Special moments

I've been under the weather this week. I have a cold and I've not been doing much after work each day. I pick up something fast food for dinner, like I need that lol, and try to get in bed early. Then for the congestion I can't sleep.

I've been flipping through channels on our satellite service where normally I don't watch t.v. often. I saw several movies over the last several nights that I haven't seen in the longest time. You know those moments in the movie where you're glued to the screen wanting that moment that makes you laugh, cry, hope...

Remember The Man in the Iron Mask? The one from the 90's with Leonardo DiCaprio? I know. Lots of people didn't like that movie but I'll watch it when the opportunity presents itself. I love when Philipe, masquerading as his evil king brother, tries to comfort Christine when she comes to confront "Louis" about the murder of her true love. I love when D'Artagnan tells his son the truth about his lineage and how proud he is of him. I love the ending when they explain that the king known as Louis IX was remembered as the greater ruler of his nation. (happy sigh)

Ever feel like that?

Independence Day has come on every day this week. lol I love when Will Smith's character marries his girlfriend while David and Constance join hands, remembering they once loved each other. David still wears his wedding ring though they divorced years before.

I'd never seen Eight Below before and almost didn't watch it because I just knew there would be an animal death(s) and I don't handle that well. While I was right, oh what a wonderful movie. (Paul Walker is fun to look at too lol) I love the moment when the dog came running to him. I loved Max's devotion to Maya at the end. (eyes getting moist)

You may not like the entire movie but there are those special moments that make it all worth it. That make you watch the movie 200 times before you die. That's why I'm a writer. I just want to hit that note once in a while. Not always. Just some of the time.

Buenos Noches!

Lauren

October's off to a wonderful start

Finally my day job is slowing down and I'm so happy about that. I've got about three writing projects going and I'd like to finish at least one of them, polish it, and submit it somewhere before the year's end. lol

I got my final copies of Sofia's Lobo sent to Red Sage. I'm still so excited about having a release with them that I don't know what to do with myself. As soon as I have news on it, I'll post it here.

In the meantime it's high sports season here and I had some friends over this afternoon to watch baseball. I'm not a big fan of it, it moves incredibly slow sometimes, but we had a great time. I made an appetizer for my friends you might like to try. Let me know if you do try it and what you thought.

Mexican Stuffed Mushrooms

Ingredients
1 can dced green chilies
1 can tomato sauce
1 garlic clove, minced
1/3 cup thinly sliced green onions
1/4 lb jalapeno/jack cheese,
12 lg mushrooms
2 cup unseasoned stuffing mix
2 ts salad oil
3/4 ts chili powder
3/4 ts ground cumin

Remove mushroom stems and trim, and finely chop stems. In a medium frying pan over medium heat, combine stems, onions, garlic, cumin, chili powder, and 1/4 cup water. Stir frequently until vegetables begin to brown. Add 2 tablespoons water, scraping the pan, and repeat. Add tomato sauce, chilies, and 1/2 the cheese. Remove from heat and gently stir in stuffing. Rub mushrooms with oil. Set cup side up in a 9x13" pan. Mound all the filling into caps. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake in a 400F. oven until cheese is lightly browned, 15-20 minutes. Makes 6-8 servings

Oh, I wrote about 3300 words this week. Not bad.

Buenos Noches!

Lauren

Making good on that progress idea

Yes, since I last blogged, I've actually made progress in writing. I'm back on track. And it does feel good. I've written about 3,200 words in a week. Not great but not bad, right? The day job is still crazy but should slow down like next weekish. Then I might even have time for creative cooking too. lol You never know. =)

Buenos Noches,

Lauren

Making progress

I was on such a high on getting the contract from Red Sage, I'm still celebrating, that I fell away from my writing routine. That's a terrible thing to do. For me, it's like exercising. And believe me, that's something I need to do far more of. lol

Seriously, I don't know many people who actually LIKE to exercise. Do you? I have friends who are really into it. They go to the gym and have the home treadmills and workout DVD's. But do they get up in the morning and say "I can't wait to do my 40 minutes of cardio"?

No. lol

For me, writing is the same thing. Maybe it's my newness but I dread writing. What if my story falls flat? What if I say something stupid? What if my single sale was just a fluke?

So every day, I dread writing. I know I should, like I know I should exercise. I know I have to. Especially now since I did sell something. And just like exercising, once I've written? I feel incredible. I'm in a good mood all day.

For the last week, I wrote nothing. What did I feel? Guilty. Like a failure. I did everything BUT write. I even pulled out all of my dishes one day to clean the cabinet shelves because I convinced myself it was far more important than my little meandering stories. How sad is that?

Today, I reasoned with myself. I could continue on procrastinating and make myself feel worse. OR I could get to work. So I rolled up my sleeves and wrote a little over 400 words on the one story. I got stuck so I stopped and went over to the other story and did about 550 words. I feel VERY good now! lol The one story is about 4k so far, the other 2k.

The point is I made forward progress. It doesn't have to be perfect or brilliant or even good.

It just has to be...

Buenos noches,

Lauren

Another week passes and I'm very happy...

So my first story is coming out soon from Red Sage. It's a spicy ethnic novella entitled Sofia's Lobo.

Sofia Tijerina has returned to her native Mexico to capture the ghost that haunts the Rio Grande, La Llorona, on film for her reality show This Old Haunted House. Antonio Valdes, the sexy werewolf lover she left six years ago, is a terrible distraction and a temptation she can't resist now that he's reentered her life. When Sofia begins to have visions of the female ghost, she realizes that Antonio is tied to the mystery of the spirit's fate. Will the secrets he kept from Sofia all those years ago resurface to tear them apart once again?

I'm so excited about this. I've been a fan of Red Sage for years, I've read every story from Angela Knight to Cynthia Eden but I never dared to hope when I sent in my ten pages that I'd ever be there. ;)

Soon I will be and I can't be anything but humbled by that.

I'm working on two stories at the moment when I have the time. I've been working some overtime lately and I'm so tired when I get home from work. But don't I have incentive now? One story is about a woman who gets more than she bargained for when she signs up to be a nude model for an art class. The other is about a woman who inherited a Spanish castle and two very sexy personal bodyguards. ;)

I'll catch you up on my recipes when I get a chance. Right now, I'm off for sleep.

Buenos Noches,

Lauren

Very good news coming soon...

Darn it, it's not official so I can't really announce it yet but I have to tell someone! lol And considering all my ramblings so far, it's not really hard to guess what that news might be now is it? More soon...

The Brava Novella Contest aka crap I did it!

I'd told myself that I'm new and I'm not even going to try that. I'm not even published yet. Who am I kidding?

Then I thought, what do I have to lose really? So I took an bit out of a paranormal I'm working on and sent it in before I had time to talk myself out of it. LOL

Wish me luck!

Lauren