RWA's National Conference was the bomb this year! Scarlet visited the White House and ate a gourmet lunch at the National Mall. The real highlight of the conference for me was KOD"S pre-conference tour. We spent the day with the FBI and got to shoot Glocks, Shotguns, Tommyguns, and HKMP5's! Imagine, Scarlet with a machine gun! The workshops with the FBI were awesome, we learned about all the different types of cases they are involved in. On Tuesday we visited the State Department and the United States Postal Inspectors, both presentations were top-notch and vastly informative. On Wednesday we spent the day with the CIA. Really, the CIA! We had lunch in the CIA cafeteria at Langley, where we had six "Officers" (they don't like to be called agents) sit with us and answer questions! We also learned how to tell whether or not the movie rendition of the great seal in the floor of the CIA headquaters was correct! Most aren't, I'm going to hold on to that little tidbit and use it in my next novel! So many ideas! You should have been there. Of course there was more time for great food as MM and Scarlet enjoyed outdoor dining down the street from the Marriott and just across from the Omni. The Proper Conference was great, but I'll leave it to MM to enlighten you, I was just too excited about the Pre-Conference tours.

Well, it’s finally arrived! Summer's here and not a day too soon for all the teachers at my school. Where does the time go? It seems like barely a couple months ago we were starting a new school year and now, it’s finished, over, done!

Now, to the question that is of greatest importance: what to do with the free time afforded me by the end of the school year. I plan to do several things this summer. Three are really big ones, but the most import is to complete my current wip. For those who don’t know that's writer lingo for work in progress.

I’m setting goals, making plans and lists and hoping for the best. My goal is to have my current wip completed before RWA’s National Conference in July. My plan to accomplish this includes meeting regularly with my critique partner, going to Starbuck’s several times during the week to write, but most of all, applying butt to chair and working. My list looks something like this:
Fly to Spain, cruise the Mediterranean (for real, I leave early today. If I’m absent from the fuzzies for a few days, you’ll know why!)
Return home, upload pictures of trip to the Pink Fuzzy Slipper Writers blog.
Apply butt to chair and write.
Go to Starbucks and write (It helps to stir my creativity to get away from the usual all by myself where I can wear my “writer’s persona” --family just doesn’t get this one.)
Set schedule to meet with Critique Partner. (I’m one of the luckiest people in the world when it comes to my partner. ( MM is the greatest.)
Apply butt to chair and write.
Attend National with completed manuscript to pitch.
Apply butt to chair and write.
Clean the deck and sit outside to write.
That's about it, I’ll hope for the best outcome. What about you? How do you plan to attack the lazy hazy crazy days of summer?

We never know what life holds! I taught school for fifteen years. When I lost my job I just couldn't go back into teaching. I had lost my belief in myself and my ability to do what was needed. Schools had changed and I hadn't.

Writing called to me, so I took time to write for pleasure. I loved writing romantic stories and family stories. When I decided to try to sell my stories, I joined Georgia Romance Writers and Romance Writers of America. I was in heaven. We all spoke the same language. I found critique partners and things began to change. There were rules. I knew grammar rules and I had taught great literature, but the great writers and the great writings I taught were all wrong. (slight exaggeration here)

Learning the "rules" of writing romance and allowing others to read my work didn't have the desired effect. I entered contests and learned some folks just didn't like my my writing, my characters, or my favorite color. I questioned my ability to write books that would sell. I still write what I love, but I have more people to please. Now I've almost regained my joy in the process and the stories. If I don't sell to the New York Publishers or get an agent, I'll live.

Recently I decided to try tutoring. The idea of tutoring high school and college students online appealed to me. That didn't happen. But I don't mind. I have two students.

Are you ready for this? One is a graduate student. He's working on his doctorate. A graduate of West point, he recently retired from the Army. He wants to learn and I love watching his mind work. Imagine a student who wants to learn grammar! God is good! For a person who always loved teaching and grammar, this is heaven.

You won't believe who the second student is. He's seven and a first grader. He isn't behind, his dad just wants him to excel. Now I'm making up stories for him as I did for my daughter many moons ago. He has to help me with details and writing them. He thrives on the attention and likes the creative things I bring for him to do.

When my daughter was young I made up stories and characters for her and we both enjoyed it. Now a little boy loves the stories I write for him. He must write what he wants in these stories with him as the main character. I'll be writing about magic and spaceships and space aliens. I might be yelling for Toni's help!