Ok, so, no one has been murdered... at least, not in the real world.  On paper?  Oh, yeah.  Lots of death occurs on paper!  But then, one cannot write fantasy or a murder mystery without someone getting killed eventually. 

I've managed to hammer out more on my beloved urban fantasy murder mystery and have begun mentally plotting the deaths that shall occur in it's sequel.  Yes, there IS going to be a sequel... mostly because I enjoy the idea of killing off people.  If you can't do it reality, why not do it in fantasy?  (And if one is REALLY fortunate, get paid for it!)

As for the weddings?  Welllll... I am still planning my wedding, which shall occur in 2012.  There's also the wedding in the second sequel to "Death's Heiress".  Now that I'm finally planning my own, I'm able to figure out how to plan out a royal wedding in the novel.   Should be fun, since the MC will end up being side-tracked A LOT from the planning! 

Oh a very non-writing related subject: I've figured out how to make quill pens from feathers and ink pens!!!  Eventually I'll have a nifty tutorial but it's actually really easy to do. 

As for the munchkins, for anyone interested, the eldest is doing good in school (despite being hard-headed and hating homework, big surprise), and the youngest is being her usual very cheerful self.  Both are spoiled.  My co-writer and I are co-habiting without troubles and I'm looking forward to eventually having an actual HOUSE to decorate and call our own.

As I continue to write (really, I AM trying to write the murder mystery!) I keep being pulled away by family and fun.  Not just the ordinary everyday stuff like cleaning and shopping, but my vampire-hunter's birthday, the holiday --Halloween (my most FAVORITE holiday)-- and going to a wedding in the capital city. 

Three days of dressing up (I changed costumes for each day) and dressing up for a wedding.  Trick-or-Treating with the kids and seeing a few friends while having way too much fun at Short Pump.  (That, in itself, is a story for another time.)  All-in-all, it was a great time.

The gown I wore for the wedding was a success in many ways.  I'm also very happy with the fact I finally managed to do something fancy with my hair and it turned out amazingly well!  (The secret: lots of hairspray, hehehehehe).  Many thanks to a dear, dear friend who gave me tips on how to curl it!  One of the many highlights was when Mark asked me to dance, something he doesn't do very often.  Not that it was easy dancing with him and holding the hem of my skirt up so I didn't trip on it, but it was so very, VERY worth it.  (So was dancing around him later... hehehehehehehe)

For those wondering, I've managed to get a little over 7k written (about 24 pages, double-spaced) but I wouldn't trade ANY time with the family for anything.  My family will always be first, no matter what the future brings me.

Here are a few pics of Halloween and the wedding:

What's Halloween without a little witchy magic? ;) 


So it isn't very much on the "writing" topic, but it's still a fun topic.  The research has been very fruitful, even if I didn't get to go to a local event due to a sprained ankle, but no matter.  A great friend (who was an officer for several years before becoming an EMT and who now works at a local hospital in the ER) has been VERY helpful.  I can ask him pretty much anything, and he has an answer.  He's also going to be one of the few who gets to read it it and point out all the inaccuracies. :)  No complaint there!!!

On the fun side, my little IMP has a slew of costumes to choose from for Halloween and my little Vampire Slayer is going to be getting a really awesome costume for his birthday.  Hopefully it will last until Halloween...  As for mommy, well, I've got plenty of costumes and am still debating which one to wear.  Batgirl, Poison Ivy, the sorceress, greek goddess, the Star Trek communications officer (think Uhura's outfit from the new movie)...  So many fun options and only three days to wear 'em.  :)  (Did I mention Halloween is my MOST favorite holiday???)  Since we have a wedding to go to the night of the 30th, I'll be wearing a tinker-bell-ish type gown complete with stilettos and (hopefully) will do something fancy-shmancy with my hair.  (Yes, I just made that word up.)

For those who are wondering about the ankle, I twisted it last Friday morning (the 15th), walked around on it all day, and realized it was swollen and bruised that night.  Our EMT/ER tech-friend advised getting it checked to make sure it wasn't broken Saturday evening, and I got it x-rayed at the ER Sunday.  I now have the nickname of "Gimpy" and "Hop Along" and keeping thinking I should be wearing a frog costume... 

As for my son's b-day, which is coming up, we're planning on taking him to Build-A-Bear at the capital (love saying that, hehehehehe) and a late lunch/early dinner at Maggiano's (aka little Italy).  Should be fun.  Especially since he has a coupon for Build-A-Bear since it's his birthday. 

Murder and Mayhem.  Two lovely words that fit perfectly together. 

I've always been intrigued with murder mytseries.  You could probably blame my parents for that.  My mother and father, both, read mysteries and watched a variety of TV shows and movies about murder mysteries.  Perry Mason, Hercule Poirot, Miss Marple, Columbo, McMillian and Wife, Murder She Wrote, Banacek, and way more than I can remember. 
    (Artwork copyright J.F. Posthumus 2010)

Me? I loved 'em.  I now watch Castle, Bones, and Psych.  I also adored Monk.  My daughter, who is only four, also loves Bones, Castle, and Psych.  She especially loves Bones (her favorite, I think, is the Man in the Bear). There's just something about solving a murder that keeps me entertained. 

Then, there's the stories about murders that took place before I was born, told to me by my parents and grandparents.  Of course, a few of those also include ghosts.  Do I believe in ghosts?  Yep.  If you don't, fine.  To each their own.  :)  But many stories of murder, especially those that took place in the past, include a ghost.  Typically of the person killed.  To me, that makes it even more interesting and spooky.

As for writing a murder mystery, trying to keep it semi-real isn't easy.  You can only find out so much online and through movies.  Fortunately, I have a friend who was a former police officer who I can ask questions.

But... who does one do when they don't have friends in the right career?  How do you get the guts to call up someone, be it doctor or detective, and question them on a crime scene or the symptoms of a deadly poison?  Or what poison can't be traced or the questions asked at a murder scene?

So many questions, so little time. 

So, some of you may have noticed there haven't been any teasers for a while.  Wellll... there's a good reason for that.  Okay, a few good reasons, lol.

One, being I've been trying to edit the novels we've got.  Another is I've been distracted with non-writing stuff.  Friends, summery-type events like being outside for the kids to play and visiting family.  And then there's the major reason:  My co-worker and fiance' is moving in with me in June, at long last!  (Chris is graduating this year then, if all goes as planned, he's hoping to join the Air Force.)  So, we've been rearranging A LOT of stuff in the apartment (closets, cabinets, etc etc).  A long, boring, ardous task that must be done.  And, of course, there's the usual cleaning required when you have two lively kids. 

So, writing has taken a back burner for real life, and, to be honest, I've been enjoying the hiatus.  We're still plotting along with "Warlord's Daughter" - a new twist that turning out really, REALLY well, and we're writing here and there. 

I've also been a bit distracted by other planning, that goes along with Mark moving in. :)  I'm sure most out there can guess! and, yeah, details will be coming in the coming months. 

Sooooo... there ya have it.  The reason for the lack of teasers (for those who have been reading 'em) and an update on what's going on. 

Just stumbled upon this: http://bittenbybooks.com/?p=21397 -- It's a live "chat/blog" even with Carrie Vaughn, author of the Kitty series.  Great books, too.  She just came out with a new one for young adults, called "Voices of Dragons".  GREAT book, btw.  :) 

I recommend dropping by the site at some point and snooping around.  They have daily chats with different authors and even prizes, like signed books! 

check it out!!!