This Day Will Go Down in History

      Thirty-four years ago, minus one day, I was in great pain. But after gathering together my family and close friends, the pain stopped.

      "What should I do now?" I asked my osteopath. He said, "Walk. Walk as much as you can. The act of walking with begin things again."

       It was unseasonably warm on December 20, 1979--just like it was yesterday during the day. I walked the streets around my Maplewood home and eventually, things did start up again. The contractions returned and again my family and friends were summoned. When the evening of December 21 arrived, so had my beautiful daughter.

     After my baby girl was checked out and declared perfect, the doctor and my mom--along with my mother-in-law and my adopted grandma--had cake and coffee. I cuddled up with the best early Christmas present anyone has ever gotten. *

     Happy birthday, Virginia. You're the most wonderful daughter and the best mother.

* Note: In the 1970's, I worked at St. Anthony's Hospital and discovered that women were shaved (not their armpits) and an enema given before delivering. This was standard operating procedure.

Since I wanted to be a little more control of what happened, I chose to have my baby at home, without drugs. An incredible osteopath, Dr. Fred Duhart, did home deliveries. He delivered my daughter and eight years later, delivered my son.

 And if you want to take a break from holiday shopping on Monday (Dec. 23) and you live in the St. Louis area, Lynn Obermoeller and Linda O'Connell will be reading their "I will survive" stories from the Gloria Gaynor collection. It's at the Gelateria, 3197 S. Grand and begins at 7:00. 

Ice cream and some great writing? What can be better than that...  

The Brain and the Heart

       There are books that have--at their center--a character that is the heart of the story. That character is the conduit of the emotional current that runs through the book.

       Currently, I am working on writing a story and have--as the main character--a woman with a bruised heart. She has some twisted schemes up her sleeve. I'm hoping that as the tale evolves, the connecting thread will hold it together...

       A week ago, I saw the movie Twelve Years a Slave. One reviewer said that the Solomon character was the brain of the movie, but the Patsy character was the heart. I could not agree more...

       Imagine you are free. You have a family--a wife and children. You are respected in your community. And after he makes a single choice, he ends up enslaved...for the next twelve years.

       I highly recommend this film. It is emotionally draining. It focuses on a dark period of American history, and is based on a true story. But the acting and the cinematography is impeccable. 

A New Shout Out, Along with An Extended Old One--And The Joke's On Me

      Chicken Soup has a new call out for submissions. The Power of Forgiveness. This is something I've wrestled with for years. My brother and his wife are both addicted to Oxycontin--have been for over a decade-- and they've done some pretty heinous things. Things that are stranger than fiction. Things that I'm actually incorporating into my manuscript as "made up." Perhaps I will put a disclaimer at the end stating, "The events you read about were based on actual people and real-life events. The names were changed, in spite of their guilt."

      I know the drill. The bitterness only hurts me. I'm poisoning myself when I don't forgive...or at least release.

       Maybe I can work on getting healed as I work on a CS submission? Weirder things have happened...(The deadline is in June.)

       Also, the Chicken Soup folks have extended the deadline for their upcoming Alzheimer's collection. You have until December 12 to submit a story. Because my father was slayed by Alzheimer's, along with a close family friend, I've submitted two stories. I had a third one, but the necessary revising didn't come easy, and the deadline passed before I could finish it. Now, I have the time especially since the god of all teachers, the ice god, blessed us today.

      Yesterday, I got an email from the publishers at Chicken Soup. A month or so ago, I had gotten word that one of my "Multitasking" stories had made it over a couple of hurdles. The title of the tale, "Two Out of Three Ain't Bad," was a nod to one of my musical favorites.

      The email I got yesterday got me extra excited. My story, "All in Good Time" was being considered for the same collection. Two stories in one book. That would mean I only need to get 42 more CS notches on my publication belt to catch up with Linda O'Connell.

        Wait. My memory had really turned to Swiss cheese. "All in Good Time" did not ring a bell. What story was that?

        After opening the attachment, I realized they had changed my Meatloaf-y title. It was the same story, but now the decision was final. I was grateful to know I was for sure being included in the anthology, but felt a little silly counting an extra chick without even hatching it in my brain.

        How about it? I know everyone has a story about forgiveness they can craft and send off...Right?

      






     

A Divorce

         A popular term writers use is "married" when it comes to our writing.

      "Are you married to this part? I think the story would be better without it."

      "I'm not married to the ending. I know it's weak."

      This year I've been working on a NaNoWriMo from 2012. In fact, I was a 2013 NaNo rebel. And now that November is officially done, but my manuscript is not, I'm still working.

      My story is about writers. A group of rowdy women writers. And until about six months ago, there was no thread to make non-writers care. Really, there was no connecting thread, nothing really weaving the story together. But then I found one, and started adding pieces here and there as I revised while I also wrote.

     Something was still missing, however. My "thread" was coming in too late--I thought. The major story layer needed to make an entrance earlier, in my opinion.

     The problem? I had a beginning that I considered snappy--and engaging. Even though my tale is part humor and part darkness, I almost always lead with the self-denigrating foot. I use lightness to compensate when sadder times threaten to slay me.

      Yesterday, I finally divorced the snappy beginning. Actually, I didn't get rid of it, but I did write a new first part...And I kind of like it.

      Now, I'm still not finished. I haven't gotten to the ending yet. But I'm closer to the end. And, it's a more cohesive story than it was two days ago.

      What part of what story was the most difficult for you to divorce? What part did others tell you need to get a divorce from, but you stayed with? Writerly minds want to know...  

Be Thankful

        Later today I'm enjoying a meal prepared by my mother-in-law. I'm thankful I don't have to cook.

     I'm also thankful I have a healthy, happy son. He's home for a few days, and I've gotten to make some big batches of food to fill his bottomless gullet.

     I'm thankful I have a supportive husband who tells me my stories are good ones if they appear towards the beginning of an anthology.

     I'm thankful for my daughter, her fiancee and my granddaughter, Riley. They're healthy and happy and caring. They're celebrating with Riley's grandmother (I'm "Grammy"), another person I adore.

     I have work friends I rely on every day. I have blogging friends whose posts I look forward to reading every day. I have writing colleagues who help me immeasurably. A lot of "riches" surround me...

     No matter what we don't have that we would like, we're far better off than a lot of struggling people. And when we compare our lives to the lives of people in some other countries...well, we have quite a cushy life.

     So if you have some family or friends around you today, celebrate. Tell each other what you're thankful for. And enjoy...

The Stand(s)

        Yesterday I participated in an event in another country city. A library graciously hosted an evening with local authors. Since I had eight books I was bringing to sell, I wanted to make some bookstands.  

         My idea: take three pieces of dowel rod, put a "spot" of hot glue at the top to hold them together at the top, tipi-style, and put another spot of glue on two of the legs and attach a horizontal piece of wood, to act as a "ledge" to hold the book in place. It was going to be so easy, and would result in an extremely functional product. Or so I thought...

         I had to modify my design, because my tipi bookstands needed a fourth leg to keep them stable. I got that. I had vacillated between 3 and 4 legs at the hardware store, but decided on 3 for frugal reasons. So...modifications made.

         The three "spots" of glue didn't really cut it, either. I needed at least eighty-four several hot glue sticks for each stand. I would squirt blobs onto the top, and when it was more or less set, I'd turn it upside-down and squirt out another fifteen gluesticks' worth of glue glue stick into the inside of the pointy top part. They held together, and worked, and because of all the hot glue I had to use, they only cost approximately $63 apiece.

        While I was working late one evening this week, my husband took my visually-interesting bookstands as a challenge. He made stands with screws and nuts and bolts. (I think that's what those things are called.) The legs were adjustable, they were more stable than my stands, but each one looked like the others. Their uniformity was boring. I appeased him, and took his bookstands to the event. But deep inside my heart, I knew my stands would have attracted more crowds...When the clamoring hordes of book buyers would have caught sight of my stands, their mouths would have gaped open. I just knew it.  

          Here is a picture of the two stands having a stand-off. You be the judge.

     My husband's plain-Jane-all-the-same stand is on the left. Mine is on the right. What the camera could not capture is the enormous and numerous globs of glue glistening on and hanging from the rods. But don't let the camera's limitations sway you--you will have to use your imagination.

      And how was the event? It was fun. I chatted with several writing/publishing friends, including Marcia Gaye, Jack Zerr, Mary Horner and Robin Tidwell. 

       My next post--Marcia Gaye's "best" writing, and a book giveaway...And if you're a child of the 60's or 70's, you'll want to check it out.