You Know Spring Has Arrived

when birds are chirping,
in your dryer vent.
Okay, not chirping so much as fluttering.
That was the sound I heard coming from my laundry room as I sat at my keyboard, minding my own business, typing away.

You know, I was getting too confident in my ability to stick to my writing schedule despite the many varied distractions and interruptions life can throw at me. I don't know what you would have done, but I pretty much ran screaming out the door the second that bird spread it's wings and started flying through my house. Don't ask me why. I don't have time to analyze how I can reach into the disposal bare-handed but not stay composed in the presence of a small lost sparrow.

So Happy Spring to you. Hopefully all the birds & animals at your house are invited guests and not surprise drop-ins!

Top Ten Reasons To Attend a Writer’s Conference

Yep, this is a repost - I'm admitting that upfront. But hey, sometimes my writing is timeless!

10. The stylish name-tags. Okay, kidding.

 9. The food. Still kidding. (actually - this year's menu was great - loved the cheesecake!)

 8. Meeting internet writing friends (people look different in 3-D than 2-D).

 7. The chance to listen to famous authors, published authors (not always the same thing) and lots of other experienced people in the writing and publishing industry.

 6. Sit at a table with total strangers and talk about genres, word count, writing methods and hooks.

 5. Attend workshops and learn I’ve written a few things right.

 4. Attend workshops and find out I’ve written a few things that will need to be burned.

 3. Have total strangers ask, “What do you write?”

 2. Have an agent or editor ask, “What do you write?”

And the  # 1 reason to attend a writer’s conference is having confirmed to you the universal truth :
Writing is the coolest, most awesome job/hobby/obsession in the world!

I get carried away, but how could I not after attending the fabulous ANWA conference? If you were there, you know what I mean. If you weren't there -(well why not?) mark your calendar for next year!

Borrowed Inspiration

That songwriting sister of mine shared some nice inspiration.

This was on Jason Blume's website at one point, not sure why the link isn't working now, but I shared this with the ANWA ladies and thought I'd put it here, too.

Enjoy.

STEP ONE: Believe You Can Fly by Jason Blume

I’m just back from teaching at the annual Australian Songwriters Conference. Once again, the ASC was awesome, crammed full of pitch opportunities, publishers, and producers. . . .When the conference was over, Lisa Butler, the founder, arranged for me to visit Walkabout Wildlife Park, a sanctuary for animals who’ve been injured or can’t survive in the wild. That’s where I met Baxter, a stunning, yellow-crested cockatoo who resides at the park.

The tour guide told me that Baxter had spent his first seven years confined to a cage that was too small for him to spread his wings. He’d never flown—and didn’t know that he could. Shortly after he’d been brought to the sanctuary Baxter’s keeper tried an experiment in the hopes of encouraging the bird to do what nature intended him to do. Tossed into the air, his wings fluttered and brought him safely to a branch. But the problem was that Baxter still didn’t know he could fly—so he paced on his branch, seeming confused about how he got there, and unable to figure out how to get back down.

The next day when the bird was still up in the tree, hungry and squawking for help, the keeper took pity and climbed a ladder to retrieve the confounded cockatoo.

I haven’t been able to get Baxter off my mind and I keep wondering, “What am I capable of—that I don’t know that I can do?” What might I achieve if I exercised talents that I don’t trust that I possess? And how high might I soar if I only tried?

Baxter would have to be pretty dumb to jump off his safe perch if he believed that splatting on the ground would be the inevitable outcome. Likewise, why would I invest money and put my heart and soul into a demo—if deep down I believed I wasn’t good enough? And why bother going through the trouble of pitching my songs if I secretly suspect no one will like them anyway? And why bother rewriting, or seeking collaborators, or pushing myself to push the envelope musically if I’m certain I’ll never beat out the competition?

It’s not easy to dig down deep and express ourselves as the unique artists and writers we were meant to be. It’s something typically achieved through trial and error, patience and perseverance—and sometimes we will fall—and it will hurt. There are no guarantees—except that if we don’t try—it won’t happen. I’ve got to believe my dreams are attainable—or I won’t even try.

Like the animals at Walkabout Park most of us have been wounded in one way or another and we’ve absorbed a lifetime of messages that say, “What’s so special about you?”; “What are the chances?”; and “You’ll never make it.”

Clipping our hopes and dreams is a form of self-protection—but it comes at a high price. What might you find that you can do if you ruffled some feathers, spread your wings, took the leap of faith from the safety of your branch, and reached for the sky? You’ll never know unless you try. 

Step One is believing you can fly.  

ANWA Conference Prep, Unrelated News & Suggestions Please

See that little widget on the sidebar? The numbers are displaying the start time of the ANWA conference and yes, it is getting closer as I post this. But there is still time, if you ever wanted to come check out what ANWA is all about and hear from awesome authors, agents and editors this would be the time to do it.
Here is the link to the conference page 
(or you can click on the widget)


As for me, I'm figuring out what I have left to do (everything) and when exactly I'll do it (after youngest is in bed, I'm sure!)

As for the other unrelated news I advertised in the title:
I went to Kohls and learned I do not love ruffles on my shirts. Yeah, just not in a ruffly mood. So. That and it looks like coral or salmon or whatever else you call that muted shade of pink- is on every other rack.  Love it or not, now you know so you can shop accordingly.

Oh, and did I mention I'm pitching my Christmas novel at this conference?  I'd love suggestions on the first thing to say. Do you know what I mean? Do I greet? Thank? Tell a joke? Okay, not a joke. So, ideas? 

Oooh, Christmas is Coming

Children are almost out of school. As in two hours and they are home for the duration of the Christmas break.

Why didn't anyone tell me when I was a student that all the excitement I felt over the last day of school, would turn into strange trepidation over the same day, as a mother? Really, I'm two parts excited and only one part wondering how I will keep the shelves stocked with enough cookies!

Not sure how much blogging or writing I'll do over the next two weeks. But creating memories with my kids is my best creative endeavor yet.

Merry Christmas!

I Still Want To Know & Wrapping up the Summer Contest

What Did You Read This Summer?

I know.
This post was supposed to happen at the end of Summer. Originally planned for the end of August. I thought I could squeak by with it at the end of September, but now there really isn't any way out of admitting I'm late. For the record I started this post in October (hmm, don't know why I'm admitting that.) SO even though it is November 1st, I'm wrapping-up the Summer Contest anyway. That means I will give away an amazon gift card and I still want to know what you read - and I don't even mind if what you said you were going to read and what you actually read ended up being two different things. The fun is sharing what you read, picked up, put down, or stumbled upon- right?
(In case you have completely forgotten, this is the post where I started the Summer Reading List and gift card give away. Here is where I compiled the list from the awesome readers.)
Be sure and leave a comment, short or long, letting me know what you read & I'll announce a winner sometime next week. Really!

Here is my summer break-down by books:
Possession by Elana Johnson
What Shamu Taught Me About Life, Love, and Marriage by Amy Sutherland
A Heart Like His  by Virginia H. Pearce
and
The Science of Trust by John M. Gottman

I'd like to tell you all about them, but I'll have to save that for another post (otherwise this one won't get posted until mid-December.)

The First Day of Autumn, Really.

September 23rd and the calendar reads, First Day of Autumn.
Really?
The high today is 106. 
Living in AZ on the first day of Fall is like living far away from one of my dear friends when they are having a birthday party. I can think of them, but miss all the fun. As they say, 'you have to be there.'


To honor the change of season, aside from hopping a plane and taking a fall foliage tour, I thought I'd post my apple-picking poem today. And - I have a have a fall-inspired recipe, too. (Does that mean the recipe is inspired by fall or it will inspire me to think about fall? - Either way - the bars are delicious.) Oh, and for my AZ readers- if you ignore the part about turning on the oven on a triple-digit day - the caramel-apple-cookie smell is wonderful!


Poem first, then recipe. Enjoy!


Hand Picked Fun

I don’t know what happened to my bathing suit

Summer up and left                                                                                       

Mom moved the sweaters

From my big sister’s drawer

To mine

And the sun inched west a little sooner each day

Taking all the fun with him

Until we piled into the maroon station wagon

And drove north

Long enough for us to wonder if Dad got lost

We found the trees. Green leaves gone to yellow and orange.

Did the colors bring the cool air?

I thought so, but they told me it was the other way around.

Rows and rows of heavy laden trees.

We picked for hours, climbing, stretching

Dropping, joking

With cold noses and fingers

We filled our bags and bushels full of red, ripe apples.

And the country store had heated, fresh pressed cider.

One sip and my brother laughed at my eyes

Popping from the burst of flavor

Sweet and spicy

And warm.

Like those apples had figured out a way

To store all the rays of summer sunshine.

Just for me.

Tamara Passey

Easy Caramel Apple Bars by Betty Crocker

Prep Time 15 Minutes

Total Time 2:55 Hrs:Mins

Makes 36 bars

1/2 cup cold butter

1 pouch (1 lb 1.5 oz) Betty Crocker® oatmeal cookie mix

1 egg

1 cup finely chopped peeled apple

3/4 cup caramel topping

1/4 cup Gold Medal® all-purpose flour

1.) Heat oven to 350°F. Spray bottom of 13x9-inch pan with cooking spray.

2.) In large bowl, cut butter into cookie mix using fork or pastry blender. Stir in egg until mixture is crumbly.

3.) Reserve 1 1/2 cups cookie mixture. Press remaining cookie mixture into bottom of pan. Bake 15 minutes. Sprinkle apple evenly over crust. In small bowl, mix caramel topping and flour; drizzle over apples. Sprinkle reserved cookie mixture over apples.

4.) Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely, about 2 hours. For bars, cut into 9 rows by 4 rows.

Makes 36 bars