Drain the swamp!

My canna

My Aunt Vera had cannas around her home, so I planted some in her memory this spring. Aunt Vera is in most of my books. She was a real character! I have been noticing bats around the house for the first time, and I'm wondering if it's the cannas that are attracting them...eeek! Bats and I have an unfriendly history.

The Republican Convention--Sarah Palin did rock the house, eh?

What else I liked:

The idea of going to Washington to drain the swamp. This could be done by either party, just do it!

Giuliani's speech

What I didn't like:

The chanting. It hits me as primitive, and frightening. John Adams said, "A mob is no less a mob just because it's with you."

The suggestion that Al Gore should park his private plane. And do what, ride with us? In this age of terrorism, no way do I want to be on a plane with a high profile politician.

Quote du jour:

"Michelle Obama for First Lady!"

Need Manuscript Makeover?

http://www.manuscriptmakeover.com/

My friend, Elizabeth Lyon's new book on doing a manuscript makeover is out. Elizabeth helped me with my first novel, A Three-Turtle Summer. Working with Elizabeth is like taking a four-year course in fiction writing from an ivy-league school. If you're a writer, and Elizabeth doesn't live next door to you, get this book and devour it. I did. Oh, and she has other wonderful books on nonfiction writing, book proposals, and marketing.

Still no word from Tom Hanks. I told David Southwell, an author from the United Kingdom, that I joined Facebook so Tom would discover my stories. I figure I'm a You've Got Mail kind of writer.

Many writers nowadays would be delighted if their books jumped straight from keyboard to film. A lot of us feel that there is more talking about books than the actual reading of them going on. After all, we're storytellers. We began telling stories around a smokey fire in a cave somewhere, so why should we resist the new technology? I'd never want to see books go away entirely, but there's something very appealing about the medium of film.

I have some readers who are just now reading my second novel, As Brown As I Want: The Indianhead Diaries. That's more than partly my fault because the book was mis-labled. The catalog says it is fiction, but it is really a (hilarious) fictional autobiography. This is the kind of mistake that happens when an author moonlights as her own agent.

Custer thank yous:
Tantara Records (http://www.tantararecords.com/, email:info@tantararecords.com ) for permission to use the lyrics to Go My Son. They have a beautiful website with music to suit every taste (well, I haven't seen any headbanger music there, but they have everything else.).
The Comanche Nation (http://www.comanchenation.com/ ) for their help with the Comanche language.

Quote du jour:

"A mob is no less a mob just because it's with you." John Adams, John Adams, HBO special production