Wreader Fun

I have some fantastic news! But you need to act quick, because it's only this week. Harlequin Enterprises , the famous Romance publisher, is looking for writers who can tell a great, emotional story. And they have a week of special events to help you get started. This includes live chats, podcasts, webinars, and even writing challenges. To find out more, check the eHarlequin blog and schedule of events . Follow them on Facebook and  Twitter for up-to-date information and links to chat transcripts in case you missed them.

I haven't much time to post, but wanted to give you something... Here's Nora Roberts at the Literacy booksigning. Yesterday she gave the keynote speech on a writer's support group of friends. Last night I attended the Harlequin pajama party. My flash wasn't working, but all the Steeple Hill Love Inspired authors look great. Thank goodness I lost the 35 lbs or I'd be a blob! Favorite authors Terri Reed and Dana Corbit. A special moment was meeting Jayne, head hostie at the eharlequin.com site.

I was scheduled to post on the American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) Conference blog on July 2nd but somehow, I ended up there today. This makes for some out-of-sequence reading because I wrote the first paragraph as if it was going to be posted on July 2nd. *sigh* Here's the complete text with photos - although I look a smidgeon different today due to a 30 lb weight loss :). Yay. Ah, September – one of my favourite times of the year. Huh? Yes, I know it’s only July 2nd because we celebrated Canada Day yesterday and it’s just 2 days before the U.S. Fourth of July festivities. But, still… September is the premiere social event of the season. To this Canadian gal, anyway. I’ve only been an ACFW member since 2007 and was thrilled to discover my first conference would be in Minneapolis – a simple 2 day drive from our prairie farm in southeast Saskatchewan. And, I was familiar with the area having lived several hours north of the twin cities for years, albeit across the border. Man...

Just a couple more days to get in the drawing for a brand new copy of Jillian Hart's Love Inspired The Soldier's Holiday Vow . Check my June 22nd blog  for complete instructions. So far, 3 people have played the game so they each get their name thrown into the hat twice: - Carol's answers are in the comment section of the June 22 blog - Christa and Tammy have entered on my eHarlequin blog Also on my eHarlequin blog is FakeFrenchie who commented but didn't play the game so she gets her name in only once. There's still time to enter, but don't wait too long. I'll make the drawing on July 1st. :)

I'm back from my annual writing retreat at St. Peter's College and feeling great! I got so much done while at the monastery and want to share my joyful feelings, so I'm giving away a new copy of Jillian Hart's Love Inspired The Soldier's Holiday Vow . Yes, the book was released in Dec 2009 but the one I'm giving away has never been read. I want to make this a fun contest which involves both writers and readers. Last week, my son and I had a bit of excitement when we found what we thought was 100 sticks of dynamite on the side of the road. Well, it wasn't dynamite but an empty U.S. fireworks container . The thing is, it could have been a dangerous situation. One of the readers of my blog over at eHarlequin mentioned something about possible terrorists planning a raid at the G8/G20 summit in Toronto. My theory is that it was left as part of an exercise by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Training Academy which is in Regina, close to where I found the i...

A few days ago I posted some photos of a Sun Dog and asked you to pick which one you liked best. It's the post below this one or you can go here . Yesterday morning I looked out my kitchen window and a glorious sunrise Sun Dog awaited me. Still in my striped fleece pajamas, I slipped into a hooded sweater, coat, boots, hat and gloves and went out to see what the new day would bring. I almost reached our farm sign when I stopped to take this photo. The wind razed my cheeks once I passed the shelterbelt but this glorious scene awaited me. Good morning! Just a couple hours later, I looked out my front door and the Sun Dog was still there although more to the south, now. Again, I dressed in outwear and took that long walk down past the shelterbelt. I wanted to show a photo that would simulate the Arctic. At the end of our driveway is this small grouping of trees. You can see them smaller on the left of the second photo above. Have you entered my contest yet? ...

Here's my Day 3 NaNoWriMo Progress Report: Project: Revising & Adding to Emma’s Outlaw Goal: Need 65000 words to finish (90K total) Today's word count: 2458 quality words First word: For Last word: eggs. Favorite line: It was one thing to be forced to sleep in a room with a strange man even if they were in separate beds but it would be a definite breach of propriety to speak to him. Total Nano Words: 5837 Nano Goal: 9% done (should be at 10% today) Treat: Dancing With the Stars Results Show Overall, it's going good. However, I'm working at a much slower pace revising than I ever did drafting a novel during Nano. Will have to pick up the pace.

Am I really here? My internet service hasn't been working all week and did I ever miss it! The tech adivsed us it may go down again however because our modem needs to be updated. Terrific. Since Thursday was my day to post at Prairie Chicks Write Romance, I went into the local library Wed afternoon and used their computer to submit my post. It's the last day of October which means National Novel Writing Month starts tomorrow. In the coming month, you'll see me refer to it as NaNoWriMo or even NaNo. I've signed up as a Nano participant at eHarlequin so I'll be reporting my progress there as well as here. Plus, I've been invited to report my progress on Michelle Levigne's blog Living Proof . So, my Thurs Prairie Chick post was Nanowrimo Tips and it's all those things I've found and used for getting the most writing out of Nanowrimo. I've spent October working on Emma's Outlaw and it will be my Nano project this year. My goal is to have Emma...

Since my last post, the conference just got better and better. The agent I went to see in the Friday night agent chat is interested in my historical novel, Emma's Outlaw . This is the same story the editor at lunch in my last post is interested in, so I'm very glad I'm taking time to do a recon in Wyoming to lend authenticity to Emma's journey. However, that's tomorrow since I'm still in Colorado. I didn't have time to blog yesterday on Sat but the conference is over now. I'm sitting in the hotel lobby and want to download these photos before I hit the road in case I don't have internet service tonight. Friday night after the Harp and Bowl worship session, I joined the Seekers for their nightly get together. Starting at the back row, left to right: Julie Lessman, Cheryl Wyatt, Audra Harders, Janet Dean, Mary Connealy, Camy Tang, Tina M. Russo and Pam Hillman. Front row: (L to R) Cara Slaughter, Debby Giusti, Ruth Logan Herne, Sandra Leesmith and Mis...

Sweet Trouble (Bakery Sisters Book 3) by Susan Mallery HQN Sep 08 I read this book on the Sony 505 eReader. It was one of several free books I was able to get with the $25 coupon from eHarlequin – a gift for test driving the eReader. I don’t usually buy HQN books because I tend to go for the smaller ‘series’ books that are easier to stuff in my purse. But Sweet Trouble was free and it was going in my eReader which easily hides in my purse. I chose Susan Mallery because I’ve always enjoyed her Special Edition books. I wanted to see how she made the switch to a bigger book. I wasn’t disappointed. Every time a conflict was resolved and I wondered how she’d fill the rest of the pages, either of the main characters stumbled and I realized the conflict really hadn’t been resolved at all. It was lurking in the background waiting for the right moment. The book has many ‘right moments’. Some I saw coming. Some I didn’t. It kept me entertained. Jesse’s story is the conclusion to the Bakery Siste...

The winner of Shirlee McCoy's Cold Case Murder is Lynne from over on my eHarlequin blog. Lynne correctly identified the 'yellow stuff' of my previous posts as being wild mustard . Did you know that wild mustard has anticancer properties? I think it's so neat that God has made all these 'throwaway' plants with secrets just waiting to be discovered. I'm blogging at Prairie Chicks today so pop over there if you have a chance. Since not everyone has the gumpton to write a 100,000 word tome, my blogpost explains the ways people who write shorter pieces can still get published. Like this one: If you write historical/vintage fiction, here's something to check out: The Wild Rose Press is looking for novellas and novels for an American Hero series for the Spring of 2010. Here’s the criteria: - 30,000-100,000 word Historical (No cowboys) - Vintage line – 1900-1992 - can be on Canadian or foreign soil but the H/hero must be American. - American line – 1492-1992...

I hope everyone had a great holiday weekend. Here in Montmartre, SK the sky was cloudy and drizzly but it didn't dampen the spirits of those coming to attend the 100 year celebrations. I stayed home. Since we've only been living here 10 yrs, we don't have ourselves invested into the history of the Rural Municipality (RM) as much as the long-standing citizens. So the boys went, but I stayed to get some plotting done. Today after church, however, I stopped in to take a few pics of the new replica of the Eiffel Tower. There's rumours going around that it will be taken down because of the threat of kids climbing on it. I wonder if the RM's insurance rates will skyrocket because of the structure. We'll have to see. Anyway, there's been a change at home as I'll be dropping off both boys at camp on Monday which leaves me kidless for the week. Yay! I'm also participating with eHarlequin's JunoWriMo Challenge. My goal is to write 3,000 words a day startin...

Do you want to see a sample of my writing? I was chosen to write chapter 7 in eharlequin's Pass the Plot with Harlequin Historical author Joanne Rock. We were given certain words and phrases to use and the writer who used them the most wins the Pass the Plot title. So, I've been busy writing and my Chap 7 went online last night at http://community.eharlequin.com/forums/write-stuff/pass-plot-joanne-rock You don't need to be a member to read it. Just click over and read. And then if you wish, come on back and tell me what you really think. Since it's been posted, I've picked up a couple things I'd change. (Like using the word anguish twice and close together.) *sigh*

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...

March was cave month. A writing cave, that is. Of the 3 tasks I’d set for myself, I managed to accomplish 2 of them: - I entered both Charley’s Saint and An Outlaw for the Lady in the Genesis contest. This is the biggie of the American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) with the award being presented at the ACFW conference in Sept. I went to the one last year in Minneapolis and am looking forward to the one this year in Denver. - I also entered Charley’s Saint and Outlaw in the Touched by Love contest hosted by the Faith, Hope and Love (FHL) chapter of the Romance Writers of America (RWA). This award will be given out at the RWA’s conference in Washington DC in July. I haven’t attended this conference yet, but will go if I final. Oh, wouldn’t that be something, eh. I wanted to write and submit my story, The Christmas Ball to The Wild Rose Press for their historical Christmas anthology but, it was a case of working on what I have that needs work instead of starting something new. So, ...

Okay, so you all know how much I like my iPod Touch . . . well, I’ve discovered a glitch and I'll try to explain it, but I'm not a techie so you'll have to bear with me. You see, my teen daughter and I have exactly the same iPods on the outside but of course, we have different applications and things loaded onto them. My daughter has almost 100 songs on hers, whereas I have some songs and podcasts and 35 eBooks. I guess the problem started when I began to load on the eBooks although I didn’t notice it at the time. I first uploaded ‘ More than Words’ by my friend Kelly Kirch. Once I figured out how to load that one, I uploaded some eBooks I had in my laptop’s memory that I been saving. I was on a role and decided I’d never be without a book to read again. So, I headed over to The Wild Rose Press and downloaded a bunch of free reads from their site. And that’s when I started noticing the problem. My iPod Touch seemed to be heavier. But of course, that's impossible, right...

I have 2 applications downloaded onto my iPod Touch for reading eBooks. This is not a technical review - just my findings so far: Stanza – This was the first ereader I downloaded. Once I figured out I needed to add a Stanza application to my desktop, it was easy to transfer eBooks to my Touch using WiFi which we have in our house. - The text can be adjusted to your comfort level regarding size, font and line spacing. It was very bright when I brought it to bed and read in a dark room, but it was better than putting on a bigger light and waking hubby. - I also didn’t realize until today that instead of having a bright white background, I could have changed it to black and changed the text color to white. That takes away the brightness. However, I found the letters give off a slight blur although I’m not sure why. - To counteract this, I changed the background to dark green and the text to grey. I can now read it in daylight or in the night without it ‘glaring at me’. - However, if I do...

I know I did some writing in Feb, but it was mixed in with all this fun stuff: I won 2 free books! It’s been a couple months since I won anything so this was a thrill: 1 – I won a copy of Perfect Target after leaving a comment on new Love Inspired Suspense author Stephanie Newton’s blog at http://stephanienewton.blogspot.com/ . Since I already had the book in question (and my teen daughter is raving about it), Steph graciously decided to send me a free copy of her next release, Moving Target due out this summer. 2 – I rec’d an email from Becky Germany over at Barbour Books saying I’d won a copy of Desert Roses with the new cover designed Heartsong Presents repack collections. Apparently, I’d missed the announcement about me winning in all the Dec/Christmas stuff which included my 30th anniversary. I really appreciate Becky hanging onto the book for me and finally tracking me down to claim it. Look for the gorgeous new design here: http://editcafe.blogspot.com/2008/12/act-fast-and-wi...

Okay, for those of you who haven't heard my good news by now (hey Bon-nie...) I am blessed. Not only has God blessed me with the ability to entertain with my writing and my photos, but now I've received an honor that even after a week, still boggles my mind. I've actually been chosen as eHarlequin's Member of the Month! Yup. Me. Wow. Everytime I go over to http://community.eharlequin.com/ I see my own mugshot. It's weird in a good kind of way. And it'll be there until the end of March. Writing-wise, the only thing better than receiving this blessing would be for my favorite Harlequin editor to phone me up saying she'd like to buy my manuscript. This sure beats the rejection I rec'd at the end of Feb from an editor not wanting to buy my manuscript. Like I said, I am so blessed.

Just over a year ago I attended my first on-line chat session during the eHarlequin open house. It was very hectic yet exciting. So many authors and readers but they were all talking at the same time. You had to read fast and type faster or your response would get swallowed up in the rest of the responses. A year ago I didn’t know how to IM and yet a couple months ago, the 4 other Prairie Chicks and myself conducted our first IM conference call. It really worked well. What I like about it is that MSN has set it up so that you can always see who is typing something. If someone is going to ask you a question, you wait for it then answer. Very civilized. Also, if you go away from the screen to work on a word document for example, as soon as you have a response, you’ll receive an amber flashing at the bottom of the screen. It’s a nice feature which means you’re not sitting and waiting especially if you have a slow typist at the other end. Facebook also has IM chat but it’s not as efficient...