• Friendly accomplishments

    I’m fortunate in many ways. I’m fairly healthy. I’m madly in love with my husband. I have a good job, a roof over my head, food in the larder and a heat source that I can turn on during chilly Autumn evenings.

    I’m also blessed with many creative friends and colleagues who constantly amaze me with their talents. Allow me to share some of their current projects:

    John Grant has just published “A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Film Noir.” At more than 800 pages, it is truly the essential reference guide for any fan of the genre.

    Courtney Mroch has turned her interest in the supernatural into a fabulous project called Haunt Jaunts. Now she’s become a “paranormal travel advisor” whose blog will tell you the best places to find haunted hotels, hair-raising cruises and macabre walking tours.

    Gardener/writer/photographer Carole Ottesen wrote the horticultural mystery “Dying for the Christmas Rose.” Be sure to pick it up before the holidays. She’s already hard at work on her next book.

    Bob Sassone recently launched The Letter, a monthly newsletter sent via snail mail. Yes, Bob is single-handedly trying to save the USPS, an organization that reported a $5.2 billion loss for the third quarter. If you’d like to receive something other than catalogs and bills in the post, subscribe. I do.

    Lastly, Beth Winegarner just self-published “The Columbine Effect.” This book challenges the oft-heard notions that video games, the goth culture, heavy metal, paganism and role-playing games create violent teens.

    I’ll be showcasing the work of more friends in the weeks to come. If you have a new project you’d like me to promote, send an e-mail with the subject like “FEATURE ME!”

    dftba

  • A delightful weekend in October

    I looked at the beautiful leaves:

    autumn 2013

    I carved pumpkins with M:

    Jack O'Lanterns light

    My jack o’lantern is the impishly evil one on the left. M’s is Mr. Grumpy:

    Jack O'Lanterns dark

    I finished reading a wonderful book:

    Doctor_Sleep

    And I leased a new car. Her name is Esmeralda:

    Prius Esmeralda

    What did you do this weekend? Feel free to share in the comments. If nothing interesting happened, why don’t you do something fun now? Try typing the words “scotland’s national animal” into Google. You can thank me later.

  • The Proust Questionnaire v.2

    Proust QuestionnaireWhat is your greatest fear?
    Losing my husband.

    Which historical figure do you most identify with?
    Belva Lockwood.

    What living person do you most admire?
    Henry Rollins.

    What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?
    I can be exceedingly stubborn.

    What is your greatest extravagance?
    Books. Or food.

    What is your favorite journey?
    I love traveling through Scotland, particularly the road from Ullapool to Lochinver in the Highlands.

    What do you dislike most about your appearance?
    I would like to be thinner, of course, and more toned.

    What is your greatest regret?
    How I handled the death of Autumn.

    What or who is the greatest love of your life?
    M.

    When and where were you happiest?
    Right here, right now.

    Which talent would you most like to have?
    I wish I could sing. Or paint.

    What is your current state of mind?
    Happy.

    If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
    I would be immortal.

    What do you consider your greatest achievement?
    Working for The New York Times, which led to working on a Pulitzer Prize-winning project.

    If you were to die and come back as a person or thing, what do you think it would be?
    I’d just come back as myself in the next incarnation.

    If you could choose what to come back as, what would it be?
    Someone who doesn’t suffer from migraines.

    Where would you like to live?
    Scotland, Canada, New York City.

    What is the quality you most like in a man?
    Intelligence.

    What do you most value in your friends?
    Good humor.

    Who is your favorite hero of fiction?
    Jamie Fraser.

    What is it that you most dislike?
    Apathy. Ignorance. Religious fervor.

    How would you like to die?
    One quick bite on the neck followed by immortality? Either that or in my sleep.

    What is your motto?
    Carpe noctem.

  • Quotation of the day

    “I tend to seesaw from ‘How am I going to get all these stories told?’ to ‘Why am I staring at this blank sheet of paper?’ with very little in between.” –Neil Gaiman