The Write Stuff

Okay. It has a high cheese factor, but I am feeling GOOD!!!

And I've come to realize that I MUST multi-task/write. I can't simply work on one book and be well with it. Just doesn't happen.
When I wrote Earth Goddess, I always had WATS in the wings. Which, by the way, is over HALFWAY finished! Can I get a "Woo Woo"?
heh

Then when I finished Earth Goddess and picked WATS back up, I realized I needed something else to work on. So out came SWTWC. Which I am DIGGING!
And since I have strong masochistic tendencies, I've also started notes on my next four book series.
*grins*
Yeah.

And I haven't hit a block or a wall or anything. I'm trucking along writing my stuff which I'm enjoying the hell out of. It's fantastic.
Literary bliss.
*shaking my ass to and fro*
Yeah.
It's THAT good.
lmao
Grins*

What did I do this Labor Day weekend?

I wrote.

Now most of you are nodding your collective heads and thinking...of COURSE you did.
But here's the stunner: I wrote 10,000 words each Saturday, Sunday, and Monday.
And why in the world would I do that?

Because I'm a procrastinating goober.

I've known that I had to get my rear in gear for Earth Goddess. I didn't have to struggle with the story like I did Wind Goddess. That wasn't it. But all the outside influences of my life, and they are NUMEROUS, totally shut down the creative juices.
Write while my ulcer flares and burns? Eh. No.
Write while I ponder how in the hell I'm going to pay my electric AND put propane in the tank? Not so much.
Write while dodging calls from school administration informing me that Middle Chicken has gotten into hot water? I was seeing red. How was I supposed to write?
Write while dealing with two exes? Are you SHITTING me???

So.
*ahem*
I postponed and put off. Watched the calendar tick day after day away. It was slightly terrifying.
So that prompted my writing marathon. And can I say that I wrote over a thousand words an hour?
The story was more as if I were transcribing than putting it together.
It was fantastic.
WHO KNEW???
I laughed. I cried. I LOVE this story!!!
The girls played a new PS2 game all weekend. I would look up from my writing business and root them on or give them hell...whichever the time called for.

This Labor Day weekend I wrote. I wrote 30,000 words and finished Earth Goddess with a smile a mile wide and pumping fists.

Now.
If I can bottle that goodness for WATS.
Grins*

Hot damn!!!

What I found in my inbox this morning:

Crystal,
Congratulations!
Your book ONE ENCHANTED EVENING is the NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER at Whiskey Creek Press for May, 2008!
This is your second #1 at WCP, following your bestselling book PERFECT TIMING, and you also have two #1s at WCPT, WHAT HE WANTS and PROGRAMMED FOR PLEASURE, an outstanding achievement!
ONE ENCHANTED EVENING will be featured at the WCP Home Page as our bestseller all month, and be permanently "red lettered" too. It will also be featured as the bestseller in the WCP newsletter and in WCP advertising.
You may want to let the Ethernet universe know you're Number One, and congratulations from all of us at Whiskey Creek Press!
*********************************
Grins*

Who's News??? Me!!!

The article about me was in yesterday's paper here in town. So I'm going to copy and paste (minus the picture, God forbid) right here in my very own blog. I will note that I made the FRONT PAGE!!! *DANCING*
So, without further ado, me:

Crystal Inman is not afraid to tell people that she hears voices in her head.
That's because the voices come in the form of character dialogue, witty repartee and steamy scenes. The end result is a dozen books that have endeared her to the romance-reading world.
Inman isn't a traditional romance author, however. Her books line the love-story shelves, but their genres come with a twist: paranormal romance, time travel romance, fantasy romance and more.
"Box? What box? There are no sidelines for me," Inman said with a laugh.

Crystal Inman of Shawnee talks about her romance novels about a dozen so far that include twists ranging from paranormal to time travel.
Inman is a Shawnee native who is a full-time writer, a full-time librarian and a full-time mom. And then there's the joy of writing 50,000 to 75,000 words' worth of sheer adventuresome joy.
"It's absolutely amazing to create a world inside your head and transfer it to paper and share it with others," Inman said. "Sometimes at night, I can't go to sleep because of the voices in my head, so I get up and write it down. It can be all-consuming."
Inman said she's been preoccupied with words the reading and the writing of them since she was young. As a child, she discovered her grandmother's old Harlequin romances and began reading them, and she also fell in love with fairy tales and the concept of "happily ever after." Romantic themes, strong heroines and good endings are always part of her books, simply because that's what she believes in, she said. She sometimes includes an Oklahoma flair or heroines in her books.
"I see Oklahoma women as very strong individuals," Inman said. "All my heroines are intelligent and in control. I don't have any stupid or inept heroines. It goes against my grain. Part of my wanting to make my heroines so strong is for my three girls. I want them give my girls a good base so they don't feel unempowered or diminished in any way."
Inman's first book was "Virtually Yours," a contemporary virtual reality romance published in October 2005. It follows a school secretary who meets a handsome "virtual" man while taking part in a virtual reality study. Inman wrote the book before such "cyber-dating" applications were playing out in real life.
Her most recent book is "One Enchanted Evening," a fantasy romance that indulges her love of fairy tales. Its heroine receives an anonymous invitation to an enchanted evening, and the envelope contains gold dust, which takes her to a fairytale kingdom. The tag line for the book is "Ivy Daniels used to believe in fairy tales. Now they believe in her."
One of Inman's books, "The Portrait," a paranormal love story, has been nominated for a top romance novel honor: a Reviewer's Choice Award from the magazine Romantic Times, considered the romance writer and reader's "bible." The winner will be announced later this month.
Inman also writes erotic romances her three daughters prefer to call them "spicy," though they're not allowed to read all the content under the pen name C'Ann Inman. The hottest-selling romances in the market right now are erotic and inspirational, she said.
"These are different from the old Harlequin romances," she said. "Love doesn't stop when you shut the bedroom door."
Inman publishes her books through Whiskey Creek Press, which provides both traditional books and electronic books. Working with an e-publisher also allows her more control over the book cover artwork, which often showcases the beautifully strong women in her stories.
She's under contract to write several more books for Whiskey Creek Press, including two more paranormal romances. At any given time, she has three manuscripts open on her computer and more ideas for the future percolating in her head, she said. It's all work toward her goal of making a romance reader happy.
"I want them to take away a good feeling that not everything ends badly, that there is a happily ever after. That it's not hopeless," she said. "If people are having a bad day, I want to give them escapism to lift their spirits or give them a respite or make them laugh. I absolutely love doing this."
For more information about Crystal Inman's books and for a link to her blog, go to chryswriter.tripod.com.
******************************************************************
By the way, I wrote over 8000 words yesterday.
Grins*

Programmed for Pleasure

FROM THE MARCH 2008 ROMANTIC TIMES MAGAZINE!!!

PROGRAMMED FOR PLEASURE by C'Ann Inman
RT Rating: 4½ STARS
Category: EROTICA
Publisher: Whiskey Creek Press
Published: November 2007
Type: Erotic Romance


Inman takes us on an imaginative journey with this sensual story! Readers will be drawn to these well-written characters and long to be in their shoes. The author not only gives the readers scrumptious sex scenes but also a story with real substance that will hook you and leave you longing for more.

Summary: Meg tests sex toys for a website, but she needs a break. What she really wants is to get her pleasure from a real man, not a plastic toy. Then she wins a contest and gets the chance to play with the ultimate sex toy. She doesn't realize the contest was rigged by Ethan and his partner, Collin. Ethan secretly watches Meg with his creation and knows he's the man for her. But will she want him once his secret is revealed?

(WHISKEY CREEK PRESS, Nov. '07, 154 pp., $13.95)
—Janean Sparks
******************************************************************************
sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet
Grins*

Middle School Dynamic

Hello all!

Took my chickens (and an extra chicken friend) to a middle school dance Friday evening. And yes, it did feel like Sixteen Candles to some extent. There were children from a bunch of area surrounding schools. And they rather kept to their own little cliques. My girls' school had two normal children and then a group of about eight that thought they were too cute and didn't have to listen to anybody. Oh...and they liked to Dirty Dance.
Yeah. At a middle school dance. *eye roll*
It was interesting to sit back and watch the activities. Contrary to earlier threats, I didn't shake my groove thing...though they DID have some great music. If the crowd were a little older, you just never know. *wink*
But the girls seemed to have fun. And that's really all that counts.
And speaking of the chickens...Middle Chicken has a boyfriend. Her FIRST boyfriend. *slightly hyperventilating* Sheesh! Can't believe it. So we'll see how that goes. She's in that giddy stage right now.
And oldest chicken is trying out for a play today! I'm so thrilled! I don't care whether she's the lead or third tree from the right...I'm very proud.

Saturday was shopping. On a Labor Day Weekend. Uh huh. I am way too bright for my own good. lmao
Shipped off middle chickie to her friends house. (The same one that spent the night before at OUR house) and chilled out with other two chickens. Watched some movies. Stuff like that.
Sunday I wrote.
And NOT just a little bit. I'm averaging between 6000-7000 every Sunday when I write. So guess who's going to make their deadline?
Oh YEAH, baby! That would be me!

As for the movies...we got TMNT (still haven't watched), Unaccompanied Minors (didn't want to watch), Wild Hogs, and Disturbia.
Here's the lowdown:
Wild Hogs was mediocre. And even though I adore the cast, it sucked exhaust. On a scale of 1-10...I'd say 2. I did get to see William H. Macy's butt. I suppose that should bring it up to a possible 3. *GRINS*
He's just too talented to be reduced to showing his ass on film, IMO. *eye roll* I just couldn't get into it. Seemed to be spliced together with no real direction.
And now that I've massacred that one...onto Disturbia.

Let me just say, I LOVED this flick!!! Holy shit! I'm not kidding. The story was great. The actors were wonderful. It had humor. It was scary as all hell. I just haven't seen anything like that which has caught my interest in a long time. I think Shia LaBeouf is amazing. Utterly amazing. Not to mention I think he's going to be so damn handsome when he grows into those acting skills he has. Rather reminds me of a cross between Jimmy Stewart and Cary Grant. High praise, indeed.
Now that I've gushed like one of my girls...that's that. *grins*
Hope you had a GREAT long weekend!
Grins*