Wild, Wild Life

This is not my backyard or my birdfeeder (or my bear). It's my parents! Yes, they have all the fun in Asheville, NC. Bears and cubs ravage the birdfeeders, raccoons and raccoon-lets hang from the trees and get stuck in the garage. Plus they see coyotes, wild turkeys, foxes, and pumas. Okay, the last one's not true. Just seeing who's paying attention.

We will be visiting their wildlife adventure palace for Christmas. Grandma has a large flashlight for shining out the windows to catch the nighttime critters' highwire acts. It's a blast.

I've been on blogging hiatus for a couple of reasons. First, I'm trying mightily to get my second book into readable shape by Christmas or maybe Valentines Day--St. Patrick's Day at the latest, I swear. I'm on the third draft, but the thing has bloated to 130K. It's a historical novel, so I can let it run a bit long, but not that much.

The second distraction relates to my husband's health problems. But I am pleased to announce that something wonderful occurred on November 6! Yes, I did get the candidate of my choice elected prez, but even more exciting, the hubby's vision is back. Whoot! He has more or less given me permission to blog about his illness, so I will have to consider how to approach that.

Writer's are always on the hunt for interesting tidbits (at least I am), and there's a lot to be mined from serious medical conditions. One of the oddest parts of our story is how normal life can be even in the midst of dealing with a brain tumor. Those dread words conjure up the direst of circumstances, yet, for us, for now, things are blessedly stable. So I might spend a few blogs in the near future discussing some of our experiences. For instance, if you ever have a character get an MRI, it's loud. There's a buzz-saw noise and a jack-hammer noise. Earplugs are a must. There's even such a thing as a mobil MRI (like a mobile library) on a trailer.

On a lighter note, a member of my local writer's group, Jim Bessey, has launched a new website for writers called So Write. Us. You can enter a thousand-word 'best first chapter' contest and win $50 or more, so check it out. But please, please don't tell me if you do enter, because I am one of the judges.