Words on Wednesday

First of all, I’m LOVING WriteOnCon this year! The theme is Back to Basics, and I’ve learned more than I thought I would. I’m not saying I think I know it all or anything, but I thought I knew pretty much everything there was to know about the basics at least. I. Was. Wrong.

Seriously, there’s always more to learn because everyone approaches writing differently. There are some amazing suggestions on the site. Check it out if you have time (last session of the Con is tonight, but the stuff will still be there for you to enjoy at your leisure).

One thing I saw at the conference and wanted to share (I got permission) is this fun trailer for The Seven Tales of Trinket by Shelley Moore Thomas (she’s such fun to watch and you should watch her presentation on Do It Yourself promotion from Tuesday’s session of WriteOnCon).

I’ll be sad to see the conference end tonight, but my family will be glad I’m no longer glued to the computer.

How has your Wednesday been?

Write on!

I’m Free to Write

Today I’m grateful for those who fought to win American independence and those who continue to fight to keep us free. In honor of these amazing and brave people, I’m going to exercise my freedom of speech and using the morning to write. Yay!

After the kids are up, we’ll have our flag ceremony (our Cub Scout is excited). Then the rest of the day will be pretty boring. The kids promised to clean their rooms (we’ll see if it happens), and I need to do a load of dishes and a load of towels (amazing how fast they get used in summer when kids are playing in the pool). Maybe we’ll have a barbeque for lunch, but basically everything we do is distraction to keep the kids from constantly asking me if it’s time for fireworks.

Yes, despite the extreme fire danger, our town does fireworks every year. Only because they do the fireworks out on the lake in Green Valley Park. Once again, the sky is cloudy and it looks like rain (it seems to rain here EVERY July 4th). I’m not sure how much of the fireworks we’ll be able to enjoy if it’s pouring down rain (though we did watch the fireworks in a light rain a couple of years ago). Still, we need the rain, and I’m grateful whenever it falls.

We aren’t sure where we’ll go to watch the fireworks this year. We used to have a spot up by the airport but over the years, others in the town have discovered what an amazing vantage point it is and it’s been super crowded the last couple of years.

We don’t go down to the park because it’s WAY too congested down there with all the people and traffic. Still, we’ll enjoy celebrating our independence today however we manage to do it.

But, as I said, I’ll be using the morning to do some writing.

What about you? If you’re here in America, what do you do to celebrate Independence Day?

Write on.

Friday Five

1. Another day of peace and quiet (at least till hubby comes home from work). I’ve done a little writing and then had to stop and do a lot of plotting (hey, sometimes these things need to be planned). I’m taking a break to blog and then get lunch before diving back into more writing.

2. On my break, I discovered the amazing Dawn Metcalf is celebrating the first anniversary of her book, LUMINOUS!

I can’t believe it’s been a year. Wow. In celebration of the anniversary she’s holding a giveaway. Go here to check it out and enter.

3. Though I’m enjoying my quiet time, I do find I’m missing my kids. Crazy, I know. The house is just so quiet. No one is banging on my door or yelling “Mom” from somewhere else in the house. And there aren’t any little arms to give me hugs. We’ve been keeping in touch with Facetime (the kids all have their own iPods and hubby and I have our iPads), but it’s not the same. I’ll be glad to have them back—but I’m sure I’ll miss the quiet time when it’s gone too. The grass is always greener and all that.

4. I can’t believe this month is almost over! It was full of fun with us taking the kids to the zoo and science center and Lowell Observatory. And oldest son, E, turned 19 on the 22nd!! July will be here in a few more days and with it J and JR’s birthdays, mine and hubby’s anniversary, and the kids will be going back to school! Crazy!

5. What plans do you have for the end of June and the first of July this weekend?

Write on.

WOW!

I just finished watching America’s Got Talent. This singer shocked the heck out of me. If you haven’t seen Andrew De Leon’s audition, you’ve GOT to watch this!

 

 

Sing on!

Longing for Spring

I know it just passed and summer is here for a while. I still have fall and winter to go through, but I’m very much looking forward to Spring 2013. Here’s why:

 

Synopsis Cover Copy:

Everybody thinks Tara Doucet has the perfect life. But in reality, Tara’s life is anything but perfect: Her dear Grammy Claire has just passed away, her mother is depressed and distant, and she and her sister Riley can’t seem to agree on anything. But when mysterious and dazzling butterflies begin to follow her around after Grammy Claire’s funeral, Tara just knows in her heart that her grandmother has left her one final mystery to solve.

A strange butler shows up to take Tara and Riley to Grammy Claire’s house, where Tara finds a stack of keys and detailed letters from Grammy Claire herself. Note by note, Tara learns unexpected truths about her grandmother’s life. As the letters grow more ominous and the keys more difficult to decipher, Tara realizes that the secrets she must uncover could lead to mortal danger. And when Tara and Riley are swept away to the beautiful island of Chuuk to hear their grandmother’s will, Tara discovers the most shocking truth of all — one that will change her life forever.

From Kimberley Griffiths Little comes a magical, breathtaking mystery full of loss and love, family and faith.

 

You can’t see me, but I’m grinning from ear to ear and bursting with excitement! I’ve loved Kimberley’s books (and have reviewed them here on my blog) and am so very much looking forward to the release of this one. Doesn’t it sound amazing?! And the cover is gorgeous (all of her covers have been).

So, I’ll burn through the summer months, enjoy the fall of leaves in autumn, freeze in the winter, and endure whatever may come because I know that when spring comes, not only will I have flowers to look forward too, I’ll also have WHEN THE BUTTERFLIES CAME to read.

Kimberley is having a giveaway on her blog (free autographed books, people—don’t miss it). Go here to check it out. Click to visit Kimberley's blog and learn about the giveaway (it’s super simple, promise).

What book/books are you looking forward to?

Write/Read on.

Thursday Things

1. I survived the weekend trip to Tucson (it seems it’s taken me this long to fully recover). We ended up NOT going to the science center. Instead, we took the kids to Toys R Us. That may seem like a lame option, but my kids have never been to a Toys R Us and they wanted to go (except oldest son, E, who stayed in the hotel room). Later that night we went out to dinner with my oldest sister and her family and my mom. We ate at Golden Corral (which we had also never been to). After eating, we went back to the hotel and the kids and hubby swam in the pool with the cousins while I chatted with my sister. We got to see my younger sister’s new baby and lots of family that I hadn’t seen in a while—including my two new adorable nieces.

2. I’ve been having more fun painting on the iPad!

Using hubby’s stylus wasn’t cutting it for me so after some research I bought the Adonit Jot Pro stylus:

You can’t see it in this picture, but there’s a cap that screws onto the end (so you don’t lose it). It also sticks nicely to the magnetic side of the iPad so I don’t lose it. Yay! I had some fun experimenting and drew this a few minutes ago (took about an hour):

Then I decided to add some freckles:

I’ve decided I LOVE the Jot Pro stylus! It’s very responsive and with the little round see through surface, I’m able to add fine detail to things.

3. It’s raining here today. Though I love that this means I won’t have to water my flowers, the kids broke all the umbrellas (they think they’re toys no matter how many times I tell them not to touch unless it’s raining) so I’m trying to stay inside today. However, the kids have a 1/2 day of school so I’ll likely have to drive to the bus stop to pick them up (they ride the bus home now to save gas $$) so they won’t get their little heads rained upon.

4. Next week is finals. I’m not overly concerned since they are take home tests—open book and everything (I love my history teacher). Next Tuesday will be my last “official” day of school. Monday the 7th I’ll have to go back to ceramics to pick up my finished projects, but that doesn’t really count as a class IMO. I’m excited that it’s almost over, but also sad since I won’t be going back next semester (and maybe not the semester after that).

5. I got an email from my amazing agent with fabulous feedback on my YA yesterday! Can I just say again that she’s amazing?! Some of the things she pointed out were “duh” moments, but I never would have seen them if she hadn’t pointed them out to me. There are LOTS of problems with this MS (I did tell her it was a mess before sending it to her), and I emailed back to ask if she thought it was worth fixing or if I should move on. We’ll see what she says.

6. I’m going to work on my MG today. I do love this story, but I did ask amazing agent if she wanted to look at what I have so far to see if it’s suitable for the market before I spend too much time on a MS that won’t sell. I have so many other ideas waiting for me that it’s good to have someone who can guide me and let me know what to work on. I look forward to hearing what she has to say.

I hope you all have a great Thursday!!

Write on.