Skye and Kensi are still not what I'd call "friends." Kensi loves to torment Skye who isn't interested in rough-housing. But when things quiet down, Skye tolerates Kensi's presence pretty well.

I wanted to warn everyone that I’m going into hiding for a couple of weeks. I call it crawling into my cave. If our camp in Confluence weren’t closed for the winter, I’d head there. But instead, I’m here in my office (which is currently being invaded by those impersonator ladybugs). I’ve had a request from an agent for both of my racetrack mystery/suspense manuscripts. More on that later, but for now, I have two weeks to polish TWO manuscripts before I’m expected to submit them. So with a hyperkinetic Kensi kitten bouncing around and chasing the previously mentioned ladybugs, I’ll be holed up in my cave until further notice.

Today I'm at Working Stiffs with my report from week two of PA State Police Citizen's Academy.

And it’s Monday again. Last week I proclaimed my goal of creating the dreaded blurb for my query letter and website. Done. Sort of. I’ve written, rewritten, and rewritten it over and over. But I’ve settled on one version. For now. Basically, I’m just too exhausted by the process to look at it any longer. So I’ve checked that one off my to-do list. But it’s Monday and time for a new list and a new set of priorities for the week. I have so many irons in the fire right now that I’m having a great deal of difficulty picking one to focus on. I have another article due to Pennsylvania Magazine. There’s the current fiction work in progress (and a critique meeting on Thursday for which I have nada to offer at this point). I’m thinking of pulling out one of my old unpublished manuscripts and giving it another polish. And there’s the rest of the query package to go with the “completed” blurb. Maybe I should throw them all in a hat and just pick one. Nah. That’s too simple. Decision made: First p...

I'm filling in over at Working Stiffs today and have started a new series there on the Citizen's Police Academy. This time it's the PA State Police version.

Mondays are a mixed blessing. On the one hand, I feel relieved that I have an entire week to work through the new to-do list. Later in the week, with the clock ticking down to the weekend, I feel mounting pressure to get the rest of the stuff on the list crossed off. Today, hey, I have lots of time. Ha. This week, I’m prioritizing my list. Topping it is my website. I’ve been meaning to have it updated since spring. If you check it out, you’ll see it hasn’t been touched in a couple of years. It still focuses on the veterinary racetrack mystery. I need to change that focus to my new paramedic mystery. I need to start querying the manuscript. But before I send out my first query, I want the website to reflect the new novel. The holdup is the website page that will be devoted to the novel. I need to write a blurb. I also need a blurb for the query letter. I hate writing blurbs. So I will be spending my writing time this week gnashing my teeth and pulling out my hair as I struggle with two ...

Kensi has found some new friends that don't hiss at her like Skye does.

I'm back at Working Stiffs today sharing a kinder gentler type of ghost story.

Autumn in Pennsylvania can be beautiful. Unfortunately, it only lasts about 27 minutes. We tend to plummet from 90 degree days to cold, wet, rainy 45 degree days within a week. Maybe this is Mother Nature’s version of ripping off the Band-Aid. No time to contemplate the end of summer and the approach of winter. Bam. It’s here. We spent our last few days of the season at Confluence this weekend. We had a double purpose this trip. It was the Pumpkinfest once again, and I wanted to hand deliver copies of Pennsylvania Magazine to the festival’s organizer and the fire department, since my article covering last year’s festival is in it. Plus we had to close up and winterize the camper. Delivering the magazines was fun. Formally ending the camping season? Not so much. Today I’m in mourning. Camping Season 2010 is history. Gone. Who knows what the future holds. Will Hubby have a job next year? Will he be working so much that he won’t be able to enjoy the camp? Will he be working so little that...

We visited Meadowcroft last weekend. This is one of my favorite places on earth, and I have a long history with them, from designing and helping to make the Meadowcroft Quilt that hangs in their visitor center to writing an article about them for Pennsylvania Magazine a few years back. This time we were there for a weekend devoted to Native American history. Especially interesting was this guy who demonstrated fire starting. First there was smoke. And then there was more smoke. And finally... FIRE!

Instead of Working Stiffs, I'm guest blogging over at the Sisters in Crime blog about our local chapter.

This past Saturday, I brought Debra Dixon to Pittsburgh for a day-long Pennwriters workshop at the airport Crowne Plaza Hotel. Debra authored one of the writing books that I consider required reading. GMC: Goal, Motivation, and Conflict is one of the few books I will not loan out. I can’t be parted from it that long. If a scene or a chapter in my WIP isn’t going well, I know that I need a refresher course. The workshop was a smashing success if the response I’ve been hearing is any indication. It’s always nice to hear positive feedback after spending a year organizing an event like this. I recently composed a short article for a Chapter Guidelines booklet for Sisters in Crime about how to put on a workshop. With my experience coordinating the 2009 Pennwriters Conference as well as working on the committees for the three previous conferences and our local SinC chapter writers’ retreat (also known as the Great Flood and Writers’ Retreat ), I guess I qualify to write such a piece. (I’m...

Last weekend, I had the opportunity to visit Fort Necessity, and I captured this shot of the small but famous fort, framed in autumn's goldenrod.

After five months of having Hubby underfoot (AKA unemployed), I am finally enjoying a taste of having my life back. He’s been accepted as a substitute maintenance/janitorial worker for a local school district, and they’ve put him work for this entire week. Bless them. On the downside (for him), it’s a week of midnight shift, which he hates. I can sympathize. I would be a zombie if I had to stay up all night. He used to work all three shifts, but it’s been years. Decades. But at least it’s not heavy, back-breaking labor. From my point of view, it’s great. I have to be quiet all day so he can sleep. Now, what on earth could I find to do all day that’s quiet? HA! I spent all day yesterday writing. It was bliss. I’m doing it again today. Double bliss. I could get used to this. Unfortunately, as a substitute, he only gets called in when needed. Guess I’ll take what I can get. The other thing that has lifted my spirits is an upcoming Citizens’ Police Academy held by the Pennsylvania State Po...

Skye has yet to embrace the idea of having a little sister, but at least she tolerates Kensi's presence. "Tolerates" is definitely as good as it gets. Meanwhile, Kensi loves being the center of attention and fancies herself a fashion model. Break out the camera and she strikes a pose. At least Bernard the Polar Bear doesn't mind snuggling with her.

Today on Working Stiffs , I share a bit of self discovery. We're doing a little psycho-analysis, so come on over and join the discussion.

My much anticipated Mental Health Week is over. Hubby has returned from the wilds of northern Pennsylvania and I once again seem to have “Complaint Department” stamped across my forehead. I admit it was kind of fun ignoring the emails and phone calls demanding I fix this or help with that for a few days. The downside, of course, is that I’ve had to face them all this morning. I didn’t succeed in all I had hoped to do—and not do. At least not to the extent I’d planned. Then again, “planning” was one of the things I was trying to avoid. I DID practice yoga without interruption, but only once. I DID take a relaxing walk on a beautiful early autumn day. But only once. I did put in a full day of writing. But only once. Do you catch the ongoing theme here? I didn’t nap, but I did read an entire novel. And I played with the cats a LOT. Another happy diversion that I hadn’t originally planned on was a trip to Oakmont to meet the legendary Sara Paretsky , author of the V.I. Warshawski series. I...

If you're looking for peace and quiet, do not bring a kitten into the household. However, if you're looking to up the entertainment value of your home, go for it. Skye continues to have no appreciation for Kensi's cute quotient. But at least the two of them can now share a room without too much hissing and growling. THAT is reserved for when Kensi either A.) wants to invade Skye's personal space or B.) thinks Skye is a large interactive cat toy. Anyhow, here are a selection of photos taken one day this week. Kensi meets the vacuum cleaner for the first time. Or as she thinks of it--that big noisy monster that sucks dirt off the floor. Here, Kensi is winding up to pounce...on Skye, of course. Kensi and Skye make good use of my Avon delivery by play hide-and-seek in my office. Skye offers a big yawn to show Kensi what she really thinks of her shenanigans. Cute, ornery, sweet, and devilish, all rolled into one Miss Kensi.

Last week over at Working Stiffs, I announced my intention to take a Mental Health Week. In honesty, it won’t be an entire week, but beginning this evening, I’m unavailable. Seriously. I’ve learned to say NO. Or at least I’ve learned to put things off until NEXT week. Then I will no doubt pay for my downtime. But I’ll worry about that on Monday. Here’s the plan. I will not solve any problems, divert any disasters, or do any favors. Don’t ask me. I may not even answer the phone. Leave a message. I’ll get back to you. What I WILL do is write and read with intervals of walking and napping and playing with the cats. Personally, I think this Mental Health Week thing is way better than a vacation. No packing. No traffic. So I’m putting up the Do Not Disturb sign. See you later!

I’m not sure exactly what I expected when I brought the new kitten into the house, but what I got was one very stressed out Skye kitty. Kensi the kitten was fine. Happy-go-lucky. Fearless. But Skye, the previously only child, was intimidated by the newbie. She’d growl and hiss and slink away. She spent most of one day hiding in the bedroom. Okay, I adore Kensi, but not to the detriment of poor Skye. And the more Skye tried to avoid the kitten, the more the kitten seemed determined to make Skye love her by lurking as close to her as possible. By Friday, Skye was doing better. At least she tolerated Kensi being in the same room with her, but she still seemed terrified of the little thing. So any idea I had of taking Kensi with us camping this weekend was scrubbed. I arranged a kittensitter (thanks, Sara!) and left Kensi home while Skye went with us for a grownups-only trip to the camp in Confluence. Immediately, my sweet-tempered Skye kitty returned. She relaxed and enjoyed watching the ...