Saturday Six for July 7th

1. I've been without air-conditioning for a week. We might have it fixed on Sunday. Maybe. IF what the guy says is wrong with the unit is the only thing that's wrong. I can't think in the hot weather. I can't write. I'm barely tolerable. So no writing was done. It's incredibly frustrating. I'm so far behind where I want to be. Please excuse me that I didn't do much commenting or emailing this past week. Sitting at the computer drains me in the heat.

2. I haven't finished my steampunk short story. I'll have to pick something else to submit to my writer's group for critique this month. I might send in the first chapter of my newest project and get their opinion. Though I'm very nervous about doing so because I don't know if I'm living up to my standards writing from the male POV. Yes, perhaps I will send it in. The more nervous I am, the more it says I need to get it critiqued.

3. Don't forget I'll be interviewing M. Pepper Langlinais on Monday. She has a gift for all my awesome readers. Please join us!

4. We're having a garage sale with some friends today. We brought over a load of stuff to sell to their house and priced them. Then one friend dared to ask if we'd be selling any books. (Because everyone thinks our house has too many books! HA!) My husband and I looked at each other and laughed. Sorry, we're never selling any of our books.

5. Yesterday I took my son to McDonalds for the first time. The first time I've been in one in decades. (I kid you not!) I decided to go there because it's the only place in town with an indoor AIR-CONDITIONED playground. Not much of a playground, and it was more for older kids, but the boy had fun. He got nuggets, ice cream, and playtime in a nice cool place. We did spend an equal amount of time at the library before we went, so I think that makes up for me taking him there!

6. My husband, son, and I had a fun Fourth of July. We took the boy to his first parade. At first, he was put off by the crowd and wanted to go home. Yet the moment he got his first piece of candy, he was hooked! He loved the marching bands most of all. We all then napped, spent two hours at the pool, and met with friends in the evening for ice cream. Yum!

Monday Mix

I can't believe there's only a week left of April. The A to Z Challenge has been so much fun. And what a response I've gotten about my story. Wow. Thank you all. I wasn't going to publish the story at all, but a lot of people have been encouraging me to do so. I think I might be a sucker for peer pressure in this.

I've been trying to design a banner for my blog. I came up with an image I like, but when I previewed it on my site, I didn't like it. It didn't seem to fit. I'll have to keep trying. I want to find something that really represents me.

Cherie Reich's Flashes of Foxwick is now available on Amazon and Smashwords. It's a great collection of fantasy pieces taking place in her marvelous world of Foxwick.

Aubrie Dionne's first fantasy romance novel, Messenger in the Mist, is on sale at Amazon for $.99! A beautifully written tale.

Alex J. Cavanaugh is having a contest to celebrate 1500 followers. Congratulations, Alex! He's giving away both his books - CassaStar and CassaFire - and the books will be donated to a school library of the winner's choice. Awesome.

My weekend was a busy one. My son turned two. He's happy, healthy, smart, creative, and beautiful. I lucked out with the little guy.

We already celebrated with my family in Canada on Easter. This past Saturday, we had a barbecue with our friends and decorated cupcakes. Good times.

The little guy looks A LOT like I did when I was his age. Here he is in a mud puddle, and there I am at two years old in a ruffly dress that does not suit a tomboy!

 

I didn't cut his hair to match mine. I like his page boy look. Mine was that bowl or mushroom cut which I hated as a child.

Return of the Jedi, uh, I mean, GeekWriterMom

This post has nothing to do with pirate kitties, but my head has been fuzzy with travel hang-over. I've got so much to do, it's nice to take a moment to breathe and giggle over an lolcat.

Hello! I'm back from my visit with my family. It was great to see everyone, but it's rough traveling with a toddler who hates to travel. Every hour, he asked to go home. Poor little guy. We learned he talks in his sleep and can climb out of his playpen. He slept very well - we all did - when we got home.

I've lots of catching up to do. Welcome to my new followers and thank you to everyone who left such awesome comments. I'm so happy you're loving the story. The A to Z Challenge has been incredible!

My first rejection of the year was waiting for me when I got home. Ah well. I'll try the story elsewhere. I have to write something for April yet too. Oh boy.

My son turns two this coming Friday. I need to prepare for his party. We're barbecuing and having a decorate your own cupcake and sundae dessert bar. Good times!

With his turning two, I've been busy making his annual photo book on Shutterfly. I want to do one for him every year throughout his childhood. It's so much fun to create books on that site.

Okay. Time to visit some of your blogs!

I love books

I caught my son reading a book to himself the other day. Oh, the pride and joy I felt.

Books have always played such an important role in my life. I can barely remember being without a book nearby. I remember the delight and wonder of seeing a library for the first time. I still get a feeling that you could call giddiness when I enter a library. I can clearly recall what my elementary school's library looked like and where all the fiction books were located. (We will not discuss just how long it has been since I've been in grade school!) I remember when I went to university and how excited I was to explore a library with several floors. I knew all the best quiet places to read.

I've had a lot of books over the years. I moved a lot in the years of my early adulthood and had to part with books then. I still mourn the loss of my Nancy Drew collection and bags of Stephen King novels. I'm settled in a house now. My bookshelves are overflowing. I still want more. I'll be getting an e-reader for my birthday. Hopefully that will help with the problem of space.

I hope my son loves books as much as I do. We read to him a lot. He sees my husband and I with books. He knows which shelves contain my books, which ones have my husband's and which are his. He has yet to rip pages out of any books or color in them. *knocks on wood*

I see way too many people who never read more than a newspaper or an entertainment magazine. I couldn't see going through life without books. I want my son to know the same joy and excitement as I do when I pick up a new book. I want to nurture his imagination and let him know that it is limitless.