Odd things Writers learn

When you are a writer, sometimes you need to search on the internet for details on how to do things.  For example, I just learned how to get blood off of walls using meat tenderizer.   If anybody ever looks at my search history, I will be in trouble.  Seriously, how many people look up "how to remove blood from walls"?   In the past, I've also looked up brain tumors and learned the different symptoms that depend on where the tumor is located in the head.  I've searched for how police treat crime scenes and if they can find out what kind of blood it is merely by blood type (like A+, B, etc) and that answer is no.   I've learned how to set up security cameras and the fact that they need a transmitter or two.  I've learned a lot of things that I probably won't remember until I look it up again.

I'm sure other people have odd things in their search history. It just tickles me when I search for something and wonder what is in other writers search history.  

Donate to worthy cause!

My friend helped get a food pantry started in her apartment building.  They got a grant from the state of Vermont but that money is running out.  They need more money to help fill up the food pantry.   Read more about it here!   I've shared it on Facebook and twitter and thought  it couldn't hurt to post here too.  Please click the link and donate!!

https://www.gofundme.com/pn76qyd4  

Howdy all!

Hello to all new visitors.  If you are new here, let me tell about this blog.  I named this blog The Dream Writer because I am a writer who has wacky dreams. I try to post here often but sometimes forget or can't think of anything good to post.  However, I've decided I'm going to post here whether it's good or not. Lucky you. LOL

First, a reminder. You can see past posts by clicking on the Blog Archive section or by clicking on words in the Labels section to the right.  If you click on the labels called Poem, you'll see all my posts with poems in them.  If you click on Dream, you'll see all my posts about my dreams. You get the idea.  

Now on to a dream I had last night.  

The dream starts with me watching TV.  only thing I remember seeing on the tv is seeing a commercial.  It’s a man and a woman skiing down a mountain.  They are wearing matching ski pants and bras.  yes, the man was wearing a bra.  O.o     Then the dream jumps.  I had snuck in to an auditorium filled with a ton of people.  It had stadium seating around 3 walls.  They ushered one woman out who wasn’t supposed to be there so I kind of sank down in my seat.   The woman next to me was standing and trying to calm everybody down because they were angry somebody had snuck in.  I look up at the woman and it’s Ellen DeGeneres.  She sees me trying to be invisible and sits down while she says:

“Oh, you can stay.  Don’t worry. It was just that woman who couldn’t.   You’ll need to turn off your phone though.  We don’t allow those in here.”  

I fumble with my phone and a notebook. “Can I write down stuff?”

“Oh sure. just turn off the phone.”  

I manage to find the mute switch and turn it off.   The phone in turn calls me Bitch repeatedly before shutting up. Ellen looks at it and then at me  “Did it just call you a bitch?”

my mouth hangs open a bit, “Yea I guess it did.”  

And then I woke up.  oooooooooook

Too many books!

I have six books that I'm writing right now.  That's right.  6 books in progress.   I don't know which book to focus on.  I know of a couple that I can push aside for now but leaves 4 that I still want to work on.   Unfortunately, it seems lately that when I start writing a book, I either lose interest or I think it sucks so badly that I want to scrap the whole thing.   I haven't scrapped anything yet. I've rewritten parts, continued writing anyway but I haven't actually finished a book in a long time.

I really wanted to get a book published this year. I keep thinking about it and here it is, half way through October and I don't think it's going to happen this year.    If you look at the labels on the right, you can click on the Book label and you'll see all sorts of posts about my books.

Self Publishing costs money.  Money which I don't have.  So... I'll work on saving money again and hope life doesn't get in the way of that.

Dream time!

Since it's been a while since I shared a dream, I thought I'd share the one I had last night. 

The dream starts with me waking up after a long night of sleep.   When I open my eyes, I see chaos.  The front door was splintered and in pieces, everything on my entertainment unit was thrown about and scattered around the room, cushions slashes, dining room table was on it's side.  Everything was destroyed. 

I was in shock and just kind of stumbling around the living room.   I look out the now nonexistant front door and see the neighbor's door across from me is in the same shape.  I go stand in the hallway outside my apartment and look in other apartments.  All of them were destroyed like mine. 

The guy across from me comes up to me and we try to figure out what happened.  He said he had slept soundly and didn't wake up at all which is odd for him since he's a light sleeper.   Another neighbor had kids and they all said they slept just as soundly.   Eventually, the police arrive and tell us we need to leave for a few days so they could go through everything and try to collect evidence.  

I reached down to pick up a pile of books to take with me but the police wouldn't let me.  I looked around and spotted teenage boys hiding in the closets near the front doors of their apartments. they were playing handheld video games and ignoring everybody. 

With nothing else to do, I go get in my car. the police wanted me to go to an address and get checked out by the doctor (along with my neighbors).  I go there and afterward, I go to get in my car again only to find the floor of the car is gone.  The gas and brake pedals are there and the car is functional. It's just that the floor of the car is gone.   makes driving interesting.  I woke up as I was driving on a highway and feeling the wind come in around my feet. 

yup...  just another odd dream for me.   I think it would make an interesting book.  What happened to the apartments?  What destroyed everything?  Why were the police being secretive?  Where the Hell did the floor of the car go?  o.O

Strange dreams

I had another strange dream last night. I think it was one continuous dream but could have been two dreams, back to back. 

 

Starts out with my sisters and me going over to Terri’s house to watch a movie. Upon entering, she tells us they’ve had a problem with spiders lately. She said they’ve been dropping from the ceiling a lot. I turned around to leave but Terri assured me they were gone and they had done a bug bomb on the place. So I stay and we watch a movie. I wasn’t watching a movie though, I kept my eyes on the ceiling,. Sure enough, spiders started dropping. Terri tried to keep me there and said it wasn’t a big deal but I left. I got the impression I was going to a hotel because I couldn’t go home. I don’t know why. Anyways, I left. 

 

Now, either the dream continues or a new one starts. I was in a hotel room with Sam and Dean from Supernatural. Yup.. no, it wasn’t a threesome. you perv. We had just come off a hunt and the police were looking for the three of us. We decided to split for a couple of weeks and meet back at Bobby’s place. I went to the mall to get a change of clothes. I didn’t want to use credit cards because that would lead the police to me but I didn’t have any cash. so I ducked into a clothes carrousel. You know the round stands full of clothes? Yup, I hid in the center of one, shoved clothes into my duffel bag and waited for other customers to leave. When the coast was clear, I left the store. As I was walking by another store, their alarms started going off. I panicked which was stupid because I hadn’t even been in that particular shop. but I panicked and started hurrying out of the mall. Once I got out of the doors, I ducked between cars and hid. sure enough, mall security came out and looked around. They went back into the mall and I walked through the parking lot to the road. There, I kept walking, relieved that nobody was after me and I had gotten away. As I’m walking, a car slows and kept pace beside me. I heard somebody say you want a ride but before I could see who it was I woke up.

so yea.. interesting night

I hate politics

I hate politics. I hate talking about it so this is one of the few posts about politics you'll see on my blog. Talking about politics in my family only gets you angry. It's pointless. I have found I tend to disagree with my parents views so I refuse to talk about it with them. Why talk about politics when you don't get anything out of it? I guess those who like to debate things are the ones who discuss it the most. Obviously that's not me.

Here are my views... It doesn't matter who is president. People are either going to love or hate the president, no matter who is in office. You will always find something wrong with any president. Nobody is perfect but people seem to think that the president should be perfect. Presidents are humans, you idiots. Humans aren't perfect.

The President gets a lot of respect from me (usually) because it's the most stressful job in America. Put yourself in his shoes. He and his family are in the public's eye 24/7. Even after he leaves the office. The president is insulted daily by narrow minded people who think they can do a better job. I have news for you. It's a hard job. Nobody is going to be the best at it. Not you. Not me. Nobody.  

Why do I think it doesn't matter who is president? Because if you try your best at something, somebody is going to find flaws in it. you pass a law, and the U.S.A is going shit all over the law that you thought was a good thing. You create something that helps millions of Americans? Good for you! But don't expect the americans to thank you or agree with you. Being a president sucks. Debating about who should be president is pointless. We haven't even narrowed down the tons of people who want to run for president and I'm already tired of hearing about them. I'm even tired of this post. so I'm just going to end this.

I just wanted to get my thoughts out there. If you disagree with anything I say, Please don't start arguing with me about it. I will ignore you.

The Next Step & ramblings

I need to contact a few book cover designers and at least get some quotes. But I'm hesitant to do anything because of money.   While I know I have the money in the account, that money could be used for other much needed things.  I need new glasses and to get my eyes checked. I need my bottom teeth worked on which is going to cost a shitload.  I just need too many things.   It sucks.  

I have a couple websites saved that list the steps of self publishing a book.  They have helped me a lot so far.  However, the links mostly talk about ebooks and while that's good, I want to do both.  I want to publish an ebook but I also want a paper back book that I can hold in my hands.  I'll probably use create space for that part.  So I need a step by step guide that says what to do when doing both ebook and paper back.   Actually, I want somebody to hold my hand and dummy it all down for me. lol   

I work full time, 45 hours a week. I don't have kids and I'm single which means I have a lot of free time to do everything that's needed.  However, I also have health issues that limit what I can do.  You try working full time, writing books and doing this publishing stuff when you're too tired to do anything and just want to sit and stare.  It's not easy but I'm doing it.

I'm going the self publishing route for the following reasons:

1. I don't have put up with rejection letters from agents or publishers who think I'm crap
2. I don't have deadlines where I have to have something done by a certain date.  I follow my own schedule and do what I can, when I can.
3. I control what my books say and how they go.  I know some editors and publishers want more details, cut down on details, change this, change that.   ummm.... No.  I have my book the way I want it.
4. I'm new at all this stuff and while I may have more to do by doing this, I have more control.
5. I'm tired.  I can't think of any more reasons but you know what? That's okay because it's my decision. 

I guess I typed out the list to remind myself that any pressure I feel is my own doing.  I don't have a schedule to keep.  Do I want my book published in the next month?  Hell, yes!!   If it doesn't happen yet and gets pushed to later this year, that's ok.  My book.  My timeline.

About Me

Since I am working on getting my first book published, I thought I'd write up an "about me" page.  Below is what I have so far.   Everybody is free to suggest something to add.   Also, eventually, I will have an author page on Facebook.  In the short description for the about me section, I need something to write there.   A friend suggested "Katie loves to write paranormal romance while surrounded by her Supernatural Funko-Pops and Tarot decks."  Which is all true.   I suggested "Katie loves to write paranormal romance while surrounded by her geeky toys and Tarot decks."   only because geeky toys includes a variety of stuff from light sabers, stuff animals, supernatural pop toys, supernatural spirit board, miniature crap and lots of other stuff. 

I'll go ahead and create an about me page but below is what I'll have on it for now.



About Me

My oldest dream was to see my name on a book cover.   I believe it started when I was in the fifth grade and the teacher taught us about poems.  Our assignment was to write several different poems (using the different styles) and create a drawing for each poem.  I enjoyed doing that so much that I wanted do more.  So my hope was that I would someday have a book published, containing poems that I’ve written. At the time, I didn’t think I could write a story by myself. I guess my brain wasn’t ready for it yet.  That didn’t come until the eighth grade where the English teacher asked me to join the creative writing club.  She also had a guest author in class one day. I wish I could remember his name but one piece of advice he gave was to write what you enjoy reading about.  If you like ghost stories, write a ghost story.  If you like romance, write about romance.  Write what you like because if you don’t, then writing will become a chore and you’ll come to hate it. 

For that reason, I write paranormal romance novels.  I love that genre so much because it includes such a wide variety of topics.  Nowhere else could the hero be a tormented shifter/vampire/ghost/fairy, etc and the heroine could do whatever the hell she wants.   So I strived to create stories people would like.  I’ve written countless books and up ‘til now, none of them have been published.   

Enough babbling.  Here are some facts about me.  I’m single, in my mid-forties and work full time as one of the helpdesks that involves software and helping sort out issues.   Also, I have rheumatoid arthritis which is a painful disease involving the joints that disables a lot of people.   I consider myself lucky that I can work and I can still type and do what I love.   

Editing sucks

I don't know how book editors do this for a living.   I'm reading through my book yet again and have still found errors.  One error was a previous one I had put a mark through but didn't correct.  Another error was I used the word 'it' instead of 'he'.  Makes a big difference in a sentence when you use the right word.   Other things have been small errors like a dropped period or one letter too many.

Granted, there aren't as many errors now and I know the chances are slim that I'll catch every single error.  Knowing this, I have to say that if I published my book today, I'd be okay with it.   There aren't that many errors and readers can actually read it without cringing or having to mentally correct a sentence.  It's readable. 

I don't know if I'll have my aunt go through it one more time or not.  It may not be needed but I fear she'll find something that needs correcting. silly, I know.  

Also, for any readers I have, what are your thoughts on grammatical errors, spelling mistakes and readability of books?

The Perfect Time

Instead of posting info on all my completed books, I'm going to skip ahead to the last completed one and I believe the best of the batch.     This book is different then the rest I've written and when I reread it, I fell in love with it all over again.   Right now, I'm editing it and working on corrections.  Can I just say that punctuation sucks?  Punctuation is not my friend.  It's a pain getting the book corrected.  However, I believe in having a book that readers will like and can read without cringing at errors. I've read too many books myself that not only have wrong words and misspellings, but just too many mistakes for the book to be enjoyable.

So yes, I'm working hard on getting this particular book corrected so that it looks right.    This book is called The Perfect Time and I know it'll be my first book to be published.  I just don't know when yet.  Below is the quick synopsis or blurb I wrote about it.    What do you think?  Would you read this book just based on this blurb?




The Perfect Time

When an infection hospitalizes Sarah, she begins speaking a strange language.   Sally, her best friend, records what she said and gets it translated with shocking results.   Once Sarah is released from the hospital, her friend tells her about the episodes of her speaking in tongues.   She learns she’s lived before in sixteenth century Scotland and was married to an abusive Laird.  Her 16th century version has secrets that may cause harm to her and the blacksmith known as Tanner.  Little did she know that the choice made in the sixteenth century would have repercussions today. 

Questions to ask...

I thought I'd come up with a list of questions to ask a published author in case I ever get the chance.    So I came here to start a new post and now I can't think of any questions.   sigh..

Let's see.  Um...

1. Do you have any suggestions for somebody who works full time and wants to be published? Good thing I don't have a contract with deadlines. 
2. Do you do any fact checking on your fiction books?  Or since it is fiction, do facts matter?
3. When writing a book, I've heard that you shouldn't edit it as you go.  Don't worry about punctuation and spelling errors so much and just write.  Do you believe that's true?   I can't help but make corrections as I go.  I really can't.  It'll bug me if I know there's a mistake and I left it alone.  And yes, I do read the book several times and make my own corrections.  Man, I suck and make a ton of typos.
4. How many books did you write and finish before you were published?  I have 8 so far.
5. How many books did you abandon because you thought they were utter crap?  I have many. :)
6. Book covers are important.  They say you can't judge a book by its cover and it's true to a point.  However, as a reader, I know I look at the book cover and tend to skip those that just have a title and nothing else.   Having said that, do you believe the cover should always have a hunk and a woman on it?  Or do you think scenery is alright?    It's not like you should have a picture of an airplane on the cover and have the book be historical fiction. The scenery has to tie into the book but I don't think it's required to have a woman with her bodice ripped and some drop dead gorgeous hunk leaning over her.   hmm.. drop dead gorgeous hunk. I may rethink that.
7. How did you find your group of beta readers?  Are they family or friends?

I may edit this list of questions but these are what I came up with after a brain fart.  Now, if any readers know any authors who would want to answer these questions, feel free to share this page with them.  

Fourth book Synopsis

Hello all.  After a break in posts here, I'm back with another synopsis.    This fourth book is a ghost romance story with a happy ending.     Now my previous books were vampire books so this one is different.  no vampires in this one.  I had fun writing it.   Below is my attempt at a synopsis.  What do you think?  Would you read this book?


My Eternal Love

After an exhausting two year battle with the courts, Evelyn is finally able to relax and enjoy life again. With a new home, she’s ready to start a new chapter of her life away from the prying eyes of reporters.   When objects start to appear on her pillow, she’s sure her friends are playing a practical joke on her. That is until she comes face to face with a ghost.  Forced to believe that ghosts do exist, she struggles with what to do next.  A reporter finds her though and threatens her safety. 

Can she overcome her skeptical nature to do what must be done?  When her life is threatened, who will save her?

Third book synopsis

Today, I'll share my synopsis idea for my third book.  It's called Destined for Darkness.  It's a unique story idea and just so happens, I share a couple of my poems in the book.   though I'm not sure I should have this poem in the synopsis.   Hmm.  

Anyways, the book is a paranormal romance (as all of mine are).  What do you think of this synopsis?  I know it's short but sometimes it doesn't need to be overly long. 


Destined for Darkness

Dreams haunt her, darkness hunts her.  Just when Katarina starts to think the psychiatrists were right about her, Devlin walks into her life.  As she comes to know Devlin, danger threatens her life and her new found love.   Will they overcome the darkness or they embrace it?
(maybe include one of the poems from the book in the synopsis)

Darkness
When darkness descends upon your skin
Don’t let it fill you, don’t let it in.
Don’t turn to look or let it know
That you’re willing to let the light go
When the light is gone, darkness will embrace
Those who wish it to take light’s place.
When you find a passion in the dark of night,
Be watchful of a love that blinds your sight
For darkness has a beauty that hides all lies
Tricks you to think love is before your eyes.
There is something that lurks in the dark
Longing to drink in your spark.
Be careful of what you see or feel
For you may be it’s very next meal

Second Book Synopsis

If you saw my last post, you'll know I'm going through my completed books and I have realized something.  The first book needs work. A lot of work.   As I've been reading, I've found that the story and writing gets better with each book.  

Below is a synopsis for my second one called "In My Dreams".  While I do think this book is better than the first, it still needs work.  I think the ending is a bit abrupt.  Maybe it needs an epilogue.   Still, read the synopsis below and let me know what you think.  Would you read this book?

In My Dreams

Grace's life takes a sudden turn when she finds her fiancé cheating on her.  Soon after, the dreams start.   Her friends tease her about her dream man until one fateful evening when she sees him while she's awake.  A crowded bar, the lights dimmed but she knows it's him.  He's here and he's come for her. 

The path they take is full of blood and danger.  Will he keep her safe from others?  Or more importantly, himself?

Books, blurbs and ideas.. Oh my

In the coming days, weeks, months?  I'm going to post stuff here.   I'll write up a synopsis for each of my completed books and possibly ideas for covers or ask for beta readers and all sorts of tips.  

I ask you the readers to share your opinions of the synopsis I provide.  Please give feedback.  Is this a book you'd read?

Without further ado, I give you my first try at a synopsis from my book titled "Not Alone".  What do you think?



Not Alone synopsis

While on vacation, she falls in love with a house.  It's a steal. A deal that seems too good to be true.  Soon, she finds that the house is not as empty as she thought.  Disembodied voices, brushes of her hair and a touch on her shoulder all make her wonder if she's losing her mind.  Then she meets the other resident and knows the deal really was too good to be true.

She's not alone.  He's something she hasn't encountered before.  Can they coexist? Or will the past pull them apart?

Dream time!

I haven't shared a dream here in a while so here's the latest one I had last Thursday night.

Last night, I dreamed that everybody in the world could suddenly remember everything about their past lives.  Every detail, every life they ever lived was fresh in their minds.  It caused issues with a lot of people.   

I was upset about one of my past lives.  In it, I was a girl about 10 years old and the setting reminded me of Little House on the Prairie with the houses and dresses.   I was wearing a dusty rose dress and a bonnet.  I was mad because my aunt (she was also my current Aunt) promised to show me how to make pinafores but she kept delaying and coming up with excuses as to why she hadn’t shown me yet.  Side note, I didn’t know what pinafores were until I googled it this morning.  Weird.  Anyways, I decided to go to my aunt’s house and make her show me.  I was tired of waiting.  To get to her house, I had to walk along the woods.  There was a ditch on one side of me and the trees on the other side with a river in the ditch.   I tripped and fell down the ditch and into the river, then drowned. 

In my current life, I was sitting around the table with Mom and two of my Facebook friends, Sharon and Kathy S.   Mom was asking why my Aunt Kathy wasn’t at the table with her and I explained that I was too mad at her and told them the past life with me drowning.  Mom told me to let it go already because she wanted to see her sister.  Sharon agreed with me and said I had the right to be mad.  Kathy S. agreed with my mom. 

An argument started about who was right and who was wrong and I woke up in the middle of the argument

A plea...

I've seen a lot of good things happen because of Gofundme webpage.  I've seen miracles happen because of it.   I've also seen some greedy people post crap on the page.  

But let me tell you that this one isn't crap. It's not some fake thing with some person only looking for money because they're greedy.  This one is different.  This is my uncle. 

He has had health issues for many years and hasn't work in a long time because of it.   Now, he needs help more than ever.  I ask everybody who reads this to please donate to my uncle.   He needs help.   Spread the word. Get more eyes on it.  Help him.  Please.


http://www.gofundme.com/meybzc

Ramblings about Health

I have Rheumatoid Arthritis and hypothyroidism.    Both cause fatigue and aches and pains and I usually don't know which disease is causing what.   I've had Rheumatoid Arthritis for about 17 or 18 years now.   You know what I hate the most about R.A?   Surprisingly, it's not the pain.  It's the lack of energy and the fatigue that makes you feel like you could drop right where you're standing.   I've been told I have a high tolerance for pain and I guess with this disease, I'd have to.  I have days where I can barely walk because the pain is so bad.  I couldn't imagine if somebody without that high tolerance spent one day in my shoes.  

I work full time.  I have canes everywhere. One in my car, one at my desk at work, and more at home. Problem is that the cane rarely helps.   On the days when I need the cane most, I'm usually having an issue with my fingers, my hands or my wrists.  Hell, even my elbows too.  And that makes it hard to hold and use a cane.   

Now for the complaints...  If you go to a rheumatologist, first thing they'll do is tell you you're too fat and you need to lose weight.  Then they'll give you prednisone which is a steroid and makes you eat constantly and gain weight.  Where's the logic in that?     Then they'll give you medicines that lower your immune system so that's almost non-existent.   Now, if I wasn't around people all the time, I might be okay with that.  But I work in an office where people come in sick all the time. Hell, a few years ago, somebody had a cold or some respiratory funk but when it got to me, it turned in viral meningitis because of how screwed up my immune system is.  And doctors want me to lower my immune system voluntarily so I am at greater risk of getting sick and catching every germ work people have?   Yea, that's not happening.   Also, it has been my experience that these doctors won't give you pain medication because they want the arthritis drugs to do their thing.  so you end up in pain anyway.  

So in my opinion, rheumatologists suck.  They don't know what they're doing.  I've had them tell me "If you lose all that weight, you'll feel better."  Bullshit. I've lost the weight before. I got down to 170 something.  I was still in pain daily.    Which is I haven't seen a rheumatologist in years.   They give you drugs to make you fat, to get rid of your immune system and they insult you.  So yea, I have a problem with them.  

Now, I have a physical on Monday and I haven't had one in years because my previous doctor let me lapse on them. I was seeing her constantly for the thyroid issues before.  But this doc won't let me get by it.  I'm prepping for what she'll say.   She'll say I'm fat and I need to lose weight. I'll tell her about the R.A. and fatigue and no energy and pain, she'll give me a list of rheumatologists so I can go see one.   She'll probably put me on blood pressure medicine because I know my blood pressure will sky rocket just from being there.  

I digress....  the point of this post was that I'm tired of this disease.  if I get treated, I'll be put on drugs I don't agree with.  If I don't get it treated, I continue on as I am and potentially hear my doctor complain to me. 

The scientists and doctors need to come up with a different way to treat auto-immune diseases.  Stopping and/or lowering your immune system is not helpful in my opinion.   if I took the drugs they want me to, sure, my R.A.  might be better but then I'll be open to every germ, every cold, every type of flu, have the possibility to get meningitis again.  And that's not going to happen.  Meningitis terrified me.  It wasn't life threatening or anything.  It made me lose my mind.  and I won't go through that again.  so I deal with the pain of R.A. 

so yes, I have Rheumatoid Arthritis.  but I also work full time and I also have written like 7 or 8 books and countless poems, not to mention the countless books in progress (none of it published).  And I have this blog which I don't keep active as much I'd like.  so if I have any readers out there who wonder why I don't post often enough, now you know why. 

If you've read this far, well, I'm sorry this sort of turned into a bitch fest.  I just wanted to explain things and get thoughts written down..