Fun at Panera Bread

Since there is nothing so well worth having as friends, never lose a chance to make them. ~Francesco Guicciardini

So... I met up with Denise Robbins at Panera Bread in Bedford, NH yesterday (and WOW! Who knew Panera Bread was so HUGE -- when I walked in, I couldn't see her and actually called her on the phone to find her!).

It was good. We sat and talked and talked and talked... and then I looked at my watch and almost three hours had passed! How did that happen?

I had to get going, but just as I did, another author walked in: Nora LeDuc. We introduced ourselves and I wish I could have stayed longer, but .... *sigh*... maybe next time.

I forget how energizing it is to talk IN PERSON to other authors. It's excited and interesting to talk about the process and how you work and what gets you through blocks or how frustrating it is when 'real life' gets in the way. Research and software and editing and publishers.... I could have stayed all day and not been bored.

Denise showed me the trailer of her upcoming book and WOW! does it look great! And I can't wait to dive into her current book, "It Happens in Threes".

So, I'm feeling good and ready to dive into some writing. In fact, I started working on editing "Stiller Creek" again, and adding in the new character and pulling out some of the backstory that exists near the beginning and...

Yeah. It was good.

Here is a pic of Denise and me at Panera:



And check out Denise's blog -- she has a cool book-a-week READING challenge (so if you like romantic suspense, you should check it out -- she invites the authors to come comment, too, and there are some biggies: Carla Neggers, Lisa Jackson and others). And recently (for writers) she had a great discussion about passive voice (and those rotten "wuzzes").

How was your weekend?

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Attacked!

Boldness is a mask for fear, however great. ~ John Dryden

First off: I'm getting ready to head out to Panera Bread in Bedford, NH to meet with at least one other author and anyone else who wants to stop by. So, if you're in that neck of the woods, come on over and say howdy!

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Yesterday was gorgeous -- warm and sunny. DD, Dakota and I went for a nice long walk through the neighborhood in the late morning. It was pleasant, people were out, there was a light breeze...

We turned one corner where there is a bit of grassy, undeveloped area and I saw a turkey. I pointed it out to DD and we smiled, and kept walking. And then, Dakota saw a small bird on the ground. She loves to stalk the birds and I let her -- it's fun to watch, she's on a leash so she won't get far and they are much faster than she is. So, as she started the stalk, I looked to ID the bird - it was small, white and gray and...FLUFFY??? WAIT!

I turned to DD and say, "It's a baby turkey!"

My DD, lover of all things great and small, decided to get a closer look and stepped forward. And then....

MAMA CHARGED!

We didn't even know she was there. She must have been hunkered down in the tall grass, but OHBOY did we know where she was now! Her wings were loose and dropped, tail feathers displayed, she gobbled and attacked and danced away. Charged and danced. Dakota was beside herself... she wanted that turkey and kept throwing herself to the end of the leash, which just made things worse.

I told DD that Mama Turkey was acting both aggressive and injured in order to draw us away. She kept one wing dropped and would let us get quite close. She'd fly a little if Dakota lunged, but always dropped back down and charged.

It was awesome. Amazing. We tried to ignore her and go away, but she wouldn't let us -- just kept crossing back and forth in front of us for a good 300 yards. Finally at that point she stopped and headed back to her babies.

What a good mama.

Afterward, DD told me she'd been scared to death! LOL...

Truthfully, it's a pretty incredible thing to have a wild turkey charge. You don't realize how big they are until they are that close.

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I'm BAAAACK!

A real friend is someone who would feel loss if you jumped on a train, or in front of one. ~Author Unknown

Did you miss me? I hope you enjoyed my guest bloggers -- though I didn't plan the schedule well, and apologize for having them all at once. Still, they were all so much fun and I can't wait to read their books (well, except for The Geek Girl's Guide -- read that already).

It POURED rain last night. POURED. I'm a little afraid to go outside and look at my gardens... I'm sure things must have been crushed. Twice the sound of the rain woke me up. Amazing. I mean, we needed some wet stuff, but it didn't all have to fall in a matter of a couple hours. Actually, it's still raining now, but has eased up a bit. Holy cow.

Was looking at my blog stats the past few days and had to laugh at my keyword referrals. It would be nice if people were actually looking for me -- but they aren't. The most common? Voles. Or voles vs. moles. I did get one on milorganite and milkweed (not sure what they have in common -- though if anyone googles it again: milorganite doesn't kill milkweed, it fertilizes it and I use milorganite to keep the deer away from my plants... note to self: reapply milorganite since the rain most assuredly washed away what was there).

Still, it appears that I'm not the only one with vole problems -- nor am I the only one who is looking for an answer. I've actually gotten a few emails from readers asking what I've done, what worked and what didn't. It's amazing to me that there is so little information out there regarding voles. In fact, it made me turn to one of my favorite books: Jerry Baker's "Old-Time Gardening Wisdom" to see what he had to say. And.... he said nothing. Nothing. (Though Sarita will be relieved to know that his recipe for dandelion wine included a fermentation lock). Still, for people looking to garden pretty much naturally (like Maria Zannini), it's a great book to have.

One exciting thing: this weekend (Sunday, to be precise) barring nose-bleeds, schedule changes and acts of God, I will be meeting with at least one other author (and anyone else in the neighborhood who wants to come... readers, authors, lovers of bread and coffee), Denise Robbins, at the Panera Bread in Bedford, NH. We'll be there early (Denise says she'll be there by eight a.m. -- I can't promise I will be) and will stay for a few hours. I'd love to see you there!

What plans do YOU have for the weekend?

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Your Gift Is Energy

You are easily excitable, and you love to be on the go. You crave intensity. You need to live a dynamic, interesting, and challenging life. Otherwise, you get bored. It's hard for you to relax. You're constantly being inspired to do something. You're the type of person who finds success, innovation, and creativity easy.

What's Your Gift?

Hmmm... mostly right...

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