Update

It's been quite awhile since I last posted a blog...

I've been doing quite a bit of editing, not so much writing. Remember the baby that does not sleep? Well, she's now the toddler who takes the occasional nap. ; ) To feed her curiosity and innate desire to learn, I started teaching her pre-preschool. She already knew how to count to 18 so I'm teaching her number values. She knows the alphabet so I'm teaching her letter sounds, but mostly we're having fun with books, sensory boxes and tons of hands-on activities.

My husband is done with college... well, until he decides he needs his Masters. ; ) So yay! That means my evenings may be freed up to do some writing!

So life has been busy, full and good.

I don't think its a secret that I'm a Christian, a bible-believing, born-again Christian, at least not to my closer friends. I don't mention it much because this is a writing blog, but my beliefs, as anyone's do, permeate everything I do.

Because I am a writer, and I miss writing, and my life is full of mommy-type things lately, I decided to start a more personal blog. I'm hoping that means this one will be revitalized too.

Here's to wishful thinking. ; )

But at any rate, if you'd like to check out my Shawna Guzman blog, here it is.

It's rather plain right now... mostly because I had a two year old asking for blueberries, and then Paw Patrol, and a few minutes later a popsicle as I was attempting to write it.

I hope you are all doing well! I miss the writing community! : )

My Writing Process -- Blog Tour!

My Writing Process -- Blog Tour!

Step one: Acknowledgements: Thank you to Jody Wallace and Meankitty (Meankitty has her paws in everything... and no, not saying that's a bad thing.) who tagged me and then was so gracious when I dropped that ball flat on the ground. http://blog.jodywallace.com/2014/03/my-writing-process-blog-tour.html T

Step two: Answer the 4 questions below about your writing process.

1) What am I working on?

Honestly, not much. I have a very active almost-year-old who does not sleep. A 20 minute nap does not constitute sleep. Trust me. It's just long enough to grab a cup of coffee, sit, open the WIP, read where I left off, get started... and then bang my head into the keyboard when I hear "mommy" So a better question is what would I like to be working on. The answer to that is an awesome paranormal story involving a Native American heroine and native lore.

2) How does my work differ from others of its genre?

Well, I wrote it, duh! Seriously? The currently wannabe story involves real-life situations and well, a lot of cool paranomal bad guys based on native legends.

3) Why do I write what I do?

I guess I write what I like to read. I like bad guys who you almost want to root for. Almost. Heroes and heroines who are far from perfect and plots that make sense.

4) How does your writing process work?

It's not working. See question one. Ideally, I have an idea. I think about it, toss it in the air, catch it, see what floats, what doesn't. The characters almost always come first. Then I ask questions. Why is he/she there? What does he/she want? What if. The ideal time for this is when I'm half asleep or in the shower. Go figure. Then I just go. No huge outline, no index cards. Just me and quiet... which I am sorely lacking at the moment.

Step Three: Okay, now I need to tell you who else to go see. Jody, of course, who is a multi-published and talented author who lives in  Tennessee with her husband, two kids and two cats. She is a terrible packrat and likes to amass vintage clothing, books, Asian-inspired kitchenware, gnomes, and other items that threaten to force her family out of the house. She also likes cats. A lot.

Next week you need to....

1. Go see Veronica Scott, she of the ancient Egyptian romances and the science fiction romances! Her bio: "Best Selling author and “SciFi Encounters” columnist for the USA Today Happily Ever After blog, Veronica Scott grew up in a house with a library as its heart. Dad loved science fiction, Mom loved ancient history and Veronica thought there needed to be more romance in everything."

2. Go see Petra Grayson, an avid reader buddy I've made on Twitter who may soon dive into the writing side of publishing. Her bio: "Petra Grayson reads romance novels and writes reviews whenever life allows it. She’s very spoiled in her house full of men and keeps busy working out, volunteering, and trying to remember what life was like as an engineer. She tries to write stories when things are quiet but so far they contain too much sex and not enough talk. Find her on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/LietoFine7 or check out her bloghttp://theoryoflietofine.blogspot.com."

3. Go see Jeanne Hardt, who writes historical romance and is the president-to-be of my local RWA chapter. Her bio: "Jeanne Hardt first thought she would be a famous singer until she dreamed that a college professor challenged her to write a romance set in turbulent times. When she woke up...she did! Four books and a couple years later, her dream professor is still inspiring her to pursue publishing."

4. Go see DT Dyllin, who writes paranormal romance and loves dogs. Her bio: "D.T. Dyllin is a Bestselling Romance Author who writes in both New Adult and Adult genres. She is a member of the RWA (Romance Writers of America) and also her local chapter, the MCRW (Music City Romance Writers)."

Today I'll be...

Today I'll be over at Angela's blog. Or rather Bredych will be there. Have you ever met him? If not, you're in for a treat, or destruction... depending on his mood. I've been told he's in his most charming frame of mind.

Bredych is one of those characters that stays with you. A little know insight? Once when I was writing him, I had a moment of true fear thinking someone so cunning was in my brain. Shivers.

Today he's explaining why he's not a villain.

So take a chance, stop by and say hi.

By the way, this guy would play Bredych extremely well.

Spring

I almost feel guilty sharing these pictures because I know a lot of the country is still knee-deep in winter, but it's been spring here for some time and now all the flowers are blooming!

My favorite blooming tree, our peach--which oddly enough has magenta flowers--isn't blooming yet. We pruned it pretty severely this winter so it's to be expected. This is the apricot.

These are grape hyacinths, taken five minutes before tiny toddler picked them all for me. ; )

So what is happening where you live? Spring? Winter?

Don't forget, there's still time to enter a drawing for one of two gorgeous pendants!