Last week, I wished everyone a Happy February. The more I considered it, the more fun I thought this month would be. So far, I’m right!
First, there was Groundhog Day. Since I grew up in Pittsburgh, I was always a fan of Punxsutawney Phil. Even though Punxsutawney is not extremely close to the ‘Burgh, it’s still in the same state and, besides, any day devoted to an animal intrigues me. I’d imagine that Phil got confused about seeing his shadow this year. Will there be a prolonged winter? Some places have had hardly any winter at all so far.
Anyway, on Sunday, February 12, I’ll be participating in the Valentine Soiree at Writerspace. I’ll probably be there from around 10:30-11:00 PM Eastern Time.
Also this month, my online class starts--next Monday, February 13. As I’ve mentioned before, it’s called Kiss Me or Kill Me: Cozy Mystery Writing 101 for Romance Writers, and it’s actually for anyone, romance writer or not, who’s interested in writing cozy mysteries.
Then, there’s Valentine’s Day, on Tuesday, February 14. Valentine’s Day is always special to me, first, because I’m a romantic as well as a romance writer. Even more important, it’s the day my DH and I got engaged. This year is a milestone, but I’m not mentioning which one!
Additionally, on this Valentine’s Day I’ll be attending Joanna Campbell Slan’s Facebook party, for at least a short while. I’ve picked up a small box of candy to send to a winner who attends, too. It’s Russell Stover, good stuff but not the most gourmet kind of treat--except that, what attracted me to this particular box is my obsession with animals, especially dogs. Why? Because the picture on the box is of CHOCOLATE Lab puppies!
On February 25, I’ll be at Passion and Prose, a very special one-day event at the Westin Long Beach that will feature Meg Cabot, Christina Dodd, and Gail Carriger. I’m one of the 50 other, really special romance writers who’ll be there to schmooze with attendees. There are still openings, so if you’re in the area, consider coming!
Finally, since this is a Leap Year, this February runs a day longer than the Februaries of the last three years. February 29 is a Wednesday, which means--yes, you’ve got it!--I’ll be blogging here on Killer Hobbies on that day, too!
What’s special about your February?
Showing posts with label Passion and Prose. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Passion and Prose. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
The Present and Past in Writing
Let me start with the present. I’ve got two really fun events coming up in the near future.
The nearest is Mystery on the Menu, a luncheon followed by panels at the Cerritos Library. It’s this Saturday, January 28. The cast of characters--well, writers--has been changing but it promises to be a really fun event. Check it out at the Mysterious Galaxy website: www.mystgalaxy.com/event/mystery-menu-cerritos-library-0128
Next month is Passion and Prose. It’ll be at the Westin Long Beach hotel on Saturday, February 25. The website (www.passionandprose.org) says, “Please join bestselling authors Meg Cabot, Christina Dodd, Gail Carriger, and 50 other fabulous romance authors...” I’m one of those 50 other fabulous romance authors!
Then there’s the past.
We’re spoiled, these days, with being able to research nearly everything on the Internet. It’s so easy, when I’m writing, to stop for only a few minutes and look up something I need for my story.
But, sadly, not everything is there.
I’ve been thinking about the past this week partly because my husband was running some old 8mm films about his family. He showed one movie that was shot in Miami in the early 1950s that had a picture of an old hotel called the Cromwell. I dashed over to my computer to Google it. Yes, it was there--sort of--but the best I could find was an old photo of it for sale on EBay. Apparently, it doesn’t exist any more.
That reminded me of trying to look up the delicatessen owned by my grandparents for years in downtown Pittsburgh. They sold it to someone who kept it up under the same name for several years before it was closed: Richest’s Restaurant. I’ve Googled it at different times, and the best I can find is a few blogs or articles where people reminisce about some of their favorite restaurants that aren’t there any longer.
There is a tad of information online about my relatives who once owned Richest’s--mostly just birth and death data. I’m sure the reason why this is on my mind so much today is that today would have been my beloved uncle Gary Richest’s birthday, but he’s no longer with us.
And there’s more that hasn’t been lost. Some additional things from our families’ pasts do show up on the Internet. Our older son was recently doing some research on ancestry on his dad’s side, and because those particular relatives were notable in history there was apparently quite a bit about them online.
I used to write time travel romances. I’ve also written a suspense novel loosely based on my family history and, yes, Richest’s Restaurant. The time travel romances were published but the suspense novel wasn’t. These days, I’m writing about the present and have gotten away from the past. But it’s still there talking to me, perhaps telling me to resurrect the time travel romances and republish them in e-format one of these days. And maybe I’ll even try the suspenseful version of family history.
What’s your favorite upcoming event? And have you found everything about the past that you’ve looked up on the Internet?
The nearest is Mystery on the Menu, a luncheon followed by panels at the Cerritos Library. It’s this Saturday, January 28. The cast of characters--well, writers--has been changing but it promises to be a really fun event. Check it out at the Mysterious Galaxy website: www.mystgalaxy.com/event/mystery-menu-cerritos-library-0128
Next month is Passion and Prose. It’ll be at the Westin Long Beach hotel on Saturday, February 25. The website (www.passionandprose.org) says, “Please join bestselling authors Meg Cabot, Christina Dodd, Gail Carriger, and 50 other fabulous romance authors...” I’m one of those 50 other fabulous romance authors!
Then there’s the past.
We’re spoiled, these days, with being able to research nearly everything on the Internet. It’s so easy, when I’m writing, to stop for only a few minutes and look up something I need for my story.
But, sadly, not everything is there.
I’ve been thinking about the past this week partly because my husband was running some old 8mm films about his family. He showed one movie that was shot in Miami in the early 1950s that had a picture of an old hotel called the Cromwell. I dashed over to my computer to Google it. Yes, it was there--sort of--but the best I could find was an old photo of it for sale on EBay. Apparently, it doesn’t exist any more.
That reminded me of trying to look up the delicatessen owned by my grandparents for years in downtown Pittsburgh. They sold it to someone who kept it up under the same name for several years before it was closed: Richest’s Restaurant. I’ve Googled it at different times, and the best I can find is a few blogs or articles where people reminisce about some of their favorite restaurants that aren’t there any longer.
There is a tad of information online about my relatives who once owned Richest’s--mostly just birth and death data. I’m sure the reason why this is on my mind so much today is that today would have been my beloved uncle Gary Richest’s birthday, but he’s no longer with us.
And there’s more that hasn’t been lost. Some additional things from our families’ pasts do show up on the Internet. Our older son was recently doing some research on ancestry on his dad’s side, and because those particular relatives were notable in history there was apparently quite a bit about them online.
I used to write time travel romances. I’ve also written a suspense novel loosely based on my family history and, yes, Richest’s Restaurant. The time travel romances were published but the suspense novel wasn’t. These days, I’m writing about the present and have gotten away from the past. But it’s still there talking to me, perhaps telling me to resurrect the time travel romances and republish them in e-format one of these days. And maybe I’ll even try the suspenseful version of family history.
What’s your favorite upcoming event? And have you found everything about the past that you’ve looked up on the Internet?
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