I'm back!

It's been months since I posted anything. I told you I was not good at blogging!  Some traumatic things have happened since then.  So I do have a reason for my absence.  My grandmother passed away only a few days after my first post.  I definitely wasn't in the right frame of mind to write anything at that time since my writing is firmly connected to my emotions.  My grandmother's death was a shock to my system.  She was 90 but, honestly, if you had known her you would have said she was the youngest 90-year-old you'd ever met.  She could talk about anything and everything...and did every time we talked.  She had a mind like a steel trap: A phone number given to her was recorded in her brain and she never forgot it.  As attested by everybody who ever gave her a phone number.  She had a phone and she knew how to use it!  Just ask her minister whom she would call at a whim, any time of the day or night, for a chat.  She was smart and funny and she loved people.  In her youth she was a hellion.  A bit wild and never subdued.  She was a beautiful redhead and she knew it.  A party didn't get started until she arrived.  I know this firsthand because she would drag me and my brother along with her to the party and we danced right along with her.  And could she dance!  Men were known to get into fights over who got to dance with her.  In her later years she still loved music and being the center of attention.  I believe my love of music came from her because she introduced me to the blues when I was so young.  The radio was always on in her house when I was growing up.  She will always be in my heart.  Another thing that happened in my absence was I found out I'm a diabetic.  Believe me, I've always been the type of woman who was strong and healthy, always burning the candle at both ends.  Boundless energy, and not afraid to expend it.  But this illness caught me unawares.  Before I knew it, I was in the hospital for an 8-day stay, flat on my back, staring up at the ceiling tiles and wondering who put that catheter up my you-know-what so that I could pee in a bag.  I'm being totally honest because I want YOU to pay more attention to yourself.  Especially if you're a sister (African American female) reading this.  You know YOU.  You give, give, give and rarely think about yourself.  You're so busy working, taking care of the kids, tending to your husband's needs.  But what about YOU?  You need to go to the doctor for regular check-ups. You need to exercise and make a real effort to eat right.  You need to do all of this because if you don't and you end up flat on your back like I did, you are worth nothing to your loved ones.  And that's a fact, girlfriend.  So, love others.  But love yourself just as much!  Okay, that's enough of a blog for a while.  If I can figure out how to get back to this blog spot in the future I might write another one.  For now, I've got to finish writing a paranormal novel I'm working on.  I'll get back to you.  Thanks for reading!

Okay, okay, I give up. I'll become a...gasp...blogger!

I'm a late bloomer.  Whenever anything new comes along I'm usually the last one at the party.  So it is with blogging.  For one thing, I have no idea if I'm always going to have something interesting to say.  Like now.  Who cares if I'm always reluctant to try something new, especially if it has to do with electronics?  My husband had to pry my hands from my beloved word processor ten years ago.  I'd written five books on it and it was so comfortable to work on.  Then, he had to drag me kicking and screaming away from my desktop and force me to use a laptop.  To be honest, I still miss the desktop.  The only advantage to having a laptop in my opinion is that you can take it with you easier than you can a desktop.  And I still don't know how to take a picture with my cell phone.  Therefore what can you expect from an electronics challenged nerd like me when it comes to blogging?  Just some down-home conversation about what I'm going through in my journey as a writer.  Take my present dilemma, for example: I'm known for writing romances but I've got about four other stories running around in my head that are definitely NOT romances.   This is how the process works for me.  Characters will invade my thoughts and start telling their stories.  And in order for me to get them out of my head, I have to write their stories.  Once the stories are done, they pack up and leave.  Thank God.  However, here is my problem: I don't know if anyone is going to want to buy these stories from a romance writer since I don't have much experience writing anything except romances.  I've done a couple of romances that had paranormal elements and there was that story in Creepin' that was a departure for me.  But, mostly, I'm a romance writer.  Should I spend months completing a book that may never see the light of day?  Take a chance?  Or stick with the tried and true?  One part of me says go for it!  Another, the one that needs to get paid, says put the other book on the back burner.   Of course, no one ever did anything great without taking a risk.  I suppose I just made up my mind.  I'll write the book that's definitely NOT a romance, send it to my very patient agent, and see what comes of it.  Who knows, maybe someone WILL be interested in publishing it.  We've got to follow our dreams, don't we?  I'll keep you posted.