Using Your Intuition by Diane Bator

 

  

Using Your Intuition

I'm one of those people who sometimes seems to know things before they happen. Not always. I don't profess to be psychic or a medium or anything of that sort. But there are times where "coincidences" have popped up and left me a bit rattled. Since I'm still working from home for the foreseeable future (no pun intended there!), I have delved a little deeper into honing some skills and trying to see if it's all a series of coincidences or if I really am tuned into something larger than my creative brain.

Don't get me wrong. I'm as skeptical as the next person but I don't believe things just happen.

I find it interesting that I will write a book then later meet people with the same name as a character or two. Or (and we've all done this) that I will think of a friend and they will text or call out of the blue.

Or if I have a song in my head when I get out of bed in the morning, it will be the first one I hear on the radio that day - like those pesky Christmas carols that get stuck in our heads all day. Those little things.

In my quest to hone my intuitive skills, I've done some fun little exercises. One of them was taking twenty identical recipe cards and writing a single word on each. Ten positive words and ten negative words. Then you fold them and stick them in a bag or a container then draw them out one at a time and see if you know whether they are positive or negative. In my case, I used red ink for negative and purple ink for positive so I could also go with the colors.

I did really well the first few days. I averaged about 13/20 every time. I had a really good session (16/20) and a couple of really bad ones (9/20). I can't say I'm exactly confident about my abilities with this but it has been kind of fun.

The one place I have trusted my intuition is with my writing skills. Part of honing that skill was done by meeting in a writing group and using prompts to free-write for 15-20 minutes at a time. One thing I discovered about my mindset is that I can clear everything else from my mind and just let my mind flow with the prompt. I don't tend to use my imagination, I just let the ideas gush out of my head and onto my paper.

One thing I miss about doing those exercises is that the hive mind (most of the group at times) seemed to either pick the same prompt or had similar elements in their written pieces. It fascinated me how we could all be on the same wavelength while simply sitting in the same room.

Since I've been unable to meet with my usual group, I've had to keep my mind going with other ideas:

• Writing a completely new story for NaNoWriMo helped to keep my ideas from going stale.
• Switching between two different series or even going from writing to needlepoint to give my mind a break.
• Playing mind games, such as the Negative/Positive idea, to create a new challenge.
• Rewarding myself for writing a certain number of words.
• Journaling about the "coincidences" in the day.
• Sometimes even playing with Oracle or tarot cards to see what pops up.
• Playing word games like Best Sellers or flipping pages in books to find the 7th sentence on page 77 or some other random number.

One thing I have found with writing is if you stop trying to force it, the words come more smoothly. The Japanese call it mushin or "no mind." Don't think. Just do.

At the top of my post, you will see The Bakery Lady, which is my only book set at Christmas so far. Oh boy! I have some work to do in the future! Book in my Wild Blue Mystery Series,  The Bakery Lady introduces Leo Blue to Christina Davidson who knocks the confirmed bachelor for a loop!

From the moment Leo Blue meets the tattoo artist 's sister Christina, he's drawn into a web of bread dough and lies. Christina Davidson has returned to Packham with a duffle bag full of secrets. Leo soon discovers her biggest secret is Christina's alter ego and her husband who stands accused of murdering an up-and-coming artist. He promises to help set things straight and plans to bring husband and wife together for Christmas—even if it costs him his sanity and the love of his life.

You can buy this and my other novels by clicking here!  I have also added Helga's 12 Days of Christmas that runs throughout the book below...

Have a Happy Holiday Season!!

Diane Bator

Helga’s Twelve Days of Christmas

On the first day of Christmas, someone gave to me a partridge in a lit up pine tree.

On the second day of Christmas, someone gave to me two Christmas wreaths and a partridge in a lit up pine tree.

On the third day of Christmas, someone gave to me three French horns, two Christmas wreaths, and a partridge in a lit up pine tree.

On the fourth day of Christmas, someone gave to me four plastic snowmen, three French horns, two Christmas wreaths and a partridge in a lit up pine tree.

On the fifth day of Christmas, someone gave to me five golden things, four plastic snowmen, three French horns, two Christmas wreaths and a partridge in a lit up pine tree.

On the sixth day of Christmas, someone gave to me six boxes of chocolates, five golden things, four plastic snowmen, three French horns, two Christmas wreaths and a partridge in a lit up pine tree.

On the seventh day of Christmas, someone gave to me seven candy canes, six boxes of chocolates, five golden things, four plastic snowmen, three French horns, two Christmas wreaths and a partridge in a lit up pine tree.

On the eighth day of Christmas, someone gave to me eight Christmas stockings, seven candy canes, six boxes of chocolates, five golden things, four plastic snowmen, three French horns, two Christmas wreaths, and a partridge in a lit up pine tree.

On the ninth day of Christmas, someone gave to me nine shiny baubles, eight Christmas stockings, seven candy canes, six boxes of chocolates, five golden things, four plastic snowmen, three French horns, two Christmas wreaths,and a partridge in a lit up pine tree.

On the tenth day of Christmas, someone gave to me ten glowing candles, nine shiny baubles, eight Christmas stockings, seven candy canes, six boxes of chocolates, five golden things, four plastic snowmen, three French horns, two Christmas wreaths and a partridge in a lit up pine tree.

On the eleventh day of Christmas, someone gave to me eleven silver bells, ten glowing candles, nine shiny baubles, eight Christmas stockings, seven candy canes, six boxes of chocolates, five golden things, four plastic snowmen, three French horns, two Christmas wreaths and a partridge in a lit up pine tree.

On the twelfth day of Christmas, someone gave to me twelfth assorted angels, eleven silver bells, ten glowing candles, nine shiny baubles, eight Christmas stockings, seven candy canes, six boxes of chocolates, five golden things, four plastic snowmen, three French horns, two Christmas wreaths and a partridge in a lit up pine tree.

Merry Christmas! 

Getting Emotional in Writing

Yesterday I had a friend (who is also a fan!) tell me how much she loved my books except for one thing - they're too short! An avid reader, she went on to say how she got so caught up in my characters and the story that she couldn't put the book down and was disappointed when it ended.

Way back in a high school psychology class, I had to write a paper on the central nervous system versus the peripheral nervous system and used writing as an example of how to describe each. I use my brain, a part of the central nervous system, to create the work. When I re-read and edit, I use my peripheral nervous system since my hands sweat, my heart beats faster, and my body twitches in response to what I have read. This allows me to build a scene as though I am the character I've written and make the story more real to my readers.

As a writer, I also get caught up in the emotions of my scenes and characters. My palms would sweat when I wrote about Lucy and her ex-husband's relationship in The Mystery Lady as well about Katie's life with Maddox in The Bookstore Lady:

She’d never awakened in a motel room alone and naked before. Someone had always taken her home. Usually Maddox. She pushed that thought out of her head and splashed water on her face. In the mirror, her skin seemed almost green in the bad lighting. Someone had beaten her, probably Maddox, judging from the bruise on her cheek and the cut on her lower lip. Probably from the diamond he wore on his pinky.

Beside the toilet, bright blue fabric speckled with purple spots along the hem hung over the shower rod. Her favorite dress. The one she wore yesterday. At least she thought it was yesterday. She fingered the spots and fought off a wave of dizziness.

Blood stains. Whose blood?

 

In The Mystery Lady, Lucy becomes paranoid when she spots a car parked on her street for several days then strange men in her neighbourhood. Her concern for the well-being of she and her children actually left me a bit on edge and I found myself peering out the window a few times as well!

 Roger always said she’d make a good writer because she was such a drama queen, but maybe she was a drama queen because she was a writer. In truth, her mood was more about Roger and her deep down reluctance to let her kids go with him for the week. Normally, she’d probably have a hard time staying mad at someone like Clancy.

“Look, sweetheart.” He chuckled. “You go back to whatever it is you do all day and have fun with your kids. I’ll pad my tools with bubble wrap so you can relax.”

 “You are such a jerk.” She snapped.

“That’s quite an observation considering you just met me. Maybe you should give me a chance to actually be a jerk before you accuse me of such a heinous crime.” He toyed with a wrench.

Fondled? Stroked? Darn her writer’s brain. What was wrong with her? Lucy blew out a frustrated breath then rolled her eyes and stomped away. “Men.”

 

One of my favourite characters in the Wild Blue Mysteries series is Leo Blue. I find it easy to put myself in his place to see what he sees and think what he thinks. Leo looks at life a little differently than most, which makes him a lot of fun to write and  great foil for Danny since he will say and do pretty much whatever he wants.

The scenes with Leo and Christina in The Bakery Lady were some of my favourite (and steamiest!) to write. I allowed my emotions to run wild and tried to take inventory as I wrote to capture the moment as realistically as I could. In fact, one of the best ways for me to develop a scene, is to write a rough draft then go back and "feel" the emotions and "live" the scene in my head. Here's one example:

Leo clenched his hands at his sides to keep from reaching out to push back the damp hairs off her neck for a better view of the butterfly. “You’re right, she is cute. And funny.”

She spun around and knocked a steel bowl full of cookie cutters off the counter. The bowl clanged on the painted concrete floor and rolled toward the oven while the cookie cutters clattered to the white tile floor. Her freckled elfin face was dusted with flour, some of which rose off her lips as she huffed. When she glared at Clancy, her eyes reminded Leo of the slate gray-green Himalayan Mountains at sunset. Her red lips shone like the juicy flesh of a watermelon. He’d forgotten how much he liked watermelon.

 

 I find that the more I write, the more emotional my writing becomes as I become more connected to my characters and learn more about them. Currently, I am working on a new book in the series, The Painted Lady, which should be ready for release in 2017.

 All three of my Wild Blue Mysteries are available through Amazon & Books We Love as well as at Coles/Chapters/Indigo in Canada by special order!

Setting The Scene with Diane Bator

In writing the Wild Blue Mystery novels, I've had to make sure to keep the settings close in mind. I've even gone so far as to make a map of the stores and homes in my fictional town of Packham for my own sanity as I go from novel to novel. So far, I've written three novels and have two more in the works so I have a lot of locations to keep track of. Places like Daisy's Bakery, the tattoo shop, Java Jo's, all have to be consistent with each book in the series.

Currently, I'm juggling three book series with different publishers, so keeping each new town distinct and organized is no small feat!

The Wild Blue series features two main towns:  Packham and Newville. Both locations are in the Northeastern US. One is a small town, one a larger city. Both are central to a few of my main characters.

One of my favorite books to research for the series was The Bakery Lady. Not only did I have to learn more about the bakery itself, but just happened to see a show one night about Andy Warhol who became my inspiration for artist D.J. Gage and his studio loft, painted silver and decorated with Warhol in mind...including the famous red couch.

The small Ontario town I currently live in was my inspiration for the town of Packham, right down to Father Sam's front yard with the Virgin Mary statue and the Presbyterian church with the amazing stained glass windows that Katie walks past. The bookstore Katie eventually owns was also based on a local indie bookstore that I love to haunt, right down to the staircase to the upper level. I've even held book events there and look forward to planning a new one now that all my Wild Blue books are in print, but that's a whole other blog!

 

So, if I live in Canada and have used my town as a backdrop for my novels, why did I chose to set the series across the border? Easy answer:  on the advice of a fellow writer who did the same thing on some advice he received. It's working for me so far, but I would like to set a series in Canada once all my current obligations are met...two books for the Wild Blue Mysteries series and an undetermined amount for my other two series. 

I do hope you check out my Author Page on the Books We Love website as well as on Amazon and my personal website Pens, Paints and Paper.

A Great Sense of Humor...

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I believe it was Tommy Cooper, British prop comedian and magician, who once said "Always leave them laughing." Personally, I love to laugh and enjoy novels that make me laugh, think, and truly enjoy the time I spend absorbed in their pages. If you were to catch a glimpse into my house, my kids and I are always bantering jokes back and forth. My middle son usually wins - until his younger brother pipes up with a one-liner that stops us all cold and everyone ends up too busy laughing to come up with more jokes.

In every novel I have written, I always use humor to keep the tone light and the story flowing along when things are getting tense. This is a scene from The Bakery Lady that puts a little levity in the first meeting between Leo Blue and Christina Davidson:

Leo moved toward the table for a better look, standing as close to Christina as he dared. She smelled as sweet and spicy as her desserts. He should move away before he said or did anything stupid. “Those look good.”

“I hope you’re talking about the cookies.” She scowled. “They’ll look even better after they’re baked.”

He grinned, sitting on a nearby stool. “I hope we’re still talking about the cookies.”

Humor keeps a good mystery from getting too dark,especially in the case of a cozy mystery. Even if it's just from that one character who is the foil for the serious detective. The sidekick who becomes a beloved character in his own right. Leo Blue started off has the entertaining sidekick in The Bookstore Lady, then took over until I had to feature him in The Bakery Lady. People seemed to love is quick wit.

Tonight I'm blessed with a houseful of laughter thanks to my youngest son's sleepover birthday party and a houseful of chatty teenagers. I'm bound to find fodder for another book in all the nonsense as they clown around. While not everyone may love a clown, who doesn't love a good chuckle now and then?
Keep Smiling!

Diane Bator
Wild Blue Mysteries:
The Bookstore Lady
The Mystery Lady
The Bakery Lady

Writer, heal thyself!

I love to do research. Sometimes it becomes an addiction on par with Candy Crush or Bejewelled and, as with any good novel, it always begins with a "what if?" Lately, I've had to do research I thought at first was unrelated to my Wild Blue Mysteries, but recently the information I've needed in my books has also dogged me in real life. I'm learning what it takes to be a strong, female lead then give some of that energy over to someone else to make life better.

Every good romance novel has a strong woman, who either needs or lets a man take care of her. While I don't write actual romance novels, my mysteries follow the same flow. All three of my Books We Love novels to date feature women who start off from a place of being either abused or dejected in some way. All three women: Katie Mullins (The Bookstore Lady), Lucy Stephen (The Mystery Lady), and Christina Davidson (The Bakery Lady), have to relearn how to trust and allow love to return to their lives while helping to solve the mysteries surrounding each of them.

Like Katie, Lucy, and Christina, I've become broken by trying to do it all for everyone else all the time - like any good mom would. Along the way, I've lost myself. It's been through my writing that I've found kinship and strength. Writing group members, Facebook allies, and others I have learned to reach out to for support have become a huge part of my circle. They not only give me encouragement, but also have allowed me to become the woman I am evolving into, both in my life and in my writing as I recover from health issues.

My research has led me to discover some interesting things that will appear in two upcoming novels. The Painted Lady will bring forth some art history and lessons while Christina rediscovers the passions she thought she'd long buried. The Crazy Lady will feature some technological gadgets used as spywear that will finally help Danny and Katie put an end to some serious trouble in Packham in a big way.

With every story I research, I learn.
With every book I write, I grow and develop - both as a writer and as a human being.
With every novel, I heal myself and, hopefully others.

Thank you for stopping by. You can find my books on Amazon at Diane Bator, Author.

New Year, New Beginnings by Diane Bator

I am one of those busy people who manages 3 teenagers (one at University), 2 part-time jobs, a fledgling writing career and a new editing business as well as a husband. Yes, I am my own special kind of crazy and can cause myself all sorts of stress. I also make sure to create all kinds of joy in my life to keep some semblance of balance.

During a really busy, extremely stressful, time in my life recently, I took the time to make a list of the things that relaxed me and gave me joy. This list is in no particular order, but simply as they popped into my head.

1.       Baking Cookies

~ I don't do this enough because of the inevitable side effect - I eat them!

2.       Laughing

~ the light-hearted, silly moments are the ones that inspire me the most and open the creative portal.

3.       Snuggling with my cat

~ our furry baby was a rescue animal 9 years ago as a newborn kitten. He's funny, chatty, and always seems to know when anyone needs a hug.

4.       My kids

~ good, bad, or ugly, the kids are always entertaining to some degree and a constant source of laughter, hugs and inspiration in my life.

5.       My friends

~ coffee dates and lunches aren't as common as they used to be so I savor every one. My friends all know I write (as to many of them!), they all know I use the best lines they toss out at me, and they all know I treasure every one of them!

6.       Yoga

~ I love yoga to restore my body and spirit - my mind I'm still working on. Mind tends to be a wild horse that does NOT want to be reined in and constantly needs the gentle reminder to be still. I seek the calming effect, which helps me focus on my writing later.

7.       Christmas Movies

~ Okay, I admit it. I'm a Christmas movie junkie, especially those made-for-TV movies. Have you ever noticed about 95% of them feature writers?

8.       Walking

~ A great moving meditation, I love as how my feet move, my brain sweeps out the bad thoughts and lets my creativity flow - just when I have no pen or paper within reach!

9.       Martial Arts

~ my hubby and kids did karate for 6 years before I started nearly 3 years ago. Another form of moving meditation, students are trained to empty their minds, yet be aware of everything around them.

10.   Writing

~ My Happy Place! When the rest of the world is getting me down, or life gets out of control, I find escaping to write is one of the best ways to regain my joy, calm my spirit, and find my focus.

As the New Year begins and the glitter and busy-ness of the Holiday Season fades, we all need to find take a deep breath and return to being the creative souls we are. This year, make Joy your constant companion. Find the awe and wonder in the little things and make your own list of the things that make you happy for those days you'd rather tear the world - imaginary or otherwise - apart.

My wish for all of you in 2015 is to learn how to stop once and a while and just breathe.

Happy New Year!

Diane Bator

Author of the Wild Blue Mysteries Series

~ The Bookstore Lady

~ The Mystery Lady

~ The Bakery Lady

....more coming soon!