The ONLY Time I Listen to Music While Working

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It’s the most wonderful time of the year!

Fill the air with the scent of cinnamon, nutmeg, clove and cough drops! Clutter the house with yule knick-knacks, holly, ribbons and red noses! Listen to the carols and choirs, and the neighbors complaining about the caroling choirs in the street!

Ah, December. Who can work in the midst of all that wonderfulness? But if you can, here’s a holiday writing opportunity for you:

The Spinetinglers Christmas Ghost Story Competition is accepting your creepy, spooky yule tales until midnight, December 18th. You can snag a bit of Fame and Fortune from the Brits, who for reasons only they can explain, love ghost stories at Christmas! Check out the details here for this no-entry fee contest!

And here’s a wonderful opportunity for you to start the season of giving with a gift that will help a fellow writer:

It’s the Season of Love and Hope Auction to benefit Bridget Zinn, who’s working hard to kick cancer. Tons of writers and friends have donated books, critiques, and other gifts to raise money for this young, YA author. Why not make a bid and make her day shine a little brighter? But hurry! The auction closes on December 4th!

I’m off to the auction myself, just as soon as I finish belting out “Love on Layaway.” I don’t want to brag, but it’s kinda hard to tell the difference. Is it me or Gloria Estefan singing?

Monday Musings on Nano, Dust, and Prophets In Their Own Land

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So, fine. I didn’t earn all my swell Nanowrimo badges.

I did write a swell beginning for the next novel in my series and hash out an outline for that book as well as the next book. And I earned the Creative Nonfiction badge by placing barely disguised friends and family members into my novel as characters. Although, if I’m being perfectly honest, I earn that badge everytime I write. Sometimes, I even earn a few good-natured threats to sue me if I don’t remove certain things about certain characters in my novels.

Next, I learned a little thing or two about cleaning, due to the fact that I spent Thanksgiving, as well as the weekend, with a throbbing sinus headache. Thing One is that I disturbed the perfect balance of dust and germs in my home, thereby releasing said dust and germs into the air and straight up my nose into my brain. Thing Two is that I always harbored a sneaky suspicion that cleaning was highly overrated, and now I have scientific proof that dusting and such will make you sick.

Finally, one of the Junior Halls shared that a college friend visited my blog. The conversation went something like this:

JUNIOR HALL: So this friend said she checked out your blog. She was like, “Hey! Do you ever read your mom’s blog? ‘Cause she’s really funny!”

ME: Why, thank you! Do you read my blog?

JUNIOR HALL: Um, no.

ME: Not ever? At all?

JUNIOR HALL: Do you want me to say yes? ‘Cause I sense that you want a certain answer here.

I’m putting that in my next novel. And I’m not even bothering to cleverly disguise it.