I think my new years resolution will be to update the blog more than once every 4 months. I’ve been neglectful. No secret to most of you though. I’m just not very good at updating this thing. I’ll try to change that. Notice I said try. LOL

I’ve started a new story. This makes #956, I think. Okay, maybe it isn’t quite that high but it feels like it. I have a folder full of ‘started’ stories. I just can’t seem to finish them. I don’t know why. The muse will rush around in a frenzy for days or weeks, pushing out a good chunk of storyline then…nothing. It’s frustrating. I have so many stories with so much potential. Great storylines. Great characters. Great plot. But they’re all a no-go. It’s like I get to this certain point and the story dies a slow, agonizing death and I’m left to mourn over what it could have been. I have vampires and fairies just sitting there waiting…Sci-fi and contemporaries all just waiting for my fickle muse to get his rear in gear. I use to sit down at the computer and pump out pages upon pages a day. No I can barely get the curser to move. I sit and stare at it for hours. It mocks me.

I’ll have to blame work on a lot of it. For those of you who don’t know, I went back to work in July. As much as I love writing, sitting around the house for hours upon hours drove me nuts! I love my job. I love the money. I actual talk to people other than my kids and my pets. I feel more human now. Being a cave dweller for over 2 years took its toll on me I think. I don’t regret the decision to go back to work but there are days…like today, when I see that my writing has suffered for it, that I wish I would have just sucked it up and stayed planted in my desk chair. I love writing. I love the creative process of it and working has sucked the life out of my creativity. It doesn’t help that I work a graveyard shift. 3:30 to midnight. I’m home by 12:30 every night but after pulling 8 hours I’m too brain fried to concentrate. All I seem to write at that time is rubbish. Weekends are also a non-writer friendly time. My niece is here every weekend and I can’t just abandon her to play with my imaginary friends. I envy those people who can put everything/everyone else aside and just do what they love. I can’t. I’m not built that way. My family has always come first. It guess they always will. I can’t see that ever changing. My kids are grown and ready to leave home. When they’ll do that is anyone’s guess. Maybe then…when the nest is empty, I’ll have that time for myself. I’ll be able to let the laundry pile up and the dirty dishes sit so I can just write. It’s my dream. Hopefully one day, it’ll come true.

It’s time for another give-away! There’s a signed Print copy of A Touch of Heaven waiting for the winner of this contest.

This time, we’re going to have a little fun. Have you ever played the game, Dirty Minds? Well if not, put on your thinking caps!

I’m going to list 10 descriptions of every day items/things and you have to guess what they are. The ‘trick’ is…you have to keep your mind OUT of the gutter to get them right! No answer is ‘dirty’ in nature, just the clues.

The person who emails me with the most correct answers will win the book. I’ll list the answers and the winner on November 30.

Mail your answers to lily.graison@gmail.com with ‘Contest 5’ in the subject line.

Now, on to the game!

1. I sometimes go down on you.
My bytes don’t bruise.
I can drive it floppy or hard.

2. I get fingered a lot.
People stick things in me.
I sometimes get laid on my spine.

3. I’m about 6 inches long.
I have nuts.
I can make women fat.

4. I start with an “F.”
I end with a “K.”
If you can’t get me, you have to use your hands.

5. You suck on me with your mouth.
I can’t stay hard forever.
There’s sometimes lipstick on my stick when you’re done.

6. I have to roll up my hose when I’m done.
I wear rubber for protection.
I come down a pole when you need me.

7. You love to lick me.
After your mouth works on me, I get sticky.
The climax comes when you chew on my stick.

8. I’m designed to pierce women.
I dangle from you appendage.
Losing me leaves you with an empty hole.

9. I fit in-between you legs.
You make me go faster by whipping me.
If you ride me too long, you walk funny.

10. I’m spread before I’m eaten.
You tongue gets me off.
People sometimes lick my nuts.

Okay, there you go! Have fun with these and mail me your answers before November 30th!

Good luck,
Lily

I’m thrilled to announce a brand new ePublisher that has just opened its doors today. Alinar Publishing is the home to a growing list of authors offering romance ebooks, free reads and short stories, many of which are under a dollar! Go take a look at the beautiful website and have a great read!

I managed to write 3,000 words yesterday. It’s not much, but after the months of sitting here staring at my manuscript and nothing coming out, I’m pleased. I hope it wasn’t just a one time thing. I’ve been working on this particular story for 3 years now. Yes, I know. Get it done already! But – it isn’t that easy. The plot is full of twists and I hate outlines, so I have to try and keep everything in order in my head. It’s a lot of work but I can’t do it any other way. I’m a ‘fly by the seat of my pants’ kind of writer and having everything all planned out just–sucks the fun out of it for me. I’d rather be surprised by the twists and turns just as my characters are. The story is always more interestig when I experience everything right alone with my Hero and Herione. It keeps it fresh. Plus, if I already know everything that is going to happen, then why do I need to bother writing it down? LOL

The short Halloween story I’ve been working on…is trash. I hate it. Actually hate is too mild. It totally sucks to be honest. I’ve changed it around, deleted, added on and still–its garbage. *sigh* Why can’t I write anything usable!

Off to sulk and try to think up something ingenious.

Since my book is finally available in Print, I’m going to be giving away a few signed copies. The first contest is running now. Visit the Contest page on my website to find out how to enter. The deadline to enter is September 30th.

Well, I just cut 5 pages of text out of my current WIP. Man do I ever hate doing that. It seems like such a waste. And this isn’t a case of just using it somewhere else. This can’t be used again in this story–maybe not any. Oh well, it happens, right?

Of course–we now have the task of re-writting a fat chunk of the beginning which will drastically change the entire story line. Hopefully it’ll be a better change and not leave me with a big gapping whole I can’t work myself out of, which is why I had to cut the beginning to start with.

A viscious cirle. Thats what it is.

My website is back online. Luckily it was only down for a day, so all is good.

I’ve been going through my story files and found an interesting little story I started way back when. I don’t think it’s anything BOOK worthy but maybe a free read? It’s at 6 pages so far so you may see it sometime soon. I have tons of others too. If I had a full novel for every snippet I’ve started, I’d have enough material to last me the next 10 years! Too bad the usual dead-end always puts the breaks on a good start.

I’ve been working on the Newsletter and for the life of me, I can’t find one intersting thing to put in it! There’s no new ‘news’ to report – no books to feature…nothing. I really hate resorting to eye candy but it looks like it may be my only option. Cross your fingers I find something interesting to say other than “Oh…look at those abs!” lol