Lois Szymanski

Have you ever rewritten a section so many times that you wonder if it is right back to the way it was at the start? I think I have reached that point and it is time to move on!

TAC - Don't you ever give up writing!  You know who you are. Fire burns in your words and after read the embers glow for hours after. Don't ever stop.

I thought March meant we could leave winter behind and warm waves of inspiration would wash over us all. Then this storm came to prove me wrong. I have to admit it is beautiful, but really, it is March! Enough already!

Today I went to lunch with Edie Hemingway and she showed me the ARCs for her YA novel, "Road to Tater Hill".  Random House did a fabulous job. The photo on the cover looks exactly like I would have pictured the main character. Even though I read it before the rewrite, I can't wait to read it again. I predict awards for this book. That's right, plural!

I'm busy revising a PB for my agent and working on my YA novel. The next book, "Grandfather's Secret" is due out in April!
 
Last, but not least, thanks so muc to all wo contributed and to those who turned out for the Feather Fund basket bingo. Because of you it was a huge success and another child will take home a pony from Pony Penning o Chincoteague this summer!

I'm still plugging away at "On the Road"- the working title for my YA ms. featuring a teen on the road with her trucker mom. It is not flowing as easily as it was, but I am definitely entrenched inside this character's head. My writing has slowed but it is still working. My agent now has my PB ms, so at least that is out of my hands.

I had a nice Christmas booksigning in downtown Mt. Airy, MD for their weekend Christmas celebration. Afterward, I was caught offguard by the snow that surprised us all, quickly turning to ice on the road. I live in a steep valley that freezes fast and the hill was treacherous. Traffic backed up for miles. It took 40 minutes to go the distance that usually takes 8 minutes. When I finally made it to the top of the hill I found out why. The cars were going down one at a time. Seriously, the line would  stop at the top of the hill as one car traversed downward. Once he hit bottom, the next one would go. Tracks revealed spots where cars had left the road, one striking a pole and then backing out.  

After watching the truck in front of me spin and then slide sideways down the hill my heart was thumping like a bat in a bag. I had no choice but to go, so I planted my driver's side tire on the yellow line in the middle of the road. There was a rumble strip there. It worked. I had enough traction to make it down the hill without incident. A half hour later they closed my road, a major interstate. It was closed from 5:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. and even then it was backed up for hours. My husband worked until 10 p.m. and it took him an hour and a half to get home, normally a 20 minute trip.

Now, it is calling for rain and weather in the 50s tomorrow, followed by a cold front and ending in yet another ice snow mix on Thursday night. I have to go Thursday to a meeting of my charity, but at least my husband will be with me. He can drive!

Today, I made homemade turkey corn soup with limas, celery, onions and noodles. I admit it was comfort food and it fit the bill. It turned out fantastic! Matty and I baked home made chocolate chip cookies and I had a nice visit with my sister who had just had a chemo treatment. It was a day of satisfying internal needs. Lucky for me, I don't like chocolate very much so the cookies won't tempt me.

I have my tree and train garden up. As I write I gaze over at all the lit houses covered with plastic snow, the animals in the pasture, the rabbits and fox in the field and the people and cars on the miniature streets. Tonight the train is quiet but it still adds to the flavor that makes me feel good. No matter how broke we are it is still the Christmas season and I plan to bask in it, my favorite time of year.

Happy Holidays!

Whoa! Somehow I missed a comment made in April in response to a brief paragraph at the end of one of my very upbeat posts.  I had mentioned a show I watched that attempted to debunk global warming. At this point I do not remember the name of the show but it was very interesting. The show admitted the scientifically proven  fact that the polar icecaps are slowly melting but showed we have had this happen in the earth's past. The show asked whether the warming is due to what we are doing on earth, or whether it is a cyclic thing we can not avoid. At any rate, the comment posted attempted to "put me in my place" and of course, it was an anonymous post. Basically, the commenter said I should remove the post because children could read it and be misled.

Let me state that I believe we should make all efforts to stop global warming, because whether or not I believe in the politically correct view of what causes global warming, these efforts are the right thing to do. We have been trashing our earth for too long, now.

Now, that said, I also believe that I have a right, as an American, to state my opinion in my blog. Let me also state, that I believe children have the right to read all sides of every issue.

The response to my post also blamed the Republican party, among others, for misinforming the public about global warming.  This hit on one of my pet peeves, the way Democrats and Republicans attack each other and blame the opposite party for everything under the sun. If you wish to quote someone who is Republican with a specific statement on global warming I endorse that. But even that would not make everyone who is a Republican responsible. If the parties don't learn to work together this country will continue to sink  like a rock. I am not saying I am Republican. In fact, if Obama is not elected I may jump off a  building. (Just kidding!) But I do think he is the best candidate for office in my entire voting life, and I anticipate a big celebration tomorrow night. 

Those who know me, know that I seldom publically discuss political issues or my opinion. In fact, I avoid conflict as much as I can. I dislike any sort of drama. I believe everyone has a right to their own opinions, likes and dislikes. I believe the most important thing in life is to be good to others, to treat others with respect, and to be good to all living creatures and the earth that gives its lifeblood to us.

I am weak from being on my soapbox. I seldom climb aboard and can't stay long, so I will sign off now.
Just had to post so my commenter would not think I was avoiding an answer. I just missed the comment.
 

Life is a whirlwind. It has been a busy summer, leaving no time to post. Any spare time I had was spent with my friend Shelley tracking down letterboxes. This new hobby is fun, letterboxing (www.letterboxing.org ).  I realized that life does not have to be "all work and no play" and there are treasures all over the country to be found! 

My annual trip to Chincoteague, VA was wonderful, but I missed a lot due to my schedule. I had numerous book-signings for my new picture book and last year's nonfiction release on the Chincoteague Ponies.  Throughout the week I signed over 100 copies of the picture book, "Nightmist, The Blue Eyed Pony" and over 150 copies of "Out of the Sea, Today's Chincoteague Pony." The highlight of the week was, of course, the work I do with The Feather Fund (www.featherfund.org) . We awarded three pony colts this year. Yes, they were all colts! 

A lovely buckskin pinto colt went home with Bethany and Travis Ward of Elkton, MD.  A perfect pinto colt that reminded me of our own Seafeather went home with Nathan Turell of North Norwich, NY. The colt was chestnut with four white stockings and a white triangle on its neck. Seafeather is bay, but marked the same as Nathan's new colt. 

Foals sold at prices lower than they have been since the early 90s, so we had money left in the fund. Roe Terry, the public relations officer for The Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Company, came to us and asked if we would help out a girl who had bid $600 repeatedly throughout the auction. After we talked to her, we realized she wanted to purchase a tiny foal, one that would stay small for cart training. We showed her the few yearlings left from 2007 and she fell for a chestnut pinto colt. We were able to get it for $900. 

We had a Feather Fund picnic at the house we rented and close to 40 people turned out, all of them recipients of past ponies with their families and volunteers for the Feather Fund. The food was fantastic and the company even better!  

Each year, the Feather Fund gathering is like a family reunion, only this is the kind you love, the kind you don't want to end! Unfortunately, I had to leave before the crowd broke up, to head out to another booksigning, I left in a joyous mood, so happy to be a part of this Feather Fund Family. Watching the kids grow with and learn from their ponies is just the best feeling in the world.