A Great Review!

I just received a wonderful review for A Rush of Light from Janet at Fallen Angel Reviews! She said, "A Rush of Light is an excellent book when you are looking for something more in a story."

You can read the entire review
here. You can read the first three chapters and buy the book here.

Beam Me Up

I wish we had a transporter like the one on the original Star Trek show. It would make life so much simpler.

Yesterday, I had to drive down to south Jersey and pick up Daughter #3. Her car is getting some major repairs, but she had an appointment today. Normally, it's a three hour run on the Parkway to pick her up and return. I knew I would not be able to write, but at least I could "read." I borrowed a book on CDs from the library--Linda Howard's Now You See Her. I had a great time listening to the story as I drove.

Daughter #3 was right on time and almost packed when I arrived--but she was hungry. We decided to stop halfway up the Parkway at the rest area for a burger supper. However, as we got onto the Parkway, the car made some odd noises and lurched a bit. I pulled over and Daughter #3 checked to see if the car had gotten stuck between two and four wheel drive. It did not seem that it had, but the car ran okay after that--though I drove much slower than usual on the Parkway. It lurched a few more times, but not badly.

We stopped to eat and check out all the car's bodily fluids. The antifreeze was almost gone, but the oil and transmission fluid levels were fine. We added antifreeze and Poland Spring water which I had brought along for us to drink. Then we continued north. The car got worse. Finally, we decided we would get off the Parkway and drive along the back roads, but the car acted up even at a very slow speed.

We pulled into a Rite Aid pharmacy lot and called a towtruck. An hour later, we were sitting in the cab of the towtruck and heading home with my car on the flatbed. Daughter #3 noticed that the towtruck operator wore Magnum boots. She whispered to me that they were serious boots--and Daughter #3 would know that detail.

We got to talking and discovered that the operator of the towtruck was quite an interesting character. He has a side business. He repossesses cars. He boasted about his other truck--the one with the 3" Lexane glass and a joy stick. He can back up to a car and drag it away without ever leaving the cab of his truck. I'm going to have to put a guy like him in one of my books.

The most interesting part of our adventure came at the end. Before we parted, the towtruck operator gave his phone number to Daughter #3. Hmmm.

Today I found out that my car needs a new transfer case and a new radiator. I know I have a lot to be thankful for. I am thankful for my cellphone and my AAA Plus insurance. I am thankful that Daughter #3 was with me and I wasn't alone. I am thankful that I did not cause an accident with my lurching car.

Still, can't somebody invent a transporter?

The Rock of Gibraltar

Hubby dubbed his kidney stone the Rock of Gibraltar. It was smaller than a peppercorn. However, it was analyzed and turned out to be the most common type made up of calcium oxalate. According to the doctor, hubby should now avoid foods with a high percentage of oxalates--such as spinach, most berries, and draft beer (bottled beer is okay). Actually, the list of foods to avoid is rather long but there are plenty of things on that list that hubby never eats anyway such as fruit cake, grits, rutabagas, okra, and beets.

The most important suggestion is for hubby to drink water. Hubby has never been overly fond of water. When he gets thirsty, he drinks soda. This past year I have introduced him to flavored seltzer which he finds palatable, but his favorite soda at the moment is Mountain Dew Code Red. :^(

Curing the Common Cold

Today I have a rotten, nasty head cold. It started yesterday with a sore throat. I did not go to the romance writers' meeting this morning. :^(

I am drinking plenty of hot liquids since I surfed the net and found Grandmother Knew Best. I am following the advice in the article. Fortunately, I like tea.

Five Blue Ribbons!

Tomorrow is the day A Rush of Light will be released at Awe-Struck E-Books. Today, a wonderful review from Sherree Chmitlin went live at Romance Junkies. No matter how many books I have gotten published, it is still a thrill to get a good review. Sherree said, "RUSH OF LIGHT was a great book and I absolutely enjoyed reading it." 

That makes it all worthwhile.

Smoothing Out the Rough Spots

Last week, over the course of seven days, I wrote twenty-eight pages. I know I am capable of writing more than that in a week, but that's what I accumulated due to a variety of distractions. This week, I'm filling in the holes--working backward and forward and smoothing out the rough spots. I'm also blending in some details and that will add a few more pages. Not every writer works this way, but this is the method that is comfortable for me.

I found a good article for those of you who want to know how to become a successful writer. Go to The Secret of Writing Success. :^)

Needlepoint

Back in 1999, Daughter #1 worked as in intern at Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota, Florida. In her free time that summer, she began stitching a needlepoint picture of Noah's Ark. She finished it in 2000, but never framed it until today. With my help, she mounted it and placed it a frame she had put together with her father's help a few weeks ago. Now she'll have something to hang on one of her apartment walls.

Five Days To Go!

Yesterday I used a dark t-shirt transfer to iron an image of A Rush of Light onto a black sweatshirt. In just five more days, on January 20th, A Rush of Light will be released! I am so excited! I think I will wear my sweatshirt all week.

I will be giving away a black t-shirt (short sleeves) on Valentine's Day with the same book cover on it. You can sign up for the contest at my website Penelope Marzec. Then you can be a walking advertisement for my book--just like me! Of course, I hope you will read the book, too. :^)

Slow Progress

So far, Book-In-A-Week has been Chapter-In-A-Week for me. Since I have to go to work, I have to use a modified BIAW plan. I had a tough time getting started on Monday, but I typed up five pages that day. By Tuesday, I was really into the story and even though I had to go to a class at night, I also mananged five pages. Yesterday, I had to take Daughter #3 for a blood test--but while I was in the waiting room I jotted down some ideas. When I got back home, I again wrote five pages. I would like to type up ten pages in a day, but it has not happened yet.

Nevertheless, I made progress and I had fun. It will be interesting to see how many more pages I can type up before the week is through.

Letting It Flow

I decided to join April Kihlstrom's Book In A Week program this week. I know that I will not finish the book I am writing, but I will probably make considerable progress. The last time I did this I accumulated fifty pages in one week. April, bless her heart, can pump out two hundred.

My main problem is turning off the internal editor who wants to fix each and every sentence as soon as it is written. For BIAW, I force myself to move along without looking back--most of the time. :^)

Wish me luck!

Interesting Story of the Day

One of the most interesting stories in today's local paper was Chase ends in Tinton Falls. I really wonder if I put a scene like that in one of my novels whether anyone would believe it. Despite a massive effort by police, the suspect got away.

I do have a chase scene in A Rush of Light with the hero chasing the villain. The hero, driving an SUV, ends up at the bottom of an incline due to a rollover and the villain gets away. However, the villain is eventually caught. In real life, the villain is sometimes never caught--which is rather disturbing and one of the reasons I enjoy writing fiction so much. In my stories, there is always a happy ending.

Christmas Fallout

I am still trying to get back into the groove of working and writing. For the past few days I've been writing thank you notes and trying to catch up on the laundry. Our daughters came home with three months of dirty laundry each--or so it seemed. I have not been able to use my own washing machine until now. The water bill is going to be outrageous.

Today hubby and I went outside and removed all the Christmas lights from the bushes. We still have to pack away the rest of the Christmas decorations inside the house. A few years ago I wanted to quit the tradition of the big tree so I could eliminate most of the fuss, but hubby insisted that we continue in the usual manner.

I'd really like one of those little ceramic trees that you plug in.

Poppy Seed Roll

Here's the poppy seed roll I made today. My mother has always insisted that we must have a poppy seed roll on New Year's Day for good luck. In addition, we have to have fresh ham, too. Ma used to make the poppy seed roll every year, but it seems that now the responsibility has fallen into my hands. If I don't serve it on New Year's Day, Ma will have a conniption. There were a few years we did not bother with the tradition--and we did wind up with some horrendous bad luck. On the other hand, even during the years when I served poppy seed roll on New Year's Day we had some dreadful things happen in the family. Ma insisted that everything would have been worse if we had not started out the year with the poppy seed roll.

Hopefully, this new year will go well. I wish everyone peace, prosperity, and love.

Upstate NY

Here's Daughter #1 with her godchild and other young cousins. We went to Upstate NY yesterday to visit with hubby's brother and family. There was only one glitch in our plans. Hubby had an upset stomach when he woke up yesterday morning. We did not want to disappoint the young cousins, so we left hubby and his germs at home. Daughter #3 stayed home to keep an eye on him.

Daughter #1 and I shared the driving. I had a short article to write for the "Heartline Herald," the newsletter of the New Jersey Romance Writers, so I jotted down ideas as we cruised along the Parkway and the Thruway. It was a perfect day for a long drive--lots of dry road and not too much traffic.

We had a very nice time seeing everyone and chatting, but we had a long ride back so we did not stay too long. On the way home, I give up trying to write in the dark. We put on some music and sang along with Johnny Cash, the Beach Boys, and a couple tapes of sea chanties. I love sea chanties. "Clear away the running gear and blow, boys, blow." It's very good driving music.

By the time we got home, hubby was feeling somewhat better.

Back to Brooklyn

Yesterday, I actually had some time to write. Daughter #1 took her father with her to get a new car battery while Daughters #2 and #3 went shopping at the mall. When everyone returned we went out for pizza and then watched a really terrible movie that my sister gave to my hubby as a gift. It was an old horror movie titled FROGS. Hubby loved it. He laughed through most of it and kept right on laughing the rest of the evening.

Today, we drove Daughter #2 back into Brooklyn. She had way too much stuff to carry on the train--and besides, we wanted to visit some of hubby's Brooklyn relatives, too. Daughter #1 came along for the ride. We stopped in to see hubby's cousin first. She lives only a few blocks from Daughter #2's apartment.

After seeing her, we dropped off Daughter #2's stuff at her apartment. She had decorated a small plant with paper snowflakes which she called her Christmas tree.

Then we all visited hubby's aunt. His aunt is 89 years old! She insisted on feeding us. One of her granddaughters was there along with two of her great-grandchildren. It was wonderful to see them.

Taking Aim...

Here's a photo of Daughter #3 taking aim. She gave each of us a gun that shoots colored ping pong balls. Yesterday morning, we had a ping pong gun battle in the living room. Red, blue, yellow, and green balls went flying everywhere and everyone had a good laugh.

I usually buy some sort of game at Christmas. This year I got a dartboard with magnetic darts. It was opened yesterday but so far nobody has used it. It is far more exciting to bop someone with a ping pong ball!

Mom and Dad's Taxi Service

Daughter #2 lives in Brooklyn and works in Manhattan. This has not been a problem for her during the transit strike because she is simply working on her computer from home. I rather envied her yesterday. When I called to see if the strike had affected her, she told me she was sitting in her pajamas on her bed working on a project. That was around two in the afternoon. I would like to sit on my bed at two in the afternoon in my pajamas and write, but somehow that never happens.

Anyhow, Daughter #2 wants to come home for Christmas. We would be happy to see her, too. However, if the strike continues, it looks like hubby and I will be driving into Brooklyn to pick her up. I know she could take a taxi and then take the train--even though the cost of the taxi would be more than the train fare home--but it's okay. Going into Brooklyn to save the day makes us feel like superheroes.

Another Culinary Adventure

Ever since our favorite fishery closed, we have been searching for another restaurant with good food at an inexpensive price--but food which is a step up from the typical fast food restaurant. This is not an easy task--especially because we usually take my parents with us and Mom is tough to please.

We tried a barbeque place this weekend. We paid more for less food--although I thought the food tasted fine. However, hubby and Mom were dissatisfied so the search will go on. But I am enjoying our culinary adventures. We were very much stuck in a rut when it came to dining out. It's nice to be broadening our horizons.

My father is doing most of the investigative work for our weekly adventure. He procures menus during the week.

What's your favorite restaurant?

Christmas Lights

I woke up this morning to see that the rain had melted all the snow off the bushes in front of the house. So I informed hubby that we would be draping the bushes with the Christmas lights.

Since most of the other people in the neighborhood have tasteful white lights adorning their houses, I love to string our bushes with colored blinking lights--the kind that blink in distinctively erratic patterns. Hubby, the engineer, checked all the strings of lights and inserted new blinker bulbs where needed. I did the artistic work outside.

When I was finished, hubby admired my work. "It looks obnoxious," he said with a smile. To me, it's a celebration of joy.

Santa will not be able to miss our house when he flies by. :^)

Coming Soon!

A Rush Of Light is on the Coming Soon page at Awe-Struck E-Books! I am so excited! I could stare at it all night long.