Bits and Pieces on Memorial Day

This is a tough holiday. On one hand, we want to enjoy the time off by firing up the grill and having a big cookout with friends and family. On the other hand, we want to think of the friends and family members we've lost over the years. Like most folks, I have a lot of them to think about.

We especially honor those who have died in the service of our country. They are our fathers and mothers, husbands and wives, brothers and sisters, our sons and daughters. Remember.

The National Moment of Remembrance asks Americans to pause wherever they are in an act of national unity (duration: one minute) at 3 p.m. local time on Memorial Day. Participation can be as informal as one minute of silence or ringing a bell three times to signify the Moment. For more information, visit the National Moment of Remembrance website.


Memorial Day was first celebrated in 1868. The full story can be found at Memorial Day History. I remember my grandmother calling it Decoration Day. She always gathered buckets of flowers, especially peonies and iris, to carry to the cemetery to decorate the graves of all family members.

It was originally intended that Memorial Day be observed on May 30th and have a single focus. By changing the date to the last Monday in May, thus giving working Americans a three-day weekend, some feel Congress may have undermined the day's original purpose. It doesn't seem that way, however, when we see the number of special events across the country.

The one single, but huge, symbolic act to catch my attention is the Boy Scouts of America flag project. For forty-two years, Scouts have decorated the graves of our veterans across the country with miniature American flags. In Willamette National Cemetery in Oregon, for instance, 140,000 graves were so honored.

I hope you enjoy the blessings of family and friends on this special day.

Wyoming Author, Barbara Graham

A Wyoming writer friend, Barbara Graham, will be visiting Northern Colorado's Barnes & Noble Centerra near Loveland on Sunday, June 20th, from 2:00 to 4:00 PM to sign her latest book. Barbara and I became acquainted because we are both published by Five Star.

The first book in the series, Murder by Serpents: The Mystery Quilt, was published in 2007. The recent release is Murder by Artifact: The Murder Quilt.

You've probably guessed by now that Barbara's series has something to do with quilting.

Here's the quick synopsis of Murder by Artifact:

In the middle of a scorching heat wave, Tennessee sheriff Tony Abernathy is plunged into a series of cold murder cases. His antacid consumption skyrockets with each anonymous envelope containing a different newspaper clipping. Someone is determined to drag him into the past. A more immediate, if less tragic problem, is the disappearance of lawn ornaments all over town and their owners clamoring for their return.

Even though his wife, Theo, is buried in her own work, right up to her golden dandelion curls, she manages to help at the new museum site. A “murder quilt” is offered for display. Days later the quilt is the only witness to the murder of its owner, the mayor’s unpopular wife, Queen Doreen.

Following the tangled threads of his cases, Tony learns the power of history. Just when it looks like he has things all sewn up and under control, they come unstitched.

Quilting is one of those skills I've always wanted to learn but have never gotten around to trying. I think it must take a lot of time and a lot of artistic talent. I'd better stick to the hobbies I already know how to do (and never have time to work on).

Are you a quilter? Who taught you? Do you have any good quilting stories? They don't have to include a murder.

Ten Things I (Still) Love

I'm traveling today, so this is a previously published post from May 2009 -- I haven't changed much in the last year, I guess, because most of this is still true:

1. Wednesdays. I love Wednesdays. I think it's because I associate that day with pleasant things. For instance, I schedule my monthly massage on a Wednesday. And another thing, I never have to cook dinner on a Wednesday because my husband grabs a sandwich before he leaves to play bridge. On Wednesdays, I know I still have three more days to accomplish great things before the week is gone and lost forever.

I should add, however, that traveling, especially through O'Hare, is not going to make this a particularly fun Wednesday. You can't win 'em all.

2. My monthly massage. I used to get a sixty-minute massage. That expanded to seventy-five. Now I'm up to ninety minutes. Not only is it relaxing, but it helps relieve the aches and pains that result from too many hours at the computer.

3. Television. I'm one of those strange people who loves TV and isn't afraid to admit it. I enjoy Survivor and American Idol and Amazing Race and Dancing With the Stars and So You Think You Can Dance and Big Brother. My favorite dramas are 24 and The Mentalist and Medium and Grey's Anatomy and Brothers and Sisters. I love Desperate Housewives.

A little TV recording story: I hardly ever watch one of these shows live. I record them and watch them whenever I can, sometimes fifteen minutes here and ten minutes there. I have to be careful though. Last season, I recorded the American Idol finale to watch later in the evening. At the critical moment, just as Ryan Seacrest was announcing the winner and said, "The winner is....David--," my recording cut out. The first name of both contestants was David. Most annoying.

4. Pumpkin scones from Starbucks. The calories don't count, because I eat it with a venti nonfat latte. I only have the scone once a month. It can't hurt me.

5. Plain nonfat yogurt and frozen blueberries sprinkled with granola (preferably a low fat and very crunchy granola). I have this for lunch almost every day.

I did switch to Greek yogurt for lunch, but I still use the plain nonfat regular stuff to make frozen yogurt in the handy-dandy Cuisinart ice cream maker.

6. Movies. I haven't been to a movie in a theater in ages. I use Netflix. But I've had the urge to see a big screen showing lately, so I'm trying to decide between Star Trek and Angels and Demons. I even tossed out the question on Twitter this morning. Which one should I see? Kerrie Flanagan of Northern Colorado Writers blogged about Angels and Demons in The Writing Bug and gave it a thumbs down. Anyone else?

Note: I went to see Star Trek. I don't think I've seen a movie in the theater since then.

A little movie story: Many years ago, when I still ate movie popcorn, I went to see a thriller. At one point, the camera is following a character who creeps down the stairs toward the front door to investigate a noise. Through the glass panes, we see it's dark outside. The character reaches the bottom of the stairs. There's an explosive sound as a gloved fist crashes through the glasspane. My hands flew up...and popcorn went flying all over the people sitting around me. They were very gracious, probably thanking their lucky stars I didn't have a cola in my hand.

7. Reading, especially mysteries from my favorite authors. I'll name Craig Johnson and William Kent Krueger here, but my list of preferred mystery writers is about ten miles long.

8. Chocolate. I like Lindt 85% cocoa dark chocolate. I can't keep it in the house all the time because...well, you know.

One slight change here -- I do keep it in the house all the time. I've learned to eat only one square (or less) a day.

9. Wine. Hogue Gewurztraminer is my favorite white.

A little wine story: We have an old Concord grape vine in our yard. A couple of years ago I took our grapes to a business in our town that imports and also makes wine. A few months later, I went in and bottled, corked, and labeled my vintage, then toted it home. I even designed my own labels, some using a background of green grapes among the green leaves, and others using the cover art from my first book. The final product had a gorgeous, deep rose color and the aroma of Welch's Grape Juice. The flavor was lighter, and of course, alcoholic. I liked it. Liked it a lot.

Sad story: The old grape vine died this winter. So sad.

10. Farmer's Markets. I'm delighted it's market season again. I usually visit one market on Saturday morning and another one on Sunday afternoon. I stroll the circuit of booths at least twice, once to survey and once to buy. The highlight of the season: peaches from Colorado's western slope.

It seems quite a few things I love are edible. I can live with that.

A Little of This and a Little of That

Last Wednesday I flew from Denver to Chicago, hung around O'Hare long enough to have frozen yogurt, walk a few miles from one concourse to another and then walk another half-mile when my gate was changed, and finally take that cute little commuter flight to central Illinois. Since then, the weather has become increasingly hot and humid, but no fierce thunderstorms or tornadoes yet. They'll probably show up about the time I'm scheduled to fly out again.

Most of you know I'm visiting my mom and brother in Illinois for a few days. I make this trip about twice a year, but try to avoid the storm season. My favorite time of the year in the Midwest is fall when the air is crisp, the trees red and yellow, and the air smells like burning leaves.

Well, the burning leaves part is a long-ago memory because folks aren't allowed to do that anymore, at least not in town.

While I'm at my mom's, I have to use dial-up with my less-than-speedy laptop, which is one of the reasons I don't spend any time reading and commenting on blogs. That reminds me of the good old days when we had no choice but to use dial-up.

So then I count my blessings because I only need to travel a few more years into the past to have no Internet at all. No e-mail. No blogs. No Twitter or Facebook.

And that reminded me of one of the friends I'll meet tomorrow for lunch -- an old friend from grade school (yep, early 1950s, kids). She has decided e-mail and the Internet serve no purpose in her life and she gave 'em up. Yep. Just turned off and tuned out. I had to call her on the telephone to arrange lunch.

I can't even imagine giving up the Internet. If someone turned off my access, I think I'd go into withdrawal. It would be like giving up coffee or chocolate. Maybe worse.

And that brings me to the session I had with my brother this morning during which I taught him how to load the photos from his camera onto his computer. We hit a snag, though. The photo editing software on his computer won't open and run, and he can't find the CD-ROM that came with the camera which has the appropriate photo-editing software on it. Now I'm looking for a free download that won't take up tons of space on his computer. All he needs is the ability to crop and resize his photos. Any suggestions?

Now while little brother is busily cooking kabobs on his grill, I'm going to sit in one of Mom's cozy chairs and read a little more of In the Woods by Tana French. It's a former Edgar winner, a suspenseful cop tale set in Ireland.

Wednesday will be another travel day but I'll pre-schedule another exciting post so you all don't forget I'm here.

The Right Place at the Right Time

My son, who has developed quite an interest in photography, was recently in the right place at the right time to try out his new camera. He woke up in the middle of the night to see an unusual light outside. When he went to investigate, he discovered that just down the hill from his own home, a building/mobile home was in flames. After alerting the fire department and doing whatever he could to help, he grabbed his camera and took a few photos. Two of his photos have since appeared in a regional newspaper. This is one of the good ones--good in a horrifying way, because the authorities later discovered a body in the ruins.

Photo copyright by Tim Brown

We often talk about good luck when these moments happen, but part of the "good luck" that comes with an interest in photography is having that camera nearby, keeping it full charged, learning how to use the equipment by reading the instruction manual and practicing, and, most of all, remembering to grab it when the perfect photo opportunity presents itself.

Being in the right place at the right time happens to writers as well. We pick a conference to attend, decide to pitch or workshop our novels, and everything falls into place with an invitation to submit a partial or even a full manuscript.

Once again, part of the "good luck" that comes with a passion for writing is picking the right conference for your genre, carefully researching the agents and editors who will attend so you're pitching to the right person for your work, and choosing whether to participate in a critiquing workshop if one is available. I was in the right place at the right time at the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers Colorado Gold Conference in September 2005. I did my homework to make sure I was in the best workshop for a mystery writer, and I got lucky.

And you know those fortunate writers who find an agent or publisher after only a few queries? That's because their work is unique and professional, because they did their homework and queried appropriate agents or editors for their genre, and because they meticulously followed submission guidelines. And then they got lucky, because their outstanding work was read by the right person at the right time.

So whatever your passion, make sure you're as prepared as you can be, follow all the rules, produce the best work possible at this stage of your career, and stay alert to opportunities. That's how you end up in the right place at the right time, and that's how you get lucky.

Passing on the Picasso Award

Monday I mentioned receiving the Picasso Award from Rayna M. Iyer at Coffee Rings Everywhere but didn't have my list ready to pass it on. This is the day.

Rayna earned this award because she displays excellent photographs to illustrate her posts. She also has a beautiful way with words.

There are lots of ways to interpret the Picasso Award, but I have chosen to pass it on to bloggers who also display beautiful artwork and/or photographs on their blogs, or illustrate their posts with pictures that help tell their story:

Yvonne Lewis at Welcome to my World of Poetry
Fifi Flowers
Kathleen Harrell at Retired in the Rockies
Cricket McRae at Hearth Cricket
Kaye Barley at Meanderings and Musing for Sissyfriss and Lou Lou are going to the beach, a fun photo essay you'll love.

Recipients: There are no rules or obligations attached, but feel free to post the logo on your blog and pass it on to other deserving bloggers.

See you Friday.

Passing on the Sunshine Award

Blogger friend Rayna M. Iyer at Coffee Rings Everywhere was kind enough to bestow not one, but two awards on my blog this month. I think most of my followers already know and love Rayna, her photos, and her wonderful posts, but if you haven't been there, I urge you to visit her often.

The first award was the "From Me to You (Picasso) Award" which Rayna passed on to several bloggers "who touch the heart with the visual images they create." I'm going to wait until Wednesday to pass on this award so I can keep today's post from growing into a monster. The first rule of blogging is not to drive our readers crazy with posts that ramble on forever.

The second award was the Sunshine Award. Rayna declared that all of her followers are her sunshine. I feel the same about everyone who drops by this blog, especially those who leave comments. You know who you are.

One of the hardest parts about receiving awards is deciding who to pass them on to when your Google Reader, and even your blogrolls, are packed with wonderful blogs hosted by interesting and clever men and women who deserve all the support we can give them. Rayna and others before her sent the award to twelve blogging friends. I'm going to trim it down a bit, in spite of my inclination to make the list even longer. I've selected the following five bloggers to receive the Sunshine Award:

Helen Ginger at Straight From Hel -- Helen provides a lot of helpful information to writers, mixed with good advice and moral support.

Elspeth Antonelli at It's a Mystery -- Elspeth inspires me and makes me laugh, an irrestible combination.

Terry Odell at Terry's Place -- Whether she's writing about writing or her cross-country move from semi-tropical Florida to a snowy Colorado spring, Terry's posts are always entertaining. And she graciously hosts guest bloggers, too.

Amy Kathleen Ryan at Amy's Blog -- Amy is a Colorado YA author and is just returning to blogger world after a long hiatus. I'm sending her a little sunshine to encourage her and to draw more attention to her new release for older teens, Zen and Xander.

Barbara Scully at From My Kitchen Table -- Barbara writes from Ireland, and I like to imagine an Irish lilt as I read her posts.

As I see it, the primary reason for the award process is to introduce more blogs to your readers, encourage new bloggers, show your appreciation for the blogs your enjoy, and advertise the fact that others think your blog is pretty special. However, I attach no obligations when I send awards on to others.

Bits and Pieces

The Internet: Research Wonderland or Information Overload?

President Barack Obama gave the commencement address at Hampton University in Hampton, Virginia last weekend. To read more about what the president had to say, you can check out the article at The Huffington Post or this critical analysis at Indyposted.

"You're coming of age in a 24/7 media environment that bombards us with all kinds of content and exposes us to all kinds of arguments, some of which don't always rank that high on the truth meter. And with iPods and iPads, and Xboxes and PlayStations -- none of which I know how to work -- information becomes a distraction, a diversion, a form of entertainment, rather than a tool of empowerment, rather than the means of emancipation. So all of this is not only putting pressure on you; it's putting new pressure on our country and on our democracy."

Personally, I am not overwhelmed by the amount of information on the Internet, nor am I unable to sort the nonsense from good information. I'm smart enough to recognize material that's suspect, and wise enough to know I can't believe everything I hear and read. If I'm looking for facts, I check more than one resource (and I never rely on Wikipedia, although I find it's often a great place to start). Yes, sometimes I'm surfing the Web when I should be doing something else. But I love having all this stuff at my fingertips, the bad as well as the good.

I hope he was just suggesting the students at Hampton University use their Internet time wisely and not spend all their time playing computer games.


What I'm Reading Now

I finished Galen Kindley's Hearts of the Morning Calm. I highly recommend this novel.

My new read is To the Ends of the Earth: The Last Journey of Lewis and Clark. This historical novel by Frances Hunter, pen name of sisters Mary Clare and Liz Clare, has won several awards and was highly recommended by Library Journal.


24

I've been a big fan of Kiefer Sutherland and 24 since the beginning, but I can remember one other season when I thought the writers had taken character Jack Bauer over the top. It started to head that way again last week, and this week's episode left me with my hands over my ears, my eyes closed, saying, "I can't watch this, I can't watch this." If you're a fan and you have the show recorded but haven't watched it yet, proceed with caution.


Focus on Writing, Revisions, and Submissions

I have a historical women's fiction called Wishing Caswell Dead ready for submissions. To tell the truth, the manuscript has been ready for six months. I'm not sure what's holding me back. I even have permission from an editor to send a partial, and still I've stalled. So that's my first goal. Get the darned cover letter, synopsis, and chapters in the mail.

The second novel is Dead Wrong, a standalone suspense. I've finished the first draft and my critique group is still looking at chapters as my turn to submit rolls around. I'd like to have my revisions finished by the end of July.

Am I the only one who bonks at these critical moments: (1) when I'm about one-third of the way into the book and convince myself it sucks, (2) when I get past the first hurdle and finally finish a first draft, and (3) when the novel is ready for submission and I can't bring myself to get the job done?

Time for a Little Blogging Common Sense

Posting to my blog every single day is crazy. I'm not getting any work done on my book.

I'm going to cut back on several things for a while. I'm thinking three days a week will be enough blogging while I'm trying to finish book revisions. I want to submit my manuscript to agents this summer and fall (depending on agent submission vacations and other guideline rules).

I'll post Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and see how that goes. It's possible I'll run a few older posts when I'm out of town. I'll also be posting at The Blood-Red Pencil twice a month. And I plan to feature author interviews on specific topics as I have time.

How about the rest of you bloggers who post six or seven days a week? Is it interfering with other projects and responsibilities? Have you considered cutting back?

The Rumors Were True, Which Reminds Me of Bread Pudding

Yesterday was indeed my birthday. It was sweet of Arlee Bird to pass the word on his tossing it out blog. Being a gentleman, he did not mention my age. I will tell you that I'm old enough to know better than indulge in the kind of overeating I did last night when my hubby took me out to eat.

We opted for tapas and wine--hummus, olives, grilled vegetables, bacon-wrapped dates, wine, and bread pudding (instead of birthday cake).

Which leads me to a general discussion of bread pudding, my favorite dessert. I've been sampling this treat across the country, whenever I see it on the menu, and I've tried making my own. So far, I have one restaurant's version and one homemade version at the top of the list.

The restaurant, Jacques-Imo's, is in New Orleans. When you visit that great city, check it out. The decor is amazing, the food out of this world, and it's always very crowded.

My favorite homemade version of bread pudding was adapted from this recipe I found at allrecipes.com. I omit the currants/raisins and use whole wheat bread. I also cut the recipe in half and only use two eggs. Cutting the recipe in half is necessary to protect me from my own weakness. If it's there, I will eat it.

Anyone else have a weakness for bread pudding?

Blog-Hopping and Goofing Off

I'm visiting as many blogger friends as I can this afternoon, so I decided to give you a few links as I find entertaining or enlightening posts. This, I think, is called killing two birds with one stone.

First, I was on Ann Best's Long Journey Home blog, reading about her Blogger troubles, and followed a link to Meghan Ward's Writerland. Meghan's fun April post on How to Lose Blog Readers has a lot of pointers we should remember (actually, not remember is more accurate).

Barbara Scully was tagged by me a few days ago, and she answered her questions on yesterday's post at From My Kitchen Table. I find her list especially interesting because hers is the first one I've read that did not include chocolate as one of her favorite snacks.

Michele Emrath at Southern City Mysteries has a weekly roundup of the great posts she finds.

And when I followed one of Michele's links, I ended up at Jen's Book Thoughts by Jen Forbus. Yesterday she listed My 30 Best Crime Fiction People to Follow on Twitter.

And finally, here's Word Play Tuesday at The Blood-Red Pencil. The word of the day is: spring.

Hope you find something interesting or fun. I'm off to check that Twitter list.

Northern Colorado Intertribal Pow-wow

I couldn't help myself. I was back into drumming (or at least listening to the drums) yesterday.

This photo is one of at least ten drums at the Intertribal Pow-wow held at the Colorado State University Equine Center in Fort Collins, Colorado on Mother's Day. The women standing with their backs to the cameras are singers.


I didn't get many clear pictures of the dancers in action. I was playing with the zoom on my camera and messed up the settings big time. Couldn't resist putting this one in though. This little guy was moving fast, shaking his feathers and moving his feet as though he'd been dancing for years. I couldn't move that fast if I tried.

There are two film clips of host drummers, one group from South Dakota and the other from Oklahoma, at the NCIPA Powwow 2010 website.

What does this have to do with writing? Nothing. It has to do with taking the day off from anything remotely connected to writing, which is what I did.

What Are You Reading?

My interests are eclectic, so I read a lot of stuff. Books are stacked high on the end table by my favorite reading chair. I buy books at signings and online, win books in drawings, check books out of the library, and hit the used book sales that benefit the library.

A year ago, I participated in an online blogbooktour class to learn as much as I could about blogging for writers and the virtual book tour process. During that time, I met (online) a group of bloggers who've become virtual friends. Galen Kindley is one of those writers.

Galen recently awarded a bunch of his blog visitors with copies of Hearts of the Morning Calm. That's the book I'm reading now. As you all know, I don't do regular book reviews, but I do mention a book when I like it a lot. I'm about halfway through Galen's book, and I'm liking it a lot.

"Since 2333 BC, long before the Western world was new, antiquity's name for Korea was Chosun...Land of the Morning Calm.

In the fall of 1978, a small traditional jewelry shop in modern steel-and-glass Seoul, Korea, becomes Destiny's playground. Fate capriciously induces an American military officer to browse the store and, in so doing, meet an intriguing and lovely Asian woman.

Foolishly, but helplessly, the Jason and Young fall in love. Their chance encounter and reluctant commitment initiates a tangled and haunting journey. For Jason, it is one of discovery not just of the woman he loves but her country and her people. Young seems too modern to be bound by the role assigned women in traditional Korean culture, so he dares to dream of taking her home to Alabama.

But what does a woman do when her heart is torn between the man she loves and the family she honors?"

What about you? What are you reading? (And if you're a mom, Happy Mother's Day!)

Springtime in Northern Colorado

I should always take my camera when I go for a walk. Even though it was a little breezy on this day, and a lot of the trees were blowing just enough to make my photos blurry, I was able to bring back a little color for today's post.


This was one of the tulips right outside our front door. I found the yellow center in the red cup interesting.



There was a robin in our apple tree. Our robins tend to be tolerate of humans and stay close when they think there's something interesting going on. If I open the lid to my compost bin and expose the worker worms inside, there's sure to be a robin or two edging closer and closer.



It was a beautiful sunny day. The sky really was this shade of blue.



The colors are stunning this year and the trees full of blooms. This tree, its branches conveniently hanging over the sidewalk, lives a couple of blocks from our house.



I have full-sized pansies in a pot in my yard, but I a neighbor grows these miniatures in a bed near the sidewalk.


Springtime in Northern Colorado is beautiful, but also a bit unpredictable. We may still get another snow, and we can expect occasional freezes and frosts until mid-May.

May Book Giveaway from Mystery Writers of America

Wow, would you believe one of my Facebook friends won the April box of books from the Mystery Writers of America? That's exciting news...although I'll admit to being a little green with envy. There were some great books in that list. Of course, there are great books in the giveaway every month.

Maybe you'll be the next winner. You can't win if you don't try.

Here's the list of books MWA is giving away this month:

The Barbary Pirates by William Dietrich
Frame-Up by John F. Dobbyn
Rolling Thunder by Chris Grabenstein
Monster in Miniature by Margaret Grace
Night of the Wolves by Heather Graham
A Stitch in Crime by Betty Hechtman
Darkship Thieves by Sarah A. Hoyt
Dipped, Stripped and Dead by Elise Hyatt
Without Mercy by Lisa Jackson
The Spellmans Strike Again by Lisa Lutz
The Significant Seven by John McEvoy
Diamonds from the Dead by Alan Orloff
From Crime to Crime by Dennis Palumbo
Predators by Frederick Ramsay
Mint Juleps, Mayhem, and Murder by Sara Rosett
Grey Matters by Clea Simon
Once a Spy by Keith Thomson
Hush by Kate White
The Mapping of Love and Death by Jacqueline Winspear
Midnight Fires by Nancy Means Wright

MWA will also be including a copy of The Prosecution Rests, their new short story anthology.

All you have to do to enter is follow the link to the Readers' Contest page at the Mystery Writers of America website and follow the instructions. Good luck!

I Flunked Cowbell at the Drumming Workshop

On Sunday I attended a four-hour drumming workshop sponsored by writer friend Pat Walker and Gayan Gregory Long. Even though it doesn't show in these pictures because Pat caught me during moments of intense concentration, I had a great time. I thought you'd like to see these photos of this old broad learning new tricks.



See how focused I am? Actually, all of us appear to be in the zone. I've only attended one other drumming experience, but I occasionally go to a Native American pow-wow and am always mesmerized by the sound. That feeling was even more intense in this group when I actually participated in making those sounds.



Okay, Pat did catch me smiling in this one, but that's only because I noticed she was pointing the camera my way. Am I groovin' or what?



Back in the zone. On the right is Gayan, our fearless instructor, who is coaching one of the drum circle participants to keep the rhythm going on a bell. Little did I know that innocent little bell would be my downfall.



See Pat concentrate. See Pat try to learn a 9/8 rhythm on a cowbell. See Pat look totally confused, even though she can read music? You have no idea how badly I longed for my drum during this next drumming session that lasted forever and ever.

Would you believe it? I flunked cowbell.

I've Been Tagged!

Raquel Byrnes, one of the new blogger friends I made during the April A to Z Blog Challenge, tagged me in her May 4th blog post.

For a "Tag" you answer 5 questions 5 times to share a bit about yourself. I'm not sure my answers are going to be as interesting as Raquel's, but I'll give it my best shot.

Question 1 - Where were you five years ago?

1. Living with hubby in the same house in Northern Colorado that we live in now.
2. Revising my first mystery manuscript (again) so I could pitch it to an agent at a fall writers' conference.
3. Celebrating my 63rd birthday (yep, I'm a Taurus).
4. Working on a historical novel manuscript that I couldn't decide whether to make women's fiction or a mystery.
5. Getting ready to accompany hubby on trips to two of his bridge tournaments (back-to-back), one in Casper, Wyoming and one in Colorado Springs, CO.

Question 2 - Where would you like to be in five years?

1. Living in Northern Colorado (but I'd love to redecorate the current house or move to a smaller, newer house)
2. Thinner
3. Celebrating the sale of my ninth novel. (It's good to dream big.)
4. Packing for a trip to the south of France.
5. Richer

Question 3 - What is on your to-do list today?

1. Write two blog posts
2. Work on the manuscript I'm critiquing for a writer who won the critique in a silent auction
3. Cut up a bunch of cardboard boxes (in the garage) for the recycle bin
4. Schedule a trip to Illinois to see my mom
5. Get the car washed

Question 4 - What snacks do you enjoy?

1. Triscuits and cheddar cheese
2. Lindt 85% cocoa extra dark chocolate
3. Popcorn popped in olive oil
4. Frozen blueberries and yogurt (esp. Greek yogurt) sprinkled with a crunchy granola
5. Homemade frozen yogurt with dark sweet cherry chunks

Question 5 - What five things would you do if you were a billionaire?

1. Travel to every single place I've ever wanted to go, and I have a long list
2. Help our grown kids and other relatives and friends fulfill their special dreams
3. Employ a full-time housekeeper and cook
4. Buy a new car (but still keep the old one that we love) and a new house.
5. A billion dollars is a lot of money, and I kind of like my life the way it is. I would create a charitable foundation with the remaining funds.

Now I get to tag five other bloggers I admire. I choose:

1. Beth Groundwater -- I admire Beth for her outstanding promotional efforts and her initiative, and for having the good sense not to post to her blog every day. She did an intense blog book tour when her second mystery was published, however, that sets a wonderful example for all writer-bloggers.
2. Barbara Scully at From My Kitchen Table
3. Cricket McRae at Hearth Cricket
4. Donna Volkennant at Donna's Book Pub
5. Megan DiMaria at A Prisoner of Hope

Now I'm off to get the car washed. The To Do List rules.

I'm Running Late

I'll have a real post today. Probably closer to noon, Colorado time.

I admit it, I've fallen off the schedule. Even though the A to Z Challenge made me appear to be a disciplined blogger, I won't be that good all the time.

I hope you'll come back, though. I've been tagged, and I have a few fun questions to answer as part of the tagging rules.

Passing on the Blogger BFF Award

During the A to Z Blog Challenge, Lydia Kang of The Word is My Oyster passed the Blogger BFF Award on to Arlee Bird of tossing it out and host of the challenge. Arlee was kind enough to pass the award on to every one of the participants in his challenge. Be sure to visit Lydia's blog. It's fun, it's fresh, and it's full of writerly thoughts.

I think the award is cute as can be, and since I have lots of blogger BFFs, I decided to pick five blogs and spread the love.

The first is the group blog for Northern Colorado Writers, the brainchild of Kerrie Flanagan. Kerrie is the director of NCW and chief of the Northern Colorado Writers Conference. Since most of the members are about an hour north of Denver, we would be writer orphans without NCW's support. Kerrie has recently turned some of the blog posting duties over to other members, so I hope you'll drop by The Writing Bug and see what they have to say.

The second blog is It's a Mystery. Elspeth Antonelli combines her sense of humor and her wisdom as she writes about writing. I've never read a boring post on her blog, and I learn something every time I stop by.

Elizabeth Spann Craig of Mystery Writing is Murder was, like Elspeth, one of the first blogger friends I made almost a year ago when I started. Elizabeth is a great resource for writers, especially mystery writers, and she shares tons of information each week on Twitter and on her blog.

Kay Theodoratus and Tim Northberg were two of the first friends I made after I joined Northern Colorado Writers. Both have written fantasy novels and are looking for agents/publishers. Kay blogs at Lessons from my Reading and focuses on the joys of the revision process and the art of queries. Tim Northberg blogs at The Darth Writer. His current life and blogging project revolves around learning how not to sweat the small stuff. Both of these writers/bloggers are interesting and entertaining (and you learn stuff when you go there).

So there you have it. Seven blogs to check out (including Lydia and Arlee). I hope you find someone new on this list.

What's it All About, Arlee?

That's the big question being answered today by the bloggers who participated in Arlee Bird's A to Z Blog Challenge during the month of April. Not only was Lee the perfect host during the challenge, listing all the participating blogs in a special blogroll, but now he's come up with a way for us to link to our wrap-up posts in some kind of cute little linky tool. I haven't tried it out yet...I'll do that after this post publishes.

But time to get down to business.

What's a blog challenge all about? Well, for me it was about:

1. Expanding my world and making new friends.
2. Drawing readers (especially those who write comments) to my blog.
3. Bringing discipline back to my blogging schedule.
4. Having a wonderful time (even though I should have been doing something else like writing or fixing dinner).

How did it work out for me?

1. I visited as many of the 80+ blogs in the challenge as I could in April, and plan to visit the rest this month. There were blogs I added to my reader to peruse regularly and some I'll revisit from time to time. A few of the bloggers and I connected on a deeper level, usually because of shared interests, but sometimes just because.

The downside: I increased the list of blogs I follow past the break-even point. I can't keep up with everyone on a regular basis. During the challenge, I neglected the blogs of some old friends. I miss them and want to spend some time catching up.

2. There was definitely a bump in my stats for the month of April and an increase in my Google Connect followers.

Downside: There's no way I can keep up with all the blogs I want to read each day.

3. My blog posts went up on time, written in advance and pre-scheduled to publish at 6:00AM Colorado time. I'm not sure I can (or want to) maintain that practice going forward. Sometimes it's fun to be a bit spontaneous, and sometimes it's necessary to take a break. We'll see how that goes.

Downside: My followers no longer know what to expect from me. I've heard that's a very bad thing--that bloggers should be predictable and keep to a schedule.

4. I definitely had a great time with this challenge. I did serious stuff...well, sort of serious...about books and writing. I got downright silly a time or two. I jumped out of my comfort zone and wrote to a prompt (something I usually avoid like the plague).

Downside: Sometimes I worked too hard and spent way too much time on posts. I postponed other writing tasks that now desperately need my attention. And when I posted Z is for Zounds! I'm Zonked! on Friday, I said, "Whew! It's over."

Would I do another blog challenge in the future? Absolutely, but not until my manuscript revisions are complete and my first round of queries and submissions are in the mail.

The fun and rewards that go with a blog challenge are worth the effort, and Arlee's challenge was a great example of how to do it right. I loved it, Arlee. Thanks for a great experience.

I Was Going to Take the Day Off, But...

...last week I received this adorable Sweet Blog Award from Carol Kilgore at Under the Tiki Hut. Thanks, Carol, I consider it an honor to receive any blogging award, but those with white teddy bears are awesomely special.

The blog carries no special rules, but Carol and the blogger from whom she received the award, VR Barkowski, passed the honor on to five others. I'll do the same.

First on my list is a blog I discovered by taking part in the Arlee Bird A to Z Blog Challenge during the month of April (but more about that on Monday). I've also included three blogs from Northern Colorado friends who share wonderful stories. And finally, I've added a Colorado mystery writer who blogs about food and gardening and home crafting. Some of these blogs feature gorgeous photos you won't want to miss.


Ruby (Grammy) at Blabbin' Grammy

Linda L. Henk

Kathleen Harrell at Retired in the Rockies

Jean McBride at Two Old Horses and Me

Cricket McRae at Hearth Cricket


I hope you'll visit all these sweet blogs -- they're wonderful.