I have been writing a while

     I decided to look online and see what work of mine might still be there. I found only two stories remaining and they are from the last century. Sounds like a really long time ago doesn't it. In the Rose and Thorn Ezine I have a story called Jessie's Angels. The story was inspired by my mother-in-laws angel collection. I had fun writing and I think wrote two versions of it. The other story I found on-line was Private Services in La Petite Zine. This story was inspired by my mother-in-laws ashes being delived by mail to my husband and me in a box much smaller than I expected. Her wish was to be spread among bushes at a neighborhood live theater in the area where she lived.
     I really like the short story form. When done properly it is like a diamond. Compact and brilliant moving toward one conclusion and only one conclusion. It lingers in the mind after it is read causing the reader to think about what happened and why. I've won several writing competitions with short stories and am proud of that. They are little slices of life that touch another person.
     McDiggs is finished with Glory which I told you went to the printer. I will have several weeks before the finished product comes back and  sales can begin. While I have a little down time, I'm going to begin working on a book my son and I are co-writing - or maybe you'd say we have already co-written it. My son was in Kuwait and Iraq last year. We each kept a diary and I kept the letters and emails we wrote back and forth. I hope a compilation of these things will help other families deal with the many circumstances of millitary deployment. In fact, I'm going to work on that right now.

Hey Everyone!

Today the Always In Stitches Monday morning bookclub met and we had a discussion regarding the title of book # 2. We are thinking something with the word Thread.... We want to have a title that makes you want to grab the book, and also describes what the book is about. Expect to hear some of the ideas very soon! Have a great week! - Mary

Glory going to printer!!! Wahoo!

Glory, my mystery story, is going to press sometime in the next week. I am excited. It is a mystery story about what bloodlines mean to some people. It's set in a small Ohio town and is full of really great, funny characters. I am excited to get a completed copy into my hands. It is scheduled for a January release. My website is under construction. I will let you know when I have an address you can visit.I wrote this book all by myself, while Mary, Jan and I collaborated on Guild in the Granary. Jan has done all the preparation of the manuscript and Mary tells me she is reading it. I will post the cover when I get a copy. My good friend Nancy did the cover. She is a professional and I will post her business name after I ask her if she minds.

It is a beautiful day today in Ohio. I have my first go at running the leaf blower. It's not that hard. I also pent the morning at the Fall Festival at my three-year-old grand daughters day camp. Oh my, these little ones can run the legs off their grandmothers. I am pooped.

I wonder if there is anyone out there. Somebody write me back, please, so I know I'm not alone. I'm a learner at this and need reassurance. 

We had a Book Signing in Portsmouth, Ohio

Monday we traveled to Portsmouth, Ohio for a booksigning. It was a beautiful day. Mary drove her new car. I am a very nervous rider and Mary has a tendency to be very casual about her speed and looking where she is going. It worked out okay. She was very considerate of me. We made it there and home safely. This is always a great concern to me when we go out into the world.

First we went to Lil's Quilt Shop where we sold twelve books. I met a wonderful children's writer who came into get an autographed copy of our book. Her name is Pollyanna and she writes children's books. Don;t you love it? I did and her, too. We were at Lil's for two hours. I bought fabric and a set of 600 thread count sheets for $24.99. What a deal and I just started thinking I needed some new sheets. The staff was wonderful and helpful. We made some samples they are going to display and offer their customers. It's a darling shop.

We had supper at a micro brewery in town. I bought beer to bring home but we didn't drink because we still had a program to do at The Down by the River Guild. Food was good and I know the beer would have been, too, if we hadn't been on a sober journey.

We decided quilters are the nicest people. Every where we go they welcome us and are so pleasant to us. We did our little talk about the Guild in the Granary and how we came to write it. Jan brought her rat. You have to read the book to understand that. It is available on McDiggs Publishing website. We got to see a wonderful Boy Scout quilt made for scouts to raise money and we sold a bunch more books. I think total for the day was twenty-seven books. We are happy with that and know we are not Jonathon Kellerman.

We also learned that the lady ( I can't remember her name) who started quilt barns in Adams County, Ohio, to honor her mother,  is ill. I was so sorry to hear that as I enjoy the barns all over the State of Ohio. There are people doing good things every where but it is the others who make the evening news. Doesn't seem quite right does it.

We met at Always in Stitches on Wednesday to hash out some concerns with our second book. We had to go back to the drawing board and beef up our suspect list. Rewrite, rewrite, rewrite, but I think you are going to like it when we get finished. I am trying to figure out this blogging business. Bear with me. Diana!