April is Over. Bring on May
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 the Husky gas station in the city. I'd dropped off the other 2 mbrs of our writing group and then held it together as I drove home. It finally hit me around 2 pm the next day and I was bawling when Facebook asked 'What's on your mind?' So, I told all my 100 or so friends. And do you know what? Their quick responses contained (((hugs))) and congrats and reassurances about my writing. Within hours, I was back to normal and eager to write some more. So, thank you to the creators of Facebook and all my friends who are part of it.
- On the 30th, Brenda Novak joined us on the Prairie Chick blog and we actually received a total of 83 comments. Brenda is a gifted novelist, author of some of my favourite books, and her on-line auction benefits Diabetes Research. Go check out the hundreds of items at www.brendanovak.com. There is something for everyone and this week she's starting a new $1 Buy it Now items. She said, 'I'll randomly post these throughout the auction month, in no particular category. If you're the first to find this special item, you get to buy it for a buck. Some of these will be really valuable, too--including some reads from editors and agents. So keep your eye out and visit the auction often. You never know what you might find!' Dontcha just love a good treasure hunt. :)
- I did something stupid to my laptop and had to do a complete system recovery. I'd saved all of my documents which included my writing on flash drives, so I've been on my knees thanking God that I have those, and I had most of my photos on SD cards so they're safe. But all my email files and contacts (excluding my Hotmail acct) and internet bookmarks are gone. A lot of those were for sites to do with the technical stuff of blogging and researching and it will take time to gather them again. But yes, my writing is safe. Good thing too because I've just been asked for a partial on Marry Me, Ma'am? which I'm ecstatic about and now busy tweaking before submitting Monday morning.
-I bought a new HP mini (netbook) to travel around with me. Yes, I have a laptop, but it weighs over 7 lbs and it's big. My new mini fits in the bag I carry everywhere anyway and I'll be able to write on the spot whenever I find myself with time to spare while waiting for the kids. I don't mind being their chauffeur as long as I can write while I'm waiting. The new mini includes Word 7 and OneNote7. The Word 7 is a learning curve which will take time but I'm loving the changes that make it easier on a writer such as the current word count in the bottom left corner. That will save time.
My goals for May:
- I'm participating in a writing blitz with other witers of the Sask Rom Writers in preparation for the Spring Retreat. So, those goals are my goals for the month:
REVISIONS. Need I say more?
Okay, that's it for me. Try to get over to Brenda Novak's auction. It's run just like eBay so it's real easy and all the proceeds go to a very worthy cause.
Now it's your turn - tell me what you've been up to . . .
- 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 the Husky gas station in the city. I'd dropped off the other 2 mbrs of our writing group and then held it together as I drove home. It finally hit me around 2 pm the next day and I was bawling when Facebook asked 'What's on your mind?' So, I told all my 100 or so friends. And do you know what? Their quick responses contained (((hugs))) and congrats and reassurances about my writing. Within hours, I was back to normal and eager to write some more. So, thank you to the creators of Facebook and all my friends who are part of it.
- On the 30th, Brenda Novak joined us on the Prairie Chick blog and we actually received a total of 83 comments. Brenda is a gifted novelist, author of some of my favourite books, and her on-line auction benefits Diabetes Research. Go check out the hundreds of items at www.brendanovak.com. There is something for everyone and this week she's starting a new $1 Buy it Now items. She said, 'I'll randomly post these throughout the auction month, in no particular category. If you're the first to find this special item, you get to buy it for a buck. Some of these will be really valuable, too--including some reads from editors and agents. So keep your eye out and visit the auction often. You never know what you might find!' Dontcha just love a good treasure hunt. :)
- I did something stupid to my laptop and had to do a complete system recovery. I'd saved all of my documents which included my writing on flash drives, so I've been on my knees thanking God that I have those, and I had most of my photos on SD cards so they're safe. But all my email files and contacts (excluding my Hotmail acct) and internet bookmarks are gone. A lot of those were for sites to do with the technical stuff of blogging and researching and it will take time to gather them again. But yes, my writing is safe. Good thing too because I've just been asked for a partial on Marry Me, Ma'am? which I'm ecstatic about and now busy tweaking before submitting Monday morning.
-I bought a new HP mini (netbook) to travel around with me. Yes, I have a laptop, but it weighs over 7 lbs and it's big. My new mini fits in the bag I carry everywhere anyway and I'll be able to write on the spot whenever I find myself with time to spare while waiting for the kids. I don't mind being their chauffeur as long as I can write while I'm waiting. The new mini includes Word 7 and OneNote7. The Word 7 is a learning curve which will take time but I'm loving the changes that make it easier on a writer such as the current word count in the bottom left corner. That will save time.
My goals for May:
- I'm participating in a writing blitz with other witers of the Sask Rom Writers in preparation for the Spring Retreat. So, those goals are my goals for the month:
REVISIONS. Need I say more?
Okay, that's it for me. Try to get over to Brenda Novak's auction. It's run just like eBay so it's real easy and all the proceeds go to a very worthy cause.
Now it's your turn - tell me what you've been up to . . .
Hi Anita,
ReplyDeleteWhat a month! You know how I feel about your writing, so keep that chin up my dear friend! And let me know your most recent news soon.
Off to Prairie Chicks to read Brenda Novak....
Thanks, Gwen. Praying for good news from you as well. I miss my late night/your early morning chats...
ReplyDeletewow anita
ReplyDeleteyou've accomplished quite a bit. *hugs* for your finalist placement. i'm glad you've got good support to help cheer you up. i'm looking forward to hearing about you getting "the Call". with your diligence, I'm sure it's not too far away.
you did a great job with bringing in Brenda to Prairie Chicks. i hope you'll be able to find all those links you lost with your computer woes. a big *whew!* for all your writing being safe too.
me? i haven't done much - i think mostly because i'm adjusting to being pregnant and thinking about how to get ready for the little one.
may your may be blessed with inspired revisions and productivity.
Thanks, Deb, but I can't take all the credit for Brenda since she volunteered.
ReplyDeleteI rec'd an email today at lunch saying she posted her first $1 buy item but we were between church and a band concert and I didn't have time to look for it. I'll keep checking, though.
Thanks for the hugs, compliment and pep talk. And, speaking of support, praying you have good support for these coming months. Just remember, I've been there 4 times and although I don't know everything, I can speak from my experience. :)
Thanks for mentioning the $1 item e-mail. I looked through my sasktel spam listings this morning and saw what I thought was a corrupted e-mail address & spam message (hadn't heard about the $1 thing before, so thought it had been grabbed by a cyber pirate to fool me). I will go back now and ask for delivery. My fault I didn't recognise the address. Also, I didn't do what I should have to get the auction address into my list when I registered.
ReplyDeleteI'm also considering a mini so I can travel more easily compared to lugging my laptop. Glad to know you like it so far.
I am also participating in the May Blitz, and may not get to read as many blogs as I did in April, certainly won't comment as much, altho I enjoy doing that.
My other big May activity will be sprucing up my yard and going to my granddaughter's dance recital. I'll get back from Alberta (another trip, different family) just before the retreat.
I admire your energy, stick-to-it perseverence, and good humour, Anita. Best of luck with the writing; the "call" will come!
Hi, Helena. Glad you found something useful in my post. :)
ReplyDeleteI love my mini! It fits perfectly between me and my steering wheel which props it up, and is sooooo easy to carry around. And, I'm glad I bought the 10" because I took it to church with me on Sunday worrying I might have trouble with the smaller keyboard, but it's perfect. I took down the sermon as if I was using my laptop. Yup, it was the right choice for me.
Thanks for the visit and happy travelling.