Archive for the 'Life' Category

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How Do you DO That??

Published on February 10, 2011 in Life and Thursday Thirteen. 0 Comments

I tend to get asked the same question during most conversations I have with people. How do I manage to get everything done?? Seeing as I have once again neglected my blog, I thought it might be fun to do a little Thursday Thirteen on the things in my day and how I go about tackling them all.

Brace yourself!

1. I get up most mornings. 6am people. Sometimes sooner if the puppy is not happy. I take care of our animals (Jack, Jill and Pip the cat) and then crawl back in bed to cuddle with the hubby. I’m then back up at 6:30 for the morning routine and to get ready for work.

2. Breakfast. I have two minions that I need to help get organized for school. Between my husband and I, we make lunches, check homework, go over “the list” for the day. I then kiss hubby and the kids goodbye and leave for my day job which starts at 8am.

3. Day job…’nuff said

4. Lunch time!! I usually eat at my desk and take the opportunity to write on my lunch hour. If I’m very lucky, I actually get an hour to be productive. Being a fast writer, I can get around 1000-1500 words written. If I’m not working on a WIP, I will do promotion (if I can) and type up blog posts (suck at doing this).

5. Twitter. I do have Twitter on my BlackBerry, which helps me take mental breaks from the day job, while keeping up to date on the world of publishing. I can’t do much, but every little bit helps.

6. Home. I get to leave the day job at 4:30pm and am home before 5:00pm most nights. Let me tell you that ten minute drive is the best part of my day sometimes.

7. Food! Supper time is like most homes – insane. We cook, eat, do homework. Then it’s either out for minion activities or family shopping.

8. Home…again. Once we are officially “in” for the night, I get to sit in front of my laptop. I would use my big computer, but minion the youngest tends to use it for gaming. *proud mom*. I then check my email (two accounts) and do any promo that I need to.

9. Writing. Normally, I have time between 9:00 pm – 11:00 pm to get some writing done. Depending on the day I might not get much accomplished because I’m tired. If I find myself slipping, it’s off to Twitter for some fun and chats, or to bed for TV.

10. TV. I watch very few shows anymore. Lie To Me, Dexter, Supernatural, Fringe, Shit My Dad Says (don’t judge me), Hawaii 5-0, and Doctor Who. That’s about it. When they’re not on, I don’t bother with it at all.

11. Dogs. I usually am the one to do the last dog run of the night. Not because hubby won’t (he totally will if I ask), but I’m usually the last one to bed, so it makes sense. On another note, I have been known to shovel the driveway in my pjs with the dog on a leash, in a snow storm. They need a place to pee after all!

12. The bedtime routine. Yeah, I’m a girl. We have stuff to do before bed. Savy?

13. Reading. I try to read a little bit every night. Some days that doesn’t amount to much more than a few pages, but I do try. It never fails to help me sleep.

And because there isn’t enough room..

14. Sleep…maybe. Dreamland and I don’t always get along. I am up quiet a bit through the night, or will wake up very early. The good news is that it gives me time to think about my books and characters. I usually put those ideas down on paper the next day.

So there you have it, the day in the life of this author. I schedule everything so I can get everything done. It seems to work. :)

That and coffee.

Goals – I Have Them

Published on January 3, 2011 in Goals, Life and Writing. 4 Comments

Whenever I sit down to do up my New Year’s resolutions, I always feel a bit silly. I’m normally a pretty goal oriented person to begin with, so doing up special goals for the whole year don’t always have the impact on me that they probably should. That said, the year I put down “I will get published” on my list I actually did. So I’ll keep doing it just to keep the positive vibes going.

So sit down and brace yourself, kind readers. Here are Christine’s Goals for 2011!

The Goal List

Blog More. Yeah, yeah, I know, blogging is sooooo 2010ish. I didn’t get a chance to do a lot of blogging last year due to health and laziness issues. I don’t want to necessarily focus on writing as much as I have (thought that will be a big chunk still), but throw in some more interested bits for you to read. Don’t have a CLUE what they are yet, but I’ll figure it out.

Get an Agent. Yeah, yeah, I know, getting an agent is soooooo 1990ish. I also know this is something out of my control to a certain extent. But what I’m more interested in doing from my own perspective is not rushing my submissions to agents. I’m taking a look at the material I’m writing and how I can make it more marketable to a larger readership. Those are the projects I need to start pitching to agents and only to agents who I’ve done enough research on. Starting with the book I’m editing right now. :D Be Forgiving. I like to think I’m a nice person, but I have a bit of a mean streak in me. Thankfully, most of the time this is directed at myself and not others. In 2011, I’m vowing to give myself a bit of a break. Not from accomplishing the goals I want, but when I don’t quite live up to my own expectations. This will be a hard goal for me to meet.

Write, write, write! Goes without saying, doesn’t it? But my writing goals for the year are as follows.

  • Finish the full length novel, No Master (EC)
  • Finish the full length novel, No Honor (EC)
  • Write two novellas (EC, other)
  • Finish the full length novel I’m writing with Delphine Dryden (lord knows where that will end up. :D )
  • Edit and submit urban fantasy novel (Carina, I hope…)

Promote. I suck at this. I need to do a better job at getting out there and getting my name known. This is the one aspect of publishing that I’ve always struggled with (mum raised me not to brag), and I know I need to do better.

Exercise. Yeah, yeah, I know, this is so…well, insert any year you want. One of the things I realized in 2010 was that I think better when I’m consistently exercising. So my vow is to do this not only for my physical health, but for my mental health as well. A less mental Christine means more writing accomplished. :D  Lord did I just write that…

Well I think that’s good enough for now. I like to keep busy and this will certainly do that for me. I hope you all meet any goals you set for yourself in 2011!

*does a snoopy dance*

The Year in Review – 2010

Published on December 31, 2010 in Life. 1 Comment

Someone asked me something or other about the past year (I think it may have been my Dad) and I remember telling him that I’d be happy to see the ass end of 2010. Now that my house has calmed down and I’ve had a chance to think a bit more about 2010, I can’t say it’s been all bad.

As everyone else does, I thought I’d take a few moments to ponder the past year, but good and bad. Then, I’m going to get mentally ready for my New Year’s Goal list, something I didn’t do last year.

Could Have Been Better

I don’t want to end on a negative, so let’s start with the not great stuff. There were a number of things that I wish had gone differently in 2010. As most of you know, my year started off with me being very sick. At the time of the attack, I’m glad I didn’t know how serious things really were. I’m a bit of a worst case scenario person on a good day, but when the worst case bites your nose, it puts things into perspective. It took me a solid six months, but I’m happy to say I’m doing better. The clots in my lungs will never be completely gone, but neither will they get any worse. Now I’m on to testing and a long term plan with my doctor.

On top of this, I had a number of problems with the health of my extended family. I’m not one to go into details online, but let’s just say I’m thankful to still have everyone still in my life, more or less in the condition they started the year off in. I’m hoping 2011 is better on the health front. We are due a break.

I did find that I was pushing myself way harder than I needed to on the writing front this year. I think it was a bit of a compensation for having been sick the first few months of 2010. As a result, I did get a bit down on what I was able to accomplish (more on this later). I know some of you are scoffing right now. She had a pile of books published! There is nothing for her to be depressed about! It doesn’t have to be logical…

But On The Up Side

No more dwelling on the negative (yeah I know that wasn’t a lot, but more than I normally do), let’s focus on the good stuff. I am feeling better. I started exercising again this year and it really helped me on more than one front. I’ve managed to get my focus back and re-evaluated a lot of things in my life. My kids and  husband are happy and healthy and that is more than I could ask.

I have two great dogs now, a day job I like, my writing job which I LOVE and a husband who is more supportive than I could ever ask for (love you sweetie!). I have amazing friends who have been so very supportive of me and my family this past year. I have met some great people and had a BLAST at the Ellora’s Cave conference. I’ve grown closer to a number of people online and even had a chance to meet some of them this year.

I saw good friends get agents. I saw good friends get bigger publishing contracts than before. All of this helped keep me smiling and I am so very thrilled for each of them.

And That Writing Stuff

This year I published two novels, two novellas and a Quickie at Ellora’s Cave. I sold a short story to Berkley Heat courtesy of  Jane Little over at Dear Author. I have unofficially sold another short story to another publisher (hope to hear the final word soon) and have submitted a bunch of other stuff.

As I sit here and read that, I have to smack myself on the forehead. That is a huge accomplishment for having had the start of to my year that I did. Yes, there were rejections. A lot of rejections. No, I didn’t get an agent. Hell, I didn’t even get a nibble, but such is the publishing industry. I shouldn’t let the didn’ts in my writing life diminish the dids (that sounds like a resolution. Will save it for tomorrow).

I am surprised to have found that I started writing another series. No Quarter was intended to be a stand alone novel. Then out popped No Remedy. Funny enough 2011 will see No Master and No Honor (if the names stay the same) coming out in the series. This year I wrote my first menage book (Mistress Rules), my first m/m (No Quarter) and a lot of kink. I didn’t know I could write kink! I love Kink!! Wait a minute…

TMI?

I have completed another full length novel. I’m very excited about this book. Yes, I’ll try the agent thing with it, but I’m not letting that be the only objective of my year. I have options and I’m finally okay with them. :)

Reading

I had been reading a lot of romance in 2010, but for the first time in a long while, I got back into reading literature. I missed it! I’ll be keeping up that trend in 2011. I also discovered a bunch of new authors this year. I’m in love with so many of them I can’t go into it here. But, you can check out my Goodreads reviews. Just a note though, I won’t give a book a bad review. The lowest I go is 3 stars. If I think the book was bad, it won’t go on my site.

Movies

Tron Legacy in 3D…IMAX 3D…Awesome!

Inception…one of my favs of all time.

How To Train Your Dragon…loved.

Alice In Wonderland…loved.

And Next Year…

Tomorrow I’m going to do a resolution post. I feel I need one. :)

Have a happy New Year’s Eve everyone. Be safe and drink responsibly.

I’ll be playing Rockband. :D

Merry Christmas!

Published on December 24, 2010 in Life. 0 Comments

To everyone who has been kind enough to follow my blog over the years, read any of my books, or simply taken the time to chat, I want to wish you all the very best this holiday season.

I will be celebrating Christmas with my family and relaxing for the next few days. Be safe and enjoy your time, no matter how you celebrate.

Spirit Day

Published on October 20, 2010 in Life and Soapbox. 2 Comments

You’ve probably noticed I don’t do a lot in the way of controversial blog posts here. That’s not the type of person I am. I’m not about to get on a soapbox now either.

However…

Today is Spirit Day. It honors the teenagers who have taken their own lives in recent weeks because of anti-LGBT bullying. And while I’m not gay, I have family and friends who are. And I do have children. Bullying for ANY reason is wrong. I can’t imagine the extra pressure a LGBT teen goes through today.

We live in a screwed up society when violence isn’t blinked at, but love must still be fought for and justified.

Make sure you wear purple today to support LGBT teens and adults.

Do something about bullying in general in your communities.

Read here for more information on Spirit Day.

July Update

Published on July 29, 2010 in Letter of Marque, Life, No Quarter, No Remedy, Promotion and Romanticon. 4 Comments

Holy cow, it’s been a while since I’ve had a chance to post on the blog. It’s been a crazy summer for me on a number of fronts.

My day job has seen me go off to Germany for a week. It was my first time in the country, but I can tell you it won’t be my last! I had an amazing time. The people were friendly and the weather was the hottest it had been all summer. I nearly died LOL!

I got to visit the cathedral in Aachen – we just don’t have places like this in Canada. The beauty of the church can’t be captured in this picture.

I was also able to see (from the outside because I had to catch a train) the cathedral in Koln. I would have killed for an hour to go exploring here.

I even got to stand on the highest point of the Netherlands! The Vaalserberg (“Mount Vaals”) is a hill 322.7 metres (1059 ft) in height.

It’s also where Germany, Netherlands and Belgium meet.

I have officially finished the sequel to No Quarter. Not only that, my wonderful, charming editor at Ellora’s Cave has already bought it! Letter of Marque will now officially be known as No Remedy! Contracts have been sent off and edits will start soon. :D This is Mace’s story and I love how her character has grown from book one. Book three is in the planning stage, and I’ll get to work on that in the fall.

While I was flying, I wasn’t able to sleep on the plane. This was a blessing and a curse, as it gave me lots of time to write. I was able to get a new novella started, which I finished yesterday. This will be part of a new multi-author series from Ellora’s Cave. I don’t want to give too much away at this point (we will have blogs and fun things to come), but my novella is done and ready to go off to my editor. Fingers crossed she likes it. :D

What’s on the burner for me now? Well, I have a submission ready to go off to Samhain in the next week. This is the beginning of a new paranormal romance series, and I’m crossing all appendages my new editor will like/want it. Any extra good luck anyone wants to send my way would be awesome. I’m also working on a quickie for EC’s Merry Kinkmas theme. I’ll be getting this one out the door in a week or two.

I’ll also be attending EC’s Romanticon in October. Not only will I be there for the fun and book signing, but I’m going to be presenting two workshops – one on GMC and the other on characterization. Hopefully, there will be more than just me in the room. :D

I hope everyone is having a fantastic summer so far. I’m still active on Twitter if you want to keep up with my daily musings. I will check back in for August, and then get back to a more frequent blogging schedule come fall.

*does a snoopy dance*

How a writer packs

Published on May 4, 2010 in Life and Reading. 3 Comments

I’ve come to the conclusion I’m getting weirder as I get older (no comments Amy!). It used to be when I had a business trip to get ready for, my focus was on the little things, like when am I going to have time to do the laundry and is there anything I need to help hubby with before I go.

What do I obsess over now?

How much reading material do I have on my Kobo? Will there be enough for the flight there and back? Do I have the most recent version of my WIP on my USB stick?

Underwear be damned!

Yes, this writer is off to beautiful British Columbia for a “day job” trip. I have to say I’m super excited about it. It will officially be the furthest west I’ve ever been in my life. Being from the Canadian east coast, getting to visit the west coast is just plain awesome!

I also love the whole travel part. Not the early morning rides to the airport, but I do love people watching. You get to see individuals at their best and worst at an airport. It’s fascinating. I always seem to come out of a trip with some good writing under my belt. I’m hoping this won’t be any different.

This is also my first real run of the Kobo for prolonged reading. I’ll let you know how I make out with it. There will be pictures and tweets, so I’ll keep you all posted. :D

2010 Reboot

Published on January 28, 2010 in Health, Life and Writing. 5 Comments

I’ve had an interesting start to my year. As some of you know, I’ve been sick for the past month. Not “hey I’ve had a bad flu” sick. More like “hey, this could kill you if you’re not careful” sick. The good news is that I’m on the mend. The bad news is I’ve had a lot of free time on my hands.

This shouldn’t be a problem.

I haven’t been able to write anything since this mess started. Understandably, my creativity has been sapped a bit. But what it has done, is given me time to think. Its helped me focus on what I want my year to be like going forward.

First off, I’m going to start taking care of myself better. That means listening to my body and not ignoring things when they’re not right. Yes, women tend to do this a lot, but I won’t anymore. I’ve also learned that bad things can happen to me. It’s funny, I never considered before that something could. I know that sounds naive, but really, who does. I’m not old, I thought I was healthy, why would I think bad things were about to happen. I now know that I’m not invincible and need to put myself first so I can be there for my family.

On the writing front, I’ve learned that if I want things to move forward, I need to make them happen. No more sitting around thinking I can’t get an agent, or a bigger contract, or write the book I always wanted, just because it’s hard. Of course its hard, and I might even fail. But one thing I know for certain, it will never happen if I don’t try.

So, I’ve decided to start 2010 over. I go back to my day job on Monday after having been on sick leave for a month. I’m also going to start writing again and get those queries out to agents. No, I won’t giver up after getting five rejections and think I’m a sucky writer.

Positive side of life. It’s a nice place to be.

:)

Birthdays and Reviews

Published on October 19, 2009 in Life, Review and The Bond That Saves Us. 8 Comments

It’s amazing how quickly life actually goes by. On Wednesday my oldest daughter turns ten. We had her birthday party/sleep-over this past weekend and had a ball. The whole time I’m staring at her and am in shock that I have a ten year old. She’s become her own person and I couldn’t be prouder of her.

When I asked her what she wanted to be when she old older, she told me she plans on being a kindergarten teacher. “But if that doesn’t work out, I’ll be a writer, mummy.” I was so proud!

Happy birthday baby!

Speaking of proud…I opened my inbox this morning to the most amazing review from Two Lips Reviews. The ever fantastic Merrylee gave The Bond That Saves Us five Lips!! It was an incredibly flattering review.

Sadly, The Bond That Saves Us is the final book in this exceptionally good series. I’ve read all four books, and I can truthfully say that they are not to be missed. Christine D’Abo not only writes with a knowledgeable flare for futuristic sci-fi, her characters are powerfully human – even if they aren’t. The pages of her books read fluidly, with absolutely no drag anywhere. Her world building and plot lines are extraordinarily well drawn and captivating. Beyond that, no other author I’ve read reaches quite the depth of sensuality and emotion in their sex scenes as does Ms. D’Abo. In fact, her sex scenes can be more aptly described as love scenes, as they grab hold of the reader’s heartstrings and hang on tight. You can’t read a D’Abo novel without sinking heart and soul into the lives of her characters, who seem so real it’s hard to believe they do not truly exist.

Thank you so much Merrylee for your kind words. You can read the review in its entirety over at Two Lips Reviews.

Writer’s Head Space

Published on October 14, 2009 in Life and Writing. 0 Comments

You know your a writer when…

I have this tendency to drift off some days. I can be sitting there, working away on something, or doing the laundry and my mind drifts off. I’m choosing to believe there isn’t something wrong with me, but rather I’m getting into that spot where my characters start talking to me.

Wow, that really does make me sound a bit off my rocker LOL!

I really enjoy finding that writer’s head space. Sometimes its hard to get to if things around me are a bit insane, but most of the time it just happens. I think some of my best ideas have popped out when I’m drifting along. I’ve fixed plot issues when I’ve been doing the dishes thinking about nothing in particular.

It’s also interesting how I find myself working on new plots more in the fall than in the summer or spring. I’m not sure if it’s my way of dealing with the winter, or if I’m simply more introspective this time of year.

How about you? Do you find fall makes you more introspective? Do you read more, do more quite activities? Or are you one of those brilliant people who explode with energy and ideas this time of year?