ISWG September in 2020

Okay, this new format on blogger is definitely a challenge, especially at 2 am. This alone is enough to add to insecurities! Of which I have many at the moment. My current WIP is with the editor and all I can think of is what I should have written here, or there, how it really isn't any good, after all these years of working on it. I don't have a real title for it yet. Is it actually boring? Is it interesting to anyone else but me? This is the part of writing that scares me, makes me feel vulnerable and constantly questioning myself. 

And I guess there is nothing I can do about that right now, so I should move on to other projects and let that one be until I hear back from the editor. Meanwhile, back in this crazy virus-laden life of 2020, I've been gardening like a mad woman, and building a garden shed with my husband, and putting in a new walkway, and reseeding my torn up lawn, and trying to raise a caterpillar, and, and, and... I'm getting a lot done but somehow don't feel a sense of accomplishment, unless I actually stop, sit out on my deck, and stare at my garden/yard. That seems to be my only place of peace right now, and I am grateful for having it in these strange times. Do you have a peaceful place? I hope so, because I think we all need one right now. 

OUR AMAZING CO-HOSTS THIS SEPTEMBER ARE

PJ Colando, J Lenni Dorner,Deniz Bevan, Kim Lajevardi, Natalie Aguirre, 

and Louise - Fundy Blue!

PLEASE, GO PAY A VISIT AND THANK THEM

Also, the IWSG WEBSITE  is an amazing site full of information 

and other folks just waiting to hear from you!

 I know the photos are out of sequence, but hope you enjoy them anyway, like I said, we've been busy!

Straw down after seeding this side of yard/garden

The After shot!

The Before shot

The brand new shed we built from the ground up!

Flowers from the garden...

One of the new flowerbeds we put in

To give an idea of where the old path was and the new beds

How the yard was when we bought the house...

The new (using the old pavers) path!

The old path...

IWSG August- All About Positivity

IWSG WEBSITE

I want to write about something positive in the midst of all this chaos in the world right now. I know there is always chaos, just seems like more than usual this year. Yes, this YEAR! Seems it will never stop, so I want to write about, think about something positive.
For me that would be a few things I feel grateful for...
One, my husband and I celebrated (as best we could!) our 37th anniversary in July (which actually ended up being why I missed posting here that week!). We've been together 38 years, married 37. We're closing in fast on that 40 number, and it's strange to know that I've spent more of my life with this man than without. I love that. We've earned this. Fought for it at times. Not knowing what the future would hold, and still don't, but it's something to look back and see what we did to get where we are. I am proud of us.

Our wedding all those years ago...

This year turning "37"!

And two, we've been building a garden shed in our back yard. I absolutely love doing things like this with my hubby. Having something that we do together, especially after two years of him being in university and having almost no time at all doing things together. Again I am grateful.

Also, when it comes to writing, I am in the "reading it out loud" stage before I send my WIP to my editor for the final touches (fingers crossed!) I feel good it's almost there, and feel ready to start on a different project.

I hope you and your loved ones are safe and stay that way. I will say no more about C-19 because I'm trying to stay positive. I wish you all the best at the end of this strange summer and beginning of what is usually a new school year. What a school year it will be. One for the history books I'm sure, and I hope in a good way (fingers crossed again).

Don't forget to visit our wonderful ISWG co-hosts this month! 

Susan Baury Rouchard, Nancy Gideon, Jennifer Lane, Jennifer Hawes, Chemist Ken, and Chrys Fey!

June and I'm Late! IWSG

IWSG WEBSITE

Welcome to June. Already. Not fair! And because of the crazy of life and country right now, I missed posting last week (not to mention moving).  Being that I'm recovering from an operation (last Tuesday), I've had a little time to read between news check ups. I have finished Trevor Noah's "Born A Crime" and it feels particularly relevant right now. Reading it is like listening to him talk. Like you're watching his show. He writes the way he talks, and he does both very well.

A Boss To Work For

One thing he wrote that felt appropriate for our times goes something like this. Taking from the adage "Give a man a fish you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime." Trevor added: "But if you don't give him a fishing rod, he can't fish no matter what he knows." He was talking about South Africa, but it resonates here and everywhere in the world where there is inequality. He is saying that educating everyone is good, but that if poor people don't have the same access to good and steady education/home life/tools, etc. as "well off/rich" folks do, it doesn't matter what you teach him if he has no means to use that education. This is where our society breaks down. At this moment in time, I hope we as a nation and a planet can finally move beyond the social structures we have put up with for so long. As a woman I feel this acutely, and I live in one of the better countries of the world for women to live in.

So, this is my post for IWSG June, for the insecurity of our changing (hopefully for the better) world. May a treatment, then vaccine finally be found swiftly for C-19. May people of color be accepted into the world that has barred them/made it difficult to enter with grace and compassion. May our country re-learn what empathy, and compassion, is and put it/them to good use. These are my thoughts half way through 2020.
Peace, health and harmony to you all. (And read Trevor's book!)

May is Moving IWSG

IWSG WEBSITE

Sorry All!
"I'm late, I'm late, for a very important date!"
Moving will do that to one. We are day one in our "new" house. I meant to write my post last week before the crazy hit, but it hit early and so post didn't get written. I'll write next month when we're a bit more settled (fingers crossed!) Hope all of you are well and safe in the madness that is our life now...
In the meantime, please go and visit our co-hosts for this crazy and beautiful month of May!

Just a lovely memory from France...

The awesome co-hosts for the May 6 posting of the IWSG are 
Feather Stone, Beverly Stowe McClure, Mary Aalgaard, Kim Lajevardi, and Chemist Ken!

IWSG "Washing" Away March, LOL

IWSG WEBSITE

Aside from my joking title, I am not going to write about C-19. Instead, I'm going to give you access to another friend's new release, that I, for one, can't wait to read! Then I will go on to my IWSG post...

“King has gifted us an immersive world, filled with memorable characters. What an adventure! All fantasy novels should have this kind of momentum.”

                               - Carrie Butler, author of the award-winning Mark of Nexus series 

COMING TODAY, APRIL FIRST! NO JOKE!

 AMAZON  

AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE 

GOODREADS

A princess. A dragon. Their quest.

Terrible things happen whenever Princess Celesia falls in love—she blacks out and attacks her suitors, which makes an alliance with a more powerful nation impossible. Believing that she’s cursed, Celesia is given two choices: marry without love, or be responsible for her kingdom’s demise. Instead, she sneaks off in search of a remedy.

She doesn’t make it far when she encounters a dragon who bears a curse of his own—he is a prince, desperate to reclaim his humanity before the dragon takes over. He's heard of a stone that can lift both of their curses, but neither of them can find it alone, and they’re not the only ones after it. An evil alchemist is intent on using it to steal the land’s magic and dominate the realm. Only together, with the help of an even greater magic, can Celesia and the dragon stop this evil, or be bound forever by their curses.

David was born in beautiful downtown Burbank, California where his love for film inspired him to write. His works include the internationally published YA Fantasy Woven and The Undead Road: My Zombie Summer. An avid fan of science fiction and fantasy, David also has a soft spot for zombies and the paranormal. He now lives in the mountain West with his wife and four children.

DAVID'S BLOG 

DAVID'S TWITTER 

Now, on to my insecure post, which will be short again, I hope. First, here is the important information about IWSG...

Our Twitter handle is: @TheIWSG

Our hashtag is: #IWSG

Our wonderful co-hosts this month are: 

Diane Burton, JH Moncrieff, Anna@Emaginett, 

Karen@Reprobate Typewriter, Erika Beebe , and Lisa Buie-Collard !

Please feel free to visit their blogs and thank them for co-hosting this month!

Also, if you'd like, take advantage of the (first idea) April 1st question here below. You could make it a doozy since it is, after all April Fool's Day!

Do you have any rituals that you use when you need help getting into the ZONE? Care to share?

Or, and this isn't as funny, or maybe you can make it funny, the second idea question is: How are you doing in lock-down-mode/cloistering/sequestering/being alone/not being alone?!

I don't have any real rituals so I'll go straight to the craziness of life at the moment and how I want it to affect my writing. Since I am "stuck" at home, I can't see a good, logical reason for not writing. So, I'm setting a schedule for myself and I will let you know in May if I was able to stick to it, and, if I succeed in finishing this novel! Argh!

My schedule is/will be:

Three hours a day (or more) until I am done with this novel. I am committing to a full three hours, not doing anything but writing/revising. I will do this every afternoon until it is done. That is my commitment to myself. Wish me luck!!! 

I wish you ALL luck. I wish that you will ALL stay safe and healthy until we make it through this...