Amaryllis and Paperwhites

From one of my favorite authors, Francine Rivers. Merry Christmas!!

Amaryllis and Paperwhites

My Book

I am still working my way through the last part of my book. It is all new, not in any of the previous four revisions. I wonder if that's why it is so slow going. I can't seem to build up any steam. I have to think through every sentence it seems. Nothing is flowing; it's just trickling onto the page. I know I need this part, but.... sigh.

Here are some pictures of what my story is about, maybe these will help to fire my Muse back up.

More from Martina Boone

I just love to visit Martina Boone's Blog. She has such a keen eye for edgy, sometimes whimsical images and words.

10 Years Later...

My dear friend, Ran wrote his memory of that horrible day in 2001:

"I live out west. I was up early to get ready for work. My poor wife had been up most of the night with our 2 year old daughter, so she was pooped and sleeping soundly.

So there I sat with a small light on polishing my boots. Normally I have CNN, Headline News, or something on the TV. This morning I felt bad for the wife and didn't want to disturb her so the TV was off. Well the phone rang. A phone call at this time in the morning is never a good thing. I jumped for the phone to answer it, but the wife fearing it will wake the baby grabs it with lighting speed.

My wife say hello, then drops the phone. My wife has the look of horror in her face, and I think oh no My Dad died. Now I'm trying to steady my self, and ask for the phone. I could not speak for some reason. Then My wife snaps off "Turn on CNN Now!" I turn on the TV just in time to see the second plane go into the World Trade Center live.

In silence my wife hand me the phone. My mother, ever the astute ex-street cop states "Those Bastards finally finished the job!" Then she further stated "You have a wife, and baby now!" "Not to mention your a Cop!" "Don't you dare go back into the Army!" I tell my Mom "OK, I'll talk to you later." Then for the next three hours I was glued to the TV.

That was the strangest day I have ever worked. The whole country just shut down, no one was out and about at all. I did almost go back into the army, but my Dad talked me out of it. Said I am needed here. He was right.

From that day till now I have lost many friends, both overseas, and here stateside. I still stand ready if the war comes to the small area I stand watch over.

Anyhow, All who where lost you are not forgotten. You are in my heart."


All I can add is that I watched the TV non-stop for days...barely leaving it to eat or anything.

So Mysterious...

I saw this on Martina Boone's blog today. It was taken by Karl Von Moller, Photographer. This is part of William Ricketts Sanctuary. He was a potter and sculptor who made many sculptures hidden in the rainforest walks near the township of Olinda, Victoria, Australia.
Fascinating! Really fires the imagination, and the Muse.

How's Your Glass Looking?

I saw this on Martina Boone's blog:

Sunny Muse Drink

We had a "90's Luau" Party this weekend. Luau attire and decorations set to the music of the 90's. I decided to try out my new drink, the Sunny Muse. We put some crushed pineapple and some pineapple juice in the bottom of the glass, then added Champagne and a touch of Grenadine. It was as delicious as I hoped it would be! I loved the bits of pineapple floating in the glass, so I don't think I'd ever make it with just pineapple juice. Success! Now I need to start asking for it when out. :P

On another note, Saturday was a warm 87 degrees for the party, and woke up today to 41 degrees! Threw the windows open and am enjoying the cooler weather, but honestly not ready for it to stay cool yet.

Google+

This afternoon I signed up for Google+. My good friend,and fellow artist, Lefolk invited me. I hesitated at first because I wondered at the merit of joining yet another social media outlet. But then I remembered reading about Google+ in some writerly circles on Twitter. So, I went ahead and set it all up.

Now, I guess I'll just wait and see where it goes...

More Writing Contests

I entered two more writing contests.
Makes four total.
I don't know...I feel melancholy today.
It happens.

Social Media

I read an article in Poets & Writers magazine about using Twitter.

"If you manage it correctly, you can use Twitter to promote yourself and your writing, to engage with your readers, or to stay current on the publishing and literary scenes."

I hadn't "Twittered" in a while, so I revisited it yesterday and added a bunch of literary peeps, or should I say, Tweeps? Today, I logged in, and wow! Had quite a few really interesting Tweets to read, as well as comment to.

May be on to something here.


PS. Read a tweet today saying that keeping up with Social Media may in fact harm your writing because you may spend so much time Social Media-ing that you don't take time to actually write. Sigh.

I saw this poster on Liz Chan's blog

I love this poster!


Liz Chan blog: The Invincible Summer - Matthew Kavan Brooks: "It's August, and as summer draws to a close, I decided to share this poster designed by Matthew Kavan Brooks . You can purchase a print he..."

"Well, that's one way to go about it....."

Yesterday, a friend and I began talking about mixed drinks, just out of the blue. He was naming the usual suspects, and asking what I thought of them. After a while, I 'fessed up that I really don't drink anything but Champagne nowadays, preferably PINK champagne. :P
He said, "Hmmm, let me get my Tiki Book of Drinks, and see if there is one that includes Champagne." He could not find one, much to our disappointment.
"You'll just have to invent one!" he announced. That got me thinking...
"Ok, how about, Champagne, Pineapple..."
"And a touch of Grenadine!" he finished.
"Yes! that's it! Now we just have to name it. How about, The Sunny Music?
"The Sunny Muse!" he decided.
And there it was. "You'll have to mix it up and tell what you think." he said. I said, "Yep, on the next grocery run, I'll get the ingredients and let you know." "And I know a couple of bartenders..." he said.
"Wow, and here I always thought I'd become known for my writing, not a mixed drink!" We had a good laugh.
Will keep you updated on this most serious situation. :D

Two Writing Contests

I submitted two of my short fiction works to two different writing contests today.
I sent both works to A Room of her Own writing competition (http://www.aroho.org), and only one of my works to Glimmer Train Press, Inc. writing competition (http://www.glimmertrain.com).
Not expecting to hear back for a couple of months, so I must keep my mind on other things, and keep moving forward.
This is my first serious foray into the world of competition writing, and I am thrilled and a bit nervous at the same time.
I really do hope that within the next few months, I will have the honor of saying that I am a published writer! Woo hoo!

My dear friend Glynni published her first book on Kindle today. I am so proud of her. She wrote directly from her heart, and it shines from every page. Love you girl!

Source: amazon.com via Glenda on Pinterest

Rockin' the Fourth

I'm not a huge fan of fireworks...hate that sudden unpredictable 'BOOM'!!!
So, we stayed home today, cooked out (the George Foreman way), ate corn on the cob, homemade cobbler and listened to some great music on Pandora.

Two of my favorite songs we listened to tonight were, My Wave by Soundgarden, and Lips Like Sugar by Echo and the Bunnymen. Good classic 80's and 90's music...our favorite!






If you'd like to join us...



http://youtu.be/si2X27zdhs4
Soundgarden – My Wave






http://youtu.be/IPP3UELBlrE
Echo and the Bunnymen - Lips Like Sugar



(again, I cannot seem to figure out how to insert the link correctly, sorry).

Getting Published...

I have been reading several good books on writing. I just finished, By Cunning & Craft by Peter Selgin. I really enjoyed his take on the writing process, and he had lots of great advice. He, along with many others, encourage the aspiring writer to get published in literary magazines and publications. Sort of a way to build credibility and a portfolio. He provided a nice list in his last chapter.

So, today I explored several of them online. I found a few to subscribe to, and I also found two Writing Contests to submit some of my Flash Fiction to. Flash Fiction, I discovered today, is a fiction work of less than 1,000 words. It seems that all of my writing, save my book, is that small, so I was really pleased to find an outlet for it.

I also subscribed to a weekly writing prompt through the Poets & Writers website. I do well with those, gives me a starting point. The blog, Teaching Authors.com also provides a Writing Workout lesson, which I think I will commit to doing as well.

Been Awhile...

Well, over a year has gone by since my last post. Wow. Life took precedence for awhile. I've been living for a year now in Michigan, and I really love it here.

My first winter here was beautiful. I have my computer set up in front of a large window that faces the backyard, and during the winter I would watch the snow falling softly against the background of bare trees. My dry spirit was filled with peacefulness and well being; something that had been missing for a long time.

Spring was rainy, but it brought such beautiful flowers to this part of the country. I have noticed that the plants and flowers here are more varied and vibrant than down south. I think it is because the sun does not beat down on them mercilessly here. It is an unexpected bonus for me. :)

My book is coming along, slowly but surely. I sent my fourth draft to Writing Coach, Esther Hershenhorn. She gave me invaluable advice and guidance, and I am so happy that I took that important step. I am now deep into my Fifth draft, and am amazed at how it has evolved and grown from the original draft.

I have set a goal for myself to finish this draft, and perhaps send it off again by years end. This is a roomy and reasonable goal, and I feel that I can meet it with no problem.

PS. I can't seem to insert the link to a blog that Esther writes for, so if you are interested, just copy and paste the following to your browser:
http://www.teachingauthors.com/2009/04/how-i-became-teachingauthor.html