The Book Club

I'm not just in one book club--I'm in two. How 'bout you? Are you in a book club?

I've been reading since I was a little girl. Growing up in a house with nine kids and one t.v., I never got to pick the programs we watched. So, I took up reading. And I read everything I could get my hands on. The library was my friend.

I even read the dictionary, the encyclopedia and reference manuals.

But I grew up loving Stephen King and my favorite book of all time was/is Salem's Lot. SK has a way of making the impossible seem plausible. I know, horror, it's strange for a soccer mom. But that's me - full of dichotomies.

Now, I'm reading books I never would have read. Action/adventure, nonfiction, yep, everything and anything is coming up in the book club.

And I'll keep you posted on what I'm liking--or not.

New Project

Sew, I was making, baking and creating presents all during November and December. I was "sew" busy I was getting up at 4:00 a.m. to finish my projects and I say NOT AGAIN. I've decided to start early. I'm pulling out my projects now for next year.

This is going to be a cushion for one of my relatives.

Now all I have to do is "sew" it and put it all together. But, at least I have a year to get it done. :D

How 'bout you? Are you going to start any projects for the holidays today? It will take all the stress out of the holidays of 2013, well at least it will take out some of the stress. :D

SCBWI - The Great Critique is coming January 19th

Here’s a chance for writers to be critiqued by a professional and their peers.

Location: TaborSpace, 5441 SE Belmont St, Portland, OR 97215

Time: 9:30 to noon.

Never been in a critique group? Wish you could be critiqued by someone who is ahead of you in the publishing game? Want to strengthen your work? Need a fresh set of eyes and ears on that oft-revised piece? Want to have your manuscript ready for the May conference? This is your chance. A published writer will lead each small group and critique your manuscript. You'll also hear others' work and get feedback from those writers too. Plus you'll learn from the comments by the critique leader about the work of others.

Cost:

SCBWI members - $10.00 (That's less than the price of a Friday night movie!)

Nonmembers - $15.00 (If you bought any refreshments, your movie night would cost way more!)

No refunds after January 11th.

How it will work:

    Sign up now with the kind of manuscript you'll be bringing. You may bring a maximum of five double-spaced pages or 1200 words. DO NOT bring more. Use standard manuscript format, which means your first page will not be a full page. For picture books, we suggest you bring no more than 750 words.

    We will do our best to place you in a group of 5 or 6 peers who write in the same genre and with a published author who writes in that genre.

    We'll let you know how many copies of your manuscript to bring to the meeting.

    We'll also send you some basic critique group guidelines.

    At the meeting each of you will have a chance to pass your work around to your group and read it aloud.

    Each person in the group will make notes on your manuscript as you read. They'll write down what they like, mark errors they see, indicate where they are confused or what doesn't work for them.

    The professional writer will verbally critique your work. If time, other participants may comment.

    You'll receive your copies with written comments from each one in your group. Take them home and let the ideas simmer.

    You might even make some new friends or find those to form a critique group.

"Can’t imagine sitting with a group of strangers and reading your manuscript aloud? It should be harder to imagine sending an untried, unedited, unrevised bit of your soul out on submission!" – Jenn Bailey, children's writer and social media expert

PAL AUTHORS CRITIQUING include Carmen T. Bernier-Grand, Cidney Swanson, Gretchen McLellan, Rosanne Parry, Ruth Musgrave, Stephanie Shaw, and Teresa Klepinger. We have other authors standing by and will add more as our registration numbers grow.

Progress on the Room

This project has taken longer than I expected. When we were younger, we could remodel a room in no time. But, nowadays, things always seem to take longer.

Gutting the room was no problem, ripping up, tearing out...EZ-Smeazy but putting it all back together . . .  that's been a much longer process.

At least this weekend we got the french doors put in. Now we need to build the deck off the back and sheetrock the room, oh yeah, after we put all the insulation in.

So, we're still a ways off. But, like I said, progress . . .

Anna Dressed in Blood

This book was recommended to me by a cyber buddy. And I'm so glad I read it.

I've been working on a novel about a haunted house and was trying to keep the story "real" but real can also be boring. After reading Anna DIB, I was able to see that my story was mundane. It might have true facts and bits and pieces that are truly horrifying but most of the everyday life is dull.

No one wants to read about what we ate for breakfast . . . over and over again.

Reading Anna DIB helped me see that fiction can be so freeing.

I loved how this book stepped outside reality and made fantasy fun...well, if you don't mind people dying and dealing with ghosts ;D

I would totally recommend Anna Dressed in Blood to all young adults and even to adults who feel young ;D

Fiscal Cliff Averted

Looks like 2013 is off to a grand start! I'm glad we didn't fall over any cliffs as we raced into the New Year. It's not easy to recover from a fall like that. So, although they say it's just a delay, I have a more positive perspective. I'm thinking these brilliant politicians are going to figure out a way to work together and put those synapses on hot-firing mode so that they can come up with a solution to these financial woes of ours.

But, no matter what, it's gotten the year off to a better start!

I'm still in the Happy New Year mode, how 'bout you?

Movie Review - Les Miserables

Okay, we all know the story. It's sad so I'm not sure it's really a holiday show. But, then again, it's a musical. And, except for Sweeney Todd musicals are all generally family shows...right?


Well, I think this one was beautifully acted, the songs were moving and although a few of the actors had to strain their talents to be musical, I think they all did a good job.

I especially loved Anne Hathaway's performance. She was awesome. Of course Hugh Jackman and Russell Crowe weren't bad and what a cast!

The real problem with this show is that it is just so loooooong. I have trouble sitting still for that much time. I think shows that are over two hours should have intermissions. Just so we can stand up, go to the restroom, stretch or whatever. I'm not ADHD or anything but over 2 and 1/2 hours is a serious time commitment.

I would still recommend the show but would downgrade it for the length and no intermission. That might just be me though.

So, I'd give the show Les Miserables a:

How 'bout you? Have you seen it? What did you think? What would you rate it?