A new month, again!

Here we are in yet another new month -- where is the time going?

Oh, I know. Edits.

That's right, I'm hard at working making editor-requested revisions on my vampire books coming out next year. It's funny how finished I thought I was until my editor got hold of it! Not that the changes have been hard, but it makes me think about how often I make the same mistakes.

Like those pesky "-ly" words -- you know, regretfully, longingly, seriously, beautifully and their relatives. It's so easy to drop one of them in rather than use a bunch of nouns and verbs. And then there's my tendency to use the "has been" form of verbs, like "She had watched" or "He had waited."

I have a real attachment to the words "just" and "very," too. I'm too chicken to see how often I use them in a 70,000-word manuscript, but I wouldn't be surprised it they make up 10 percent. So I've just decided to be very careful in using them from now on. (Yeah, see how they creep in?)

My goal is to get the first manuscript squeaky clean by next week so the changes are back to the editor before I have to worry about getting plastic on the upstairs windows and checking for the best price on turkeys. And then we'll roll into a new month and more challenges ... like getting the next manuscript cleaned up and to the editor before Christmas rolls around.

Ready for the ghoulish good time?

Halloween is just a week away and yes, I have already eaten most of the candy I bought for the darling little trick or treaters. That means I'm off to buy candy I don't much care for this time around.

I've always been a fan of Halloween. Considering that I write paranormal romance, I suppose that's much of a surprise. What is surprising is that I'm still as enthusiastic as back when I was a kid. Granted, I no longer get to dress up and ring doorbells, but decorating my porch and lawn is almost as much fun.

I've already done some scarecrow and pumpkin stuff, but the big guns come out this week. I'll be setting up the fake tombstones and hanging my ghost Lydia (complete with bright red LED eyes!) in front of the window upstairs. Add a few skeletal parts hanging from the dogwood tree in the front yard and we'll be ready.

Oh, and that candy that didn't make it to kiddies? Chocolate fangs, for the vampire lover in us all.

Sling me another burger!

I've spent the last two evenings at the local county fair, working alongside my fellow Lions Club members in our hamburger wagon.

The Greenup Lions Club burgers are regionally famous, thick with diced, cooked onions and a quarter-pound burger that brings folks in just to buy one or a dozen. I've eaten them for a long time, but only started working in the wagon once I became a Lion a couple of years ago.

Within the confines of our small workspace, the world shrinks to shouts like "Three up regular and one plain!" and a whole lot of laughing, talking and the occasional friendly argument. Since women are in short supply in the club right now, it's me and the guys, pushing out those burgers as the line grows toward the midway.

I sit at the window, taking orders and handling the money, shouting back to the guys. Some folks just order and go. Others like to talk or give me a hard time. But it's all good. I like being part of the team that makes the hamburger sales a success, and brings in the money to fund our scholarships, eye projects and other good works.

Working in the hamburger wagon reminds me a little of the writing process. Yeah, I'm the only one taking orders and making change, just like I write by myself. But there's a support team behind me, ready to pitch in whenever I need help, to make sure things run smoothly, just like the editorial team at Resplendence Publishing that will make sure my book is the best it can be.

And like those folks who keep coming back for a Lions Club hamburger, I hope my readers will keep coming back for my books with the same enthusiasm for something fun and good.