Shaken, Not Stirred

So, the earth shook two days ago while I was in my fourth floor office, a point five on the Reichter scale. It was enough to have the floor and walls move and was about as surreal a feeling as one can expect mid-afternoon on a typical work day. My first thought was earthquake, but as it built in intensity, I thought the building might be going down. It was ten seconds of disbelief and some fear. I met co-workers in the hallway and everyone was confused about what to do - we had a huddle and talked over options. We were calm but definitely worried. In the end, we evacuated like everybody else. Our fear was an aftershock or damage to the building's structure. In the end, we found out that our building is a solid structure that should withstand even stronger quakes. I've got to say though, the floor shifting under my feet gave me pause.

I've been invited to my first writers' festival! The bookstore owner of Solstice Books in Wakefield, Quebec has invited me to be part of Wakefest - the website is not up yet, but it looks like four days of fun and local artists at the end of August. I'll be there on Saturday, August 28th to teach a writing workshop to kids in the morning with an author event in the store in the afternoon. The day culminates with a local performer who has reached 'international fame' at the Black Sheep Inn that evening. It would be great to get a crowd out for supper and music - I'm just planting a bug in your ears . . .

I also was interviewed by a L.A. magazine called Eerie Digest with the article coming out August 1st. This was set up by Rachel (publicist) in advance of In Winter's Grip. I'll give the link once it is released. The editor was super to deal with.

Writing went slowly this week. I wrote my character into a bit of a boring corner and am trying to change direction in my mind before sitting down again. I'm also about to start holidays and will be disciplined - at least 1,000 words a day is my target. I might have to buy some super glue to keep my butt in the chair.

Our front steps are progressing as fast as my manuscript. I'm posting weekly photos of the progress on my fan page. I'm not telling my husband, so keep the secret :-)