Please Dita Don't Hurt'em

My heroine Mia's favorite form of burlesque has a little more humor than Dita Von Teese's glamorous style. However, when you want to showcase an art form, you've go to the best. I won't say enjoy, because you have to be dead from the neck down if you don't :)

Falling In Love Again

Five days ago I confessed to my honey that I hated my current work in progress. That’s right, I was sick of Mia and Eli’s story. I suppose it makes sense, I’ve been working on the sucker for two years. Wow, two years, just writing that sentence makes me wince. I was supposed to be done writing it the summer of 2015, and then the summer of 2016. I’d since moved my deadline to December 2016. The story just dragged on and on. And now that I’m in the editing and rewriting phase, I see all of the flaws. Passages need to be written, many re-written, lack luster sentences, worse yet, lack luster sex scenes. And the plot, don’t get me started on the plot. I really just wanted to chuck it and start on a new story. Ah, my new story, it is a story about a sheik and a belly dancer-the working title is the Sheikh and the Shake. I chuckle every time I say it. That’s what I needed to work on, a story that made me chuckle, not one that I dreaded facing every day. So I told my honey that Eli’s and Mia’s story was a lost cause. I’d work on it until the end of the year, but after that I was giving up. I couldn’t devote more time to this story, and lord knows it might be many more months before it was ready to send out. Come January, I was going to let myself work on that new project. And then something miraculous happened, suddenly I didn’t hate Mia and Eli’s story. It wasn’t such a lost cause. It had lots of flaws, but also a lot of great things going for it. This was a story I could fix, even if it might take a little extra time. Heck, I might even be able to get the story out the door come January first. That’s right; I fell in love with my story again. By admitting my frustration and fears out loud, and by allowing myself to give up on the story if I chose, I was able to appreciate it all over again. So I’m in love again yall. And it feels great! Who knows if the story will be done by the new year and maybe I will decide to work on something new in a few months, but for now I’m happy to keep plugging away at Eli and Mia’s journey. I hope you’ll soon be able to read about them 

When You Were Mine

As you know I've been thinking of bucket lists and appreciating life more. I love live entertainment and I've decided that I need more of it in my life. In that spirit, I saw the Dixie Chicks last week and they were amazing! Nothing like a great group to inspire me and fill me with joy. If you don't know the Chicks, definitely check them out. You won't regret it. When You Were Mine is one of my favorites, but as a romance writer how could it not? 'Til next month.

Farewell Summer

Well, today marks the unofficial end of summer and I'd be a liar if I said I wasn't sad about that fact. Summer is my favorite season. I love the warm weather, time off from work, having more time to write, the chance to travel and of course watch way too many reruns of my favorite (and sometimes not so favorite) shows. But I'm getting older and I'm reminding myself that I shouldn't take any season, any day for granted. I have to remember that the end of summer brings red, orange and gold leaves, hot chocolate and cozy sweaters. My next birthday and Christmas cheer can't happen if summer lingers too long. I'll miss out on the first magical snow fall and the first snow day if the seasons don't change. Seeing the flowers bloom again and watching kids graduate would never happen if summer didn't end. So yes, I'm sad that summer will be gone for another 9 months. But soon I'll be able to enjoy a pumpkin pie blizzard while wearing fuzzy slippers, and let's face it, that's pretty great too!

Bucket List

This morning I learned that a former coworker and a shirttail in-law is dying of cancer. She can be no more than 35 years old and has three small children. The very idea of it breaks my heart. My own partner’s recent cancer scare, coupled with going back to work and talking to my friends about life (and mid-life issues) had already made me decide to write this blog post about my bucket list. Tatum’s imminent passing has just made this post more poignant to me. Too often I forget that life isn’t a dress rehearsal and I don’t want to get to the end of my journey wishing I had done or seen something that would make me feel more complete. My list isn’t long but it does sum me up pretty well. On there I’ve got some skills I want to learn—how to eat with chopsticks (I always feel the lack in Japanese restaurants), finally learning to swim (I love the water but I have a great fear of drowning—go figure) and become fluent in a second language (I’ve come close and am still debating between French and Spanish). I’ve got places I want to see including Greece, Hawaii and New Orleans, and experiences I want to have (hello Carnival!). And of course hit a bestseller list (doesn’t matter which one, though I’ve got my eye on you, New York Times) As I look at the list I created just two days ago I think about Tatum and whether she had created her bucket list and if she was able to cross of anything if she did. I hope to God she did.

Love and Marriage

When you think of summer, you inevitably think of weddings. Or at least I do. And this past weekend I had the pleasure of attending my cousin Maria’s wedding. The groom was suitably nervous, wanting to get the show on the road. The groomsmen were both loving and lovingly teasing towards him. The bridesmaids were gorgeous, each in a different style of dress. But the bride, the bride yall, took my breath away with her beauty and happiness. She walked down the aisle to Stevie Wonder’s As (I’ll Be Loving You Always) and I was crying before I even caught a glimpse of her. Watching the couple laugh, cry and care for each other during the ceremony reminded me why I love writing romances so much. Real love does exist. It isn’t always pretty or perfect. Sometimes love is uncomfortable and not always fun. But it is also wonderful and means sharing your life with the person who means the world to you. Writing romance lets me rediscover and relive love all of the time. I’m in the editing stages of Mia and Eli’s story. Currently there is no wedding scene but I still get to experience a couple coming together despite their differences because of the love and passion they have for each other. And maybe, just maybe, there is a wedding waiting for Mia and Eli in the epilogue. Why, in my mind’s eye I can see Mia walking down the aisle to Stevie Wonder right now.

Summertime

Summer, summer, summertime…am I the only one who has Will Smith’s summer anthem running through my head? It is June, the sun is shining and I’m loving it! Summer brings so much hope and reinvigoration for me. I think that I can work faster, exercise more, cook better, and write all of the stories that are rolling around in my head. I know, I know, I need to slow my roll and get realistic, but summer just has so many damn possibilities! This summer my plan is to finish editing Eli and Mia’s story aka Love’s Holiday (a working title), write a short story, work on this website and play around with social media to see which forms I like best. That’s a lot, considering summer lasts only a few weeks and mama loves her vacations and relaxing. Enjoy this summer lovelies! But make goals too! Even if your goal is to make it to the beach. And above all, relax a little! Until next month---Mila.

Gotta Love Royalty

I received my latest royalty statement from my publisher this week and I chuckled after reading it. “They might as well keep the money”, I’d mumbled to myself. Yes, it was that bad and for a moment I felt terrible. Luckily, it was only for a moment. I quickly remembered some things that immediately made me feel better. This was the first piece of work I’d sold and it has taught me a lot, and truthfully, I’m still learning. Until I made my first sale, I didn’t realize that being author is like being in a popularity contest. I now know I need to learn how to be more popular, aka learn how to market myself better and use social media effectively. So, I’m going to suck it up and learn. The royalty statement also reminded me of my friend Sarah’s words. She told me that I can only get better at selling books. I wouldn’t have balked at making the NY Times bestseller list my first time up at bat, but now I have the goal to sell even more books my second time around. And having a goal gives me a chance to focus on something other than the things I may or may not have gotten right. Thank you Sarah for those inspirational words! And of course, one day I’d love for my writing to pay for vacations and a vacation home. But the reality is I’ve already been paid enough for The Love She Wants. No check could be worth more than the feeling I had when I’d told my dying father that I’d sold my novella. That moment was priceless and even now I am warmed by that memory.

Royalty statements are one measure of success but they can also remind of us where we’ve come from and point us to where we want to be. Hopefully the royalty statements in your life remind you of the good and inspire you to do better!

Hallelujah

I am so happy to report that I've finally finished the rough draft version of Eli and Mia's story. The working title is Love's Holiday. If you are asking why, it's because the story takes place throughout the holiday season from Halloween through Valentine's day. I'm still working on bringing the holiday theme together. But that is the good news, I've finally come to the point where I can edit this story. I'm both excited and scared. It will be a lot of work but I can't wait to see it all come together. Next month I hope to report lots of progress of Love's Holiday. So in celebration of me finally being able to move forward, I thought I'd share with you an oldie but a goodie. Take it away CeCe...

Love is a Losing Game

I hope everyone had a lovely January. I enjoyed doing some writing, and basking in some downtime since last we were together. In fact in my downtime I've been catching up on flicks. I just finished watching the Amy Winehouse doc Amy. I love love love Amy Winehouse, but it had been a while since I'd listened to her music. Just a few minutes into the doc and I was missing her and her music like crazy. It must have been fate that I'd watched Amy today because I'm coming on to my black moment in Eli and Mia's story. And there's no one who can make you feel the pain of love like Amy. Amy was so good at describing it and Love is a Losing Game is definitely the theme song for this black moment. Just listen to Amy and you'll see why she's so inspirational! Enjoy and see you in March. I hope to have good news by then.

Ch-ch-ch-changes

I had intended to write this post last week prior to Bowie's passing, so please forgive the title of this post if it offends you. I suppose that is what I get for procrastinating and not writing this post earlier! As I pointed out when last we met, I've been blogging once a week about something I love. This is a new year, so I've decided to do something different. For 2016 I will be posting the first Sunday of every month. Hopefully I'll use the other time to write, use other forms of social media or just refill the well with a good book. To start off the year, I thought I'd share a photo I love. Enjoy the rest of January and I'll see you in February!

Feeling Good

. Nina Simone said it best, it's a new dawn, it's a new day, and I'm feeling good. Here's to 2016.