Moral Support

For a writer, getting published for the first time is like Christmas for young children. It's as good as ice cream is with cake, or milk with cookies. Becoming a published author is as joyous as graduating from college, or having any dream come true.

People who support and encourage writers are necessary to not only keep the writer writing, but to boost their morale since writing is a "lonely" profession. There is no boss to give you kudos (unless you are lucky enough to land an agent) so words or encouragement are welcomed by authors (at least this one).

This past weekend was filled with book signings. I had the great opportunity to share these events with Carol Weishampel. We had a good time visiting and sharing ideas, and even though the turn-out was low, we were there to support each other. Thank you to my family and Carol.

An Endless Journey

Here is a poem I wrote yesterday for Poetics Aside blog. I hope you enjoy it!

Around the World



I travelled the oceans far and wide
from sea to shining sea,
swam with the dolphins
surfed big waves
lolled in the sun happily.


I climbed mountains high
in cold and rain
from plateau to snow-capped peak,
skiied up and down through twists and turns
each experience, bold and unique.


You, too, can journey this big wide world;
see creatures and vista's nooks,
just find a spot to relax awhile
and get lost in your favorite book.

Oh, How We Love to Write

This is a picture of my critique group. We meet once a month to share our progress, review each other's projects and simply chat. A common bond we have, the four of us, and although we are different in so many ways, this deep bond~the love of writing~unites us and brings us together. I look forward to our meetings and am so thankful we have been drawn together during this time of our lives. I hope these special ladies know how much of an inspiration they are to me.

Wrong Number

Now that I'm back in the groove of things, I noticed there were some things that needed quick attention. One of those being library books. I had taken the children to the library during the holidays and the books were due- today. I knew Katie wasn't finished with hers (she gets a bunch of thick chapter books), so I decided to call the library and renew the books over the phone. Did you know you can do that? Anyway, when I got out the phonebook and looked in the yellow pages under libraries, it gave the main downtown number only. I guess they want you to call them and ask for the other number, I thought as I dialed.
"Hello?" said a female voice.
"Uh, is this the library?" I asked.
"No. Wrong number."
"Sorry."
I hung up and looked at the number again. It looked like the one I just dialed, but maybe I pressed a wrong number or something. I dialed again.
"Hello," said the same voice.
"Ooh. I guess the phonebook made an error. I'm so sorry," I began.
"No. This has been going on for a long time. I have tried to get them to correct the error, but it never gets changed."
"So you must get a lot of calls for the library. Do you know the number?" I thought I'd ask.
"No. I used to have a library card, but I don't know where it's at."
"Well, maybe you should write a letter to the phone company this time, with your signature on it, stating that the main library number is listed wrong and it's your number." I couldn't think of anything else to say.
"Yeah. I might try that."
"Bye," I said as I hung up. I proceeded to look for the number in another phonebook, and after checking three different ones, I found they all had that number! The other number they listed was out of order. I finally had to call information to get the number to the neighborhood library. I wrote it on our cards with a big marker so we won't ever have to do that again. Then I had to come and blog about another quirky library story. Some things never change.