The Miracle of...apple cider vinegar?

IN THE NEWS: Fla. man charged with posing as twin after DUI. Read more here.


I'm on a new health kick thanks to my hubby. He's been reading a book by Patricia Bragg called Apple Cider Vinegar: Miracle Health System and naturally I had to sneak a peek at it too.

It's pretty interesting. But, this vinegar isn't your normal looking stuff you use to make salad dressings with. This is hard core, RAW, unfiltered, organic apple cider vinegar. (Meaning shake well)

According to the book, "Research worldwide supports and commends what Hippocrates (the father of medicine) found and treated his patients with in 400 B.C. He discovered that natural, undistilled Apple Cider Vinegar (or ACV)* is a powerful cleansing and healing elixir, "a naturally occurring antibiotic and antiseptic that fights germs and bacteria" for a healthier, stronger, longer life!"


Sweet, huh?

Well, no, actually it's not. Sweet, that is. It tastes pretty darn TART. But you only mix 1 tsp in 8oz glass of purified water three times a day. I'm so used to the taste now that I actually miss it when I'm drinking my plain water.

According to Bragg, here are some benefits to apple cider vinegar:

Internal benefits:
•Rich in enzymes & potassium
•Support a healthy immune system
•Helps control weight
•Promotes digestion & ph Balance
•Helps soothe dry throats
•Helps remove body sludge toxins

External benefits:
•Helps maintain healthy skin
•Helps promote youthful, healthy bodies
•Soothes irritated skin
•Relieves muscle pain from exercise

Well, I'm sold. If Jack LaLanne supports it, it must have some merit. :)

Bragg also goes on to say how important water is (check), how important staying away from caffeine is (somewhat of a check), how important exercise is (check), how good fasting is (somewhat of a check) and to avoid meat (DRAT! no check)
I still have beef or pork once a week.

Hey, it's all baby steps.:)

Have you heard of the benefits of apple cider vinegar before?
Would you consider drinking it?

Wednesday WIP #1

MOOD STATUS: "Upbeat". Getting a lot of writing done.
Weekly Word Challenge: 5537 words


Well, it's time for another episode of Work in Progress Wednesday. (I'm back at #1 since it's a new story)

I also posted my weekly word challenge. (see above) One of my critique partners actually picks the word goal for the week for me. I have 1,393 toward it so far. But I have until Sunday and the week is young!

Some of you have asked what I'm working on. (Thanks for having an interest) I'm writing something COMPLETELY different. Oh, it'll still be light and fun, but it's not going to strictly be a romance. Actually, it's going to be a chick-lit with romantic elements.
(There HAS to be a better description than that.)

Anyhew... I've had this idea (along with a YA idea) that I've kept on the back burner for a while. It's been kind of nagging at me. And after I finished writing my last romance, I just felt a need to stretch my writing muscles a bit. I'm even writing in a different POV: first person, present tense. Eeep!

So we'll see how this goes. I'm not entirely sure this is really my voice. But I have to try! And now that I've finished the first chapter, I can let my critique partners in on my dirty little secret and see what they think. After I polish it up, anyway. :)

(I have to admit I'm a little scared)


Have you ever decided to change direction with your writing?

Did it work out for you?

The Battle for Your Reader's Attention

IN THE NEWS:Police say Georgia mom forced son to kill hamster. Read more HERE.

Well, I had a very productive unplug week. I dyed my hair, shampooed my carpets, and picked out curtains for my bedroom! AND... I wrote a few thousand words on my new WIP.

I think I mentioned that I'm writing something a little different this time and even trying a new POV, too. Eeep!

Anyhew...it took me FOREVER (well, it felt like forever--and a day) to figure out where to start my story. I had a few ideas I toyed with, but eventually I went back to "The Art of War for Writer's" book and ended up with a completely different opening.

James Scott Bell wrote, "Because everyone, with the possible exception of your mother (if she reads your work), has a little voice in his head ready to shout, 'Life's too short. I don't have the time to go on with this'."

Not everyone is as forgiving as I am with openings. Thus, we as writers are in a battle for a reader's attention. We need to make a connection early on. How do we do this? How do we make a reader care so fast?

I don't know. (Well, I know a little bit, but I'm still learning) :)

I've heard in seminars that you should put your character in a danger of some sort and your reader will care. Hmm... Well, that's great, but what if you write romantic comedy? How can that apply, then?

Well, I really thought what James Scott Bell had to say applied to me as writer better. "If you want to sell your fiction, you must grab the emotions of the reader by putting a character in some sort of DISCOMFORT or a danger or the possibility thereof."

Ah--(lightbulb moment)--now discomfort is something I can use.

So that's exactly what I thought about to create my new opening. I did not put my character in danger, but I did put in her a position that she did not want to be in, and this position that she is in will eventually trigger her goal and also her motivation.

I spent A LOT of time working with the first page--much more time than I've spent on any other opening. But now that I'm finally satisfied, I think I can finally move forward with my story this week. Whew!

Tell me about what you're working on.
Is your character experiencing danger or discomfort in your opening?

Happiness---and an Unplug

MOOD STATUS: "Happy". Hence, the award. :)

Oh, happy days for this Happy Award.

I must have really been deliriously happy last week because THREE people gave me this award.

Special thank yous go out to to Kristin Rae, Elizabeth Bradley, and Jessica Brooks.

So here are 10 things that make me happy:

1) My hubby. (He is literally the funniest person I know.)

2) My kiddo. (Who we keep saying is in my hubby's humor immersion program.)

3) When my hubby unloads the dishwasher for me. It doesn't happen that often, because I'm home and in the kitchen more than he is, but when he does take it upon himself to do it, you would think he gave me a diamond necklace.

4) My Women's Bible study group. I just love these women. The group is a great fellowship and nothing gives me more peace and joy then being in the Word with them.

5) Writing "the end" on a story I've finished. It's a joyous feeling--like a big monkey off my back--until I start a new story. :)

6) Singing in the car. You don't want to drive with me. I have the music cranked up and I'm belting it out along with the radio. (PS. I do a mean rendition(meaning have your earplugs ready) of Carrie Underwood's "Last Name")

7)Sushi. I know. How can raw fish make you happy? It just DOES.

8) Reading in peace. It's such a special pleasure to read without interruption.

9) When the house smells like cinnamon bread, apple pie or cookies. I just made some homemade cinnamon bread on Saturday. It's such a comfort to have your home smelling so yummy. It was almost as good as eating it. (Almost)

10) And lastly...getting blog awards! This is not a hint to hit me up for another one. (Unless you REALLY want to) :)

Now to pass the award over to these blogs:

1) Chelle Sandell

2)Chicki Brown

3) Kate over at The Lovers, the Dreamers and Me

4) R.M. Gilbert

And lastly, I'm done for this week. I'm going to take a little timely "unplug" and try to get some mucho grande writing done.

See you next week!

Blogging Guest: Author Diane Craver

IN THE NEWS: Portland police said a man handed an apologetic robbery note to an employee at a FedEx Kinko's store, then waited for police to arrive. Read more HERE.

Happy Friday, all!

I'm thrilled because I'm taking the day off today! (To PLOT more!!!)

Ah, but fear not because my author friend, Diane Craver has kindly decided to blog for me. :)

She has a new inspirational romance out now with Desert Breeze Publishing, called Marrying Mallory.

Here's Diane and how she took some personal experience into making her main character character, Mallory:


When I was little, I wanted to be Miss America when I grew up. I even practiced my singing for my talent. I would stand on the edge of a field and sing to the neighborhood children. They were so attentive that I was sure I had talent. Boy, was I delusional. I couldn't sing then and still can't. But maybe it wasn't my voice that held their attention. Hopefully, my friends liked the words to my songs because I made them up as I blasted out the verses to them.

Or they were just bored. We didn't have video games or DVDs back in the old days. We stayed outside a lot and played. By the way, I didn't grow up to be Miss America. I didn't have a special talent or the pretty looks to enter the beauty pageant. My main character Mallory in my new release isn't Miss America material either. I used a personal experience that I felt would make for a realistic character. I got into Mallory's mind completely because I know what it's like not to have a cute small nose.

Here's the blurb for my story:

Things have gone wrong for Mallory since she was a small child. All she ever wanted was to have a complete family and live happily ever after. It appears she has it all when she marries Toby Harrington and they have a son. Unfortunately, their marriage ends when Toby has an affair with his law partner. After their divorce, Mallory feels guilt that she couldn't forgive Toby for his affair. As a Christian, she should be able to forgive him for his sin.

Mallory decides to do something for herself, and get a surgical procedure that she's always wanted. What she doesn't expect is her instant attraction to her surgeon.

Sometimes faith is about accepting what can’t be changed and grabbing what God offers her. Life must go on.

Thank you so much, Jennifer, for hosting me today.
You have an awesome blog! And I'll be happy to answer any questions about my new January release, MARRYING MALLORY.

View the Trailer for Marrying Mallory

Read an excerpt here

Buy here and also available from Amazon Kindle and other online romance sites.
Diane's Website

Thanks, Diane!

Your book covers a very interesting topic, which brings me to some questions for our bloggers:

Is there anything about your physical appearance that bothers you?

If you could have one procedure--surgical or nonsurgical--what would it be?

Hello, My name is Jennifer and I'm an Overthinker-aholic

MOOD STATUS: "Grouchy". Tired and not happy with the way my story is going.


I'm in a bad place right now. (Writing-wise, that is. )

I spent over five hours plotting yesterday. Yeah. FIVE HOURS STRAIGHT AND I FELT LIKE MY BRAIN WAS GOING TO EXPLODE.
Unfortunately, I think there are still some more kinks to work out before I start writing. Wah.

The good news is I have a premise, a kick-butt title, names for my characters, and a little bit of background on them. The only thing is I'm a little worried that my main character's conflict is a bit weak.

Am I overthinking this story? Well, yes, most likely.

But I can't help myself! I'd much rather suffer now than later after I've written half my story. And oh, how I'm suffering! I walked around in a funk all day. I thought I had done a good job of keeping my story woes to myself. But then my hubby told me how quiet I was and that he was concerned someone had died.

Ooops.

Perhaps I was a little quiet and into my thoughts. But sheesh, you'd think plotting would get easier with time. (It doesn't.) For me, understanding my characters is THE hardest part of writing.

Thank goodness American Idol is back on TV. Whew! Now more than ever I need a little mindless entertainment.

Do you overthink when you plot, too?
And/or...
Are you watching Idol?

Book Piracy: Unattractive Swashbuckling

IN THE NEWS: Washington couple collects cans to pay for wedding. Read more HERE.

Well, e-book pirates are real.
I know because I recently have become the victim of one.

I won't tell you what site is illegally giving away free downloads of my book, because 1)I assume most of you are law abiding citizens, and 2) if you are an ebook pirate then you already know where to go to break copyright laws so you don't need me to tell you.

Maybe I was being naive, but I never thought it would happen to me. Why would a small, no-named-sweet-romance-writing author even be on a thief's radar? I thought this kind of thing was reserved for big named authors or writers who wrote "hotter" romances whose titles these pirates would not want showing up on their credit card statements. But I was wrong. Cheap is cheap.

Did you know that according to CNN, Dan Brown's blockbuster novel The Lost Symbol sold more digital copies on Amazon.com for the Kindle e-reader in its first few days than hardback editions? But less than 24 hours after its release, pirated digital copies of the novel were found on file-sharing sites. Within days, it had been downloaded for free more than 100,000 times.

Now I may not be losing as much money as Mr. Brown, but it doesn't make stealing from me any less wrong.

If you are an author,

1)know your copyright law and protect yourself by asking your publisher what their guidelines are if this happens to you.

2)Also, if you don't have yourself on Google alerts, do so now, so you are aware anytime your name is mentioned on the Web.

If you are a reader, please do not go to these sites. You're hurting the author, the publisher, and in the long run other readers. If you enjoy reading, then please use your local library.

Thank you.

R U Reading Enough?

MOOD STATUS: "Disappointed". Didn't run at all over the holidays and now I'm back to square one trying to build myself back to where I was. Wah!

Look to your right.

I mean the right of my blog. Uh-huh. Then scroll down.

Down further.... No, really down further.
Gee, I didn't know my blog went down so far.

Okay, then stop when you come to Books I've Read or I'm in the Process of Reading since January 2009. Yup. That's right. You can stop blinking. I have in fact read 48 books in the year 2009. (NOT including three beta reads I did, too)

As you can see, my reading list was eclectic running all from historical, chick-lit, and "how-to" writing books to various romance ebooks and also Christian non fiction. True, most were romances, but hey, that's the genre I write. So sue me. (No, don't really)

I didn't go about trying to read a certain number of books, but it was a goal to read a lot and to read various books. Another one of my goals to do again this year.

So farewell, book list on my blog sidebar! I plan to start a new one on Monday morning with the two books I'm already halfway through reading.

Stephen King said
"If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot...reading is the creative center of a writer's life...you cannot hope to sweep someone else away by the force of your writing until it has been done to you."


Do you think you read enough?

How many books did you read last year?

DISCIPLINE: the first step toward success

IN THE NEWS: Police say an Ohio woman punched through a McDonald's drive-through window because Chicken McNuggets weren't available. Read more HERE.

RECENT IPOD DOWNLOAD: "You Belong with Me" by Taylor Swift


I mentioned on Monday's blog post that I started reading a new book for writers. Actually, I saw it first on literary agent Steve Laube's blog. He gave it a nine thumbs up review, so of course I couldn't resist buying myself a copy.

It's called "The Art of War for Writers" by James Scott Bell.

Over the break, I mentioned this book to a friend and why I bought it. After she rolled her eyes, she asked, "Oh, well if Steve Laube told you to jump off a bridge would you do that, too?" Ha! Nnnnn... Yyyyy... No.

Maybe.

NO! No, of course I would not jump off a bridge because he said so. Pffft! What a silly question!

Regardless, I'm really glad--no, THRILLED I bought the book, because not only is it full of spot on advice and info but it's an extremely easy read, too. This is a book that makes me get all pumped up to start taking my career by the horns. Perfect timing with the new year! :)


The one chapter that really made me sit up and take notice was the author's chapter four. He talks about discipline. Ugh. The bane of my prolific writing ability.


(In other words, I don't sit my butt in the writing chair as regularly as I should. ) :)


The Mr. Bell simply states in that chapter that "Victory in anything, from war to football, is founded in training and discipline. Nothing worthwhile is gained by sloth and wishful thinking."


Whoa, did that hit me full-on in the face.


The main writing area I suffer in is discipline. Yes, I'm writing and I'm finishing books, but I could be producing much faster, thus could have much more writing success. So what is a poorly disciplined writer like myself to do? The author gives this advice: establish and set writing quota goals every week.

I like this. I usually set daily goals and become disgusted with myself if something comes up during the day, like I get a headache or I'm tired or someone pops in, etc... and I don't meet my goal.


Setting a WEEKLY goal gives you flexibility. If something comes up one day unexpectedly, you still have the rest of the week to meet your goal. If you look ahead in your calendar and see you have soccer games and doctor appointments aplenty, you know to not set your quota too aggressively for that particular week. The point is you're setting some sort of weekly goal and meeting it.


The author even goes on to say, "If you're going to be obsessive about anything in the writing business, make it your word quota."


Love that! And I'm totally obsessive compulsive enough to make this the one writing change I'm going to do this year.


Have you read this book?
What's the one change you're going to make to your writing career this year?

Back in the New Year

MOOD STATUS: "Excited". Pumped up to run off all those holiday carbs this morning.

Hey, all!

Happy New Year!

I thought I'd ease into my normal blogging schedule this week and start by just catching up with everyone.

So as not to bore anyone...here's the condensed version of MY holiday time off:

Christmas: I laughed, I cried, I prayed, I ate, I...
got me a pair of chocolate brown UGG boots.

Oooh, how did that slip out? :)

Ha! Well, the hubby did get me a pair of UGGs, and I can happily tell you that I'm loving life now that the temperature has dropped to 23 degrees. Brrr. But my feet are toasty warm!

New Year's: I laughed, I cried, I ate some more, I watched the movie UP twice, I skied a few days, I lit some sparklers and actually stayed up to see the ball drop. Woo-hoo.

Skiing went a THOUSAND times better this time than it did last year. After last year's fiasco of tripping my 60 year old ski instructor and testing his saintly patience, I begged my hubby not to make me take another lesson this year. I'm THAT bad.

(And yes, it's embarrassing.)

So I did not, but I did ask for shorter skis (ANY help I could get) and that really made a difference. I'm still on the bunny hill, but I'm not falling.
And I must say I looked darn cute in my new goggles.

I also started reading a new book about writing that I LOVE. It's spot on. Will talk about that on Wednesday.

So how was your Christmas and New Year's? Do anything fun or interesting?