Impromptu Writing Retreat

My Munchkin Boy had a state 4-H meeting that kind of snuck up on us. It was far enough away that making two round trips for drop-off/pick-up seemed unreasonable, so I checked the points on my Choice Hotels rewards card and got myself a "free" room with a desk. Bought myself some fancy coffee drinks and healthy snacks and shut myself in for a writing marathon. Hit the ten-hour mark before crashing sometime this morning. Let myself wake up naturally rather than by alarm and am pleased to have another couple of hours to devote to writing before I need to be anywhere.

Wrapping up:

• WaterSigns -- new poetry book by Ronda Miller
• A Life in Progress -- short story collection by moi!

Work-in-progress:

• Essays about vendors and my time at the market. I am calling this a market memoir. I believe it is going to end up being a fairly comprehensive history of the 35 + year history of the Emporia Farmers Market!

What a satisfying way to start a week!

5 AM Ode to Eggplant

With the rain this morning, it seemed like a good excuse to stay in bed, to sleep in.
But my eyes were open, and I could not stop thinking about eggplant... so I got up and wrote an essay about it. I think I'll call it -- 5 AM Ode to Eggplant.

I've been hungry for eggplant parmigiana. It is very nearly market season for eggplant. I had hoped to buy eggplant at yesterday's market, but the line for the little that was available was super long. I remain hungry for eggplant and dreamed all night of making my favorite casserole.

It's okay.

My hunger for eggplant got me out of bed to write.


Work-in-progress/Title-in-progress: 

See You in the Parking Lot

A Memoir of a Farmers Market

June Musings

June has zipped by in a flash! Spent a huge chunk of the month feeding my wanderlust. This is the year of my third child's 16th birthday trip, and we did it in style in Germany! The two of us enjoyed time in Berlin, Quedlinburg, and Trier. So the bulk of my writing was travel journal with a few bonus poems thrown in. Now we are working on our trip photo album and enjoying the light summer-time weather in Kansas.

A rainy day in the sweet little town of Quedlingburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany.

Meadowlark is keeping me busy! It's a very good kind of busy. I am so inspired by these writers who let me handle their darlings and fit them in the pages of a book. The bookshelf is growing and I am as proud as if each piece were my very own. There will soon be two books out for 2017. Five remain in the hopper and we are making very good progress.

Walking on Water, poems by Cheryl Unruh
Meadowlark Books, April 2017

WaterSigns, Poetry by Ronda Miller
Meadowlark Books, July 2017

It's been a good month for reading, as well! I have had the opportunity to read the second Pete Stone Novel (to be published by Meadowlark, Fall 2017) To Leave a Shadow, the first, can be found here and here.

I enjoyed Gloria Zachgo's Hush Girl: It's Only a Dream, a mystery, and it's page turner. I am currently reading Jillian Dunlay's teen dystopian novel, Untamed. This is Jillian's debut novel and I have to say that I am very impressed with this young lady. I have plans to write a more thoroughly about both of these books soon.

I have also been indulging on David Sedaris's new book, Theft by Finding.

Life is good. Reading, writing, and publishing are even better!

I found my writing buddy in Quedlinburg.
As my friend Sue pointed out, he's got a heart of stone,
but I enjoyed his company anyway.

May Musings

Starting the fifth month of the year that is 2017! Is it too late for a blog about plans for the new year?

Between travel, the loss of two very special loved ones, and just trying to keep up with life in general, I decided that this was going to be a say-YES year to publishing. My own collection of short stories is well on its way to being complete and, via Meadowlark Books, I am working on building a bigger bookshelf for Kansas authors! I was honored to work with my very good friend, Cheryl Unruh, on her first book of poetry, Walking on Water, which was released in April.

Walking on Water - April 2017
meadowlark-books.com

I have found myself returning to this post in recent days, where I wrote, among other things:

"I am convinced that writing is a profession of constantly becoming." 

I guess I have long understood that I find a great deal of satisfaction in simply putting together beautiful books. That I find this process as meaningful--and perhaps even more enjoyable--when I do it for others is still catching up to me. Working as part of a team is fun, and with each Meadowlark book, new team members have added depth and richness to my experience, and Meadowlark, as a publisher, has grown. 

Working so closely with writers fuels my creative fires. Dedicating time to book formatting and production seems to bring balance to my own endeavors in fiction. Each read through a book brings me closer to an author, and more appreciative of the view and perspective that person is sharing with the world through their writing.

Could I get my own work done more quickly if I didn't pursue these publishing endeavors?

In theory, yes. But my reality seems to be that I stay better focused on my own work when I surround myself with other writers up close and personal.

My short story collection is still on its way. I expect to have a proof ordered by the end of May, and I hope to be sharing it with the world by July... or so. In the meantime, there is a lot of becoming to focus on, including writing, publishing, travelling, and time with my family.  I am enjoying living life on that book mountain, helping others up and down the path.

Max Yoho

Today I join the friends, family, and lucky readers who have had the pleasure of knowing Max Yaho, an author who has left us a legacy of fine work and words to enjoy. I know his friendship has touched many, his stories many more.

Here's my 2013 interview with Max.

His obituary.

Tracy with Max Yoho - Kansas Authors Club
Convention, October 2013

A Belated, but Thankful Post

I am looking at my list of projects… it includes things that were on last year’s list of projects and, sadly, many of those items that have made the list two years in a row remain incomplete. If my son’s theory holds correct, a year is 1/46^th of what it used to be. [his theory regarding our perception of time passing = when you are ten years old, a year is only representative of a tenth of your life, and therefore, it feels like it takes longer than when you are 40 years old and a year is only representative of a fortieth of your life] Anyway, it certainly feels true. I look at the calendar and am befuddled to find we are so near the end of 2016.

Of course, a full life is also to be blamed. I downsized this year. I shed a job, though admittedly put more of my efforts into another one… or two. And any time I catch all of my family members in one room, which is less often that I would like, I have done my best to drop everything and fill my time with them. Mostly listening, sometimes brainstorming, often laughing, lately reminiscing… these moments, though they may feel familiar, each one only comes once.

I will not grow old and full of regrets. This has been my mantra for most of my adult life and I am sticking to it.

As the month of November ends, I am thankful for my writing friends who have kept me honest and on-task through NaNoWriMo. I am a few hundred words short of target, but have faith that I will get there. I am thankful for my friends and family, those who share their lives and their stories with me. I am thankful for the space heater at my feet, the roof over my head, and the abundance that fills my refrigerator, as well as my heart.

I am thankful for my list of projects. There may never be enough time to complete them all, but as long as I am filled with enough desire to keep the list going, I will be satisfied.

Thanksgiving 2016 - purple sweet potato pie and true pumpkin pie - I am thankful for pie, as well.

A belated weekend post...

It's Tuesday. I got derailed a bit this weekend. Took a trip on the new Prairie Earth Tours bus to Tallgrass Prairie for the 20th anniversary celebration, and got to dine at Keller Feed & Wine Company. (YUM). Let's just say I highly recommend all three. Kansas may have issues, but the cool places and awesome people remain. You just have to get out and about and plug into the real-life community a bit.

Unfortunately, I was not in photo bug mode this weekend. This is the one and only photos I took of the tour bus. I didn't even think to document my meal until after I had eaten it!

Sunday was the first day this month that I did not hit my NaNoWriMo word goals. I was slightly ahead, so didn't get too far off pace. Today I am back at it, storing all the topics I really want to chat about for a later date.

For those of you who might also be writers, I purchased a book a couple of months ago (that I finally cracked open in November). It is called Story Genius; How to Use Brain Science to Go Beyond Outlining and Write a Riveting Novel. The author is Lisa Cron. This is proving to be a powerful bit of writing advice. I only wish that I had taken the time to read it completely through prior to starting this year's NaNo. Instead, I am taking it on as kind of a companion read, and I know already that I will read it again.