Spring Break and Needing to Write

 Writing has been slow lately because so many other things in my life have been keeping me busy, and then when I have had time, I just wanted to turn my mind of and read someone else's books instead of working on mine.

Amazon Author Page link:  http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B004458ES2

Goodreads http://www.goodreads.com/author/dashboard 

 But spring has arrived and my husband had his spring break 2 weeks ago, so this week when my school is on our break, I haven't got a lot distracting me, and delving back into the active word generating is appealing again.  It is something many other writers share with me, that the ideas seem to blossom when you are away from the keyboard and yet when you sit down to write you struggle to find one or two words at a time.  My theory is that my story generating state is a lot like my pre-sleep state, because I come up with the best ideas just as I am drifting off to sleep and I have to get up right then and write them down or all I will remember in the morning is that I have forgotten a great idea.

Spring here is generating new growth and encouraging me to get outside, even though there is pollen everywhere stinging my eyes and making my skin irritated, the beauty makes me want to create as well.

Usually I work about three days a week as a substitute teacher and the rest of the week I can write, do chores and try to sell my books. Now I have started a long term class of 4/5th grade students, so I am busy all the time, but getting to do some really cool things.  We are gong on a three hour sail on a tall ship, and I get to actually reach my Double time on the Oregon Trail book as part of the curriculum here for both American History and reading.  When Del Norte County Schools Director of curriculum approved the use of my novel, I had no dream that I would actually be in a 5th grade class to teach it.

So along with writing, and trying to lesson plan, and spring clean and get ready to be a grandma soon, I am also going to the beach and to the drive-in movie and puttering in the yard.  Life is good, and if you care to read one of my books check out the links above, and please, add a review if you have time.

Spring into a good book, with links

Duffy Barkley Is Not a Dog
Duffy Barkley: Seek Well
Double Time On the oregon Trail

Today I went to Substitute teach at a grade school as I usually do, but I didn't know that one of the classrooms was reading one of my books.  as I walked toward the breakfast crowd, I found myself surrounded, and by now I expect hugs and questions, like, "who are you subbing for?" but I didn't expect

"We are reading your Oregon Trial book!" 

"I love your book."

"I like the way that you move back and forth through time"

"One boy doesn't like it,"

YES!

'One boy doesn't like it ?   One! 

In a class of over 30??

WIN!

 Several Times lately, I have had people ask me for links to the connections where my books and I can be found, So I decided that I need to do another post with some links.  As usual I wanted to sprinkle my blog with pictures, because I am a Words & Pictures kind of person.  I wonder, if my major role in life isn't to observe how beautiful things seem to me, and then record those observations in my writing, my photographs and my paintings.  I love being alive in this wonderful world, even though I have to play around in fantasy and try to create a world of my own, at the same time I am loving this one.

Dixie Goode

Amazon Author Page link:  http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B004458ES2

Goodreads http://www.goodreads.com/author/dashboard 

Twitter link: http://twitter.com/#!/pandorasecho

Twitter # 2;  http://twitter.com/#!/DuffyBarkley 

Author Blog:  http://duffybarkley.blogspot.com/

Blog # 2:      http://echo-echosvoice.blogspot.com/

Book Genre:  Fantasy/Young Adult

365 Project (pictures) http://365project.org/pandorasecho/profile

Redgage (pictures and links)  

http://www.redgage.com/#rf:/profile:innercontainer:dashboard.user

createspace Duffy Barkley Paperback book 1  https://www.createspace.com/3450238

"             "    " "            "        "            book 2  https://www.createspace.com/3649425

The Double Time On The Oregon Trail links

kindle book

http://www.amazon.com/Double-Time-Oregon-Trail-ebook/dp/B008G3JZB8/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1341109826&sr=1-5

paperback on Createspace

https://www.createspace.com/3923513

paperback on amazon

http://www.amazon.com/Double-Time-Oregon-Trail-1/dp/1478160926/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1341504499&sr=1-3&keywords=double+time+on+the+oregon+trail

 and of course you should be able to ask your local librarian or bookstore to get any of my books

So have a happy spring, and if you do read something I wrote, even if you are the one who hates it, Thank you - and BTW Book Reviews are my favorite treat to discover online.

Spring Blooming All Around Me

 I have been really busy, and writing has taken a back seat to working with a Special Education class that I was hired to teach for the last 9 weeks of the year as a long term substitute.  When I get home the dog and cat are waiting attention and exercise. The Springtime burst into bloom all around me, so instead of chaining myself to the keyboard I have given myself permission to get out and enjoy.

 I hope that you will enjoy the fact that I usually remember to take my camera with me.

 Even when I'm at home the view outside the window has mesmerized me while I sit and pet the dog or read stories to a cute little 2 year old.

 Life is good.  I plan to write more soon but today, Nature is abundantly beautiful and a picture is worth my normal word count anyway.

Continuing The Challenge of April

 Well, as you can see, I have continued to Follow through with the Technicolor April Challenge on the 365 Project site.  I love the feedback and the camaraderie I find there. In my "real Life" the people I surround myself with are wonderful and have a lot in common with me, but are not very visual, so they don't get all fascinated and excited about colors and photographs and another amazing sunset.  365 lets me share that passion with people who do want to see yet another photo of my flowers, dog, birds, kids, trip and on and on.

I have not followed through on the poem a day site at NaPoWriMo although I love poetry and keep following and reading the work of some excellent writers there.

I have been writing still, not poetry, but that other writing challenge going on at CampNaNoWriMo, and if you want the info and the links to all those challenges, they are in the last post that I put up here.


Without editing, I am working to stretch a few ideas into my third Duffy Barkley Novel, and some days hating it and some days having fun with it.  The reason the challenge works for me is that it tells me its ok to go ahead and write crap on the days it isn't working, because by just showing up at the keyboard, even when it isn't fun, I will eventual  find that zone where the ideas flow and it is fun

So here is a sample of what I have come up with there again. Have a sip of tea and see if you can enjoy the story snippet.

 “You remember the first time I was here and my little sister was injured and I was worried about getting back to her?” She nodded even though she had never met Izzy. His return to earth had altered his on timeline so that Izzy had never been injured, but it had not effected Uhrlin, so here they still shared Duffy's memories of what had happened and what he had told them during his first visit, the first time he was nine.

“Well Izzy is missing, and my Great-Aunt, . . .”

“Margaret?”

“Yes. They've been gone three days. I was hoping they were with you.” Aunt Peg had been in Uhrlin as a young girl, before she commonly used the nickname, Peggy.

Oh-oh-ing and Smelter and the other older generation in Uhrlin still remembered her fondly but Oh-oh-ing was shaking her head. “No. I am afraid we have not seen them.” When she saw Duffy's shoulders droop, and his face go slack, she put a finger under his chin and tipped his head so he was looking into her eyes. “You found our missing Princess, and you helped clear a great woman's name from the charge of treason. If you have been brought back here, then they are probably here. Uhrlin is large but you have friends to help you with all that you must do.”

Duffy sighed, “It is hard to always be the one who has to ask for help, the one who has to do the undoable things, the cripple with a task that seems to have no place to start.”

Oh-oh-ing's eyes gave him sympathy, but no mercy. “Of course it is hard to be you Duffy, it is hard to be anyone. We all have our burdens and the times when the energy to make the effort seems impossible. Then we keep making the effort until we die and our children keep on in our place.”

“Oh, thanks a lot!” he muttered sarcastically.

“You are welcome.” She answered sincerely. He looked up in time to see her mouth twist into a smile that was part amused, part sympathetic but wholly without unkindness. Then she used both of her hands to push her mane back from the sides of her face and when she dropped her hands to his shoulders again her face was serious.

“I don't know what we do next,” Duffy said, with nevertheless, a bit more hope than before he had been reminded that he wasn't alone.