Hello from the Courtyard Marriott in Raleigh, North Carolina! In a couple of hours I’ll get to meet the readers and writers of the Wonderland Book Club, and I can’t wait! There was the threat of a little icy weather last night, but from my hotel window it looks like business as usual.
And though I wouldn’t trade it for the world, boy is it nice to wake up–just this once–and not have rush off to preschool and other assorted activities. There is a king bed here. Ahh.
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Back to Show & Tell: everyone’s favorite day at school as a kindergartner. This week, a few items have caught my eye, and I thought I’d share.
Here we go:
1) This clip is from the news in my hometown of Greenville, S.C. (You may have seen it pop up today if you’re a Yahoo News user.) The first bit was taken at Easley High School, a place my mother once taught Spanish. Here, two sons are surprised by their soldier father’s return. It’s a lovely way to start the day.
(And I love that at the end, the dad tells his son, “You know you have to go back to class, right?”) Good dad!
2) Writers and readers: The North Carolina Writers Network2013 Spring Conference will be held this year on April 13th in Greensboro, N.C. For those of you in the area–and those of you not–the Network itself is one of the largest in the country, supporting writers in any stages of their writing lives and careers. The conference includes workshops, readings, and a publishing panel.
3.) My Sunday school class, which I love but am not able to get to as often as I’d like these days, is currently working on a study conducted by Inheritance of Hope. IOH is an organization that supports families where one parent has been diagnosed with a terminal illness. Our study will end with a Team IOH race, and the proceeds will benefit those families in need, helping them not only financially, but with books, family retreats, and ongoing individual and group support.
The founders, Deric and Kristen Milligan, and their three children, are members at the church I attend, and also of my Sunday school class. Kristen passed away in the Fall of 2012 after a 10-year battle with liver cancer.
One of the cooloest things TIOH is doing now is supporting different events, and people taking part in different events. Check out a short video here:
Enjoy, have a fabulous weekend, and if you’ve got something you want to “Show & Tell,” let me know!
Getting excited about Friday’s event with the Wonderland Book Club in Raleigh, N.C.! Registration is still open–and FREE–to anyone who wants to come talk books, writing, history, Keowee Valley, and anything else under the sun.
Triangle area folks, especially, I hope you’ll take a Friday morning break and come on out. Register for FREE here.
The club is city-wide, and facilitated by Alice Osborn, writer and fellow member of the North Carolina Writer’s Network. I’ve been a member of the Network since moving permanently to North Carolina in 2005; it’s a fabulous resource and wonderful writing community for creative types in any stage of their writing careers–from “I think I may want to write a novel,” to being widely published.
* On a side note, I’m deep into reading what’s considered to be the very first historical novel: Sir Walter Scott’s Waverly; or, ‘Tis Sixty Years Since. Set in Scotland during the Jacobite Uprising of 1745, it’s the story of an Englishman named Edward Waverly, and his adventures and foibles in the Scottish highlands.
Okay, so the Marvin Gaye song "Can I Get a Witness" really doesn't have much to do with my post today, I just love Marvin Gaye. His music makes me want to jump up and dance.
And anything that makes a 28-week pregnant lady want to jump up and dance is a good thing.
(Check him out on YouTube. A little Marvin is always a good way to start the day.)
But the title of this post really should be, "Somebody Help Me!" For that, I guess I'd need to call on Steve Winwood and the Spencer Davis Group.
But help, I need. More like good juju. Good mojo. Send it my way, man. I am in need.
Why? Life is conspiring against me this month, and I need to write. I need to write the rough draft of my critical thesis for my MFA in Writing advisor, and I need to work on Novel 2. And my belly--oh, who am I kidding? My entire self--is growing bigger with Baby 2, and I'm tired, and my 3 year-old needs attention, my house needs readying for said Baby 2, and my dog and my husband are neglected.
Help! I need somebody. Help! (Okay, add the Beatles to the morning playlist.)
But what I'll take are good thoughts. If you've got them, please send them my way. You'll have my eternal thanks.
In other news ...
Just a few reminders:
1.) Today is the last day Keowee Valley is available at a promotional rate at the Barnes and Noble NOOK Store: only $1.99!
2.) Don't forget to vote for Keowee Valley for the SIBA Book Award. You'll be rewarded in the afterlife. Somehow, I'm sure.
3.) If you live in the Raleigh, NC area or will be there on Friday, Feb. 22, I hope you'll come hear me speak and have lunch with the Wonderland Book Club, starting at 10 a.m. Register here.
Happy Ash Wednesday–or, as some call it, pouting, the day AFTER Fat Tuesday. (I’m looking at you, husband.)
Just thought those of you out there who are NOOK fans should know that Keowee Valley is currently only $1.99 at the Barnes & Noble NOOK Store. It’s a quick promo: only runs through this Friday, February 15th!
I'm a proud member of SIBA: the Southern Independent Booksellers' Alliance. Right now, SIBA is accepting nominations for the SIBA Book Award, their "best Southern book" of the past year. Books should be Southern in nature, or penned by a Southern author.
If you enjoyed Keowee Valley, or if you have a hankering, I hope you'll consider nominating it. Click here for the link to the nomination form.
(Nominating ends this Thursday, Feb. 14th. Both individuals and bookstores can nominate books.)
This may come as no surprise to you, since I also have a coffee problem. Lately my coffee has been half-decaf, but that’s another story.
For Christmas this past year, my dear sister-in-law gave me what has become my new favorite coffee mug. I just had to share. It’s called a Shakespearian Insults Mug, and it’s nice and fat and easy to hold. I love it.
See? Love it, love it.
When I was a kid, I used to hear my grandmother (and my mother) use this oft-repeated phrase: “There is no excuse for rudeness.” Rarely did I ever hear “Use your words!” because, well, I was full of words and probably didn’t need any excuse to use more.
Shakespeare, however, didn’t know my grandmother. And he used lots of great words, some of his best in insult form. Every morning I use this mug, it makes me laugh.
Behold, the genius of the Bard: Shakespearian Insults 101 (Try them out alone, or by inserting, “Oh, you …,” “You are …,” or “You are nothing but a ….” in front.)
“Beetle-headed, flap-ear’d knave”
“lewdly inclin’d”
“the soul of this man is his clothes”
“quintessence of dust”
“canker blossom”
“poisonous bunch-back’d toad”
“O gull, O dolt, as ignorant as dirt”
“clod of wayward marl”
“false of heart, light of ear, bloody of hand”
“roast-meat for worms”
“infinite and endless liar, an hourly promise-breaker”
“anointed sovereign of sighs and groans”
“lump of foul deformity”
“highly fed and lowly taught”
“all eyes and no sight”
“all the infections that the sun sucks up”
“elvish-mark’d abortive, rooting hog”
“veriest varlet that ever chewed with a tooth”
“I do desire we may be better strangers”
“You rampallian! You fustilarian!”
“mountain of mad flesh”
“light of brain”
“bolting-hutch of beastliness”
“not so much brain as ear wax”
“long-tongu’d babbling gossip”
“thou art a boil, a plague sore”
And my favorite:
“a fusty nut with no kernel” * I’m not being paid to endorse this mug. I just like it so much, I had to share.
After that tear-jerker of a Budweiser commerical last night–y'all saw it, didn’t you? The man who raises the Clydesdale colt, only to see it leave for the big time?–I thought this poem was appropriate.
First, the Budweiser commercial: (get out your hankies)
Next, Garrison Keillor reading this morning’s poem from The Writer’s Almanac: “Celebration: Birth of a Colt” by Linda Hogan.
