.@VickiBatman - What Makes me Stop Writing? #readromance #RomanceLivesForever #MFRWauthor

I remember the first time my brain didn’t want to write. I’d been working on my first romantic comedy mystery for a few months when Handsome was diagnosed with throat cancer. My whole world stopped. (FMI see Romance Lives Forever at: Romance Lives Forever .)

But how to keep the creativity going? I did develop a game plan—I took writing classes (didn’t comment much but worked on all lessons), played my favorite Word Search no Vowels, I critiqued with friends, journaled, attended my local romance writing chapter meetings. Most importantly, I set a deadline for after when his treatment would end and our lives would be back on track.

On the designated date, I booted up my computer and found my book. It had been haunting me, and when thoughts popped in my head, boom! I wrote them down and saved them. I had decided if I could only write twenty words, that was what I would do. I started with chapter one and worked. I was so nervous because I thought what if I can’t get back in my groove? The next day, I did better, and after that, better, till finally, my fingers were flying again.

My Great Hunter or Why Aren't the Squirrels Scurrying? #MFRWorg #Rssos #pets #dogs

My Great Hunter

I had no idea when Handsome adopted Champ and Jones, our malti-poos, that Jones would turn out to be such a huge hunter.

We’ve had the poos now for five years. And during this span, Jones has brought us squirrels. Yep, those fast critters are not fast enough for him. Jones loves to do run-run-run, a kind of lap thing, in the back yard. He is so fast when doing them, he even tilts aside.

75 Years & Counting: My love for M&Ms #MFRWorg #chocolatecandy #RssosSisters #romantic comedy

Seventy-five years and Counting

Each Sunday after lunch, my family and I visited my grandparents. Our first stop was to my dad’s parent’s house, an old prairie-styled home on a street lined with others similar to it. While my parents chatted with my grandparents, my sisters and I climbed the trees in the parkway, jumped off the front porch railing, and sang songs. As we departed, my grandmother gave each of us a quarter and a package of M&Ms, sometimes plain, sometimes peanut.

And thus began my love for the coated chocolate candies with peanuts inside.

Everyone Knows an Ant Can't... Using the Senses when Writing #MFRWorg #Thursdayblog #amwriting

Lift a rubber tree plant! From the old song “High Hopes” (Frank singing You Tube) 

But we’re not here today to talk about an ant being strong. Have you ever just sat and watched an ant scurry about? Or watch a leaf by the toe of your shoe in great detail? And then note the colors, the smells -- truly becoming immersed in the object?

Or sitting in a coffee shop and seeing a hunky cyclist at a table tying his shoe laces bunny ear style. You make note of his pro-looking outfit. The sweat dripping from his forehead. His scruffy beard. (Oh my, I’m finding my imaginary guy desirable!)

Writing details is important because it relays senses to the readers and invests them emotionally.

The five senses are: Tasting, Hearing, Smelling, Feeling, Seeing. From “The Five Senses” by Dr.William K. Pediaopolis (Senses),  we have this definition: "A system that consists of a group of sensory cell types that responds to a specific physical phenomenon, and that corresponds to a particular group of regions within the brain where the signals are received and interpreted."

The five senses have to be incorporated into our writing. Otherwise, our work is boring, even lifeless, unresponsive. Who would want to read that?

I'm so excited, I could scream! #newbook #RssosSisters #MFRWauthor

Lately, I have written about everything except for my new book. Yup, The Wild Rose Press will be publishing Temporarily Insane, my second romantic comedy mystery, featuring my always job searching heroine, Hattie Cooks, and the hunky detective, Allan Wellborn.

Here's a blurb: No man. Bad job. And Murder. Hattie Cooks is still searching for her dream job and one might be available...in the Big Apple, far away from friends, family, and Allan Wellborn. In the meantime, she finds temporary employment at an accounting firm where two auditors turn up dead.

Detective Allan Wellborn dumped Hattie for Blonde Bimbo who coincidentally is employed at NLB where fishy things are taking place. When Allan interviews Hattie, he must determine why all signs point to her as a possible suspect.

Can Hattie find out who is murdering auditors before she’s arrested?

Pretty much fun--right? So here's an excerpt:

.@VickiBatman - The amazing doodle doos? poodoos? What kind of dogs are those? #poodles #MFRWorg #RLFblog #dogs

I was raised a cat girl. I love 'em. Mine is now twenty-one years old. However, Handsome was raised with dogs. 

When #1 son was small, Handsome brought home the cutest puppy, a sheepdog. I named him Baxter (although the three year-old next door referred to him as Bastard). LOLOL. The problem with Baxter was he grew and grew and grew, finally weighing in at 150 pounds!!! I kept asking Handsome if he was supposed to get that big. And being so large also meant he was a handful and really, too big for the kiddoes.

Baxter left us when he was twelve. Most big dogs only make it to that age. And several years went by without dogs. Which was fine, we had cats. 

.@VickiBatman - Measuring Time: tick-tock #MFRWorg #RLFblog #milestone

Tick-tock

I reached a milestone in Jazzercise this month: I’ve been working out for 32 years. (Yes, I know this admission ages me. Feel free to go on thinking I look younger than I am. Lol.)

Milestone:

I have been writing for ten years.

I have a momentous birthday.

Handsome’s company is 23 years old.

My #1 son has a significant birthday.

When my sons began school, I found time was measured by holidays--school starts in mid-August, Labor Day, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s, back to school, Valentine’s Day, Spring Break, April Fool’s Day, Memorial Day, school is out.

Every year was the same for a long time. And did it ever fly by.

.@VickiBatman - Is the party over? After Christmas blues #MFRWorg #RLFblog #plottingprincesses

Last week, I returned from a vacation after Christmas. We'd left Christmas afternoon and drove six-seven hours to see Handsome's mom and other family members. The next day, we drove to our vacation destination.

Where we stayed was snow-covered and quite beautiful. In fact, we had mostly gray days with flurries and a snow during our stay. All I wanted to do was stay in bed and read.

Then we drove home with tiny-tiny sleet pelting the windshield. The roads were clear--thankfully. We drove over a pass and into sunshine spreading into a valley. That didn't last long. A thick fog blanketed everything. Normally, we see hills and antelopes. I could see the cars in front of me and considered it lucky we could accelerate to 60. We did make it home, tacking an extra hour on our return.