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Update Rownd 2 April 11 #row80

I didn’t report on Sunday because I had an Easter themed blog up for a hop. So today covers an entire week.

The challenge is turning out to be a wonderful encouragement for me. The people have been helpful and kind, and I’m gaining discipline in my writing.

At 2pm, I get offline and take one solid hour without interruptions, and write. It often stretches into longer periods. During that hour, I create new work. The other time periods are for editing and tweaking.

It isn’t as hard to write as I thought it would be. For whatever reason, I thought it would be hard for me to be creative while a clock was ticking, but I’ve been surprised each time the alarm goes off and the time is up. I’m always eager to get back to it once I reset the alarm.

I’m enjoying writing again, and that is the biggest surprise of all. I’ve written four chapters, edited multiple pages, written six blog articles, critiqued three chapters for my crit group, and created a video for my company. I also studied a book on how to write non-fiction. A productive week, and one whose lessons I look forward to repeating. Thanks to the Row80 crew for putting this idea into practice.

Kayelle Allen is an award-winning, multi-published author. Her heroes and heroines include badass immortals, warriors who purr, and agents who find the unfindable–or hide it forever. She is known for unstoppable heroes, uncompromising love, and unforgettable passion.

Fun New Software for Zip #amwriting

Pro Writing Aid

I’ve been enjoying a new piece of software called Pro Writing Aid. It’s my favorite price: Free. You need at least 200 words for the program to work, but since I’m working on a novel, that isn’t a problem for me.

Click the title under the logo to try it out. It opens in a new window. No worries about your material ending up anywhere else. You can clear the page when you leave, but it doesn’t keep any information if you don’t.

Below is its analysis summary of this article. Click the image to see it full sized.

Click to view in larger size.

Once you paste in your material, click Analyze, and watch the magic happen. This program gives you words that are homynyms, shows you alliteration, sentence length variations, diction issues, sticky sentences (cumbersome or full of phrases), and much more. Each section is shown in its own neat window. Click the tab sections on the left to open the page and see the text.

I keep my document open and make changes to it while referring to the website. When I’m satisfied, I copy, clear the old data, paste the new, and analyze again. Sometimes I find things that it notes are not really “issues.” For example, it tags the word “said” as a dialog tag, even if I’m not using it that way in context. I might have written, “She said you were wrong.” That’s not a tag, but the software only catches the word said. It also picks up growled, whispered, and other such words. These can be helpful catches. Just be aware that now and then, it may be taking them out of context.

Nothing beats a good critique partner or beta reader. Mine are worth far more than gold. But in a pinch, this little program is a great help.

Kayelle Allen is an award-winning, multi-published author. Her heroes and heroines include badass immortals, warriors who purr, and agents who find the unfindable–or hide it forever. She is known for unstoppable heroes, uncompromising love, and unforgettable passion.

Rownd Two Throwback Twitter Party #Row80

Retro Turntable.

When I heard this was Rownd Two, I kept looking at that word and wondering what was wrong with it. Finally realized it was not Round but Rownd and that bothered me. I’m one of those writers who has to make things perfect before moving to the next step. Which is why I need the ROW80 program. It helps me move on and stop looking at the step I’m on now. Click here for more on ROW80.

I tend to edit and nitpick rather than create. Well, this afternoon I wrote about three pages of a hot scene because I was able to stop playing with details and just get the words on the page. Knowing I had to commit a solid hour to writing made a huge difference. When the timer went off, I was stunned. I was just getting into it! Can’t wait to get back and finish the scene.

Today’s theme is for the Twitter party is retro. I picked a turntable as my image because I have turned around the way I do things. I am a fairly modern person, so a retro theme idea was not easy for me. I write Science Fiction Romance, and I’m usually the one who tries new software and programs first. My friends come to me to figure out how to make things work. πŸ˜‰

So here’s how to do a ROW80 Twitter party for those of you who want to know! What is a Twitter party? This is where we all stop in to the #ROW80 hashtag all day long and play and party together?sharing news, pictures, music, and merriment. It?s going to be a great time! Come over to Twitter, put in the hashtag, and then visit all the fun sites that feature throwback themes and talk about writing. That’s it. Hard? Nah! Fun? You betcha.

Look for me on Twitter. I’ll be the one in the 70’s glam garb. Try not to get glitter on yourself, okay? πŸ˜‰

Do you need a way to get past writer’s block, or solve a problem? What is it? What’s holding up your writing?

Kayelle Allen is an award-winning, multi-published author. Her heroes and heroines include badass immortals, warriors who purr, and agents who find the unfindable–or hide it forever. She is known for unstoppable heroes, uncompromising love, and unforgettable passion.

Six Paragraph Sunday – Mehfawni

Mehfawni Ruh.
Ambassador Mehfawni Ruh is on Tarth to meet with the Conqueror, Empress Rheyn Destoiya, but first, a little time out for fun. The empress has arranged for her to visit The Chocolate Works, a male strip club. For the backwater Kin princess, this is a whole new experience, and one she’s not altogether sure she’s going to like.
– – –
Dreena leaned toward Mehfawni and gestured her closer. ?The next act? — she yelled over the escalating racket — ?is my favorite.? The place erupted in cheers, applause, whistles and shouts. ?These guys are cousins and the youngest is hotter than a firestorm. His name?s Rooshkah and he?s mine.? She shrugged. ?On nights I can afford him, anyway. Wait?ll you see this guy!? She stood and cheered.
?Ladies? — announced a deep voice from the darkened stage — ?and all the rest of you wild animals out there? — more screams punctuated the words, — ?the Chocolate Works proudly presents: Kin in Captivity!?
Kin dancer
The pounding rhythm of Kin drums rose. No other sound in the world matched their rich bass. Back home, only married males played them in public. The day of his wedding, when her brother Dallon joined their father and other married males in the clan for the ritual performance, she?d wept with pride for him. Here, fists pounded on tables in time with the sacred beat. As if the rumbling booms did not signal a call to the council fires of her family. Or call her to worship the creator, to join her clan in singing the ancient praises; or were a thunder of joy to announce the happy birth of a child. The other Kin delegates, representatives of her people, clapped their hands and laughed. Mehfawni?s ears laid back.
The stage began to lighten, revealing two colossal-sized Kin males dressed in white leather studded with blue beads. They stood with their backs to the audience, a long, thick chain linking their slave collars. They faced each other and then drew apart, revealing a third Kin, this one shorter. Their chains also linked him to them, connecting the three in a loop. The two tallest pulled at their chains, bodies grinding to the thundering drums.
Unable to break the links alone, the two in front teamed up and snapped the chain between them. The third Kin fell to his knees, clutching and tugging at his slave collar, head tossing, unable to free himself.
The two darker-haired males circled him, hips thrusting to the ponderous throb of raw sound. Each went down on one knee with the youngest cousin between them and, one at a time, wound his chains around their fists and freed him. Screams of delight rose in a crescendo of sound.
– – –
From For Women Only
Khyff is a master of pleasure with a tortured soul. Can Mehfawni redeem the man her people destroyed, or will he destroy her for trying?
Warning: this book contains smokin’ hot sex, humor, and angst. This combination has been proven to be addictive. Author assumes no responsibility for the reader’s battery consumption in adult toys while reading this book.
Genre: Erotic Science Fiction Romance, Action Adventure, Multicultural, Interspecies
Loose Id: http://www.loose-id.com/Antonello-Brothers-2-For-Women-Only.aspx
Kindle http://tinyurl.com/fwo-khyff-k
Print http://tinyurl.com/fwo-khyff-p
Barnes & Noble: http://is.gd/forwomenonly_bn
Fictionwise: https://books2read.com/ab-for-her-only
Kayelle Allen is an award-winning, multi-published author. Her heroes and heroines include badass immortals, warriors who purr, and agents who find the unfindable–or hide it forever. She is known for unstoppable heroes, uncompromising love, and unforgettable passion.

With Love, to Spammers #humor

Stop Spam.

Dear Spammers,
Thank you for the many emails you’ve sent me. I’ve become quite adept at spotting them. One trick I particularly like is when all of you decide on a specific topic for the subject line of your emails, and then you all use it the same day. Such as “Notice of Extreme Win.” Nothing grabs my attention like seeing six of these lined up in my inbox, all from different people.

Another favorite — and recent trick — was a flurry of notes that advised me about my “ex” saying bad things about me, or in some cases, that he was posting bad pictures of me. That had me puzzled at first, especially since I’ve been married to the same man for 37 happy years and don’t have an ex. But it helped me spot you!

Then there’s the “Can you tell English is not my first language” message. Topics such as “Plese to be my frend” or the oldie but goodie “strive to use for benfitting of ze chilldren.” I also like the tried but true “this massage no the spam” one.

No Spam

Of course, I’d be remiss if I didn’t thank you for reminding me that I, too, can add an extra inch to my manhood. The fact that I’m female apparently doesn’t make any difference. How nice to know. Recently, you brought to my attention that there is “strength in the extra inch” — so I guess those old commercials about being a “silly milimeter longer” might have been right. And of course, I can always “Watch it grow bigger.”

Thanks, too, for the email subjects that begin “Dearest One” or “Dear Winner” or “Dear Beneficiary.” I look forward to these because they show me how many people out there love me. People I have never even met, but who go out of their way to show me how much they want to get to know me. I appreciate the opportunity to share with you, especially your kind requests for my checking account information, credit card secret number, passwords, and the like. The internet is an amazingly friendly place. People like you make it “oh so special.”

End Spam

Another good thing you’ve provided is the reminder that to get the full benefit of your email, I should open and download attached documents. These have contained items that remind me of the fall of Troy, and that big horse that was left for its residents. Good of you to note in your subject that “this message is verified safe” — which is what I know most of my true friends would put in their subjects to reassure me.

Stop Spam Forever

Lately though I’ve wondered about a few of you. Why do you put ***SPAM*** in the topic of your email? Do you think it will somehow miss the target that I’ve set for it on my mailbox system? I have to say, that isn’t one of your better decisions. Kind of like painting a target on your back and chest. I am disappointed that you’ve gotten that lazy. I’ve been having fun trying to figure out which message is from you and which from real friends. I have noticed though that friends don’t tend to send me emails telling me where to score the best drugs. Some of my friends might ask *me* where to get them — but few will volunteer that info in the open.

Overall, I wanted you to know that I take special pains with your messages, and even have a folder just for you. Nearly all of your messages go directly there. I’ve trained my email program to recognize most of you. For those who are new, take heart. I’m sure I’ll figure you out eventually, and you’ll be routed to my exclusive list of “special emails” or that elite folder I’ve set up for you and your friends. Till then, My Dearest, may your inbox never be empty.

Kayelle Allen is an award-winning, multi-published author. Her heroes and heroines include badass immortals, warriors who purr, and agents who find the unfindable–or hide it forever. She is known for unstoppable heroes, uncompromising love, and unforgettable passion.

1000 Words = 1 Image: Rah and the Sea #hot

Izzorah Loves the Ocean.

– – –

I love this photo. I created ears for him, and that was about all I had to do to make this picture of my feline humanoid Izzorah work.

In an upcoming book, Izzorah (Rah) and his lover marry and go on their honeymoon. In one scene, Luc comes up behind him at the seaside and stands quietly, taking in the beauty of his younger lover as he enjoys the splash of warm water and the cooling waves.

“A thing of beauty is a joy forever,” Keats said. That certainly fits here. Golden, tan, fit, in love with life. Who could not adore a man like that? Luc is certainly smitten.

Kayelle Allen is an award-winning, multi-published author. Her heroes and heroines include badass immortals, warriors who purr, and agents who find the unfindable–or hide it forever. She is known for unstoppable heroes, uncompromising love, and unforgettable passion.

Saint Patrick’s Day Yumminess – Pistachio Cookies!

Shamrock
A quick and easy low sugar recipe for cookies you can use any day of the year, but they’re great for Saint Patrick’s Day.
Pistachio Cookies
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/3 cups baking mix
1 (3 oz.) package instant pistachio pudding mix
1 egg
1 Tbsp sugar
Preparations
Grease cookie sheet.
Preheat oven (350 F)
To Make
Stir the butter into the pudding mix, and add the baking mix a bit at a time.
Beat the egg slightly, and add.
Stir in the sugar.
Roll out on a lightly floured surface. A shamrock-shaped cookie cutter is great for this holiday, if you have one.
Bake 9 minutes, or until lightly golden.
– – –
Cream Cheese Frosting
5 oz pkg cream cheese or Neufchatel cheese
1 T vanilla
1 T honey
Mix ingredients. If desired, add 1-2 drops green food coloring. Spread on cooled cookies.
Kayelle Allen is an award-winning, multi-published author. Her heroes and heroines include badass immortals, warriors who purr, and agents who find the unfindable–or hide it forever. She is known for unstoppable heroes, uncompromising love, and unforgettable passion.

A Little Pet Humor – Woolyboogers

A Woolybooger.

How about a little humor?
– – –
A man goes into a pet store and says he wants something unusual for his wife, who’s been in a bad mood lately.
The owner points toward the back. “I have a new creature called a Woolybooger. You gotta see this.”
The man follows him to the back of the store, and in a small cage sits a blue thing with pincers and one giant eye.
“Man, that’s ugly. What does it do?”
“Watch this.” The owner opens the cage, puts down a stuffed toy, and says, “Woolybooger, that toy.”
The Woolybooger jumps on it, fangs protrude from beneath it, it uses its pincers, and tears the toy to shreds in seconds.
The man claps a hand over his mouth. “Wow! That’s amazing! I’ll take it.”
He gets home, and puts the cage in the middle of the living room, and waits for his wife.
She drives home in terrible traffic, gets a ticket, and can’t find a place to park in the apartment complex. By the time she gets inside, she’s had it. She takes one look at the thing in the cage, and lets out a screech. “What the hell is that?”
The husband grins. “Watch this.” He opens the cage and points to the ottoman. “Woolybooger, that ottoman.”
The creature jumps on it, fangs protrude from it, the pincers go into action, and in seconds, the ottoman is shreds on the floor.
The husband folds his arms. “Well, honey? What do you think?”
“What did you say that ugly thing was?”
“A Woolybooger.”
His wife turns her back, irritated beyond belief. “Woolybooger, my ass.”
Kayelle Allen is an award-winning, multi-published author. Her heroes and heroines include badass immortals, warriors who purr, and agents who find the unfindable–or hide it forever. She is known for unstoppable heroes, uncompromising love, and unforgettable passion.

PayPal, Immortals, Teenagers, and the Election

No Sex.
What do PayPal, immortals, teenagers, and the election have in common? Followed the PayPal censorship controversy much? PayPal is a company that acts as a go-between to protect your identity online. You give this supposedly highly secure financial company your credit card and bank information, and they provide you with a means to purchase safely online. The merchant never has access to your credit card info. This means an entrepreneur who has an idea or product to sell can install some code on his or her website, hook up to PayPal, and sell internationally within minutes. You can take credit cards without having to invest in ultra-secure servers. PayPal takes the risk for you.
They, however, have decided that certain material is now too “high-risk.” The internet commerce giant has decreed it will no longer permit its services to be used to purchase certain types of erotic material. Among the list are books containing BDSM, incest, “pseudo-incest,” “barely legal,” bestiality, and rape.
The definitions of these has been given many times, but for clarity, and in case you’re new to the conflict, “pseudo-incest” covers people who are not related by blood but by marriage (step brothers/sisters of a blended family, stepson/stepmother, etc.), and “barely legal” is someone of legal age to have sex, meaning eighteen and nineteen year-olds. None of this material is new to the world. Oedipus wrote about incest thousands of years ago. The Marquis de Sade wrote about BDSM (bondage, discipline, and sado-masochism — the term actually comes from his name) but PayPal has decreed it will no longer pay for this material. It claims it’s being pressured by credit card companies. The credit card companies have, so far, been mute on the subject.
The “barely legal” material includes May-December love stories. PayPal doesn’t want to pay for these because… well, I have no idea why. Maybe they think people aged eighteen and nineteen aren’t capable of making solid decisions. Odd, that they are old enough to vote and go to war, but we can’t write about them falling in love unless it’s with someone their own age. At what point is the December lover supposedly too old for the May lover? Ten years? Twenty? Fifty? I’m not sure there’s a scale, but imagine how out-of-kilter it might be if the December lover were immortal.
Bestiality – sexual activity between a person and an animal – includes stories (according to PayPal) with were-characters. Shape shifters, werewolves, werebears, were-anything. No petting of the lover’s head while in shifted form; no sex while in animal form, no playful biting or nibbling. Nothing that might cause arousal while referring to the beast within. Pretty much the entire reason to write erotic were-type books and characters is taboo.
The internet giant has not only said it won’t permit you to buy books with these topics, it will also confiscate funds of the booksellers and publishers who provide them. This means even if you don’t write these books, but your publisher provides them, or you sell your books through a bookseller who does, PayPal can confiscate their funds, depriving you of your livelihood. Your recourse? Moving to another publisher or bookseller is about your only choice, because fighting with PayPal over lost revenue could take months, or even years. They are not covered by the FDIC and are not required even to respond to your complaint. Their terms of service say they will reply within 180 days (six months), and at that point, their decision is final. You do not get a phone number to call. You get an email. There is little you can do. If you can’t survive for six months to a year without income, and you depend on getting paid by companies that provide this material, you are out of luck if PayPal follows through on its threat.
Which brings me to the crux of this article. I write about the Sempervians, immortals who manipulate current events to steer humanity towards various outcomes they desire. For example, a Sempervian might cause a fire in a seed warehouse, or cripple a shipping company with bad gas, making it impossible to ship seed on time. A failed corn crop pushes a farmer into buying his next year’s seed on credit instead of with profits. A few years of “bad luck” and failed crops, and he defaults on the loan, losing his farm. A big farming company owned by the Sempervian buys his land on the cheap, makes it part of a conglomerate, and sells corn for less, making a huge profit, and over time, changing the face of agriculture. What does this have to do with censorship and PayPal?
Just Plain No.
Imagine you want to influence an election during a year when ultra-conservatives are on the ticket, up against a liberal. What kinds of things might swing the vote toward the liberals? What do Americans cherish and fear losing? Crops? Books? No. It’s freedom. If a financial institution can decide for us what kinds of books we’re allowed to write, read, and buy, then we are handing over our freedom in exchange for convenient purchases online. At what point does our freedom mean more than convenience and safety? What would make a person get out and vote for someone who is likely to stand up for your freedom? Someone who speaks well and looks good in a suit? Or a controversy that sparks outrage and determination to fight for what you have a legal write to read, write, and buy?
My Sempervians are not unlike the Illuminati. They move in the background, changing small things in the Tarthian Empire, influencing the populace to act in ways that benefit them and achieve their long-term goals. They’re immortal. They have all the time in the world. In America, who is in the background, moving the small things that change our freedoms? Whose goals are achieved by PayPal suddenly taking a stand against specific details in erotic literature that it has (up to now) turned a blind eye to? Where is America headed, and to what end? PayPal, immortals, teenagers, and the election — they may have more in common than meets the eye.
What do you think will happen next in this controversy? Who is the enemy, and who is on your side?
Kayelle Allen is an award-winning, multi-published author. Her heroes and heroines include badass immortals, warriors who purr, and agents who find the unfindable–or hide it forever. She is known for unstoppable heroes, uncompromising love, and unforgettable passion.

Mind Maps or Why I am Not a Pantser

A Mind Map of my Work in Progress.

I’ve discovered (the hard way) that unless I have a solid plot my book ideas fizzle. I am not a pantser. I recently got a program called Freemind that is “mind map” software. You start with a central idea, and keep clicking to create new “bubbles” or trains of thought, writing down a bit to capture the idea and then moving to the next point. I’m not an “outliney” kind of person either, so making one never worked for me. But for some reason, this program helps me capture my racing thoughts fast enough that I can get them down before they’re gone. When I get an idea it springs whole into my head and I can’t put it on paper fast enough.


Click either image in this post to see them in a larger size.

My character Alitus Vivaldi started as a walk on part because I needed someone to deliver a bit of news to the Empress in her big scene. I kept calling him “her assistant” and after about six times, I realized I needed to name him. The moment I had his name I had all of him. His backstory, his life, his goals, everything. He ended up getting his own book and being a major player in my overall series of trilogies that link together. When things like that happen, it’s hard to record it all. This program has been a real blessing to me. Five years ago I might not have been ready for it, but now, I can’t imagine how I’d get through a plot without it. It’s literally saved me hundreds of frustrating hours of work. My current wip is in its sixth rewrite, and I think this will be its last because of the program. It’s Java based, and it’s produced by Sourceforge, which made Audacity.
One leg of the above mind map.

I used Freemind to come up with ideas for a non-fiction book I’m doing on how to write dialogue. Once I saw the possibilities, I started a mind map for my wip and within days, had mapped out the entire thing, solving my dilemma over the ending and plot problems. My editor had sent me some good info which helped, and between the two, it made a big difference. I attached a print of the dialogue thing, showing just one leg of the basic “topic” mind map. When you open the whole thing, it’s so huge you have to move it around the screen to see it all. I’m doing one for each aspect of the book, and then will work on putting down the details. This program exports as jpg, png, flash, html, java, pdf, open office, and more. I can export it as open office, then save it as rtf, and open it in Word as an outline. I’m amazed that I can write this way. I’d never have thought of doing it but came across the idea in a book I was reading and decided to Google mind map software and see what I could find. This one was free so I figured what the heck. I’ll give it a go. I’m quite visual — I’m stimulated by visual images and inspired by pictures, so this turns out to be ideal for me.
Once I start with a solid idea of where I’m going, and a purpose to accomplish, the random ideas seem to flow better. A mind map seems to be just what I need.

Want to try the product? Go here to download it. Let me know what you think! http://freemind.sourceforge.net

Kayelle Allen is an award-winning, multi-published author. Her heroes and heroines include badass immortals, warriors who purr, and agents who find the unfindable–or hide it forever. She is known for unstoppable heroes, uncompromising love, and unforgettable passion.