Just a quickie...

Author Sound Bites has launched! Quotable sound bites from today's hot authors, courtesy of Eileen Parker. Eileen is gathering quotations from living, breathing, warm bodied authors and posting them to the Author Sound Bites blog. This is going to be so much fun!

Absolute Write Blogchain #10

This is the first time I've participated in a blogchain. It's sort of like a chain letter, with much more creativity and no dire threats if you don't pass it on. So far, the posts have been about produce, and vacations, which made me think of Autumn in New England.

I currently reside in a little house on the prairie (apologies to Laura Ingalls Wilder), but I grew up in a little house in the big woods of Maine. My parents had 3 kids to feed, so they grew a good sized garden every summer. We snacked on cucumbers, tomatoes and green beans fresh off the vine. We created faerie worlds playing in the forest behind our house. As school vacation dwindled there was an excitement and snap you could smell in the air.

The mornings would start off cool and crisp, the scent of wood smoke and pine needles heavy in the breeze. The deer paths called to me to walk their secret maze. I'd throw on a light jacket, grab my journal and head out, not quite sure where I'd end up. The destination didn't really matter much, because the beauty surrounding me made the journey far more important.

The sun climbed higher in the sky. The light falling through the leaves made dancing dapples all around me. I pretended they were faeries beckoning me to their palace. I'd continue down the well worn path to my favorite spot. A natural slab of granite extended out into a brook. Just above it, the tree branches opened up to let the sun shine through.

It was so incredibly peaceful, this small spot in the woods. The water would chatter as it worked its way around the rock. Birdsong surrounded me and occasionally I would glimpse a deer meandering at the far end of the path. Sometimes I wrote in my journal, other times I stretched out on the rock, closed my eyes and soaked in the sun and the sounds.

Even though this was before every kid had a cellphone, my mom never worried about me. She knew I needed space and quiet and the world was a safer place than it is now. I would return from my walks and we'd talk about what I'd seen and heard.

I miss my home state terribly, especially at this time of year. The Midwest is beatiful in its own right, but it's still not "mine". Sure, I'll take walks through the apple orchard, and I'll experience the SNAP! of biting into a Cortland apple fresh off the tree. I'll watch my neighbor's huge Maple tree turn into a flame of color. But, I won't throw on a turtleneck and a flannel to help my dad haul wood into the house for the woodstove. The only woodsmoke I'm likely to scent on the wind will be from my neighbor's firepit.

Instead, I'll watch the combines harvest corn, and I'll watch the landscape change from lush green to warm golden hues. We'll begin to harvest the herbs from the garden and buy straw for winter bedding. My family will attend the town festival and conversations will cease to revolve around going "up to the cabin" and begin to focus on the upcoming holidays.

I'm always caught between feeling elated and incredibly sad at this time of year. For me, it's a time of reaping the harvest and preparing for the long months of rest to gather the strength to do it all over again in the spring.


The next blogger in the chain is The Death Wizard Chronicles. I'm sure he'll have something interesting to add to the chain.


blog@cathsmith.com

My Midnight Muse

periodically.org

(The Blog Formerly Known as) Taosbound

Virtual Wordsmith

The Death Wizard Chronicles

Food History

Kappa No He

A piece in the puzzle

Sound Off Blog

Virginia Lee: I Ain't Dead Yet!


awchain

Loose Ends

Today is the day for getting the last of school starting preparations finished. This morning, we're off and running to get the Kindergarten boy's eye-glasses. And then, quick stops at Kohl's and Target for t-shirts for the Sophomore.

Tonight is orientation at the Elementary and High schools. The Middle School orientation was Monday night, so that's already been taken care of - yes, you read that right, we have children in all three schools. Logistics can be sheer frustration sometimes, especially at orientation and parent-teacher conferences.

Needless to say, I won't be around much today.

4 more days....

Writer Tools Giveaway Contest

Christina Katz, over at Writer Mama, is holding a Writer Mama Back-to-School Daily Giveaway.
For more information about the rules and what she's giving away, head on over there and check it out!

It pays to be nice...

This award is for those bloggers who are nice people; good blog friends and those who inspire good feelings and inspiration. Also for those who are a positive influence on our blogging world. Once you’ve been awarded please pass it on to 7 others who you feel are deserving of this award.

Judy Larsen, over at Not Afraid of the "F" Word , nominated me for the "Nice Matters Award". Awwwwwww. This made my day!

So, now it's my turn.

Here are my seven nominees, in absolutely no particular order.

Eileen Parker, Author Sound Bites

Ellen Meister, Side Dish

Gwendolen Gross, The Other Mother--for Moms Who Want to Write

Joanne D. Kiggins, WritingAfterDark

Thursday Bram, thursdaybram

Christina Katz, WriterMama

April Aragram

Now, go out there, and perform some random acts of kindness. :)

Interview - Anne Frasier, author of Pale Immortal

Today's "5 Q&A" is with Anne Frasier, author of Pale Immortal.








1.) Who are you?

Anne Frasier has been recognized with numerous awards including the RITA and Daphne du Maurier for romantic suspense. Publishers Weekly says Frasier “has perfected the art of making a reader’s skin crawl.” The Minneapolis Star Tribune calls her a “master.” She’s been published since1988, and her books have been printed in over a dozen languages in hardcover, trade, and paperback. Frasier lives in Minneapolis/St. Paul where she is working on her twentieth novel.

2.) What books are on your bedside table?

Fodor’s Sweden
Minnesota’s State Parks
North Florida and the Florida Panhandle
60 Hike Within 60 Miles of the Twin Cities
Inventing the Truth
Running with Scissors
The Road

3.) What do you like me to do in your "spare" time?

Well, you can probably guess from the above list that I like to hike and travel. :D I also like to take pictures of cemeteries and cemetery statuary.

4.) How much fun was/is it to write about the Pale Immortal?

I LOVED writing about Tuonela and the Pale Immortal. It was sad to let go of that world and move on. I think when you create a fictional setting, the story and setting becomes much more real and more personal than something set in a real place. If that makes any sense.

5.) What's next?

I’m working on something completely different – a creative nonfiction novel. This is a story I’ve wanted to tell for years, and the time suddenly seemed right. I hope to have it finished in about eight months to a year. After that I’ll submit it. I usually sign a contract then write the book, but since this is so different and such a book of the heart I wanted to write it without the pressure of a deadline. But it will mean I won’t have another book out for a long time.

Thanks so much, Anne!

Pale Immortal is available at bookstores and online. Watch for Anne's new book, Garden of Darkness, coming in December! For more information about Anne Frasier, visit her website at www.annefrasier.com.

Sleep deprivation

I thought I was done with sleepless nights once my youngest was consistently staying in his own bed all night. The weather has been making it impossible for me to sleep.

It's been hot and muggy the last couple of nights here in Minnesota. We aren't blessed with central air. So, I read until 10:30 last night, shut the light off and waited for sleep to come. We also had a thunderstorm roll through around 3, which meant pulling the fans out of the windows. Sandman must have missed his flight, because I didn't settle down until 4 a.m.

I woke to my littlest boy nose to nose with me whispering "Mummy, are you awake?" He was hungry, it was 8:30 a.m. and so my day began.