Wreader Fun

I'm on a writing retreat with the Sask Rom Writers in a monastary in Muenster, SK. Days are spent in our rooms, writing. We walk about a hundred feet to the main building where we're fed 3 really good meals a day. And we socialize for a few hours in the evening. I'm working on revisions to Marry Me Ma'am. I wouldn't know I was in a monastery except for the monks walking by in their long black tunics. Have I mentioned the food is really good?

Outside my window, the trees bow and bob as if trying to shoot out the new green leaves like bullets from a Gatling gun. The air whistles as it’s forced through a crack beside the door. No matter where I go in the house, I hear the dull roar from outside, advancing and retreating in waves. When the kids opened the door to leave for school, the air filled with an earthy vegetative smell reminiscent of a forest. The normally blue sky is obscured by a mantle of clouds. Yet, I’m snug inside our little house on the prairie. :) Since Jessie has a music lesson and dental appt in the city today, I’m making an executive decision to stay in my jammies until I have to leave to pick her up from school. I can get more writing done that way, you see and read my Prairie Chick post tomorrow to see what I'm talking about. Jessie also has her final grad dress fitting today. A princess dress, bought by a father who dotes on her. In my wildest dreams I’ve never imagined such a dress on anyone other th...

Wishing all my friends south of the border a good, safe, Memorial Day. Praying for God to bless those who serve where they are needed. Thanking God for giving men and women the courage to fight for their country. Praising God for allowing me to live in a peaceful country where I am free to attend the church of my choice, read the books I choose to read, and say whatever's on my mind as long as I don't spread hate toward my fellow man. (Why do I have the urge to say, 'Live long and prosper' at the end of that?)

First the bad news - I didn't final in the Touched by Love contest which means I won't be heading to the RWA conference in DC this year. I am sending out a huge congratulations to all the finalists and the judges who volunteered their time to judge the entries. From the comments on my score sheets, their service is invaluable. Now the good news - Have you been over to eHarlequin lately? They have taken technology to another level and it's wonderful! I'm not talking books. I'm talking people! If you go to the main eHarl community page at http://community.eharlequin.com/ you'll see a google map. And if you click on the blue HERE beside the map, it'll take you to the eharl community map where you can see where the Harlequin authors and readers live. Of course, since this is voluntary, everyone won't be there. But there are lots of little blue balloons to show where everybody lives. Click on a balloon to see who it belongs to. If you're a mbr and want t...

I'm blogging today at Prairie Chicks Write Romance about managing your muse. This is not my concept but rather notes I've gleamed from listening to Allie Pleiter's workshop, Getting it Done, at the ACFW conference last fall. I'm so glad I was blessed with the insight to buy the audio recordings of the conference. Not only do I learn about the workshops I missed, I get to re-listen to those I attended. There just isn't enough time to absorb even half of what is going on at the conference. A very intense 3 days. So, over at the Chicks, I'm talking about how you write - whether you're a big chunky person or a little chunky person, and how you can use the knowledge to write a book. On the contest front: - no news YET on the Touched by Love contest - I've rec'd my scores sheets back from the Genesis. Both Charley's Saint and An Outlaw for the Lady scored in the top 25% of the contest. So, although I'm not a finalist, I really don't have anyt...

This is starting to be a refrain, but I'm still waiting for results of the Touched by Love Contest. Yes, they were supposed to have been posted by the 16th, but this isn't a perfect world, eh. By the time I get the results, it's going to be so anti-climatic - especially if I'm not a finalist. But I still have lots to do while I wait. I must: - write Thursday's Prairie Chick blog post - work on MMM revisions - write a blog post for Cheryl St John :) - critique chapter 10 for my CP I think I'm missing something... How's your memory... do you know that a banana a day will help your memory?...

It's Victorica Day here in Canada, the traditional day to plant your warm season crops like beans and corn and put your bedding plants out. We're not. The temp out there is 6C/43F. Nelson corralled the kids into helping him clean up the yard. I knew it wasn't going to be pretty when he told them to put parkas on first. heh They just came in for lunch, but had to stand at the door and do tick checks first. The boys were clear but Jess found one on her pant leg. I wouldn't have known except for the screech. Nelson laughed and when I asked him why he always laughs when someone faces adversity (trips, etc) he said it's a boy thing. sigh I despise ticks. They came out the 3rd week of April and will stick around until the end of July. Our yard is surrounded by trees. Our garden is surrounded by trees. Our house is surrounded by trees. Have I said how much I despise ticks? We used to have a flock of guinea hens that would roam the yard and eat their body weight in ticks a ...

First round judging of the ACFW's Genesis contest is over and the finalists have been announced. I'm not one of them. However, I want to send out major congratulations to those on the list. With over 450 entries, finaling in this contest is a huge accomplishment and I wish you all the best. I'm still waiting on one contest result, although hope is flagging something fierce. It's a cold, gloomy day outside. I'm not letting it drag me down, though. Chap 4 to Marry Me, Ma'am will be heading out to my CP's after one more proof read and I'm hoping to have a productive weekend of revisions. So, what are your plans for this weekend? Hitting a book? Or the beach? hehe

I'm blogging over at Prairie Chicks Write Romance today about submissions and results. In particular, the emotions I'm feeling right now as I await the results of 2 contests with 2 entries each and one partial submission. Usually the results don't all come in the same time period. And they still may not, but it's possible they'll all come today. Or tomorrow . . . Are you waiting for an answer to a submission right now? How many do you have out? What do you have out? Who has it? How long has it been there? Are you frustrated that it’s taking so long? Do you wonder if it even got there? Come on, talk to me about your submissions. I have lots of time to talk today. After all, I’m only sitting here watching my inbox . . .

I'm trying to critique a chapter for one of my crit partners, but I'm having a hard time concentrating. Because I'm waiting. Seems every time I get a notice I've rec'd an email, I have to go check it out. Because I'm waiting. There's no guarantee I'll even get an answer today but it doesn't change anything. Because I'm waiting. What I'm waiting for: - the first round results of the Genesis contest are to be announced between May 1st-15th. (And it's the 12th today, eh) I have 2 entries in this contest. - the first round results of the Touched by Love contest are to be announced on May 16th. I have 2 entries in this contest as well. - the partial I subbed to TWRP has been passed from the Sweetheart line to Yellow Rose. She liked it, but will they? So, I'm waiting on 3 major career defining moments. Oh, the pressure... Are you waiting for something? Big or small? Is it self-induced or involuntary?

Reflections of God’s Holy Land by Eva Marie Everson and Miriam Feinberg Vamosh – Thomas Nelson 2008 Blessings come in various forms from a prayer answered to a subtle awareness. Reflections of God’s Holy Land would be in the latter category. A glossy, pictorial essay suitable to display on the finest coffee table, I thought I would read it in a couple weeks, review it, and donate it to my church. Yet 5 months later, I still hold it in my hands, unwilling to pass it on. You see, I didn’t take the subtitle, A Personal Journey Through Israel , seriously. I assumed it was just another travel book with lots of beautiful photos of Israel and directions how to get there. Was I wrong. I started reading Reflections of God's Holy Land the same way I read any other book; a couple hrs set aside to entertain myself as a reward for other tasks accomplished. Yet after the first dozen pages, I realized this is not a book to be rushed in one sitting if you want to travel the journey with the a...

I'm giving a Chat Room Primer over at Prairie Chicks Write Romance blog today. It's about my experiences in chat rooms and how they can help you as a writer or entertain you as a reader. Please join the discussion: - Do you participate in Chat Rooms? - Do you have a favorite Chat Room you’d like to share with us? See you there...

Finished my revisions to Marry Me Ma'am yesterday and emailed the partial to my critique partners last night. While I'm waiting for my CP's to tell me what they really think, I must keep revising. My goal for the Sask Rom Writers May blitz is to revise 5 pages per day. I'm on still on track. Since I need to have MMM ready in case the editor likes it and wants to see the full manuscript, I'll continue on with those revisions. I also have a blogpost to write for tomorrow's Pairie Chicks Write Romance blog. And, I need to update the News from the Pews blog and see if anyone commented on the new layout. Probably not since I haven't received an email. Funny how they're so quiet on blog unlike in church... :) Since I've had to reload my laptop, I haven't been able to convince it to accept photos from my camera. Not sure what that's about but I can't find the place on HP Essentials where you tell your laptop which digital camera you're us...

Sorry folks, no photos or info . . . I'm in my cave working on revisions to my contemporary western, Marry Me, Ma'am . If you're looking for things to do, check out Brenda Novak's auction to raise money for Juvenile Diabetes at http://www.brendanovak.com/ . Or, you can check my group writing blog at http://prairiechickswriteromance.blogspot.com/ . I have lots to say, just no time today. But you can tell me what you've got planned...

With all the hoopla over Brenda Novak's visit with the Prairie Chicks I haven't had much time to blog. But, here's what happened in April: - Our basement and land flooded around Easter. Check out my previous blogs for the story in photos. - I took a jaunt down to North Dakota for mail and to recce my Prairie Junction site in spring, and I headed up to Davidson to meet with my writing group. - Due to being on self-imposed internet restrictions while I worked on the taxes, I only commented on a couple blogs. I was very surprised when I learned I'd won a free book on each of them! - Instead of reading 10-12 books a month, I think I read 2 in April. (gasp) And, I still haven't reveiwed the 3 or so I read in March. Yikes! Writing-wise: - I came 5th in the Inspirational category of the Linda Howard Award of Excellence contest. Yes, I cried because although I was still a finalist, there were only 5 finalists and that put me last. I found out Sat while checking my email at ...