Cleanliness is next to...creativity!

I couldn't quite figure out why my muse has been so absent lately but I figured it out yesterday. As I sat amongst the disaster I call my writing center, I got so frusterated by the mess that I went to the thrift store and purchased a nice little book shelf and got to work cleaning up the mess. The pictures on the left show the before and the pictures on the right show the after. Once it was tidied up and organized, my muse popped back into the picture with a relieved sigh and said, "Let's get to work." And work we did. I was able to pound out a good 2000 words last night before my brain shut down from exhaustion.

So, if your muse has suddenly vanished, maybe she's tired of working in a mess...clean up your work space and see how productive you become :)

Surgery two is complete

Well, James went for an appointment Wednesday with the foot doctor and Dr. Binerschke admitted him to the hospital for surgery. The surgery took place on Friday and took nearly eight hours to complete. My poor husband was so groggy and in so much pain when he came back from recovery that it broke my heart. I wanted so badly to be strong for him but I broke down and sobbed. It crushed me to see him like that with all the tubes and wires and bandages...and he hurt so bad. They gave him a nerve block in his upper thigh to keep his leg numb for a couple of days but it started wearing off way sooner than that and the first night was miserable for him.

So after five days in the hospital we are home as of this afternoon. The surgery went well and everything should be on the mend now. The heel bone was so crushed that the doctor had to use donor bone from a cadaver to rebuild the heel. It sounded kind of creepy when he first said it was a possibility but now that the surgery has gone so well, I don't care where the bone came from, just so long as it works.

Anyway, I just wanted to give everyone an update and let you know how things are going. Hopefully we'll be able to get back on a regular schedule and life will fall into something of a normal pattern for the next few months. 'Normal' being relative of course :)

Thank you to everyone who has prayed and sent good wishes our way. Your support and kindness means the world to me.

I know I haven't been around much lately....

But I have a really good reason for it. My husband was riding his motorcycle home from work when a driver ran a red light and broadsided him, sending him 30 feet through the air where he landed on his back. His left foot was crushed between his motorcycle and the car's bumper and when he landed on his back his T12 vertebrae suffered a serious fracture. He's home now but he's pretty banged up and has a number of surgeries ahead of him in the near future. It's been an exhausting few days for all of us here. For my readers who are inclinded to pray, please do, and I thank you so much for it :)

We'll be okay, we always bounce back thanks to God, but it's going to be a trial. It's going to be rough not having any real income for the next 6-12 months. I'd get a job but he needs so much care right now that I really can't. I know eventually that we'll get some sort of financial settlement from all of this to help pay all these medical bills but for now, it's going to be really difficult.

The hardest part for me, I think, has been the loss of my strongest support system at a time when I really need it. My husband is everything to me and at the end of a long day, his big bear hugs keep me going. Now that he's flat on his back all the time, his hugs are no longer possible. We take a shower together every single night and that simple action is something I look forward to all day, it's not sexual at all, just a few minutes for us to connect and be alone, to shut the world out and let us reconnect...and now that's gone. I feel kind of alone even surrounded by so many people who love and care for us because the one person I draw so much strength from is hurt and I can't do anything to make it better. It breaks my heart when I have to kiss him goodnight in the hospital bed we have set up at home and go to bed myself in our big bed. I cry every night because it's just not right. My heart tells me that something is so very wrong with that and I hate that it has to be that way. I hate not being able to reach over and touch him if I wake up in the night, I hate that I can't snuggle up beside him and feel his arms around me. This is the saddest I've been in so very long and my heart just hurts so bad.

Needless to say, my writing has come to a screeching halt. My brain is so tired from all the stress of the last few days that I couldn't conjure up a creative thought if someone handed me one. That said, I'm going to publish this post and go to bed because three hours from now comes very quickly :)

See Jane Party!

Yesterday, all day, I anticipated an event, a wonderful event, the likes of which I had never had the opportunity to attend before. A couple of weeks ago I was invited by Jane Porter- author extrordinaire- to attend the release party for her latest 5 Spot book called Mrs. Perfect. I've read the book already and it is amazing. It it a story of the strength of women and at the same time, the softness and vulnerability of the same women. The book touched my heart and made me realize that I, too, am stronger than I realize.




So, here are some pictures I took of the event, not all of them are wonderful quality but I was so excited to be included that I was shaking a bit. I met some really great people besides Jane, including author Susanna Carr, Sound Relations CEO Leena Hyat, Kari Andersen- founder of www.momsmakingmoneyfromhome.com. Jennifer Stewart, a member of Jane's website and aspiring author herself was also among those I had dinner and much fun with.

Jane was gracious and beyond sweet. She spoke of her desire to see all kids having great opportunities for their futures. She supports an organization called Page Ahead; they supply books for low income children and instill in them a love of reading and books. Jane is very passionate about this program and her heart was clearly on her sleeve as she spoke about it. If anyone is interested in helping support this very worth cause, the web address is http://www.pageahead.org/. You can find more information there.

After listening to Jane speak about her books and writing, among other things, she signed books, chatted with people and then we all headed over to Ooba Tooba's for drinks and more fun. The evening was a blast and, in spite of getting home in the wee hours of morning, I am so glad I was able to attend. I knew Jane was cool after having spoken with her many times online, but after meeting her in person and getting to chat with her over dinner, she is even more cool than I imagined. She is very sweet and her writing talent is amazing. If you get the chance to pick up one- or more- of her books, please do. You will not be disappointed. You can find the titles of her books on her website: http://www.janeporter.com/

And as an added bonus for those of you who read my blog regularly, I'll be giving away an autographed copy of Jane's latest 5Spot release, Mrs. Perfect, sometime in the very near future. So keep watching and don't miss out!

Jane Porter has a new book coming out!!!

Hey Everyone, Jane Porter's new book, Mrs. Perfect, hits shelves on May 5th. It's the follow up to Odd Mom Out and both books- I can tell you from already having read them- are amazing! Jane is so creative and has such a great gift with words. I would recommend these books to anyone who loves to read. Make sure you read them in order. You have enough time to get Odd Mom Out and get it read before Mrs. Perfect hits the book stores. So hurry up and go get it :)

You can also visit Jane's Website at http://www.janeporter.com/ for more information.

So much for spring

This is an image of my backyard...right now! Apparently Mother Nature doesn't care that it'll be April in three days. It's cold and snowing- has been snowing all day long- and it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

What does this have to do with writing? Not a thing. I just wanted to share a little of my winter wonderland- not that it's wonderful because it's not. I'd much rather be soaking up some rays on a Hawaiian beach or anywhere warm. But it's not to be, I'm stuck here in the Puget Sound, surrounded by ice and snow. I just made the desktop image on my laptop a sunny tropical island with a palm tree so I can have an easier time of dreaming that I was anywhere but here LOL!

Over the river and through the woods....

Okay, so I'm not going through the woods but I'm sure I'll fly over many rivers before I land. I had a new experience on Tuesday. I purchased my very first airline ticket and in June I'm going on my very first trip all by myself. I've flown before but never had the pleasure of actually buying the ticket so I shopped around online and found the best deal on Travelocity.com.

After the purchase was complete I sat staring at my printed itenerary, unable to believe that I was really actually going. The ticket is bought and paid for...there's no turning back. You wouldn't believe the insanely strong feeling I had to go pack my suitcase even though the trip is still 11 weeks away. 11 weeks, 77 days...that feels like forever.

Where am I going, you ask?

My very dearest friend lives in Western Kentucky. I haven't seen her in almost 6 years. She's had a baby since then and that baby is going to be 5 next month. How sad that I missed out on all of that. So, I will be flying out of SeaTac airport at the crack of dawn, landing in Atlanta Georgia several hours later, catching my connecting flight and landing in Nashville, TN where my dear friend will be picking me up so I can spend a week with her and her family.

I'm so keyed up about this trip that I'm finding it difficult to write because I want so badly to do something that will bring June about more quickly. I can't focus on much and while on one hand that's frustrating, on the other hand...there are 5 more fingers! Seriously though, how do you handle extreme anticipation? What do you do to get through the days until "THE DAY" is actually here?

13 Little Blue Envelopes

I started, and finished, this book today and I have to say that it was one of the most engaging and genuinely fun books I've had the pleasure of reading in a long time. I truely enjoyed it and plan on putting it on my 'To Be Read Again' shelf because there is so much culture in this book that I could read it again and probably find things I missed the first time around.

Maureen Johnson is a master wordsmith.

Here's the blurb from the back:

Would you follow the directions?

Would you travel around the world?

Would you open the envelopes one by one?

Inside little blue envelope 1 are $1000 and instructions to buy a plan ticket.

In envelope 2 are directions to a specific London flat.

The note in envelope 3 tells Ginny to find a starving artist.

Because of envelope 4, Ginny and a playwrite/thief/bloke-about-town called Keith go to Scotland together with somewhat disasterous- thought utterly romantic- results. But will she ever see him again?

Everything about Ginny will change this summer, and it's all because of 13 little blue envelopes.

I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a fun adventurous read.

WOOHOO!!!!

Okay, I'm not a football fan, it's just not a game that interests me, but I watched the Superbowl today and enjoyed it. I was rooting for the Giants and cheered as they battled their way up and kept the Patriots at bay. They played a wonderful game and deserve the victory they scored. Go Giants!! You guys rock.

The Liar's Diary- A novel by Patry Francis

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Laurie Connors
A Plume Paperback Plume Publicity
212-366-2222
laurie.connors@us.penguingroup.com



THE LIAR’S DIARY

A Novel
By Patry Francis


“The new questions and revelations just keep coming…Readers will be heartily rewarded.”—Ladies’ Home Journal


When new music teacher Ali Mather enters Jeanne Cross’s quiet suburban life, she brings a jolt of energy that Jeanne never expected. Ali has a magnetic personality and looks to match, drawing attention from all quarters. Nonetheless, Jeanne and Ali develop a friendship based on their mutual vulnerabilities THE LIAR’S DIARY (Plume / February 2008 / ISBN 978-0-452-28915-4 / $14.00) is the story of Ali and Jeanne’s friendship, and the secrets they both keep.

Jeanne’s secrets are kept to herself; like her son’s poor report card and husband’s lack of interest in their marriage. Ali’s secrets are kept in her diary, which holds the key to something dark: her fear that someone has been entering her house when she is not at home. While their secrets bring Jeanne and Ali together, it is this secret that will drive them apart. Jeanne finds herself torn between her family and her dear friend in order to protect the people she loves.

A chilling tour of troubled minds, THE LIAR’S DIARY questions just how far you’ll go for your family and what dark truths you’d be willing to admit—even to yourself.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Patry Francis is a three-time nominee for the Pushcart Prize whose work has appeared in the Tampa Review, Colorado Review, Ontario Review, and the American Poetry Review. She is also the author of the popular blogs, simplywait.blogspot.com and waitresspoems.blogspot.com. This is her first novel. Please visit her website at http://www.patryfrancis.com/.

Praise for THE LIAR’S DIARY:

“Twists and turns but never lets go.”—Jacquelyn Mitchard, bestselling author of The Deep End of the Ocean

“A quirky, well-written and well-constructed mystery with an edge.”—Publishers Weekly

“Outright chilling.”—New York Daily News

“Genuinely creepy…The unlikely friendship between a small-town school secretary and a flamboyant teacher proves deadly in this psychological murder mystery.”—Kirkus Reviews

“A twisting ride full of dangerous curves and jaw-dropping surprises. This is one of my favorite reads of the year!”—Tess Gerristen, bestselling author of The Mephisto Club

“Francis draws and tense and moody picture of the perfect home and family being peeled back secret by secret…Four Stars.”—Romantic Times

THE LIAR’S DIARY
By Patry Francis
Plume Paperbacks / February 2008 / $14.00
ISBN: 978-0-452-28915-4
Readers Guide available at http://www.penguin.com/

For more information or to schedule an interview with Patry Francis, please contact Laurie Connors, Plume Publicity
212-366-2222 / laurie.connors@us.penguingroup.com

There was also a great little audio clip that went with this promotion but blogger is having issues uploading it so I can't put it up. I do hope, though, that you'll get this book!