Why I Have this Blog

Yes, it's supposed to be for marketing purposes, let people know I'm here. It's also for airing my views, except sometimes doing so may hurt my image, so I tend to keep them mild nowadays. But the main reason why I maintain this blog is so that people can find me. The daughter of a long-lost friend I've tried and failed to find just posted a comment. If she reads this again, I'd like her to contact me through the contact option.
Now, though, I have a way to reach her.
Yea!!!
If you see this, Kim or Joan, it's wonderful to hear form you all!!! You aren't the first old friend to find me.

Where do Lost Shoes Go?

Some people lose socks in the dryer. I lose shoes in my closet or on my bedroom floor. Granted, I probably have too many pairs of shoes, and I can't figure out why so many start out in pairs and end up with only one shoe where I left two. What swallows them up then spits them out again?

Do I Ever Like What I read?

Absolutely. I loves lots of books I read from all publishers in many genres. Recently, I discovered Sarah Graves and her HOme Improvements Are Homicide mystery series. Much better even than I anticipated liking them. I'm reading a book right now I like much better than I anticipated. It has far more depth than I thought it would from the title, which implies it's a naughty book. More than halfway through, and it's not. Good Girls Do. Linz is the author. And I just read Second Chance by Traci Bateman. I always like Bateman's books.

What problems I'm finding with books and me is the pacing. Too many books start out with excitement to hook one in, then slow down to the speed of a snail whose been told to take his time, then it hits you again with a little excitement at the last chapter or three. We used to worry about sagging middles, but, apparently, no more. Now the whole book sags from both ends.

Hearts in the Highlands by

The addage goes: If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all.

So, Here is something nice: The historical feel of this story is spot-on. Late Victorian done well. And the hero was kind of interesting being an Egyptologist, a la Amelia Peabody's husband, whatever his name is.

If you like Heartsongs published by Barbour Publishing, you're bound to like this book. It's much like a Lena Nelson Dooley or Kathy Marie Hake, only longer, so a tad more depth to characters and set in England instead of the prairie.

That was several nice things. Heartsongs are great books on rainy days and vacation, when one wants to be leisurely or just plain relaxed.

Some Writers Are Snobs

It's a pretty rare occasion when I encounter a writer who is an outright snob. In fact, I can't remember the last time I met one before this week. But this one, who shall remain nameless, as maybe she's just having a bad week and will redeem herself, is surely one of the worst. In a crowd of writers being cordial to her, she only talked to two--the most published. Thos unpubs got totally snubbed. I'm somewhere in-between with my two traditionally published and three small press (not vanity) novels published and other things, so am not really affected, but--wow! I was stunned. It's a relatively new writers' group, and if more people are like this, I'm one who isn't going to stick around. We have a hard enough life, solitary and grueling work, lots of disappointments to go along with the fun and triumphs. We don't need to dis one another. In truth, this goes for anyprofession. The old addage about being careful on your way up because you just might be coming down holds true. You step on the wrong fingers and toes, you might get bumped right off the ladder when someone else passes you. Be nice. That's my message this week. No matter how lowly you think the person is, be nice. In the Lord's eyes, you are no better or worse than others.

Eating Right Is Exhausting

A month ago, I got really seirous about working out and started spending at first 30 minutes then up to an hour at least twice a week, at the gym. Yea me! I'd already cut my calorie intake by a good bit simply by eating less or grabbing fruit instead of something less healthy. But a week ago, hubby and I decided to be even healthier and eat lots more fruits and vegetables and only poultry and fish. Fine... Not. Oh, the new porgram works really well. Amazing how few calories one can eat and not be hungry. There's just one problem--it takes forever. Cleaning, cooking, thinking up new and healthier recipes, or trying to find them, is time-consuming. I'm spending hours in the kitchen. But today was the longest session yet--the Costco run. Buying vegetables at the grocery store this time of year, before the local produce comes to the farmer's market, and the fish, is just too expensive. Costco much better if one can store the huge quantities. But I am utterly wiped out and wanted nothing mroe than a nice cup of coffee, my addiction of choice. So, after this exhausting trip, after making chicken picata and vegies--fresh--for lunch and 40 minutes on the treadmill before that, I pull out the coffee grinder, pour in some beans, and depress the lever. All is fine at first. Then I realized it was taking far too long for the coffee to process. Then the thing stops. Nothing except a rather nasty smell. My coffee grinder is broken. So I guess tomorrow is a run to Williams Sonoma, since this cheap grinder I got elsewhere broke in four months of moderate usage. Have I earned even a tiny slice of cake?

Magic Hour by

Yes, this book is a couple of years old, and it is still worth mentioning if you are interested in a book with nearly flawless craftsmanship. I'm a picky reader and could probably find things wrong with it, and at no time did I want to. At first, I thought it could be slow and tedious. Yeah, yeah, a disgraced child shrink helps a traumatized child. zzzzz Wrong! Sure, that's what the story is about on a basic level, yet it has so much more depth, as is typical of Ms. Hannah's work. Growth. Friendship. Family. And the ultimate sacrifice of love. Not many books make me cry. I tend to be a jaded reader who knows the buttons to push myself, as a writer, so can be impervious to the tricks. Not this one. At the turly climactic scene that would be a spoiler to mention further, I had to get more than one tissue. Once again, Kristin Hannah has not let me down.

Why Do Writers...

Why do writers help other writers? Aren't they assisting the competition?

Why do writers spend their precious time coordinating and judging contests?

Why do writers spend their precious time helping other writers find research materials?

These are questions I've gotten since entering the writing community about nine years ago. Here are a few of my thoughts:

We need the contact. Writing is so solitary—though I think collaborating with another writer would be fun—that we reach out any way we can.

Others helped us, so helping others is giving back, keeping the flow going.

It gets one's name out there, sells books. A body needs to see one's name at least seven times before one remembers it and twenty-five before one acts, after all.

And maybe some of us are just a little nuts.

What do you think?

The City in the Morning

Technically, I live in the suburbs. To this truly suburban to small town lady, it looks like a city to me, especially when I live in a highrise. Usually, though I like open windows, I can't open them because the noise of buses and construction somewhere or just traffic in general is overwhelming and I can't hear the radio, my computer, husband... Yet in the morning, before things heat up, especially on weekend days like today, I sti here on my sunporch and listen to a cardinal trilling away. How I love that sound! Beautiful. A bit of nature in the tiny park outside my windows. It's like a promise, the Lord reminding us that He and the beauty of His kingdom and love and grace are with us even amidst the seeming chaos of our lives.

First Comment on Better than Gold From

"I finished Better than Gold, and I am utterly amazed that you wrote such a good book in less than a month. Did you say three weeks? Wow! A delightful story."

I really didn't pay Lousie to say this.

d, yes, I wrote the majority of this book in three weeks because I had a short deadline and was out of town and unable to do much writing for half of it.