What's Up Wednesday: Giving Thanks Edition
WHAT'S UP WEDNESDAY
What's Up Wednesday hails from the blogs of Jaime Morrow and Erin Funk.
Go to Jaime's blog to add your link - it's a great way to share what's
going on in your life and to make the rounds and get to know other
bloggers!
WHAT I'M READING
I finally finished ALLEGIANT by Veronica Roth. I believe I’d
gotten a bit stuck on it, trying to avoid the spoilers but getting the general
idea behind the vague, non-spoilery statements made by a number of others.
I also read UNTEACHABLE by Leah Raeder, a gritty NA, and am currently reading THE BEGINNING OF EVERYTHING by Robyn Schneider. However, it was due back at the library yesterday and I’ve maxed out on renewals, so I’m on a mission to finish it ASAP and return it. And, on the recommendation of Tracey and Katy and Rachel way back when, I’ve got Katie Cortugno’s HOW TO LOVE on order to arrive later this week!
WHAT I'M WRITING
I guess now’s as good a time as any to admit that I will not
reach my NaNoRevMo goal of a complete revision of BEAUTIFUL BIRD, SING ON
during the month of November. Life happened once again, not to mention the fact
that I have been drawn back to my WIP, KEYS. Alas and alack.
WHAT ELSE I'VE BEEN UP TO
See Monday’s post. Cub Scouts, PTO Book Fair, Thanksgiving
prep, etc. I'm making my two favorites for Thanksgiving dinner:
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| Sweet Potato Casserole |
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| Roasted Maple Syrup Glazed Brussels Sprouts |
WHAT INSPIRES ME RIGHT NOW
Tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day in the US, one of my favorite
holidays. I love the idea of expressing gratitude for our blessings. I love the
crisp autumn arctic air. I love the rich, autumnal color scheme. I love
the menu, so much in fact that we served Thanksgiving dinner at our wedding in
October of 2001. I love that I no longer work retail, which completely ruined the holiday for me for many, many years. And in case you're wondering, NO, I do NOT shop on Black Friday.
This month, the YA Buccaneers introduced a campaign to Give
Thanks to Writers. I’m blessed and inspired by a number of amazing writers and
writing mentors in my life, going as far back as elementary school, but to give
thanks to them all here would require too much space, too much time. I’ve read
so many books that have changed me, been inspired by so many authors.
So today I’ll pick just one.
Today I’ll say thanks to author Dana Reinhardt, who wrote a
book called A BRIEF CHAPTER IN MY IMPOSSIBLE LIFE.
I’d read a number of young adult books before this one
(including the classics from my own teenage years) but this one socked me. This
one made me nod my head and say, “You know what? This is the type of book I want to write.”
Thank you, Dana Reinhardt, for writing that book and helping
me make the leap to writing young adult fiction.
(and thanks to Terry
Davis, one of my wise fiction instructions at MSU, who planted the seed in the
first place.)