Working it

Almost done with Chapter 19. Busy over weekend with the holiday. New blog post about the movie Devil at http://enterparanormal.blogspot.com/

Christmas Eve

Merry Christmas! Finished writing Chapter 18 last night. Will take a break tonight to watch National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. What a classic!! 

Ramblings

Watching DVD "Devil" tonite. Almost done writing Chapter 17 in my book. Another article in my other blog at http://enterparanormal.blogspot.com/ about The Vampire Diaries. Ate too much Snickers pie! Used some birthday money to buy a new dictionary, thesaurus (am I pathetic? But I really needed new ones!), proper writing styles book and for fun - Heather Brewer's latest novel.

Chapter 16

Finished Chapter 16!

Paranormal Blog

I just can't sit still. I've created another blog that pertains directly to paranormal entertainment-TV, movies, books. I've just started it so not much to look at yet. It won't be focusing on my own writing endeavors as this blog does. Go to:
http://enterparanormal.blogspot.com/

Chapter 15

Finished writing Chapter 15 at 1 A.M.!

Goals-Accountability Partner

I am seeking another writer for an accountability/goals partner. Share goals, deadlines, to-do's, ideas & "push & prod" each other to perform & to be held accountable for our actions or inactions! I don't intend for this to suck up a bunch of the other person's time or my time...as that in itself defeats the purpose for me! Anyone willing to bite? If several people respond, I'll review who would be the best fit for me!

Updates

Pulled lower back - ugh! Want to watch "Eclipse" special features disc. Almost done reading LJ McDonald's "The Battle Sylph". Almost done writing Ch. 15 in my book. How did I ever get my 1st book written so fast as compared to the grueling time spent on this 2nd one?! New "Writers' Digest" issue arrived! Need to play with One Note on my PC. This year flew by for me!

Chapter 14

Finished writing Chapter 14! Love those cliffhangers! Upgraded to Office 2010. The One Note looks intriguing! Need to de-clutter my desks & tables so I can find things again.

Thanksgiving

Had a great Thanksgiving and an awesome meal! And managed to whip out half of Chapter 14.

Chapter 13

Finished Chapter 13 on Saturday. Restructured the outline of a few upcoming chapters. Need to install Norton Internet Security 2011 on computers Tues. Am just about finished reading Christine Feehan's "Dark Slayer" (awesome)!

Chapter 12

Finished writing Chapter 12. Half done w/Ch. 13. Umm...48,646 words total. Getting there.

Supernatural

Thursday night's "Supernatural" had an interesting spin on werewolves...They had weredogs that they labeled skinwalkers.

Zipping along

Where did this week go? Even my husband thought it went by fast. I've been focused on writing this week and actually forgetting to check in on internet stuff. Amazing how the writing "takes me away"! I wish I could whip out a chapter a day or every 2 days. I was able to do that with the first book, but not this one.

Chapter 11

Finished writing Chapter 11 on Thursday. Started reading one of Heather Brewer's books (#3). Love latest issue of Writers Digest with all the internet advice. Vampire Diaries last night was fan-tabulous!

Werewolf myths

Massive research on werewolf myths/legends. Next chapter I'm writing dives deeper into my werewolves' history than first book. Exciting!

Entertainment

Finished writing Ch. 10 on Sat. Massive action scenes-worked myself into a sweat!Still reading "The Passage"-Justin Cronin (approx 800 pgs)-possibly the longest book I've ever read-LOVING it! Watched new on DVD "Predators"-liked! On TV-"The Event" is driving me bonkers wondering what IS the event? Cut my finger in the same place twice-ow!

Writing

Trying to write Chapter 10. I'm finally using my dry erase board & a separate bulletin board to make notes about the storyline and the characters to keep my brain organized. I still suck up a ridiculous amount of time on the internet going to sites where I "check things" on a daily basis & toying with stuff.

Being Consistent

Found an inconsistency as I was writing my book. I was able to fix it within an hour as it only pertained to two chapters. I had mentioned a character being in one location, when in actuality he was away from that scene for a few days. Silly me!

Dish Network & FX

I'm so aggravated that Dish & FX can't come to an agreement!! We love "Sons of Anarchy" & didn't want to miss the current episode but since Dish isn't offering FX anymore, we logged onto Amazon & spent $1.99 to watch "Sons" online. We don't have the speediest of high speed internet access & it was such a huge pain in the butt trying to watch it through Amazon. The connection was poor & would start & stop...buffering & all that techie stuff. We're giving Dish a few more weeks & if they don't reinstate FX, we're cancelling & moving to DirecTV. What a disappointment!

Updates

Scrubbed house siding-am sore but great weather! Updated, free USB modem for PC's arrived. Finished a chapter in book I'm writing--so slow going!! Am reading "The Passage" by Justin Cronin.

Busybody

Home from Ark. trip, new PC setup, old PC tune-ups, yardwork, cleaning, misc. house repairs. BUSY!

More Premieres

Tonight "Bones" and "Fringe" start their new seasons! Then switch to satellite to catch "Vampire Diaries"! So excited!

New TV Shows

Loved the new show "The Event" Mon. night! Reminded me of Lost & 24. Also, Hawaii Five-O has me hooked!

Scams

Received one of those stupid email scams where they want $ sent after I "transfer" a huge amount into my acct. for them. What a crock. BLOCK!

Teaser from Chapter 5

"To win this battle, or at the least to have the upper hand, I needed to roll with the punches." …" - a teaser from Unknown Scent, Werewolf Series, Book 2, Chapter 5.

Teaser from Chapter 4

"One minute they're ready to beat each other to bloody pulps and the next minute they act like nothing happened." - TEASER from Unknown Scent, Werewolf Series, Book 2, Chapter 4.

Pressure

I'm really experiencing the pressure to "write" & to improve on the quality of my work. It's similar to writer's block, I suppose, although I do have my storyline mapped out, so it's not exactly like writer's block. Plus, trying to balance writing with various methods of promoting is mind boggling. Just the daily sites I maintain & post/respond to takes up a good deal of time. I want to setup an account on Goodreads and I'm checking out CreateSpace for "the future". I've been thinking a lot about ebooks and their potential for me. I need an assistant! A very "free" one!!

Teaser from Chapter 3

"A few in the coven have developed their witchcraft to levels rarely seen or heard of anymore since ancient times…" - a teaser from Unknown Scent, Werewolf Series, Book 2, Chapter 3.

Reading Now

I'm currently reading Jacquelyn Frank's Shadowdwellers Series (on #2 now). Hard to walk away from it & do something else! I'm curious about "The Event" TV premiere coming up...I plan on giving it a chance. On the same night, "Hawaii Five-O" starts & I plan on checking it out, too.

Teaser from Chapter 2

"Daniel kept facing away from us, realizing my parents were absorbing the facts of what they had witnessed." - a teaser from Unknown Scent, Werewolf Series, Book 2, Chapter 2.

Teaser from Chapter 1

"Looming before us was a deep trench. We went down. Daniel was terrified he would crush me as he fell." - a teaser from Unknown Scent, Werewolf Series, Book 2, Chapter 1.

Teaser

"I understood that if the good guys failed to band together, we'd eventually be eliminated or tortured..."- a teaser from my next book.

Senile

I swear my mind is going! Where it's going, I don't know. I can't remember many of the details to my book at times. Then I spend 20 minutes trying to locate specifics I've previously written so I don't make future bloopers. I must start using all the bulletin & dry erase boards that surround me. They are blank at the moment. A lot of good that is doing me. Let's see...what was I doing  :^)~

Premieres

The fall TV premieres are firing up! Sons of Anarchy-Tues! Vampire Diaries-this Thurs!

Negative-Positive

A day without any full-blown negative thoughts-is it possible? I've had a few frantic moments, but so far so good.

Next chapter

I finally finished a chapter! And w/a good cliffhanger! My head hurts from the barometric pressure changing. Massive temp drop expected & I guess it's giving me a headache.

Names

And now, I need to double-check the spelling of a fan's name as I am using it in my latest book as one of the characters. Not telling the name!!

Pets

I haven't had any pets since 2003. I can't believe it's been that long. I had to refresh my memory by rummaging through 3 small boxes that contain items belonging to each of the 3 dogs I had. Sad yet an odd comforting feeling seeing "their" stuff.

Latest Book Read

I have devoured Karen Marie Moning's Fever Series books - all 4 of them - in the last few weeks. I am so hooked! Have to wait till Jan. before the last of the series is released. She is the queen of cliffhangers!

Details, Details

I'm trying to drop the extra details & fluff as I write. When I read books, I skim over paragraphs that have too much description of "things" that don't matter to the story. Boring! And I don't want to be boring!!

Comics

I just love the comic Get Fuzzy! And the drawings are so realistic. Makes me laugh & that's a good thing.

Hamlin, Kentucky

Hamlin, KY keeps calling to me to visit it. It's a major location in my book & it would be nice to experience it. Not on the agenda at this time, though.

Message Board or not

Trying to make up my mind whether to keep my Message/Bulletin Board or ditch it. I post about the same things on the Blog as I do the BB (& Facebook, MySpace, Twitter). The BB's purpose was to interact w/readers, but I have other social networking sites for that.

Social networking

Facebook or MySpace? At one time, MySpace was tops, but I'd guess FB totally rules now. I use it way more than MS.

Single Book

I wonder how many authors only write/publish one book & stop. I bet there are thousands.

School time

Kids are back in school. Can't believe it. I feel weirded out & I'm not a kid & don't even have any kids! Every year I feel this way...it's like-where did the summer go?!

Note tacking

Thinking of tacking notes to a bulletin board to help my brain as I write. Have to stay consistent w/the series & keep grabbing 1st book to double-check things.

Series Hooks

As I'm reading a series, I see how I am drawn into wondering "what happens next?" and the urge to buy the next book to find out. People ask me when my next book is coming out…so I must've done something right to hook them.

Movie & Missed a Day

Wasn't on the net Tues. By the evening, I felt anxious & guilty for not checking mail & my sites. Sad. On Mon.- watched "Paranormal Entity". First thought it was based on a true story according to the DVD case. Was still skeptical. Blooper: showed a laptop w/black tape over brand name…at the end it did say it was "fictitious", too.

Net, Net everywhere!

It's amazing how everything has ties to the internet. I would think that people who don't have a PC & net access would become frustrated hearing .com this & .com that (Grandpa!) everywhere they turn. Of course I love it!

Reading & Coffee

Finally able to sit on the porch & read for 3 HOURS without melting from the heat! Had my Harley mug of coffee w/little marshmallows...yes, I'm weird. Thank goodness there was a breeze today. Seems like I'm finding myself writing more during an evening than the day. Not what I expected.

Too hot!

I want to sit outside and read, but NOT in 100 degrees! Can't exactly get into the story when sweat is pouring off of me!

Chapter

Finished another chapter late last night. One of those I kept reviewing and editing.

Digital Camera Dust

I need to start using my digital camera more. I only snap a few pictures a YEAR! Seriously! My husband uses his a few times a month & he has the "old" one!

Working times

I wonder how many writers have set days/hours that they write? Or do most just wing it? I get very sidetracked with "life" things.

Winter Shows

The fall/winter TV shows are starting to post their premiere dates. Woohoo! When TV Guide prints the full listing for all shows, THAT page gets (tenderly) ripped out & paper-weighted down on the coffee table!

Inspiration

Inspiration: New Writers Digest-just finished reading. Love it! Now if I could just retain & put into action all that knowledge, I'd be one happy camper.

Random thoughts

Random thoughts: too hot!; new Android phone needs case, get insurance & antivirus-but I'm totally "connected"!!; love e-reader (easier to hold than book); writing a disturbing/sad passage in new book; listening to Kid Rock; considering a writing buddy for goals/accountability.

Focus, focus

Focus...Too many distractions! This internet sucks me in...Anyway. I finally did it & ordered the Nook e-reader. Anxiously awaiting its arrival. Can't decide which author will win out for my 1st e-book purchase! Almost done with Ch. 4 in Book 2 if I can just get my ADHD under control. Eeek! I've thought about writing a fiction book that centers around the main character dealing with ADHD...but I'd HAVE to throw in something paranormal!!

Information Overload

Can you say, "Information Overload"? So many choices...And yet the info I truly need right now for a chapter I'm writing in the new book, I can't get a response from a third party. Tonight on BBC, "Being Human" Season 2 starts. Hopefully it socks a bigger punch than Sea. 1.

Mishmash of Thoughts

Finished writing a chapter in Book 2. Want to read it to my husband next. Still haven't decided on an e-reader yet. Any helpful tips? Waiting to hear from a local Borders re: stocking my book. Friday - Sold 2 copies of Book 1 in a parking lot before an appointment for a free massage (gift certificate). Thanks all involved! And it's so humid my fingers feel sticky!

E-Readers

I've been contemplating the purchase of an e-reader. Is it worth it or not...?! Is it here to stay or will the excitement over this new technology fade out?! And which brand?! I've said in the past that I would never buy one...hmmm...

Good Reaction

It's so exciting to read a chapter of the new book to my husband and witness his reaction! I got a few  "Oh...WOW!"s & positive chuckling from him! I love acting out the different characters & expressing their emotions! Onward...

Research, Review, (W)Rite

Attempting to re-organize (my house, career, life!). Enjoying research on subjects in the current book. Need to read to my husband the previous chapter. My original outline (written) has gotten a bit hard to read, too! Yes, I should type it on the computer to make changes easier...just something about seeing it in chicken scratch, on paper, that I can grab at any time, excites me!

Freedom

My shop is officially sold as of today. What a relief! Now to let it all sink in & decompress! Already I am able to see the light at the end of the tunnel! And in that "light" I see standing some of my characters from my book...waving at me to join them in completing my second book!

Thurs., June 10, 2010

Friday is my last official working day at my shop. Next week I'll be clearing & cleaning things out. Title company closing on the 18th. Wow. Time flew! I'm experiencing many emotions but overall - excitement! Life will completely change for me & I can't wait! I'm looking forward to a strong return to my "writing" (on a consistent basis). Don't worry people-I'm NOT one to sit around on my butt eating bon-bons! My brain is too "active"!!

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

I watched on DVD "The Wolfman" & really enjoyed it! Thought the special effects were superb and realistic. The transformation from man to wolf is essentially the way I envisioned "my" werewolves transforming in my book. Mine transform much faster, though. Very cool. Also, bought Season 2 of "True Blood" since we don't have HBO...up to Episode 4 tonight. Readers have been asking me when the second book in the Werewolf Series is coming out...a few months away yet.

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Where has this year gone?! In 1 1/2 weeks, my life will drastically change with the closing of my beauty salon. I'm excited! I can finally get back to my writing which has been sitting on the backburner for far too long. Other big projects or health problems have consumed my life and time this year. Bring on the change!

Monday, May 17, 2010

Life changing news! For those who know I own a beauty salon: I will be closing the shop and selling the building/property in about a month. My last working day is Fri, June 11. Anyone that has an appointment after that date, I will call you to confirm the cancellation. After June 11, I will NOT be working as a beautician anymore. I will take some time off to (try to) relax & enjoy life..."get my head on straight"...and pursue a writing career! Woohoo! I deeply thank all my loyal beauty shop customers!

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Revving up for possible "changes". Have you heard of the phrase "I'm turning into a stalk of bananas!" ? That's how I feel! Don't want to spill the beans yet...especially if there are no beans to spill!

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Last night I spent nearly 3 hrs. doing massive research on - oops - better not say WHAT or WHO it was about as it might be a spoiler for any of my new readers. I WILL say for my fans who've read Book One, the research had to do with a character I revealed at the END of that book!

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Chapter 2 of Unknown Scent-Werewolf Series-Book 2 is DONE! Yippee!

April 1, 2010

First chapter is DONE! Longer than what I anticipated it being...might break it apart for two chapters...

March 30, 2010

Time for some tunes (Nickelback?). Then I promise to bring to the surface from the depths of my computer...Unknown Scent-Book 2-which has been clawing at the walls of my brain for attention & release.

March 25, 2010

Recovering from surgery. Not able to sit long at the computer yet. Hopefully another day or so & I can start writing on my book again.

March 15, 2010

The shop will be closed until Apr. 13 due to surgery. This time off should allow me time to get back to writing Book Two in my series. The last 2-3 months have been crazy w/my life from remodelling to health issues. I'm craving the freedom to get back into a consistent groove of writing...to let my mind flow w/creativity and my fingers peck away at the keyboard. Ahhhh...

February 28, 2010

Still strange to write 2010. Health problems continue to hinder me. Hoping for major lifestyle changes soon. Much anticipation for warmer weather! Reminders: Reviews for Amazon from readers needed! Planning to setup book signings w/spring coming. Look for me on Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, YouTube. Been researching writing gigs, besides trying to write Book Two. Wondering what those new Android phones are like...Waiting for some winter TV shows to return. That's it in a nutshell.

February 15, 2010

Life's nutty. Remodeling is done (yippee). Then health problems began (boo). I've written a little in the new/second book, created the FAQ page for the first book (on site), read & reviewed a fellow writer's book (free publicity for my book w/my review on their book cover!) & am vigorously seeking a new job (still). I would love a writing gig, but would settle for a local receptionist or assistant position. Hello out there if anyone has suggestions!  And this is what you call networking =)

Monday, February 1, 2010

I have created a FAQ About the Book page on my website. Check it out: http://ginamarielong.com/FAQAbouttheBooks.aspx Very exciting. Questions came from readers.

Sunday, January 31, 2010

Recently I received a few wonderful, invigorating fan letters! They brought happy tears to my eyes! I've been so involved in remodeling over the last month (a few more days to go yet) & craziness w/the day job that my life has been turned upside down! I have felt guilt for not getting back to my writing (Book Two) which many people have been inquiring about and I need to promote Book One. I have had no time this past month. BUT, I've been craving, pulling my hair out and chomping at the bit to dive back into my regular routine which includes WRITING! Also, one of the fan letters will be incorporated into a FAQ page on my website re:Unknown Touch over the next few weeks. New momentum is building!

January 25, 2010

I really want my 2 bathroom remodelings to be done. Now. It's looking great - just time consuming & completely disrupts my normal routine. Can't get anything done! This weekend should be the finale! Even my husband asked when I would start writing again & promoting the 1st book...My dayjob has been draining me, too. Now, I've got a cold & other health issues. Are we having fun yet?! I'm waiting! I've got most of my "playlist" figured out for the storyline in Book Two - for those who are into music. Right before going to bed, I've been reading a little to keep myself motivated. I need to schedule some book signings, but am leary about winter weather ruining the planned event. That's my update!

Sunday, January 17, 2010

Bathroom remodeling is zipping along...major transformation! Lots of things happening! My regular day job has been keeping me busy, too. Just dealing with many "life" duties. No worries - will resume promoting Unknown Touch, soon, along with writing Book 2!

January 11, 2010

Have been busy with remodeling... Another book trailer is available for Unknown Touch - www.youtube.com/ginamarielong This was made by a friend- Cheryl of CL Productions. Very cool!

January 5, 2010

I'm done tinkering with my book trailer & am pleased with the results:
www.youtube.com/ginamarielong. I am 3/4 finished writing Chapter One of Book Two. Woohoo! Gosh, I keep going over it so many times making sure to suck the reader in to where they're gasping for more! As usual, TIME is an issue for me...trying to FIND it! I need to contact bookstores to arrange book signings for Book One, too.

January 2, 2010

I've been tinkering around for days with a book trailer for Unknown Touch. I managed to create one all by myself! It is posted at www.youtube.com/ginamarielong. I may do a little more fine-tuning to it...or not...?! Everyone please check it out & let me know if you like it!! Email: gina@ginamarielong.com
Also, I'll be working more on Book Two now that I have accomplished making this trailer!