The Good and Bad of my Blogging Hiatus

Posted on September 3, 2012 by SloanParker

“Life can be like a roller coaster…
And just when you think you’ve had enough,
and you’re ready to get off the ride
and take the calm, easy merry-go round…
You change your mind, throw your hands in the air
and ride the roller coaster all over again.
That’s exhilaration…that’s living a bit on the edge…that’s being ALIVE.”

–Stacey Charter

Here’s some news from my recent blogging hiatus:

The Good News

Breathe was listed in RT Book Reviews magazine as a must-have from RT readers alongside some of my favorite authors and books. The mention (on page 3) was part of the very exciting feature article “It’s Raining Men: Tackling The Torrents Of Male/Male Romantic Fiction Flooding The Market.” Huge thanks to all who mentioned the book to RT!
The Happily Ever After blog at USA TODAY featured the trailer for TAKE ME HOME. Thanks to author Robin Covington for the mention!
TAKE ME HOME placed first in the Erotica category of the 2012 FTHRW Lories Best Published contest.
TAKE ME HOME also won first place in the Contemporary category of the 2012 Oklahoma RWA’s International Digital Awards.
For the first time, books from digital-first publishers won in the Romance Writers of America RITA awards.
My friend and critique partner’s first book Fairyproof is out this week (print is out now). Congrats, Constance Phillips! So proud of you!

The Bad

I lost my writing buddy in July. He held on for almost a year since his bad crash the vet thought he wouldn’t make it through. For most of that year, he did really well, so it was hard to see him lose all his strength and energy in the very end. He definitely wasn’t ready to go, and I wasn’t ready to let him. It’s not quite the same in my writing room anymore. I kept plugging away on the final edits for How to Save a Life (and it was nice to have something else to focus on), but it also made the moment bittersweet without him there.

Good-bye, my bubby. You made every day special in so many ways. Writing sure is lonelier without you.

Friday Photo: My cat playing a nun

Posted on June 15, 2012 by SloanParker

I think my sweet disaster boy (he’s a giant klutz) wants to be a nun. He got the blanket on his own head and then just sat there for the longest time.

Sometimes Minor Edits Lead You On

Posted on January 28, 2012 by SloanParker

I’m on my third pass working on Walter and Kevin’s story, and I had a series of great writing sessions this week. Today I worked on a chapter and a half that needed a few changes, including adding some dialogue and reactions. I ended up rewriting almost all of it. I was in some sort of zone where the dialogue and character interactions just flowed and worked better within the overall story arc. The more I rewrote, the more I knew what I had previously written wasn’t working. When I was done, it felt good to know it was the right call to rewrite those scenes.

Even though decisions like these affect the overall amount of time it takes to complete a project, this type of revising just seems to work for me. The more time I spend with the characters and their story, the clearer the overall picture becomes. Sometimes I can’t see the forest with all those damn trees in the way.

It took about five hours to get that chapter and a half rewritten. I sat in my comfy chair in my office while I wrote. These two little guys came in to keep me company.

Hope you all have a great weekend. I’m hoping to get in another 5 hours or more of writing on Sunday.

The Long Goodbye

Posted on September 21, 2011 by SloanParker

Don’t wanna close my eyes
Don’t wanna fall asleep
‘Cause I’d miss you, baby
And I don’t wanna miss a thing

– Aerosmith (I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing)

Saying goodbye to someone you love is never easy. Saying goodbye to someone you’ve had in your life every day for 16 years is really tough. Saying goodbye over the course of weeks and months while you provide daily care for them and their fading body takes love and courage and compassion.

I’m hoping I’ll have no shortage of all three over the coming weeks, or maybe months. I’m not sure how long my cat has left, but the end is drawing near. His kidneys have decided to stop doing their job. After one serious crash he’s still here, but the end is closer than I’d like. I’m selfish when it comes to the people and animals I love. I would like another 16 years with him. And then another 16. Then 16 more. Sadly, that’s not how life for these little dudes works out.

He and I are oddly close. So close I can often tell what’s going on with him with one look at him. Once he was sitting on my chest while I was in bed, he gave me a long look, and I knew something was up. I told my partner, “I don’t think he feels good.” When we got to the vet, the doc took what I said seriously until he’d examined him. No fever, nothing abnormal that he could find. He checked his mouth. Nothing. He looked at me with kindness, but like I was nuts, explaining that he couldn’t find anything until he checked his mouth one more time. He found an abscessed tooth all the way in the back. The vet just smiled and said, “You’re right. He’s not feeling well.”

He’s the smartest cat I’ve ever met. Too smart sometimes. He tries to run cons on me all the time. Oh, I’m not doing anything with my paw. I’m just stretching, but as soon as you turn around I’m putting my paw into that glass of milk. He’s also the cuddliest cat. He likes to give hugs (actual hugs) and sit on my lap while I write. In fact, he likes to sit with his front legs draped over my arms impeding my typing, but it’s still nice to have the company during the long hours at the keyboard writing and revising and revising some more.

I’m not sure what I’ll do with myself when he’s gone. I have two other cats, but they tend to go off on their merry way during the day, only coming to see me once in a while when they want a little attention. Or food. They never forget the food. One of them is the sweetest cat I’ve ever had and he does like to sit with me, but he really doesn’t like the typing. And my muse doesn’t like going too long without writing.

So how does one say goodbye? With compassion and love, I guess. That’s all we can do.

We’ve been renting more movies than we have in a long time and cuddling with him while we watch. I’ve been taking more breaks during the day to sit with him and give him some love. He’s still doing some of the little things that show me he’s here and not feeling terribly bad yet.

I guess none of us know how long we’ll have with those we love. We just have to love them as best as we can for as long as we are honored to have them in our lives.