Our New York Adventure

After a couple of unfortunate blips with luggage, my husband, parents, father-in-law, his girlfriend and I had a great time in NYC. We took in several sights--Ground Zero, 9-11 Memorial, Empire State Building, Statue of Libery, Rockefeller Center and Times Square. We walked along Broadway and tried until the last minute to get Jersey Boys tickets--and found some at almost $300 each. With six of us that was too much. We strode by the former Ed Sullivan/David Letterman Theatre and Radio City Music Hall where Lady Gaga was playing. We drove by Trump Tower and Carnegie Hall and ate a huge sandwich at the Carnegie Deli. (I swear it would easily serve four people.) We dined at the Rock Cafe where we watched ice skaters zoom by as we enjoyed a glass of wine. The three women shopped at Bloomingdale's where a makeup artist told me he was "very concerned about my eyebrows." He immediately grabbed a brush and started adding makeup until my eyebrows appeared thicker and more arched. When he was finished, he told me my new eyebrows made me look ten years younger. Of course, I couldn't get my wallet out fast enough. We drove by Central Park and visited the Museum of Natural History which is amazing every time I go. The dinosaur exhibits alone take your breath away. You could easily spend two days and never see it all. I took a gazillion pictures. On the last day, my parents and I went to the Today Show and stood in the cold sipping coffee while we watched Kathy Lee and Sharon Osborne, who was filling in for Hoda. We called several people and they could see us on air. I hit the NBC Store and bought a Conan shirt (not a huge fan but feel sorry for him and it may be a collector's item some day). Also bought some 2010 Olympic gear. Drum roll...The big event--the book release for IT ALL CHANGED IN AN INSTANT at the 92nd Street Y was exciting. I was lucky enough to find out right before we left (via an email from the editor of Smith) that one of my New York memoirs was selected as a winner! They chose six winners and I was asked to read mine on stage as well as one of my memoirs from the book. Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to take pictures in the auditorium. There were about 200 people in attendance. It was great to meet the friendly editors of Smith, Larry and Rachel, and to hear about the background of the six-word memoir project. Also, the impressive speakers talked about the brilliance of brief writing, their magazine or newspaper columns, as well as their own best-selling novels. Larry gave me a Smith tee shirt which I'll wear proudly. My winning NY memoir: "Does the naked cowboy get cold?" They thought that was pretty funny. I've seen the guy several times in NY and he only wears a cowboy hat, boots, and whitey tighties while he plays his guitar. I do have the green light to have a book signing so I'll work on that soon. Thanks for all your support.

NYC Book Tour, Here I Come!

Well, I can't stand it any more. I keep reading about all the successful book tours in major cities touting the just-released IT ALL CHANGED IN AN INSTANT. So...my wonderful husband is supporting me and we're heading to New York City next weekend for the final date of the book tour. The event will be held at the 92nd Street Y where the editors and authors from Smith will talk about the brilliance of brief writing. Don't you love that phrase? The author panel will feature A.J. Jacobs, Editor of Esquire and NY Times' bestselling author; Amy Sohn, author, columnist for New York Magazine, and successful screenwriter; and Ben Yagoda, English professor and author of nine novels. Prior to the book tour, a contest is being held about life in New York. Prizes will be awarded and six people will have their memoir turned into a song by Michael Hearst of One Ring Zero! Here are a few of the New York memoirs I submitted: Complex city of hobos and heroes. Intimidated by the trains. I'll walk. Are the hot dogs, pretzels sanitary? Want to blend in? Wear black. Tiny apartments. Huge prices. Worth it? Does the naked cowboy get cold? Midwestern girl takes New York. Gulp. We will never, ever forget 9-11. The contest ends on Jan. 18 so hurry. www.smithmag.net If you miss the deadline, feel free to post your favorite New York memoir here. And one more thing. Anyone want to help me pack? I hate packing.

MORE EXCITING MEMOIR NEWS

I received my book, IT ALL CHANGED IN AN INSTANT, in the mail yesterday and I'm over the moon! Beyond excited. Add every cliche you can think of. Why, you ask? Because Smith included not one but TWO of my memoirs and I discovered Smith received 250,000 submissions worldwide. There's more...one of my memoirs is featured on the first page. PAGE ONE. I thought I was going to hyperventilate. :) Plus the fact that many amazing authors and celebrities are featured including the late Frank McCourt, Amy Tan, James Frey, Suze Orman, Neil Patrick Harris, two Pulitzer prize winners (Juno Diaz and Tony Kushner), Marlee Matlin, Diane von Furstenberg and even Kenny G, to name a few. What a great compilation of cool, diverse people. Order IT ALL CHANGED IN AN INSTANT right now! You'll be glad you did. It's like being at a cocktail party and hearing scintillating gossip. The book is only $8.10 at Amazon.com http://www.amazon.com/All-Changed-Instant-Six-Word-Memoirs/dp/0061719439 If you want to try your hand at six-word memoirs, go to http://www.smithmag.net Warning: You'll likely get hooked.

Book Launch Day!

Today is the day! A very exciting day, I might add. Smith's newest book, IT ALL CHANGED IN AN INSTANT, hits book stores today complete with a book tour in New York, Seattle, Austin, San Francisco and Milwaukee. This is Smith's fourth six-word memoir book (previous books have been New York Times' bestsellers). Let's hope this one is as well. It's a compilation of memoirs from famous and obscure authors and one of my memoirs is in it! Snoopy dance!!! Here's a video featuring a sampling of other authors' memoirs. http://smithmag.net/sixvideostory So far, I know three of the celebrity authors are Yogi Berra, James Frey and Molly Ringwald. I'm expecting my copy in the mail next week, and for you friends and family members, you know what to expect for your birthday this year! I ordered enough for all of us. This book may be purchased on Amazon.com or in independent book stores. Try writing six-word memoirs. Warning: They're highly addictive.

New Year's Resolutions (you knew this was coming)

Well, do you make them? Don't we all? Are your New Year's resolutions the same year after year? Aren't they all? Do you keep your resolutions? Does anyone? My resolutions usually center around exercising more often or finding more time to do such and such. This year, I truly want to be even more focused and disciplined about my writing. (Of course, exercise is still important.) My first resolution is to finish editing my women's fiction novel and get it in the hands of agents. My second resolution is to finish writing the novel I started three years ago but thought was lost forever due to hardware problems. Thankfully, it has been salvaged and I'm over one-third finished. I plan to add to that novel during January (for JANO) and will get back to editing both novels in February. Another resolution is to get my two children's picture books into the hands of an agent and to write more of these fun, delightful stories. I thoroughly enjoyed the process. I'm also learning more about poetry. Finally, I love writing and reading short stories and hope to write and submit more of them this year. And, naturally, I'll continue writing my beloved six-word memoirs! How about you? What are your resolutions for 2010?

JANO!

I belong to a mystery and suspense writers' group, Sleuths’ Ink, that is sponsoring a novel challenge this month. We all hope to write a 50,000-word Novel in 31 days. JANO is our take on NaNo, the popular National Novel Writing Month held every November. (We're just doing this on a much smaller scale.) We've decided to kick off the new year with a built-in resolution--and a kick in the pants to instill disciplined writing during 2010. Here are the rules: Write a 50,000-word novel during January (that's 31 days) This equals 1,613 words per day (unless you're me and starting three days late) No editing--just plow through You may add to a WIP but only new words will be counted Write using your favorite genre No actual novel writing UNTIL Jan. 1, 2010 Start your coffee machines Wish us luck and hear about members' progress at http://sleuthsink.blogspot.com/ You can watch the JANO meter on my blog to see if I'm meeting my goal. (Sadly, it's blank right now.)

What a great way to kick off 2010. Happy writing, everyone. Now, I must start writing. (Right after I eat...)