Guest Blogger - Lori Green and Contest

Okay I swear Lori wrote this blog about me! ;) Lori is offering a copy of her book to a commenter who comes up with the best excuse...so lets hear them!

I Meant To Write But…

I meant to write but there was a fascinating conversation on Twitter I just couldn’t tear myself away from.

I meant to write but those damned zombies kept invading and my hands were tied.

I meant to write but I had to clean bake brownies and have a nap.

I meant to write but there just weren’t enough hours in the day.

Any of those excuses sound familiar? I can claim them all along with the housework/laundry excuse, the pick kids up from school excuse and in my household, the omg! we’re out of chocolate excuse.

Writing is hard work sometimes and making the choice to write rather than nap or watch television or read someone else’s book is a difficult choice to make. It’s even more difficult when you realize that all the choices are important and in many ways can make you a better writer.

Let’s face it: having a nap and being well rested is just as important for our physical health as it is for our mental health. And writers who don’t read (in my opinion) are not writers I want to read. Reading goes hand in hand with writing. A love for the written word is what we all share both as readers and writers and it’s important to make time to do both.

But you can’t be a writer who doesn’t write. That’s my primary challenge. There are just so many distractions throughout the day including children working and trying to keep the house clean and everyone fed and happy. I can go weeks without writing a word and I challenge myself to just sit down and write.

One of the best things that ever happened for me as a writer was nanowrimo: National Novel Writing Month. Every November writers from all over the world sign into nanowrimo and write one novel in one month.

Nano doesn’t cost anything but time. The time to write 1,667 words every day so that at the end of November you have a 50,000 word novel. There’s no time for excuses, for playing around or for playing around with excuses. Internal editors are banished, outlines are forgotten and all that matters is getting the words typed and the count met.

As a procrastinator and an all-round lazy human, nanowrimo taught me a lot. I enjoyed the process of just getting it done. By the end of November I had made the word goal and had a rough draft of a special novel.

I wrote Sugar B’s Back in Town during Nanowrimo 2009. She got finished a few months later and then edited and finally sold to Lyrical Press. She was unplotted, unplanned and in my eyes unforgettable. Even though I’d written novels before and been published previously, Sugar was the book that showed me what writing was all about.

Writing is about getting it done. Getting the words on the page and meeting the goals of telling the story. No matter if you’re a beginning writer or working on your twentieth book, the goal remains the same. Tell the story. And the story can’t be told unless you plant your butt in a chair and start typing.

Sugar B’s Back in Town is available on Amazon, Lyrical Press and anywhere where ebooks are sold. It’s a story of the redemption of romance for even the coldest of hearts.

***excerpt***


I was on the screen of the laptop, an erect penis in my mouth and I was giving what looked like a very enthusiastic blow job. My mind immediately categorized the movie as Christmas Ho Ho Ho’s, something I’d done about three years earlier. I’d been sober then and the movie had been shot in a two week shoot in Northern California. We’d even gone into San Francisco for a cast dinner, as I remembered.

Carlos threw the laptop to the floor. It didn’t dramatically break into a million pieces or even make a booming sound. It was drama on the small scale.

But the bar was silent. And from the second computer were people were gathered came the soundtrack of something similar.

I took a few steps forward and people stepped away. It was like a bad dream of slow motion proportions. I saw the horrified faces of the Aunties and I heard Holly crying. Nacho was standing by the open laptop and was watching me with a nonchalance that brought tears to my eyes.

“There’s another story for you.” My voice was trembling.

“I heard a rumor,” he said.

“It’s no rumor, it’s the truth.” I blinked rapidly, trying to clear my sight. “I believe that one was called My Rear of Living Dangerously.”

The ground softened under my feet and my legs wobbled. I was ready to fall through the world and it took effort to remain upright.

On screen I was getting fucked. There was no sweet love being made, no romance or care. I was spread wide and everything I had was on display and in close-up view. Rod Ranger was the gentleman boning me on screen. Rod had been a nice guy who liked to make childish farting sounds while fucking. It lightened the atmosphere.

Nobody spoke and I forced my legs to keep working. I walked step by step to where the computer was and with the effort and will of holding the world aloft, I snapped the lid down.
“I used to fuck for a living,” I said. “Now I sell pies.”

I started to shake and strong arms came around me and held me up. I turned my head, so grateful to feel Jerusalem’s strength. So happy that he supported me and was showing everyone what I meant to him.

“It’s okay, Sugar, I got you.” Ronny gave me a slight squeeze.

I looked to the bar and saw Jerusalem standing. He was still and when our eyes met, he looked away.

“Get me out of here,” I said to Ronny and he did.