Monthly Archives: March 2013

A Sad Week

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In the last week, I’ve had a lot of sadness in my life. It’s weird how it comes in spurts like that. It started with the death of the man who rented office space from me. He’s been ill for a while so even though we all knew he was not doing well, it was a bit of a shock to hear that he passed away in his sleep during the day on last Friday. His family has decided to have his services in the town where he grew up instead of here where he lived for over thirty years. This saddens me as he was a big part of the community here and they are robbing us of the chance to say goodbye.

In the last day, I learned that a friend’s son was killed when a car backed over him. He was only seven. I’m utterly shattered for my friend and her family. I know how much they adored that little boy and I can’t wrap my head around such a devastating loss. I don’t know how they’re going to make it from day to day with this hole in their lives. There’s nothing I can say or do to make it better. I wish there was.

Death really puts things in perspective. I know I let things bother me and I get hurt easily but as I think about these people -both too young to go- being gone and no longer able to enjoy time with family and friends, I find myself hoping that the life I lead in the time I have left is one such that my family and friends will be as bereft as I am at the loss of these two. I endeavor to be as good a person as they both were.

Word Wedneday

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The word of the week is PHILLUMENIST.

I used to do this when I was a young girl and teen. In fact, I did this until I graduated from law school. I had a metric ton of these from restaurants, hotels, tourist stops and all kinds of places. What were they? Matchboxes or matchboxes.

Yep, a Phillumentist is a collector of matchbooks or matchboxes.

Word Wednesday and A Cover Reveal

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Today’s word is APTRONYM which means a person’s name that is regarded as amusingly appropriate to their occupation.

Here where I live, we have a dermatologist named Dr. Skinner; a urologist named Dr. Peters; and a lawyer named Chancellor.

I also had a probation officer I knew (interned for) in Alabama named Mr. Law.

I love the way the word apt is in the word aptronym as it really is apt, isn’t it?

Check out this new cover for a romance novel set in Venice, Italy coming out in April. Isn’t it lovely?
tourist attractions: Venice at the sunset

Happy St. Pat’s Day Weekend

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Since it’s St. Patrick’s Day weekend, I’m planning to watch one of my all time favorite Irish movies, Michael Collins. That man was truly what I would call one of my bad boys. He was strong, full of conviction and even though he was hated by the British, he did what he needed to do to stand up for what he believed even to the point of dying for those beliefs. This movie somewhat romanticizes what happened in the fight for Irish independence but it’s a good film. I love the way the cast relates to each other and the scenery and cinematography are superb. It doesn’t hurt that Alan Rickman, Aiden Quinn and Liam Neeson are easy on the eyes, too. Enjoy the day, drink a toast to your favorite Irishman and watch a flick.

Island Song

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I’m still working on that Young Adult novel and last night my characters landed on an island. It’s not going to be the tropical paradise my heroine believes it to be but it’s going to be fun to write for sure. One of my friends posted a Madonna song on her blog this week so I was reminded of my favorite Madonna song from back in the day and it ties in to my novel- sort of. Here it is. Enjoy!

An Old Family Tradition

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My father’s mother always told this joke once a year and after she passed away, my father took over. It’s not the first week of March without it (and believe it or not, my grandmother’s birthday was March 5 and, had she lived, she would’ve been turning 97 tomorow).  Here’s the joke:

Question: What’s the soldier’s least favorite day of the year?

Answer: March fourth.

Yep. It’s lame but it’s a tradition. What can I say?

Working on a Young Adult Novel

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I’ve bitten the bullet and started a young adult novel. I’m only about 1600 words in and so far, I’m loving it. I’m not entirely sure what the plot is or how it will pan out but it’s been a wonderful couple of days of a bit of writing here and there on it.

I sometimes use my writing to work thorough angst I’ve had in my life and this little story started as one of those kinds of excercises. It has now taken on a life of its own as my stories are prone to do. I love it.

My working title is Here There be Witches. It cracks me up and I guess that’s a good thing, right?