My 1940's Elf on a shelf!
He's sitting on my vintage typewriter, that sits on top of my vintage bookcase, that came all the way from London. I have a love for vintage items and working in an antique store does not help my wallet any. In fact, I'm sure I have spent more than I have made.
(Please don't tell my husband.)

Today I'm critiquing my Synopsis for Southerland Skye again. I've whittled it down from twelve pages to six. Now I'm trying to get it down to three. Not an easy task.
Thankfully, I have a great cup of coffee, blended with frosted sugar cookie creamer, and my elf on a shelf giggling at me from a far. Keeping my fingers crossed that I get this synopsis done today and hoping that you all have a great rest of the week.

I left my heart in.....

          This past weekend I went to one of my favorite places in the world; San Francisco.
My daughter Chaye had a Phlebotomy exam she needed to take, so the two of us drove to Santa Rosa the night before, and stayed with my bestie Catherine. Thankfully, Catherine grew up in the area and knows her way around.
The following morning she drove us into the city by the bay, (Cudos to the band Journey for coining that phrase). San Francisco happens to be one of prettiest, congested, dirty and eccentric places in the country. Let me explain-

           We parked downtown next to Cafe De La Presse, which has the worlds best cappuccino, and is across the street from the China town entrance. After we fed a thousand quarters into the parking meter for a mere thirty minutes of parking time, I stood near the car and looked up at the skyscrapers surrounding me. The detail and architecture of the buildings are breathtaking.
I wondered how old some of them were, and how amazing it was that they survived the earthquakes. I looked at the engravings, brickwork and designs in awe.

          A doorman to one of the elite hotels stood a few feet away from me, smiling and waving. So I waved back and then continued to look back up at the tops of the buildings.
"Excuse Ma'am", He said to me, "Tell your friend to turn her wheels inward towards the sidewalk or she'll get a ticket." I looked over at Catherine's car, we were parked on a steep downward slope and even I knew that the wheels of her car should be turned inward.

          After we fixed the wheels and thanked the doorman, we walked to the building where Chaye was taking her test. She still had an hour before the exam so we decided to walk around China town. The roads are very narrow and even at eight thirty in the morning, people filled the sidewalks.
As we walked back towards Chaye's building, I noticed several bags of trash scattered between the gutters and sidewalks on almost every block we passed.
A homeless man was picking up cigarette butts from the streets and pocketing them for later, another man walked by having a conversation all to himself that included fits of laughter.

The cafes were cooking breakfast, the smell of bacon and garlic mixed with the nauseating sewer steam and transit bus exhaust. It wasn't pleasant, but thankfully a cool breeze from the bay was blowing in fresh air.
After we dropped Chaye off to take her test, Catherine and I drove over and met my son Austin and his girlfriend at the farmers market taking place around the Ferry building.
I bought some fruit, falafels, a bottle of lavendar lemonade and a purple bell pepper from the vendors, then we walked around down town.

          While in Neiman Marcas, I noticed a canary diamond ring that was part of the Ivana Trump line. It was priced at $251,000.
I started to laugh, thinking how I had written almost the exact same thing in my first manuscript 'Southerland Skye'. It's in the chapter where Southie goes to the city with her sister. While they are shopping in an upscale department store, she notices a similar ring and is shocked at the amount on the price tag .

          We picked up Chaye after her test and drove to Sea cliff drive, where multi million dollar homes over look the bay.  After enjoying some time on the beach, we headed to the Haight Ashbury district.
We walked through some of the oddity shops including a store called 'Loved to Death' that has been on several TV shows.
Austin bought us dinner at a bistro and then we decided to leave the city before it got dark. It was Saturday, and the more eccentric and less endearing were venturing out for the evening. Traffic at night is worse than in the daytime. Everyone's going out to eat, drink and do whatever. And, you really have to watch out for the taxi cabs, they'll cut right in front of you without any notice, and they drive like maniacs.

I love San Francisco, it's an amazing place with so much culture, diversity and history, there is something for everyone to enjoy. If you decide to go, let me give you a tip; September and October are the best months to visit. The weather is gorgeous and the temperature ranges in the 70's.

This is a photo taken from Sea Cliff drive with the Golden Gate bridge in the background. To the far left is my son Austin and his girlfriend Nicole. We had a great time, and I can't wait to go back.

You've been warned!

I recently posted this on my facebook page and my bf just had to comment on it. Here's how the conversation went:

BF: "I know my antics are brilliant fodder. Can we give my 'fictional character not based on any actual person' a super cool name?"


ME: "Yes, I have a few cool names with your antics in mind. For instance, the time you left your bestie stranded outside of a mansion in fear of a huge killer attack dog will play out in a novel one of these days."


BF: "Hey, I told you to get in the car. That is equivalent to attempting to save your life. You're welcome."

Me: "Be nice, or I might not change the names to protect the guilty."

We were driving to Westport California to camp on the coast, when I noticed my favorite house in the whole wide world was for sale. Of course I had to stop and take a good look at it. 
We weren't there two minutes when we noticed a large metal dog bowl near the door step. My bestie suddenly sprinted back to the car, leaving me to fend for myself. No dog in sight, just the bowl. The home owners could have been feeding the raccoons for all we knew, but it definitely ended my tour of the beautiful home.
It might make for a good story someday.

The house is selling for 1,799,000 dollars.  I'm about 1,798,000 short of buying my dream home, in case anyone would like to loan me a few pennies. 
Here's a photo of the place. It sits above Westport on twenty acres and overlooks the Pacific ocean. It also has a writing loft! I can't think of a more wonderful place to write my stories. 
*Sigh*, A girl can always dream.

Snoopy

          I love Snoopy, he's a self proclaimed writer, and I happen to have two adorable beagles of my own.
This week I have been going over my second manuscript and touching it up. I think the query and synopsis for 'Drakes Destiny' is going to be much easier to write.
'Southerland Skye' is a family saga, where as my second manuscript has more of a thrilling plot, and is faster paced.

          I'm beginning to think I might have to pitch my second manuscript to agents first, instead of my first one. This is something I did not want to do because Drake has a big part in my first story, which leads him to where he is today, in my second manuscript. (Are you still with me?) But if my second story peaks interest, then that's the route I will go.

Besides writing, I really need to get some laundry done. I hope everyone has a fabulous weekend.

Work in progress

                    I took the beagles for a long walk this morning, hoping to tire them out so I could have a little quiet time to myself, and get some writing done without any interruptions. Ha-ha, fat chance!

          I've been working on my synopsis for several days now and thought; "This looks pretty darn good."
 I posted it on a writing website and received some much deserved constructive criticism. I really needed someone else to show me what I was doing wrong.
 I realized my mistakes far too late, I had already sent it to an agent that I wanted to impress. She most likely hit the delete button before finishing my letter.

         I know now that it reads too much like my query, and I am in need of a professional view point.
I have a critique group meeting at the Writers Loft here in Paradise where I live. I  hope to come away with a better understanding of what I need, to write a wowzer of a synopsis.


Today as I browsed through several websites that cater to people who want to get published, I noticed some forums that had some instructions for newbies like me. So far, this is what I've learned:

          Never use the word 'Was' in your first sentence. That will send your manuscript directly into the slush pile. (Slush pile is a term used by agents for the stack of manuscripts piling up that no one wants to read.)
Never give your character green eyes. I didn't think something like that mattered in the literary world, but someone on the forum claimed that all writers want their hero or heroin to have green eyes and readers are sick of it. 

        As I read more of the do's and don'ts, I began to wonder if I should just go back to nursing school, and spend the next six years in college as the oldest student in class.
Everyone has their own opinion and they all differ from each other, which can be very confusing. I'm not going to give up now, there must be an agent that likes green eyed people and the word 'was'.
I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Southerland Skye

          I finally finished my manuscript- 'Southerland Skye'.
With a multitude of interruptions on a daily basis, the story took more than a year to write.
I would like to thank the wonderful Madalyn Stone in New York for editing my manuscript and giving me some very nice feedback.
My journey to get this published has really just begun. I need a fabulous synopsis, and a perfect query letter, or my novel will never be seen by an agent.

    These are the two items an agent will look at first, and the toughest for me to write.
Most want a small synopsis, which explains the whole story in one to four paragraphs. My synopsis was twelve pages when I first wrote it, and I've been whittling it down ever since.
 I've revised my query letter almost daily and read it to my bf and mom so many times, they're avoiding me now.

I recently spoke with publishing consultant Martha Bullen. She gave me some great insight on how and who to pursue, leading me in the right directions for getting my manuscript published. But, I still need to write a best selling query.
         
Here's what I have so far, it will most likely change by tomorrow. I would like your honest opinion. It helps to have perspective from other people.

                                                      Southerland Skye Query:

          If anyone knows what it's like to grow up in a dilapidated shack with dysfunctional parents, six

siblings, two hound dogs, a bunch of stray cats and an uncle that just got out of prison, it's Southie

Hawes.

Southie tells the story of her life growing up in Boone County, West Virginia, the dynamics of her

eccentric family and the often crazy situations they get themselves into. This includes the moonshine

still, an illegal marijuana grow, the worst prom ever and her sisters not-so-perfect wedding that no

one will ever forget.



After her older brother joins the Marines, he encourages her to move out to California and stay with

him while she goes to college. Southie yearns to get away from Boone County and when she

discovers she's been accepted to Humboldt University, she believes this will be her chance. But

leaving will mean she's have t spend time away from her new fiancé, Gavin. Still, she can't resist the

temptation. Against her family's wishes and a promise to Gavin that she'll be back in a year, she

moves to California to stay with her brother.



While in college, she meets Drake, a rich student who has a bad reputation with the girls. He

takes a serious interest in Southie who tries her best to keep him at bay. But with his good looks,

seductive charm and brutal honesty, he might just change her mind about moving back to West

Virginia, Gavin, and everything else she holds dear.



 Southerland Skye is 120,000 words and is a work of fiction. An endearing saga that spans fifteen years as Southie grows from a child to a young adult. 
                                                       ********

Now I'm working on my synopsis and trying my best to get it under two pages.
Wish me luck, I'm going to need it.