Julia Mozingo - A Writer's Blog

So Many Books to Read, So Little Time to Read

2006-08-13T12:44:00.001-05:00

Wow! There are so many good books out there to read that I find many books I want to read, but feel I have so little time to read them all. However, when I look back at what I've read this summer--read the past six weeks--I see that I've made a dent in my TBR (To Be Read) stack, rather stacks. Yes, plural. And the stacks continue to grow as I find more books I want to read. But if I don't start, I'll never finish. So this is where I started this summer.

I read Linda Howard's Dream Man, Susan Andersen's Obsessed, Heather Graham's Ghost Walk, all adult books.

Then I signed up for the Oklahoma Fall Arts Institutes to study writing with Sharon Darrow in a workshop called "Becoming the Author: Writing for Children and Young Adults." So I ordered and read her books--Old Thunder and Miss Raney, Through the Tempests Dark and Wild, Trash, and The Painters of Lexieville. Wow! Talk about voice! The last two, the young adult books, showed me life as I'd never really thought about it. I found the books very interesting and powerful. I'll never think of the name Patricia the same as I did before without remembering Pert's mother calling her Pertricia. Wonderful!

After reading those, I delved into action adventure novels and read Meredith Fletcher's work -- Double-Cross, Look-Alike, and her contributions to two anthologies Upgrade in Smokescreen and The Get-Away Girl in Femme Fatale. Really fast reads with strong characters.

Following those, I read Xxx, a novelization by Mel Odom and decided to read more of his work. So currently, I'm reading Mel Odom's Paid in Blood. See picture above. I'm halfway through the book. It, too, is a fast read. I'm amazed at the skillful weaving of the multiple viewpoints and the individual story lines. There's never a boring part. I love the "little" bullets of narrative info. Quick in and quick out keeps the pacing moving. And each scene's end is a grabber. Talk about not being able to put the book down. Mel sure makes it tough on a reader ... hard to put the book down to go to bed at night, but even tougher to get up the next morning if the reader stays up late reading. Reads like this sure make me want to retire from the work force so I can read all day and night.

Next on my TBR stack will be two more Mel Odom books, Angel "Image" and Snowday, a young adult novel.

For now, ready or not, I've got to get back to the day job of being an elementary teacher. Duty calls!

Yikes! Life's Busy

2006-07-18T14:21:00.000-05:00

Yikes! Life's busy. I've been so busy that it's been nearly five weeks since I posted to the blog.

During that time I've -- rewritten parts of my novel and developed a new story for a novel, created a soothing getaway for my writing muse on my back patio - complete with fountain, swing, plants - flowering and non-flowering, bird feeder, miniature bird bath, and inanimate yard critters. In the front yard, I've hung pots of petunias, a bird feeder, and set up a birdbath I can view from the bench on my front porch.

I've also vacationed in San Antonio, Texas, at Sea World and the River Walk, where I took loads of pictures.

I've hosted a weekend Plotting Party for one of my RWA chapters, which was fabulous. Here we are after dinner Friday evening.

Yesterday I drove to a nearby metro area where I bought a brand new notebook computer for my birthday. I didn't want to order off the Internet and wait nearly two weeks for it.

Now, I'm charging into my writing to add a layer that will round out my flat characters and strengthen the romantic relationship between the hero and heroine.

Have a great day! And think of your intention to write today. Focus on that intention. Then take action. Write on!

Life's A Whirl

2006-06-21T07:51:00.000-05:00

This week has started in a whirl. I'm spinning, meeting myself coming and going, not to mention dog paddling with all the new experiences life brings as a writer -- like blogging.

Monday one of my best friends -- Di -- and I went to lunch and then spent the afternoon planning an upcoming Plotting Party for one of our writing groups. You know who you are. I'm excited!

Tuesday we went to lunch again -- wow! lunch with a friend two days in a row -- Iife doesn't get any better than this! Afterward we visited some of the local nurseries -- garden type, planning little getaways of our own as close as our own backyard patios to pamper our writing muses.

Oh, yes! Life does get better. Tuesday evening my other best friend -- Burna -- popped to town, so we talked writing business for a while then twirled off for dinner. From there I barely had time enough to turn around and head straight to writing critique meeting.

Today, Wednesday, starts with a couple of spins and a twirl to the local day spa for a massage. Thursday I'll go teach a writing friend a couple of new tricks on her computer and what I've learned about how to blog. Whew! Life's a whirl.

Life is good! Life as a writer is also tough, I tell you. You may not believe me, but I still have to "make" time to sit down and type or handwrite words on the page one word at a time. Yeah, I haven't yet learned/mastered how to type or handwrite words concurrently. To be a writer, one must write. So I'll keep spinning and twirling. Life is all about balance even if life is a whirl! (-:

Jumping In - Sink or Swim

2006-06-18T11:49:00.000-05:00

Since all my writing friends are raving about blogs, and blogs are the "thing" to do, I guess I'll jump in. I just hope the water's not too deep, that I'm not in over my head, and that I don't drown. Here's to sink or swim time! Here I go! Splash!!!

Did I do it?