Tales of the Scrimshaw Doll Archives

Today I blogged at the Scrimshaw Doll site. You can read Life Outside the Book here, and please, leave a comment. Blog posts get pretty lonely without comments. No comments make the blogger feel as if no one liked what they had to say.

I have to conjure up a good amount of patience to post on WordPress. For sure, it challenges me! I agree with most of you–Wordpress blogs look wonderful, very professional, but give me simple any day of the week. Maybe I’m just used to my home here. I can breeze right through arranging my posts with pics and urls. Days later, if I spot a typo or want to rearrange a sentence, cut or add, I can do it over and over with no problems. I have no idea how that affects people who automatically get my posts in their emailbox. (Anyone out there?) Do they get multiple copies? The first with errors?

I have friends who have moved their blogging home to WordPress. That seems like desertion to me. Guess I’m too sentimental.

If you’ve started over with your blogging after failed attempts or … just because … tell us about it. Why does one choose WordPress over Blogger? Why does one leave one or the other after years of blogging to start anew?

I’ve been doing line edits on my novella. Not fun while feeling miserable. I don’t get sick often but when I do … it’s usually a whopper. I’m on the mend though so thanks for good thoughts coming my way.

About the line edits … It’s frightening to realize how much I don’t know about POV, showing and telling, and overwriting. The most subtle observation/thought/action on the part of a character can be a point of view violation. If I dwell on these things I don’t know, I’ll find myself in the middle of writer’s block quicksand—sinking fast. Instead, I’m trying to marvel at how much stronger my story becomes when I edit, choose stronger verbs, cut unnecessary words and repair those POV problems. And I’m trying to learn. Odd that I can catch these problems in other people’s manuscripts but not mine. Why is that?

I love my story. I love my characters. Is that wrong to say? Probably, but I’m a little impressed with myself for ‘thinking up’ such a story. For so long I’ve felt creatively dead. I felt like I really stretched my brain.

My novella is called The Last Daughter and is part of the Scrimshaw Doll series by Oklahoma Romance Writers. It’s a romantic suspense and should be out later this year. Here’s an unofficial blurb:

Given away as a child, Rayna Guilbeau grew up with questions—questions about her real family and questions about how she ended up in Louisiana with a disfiguring heart branded on her chest. When she sees a sale ad for a house in Oklahoma City called Wounded Heart, she feels an instant connection. Somehow, the house holds the key to her mysterious past.

Trent Jones, an easy-going picker who’s always looking to make a few bucks, is the new owner of Wounded Heart, a three-story house filled with antiques and mystery. When an intriguing young woman shows up on his property at midnight, claiming she was born there, he knows his life is about to change.

A mysterious trash man, a gunshot through a bedroom window, and a cursed doll named Tiva spark an emotional journey into danger. Together, Trent and Rayna find answers, family, and unwavering love.

You can get to know some of my characters by following The Schrimshaw Doll blog. I contributed my second post today. You can check out both posts by clicking on the following links. Would love for you to leave a comment!

Rayna Finds Her Mother: Now What?

Cursed Dolls Don’t Weep–Or Do They?

Blogger or Worpress?

Do You Know What You Don’t Know?