Laboring in the summer sun ...

After a couple of chilly, foggy days, the sun showed up bright and early this a.m. Wa-hoo! A sunny Labor Day! My husband declared that I should enjoy the day since I was in labor three times over the years (delivering the kids, he meant). I can accept that! So after some house and yard "labor," hubby and I took a leisurely ride along the state beach bike trail. Lots of peeps out and about, but we tried hard not to hit any of them ... ;-)

Portions of the bike lane had been crumbling into the sea for years, but finally, the trail has been fixed. This second photo shows how pristine and wide open it is now. Nice!

Hope the weekend was a beautiful one for you, too. I pretty much ate my way through mine ~ not proud of it, but hey, it was a holiday! (She says as she wads up another Dove chocolate wrapper and tosses it into the trash ...)

Here's to a beachy week, my friends ~ wherever you are =)

One lump or two?

So a writer-pal started a discussion on Facebook about whether or not she should give up the pen and apply for a job at Starbucks. Got me thinking. Maybe I should apply? Did you know that employees receive a pound of coffee per week. Can you imagine? Sumatra one week, Espresso Bean the next, and French Roast after that ... Would be like a veritable smorgasbord of morning wake-ups every day!

Maybe I'm not really joking. Sometimes my eyes are tired and so is my creativity. The waiting for everything in this business ~ decisions, contracts, sales figures, emails ~ can make a young girl like myself ;-) feel downright old and decrepit. Not to mention all the sitting that must occur before and after said decisions are made. (Sitting too long can shorten the lifespan they say!)

So I'm thinking coffee should be my next career. A couple of local stores are hiring. Hubby says I'm nuts, that they'll make me get up at 4:30 am to open the store. "They're open till 11!" I tell him. Ah, but he thinks that newbies will get that oh-so frightening early morning shift. "But think of all the neat coffee tricks I'll learn!" He hesitated at that.

Maybe I could be one of those baristas who etches works of art into the froth. Hearts are so yesterday. I'm thinking bigger, like writing DREAM or JOY on top. Or maybe a nice GOD LOVES YOU (would that even fit?). Oh, but drat. It all comes back to writing, doesn't it. Sigh. Maybe writing and editing has become more than a career ... maybe, it's become my addiction.

Kind of like that first cup of coffee in the morning ...

Beachy weekend

First off, The Marketplace in Tustin is HUGE! You know you're from a small town when you can't believe you can drive through an outdoor mall for more than five minutes and still not figure out where you're supposed to be! Of course, I've always been directionally-challenged, but whatever :)

The good news is we found the big LifeWay store at The Marketplace in Tustin and I made it to my signing. Woo-hoo! I walked in to a flurry of activity (VeggieTales characters were there :) and began signing books nearly immediately. Not only did buyers pick up Fade to Blue - oh, how I love that story - but the store sold out of the other Otter Bay Novels too! Thanks to Karl, the manager, and the staff of this beautiful, new store for making me feel welcome!

Also thanks to ACFW members Scott T. Barnes, Paula Michelson, and Marlayne Giron for stopping by too! So enjoyed meeting you all in person.

Today is GORGEOUS in Ventura. I'm stuck in front of the computer with some writing/editing stuff, but in a few minutes I plan to pull on my Nikes and hit the beach for a nice run. Okay, a slow jog. But, still.

Have a beachy week, my friends, wherever you are! (And prayers for those in Irene's path ... may she skip right over you and into oblivion.)

Veggietales and Me

This Saturday, I'll be signing Fade to Blue at the NEW LifeWay store at The Marketplace, 2902 El Camino Real in Tustin, CA. Can you believe it? A NEW bookstore??? With the demise of so many, this is definitely something to be celebrated. (The photo's from a previous signing at a different LifeWay store.)

So in honor of the Tustin store's grand opening, I'll be there. As will Bob the Tomato and Larry the Cucumber of VeggieTales fame (I kid you not!). I keep telling my friends that maybe I'll dress up like "Julie the Jalapeno" and vie for a role in the next VeggieTales DVD. Could happen =)

If you're in SoCal and want to check it out, I'll be there at 1 pm (the fabric/human veggies will be there before me). And I'll also be giving away a "beachy" Lazy Susan too. Hope to see some friendly faces!

Beach reading ...

Something about summer and reading that just goes together, you know? Kind of like fall and reading; and winter and reading; and spring ... you get the picture! Anyway, I've been writing and editing for so many years that, sadly, my reading time has been cut drastically. So in July, I decided to pick up a few titles that I'd been eying for a while.

Started it all off with In the Company of Others by my favorite author, Jan Karon. Savored every morsel of this beautiful book. It's set in Ireland and I just learned that a good pal of mine is headed there next month. So guess who I'm loaning my copy to?

Next I read The Help. I've written here about this book before because it's amazing. Kathryn Stockett wrote it in first person, in three different points of view. I loved each one of the characters whose minds we were allowed into. The movie was terrific BUT not as good as the book. What can I say? There's something about allowing the characters' voices to sprout into real, live human beings in one's own mind that visual productions can rarely match.

I've loved Kristin Billerbeck's writing for years, and her earlier first-person novels inspired me to write a few of my own (I loved What a Girl Wants, for example). Her newest, A Billion Reasons Why, is a fun and romantic story set in New Orleans. Never been there, but reading this story made me feel as if I'd visited. SO hungry for a beignet now ...

Just finished Ten Beach Road by Wendy Wax. Never read Wax before, but the title and cover just drew me. Big surprise there, huh? Some sketchy language but you know what? It wasn't gratuitous; the words fit the characters. I grew to love not only this story, but the characters themselves. And I learned a ton about Florida, which is cool because I now have several family members living there. Hopefully, I'll have a chance to visit ... after hurricane season ;-)

I'm back to writing today and for the rest of the week. But I'm on a roll, so I've got another book started on my nightstand. How about you?

Saddle up

College Boy's in the market for a car. He's only got so much mula, but we want to make sure he finds something safe and reliable for his bucks. Guess it's an age-old problem. Lol ...

Editing and ACFW Conference Special

In addition to the ghostwriting assignment I mentioned yesterday, I also work as an editor on various projects. My love for the details feels like a sickness sometimes. I recently picked up the 16th edition of The Chicago Manual of Style (aka the editor's bible) and was positively giddy. I'm involved with an online editor's loop and we get into all kinds of discussions, such as whether to include quotes in internal thoughts or why in the world Jan Karon's latest book uses single quotation marks throughout for dialogue.

Like I said, it's a sickness. But for those who need an editor's eye, such nerdyness (okay, a made up word) can also come in quite handy. So I've updated my editorial services page to include more offerings and details. Find the button above or click on this link: Editing Services

Oh, and I recently joined CEN (Christian Editor Network) too. Members of CEN are required to pass rigorous (read: super tough) tests before acceptance into this nationwide organization. Yowza! T'was like going back to school. Glad to know I've still got it. Lol ...

p.s. One more thing! If you or someone you know is a member of ACFW, I'm offering a special for those attending the upcoming conference: $15 OFF the price of my Fiction Proposal Critique Service. See Editing Services page for what this service includes (scroll down about half way). Just mention the conference when contacting me. Thanks!

Write on

Today, I'm working on a ghostwriting project. At least, I will be when I log off ;) Years ago, I worked as a ghostwriter for trade journals, writing articles for executives in the insurance and banking industries. Yawn, right? That's why I don't do that anymore ... Fortunately, I'm doing something much more interesting and life affirming and I'd tell you about it, but then I'd have to kill you. Sorry.

So we had an amazing weekend, but now it's back to school for one kiddo, and back to a deadline for me. Saw The Help. Liked it, but liked the book better. Isn't that the way??

Also made an impromptu stop at the Ventura County Fair on Friday night to see Trace Adkins. HUGE crowd; so fun! Afterward, we walked to downtown Ventura and joined our girls who were taking photos of the cast of a locally-filmed movie, Bellflower, in front of the theater. My girls handed a camera to a bystander, then jumped into the cast photo (that's them on the right). Lol ... not sure where they get their moxy ...

Have a beachy week, my friends ... wherever you are.

Clear daze

As usual, we've got heavy fog this morning. The good thing about this summer is that most days the haze clears by afternoon. Here's a photo (sorry about the quality) from a couple of days ago. Charlie the Dog and I sat on a bench contemplating life (well, maybe he was contemplating seagulls aka dinner ...), while the water glimmered and beachgoers frolicked. Totally enjoyable.

The Fair is still going on and the nights have been so clear that we can hear the bands from our house. Pretty weird since it's quite a drive down the road from us. Last night I could hear Lifehouse singing Take Me Away from my bedroom window. And a few nights ago, hubby and pre-teen girl sat outside and listened to the Beach Boys (I kid you not!). We sit around and theorize that the night air carries the sound through the cloudless skies then bounces off the water and into our bitty beach home. Or something.

School starts next week for my youngest and I'm not ready. Last year of middle school for her, though, so we're going to savor it. Glad that next year she'll start later in the summer! Hoping to enjoy every moment of her last weekend of freedom :). We're going to see The Help, go to a couple of pool parties, and maybe even stop by the fair one mo' time.

Here's to a beachy weekend, my friends ~ wherever you are :) Feel free to drop me a note about your doings, okay?

Help is on the way ...

I am EXCITED to see The Help this weekend. Wanted to see it today, but I'm waiting for Teen Girl to finish the book. Soon! I love this photo because it reminds me of, well, me. Not that I look--or ever looked--like Emma Stone, but because I was the popular girl in my college dorm whenever someone wanted to borrow my typewriter. I, of course, had one. Even in college, when I studied to find a real job, I dreamed about writing books someday. I bought my electric typewriter with part-time job money and lugged it around with me to writer's conferences whenever I could afford them. Actually, I rarely could afford them, but went anyway.

Since reading The Help, I've read another book, but I'm still thinking about the former. The characters are so real. The images so seared in my mind. The writing so counter to what so many writing teachers advise. "Don't write in first person!" "Don't write in present tense!" Yada, yada, yada ... baloney. I was sucked in from page 1.

Have you read The Help? Plan to see the movie? If you do, tell me -- but don't giveaway any secrets, 'kay? :)

Sittin' on the top of the bay ...

So College Boy's gig as a camp counselor is winding down. Many of the counselors have left to head back to their homes in other states, but since we're fairly local (only about 25 minutes away), Matt has opted to stay on another week or so. As I mentioned before, the group came by one Saturday night for food and fun, but this past weekend, they dropped by again. This time, they brought a ton of sandwich fixins and drinks (thanks for the leftovers, guys :), and just hung around making YouTube videos, watching our youngest daughter's copy of Bieber's Never Say Never, and generally saying goodbye after a long summer of camp counseling. They also kayaked.

When we moved to the beach about 8 years ago, D and I went a bit crazy one weekend and bought three kayaks: 2 singles and 1 tandem. Best. Investment. Ever. Over the years we've acquired a few toys that stuck for a while (trampoline, anyone?), but it's the kayaks that have endured the longest. Now that college days are here and we're sorta broke ;), kids and friends can still grab the boats and the paddles and hit the water. For free. Love!

Have a toy like that? Do tell! And have a beachy week, my friends ~ wherever you are :)

Summer surprises

Finally feeling better! How strange to get a cold in mid-summer. It's unAmerican, Lol. Ah, well. Wanted to mention that my friend, author Carrie Padgett, wrote an article about a couple of my Otter Bay Novels for Salt Fresno Magazine. This was a complete surprise and it's wonderful! Hope you'll check it out. Here's the digital link to the magazine (it's also available in print): http://www.sierrapacific.ws/salt/july2011/

After clicking on the link, just use your cursor to turn the pages until you hit page 9. I'm next to an article on Soul Surfer, which is pretty nice company if you ask me :)

3 bucks, 2 bags, 1 me ...

Had a party here on Friday night for College Boy's fellow camp staffers, a yard sale early the next morning, then picked up Teen Girl at LAX late last night (plane was two hours delayed). Today, I'm sick. Waaaa! I know people say that men are babies when sick, and women are toughies, but basically, I'm a baby. And my man does a good job taking care of me (Honey, will you pick me up some cold medicine and make me breakfast, lunch, and dinner? kthanxbye!)

At least I'm honest. I hate being sick (doesn't everyone?), and on days like this all I want to do is hide in my room with my remote and a stack of dvds and magazines. So glad it's Sunday and an "official" day of rest, because otherwise I'd be forced to face the world.

On a happy note, my daughter's back from her 2+ weeks in New York where she studied how to take the fashion world by storm. I'm seriously jealous of her. Okay, not. But happy. Really, really happy to see that she traveled on her own, made a ton of new friends, saw the sights of NYC more than once, and learned so much about fashion design from Marist College. You raise them up and hope they fly with confidence, and when they do? You get to breathe a sigh of relief ... even if it's a little wheezy from a cold.

p.s. Know where I snagged this title from ... ? :)

Start spreadin' the news ...

So Teen Daughter is still in NY on her pre-college trip (studying Fashion Design) and last eve, the college took a trip to the city. They visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art and viewed the Alexander McQueen exhibit, Savage Beauty, had dinner at Ruby Foo's, then took their seats for a Broadway musical. Priscilla Queen of the Desert recently won a Tony for best costumes, so it was a natural choice for Fashion students to see. But what wowed my daughter was the finale because ... my cousin, Dan Navarro, co-wrote it. We Belong (remember Pat Benatar sang it??) is a song my fam can sing in our sleep! My kiddo texted me from the theater, beyond excited. I contacted Dan and it turns out that he and his son were in the theater the night before. Considering they live in CA, this is a mighty small world were livin' in!

Cheers, Friends!

Relax ...

Relax: To sit in the shade on a fine day and look upon the water is the most perfect refreshment. Love this sign. Sometimes that's all I want to do ... just sit and look upon the water and think about, well, nothing. For some reason, I'm reminded about our trip to Pennsylvania about this time last year. We attended a family reunion at Parker Dam and, at one point, several of us rented kayaks. The day was humid and I found myself alone in the middle of the lake just resting my eyes on the water, noting the expanse of mountains around us. I remember wanting to stay there as long as possible so that I could recapture the loveliness the next time life became less-than.

Something about water, you know? It's mid-summer, what have you done to relax?

Wednesday tidbits

Kidless this week because College Boy works at a summer camp (and lives there), Teen Daughter went to NY for a pre-college program (that's the "lunch" she and her suite-mates had the other day. Oy!), and Pre-Teen Girl is away at church camp. No pressing writing deadline at the moment either, so what a blessing to have so much time for my sweet mama who had to be admitted to the hospital a few days ago. She's back home now and resting (hospitals are terrible places for that!), so that's another relief.

Did you hear that William and Kate were in nearby Carpinteria? Many reports said they were in Santa Barbara, but the truth is, the polo club where William played is located in Carp, the next big town north of Ventura. Snobbery abounds around here, tho, because Santa Barbara apparently sounds so much more "Grey Poupon." Whatever!

Off to mail a package to my travelin' girl who will spend her 17th birthday in NY. Is it okay to admit I'm a bit jealous??! :) Actually, I'm thrilled for her. She's having a ball!

Have a beachy week, my friends ~ and drop me a line when you can.

Free summer read

Happy Tuesday! I hope you're enjoying your summer. Wanted to let you know that K. Dawn Bird is featuring Fade to Blue today and she's giving away a copy. I love this book and the feedback received so far. Would love for one of my blogger lurkers (you know who you are :) to win it. All you have to do to enter is leave a comment over on K. Dawn's blog.

Ciao for now :)

Lazy day of summer ...

Had one of those days that's the stuff of dreams. Well, maybe not some people's, but in my laid-back beach chicky's dreams anyway. No soccer, so we dallied around the day together with various members of the household spilling in and out.

The hot sun shone overhead, so D & I set up pre-teen girl and friend in our pedal kayak. Gave them a good shove and a wave, then we walked Charlie the Dog to the beach. Along the way, we passed neighbors on bikes and on foot, and strangers too. This was one of those days when people stroll about with lazy smiles on their faces.

Later on, we headed out for iced coffee, then passed our girls and friends heading back down to the beach. Hubby had some work to do, so I sat in my lounge chair and sketched some possibilities for our backyard re-do on the cheap. (You should see the stack of Sunset and Coastal Living magazines I went through!)

I hope it doesn't sound like I'm bragging because the truth is, life is often, no it's usually, fairly chaotic. I've got deadlines, family beeswax and taxi-driving to do, but for some reason, not today. Have you had those kinds of days? Sure hope so! I'm thankful for a true beachy day ... and for the freedom to live it that way.

Happy 4th of July weekend to all my buddies in the USA. And a beachy rest of the weekend to all my friends ~ wherever you are :)

Repost day! ~ Why My Wallet is Empty Today

Just for fun, a post from 2006:

Just got an email from my publisher. They want a photo of me for next year's catalog. Oh my. Well. The thought sent me flying into the bathroom to rifle through my paltry makeup drawer. Ugh--not good. Did I mention that I went to the mall after that? Got myself loaded up on under-eye concealer, blush, lipstick, and even some thermal skin polisher (whatever that is). Everything I need to look as fresh and line-free as possible. Check out the photo, above.

Sandy Shoes

I love this sign's sentiment. There's something so carefree about it, don't you think? Life is so often not carefree that I like to remind myself of its potential :->

I sell these in my beach shop and have yet to snag one for my own wall. Think I'm going to have to change that ...

Have a beachy day, friends (wherever you are :).