It's JANO Time

Last year, our mystery writers' group, Sleuths' Ink, came up with the concept for JANO. The goal is to write a 50,000-word novel during the month of January. National Novel Writing Month does this on a huge scale every November. Several of our writers participate in NaNo, but many of us are too busy with the holidays, Christmas shopping and hosting company so we decided the first of the year better suited our needs. January is a great time to kick off the new year with a novel in hand, plus it's too cold to venture outside in the blustery Midwest.

With JANO, we write like mad during the month--no editing. Writers of all genres may participate. I'm working on a new novel that is commercial fiction with elements of romance and possibly elements of suspense or mystery. I'm only at 6100 words and short of my goal. To achieve 50,000 words, we must write 12,500 words per week. That's a push and I'm hoping my muse kicks in very soon since I'm so far behind. (If it doesn't, I'm chucking this novel and going back to last year's!)

In February, we'll have a celebratory party and award prizes in thirteen categories including the first three writers to reach 50k, best first sentence, best first page, most unique setting, and so on. The camaraderie, motivation and support by fellow writers is the most fun for me.

I'll keep you posted on my progress. Good luck to all the JANO writers.

Best & Worst of 2010

The year 2010 has had extreme highs and lows for me. There was almost no in between. The beginning of the year was extraordinarily exciting, and the last part of the year was shockingly tragic. Here are my best and worst moments:

Best of 2010

1. Getting published in IT ALL CHANGED IN AN INSTANT, More Six-Word Memoirs by Writers Famous & Obscure.

2. Going on the book tour for the above book of memoirs in none other than NYC!

3. Participating in and chairing Sleuths' Ink's first-ever JANO project where writers attempted to write a 50,000-word novel in a month.

4. Being named poet of the month for my poem, "A Country Drive."

5. Having my first-ever book signing at Borders where nearly 50 family members and friends gathered.

6. Pitching my novel to one nice and one hard-to-read agent/editor at a local conference.

7. Attending my first out-of-state writers' conference all by my lonesome. And pitching my novel to two very nice agents and meeting several writers who are now friends.

8. Seeing my daughter perform at Disneyland in a Bollywood show.

9. Learning that our fifth grandson, Eliot, was born. (Yes, I officially have more grandchildren than my mother. My stepdaughters are very fertile.)

10. Getting published in the Echoes of the Ozarks anthology.

Worst of 2010

1. The tragic and brutal death of my niece, Shana. Everything else pales in comparison, so it's futile to list those events.

What were your best and worst moments of 2010? Please share.

New Year's Resolutions

It's almost time. Have you thought about your New Year's resolution? Do you make them? Keep them? Mine are somewhat different this year. They are:

Stop being late! This also means leave earlier, start getting ready earlier, get off the computer sooner and avoid any other distractions that keep me from arriving on time. I'm really sick of putting on makeup and jewelry at stop lights--and sliding into home base when I arrive at a meeting.

Be a more disciplined writer. This means sending out queries on a regular basis. It's ridiculous that I finished my novel over a year ago and have only queried three agents. Being more disciplined also means writing on a regular basis, stop life from ALWAYS getting in the way, concentrate on my writing goals for the year, and WRITE.

How about you? What are your New Year's resolutions?

PopTech : Popcasts : Larry Smith's Six Word Project

PopTech : Popcasts : Larry Smith's Six Word Project My six words just keep on giving! Larry Smith, Editor of SMITH Magazine, sent this link. He presented the six-word memoir project to 800 very smart, innovative people at Pop Tech's annual conference in Maine. I didn't have any idea I'd be mentioned. Check it out!

Christmas Candy

Normally, I don't make a lot of candy throughout the year because I'm not supposed to eat sugar and because I try to watch my weight. However, these rules fly out the window over Christmas. I love to make candy around the holidays. Below is my favorite (and easiest) recipe. Care to share one of your Christmas candy recipes?

Chocolate Peanut Clusters

1/2 pkg. Chocolate almond bark
12 oz. pkg. Chocolate chips
10-12 oz. Peanuts without skins (or cashews)


Melt almond bark in a microwave safe dish for 1-2 minutes. Add chocolate chips and melt another minute until smooth. Remove from microwave (bowl may be hot) and stir in nuts. Drop on waxed paper until set.

These are fantastic! Everyone loves them and they make great gifts if you put them in pretty holiday tins. Note: You could vary this recipe by using chocolate caramel chips and possibly pecans. I believe those just might taste like turtles. I'll have to try that. Yield: 35-40 clusters

Holiday Decorating Tips

I'm no Martha Stewart but I do enjoy decorating for the holidays (maybe a little too much), so I thought I'd share a few of my tips:

Cranberries and Tea Lights Fill a pretty glass bowl with a bag of cranberries. Add water and place little tea lights on top. The cranberries and candles will float. This makes a unique, pretty centerpiece or nice countertop decoration.

Decorative Ribbons I go to the Dollar Store and buy rolls and rolls of pretty ribbon with wire edges (so it's bendable). I get red, green, gold, silver, and pretty designs. Then, I tie bows on candlesticks, topiaries, mirrors and most of the Christmas packages (it's much prettier than a stick-on bow). I also decorate the Christmas trees with pieces of long winding ribbons.

Large Flocked and Glittery Poinsettias A great way to fill in holes on Christmas trees is to take long-stemmed flowers (white, red, gold or whatever you prefer) and simply stick them into the tree (the long stem will be hidden and no wire is needed). It's beautiful to use several of them and much faster than hanging ornaments. (I use ornaments, too.)

Winter Potpourri I fill large glass hurricane candle holders with potpourri. Sometimes I'll separate a bag and use a portion of it as a base around the candle. Right now, our winter potpourri mix is so strong that it has some unattractive plastic wrap on top because we were getting headaches!

Care to share any of your decorating tips? Do you enjoy decorating for the holidays or remember traditions from when you were a kid?

Thanksgiving Traditions

With Thanksgiving quickly approaching, please share your favorite traditions. I'll go first.

We cook like fiends and make all the traditional trimmings--turkey, dressing, sweet potato casserole, broccoli casserole, green bean casserole (you must have several casseroles in the Midwest--it's the law). We also have Monica rolls (named after my young niece who inhales these tasty yeast rolls), mashed potatoes, gravy and cranberries. Dessert includes pumpkin pie and pecan pie. I'm gaining weight just looking at this menu.

We always give thanks for our brave military, their families, and for our own friends, family and bounty of food. We wish for everyone's health, happiness and safety. This year will be particularly hard due to the tragic loss of my niece but we must go on for her little sister and other family members. I know I keep talking about this but it's foremost in my mind.

As far as shopping, I avoid Black Friday like the plague. Two different years, I made the mistake of shopping the day after Thanksgiving, and it got me out of a festive mood quicker than anything. First of all, I am not going to get up at 5 a.m. to hit a store and save $25. Secondly, I'm not going to get in a snarl of traffic, wait in long lines, and fight over the last most popular gift in the store. Instead, I usually decorate that Friday and shop via the Internet or magazines.

How about you? What are your Thanksgiving traditions and what's on your menu? Please share.