Welcome A-Z Blogging Challenge Pals

4/1/2016 Update. It's surprising to me how quickly time flies, but how some things stay much the same. It's springtime in the Rockies, and though I don't have very many tulips in bloom, I do have the wet and heavy snow that's common this time of year. In a few days it'll be in the 70s. Of course I want to garden. This year, I'm going to try to focus on this huge property one last time. By next year, I might be living on one of the coasts with a much smaller yard. Fingers crossed.

I'm skipping Camp NaNoWriMo as I'm up to my ears in end-of-life issues with several aging family members. I need to edit, and just can't focus on it right now. Sometimes you just have to put the writing aside.

I'm not sure how much new blogging I'll do this month, but I thought it might be fun to revisit some of the old posts from previous A-Z Challenges. Hope to see you here and at the BBT Cafe over at Facebook where others are participating in this mini-challenge.

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4/1/13 April is so full of newness to me, even when Old Man Winter hasn't quite left my backyard. I want to garden, and make things beautiful, and start all kinds of new projects!

This year, I'm joining writers at Camp NaNoWriMo to try and crank out the first draft of a mystery novel I've been moodling for quite a long time. I've worked on it in fits and starts, but I'm hoping to get down at least 50,000 words this month.

This blog is part of the social media platform for that writing project, and it's languished along with the book. But there is no better time to get a marketing platform in order, than long before a book is published. That's why I plan to post daily in the A-Z Blogging Challenge. Fingers crossed that I can do it - it's a lot of hard work but so worth it!

I'll post about lots of other things, too, like what's going on in the garden, in the news, in my kitchen (expect a few recipes!), and what I'm reading. I hope you join the conversation.

So Happy April Fool's Day, a curious non-holiday if ever there was one. Are you a fool on Facebook? Let's connect over there. Leave me a comment with your handle, will you?

N is for NaNoWriMo

Camp NaNoWriMo that is. I decided to participate with some pals from Colorado Writers and Publishers, a Facebook group that is now almost 500 members strong.

It really helps me to focus on my writing when I belong to a group like this. I'm only just 7,000 words into the novel since the beginning of the month, but I have fifteen chapters roughly outlined, and a new character. A sheriff I'll write more about when we get to letter S.

How's your writing coming along this month?

Working Book Cover

I've been a member of National Novel Writing Month for six years, and manage to get more writing done in November than any other time of year. This year, NaNoWriMo mentioned that having a novel cover greatly increased the chances of completing the contest. So I made a temporary one on PicMonkey, the easiest photo-editing site on the planet. This should inspire me to keep writing. Bring on the pipers!