forsythia season

almost April, goodness me! I haven't visited my blog for nearly three months - I don't know how people manage this blog-twitter-facebook world - I have signed on to several sites where people beseech me to be their 'friend', but it is so time consuming - and I'd rather meet a friend in a coffee shop, truly face to face
so.. big events lately I had a wonderful review of Where is She Now on Nina Sankovich's readallday.org website - she named me as one of her favorite authors and put me in a list with REAL names - I am so encouraged, it made me read my book again and yes, it is good ! although it is odd that when one is writing (or this one anyway) there is no conscious effort to create all the allusions and symbolism that the readers find in the story
a friend of mine gave the book to an elderly English psychic, she was convinced that I had tapped in to a real past event and had channeled the voice and spirit of that former time
I could almost believe it, so much within that the writer is not aware of at a conscious level, surfaces in the story
another biggie........in four days time I will have been married for fifty years - the offspring are planning a party - the spouse is reluctant .... but it is an achievement ..... all those years raising children, making a living in four different countries ... in sickness and in health, in unemployment and financial distress, at home and in exile.... and there is bounty at the end - six marvelous, wonderful grandchildren, new directions, old joys, forsythia season, daffodils and crocus... looking ahead
I am going to be adding a poetry page to this blog - some of my favorites from my children's writing- watch for it -

finally got the 'camel' illustration from Elephant Blue reproduced as a card - it looks wonderful and is my New Year card with the message 'peace in the desert' which is my fervent wish, and the only guarantor of peace for us all

Murder in the Gun room has sprung to life again, a new character appeared, just as in Where is She Now? - when the character of Anna inserted herself into the text, I had not planned for an alter ego at all, and am actually NOT a fan of alter ego books, but she seemed so natural and became the spindle around which the book revolved, - in the same way, Marcus has appeared, he unites the characters, being the focus around which each of them builds their paranoia - so thank you, Marcus and now we are moving

I am also reworking several short stories, or rather long stories too short to be a novel!! - that seems to be my preferred length, but is difficult to market - I may get out a short story book before I get the novel wrapped up

am doing some book groups.. great - I love talking books with readers

and still moving into the modern era - Where is She Now is on Kindle!!!!

next CDs with children's stories

what makes a story walk?

still stuck with murder in the Gun Room - it seems to have so much potential, but is developing a very splintered story map, full of engrossing visual details, but which refuses to take direction - maybe I should have been a film writer
it is quite discouraging, but interesting - what makes a story 'walk'?
meanwhile I have had note cards made from the illustrations for Elephant Blue, they are beautiful and have solved my holiday card problem - this year I am sending out the camel , "I love the velvet brown of camel, yellow, bronze and tawney, the camel colors of the sands.." with the message "peace in the desert"
five days to contemplate, relax and read, something may come

out and about

Sunday October 4

Oh dear, how time flies - into October and still stuck on chapter 5 of Murder in the Gun Room - but Elephant Blue has been out and about , it was at the Big E last weekend and this weekend and did quite well - automatically a favorite for art teachers and early elementary - "oh I can do so much with this"

I have worked up several little scenes for taking Murder in the GR further- it is such a visual process for me - so real that I am almost reluctant to set them down in words - the main character is searching for something to wear to a drinks morning that she has been invited to, she is looking in the cupboard that belonged to an elderly aunt in whose house she is staying, and is surprised to find several shawls and wraps, velvet, chenille, fringed and beaded, voluptuous, sensual - she is transported, and full of questions when did Aunt Serena wear such things, will one of them be appropriate over her black velvet pants, the only faintly dressy thing she has with her, what does one wear for a Boxing Day drinks morning in the country, she is standing in front of the long miror on the back of the bedroom door , wound in a beautiful paisley, fringed velvet wrap, the shadowy old mirror shows her another self, beautiful, calm, elegant ...... was this Serena in the old days, where did she wear the shawl and for whom......

I may change the title to Who is on the Sea Saw, since I originally wanted to have all the W questions, as title words , but i must admit I am very fond of the gunroom

back to school

so we are back to school already, less time for writing, but good to be social again! Elephant Blue is doing well - people seem to like it - I am now trying mind pictures and language scraps that will spark the brainstorm process for a third book in that series - the idea for Elephant Blue came as I was reviewing some old color poems, and the first book, Goodnight World Outside, was prompted by sweet words from my little grandson, 'goodnight outside" he would say on his way to bed -
little shreds of language can be so powerful and evocative -
I am still struggling with Murder in the Gun Room - I may let it lie fallow for a while and rework another story that got itself to half a novel's length then obstinately refused to move, maybe a second reading will prompt the flow and I can open it up - my writing coach, my daughter Sarah, often says "go back into the moment and keep writing" - so I will -

second novel gets under way

today she is taking a step into the blogger sphere!
after celebrating yet another mind boggling sign post birthday I am stepping into the computer age with my first blog!
I will be posting my progress on my second psychological suspense novel, Murder in the Gun Room - I am up to chapter five and am amazed at how different the process is second time around - before it was just free flow, the story wrote itself
now I am so much more concerned with structure, trying to keep everything tight and connected without losing the spontaneous evolving story spell, which is the way I write best
am interested in how other writers approached their second works

have spent the summer (thank goodness for teacher summers!) re reading all my favorite mysteries