Guest blogger Trish Perry

Captain’s Log, Stardate 08.24.2006

Fabulous chick-lit author Trish Perry is blogging with me today!

Trish's debut chick-lit novel is THE GUY I'M NOT DATING.

Kara Richardson has finally suffered one breakup too many. She's decided to go the no-dating route to romance, although she's not quite sure how that works.

She couldn't have picked a worse time to meet Gabe Paolino. Gorgeous men hardly faze Kara. A personal trainer, she works with hunks every day. But Gabe, the handsome young deli owner in town, proves way too available and way too challenging for Kara's vow of friendship. How will she adhere to her new lifestyle without scaring Gabe away?

Enter matchmaking friends, a strange elderly aunt, three demanding teens, and one hard-to-take vixen with eyes for Gabe. Add an overcrowded road trip and plenty of God's blessings, and Kara may discover that the guy she's not dating is the best boyfriend she's ever had.

And now, here's Trish!

My hubby and son left for a week of youth camp yesterday. More writing time for me!

Ahem. They left 22 hours ago. In that time I have accomplished the following:

1. Edited a chapter in a manuscript that’s due this week.
2. Grocery shopped.
3. Picked up enough carryout Chinese food to last until Thanksgiving (I like a lot of choices).
4. Read 35 emails.
5. Belted out “When I Fall” with Rachel Lampa on my Karaoke machine. Three times.
6. Watched two chick flicks while grazing, Chinese style.
7. Soaked in a hot tub while reading reviews in Book World.
8. Slept fitfully—I’m a wimp when the men folk go away.
9. Awakened and had a cup of coffee and a fruit smoothie.
10. Visited with my daughter, SIL, and grandson.

So . . . whom do I get to blame for my only writing half an hour in the last 22 hours? I need my guys to come home!

What is it about us writers? We live, live, live, to write. But we go through these weird stages when you’d think writing was like shaving your legs; something you put off until you’re just plain disgusted with yourself.

Personally, I think there’s a little battle going on, constantly, between the left and right hemispheres of our brains. The right side wants to fantasize, to consider stories and situations and possibilities. The right side even wants to put those ideas down on paper. But the left side wants to take those fantastic thoughts and organize them now. Put them on paper between 9:00 a.m. and noon, and again from 12:30 to 7:00. The left side wants to see production, not just ethereal thoughts floating around in the mind and occasionally landing on the keyboard.

Now, I love my brain—both sides. But that left side scares me just a little, and I rebel against it. It’s like physical exercise: if I think I’m just having fun moving around, I’m good to go. But if I have to work out to stay healthy? Ick! And I love reading books and discussing their merits with people. But if I reviewed for a living? I don’t know if I’d enjoy reading quite as much.

So I’m wary of giving that rigid, organized left hemisphere too much power. Don’t want the freedom and joy of the right hemisphere to be overcome by structure and obligation.

But, unless we’re writing simply to write—and some people do—we’d better rope in that right hemisphere once in a while. If I didn’t want others to read my work, I could ignore that party pooper on the left. But I don’t just live, live, live to write. I live, live, live to be read. And to play a role in spreading His Word through a truly fun medium.

So now I’m going to sit at my computer and dive back into that fun medium. Right after I thank Him one more time for blessing me with the desire to write.

And right after singing “When I Fall” one more time. Let’s go, Rachel, honey.

Camy here: You go girl! Thanks for blogging today, Trish!

TMI:

Diet: I have a confession (Camy hangs her head). Last night I had 6 pieces of shortbread. Homemade. With oatmeal in it. And toooooooooooooooonnnnssss of butter.

I felt so guilty that today I did THREE exercise programs. I skipped the commercials, so the actual time of exercise was something like 63 minutes.

Alas, that third exercise program probably only took care of one or two shortbread cookies.

I have not touched the shortbread today.

(Sounds like a poem, don't you think?)

No Cold Bums toilet seat cover

Captain's Log, Stardate 08.22.2008 I actually wrote out my pattern! I was getting a lot of hits on my infamous toilet seat cover , and I wanted to make a new one with “improvements,” so I paid attention and wrote things down as I made the new one. This was originally based off the Potty Mouth toilet cover , but I altered it to fit over the seat instead of the lid. Yarn: any worsted weight yarn, about 120 yards (this is a really tight number, I used exactly 118 yards. My suggestion is to make sure you have about 130 yards.) I suggest using acrylic yarn because you’re going to be washing this often. Needle: I used US 8, but you can use whatever needle size is recommended by the yarn you’re using. Gauge: Not that important. Mine was 4 sts/1 inch in garter stitch. 6 buttons (I used some leftover shell buttons I had in my stash) tapestry needle Crochet hook (optional) Cover: Using a provisional cast on, cast on 12 stitches. Work in garter st until liner measures...

Grace Livingston Hill romances free to read online

I wanted to update my old post on Grace Livingston Hill romances because now there are tons more options for you to be able to read her books for free online! I’m a huge Grace Livingston Hill fan. Granted, not all her books resonate with me, but there are a few that I absolutely love, like The Enchanted Barn and Crimson Roses . And the best part is that she wrote over 100 books and I haven’t yet read them all! When I have time, I like to dive into a new GLH novel. I like the fact that most of them are romances, and I especially appreciate that they all have strong Christian themes. Occasionally the Christian content is a little heavy-handed for my taste, but it’s so interesting to see what the Christian faith was like in the early part of the 20th century. These books are often Cinderella-type stories or A Little Princess (Frances Hodgson Burnett) type stories, which I love. And the best part is that they’re all set in the early 1900s, so the time period is absolutely fasci...

Toilet seat cover

Captain’s Log, Supplemental Update August 2008: I wrote up the pattern for this with "improvements"! Here's the link to my No Cold Bums toilet seat cover ! Okay, remember a few days ago I was complaining about the cold toilet seat in my bathroom? Well, I decided to knit a seat cover. Not a lid cover, but a seat cover. I went online and couldn’t find anything for the seat, just one pattern for the lid by Feminitz.com . However, I took her pattern for the inside edge of the lid cover and modified it to make a seat cover. Here it is! It’s really ugly stitch-wise because originally I made it too small and had to extend it a couple inches on each side. I figured I’d be the one staring at it, so who cared if the extension wasn’t perfectly invisible? I used acrylic yarn since, well, that’s what I had, and also because it’s easy to wash. I’ll probably have to wash this cover every week or so, but it’s easy to take off—I made ties which you can see near the back of the seat. And...

Writing Progress on Camille's Next Book

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Lady Wynwood and the Senhora’s Bargain excerpt

Here’s a snippet of the Lady Wynwood novella I’m posting on Patreon at the moment: “If you will follow me?” the butler said and led the way up the staircase. The first floor hallway was long and sumptuous, with paintings on the wall and small statues on spindly tables next to elegant Chinese faces. The sound of music was slightly louder, but still muffled, and Laura could hear no voices at all. On the second floor, after traversing a narrower hallway with closed doors on either side, the butler knocked at a door at the end. A deep, smoky voice bade them enter. The room was dim but for the roaring fireplace and a few well-placed but low-burning lamps. The furniture looked comfortable and was upholstered in shades of burgundy and hunter green, and although the light did not reach the heavy curtains, she assumed they were the same colors. From the far corner approached a woman who had been standing behind the heavy wooden desk situated there. She was dressed in a dark burgu...

Free short story: How Laura Met Aya

One of the perks of Tier 2 and higher in my Patreon is that they get a bonus short story twice a year. They voted to read about how Laura met the Senhora and so I worked on “Lady Wynwood and the Senhora’s Bargain” at the end of November and I’m just about finishing it up right now. When outlining this story, because it was so intertwined with how Laura meets Aya, I ended up writing a short story about how they met, which became the prologue. (And then the story of how Laura meets the Senhora exploded into a novella instead. I’m not sure exactly how. I just kept writing and writing and writing …) Anyway, as a Christmas gift, I decided to give my patrons the prologue of “Lady Wynwood and the Senhora’s Bargain” because it’s a complete short story about how she met Aya, which I think some of you might like to read. (In order to see the post, you may need to register for a free Patreon account and then Follow my page for free). Enjoy! “Lady Wynwood’s Encounter” (how Laura met Aya)

January 11, 2025 Weekly Roundup

KICKSTARTER: My Kickstarter is starting next week! Look for a post here on Patreon and an email newsletter. THIS MONTH ONLY: Subscribe to Tier 3 to get a book box in May https://www.patreon.com/posts/119485728/ BONUS: Protection for Hire Behind-the-Scenes: Wings Domestic Abuse Shelter https://www.patreon.com/posts/119266114/ BONUS: Sneek peek video of the Special Edition hardcover of Lady Wynwood’s Spies Volume 1 https://www.patreon.com/posts/119321861/ REMINDER: I posted my book release/posting schedule in my New Year’s post https://www.patreon.com/posts/119127050/ REMINDER: “Bidding on Treason” novelette available for all paid subscribers for this month only! https://www.patreon.com/posts/119191277/ Free books: Sherri Wilson Johnson, Christian Romantic Suspense https://sherriwilsonjohnson.com/bayside-betrayal-rr2025/ In October, my novella Bento and Betrayal releases in the multi-author Christian Suspense anthology, Don’t Blink. C.D. Gill, who writes Clean R...

Lady Wynwood #7 early release Kickstarter

I worked on my first Kickstarter and it got approved! It’s for the Special Edition Hardcover of Lady Wynwood’s Spies, volume 1: Archer and the release of Lady Wynwood’s Spies, volume 7: Spinster. I contacted my graphic designer about the Special Edition Hardcover of vol. 1: Archer—it’s going to be SO beautiful! The Kickstarter focuses on the Special Edition Hardcover, but it’ll also include vol. 7: Spinster so that it’ll sort of be like a launch day for vol. 7, too. A third special thing that’ll be in the Kickstarter is Special Edition Paperbacks of all the books in the series. They won’t be available in stores, just in the Kickstarter (and later, from my website, and also in my Patreon book box tiers if I decide to do them). The Kickstarter is not live yet, but you can follow it to be alerted when it has launched. (You may need to create a free Kickstarter account.) Follow Camy’s Kickstarter

Camy’s upcoming publishing schedule

After the craziness of the Kickstarter, I hope to put Lady Wynwood’s Spies, Volume 7: Spinster up on Amazon probably in the first week of March. I am currently working on a Christian contemporary romantic suspense, Year of the Dog , because it’s due for the multi-author anthology I’m in that releases in May, Danger in the Shadows. I’ll probably post the chapters (including the annotated chapters) on my Patreon, but I won’t be able to give a free .epub copy to my paid subscribers since it’ll release in the anthology in May 2025. The chapters will be taken down in May, so be sure to read it while it’s still up on my Patreon. I’ve been posting my Christian contemporary romantic suspense, Protection for Hire , but there’s a chance I might pause it in order to post Year of the Dog , because I am realizing I’m not very good at juggling two contemporary projects at the same time. If I do pause it, I’ll start up again after Bento and Betrayal is done, probably sometime in the...

Tabi socks, part deux

Captain's Log, Stardate 07.25.2008 (If you're on Ravelry, friend me! I'm camytang.) I made tabi socks again! (At the bottom of the pattern is the calculation for the toe split if you're not using the same weight yarn that I did for this pattern (fingering). I also give an example from when I used worsted weight yarn with this pattern.) I used Opal yarn, Petticoat colorway. It’s a finer yarn than my last pair of tabi socks, so I altered the pattern a bit. Okay, so here’s my first foray into giving a knitting pattern. Camy’s top-down Tabi Socks I’m assuming you already know the basics of knitting socks. If you’re a beginner, here are some great tutorials: Socks 101 How to Knit Socks The Sock Knitter’s Companion A video of turning the heel Sock Knitting Tips Yarn: I have used both fingering weight and worsted weight yarn with this pattern. You just change the number of cast on stitches according to your gauge and the circumference of your ankle. Th...

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Lady Wynwood #7 early release Kickstarter