Self-Editing

Deek and I send our thoughts and well-wishes to everyone affected by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma and to all who are dealing with the fires, especially our friends and family out that way. It's been crazy watching the Pacific Northwest burn, Houston drown, and the East Coast brace for Irma. I'm ready for the weather to settle down a bit. Better yet, can we just have summer back??

I can't believe how cold it's gotten in the last few days. I'm freezing, and it's only September!! Ugh, hurry up and be Christmas and then go back to summer. ;)

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So, I finished the rough draft of my Molly and Ryder story!!! YAY! I worked and reworked the first chapter and then sent it to my hubby and critique partners to see if they thought I'd created a gripping enough opening. If you don't get the beginning right, the rest doesn't matter because no one will get that far.

Like always, my brilliant hubs and Dream Team offered valuable feedback. I've worked in their suggestions, and now I'm trickling that down to the rest of the story. As I do that, I'm making notes to myself along the way. Some of them are very brilliant like "Do better" and "Be more clever here." LOL!

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*Don't worry. If you hire me to edit your work, I'll be much more specific in my instructions. Haha! But I know what I mean when I say that to myself. ;) 

Self-editing is very important. I've heard this crazy notion of people finishing their rough drafts and sending those directly to critique partners and editors, or worse...to publishers and agents. Whenever anyone asks me for my biggest piece of advice to writers, I always say edit, edit, edit, and when you think you're done, edit some more. NEVER turn your rough draft over to anyone. You should edit that thing until you've exhausted yourself. And when you've completed that, let your beta readers and critique partners have a look. Then, edit it again. And when you're like, "Yes, it's as good as it can get," edit it one more time. I'm not even kidding.

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At BookFish and Tenacious, we can always tell when someone hasn't put in the editing effort. You don't want an agent or publisher to think you don't value your work enough to put in the time to make it great. Don't shoot yourself in the foot right out of the starting gate.

Even though Deek and I are both knee-deep in editing (he's working on a sci-fi called The eXtractor), we've taken some time out for a little fun and exploration to keep our minds fresh. Take your own little mental break and join us...

I love this man so hard, I might cheesy grin my lips right off my face!

Editing in the coffee shop all author like

Taking a walk/hike through some beautiful woods!

Amazing corridor!

I feel like this is some weird rock-paper-scissors thing...

Post-run in the pre-Irma wind and rain.

Gawd, I love him!

Every day, I think I have reached the pinnacle of love for this man because it's at an epic high, but every single day, I love him more. It's like the universe, ever-expanding.

This is representative of my life--full of happiness, laughter, and love.

Enjoying a little culture.

Oh yeah! Summer/beach girl in heaven!

The future becomes the present!

Until next time, Trinna has a PSA...

Edit, edit, edit.

Writerly Rhews

In the crazy hubbub of life, sometimes writing time gets wonky. Deek and I have been going, going, going of late, and our writing has suffered. I've been working on Molly and Ryder...well...for a long time. But for this iteration of their story, I started a year ago. WUT? Apparently. Eep!

And I'd only gotten to about 25,000 words. To be fair, I opened my freelance editing and design business, started working for another small press, and maintained all my BookFish duties. So, as much as my characters have been clawing to get out of my brain, they've been rather stuck.

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But I got a little free time this week after I wrapped up a bunch of big projects, and guess what? 

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I DOUBLED by word count in just a few days. The ideas, which had been start/stop and piecemeal, just started flowing. And flowing. And flowing. I'm almost done with the rough draft of this story that's dogged me for a long time. AND, it's *finally* right. I've written and rewritten it, and it's never been quite there. But now it is. How did that happen?!?

Anyway, this is how I feel about all that...

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Meanwhile, Deek is working through the first round of I-finished-my-rough-draft edits on The Extractor. We pitched the idea to some folks at Cape Fear Comic Con, and he got a *huge* amount of interest. So, he's pushing hard to get his first round of self-editing done quickly so he can do his second round of self-edits, get it me, then send it to Anya, and then start submitting to agents!!

I am SO proud of my hubby! This story is unique, and his writer voice is unlike any I've ever read. That's a pretty stellar combination!

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For those waiting to hear news on Restore To Me, my historical fiction, you can wait impatiently with me. LOL! Nothing moves quickly in the writing world, but I've got some agent and publisher interest. So...we wait.

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In non-writer related news, please keep my MeMa in your thoughts and prayers. Today would have been her 63rd wedding anniversary with PaPa. It's also the first PaPa-less first, one of many we'll experience as we navigate the first year of this strange world without him.

As much as I miss him, I know she misses him exponentially more. Smile down bright on your lovely bride today, PaPa. We miss you and love you always!

Their 50th Wedding Anniversary

In world news, Deek and I got to witness the eclipse. I know I've seen one before in my lifetime (I've had to, right?). I even remember making one of the pinhole boxes in school, but I can't remember actually seeing the eclipse. So, this time Deek and I made sure we did! It was AMAZING!

I played Juliet in high school and performed her again in college--AND I voluntarily took a ridonk amount of Shakespeare classes in college--so naturally some lines from the great bard's Romeo and Juliet popped into my head...

"Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon, 

Who is already sick and pale with grief, 

That thou, her maid, art far more fair than she. 

Be not her maid, since she is envious; 

Her vestal livery is but sick and green 

And none but fools do wear it; cast it off."

There is a Shakespeare line for almost any moment. ;) 

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Until next time, read, write, and live out loud!!

All the Rhews Down In Rhewville

Haha! I probably should have saved that title for Christmastime, so be forewarned, you may see it again! But honestly, whenever fall rolls around, I can't fully enjoy it because it's the harbinger of winter. And as a summer girl, I abhor winter. Cold, coats, ice, snow...blah! Give me beaches, sunshine, shorts, and bathing suits any day.

Da beach! Da beach! Ahhhh, so gorgeous!

Don't get me wrong, I do like fall. I like the lovely colors and the crisp-but-not-too-cold chill in the air. And yet...it always symbolizes that summer has gone and winter is coming. I love me some Game of Thrones, so you KNEW "winter is coming" had to be said! And for the record, #KingoftheNorth (if you've seen last season, you know what I mean)!!!

Blarg...gotta drink more hot tea and wear a hoodie because I'm ALREADY freezing in fall.

Okay, okay, enough whining about the cold weather (although, my hands ARE little icicles while I type this), let's move on to another of my favorite topics: my hair! LOL!

The blonde had started fading fast, but my hair isn't healthy enough to withstand another round of bleaching yet. So, I talked to my hairdressers (the one in the South and the one in the Pacific Northwest), and we decided to do an ombre look.

But, a few days before my appointment, I decided ombre wasn't "out there" enough for me. I spent last winter doing a hair experiment for my hairdresser in the PNW, which resulted in a slightly blue-greenish look, so I really wanted to love my hair this winter. And ombre just seemed too...plain. So, I talked to my Southern hairdresser, and we decided to go for a dark brown with violet highlights.

Bye-bye blonde!

I love how Google photos does collages!

Hello, purply brown! 

Deek and I just can't be serious. LOL!

Headed out to a book signing. I love how you can see Deek's hand on my leg in my sunglasses' reflection. He always puts it there when he drives. It's a little thing, but it's a big thing to me. <3

However, the purple is held in place with a red-violet. Well, my hair LOVES red. I have a lot of natural red and a significant number of redheads in my family. Soooo...the purple faded quickly and gave way to the red. I'm headed back to my stylist to get more dark brown and a blue-violet put in instead. Fingers crossed it works because I head off to Comic Con two days later! EEP!

Red invasion

Actually, I'm making this face because I'm peeved I just spent time flat-ironing my hair only to discover it had started pouring down rain outside. GAH!

Deek and I are still on our primal/paleo eating plan and loving every minute of it! Turkey bacon at night for a snack? Yes, please! Sign this girl up! And we've been doing primal fitness as well. I can already feel myself getting stronger, and Deek's muscles...hubba hubba! <3

I'm also trying to incorporate some primal lifestyle changes as well. For example, I try to do an eastern-style squat each day while I'm working on the computer. I haven't quite gotten my back strong enough to sit like that for too long (and my feet fall asleep), but I'm building up to it. 

Doing the "grok" squat while I format the print version of She Runs Away by Jessica Calla.

 Hmmm...I like how my hair looks darker here.

Oh, here's something exciting! The e-version of Deek's book Birth of an American Gigolo is currently on sale right now for only $.99!! You should run over there and get you a copy. My husband is a totally BRILLIANT writer. I can guarantee you'll laugh your socks off when you read this masterpiece. 

I so dig his promo pics too! If you haven't seen them yet, check out his Twitter account!

And right now, I've got my historical fiction, Restore to Me, out on submission. I'm stoked to report that several agents have requested the full, so major fingers crossed on that one!! And while I anxiously wait for word on that one, I'm keeping busy writing my futuristic thriller, tentatively titled Number 25598, although I usually just called it the "Molly and Ryder story."

Restore to Me

Historical fiction -- on submission with agents

Number 25598

Futuristic thriller--WIP (work-in-progress)

I also had a book signing recently. Deek and I traveled out east where we met some cool authors, including Chrissy Lessey, and got to have dinner with some of my family members afterward. All in all, it was a really great trip! 

Bless Chrissy's heart, she said she practiced making crazy faces in the mirror because she knew she'd get Rhewined. ;) 

In a few weeks, I'll be headed out to Crystal Coast Con! Tickets are on sale now, so get ya a few! ;) Guess who will be there?? A bunch of cast members from The 100 (I LOVE this show!) and Lost Girls, but I'm super excited to meet Atreyu from The Neverending Story!

The amazing Anita at Race-Point created a kick-butt banner for me, and I can't wait to use it! I will be SO proud to sit in front of this beauty!! Thank you, Anita! You rule! #AnitaIsAmazing

The whole thing

The banner set up! Deek and I approve! Two thumbs up, Anita!

I hope to see you at Comic Con! I'll be the one with (hopefully) purplish brown hair and a coat on. LOL!

And, as with all things, Deek will be at my side. I know a lot of you would like to meet him--I don't blame you; he's a hottie! But he'll be there with me, so it will be double the fun! I am so thankful to have this wonderful man by my side, through all the ups and downs of regular life and author life. No matter what happens, he keeps me laughing and smiling! Thank you for being the wonderful man you are, Deek! I love you beyond beyond! 

From last year's anniversary celebration. Eeeeeeeee!! Our anniversary is coming up! Can't wait to celebrate my amazing marriage to this blessing of a man!