My So-Called Writing Life ~ @oddlynn3 #LynnCrain #amplanning #PCers

Yup ~ I'm Frustrated

The best laid plans…every writer knows about how easily things can get derailed…and I am the poster child this week. The last time I was here I talked about my article End of Summer Funk and how my lack of planning was derailing my writing.

That blog was all about planning and how I need to do it to keep on track. I did what I said and took two days to re-evaluate my writing life. Normally, I would do this every fall but since I moved to Europe, I hadn’t done much in this area as mentioned. I have accomplished keeping the calendar for two weeks. I actually started it on September 2^nd after deciding what I hoped to complete this next year. I’m really jazzed that I’ve done this and so far, kept it going.

However, there is one thing I’ve yet to do…and that’s write a full day…or achieve my full 5000 words. To get any of my goals for this month, and believe me there are a lot of them, I must write 5000 words a day. This leads me to believe that I’ve over-planned my time with trivial items and you can see from the photos that I even included my showers. Sometimes structure isn’t what it’s cracked up to be.

A Few Days of My Calendar

The goal I was trying to accomplish was not to put me into a box but to put down on paper all the things I needed to do in a day. Well, I’ve done that and I’ve used the whole page to do so. I’m ticking off each item as I do them noting if I do something on time or not but I don’t seem motivated to write. Frankly, I’m thinking it may be more of a glorified ‘to do’ list than anything else. Now, all of this issue is with me and some have told me I’m depressed. Ha! That would be the easy way out. No, I know it’s more than that because I’d be sleeping all day with depression. Like they say, been there, done that.

One of the reasons I’ve been reading the book Authorphobia by Steve Windsor is that it touches on some of the very things I’m struggling with at the moment. It’s not that I can’t write but my issue right now is can I do it as well as before…this is also known as a fear of success…and I’ve struggled with this all my life. I have always been afraid that I can’t do as well as I’ve done in the past. I don’t see the growth that others do in my books and fret about the whole thing.

And this is flat out stupid. I hate the games our own minds play on us. I know I’m not the first author to feel this way and I won’t be the last. I can remember a keynote speech at one of the many Romance Writers of America conferences I’ve gone to where a NYT Bestseller talked about this very issue. She said that she’d sit down at her computer daily and instead of writing, she’d start looking at her email and before she knew it half her day was gone. The ways she used to nip it in the bud were simple and useful but at the time I didn’t need them so I didn’t heed them either. I was so surprised that she said she struggle with this daily and that it all had to do with fear of success.

Today, I wish I had and it’s one of the reasons I’m reading a lot of writing books now because if I won’t write, I’ll do research, listen to music and beat myself up…naw…not really but I want to. The one thing I’ve learned is I need to want to do something, I need to feel invested in getting a story done and while I do feel that way, apparently it’s not enough to make me write.

Yet. Today I had a break through with music. I’d stopped listening to it about six months ago and within a week or so, my writing went down to just doing blogs and maybe a few thousand words toward my fiction work. So maybe, just maybe, I’m being a little hard on myself because I have been averaging at least 1k a day. Still, it’s a far cry from where I need to be.

Along with music, I’ve been reading a lot, and not just those research or writing books. I’ve been reading fiction and must have completed about 15 stories in the last two weeks. Yeah, that’s at least a book a day and today I said to myself my favorite phrase ‘I can write better than that’ yet again. Personally, I think that was a tipping point. When I get so tired of what I’m doing online or reading, I know it’s time for me to start putting the words on paper.

Fear of success is worse than writer’s block in my book because I can write, I just can’t write what I want. I have to convince myself if I don’t get it down on paper, I have nothing. Like Nora Roberts said ‘You can fix anything but a blank page.’ She’s absolutely right. Who cares if that first draft is the ugliest baby in the room? Even ugly babies can have plastic surgery when they’re older but if you kill them before they ever come to fruition, you’ve done everyone involved a disservice.

Personally, I know that part of this is still dealing with my lack of parents as they never told me they were proud of my writing and me getting published. My mother had Alzheimer’s by the time I was. My father didn’t really say much but Dad did have every one of my books that were in print and he’d smile when we talked about it as well as ask when the next one was coming out. My husband has repeatedly told me how proud he’s been of what I have accomplished when others said I couldn’t.

Plus every time this comes up, I recall the fact I had a bad critique relationship where one of my partners chewed my ass off for not bringing a perfect piece. Never mind the fact the story she was critting was actually one I had written earlier and didn’t bother to look at before I sent it out. Frankly, it ended up that she was a grammar and punctuation person who couldn’t stand things being any other way than her own. She would never say anything was good most of the time. This makes me second guess myself over and over. And this happened probably six or seven years ago if not more.

The baggage we carry with us about our writing can be horrible. One of the things that has also happened with me being in Europe is the fact I don’t get out with other writers. That always was a catharsis for me and rejuvenated my writing soul. Every time I would go out with my writer friends or go to a writers meeting, I would be ready to hit my week running with new stories and ideas. I know I need those contacts and they will always be part of my life. Recently, I’ve been reconnecting with writer friends and planning to go to RT as well as other things.

Then there have been the signs…oh…I didn’t mention those? Two weeks ago tomorrow, I woke up with what I thought, and still do, was plantar fasciitis and made a doctor’s appointment. She didn’t think it was and sent me to a podiatrist. I have that appointment on Thursday. Yesterday, I woke up and could barely walk at all. That combined with an elevator kept me stuck in the flat all day. I keep my foot elevated and woke up feeling a little better even managing to get out to walk a little today. But at one point in the day yesterday it was like my Dad was smacking me on the side of my head, telling me to quit being lazy. If I couldn’t walk, I should be writing. The message was as loud and clear as if he’d been standing right beside me.

As for the rest of today, I’ve had little signs all day. iTunes dumped most of my songs and I had to go retrieve a lot of them from my iPod and Amazon. During the course of recovering songs, I started to listen to some of them. I swear there were lines that were directed exactly to me. I’ve been wanting to work on my urban fantasy The JR Chronicles, so when I heard the words from songs like Madonna’s Ghosttown or Imagine Dragons’ Demons or Pat Benatar’s Promises in the Dark, I know what I should be doing. All those played one right after the other and they hadn’t been organized that way at all. I’m being told exactly what I should be doing yet again.

So I might not be where I should be as far as words on the page, but I know that I’m heading in the right direction because I’ve done the planning, acknowledged the issue and had the signs. What about you? Do you carry any writing baggage around with you that can hurt your career if you’re not careful? I’d be interested in hearing what you have to say.

See you all next week. Until then…

Lynn 

Monday’s Austria Scoop ~ @oddlynn3 #LynnCrain #AWriterInVienna #PCers

Colorful Veggies at the Naschmarkt

Hi Everyone!

While there are lots of things happening here, many of them good, I haven’t had fun this past week. Matter of fact, it was just a week ago Friday that I realized just how bad my left foot was. Whoa ~ I can see it now, you don’t know what I’m talking about so let me rewind this a little bit.

All last weekend when I was being part of history, my foot was being a real pain. I had woke with heel discomfort and thought it must be plantar fasciitis. For those of you who don’t know what that is, it’s the thick band of tissue called a ligament that connects your heel to your toes. The pain is normally worse the first part of the morning and lessens during the day.

At first, that was true for me but as the week went on, my foot started hurting all the time. I probably exacerbated the problem when I didn’t slow down my walking schedule at all. Another thing that I probably should have been doing was leg stretches before walking. I haven’t been because I saw no need. I’ll learn more Thursday from the podiatrist as my general doctor thinks it is something else. Lucky me.

I’ll keep you all post but realize that as I’m less and less mobile, chances are I’m on my bed or couch with my feet up. Since this computer isn’t in bed with me, things will not get done as quickly as I hope. Things like email will pile up because my phone is normally overwhelmed by the number of messages I get. It’s harder to search and definitely harder to answer things. Overall, I really don’t do much from my phone except Facebook, Skype, some Twitter and reading. And of course phone calls. 

However, this column is supposed to be about Austria not my foot but trust me, the two are related because this past week has been one of the most beautiful since we got here. The temp was moderate and the humidity low. Most days the sky has been a wonderful blue and when it hasn’t, the clouds haven’t been threatening. We’ve had some sprinkles but it wasn’t until today that we actually got some showers.

Still all in all, the week has been fabulous. And there are many things to see but alas, I couldn’t get around to doing some of these things. Like going to the Bruskers Festival. That’s where all the street entertainers get together in one place and do their thing. It was in Ressellpark this year and since it’s our last year here, I wanted to see it but when it took me hours to walk without pain, it wasn’t in the agenda.

One of the many Naschmarket Flower Shops

We did manage to walk through it though as we came back from the Naschmarkt where I had to get my apples and fresh spinach. That’s another thing I’ll miss and I definitely want to go someplace where we’ll access to a Farmer’s Market. The pictures this week are from another visit to the Naschmarkt but little changes there. There are flower stalls, produce stalls, clothes stalls and restaurants.

A Clothing Table at the Naschmarkt

Frankly, since the day was beautiful, I was happy to be out and about even with a hurt foot. Never mind that it took me twice as long to get to places. I was out in the beautiful weather in a place I’ve been privileged enough to call home for a short while as our time is coming to a close here. More on that next week.

Hope you enjoyed this little look into Austria and beyond. See you all next week!

Lynn 

Monday’s Austria Scoop ~ @oddlynn3 #LynnCrain #AWriterInVienna #PCers

Hi Everyone!

I think I can finally say that summer is over here in Austria. They tell me that we’ll have at least one more hot spell but I’m not so sure. It went from being in the 70-80 range to in the high 50s to 60s range. A drop of 20 degrees is exciting in anyone’s book as far as I’m concerned. Add some rain to that and you’ve got a drastically different temperature than the scorcher that happened last weekend.

Beyond that, two other momentous things happened here in Austria this past week. First was a rather hazardous happening. One of the new buildings down the street, it was being completed as we arrived here, lost a tile. Now, that normally wouldn’t be much for anyone but when that tile is over a 100 feet up, it could have been a very tragic moment.

Where the Tile Fell From

The DH happened upon it right after it happened and took these pictures. One is of the spot it fell from and you can see there are many more like it in place. Very quickly they cordoned the place off and made sure that no one could walk the sidewalk around the building at all. And while this has caused some despair on my part since this is our most common route to places, we don’t know just what happened.

The Pieces

We speculate that the heat was so high it actually did something to whatever was holding the tile in place. We don’t know if glue was a factor but we do know Austria is not prepared for the heat we saw this past summer. Most of the older buildings have no air conditioning and it’s only been in the last decade that it has been an option in newer homes. There were many nights that people just stayed outside around fountains because it was much cooler than being in their own homes. Like I’ve said before, unfortunately, this is not going to change at all. As the climate changes, the earth will be getting hotter. So we all better prepare now, no matter where we live.

The Lack of Sidewalk

Another event that happened was even more momentous to me. I have not hidden the fact I’ve always been weirded out about where I live and the relationship it had concerning World War II. My DH says I’m just strange for feeling this way but part of that has come from the Austrian people themselves. While most are friendly there are just as many who are standoffish and don’t like foreigners. They are a stoic people that just have never given me warm fuzzies. Now there are a few I have come to dearly cherish but overall, not so much.

On Saturday, we went to the mall at the Hauptbahnhof, which is just up the street from our flat. It’s become a very convenient place to shop since it’s just a train ride away.  When we arrived at the station where we get off, we were greeted with a mass of humanity. There were people and clothes plus other essentials everywhere. At first, the DH and I thought it must be a fundraiser for the Syrian refugees we knew would be passing our way. We went about our business and walked the platform toward the grocery story. One of the tracks held a train where people were getting on and off but we really couldn’t see since it was on the next platform over.

We speculated just what that train was as we went on our way. I was only getting bananas at the SPAR grocery store so it would be a fast visit. It was our last resort since we’d been to the Naschmarkt and didn’t find any nor at our grocer around the corner either. I was thrilled they were unpacking them when I walked in, quickly picked my bananas and paid for them.

When I came out, we went back up the steps and were again greeted by a mass of humanity. There were kids everywhere and I was never so proud of Pup Harry as when those kids ran to pet him. He took it all in stride and was very good considering he’s only been around the grandkids once. We went back through and the train was still on the tracks, which was odd and by the time we got to the end of the platform where we’d catch our Stassenbahn, there were cots set up.

We knew immediately it had to be some refugees and that those children we’d seen were just happy to be alive as well as seeing a dog. Their parents had to be equally happy to be in a country where it’s peaceful and they aren’t fearing for their lives. That evening as we listened to NPR, our thoughts were confirmed as Austria was one of only two countries who were going to take in hordes of these refugees flooding Europe. The other was Germany. Imagine that…the two who has started the worst war in history with some of the biggest atrocities stepped up to the plate whereas my own country floundered…and I wondered what was in the thought process of the US that very little was being done to help these people, who no fault of their own, were displaced.

In that moment, I couldn’t have been prouder to be here rather than at home. I had always wanted to help those without or those in desperate need. My best friend and I were all prepared to sign up for the Red Cross during the Katrina crisis and were talked out of it by our husbands. She and I have regretted the fact we didn’t just go and do something. Today, I live in a country where the UN is very prominent. And I if I can, I’m going to find a way to help these people as much as I can. Just as soon as I figure out where to go and if they will take someone who knows only English.

I flipped through the stories at NPR and came across one about those refugees. They had been held up at the Austria-Hungarian border while awaiting visas. Hungary wasn’t going to let them through without a valid visa to somewhere in Europe. Germany had started issuing them a while ago and at first Austria was a little hesitant but eventually got on board. Once that was all decided, the trains started and had been going. The picture of the young child being held by his mother made me tear up. The country I was living in was helping those kids and I was deeply touched.

I try not to make this blog or this column anything that it isn’t supposed to be but here goes…humanity is just that…humanity. It doesn’t matter what color we are, what religion we are, young, old, rich, poor, straight or gay – we are people and we need to learn to value everyone on the planet. I feel that there will come a time when we as a species start dying out and we’ll need every one of us. It’s as important as the need to get off this rock someday. We need to care for each other and live those Christian values we are taught because if we don’t, we aren’t living the life intended by the covenant of our religious teachings. The wellbeing of others is part of that charter and it’s time we start making good on it. Love is love and we need to start spreading it around.

Hope you enjoyed this little look into Austria and beyond. See you all next week!

Lynn 

Monday’s Austria Scoop ~ @oddlynn3 #LynnCrain #AWriterInVienna #PCers

Hi Everyone!

Yes, I’m horribly late but this is a week that is rare for me. I actually have people here from the US and that makes me excited. Yeah, sure, they’re actually here for a meeting in regards to my husband’s job but along the way, I’ve become good friends to many of them. And for that I’ll be forever thankful.

But to be honest, this past week in Austria has been boring. And I’m not saying that just because there was nothing to do but more in relation to what was going on. This is one of the few weeks where there isn’t a festival of some sort and that’s because school started on Tuesday.

However, the days have been cooler and I’ve slowly got back to where I even wanted to do things. Like long walks. So, on Sunday we finally got to walk through city center and all around the old part of Vienna. This is one of my favorite things to do as the streets are narrow and you’re never quite sure what you might find.

Another thing that we noticed during this long walk was that the leaves from certain trees were falling off. Many were on the ground and we’re wondering just how the trees are going to fare for the winter since they are dropping them way too early. I’m pretty sure it was because of the massive heatwaves we’ve been having for much of July and August. Now, that’s changed but it’s much too late to reverse the damage to the trees.

Leaves at Resselpark

Leaves around the Brahms statue

We also noticed a wonderful display at Resselpark in Karlsplatz. It didn’t take long for my eyes to tear up as I walked through gazing with wide-eyed wonder as I lived a second time something very important. The world has changed greatly since I was born but one of the greatest changes came when I was in my early thirties because the world as I had known it was suddenly gone.

Communism's Fall

Pictures from the Fall of Communism in Europe Exhibit

My husband had direct exposure to some of the events as he ended up stuck in Germany for 6 weeks as they, mean Russia, tried to decide the route it was going to take. And that’s a lot of what the exhibit was about. The fall of the Berlin Wall and the events leading up to the end of Communist Europe. It was a stressful yet exciting time as we negotiated just who was going to end up with nuclear weapons, who was going to rule the now free states and how Europe was going to look afterwards.

Informative Exhibit about the Fall of Communism in Europe

I can say, I think they turned out pretty good. For that I am grateful as I am allowed to cross borders easily and see places it quickly. My husband was in Europe during that time and he definitely likes this place much better than before. We both didn't realize until seeing the pictures just how much had gone on while we were young. It all came to a head when the Berlin Wall came down but had been stewing for many years prior. 

Hope you enjoyed this little look into Austria and beyond. See you all next week!

Lynn 

Monday’s Austria Scoop ~ @oddlynn3 #LynnCrain #AWriterInVienna #PCers

Lower Belvedere Garden During a Rain Shower

Hi Everyone!

Hope you’re having a great day today. Yeah, I know, I should have warned you about not being here the last two weeks but the fact is I think I’ll be taking off most Julys and Augusts in the future. This is for a variety of reasons, one of which is the heatwaves that seem to be part of the weather landscape right now. And frankly, it’s not going to change but that’s for another day and another blog.

We have come through two scathing hot weeks that I felt I wasn’t going to survive. We even did a staycation this past weekend only because we couldn’t find somewhere cooler to travel to and rented a car so we could go see the Perseids late last week. It was a nice little Mercedes and I didn’t even ask to drive it once. The DH even commented that I must not be feeling well since I’ve always driven the cars we’ve rented over here. Hey, they’ve been great cars by and large…so why not?

Anyway, he was correct in assessing my well-being as I was not reacting great to the heat and high humidity. It was easier for me to crawl into bed with a good book than it was to sit at the computer to do anything. I was that miserable. I thought it was me just being a whiney butt only to find out many people were feeling the same effects. At least that made me feel not so bad but it did point out my inadequacies as far as getting words on the page.  

The one thing I am sad to note is that Europe is going to have to change its attitudes about summer heat and air conditioning. Most nights when we were out on walks, we’d find people surrounding the many fountains just to get a cool breeze because it was cooler than their homes. Most places in Europe do not have A/C and that includes the new places being built. We were lucky as it was put in after we took the flat. This also includes hotels. So if you’re booking a European vacation, remember to ask about A/C and plan accordingly. The summers are getting hotter here and the very young as well as the very old do not tolerate it well. So things have to change.

My writing habits will start getting better this week now that I’m functioning but I still need to add more. This week’s inspiration came in spades as we went to a place called Grossmugl and did part of their Star Walk. You can find out more about them here and here and even here. It was one of the most spectacular places I’ve ever been. However, getting there was a little exciting.

We had rented the car earlier in the day but didn’t leave until just about 11 pm as we wanted to get the best views possible. Vienna actually dims a lot of their lights past that time and we thought maybe the visibility would be great somewhere in the city but no such luck. So we decided to get out of town where there were no lights. Turns out that was the least of our worries. While the directions were clear, the road signs weren’t and we found ourselves going about 5-10 miles out of our way just to find a turn around.

Once we got on the right track again, I noted to the DH that he needed to slow down so I could see the signs. Sure enough, he had to back up in the middle of the road as it was easier than turning around. Finally, we’re on the right road and got to an intersection where I felt we needed to turn left and was supported by the hard copy map. Not good enough, he wanted to see it on GPS. Turns out I do know my directions and off we went.

Since by this time, it was sometime after 1 am, we stealthy went through town as we expected to see some signage indicating the start of the Star Walk. Fie on us for thinking it would be that easy! But at least this time, we found an easy turn around spot. I was looking for stars and when I read the description again, it jumped out that the stars were actually on the ground. Finally, we found the pub where it started and sure enough, there were stars on the asphalt. So we started to follow the stars.

Now, for whatever reason, it hadn’t sunk in that this walk was actually through private farm property for much of it. As we follow the stars to where the pavement ended and the country lane began, we wondered just what we got ourselves into. We’re slinking around houses and found ourselves in a tree tunnel that is very reminiscent of the ones you’d see in a horror flick. Yeah, you know where my mind went as we could hear others somewhere on the walk, lots of rustling in the underbrush and every little distinct noise. It was so eerie in spots that Pup Harry didn’t like it either.

We walk up a small rise and I comment that I wonder where it will end when suddenly we pop out of the tunnel. All we could say was ‘Wow’ as our gaze was pulled to the sky. I have never seen the Milky Way as much as I did that night. It was an experience to remember. We stayed about 20 minutes just standing and watching the sky. We saw about 20 meteors during that time and were very jazzed. The DH didn’t want to sit down as he was really afraid that he’d fall asleep.

When it was time to go, we backtracked through the scary tunnel, past the farm house that suddenly had barking dogs to our car. Vienna had seemed so far away when we were out in the field but once we got into the car and took off, we discovered it was only about 40 minutes from our flat. Needless to say, we slept in the next day as it was around 3 am when we got to our place and had a very lazy Friday.

Sorry that I didn’t take any pictures…I can’t believe I didn’t…the picture is from Lower Belvedere taken during one of the rain showers last year. Hope you enjoyed this little look into Austria and beyond. See you all next week!

Lynn 

Monday’s Austria Scoop ~ @oddlynn3 #LynnCrain #AWriterInVienna #PCers

Hi Everyone!

Today was full of reading and writing as I try to move ahead with my writing career. Sometimes, it’s harder for me to do a column than it is to write a story. Other days, this is much, much easier. Last week was one of the most beautiful weeks we’ve had so far this summer. The temperatures were cool, the evenings lovely and there was even a night or two where I had to wear a sweater as it had quite a chill in the air.

Not so much this week so far. I woke up this morning to one very wet dog trying to kiss me away. Apparently, it rained unexpectedly while Pup Harry and my dear husband were out on their morning walk. It was a surprise to both of them since there wasn’t any rain predicted at all. Matter of fact, we were lamenting the news that it was supposed to get heat-wave hot again with temps soaring to the high nineties to low hundreds with plenty of humidity. So not good.

But there was one good even that we celebrated this weekend. Now most people wouldn’t celebrate this but it’s incredibly important since the celebration was in regards to my close companion since I’ve been in this country. Pup Harry turned four years old on Saturday. In many ways, he’s still that little, tiny puppy that we brought home from Salzburg one October day. He’s been with me through thick and thin. He’s been my companion when the DH has been on travel.

I actually think of him as a savior because with him I had to exercise and get out of the house. Since I brought him home, I’ve lost fifty pounds – that’s right – 50 pounds and that’s nothing to sneeze at. I had lost a little more but with two hospital visits, one for my kidneys and a minor surgery, I’m allowed to gain a little back but the fact I’ve kept it off is testament to his influence on me. I’m hoping that with him, I’ll lose another fifty because a dog can’t live in a flat without going out. A lot.

Our celebration consisted of doing a long, and I mean long, walk through the Graben and back around the Opera House. It took a couple of hours and it was a very nice way to spend the afternoon. We also gave Pup Harry some steak since it’s his favorite food. He’s the first dog I’ve ever had with a sensitive stomach so we have to be careful and not feed him too much people food.

Here’s some pictures to show Pup Harry as he’s grown up. The captions say it all. He’s a Parsons Russell Terrier and is a little big for his breed. He’s about a half inch taller but with that half inch comes another almost 4 pound but he’s still only 20-22 pounds, which is the smallest dog we’ve ever had. He has a fantastic lineage and it’s our hope that we can breed him once when we get back to the States. I haven’t got a picture of his stance but it’s awesome because you can tell he has champion lines.

Pup Harry's 1st night

Pup Harry in my office

Waking up from a nap

Am I in trouble?

Pup Harry in Rome

Pup Harry in Venice

Pup Harry in winter

Pup Harry in summer

Pup Harry sleeping in his travel bag as he waits for his next great adventure

He’s a great little dog and is the thing I’m most grateful that Austria has given me. Hope you enjoyed this little look into Austria and beyond. See you all next week!

Lynn 

Monday’s Austria Scoop ~ @oddlynn3 #AWriterInVienna #LynnCrain #PCers

Hi Everyone!

Or should I say...good afternoon everyone. Sorry to be a meandering writer but that’s me today. A lot has happened in Austria since I was last here. I have some wonderful wedding pictures to show you. I went on a trip to Munich, Germany. And the heat wave that was crippling us finally broke. I mean there were days I couldn’t get out of bed because I was so tired from the heat and humidity. We’re lucky that we have an air conditioner but sometimes that isn’t enough when you have to take Pup Harry for a walk. More on that later.

One of the most fantastic events a romance writer can witness is a wedding. The first weekend of July I was invited to what was considered a typical Austrian wedding. It started at 2 in the afternoon and wouldn’t end until 4 am the next morning. Unfortunately, I could keep my eyes open to stay the whole time but the time I was there, it was magical.

First, the church was magnificent as seen in this picture. The groom was English and it was in the Christ Church in Vienna. This church was only a few blocks from our flat but we took a taxi as the heat was unbearable that day. Besides, who wants to walk in a silk gown in the humidity?

Christ Church Vienna

Second, the reception venue was also just a few blocks from our flat. We were surprised that we had never walked past it before. The Palais Schonburg was where it was held. It had wonderful grounds and the dining room was spectacular. The food was wonderful and you can see what we had on this menu. 

Our Dinner Menu

I’ve also included a picture of us walking up to the place. You can see people but not really their faces, so I don’t think they’ll mind much. (Especially since I’d warned them this was going on my blog in the near future.)

Palais Schonburg Wedding Venue

The trip to Munich was nice and the heat wasn’t so bad there. However, what I did there and pictures from the trip will on tomorrow’s blog. Just suffice it to say, I had a lovely time and met some wonderful people. I was also welcomed back again if I wanted to come.

Now, the past two weeks, and a big part of the reason I didn’t post last week, was because the heat here has been horrible. And I mean the worst it has in the whole four years I’ve been here. We’re talking humidity over 50% each day and temps near or over 100 degrees. To be honest, it’s not the heat that gets to me. I used to that having grown up in the Southwest US but throw the humidity in and you’ve got one unhappy writer.

There were days where I didn’t want to crawl out of bed but knew I had to get a few words down on paper. I mean, a few were better than none…right? Still, I’d rather have the wonderful Austria I’d had in the past summers where the heat lasted only a day or two. This had lasted nearly a month and the only reprieve I got was by getting out of the country.

Many people this year have gone to the mountains only the find that they too are unbearably hot. It’s been eerie a few nights to walk down the streets and absolutely no one is parked there nor is there anyone out. We thought about going out of town too but realized very quickly there was no place in Europe would be cooler than in front of our air conditioner.

So began two weeks of only going out before eight in the morning or past eight at night. There were still times when I would get a headache from the humidity. It was hard to do because even Pup Harry was miserable.

Then a miracle happened. I noticed that my phone’s weather told me that the weekend would have some rain. Rain usually meant a break in the heat. The DH and I compared notes for days and crossed our fingers. We woke up Sunday morning to a substantially lower temp. It was in the high sixties. Today, it rained and now we can go about our business and not fear someone or some pup is going to pass out.

Hope you enjoyed this little look into Austria and beyond. See you all next week!

Lynn 

We're Sexy Hot ~ @oddlynn3 #LynnCrain #MySexySaturday #PCers

Welcome to week 100^th week of My Sexy Saturday. This week’s theme is We’re Sexy Hot and it’s a very exciting day for this blog. Unfortunately, I have to make it short and sweet as I’m heading out the door to a conference in Munich, Germany. This is the first time I’ve done a conference in Europe and I’m really excited.

Don’t forget, my blog is always hopping with Monday’s Austria Scoop where I talk about Austria and Tuesday’s My So-Called Writing Live where I talk writing and life. Both can be incredibly boring or incredibly exciting. Some weeks it’s a little bit of both. And right now, they are on hiatus until July 20^th and 21^st and I can’t wait to share with you an Austrian wedding and all about conferences.

Today’s story is one that is now finally complete and in my agent’s hands.  And I am so happy to report that I am now officially a client of the Cherry Weiner Literary Agency. All that’s left is to sign the contract but I am very confident that this will be happening.

You all know the story, Loving the Scotsman, and I consider it my hottest book ever. I am also hoping it’s going to be my breakout book. Here’s the setup if you’ve forgotten:

Eryn Delancie is ready to move away from corporate law and find something new. When she runs into her ex-lover, Logan MacKenzie, through a chance encounter she wonders if he could be part of her new life since their horrible breakup fifteen years ago. The barriers between them are immense and fraught with secrets on both sides, forcing them to overcome past wrongs as they forge a future together.

Here’s my seven sexy paragraphs from Loving the Scotsman:

I looked down at the woman sleeping in my arms again and caressed her beautiful face. It was obvious the sex would be as good if not better. How would I ever get her to love me again?

Monica bit her lip nervously. She was a good friend. I only hoped Eryn understood just how good. Standing, I headed to the door. “Open it for me, I might have something that might work.”

Carrying my precious cargo, I put her down in an armchair close to the middle of the room,  placing her head and hands on the table. I made her as comfortable as I could and turned to both of them. “She’s going to have a hell of a headache when she wakes up in the morning.”

Monica nodded in agreement. “And she’s gonna be pissed she can’t find her underwear.”

I smiled slyly, then pulled it from my pocket to show her where it landed. “I know. You can tell her ‘the stud’ has them.”

She started to chuckle. “You are devious. How did you ever get that way? You weren’t before.”

“Trade secret. Still, it might get us something we both want. You want me to see her again and I want to prove to her we can make it for the long run.”

Keep your fingers crossed that this book will sell quickly. I sure am. And there is a book two tentatively titled Deceiving the Scotsman and a book three, Protecting a Scottish Lass, all wrapped up in the series called The MacKenzie Clan. It’s all about Logan’s siblings and how they deal with various troubles in their lives. I hope you’ll enjoy the stories as much as I am writing them. 

                                                                                                                                                     

My traditional ePublisher, eXtasy Books, is still having a sale on some of my books at their website. Right now, you can pick up any of the books listed below for just $0.99. If you’ve never read any of my stories, now’s the time to get them at a great discount and see if I write stories you might like. Pick up your copies today!

The Thing About Elves ~ Book 2 in the Santa’s Elves series

The Haunting of Maggie Grey ~ Award-winning Scottish Historical about a woman doctor

Iain and Kelsey ~ Story about a woman’s darkest fantasy

Fluke ~ Book 1 of the Orchid series, sci-fi romance

An Elf’s Desire ~ Book 3 in the Santa’s Elves series

A Love for Eggther ~ Book 3.5 in the Santa’s Elves series

Shopping Spree ~ Story about a very special dress shop

Don’t forget to visit all the great authors at the My Sexy Saturday weekly blog hop listed below. Their sexy snippets will keep you coming back week after week. If you do, please share via Facebook or Twitter. It helps out a lot and every author appreciates it each and every time. If you’d like to do them all at once, search for the #hashtag #MySexySaturday or #MSSAuthors to get all tweets of the day then retweet them to your heart’s content. You can even search by the #hashtags on Facebook and share the posts there as well. Remember, we love each and every one of you!

See you all next week!

Lynn 

Monday’s Austria Scoop ~ @oddlynn3 #LynnCrain #AWriterInVienna #PCers

Lipizzan Mares and Foals

Hi Everyone!

Of the many things that I’ve seen in Austria, one of my favorites has been the horses in the park. In July, at the Burggarten, the Lipizzaner mares and foals are normally on display. The first year, I wasn’t here and I missed the second one. Last year I was so lucky to be here when they came. This year, I am waiting in anticipation for the announced dates.

There were tons of people waiting to see this very special event. It is considered a tradition here and brings the beautiful horses a little closer to their loving public.

Mare and Foal

Here’s are ten facts about this special breed of horse:

ð There are two common terms used for the horses, either Lipizzans or Lipizzaners.

ð  Most Lipizzans measure 14.2 to 15.2 hands high with the original carriage horses approaching 16.1 hands.

ð  Lipizzan horse mature very slowly therefore allowing them to live and be active longer.

ð  Most Lipizzans are gray with the occasional rare solid colored horse being born.

ð  When they are born they are very dark in coloring, usually bay or black, and become lighter each year until the process is complete sometime between 6 and 10 years. Yet they are not a true white horse as they skin is pigmented black as are their eyes.

ð  While most are gray to white, there is a tradition that one bay stallion is always in residence at the Spanish Riding School of Vienna.

ð  They have been a breed since approximately 800 AD with their predecessors brought to Spain by the Moors.

ð  The Habsburgs wanted a powerful but agile horse for both military and at their riding school. IN 1580 Archduke Charles II established a stud Lipizza, located today in modern Slovenia, which consisted of Spanish, Barb and Arabian stock crossed with the now extinct Neapolitan breed to produce Lipizzaner horses.

ð  Every horse that one sees in the classic Lipizzaner displays is a stallion. They are each chosen specifically for their ability to get along with other stallions and some are quite attentive to each other.

ð  The most difficult display they do is known as classic dressage and commonly called airs above the ground. 

They have a varied history during wartime that include many relocations to ensure the breed was safe from extinction. During WWII, the German high command transferred most of the stock to Czechoslovakia. This included all the breeding stock from Piber in 1942. The Spanish Riding School stock was moved to St. Martins, Austria when it was feared the horses were in danger from the bombing raids on Vienna. In the spring of 1945, the horses were threatened by the advancing Soviet Army who might have used the horses for meat.

Mare at Burggarten

The head of the Spanish Riding School at the time, Colonel Alois Podhajsky put on a display for General George Patton, who was a horse man, and requested his protection.  The site where the horse were located had been occupied in late April by allied forces. The operation became known as ‘Operation Cowboy’ and resulted in the recovery of 375 Lipizzans.

 The stallions were returned to the Spanish Riding School in 1955 once the Russian occupation was over. In 2015, to commemorate their rescue, the Lipizzaners celebrated the 60^th anniversary of Patton’s rescue by touring the US.

The stallions come to the Riding School when they are just four years old and it takes an average of six years for each horse to be trained. Schooling is only considered complete when they have mastered the skills required to perform what is known as the “School Quadrille.” The three skill sets taught to the stallions are forward riding, campaign school and high-school dressage and this is where the horse maybe taught ‘Airs Above the Ground.’ It all depends upon the horse how high their training sights are set for that particular animal.

Dappled Lipizzaner Foal

The pictures are self-explanatory. For a more elaborate look at the Lipizzaners here are a few websites:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lipizzan

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vY3wmWT-sb8

http://www.wien.info/en/sightseeing/sights/imperial/spanish-riding-school

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/legendary-white-stallions-video-the-world-famous-lipizzaner-stallions/8286/

http://www.viennaconcerts.com/riding_school_vienna.php

Hope you enjoyed this little look into Austria and beyond. See you all next week!

Lynn