This Week with the Wet Noodle Posse

Wrap up November by “giving thanks” with the Wet Noodle Posse, and then join in the fun as we kick off December with our Home for the Holidays theme.

Monday: Debra Holland—TBA

Tuesday: Introduction to Home for the Holidays Theme

Wednesday: MJ Fredrick—Favorite Christmas Shows

Thursday: Maureen Hardegree—Tinsel on the Tree

Friday: Q&A Day—What holiday traditions does your family follow?

Until next time,
Lee

This Week's Tuesday News

This week’s Tuesday News is being served up a day late.

I’m in the final stages of revising a book, so I was torn over whether or not to attend a workshop—Creating a Book Map—presented by Susan Wiggs on the weekend. In the end I decided to go and I’m so glad I did because the timing was perfect. The focus was on story structure, and I’m now tweaking this book to make sure it has one!

Susan is a wonderful speaker and if you have a chance to attend one of her workshops, you should go for it.

My office overhaul got stalled this week, although I did dispose of a pile of magazines that had taken up residence.

Can you believe that Christmas is one month away? I hope to squeeze a couple of craft fairs into my busy weekend. Next week, after I have turned in my revised book, I can start decorating!

Wishing a happy Thanksgiving to my American family, friends and readers!

Until next time,
Lee

This Week with the Wet Noodle Posse

The Wet Noodle Posse finds more ways to give thanks this week.

Monday: Trish Milburn/Tricia Mills sends out “10 Totally Frivolous Thank Yous”

Tuesday: Theresa Ragan—TBA

Wednesday: Delle Jacobs—“Eat Your Peas”

Thursday: Karen Potter shares a “Happy Thanksgiving Poem”

Friday: Q&A Day—What are the challenges in writing a scene with a lot of people, such as a scene set during a Thanksgiving Dinner?

Have a wonderful week!

Until next time,
Lee

Tuesday News

Things I’m doing this week:

• revising Firefighter Daddy

• working on the next book

• attending a Susan Wiggs writing workshop

• clearing out my office

The progress on my office was slow this week, but I freed up more space on one bookshelf, gave a bag of writing books to a friend and a bundle of file folders and a stack of magazine files to another friend.

The Christmas season is fast approaching and I found some great things at a craft fair on the weekend:

• homemade antipasto

• pickled beets

• red pepper jelly

• two catnip cat toys

• an adorable candle lamp made from a wine glass, a tealight and a paper lampshade

If you missed my Sunday Fun post about the shirtless firefighters and my December contest, please scroll down and check it out!

Until next time,
Lee

This Week with the Wet Noodle Posse

Here’s what the Wet Noodle Posse is Giving Thanks for this week:

Monday: Diane Gaston—Thanks to Harlequin

Tuesday: Priscilla Kissinger—Family Get-Togethers, Even the Dysfunctional Ones

Wednesday: Merrillee Whren—Thankful for Airplanes

Thursday: Maureen Hardegree—Thanksgiving Napkin Ring Craft

Friday: Q&A—What’s your favorite feasting scene from a movie?

Have a great week!

Until next time,
Lee

Sunday Fun—What Would You Do...?

If you were at the mall and encountered a group of firefighters signing calendars, what would you do?

I stopped to buy a couple of calendars and have the guys autograph them.

Then, if you were a romance author who had a blog, what would you do?

After having the calendars signed, I decided to take a couple of photographs to post here on The Writer Side.

So I got my husband to hold my bag of calendars, found a good vantage point for taking photos, and before I could snap even one picture...they took off their shirts.

Seriously.

Well, I’m sure you would have done the same thing I did.

I snapped these.






The last one's a little out of focus. I guess my hands were getting shaky.

My husband was having a good laugh by the time I rejoined him, and I was congratulating myself for having such impeccable timing.

The calendar is great, by the way...you can take a sneak peek here...and all proceeds go to charity.

So...to celebrate the July 2010 release of my next Harlequin American Romance—Firefighter Daddy—I’ll be running a contest throughout December here on The Writer Side of Life. Contest details will be posted here on December 5 and the lucky winner will be announced on December 31.

What would you do for a chance to win an autographed 2010 firefighter calendar?

I hope you’ll enter my contest!

Until next time,
Lee

The Lighter Side of Life

I'm blogging with the Wet Noodle Posse today, and sharing a few of my favorite YouTube videos. I hope you'll drop by and tell me about yours!

Until next time,
Lee

Tuesday News

Things I’m doing this week, in no particular order:

• meeting with my critique group

• revising Firefighter Daddy

• attending a Christmas craft fair

• blogging with the Wet Noodle Posse on Thursday

• clearing out my office

The work on my office continues. So far this week I have cleared out:

• 10 stacking trays

• 17 cardboard magazine files

• 1 large box of books

• a blue box full of paper to be recycled

Since eliminating stuff and clutter is my goal, I also have to eliminate the things I would use to store the stuff and clutter. So the trays and magazine files will find new homes and the books will go a secondhand bookstore.

I’m making progress!

Until next time,
Lee

This Week with the Wet Noodle Posse

This week the Wet Noodle Posse is Giving Thanks for:

Monday: Trish Milburn/Tricia Mills—Thankful for the Little Things

Tuesday: Terry McLaughlin—Lessons

Wednesday: Maureen Hardegree—Top Ten Tips for Writing Thank You Notes

Thursday: Lee McKenzie—Family and Friends

Friday: Q&A Day—What foods can't you pass up on the Thanksgiving table?

Until next time,
Lee

Sunday Fun—Archie

Say hello to Archie. Archie is a BoShih, which is what you get when you breed a Boston terrier and a Shih Tzu.


One ear is perpetually perked, the other flops. His tail is as straight as a pencil and looks as though it’s been dipped in white paint. He's one of the sweetest and most energetic little dogs I have ever seen, he never barks, and although he’s only six months old, he’s already quite well trained.

Archie and his master often play ball on the lawn of a government building where I sometimes do temp work. In this photo, Archie is waiting for his master to throw his yellow ball, which he will chase and retrieve so it can be thrown again. And again, and again.

A visit with Archie always brightens my day.

Until next time,
Lee

Lee’s Office, continued

Remember when computer software came in a great big box with several manuals and a dozen floppy disks that took more than an hour to load?

Remember when documents and data were stored on floppy disks that had to be labeled and stored in boxes that took up valuable real estate on your desk?

I’m guessing that all of this:


can now be stored on one of these:


I love technology almost as much as I love reclaiming all that valuable real estate.

Until next time,

Lee

Tuesday News—Writing and Dreaming

November is NaNoWriMo—National Novel Writing Month—and many writers plan to write a novel (50,000 words) in thirty days. That works out to about six and a half pages every day, which really doesn’t sound like all that much.

I wish I could do this, but I can’t. The process simply doesn’t work for me. I have tried writing a first draft from start to finish without editing or revising as I go, and have ended up with an overwhelming mess, much of which has to be cut. So I will continue with my pattern of working on the new book and revising Firefighter Daddy.

If you've been following my blog lately, you know I'm also “revising” my office, a little at a time. A fellow writer recently suggested that, as an added incentive, I should create a vision of what I’d like to have in my dream office. I’ve been daydreaming about it my spare time, and have come up with one thing for sure.

I want a big cosy armchair and ottoman. A place where I can sit and lose myself in a book, or sprawl with my laptop and write.

Or maybe a comfy old chaise that has plenty of room for me and a couple of cats.

Good luck to everyone who’s taking part in NaNoWriMo, to everyone who’s plugging along at his or her own pace, and to everyone who's working to make daydreams come true.

Until next time,
Lee

This Week with the Wet Noodle Posse

This month the Wet Noodle Posse explores the theme of Giving Thanks—everything from tips for writing a thank you note to fabulous recipes for a family feast. Here’s what’s on the menu this week:

Monday: Introduction to Giving Thanks

Tuesday: Five Things To Be Thankful For

Wednesday: Brownies—A Recipe Certain to Garner Thanks

Thursday: Movies with a Thankful Theme

Friday: Q&A Day—What are some novels and characters you’re thankful for?

Until next time,
Lee

Lee’s Office, continued

Yesterday I rolled up my sleeves and got to work on the first set of shelves I described on Wednesday. So far I have:

• packed up the old all-in-one printer, advertised it on a free website as was suggested by one commenter, and it was gone within two hours. I even delivered it!

• earned $3 by returning the toner cartridge to Office Depot to be recycled. They didn’t give me cash, but it went on my Worklife Rewards as a credit. How cool is that?

• sorted the books and filled a box with those I no longer need. The box is still here because I will be adding to it. Meanwhile, I will search out a secondhand book store that buys books.

• filled my little blue box with paper

It would be great to dive in and work non-stop till this is done, but I’m also working on revisions plus writing a new book right now, and those are my priority. However, now that I’ve started clearing out a lot of the stuff I don’t need, I feel motivated to keep going.

Still to do:

• sort the photographic slides and pack them away

• find a home for all my freelance projects

• admire all the empty shelfspace

Next up will be my storage closet. It’s filled with floor-to-ceiling shelves, and those are filled with a lot of stuff I don’t need and never use. The perfect home for archiving my freelance projects, if only there was room.

Until next time,
Lee