Notes on GLVWG's conference...

The annual Greater Lehigh Valley Writers Group's conference was held all day yesterday. The conference offered workshops given by published authors, appointments with agents and editors, and networking with other writers. It was a great conference--again.

I was impressed by Matt Birkbeck's workshop where he discussed the methods he employed as he researched his investigative books. His latest books are A Beautiful Child, A Deadly Secret, and most recently about Sammy Davis, Jr., Deconstructing Sammy: Music, Money, Madness and the Mob.

I also learned a little about young adult (YA) novels from author, David Lubar. His YA books are a fun read.

Critically acclaimed novelist and professor at DeSales University, Juilene Osborne-McKnight presented her inspiring "Writing Out Loud: Storytelling and the Writer."

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The need for cats...

This is Ranger.

I'm working on revisions for Fleeced in Stonington, and as I turned the daily page on my cat calendar (Workman Publishing Company, Inc. © 2008), this text caught my attention:

"It's common knowledge that the cat is a favorite sidekick of authors. This fact was made eminently clear by British author Aldous Huxley, who, when asked by a young man for advice on becoming a writer, replied, along with pens, ink and paper, he should get himself two cats."

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Sunday

Have more edits to do on my next novel. {sigh} At least, my editor gives me a second and third chance to change the book. I'm lucky.

Will spend most of today reading. A writer must read, read, read.

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finished.....

I finished the mystery, short story, The Old Curio Shop, to enter into the Deadly Ink conference contest. Fingers crossed.

Cold today but Spring is only a week away.

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Hoping spring is on the way...

This is my photo of the Thomas Paine statue taken in his birthplace, the town of Thetford which is about 10 miles from my hometown. He left England at age 37 and came to the U.S. He was a pamphleteer, revolutionary, radical, inventor, and intellectual.

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We lost an hour's sleep, but hopefully this warmer weather sticks around. Bulbs are popping out of the ground and will be in bloom in a couple of weeks.

I'm currently working on short stories. I'm half way through The Curio Shop, a mystery to submit into the Deadly Ink contest.

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English author...

I'm currently reading a book lent to me by a good friend. It's YESTERDAY'S GONE by the late E.J. Crisp, an English author of novels, short stories, BBC plays, and so on. This book is about a World War II pilot.

WWII is my favorite period of time. I have an outline of my own WWII novel based on my own experiences.

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