“I’m late! I’m late!  For a very important date!  No time to say hello, goodbye!  I’m late! I’m late! I’m late!” I think I could successfully masquerade as the White Rabbit this Halloween. The end of the month is upon us and I still haven’t finished editing my novel. National Novel Writing Month begins in a mere five days. “What?” you say. “Is your book that big a mess??” Well, yes and no. There is plenty of ‘mess’ to straighten, but I confess I have also fallen victim to avoidance. I’d rather scrub the toilet than edit. I’d rather clean […]

You may have heard that Twitter recently supplied users with a new way to dress up their profile pages with picture headers similar to Facebook’s. Ooh, shiny! Right? Yes, the moment I heard (courtesy of the awesome Indies Unlimited), I hurried off to rummage through photos taken by my hubby, searching for something appropriate that I could torture manipulate in Photoshop so the theme as well as the colors would match my current custom theme, which matches my blog (Didja notice?). Luckily for me, the obligatory white text goes very nicely with my choice, and I didn’t have to do any […]

“Laughter is a powerful antidote to stress, pain, and conflict. Nothing works faster or more dependably to bring your mind and body back into balance than a good laugh. Humor lightens your burdens, inspires hopes, connects you to others, and keeps you grounded, focused, and alert.” (laugh!) I probably shouldn’t share so many of the burning questions of the universe at once, but I started giggling and couldn’t stop. I do think I feel alert now, but if I don’t get busy editing my sadly neglected novel I might be grounded. From the internet! *  *  *  *  *  * […]

Can one get hitched without a hitch? Oh, there were a couple of (very tiny) hitches, but I’m very pleased to say my daughter’s wedding day went beautifully. Really beautifully. The reception center’s decor is Tuscan, and so lovely. My daughter’s colors were black and purple. We decorated with black-and-white damask cloth over black table cloths, purple and black ribbon, white roses, white and purple silk rose petals, white pillar candles with bow ties, and a crystal-hung wishing tree (which received disparaging remarks from Certain Family Members at home, but earned a boatload of compliments at the reception, so HA!). […]

Work on my novel has gone from “spotty” to nonexistent as we get ready to celebrate my daughter’s wedding. The invitation turned out awesome—and I’m not just saying that! The coolest part of designing the various stationery items is getting the printed work back and seeing how surprisingly good it looks. My photographer hubby took both the engagement photos and the bridal photos. I’m prejudiced, I know, but those bridal pictures are soooooo pretty! Going through those and doing (just a few!) touch-ups was time-consuming, but fun. We don’t have quite a million of them printed and framed to display at the […]

We all know what a blurb is, right? All right, for those of you who aren’t certain, a blurb is the short summary of a book appearing either on the back (of paperbacks) or the inside flap (of hardbacks). Easy, right? Generally, when you’re browsing through your favorite on-line book seller’s site, the blurb accompanies a picture of the cover. The blurb grabs our interest (or sends us running if it’s really bad!). But what happens to that handy-dandy blurb once our savvy and trendy customers get the book to their e-reader? Image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net … Do I hear […]

I recently came across a fantastic article by Anne R. Allen: “Amazon Reader Reviews: 12 Things Everybody and His Grandmother Needs to Know.” It has a rather long introduction, but the excellent meat of the article is well worth reading and passing along, especially to the readers you know. “If you’ve got favorite writers who aren’t superstars, they can use your help, right now—whether they’re with a small press, indie, or even published by the Big Six. The demise of bookstores and print book reviews means online reviews can make or break a new title. If you see a book […]

If you wait for inspiration, you’re not a writer, but a waiter.(Anonymous) I did it, yes, I did! 51,022 words according to the Office of Letters and Light, and 51,271 according to Scrivener. Quite the discrepancy, eh? Good thing there was a scene I simply had to finish… One of the things I love about participating in the National Novel Writer’s Month is that there is no time to wait. I’ve got 30 days and 50,000 words to write, and waiting for inspiration doesn’t get any words typed on the page. I am lucky to have the house to myself while […]

Good morning, fellow writers! It’s another beautiful Monday, and we’re talking again about talking. There’s a lot to say about the subject! Three sentences into my draft, my sister phoned me. “This is just going to be a quick call,” she said right up front. Personal experience tells me that phone calls between the two of us are never quick, but her time limit was set by the need to arrive someplace at a particular time. I caught her up on the activities of my children, which led to discussions about Life, the Universe, and Everything — or, in other […]

It’s November! It’s NaNoWriMo time! For those of you unfamiliar with the sport of writing a 50K novel in 30 days (in spite of a major holiday), please go check out their website at http://www.nanowrimo.org/. The folks that sponsor the writing fest do some really awesome things. I love participating, and so far I’ve been able to finish the goal every year. This will be my fourth year, and I’m excited! The years I’ve previously participated have given me the bulk of material for a novel I am still editing, and this year I’m starting something entirely new. Well… new […]