The Day Before April

May Carolyn Davis

The day before April,

Alone, alone,

I walked in the woods

and sat on a stone.

I sat on a broad stone

and sang to the birds.

The tune was God's making,

But I made the words.

Quote:
I don't believe the muse visits you. I believe that you visit the muse. --Michael Lewis


Blessings

March

Emily Dickinson

Dear March, come in!

How glad I am!

I looked for you before.

Put down your hat-

You must have walked-

How out of breath you are!

Dear March, how are you?

And the rest?

Did you leave Nature well?

Oh, March,

Come right upstairs with me,

I have so much to tell.

Quote:
I'm not a very good writer, but an excellent rewriter. --James Michener

Blessings

Signs

Tons of things to make one think Spring is here. Some that catch my notice:

A man out mowing his grass
Frogs croaking in my garden pond
Early spring flowers pushing up the dirt--and blooming!
Crocus' up!
Daffodils up!

Leaves on the trees
Rain
A feeling in the air
Stores with spring gear
First uses of the grill

Cleaning up the remnants of winter
Uncovering newborn garden growth
Onion sets in the stores
Good-looking lawn decorations appearing

Warm, cold, warm, cold, warm, cold . . . oops, spring is here!
Rainy April approaching
Moody March almost over
Kids in mud puddles
Rain gear in use
Colorful umbrellas hovering over humans

Beautiful spring.



Quote:
Books are not written, they are rewritten. --Michael Crichton

Blessings!

New Meeting

Went to a COFW writing meeting Saturday. I loved it! Friendly people, lots of interesting things, and an terrific speaker who's published over 50 books.

Some fun stuff:

• celebration with chocolate and cute gifts when writers share their triumphs!
• sympathy shared with chocolates and cute gifts when rejections are experienced
• enthusiasm over an upcoming writing retreat at a cool location
• Brownies! (sold for donations towards those with writing financial needs
• collections for military troops
• Wonderful speaker with down-to-earth topics
• Lots of friendly people

Since I have to travel about an hour and half, I'd thought about attending every other month or so. Hmm. Now, I might have to adjust that some. Not sure if I want to miss that many!!

Gonna share some writers' quotes for a few weeks. Enjoy!
Writing is most of all an exercise in determination! --Tom Clancy

Blessings!

A Lady Named Irene . . .

I'm fascinated with the World War II era. Here's a story that a friend sent recently that I've been wanting to share. Enjoy, search out, study on it, whatever. I think it's worth reading.


There recently was the death of a 98-year-old lady named Irena Sendler. During WWII, Irena, got permission to work in the Warsaw Ghetto, as a Plumbing/Sewer specialist.

She had an ulterior motive . . .

She KNEW what the Nazi's plans were for the Jews, (being German).

Irena smuggled infants out in the bottom of her tool box she carried, and she also carried in the back of her truck a Burlap sack, (for larger kids). She also had a dog in the back that she trained to bark when the Nazi soldiers let her in and out of the ghetto.

The soldiers, of course, wanted nothing to do with the dog, and the barking covered the kids/infants noises.

During her time and course of doing this, she managed to smuggle out and save 2500 kids/infants.

She was caught, and the Nazi's broke both her legs and arms and beat her severely.

Irena kept a record of the names of all the kids she smuggled out and kept them in a glass jar, buried under a tree in her back yard.

After the war, she tried to locate any parents that may have survived it, and reunited the family. Most, of course, had been gassed. Those kids she helped were placed into foster family homes or adopted.

Last year Irena was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize . . .


For more about her go to http://www.irenasendler.org/



Quote:
The best sermons are lived, not preached.


Blessings!

Writing

Writing.
What does it mean to be a writer? Let me feel you in a little more about living the life as a writer:

• Excitement. I love creating with my pen (or uh hmm, computer).
• Research. A "real" writer does it. In other ages, writers could get by working only with their imaginations. Today, readers want as near to truth as a writer can get, along with all those fictional settings and characters. One nightmare for a writer is to have a knowledgeable reader discover a "mistake." No, that illness will not cause immediate death. No, that Native American tribe would NOT act in the way a writer described it.
• Besides research, there's editing (and I edit and edit). Some other do it. Never quit. And I certainly know that feeling. Even now, if I go back over completed and submitted novels, I would find areas that I'd like to change and recreate. You have to learn to quit.
• There's brainstorming. One of the hardest things for me. Okay, I can get ideas, I can write them. I can edit. I can quit. But when it comes to nitty-gritty, give-me-more details, I call on critique partners to brainstorm with me. We suggest ideas together, work through those ideas, keep, discard, change, and eventually to with some of them. Great helpers, critiquers are.
• Submitting. If you're fortunate enough to secure an agent, all the better. Thankfully, the first agency I approached accepted me as a client. If there's a good working relationship, it's a wonder to behold. A good agent is on top of the publishing world. They know what editor just left his/her post, what's being accepted, where to send your manuscript. They will negoiate for you when you get a contract. They'll call you on the phone when you need to talk. Some do critiques and help you sharpen your work even more. They'll sympathize when rejections hit you. They'll rejoice with you when good news come your way. They're worth their weight in gold.
• Marketing and self-promoting. Most writers would rather not ever have to bother with this. BUT in this age, it's a "have-to." If you want to see another contract (and just because you get one, doesn't mean you're gonna get another). Speaking engagements, tours, constant pushing yourself (your books) out there with libraries, bookstores, booksignings, internet marketing, etc. It's required!

Yeah, I shrink and shiver at the thoughts of this last one. I'd much, much rather let someone else do it. But it's not to be. So, in spite of the fact that I'd rather be writing, and that it takes my precious time away from writing, all that stuff has to be done.

One other thing I wanted to mention in this post that might clarify things a little for some of you. There's several ways of publishing. Here are a few with very brief descriptions:

Traditional, larger presses: Where you get an advance, royalties and some promotion.

Smaller presses: possible advances (not always), royalties, less promotion, but some, depending on the amount of money available, lots of promotion with the internet and sometimes even e-publishing instead of print.

Vanity: writer must pay to have book published. There are some of these publishers that are legit, but not a lot. Depending on what you pay, is what you get in marketing. Very little, if any editing, is done by publisher. Unless one is satisfied to JUST have your book printed without expecting much else, this is not the best way to go.

Self: There's a lot of ways to go about this. I self-publish hubby and my own children's books. For now, this is a good way to go for us. In a small way, there is quite a bit of selling and recognition. This is a perfect way for someone who wants to write a family memoir type of book. For local writers who want to give or sell to mostly friends and family.

Of course, if you want to and have the dough, you can always have a printer print up your work. Takes more money, and sometimes it's not that much more professional looking.

Got any questions? Feel free to ask. I'd love to talk more about writing!

Quote:
What can be done at anytime is never done at all. --English proverb

Blessings!

Bits and Pieces

Rambling today.

Yesterday a sweet friend of mine named Val told me I was a precious lady. Now that meant a lot to me and I told her so. Made my day.

Yesterday evening, we had a fun evening with friends. Thanks, Matt and Crys for the delicious spagetti supper.

Helped hubby unload wood today. I love helping him with his projects.

Thinking of starting a writing critique service. Some for hire; some to help. What do you think? More on this later.

Visited several blogs last week. Commented on some; others enjoyed the writing. One of them had a great account of that young couples' recent trip to Japan. Hilarous account of her wearing a kimono. (I think that's what it was.

I've got a cute blog to post as soon as I can locate a pic I need for it. (sent to me by friend Joyce).

Today's a beautiful, sunshiny day. Warm, lots of spring feeling. Course we'll probably get more cold, but for today . . . winter is past.

Trying and trying to get to another friend (Tim)'s webpage and can't seem to do it. Of course, I can't claim the best knowledge of technical stuff, but you'd think I could find this page. Ergh! Totally irritating.

Agent called me this week. An encouraging day, cause she loved my historical. I needed it. Sometimes I feel I'll never get pubbed. I know, patience. NOT my greatest attribute.

Gonna miss some friends as they search for new lives in other states. I hate changes!

Haven't written much about Noah and Taffy lately. They're just as spoiled as ever, if not more so. But still as dear to me as ever. Noah would be a lap dog if he could fit on any one's lap. Laugh.

Saw a newborn baby last week and made me wonder, again, if I'd ever get to be a grandmother.

Looking forward to more writing workshops and meetings as spring comes.

Enjoyed the evening meal with other friends as we dined at their home. Delicious meal and fun time.

Read a great post by another writer of a guy's marketing techniques. Wonderfully enlightening.

Totally useless one day this week. Not sick, but not up to par. Just an icky day.

Enjoyed my first Pampered Chef party this week. Wow, some amazing stuff. Expensive, but attractive.

Do you enjoy when I do book reviews and interviews? Do they give you an idea of what you'd like to read?



Coming up next week:

• One writing meeting
• Hitting my novels in progress hard, hopefully
• Visiting with friends
• Shopping for baby and wedding gifts
• Plans to finalize for teaching a class
• Meeting with a critique partner

Quote:
A great many people think that polysyllables are a sign of intelligence. --Barbara Walters

Blessings

Living the Good Life

Always thankful for good things that come into my life. Here's a few for you to perusal:

• Talked to agent today. She loved my historical that's filled with suspense and romance. Yeah! And she's already sent it out. More rah, rahs!
• Started today filling my bookshelves that hubby built especially for my collection of books (and stuff). Now that's what I call fun. (okay, so it doesn't take much to make me happy!)
• One of my cats got well. I was sure she would not live.
• Finished expanding my third romance so it could be sent to a publisher with different requirements.
• Saw some stoneware I loved. Might start acquiring that.
• Although I like it sometimes, I'm so glad we didn't get lots of snow this week. Cold, but still able to travel.
• Just discovered a cute blog from a young friend that I think I'm going to like reading.

Sad stuff:

• My first cat in several years died. I'm still feeling upset over him. He was a sweet pewter & white long hair.
• A good friend made a wrong decision today. I hope there's not more trouble down the road for this person.

Quote:
I praise loudly; I blame softly. --Catherine the Second

Blessings!