Interesting Interview

About a week ago, David Chesterton, a dear friend who is a fabulous artist and writer, asked if I'd be adverse to talking to a writer from In the Hills Magazine. Anthony Carnovale was writing an article about local writers and had asked who David knew. I got an email from Anthony a couple days ago and met with him this morning.

Anthony Carnovale is a high school teacher who "teaches to eat and lives to write." He has a great blog at http://anthonycarnovale.wordpress.com/  We talked about the article he is writing as well as how to promote writing in our small town and get more kids involved and giving them an option aside from grafitti and vandalizing our streets. His first book focused on bullying and has gained attention from local high schools.

Meeting Anthony made me excited to get back to writing. Summer, with vacations and keeping the kids busy, hasn't been conducive to getting a lot of writing done. Fall, which is usually my New Year, looks brighter and more flexible. I am able to schedule writing time and push aside some of the usual obligations that creep in and clog up my calendar. For this fall, my priority will be polishing and submitting my novel The Bookstore Lady to my agent. Priority number two is editing on the next novel Date with a Dead Guy.

What will I do between editing, working and raising the kids? What I always do.

I write.

The Unveiling

Okay, folks, here it is! My new website is up and running for the whole world to see. All that is left to add is some artwork! My artwork!

Not a lot to write about this week. I've been busy helping a friend paint and getting in some walks with the kids. I've had very little opportunity to write - aside from a few lines here and there. Today being Sunday, I think I may have to sit down and work on a work-in-progress. My real editing will begin once the kids go back to school and I have the house to myself. Peace. Quiet. In the meantime, I'll putter with other things.

I'm planning to take a course or two this fall, depending on what I can get into, and taking my Reiki Level II at the end of September. I also plan to return to Headwaters Writers' Guild meetings as of Aug 28. I am looking forward to getting back to prompt writing, which is how I wrote a few of my books. One prompt at a time.

In case you've been looking for us, I understand the HWG website is temporarily down. We are rebuilding to become better than ever!

Enjoy the rest of your summer!

A Break from Reality

I haven't updated my blog lately since I've been away on vacation and away from wi-fi and all chances to access the internet. I missed it for the first few days. After a week, it was kind of a blessing. No writing, no emails, no phone calls...

What I did do was take my mind off everything but the important things - my family. We spent the past two and a half weeks hiking, visiting literally hundreds of family members at three different reunions, and taking pictures until my batteries all died. Great times, great sights, great memories.

This is one of my favourite photos. My husband took it of me sitting on the top of Bear's Hump in Waterton National Park. After all the problems with my leg and back over the past few months, my goal was to climb the trail - 1km straight up the side of a mountain. I won't lie, it was bloody hard. It took a lot of focus and pushing, but I made it! I went and bought a cozy sweatshirt to celebrate.

We arrived home Saturday night and ordered pizza then I lay in bed, snuggled with the cats who'd missed us horribly, and planned out what I need to do the next two months to get my book ready for my agent Dawn. It's not a short list. I have a lot of things to prepare for my writing career, but, like climbing Bear's Hump, all I need to do is focus and push myself to get it all done.

Then maybe I'll get myself another sweatshirt...