Warning: Rambling story ahead…

I’ve been writing for almost 14 years (24 years if you count that one time in first grade when I decided I could write a better Care Bear book…but I digress). I wrote (bad) paranormal fiction in high school and a little into my early twenties, but it wasn’t until I met some amazing women at the LUNA forum in eharlequin that I considered picking up the pen and writing again.That was four years ago and I haven’t looked back since.

Cynnara Tregarth talked me into attending a class called Writing the Novella. The instructor was the amazing (and strict task-mistress) Morgan Hawke. I was thrust deep in the world of creative writing and marketing. I had a secret, though. Of all of the writers in the class, I seemed to be the only one without anything published. When I mentioned it to Ms. Hawke via email, she replied with something I’ll never forget…”If you weren’t ready to write, you wouldn’t be here.”

Hmm. Something to think about. In that brief but brilliant three months I was filled to the brink with amazing knowledge. Morgan promised hard lessons and difficult homework assignments. She pulled no punches and egos had no place in her classroom. I liked that. A lot. The environment taught me to write under pressure and keep pushing myself out of my comfort zone. Every one of us struggled with our own writing demons and in the end, we were amazed we’d survived.

Most of my classmates went on to start or continue very successful careers. I cheered from the sidelines but didn’t finish anything. I honed and honed. I’d write a bit of a story and submit it for critique in contests or reader’s forums. I was a member of a writing group where we’d challenge each other to write really fun stories based on a theme or picture.

The League of Amazing Writers asked me to become a member and I was thrilled!

A year rolled around and I finally finished a story. It was a wicked vampire story based on a nightmare I’d had as a teenager. The story was vivid and wonderful. Perfect in my mind…(I’m sure you can see where this is going…)

So I subbed it to Changeling Press, one of my favorite E-Publishers to buy from. At the time Samhain or Aspen Mountain Press hadn’t come on the market. Loose was another favorite.

It was rejected.

And I was devastated. All that hard work? For nothing? So I turned to other things in my life and reopened those lessons from Morgan. I learned and worked. Kept playing with stories in my head and celebrating with each of my friends’ successes. It was a rocky time in my personal life so I used the time to figure things out.

It took me six months to work up the nerve to read the polite rejection letter with any objectivity. And another six to straighten out my life enough (I was having a baby!) to try again.

In 2006, Nikita Gordyn asked me to write something for fun. Just a quick read to get me over the fear of writing again. I did, and Own Me came to be. With her encouragement I submitted it to Aspen Mountain Press and on Christmas Eve 2006, I received my first acceptance.

Since then I resubmitted to Changeling (almost two years to the DAY of the first submission) and was accepted. Oh the cheering session on that one! The support from my former classmates, my husband, and my critique partners have been the major reason for my return to writing. With new releases came the readers and let me tell you, there’s nothing in the world like receiving an email from someone who enjoyed your book.

I’m a slow mover in my writing career. I’ll get to know an editor/company/product before submitting and I’m enjoying every step of the way.

The original story still sucks and may never see the light of day. Be thankful…it’s REALLY bad.  I’ve been rejected a few times but accepted far more and I’ve learned a lot about my limits as a writer. This writing life isn’t easy, at least not for me, but I have to tell you…I’ve got the best readers in the world.

I’m looking forward to the next chapter in my career…whatever it may be.

So what about you? Name one thing in your life that started out bad but became a blessing in disguise.

Dawn Montgomery

Right now my day job is still in chaos. I’m trying to learn a new job discipline in a very busy team where I’m supposed to solve all the problems of multiple years overnight. Plus I have to take several days away from the office to work at home because my youngest son’s daycare is closed. Not the best combination in the world.

I’m really late on one story and actively hiding from my editor. I have a 20k non-fiction chapter to turn in asap. I have several other stories waiting in line for attention. I have the Friday Flash. I have a special edition of shorts for the Fiction with Friction blog for Labor Day.

I have my own edits of Giving Thanks to do, which causes me to hide from another editor (I’m not really here, Nik).

I have editing, though my gracious EIC’s have let me cut back on it considerably.

I now have a cat in the vet hospital to worry about. He’s got a pancreatic infection and we’re praying he responds really well to the antibiotics he’s been on since last Thursday. If he does, he might be able to come home to a long regime of antibotics and a hope of recovery. It’s FAR better than the fears of cancer, lymphoma or such that had been near the top of the list.

Oh and I’m already fretting over Soldier Son who hasn’t even left the country yet. I’ll probably be completely freaked out when he actually gets deployed. Friends are going to have to take turns talking me down from emotional cliff.

I’ve started a weight loss and exercise effort.

And now what happens? The muse starts to dump story ideas on me. World building ideas. Character concepts. I seem to be walking around in a be-mused daze part of the time.

I was sitting today, impatient with the ideas I kept having to jot down, and realized that this is actually TYPICAL for me. My imagination seems to do its best work when I’m overwhelmed or way too busy. I’m starting to wonder if it’s a conspiracy or something. Maybe I’m exceptionally masochistic?

When do you get the most ideas? Is your muse as mean to you as mine is to me?

Not an easy list to come up with. Even harder now that I’ve read other people’s lists. It’s one of those things that after you read someone else’s list you think “oh man, I didn’t even think of him! I want him too!”

But I still stand by the list I came up with, which is: Luc from Purgatory, Radin from the Dark Elves series (yeah, I like my own guys), Batman/Bruce Wayne, and Jean-Claude and Nathaniel from LKH’s Anita Blake series. Galen from LKH’s Merry Gentry series was a serious contender too.

So, give it some thought. Who would you choose to have?

So….I raise my glass and thank the goddess, she sent such beautiful women into my life!

You see, I didn’t take into account my toddler suddenly decided every moment was B and Mommy time.  It’s an amazing thing to watch him become his own little man.  I also didn’t count on an increased workload at the day job OR my normally amazingly supportive husband missing me so much he’s asking me for a non-writing vacation.

It pulled me up short (which doesn’t take much, as I’m a little over 5 feet…it’s okay, I won’t continue until your done groaning at the bad joke…*drinks a bit of tea* Good?  Okay).  My husband misses me and my toddler is wanting Mommy and B time.  Even my dog is showing the strain of not enough pats on the head.

I’m currently in deadline (what else is new LOL) and working to get books to my editors by the middle of the month (one this weekend, the other next weekend).  After that I’m taking my 70 days of sweat goal and shifting it.

Write something every day.  My goal is to just write, when I can, but do it either later at night, at my lunch break, or with snatches of time during my hours home from work. If this works out and I’m more productive, it will be my ritual.  If it’s not more productive, come middle of May, I’ll ramp up my routine again.

Sometimes it’s good to take time off and relax.

What about you?  Do you ever take a vacation?  And what do you do to relax after the strain of a deadline?

Have a great week!

Dawn Montgomery, Angel of LAW

Spring has finally arrived. For those of you who are still in the frozen wastelands of the North, you have my sincere condolences. Here in the lovely South, spring is here. And all the pollen that will stir up my allergies, but who cares? The windows are open, the wind is blowing, laundry is drying on the line and the birds and children are noisy. I have never been more excited to see spring’s arrival as I have this year. This winter was tough on me (and the other ladies of LAW), physically, mentally and emotionally. But the warm weather has calm and peaceful and in the mood to clean. That’s right… clean. Spring cleaning is in full force here. I’ve already packed my trunk and backseat with stuff to take to the thrift store and filled up one of the outside trashcans.

Being of neo-pagan persuasion, I love recognizing the turning of the seasons. Most pagans claim Samhain (Halloween) as their new year. For me, Eostre (Ostara or Vernal Equinox) is the beginning of the year. This time of the earth’s renewal and the return of the migratory birds fills me with joy and happiness. My ritual to welcome this wonderful time of year begins with spring cleaning. After which, I’ll smudge the house with sage, renew the protective wards and make my resolutions for the coming year. I’ll pull out eggs and let my kids decorate to their hearts’ delight. Finally, I’ll prepare a light spring feast for my family and friends, and the adults will hide eggs for the children to find.

Now you know how I celebrate this beautiful season. How do you celebrate?

There’s the idea of righting wrong, taking care of the things that as regular mortals we can’t, and the idea of someone looking up to us in admiration. (I admit it– I write cuz I do and the fact that people like my stuff keeps me going!) Yet there’s more to that. Sometimes in life, we feel that we aren’t strong enough, aren’t good enough, just…aren’t enough period to make a difference in one person’s life much less many. So, we think that if we had super powers, we could use them to benefit so many people.

Growing up, I always knew I was different. Reading comics such as X-Men, Justice League, and others helped me to feel more accepted internally since externally I was an outsider. In my own way, I began emulating the superheroes I read about. Their ups and downs and mine followed a similar path as I grew up. But there was more–I realized they truly made a difference in the world and still–I felt helpless.

Then in 80s, Band-Aid and Live-Aid came about and in that moment, I had an epiphany that’s lasted every year since. Give to charities that can do the bigger things while I do the smaller things to make a difference. So began my 2 decade gifting to organizations that truly are superheroes. In fact, seeing famous people also giving of their time and effort reinforced the fact I was doing what was right for me.

Then as everyone knows, my first muse- my mom passed away in January of this year. But my mom was also a superhero. *smiles softly* She took care of those less fortunate. Volunteering at her local senior center and even while ill with lung cancer, Mom helped out others by taking them grocery shopping when they had no other way and by listening to those who just needed a shoulder to lean on. My mom, the superhero. Growing up I didn’t see her uber-human abilities, but I always knew she had strength beyond that which I comprehended. Through the years, I saw my mom both as human and more than human. The past seven months with her fight against the lung cancer that finally conquered her lungs, I saw the true power of my mom. She wasn’t afraid of dying, she wasn’t afraid of living, she just wanted us to be loved and taken care of. At her passing, she was still a superhero.

How do we live the superhero life when we’re limited by our lack of superhuman skills? We help those unable to help themselves, we fight for what’s right for mankind, we take the hard path because it’s the right one, and we remember that even superheroes enjoy themselves in those moments of peace and prosperity.

Be a superhero– stand up for what’s right. Help others. Read a book to others or read one for the pleasure it gives you. Stand up and be counted. Acknowledge the blessings and gifts you were born with. Sometimes what we consider a curse is truly a superhero power in disguise.