Blackberry

Error, reset, blank screen, hmm....  The Blackberry died on me yesterday or better yet, hopefully it's just sick.  My husband took it in to be repaired this morning.  I am looking for good news at the end of the day. 
I look forward to its return and putting a Kindle app on it. I'll keep you posted... 
Well, its fairly quiet around here ( aside from the dogs barking ) the phone isn't ringing constantly, this will be a productive day.  Fridays are normally my most productive day, I try to make a big push going into the weekend.  I tend to go into relax and renew mode on Saturday and Sunday.  The weather is fabulous outside at 70 degrees so I will be working on the patio today.

Back to writing. 

Hope all is well with you today,
M.Rene

Reading for Pleasure -vs- Reading for Writing

My daughter went with me last night to a meeting and where she was waiting was a television.  Someone asked her what she'd like to watch and she kindly said, "Oh, I'll read instead." :-)  She whipped the I-Touch out and started reading.  That's me, or that use to be me.  This made me think about the amount of reading I do for writing and the absence of my pleasure reading.  I have a voracious appetite for books.  Yet, I barely have the time or even try to make the time anymore for pleasure reading.  I spend the better part of my leisure time (ha!) reading up on the craft.  Mind you, I put in a solid 8 hours a day on my writing, all aspects of it.  I barely eek out 1 pleasure book a month for a book club I am in.  I am accustomed to reading at least a book a week, but for the last year, it is has been one book a month.  I will start reading our book club selection and all of a sudden those characters are running around in my head and my novel's characters really don't share well, so guess who wins out?  

Are you a writer?  Have you, or are you experiencing these same things?  Do you have any suggestions?

Let me know.

Until next time,
M.Rene

World Reader

I came across this organization recently in my morning reads, WorldReader .

Worldreader.org’s mission is to make digital books available to all in the developing world, enabling millions of people to improve their lives.  They identify schools, train teachers, work with communities, and partner with publishers to bring millions of books to underserved children and families in the developing world.

How amazing is that!!  I love that someone had the foresight to establish an organization such as this.  Donating Kindles to developing countries and underserved communities is outstanding.  World Reader has a I Read pilot program in Ghana.  Imagine how the world of the Ghanaian children expanded once the Kindles touched their hands.  I'm sure they never thought they would have this type of access to books.

Check out their blog here World Reader Blog , so inspiring!

Kudos to World Reader!

Have a Great Day,
M.Rene

I Write Like....

I saw this site on Amanda Hocking's blog the other day.  If you aren't familiar with her, she is an incredibly talented and successful Indie Author. Her books are burning the map in sales and I have literally watched her success rise over the last 6-9 months. I thought the "I Write Like" site title was interesting enough to peruse.  Well, I cut and pasted a couple of paragraphs from "The Queen's Blood Vendetta" and this is what they came up;

I write like
Ian Fleming

I Write Like by Mémoires, journal software. Analyze your writing!

Ian Fleming is well known for authoring the "James Bond" novels.  Odd, I would have never compared my writing to his, other than the action.  I learned something interesting about Ian Fleming in this exercise of procrastination, ( I call it like I see it ) he also wrote "Chitty, Chitty, Bang, Bang".  Yes, the children's book, what a departure, but how fun can that be. 

Okay, back to editing and polishing.

What are you working on creatively today,
M.Rene

Bohdan & Xena

What a difference a week can make.  Last week we were experiencing unseasonably cold weather.
Cover the pipes!  Cover the trees!  Gas outages!  Head for the hills! 
Wow, what a week!
Today, we are back to normal, the 70's. 
All this week we will have beautiful weather, perfect for writing outside on the patio. 

Bohdan and Xena will be out in the backyard with me, I'll be writing, they'll be playing.  I have written them into the storyline of  "The Queen's Blood Vendetta" as an introduction to the "graphic novel" (comic book) that will be a companion book to QBV.  I will of course have my camera ready to take pictures of them running, jumping and horse playing to help with the graphics of the novel.

Here is Bohdan,

and here is Xena in her favorite spot, catching some sun.

How is the weather in your area?

Enjoy,
M.Rene