SoCal RWA Conference – A Quick Update

SoCal RWA Conference – A Quick Update

 

I am having the very devil of a time getting this post together today – so sorry! It’s been a madhouse here – I’m behind on everything at work, and I need to get at least 2k words written before I go to sleep tonight. So – a bit frantic, but in a very good way.

Conference was WONDERFUL.  I had my best booksigning ever, and my workshop was well-attended. Plus I received a thank you note from one of the conference attendees who came to my workshop! Staggered and flabbergasted, and very pleased.

Photo of Christine Ashworth at the booksigning.

Having a grand old time signing books at the SoCal RWA Conference, March 17, 2013.

I promise to do a proper recap later. In the meantime, my thanks to Christine Leo for snapping the photo. I shall float on the remembered high of hugging friends, getting writing support, and learning for the past three days. My Roomie Dayle and I had the best time, despite both of us being on the ill side. Well, walking 4.5 miles round trip to get Chinese food for dinner that first night didn’t end up being the smartest decision we made…but now it’s a story, lol!

And I won’t go into our last minute decision to hit the bar before it closed…

Cheers – and have a great day!

SoCal RWA Conference Weekend!

SoCal RWA Conference Weekend!

Today is the beginning of the SoCal RWA Conference in Santa Ana, California. Which means I get to spend the better part of three days with writers and agents and editors while I learn and laugh…what’s not to like about that?

On Sunday, I’ll be participating in a large public book signing, where I’ll be signing copies of DEMON HUNT and DEMON SOUL. I sure hope there are a lot of So Cal peeps down there who like paranormal romance!

So you might be asking yourself, what wine goes with a conference? Well, since I’m not too sure about the  hotel prices, I always say bring your own. And since my go-to wine is Smoking Loon Pinot Noir, that’s what I’ll be bringing.

I’m doing a Book Camp this afternoon, then going to a cocktail/reception party tonight. Tomorrow morning I’m doing some volunteer work, then diving into workshops all day. Dinner with friends tomorrow night, woot!

Sunday is my big day – I’m giving a workshop at 9am (against some incredible speakers). It will be interesting to see how many people show up for my workshop! Maybe I’ll bring chocolate…

Then there’s a luncheon, and finally – from 1pm to 2:30pm – the book signing. So – lots to do! And as I’m leaving here at 9:30am to pick up the faboo Dayle Dermatis, my roommate for this venture, I’d better get packed, don’t you think?

Here’s hoping YOUR weekend will be jam-packed with friends, laughter, good food and good wine.

 

 

~ Until the next time, cheers – and remember to drink responsibly! ~

~oOo~

Demon Soul and Demon Hunt are all available for the Kindle and Kobo! Have you fallen into the Caine Brothers’ world yet?


Leaping Ahead

Leaping Ahead

I love Daylight Savings Time.

I cannot lie. I have always loved the leap ahead, fall back routine. As everyone around me gets grumpy, and as we lose around a billion dollars of productivity nation-wide on the leap-ahead Monday, I revel in it.

The daffodils under my apple tree. A happy surprise every Spring!

My body rejoices. More sunlight in the evenings, more time to linger in the garden, more time to slow down and enjoy after I get home from work. I can feel my spirit unfurl from the chill of winter, stretch and grow in the warmth of the sun. This is a time, for me, of reaching out, stretching beyond my known parameters; a time of growth, renewal, and joyous abandon. Of taking leaps of faith – in myself, in my loved ones, in new opportunities.

In the winter, it’s different – then, the time change signals to me to gather loved ones close, to prepare the hearth and home for cold days and nights, for simple joys of hearty meals and fires and the holidays. It’s soul-searching, inward work that needs to be done. But the springtime? That is when all the inward searching is given the permission to flower, to grow.

I wonder how many people would grumble so if the clocks just changed automatically and if we didn’t set ourselves up to dread it so much? I’ll never know. But I dearly hope we can keep Daylight Savings Time for as long as I’m hanging around. It does my spirit good.

What About You?

Do you like the time change, or do you wish it would all just go away? I’d love to know!

How to Taste Wine

It’s been a rough week at Chez Ashworth, culminating in coming down with a nasty cold that’s been making the rounds of the office, so I am way behind in today’s wine blog. Instead of highlighting some affordable wines, I’m pointing you toward two funny but educational videos on wine tasting. The first looks like it was produced in the 70’s but was done in 2008; here’s a live female showing you the ropes.

How to Taste Red Wine

 Now, if you prefer your guide to be of the cartoon male type, here you go…

Another Video on Tasting Wine

I did learn a couple things from these videos, namely how to tell the relative age of the wine (which was discussed clearly in the first video).

When was the last time you did wine tasting? I’d love to know!

~ Until the next time, cheers – and remember to drink responsibly! ~

~oOo~

Demon Soul and Demon Hunt are all available for the Kindle and Kobo! Have you fallen into the Caine Brothers’ world yet?


 

 

The Pollyanna Side of Things on Writer Wednesday

The Pollyanna Side of Things on Writer Wednesday

I am an Optimist.

Photo of Eleanor H. Porter


Eleanor H. Porter
Born: December 19, 1868, Littleton
Died: May 21, 1920, Cambridge

Part of the reason may be that I grew up reading and re-reading the Pollyanna books. Eleanor H. Porter wrote the first Pollyanna, and the sequel, Pollyanna Grows Up. Pollyanna went on to have many adventures as first a young married woman, then a mom as well.  I learned how a girl could have ideals, and grow up still holding those ideals. The Glad Game wasn’t necessarily something I played in my childhood, but I did learn to look on the bright side of life and keep my focus there. For those of you who haven’t read the book, here’s the cover and the blurb:

First Edition cover of Pollyanna by Eleanor H. Porter

Published by L.C. Page; first edition cover, 1913

“Once you start looking for the happy things, you don’t think about the bad ones as much.” That’s the joyful way Pollyanna sees the world: no matter what happens, she plays her “Just Be Glad” game and finds the sunny side of any situation. But when she’s orphaned and forced to live with her rigid Aunt Polly, will high-spirited Pollyanna succeed in melting her Aunt’s cold heart?

My Copies Were From the 1940’s.

The first book was originally published in 1913; my copies were thick ones, bound in blue cloth, with lighter blue lettering, first owned by my mother. The thick paper pages are brown and brittle with age, but I had them on a bookshelf in every house I lived in until fifteen years ago, when bookshelf space was at a premium and my husband asked me, gently, to put away my girlhood books. I still yearn for them and at some point, I will get them out and put them back up on the bookshelf where they belong.

The Pollyanna books continued on, with Harriet Lummis Smith writing books three through six.  Elizabeth Borton wrote another five Glad books, as they were called. Pollyanna and her children lived in Mexico, Hollywood, Boston; many of those stories still live inside me. When I think of today’s girls, I think you’d have to get them started early on stories like these; say, around 9, which is when I first delved into the treasure trove of books that my mother had managed to keep from her childhood. The Pollyanna books are sweet, simple, focused on community, helping each other and looking on the bright side. Even as Pollyanna grows, and her troubles grow to adult size, she still holds to community, helping each other, and looking on the bright side. Maybe today’s kids need more flash-bang in their fiction; maybe the books are too old-fashioned; but at this point, they do have a “historical” feel to them, which may serve to catch their interest.

If you have young girls, or nieces, or friends who have young girls, I urge you to introduce them to Pollyanna and the Glad books. Their parents will love you for it, and your influence may well be felt long after the child has grown. (I tried to get my sons to read them; they would have nothing to do with the books!)

Which classic novels did you read as a kid, and that still resonate with you today? I’d love to know!

~ Until the next time, cheers! ~

~oOo~

Demon Soul and Demon Hunt are all available for the Kindle and Kobo! Have you fallen into the Caine Brothers’ world yet?