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Retreat Report #2
Hey, it’s Liz Flaherty here making myself at home on Nan’s blog. Hope you’re having a good day. We’re enjoying our time in Madison. We went out for a piece of pie this afternoon because the weather on my iPhone said it wasn’t going to rain for awhile. Well. Ahem. We did find out that all Nan’s sweetness and light (and a dose of chocolate and pecans) won’t dissolve when wet. We both thought she was carrying her umbrella when we left, and then when she couldn’t find it, we thought she left it in a store. A return stop there assured us she had not and gave me a…
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Retreat Report
We’re here and it’s been a good first day. Liz has gotten some writing done, I’ve gotten some other stuff done that needed doing, but I’m brewing the opening of Beck’s book, so I imagine I’ll start writing tomorrow. Our drive down was leisurely and fun. We stopped at charming little Stream Cliff Farm in Commiskey for an outdoor lunch and to buy some wine. I also got a gift for Husband because I love him and it was too sweet to pass up. Don’t tell him, though, it’s a surprise. Everyone had on their masks, which was nice. Our little cottage is adorable and we love it! It’s just…
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Sunday Snippet: The OMG, I’m So Excited Edition
Yup, I am about to jump out of my fur, I’m so excited! Liz and I are headed out tomorrow for our first writing retreat in well over a year and a half. Frankly, we’re both flipping around with joy! It’s been months since we’ve seen each other and I can’t wait to spend 4 days with her, writing, talking, drinking wine and coffee, eating, processing, catching up… it’s going to be glorious. The weather report for Madison, Indiana, which is where we’re headed sucks–I mean it truly sucks. Rain the entire time we are down there and cool-ish temps, so no fun spring clothes, but you know what? I…
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Sunday Snippet: The Deadline Edition, But…
..today you get a real snippet. How about a quick clip from The Valentine Wager, the first novel in the Langes of River’s Edge series? Here’s fabulous news: My publisher, Tule Publishing, liked the title well enough to keep it. I’m pleased as can be because I really liked the title and it fit the story perfectly! Pretty soon we can have a big cover reveal party here–there will be wine and chocolate! Some setup for this snippet: Police Lieutenant Ryker Lange has accompanied his mom to a Pink Wine and Valentines event at Four Irish Brothers Winery just so he can make some time with the Flaherty’s cousin, Kitt…
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Sunday Snippet: The Writing Furiously Edition
And so I have been, writing furiously that is. Close to 8ooo words in a week. That’s pretty heavy writing for yours truly. One thing that has really helped up that word count is sprinting. If you don’t already know, sprints are timed writing challenges that writers do together. Sometimes it’s just Liz and me, other times it’s Liz, me, and several Tule authors that get together online. We chat for a few minutes (okay, whine), and then we turn off our cameras and mics and each spend anywhere from 25 minutes to 50 minutes writing. It’s not a time for editing or research, it’s a time for getting words…
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Sunday Snippet: The Muzzy Edition
Mushy mind—it’s a thing and wow, do I have it right now. I have a very bad case of mind mush—my ability to focus and function is seriously out of whack. I’m not sure if it’s pandemic weariness or spring fever or the sinus infection I’m nursing right now, but for some reason, my brain is muddled. Fact is, I’m just not able to focus on much of anything right now. My grandmother used to say she was muzzy—isn’t that a great word? I’m muzzy. My writer friend, Anne Stuart, often quotes Anne Lamott’s story about a time when her little brother was overwhelmed with a science project cataloguing birds…
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Sunday Snippet: The Baking/Creating Edition
This post may seem familiar but at the encouragement of my writing bestie, Liz Flaherty, I’m repeating the one I posted at Word Wranglers this week. I think my audience is different here, but I’m not sure. Anyway, she feels the words bear repeating. I hope you think so, too. I love to bake. I love that if I mix together butter, sugar, eggs, flour, and other sundry ingredients, I will get a basic cookie dough. If I add chocolate chips or nuts or oatmeal or raisins, I’ll have a special tasty treat. Baking is relaxation for me in a way that nothing else is—not even reading or swimming or…
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Sunday Snippet: The I-Think-I’m-Breathing-Again Edition
I don’t want to be political here–frankly, I’m tired of being political anywhere. 2020 was an exhausting year in so many ways, but especially politically. However, I will say this. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are a breath of fresh air in a world that had begun to stink to high heaven. I have hope that I will get to be with my friends again, go out to eat again, feel safe in the grocery store again, hell, feel safe in the world again. I’m desperate for vacations–the lake, writing trips with Liz, a wine-tasting trip with Husband, and a writer’s retreat with my fellow Tule authors in 2022. I…
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Sunday Snippet: The How Did It Get to Be Mid-January Edition
Yeah, I really am wondering how it’s already January 17? Wasn’t it just Thanksgiving? Heck, wasn’t it just summer, for heaven’s sake? Time is going by too quickly. Basically, we’re hunkered down until we are both vaccinated and even after that, we’ll continue to be cautious. I feel as if we’ll all be coming out of our house this spring, blinking in the sunlight like people who’ve been trapped in a cave for months. And so perhaps we have in a way. But these are the last days of darkness, politically at least. We are looking into the light–I pray for the safety of every government official on January 20,…
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The New Year Has Arrived, Full of Things that Have Never Been
And now let us welcome the New Year; Full of things that have never been. ~~Rainer Maria Rilke Sarah Ban Breathnach’s Simple Abundance begins with this January thought: “January, the month of new beginnings and cherished memories, beckons. Come, let winter weave her wondrous spell: cold, crisp, woolen-muffler days, long dark evenings of savory suppers, lively conversations, or solitary joys. Outside the temperature drops as the snow falls softly. All of nature is at peace. We should be, too. Draw hearthside. This is the month to dream, to look forward to the year, and to journey within.” “All of nature is at peace. We should be, too.” What a lovely,…