May 28, 2009

Hello again. I made a presentation last week to the Sherwood support group of the Arkansas Spinal Cord Commission (Arkansas is the only state to have an agency solely dedicated to spinal cord injury) on Disability and Identity. I have started the research for this to be another book.

Carolyn

May 27, 2009

This isn't writing-related, but I'm so excited about the news I had to tell somebody. I've taken up both the mandolin and banjo. I've just ordered a mandolin and am waiting for it to arrive. I've had a banjo for thirty some-odd years and the time just hasn't ever been right for me to start learning. My physical therapist recommended I do two things: find a way to relax and find a way to build up my hands. This accomplishes both at the same time. I'll put some links on the website to mandolin or banjo places I've found on the Internet.

Carolyn

February 10, 2009

Yes, I'm still here. I took a bad fall in November and am still recovering from the injuries. I've just reached the point where I've started writing again.

I've had a successful start to the new year, already having one article published. I've sent out several more in the past week.

Carolyn

August 16, 2008

No, I haven't died or gone into protective custody or a witness protection plan. I've just had a summer NOT to write home about, if you know what I mean.

I had two separate family emergencies in July. Fortunately, both individuals have recovered. One required surgery and hospitalization and one required surgery. They are both recovering at an expected rate.

That wreaked havoc on my writing schedule for this year. I'm about a month behind where I'd planned to be. This awful summer heat and humidity in Arkansas didn't help any, either since I don't sweat the way I used to. Those of you with a cervical spinal cord injury know what I mean.

I thought the Arkansas Writers Conference was a great success except for the salmonella I caught from the fajitas they served for lunch the last day. That put me away from the computer for a good 10 days.

I'm looking forward to the White County Creative Writers Conference over Labor Day Weekend in Searcy, Arkansas. I got my nerve up and entered all but one of the contests. Fortunately, I had been very productive before the family emergencies and had completed the contest entries except for one. So we'll see how I did.

I'm also looking forward to the writers' conference in Maumelle, Arkansas the first weekend in November. I was supposed to go last year, but I got sick and didn't make it.

November is also National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). If you want to know more about it, just Google NaNoWriMo. I'm going to be ambitious and see if I can crank out a fiction novel, just to see if I can do it.

I'm hoping this fall to begin the research work on a book on Traumatic Brain Injury in the same style and format as my Spinal Cord Injury book. I did start the research for my western, like I said I was going to in an earlier post, but decided to put it back on a back burner for the moment.

Keep your computers virus free and I'll talk to you soon.

Carolyn

June 3, 2008

Sorry for the long absence. Life has been just crazy lately.

I went to a great seminar the last weekend in May by Dusty Richards. For those of you who aren't familiar with Dusty or his work, he is one of the most successful western writers of our time. He has published more than eighty novels.

I'm a presenter at the Arkansas Writers Conference this coming weekend in Little Rock. The AWC is sponsored by the Arkansas Pen Women.

April 9, 2008

I'm making a presentation on my book to the Sherwood branch of the Arkansas Spinal Cord Injury Association on Thursday, April 17th at 12 noon. The meeting will be held in the conference room at St. Vincent Infirmary Health Center in Sherwood, Arkansas.

April 4, 2008

Thursday April 3rd was an exciting night for us in Central Arkansas. I understand the National Weather Service says there were 8 tornadoes in Arkansas that night.

We heard the tornado sirens go off and ran for the basement shop which is only accessible from outside the house. It was pouring rain and the air had an eerie feeling about it. Raymond put his key in the lock of the door and it broke off. Fortunately there was enough key left for him to go back inside and grab a pair of needle nose pliers to pull the remains of the key out of the lock so I could put my key in.

We found out later that a close friend of ours was watching one of the local weather channels and was announcing that people on our street should take cover immediately. He tried to call us, but we were already in the basement.

We learned the next morning that one of the tornados had struck Cammack Village in central Little Rock, had gone back up in the clouds when it hit the Arkansas River and came back down again and scored a direct hit on the North Little Rock Airport which is about 2 miles from our house. So while we were standing there trying to get in the door, the tornado was going right over our heads in the clouds. We didn't hear it or see it.

So, thankfully I'm still here to talk to you and we had not so much as plastic trash can overturned.

The University of Arkansas Medical Sciences bookstore decided not to do the booksigning event for local authors, as far as I know.

March 2008

Happy Spring! We've had almost every type of weather you can imagine in Arkansas this March. It's been crazy!

My booksigning at Sleuth's Mystery Bookstore went well. I'm going to be doing a booksigning at the University of Arkansas Medical Sciences bookstore sometime either in late April or early May.

I have started research for my second book. I decided I would alternate between writing fiction and non-fiction books. I've started the research for a western novel. I'll keep you posted.

February 2008

Sorry for the long absence. I broke my hip in October. It's healed nicely. Then the holiday season. Then editing my husband's upcoming book Freehome. Then the flu. And it's already February!

December 2007

The book is also available in hardcover from www.Amazon.com

Also check www.booksamillion.com and www.bn.com. If you are outside the United States, look at www.Amazon.ca, www.Amazon.co.uk, www.Amazon.fr, or www.Amazon.de.