Grateful, Thankful

I adored my visit with the DuQuoin, IL Rotary Club this past week. They meet every Tuesday at Francie's Bed and Breakfast. (And if you know Isabella Moon, you know why the name of the inn is amusing!) It was one of the most enjoyable hours I've spent in a long time. It's amazing to me how few people get to meet writers, to spend a little time talking to them or hearing them read. And, conversely, how easy it is for a writer to forget to come out of the office and participate in life--to eat awesome fried chicken and to hear about what's going on in local real estate or on a neighbor's dairy farm. Thanks, Connie Pair, for inviting me out!

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and I'll be spending it at home, celebrating it in true Benedict style, with turkey and scalloped oysters and prayers of grateful thanks (and what a year of blessings it's been!) and, of course, champagne. Years ago, when I joined my husband's family for Thanksgiving, I quickly came to enjoy the tradition of Champagne Cocktails before dinner. When I told my best friend (a bartender in a former life) about it, she laughed and said that only hookers drank champagne cocktails. But drink them we will. And here's a link to a huge number of Champagne Cocktails, though ours will be pretty basic: champagne, bitters, brandy, and a pinch of sugar.

Hope your Thanksgiving is full of blessings!

Fever Dreams and Rotary Club

Project Runway began tonight, once again. Why is it that Heidi Klum is so stunning, but she looks dreadful in almost every outfit she wears on the show? Puzzling. But the show was a balm to my sniffy self--I've had a cold and fever for three days. Each night has brought strange dreams: cat-eating crocodiles and children drowning in deep, unfamiliar water, a dream in which I stood behind a window, unable to save a child who, while trying to get closer to a giant suit of armor, tumbled from a great height landed on his back, unconscious. They've been dire, frustrating dreams.

Here's something new: I received an invitation today to speak about my work and Isabella Moon at an area Rotary Club next week. A hundred or so years ago, when I was in college in business school and selling office supplies on the side and was an officer in Pi Sigma Epsilon (a co-ed sales and marketing fraternity), I imagined that I would participate in Rotary Club one day. But here I am, 25 years later, and I'll be at a Rotary luncheon--only I'll be on the program. I'm looking forward to it, but it feels a little surreal. I should mention that my office supply experience was not for naught--I learned that one should never let another person use one's fountain pen. Did you know that a pen nib wears down almost immediately to conform to its owner's writing style? Lend it out, and your Mont Blanc is ruined!

Also, a new guest-blog invitation that I'm excited about. I'll post when I can offer details.

I'm working on the new novel almost exclusively these days. It is due soon, soon, soon. I've been thinking about posting a snippet on each blog, but don't know how/if it will work yet. It still feels like a secret I don't know if I'm ready to share.