…yes, I know, I know!  It’s already October…sheesh! Dear September, What happened? One minute it was Labor Day weekend and we were sitting around a giant bonfire and eating fried fish; the next I’m turning over the page on the calendar in the kitchen. How exactly did I lose almost 30 days? One of which, by the way, just happened to be my birthday! Confused and aging fast, Nan *** Dear DIL, Thanks so much for helping make the surprise for Son so very much fun. The look on his face when I showed up on your doorstep with a 38-pound box of LEGOs in my arms was priceless.…

Time for memos, just stuff I’d really like to rant about, but I don’t have the time… Dear Dr. Abby and Stacy, You’re geniuses, both of you. I’m a new woman. Well, okay, maybe not a new woman, but at least a way more comfortable old one! Flexibly yours, Nan *** Dear Damn Tiny Ants in My Kitchen, Okay, so we’ve bombed you, smashed you, ant-trapped you, washed you down the drain, and wiped you up with wet paper towels and dropped you in the trash, and yet somehow, you keep reappearing. Go away. Go away immediately! Ick, Nan *** Dear Muse, Welcome back. Big love, Nan *** Dear Coach…

My Dearest Grandson, Being a parent didn’t prepare me for grandparenthood—I know that sounds silly, but it is so true. Of course, all the basic baby care stuff is there. I know how to change your diaper, feed you a bottle, pat you through a tummy ache, and snap up your onsie. What I wasn’t prepared for was the overwhelming love I feel for you, little guy. And it’s different from the love I feel for your daddy not more intense, just different. When your dad was born, I knew from his first breath that he would be always be the love of my life and he is. I tried…

Is it menopausal memory loss or is it…simply what happens when you have two homes? Summer may not be official yet, but for us, it is summer and lake life has truly begun. We’re here early this week–came down on Wednesday to work on the boat lift. It’s done and gorgeous and ready to go back into our slip, thanks to our lake buddies, Ron and Rich–thanks, guys!! You are the best! There are many bottles of terrific wine in your futures! But there’s nothing better than the mid-week anticipation. Wednesday is “it’s only three days ’til we go to the lake!” Thursday is a rush of laundry and list-making,…

So, it’s Monday morning and I have a book launch meeting in an hour and half, but I’m trying to commit to one blog a week at the very least. Blogging everyday is hard. For one thing, time is often my enemy and for another, I’m just not sure my life and thoughts are quite fascinating enough to record on a daily basis. Actually, my life is quite ordinary and my thoughts…well, some of them don’t need to be immortalized on the Web. Also, it’s Monday…and in my heart, I’m still at the lake, even though we made the drive back home last night. We are deep into lake season…

It’s our third weekend at the lake and this morning, we enjoyed breakfast on the deck listening to the sounds that are so much a part of being at the lake–birds singing, the breeze rustling the trees, boats on the bay, maybe the occasional whoop from a fisherman who caught a big one. Pretty soon, golf carts will start to appear and neighbors will be by to say good morning and catch up on the week’s news. Not much going on here this weekend—the park really hasn’t started its summer dance of barefoot kids running up and down the road, boat motors buzzing, the splash of swimmers in the clear…

I’m guest blogging at Word Wranglers today. Come on by and talk to me about being bold.

I’m pleased to welcome author/editor Alicia Rasley back to the blog, continuing her article about preparing her backlist titles for e-pub. Take it away Alicia… Editing With Myself Part OneTwo  Last week I blogged about the initial tasks involved in preparing old backlist books for republication. I have to keep reminding myself this isn’t as hard as writing the books in the first place! But no doubt about it, the next two tasks were the most mindbending: Choosing a cover, and editing the content. Covers Hey, turns out covers are copyrighted! And to the artist! Who knew! So I couldn’t use the original covers from the print books, however convenient…