One task begets another

I dedicated this week to housecleaning my internet presence–updating my website with a new design and different colours, changing the format of my newsletter, and, because people were having problems with my blogger subscriptions, I also changed my blog host to WordPress . Do you like the new look?

Initially I didn’t set out to do all of that. In the beginning I simply intended to spend a day de-cluttering my website. But then I started playing with different colours and motifs, and when I began to like the new designs I was coming up with, I decided to revamp the whole thing page by page. Working on the newsletter page finally motivated me to figure out how to use Mailchimp to design and send out email newsletters. And while writing up the newsletter, I wrote a blurb about my blogs and the problems some subscribers were having with my blogsite. Then and there I decided to change my blog host.

So my website cleanup dominoed into a huge learning curve with the Mailchimp site which in turn dominoed into another learning curve with WordPress. My brain felt full!

Personally I enjoy this kind of work, and when I get into it I become a bit obsessive about finishing it all. Most days this week my husband would come home from work and find me pretty much where I was when he left for work–sitting at the computer playing with fonts and colours. You could say that I spent most of my week on the computer. Whew!

But I am happy with the results. I love my new website design, am thrilled with how easy it is for me to now design and send out my newsletters, and I have hopefully eliminated the subscription problems with my blog. I am, however, looking forward to a computer-free weekend!

Ah, the life of a writer…guess I’d better get back to my writing now, huh?

Do you ever have a task that snowballs into several other tasks?

P.S. This week I was a guest blogger on “Blogging Authors” blogsite, where I described one way that I’ve increased my writing productivity.

Sisterly Pride

As I write this, I am still in Canada and visiting with my sister for a few days. She recently moved to a beautiful new townhouse in Cobourg, Ontario, right on the lake. As a pastry chef, she creates delectable cakes and pastries and amazing works of edible art. Until this move, she operated her business, Decadent Cakes, from her home. But now, in her new hometown, she has taken a significant step by moving her business off-site, renting space in the back of a chocolate shop and café.

I was excited to be given a tour of her new work kitchen, all rigged up with an industrial oven and stainless steel worktable, and shelves and shelves of equipment. On the door leading in to her “happy place” is her Decadent Cakes sign, announcing to anyone who sees it that here is where she works her magic.

She has an order to fill today, a strawberry-chocolate birthday cake and four dozen cupcakes, so we couldn’t just sit on her patio drinking tea. I was happy to tag along to her work. She didn’t want my help so I’ve brought along my computer, writing a bit, watching her work, tasting bits of cake and buttercream.

The idea of running a pastry business is a vision she’s had in her mind for years, and as I sit here with the aromas of chocolate and sweetness wafting in the air, listening to her hard at work, I realize that I am sitting in the midst of her dream. With hard work and determination, she has made that dream come true. I am so proud of her.

Do you have a dream that you are on your way to fulfilling?

Celebrating Accomplishments

I am presently in Canada to visit with our kids and my sisters and friends. But we came at this particular time primarily to attend our youngest son’s university graduation.

Initially, he did not want to go to the convocation. It would be boring, he said, remembering his sister’s from a few years ago. The university could mail him his degree; we didn’t need to fly over for the ceremony. But I insisted. It’s an important achievement, I told him, and we needed to recognize his hard work and celebrate his accomplishment.

So there we were yesterday, in the auditorium, along with so many other proud family members watching their graduands march in and take their seats. It was definitely a special “mom moment” for me to see him in his gown, climbing onto the stage with a proud smile on his face. I’m not ashamed to say that I was moved to tears.

But Stuart was right. For the most part, the convocation was boring, with a number of speeches and more than a hundred people receiving their degrees. The man sitting beside us fell asleep! But each one of those persons wearing those gowns had earned their moment of recognition and I was happy to sit through it all. After the ceremony was over my son remarked that he was glad he’d participated in it. “Even with the boring parts, it was a good way to signify the end of that phase of our lives and the start of the next one,” he said. “And it felt good to be a part of it.”

This was a major accomplishment for our son and I’m very glad we were there to officially acknowledge it. But don’t you agree that we should also celebrate the smaller accomplishments in our lives as well, the ones that often go unrecognized? Not with a ceremony, of course, but by simply recognizing that we’ve achieved something. Such as finishing a project. Or clearing off our to-do list. Or sticking to an exercise regime.

Life is all about doing. And when we attain a goal, however small, we need to give ourselves a pat on the back. What have you accomplished recently?

A Mother’s Influence

This past Sunday, I volunteered at a mother-son brunch for Passports to College, an organization whose mission is “to collaborate with and successfully connect students, parents, schools and communities to college.” The mother-son brunch was held to award the KEO Memorial Scholarship to the winner of their second annual essay contest.

I, along with another writer and a teacher, judged the essay contest. The topic was: “Journey to Manhood: Describe the extent to which your mother has influenced your current condition and life choices for your future.” The entries were varied in writing style and content, but every one of the young men who submitted an essay had a unique and powerful story to tell. Their accounts made me stop and think about how my mother had influenced me, and I wondered what my own children might write on this topic. Reading the essays, I found it gratifying that these young writers seemed to understand the sacrifices and dedication that parenting involves.

Of course, as judges, we were not informed who the authors were. But it was wonderful to see all the handsome young men dressed up and sitting with their families, knowing their stories without being aware who wrote which one. However, while standing on the sidelines, I could see who had written the winning paper when it was read aloud. I noticed a mother beaming and nudging her son, who was grinning and blushing throughout the reading. When his name was announced, his mother wiped her tears.

Volunteering for this worthwhile event affected me in various ways. As a writer, I was encouraged by the quality of writing produced by these seventeen-year-olds. As a mother, I was touched to read and witness the bonds between mother and son. And as a daughter, I reflected on the ways my mother impacted the adult I have become.

What would you write on this topic? How has your mother influenced your path?

Fierce but Fluffy Visit

Last week I had the pleasure of attending a “Fierce But Fluffy” Book Group meeting in Bermuda. This is a group that loves to read cozy mysteries and romantic mysteries, and for May they read Buried in a Book. The group invited Lucy Arlington to join them for their book discussion. We met at the Daylesford Bar in the Bermuda Musical and Dramatics Society. (If you noticed the word “Bar” in the location, you can imagine how the meeting might have proceeded.)

I had such fun with this group of readers, who spent perhaps forty-five minutes discussing the book and asking me questions about my experience with co-authoring. The rest of the evening, we indulged in gossip, beverages and snacks. And oh, what delicious snacks. It was a feast that complimented my two glasses of wine–cheese, crackers, grapes, brownies, cookies, nacho chips…I think that reading a book is just an excuse for these friends to get together and party.

It was a wonderful evening. Thank you, Fierce But Fluffy readers. Not only are you fierce and fluffy; you are also fabulous! (I hope I haven’t broken your first two rules on the book club t-shirt by writing about it!)

What is it about alcohol, snacks and books that they go together so well?

Honorable Mention

The results are in. The Unraveling of Abby Settel received an Honorable Mention in the 2011 Reader Views Literary Awards. I am thrilled that my book was deemed worthy of this recognition. Thank you Reader Views! And congratulations to all the winners.

Now this logo can be placed on the cover of the book. Won’t it look beautiful there?

Award Finalist!

Last week I learned that The Unraveling of Abby Settel is a finalist for the Reader Views 2011 Literary Awards, in the Adult General Fiction/Novel category!

I am thrilled that my first novel has been commended in this way. To quote the Reader Views website: “The annual literary awards honor writers who self-publish or have their books published by a small press or independent book publisher.” My book qualified because its publisher, Turquoise Morning Press, is a small, independent book publisher.

Reader Views posted a wonderful review of the book in November 2011, and that in itself delighted me. So imagine how excited I was last Thursday, when I received an email telling me that the book was a finalist for the 2011 awards!

Obviously, I hope The Unraveling of Abby Settel wins. But even if it doesn’t, placing as a finalist is a recognition that I never dared hope for.

The winners list will be completed sometime after March 8th, and announced in the Reader Views Newsletter on March 12th.

Keep your fingers crossed!

Writing What I Know

There are many words of advice given to writers as they learn and hone their craft. One phrase consistently tends to pop up: “write what you know.” What does that mean exactly? If every author followed that advice literally, how could we have wonderful fantasy worlds like those of Lord of the Rings or Hunger Games? Or intriguing murder mysteries?

“Writing what you know” is more subtle than that. I may not know what it’s like to come upon a dead body, but I do know what it feels like to be shocked, horrified, and outraged. That’s the “what I know” that I would incorporate into a scene. Characters in novels need to be believable, and readers need to be able to identify with their behaviour. Settings and circumstances can come from the imagination, but the people need to come from “what I know.”

I believe that for a work of fiction to be successful, it has to have an element of universality, something that speaks to the human condition. This is true whether the story takes place on an imaginary planet in some futuristic century or in your hometown last year.

When I wrote The Unraveling of Abby Settel, I was definitely writing what I knew. In fact, I began the project as a way to work through what I was experiencing in my life at the time. At first I was writing only from my own experience, and while the story was progressing, the narrative and action were flat because I was limiting the fiction to what my life was. It was only when I realized that my experience needed to inform the novel, not be the novel, that Abby’s story took wing and soared. My relocation and emotional response to it, and that of the women I met in similar circumstances, were the kernels, the “what I know” in Abby’s story; the rest came from my imagination.

This week a friend emailed me a link to an article from BBC News Online titled “Tales of woe from the roaming professionals“, describing the toll that relocating to another country takes on the non-working spouse. She sent it to me because it absolutely reflects the story told in my novel. That universality is what I was aiming for, and to have Abby’s tale validated in BBC News Online made me smile.

How would you interpret the advice, “Write what you know?”

January reading and signing

When it comes to blogging, the question I always ask myself is this: Why do I continue to let blogging sink to the bottom of my to-do list? After the best of intentions in adding “blog more” to my resolutions for 2012, here we are on the last day of January and the last time I posted was New Year’s!

It seems that time management, which in the past has never been a problem for me, has become a challenge in my life as an author living in Bermuda. No matter, we forge ahead.

I was recently in Ontario for family matters (why else would I leave the moderate climate of Bermuda for the cold and snow?), and while there, I held a reading. A good friend had booked Misty Mountain Coffee in Kitchener for the event, and as soon I walked into the café, I knew it was the perfect place–local artist’s work on the walls, a corner bookshelf filled with books, comfy chairs. In fact, it made me think of the coffee shop in the Novel Ideal cozy mystery series I’m co-authoring. 

Norman, the owner, was so friendly and welcoming, and completely flexible about our setup. I found it very rewarding to have my kids help with the event as they’ve been unable to attend any of my other book events in Bermuda. The number of attendees awed me–family, close friends, former piano students, former colleagues, and readers I met for the first time. I spoke, I read, I signed, I sold books, and I hugged. Thank you everyone for your support.

Happy New Year!

2011 was an amazing year for me because it was the year I became an AUTHOR. And ending the year on a high note, The Waterloo Chronicle, a weekly newspaper in my old hometown, ran a story about me and my book this week. Read it here.

As January first approaches (tomorrow!!) I begin to think about my New Year’s Resolutions. Oh, I know that’s cliché, but the sense of having a fresh start when the year changes invigorates me. I make a list of goals and resolutions and am filled with optimism that I’ll follow through on them. Of course, by December 31st, there are invariably items on the list not crossed off, but that doesn’t stop me from carrying them over to my new list. And every year, I have a few new additions to my catalogue of how to be a better me.

The usual entries on my list include:
Live healthier.
Exercise more.
Lose weight.
Get organized.
Play more piano.
Finish my craft projects.

Now that I’m an author, my 2012 list has some new additions. Such as:
Write every day!
Finish that second novel!
Blog more!
Use social media!
(Notice they all have exclamation marks? That’s because I need to emphasize to myself to really follow through on them.)

My sister informed me that she is making only one resolution this year. Her goal appeals to me so much that I am adding it to my list. In fact, it’s going to be number 1:

Laugh every day.

I hope you have a productive, successful, and laughter-filled 2012!

Are you setting any goals for 2012?