November 30th

Anybody know where November went?

I haven’t written much this month and the last two weeks I haven’t been around WordPress much. I have been researching bookmaking. The beauty of the old handmade books have always drawn me. The beautiful printing, illistrations, the covers, the timelessness of them as books and works of art to be treasured and protected for the future. I am intrigued with the idea of writing my story, then designing and making the book around it. (Glutton for punishment?) I have been reading three books:

· Indie Publishing: How to design and publish your book,
· Basic Bookbinding,
· Bookbinding: The history and technique of bookbinding

Each of them brings something to the table that is different from the others. The first is the technical aspects of fonts, titles, margins, and basic bookmaking techniques. It is also the newest publication having been published in the 1990s. The second is all about making the book, written in the 1950s the information is still relevant today. The third book and the largest at 600 and change pages, is the history of bookmaking from cave paintings thru the 1930s. This book was orginally printed in the 1940s and was issued as two volumes that were later made into one. The second part is a more in depth technical aspect of hand made books. If you are curious of the history of books then this book is an interesting read.

I suppose seeing the old books and wanting to create something as beautiful and worthy of lasting. Of course there is quite a bit of ego in believing anything I could write and make would be cherished throughout time. It seems in today’s world cheaper, faster, temporary is the main goal vs. slower, quality, lasting. However I am quite enthralled with trying my hand at bookmaking, if only for my own journals. So in my distraction the month has slipped away.

Hope you have had a happy November and for all the NaNo-ers congrats, I applaude you and your efforts. Cheers, james

50 Followers

Yesterday I reached fifty people following me. For someone who didn’t think anyone would care about my writing, you folks are amazing. I have read at least one post from most of you. To the ones I haven’t, give me a little more time, cause I will get there. Thank you so much for believing in this blog and this wanna be writer.

Have a wonderful blessed holiday season. Cheers, james

Frame of mind

I had high hopes for writing this evening, but today’s events shattered my calm. I hesitate to even pen these words now. I try to write regardless of my mood, however I don’t want to taint my stories with my bad frame of mind. I suppose I could use this negative mindframe to write my villianous scenes, yet when I got back that scene, the negative vibe will linger. I have worked too hard on these stories to allow this feeling to ruin it. I have found stuff I wrote while upset or estastic the feeling is recalled. Most of the pieces I wrote sad or anger the feeling stayed through out and eventually I abandoned it. Of course I have abandoned some of the estastic stuff because I couldn’t recapture the mood to finish writing.

Right now all I can feel is the negative, the doubts, and the overblown ego of thinking I can write. I know this is bull, but I can’t seem to push it away to reclaim my calm and mostly positive outlook. (Beware anyone that is overly positive all the time, there is something wrong with them. Unless they are children or in touch with their inner child.)

Here’s hoping to better moods and better writing times. Cheers, james

Don’t feel bad, I want you to download my free book

A great post and a great chance to get a well written self published book, but a risk free way to try something new.

Suffolk Scribblings

I don’t know about you, but whenever I see an author running a free promotion I find myself in a dilemma. If I’m aware of a book promotion then the chances are I know of the author, or somebody I respect knows and likes the author’s work. And that’s where things get a little awkward.

On the one hand I would like to download the book. If I’ve heard of the book then it may well be a work I’m curious about but for whatever reason has never made it onto my reading list. It may be I’ve only just met the author and it’s on my wish list but below a number of other authors I’ve met earlier. It may even be a genre or style of book that I don’t usually read but I enjoy the author’s blog. Either way, I’m interested.

But

On the other hand, I’m a big supporter of my…

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Book Review: The Gray and Guilty Sea

I found this book on nook and it sounded like a good mystery. I was right but there is so much more to this book than a mystery. This is the first Garrison Gage mysteries. The second book is A Desperate Place For Dying. The third is The Lovely Wicked Rain.

The author, Scott Willard Carter, gives you real characters to care about and cheer for. I had some laugh out loud moments with a minor character Agnes, some teary moments with a secondary character Mattie, and charmed by the crockety main character Gage.

I sat down Sunday afternoon with this book and I finished it about 10:40 pm that night. Its nice sized read but I am looking forward to the next story. If you are a mystery fan I whole heartedly recomend this book.

Finished birdfeeder

My finished bird feeder. Now I am ready for the birdhouse project.

I painted the birdfeeder and gave it plenty of time to cure before hanging it outside. Hopefully it will survive winter and squirrels. Cheers on this Saturday evening. james

New page; same story

I added a page for my second work in progress (WIP). I haven’t had a working tittle until tonight” Saving Emilsa”, sounds a lot better than dream based story.

It has been several months since I worked on this story, because it didn’t feel right. So I focused on Owl Story and waited for the right time. That time came earlier this week, it started slowly and now I have a better grasp of where my story is going.

I am still cheering for everyone taking part of NaNo 2014. I wish you the best. Cheers, james

Hello? November are you there?

November is upon us and giving us a preview of winter. I love fall and sping weather, summer and winter you can keep. Yes, I understand the whole cycle of renewal theory, but let a girl dream.

On this semi-yucky evening I am absurdly proud of myself. I just put together a small bird feeder. It was in the kiddie arts and crafts section at our local dollar store. There was a pirate ship (looked too simple), a small bird house (looked too complicated) and the bird feeder (looked just right). So thinking it might be a project for my nieces I bought two. I decided to put one together and the hubby decided to try his hand.

I worked on my feeder with everything straight out of the package. Hubby used sandpapper to smooth the edges, a knife to trim up a crooked edge or two, and superglue instead of the white glue in the kit. My little feeder, slightly crooked, is together and standing (for the moment). Hubby’s is in two main sections to dry before final assembly tomorrow. His will last much longer than mine cause by the time its finished it will have been put together with superior skills and knowledge. This doesn’t bother me because I know mine will have more personality and I learned something new. I will post a picture once I paint it.

What does this have with writing you ask. It is a lesson of stepping outside of your norms. Keeping your creative spark burning by trying new skills or gaining new knowledge. By not realizing I needed to sand the edges or not realizing the glue wouldn’t hold, I had faith that everything I needed was in the kit. Writing is the same. A writer has to have faith in themself, believe everything they need to write is within. And here’s the kicker: it is. You just have to believe in yourself and trust your words.

Every writer sees the world around them differently. I may notice the patches on the man’s motorcyle jacket, and you might notice the woman beside him giving him directions. Or any one of a hundred of details the regular joe misses. This ability to see instead of looking, sets us apart. (This was something my dad always said. “You’re looking but you’re not seeing what you are looking at. If it (normally a tool he needed) had been a snake it would’ve bit you”. I hold tight to those words and try to see instead of look.) He also taught to me to read signs, the signs that tell you what is going on or has wondered through. Tracks, bits of feathers or fur all of these things tell a story. I believe this has greatly helped my imagination and sense of wonder. By learning to read the signs you can put the story together, which in turn opens your mind to new possiblities.

So here is my challenge to you: Try something new or learn something new. Try seeing the details of the world around you instead of just looking. You never know what might pop out at you. Cheers, james