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May 2008
So...we're going to New Orleans...only...we were holding American Airlines tickets.
Bummer.
We get to the counter and decide we'll go anywhere where it's sunny...why not Phoenix?
We've been looking at homes there because they're really affordable and we want OUTOUTOUT of cold,
gray, drizzly Oregon.
So we say, "Can you get us to Phoenix?"
The poor thing who has been yelled at by everyone says, "Are you kidding? Really?"
"Really."
She gets us right on a non-stop flight...we get a cute hotel and a Mustang Convertible and decide,
"Let's at least go to Maricopa (a small town) to cross it off our list. The only house we want is a model home and it's not for sale."
Au contraire, mon ami.
We get there.
Yep.
Our house....after looking at HUNDREDS and wanting only ONE...is for sale.
It has 100,000 worth of upgrades, including:
Pool with fountains...Surround sound inside and out...Plantation shutters...Gourmet kitchen...3 car garage...All window coverings...4 bedroom, 3 bath 2700 square feet.
And yes, we bought it.
What? Are you crazy
Yes, we bought it. And why?
Serendipity.
We weren't SUPPOSED to be in Arizona last weekend.
Or were we?
:)
So now, we have put our home up for sale, I am looking at jobs in Phoenix, and we'll be moving anywhere from 2-12 months from now.
Because it's still a model home, it won't be ready until they sell the last bunch of houses, which worked great for us because now there's no crunch.
It was meant to be.
We can do just fine with all my online jobs (I now teach at 6 different schools online and love it), but to keep from being a hermit, I need to
get a job, so I am looking at the MANY other options in Phoenix. The truth is, I want to teach right there in Maricopa at the local high school.
That would be fun for me!
Anyway, I wanted to catch you up on the comings and goings of our life.
Even my MOM thinks it's a great idea and said, "Frankly, I'm surprised you stayed in Oregon as long as you have. You'll
love Arizona."
Hello? What have you done with my mother?
:)
We are terribly excited, as this was THE house we wanted and we weren't going to do what we call Costcoing.
When we Costco (and we ALL have done it), we see something for a great price, but say we'll "get it next time." When we go back, it's never there.
So we got it.
Life's funny. Don'tcha think?
This is our pool:
November...Play Me!!!
October 2007
Across Time is scheduled for release in January of 2008. That is so exciting for me! It means time to plan the big party, book signings, all sorts of extravaganzas as we prepare to sell as many as we can right out of the gate. I am busy inputting book four of the series into the computer. That takes longer than the actualy writing. It's the time when I have to go back and refer to my note..."Hmmm...were his eyes blue or grey? Was she six feet or 5'10" ?" (Delta was 5'10" and so that sticks in my head. I enjoy the rewrite, and ever since I was given a GREAT editor, I find that I am much more critical of the polish than I used to be. Anyway...I'm crazy busy...I am teaching online courses as well as the gigs I have in town, and I am still homeschooling Rose until the end of the year. Busy busy! Befre we know it, Christmas will be here and I'll be sitting on a veranda in Mexico, working on book 5 of either this series or Echo. Stay warm and dry!
| Aug. 5th Writer's Conference
I'm home early from the Writer's Convention. That shocked me, really. Here, I'd so been looking forward to it with eager anticipation, only to be sitting there after one and a half days and realizing that I'd only taken half a page of notes.
Half a page?
Wait.
I came here to learn, to get some questions answered, to see if there were some really good pointers I might be able to pick up as I move ahead with my marketing plan for Across Time, which is due out in 2008.
The sad fact is...as open as I am to learning and growing, that conference really was for beginners, and there's no way to say that without sounding like an arrogant ass.
But I don't care. Maybe that's just what I am.
As a teacher, I love to learn. It's what we DO! I went there with high hopes of learning a lot.
Alas, I didn't DO much of that at the conference.
From having one presenter not know the difference between an autobiography and biography, and a "writer" getting manuscript ER and asking, (and I kid you not) "Do we always indent paragraphs? What do you mean every time someone talks they get a new line?"
I knew this conference wasn't where I belonged. I do so want to get better, and I believe that Katherine Forest, my editor, will help me achieve that. She did an outstanding job slicing away the fat from my novel. I did not disagree with ONE comment/edit/criticism she had, and that's rare (and wonderful)
Sigh. It was an expensive lesson for me, but I DID walk away with what I need to do down the road.
So, here I am trying to network, to meet like-minded people who DON'T charge an arm and a leg to help other writers grow and get better. Hopefully, something wonderful will come of it.
Until then, I'm off to rewrite. I have a deadline.
Aug. 3rd
What a great time I'm having here. I've met some really interesting people, learned some great tips, and...best of all, I pitched my first proposal to an editor, who asked to see the first 70 pages! that was really quite exciting. I had never pitched before, but I listened to a lot of people talk about theirs and realized that there was more to it than met the eye, so I listened carefully, wrote my brief pitch, and BAM! I'd like to thak Mark for his inspiration and help in pitching. His comments were right on the money.
Anyway...after BAM! I knew I had her on the second sentence. Of course, now the words have to hold water and have to bring home the bacon. I'm having so much fun networking, chatting, learning, etc. What a hoot!
I have work to do...lots of writing, grading, etc. So I bettter scoot.
Aug. 2nd Writer's Conference
I am at the Willamette Writer's Conference and I'm so excited. Just walking in here, there were mounds and mounds of writing books, books about reading, books and more books! It was wonderful. Of course, so many people here are the geeks of the universe (present company included) and I fit right in.Â
In a few minutes, I go register and then I'll come back and tell you what's on the agenda for tomorrow. Since this is my first post and my first foray into the new land of Livejournal, please feel free to let me know what it is you'd like to see me discuss. Give me an idea of what makes these tick, what works, what people are hoping to see when they come here. And of course, please check out my web site
www.lindakaysilva.com
Okay...I'm off! |
| | July 2007
I love my life. I say that without any chest pounding arrogance. I say it with the deepest sincerity and I make no apologies for it. I have the kind of life I would wish for myself. I love my jobs, I enjoy my students, I have great colleagues. I love my home, my library, all of the little touches I used to dream about having. I love the time I have to sit in the backyard writing, reading, enjoying the many water features, and yellow finches that come to bath in them. I love the time I have to travel, to meet new people, to see new places and have new experiences. To wake up every morning and be able to look over at my partner and say, "I love our life" is such a wonderful gift.
When you construct a life to be what you want it to be, then it is easier to be the writer you want to be. I write every day, some days, I write in excess of 6 hours. yesterday, for instance, I had all day to myself. I started writing at 8:00 in the morning, took various breaks to play tennis, watch All My Children, and water, and continued writing until 11:00 at night. I think I got in about 8 good hours of writing all together. That always feels so great. I have almost three months off this summer, and my goal is to write the fourth installments of the two series I am working on. At this rate, I just might make it!
June 2007
It is summer time once again, and already, I am in the throes of writing, reading, and walking Lucy to the park. I finished the third book of the Echo series. Now, I am working on the revision for the second. My publisher, Spinsters, is assigning an editor to me in the next week or two, and the I'll be heavily into the final rewrite of Across Time. Lots of rewriting this summer, which I do enjoy. I like the polish of a manuscript, the tightening up of the prose, the interspersing of adjectives and fine-tuning of the plot. It's really fun, especially since I do so enjoy Echo and the cast of characters in her books. I will start the fourth books of both series this summer. I know, I know, when will I find the time? Well, I'm glad you asked. Apart from teaching creative writing this summer, going to a writer's workshop, and reading as many books as I can get my hands on, I have the good fortune of being able to spend three weeks on a cruise ship in the Caribbean: Colombia. Panama, Costa Rica, and plenty of time on the high seas with my paper, my fountain pen, and the sun! I should be able to finish one for sure, and get at least half way through the next.
What a great way to spend summer!
We will soon have an empty nest. Kelley came home from California looking like a California girl. Here she is:
 We're really proud that both girls are doing what they want to be doing in the warmest states in the union. Now, when we get tired of the nasty Oregon weather, we have fun places to visit! Kelley is currently majoring in Communications and partying. Sunnie has aspirations of being Belle some day. Sigh. What can I say? At least they are happy and following their dreams, which appears to be the ONLY lesson they learned from me! 
May 27th, 2007
I've been writing like a demon these past weeks and I realized how much different I am when I have the time to devote to my writing. Sunnie was telling me how much happier I am when I am writing, and so, I'm making it my summer mission to finish my rewrites of the third in the Echo series and begin trying to get her published...or get an agent..whichever comes first. I also plan on writing either the fourth book in the Time Travel series or the fourth book of Echo. The jury is still out over that one. I gave myself a present for graduating the last of the two kids, and we'll be sailing off through the Panama Canal this September. We'll be going to Cartagena, Colombia, Panama City, Costa Rica, Mexico, and all over Central America. I can hardly wait.
For those of you who have never seen Sunnie...here we are...at her 18th birthday celebration. She had just gotten a tattoo on her hip and was feeling pretty cool. She's not, but it's fun to let her think she is. 
May 9th, 2007
I finally found a publisher! Isn't that exciting? Spinster Ink, a subsidiary of Bella Books has picked up my time travel series! Very exciting! This will be my eighth book out and I am as excited about it as I was the first one that came out. Big fun! I have been writing a great deal this year. Jessie's series, the time travel one, has three completed novels already and Echo's, the paranormal series has two, but I am in the process of rewriting the third, which is killer! I love it. I love both of the charcters of those series. I think they are fresh and flirty. Yes, I said! Fresh and flirty. Not flirty in the sense of FLIRTING, but they're fun. They're hip. They have their whole lives ahead of them and they have friends who are wonderful in their goodness and badness. I am really having the time of my life writing both series. I plan on doing a great deal of writing this summer. I am teaching two summer courses at the community college: Creative Writing and Technical Communications. I am so excited about teaching that creative writing piece, I can hardly wait! I love that stuff. I eat it up with a big spoon. Other than that, unlike last year, when we worked so hard moving and getting the house all set up, this summer is going to be very different. This summer, I will be sitting in my beautiful backyard reading the pile of books I've gathered for the summer. See, right around April, I start buying the new books by all my favorite authors. I put them on the library shelf marked TO BE READ. (yes, in a gold engraved label I had made just for my shelves). Then I wait. Sometimes, when no one is looking, I go in there and fondle the bindings: like tempting a lover to begin before it's time. I smile, knowing that I will, of course, have them in my hands soon enough, out by the pond, where the turtles bask in the sun, the dog snarfles around playing with any bug that gets in her path, the fountain and waterfall bubble happily, and all is well in my little corner of the world. Ahhh...can't you just see it?
April 8th, 2007
Where has time gone? Sheesh. So much has been happening in my wonderful little world. I've just finished the third in the Across Time Series and I am waiting on a publisher to send a contract to me for the first one. Tres exciting! I am starting, today, the third in the paranormal series, which happens to be a famiy favorite. This summer, when I have time, I plan on sending Echo (that's the main character's name) out to agents and publishers alike. So I am writing, writing, writing, and loving every minute of it. I think having the library I have has made all the difference in the world. I love it up there! Me and Lucy just hang out, playing the fiddle, writing, doing my online stuff, and generally having a ball. I think the library is like a fort. When I was growing up, we had two forts made out of wood that were weatherproof, had several rooms, a watch tower, and one even had a double bunk bed. The one at my grandmother's was so elaborate, Butch lived in it for two years. We ran electricity out to it and he moved right on in. We were pretty good fort builders, I think. We used quality wood that we stole from the Crazy Old Man across from my grandparent's house. We knew he was crazy when we went back to spy on him and see what he was making with all that wood and there were hundreds of birdhouses. And a bomb shelter. Yep. Crazy. Anyway, we got all of our lumber from him...but I digress...as usual. I think that forts and cozy places, and places that are just for me give me a sense of security and warmth...so my library (there's a link to the photos) is a very fort-like place I love. And it's calling me now.
Feb. 10, 2007
My birthday!
It's that time of year when we all begin assessing our lives and asking the dreaded question, "what's it all about?" Fortunately, I've lived such a full life, I don't find that question plaguing me. I'm filled with other questions like "Where will we travel next? How come I am getting so much joy out of playing the violin? What do I have to do to get another book published? What happened to the athlete in me? How come I love wearing nice clothes now? How can we save the planet from global warming? Is Bush retarded?" Those kinds of questions. I'm glad I'm beyond the point of needed so god damned much introspection. There was a time when I seemed to be questioning everything about me...not my life, but about my insides. Who I was. What I wanted. Blah blah blah. I began to bore myself with all my introspection. That all happened right after Milo died, sending me into a tailspin. I couldn't seem to get it all together. Now that that is over, I've settled in to some unexpected joys.
Joy is an underrated emotion. I don't think we say it enough, live it enough or give it to others enough. Ever since we moved into the new house, and I spend my evenings sequestered (I LOVE that word) in my totally rocking library, experiencing all sorts of joy from unexpected places.
Take the fiddle. I can play three tunes now. Egan's Polka, Amazing Grace, and Yellow Rose of Texas. I can't begin to explain how much I LOVE it. When I rode a Harley we used to say, "If I have to explain it to you, you wouldn't understand." That's how it is with the violin. I play it...10-12 times a day. I learn new things. I work hard to get the bowing correct. I struggle, I sweat, I experience JOY.
Then there are my books. Shelves and shelves of all my books...whispering to me.
Then there's Lucy. She comes in and drops a toy at my feet. "Play with me, mom!" And so I do. And we play until she flops on the floor, exhausted. It's a wonderful place, my library, and then I realize that it's not the library that's the wonderful place, but MY LIFE. I love my life. I love watching the Celtic fiddlers jam every Friday night on our date night. I love teaching. I love my students. I love that Rose wants to go to Reed College to major in the Classics. I love that my goldfish lived through 4 inches of ice. I feel joy at the peace I've found here in Corvallis. I am overjoyed that I am healthy. There is so much to be thankful for as I turn 47: Joy is one of those things, and I experience it daily. So, if anything happens to me before I turn 50, just remember that I've lived a very full and uncomplicated life. I am happy. I feel tremendous joy on a daily basis. And you know what? You just can't ask for much more than that!
Happy Birthday to me...thanks for stopping by!
Jan 5, 2007
Whew. The holidays are over! It was very nice, lots of fun, great family gatherings, good food, and I got my left-handed violin. I am incredibly excited about starting a new venture in my life. I am not playing team tennis this year. I am ready to try new things and the violin is one; learning Russian is the other. I start my violin lessons next week and I can hardly wait. It's a funny thing, this change that came over me. I realized that I love playing tennis, but I don't have a burning need to COMPETE. It's very time consuming and I have other things to do: like write. So, that's the good news. I finished inputting the sequel to More Than an Echo in the computer, and I love it. The characters, the paranormal nature of the story, all of it. It just makes me happy to be there, in that place, with those characters. Big Fun. So, now I have to go through and spell check, revise, add, and polish. This is actually one of my favorite steps in the process. It's fun to re-read what I wrote and make it better. Speaking of reading, I am reading a great series about witches. The first is called The Dark Queen, the second is called the Courtesan, and I forget the third, but it's been a lot of fun to read over the break. I read about 6 novels, and that's pretty good. I spent most of my time in the library, which is where I really love to be. So, that being said, I'm headed there now, to listen to the rain hit my window, the light tapping of my keys, and Lucy snoring on the window seat. Have a safe and wonderful New Year!
Dec 13, 2006 HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
I love this time of year. I am a Christmas geek. I whistle Christmas tunes, where Christmas sweaters, and watch Christmas shows. Yes...Christmas shows. Charlie Brown, Rudolph, Frosty, The Santa Claus, all the oldies. There's something soothing and wonderful about those old shows that makes me feel all warm and oogy. Yes, oogy. I went shopping today, and I realized that I missed all of this last Christmas, when I went on a cruise instead. Anyway...I have a month off to write and start sending more manuscripts out. I've been writing a great deal in the week I've had off. Well, that and watching back-to-back CHARMED episodes. I'm hooked. What is it about witches and witchcraft that is so interesting? The possibility of it, perhaps? I wonder. Lately, I've been reading a trilogy that starts with the novel called THE DARK QUEEN. Excellent read. Anyway, the holidays are all about reading, writing, and doing obedience school with Lucy (see Lucy's bog). It's been wonderful getting up at 6, when no one is home, and drinking coffee and writing in front of the fireplace. I'm not in the library as much because I like hanging out by the Christmas tree. It's an all red tree this year, with red lights, balls, tinsel, pearls, and ornaments. It's pretty cool, really. I also got a bite on the first of the Echo series, and I'll be sending that out today. That's very exciting.
Drop me a line if you're interested in any of the new books coming your way.
Have a very Merry Christmas.
Nov. 15, 2006
I've been sending queries out like mad. The good new is that I currently have 4 different manuscripts being considers. Yippee! The other good news is that my web site has been getting a much needed overhaul and is almost done!
Writing has been going very well. I have come to some truths and that is that I love Echo and the paranormal world she live in. I guess she's as close to writing about super heroes as I'll ever get. You see...and hardly anyone knows this...if I could have done anything in the world, it would have been to be a colorist on the X-Men comic book. I LOVE to color. I colored Hulk comic books all through high school. There's something really peaceful about the act of coloring. I envy painters who get in their zone and paint. What a wonderful life those of us have who can create.
But it makes me wonder...what do people do who DON'T create?
Hmmm.
I had the chance to create my own library, and that was one of the best things I've ever done. I LOVE that room. I think everyone should have a special room that fills them up.
Okay...want to hear just how geeky I am? I go in there sometimes and just read the spines of my books. I might straighten them up, find a better place for them, touch them. I guess they're my toys. How dumb is that?
It's fun.
I know.
NERD! Anyway...for those of you who have asked to see more pics, here they are.
Oct. 29, 2006
Good news!
I finished the second story in the paranormal series and am on the first rewrite of a mystery starring my first male character! It's tres fun!
Writing has been good, and good FOR me. I am a different person when I have time to write...happier...less stressed. My mind races most of the day, but when I'm writing, I'm somewhere else...someONE else. It's pretend all over, and I loved pretending as a kid. For me, the worst part of growing up was the loss of being able to view the world through a child's eyes. To make-believe, to pretend you had a lion as a pet, to go places you almost believed were real...that was the best part for me. And so...now I am creating characters and stories that *I* want to know, to see, to be a part of. I am regressing. lol. I know that. I'm okay with that. Hell, who said growing up was all that? Growing up means letting go of that pretend place...of paying bills...of stressing out. Growing up means following rules way more strict than children's rule. A grown up doesn't tater the tennis ball as hard as she can at her sister-in-law...but I did. That's such a 12 year old boy thing to do. Smacked her right in the crotch. With no remorse. I MEANT to. Why? It was fun. It was FUNNY. It was such a kid thing to do. I was helpless against the little creature within...that voice we all hear. Most of us have the ability to ignore it...writers hear it all the time...scary, that. We're not crazy, mind you...we just hear more things in out heads than most people.
Okay...maybe that IS crazy...if so...I'm okay with that, too...because it makes me happy.
Find YOUR joy. That's the lesson...let NOBODY keep you from that feeling!
August, 2006
I have decided that my readers have waited long enough for a new series and a new heroine. You're going to get her! Her name is Echo Branson. Echo is a rookie investigative reporter in San Francisco trying to find out why homeless men are turning up missing and no one seems to care. Echo's skills as a reporter are bolster by an innate ability to sense when people are lying. Echo Branson is an empath...a being capable of feeling and experiencing the emotional state of others. This special skill, which enables her to perform her job better than most, almost drove her insane when she was a kid.
And so Echo takes us on a backstory that includes the mysterious Louisiana Bayou, her Haitian mentor, and several other supernatural students who learn how to handle their powers before being consumed by them. After four years in the Bayou, where she meets and falls in love with a telepath and befriends a necromancer, Echo must return to the real world and try to restart a life in which few people know the truth about her and her powers. But restart it she does, and Echo and both her supernatural and natural friends will take you on an adventure that will leave you longing for more.
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Author's Journal 
