Category Archives: Writing

Day Job: The Daily Grind

RWW bannerDay Job is today’s Romance Weekly topic is by Jeanne McDonald – Outside of writing, what is your day job?  Give interesting facts about the job. What inspired you to take on this job and would you ever consider giving it to one of your characters?

spreadsheetMy daily day job grind boils down to being a bookkeeper, purchasing clerk and secretary at clerk pay.  I process close to $200,000 in orders which equates to about 300 requisitions a year. In addition, I track those funds, along with being a secretary to three supervisors. Recently, I inherited repairs and now coordinate with vendors to retrieve said items,  then initiate purchase requisitions to cover and  receipt for payment.

These duties have led me learn more advance aspects of Excel, Word, Adobe Pro and even Photoshop, which in turn has helped me as an author.  I run my own website through WordPress, created the headers for it and my other social media sites.

My current day job is much more rewarding than my previous accounts receivable and collections position. ackAAACK!!! Still, I don’t find writing about a secretary  interesting.  After working in an office all day, the last thing I want to do is spend nights describing a character living a cube existence. I enjoy writing about characters with interesting professions outside of the corporate world.

U.S. Army 1st Sgt. Brian Zamiska, with Delta Company, 3rd Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, provides security with an Air Force military working dog during a patrol with members of the Afghan Border Police in the Tera Zeyi district, Afghanistan, Jan. 6, 2013. (DoD photo by Spc. Alex Kirk Amen, U.S. Army/Released)
U.S. Army 1st Sgt. Brian Zamiska, with Delta Company, 3rd Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, provides security with an Air Force military working dog during a patrol with members of the Afghan Border Police in the Tera Zeyi district, Afghanistan, Jan. 6, 2013. (DoD photo by Spc. Alex Kirk Amen, U.S. Army/Released)

After the day job, I’m a homemaker.  Luckily,  hubs like to grill and he’s off in the summer so I don’t have to cook every night. My son, who is twenty now, even takes a turn cooking his Tex-Mex specialties.

Roanoke Marshes Lighthouse
Roanoke Marshes Lighthouse

Crafty is more my forte. I carved our family’s coat of arms in wood when I was in high school. A few years ago, I built an entertainment center for our den and my son’s room. Granted, they don’t have fancy routed edges, but I designed, cut and assembled them and they hold big screen TVs and video systems. My favorite hobby besides writing is photography.  Most of the pictures on my site are mine. Wish I had more time to roam and take more…

Hope you’ve already visited Tessa Gray. After me is Meggan Connors. Hop on over to and see how her days are filled beyond being an author.

 

Romance Weekly – Flash Fiction Spooky

RomanceWeeklyIf you arrived here via Mikki Cober you know it’s Halloween Flash Fiction week for the Romance Writers Weekly crew! This week we celebrate All Hallows Eve with spooky tales of 300 words or less. Mine is a spin off from my story, White Doe, and comes in at 299 words.

Eva glimpsed at her pirate wench’s image in the bar mirror as she loaded drinks onto her tray. She’d taken great pains to create a sexy costume for Halloween. The Raven was already crowded as she headed to a group of tables by the surfside windows.

By right of occupation they belonged to the Pirate’s bike gang. Menacing tattoos, midnight races on the beach road and rumors of being shapeshifters gave the Outer Banks MC their reputation.

“Nice costume,” Cheyenne said, looking lovely as a Native American princess, and wife to, Shane, who gave her a slight wink with those mysterious golden eyes.

“Thanks.” Her gaze wandered in search of Shiloh.

“He’ll be here later,” Shane offered. “He had a late delivery at the marina.”

More members arrived dressed in their cuts, sporting a skull and crossbones with eye patch. After fetching another round for the bikers, she stepped outside for some air. A cool breeze kissed her heated cheeks as she climbed over the dune. The inky black Atlantic kissed the star studded sky while a crescent moon hung halfway to zenith.

OnceAndFurtureLaura/cropped and eyes colored
OnceAndFurtureLaura – Flickr

A sensation of being watched forced her to turn toward the dunes. Luminescent yet sensual eyes glowed in the distance. Intrigued, she remained still as the green orbs grew near. A quick flash of headlights cast beams against their owner. A red wolf vanished into the dark.

With a sigh of regret, she returned inside. As she retrieved her drink order, the hairs at the back of her neck prickled.

“How about one for me, sweetheart?” His southern drawl skittered along her skin like a caress. If sex had a tone, Shiloh held perfect pitch.

His tousled auburn hair framed his enchanting jade eyes…the same eyes…as the red wolf.

Dear God, she’d fallen for a shifter!

Hope you enjoyed Eva’s revelation and will hop on over to Jo Richardson‘s spooky tale.