On a lack of blogging

Good Friday Morning!

I haven't been around the bloggy part of the world in a long while. I miss it. I miss the interaction with my virtual friends. I miss reading the book reviews. I miss the supportive blog writing community. But as I tell all aspiring writers, time management is your friend and you have to pare back many things you once did if you are to make time for writing.

I've been writing full tilt boogie for the past year. The pace and deadlines are exciting and remind me of my days as a speechwriter when my job depended on the ability to write something compelling and creative in less than 48 hours. Fortunately, while writing a novel, I'm not at risk of having a binder or a paperclip thrown in my general direction or under the threat of "shall I call your boss to rewrite this?" if the work wasn't up to snuff. I've had that happen. So far, no editor has thrown anything at my head for a misspelled word,but that might be owing to the fact that we are states apart.

Today I have the luxury of not having anything that must be done. It's good to have days like this. I get to go eat Thai food with a wonderful friend. Plan fun summer activities for my girls. And just READ while my lazy dog sleeps on the floor next to me. Sublime. I'm currently reading THE DINNER by Herman Koch. What's interesting about this novel is that so many of my friends have already read it. When I mentioned I was starting to read it this week, they all give me a sort of sideways look and say "Hmmm. I won't say anything now. We'll talk about that when you're done." I've gotten this exact response 4 times! What?! It's like they've dated this guy once and just want me to form my own opinion before letting me know he picks his nose. Anyway, I'm enjoying the book so far, but the odd looks and reactions are making me turn the pages quickly.

Apropos of nothing, I noted that April is National Poetry Month. I like what author David Lubar just tweeted about it.

David Lubar ‏@davidlubar1h

April is both National Poetry Month and Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Month. I'm going to celebrate by not reading poetry to animals.

Ha!

To celebrate National Poetry Month, I discovered Book Spine Poetry in which a reader stacks a bunch of book spines in order to form a poem. There's a truly spectacular, laugh out loud, collection of Book Spine Poetry found at 100 Scope Notes

And I'm delighted that my forthcoming novel is included among these photos.

Happy Reading, friends!