Saturday, September 25, 2010

Check Out This Contest

If you are a writer, go over to The Bookshelf Muse and check out her contest.

The drawing is on the 29th, so hurry.

The prizes are:
5 - 1st page critiques
2 - 1st chapter critiques

and a special drawing for:
a 3 month mentorship with her!

I don't know about you, but I would love to be one of the lucky winners. My work could always use a little free critique.

Those second set of eyes are helpful in finding things that you or I can miss.

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Starting All Over Again

*Sigh*

I regret having to type this post.

I am starting all over again with my MG manuscript, The Family Secret.

I was signed on with a publishing company, but due to unforeseen circumstances I chose to be released from my contract.

They are downsizing from releasing approximately 24 books a year to 6-8. My manuscript was being pushed back to a 2014 release date. Since no work had been done on my manuscript, I chose to be released from my contract. The publishing company allowed all their authors the opportunity to take this option.

It was a tough decision, but one I felt I should take, so now I start all over again with The Family Secret. I have decided to edit it a little more before submitting it to other publishers.

Wish me luck.

A note to my WVWriter friends. I have changed the header on my blog!

It should look familiar to you. It is the covered bridge at Cedar Lakes, WV where the WVWriters annual writer's convention takes place every June. It is located just a few miles from where I live and we took a ride there Sunday for a little rest and relaxation. Go to my other site for more pictures.

Monday, September 13, 2010

Between The Pages

If your life was a book, what would be between the pages?

Most of the readers of my blog are writers, but what else makes up your life? What would be between the pages of your book?

I am a writer, but I started on this journey just recently. I have been writing for only a few years.

Because of my mother, I was interested in crafts and sewing from an early age. I remember her getting craft kits in the mail and I helped her make Christmas decorations with them. . . a Styrofoam Noel sign, tubular plastic Christmas ornaments with scenes inside them. We also made Santas from Readers Digest magazines. We made necklaces from the pages of magazines. We cut the long strips into a triangle shape and rolled them up. We shellacked them and put them on a string for a long necklace.

I remember Mom's treadle Singer sewing machine. She was a very talented seamstress. I started sewing when in Home Economics class in junior high school. I made dresses, swim suits, pant suits, ponchos and eventually my wedding dress. After getting married and having kids, I spent many hours behind the sewing machine making Halloween outfits. My boys enjoyed being Popeye, dinosaurs, clowns, pumpkins and Frankenstein. I have also tried my hand at quilting. I am not that good at it, but that is okay. If I don't hand quilt it, I tie the finished product. I am an impatient person and like to see quick results.

So that is a small peek at what I like to do.

In looking at my list of interests, I find that they are not all that different than writing.

My interests all require an imagination.
They require patience.
They require persistence.
They require a little bit of God given talent.

Put that all together, though, and you can succeed at what you like to do, and that includes writing!

What are your other interests?

Friday, September 3, 2010

Happy Labor Day

Thanks to Karen Jones Gowan, we're having a Labor Day Bloggerhood BBQ.
Go check it out! I'm bringing an apple cobbler. I just picked the apples off of our tree and it's in the oven as I type.

Also, my September column is posted now at Two-Lane Livin's site. It's about school days of long ago and I included my recipe for peanut butter chews. . .ummm, ummm. When I was a kid in grade school, it was one of the goodies the cooks made.

I hope everyone has a nice Labor Day weekend. Maybe now that summer is coming to an end, our lives will become less busy and we will have more time to write. Between our vegetable garden and my blackberry vines, I haven't had much time to write this summer. I picked and sold 201 quarts of blackberries this summer. I also gave a few away, made cobblers and crumbles and ate lots while I picked!