My Favorite Things... yep it's a Monday! With Chocolate and Heroes!!!!!

This is the kick off to heroes week!

And how better to kick off heroes week than with my very own favorite hero!!!!



too sweet!!!

Yep, that's my husband!

And besides literally saving my life, he is the inspiration to our heroes discussion this week:

Why Your Fictional Hero Shouldn't Wear A White Hat!

As if Mark's inspiration isn't enough, my amazing husband constantly brings me these yummies!!!!

EDIT MUST HAVES

And only 130 calories of AMAZING!

 

Mark's theme song is A Real Good Man by Tim McGraw.

*Yes, I gave my husband a theme song*   



see the resemblance! I. DO. TOO!!!!

 Now, if you've never listened to this song, then you must!!!! 
Aside from drool worthy husky voices and naughty references to h-h-honkytonks. 
....Wait.... I gotta catch my breath.....



mkai, I'm better.

There's a line from the song that just sums up what every hero should have a sprinkle of:

I may be a real bad boy, but baby I'm a real good man!

Now I'm not saying your hero has to be a down and dirty typical bad boy, but there needs to be an element of recklessness.  A moment where your heroine is completely flabbergasted, taken aback, holy cowed or SOMETHING by her potential "man". 

It's called tension ladies!

And even though we HATE when our heroes go against our words of wisdom, there's a piece of WOWZA that occurs when it happens at the right moment and over the right thing.

I can't tell you what that moment is, but ya sure as heck better have one!

Otherwise your hero will look like this:



Hi, I'm two dimensional and hate chocolate.
oh, you like chocolate...
me too!



Instead of this:



You'll like the chocolate...
on my abs of YUM!
Trust me.

 Or this:

You know you like my smolder!

Or THIS!!!!!

Firefighter Ruiz... so taken ladies.

Okay, I've shared enough of my eye candy husband. 

Now, go find that WOWZA moment in your WIP.

LOVE THIS!!!! It's a Video Must See.

There are just no words...
Watch..


Guys, trust me, this is EXACTLY what a girl wants:
A man who'll love her enough to act silly.

Throwback Thursday takes on Heros

Last week, I did an homage to heroines.
This week, I take on the heros.
Next weeks posts will be: Why Your Hero Shouldn't Wear a White Hat.
I will most CERTAINLY be referencing this video... and it won't all be about 80's hair.

What's Hot Wednesday!!! INCARNATE by Jodi Meadows That's What!!!

Next Wednesday- January 31st-  is the release of Jodi Meadows' debut novel :

 INCARNATE.

and if that doesn't get ya all wiggly and giggly inside here's the quick run down ala Goodreads:

NEWSOUL
Ana is new. For thousands of years in Range, a million souls have been reincarnated over and over, keeping their memories and experiences from previous lifetimes. When Ana was born, another soul vanished, and no one knows why.

NOSOUL
Even Ana’s own mother thinks she’s a nosoul, an omen of worse things to come, and has kept her away from society. To escape her seclusion and learn whether she’ll be reincarnated, Ana travels to the city of Heart, but its citizens are suspicious and afraid of what her presence means. When dragons and sylph attack the city, is Ana to blame?

HEART
Sam believes Ana’s new soul is good and worthwhile. When he stands up for her, their relationship blooms. But can he love someone who may live only once, and will Ana’s enemies—human and creature alike—let them be together? Ana needs to uncover the mistake that gave her someone else’s life, but will her quest threaten the peace of Heart and destroy the promise of reincarnation for all?

Jodi is not only an amazing writer, but the girl has some serious mojo when it comes to tightening up a query.  Almost two years ago, I was Jodi's 1000th follower on Twitter.  As a prize, she gave me a free five page critique.  Let's say the red pen was a flyin' but so were her encouraging words. 
Two years plus a completed and revised and revised and revised and revised MS later, I always here Jodi's voice.  I admit, it she sounds a little like Sandra Bullock in my head. 
Jodi's telling me to watch those runaway commas and fly-by-night apostrophes. 
Tighten here.
What are you trying to say there.
And sometimes there's a reference to spinning and her ferret, Kippy. 
Needless to say, Jodi's awesome!
Now... go pre-order INCARNATE here!
Let me know you did and then let me know whatchya thought!
Also, be sure to follow Jodi on Twitter, Facebook and her Website

My Favorite Things ... yep, it's a Monday!

I debated about what should be my favorite thing.  I’ve got so many swirling around in my head.

I could go with the personal aspect:

weather, hot tamale candies, butterscotch coffee, fresh linens.

I could go the mommy route:

snuggles in the morning, mini-me- Dylann’s- dimple, I love you mommy’s.

But I think today I’m going to go with the writer in me and my most favorite thing is

the Microsoft Word Navigator. 

I LOVE IT!!!

I’ve always written my books in order. 

If I had an idea about another part of the book,

 I’d start a new document, save it and, usually, lose it!

Then I stumbled across Helene Boudreau’s blog. 

In this AMAZING site is a writer’s toolbox tab.

 If you ever do anything for yourself, go play in this site and this tab!!

This is what the navigation pane looks like. 

In here, you can flip from chapter 1 to chapter 20 like this:

And then, just as easily flip back to chapter 2 and repeat. 

This may seem extremely simple,

but to a girl who would create whole new documents for ideas…

this was fantabulous.

Voila! 

Two must-have, my favorite things!

1.      Word Navigator and 2. Helene Boudreau’s Blog!

Who's Your Heroine???

It's a really important question!
Is your heroine this:



A little on the weak side?
Begging for someone not to steal her man.

Or is your heroine this:



Completely sure of herself.
Willing to kick your ass if you mess with her man?
Someone who will fight for love till the death?

Is your heroine Bella Swan or Hermione Granger.
Here's the thing...
There is no perfect heroine.
They're both flawed.
They both have character flaws they have to deal with and journeys they must follow.
And those flaws don't always have to include a hero. 
Let's face it, if your heroine handled everything perfectly, then she wouldn't be entertaining to read.
There would be no black moment.
And there definitely would NEVER be any character redemption.
It's not wrong to have a weak heroine, if in the end she finds some strength in herself.
It's not wrong to have a kick-ass heroine either, as long as she has to admit she has some vulnerable element to her make up. 
The key to amazing heroines, weak or strong, is that you stay true to the character you're creating. You make them confront the very things we, as readers, are screaming at them to fix!
As a writer, you have to stand by every bad decision they make because that’s where they grow.
That's where they become the heroine worth saving.
And THAT is where your reader is entertained.

A Pee-My-Pants Big DREAM Post!

It’s not so scary to dream.

What would I do if I won the lottery?

What would I do if I had a million dollars?

What would I do if I had three wishes?

But those aren’t dreams.

Those are fantasies.

Did you know one definition of fantasy even goes so far as to say a fantasy is:

An unrealistic or improbable supposition.

A hallucination.

On the other hand a dream is defined as:

A condition or achievement that is longed for; an aspiration.

To regard something as feasible or practical.

To conceive of; imagine.

Crazy, right?
How can two words that are so interchangeable be so vastly different?
And, here’s the BIG question:

Are you fantasizing about your career or are you dreaming about your career?

And, if you’re dreaming about your career, is your dream BIG enough?
Does your dream scare you?

I dream of signing with an agent.
I dream of having my book published.
I dream of having someone, not my family, buy my book and post a review.

Big dreams, right?

Wrong.

Why?

Because I wasn’t specific.
I have a DREAM agent. But you didn’t hear me say that before.
I have a DREAM publishing house. But you didn’t hear that either.
I DREAM of not just someone buying my books (yes, plural) … I dream of LOTS of someone’s buying lots of my books.

What’s the difference?

My first set of dreams are really doable.
I can see the roads I have to take.
I know the steps I must complete, the classes I should take, the networks I should connect with, the way to spread the word.
My second set of DREAMS … they pee-my-pants, huddle-in-a-corner, eat-till-I-pop, SCARE me.
They scare me because I can’t see the entire road to take to get to the amazingness of all of those BIG DREAMS.
They are just out of my reach, require just a bit of growth and a guide I don't have, yet.
They'll require some really hard, concentrated work and a bit of faith in me.
They scare me because anybody can dream the small ascertainable dream, but few are capable to see the BIG DREAM and not assign it to the realm of unrealistic fantasy.
And, few think they deserve to dream BIG DREAMS.
So here’s your assignment for the day, and I TOTALLY stole it from my coach, Tom Ferry:

Write yourself a letter from December, 2012.
Yes, that’s the future.
Have your future self to you what you accomplished in 2012.
In vivid detail, tell yourself about all the doubts you overcame and all of the BIG DREAMS you accomplished or set in motion.
Then, if you’re brave enough, post the biggest most scariest part of your dream in the comment section below.
You’ll be surprised how many people think your borderline fantasy is really just a BIG DREAM you’re to afraid to say out loud.
AND!!!!
You’ll be surprised how many people really are there to support you.
C’mon.
Don’t be afraid.
I triple dog dare ya!
Print that letter out.
Put it in your purse, wallet, idea folder.
Next year, you’ll be amazed how far you’ve come.