Feeling a little nostalgic...

Okay, so usually I share lots of scenery with you guys, but today we're doing something different. Don't worry, I'll be going on vacation soon and will have tons more landscapey goodness to share.

A long, long time ago...

Yeah, that's me on my wedding day, with my super duper late 80s hair and yes, that's Cait on my lap and Martin and Andrew on either side of me. Weren't they adorable? They still are, actually.

Killian and Corwin in the stroller in front of the house - in the Pooh and Tigger outfits I made them.

Killian and Corwin in front of the bookcases.

My nephew Zane and Corwin...sitting on Andrew.

Killian sitting in the book basket. He'd routinely dump the basket so he could sit in it. And that chair? That was part of an elaborate defense system called "The Chairicade". We'd lay down the chairs in a desperate bid to keep the child out of stuff. It didn't work.
Yes, that's Corwin sleeping in his dresser drawer. Every night he'd pull out all the clothes and put his bedding in and go to sleep. Every. Single. Night.
Corwin playing with one of his favorite birthday presents ever - the S. S. Aargh!

Killian and a sweet black bear in a cave.

Merry Christmas from Corwin! Check out the Blue's Clues shirt. We spent some quality time with Steve and Blue.

Killian loved him some baseball. In fact, he was downright obsessive. Seriously, the kid slept with his ball, bat and glove. Every. Night.


Killian was soooooo excited to meet "Sir Killian" at a ren faire. It was all we talked about for weeks.
My sweet boys when they were a little older.
Yep. Ren faire nerds - the lot of us.
So these are just a few of the pictures I have lying around that Brynn very sweetly scanned for me because I have technological issues (lots of them). I love these pictures, but I so, so miss when they were this little.

Huh.

This is going to look like a non-post, post, and maybe it is, but it isn't because I'm trying to get out of writing the topic. For those of you wondering, the topic is pictures of the Fourth of July. And here's where I look pathetic. I don't have any.

No, really. I don't have any. I searched my brain for any that might have been taken over the span of my lifetime and I've got zip. Part of the reason is because I grew up in other countries and other countries don't celebrate our Independence Day. There were times we would go to the American Clubs of various countries, a secure place where fellow expats would gather to hang out with each other. While it sounds very segregated, when you are living in a country, dealing with culture shock, foreign languages and no common cultural references, the opportunity to get with other Americans for some hair-down-time, is awesome.

The American Clubs would always have their rendition of an American food spread. It was usually cooked by the locals and was never quite right. Barbeque wasn't smoked for a full day first and was probably candied, not barbequed. Beans weren't the barbeque beans but black beans in some kind of local hot pepper sauce. You might have potato salad, but other countries don't understand mayo and don't have it, so they'd mix it with things that "looked" like mayo but wasn't. Typically they wanted color or local flare to it, so it might get mixed with fried garlic and onions. You just never knew.

And there were no fireworks. Evar! I mean really, do you think the foreign country in question would be okay with a collection of Americans gathering together behind secure walls and setting off explosives aimed at the sky? Try again.

When I finally moved to the States, I'd had a lifetime of pseudo celebrations that weren't quite American but also weren't quite NOT American. Thanksgiving only happened occasionally. Christmas trees and lights not so much either. I mean we had Christmas, but I was south of the Equator for all of them, so it was summer during Christmas. It's a completely different vibe.

Even now, years after being back in the States, I don't get the hype. I'm proud to be an American. I love my country. I bleed red, white, and blue. I wouldn't want to live anywhere else in the world if it meant I could never come home to the USA. But I only mildly appreciate fireworks and my, "yay, it's the fourth" is kind of weak.

I will say that the best fourth of July I've ever had was spent with Bronwyn Green and her family. It was two years ago. We drove up to the her dad's lake place. There was real potluck family food in a screened room (no bugs. AWESOME), a lake to swim in. Hot bright sunshine and a cool breeze. Lots of beverages. My kids were with me and my ex wasn't. After a full day of getting to know her fantastic family (warm, wicked, and slightly off in the best of ways that made me feel like family), we all set up chairs and watched fireworks over the lake. I'd never seen anything more beautiful.

That picture is still in my head. Happy Fourth of July, everyone. May our country celebrate many, many more and may the families that can't be here on our soil but who call it home, in lands far away, know that they are embraced in the American community.

~Mia

Picture Time!!!

I like this topic since I'm a visual person.

4th of July. I have several photos from 4th of July celebrations that are providing me with inspiration.













Lake Huron, Michigan.















Michigan Woodlands













Grand Canyon, Az













Waterfall
















Men.

















I actually took the first four pictures, but my visual inspiration is not limited to my experiences. Photos can be an important part of writing inspiration, even if you're not a visual person.

Simone.

The Dating Game

I forgot to post last week, so I'm using this week to share dates with y'all. Well, years actually. I suck at dates. There are a few I will always remember

September 1, 1998 - The day my daughter was born
November 1, 2008 - The day I lost my dad
October 16, 2009 - The day I married the best boy in the whole world
August 13, 2010 - The day my son was born

And then there are years.

2001 - The year I met my future husband.
2007 - The year my first manuscript was accepted and published.
2008 - The year I met Brynn and Bronwyn. Two of my best friends in the whole world.
2009 - The year I went to Florida to my first writer's conference. The year I went to Kansas and met Carol Lynne. Another of my favorite friends.
2011 - The year I officially met the incorrigible Mia Watts. Another faboo friend.

Obviously a ton more stuff happened in my life. But as I'm not completely sure about the years above, I don't want to try to screw up anything else. Mostly I'm excited to have the people in my life that I do and no matter when I found them, I'll never let any of them go.

XoXoXo
Dakota Rebel

Milestones along the way

So, this week, we're talking important dates. Here are some of mine. Some might not seem uber important, but they were doorways to other things :-)

Sep. 11, 1969 - my birthday

Sep. 11, 1985 - got my illustrious first job at the McDonalds

Apr. 1989 - met my future husband while working as a manager at McDs (it was not a good first meeting. We’re talking proverbial hate-hate relationship)

Oct. 15, 1989 - first date with future husband (we went to an alumni dance at my school and I fell off my chair. I was not drinking. He still married me)

Sep. 4, 1990 - future husband and I got engaged (my engagement is the very reason I write romantic scenes. My proposal soooo wasn’t romantic. We were in the car and I said: so are you going to marry me or what?
And he said: yeah, sure. You want to?
Me: Well, yeah.
For the record, he doesn’t consider this the day we got engaged. He counts it as the day I got my ring in November, and it was more romantic)

May 8, 1992 - bridesmaid fitting for friend’s wedding; reunited with Bronwyn (who I discovered is quite wonderful and who became my best friend)

May 16, 1992 - my wedding day

Jun. 23, 1994 - birth of my 1st child

Oct. 24, 1996 - birth of my 2nd child

May 30, 1999 - Officially started my writing career. This was the day I decided I would be published and started serious writing

Sep. 11, 2001 - worst birthday of my life. Horrible, horrible life shattering day.

Sep. 13, 2002 - thyroid surgery

Sep. 18, 2002 - found out about thyroid cancer

Sep. 16, 2005 - the day I quit my day job to write fulltime (not for the faint of heart; do not do this at home, kids)

May 9, 2006 - first essay was published

Nov. 2006 - first short story was accepted by True Story magazine

Feb. 8, 2007 - day my first book was accepted by Ellora’s Cave

Mar. 2007 - Meet two of the four Torrid Tartlets, Carol Lynne and Lacey Thorn (Bronwyn and I are the other two. In later years, Dakota Rebel and Mia Watts joined our fold)

Jun. 30, 2007 - first book was released

Aug. 8, 2007 - started editing

Sep. 24, 2009 - started editing at a new publishing house

May 11, 2011 - 2 bestselling book awards and 1 bestselling author award from ARe

Jun. 1, 2011 - latest book release… and that makes 33

Important dates for Bron

I'll admit, I'm kind of an important date remembering kinda girl. Of course, sometimes I don't remember them until after the fact, but I try.

June 3, 1967 - My birthday. Without that I wouldn't be around to make this list. (Holy crap, I'm old all of a sudden...)

Spring 1983 - I met Margaret Yang during the production of the Wizard of Oz at our high school. I was in awe of her then, and I still am.

February 3, 1984 - I started dating Matt.

Fall 1984 - Spring 1985 - Sat behind Brynn in Algebra class and was super jealous of her gorgeous hair (still am) and her ability to do math (still am) and we were in several shows together - Camelot, Grease...and maybe Pillow Talk? (1983-1985) I found out later she thought I was a huge bitch.

Spring 1984 - Margaret, some other students and I put together a chapbook of student writing...and got in trouble by the school administration. Yes, you read that right. We got in trouble. For taking initiative and being creative. How dare we?

September 11, 1985 - my baby sister, Caitlin, was born. There was much rejoicing.

April 29, 1989 - I graduated from college.

May 1989 - I won a poetry contest and a short story contest.

June 3, 1989 Matt and I got married with Margaret as my maid of honor.

April 1991 - I was working as a seamstress making wedding and bridesmaid dresses and who should walk into my second floor apartment, but Brynn! She discovered that I wasn't a bitch (I think) and we both discovered our mutual love of the romance genre and started a writing friendship that's spanned two decades.

September 9, 1994 - My oldest son was born and I discovered the wonderful insanity of motherhood.

March 18, 1997 - My youngest son was born and the madness continued.

March 4, 1998 - My nephew died. I'm including this because in the midst of my grief and loss, I realized that if I was really going to write, I needed to get off my ass and do it, because life is freaking short.

May 2004 - My essay, along with Margaret's, was published in the anthology, They Lied! True Tales of Pregnancy, Childbirth and Breast Feeding.

March 30, 2007 - My first erotic romance was published.

February 1, 2008 - I started working as an editor.

May 10, 2011 - I won two bestseller awards from ARe.

June 1, 2011 - My latest erotic romance was published - with seventeen others in between.

June 3, 2011 - Matt and I just celebrated our 22nd wedding anniversary.

These are some of the dates that are important to me - I'm sure there will be a lot more. I have an amazing family and the bestest friends. Personally and professionally, life is damn good!

Date Book

I'm assuming we mean dates as in moments in time and not the kind where I get to struggle over meeting new people.

Mine are simple:

January 15 1997 the day my first child was born
November 21 1997 my first miscarriage
February 23 1999 my second miscarriage
January 11 2000 the day my second child was born
March 2002 my third miscarriage
November 2006 my first book contract that stuck
January 2007 the day my first book was published
November 6 2009 the day I found my freedom
October 25 2010 the day my freedom was legally approved
November 8 2010 the day I arrived in my new life

5 years from now... the day I look back on all the shit, laugh, and smile proudly for coming out the other side a better person. I'm not even going to get into the dates where I meet people. That kind of insanity should be doled out sparingly.

Date v. Date v, Date

The topic this week is special dates, which could be taken any number of ways as in fruit, calendar, or romantic. I'm going to go out on a limb and say it's probably not the special dates from the far reaches of wherever they're grown that confer magic powers when eaten, although that could make for some interesting times. That leaves calendar and romantic.

I'm not sure there is any interest in what calendar dates are important to me although Jen Armintrout wrote the best blog on St. Patrick's Day this year.

That leaves romance - since this is not the place to describe the perfect date - that would be the Internet dating sites - I'm so not going there. However, I'm pretty sure if I turned this over to one of my characters it would be a much different story.

So, that leaves us with nothing or back to calenders. Best days ever - the day my daughter was born and the day the judge finalized my divorce. Yes, I celebrate them both. THere are other days and holidays that are important or that I celebrate or observe, like Veteran's Day, Independence Day, and Memorial Day. And there is a random day that has always been seemed important but with no real reason - 9-21.

Enjoy,

Simone.

If I Could Turn Back Time

I'm sure you wanted Cher stuck in your head this morning.

You're welcome.

Honestly, I don't so much have a specific era I'd like to visit. I'm quite happy here. I like my air conditioning - particularly on beastly days like today. I love my computer, my cell phone and my iPad. I like sleeping with a roof over my head.

But if I had access to The Doctor and the TARDIS, I wouldn't mind going back to certain times in history. I'd like to know what Stonehenge was actually used for - not just what scientists and historians think it was used for and how it was constructed. I'd like to know what really happened to the Lost Roanoke Colony. I'd like to see (briefly) the Medieval and Renaissance periods. But I don't imagine I'd want to stay long in any of these places.

Where I would like to go is my own past. Knowing what I know now, I'd like to go back and spend some extra time with my kids when they were younger. I want to really remember what it was like to hold them and enjoy them with far more energy than I had at the time.

I'd also like to spend more time with people who died before their time. Well, before I feel it was their time. There are so many more things I'd say, more memories I'd like to make. If I could visit any era, earlier Bron would be where I'd go.

So where the hell is The Doctor, anyway?

F*ck the women's movement

I could honestly bitch slap the person who decided that women needed equal status with men. I don't want to work. I don't want to kill my own bugs. I don't want to have to worry about bills and paychecks and 401k. I want to stay home with my children, do laundry, iron, wash dishes, cook dinner and have a brandy waiting for my husband when he walks through the front door after HIS long day slaving away at work.


I know that I have a HUGELY unpopular stance on this whole thing, and feel free to berate me for it, but realize that I will just ignore you and wish I could go back to the 50s when women were allowed to simper and act brainless. Notice I said act. Our grandmothers knew what they were doing. Sure there was the occasional asshole of a husband and those unlucky wives probably suffered a great deal. I don't want that. I want to be married to my current husband...just 60 years ago.

There is no fear of depending on C. He would take care of me and our children, love me as he does now, I just wouldn't have to go to work everyday. He could drive the car and pay the bills and I would keep his house spotless and cook his dinner and ask how his day was. I would pretend to be interested in his stories about widget sales and 'that Bob from accounting' and whatever else he wanted to dither on about. We would kiss the children and retire to bed with cigarettes and big glasses of gin. I would still be me, just in a pinafore and I wouldn't be required to kill bugs. Ever. (Not that he ever refuses to kill them for me now. But it would be more expected of him in the 50s.)

I suppose I just want to live in the June Cleaver version of the decade. I'm sure that life was actually pretty pathetic for a lot of 1950s housewives. That would not be my 50s dream though. I want aprons and cakes and garter belts beneath my poodle skirts. I want drive ins and milk shakes and lots and lots of smoking. I want nothing more to be required of me than to keep a clean house, cook meals for my family and spit out some babies.

Some of you are probably wondering if this is sarcasm. "Surely she must be kidding." I can hear you all thinking it so hard. But alas, I am not. Not really. Sure, my tongue is always firmly planted in my cheek. But in this, no. I want this. I want to stay home with my kids and cater to my husband. Hell, we have actually even talked about me handing over my paycheck to him and letting him give me an allowance because I am so terrible with money anyway. This would just eliminate the need for me to work from that equation.

I guess I would miss the internet a lot. But I'm sure I could manage without it. Since none of you would be around in the 50s I wouldn't have anyone to talk to anyway. So I guess it wouldn't be that big of a loss in the long run.(The internet that is, the loss of you all would be heartbreaking.)

The ladies on this blog know how strongly I feel about this. For my wedding gift Brynn and Bronwyn got me a 1950s housewife kit complete with pearls, apron, feather duster, and kitchen products. It is still one of my favorite gifts ever. I love it and I love them for feeding into my strange fantasy.

So yes. This is the decade I would travel to if I could visit any era. I would of course be taking C and the kids with me. We would have a lovely field trip into the past and might never come back.

XoXoXo
Dakota Rebel

Mash Up

I missed last week's post and I kinda wanted to do that one, so I'm going to do it this week instead. I know, we're supposed to be talking about eras we'd like to visit. I actually don't have anything to say about that, so this blog will work just fine.

Need a refresher on my claims? Here's the original blog post.

1) I said I'd have 14 books written by the end of August, with 16 then-currently planned. Um, to date I have written six written. To be fair, I'm working on two others and have another one that will be turned in before August. That makes nine. I'm also trying to get two more books in there somewhere for RP which would have to be turned in before August should I get to them. That makes eleven. Yeah, I'm gonna miss that one at the rate I'm going. However, I do have four books beyond those, planned. Maybe not this year though.

2) Bathe and brush my teeth everyday. To you newbies that's gonna sound gross, like OMG she's normally unhygienic? She actually has to put that as a yearly goal in order to remember to do it?? No, I just wanted a "gimmie" goal. One that I knew was a no brainer and would be easy to tick off as accomplished. I do, in fact, shower and brush my teeth daily. Sometimes bathing more than once a day, and I brush three to four times a day.

3) I swore I wouldn't kill my ex. I'm happy/sorry to say, he lives on.

4) Hug and kiss my nieces (daughters) daily, and tell them how much I love them. Another gimmie. Success!

5) I wanted to find ways to help my community. Meh. I'm an unofficial Neighborhood Watch person. I have taken neighbors for groceries, sometimes paying for them when they can't. I've provided gas money and hired someone when they needed to find cash doing odd jobs. I helped develop the idea for an Easter basket with my church group. I guess I did okay, but I could totally do more.

6) The goal where I wanted to make money that the pirates wouldn't steal, hasn't happened. They fucking steal everything, and I still hate them.

7) Making my writing goals, specifically playing into goal number one. Yeah, didn't happen. However, writing six books at this point in the year is more than some people write all year long. So I still think I'm awesome for that.

8) Trying to love me a little more. Wow, ouch. Okay, this one is a huge fail. I think I actually love me a little less than I did six months ago.

I'm grading myself a C. I think I met about half of them. Fortunately, I have another six months to get it right.

Vacation Of A Lifetime

This weeks topic is on which era we would want to visit. I don't recall seeing a why, but I'm fairly certain that is supposed to be included. Okay, if I can take a trip to any era that means that I have access to a time machine, which means, I really want to pay extra for an era hopping vacation. I'm also going to assume that they have fixed the problems that occur when you screw with the space-time continuum. You know kind of like that short story I read in high school where the guy goes back to the Jurassic era and steps off the path and kills a butterfly only to go back to his own time and realize that everything is really really screwed up - I don't remember the end and I think the movie The Butterfly Effect is based on it, or something similar - I didn't watch it.

There are two eras that I really want to know more about. Times where there is some confusion about what occurred. The reality of our world in it's in entirety, not just what fits neatly within the pre-determined mindset of today's politicians and historians.


1) Pre-History - The image is of Ireland, but it is Pre-History through out the world, because that is the time of magic and of the least understanding. Because scientists can claim knowledge of 10% of the world's fossil record. Meaning, for the entire world from the beginning of time we know only 10% of all creatures that have walked the earth. Most cultures who have never interacted have dragons, shape-shifters, elves, faeries/fairies and mermaids. I want to see if they are real. I want to see how right or wrong our history is. You know to see if something like JRR Tolkein's world existed before the one we know about.



2) Minoan Crete - Crete before it fell to the Greeks. During the height of their civilization. When they had indoor plumbing, air-conditioning, and three and four story buildings while the Greeks were still in one room-thatched huts or close to it. Minoan Crete had a Goddess based Religion and a merchant based, egalitarian society that we still haven't matched today. Women and men were equals, everyone had a chance to better themselves, and they had an island with no or very few war machines or warriors. They had a fleet of merchant ships that sailed and ruled the Mediterranean but no standing army. It is said, that the stories of Atlantis are based off Minoan Crete and the interactions the early Egyptians had with them. The current consensus is that a huge volcanic eruption on a nearby island buried the city in ash, and the survivors were then conquered by the Greeks.


There are lots of times and places I want to go and visit. And because of that butterfly effect, I wonder how different the world today would be if some things had happened. If the Spanish Inquisition hadn't happened. If someone had assassinated Adolph Hilter before he'd had a chance to kill 6 million Jews along with anyone else who didn't fit his warped ideals. If the US Civil War hadn't occurred. If we'd stayed out Vietnam or the World Trade Towers hadn't exploded.

Wondering what could have been or what other explanation there is for something is where ideas are born. And I'm looking forward to seeing what everyone else says this week.

Enjoy,
Simone.

Mid-year Check

Wait??? Is this another Fail Blog? Can I opt to go to a gyno appointment instead?? I hate failing.

*gritting teeth*

Okay...let's do this thing.

1. I resolve to manage my time more efficiently. Gosh...this was a good idea. Can I claim, I kinda do? I've definitely got somethings working but others are still not so great.

2. I plan to write 14 books in 2011. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA...No...

3. I resolve to be less critical. Still working on it. Definitely less critical than last year. Still needs improvement.

4. I will stop expecting people to change and stop being annoyed when they behave exactly as they always have. I'm doing pretty well on this one. Except...well, I find, sometimes, I like being annoyed. It's a hobby in some cases.

5. I will stop stressing so much. Actually, my stress level is a lot lower this year. I'm doing better and not freaking out over so many things. I've only had one true flip out, anxiety attack, I'm hyperventilating episode this year. Considering it's June, I think I'm doing darn well.

So what does that get me...this seems a lot like those Grade Yourself tests or the Evaluate Yourself performance reviews. Let's see...

Looks like a C- to me. Hey...not a total fail.

I think I need a drink.

Checking in with the morning report (and a nod to The Lion King)

I realize that title may confuse those of you who didn't spend much of the mid 90s watching The Lion King over and over and over and over and over. Whenever I hear the words morning and report anywhere in near proximity of each other, I also hear Zazu's dialogue in my head. Unfortunately for those reading this long winded explanation, I heard both of those words when I stared working on this post. Also, I haven't gotten a lot of sleep lately. And I'm a little squirrely.

Yeah...so the goals.

Am I sticking to them?

No...not really.

Well, that's not entirely true. I'm doing okay, not as well as I'd like, but honestly it's so much better than last this time last year. Well...if you don't count my last minute insane rush to meet my last deadline. We're not counting that, right?

Oh...we are?

Damn.

Okay, but still on the whole, I still maintain that I'm doing better.

I'm spending my mornings writing. Word War had been a brilliant help with this goal. Seriously, I think I'd be much less focused without it.

I handle important email as they come up, but I try to do it on the 15 minute Word War breaks.

I save most of the surfing for those breaks and in the evening.

I've been spending more family time at night - of course, a lot of it is homework related, but I'm still stopping to play (unless I've stupidly pushed a deadline).

I haven't tackled much sewing or crafting - other than making a spectacular new purse, recovering my iPhone case and painting birdhouses with the kids. But it's a start, and I plan to make some new clothes this weekend. Yay!

I've caught up on some reading - trying three new-to-me authors.

So have I completely turned over a new leaf? No, but I'm actively working on it. I think it's at least a third of the way over and I'm really pleased with the progress.

I think I'd rather have my teeth cleaned, thanks.

So let's see. In January this was what I wanted. Let's see how I'm doing yes?

1 - Simplify. Hmm. Not so much. I suppose I have bought less than I have in previous years. But I haven't gotten rid of anything. If anything my life seems more cluttered and hectic than it did just six months ago. Though now that the baby is crawling and walking and getting in to everything there is bound to be less room to manuever. So let's put this one in the 'not so far' catagory, shall we.

2. Get Healthy. Umm. Next.

3. Write More. Well woo hoo. Here is a big ol' check mark. I wrote a book in January/February, and I'm currently working on two more. So yes, I have definitely been writing more this year than last.

4. Me time. Yes and no. I have gotten to go out more than I did last year. I even made a new friend and we have gone to the bar together to do scratch off lottery tickets and drink Guiness. It's been quite fun. Granted, I could use a bubble bath and a glass of gin once in a while. But for the most part I am pretty happy with the time I've been allotted to myself.

As for the rest, well I'll just copy and paste: still smoking and still broke and still have a house full of crap. But f*ck it, I'm happy.

XoXoXo
Dakota