Essentially, oils are difficult to get at

I like to dabble in aromatherapy, herbal medicine -- even crystal healing. I really believe there are hidden energies in plants and rocks and trees and everything else, all around us. But alas, my senses are just too 21st century to lock into anything but radio waves. I took a fairly down-to-earth herbal medicine course once -- lengthy and thorough and I started using some of the teas and tinctures for healing. I tackled only the simplest of ailments. Stomach aches, menstrual cramps, head colds. My daughter had cradle cap and I concocted a salve to "heal" her. She had a green scalp for months. (I like to think she is more clever now because of it :)

The one thing I have tried with some success is distilling essential oils from plants material. That's what Adrian Culpepper is up to in my latest release, Green Grass. She's a self-taught chemist. She brews huge batches of flowers and mixes up massage oils. OK, so here's my experience. I've done the easy stuff -- orange peels. I boiled down a pile of peels and collected the condensate. I got a tiny thimbleful of limonene. Smelled great. Then I tried a large flask full of lavender flowers and -- well I burned them and it stunk for days. I tried a flask full of simple green grass and got nothing more than a smear of oil. But that one did smell fresh.

Bottom line of this blog post? Distilling essential oils from plant material is tough. You need huge amounts of plant material to get a little bit of anything even remotely resembling an oil, and even then it's probably full of impurities.

I created Adrian to learn the art at her mother's knee, and a lot of trial and error. Read the book and see what her future holds! Essentially, it's a happy ending!

later - Gem

See that bottle of lotion? Top shelf, right? It's massage lotion from Garden of Eden! I'm giving away a bottle of that! I picked the custom fragrance of...you guessed it. Fresh Grass! No kidding. It smells like a dream and surely something Adrian would brew up! Also, I willthrow in a nifty desk calendar and a pdf copy of Green Grass for one lucky winner. All you have to do is leave a comment here, on my blog during the next week, August 2nd-8th. I will pool the emails and select one winner.

I recently did an interview with the hero of my new release, GREEN GRASS. (Out today from Whiskey Creek Press Torrid! http://www.whiskeycreekpresstorrid.com) If you want to check out the interview, it's over at my author page at Coffee Time Romance.
http://www.coffeetimeromance.com/board/forumdisplay.php?f=1351

It's great fun to "talk" to your characters. Dang, they can be clever. But here's the rub. Get really close to the monitor, because I am going to whisper something....they are not real.

At some point the conversation becomes inevitably ridiculous.
"So Kevin, do you wish I would have given you a bigger dick?"
"Ah, yeah Gem. Why so stingy? And I want to be a body builder, not a scientist."
"Too late to change you."
"Will there be a sequel?"
"Perhaps, but some body parts I can't change."

It's all in good fun. Honestly, relating to my last blog about writing conflict, I think it might be good writing technique to interview all the characters BEFORE you write them. Get them on the couch. "So tell me all about yourself. What are your goals? Your motivation? Your conflicts?"

Wow, I am onto something here. Gotta go. I'm going to do some interviews....

Check out Green Grass!

Gem

Writing Conflict

That title has multiple meanings. I am having a writing conflict lately. I sit and write endless dialogue -- some of it really pretty darn good. Page after page turns into chapter after chapter. What's the problem? No conflict. My characters are just blathering along, happily, with occasional angst. We are getting to know them, we are getting a sense of place, setting, emotional involvement. JUST NO CONFLICT.

My strength as a writer is in character development. I've also "been told" that I can create a feeling -- put you there with the characters. Mood... So we are are warm and fuzzy and feeling the mood. Yawn.

Story ideas pop into my head like daisies. They really do. I've heard other authors talk about a lack of ideas. That's not my problem, but I can't seem to get beyond the initial story line. I imagine all my characters are in position, sitting around the bonfire that I have so painstakingly created and then suddenly all eyes are one me.

"What do you want us to do? Roast wienies and sing songs?"

No that won't work. How about somebody stand up and strike another with a baseball bat. Yikes -- not my style. WHERE'S THE CONFLICT?

I'm in a pickle. We live our lives every day with little conflicts arising. Makes me realize how insignificant our daily strife really is. We should always ask ourselves -- when it seems the world will come to an end when the person in line ahead of us takes the last cupcake -- would this make for an interesting plot conflict? If the answer is no, we should let it go. In life and in writing.

Later - Gem

Green Grass has a cover!

The artist captured the feeling of this book PERFECTLY!

So you're stealing from me, eh?

I've gotten a lot of notices lately about piracy and dogs copying books to sell or give away. That's pretty low. Very low. I make enough on my ebooks to buy a pack of gum occasionally, and they are stealing from me? I work for months to perfect a manuscript and tease out the emotions of my characters. And some fuck-up is stealing from me?

What I have to wonder in all this is -- where's my publisher? This is the one thing I think they should do for authors. I mean really, they need to intervene on their own behalf. It's costing them too. More, probably. What exactly are they doing for their 65%?

I suppose I will keep filling out the forms and asking nicely for these places to pull my stories down. I got nuttin' better to do. But maybe a big publisher could use some muscle -- maybe collaborate with others -- and put an end to this.

Gem

How totally self-indulgent! I love these "get-to-know-me" question thingies!

(x) Shot a gun?
( ) Gone on a blind date.
(x) Skipped school.
(x) Watched someone die. I worked in a nursing home when I was in high school.
(x) Been to Canada? Thunderbay
( ) Been to Alaska
( ) Been to Cuba
( ) Been to Europe
( ) Been to Las Vegas
( ) Been to Mexico
( ) Been to Florida
(x) Been on a plane
( ) Been on a cruise ship
( ) Served on a jury
(x) Been lost. Literally and figuratively
(x) Been on the opposite side of the country. Does that mean south? I live in the upper midwest.
(x) Gone to Washington, DC. As a dopey teenager. Didn't appreciate it.
(x) Swam in the ocean
(x) Cried yourself to sleep
(x) Played cops and robbers
(x) Played cowboys/girls and Indians
(x) Recently colored with crayons
( ) Sang Karaoke
(x) Paid for a meal with coins only?
(x) Made prank phone calls.
( ) Laughed until some kind of beverage came out of your nose.
(x) Caught a snowflake on your tongue
(x) Danced in the rain
(x) Written a letter to Santa Claus
( ) Been kissed under the mistletoe
(x) Watched the sunrise with someone.
( ) Spent a day in bed with a friend/lover
(x) Blown bubbles
(x) Gone ice-skating
(x) Gone snow skiing. Cross-country only. I'm a flatlander.
(x) Camped out under the stars.
(x) Spent a rainy day curled up with a good book and didn’t even get dressed
(x) Seen something so beautiful that it took your breath away?
(x) Are or have been Married? Are
(x) Children? One
(x) Have a Pet? Many
(x) Been skinny dipping outdoors
(x) Been fishing
(x) Been boating
(x) Been water skiing
(x) Been hiking
(x) Been camping in a trailer/RV But a tent is better – I love camping.
(x) Flown in a small 4 seater airplane
( ) Flown in a glider
( ) Been flying in a hot air balloon
( ) Been bungee-jumping Are you insane?
(x) Gone to a drive-in movie
(x) Done something that should have killed you
(x) Done something that you will probably regret for the rest of your life

1. Any nickname… nope

2. Mother’s name – Ruth

3. Favorite Drink? ice cold beer

4. Body Piercing? Yes, ears. Tattoos? No

5. How many of the 50 states have you been in? twenty or so, but many just passing through Lived in? 2

6. How much do you love your job? Un poco

7. Birthplace? Earth

8. Favorite vacation spot? Home
9. Been to Africa ? Not yet!

10. Ever eaten just cookies for dinner? Yes

11. Ever been on TV? Yes

12. Ever steal any traffic signs? No.

13. Ever been in a car accident? Yes

14. Drive a 2-door or 4-door vehicle? Well yeah...

15. Favorite number? 21

16. Favorite movie?

17. Favorite Holiday? Thanksgiving – The only time I really like to cook
18. Favorite dessert? Bread puddings of all sorts
19. Where do you see yourself in 10 years? Watching my daughter graduate from college
20. Furthest place you will send this message?