Going Incognito (aka NaNoWriMo Approacheth)

Hello again everyone. I'm afraid I've fell into a blogging rut of late. I'm not keeping up very regularly at all. Sorry. BUT the end of the year approaches. Which for me means, a lot of revisiting of goals and making new ones for the coming year. So, I promise that by January I will have set some new blogging goals and be back to this on a regular basis. Hopefully with better posts. ;) I'm thinking its time for a revamping of my site. I'm not satisfied with its looks, and I'm actually kind of bored by it. I really need to buy a good theme but...yeah. Been putting that off because, ya know. Money. ;)

My days have been filled mostly with writing and art. Of late my favorite art resources have been Youtube videos. Particularly by Jennibellie--especially this playlist on making DIY art journal from scratch!

As for writing, I'm in the midst of getting a flashfiction anthology put together. I'm ready to get it formatted for publishing, and start on the ebook cover. I'm really excited about this, as its short retellings of lesser known fairytales...favorites of mine, like "The Twelve Dancing Princesses" and "Katie Woodencloak."

I finished the first revision of my romantic comedy When Freida Fixes It. Very happy with how it turned out, though I think I'll take another pass through it (mainly for word/sentence/style editing). However, I may not get to it till after Christmas because.....

NANOWRIMO COMETH!!!!!!!!

Can't help it. It's my favorite part of the year. During November I do ONLY the absolute necessities and spend every possible spare moment working feverishly on whatever story (or stories, as some years I write short stories) I have going for NaNo. It's basically playtime for Writer Me! Though this year, I'm going to try and write/finish a new version of my story Aracely Twiggen, with the intent of publishing it next year. So it's play to good purpose. I also have a half-finished Christmas-ish fantasy that I may continue work on, if I actually manage to finish Aracely before the month is over. We shall see!

Don't expect to see or hear much of me until NaNo is over though. I may do blog updates about it. But I wouldn't count on it...

Unless blog posts can be counted for my NaNo wordcount of course! ;)

September Update

I didn't get anything posted last week or this past Friday. Sorry about that. My face broke out in a rash (happens occasionally, no idea what causes it), and when all was said and done, I had no idea what to post, and I didn't feel like writing, so I didn't. And Friday...umm. Just lazy I guess!

So what have I been up to the last few weeks?

Keeping up with Story A Day. I'm afraid its mostly subsided into making myself write down a new story idea before the day is over. That happened last time too. So...hmmm. Might have to rethink my story-a-daying method before the next one. ;)

Revising When Freida Fixes It, a romantic comedy set in the Ozarks. I'm aiming to publish it by the end of December (I was actually aiming for the end of September. But its abundantly clear now that a novelette of 15,000 words requires more revision attention than that. At least for me).

And taking a really awesome art course from Paivi over at the Peony and Parakeet Blog.

Then Saturday, I spent at Alley Springs (local park) with my sister, Stephanie, and my friend, Jami

Future plans:

Today, The Small Product Lab kicks off again. I have a series of six fairytale flashfictions that I'm going to work on. The goal is to start Monday, Sept 28, and have the product launched on Gumroads by Thursday, October 8th. Wish me luck!

And NaNoWriMo is fast approaching! Can't wait for November. I will be writing a new draft of my half-finished fantasy Aracely Twiggen. I'm toying with posting it to Wattpad as I write it but...I don't know. We'll see!

That's about it for me. Have a great week everyone!

How to Write Funny??

This week I had to write a short skit for a friend. It made my brain ache a little bit. Because, while I can write funny, I find it harder to writer funny on demand. For one thing, I'm pretty sure dialogue needs to be far more "snappy" and clever than what I was coming up with...

So, its not surprising that I would go looking for tips on how to write humor!

With that in mind, here are ten articles I found on writing funny. I haven't had a chance to look through all of them, but I have a feeling I will need them in future. At least I can find them easily, thanks to this blog post!

Enjoy!

1. How to Mix Humor In Your Writing


2. In Good Humor


3. Tips For Comedy Writers


4. 10 Ways To Improve


5. 4 Rules For Script Comedy


6. How To Write Funny


7. Humor Writing When You Aren't Funny


8. 4 Humor Commandments


9. Writing Funny Novels


10. 5 Practical Tips

Why I Love Nancy Drew

I've always been a bit of a Nancy Drew fan.

And this week I came across a couple dozen old Nancy Drew books lining my bookshelves...or rather my sister's. Both of us went through a crazed Nancy Drew Phase. I read everything the library had. She bought all the books she could afford.

For the most part, I'm not a mystery person. And let's face it, Nancy is written in a pretty cliche style. But every now and then...I don't know if its nostalgia or if there's really something in these stories...I just get a hankering to reread them.

So I thought it'd be fun to make a list of the reasons why Nancy Drew continues to be so popular after all these years.

So the reasons I've always loved Nancy:

1. Awesome book covers. As an artist and an indie author who does her own covers, I must point out that the artwork on those hardbound yellow books is pretty dang awesome!


2. She gets to travel all over the place. I mean, come on!


3. cool bits of history, facts, and info learned while reading a story.


4. Despite not being the best "quality" writing, their easy to read. The plot is intriquing enough that you don't mind too much. ;)


5. Don't forget Ned Nickerson: I mean she had an (apparently) good-looking boyfriend, but he was not the clingy type...he didn't hesitate to protect Nancy, but he obviously admired her greatly and never "held her back" in any way. Though to be honest I alway found him a bit dull. ;) And the few times they "smile romantically" at each other and someone teases them and Nancy "blushes." Yeah. I admit it. I laugh.


6. Then there's George and Bess! Let's be honest. Those two are the epitome of awesome best friends. And considering how hard it can be for a threesome to keep everyone feeling included, I think these three do a great job at being supportive caring friends.


7. Mystery. Duh.


8. The settings themselves.


9. How smart and clever Nancy is. Okay, so most of the plots are simplistic in retrospective and it looks like a three-year old could figure them out...and half the time the wonder isn't that Nancy figured it out...its that no one else noticed either. But so what if Nancy lives in a world of simpletons. When we read these books at the age of 12 or 13 they made us feel like WE were Nancy and we were the smart, clever, beautiful, capable sleuth...


10. And who doesn't want to grow up to be brilliant sleuth, huh? Answer me that.


11. And the fact that Nancy is beautiful and capable...when your 12 years old and you read about the heroine roaming all over the seven continents solving mysteries...how can you not be impressed?


12. She has the awesome dad ever. That's for sure.


13. Oh, and the housekeeper. Mrs. Gruen is pretty lovable too. In fact all the adults seemed pretty laid-back and perfectly okay with their young daughters running around looking for adventure and jumping headfirst into danger....


14. She's eighteen (sixteen in the original stories!) but apparently has no school or college connections tying her down. She has all the freedom anyone could wish for!


15. And the best reason? She was never a damsel in distress. If some villain tied her up and locked her in the closet, she didn't just sit there and wait for Ned to come rescue her. Oh no. She always figured out a way to free herself. Now that's what I call a role model for young girls! ;)

So what do you think?

Comment below on your favorite Nancy Drew read (or Hardy Boys if you read those instead!), and why you like it!

Divine Storytelling

So, a couple weeks ago, I noticed something really cool, while reading the Bible.

And yes, I've read this passage many times. And I've probably even noticed and pondered the whole idea before. But it never really jumped out at me like this. It was very inspiring.

I was sitting in church, reading along to the sermon text, on my phone. Only the pastor was reading from the KJV and I was looking at the Message Bible. This is how it translates, Matthew 13:11-14.

He replied, “You’ve been given insight into God’s kingdom. You know how it works. Not everybody has this gift, this insight; it hasn’t been given to them. Whenever someone has a ready heart for this, the insights and understandings flow freely. But if there is no readiness, any trace of receptivity soon disappears. That’s why I tell stories: to create readiness, to nudge the people toward receptive insight. In their present state they can stare till doomsday and not see it, listen till they’re blue in the face and not get it."

Did you see it? Did you see it?!

Somehow, replacing the word "parable" with the word "story" just got me all kinds of excited...

Because of course, I'm a storyteller too. Just like Jesus!

Come on, you know that's an awesome thing.

But the thing that I really loved about this?

Jesus, explaining why He tells people stories. Not just to entertain, obviously (though he appears to thoroughly enjoy a well told yarn, just as much as the rest of us). But he points out to them the power of Storytelling.

To paraphrase, he's basically saying, "I can preach at people till I'm blue in the face, and it goes in one ear and out the other. But tell, a story and seeds of truth will be planted that, if not now, someday will bloom and they shall understand."

That's what it sounds like to me, anyway.

This whole thing about Jesus being a Storyteller reminds me of J.R.R Tolkien. Tolkien talked constantly of something he called "sub-creation." Which is, that humans have the inborn desire to make and create things, because they were made in the image of God. And he is the Greatest of Creators. He loves to make things (Universes out of nothing, saints out of sinners, and cool stuff like that). And so of course, we feel the same desire to create.

So if you are a creator of any sort, if you are a storyteller of any kind....

Don't try to hide it. Don't be ashamed. Don't feel like, "There's got to be something more important I should be doing."

I think its pretty obvious that what we are doing for this world is pretty important. Or else, the Greatest Creator and Storyteller of all wouldn't have given us the desire to create too.

And on that note, I'm think I'll go create something today!

A Glimpse of Elfland

Excerpt from "Falling Into Fairyland"

(Upcoming mini ebook)

DISCLAIMER: This is rough draft material. It will be buggy and contain typos. There is no guarantee it will even be in the book so there's no need to point out mistakes in grammar or spelling. This is provided for enjoyment only! All rights belong to the author. Please do not copy or share in anyway...except to share this post via email or social media with friends of course! Thanks. :)

So, enjoy!

INTRODUCTION

I'm not a fairy believer or anything. But there was a time that I nearly saw an Elf.

I have always been deeply into fantasy literature. And I love Elves. Ever since I read Lord of the Rings at the age of 12 or 13. Or even before. I remember watching Rigoletto and being fascinated by the hints of an Elfland in the movie.

And I'm a writer. I'm always writing or drawing something, especially something fantastical.

That hot August afternoon I sat on my front porch with pen and paper in hand. I don't remember if I was writing or drawing. But I was stuck. I remember that. And I fell to looking around the yard and staring, trance-like, at the vegetation across the road.

A cloud rolled across the sun. A gloomy sort of shadow lay across the world for a moment.

And I was staring deep into the canopy of green vines and leaves that draped over the creek-bank. It was a very Elfish place. I love those little glimpses. It gives me a shivery feeling of wonder. This is what I mean when I speak of 'magic" being in something. An overwhelming glimpse of beauty and majesty that overwhelms you. It usually involves the woods. Or God.  It's full of hope.

And Elves.

I fell into imagination somewhere along in there. What if, from deep within the shadows of the canopy...

What if an Elf--tall, blond, dressed in brown and green, with a longbow, shimmering with light--were to step from beneath it at just this moment? I was so deeply lost in imagination, that I could see him clearly. For a second I felt like I really had seen him.

Suddenly the green canopy gave a great twitch!

I jumped in my seat, heart going like a trip hammer.

And my little, brown dog leaped out of the green canopy, chasing a rabbit.

I let out a ragged breath of disappointment. Doggone it! (No pun intended).

For a second I'd really hoped I was going to see something!

That is the story of my life. Always so close to Elfland and never quite there.

I can't help it. A part of me keeps hoping to someday discover its real. :)

25 Crazy Excuses To Get Out Of Work

Something ridiculous and unexplainable has occurred this morning. There's no way way you'll make it into work--but your boss will never believe the truth.

Still, you have to try. So you pick up the phone and you say,

"Good morning boss. I'm afraid I can't come in today because..."

1. I didn't escape the dragon.


2. I've been whisked out of time and space by a mad man in a blue box.


3. I'm buried in a mountain of popcorn.


4. The kidnappers are fixing to push me off without a parachute.


5. I'm caught in a fairy ring and they won't let me go.


6. In 30 seconds the Dark Lord destroys the world and only I can stop him.


7. I was eloping and fell off the ladder.


8. The werewolf moon strikes tonight and its having a stronger effect than I anticipated.


9. My secret experiment exploded all over my apartment.


10. Aliens crash landed in my backyard and are holding me hostage for our worlds secrets.


11. My toe is caught in the faucet.


12. I got sucked into the computer and now I'm trapped in a virtual game world.


13. I'm holding off the vampires with garlic, crosses and holy water.


14. An angry earth goddess is threatening to turn me into a tree if I don't comply in the next ten minutes.


15. Giant spiders have surrounded my home and all I have to fight them off with is a frying pan.


16. My Muse and I traded places this week and now she's refusing to do boring things.


17. A jealous witch put a sleeping curse on me.


18. I ran into the door-frame and broke an elbow. Don't ask.


19. My bedroom is swamped by tiny blue people and they refuse to leave unless I give them cornflakes. Unfortunately I ran out of those yesterday.


20. An Elf riding a flying unicorn took me away to Fairyland. They're in need of some Unlikely Heroines.


21. I let Mr. Darcy out of the book and I have to get him back in before Lizzie marries Wickham.


22. I found a genie lamp and I'll be sending in my resignation.


23. I'm trapped inside the Mona Lisa. Da Vinci it seems was something of a magician.


24. A fortune teller says this is the day to find Prince Charming. And no offense but I'm not looking for him at the office.


25. I'm calling from the Underworld.

In need of more silly work excuses? Here's the story behind this fun game.

Comment below on your favorite excuse. And share three of your own silly work excuses! Or you could write your own blog post and put a link in the comments. :D

Fandom Evangelism and Being a Jesus Fangirl

On Sharing Your Geekiness With Random Outsiders.

You know the feeling. When you've made a smashing joke, and then realized you are surrounded by dull ordinary people who don't read the right books or watch the right movies.

This happens to me all the time. For example:

I'm not what you call a hardcore Dekkie. My friend, Jami, once loaned me The Circle series and I absolutely loved them--for the fantasy world elements. I must admit, anything that happened in the real world, the actual "thriller" parts, I just tolerated for the story sake (and its woven together perfectly, don't get me wrong). I'm just not a thriller or a horror fan, so I don't really get into most Ted Dekker books. But I did enjoy the Circle series (except for the end of Green. I really didn't like the whole circle ending. I wanted absolute closure!).

But at least I loved it enough to get some of the in jokes and references when I hear them. "Dive deeper" struck me as a great spiritual catchphrase, just like "Further up and further in!" And I loved that "Elyon" is the name for God in that world. And that His Waters are green (Have I mentioned my obsessive love of the color green?).

So when my friend Jami refers to Mountain Dew as Elyon's Water, of course I find it hilarious. Or I did the first time I heard it. That's probably a cliche to Dekkie's by now, but still, its amusing.

Then one day I made the mistake of referring to Mountain Dew as Elyon's Water in public--to be specific, at work. And then I spent ten minutes explaining to the guy across from me at the break table, what I meant.

For my troubles, all I got in return was, "A Christian thriller? Well, that's a new one!"

You're welcome Dull Ordinary Mortal. So much for trying to brighten your day with awesome fictional worlds!

And at least ten times a day I have the same dilemma when it comes to Doctor Who references, Lord of the Rings quotes, and Narnia analogies.

It's a lot like the feeling I get when I want to share my Christian beliefs with someone.

Oh wait. That's a different kettle of fish entirely (I can't stop to think of a better analogy. I'm on a roll here folks!).

When it comes to my Random Fandom Geekiness I have a hard time shutting up (Just ask my family).

But if the opportunity comes for telling people about my Christian values and beliefs its like my lips have been sealed together with concrete (is that a good metaphor? Oh who cares...).

Okay. So I'm an introvert. I tend to be the Loud Fandom Geek around my friends and family. With others I'm considerably quieter. And I often develop a case of Concrete Mouth (which sounds awkward, but we're going with it) about anything I especially love...fandom related, Christian related...anything Me Related. I'm not sure why. Is it just fear? Am I afraid of being laughed at? And I don't want things I hold special to be laughed at...Am I afraid of being criticized or told I'm not politically or socially correct? (Despite the fact that everyone knows that half the things that are politically correct are sterile and horrid, and many politically incorrect things are true and good and awesome...in fact, its a stupid label that no one should give a hang about. But that's a post for another day.)

ANYWAY. The point is that sometimes I still absentmindedly slip up and make Awesome Fandom References in public that no one else gets. But I rarely do that about my Christian values.

I'm not here to tell anyone not to make Nerdy Remarks in public. I'm not here to encourage anyone to be as Awesomely Nerdy in public as they wish. I don't think it matters. Sometimes its nice to keep it to yourself--secret and special, sacred to the Chosen Few who get what you love about it. Sometimes its just fun to be Yourself and Love Out Loud the things you love, and not care what others think. Just don't be annoying on purpose.

No. All I wanted to say was...perhaps if I chose to view my Christian beliefs the same way I do my various book and movie fandoms, I might actually be a nicer, funner, more interesting Christian to be around.

After all, being a Christian is a passionate thing. Its about a Divine Love Story. The ultimate Romance.

To be honest, I can't think of anything Awesomer than being a Jesus Fangirl.

And that's all I have to say.

Yes I Disappeared...

Confessions From An Invisible Writer.

Okay, so I didn't literally disappear. No magic rings or invisibility capes for me. Sorry about the fakey attempt to intrique my readers...which I'm 99.999% certain didn't work anyway.

But I have certainly been absent from this blog for months.

Sorry about that too.

But lets be honest. It wasn't much of a loss. This blog has devolved into a dull "Hey look I published a short story you should buy it and by the way this is what I did yesterday" accounting of things. Who wants to read that?

Well. Alright, so I'm always interested when writers that I love do that on their blogs. So I won't bash myself.

But still we need something more interesting here.

And this summer has been one with some amount of soul searching for me. At least as far as writing and art and creativety and What Shall I Do With My Talents And Life In General goes.

I've been doing a course from Kevin Kaiser that is helping me "revise" my online presence...for lack of a better description of what I'm trying to do. It's a course for online creative entrepreneurs anyway ("Did you here that?" My Muse just said wonderingly. "Creative Entrepreneurs. That's what we are!").  Its very simple and straightforward and starts with the basics. So I've just been focusing on that (especially as I've been rather sickly this month and didn't feel like doing much else with my brain...). And I finally think I know where I want to go with this blog and everything.

SOOOO.

A Few Promises From Me:

• I, Leslie Marie Dawson, hereby promise to write something funny and interesting here at least once a week (I've been reading essays and short stories by A.A. Milne lately. That could account for my desire to write dry-witted nonfiction pieces...)


• I also promise to send out a weekly email full of links to interesting things I've collected from the internet that week.


• And I promise to write at least fifteen minutes a day on stories I would like to share with you. The idea is to get used to the fifteen minutes and increase it as I go along...


• I also promise to create and share more art here on the blog (any art actually. As I haven't shared any so far...). I know, to follow through on this I should make a deadline of some kind. But I'm trying to focus on writing for now. So we shall say one piece of art a month...and see if I manage to stick to it.

And that's about it for now.

So, now to brainstorm what that first witty blog post shall be about. Hmm...

See you next week!

May Goals and Updates

It seems I have neglected the blog for a month but I haven't been idle. I've set some writing goals. And I realize I need to make some changes--to this website, to the stories I'm publishing etc. Try new things and all that.

My main goal this month is rewriting the Snarktales. Yes, even the two I've published. Everything gets a new look. I'm excited about this and hopefully I'll finish by the end of the month.

I've also been participating in Story a Day May. The name is self explanatory. You don't technically have to write a new story each day, but can set whatever goal you choose. I decided to try a new story every day though. What I've discovered is that, unless I plan microfiction--a Twitter fiction series, a drabble, or anything under a page or two--I generally can't finish the story. But at least I'm writing super short fiction, finding new plots, and having fun. And I haven't missed writing something daily all month!

I have one other project going. I asked three friends to proofread the Cinderella Snarktale back in February. As a thank you, I'm creating a piece of artwork for each of them--characters from their own fiction. This is a ton of fun. Have been scouring Deviant Art for free stock and reference photos, and creating inspirational Pinterest boards (which said friends can pin too, of course). Right now, I've just got some quick pencil sketches down.

And that's about it! The changes to the published stories and this blog will, hopefully, take place next month. :)

Writer's Block

What I Do To Write When I Don't Feel Like It.

I've spent this whole day trying to come up with something to share with the internet world. I haven't really managed to do anything worthwhile in the matter of writing since I hit publish on the Beauty snarktale.

The plain fact is I'm caught up in writer's block.

So this is me, taking my problem (writer's block) and turning it to some good. I'm going to write a post about ways to conquer writer's block. There won't be anything terribly new here. I'm just hoping that making a list will give me an idea to get writing again!

Therefore, here's some things I try when I can't write:

• Identify what's really causing it (for me, I think its the whole obscurity issue of being a new indie author and blogger...)


• Journal or freewrite. What I've been doing all morning (this has the added advantage of at least getting words out of you--even if its not the words you happen to want at the moment)


• Ask yourself lots of questions--starting with who, what, when, where, how, why. Avoid yes or no questions. They're generally of little help.


• Get away from the desk. Go outside, get some exercise and fresh air!


• Listen to music! I've been doing that all day too and I think its helped.


• Reading. Duh.


• Some people really like aromatherapy--scented candles, incense, spraying a perfume. Whatever. I've noticed that cinnamon is a great smell for clearing your thoughts.


• Try something else creative that you enjoy. I like to draw.


• Or do some boring chore that doesn't require a lot of thought. Wash dishes or fold the laundry. You'll be surprised how your subconscious will work on the creative problem while the rest of you is ridiculously bored. ;)

There. I have a blog post now. I'm so proud of me!

So, what do you do when you have writer's block or any other kind of creative block? I need some new ideas!

April Goals and Camp NaNo

I had some grandiose plans for this month. I was going to do Camp NaNoWriMo and finish a Cinderella retelling...and hit a 50,000 word goal. After all, I hit 70,000 words last NaNo. Piece of cake, right? Despite the fact that I've never started in on a Camp NaNo session yet and finished. Most of them I didn't do more than a 1000 words.

One reason I never finish Camp NaNo is that there's a lot of building anticipation while waiting for November. Plus I have at least one friend who always Nano's with me. And the dreary fall weather probably helps too. Yeah. April's too nice. I want to be outside. With the daffodils and the redbud trees, watching the trees leaf out, and enjoying the warm weather and the lovely breezes.

I should finish this and then get outside!

Anyway. I have scaled back on my writing goals. At least for Camp NaNo and Cinderella. Just 15,000 words (500 a day. Thats doable). And I will focus on other writing work I need to get done.

For one, posting to this blog regularly. And doing a weekly email (though I've only a handful of people so far....mostly loyal friends. Or family). And getting snarktales revised and published (I'm finally back to work on Beauty and the Beast. Hopefully will have it published in a week or two...).

I'm trying to read and learn about marketing my books. Jeff Walker's book about Product Launches (Its called, quite simply "Launch!") is very helpful. I'm planning to experiment and see what I can come up with, based on the advice in this book. Should be fun!

Pirates and The Hulk

I didn't write yesterday because I was volunteering at a preschool. Which was fun. But then when I came home, I got lazy and ended up wasting what was left of my day with Netflix and Youtube (Gilmore Girls and From Mansfield With Love).

Anyway, I have to share some fun kid snippets. I can't help myself. And they really are good. See:

Kid Snippet #1:

"Guess what, Miss Leslie? I'm pretending I'm on a pirate ship. And I'm shooting all these skeletons and invisible people and..." *continues to detail the intricacies of killing people who are already dead*

I know, as a good preschool teacher, I should probably remind him that "we don't shoot people at school" (as if it were somehow ok to shoot people out of school). But then I'd probably have been told that skeletons aren't really people anymore. And to be honest, I found the subject as intriquing as he did. Seriously, how do you kill a skeleton? Or invinsible people for that matter? How do you know the invisible person IS dead? Hmm?

Also am I wrong, or has this kid been watching Pirates of the Caribbean? :D

Kid Snippet #2:

"You know what? I'm the Hulk! And the Hulk doesn't take baths. I don't like baths. So, I'm not taking anymore baths 'cause I'm the Hulk!"

I'm pretty sure he made that one up to suit himself. But as it wasn't my job to see this kid bathes regularly, I just laughed about it. And admired his amazing Hulk-like strength, of course.

So...does the Hulk take a bath or doesn't he?

Overwhelmed Writer Checking In...

I've been neglecting the blog, but behind the scenes I've been busy. There's so many things too juggle. And I'm not even making money at this yet! Seriously how do professional people--who have followers actually watching their every move--DO it all?

Oh well. Maybe they have money and can pay others to do some of the jobs. That must help.

But for now, just finding a system for working on various projects leads to Serious Overwhelm by the end of the week and I end up not getting a fourth of what I want done, done. Seriously. There's blog posts. Then emails. Then the whole social-media-gotta-make-friends-and-find-followers thing. Then the fiction itself. Not just the actual ebooks (there's like a dozen different jobs involved there, besides the actual writing). Oh yes. And art. I'd like to be sharing more of that.

So there you are. Why I've been so silent. If there was a theme word for my life, I'm sure Overwhelm would cover it. At least this part of it.

But maybe this week I'll figure it out!