Inspiration

Every so often, I take (mental) stock of the events that have transpired in my life over the months preceding said inventory, and sometimes the things I discover surprise me. For instance, I recently made the comment to someone that I had been to more "book things" in the past six months than I had in the past three years. It started with the launch of J.T.'s third standalone thriller in August and carried me through to the Murder in the Magic City conference I've been a big proponent of since 2003. That was in February. And it brought something home for me that has been quietly steeping on the back burner for six months.

Old friends. In my rather lengthy dissertation on the reappearance of my muse, I mentioned reconnecting with some of my old writer friends. I've been doing that quite a bit over the last six months. In listening to these friends talk about their latest books, their writing process, and where they're going next, I found myself thinking about the book (the one I left untouched for three years before digging it out of the laptop storage files, brushing it off and picking away at it) in much greater detail and with much greater enthusiasm than before. And it's finally happened. The epiphany, the aha moment, that tiny spark of an idea that changes the whole course of your story.

Now, granted, I thought this moment happened a long time ago. A very. LONG. Time ago. Apparently, I was wrong. But it's okay. I'm re-inventing myself. Again. And that's okay too.

Older and wiser. Today is my birthday. Bonus, it's Saturday. And since I've already cleaned the house this week (the WGH will expound ad nauseam on how I only clean when we're expecting company, and that happened Thursday), today I am free to do whatever I want. Two of our three Amazing Offspring will be here for dinner - which I am cooking myself, because, you know, I can - but I have a nearly full day ahead of me to write, watch basketball, write, do some laundry, watch more basketball (go BIG10), run to the store to get the stuff to make said birthday dinner, and, um, let's see ... oh yeah, write.

Hey, it's what I do.

Foster Puppy is happily gnawing on her chew-bone, the rest of the household is still quite asleep, and I need coffee. So until next time, have a great day, and read a book. It's good for you.

When Life Happens

Lemons, baseball, and other analogies. I learned to make lemonade a very long time ago, and it's really a good thing I did, because life has handed me a lot of lemons over the years. I've always been a glass-half-full kinda gal, anyway. Indomitable spirit and all that (thank You, LORD).

There have been times, however, when life has piled a rotten bunch of lemons on me so mountainous that it's been a little harder to claw my way back to the top. Hence my absence from the blogiverse these past 13 months.

I was about as close to the bottom of the ninth, three men on, two men out and full count as a person could get. No, I didn't hit a grand slam. By the grace of God, that last pitch came in "juuuust a bit outside" and I've been walking toward home ever since.

I know, the analogies are corny. It's kinda my thing.

New Year / New Goals

Seasons of change. Since my last post in 2015, there have been a few major changes in my personal life which, in turn, affected my writing life. In June that year, the WGH made a job/career change that forced us to take a step back and re-evaluate our household budget. We addressed the possibility of leaving what we thought was going to be our forever home. I accepted the idea that I might have to return to work full-time. On the heels of that upheaval, my mother was diagnosed with stage IV adenocarcinoma of the lung and passed away less than two weeks later.

As you can imagine - and I hope understand - I shut down. For quite some time.

Fortunately, by the grace of God, things worked out

JB's June Writing Challenge: N is for ... Nincompoops

Once again my darling sister has offered up a topic that holds both hilarity and potential insight in the palm of its hand.

Nincompoops
One of my favorite memories associated with this word is a Bugs Bunny cartoon: I can't remember (or find on YouTube) which one, but there's a segment where Bugs is making fun of whatever adversary happens to be sharing the stage with him, and he says something to the effect of "What a nincom--" (and here he gets hit over the head) "--poop!" and the last syllable is about two octaves higher and there are, of course, resultant stars spinning about his noggin. Funny as heck.

JB's June Writing Challenge: The Halfway Point

Well, here we are--halfway through the month and I have successfully kept up my end of the bargain and have written something every day this month so far. This is a big deal for me, really. And if you know me at all, you'll know why. So I appreciate your sticking with me through the A-M topics:

• Angels
• Baseball
• Curiosity
• Distractions
• Entertainment
• Fun
• Grace
• Happiness
• Imagination
• Jiggy
• Keepsakes
• Laughter
• Menagerie

Looking back, I see varying levels of insightfulness in these posts, from really thoughtful to downright silly. But my goal has been to write every day, and to this, the halfway point, I have accomplished my goal. We'll see what the rest of the month has in store. I'm very optimistic about being able to do this for another 15 days, especially given that I've found myself exceptionally antsy and wracked with guilt by 9:00 if I haven't done my post for the day. They say it takes 21 days to form a habit, right? Fifteen down, six to go.

Wish me luck.

And read a book. It's good for you.

JB's June Writing Challenge: I is for ... Imagination

"You cannot depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus."
from A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
-- Mark Twain, US humorist, novelist, short story author, & wit (1835 - 1910)

My darling friend, the beautiful and talented Paige Crutcher, suggested the "I" topic today. And this is a lady who knows what the word means.

Imagination
I've been told since I was a child that I have a fairly active imagination, and I think it's fortunate that I do, considering that my passion involves creating people and places and situations that don't really exist.

JB's June Writing Challenge: G is for ... Grace

"... for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus ..."
(Romans 3:23-24, New King James Version)

Grace
My sweet friend Lisa suggested today's topic, and it being Sunday I thought it was quite an excellent idea.