Hi everyone,

What am I up to these days?  I may have mentioned, but for those who haven't read me before, I am a hobby beekeeper. Yes, I am one of those strange beings you see garbed like someone from a hazmat team. For those who've known me for a long time, this has come as quite a shock. I loved fashion, still do. I will wear my four-inch heels till I'm a hundred. Love the hair, the makeup, the accessories. I love it all. But me in a beekeeper's suit, hard to believe for some.

You've probably all heard about bees being killed by our pesticides and about how devastating for our agriculture this will be, unless we find a solution. For this reason, I decided to do my bit for the planet, and I statrted keeping bees.

Last week I happened to be away when one of my hives decided to swarm. (This is when a hive becomes too crowded. The bees produce a new queen and half the hive leaves with the old queen to find a new home.) Last year I was so proud of myself because I managed to capture not one, but two swarms. If I do it again, I proise to get it on film and show you. But for now you'll have to settle for the short film of my bees swarming that a neighbor was able to take. The good news is that even after that swarm of about twenty thousand bees, I still have at least that many left in the hive. We'll have a bumper crop fo honey this year. Yumm.

 Bees swarming

My husband would tell you that when I'm not writing, I'm eating. But I beg to differ. I spend way more time cooking than eating. I've always loved to cook, especially to bake. Maybe that's because I love pastries and bread so much. (When we went to France in 2007, I gained six pounds in five days. Good grief was the food there delicious!) Anyhow, I love cooking so much that about five years ago I started a wevsite called Skinnyrecipes.com (That was shortly after my Paris trip. I sorely needed some skinnying myself.) So imagine my shock last November when I discovered that I have Celiac disease. That means I can no longer have gluten. What! No bread? No pastries? No pasta? For a few days I seriously considered living with the discomforts and health problems of celiac just so I could have my daily bread. You have to understand. I LOVE bread. I could live on it.

After thinking on it a bit I rolled up my sleeves and embarqued on a quest to transform all of my favorite recipes into gluten free versions. Under those circumstances, I couldn't very well continue with my skinny recipes blog, so I eraced it and gave it a new life as SkinnyRecipes.com for a gluten-free diet.

Well! I don't know if gluten free is the new thing, or what. But the site has been going like mad. YOU have to understand. This is just my onw little tiny site, where I post a couple of recipes every week,and in only two months it's already got over 5000 visitors. Isn't that incredible? So if you want to keep in touch somewhere else that on my author site and get some cool recipes to boot, feel free to drop by skinnyrecipes.com.

Love ya. 

Some days, no matter how much I want to, I just can't seem to string two words together. Today was like that. I ended up staring at my screen, willing the words to write themselves and getting nowhere fast. Normally when I feel this way, I head for the kitchen and cook. There is nothing like the aroma of baking bread or cookies to fix the doldrums. But baking has become a bit of challenge lately. I was recently diagnosed with a gluten intolerence, which means, no more wheat, barley or rye. Any bread and pastres I want to eat must be gluten free.

Have you ever eaten cardboard? Well, the first few times I bought gluten-free bread, cardborad was pretty much what it tasted like. I couldn't imagine having to spend the rest of my life without ever again enjoying warm baguette, or delicious cake or cookies or pie. No, I decided that was simply not an option. So I rolled up my sleeves and went to work until I came up with some damned good recipes. Anyhow, the only reason I'm telling you all this is that since I couldn't write today, I ended up posting on my cooking blog. So if you're at all interested in cooking gluten free, please join me on Skinnyrecipes.com. I post new recipes more and more often as my trial and errors seem to be coming up successful more often than not.

And by the way, I know you've seen the cover of my latest novel, Getting Skinny, but I just wanted to point out something cute. Did you notice the stove? Doesn't it look just like my old cottage stove? Don't you just love it?

Funny thing, for the last six or so seasons I was an avid fan of American Idol, but this year I slipped. I didn't watch a single episode. Maybe it was because of my crazy deadline, writing and delivering  an entire manuscript in two and a half months, left me no time for Ryan Seacrest. Or maybe it was because I couldn't believe the show would be the same without Simon Cowell or even Jen From The Hood. Whatever the cause, weeks went by until I accidentally tuned in two nights ago and fell in LOVE with Candice.

For anybody who hasn't heard her, the girl has got pipes. OMG. I am obsessed with her, much the way I was with Susan Boyle after seeing her on England's got talent. If you haven't already, watch her now. Here's the link.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2DzNsUvtFo

On an entirely different note, I have cause to celebrate!!!

The good news is that my new novel Looming Murder is already available for pre-order on Amazon. Yay!!!

http://www.amazon.com/Looming-Murder-Weaving-Mystery-Mysteries/dp/0451413601/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1363468119&sr=8-1&keywords=looming+murder

Check it out!

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Hi y'all,

Not sure if you know this, but my new novel, Getting Skinny includes a few of my favorite skinny recipes. A few lifetimes ago, I used to be a fashion model. Even back then keeping my weight off was a constant struggle. I no longer need to be as thin as I used to be, and I'm perfectly happy weighing twenty to twenty five pounds more than my model weight. But staying at that weight is even more of a challenge these days, which is why I came up with a few fabulous low-cal dishes, and I've included them in Getting Skinny. I hope you enjoy them.

Anyhow, enough about Getting Skinny. Next week I promise to tell you all about my next book, Looming Murder, written under my pen name, Carole Ann Martin and coming out in July.

When people ask me about the inspiration behind Getting Skinny, my answer always surprises them. The idea for the novel came to me when my beloved little Yorkie, Jackie Chan, died. Her death was so sudden, so tragic, I was left reeling. When I managed to catch my breath after a long period of grieving, I decided to write a book using her as one of the principle characters. This way, her memory lives on. This morning, when the book became available for download on Amazon, I was happy to read the first review:
The characters in Getting Skinny are fun and well developed. Nicky is charming, witty and full of self-deprecating humor. Toni is the money behind their business venture and she is a wonderfully supportive friend who has a cliché for just about any occasion. But the supporting character I enjoyed the most is Nicky’s dog Jackie Chan. She is too cute for words and Nicky’s scenes with her just cracked me up!
Jackie, my little friend, I miss you still, but I’m thrilled to know that my readers will read you, and will fall a little bit in love with you too. You are still in my heart.

Nothing is as exciting to an author than having a new-book launch. And as of a couple of weeks ago, my new novel, Getting Skinny ihas been offered on Amazon at a pre-publishing price. All that means is that if you pre-order, you pay a lower price. I so, so hope everybody likes it. (Please let me know.)
Now that I did my self promo, let me tell you how this book came about. Five and a half years ago, my little dog, Jackie Chan, died in a tragic accident. I was so heart broken, I must have cried for a year. (I still get a bit teary eyed when I remember the terrible accident.) A few months following her death I decided to write a book, featuring her as one of the principal characters. I had to keep her alive somehow and this seemed to be the best way I could think of. I have to say, I did a really good job of it. The Jackie Chan in the story has nearly as much personality as my beloved Jackie did. By the way, some of her scenes really happened The skunk scene, for example, actually did. I’ll never forget the face on the clinic attendant’s face as he told me that, no, she was NOT dying. She had only been sprayed by a skunk. Who knew that fresh skunk spray smelled like a strong chemical? I didn’t. I was sure she’d gotten into some terrible poison or something. Oh, the bottles of Skunk be Off I went through. LOL

Everybody Loves a Makeover
I LOVE those makeover television shows. Don’t you? I am hooked on all of them—the decorating shows, the house makeovers and even the renovating shows. In fact, I was a fan of This Old House back when none of my girlfriends had ever heard of it, and when Oprah had those makeover shows where she made plain women into gorgeous beauties, well…I was hooked. Recently I had a makeover of my own—a manuscript makeover.
Before I go any further, let me share a bit of my writing journey with you. For as long as I can remember I always wanted to be a writer. I wrote my first novel about fifteen years ago and then began a long, long series of queries which ultimately resulted in enough rejection slips to wallpaper a small room. But rather than discourage me, with each rejection I felt closer to my goal. One in particular, I remember, really gave me courage to keep writing. This agent wrote, ‘I first read your manuscript on a Friday night train ride home and was very excited. After rereading it some weeks later, however, I felt that the manuscript had flaws.’
I know what you’re thinking—yes, this was just another rejection letter, but what all I heard was that a professional agent had been excited when she first read it. And as far as I was concerned, of course she wouldn’t have been as excited after reading it a second time. She already knew what would happen. There were no more surprises, so of course all she would notice were the flaws. I continued writing…and submitting…and being rejected. But eventually I did find an agent and now I have not one, but five books sold—not counting my two self-published novels. The first, “Getting Skinny, will be published in early 2013.
It is with this manuscript that my editor at Carina Press helped me, pointing out the flaws, and there were plenty; weak points in the pot, characters whose roles were unclear, and some writing habits that were just old fashioned. When I got the first round of edits—yes folks, there is more than one—called the content edits, I was floored. What did she mean those scenes did not propel the plot forward? Some of them were among my favorite. I couldn’t just cut them out. And—what!—get rid of that character? But so many scenes revolved around her.
After thinking about these points for a day or two, I came up with solutions. If I changed the character in question to an antagonist, I would still have to rewrite many of the scenes, but at least I wouldn’t have to chuck out large portions of the book. Also, I found a way to tie in those great scenes that she had pointed out as unnecessary and make them an integral part of the story. For the next few weeks I rewrote and then sent the new version down. I didn’t have to wait very long until she wrote back with another series of rewrites, this time, what she called line edits. These consisted mainly of chopping out unnecessary words or changing a sentence here or there. But she also mentioned that she was thrilled with the changes I’d made so far. Yay!
Here’s the thing, originally I probably felt like many of those before-and-after subjects—a bit miffed that somebody thought my story could be improved. Much as I hate to admit it, she was so, so right. Those editors sure know what they’re talking about. After the second round of edits, (I expect there will be a third, just to make sure every little thing was caught before going to print) I can tell that my fun little novel has been improved beyond belief. I found myself rereading sections of it and thinking, wow, this is good. This is really good. I didn’t know I could write so well.
So… what were those tips she gave me that helped so much?

1. Get rid of chunks of back story. Instead integrate it by little bits throughout the novel, only when it’s necessary. That way the story gets to the action much sooner.
2. Get rid of as many ‘he said’ and ‘she said’ as you can. The dialogue will flow more smoothly.
3. Go through your manuscript and pluck out the word “that” wherever you can. Your writing will sound better. For example, change “she was certain that I would follow,” to “she was certain I would follow.”
The moral of this is it’s easy for us writers to get down on ourselves and our writing. (Did you notice I didn’t have a ‘that’ between ‘this is’ and ‘it’s’?) A rejection letter often feels worse than a bad date. What we must remember is that it doesn’t mean we are without talent. Our writing—our voice just needs to be tweaked. We must work at it and nurture it until it shines, until we are ready for our after shot.

The most challenging part of writing a novel is composing a first line that will grab your interest enough to make you want to read on. I don’t know about you, but I’ve read so many novels that open with the heroine looking at herself in the mirror, and giving us a description. There are also tons of novels that start with the weather—It was a dark and stormy night.
My next novel, Getting Skinny which is coming out next February, starts with; Call it intuition. Call it a sixth sense. Whatever. Somehow I just knew.
Okay, so I’m cheating a bit here. That is not one sentence. It’s 3, or maybe 3.5. But that’s okay because I’ll let you cheat too.
And here’s the deal. Whoever writes the most grabbing first sentence or 3 will get an autographed copy of Scorpio Rising. All you have to do is compose your sentence and put it in the comments under this blog. Make sure to register so we have your email address to contact the winner.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Every day ain’t great!
I know I wanted this life—the life of an author that is—but lately I can’t help but ask myself, how sure am I that I can actually live it? Perhaps it is not just mine, but every author’s plight to be filled with self doubt every time one novel is finished and a new blank page awaits the inspiration for a new one.
Imagine creating something as complex as a novel—an average of 85,000 words, filled with characters and conversations and descriptions, all adding up to a complete story—out of nothing. This is the dilemma facing me now, working on novels five and six simultaneously.

Finding just the right words.
Often, the most challenging part is starting the novel—those first one thousand words that need to convey a sense of the main character, a place, a time and enough of a hook to make the reader want to read on. One might be tempted to use something like ‘It was a dark and stormy night.’ Heard that one before? Or maybe, ‘It was the best of times. It was the worst of times.” Oh, oops, that one has already been taken.

Are you up to the challenge?
So here is my challenge for you, dear reader. How would you start a new book? Give me your best shot. I won’t use it. I’m just curious. And then we can decide who wrote the best first line and the winner will get a free copy of my novel, Scorpio Rising.