Nicole Laurent

Some people roll their eyes when they hear writers discussing ‘the muse’. It makes us sound a little left of center and not completely sane. And perhaps the concept of muse was derived from the need to explain away the voices in our heads.

 

My muse is a little perturbed with me lately. It’s not my fault. None of it. In the last two weeks, my kids have been out of school more often than not. Since Christmas, the kids have had one teacher workday, the MLK holiday and 2 ½ SNOW DAYS! Yes, we had snow in Georgia. Not much, but the ice prevailed and shut many of our unprepared counties down.

 

On top of that, I’d volunteered to judge in Romance Writers of America’s (RWA) Golden Heart competition. This is an avenue for unpublished authors to compete and for excellence in writing to be recognized. Agents and publishers often offer the finalists contracts based on these submissions. I take my responsibilities seriously and  began reading and judging my six assigned manuscripts the day they arrived … and finished a few days later. My muse may have gotten a little pissed. She hates to be ignored.

 

With my judging duties completed, I sat down to work on my current book. And wrote 12 pages of utter crap. The next day I deleted my 12 pages of utter crap and wrote 8 new pages … of utter crap. I deleted those yesterday. I think I’ve lost my mojo. Or my juju. I’m writing poo-poo. But I digress.

 

And now my family is in ‘pre-travel’ mode. My husband’s brother is getting married next weekend and half of my family is in the wedding. If you’re female, you know that prior to any short trip or vacation, 95 percent of all pre-travel planning, booking, purchasing, packing, etc., will fall on you, especially if you’re a stay-at-home-mom. Which I am.

 

Dammit.

 

So I’ve been a real peach to be around lately what with my broken mojo, my ever-present and demanding offspring and planning the cross-country trip from Hell.

 

If I sound a little bitchy, it’s not an accident. I’m not good at stress. Just ask my husband. You know, that guy who has had to do very little in preparation for this trip. Oh yeah, he got measured for a tux. Woo-hoo!

 

Bastard.

 

Though we’ll be across the country next weekend, I still plan to post a blog. But  if I’ve learned anything about my husband’s family and weddings, I can assure you this wedding will be rife with comedy. Uh, at least after I put my spin on it.

 

So I may post late Sunday or early Monday. It depends on the drama/comedy that ensues, if our return flight is on time, if the airport’s Internet connection is spotty and if I have good pictures to share.

 

Oh! I haven’t flown in over ten years. I’m bringing my Kindle and I need to upload some books to read on the plane—it’s my Valium. Anybody have a good book to recommend?

 

And if you see my muse, or my mojo, or even a little juju, would you please send them my way?