CONFERENCE SEASON IS HERE

So we all await this time of year. 

Where we meet our fans and fellow authors. 

Where we exchange ideas and where we learn about new projects, new authors, share what works and what doesn't. 

We learn who received that multi book deal or who got a movie deal or movie options.

Yep; its conference time and how many of us will be traveling to conferences.

There is one in Las Vegas. There is one in New York and there is also one in Maryland 

I have helped you out by linking to those sites, via their city name. 

Las Vegas has the PSWA conference. New York hosts Thrillerfest and Maryland is home to the Creatures, Crimes and Creativity Con.

These three conferences make up a few of the places you will find Intrigue Publishing authors.

We love these conferences but most importantly we love C3.

This is where we get to show off (Intrigue Authors) and we get to prove that we know how to put on a great show. 

This year they have added Noir At The Bar and it promises to be a great time.

So, tell me what conferences you are going to attend this year and why do you like it?

TRUST YOUR INSTINCTS

Writing is one of those things that can come easy for some.

But for others, it comes a little harder.

Your instincts are built into your psyche to let you know when something isn't quite right.

Use those same instincts in your writing.

Writing is done by feeling your way through your story. Some use outlines to keep them on track but when you are writing, have you ever found yourself talking out loud or acting out a scene?

This is your instinct telling you that maybe it might not work out that way. Maybe someone wouldn't say a certain sentence or phrase that way or maybe a violent scene needs to acted out so as to be realistic.  

In writing, don't fall so in love with your characters that you can't erase or delete them before your novel is completed.

Trust your instincts in this as well. 

Even that scene that you loved writing might need to go. Ask yourself the following questions if your 'instinct' is telling you that something is not right.

1. Did this event slow down the scene?
2. Can this scene be told in a flashback or memory?
3. Why do I need this scene in the novel?

If you answer yes to any of those questions, your instinct knows what needs to happen. 

Writing is about following your heart but also following your instinct. 

What is your instinct telling you right now about what you are currently working on?

WHEN YOU BECOME THE PARENT

This blog will be a little different from any I have done. It's 2am in the morning and my insomnia is worse than ever but my author mind is sharp!

I have been a parent five times over and loved every single minute of it. OK; well except for the potty training, the projectile vomit and the flu running rampant in the house for three years in a row. Except for all of that; I loved every minute of it.

This time it is a little different. I'm a parent, to MY parents. My dad is a strong, and strong willed man but he is now 79 years old. My mom is a vibrant and sassy woman; who just happens to be 87. (Yes, she was a cougar back in her day)

Now they need more. More than I or even they, thought they would. My mom has lost 85% of her eyesight and 70% of her hearing. She has had both hips replaced and suffers with circulatory problems in her feet; which cause they to swell like stuffed sausages.

My dad just recently had to have eye surgery and suffers from severe neck pain; caused by a fracture in four of his vertebrae about three years ago.

So, they depend on me for a lot and at first I didn't' think I could handle it.

Let me explain. I'm an author; I do that very well. I know how to market and I know how to push myself to the limits. I know how to publicly speak and I know how to get things done.

When my father asked me to accompany them to a DAV (+Disabled American Veterans) function this past week in  Atlanta, I didn't hesitate to say yes. After all, spending time with my parents is always great.

What I didn't know was that they would need LOTS of help. My mom needs assistance standing, walking, eating, and other things that I won't go into. My dad, although mobile, has to help my mom but also has a hard time standing, walking, and doing basic things for himself.

Imagine going on vacation and having the room next door where you become the room service person for 24 hours of a day.

Here's the thing: I LOVED EVERY MINUTE OF IT.

I felt like now was the time I could give back. Now was the time I could help the people who have supported me, helped me and guided me through life. Now was the time that I could say, THANK YOU, without hearing; "We were supposed to do that because we were your parents." Now was my time to become a PARENT to my parents.

And you know what, I love it. I found myself opening up the connecting door just to check on them in the middle of the night. I found myself racing around when I thought they needed something. I made sure they ate before I ate. I made sure they were comfortable before I was.

My parents are THE best and I will be their eyes, ears, chauffeur and cook for as long as they will have me.  This is time I will cherish with them.

VACATION BEHAVIOR

Well, I"m back and lets just say that I had the most wonderful time while away.

First, I didn't get up until at least 3AM every morning. Which is a great thing! I normally don't sleep so to get at least two hours of sleep during vacation is a good thing.

Secondly, I laid on the beach and got myself an amazing tan. Yes, people. Black people do tan and mine is flawless.

Third, I got a LOT of writing done! Like a lot. How much? you may ask. Let's just say that this romance novel should be finished in two months.

Fourth, and I'll just leave this. My phone was stolen. But I am not going to go into that because it will cause me to lose my "vacation high".

I went to San Juan and stayed at the +Marriott resort and the accomodations were amazing! The pool, the staff, the food, the bar...all exceptional (Except for the little part where I was robbed and security didn't think to fill out a report until I had to ask them )

Other than that, I can't wait until my next vacation which is in less than two months! Yes, you have to begin to enjoy life because time waits for no one.

Did you take a mid winter vacation? and if so; where did you go?

THE SUMMER IS OFFICIALLY KICKED OFF

Summer began last week and I have been enjoying it so much that I didn't do any writing, no reading and no marketing.

What did I do? 

Princess Jada and Prince Justin

I went to Vegas. Not to see the shows, not to see the Chippendale Dancers, to walk the strip or get married. I went to see my newest grandchildren.

Yes, my grandchildren were born exactly 2 months ago. Matter of fact, they were born two days AFTER my birthday. Happy birthday to me! 

The Royal Court, as I call them are the most precious ever. Princess Jada; older by two minutes and Prince Justin are both doing great and they gave me so much joy. They made me stop, listen and enjoy being a grandmother.

Yes, there is more to me than just books, shoes and writing. I am a grandmother of 9 of the most adorable children ever. 

So when you need a moment to regroup, relax and revitalize yourself. Stop and spend time with your grandchildren, your children or your friends. Life is too short not to enjoy yourself. 

Now its time for me to get back to work and the first thing I am going to do is attend #Thrillerfest2015

See you in New York City on July 9-12 +Paula Lanier 

Part II-THE BEST FAMILY VACATION EVER

So, I left off at the part of getting 13 people in three cars to get to +Virginia Beach. The drive would be about an hour from +Williamsburg  and we had three willing drivers.

corralling 13 people for a picture is not easy

Now, the hard part began. The 2 month old didn't like being in his +CarSeatSite but he had no choice. So the plan was devised that he would ride with Nina (that would be me, since I am way to sexy to be a grandma) Don't laugh, there was a t-shirt that said just that!

However, the one year old, who rode down with me, didn't want to give up her +diva throne to the new little prince, was not happy. Not happy at all. Well until she figured out she could ride in the big girl car seat that would make her sit up higher and have the window to herself. Well, I think daddy being in the car also helped.

Then it was loading 11 other people in cars and heading off.

But wait...who knew the way to Virginia beach. The lead car thought they knew but after 45 minutes, we pulled over to find out what the +iPhone Apps had to say and low and behold, we were only about fifteen minutes away.

Now a break in the action for this PSA. I hate tunnels! I don't like them and as we traveled through it, I kept looking for the escape door, you know like the one in the "+Independence Day Movie" with Will Smith...where the dog Boomer ran just in the nick of time before the tunnel blew up....yes, I figure, if it can save Boomer it has to be able to save me. Well I only saw one door and it was open but it was like a little guard booth. Talk about holding my breath the entire time while we were in there. Well I was nearly ready to pass out from depriving myself of oxygen the entire 3 minutes it took for us to come out of there but just as I felt a little faint, I saw the light. No, not that light...but the light at the end of the tunnel. Now I see why that is such a great motivational sentence." (not really relevant, but I wanted to share)

we are all looking in the same direction
I think.

So we arrived at the beach and instead of driving around endlessly we found an all day parking lot, that was taken over by some college students and charging $15, which is a great money maker.

After paying for our parking, walking two blocks and finding prime real estate on the beach. We laid in the sun all day, swam in the warm waters and enjoyed being mindless and carefree for the day.

Atlas, it is labor day and the last hurrah of summer is upon us, but the memories that we made in Williamsburg

and Virginia Beach will remain with us forever.

Yes, it was the best family vacation EVER!

THE BEST FAMILY VACATION EVER...PART I

 This past weekend, my family and I took a trip to +James Pierce (ok, I know there is a name there, but Powhatan Resorts is where we went and hopefully James works there)

Anyway, we took a trip there with +Austin Camacho and Denise and their family and my two children along with their children and also a couple of friends, and also a cat (which will be a different blog on a different day)

We arrived on Friday night and we were all to tired to do anything but this was a family vacation and after all of the sleeping arrangements had been made, re-made and floor space claimed, we settled in for a peaceful night.

Then came Saturday and the madness began. Have you ever cooked breakfast for 13 hungry people, 7 men, (2 of which play semi-pro football) and 6 females and one finicky 1 year old and a 2 month old baby. Well the task of what to feed them was easily solved with a bag (Costco is your friend on family outings) of pancake mix, a gallon of syrup, 3 dozen eggs, four pounds of bacon and enough coffee to wake up an entire teaching staff of college professors.  See that looks like a lot of food and after cooking for what seemed like an hour we were ready to call everyone in for breakfast except...

Half of them were still asleep, one decided they needed to take a leisurely bubble bath and the men, well they were about to gnaw off an arm if they weren't fed immediately.

We (that would be Denise and I) sat down the platter of pancakes and two bowls of bacon and by the time 6 of them ate...we needed more food.

Wait, what....my initial statement of "wow; do you think we will need all of that bacon" was met with the very light laugh and yes" from Denise)

Turns out we needed all four pounds of bacon, half of a bag (5 pounds) of pancake mix and 1 dozen of eggs. We ushered in shifts of food, took turns at the table that sat 6 and made quick time using two different coffee pots. Whew, breakfast was over and the dishes, well; the dishwashing hands of Denise and myself had all of the dishes, pots, pans and glasses and mugs out away in a little over an hour but you know what,

the memories that were made just over breakfast will stay embedded in my mind forever and off to the beach we went. But getting everyone corralled into three cars...

to be continued.......

New Year's Memories

Today Jade tells us about her families getaway in the middle of winter. Spending some adventure, fun-filled days in Jamaica is the way to bring in the New Year's and have some great memories. Hopefully everything is back to normal [note: the picture that she included is not cooperating, but as soon as it does; you will see just how much fun she and her family had. And yes; I was a little jealous of the bright sunshine and white beaches]  
    Just four days after Christmas, my husband, son and I waded through ravaged wrapping paper, empty boxes and left our adorned Christmas tree behind. We were on our way to Sunset Resort in Montego Bay Jamaica. There was a lot to celebrate. It was Quinn’s eighth birthday and we were ready to bring in the New Year in a country we had not yet discovered. The snow and sleet were easy to leave behind for 7 full days of all inclusive fun, white sand and crystal clear water. Before you go getting jealous, leaving frigid winter for sparkling hot summer was one of the worst decisions ever. Not because we had an awful time. It was more fun than any of us could have imagined. Even after my husband stomped on a sea urchin with his bare foot and the next day sliced the same foot open after the difficult task of walking while on rum, each day was better than the one before it. The problem set in once we exited the plane. The bite of winter clenched us before we had the opportunity to dig out our winter coats.

            The long drive back to Leesburg from BWI took forever. The three of us were silent.  Bob Marley and Beres Hammond took turns serenading us all the way home.  Flashbacks of climbing water falls, kayaking and searching for starfish took over. Pulling into the driveway was comforting but it made everything real. We ushered our luggage into the garage. Anytime I travel I refuse to bring the bags inside immediately. We didn’t need any stowaways. We dragged our cold tanned bodies up the first flight of stairs. The smell of pine had dissipated. Our once full tree now resembled the one Charlie Brown made famous. Pine needles covered the presents we left behind. 

            The week we returned was a rough one. We all had catching up to do. Quinn took it a step further and caught bronchitis. He ended up missing three more days of school and his teacher sent home a mountain of make up work. My husband’s sea urchin incident was easy to laugh off and ignore in paradise. We even joked that the needles the resort nurse could not remove were souvenirs. Back in VA we started thinking about that terrifying show “Monsters Inside Me” and decided the doctor would be the safest option. I was left to nurse the limping husband and the not so comfortable eight year old. By weeks end we were all cranky and cursing Jamaica. If it weren’t such a beautiful place and if it wasn’t such an amazing trip, Virginia in January wouldn’t be so miserable.

            It’s been a couple weeks now and things are pretty much back to normal. The pictures make us smile and conjure up pleasant flashbacks. At random times we remind each other of the adventures we experienced together as a family. The memories we have are our own. They motivate us to return at the end of this year.