Friday, November 28, 2008

T-day


I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving day. Lisa and I drove down to Bladen Lakes State Forest and did a short hike at Jones Lake State Park. We got there kind of late in the afternoon, so we didn't go far and I didn't take a huge amount of pictures. But I got a few I like.

The lake was almost completely placid, so the reflections were close to perfect.

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

I WON!!!!


My NaNoWriMo novel is over 57,000 words and I'm not finished with it yet. But today I can officially say I've won the challenge (along with about 18,000 other people, I hope!). I like having a deadline like this. It makes me work harder and think faster and just get the words out. I'll clean them up and make them really make sense later, after I've written "The End" on this rough first draft. I'm considering posting one chapter at a time on my website as I get them edited. I'll let y'all know more about that once I've made a definite decision.


I hope everyone has a marvelous Thanksgiving. Lisa and I are planning a quiet one. I'm going to bake a couple of Cornish game hens and steam some broccoli and that's about it for our feast. I hope the weather is good so we can go spend some time outdoors. Otherwise, we'll just watch TV, surf the net, and spend the day together.


Thursday, November 20, 2008

Rejuvenation


A couple of weekends ago I ran away from home. I didn't know where I was going until I got there. "There" ended up being Kure Beach, just south of Wilmington. I arrived at the peak of high tide on a windy day. This picture was taken below the Kure Beach Fishing Pier.
It amazes me how much the ocean rejuvenates me, even when it is too rough or too cold to get in. The sound of the waves, the smell and taste of the salt air, the texture of the sand between my toes, the sight of the pelicans skimming the water - all of these things bring joy to my soul and relaxation to my heart and mind.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

NaNoWriMo

NaNoWriMo is National Novel Writing Month, which just happens to be November. It is a challenge to write a novel of 50,000 words or more during the 30 days of the month. This is the first time I've attempted the challenge and so far I'm pretty happy with how it is going. I'm almost at 45,000 words and still have a ways to go before the story reaches its logical conclusion. AND I like my story!





The key to being able to write, on average, 1667 words a day is to retire your "internal editor" for the month. Some people drew what they felt like their editor looked like and then burned it, or wadded it up and gave it to their cat to bat around, or banished it in some other way. I locked mine in a cat carrier and told her I would let her out to play on December 1 or whenever I actually finished the novel. She has moaned and groaned, but so far has behaved herself and stayed locked away.





The title of my book is Out of the Past . . . (yes, including the ellipses). Imagine what it would be like to visit a city you have never been before and recognize landmarks, feel a sense of familiarity, and "know" the people the tour guides tell you about. Imagine standing on a porch and feeling a sense of first belonging, and then, suddenly, a sense of overwhelming terror and the need to escape that porch. This is basically what happens to my protaganist and the story is how she comes to understand these feelings and learn what to do with them. I hope, once the book is finished, to publish a chapter at a time on my website (http://www.glendapoulter.com/) and I also hope to submit it for publication. Here is the cover I designed for the book. And, yes, I did take this picture.






Speaking of my website, my webmistress will be working on simplifying it over the next few days. So, if you go to visit and pages aren't working properly, please be patient and try again later.

Monday, November 17, 2008

Welcome Home cover

PD Publishing finalized the cover to Welcome Home this weekend. I'd love to hear what y'all think. Personally I love it! It's extra exciting since they chose to use one of my own photographs!