Category Archives: Resolutions

February 11, 2012

Walking the Tangent

Needing a break, I left for a walk.

Nope, not the blog update I really should be doing, but it’s been “one of those days”. Don’t ask me what “those” days are, because I’d be loath to define them. I have been trying to be more positive, however, because I loathe the constant complainer.

Like that? Loathe… Loath… You can learn more about these often confused words at my new favorite blog: http://www.one-step-forward.net/2008/12/loath-and-loathe.html. Okay, so it’s not my favorite yet, as I’ve only read the one article, but if there are more like this, One Step Forward will become a regular read fairly quickly.

Anyway…

As I was saying, I went for a walk. Initially, I wanted so desperately to escape the noise levels created by one single person who talks on the phone like she’s trying to rally an entire audience without a microphone that I forgot to change into my sneakers.

Let’s face it, ladies, womens’ dress shoes suck. They’re cute, but they rarely fit right, let alone support the foot for a good long walk to blow off steam.

I wasn’t returning to the rock concert of screeching chickens, so I veered into the parking lot. My Vibram Five-Fingers had been in my car for a month as I promised myself over and over to wear them on my next visit to the gym without success.

Oh, no, my reluctance had nothing to do with those being the shoes I was wearing when I broke my foot. I already know that it was likely a combination of low calcium levels, over-training, and craptastic sneakers (a brand not Vibram) that threw off my gait. Still, I’ve been wearing my neon green sneakers with pride.

But, alas, name me tangent…

There is something so beautiful about walking through icy cold mud of snow melt off while a cool, crisp breeze sneaks frigid fingers under the fur lining of my coat, and the sun shines down without offering much warmth. Once upon a time, I’d seek out the elements like that, but I’ve fallen away from the practice. That walk reinspired me. Not just for exercise or fresh air, but for my connection to nature – the sloppy mud of Earth and Water, the sharp caress of Air, and the gentle warm of Fire.

Last month, over at Slash & Burn, I made “resolutions” for January. I succeeded at one, not just submitting the punk rocker story, but signing a contract for it, and the other two were attempted, though I’m still working at making them a true good habit.

For February, I hope to continue to explore the sense of peace and strength I find from my pagan side. I’ll also be working on laying down the scenes to bring the CRANK story to a natural breaking point. There’s a third story to come, but first I need to refocus what is threatening to ramble away. Finally, I will finish my credits to renew my finance licenses. Yes, a boring last one, but I’ve been putting it off, due to work politics. Once completed, I can focus on writing for March, so a worthy February resolution.

Have a great weekend, dear Readers, and stay tuned for more information on A Hound’s Love coming from Loose Id later this year.

Ciao,
Pia Veleno

Leave a comment | posted in A Hound's Love, I am, Pagan, Resolutions, tangents

January 1, 2012

Quickies. AKA News.

By piaveleno

Fallen is now available in Audio format!

Download audio files from Silver Publishing with this nifty buy button:

~*~

Today is my day to Slash & Burn. Drop by and read about how I get around the tendency to fail at New Year’s resolutions, and share your promises to yourself for 2012.

Click here to Slash & Burn.

~*~

On the Works in Progress front, I’m nearly done with the still Untitled M/M punk rocker story. I’ve fallen into that pit of revision where I fiddle and fiddle, never deciding it’s “done” and ready to be submitted. It will go out within the next couple of weeks. Keep an eye out on this blog for more information about Hecate’s Hounds.

~*~

Lastly, as we rang in the New Year with friends, the sand trucks rumbled by as the roads froze. It may be winter here, but you can still enjoy a sweet, sexy summer fling. Make You Sweat is now available at all of your favorite distributor sites:

Amazon, Barnes & Noble, AllRomanceeBooks, Fictionwise, and Loose Id.

Probably others too, but those are my favorites. Plus, Amazon and B&N have it on sale. Save a buck!

~*~

Happy New Year, dear Readers!

Ciao,
Pia Veleno

Leave a comment | posted in audio, Fallen, Resolutions, Silver Publishing, Slash & Burn, WiPs

December 20, 2010

Caught up? Never.

By piaveleno

With two big projects off my plate this weekend, I should relax and take a day off.

Yeah, right!

Line edits for Man Whore have been returned to my editor for another round of revisions and Summer Lust has been resubmitted to the same editor that was kind enough to take the time to give me a helpful and detailed rejection. Line edits for Bound By Love, my Valentine’s Day release, are in my inbox, but at 11k that story shouldn’t take long at all to review and approve.

So now what?

I’m anxious to start the sequel to Man Whore, but I don’t want to dive into that manuscript until Man Whore is final. I don’t want to cross wires, thinking about edits on one while drafting the other. I’ll have my chance soon. We’re close.

After reviewing my plans for these last couple of months, I see how my priorities shifted. Yes, I completed NaNo, though with the second story being the V-day short instead of the beginning of Adam’s story. That’s acceptable, even better than the original goal. I haven’t, however, started editing the NaNo manuscript. I spent that time addressing the changes recommended for S.L. and line edits for M.W. Good changes to the goal, again.

Undecided for January, I’m considering a gay cowboy request from a Twitter friend, and a second cowboy story for Amber Allure’s open call, but to be honest, Adam’s story will likely take priority since I don’t want to leave too much time between books in a series. Along with that first draft of that, I should focus on the first revision of the NaNo mess, Crowded and Alone (though I really, really, really hate that title now, I don’t have a better one yet.)

Until then, for the rest of the month, I’ll try to catch up on reading, sketch out some new CRANK chapters, and hopefully get in a few more runs before the nastier side of winter arrives in my neighborhood.

Have a great year end, dear Readers. I’ll try to post again before then, but if I don’t, be safe and have a Happy New Year!

Ciao,
Pia

PS Fallen is #3 on the GoodReads list for Best Gay Angels. Have you voted yet?
http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/4828.Best_Gay_Angels

Leave a comment | posted in editing, Man Whore, NaNoWriMo, Resolutions, Writing

October 23, 2010

Two Queries and Year End Intentions

By piaveleno

It’s not quite the end of the month, but the last round of resolutions weren’t really resolutions so much as a game plan. As you know, I’ve never been a fan of resolutions, so no surprise that I’ve transitioned away from that concept.

Stop. Grab tangent. Turn it around and get back on focus.

My last game plan was to have a number of things done prior to the start of NaNoWriMo next month. So far, I’ve completed everything I needed to do, and only have left the ‘extras’. The NaNo project has been outlined, but it needs to be typed up. I still need to write ahead on CRANK, but if I don’t finish that, it can be fit in during the month as it usually is. Besides those items, the two WiPs – the two important tasks – have been sent out to publishers with my fingers crossed.

Finishing Summer Lust and Man Whore (the first of the Personal Demons series) lifted a great weight from my shoulders, but success on this front came at an expense in another. I haven’t run much over the past month. Now that’s partly due to a week-long cold, and then a week of recovery after pulling a calf muscle, but I’ve also been short on time, editing every day whether I wanted to or not. These things happen. Moving on. Keep your fingers crossed for me, dear Readers. Hopefully soon I’ll write a blog post announcing that these two stories have been accepted for publication.

My new game plan is still a little rough, but here come the basics.

First and foremost, I’ll be writing a new contemporary M/M story for NaNo. This one will involve a sexy musician who is nothing like Crandall and Mike from CRANK. I expect this story to be roughly 30-40k, so if I finish it, I’ll be working on Adam’s story, the untitled second book to my Personal Demons story, for the remainder of NaNo.

Next on the to-do list is to get back into running ten to fifteen miles a week. I miss it desperately. I must buy new shoes and then get back into regular runs. Part of accomplishing this will be to check out the new gym a couple of miles up the road to see if I like their treadmills. Ah, New England. The autumn is beautiful, but soon icy, snowy weather will make running on the roads very dangerous.

For December, I’ll be editing the NaNo piece and continuing Adam’s story. Here’s that either/or. Depending on how much I get started in November, I may postpone Adam’s story until January and pull down the first chapters of CRANK to start the rewrites required to put it into novel format. That’ll be a lot of work, but as the second story arc continues strong, I’d like to make the first one available in an easier reading format for newcomers.

So there we go. The end of the year seems so far away right now, but I know November will fly by with the craziness of NaNoWriMo. What are your plans, dear Readers, for the remainder of this lovely year?

Ciao,
Pia

Leave a comment | posted in fitness, Morgan, NaNoWriMo, Personal Demons, Resolutions

August 24, 2010

Never Too Late

By piaveleno

I managed to get my Muse twisted in knots. And, by “Muse”, I mean myself. Ah, but that is a topic for another day.

After scrolling back to check the deadlines I set for myself in that last resolutions post, I realized I was pushing too hard again. No, not on those deadlines, but because I forgot them. Summer Lust is out with three beta readers (one still hasn’t sent me her email address, but I won’t complain. Actually, I’m laughing because that’s something I’d do too). So I am on schedule despite this week’s budding frustration.

Last week, I told one of my beta readers that Morgan’s story could be ready by the weekend. Yes, that weekend that just passed, and no, it wasn’t ready. I said that when I was half way through edits and liking what I saw. It didn’t need as much clean up work as Summer Lust did, and so I thought if I pushed, I could have it ready for a rough read-through.

Nope. No such luck, but not because the second half was worse than the first. As I reached the last five chapters, I realized I swapped POVs a couple of times. Most of the story was written from the POV of Morgan (with the rest from the Evil Bad Guys) and then suddenly, towards the end, Adam spoke up. Gee, thanks Adam. You’ll have your story next, not here.

Ah, but it worked. Those two chapters flowed better from Adam’s mouth, and so I made a list of every chapter, its purpose, and who could serve as POV. Turns out, after careful consideration of underlying themes, five other chapters could go from okay to good by letting Adam have the reins.

While this means major rewrites of those chapters, it also means a better story. I’ll be editing for a couple of more weeks easily, maybe a month, but after getting annoyed at that, I checked the blog and realized I gave myself a month to polish Morgan’s story anyway. Yep, even with major revisions to POV I could still stay on schedule.

Huh, go figure. I suspect that original deadline was a typo, but I’ll take it. I have a month to fix these chapters and finalize any other edits. That also means I have a month to find a new beta reader. I like the variety and I only require that a beta not hold back any punches.

The Muse has been detwisted and now she wants to work on Sebastian and Reed’s story, but I have her on a short leash. We will finish Morgan’s story first. It’s never too late for major revisions, if they improve the story. Back to work with me, dear Readers. Thanks for visiting while I ramble.

Ciao,
Pia

2 comments | posted in editing, Morgan, Resolutions, Writing

August 9, 2010

Goals and Dreams, The Next Steps

By piaveleno

I’m stepping out of the box a little today. Instead of setting one resolution for August, I’m going to outline the next four months. I know, I know. There aren’t any Horsemen in the sky. We’ll be okay.

I do intend to follow through with my original comment in the last blog post – tracking what I work on day-to-day. On top of that, I’ve already promised a couple of beta readers a story by the end of August. I hope to have SUMMER LUST ready for review by the 15th, but definitely no later than the 31st.

Next up, I want to finish editing Morgan’s untitled story. I’d like to get this one to beta readers by October 9th, but if need be I’ll take until the 24th, giving me one full week of October unassigned.

That last week will be for sketching out an outline for … something. I haven’t decided which characters to write next, but I want to have an outline ready by the end of October to experiment with NaNoWriMo. I didn’t finish last year, but I had some troubles with story content and other duties creeping up. This year, I have more time to prepare for it and, more importantly, get my head into the story I want to write. I need to know the boys very well to write that quickly. Preparation is key.

Lastly, For August and October when there may be extra weeks available, I’ll write ahead in CRANK as much as possible so that each week I only need to work on edits. This will buy me more time to get these two stories and the NaNo project done. Even if I don’t get those extra days, CRANK fans will not be disappointed. I adore every one of you and the boys won’t be neglected, so don’t worry about my schedule, because you have priority.

It doesn’t sound like much, but I don’t want to set unrealistic goals and then blow them all off when I realize I don’t have time to do everything. Writing time at the office is a huge variable, and I won’t give up my running routine to make a deadline. Not a self-imposed deadline anyway, but if an editor wants to offer something… I love deadlines!

Ciao,
Pia

PS Interested in beta reading? You should be able to stomach CRANK’s level of explicit behavior, but you don’t need a lick of writing experience to read and give intelligent feedback.

Email if you’re interested: piathewriter@gmail.com

Leave a comment | posted in Resolutions, Writing

August 5, 2010

Resolutions and Sparks

By piaveleno

Here we are, another new month. I see a problem with monthly resolutions. They make the months roll by all the quicker!

Last month, I did well. I wrote down everything I did for writing. Some days, even when I did write, I didn’t further my goal of getting published. These are the days new ideas drove me to scrawl furiously in my notebook because I had to know the real story behind new characters. Some day, they’ll be up at bat to have a full story, but they’re not the top of the priority list. Most days, however, I stayed focused. I’ve been working on edits for Summer Lust (in the second round now), started a synopsis for Morgan’s story (and yet still no title), and revamped CRANK for its debut last Sunday.

I’ve been busy. I got off track with new boys once in a while, but seeing that in the notebook refocused my efforts on the much needed editing phase of the other two stories. I intend to continue with this recordkeeping process through August.

On a similar note, you may have noticed I talk less of healthy resolutions now. It is not because I’ve given up. On the contrary, I’ve been doing well. I can run a 5k and am actively looking for a race that fits into my busy summer schedule. I don’t expect to win, but I want to finish, and that is very doable at this point. I’m snacking not on potato puffs, but on broccoli coleslaw with a red wine vinaigrette dressing. I don’t miss most junk foods and now grab an apple or peach after dinner instead of potato chips. It’s not a conscious choice anymore; I simply crave healthy food much more often.

My work at creating a healthy lifestyle has been focused on SparkPeople.com. I blog about my efforts there, so it lets me focus on writing in this blog. I want to make an exception today, to share with you why I love SParkPeople.com and how it helped me finally get my lazy ass in gear.

What I learned in my first six SparkPeople months (in no particular order):

1. I AM a runner. I love the breeze in my face and the sweat in my cleavage. I love the ache in my butt after a long run and I love the spring in my calves when I’m rested. Barefoot or sneakers, treadmill or roads or woods, early or late, hot or chilly, I run and it feels great. (Okay, so I’m still working on being able to stomach the hot and humid days, but it sounded good. Right?)

2. Eating a healthy diet is not the same as dieting. Eating a healthy diet is not painful or depressing or self-torture. It is something that needs to be doable forever, not just for a few weeks. Eating a healthy diet give me more energy and makes me feel… healthier. (See the note about craving healthy foods. It takes some effort, but it does happen if you stay focused on your goals.)

3. I love fruit and veggies. I fell in love, again. I always liked them and yet when I had the munchies, I’d grab a bag of potato chips and eat half of it, wondering afterwards why I was so tired and bloated. Now I grab a piece of low-fat cheddar, or an apple, or freshly chopped pineapple. When I want salty I eat a pickle, and when I want sweet I scarf down a pint of raspberries. Winter will be tougher, but raisins and pears are year-round foods.

4. I am not too old. Sure, I felt that way when I put on an extra fifteen pounds and sat in front of World of Warcraft non-stop for two years. I felt that way when a friend chased me through the woods, gave me a head start, and then caught up when I stopped, stooped over with my hands on my knees, gasping for breath a minute later. I felt that way when the stairs leading up to my office could wind me to the point of not being able to carry on a conversation. I’m not too old because those things don’t happen any more and I got carded buying wine at the grocery store again last month. (Gotta love those teenagers.)

Looking forward to those afternoon runs helps me through rough office days. It is also a great way to let the mind wander over sticky spots in the WIP while loosening up muscles when they object to sitting in front of edits too long.

It is cathartic for mind and body to simply run. And run. And run.

Ciao,
Pia

Leave a comment | posted in editing, fitness, health, Resolutions, SparkPeople, Writing

June 24, 2010

Turning Over a New Leaf To Write All Over It

By piaveleno

It’s not the new month yet, but as you know I do not believe in “timing” self-improvement. I made a New Year’s resolution years ago never to make another, and I haven’t. I have, since then, tried monthly resolutions with some success. Short goals with small steps (that lead to the bigger ones) tend to be more successful than year long goals that fall to the wayside like dirty snow pushed aside by noisy plows in early February. I could give you a lengthy and boring list of the successes I’ve had with small steps when it comes to my health. It’s impressive, to me anyway, but I won’t torture you.

Drawing on what I learned through SparkPeople.com, I’m starting a new plan to build discipline in my writing. I made an off-handed comment earlier this week about sending a demon story to a Twitter friend. His response was: Why haven’t you?

Yes, why? Good question. I don’t have a good answer. The question made me think and I realized I haven’t finished anything more than Friday Flash stories since the new year. I sent FALLEN out for the first time before the end of 2009. I haven’t finished a single piece since then! (Sure, I’ve sent FALLEN out two or three times more – every time I get a NO, but that doesn’t count. It’s done and, while every publishing house expects a different format for the MS and the query, it’s not that much work to resubmit a rejected piece.)

Morgan’s story (still pissing me off with the whole “untitled” thing) has a first draft. My excuse there is semi-valid. I set it aside, torn over the way the demons came across throughout the story. I needed that break to see what I needed to fix and how – and that worked, I figured it out and the demons are staying – but I didn’t need to leave it alone for this long. Out of sight, out of mind. That works well for when I get stuck on things, but once I have my answer, I’m slow to dive back in and fix it. Why? No fucking clue.

SUMMER LUST is nearly drafted. I know what the last chapter needs to be and only need to write it. There’s a good chance it’ll be hand-written by this weekend. Yay, right? Okay, a little, because with some discipline I could’ve had a final draft done this weekend instead. I’ve started and stopped this one several times and, for the most part, the excuses have been around the short deadline for the anthology call that inspired it. Dumb, right? Usually short deadlines get me working three times as hard, so I can’t really explain why I floundered with this piece.

Wait, I’m not here to whine and I don’t want your pity. I explained the history of this two stories to illustrate why I’m making a change in my writing attack plan. When it came to getting healthier, tracking my progress – micromanaging myself, if you will – helped immensely. I wrote down everything I ate and every minute I worked out. It’s eye opening to see how different the actual numbers can vary from what you think you do! I suspect writing will turn out the same way. Sure, I say I’m writing often, but how many times do I say I’m going to work on Morgan and then find myself catching up on reading the blogs in my Google Reader? I won’t admit a number, but it happens.

Starting yesterday, whenever I write/edit, I will write down how much I FINISHED. Only what was actually done. So, no time because I have no sense of time, just completed pages. I will track how many pages were actually written or edited or transcribed. Through this, I can also track how long (on the calendar) it takes me to finish something, so when, for example, I look back and see Morgan on six months of pages, I hope it will inspire me to buckle down and focus on his edits.

Heck, or at least finding an effin title for him!

Maybe I’ll run a title contest. Yeah, because the last contest went so well. No, really, I get a better response from writing-related requests, so this is a possibility. I have a blurb for the story around here somewhere. I think I’ll type it up and let you, dear Readers, name the story.

Morgan would approve, but only if you slept with him first.

Ciao,
Pia

Wednesday’s Writing:
2 handwritten pages – SUMMER LUST
1 edited webfic post – CRANK

Leave a comment | posted in I am, Morgan, Resolutions, Writing Exercises

May 24, 2010

No Time for Titles

By piaveleno

“I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.” ~Douglas Adams

Here we are, almost month’s end. Where did May go?

I’m feigning shock because I haven’t done a damn thing about this month’s resolution. In fact, I forgot I made one until an hour ago. As you may have guessed, that’s a big, fat FAIL.

It was a long-shot to begin with. Me, Miss Chaotic Nature herself, trying to better plan my time… Laughable!

Alas, I will be punished for it. The WIP I’ve mentioned repeatedly on Twitter, SUMMER LUST, was intended for an antho call next month. (I think mid-June-ish, but I can’t be bothered to look it up at the moment.) It’s not finished. Let me clarify: The first draft isn’t even halfway done.

Yeah, great time management, Pia!

Instead of working on the first deadline, I spent half of my nice, quiet Saturday working on a synopsis for CRANK. While this will be necessary to dive into the second story arc, and it will be necessary to rewrite the blog in novel format, it is not required THIS MONTH. Granted, it’s been on my To-Do list for ages, but still, why must I suddenly dive into that time-sucking project three weeks before a due date? Why do I sabotage myself?

Morgan, another potential novella, is collecting dust. I made a grand decision to pull most of the paranormal aspects out of it and go with a more contemporary feel. That is, after the first draft was completed. Now, in all fairness, the demons didn’t show up until halfway through the first draft, so they’re being pulled because they feel tacked on, but still… FOCUS PIA!

Ugh, you know I hate reading whiny blogs. I’m not going for whiny today, but I do need to hold myself accountable. I have no one and nothing to blame but myself for this month’s wasted time. I will work on this. I can’t afford to dick around with stuff that I won’t be trying to publish, or worse, random website surfing. I need to slap my own wrists and force my Muse to work on what I need her to work on.

Starting now….

I mean, starting in five minutes, so I can post this entry and check the M/M book review site for freebie contests.

Ciao,
Pia

Leave a comment | posted in Excuses, Resolutions, Writing

May 10, 2010

Trivia or Trivial. A New Resolution.

By piaveleno

(Simultaneously published on SparkPeople.com)

SparkPeople trivia is frustrating me again. Not the score – though I got a measly 33% today – I’ve accepted that my trivia score will remain in the mid 60s unless I research the question online, and that feels like cheating. I do enjoy (most of the time) reading the explanations for each question. (I think) I’ve learned a lot through those.

So, about that ‘most of the time’ comment…

Today, one of the questions was about building muscle mass for women. The explanation to the answer hurts. I miss the summer days when I could wear tank tops proudly, showing off rounded shoulders and that sexy cut to the bicep. I wasn’t bulky, but very toned.

I’ve been strength training since I joined up with SparkPeople because I want that look back. I’ve been taking the measurements of arms along with waist, hips, and thighs. I want to see the subtle changes in my arms as I strive for that tank top goal. So far, my arms have remained at the same 11.5 inches. I’ve told myself not to get frustrated because muscles weigh more than fat and it’s probably changing from fat to muscle. I’ve lost a couple of pounds now, but that arm measurement is still the same.

“You’re working on it,” I tell myself. “You’re trying.” Then, “Now don’t skip the gym today, just because it’s Monday and it’s going to be a busy, busy Monday.”

I felt like I was fooling myself even before I saw today’s trivia explanation:

“In fact, since muscle takes up less room than fat, women tend to lose inches when they strength train. So in addition to the physical benefits (increased metabolism, decreased risk of osteoporosis, increased strength), strength training will help you slim down too!”

Damn it. It would seem I’m not very effective at strength training. I’m not getting that effect at all.

I admit, I’m far from perfect at this stuff. I’ve gone over my fat content twice this week, even though I haven’t gone over the calories more than once. I walked so much in Vegas that I didn’t gain any weight despite all the tequila we enjoyed. I go to the gym twice a week and try to squeeze in a home workout once on the weekends. I know I need to do more, but I’m focused on not missing those days.

Time has been the enemy. I want to work out. I want to cook healthy meals. I want to write these stories that are screaming in my head. After working eight hours, I don’t have time for all of that before bed. Even my reading time has slimmed down a lot and still, if I go to the gym, I don’t write much that day. I’m struggling to make both exercise and the Muse work together but they have very different schedules.

This is my new resolution: To find a way to make my exercise and writing time more efficient. Or, perhaps, it should be to make my non writing/workout times more efficient so that I can borrow from that?

I want those shoulders and I want to publish this year. Everything else is second priority, starting now.

Leave a comment | posted in fitness, Resolutions, SparkPeople, Writing