laurelrainsnow

  On Sundays, I like to engage in quiet routines, like reading the Sunday papers, visiting blogs, and catching up on my current reads or movie watching.  Today I veered slightly from my normal Sunday course and created a new blog header here. Then I had to go over and do the same at Rainy Days and Mondays. I started to take a nap, but then realized that I was too restless to do that, so I'm excerpting again from my WIP Defining Moments. In this scene, Ernestine, an elderly woman who lives... Read Full Story

On Sunday, I enjoyed a few hours curled up in my bedroom, with breakfast, some movies, and burrowing my nose in a book by a favorite author. This book had been on my stacks for awhile...I actually couldn't believe how long.  Yes, the book is rather long, but reading it doesn't feel like a chore.  It is more of a journey with some intriguing characters in lovely settings, like the English countryside, London, etc.   Almost a Crime , by Penny Vincenzi, is turning out to be one of those reads... Read Full Story

For the past several months, I've been tweaking and polishing one of my WIPs called Interior Designs.   The MC was the woman scorned and abandoned in my novel Embrace the Whirlwind ; now she is exploring her interior world, examining her motivations, trying to understand her behavior with the hopes of changing it.  Perhaps if she is successful, she can move on with her life. Along the way, she turns to her best friend Maeve for validation and support. Who is Maeve Kinkaid? In my WIP Interior... Read Full Story

One of my other blogs is like an online journal.   Snow Chronicles, A Writer's Journey , is a place where I share excerpts from my published books and my works-in-progress. Today's entry (linked above) is a continuation of one I wrote earlier...and it's a familiar scene in my WIP Interior Designs.  Two old friends that have been there for each other over the years are now sharing some secrets. Secrets are the backbone of my stories and shine a spotlight on family dysfunction.  For more... Read Full Story

It's that time of year again! In October and November, the pumpkins paraded across my blogs; now it's time for Christmas trees, holly, and snowy things. Today I've been adding Christmas backgrounds, a few Christmasy headers, and trying to deck the halls...like I did with my house a few days ago. All of my decorations are the familiar ones I pull out every year.  But this year, I decided to go with "less is more," and I'm not bringing them all out. It's just too hard to put them back... Read Full Story

Forty-eight years ago, an event occurred that would change the world. Speculation circled around for many years afterwards, with investigations, conspiracy theories, and wonder. Now with Stephen King's new book, 11/22/63 , out this month, we will continue to explore this event, but with a fictional twist. Here's a brief synopsis that spotlights the story: On November 22, 1963, three shots rang out in Dallas, President Kennedy died, and the world changed. What if you could change it back... Read Full Story

The other day, I was flipping through the pages of one of my favorite magazines—one that showcases lovely flea market finds—and happened on a set of these aluminum tumblers. Then, of course, my mind started traipsing backwards in time and I thought about how colorful tumblers like these came into my life. Cottage cheese!  Yes, you could buy these in the store with cottage cheese inside.  Afterwards, they served nicely for drinks at lunch or dinner. I'll bet my mother still had a few of these... Read Full Story

Sometimes, our Muse finds us in unexpected places. Moving things around a bit can help us spur things on.  Like finding a nice sitting area near the windows.  Or bringing together a new conversation grouping, like this chair, left...and below, the grouping. This morning, I decided to sit near the open windows and ponder my day. I had just rearranged this chair, next to the little dropleaf table...and perpendicular to this little loveseat where I like to curl up and read. I do enjoy looking... Read Full Story

Whenever I get that restless feeling, or when I see something in a magazine or even a movie, I start plotting how I can rearrange the things in my world. Since I got a new bookshelf for my TBR stacks (see my quest here at Potpourri) , my restless energy has taken me to what I'm showing here today. In the photo above left, note the bookshelf, which replaces the shelving on the right. Now isn't that much better?  But, of course, I couldn't stop there.  I was watching a movie about Woody Allen... Read Full Story

  In one of my newest WIPs ( Defining Moments ), I spotlight a character named Jillian McAvoy, and zero in on some of the events that seemingly shape and sometimes upend her world. Life has taken some inexplicable twists and turns for her, and suddenly, just when she thinks that she has finally found her groove, events take over and she finds herself totally out of control. I didn’t go to bed that night.  Often I didn’t bother, usually just hung out in my office.  Sometimes I would lie down... Read Full Story