Holding Off on Story Round-Up

For those of you who like catching up with my feature stories for the week, I'm holding off on that post for one more day.

That's because some of the stories won't be posting online until later today.

So, instead, here's a quick catch-up on the other parts of my writing world.

Memoir: The proof copy arrived in the mail yesterday! Rebekah immediately caught one typo and a couple formatting issues. Phyllis just got out of the hospital, so before I hand the book off to my copy editor, I do want her to see it. 

Although this project was challenging to fit into the last eighteen months of a demanding work schedule, now that I've held the book, I'm really glad I accepted the offer.

Fiction: Even though I had a long weekend last weekend, I only read through the parts I'd previously written in both The Phoenix (the first book in the Limbo series) and Lycanthropic Summer (a standalone werewolf novel).

What's especially interesting about the first book is that it's required me to research the history of nineteenth century journalism, which, during these times of "the death of journalism" trope, is a good reminder that journalism is not dead but ever-evolving.

Finally, if you have a few minutes to brave what's supposed to be really crummy weather tomorrow, stop out at The Book Market in Crest hill between 3 and 5 p.m.

I'll be there with a cup of hot coffee, all of my books titles (discounted), and my daughter Rebekah, who will be happy to haggle prices with you.

And if nothing I've written interests you, browse the store: thousands of titles, something for everyone. If you can't find a book you're seeking, the owner Janet Staley will be happy to help you out.

Have a fantastic Friday: readers, writers and BryonySeries fans.

Productive and Refreshed

This past weekend, I had the first real weekend off in a very long time.

Rejuvenation means different things to different people. Here's what it meant to me.

On Friday night, I was supposed to meet Sue Midlock (local author and artist for The Adventures of Cornell Dyer chapter book series) for coffee at Barnes and Noble to discuss books and such.

Instead, with the weather turning icy, and Sue tired and meh, we hung out at my house drinking tea (her) and coffee (me) talking about varied topics (and only a little about books).

Sue left the house several hours later looking more awake than when she entered it. Yay!

On Saturday, I wrote a nice draft for the prologue of The Phoenix (the first book in the new BryonySeries Limbo trilogy) and a chapter in Lycanthropic Summer). Both are two very different books, so working on them in the same day required two very different mindsets.

But mid-afternoon, after finishing the prologue, Timothy suggested we head to Gloria Jean at the mall for refreshments: a tea for him, hot chocolate for Rebekah, and coffee for me.

The mental intermezzo (and coffee) did its magic. By bedtime (after a very nice dinner for Rebekah), I had one chapter completed and ideas flying out my head faster than I could note them (but I could read the scribblings in the morning, another hurray!).

Sunday was busy, so instead of heading up to Divine Liturgy in Homewood, Timothy and I went to a very early morning Mass at the Cathedral of St. Raymond, where we saw Sue and her husband.

At home, Rebekah and I went for coffee (tea for her) and we then we tackled a variety of projects: 2019 tax information for the BryonySeries, the final formatting for Phyllis' memoir (proof copy on itt way), creating accounts for distributors of the Bryony audio book (we are very close to announcing a release date), and signing and "carding" the latest shipment of books (about 80 in all).

Then Rebekah switched to her own projects, and I headed to a meeting with Tom Hernandez (my WriteOn Joliet co-leader) and Catherine Yanikoski Adamowski, the deputy director of the Joliet Public Library.

The Joliet Public Library became an official sponsor of WriteOn Joliet, so we updated Catherine on our plans for 2020, and Catherine updated us on the ways the library will be helping us with services and marketing for 2020. LOTS of plans in the works, very productive meeting.

Rebekah and I ended the day by working out.

The days were interspersed with some social media and a couple phone calls with family and friends.

While my idea of down time may seem busy to some, for me, it's far less busy then my work week, but I do thrive on my work.

At the same time, the down time, rests that "working" part of me and allows a different creative side to emerge. Both feed the other so that I'm able to happily let the weekend go in favor of work and vice versa.

It's a very happy Monday, readers, writers, and BryonySeries fans! :)

Illustration by Kathleen Rose Van Pelt for "Bryony."

A Real Rest

In college, I had a poster that highlighted the benefits of contrasting activities.

For instance, it said that going out at night with friends ceases to be fun if it's not balanced by having some nights at home alone with a book and hot chocolate.

And that having the flu means you get to stay in bed and lose weight, whereas having a cold means you get to stay in bed and eat.

You get the idea.

I love immersing myself in interesting projects, which many times center around great stories, whether reading them or writing them.

And while I did have a long list of projects I wanted to accomplish over these last four days, I did nearly complete the two at the top of my list.

I finished the memoir and updated the family on its progress.

I almost finished the first round edits on a novel for a client. And I'm fairly certain I can finish those edits over the next couple of weekends.

As far as the memoir, I'm giving the whole a fresh read on Saturday and doing some tightening. Then Rebekah and I are meeting with Phyllis on Sunday to discuss photo placement and finish the formatting and cover design.

The goal is for Phyllis to see the proof before Christmas. Then I can do the final copy editing.

I had some other miscellaneous tasks I'd hoped to accomplish (like unpacking, pruning email) but those can wait.

Instead, I rested a lot, spent time with family, watched two episodes of I Can Hear Your Voice with Rebekah and the first few episodes of Disenchanted with Daniel, and attended a funeral Mass and luncheon.

Life is not all about projects.

But it's also not about the lack of them.

All-consuming projects and developing our talents take the attention off ourselves and onto the work: a good way to pass time.

Using those talents for others is also a good way.

People to love make the passing of time worthwhile.

Giving thanks for all.

Illustration by Kathleen Rose Van Pelt for "Bryony."

When All That's Left Are the Words

Experts say hearing is the last sense to go.

But it may also be the sense that continues.

Two years ago, the granddaughter of a a woman I interviewed twice for The Herald-News in the early 2000s, who, I found out after the first story ran, turned out to be a neighbor of Sarah's, messaged me on Facebook, wanting to hire me to ghostwrite her mother's memoirs.

I turned it down. I absolutely, positively did not have time for another project. Nope!

The woman persisted. Her mother had begged her to ask me and only me. I politely refused again, but I felt myself wavering, especially since she and Sarah had been close.

As a mother, I've often encouraged my children never to refuse an opportunity that moves them in the direction they wish to go. And I wish to become a better writer.

Reluctantly, I agreed.

And then the woman, who's in her mid-nineties, became seriously ill. Twice.

And it seemed as if we would not write the memoir after all.

I figured that was, perhaps, for the best. Because, in the meantime, I had received extra duties at work, which slashed the long spaces of time I needed on weekends for writing fiction, an activity that is extremely dear to me.

At the time, I also trying to finish the last novel of Before The Blood. But the complexity of the novel meant I needed many consecutive hours to think and write, and these hours were already retreating and fading.

Also around the same time, I had some lab work come back that hinted at the reappearance of the pheochromocytoma, spurring an internal urgency to finish the last novel before the tumor finished me.

As these events unfolded, woman recovered. I was told to repeat the labs in six months (They were normal, FYI). And so we began, this woman and I.

For most Sundays for the next year and a half, this tough-as-nails-woman with her portable oxygen and walker drove to my house to spend the afternoon - and that was after her Sunday meetings and lunch dates with friends.

She came with photos, snippets of paper, and notebooks of stories she'd tried writing over the years.

She read; she shared; she retold certain stories with additional information.

I took notes.

Some weeks we did not meet. She was out of town; I was too busy; it was a major holiday.

On off weeks, I sifted through hundreds of pages of notes: cutting, combing, arranging.

We are coming into the cliched homestretch, and I, again, feel that sense of urgency.

She is slowing down and, as she has shared with me, feels as if her "time" is drawing near. Instead of meeting in person, as she has always insisted, we've met the last few times via phone - and for shorter periods.

I'm determined she will hold that book, which is close to a hundred edited pages, before her "time."

It's arranged in novel form, topically, as opposed to chronologically.

I have one chapter left to write, along with some selections on "gratitude" she wants me to include.

The basic formatting is done. Rebekah will help with inserting photos and cover design.

I offered to hand off the manuscript to the woman for her to review. She likes my reading voice and preferred I read it to her.

I've made few corrections, and she is amazed at my accuracy and my ability to capture her voice. I give the credit to my journalism training.

She told me yesterday she thought I would just transcribe each sessions, type it up, and that was that.

I reminded her that, no, her memoir will be a real book her loved ones can hold in their hands and read.

But a memoir, I'm realizing, is a cross between journalism and fiction.

For instance, in journalism, when I quote a source, I must quote each word as the source said it.

In fiction, I make up the quotes. In fiction, one loses the "natural" sounds of the human voice when the voice is written as we speak.

My penchant for exactness is showing up when I'm reading the memoir back to this woman. As I read, I find myself stumbling over, and verbally eliminating all together, the superfluous words, the fatty words, that muddy up the "sound" of her voice and keep it from shining over the syllables.

Yes, I am trimming her speech.

Because once her "time" arrives, all that will remain are her worlds, and I want her family to "hear" her voice whenever they read them.

You can't imagine how humbled and honored I feel to be the conduit through which that eternal voice flows.

Illustration by Kathleen Rose Van Pelt for "Bryony."

Writing Work, Writing Surprises

I accomplished a little bit of all my writing goals this weekend, so it's an interesting Monday.

At the very end of the weekend, two writing surprises showed up in my email.

First the goals.

1) I spent a few hours working on the werewolf story, not as much as I liked, but more than I'd hoped.

2) I had two side projects this weekend. I did no actual work on either of them, but I did spend part of Sunday afternoon with Phyllis reading through the draft of the memoir I'm writing for her. We're only about halfway, so I have time to finish the last two chapters.

3) Nevertheless, the second project (a novel I'm editing for a client), should have its first round done by early December.

4) I met all work deadlines this weekend. But since this week is extremely busy (I'm participating in a career fair, a podcast, co-leading WriteOn, and have a benefits meeting this week), I was hoping to get ahead, too. I'll let God figure this one out!

5) I did catch up with some family members and watched the next episode of an Asian drama I'm enjoying with Rebekah.

6) We spent Sunday morning at the nursing home celebrating Ron's birthday. Since he's progressively declined over the last couple months, we were pleasantly surprised to find him almost "all there" most of the time. We did, however, bring some familiar items, so maybe that helped.

7) I'm glad I didn't stick to the goals. It's been nonstop since returning from Raleigh in August, and I really needed some down time.

Now the surprises.

1) Tom Hernandez, my WriteOn Joliet co-leader, sent me his next WIP, which I read in a tired haze before signing off, so I need to re-read itwith a clear, caffeinated mind. Still, so far, so good!~ One spoiler: one of the characters is a girl heading out to college, and her name is Melissa! So I'm already sold. ;)

2) Ed Calkins, the Steward of Tara, a real person I legally fictionalized for the BryonySeries, has, as you might know, been working on his pretend backstory at the request of a couple BryonySeries fans.

Ed's been quiet for awhile, but he sent an apology email along with a table of contents (with an explanation of progress) and about ten chapters or so. Needless to say, I was thrilled!

I read part of first chapter before I fell asleep, which is no slam against Ed's writing as I always fall asleep reading (is there any better way?)

I'll share Ed's table of contents and commentary on Saturday and my thoughts about what I've read so far tomorrow.

Illustration by Christopher Gleason for "Staked!" Follow him at artworkbytopher.com.

Laboring on Labor Day Weekend

For some people, Labor Day weekend is the last weekend of summer, a time to enjoy summer activities a final time before putting them away until next year.

For others, it's the first weekend of autumn, a time to start unearthing Halloween decorations, readying the yard for winter, and planning fall activities over a cup of pumpkin spice something.

For some, it's another working weekend, either by default or by choice.

I worked this past weekend. By choice and on purpose.

Writing is my job and my hobby. I love both.

When I was part of the weekend editor rotation, I always offered to work Labor Day. It was my way of expressing thankfulness for working a job I love. Not everyone is so blessed.

Now that I'm out of that rotation, I still work, although not all of the work is job-related.

For instance, I spent part of Friday afternoon presenting an abridged journalism seminar to area youth who are creating a newspaper with positive messages for other youth.

I spent most of Saturday and Sunday working my way through the remaining notes of eighteen months of interviews. The interviewee is a Joliet woman in her nineties. Her family hired me to ghost-write her memoir.

Those were two extremely productive days. I only need two more interviews, one more weekend of writing, and I'll have a draft she can read. She has already seen how the book will look in a template. It looks like, well, a book. And she cried when she saw it.

I updated an editing client on his novel.

On Monday, I worked all day on odds and ends of work-related projects.

Some were the ones that take time to complete but are impossible to tackle on deadline, and so keep getting pushed back.

Some were projects I normally handle on Monday.

Was the long weekend all work? No.

I visited a friend who has lung cancer on Saturday.

We had family financial meeting on Sunday.

I spent time time talking with Rebekah on Monday.

I called Sarah and talked with her, too, the first time since we came back from Raleigh.

I took two walks each day.

I stayed up late reading on Sunday night.

Today is my writing day, and I'm in good shape for it. That means, all my main interviews for this week's feature stories are done, and I spend the day writing drafts for all of them. It's an intense day, but it makes for a more streamlined week if they only need editing and layout.

It was a wonderful three-day weekend. I hope yours was just as good or better.

Four Days Off

In a family that's had as many weird drug reactions as mine, the starting of a new medication, however temporary it may be, is enough to provoke sky rocketing anxiety.

When the medicine is necessary, but not an emergency, I try to start it on my own time. This way, if I have to address side effects, I'm not ruining someone's day or screwing up deadlines.

So I took a vacation day on July 5th and gave myself four days to swim or die.

I swam (so far) and wound up with FOUR DAYS OFF!

It was exhilarating. Here's how I spent it.

I saw two sets of fireworks (from a drawbridge on July 3 and a parking lot on July 4).

I edited and formatted the 2019 WriteOn Joliet anthology.

I made significant progress on Phyllis memoir, to the extent the first draft is about 85 percent done.

I'm almost through chapter six of Cornell Dyer and the Never Robbers (as I was basking in that, Timothy came up to me and said we should get the next book done before September; when did I have time to meet???).

I took two naps.

I ate too much ice cream (for someone who is prediabetic).

I spent some time with a friend who has cancer, who looked fantastic! (she's had a bit of a reduction in her cancer markers. No remission yet, but she's in there fighting).

I cleaned the house.

I hung out with three of my grandchildren (a bonus, because one had a medical emergency, and they stopped at the house after seeing a specialist).

I walked (but only at night. Because this new medication comes with a warning to stay out of the sun).

I met with a fellow WriteOn Joliet member to discuss one of his latest stories.

I did some work (because four entire days off is impossible, really).

I spent minimal time on social media.

Today it's back to work. I have my rides lined up (because, well, it's July and walking to work is a huge no-no on this medicine, and I do not own a car), and I am ready to switch back into other gears. Last night I closed out of all fiction (and side project) tabs, not to be opened again until this weekend.

Mostly, I'm thankful for freedom, and the courageous men and women who made it happen. The only thing I've fought, really, is my own fears.

But I did try to use some of that resulting freedom these last four days in the service of others...and to renew myself to try again to chip away at selfishness in order to be a better servant.

Memoirs and More

For the past year, I've been meeting nearly weekly with a Joliet woman just a few years shy of 100.

One of her granddaughters had approached me and asked if I would write this woman's memoirs. I almost turned it down. At the time, some tests had suggested some health concerns, I was learning a new system of page design, and I was trying to finish the last book of Before the Blood.

But as it turned out, I'd written two Herald=News stories about her in the past and, ironically, my oldest daughter is a former neighbor (I discovered that after the first story broke). And the granddaughter told me the woman herself had specifically asked for me.

So part of my first official vacation time of 2019 was spent organizing notes and working on her memoir. She's had some health issues this year, so I'm feeling an especial sense of urgency in getting it done.

Many parts of her life are heartbreaking, but through all the stories she's shared, one can see a line of strength, tenacity, and firm faith in God running through it. I'm so very glad I did not turn this project down!

As always, I've overestimated what I could accomplish. But the book is organized and divided into chapters and I'm about halfway through the first draft. I spoke with her on Sunday, and we wrote the introduction and "final thoughts." She, on her part, is gathering photos for the interior and the cover. We also discussed titles.

Considering I've also attended three nights of long church services at a church about forty-five minutes from home, spent most of a day at my son's celebrating Easter (Pascha) and two grandchildren's birthdays with my other children (and children-to-be) and grandchildren, and had to get two medical tests done for myself, I think I, overall, did pretty good.

Speaking of memoirs, I spent an hour or so on the phone with my uncle. We've gotten rather close over these past two years while addressing my father's health concerns. During this course, he also learned his wife had cancer of pancreas, and she passed early Thursday morning.

He called me on Friday afternoon and shared the mostly lovely stories about this unselfish woman, a teacher, who always saw the good in others, even the most difficult of her students. I learned how she lived and how she died.

Although I didn't help with the Easter cooking this year, I did make two trips to the grocery store with one of my sons, and we talked about some of the opportunities that's cropped up in his life.

And on a fiction note, the fourth installment of Before the Blood has my editor's notes incorporated. It's formatted, and I've checked the formatting, done a copy edit, and it's ready for upload just as soon as Rebekah is able to finish attaching all the cover pieces.

Once it KDP approves it, I'll order a proof, recheck the formatting, and do a final copy edit.

I've also uploaded all the photos and videos I took during the fun (including the elaborate egg hunt Rebekah coordinated) with family members on our "secret" Facebook page, watched some Bojack with Daniel, had some great conversations with Rebekah, and just, overall, engaged in more human interaction and less social media interaction.

I'm now back to the regular routine: refreshed, rejuvenated, and ready to write features!

Illustration by Kathleen Rose Van Pelt for "Bryony."