Monday Morning Musing

Good Morning!

I've shared character sketches from four characters in my work-in-progress Numbers Never Lie. That's all for now. The story is really coming together quickly as the end approaches. (See my progress on the widget to the right.) I mentioned before that I started this story back in 2003, updated technology, and did quite a bit of editing. I'm a better writer now than 15 years ago. (I should be!) Having versions of the story saved on 3.25 floppies presented a challenge. Gathering together the best of what I'd written before and changing the focus became easier as I plunged into this romantic suspense. Yesterday, I found two scenes that I knew I'd written. Halleluia. 

My goal is to finish the first draft by April 1st (no joke). Since I periodically go back and edit as I write, much of the draft is in good shape. Then I plan to get it to my editor by mid-April. If I stay on target, the book should be released by Mother's Day. That's my plan. Hopefully, I make my deadlines.

Life has a way of smacking you down when you get too full of yourself. Or as John Lennon said, "Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans." Isn't that the truth? I'm sure there will surprises between now and Mother's Day.

Spring has come to Michigan. Finally. Winter will give us another taste as it fades away. The ducks and geese have returned to the pond behind our house. So has the muskrat. Apparently, he (or she) decided to make the bank in front of our house its home. Hubs has tried nearly everything to make it find another home, even to the extent of pouring cement into the holes. Muskrat just made more. Smart critter. He doesn't bother us, except for the possibility of breaking a leg by stepping into a hole while mowing near the water.

We went to a Pinewood Derby race on Saturday. Oldest grandson's Cub Scout Pack sponsored the event. He asked Hubs to help with making the car. My husband has always been patient with kids (with me, too, LOL). And he has the tools for the kids to use. BTW, they let siblings race their cars, too, after the Cub Scouts finish their race, so oldest granddaughter built a car and raced it, too. I was impressed with the layout. It sure was different from when Son participated with a wood track and the adults eyeballing the winner. A metal track with an electronic gadget that recorded the outcome of each heat (4 cars raced in a heat), a huge screen that showed the outcome. Each car raced in four heats. Neither of the grandkids' cars won. As a result, he and his sister decided to start working on their cars during Christmas break. Instead of trying to do everything in 3 weekends. Good planning.

A week ago, we attended oldest granddaughter's 5th grade orchestra concert. Since the kids have only been playing their instruments for 6 months, I expected to hear a lot of squeaks and out of tune notes. (Both our kids played band instruments, so we've been to concerts before.) The kids did well, much better than I expected. Short pieces. Their teacher explained their progress from two or three lines of music to a full page. Granddaughter plays the violin. Her cousin, Toddler Girl, came, too. She announced she's going to play piano. That's exciting. We went to a lot of piano recitals, too, featuring her daddy and her aunt. 

The twins are growing like proverbial weeds. Eight and five pounds at birth, they're now 12 and 18 pounds. The linebacker and the quarterback. More importantly (to me) than physical growth is their engaging with others. The smiles and coos are delightful. The linebacker even "talks" to us. Sure wish we knew what he's saying. The little one is very active, arm and leg movements and grins. Melts my heart when he smiles. He babbles, too. Love it.

With Spring here, Hubs is raring to get outside and work in the garden. I'm enjoying the sunshine. Looking forward to a good week of writing. Not looking forward to getting ready for taxes. 

On Wednesday, my monthly column on Family Life at Pandora's Box Gazette is on Reading.

On Saturday, starting at 9am EDT, I'm participating in a "get to know the contributors chat" with other Pandora contributors and readers. If you have time, I'd love if you stopped by. 
https://www.pandorasboxjt.com/forum/meet-the-authors

Of course, on the weekend, I'll post another snippet here from Numbers Never Lie with the Weekend Writing Warriors.

Have a great week!

I'm Back

It's been way too long since my last Monday Morning Musing post. If you've followed any of my posts on other blogs (Paranormal Romantics and The Roses of Prose) you know my summer was chaos. Our no-longer-in-Arizona family, Son, DIL, Toddler Girl, and their two dogs--Big (Lab) and Bigger (Great Dane) lived with us for two months while they searched for a house nearby. Happily, we all survived and are still friends. LOL What a wonderful bonding, esp. with Toddler Girl.

Knowing that our routine would be non-existent, I decided I wouldn't stress out over not writing, that included this weekly blog. I just enjoyed each day. They now have a house (about 2 miles from us). We all have our own space again. Although Son and DIL had jobs to go to each day, our house isn't large. In fact, it's just right for two people. But . . .

The best part was getting to know our daughter-in-law better. I am so blessed. Smart Son for marrying her. The time with Toddler Girl was marvelous. Watching her vocabulary grow and her imagination develop made me so proud. Signs of the "terrible two's" began near the end of their stay. Thank Goodness. LOL She's still such a sweetie. The older grandkids had a great time with her. I wasn't surprised at how the oldest (10) enjoyed playing with her cousin. The surprise came when I saw how nurturing the 7.5 year old was. I thought he would (sort of) ignore her since she's a girl. He didn't. He helped her make a spaceship out of a box, helped her decorate it, and together they "zoomed" into outer space. As for Toddler Girl, she is madly in love with her cousins.

Now that everyone is settled (sort of) in their respective homes, school has started, and so have routines. I'm back to writing in the mornings. Before summer began, I was writing a novella that takes place in Far Haven (the fictional resort town on Lake Michigan, home of Alex O'Hara, PI). I was a little over a third into the story. Now I have the last big scene to write and the ending. Then it's editing, revising, and proofing before it goes to my freelance editor. I hope to have From Jailbirds to Wedding Bells available in November.

Along with keeping stress out of my life by not writing this blog, I also didn't plan to write much during the family stay. Then one of the authors who's part of the group newsletter I participate in thought of a great idea. (She thought it was great. LOL) We'd all submit a short story for an anthology that we'd give away to new subscribers to our newsletter, because we all have a short story or two laying around. Right? Not me. And I had to write it in a month. Yikes! I took another character from Far Haven and wrote a short mystery. As soon as it's available, I'll let you know.

I lined up a few book festivals to participate in. They are listed on my website. This Saturday (Sept. 23) I'll be at the Alpena (MI) Book Festival. I did this all-day event last year and had a wonderful time. If you're in the area, please stop by and say hi.

This Wednesday, I'll begin a new venture as a contributor to an online magazine, Pandora's Box Gazette. My column on Family Life will appear on the 3rd Wednesday of each month.

Busy, busy, busy. I'm having a great time writing and more fun talking (either in person or online) with so many terrific people.

How was your summer?