Sandra Wickham's Bits and Writes

Mexicats and Mexikitties (must love cats)

2012-01-03T09:59:00.001-08:00

I really have to get back to blogging so I thought I'd kick off 2012 with pictures of kittens to melt your hearts. If it doesn't melt your heart, you need to get that checked.

Before leaving on our trip to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, we arranged to visit a cat shelter there called the Purr Project. One of their volunteers, David, goes out once a week to visit the cats and agreed to take us on the twenty-five minute drive to the shelter. Once there, we were immediately mobbed by friendly kittens! They have two hundred cats at this shelter which runs on donations and they do their best to get as many cats adopted out to good homes as they can. They have a vet clinic on site to make sure no more little kitties are being born and to look after any sick animals. It's a really great organization and we're so glad we were able to spend some time with these adorable cats. We took them a bag of crochet blankets I made, some toys and some treats. Here's some photos from our visit.

David who drove us out and gave us a tour of the shelter:

Ross and a little kitten that couldn't get enough attention:

Ross set his backpack on a chair and this little guy really wanted to come back with us!

We didn't find out this one's name, but stuck out his tongue when you pet him and he loved to give head butts.

Treat time!!! (I should've brought a bigger bag!)

One of the blankets I made:

A few potraits of the Purr Project residents waiting for a good home:

How's that heart holding up? Go hug your pets, or better yet, visit a local shelter asap!

Dan Wells Interview

2011-12-19T14:08:00.001-08:00

My interview with Dan Wells is up on Adventures in Sci Fi Publishing! Dan is the author of the three part series, I Am Not A Serial Killer, Mr Monster and I Don't Want to Kill You. He also has a YA novel called Partials coming out next year, an ebook called A Night of Blacker Darkness and another book coming out next July called The Hollow City.

I'm a big fan of Dan's work so I was thrilled when Shaun agreed to let me interview him for the podcast. It's probably redundant to say I highly recommend his books, but listen to the podcast and I know you'll want to check out Dan's books for yourself!

You can hear the podcast on the AISFP website HERE or download it from itunes.

Purple Knitted Caps Campaign

2011-10-17T10:42:00.001-07:00

My Creative Geeks took on yet another charity project, this time for the PURPLE Program, to Prevent Shaken Baby Syndrome via BC Children's hospital. The program supplies new parents with knitted (and crocheted!) purple baby hats to raise awareness of Shaken Baby Syndrome, providing "edicuational information about the properties of normal infant crying and appropriate action steps that caregivers need to know. Inconsolable infant crying is the number one trigger that precedes a shaking event."

So, I recruited my Mom as well, we got ourselves some purple yarn and started making baby hats. My mom ended up making TWELVE, while I came in at a mere eight. It was a lot of fun to try new patterns and great to know it was for a good cause.

There is still time to make hats and hand them in! For more information on the PURPLE Program, visit Dontshake.ca

Sound Bites Podcast Interview with Mark Teppo

2011-10-14T11:53:00.001-07:00

My Sound Bites podcast interview with author Mark Teppo is live at Bitten By Books! Stop by, listen to the podcast episode and leave comments to win copies of Mark's Codex of Souls books, Lightbreaker and Heartland. There are three sets to be won! Thanks for your support, I hope you enjoy the podcast and be sure to check out Mark's books!

Bitten by Books » Author Mark Teppo Sound Bites Podcast and Contest LIVE Here!

RSVP at Bitten By Books

2011-10-13T17:43:00.000-07:00

My Sound Bites interview with Mark Teppo will be airing tomorrow, October 14th. If you head on over to Bitten By Books today and RSVP, you'll get entries to win Mark's books! Here's the info from Bitten By Books and you can RSVP HERE.

Join us on 10/14 with author Mark Teppo for a Sound Bites Podcast, chat and contest. This event post goes up at noon Central and runs into the evening. Mark will start answering questions around 12:00 pm Central Daylight Time. For those visiting from outside of the US, here is the time conversion link. We are in the Chicago time zone: http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/

He will be talking about his books and other things.

CONTEST INFO: Open to readers in the US.

Prizes: 3 sets of the Codex of Souls series includes Lightbreaker and Heartland

RSVP and get 25 entries to the prize portion of the contest when you show up on the day of the event. If you don’t show up and mention your RSVP AND ask a question, your points won’t be entered into the contest.

Cross Post: A Year in the Inkpunks

2011-10-11T14:18:00.000-07:00

To help with my goal of blogging three times a week, I'm totally cheating and posting my Inkpunks blog entry I posted today. Stop on by INKPUNKS.COM anytime, there are ten of us emerging authors, editors and artists that blog together. We have two blog posts a week about all aspects of writing, from creation to publication and all things inbetween, as well as some fantastic guest blog posts. Today was my turn, and here's my entry:

It’s been a year since I proposed the idea for this blog and the Inkpunks were formed. A whole year and while the time has flown by, we also can’t believe how much has happened for all us within that year.

We thought we’d take some time to reflect back on the year with the Inkpunks. The most obvious change is that we’ve grown and we’re now at ten members, but that’s not all. We’ve also grown an astounding amount in publishing, editing and slush reading credits, we have increased our readership, have had people asking us if they could guest blog (crazy, right?) and most of all we’ve grown as a group dynamic and as individuals. It’s amazing what can be accomplished by the uplifting force of positive, encouraging people come together to support each other and the writing community. I have learned so much from my Inkpunks, not just about the writing world, but about life in general, that I feel blessed to know each and every one of them.

In the last year, I’ve sold two stories, polished and queried a novel and written another one. Throughout the process, the Inkpunks have been there, to bounce ideas off of, to give critiques and most of all to provide encouragement along the way.

I attended so many great conferences and conventions over the past year, all of them highlights for different reasons, too many to go into in this blog post. I’ve gotten to be on panels at World Horror, World Fantasy and VCon, which I love. The absolute best part was this year I DID get to meet every single Inkpunk in person and give them real hugs instead of virtual ones. Every Inpunk is now the proud (or embarrassed) owners of a handmade scarf from me. I decided to make scarves to match their personalities because we’re all so unique and I love that about us.

Speaking of personalities, I split mine into two. I took my sandrawickham.com website and devoted it to writing and started a new one at sandrawickhamfitness.com that deals with my fitness career. I take this as a good sign, that I have enough going on with both that I needed two websites.

What else? This past year I’ve joined the Functional Nerds as the Fitness Nerd columnist, along with several other Inkpunks who also double as Functional Nerds. I started a podcast series for Bitten By Books where I interview my favourite urban fantasy authors and I’ve been interviewed myself for several podcasts. I’ve also become a slush reader for Lightspeed Magazine.

Another thing I’m proud of is that I’ve stuck with martial arts training. Last year at this time I would’ve been a gold belt, and now I’ve just promoted to my high purple belt. It’s helped me in my writing, I’ve sat on panels about writing about fighting and I can’t wait to keep moving up the ranks.

It truly has been a great year. I know I am probably forgetting things to highlight (we had TWO Inkpunk weddings this year!) but that’s the great thing about having a group behind you, whatever I’ve forgotten, someone else will be sure to point out in their post.

I keep a picture on my fridge that a friend’s daughter, Stephanie coloured. I keep it because it strikes me as an excellent example of how to live life every time I see it. At the top of the picture of a kitten, it clearly states, “Color all the spaces with a C gray. Color all the spaces with a c pink.” Stephanie has proceeded to colour the kitten with all the colours of the rainbow, blue, purple, red, orange, green and I love it. I think the kitten looks much more original, interesting and happy for its multi-coloured fur. That’s also how I think of the Inkpunks. Without them being such a big part of my life, I probably would still be colouring the proper sections with gray and pink. My Inkpunks make me want to colour with blue, purple, red, orange and green, in my writing and in my life and I know I’m a better person for it.

Thanks to the Inkpunks and all of those who support us. We look forward to another great year.

Friday Five - Oct 7th, 2011

2011-10-07T11:09:00.001-07:00

Last week's Friday Five was fun, so I'm going to do it again. This is also kind of like the flash round I do at the end of my Sound Bites podcast episodes for Bitten By Books. Always a lot of fun and informative!

1. Coffee or tea?

2. Morning person or night person?

3. Favourite TV show when you were a kid. A teenager/twenty something? Now? (ok, that's kind of more than one question)

4. What movie did you see when you were young, before you should have? (content or fear factor)

5. Weirdest thing sitting on your desk? (or around it)

My Answers:

1. Coffee or tea?
Tea!
2. Morning person or night person?
I used to be a morning person, till I turned into a Vampire, I guess. Now I seem to be a night person.

3. Favourite TV show when you were a kid. A teenager/twenty something? Now? (ok, that's kind of more than one question)

Ack, why do I ask these tough questions? I really should think about having to answer them when I write them down..When I was little I really liked normal kid shows but I think Mr Dressup was my favourite. Let's see, I watched Xena, young hercules (yeah, I did), then later, Friends, and for some reason in university we watched the Price is Right a lot. Now, I am into the Amazing Race, Law and Order SVU, the Deadliest Catch, Supernatural, Fringe..wow. I watch too much TV. I'm also catching up on shows I missed because I either didn't get the channels or I was too busy partying and travelling. (ahem)

4. What movie did you see when you were young, before you should have? (content or fear factor)
WATERSHIP DOWN! I'm still traumatized. I don't want to say how old I was because that will hint my age, but, I saw it in the THEATER on the huge screen when I was just a wee one. Had nightmares forEVER. Watched it again several years ago, it still creeps me out.

5. Weirdest thing sitting on your desk? (or around it)
Hunh. What a weird question to ask. :P Might be the spray bottle I have for shooting at boy cat when he scratches my writing chair.

Why Write Short Stories?

2011-10-05T11:59:00.000-07:00

At the 2011 World Horror Convention, I went to a panel called Why We Write Short Stories. I consider myself more of a "novelist" even though I've sold short stories and haven't sold a novel yet. Author Guest of Honour, Joe Hill was on this panel as well as some other great short story writers. This was an interesting panel for me, and I thought I'd share what I learned there with you.

Suzanne Church, a Canadian author said it was a way for her to build a brand and said, "I want people to know my name." This has been true for me. Being published in Evolve and Evolve 2 has led to many opportunities to do appearances, signings and readings, that I wouldn't have yet if I'd only be focused on writing my novels. I now can call myself a published author! (I'm still working on the novelist part)

Brad Sinor said short stories are a great way to teach ourselves about making a deadline. He also said the longest distance for a writer is from the brain to the page, which I thought was a fantastic line. Just get it down, he told us. He also told us that Roger Zelazny would always write a short story about his main character to get to know them. I think that's a great reason to write a short story, to improve your novel!

Joe Hill said for him, the short story form is the "great classroom." He told us he spent three years writing an epic fantasy that didn't sell, and then wrote short stories because he needed to learn the skills of writing (dialogue, etc) faster. If you haven't read Joe Hill's short stories I highly recommend them. They are incredible.

Do you have your own reasons for writing short stories?

Vamping at VCon

2011-10-03T14:22:00.000-07:00

I'm really tired, which is a good sign that I had a great time this past weekend at VCon 36! I got to dress up as a vampire for the Book Launch to read from Evolve, I sat on six panels, spent time talking to some great authors and enjoyed a few (ahem) drinks with friends. Larry Niven was this year's author Guest of Honour and I got to be on two panels with him. To say that was crazy is an understatement. I can't wait to brag about it to my oldest brother, Wes. ;)

Here's some quick highlights and pictures. (I never take enough pictures!)

I am so glad I had the opportunity to attend and be on a panel with Phoebe Kitanidis, pronounced "kitten eat us." What? Don't give me that look, that's what she told us. Pheobe is the author of the YA novel Whisper. She's simply fabulous! I can't wait to read her book and I'm hoping to run into her at some cons in the future. You can learn more about her here: Phoebe Kitanidis and follow her on twitter here: @phoebekitanidis.

I got to chat with some awesome authors like Rhea Rose, Mary Choo, Linda Demeulemeester (still can't pronounce her name), Casey Wolf, Donna McMahon, Lynda Williams, and Eileen Kernaghan as well as EDGE publishers Brian and Anita Hades and Ian Alexander Martin from Atomic Fez. I also got to hang out and have a few drinks with Joseph Picard who I met last year at VCon and we've continued to stay in touch online. Joe is a writer and all around hilarious dude. You can find his books and other shannanigens, here at Ozero.ca. You have to check out "Ozero versus The Ninjas," which he describes as "The epic tale of a guy stuck in a wheelchair (me), and one of many struggles against the ninjas which attack me frequently, and how my wife refuses to believe."

The book launch was fun, we got to hear a lot of great authors and I took full advantage of the occassion to dress up in my new vampire costume. Unfortunately, I didn't think to get a full shot of the whole costume!!

With my friends and writing partners, Leanne (also in Evolve2!) and Kristi (also on panels at VCon).

By wonderful coincidence, the Vampire panel I was on was scheduled for after the Book Launch so I stayed in my costume while we went to get a drink at the bar, here's my Inkpunk Erika Holt, all the way from Calgary, and Leanne and Kristi absorbed in conversation.

Here's I am on the vampire panel, I don't know what the heck I'm saying, but I just thought they were funny pics.

Here's Kristi on her VERY first panel at a convention, The Science Flaw! I was like a proud mom. She did a GREAT job and I did notice on both her panels, even the panelists were asking her questions. That's how hard she rocks!

Overall, a great con and I look forward to VCon 37 next year!

Blog Experiment: Friday Five

2011-09-30T11:43:00.000-07:00

To stick with my goal of blogging three times a week, I thought I might occassionally try doing a "Friday Five." Someone used to do this on a forum I belonged to and I always thought it was fun. I ask five random (or themed, if I'm feeling smart) questions and anyone can answer them. Let's see what happens. It's fun and it has a "let's get to know each other feel." I'll start out nice and simple for the first one. ;)

1. What's your favourite time of year and why?

2. Favourite book you've read in the last 6 months?

3. What's your dream vacation spot? (staying home counts)

4. Dragons or dragonslayers?

5. What movie do you most often quote?

My answers:

1. What's your favourite time of year and why?

My answer used to be summer, but now I love fall because of all the great conventions!!

2. Favourite book you've read in the last 6 months?

Ack, why did I ask this one? LOL. I read Kim Harrison's latest, I love all her stuff, but I think I'd have to say Pat Rothfuss, The Wise Man's Fear.

3. What's your dream vacation spot? (staying home counts)

The Cove at the Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas. Went there for a poker tournament, can't wait to go back.

4. Dragons or dragonslayers?

Dragons!!

5. What movie do you most often quote?

The Hangover

VCON 36

2011-09-28T11:50:00.001-07:00

This weekend, September 30th to October 2nd, is VCON, Vancouver's premier science fiction and fantasy convention. I'm excited to be even more involved this year, with six panels, a book launch (for which I will be dressing up as a vampire and reading from Evolve 2!) and an official reading time slot all to myself! I'm on some interesting panels, I'm really looking forward to "Old School Vampires," "Strong in Body, Stronger in Mind," (the fitness for creative people panel I introduced last year), "Food in SF," and "Writing About Fighting."

VCON was the first convention I attended back in 2008 and they happened to have two author guests of honour that year, Kelley Armstrong and Patrick Rothfuss. I learned SO much from both of them and had such a great overall experience at the convention, it sparked my love of conventions where I have met some of my closest friends and writing partners.

If you happen to be in the Vancouver area, come join us! Here's a link to the VCON website. If you are going to be there, come visit me at the book launch on Friday night or stop in for my reading on Saturday! I will be giving out candies and chocolate. That's right. I'm not above giving out bribes to have people come listen to me read, though I might make us all go to the hotel gym after. (kidding!) I promise you a sugar high and lots of laughs. Hope to see you there!

Cat Shelter Trip

2011-09-26T10:59:00.000-07:00

I belong to a fabulous group of people, called the Creative Geeks. We meet up to do crafty projects together and we decided to make cat blankets for Katie's Place cat shelter where one of our Geeks volunteers. A few of us headed out to the shelter with the blankets, donations and strict pacts between us that we wouldn't bring any cats home. No, I didn't bring any home, though I desperately wanted to!

Since I've committed to blogging three times a week, I thought I'd share the day with you. If you're a cat lover, I apologize in advance for the adorable shelter kitten pics. I'll warn you, you're going to want to go rescue them all!!

I made five blankets for this trip, here are the last three. My blanket tester was being a diva and didn't want her picture taken.

All blankets and donations ready to go! My mom gave me some old towels and cat food to take as well, I donated some of our old cats toys that certain cats turn their noses up at, some food and cleaning supplies. :)

Here's Margaret, our Geek connection at the shelter (she volunteers there!), one of the kitties and the organizer of the Creative Geeks, our Borg Queen, Serena.

This is kind of a long shot showing the different rooms for the cats and the set up they have.

I wanted to take pictures of every single cat but my memory card filled up while I was there because it's full of pictures of our cats. Figures. Here's the ones I did get.

This guy I just thought was gorgeous and as soon as I got close, he started purring. A lot of them did that and it makes me want to go back and pet them every day, poor little things.

Cat in a box!!!

One of the volunteers brought out a toy I'd brought and gave it to this little girl. She played with it and immediately claimed it. When I walked away, they were trying to see if she would give it up and she wouldn't!

They're definitely well fed there. This big boy came up to me and flopped right down for a belly rub and wasn't shy about enjoy it!

I

I didn't even find out the name of this guy or girl, but we definitely bonded.

Of all the cats, these were the ones that got to me the most. They have one room that's all cats with FIV (feline Immunodeficiency Virus) and FeLV (feline leukemia virus), meaning they probably don't have long to live. They were the sweetest, cuddliest bunch, who, according to one of the volunteers, always get along without any hissing or fighting.

I sat down and the two of them each took a turn on my lap.

This guy was also super friendly inside. When I went out to the open air room to see the other FIV/FeLV cats, all three of them followed me out and stuck close. When I put my purse down, he curled right up against it. The black cat laid at my feet. If I didn't already have two cats, I wouldn't taken these three home to give them the best possible home for the time they had left.

This girl was out in the open part of the shelter with the volunteers on a big cushy chair. The reason? She has stomach cancer, so she was being spoiled. Margaret told us one person brought her chicken nuggets that day and that a couple of people were bringing her smoked salmon. Sounds like she'll continue to be spoiled until the last possible second.

I'm going to start making new blankets and I'm going to go back out to visit the cats as soon as I can. I hope I'll get to see my FIV and FeLV friends again.

Thanks for sharing this with me and if you get a chance, pop in to your local pet shelter! They always need help, donations and if you can't adopt a pet, they'd love someone to visit them. :)

Blog Challenge Accepted

2011-09-23T09:32:00.000-07:00

I keep falling off the blogging wagon. I did pretty well there for awhile, blogging every time I worked out (I forget who on LJ suggested that, but thanks!) and I was successful with that for a long time. Then I went on some trips and the blog posts just fell away. I've been wanting to get back into it, I've done a few posts lately (have you noticed?!) and then I came across Julie Issac's Online Blog Challenge.

I LOVE A CHALLENGE!!

Julie is an award winning author, Content Creation Coach and the founder of the website WritingSpirit.com. She's on twitter as @WritingSpirit and hosts #WriteChat. The purpose is to make your blog "shine" by posting on a regular schedule for 100 days, beginning today and ending at the end of the year.

Julie tells us: "Blogging is an essential part of your platform. It helps you build an audience and connect with them, be seen as an expert and establish your credibility, test ideas and get feedback, create content that can be repurposed and gain visibility on the web, and above all, promote your books, brand, services, and other products."

From Julie's website:

Why S.H.I.N.E. Online? Because your blog is your home base, it's where people get to know you. In creating an online presence, your blog is your best opportunity to shine online! Every single blog post gives you another opportunity to S.H.I.N.E. To:

        Stand out
        Help
        Inspire
        Navigate
        Engage

I signed up and committed to blogging three times a week for the next 100 days. According to Julie's first blog today, three posts a week will be 42 posts. Forty-two posts! She encourages us to think about applying some structure to our 100 days of posts. I'm still thinking it over, but I think I'd like to try to do one post a week that's a "Tips from the Pros" topic, writing about the things I've learned from conventions, conferences and conversations with Professional authors. The other two times a week? I think I might just let myself be me, since that's what I'm best at, and blog about whatever I want to share that day. There's a mailing list for blog tips, articles and blog challenge updates to keep everyone on track.

So if you're like me and need a kick in the pants when it comes to blogging, why not join me? It's easy. Sign up here: http://blog.writingspirit.com/2011/09/2011-shine-online-blogging-challenge.html

Awesome New Artwork

2011-09-21T09:36:00.000-07:00

I met Angela Melick at VCon several years ago and was immediately impressed with her artwork. I asked if she could do a picture for me, to use for promotional material. During the process, she did several sketches and I had to narrow it down to my favourite, which she would then complete. It was a tough decision, but I finally went with this one. Who doesn't love little baby dragons? I've used it on my website, as an avatar and for my business cards.

Angela is a busy woman and she doesn't usually do commission work, so I knew how lucky I was to get this piece. Knowing how busy she was, I didn't want to bother her, BUT, I really loved the other sketches she did. My second choice was also amazing and wanted it done as well. After some time went by, I contacted her again and begged her to do another one for me. She graciously agreed and I absolutely LOVE the results. I've been holding onto it and have decided it's time to unveil it to the world.

You can find Angela on twitter @angelamelick or at her website. (On a side note, Angela told me that looking at all the pictures I sent her to do the drawing, she started working out and lost weight! I love it when I can inspire people without shoving it down their throats.)

Here it is! This is my awesome new artwork by Angela Melick. Thanks Angela, you're amazing!

Cross Post - A Novel In Ninety Days

2011-09-19T10:39:00.000-07:00

I posted this on my group blog, The Inkpunks and thought I would share it on my blog as well.
When I started my first novel in 2009, I emailed my mentor Diana Rowland and told her I was writing 1000 wds a day and was that enough? I remember her saying, “1000 words is good, but you might want to try for more.” That set me off on a new mission to write 1500 words a day, which often became 2000 words a day.
For my second novel, I started off with the goal of 1500 words a day, six days a week, treating it just like my training schedule when I was a professional fitness competitor. Six days a week, no options, no excuses, followed by a full day to rest and recover. I finished the first draft of that novel at a pretty quick pace, but wasn’t exactly sure how long it had taken.
When it came to writing the first draft of novel number three, I decided to keep track of how long it took. Am I sharing this with you to show off? A little, yes, but I also have unselfish reasons for posting it, the biggest being, if I can do this, ANYONE can do this. I’m no one special. I simply like to set goals and I get pissed off with myself when I don’t meet them, which keeps me driven and determined to reach that daily word count.

Keeping Track of Word Count
Just like in fitness, you need to find what works for you. What motivates you? What keeps you going? I use small rewards like getting to watch episodes of my favourite TV shows after I reach my word count goal. (and no, please don’t use food as a reward!) I have the PYR catalogue prominently displayed in my writing area. I have my mom waiting to read each new chapter of my first draft as I spit it out. I keep in touch with my writing friends who will kick my butt if I slack off and I have a mentor I want to make proud of me. These things keep me focused on churning out the words. It’s crucial that you find out what works for you and put those tools and tactics to use. Worry about future drafts after the first one is done.
Just like in fitness, there is NO quick fix solution. It’s about persistence, dedication and being able to forgive yourself when you slip up and miss a day, rather than spiralling into a funk that prevents you from picking yourself up and getting back at it.
I also remind myself that it’s okay for the first draft to suck, a lesson repeated by Mur Lafferty on her podcast I Should Be Writing that sticks with me. I also keep in mind the adage “you can’t edit what isn’t there.” There are many drafts and many hours of revisions ahead of me, but it’s a complete novel, beginning, middle and end and now I can fix it. Find what it takes for you to get it down and get it done.
Take a look at my ninety days. Take a close look! I wasn’t perfect, I messed up a lot, I had good days, bad days and terrible days, but I got there. You can too!
A Novel in Ninety Days
May 18            Day 1     1500 wds                 -excited
May 19            Day 2     1600 wds              -hopeful
May 20            Day 3    1500 wds
May 21^st         Day 4    0 words                       At competition to run athlete meeting, judge
May 22^nd         Day 5 0 words                       At competition to run athlete meeting, judge
May 23^rd          Day 6 0 words                       At competition to run athlete meeting, judge
May 24^th          Day 7   1500 wds                    -getting back at it
May 25^th          Day 8    1600 wds
May 26^th          Day 9    1100 wds                    -fell a bit short
May 27^th          Day 10 1500 wds
May 28^th          Day 11   2006 wds                    -good day
May 29^th          Day 12 Scheduled Day Off
May 30^th          Day 13   1513 wds
June 1^st            Day 14    1571 wds
June 2^nd           Day 15    2300 wds
June 3^rd            Day 16   1142 wds                    -little off
June 4^th          Day 17   0 words                       At competition to run athlete meeting, judge
June 5^th            Day 18   0 words                       At competition to run athlete meeting, judge
June 6^th            Day 19   1100 wds                    -really struggled
June 7^th            Day 20 650 wds                      -still struggling
June 8^th            Day 21   0 wds                         -Canucks game
June 9^th            Day 22   0 wds                         -Canucks game
June 10^th          Day 23   1500 wds
June 11^th          Day 24    2015 wds
June 12^th          Day 25    1017 wds                    -whoops
June 13^th          Day 26    0 wds                            -Canucks game, also, laziness
June 14^th          Day 27    1586 wds
June 15^th          Day 28    1227 wds
June 16^th          Day 29    1600 wds                    -received rejection on full MS of last novel
June 17^th          Day 30    1019                            -still bummed, not sure where this is going
June 18^th          Day 31     0 wds                          *no explanation written down
June 19^th          Day 32     Scheduled Day Off
June 20^th          Day 33    1611 wds
June 21^st          Day 34     1589 wds
June 22^nd         Day 35     2082 wds
June 23^rd          Day 36    2057 wds
June 24^th          Day 37    2007 wds                    -at library with my mom
June 25^th          Day 38    1600 wds
June 26^th          Day 39    Scheduled Day Off
June 27^th          Day 40   1570 wds
June 28^th          Day 41    2074 wds
June 29^th          Day 42    1539 wds
June 30^th          Day 43   1891 wds
July 1^st             Day 44   1632 wds                    -Canada Day!
July 2^nd            Day 45   1080 wds                    -little burnt out??
July 3^rd             Day 46   Scheduled Day Off
July 4^th             Day 47   Re-plotted last 1/3 of novel
July 5^th             Day 48   1528 wds
July 6^th             Day 49   1717 wds                    -on plane to Vegas
July 7^th             Day 50   1028 wds                    -in Vegas
July 8^th             Day 51    1515 wds                    -in Vegas
July 9^th             Day 52    1568 wds                    -in Vegas
July 10^th           Day 53    1509 wds                  -in Vegas (Main event begins)
July 11^th           Day 54     Scheduled Day Off in Vegas
July 12^th           Day 55    1500 wds                    -at the Rio during Main Event
July 13^th           Day 56    1000 wds                    -on plane home from Vegas
July 14^th           Day 57    0 wds                          -BC Provincial Championships
July 15^th           Day 58    0 wds                          -BC Provincial Championships
July 16^th           Day 59   0 wds                          -BC Provincial Championships
July 17^th           Day 60 0 wds                         -recovering from trip/show
July 18^th           Day 61   0 wds                         -recovering from trip/show
July 19^th           Day 62   1550 wds                    -Yay! Back on track!
July 20^th           Day 63   2011 wds                    -better!
July 21^st           Day 64    2029 wds                    -knocking it out!
July 22^nd          Day 65 2003 wds                    -on plane to Saskatoon
July 23^rd           Day 66 0 wds                         -at National Championships with team BC
July 24^th           Day 67 2450 wds                    -1^st night of camping (cabin)
July 25^th           Day 68 2556 wds                    -2^nd day of camping
July 26^th           Day 69   1010 wds                    -trip home from Saskatchewan
July 27^th           Day 70   1027 wds                    -re-plotting, planning
July 28^th           Day 71   2003 wds                    -at 82, 369 wds (curious)
July 29^th           Day 72 Scheduled Day Off
July 30^th           Day 73 2178 wds                    -online Google hangout
July 31^st           Day 74   1023 wds                    -bad day
Aug 1^st            Day 75     1948 wds
Aug 2^nd            Day 76    1707 wds                    -online Google hangout
Aug 3^rd            Day 77      1116 wds                    -to the end! Going back for rewrites
Aug 4^th            Day 78      2 hrs                            Triage editing/fixing
Aug 5^th            Day 79      2 hrs                            Triage editing/fixing
Aug 6^th             Day 80      1.5 hrs                       Triage editing/fixing
Aug 7^th             Day 81      New “to do list” to fix/rewrite etc
Aug 8^th             Day 82       2 hrs                          Triage editing/fixing
Aug 9^th              Day 83     2 hrs                           Triage editing/fixing
Aug 10^th          Day 84       2 hrs                          Triage editing/fixing
Aug 11^th          Day 85        2 hrs                          Triage editing/fixing
Aug 12^th          Day 86      4 chapters                 Triage editing/fixing
Aug 13^th          Day 87     4.5 chapters              Triage editing/fixing
Aug 14^th          Day 88     1.5 chapters                -little burned out
Aug 15^th          Day 89      3.5 chapters                 Triage editing/fixing
Aug 16^th          Day 90     4 chapters                    Triage editing/fixing
Total word count: 94, 111.

My Interview with Diana Rowland (@dianarowland)

2011-09-16T12:33:00.000-07:00

My Sound Bites podcast interview with my mentor and all around FABULOUS woman, Diana Rowland, is up on Bitten By Books. If you're a fan of urban fantasy, demon summoning or zombies, I recommend checking out Diana's books! We talk a lot about her new series which begins with "My Life as a White Trash Zomibe." There are three books currently out in her demon series with more to come, you can see all those and the back cover blurbs HERE.

If you're a writer, then you MUST listen to this interview. Writing advice on all aspects of the industry just flows out of Diana and it's a great opportunity to learn from a professional author!

Some people had trouble getting the player to work on the Bitten By Books site, so if that's the case for you, you can also listen to the interview using the DIRECT LINK HERE.

You can leave feedback for the episode on the Bitten By Books page in the comment section. :)

Kat Richardson Inteview Coming Up

2011-08-08T12:04:00.000-07:00

Blogging? What's that? Yes. I have fallen so far off the blogging wagon I never thought I could run fast enough to get back on it. But I've been given a kick in the pants to do a blog about the next episode of my podcast series "Sound Bites" being aired on Bitten By Books.

The interview I did with Kat Richardson, which happened at the Rainforest Writer's Retreat rather late at night over impromptu Manhattans Kat made for us, (you gotta hear this one, it's a blast!) will be up on Wed, August 10th. The fabulous people over at Bitten By Books have arranged with Kat to give away some GREAT prizes with the airing of the episode. You can RSVP to the event HERE AT BITTEN BY BOOKS and get an extra 25 points into the contest and then visit Bitten By Books on the 10th to listen to the episode!

See you there.

Sound Bites Podcast

2011-06-07T09:38:00.001-07:00

My new podcast series, Sound Bites for Bitten By Books has launched!!

Bitten By Books, the "paranormal review site with bite," is a great site featuring author interviews, release parties, giveaways and book reviews. I noticed they didn't have a podcast and talked to Rachel, the founder of the site about doing a podcast for them. I quickly realized there is so much going on at the site, it would be nearly impossible for me to keep up with them in a podcast with the delay in editing, producing etc.

Instead, I talked to Rachel into letting me do interviews with my favourite urban fantasy and paranormal authors, and that's what I've done! I started things off by interviewing Rachel, since I thought it would be great to chat with her and to have fans of the site get to hear from her.

I have interviewed three authors so far, Kat Richardson, Diana Rowland and Mark Teppo. The podcast has a very "late night talk show over drinks" feel to it, thanks to the first author I interviewed, Kat Richardson, who made us both manhattans before we did the interview. Needless to say, we had a lot of fun and much hilarity ensued. We've nicknamed the podcast, Authors on Alcohol.

The episodes will air every two weeks on the site and I'll continue to interview more authors whenever I get the chance to continue putting up new content every two weeks. The reason I'm calling it a series is I'm not sure how long I'll be able to keep it up! So, it will be a series as long as I can keep bringing great content. :)

Rachel has been so fantastic with working with me and allowing me to do my own thing with the podcast. I'm very excited to bring this podcast series to urban fantasy fans!

Click here to go and listen to the inaugural episode of Sound Bites!!

Naming Your Characters -Cross Post

2011-06-02T08:23:00.000-07:00

Since I've fallen off the blogging bandwagon, I'm going to attempt to get back on by cross posting my latest entry from our Inkpunks Blog. There are tons of great posts there for writers, including all different aspects of writing from nine of us, authors, editors, Clarion graduates and all around swell people. We'd love to have you come check it out!
Here's the post I did this week on naming your characters. I hope you find it useful. :)
Tales have often told of the great power behind our names and that giving someone your name can allow them mastery over you. J.K. Rowling’s villain is only referred to as You-Know-Who or He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, for fear the mere mention of his name, Voldemort, would bring his wrath. It’s no wonder then, as writer’s we often feel an overwhelming, even debilitating pressure to come up with great names for our characters. This is a wide topic, I'll attempt to cover a few points and provide some resources.

Know Your Characters

Beginning a new novel or short story requires coming up with a playbill of characters, major and minor, who all need names. Before you attempt to pick the perfect name for your characters, you should know them first. When and where were they born? Who are their parents and what things influenced them? Were they named after someone? Are they good, evil or in between? Do they have a strong personality or a more reserved one? Finding the answers to these questions can lead you to the type of name you want to use. Perhaps their parents were quite young when they had your character and named them after their favourite band. Little Bon Jovi has a nice ring to it.

Names to Fall in Love or Hate With

If you’re working with a novel length work, or a series, it’s important you choose names you like because you’re going to live with them for a long, long (did I say long?) time. From first draft through to the final, you may spend months, even years with these characters. Don’t pick a name you don’t like or a name that reminds you of someone you despise. Likewise, your fans will live with your characters throughout the journey of your book. You want them to be able to fall in love with (or hate, as the case may be) your characters so they think and talk about them as real people. You’ll hear people talk about characters in some of the most successful series as if they’re living, breathing people. Give them names they will want to hold close to their heart and tell other people about.

The Meaning Behind the Name

Whether or not you want to use names because of their particular meaning is something to consider. If you know your character, you could search for names based on a meaning. To give a really obvious example, if your main character is a marauder with a heart of gold, you might want to search for “brave” or “valiant” and see what comes up.

When choosing my main character’s name for my new novel, I narrowed it down to a few choices based merely on what I knew about my MC and what I wanted the name to portray. I looked up their meanings and one of them, Abby, meant “joy of the father.” In my novel, I knew my main character was going to have an extremely tense relationship with her father, who she can never seem to please. Done, decision made. I may have worked backwards with this process, but it worked for me. Nowhere in the novel will it ever be stated, “Abby means joy of the father,” but I’ll know.

Helpful Resources

I’ve found several useful websites for naming characters. The Social Security Administration website is a great resource where you can search for popular names based on the year of birth.

The website babynames.com has an article called Tips for Writers.

Behindthename.com is a great database you can use to search the etymology and history of first names. There’s also fun stuff like anagram names, theme names and names for twins.

Name-meanings.com is another great site where you can look up the meaning of names by origin or popularity. They even have popular pet names in case you’re having trouble naming your hero’s faithful dog in your novel.

I haven’t touched on fantasy, alien or bizarre sounding names yet. Most will caution you against picking anything with too many apostrophes, dashes or unpronounceable combination of letters. However, I’m sure we all know several successful novels that do just that. If you’re like me and enjoy playing around with names, the Behind the Name website has a random name generator I love. You can pick how many given names you’d like generated (from first and middle to first and three middle names), and whether you’d like it to be masculine, feminine or ambiguous. Then there are categories to choose from, everything from region to mythology and even witch names. If I’d like a female Russian Fairy name with a Classic Greek influence, I just click the correct boxes and like magic, my character’s name is (drum roll please) Sveta Nonna Yulia.

The fantasy name generator at ringworks.com is another great way to find different types of fantasy names. You can pick from a drop down list, for example, short names, insult names, mushy names and much more. It will then give you one hundred and nineteen options. I’ve tried refreshing it under the same selection and it will you give you a new list.

Good luck finding the perfect name for your characters and if you run into any shady cloaked figures in dark alleys asking for your name, politely tell them you’d prefer to keep it to yourself.

The Inkpunks Have a Forum!

2011-05-18T09:21:00.000-07:00

I know there are a lot of places to go online, lots of social networks to keep up with and many sites offering great information and the last thing you probably need is another forum to belong to, but wait! Let me tell you about our group, the Inkpunks. You may have seen my posts linking to our blog, we are nine emerging writers, editors and creative minds who've come together as friends and colleagues to support one another. We share a blog together, but much more than that, we care about each other, encourage each other in our careers and spread the word about each of our successes.

We realize we're very lucky to have found each other and now we've added a way for you to join in with our forum! It just went up recently and we really wanted to have a place to come and check in on word counts, editing progress etc. We have a section called "Accountabilibuddies" (yes, I stole that straight from South Park) where you can check in with others and stay accountable. (hence, the name). We also have a Lounge for when you want to talk about things that aren't writing.

If you register and sign in to the forum, you'll also see the Workshop section containing the Drawing Board, where you can discuss things that are giving you trouble with your writing and editing. Right now, fellow Inkpunk Adam has posted a writing exercise from Ursula K. Le Guin's book "Steering the Craft: Exercises and Discussion on Story Writing for the Lone Navigator or the Mutinous Crew." Members can do the exercise by themselves, or they're free to post the results of the exercise.

In the Drawing Board, we've also put up a section to find beta readers, so if someone has something they'd like another set of eyes for, they might be able to find one there.

Again, we just put it online so it's very small right now, but we hope to invite great people (like you) to come and join in the fun. Just follow the link below to check it out. :)

The Inkpunks Forum

Virtual Bootcamp Begins Sunday!

2011-05-04T10:44:00.001-07:00

There's still time to sign up for the spring/summer Virtual Bootcamp. Starting May 8th, it will be 8 weeks of ME kicking YOUR butt. I mean come on, how fun does that sound?? (tee hee hee)
If you’re interested or have any questions, let me know.

Want to get in better shape for the summer of 2011?

You can do it with a personalized workout program, including weekly check-ins and inspirational messages to keep you motivated throughout!

The bootcamp will be done entirely online via email. The group will start on the same day, but each participant will receive a personalized cardio and weight training program, suited to their goals, needs and schedule. The program can be designed for the gym, or to be done entirely at home, for as many or as few workouts per week as the particpant would like.

You can do the program on your own, or join in the private message board and connect with other participants.

Progress will be monitored by photographs at the beginning, mid-way point and conclusion, as well as weekly email check-ins. Programs will be modified if and when needed.

Start date: May 8th, 2011

Cost: Only $95!

(this is a steal of a deal!!)

The Virtual Bootcamp will include:

An 8 Week Personalized Weight Program

An 8 Week Personalized Cardio Program

Weekly Participant Check-ins

Physique Check and Program Reviews Throughout

Extra Motivational Tools and Tips Throughout

Group Support via a Private Discussion Board

My Story on Crossed Genres: I Can't Imagine

2011-05-03T12:28:00.001-07:00

My story, I Can't Imagine is up on Crossed Genres, Issue 30- Luck.

Go check it out! It also features How the Goddess Came to Spring Flowering Alley by my fellow Inkpunk Andrew Romine. There are some GREAT stories this issue (and every issue) so I hope you get a chance to read them.

I got back late last night from the World Horror Convention in Austin. It was yet another convention filled with valuable industry lessons learned. Speaking of, I did an Inkpunks post called "The Premise that Sells" based on a fantastic lesson learned during the PYR presentation by award winning editor Lou Anders at Norwescon. CHECK IT OUT HERE. It was also a weekend of time spent with fantastic friends (I can't say enough about how fabulous my friends are and how grateful I am for all of them) and lots of new friends discovered.

Now, however, I need to unpack, detox and get caught up on real life. Good day to you. ;)

Conventions in April

2011-04-20T09:27:00.000-07:00

I'm heading to two conventions this month..in a row..wish me luck. My con endurance shall be truly tested!! First I'm heading down to NORWESCON in Seattle. I'm really excited because some of my favourite authors are going to be there, Jim Butcher, Kat Richardson, Mark Teppo, Ken Scholes, Mary Robinette Koval, and the list goes on! AND since Jim Butcher is the guest of honour there are plenty of urban fantasy related panels scheduled, also perfect for me.

The next weekend I'll be at the World Horror Convention in Austin, Texas. Joe Hill is the guest of honour this year and he's pretty much the reason I'm going to that one again. (Last year it was in Brighton, England, an experience I'll never forget: best-con-ever!) I also get to sit on a martial arts panel at the convention, so while I'll feel guilty for missing classes while I'm goine, I'm excited for the panel. ;)

If you happen to be going to either of these conventions, keep an eye out and if you see me, HOLLA!!! In the meantime, take care of yourselves. :)

Fitness Nerd Column

2011-04-15T08:53:00.001-07:00

Remember those excuses for not working out and eating healthy you gave me? My Fitness Nerd Column for the Functional Nerds is now live, "No Excuse but Every Reason" where I deal with one dozen excuses, kicking them in the butt. You can check it out HERE at the Functional Nerds.

Leave me a comment here or there or let me know if you have any questions.

I'm Supposed to Blog Today

2011-04-13T12:05:00.000-07:00

It's a workout day, which means I'm also supposed to blog. (to stick to my blogging goals!) I got nothing. However, I do have this adorable, hilarious picture of our boy cat. Or, at least I think it's great. He's doing his best impression of an LOLcat photo. So, here you go. My blog today is purely to solicit smiles. I hope it works and this entry gets categorized under Random Wickhamness, with credit to Spooky, the wacko cat. (get it, CATegorized)

Spring/Summer 8 Week Virtual Boot Camp

2011-04-11T10:29:00.001-07:00

I guess I should begin recruiting for the NEXT Virtual Boot Camp!! Our last session went great, I'm happy to report we had some fabulous success stories, so I've decided to do it again. Starting May 8th, it will be 8 weeks of ME kicking YOUR butt. I mean come on, how fun does that sound?? (tee hee)

If you're interested or have any questions, let me know. Here's the blurb from my website about it:

Want to get in better shape for the summer 2011?
You can do it with a personalized workout program, including weekly check-ins and inspirational messages to keep you motivated throughout!
The bootcamp will be done entirely online via email. The group will start on the same day, but each participant will receive a personalized cardio and weight training program, suited to their goals, needs and schedule. The program can be designed for the gym, or to be done entirely at home, for as many or as few workouts per week as the particpant would like.
You can do the program on your own, or join in the private message board and connect with other participants.
Progress will be monitored by photographs at the beginning, mid-way point and conclusion, as well as weekly email check-ins. Programs will be modified if and when needed.

Start date: May 8th, 2011
Cost: Only $95!
(this is a steal of a deal!!)
The Virtual Bootcamp will include:
An 8 Week Personalized Weight Program

An 8 Week Personalized Cardio Program

Weekly Participant Check-ins

Physique Check and Program Reviews Throughout

Extra Motivational Tools and Tips Throughout

Group Support via a Private Discussion Board

Give Me Your Excuses!

2011-04-08T09:31:00.001-07:00

For my next Fitness Nerd column for Functional Nerds I'm going to be addressing excuses for not working out and eating properly. Any excuses, all excuses, I will conquer them! As I said in my first column, "they’re just excuses, not reasons. Truly, there is no reason to be unhealthy."

What excuses are holding you back from a healthier life, keeping you from eating better, from improving your level of fitness? Hit me. I can take it. (well, I'd be careful on that one, I know how to hit back now)

I will take as many excuses as I can and turn it around to say why it's not an excuse and what you can do about it.

Note to the jokers, if you're really funny, I mean REALLY funny, I might give you an equally witty response. Otherwise, I'm looking for honest, straight up excuses as to what gets in the way of someone achieving a happy, healthy, optimally functional life.

Thanks for your help!

Something to Blog About

2011-04-06T09:58:00.001-07:00

My plan to blog on workout days was going really well, until I got injured at martial arts (just a bit of a neck/back injury from a hard kick while pad holding, it's getting better) and I took a few days off the gym. Then I kind of lost my blogging groove. I also didn't have much to blog about. But now I do!!

My short story "I Can't Imagine" has been accepted by Crossed Genres. It will go online in issue #30, "Luck", in May. Crossed Genres is a great speculative fiction online magazine that has a different theme per issue.

I will let you know when it goes online!

Novel Feedback

2011-03-23T13:40:00.001-07:00

I received my novel feedback from Diana Rowland, author of the Kara Gillian Demon Summoner series and the upcoming novel My Life as a White Trash Zombie, as well as a kick ass person in general. I sent her my fifth draft, the very best I could do at this point and she gave me SO much useful feedback, it was amazing. (this lady is SMART!!)

My first reaction was, holy crap, this is going to be so much more work. Can I do it? Really? After all the time I've already spent on this novel? The fact that Diana said, "I know you'll be able to pull this together and sell it," is what's going to fuel me to tackle another round of rewrites. Whoops. Maybe I shouldn't have quoted her on that one..now the pressure's really on to sell it so I don't prove her wrong. ;)

One great thing she shared, which I can pass on to all of you, is to do a post novel outline. She suggested using sticky notes, or big sheets of paper, whatever works, and do a scene by scene break down of the novel to see what works, what doesn't fit etc. She said this is a method she uses and it's helped her tremendously. Only catch for me is, we were told yesterday by the real estate agent when he came to measure our suite that the landlords are putting the house up for sale (that's a whole other story, they leave two houses away, couldn't tell us?) so I'm not sure they'd appreciate a wall covered in sticky notes or sheets of paper with marker hanging all over the walls when they're showing the house. Aw, maybe I'll do it anyway.

My plan is to do a new "to do list" and tackle the changes, new additions one step a time so I don't get overwhelmed. The amount of work and time to fix it is daunting, but I'm trusting Diana that I'm on the right track.

In an additional shout out to this wonderful lady who has for some unknown reason taken me on to mentor me, here's the cover for her new novel coming out July 5, 2011. I got to be a beta reader for her and I'll tell you, it's AWESOME!!!!
And just look at the cover!! You know you're all going to want to buy a copy. Right after you wish me luck on my next round of novel rewrites. :)

I'm the Fitness Nerd!

2011-03-16T09:07:00.000-07:00

I'm excited to be the new Fitness Nerd columnist over at The Functional Nerds. Here's a blurb straight from their website:

"Functional Nerds is the new podcast from author/blogger Patrick Hester and musician/blogger John Anealio focusing on science fiction and fantasy media: television, film, comics, and new media such as fan films, audio dramas, online animated comics and more, technology, gadgets and all things Apple as well as music and the occasional video game."

John and Patrick asked me to be the Fitness Nerd and I didn't just jump at the chance, I did jumping jacks. (okay, not really, I'm just trying to be funny.) My first column, Brains Need Brawn, went up on Monday. I'd love it if you went to take a look. I'm going to try my hardest to use the column to help people on the road to a healthier, happier and more functional life.

I'll be posting once a month (approximately) and will always let you know when a new column goes up.

Thank you!

Reminder for the Reading Tonight!

2011-03-15T11:46:00.001-07:00

I've been invited by the great folks at the Burnaby Writers' Society to do a reading at Spoken Ink, their monthly reading series. I'll be joining author Mary Choo and am very excited for the chance to share my work. Spoken Ink events always have an open mic as well, so if you're in the area and want to read to an audience, come on out! We'd love to have you. :)

Spoken Ink presents Venturing Beyond

2011-03-08T10:16:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow I'm leaving for the Rainforest Writers Village Retreat, situated on beautiful Lake Quinault in the Pacific Northwest Pennisula. "Five days to be only a writer." This year they ran two sessions because the first one ran out so fast and those of us in the second session have been able to see photos and videos from the first group and it looks fantastic! Many of my friends have signed up for the same session and I can't wait. I will post pictures and I hope to report back about all the goals I've achieved while I'm there..isolated, with no TV, no phones, no internet. (and I'm hoping no mask wearing, knife weilding crazies).

When I return, I've been invited by the great folks at the Burnaby Writers' Society to do a reading at their Spoken Ink event. I'll be joining author Mary Choo and am very excited for the chance to share my work. Spoken Ink events always have an open mic as well, so if you're in the area and want to read to an audience, come on out! We'd love to have you. :)

Inkpunks Post

2011-03-04T12:50:00.001-08:00

Today's blog is to redirect you to our Inkpunks blog. Today was my turn again to post, I shared my pain of my novel revisions as therapy for myself and to maybe help others going through the same pain..I know I'm not alone come share yours. Leave me a comment!! ;)
INKPUNKS.COM

Cruise Pics Set Five

2011-02-27T12:32:00.001-08:00

It's a sad day when the vacation comes to an end. We kept the vacation alive after we got off the ship with a trip to the Florida everglades. I didn't know what to expect, but it was beautiful and scary at the same time. We went out on an airboat and saw two alligators! Our captain splashed a rope in the water and one of them came right up to the side of the boat! Meanwhile, she told us not to point or wave our hands over the water, and that the alligators can attack in a flash. Nervous, much?!

This is not a zoom lens! LOL. This alligator was right beside us...

They also had an animal reserve with baby alligators, snakes, tortoises, pigs, peacocks, bunnies, and this GORGEOUS florida panther named Mia:

This is the only Gator wrestling we did...

The next morning we had to get up early to catch our flight(s) back to Seattle, followed by our drive home.

Definitely a trip to remember...to deal with our post vacation blues we're searching for our next cruise! ;)

Cruise Pics Set Four

2011-02-26T09:45:00.001-08:00

On the Friday of our cruise we had our only stop where we had to take tenders to the island of Half Moon Cay. Another gorgeous island, this one owned and operated by the cruise lines. Only 35-40 people live on the island, all staff. Our only complaint were with the staff..who were NOT friendly at all, bordering on rude. I think they thought it was "their" island. Really? Anyway...we had a couple of excursions planned, a kayak trip and more snorkelling. (Ross took this picture through a "hold" in the pirate ship on the island)

We didn't think to take the camera out on the kayak, but we found out there were little packs behind the seats, so we could've. Good to know for next time. It was a GORGEOUS trip around the different bays on the far side of the island. The water was a bit choppier in the open spots, so it was a team effort workout as well. We took pics after and no, we didn't go jet skiing, though that looked fun too!

After returning we checked out the sting ray encounter, but were glad we did it in Grand Turk instead in the ocean, rather than in the "pen" they had set up there.

Next, the cruise crew through a big barbeque, which we of course took full advantage of...

Then we had another snorkel excursion. It did start to rain a bit, and the tempature dropped, but we toughed it out and went out with a small group. I ended up not lasting very long in the water...it was too c-c-c-cold!! For future colder water, I'll get a rash shirt like Ross bought in Grand Turk. (notice the long sleeves = smiling, bikini=not so much)

By the time we got back to the island, most people had headed to the ship or were in line for the tenders due to the rain. That didn't stop us. We still played frisbee on the beach and Ross even got in a little baskettball, while I hid in a shelter. ;)

Back on board, big surprise, it was time to eat again! We had another lovely meal in the dining room with Ross' parents. (yummy!)

The ship would then cruise all night and arrive back in Ft Lauderdale on Sat morning. That would have been the end of our trip, except Ross' dad treated us to a trip to the Florida everglades!! (very cool) I'll post those pics next. :)

Cruise Pics Set Three

2011-02-25T09:17:00.001-08:00

Our third port in a row was St. Thomas. Famous for it's shopping, we decided to take a different approach and went on an excursion to the island of Ft. John. We took a ferry ride, got some information about both St Thomas and St John, spotted Madonna's house, a house "once owned by Michael Jackson" and two islands that are for sale, one for 11 million, the other for 9 million. Want to buy one? The only hitch is, you have to by both. So, got a spare 20 million laying around?

Here's Ross checking them out...probably thinking about the next World Series of Poker Main Event...

There we did an eco hike to a gorgeous beach. Once again, we asked our guide if we could hike a bit higher, so we kept climbing, then came back down and still had plenty of beach time.

A couple that had been on our snorkelling excursion in Grand Turks also came on the hike. They cracked some coconuts open and gave us some. So this is the picture they took of us in the water, eating our fresh coconut. Does it GET better than this?! Look at that water!!

We had some time before the ship left after we got back to the port in St Thomas so we did a bit of shopping. (yay!) We didn't spot any cats this time, instead, there were iguanas all over the rocks!! Ross wanted to take one home, but I wouldn't let him. ;)

The next day was at our sea day, to head back up toward Half Moon Cay. I'll admit, I didn't do much except eat, sleep, eat and sleep. The three days of big port excursions wiped me out! Luckily, that night was the "Chocolate Dessert Extravaganza" so I got to refuel. This may be the funniest picture I've ever posted of myself.

If you haven't stabbed yourself in the eye yet over all my picture posting, there's still more to come! :)

Cruise Pics Set Two

2011-02-24T11:27:00.001-08:00

I'm surprised I'm not carrying my cruise pictures around to show everyone I run into, friends or strangers. But I'll settle for blogging them. ;)

Our next port of call after Grand Turks was San Juan. We decided to do an excursion that would take us to the El Yunque Rainforest for a hike to a waterfall. The description said it was a 45 minute hike to the waterfall and a 45 minute hike back out. Great! We went ahead of the group and reached the waterfall...in 15 minutes! No, we weren't power walking or running, it just wasn't that long a hike. Once the rest of the group came to the waterfall, we asked our guide if we could continue hiking up. He gave us ten minutes to hike up so we did that, then hiked all the way back. It was a fabulous hike, if a little short. It felt like being dropped into Jurassic Park III, the trees, the sounds, I thought a pterodactyl was going to swoop down and carry me off by my backpack!

Once we got back to Old San Juan, we had a bit of time left and decided to take the seaside walk that goes around the
Castillo San Cristobal Fort. I'd heard the commentary by the ship's travel guide as we pulled into San Juan and she said you might see some feral cats that live there. We thought, great! We can walk around the entire fort and maybe see some cats. SOME CATS?!!!! We probably saw FIFTY cats on the seawalk, sunning on the rocks, and hanging out in the grass and bush areas on the other side of the path. Some ran and hid when we walked by, some stared us down and we knew better than to try to approach them and some came right up to us. I've never seen so many cats at once. Never. They were all colours, from pure white or black to "burnt umber", orange and grey tabby. There's a group of volunteers who feeds them and cares for them, we saw lots of food sitting out for the little guys. We did capture a few of them on film, but there were just too many and it started to get dark. If you like cats, you'll like these pics. If you don't like cats, skip this part. :P

Oh yeah. And we got a great look at the fort.

We didn't leave San Juan till later and we tired after all the hiking and walking, so all we did was hit the buffet (and hit it HARD!). After we came back from dinner that night we found this waiting for us in our room. Another great day, with another early morning excursion the next day...more photos to come!! ;)

Rubbing It In-Cruise Pictures Set One

2011-02-23T09:41:00.000-08:00

We're back from the beautiful Caribbean and I have an overwhelming urge to post photos to show off what a fantastic time we had. Because that's what you do when you come back from an incredible holiday, right?! Just like our last cruise, we did so many great things, hiking, kayaking, snorkelling, sightseeing, that I couldn't possibly post all the pictures at once. Our days and nights were jammed packed and I made sure to get lots of pics to remember it all. (I'm sparing you the full number of pictures we took, that would be ridiculous) So once again, I'll post them day by day and that way I'll get to relive our cruise now that we're back on dry land and having to face real life. (awwww)

We flew from Vancouver to Ft Lauderdale, stayed the night and boarded the boat..no, sorry, ship. I've been told I'm not allowed to call it a boat. The first thing we did was check out our spa stateroom which had healthy extras like a pilates dvd and yoga met (never got to use them) organic bath robes, a water fountain feature, pedometer, a special breakfast menu and vitamin water. (you know, cuz we're sort of healthy type people) Not only that, it had an extraodinary view out the very front of the b-- ship.

After that, second priority of course, was eating. I'm proud to say I am still on my streak from last cruise and I had ice cream every day. EVERY day! The food was fantastic.

Third thing we did was go to the Explorations Cafe. Similar to our last cruise, the Holland America Eurodam has a library/games room/cafe that we love. Ross found a book to read, then a puzzle to work on.

I didn't bring a book on this trip (except my own to edit) because I was expecting to find one in the ship's library to read for the week. I'd hoped to find something great, and I did! I found a book by Terry Brooks that I didn't even know existed, a continuation to his Landover series that I love. A Princess of Landover is the the first book in the series for over a decade and it was a great addition to the trip!!

The ship sailed all night and in the morning we docked at Grand Turk, while we enjoyed our in room dining breakfast (we did that every day!) and watched out the window.

We had an early morning "Reef and Ray" excursion, where we went out snorkelling on a reef and then pulled right up on a small island to play with the sting rays. We got up close and personal with them, even had the guys hold them so we could kiss them. (what, it's good luck!) Unfortunately we don't have those pics yet, which, maybe is for the better.

After our excursion we still had time to shop and sit on the beach. We walked down to a small shop and found a few locals we just had to get pictures of.

Then some beach time before boarding:

That day was also Valetine's and our anniversary, so we went to one of the restaurants on the ship, followed by a show on the mainstage, this night happened to be a fantastic magician.

Phew! And that was just the first two days!! More rubbing it in photos to come. ;)

Cruisin'

2011-02-10T13:49:00.001-08:00

We leave tomorrow morning for our Caribbean cruise! (excuse me while I do a happy dance, I don't mean to rub in it. HA!)
I've been down and out with a nasty cold that last few days, but am feeling better today, thank goodness.This is our anniversary, valentine's day (which happens to be the same day. I know...) and last year's Christmas present to each other, so we're going to hit some great excursions while we're there. We have big plans, including Ultimate Snorkelling in Grand Turk, a rainforest hike in San Juan, a Kayak, Hike and Snorkel trip in St Thomas and a Stingray Adventure in Half Moon Cay. Of course, those are just plans and plans can always change, but we're looking forward to some great adventures, not to mention the food (oh, the food), the shopping, the casino, the gym (with a great view!), the amazing Explorations Cafe (where you can sign out books, do crosswords, puzzles and just relax!!) and the entertainment.

You know I'll be posting pictures when we get back. :) This is our ship, if you look really close, you can see me waving. :P

How To Network at Conventions

2011-02-04T12:49:00.001-08:00

For today's blog, I'm blogging about another blog. It's our group blog at www.inkpunks.com and today I've asked Diana Rowland to guest blog for us. With 2011 now in full swing, many people are looking ahead to which conventions they’d like to attend this year. Or perhaps you’ve never been to one and are considering it. I thought this would be great timing to ask Diana Rowland (Mark of the Demon, Blood of the Demon, Secrets of the Demon) to share her words of wisdom about how to properly conduct yourself at conferences and conventions. Thanks to Diana for loaning her words to the Inkpunks.

Get over there and check it out!!

Help Choose the Cover for Evolve Two

2011-02-02T09:01:00.001-08:00

Last year I had my first story published in Evolve and the cover is absolutely gorgeous. For Evolve Two, (which I also have a story in!) Nancy Kilpatrick and Edge SF & F publishing are asking for your help in choosing a cover! Two options are available, the website Vamp Chix is hosting the survey, just VISIT THEIR SITE HERE and have your say. Nancy has commented on the site, giving the name of each cover so you can tell them your choice. Go on, cast your vote!!

I'll give you a sneak peek at the two covers here. To see the larger versions and to share your opinion, visit the Vamp Chix site!!

Blame Vegas

2011-01-31T10:38:00.001-08:00

I can definitely blame Vegas for my lack of blogging last week. I meant to blog while we were there, really I did, but, well, it was Vegas. We had a great time, as always, no big cash wins to report, but we still had a fabulous time. I will be doing a separate blog about our "Grabber Game" wins. I've decided our history with Grabber games deserves an entire blog post of its own.

Now we're back in the swing of things back home, it's just twelve days till we're off on our Caribbean Cruise!! I know, I know, I can hear it now, "you're going away again?" The cruise is a long ago planned trip, we're going for our anniversary and it's our Christmas and anniversary gifts to each other. The Vegas trip, well, we go to Vegas all the time, (it's so cheap too) so that doesn't really count. Plus, I had my laptop and did work stuff while we were there. The cruise is our REAL vacation. Can't wait.

Speaking of, I gotta go to the gym!!!

Finishing Things Weekend

2011-01-21T15:06:00.001-08:00

Every so often, someone in our group of writing friends suggests a Finishing Things Weekend. If others agree to participate, someone then makes a formal declaration. Fellow Inkpunk Morgan Dempsey (@geardrops) has officially declared THIS to be a Finishing Things Weekend.

So what does that mean? It means finishing up all those projects we have on the go. That short story WIP, that other short story that needs another set of revisions, that book about writing you've been trying to read, the agents you've been meaning to query...all those sorts of things. There are no hard and fast rules. Weekend could mean just Saturday and Sunday, or Friday to Sunday. For me, it's going to mean from right now until we leave for Vegas on Sunday. (yesss!) It doesn't matter how many projects you take on, or what they are.

Do you have things you'd really like to finish? Why not join in? All you have to do is get in gear and get it done!!

If want to stay accountable or just check in and you're on twitter, you can use the #inkpunks hashtag and/or #FTW. If you're not a tweeter, you can check in with me here, but you don't need to check in at all to succeed at Finishing Things Weekend. Just do it! ;)

Catsomnia

2011-01-19T09:14:00.000-08:00

Catsomnia

It’s 4:10am.

I try to ignore them.

Girl cat is walking on me. Sits down hard on my stomach.

Boy cat is on the floor scratching the side of the bed.

Boy cat chases girl cat.

It’s 4:30 am.

“Fine.” I get up and feed the cats.

Now I’m up, I have to pee.

Back in bed.

What day is it? Right.

It’s 5:00 am.

I have a long task list today.

Plus, there’s this, that and the other thing to take care of.

It’s 5:30 am.

Girl cat jumps on bed, goes back eats some more, jumps on bed, goes back and eats some more.

Boy cat is done eating and sits on bedside table whining for attention.

It’s 6:00 am.

Boy cat jumps on top of bookshelf and starts knocking things off. Girl cat sits on me, watching him. Boy cat jumps off top of bookshelf and lands on my legs.
It’s 6:30 am.

Boy cat is curled up between Daddy’s legs, purring.

Girl cat is sleeping on my pillow.

It’s time for me to get up.

This is Catsomnia.

*Dedicated to those suffering from the same infliction.

Sticking to the Plan

2011-01-17T12:36:00.001-08:00

I set the goal to blog every time I went to the gym (since going to the gym is an 'easy' and regular habit for me, whereas blogging is not!) and that means I'm supposed to blog today. So. What do you blog when you have nothing to say? Helpful, insightful writing quotes!

When you are describing,
A shape, or sound, or tint;
Don't state the matter plainly,
But put it in a hint;
And learn to look at all things,
With a sort of mental squint.
-Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (Lewis Carroll)

Widow/Orphan Control

2011-01-14T09:23:00.001-08:00

Why does Microsoft Word make so many assumptions about what we want? Auto correct, auto spellcheck and auto format are often annoying, but now I just found out about the "widow/orphan control." Did you know about this? I was looking for manuscript formatting help online, found Lousia Burton's website and discovered a brand new trick in Word.

Have you ever noticed that you can't get the bottom of your pages on word to line up where you want them? If you hit enter, a whole paragraph jumps to the next page, but if you try and backspace, it won't put just a couple of the lines on the page? I've discovered the solution! It's the widow/orphan control! I think I should just let Louisa explain it:

"When the last line of a paragraph from the previous page gets stranded all by its lonesome at the top of the next page, that’s a “widow.” The first line of a paragraph appearing by itself at the bottom of a page while the rest spills over onto the next page is an “orphan.” Don’t listen to Word’s help menu when it says widows and orphans are contrary to “a professional-looking document.” We like widows and orphans in the novel-writing biz. They give us nice, uniform pages with the same number of lines on each page. In Word, the default is to prevent them, so this should be turned off by unchecking that option. You should also uncheck the “keep with next” and “keep lines together” options. The first is meant to avoid page breaks between paragraphs, the second to avoid paragraphs from breaking onto two pages. None of this this odd, anal-retentive formatting belongs in a novel manuscript; it just creates irritating gaps in your document. Most writers turn off the hyphenation, too."

In the 2007 version of Word I found the widow/orphan check box under the page layout tab, and Line and Page breaks. You'll see a box, automatically checked called the Widow/Orphan control. Uncheck it!

I hope this helps and saves a little bit of your sanity while fighting with your manuscript formatting. :)

Evolve 2

2011-01-10T09:52:00.001-08:00

I have great news! My story has been accepted by Nancy Kilpatrick for the *NEW* Evolve anthology coming out.

*and the crowd goes wild*

My experience with the first Evolve anthology has been an incredible one. Launch parties, book tours, working with Nancy and sitting next to one of my favourite authors, Kelley Armstrong at a signing to name a few. I'm very excited for this new anthology to come out, as I know several of my friends have also been accepted. The entire table of contents is still a mystery, soon to be revealed. Nancy had said she'd already asked some authors from around the world to contribute (which left fewer spots open for the rest of us!!) so I'm feeling the tingle of anticipation about who else I will be sharing a table of contents with.

If you don't have YOUR copy of Evolve yet, you better get it so you'll be ready for the next generation!! You can visit the webiste here: Vampires-evolve.com or find it in your local bookstore!

Stay tuned for updates.... ;)

InkPunks Blog Post

2011-01-07T09:56:00.001-08:00

Today was my turn to post on our Inkpunks site at www.inkpunks.com. If you haven't seen me post or tweet about the inkpunks before..WELL, let me tell you. We're an AWESOME group of seven writers (soon to be eight as we absorb another) who came together through fate, destiny, chance, stupid luck, whatever you want to call it. We support each other through our writing projects, cheering, listening, encouraging, as well as life's challenges.

We decided (ahem, it was my idea! What?!) to start a blog together to share what we learn in our burgeoning writing careers as well as our enthusiasm and passion for the written word. We take turns posting and so far it's been a great experience.

Today is my day. So I'm sending y'all over there to check it out. My post: The Author's Voice. Have you found yours? This might help. Go check it out and of course, leave me a comment!!

When Enthusiasm Leads to Overtraining

2011-01-05T12:54:00.000-08:00

I see it all the time. People set high goals for themselves at the beginning of the year and like a shooting star, they start off with a flourish and then fade away. Often, it can be due to overtraining. In their enthusiasm, people do too much at once, hitting the gym too often, dieting too hard and basically overdoing it. That leads to overtraining, sickness, injuries, lack of enthusiasm and eventually quitting. Here are some ways you can avoid being a shooting star, by pacing yourself and avoiding the dreaded burn out.

Ways to Avoid Overtraining

1) Get Adequate Rest

This means that you need to get a full night's sleep every single night.There's so much to do these days that often we end up staying up late and getting up early.Before you know it you are not getting adequate sleep.Your body recovers while it is resting, so it is vital that you get a good night's sleep on a consistent basis.Set a bedtime for yourself and stick to it, getting your body used to falling asleep at an early time each night.If you need to, implement some techniques that will help you fall asleep. You can do relaxation exercises for your mind and body before going to bed, drink teas that help you sleep like chamomile, listen to relaxing music, or use some lavender scented oils or candles.

2) Use A Journal
Writing down how you are feeling throughout the program will help you be aware of any symptoms that appear.If you are constantly writing in your journal that you feel tired or you feel as though a cold is coming on, you will recognize these things as signs you are over trained. Many times we simply ignore the symptoms until they lead to devastating results such as a serious injury or negative changes in physique and performance.Be honest with yourself and be aware!

3) Monitor your Resting Heart Rate

The best time to check your resting heart rate is first thing in the morning before you even get out of bed.The first time you take it, the number is not that significant because we all have slightly different resting heart rates.It is the following heart rate checks that will let you know if something is wrong.If your resting heart rate raises significantly it is a sure sign that you are overtraining and need to ease up a little bit.

4) Plan your Workout Days Carefully

Try to space out your weight training and cardio sessions to give your body time to recover.Never do weights more than two days in a row without resting, and always have at least one day per week totally off from working out and doing cardio.

5) Drink tons of water! (8 glasses +)

Not only a great way to burn fat, improve your skin, and keep energized, water is necessary for all of your bodies functions, including recovering from workouts.It is important to drink as much as possible, especially when you are training hard, sweating a great deal, or training in the hot weather.Set a goal and keep track of how much you drink in a day to make sure that you are getting enough.

6) Take a strong anti-oxidant and other Supplements

Toxins are created in our bodies as a by-product from working out.Taking antioxidants such as vitamin c, alpha lipoic acid, grape seed, or grapefruit seed extract will help combat these unwanted toxins.Taking a multi-vitamin and mineral supplement will help your body stay healthy and functioning properly.Other supplements such as glutamine can be taken regularly after workouts and at night before bed to help the body recovery from the vigor of training.

7) Recovery Aids

Anything that helps you relax and stimulates circulation will help your body recover.If you have access to a hot tub, steam room or sauna, use them at every opportunity.If you don't have access to any of these facilities, simply soaking in a bath with Epsom salts or other rejuvenating oils, salts etc will be helpful.Another great recovery technique is the "hot/cold" shower.Although not always the most fun, it's a great way to boost your circulation and you body's recovery powers.After a few minutes of hot shower water, turn it to cold (as cold as you can stand) for a few minutes, return to hot and repeat.It is extremely invigorating!Another great treatment for hard working muscles is massage.While professional massages will provide you with the most effective results, even an amateur massage helps circulation and helps stimulate recovery.

You know your body better than anyone else, so watch for signs and symptoms of overtraining.If your body is telling you it's time to ease up a little, you better listen or it will use harsher means of telling you in the form of sickness and injury.Be aware how your body is feeling throughout your training so that you can continue to make improvements without any setbacks!

Shape Up in 2011

2011-01-03T09:19:00.001-08:00

Happy 2011 y'all!!

Okay, I promise this is the last time I'll post about my 8 Week Virtual Bootcamp. But come on, wouldn't it be great to kick off the year with a personalized workout program, weekly check-ins and inspirational messages to keep you going right through the 8 weeks?!!

The bootcamp will be done entirely online via email. The group will start on the same day, but each participant will receive a personalized cardio and weight training program, suited to their goals, needs and schedule. The program can be designed for the gym, or to be done entirely at home, for as many or as few workouts per week as the particpant would like.

You can do the program on your own, or join in the private message board and connect with other participants. Progress will be monitored by photographs at the beginning, mid-way point and conclusion, as well as weekly email check-ins. Programs will be modified if and when needed.
Start date: January 9th, 2011

Cost: Only $95!
(this is a steal of a deal!!)
The Virtual Bootcamp will include:
An 8 Week Personalized Weight Program
An 8 Week Personalized Cardio Program
Weekly Participant Check-ins
Physique Check and Program Reviews Throughout
Extra Motivational Tools and Tips Throughout
Group Support via a Private Discussion Board
Sign up by visiting my website. Any questions, let me know! to sign up, message me or email me at sandrawickham@live.ca
Please note: Deadline for sign up is before Jan 9th, 2011 in order to give me time to get all the information I need from you to design your program for the start date.

From Our Family to Yours

2010-12-24T11:06:00.001-08:00

Merry Christmas!!!!

Angry Robot Books

2010-12-22T08:35:00.001-08:00

This has been blogged and tweeted, but just in case you haven't heard yet, Angry Robot Books are having an "Open Door Month" in March of 2011. They will be accepting submissions from unagented authors for the first time! What a great opportunity for newbie authors.

They are looking for genre fiction (no novellas, short stories or non-fiction) specifically fantasy, science fiction, horror and "all urban or modern fantasy." They also say they're looking for all types of sub-genre, hard SF, cyberpunk, future crime, and they'd love if you mashed two genres together. They are looking for novels that are finished and completely polished.

They have clear submission guidelines on their site, Q and A as well as tips on pitching your novel.

Visit ANGRY ROBOTS for all the details and good luck!!! :)

Believable Evil

2010-12-20T12:18:00.000-08:00

I’ve learned a lot a the conventions and conferences I've attended in the last few years and I'd like to share the best bits on my blog whenever I get the time. Today’s post is from a panel at VCON in 2008, my first convention ever. Lucky for me, there were two author guests of honour that year, Kelley Armstrong and Patrick Rothfuss. My experiences at this convention led me to start writing seriously.

In a panel called “Believable Evil,” four panellists discussed evil characters in speculative fiction. Here are some key points I picked up from this panel:

1. Evil people don’ t consider themselves evil. This is what makes them believable.

2. A “good” villain needs clear motivation that not only makes sense to them, the reader can also kind of see their point, even if it’s not necessarily understandable to them.

3. A villain thinks everyone else is the bad guys. They think they are in the right.
4. Things that you don’t expect about or from a villain will make them believable. (ie, they love their dog, they treasure their time with their ailing mother)

5. Avoid the typical rut of fantasy of an ‘evil sorcerer’ trying to destroy the world or the narcissistic villain who’s mean to his minions. Nasty people are good to their friends too.The reader needs to be able to relate to the villain.

Some of the best advice I’ve read on creating great villains can be found on Alexandra Sokoloff’s blog. As a screenwriter and novelist, Alexandra dishes out tricks of screenwriting for the author and that includes how to write an incredible villain. I highly recommend checking out her two part series.

What Makes a Great Villain Part One

What Makes a Great Villain Part Two

Another great resource is The Fire in Fiction by top New York agency owner Donald Maass. Among other excellent advice, he goes into great detail about how to develop your protagonist into a believable character.

I hope these pointers help you develop your villains into believable characters!

8 Week Virtual Bootcamp

2010-12-17T14:26:00.001-08:00

Want to get in better shape in 2011?

Well, all right then!! Here's your chance to start it off right. This 8 week Virtual Bootcamp is for anyone and everyone looking to improve their levels of health and fitness.

Why not kick off the year with a personalized workout program, including weekly check-ins and inspirational messages to keep you motivated throughout!

The bootcamp will be done entirely online via email. The group will start on the same day, but each participant will receive a personalized cardio and weight training program, suited to their goals, needs and schedule. The program can be designed for the gym, or to be done entirely at home, for as many or as few workouts per week as the particpant would like.

You can do the program on your own, or join in the private message board and connect with other participants. Progress will be monitored by photographs at the beginning, mid-way point and conclusion, as well as weekly email check-ins. Programs will be modified if and when needed.
Start date: January 9th, 2011

Cost: Only $95!
(this is a steal of a deal!!)
The Virtual Bootcamp will include:
An 8 Week Personalized Weight Program
An 8 Week Personalized Cardio Program
Weekly Participant Check-ins
Physique Check and Program Reviews Throughout
Extra Motivational Tools and Tips Throughout
Group Support via a Private Discussion Board

Would you like to start 2011 off with a bang?
Sign up NOW ! Visit my website to sign up, message me or email me at sandrawickham@live.ca
Note: Space is limited.
Please note: Deadline for sign up is January 4, 2011 in order to give me time to get all the information I need from you to design your program for the start date.

Famously Rejected

2010-12-15T13:20:00.001-08:00

As writers we spend a lot of time doubting ourselves. Are we talented enough? Is this idea terrible? Will everyone hate it? Would a publisher ever want it? And that's before we even send it out. Then the question becomes, how many rejections can I take?

I haven't been in the game long enough to have sent much out, but I've made a collection of stories of rejection turned success, to make myself feel better in preparation for those down times. I thought some of you might like these as well.

James Patterson's first novel was turned down by 31 publishers, then the novel went on to win an Edgar as the best first mystery of the year. His fir first best seller came 16 years later.

John Grisham's first novel "A Time to Kill" was rejected by 16 agents and a dozen publishers. He becaem the best-selling author of "the Firm and "the Pelican Brief." "A Time to Kill" was republished in 1992 and made into a movie in 1996.

Earlene Fowler wrote 150 short stories that were rejected before having her first novel published. (now has 6 books published)

The Tale of Peter Rabbit was turned down so many times, Beatrix Potter initially self-published it.

Stephen King's first novel Carrie received dozens of rejections.

William Golding's Lord of the Flies was rejected by 20 publishers.

J.K. Rowling's first Harry Potter book was rejected by a dozen publishers, including Penguin and HarperCollins.

Feel better? Good. Keep writing, keep submitting and don't let rejection stop you. :)

Inkpunks

2010-12-13T13:46:00.001-08:00

Just a quick blog, to blog about our other blog.. www.inkpunks.com where I blog with six other writing friends, taking turns posting about writing, our journey, the creation process or whatever comes to mind. We started this blog in October and it's been a great experience so far. We've introduced guest bloggers now, each taking a turn inviting someone to guest post on our site. Our first guest blog was posted on Friday, by the author of Mr. Shivers, Robert J Bennet.

He's written a fantastic blog about the vulnerability of authors and how to deal with that within the publishing industry. I highly recommend checking it out, just click here. Tomorrow it's my turn to post, so you know, you might want to come by the site again tomorrow. ;)

It is a silly man who spends his nights worrying about his problems, for in the morning he is tired, and his problems remain unchanged.

- Old Icelandic Proverb

Dental Update

2010-12-08T11:29:00.001-08:00

Thanks everyone for your well wishes and cringes at my dental surgery. (this blog goes out to my wordpress, blogger, goodreads and livejournal, so I got lotsa love..) My face is pretty swollen, I look like I'm storing food for an emergency meal later. Still tired, it's amazing how much something like that can wear on your body, as well as the energy it takes to heal itself, but I'm getting back to normal. No, I'm not posting any pictures of my chipmunk cheek. :P

Dental Surgery Day

2010-12-06T10:11:00.001-08:00

Need I say more? This has been a nightmare. I had a root canal on this tooth in May. It took TWO sessions, (4 needles, 2 hours long, drilling, scrapping, removing roots each time..) plus of course the temporary filling and then crown. But I still had pain. I went back, he shaved down the crown, just in case. I went back. He did it again, then told me, we'd have to do the root canal again. My reaction, of course, was to freak out. He said, it's no big deal. Apparently to him, no big deal was another 4 needles and over an hour of drilling and scrapping. After, still pain. Let's try antiobiotics. Did that, went back, still pain.

So, now I'm going to an Endodontist today. This is what I'm having done. YES, I am sharing these photos so that you too can cringe and experience a bit of my pain. You're welcome.

With so many dentist appointments, I do have my coping mechanisms well set in place.

While at the dentist:

1. I have a book in my hands at all times to disappear into at any opportunity, and probably clutch throughout the procedure. (I usually take The Last Unicorn by Peter S Beagle)

2. I have my ipod with relaxing music on it.

3. I'll be wearing my own sunglasses to cut down the blaring light in my face.

I also have a plan that helps me by having something to look forward to and to make myself better when I get home.

1. I'm taking the rest of the day off.

2. I have my latest crochet project by the bed.

3. My Buffy discs are cued and ready to go.

4. I have protein shakes and bendy straws at the ready.

5. I'm blogging about it so lots of people will send their wishes and sympathy. ;)

IF you don't hear from me again, please, remember me fondly. Then track down these *bleeping* dentists and kill them.

Thank you.

Electric Velocipede

2010-12-03T13:14:00.001-08:00

At the World Fantasy convention, I grabbed a free t-shirt from John Klima of Electric Velocipede (Hugo Award winning magazine.) They like it when you take a picture in their shirt and then send it to them. So I did. Little did I know I'd end up the "EV T-shirt girl," and of course, I'm loving it. I just saw today that they even gave me a shout out and link to my site on their home page, so I'm returning the favour and blogging about them today. :)

If you too want to own a cool "Short Fiction is dead, Long live short fiction," you can visit their site for a shirt HERE. Support short fiction! ;)

New Client-Blatant Plugs for Writing Excuses, Twitter and My Training

2010-12-01T09:55:00.001-08:00

Do you listen to the INCREDIBLY GREAT podcast, Writing Excuses? "15 minutes long, cuz you're in a hurry, and we're not that smart." Brandon Sanderson, Howard Tayler and Dan Wells host this snappy, informative podcast that never fails to inspire me and make me laugh. I follow all of them on Twitter (here comes another endorsement for the network..) and noticed that Howard Tayler, author of the comic space opera, Schlock Mercenary, tweets quite often about working out. I think we'd exchanged a few tweets (because that's how it works, folks, you can actually talk to famous people...) and then just last week he tweeted something about workouts or diet and I replied to ask him if he wanted help. Fast forward a week or so, and I'm now training wecartoonist and podcaster, Howard Tayler, in exchange for his help in promoting myself as an author. You know, for that day when I have more than two stories published. ;)

He's included his decision to train with me on his blog HERE which is a great way to keep accountable, not to mention, give me a big promo shout out.

What's the point of my blog? Sheer self-promotion, really. And to say, hey, if you have a skill that you can exchange for help with your writing or promotion for your writing career, don't be afraid to ask!! (caveat-pg 13 rated skills only, please)

Good luck, Howard, we'll be watching...

20Spec

2010-11-29T09:49:00.001-08:00

Do you like the idea of writing a story set in the roarin' twenties? How about a story set in the twenties, with a speculative fiction twist? Jaym Gates and Erika Holt (editors of the nearly infamous Rigor Amortis) are taking submissions for a new anthology and I thought some of you might be interested! Here's the submission guidelines, the only change being they have extended the deadline to December 20th.

They're looking for "stories about such things as gansters, the Klan, social and political upheaval, speakeasies..tell stories that take place after dark, far from home, in abandoned stills. Don't be afraid to travel abroad, either."

If you're on twitter, check out hashtag #20spec for updates from the editors and tweets from people working on their stories. I've started my story..why not join me in submitting!

I'm currently reading this book for inspiration. :)

Patrick Rothfuss Raises Money

2010-11-26T10:03:00.001-08:00

I'm a big fan of Patrick Rothfuss (Name of the Wind) and he's helping out his favourite chairty Heifer International, an organization that (from Pat's blog) "It helps people raise themselves up out of poverty and starvation. All over the world Heifer promotes education, sustainable agriculture, and local industry.
They don’t just keep kids from starving, they make it so families can take care of themselves. They give goats, sheep, and chickens to families so their children have milk to drink, warm clothes to wear, and eggs to eat."
He's collecting money through direct donations, lottery and auction items. There's a TON of great stuff to be won, including Pat's own donations, hundreds of books from Subterranean Press and Del Rey, you wouldn't believe it all if I told you. ;) But you might believe it if you see it. You can check out all the great stuff HERE on Pat's blog, just follow the links.
You could also bid on a professional critique of your manuscript. Some of you might have read on my blog that I did this at a fundraiser called The Boom Effect (raising money for Tee Morris' daughter) and had the unique experience of having professional agent Laurie McLean of the Larsen-Pomada agency. It was worth every penny!! I'm probably going to bid on this auction as well. Wait a second, then why am I telling YOU about it?! Because it's for a great cause. Get on over to Pat's blog and check it out!

The Reward System

2010-11-24T09:45:00.000-08:00

I'm finally getting back into the groove of first draft writing. I've been editing so much lately, or just writing short stories, that returning to sitting down and writing 2000 words on a novel in one sitting was tough! Part of the reason I got my mojo back is that I remembered I'm extremely motivated by the reward system, the carrot on a stick method. It's definitely something that works for me.

Maybe it's because I'm still such a child?! LOL. You may be thinking, but writing is it's own reward, isn't it? Maybe in the long run, but short term, I need the extra kick in the pants!! It doesn't have to be a huge reward, just something small. And frequent. I need more than just a "when I finish this novel I'm going on a shopping spree!" Sometimes I need hour by hour rewards. "If I sit here and write till 4:00pm, I'm going to get up and make some tea." Then I make it through that hour. After that, "if I reach my 2000 word goal for today, I'm going to watch an episode of Buffy!"

I'm glad I remembered how to manipulate myself in this way. ;)

Do you use the reward system? In what way? PLEASE don't tell me you use food. *hangs her head* I know I'll probably get it for that, but just think, if you're always rewarding yourself with treats, and you write every day..that's a LOT of treats..building up..over time. I just had to slip that in, cuz that's what I do. ;)

Happy writing and don't forget to reward yourself!

New Goal

2010-11-22T09:35:00.001-08:00

I have finally come to terms with the fact that I'm writing a brand new novel. I'm not "rewriting," I'm not "editing," this is a whole new novel. I've kept some of the same characters, the setting...and that's about it. It's a tough pill to swallow, this was the first novel I've written (since I was nine!) and I did five drafts on it. The difficult part has been getting my brain to accept that I'm doing it over. Again. From scratch. Good news is, my brain and I have worked things out, and we've even set a new goal to have this "new" novel done by the end of the year. That's going to mean about 2000 wds a day, six days a week. I'm sharing this with you, of course, so that you can keep me accountable in reaching this goal. Feel free to harass, check in, crack the whip and demand updates.

Today happens to my day off-no really, it's been pre-scheduled...because I'm going to see the new Harry Potter movie!

PS-This blog post is a part of another goal, to blog three times a week on days I go to the gym. Today is one of those days! (yay me!)

Blogging Schedule

2010-11-19T09:41:00.001-08:00

After posting yesterday and reading people's feedback here and on Twitter, I've come up with a blogging plan. Since excerise is always a constant and easy thing in my life, I'm going to attach a not-so-easy thing, regular blogging, with it. Whenever it's a weight training day, I'm going to blog before I go. There. I said it. So, that's three times a week. I really hope it works.

If you're in the opposite situation, you blog regularly but don't exercise regularly, try it the other way around! What? I'm just sayin'.....

I'm actually double blogging today. It was also my turn today to post over at our new website, INKPUNKS, which Molly Tanzer called "a really cool group blog I just found out about, aimed at supporting early-career writers". Get on over there, check it out, and definitely leave me a comment if you have the time! ;)

The Blogging Habit

2010-11-18T09:34:00.001-08:00

I'm afraid to even look at the date of my last blog post. (don't look!!) I seem to have fallen off the blogging wagon. It seems for me, blogging is like exercising for other people. I set goals to blog three times a week, I get very excited and keep it up for a short time, then it starts to be harder to stick to, my blogging becomes a little irregular. But I don't give up, I tell myself I'm going to make up for it. Then, all of a sudden, life gets busy and I haven't blogged for a week. Then I feel like I've lost momentum and soon another week has gone by without blogging. Well, by then I've thrown my goals out the window, feel like a terrible failure and can't bring myself to dive back in to do a single blog. Am I right?

For me, exercise is second nature. It's not a matter of "sticking to it" because it's just a constant part of my life. Now, if I could only figure out a way to make that happen with my blogging..because I do enjoy it! I like the creativity of it, reading other people's blogs, receiving comments on my blog..I just need to stick to it!

For those of you who blog on a regular basis and have done so for a long time, do you have any tips for me?!!!

Chronicles of the Order

2010-10-26T11:04:00.001-07:00

My Chronicles of the Order short story has dropped! Just in time for Philippa Ballantine's release of her novel Geist, you can tune in to my story here: BROTHERS, a story set in the world of Geist. There you can also view a trailer for the novel. This is exciting, I hope you get a chance to listen, and if you do, please let me know what you think.

Rid 1 Thing

2010-10-18T12:55:00.001-07:00

Are you overwhelmed with clutter? Join me on my "Rid 1 Thing" mission. I feel constantly plagued by clutter. I don't consider myself a "hoarder" or even a clutter bug, but it just seems to add up, doesn't it? We have long term plans to relocate, short term plans to move in the same area and the thought of packing up all this...stuff results in the cold sweats and shakes. Not so long ago, when we first started talking about moving, I gave myself the mission of getting rid of 1 thing per day. It didn't have to be anything big, could be something as small as throwing away an old expired bottle of vitamins I never touch, or recycling a container we never use anyway, to as big as cleaning out my closet and bookshelves and donating boxes of stuff. I let myself be flexible, depending on my schedule and mood. I kept it up for a few months. You'd be AMAZED at how long you can keep it up and how much stuff there is you can throw away, recycle or give away. At first the things were obvious, then it became fun to find things. I eventually would pick a room and challenge myself to find something to get rid of.

You know what? It worked! I really started noticing a difference. Our home had a noticeably lighter, more open feeling to it. Then, I stopped. I think we went away on vacation or something and I got thrown off my habit. I've tried to go back to it, kind of half-heartedly over the last several months but it hasn't stuck.

I want that decluttered feeling back!! So I'm announcing it right now, starting today, I'm back on my mission to get rid of 1 thing every day. I'm going to tweet my progress with the hashtag #rid1thing. Twitter is great for accountability and I know if I tweet it, people will hold me to it.

Want to join me? It's a great feeling. Just 1 thing. Look around, I'm sure you'll find one thing pretty fast. Then tomorrow, look again. Anything you can donate, give to a friend, garbage or recycle? Give it a try, I promise the results will be worth it.

Warning: be careful when giving away things to friends, they may start to catch on that you're just dumping your clutter on them. My mom caught on pretty quickly. ;)

Wish me luck on my mission, and if you join in, let me know!!

Bitten By Books

2010-10-12T10:24:00.001-07:00

The authors from Evolve are going to be on the website Bitten By Books tomorrow, Oct 13th from noon (central time) to midnight. It's going to be an awesome event, with multiple authors appearing thorughout the time. I'll be there, chatting and answering any questions. BBB is a great site, I'm excited to be able to take part in one of their events. Please stop by if you can and ask me a question or just say hello!! I'd love to see you there. :)

VCON 2010

2010-10-08T13:39:00.001-07:00

Last weekend I attended VCON, Vancouver's local fantasy, sci fi and gaming convention for the third year in a row. The first year, I'd barely started writing and followed the two author guests of honour, Kelley Armstrong and Patrick Rothfuss around to every panel about writing and publishing. Then I started taking my writing seriously. The second year at VCON, I had my story accepted for Evolve and went to the Book Launch as an author to help promote it, even though the book wasn't out yet. This year, Evolve is out and I signed copies at the Book launch. I also did a reading and sat on four panels, two of which were with the amazing author guest of honour this year, Cherie Priest. It's been a great couple of years.

I can't say enough in support of VCON, local conventions and of course the bigger ones if you're interested in writing or becoming a writer. You can learn so much from other authors, publishers, editors and agents. When I first started competing in fitness, it was so new, there were no coaches, no one to tell me what to do. I had to learn by trial and error for YEARS. Once I made it to the top 5 at the National level, I began passing on what I'd learned by training others. I constantly joke with my clients that I wish there'd been a "me" when I first started competing. Now I'm making the leap into the writing world, I'm taking full advantage of learning from those who've been down the many roads to publication, using their experiences to seek out my own path.

Next up is the World Fantasy Convention in Columbus, Ohio and I can't wait. :)

Unfortunately, I didn't take many pictures at VCON. I'm hoping the official photographer for the event got at least one of me sitting on a panel, so I can prove I really did it. ;)

I did get a shot of some of us hanging in my room having drinks on the Saturday night, and on the last day I got a picture with this lady, I don't know her name, but she sat in some of the writing sessions when I was on the panel and she was just so darn cute I wanted to get a pic.

The Inkpunks

2010-10-01T09:14:00.001-07:00

That project I mentioned the other day? Well, it's launched. It's our new site, Inkpunks.com and you have to come visit. I'll tell you why. First of all, it was my idea, so it flops like a Sunday morning pancake, it'll be my face with egg on it. (What? I haven't had breakfast yet). Second, it's an awesome idea. (ha!) I've been fortunate to find myself part of a great group of writers, creative minds and overall awesome people. We support each other, cheer each other on, listen to each other whine, and generally lift each other up. I thought it would be great if we could share what we've created, with each other. Hence, the website.

We're going to be rotating the blog posts, so there will be new content every Tuesday and Friday. We're not claiming to know it all or anything, really, we just want to share what we learn on our journey ourselves and from those more knowledgeable than us. We want to spread the support. We have a Resources section that we will continue to update. There is also talk of a submissions page, keeping tabs on new submission openings. LOTS of reasons for writers to drop by!!

Since it was my idea, I got the honour (and the pressure) of writing the first blog post. (yikes) Please come check it out and leave a comment for us. We're excited about this new endeavour and hope to reach out to as many people as we can.

Come join the Inkpunks! ;)

Secret Project

2010-09-29T14:08:00.000-07:00

I've always wanted to say that.

I have a joint project with several of my writing friends in the works. It's not going to be a secret very long..we're letting the cat out of the bag (so to speak) on Oct 1st. I'll be blogging about it, so please stay tuned!!!

I'm excited. I know you are too. I can tell. ;)

Last Day of the Cruise

2010-09-26T09:10:00.001-07:00

It's even sad to blog about the last day of our cruise! We had such a great time, it was hard to say good-bye to the Ms Ryndam. (Ross is already looking into future cruises we can do..yay)

The last day I hit the spa for a little pampering. It was quite nice, but next time we decided we'd buy passes to the Thermal Suite instead...hot tub, heated tiled chairs, different aromatherapy steam rooms..and only people who buy passes are allowed to use it. (little hint for anyone looking to go on a Holland America cruise!)

On the last day the held their "On the Deck for the Cure Walk," a 5k walk to raise money for breast cancer research. Holland America has the walk on every ship, every cruise and have raised over 2 million dollars. My mother-in-law and I both signed up to walk, while the husbands cheered us on. This is a FUN walk, not a race. Ross kept trying to give me race pep talks.."Get to the front of the pack".."you can take them!" Hee hee.

The last night also happened to be my father-in-law's birthday, so we went to the Rotterdam dining room for dinner. They were having their last night "performance" dinner (can't remember the official name) so it was quite entertaining. The wait staff sang, danced, juggled as they served each course. We also got a little birthday cake and song!!

We went to the last show of the cruise, then woke up early and got kicked off the boat! ;)

Sigh. So much fun. I hope you enjoyed these glimpses into our trip and if you get a chance to go on a cruise to Alaska, do it!! :)

Cruising Pictures Galore

2010-09-25T11:27:00.001-07:00

This will officially be the most pictures I've ever blogged at once. I tried to narrow it down to the best ones, I really did! We just had such a great time in Ketchikan, and I have the pictures (and pictures and pictures) to prove it. First thing in the morning we docked and headed out for our crab boat fishing excursion. Ross and I are big fans of the Deadliest Catch, so when Ross' dad told us he was taking us on this excursion we were so excited! It did not disappoint! Not only did we get to go out on a crab fishing boat in Alaska, we were on a boat that was featured on the Deadliest Catch, (the Allutien Ballad) with a fantastic crew of experienced fisherman who did a fantastic job of telling us their stories, everything we ever wanted to know about fishing, crab, the Bering Straight and more.

I'll kick things off with a picture of me below the Captain in his wheelhouse.

This turned out to be so much more than a crab boat fishing excursion. They took us to see the seals (who were enjoying the sun just as much as we were) as well as some bald eagles. They threw fish in the water to bring the eagles down, I managed to get a picture of one swooping down.

The crew showed us how they fished for all kinds of fish, as well as the crab. We went to different areas and they pulled up various fish, crab and even an octupus for us to see!

We got to get up close and personal with some crab-YES-it is alive!!

Overall it was a fantastic excursion, one I highly recommend to anyone going to Ketchikan, Alaska!!

Once the crab boat excursion was over, we still had time in port. (those crab fishermen start early!!) So we did some shopping and headed for yet another hike. Our shopping time cut into our hiking time a little (awww) so we didn't get to reach any lookouts or summits, but it was still a great hike.

Just to add sprinkles to the ice cream sundae (what, I told you I hit the ice cream bar every day!) that night we had one of the most spectacular sunsets I think I've ever seen. An incredible ending to an amazing day.

Tomorrow, last post from the cruise!!

And still more cruising pics...

2010-09-24T09:51:00.001-07:00

I am thoroughly enjoying reliving our cruise in blog form. Are you jealous yet? Just checking...
Our next day was a "cruising day" up to Tracy Arm. We woke to brisker temperatures and ice in the water! We threw on our warm clothes (for the first time) and went out on deck to check things out. The ship got as close to the glacier as possible, but being later in the year (we were the last cruise to Alaska for them) we didn't get too close. Still, the view was spectacular, the ice chunks were scary and we enjoyed a lovely breakfast on the deck (or was it second breakfast?) while taking in the sights.

It was hard to get good pictures because it was too sunny! Did I say too sunny? I mean, it was perfectly sunny, but not so great for photos.

And...what Alaska cruise would be complete, without a whale sighting?!! Did I say "a" whale? Well, let me tell you, once again, we were treated extra special on this cruise. Later while we were sailing back out of Tracy Arm, our ship was surrounded by whales!! They were out the back, off each side, from counting the blow spout spray, we must've seen dozens. Some were far enough we only saw the spray, several were quite close to the boat. I tried to get pics, but as soon as you got your camera out, down they'd go again. But trust me, there were whales! When the excitement calmed down and there were no more whale sightings happening, I went inside to get something to eat, and I heard yet more exclamations and people rushing to the window. I had to put down my plate and run back outside to see the porpoises that were jumping alongside the ship! Along with the seals we saw from the ship, my wildlife expectations were more than met!

The day got more beautiful as we headed back out, we enjoyed much relaxation..and of course, food. Here's me in the room after all the whale sightings...still hoping to see more!

You HAVE to tune in tomorrow for my report on Ketchikan where we went out on a CRAB FISHING BOAT!! One that was featured on The Deadliest Catch. See you then!

Yet More Cruising Pics

2010-09-23T10:35:00.001-07:00

The next day on our Alaskan cruise we stopped in Sitka. There's no space or docks for the cruise ships, so we took the tender, which I quickly learned is our life boats, taking us from the cruise ship to land. Here's a shot I got of it before we got back on. It was kind of strange to sit inside it and look around, picturing what it would be like if we were all in there for an actual life boat emergency situation. *shivers*

We had planned on doing the Advanced Mountain Bike excursion, a 4 hour, 22 mile ride..but there wasn't enough interest in it, so we went with the same company, but did their bike and hike excursion instead. It was a pretty short bike ride (on touring style bikes-weird!) and then the hike, then a bike ride back to the beginning again. Somehow my husband still managed to look cool with his riding gear and bike. I look horrendously dorky.

The hike was gorgeous, thanks again to some spectacular weather.

We had extra time so we got to stop at Whale Beach on the way back. Didn't see any whales..then-but that's another story. ;)

We had time before we had to get back to the ship, so we wandered around Sitka. I, of course, had to go into the bookstore and found on the front table what I thought was one of the funniest titles I've ever seen for a book...and did you know that Random House is based in Sitka, Alaska? Neither did we! (kidding)

That night after indulging in cruise buffet (oh, the food!) we got to enjoy a gorgeous sunset.

Next update: Tracey Arm, Alaska!

More Cruising Pics

2010-09-22T09:52:00.001-07:00

Our first port of call on the cruise was Juneau, Alaska. We'd checked things out ahead of time, and decided the plan would be to take the tram up Mount Roberts, then do some hiking once we were up there.

Notice I said, "the plan." We did take the tram, it was nice, but short compared to what I'm used to in BC. (shout out to my BC peeps!)

Once at the top, we visited the nature centre, (though I'm sure they called in the nature center) checked out the bald eagle they had rescued, and Ross narrowly escaped a bear attack...inside the building...

Since the bear told us to take a hike, we did. There was a "regular" loop that most people did, we did that, then continued higher.

We hiked back down the main area, and this is where the plan took a bit of a turn. We saw a sign for hiking all the way DOWN the mountain. Problem was, our time was running short and we had to be back on the ship soon. We asked a local working in the nature shop (where Ross was once again attacked by wildlife, so weird) how long it would take it to get down the mountain.

She told us since the weather was so great, it would be dry and a good hike, and it would take us about 1 1/2 hours to get down to the parking lot, plus another 20 minutes to get to the ship. We had two hours until our ship left. So, of course, we decided to go for it.

It was AWESOME! Since we had the pressure of missing the ship, we actually ran parts of the trail. Whenever it was a flat switchback part, we jogged it out, then walked again when it got steeper or too clogged with roots, stumps and rocks. We even started taking short cuts down through the switchbacks...skipping part of the trail and pretty much climbing straight down. I LOVED it!

I did love it, but my body had something else to say about it. My ankles kept twisting and at one point, (in a clearing, of course, where we'd slowed for a second) I rolled my ankle right over. It dropped me to my knees and I got up as fast as I could, told my husband I had to keep going right away before I could register the pain. It was really weak the rest of the way and I could feel it swelling, but I tried to ignore it. Luckily, we didn't have much farther to go. The entire hike down to the ship, that was supposed to take us almost two ours, took us less than an hour!

I did go see the medical officer on the ship the following day to get wrapped up for our next adventure...but that's, another story. ;)

That night we ate in the Italian restaurant on the ship, had a fantastic meal, I forget how many courses it was...6 maybe?!! Before dessert they even brought us a giant plate of cotton candy, which I just couldn't resist. Hey, I'd earned it!!

More in my "we had an awesome time cruising and I'm going to make you jealous" series coming soon!! ;)

Cruising Pics

2010-09-21T11:50:00.001-07:00

I'm slowly going through my pictures from the cruise and resizing them. Wow. I didn't realize I'd taken so many great shots! I won't dump all of them on you, just my favourites. ;)

When we first boarded the boat, our staterooms weren't ready so we went to the Lido restaurant. (don't I sound like a veteran cruiser already?) I had my first bowl from the "make your own sundae bar", something I would repeat pretty much every day. Ah, life on a cruise.

Once we were settled in to our rooms, we found the Explorations Cafe and settled right in. My husband Ross found Joe Hill's second book "Horns" (actually, I found it, did a little squeal and handed it to him) which he signed out and read during the cruise. He couldn't say enough good things about it, so now I HAVE to read it. The cafe is sponsored by the New Yorks Times, so they have done the recommendations for the books in the library, which was much bigger than we expected. There were five walls of books, as well as coffee table sized books, take-one-leave-one books, games, puzzles, and a daily suduko and crossword. I was in heaven!! Ross and his mom tackled and completed on puzzle in the early stages of the cruise, other people joined in, fun times had by all. ;)

Of course one of the very first things we did when we got on the ship, was check out the gym. It was quite nice, it had all the equipment we needed, including machines, dbs, and a variety of cardio equipment facing large windows looking out the front of the ship. When we first walked in, one of the trainers tried to talk us into going to the "Secrets to a Flatter Stomach" seminar. I'm not sure what the expression was on my face, but I know my husband was holding in laughter. (I was covered up) When we went back to work out, Ross made me take a picture with the sign up sheet..he thought it was funny. ;)

Ah, I think I have forced enough photos on you. Next post, our excursion in Juneau!

Back from Cruisin'

2010-09-20T16:26:00.000-07:00

We're back from the cruise and it was AMAZING!

The weather was incredible, sunshine every day, we went on our excursions wearing shorts and t-shirts. At one spot the locals told us it was the best day they'd had all summer, the captain for Tracy Arm said it was the best day he'd seen in 25 years.

The excursions we did were great, the ship was incredible and the food, oh, the food. Let me tell ya, even fitness gurus pig out and gain weight on a cruise like this!! ;)

There were so many highlights, I can't even cover them in one post. I thought I'd blog for a few days about the trip, include pictures (which I still need to get off the camera and resize) so I could really share the best moments of our trip.

I didn't get any writing or editing done, we were just too busy having fun. I am returning to editing novel number two this evening.

Stay tuned for the full report. ;)

Cruisin'

2010-09-09T10:11:00.001-07:00

We're going on an Alaskan cruise! My in-laws have generously asked us to join them on a Holland America cruise to Alaska. I'm so excited! We leave on Sunday, I've scoured every website I can for information, tips and reviews of this cruise and I can't wait. We plan to take a tram up the mountain in Juneau and then do some hiking. We're planning to go on an advanced mountain bike tour (yikes!) in Sitka, and then we're going on a Crab Boat Fishing excursion in Ketchikan.

Amazing, right? The cruise ship looks great, it has a full gym, aerobics studio, places to relax, nightly shows and the food..oh the food. I'm looking forward to that! They also have an Explorations cafe, sponsored by the New York Times, which apparently has an amazing library full of books based on recommendations from them! Just to make the trip ultimately awesome, I've booked myself a spa treatment for the day we cruise back. (oh yeah!)

They do have internet available on the cruise, but as you would imagine, it's not cheap. I am going to go eight days without internet. Oh yes I am. I can do it. Eight days. No internet. No problem. Right?!

I'll be sure to post pictures and give a full report when we return. ;)

Oh, and if you missed my post about my reading and being goofy "live" for DragonCant and are dying to see it, (I know you are) you can follow this link. Come on, I know you wanna!! :)

The Uncon

2010-09-07T10:25:00.001-07:00

I'm very proud to say I was a program participant for DragonCant!! For those of us unable to attend DragonCon in Atlanta last weekend, Brand Gamblin, Nathan Lowell and Allison Duncan started DragonCant. It started as a joke on Twitter, yes indeed. Nathan tweeted that he was about to attend the "dogwashing panel" at Dragoncant...and it grew from there. In only two weeks they had a website, a facebook group, a merchant room and a full schedule of panels and readings. Isn't it amazing what can happen out of thin air, so to speak. The uncon was a big success. They had thousands of hits on the website and the facebook group continues to grow.

The reading I did was a blast! I had an hour time slot and only a short story to read, so..I improvised..and it was simply too much fun. While I was reading, one of the listeners did a sketch of me! She then colourized it and added the Evolve cover in the background. How cool
is that?!! I just had to blog it, I thought it was so great. If, I mean WHEN you see
the video, you'll see, that's just what I looked like!! ;)

We did record my reading (the tech stuff was figured out on the fly, I was the last to read so it was mostly running smoothly by then!) and I'm going to attempt to embed it right into my blog. If that doesn't work, and your curious to see me reading and being goofy "live" (I know you are) you can follow this link. Come on, I know you wanna!! :)

DraonCant Reading

2010-09-05T09:59:00.001-07:00

This weekend is DragonCon in Atlanta. For those of us who couldn't be there, there is Dragoncant. It's an uncon for the rest of us, started by writer/podcasters Brand Gamblin, Nathan Lowell and Allison Duncan. They covered the parsec awards, have live events via ustreamtv, including readings. There's even a merchant room where you can buy your uncon favourites.

Guess what? I'm doing a reading at Dragoncant and you can tune in for it! (*insert joyous applause here*) Join me on Monday from 5:00-6:00 EST, for me and others on the west coast, that's 2:00, as I entertain the masses at Dragoncant! Okay, there may only be a few people tuning in, but it's going to be fun!! You can come by and sign in to ustreamtv and chat in the chat box next to the video, or you can just watch anonymously. (if you take the time to come by, sign in and say hi, I'd love it!!)

There are two channels, I believe this is the main one: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/dragoncant and the other is here: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/dragon-cant (I think it just depends which one is working properly!)

There's a full schedule of readings, check it out here: DragonCant Panels I hope to see you there! Well, you'll "see" me, I'm hoping to hear from you in the chat box. :)

A New Look for my Website

2010-09-01T09:14:00.001-07:00

I do my own website by using design templates and then programming with html myself. I gave my site an overhaul earlier this year, which was fun, but I quickly grew tired of the design I'd picked-to the point where I was asking myself, what was I thinking? Not a good sign.

I found a design I think works better for the needs of my site. Over the last few days I've been overhauling the site and now it's online!!

Here's the link, if you get a chance to take a peek, let me know what you think. ;)

SandraWickham.com

Fit4Success Network has a Sponsor!

2010-08-30T12:47:00.001-07:00

Our health and fitness network has a sponsor!!
As some of you may know, up until recently, Ning networks have been a free service. The one I created was something I was doing just for fun. I wanted somewhere people could come to encourage and support each other, as well as get more informatoin on
living a fit and healthy lifestyle.
Things changed and Ning is no longer free. Through their site I found a link to WEGO Health Portal, offering to sponsor health networks. I applied, and we've been accepted!!! Hooray! That means we can continue the network with ALL the features we're used to.

So, a huge thank you to WEGO Health, you can visit them here: http://www.wegohealth.com/

In honour of our new sponsors, I'd really like to increase content and participation, as well as the number of our members. So, please come by and check out the network, and if you like what you see, join up!! :)

Fit4Success

I Joined Goodreads

2010-08-19T10:50:00.001-07:00

I consider myself fairly competent when it comes to social media, but just the other day I realized there are still some
great sites I'm missing out on. Thanks to Jeannie Holmes, who tweeted about her Goodreads book giveaway of her novel Blood Law I have now joined the site. The best part, I'm already listed as a Goodreads author because they have Evolve featured on the site. (tiny newbie giggle)

How did I not know about this site before? Of course, to me it's all shiny and new right now so I'm just loving it...a new world to explore. Screw facebook, this is social networking for readers and authors and it's fabulous! I only joined yesterday and have already probably spent more time there than I should. I've found authors that I now, authors I've admired for, well, forever, and I'm able to view their pages, blogs, books they're recommending, reviewing and reading. I love that!

If I've set things up right, this blog I'm doing right now that goes out to my livejournal (hey peeps!!) blogger and wordpress blogs, should also now show up on my goodreads page. Technology has this little game it plays with me though, things NEVER work the first time, as they should. Doesn't matter if it's new software, a website, uploading etc, it won't work for me the first time, I have to fidge, finagle and wrangle things till it works right. I mean, I consider myself a fairly intelligent person, but this just seems to keep happening to me. I'm not sure what kind of lesson is hidden in there, but anway, my brief point made long is I'm not sure if this blog will appear on Goodreads the first time I try it.

Are you on Goodreads? what's been your experience? Will the shiny fascination I have with it wear off or is it a lasting relationship? If you're there, add me! If you're not, I highly recommend checking it out!!

The Grouse Grind

2010-08-16T13:37:00.001-07:00

So, have you ever climbed a mountain??

Here in BC, we have a fabulous hike UP Grouse mountain, called the Grouse Grind. (appropriate name!!)

I hadn't done it for over six years, my friend and I went today. It
says the average time is 1 1/2 hours, it took my friend and I 70 mins. Not
bad!! But WOW! It's tough!!!

Here's some stats a few pictures, we didn't take these pics, they're
from http://hapa-ning.com/2009/08/03/grouse-grind/ but it looks just
like it!!

Grouse Grind

Length: 2.9 kilometres (1.8 miles)
Elevation Gain: 853 metres (2,800 feet)

- Base: 274 metres above sea level (900 feet)
- Total Stairs: 2,830

- Summit: 1,127 metres (3,700 feet)
Statistics: Annually, over 100,000 people hike the Grind™.
Average Time: On average it takes up to an hour and a half to complete the hike.

For novice hikers, up to two hours is recommended.
Participants: Hikers range in age from 7 to 90, with an equal male/female split.

WriteOnCon

2010-08-11T09:42:00.001-07:00

I thought some of you might be interested in a free online writers conference, called WriteOnCon. It's going on right now!!

I tuned in yesterday to a live session with an agent, it was quite informative. They have editors, agents and authors doing live blogs, regular blogs, chat and live feeds as well. Here's a blurb from the site about the conference:

WriteOnCon is a free, interactive experience, designed to give writers
many of the features of a writer’s conference, but in an online
environment. Thanks to technologies like blogging, vlogging,
livestreaming, and chats, WriteOnCon will connect writers with both
industry professionals and fellow peers from the convenience of their
own homes. Critique forums will allow writers to receive feedback and
exposure for their work, and the entire program has been designed to be
both informative and entertaining.

The conference began on Tuesday and runs until Thursday August 12th. They have a full schedule and great topics, so if you get a chance, check it out! I'll be popping in when I can. :)

The site: WriteOnCom.com
The schedule: WriteOnCom Schedule

Short Story Invitation

2010-08-09T10:03:00.001-07:00

I have some exciting news!!

I've actually been sitting on the news because I wasn't sure if I was allowed to brag...I mean, talk about it or not, but I've been given the go ahead to shout it from the mountain tops.

I've been invited by the gorgeous and talented Philipa Ballantine to write a short story for a podcast anthology to accompany the release of her novel Geist, coming from Ace books on Oct 26th, 2010.

I'm really excited about this project (as you may have already gathered) not only because I get to be in the company of some great authors, but also because I got to read Geist before it's release!! I thoroughly enjoyed Philipa's new book. It's packed full of action, paranormal activity and great writing. It swept me away and caught me up in the intricate fantasy world where the living battle the dead. To put it simply, I loved it! Every page I read made me more and more excited to write my own story in Philipa's world.

Chronicles of the Order, the short short anthology will start in September 2010 and will "introduce you to the world of Geist and the Order of the Eye and the Fist." I will definitely keep you posted on how my story is coming along, when it's going "live" and where to find all the stories.

You can find out more about Philipa Ballantine, read the First Chapter of Geist and keep updated on all things relevant to the Books of the Order at http://www.booksoftheorder.com/

Thank you to Philipa for this fabulous opportunity.

Back in Action

2010-08-06T09:27:00.001-07:00

I've got my laptop back! Hooray!!

Thank goodness, now my cat has a place to sleep again.

Getting my laptop up and running again with all my programs etc, and then getting caught up on work stuff has pretty much filled my time the last couple of days. So, not much to blog about.

Will share this funny tidbit though..just to maybe bring a smile..

I had to buy a new bike helmet because after 10+ years I decided to do some mountain biking again. I have a tiny noggin'. I usually have to go for kid size sunglasses and hats. I was going to buy a bright pink kid's helmet with crazy patterns all over it (because it fit!!) but my husband wouldn't let me. He said it made me look like "a special adult." I say..hey, if the helmet fits... ;)

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly Reaction

2010-07-28T10:09:00.001-07:00

So....

I received my feedback from agent Laurie McLean of the Larsen Pomada Literary Agency (won at the Boom Effect auction to raise money for Tee Morris' daughter). WhenI first mentioned I won this critique, some people asked me to share the feedback when I received it. I shall summarize and include my initial knee-jerk reaction. Then I'll tell you what I think now!!!

Besides my main character, who Laurie liked, I need to work on my other characters because they're one-dimensional and cliched.
-Okay, fine, I can rewrite all my characters.

My villan is to 100% evil.
-I know you're not supposed to do that, was trying not to do that, but guess I failed.

My love interests are just props for my main character.
-Okay, I liked the two guys, but, oh well.

Too many convenient occurences in the plot.
-Well, I guess I didn't know how else to do it!

The cut away scenes for a different POV is disruptive instead of informative.
-Ack! I added the second POV to try and reveal more world building etc. Okay, epic fail.

I took too long to get into the story.
-Again, I know you're not supposed to do this, really tried to jump right in. *sigh*

Of course there were good things she said too, but on that first reading, those barely registered from my eyeballs to my brain. All I could focus on was the problems pointed out to me by this amazing, professional agent. Of course I had that eensy weensy part of me (okay, most of me) that wanted her to say it was brilliant (HA!) so I was feeling quite deflated. Yes, tears threatened to appear.

My temporary fix was to go for a long walk and listen to one of my favourite podcasts Writing Excuses. Forty-five minutes later I arrived back home, not jumping for joy, but feeling better. I took the advice of my writing friends and se the critique aside and have been letting my brain work on the problems.

This week at our little writing group we've created (just three of us genre writers) I read them the bulk of the letter, and it really didn't seem so bad!

She said I write cleanly.
-YAY! That's great!

She thought my main character was "delightful".
-Whoohoo! That's a good start.

She said I excel in making the reader feel they are in the Las Vegas high-stakes poker world.
-Well, that's a pretty darn good thing!!

She said I write the parts about poker and working out "with mastery".
-Wow, wait, what? Mastery? Holy crap! LOL. Those of you who know me a little won't be too surprised by that...

And the best part? The advice she gave me at the end. I hope she doesn't mind if I quote her here, but it's really terrific!!! She said, "So, you have some work to do. But great writing is not written, it is rewritten. I hope your editing phase goes well and your book becomes stronger in the process. Best of luck."

Wise words, am I right? For every writer.

My writing group friends and I helped me out, we talked through a few solutions and I'm really feeling better about the whole thing now. I haven't figured out exactly how to fix things but I'm on the right track. I'm still going to let it sit for a bit before tackling it again.

Thanks for listening, and remember, great writing is not written, it's rewritten! ;)

Get Published

2010-07-20T12:13:00.001-07:00

I'm a little behind on posting this, but the episode of Get Published where Michael Plested interviews me is now AVAILABLE!! It's Get Published Episode 35 - How Sandra Wickham's Career has Evolved. (get it, Evolved, I'm in the Evolve anthology..*cough*)

I'm really happy with the way it turned out, I was honestly a little afraid I was going to come across as a total dork...but it's really good! I hope you get a chance to listen and I'd love to hear your feedback. You can listen here:

http://www.michellplested.com/getpublished/get-published-episode-35-how-sandra-wickhams-career-has-evolved/

Advice to New Writers

2010-07-15T11:45:00.001-07:00

I'm writing this blog entry to participate in the Peevish Penman "My Best Advice to New Writers Blogfest."
You can find all the blog entries giving out great advice here.

Being a new writer myself, my advice is going to be pretty basic.

1. Commit Yourself
If you want to make a living as a writer, if you want to be published, you need to put in the time. It doesn't happen magically, despite us wishing it would. Treat it like any other job where you need to put in the hours and learn and improve as you go. As a Professional Fitness Competitor, I had no choice but to train and diet six days a week. There was NO OPTION. Now I treat my writing (ediitng, researching, outlining) the same way. There's no option, no excuse, you just have to do it.

2. Support Group
Gather supportive people around you, whether you join a writing group, create one yourself, or keep close any of those people who will cheer you along. I've found my support people by attending Conventions, which I also highly recommend. I've also met them on writing message boards (Absolute Write Water Cooler is my choice), Twitter and through blogging. Writing is NOT easy, and editing is worse. (hee hee) When times are tough, those in your support group can give you the applause, shoulder to cry on or kick in the butt that you need.

3. Submit!
In order to submit something, it has to be your very best work. That means, first, you need to finish it. Yes, finish it! Finish that short story or novel and then revise it until it's your absolute best work at that time. Then, send it in. Don't be afraid of rejection letters, they are just stepping stones (or ladder rungs, whichever you prefer) on your road to publication. Celebrate each rejection because it means you finished something, polished it the best you could and sent it out into the world! That's worth throwing a rejection letter party.

I encourage you to check out all the posts for Blogfest and get writing! :)

Who Do You Write Like?

2010-07-13T12:39:00.000-07:00

Here's something fun I found going around on Twitter. I am a little skeptical as to the results, however, since apparently I write like Stephen King. Really? I mean, really?!! Wow, that should be GREAT for my career then. Start lining up the film companies. (hee hee) It's still fun to try:

I write like
Stephen King
I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!

When is a draft complete?

2010-07-02T09:48:00.001-07:00

I am working away on draft two of novel number two and I am not sure, but I think it might be time to set it aside.

I've done some major changes, deletions, rewrites and rearranging.

What I'm not sure about, is when you know it's time to say "enough" to one draft and set it aside until the next draft.

Help! How do you, dear reader, know when your draft is complete?

Writing Quotes

2010-06-23T09:57:00.001-07:00

I'm trying to stick to my blog schedule of Monday, Wednesday, Friday. I've decided if I can't think of anything to blog, I'll start posting writing quotes.

We all need inspiration and motivation right?

Thought I'd start a collection..so if you have any favourites, please feel free to add them!!

Here's one of my favourites:

"I try to leave out the parts that people skip." ~Elmore
Leonard

Workout Ebook

2010-06-21T10:43:00.001-07:00

I have finally compiled and uploaded an Ebook Workout Program For anyone and everyone.
The motivation for this book came from an author on Twitter, who, when I said I was thinking of doing a new workout book, asked for a "non-scary strength training workout." I understood what she meant and I put together a workout plan for anyone and everyone at every age, every level, to use and feel comfortable with. The exercises are simple yet effective, I've given photo examples of how to do each exercise and have also included extra information about weight training in general, cardio training as well as nutrition. This is it! This is all you need. ;)
It ended up being a 25 page book. In it you'll find:
Information about Weight Training, including important points to remember and definitions of terms
10 stretching exercises including photographs demonstrating proper technique
Full Body Workout Program, including photographs of the exercise demonstrating how to execute them
12 pages of nutrition information, including eating guidelines, sample meals, how to be a label reader, food journal and more!
3 pages of information on effective cardio training

Interested? Thinking about improving your fitness level??!! Want to look and feel great? *insert any other fitness hype you've heard over the years* except this time it's not a gimmick! This is a simple, straight forward and effective workout that doesn't promise overnight success, but will help you reach your fitness goals.

Visit my site to order and start the journey to a healthier you. :)

First Interview

2010-06-18T09:45:00.001-07:00

I did my first podcast interview with Michell Plested of "Get Published" last night via Skype...and I think I was a total dork! LOL.

It was very exciting to be interviewed, we talked about my short story in Evolve, how that came about, what my plans are for the future and much more. I even dished out some writing advice, going back to what I've learned in my career as a professional fitness competitor and relating that to writing.

When it airs on the podcast I'll let you know and you can decide whether I was dorky or not. ;)

Rewrites

2010-06-15T14:56:00.001-07:00

Ah, I have been a bad blogger yet again.

It seems like, as soon as I set a goal for myself to blog three times a week on Mon, Wed and Fri, my blogging almost stopped! And today is Tuesday and I'm blogging. See, don't ever set goals, it will just screw you right up. (I'm totally kidding)

I'm getting into rewrites on novel number two, there's lots to be done but it will improve the novel a great deal. Which is good, right? So..I just have to get at it!

Happy writing, editing and publishing to all the writers out there. ;)

Ode de Catsomnia

2010-06-04T12:56:00.001-07:00

Ode de Catsomnia

It's 4:10am.

I try to ignore them.

Girl cat is walking on me. Sits down hard on my stomach.

Boy cat is on the floor scratching the side of the bed.

Boy cat chases girl cat.

It's 4:30 am.

"Fine." I get up and feed the cats.

Now I'm up, I have to pee.

Back in bed.

What day is it? Right.

It's 5:00 am.

I have a long task list today.

Plus, there's this, that and the other thing to take care of.

It's 5:30 am.

Girl cat jumps on bed, goes back eats some more, jumps on bed, goes back and eats some more.

Boy cat is done eating and sits on bedside table whining for attention.

It's 6:00 am.

Boy cat jumps on top of bookshelf and starts knocking things off. Girl cat sits on me, watching him.

Boy cat jumps off top of bookshelf and lands on my legs.

It's 6:30 am.

Boy cat is curled up between Daddy's legs, purring.

Girl cat is sleeping on mom's pillow.

It's time for me to get up.

This is Catsomnia.

Random Fun

2010-05-31T16:38:00.001-07:00

I have nothing to blog today. Unlike the saying, "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all," if I don't have anything to blog, I'll just blog anyway. :)

So here's a fun one. My husband is a Pro poker player, we've met or seen most of the top pros from TV at tournaments, inlcuding Dave "the devilfish" Ulliot. Even if you don't follow poker and don't know who he is, this is HILARIOUS. (give it a few seconds to get to the funneh)

Enjoy!

A Song for Dave Ulliott

Length:	2.9 kilometres (1.8 miles)
Elevation Gain:	853 metres (2,800 feet) - Base: 274 metres above sea level (900 feet) - Total Stairs: 2,830 - Summit: 1,127 metres (3,700 feet)
Statistics:	Annually, over 100,000 people hike the Grind™.
Average Time:	On average it takes up to an hour and a half to complete the hike. For novice hikers, up to two hours is recommended.
Participants:	Hikers range in age from 7 to 90, with an equal male/female split.