Writing - the ups and downs

Right now I'm reading several books that I would not ordinarily read. I'm taking advantage of the free books on Kindle. I don't have a Kindle unit but downloaded for free the reading app to my laptop. Every day I get the Pixel newsletter from Amazon which lists the free books for that day - and you can too! Let me know and I'll make sure you get it if you do not know how. I glance through the offerings, somehow I cannot ignore good stories that are free. Many are stories I would not go to a book shop and pay for. I'm learning that I like all kinds of writing and stories. And I'm finding new authors to follow. Right now I am reading Hippie Boy: A girl's Story. Very good. By Ingrid Ricks. Not a book I'd ordinarily buy. Free - I've learned to love it. Now, I'd even buy it! I've also started PROMISE ME THIS by Cathy Gohlke, a story about characters on the Titanic. very good read. I've downloaded but not read Leaving the Comfort Ca

I've decided today that I need to "buck up." I need to quit feeling sorry for myself and move out of the slow moping lane I've been in the past two weeks. My pancreas has reared its ugly head recently and I'm not feeling my best. With any chronic condition you never know what each day will bring. However, it is - thank God - a condition that I can live with. There are some remedies that help and I need to realize many do not have my options when they have an illness. Instead of giving in to my condition, I'm girding myself up to be strong - at least for today. My plan is, as I sit here on the comfy sofa writing about it, to do my yoga that helps, to do my neck exercises so I can move my otherwise stiff neck which give me an additional boost of energy. Surgery a few years ago left my neck with rods and pins! and little movement which makes it hard to drive if I don't keep it loosened. And yes exercise and heat daily keep it more flexible. I'm in

I thought it would be fun to give everyone a report on our writer's meeting today, what each writer is in the process of doing and what we do at these meetings. It's pretty simple, really. Sherry Hartzler or I usually lead the meeting, I guess, because we were the founders of our group: Writer's Helping Writers. We meet at the Great Expectations Cafe in the strip mall at the Hocking Hills Flea Market on Rt. 33, near Logan. We meet monthly and there is usually 5 to 7 of us, give or take one or two.  We each bring something to read and we give feedback. Often we pass out material to the members to take home and read, comment on, and return at the  next meeting. We ask for feedback about various projects and use each other to bat ideas off of. I plan to publish a book of short stories this summer so today I read two of those stories, titled VINNIE and the other MACON FOR GEORGIA. Very short shorts. I got great feedback, and believe me if they don't like something

Today I started doing yoga again. I've missed it and the calmness and balance it brings. I'd forgotten how good it felt to stretch and bend and listen to the soothing voice of Rodney Yee and the soothing music. It's good for the soul. This coming week I plan to start writing again. I've been bogged down with VADA FAITH and now it's time to let her fly on her own. I've hovered and I've fretted and I've advertised til I'm blue in the face.  It's time to let go and move on. I'm going to start the week with another story that catches up with Vada Faith a few years after she serves as a surrogate mother. She has a sweet baby boy she calls SWEET BABY JAMES which I hope will be the title. The only information I can offer at this time is James is kidnapped from his own yard from his play pen. Vada Faith of course is beside herself with worry which turns to terror when he's gone a day or so. That's where my work begins. I h