Friday Fright for Halloween

How would you like to see this on your doorstep?
Pretty scary looking.

Oh, Rats - Halloween Outside Decoration for Today

Rats spotted on someone's front lawn. At least they're civilized enough to be sitting on a chair!

They're cute in a grim kind of way.

Halloween Outdoor Decorations - Today's Choice

Here's my Halloween Outdoor Decoration Pic for today from my Sunday walk with Rascal. She wasn't too happy I kept stopping to take pictures.

Today's Halloween Home Decoration Photo

Another of the cute Halloween decorations I saw while walking Rascal on Sunday. Later on this week I'll try to remember to put up a few of the more scary ones. I'm hoping our power doesn't go out. The prediction is strong winds through Wednesday night.

Halloween Home Decorations

I saw some cute Halloween home decorations when I was walking Rascal Sunday morning. I'll be posting more of them during this week leading up to Halloween. I don't have any myself, since I'm not as creative, not to mention no time.

New Name for My Work In Progress - I may keep this one

I thought up a new name for my WIP, and this one I may actually keep!

I know I've said this before, but so far I'm really excited about the new title, which is -

DIARY OF A NERVOUS BABY BOOMER -
How I Got the Way I Am

Okay, I'm not so sure about the second line yet. I know lots of books have an added line, but it can come or go.

It always helps to get feedback, so I'm asking for your opinion.
So far the choices are:

MY FEAR LIST

HOW I GOT THIS WAY

DIARY OF A NERVOUS BABY BOOMER - How I Got The Way I Am

Which do you like? If you like the new one, what about that second line? Do you like it in or would you prefer it out?

Videos of The Blessing of the Animals on St. Francis Day, Oct. 4, 2010 Starring Rascal and Other Cute Animals

Well, one of the topics of this blog is Dogs, so I'm sharing the links to three videos I made on vacation from The Blessing of the Animals on St. Francis Day, Oct 4, 2010, in Arbor Vitae, WI. I finally had enough time to get them up on Youtube.com.  In case you don't know, Our Little Rascal is the one with the black eye patch.

Hope you like them.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgCmk3NBo9w


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGtIiQYw-gQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQP9D9s2j8E

Morgan

What's in a Name?

What's in a name? Lots, when it's the title of your book. After I got some feedback about my WIP, tentatively titled My Fear List, I discovered the name wasn't exactly setting the world on fire. A book title is one of the first stepping stones to hooking a reader.

So, now I'm trying to decide on a different title. Another one I thought up is
How I Got This Way.

Which do you like better - My Fear List or How I Got This Way?

Are You Fast or Slow?

It seems to take me more and more time for me to finish writing books lately. I'm distracted by marketing, including Facebook, blogs and other ways of networking. Also, I've decided I absolutely need to read, which I had pretty much abandoned for a while in favor of writing. On my last vacation, I was in relaxation mode, so along with going to the casino, shopping and other vices, I read one book, am almost got through another, and only spent one afternoon writing. It was great to be able to read, but that didn't help me get my WIP done. Should I have spent more time writing instead of reading?

I know there are speed reading classes. Maybe I should take one. But what about speed writing?
Or, maybe I just need to resign myself to being a slow writer.

What about you? Are you fast or slow?

Do You Read Non-Fiction?

Since I got my Kindle, I've been reading more non-fiction. I've found lots of books about marketing and self-image and other do-it-yourself stuff I find fascinating. Before my Kindle, I acquired several non-fiction books about writing from Writer's Digest Book Club, but they're mostly for reference, so they sit on my bookshelf waiting for me to grab them when needed.

What about you? Do you read non-fiction?

BTW, there is a motive behind this question. Right now I'm working on a non-fiction book, with the working title, My Fear List.  Here I am below trying to look scared and serious, in keeping with the book's topic. (g)
For more about My Fear List, and a very short blog post about Facing Up to Fears, come on over to
http://myfearlist.blogspot.com/2010/09/my-fear-list-facing-up-to-fears.html

Does an Author's Age Matter to You?

On Monday, I asked the question on Make Mine Mystery,
Does What an Author Looks Like Make a Difference? I got quite a few answers, but the general consensus seemed to be that looks didn't matter as long as the book seemed interesting and the photo fit the tone of the book.

Today, I'm wondering about a similar question. Does An Author's Age Matter to You?

If you're young and you learn an author is pretty old, maybe my age, would that have a bearing on your decision? And vice versa. If you're a senior, or almost one, would you read books by a younger author, say in the 20's or 30's?

If age is a factor, what are your cutoff dates?

Open Promo Day - Give Us your Elevator Pitches

Since I'm busy on my WIP again, I thought up an easy blog for today, which may be of interest to many of you. Instead of my writing a bunch of stuff, here's your chance to provide an elevator pitch of one of your books, either already out or to be released. Pretend you're talking to an editor or agent, so make it short, and don't cheat and talk about more than one. Embed your buy link and leave your blog and/or website, so people know where to find out more about you and maybe buy your book!

I'll go first - Killer Career - A career change from lawyer to writer could be a killer for Julie who doesn't realize her mentor participates in his own murder mysteries. 

Facebook, Blogs, Egroups - How do you divvy up your time?

Sometimes I wonder which should come first - Facebook, Blogs or Egroups. They all seem important to me, yet I can't spend as much time on each of them as I'd like. With a full time day job, a husband and dog to come home to, plus a work in progress that's inching ever so slowly along, it's a struggle to divvy up the free moments.

Many people I've met in person, plus online friends and/or potential readers send comments or messages to me on Facebook, a place I love to visit. The possibilities for making friends, learning and sharing seem endless. I resisted for a while, but gave in to Farmville, because its cute, plus it's another way to connect on the Internet. I have to admit I'm not the best farmer there, with my crops withering often, and a fictitious dog I somehow got there which ran away because I forgot to feed it every day. I must assure you the same thing doesn't happen to my real dog, Rascal. She gets plenty of food and treats from me, actually more than she should have, because she has me twisted around her little paws.

Anyway, back to  the topic at hand -.

Blogs are great and I love them. I wish I could read and comment on all the blogs of all the friends - the ones I've met online and in person, but it's impossible. I try to visit the group blogs I belong to first to support my fellow members, then branch out to a few others, but it's usually a hit or miss process.

I also love the egroups to which I belong. I've never met many of the other members face to face, yet they've shared so much with me I feel I know them quite well. I like knowing what's going on in their lives and sharing what' happening in mine. It would be a great loss to lose my connection with them.

So, I love Facebook, Blogs and Egroups, but some days I can't get to them all, though I wish I could. Sometimes it's a matter of whatever catches my eye that gets first choice. What about you? How do you divvy up your time?

A Matter of Taste

The pasta salad that came with my lunch today was seasoned with cilantro. I didn't know that until I started eating. Now, cilantro is one of those seasonings you either love or hate.
I despise cilantro, but I finished the pasta salad anyway, since I was hungry and besides I'd paid for it.

The incident kind of reminds me about books. I  find that if I've paid for a book or perhaps one of my friends wrote it, I'll give it a longer stretch to see if I really don't like it. Also, if I have nothing else to read, I'll keep reading. If I still don't care for it after a while, I'll put it aside and go on to another one or do something else. Library books or ones lent to me are more easily put aside or returned.

What about you? What do you do if you've bought a book and later discover it's not what you'd anticipated? Do keep reading a while, or just give up?

My Kindle 3 Is Calling Me

I'm having a hard time resisting my Kindle 3. It's calling me to open it up again and read. I really shouldn't. The DH is gone for a few hours and it's a perfect time to concentrate on my WIP - also a perfect time to read.

My Kindle 3 Arrived!

Much jubilation when I saw my Kindle 3 arrive at work today! And, it did have all the books on it that I'd ordered on Amazon while I was waiting for it to arrive. That seemed like a miracle to me. How could it do that?

I'm using this cool Collections feature where I can organize my books (strange for me to be actually organized about something, I know). Anyway, I've got some books in Romance, others in Mystery, Non-Fiction, and Amazon info. Makes it much neater and easier to just click on a collection and browse through that bunch, instead of getting a giant mishmash going.

I'm not sure how long this spirt of organization will last. I don't expect it to carry over too far into other aspects of my life. It's not exactly in my nature.

I think I'll read a little now. Just have to decide which book to read first.

The Kindles are Coming! The Kindles Are Coming!

I've never had a Kindle, but I ordered the lastest, the Kindle 3, as soon as they were available. Today, I received the anxiously awaited message from Amazon - my Kindle has shipped! I'm very excited and have already ordered some kindle books, which Amazon says will magically appear on my Kindle when it arrives. That will be quite a phenomenon. I'm very amazed at such ingenuity.

I'm not the only one excited. The Kindle Korner e-group I belong to is all abuzz with messages about Kindle 3s being shipped. You might say our excitement is at a fever pitch - we're so close to having ours, but don't just yet!

What about you? Do you own a Kindle? Will you buy one?

Gotta go now and see what other kindle books are available, that is, other than my own - Killer Career, Two Wrongs and Girl of My Dreams.

Are you an alligator in the river?

See http://acmeauthorslink.blogspot.com/ to let us know if you're an alligator in the river.

Thanks,
Morgan

Shining Light

I've got to figure out a way to make my light shine brighter. In church on Sunday morning, I noticed the sunlight shining through the stain glass window so brightly I couldn't tell whether one of the candles by the altar was lit or not.

I feel kind of like that candle with the bright light overpowering it. I either have to move my candle elsewhere or make myself shine brighter. I notice lots of writers are moving their candles over a bit to epublishing, which I also do and may do even more in the future. The problem is the shiny ones are moving over now, too. How do I get away from them, or find a way to shine brighter? Such a dilemma.

Are you experiencing something similar? Or, maybe you've found a solution.

The Mane Event - 2009 Remembered

Here's what I wrote last year about the Mane Event - You can tell the weather was a lot cooler then than it is this year.

Another year gone by and here I am again at the Mane Event, the big block party in Arlington Heights the night before the Arlington Million. We sat on a ledge in back of the stage and could definitely hear the band.

In honor of the event, I wore my Arlington Race Track cap and an Arlington Million tee shirt under my jacket. It was a little chilly for August, but the weather has been strange lately.

The DH and I had a great time singing along with the music, even dancing some. On my menu was a pulled pork sandwich, a slice of cheese pizza, pop and a huge chocolate chip cookie.

What kind of doings are in your neighborhood lately?

PS - We'll see what's on my 2010 menu.