Short Delay . . .

I couldn't decide whether to label this post a 'short delay' or a 'minor setback.' In actuality it was neither - but I thought people probably wouldn't want to read about an almost MAJOR DISASTER. (And nope, it wasn't QUITE that bad either.)

Not long ago, I won a slot to pitch one of my children's books to an online publisher. Okay, so I totally bombed the interview. But, all was not lost. The gracious editors told me to submit the book - the whole thing -- when I felt it was "ready."

So--I got it out and did some revisions. Took it slowly and added some tweaks and perks and a few other minor things. Reread the book once, twice, three times. Thankfully, it was only 25,000 words. Short is good when you have to read it three times.

The third time I noticed something peculiar. Very, very odd. The manuscript for reasons of its own had shifted into a different font than I usually used. How it happened is anyone's guess. Frankly, I wouldn't hazard even an opinion considering my ability to do unspeakable things to electronic things just by looking their way.

So, I left the manuscrift in the weird font until I judged it "ready" to send. I changed the whole manuscript back into Times New Roman and then THINGS HAPPENED.

All of the quotation marks VANISHED. And they didn't just disappear, they changed into giant AAAAAAAA's. EVERY SINGLE QUOTATION mark. As if that wasn't bad enough, all the apostrophe's changed into equal signs. ALL OF THEM. Okay, I'm calm. I can deal with it. Sure, easy to fix.

So--the apostrophe's were easy. I did the find/replace feature and all the equal signs vanished. So then I tried the same thing with the giant A. Do you know what happens when you try to replace a giant A with a quotation mark? All the giant A's vanish. All the small a's vanish. You get quotation marks--lots and lots and lots of quotation marks in the WRONG places - like the middle of words. I never quite realized just how many a's you can have in 25,000 words.

Okay, so it wasn't going to be so easy to send this manuscript off. I worked three hours one day replacing quotes line by line. Didn't finish. On Wednesday, I virtuously took the laptop the the library to FINISH the thing, or else. So what happens? SOMEONE ELSE IS IN MY HIDDEN CUBBY!!! GRRRRRRRRR.....

Happily, I noticed a study desk and a PLUG right underneath. So now I have a second place to plug in - even if it is right out in the middle of the room. I sat down and kept at it for two and a half very long hours. Until I'd read through the manuscript a fourth time and replaced all the giant A's. In reading it that time, I realized just how many sentences I begin with A's. This time through, I changed a lot of 'as,' 'after,' and 'and' with stronger words.

So--it's off. They may like it. They may not. I feel relief for following through on an opportunity.

And now---it's time for the Daphne and the Genesis contest entries. Also time to write more unit studies for Gryphon House's new book titles. This time it's Insect, Animals and Ways to Save the Earth.

Feel like I'm slowly, slowly coming out of the backlog of everything.
Eventually, I will get everything done.

Tonight I'm feeling better for getting the VERY LAST of the Christmas presents done - um, for last year. Had planned to make my niece's Heather and Jenny each a framed scrapbook collage to celebrate a 2008 event. Jenny made the National Honor Society and Heather graduated from high school. My slowness was the result of having lost the program from Heather's graduation. But, tonight I finished assembling and wrapping them. Will have Jenny take them home when she comes on Friday night.

Also managed to put together some copies of my published stories in a scrapbook to take to school tomorrow. Some of the girls in my Fiber Arts class keep asking, "What do you write?" Now, I can show them.

Now if I could just finish those dirty darn doll clothes!

Baby steps and a crash . . .

When I was growing up, the standard time to begin a new journal was January 1st. In fact, I can remember getting a new journal or diary for Christmas and waiting, breathless with anticipation, to write down everything that happened over the jam packed holidays. Usually, to my absolute disgust, when the 1st came, I was too worried about the fading days of vacation to give much thought to writing anything. School - that dreaded place - loomed in the distance and who wanted to waste precious FREE time with writing?

Now that I've gotten a bit smarter (well, there's still lots of room for improvement, I'm sure) I generally begin a new journal whenever I either a) fill up a notebook, b) get tired of the current notebook and never want to look at it again or c) decided I'm going to turn over a new leaf in my life and the pages of a current journal with disappointments or disasters is holding me back.

For the April issue of "Cookies and Milk," I decided to go with a Make Your Own Journal activity. (See photo above and yup, I made it myself.)

While I don't anticipate starting a new journal anytime soon - having gotten out of the habit since last fall - I did decide to turn over a new leaf. I'm starting with baby steps. Seems like with Carol's illness and passing, then my getting sick among other disasters, so much has piled up for me to do. While there's no way to do everything at once, I'm finding if I just whittle away one or two catch up details every few days, it doesn't seem too bad.

Today was really the first day I've felt like myself in a while. Caught a cold and it seemed to drag on and on. Then last Tuesday, I crash landed on my bedroom floor.

All the electricity in my bedroom (the house is very old and was rewrited a few years back) comes though one section of wall. I have a nice surge protector strip and plug everything in there. Sometimes I need extension cords, but most everything that has to plug is near that wall ---well, except for my lamp.

Since that wall is also home to built in bookcases, I have to pull the lamp about halfway into the room so that it is convenient to my reading chair. Since I'm not about to let Martha Stewart take photos of my bedroom for her magazine, it bothers me not a whit that I often have a lamp, sitting on my old fashioned school desk next to my reading chair and that the cord is like a mini-tightrope across the room. I've gotten well practiced at ducking under it to go into the alcove, or if the lamp is closer, stepping over the cord. Until Tuesday.

I had the laptop and lamp both plugged in. When I stepped OVER the lampcord, my feet got tangled up and the lamp and I both crashed to the floor. Instant darkness and the tinkly sound of glass - this was not good. I was winded, my kneecaps were huge sores and my arms were bruised in a dozen places. My first thought was the laptop! Had my tumble pulled the laptop off the desk????

Don't know if I ever prayed as hard as I did while crawling away from the glass from the broken lightbulb and back to the laptop cord. Ever so slowly, I followed the cord and it led to the laptop ---thankfully, still on the desk! Hopefully, I will learn to be more careful from now on and unplug the laptop instantly after using.

I suppose it would help if I didn't have three desks in my room. Um, yes, three. One is the old desk my parents bought for my first real bedroom in our first forever house. It's still in good shape, proving furniture was better built in them days, by gollee!! I also have a laptop desk - round - and low enough that I don't have to raisse my arms too high to use it. It wasn't too expensive at Wal-Mart, but the screws come loose at odd intervals and writing is often a tipsy event as it wiggles and twists. Then my third desk is a very old fashioned school desk of the wrought iron and wooden seat variety. It came from one of my old schools when they replaced all the desks with the separate tables and chairs. It's painted "Barn Door Green," one of my favorite colors with white accents. I use it as a table for my lamp, my current reading and "get to it now" stuff - as well as a handy beside my reading chair. My laptop can be found on any desk at various times. Suppose this means I need baby steps in better habits . :)

As I'm whittling down my "to do" list, I have the doll coats almost finished and am working on the little fleece pj's. My new sewing machine and I have finally gotten into a flow and it's much easier to use now. Still haven't explored all the 70 stitches - relying on 3 or 4 - but will eventually get there. Baby steps . . .

Since I've spent so much time lately talking about Carol - off the blog mostly - I thought you all might like to see a picture of her in happier days. I'm thinking this is either her high school or college photo. She had long, brown hair that she wore in a ponytail. Her usual style of dress was bright and bold! Lots of psychedelic flowers and prints from the 70's.

Yesterday was Valentine's Day and I spent some time reflecting on last year. On Friday, I drove past the Loveland Post office and saw all the heart shaped signs posted out front. They do Valentine's Day big in the city of Love - selling sidewalk hearts with special greetings. I read that "Grandma loves Brittany and Chad," "Tom loves Shelia," and "Happy Valentine's Day Sugar from Ben!"

Because of the valentiney name, Loveland gets cards and letters from all over the world to postmark and send off. They have special "Valentine Ladies" who sit at tables in the lobby to postmark with a special Valentine only stamp.

I love Valentine's Day - in fact, I think it's my favorite holiday. Ever since I was a little girl, I've loved making valentines from those heart shaped doilies and glitter. Some years I got creative with other material and cross stitched or sewed a valentine greeting. About ten years ago, I bought some pink and red crepe paper fabric and made a batch of Valentine's for my family and some select friends. To my surprise, my friend, Kitty, made a scrapbook for me one year and sent the Valentine back with a line, "Remember this?" I loved it - a Valentine with a past.

Last year, I made some bookmarks for different friends and some of my nieces and nephews. For the first time, I stood in line at the Loveland post office and got the special postmark. It's free but they are so busy as the holiday nears you have to wait in sometimes long lines. I didn't mind. Even though I seldom get many Valentine's in return, I love sending them and would do it even if I never got another one myself.

So yesterday, I was reflecting that because of the recent stressful events in the family, I hadn't had time to do anything for Valentine's Day. Not even buy some of the little kid meal tickets from one of the local restaurants to give to my nieces and nephews. For the first time in a long time, I was reduced to ecard Valentines. It sure felt like a sad state of affairs - although as the recepient of some wonderful ecards myself - I enjoyed every sentiment!! So maybe the people who got mine didn't mind not having a homemade one this year.

As I was thinking about friends and friendship, counting up the many wonderful people in my life, I feel so blessed to have so many friends and so many close ones at that! Some of my friends I've had for a long, long time, others are more recent friends. During the past year, many of my friendships have become deeper and stronger - old and new friends have grown closer. Then sadly, some friendships have become distant and we aren't as close as we once were. I always dislike when that happens. Maybe I end up cherishing my friendships too much - maybe the fault lies in me for caring so much. But, I guess I should figure that as relationships grow and bloom, there are some that fade away for reasons unknown to me. Makes me sad to think about it --

Not long ago, I found a cute Valentine in my keepsake box. It had a sweet grey kitten poking at a heart and it had a kid type verse. Inside, some little girl had written -- You are my bestest friend, Judy. The only trouble was--I couldn't remember having a friend named, Judy! Yet, the card has my name on it and my teacher - so we were in the same class. And I liked her well enough to keep the card all these years since third grade. Makes me wonder - didn't she move, go to a different fourth grade, did we chose other friends, dislike one another on sight the next year or what??

Guess it proves a point - that friendship is a rare and precious gift. Maybe the true test of a lasting friendship is whether or not you remember the name on the Valentine card twenty years down the road!

Happy Valentine's Day - belated!

Got tagged today on Erica's blog. The tag is to open the fifth folder of pictures on your computer and then open the fifth picture in the folder and post. So, here is mine. This is an old picture of my nephew, Drew, which was taken on Valentine's Day - in 2006, I think. He's playing with a red balloon and that's at my brother's house.

Today is a kind of disconnected day. Still no good news about my cousin, Carol. As most of you know all of January has been taken up (or most of it) with her being in the hospital. Because she told Mom and I that if she were ever unable to speak for herself, we should tell the doctors to do everything possible to keep her alive. We were all in agreement that getting food and water - even through Iv's or a feeding tube are not extra ordinary means to keep someone alive.

Every day has been a constant battle with the hospital. It's just too heartbreaking to go into details. All I can say is - have a good, binding power of attorney or a living will and make your feelings known. Then the best thing you can do is stay well and out of the hospital because most of them don't listen to your wishes anyway.

Carol is now in hospice but is alert. I'm hoping that she is able to speak and say - listen, I'm not ready to go yet.

With all the worry and stress, I haven't been able to get much of anything done this past month. Writing has been done in dibs and drabs - none of it very good. I barely managed to get my assignment done for the History magazine. No word yet.

Then today, I had an online pitch with a publisher. I had seven minutes and they gave me ten but I think I bumbled the whole interview. Didn't have enough time to come up with a decent 100 word pitch - although I wrote and rewrote several over the past week. I had a list of questions and answers ready. Was able to sound clear and knowledgeable on some of them. The pitch bombed I think. The editors had some questions I couldn't answer and some that I answered "wrong." One of the moderators later told me that I'd said a couple of things that showed my mindset was clearly not on the same page as the publisher and what type of manuscript they wanted.

Despite all that--they did tell me to go ahead and send the entire manuscript when I thought it was ready. It's finished but in light of what they said, I'd like to revise it again and add a few other elements to bring it more in line with their guidelines. So, I'm sure it's a good thing. I'm just too tired to think about the work involved right now.

We had another blast of wintery weather on Wednesday and NO SCHOOL. Tomorrow is our first day back in two weeks. I need to take Mom to visit Carol so will probably not make the Fiber Arts class.

Oh--forgot---I'm supposed to tag five people to open the fifth folder on their pc and post the fifth picture - so I tag ---

Judy

Leona

Linda

Lynn

Sharon

For some reason most of my Christmas pictures came out very blurry and fuzzy. I think I have another memory card with other pictures of the tree - sure hope so as tree number two turned out to be lovely.

Because it's midnight and I was too tired to search through more pictures, I thought I'd use this one. It's probably going to be the main character in one of my works in progress. Or maybe not. This is the picture that I found to use on a one sheet for the ACFW conference last fall. Didn't get to pitch that book anyway . . .

Found this picture on a website called something like "Lost Relatives." It's page after page of people who are unknown which is a little sad. When I used to visit antique shops a lot, I loved looking at old photographs. They had such stories to tell! Often wished I'd bought some of the ones I still remember.

Anyway, I put this lady up here to remind me that I do have goals and that I need to get started on them soon.

Actually began January 1st with several good intentions and followed through for several days. On the 1st, I actually skipped a holiday dinner at my brothers to get caught up on crits, to read two research books and get semi-caught up on email. I'm beginning to think email is like laundry - one only has the illusion of being caught up.

By next week, I should have the final draft of the Drummer Boy article. Once I resolve the picture dilemma, I'll send it off to the magazine a whole week early. That has to look good. :)

By next week, I should also have a final, complete, not going over it again version of Cattle Rustler. It's been a long time coming. I've written, rewritten, written again, had good crits, bad crits, right crits, wrong crits and sometimes very frustrating crits. It's been entered in contests, scored an Honorable Mention in one and failed miserably in others who thought the character was a "little young" for a young adult book. Well, duh--as the teens say. But, I think a ten year old is perfect for a children's book.

By next week, I will have whittled down the pile of research books I need for a) the drummer boy article, b) the horse book and c) the historical romance.

By next week, I will have revised my anthology piece for my writing group, finished two full book crits for friends (well, I hope!) and finished sending out the last of my Christmas gifts. (Okay, so they're a little late.) :)

By next week, I should have two doll coats cut out for my niece's new Christmas dolls - if I remember to buy the material while I'm out tomorrow.

By next week, things should look a lot better.

I'm happy to be hosting a blog tour today for Linore Rose Burkard! If you love books set in Regency England, you'll enjoy this wonderful new book!
Linore is a member of my Ohio ACFW chapter and I had the chance to meet her this September. Hopefully, it won't be the last time as she is a very funny and delightful lady!

Short description of Before the Season Ends



England, 1813: Romantic woes at home send Ariana Forsythe to her Aunt Bentley's town house in the fashionable Mayfair district of London. There she finds worse troubles than those that prompted her flight from home. Under her aunt's watchful eye, Ariana is soon steeped in high society--and at odds with Mr. Phillip Mornay, London's current darling rogue.



Then, unexpectedly, rumour of a scandal changes Ariana forever. Her faith and her future are at stake in an unexpected adventure that gains even the Prince Regent's attention.



Will Ariana's faith survive this test? And what about her heart? For it is Ariana's heart that most threatens to betray the truths she has always believed in. When she finds herself backed against a wall, betrothed to a man who cannot share her faith, how can it ever turn out right?





Linore Rose Burkard creates Inspirational Romance for the Jane Austen Soul. Her characters take you back in time to experience life and love during the era of Regency England (circa 1800 - 1830). Fans of classic romances, such as Pride & Prejudice, Emma, and Sense & Sensibility, will enjoy meeting Ariana Forsythe, a feisty heroine who finds her heart and beliefs tested by high-society London.



Ms. Burkard's novels include Before the Seasons Ends and The House in Grosvenor Square (coming April, 2009). Her stories blend Christian faith and romance with well-researched details from the Regency period. Her books and monthly newsletter captivate readers with little-known facts, exciting stories, and historical insights. Experience a romantic age, where timeless lessons still apply to modern life. And, enjoy romance that reminds us happy endings are possible for everyone.



Publisher's Weekly affirms, "Ms. Burkard's command of period detail is impressive, evident in material details, but also in dialogue. Her novels even help non-Regencyphiles learn the difference between ladies' pelisses and spencers...On the whole, it's a tasty confection."



Ms. Burkard began writing when she couldn't find a Regency romance with an inspirational twist. "There were Christian books that approached the genre," she says, "But, they fell short of being a genuine Regency. I knew that many women like me want stories that are historically authentic and offer glimpses of God's involvement in our lives. So, I finally gave up looking and decided to write one myself."



Ms. Burkard was raised in New York, where she graduated magna cum laude from the City University of New York with a Bachelor of Arts in English literature. She lives with her husband and five children in a town full of antique stores and gift shops in southwestern Ohio. Her hobbies include working on four new Regency novels, family movie nights, swimming, and gardening.

If it works, there will be a picture from Thanksgiving on here. We shall see. . .

Hope everyone had a happy and merry Christmas. Mine whizzed by much too fast once I got into the holiday spirit. Had some trouble with the Christmas tree at first. It had been so cold that we opted not to cut one down but went to Lowe's instead. They had three measly trees left, dropping needles but we went ahead and picked one against my better judgement. Dad tried to put it up for me but we ran into another problem - the stand was too small.

Bought another stand and then ran into problem number two - the tree had a crooked trunk and had no intention of standing in the stand. Dad gave it a valiant effort, even building a wooden frame to hold the tree in the stand - but it still had a tipsy appearance.

Since I'd wanted a fresh tree anyway, I asked Sister #2 and her hubby to cut one down. They found a beautifully shaped tree. I'll have to post some pictures because it's one of the prettiest trees we've had in years. The red icicles weren't my idea but one has to make concessions. . .LOL!

Christmas week ended up being brisk, breezy and actually quite warm. We hit 70 degrees the day after the holiday!! It's supposed to get cold again though so I'm not hoping for a return of winter/spring.

Got back into the writing groove on Saturday. Sent out worksheets, sent out articles for the student newspaper at church, worked on a first draft for another writing job and sent off a first chapter to a literary agency offering a query holiday. Today I managed to do a bit more. Tomorrow I have to dive back into my many projects and decide what I want to work on first. Finishing Cattle Rustler for good seems a possibility.

Have been reading some books on plotting before writing. While it seems it might help some, I can't say that it's always foolproof. I can remember sitting down and doing a storyboard for Cattle Rustler. Had the whole thing planned out - knew exactly what would happen, when it should happen and how it would end. The problem was that after I wrote it that way I realized I'd rewritten the same book as my first Jenny. So, back to the computer - had to redo the ending. Once I realized that, I realized I had to rewrite more. Then I sent that version out to my new crit partners who made more suggestions. Realized I needed to rewrite the beginning so I did. Once I did that, I decided the new ending didn't work because there was no motivation for Jenny to get into the trouble she did.

So. . .I think I have it this time and I'm writing it for the last time. However it turns out, it does.

I'm also looking at a couple of contests for my adult manuscripts. Really need some feedback on my horse book and Stepmother. So that should take care of January!

Just a test to see if the photo upload is STILL working. I think I have everything on my pc working RIGHT now. It's a great feeling. Right now, I need all the great feelings I can crumble together - especially in light of a defunct cookie press, a tipsy Christmas tree, a zillion pre-Christmas things to do and the fact that I've spent more time trying to get my pc in shape than working at Christmas prep. Ah, well -

This is a photo of my dad with some of his great-grandchildren at a September wedding. We have Samantha, Kris, Stephanie, Taylor, Dad, Mariah, Austin, Emma, Drew, Braedon, Mackenzie and Hayleigh in front with the doll.

Whoa! Well, clearly I have solved the photo upload problem. Thanks, Leona for the suggestions! This is also clearly not the Thanksgiving mug shot --LOL! These little cuties are the Dionne Quintuplets and they are dressed very appropriately for today's snowy weather. I've long been a quint collector and wish I had this postcard in my collection - sigh.

Last night I tried several things and ended up with both my emails not working. My MSN account would open the emails, but not let me reply. So I went to my Hotmail account which is really the same thing but opens on a different page. Go figure. I really love the Hotmail account better as it has emoticons, colors and is easier to use. For some reason while I was on the photo upload fix, the Hotmail stopped opening the email. So I could open and read on MSN, but not reply. I could not open or reply on Hotmail. This morning it fixed by angel power, I'm sure. There is no other explanation.

This week has been hard from a computer angle. My worksheet batch got scambled and refused to open at my editor's end. I tried five times to resend. He kept emailing back - nope, not right yet. My plan had been to download MSWORD on here anyway and go to that almost exclusively. (Even though I do like Word Perfect.) So, had to download word, retype the worksheets into word (only three as I had already downloaded word on the laptop and written some on that.) Then, send them in and wait. Sure was relieved on Friday to get an email - they look fine now! Whew!! Got paid later that day Praise God.

With all that, I didn't get to do much fiction writing. Am rethinking part of Cattle Rustler now and will probably work this week at rewritting those chapters. Am not sure what that will do for my plan to have the book in final form by the end of the year. :(

Managed to read part of one of the Kentucky Derby books yesterday after the spinning class. To my surprise, I discovered that the man who started the race --Clark committed suicide on my birthdate a hundred and forty three years before I was born. Very strange coincidence.

Time to get a ride next door to watch White Christmas, one of my favorite Christmas movies.

Hmmmmm--for some reason my blog has stopped allowing me to post pictures. Will have to figure this out somehow.

Not much activity here. We started back to Leaves yesterday after our Thanksgiving break. For various reasons, we were 45 minutes late for class. So - okay - it takes me awhile to get back in the groove!
Have been feeling kind of icky anyway.

I am slowly working through the edits on Cattle Rustler. Hoping to have it finished by the end of December. We shall see - Christmas and all the preparations for that will be in there somewhere.

Got the assignment for the Drummer boy article! Need to send out a couple more queries this week. I'm setting a goal to send out ten a month - unless I get so many assignments it would be foolhardy to add more work to my list.

We got our first spitting snowfall. It didn't last but it looked ominous. Funny, I'm not a fan of snow but I love anything snowman. Am drinking a nice hot cup of tea out of a snowman mug right now. Mmmmmmmmmm....

Oh, yeah, did I forget to mention . . .

63, 355 words. Even doing the NaNo Rebel and using

some of the words I already had written, I managed to

add more than I anticipated to Stepmother. Looks like

I've got a great start now although plenty of it is total junk and will have to be rewritten. Kind of makes me hopeful I will finish something this year.

And where is the picture???? For some reason, the Thanksgiving group shot did not post with the last post. It doesn't want to work tonight either. Will try again soon.

I'm happy anyway. Tomorrow, I need to get caught up on some much needed work.

Happy Thanksving to All

Here's the latest mug shot of the group. We ended up taking this before everyone got there because a couple of people had to leave. It's gotten harder and harder to get everyone together at one time. Still, we had a nice dinner (in shifts), company (in shifts), and lots of picture taking. Jenny went around snapping outlandish photos of people eating, touching their noses or at odd angles. She got one of my right ear, one of my left ear, one of the clip in my hair, my nose, my chin, my left elbow, my open mouth and others too weird to mention. At the end of the day, some of us trooped next door and watched a slide show on Lori's Wii.

Today was my day to get back into the groove of work. I can say I gave it a valiant effort although I didn't actually write anything but emails and one query letter. Managed to do a small bit of organizing, clean up in my bedroom and sorting out piles of clutter. Can now say that I don't have a single notebook that hasn't been marked with colored post it minis telling me what's inside them. Have files for my current WIP's ready to go. Put the extra computer away for parts. (Since the hard drive crashed, I've decided to just use that pc for extras. When I can afford a hard drive, I'll put an extra in this pc.) As of today, almost everything is saved on the pc (still have a few files on the laptop yet.) ALL my photos are on disk or flash drive - twice!

If I can do two more crits and a long book share crit, I'll be caught up with crits!! If I write two more worksheets tomorrow, I can send out a batch and get paid next week. Feel like there is light at the end of a tunnel.

Also, got a nice email yesterday. The day before Thanksgiving, just on a whim, I decided to cut and paste a short trivia article I wrote on PEEPS, the marshmallow candy. Had found a history magazine that accepted trivia and it sounded like fun. An email came zining back that he accepted the article and it would be in the April, 09 issue! They'll send the check out on publication---hooray!

As if that wasn't good enough, he mentioned that if I had any suggestions, comments, etc. please feel free to email him back. So, I wrote back to ask if I should send queries to him. Had a couple of ideas on the Drummer boys of the Civil War and Sybil Ludington, the female Paul Revere. He zinged back an email while I was still online--yes, he'd love to see the queries and would give me a Feb. deadline for the Drummer boy and March deadline for Sybil - like he already planned to accept them! Sent back a nice query with more details on the drummers - no word yet. Maybe tomorrow???

It's time for Congratulations!

To Kathi - for finishing one NaNo project in the first week and beginning another!
To Maribeth - for signing up for your first year in NaNo! It's a beginning step. Also congratulations for starting a new critique group and having a great first session.
To Patty - for signing up and finishing NaNo two weeks before the deadline!! I knew you could do it. Also congratulations on your first granddaughter!
To Leona - for having a poem make it into the selection process of Blue Mountain Arts. Let's hope for a sale!
To Judy - for having someday happen! Congratulations on your first book sale, Where is Papa's Shining Star?, at Wild Rose Press!
To Sheri - for finaling in the 2008 Fiction from the Heartland contest! Here's hoping you get the great news in January that you've won. Light of Truth is a super story and deserves a first place.
To Erica - for getting a three book contract with Barbour House! Way to go!

And, to me - for actually getting something done today! I supercleaned the bathroom, did school work with the boys and turned on my laptop. Okay, so I shut it right back down - but I turned it on! Tomorrow has got to be better.

Organizing and NaNoing . . .

Seems like the days are moving on fast foward now that the holidays are approaching. Wasn't it just September yesterday? How did it get to be November already?

I've been working at NaNo but not sure if I'll get to the total word count this year. Makes me kind of mad at myself for not trying harder. Last year I kept doggedly on when all my other friends fell by the wayside. (And you know WHO YOU ARE--LOL!) This year everyone else seems to be whizzing ahead while I'm still stuck because of a) the hard drive fiasco, b) too many other projects and c) laziness? I write everyday, for hours everyday and yet, I'm not working too much on the NaNo project.

Guess one can't have it all. I'm working as a paid writer each day. If there isn't time for fiction right now, that's the way it has to be.

Have no idea why I started a blog post at almost eleven at night. I am too tired for a coherent thought. Especially since I am into my usual pillage of the 'black hole of calcutta' namely, my walk in closet. It had gotten so bad things were actually falling out when I opened the door - and it's a WALK-IN closet. It's big enough to double as a spare room (and did.) When I was a teenager, it was my bedroom. Enough said. It's like a treasure hunt now that I'm actually cleaning it out.

Have already found dozens of books and things to give away, a whole box of ebay possibilities and some things I needed including labels and a watering can. (Don't ask.) Also found more dolls and two doll cradles for my collection. Thought I'd thrown those away or someone burned them when the barn went. I also came up with an idea on how to get the kid's ERTEL collection down in the basement. Have to visit Lowe's tomorrow for a snap together shelf unit and get the boys to help me.

The quints are from my postcard collection. Need to have room to display some of my Quint goodies.

To NANO or not. . . Had been debating over whether or not to do NaNo again this year. I happily spent last November slugging away at "Run for the Roses," a historical mystery set during a Kentucky Derby. Spent several weeks in October researching early Kentucky and Cincinnati history, photocopying photos and taking notes. Eventually, I'd love to finish this book but that's for the future.

My main concern about doing NANO this year was that pesky little provision - you had to start from scratch. While I have plenty of projects I could begin, I didn't feel that I wanted to start another one. I'm right in the middle of trying to finish two different books, working on a third and sending out proposals for a fourth. I didn't want another unfinished project taking up a whole month.

Then someone suggested I look at the NaNo site for a forum called "NaNo Rebels." It turns out that lots of folks are in the same boat as me. They want to finish something, not begin another something new. Enter the rebels. We are all writers who want to work on a work in progress. The nice people at NaNo, realizing our dilemma, have come up with a clause --- if you have won at NaNo in a previous year, you can keep on working on a work in progress. So, thanks to "Run for the Roses," and winning last year, I invoke the clause!

NaNo --- here I come!

Who's going to join me?

And the name going on to the BIG DRAWING for the lovely gift basket is ----- PATTYK!

I'm sending your name on to the blog where the drawing will take place. October 19th is the big day! Here's hoping you win! Thanks for commenting and entering the blog tour contest.

The photo above is of myself with Carol Cartaino, former editor of Writer's Digest books. Carol graciously gives her time to moderate a once a month writing group at our local library.

My friend, Patty, took this picture to use with an article about my Genesis win at the recent ACFW conference in Minnesota. I would try to reprint the wonderful article here (Patty did a super job! Thanks, again!!) but figure I've already made enough copies to send out to everyone who reads this blog anyway. So if you don't get a copy of the article soon, just remind me. Or I might be able to figure out how to do a link to the Times Gazette archives.

The article was well written and made me feel famous! Got several nice congratulations in town by folks who'd read the article. It's nice to know there are people who can be sincere with their good wishes. I also got to "show off" a little with the award certificate. It will be nice to remember the happy moments as I struggle to finish writing the book. Most of writing, I'm beginning to believe, happens in a vacumn of oneself and a blank screen.

This past week has been one of ups and downs. On Monday I manged to do quite a few of my October writing goals. Wrote and printed four query letters for Snipped in the Bud. Got caught up on about six critiques (more still to go.) Also bought a new cartridge to print out more proposal packets on Snipped in the Bud and The Cattle Rustling Catastrophe.

One of my October goals was to finish the revised edition of Cattle Rustler and transfer it to Microsoft Word. It's coming along.

Another was to do a chapter per week in my historical romance -- have two chapters done so far. Lots of reserach books ordered and on my shelves ready to be read.

Also do two pages or more per night of the demon book. Was going along great on this and getting about four to five pages down per night. Then, I had a minor setback this Tuesday. Had to have a molar pulled and it's really taken a toll on me. My face is still swollen and puffy, mouth is still sore and I'm eating only soft and mushy foods. Believe me, soup and cottage cheese are overrated. Tried a Peppermint Patty tonight and almost chocked on it. Somehow, that's one candy that should be eaten from the front teeth, not on the side. :)

Anyway, Mr. Tooth prevented me from working much at all this week. Didn't get my query letters mailed out. Didn't even get to address the envelopes until today. Wrote nothing until I worked on some worksheets yesterday for about an hour. Tried to work a bit today but it made my head ache. Might be from the antibiotic and pain pills too. Have never used pain pills for a tooth problem past the first day. This time is different.

But, I am so grateful and thanking God that He answered my prayers. The tooth came out relatively easy (no surgery or having to be put to sleep, no stitches or horror stories about nerve damage) and even with medication, I only paid about $105.00. One of the nurses had given me a run down a few days before with lots of the high priced end of things---"well, it could start at around two hundred. . .!" Yikes!

Had a minor reaction to the numbing medication but that was all. The worst thing about Tuesday was feeling too ill to even read! By Wednesday, I could read and did but frustration had also set in. There's so much to do!!

I'm hoping for more recovery by tomorrow so I can finish a worksheet batch and get them sent off.

Everyone take a look at the cool book below. This is my first time to host a blog tour! Anyone who leaves a comment on my blog this week will be entered in a drawing (see info below) for a goodie basket.

Contest instructions: From comments on this blog post, I will draw one randomly drawn name and email it to enter into the drawing for a Christmas basket (valued at $200!) A list of the contents are at our Scrapbook blog. Those leaving comments on our Scrapbook blog during the Christmas Blog Tour will also be entered. All names must be sent to me by October 14. The winner's name will be announced on October 19.

Read about the terrific book and enter to win!

A SCRAPBOOK OF CHRISTMAS FIRSTS

(Leafwood Publishers, October 2008)

A wonderful new gift book, A Scrapbook of Christmas Firsts, is available in October for Christmas giving. Today, I’ve invited the six coauthors to share their unique story of how they came together to publish this exciting book full of stories, recipes, tips for simplifying the holidays and so much more (click on bookcover to see the trailer!).

First, let me introduce Cathy Messecar, Leslie Wilson, Brenda Nixon, Trish Berg, Terra Hangen and Karen Robbins. Thank you for being here today, ladies.

Karen: Thank you for the invitation.

You are from three different areas of the country—Texas, California, and Ohio. How did you all meet?

Terra: We all six joined The Writers View, an online group for professional Christian writers. Trish and Brenda met in person in 2004 for lunch, I understand, and on 9/18/04, after reading a post Brenda sent to TWV, I sent an email to Brenda, asking if she would like to join with me and walk alongside each other, as a Barnabas group. Brenda said yes that same day, and suggested Trish too. Very quickly Cathy, Leslie and Karen joined in and our stalwart band of six was formed. Living in California, I was so happy to find 5 Barnabas writers in other states so we could bring together a wealth of different viewpoints and expertise

Brenda: Actually, We haven’t met. We’re all great colleagues and friends via the internet. Four years ago Terra and I formed a dyad to support each other as Christians who write in the secular markets. Along came Trish, Cathy, Karen, and Leslie (not necessarily in that order) and we formed a close knit bond of support, creative energy, and professional accountability.

Karen: I met Trish through an online forum called The Writers View and she invited me to join the group.

Trish: Although we belong to the same Yahoo writing group, we met one by one online. Eventually, the six of us decided that since we all write as Christians for a secular market through magazine articles and newspaper columns, we could support and encourage one another.

Leslie: Though we met virtually through The Writers View, I have been blessed to give and get hugs from Trish (at a MOPS conference), Cathy (in the area on business) and Karen (in town for a writers' conference). I can’t wait to meet Terra and Brenda face-to-face, though I feel as though I already know them!

How did you come up with the idea to do a book together?

Brenda: The book is Cathy’s brainchild. She mentioned the concept of telling stories of events that happened for the first time at Christmas and sharing holiday historical tidbits and recipes and each said, “If you need any help, let me know.” That offer morphed into each of us equally contributing and co-authoring A Scrapbook of Christmas Firsts.

Trish: Yep, Cathy came up with the idea and the title, and asked us if we wanted to join her on this project. Of course, we said Yes!

Terra: Cathy mentioned the idea for a Christmas book to the group, and someone (I think it was Leslie) suggested that maybe our group could all write the book together. Cathy agreed to lead the way on the project. The earliest email I have on this is from 9/7/05, which shows that this has been a three year collaboration from idea to publication.

Karen: (Chuckling) Terra is a librarian and keeps our historical records by saving our e-mails.

Leslie: Actually, Terra, I wrote that comment (in a group e-mail) kind of tongue-in-cheek. Cathy, the ultra-sweet person she is, took my joking at face value and here we are. However, I believe God prompted the passion and ideas we all bring to the project and that He will do mighty things as a result of our collaboration!

Why did you decide on a Christmas theme?

Brenda: It was Cathy’s concept to write a book centering on Christmas.

Cathy: For several years, I’d been thinking about Christmas as a threshold to introduce Jesus to folks who aren’t familiar with him, and I love a simpler Christmas with the emphasis on family, friends and doing for others. I knew of some families who had experienced “firsts” at Christmas—reunions, losses, special surprises—and I wanted to collect those stories.

Terra: Cathy’s idea immediately resonated with me because Christmas books are “a way past watchful dragons,” as C. S. Lewis wrote. Many people won’t buy a book about being a Christian, but will buy a holiday and family fun book, thus the “past watchful dragons.” People who want to grow in their faith, and people who have no faith but celebrate Christmas will buy our book and hopefully be led to put the focus back on Christ for the holiday, and for their lives.

Leslie: Though Cathy birthed the idea, the rest of us quickly hopped on board. Not only is Christmas special to me—especially now that I have a family of my own—but also that particular holiday cries out to be simplified, to return to the meaningful aspects of celebration, and to lose some of the hype and commercialism.

Tell me a little about what is in A Scrapbook of Christmas Firsts? What is your favorite part?

Cathy: I like that you can read one chapter in about 15 minutes and, with all the different suggestions, it feels like Christmas Eve. Makes you want to set up the nativity! Many of the suggestions for family activities can be adapted for any family get-together.

Karen: There are heartwarming stories about things that happened for the first time at Christmas. For instance, one of my stories is about the first Christmas with our adopted children. And the book is pretty. When I first saw the colorful pages and drawings, I fell in love with the illustrator’s work.

Brenda: I don’t have a favorite part – I love it all!

Terra: I like the way the parts are woven into a seamless whole, like a patchwork quilt, that is stronger and more beautiful than the parts.

Trish: It’s like everything you ever wanted to know about Christmas, all the best tips and recipes, and neat stories all wrapped up in this perfect little package.

Leslie: I love reading the special stories, hints, recipes—whatever—and imagining the precious family time that precipitated each moment. Plus, the book is gorgeous, beautifully printed, truly something to be proud of. And we are.

I’ve heard that the book is really a nice gift book; can you tell me a little about the format?

Cathy: Yes, it’s a hardbound book, full color interior. The layout makes it easy to read. It has a definite scrapbooky look on the interior. Different logos identify sections, such as an oilcloth-look Christmas stocking appears beside the “Stocking Stuffer Tradition” (help for connecting family members), and the “Cookie Canister” recipes are on a recipe card, and the back ground of “A Gift For You” is a gift box with bow. It’s a classy gift that they can be placed on a coffee table or in a guest bedroom during the holiday season.

Brenda: I like to describe it as a Starbuck’s sorta gift book. It’s high quality, crisp, and practical.

With six different personalities and areas of ministry, how did you manage to put this all together and still remain friends?

Karen: We pray a lot for each other and it helps that none of us have an over-inflated ego.

Cathy: There were no squabbles. Surely, we had differing opinions, but we knew that any of us could suggest an idea for this book and that each idea would get fair reviews from others. We actually voted on some aspects—everyone in favor say, “Aye.” If you’ve ever watched women at a Dutch treat luncheon when they divide up a meal ticket, it can be intense as they split the ticket down to the penny. As the project came together, I was in awe of my gracious coauthors, unselfish women who respect each other.
For some decisions, we did a round robin—things like book title and chapter titles and what categories to put into the book. Then, as compiler, I’d send out a list of needs to The Word Quilters, that’s what we call ourselves. For instance in a section we call “Peppermints for Little Ones” (hints for children’s activities), I’d put out a call, and the WQs sent in their hints, and then I put them into appropriate chapters.

Brenda: (Smiling) Are we still friends? Seriously, we each have our own platform, ministry, and family life, and those interests kept this project in perspective – it was important but not the only thing on our plates. No one was so enmeshed in this project that she campaigned for her own way. We never had a bitter disagreement or insistence to be “right.”

Terra: We are each other’s biggest cheerleaders.We offer support and ideas for our separate writing projects and for personal prayer requests. I love these ladies, and I have only met one of them in person. So far, Karen is the only one who has met each of us, and one day we hope to meet in person, in a circle of friendship and love.

Trish: I think we are all very flexible and forgiving. We do have a variety of personalities here, but God has worked amazing things through our little group.

Leslie: Though I have seven non-fiction projects in various stages of completion, I could not be more thankful that this is the one to reach publication first. I am truly blessed to have worked with these women, learned from them, watched as they’ve poured heart and soul into crafting a product that will impact lives for the Lord.

Where can my readers get a copy of SOCF?

Cathy: The coauthors will all have a supply, plus our publisher, Leafwood Publishers, will have plenty of copies and discounts for buying five or more. Or they can be ordered at most online stores or by your local bookstore.

Karen: And anyone who leaves a comment here can be entered in a drawing for a free book and a gift basket worth $200! For a list of its contents, check our blog, A Scrapbook of Christmas Firsts. And while you're there, leave another comment and increase your chances of winning!

Tell me more about your blog.

Karen: We started our blog in July and it is accumulating a wealth of information about Christmas. Each of us posts one day a week following the theme for that week. Watch for new recipes, tips, ways to simplify, stories, etc., similar to what is in our book.

Leslie: Ooh, ooh, let me answer this one. I’m probably the newest to blogging among the group, but I LOVE it. I’ve enjoyed posting and receiving comments back from readers. What an amazing adventure having an online voice can be! This blog will focus on a different theme each week—anything from tips to avoid overeating during the holidays to how to give a guest room special touches—and expand on the material in the book. I think readers will get to know the authors’ individual personalities and connect on a more personal level. Plus, they get that many more ideas, information, inspiration (!) at no additional cost.

WQs: As an added bonus for inviting us to your blog, we’d like to pass along this Christmas tidbit to you and your readers:

Enjoy a blessed Christmas this year! And thanks for inviting us to share our book, A Scrapbook of Christmas Firsts, with you.