The Beautiful Blogger Award…I think I’m blushing!

I was pleasantly surprised last week when, while reading comment posts on a recent blog, I received notification from a new friend, author Nicky Wells.  She’d tagged This Writer’s Life for the Beautiful Blogger Award. Thanks again Nicky!

The award recognizes a blogs creativity, originality, and overall contribution to the blogging community. Having made it my goal to do those things, I strive to post informative, helpful, and at times entertaining information about writing. Of all the awards I’ve received, I feel this one will be cherished most.

Here are the rules:

·         Post the award on your blog.

·         Nominate twelve of your favorite blogs for the     award.

·         Share seven interesting things about yourself.

First things first, my nominees:

• Amethyst Eyes- Debbie Brown
• Manuscript Proofing
• Sister Scribbler- Chicki Brown
• Zee Monodee’s Author’s Corner
• Diapers, Bookmarks, and Pipe Dreams- Kirkus MacGowan
• Worlds Before the Doors - Abigail Tinuviel
• Delaney Diamond.com
• Candace Shaw.net
• Carmen DeSousa.com
• Sharon Cooper.net
•  Mylife-in-stories.blogspot.com -Donna McBroom-Theroit
• Woldliterarycafe.com

Seven things about me:

1. I have a fascination with ankle bracelets. Yep, every summer I'm hitting the local hair store to collect bracelets to adorn my ankles. My current one is a mix of butterfly's and purple flowers. Surprised?
2. I'm a panster turned planner. My writing has greatly improved since making the change and I refuse to go back.
3. Since becoming a writer, watching television makes my head hurt. I discovered it recently after a LOST marathon began giving me headaches and making me nauseated after 12 hours of brain inactivity. Turns out, I'd rather write for 12 hours instead of vegging out on the couch!
4. The Sims game is my kryptonite. The game is addictive. I've been avoiding it like the plague for the past three years. If not, my writing may suffer. However, at least twice a year, my fingers ache to play. I have more fun constructing houses and decorating them than playing with the characters. Then again, creating characters based on the attributes of the ones in my book and letting them have free reign has been interesting.
5. My series, The Butterfly Memoirs, original concept consisted of just three novels based on three roommates. Over time, various attempts at honing my craft led to another set of women (two sisters and one best friend) that have turned into novels 4-6. My creative juices are still flowing, leaving an opening for another three novels based on supporting characters throughout the novels. 
6. For fun, I enjoy drawing. I'm good with visual recreations of pictures or still life. I haven't tried creating my own originals. Guess those juices have all turned to writing!
7. My first attempts at creativity lead to studying the art of Floral Design. I've designed custom arrangements for weddings, parties, and home interior designs. I have a portfolio that I love to share. Unable to afford to follow that dream (people didn't want to pay the prices, no matter how affordable I made them) I turned to writing. After all, imagination, pen, paper, and a laptop are commodities that don't have to be brought. The heroine in my fourth novel is loosely based on my experiences as a floral designer. (Below are some of my favorite arrangements I've made from my portfolio).

 Whew! Now that that’s done, it’s back to editing this week’s blog post to come on Wednesday, All Telling and No Showing Do NOT a Good Tale Make! Be sure to stop back by!


MJ

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2012 Georgia Statewide Honor Orchestra Features Two Students from Clayton County

Kristoffer and Emily warm up before rehearsal starts.

It’s 8:55 am on April 14^th.

While most students are home sleeping on a Saturday morning, Kristoffer Caine and Emily Dunn are wide awake, tuning their instruments in preparation for rehearsal to begin. The moment Professor Emeritus, Dean Angeles, walks onto the podium, the music stops and all talking ceases. He instructs the principle members of each section of the orchestra to lead the members in tuning their instruments. Once that is done, he introduces himself and informs them his latest direction was of the New York State All-State Orchestra.

Then practice begins.

This group of orchestra members was comprised of high school students ages 15 - 18.  Students of various ethnic backgrounds and from all over the state converged at Sprayberry High School in Marietta, Georgia, some from as far away as Savannah.

This gathering was the first time a Statewide Honor Orchestra was formed. The orchestra was made up of students who auditioned for the Georgia All-State Orchestra. It was not an easy road. First round auditions for the All-State Orchestra started back in late September, early October of 2011, and were held at Mundy’s Mill High School in Clayton County. Hundreds of students from across the state auditioned. The number decreased and competition for the available spots grew fiercer as second round auditions approached in February.

Professor Emeritus, Dean Angeles, directs the orchestra. 

The number of talented students vying for the positions must have been close, because for the first time, a Statewide Honor Orchestra was put together for students who did not make the cut for All-State Orchestra. These students are being recognized for their stellar playing abilities. As a result, they were offered the opportunity to come together for one day of practice, to socialize with their peers, and to perform for friends, family, and the community.

Parents arrived early Saturday at Sprayberry High School to drop off their kids. Some waited all day, while their son or daughter practiced, until it was time for the performance later that evening. For six hours, the kids practiced, taking two breaks for lunch and dinner, as well as short breathers to stretch their legs, and at times find their focus again, before returning for the intense practice the director put them through. Professor Emeritus, Dean Angeles has conducted the Loyola University Chamber and Symphony Orchestra as well as coordinated a comprehensive string program for the organization from 1980 to 2006. Most recently, he was inducted into the Southwestern College Fine Arts Hall of Fame in Winfield, Kansas in April, 2011.

Minutes before taking the stage. 

Clayton County had two students who were invited to participate in the All-State Honor Orchestra, and amazingly, both students are from the same school. Junior, Kristoffer Caine, and Freshman, Emily Dunn are both students of the Fine Arts Magnet Program at Mount Zion High School, under the direction of Krissy Davis. Both play the Bass. For both students, being selected for this orchestra was a major achievement. For Kristoffer, who made the first round for High School All-State Orchestra last year, but not the second, it was an accomplishment. Emily participated in the Middle School All-State Orchestra, last year, as well as High School All-State Honors this year, so for her, this is a glimpse of great things yet to come. Once during practice, the director paused to compliment the Bass section, saying they were by far one of the best he’s worked with in years. Never once did he have to work on any part of the music with them. He was impressed since they have the hardest instrument to play.

After six hours of practice on music most kids had only received five days in advance, they were ready to perform on stage.

Before a note was played, the director made this comment to audience: “To put an orchestra together in six hours…you don’t even do that with a professional orchestra. I am so very pleased with these young people for what they’ve done….I’m impressed.” The first piece played, was Serenade for Strings, by Edward Elgar, a three piece movement lasting ten minutes. When it was done, he turned around and said: “You have no idea how difficult that piece is. I have some of my university students in the Atlanta area that teach (and) played that piece, and rest assured, we had at least 6 weeks to put that together. These young people had six hours…It’s very impressive.”

 Congratulations to Kristoffer Caine and Emily Dunn for representing the Fine Arts Magnet Program at Mount Zion High School and the Clayton County School System. Programs and opportunities like this are yet another example why music should be kept in our schools.

*Side note, I am so proud of my son and his musical accomplishments this year!*

Written by,

M.J. Kane

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The Lucky 7 MEME Award- Yay!

Today my blog was nominated for the Lucky 7 MEME award by my dear friend and fellow author, Sharon Cooper. Thank you so much for thinking of me, and congratulations on your new book coming out this month, Something New. Be sure to stop by her blog and take a sneak peak at the excerpt !

 So, here are the rules to this award:

·         Go to page 77 of your manuscript (or any part of your written work)

·         Go to line 7

·         Copy the next 7 lines, sentences, or paragraphs into your post

·         Give the award to 7 more writers and let them know!

So, I happily give the honors to the following authors/bloggers:

Debbie Brown: amethyesteyesauthor.com

Zee Monodee: ZeeMonodee- Author's Corner

Darin Calhoun: DarinCalhoune.com 

Stacy Green: stacygreenauthor.com

Abigail Tinuviel: Worlds Before the Door

Donna McBroom-Theriot: My Life. One Story at a Time

Kirkus MacGowen: Diapers, Bookmarks, and Pipe Dreams

Well, first comes the fun part, sharing an excerpt of the story. A Heart Not Easily Broken is currently in the querying stage.  If you haven't read the first chapter, stop by and check it out to familiarize yourself with the main characters, Ebony Campbell and Brian Young. 

Now, on to page 77, line 7, and the next seven paragraphs. Enjoy! 

A day spent with no strings, no commitment, no expectations, and no sex. Just two adults enjoying each other’s company in a public setting. After all, in order to become friends, you needed to spend time together.

He’d be there. I’d show up. That’s it.

I headed upstairs, grabbed my phone, and sent him a text message. Deciding what to wear should not have been hard, yet I found myself unable to decide on shorts or jeans. I didn’t want to wear the same thing twice.

Five minutes passed with no reply. Could he have changed his mind about going? Or worse, found someone else willing to jump at the opportunity to spend the evening with him? Maybe I shouldn’t have waited to decide.

I grabbed my phone and flopped onto the bed unable to ignore the pain of disappointment. I was about to send a message to cancel when my phone chimed.

glad u changed ur mind. c u there.

An unexpected feeling of warmth spread through me from head to toe.

Thank god Ebony was at a decision making point in the story and not in the middle of some random thought! Her decision leads to the novel's first kiss, which is told from Brian's POV. To read a snippet of that scene, visit this blog post on fellow author, Carmen DeSousa's, blog post, Ah, the first kiss, is there anything better, and you'll find it and other great first-kiss scenes! 

 For more information about A Heart Not Easily Broken and The Butterfly Memoirs, visit the Butterfly Blog and follow on Twitter. 


As always, thanks for stopping by! 

MJ

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Crash and Burn...Are Your Manuscript Files Backed Up?

A computer crash is the biggest fear of any author. Months, even years, of hard work, creativity, and research are gone in a matter of seconds. It's enough to make a grown man cry.

The latest laptop to fail.

Over the past year, I've gone through three laptops and now a computer. Okay, the laptops weren't the newest on the market and two of them were free. I'm not complaining because they got the work done. The more I worked, the more it got used, and apparently, they couldn't keep up with me or the newer programs I needed to keep my writing going.

Last week, I began having problems with my and newest laptop. My husband is a technical whiz and has rebuilt his computer several times. He's been able to recover files from major crashes and do major overhauls on his machines to make them run faster. Simply put, he's got the best computer in the house! He needs it since he produces, engineers, and records artist  on his machine. In short, he's got money sitting in his hard drives.

He informed me that my computer needed to have the Windows uninstalled and reinstalled in order to make it work better. So far he's had to save my butt and fix the thing about 5 times in the last three months. I backed up all of my files, anticipating my computer hard drive being completely wiped out, and happily handed it over. Needless to say, something went wrong. It wasn't his fault, it's the computers. It's about four years old and had already been having some issues with the hard drive. Long story short, it accepted Windows 7, but refuses to accept Word. How is a writer supposed to write without WORD????

So, I sucked it up and got my son's computer tower, brought it to my office, and promised him I would not take it over forever. Just long enough to keep my writing momentum going without getting behind while waiting for the laptop to be fixed.

That black spot is what caught on fire!

All went good for a few hours. I managed to start typing the first chapter of the second book in The Butterfly Memoirs series, Jaded. I had already printed out the MS and went line-by-line with my red pen doing edits. I typed of the first ten pages last night. As I was going through the words on my Passive Words checklist, I began to smell smoke. My first thought was the stove had been turned on accidentally and a pot or plastic cup was on it. (My office is right off the kitchen). I looked over at my 11-year-old son who was washing dishes and asked what was burning. It was then I noticed smoke coming from under my desk. I pushed back from the desk and realized the computer tower was on fire! I, of course, freaked and yelled for my husband. Everyone in the house came running. Fortunately, I was able to blow out the flames, but the computer was done.

I was sitting there on the verge of tears. After waiting, fretting, and struggling with the desire to sit down at a computer and get things moving along, I was once again computer-less, not to mention my son's computer is now toast. But then I realized something that made me laugh. My family thought I was crazy. In the scene I was working on, the heroine, Yasmine Phillips, is stressing because her computer crashed and literally burned.  Don't believe me? Here's a brief glimpse at the WIP:

My paper work filed away, I turned back to my computer and pulled up the accounting program used to manage the hotel.

“No, no, no!” I pounded on my key board, but nothing worked.

“What’s wrong?” Brandon leaned forward to peer around my monitor.

The screen flashed a rolling script before it went completely black.

“Oh shit,” I groaned, flopped back in my chair, and put my hands on my face. I wanted to snatch my hair out. “Shit, shit, shit…”

Brandon whistled. “You, my sister, are seriously screwed.”

If looks could kill, he’d be dead right now. I sat up and even though knowing it was a waste of time, flipped the on switch of the computer tower. There was a spark of energy that flashed and burned out in the grounding wire of the extension cord. Brandon and I jumped up; he lunged for the cord in the wall while I ran for the fire extinguisher in the hall.

Fortunately I didn’t need it.

My brother fanned smoke as the smell of burnt electronics permeated the air.“I hope you had that information on a backup system.”

“No, I know I’m supposed to, but I never got around to it,” I grimaced.

            Brandon reached over and patted me on my shoulder. “So far, I’m not liking the idea of being manager at the new location"

Talk about irony! My office still smells of burnt plastic!

Several months ago, my husband asked me if I'd been backing up my writing files in case of a computer crash. At the time I felt that wasn't necessary. I had my files saved to USB and that was enough. Then I began hearing horror stories of computers crashing, partial files missing, USB's lost, and realized I needed to step it up.

I'm not the worlds most computer savvy person. Thankfully, my husband is. He walked me through the steps and showed me how to save entire files on to a CD. Not only have I backed up my manuscripts, I've backed up all research, articles on writing, photos, and e-books on writing. If anything ever happens, all I have to do is pull out the disk and download it to whatever computer I'm on and have a perfect snap shot of my work. Doing this every couple of months, weeks, or whenever major changes are made, can keep your work current. That way if you ever experience an issue with your computer, you can rest assured your time dedicated to your work was not in vain.

Other options for additional places to store your work are:

• Online storage services (some are free, some you pay for.)
• Emailing a copy of latest work to yourself and archiving it. 
• Create a buddy system with another writer you trust. Exchange digital copies of you MS for each other to hold in case yours ever is lost or destroyed.
• Even though this is the age of digital information, there's nothing wrong with going old school and printing out a copy to have on hand.
• Purchase an external hard drive to save your work on. That way if your main drive on your computer fails, the external hard drive will still have your work. Think of it as a giant USB. 

These are the few that I can recommend. If anyone has any other methods, please share! 

MJ

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