Rough Week

Finally Friday is here!

Starting on Tuesday, we said "goodbye" to at least one student every day as they started "big kids' school". Then to top it off, a dear long time friend that I use to go to church with died yesterday morning. Lots of mixed emotions there. While it hurts to say goodbye to one more person (count is now at 8 since Dec., 2007), I've talked with friends and reconnected in ways I haven't in over ten years. Bittersweet doesn't seem to accurately cover it.

Right now I've got the finances to where I can place "The Heart's Desire" in a book writing contest. Still praying for the rest to come in as I really would like to participate at the November book fair I was invited to at the Galt House... only time will tell. For now, though, just taking it one day at a time and waiting for the first residual check to come in. Sometime next week I'll be making a copy of that check so I can place it in a frame and hang it on the wall next to my first book review. Exciting!

Still working on "The Heart Broken". Roberta (my cousin) sent in the painting she did for the book's cover and I was blown away. Just like with Kirstie (another cousin), they were able to capture exactly what was in my head and get it down exactly right! Now to get the words and story to be as good as the cover.

The character of Matthew Conner is causing a little trepidation with me as he's to be a despicable individual in the eyes of just about anyone who is remotely human. I had tried writing the story of my grandmother's father back last year and really struggled to write. Due to possible liable issues, as some individuals were still living and issues were very "touchy", I opted to let it go. It would have been a very "dark" book as my grandmother's father was not a very kind man to his wife or children and loved his alcohol and alcohol making. Matthew Conner is based on him. While I'll be taking dramatic license, there are some instances that I'll be pulling from that are from real life and are difficult for me to visualize and put words to. So with each writing, I have to take a step back, reassess where I'm at and where I'm going, and make sure it jives with what I have in mind for the end of this book. Thankfully I have everything I wrote last year and can pull off of it so as to save on typing... but it's still hard none the less.

Well, off to writing!
Dana