Cars

Sitting at the car place awaiting word on why my car is suddenly struggling to go up hills. While I’m hoping it’s something little, I have this gut feeling my transmission is dying. So you can only imagine how badly I wanted to hug the service guy when he told me that IF it is the transmission, it’s still covered. Phew. Phew. Phew.

Today’s Bits & Pieces, of course, is now about cars (Chris C. this is for you)…

1) What was the first car you were able to call your own?

2) Dream car?

3) How many cars have you owned over the years?

4) Must-have on a car?

5) Would-like-to-have on a car?

~Elizabeth

Behind The Scenes: A Series

I’m getting ready to start fresh on another book. This time, it’s the second book in my upcoming Amish Mysteries which I’ll be writing under my professional name, Laura Bradford. The first book–HEARSE AND BUGGY–will hit store shelves on June 5th. At that time, readers will be introduced to my main character (Claire Weatherly), her aunt (Diane Weatherly), Esther (my main Amish girl), and others. They’ll also begin to get familiar with the town of Heavenly, PA, where this series will take place. But by the time readers are reading this first book, I’ll have already turned in the second.

I’ve also written two complete novels since I turned in this first book (# 7 in the Southern Sewing Circle series and a romance). So, for me, this “first week” on the job is about getting myself back into Claire’s world. I do this in several ways. First, I look through my note cards on all of the characters, then I sit down and bullet point out what I’d like to happen (both main and sub plots), and, if necessary, I re-read the first book (though, since I just did edits on that in the past six weeks, I think I’m good to go).

For this book, though, I’m also going on a research trip to Lancaster, PA. The reason for this trip is simple. The Amish world is so very different than Sweet Briar, South Carolina (the setting for the Southern Sewing Circle books), and anything I do in my romance novels. The language, the pace, the rules, are all different.

So, next week, I head in that direction with my camera (so I can remember details), a notebook (think pages and pages of notes), and a list of questions/observations I’m going to want to check out that coincide with the plot and the setting/tone. And, since I love this series so much, a whole lot of anticipation.

Any questions about the series or the process?

~Elizabeth

**If you haven’t checked out my “Laura Bradford–author” page on FB, stop by. This is where I’ll be posting updates throughout my research trip next week–sharing some of my pictures and new found knowledge!

Praises and Peeves

When I sat down to figure out what I should blog about today, I found myself torn between a few topics–my upcoming Amish research trip, the soon-to-be overhaul of my office, and that groundhog we all know and don’t love. Yet, out of the blue, came something totally different–a desire to sing some praises and share some peeves.

First, a song of praise…

There’s a little cupcake bakery–Baked by Melissa–near Grand Central station that is nothing short of amazing! The cupcakes are tiny and not all too cheap, but…wow. Just wow.

Now, a pet peeve…

Mean spirited people annoy me. In particular, the ones who take a private issue and leak it out so as to color people’s opinions (and thus, validate themselves somehow) with one very skewed side of the story, while the other person takes the classy road and remains mum even years later. There’s always one who plays dirty, isn’t there? 

A song of praise…

I adore Johnny Rockets. Love the atmosphere (tableside jukeboxes are awesome–especially for a nickel a song), the burgers, the shakes. Yum!

A peeve…

I’d been looking forward to a trip to said burger joint for a few weeks. Finally get to go and,  yup,  you guessed it…it’s closed. As in, gone for good with no warning.

A song of praise…

Happy people. The ones who recognize good and sing its praises. They can just turn a day around with a smile, can’t they?

A peeve…

People who are unkind (wait…this is the same as above).

A song of praise…

There are a handful of really amazing authors out there who are simply nice people. My youngest is working on her Silver Award for scouts. As part of her project, she’s collecting books from authors with encouraging inscriptions for M.S. patients going through infusion therapy. We put a call out on my Facebook page and a small (but very generous) group responded with books. Class acts all the way.  A special shout out goes to: Judy Merrill Larsen, Maggie Barbieri, Jeffrey Marks, Paige Shelton, and Evelyn David. 

A peeve…  

Bullies. And by bullies, I don’t mean the school yard variety. I mean the kind who masquerade as a regular person but rule by intimidation. And a quick side peeve: people who allow bullies into the lives of kids, even going so far as to allow the bully to become their mouthpiece with even the most mundane of correspondence.

A song of praise…

I’ve been reading the Murder 101 series by my now friend, Maggie Barbieri and they are awesome!!! If you like a great wit and strong plotting/characters, give ‘em a try!

A peeve…

Laundry–enough said.

Well, that’s it for me at the moment. Now it’s your turn!

~Elizabeth

Cool News

I have some cool news to share…

January 30, 2012

DANGEROUS ALTERATIONS was the “Fresh Pick of the Day” at Freshfiction.com yesterday!  This honor is chosen by readers (which makes it extra special) who touted the book as the “perfect cozy read.”  Doesn’t get much better than that, huh?

~Elizabeth

Giving it a Shot

When I last checked in with you, I was getting ready to go off on a Girl Scout winter camp weekend. While this particular camp weekend was far different that ones I’ve experienced with Dear Daughter # 1 during my eight years as a leader with her troop, this experience certainly had its highlights.

The camp itself is truly a YMCA camp so the activities they offered were great (and the folks running them were outstanding). This is also the part where I tell you I’ve never been the mom to sit on the sidelines and watch. Not in Chuck E. Cheese when the girls were little, not at scout activities, etc. And this trip was no exception.

The girls went snow tubing at on Friday night, I went snow tubing (squealing all the way, I tell you). The girls tried archery, I tried archery, too. The girls went wall climbing, so did I.

My favorites? Archery was awesome. I’ve never used a bow like that before and I had a blast (I might actually be addicted now). Sure, I missed the target on occasion, but, for the most part, I hit it probably 90 percent of the time with one of those shots hitting bullseye dead center! Wow. That is something I will definately do again one day!

The snow tubing was super fun. Although, truth be told, it was more than a little unnerving the first run when you get pushed down this giant hill and you can’t see a thing. You don’t know how long the hill is, what’s in your path, etc.  But the second I reached the bottom, I was climbing back up the hill to do it all over again. Fun!!

The wall climbing was fun, too. Though, that was one activity where I was able to see some M.S. related weakness on my side. So my goal is now to strengthen that side of my body in whatever way I can and get back on a wall in six months. And I will do it.

So tell me, what’s an activity you’d never done before yet, once you tried, you were kinda hooked?

~Elizabeth

Away We Go

Well, the latest book (a romance) is done and turned in to my editor.  Now it’s a matter of waiting to see what she thinks and then making any tweaks she may want. But I’m pleased with it. Very pleased.

Now, as much as I’m craving a weekend indoors (reading) to shake off this post-deadline exhaustion, I am off on a weekend with dozens and dozens of middle school aged girls. Destination? Some winter camp. Reason? Girl Scouts.

Looking out my window right now, it’s raining. Not quite sure what the rest of the weekend will hold, but if I can ride down a hill on a sled and sip a little hot chocolate, I’ll be good.

So tell me, were you in scouts as a kid?  What was your favorite overnight outing and why?

Me? I was a scout myself for eight years, a head leader for eight years, and an assistant for another troop at the same time I was heading one for four years.

~Elizabeth

 P.S. You may have noticed it took me a little longer to come back this week than I stated on Monday. As for the reason, you can read about that over on the Stiletto Gang today…  (click HERE)

No Time For Air

 I’m in the final push of a deadline so I’ll be absent today, tomorrow and Wednesday. In the meantime, if you feel like saying hi in the comment section, that’s awesome! All cheerleading is both welcome and appreciated at this point.

And for those of you who follow my blog regularly…yes, I have a bag of Brach’s candy corn on standby.

~Elizabeth

B-B-Bits & P-P-Pieces

It’s cold out. Really, really cold out. Which makes it hard to think of anything besides cold-weather things. So here we go…

1) Blanket or robe?

2) What do you reach for when you want to add something to your hot chocolate?

3) Ski or sled? Bonus points if you  have a funny story to share about either.

4) Name a song that instantly makes you think of warmth.

~Elizabeth

Behind The Scenes: A Look At Titles

It’s the moment of truth for me with my latest wip (work in progress).  Which, literally translated, means: it’s Title Ttime.

While the content of a book is important, there’s no denying the part good cover art and a catchy title play, either. For the most part (with the exception of my first three small press books), my covers have been incredible. My cover artist for the Southern Sewing Circle–and my upcoming Amish series–books is, in my opinion, one of the best in the cozy industry. And my romance covers have been good, too.

As far as titles go, I’ve suggested almost all of them…

Did you know that I pitched book # 1 in the Sewing Circle series as PINNED FOR MURDER?  My publisher, however, felt SEW DEADLY was a better kick-off title. As you know, though, I was allowed to use my originally suggested title for book # 3.

Book # 6, which will be released on April 3rd, was pitched as Fatal Pattern. My publisher felt that title was too flat and opted to go with REAP WHAT YOU SEW, instead.

The first book in my upcoming Amish series was pitched as, Shunned to Death, and changed to HEARSE AND BUGGY.

But, considering I have eight published mysteries and another eight on the way, I’m doing pretty good in the title department. Mystery-speaking, of course.

On the romance side, I’m not doing so well with finding titles that stick.  My first romance was pitched as Letter of Love but was changed to KAYLA’S DADDY.  My third romance was pitched as Wishing Ball and changed to MIRACLE BABY. And now the time has come to pitch the name for my fourth romance (due out in October) and I’m sure you can see why I’m rather, um, nervous. The ideas are swirling and I’m beginning to sweat. Not because a title won’t be found, –but because I don’t want one picked for me (I can actually hear my friend, Lynn C., laughing in my head right now). 

So today, in addition to writing, I’ll be jotting down title ideas for my latest romance and hoping one of them will be the one.

~Elizabeth

 

 

Making Quick Work of the TBR Pile

I’ve discovered a curious thing about my new e-reader…

I’m reading more.

Anyone else notice the same thing?

~Elizabeth