Happy Veterans Day

Today we celebrate our Veterans, and remember those that died fighting for our country. I have the great honor of knowing some of the most wonderful people who are veterans.

My grandfather was an Airborne Ranger in WWII. He was MIA in enemy territory for months until he was taken in by a family in France that was eventually able to get him to the American Embassy. He died at the tender age of 91 with little said about his time over seas, but left me a box full of memories I continue to piece together to reveal the harsh reality he faced.

My biological father served as a Marine during the Vietnam conflict. He too speaks little of what happened during his time there, and has since moved on with life.

My step-father served in the NAVY. No war occurred during his service time, which gave him ample opportunity to get into trouble. A spider monkey in a utility closet during inspection rings a bell. Oh the stories he has are going to make into one of my books some day!

My uncle, my step-dad's partner in crime, served in the Army at the same time...getting into the same kind of trouble. These two are what the comedy black and whites were modeled after!

My father-in-law served in the Marine Corps during the Korean War. He was one of the few that served at the Battle of Chosin Reservoir--otherwise known as the Frozen Chosen. Some may remember Chesty's quote as they sat surrounded by the Chinese and Korean troops: "We've been looking for the enemy for some time now. We've finally found him. We're surrounded. That simplifies things." My father-in-law says very little about his time overseas.

My husband and I met while serving in the Marine Corps. Ours was a forbidden love that I will also write about some day. He served many oversea operations and got out in 2000. I served through 2001 and was recalled after 9/11 to served through 2002. We were finally married in June of that year after I came home. Our oldest son was just turning 4 then and was in our wedding; the following year he thought we were going to have another party like our wedding to celebrate our anniversary! That should be the way we celebrate, but who can afford it annually?!

Many of our friends still serve in the military, all branches, and we are very proud of them. My thanks and prayers are with all those who have served, are serving, and the families that sacrifice to support them. Our government is not perfect, but our military is the reason we have the freedom and rights to screw it up. Remember that when you sit down for supper, kneel down for prayer, and lay down to sleep tonight.

Have you hugged your veteran today? Happy Veterans Day!

Happy Birthday to...USMC

Today marks the 233rd birthday of the United States Marine Corps. To learn about the traditions and life of our Marines go HERE. Happy Birthday to my fellow Marines, past and present. I'm proud to be part of the few.

Semper Fi

Writer's Block

In an effort to keep my momentum going for the NaNoWriMo I am looking for ways to overcome the infamous "writer's block". Post your ideas on how to defeat the beast and I'll post as I go on what works the best. Think of me as the mythbuster for writers! I love that show. Good luck to everyone entering a contest this month, and to "those" people who finish their manuscripts and are ready to submit them. When I say "those" I mean you people that suck because I'm back to chapter three on a complete rewrite!

Ideas anyone?

My Boss Is A Staple Whore

You read it right, my boss is a staple whore. I'm a writer at heart, but my paying job title is OPTIC Manager. That stands for a whole mess of things ranging from Purchasing, Shipping, Inventory, Customer Service, Complaint Department, Resident Biotch, etc.

Part of my job requires her approval on a crap load of paperwork that I PAPER CLIP together. The reason for this is because I have to fax and scan these to our customers/vendors. It makes my life easier to be able to do this via the top shelf of the copier/fax which doesn't like staples. Inevitably, my staple whore boss staples them after approval leaving me to remove the staples (without ripping the pages) in order to keep my routine and organization in tact. It's subject to my sanity so stay with me.

Not only does she staple everything that passes over her desk, but she also rants and raves when her stapler runs out of staples. I'm talking major war path. Staples in her stapler is like crack in the pipe to an addict. She's aware of her problem and has agreed to join staplers anonymous.

What's your "day job" and are there any staple whores or paper Nazis??

Latest WIP

Here's a snippet of one of my Work In Progress: Walk On The Dark Side (not the official title)

The night sky glittered with spirits as they rose from the depths of their resting places. The plane between life and death was open at different moments in time for all spirits to pass through freely. Dead walked among the living. In turn, the living could walk among the dead, though few ever did. Sage was living. She was an empath. She was also a walker. Easily termed such, walkers were able to walk between planes, walk through time—though only present and past, never future—and sometimes walk through hell. Many with this gift did not accept it as a reality, only a dream, which made it harder for Sage to live a normal life in everyone else’s reality.
In her reality witches and warlocks were her neighbors, fairies and gnomes were more than garden accessories, and the boogie man did not live under her bed or in her closet. He lived in the blue house with grey trim just down the street. In her reality she saw things others refused to see.

So what are you working on today/this week?