Writing - the ups and downs

The long cold days of January have sped past with amazing speed. We’ve had a mild winter so far. Overnight it is predicted that we will get 4 inches of snow. I’m sure more ice and cold temps will accompany the white stuff! When my three girls were little the best time of day during winter was when they were all home from school and daddy would build a fire in the fireplace. I’d have a pot of vegetable soup or chili simmering on the stove. Oh how I miss those days. I loved when the girls went sledding and came back inside for hot chocolate all red faced and sometimes sweaty in the layers of jackets and snow pants and scarves. Why does time go by so fast, especially now? When I was a kid the long lazy days of summer seemed to stretch out before me like an endless blank canvas. I got to color in each day with dress up, creek wading, swinging, walking to the store on the corner. Any number of things that made me love my life.  I got up early and couldn’...

My three books are free from December 12-16. Click the links below to check them out. Hope your holidays are the very best ever. I have my tree up and the wreaths on the door.  Let the holiday festivities begin! I was pleased to see that VADA FAITH was one of the books featured in the Pixel of Ink newsletter. Thanks POI. Hope you decide to invest in a book as a gift for that special one on your list. If not then read the kindle versions free for the next few days. Merry Christmas and a very happy New Year. Here's to a great 2015. Click to open expanded view Enjoy the romance, suspense, and humor in this collection of short stories. In award winning “Mabel and the Garage Sale,” Mabel’s house rests in the path of a proposed highway. As Mabel sorts her things to move, she recalls the colorful characters who’ve passed through her life.  The story, “Delphine and Rainelle,” poses the question, is a marriage worth saving at all costs? In “Joy Ruth and Min...

My friend Liz Vollstadt is offering three copies of her middle-grade novel, PAIRS ON ICE, as a Goodreads “Giveaway.”  Just go to  www.goodreads.com , and type PAIRS ON ICE in the search box. When the book comes up, scroll down to “Get this book for free” and click to enter.  To find more Giveaways–and there are lots of them––you can click on the arrow next to Explore on the Home page, and then select Giveaways in the drop-down menu.  You just might win a book!   You can also find PAIRS this way by clicking through  and  choosing one of the following tags: children, middle-grade, coming-of-age, or friends   As an added note, Liz’s book just won a Royal Palm Literary Award from the Florida Writers Association.  PAIRS ON ICE placed  second in   the the middle-grade category. Congratutions, Liz THIS BOOK WOULD MAKE A GREAT CHRISTMAS GIFT FOR THE YOUNG GIRLS ON YOUR LIST!!!!! Book Description Competit...

It's hard to believe today is Sept. 30th. It's been a whirlwind month with me buying a condo and planning a move back to the city. My house sold without me even advertising or putting a sign out front. How much of this experience was fate and how much divine intervention? I'm not sure. But it feels so right. Not only that, the entire endeaor has taken not quite a month. A friend told me when I make decisions I should ask myself if the decision felt light or heavy. From the very beginning thinking about buying a condo and moving closer to town just felt right. The house and two acres here in the country has been a huge responsibility this summer with grass growing at breakneck speed. Thankfully my daughter Susan and her family have pitched in and cut grass and weeded. Whew. I not only do not like to cut grass but this summer I was unable to cut it. It kept them busy cutting their five acres and my two. Now, problem solved. I move October 13th. I'm excited and scared. E...

Finally, the Verizon rebate arrived in the form of a $50 Visa card, much appreciated by me. As I wrote in my last post I'd been battling to get this rebate for several weeks, sending in a variety of requested forms with receipt and all being the wrong ones. The last ones I sent were simply a repeat of the ones before and VOILA. They were the exact ones they wanted. Enough said. I'm going back to my life now that that issue has been put to rest. Speaking of going back to my life, it appears a move for me may be on the horizon. This summer has been an uphill battle to get the lawn work done. Services in this area have not returned my calls. I've been depending on family to cut my two acres all summer and battle the weeds that grow in abundance here in the country. It's been an uphill struggle for all of us. I'm throwing in the towel. I simply can't do it anymore. Mostly I worry and someone else does the actual work! And I don't much like either. Tomorro...

I have spent much time since the beginning of July trying to get through the process of getting a rebate from Verizon, you know, the company that sells communication supplies and services. Mostly they sell supplies for which they offer very little service. And the service is sketchy at best. I guess I sound miffed. Ummm, yep, I am. First, I called Verizon about my slow wifi service. We live in the country and don't get great reception. I've limped along with the box (modem)  I had for a couple of years. When I called the first time, the tech told me I needed a new box and an upgrade and to agree to a new two year contract. Okay. Yep I was in. For just $30 she would ship a new box that would provide me with faster service. I got the upgraded box in two days and was singing the praises of Mr. Verizon. Yay. I was going to be up and going and could google everything and anything I wanted. I could shop, ebay, go to Snopes to my heart's content, facebook, twitter, pinterest...

I'd like to offer a book free - free book + free shipping- for a review left on Amazon. I'm not asking for five star reviews. Instead I'm asking for an honest review, honest opinion. No strings attached. It can be as little as a few sentences to a paragraph or two. I'm only interested in your opinion of the story/or stories. Not all readers leave reviews and reviews are important to the sales of a book. While selling my books is not the most important element of my work, I want people to read my books and if I don't sell them, they are not read. Thanks to anyone who wants to email his or her address to me for a book to review. I'll be giving away a total of six books, deadline for getting me your name and address is  July 4th. Email me at barbwhitti@aol.com I'll need your name and mailing address in full. Thanks a bunch. Here is a summary of each book offered. Vada Faith - novel Lee Smith said of Vada Faith, “...the combination of the tight...