Bookish

I know the blogging has been even less than my usual meager output. I'm sorry. I don't mean to disappoint my handful of readers. I could fill you in on how crazy busy life has been lately, but that is nothing new to anyone. I could tell you how I'm trying to commit to a new fitness routine that has involved major, major walks with Younger Bro over steep mountains and through wooded dales dotted with innocent, Bambi-ish woodland creatures...but I digress.

What have I been up to lately? Well, I've been reading. I'm almost done with Anne Lamont's Bird by Bird. I've stalled out on the end of it, but that is my fault, not hers. It's been one of the few books about writing that I appreciate and enjoy. I am not a non-fiction reader. Life is non-fiction, and there is plenty of it. And most writing books grate and irritate, with formulas and endless questions and, well, they make me feel inadequate. Anne does not make me feel inadequate. Stephen King in On Writing did not make me feel inadequate. So I'm naturally inclined to lean towards them.

I'm also contemplating attending a writers retreat in South Carolina in October. They will have several agents and editors there from some big publishers and you can get your manuscript critiqued and pitch it as well. The workshop classes look intensive and intriguing. And did I mention it is on the beach? In October, but still. I'm the kind of person who should probably see the ocean at least once a year to re-calibrate my equilibrium. (And if you have ever grown up near water, you know what I mean.)

But the retreat is quite a bit for my humble pocketbook, so I am musing and wondering and trying to figure it all out.

And I've also started some research on my book. What? You say. Didn't you just finish the first draft? Yep. But I need to research the technical side of some things, which is why I checked out "Secrets of a Medical Examiner" from the library yesterday. I'm also on a hunt for police procedures in Scotland. So if you know of a source, please comment and let me know.

In other matters, the parents are coming on Friday for a whole glorious week where I am off work. We will watch movies and go to the Renaissance Fair and take a float trip and shop and see historical stuff and swim in the pool and generally eat too much. And we will be happy.

I wish you all the best for a great Memorial Day weekend.