Month: February 2014

Name Badges/Lanyards

I am a member of RWA. As such, whenever I went to the annual national conference or a regional conference, I was given a name badge and lanyard. I believe I received my favorite ever lanyard from the New Jersey “Put Your Heart in a Book” conference.

One of the things one does with one’s name badge/lanyard is use it to show off your affiliations and your awards. My lanyard was pretty . . . cluttered.

project lanyard before

 

So last weekend I decided it was time to clean house. It was tough. There were a lot of great pins signifying a lot of great memories. But it’s time to move on. I’m no longer a “contest slut/diva” (note the rhinestone crown and two pins from Mississippi’s Magnolia State Romance Writers); I rarely judge a contest these days (two roses from the Yellow Rose Chapter’s Winter Rose contest); and I haven’t been to a conference except in Central New York since 2006. I’ve dropped my membership in the Kiss of Death chapter.

Definitely time to rearrange the name badge.

project lanyard afterMuch cleaner now, wouldn’t you say?

My RWA PRO pin — I think I was one of the earliest “pros” in the program. And, because I am small-press published, I’m still PRO.

A chapter president pin — didn’t receive one this year as I began my third time around as president of my local chapter, but I still have my original one.

My CNYRW member pin.

Three RWA Service pins — I’ve been “Volunteer of the Year” for my chapter a couple of times.

And my newest acquisition: a Soul Mate Publishing pin. They’re my publisher. If I ever get to another national or regional conference, my fellow Soul Mate authors will be able to recognize me by my pin, much the same as KoD members recognized the Kiss of Death pin on the badge.

 

 

Countdown to Publication

Exactly one month from today I will see the fruition of a lifetime ambition: I will be a published author.

Writing is hard work. Really hard. Writers develop strategies to help them back into the story when life intervenes. I listen to music.

Image credit: mangone8 / 123RF Stock Photo

Image credit: mangone8 / 123RF Stock Photo

I create playlists for every book I write. I listen to the selected songs in the car, on my mp3 player at work, while I’m at the computer. So, to countdown the weeks until the publication of Moonlight Serenade, I thought I would share some of the music behind the book.

First up: Daniel, by Elton John

 

 

 

Journal

The hero of my friend Emma Cane‘s current release, The Cowboy of Valentine Valley, is a leather worker. While reading about  his work, I remembered that I had purchased a carved leather journal cover several years ago. And, unbelievably, I remembered exactly where it was.

leather journalIsn’t it lovely? I need to start keeping track of my recurrent dream about moving back into 1911 (the apartment of the turquoise refrigerator). . . I had the dream again this week. I could even smell the dust trapped in the avocado-and-cream open weave living room drapes.

Maybe I keep having the dream because it was a colorful apartment, which appeals to me. When one lives in such a dreary, gray landscape, color is crucial.

Now I need to reload my fountain pen with violet ink and start dream journaling.

 

Philomena: Mini Movie Review

We went to see Philomena over the weekend. The film has been nominated for Best Picture and Judi Dench has been nominated for Best Actress. (The film is also nominated for music and writing.) Of all the Best Picture nominees, this was the only one I wanted to see. And I’m so glad I was able to see it. (The film had left town, but came back after the nominations came out.)

It was a wonderful story, wonderfully written, marvelously acted.

I love a movie that is solid in story and doesn’t need special effects to punch up the emotion. Any woman who has given birth can relate to this story.

Side note: I recognized the actor who plays Lady Edith Crawley’s (Downton Abbey) missing love interest in one of the earlier scenes of the movie.

A Snowy Friday Afternoon

Adventure 1 – The Lunch of the White Vans

I left my physical therapist’s office and drove to a nearby shopping center to go to the bank for some weekend mad money.

  • A white van tried to back out of a parking spot, into my car.
  • I then drove home on unplowed streets. Someone had abandoned a white van in the middle of the street on which my garage/driveway is located.
  • I managed to get to a main thoroughfare, where I got stuck behind yet another white van, driving 20 mph on a bare street.
  • We diverged at a major intersection. But as I drove closer to my day job, a white van backed out of the bakery right in front of me.

Was it a white van conspiracy?

winter

Adventure 2 – Someday, This Could Be Me

I went to the bank (see Adventure 1). A very old man, stooped over his walker and accompanied by a somewhat younger woman using a cane, slogged through the slush-filled parking lot toward the door. I patiently followed, hoping they were going inside the lobby and not to the ATM machine in the vestibule.

No such luck. The man gingerly made his way to the ATM and announced his pants were falling down. Well, yes. They were. I looked away. His companion replied, “Then pull them up.” So he did, very slowly, very carefully, and muttering all the while that he needed another button.

Eventually, he began is transaction. The woman announced his pin number to the world and the amount of money he was withdrawing. He muttered about that being an awful lot of money. (And it just occurred to me maybe the woman was in some way ripping him off!)

In the meantime, several other people came to use the ATM. Some left, others got in line behind me.

When he was finished, he turned and saw all of us waiting, and apologized for being so slow.

You know what? Someday, with any kind of luck, we’ll all be that old. I replied, “Not a problem at all. You have a real nice day.”