One Decade Ago

August 30th, 1998, at 11:52 A.M. on a bright Sunday morning baby Anthony was born. I was a 20 year old, active duty Marine, 1000 miles from family. My now husband--then NCO, and complete 'no no' relationship--was on his way back from Korea, or Guam, or some other third world country that we were often sent to for support. He missed the birth by one day.


I was so happy when I held my son that all the fears and worries washed away with the tears of joy I cried. After nine months of running and still gaining weight, wearing a GP tent, and trying to live a double standard to prove I belonged, I finally found my purpose in life. Being a Mom. I have to tell you that being a Mom vs. being a Marine...the Corps is a breeze compared to this.

Yes, I became a wife--which I live my romance and happy ending every day--and I work a full time job, and write, and did the college degree, the worldly travels, saved a squirrel, and so many other 'once in a life time' opportunities. Becoming a mom tops all of those things. Even now, ten years later with the hormones raging, the school dramas, the worry as he's off with friends, or even while he sleeps at night and I still peek in to make sure he's okay.


One decade ago I started the rest of my life. One decade ago I was able to see my future. It has led me to this place called motherhood. Though not always glamorous, it is what we make it. I've had so much fun that now I have two boys to cherish. Here's to my first baby, Happy Birthday Ant. I love you.

Writing From The Dark Side

What is "writing from the dark side" mean? No, it doesn't mean writing the memoirs of Darth Vader. Sorry, Luke, I'm not your father. The best way I can describe it is when you write from a part of your brain that usually remains hidden; submerged in the depths of your subconsciousness, your dreams, or nightmares, or even just out of reach of reality but always a possibility. I dove head first into that part of my brain when I started writing my latest-someday-soon-to-be best seller.

It's very real on an everyday level then in a blink of an eye turns very dark, seductive, and fantastically adventurous. When I say dark I'm talking to the point of dangling the proverbial carrot in front of the horse dark. You know, tempting fate, selling your soul, walking with the devil kind of dark. Come to think of it, my heroine does walk with the devil in one chapter. She even tempts fate by falling in love with the wrong guy...not the devil, but certainly no angel. Well, maybe. You'll get a sneak peak on my website once I hit my goal page/word count. It's turning out better on paper than I had imagined in my head! I love it when creativity flows through my fingertips onto my keyboard.

Stay tuned; it's getting to the really good part!

Website

Just a quick note; my website is getting a face lift! You won't be able to read my latest and greatest for a few days as I work on it. However, the hubster is being oh so sweet and taking the boys (namely Bam Bam) so I can get some writing done. I have an article to edit for our All Star edition news letter and 100+ pages to re-edit and a final decision on which manuscript I want to enter into the STAR contest. I only have a few days left! I also want to note that today, August 24, 2008, my wonderful hubster stated "I should set up an office for you so you can write". OH YEAH! I'm holding him to this. An office for me, be it in the closet or wherever, means a future man-room for him. Works for me!

Salute`

Parking $5...

Another day off of work, another day home with the kids, another day of intermittent writing. The hubster and I drove out today to check on friends and family and to see if I had a job to go back to tomorrow. Here's what my workplace looked like earlier today:

The building checked out okay, but I'm not sure where we'll be parking! Maybe the business across the street will let us use their lot for parking and we can wade in to work:o)

The water in our neighborhood has gone down considerably, but the Lake Washington area is still a disaster. We drove to the store for essentials (i.e. baby formula, bread, ice cream...the essentials!) and found that the rest of Melbournites who were not flooded in were also at the store.

All in all, it was an uneventful day. I watched more of the Olympics, had some chocolate, watched Pirate's of the Caribbean...again, had some wings, watched a little more TV, put the little guy to bed, kissed my other boys goodnight, and now I'm writing. Tomorrow is another, hopefully brighter, day. Work in the afternoon at least, cards at a friends house, and some more writing. What are your plans?

Recon in the 'burbs

It was a dark and stormy night...

Okay, it was light out, the rain was steady, but bearable, and the wind was blowing to the north, south, east, and west. We were on a mission. Family and friends were spread throughout the county in need of our assistance. Not really, but we drove out anyway to check on everyone.

Earlier:
Roads are flooded, neighbors are having to sweep water out of their garages, some are floating down the road in canoes because their cars are under water, and parents are going stir crazy because it is the second day of three that the schools are closed after just going back from summer break this past Monday! This storm is wreaking havoc on Brevard's drainage. Homes are flooding, pools overflowing, and dogs disappearing in the back yard as they run out to pee. Gators are swimming through neighborhoods, catfish are being caught in driveways, and drunken adults are yelling at their kids on skateboards and water rafts "That's not how you do it. Give me that umbrella and I'll show you how it's really done!" (I'm not kidding).

Current Conditions:
It's now after dark and the rains are still raining, winds still windy, and weather forecasts still dreary. This is as bad if not worse than a hurricane. TS Fay is literally hovering over us like an eternal black cloud. The only solace I have during this miserable weather is that the boys are finally asleep, the hubster is playing his boxing game, and I can now edit my final draft for submission.

In The Works

I know, I meant to have this up last week, but it has been a very long and hectic weekend. None of which I was able to write...at all! As most of you know I have a list of books that I am in the middle of writing. Few of you even know the method behind my madness of starting a completely new book in the middle of a hot streak while working on another one. In celebration of reaching an "In The Works" record, I have decided to add the list of my current titles to the side bar (<---that way). Some are closer to being finished than others and some are just play things for now as I use them to brainstorm on the bigger stories. However, all of them will eventually be complete and PUBLISHED! Take a look and tell me what you think!

It's Finished!!!

I am so pleased to announce that I have completed my very first manuscript! It's been a very long time in the making with distractions of other books that I've started, other work that had to be done, and mostly daily obligations that took priority. Today is a beautiful day in my writing world. I can't wait to share the exciting new story with friends and family, and especially getting it submitted for publication. I know it may take a few tries, but even the rejection letters will be added to my list of accomplishments because I tried! What's even more exciting is that when I GOOGLE the story title "Back Home by Salene Dunn"...it pops up! I have over 300 visitors to my website since launching it back in March.

I have the newest title I'm working on, "A Pirate's Booty", which is very adventurous and fast paced, so I know I'll be busy in the coming weeks to get as much of it done as possible for entry in another writing contest.

This evening I am working on a list of all of my current "In The Works" so find a title you like and keep pushing me to get it done! Having people interested in my stories while I'm writing them has been the drive behind finishing them. Thank you!

Poll About A Pole

New poll is posted! Check it out and comment here if you have something to add to your choice. I love the email responses I've been getting, but I want them posted too so don't be shy!

I can't decide!

I have less than a month...29 days to be exact, to submit the first 25 pages of my manuscript. The only problem with this is that I have more than one! I've narrowed it down to three, and two of them are the same category so I really only can enter two of them, but I can't decide. I have the newest title, "A Pirate's Booty" that I'm really excited about, but then I have "Back Home" and "Between A Rock And A Hard Place" that I have to choose between. I'm doomed! I do this to myself every time and end up missing out on a wonderful opportunity because I'm afraid they will hate my work! I know, I have to try or I'll never know how good I am, but it's really hard to let someone else critique my writing. The very passion of my existence is within the pages of my work and I'm afraid if they find it dull or incomplete then it means I'm dull and incomplete. On the other hand, what if they do like it and I have to produce more of my work? I'm not only afraid of failure, I'm also afraid of success because then I have to exceed my own standards. I can't decide!

Romancing The Gnome

I had a very strange dream last night about my garden gnome. I only have one, his name is Dante (after the Italian poet), and he's a prankster. I've wanted to add other gnomes to keep him company, but I haven't been able to find any with his charm and personality.

So my dream started out with me in the garden, planting a new mini-bird of paradise and some cladiums. Dante saunters over asking me if I could find him a female companion because he is lonely. I of course am dumbfounded that my garden gnome is even talking to me, but nonetheless I agree to help find him a mate.

In the rest of the dream I am basically presenting female gnome after female gnome to him as if I were a Madame in the Fantasy world of Gnomeville. It was hysterical as I pranced them on stage in beauty pageant style and he, Dante, scored them from 1-10 as if judging for a crown.

I never finished the dream as I woke up to my little guy cooing an laughing, ready to start his day. I dismissed the whole dream until I received an email offer from the same place I bought Dante. Coincidence? De ja vu? Who knows. In any case I am going to buy Dante a female companion so he can romance himself a gnome.

New Poll

It's that time again! Check out the new poll---> and vote.

Poll Results and New Title!

Thanks to everyone who voted on the poll and also on my website for my new title "A Pirate's Booty". You guessed it, I started another one! My goal is to have it ready for submission to STAR's Launching A Star Contest and just in time for 'Talk Like A Pirate Day'. What day is that you ask? Why it's September 19th. You can check out the details and join the fun.

I'll post a sneak peek of the new book on my site once I submit it to STAR.

As for the POLL results, it looks like 80% love Romantic Suspense, 10% Paranormal, and 10% Historical. Amazing results. Again, thanks to everyone who voted!