Love all kinds of music, but when Cadillac Sky posted that they just came out with a new EP called Weary Angel, I went ga ga for it.  You HAVE to hear it!  

And as long as I'm talking about music that makes me ga ga, I can't wait for my sweetie to put his latest creation on You-tube.  He's got a few things out there (rickocaster) but his latest makes us start groovin' to the beat every time he cranks it up.  

It's amazing to me what music does to the soul.  My brother has a special morning set list on his Ipod that he plays to set the tempo for the day.  I have certain music that wakes me up when my audiobooks are putting me to sleep in traffic.  Last weekend the fam was talking about how many centuries beer songs have been around -- Christians would be amazed at all the old hymns they sing that once hailed mugs of beer raised to the same tunes! (very different words...)

I for one couldn't live without music.

Pass me my Ipod, please.





I'm longing -- and I mean LONGING -- for the mountains of TN and NC.  In a big way.  Like I was sitting in my father-in-law's backyard the other day with family, and I found if I closed my eyes halfway I could imagine mountains in the distance instead of two story houses, and temps in the 70's instead of 90's.  


Okay, that one took some doing.

Sarah said, "That's just sick."

Yeah, it kind of is.  

So I got out the pics from last year's vacation to Townsend, TN and relived it this morning. I thought that was a little more conventional.  

Here, I'll share.


Say it three times fast!


It's a Hawaiian word.  My kids at school love saying it.  And they've become pretty good at using one.

And I'm getting there.

It's an online tool for collaborating, or for just writing and changing information at will.

Actually, I'm using one for the purpose of planning my novel.  

Since I HATE outlining -- SO BORING!!!!! -- it's a great way of 1)keeping up with details in research, 2) putting down where you want your story to go, 3) jotting down logistical details like how many miles from one place to another and how much time it would take to walk from here to there. Papers get lost; wikis don't.  At least, not if you remember what you've named them. (That's why you write it down. . . preferably somewhere you can easily find it, along with all your computer passwords)

You can also post pictures to your wiki.  I've found a lot of pictures of places that I've put on this blog that I've also put on my wiki.  Some are just on my wiki, to remind me of what my characters see when they are walking on the Trail of Tears (since I live so far from the locale of my book, I rely heavily on memories and pictures).

Will I share my wiki with you?  No.  It's strictly for my eyes only, like a messy workbook in progress.  But I thought I'd share the idea with you in case you wanted to use it.

Here are some wiki sites to check out:

www.pbworks.com
www.wikispaces.com

Happy Wiki-ing!


And for me that means get-down-to-writing time!  What a joy!  


For now . . .

Maybe I won't be saying that when I fully realize that writing day after day is every bit the solitary act that it really is.  My head knows that, but the rest of me says, Yeah, but still, give me this as a full time career and I'd be happy as a clam.

My head:  Uh-huh.  Talk to me in August.

That self-argument aside, I'm so excited to have time to sit down and read one of the resources I ordered from the museum in Cherokee, NC.  It's called Voices from The Trail of Tears, by Vicki Rozema.  I could hug that lady!  She's put together one of the nicest pieces of eyewitness accounts I've seen.  It's so readable.  She's included journal entries from soldiers who are viewing the Cherokee removal in 1838 from a military viewpoint; journal entries from missionaries, who are bleeding hearts for their friends, the Cherokees, and are on the trail with them; and a journal section from a prominent Cherokee. She's included letters from politicians and newspaper articles of that day and time, reflecting the anglo viewpoint; and an editorial written by the editor of the Cherokee newspaper.  There's tons more, all adding up to a well-rounded, firsthand look at the Trail of Tears.  

This is just the kind of thing I've been searching for!

Newer Posts Older Posts Home