At last

It looks like I'm finally done with my independent project . . . nearly a month later than my projection. My personal editor is doing a final run-through. I must really love this story; it's been a real pain to get it finished. I've revised and revised the revisions. I've proofed until my vision blurred. And I'm delighted with the result. But I don't know if I'll ever want to do it again.

I'm thrilled that the writing is finished, but this hardly means an end to those 6-hour nights (regarding sleeping). Now I'm starting the crush to get my manuscript in to Dafina by the due date. That's going to be a job-and-a-half.

More about my project in the coming weeks, including why I've been knocking myself out these past few months to get it done. I will tell you that it's a contemporary romance, and the subject matter is the same as Sandra Bullock's new movie, which finished in first place at the box office.

In the meantime, for any of you who happen to be aspiring writers, my agent, Elaine English, has a new blog, mostly written by her assistant, Naomi, who handles much of the day-to-day workings and who offers valuable advice. So click here to see what Elaine, Naomi, and the office interns have to say about submitting and publishing in general.

I've been working with Elaine for about six years, and I met her for the very first time a couple of weeks ago, when she had a layover in Milwaukee on her way home from an RWA Chapter conference in the Green Bay area. We had a very long lunch at a restaurant near the airport, and it was wonderful to meet her. She's a peach.

I'm a very lucky writer.

Juneteenth, one day late

It had been my intention to post an acknowledgment of Juneteenth on the blog yesterday. The observation of this historic occurrence has spread from its original location of Texas to all over the U.S. (an annual festival is held up in Milwaukee, for example).

Unfortunately, some wild weather hit Southeastern Wisconsin last night. A tornado touched down at the local airport, less than a mile from our house. Heavy rains and lightning and swift-moving, large black clouds that looked like they came out of a movie made for a scary experience. And while my job (where I was until 9:30PM) had power, myhome did not.

Our lights are back on, but today is now June 20th. While you enjoy your weekend, take a moment to say a prayer for the souls of those who suffered as slaves, and for those who are still struggling in poverty 140 some-odd years later.

I can't let today (not yesterday) go by without acknowledging the 100th anniversary of the birth of one of the most handsome men who ever graced the silver screen, Errol Flynn. Later this year will mark the 50th anniversay of this charismatic actor's premature death at age 50, by then ravaged by years of excess alcohol and an addiction to morphine, his good looks a thing of the past. But in his prime, he was a one good-looking dude.

Looking for Mellow (plus, pick your favorite version of this week's classic song)

Less than two weeks after a doctor who performed late-term abortions was killed at church, there was a shooting at the Holocaust Museum in Washington, DC. In one of the most ironic details I've heard in a long time, the security guard who was killed, rest his soul, opened the front door for the 88-year-old white supremacist gunman, who repaid his kind act by fatally shooting him. Talk about bad things happening to good people.

Today is the big changeover for television. Are you ready? All of our sets, the LCDs we purchased when we bought the house last year as well as the older models (including one that was purchased way back in 1987 by my parents and given to us years later), so we shouldn't have a problem, but I've got this creepy feeling that all we'll see is snow on our screens at noon this afternoon. We'll see . . . .

My husband, bless his heart, flew to Washington on Tuesday and didn't think it was worth mentioning to me that his flight's departure from Milwaukee was delayed by hours due to storms in the Washington area (men . . . .) When I started wondering why the heck I hadn't heard from him two hours after he should have landed I tried calling his cell, only to find out that his phone was still turned off. After calling his hotel and learning he hadn't checked in (by now it was nearkly 9PM Eastern Time), and then calling the car rental place and learning he hadn't picked up his vehicle, I had a terrible feeling that something bad had happened. Fortunately, someone at the car rental place informed me that Reagan Airport had been closed for a few hours due to storms and was nice enough to look up his flight for me and give me the revised arrival time. Needless to say, Bernard called as soon as the plane arrived at the gate because he knew I'd be worried. Instead of landing at 6:30PM local time, he landed at 9:05.

In a coincidence, my agent took that same flight home just two days earlier (she had a 4-hour layover, and I picked her up and we had a leisurely lunch). Fortunately, her trip home went without incident. What a difference 48 hours makes!

The singer-songwriter Kenny Rankin passed away earlier this week of lung cancer. Funny thing about Kenny. People either loved his music (I know that easy listening has a reputation for blandness, but Kenny wasn't bland) or they hated it, similar to people's feelings about the sound of jazz singer Michael Franks. He had a wonderful mellow sound that was always welcome to my ears. I all but wore out his Kenny Rankin Album in LP form, then years later purchased it on CD.
Unfortunately, I couldn't find any clips on You Tube of any of my favorites Rankin performances, but because some mellow music would hit the spot after a frantic week, so I'm doing something I haven't done in a while, giving you two versions of the same song and asking whick is your favorite. This is a gem of a song written by two of the Burke brothers who made up the group The Five Stairsteps and recorded by them around 1977, a time when the four brothers were performing without their sister and used the name The Stairsteps. The song did not get the recognition I felt it deserved, but did achieve a wider audience shortly after when it was recorded by the group Pockets. In my opinion, I think they're both excellent, but I give the edge to the Stairsteps, because I really like the flute, and I've always loved their voices.

So my question to you as I wish you a good weekend is, which one do you think is the best?




The Stairsteps (original)




Pockets (cover)

Another Manic Monday

I hope everybody had a great weekend!

There's still quite a bit going on with me - my mom is visiting, my husband is getting ready for a business trip, and I'm finishing up my independent project - but I wanted to share something with y'all. I was tickled to learn that the home of my nephew Thomas in Jacksonville, Florida, was used as the setting of a new book trailer. I haven't been there in over two years, and he's done a marvelous job of restoriation (it's in the historic district called Springfield). You can view the video by clicking here.

Go, 'T'!

Giving Credit Where Credit is Due



I was never a fan of Nancy Reagan - her adoration of her husband to the point where her own children seemed insignificant to her gave me the creeps, and she was too regal for me (I know her stepfather was a prominent neurosurgeon, but that was far from an exact science in the first part of the 20th century, with many procedures being unsuccessful at best and killing the patient at worst - but hey, maybe malpractice suits hadn't been initiated yet). But one thing I give her credit for, and that is she has always been impeccably dressed. I don't think I've ever seen her wearing an ensemble that didn't work.


Strangely, she was never really given credit for her taste in clothes, unlike the 30ish Jacqueline Kennedy and the 40ish Michelle Obama. The likely reason: She was in her 60s. But that's no reason to lump her in with, say, Mamie Eisenhower.


As far as the so-called controversy over President Obama (God, I love saying that!) not inviting her to the White House for the stem cell announcement, for heaven's sake, the woman is pushing 90 and can hardly walk. You can bet that the same people pointing fingers at him for "disrespect" would have criticized him for getting an obviously frail woman to travel across the country just so he could trot her out to get publicity for his new legislation. Instead, he invited her to the White House when she happened to be in town for an unveiling of a statue of her late husband. Personally, I think that was the right thing to do.

Gone Blogging

Over the weekend I blogged about readers behaving badly at book signings over at Blogging in Black. I hope you'll drop in over there and see what I have to say.

RAWSISTAZ reviews A New Kind of Bliss

The subheading of this entry should be called, "It's my blog and I'll brag if I want to!"

Just sharing the RAWSISTAZ review, and wishing you all a good weekend!

"After the death of her father, forty-three-year-old divorcée Emily leaves her contented life in Indianapolis to move back to her hometown to help her mother with her financial affairs. After her divorce, Emily thinks she will never find love again; that is until she meets Dr. Aaron Merritt. Rich, handsome, and a single parent, Aaron exposes Emily to fine things and summer homes, but there is something vitally missing in their relationship. Emily runs into her junior high school crush, Teddy. Teddy is not rich like Aaron, but he gives her what she's missing with Aaron.

A NEW KIND OF BLISS by Bettye Griffin is a well-written story from beginning to end. It draws the reader into Emily's world of confusion. The characterization is very strong, and with each character, I experienced an emotional connection with each of their personalities." - reviewed by Sharon Lewis