Blessed Ostara, Happy Easter and Passover.  

Today is a bit cool but sunny and I am enjoying the family (all 3 of us this year) hanging out and having a good time.  Even though the Peanut is almost 13 he still likes the little things, like hiding the eggs, the basket filled with yummy chocolate and a small gift of sorts.  He knows the Easter Bunny is a figment of my imagination but he humors me.  I refuse to discuss Santa with him, but I did give over on the Tooth Fairy.

When I was growing up, we celebrated Easter with the grandparents in Sarasota, Florida.  I always had a frilly dress (no laughing, please) with shiny shoes and a white hat.  I remember one year that my frilly dress being almost to small and getting into a tussle with some boy in Sunday school (no surprise there) and coming out afterwards to meet up with my parents who did their best to contain their laughter.  The whole front of my dress had ripped and the frazzled Sunday School teacher used many safety pins to hold it all together.

I am looking forward to a glorious Spring and getting lots of planting done and telling Mother Earth she is loved.

Still down

I am still relegated to only 15 minutes a day at the computer and I am going nuts.  Some small silly technical difficulty is keeping me from using my son's laptop for now but I vow to get back to writing more than the mere couple of hundred words a day!

Still no work from agent #2 query.  Now news is good news.. right?

Two down....

Last week, before the mother of all back injuries, I mailed off two agent query letters.  I got my first rejection within 24 hours.  Sigh, I was pretty much prepared for it, but it still smarts.  But I am not giving up.  I have 18 fairly positive reviews on my Amazon Breakthrough Novel entry, and I am hoping for more from friends, and friends of friends, my back is healing (slowly), and I am still channeling my muse.  I can't complain.

I am hoping that my back will allow me to sit down and write some this week but if not, I am absconding with my son's laptop and going back to the recliner and writing there.  Humm... how is it my 12 year old has a laptop and I don't?

Jump!

Now that I have managed to get a handle on the door or that great hall of being a published writer..ok, maybe not quite the handle of the door.. maybe it is the doorman checking my credentials, but I am preparing to knock on those doors.  But before I can do that I have to jump, take a leap of faith and jump.  Faith in my writing, and faith in myself.  

As soon as I got the notice that I had made it into the top 100 of the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Contest, I popped my agent query letter up on my computer and proudly added, "I am currently a finalist..."  For the first time in a long while, I have been proud of myself and for the first time in a long while, I can feel good about calling myself a writer.  I may get no further that the top 500 entries, or I may make it to the end, it doesn't matter.  What matters is that I took that first leap of faith and submitted my manuscript.

Now to take that second leap and email that letter to some agents.  That letter has been staring at me since Tuesday and all I do is stare right back, unable to hit send.  I keep asking myself why?  I know why.  It's the same thing that kept me from almost not entering Amazon's contest... fear.  But I know now, I am stronger than that fear, and better than that fear and I will knock on the hallowed hall of publishing.... right after I let the cat out.

I made it!

I am sure that no one has noticed that I have not blogged in about a millions years (or you're being polite and not saying anything about it).  I could say that I have been so busy writing my manuscripts that I have no time to blog.  Some of that is true... well a wee part of it is true.  I wish I could say that I have been writing away, but truth be told, my Muse took a sabbatical and left me in the lurch.  So instead of sitting, staring at the computer or taking an axe to it, I let life intrude up to my armpits.  My son's school activities, after-school activities, scouting (Boys and Cubs) etc.. etc...

But my Muse returned, without narry a word to indicate why I'd been left in the lurch, and just started pecking away at me until I took the inch of dust off the computer and started writing again.  I can only assume that my Muse was taking this extended vacation to fill itself up with adventure and tales of wonder, to then return home triumphant and ready to work.  That's its story and I'm buying it for the moment.

Now I am a quarterfinalist in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel contest!  I cannot tell you how excited I am about this.  

This is my first completed manuscript and blood, sweat and bugging the hell out of my friends.  Hard work does eventually pay off! 

12 years!

Today is my son's 12th birthday. 12 YEARS! Born on 9/9/96 at 9:29am, 9lbs. 8.2oz. 20.5" (and that was 3 weeks early too) He was only a few hours old when he raised his head and looked up at his Auntie M. He has been a strong, solid kid since day one. Adventurous, loving and thankfully forgiving. When he was little, he wanted to be a pirate/fireman. Now he wants to be a lego designer or a designer/engineer for saving the earth. I believe that he will do whatever he decides and do it with gusto.

Happy Birthday Peanut!

Miss Dashwood

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