Where Does Your Publication Dream Sit?
Yesterday was a library kind of day. It was hot out and the boys had baseball camp in the afternoon. The kids needed to get their summer reading underway so to the air-conditioned library we went. I also wanted to peruse the New Fiction shelf. I told myself I could check out just one book (found Seré Prince Halverson’s book The Underside of Joy) and then slowly I inched my way deeper into the shelves, one foot casually placed in front of the other, until I found myself in the R-T Fiction section. I wasn’t looking for another book so much as I was looking to see where “my book” would sit if it was published. Not that it is written yet. I am in second draft phase, which according to my current writing pace, will be completed in three years....
Read MoreFocusing On The Pura Vida
Ticos (what Costa Rican’s call themselves) have a great saying: Pura Vida. It means living a pure life. I guess it’s their version of aloha. It means many things but the mostly it is their attitude toward living. And it’s on every damned t-shirt, bumper sticker, and billboard you lay your eyes on in case you forgot what you were in Costa Rica for. I planned a “laid back, easy going, playing dead” kind of vacation last week. My version of Pura Vida. But that all changed after I watched a particular movie on one of our flights to the Coast of Riches.. I had rented two movies: Love And Other Drugs (for me, I mean us) and 127 Hours (for my husband). Remember, I was planning on writing and reading with my fifty-pound carry-on bag...
Read MoreCharisma: Is It In You?
I came across an article in “O” The Oprah Magazine (an issue from Oct. 2010 that has been sorely neglected) today that talked about charisma: what is was, how to gauge it, as well as how to reveal it in yourself. Charisma. Such a strange sounding word when you say it. Cha-RIS-ma. Those Greeks and their funny words. My handy dandy dictionary app on my iPhone says it originated in the mid-1600′s and the base of the word means “to favor”. As I read more of the article, I thought about the people in my life-those in my everyday circle as well as those in the writing community-and their charisma. What draws me to the people in my life? What is it about them that makes me want to engage? Charisma plays a part but I’m also drawn to...
Read MoreDo You Welcome Battle As A Writer?
My daughter is an undefeated champ! Her fifth grade school basketball team won their post-season tournament. What a way to end a perfect season! And when I say perfect, I truly mean it. Their record was like 600-0. Well it felt like it anyway. We had a long winter in Kansas. They won every game in preseason play, regular league, then in last weekend’s post-season tournament. But it wasn’t an easy road; nope, no sandbaggin’ here. They came from behind in a few, won a game in overtime with a last-second bucket, and played some games with no substitutions. The girls fought, struggled, battled, jabbed with their skinny little elbows, (or not so little-did you see #11?), and bit and kicked. Okay, not the last part. There’s no...
Read MoreThe Animal In All Of Us
Last week, my friend Julie, the hostess with the most-ess, brought out some handouts about the Chinese lunar calendar at our book club meeting as we discussed Snow Flower and The Secret Fan. You might have seen something similar if you frequent Chinese restaurants. Most have those paper place mats with all of the animals and the little descriptions. The calendar is based on the cycles of the moon so a complete cycle takes sixty years with twelve years to each cycle. Each of those years is named after an animal. They are the Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Boar. It was fun to look at each animal’s description and comment on how accurate we thought they were for each other. I was born in ’72, therefore I...
Read MoreYou Better Believe It!
Have I mentioned before that my daughter is amazing? Well, all of my kids are amazing but my little girl, my only girl, is one of a kind. She is smart, talented, witty, and all of those other wonderful things parents are supposed to gush about. However, her self-awareness is what I really love. As Oprah said once in an interview with Dakota Fanning that she was an “old soul.” That is exactly my daughter. Yesterday, on the way home from school, she chatted about a conversation she had with her teacher about high school. We have five high schools all within a 15 mile radius and they tend to be a bit competitive. My daughter (we’ll call her A) LOVES soccer. The World Cup was heaven for her this year. Anyway, she is torn about high schools, mind...
Read MoreAbout Me
I'm a midwest gal living vicariously through books, writing, her crazy family, and a few great friends. My blog covers all of the above as I attempt to figure out what the hell I'm doing at any given moment. Follow me:
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