We have a Sue Harrison book winner! & Important announcement for writers!

This post is a doubly exciting one for me, a two-part privilege.

PART ONE:

Announcing the winner of a Sue Harrison novel:

My young grandson came to visit us awhile this evening, so at 6 PM EST (7:00 for me) I asked him to draw one name out of the basket of entries — the name of one person to win a Sue Harrison novel, winner’s choice of title. The winner is …… ** drum roll **

Bill G.!!

Congratulations, Bill! Please check your email for my request for your mailing address and the title of the book you want to receive from Sue Harrison, if you haven’t already said that in your comment. She will happily get that book into the mail for you. 🙂

THANK YOU, EVERYONE, FOR PARTICIPATING! It was fun for both Sue and me.

PART TWO:

Have you been watching my countdown clock? It now says 2 days to go! I can’t stand the wait, so here is what I’ll be bringing you that I have been eagerly waiting to tell you. 🙂 On Thursday morning, January 24, at 8:00 EST (9:00 for me) a new series begins here on my blog, then the fourth Thursday of each month the next installment will be posted. Curious?

This is for you, if:

you are a writer,
you are a writer of fiction,
you have been thinking about trying your hand at writing fiction,
you are a fiction writer who would love some tips about how to give your characters more depth,
you want to learn more about fiction writing but don’t have the time or money to spare right now to go to a workshop,
you are a Sue Harrison fan.

That’s right! Sue Harrison has enthusiastically agreed to guest post here, but then offered much more than that. She will post here once a month, the fourth Thursday of each month, so that you can learn from her experience. How cool is that!!

Now you know why I am excited about this! Sue is going to teach us about Writing The Third Dimension. Here is how she describes it: “Basically, the
concept is for writers to write their characters, scenes, and plots in such
a way that they “pop” off the two-dimensional page and assume a
three-dimensional presence in the reader’s mind – as if the reader had
actually lived the story.”

I’m thinking this will be of help to me when I finally put my attention to the editing and revising of my NaNoWriMo novel – which I have to finish writing first. It should even help with writing picture books. I’m sure it will be of help to you in your writing.

I am also going to set up a page for this series so that not only can you find Sue’s posts here, but you can also click on the page WRITING THE THIRD DIMENSION (under Writers’ Helps & Workshops on the drop down menu), and link back to whichever topic you want to study.

I AM EXCITED !! I hope you will come back and check this out. For your convenience, you can sign up for emails to be informed of when there is a new post on my blog. (top left corner) I don’t want you to miss any of Sue’s teaching. Rest assured that I do not use anyone’s addresses for anything else. It’s all done automatically through WordPress, anyway. 🙂

Thanks for reading, and … Creative Musings! 🙂

Reminder: book giveaway January 22, and news!!

Hello everyone! I have exciting reminders and news for you!

REMINDER #1:

This is to remind you of the giveaway of one of Sue Harrison‘s books tomorrow. If you have left a comment, you have a chance to win!! If you have not left a comment HERE, what’s stopping you? You have until 6 PM EST, Tuesday, January 22 to do so.

REMINDER #2:

If you are keeping note of my COUNTDOWN CLOCK, you will see there are only three days to go! To go? Go where, you might ask?

hint 1: On the morning of January 24 the first installment of an exciting monthly feature will be posted.

hint 2: It is a help for writers. You won’t want to miss this!

hint 3: It is offered by an accomplished author.

This is a great time for you to sign up for email notifications of new posts on my blog.

NEWS:

If you have been following my blog, you will know that we have been under added stress with cancer diagnosis, surgery, recovery, and waiting for test results. Those results were received this morning — the lengthy pathology report summed up that my husband is cancer free! When I called and told him he laughed with relief. It is such a load off us with all else going on. I think when he walks in the door tonight I might cry with happiness. 🙂 What he doesn’t know until he gets home is that we are going out to celebrate tonight with our family (eight or nine of us) to dinner at Swiss Chalet. It feels like a new day.

I heard on the radio this morning that today, January 21, is known as Blue Monday. As my sister-in-law said: “Blue Monday debunked!!” 🙂 It also is known as International Hug day. I can assure you, my husband is going to be sufficiently hugged today, starting with me! 🙂 A big Thank you, to everyone who prayed.

Reminders: Leave a comment for your chance to win a book; sign up for email notifications to new posts on my blog; come back to find out what the special feature is all about. Full details on that tomorrow when the winner of Sue Harrison’s book is announced.

Thanks for reading, and … Creative Musings! 🙂

In this New Year do you resolve to, or hope to?

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Can you believe this is “the year of our Lord, two thousand thirteen“? 2013! To me, that seems a strange number; it feels different somehow.

I think the beginning of a new year always brings with it that ‘starting fresh’ feeling, the way the outdoors looks after a fresh fall of snow — all sparkly and clean. The new year comes in like that — sparkly and clean with nothing marring it or tracking it up. We want our new year to be that way … unmarred with no tell-tale tracks. We want to start fresh, leaving the mistakes and disappointments behind.

Have you made any resolutions? For the past several years I have not recorded or purposely written a list of New Year Resolutions. The many times I fell short, and then felt guilty about failing, led me to give up that emotional self-abuse.

Or are yours more like “hope to’s”? What I usually do is simply think about what I want to try to change in the new year, which is sort of making resolutions but it often happens less deliberately. It could be called my list of “hope to’s” instead.

My goals this year are centered around reading, writing, and attitude – none of which should be a surprise to you. 🙂

READING: You have no idea how many books I have collected over the years with the intention of reading them someday. The problem with that is my TBR (to be read) stash continues to grow as I keep adding to it and have less time to read. The older books are still waiting and the newer ones keep coming. My husband gave me an e-reader for Christmas (a Kindle) so now I have a growing digital TBR book stash! (What complicates it further is that I found a “free e-books on Amazon” daily list. Oh woe is me! but how delightful at the same time.) To say I love books is almost an understatement. My plan is for some of them to be reviewed on my blog, a few old ones, but mostly new titles. I have a waiting list.
WRITING: Of course I hope to continue writing picture book drafts and working on the ones I already have. I also hope to finish writing my novel this year. As for my blog, I’m now trying to formulate a better plan regarding my posts. I will still be writing book reviews, interviewing authors, posting about other things in between, but possibly something else will also take shape on my blog if I can get it worked out. Being better organized along with the habit of scheduling would be very beneficial. I have not signed on for the extra writing challenges this year that I enjoyed the past few years, as much as I would have liked that. Perhaps it will give me more chance to catch up on emails, blogging, and the book writing I mentioned. Maybe next year I will be able to try some of them again.
ATTITUDE: As you know, my word – since my birthday in November – is GRATEFUL. I have not made it my habit yet, but that is something I am aiming for – to become consciously grateful every day for something. And to say out loud (to God as well as to myself) — “I am grateful!” I believe in every circumstance there is something for which to be grateful, and once found it changes one’s attitude and perspective, and releases the stress – at least a little. I believe an attitude change will help me handle things much better, including the combined challenges as a wife, caregiver, and writer.

Perhaps I have set resolutions for 2013, but I prefer to call them goals … goals that I hope to achieve – not just in 2013, but as positive long-term life-affecting choices.

How about you – what resolutions or ‘hope to’s’ have you made for 2013?

Thanks for reading, and … Creative Musings! 🙂

Happy New Year!

How can it be? Another new year is soon to begin!

2012 has been a mix of many things in my little world. This blog has captured much of it and has been a source of relief for me, a way of venting, sharing, seeking, growing. Through blogging and writing I have been blessed to meet some very special people who have become my long distance friends.

As my dad’s condition steadily worsens, and my husband’s healing is continuing, our hope is for the strength needed as this new year brings whatever surprises and challenges it holds for us as a family.

In looking back over 2012 I wonder what I accomplished.

I blogged, and yet never enough;
read books .. again never enough;
introduced books and their authors to you on my “Have Read” pages;
wrote book reviews for you – with more waiting in queue with their authors; (I’m sorry family things had to take priority)
offered exciting book giveaways;
offered some writers’ helps on my page of the same name;
wrote several drafts for children’s books, thanks to 12×12 in 2012, but not as many as I had hoped to, and I missed out on the community there that so many writers found helpful;
added more to my novel in National Novel Writing Month in November, and have almost completed the story;
had thought to take on Picture Book Ideas Month that I so enjoyed in November 2011, but had to sacrifice that one this year;
realized today that I missed out on signing up for the inspiring Month of Poetry for January 2013 as the closing date was December 29! [Sorry, Catherine; 😦 I had intended to, but it’s too late now.]

So what will the new year bring to this blog?

more book reviews;
more author interviews;
more book giveaways;
hopefully less whining.

For me this blog is not only about writing, it is about living. Perhaps that is not the way to do it, but with the way things are in my life now I struggle with keeping up and keeping going through all the stress. If you are faithful to stay the course with me I will continue to try to deliver. You can’t possibly know how much I love and appreciate you and the encouragement of knowing you are reading my words. My goal still is to write for children, and my hope is to keep on keeping on.

Now I wish you all a very happy and healthy 2013. May it be a year of fulfillment and accomplishments, pleasant surprises and inner joys, depth of growth and flourishing of creativity. Above all may you find Love in all the right places. 🙂

Psalm 67: 1,2 – May God be gracious to us and bless us and make His face to shine upon us, that Thy way may be known upon earth, Thy saving power among all nations. Let the peoples praise Thee, O God; let all the peoples praise Thee!

Psalm 91 (the whole of it)

What wonderful things did 2012 bring to you? Is there anything you plan to do differently in 2013?

Thanks for reading, and … Creative Musings! 🙂

Merry Christmas!

It’s minutes before the clock ticks into CHRISTMAS DAY!

Before that happens, I want to let you know that my husband’s surgery went well on the 18th, although it was a difficult post-surgery time for him. He is gaining strength and stamina each day. We are now waiting for his next appointment, December 28, when the bandages come off. We don’t know if the test results will be available that day or if we’ll have to wait for a call from his local medical doctor sometime within the next two weeks. He feels the results will be negative, but there is that little ‘what if’ in there.

On a lighter note, we are enjoying my week home while getting ready to celebrate Christmas with our family. Perhaps we can even “face time” with our daughter in Alberta.

Now I’ll end this short note with best wishes to YOU.

MERRY CHRISTMAS, my friends! May you find blessings of joy and peace this holiday season. For my Christian readers, may you rejoice in the Lord Jesus Christ, our Hope and Salvation!

Thanks for reading, and … Creative Musings! 🙂

A B C’s: Alzheimer’s, Blogging, Cancer?

I have been missing in action again. Well, not really missing, but absent from blogging. It was not intentional. I just need sleep, I think.

Since NaNoWriMo ended I have been trying to do a little catch up on other things. This is my week home from caregiving (Alzheimer’s) and even though I have had some time, I’m finding it hard to accomplish much extra. My blogging has suffered (again!), and for that I apologize to you, my readers. My stress level is climbing and I’m quite tired, but Christmas is coming and I have to get busy!

The added stress is that recently my dear husband was diagnosed with level 2 melanoma, skin cancer. (I had to pause before typing out that hated word.) My husband told me he doesn’t care if I talk about it here; he says many people know anyway, and it is what it is and will likely become obvious. I am sharing this information in the hope that Believers will pray for him. He has had one minor surgery, and on December 18 he will be undergoing a more involved one. After that one and before doing reconstructive surgery the surgeon will be searching for lymph nodes in order to remove some for testing. This all will happen within six hours on the same day. Test results are to come back four weeks later.

That happens to be my week at Dad’s, so I am working out details to have someone there in my place while I am with my husband for two days. Once he is doing okay then I’m back to Dad’s for the rest of the week. Plus, it’s going to be crazy trying to get everything ready for Christmas during all this. We have been attempting to get our shopping completed in preparation, and I got my ‘away’ gifts all mailed yesterday.

A fun thing for me is that on Saturday I met a new author who is a bit of a celebrity. She signed her book for me and after I finish reading it I will be doing a review here .. after the others I have lined up.

** If I told you I would read and review your book, please send me a quick email and remind me. I must have misplaced my list (can’t imagine how!) and really have to get a better system together. I hope you understand it’s been difficult to get into reading and reviewing lately. There are some exciting books lined up for me to review, though, and a couple of giveaways are included. Please stay tuned! 🙂

I cannot end this post without saying that in the long line of people waiting for the signing of books on Saturday, three people behind me was none other than the lovely and talented author Laura Best! Remember my review of her book Bitter, Sweet and our interview? We had a chance to chat a little which was enjoyable for me, with comedy added since her husband was her “professional photographer” and quite a kidder.

I suppose most of this reads like a “woe is me” post. Admittedly, I’m feeling rather blue right now, but after a good sleep things should look a little better. Truly, I rely on the Lord although it may not seem like it right now. My human nature is to look at the situation and then have to remind myself to look to the One who knows all. One of my life verses is Romans 2:28: And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

I hope you are not stressing, but if you find life to be overwhelming … look to the One who knows all. 🙂

Thanks for reading, and … Creative Musings! 🙂

NaNoWriMo’s nearly over! Can I complete the challenge?

Another day has ended, a day of little writing for me. I simply was stuck … no words sprawled themselves over my paper (remember, I write longhand) until late in the evening. Not a good sign.

Here is it November 25 already and I have not made it to the halfway point yet in my NaNo Novel writing for this year. My word count stands at 43%. This does not look good for me.

Let’s see now … comparing my totals at this stage of the NaNoWriMo challenge, by the end of DAY 24: