Melancholia

I keep saying I'm going to blog more often but then I forget. That's not good. But here I am again. I'm in a bit of a melancholy mood today. Have you ever had the feeling that you're not in control of your circumstances? That your freedom is constrained by outside forces? And what's more, everyone in the world knows something that you don't...like, they know the secret to happiness and you want--more than anything--to be in on it, too? That's where I'm at today. Got a good old case of the blues. I'm free but I'm not. I've got that restless feeling--that classic Sagittarius feeling--of needing and wanting to spread my proverbial wings and move westward. My spirit is restless.
I spent some time studying a map today. I have always loved maps--my whole life I have been fascinated by them. And today I carefully studied my AAA atlas of California (and a peek into Orgeon). I want to live on the west coast and something about northern California is calling to me. I want to live near the ocean in a small town. I'd like a fresh start. I considered Rhode Island--I do love that state--but the only drawback is winter. I want to avoid winter as much as possible. Everybody who knows me knows I don't like to be cold. Cold hurts. I love heat and warmth and the sun. And I love the ocean. My oldest son lives in San Francisco and he loves it there. It would be cool to be closer to him. Plus, I think he misses his mom a little though he might not admit it--haha.
I think once The Gypsy Thief is born and enters the world, I'll feel better. This holding pattern I'm in is making me crazy. I'm supposed to see my novel for the first time next week in the form of an actual book which I can hold in my hands. I will probably fall apart a little when I see it the first time--you know the feeling--when you hold your baby that first time. You can't believe he'/she's finally here. I'm so anxious to get Gypsy out into the world. I'm hoping the universe will help make it a success so I can make my living as a writer. I must keep the faith.
I've been listening to Taylor Swift's Speak Now album a lot lately. I know she has a new album coming out this fall but I don't see how it can top Speak Now. It is a truly amazing album. Every song is a winner but one in particular really cuts me to the bone. It's called "Long Live" and it really resonates with me as if she knew my history and my future and wrote a song about it. Thanks, Taylor, for an amazing song. Why was it never released as a single? It is truly Grammy-worthy.
One more thing...you know how we all have that 'one that got away?' Well, mine got away 33 years ago and I still miss him to this day. Sadly he passed away 10 years ago. I hope wherever he is, he checks on me from time to time like I checked on him (without his knowing) at least once a year for 23 years. I dreamt about him--again--last night. It was bittersweet. So many wrong turns and mistakes and yet, for the three years we had together, so much good to draw upon. It may sound pathetic, but at the age of 51 (and 33 years in), I guess it's my destiny to never get over him. I've never loved another since.
OK. I should end on a high note and try to get out of this maudlin state I'm in. I'm going to get myself a glass of lemonade and find a good book to read. That always makes me happy. So, until next time, folks!
Laters, baby...

Books, Books, Books!!!

As I await the finalized cover of my book, The Gypsy Thief, I've been reading for pleasure. I started writing a new novel (three chapters done so far) but I stopped briefly to re-edit Gypsy as it goes into the printing process next week. All of the interior design elements will be inserted (the scene change logo and the decorative logo at the start of each chapter as well as the two hand-written love letters that appear near the end). So I've been reading some amazing books and I want to share them with you all now.
I just read the Fallen series by Lauran Kate. So good and I recommend them highly.
I'm currently reading the Hush, Hush series by Becca Fitzpatrick and book one is blowing me away-- I am OBSESSED.
I went to Barnes and Noble and purchased two books by Megan Hart: Deeper and Tempted. I think they are Fifty Shades-esque judging by the back cover text - whoa, baby!!!
And I want to remind everyone to read On the Island by Tracey Garvis-Graves. AMAZING!
Also, if you've never read The Alchemist by Paul Coelho, you simply must. Every human on earth should be required to read it by law.
OK. I shall dash and get back to reading Hush, Hush. SO GOOD.
Oh, and I'm waiting anxiously for the mail to come--I ordered 28 books from Amazon (OK - 19 of them aren't for me--they're being sent to my sister in Tennecrazysee). Can't wait to see if any come today!!! By the way, I used my Amazon points and my total for 28 books was only $19.06! YES!!!!
Happy reading!!!!!!!!

Pacific NW

So, it took using a different computer to realize there's nothing wrong with my blog. It's my computer that's all jacked up--imagine that. I'm hoping that I will be able to read your comments finally!
Tom and I had a great week in the Pacific NW. Our first day was spent checking out downtown Seattle, which looks totally Star Wars-ish when approaching it from the south. I got a parking ticket my first day ($40) because I couldn't figure out the parking machine. I thought I had paid for two hours and five minutes but it turned out to be two minutes and five seconds. Dang!
Day two we drove up to the Olympic Peninsula. Talk about breath-taking vistas! I've never seen such American beauty. Crescent Lake is unreal--so beautiful! We arrived in Forks, home of Bella and the vampires and spent two nights there. We took the Twilight tour and saw where all the characters live. Early one morning I went to the high school and walked the track. We saw an elk! We went to the sporting goods store where Bella works and the restaurant she frequents with her dad. We also went to La Push where Jacob lives. LOVED IT. The beaches are stunning. We saw pelicans!
We took the ferry from Port Townsend to Whidbey Island and visited the Naval Air Station there. Tom loved that. We also visited the naval base at Bremerton and visited the picturesque town of Port Orchard, home of the prolific author Debbie Macomber. I could live in that town. Tom thought it would be the perfect place for someone in the Witness Protection Program to live.
We returned to the Seattle area and spent another day sightseeing and went up in the Space Needle. Saw where Christian Grey calls home--Fifty Shades, baby! We spent a day checking out the town where Twin Peaks was set, even having cherry pie and a damned fine cup of coffee in the Twin Peaks Diner (and I don't even like cherry pie!). We then headed to the town where Northern Exposure was set--so awesome. It was perfect until I got another ticket: for speeding this time at the exorbitant cost of $411.
Our last day we drove up Mount Rainier. It took forever to get there but it was worth the drive. Tom got out and made snowballs which was so weird considering it was in the 70s, temp-wise. The drive coming down the mountain was FRIGHTENING and I had a mini melt-down which Tom had to calm. But we survived and all in all, had a fantastic time!
So, I shall close here...watch this space for the unveiling of my book cover for The Gypsy Thief!

Forks, Here I Come!

OK...so Tom and I are off to Forks, Washington, bright and early tomorrow morning. I've been embarrassing the poor child all over town telling people we're going to Twilight country to hunt for vampires and werewolves. He prefers that I say we're going to Seattle (which we are). It sounds more fun to say it my way! I even dyed my hair jet black and am wearing pale make-up so I can blend in with the vampires!!!!I look total goth but no worries, folks...it's just a stage I'm going through like my 'Il Divo' stage a few years ago and my 'I Want to be an Olympic Ice Skater' stage a few years before that and my 'I Want to be a Flight Attendant' stage and my 'I Want to be a Nurse' stage (I was eight at the time). Other stages of my life have included--but are not limited to:
I Want to be a Russian Linguist (too hard)
I Want to Move to Maine (still seems like a nice concept)
I Want to be a Spanish Teacher (I still want this one)
I Want to be an English as Foreign Language Teacher (I still want this one, too)
I Want to be a Stock Car Racer (I was 12 at the time - too scary anyway)
I Want to be a Celebrated Chef (That's so last year)
I Want to be a Broadway Star ( Can't sing opera but, boy, if I could...sigh...)
I Want to be the One Who Solves the Jimmy Hoffa Case (It's only a matter of time)
I Want to be George Clooney's Second Ex-Wife (Cuz Hollywood marriages just don't last)
I Want to be the One Who Cures Tom Cruise of His Mental Illness So I Can Have My Tom Back (Because, deep in my heart, I still care...he just needs some of Brooke Shields' left-over meds)

I'm sure there are other things I've wanted to be over the years (I wanted to be a police officer for five minutes after I got out of the Marines but then I remembered why I was happy to be a civilian again and I got over that fast) but for now, all I want is to be a writer...so that's what I shall do...

Laters, baby!

The Gypsy Thief: Coming in Sept. 2012

It's been more than a month since I rambled! But I have something to ramble about today!
The first volume of my young adult trilogy will be published in September. The trilogy has been named "The Talisman Trilogy" and the first book is called "The Gypsy Thief." Here is a short teaser:

The day high school senior Laura Calder picks up a golden disk from the ground she unwittingly begins a fateful journey that catapults her into a web of deceit and revenge pitting two European royal families against one another. Though she falls for a handsome British prince, it is her love for a mysterious Portuguese gypsy that threatens all she holds dear—and with an evil duke hell-bent on carrying out a vendetta set in motion more than 300 years ago, Laura must make a heart-breaking sacrifice to save the people she loves even as she tries to decipher the golden disk’s mysterious messages.

I'm probably going to start my own website and I guess I will have to learn how to use my Twitter account now! Ha! When the time comes I will let you all know how to purchase your copy of "The Gypsy Thief." It will be available at Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble.com, Booksamillion.com and other online retailers. It will be both electronic (on your Kindle or Nook) or you can purchase an actual paperback copy. It's pretty long so I hope you'll feel like you're getting your money's worth (ha!). I think it will be more than 400 pages long when it's all said and done.

The other two volumes are complete but they have not been copy edited yet. They will be released six months apart. I hope I can get all of my friends and family and acquaintances, former co-workers, enemies, lovers and haters, pets, police officers, kings, queens and former classmates to purchase a book when it is released in September. I will be relying on word-of-mouth to get my baby noticed. I have big plans for "The Gypsy Thief." I want to see it on the big screen starring Austin Butler (Andrew), Diego Boneta (Miguel), AnnaSophia Robb (Laura), Christopher Egan (Tristan) and the delightfully delicious Colin Firth (The Duke of Easton). So help a sister out, please! Details to come!

Ramblin' Woman

I haven't blogged in a while because, quite frankly, I didn't have anything on my mind to talk about. To tell you the truth, I don't have anything to talk about now, so this is what happens when Kellie doesn't have anything to talk about but she decides to ramble anyway...well, I don't think anyone actually decides to ramble because then it wouldn't, technically, be considered rambling--it would be words formed from actual thought and since no actual thought is going into this post, then I am, in fact, rambling. When I call someone on the phone and I get their voicemail/answering machine, I ramble. Not on purpose, mind you. But there's something about the phone being answered by a disembodied voice that completely unnerves me. My dear friend Dana can attest to this, because, over the years, I have left some seriously screwed up messages on her machine. My friend Melissa can probably attest to this, too, cuz I've left her some as well (and, if I'm being honest, I've called myself and left some long-arse messages that were meant to be helpful, i.e., sending myself a reminder to do something or pick something up from the store, etc., and later when I've played back the message for myself, my eyes, not to mention, my ears, have glazed over from the absurdity of my own message to myself). And now I've taken to texting messages to myself, especially in the middle of the night, and this is only because I'm sometimes too lazy to get up, turn on the light and write down whatever pearl of wisdom I want to remember in the morning. But I have this new iPhone and I often hit the wrong keys so I end up with some weird-ass messages in the morning. It used to be even worse before I figured out how to turn off the auto-correct function. I once sent a message to myself during the night to remember Tom's ornithologist appointment in the morning. Google that one, folks. One of my favorites was my middle of the night grocery list reminder which included, among other things: breast milk, Egypt, Iceland and cheetahs...also known as bread, milk, eggs, ice-cream and cheese. Which reminds me, I need jelly, not to be confused with JetBlue airlines which is what comes up when I start typing jelly. No more auto-correct for me. And I should stop texting messages to myself in the middle of the night and just get up, turn on the light and write down my message the old-fashioned way--with paper and pen. Of course, this poses a whole new problem and that is--I absolutely cannot read my own hand-writing. Dana: remember when your ex tried to read one of my letters I'd sent you from Spain and he thought it was in Spanish, but it was just my illegible hand-writing? That was awesome, considering you don't speak or read Spanish so why would I write you a letter in Spanish? Ah, fond memories. On that note, I will stop rambling and close here. Can you imagine how different this post would have been if I'd actually had something to say? Me neither.
Laters, baby.

Greetings

Had a good weekend...drove my car in the parade with a WWII fighter pilot as my passenger and his lady in the backseat. It's always nice to participate in the parade even though I always fear accidentally stepping on the gas instead of the brake and mowing down the flag guard who leads the parade. But no casualties! Later, when the parade ended, we gave a ride to another veteran back to his car. A cool dude--probably in his 70s...getting close to 80--who mentioned he learned to fly after he left the military. And in a priceless moment, he turned to Thomas and said, "If your parents give permission, I'll take you up in my plane." The look on Tom's face was awesome--pure fear. Not that he's afraid of flying, but the thought of going up alone with an elderly veteran was enough to give him a heart attack. Whe he gets home today from school, I'm going to tell him I gave permission and he and Ray will be heading up on their flight this weekend. He will freak...but then again...he kinda knows me...I spazzed when his dad told me he was taking jet skiing. But it's nice to play head games with your kids from time to time.
After the parade we had a cook-out with new friends. what a great time...telling stories, eating too much and sweating in the heat. I personally love the heat but no one else likes it. I always say, hot might be uncomfortable, but it doesn't hurt. Cold just plain hurts! So looking forward to summer.
I had a lovely vacation planned but due to a problem with the state of Ohio (godforsaken state) I cancelled my plans in case I have to pay a big sum to Ohio. So, I will take a couple of weekend trips this summer with my traveling buddy, Thomas, who wants to get his temporary license--oh, dear lord. And now, I shall dash and continue on with The Shadow King, which is underway. I do love living in fantasyland--I highly recommend it to all!