Hello, out there

I have finally finished the physical move but am still buried in boxes and other time sucks, so this is mostly filler (Buffy fans know what I'm talking about). Today I will change the email connected to this blog, carefully following Blogger's instructions and hoping I don't find my blog missing afterward. I've seen scary comments in Help forum about this process. If I disappear, my dear friends, I will find you again!
If all goes well, I should be back to posting regularly within a week. I hope, hope, hope.

Mad with joy

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"People from a planet without flowers would think we must be mad with joy the whole time to have such things about us." --Iris Murdoch, author (1919-1999)





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I often wonder how people can do this. . .

















. . .to this planet of wonder and beauty. We live on a miracle in the universe. If I imagine a world without flowers, I feel empty. It amazes me that something whose purpose is to propagate and, in doing so feed other lifeforms, can also be so dazzling. How did we get so lucky?

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Here. I'll spread a little mad joy and wonder. Just because.


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I've got an idea. *light bulbs bursting*





I think I'll start a small journal that's just for noticing a wonder in my personal universe. It could be as simple as observing the veins in a leaf or watching the moon rise.



It's not that I don't see these things regularly. That's why I write haiku. Still, I'd like to make a point of seeking out what makes this a world worth praise and passion.










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I hope this doesn't sound googly-eyed or preachy. I simply believe we can make
our world better by seeing it for what it already is and glorying in that.



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That brings me to the lovely Julie Dao who bestowed upon me the Happy Blogger Award. This award is about blogs that make you feel good when you visit. I feel that way about Julie's site, which is filled with fantasy and gorgeous music. I always want to pull up a chair and stay awhile. I also second the other bloggers she named, many of whom are my favorite hangouts.

Since I should add more (and this is impossible always), here are few bloggers who make me smile on a regular basis.

Stephanie Thornton


VR Barkowski


Karen Amanda Hooper



Carolina Valdez Miller


Sarah Wylie




Tracy/Phoenix

Double-dare you!

Come on in.

The water's fine.

I have a writing challenge for you, but first a gush of gratitude for two of my critique partners.

Some of you will recall I started a YA novel last year with a mermaid theme and then found out from an agent that another book was coming out with some similar elements. I brainstormed ways to eliminate any similarities and started a rewrite. Then I saw more mermaid books and felt uneasy, so I shelved the work for now. I need a new surge of hope, and these gifts are nudging me back to the sea.

Are they not the coolest? Julie made the bluesy ornament, and Rilla found the notebook in Spain. I love the edginess in these images. And I'm feeling the deep calling.

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Meanwhile, I'm playing around with writing a novel (or at least a scene) in verse! This is thanks to Valerie Geary and her Scene-in-Verse Blogfest, which I now double-dare you to sign up for.

This is turning out to be so much fun. I'm not overthinking this, just trying out the verse format with a vague idea stemming from a photo of a woods in winter. For now, it's an exercise, and I can feel the writing muscles stretching and getting stronger.

If you're not sure what a novel in verse is check out the excellent books by Lisa Schroeder. We're not talking rhyme or even set meter, it's more a rhythm of words in the storytelling. Here's an example from Lisa's I HEART YOU, YOU HAUNT ME:

Sleep doesn't come.

Night after night

I thrash around

like a fish

caught in a net

trying to escape.

And I cry

for what I've done

and who I've lost.

Please, click the link in this post or the fest button on the upper right of this blog to check out what Valerie is hosting. I've picked a photo of my own that I'm using as a springboard, but you can use any of the ones she posted for inspiration. The scenes will be posted Dec. 29.

Come on and play!

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Finally, Shelley said I should post a picture of my decorated tree--the one I squeezed into the front seat of my Miata. So here's a circus acrobat wishing you high-flying joy.

The almost finished tree, and the old wax angel my mother-in-law gave me long ago. It's my favorite. Peace and best wishes for a happy holiday.

Help Talli roll in sales

Do you know Talli Roland? If not, do yourself a favor and visit her blog, which is always interesting with posts on writing (her own and other people's), traveling (London tubes to Slovakian mountains) and food (blueberry grunt and toffee pudding, anyone?).

But today is all about an experiment in social networking and how it can boost sales. Talli organized a websplash in which hundreds of bloggers and tweeters are spreading the word about her debut novel THE HATING GAME and trying to hit the Kindle bestseller list at Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk today. Even a few sales in a short period on Amazon helps push a book up the rankings, making it more visible to other readers.

Check out the deal (it really is a steal!) at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com If you don't have a Kindle, download a free app at Amazon for Mac, iPhone, PC, Android and more.

THE HATING GAME is also coming soon in paperback. Keep up with the latest at Talli's website.

About THE HATING GAME:

When man-eater Mattie Johns agrees to star on a dating game show to save her ailing recruitment business, she's confident she'll sail through to the end without letting down the perma-guard she's perfected from years of her love 'em and leave 'em dating strategy. After all, what can go wrong with dating a few losers and hanging out long enough to pick up a juicy £2000,000 prize? Plenty, Mattie discovers, when it's revealed that the contestants are four of her very unhappy exes. Can Mattie confront her past to get the prize money she so desperately needs, or will her exes finally wreak their long-awaited revenge? And what about the ambitious TV producer whose career depends on stopping her from making it to the end?

Power of Three

Gasp. It has not escaped my notice that today the friendly follower's widget says 303. What a magical number, and besides that, Woo-hoo, Wow, Yay and OMG! I have trouble believing that so many people clicked on that little button and followed my blog.

Thank you old and new followers for finding something interesting here. I appreciate it, like, by the power of three. Triple imagery is found throughout the world and its history, so I'm going to brew up a post on that, along with a contest.

I'd do it right now in my excitement, but tonight is crit group (actually, so was yesterday) and I've got some serious writing to do on my novel that's been undergoing reconstruction. So today is hard-hat day. See you soon to frolic and work some magic. (I hope). Thank you again!

Why I'm compelled

All week--as I struggled with an old trauma and realized some wounds never really heal and make us what we are, both the good and the bad--I was also trying to come up with a post for The Great Blogging Experiment. Elana Johnson asked people to sign up to write about one subject today: Writing Compelling Characters.

I thought, “I’ve not nothing. Zilch. Nada.” But that’s not true. I know a compelling character when I see one. I’ve lost a good night’s sleep more than once to finish a novel. I’ve watched some movies or television shows again and again.

I’ve decided to pick my favorite show of all time, Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Not only is Buffy compelling, so are most of her sidekicks.

Why? Oh, boy, this is the hard part. Buffy and each person in her circle are drawn with stand-out strengths, good hearts but deep flaws that are sometimes truly disturbing. So we care about them even while saying, “What are you doing???”

We love stories about chosen ones, superheroes, people who can vanquish evil. But the best heroes have to battle what’s inside themselves as well as external foes.

What happens to Buffy:

She’d rather be buying shoes but got tapped to be the one-and-only Slayer. Sigh. She’s peeved, reluctant, argumentative, but, in the end, not able to turn her back on evil. She’ll stomp its sorry ass and toss in a witty line while at it.

But when she learns how huge the powers against her are, she says, “I’m sixteen years old. I don’t want to die.” Can we blame her? Can we not wish to see her win?

Nothing comes easy. She falls in love--with a vampire who is cursed to suffer for his past deeds. This ends in disaster and forces her to fight her lover. When he gloats that she can’t kill him, she says, “Give me time.”

And time makes her stronger--a formidable foe who can and will face anything. But she is also the walking wounded. Like all of us, her hurts never completely go away.

Buffy sacrifices herself to save her sister and the world (she saved the world a lot as her tombstone reads). But her friends use a spell to bring her back. She is like the walking dead. She can’t tell them she thinks she was in heaven and doesn’t know why she’s had to return to hell-on-earth.

Eventually, Buffy and her friends each face the darkness within themselves and claw their way back to redemption. They do this with the help of their friends and forgiveness.

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Note: The series is the creation of the fabulous Joss Whedon. The picture above is from the spinoff graphic novel/comic from Dark Horse Books.

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I wish I’d had time to write this and come back to it, instead of throwing it together. But sometimes rough and raw is good. It comes from the heart.

Happy haiku to you and BBQ, too

The farmers' market was berry-beautiful this morning, which is a fine thing for this Labor Day weekend's Blog Party BBQ hosted by KarenG. Share virtual goodies and meet new blogging friends. There's always room for more.





I'm also totally in for Stephanie Thornton's Haiku Blogfest. This is Day 2, and I'm dishing up several pictures and poems.


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their needle-sharp thorns

couldn't save the plump berries

from ravenous hordes.
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old secrets lurk in

layers of stoney timelines--

a silent tick-tock.


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I live in California earthquake country and wrote this with earthquakes on my mind. My blogging buddy, Wen Baragrey, lives in Christchurch, New Zealand, and had a terrible fright when they were jolted fiercely by a 7.1 quake. She wrote about it here. I'm sure she'd love to get some virtual support from anybody who cares to drop by.



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I would drift like sea

foam out past snowy breakers

to the endless deep

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This one is closest to where I am right now in both spirit and my WIP. I need the ebb-and-flow. I need to be lost in vastness. I need to see where the tide takes me.

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Happy holiday to those in the U.S. and happy weekend to all.

P.S. If you want a little fun in your haiku, here's the link to my zombie haiku. And if you want to know more about my introduction into writing haiku, you can read that here.

You put a spell on me--the good kind

Anyone who wasn't at least lurking at WriteOnCon missed an amazing experience, but the good news is there are archives so you can read the talks with agents, editors, authors and just plain cool peeps.

I have rarely been so inspired, both by the content and the outstanding energy and quick-thinking of the organizers. If you're a writer or book-lover and don't follow their blogs, do it. You won't be sorry. I'm going to put links at the end of this post should you need them.

There were so many incredible presenters and high points, I don't know what to point out. Among things that inspired me: Give Yourself Permission by editor Molly O'Neill. Agent Joanna Volpe's query critiques. Live query crit with agent Natalie Fischer. An amazing panel with Anica Rissi, Joanna Volpe, Suzie Townsend and Mary Kole. Chat with agent/author Regina Brooks.

Well, I could go on and on, so I hope you do the same and read whatever you missed. (P.S. If you stayed away because it was billed as kidlit, there was a ton of super info for writers of any kind.)

In the midst of this extravaganza, I received a package from New Zealand with this *jumps up and down* dragon spell book. Blogging buddy Wen Baragrey sent it as my prize in a contest, and it couldn't be more perfect. It feels like a spell book, tiny and heavy. And, for those who don't know, I have a YA fantasy currently on the backburner that features a dragon ruby. So, woo-hoo. I just love mysterious signs and portents. Who knows what spells I may cast now?

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And then, and then...I had another wonderful prize in the mail. I won a drabble contest on Bish Denham's blog and she tatted a bookmark in the form of a flamingo. She even has a name, Florence, and a little sister on a ribbon. Is she not the most amazing creature? My book reading will take off, for sure.

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I guess if there is a theme to this post, it's that we can all be inspired and supported by one another. The social networking community is a community even if we don't meet people face-to-face. And, by the way, the organizers of WriteOnCon have only met online and, yet, they pulled some 11,000 other people to check out the event.

As promised, here are the links to their blogs.

Elana Johnson

Shannon Messenger

Laura and Lisa Roecker

Casey McCormick

Jamie Harrington

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Go make friends. I'm so glad you're mine.

For the love of trees and my fellow bloggers

You can stare up into a monkey-puzzle tree forever and never figure out where all the limbs go. It's a lattice-work of complexity and grandeur.

I'm going to get back to trees in this post because there is a tree-licious event coming, but first I want to shout-out a huge thank you to Lydia Kang at The Word is My Oyster, who helped me sort out a puzzle of a different stripe.

Lydia is a writer and a physician who offers the unique Medical Mondays, in which she helps you diagnose your characters' maladies. No free med advice for you, please--just your stories.

Today, she brought out the virtual IV and ultrasound and tackled my questions about broken ribs. Have you ever heard of flail chest? Yikes. There's a term to set your imagination running. I'm so grateful for the informative and useful post.

In former Medical Mondays posts, Lydia has filled us in on memory loss, blood types, heart problems, phantom pain and more. Oh, and an added tree-connection bonus--Lydia posted on the properties of willow bark! Do yourself a favor and go get a checkup.

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The Festival of Trees is coming! Well, it does come every month, but this time our blogging buddy Yvonne Osborne is hosting. All you do is notify her that you have posted some arboreal love by June 28. So from today you have a week to put up your post and send your link to Yvonne. The links of all participants are posted July 1 so readers can blog-hop through a carnival of trees. It may be a photo of a favorite tree, a short story, a poem or an artwork. I'm in. Hope you are, too.

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A big thank you to Julie Dao who gave me the Pertinent Posts Award, saying what she looks for in blogs are ones with strong voice. I kinda needed that boost, so woo-hoo!

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I've decided to pass that award on the two bloggers above who are so wonderfully pertinent to me right now: Lydia Kang and Yvonne Osborne.

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Julie also passed along the Fantasy & Sci-fi award from Aubrie at Flutey Words. I had to snag that since that's my world!

My kingdom for a voice

I seem to have misplaced my voice. You know, it's that unique little POV way of expressing yourself that every writer and that writer's characters need if they don't want to be lost in the crowd.

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Moira Hahn's "Heaven and Hell" precisely illustrates my howling need. This series of paintings explore an afterlife that is a mashup of Eastern and Western beliefs and culture. I adore the work for its visual voice. It sure gets your attention in a stunning way, doesn't it?

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Voice is on my mind for a variety of reasons. I've been wanting to post a comment Neil Gaiman made in The Guardian's article on writing rules. Among his "rules" were these two:

"Laugh at your own jokes." Really, that's brilliant. You should be chuckling if you're composing a funny scene or witty banter. I do and then wonder if it just my own twisted humor. But when I take my scene to my face-to-face crit group and hear them laugh as I read, relief rushes through me. Okay, I managed to find voice and it was funny.

"Write your story as it needs to be written. Write it honestly, and tell it as best you can. I'm not sure that there are any other rules. Not ones that matter." So says Neil, who has one of the world's great voices.

Now, here I'm going to say I am an avid reader of Neil's blog, which he has been writing for almost a decade. Yes, you read that right. He is one of the original blogging authors. But I can always tell when his stand-in guy writes a post. It's not Neil's voice. It's someone telling us about Neil's life, because Neil can't blog at the moment. That throws me off and drives home the point of how important voice really is.

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And that brings me to my voice, which has gone missing in my query drafts. Sigh. I mean, I think I have a voice, but when I try to wrangle the essence of a novel into a few paragraphs, it becomes these overworked, dull-as-dirt sentences. Luckily for me, I won a query critique from Writing Out the Angst and the wonderful Suzy Hayze has lit a torch to help me find my lost voice.

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What about you, have you found your voice? Are you searching for it? Do you have any idea what it looks like?

To stay or not to stay is sometimes a question

Gayle Forman's IF I STAY confronts a question many people would rather avoid. How do you go forward after it seems you've lost everything, when despair and grief mute your world?


I just finished reading this slim YA novel about a budding teenage cellist named Mia. I felt as if it ended abruptly. I would have liked a few more moments of what her decision means, because the questions are well drawn. How much can we suffer? When do we step out of "I" into "us" and what role do family and friends play in our choices? Are we truly alone if our lives and memories are filled with others?



I was intrigued with how the book was structured, because it breaks rules. The first line is an odd sort of all-knowing comment that is followed by first-person present tense. Then the book switches between present and past tense. As writers, we're told to avoid backstory, and, yet, in this story it's integral.



Warning: spoilers ahead in this paragraph. Since Mia is in a coma but is lucid, she weaves past events into the present, trying to make sense of what has happened to her life. I was aware that I was reading backstory, but it felt like a natural process of sorting out her life, appreciating people and experiences while she puts that into context with her current condition. And the story got richer with those layers. The reader is on a journey of discovery with her. But we are oddly detached, as though Mia is looking through a lens from a distance and feeling little emotion. I was okay with that since she is in this altered mental state, but the ending would have more impact if Mia switched from telling us to showing us her loss and pain. This was the moment when the floodgates could be opened and the life raft of love and hope was within reach.

Still, I recommend this book for raising important questions and for taking risks by being told from the viewpoint of a girl in a coma. Writing and life are about risks--if you never take any, nothing happens. You may as well be comatose.
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I'm going to segue to Abby Sunderland for a moment. I was so worried for the 16-year-old sailor the night it was announced that her emergency signals had been activated. I pictured her alone in her crippled sailboat in 30-foot waves. Obviously, my panic did her no good, but her experience as a sailor and her state-of-the-art equipment did. And then there was her family and the volunteers who set to work to get her rescued. I don't wish to discuss whether she should have been out there or who pays for rescues or any of that. Instead, I'm interested in her battle to survive and the support of her family, friends, volunteers and the many people who filled her blog comments with prayers and well wishes.


Her story is far different than IF I STAY but also alike in how we're all faced with decisions and risks and must reach inside ourselves for the will to survive and how that inner strength is bolstered by the support of others.

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So, it seems appropriate as I muse on what helps us make it through the trials and traumas of life that Liza Carens Salerno gave me this Journey Support Award. Thank you, Liza for being one of the people I've met online who make the writing and blogging adventure such a joy.

In fact, I pass this award on to all the bloggers who follow my musings here and/or have left me wonderful comments. I love having you with me on this journey!

Everything coming up roses

I had a great couple of days. Here's my check list:

* Revise short story ("Irene's Calling") and submit to contest.

* Revise opening chapter of Sea Daughters and submit first page for contest.

* Revise mid-point chapter for crit group.

* Email publicist for book for blog interview.

* Blog. Twice.

* Finish reading The Dead-Tossed Waves. Start The Demon's Covenant.

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So that calls for lush bunches of roses for me and you, because now I'm going to post a slew of good news from writers in the blogging world.

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Suzanne Hayze, who captivates readers of her blog with gorgeous, visceral slices of life, has signed with Liz Jote of Objective Entertainment. Woo-hoo! She's also started a new joint blog, Writing Out the Angst with her crit partner Amanda Bonilla. The new blog is a place for writers to talk about the roller coaster ride of getting published. They're kicking things off with a cool contest to win a critique of your query, which is the crucial gateway to finding an agent.

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Frankie Diane Mallis got the Call, too, and signed with Laura Rennert of Andrea Brown. Yay! Frankie's holding a 500 followers contest to give away some sizzling signed books. But even if you are anti-book-contest (is that possible?) you must go read her hilarious post starring Princess Buttercup and Westley. Go. Read.

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Megan Rebekah is celebrating 500 followers with an awesome giveaway contest of books and critique. Megan's blog is always a good read and her crit partners are so awesome I follow them all. You can't go wrong with these bloggers.

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Yvonne Osborne at the Organic Writer tagged me with a meme. I did it before, so I won't repeat. But you must go check her answers. Fierce and breathtaking like her poetry.

I am blogger, see me fly

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iridescent flash,

hummingbird whirs and flits to

its spider-silk nest

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A splash of haiku for my blogging friends. This post is all about the wonderful people I meet, like Julie Dao, who writes exquisitely and plays violin, too. Thank you, Julie for this pretty Blogger Buddy Award.
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And thank you to Liza Carens Salerno for the Versatile Blogger. I like that it embraces poems, stories, messages and essays--all of which I enjoy.

Nisa at Wordplay, Swordplay gave me the Silver Lining award, which is all about keeping positive on this writing journey. Since I've snagged that one before, I just say a big thank you to Nisa.

Janet Johnson tagged me with a meme. Now, it's supposed to be all serious and getting-to-know-you and stuff. But I can't help it. I've got to have a bit of fun. So hang your disbelief on the coat rack and grab a cup of coffee.

Where were you five years ago?

I'd been shanghaied off the coast of California and was chained to a work desk in the windowless bowels of a brig. I labored from sunup to sundown forced to write in inverted-pyramid style. It has led to a tendency to spill the beans.

Where would you like to be in five years?

In a tree house in a redwood forest by the sea. I will listen to the woodpeckers drilling and the owls hooting, hear the rustle of breeze through branches, write on a little deck with the horizon shimmering with sun on water.

What's on your to-do list today?

Write the Great American YA Novel. Eat chocolate. Repeat.

What snacks do you enjoy?

See question above.

What five things would you do if you were a billionaire?

Start a publishing house and invite you all to submit. Repeat.

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Lastly, if you haven't checked out the new blog by four debut dystopian authors, you simply must. (News flash just added: Elana Johnson's debut dystopian novel has sold to Simon Pulse!)

And if you've been waylaid in the distant past or far future, here's another news flash: Do the Write Thing for Nashville raised about $74,000! Huge kudos to Myra McEntire, Amanda Morgan and Victoria Schwab.

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On to the linkage! As you all know, awards and memes are meant to be passed along, and I am a very bad rule follower. This time, I decided to show appreciation to five bloggers newly met and let them choose any or all of the awards they please. And they are free to be creative in what they do with them. In fact, they don't have to do anything at all. Consider this string-free.

But please check out these great folks whose blogs are quite diverse:

Lydia Kang

Tessa's Blurb

Phoenix

Jojomama

Larainy Days

Spreading the awesome for books

I don't remember why I bought THE STOLEN ONE by Suzanne Crowley. It may have been a rec from another blogger, or I might have been drawn to the cover and jacket blurb. It sat in my to-be-read stack for some months, because I add and add to my collection of unread books until they sigh mournfully about my neglect.

When I finally read this YA historical mystery last week, I was glued to the skillfully woven tale of yearning and deceit. I've picked it to showcase in Elana Johnson's Spreading the Awesome event today. More than 60 bloggers are spreading the word about books and authors that rock. So check out this list and get some recs!

Mostly, I read fantasy, paranormal, dystopian kinds of books. THE STOLEN ONE is a bit different for me.

The setting is Elizabethan England. Kat, a girl from a simple village, has always felt she didn't belong there and has an insatiable drive to learn the identity of her real mother. She isn't content with the love of a handsome farmer boy or the loyalty of her sister, and she disregards their feelings in her quest to learn her roots. And while she thinks she's unearthed the secrets about her family, she has actually misconstrued the evidence. She discovers the duplicity of court life, learns the loneliness of monarchs and finds what she truly desires along the way.

Kat's skill at embroidery gets her into Queen Elizabeth's court and gives us eyes into this fashionable world: Lady Ludmore pulled out the fanciest piece, a luscious seawater green velvet, a damask pattern of cowslips and fall leaves gently sewn on the surface, pale gold bugles shaped like flowers set within.

The allure of this book, though, is the artfully-woven mystery. The sense of danger and intrigue begins as early as the opening paragraphs, where Kat says Grace, the woman who's raised her, calls her hair Wolf's bait and says the color is red as Queen Elizabeth's.

Grace reminds me of a Greek chorus with her sharp, cautionary words: Coveting beautiful things is a sin, a sin that attracts greater sins, Grace always warned. "Be humble of what you have. It is enough." Grace needed not know what I wore underneath my dress that night--a lovely red taffeta petticoat, stitched secretly and hidden from Grace. It felt wonderful against my skin, devil's color or no.

This novel is born of a what-if scenario based on a real-life queen's daughter, who disappeared from history, but I don't want to say anymore in hopes you will read THE STOLEN ONE. I was fascinated to learn that Crowley's family lore claims she is a distant relative of Lady Jane Grey--the nine-day queen beheaded by her cousin, Mary. Check out Suzanne Crowley's web site for more about the author, the book and the era.

As part of my celebration this week for my one-year blogversary and reaching more than 200 followers, I'm going to give THE STOLEN ONE to one of you lucky readers. Simply leave me a comment and I will draw a name. Another contest will follow in a couple of days. Happy Monday, happy May, everyone!

Added May 5th: Contest now closed. Randomly chosen winner will be announced in my next post, which includes a new contest.

What a rosy day!

I'm giving myself this little bouquet today because I won two contests, have more than 200 bloggy-friend-followers and will celebrate my one-year blogversary next week.

But I am seriously standing here with my jaw on the floor over this: I won a query critique from an agent in Sarah Wylie's awesome contest celebrating her book deal for ALL THESE LIVES! My head is in the clouds, and I better secure it back in place so I can send off my best pitch, you know?

Next, I won an ARC of Lisa Desrochers' PERSONAL DEMONS, which I'm eager to read. Woo-hoo!

And finally I am so grateful to all the wonderful people who became followers of my blog this year. I plan to hold a contest next week in appreciation. Does anyone have preferences about prizes? My short list is a 15-page critique, gift card or books, but I'm not sure what people most want. Again, thanks to all of you for making this past year and today so awesome.

Catching notes on the wind

Hiking a boulder-studded hill, I heard lonely, haunting musical notes on the breeze. Where were they coming from?

Then I saw him, a flute player perched on the highest rock of the hard-scrabble hill, playing his echoing sound to the sky and wind and birds. And me.

At this distance I could only imagine his fingers moving over the instrument's holes to alter the pitch, the resonance.
Like a gentle sigh, I could feel his breath in the length and clarity of the notes. I was flying, floating upon them.

Did you know that flutes are the oldest known instruments? One made from a bird's bone about 35,000 years ago was discovered in 2008 in a cave in Germany.

I was still smiling from my close encounter with the wild flute player when I rounded a bend in the trail and came upon a man singing.

The world is alive with music and joy. Sometimes, we're lucky enough to stumble upon it.

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That was about a month ago. When I returned to that same area yesterday, I didn't find a flute player, but I was amazed by the splashy abundance of brittlebush.

The hill--from base to crown--is covered with this desert member of the sunflower family.

Brittlebush is a tough survivor of southwestern deserts. It's light gray leaves reflect sunlight to keep the plant cool during the hottest months, and the hairy surface of the leaves act like a blanket against extremes of heat and cold. In springtime, it is a common sight along roads and canyons, but I have never seen such a widespread carpet of the plants on this hill before.

It is a fine spring. Even the birds say so.

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fantail of orange

across blue sky--red-tailed hawk

kissed by sunlight

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There's been a lot of chat lately on blogs about what writers should blog about, why we blog, what's the point, what's our focus, etc. I like to visit blogs that both inform and entertain, that are extensions of the blogger as a writer. Beth Revis started a fantastic discussion about writing love triangles and what makes them work or not. It's worth your time to read her posts and the comments. That's my favorite kind of blogging--where writers interact, share ideas.

What do you enjoy about blogs you read?

The green season

Wearing of the green--California has been doing that a wonderfully long time this year.


There is a lot to celebrate in this. Relief from years of drought. The color itself, which is refreshing and lifts spirits. Blossoming of rare plant life. And such a fine raiment to be wearing for Earth Day tomorrow.




I have fun finding belly flowers--the little ones you have to get down near the earth to see properly, and which sing of joy and wonder if you listen just right.





And I absolutely adore trees for their majesty, mystery and longevity. If I was reincarnated as plant life I would want to be an evergreen tree--to stand for centuries on the edge of the tundra or a wind-whipped sea cliff and watch the shift of seasons and terrain--to sink my roots deep into the earth, finding support and nourishment.


This photo, by the way, I have posted before, but do again because it is so extraordinary the way the tree grows on a little patch of earth in the midst of a lake. Have you ever noticed how plants can find the tiniest sliver of soil and flourish there sometimes? They are efficient survivors.


I am excited to add my blog to the Carbon Neutral initiative, which means a fir, cedar or pine will be planted in Plumas National Forest in Northern California this spring to offset the carbon dioxide emissions created by running my computer.

Plumas suffered a devastating wildfire three years ago. A German organization, Make it Green, created Carbon Neutral as a way to neutralize our blogging emissions by contributing to reforestation programs. One project is the non-profit Arbor Day Foundation working in concert with the U.S. Forest Service to plant more than 790,000 trees in Plumas. Make it Green also contributes to a tree planting effort in the Harz region of Germany. By the way, since I am a former news reporter and wouldn't post without verification, I called the Arbor foundation and confirmed the project.



How does planting a tree make a difference? Trees absorb carbon dioxide emissions which have been adversely affecting our atmosphere and oceans. So while it is necessary to reduce the emissions we make, we can also offset those we do create by planting trees.

Are you doing anything to replenish Mother Earth? I humbly suggest checking out the many environmental groups to find one that has a project that is a match for your belief system and resources. This isn't a one-size-fits-all world, but it is our planet and it needs help.

P.S. Here's a link to Nicole Ducleroir's excellent list of things we can do. Check it out!

Let's celebrate, come on

a tidy green tree

celebrates springtime with rouged

cheeks and saucy skirts

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Okay, a little dose of flowers and haiku to set the mood, because there's some celebrating to do.

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Moonrat at Editorial Ass is holding a contest with a fabulous prize to mark a milestone of massive proportion--500,000 hits! Hurry on over and you may win a critique from this "recovering editorial assistant."

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Shannon Whitney Messenger has signed with Laura Rennert at Andrea Brown Literary, and she has wrangled six signed books from fellow authors to give away as a thank-you to her readers. Way to go, Shannon!

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And I find myself with two more awards. My newly-found blog friend, Claire Dawn at Points of Claire-ification-- who is currently reading books in Japanese and Spanish, watching a movie in French and editing her own work in English--handed on the Picasso bouquet award to me. Since I have it already (in that mantle that is my sidebar) I thank her profusely and say, please go check out her blog. You will enjoy.

Also, there is the Prolific Blogger Award, which was bestowed on me by the talented Yvonne Osborne at The Organic Writer. Yvonne is never afraid of a writing challenge--she dives in, takes risks. As a result I've read some memorable snippets of her work that have stayed with me. If you haven't visited her yet, take this opportunity to click on over.

The Prolific Blogger comes with rules. Those who've read my blog know I'm creative with rules, but this time I'll try to stay inside the lines and prove I can be a prolific and rule-abiding blogger.

1) Pass it on to seven prolific bloggers. 2) Link to the person who gave it. 3 & 4) Link to the Advance Booking post where it originated and sign into Mr. Linky there.

(More than 250 people have received it and signed. It's fun to watch the widening ripples in the blogging pool, isn't it?)

So here are seven nominated bloggers who may wear the Prolific Blogger cape if they please. Nobody's going to check your word count. *grins*

Tere Kirkland at the Lesser Key

Sherrie Petersen at Write About Now

Yat-Yee Chong

Falen Formulates Fiction

Kathryn Jankowski

Faith Pray at Sacred Dirt

Jon Paul at Where Sky Meets Ground

Is Mark McVeigh spectacular or what?

My plan was to wish you a spectacular weekend with this sunset photo I shot. I thought I'd write a haiku. But then Mark McVeigh shot my plan out of the water.

The fabulous editor with his new agency is offering a 15-minute chat with people who send ten new followers to his blog. How spectacular is that? Certainly right up there with sunsets.

So click on over, mention me if you like, and post the link yourselves. Please leave me a comment if you follow him so I can count you. I leave you with pretty skies and best wishes, as well.

Monday addendum: I've got my interview time with Mark! *gulp* But while I don't need anyone to follow him for me, there are other bloggers still looking for ten. So you could give someone a helping hand. And if you have any ideas for questions, leave them for me today. I'll probably think of the most important thing I need to ask after it's over. No, no. I'm a professional. *small squeek*

Putting on the blog

Writers-who-blog are popping up in the thousands, which raises questions. Why do we blog? Who reads us? How can we possibly interact/comment on all that's going on? How do we know we're doing it right?

Several interesting discussions have come up this week. Check out Roni at Fiction Groupie for an editor's take on behaving badly online and what the fallout might be; Lisa and Laura Write for dealing with time issues and Hilary Wagner for being prolific or pathetic.

After reading sorry-I've-got-nothing-to-say blog posts or sorry-I-haven't-time-to-comment posts, I think we should cut ourselves some slack. And whatever you do, don't throw any old thing up there because you think you must post or comment; it's a public forum and will be noticed and, perhaps, noted.

I'd like to make a modest proposal. Nobody must post every day. If you post at least once or twice a week, you keep your blog presence and give your readers something worth the visit and time to drop a comment. Since our Google reading lists show when new posts come in, there isn't any need to remember that somebody posts on certain days of the week, either.

How often do you post and why? Do you have any ideas for how to deal with the volume of blogs you follow? Is it worth it? And, for the record, I think it's worth it. I love the people I've met and the things I've discovered. But sometimes I'm stretched as thin as a piece of gum starting to shred.