RETURNS: COMFORT FOOD FOR THE SOUL — MAY 16

Welcome to another day of bookish themes, with Booking Through Thursday.

Today’s prompt:

What book(s) do you find yourself going back to? Beloved children’s classics? Favorites from college? Something that touched you and just makes you long to visit?

(Because, doesn’t everybody have at least one book they would like to curl up with, even if they don’t make a habit of rereading books? Even if they maybe don’t even have the time to visit and just think back longingly?)

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I tend to return, whether in my thoughts or in actual rereads, to those books that remind me of times when I could savor my books.  When there was no rush to finish and no huge stack of TBRs awaiting me.

Books like these:

Gone with the Wind, by Margaret Mitchell.  I reread this at least three times when I was young.

I even ordered my own copy a couple of years ago, and it sits on a stack of other books I plan to reread; books I recall fondly.

Rebecca, by Daphne du Maurier.  It also sits on the same stack.

 

 

 

Uncle Tom’s Cabin, by Harriet Beecher Stowe

 

Then there are the more contemporary books that I’ve enjoyed over the years.  Favorite authors whose creations feel like comfort food.   Beth Gutcheon’s books like  Domestic Pleasures.  (Click for my review)

 

And Still Missing, by Beth Gutcheon (Click for review). This one is on a stack on my nightstand, just waiting.  Sometimes I pick it up and leaf through it.

 

 

Just thinking about these books, and others that I’ve loved, gives me a warm, fuzzy feeling….what about you?  What gets your juices flowing?

 

A JOURNEY: 50! — BOOKING THROUGH THURSDAY — MAY 9

Welcome to another creative journey into the world of books, via Booking Through Thursday.

Here’s today’s prompt:

My brother-in-law turns 50 this weekend. So, in his honor, please pick up your nearest book or whatever book you’re currently reading, and turn to page 50 and then share the first 50 words with the rest of us.

(Do feel free to round this off, to stop and start with complete sentences, though.)

***

So here goes!

From Instructions for a Heatwave, by Maggie Farrell:

 

P. 50:  Peter’s face had softened into an expression she hadn’t seen before and he described to her his two daughters, Florence and Jessica, and how he had been making them a treehouse in the oak in the meadow, and Monica’s mind became filled with the idea of herself in a green place, grass beneath her feet, leaves above her head, a man at her side.

***

Happy 50th birthday, Brother-in-law!

What did the rest of you discover?  Come on by and share!

 

 

WHAT ELSE? — SHARING AT BOOKING THROUGH THURSDAY — MAY 2

Good morning!  It’s time to talk about bookish things with Booking Through Thursday.  Today’s prompt:

What’s your favorite hobby OTHER THAN reading?

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Oh, don’t get me started!  For years, it was all about the collecting.  I do have a few things scattered around the house.  And I love rearranging stuff.

Just a couple of my bears….

But then again, you could say blogging is one of my hobbies.  I have eleven!  Click the picture below, and you’ll find yourself at my website.  There I have a page that lists all of my blogs.  I change them up fairly regularly.  You might say I’m a bit obsessive!

What floats your boat?  Come on by and share….

REVISITING OLD CHARACTERS IN NEW CREATIONS — MAY 1

As I spend time these days working on two new WIPs, I can’t help but revisit my previous five novels, especially Embrace the Whirlwind.  My WIP Interior Designs revisits characters from ETW, presenting different points of view.

In this excerpt, Amber Cushing is dealing with new stresses in her life, and pondering what her mother, Hilary, and her grandmother, Sabrina, would think about her situation.

 

Amber had never admitted to her mother or grandmother that she had a new man responsible for the positive changes in her life.  But they knew.  They were “handling” her, but their worrisome comments here and there conveyed the message loud and clear.  They thought Amber was screwing up again.  Being impulsive.  Oh how she hated remembering all those years, those times when Hilary had referred to her “poor impulse control.”  Like she was defective or something.

Hilary had dragged her to one shrink after another hoping to uncover the source of Amber’s moods.  As if!  She felt herself reverting back into that sullen girl even as the thoughts scudded through her mind.  They had all been so clueless!

To give them due credit, those shrinks had really tried.  Each and every impressively credentialed doctor spoke to her in that gently probing voice; each one looked at her with those understanding eyes.  But she had held fast to her secretiveness.  She wasn’t even sure what was bugging her back then.  Even now as she searched her memory, she could only recall the feelings.  Of being invaded, violated.  Feelings that grew into deep resentments.

***

In Interior Designs, our MC is Martha Scott Cummings, Amber’s nemesis in the first book.  I have been posting excerpts on this book at Snow Chronicles.

LOOKING BACK: SPOTLIGHTING MOMENTS ALONG THE WAY — APRIL 17

Earlier today, I was perusing one of my other blogs, a group blog called Dames of Dialogue.  Back in July of 2011, I wrote an article there that spotlighted my creative journey in recent years.  I called it My Life on the Edge: The Crazy Adventures of a Writer/Blogger.

In the opening paragraphs, I included some thoughts about the ROW 80 Challenge.

My Daily Journey:

Up before dawn, coffee on; the computer is humming away.  What kind of life is this, you may ask?  The early rising was an ingrained habit from my days in the social work trenches.  When you retire from something like that, you don’t necessarily stop waking at 5:00 a.m.

Before I started blogging or participating in writing challenges, I still couldn’t sleep late.  But my days were much less exciting and not nearly as satisfying.

Nowadays, typical moments in my daily life include continued writing and blogging, but I am ready to join still another challenge. At this point, I have finished the NaNoWriMo challenge, but have chosen to continue working on this WIP for the next challenge called ROW 80 (A Round of Words in 80 Days, begun in Jan. 2011).

Then, a little while later, I pick up here:

April 2011:  On another day a few months later, I’m in Round Two of the ROW 80 Challenge.  I’ve finished the first draft of Interior Designs, done some basic edits, and now I’ve sent it off to the first of my Beta readers.

So what to do?  What to do?  Well, there’s that other WIP that still needs SO much work…I started it for a challenge at the beginning of 2010.  Defining Moments is kind of a cautionary tale for those obsessive-compulsive types (me, perhaps?), warning against the dangers of getting lost in the blogosphere.

Our main character, Jillian, has a breakdown after she totally isolates herself and stays on the web far too long and too often, neglecting everything in her life…like eating, sleeping, and bill-paying.

How she got there, as well as her journey back…those are her defining moments….

***

I like looking back at where I’ve been.  I think it helps me choose where to go next.

Even though I’m “sitting out” this round of ROW 80, I’ll be back.  I plan to keep ROW-ing until the creative tasks have been accomplished.  What about you?  What drives you or gets your creative juices flowing?

FINAL CHECK-IN POST: ROW 80 2013 — MARCH 27

Welcome to the final check-in post for this round.

I had planned to accomplish a lot more, but I’m moving along.  So here are my original goals, and what I’ve done with them:

1.  Do something every day to keep my creative juices flowing;  something as simple as the following:

     a.  Eat a healthy breakfast every morning – Done!

      b.  Do some exercise, like stretching and cardio- Not as often as I should!

      c.   Work on one or more blogs to spotlight books I’m reading.  Done!

      d.    Read from my established book list; afterwards, review each book to pinpoint writing styles and themes.  Done!

2.   At least once a week, do some “marketing” for my creations via one or more of my blogs and post excerpts from my books.  Done!

3.    Participate in a blog activity that spotlights my works-in-progress to get input from other writers/readers.  Done!

4.    Continue editing Defining Moments at least once a week and post excerpts on one or more of my blogs.  Haven’t done as much as I planned, but that’s okay.  I have made good progress overall.

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What about the rest of you?  Are you satisfied with your progress?  Come on by and chat….

 

SUNDAY UPDATE: ROW 80 JOURNEY CONTINUES — MARCH 24

Good morning, and welcome to another Check-In Post.

I’ve been doing  a lot of blogging and reading this week; my exercise routine is almost nonexistent.  And I’m still at the same place in my edits of Defining Moments.  These are, however, final edits.  There have been several previous ones, and I’ve had several Beta reads.  I’m on p. 184 of 244.

I’ve been excerpting from the WIP on my writing blog.  Read about my week in my Sunday Salon post.

This weekend, I’ve been caught up in Bloggiesta, which does not seemingly relate to my goals for this round.  Except that my blogging has always been a part of what I’ve set for myself in this challenge.

So…who knows what will happen next?  I’m primarily at a stand still because I know that I must make decisions about publishing the two WIPs.  E-book, through KDP, or the full on print version that will take a chunk of change.

I know that I won’t be going with some of the other providers that I see around, as I read conflicting things about how those choices work out.  I know that whatever I do will involve an Amazon platform.

What have the rest of you been doing…or thinking about?