Little secret. sshh.

I've been playing it safe and trying to stay calm about the full manuscript request I received for my middle grade novel, Dogsled Dreams. (bet you wondered what the bookjacket thing was all about - pure self-absorbed, time-wasting fun)

But safe is boring so I am going to just quickly mention it, since that's what a writer's blog is all about. Stay tuned.

Contest

Win a 10,000 Word Edit

Over at Tara McClendon's blog http://eyefeathers.blogspot.com/ she's offering an amazing contest valued at $300. She's an editor at InspirationforWriters.com which is totally awesome.

can a leopard change its spots

Meme cheater answers

Sarah's blog, A Work in Progress, http://sarah-janelehoux.blogspot.com/

has asked for a list of ten ways I know a story was written by me. There's no way I can think of ten, but I still want to play. Here's five:

1. There is an animal in it, normally a dog.

2. Some kind of outdoor adventure happens.

3. If there are dogs, they are obviously uber smart.

4. Any dogs will have suspiciously familiar personalities - sort of like some sled dog I once knew.

5. Humour, though a relative term, is smattered throughout.

Now for my own survey. Just for fun, which book jacket do ya like?

Published stories

For those who haven't seen my website, I'll include here a few links to some magazines that have come out. Nautical Mystery Quest is the 5th story in the online magazine for kids, and Mixing it up in Killarney is the adventures of my family on a canoe trip.

http://irishstoryplayhouse.com/StoryTellerTymesSample.html

http://wavelengthmagazine.com/2009/SU09/killarney.html

Sailing into Little Current

Haweater weekend on Manitoulin Island is usually a crowd-drawing event and this year was no exception. Main street was closed to traffic and the food concession stands and trinket booths lined the sidewalks. Busters, Much Music Videos, cotton candy, jumpy balloon house, cartoon characters, Indian Tacos, woodworking, windcatchers, puppies, the works. The parade of lights at dusk with the sailboats all decked out were a crowd pleaser - especially the one with the entire Manitoulin Island on a board lit up like LiteBrite. That boat had to run the length of the channel backwards on the return cruise since the lights were only on one side of the board.

It was very cool to be able to dock right on the town docks with our sailboat and have front row seats for the spectacular fireworks display. The camera's battery ran out just before the show, however, so you will have to take my word for it - they were spectacular.




We sat back on our cushioned seats and applauded ourselves for the inspired idea to dock right in the middle of the festivities. After the the fireworks, we were able to sit back stress-free and watch the giant festering grid lock of vehicles madly fleeing the scene.


And it continued to be a fantastic idea right up until 3 am. That is when the local bar closed and the party spilled out onto the docks. Apparently our particular dock is a favorite hang out in which to declare at the top of ones voice "We've got beer!" among other things. Also we truly appreciated the update on the new day when someone with an impressive set of lungs repeated three times, "GOOD MORNING LITTLE CURRENT!" You gotta love Haweater.