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Fun
stuff from the newspaper: Heloise answered a reader’s question about “cute
postmarks for our Christmas cards.” And she answered:
“Here’s a short list to pick from: Evergreen, LA
71333; Garland, NC 28441; Hope, MI 48628; Noel, MO 64854; North
Pole, NY 12997; Rudolph, OH 43462; and Star, TX 76880.”
“After my long-in-progress
novel manuscript is at the publisher, I’ll deal with the ceiling”.—from a Standard
column in December of 2009.
Though A Journey
of Choice went live in September of 2010, I immediately began—at the
complimentary behest of quite a few readers––a sequel.
Here it is, four years and three months later, and that novel is finished. While it is
being re-revised by one group, I have extra time to do something to the living
room ceiling. As I mentioned in last week’s column, I’m “workin’ on it.”
The Hot Springs Novel Writers weekly critique sessions
have been such fun. Bill White is writing a novel based on a true story. We
have just finished re-revising Bud Kenney’s travelogue about walking from
Arkansas to New England. HSNW is all business, except for anecdotes here and
there about family “doings.”
On the other hand, The Central AR Writers (CAW), a
group of three (ahem) mature women and one young sprout (she has two
young-adult kiddos), meet monthly, each driving an hour to our complimentary
meeting room at the Faulkner County Library. Complimentary, because none of us
live in that county. The youngest one always showers us with gifts, so the rest
of us have begun bringing little fun things—individual packages of crackers,
nuts or candy, maybe a knick-knack. Of course, this month, as it’s December,
the gift bags will likely be larger and more full. Goodies aren’t the reason we
meet, of course. We continue meeting to critique each other’s current
submission. All of us are working on another novel. Though my sequel is
finished, this group—meeting monthly—hasn’t yet gotten to the end of it like
the Hot Springs group has.
The sequel, Her
Face in the Glass, will be edited and published by Alderson Press on a
CreateSpace platform. It will not be available in hardback, just softback and
as an e-book. We’re looking at sometime early in 2015 as the “live” date.
A Journey of Choice is still available
at Amazon and B&N and iUniverse. Oh, and (like John Grisham’s first book
was) from the trunk of my Taurus.
Now, I must get to that ceiling. Where is my phone? I
promised Dot that when I climbed the ladder, my phone would be in my pocket.
Just in case. Oh, wait. I need more spray glue.
Speaking of waiting, in liturgical churches, this season of
Advent is one of waiting and preparation. A time to realign, if necessary—and
it usually is--our priorities, our souls, to take stock of our spiritual
health. Two of my writer friends have compiled two different booklets with
daily Advent meditations. Those readings will be an aid toward the four-week
season preceding Christmas.
May
your Advent/Waiting/Preparation season be soulful and rejuvenating.
2 comments:
Looking forward to the sequel! Your writer groups sound like so much fun. I joined a group in Fayetteville, and I'm looking forward to my first critique in January.
I hope your critique group is as helpful as mine are--plus fun. Thanks for commenting.
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