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Sunday Snippet: The Yard Sale and Memories Edition
So, sister PJ had a 2-day yard sale this weekend and I went to help out. It was a neighborhood event, rather ill-timed, I originally thought, because the main drag to her lakeside home was closed to through-traffic Saturday for a town-sponsored mini half-marathon. Folks coming on Friday had no problem getting to her neighborhood, but yesterday, they had to figure a workaround to get there. As it turned out, hardcore yard salers figured it out, and crowds were great both days. Gorgeous early fall weather helped our cause–we had sunshine and blue skies and a lovely September breeze. I confess I’m not much of a yard sale person. I’ve…
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Sunday Snippet: The Procrastinor’s Oh, Hell, What Day Is It Edition
I’ve been procrastinating…okay, no big news, right? I am a world-class procrastinator. I passed amateur status years ago and have gone into full-time professional procrastination. Nobody wastes time as well as I do. And honestly, it doesn’t even have to be time spent scrolling around the Web. I can put off doing anything that needs to be done with something as basic as folding laundry—oh, excuse me for a minute, I do have to get some stuff out of the dryer… brb… Fifteen minutes later…I’m back, clothes folded and put away, next load is in the washing machine, and while I was in there, I sorted the recycling, which I…
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Sunday Snippet: The Summer of the Sundress Edition
I confess, I got nothin’ for this week–I mean seriously, between editing gigs and revisions and book promotion and book signings (That’s Lizzie and me at Whyte Horse Winery last Sunday!), and getting into discover for book 1 in my new Dykemans of Rivers Edge series, my brain is exhausted and empty. So… I guess I’m going to tell you about something fun that I discovered this summer… ya ready? This summer, I’ve rediscovered dresses. Okay, so not fancy, like-we-use-to-wear-to-church dresses. You remember those? They required ironing and pantyhose? No, not those dresses. I’ve found sundresses. Cute, knit ones that have an empire waist and come in fun colors. This…
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Sunday Snippet: The I May Need a Smack Edition
Okay, so yes, I’m a world-class worrier. But I only worry about important stuff, like whether or not the voices in my head that become novels might suddenly stop talking to me or that no one will buy my books or that they will buy them, but hate them or that I’m going to have a heart attack while I’m driving… See? Only really important stuff. The book fears are more real right now because I have a new series to start with Tule Publishing, and I worry that maybe there aren’t any more stories from River’s Edge to tell. That’s totally dumb because of course there are more–tons more.…
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Sunday Snippet: The Maybe This Is How It Happens Edition
It’s August 11. Summer is nearly over. How did that happen? I’ve been married for 51 years! How did that happen? Grandboy is 12 and he’s back in school. How did that happen? I’ve got 16 published novels and another two on the way in October and January, plus I’m contracted to write four more books for Tule. Whew–how did that happen? I’ll be 71 next month, how the hell did that happen? Can you tell I’m a little overwhelmed with… well, life stuff and work stuff and writing stuff at the moment? I am, yet I go on ahead and do what needs doing because don’t we all? The…
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Sunday Snippet: The Confluence Edition
Confluence: noun; a coming or flowing together, meeting, or gathering at one point I am at the confluence of finishing a book, starting a new book, and promoting a new release. It’s a weird place to be, particularly when I’d rather be somewhere quiet where all I have to do for a whole week is read for pleasure, take long walks along a lovely lake, and simply breathe. I think I might need a vacation… That said, what a wonderful feeling to be able to type “The End” at the finish line of a long arduous writing experience. Aren’t they all? Some more than others. This one wasn’t quite as…
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Sunday Snippet: The Note to Self Edition
Liz and I had another conversation a couple of days ago about weight and weight loss and being disgusted with our bodies. Why do we do this to ourselves? How can we possibly expect to be healthy inside our selves if we’re constantly dissing the outside of our selves? I wonder why my generation of women are so terrible about our own self-images. Today’s young women are much healthier about their body images–at least they appear to be. I think I am part of a generation of females, hopefully, the last generation, who believes that if they aren’t the ideal, then they aren’t worthy. Let’s not do that, okay? Note…
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Sunday Snippet: The Book Signing Edition
This post is going up before I do a book signing here in the Ohio River town that is the inspiration for my fictional town of River’s Edge. I’m speaking to a writers group at 2 p.m. and then signing books at a fun coffeeshop right on Main Street. I’m really looking forward to this event, although I confess that the butterflies in my tummy have butterflies. Speaking is so far out of my wheelhouse, but I think it’s a good exercise to do it, and I’m hoping to do more of it at libraries and book clubs. Today, I’m talking about what a copy editor does and what we…
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Sunday Snippet: A July Check-In
Every couple of years, I break out my copy of Sara Ban Breathnach’s Simple Abundance. She calls it “A Daybook of Comfort and Joy,” and it truly is. If you’ve never read the book, I recommend it highly and it’s even available as an e-book! I downloaded it to my Kindle a few years ago, which makes it easy to have wherever I am, but I’m still partial to the hardback book because it has my notes in it from previous years, and it’s cool to read those, too. I’ve been doing the Simple Abundance meditations this year because I need that centering right now. Part of the meditation is…
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Sunday Snippet: The Me & Writing Edition
Someone once asked me to share something I learned since becoming a writer. The list is endless, but there a couple of things I can name right off the top of my head. The first is writing is hard work. Anyone who tells you different is either lying or not a writer. It doesn’t matter whether you’re writing a novel or a back cover blurb, a short story or a 500-word magazine article. Writing is hard. It requires discipline and creativity, time and research, and most of all a love of the game. If you don’t love to write, if the process itself isn’t an intrinsic part of who you…