Wishing you a day of festivities and fun!!
Until Monday, and spookishly yours,
Ann
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Spooky pre-Halloween Neighborhood Fun
I don’t know what your neighborhood looks like during the Halloween festivities. Some of the houses around mine go all-out.
This huge spidey and web thing is one block from out house. Only one comment is suitable: eek!!
Until next time,
Ann
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Caution… Woman at work
I am busy at work… and will be back another day.
Until Friday,
Ann
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Conference!
I just returned from a fabulous Novelists, Inc. (aka, Ninc) conference at the Tradewinds on St. Pete’s beach. Talk about a gorgeous venue for a conference!
Ninc is an organization consisting of multi-published novelists in all genres. The annual conference is a great time to meet up with old friends, network and learn more about our constantly-changing industry. This year’s conference didn’t disappoint.
I had a wonderful time and learned TONS.
Now that I’m home again, I’m rarin’ to sit down and write.
Until Wednesday,
Ann
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A recipe for…. chocolate chip pumpkin cookies!
If you like pumpkin and chocolate, these cookies are for you. I made a batch recently and oh! Are they yummy.
Pumpkin Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
(Original recipe found at www.lovebakesgoodcakes.com)
Note: I tweaked the original recipe a bit. The recipe below incorporates my changes.
Yield: about 5 dozen
Ingredients
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1 cup sugar
1 can (15 oz.) pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin pie filling)
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup quick-cooking oats
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
2 cups chocolate chips
Instructions
Preheat oven to 375°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper (I used Silpat) and set aside.
In a large bowl, beat the butter, brown sugar and sugar until creamy. Add the pumpkin, egg and vanilla; beat until smooth and well combined.
In a separate bowl, combine the flour, oats, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Mix into the pumpkin mixture. Fold the chocolate chips into the dough. Using a cookie scoop, drop dough onto the baking sheets, spacing about 2 inches apart.
Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the edges just begin to brown. Allow to cool on the pan for 3 minutes before removing to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Store leftover cookies in a covered container.
Until Monday, and Droolingly Yours,
Ann
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Kinky Boots!
Recently, I went to this show. I was eager to see it, but not sure what to expect. Would I be let down? Disappointed?
Not a chance. Kinky Boots is based loosely on a true story, or so say the PR folks. True or not, this is a can-do, be yourself tale about accepting who you are and changing the world, just a little.
This is a feel-good musical–toe-tapping music, terrific dancing, a story that made me laugh and now and then, shed a tear. The tremendous enthusiasm and energy from a talented cast was contagious, and I came away smiling.
You can’t ask for more than that. If you ever get a chance to see it, do. 🙂
Until Friday, and wishing you unexpected energy and happiness,
Ann
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Pumpkins, unite!
Yesterday, my family and I headed to a pumpkin farm to get our Halloween pumpkins. I love the excitement and fun of culling through the different shapes, sizes and textures of pumpkins still in the field, choosing just the right ones and bringing them home. Then the hard work begins: cutting off the top and scooping out the guts (messy, but part of the process), sketching a face or design on the skin, and finally, turning that sketch into reality. The results are rarely exactly what we imagined, but wonderful all the same.
Sort of like writing a novel. Searching for the right story, imagining what it will look like. Slowly and patiently and often messily breathing life into it, only to find that the story I have created isn’t quite like the one I first envisioned. I’m always surprised, but rarely disappointed.
Until Wednesday, and wishing you pumpkin-friendly day,
Ann
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Writing time, and the process ain’t easy…
Some writers are able to complete that first draft in record time. I want that, too. I’m impatient as the next person to get the story of my latest work-in-progress on the page.
Instead, progress is at a crawl. Writing the first draft has become a real struggle. You’d think that after some 25-odd novels, I’d have this process down cold. But ironically, the more my skills in the craft of writing grow and develop, the slower I seem to write. Which is why the above quote is perfect. I came across it at just the right time, when I was doubting myself. Now I understand that no matter how slow and arduous the journey seems, I am making definite progress in bringing this story to life. The story will be all the richer for the time taken.
Until Wednesday, and wishing you progress in whatever you do,
Ann
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TGIF!
TGIF–Thank goodness it’s Friday!
As a writer, I set my own hours, which means I often work on Saturdays and even Sundays. Still, I look forward to the weekend.
And on that note….
Until Monday, and wishing you a terrific weekend,
Ann
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Rules are made to be… used
The other day, I came across this handy dandy list and had to share.
I live by these rules of behavior (and others, of course), but I never even realized that until I saw them in print. Which got me thinking… each of us has unwritten rules that guide us through life (or that we rebel against!), rules we learned from our parents or other role models or in school. Rules against which, right or wrong, we judge ourselves and others.
It’s the same with my fictional characters. Like real people, they hold self-judgments they certainly judge other characters. Oftentimes, the reasons for those judgements, their particular rules, remain hidden, even to me, their creator, and only appear as the story unfolds and begins to deepen. I love that slow reveal, which feels real and yet magical to me. And I enjoy showing the reader, and eventually the characters, just how misguided these rules can be.
Over the next few days and weeks, I plan to consider some of the other unwritten rules by which I live. What are the rules you hold dear, that maybe you’ve never realized you have?
Until Friday, and wishing you a day of insight and realization,
Ann
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