A Monday Magpie Mish-Mash

                 Today's post is a mixture of several things.

            First, a confession. Or perhaps more accurately, an admission. I did not finish my WIP on the 29th of February. March is a new month, but I'm not making any proclamations about finishing at the end of this month, because I failed in February. I'm still plugging away at it, but the last few weeks have been crazy ones, work-wise.

           Secondly, a lesson I learned this week: Be careful what you wish for. I hoped--after years of reading Grisham and the work of other courtroom novelists--to someday be a member of a jury. 

            This week I got what I wanted. And immediately was hit with the seriousness of it. The twelve of us were going to make a life-changing decision. The trial lasted all week, we argued deliberated for five hours and eventually came up with a decision that no one was happy with... least of all the murder victim's family.

            Also, I saw the photo (see the picture above) on Magpie's site, and it inspired me to write a lame short poem:

sealed with a kiss--

his last--

she sends it off,

hoping it will pierce

his cold heart

and dig into his useless organ 

a jagged hole

that'll never

ever

heal

revenge

is a cold, cold dish...

(Note:  I assumed that red thing is a mailbox--perhaps in England?--so if it's a trash can, my poem veered off in a weird direction, for sure.)

        

       Fourth (if I'm counting correctly), some writing friends and I will be at the Deer Run Library (in O'Fallon, Missouri) on Tuesday night. It's a panel discussion about Chicken Soup stories--what are the editors looking for? What are good sources of stories? How are stories crafted?

       The address is 1300 N. Main in O'Fallon. The event is from 7:00-8:30. Donna Volkenannt, Pat Wahler, Linda O'Connell and Cathi LaMarche are some of the panelists.

      So, if you want to beat me with a rubber hose because I'm still not finished with my novel, I'll gladly extend my hands. (Because I have so much padding on my rump, no pain for me if you choose that spot.) If you've never been on a trial jury, when you get the jury notice, think hard about the questions they ask--and your answers--during voir dire. If you're inspired by the above photo, go to Magpie Tales and join in the fun. And, if you're free and in the area on Tuesday, come to the Deer Run Library. We'd love to see you.