Pardon our appearance while we are under construction....

Thinking about starting a new blog. No. I mean a REAL blog. Stay tuned to this site to see what I'm up to. I've got something up my sleeve. I'm leaving teaching (I will NOT use the word "retiring" because I dislike the implications of that word). When I have TIME (after I quit my cushy, stress free job teaching art to upwards of 180 hormone infested teenagers a day on about $6 per kid per year), I intend to do this RIGHT! Thank you for your patience.

Crap! Crap! Crap! Crap! Crap!

Writer's block? No, life block. Seriously, single homeowner, full time job, son moved out...I'm doing it all alone here folks! Not that I haven't in the past but the year I was most prolific wound me up in the doctors more times than I'd like to admit since keeping a schedule of - up at 5:30, teaching high school in an urban-ish district (not too many guns but all the kids say "Aight?") and then coming home to writing until 1 or 2 am....it took it's toll. Then there were family issues - my mom got sick for one - too heavy a load on my mind. SO? I HAD to stop the insanity, get some sleep, regroup. This is going to be THE SUMMER OF SLASH AND BURN! I'm cleaning and reorganizing like a crazy woman in a desperate attempt to SIMPLIFY my life and hopefully get to a point where I'll be able to come home each night and write. I WANT TO CHANGE THE WORLD! My YA fantasy book is about the exploitation of a mermaid colony by a Florida theme park owner (MUCH MORE to it than that but there's the nutshell book cover blurb of sorts). It needs a little revamping in one or two sections before I will feel it is ready. KIDS NEED THIS BOOK! The underlying softsell eco message, something to get them thinking about the ocean, something to fill the gap left by JK finishing Harry.... I've got to get this done!

Blogging from WorldCon

GREETINGS FROM MONTREAL! I'm here in WorldCon after a bit of a circuitous trip...it's not so much fun remembering that you left half of your clothing home when you're already an hour into a trip...worse yet, I wasn't driving. My friend Rich was a saint and turned around to meet my son at a mall some miles from my home. We made it in time for me to register and I'm excited because one of my FAVORITE agents is at the con. Her name is Jenny Rappaport and she represents YA and fantasy. I follow her blog, "Lit Soup", here. Check it out if you're interested in the current writing scene.

SPEAKING of writing, the e-book publisher wound up passing on the novella. BUT she told me that she passed because the intro was not compelling enough. At first I had that knee jerk defensive reaction that all writers get at times: "What does she mean, not compelling?" So I reread it (after some months distance) and said: "DAMN, she's right! I should have started on page TWELVE!" Major rewrite ensues. VOILA! I think I can pitch it again with more confidence.
Well, I just wanted to update....a trip to Fiji that lasted longer than planned (the WWII prop plane broke down!), many health issues and medical tests (happily nothing serious found)....it's been tough for a few months. WORLDCON is a definite UP! Glad I made it!

Oh Crap!

So....Drollerie is still holding onto my novelette. Or novella. Or some folks say it's long enough to be considered a real NOVEL at 120 or so pages. I'm so confused.

I haven't been writing. ANYTHING. I had EYE SURGERY in May and there was a small complication that sent me down that dark path of FINDING A GOOD DOCTOR. My own doc didn't seem to know what was wrong but something told me I wasn't supposed to see a constant shadow in my field of vision. Without going into a long dissertation on negative dysphotopsia, I found out what was wrong by contacting a doctor in New Mexico who had written an article on the problem. He assured me that many times the problem resolves on its own and he encouraged patience. Sure enough, it does seem to be improving.

Hopefully, my writing will get back on track now that I seem to have that major issue off my mind. I'm searching for new inspiration.

Wish Me Luck!

Tomorrow marks the end of the review period requested by the editor of Drollerie Press for my novella, The Darkest Book on the Shelf. I'll be writing to Deena Fischer early in the morning to see if my book is going to be e-published.

My story, "A Warrior Born", is also on hold for the next Sword and Sorceress anthology.

This summer will be spent searching for an agent and trying to get Brandy published.

Wish me luck!