Every Day I Write the Book....

Betrayals FREE for Valentine's Day!

2012-02-14T00:00:00.000-08:00

My latest release, Betrayals, the next Black Cipher Files book and Staci and Jordan's story is available today and tomorrow for FREE!!! on Amazon.

Enjoy!

STACI GRANT ISDEAD--OR IS SHE?

He saw the photographs from Afghanistan, butJordan Ramirez refuses to believe. His missing lover was the best CIA officerin the field. If anyone could find a way to stay alive, it was Staci. NowJordan has to do the impossible: find Staci and convince her that trusting himmeans the difference between staying alive or staying dead.

SOMEONE STILL WANTS HER DEAD...

Staci Grant has been betrayed. Captured,imprisoned and tortured, it took all her skills to escape. Now she isdetermined to uncover who set her up and why, a mission that leaves no room fortrust. Not even her lover.

...AND WON’T STOP UNTIL SHE IS.

When Jordan finds her, he won’t take no for ananswer, and together they enter a desperate race to unravel the truths behind adecades old secret. But each revelation brings fresh betrayals that threatentheir love and their lives.

Betrayals is the second novel in the BlackCipher Files series. The Black Cipher Files is a romance and espionage seriesthat features hot, alpha heroes and kick-ass heroines, working to uncoverlong-buried secrets from the past so they can save their future.

Betrayals is the story of a CIA NOC officer anda former HRT/FBI agent in a desperate race to discover who wants Staci Grantdead. Betrayals is a fast-paced, edgy romantic suspense.

96,000 words, approximately 400 pages. Notsuitable for readers under the age of 18.

Cover for Betrayals

2012-01-20T17:58:00.000-08:00

Today I got the cover for Betrayals, the next Black Cipher Files novel, featuring Staci and Jordan!!! The book should be out later this month!!

Isn't it fantastic??

Lisa

ps. Xuni.com rocks!

Blowback (A Black Cipher Files Thriller)

2011-09-18T13:45:00.000-07:00

is available NOW!!

So thrilled that my novel, BLOWBACK, is now available for sale. I hope you enjoy Jamie and Lucas's story!!

Amazon, BN.com, Smashwords, Goodreads

Thank you so much to all my friends who have supported me through this journey!!
xo
Lisa

ps. Over 18 readers only!!

Heroes and Heartbreakers

2011-02-14T00:01:00.000-08:00

Fun news:

I'm going to be blogging at a new publisher sponsored website:

www.heroesandheartbreakers.com

The site launches TODAY!! Come on over and take a look, would love your feedback.

In the meantime, Happy Valentine's Day!!

Image courtesy of AdobeTutorialz.com

Tuesday Tip #2

2011-01-26T08:38:00.000-08:00

okay, so it isn't Tuesday, it's Wednesday. Sue me.

Want to increase your Omega-3 intake but either don't like or can't afford fish? Two words:

Walnut Oil.

One tablespoon has a gazillion percent of the daily recommended amount of Omega-3's without the cost or the mercury. Use it to saute some veggies or add to your salad or add to your protein shake.

Lisa

Quote for the day

2011-01-18T11:44:00.000-08:00

I'm constantly looking for quotes on Perseverence as I've needed a lot of it. I've seen this said a number of ways but I do particularly like equating perseverence with glory. :)

Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising up every time we fail. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Don't give up!!!

tuesday tip #1

2011-01-11T12:01:00.000-08:00

cinnamon is good for lowering your cholesterol (i don't know the science behind it, i just know it's supposed to help). sprinkle some in your greek yogurt with almonds or walnuts and a little stevia for a sweet, healthy snack. yum!

breaking your resolutions....

2011-01-10T11:40:00.000-08:00

so the first week of the New Year is over and of course, you've probably already broken at least one if not more than one resolution. what's next?

make it all over again. not next december 31st, but today. the secret to changing your life, assuming that you really, really want to change, is to recommit after you break a resolution. very few people have the willpower to stop (or start) anything cold turkey without slipping now and again. acknowledge the slip and give yourself permission to start over again.

it's amazing how much your life can change if you follow that one tiny bit of advice.

good luck!!!!

lisa

sneaking in the good stuff

2010-10-20T10:23:00.000-07:00

I just finished a 28 day detox cleanse and weight loss program. First off, let me suggest that if you decide to do something this long, go with a program monitored by a nutritionist or dietician or doctor. Don't radically alter your food intake all on your own.

The detox consisted of getting rid of dairy, gluten, alcohol/sugar, and caffeine. The first week I ate only lean protein and lots and lots of vegetables.

I'm an all or nothing kinda gal so this approach worked just fine for me, maybe other people need to ease into it, eliminating one thing at a time. The one thing you can have is oil. Healthy oil, ie. Walnut, Flax, Olive, but you don't have to skimp on your homemade salad dressing.

You learn interesting things about yourself when you undertake a program like this. What I thought would be the hardest (the caffeine) turned out to be a non-issue. (however day 30 I started drinking one cup of coffee in the morning again) I don't think of myself as eating a lot of sugar however, I *craved* something sweet by mid-afternoon. And honestly, I cheated on the alcohol on the weekends, having a cocktail or glass of wine while out.

Nowadays I try to limit my wine/cocktails to weekends only. I'll let you know if I can sustain it. ;)

The basis for the detox program is that we need more fruits and vegetables. What the program did do for me, was give me the impetus to start sneaking more healthy things into my family's meals.

So yesterday I made chili for dinner. I chopped up a little spinach and added it to the crockpot. Last week I made lasagne, I already put spinach in the cheese mixture but I chopped up mushrooms (which are chock full of good nutrients) into really, really small pieces and added them to the meat mixture. No one noticed.

When I make a salad I use romaine and spinach plus sometimes I add just a tiny bit of shredded carrots. I throw in sunflower seeds (lots of health benefits to these buggers http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=57) instead of croutons. My kids complained about the seeds the first few times but then they got over it.

So now every day I sneak in good stuff and we're all living healthier because of it.

Lisa

ps. a great rule of thumb which I recently saw several places: if it can go bad in your refrigerator, it is good for you. Happy, healthy eating!

first day of school

2010-08-23T08:21:00.000-07:00

I love the first day of school.

It's a new year, fraught with potential. New teachers are like new crushes. Shiny and perfect. Maybe this year the kids will discover a passion for a new subject or rejeuvenate interest in an old one, try a new sport, read a book that completely captures their imagination, realize their potential, gain confidence, grow taller, find a direction for their life. The possibilities for new experiences are endless, shimmering in the air like sparkly dewdrops.

Even for me the possibilites are spread out like a banquet. With all this extra time I'll be able to clean out the garage, write an an additional book, paint the laundry room, lunch with friends, cruise into the city to go shopping, do some hands-on research, whip my garden into shape, finally get the house clean, write more blog posts, cook healthier more nutritious meals....

But the first day is the sweetest. The house is silent. I can do anything I want to for a few whole hours and no one will interrupt me. No one will need a ride, or money, or lunch, or to show me the funniest video EVER on YouTube. I have the whole house to myself. So I'm going to enjoy the solitude while it exists and then savor the chaos when the kids get home...ready to tell me about *their* first day of school.

Lisa

Cleaning up, cleaning out, and tips for submissions

2010-07-21T11:47:00.000-07:00

Yeah, so I know it's been awhile. Sorry! I've been struggling with this as I adamantly informed my writer friends, it's important to brand. In other words, if you write mystery, don't talk about your dog unless you write dog mysteries. Except I can't bring myself to follow my own advice (yes, Soph, I know you are laughing at me right now). So I decided instead to focus on the things that occupy my time when I'm not writing espionage or most recently angels. And, maybe, possibly tie it back to writing if at all humanly possible. :)

My daughter and I volunteer regularly at a Hospice Thrift shop. One of my jobs is to go through the donation bags/boxes/whatever when they come in and sort what is possible to sell and what is not. One little note, for most places that request donations, they are going to turn around and sell the item for cash. It won't go directly to someone in need. (Yes, there are some places that give directly to the needy, but most DO NOT)

So let me give you a few little guidelines:

* No stains. NONE. If there is even a tiny speck of a stain, it's gone. No armpit stains, no collar dirt, no one little spot that if someone just took a little time and cleaned up this Versace dress would be a huge find. It will go straight in the rag bag.

* No rips or holes. That darling little boy t-shirt except for that one tiny hole where the cat's claw poked thru and it's expanded a tiny bit, but the shirt is still wearable? Two words. Rag bag.

* They need to be clean. If you have something that needs to be dry-cleaned make sure it is before you donate. Otherwise. Rag bag.

* Metal hangers. Garbage.

* Gorgeous china plate with that tiny chip on the edge that no one ever sees. Garbage.

* Matching coffee mugs with coffee stains inside. Garbage.

Polishing a manuscript is a lot like sorting through your donations pile. Make sure there are no dangling participles or run-on sentences. Fix that one paragraph that you think, 'oh, it's a bit rough but no one will notice'. Or maybe that section of the plot is like an insubstantial metal hanger, unable to bear the weight of the twists and turns, but I'll leave it there anyway. Just don't. *Don't* put in the bag and send it off.

Otherwise that editor or agent will do the same thing we do with unacceptable submissions.

inspiration of the very best kind

2010-03-16T11:22:00.000-07:00

Today’s reality can be bleak--and four hundred pages of an imaginary world where everything turns out okay in the end is the perfect antidote to the constant barrage of bad news these days.

The mark of a truly gifted writer is the ability to draw you in so deeply to her world that you want to hop right in.

Years ago, I used to knit. It was more of a hobby I picked up. I knit some and then I stopped. I tend to be that way with crafts. I’ve had friends learn to knit and they tried to get me to get back into it. And I always demurred quietly, re-iterating that I didn’t have enough time, too busy with other projects, too whatever.

Last year at a local RWA meeting, I happen to sit at a table with a new member, Rachael Herron, who had just sold her first book, How To Knit A Love Song, to Avon.

In the past year, we've become friends. I’ve gotten to hang on her coattails through the adventures of publishing and actually seeing the book in a bookstore and it has been a very fun ride.

When I read Rachael’s book, her absolute love for her characters, her town, and knitting is communicated on every page. And suddenly, I HAD to knit. Seriously.

So a few days before Christmas, I went into a yarn shop, bought a pattern, needles and yarn and away I went. I’d forgotten how soothing the repetitive motion is and how much I love the multi-tasking aspect and how cool that at the end, I have something to wear. Run out and buy this book. I guarantee you’ll be knitting in a week. :) And you'll be anxiously awaiting book two in her Cypress Hollow Yarn series.

The pieces.

Now I just have to sew it together....

san francisco rwa rocks!

2010-01-30T13:12:00.000-08:00

why? because we have the best board ever.

and how do i know this? because i'm the secretary.

Martha Flynn and I at the first official board meeting of 2010

i can't begin to say enough about volunteering for your local writing group, whether it is sisters-in-crime, mwa, science fiction/fantasy (sorry, their exact name is escaping me at the moment!), scbwi, or pretty much the largest and most organized group, romance writers of america.

why? the connections (and although networking is great that is not the kind of connection i am talking about) and the friends that you make are immeasurable.

as a writer, you work in a vacuum. you can spend your days in isolation, tortured by the twisted meanderings of your own mind. it's easy to get lost in that world and forget the real one around you...until it's time to submit your work.

Trish Cetrone, Rachelle Chase, Sophie Littlefield, and Adrienne Miller

that's when the connections you make with other writers will come to save you. they encourage, commiserate, and celebrate right along with you in your journey to publication. whether you've already published or you are just starting, volunteering with your local organization gives you the opportunity to make connections that will sustain you through the bad and the good and the great.

i am so happy to call these women my friends. thanks for everything!

collaging for the visually un-artistic

2010-01-18T14:47:00.000-08:00

it's a new year which means...a new collage. i love collaging. it's taken me awhile to get a handle on the process, i'm not visually artistic but i'm working on it. honestly, my collages are never going to be masterpieces but as long as they inspire me, i'm happy.

if you haven't ever done a collage. they're fun. it's even more fun when done in a group. our critique group gets together with colored paper, magazines, fun sparkly do-dads, foam letters and shapes, glitter writing pens. sometimes i have a theme in place. other times, i let my subconscious guide my color and picture choices and theme emerges later.

this year's theme is 'love to write'

which i do. go forth, get some craft supplies and go crazy. :)

Lisa

chance to win free books

2010-01-08T08:38:00.000-08:00

by posting your New Year's Resolutions, Intentions, Goals, Whatever over at www.pensfatales.com

you could win a copy of BAD DAY FOR SORRY by Sophie Littlefield, SECONDHAND SPIRITS by Juliet Blackwell, a $20 Barnes and Noble gift card, and a book of your choice!

happy new year!

failure to connect the dots

2010-01-05T15:43:00.000-08:00

if I worked in the intelligence community, I would be frustrated with Obama's chastisement of their 'failure to connect the dots'.

the number of intelligence agencies and the amount of intel collected from all sources is staggering. In my most humble opinion, it's a freaking miracle that many plots are stopped.

kudos to all the people out there keeping us safe.

Lisa

hiatus over

2010-01-04T10:31:00.000-08:00

so my blogging hiatus is over...i'll be back later this week.

happy new year to all-may 2010 bring happiness and productivity :)

rainy days

2009-10-19T15:53:00.000-07:00

I love rain. I love the sound of the drops hitting the pavement, splashing against the window panes, the heady scent of ozone in the air, and how clean and shiny everything appears after the rain is over.

I love the gray sky. I love how green the leaves on my trees seem, glowing from the refraction of light on the rain drops. I love curling up under a blanket, laptop warming my lap and cup of tea steaming at my elbow. (must be tea, you cannot drink coffee on a rainy day, it's a law or something :) )

I love how when you're writing, rain inherently supports the mood and tone of a scene. From gray and ominous as a portent of the plot twists to come. From sad and cloudy or dark and angry mimicking the characters' emotions. And I love how the rain seems to spark my creativity.

I can just as easily snuggle up with my laptop as a good book on a rainy day. Blue skies are lovely, but gray rainy skies rock.

Happy Rainy Monday!

Lisa

ps. I wonder...I'm descended from the English-maybe liking rain is in my blood. :)

unexpected blessings and thanks to Maya Angelou

2009-10-10T18:10:00.000-07:00

So Thursday night my son, who is seventeen, says, "oh yeah, i forgot. we have to make spanish rice tonight."

At 6 pm. I've been getting up at 5 am to take other son to water polo practice so by 6 o'clock at NIGHT, I am done. Wiped out, finished, barely coherent. Seriously. I'm so not a morning person that when I'm forced to get up every day like that, by the end of the day I'm in a borderline vegetative state. And by the end of the week, forget it.

Thirty bite sized servings for, no not Spanish class, but English class. Why? Because Maya Angelou apparently is partial to Spanish rice. And for the poetry presentation, his group is spotlighting Maya Angelou.

So he accesses http://www.allrecipes.com/ and searches for Spanish rice. We head to the store for the two ingredients we don't have in our pantry, one of them being, yes, you guessed, the rice.

I don't consider cooking to be helping with homework. I won't write my kid's papers, I won't type my kid's papers, I won't do their math or their French homework, or color their graphs or science lab covers, but I absolutely will help them cook.

Fortunately my sons are in culinary class so he starts the boring stuff (chopping--but don't tell him that) while I get the bacon simmering. We chatted about his day, his classes, cooking, and Maya Angelou while the spicy aromas began to fill our kitchen and what could have been a completely frustrating and annoying evening turned into a lovely interaction with my son. And the rice was absolutely fantastic. We're planning on making the recipe again, it was sooo good.

So thank you, Maya Angelou!

Lisa

ps. I've included the link for the rice recipe. We used smoked applewood bacon and our chile powder is a wonderful smoked powder from New Mexico chiles.
www.allrecipes.com/Recipe/Spanish-Rice-Original/Detail.aspx

World War II Escape Tool: Monopoly?

2009-09-21T13:09:00.000-07:00

I love this!

Lots of military and espionage organizations have escape and evade kits that they give to their operatives who are in hostile territory. Information on local plants that can be eaten, maps, places or roads to avoid. Today they are usually printed on tyvek.

In World War II, they frequently printed maps and information on silk, because it wouldn't ruin if it got wet and unlike paper it wouldn't make much noise while viewed. The maps were sewn into linings of suits, printed on the inside of ties, and various other places. Very clever.

Last week, I ran across an article about taking that idea to the next level. Apparently during World War II, the Germans allowed certain items to be given to POW's through charity groups. One item deemed acceptable was board games. So Waddington's, a company in the UK, made 'special' Monopoly games to be distributed to POW's.

The airmen were told ahead of time that if they got captured to look for the marked games and dismantle the set to find their escape maps. How ingenious! :)

Lisa

ps. If you want to read the entire article, here's the link:

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/monopolys-hidden-escape-maps-free-pows/Story?id=8605905&page=1

social decorum...where have you gone?

2009-09-16T12:20:00.000-07:00

So I'll admit it I'm a bit of a snob when it comes to behavior in public. And it seems that this last week has proven something that has been niggling at me for the last few years.

We as a country have lost our sense of social decorum.

I actually began this conversation with Sophie Littlefield www.sophielittlefield.com and Rachelle Chase www.rachellechase.com on our monthly trip into Berkeley for the RWA meeting last Saturday after the Congressman shouted out "you lie" during President Obama's speech. I found that shocking. Seriously.

While that was the most grossly inappropriate, the last few days have shown a growing deterioration of behavior in public situations. Kanye West. Serena Williams. It seems every time we turn around some public figure is behaving badly. And if people who are supposed to be role models behave this poorly what example are we setting for our kids and for ourselves?

This isn't to say that I always behave perfectly. Far from it. But shouldn't we hold ourselves and our country to a higher standard?

So the next time you're tempted to blurt something out...Don't!
And I'll do the same. :)

the journey's the thing

2009-09-11T10:55:00.000-07:00

i'm fresh from back to school night at the high school, sitting through quick ten minute presents from the teachers about the class and i was struck by a very sad fact. most of the teachers made sure to tell everyone how they grade and the weight of tests vs. homework and meeting the benchmarks and yada, yada, yada.

example: honors chemistry. i was a chem major in college (for a year and a half anyway) and i LOVE chemistry. i would have liked to have known what kind of experiments they are going to do, what cool stuff they might learn. sure i'd like my kids to get good grades but i'd rather they have enthusiasm and a joy for a subject than an A.

parents here (and maybe it's everywhere but definitely the case in my little slice of california) are so focused on the end, on putting that A or B or weighted grade on junior's report card so they can get into Harvard (yeah, probably not, and definitely not in our house :) ) that very few teachers discuss what they are going to teach. and to me that makes for a sad day.

to me, learning should be the absorption of new concepts and ideas and the steps along the way, the journey's the thing.

end of summer and the apocalypse garden

2009-09-04T08:07:00.000-07:00

The end of summer is almost here (no matter what my misguided friends think :) ) and I thought you might like a picture of my garden now. It's needs a little fertilizer (yellow leaves give it away). Some things were an amazing success. I've had plenty of zucchini. And one in particular that got away from me. It hid under a leaf right next to the box and I didn't see it until it was the size of a baseball bat (seriously--okay not completely serious. It was as big around as a baseball bat tho).

The lemon cucumber is really yummy. Now something seems to be attacking the leaves and it's looking a little sickly. The beans never really took off. I'm about to harvest them and have one decent side dish. The corn was a bust. I have ears that are small but the ants got the corn so I'll have to figure out what to do about that next year. However, I'm going to have a great front porch decoration with those stalks so all is not lost. :)

I've got watermelon, honey dew, and canteloupe that has yet to fully ripen. And if the damn squirrels would leave my tomatoes alone I'd be ready for my own Tomatina.

We've had a great time eating from our garden already this year. Although I'm thankful we aren't really headed for the apocalypse because while we had some tasty meals, we'd starve if we had to live on my gardening. :) But hey, it's a start.

And I've been bitten by the gardening bug. I'm looking forward to planting my winter crop soon....

CIA and torture

2009-08-27T18:46:00.000-07:00

So I'm reading this article about torture the CIA allegedly authorized even after we'd deemed it illegal and I was struck by something. You can read the article in its entirety here:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090827/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/us_cia_interrogations

This article was written and published by the Associated Press. And not to make light of the situation but I read this sentence:

Before scaling back its "enhanced interrogation program," the CIA used 10 harsh methods, including waterboarding, a form of simulated drowning. It later used six techniques, including sleep deprivation, dietary manipulation and slapping.

And my first thought was Motherhood is a form of torture.

TGIF!

2009-08-21T13:48:00.000-07:00

It's Friday! The end of the week and the end of summer. School starts on Tuesday and I can't wait.

It's funny how much I long for summer, envisioning lazy days lounging by the pool, the sun sizzling along my skin, an ice cold glass of water at my fingertips and a steamy novel ready to be devoured.

Maybe a weekend at the beach, listening to the sea gulls squawk and the tide crash along the sand, the screech of kids as they run from the cold (West Coast :)) ocean, the salt in the air, and later, the scent of burning wood from the raging bonfire and moonlight rippling on the water.

The idea of summer with nothing to do and nowhere to go. Except these days, that's a fantasy rather than reality. Instead it's swim practice, water polo practice, running practice, swim meets, water polo tournaments, movies, sleepovers, barbecues, shopping, and on and on and on.

The summer may just be more tiring than school because those lazy days (ha!) mean no set schedule and no time alone for me. I can't wait until school starts and I can sit down to write without being interrupted twenty times a day to drive someone somewhere....

Until about mid-May when I'll start longing for those lazy summer days once again. :)

Lisa

milestones

2009-08-11T10:10:00.000-07:00

today my son passed his driver's test. on the surface this is an exciting (if you're him) and terrifying (if you're me--just kidding sort of, he's a pretty good driver :) ) milestone.

on a deeper level, it signifies a shift in the dynamic of the parent/child relationship. the first step in becoming an adult. the beginning of the journey of separation from the family unit to an autonomous being. in ancient cultures tribes had specific ceremonies for boys and girls to transition from child to adult, usually involving some sort of painful and permanent mutiliation of their body. thank goodness we have moved on from such procedures and now only strap them into thousand pound hunks of metal and let them loose on the world....

so while i am happy for him, it's a bittersweet day at my house because my baby is almost not a baby anymore.

Lisa

ps. another milestone, Eunice Kennedy Shriver passed away today. She was an inspiration to many and will be missed

spy wars

2009-08-05T13:40:00.000-07:00

I'm reading a book right now, for research, called Spy Wars by tennant h. bagley.

In a nutshell: CIA, USSR, Cold War, spies, counterintelligence. Caveat...I'm only about halfway through. It's fascinating. Really. The twists and turns and sheer amount of mental logistics to develop 'lines' which are really fake stories with actors (spies) who memorize their stories and then go after the enemy (that would mostly be US, but not always) to ferret out what we know and what we think we know and what they can learn and how they can penetrate our counterintelligence....

it's like a really, really complicated thriller that when you finish...the reaction is NO WAY. Except, it's true.

apparently, truth is stranger (and frequently more complicated) than fiction.

Lisa

ps. Fun note...I bought this at the CIA gift shop, yes, our nation's most top secret (at least known top secret)facility has a gift shop. I refrained from picking up a CIA coffee mug :)

writing warriors

2009-07-31T09:57:00.000-07:00

this business is crazy and dream crushing and dream making and not for the faint of heart. yesterday, during my critique group, we discussed two kernels of truth in learning your process of writing:

1. you can only control what you can control and write the best damn book/article/short story you've got inside of you at the moment and learn from each project you complete and revise.

2. writing is not for wimps. everyone loves to talk about that one person who wrote their first book, sold it, had to do zero revisions and it became an overnight instant bestseller. all that sounds great but the reality is writing is WORK.

writers work and submit and get rejected and write and submit some more and get rejected and so on and so on. this is the career path for most people. it is not for people with fragile egos whose feelings are crushed at the slightest bit of criticism or rejection.

writing is for warriors.

Lisa

ps. please don't fall down in shock--two posts in a week!

procrastination

2009-07-29T16:23:00.000-07:00

aka cleaning your office, culling out unread books, sorting through borrowed books to give back, filing your reams of internet research on various topics, scheduling the next year's worth of www.pensfatales.com topics....

aka sprucing up your front yard, watering your apocalypse garden (i have zucchini! and the corn is sprouting or whatever you call what they do), spending quality time with your children (whether they want to or not), heading to the bookstore and buying books but not reading them because you can't until you write....

aka mulling over your plot, working through story lines, fretting over character motivation, pondering the potential settings of the next scene....

in other words...all of that aka stuff is productive, no question, but it isn't writing. Writing requires BICHOKTAM. Butt in chair, Hands on keyboard, Typing away madly.

No magic handshake, no muse on vacation, no excuse. Time to write.

gadgets, secrets, & spies, oh my

2009-07-20T11:54:00.000-07:00

The CIA (umm, no not the Culinary Institute of America). The Central Intelligence Agency.

Their motto: We are the nations first line of defense. We accomplish what others cannot accomplish and go where others cannot go.

Everyone knows the headquarters are located in Virginia. An impenetrable fortress of security that only the ultra top secret clearance people can ever access. Unless of course you have the secret decoder ring (a.k.a. the Romance Writers of America, Kiss of Death chapter).

We visited the OHB (everything is DC is an acronym-it borders on absurd :) ) The Original Headquarters Building. I felt a little like Dorothy in Oz, wandering (escorted at all times mind you) through the halls of the CIA. It’s the kind of experience that is almost surreal. So fascinating and exciting and unbelievable that your mind is racing a thousand miles a minute. Unfortunately I can’t tell you about it because then they would have to kill you. (Kidding, sorry, couldn’t resist.)

They have a museum of gadgets, from the ultimate in high tech (at least for their time, their ultimate high tech gadgets are still classified) to the very low tech.

One of my personal favs was in the Cold War Gallery. The East Germans (pretty sure that’s the right country) would bump up against a person of interest and they would mark them with German Shepherd girl dog pheromones. (Later I read the Soviets would put it on the bottom of shoes.) Apparently boy German Shepherds can uber-track that scent for about four days. So once the pheromones were applied to the unsuspecting mark, then the boy dog traced the target’s movement seeing where they went, if they took the same route every day, etc. Very low tech but apparently very effective.

I'll leave you with this caveat. If you happen to see a very determined German Shepherd following you around you’d better be on your best behavior. :)

Lisa

ps. The CIA has a website:

Also, the secret decoder ring people website:

The Apocalypse

2009-06-18T18:16:00.000-07:00

I've been remiss in my blogging duties. All I can say is it's been a heckuva month. End of school, parental visit, launching a grog, turned in a book, plotting another series...I've been *busy*.

My friend Martha believes in being prepared and her comments a few weeks ago totally spurred me to take action. I started my apocalypse garden. Prior to this awakening, I had a couple of tomato plants in a pot and some herbs by the back door (which if I don't say so myself, for a plant killer are looking pretty good) I've discovered a secret--fertilizing them regularly makes a really big difference. This isn't to say that I didn't fertilize before but clearly I didn't fertilize enough. Now look at these tomatoes!

So this past weekend we (and I use the term 'we' loosely, I picked the stuff out, figured the dimensions, and how to construct then left the actual construction to the husband) built a 3 x 3 planter box. Then today I forced, er, asked the kids to go with me to pick out food plants. We planted green beans, lemon cucumber, zucchini, cherry tomatoes (someone stuck those in the cart when I wasn't looking), green bell pepper, and cantaloupe. And look how great it looks.

Now I just have to convince the family that they will love eating everything in that box. And since I'm prepared for the Apocalypse, I can get back to writing...happy Summer!

Launching a Grog

2009-06-01T09:05:00.000-07:00

So today we launch our grog: The Pens Fatales. http://www.pensfatales.com

This has been a labor of love from start to finish (yeah, cliche I know). We have had so much fun planning and discussing what we do and don't want, how we want to structure, and amazingly we have agreed on most things without much debate. We've found connections among group members that we had no idea existed three months ago.

When we started, we were eight writers in the romance and mystery genres with a common friend. With inspiration from Maya Banks (www.writemindedblog.com), we decided to make the leap.

Writing is so solitary. Even if you have critique groups and readers and chapters, in the end, the work is accomplished alone. So to have this more intimate outlet to develop friendships and forge connections that I believe will last a very long time, is a gift.

I consider myself very, very lucky. Happy Grog Launch to us!

food obsessions

2009-05-20T12:44:00.000-07:00

why is it that diet change for the worse is easier than change for the better? i've decided its food chaos theory.

i'm trying to be healthier. of course, i hope this will lead to a loss of pounds as i really don't want to have to buy new clothes, but what i really want is to be healthy.

i've eliminated diet coke from my food choices. soda is bad for you, whether diet (aspartame--very bad chemical, my son will tell you it changes to a toxin when heated above 70 odd degrees) or regular (high fructose corn syrup is clearly from the devil according to every health advocate everywhere). but i like fizzy, so i now drink soda water.

there was an interesting study done recently about women and body image. the basic gist of the results that there was little correlation between how women felt about their body, what they were doing about it, and what was reality. many of the women were unhappy with their body image but unwilling to change their diet or their exercise habits. but the world doesn't work that way. you have to be committed to yourself. i think we try to change too much at once and then when we fail (eat whatever it is that we are trying to eliminate) we decided it's too hard and fall back into the easiness of chaos.

so, why obsession? i've figured out that i am not a moderation kinda girl. i either have it or i don't. i don't do well with the only one a week, because slowly that one a week turns into one a day and then one in the morning and one at night, and then what the hell, all day long....

so i'm trying to change...one food at a time. :)

Lisa

ps. one thing i don't like is that i used to take a break from working by going out to get a diet coke from the local fast food place...i miss that mini-break. i had a purpose but it was a quick jaunt and then i was back to work. somehow pouring a glass of tea from my fridge doesn't have the same feeling. oh, well....

one hundred days

2009-05-13T12:25:00.000-07:00

So maybe you are familiar with 100 words for 100 days. This is a writing jump start tool that is supposed to motivate you to write every day...at least one hundred words (which truly is minimal) with the goal that you will begin a more steadfast and productive writing habit. A few years ago my critique group started this and I gamely went along with the idea. One rule: if you miss a day you have to start over.

So...I would enthusiastically jump right in and go gangbusters for...about five days. Then the kids would have a bunch of sports, or the dh and I would have a night out, or we'd have the kids' friends and parents over, or, or, or...and pretty much after the weekend, I'd have to start over. I probably attempted this for a month (maybe longer as I am stubborn) before I stopped writing altogether. The failure to keep at it past four or five days took an incredible toll on my psyche and that was it.

But of course because I am the type of person who REFUSES to give up, I would start the cycle all over again. And because I am also an occasional rule breaker, after failing again and again, I finally made up my own rules. I didn't have to start over. I just acknowledged the day off and kept my own tally of days.

I'm in my third year of going my own way and today I hit day one hundred for 2009.

not your everyday average vampire

2009-05-06T11:39:00.000-07:00

I am not a huge vampire fan. Oh, I read Anne Rice and found those books to be riveting, ten, twelve, however many years ago but now for the most part, tormented immortal beings sucking blood, eh.

My daughter loves the Twilight series, loves, loves, loves them. To me, it’s the same old, same old (this is not to say I am not thrilled with Stephanie Meyer’s success...because hey, go Stephanie, it’s always great when a work inspires that many millions of people to read. :) )

But if I’m going to read vampires, I want the story to be extraordinary. Enter J.R. Ward and her Black Dagger Brotherhood series. Just finished Lover Avenged last Saturday, a treat because I’ve been writing like a fiend so I haven’t read anything for weeks.

Ward manages to craft a vampire series that is totally rockin’ by changing up the story. Vampires have their own society, their own governing system. They don’t prey on humans, don’t drink human blood (because...yuck!). The Brotherhood protects vampires and humans from the Lessers. This series is brilliant. Every single vampire has major trauma to overcome and their character arc is intense and fascinating. She manages to layer in multiple subplots, and although the main romance is wrapped up, she always has some unresolved complication for the reader to contemplate building anticipation for the next in the series. So that is me being analytical, now for the gushy reader stuff...the pace is unbelievably fast, the action brutal yet not gratuitous, the sexual tension is incredibly hot, and the story is over in a blink.

If you haven’t read this series, I suggest starting with the first Dark Lover. My favorite was the story of Butch and Marissa in Lover Revealed, but they are all excellent. And you can bet that I will be at the bookstore on the day the next Lover book is on sale....

writer girls and grog fun

2009-04-29T17:04:00.000-07:00

There is something so supremely satisfying about hanging out with writers. I can't even put my finger on why writer gatherings are so much fun but they are. On Sunday I had the priviledge of spending some quality time with my future groggers. We had a blast taking group pictures in the local cemetary...possibly a little gruesome but with a name like www.pensfatales.com a completely appropriate picture setting. :)

Check it out....

Do we look like we could have an album coming out in the Fall?

Twitter

2009-04-20T09:32:00.000-07:00

So I am not a technophobe but neither am I on top of every craze. I have yet to set up a myspace or a facebook page...honestly do I really want to be on the same social network as my kids? Uh, no not really. And sorry to all those out there who have a page on those sites...I just can't at this point bring myself to go there. :)

Twitter, however, is different. I couldn't tell you why, it just is. It's short and compact and even though I get tired of 'sound bytes' that substititute for substantive discussion, twitter is FUN!

I blog, I'm about to grog, and now I twitter. :)

www.twitter.com Check it out!

friday musings

2009-04-17T11:39:00.000-07:00

I've got a lot of thoughts rambling around in my head right now so I figure I'll just babble...

not enough praying to the tax gods apparently because we owe lots of money. My husband has a job (in and of itself a good thing these days) which allows me to write so for that I am grateful. And I love what I do!

Ashton Kutcher beat out CNN for gathering one million Twitter followers first. I have nothing against AK but gosh what does it say about the future of our society when a single actor has more people wanting to know what he's thinking about than a global news organization?? On the other hand, isn't technology amazing?

the death of the newspaper. I am sad that lots of newspapers are going under but I confess that I don't read them. Too much information and not enough time. Plus every time I look at a paper, I think, a tree is gone--with the exception of picking up a New York Times when I travel because frankly that paper is the bomb.

Happy Friday!

feeling official

2009-04-08T12:57:00.000-07:00

I hate preparing for taxes (I mean, really, does anyone love them?). Going through money in and money out is so depressing. There's always so much going OUT. And that is only the money we can deduct according to the IRS. (Everyone please pray to the tax gods that we don't owe any more money....)

Until now, I've been moseying along, writing and using the family account for my expenses. After doing my taxes and having to dig through paper statements to find any deductible expenses from the three months that my computer refused to download my bank information (I'm assuming it was mad at me :)), I decided to finally set up a separate designated 'writing' account.

Yesterday in the mail, I got my checkbook and my 'writing only' credit card! I remember being sixteen and getting my first bank account. I was all grown up! :)

I've got that same feeling--it's official--I'm a writer. :)

Computer viruses and egging houses

2009-04-01T08:57:00.000-07:00

So April Fool's Day and there's a new computer virus in town. I don't get the whole, "let's create a computer virus that destroys millions of people's work because we hate the company that makes the software' thing. What is that about? Really. What is it about? What possible pride can you take in something that harms innocent people?

And yeah, the company has to scramble to get patches made and announcements out. But at the end of the day, who pays for the virus? The general public who has done nothing but buy the most common software on the planet.

It's a lot like egging houses. Which when I was in high school was the mean thing to do. But I never understood the reasoning behind it. What is the point? The parents are the ones who pay. Egging just makes a mess that has to be cleaned up, frequently not even by the person you're mad at in the first place.

The only eggs I like to throw are plot eggs. I toss them at the wall of my manuscript and hope that my evil plan makes sense and I've created an interesting work and not a puddle of gooey yolks and sticky whites that needs to be washed down the drain or eaten by a virus. :)

My tip of the day. Back up your work!

Confessions of a Plant Killer

2009-03-27T08:20:00.000-07:00

There is something about Spring that just compels me to go to the garden shop and buy plants. I think this is pretty normal. The urge is like some biological imperative, similar to a woman's ticking fertility clock, which is all good, except, I am a plant killer.

I don't mean to. I actually try really hard to care for them and nurture them and get flowers and food. But in the end, I kill them. My family actually makes fun of me because they know that the attempt will be futile. I pretty much gave up with indoor plants and bought some silk ones. Although according to feng shui experts, fake plants are not good for your chi. Sigh.

Still I'm compelled every Spring to buy some living plants, bring them home and stick them in the ground (with all the appropriate fertilizer, mulch, and tender care) or a pot (thank God for drip systems!). And sadly, once they've been transplanted to my garden the death process begins. If we ever have an apocolypse and have to grow our own food, I'm in trouble.

I've already hit my Home Depot once this week and I'm probably gonna go again this weekend.
So say a little prayer for my garden. Happy Spring!

Websites, Blogs, and Grogs, oh my!

2009-03-16T19:02:00.000-07:00

Apparently continuing in the Wizard of Oz theme :)

I love the internet. I love technology. I love the new terminology. New words...what writer doesn't LOVE new words?

Blogs, grogs, twitter. New words spring up overnight like mushrooms in the loamy winter soil. One day underneath the tree a whole colony is just...there.

We were lucky enough to listen to the very popular, prolific and talented, Maya Banks (http://www.mayabanks.com/) speak this past weekend. I'm sure she would be thrilled to know her words inspired action among us.

Pumped up on excitement from her speech, a group of like-minded writers decided to take the plunge into the world of grogging. What is grogging? Group blogging.

So, Juliette Blackwell/Hailey Lind, Martha Flynn, Rachael Herron, Sophie Littlefield, Adrienne Miller, Gig Pandian, LGC Smith, and myself are coming to a blogosphere near you! Just as soon as we figure out our name....

In Defense of Romance....

2009-02-12T15:14:00.000-08:00

My family went to see Wicked this past weekend. I didn't have any preconceived ideas (I haven't read the book by Gregory Maguire) I only knew it was the story of the Witches of Oz. The musical was wonderful and an extremely smart, clever twist on a story that everyone knows. Without spoiling the plot, I will tell you that there is a romance in the story.

Which got me to thinking...the themes of romance and love figure prominently in ballet, opera, movies, theatre, and music. Frequently those works with a central romance become favored classics. So why is it that the moment a book is labeled as a romance suddenly the conception is the novel has less value than a literary or other genre fiction work?

In a time of global financial and political upheaval, tales of love and romance should be celebrated as enduring and inspiring. In my opinion, any artistic work that details the trials and triumphs of love should be revered not ridiculed. For at the end of the day, whether you have a home, car, 401k, or not, if you love and are loved in return then you are rich in spirit.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Inauguration Day

2009-01-20T08:35:00.000-08:00

Normally I don't discuss politics. I'm firmly in the camp of everyone is entitled to their own opinions and beliefs. However, I can't imagine that anyone could blog today about anything other than the inauguration of Barack Obama.

This election was historic on so many levels. Going into the voting booth, I knew whichever party won, this country was breaking down barriers. Whatever your ethnicity, gender, religion, or politics, today we are witness to history.

As we move into what will (hopefully) be an inclusive era, I'll leave you with this final thought. Love too can transcend the boundaries of differences. Love is universal, love unites, and love inspires a profound hope for the future.

Writing Friends

2009-01-13T11:53:00.000-08:00

My critique group, left to right, Me, Trish Cetrone, Lynn Coddington, Sophie Littlefield, and Cyndy Rymer

Writers who critique are not hard to come by. Pretty much anyone who has been writing for more than a month will have something to say if you put your draft, aka your baby, in their hands.

Whether they offer anything productive is another story. :)

I am blessed to have the best critique group on the planet (and sorry, but no, we are not taking new members). We didn't start out as the best ever, we evolved into our current group slowly and sometimes accidentally. Underlying every meeting, we have each other's best interests at heart, we are not afraid to give criticism but we're also not afraid to ignore criticism (even if we're sometimes wrong in ignoring it!) We each have our own critiquing strength which when put together equals a well-rounded judgement.

I've heard horror stories about professional jealousy from people who are supposed to be your friends. We have managed to avoid that trap because we are geniunely as invested in our friend's career as we are our own. We celebrate our triumphs and our disappointments equally, cheer each other on, commiserate through family trials, go on writing trips and field trips together, inspire and motivate and nag each other when necessary. Such as, thank you Sophie, for the nag, er gentle reminder to write my blog post for the week. :)

So with all the craziness in the world today, I wanted to just say thanks to my fabulous critique group. :)

Resolutions

2009-01-06T11:41:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year! Out with the old and in with the new....thank goodness. We can only hope 2009 is a heck of a lot better than 2008--although there are always plenty of things to give thanks for even if the year overall didn't turn out how you wished.

Resolutions are a funny thing. I bet if you looked at your list year after year, the resolutions haven't changed much. Lose those ubiquitous pounds (only the amount changes), drink less, exercise more, be kinder to those around us....

A few years ago I used the expertise of a life coach to help focus what I wanted and how to go about it. Looking at my goals for 2009, I was pleased to see that while some of my resolutions are the same (weight and exercise :) ) in many areas I have moved on to new and more challenging goals and I've replaced old behaviors with more productive and satisfying ones.

The trick to achieving any goal is to break it down into manageable pieces. I also believe there is much in the attitude you take while trying to achieve the goal. Instead of thinking of achieving a resolution or goal through discipline (which infers toil and drudgery) think of the actions as devotion. I heard this in a workshop given by Eric Maisel (www.ericmaisel.com) and it really struck a chord with me.

I don't write every day for drudgery, I write because I love the process (even when I hate the process). It is an act of devotion.

So here's hoping that your year is full of devotion.

Lessons from Other Writers

2008-09-14T14:16:00.000-07:00

California has always been a Mecca for writers. Throughout the last century, many writers lived, wrote, and made their mark on literature here.

With such rich writing history in my backyard, I undertook a quest to learn more about two writers who lived and worked here, Eugene O’Neill and Jack London: what inspired them, what compelled them to write, what convinced them to keep writing.

Eugene O’Neill lived in the Las Trampas foothills with his wife and wrote many works by hand. One of his most famous plays, "Long Day’s Journey Into Night", is an autobiographical account of his early life and the dysfunctional dynamics of his family. He was reclusive, alcoholic, moody, depressed, and compulsive. His personal life was a mess; his relationship with his wife was uneasy, he was estranged from his daughter, and his son committed suicide.

And he wrote every day.

O’Neill locked himself away in his office and let no one disturb him until he felt he had finished work for the day. There were three doors leading to his office and if any of the doors were closed, his wife and staff went no further. (Wouldn’t that be nice...my kids never let a closed door keep them from interrupting!)

Jack London lived on a farm in Sonoma. His novel, "Call of the Wild", has never been out of print, and is required reading in middle schools all over the United States. He was a gregarious and frequent host, a frustrated organic farmer, and partied constantly, drinking and eating fattening food to excess. He had friends from all walks of life, a loving wife who managed the farm and household, and an excellent relationship with his step-son. He also had a disease that eventually killed him at the age of forty.

And he wrote every day.

Jack London had a rule: he wrote 1000 words a day before he was allowed any contact with friends, family, whoever. He worked everywhere...his office, outside on a tree stump, the swimming pond on his property, and even when he traveled. No matter where he was or how late he stayed up the previous night, he wrote one thousand words every morning.
On the surface these two men were diametrically different. Yet, they both wrote works that continue to endure.

And they both wrote every day.

I came away from my mini-quest committed to using their inspiration for my own writing process. Since visiting their homes, I strive to write every day. Is it hard? Sometimes. We all have other responsibilities: jobs, children, parents, bills. But it’s imperative we practice responsibility to ourselves--to our creativity--as well.

Sometimes writing merely means searching the web for research articles. Sometimes it’s reading a how-to article or book. Sometimes it’s only a few words, maybe an emotion or feeling I’m trying to capture. Sometimes, it’s an outpouring of scenes and scenes and scenes. Sometimes, it’s editing a page, sometimes it’s layering in details for a chapter.

Whatever I do, I write every day.

Am I destined to be the next O’Neill or London? No. Nor do I want to be. I want to be me. A writer who reveres the beauty and the mystery and sheer giddiness of two people falling and being in love. A writer who lauds the commitment and dedication of celebrating life with a partner. A writer who believes in the power of being happy.

Because of the example of these two very different writers, I began to honor my writing and my process every day. You can too. One day at a time.

For further information on visiting either of these National Park sites:
http://www.eugeneoneill.org/
http://www.jacklondonstatepark.org/
http://www.parks.ca.gov/default.asp?page_id=478

Agents and Websites

2008-07-15T14:50:00.000-07:00

My news. I've been crazy working to finish the revisions on book 2 in a series yet to be named, although I work on series titles in my spare time.

I consider myself extremely lucky (although I hate to use the word luck because frankly I worked my ass off to get here) and blessed to have garnered representation with Kimberly Whalen at Trident Media Group. She's amazing and I hope we have a long and prosperous association.

I'm also extremely happy to have scored Maddee at Xuni.com to design my website. My temporary page http://www.lisahughey.com/ should be coming soon!

I seem to have lost my music theme. Right now, Everyday by Dave Matthews is on my iPod.

Have a good one!

Artists and Writers

2008-05-22T03:24:00.000-07:00

So for Mother's Day I dragged my family to the Museum of Modern Art. I'll confess straight off that all modern art is not to my taste, but I absolutely love photographs. The MOMA had a exhibit of Lee Friedlander's work and I wanted to see it.

The exhibit was huge. Four or five big rooms of photographs spanning four decades. His body of work is so large the curator made the decision to display the photos by subject rather than by date, giving the viewer the chance to see how the same subject was treated at different points in his life and career. As I meandered through the white-walled rooms it occured to me that artists have the right idea. I'm sure that Lee Friedlander didn't think to himself, "Oh, I shouldn't spend time on this subject, I already covered this." Or, "Maybe I shouldn't use up this roll of film today. I already shot four."

Every time they choose a subject and execute their art, they are creating. I think as writers we have a tendency (or at least I do) to think that any work, any writing that isn't strictly attached to a project or going to be part of a finished work should not be written. That I should "save" my words for that project.

The truth is that every experience we have informs our work. Every thing that happens to us on any given day is going to influence our words, our creation in some way. This is neither good or bad. It just is. And writing is writing, whether the words ultimately make their way into a story or not isn't the point. The point is to just...write.

The Space Between...

2008-05-08T15:55:00.000-07:00

...a blank first page and a finished manuscript.

There's a lot of sweating, swearing, brain-hurting, plot-twisting, heart-pounding, and even gagging that goes on between the white screen we face every day and the finished (or very un-finished) page we end up with as the first draft.

Double, triple, quadruple, even quintuple all of that angst from the first draft to the second to the third to the twentieth before your baby is ready to make its way out into the big, bad world and you've got the space between.

The veritable truth of that space (and what I remind myself of every single time I think I've written total drivel--my favorite poor writing word of the moment) are the sage words Nora Roberts spoke the first time I heard her "chat" at a conference.

"You can't revise a blank page."

So, the next time you're staring at that blank screen...jump into that space, put your butt in your chair, and write. :) 'Cause sure as sh*t, those words will be waiting for revision.

Lisa

PS--Yes, I seem to have a music theme going here. The Space Between, Dave Matthews Band, is on my playlist while I'm working.

Brand New Day

2008-04-24T15:11:00.000-07:00

My super smart and talented friend Sophie finally nagged, er, convinced me it was time to start blogging about writing. So here goes....

This is a test to see how the blog posts work. :) I love blogs. I'd heard about them for a few years, of course, but truly didn't want another time suck. Because as someone recently said...(didn't note who so I can't give proper credit--sorry!) blog reading is like potato chips, you can't eat just one.

Fortunately I use reading blogs as a reward when I've spent enough time in front of my laptop or gotten in enough words that I'm allowed a break. My boss is a b*tch. Oh, yeah, that would be me. :)