vickeymalonekennedy.com Blog

So, why is it that at five in the morning, when I can’t go to bed, all I want to do is go to sleep, and at eight-thirty when I could go to bed, I’m wide awake? Conundrum.

One of the contest categories for the Ozark Creative Writers’ Contest is a ‘Hook Me, Award’. The entries can only be the first 500 words of a novel or short story. The hook to get the reader hooked. Get it? It took a lot of cutting, but I finally got the hook of ‘Emmen Seed’ down to 500 words. It was like having bamboo shoots stuck under my fingernails. Painful, disfiguring, an experience I hope not repeat any time soon.

Although, there is a similar category called the ‘3-3-1 Editor’s delight’. Submit the first 3 pages of a novel manuscript, a 3 page synopsis, and a 1 page jacket copy. Neither of these categories is designed for someone like me. I can’t say hello in less than 5 pages or 500 words. But I can’t resist a good challenge. So next project is, you guessed it, ‘3-3-1′.

Speaking of a challenge; travel has become a hell of a challenge these days. How can anyone expect a woman to travel without mascara? I’m not a girly-girl but even I want to touch up my mascara and lipstick before I get off a plane.

Not to mention the stinky foot situation. Airlines are making people take their shoes off for inspection! Imagine making a minimum wage to inspect people’s nasty shoes, for potential explosives, for eight hours a day. Bet they have a lot of early retirements this year.

Some international flights have banned electronics in the carry on bags. I wouldn’t be able to sit on a plane for hours without my laptop. My next trip has a two-hour lay over. We’re talking over six hours total travel time if there aren’t any delays. Suddenly I understand why that woman went crazy in-flight this week. Take a writers laptop away for six hours and there will be panic and mayhem.

Before you know it we will need a passport to drive across state lines. Of course with the cost of gas these days, no one can afford to drive across state lines. Tourism will suffer. Airlines will go belly up, without explosives, and cars will become extinct. But by gosh the cable company will prosper because everyone will be stuck in their homes with their mates and their offspring.

Spouse and infant mortality will hit an all time high. Who said, “There is nothing to fear, but fear itself?” Wrong. It’s giving me a migraine!

Time for naprosyn and a nap.

Peace be with you,

vck

Finally got the story finished and sent to From the Asylum http://www.fromtheasylum.com/ Hope they like it.

Now gotta get busy on the Ozark Creative Writers’ Conference Contest http://www.ozarkcreativewriters.org/ The deadline for entries is Aug. 26, 2006. You do have to be registered for the conference in order to enter the contest. I am. I’m not sure when the deadline for registration is but check the web site if you are interested.

As soon as I’m finished with the Ozark contest entries then it’s time to get busy with a couple of erotica projects to submit to Mojocastle Press http://www.mojocastle.com And I still need to get the first three chapters etc. of “Emmen Seed” polished enough to send to Tor http://www.tor.com/

Oh by the way big congrats to Lisa Willis, two sells this month, yahoo! I’m so proud.

Lisa is one of my many minions, I am the center of the Universe.

I’m going to handle the blog situation by writing one blog, copying and pasting to all blog sites.

So if you read one you’ve read them all. Leaves me more writing time.

Time to get back to work!

later,

vck

Blogs here, blogs there, blogs everywhere.

I’m a bit blogged under. Just trying to keep up with the blogs I’ve started. I have a blog with my website, one with livejournal, one with myspace, and now yahoo 360. It’s all a futile attempt to avoid getting any real work done.

Unfortunately, I have a deadline, now! It has to be in the mail by the time the post office closes this afternoon. So blogging must wait. Parting is such sweet sorrow,

farewell, farewell, til the morrow

vck

Okay, I admit to a few bad habits.

Procrastination.

That’s the worst of my bad habits. I put things off to the very last 60 seconds. Then speed through doing a half ass job and regretting it later. Don’t ask me why. I don’t know.

I’ve tried to break the habit. But it’s like giving up any bad habit. Harder than it looks, or sounds.

My second bad habit is housekeeping. I’m a lousy housekeeper and really don’t care. I’ve got better things to do with my time. Like nap.

Third. Follow through. My intentions are always so much better than my follow through.

Like this blog for instance. I fully intended to keep it up to date. But as you can see. Poor follow through.

So much has happened since my last blog. I went to Conestoga. Had an excellent time. Got to see a lot of old friends, and make a few new ones. Picked up some great writing tips. One of the best is a website http://ralan.com/ Check it out.

Anyway, I’m going to try to keep the blog up to date better. I’ve got a couple of deadlines due in the next 60 seconds so I better get back to those for now.

more later,

vck