Saturday, August 31, 2013

August Going Out With a Whimper

Hi, y'all!

That's as close as I get to Southern, after my week on the beaches of North Carolina.  We had a great time, then I returned and went to two mini-vacations in the Colorado mountains.  Which is when I started whimpering.  My AOL account was hacked minutes before I was about to depart on my second mountain escape. 

What followed was a lot of time spent changing passwords and vigilance re: my financial accounts.  All seems fine now.  But I still haven't gotten back into my routine.  I haven't been doing my awful daily stretching routine.  I dislike stretching, which is why my body needs it so badly.  And I'm truly struggling to get back into my writing, mostly because I've spent so many hours in front of the computer doing other things, often while whimpering and cursing.

I'm getting an eye lift next week, so that means several days off the computer.  I might actually try writing while turning my computer screen off.  As long as I check my hand position on the keys it might work out.  It would just be stream of consciousness work as I continue to plot my 8th Domestic Bliss mystery.  It will be either my 20th or 21st novel--depending on whether I complete my 2nd book in my thriller trilogy before or after this one.  I'm also supposedly getting major landscaping work done after Labor Day.  I wrote "supposedly" because this was supposed to start two weeks ago.  We'll see if I update my photograph in another month or two.

Warmest wishes!
Leslie O'Kane 

Thursday, August 15, 2013

August 15, 2013

Hi, from Ocracoke, NC!

This is a favorite vacation spot for my family.  We haven't been here in several years.  Our vacation has been flying by.  I haven't given my book a second thought.  I hope that my unconscious is working out the plot, but I doubt that's happening.  The closest I've come to research is that I've been drinking wine, which one of my characters has made a career from selling. Maybe that counts for something.  

My son is in Korea, starting his year-long tour at Osan AFB.  My daughter is here with us. 

I had a dreadful dream the night before last in which I was looking back at my life and thinking that I hadn't tried hard enough to do anything meaningful with my life.  Wherever that came from, I hope it has parted company with my brain permanently.

My sister broke out a jigsaw puzzle, which is unfortunate.  I have an obsessive compulsiveness when it comes to them; it's all I can do to tear myself away--and this one is Monet's Garden, which is extremely difficult.  Many years ago I asked my family to never again give me a puzzle.  If my house caught fire and I was in the middle of doing a puzzle, that would be the inanimate object that I'd try to save.  (Although I'd balance my computer on the assembled puzzle pieces.)  

It's late and I'm starting to adjust to EST, just in time to return to MST.

Best wishes,
Leslie

Monday, August 5, 2013

Itty-bitty blog

Hi! Thanks for checking out my itty-bitty blog. I am always impressed with people who write fully developed personal essays for each of their blog posts. I’m not one of those people. Although I’ve written more than 20 novels, I never cease to be amazed that I can actually write an entire book. In case there is an expiration date on creating storylines, I’m afraid to spend that time on beginning, middles, and endings herein. Even so, I will post every other week or so with my latest goings on.

This week, what’s going on is that my son, a Lieutenant in the Air Force, is about to leave for South Korea for a year. Less than a month ago, he returned to the U.S. from Afghanistan. I can’t begin to express how proud, relieved, and ecstatic I am that his tour of duty has ended. My daughter, husband, and I will soon be leaving for a family vacation in the NC Outer Banks.

Otherwise, I’m starting on my eighth book in the Domestic Bliss series, which is written as Leslie Caine and features interior designers Gilbert & Sullivan. The title, TWO FUNERALS AND A WEDDING, gives some clues about the plot. With luck and diligence, that eBook will be on sale by mid-January.

Since 1990, when I made the decision to fold my technical-writing business and concentrate on my life’s dream of becoming a novelist, I’ve created four series. Like any good mother, I love all of my series equally. My youngest brainchild is THE SOUL SHIFTERS, and that is the one that needs the most nurturing. As a thriller aimed primarily at young-adult readers, this is a new, unfamiliar world for me. I’d love to hear any suggestions you might have for ways to promote that series, and I hope that you’ll check it out--even if you’re not between the ages of 11 and 29.

Warmest regards,
Leslie