about alternate routes en route.

But it sure won’t be boring! I’m thinking of it as taking the scenic route.

I do that with my writing too. I had my signing for One Real Man last Saturday, and it was hugely successful. I enjoyed meeting new readers, and visiting with friends. One person asked how I wrote a novel—if I had a roadmap, I used to plot everything out.

Answering those types of questions is difficult. I don’t have a “formula” for writing a novel in XXX days, or any blueprint or map for writing either. So far, I’ve never written two novels the same way, other than I know where I’m starting, and where I’ll end up.

The trip from beginning to end is never a straight route.

I have my characters and their baggage and goals in mind before I start a book, but there are always detours along the way. Roadblocks crop up that I hadn’t anticipated, and I have to navigate around them. Occasional “accidents” happen, and I have to stop and rethink something through. Sometimes I have to back up before I can speed off on the romantic journey again.

Writing is challenging and mentally draining. But it’s never boring. Like getting to the job on time, no matter the road conditions, I do the same with writing while facing contractual deadlines. Finding shortcuts are great, but sometimes only the scenic route will do.

So tell me, if you’re a reader, do you take the detours and delays in stride? If you’re a writer, have you honed any tips to see you around those obstacles that suddenly crop up?

These mental farts don’t have a thing to do with age either. People just lead busier more mentally challenging lives. The brain is full of stuff we have to know to survive, stuff we want to know or learn, and new stuff that we cram in for whatever reason.

No matter where we go or what we do, new things are thrust at us. Technology is moving at warp speed, and we have to keep up with at least the basics or we’ll soon be extinct.

As an author, I am constantly cramming my head full of characters, their problems, their worlds, and the quagmires they get into and out of. It takes a lot of thinking and trusting instincts to weave a story out of thin air. It gets more challenging when you add the business side of writing to the mix, for that uses a lot of time and thinking as well. Add a job/family/hobby, and things get crowded damned fast.

I know exercise helps stimulate the brain, releasing endorphins and giving you that boost. But I think a problem with a lot of people, myself included, is we haven’t or can’t delete the junk we no longer need to remember. Or junk that is just plain counterproductive.

It’s so easy to dump the garbage on a computer. Yes, some stays buried in the memory, but it’s not up front eating up needed space.

Wouldn’t it be nice if we could do the same with our brains? Hit a button and clean out the garbage taking up space?

James Chartrand from Web Content Writer Tips blogged about uncluttering the mind on Clutter-cubed where you can read the full article.

In short, he advices three things to help unclutter the mind and boost memory.

1. Write everything down.

2. Organize at the end of the day.

3. Schedule and stick with it.

Sounds simple and it’s worth a try.

What about you? Do you have tips or tricks for clearing the junk from the brain?

Oh, I often grumble about getting up early to get to work. I admittedly have failed to see the beauty and promise in a new day–have even groused that the brilliant sun is too blinding for safe driving.

But on those days when I push the world away and sit on my patio enjoying a cup of coffee, I find immense peace and hope rising with the sun. No two are the same–nature doesn’t repeat itself often if ever.

I’m a descriptive author by nature, but readers, like my characters, don’t have the time or patience to savor such prose or such vistas at great length. So I often stare at sunrises and sunsets and the bounty of nature and try to think of a new way to describe them in my works–not just to bulk the work, but to use description to help convey my characters emotions, and either further or hinder their goals.

Writing description in today’s fiction is like adding spices to a dish–it needs to be used sparingly in sprinkles and dashes. Description can set the tone, the pace and the mood. It defines the setting. It can add tension and provide powerful metaphors.

Much like an over salted dish that ruins a meal, descriptive writing should be seamless and play as pivotal a roll as any other character. In short, description colors your characters’ world with vibrant life.

In modern fiction, who in your opinion in a great descriptive author?