Tag: Cabarrus County

First Author Event Scheduled!

My first author event/book signing for The Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina will be held at the public library in Harrisburg at 5:30 p.m., Thursday, September 11th. This is exciting and a bit intimidating. Author events at the other three public libraries in Cabarrus County are in the works, but no dates have been selected.

I’ve tried for two weeks to arrange author events in the three public libraries in one of the counties in the foothills of North Carolina to no avail. It is disappointing. I really want to show my support for public libraries. I will turn my attention to the next county on my list and keep you posted.

Ending a chapter

I’m ending a chapter in my writing life this week. On Christmas Eve, I received an e-mail informing me that as of December 30, 2012, Harrisburg Horizons weekly newspaper will cease publication. I have written a local history column for the paper every other week since its second issue in May of 2006. I have learned far more about the history of Cabarrus County’s Township #1 than I could have anticipated when I set out on this journey. I enjoyed doing most of the research and loved doing the writing. The little bit of income this freelancing job gave me was icing on the cake.

It is time to start a new chapter, or perhaps return to an unfinished chapter as a writer. The manuscript for The Spanish Coin, my first attempt at writing an historical novel, has been on the back burner far too long. It is time to look at it with fresh eyes and get it published. It is time to look at other avenues of writing and see where that road takes me.

As I count down to my birthday in January… one of those dreaded birthdays that ends in a “0,” it seems fitting to take stock of what I have and have not accomplished and step into the next chapter of my life with boldness and enthusiasm!

another book recommendation

Thanks to my sister giving me an early Christmas present, I finally have a Kindle. The first book I downloaded was Bonds of Courage. Written by Sandy Hill, it is a wonderful work of historical fiction set in Pennsylvania during the American Revolution. The author draws on an intriguing piece of her family’s history and weaves a suspenseful story of war, kidnapping, and the desperate measures people will take in order to save those they love.

Reading good historical fiction like Bonds of Courage inspires me to turn my efforts back to getting the manuscript I’m calling The Spanish Coin published. Maybe 2013 will see that happen. In the meantime, though, I’m transcribing the handwritten Cabarrus County Board of Education Minutes from microfilm. I look forward to writing more newspaper columns about our schools when that research is completed.

While you’re waiting for my historical novel to be published, I highly recommend Bonds of Courage, by Sandy Hill, and I hope she will bless us with a sequel.

Getting back to research

For those of you who follow my local history column in Harrisburg Horizons newspaper every other week, my article was omitted last Sunday. It should be in the paper on October 7.

I neglected research for my local history column for a few weeks while I spent time making items to sell on Saturday, October 6 at the Harvest Fest at Harrisburg United Methodist Church. This is my first craft fair, so I’m eager to see how it goes. Variety is the spice of life, so I have enjoyed this recent diversion.

Monday will find me concentrating on my local history research and putting my fingers to the keyboard. Reading microfilmed records is tedious but full of surprises. I must psyche myself up to do more of that this winter.

Writing the newspaper column since May of 2006 has been a blessing to me, and I’m thrilled when people tell me how much they enjoy and look forward to my articles. I have enjoyed writing my “Did You Know?” column more than any other job I’ve ever had.

I plan to start blogging a couple of times a week to let you know what I’m working on and what I’m reading. Stay tuned.

Learning to Quilt, too?

Learning to play the mountain dulcimer at the age 57 apparently wasn’t enough of a challenge for me. Or perhaps I’m having a midlife crisis. For whatever reason, this seemed like the right time in my life to do some of the things I’ve always wanted to do.

My new endeavor is quilting. I’ve joined a small quilters group in my community.  We meet monthly. Individually and collectively they have welcomed me with open arms and much encouragement.

I literally had to blow the dust off the old Singer sewing machine. It’s one of those old “thread-it-yourself” models from the 1960s. It took a while for the machine and me to get reacquainted. Thread tension is still a bit of an issue, but I’m confident that the end result will be something of which I can be proud.  Project #1:  a sample quilt made up of a dozen 12-inch square blocks, each block a different quilt pattern.

With Block #1: Roman Square successfully completed, this week I will tackle Block #2: Log Cabin. It is fun to see the various fabrics I purchased for my quilt coming together in blocks. I had not sewn since the early 1980s and had forgotten how exciting it can be to shop for fabrics.

My assignment before the February quilting group’s (Friendship Quilters) meeting is to sew sash pieces of fabric between quilt blocks sewn earlier by other members of the group. With some luck, this piece will turn out to be a table runner to be sold at our sponsoring church’s fall bazaar. Imagine something I helped sew being sold at a bazaar!

My blog continues to be all over the map when it comes to topics. It started out to be a way for me to put out the word about my writing. Life is too short and precious to be lived enjoying only one thing, though. I continue to write a local history column for Harrisburg (NC) Horizons newspaper every other week, but playing the mountain dulcimer and sewing also beg for my time and attention. It is said that a writer writes because he or she has to. I feel the same way about playing the dulcimer. If a day passes and I don’t play this beautiful Appalachian mountain instrument, I feel cheated and my day is incomplete. I play for my own enjoyment. It is one of the most relaxing hobbies I’ve ever had.

I wish for you the same desire to learn new things. Writing, music, and sewing continue to bring new friends and pleasures into my life.

What have you always wanted to do that you have never pursued?

Too much of a good thing

Our drought and heatwave broke around midnight last night.  After 18 consecutive days of 90 degrees or higher, it was in the pleasant 80s today.

With no rain in weeks, everything in the garden that the deer hadn’t eaten was burned up.  This is the first total garden failure I’ve had.  We caught up on rain today, though.  We had 2.25 inches between 12:15 and 3:00 a.m. and another 2.5 inches between 2:00 and 2:45 p.m. this afternoon.

I got the 2,500-word 1849 meteorite article drafted for The Old Farmer’s Almanac, but I need to do some editing before I pitch the idea to the almanac.

Tonight I proofread and submitted my seven-part “Did You Know?” newspaper series to the editor of Harrisburg Horizons weekly newspaper. 

I didn’t finish reading The Testament, by John Grisham for the Rocky River Readers Book Club, but I went to the discussion on Monday night. I want to finish it, even though I know the ending. I hate to leave a book unfinished.

I’m reading Life of Pi by Yann Martel for the Bookends Book Club.  I’m also reading Words That Hurt, Words That Heal:  How to Choose Words Wisely and Well, by Rabbi Joseph Telushkin.