Back To Life...Back To Reality

Hi all!

So sorry for the absence! Boy, has it been a week or what?! We had a whole weekend with no plans but to be home as a family and play! Come Saturday evening though, someone had other plans for us. Our little guy came down with a stomach virus…gross! I will spare you the details, but let me tell you, I have never seen so much come out of something so little. He finally passed out on a bed of towels around 11pm only to wake up bright and early at 6am and announce to me “Mommy, I’m better!” Which was great, don’t get me wrong, but I had slept next to him all night, and each noise he made I was on high alert in case we needed the bucket again…so 11pm to 6am of very interrupted sleep for mommy does not compute into as much energy as a 2.5 year old the morning after a stomach bug. Go figure!

Sunday went well for the little one thankfully. He was still a bit hesitant to eat, which I can’t blame him. But I woke up with one of the worst headaches ever. I’ve experienced these headaches since my teen years and have been through tests and medications, you name it, I’ve tried it. I finally discovered recently that if I take Zyrtec every single day that they don’t pop up as often, but if I miss a dose or two, man am I in for it. And sure enough with the chaos of sickness I had missed two full days of Zyrtec. My amazing husband really stepped up at this point as there were a few times that I fell asleep on the couch that I don’t even remember it happening. The pain was so bad that a few times I was just rolling on the bed trying to find some sort of pressure point on my head to press on and try to relieve some of the pain. Sunday and Monday are a complete blur to me, I couldn’t even sleep through the night because of it, the pain kept waking me up. I managed to make it to the Dr. yesterday and now have steroids for a short while and I see an ENT on Friday which I haven’t seen for my headaches yet. I am hopefully that they will be able to check something that hasn’t yet been checked on and maybe provide some sort of long term relief!

Anyway, onto my writing updates! I am super impressed with myself that I have been able to stay on track with PiBoIdMo so far!! I haven’t missed a day yet even with my house of sickness this past weekend. I even asked my son for some advice on what mommy should write about, his answer, “Draw circles mommy!” and “A book.” We have determined that he may only be 2.5, but he has already mastered the art of being a smart aleck without even knowing it. Most of the time when we ask what he’d like for dinner or lunch, his response is “food.” You just have to love the honestly of a toddler, lol. The circle suggestion didn’t quite go anywhere or make it into my notebook, however, his ‘book’ idea intrigued me a little. I may have a bit of an idea for something there, we’ll see how it computes to paper when I get a real chance to hash out my thoughts on it.

I was so excited to have been able to attend Wordstock PDX 2015! I wasn’t able to stay long because I wasn’t feeling too well, but I was able to meet Ripple Grove Press. They are a publishing company based out of Portland, OR, just a short distance from where I live. I have enjoyed following them on Facebook and Twitter and their work is just beautiful! Since then I have even been able to submit my own manuscript to them for their consideration. It is now a long 5 month or longer wait to know anything, but I am eager to hear any feedback they may be able to provide, positive or negative.

Thank you for stopping by and I hope you are all having a wonderful day!!

First Submission...check!

Good evening all!

This will be a short post and I will follow up with a better one tomorrow. I just had to share that I submitted my first manuscript for publication today!!! I cannot wait to see what or if anything comes of it. The waiting process will be grueling since I am horrible at practicing patience, but it will all be worth it in the end!!

I should go now before I start typing sloppily due to my dropping eyelids. Check back soon for a longer post!

Thank you!!

Love This Writing Life!

Hi All!

I want to start by saying how much fun I am having getting back into my writing. It is a long grueling process if I ever think I’ll actually get published, but the writing and revising process is quite exciting. To explore and see what your different characters and plots can do, then when it doesn’t work, what else they can do is pretty fun.

I had the wonderful pleasure of attending Wordstock 2015 in PDX on Saturday. While it was a bit overwhelming, it was also extremely fun. I didn’t get to stay too long because I wasn’t feeling too great. But I was able to meet and introduce myself to the editors of Ripple Grove Press from Portland, OR who I’ve been following for awhile and hope to submit my work to in the future. I also purchased their book Too Many Tables! The artwork is absolutely thrilling and the book is so much fun! Next year my hope is to plan ahead much farther and take part in some of the workshops offered as well!

I have a couple books I am currently working on and the one I am knees deep in, or elbows deep in rather, lol is so adorable! I know, I’m talking about my own writing, but it’s one that I almost can’t even believe came from my own head. Once it is hashed out and perfect I will be so thrilled to send it off in hopes of a publisher loving it as much as I do. It’s a long way off, and may never come to fruition, but boy do I hope it does!

I am beyond elated that my high school art teacher, who just recently had his own children’s book published, has agreed to work with me. It is going to be so beneficial to have the help of an official children’s book author.

I am also trying to find some critique groups for children’s picture books as well. I think that will be a wonderful opportunity for me to grow and get to know more people in the children’s book world.

My weekend ended with a relaxing Sunday at home with my husband, son, and two cats and it couldn’t have been better. We had let my son buy some new toys with piggy bank money so he was enthralled with his new “Toy Set!” as he calls it. I was able to sit back and write while he was playing and my husband watched some football. Our cats have now become quite good buddies and we found them snuggling a few times(picture below)! The big one is Buddy and the little one is Pikku.

Thank you for stopping by and if you have any advice on finding a children’s picture book critique group please feel free to leave me a comment with the information!

 

 

Rhyming Can Be Fun!

Hi All!
I have recently devoted the time I have to write to working on a children's picture book inspired by my sons beloved stuffed Hippo he calls Heepo. It has been such a fun experience. Rhyming books, though fun to read, can be so difficult to write. I have been so lucky that this one seems to be going quite well. It has some work yet and who knows if any publishers will like it. But holy cuteness I enjoy this book! :)
I am so blessed to have the family and friends that I do. I have been able to count on them through the beginning of this writing process to send my pieces to and trust they are giving me honest constructive criticism back. Of course, right at the point I feel I've got a great version and I send it off to them, I get it back with notes hacking it to pieces. hehe. But once the inflated excitement balloon has filled itself back up I'm able to see what they were actually talking about and really use their advice to better the story itself.
I got myself a little pink notebook that fits in my purse so now I can write down any ideas that come to mind whenever they pop into my head. When I showed it to my husband, his comment was, 'You're like a real writer now!' hehe
I hope you're all having a fabulous day! Talk soon!

Some Good Always Comes With The Bad

Hi All!
It is day three of #PiBoIdMo and I am having a blast! I've only got a few ideas written down so far, but they can blossom into something so much more. I've also gotten so much inspiration and encouragement from the daily guest bloggers. Today I've been able to work on one of my cute little picture book ideas inspired by my sons stuffed hippo who goes everywhere with him. And by everywhere, I mean, he sits on the bathroom counter while brushing teeth, he is shoved in his cubby at daycare every single day, and he has a special seat next to him in his car seat.
While I unfortunately wasn't named a finalist in the Halloweensie writing contest I am absolutely in love with the idea that I came up with for it. I plan to expand on it and hopefully get it into it's own full picture book option. The entries were all so wonderful!
Yesterday I ended up at the doctor for a sinus infection and decided to go home for the last half of my work day to let my new antibiotics kick in, rather than go back to work. Let's face it, when you have a foggy head there are a lot more 'Backspace' key strokes than on a normal day. But me being me, instead of going home and resting, I took the opportunity with the house to myself to clean. So I hauled out our vacuum that use to be my grandma's (she is 83 now), it has a canister and all. I was almost finished with the part of the house I really wanted to get to when I started to smell smoke. I thought, 'If I just go fast enough, I can finish.' Boy was I wrong. I managed to stop prior to any actual sparks or fire, but it did take over a half hour for the smoke smell to vacate our upstairs. So today...I got a brand new vacuum for the first time ever!!! I never thought I could be so excited about a new vacuum cleaner, but boy I cannot wait to check it out!!
I hope you're having a fabulous day!

#PiBoIdMo Day One Is In The Books...My Notebook That Is!

Good Evening!
Today marked day one of my first #PiBoIdMo (Picture Book Idea Month)!! For the whole month of November, each day I will be coming up with a new idea of some kind. It can be an idea for a whole book, a character, title, etc. and by the end of the month I will have a wonderful collection of ideas and notes to pull from in the future and a chance at some amazing prizes that could help launch my first book! My first idea made me actually giggle out loud when I thought of it! Unfortunately, I'm unable to share my ideas with you all. It would be too risky for others to snag them and make them their own before I could use them. But believe me, I am writing them down for myself!
I am proud to say that I bought an official 'note' book that fits in my purse so I will always have access to my notes and won't run the risk of forgetting something good!
Tomorrow I find out if I'm a finalist in the Halloweensie writing contest I entered last week. If I did make it into the list of finalists I will be counting on your votes to push me up into a ranked place!!! *wink wink*
Aside from my writing, this weekend was quite eventful. We celebrated my amazing sister in laws' birthday on Halloween with some Monster food and a lot of laughs. My son and nephews were absolutely adorable and had a blast trick or treating. My 4 year old nephew was a Lego skeleton, my 2 year old nephew was a combat swat guy complete with dog tags, and my little guy was a fireman. It was the first time trick or treating for the two youngest ones and it was adorable. They mastered the 'trick or treat' to get more candy rather quickly, although we will need to work on some etiquette for next year. My son wasn't quite patient enough when people were putting the candy into his pumpkin, he just took it right from their hand...oops! Lol
Today my awesome husband got up with the kiddo and I got to sleep in for the first time in I don't know how long! It was fabulous! I was able to relax, spend some quality time with my guys and managed to get some housework done while I was at it!
Hopefully I will be posting with great contest news tomorrow, but for now I'm heading to bed. I cannot believe it is November already!!

First Time Blogger Coming Through!

Hi All,
I'm new to the world of blogging and pretty excited. I am wife to a fabulous husband, Jake, for just over 4 years. We have a 2 and a half year old son named Jude and two crazy cats, Buddy and Meow(if you ask my son). I work full time as an FAA administrative analyst which is crazy and fun all at the same time. Some days I don't have a chance to breathe, and others are a bit more relaxing. I grew up writing poetry to help me relax but over the years lost track of the time and my pen. Thankfully for my wonderfully supportive husband I have again found my passion for writing in the form of Children's Books! I currently have a few books I have started and finished and revised and finished and revised....oh you get the idea :) One day I'm hoping they will reach perfection in my eyes and I will have the guts to submit for publication. Then the journey starts over with rejection then submission, then rejection then submission...and hopefully acceptance at some point. Honestly and truly though I am just so blessed to have writing as an outlet. It helps me relax and focus back on the true simplicities of life. I hoping this blog will allow me to perfect my writing with a place I can jot things down and share my adventures in writing.
I was lucky enough to come across a Susanna Hill's 5th Annual Halloweensie Contest Found Here and get my entry submitted in time. It is so fun to read the other entries and know there is so much talent out there.
I am also registered to take part in my first PiBoIdMo in November! I am excited to see what kind of ideas I am able to come up with and hope to be lucky enough to receive one of the prizes that may send me in the right direction for publication someday!
I've got a long road ahead in this writing life of mine and I cannot wait to enjoy every step of it!
Thank you for stopping by!
Vicky