Winter Day

Ice, Snow, Sleet, - What a day. At least the power is on. I've been working on my novel Murder on Tour. Funny thing, I'm writing along fine and then begin to question my punctuation and format. I comfort myself by thinking I'll go back and correct it later.

Two publications have asked for a picture. Naturally, I don't have a good one. I never take a good picture. Also, am not too good at emailing pictures. So tomorrow is picture day at my house, I'll be scanning and 'trying' to email.

I read a note from a friend in Virginia that she also is iced in so I guess this weather is pretty wide spread in the southern part of the U.S.

Procrastination

Good morning on this dreary Monday. What a wonderful day to hide in my office and write. So why am I not doing that? Procrastination. My husband said I'm afraid of success therefore I put off writing as long as there is anything else to occupy my mind and hands. What am I doing instead of writing? Answering emails, doing some genealogy research, thinking about baking and writing this blog. I think I procrastinate because writing is hard. You have to reach down deep inside yourself and come up with a readable page. That page may reveal more about you than you really want any one to know. My husband was being nice when he said I'm afraid of success. I really afraid of rejection.

Time Gets Away

Wow. Time really gets away from me. I thought January was a time I could sit back and gather my thoughts and really get some writing done. I've done some writing but not on my novel and certainly not on my blog. One of my goals was to keep my blog up to date - haven't done that. Will try to do better.

I've sent a mini mystery to Woman's World, written a contest mystery for Sleuth's Ink and I'm working on a devotional for The Sage Journal. So I have been busy.

2008 We Hardly Knew Ye

2008 is gone and 2009 is well into our schedules. Truly I haven't written 2008 on a check yet when I should have written 2009. Whohoo - I'm doin' good.

I hate it when news broadcasts, magazines or newspapers look back on the old year. Nor am I fond of Christmas letters that recap the previous year. But as I think of 2008 a few blessings come to mind. 1. I have a new grandson born in May. After a few problems in the beginning he is doing great now. He is trying to crawl and has a cute little gummy grin that wins your heart. He is in addition to 5 other grandchildren I won't mention here - sorry guys.

2. I visited my brother in Idaho. We have not been particularly close in past years. We are as different as daylight and dark so don't always see eye to eye. But I enjoyed the visit and I think we are closer now than in a long time.

3. I enjoyed a short trip with my friend Carolyn in October. Found a bit of material for a story hopefully.

4. My son arrived home from Iraq safely and is now home with his family. We couldn't be happier.

5. I had an assignment published by LifeWay Resources this year again as I have for several years. A few contest entries and a short article accepted by Good Old Days magazine make a fair showing in the writing department. Still working on that novel though.

Weather, Bookloons.com, The Truth Lies in the Dark

Oh the weather outside is frightful
Nothing about it is delightful
But since I've no place to go.....

What a great time to 'catchup' with reading, writing, cleaning, Christmas decorating, wrapping and cooking.
I've been trying to set up a web site. Just about the time I think I've got it figured out - I find out I don't have it figured out. Fortunately there isn't a big hurry to get it done.

I have reviewed a new author for Bookloons.com. Kristin Callender's book The Truth Lies in the Dark is very well written, a page turner of suspenseful action. I recommend it. Find out more about it on Bookloons.com

Books I'm Reading

I just finished reading Kinship and Courage trilogy by Jane Kirkpatrick. I recomend them to any one who enjoys historical fiction. In the three books, All Together in One Place, No Eye Can See and What Once We Loved, Kirkpatrick follows eleven women as they journey west from their homes. She faithfully portrays the rugged, hard life on a wagon train. They lose loved ones and dreams die. Eventually the eleven are left to struggle on to their destination alone without the help of adult men.



The women have character faults that mold them into the person they must be to survive in the emerging west. Their disappointments color their choices and their loyalty to each other remain as they build new lives. Kirkpatrick's characters are believable and loveable.

Christmas Parties - Goals for 2009

It is December and Christmas parties abound. I attended two this past weekend. Friday night was a Sunday School Class dinner. It was enjoyable but the astounding thing to me was the fact that from about 40 people, we collected $700.00 for benevolence fund for the church. Christian giving to help others. That is truly Christmas. Saturday's party was fun. One of my writer's groups had a pot luck. Good food. Good company and Christmas memories penned by some of the best writer's in this area.

Each of us wrote writing goals for 2009 on an index card. Each month we must check to see if we are keeping our goals in mind and actually working toward them. Soooo - just to keep me honest I'm listing my goals here.

1. I will finish my assignment with LifeWay Resources on deadline.

2. I will work diligently to finish my novel "Murder on Tour."

3. I will keep my blog updated.

4. I will continue to work regularly on my Heritage books for my children.

My Heritage books are stories of my life, the stories I've gleaned from older family members, pictures and genalogy of each family represented. Families surnames are Elliott, Dickison, Holt, Roper, Gibbons, Hicks, Smallwood.