Well read.

I saw a meme for a perfume to mimic the scent of old books. Well. Okay. I've spent time in the basement of the library, and while it has its charm, and I've communed with the fabled ghost down there (which Al, the librarian, SWEARS to me has gone on to somewhere else), I perhaps am not a fan of smelling like a musty old cellar full of paper. Don't get me wrong. I adore poring over history and filing book jackets for semesters on end, then being promoted to transcribing immigrant interviews. These were some of the best days of my life. I am hoping that when insisting hipsters spritz on the scent of old books, to smell, well read, they... well, READ.

Announcing...

If you aspire to write The Great American Novel, you must write with all your heart. Having traveled to and lived in other places, I see that my grandparents were unique people. They were not unique to North Dakota, but they were unique. They dug in and developed land and a farming industry they were proud of. They were humble and never backed down from a challenge. When the country called, Grandpa marched off to defend the Red, White and Blue, so he wouldn't have to do it here. #loveandwartimeless #historicalfiction #northdakota #bgmercantile

The time is now.

My characters have always been independent women who love their families and like to travel. I probably should have been a mapmaker. When you have spent two years marketing other projects, and outlining, writing notes, having conversations, drinking gallons of coffee, and loving a new book into a manuscript, eventually the day comes when you click into Cover Creator. The time is now.

#loveandwartimeless

Mia dropped Rae and the baby off at her house and swung by the hospital parking lot to deliver a form for a class. She had to turn it in to the administrator's desk at the nursing school next door to the hospital. This will all be very convenient, Mia thought, in the long run. Her whole life was within a 5-block radius. She was really pretty pleased with herself. This was at least two days early. She never turned in something a day early in undergrad. As she glided between the automatic sliding glass doors, Mia caught the first notes of a breaking news bulletin from the waiting room to the right of the entry. She couldn't help herself. Like a moth to the flame, she was drawn toward the soft green and gray walls, as the nervous anchor stumbled over hastily written copy. "The U.S. began retaliation today against Russia..."

Time after Time

"People like that," my friend Regina said. "Other people know those people are like that." So today, friends, I urge you to be discerning. Watch your backs, your fronts, and put your best selves forward into the world. Ever watch a basketball game and watch someone fake a drawn foul? People will do that in real life adulthood, to draw news cameras, insurance claims, or whatever they can. Turn from these people. Keep from them. It's actually in the bible. Psalm 34:13 "Keep your tongue from doing evil andc your lips from spreading lies; Depart from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it." Basically, I'm finding myself to be a little bit surrounded by crazytown, and I hope it's just the season. I pray it will pass. Maybe by November, when everyone is counting their blessings once again.

Settling Down.

The leaves are brilliant hues. Crimson and gold beckon to me, that I should be out among them, playing and swirling and breathing in the very last of this season before the icy air blows in. Alas, I have a pile of notes and a promise to myself. By day's end, another chapter will appear. Mia will know more about her destiny, and my laundry will be put away. Oh, Saturday, how I love thee. Also, may the Bison win. #loveandwartimeless #gobison

Counting sheep and words

Personally, I feel if I'm going to write, I should be writing the book, and if I'm going to type, I should be typing form the stacks of notes I've written FOR the book. But I digress. Allow me to say, Once I get myself disciplined enough to sit still for 30 minutes, there's a WHOLE BUNCH of story development that has gone on, longhand. And I have several yellow legal pads and lunchtimes to thank for this revelry and literary abandon. My characters are real to me, and I have been gushing about them to anyone who will listen (thanks for that), and they are living, breathing and experiencing real-to-life moments and backstories. I have beautiful editors and a patient designer ready to rock. I think this will be good. Now to type it in.