Chris Paynter, Author

Reality....

2012-02-10T11:06:00.002-05:00

As I suspected, the phone call a week ago from the doctor's office was a mistake. What the woman should have said is "the results were inconclusive" and never uttered the words "good news" or "benign." The biopsy results came back on the second procedure my dad had done, and it is lung cancer. The next step is an appointment with the oncologist on February 14, the same day Phyllis has her D and C. Her procedure is at 6:45 a.m. I'm hoping I can get her settled at home and resting, then accompany my parents to the oncologist appointment in the afternoon.

I'm glad I was able to talk to my parents and make sure they didn't accept the "benign" diagnosis but rather wait until this next procedure. That I thought it meant the doctor hadn't gotten enough of the mass for an accurate pathology report. And thank God, we were all being realists about this. It doesn't take away the anger I have with the phone call giving my parents that little bit of hope last Friday morning. It wasn't handled right. At all.

My parents sound remarkably okay over the phone. I wasn't able to go to the pulmonologist appointment yesterday afternoon. I was at my own appointment on the far northside and couldn't be reached. Phyllis and I didn't find out until last night. In order to get their minds off everything, my parents went to the casino and didn't get back until late. After we got off the phone, Phyllis started crying. I held her. Then it was her turn to hold me while I cried.

I'm sitting here listening to my "Most Relaxing Classical Music in the Universe" double CD. Samuel Barber's "Adagio for Strings" just played. It's such a haunting melody and it fits my mood. Now, I think I'll put in some Melissa Etheridge and tune out the world.

Sometimes, reality sucks.

From one extreme to the other....

2012-02-03T14:22:00.002-05:00

This morning, on our way to Phyllis's doctor's appointment, we got a phone call from my parents. The pulmonologist's office called and said, "We have good news. It's benign." But they also scheduled another procedure for my dad next Wednesday where he has blood work done at 6:30 a.m., plus some other procedure where he's put under and is asleep for four hours. My parents were a little sketchy on details. I don't know if this is where the doctor goes through the chest wall with a needle. He said he thought he had gotten to the mass but wasn't sure if he got enough tissue. I do know whatever my dad is having done Wednesday is to confirm 100% that it is NOT cancer. I just don't know if it's the procedure the pulmonologist had talked about on Tuesday.

While I'm very happy about this report, I'm almost afraid to be too happy. I don't think I will be completely relieved until they confirm everything.

I don't know how the doctor could stand there and say, "Yes, it is cancer" and start talking about chemo and radiology. I almost want to smack him when I see him again for putting us through this if it does turn out to be benign, which I hope to God it does. I tried calling my mom and dad, but I think they may be out celebrating at the casino.

I hope to be completely ecstatic when they get the results back from this latest procedure.

Phyllis's D and C is scheduled for February 14. The doctor explained everything to us this morning, that he wasn't worried about the fibroids. But he is concerned about the bleeding and the thickening of the lining of the uterus. I look forward to the end of this month when alllll of this is resolved. I feel like a yo-yo or that I've been on a roller coaster, you know? At least a roller coaster of emotions....

Waiting for the prognosis...

2012-02-02T18:40:00.002-05:00

My dad's bronchoscopy showed a large mass that the pulmonologist said was cancer. He showed me the images on the computer screen. The photographic image looks exactly like a photo I saw in a medical text book in college showing a lung with a malignancy. Knowing it's your dad's... I don't know how to explain it. It seems surreal. And talking to the doctor, I almost felt like I wasn't there as I asked questions with a detachment--like it wasn't me asking the question. It was after he walked away that I allowed it to sink in. But I know none of this has hit me the way it will in the coming months. I have periods when I cry, then they pass. My dreams have been disjointed, so that when I wake up, I don't really feel like I've rested.

I'm trying to stay busy. My day job is helping in that regard. But I need to do my own writing. I'm sitting here listening to Elvis's "Ultimate Gospel." I try to draw comfort from little things like this.

Tomorrow is the visit to Phyllis's doctor appointment. We'll see how that goes. Just spoke with my dad. I've been dreading picking up the phone when I see it's my parents' number. His doctor's office called while they were out. He has to go through another procedure. The doctor must not have gotten all the way to the mass. He had told me if they didn't, they'd have to go through the chest wall. That will probably be next week.

On a totally different note, it's been crazy here in Indy with the Super Bowl and it got crazier with the out-of-towners arriving today. It's cool, though. Phyllis is working at the City County Building's observatory deck tonight, running the elevator until ten. She said Lucas Oil Stadium looks fantastic with spotlights and a huge Super Bowl XLVI sign out front.

Okay... time for dinner. Thank you, Elvis, for these songs.

What is the purpose of a blog?

2012-01-27T19:37:00.004-05:00

I remember way back when, asking a friend, "What the hell is a blog?" She explained it's like a diary or something similar where you tell people out in cyberspace your thoughts, experiences, etc. and they can comment back. I thought... huh. Then did nothing with it because I had no need.

Fast forward to 2009 when Playing for First was published. I bought a domain and using a template, designed my website. I posted my goings-on there. But then I thought, hmm... would readers be more apt to read a blog? So, like other authors, I started a blog. Once I did, I was never sure the limitations I should put on the posts. Should it be about my writing? Yes. Should I talk about other fun stuff? Yeah. But what about my home life? Where do you draw the line? I decided to err on the side of caution and keep things pretty general. I remember commenting to another author once when talking about my own blog: "I have no idea who reads this s***." Occasionally, I'd get a comment or a reader would come up to me at GCLS and say, "I saw on your blog..." But I had no real feel if I was on the "right" track. I watched what other authors wrote and still wasn't sure of myself.

Well, tonight, that stops. Tonight, I write about what is close to my heart and not worry if it's right or wrong or how others view it. I write for me and will continue to do so for the next several months. If anything, it will be a catharsis.

Monday, my dad had a chest x-ray because his heart doctor didn't like what he was hearing. At all. By the time my parents got home, there was a message on their phone. There is a mass in his left lung. I went to the pulmonologist with him Tuesday. The mass is into the chest wall. Wednesday, he had a CT scan. Next Tuesday, he goes in for a biopsy.

My dad has smoked almost his entire life, since the age of seven. He grew up in a period when it was considered cool--the 1940s. No Surgeon General warnings. No dire predictions as to how it would affect your health. Of course over the years, things changed. Doctors did become aware of the dangers of tobacco use. My father tried quitting on numerous occasions, especially in recent years. But nicotine is a hard addiction to break. Especially smoking the hard stuff like my dad does.

Even though I've been worried for quite some time, it's still a shock to your system when facing what we think he's facing. We of course won't know for certain until after the biopsy. But I don't think it's a good sign when a doctor uses words like "I don't like what I'm hearing," "This is not good," and "it's very probable it's cancer."

My dad and I are very close. I've always been more like his youngest son than his only daughter. This week, things keep flashing in my mind like going fishing with him as a kid and having him tell me, "Sis, you have to be very quiet or the fish will hear you and stay away." When I got older, I realized it was his way of keeping his daughter from chattering nonsense while fishing. I was an unusual child in that when we'd visit other Air Force buddies, rather than go and play with the kids, I'd prefer to stay out and listen to and talk to the adults. My dad always allowed it.

Because of his love of history, I learned a love for history, especially World War II and Civil War history. We'd talk about Normandy and the great odds the Allied soldiers faced there. We'd talk about Hitler and his generals. About Eisenhower and Patton. About the concentration camps. About the battles. And I became enthralled with hearing about Lee and Grant and the Civil War battlefields. About Chancellorsville, Gettysburg. The ineptitude of McClellan. About Lincoln who quickly became my favorite President.

My dad taught me my love of sports. I remember watching the Chicago Bears on a little black and white TV and deciding Dick Butkus was my favorite player. I kept questioning my dad until I understood the various calls the officials made. Because my dad served in the Air Force at Wright Patterson AFB, he'd get tickets to the Cincinnati Reds games during the height of the Big Red Machine. My brother and I would go down with him to as many games as we could. It's only fitting that Pete Rose broke the all-time hits record on my dad's birthday. We'd also discuss how, if a woman could play on a professional men's team, it'd be Major League baseball.

I fell in love with old black and white movies because of my dad. Movies like The Ghost and Mrs. Muir with Gene Tierney. Claudette Colbert in Since You Went Away. Jimmy Stewart in It's a Wonderful Life....

I started thinking about it and realized how much all this influenced my writing with Playing for First and Two for the Show and Amy Perry playing first base for the Reds. With my most recent release, Survived by Her Longtime Companion, I called on that love for old movies and movie stars when writing about the character of Daphne DeMonet.

All of these snippets of my 50 years with my dad have been running through my mind.

Phyllis is facing surgery in February after abnormal test results. We won't know until after that surgery what the outcome will be, but there's a very good chance there will be further surgery. Of course I'm praying for the best, but at the same time I'm very worried--for my dad and my wife.

This has been a tough week and I anticipate tougher ones ahead. I hope to be strong for my mom who is understandably taking this extremely hard. She's also not in the best of health. I hope to be strong for Phyllis. In the meantime, I'm turning to what has given me solace in life--my writing. Whether it's to blog or to work on my next book, From Third to Home.

So... what is the purpose of a blog? I finally decided it really doesn't matter.

Happy Holidays to All!

2011-12-18T13:01:00.002-05:00

With the coming holiday week, I want to take the time to wish everyone Happy Holidays! If you're traveling, may your travels be safe. If you're staying home, may you stay cuddly and warm, surrounded by the love of good friends and family.

I also want to take the time to thank all the readers! I know myself how tight it is, especially to have any extra money to spend on books. Thanks for spending some of that money on my books and on other authors' books. And I'd especially like to thank those who take the time to write to tell me what you think of my books, either an e-mail or a quick note on Facebook.

Survived by Her Longtime Companion is still scheduled for release next month. If you'd like to read an excerpt, please go here: http://www.ckpaynter.com/excerptsurvivedbyherlongtimecompanion.html. Let me know what you think!

Again, Happy Holidays to all!

"Um... honey, we're in South Carolina."

2011-11-12T16:58:00.008-05:00

Phyllis and I just returned from a trip to Charis Books and More in Atlanta to celebrate Charis's 37th Birthday on Saturday, November 5. We had a great time. We met up with fellow Blue Feather buddies Jane Vollbrecht, Mavis Applewater, and Renee MacKenzie. We came down last year to help celebrate, and it was good to be back again. Charis co-owner Angela Gabriel is always lots of fun. While I was there, I set up a date for my book launch of Survived by Her Longtime Companion.

The book will be released in January 2012. The book launch at Charis is scheduled for Friday, February 24, 2012 from 7:30 to 9:00 p.m. We're looking forward to going back to Atlanta.

Well, maybe the next time we drive down, we'll drive back the way we're supposed to. I... uh... went the wrong way on I-85 leaving Atlanta. Wouldn't you think that if you came in on I-85 south, you'd go back on I-85 north? Um... no. I didn't look at the directions before we left, totally convinced we were heading back the right way. Imagine my surprise when I see a "Welcome to South Carolina" sign.

Phyllis was semi-dozing when I said, "Wow. We're in South Carolina." That immediately got her into an upright position and with a quick, "Pull in here," we made the turn to a diner/gas station. Me being me, I asked if she'd go in for directions. I'm a butch... go figure. We were an hour outside of Atlanta. We headed to Spartensburg then drove back on I-26 and I-40. I do have to say this. What a gorgeous drive! lol The weather down there was warmer so the trees hadn't all turned. When I told my dad this, he said, "You're trying to make yourself feel better for screwing up." lol At least I can now say I've been to South Carolina!

My travel to Dallas on Tuesday, November 8 for the Jewel LesFic Book Club discussion of Playing for First wasn't as eventful. Probably because I wasn't driving. After all, I don't have much control over the pilot. Sandy Thornton, the facilitator and my hostess, was absolutely fabulous, as was the group. We had a lively discussion of writing and about the book, plus I read from Playing for First, Two for the Show, and gave a sneak peek of Survived by Her Longtime Companion. I also had the pleasure of meeting someone whose work I greatly admire, Bold Strokes author Carsen Taite. She even interviewed me for her vlog. It was fun. You can find it here: http://lesbianauthors.wordpress.com/2011/11/09/batter-up/. I'd love to go back and visit again. I hope Phyllis can go with me next time because I missed her.

As you can guess, the final edit is done for SBHLC. The cover is finalized, as well as the back cover blurb. You can find that here: http://www.ckpaynter.com/comingsoon.htm. I did write a blurb, but trust me, Nann Dunne, my editor, wrote a much better one. lol Let's just say, it's reeeeeally hard to narrow a 80,000-word novel down to 200 or so words.

I'm currently working on another romance, plus crystalizing what I want to do with From Third to Home, the third in the Playing for First series. It will be the final book in the series. I want to get it right.

I think that's about it for now! Those who celebrate Thanksgiving, I hope your day is full of blessings and the warmth of home.

Driving to Milwaukee Friday!

2011-07-06T18:16:00.002-04:00

Phyllis and I made it back from Orlando last month and are trying to get back into the swing of things. As soon as we returned, we had to get our house ready for the next tenants. It seemed like one thing snowballed into another.

We're heading to Wisconsin Friday to visit with our friend Cathy Rowlands and her partner AND to attend a reading at Outwords Books, 2710 N. Murray Ave., Milwaukee on Saturday, July 9 at 1:00. Cathy, Anne Laughlin, and Martha Miller (all from Bold Strokes Books) and I (Blue Feather Books) will read from our latest, as well as future releases. We'll also help celebrate Outwords' 18th anniversary. If you live in the area, we'd love to see you there Saturday!

It'll be nice to get away again. Honestly, I love to drive because it allows me complete alone time with Phyllis. It seems we solve the problems of the universe on our trips.

On the writing front, I've started working on From Third to Home again. Now that Two for the Show is released and I know the plotlines that have changed, I'm able to go forward. I've already fixed the opening because of one change in TFTS.

When we return, I hope to post some photos here and Facebook from our reading. I'm really looking forward to this because I love talking to the readers afterwards during any Q&A we have.

That's all for now!

"My bags are packed, I'm ready to go. . . ."

2011-06-06T16:24:00.002-04:00

". . . outside the taxi is blowing his horn. . . ." lalalalala

Phyllis and I are packed for the GCLS Conference. The only thing left for me to do is get my tux and all its accessories all tucked away neatly in its own personal suitcase. Phyllis somehow packed it last year so that it didn't wrinkle. Not sure how. . . which is why I'm going to ask her to supervise. ;-)

We're excited! Haven't had a vacation together in two years. . . well at least not one that's a week long like this one. Phyllis didn't go last year and I wandered around like a lost puppy. I had great friends who helped cheer me up, but it wasn't the same without her. Unfortunately, my left knee is acting up. And by "acting up," I don't mean it's spouting Shakespeare. I have a bum knee and have for years since I injured it playing tennis. Not sure what's up. The muscle below in my calf hurts and I've had pain in the knee, too. All swollen. I've been popping ibuprofen to try to get the inflammation down. The weird thing is, I can't remember hurting it. I kinda wonder if I pulled some muscles. Oh well. I'm getting on that DAMN PLANE. lol! If any of you GCLS attendees see me hobbling along down there, just ignore it. :-) I plan to DANCE with Phyllis after the awards show. Even if it's on one leg.

Buddy is starting to suspect, I do believe. In fact, he's already told me he wants my laptop when I'm done so he can't voice his suspicions on his blog.

To all who are coming to the GCLS Conference, looking forward to seeing you! If we haven't met, please come up and chat with me. I love to talk books, which is good since it's a literary conference, huh? ;-) To those who couldn't make it, I hope to see you next year in Minneapolis.

On the writing front, I've gone through my next release Survived by Her Longtime Companion with a fine-tooth comb in preparation for Jane's edit which will be after the Conference. I'm realistic and know she'll find plotholes I didn't see. I know there'll be rewriting involved, but I think she'll like the book. It should be out after the first of the year. When I get back from the Conference, I'll be working on From Third to Home, the third book in the Playing for First Series.

Well, Buddy just sighed, which means his patience has run out. I'll chat again when I get home. That is if Buddy isn't hogging my laptop.

A reminder I'll be on Lara Zielinsky's Radio Blog Show...

2011-05-19T17:59:00.002-04:00

... tonight at 10:30 PM. Here's the link if you want to listen and join in on the discussion: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/lara-zielinsky/2011/05/20/chris-paynter. Hope to hear from you! If you don't listen to the show live, it's always available to listen to later.

I found out last Saturday that Come Back to Me also was shortlisted for the Ann Bannon Popular Choice Award. Voting by GCLS members comes to an end May 21 at midnight. So if you're members, feel free to vote soon and often for CBTM. LOL! Seriously, you only get one vote and I hope everyone votes for their favorite book, regardless of what it is. It's just an honor to be up for the award with the other finalists: Lynn Ames, Fay Jacobs, Rachel Spangler, Georgia Beers, Amy Dawson Robertson, Pat Cronin, Kim Baldwin & Xenia Alexiou.

The Conference is fast approaching. Every year, it seems once January hits, the months just fly by. We're looking forward to meeting up with old friends and making new ones. I'm especially looking forward to meeting Laurie Salzler, Bev Prescott, and other newly signed Blue Feather authors. And of course there are the other members of the BF family.... I'm on a panel this year with Karin Kallmaker and Marianne Martin talking about piracy of ebooks. I had the frustrating experience of a website offering free downloads of Playing for First last November. Since then, I've wanted to speak out about my experience and offer any help to other authors who may go through the same thing. I hope to have a handout/packet available at the panel discussion to offer to those who attend.

On the writing front, I'm about 10,000 words into another romance and plan to finish it before I then get going on From Third to Home, the third book in the PFF Series. I had started FTTH, but decided to wait to see what Jane thought before I got too far.

On the reading front, I'm about halfway through Bett Norris's debut novel, Miss McGhee. Wow. What a well-written book. I was reading parts of it out loud to Phyllis. Beautiful prose. I know Bett has the sequel out now, What's Best for Jane. I plan to read that, too. If you've not read Miss McGhee, I highly recommend it.

Well, I think that's all for now. In about four hours, I'll be chatting with Lara. Again, hope to hear from you. If you can't make it, go to that link and leave some messages. Lara will read the messages during the show.

Just had a wonderful week!

2011-05-08T17:17:00.002-04:00

A lot happened this past week! Last Saturday, I found out that Come Back to Me was shortlisted for a Goldie in the Traditional Contemporary Romance category. The award winners will be announced at the annual Golden Crown Literary Society Conference in Orlando, Florida, at the awards ceremony, Saturday, June 11. This year will be so much more special for me because Phyllis will make the trip. It just wasn't the same last June without her. At all.

Sunday, May 1, Emily Reed, my publisher, announced the release of my latest novel, Two for the Show, the second in the Playing for First Series. Trade paperbacks are available through my publisher, www.bluefeatherbooks.com and through Bella Books, www.bellabooks.com. Bella also carries the e-book version of Two for the Show for all you e-bookers out there!

My books arrived at our doorstep on Wednesday, May 4. That's always a treat, opening the box and pulling out the first copy. It's such a magical feeling when I hold the book in my hand for the first time. I don't think it will ever get old.

We spent Mother's Day at my parents' house. We had a cook-out. Buddy decided to get in on the action by swiping the bun to my smoked sausage. How he got the bun and left the smoked sausage on the table, I have NO idea. It was like that tablecloth trick. You know? Where you pull the tablecloth really fast and leave all the dishes in place. He's a bread nut. Not because of us giving it to him, either. He's simply a thief and gets to it if it's close to the edge of the table. Unfortunately, my smoked sausage sandwich was too much of a temptation. Needless to say, he was banished outdoors until we were done eating. But it was great spending the time with Mom and Dad. And it was nice giving them their copies of Two for the Show.

Well, time to relax for the rest of the evening. I hope everyone enjoyed Mother's Day today!

Lots of good news!!

2011-04-25T18:21:00.008-04:00

The cover was finalized for Two for the Show. I think Ann Phillips, Blue Feather's graphic artist, kicked butt! We've signed off on the PDF. It was uploaded at the printer and Jane has told me the galley proof looks great! Soooooo... look for a release announcement hopefully later this week from Emily Reed, my publisher.

Also, April 13, I had the pleasure of having Come Back to Me reviewed by Pamela Bigelow of Lambda Literary Reviews. Here's a little of what she had to say:

"Chris Paynter’s second book, Come Back to Me (Blue Feather) is well-written, with an interesting setting, and characters any reader can care for. Her pacing keeps the story flowing. Even though the reader may know what’s coming, there are enough twists and turns to keep the reader in the story until the end of the book."

For the complete review, please visit Lambda Literary.org's website at this link: http://www.lambdaliterary.org/reviews/04/13/come-back-to-me-chris-paynter/.

AND, just today, I received the news that Come Back to Me was voted by Lesbian Fiction Readers Choice Award members as one of the Top 5 Favorite Romances for 2010.

I'm definitely floating around here and simultaneously doing my Snoopy happy dance.

Speaking of beagles, Buddy the Wonder Dog has lost five pounds since his last visit! He still has about eight pounds to go, but he's lookin' good! We were very glad to see him after our trip to Cleveland this past weekend for the Easter holiday. It's nice to visit Phyllis's family, but it's always good to get back home.

I'll be back soon with the announcement of the release of Two for the Show.

Tuesday... nothing day

2011-03-08T20:11:00.002-05:00

I've long held the belief that Tuesday is the most nothing day of the week. Let's look at the days:

Monday, Monday ... first day of the work week. Ugh. But it serves a purpose, if only to allow us to say, "I'm okay for a Monday."
Wednesday... hump day.
Thursday... my favorite day of the week, actually. 'Cuz the next day is Friday so you're starting to get excited.
Friday... IT'S FRIDAY!! WOOO HOOO!
Saturday and Sunday ... the weekend. YAY!

Now, I ask you, Where does Tuesday come in? Except to be stuck in between Monday and Wednesday. Blech. I say, "Let's abolish Tuesdays!!

That's my rant for, well, Tuesday.

On the writing front, I've gone through the first rewrite of Two for the Show, my next release. I'm getting more and more excited! I'm anxious for readers and fans of Amy, Lisa, and Frankie to fall in love with Stacy McCrady, Amy's partner, like I did when I wrote the book. She's a sweetheart.

Just got tickets to see k.d. lang at the new Palladium in Carmel here north of Indianapolis. This place recently opened and is supposed to have some of the best acoustics in the world. Can't wait until June 22!! We've seen her twice before, but this one will top 'em all. God. I can just hear her voice rising up and echoing throughout that hall. *sigh*

On a totally unrelated note, we're watching Glee. Gwyneth Paltrow is in this one. I can't remember if this is a rerun. I remember seeing one where she sings "Singing in the Rain" at the end, but I didn't catch the rest of it. She's hilarious in this and she's so talented. I'll always say Cate Blanchett should have won the Oscar for Elizabeth the year she won for Shakespeare in Love, but oh well. She just finished dancing and singing to "Kiss" with the director of the glee club, whose name I can't remember. Um... I just have to say this ... Gwyneth has some gorgeous legs. ;-)

And on that note, I'm signing off... for a TUESDAY.

All is good...well, except for the weather

2011-02-05T20:46:00.003-05:00

If I see one more "Winter Storm Warning" or "Winter Weather Advisory" or "Winter Whatever," I'm gonna puke. I'm sure my friends on the east coast and upstate New York are laughing at me. But, I'm in Indianapolis where we maybe get a few major snows for the winter. Not a major snow every other day. And the forecasters? They suck. Sorry, but they do. lol Especially since we were due 1-2 inches today according to them and ended with 5.

On the good news front, I had my surgery a week ago and my follow-up appt with the breast surgeon yesterday. She excised the lesion plus some surrounding tissue, which all, thank God, came back benign. I have another follow-up in three months.

More on the good news front, Phyllis and I bought our plane tickets for Orlando and the Golden Crown Literary Society Conference, June 9-12. The next step is to reserve our hotel room, which will come once they get that up on the GCLS website. If you love lesfic and would like to meet and mingle with authors and other readers, this is the Conference for you. It's a blast. This will be my third. I'm looking forward to it even more this year since Phyllis was unable to attend last summer because of her broken foot. I felt lost down there, even though I still had fun with friends. It wasn't the same.

Anyway...I encourage you to join the GCLS if you haven't already done so. It's only $20 for a year's membership. Visit the GCLS website, www.goldencrown.org. You'll find links on there to the Conference and how to purchase tickets.

I'll be excited since Two for the Show, the sequel to Playing for First, will be out in time to discuss with everyone (and to sign copies!). I hope to see you in June! (don't worry; I'll promote it a LOT more between now and then)

Late Christmas present

2010-12-27T18:26:00.003-05:00

I received a call from the radiologist this morning with the results from the biopsy: I have a mucocele-like lesion which is benign and not atypical. He said that two courses of action are available: be referred to a surgeon for consultation and have it excised or opt for "close" monitoring. I've already received a phone call from my referring physician's office. I'll be referred on to a surgeon at the hospital.

I've never heard of a "mucocele-like lesion," which after looking it up makes sense. It's considered rare. Go figure. I took comfort in that the radiologist said that because the lesion is small, it's very likely they took enough of the tissue to be accurate in their findings. After reading about these things, I have a pretty good idea the surgeon will suggest having it excised. While that's not the best of news, it's so much better than the alternative.

I guess I've created a mini-diary here of my medical procedures. The next step is the surgeon's visit.

Not exactly what I'd planned on for Christmas

2010-12-22T20:39:00.002-05:00

What started out as a routine yearly mammogram has morphed into what's called a "vacuum assisted core needle biopsy." I'm used to getting the typical "everything is fine" letter in the mail about a week after my mammograms. I hadn't gotten anything and really didn't pay that much attention. Then I received a phone call, saying they'd like me to come back in.

I had myself convinced that the mammogram tech had screwed up or that a previous surgical scar threw them off. But when I went in, I was told, "oh, no, this is in a different area entirely." And then that it was "larger on this year's mammogram." I thought, heck, I didn't know it was there last year. I was scheduled for an ultrasound on the 10th. The ultrasound tech said they were pretty sure it was a cyst and nothing further would probably be needed, but she'd have to consult with the radiologist. She comes back a few minutes later to say I needed to be scheduled for an aspiration.

Today, I went in for the aspiration. Of course they couldn't get fluid from the cyst after going from one needle to a larger one. Hence, the "vacuum assisted core needle biopsy." Um. This was one honkin' big needle. I swear it looked like a darning needle. And what was weird was it actually sounded like a vacuum when they took out the various tissue samples.

The assistant to the doctors didn't help matters by saying, "I wasn't prepared for a biopsy today" in a cheerful voice. Then again cheerfully chirping, "Merry Christmas" after she finished with my mammogram to make sure this little clip was in place to show where they'd done the biopsy. I wanted to smack her upside the head.

So, now I get to wait until Monday or Tuesday of next week for the biopsy results. They assured me that it could still be a cyst. I am taking comfort in that they did take numerous samples at least.

I'm trying to be optimistic. Phyllis was saying that the waiting is what's hard. And even though I'm sore now and the biopsy wasn't a pleasant procedure at all, I do agree that the procedure is much easier than the waiting.

I think I'll try to do some writing in the next couple of days and over the weekend to get my mind off of things. Maybe Amy, Lisa, Frankie, and Stacy can help me forget about my troubles, if only for a little while.

Anyway, may you all have a very Happy Holiday season. And may your new year be full of hope, promise, and joy.

Great trip to Atlanta and Charis....

2010-11-06T20:30:00.003-04:00

The book signing today at Charis in Atlanta in celebration of their 36th birthday was a blast. It was good seeing everyone again at the bookstore. I also purchased books and enjoyed talking to Jane and the other authors. This will probably be my last book signing/reading until spring with the winter weather settling in here soon.

The drive down was beautiful. Since we visited Jane first, we took a different route and drove through Kentucky and the mountains of Tennessee and North Carolina. When Phyllis took over driving about halfway down, I was able to enjoy the view from the passenger seat. I think the word I kept repeating was, "wow." And when we hit North Carolina and the mountains there, Phyllis said it best: "Truly the magnificence of God."

When I wasn't driving, I worked through my latest book and should be sending it into Jane and Em this week. Sometimes, this is the hardest part of writing...knowing when to let go. But it's time for Eleanor to tell her story to someone other than me.

It's nice to get away, but it's always a good feeling to sleep in our own bed again. We leave tomorrow morning for Indy. I know this sounds a little Dorothy-ish, but there really is "no place like home."

A good feeling

2010-10-28T22:10:00.002-04:00

"Finishing" a book is always a good feeling, but it especially feels good on this one. Because of the nature of this story, I thought the best way to approach it was to write in third and first person. I wasn't sure if it'd work, but going back through it recently, I believe I've pulled it off. I'd said in an earlier post that one of the main characters, Eleanor, was in control of this one, and that never changed. She'd speak to me sometimes when I was at work and I knew by the time I got home, I'd be writing long into the night. Other times, when I wanted to write, she was silent, playing hard to get.

It's a romance. Actually two romances wrapped into one book. I love writing the Playing for First series because I love baseball. But this one's touched my heart. I hope it touches readers in the same way.

Watching my wife go through a rough summer...

2010-09-21T22:21:00.003-04:00

Phyllis broke her foot in two places on Memorial Day, the day before we were to leave for Orlando and the GCLS Conference. After many tears and discussion and after a visit to the doctor's office, we realized she couldn't make it to Orlando and be comfortable. Off to Cleveland she went for her family to watch over her for the week and I went to Florida, miserable and lost without her. After trying the boot and hoping it'd heal both breaks, she finally consented to surgery to insert a screw on July 20. Another eight weeks ensued and today she received the glorious news that she's free from the boot. The foot is now 90% healed. She'll have to be careful and it'll be back to the doctor/surgeon in three weeks for a final look-see, but she can now wear two shoes and not just one.

It's been a summer of lessons for her in patience and acceptance that I didn't mind taking care of her. That I love her and I wouldn't have it any other way. She's learned that she can't do everything. I know she went through some depression--she's never had anything like this happen before. She's never been knocked off her feet--literally. Phyllis is a "go go go" woman. It's hard to hear "slow slow slow" and accept it.

But through it all, this has made us even closer. I didn't think that was possible. Life sometimes throws these things at you, though, and God teaches you that there's an even deeper love than either of you knew was possible.

I just thank God that she's healed.

When a character takes control of a book...

2010-08-28T15:15:00.003-04:00

Fellow authors understand the phenomenon when a character decides when, where, how much, and what you'll write. With the other novels I've written (Playing for First, Come Back to Me, and Two for the Show), I've not had a character take over as much as this character, Eleanor, in my latest novel, a romance. In the book, she is telling her story to two other main characters and in the course of setting the pace with them, she's doing the same with me. There will be a night where she's very talkative and I'll write 3,000+ words. This will be followed by two nights of 2,000+ words and then maybe two nights where she has nothing to say at all. And it's not that I'm slacking off in my writing. I've never done that before and doubt that I ever will. It's that she doesn't want to tell me her story one night, just as she's told the two main characters to "come back tomorrow morning."

It's a fascinating process. I've written 33,500 words so far, know where I'm going in the book, but also am very where that Eleanor will only lead me there in her good time.

Those who aren't writers may think all of this sounds a little far fetched--"Right. Your characters talk to you. Sure." But as I said, those who do write will know exactly what I'm saying.

Sometimes Eleanor frustrates me, but I only hope that when the book is done, she'll be pleased with the finished project. She's such a remarkable woman, I wouldn't want to disappoint her.

What do you want to be when you grow up?

2010-07-31T22:12:00.003-04:00

The words "President of the United States" never slipped passed my lips. And neither did the words, "daughter of the President of the United States." Of course my dad being in the Air Force with no aspirations at political office helped color my response. My mom never wanted to go into politics either. But I wonder how hard that life is, being under constant scrutiny as Chelsea Clinton has been since her father was President and then her mother went on to the Senate, a run at the White House, and now Secretary of State. What about this weekend and the wedding? I have to admire Bill and Hillary for trying to make it as "normal" as possible for her. And to those out there bemoaning the money spent on the wedding...get a life! It's their only daughter and they have the money. I say let her have the wedding she wants and to hell with what anyone else thinks.

Phyllis has been so cute all weekend, though, trying to find anything and everything she can on the wedding coverage. I had to tease her a little.

But back to the original question..."what do you want to be when you grow up?" My stock answer for much of my youth until I reached high school was "an artist." Now, I can't remember the last time I picked up a pencil or a piece of charcoal to sketch anything. Which is a shame. I used to get so caught up in my drawings, holing myself up in my room for hours on end, bent over my work until my neck and shoulders screamed at me to stop. Then life began to speed by and instead, I returned to writing. Don't get me wrong, I'd always enjoyed it and had since grade school. I became more serious about writing in high school and later in college. I now find that I hole myself up in my room for another kind of art, one I enjoy once I get swept up in a story and allow the characters to spirit me away into their lives, whispering in my ear as to what happens next.

It's still an art, yes. But that yearning returns sometimes to pick up that pencil or piece of charcoal and lose myself into a world of lines, shades, and shadows. One of these days I'll listen again to that muse when she taps on my shoulder.

She's waiting....

Update on the Minneapolis/True Colors book signing

2010-07-15T20:22:00.004-04:00

Sorry to say that Cathy Rowlands, Liz Ridley, and I won't be making it to Minneapolis and True Colors this time around (August 7) for various reasons, some of which are health-related. Phyllis's surgery on her foot was scheduled for later than we anticipated and would cut it too close to our travel up to the Twin Cities. But the three of us do hope to get together sometime soon for a joint venture. Probably in Milwaukee and *crossing fingers* maybe in the fall. I'll keep you posted.

In the meantime, back to my latest and writing....

Enjoyable weekend with my friend and Phyllis

2010-07-11T21:32:00.004-04:00

A very good friend came for a visit here with Phyllis and me for the weekend. We had fun talking writing and Reds baseball. Speaking of Reds baseball, they looked good for the open of their roadtrip, then fell apart, losing four straight in Philly. *sigh* I think they're tired.

On the writing front, I'm 10,000 words into my next novel, a romance. I know I won't come up with 50,000 words for the month (our BABA writing group is doing a JulyWriMo). But as long as we're all doing just a little, it's a plus.

Hey, as a test as to who all who may be reading this blog (because I have no idea if it's anyone but me lol), write me at frodobaggypants@gmail.com for a chance to win either an autographed copy of my latest, Come Back to Me, or of my debut, Playing for First. The cutoff will be Saturday night, July 17, at 9:00 PM EST. If you have both of these books, then how about early dibs on Two for the Show, the sequel to Playing for First? You won't get the book for a while, since editing hasn't started, but I'll definitely send whoever wins a copy if that's the one that interests them. I'll take the names of those who enter and put them in a hat. Two lucky winners win the book of their choice!

Time to go get some relaxing reading in for the night.

Happy Fourth of July weekend to all you Yanks!

2010-07-03T17:15:00.003-04:00

To everyone else around the world, it's still Fourth of July weekend, but it's not quite the same. I hope you still have a nice weekend, though. That is if there are people around the world who read this... LOL! Talk about ego!

I'm sitting here with Phyllis after working on "work work" today (formatting articles for the law journal I work for) and she flipped channels. Guess what! We found a disaster movie!! Yay!! Hahahahahaha! I love these things and have no idea why except they're so mindless and silly. This is called "NYC: Tornado Terror." Tee hee. And why is it the diasters (tidal waves, hurricanes, tornados, etc.) always hit the major American landmarks?? For example, in this one, the tornado just wacked off the arm of the Statue of Liberty.

ANYway...a nice, relaxing Saturday afternoon with Phyllis. Unfortunately, we found out she has to have surgery after all. This week we should find out when.

Enjoy your weekend...whether it's a long holiday weekend or simply a weekend!

I'm a guest "chatter" on Beth Wylde's yahoo group...

2010-07-02T16:48:00.003-04:00

...this afternoon and tonight from 7:00 to 9:00 PM EST. Follow this link:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bethwylde/, join the group and post a question. I'm giving away autographed copies of Playing for First and Come Back to Me. Hope to see you there sometime this afternoon or evening!

I'll be on Lara Zielinsky's radio blog show tomorrow night

2010-06-16T08:19:00.002-04:00

The show starts at 10:30 PM. I know it's late, but like I said in a forum, darn it, we're worth it! HAHAHAHAHA! I'm soooo funny. Anyway...here's the link:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/lara-zielinsky

I do hope you can listen in, or if it's too late for you, please listen to the recording the next day. I enjoyed my last interview with Lara in September. This time, we're discussing Come Back to Me and will probably also discuss Two for the Show and what I'm working on right now.

I had a blast in Orlando at the GCLS Conference, but it was a muted blast. Phyllis broke her foot the day before we were to leave and was unable to make it. I really didn't want to go and wouldn't have if her family hadn't looked after her for the week. It looks like she'll be in a walking boot for 6-8 weeks. So, please send out good thoughts to her.

I hope to write later to talk about the Conference in more detail.

"Come Back to Me" now available as an ebook!

2010-05-26T20:57:00.002-04:00

For those ebook readers out there, you can now order Come Back to Me through Bella at this link: http://www.bellabooks.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=bella&Product_Code=9780982285855e.

If you do get the book, which I hope you will, please let me know what you think. All of us author folk love to hear from readers.

Phyllis and I are preparing for our trip to Orlando and the GCLS Conference next week. Poor Buddy has to go to the doggy hotel at the vet's office, but it's for the best. Got my tux for the awards program. I keep telling everyone, I probably won't win, but I'll look damn good sitting there. LOL!!

Time to go to bed and get some rest.

"Come Back to Me" released today!

2010-05-14T21:42:00.003-04:00

Emily Reed, my publisher, made the announcements on all of the forums! Come Back to Me is now available for purchase through Blue Feather Books, http://www.bluefeatherbooks.com, and Bella Books, http://www.bellabooks.com. It will be available soon from Charis Books and More, one of the few feminist bookstores remaining in the country and as an e-book soon from Bella. You can find those links once they're available via my website.

It's a special feeling having another book published. I kept looking at my "Available Now" link on my website. It's slowly sinking in....

Sitting here tonight watching the Reds losing 4-2 to the Cards. I hope the Reds can at least take 2 of 3 out of this series. I hate having them having all of this momentum only to let it die when they play St. Louis. grrrrrr....

Okay, time to check in on the characters to my next book and see what they have in store for me.

Had a great time in Atlanta and a shameless request :-)

2010-05-10T18:26:00.004-04:00

We had a fantastic time in Atlanta. The reading went well. The weather was poor...it was the day/night that the tornadoes ripped through Mississippi. It rained Friday night into Sunday, when we were heading home. lol The crowd wasn't huge at Charis, but it was still nice to meet new people and practice reading. It was so nice to meet a friend I made through another forum. We had chatted about Playing for First and writing. Phyllis and I met her and her partner and we had dinner with them, Mavis Applewater, Mary Phillips, and Sherry Mills. It was fun reading with Jane and Mavis. The next time I read will be in Orlando at the GCLS Conference.

Speaking of the GCLS Conference...nice segue, huh? lol Any of you out there who are GCLS members who liked Playing for First, get your vote in sometime before May 18th. It made the shortlist, but a new twist this year allows members to vote again on the nine finalists.

There, I've made my shameless plug for my own book. We joke that we're shameless self promoters as authors--this is especially true in the lesbian publishing world. So, in the ultimate self promotion, VOTE FOR MY BOOK! hahahahahaha!

Time to get back to writing for the evening....

"Playing for First" chosen as a finalist for the Ann Bannon Award!

2010-04-22T22:40:00.003-04:00

I found out this week that Playing for First was voted by the members of the Golden Crown Literary Society as one of nine finalists for the Ann Bannon Popular Choice Award. The award will be handed out at the GCLS Conference the first week of June in Orlando. I'll give you more info the closer we get to the date, but visit here to check out the Conference: http://www.goldencrown.org/site/index.php/conference-conference. In two weeks, another vote will be held for members to vote on the remaining nine finalists to determine the winner. Heck, I'm flabbergasted to have made the short list!

Anyone in the Atlanta area, please swing by Charis Books and More at 1189 Euclid Avenue NE this Saturday, April 24th at 7:00. Jane Vollbrecht, Mavis Applewater, and I are having a Blue Feather Books shindig, otherwise known as a reading and book signing. lol Jane and Mavis are always fun. Jane was nominated this past week for her book Detours in the Dramatic General Fiction category at the GCLS. Fellow Blue Feather author, Val Brown, is also up for the Ann Bannon Popular Choice Award for her book, In the Works. Pretty darn cool, huh?

I'll be reading from Playing for First and Come Back to Me, scheduled for a May release. I'll also give readers a sneak peek at Two for the Show. We're hoping the weather holds out for us so we get a good turnout.

Hope to see you there!

Cover finalized for "Come Back to Me" AND...

2010-04-10T18:03:00.002-04:00

Two for the Show has been accepted for publication. We'll sign the contract soon. Woo hoo!! It's a good day. You can find my new cover on my website, http://www.ckpaynter.com. I'm very pleased in how it turned out. It captures the story perfectly. You'll see once you read it. :-) I should be receiving the PDF version very soon for the final read-through prior to publication. We're getting down to the nitty gritty. I'm anxious and excited for this one to become available.

On another note, I was so excited to see Butler make it all the way to the final game in the NCAA National Men's Basketball Championship. They came within a hair of winning it all. They only graduate two seniors and now that Butler has signed Coach Brad Stevens for the next 12 years, they have a legitimate shot every year to make it. Wow. How great for mid-level teams, huh?

Baseball started this week. WOOOO HOOOO!!! Not sure if this is the Reds' year. I have a feeling they'll finish over .500, but I think it'll take until next year to really make a run for the playoffs. One can always hope and dream though.

Alrighty, time to get back to writing. I've already gotten one chapter finished for my next one, another romance.

Just submitted "Two for the Show" to Em and Jane

2010-03-29T20:48:00.003-04:00

I feel a sense of relief. But also, a sense of loss at giving up one of my "babies." It's a contradiction, I know, but it's one I'm sure a lot of authors share in. I'm pleased with the story and hope that those who read Playing for First will enjoy the continuing saga of Lisa, Frankie, and Amy and the new storyline involving Amy and Stacy. This one's told from both Lisa's and Amy's points of view, which I feel gives it a more fulfilling ride for the reader. I enjoyed writing it. I hope the readers enjoy it and keep in mind that this isn't the end of the story. This is the second in the series. I'll let you know when I hear from my publisher regarding Two for the Show's fate. I have a good feeling, though.

I plan to start on the next book here this week. It'll be a romance. Come Back to Me is still on schedule for a May release. Once the cover is finalized, you'll find it on my Facebook page and website.

Take care, all!

I love Sunday...

2010-03-21T14:26:00.004-04:00

It's usually our day to relax and be home alone together. I've been watching the NCAA tournament games while Phyllis visited Cleveland. She's back and out with Buddy. I plan to work on the Two for the Show edit today. Also, after reading Amy Dawson Robertson's freakin' awesome debut novel, Miles to Go, I'm ready to start on fellow Blue Feather author Erica Lawson's debut, Possessing Morgan. I'm excited about the future of lesbian fiction with such wonderful authors publishing their debuts.

I have a new laptop. I keep joking I did not order it because of the Cincinnati Reds cover, but, um, it was one of my choices when building it through Dell. Sooooooo...I picked out a Reds' cover and paid a little more. lol It's very nice. I've been working on Two for the Show on it and have been reading over the final version of Come Back to Me that is with our line reader. I was excited to see that the laptop came with Chess Titans on it. Yay! I hope I don't let it divert me from my writing. Boo. hahahahaha

Okay...off to TFTS.

A new excerpt to my latest, "Come Back to Me"

2010-03-11T19:58:00.002-05:00

Howdy everyone. I have a new snippet to Come Back to Me posted on my website. As a reminder, here is the synopsis: http://www.ckpaynter.com/comingsoon.htm. Here is the newest excerpt, a scene where the two main characters, Angie and Meryl, first meet in college in their creative writing class: http://www.ckpaynter.com/excerptcomebacktome2.html. Let me know what you think.

The second edit is back to my publisher and on to the line reader. It's still on schedule for a May release. Yay!

Okay, time to relax for the rest of the night. Peace to all!

BIG NEWS!! "Playing for First" now available in ebook format

2010-02-21T16:53:00.006-05:00

Jane let me know and Emily Reed, my publisher made the annoucements on the various forums, that Playing for First is now available in ebook. You can find it at Bella Books Distribution: http://www.bellabooks.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=bella&Product_Code=9780982285831e.

There is a limited selection of other Blue Feather titles available via Bella Distribution, but more will be added soon. All of my future titles will also be available in ebook format. As always, the book is offered in trade paperback for those of you who still like to hold a book in your hands. I have to admit, I'm old-fashioned that way. I'm sure I'll own a Kindle or some other e-reader in the future, but for now, I enjoy cuddling up with a book that I can turn the pages.

We had a great time visiting friends in Cincinnati this weekend. It was nice to get away and spend a couple of days outside of Indy. But it's also good to get home. I'm very much a homebody and have been my whole life. I love writing, of course, but also read as much as I can in the comfort of my Lazy Girl Chair.

Speaking of which, I think I'll go read now. :-)

Finished my first edit of "Come Back to Me"

2010-02-19T22:21:00.004-05:00

My editor and I talked and I rewrote a few scenes, created a few, cleaned up the inordinate, obsessive love affair I had with adverbs in this one--don't ask me why, couldn't help myself I guess lol--and got it done before my brother got in from Afghanistan so I can visit with him these next couple of weeks. It was so good to see him last night and listen to him play his guitar. I'm taking a break from writing to read some books, ones I've been wanting to read, but haven't had the time with the edit. I started with Starting from Scratch by Georgia Beers. Excellent book, told in the first person. I admire authors who try something new. Her other novels have been told in the third person. Maybe one day, I'll be brave enough to try it. I'm still getting my feet wet, though. lol I'm happy with Come Back to Me. It's still amazing to be living my dream. I thank God, and I thank my wife, Phyllis, who is so patient and giving when I become obsessesed with my writing. We just had a wonderful dinner over at Amici's, an Italian restaurant a few blocks from here. We walked in the cold, but it was so romantic to sit with her and just enjoy her. I said this once on Facebook: I'm so happy, it's scary.

On another note, the Colts lost the Super Bowl. Although I was very disappointed, I was happy for Drew Brees and the city of New Orleans. There's always next year.....

Okay. Off to bed....

I need to quit making "new year's" promises...

2010-02-03T18:24:00.003-05:00

Because so far, I've sucked about getting on here as much as I say I will. ANYway...

I finished my first, second, and will soon be doing my third and "final" read-through of Two for the Show before proposing it to my publisher, Blue Feather Books. I'm anxious to see what Emily Reed and Jane Vollbrecht, my editor, will think of it. I've had two author friends be gracious enough to look at it for me and give me their feedback. So far, so good.

I've written a rough draft of the dreaded synopsis to be included with the m/s. I feel like writing: "Blahblahblah happened. And then blahblahblah. Which was followed by blahblahblah." lol BUT I can't do that...I don't think.

Everything seems to happen so fast these days. It seems like yesterday we were in Orlando attending the Golden Crown Literary Society Conference. Now, in four months, it'll be upon us again. In April, Phyllis and I are headed down to Atlanta to do a reading/signing with Jane and Mavis Applewater at Charis Feminist Bookstore--Saturday, April 24th at 8:00, to be exact. Since I've only done one reading/signing, this will be good practice for me. Also, I'd like to start branching out to various parts of the country for book signings. Of course "like to start" and actually doing are two different things. But now, it looks like I'll be getting something set up in Milwaukee this spring or summer at Outwords Books with Bold Strokes author, C.P. Rowlands. It's in the planning stages. More on that as we get all the details worked out. If you haven't read Rowlands's Lake Effect Snow or Collision Course, please please do so. The woman can write. She has a fervent fan here in Indy in me.

Well, I'm going to reread my synopsis, iron out any wrinkles, and then go through the book one more time before sending it off to Em and Jane. I'm excited about this sequel because I think it's a very good story. If you knew me, you'd know how difficult it is for me to say that about my own writing.

Oh, on another note, how 'bout them COLTS???!!!! I'm again staying away from the hype as much as possible to not make myself a nervous wreck. I'm worried a little about the defense if Freeney can't play, but they're an excellent unit. Very very underrated. I think they'll be playing with a chip on their shoulder. Hopefully I can come back on here next week saying, COLTS WIN! COLTS WIN!!

Time to pay attention to a neglected beagle.

Finished with the first draft of "Two for the Show"

2010-01-18T20:46:00.005-05:00

I know there's no writing, only rewriting, but tonight I'm allowing myself the luxury of feeling very good about the accomplishment. I started the book in NaNoWriMo. I had to take a break after a month of intense writing, but began again later in December. This weekend, I was more earnest in my writing. Today, it was one of those obsessive, "I have to finish this" days. I worked on it for over seven hours straight. The story ending was right there in my brain, ready to make the move down to my fingers and onto the computer screen. I'm sore. I'm tired. My vision is blurry. But it was all worth it. I'll step away for tonight, but will start with the first total read-through tomorrow--I haven't done that in weeks. Snippets and chapters, yes. Entire book, no. I only hope everyone enjoys Amy's journey in this one. It's much more her story. Lisa and Frankie are there for support, of course, and they have their own issues to deal with. But Amy and Stacy spoke to me more in this sequel. And once your characters take you by the hand and lead you, you can't say no.

I know I promised to get better about writing once a week. I'll reiterate it here. I'd like to keep a weekly blog of how the rewriting's going.

Aside from my book, HOW 'BOUT THEM COLTS???!!!!! It wouldn't have mattered who won the Chargers/Jets game. Either team scares me since the Colts are so close to going back to the Super Bowl. I'll try to limit reading about them this week. It'll only drive me crazy.

What a way to start a New Year...

2010-01-02T13:16:00.004-05:00

...by finding out this past week Playing for First was chosen as one of Curve Magazine's Novels to Start Out the New Year: http://www.curvemag.com/Curve-Magazine/Web-Articles-2008/Novels-to-Start-Out-the-New-Year/. It's an honor to be named in the same list as Ellen Hart, Lee Lynch, and Jane Fletcher, as well as fellow Blue Feather author, Joan Opyr, and the other fine authors. I have Ellen's The Mirror and the Mask, but need to catch up on the other Jane Lawless mysteries. I also have Lee Lynch's Beggar of Love. I've heard great things about both. And thank you to fellow author Amy Dawson Robertson. I'd never known about this without her posting the link on my Facebook page. I need to stay more in the loop!

If you like a good crime/law mystery with a dose of romance, definitely read Carsen Taite's It Should Be a Crime, one of the books on the list. Since I work at the law school here in Indy with second- and third-year law students, the storyline with the law school and professor was fun to read.

We had a restful, quiet New Year's here at home. Do you know how to spell daiquiri?? I sure didn't. lol Sooooo...I've learned a new spelling for the new decade. Yay! I'll have to drop this in a book sometime with a joke about the spelling. Something like, "Well, I don't know how to spell it, but I sure as hell know how to drink it."

Today, I plan to finish writing a short piece for an anthology, plus hopefully get back to Two for the Show. Right now, Amy Perry's waiting for me after a game to lead her where to go. I need to tell her, "Hey, you're leading me. I'm only along for the ride."

Happy New Year, everyone! I hope to get on here at least once a week this year. That's my goal.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS, EVERYONE!!

2009-12-24T20:33:00.001-05:00

A quick note to wish everyone a very Happy Holiday season. May all your wishes come true and may next year bring you peace and love and all the good stuff in between.

God bless.

Been taking it easy this week

2009-12-06T18:23:00.004-05:00

After a torrid finish to NaNo, I've taken it easy in the writing department this past week and simply enjoyed myself reading. I highly recommend Brenda Adcock's Pipeline and The Sea Hawk. The latter was a beautifully done historical romance. I'd been told it was a good read, and I wasn't disappointed. I need to get back to my own writing and plan to do that this week.

We've been waiting for our first real snow here in Indy. We're supposed to get some light snow tomorrow and some heavier on Wednesday. Sometimes, it hasn't felt like winter around here, but this past week it has with the temps dropping.

The Colts were merciful and gave my heart a rest today with a fairly non-nailbiting win over the Titans to go to 12-0. I'm doing pretty well in my fantasy leagues, but have had some of my top players out this week due to injury.

Wow, I just read a very interesting article from Sports Illustrated online about the possibility of a woman playing in the NBA. My argument is a woman could play in major league baseball--hence, my book, Playing for First. But here is the link to Ian Thomsen's article: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/ian_thomsen/12/04/countdown/index.html?eref=sihp. Very interesting....

Alrighty...until next time.

Hit the 50,000 goal for NaNoWriMo Friday!

2009-11-30T17:58:00.003-05:00

At about 11:40 PM EST, Friday night, I hit 50,837 words, putting me over the top for the National Novel Writing Month project. Today, I went over some of the last pages I wrote--actually, one of the crucial scenes in the book. And I'll be darned if it wasn't half-bad. lol I've not written anything since Friday night. I decided to take a short break, but plan to get going again here soon. The rest of the book is in my head. I'll see if Amy or Lisa or Frankie or Stacy try to take me in a different direction. So far, Amy's been doing a lot of the leading since the beginning of the book. Although Two for the Show is told from two POV's, it seems Amy's voice is the one coming out loudest. Which is as it should be. I know with Come Back to Me, Angie's voice was louder, but as the story progressed, Meryl began to assert herself more and more. Funny how that works out.

After freaking out over yet another Colts' come-from-behind win, I plan to casually watch a little of the Saints-Patriots game tonight. Even though if they won, the Saints would remain undefeated, I still want them to kick the Patriots' a**. Something Colts' fans will always feel...animosity toward New England, just as their fans hate the Colts and Manning with a passion.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving and holiday weekend.

I think I'm over the NaNo hump!

2009-11-24T21:35:00.002-05:00

Almost a week ago, I posted that I'd hit the NaNo wall...which I had. Smack dab into that brick baby. But I've managed to step back, shake off the concussion, and plow ahead with the story. Two for the Show is looking better and better. I realize completely it's an extremely...let me say that again, extremely...rough draft. But I'll be damned if I'm not up to 40,200+ words. Past the goal for this time in the month! YAY! And that's after barely writing one day and not writing on another. I just finished a critical scene for Amy--one that's going to affect her in more ways than she knows right now. It'll have to be another obstacle for her to overcome. But she has the support of her partner, Stacy, her friend, Lisa, and another friend on the Reds, Nick Sanders. The question is, can she accept their love and support? Or does she think she can handle this on her own? The plot thickens...and now I can't wait to get back at it tomorrow. Now that is a good feeling.

I think I've hit the NaNo wall...

2009-11-18T20:50:00.002-05:00

My wall came a little later than the second week mark they warned us about. I missed out on one night's writing, and it's been hard to get back in the swing of things. I'm about 2000 words short right now to be on pace to finish with 50,000 by Nov. 30. I'll try to get there, but I'm not going to beat myself over the head if I don't. At least I have a decent story started for Two for the Show, the sequel to Playing for First.

Backtracking a bit, HOW 'BOUT THEM COLTS??!! I admitted on my Facebook "wall" that I was ashamed to say I turned the TV off after Peyton's second interception...only because I hate the friggin' Patriots and couldn't stand to see them win. I read more of Kate Sweeney's She Waits, waited a few minutes, and I thought, eh, I'll flip it back on to see what's going on. The score was 34-28 and the Patriots had the ball. I'm watching as they line up for a FOURTH AND TWO AT THEIR OWN 28 YARD LINE!! And I'm thinking, naaa, they'll try to get the Colts to jump offsides. Wrong! Good lord, what the f*** was His Hoodiness thinking?? Anyway...thanks, Bill, for the early Christmas present! And thank you, Peyton, for never giving up. Next time, I promise I won't turn off the game.

Okay...off to read Sweeney's second in the Kate Ryan Mystery Series, A Nice Clean Murder. I like to relax before I go to bed....

Saw "2012" ...

2009-11-14T21:51:00.003-05:00

Gosh, nothing like everything getting thrown at you but the kitchen sink. Heck, the kitchen sink might have been thrown in there and we just missed it in the mayhem. What with California falling off into the Pacific, Yellowstone Park becoming one huge erupting volcano, the Vatican collapsing, tsunamis hundreds of feet in the air, etc., one kitchen sink could have been lost in all the excitement. Poor Phyllis had to endure the movie with me since I'm a disaster movie junkie. I have no clue why other than they're totally silly and mindless. I think it started with seeing Towering Inferno when I was kid, having to sit in the first row of the theater because we got there late. I joke that at least Indianapolis will get to host the Super Bowl before the world comes to an end December 21, 2012. The last disaster flick by this director, Day After Tomorrow, dealt with global warming. I thought it'd top everything until this movie. Geesh.

Next weekend, we plan to see Blind Side with Sandra Bullock, and not just because Sandra Bullock is in it, although that is definitely an incentive. lol I loved the story when it came out during the NFL draft. I'm looking forward to a gentler movie than 2012. I'm sure my partner will, too.

On the NaNo front, I'm up to 24,850 words. Gotta keep on trucking....

Colts win! And writing....

2009-11-08T16:18:00.003-05:00

The Colts just won a game I'm not so sure they should have. Well, they really shouldn't have. But they're undefeated going into the New England game next weekend. I look forward to their annual game, but then I dread them at the same time. Much too nerve racking.

I've been participating in National Novel Writing Month, or NaNo as we call it. This is my first year. I'm working on the sequel to Playing for First. This is reeeeally a rough-rough draft, as it should be since we're not supposed to be editing as we go along. I have no idea where I'm going day to day. I know where I want to get by the end of the book and I know what I want to have happen to the characters between here and there...it's just the getting there that's fun.

Buddy is happily munching on a bone, laying on the floor between Phyllis and me. Phyllis is reading Lori Lake's Gun Shy. Every twenty minutes or so, she says, "She can really write." Yes, she can.

Okay...the games are turned off. Time to write and then go back to reading Brenda Adcock's Tunnel Vision.

Loved "Mamma Mia"...

2009-10-25T19:22:00.002-04:00

...but would have loved it MORE if stupid me had gotten the time right for the start of the show! I convinced myself it was 2:00. We get there at 1:20 and I notice we're the only ones walking to Clowes Hall. I'm like...hmmmmmmm. Then I flip the tickets over and look at the time. Yup. You got it. 1:00. *SIGH* I hate to come in on anything late. In fact, I've never done it and get pissed when people are seated in front of me after a show starts. ANYway, we told them to seat us in the very back where there were still seats open. We probably missed about 15 minutes of the show based on the scene we came in on. At the intermission, we moved down into our "real" seats. We got to sing at the end of the show, too. Pretty cool. That'll be the closest I ever come to singing with a Broadway cast. LMAO!

Sitting here with my best friend

2009-10-11T12:53:00.003-04:00

We're watching the Angels play Boston at Boston. I used to be a big Red Sox fan (along with my losing Reds), but I've tired of them the past few years. It seems they've started "buying" championships like the rotten Yankees. I do like Terry Francona, the manager, though. And there are players on the team I like. I like Mike Scioscia, the manager of the Angels. I liked him when he played for the Reds rival during the 70s, the Dodgers. He's an excellent manager. My best buddy hasn't visited in a long while. He' s a flight attendant, so it's hard for him to visit. One of my favorite vacations ever was going with him to Boston to Fenway Park to see the Red Sox play the Seattle Mariners. Nomar Garciapara was still playing for Boston at the time. The people around us were saying, "Come on Nomaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" with the classic Boston accent. So I started doing it, too. Since I had a couple of beers, it wasn't hard to do. Okay, now I switched to football. Man, I hate it when the Colts don't play until 8:30. They've had three games already in primetime! Hope everyone's enjoying their Sunday afternoon! Blessings....

About ready to head off to bed...

2009-10-08T21:26:00.002-04:00

...but thought I'd check in for a quick few words. Finishing up watching the Dodgers go ahead 2-0 in the National League Divisional Series. Man, Holliday has to feel like crap for the error. Now the guy has to watch it over and over and over on all the sports stations. BUT the man is one of the big reasons the Cards cruised to a Central Division crown. Ahhh, baseball. It doesn't matter how you played during the regular season. Look at the Cubs the past couple of years. Speaking of sports, Phyllis and I attended the Fever playoff game here in Indy last night. Unfortunately, they lost, but we still enjoyed sitting SIX ROWS UP from the Fever bench. Here's hoping they bring it home tomorrow night.... As for my writing, I've been kicking around story ideas for the sequel to Playing for First while going over my latest that my publisher accepted, Come Back to Me. I imagine editing will begin next month on that one. I hope to start the initial pages to the sequel while working on the editing for CBTM. Silly, klutsy me (did we finally establish how that is spelled? lol) is now in a walking boot for at least the next two weeks. I'm not sure on the fracture part yet. The doctor didn't call me today with the results. I'll be calling her tomorrow. I'm praying it's not. This boot thing is funky enough. I don't need a cast. Okay...off to bed. Blessings....

FEVER WINNNNNNNNNN!!!

2009-09-27T11:29:00.003-04:00

YIPPEE! We didn't go to the game since I was still under the weather, but I watched it online through WNBA.com's live access. I should say I watched what I could. I was so damn nervous, I kept the sound down and worked, but checked the game every couple of minutes. I watched the last five, though. :-) Phyllis and I will be out of town next weekend so will miss the October 4th game. They need to win at least ONE for us to go to the game on the 7th. I'd love it if they swept Phoenix, but I'm not sure that'll be happening. Just wishful thinking for a Fever fan. :-) Anyhoo... I'm so happy for Tamika, Katie, Tully, and the team for finally getting over the hump and making it to the Finals. At least they have a couple of days of rest before the first game Tuesday night. Go Fever!

Yay FEVER!

2009-09-25T21:52:00.004-04:00

Phyllis and I went to the 2nd game of the WNB A Eastern Conference Championship tonight at Conseco here in Indy. It was a nerve-wracking game, but the Fever prevailed 76-72 (I think that was the score). Tamika Catchings, who for me, is the best womens basketball player that I've ever seen play, was fantastic. She was all over the floor. I was under the weather today and have a slight fever (cute, huh?), so we almost didn't go. But I told Phyllis, no, let's go. They had one of the biggest crowds that I've ever seen there. The owner flat out said if they don't win the whole thing this year, they're gone. I think that friggin' sucks. It's the most positive team here in Indy, including the Colts. A lot of parents bring their little kids to see the game, too. We'll be rooting them on again tomorrow night....

Went out tonight to celebrate

2009-09-21T19:57:00.003-04:00

Phyllis got home today from Cleveland. I was so glad to see her when I got in from work. She wanted to take me out to dinner and a drink to celebrate Come Back to Me being accepted. We went to one of my favorite places to go here where we also go for karaoke. I ordered a Long Island. The waiter innocently asked (or so I thought) if I wanted a blue Long Island instead. It has Blue Curacao in it. The first one knocked me on my a**. When he came back after we'd eaten and asked if I wanted another, did I say no? HECK noooooooooo. lol I ordered another. Nothing like celebrating, huh? We decided to make this a tradition after every acceptance and release. Soooooooo, a few months from now after editing and it's ready for publication? Two more Blue Long Islands should do the trick. :-) Now it's on to watching the Colts tonight on Monday Night Football. I'll be a bit more subdued, I think...maybe. lol

Chilling out watching Bears-Steelers game

2009-09-20T18:37:00.002-04:00

I'm taking it easy watching Chicago play Pittsburgh in the rain in Chicago. Sundays when the Colts don't play always seem to drag. Of course, that's fine. It's Sunday and it's raining here. And if it means I have one relaxing afternoon before going back to work tomorrow, that's good. I was told yesterday by Emily Reed my publisher that my newest manuscript, Come Back to Me, was accepted. Next comes months of editing, whenever we get started on it. Now that I've gone through the process once, I think I'll be a little better prepared for the time frame and how much work is involved in making the book the best it can possibly be. Jane Vollbrecht, my editor, is the best. She's teaching me so much...I look forward to learning more. Okay, I think I'll get back to reading Blayne Cooper & T. Novan's First Lady. It's the sequel to Madame President. I'm enjoying the two main characters and the read. I have so many other books to read from the Conference it's not even funny. AND I need to start on a storyline for the sequel to Playing for First. Can I quit my day job yet? hahahahaha

Enjoyable evening with Phyllis and Buddy

2009-09-14T18:26:00.002-04:00

We had a nice swim...well, Phyllis and I had a nice swim. lol A nice dinner and then a very enjoyable walk here in the neighborhood. Okay, on a different note, I've decided someone needs to smack Kanye West upside the head. That's simply disgusting. I haven't seen the tape of what happened and I have no desire to, but to step up on stage and take away 19-year-old Taylor Swift's moment in the spotlight...it makes me want to hit something. Grrr... Anyway...how WUDE. There was a miniseries a few years back and this one character kept saying that. It's stuck with me since. Wude wude wude! Alrighty, I think I'll relax for the evening reading Missy Good's "Tropical Storm," the first in the Dar and Kerry series. About halfway through. After this, I need to get started on the sequel to Playing for First. Once I hear back from Jane and Em, I'll be working on the edit for my latest...I hope. lol Peace!

Had a fantastic time chatting with Lara Zielinsky

2009-09-12T08:25:00.005-04:00

Lara and I shared a wonderful half hour chatting about Playing for First. We talked about where I came up with the idea, the editing and publishing process, and what my newest novel is about. We also discussed women in sports and the difficulties lesbian authors face when attempting to switch over to mainstream publishing, which my newest novel addresses. Here's the link to Lara's website: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/lara-zielinsky. Our interview is at or near the top of her list there on the right. It's a 30 minute show. At the end, I offer three free autographed copies of Playing for First to the first three readers who e-mail me at: ckpaynter@ckpaynter.com. If any of y'all are interested, drop me a line. Lara invited me back when my latest is further into production. I plan to do that since I enjoyed our talk so much Thursday night.

Today, we have friends coming over at one for a nice lunch. It's beautiful here today in Indy. Currently, it's 58 with a high in the upper seventies, low eighties. Have to take Buddy the Wonder Dog to his grandparents, though, so we can eat in peace. Take care all!

Interview tonight with Lara Zielinsky

2009-09-10T12:00:00.002-04:00

A quick reminder that I'll be interviewed tonight on Lara Zielinsky's blog radio talk show, "Readings with Lesbian and Bisexual Authors." The show starts at 11:30 pm EST. Here's the link again: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/lara-zielinsky. We'll be discussing Playing for First, my latest work, writing, editing, and publishing. I'll also have a promotional giveaway to announce, too. Hope you tune in! And if you can't stay up that late, Lara archives the shows on her website, located at the same link. Blessings to everyone!

Finished the rough draft!

2009-09-02T19:31:00.004-04:00

I completed the rough draft on my next novel early Sunday morning at 12:30. Now it's a matter of polishing, repolishing it, and repolishing it some more before sending it in to my editor. And then, of course, it'll be a matter of edting, editing, and more editing before we get to the final product. Such is the life of an author.... I'm not complaining, though. I wouldn't have it any other way. Hope to write more this weekend. I'm taking a vacation day Friday to spend time with Phyllis and take a four-day weekend. We're planning on going to Metamora, a little artsy town about an hour's drive from Indy. The drive is always relaxing. However, good ol' klutzy me fell here at home about two weeks ago. I landed hard on my left knee and hyperextended my foot. Everything is still swollen. Since I'd JUST gone to have a foot x-ray not that long ago, I sure as heck didn't want to go again. I'm holding out until a doctor's appointment on the 17th. I'll ask about it then. Oh! Before I forget, I'm going to be interviewed by Lara Zielinsky on her radio blog show next Thursday night, September 10th, at 11:30 p.m. Here's the link: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/lara-zielinsky. It's a half-hour program. It should be fun. If you can't stay up that late, be sure and check out the archives section on Lara's website. For anyone out there reading this, too, I've started answering a "random question" from Blogspot. You can find it on my Profile page under the "About Me" section. It was a funny question this time--at least I thought it was funny. Check it out! Okay...back to "polishing."

Heading off to la-la land...

2009-08-28T22:35:00.002-04:00

Sometimes this wireless network reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeally pisses me off. I finished my post, or so I thought, when the damn thing went out again. Anyway...I'm reading Helen MacPherson's Love's Redemption. I'm enjoying the read so far. She's Australian. I enjoy reading Australian and British novels because of the different spelling/expressions. For example, "realisation" and "colour" instead of "realization" and "color." 'Course us Yanks probably have it all wrong. lol It'll be nice to unwind after working on my book all night. Looking forward to finishing up my rough draft here soon...

Once again, BTWD loses weight when Mommy picks him up...

2009-08-17T18:51:00.003-04:00

Buddy inevitably gains a pound or whatever whenever I pick him up from the vet's office. When Phyllis picks him up, the little bugger LOSES weight. He got a report from the doctor today for his annual: "Down 1.3 pounds. Great job! Keep up the good work!" *shakes head* Phyllis thought she was about to get a lecture when someone said, "The doctor would like to see you." I have to admit, though, we've been walking him more. And then there's the kennel diet, as I call it. I don't think he eats that much when we're not here and we've had to put him in the vet's kennel.

As for my writing, I feel like I'm at a crucial point in the story, and I don't want to screw it up. Therefore, I'm perpetuating a different mindset. I'm not going to worry about screwing up--rather, I'm gonna think about writing a helluva last third of the book. :-) A lot of it's rewriting from the book it was before. This is what I've wanted to write about, but it deals with a difficult subject. I'm getting there....

Chilling out tonight watching an episode of Torchwood

2009-08-06T22:08:00.002-04:00

We have BBC America OnDemand. There are some unique and well-written/well-acted shows on here. We liked "Mistresses." It's off-season now. We've just discovered "Torchwood." I guess this is the third season. We may be getting these on DVD. I'd say it's like the British version of "X-Files." What Phyllis and I like about British shows is that not every actress/actor is gorgeous. They don't mind looking NORMAL. We loved "Prime Suspect" with Helen Mirren. The woman can friggin' act. I thought it was cool when she won a Golden Globe a couple of years ago for playing both Elizabeth I and Elizabeth II--Elizabeth I for HBO and Elizabeth II for "The Queen." I had planned on writing tonight, but took a break to catch up on my website and e-mails. So now I'm sitting here watching this with Phyllis. It's refreshing that two of the male characters are gay. They shared a KISS. Not a kiss. lol Contrast it with here and "Will and Grace." As long as Will remained chaste, his character was accepted. Whatever... Back to the show. :-)

book signing went well! yay!

2009-08-03T17:26:00.002-04:00

My first book signing went well. Had a good crowd. A lot were friends and family, so it was very homey. But others entered the bookstore and kinda hung out while I read from my book and discussed it afterward. They sold out of books and put in another order. Yay! It was cool, too. They took down the "Book Signing" poster I had made and asked me to sign it. They're going to hang it up in the store. Now that I have that one under my belt, hopefully I won't be nervous the next time. I used humor to diffuse the nerves. Now, I need to get back to writing my other one. Which I plan to do tonight. It was back to work work for me today after two weeks off. That's the longest I've been off of work for a lonnnnnnnnnnnng time. Pays the bills, though! Later!

having my first book signing in 13 1/2 hours

2009-08-02T00:32:00.002-04:00

I'll have my first book signing Sunday, August 2 at 2:00 pm at the Out Word Bound Bookstore here in Indy. And my first reading. And my first discussion of Playing for First. I picked out the passage I'm going to read. I think it'll work. I'll have to affect a southern drawl, which I'll have fun with I think. I can joke, "This is why I'm an author and not an actor." lol I relaxed tonight with Phyllis by going to karaoke at Downtown Ollies. We had fun with our friend, Maribeth. I love to sing, and it always help me relax and wind down. Getting ready to turn in. After my signing tomorrow, I plan to get back to my latest. It's starting to flow. :-) Peace!

Thoroughly enjoyed the Conference in Orlando!

2009-07-28T23:24:00.003-04:00

I had a blast in Orlando. The ultimate highlight was meeting Emily, my publisher, and Jane, my editor, for the first time. What special, special people. I'm blessed to be in their company. Phyllis and I also had fun meeting authors and readers and making new friends. I signed my first books. Kinda cool. lol One thing I was very careful about was the spelling of names. I even asked twice sometimes. Met Megan Magill who writes with Regal Crest. She introduced herself to me. She recognized my name from a forum and she remembered I was born in Oxfordshire, England. Banbury to be exact. She's from Oxfordshire, too. We had several wonderful chats in the time we were there. I also met Rachel Spangler who publishes with Bold Strokes Books. She won two Goldies, one for debut author and one for best romance. OMG. I haven't laughed that much in years. She's a hoot. There were others there I loved meeting: Lori Lake, Brenda Adcock, Kate Sweeney, Georgia Beers, KG MacGregor.... It was a magical time, which it should have been really. After all, we were at the "Magic Kingdom." :-) I've been working on my latest these past couple of days and feel good about the first 100 pages. I'm still reworking the rest. I hope it'll all meld together. Okay. It's late and I'm pooped. See ya!

I'm such a klutz

2009-07-18T16:05:00.002-04:00

How do you spell "klutz"? I think that's right...ANYway.... At work work (the one that pays the bills) on Thursday, I stood up from my office chair, turned and felt a pop in my foot/ankle. Pain shot through it. I thought, "Umm, that's not good." So, then I took a couple of steps and it still hurt, but I was able to walk. I walked a little farther--sharp pain. Walked a little farther--no problem. Then sharp pain. I'm thinking. Crap. I sincerely hope I don't have a stress fracture or something. Yesterday, there was bruising that got worse as the day went along. Swelling. Phyllis insisted I stay off of it and sit with my foot propped up. Which I did. It's the outer part of the foot and ankle, and it doesn't hurt continuously. We think it's a sprain and because of where it's at, I don't feel it every time I take a step. But WHAM! Then I do. Phyllis told me a need to go to the doctor. Nope. Nope. Nope. Not with the Conference coming up this week. Ain't gonna do it...wouldn't be prudent (spoken with my best George H.W. Bush imitation--you know the first dude?). I'm sitting here now in my Lazy-Girl chair with it propped up on a pillow. I plan on taking it easy these next few days. I think it'll get better. I'll probably forgo the pool thing down in Orlando. Heck, if I can't even get up from my chair and make a turn to walk, how do you think I'd be poolside on wet tile?? Klutz=Chris

changed my layout

2009-07-16T19:33:00.004-04:00

I thought the black was a little ummm...dark. lol So, I'm going with this template for a while. I believe I might be the only one reading this anyway. :-) Oh well...it's like a diary. Only lots of people can read it and you can't hide it under your bed.

I'm excited about the Golden Crown Literary Society Conference coming up next week in Orlando. First, it'll be sooooo nice to get away. Second, it'll be soooooooo nice to meet authors I've corresponded with and whose work I love. But the best thing is I'll finally meet my editor and publisher! Yay!

Not saying much tonight, but I'm gonna attempt to leave an image in this post. We'll see how it goes. There's Buddy on the side there. Ain't he cute?

My job is driving me CRAZY!

2009-07-10T21:57:00.003-04:00

The one that pays the bills...just finished working on an article for the night, and I'm not even done with it (if that tells you anything).

I'm going to try and relax by reading a book, I think. My brain cells aren't functioning enough to attempt writing.

Buddy the tracker

2009-06-30T21:53:00.002-04:00

As you will see, a lot of these posts will deal with our dog, Buddy the Beagle, aka Buddy the Wonder Dog. Because he's a hound, he goes into "tracker" mode if he's on the scent of something. Around here, it's other dogs. It can't be allll the dogs in the neighborhood, so I don't know who his favorites are. Anyway...I took him out for his last walk for the evening and he immediately started sniffing and baying. We live right around the corner from a little restaurant (one of many around here) that has outside tables. Guess who they all stare at when he starts this routine? The only ones who find it a little amusing are the residents here at the condo who know Buddy. One of them was laughing in the parking lot. I yelled over, "We're tracking." lol The little guy is sound asleep now. I trained him as a puppy that his bedtime was 9:00. He has a routine. He starts playing with his squeaky ball around 8:30ish. He gets cranky around 8:45 and then it's time for his last walk and bed. He typically whines for a very very short time and, inevitably, in ten minutes, he's snoring. Speaking of which...bedtime for me, too.

My a%$ is draggin'

2009-06-28T16:14:00.002-04:00

Went over to the house today to spread gravel. We had ten tons of it delivered Friday. Started in at 9:00 and shoveled, wheel barrelled, and packed it around the house. We started using the remaining stones for the drive, but got tuckered out. It was 90 and oppressive Friday and yesterday. Today was much better with a nice breeze. It's almost done now. Phyllis just has to spread a bit more. I mainly went over today so she wouldn't try and do it all. It's supposed to cool off here this week into the upper seventies THANK GOD. I'm gonna try to relax the rest of the afternoon and evening and hopefully get some writing in.

Buddy our beagle being bad

2009-06-24T19:53:00.004-04:00

How's that for alliteration? AKA Buddy the Wonder Dog has hold of a dishcloth and is refusing to give up his prize. I think he's just tired. Okay, back from scolding said dog. lol Just finished with work work for the evening and am about to start on my book again...FUN work.

chilling out watching my Reds

2009-06-23T19:29:00.004-04:00

Joey Votto is back!!! Yay!! Even though he struck out in his first at bat, I'm glad he's back. He's my favorite player followed closely by Jay Brucey. I'm about to turn it down, though, and work on my book. I'll glance up every now and then to see how they're doing. I'm missing Phyllis and Buddy tonight. Phyllis is visiting family in Cleveland. Buddy is with my mom and dad. He's so used to Phyllis being here during the day, we thought it best he stay with grandma and grandpa. He loves them, so he's okay. I'm the one who's lonely.

Did some rearranging on the first few chapters of the book. It reads much better. Time to get going with the rest....

going over to my parents' for Father's Day

2009-06-21T11:03:00.002-04:00

I'm lucky to have two wonderful, accepting parents. I'm close to both of them. My dad is the one who instilled in me the love of the Game. I can still remember going down to the Reds games in the height of the Big Red Machine Era. We'd take in a business day special together. I also got my love of history from him. When I was a kid, we'd sit around and talk about World War II and the Civil War. Having him say he liked my book means so much to me.

I feel blessed this day, just as I did on Mother's Day, and just as I do every day of my life knowing I have the two best parents in the world. :-) Going to have steaks, hamburgers, and hotdogs on the grill. YAY!

working on next novel

2009-06-20T14:29:00.003-04:00

I'm trying to keep up on my writing, but have had trouble concentrating after the release of Playing for First. I'm hoping I'll start to really get into it here soon. That's what usually happens...I get lost in what I'm writing and oblivious to other things. I'll attempt to write a page or two before we leave for dinner at 4:30...or at least have an idea of where I'm going to finish this chapter.

Welcome to My Blog!

2009-06-19T19:36:00.000-04:00

Don't ask me if I know what the heck I'm doing, but I thought I'd give this a shot. :-) My debut novel, Playing for First, was released last Monday, June 8th. I'm still in a daze. I've scheduled my first book signing at Out Word Bound Bookstore here in Indy for Sunday, August 2, at 2:00 pm. We'll be getting back from Orlando and the Golden Crown Literary Society Conference earlier that week. That's good, because there'll be an autograph session down there with all of the authors. At least I'll have a little idea of what to expect. :-)

I don't know if anyone is checking this out, but if so, feel free to post a comment. I hope you enjoy the new book.

Chris