I survived!

/ Carrie L. Carr / 2 Comments

Or, more to the point, I didn’t make a complete fool of myself.

Last night was the first time I’d ever made a “public appearance” as the only author. Usually, if I’m doing a signing, there’s a boat-load of other writers to keep the focus off me.

The Jewel Lesbian Fiction Bookclub is an amazing group of ladies. Friendly, intelligent, and just absolutely the best group of women you’d ever want to meet.  The book they read was Piperton, and they asked a lot of excellent questions. I can only hope I answered them well enough to make sense 🙂

Being a self-proclaimed recluse, I was somewhat nervous before the event. But, once we arrived, the wonderful women of Jewel made us feel so welcome, all my fears disintegrated. We had a wonderful time visiting and talking about not only Piperton, but writing in general. And, before you think I’m speaking in “royal-speak”, the we I’m talking about is Jan and myself. LOL! Really, I’m not quite that crazy, just yet.

Anyway, if you’re a writer and are planning on being in Dallas, give the women at the Jewel Lesbian Fiction Club a buzz. They’d love to have you join them, and you’ll be glad you did.

Mrs. Fusspot

/ Carrie L. Carr / 2 Comments

That’s what we call our Rat Terrier, Cher.

Mrs. Fusspot.

Believe me, it fits. She wanders around the house, grumbling. Not whining, but grumbling.  It’s rather funny, to tell you the truth.

This morning, Jan left for work, leaving me and the two critters alone in the house, as usual.  So, after a nutritious breakfast of hot dogs, I sat down at my desk to check my email.

I hadn’t been at the desk long, when Mrs. Fusspot wanders into the office, grumbling as usual. At first, I didn’t think anything of it – until she continued to pace and fuss. I looked up, made eye contact, and watched as she went to the door and waited for me.

Being the well-trained human that I am, I followed her down the hallway to our bedroom. After a quick look, I realized why Cher was so put off – Nuggie was on Cher’s pillow, on Cher’s recliner.  The little brat came and got me, so she could TELL on the other dog!

As I’ve said before, I don’t have dogs…I have toddlers.

*sigh*

Kitchen Calamities

/ Carrie L. Carr / 1 Comment

Maybe I should be the star of a new reality series – because the last week in the kitchen has definitely been nerve-wracking! As anyone who follows me on Facebook knows, I enjoy baking as a way of relieving stress. Never did I think that it would be the *cause* of major stress – LOL!

It started out innocently enough – I wanted to make some homemade bread to send to my mother-in-law. We already send her a batch of cookies every month, so when Jan suggested sending her some honey-wheat bread, I thought it was a wonderful idea.

I’ve made this bread several times, and each time it comes out great. I put the ingredients in the bread machine (have to cheat on the kneading – my arthritic hands won’t let me do it any other way),  and in no time had a beautiful batch of dough to work with. Got it all ready for the oven, then FORGOT to set the damned timer.  Yep. Two exceptionally burned loaves.

No worries – I’ll just make up another batch, right?

Wrong.

By the way, I should have stopped while I was behind – I also was attempting to get the laundry done. And proceeded to forget to turn the dryer on. Yep. Should have taken the hint and gone back to bed.

But no, I’m stubborn.

Got the dryer going, and another batch of dough in the bread machine. An hour and a half later, the bread machine dings – yay! Gonna get that stuff cranked out in no time!

BUZZZZ! Wrong answer!

Opened up the bread machine, and noticed the dough almost about to explode. Not good. I stuck my hands into the mess and tried to get the dough out of the container.

**Note to self** Next time you decide to play with bread dough, wear rubber GLOVES!! It took half an hour to get all the goop off my hands and clothes.

Okay, so *that* round didn’t go as planned. I’ll try it one more time, measuring *very* carefully, and proceeding with the utmost caution. After all, I’ve done this same recipe many times, and *never* had a problem before.

Third time’s the charm, right?

Uh-huh. Not even freakin’ close.

The last try, I got sidetracked and left the dough in the bread machine about 10 minutes longer than I should have. Did you know that it will OOZE like a volcano?

The good news: my bread machine has *never* been cleaner. The bad news? I still have to bake bread…even if it kills me.

Stuck

/ Carrie L. Carr / 6 Comments

As I mentioned a few months ago, I’ve been stuck in a HUGE pit of CWS (can’t write shit) for longer than I care to admit. This is the worst block I’ve had since my dad passed away in 2004 – only I have no excuses this time.

I started out with a good Lex & Amanda story – or at least what I thought was one. I’ve tried several times to work on the newest chapter, only to hit a brick wall. I’ve reworked, deleted (well, not *really* deleted – there’s no such thing with me – let’s just call it  “cut and paste”), changed POV a half-dozen times, and even considered scrapping the whole damned thing.

*sigh*

Then, when I do finally get some story “ideas”, they have nothing to do with Lex & Amanda. Ugh!

I suppose this is what I get for posting my unfinished work online. Now, I feel obligated to finish the story – no matter what. (The bruises on my forehead from hitting the desk repeatedly won’t be mentioned…oops. Umm, nevermind.) As a reader myself, I hate starting something that’s not finished – so  not being able to complete something I’ve worked on feverishly for months really burns my biscuits (At least I can still channel Martha <g>).

On the other hand, I know from previous experience that forcing a story forward and slapping on an ending doesn’t necessarily make it a good story – but what is fair to those folks who have read what’s been written so far? Should I slap something together, or remove the story all together until something happens? I’d love some other opinions on it – my schizophrenic mind would love to know.

Who knew?

/ Carrie L. Carr / Leave a comment

I’ve been struggling with writer’s block for the last several months. No matter how hard I try to concentrate, even on a tiny scene, my mind stays blank.

I say blank, but what I mean is…all over the place. I’ll start to type a sentence, when suddenly my brain goes, “Wait! Did you put the sheets in the dryer?” So, I head for the laundry room, see clutter on the kitchen table, and…well, by the time I get back to my desk, I barely remember what I was doing.

*sigh*

So, yesterday I went to my doctor for a double ear infection. The intake nurse was asking the usual questions, and I realized that I had stopped taking one of my medications – SEVERAL months ago.

It just so happens that this medication helps regulate memory, concentration, and about a dozen other things. I had cleaned off my nightstand to paint the bedroom, and I’m guessing the medication had fallen to the back of the drawer. Outta sight, outta mind. No real excuse, but it’s the only one I have 🙂

So, what I’m hoping is that I’ll be back to writing in the next few weeks, once the meds kick in again.