A writer friend whom I see every year at a non-conference for writers in Red River, NM, just published a new book about New Mexico at the beginning of the last century. This is the real Wild West, folks. I've interviewed her and the results are here.

Q. My guest today is Velda Brotherton, and we're glad she could join us. Welcome, Velda. You have a new book coming out. Fly With The Mourning Dove. Could you tell us something about it?
A. Thank you for having me. My book tells the story of the life of a young girl who, at the age of6, accompanies her parents to a homestead in the high desert of New Mexico in 1920. Usingjournal entries by her mother and actual stories related by Edna, I've recreated her growing up years among some of the first Anglo settlers in New Mexico. Edna's father's bout withTuberculosis hangs over the family like the shadow of death, and several times separates herfrom her parents. She is sent to live first in a boarding house situated along the road from Taos Junction to Santa Fe, then to a convent where she feels caged, and finally to her grandparents inNorth Dakota. At the age of nine she returns home to stay, and so begins her love of the highdesert that will endure for a lifetime. She still owns a ranch there as well as one in Colorado.
Q. You're not from New Mexico. How did you get interested in writing this book?
A. My Dad was a storyteller, and as I grew up, he told about how my grandpa's brother was aMontana cowboy who came home from WW I to homestead in New Mexico. The stories were so gripping I never forgot them, and many years later when I went to Albuquerque to a writer'sconference, I contacted my mother's cousin, who was raised on that homestead, and went to visither. I stayed with her a week while she drove me all over her beloved high desert and showed me things I would never have seen as a tourist. She also told me stories that added to those my Dadhad told. My husband and I returned year after year to visit this tiny dynamo of a woman, untilwe too became enthralled with her land and the life she'd led. It was a book waiting to be written.
Q. So tell about some of her adventures.
A. Oh, Edna was quite an unusual girl for her time and so was her mother Cassie. While her husband, Edna's father, was away at war, Cassie went to nursing school. Her father had refused to let her do so when she lived at home, and she was determined no man would ever tell her howto live her life again. And though she and her husband Finas were close, she was the dominant partner in the marriage. After they moved to the homestead, which she was against from the outset, she continued to practice her nursing through the years. Edna must have inherited some ofher mother's stubbornness, for when her parents sent her to live in a convent while her fatherwent to Fort Bayard to be treated for TB, she caused quite a ruckus among the nuns. Then later on, when she was grown, she attended a party where she refused to dance with Tony Lujan, avery high ranked Tewa Indian who was married to the notorious Mable Dodge. She also was mixed up in some political wrangling, which was common in New Mexico at that time. Her mother and father had some very strong opinions of Long John Dunn, a famous and controversial figure among Anglo settlers in New Mexico.
Q. Sounds like a wonderful book. What made you decide to write her story as creative nonfiction, rather than historical fiction?
A. The more stories Edna related, and by now she was writing them down and sending them to me, the more I realized that the only way I could tell her story and be true to how she had lived, was to write it as nonfiction. But I didn't want to record a bunch of dry facts, so I began to study the art of creative nonfiction. I found the best information online posted by Lee Gutkind, who is considered the godfather of creative nonfiction. It turned out I had already written a creative nonfiction book, I just didn't realize it. My first book, Wandering In The Shadows of Time, which was published in 1994, fit the rules of this genre perfectly. When I wrote it, all I knew was that I had to tell the story of the people I interviewed in a special way, by inserting myself into the stories and taking the reader along with me as I did so.
Q. Is that book still available?
A. Yes, at Amazon.com or it can be ordered from any bookstore.
Q. Okay, that's great. Now back to Edna's story. Wouldn't you have been able to expand more on her story if you'd written it as historical fiction?
A. Yes, but then it wouldn't really have been her story. She talked to me about writing her storyfor a couple of years before I began to get serious about it, and I knew how she felt about it being told like it really happened. Funny, once when she was reading one of my historical fiction romances, she read them all but skipped the "sexy parts ”, she told me she hoped that when I decided to write her story it wouldn't be a romance because there was too much fiction and not enough truth in the books. And she's right. No matter how hard we try, historical fiction, from necessity, stretches a lot of the truth all out of proportion.
Q. So, even when you wrote dialogue and internalization, you were telling the truth?
A. I must have been, because when I sent her the last draft of the book, she sent it back with apost-it stuck to the title page. It said, very succinctly, "I'm satisfied." You have to know Edna to realize what a compliment this was. At that point all she cared about was the book being published before she died, and would I make sure her children and grandchildren all got a copy?
Q. How old is she?
A. She's a very young 92, coming up on a birthday in July. She took her last horseback ride over the sagebrush flats at the age of 85 and only stopped hiking in the desert in her late 80s. She stopped driving at 90, but is still ready to go anytime visitors will take her. Often she wants to go down to Tusas, the ranch in New Mexico where she spent so much of her life. We're always happy to take her and spend some tranquil time living in her past. She would live there, except it's so remote and there's no electricity or running water, so her family won't permit it. After having written the book, I feel as if I grew up with her, and I never read the ending without crying, though I've read it over and over. Not because it's sad, but because her life has been sobeautiful, so complete and so satisfying. Would that mine can be the same.
Q. How do we get a copy of Fly With The Mourning Dove?
A. It's available online at Amazon and Barnes & Noble, or you can order it from PublishAmerica or any bookstore in the country. If you want to read an excerpt from the book, check out my website.
Q. Thank you so much for joining me. Would you share your websites and any other presence onthe web?
A. Thank you for having me. I enjoyed it.http://www.authorsden.com/veldabrothertonveldabrotherton.blogspot.com
www.historylady.gather.com

--Gabi

What I'm reading now:
The Secret History of the Pink Carnation by Lauren Willig (what fun)
Mr. Darcy takes a Wife by Linda Berdoll
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (Yup, still teaching it)
The Adventures of Hucklberry Finn (Yup, still teaching this one, too--and you try to say Huck Finn to a group of eighth graders and not worry about mixing intial letters--Ack!)

Life, what a concept...

Since last I wrote, I won one writing contest, and have finaled in another. So I guess it's not the writing that's keeping me from being published again. It's the production. My advice to would be writers--don't get a day job. Ahh, but it's a vicious cycle, because one does need money to live, so one works but then one can't devote the time one would want to the craft.

Never mind. The writing is coming along. Only it's in the form of a professional development dossier so that I can earn more money as a teacher next year. So far, forty pages of the driest jargon one could read. And worse, the powers that be force me to use incorrect style. The dossier is neither formal nor informal. It all grates on this language arts and literature teacher/ novelist.

Selling my soul for my daughters' college education,
--Gabi

Books I'm reading now:
six books I'm judging for the RITA, which shall remain unnamed because I do not wish to sully the reputation of this great contest
FairyDust and the Quest for the Egg by Gail Carson Levine (reading it aloud for my youngest daughter)
The Landlord's Black-Eyed Daughter by Mary Ellen Dennis, a galley I'm reading to give a quote for
The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain (Yup, I'm teaching it again)
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (Hey, I've got a seventh grade class this year too)

Times Flies...

although I can't say I've been having fun. I've had parents who won't believe their children aren't working (must be my fault), health issues, and stress like crazy. On the bright side, I see smoother days ahead (although every time I've said that something else has happened). I'm writing sporadically, which is killing me, and I have no good stories to share about my life right now either. So this is a much belated post and I really don't have anything to say.
--Gabi

Books I'm reading now:
The Texan's Reward by Jodi Thomas (one of my favorite people in the world)
Parallel Heat by Dierdre Knight
Immortal Highlander by Karen Marie Moning
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by JK Rowling (yes, we've finished book one; now it's on to book two)
The Vampire who Loved Me by Teresa Medieros

An interesting experience...

I've been mentioned in a blog. Not about writing mind you, but about teaching. The interesting aspect of the mention is that the author (and yes, she is a romance author) has me saying things that she took totally out of context. I don't know whether to be angry or to just shake my head in pity. She claims I said my eighth grade students are "too stupid" to learn assonance, when what I said was most eighth graders don't know what assonance is (Now be honest, do you?). If I thought my eighth graders were "too stupid" to learn it, why would I bother teaching it? (By the way, there is a difference between knowing the definition of assonance and recognizing assonance-- I teach the latter) This woman has never been in my classroom, never talked to any of my students, nor did she ask me to elaborate.


We were talking about testing and NCLB, which I find a wonderful idea, but totally flawed in its execution. It's like communism--a fabulous idea, but it doesn't work on human beings. In New Mexico at my school, the testing takes four days of lost teaching time, which is longer than any other academic test out there, including the LCATs, the MCATs or any of the boards. We are expecting students to care about a test that in no way affects them (not gradewise, not placementwise) and then basing how we view our schools based on the results of these tests. In addition, the test makes no allowances for students. If education is truly individual why does every student take the same test? I don't worry about my students' performance on these tests because they're the top of the school, but I am the parent of a special needs child who is not and most likely never will be at grade level for her academics and yet she is required to take the test for her age, not her abilities. Her greatest goal is to succeed, and yet the test makes it impossible for her to do so. She comes home depressed and convinced she is stupid.

But back to this author...She is extremely bright, and truly gifted in the academic sense. She doesn't understand (perhaps understand is the wrong word; believe might be better) that most people don't think (I mean literally the act of thinking, not a belief system) the way she does. So she twisted my words and has labeled me one of those bad teachers who just babysits her students and doesn't want to be held accountable for what I do in the classroom.
Hmmm. I wonder what my students would think after they stopped laughing.
--Gabi

What I'm reading now:
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Hey, it takes time when you're reading it aloud)
I need to find a new book to start.

One week down, thirty-five to go

I have just completed my first full week of teaching, and I must say I'm exhausted. The kids are interesting, as usual, and I am looking forward to getting to know them better. So far, pretty smooth.
I have a new policy this year. My weekends are for writing, which means I will resent doing the shopping, laundry, cleaning, etc, that usually takes my time on the weekends, but I'm looking forward to devoting two days a week to the craft I love.
And so with no further ado, I'm off to my fantasy world and the stories that I need to finish. They are calling to me.
--Gabi
Books I am reading now;
Edith Hamilton's Mythology (Do I really have to tell you why I am reading this?)
Sari Robbins's More Than a Scandal
The ARC of Linda Francis Lee's The Devil in the Junior League
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (which I am reading aloud to my youngest who is loving it.)

Off to Atlanta...

...with high hopes and big dreams. (In case you didn't know, Romance writerss of America is holding their annual conference there this week.) The worst thing about being a writer is that you can imagine all sorts of scenarios that will never happen, but you hope they will. Like meeting that editor who expresses interest in your book. Like meeting the perfect agent. Like receiving acclaim for books past and books future.
I don't know why I put myself through it. Except I won't let the dream die.
--Gabi

Books I'm reading:
The Princess Bride by William Goldman(fabulous, simple fabulous)

It's 3 AM...

and I'm awake, waiting for the husband to return from London. An international flight, a missed connection...need I say more? Ray Bradbury called this time the hour of monsters. It's when you're awake at three a.m. that your dreams are all nightmares, your troubles are insurmountable, your self-esteem is non-existent. Something about the middle of the night magnifies every thought into an overwhelming issue you will never survive. In the morning you laugh at yourself because nothing you thought about at three a.m. is nearly as bad as you believed then.
But now it's three a.m., and the monsters attack. What if I'll never sell another book? What if my students are horrible this year? What if I'm ruining my kids' lives? What if my kids are lying to me? What if the house never stops leaking and collapses? What if ...
And now he garage door has opened and my husband has arrived home from the airport and one monster has been vanquished.
--Gabi
What I'm reading now:
Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azir Nafisi
On the Way to the Wedding by Julia Quinn
A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray

The Dearth of Good Romance Movies

I just read an article about Hollywood making fewer and fewer romance movies. Nobody is writing original screenplay, and the romance stories they do film don't make a lot a money...except for a few like Sleepless in Seattle or Titanic (which people call a romance so I won't argue that definition here) or While You Were Sleeping. The article goes on to quote Nicholas Sparks, that lone voice in the romance field (heavy sarcasm), and his reason for the dearth of romance in films is because the stories are too hard to write and too few people do it well. I will agree with him here, but let me go on to post my own theories. The reason romances don't do well for the most part at the box office is because they don't film good stories. Why don't they turn to those authors who know how to pen great romances? Why hasn't Susan Elizabeth Phillips's Ain't She Sweet been turned into a movie? Why haven't Jenny Crusie's works hit the silver screen? Why isn't Linda Howard's Mr. Perfect a film? Hollywood overlooks a major source for stories by overlooking the genre. You can't tell me that a romance wouldn't be successful if they would just pick the right property. And Romance (the genre) has loads of ideas to pick from.
And is it a coincidence that "dearth" and "Darth" only differ by one letter? Hmmmmm...
--Gabi
Books I'm reading now:
Threshold by Sara Douglass
Skinny Dip by Carl Hiaasen
Size Twelve is not Fat by Meg Cabot

Some interesting writer links...

Did you ever want to know the inner workings of a publishing professional's devious brain? Did you ever want to know what they really think about so many of us writers? Combine the answers to these two questions and you've found my newest obsessions--Evil Editor and Miss Snark. (Perhaps obsession is a harsh word, since I am looking for a new agent and a receptive editor for my work and you never know who might be "listening" in.) Evil Editor is an actual NY editor who doesn't pull punches and often has me laughing til I snort with his inner thoughts about queries. Miss Snark is an actual NY agent who does the same. I love reading these blogs and have honestly learned a lot from both of them (and had my daily doses of schadenfreude--look it up). You can find these two at the following links:
Evil Editor
Miss Snark

Another great site I'm hooked on is Kristin Nelson's blog, Pub Rants. An agent in Denver, Miss Nelson offers much information about the biz, although I don't get my daily dose of schadenfreude from her. (Again, look it up.)
Pub Rants

These sites have links to other interesting sites too. So if you want a chuckle or two and some great information about publishing, visit these sites. I know I do.
--Gabi

Books I'm reading now:
Bump in the Night--Anthology
Quirky Kids--a text I have to read for a class I'm taking--way to ruin a summer by having required texts to read.
The Explosive Child--see note above

But I'm Writing !!!

Eruption looming...

Well, that sounds rather personal. How should I explain myself(because I'm not talking about pimples, boils, diarrhea, or volcanoes)? Have you ever felt there is so much more inside you than anyone knows (I'm also not talking about wierd psychopathic homicidal tendencies)? The edge between normal and look-at-me-world-here-I-am. That's where I've been living my life for the past three years. Not so deep within me is the song (metaphorically speaking) waiting to explode. I'm trying to be patient, trying to keep my feet on the ground, doing the day job, etc., but all the while thinking IT has to happen soon. I keep waiting for the next step in my writing career, the one that will elevate me to the next level.

I'm ready.

On second thought this idea reads rather scary, but don't worry, I'm fine. (My mother recognized this force in me, but never understood it either.)
--Gabi

Books I'm reading:
Hidden Secrets by Cait London (No offense, Cait, but aren't secrets supposed to be hidden, 'cause if they're not, they're no longer secrets? P.S. The title is no reflection on the quality of the book. They had to name it something, right?)
Parallel Attraction by Deidre Knight- what fun!
Ransom by Julie Garwood-a book I thoroughly enjoyed. I miss these kinds of books. What happened to these kinds of romance that don't feature vampires, werewolves, too much sex and have a plot instead of "exploring your feelings."

Mood Shifts

Have you ever had a day where just the sunshine alone can make you happy? The kind of day you want to bottle and save for when things seem to go wrong? The kind of day when the sky is so blue it's almost painful? A rare day. Today was such a day. Just lovely. The kind of day you can only appreciate because you have bad days to compare it to. I keep telling my children this. That one can't be happy if one is never sad because then happiness means nothing. It becomes the everyday, the mundane, the boring. We need to have good AND bad, happy AND sad, and all those other opposites.

Don't ask me why I've waxed philosophical, except that it's just that kind of day. Hope yours was good, too.
--Gabi

Books I'm reading:
I, Robot, by Isaac Asimov (got to keep teaching those eighth graders something)
Codename: Blondie, by Christina Skye (with whom I had a lovely conversation when she was in town for her book signing. Thanks for listening, Christina. I truly enjoyed talking to you.)
Green Mansions, by WH Hudson (for a book club, but it's just too dense for me.)

Two months? No way has two months passed.

So now it really has been a while since I've written. What can I say? The school year is winding down (19 days and counting), summer and the end of allergy season are just around the corner, and I'll have the days free to write (when I'm not taking the last required class I need for special certification to teached gifted students in this area).

I recently watched the A&E version of Pride and Prejudice again, as well as the newest version starring Kiera Knightley (a girl entirely too pretty). I must confess I like both versions. The five plus hour long A&E version is richer and does star Colin Firth, but the new one is livlier and the actors are more the correct age. And you have to love Dame Judy as Lady Catherine DeBurgh.

I also recently viewed Fast Times at Ridgemont High, which I didn't like all too much the first time I saw it, and now twenty years later, I still don't think it a great movie. But my husband was actually in the senior class in San Diego that Cameron Crowe joined when he did research for his book. No, don't bother to look for a character based on my husband, although he can tell you who the real life people are the movie characters portray.

We have a movie night every weekend with our children to expose them to great films. We've seen Schindler's List, His Girl Friday, Mask of Zorro (hey, I didn't say they were all serious movies--I like fun movies), Stand by Me, and Field of Dreams (which is not a baseball film, I don't care what anyone says) among others. I love movies. Always have, and I suspect we have quite a few more to view before we even start to become bored.

So if you're reading this, what movies would you recommend as must-sees?
--Gabi

OK, so it;s been a while...

No, I haven't fallen off the face of the earth, but it sure feels as if I have. Life gets busy spots and suddenly more time passes than one is aware of. We're nearing the end of February and I have little to report. I'm reading Huckleberry Finn again with my students and finding it as amusing and powerful as ever. Haven't seen any movies lately--except I watched Sense and Sensibility on DVD not too long ago--because I'm completely caught up in the Olympics. My father was a huge fan of the Olympics, and now every time they're on, I feel so close to him and his memory. I can remember watching with him when I was just a girl, and in 1972 we visited the Munich Stadium before the Summer Games of that year (so vivid in my memory because of that trip and the sad events of those particular Olympics). I love the Olympics, but I really miss the way they used to cover all the athletes, instead of just the US. OK, they always had a US slant, but we heard so much about other athletes as well.
Stay happy
--Gabi

Books I'm currently reading:
Freakonomics by Steven D Levitt and Stephen J Dubner
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
Sex, Lies, and on-line Dating by Rachel Gibson
Some Enchanted Evening by Christina Dodd (which I've already read, but had to re-read for my romance book club)
Widows of Wichita County by Jodi Thomas (Ditto--see above)
Midnight Magic by Shari Anton

A day in the life...

A holiday from work and I was looking forward to spending the day writing. It would have been better ("Mom, can you take me to the mall?" "No.") if the children hadn't spent the morning ("Just for half an hour. I need jeans" "No.") begging me for food ("Really, Mom. I haven't been anywhere this entire weekend. Can you take me to the mall?" "No."), favors, and entertainment. ("What if I did a favor or a job for you in exchange?" "No.") My husband's car was leaking oil so HE came home for lunch ("What if Dad drops me off at the mall and you just pick me up?" "No.") and then daughter number two came home from camping this weekend. ("I need to be picked up now." "Right"--sigh. "Hey, can you drop me off at the mall while you go pick her up?" "No.") Then I actually cooked dinner, because I don't when I'm working all day. ("Mom, I really need jeans." "We were just at Western Wearhouse last weekend. Couldn't you have bought jeans then?" "These weren't holey then. Besides, I can't shop there." "Yes, but you were at the mall." "I didn't know I needed them then." "No.") So I'm signing off right now, grabbing a cookie and writing in bed--I do have to work tomorrow. ("Can you take me tomorrow?" "No.")
--Gabi

Procrastination, thy name is...I

I'm giving a talk tomorrow night at a local Hastings Bookstore, and while I have a title ("Who needs Grammar? That's what an Editor is for" and other Ways to Sabotage Your Career), I have no idea what I'm speaking about. Oh I'll have something by the time I show up, notes, ideas, etc., but the talk would go much smoother if I were better prepared. But it's late, and I had laundry to fold, and I have to work tomorrow. I'll be fine once I get started, but I don't know why I'm putting myself through this. I actually like to give talks, but I usually am better prepared.

Having said that, I am also leading a local romance readers' group on Tuesday. I've read the book, but I haven't prepared anything for it either. I might be forming bad habits here.

Recent reads: Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld, Strange Bedpersons by Jennifer Crusie, Falling Awake by Jayne Ann Krentz, and currently I'm reading I'm No Angel by Patti Berg.

--Gabi

It's a new year after all..

On the eve of 2006, I have to tell you that I make no new year's resolutions. Oh, I have hopes and dreams for the upcoming year, but January 1 is just an arbitrary date--one that I am the first to admit gives us a great excuse to party--and has no real meaning in the long term. It's just a convenient way to track time. I make resolutions when the mood strikes me: March, Tuesdays, three A.M. (I have sleeping issues). I believe resolutions are a good thing, I just don't make them now.

But for the new year, I wish all of you peace, health, and above all joy. For myself, well, I'd settle for a new book contract. Got a great manuscript ready to go.

So from me to you:
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
--Gabi

Words of wisdom

I haven't blogged in two weeks, so I wanted to put something particularily pithy on the page today. Some brilliant topic to dazzle you readers. Something to take your breath away and impress you with my intelligence. So what did I come up with? Nothing. A big fat zero. And let's face it, nothing is not impressive. Oh sure, one can write about nothing and fill a page, but it's still nothing. I've just finished making a present for writing friends--a box filled with 365 inspirational writing quotes--filled with brilliance...from others. Some of these quotes are fabulous: "You can't wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club." --Jack London. Or "Take chances. You will succeed if you are fearless of failure." --Natalie Goldberg. So I thought I'd spread my own words of wisdom. Ah well. I still have nothing.

Books I'm reading: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Too much going on this time of year to read much more than a comfort read. ALthough I am having fun teaching a mini-class on Latin to my students. They think they're learning a language. I know they're learning grammar.)

Enjoy the season, and sieze the joy in every day. Life is just too short to do otherwise.
--Gabi

A little on luck...

I have none. Not good luck, not bad luck. I've always known that I can't depend on serendipity to get me where I want to be. Take writing, for example. I know I need to write the best stories I can, because luck will take me nowhere. I've met editors who like me, who like my work, who push for me at their publishing houses, and then they leave the company before I sell a book to them. Some might consider this bad luck, but then one would have to consider the first part good luck as well. I just believe theses two unrelated events cancel each other out, leaving me with no luck. I don't play games that require luck to win--Risk, for example, or gambling of any sort-- because if I can't depend on skill, I know I won't win. My daughter, on the other hand, wins everything. If there's a raffle or drawing she's entered, she wins. Ah, well. Maybe I'll have her pick out lottery numbers. (Sorry, don't play the lottery either.)

Books I'm reading now: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (have seen the movie, loved it, and just wanted to remember how much I love the books); When Chritmas Comes, by Debbie Macomber. Gosh, is that really all? I just don't have the time right now.

--Gabi

I've been good...

I received my flu shot today. I've never had one before, but since I'm exposed to all kinds of germ carriers (read: students), getting the shot might make sense this year. And getting it was really easy, considering they offered it at my place of work, so I didn't even have to make much of an effort. I'll keep you posted how I fare this winter.

I'm finishing up the final revision on my WIP, and trying to re-read Harry Potter nd the Goblet of Fire before the movie comes out. The previews look great, and I love the books, so I'm looking forward to this weekend. Of course, having the seventh book in my hands would generate a great deal more excitment.

Temptaion's warrior is getting great reviews all over. Check them out and see:

http://www.theromancereadersconnection.com/reviews/andersongabriella11105.html

http://www.loveromances.com/temptationswarrior_janalee.html

http://thebestreviews.com/review31176

http://www.onceuponaromance.net/Temptation'sWarriorReview.html

One is also coming out in Booklist
and one should be posted on the 20th at Romance Reviews Today: http://romrevtoday.com/

All is well, the weather has turned cold, and I've got to start worrying about cooking that turkey. I still have to buy it and all the accouterments. Maybe I haven't been so good after all...
--Gabi

A Brand New Wind...

No, I'm not suffering from flatulence. I came back from the Red River non-conference (if you want more info about this, you must e-mail me) so full of writing energy that I can hardly find the time to eat (and you'd think I'd lose weight from this, but no, my body decides that it must store all fat in case of the Big One, just to be safe). So I've got all this writing energy (an entirely different beast than the energy to, say, make beds or do laundry) and I've been revising away at THE STONE KEY, and having a great time doing it. Patting myself on the back here-- TEMPTATION'S WARRIOR is out, getting great reviews, and for a change I'm not having so much angst about the writing. It's a good place to be.

Meanwhile I'm reading Charmed and Dangerous by Lori Wilde, Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury (For my classes, but it's so good it's worth mentioning) and I just finished Some Enchanted Evening, by Christina Dodd. And of, course, I'm working on THE STONE KEY , an unpublished manuscript by Gabriella Anderson.

Keep those dreams big.
--Gabi