Choosing a TBR, Keeper or Donate?

I was reorganizing my bookshelves yesterday trying to make room for the ever growing pile of TBR (to be read) books. Seriously, I have them double lined now on four separate bookselves. Since there's no room to add another book shelf, I've got some thinning out to do. I'll give the ones that I've read or for whatever reason, books I know I won't be reading, to my fantastic sister-in-law in an effort to make room on the shelves for more. And with our chapter retreat (Mid-Michigan RWA writers retreat) in April, I know I'll end up with several bags, baskets and arms full of juicy stories to cart home.

Back at the shelf. So far I have a nice, tidy pile. Small, and well...embarassing. I mean, come on. There's got to several hundred books up there! And the pitiful few books on the floor won't even fill one bag. I sigh heavily and pull down a couple more, then add to the stack without reading the backcover blurb, because if I did that....

I am not stingy. Honest. But somewhere in the back of my mind is a vision. Call it a premonition, but I catch myself dreaming of the day when I've got nothing to do except put my feet up, select a glossy dark chocolate from the box nearby and read uninterrupted for hours. My housekeeper will vacum around me and dear hubby will come home after working overtime with a stack of movies he plans to watch all evening while I read. Oh, and there'll also be chinese take out for dinner.

Hoo-Ra!!

Double-Bubble! Did you hear the pop? As in wishfully dreaming. Those days aren't here yet. But there's always the chance I mght fall and break a leg or something. Suppose I were forced to convalesce on the sofa for days? I'd need all those books to get me though it, right?

Oh, boy! That would never happen. The laid up part. There's no way DH would hear of it. Handy Andy would be out in the garage so fast I'd get whiplash, rigging up some kind of splint or automatic prop. Hopefully using the endless amount of foam rubber he aquired from his bro's trailer factory days. : )

But that's a different blog story. So...back to the books.

How to do decide what to give away and what to keep?

Knock me over with a feather!

In my opinion writers are a very special kind of people. We feel things...literally with all of the senses. Writers are always thinking of others (we refer to them as characters) and deeply appreciate the kind gestures, encouragment and help we recieve from other writer friends.

I've been so lucky to have met and critiqued with Christine Warner, a super sweet lady who fast became a supporter and cheerleader to me. Yesterday she presented me with the Liebster Blog Award to proudly display on my blog.
Thank you so much Christine!

All that's required to accept this award is:
Thank the person who gave it to them and link back to that person's blog.
Copy and paste the award to your blog.
Choose 5 blogs to award in kind and break the news by commenting on those blogs.
Hope those people pay it forward in turn by accepting and awarding "The Liebster Blog Award" to blogs they'd like to honor.

Pretty easy to do, pretty amazing to award.

My chosen five are:
Diane Burton
Margo Hoornstra
Dawn Brown
Patrica Kiyono
Loralee Lilabridge

music or time machine?

Music is like having your own time machine.

Seriously, think about it.
Songs trigger memories from the past. Music and words we listened to have a tendencancy to mark every period of our life. I know certain lyrics are capable of shifting my mood. Many can make me laugh or cry. I've even experienced shoulder dancing...yes, while driving the car. Just let the right song come on the radio and it literally moves me till I'm singing my heart out, bouncing and dancing to the music with the speakers blasting. Who cares what the other drivers are thinking? Not me. Because for a few wonderful minutes I'm a teenager again, and they take nothing serious! Who-oo! Whether it's Tom Jones belting out ‘She’s a Lady’ or the Bee Gee's singing 'Staying Alive,' I crank it up and cruise!

Admit it, just the title conjures up the image of John Trovolta rocking in his white leisure suit, right?

No doubt about it, the music and lyrics often sends me tumbling backwards and feeling like a kid again. Back when I could do anything, be anything. Because I believed. I was invincible. That's powerful stuff.

But on the other end, what’s it like to know that your music has touched someone so deeply? That the thoughts and feelings poured into the words of a song has reached inside and connected with a total stranger. Writing of any kind is like griping your heart and wringing it out like a rag, squeezing out every emotion for the world to see.


Singer/songwriter Skip Ewing recently shared a video link in which he talked about the rush of performing live and looking out into an audience, listening to them singing the words to songs that he wrote. Like any arist, whether it's painting or what, he claims that you "reach the hearts of others by opening your own."

Listen to the interview here

So this afternoon I'll go about my ordinary chores with the radio on. And maybe take a trip on 'The last train to Clarksville' or listen to Billy Paul sing about what's going on with him and 'Mrs. Jones,' Who knows? I might even take a 'Magical Mystery Tour.' The possiblities are endless. And all because of songs. And the authors who wrote them.

Where does your favorite song take you?

A release date for Night Bird

I'm so excitied to announce the release date for my novella, Night Bird. Night Bird will be published by The Wild Rose Press and you'll be able to purchase it on their website www.TheWildRosePress.com. Also through Amazon or Barnes & Noble.


And check out the cover.

Release Date: 2012-05-02 (Please note that this means generally by noon on release day, not at midnight.)

What if you found love in the last moments of your life? Or is death just the beginning....

Blurb: Travis Howland washes up on the shores of Lost Isle and into the arms of an angel. Known as the Night Bird, Emma Samson dedicates her afterlife to a solitary existence on Lost Isle, easing the passage of the dying. When she finds Travis weak and desperate, she gives him the only gift she has—a few more days to settle his affairs before his death. Sorely lacking in faith, Travis lives life with no thought for the future. When his lovely rescuer claims he has died, he can't believe it. He must warn his father that their ship was plundered by a greedy business partner, but only a leap of faith can save him. Together, Emma and Travis use his last few hours to avenge the traitorous deeds that torment him, and along the way discover that love can be found in any stage of life…even after death.

I really like the cover and especially love the deep blue. And goes perfectly with my new name Teresa Blue. What do you think?

An old fashioned Christmas

I love Christmas and even though it's a hectic time, it's a wonderful time as well. An entire month filled with colored lights, cheerful music and wintry scenes that will take your breath away. Not to forget those warm holiday stories on television...channel, after channel, after channel. And so, dragging out the boxes of stuff stored in the basement, I can't help but find myself caught up in the season. And discover a perfect opportunity to reflect on memories of Christmases past.

A favorite of mine is the story of Rudolf. Written in 1939 by Robert L. May who worked in advertising at the time for Montgomery Ward. His creative story idea was about a shiny, red nosed reindeer that helps Santa deliver toys on Christmas Eve. Gene Autry immortalized Rudolf in a song in 1949 and then in 1964, the cheery little reindeer starred in his own television show! Of course we know the rest of the story ...
has gone down in his-tor-y.
An orignal copy of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is valued around eighteen hundred dollars!



And how about all those holiday tins filled with shortbread cookies? Mmm, that buttery tasting biscuit stacked in a tin and glistening with sugar. A container too pretty to throw away becomes a collectable. This tin was created in the 40's by Douglass Crockwell, an artist whose work rivaled the other well known artist of that time. This Tiny Tim tin (say that three times ) has quadrupled in value.

I always pair it up with THE OLD CURIOSITY SHOP plate. This plate was produced by the Royal China Co. A popular pattern that resembled the wintery London scene when Bob Cratchit popped the 'blooming topper' with an icy snowball. (The top hat just happened to be sitting on Mr. Scrooge's head!

These lovely note cards I found at a treasure store in town. Called select-a-notes because of the small stickers designed to personalize the invitation to said event or luncheon. From the moment I saw them (I found an entire box) I loved them.




December is a busy month but when I get overwhelmed at all there is yet to do,
I crack a couple of chestnuts or maybe peel an orange. And reflect on the warm fuzzy memories of season's past...in this century and others.

Finally, let me share a very tasty and simple candy recipe for delicious, creamy caramels. I've made these four times already since Thanksgiving. They are wonderfully addictive and so easy to make!

CARAMELS

2 c brown sugar
1 c Karo syrup (light)
1 14oz can sweetened condensensed milk.
1 c butter
1/2 c chopped black walnuts (opt)


Butter dish or cookie sheet. In a med. saucepan add all ingredients and cook over moderate heat. Bring to a gentle rolling boil and begin timing. Boil for 12 minutes -set timer- stirring constantly. Remove from heat and add nuts if desired. Pour into prepared pan. Allow to cool at least several hours. Cut and wrap in wax paper. This candy keeps a very long time in a holiday tin. Enjoy!

National Novel Writing Month-- Nano

I’m preparing for my very first Nano writing experience and have been scribbling like crazy a rough outline for a book I'll try to complete in thirty days.
30 days?! Like, am I nuts? It generally takes me a good year to complete a first draft and another year to revise it. Whatever foolish notion makes me think I can come up with an entire novel in one month?
Well...I won't know until I try. And it’s supposed to be like unleashing your dog-- 'er, muse, (my dogs go nuts when I unleash them, running with wild abandon across the yard and into the woods) setting 'em free with no editing what so ever. No going back to re-write. This, I know, will absoultely drive me bonkers because I love to read what I've written. Really, and in case you haven't guessed, let me confess. I am my own favorite author. I can spend days, weeks...Months!! even reading and tweaking a string of dialogue or two, maybe sprinkle in just a tad more description to flavor the scene. No, on second thought, take that out because it slows down the pace. Twittle and change. It's what I love to do. See why I need Nano? I swear some folks really do benefit from a swift kick in the rear and I'm one of them. So, I'm planning to give the entire month of November my best efforts at completing 50 or 60,000 word novel titled, Road Trip.
It’ll be fun to see what sort of thing my creative muse comes up with when not forced into a certain plot. I've got a sketchy outline with Dottie and Earl Stone, two minor characters from my previous novel, Man of her Dreams. They were the parents in said story and have hit the highways and side ways for a little R & R. I'm anxious to discover what types of folks they'll meet along their way, traveling on the back of a vintage motorcycle. I hope the weather’s nice. Or wait…maybe a downpour would be more promising, with flickering bolts of lightning, could be raining buckets of icy water. Suppose the only shelter in sight is an abandoned mine shaft.
Oh, yeah. Definitely a possibility. Finally there’s more in November than turkey.
Good luck Nano’ers!

Farewell to All My Children

Things are changing so quickly that what's customary today will be outdated before tomorrow. I, for one, don't like change. Seriously. My furniture stays in the same place until Jim decides to move it. And although it has happened, I can only think of once or twice that I came home and nearly tripped over the sofa because it was shoved too close to the front door, while the recyliner was aimed front and center of the television.

And speaking of tv...the soap opera, All My Children, has gone off the air. It ended its run after 41 years. I grew up watching those characters, Tad and Dixe, Ruth and Joe...Erica and Jackson. I grew oldER watching them too. I enjoyed the drama played out every afternoon during my teen years and into my early married life. Only in Pine Valley could I find others whose problems were bigger than mine. At least it seemed that way. And I wasn't the only one to watch them, but lots of folks, for a time anyways, watched 'the stories'.

All good things come to an end. The network has replaced AMC with a food show called The Chew. I'm just curious that if no one is home during the day to watch the soaps, who's got time try all those recipes?

Before I leave, here's a song the 59th Street Bridge recorded called 'Feeling Groovy.' How does this tie into my soaps? LOL. Notice how I called them 'my soaps.' That's how personal they were to me. This song reminds me that everything will continue to change whether we like it or not. Remember the Chevy Van, peace signs and bell-bottoms? Yeah, me too. The only thing to do is enjoy the moment. Listen...'slow down, we're moving too fast. Gotta to make the morning last.'

I intend to.