First Round of Edits

Just last week, I heard from me editor with my first round of edits on my upcoming release.
Holy hamburgers Batman! I can't remember the last time I saw that much red ink.
Clearly I have a lot to re-learn about grammar and punctuation. Thank god for spell-check; I shudder to think what my submission would have looked like without it.

I'm going to have to set up two monitors for my computer. I need one for my editor's suggestions, and one for the original document. I can't get a clear enough view when I try to use them both on the same screen. I don't expect that dual screen work will prove all that difficult once I get the hang of it; but initially it may prove awkward. Only time will tell.

I laughed when she told me that if there were any suggested changes that I did not wish to make, to let her know and she would make them for me. Too funny. Guess that shows me who is boss. I will let her win this time. But I expect that in the future we may clash over changes. For now, I shall bow to her better judgement.

And now, I'm off to fix my story and try to figure out what it is that I keep doing wrong. Might as well try to learn from my mistakes to reduce editing time later on.

Attraction: What Causes it?

This morning I am thinking about attraction and wondering what really causes it. A couple of recent events are playing over and over in my mind and have got me thinking.

Some background information is needed here. First I am not a young woman. (Well I am in my head.) I am just days shy of turning 49. Second, I am not the model type. I have a few extra pounds to lose and while I am working on it, there is a ways to go. Third, I am not stunningly beautiful. (Well, except in my head.) But I am considered cute and some have even said good looking. Okay, so now that we have established those facts, on with the rant.

A few days ago, a friend and I went for lunch. We had a fabulous time and shared a lot of laughter as we usually do. (We bring happiness where ever we go. Sometimes by being there; more often after we are gone. LOL) Our waiter was a male. I would guess early thirties. He really seemed to be enjoying our antics. The same cannot be said of the group of straight-laced women a few tables over, but that’s another story. He laughed and joked and teased with us and made constant eye contact with me. Now, where I’m from, that indicates interest or at least a bit of flirting. Long story short, when we left, he gave me his phone number. Wow. Now this guy was cute. Damned cute, but in my mind waaay to young for me. Still it was flattering. This was the first event that started me wondering about attraction.

A few days later, I hit the mall, it was waxing day. Let’s not even discuss the waxing process. Holy Ouch! I arrived early and had half an hour or so to wait. I am not a shopper, so I grabbed a coffee and settled myself down on one of those nice comphy couches for some people watching. I had only been there a few minutes when this young fella asked if he could sit beside me. Although there were other empty chairs I agreed knowing that sometimes you just want to look a certain direction. So he sits down and introduces himself as Bill and immediately launches into a conversation. We chatted a while about nothing, all the while I am wondering if he is just the chatty sort or what. Before long I had to leave and when I stood up to go, he asked if he could buy me dinner later. Yikes! A twenty something wanting to buy me dinner? I declined as gracefully as I could and moved on.

 
So, is it the cougar thing? Are you a cougar if they stalk you? Damned if I know.

So time marches on … I am standing in line at Starbucks. (I am a Tim’s Girl, but was getting something for the spawn.) The gentleman comes in and stands behind me and as we wait, he strikes up a conversation with me. Okay so this seems more reasonable. He looks about 50-55 ish. Much more my age and in my comfort zone. It takes a while to move to the front of the line, as it always does in these places, and we chat about things in general. Before long he is offering to buy my coffee. I was tempted to skip the visit with my daughter and spend some time with him. He was average looking but had the sweetest smile and laughing eyes. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not interested in cheating on my husband, but it is nice to be the center of a man’s attention. In the end, I declined once again and went to visit with the kid.

So now, in less than a week, I have had three men express interest in me and I am curious what sparked that interest. I have a few theories.

First, for the younger fellas, I’m going with the cougar theme. Makes sense to me. Second, for the fella who was my age, general friendliness on both our parts and perhaps some common interests.

Third, could it be sex appeal? Do I have it? I’ve been told yes. I have a friend (more than one actually. LOL) Sheila (not her real name) is one of those friends you only see every few months, but fall back into the friendship as if you were never apart. We haven’t seen each other for almost two years as we’ve both been crazy busy. Sure we talked on the phone, but no face to face meetings. Anyway, a few weeks ago she told me that something about me had changed. When I asked her what, she said I ooze sensuality and sexual confidence. I do??? Holy Hell Batman! Who knew? Certainly not me!

Okay, so all my life, I have lacked self-confidence. Deep inside I have known that I was a valuable person and that I was moderately attractive. Although I have to admit, that I never quite felt I measured up. It didn’t bother me; it is just how I felt.

Now my husband plays sports and I like to go watch him play. (Sharing your spouse’s interests is good for the marriage!) So over the last couple of years, I have attended as many games as possible and that makes me rather an oddity. Most of the wives never watch, and a few watch occasionally. Initially, the guys were wary and stayed away from me. Now, to a man they all greet me and spend a few minutes chatting me up. Damned good for the ego! One of them mentioned that it was “smoking hot” that I spent so much time watching my man. I laughed at the time, but it got me thinking. (I think a lot, but rarely ever reach a conclusion.)

So as time progressed and I talked to the boys, my self-confidence grew and I began to feel better about myself. Don’t get me wrong, I never felt bad, but I started feeling better.  I think this is part of what gave me the sexual self-confidence. I visited with a male-friend recently and he mentioned the change as well and told me that to a man, self-confidence and sensuality trump a hot body every time. It’s all about the mind being into it, not how a person looks. This was one of those you had to be there moments, because in no way did it seem like he was insulting my body, and strangely it wasn’t like he was hitting on me. Ours is not that type of friendship. Just friends, no benefits!

 So there you have it, a long rambling post with no real point, except to say that sexual self-confidence turns guys on. Oh, and I have it! LOL!

Research: A Visit to an Adult Chat Room

While I haven't been blogging here for very long, some of you may have realized that I have a naughty streak. That would explain why I write erotica. LOL.

Lately I've been a bit stuck for inspiration. I am not worried about it, it is simply how it goes when you are a writer. Ideas come and go, some of them are even good. Some of them are great. Some are a little suspect. Other times, the ideas don't come at all. I believe this is all part of the writing process.

When I have ideas, good or bad, I write them down in my idea file. That way when I am stuck for inspiration, I have a place to go search for something to jump-start the creative process. On occasion I read those ideas and wonder what the hell I was thinking, other times they provide the inspiration I was seeking.

Now, for my current project, I was looking for some inspiration, and found myself on an adult chat site. Holy hand-grenades Batman! There are some real strange people out there! I have spent literally hours on this site talking with folks of all types. Some are fascinating, some not so much. Generally, on this specific site, men outnumber the women about six to one. On occasion the ratio is higher. Friday night, it was sixteen to one and I was the one which made me very popular. I won't deny it is good for the ego.

So here I am, poor little innocent Katie, on an adult chat site, chatting with sixteen guys, all of us discussing sex. Mm mm mmm. It was a riot. It was educational. I laughed a lot and I learned a lot. You can chat 'publicly' here or share private messages with the different members. In private chats I have learned about everything from turn ons, to being a service provider to fetish play.

I tell all the guys and dolls who are chatting that I am married, don't mess around and am just there for fun. They accept that and respect my boundaries. They seem to accept just about everything.

In public chat, the conversation occasionally gets out of hand. When it does a moderator steps in and reprimands people and things go back to 'normal.' While all the talk of sex and sports is fascinating, what I really find intriguing is the gallantry of the men there. Don't get me wrong here, I expect things to be rude, crude and waaaaaay over the top. It is an adult/sex chat site and I am not easily offended. If I was, I surely wouldn't be there. When things have gotten particularly rude, I have had the moderator pm (private message) me and tell me that if the guys are bothering me or are too out of hand to let him know and he will step in.Several men have sent me pms offering to defend my honor. Guys have spoke out in the public chat suggesting that things be scaled back while the ladies are present. And I thought that chivalry was dead. Apparently not! (And why would I want things scaled back on my behalf, that would take the fun out of it.) I do thank those gallant gentlemen for sticking up for me.

Now, you have to realize that all my writing is fiction. It does not come from events in my life or from people I know. But I can see where the stories I hear in chat could be an inspiration. Everyone there has a 'handle', so it is all anonymous, so privacy is protected, even as their stories jump start my creativity. So if any of my chat friends should stumble upon this blog or my stories, know that I am grateful for your inspiration and that your identity is safe with me. Oh wait, I don't actually know who you are, so you are more than safe.

All in all, it is great fun and listening to the stories provides me with a lot of inspiration and occasionally an eduction.

Hugs
Katie.