The
Alien in my house has returned to his home planet, taking the captured
female humanoid with him. She practically lived here with us for the
past 2-3 months. No, they didn't get married, but the Greyhound Bus
carried them both away this past Wednesday evening. I gave them both a
hug and wished them luck in their new adventures.
Some Aliens and some grandmothers probably just weren't meant to live in
the same house. Too much age difference. His music didn't make sense
to me and mine was all too country for him. His constant, "Whaaazzup
Nana," grated. All those squawks and beeps and raps from those things
stuck in his ears were nerve-wracking. I guess if I'm totally honest,
I'm just too ancient to be around aliens anymore. My sense of time and
space, right and wrong, good and bad is just not geared for the teen-age
male and I was probably too quick to react to warnings of "Danger,
danger."
So life at my house is slowly returning to normal, whatever normal
means. A friend once said, "Normal is just a setting on the clothes
dryer." Nick and Nora are now my only and best companions. They do
talk back but "Meow," is fairly easy enough for me to understand. Food,
water, clean litter box and many nice strokes and face rubs keeps them
happy.
I am excited to think about getting back to a more organized writing
schedule. Something about other people in my house and my brain
sometimes had trouble focusing on my work. Some people write in any
situation, but it's always been hard for me to focus when I'm constantly
interrupted by other noises and talking and trying to manage a taxi
service. I know writers who have small urchins who live in their homes
and who seem to be able to turn them out and keep to their writing
schedule. I think I could do things like that when I was younger but
that's been so many years ago I'm not sure I remember.
I have a feeling that after a few weeks I'll be able write a good story
about dealing with aliens in my house and most likely it will be a good
story. Young aliens seem have a particular love of drama. Almost
everything they want to see and be and do has to be the most important
thought and deed of the day. They also live only in the moment. I can
barely get through a day without a little bit of planning and routine.
In the meantime, the anthology that I co-edited, MURDER HERE, MURDER
THERE is due out any moment. I actually received author copies in the
mail and was able to hold the book in my hand. That's always an awesome
experience. I'm very proud of the work my co-editor, R. Barri Flowers
and I did on this anthology. He and I both feel it's better than the
first, although, MURDER PAST, MURDER PRESENT was excellent. We have
nineteen writers, all members of the American Crime Writers League, all
award-nominated, and/or award-winning authors. The stories are actually
set from East to West Coast and points in between with some overseas
locales thrown in for extra added flavor. Our publisher, Twilight Times,
brings out lovely books and our editor/publisher Lida Quillen is a
delight to work with.
Today I attended the Heart of TX Sisters In Crime meeting and our
program was by the Barbara Burnet Smith Mentoring Authors Foundation.
Barbara was a mystery writer, mother, grandmother, mentor, wife and
friend. She authored the Purple Sage mysteries, a short novel and
several short stories and had started a second mystery series with a
wonderful character whose hobby was beading. Barbara and her son, WD
had loved and traded and played with beads for many years. She was a
member of HOT-SinC and was President of Sisters in Crime International,
1999-2000.
Before she was ever published and I only had a couple of short stories
published, she, Susan Rogers Cooper, Jeff Abbott and I formed a critique
group. Susan and I were the only ones published at the time. Susan had
three or four novels to her credit, all in the Milt Kovak mystery
series.
After Barb was published she began mentoring other mystery writers,
helping to inspire new comers to the field. With this foundation, we
honor her each year. Aspiring writers send a few chapters and an short
synopsis to published mentor authors. I've been mentoring almost every
year. Each year W.D. Smith, Barbara's son and the SinC chapter give out
the Sage Award, named for Barbara's Purple Sage series. Chosen by a
group of writing peers, the foundation honors the mentor chosen and to
show appreciation for their mentoring.
Barbara was one of my best friends and I miss her, but am pleased and
excited to help mentor new and up-coming mystery writers each year.