Begone Snow!

Feb. 29, 2012

I’m ready to come out of hibernation! Yesterday the sun shining in my garden room sent the temperature up to 19 degrees and I sucked up as much of the glorious rays as I could for an hour while sitting and reading Colleen McCullough. It was like a rebirth. Not Colleen McCullough, although she is one of my favourites, her subject matter is hardly rebirth stuff but I’ve managed to devour nearly everything she has published. Maybe Caesar oft times said “hurry sweet spring and cast away this nasty white stuff.”

While snuggled into my cozy corner this winter, I finished my novel and took the brave step of entering it into the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award Contest. It operates a bit like American Idol. The contestants have to advance through stages. Stage one contestants advance strictly based on a sales pitch of 250 words. Stage two is based on a portion of the book then it is open to the general public for voting. Well, I made it into round two and I’m one happy puppy. It’s such an affirmation to sell one’s work and/or win a contest or, as in this case, advance to round two. Well winning it is not likely in the cards but I’m on the hunt for an agent and can now use my status in the competition as a selling point. One of my writing group in Sedona also made it (Peter Bernhardt) for his second time. You can see the results at www.amazon.com/abna.

So my wanderings this past few weeks has been mostly on the computer keys and, of course, I watched the Academy Awards.

Valentine's Day

Feb.14, 2012

One does not wander too far when the path is solid ice but the lure of blue water in the community pool is enough to have me inching carefully, keys in hand to the car. I’m into soft exercise, stretching etc. That would be because I hate sweating. Oh, yes, I’ve tried the classes where a svelte body with a grating voice yells as she’s announcing agonizing body movements to get the heart rate racing. Not only can I not keep in step, I have no connection between my ears, my brain and my feet. Yep, you guessed it. I was the only kid who did not advance in dancing class. Two left feet, no, just no connection feet to music. So that leaves me with swimming. But swimming in Canada in the dead of winter requires definite determination. It is all too easy to find excuses to avoid the effort. But not me, I fight my negative voice every Monday, Wednesday and Friday and head off to the pool. BTW, Happy Valentine’s day. I came down to the kitchen this morning to see my daughter serving her brood heart shaped pancakes. Now that’s love.