Garden of the Gods

September seems unusually warm. Often I forget from year to year, it seems that September should have temperatures in the 70's and low 80's. Yesterday, we went hiking in the Garden of the Gods Park in Colorado Springs. We hiked through the park on one of the many trails and it was close to 90. But there was alot of shade and the scenery was beautiful.

                                         As we

entered I expected to pay a fee but was quickly reminded by the above placard that Charles Elliott Perkins gave this park to the people in 1901on the condition that it would be free to the public. He bought 480 acres for $22 an acre. And he never set his eyes on it.

I was thinking as I hiked through these hills that some of the ground is rocky and you bake in the hot sun. But then a breeze comes by and you find a patch of shade and it takes on a new persona. You can't stay in the shade for long. But the shade is refreshing. In order to make it to the end, you must
 keep walking. Sometimes you look up and see amazing sights. Sometimes you are crowded by trees and bushes. But you make it through and are so glad you took the time to wander about on this earth.

Writing a little everyday is so much like hiking. Sometimes, I see amazing sights. A paragraph or a chapter comes alive. Other times, I'm just plodding through and see very little forward progress. But in time, I will finish it and then it is up to others to take the hike and then they get to decide if it was worth it.  

Writing and Reading

This week my son found  this Brief History of the Royal Family. It runs approsimately 9 minutes but it is wonderful and quirky. https://youtu.be/jNgP6d9HraI  It starts with William the Conqueror and ends with Baby George.

The poster below is one that I bought at Westminster Abbey of the British Monarchy. When my sister and I were in London, we studied it almost every evening. It was extremely helpful when we toured The Tower of London, Westminster Abbey and St Paul's Cathedral. Who is this guy? When did he reign?

I finished reading two books this week, of course, Regency. They were new books that two of my favorite authors had just released. However I was vastly disappointed. The first one was predictable and the second one came to the conclusion who was the murderer based off of no clues other than they were the only other character introduced in the book. So naturally she had done it.

I wonder if both authors who have written over 50 books each have run out of plots. Run out of themes, run out of steam. The writing was wonderful. The story lines dull.

Sometimes I feel that way and I haven't even published one of the five books I've written. Getting closer and closer with my first one. I know I've been writing that now for almost two years, but I think by December I will be able to put it down and start on revising book 2.  

Colorado and Uncle Dee

Summer is almost over and fall is near. Winter looms around the corner. But ever since January, winter has set in. Of being frozen inside events and situations that I have no control over. I know that my writing has taken on a new hue also. I see things differently. I feel things that I've never felt before. 

I miss my great uncle. I miss his voice. I miss seeing him. I miss his interest in everything I did and of asking about everyone I know. I miss hearing about other relatives and I miss his smell. The other day I caught a whiff of that smell but it faded quickly. I know he is happier in heaven than he has ever been here, and still I can't stop missing him. 

The first two pictures are from Black Canyon of the Gunnison and the one on the right is in Glenwood Canyon. Colorado is a wonderful place to live. Full of so many beautiful sights. 

Today, my husband and I went for a boat ride. Cherry Creek Reservoir is a wonderful recreation spot right inside Denver. The sun was hot, the water cold. My husband fished and I read a book. Very relaxing.  

     

100th Post

This is my 100th post - YEAH. It's amazing that I've had something to say 100 different times. But as a reader who may have stumbled across this blog, you may not have a quarrel with the 100 posts figure but more with the dull content. I'm the one writing and often I find fault with the post too. So you see we are in agreement. 

What a great Labor Day Weekend. The much needed rest before heading into the fall and winter. Up to our favorite campsite near Cheesman Reservoir. It was so beautiful. It brings such a refreshment to my soul to see such beauty.  A little cold at times, but nothing a light jacket couldn't combat. 

Still working on A Series of Scandals. I think one part is great and then let a couple of weeks go by and when I re-read it there is still something off in the wording of a phrase or in the character's actions. But slowly I believe my editor and I are making headway. We are almost three quarters of the way through reading it once again. Each time we revise it it seems to get better.  

Colorado

In real life, unlike books, when faced with a major decision - it overtakes all your thoughts. 

In a book when the heroine faces the unknown, she comes up with plans. Usually faulty plans especially at the beginning of the book. By the end her plans come together much better after, of course, discovering something about herself and about a few other people within her close circle of friends.



The problem with life is that one doesn't know when one chapter is starting and the last chapter is finished. It is more of a liquid free-flowing thing than that displayed in the finite pages of the book. 



With the death of so many people that either I or my family are acquainted with, put together with friends that I've known for close to a decade have moving away -- puts me in the oddest mood. Not fearful, not anxious, sad or glad, just in a more reflective state of mind. For the most part, I am not able to change anything which helps. I react but even that seems unimportant. 

Summer is ebbing. Time waits for none of us. It moves on and we with it.  

The pictures above are from the Black Canyon of the Gunnison on a boat tour of the canyon. The one to the right is Eldorado Canyon outside of Boulder. I'm a Colorado native and have never been to either canyon before. If you want to see breathtaking sights  The plains, farmland, rivers and mountains, then Colorado is the place to be. 

Life and Colorado

Today when I took the little girls I watch to school, it was chaotic. It was the 3rd day of the first full week of school and kids were crying everywhere. Kids were screaming "Noooo!" One boy was running. A little girl was  having a breakdown in her Mommy's arms. 

I realized as I stood in the throng of parents making sure their child was in the right line and were intermixed in those lines that life is a series of moments where we are resistant to change. Those around us try to rally us with support, well-wishes and prayers, but we actually have to do the standing in line and wait for the door to open alone. 

I feel like I've waited years for some doors to open and then only minutes for others. Sometimes especially when I was younger I was through the door and embarking on something new without even being aware of it.  

I loved getting married, I loved having kids. Both of those doors have changed me and continue to change me every day. They were good doors that I love.

I didn't really care for the door of being in multiple car accidents that continue to give me pain.

I have enjoyed doors of friendship that have opened and closed. I am sad when death has closed doors that no longer allow me to see good friends.
  
I loved the door my sister opened when she invited me to London last year. I loved walking through that door and I love looking at the pictures and being transported back there.  

I love the door that being born into my family and married into my husband's family that makes being with my parents and siblings feel like I'm home. 

The door so far to publishing my first book has been closed. Maybe forever and firmly or maybe just for a time. It's a hard door because I feel like I've worked so hard on something and it has been for nothing.  I say that but at the same time realize that I will continue to write even if no one but family ever reads my work. 

And so I start again wondering what doors will be opened or closed this week, this month, this year. I know I can trust God through these openings and closings, and so I start today refreshed and renewed amid the ever changing landscapes.     

Writing Contest

I received the scores from the contest I entered last December for my novel "A Series of Scandals." It just makes my disappointment all that much more final. The highest and lowest scores were disqualified. But even with that . . . .it was only the first three chapters. And it seems it is not actually a true contest with only five people reading those chapters. And only three scores counting. 

It's weird because I read fourteen different entries in another category when I was a judge. Even the ones I gave high 8's and 9's to didn't make the semi-finals. Maybe we are all horrible writers and no one wants to read what pours forth onto the pages. Or. . . maybe the judges weren't as objective as they should have been. I've heard of contests where friends read each other's manuscripts and gave high ratings. I hope that was not the case.

I don't know what to think. 
A friend read my book last year in May and said, she couldn't put it down. I had forgotten that I had sent it to her, and she had forgotten that it was in her inbox. Months went by and then she called me up and gave such rave reviews. 

Maybe she wasn't as objective either.      

In my category someone did win. So I guess I'm just ranting. 

Historical Romance	Judge 1	Judge 2	Judge 3	Judge 4	Judge 5
Score	8.00	4.10	7.00	8.00	8.70
Is the love story the main focus of the book?	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
Is the resolution of the romance emotionally satisfying and optimistic?	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes

Final Score: 7.666666667