Quiet Keystrokes and Midnight Ramblings

I'm getting ready to commit some crimes. Not real ones, of course. Just written ones. As I'm wrapping up the Adaline series, I'm looking forward to getting back into mystery and suspense under my alter-ego D.K. Greene . To prepare for the stories I'll be telling there, I've started going back to my love of reading crime fiction. Hunter's Green is where I started, because Green is in the name and it seemed fitting as a placeholder while I got back into the mind frame of murder, deceit and criminal mischief. Hunter's Green was far more romantic in style and plot than I typically read. A young American woman flies back to the English estate she shared with her estranged husband after finding that he's likely to file for divorce and marry his childhood sweetheart. When she arrives, she discovers a power struggle has taken over the estate. Her husband, the current head of the household, is in danger of being ousted from his rightful plac...

For the last several months, my kiddo and I have been reading through the Chronicles of Narnia. We finally made it to one of my favorite books in the series, Prince Caspian. In this book, not only are the children transported back to Narnia once more, but they're also summoned to help Prince Caspian claim his right to the throne, and bring magic back to the land. What struck me the most is how much more I remember of this story in my mind's eye than what is actually described in the book. Part of this is likely due to watching the movies, which do change some of the details to be fit for the screen, but I think part of it is also the way our memories fill in gaps and embellish the small bits of information that we are given. If you haven't already read The Chronicles of Narnia with your kids, its one of the classic series that I recommend to help inspire children to love reading. Very little is as intriguing to young readers as imagining Aslan breathing magic i...

Although I haven't been updating this blog regularly - life having gotten extremely hectic recently - I am happy to report that Age / Sex / Location is continuing on its steady march towards the presses. Just today I returned another series of edits to the publisher, and marked one more step off of the long road to printing. As I have been working on Age / Sex / Location, I have also been working on a number of other projects. For one, I am now just a few weeks away from giving birth to my first child (an exhausting and all-encompassing project of its own accord). I also attended some amazing classes over the winter, have helped in the upcoming opening of the Gearheadz Paintball LLC showroom and am preparing for a full summer of paintball. Sticking with the writing is as difficult to do as it is rewarding. I enjoy it completely, and am looking forward to getting back to writing my second novel, Adaline. I constantly wonder when I will find the time and energy to finish the seco...

Life in the Kawaii household has been a maddening whirlwind of changes, events, growth and expansion. Age/Sex/Location is now deep within the publishing process, and I am very excited that Brighton Publishing is handling the grunt work in making the novel ready for the commercial market.  Right now it is being combed over by an editor or two, and I look forward to getting recommended edits back in the next few weeks. Along with the new novel in my life, it appears that there is a new reader on the way too!  Mr. Kawaii and I are expecting our first little reader, and he/she should arrive sometime mid-May.  Trying to figure out pregnancy, what kind of parents we want to be, and how we are going to juggle kids and managing our own businesses adds a new set of weights to an already delicate balancing act.  Hopefully we'll figure things out and come out the other side no worse for wear. I hope that all of you are doing well in your own lives and that you are growi...

I am super excited to share with all of you that I have recently signed a contract with Brighton Publishing for the production of my first novel, Age/Sex/Location.   I am really looking forward to the journey of getting my novel into the hands of readers and am so thankful for all of you who have helped me to get this far. Here is a link to the full press release that Brighton Publishing released Hooray! Currently Reading:

Fundraising for publication of my first novel, Age / Sex / Location  continues to be a lesson in the duality of the world.  It has been the most encouraging, disappointing, elating, frustrating, humbling, ego-stroking and downright confusing venture that I've ever attempted. The amazing thing about the fundraiser is the number of people who are supportive, awed and inspired by my dreams in private... they've told me so through phone calls, instant messages, e-mails and even face to face when I've been out and about... but who also appear to want to keep their support hidden from the rest of the world. To paraphrase the sentiment, "I want to support you, and I think the concept of following your dream is amazing.    But, I want to see what everyone else does first.  Sure, I'd love to help you fund the project, but only if your fundraiser fails." I do want to add that there are some amazingly wonderful people who not only have been publicly supportive of t...

Well, I've made it through the first month of fundraising for my novel, Age / Sex / Location  and the fundraising process continues to surprise me!  Through the generous backing of 8 individuals, $600 of the $5,000 I need has been raised so far and I've been told that there are more people waiting for the suspense to build a little more before adding their donation to the mix. The project has been humbling and inspiring so far; reconnecting me with old friends who are interested in what "that crazy Denise" is up to and prompting others to make steps toward realizing their dreams as well!  It is wonderful to know that whether this fundraiser is a financial success or not, there are people out there who believe in me and who take comfort in knowing that they are watching me as an encouragement in their own projects. There is still another $4,400 to raise, and my Mom has offered to get purple highlights once the fundraiser hits the goal as an incentive to anyone who...

Well, I've been working at raising funds for my first novel, Age / Sex / Location  for a few weeks now, and I've got to say... fundraising is exhausting!  There is the elating high when someone new pledges funds toward the project, the hand-wringing anxiety of wondering when (or if) anyone else will find it to be worth backing, pats on the back from friends and strangers, and the strange and tense feeling of trying to explain "why" I am even attempting such an endeavor. This portion of my journey toward a bound and readable novel has been a great and wonderful learning experience.  Not only has it opened my eyes to the continued battle of those who spend their lives raising funds for causes they believe in, but it has also warmed my soul to know that there are so many people who are willing, happy and able to help others reach their dreams. If you have gotten this far in the posting and are wondering where you can get more information on the project I'm talkin...

Although in the past I have helped to raise funds for grade-school kids, scouts and church groups, I think this is the first time I've ever attempted to do a fundraiser for myself.  It's been an interesting journey so far, and I hope my heart and colon can make it to the end of the Age / Sex / Location kickstarter project intact. I like to be in control of things in my life, and this project has certainly given me a life-lesson that life cannot always be organized and predictable.  There is always going to be uncertainty, anxiety, hope, elation, disappointment and suspense... it's what keeps the whole thing interesting. So, I'm doing my best to promote without groveling; trying to convince others that I believe solidly in the novel without revealing that I don't really  know what I'm doing.  There is a first for everything, and this novel is one of my firsts.  I am hopeful that the next month yields the funds I need to move forward with printing, ...

Hello there readers! It has been a long while since I last blogged, and you may have thought I'd forgotten about all of you, but truth be told I have been buried under a long list of projects and have only just had a moment to come up for air. One of the big developments has been the interest in getting my first novel, Age / Sex / Location, published.  I have been working with a great group of people who are encouraging the project and right now the only thing holding up the train is coming up with the capital to produce the book.  To learn more about this, check out my Kickstarter page here . Another great piece of news is that a segment of my unpublished novelette, A Giraffe in the Room , is going to be coming out in the upcoming issue #4 of Periscope Magazine .  The issue is titled, "Grin and Bear It" and I'm very proud that my story of a man trying to make the best of a very uncomfortable situation has made the final cut.  I'm not sure what date the e-is...

I find myself re-canalizing (again) just what it is that I want from the world of writing.  It seems like every time I turn around I have discovered that such-and-such venture is not as personally rewarding as I thought it would be, or that I've begun pigeonholing myself in projects that are making it difficult for me to move towards my dreams as a whole.  My desires to write are like a river - except instead of finding the smoothest path towards the ocean and letting gravity do the rest I seem to continue finding myself trying to flow uphill and over mountain ranges. I'm stubborn that way. My current thought on the subject of writing can be summed up by answering a couple of questions that have been floating around my brain the last few days: 1)What do you want to BE when you "grow up" as a writer? Just a year ago, I thought being published by a well-known company like Yahoo! would be enough to call myself a writer.  And in some sense, it has.  I can ho...

There comes a time in our lives, and for me that time is now, when it is apparent that the world wants us to move on to new endeavors.  I received word from the Yahoo Contributor Network that they are discontinuing the featured writer's program that I have been blessed to be a part of and are replacing it with a "new and improved" program with stricter guidelines.  Reading between the lines I got the feeling that they realized how much money they were paying out to writers of all levels and decided to cull the herd a bit in response to Google b*tch slapping their internet ratings. While it is disappointing to be let go from the program only a few months after being accepted into it, it has given me time to reflect.  What I want to be as a writer is not a "jill of all trades", but rather someone who is known for writing a specific subject and known as a writer of books.  Truth be told I have spent so much time writing about luggage , dry feet and small bu...

Now that we're all out from under the pressure of National Novel Writing Month ( Nanowrimo ), it's time to take a look at the creations we've made.  In truth, I was not a winner this year but I am looking forward to giving it another shot next year.  The month wasn't all a wash though as Nanowrimo DID spur me on to write the first two chapters of my second novel, inspire me to move forward with finishing the manuscript of my first and give me the kick-in-the-pants I needed to apply for featured writing spots with Yahoo! and Examiner.com. Add to the mix a bout of flu, a head/chest cold, a somber death in the family and a busy Thanksgiving and it's easy to say that November was crammed as full as it possibly could have been.  Although life certainly didn't take a break through this Nanowrimo, it did show me that I can keep plunking along on my writing projects even when things are crazy.  My new goal?  To have novel #2 written and in editing by the time the next...

What a whirlwind adventure this year has brought to me in writing!  I had hoped that this year would propel me into the world of an writer, but could never have expected just how much progress I'd be able to make in becoming the authoress I've always dreamed of being.  As I sit and reflect on how much I have to be thankful for this year, the list is astoundingly long. I've been given the blessings of a career change, the opportunity to write both online and in print, the completion of one novel and the beginnings of a second, a position creating content for a wonderful company on the verge of exploding in a joyful mess of growth and progress, the support of friends and strangers, and even more that I can't think of right now. This year hasn't been all roses and double rainbows, and it certainly hasn't been the easiest year for our family; but it has been a year of personal and professional growth, a reminder that I have an incredible family to lean on when t...

Well, we've already reached day two of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) and my word count is still stuck at a big, fat 0.  I'm not disheartened about it yet though as I've blocked out two full days this week to dive into my novel-to-be. In the meantime, I'm working on some more great projects with Associated Content and have submitted an article to a magazine.  Hopefully I will have a lot of really great updates later on this month.  For those of you who are also in the NaNoWriMo challenge with me, feel free to contact me at d.kawaii@gearheadzpaintball to share your victories, troubles and day-to-day writing achievements!  We can do it!

I have decided this year to take the plunge, dig deep and put my nose to the grindstone this November.  I have officially signed up for National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) and am meeting the challenge of writing a 50,000 word novel in 30 days. I might be crazy, but the idea seems like a good one right now and while I'm sure I'll be kicking myself right around November 27th for attempting this feat I feel that the last two months of editing and re-writing my first novel have prepared me for the upcoming 30 day adventure. I've come up with the basic premise for my second novel, a radical change from the first one I wrote which is based in present-day USA.  The next one will move forward to some unknown time in the future with radical advances in technology and a vengeful return of Mother Earth to make all things right in the world.  I'm looking forward to writing it, and the challenges I know it will bring since the entire novel will be smack-dab in the midst of ...

Now that the editing is done, I have found myself smack-dab in the middle of re-writing my novel.  With deeper dialog, expanded chapters and better descriptions, the novel has grown in length and there's hardly a page of my first draft that hasn't been scratched out and written over. As life does, it got in the way early in the month and I thought I'd have to scrap my plans for re-writing this month.  Luckily, a good friend of mine offered me her home for the weekend and I was able to type through the first 80 pages of the novel in a weekend.  Now that I'm back on track, I feel much better about being able to complete the project by month-end.  I need to finish the re-write and get some copies printed for another round of editing by my reader friends so that I can move on to my next project.  I'll blog more about it next week, but if you haven't heard about NANOWRIMO ( http://www.nanowrimo.org/ ) and you've been sitting on an idea for a novel, November is...

Back in August I entered a writing contest for Glimmer Train, a quarterly publication for short-fiction stories.  Immediately after submitting my entry, I went to work on other projects knowing that the results wouldn't be out until sometime in October.  I was so busy with other goings on that I all but forgot the short story I submitted and the excitement of knowing that somewhere a judge would be reading my words and comparing my story to other new writers. Surprisingly, that all changed October 1st.  Although I'm still as busy (busier, in fact), I suddenly find myself wondering when I will find out how I did.  I hope that I placed in the top 25 authors... honorable mention would be just fine by me as I could always use another pat on the back to solidify why I walked away from a steady job to begin with. I'm going to try to forget the contest, and let the results come as a surprise whenever it is that they are announced.  Whether or not I win, the truth i...

On September 1st I filled the whiteboard above my desk with a list of goals for the month.  So far, with the day still young and a couple more items to be completed, I have met 12 out of 20 goals and I know that I'll knock out at least two more before the stroke of midnight. Were we having a two sided conversation instead of this rambling monologue, you might ask me why I set so many goals for September.  The simple answer is: Because I want to succeed.  At this juncture in my life, I am blessed to have no boss and no one to answer to aside from my own conscience and as with many things in life this blessing comes with a double-edged sword. On the one hand, life is a breeze without the hassle of being micro-managed by someone who has little time for anything other than pestering me about projects past, present and future.  I don't use an alarm clock any more, can go run errands whenever the mood strikes and can spend as much of my day watching Judge Judy as I wan...

For the first time this summer I finally sat down and started on the project I swore was going to be finished by July 1st.  I began to edit the first draft of my novel. Granted, family circumstances being what they are, I was only able to edit the first three pages (out of 150... I still have a looong way to go).  But those first three pages of work have been four months in the making.  Continuously this summer I have found the novel being shoved deeper and deeper on the list of things to do; falling into second, then fourth, then 100th on the growing list after family crisis, death, remodeling, moving and any other number of things that have taken priority. Finally today when trying to figure out which of the remaining 1,000 tasks on the list should be accomplished I decided that come hell or high-water I was going to do something with the novel at the bottom of my book-bag.  If you're one of my friends or family, the red and white bag may have become very familia...