Tag Archives: life

Books Interlude

Have you visited YA Muses? They are a lovely, helpful, inspiring quartet, all with backgrounds, current writing-situations and future-talk I appreciate. They inspire me. They give me hope, or remind me that there is hope when it comes to writing … Continue reading

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Hi Ho!

My little shining writing-prize moment of 2010 made the Kite Tales newsletter. I am the giant on the far right. (???) I will never forget hearing the name of my book called out and almost falling off the auditorium chair, … Continue reading

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Ready, Set, Write!

Preschool is a go! (See my other blog—or, not) I now have 3 hours 3 days a week to write. Am very confident that by next week (after the holiday excitement dies down around here) I will have my Number … Continue reading

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Poet Distracted By Whales

Had to take a break from editing Trouble. Did so by editing a new poem. It’s almost 9p.m. My spouse has once again passed out with the toddler when putting him to bed. There is nothing to distract me from editing … Continue reading

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When You’re Writing…

My official “Trouble” roughhead blenny mascot returns The good news is, I haven’t been posting because I am going over Trouble Beneath The Waves. I do this while my son eats his meals. I do this when my husband returns … Continue reading

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SCBWI Writer’s Day

Trouble Beneath The Waves received a Special Mention at today’s SCBWI Writer’s Day. For some reason I thought winners of the contests (2 honorees in each category—Most Promising Manuscript and Special Mention) had already been announced and printed on the … Continue reading

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Time (said in 3 syllables)

Currently difficult to impossible to fathom where the time is going, has gone. October nearly vanished, we are actually moving into the hyper-acceleration months of November and December, when Thanksgiving and Christmas bleed into one and my son turns 3. Another year … Continue reading

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Pack Leader

I have not posted of late. See picture on left. We brought him into our pack and I have been adjusting to the dog element as it relates to freaked out housecats and a toddler with beaucoup d’energy. Le French … Continue reading

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Writing Companion

Sometimes Julian joins me in my bed office, keeps an eye on me while I fuss with the keyboard, picks at his rope, emits charming whistles. He’s a good listener when I read a draft out loud—although my voice seems to make … Continue reading

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New Workings

Depending on who you talk to (my spouse, Facebook, my infernal muse, ABC.com…) I am working on a new poem. As proof, and in danger of ex-ing myself from the writing genre, here are some lines from this new poem … Continue reading

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Boo, Moan, Woo

On the heels of a rejection, I finished editing my short story and submitted it today—thanks to my spouse whisking the boy to Zuma Beach for the afternoon, leaving me to my laptop in my quiet bedroom office—quiet but for … Continue reading

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Cooler I Have Been

I’m over the Book Club Blues and previous “froggy” state and have moved on to more-than-contemplating my goals, which meant working on a short story today in this freaky heatwave of 113 degrees, which is all anyone in the San Fernando Valley … Continue reading

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A Tad Froggy

This is me right now. Not well seen. Murky on the outside. Rough. Blug. Frozen in dubious water. Were it not for the toddler, I would be an exact copy of the frog fish in the photo, only atrophied. I … Continue reading

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Welcome Home, PB And Child

I think the most interesting part of my recent retreat was learning that I can, in fact, contrary to previous experience, do the temporary-single-parenting thing and write. Away from my husband for 6 days, away from playdates and email and constant internet … Continue reading

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TGIF?

It appears to be Friday–again. I managed to finish this week’s immediate goal, which will ignite a slew of similar goals in upcoming weeks, especially next week, when once again I go on:   r e t r e a t. With. My. Son. The … Continue reading

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Spelunking (brain), back soon

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To Really Explain

I realized I wanted to attend a children’s literature writer’s day.  When I realized this, I also realized (with what felt like a bucket of icewater dumped on my head) that the deadline for registering for the writer’s day was … Continue reading

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About Ready Is My Middle Name

I am about ready to record my Moth Radio submission. Also about ready to mail my BB submission tomorrow morning. Feels. Like. I’m! Ploughing. Through. Serious goo. (Said using Captain Kirk cadence.) I’m not as swift as I used to … Continue reading

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Friday Night

Suddenly, we are going to watch a movie because suddenly my husband returned home from work this evening with the movie pictured left and “Casino Royale”, for which he is assigned to watch the beginning of for a certain vital … Continue reading

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Distraction

I know all about distraction. Writers are always griping about it at conferences and on their writing blogs—about dusting behind headboards and vacuuming behind toilets and taking walks in heatwaves to buy lottery tickets and FBing, IMing, texting, checking email every 5 mintues, about gazing at People.com and clipping toenails and making popsicles and hanging out at Big Foot websites analyzing Big Foot photos and downloading bizarre Big Foot screams, instead of you-know-what. Continue reading

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Rough Evening…

I’m supposed to be right there, working.

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Away Again

I returned from the Writer’s Retreat Intensive (see previous post) only to depart for another intensive involving many mothers away from their husbands and children for 2 days and 2 nights. During this intensive, I did not write. I did, however, … Continue reading

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Writer’s Retreat Musings…

I. I reclined on a chaise longue on a Spanish-style patio (meaning wide, faux-adobe tile and iron and wood furniture), appreciating water chiming from the mouth of a stone lion—not a spooky, Lil’ Orphan Annie-eyed stone lion, but a handsome one—sun and … Continue reading

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Retreat…

For the next few days I will be away on a writer’s retreat, an intensive, an all-writing-all-the-time sort of deal—but with my son and no husband, so what this really means is time alone with my Toshiba next to a … Continue reading

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My Gift For Blab…

9:46 pm. I don’t have it! That gift of easy-going gab. And yet—when I read what I’ve written for Moth Radio’s handy recording-a-submission feature, I carry on for two days instead of the minute they require. Who am I?

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