Lynwood Montell & Ann at a Gathering of Authors “There is nothing better than the encouragement of a good friend.” (Katharine Butler Hathaway) It’s not been my easiest summer with Mom needing so much extra care and with that deadline I had to chase with the Shaker book I was writing that didn’t seem to want to end. I did …
Do you get any newsletters via e-mail on a regular basis? A lot of authors now send out newsletters or news bursts – including me. I do an occasional newsletter that might be a little more occasional now than in the past because I signed up for a newsletter service that makes it easier to send out a newsletter. Before …
Did you know August was “Admit You’re Happy” month? And that’s not all. It’s also “National Catfish Month,” “National Picnic Month,” and here’s one for those of us who try to put a little romance into our stories “Romance Awareness Month.” That’s just the things we’re celebrating all month. Then we have the weeks. Week 2 was National Smile Week …
” In a pickle” – To be in a pickle is to find oneself in a difficult position. It seems that in 1611, Shakespeare was the first to use the actual phrase “in a pickle” in The Tempest, although the references to “ill pickles” and “this pickle” can be traced back to the 1500s or even earlier. Some of the …
“Life is no brief candle to me. It is a sort of splendid torch which I have got a hold of for the moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it onto future generations.” – George Bernard Shaw The photo is of two generations in my family – my mom and my granddaughter. …
Summer time is a good time of year to forget what day it is. All week I’ve had to think twice about whether it’s Monday or Thursday. And oops, it’s Thursday and I totally let Wednesday slip past me without coming over to talk. I can blame it on the deadline rush to edit and pare and trim that had …
Today was the day I had agreed to have my Shaker 5 novel finished. The Gifted was one of those stubborn books that got a little long winded and simply did not want to end. The characters must have been having too much fun and didn’t want me to quit on their story. At times in July and June, I …
“It isn’t what you have, or who you are, or where you are, or what you are doing that makes you happy or unhappy. It is what you think about.” (Dale Carnegie) Happiness for me today is thinking about another book written. Another story told – difficult though it was to pry out of my head and onto my computer …
My daughter and her dog, Sumo “Time is free, but it’s priceless. You can’t own it, but you can use it. You can’t keep it, but you can spend it. Once you’ve lost it, you can never get it back.” (Harvey MacKay) Time – sometimes it seems there’s never enough time to get everything we need to do done. That’s …
Did you ever bounce on a pogo stick? How many bounces in a row? Two might be my high number. For me, pogo sticks and balance don’t go together. My kids got these two pogo sticks years ago and now my grandkids enjoy trying to do some bouncing. This granddaughter was able to bounce with a little help from her …