News & Musings

 

March 17, 2004: Happy St. Patrick's Day!

It's been a busy month and, in spite of my best intentions to make the upkeep of this website a priority, I've lagged behind. And so, here it is midnight on a Wednesday night and I'm trying to squeeze in a quick update. What's new? Let's see...

I'm sad to say that the Cozy Little Writer's Workshop is no longer. At least, not in its current form. We're working on ways to keep the group around in an informal arrangement--a forum for writers to share opinions, ideas, disappointments and victories. A place where we can post a story, get some feedback, and maybe respond to someone else's work at another time. It just got to be too much work for me, as moderator, and I wasn't living up to the high expectations I placed on myself. It's like I said in my last posting--"You can spend so much time reading about being a writer, that you run out of time to write." That's the situation I was falling into. I'm currently a member of the Online Writer's Workshop for Science Fiction and Fantasy, a New York City Writer's Group, and, as soon as it's up and running again, a group for writers involved with the Cup of Comfort Anthologies. I'm meeting some wonderful people, and making good connections, but every second I spend with a group is another second I'm not writing articles.

Having said that, it's been an exciting and busy month--writer's groups aside.  My article on the United States Merchant Marine Academy (King's Point) Paintball Team is running in this week's edition of Long Island Press. (www.lipress.com). The article "When Serendipity Steps In" appeared in the March 17 Absolute Write Newsletter. You can find it here:  http://www.absolutewrite.com/freelance_writing/articles2.htm. And I had another article about writing published at www.pamperedpen.com.

If our youngest cat keeps up her crazy antics, I'm going to have to start a segment on this website entitled "Ghost Stories." Every day, she seems to learn a new skill or trick, or exhibit a new level of understanding English. It's truly frightening. TJ recently "taught" her how to play peek-a-boo! She's a little nuisance of a furball, but she definitely keeps our lives exciting! .

February 14, 2004: Happy Valentine's Day!

New writers who need a helping hand, word of advice or simply some inspiration find no shortage of material on the Web. The sites are countless, and if I spent much more than an hour a week trolling for new markets or helpful hints on these sites, I wouldn't get any work done. That's not to belittle their importance--just to say it's too easy to get bogged down in reading about being a writer that one can run out of time to actually write. However, a new e zine has added itself to the mix, and it's well worth a look. Hilary Evans' Pampered Pen (http://www.pamperedpen.com) is an exceptional blend of articles about writing, reviews of books on the topic, fiction and poetry. I'm not just saying that because the editor has accepted my poem, Two Poets, for publication. (Although she did! Check it out at http://pamperedpen.kitgenie.com/allcot-1.html.) I'm saying it because the look of the site is so pleasing, it makes me want to read it as I drink my morning coffee. And the editorial content has so much potential that I'm sure it's going to be on the list of many writers' "favorite places." Admittedly, as the editor noted, the text layout needs a little bit of tweaking, but she nevertheless launched right on time, which is impressive enough.

While we're on the topic of writing websites, I should also mention that I'm currently working with this site's webmaster and my close friend, LaRae Brim, to launch an entire sub-section for The Cozy Little Writers' Workshop. We'll be printing member-generated writing tips, useful articles, member bios and fiction submissions. For those of you who are unfamiliar with us, CLWW is a small critique group of fiction writers of all ages, genres and ability levels. We'd love to have you join this supportive environment!

And in OTHER news... (boy, I'm going on today...) there's another magazine out there worth mentioning: Club Systems International. After a three-year hiatus, I'm going to have a feature article in the magazine I helped to launch so many years ago. I love the fun tone of this magazine. The editorial content is top-notch, and the editor is just a great person. So, thanks, Kerri, for having me back! Check it out at www.clubsystemsinternational.com.

I'm continuing with my other, regular trade magazine work, as well. It's been a real busy few months. I'm waiting patiently to see my interview with Hartley Peavey in Church Production magazine ( www.churchproduction.com  ), and I recently completed a fairly exciting story on Queen Mary 2 for the April (NSCA) issue of Sound & Communications magazine. This was one of those venues that everyone knows something about. When I told people at my other job I was writing about QM 2, they were somewhat impressed. If the photos look good--which they should--this should be great clip material.

After my last rather downbeat post, I figured I was entitled to a little self-promotion. Things are looking up, and if I can get the house cleaned today, I'll feel really good. For now I must go, because my cat, Xena, is eyeing my Valentine's Day roses as if they're going to do tricks. Nose up and twitching madly, she's thinking,  "It's not fair! How can something that smells this good NOT be edible?"

February 4, 2004: Our Carpets are Squishy

We have an awesome landlady. I love her. She’s like a surrogate mom to me, minus the nagging. She’s a friend, and she’s there when we need her. But we keep our distance, as good neighbors should. We simply love her.

But our rugs are squishy. This is the third flood in five years. We can handle rain. We can handle snow. But when we get a slushy mess that’s a combination of the two (plus all the ice that’s melting in the balmy 41 degree weather) water seeps through into our bedroom and living room.

It always seems to happen right when things are going well. Tank season is nearly upon us, and T.J. and I just made plans to go to the West Point Big Game. (www.geocities.com/armypb/)

My personal essay/short story, "A Plane Ticket, A Phone Call, and a Country Song," was accepted for publication in A Cup of Comfort for Sisters anthology. (www.cupofcomfort.com) Two web sites in which I’m published are about to launch (www.n2Arts.com and www.pamperedpen.com.)

And, most importantly, I’m feeling good physically and mentally. My exercise regime is working, and once I weeded out the "hidden sugars" in my diet, the induction phase of Atkins should begin to kick in any day. My jeans already fit better, even though I was indulging in soy lattes with 14 g of sugar and 16 g of carbs per cut. The pounds should really melt off when I switch to regular coffee.

Also—we just cleaned the apartment. It was sparkling! Those of you who read my Blog (www.livejournal.com/CatMuse33) know how proud I was of this. In fact, on Sunday night, I sat in my living room, reading magazines and reveling in the cleanliness! And then the waters came.

The really odd part about all of this? I went to a tarot reader yesterday. She’s very good; I’ve been to her before. She said she saw business travel in our future (true, we’re covering the West Point Big Game for Paintball Sports,) and she also said she saw lots of water in the future. Being Aquarius and Pisces, T.J. and I both love water… She said we’d be traveling to the water, which made me think of Daytona or the Florida Keys.

But I think she may have misinterpreted the cards. To be fair, why would she ever imagine the water would come to us—in our apartment when I got home? Eerie.

January 24, 2004: Weighing in on the Low-Carb Controversy

Barnes & Noble, Bay Shore, has devoted two display tables to diet books for the New Year. More than three-quarters of the books on the first table are devoted to low-carb regimes. The second table is for Dr. Atkins’ titles.

Low-fat food manufacturers seem to be struggling; a Morningstar commercial on the radio yesterday advertised low-fat entrees with less than 6 grams of carbohydrates, "Because low-carb doesn’t have to mean high fat."

Even 7-11 is selling low-carb convenience foods. (It’s overpriced, but it’s available!)

Mayor Bloomberg’s personal attack on the late Dr. Atkins ( www.nydailynews.com/front/story/157816p-138523c.html ) was, politically, as ill-timed as Gore’s declaration, on the coldest day of the year, that we must end global warming.

WHAT was Bloomberg thinking? We know about all the evil things high-carb pasta can do to the metabolism, the blood sugar, and the waistline. But I think all those carbohydrates may also have attacked Bloomberg’s brain. There are few things he could have done that could have offended so many people so quickly.

Calling the late diet guru fat was simply mean and insensitive. Dr. Atkins’ widow, Veronica Atkins, was, understandably, hurt. All she asked for was an apology--not a retraction, and certainly not for Bloomberg to give up his precious pasta. Just apologize for words that were hurtful and unnecessary. But no.

Is it the media attention Bloomberg wants? Or is he really THAT stupid? If it is attention he’s looking for, it’s not working. The ads on the web pages that ran the stories, for both Daily News and the Post, were for low-carb diet sites, including Atkins’ own. ( www.atkins.com , and yes, I’m proud to give him a free plug!)

I’m not positive if I have a point here, or if anyone cares even if I do. I guess I just want to publicly declare my sympathy and support for Veronica Atkins. Losing someone is hard enough. Losing someone to a freak accident—someone who has spent many years cultivating a healthy lifestyle in order to live a long time—is simply horrible. To hear him maligned in the media is just further injustice.

I wish her the best of luck in her campaign against Bloomberg in 2005. New Yorkers have a bad enough reputation as insensitive, hard-asses; we don’t need our mayor to perpetuate the stereotype!

January 16, 2004

Five articles and a press release in eight days. It’s amazing what one can get done under deadlines.

All in all, it’s been a great week, in spite of 8-degree temperatures and a few inches of snow. This morning, I’ve entered two writing contests, pulled together old www.ClawsinCreativity.com clips, and spent the rest of the day wasting time in front of the computer.

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to give my 13-year-old niece a glimpse into the writer’s life. I showed her how a raw interview could be edited into a publishable Question & Answer format. We made it through the first two questions and a short introduction, and she said, "This is what you do, Aunt Dawn?"

I said, "Yes, mostly." I told her, "There’s more to it, but, basically, I take information given to me by other people, glean the important facts, and put it together in a way that people will want to read."

"This is fun!" she said.

Her mother is going to kill me if I’ve encouraged her to become a journalist. ;)

On another note, the marketing director for Cousins Paintball mentioned that he saw two of my articles in Paintball Sports International this month! I haven’t seen the issue yet, but it’s always a thrill when people notice my work. Might have to take a trip to the paintball store tonight!

January 14, 2004

My column, "It Had to be Said," makes fun of other people's foibles, stupid mistakes and dumb questions. But I'm completely capable of making mistakes, too--and then, in the interest of fairness, mocking myself in a public forum.
I did an interview on Monday with Broadway composer Stephen Schwartz. On a side note, he is a fantastic guy who cares deeply about nurturing young artists, which is why his story will make such a great addition to the pages of N2Arts.com, launching in February.
I set up the interview via e-mail, and his promoter gave me a choice of a few different times. For instance, "Stephen is available at three p.m. (CT) on Monday." I interpreted "CT" as "Central Time" and began converting. Except… I converted backwards. What should have been four p.m.--my time, Eastern--became two p.m. At two o'clock, I called him. No one answered. I left a message. Stephen Schwartz called me back, saying that he was under the impression the interview was at three, but I could call him at any time. (I had run out on a quick errand.) When I called him back, I explained that it was my mistake, and I should have called him at four o'clock, my time.
"Your time?" he said. "Aren't you on Long Island?" (He recognized the area code, because, like many New York-based artists, he spends time in Montauk.)
"Well, yes," I said, still thinking he was in Indiana or Chicago or someplace else in the Midwest. "And the interview was at three p.m., your time."
"We're in the same time zone," he said, politely, and perhaps confused.
"Really?" I was growing more confused, but vowed not to let this setback ruin the interview.
"Yes. I'm right here in Connecticut."
"Oh!" And then it clicked. CT = Connecticut. NOT Central Time. Duh. We brushed it off and continued with the interview. I didn't even bother to explain. After I shook off my embarrassment, the interview went extremely well, and I have 2,600 words to be edited into something readable. Look for it in a few months at www.N2Arts.com!

January 8, 2004

New year. New web site. New goals. I gave up New Year's resolutions years ago. Instead, I started an exercise program two weeks before the new year, so that I'd have made it a normal part of my routine by January 1. And my renewed commitment to the Induction Phase of the Atkins' diet has more to do with fitting into a certain dress for a party on January 23 than it does with the arrival of 2004. (Making progress... three days and my tight fitting jeans are already on the loose side.)

I do have a few work-related goals for this year, however.

Check back often and I'll advise you of my progress.

Before I sign off, I want to send special thanks to my close friend and fellow writer, LaRae, who helped make this site what it is. Her patience, style and design skills helped me get through a very long afternoon. And thanks, also, to Rachel, whose initial design and code we "borrowed" from.

'Till next time, enjoy what the site has to offer!

 

 

 

 

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