We took the grandbabies back and are home again. They wore the tie-dyed t-shirts we made the day before they left. They were sunburned, mosquito-bitten and tired, but we all had fun.
We fished, boated, got dragged behind the boat on the tube, swam in the lake and two different swimming pools. We made puppets, knitted, cooked, helped grandpa in the garden, then snapped green beans and shelled peas. We all went to the county fair and ate cotton candy and visited friends. There was a lot of giggling and only tears once when the youngest got tossed off the tube after a series of large waves had her airborne.
The days went by in a blur. Now the house is a little too quiet. Even the dolls look lonely and our dogs are bummed since nothing good hits the floor under the dining room table anymore.
It will be another year before the girls will come up without mom and dad and brother and little sis. Soon though we will be having all four I hope. It will be crazier and even more fun. It's their time away from home -- and our time alone with them. A very special time.
Now though it is time to get back to work. First a trip to Washington DC for nationals, then grandbabies, I'm anxious to get writing again. My characters are restless. I'm fortunate that I get to come back to something I love. Writing has always been my escape and my passion and something I miss if I'm away from it for very long.
So today I switch from grandbabies and Barbie dolls to finding out what is going on with the Whitehorse Winchester family. It is back to murder and mayhem. Yes, it is good to be home.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
I'm too excited to work
The grandbabies are coming!
It's that time of year when the two oldest of our grandchildren, now six and eight, come to visit all by themselves. This is the second year they've done this. Last year the youngest was only five and wasn't good at being away from home -- let alone this far away from home.
I just talked to her on the phone though this year and she sounds so much older. Last year I taught her older sister to knit. It's the youngest's turn this year.
Along with knitting, there will be boating, fishing, swimming and visiting their Hutterite friends.
But I also have some other fun things planned. I have sock puppets started that we will decorate for a puppet show. And I have plans for us to make tie-dyed t-shirts before they have to leave.
The girls want to cook and have made a list of things they want to learn to cook -- as well as a list of things they like to eat.
It will be crazy and chaotic and so much fun that the house will seem too empty when they leave. We will make messes -- lots of messes. We will have tea parties and drink way too much juice in tiny tea cups. We'll go to the county fair and hit the carnival rides, eat cotton candy, and later maybe get pulled behind the boat on the tube.
Hopefully there won't be any tears, but that is always a possibility. :)
I thought I would get some work done this morning before they arrive, but I've given up on that. This time spent with the grandbabies is too special not to savor and it won't be that long before they have to leave again.
But there will be next year and there are two more babies who will someday be old enough to make the trip to our part of Montana to spend a little of summer far from home. Who knew this grandparent thing would be so fun?
It's that time of year when the two oldest of our grandchildren, now six and eight, come to visit all by themselves. This is the second year they've done this. Last year the youngest was only five and wasn't good at being away from home -- let alone this far away from home.
I just talked to her on the phone though this year and she sounds so much older. Last year I taught her older sister to knit. It's the youngest's turn this year.
Along with knitting, there will be boating, fishing, swimming and visiting their Hutterite friends.
But I also have some other fun things planned. I have sock puppets started that we will decorate for a puppet show. And I have plans for us to make tie-dyed t-shirts before they have to leave.
The girls want to cook and have made a list of things they want to learn to cook -- as well as a list of things they like to eat.
It will be crazy and chaotic and so much fun that the house will seem too empty when they leave. We will make messes -- lots of messes. We will have tea parties and drink way too much juice in tiny tea cups. We'll go to the county fair and hit the carnival rides, eat cotton candy, and later maybe get pulled behind the boat on the tube.
Hopefully there won't be any tears, but that is always a possibility. :)
I thought I would get some work done this morning before they arrive, but I've given up on that. This time spent with the grandbabies is too special not to savor and it won't be that long before they have to leave again.
But there will be next year and there are two more babies who will someday be old enough to make the trip to our part of Montana to spend a little of summer far from home. Who knew this grandparent thing would be so fun?
Monday, July 20, 2009
It is always so nice to be home
I had a ball at the annual Romance Writers of America conference!
I got to see people I hadn't seen for quite a few years and meet amazing new talented fun people. I spent time with good friends, revelled in all of it and danced my heart out at the Harlequin party.
But boy am I glad to be home. :)
Yesterday, after getting up at 3 a.m. and flying pretty much all day, then driving the 3 hours home, all I could think about when I wasn't sleeping was getting back to normal.
Normal for me is writing and I can't wait to get back to it today. Yesterday, even exhausted, the characters started prodding me to get to work. I'm anxious to return to Whitehorse and find out what the Winchesters are up to. They'll be making an appearance next spring.
My normal is quite different from the RWA conference in Washington DC.
The first thing I notice is the quiet. The roar of that many people all talking about their books, their editors, their agents, their hopes and dreams is deafening. You can't get on an elevator without hearing the catch phrases: "My agent says I just have to establish my brand." "The editor told me to send her a partial." "I just pitched my book to her and she loved it."
It's hard not to get caught up in that. A conference is a place where dreams come true and the excitement in the air is contagious. So many aspiring writers are hoping this will be the conference where it happens for them. I sure hope it did. And the published as always looking for that opportunity that puts them on the New York Times bestseller list.
There is no place like a large, noisy, crazy writers conference. I've found you either come home excited about writing or threatening to sell your computer and get a real job.
I came home on a high like none other. It was all good. But ultimately, after the glamour and glitter, it will come down to those long hours spent alone in front of a computer screen.
The next RWA conference is only a year away, this time in Nashville, and anything can happen -- if you dream it -- and write with all your heart.
I got to see people I hadn't seen for quite a few years and meet amazing new talented fun people. I spent time with good friends, revelled in all of it and danced my heart out at the Harlequin party.
But boy am I glad to be home. :)
Yesterday, after getting up at 3 a.m. and flying pretty much all day, then driving the 3 hours home, all I could think about when I wasn't sleeping was getting back to normal.
Normal for me is writing and I can't wait to get back to it today. Yesterday, even exhausted, the characters started prodding me to get to work. I'm anxious to return to Whitehorse and find out what the Winchesters are up to. They'll be making an appearance next spring.
My normal is quite different from the RWA conference in Washington DC.
The first thing I notice is the quiet. The roar of that many people all talking about their books, their editors, their agents, their hopes and dreams is deafening. You can't get on an elevator without hearing the catch phrases: "My agent says I just have to establish my brand." "The editor told me to send her a partial." "I just pitched my book to her and she loved it."
It's hard not to get caught up in that. A conference is a place where dreams come true and the excitement in the air is contagious. So many aspiring writers are hoping this will be the conference where it happens for them. I sure hope it did. And the published as always looking for that opportunity that puts them on the New York Times bestseller list.
There is no place like a large, noisy, crazy writers conference. I've found you either come home excited about writing or threatening to sell your computer and get a real job.
I came home on a high like none other. It was all good. But ultimately, after the glamour and glitter, it will come down to those long hours spent alone in front of a computer screen.
The next RWA conference is only a year away, this time in Nashville, and anything can happen -- if you dream it -- and write with all your heart.
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Off to Washington DC for RWA
It's that time of the year -- the Romance Writers of America conference.
I haven't been for quite a few years. Things have come up. That's why I'm excited about going this year. I want to see my editor, my friends, immerse myself in a sea of writers. And I mean a sea. 2100 romance writers are expected to be there.
All the talk will be about writing. When the four days are up I will be sick to hearing about editors, agents and contracts.
But for four days, it will be great to be around my sisterhood even when some of them are brothers. :) We all share that common bond as writers whether published or not. We love putting words on paper. We love stories. We all think there is no bigger thrill than seeing our stories between the covers of books.
It will be a crazy four days. There will be booksignings, one with over 200 authors in one giant room, signing their books. There will be dinners with editors, breakfast and lunches with agents, lots of late nights with friends and of course, the Harlequin Party!!
Usually that involves a lot of chocolate, a band, something alcoholic and dancing, lots and lots of dancing. It is the highlight of the conference for me since we get to let our hair down.
The conference lets me spend time with friends I've made since I started writing, one of the greatest rewards. But it also reignites my love of writing (after a few days back home and rested.) There is an energy like none other at these conferences. An excitement, a feeling that anything is possible.
I recall my very first RWA conference. It was in Orlando, Florida. I was scared to death. I went to the Intrigue writers dinner and came back to the hotel and threw up.
I had sold 4 books and just quit my day job. My editor took me to lunch the next day and when I told her I'd quit my day job she looked as scared as I felt. :) She said, "Well, we've found that the cream always rises to the top." I took that to mean everything would be all right. Looking back, that was just plain dumb.
The RWA conference is a great reminder of how far I've come -- and how far I have to go. There will be a lot of aspiring writers there who are dreaming about getting that first book published. And there will be New York Times bestsellers, some arriving in stretch limos and staying in the penthouse suite. And then there will be writers like me who have found some success and are now on the cusp of something, maybe, possibly, depending on what we do next.
Few writers are content to stay where they are. There is always that brass ring just dangling up there, tempting you to grab for it. Writing is a gamble. From the first time a writer sits down at the computer that doesn't change. One of the biggest factors is luck: your manuscript hitting the right editor's desk at the right moment. What are the chances?
And yet, sometimes you get lucky. Sometimes you get an editor who likes your work and doesn't get pregnant and leave. Sometimes you get real lucky and she moves up to senior editor.
It's a crazy business -- almost as crazy as a conference with that many romance writers all in one place. Some people just don't have any sense.
For me, it's all I've ever wanted to do. I love it. I just sent off my 47th book (a new mini series in the Whitehorse, Montana Intrigue series) and I'm anxious to start the next one after I get back from the conference. It seems like just yesterday I was getting ready to fly to Orlando.
It will always be an adventure. :)
I haven't been for quite a few years. Things have come up. That's why I'm excited about going this year. I want to see my editor, my friends, immerse myself in a sea of writers. And I mean a sea. 2100 romance writers are expected to be there.
All the talk will be about writing. When the four days are up I will be sick to hearing about editors, agents and contracts.
But for four days, it will be great to be around my sisterhood even when some of them are brothers. :) We all share that common bond as writers whether published or not. We love putting words on paper. We love stories. We all think there is no bigger thrill than seeing our stories between the covers of books.
It will be a crazy four days. There will be booksignings, one with over 200 authors in one giant room, signing their books. There will be dinners with editors, breakfast and lunches with agents, lots of late nights with friends and of course, the Harlequin Party!!
Usually that involves a lot of chocolate, a band, something alcoholic and dancing, lots and lots of dancing. It is the highlight of the conference for me since we get to let our hair down.
The conference lets me spend time with friends I've made since I started writing, one of the greatest rewards. But it also reignites my love of writing (after a few days back home and rested.) There is an energy like none other at these conferences. An excitement, a feeling that anything is possible.
I recall my very first RWA conference. It was in Orlando, Florida. I was scared to death. I went to the Intrigue writers dinner and came back to the hotel and threw up.
I had sold 4 books and just quit my day job. My editor took me to lunch the next day and when I told her I'd quit my day job she looked as scared as I felt. :) She said, "Well, we've found that the cream always rises to the top." I took that to mean everything would be all right. Looking back, that was just plain dumb.
The RWA conference is a great reminder of how far I've come -- and how far I have to go. There will be a lot of aspiring writers there who are dreaming about getting that first book published. And there will be New York Times bestsellers, some arriving in stretch limos and staying in the penthouse suite. And then there will be writers like me who have found some success and are now on the cusp of something, maybe, possibly, depending on what we do next.
Few writers are content to stay where they are. There is always that brass ring just dangling up there, tempting you to grab for it. Writing is a gamble. From the first time a writer sits down at the computer that doesn't change. One of the biggest factors is luck: your manuscript hitting the right editor's desk at the right moment. What are the chances?
And yet, sometimes you get lucky. Sometimes you get an editor who likes your work and doesn't get pregnant and leave. Sometimes you get real lucky and she moves up to senior editor.
It's a crazy business -- almost as crazy as a conference with that many romance writers all in one place. Some people just don't have any sense.
For me, it's all I've ever wanted to do. I love it. I just sent off my 47th book (a new mini series in the Whitehorse, Montana Intrigue series) and I'm anxious to start the next one after I get back from the conference. It seems like just yesterday I was getting ready to fly to Orlando.
It will always be an adventure. :)
Monday, July 6, 2009
Summer is best served with friends
We just spent the Fourth of July with some old friends up here in our part of Montana. We barbecued, boated every day, watched fireworks, visited mutual new friends and played gin rummy.
I'm sunburned and exhausted but there is something about old friends that made the holiday even more special this year.
We've known that couple since my husband and I first got together. They were there when times were lean. They fed us, they sympathized, they made us laugh. Now they come to our home a couple of times a year where we can offer them that kind of comfort and catch up.
It's wonderful to have friends that remember back when. They feel like family.
I think as I get older, I become more appreciative of those old friendships. Sometimes we don't want our friends to remember everything we did when we were young and foolish. But that mutual history is awfully nice sometimes too.
And I learned to play gin rummy. Now I'm wondering why I never learned to play it before. What a fun game.
It's nice to know that I'm never too old to learn something new, especially with old friends.
Hope you all had a great 4th!
I'm sunburned and exhausted but there is something about old friends that made the holiday even more special this year.
We've known that couple since my husband and I first got together. They were there when times were lean. They fed us, they sympathized, they made us laugh. Now they come to our home a couple of times a year where we can offer them that kind of comfort and catch up.
It's wonderful to have friends that remember back when. They feel like family.
I think as I get older, I become more appreciative of those old friendships. Sometimes we don't want our friends to remember everything we did when we were young and foolish. But that mutual history is awfully nice sometimes too.
And I learned to play gin rummy. Now I'm wondering why I never learned to play it before. What a fun game.
It's nice to know that I'm never too old to learn something new, especially with old friends.
Hope you all had a great 4th!
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