Novels-Novels-Novels

Busy week, as usual. Tuesday was Pioneer day so it was a nice luncheon with good friends and this meeting took on a 'writing' theme. Quest Pioneers gave our club $1800 to spend among our six local elementary school. Publishers like Random House and Scholastic were our contacts. Al & Ellie, two Pioneers, took care of the project and even made it look easy. Two school principals came for the presentation of the large variety of books. They were excited. Of course, our Today's News Herald, our local newspaper, didn't deem it important to send a reporter. Grrrr.

Worked at the Republican Headquarters on Thursday. It was slow. No calls or walk-ins, so I was able to get some editing done on a novel I haven't worked on in awhile, 'Finding Amy'. It was nice to visit with Danny again and walk with him through his perilous marriage.

Friday, was reading day to get ready for my local writer's group meeting on Saturday. Lots of good writing. Two of the folks who came to one of my Spring Frenzy workshops, Jim & Rusty, have joined the group. They are dynamite writers and a real asset to the group. Also had a new young writer show up. Hope we didn't scare him off. It will be interesting to have a young man in the group. Got some good feedback on my submission 'Moving on Up'. Vern was particularly nice. Said I should put my short stories together and publish a short story anthology. Probably a good idea, but a lot of work that would eat into my novel writing time. But, it was so nice of him to say it.

On my way home from the writer's meeting, I stopped an bought a new laptop. It's an HP. I was amazed at how easy it was to hook up, get on-line and get mail. Even moved some of my documents over. They really are making these things Dummy-Proof. I also found a nice copy/fax machine for a reasonable price that I may go back and buy tomorrow.

I have been moving Lita along every day. Almost done. I do so hate to kill her off, but it needs to be done. I'll probably end up crying as I write her demise.

Off the subject of writing, I went to Laughlin on Tuesday and met up with Ellen. We went to see the movie 'Nim's Island'. Wonderful movie. Jody Foster steals the movie with her portrayal of an agoraphobic writer who's alter ego is an Indiana Jones type adventurer. She talks to herself as she writes. Hummmm, that sounds familiar.

After the movie we went to a Collin Raye concert. He's a country western singer. We had front row seats, our elbows were on the stage. He put on a great show!

Didn't leave the house today!! Yahoo!!! Worked on setting up my new computer and easing out of my old one. Like I said. It was the easiest conversion I've ever made! Also finished the first draft of my Pioneer newsletter. Hope to get it mailed before I leave for the Bay Area on Wednesday. But, now I must close. Got a lunch date with Shirley tomorrow. She's going to be so surprised when I give her the 'Atlas Shrugged' audio book. Then tomorrow night there is a MVPOA board meeting and I'M NOT THE PRESIDENT!!! Just an interested home owner!! Another Yahoo. So, good night for now.

MCC Book Fair and Stuff

Well, the writer's fair has come and gone. It was a big success due to the hard work of Pat Agnew and Cindie Miller. The college wouldn't let us sell any books, but did meet some interesting folks and I hope I gave them the info they were looking for in their attempt to step into this weird world of writing. They had some drawings and who should win my book but a minister. When he came over for the autograph I strongly encouraged him to trade it in for another book. I told him it was probably too naughty for a minister, but he said that his job was to bring sinners around to God so perhaps he should read about them. I hope it works for him.

I had to give a brief speech about myself and about my writing at the fair. After I was done, I realized I hadn't even mentioned my books. I just told them why I write and how I write. I felt quite foolish afterward, but one good thing did come out of it. A woman named Anne came up to me and said she used to write, but was having trouble finding the muse or the time. We talked for awhile and I encouraged her to join my Flasher's Dozen writer's group and she did! I'm glad my discoordinated talk did some good afterall.

Went to Denny's afterward with a half-dozen fellow writers. Always a good time with that bunch!

Oh, the London Bridge Republican Women have decided to make me the featured member of the month. They took my picture and I had to send them a bio. I was so honored. I can think of a dozen or more women who deserve it much more.

We had our book club meeting regarding the books of Isabel Allende on Saturday. I think she puts brilliant sentences together, but she is definitely a character driven writer. She should stick to writing short story collections because most of the good feedback came from those who read her collections. Her novels get off the track with too much detail on irrelevant characters. As to reading her again, the vote was even - 5 yes and 5 no.

Had our writer's meeting on the 5th. Not too much feedback, but the after meeting at Denny's was full of writer's talk and fun.

Had my meeting with Dave. He has written 'the end' for his novel 'Drift'. I've still a few items to cover before I can to that to 'Lita'. He liked the latest episode, well sort of. It's still a struggle for him. I'm managing to work on it every day. I'm close to the end. I just hate for the Farrells to go out of my life again and I really hate killing Lita off.

Went to the throat doctor, still have to take the acid reflux meds for another 8 weeks. He isn't worried about cancer, so that's a good thing.

Went to Joe Ziegler's funeral. Very sad. Don't know if I could bury a son. My heart goes out to her. I had to give a prayer, yeah me of all people! And, give a personal anecdote which was a lot easier. I hope he's at peace.

Sunday was Rob's birthday. I called his home, condo and cell, but it turns out he was out having FUN! Motorcycling thru the wine country! He called me today and we talked for a long time. I wish his marriage was happier, but he seems to have come to grips with it and is handling it. I reminded him that he has always had a circle of supportive family and friends. He said he knows it.

Sunday Sharon, Shirley and I boated over to the casino for a goodbye dinner and some gambling fun. Shirley leaves for home on Wednesday and won't be back until next fall. She's a kick. I'll miss her.

Hummm, I think I hear Lita calling so maybe I'll write a couple of paragraphs yet tonight. Then tomorrow it's the Pioneer meeting, then off to Laughlin for a movie, dinner and the Collin Raye show with Ellen. Yahoo.

Writer's Fair at MCC

Today is the Writer's Fair. Not sure how much/little of my writing/workshop material to bring, so just took some highlights. Should be fun. Pat and Cindie have worked hard and there has even been some publicity in the local paper on it. Yahoo! Should be fun.

Had my Denny's meeting last night with Cindie, JOan and Lois. Always fun. Always informative. Cindie asked if we had a name for the group. Nope, just Denny's, so she came up with the Meeting of the Four Goddesses. Yep, like that!

Haven't been doing any submissions lately. Gotta do that!

Lost my Isabel Allende book. I think it was subconscious that I wanted to lose it. A good writer as to description, but terrible plot movement. I was bored to death.

Moving 'Lita' along nicely. Had to do some research on hysterectomies and surgical thread in the 1880s and found out that catgut is actually made form sheep intestines. My, my what you do learn by writing about it, even fiction!

Off to the Fair now!

A Rejection & A Win!!

My two free days of Monday and Tuesday got busy. Monday am it was errands and a trip to the post office to mail the TelecomPioneers newsletter. But, for the rest of the day, it was writing and criting to my hearts content.

Moved 'Lita' along and now have them in Wyoming. Still now sure how I'm going to kill Lita off, yet make it palatable to my readers. Hope the muse steps in with ideas. Then I found some time to do some criting for my on-line friends/writers. Lots of good stories. Man, there's a lot of competition out there!

Today, I had lunch with Shirley, my elderly, blind writer friend. She has been invited to the April 11 writer's forum. But, she doesn't see any advantage in doing it so she'll probably skip it. She asked me for my thoughts. I told her my take is that being an unknown author with a self-published first book out there, all I want to do is get folks to read my book. So, if the organizers of the forum want me to give away a book for a drawing, I'll do it. If they want me to talk for a few minutes on writing, I do it. You never know who will attend and who just might be in a position to open some publishing doors. In all likelyhood, it won't happen, but it sure won't happen if I'm not there presenting my efforts. I wish Hannah would be moved from and e-serial to an e-book. It would be easier to sell. I think I'll contact the editor at Virtual Tales next week.

Got a rejection today from Everyday Fiction for my 'The Case of the Pink Gloves'. Said they thought it was good writing, but too predictable. Oh well, they're probably right. Back to the drawing board.

Then tonight it was off to bingo with winter visitor Shirley and I won $175! Yahoo!!

Had an odd thing happen the other day. A neighbor, a strange little man called Cowboy, stopped me as I was pulling out of my driveway. He said he was sorry to hear that my boyfriend had committed suicide. Said he heard it from his neighbor. I was shocked, but assured him that first of all I didn't have a boyfriend and second of all, I knew no one who had committed suicide. After he described said boyfriend, I realized he was talking about Roger, a neighborhood handy-man. Roger is happily involved with Shirley, a woman he lives with. Then, the next day a neighbor on the next block, whose name is also Shirley, let me know her ex-husband had committed suicide. From his picture he resembles Roger. I guess the nosey neighbor got things confused. Geez, I stay on a share-a-wave-only basis with my neighbors and still I get in trouble. Oh well, as a doctor once told me when my first child was ready to be born a few days before I'd been married nine months, 'Let 'em talk. If they're talking about you, they're leaving someone else alone.' Anyway, it was too bizarre.

I'm off to Calif. again tomorrow. My best-friend Yvonne's son Joe died and his memorial is going to held Thursday am. I don't know how you bury a son. It's against nature. I'll be back on Friday afternoon. I'm not looking forward to the long ride across the desert, but I want to be there if she needs me.

So, adios for now. Good writing and reading to all!

Another Wonderful Week in Havasu!

Been quite a week. Sunday was a laid back day, then a very hectic week started. Had breakfast at Denny's with a half dozen writers as we said farewell to Do. She headed back to Spain on Tuesday. I enjoy her visits very much. Her writing has depth and occasionally she can be quite funny.

On Thursday, I met with Dave again. I feel bad. He is really struggling with my chick lit. I hope it's just him and that 'Lita' isn't really as boring as it seems to him. I struggle with the direction of his 'Drift', but then again maybe it is good for both of us. I'm already starting to worry about how I'm going to handle Lita's death. Hopefully, she'll help me.

Then it was off to Hastings. A small, but good crowd. I think some of the best writing among the writers group was shared aloud. Each story held our rapt attention. Attending were Vivien (it was her birthday), Gina, Jilma, Rob, Ann, Margaret, Cindi, Lois, Dave and me. After the readings, we sat around and gabbed until ten p.m. Of course, since I was in a books/music store, I had to buys some CDs. Got some good buys of 'Best of ...' songs of CCR, Terry Clark, Sammy Kershaw and the Oak Ridge Boys. All have been listened to and all were good!

And through it all, I moved 'Lita' forward. The wagon train is again on its way to Jackson Hole after a winter stay in Grand Junction and the addition of a new baby. I do enjoy the Farrells.

On the non-writing aspect of my week, got my taxes done. Have to pay! Had my A/C and coolers opened up for the summer and my furnace checked out after its busy, cold winter.

Tues., Nancy and I headed over to Laughlin to see country singer Mark Chestnut. Made a day of it and stopped at Target, Kohl's, the Panda Express and several factory stores. Then we say the movie 'No Country for Old Men.' Wow! I don't normally like allegories, but this is one that gives the reader the chills and I'll be thinking about its ending for a long time. We had dinner with Ellen at Serrano's Mexican Restaurant. I have never seen the restaurant or the casino so busy. People everywhere. Folks say is the snowbirds last hurrah before they head home. for the summer. The show was great. Nancy was front row (I mean elbow on the stage) center. It was their first night, so they did a lot of impromptu stuff which made for a lot of fun.

Had my hair cut on Wednesday. Always great to talk with Liz. Her son is home from the army. It's a relief to her. He wasn't in Iraq, but did do prison guard duty in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Had our Pioneer Bunco yesterday. Turned out a lot better than I'd thought what with the streets all tore up for the sewers. Al and I switched playing so we could be roll a set. Betty did all the calling. She was great. Then it was out to dinner at El Mariachis with the the H's, the Z's and the B's. Lots of fun and laughter. I needed some stressless, fun time, so I took the boat across to the casino. Came home four hundred dollars richer! Yahoo. I do love keno.

Planning on another 'free' day tomorrow! We'll see how that goes! Until then, Slán go fóill! (Did you know that's Gaelic for 'goodbye for now'?)

The Saxman

Where does time go??? I can't believe it's Saturday already. I remember when Saturday was a big deal, now it's just another day. But, I must say, a glorious, sunny, Arizona day!

Last Saturday's writer's meeting was good, as always. Most folks enjoyed my excerpt from 'Lita' that I submitted last time. Several commented on the authenticity of the dialog between the two men. One lady, who is new to the group couldn't believe that a woman had written it. That was music to my ears. One fellow questioned the use of the word 'maudlin' as used by men in the 1880s, but another writer who has studied old diaries said it is exactly the type of work that would have been used in that era. Also, my friend from England questions the use of the word 'wad' as a brother said, 'I'd bet my wad that ...' I meant it as money, but she said it had a sexual suggestion. I'll have to think on that. Then it was off to Denny's. We didn't break up until 5:oo. That has to be a new record. Lots of good conversation!

Then it was off to Laughlin to see Wayne Newton with my sister. What fun. I thought the sax player was good looking, so after the show, we went up to the stage. My sister said she wanted to call out to the sax player. I told her we were just looking, but the man in front of us heard the conversation. He yelled, "Hey, Saxman!" The saxman grinned and waved. I hit the man who had called out. He laughed and said, "You hit me!" I told him it was not out of meanness, just passion. He put his arm around my shoulder and said, "Well, in that case, let's ditch my wife." She was evidently a character, too. She just laughed and said, "I know what you mean. I was playing the slots and this change man was so darn cute that I told him if I was 40 years younger, his night wouldn't be his own." We all laughed. My sister said she is going to call my daughter and tell her that I'm a crazy person at concerts! All in all, despite the fact that Newton can't sing anymore, it was a good show and a lot of exiting-the-theatre fun!

As for the rest of the week, I worked on 'Lita' a lot. An episode concerning brother Joe developed. It seemed almost as if Joe was whispering in my ear to tell his tale. It was fun. I hope it works.

I sent a flash story, 'Taping In', out to Flasher's-Dozen. Got interesting crits from too much info, to lack of character development, to got it-liked it and a dislike of the title. Good feedback all. I'm lucky to be involved with such a good group. The character remark really surprised me. That's usually my forte. Ah, the learning process marches forward!

The local junior college, MCC, is going to have a writer's forum in April. I've been invited to participate. Sounds interesting. We'll have tables to display our work, but we can't sell any. We are invited to give a 20 minute lecture to the attendees and we are asked to donate a book or two for drawings. Sounds interesting. I'll give it a shot.

Finally finished repainting my desk that I bought at the garage sale. Again, I proved that I'm not any good with my hands! But, I kind of like it, so will keep it and use it.

Busy-Busy-Busy

Just dropped by to update my story of the month. Hope someone drops by and enjoys it. Can't stay tonight, have too much to do. Saturday was the local writer's meeting and, as usual, it was good and the meeting at Denny's lasted until almost five. Then off to Laughlin. Came home yesterday and believe it or not, I got a lot done on 'Lita'. I really like where it's going. Then today (Happy Saint Patrick's Day!) Nancy, Dave and I went to an Irish program at the college, then tonight it was out for corned beef and cabbage dinner with the Hollies. Tonight it was prep time for the Pioneers meeting tomorrow. Phew, I'm out of breath. Will drop by tomorrow and give details on Saturday's meeting and some info on Wayne Newton.

Don't-Have-To-Go-Anywhere-Day

As expected, yesterday was a perfect day. Started off with the morning exercise class being cancelled, so more time to work on writing/reading. Yahoo!

Moved Lita along and now have them in Santa Fe. Not sure what kind of trouble they'll get into there, but the Farrells will let me know.

Went over to Dave's. We discussed the problem he's having bringing 'Drift' to a close. He has a scenario he wants to try, but I think it would make the book too long and take away from the dual troubled nature of his main character. He enjoyed my last episode of 'Lita' with the hint of an abduction. I wonder what he'll think when it turns out to be Danny they kidnap, not Sarah. I hope it works for him.

Then it was off to Denny's for my meeting with Lois, JOan and Cindi. Lots of interesting talk and some really good feedback. With mine we got to talking about POV again. Knowing what everyone is doing/saying/thinking works for me. I'm not writing mysteries. We all pretty much agreed that POV shifts don't bother us.

Then today was a total don't-have-to-go-anywhere day. So, spent it cleaning up a short story I'm going to submit to the LHCWG on Saturday and reading all the sub from the group, then critting them. Big batch this time, 15 of them! Some had poetry. Beautiful, but not my thing.

The sad thing is that I didn't get anything submitted to an editor/publisher. Boohoo! And, it don't look good for tomorrow either what with the LHCWG meeting, then Laughlin for Wayne Newton, then Sunday with my brother and his wife go to a buffet lunch to celebrate her birthday.

My daughter called this a.m. We talked for almost an hour. It was wonderful. She is such a strong, capable, smart woman. I hope I live to see the day, she has her epiphany that brings her to realize how dynamic she is. It's hard when you're struggling day in and day out taking care of a family. It is so sad that most of us women don't get our epiphany about our worth until we're in our fifties. How the hell, did I manage to make such a great kid???

Dogs - Cats - Expectations

Went to the Writer's Forum at our junior college Monday night with several other authors. The speaker was going to talk about how to write about animals. Well, the woman will certainly be sainted when she reaches the pearly gates. Her presentation turned into an 'I' session of all the wonderful things she does with animals - rescues them from the dog pound, takes them to schools, hospitals and senior centers. But, there wasn't much said or offered about writing, except how lucky she'd been to get the job writing a weekly column for our local newspaper. Like I said, she was nice, but it was the general consensus that it was a waste of the writer's time.

Well, I watched 'Old Yeller'. What a good movie. Sad, but good. How refreshing it was with no added animation. Just good characters, good acting (even by the dogs) and beautiful scenery. Not to mention, a good story.

Moved 'Lita' along today. Got a problem solved, so now need to create a new one as I move the Farrells along to Wyoming.

Wrote a short story to one of FlashXer prompts today on wire taping. I thought it came together pretty good, but I may be wrong. Have only had one crit so far and this person thought I was going for a possessed telephone rather than a szcho college student off his meds, that results in a killing. Hummmm, not too much fiction in that premise these days. The critter said it was full of superfluous info and needed shortening and he felt the ending was flat. I think I'll wait until I get a few more crits.

Tomorrow will be a full writing day. First I must work with Lita and get the new pages ready to give to Dave. Then, I have to finish my crits on Dave's 'Drift' and let him know how I think it's going. Then, finish my crits for my Thurs. night Denny's meeting, plus get a new sub ready for them. Oh, 'twill be a LOVELY day.

Some unwriting news - got a call from my sister Donna. She has tickets to see Wayne Newton this Saturday and she has a room for me at the casino. All free of charge. Yahoo!!! I've seen Newton before and he puts on a good show.

It's after eleven and my taped episodes of Law & Order await, so adios!

Dragged/Drug - Pleaded/Pled - Hey, its the story that counts!

Another fun day of reading and writing. Managed to move 'Lita' along on Fri., Sat. and today. Still not sure where it's going, but I'm getting it down. Also, got a good prompt on FlashXer on the word 'nudge', so wrote a story about a schzo girl, a gun and an old boyfriend. Fun write. No feedback yet.

Had some feedback on my use of the word 'drug'. I wrote, 'Ritzy was drug down the stairs.' Feedback says it should be dragged. So, I did some checking. According to a couple of dictionary sources, drug is acceptable in some dialects. Another word I have trouble with is plead. I use pled for past tense. And, like drug, it is an acceptable usage in the U.S., Scottish and some dialects. As for me, I'll have to think about it. I prefer drug and pled. It's kind of like awhile vs a while and alright vs all right. Geez, the story is what's important, isn't it???

Also, read four articles in some San Jose, Calif. newspapers that my 'niece' Tiffany wrote. She is quite good with words. Her reporter skills are complete as to all the 'w' questions. I have a feeling she's going to make it big with news reporting. It doesn't hurt that in addition to being very nice and professional, she a beautiful girl, inside and out!

Went last night to the Riverside Casio to see 'The Riders in the Sky' singers. They put on a great act with old western songs and lots of comedy. It was a fun night with Betty, Jerry and Patti.

Oh, had the book review meeting yesterday on Howard Fast. The old boy has found some new readers. Everyone loved him! Some of us didn't like his plots or insinuations, but his character building is so good that you can't help but want to move through the pages with him.

Went to help some friends with a garage sale on Friday, but they didn't need my help. They had big crowds at 7 a.m., but I could get there until 8:45 and they were nearly sold out by then. I stopped on the way home at another garage sale and found a VCR tape of 'Old Yeller'. Haven't seen it in years. My best friend Sharon and I were in a drug store/soda shop in Pacoima, Calif. during our teen years. We were having a soda and Tommy Kirk was sitting at the counter. We were whispering and trying to convine ourselves that it was indeed Tommy Kirk, when he got up and stopped by our table. He confirmed that he was indeed, Tommy Kirk. He smiled and went on his way. He seemed very nice. Turns out he's gay. Anyway, I'm dying to see the movie, so will sign off now

Consider that I have pled off and an being drug, by my desire to see the movie, into the living room. :-) See ya!

Write-Edit-Submit - A Really Good Day

Great feedback on my two stories. In fact, I received suggestions on where to submit them and have already done so. Now, I just sit back and hope. One is even a paying market. Yahoo!

Moved 'Lita' along today. Still have no idea where the story is going, but I guess as long as I put one word after another, I can weave a story somewhere in the jumble.

I finally sent my books back to Xlibris today. They are a disgrace. I hope they refund me or send me some new books. these were printed so badly that I feel bad about charging folks for them.

Had a great day. No commitments. Stayed home all day and wrote, edited and submitted. A perfect day. Oh, and even got to watch an old Law & Order show. Always good!

Also, watched 'Celebrity Apprentice'. Trace Adkins is still on. They got rid of that horrible lady Amarosa, now if they would just get rid of that Piers fellow. Tonight he came in and kissed Trace on the cheek. I thought Trace was going to smack him. I'm shocked that the country boy is still on the show. I think he's handsome, smart and very talented, but I figured they'd do the 'country boy' in very quickly. They are down to five celebs now and Trace is one of them. Go. Go. Go, Trace.

Need some beauty sleep. More tomorrow!

Faceless Friends

An old friend had disappeared from my writing groups. He always had interesting submissions that made you think and his crits were thought provoking and definitely helped me to learn more and more about this writing thing. I sent him an email a month or so ago and yesterday, I heard from him. He had some family issues, but thinks he'll get back into the group. I'm so glad. I missed him.

Now how do you miss someone you've never met? It is an interesting comment on life these days of computerese. My friend lives in Canada. I have another dear friend who lives in India. They could be sitting in the next booth down at my local Denny's Restaurant and I wouldn't even recognize them, yet I consider them good friends. There isn't a day goes by that I don't thank the universe that I was born in this day and age, in this country and live where I live. I am indeed one lucky person.

As to my writing, moved Lita along. I'm having some trouble about accomplishing a reader friendly ending. My purpose in writing the story is to show how Lita died before my sequel, Deborah's Story, (it is already written)begins. Folks who've read the sequel are disturbed to have lost Lita and want to know what happened to her. But will readers want to read a book that ends with someone dying? I'll have to think about it. The Farrells have always been good to me, so perhaps they'll give me a good way to make it work.

Went to a Republican Women's meeting last night. The speaker was an investigator who worked at bringing down Warren Jeffs, a prophet in the Fundamentalist Later Day Saints religious sect in Colorado City, AZ. It is horrible that men take on thirteen year old girls as second, third and fourth wives. But, I was struck that it was a bit like religious persecution to stop the polygamy. Anyone who reads the bible knows that it has been acceptable for eons. I think that the state should require that the women must be at least eighteen and that they go through a counseling program, alone, so they can speak their minds without the future husband knowing. Then, if they still want to do it. Let it be legal so their children don't qualify for welfare. It's not for me and I think it's wrong, but I don't think I have the right to tell those folks how to worship their God and abide by His laws as stated in their beliefs.

It's late, so will close. Lots to think about tonight. Slan leat!

Lots of Writing - Yahoo!

I'm going to ignore the fact that it has been two weeks since I last blogged and just get to writing!

Busy couple of weeks. Finished sprucing up 'Abby' and have it ready to send out. It is damn good and I only hope some editor agrees with me.

Moving 'Lita' along nicely. Poor Dave is having a time of it trying to crit it. He does alright with murder and mayhem, but let a woman have a baby and mention blood and he's queasy. We are so good for each other's writing. I'm getting a taste of realism and he's having to deal with feelings. I think it makes both of our stories better.

Some really good news. My friend Gloria sent a copy of my book 'After the War, Before the Peace' to her daughter in LA who is the hairdresser for a famous actor. I don't want to mention his name here, but he has a TV series on the air these days. Anyway, she gave him the book for his birthday when they quit filming last spring. Her daughter told her the other day, that the actor is reading my book now and doesn't want to discuss it until he finishes it. I am so jazzed. I try to keep it in perspective though by remembering what a published author who taught at our college once told me. A famous editor asked to read his book. The writer just knew it was his big break and told everyone. When he got the call to come get his feedback, the editor's wife answered the door. She gave the writer a sad smile and said, 'Oh, and we did so want to like it.'

Managed to get some crits done for all four writer's groups and even wrote a couple new short stories to submit. I do love the wonderful world of imagination.

I took my blind writer friend over to our local book store last week. She has a new book out and wanted to have a couple available for sale. She is amazing. I feel so bad for her bad luck in going blind. She is upset and angry about it and I can't say as I blame her. Her book is titled 'Vestal Vixen'. I'm only into it about 30 pages, but it is interesting. Not a page turner, but interesting.

Had our local writer's group meet on Saturday. They all felt my 'A Lucky Guy' was a powerful, timely story. But, the feedback was skimpy. One fellow didn't like my choppy sentences. I have mixed emotions about them, too, so will have to think about what he had to say. Then it was our gathering at Denny's. Lots of good talk! Oh, two of the folks who attended my Spring Frenzy workshops showed up at the meeting. And, they both joined the group. Already read a story by one of them and she's definitely going to be an asset to the group.

I finished my Howard Fast book 'The Confession of Joe Cullen'. I hated the premise of the story, but I loved the characters and the way Fast put the story together. We will be discussing him at our meeting on Mar. 8th and so far all I've heard is good things!

On a sad note, last week-end, I went over to Simi Valley to visit my friend Yvonne and to spend some time with her son Joe who is dying of cancer. Only 48 years old. Very sad. She cries a lot, but seems to be holding up. Now, that's three of my old friends that have lost children. Jesus, I don't think I could handle it if anything happened to Rob or Kim. I MUST go first.

Lita is calling, well it's actually Dan, so I must go jot down some lines for him. I will be back! Nite, nite

Sunday - A New Beginning

Ah, Sunday. A new beginning!! And it was a great day. Good weather, good writing and a no win/no loss trip to the casino!

Started the day by moving 'Lita' along. I like it!

Then worked on cleaning up 'Abby'. Really cutting the words out. Toooo many 'ly' words. I guess those 250 word exercises at the Lake Havasu City Writer's Group really did help me to sharpen up my writing. Makes the story more punchy. And, I'm really liking the characters more and more! Sometimes, I sit back, after a good run of words and ask myself, 'Did I write that?'

Then I reread Dave's 'Drift'. Very graphic segment. Filled with people I don't particulary like or care about. But, that doesn't take away from the authenticity of the dialog or his writing. We meet tomorrow to exchange feedback. He called today to apologize for not coming to Denny's on Saturday. I told him we all missed him. His excuse, he forgot. He was so busy sprucing up 'Tude' to get it ready to send to agents/publishers that he just forgot. I can understand. I have been consumed with 'Abby' lately.

Then, I managed to do a crit for DeskDrawer, Flasher's Dozen and FlashXer. Felt good. Now if I could only find the time to write a story for those groups. Oh well, maybe tomorrow!

Went to the casino across the way for a couple hours. Fun! Met some nice ladies and was able to talk a little about Spring Frenzy which provided me with the opportunity to talk about my books. Marketing, marketing, marketing. But, in this case it was fun.

Busy day tomorrow. I'm off to Sleepyville.

Metaphor vs Simile

Lovely writing day! Started out by putting the final touches on my assignment for my LHCWG meeting today. The assignment was to write a 250 word story around the opening line, 'Nick had considered himself a lucky guy, until now'. I think it came out great at 249 words. I'll know whether it worked or not at the next meeting when I get the crits.

Then, more work on getting 'Abby' ready to send to publishers/agents. I'm having such a good time with it. I forgot how much I like the characters. It's almost like going to a family reunion and hearing about everyone's escapades.

Then it was off to the LHCWG meeting. The business part got bogged down a couple of times, but all in all it went quickly and we got to the crits. The feedback on 'Brothers' was positive, except for some dialog questions. Got into a real discussion over a piece turned in by Grace. She was working on metaphors. I thought it was an interesting exercise on her part. She mixed metaphors and similes, so we discussed the difference. I guess the difference is the use of the word 'like'. For instance, 'She's as mad as a wet hen' is a metaphor. 'She fumed like a wet hen' is a simile. More simply - a simile states that A is like B - a metaphor states that A is B or substitutes B for A.

Then it was off to Denny's. Lois, Vivien, Anne, Margaret and Jo. Small crowd today, but it was interesting. We got to talking about our past love lives. Got a little racy at times, but all in good fun. Then we got to talking about family dynamics and how different families interact. I felt good about me and my five siblings. We're very different, but our core value system is pretty constant - family first. We can argue and disagree, but it never lasts.

Then home to work on 'Lita'. I'm going to have quite a few pages for Dave when we meet on Monday. Still don't know if the current episode is pertinent to the story, but I really like it. I'd hate to cut it.

Then I watched 'Unfaithful' with Gere and Lane. Edgy picture. I've heard that 'Love makes the world go 'round.', but sometimes love 'stops the world'!

Last night we went to a new restaurant in town, 'Mario's'. Their eggplant parmigian is soooo gooood. Also, made reservations to go to the Riverside Casino on 3/8 to see 'Riders in the Sky'. They offer locals in the area two tickets for the price of one, so Betty & Jerry got two and I got two for Patti and me. Looking forward to it!

Well, it's back to 'Abby', so 'So Long Pardner! See ya tomorrow!'

Updating Abby

GREAT writing day. Moved 'Lita' along and had a hard time stopping after a half hour or so, but there were other things I wanted to get done.

I wanted to get something submitted. I found an agent that requires the entire manuscript as a single file. My 'Abby' is broken down into 11 separate files. So, I decided to bite the bullet and bring all of 'Abby' into one document and reformat it to all single space, left justification. It took all afternoon and evening to get that done and do a line by line edit using some of the crits I've gotten on it over the years. I'm having a ball with it. Love Abby and the gang so it's fun to play with them.

Other than that, I workded three hours at Republican Headquarters. It's still early so I'm going back to 'Abby'. Slan leat!

Forward Story Movement & Submission!!

Started the writing part of my day late, early afternoon as a matter of fact. But, I did move 'Lita' along and I've thought of a way to make this scene featuring Patrick as part of the core story. Hope it works out.

Laughter Loaf Ezine has a new design up at their website with a statement that they will be publishing again, soon. They are going to use my 'National Save the Quill Day' in their next issue. I'm looking forward to seeing it.

Got a short story 'The Robbery' sent off to a place called River Walk Journal. They have on-line submissions, but I don't understand how it words to put the story in a tiny square. I did the browse, found my story and did an insert. When you read it, it just shows the title. I'll just have to see what happens. I do like that story and it would be a hoot to see it published!

Also, took a folder over to MCC to their Leisure Studies Director with a cover letter and sample of handouts for workshops that I would be willing to do for them. It would be nice to get some speaking gigs to help market my books.

The reason why I was so late with the writing today was I was enjoying (?) my bi-yearly, fun-filled, time having a mammogram! Yikes, it never gets easier. Then went to the County Assessors office to apply for widow's reduction (I got it) of my property taxes. Should make a big financial difference. Tomorrow I man the Republican Headqtrs Office for a few hours, then have on-line Pioneer Membership Training. Now, that I could do without! Wind is blowing ike mad, so think I'll go curl up in bed. 'til tomorrow!

Hannah, An Ebook!

Just a little in the way of writing today. Moved 'Lita' along with an episode about Jim's son. Is it pertinent to the overall novel? Not sure, but it stayed in line with character development of the Farrell clan and made for an interesting scene. Will I pull it when the novel is finished because it adds nothing to the story? Maybe. At least it was writing and it was fun.

Then, I received a request from an on-line friend to crit an essay she has written that she wants to submit to an Irma Bombeck competition. It was a great use of all the senses. I was honored that Joan thinks my crit would be of help, so I gave it my best shot. I'm not good at critting grammar or POV, I just know what sounds good. I hope I helped her.

Got an email from Virtual Tales today with my royalty statement. They only write checks when your royalty amounts to a certain amount and I missed it by three dollars! So, maybe I'll make the magic check writing mark next quarter. One can only hope. Oh, the editor said he is giving 'Hannah' a final once over, then within a short time, it will be available as an ebook! Yahoo! I'll try again to send info out to potential readers. I'm just glad they are keeping the story up on their site. I have a feeling that it will be 'discovered'; Hannah' is a good story.

Saw a Blues Brother's movie today. In all honesty, I thought I'd dislike it, but found it was pretty good. Don't care for Belushi or Ackroyd, but they did a good job and were not as vulgar as I normally find them to be.

Then it was off to another night of losing bingo. What gives?? Busy day tomorrow so will keep this short. Slan leat, for now!

A Writing, Reading, Listening Report

Good writing day!! Moved 'Lita' along with a plausable set-up/hook for the 'on-the-road' section of the novel. I worry about too many characters, but that's what I have to work with amid the Farrell family.

I've been forgetting to mention the book club on Saturday when we discussed the books of Agatha Christie. It was one of our more lively discussions. There were some who adored her work, then there were those of us who didn't much care for her. I felt cheated in the book I read. The killer was a fat, old judge. During the story, this old, doddering, fat man 'managed' to physically kill men and women half his age and size. Among the far-fetching scenarios was how he managed to drop a large marble slab from a second story window onto a former policeman. He also faked his death by putting paint on his forehead, like a gun shot wound, then folks carried his huge body upstairs and put him in bed. I guess the folks weren't too bright because they failed to notice it was paint, not blood, and I guess he managed to hold his breath for the laborious trip being carried from the parlor up a flight of stairs and deposited in his bed. Puuullllleeeesssseeeee. The Christie afficianados said I should have seen the movie because it worked quite well. I guess it's like how a terrible ending Grisham book can be made into a good movie due to good script writers who know how to keep a character true to the character the writer developed, before dropping all the beautiful set-up and just 'ending' the book. I know a writer can change the character of a writer, but the writer must bring the reader along with hints of the change and not just have it happen on the last page. It would be like describing Santa, both in appearance and action, to be a kind, giving spirit, then on Christmas Eve, he decides the long ride in the sleigh gives him allergies, so he hops a plane to the Caribbean and no presents are delivered to the waiting children. Wouldn't work, just like finding out on the last page that the killer is the fat, old judge running around killing folks. My, my I did go on about this! Oh, JOan's treats of pastries and fruit sweetened up the reviews.

Then, tonight I went over to the Writer's Forum at the college. Sue gave a program on writing for children and getting it published. The biggest turn out was the writer's group, but there were some strangers there. She provided some well laid out informations sheets and the program rolled along in an easy to follow logical order. In fact, I found out that profanity and questionable behavior is now acceptable in young adult literature, say for high school level teens. I was surprised. I'll have to tell Dave that his 'Tude' will have a bigger audience by adding that group to any marketing plans.

The middle of the day was spent banking, going to the Republican Women's luncheon meeting, signing off at the DMV on my 5th wheel (I'll miss it) and getting some shopping done at Walgreens and Family $ store. Busy day, that left no time for submitting anything to publishers/agents. Tomorrow for sure!

When to Write, When to Stop

Good writing day. I moved 'Lita' along. Good character expo in this episode. I had trouble making myself stop writing. But, I had errands to run. And, as I teach in my Short Story Writing workshop, a writer writes EVERYDAY. So, if I didn't stop and make myself do my errands, I'd probably have to add to tomorrow's list of things to do and I might not have time for my daily 'creative write'. I really thank that professor who gave me some hints about how to manage to write every day. She was a plethora of knowledge for me and instilled a committment to write in me so strong that I think I could give up food before writing. Well, maybe not spaghetti! :-)

Spent some time today with my Flasher's-Dozen writers group. Did two crits and sent off a new sub for the prompt 'pinch'. No feedback as yet.

Wrote my 2008 President's letter for my property owners assoc. My last one. HOORAY!! I sent it to my fellow board members for editing.

I finished my book 'The Black Hole' by Alan Dean Foster. For last third of the book, I could hardly put it down. The descriptions were brief but complete and the characters were so well defined that I loved/hated them intensely. I even loved the robots!! But the ending was a disappointment or at least very odd. Good loveable characters should be made to survive. Oh, he had them survive, sort of. But I wanted them to be saved in the traditional manner after all they'd been through. I liked it so much, I ordered the movie.

Watched 'Independence Day'. I always enjoy that movie. A little too testosterony, but still good.

Goodness, it's after midnight! Gotta run. Sleep tight.

Good Hooks-Good Conflict-?????? - Don't Cheat the Reader

Slow writing day. Moved 'Lita' along, in fact it sounds pretty good to me. Also, got feedback from Dave on the last few pages I gave him and he said they worked better for him than previous chapters. In fact he liked this one. He had some good suggestions to make, but nothing big. I was especially worried about the killing scene and how that would play as read by a cop. He said he found it believable. Yeah!

Had our Denny's night last night with Lois, JOan and Cindi. What fun to just chat and find out what's happening in our families, but the real fun part is when we begin our crits. JOan tried out a 'closing sentence' prompt from one of her oneline groups. It was good, but needed tighter closure. It was odd that I felt that both Lois' piece and JOan's need better closure. Their hook and conflics were sure to pull the reader along, but the endings left this read needed more info to be able to close the story out. I was surprised that there was no 'Planet Orb' from Lois and no 'Teri' from JOan. I'm really interested in both of those stories. I did get to read/crit the story by Cindi about the abused wife. Very powerful!! Of course, well written. I hope she can get it into print. Her attitude is so positive. I would think she'd make a good example because her attitude about the experience is respectbful; one can see the hurt and frustration after all this time, yet makes for a good example in how we compartmentalize both the good and the bad in our lives. Then when we need a story, we did into our cast of characters/situations and whallay! A story!

Got good news from the doctor today. ALL tests came back normal, actually better than normal, which prompted the doctor to say I get an A+ for the results. However, my throat still hurts, so he suggested an eye, ear, nose and throat specialist. I have to call him and make the appointment. also got my date for a mamogram. I'll be glad when the dr. appointments are over for another year.

Yvonne's son Joe is not doing well. She thinks he'll be dead within the month. I wanted to go over to see her and her son Gary who in town to say goodby to his brother, but I just can't make it happen. Besides, there are too many people there besides just Gary. I'm going to try for next weekend.

Then tomight we went to a Chinese buffet for dinner. Good! I'm beat! Almost falling asleep as I type, so I'm gone.........

Spring Frenzy - Part 2

What a great day yesterday. Had almost 30 attendees at my Journaling workshop. Sold a few books, both 'After the Way, Before the Peace' and the 'Offerings from the Oasis'. It was a great bunch of folks. Very attentive and willing to share their experiences. I hope the nudges that the technique handouts I gave them give them the info they seek to better their journaling experience.

Moved 'Lita' along a lot! Those Farrells are really neat folk! I meet with Dave today, so I'll be interested to see what he says about how I killed off Villasenor. He has seen the real thing and I'm just conjuring it up. The experts say to write only what you know, but if that's so, why are writers blessed/cursed with such an active imagination!!

I've not been active on my on-line writing groups and that makes me upset with myself. I learn so much from them. I haven't even submitted anything this week! But, Spring Frenzy was very time consuming and very worthwhile, so I'll forgive myself.

Got my hair cut/colored yesterday. Love visiting with Liz. Her son is getting out of the army in the next few weeks. His heart is getting better.

Kim and kids are on their way to Missouri to visit Stacy. There goes my visit from them during fireworks week here in Havasu.

Busy day. Meet with Dave for our one-on-one crits and then on to Denny's for my crit session with Lois, JOan and Cindi. Fun-Learning-Fun!!! Ciao!

Spring Frenzy 2008

What a fun day!! This is the week our city's Parks & Rec. Dept. hosts a week of activities geared to the senior citizen to help them become aware of what things are available for life enrichment in Lake Havasu City. The activities range from exercise, to golf, to cooking, to dancing, to financial planning and some academics like Intro. to Spanish and writing workshops. I will be conducting workshops on 'Writing Short Stories' and 'Journaling'. Today was my Short Story session. Had almost 30 folks in attendance. Very attentive, eager to learn folks that ranged from curious to serious, from fiction to memoir. I gave them handouts to help with grammar and gave them my four favorite bits of advice - write every day, write for yourself (doesn't matter what your family/friends think about your work), join a crit group and know when to quit editing. Folks waited after the workshop to tell me how much they enjoyed it and I sold one of my novels and three LHCWG anthologies. Nice!!

Tomorrow I do the workshop on journaling. Hope it goes as well as the one today. There was a man at my workshop today who took the journaling workshop last year and has been a daily journalist this past year. How nice to hear. This year, I'll add the option of blogging to the types of journals one may keep.

Moved 'Lita' along. I'm liking it more and more. I really like the Farrells. Didn't get any subs sent out due the workshop prep, but I'll get to it this weekend.

Got a thank you from Susan for the answers to her questions. Hope it helped her. Hope it was what she was asking.

Talked with Jim and Hailey today. He's coming down to Laughlin in a week or so. Hailey and I have been talking to each other's answering machines, so it was nice to finally chat, although I was interrupting her from 'American Idol'! Went to bingo tonight. Not a win amonst the four of us!

Need my beauty sleep so I can be bright eyed for the workshop tomorrow, so goodnight for now ...

Sharing Tips and The Power of Editing

As for writing today, good movement with 'Lita'. Hope it is as good as it felt when I read it tomorrow.

Then I finally answered Susan's emails about writer's block and stringing words together too closely. For writer's block, I suggested she try just doing a mental data dump with her thoughts. Don't worry about form, punctuation or even meaning. Then, after the work 'ages' an hour/day, go back and work with it. As to the stringing problem. The same advice holds true. I stressed with her the value/power of editing. To me, it is almost as important as the writing. Hope I made sense and that it is what she was looking for.

At our meeting yesterday a topic came up that brought a lot of discussion. One of the writers is telling a story, an intense story, and she is yet to put names to the man and woman involved. I felt that a name would bring me deeper into her story. But, listening to others, I learned that sometimes it works better without names. The reader isn't hampered by a mental picture of someone the writer knows with that name. I see both points of view on the subject. I'm still not convinced, but it does give me pause and I'll have to give it a try.

Worked on my workshops for Spring Fling, Journaling and Short Story Writing. I'm pretty much prepared. Just need a few more handout copies. One of the handouts is a copy of writing/editing techniques from an elementary school publication called 'The Arrow Writer's Handbook' from the Scholastic Book Club. It is written in basic form, yet covers the absolutes of writing like grammar/usage/style/spelling and more. One of the best 'how to' pieces I've run across. I'm excited about the workshop, but also nervous. I hope I can make it worth the attendees time! It would be nice to sell some books, too!

Had a nice lunch with the Pioneers today at Indigo Joe's, a local sports bar. Great food, good service and fun conversation. The place has 50! TV sets!!

Meeting Day - Denny's Day - Good, Good Day

Started the day with moving 'Lita' forward. Always feels good! Then it was off to the LHCWG and that is always a good day. Good writers, good people. I didn't have last meeting's subs because I was in Phoenix on the meeting day. They sounded good, quite varied in topic. They critted my 'Meet Bubba McCoy'. Some good ones with useful suggestions.

Marji handed out crit teqniques. I must have four or five various 'how to' formats. But, too much info is a heck of a lot better than too little, so it was nice of Marji to present them.

Cindi had some good news. She sent her mss out and got a request for several chapters from the publisher. Yahoo!!! It's a story of an abusive marriage. Sounds intense. Got my fingers crossed for her.

Then it was off to Denny's (Lois, Cindi, Margaret, Anne, Sherry and Evelyn). Lots of good talk about writing techniques, ideas and good old support. Oh, and some good movie reviews!

Tonight, I sent off 'Don't Let the Chini Get You' to a college anthology contest. Can't hurt, I guess.

Tomorrow is the Pioneer Sunday Social, so need to call it a night.

Query Sent - Great Start to February!

Let's see, what did I do in the way of writing today. Well, I moved 'Lita' along again. I'm about to end a scene with everything working out happily, so now I need to get the family in some kind of a predicament, again. This time it will have to be an episode as they travel to Wyoming. I checked for events in the northern area of Texas in the 1890s and most of the history focused on the railroads moving into the area. So, maybe a problem with railroads. Hummmm.

Also, sent out another query letter with a synopsis of 'Abby' to an agent in London. Also, have all the info to enter a contest at Crab Orchard Review. They've not found my work worthy of note in the past, but maybe this time!

Had my yearly blood work done today. Will find out the results next Friday. Met with the gal who volunteered to paint the walls around the pool at the clubhouse. She had the same type of gentle beach/wave idea that I was thinking of. It should look nice. Then out to dinner at Bad Miguel's with Donna and Hank.

Oh, I think I sold my 5th wheel. It will be sad to see it go, but they seem like nice folks who will take good care of it and enjoy time spent in it. So, don't need that picture of a truck that I've been asking folks to find for me. Tee Hee

So, another busy day tomorrow, but a Writer's Meeting Day, so all is right with the world. Adios!

AAA LLLooonnnggg DDDaaayyy

Just got home at 11:30! What a day. Left the house at 7:30 a.m. First it was off to exercise, then Republican Headquarters for three hours, then Patti and I headed over to Bullhead City for a trip to Smart & Final, then lunch at the Panda Express (yummy orange chicken), then over to Laughlin for a trip to the factory stores, then to The Watchman for watch batteries and and finally a little gambling at the Riverside, then the Avi. No big win tonight!

But, the good part of my day was that I moved 'Lita' along before I left this a.m. Not sure how good the episode was, but I'll find out when I edit tomorrow.

Did some editing on my 'Regardless'. It's still my favorite of the six I've written, but alas my guys will probably never break free from being between the opening word and 'The End'. Too controversial and too cross genre!

Got an email from a Wings ePress author, Harley, with a list of questions for an interview with Shirley about her new novel. I let him know I'm book solid until Sunday night and suggested he call Lorraine or Shirley directly. I feel bad about not doing it, but I am so booked up with things to do until then that I just can't fit it in. Hope Shirley understands.

I'm tired! I think I hear my pillow calling so ciao!

An Acceptance!!

At last, Shirley's pre-book release data is complete. In fact, the editor liked the interview questions I sent. I'll look forward to the release date on Feb. 1. And, to the dinner Shirley is treating me to at Shugrue's!

Moved 'Lita' along again today. Not sure about this section. A lot of 'walking around' phrases. I think maybe there will be some tightening up when I edit tomorrow.

Got a real surprise today. Received an email from the editor of Laughter Loaf. The ezine has been on hiatus due to illness, but he's bringing it back for Feb. He had my short story 'National Save the Quill Day' sceduled for last year, but it never happened. So, he wants to use it for Feb. Of course, I agreed. What a nice surprise!!

Had a lot of errands to run today, still I managed to send off my short story 'Becoming Her Own Woman' to Copper Nickel a Univ. of Colo. anthology. They won't read it until next month, but at least they have it.

Talked with Kim tonight. Always a pleasure. How did I raise such a wonderful woman!

Helping a Friend

What a day! Phew, I'm tired. Started off with taking care of Shirley's requirements with her editor. Then it got more complicated. They needed a 'teaser' (an excerpt from the book) and Shirley's bio. I managed to get that together by using Shirley's website and a steamy paragraph from the story. Then, I find out that each author must 'interview' another author who is to be published on the 1st. So, I had to create questions for a stranger, then answer questions from another stranger. Fortunately, I had a prototype from the interview I gave to Long Story Short. I cut it down and set it out to someone named Eleanor. She answered quickly and I forwarded it on to the publisher. Then I got a request from a writer named Harley. I referred him to Shirley's website. I hope he can work from that. I admire Shirley and really don't mind doing this, but it was an awful lot in a very short time. I hope all is done now and that they will do a good job for Shirley.

In the midst of all this, I moved 'Lita' along. I think I like it. I'll know when I edit it tomorrow. Sometimes it's hard to put what I've written away until the next day without editing it, but I find I spot more areas to improve if I've walked away from it for while.

I did manage to crit a FlashXer piece today from Joan. It was good to see her subbing again. But, alas, no submissions were sent today. Sad! Tomorrow, for sure.

Went to the scholarship selection meeting today for the Pioneers. As a whole, the caliber of the seniors asking for awards was the poorest I've seen in the dozen or more years I've worked on the committee. Their ability to write an essay about themselves and their goals was for the most part sub par. We finally decided on two, but we really didn't find much to get excited about.

Dave called this evening. He and Nancy wanted me to come over to see the Blues Bros., but I was with the girls at bingo.

To Blog or Not - Benefits Still Not Clear

Well, the blog forum has come and gone. A little over a dozen folks showed up. I gave a quick over view, with a handout, of the why, how and results of a personal blog. Prof. Mark showed up and took over the program. He provided a thick handout with lots of info and he was a good speaker. But, well you could see the but coming, I was hoping for a beginner to expert program, but he directed us to high hit blogs to show how they can be used to gather info. I was hoping to discover ways to improve a beginner's site (he did mention graphics and music additions draw folks) and how to draw people to it. Still, it was worth the trip to the college for some of the info and it was good to see several of the folks. It seems like ages since our last writer's meeting. I'm soooo looking forward to Saturday.

Interesting day for writing. First, I moved 'Lita' along. Got that baby delivered. Now, I have to save Lita's life. What fun!

Then, I received a call from Shirley. She had the galleys for her novel sent to me for a final look. Her editor needs it yesterday. She needed me to call her editor and work out a time frame. I told her today was totally booked. But, she is such an inspiration that I couldn't totally turn her down. I told her I'll try to do it tomorrow a.m. I called her editor and she says if she doesn't get it soon, Shirley will miss the first of the month publishing date. I'd hate for that to happen, but I can only do what I can. Tomorrow a.m. should do it.

I was working on a book submission when Shirley called. Anne had sent me some agents/publishers in England, so I found one that looked like a match. I sent out my my query letter that speaks to all my novels, but I did focus on 'Abby' and gave a descriptive paragraph. I emailed the letter, an 'Abby' synopsis, a resume and a short bio. Will be interesting to see if the agency responds.

Also, still haven't answered Susan's letters asking for advice on writing. I'll have to do that tomorrow. I still haven't figured out what to tell her about writer's block as I've never had it.

After the forum, Lois and I went to Bob's. We were bad and had a scrumptious desert!! Hell, one needs to treat oneself now and again. And it was a treat!!!! Indeed!!!

To End in a Preposition or Not, That is the Question...

Good writing day. Started by helping Shirley to edit her ebook. She is in favor of ending her sentences with prepositions and apparently this doesn't sit well with her editor. But Shirley held her ground. It is her writer's voice and I respect her for staying firm. As for me, I try not to do it, but occasionally no other word will work.

Then it was on to 'Lita'! Moved along nicely today. Going at the speed and direction I like. Feels good to be 'walking' with the Ferrells again.

Hope to get in some crits for Flasher's-Dozen tonight. That will make my writing day complete.

Tomorrow is the blog forum. I have my outline as to what to say, but my real hope for the program is to learn how to make it more inviting and to get folks to the site to see my links to 'After the War, Before the Peace' and 'Hannah'. I think if people check out the sites, they'll be interested. So, I'll keep this short tonight and work some more on the presentation. Should have lots to share tomorrow!

Tomorrow, for sure!

Not too much writing again today, but was able to move 'Lita' along. I'm past the 'not sure' stage and feel good about the direction of the story now. Worked some more on my writer's scrapbook and got my published books noted. After all this time, it still feels good to see my byline under a story.

In one of the older publications is a poem that was constructed using random lines from other poems. It was an assignment from one of my college profs. It isn't great by any means, but every time I read it, I see something new in it.

Finished the newsletter, I mean really finished. It's copied, stuffed, labeled and stamped. I'll mail it tomorrow.

Looked at Shirley Wolford's draft from her editor. Looks like it will need very little editing, so I'll call her tomorrow and get it sent back to her editor. Amazing women - 93, blind and can't walk - still she writes. She is truly an inspiration!

Still haven't answered Susan's questions about writer's block and sentence length. tomorrow for sure.

Also, formed an outline for the Blog forum on Monday. Tomorrow, I'll get it down on paper. There's really not much to say. I did it, I play with it, I share it, but mostly no one sees it. Still, I really enjoy pulling it up each day and adding to my tracking of my writing. But, I do hate to admit, like today, that I didn't submit anything today. Tomorrow, for sure!

Characters telling stories

Lots of writing today, but not my creative kind. Oh, I did manage to move 'Lita' along. Interesting, I thought. In fact, I read a paragraph to Patti and she thought it worked well. We talked a little about characters and how a writer draws them depending on the writer's own experiences. Can men be strong, but soft? Can they be firm without being brutal? In my world they can, but in my world they can also be brutal, so it's all back to how each character tells his/her side of a story to the writer. At least, that seems to be how it works with me.

As to the other writing that filled my day, it was the Pioneer newsletter. I hate spending the time doing it, but I do enjoy the actual creation of articles. This was a four pager!

I received an email from Cindi via Flashers-Dozen today, so she has joined. What a great addition to the group. I called her and we have a movie/coffee time set for Sunday. I enjoy visiting with her and listening to her take on writing and life in general.

No submissions today. I must get back to subbing my books out. Counting 'Lita', I've now got eight novels written and over 275 short stories. I must try to get my work out there. I did promise myself I'd do it this year and it's only January, so there's still hope!

Crits & Hastings - A Good Day

An all day 'writing' day. First, I moved 'Lita' along. I'm pleased with the new direction. Then, gathered up my crit of Dave's 'Drift' and we had our bi-weekly meeting. It was interesting in that I think we bring good perspectives to each other. I see human type things that need to be brought into Dave's story and he shows me where I'm not portraying a typical male reaction in certain situations. Lots of things to think about and to use to smarten up our stories. Then, had a great beans and cornbread dinner prepared by Nancy. Delicious!!

Then, it was off to Hastings for our monthly readings. Small, but verbal, group in attendance - Vivian, Rob, Jilma, Anne, Dave, Lois and me. Of course, the stories/poems read were outstanding, at least in my opinion. I shared my 'S' alliteration piece and it got a lot of laughs.

The group was interested in submission techniques, so I said I'd bring some samples to the next meeting. Also, we talked about blogs and the Blog Forum at the college on Monday. I'm still not sure how much help I'll be, but I can explain why I did it, how I did it and what I ultimately hope it will accomplish.

It rained this morning. Just a little, but enough to wet the streets and dust everything off.

Compliments, ah ......

Busy day, still I managed to move 'Lita' forward. Also, got an email from Michelle on DeskDrawer about a Sci-Fi contest with no entry fee and the winners get published in an upcoming anthology. So, I sent 'Worth the Ride'. Can't hurt.

Ran into Pat at Safeway today. All is set-up for the blog forum on the 28th. She said the Prof. in the computer lab has a nice program ready. All I need to do is speak about why and how I started a blog.

Then, in the same store I ran into Anne. She's back from Colorado. It was like a mutual admiration society. She said nice things about me and my writing, the same things I think about her. She'll be at Hastings tomorrow which will be a great addition. We talked about marketing our books in England. She found an on-line list of agents/publishers in England and emailed it to me. I think I found a couple that may be interested. I hope to find the time to at least email query them in the next couple of days.

Then, I ran into Marian from my Republican Women's club. She is reading my book and she had some really nice things to say about it and about my writing. Gosh I love hearing that they like my characters. The club is doing a feature story on her this month. She is going to recommend they do one on me. Can't hurt.

The 20 'After the War, Before the Peace' books I ordered from Xlibris have arrived. I'm glad to get them before Spring Fling and it will be nice to have them for the forum on the 28th.

Tomorrow I meet with Dave for our one-on-one crits. His 'Drift' is quite brutal, but quite sad. He certainly knows how to tell a tale. Poor guy is having to crit my chick lit, but it's nice to get the male POV.

Had to bring the goodies for the club bingo tonight. I think I shocked everyone by actually baking some cookies. Of course, I had cheese cake for back up!

Sex for the Sake of Sex?

Slow writing day. Although I did move 'Lita' along. Today was a love scene. Hope I managed to get the right balance between relevant character development and sex for sex sake. After I edit it tomorrow, I'll have a good idea if it worked or not, then when I have Dave crit it, I'll get more feedback.

Oh, I did do some other type of writing today, my Pioneer newsletter. It's so different than fiction. I have to be so careful of facts. I don't envy the work a non-fiction writer has to put in to get the facts correct. I like my make believe world where I'm the creator and if I say it works, it works. So different than real life!

I am just about done getting all my press clippings and info on my writing put into a scrapbook. I worried for awhile about how it would look, but the truth is I'll probably be the only one who looks at it. Also, putting a copy of all my published stories, both on-line and in print, in a notebook. I'm actually enjoying looking at some of those that got published three or four years ago.

Got another email from Susan today. She and her girlfriend have questions about putting words together. I'll have to analyse their queries and give them feedback. I'm flattered that they ask.

Stayed home most of the day, except for this evening. I went to bingo with Sharon, Shirley and Wanda. Shirley won, but the rest of us just had fun! Streets are starting to get tore up all over the neighborhood as the sewer project goes forward. Pretty soon no one will be able to get to our house in this area! Grrrr. with that, I'll leave now and get some beauty sleep. Adieu!

What If ...

Had lunch with Shirley Wolford today. She's 93, blind and can hardly walk, yet still she wants to write. She has two thirds of a story written and has found a collaborator who wants to work with her to get it completed. She is a strong personality and I'm not sure she would be easy to work with, but she has PASSION for the art of the written word. During our conversations today, she talked about the frustration she feels in not being able to go to her office and sit down to her computer and write. For her, writing is her reason for living. She made me think about what I would do in her shoes and I must admit it was a frightening thought. It brought home my thoughts about making the most of the time we have here. It's all we're guaranteed. For all we know, that's all there is - no heaven, no hell - just first breath to last. It must be used wisely!

Got another email from niece Susan asking what to do about writer's block. She says that often during the day she has dozens of ideas for stories. Then, she sits down at her computer and draws a blank. I haven't answered her yet. Not sure what to say. I've never had that problem. Oh, some days what I've written is really bad, but still it is words that I put together and can either add to/subtract from/delete them. No writer's blank for me, so I'll have to ponder for a day or so as to how I should answer her question.

Moved 'Lita' along. In fact, moved them to a new scenario. They are back in Ciudad Acuna. Also, managed to send out five crits today. Always a fun thing to do. And, I sent a not off to Sandra about Cindie joining Flasher's Dozen and Sandra sent her an invite. I look forward to reading her work. Also, sent off a short story today to a place called 7th Dimension.

I heard from Do and she will miss the next two writer's meeting. She's taking a trip to Mexico. She certainly does travel. Spain in the summer, Havasu in the winter and now Mexico.

Had a board meeting at the property owners assoc. tonight. Only two more meetings and I'm off the board!!! Lots of talk of finances tonight, but not much expertise to make financial decisions. Isn't that always the way! Well, just heard my 'you've got mail' buzz, so I'll sing off for now. slàn leat!

Writer's Need Second Jobs?

Nothing exciting the past couple of days on my writing. Just sending thanks to those who looked up and read my story on Apollo's Lyre. Oh, I did call a local writer who read my blog and was interested in my three on-line writer's groups. I like all of them, but I think she'd get the most benefit out of Flasher's-dozen. It's small and almost all subs are critted. I warned her that some of the crits get a little rough and edgy, but she's ready for it and she would be such a benefit to the group what with her being an English teacher.

Moved 'Lita' along. Took my own advice and just data-dumped and it really moved. I think it was a good scene. Now, when I edit it tomorrow, I'll see if I feel the same.

I got a kick out of an email from my niece Susan. She says she wants to be a writer, too. She wanted to know if you need to hold down a second job until one's writing begins to make money. I told her YES! But, I also told her that if she wants to be a writer, that she should go for it and be persistent. I told her not to wait until she's retired, keep at it while you're young.

Also, my grandson Alex wrote an interesting piece about his ski trip to Whistler, Canada. I don't think he aspires to be a writer, but he seems to have a good ninth grade english teacher. The Whistler story came from an assignment to 'show' not 'tell' a story. Yep, sometimes a hard thing to do, but Alex came up with a nice, story using all the senses.

Went out to dinner at Chili's last night with the Hollies. Good food, good company. Then, tonight I went over to the casino for a couple of hours. It was a donate night. Talked with a young man from Alaska on the boat ride home. He was a character. Either the boat ride or the casino seems to draw them. Well, 8 a.m. comes early and I'm having lunch with writer Shirley Wolford tomorrow so must get my beauty sleep. Goodnight for now.

Publication & Rejection - All in a day's email!

I had forgotten that Apollo's Lyre accepted my 'Christmas Lights' for publication on their website. I found a reminder about it today and checked out the site. Wow. Not only do they have my story, they have one from Sandra and one from Wayne from DeskDrawer and a couple from Jeannie from my local writer's group. So cool!!!

On the down side of submissions, I received a rejection from Flash Fiction Online for my story 'Bringing Home the Troops. They felt it had no ending, that it was the start of a longer story. Oh, well. One nice thing, tho, the editor made some comments about over use of similar words too closely together. It was a good catch. I'll fix it and resub it some where.

My meeting last night with JOan and Lois was fun, as always. Got some good comments on the story I submitted, 'In the Eye of the Beholder'. I submitted my recent 'Recognizing a Good Man' to them for next time. I was surprised that Lois didn't submit some of her Sci-Fi story and that JOan didn't give us more of 'Teri'.

I finally typed up the hand written eulogy on Dave that I gave when we delivered his ashes into the sea up in Home Spit, Alaska this summer. It turned out nice. I'm going to put it in the book I made up of his obits and cards.

Tomorrow is the special program at MCC for Dr. Jung. If it wasn't taking the place of the writer's meeting, I'd probably drop by, but I'm so disappointed that the group gave priority to a special program over our crit session. We seem to be getting more and more away from the critting and networking and perhaps that's a good thing for some of the members, it's just not what I'm looking for in a writer's group. I really have come to love the people and respect their comments, because I know that they have all helped me grow as a writer.

I moved 'Lita' forward today and I liked this particular segment. I'm finding that I'm worrying about what folks will like/dislike about the story which is hampering me in just doing my usual data/story line dump. I need to just write, then when I go back to edit I'll see what needs to be added/changed/deleted. There, now that I've said it, perhaps I'll do it.

Went to the doctor today and she seems to think my nagging sore throat is from allergies and stomach acids. She gave me some meds to try for 3 weeks and she'll check it again. I hate taking pills, but I also hate the thought that my throat has serious problems, so I guess I'll take the damn pills. Ugh!!

Well, the wind has died down, but it is still damn cold for Lake Havasu City. Think I'll sign off and go to bed early tonight! Maybe do some crosswords puzzles while snuggled under the comforter. Ciao!

Denny's Night

Have my regular crit meeting today with JOan and Lois at Denny's tonight. I do so look forward to them. I haven't decided what to submit as yet. JOan's story was her 'Teri' story about the happenings during the Sturgeon Biker week. It is a wild story that she's telling well. Lois' story is a 'twilight zone' tale. She's so good at sci-fi. I haven't had much feedback on my recent subs to DeskDrawer, FlashXer or Flashers-Dozen. I think a 900 plus word count deters folks. Still, the feedback I did receive was good.

I've been trying to work on what I'm going to talk about when I do the blog forum on Jan. 28th. Thank goodness there will be a professor there to be the main speaker.

Also, made some headway with 'Lita' this morning. I'm having trouble with conflict - how much, how little. Guess I'll just take Stephen King's advice and just write. I'll worry about editing later.

Critting, Ending & Winning

Managed to do quite a few crits today for my DeskDrawer writer's group. It is always amazing to me how we can get a prompt, this week it was a giraffe looking into a car window, and have so many different takes on what it brings to mind. Many wrote in the giraffe's POV. Very interesting.

Got more info on the blogging class at the MCC Writer's Forum. It starts at 7:00 p.m. and I'm to tell how I got started blogging and what it has done for me, or something like that. Then, one of the MCC professors will fill us in on the technical side of blogging. Should be an interesting forum.

That's about it for writing today, but two other things happened today worth mentioning. First, this was my final Telephone Pioneer meeting as president. Yeah! This frees up more time for writing, I hope. Then, tonight I went to bingo and won $40!!! And so, it was a good day - critting, ending and winning. Who could ask for more!

I Hear Voices!

Another month!! Where does the time go. I arrived in the Bay Area on the 18th of Dec. Had too much fun with kids and grandkids to spend time with my blog or with writing. When I got back here to Lake Havasu City, it was one commitment after another. I wasn't writing, at all! Then yesterday, I had coffee with a writer friend. Cindi is about to publish a novel she's been perfecting over the past few years. We talked about how a writer thinks and of the voices we hear and how the characters demand that their story be told and be told their way! I haven't written an original word since the 18th of Dec. and I MISS it. The words of one of my English professors kept ringing in my ear. She asked me if I was a writer, I told her I thought I was. She asked if I wrote everyday and I said no. She told me 'True writers write every day, even if it's only 20 to 30 minutes, but they do it everyday.' She had a lot more to say about this, but the phrase 'writers write everyday' really hit home. So, this morning, I went to DeskDrawer and got a prompt. It was a picture of a giraffe bent over and looking into a car. From that I got ideas for a story about a guy at work who sticks his neck out to make points with a co-worker, then ends up killing her. Odd idea from such a colorful, fun picture. Have gotten one feedback and she liked it. Said it reminded her of the TV show LA Law. I like that!

Also, I'm still working with Dave to crit each other's novels. He give me about 25 pages of 'Drift', while I've not worked on 'Lita'. And this was supposed to be my year of writing and submitting!

Speaking of submitting, I did manage to send my short story,'Bringing Home the Troops', to 'Flashfiction On-Line', but haven't' heard anything yet.

The date is finally finalized for the MCC's Writer's Forum on blogs. I've been asked to share my blogging experience, but the main speaker will be on of the college professors. I'm hoping to learn a lot more about how to make a popular blog.

Got the dates for this year's 'Spring Fling'. I'll moderate a class on journaling on Feb. 5th and one on short story writing on Feb. 6th. I have so much fun at these sessions. The excitement and genuine interest level of these seniors is contagious. They motivate me! I was down to only 2 copies of 'After the War, Before the Peace', so I ordered some from Xlibris. Hope they arrive in time for the classes. I usually sell a few to the attendees.

So, I spilled my guts about my writing. Gee, it feels good. I must do this again tomorrow!!

Irish Pathos & A Party

Busy day, no time for 'Lita'. But, I did get a few crits done and a sub sent off to FlashXer. That felt good. I always feel lost when I don't spend a block of time writing and today was one of those days. I do love Christmas, but I do love my writing, too. I sound like a humbug, but I'll be glad when the holidays have run their course and I find myself with more time. Time to write. I did read a few short stories in '44 Short Stories' an anthology of Irish Short Fiction. Overall, they have a pathos in their plots that makes them sad reads, despite the wry wit of some of the characters that people the stories.

Had our TelecomPioneer meetings and Christmas Party today. Left home at 9 am and didn't get back home until after 3 pm. Then, it was an afternoon of packing and loading the car. I think I've got it all done so I can leave early tomorrow morning. Hope it isn't snowing in the Tehachapi Pass! Had dinner tonight with the Hollie's at Denny's and afterward we drove around for about an hour to see the Christmas lights.

Change! It can suck!

After I blogged yesterday, I went to my writer's meeting. As always, I enjoyed seeing everyone and getting my crits. I was surprised to see Sherry there. She's been away from the group for a very long time. The business part of the meeting was loooonnnngggg. A speaker has been arranged for Jan. 19th from 1 to 3 p.m. at MCC. The college offers a Writers Forum each month, so January's Forum will feature this speaker. The problem is, that our regular writer's meeting is scheduled for the same date, same time. There was much discussion as to how to handle the problem and I think it was finally decided that the writer's meeting to submit and critique would be shelved for the day so everyone could attend the speaker's program. This bothers me because I think it goes against the purpose statement in our bylaws. I believe it states that our meetings are for support, critique and motivation. I don't read educational forums/seminars/conferences or publication deadlines facilitation in the purpose statement intent. I suggested that a bylaws committee be formed and if that is the direction the group is going, then the purpose statement should be upgraded. Unfortunately, for me, that is not what I'm looking for. I will leave the group. I know how and where to get further education on writing techniques that I find I'm in need of. It seems to me that that within our writer's group the educational needs will be quite varied depending on how long a person has been seriously writing. Also, as for the exercises being focused toward publication deadlines, it seems to me that they are primarily memoir driven and I, of course, only write fiction. So, perhaps I have become a detriment to the group by pushing the current purpose statement and being unwilling to move in the direction of the group. I will always care about the folks, but I need to look at my needs and expectations and right now, they are in jeopardy or not being met at all. I have a quote in my Writers Group notebook. It is from the movie, Gigli. It seems so appropriate to my situation. Larry Gigli offers the following words of wisdom, "You see, after all is said and done, the only thing you can really be sure of, the only thing you can really count on in this world, is that you just never fucking know." I have found that to be true on so many levels and phases of my life and it seems appropriate to my current situation.

After the meeting about ten of us met at Denny's to get caught up on what's been going on with Sherry, discuss movies and just have some good conversation. Then it was off to a great party at the Hollies.

Today, I went to the swap meet and got the popcorn for Kim. It tastes sooooo goood. Then tonight I went across the river to the casino and won $650!!! Yahoo! Merry Christmas to me!

With that, I'll sign off for tonight. Busy day tomorrow with exercise, delivering gifts and a board meeting at the clubhouse.

Doing What I Like - ALL DAY!

Yesterday was a day of no commitments! A day to write/read/crit. Yahoo! Moved Lita along, although not too happy about what I wrote and I'll probably do a lot a critting on it before I add to it today. Then I managed 2 submissions and 12 crits to my on-line writing groups. Then I reread the 11 submissions from my local writer's group. And, I used a prompt from one of my on-line groups to meet my 250 word assignment to submit to my local group. That was a fun exercise meeting two prompts with one submission. What a fine bunch of writers I have the privilege to be associated with. There was everything from poetry to allegory. Reading their pieces keeps me alert and is such a learning experience. I'm starting to get crits on my on-line subs and it's everything from liking it, to making suggestions, to not 'getting' it. Funny how what appeals to one person, eludes another, but all takes on my subs give me pause and certainly help me to be a better writer. It's nice to hear an 'Excellent'. It gives me the courage to go on and believe that perhaps I can write, but the crits with the suggestions/questions are probably what ultimately leads to an 'Excellent' review.

Another growth, for me, is reading. I have to read one of Jean Auel books for my book club in January. I read her entire 'Clan of the Cave Bear' series a number of years ago. My favorite was 'Valley of the Horses', so I'll probably give that another read. I really enjoyed her first two books, but the last three seemed forced.

I'm reading 'Atlas Shrugged' by Ayn Rand, again. It's been a few years and lately, with all the political nonsense being thrown in our faces, I feel the need to read some common sense verbiage.

Good & Bad Writing Day

Good and bad writing day. Bad, because JOan isn't feeling well. So our Denny's crit meeting had to be cancelled. I always look forward to meeting with her and Lois - get good feedback and then we share some warm camaraderie. Good, because today was my crit meeting day with Dave. He feels more invested in 'Lita' now and had some good things to say and also some good suggestions for upgrades. We discussed his lengthy expo of a character that will have a short run in his novel. We both feel that if the background of the short-term character punctuates certain traits of a main character then the digression is warranted. Ah, great minds do think alike! Not necessarily right, according to editors/publishers/critters, but alike never the less. Also, got a very nice crit on my hunting story, 'A Communion in the Rain' with a good suggestion as to where to submit it. Heard from Jack in Tucson and he is writing again! I was so glad to hear it. He is getting help from a man in prison, so it sounds like a crime story. He does those so well.

As for the rest of the day, Nancy & Dave gave me a lovely gift basket of wine, chocolates and Christmas cups. It was beautifully wrapped. I was so surprised. Then because Nancy had to go to bunco, Dave and I went out to dinner to Angelina's. The eggplant Parmesan was outstanding and the conversation stimulating.

Got a call from grandson Alex tonight. It is so nice for those boys to remember me and to call. I'm truly blessed.

More Lita - Minor Characters

Moved 'Lita' along again today, so that's good. Got some feedback from Sandra about where to send 'Regardless'. I think I'll try it. Finished my crit of Dave's story 'Drift'. He's doing good scene setting and moving the story along with excellent, believable dialog. He is doing something that I tend to do. He is spending a lot of time doing a character expo on a character that interfaces with his main character. And, I mean of lot of time time and space. Now, the criticism I get for doing this is that I waste the reader's time investing them in a character that will die/be written out of the story and is really only a way to do some character expo of your main character(s).

Then the rest of the day was spent getting some packages mailed. Went to dinner at Bob's with a couple of friends, then off to Bingo. All in all, a good day, but more writing would have made it better.

Crossing Genres and White Christmas

Edited and wrote more on 'Lita' today. Felt so good. I critiqued a sub the other day on my Desk Drawer on-line group that crossed genres. It was a sci-fi, romance with a touch of poetry. I mentioned the problem I've had with 'Regardless', my story of two men (one gay/one straight) from different planets who fall in love in the 23rd century. Sci-fi publishers say they don't want romance and the romance publishers say they don't want sci-fi. Grrrr. The writer said he wondered about the genre crossing, but he writes for himself and will stick with it. I guess I feel the same way.

Then it was off to my Republican Women's meeting. Very motivational speaker from the State Federation shared her thoughts with the group. Then home to finish my Christmas cards. They are done! Even those that needed letters. Because I didn't send cards last year, this really feels good.

Delivered my 'After the War, Before the Peace' to my Canadian neighbor. He'll take it back home and share it with his friends. That might be beneficial to me.

Took the time to watch 'White Christmas' with Bing Crosby/Danny Kaye/Rosemary Clooney/Vera Miles. Delightful! I found myself singing along at the end. I wish Hollywood would bring back musicals!

On Schedule and Good Feedback

Very satisfying writing day. Got caught up with 'Lita', so she's back on schedule. Lita is still in trouble, but I've picked up the time I should have devoted to the novel over the past several days. Again, feels great to be in the heads of the Farrells again. Then, I did some crits for FlashXer. Some new folks that I haven't read before. Read some very creative things which was fun. Sent out my all dialog piece of 'She Never Allowed It.' Have already gotten some good feedback. One critter in particular gave some good feed back on using superfluous words. I do that a lot and need to watch it. Good catches on her part. I need to submit something and maybe will work on that yet this evening. Ran into a winter visitor today. She was with her son and introduced me as 'the writer'. Gosh that sounds good.

Went to the swap meet today to get that special popcorn for Kim, but the seller decided it was too windy. Will try again next week.

Got a call from Nick tonight. He won his all-star soccer game today! He made two goals and got an All-Star T-shirt.

A Festive Day

No writing today. Poor 'Lita' is at a standstill. Sent off a sub to DeskDrawer. It was a semi-true story of Dave's macular degeneration suffering mother and how her stepson put her into a home to protect her. Got some great reviews. Several used the words effective and succinct. Good words for a writer to hear. Then I submitted a story about hunting to Flashers-Dozen. Good reviews there, too.

Talked with Pat today and the Blog program is back on for Jan. 8th. I drive home from Calif. on the 2nd, have a meeting in Phoenix on the 5th, so it will be tight, but the benefits to learning about blogging have been good, so I'm looking forward to the meeting.

Fun day for my writing/reading groups. First, we had our annual book club Christmas meeting. A dozen folks attended to share stories and why they chose those stories. Many had ethnic roots, many were from childhood memories and others were from books that looked interesting on the shelf. Had one member share her Hanuka memories. There were lots of memories of poor childhood Christmas', some sad, some funny. Then we had performances from Duck, the laughing moose, the singing frog, the singing dog and, of course, the Avon momma bear telling her baby bear about the 'Night Before Christmas'. Oh, we set our author for the May meeting and the group chose Shirley Wolford! She'll be so excited when I tell her.

Then it was off to the Lake Havasu City Writer's Club annual Christmas party with food, funny gifts and lots of fun. Lois and Fred were hosts. They certainly have a lovely home. I ended up with three gifts - story telling toilet paper, a floral photo frame and a tree ornament in the shape of the leg from the movie 'A Christmas Story'. Lots of wanting to talk political, but it didn't seem the time/place, so I steered clear. I like the folks too much to have political differences cause dissension, especially at such a festive event.

Characters - Blogs - Submissions

Another slow writing day. Just had time to do more on 'Lita', so that is moving along. I hope the characters are going to engage the reader as much as they engage me. I'll look forward to Dave's opinion when we next meet for our one-on-one novel crits. Got an email from JOan, she's writing on her blog again and had lots of interesting things to say about submissions. She is so persistent with them and makes me want to get back into the swing of the sub/accept/reject mode of writing.

Got the car back! Seems to run good. Charles, the mechanic, was an interesting character. I should work him into a short story and maybe I will.

Had lunch with an old Telephone Pioneer friend, Nancy, who has moved to Tehachapi, CA. She was in town, so eight of us, mostly the Hug-A-Bear group met for lunch. It was fun and the food at the Sugarbrook Bakery was good, too

Rights-Xlibris-$400-Bingo

Another slow writing day. I did get more written on 'Lita', so that was good. Got an email today from Anne, a good friend, and a darn good writer. She had some questions about her rights to reuse a story if its been published. It can be a problem, but since her work was published in a college booklet, they probably only asked for 1st rights. That's one of the dangers of the new writer. There are so many ways we can sell ourselves short by giving up rights and we don't make enough money to run everything thru a lawyer. She also asked about self-publishing. I told her about Xlibris. They've been good to me. They've done what they said they were going to do in every aspect of my dealing with them. I've heard some horror stories about small publishing houses. With Xlibris being under the umbrella of Random House, I feel sort of good about them. Hope the info helped Anne with her questions. I hope she publishes. She has a wartime story that is quite moving and of course well written and I think it will be well received.

Took my car in for a check-up today, because of a rattle under the hood. $400 later, it turns out it was part of the A/C compressor. Had to leave it over night, so I'm car less. Feels strange. The Hollies provided taxi service for me to get home from the repair shop. It was so nice of them.

Then, late this afternoon, I got a call from a friend about going to bingo at the VFW hall tonight. Joined her and two other gals. Was fun, but didn't win anything.

Blogging - To be or not to be.

Slow writing day. Managed to add to 'Lita', but that was about it. Spent the day working on my blog. I was to be part of a class on blogging this coming Monday and have been doing research and upgrading my blog. Added some new features like a question of the week and story of the week. Should be fun to see if anyone comes to the site and reads anything. Then tonight, I found out the blogging class has been cancelled. Oh, well, it was still a good experience and I think I made my blog a lot more user friendly.

Then tonight, Patti and I went to the Republican Women's club. No politics tonight, just a seasonal program of bell ringers.

I watched 'And Justice for All' with Al Pacino last night and even tho I've seen it before, I still clapped at the ending. What a good movie.

Slow, Sweet Sunday

Added another couple of pages to 'Lita' which felt good. Received a crit for my 'Christmas Lights' story and I can't believe that I had the Cookie Monster, not Oscar the Grouch, living in a garbage can. Thanks to Sandra, that will be corrected. Always a good day when some of it is spent writing or critiquing, but it would be even better if I were submitting things.

Had lunch at Makai with some Pioneer friends then it was off to the casino to make a donation. Patti went with me. Had dinner with Patti at Denny's, then home to work on this blog to get reading for my blog presentation at MCC on 12/8.

A Very Good Day

Today was my writer's meeting day. Always a good day for me to meet with such a varied array of folks. Received feedback on my 'Christmas Lights' story. Good comments and good upgrades. Then it was off to Denny's for our 'after meeting' meeting. Good discussion about what we are looking for in the group and how we handle genres not to our taste. Then lots of talk of movies and books. I'm in awe of the educational and intellectual level of these women. All have advanced degrees and most have been teachers. I'm lucky to have fallen into such a motivational group of people. Then home and time to do some critiquing of my on-line writing groups. Good reads, all. Then I submitted my 'Christmas Lights' for their review. So, a day of mostly writing. Yahoo!!

I did get to the First Saturday Fireman's breakfast with the Hollies and Sandy which is always fun. Then, the Pioneer Conference call that lasted almost two loooonnnnnggggg hours. Did make it to a friends garage sale and bought a watch. Like I need another watch. But she's a friend and the price was right!

Oh, and it rained last night. Streets are a mess. Have I mentioned that I HATE rain! Must sign off now and go pray for sunshine tomorrow!