April 02nd, 2013

When people talk about a Perfect Storm, they typically mean it is perfectly awful. I have had moments over the past three weeks that have felt like I am caught in a whirlwind of activity threatening to blow out of my control. I shouldn't be whining, though. It's all good - just all happening at once.

In mid-March, for some insane reason, I decided to paint my kitchen. My husband tore out the old ceramic chipped-up sink, and replaced it with a shiny new stainless steel sink. Painting seemed the next logical step - until it took three times as long as I had calculated to finish the job. Thankfully I had help from my oldest granddaughter.

Next on my agenda was attending Left Coast Crime. The photo shows me with Liesa Malik and Mike Befeler, both Five Star-Cengage authors, as I will soon be, also. I met Deni Deitz, the editor who gave me the opportunity to be published. I was on the Read My Shorts short story panel (I'll blog about that later). I roomed for two of the nights with my friend Pat Coleman (posing with me and the bear). The four day conference was an intense combination of learning, job-interview, slumber party, and endless networking sessions.

When the conference concluded, I had a few days to prepare for Passover. We hosted several families, as well as our two daughters, son-in-law, and grandchildren. There was much happy cleaning, cooking, and visiting involved. Then it was time to paint my in-laws' kitchen. I had been promising to help them for over a year. My schedule was already blown to shreds. So between me, my husband, and our younger daughter, we made short work of the job. The in-laws were so happy to see their "new" kitchen, I have no regrets. The full-time day job was begining to feel like an imposition on my life, until my dear friend Joyce lost hers. I'm happy to be employed, I'm happy to be employed, I'm happy to be employed......   

In the midst of all this, I received the copy edit of my manuscript Stone Cold Dead. I have a few more days to return it to Five Star. This is the perfect conclusion to my Perfect Storm of happy activity. 

Oh, wait - I have the Pikes Peak Writers Conference on the calendar the weekend of the 19-21th. Here we go again.... 

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