I had a successful April and coming down from that I was determined to keep my momentum going during the month of May, so I devised my own challenges.  I’m going to be writing everyday (except Sundays – everyone needs a day off), with the hope that by the end of the month I have a novella put together that I can self-publish!  I will be posting “sneak peeks” every Friday, so you can see what I’m working on and hopefully let me know how you like it.

I will also be participating in a writing class online, shopping an article for a magazine (I am going to be published this coming July in Military Spouse magazine *woohoo*), and I have submitted to a writing competition called the California Hooker Contest. (The contest judges a the first few pages of your novel to see if you have been able to “hook” a reader.)

So, all in all, May promises to be pretty busy!  I’m going to let you know how my writing is going during the month on my Friday posts, but you can also follow me on Instagram (Grabnern) to see where I’m drawing inspiration.

I’ll also be posting on Wednesdays to talk about BOOKS! (You knew that was coming, right?)  I LOVE books; this cannot be said enough and so every Wednesday, I’ll share a little bit about what I’m reading and hopefully you will share as well. 🙂  (For a list of some of the previous books that I’ve read, you can also follow me on Goodreads.)

So, wish me luck as I embark on this crazy month, and I hope that you have fun with me on this journey! What about you?  What are your plans for May?

My final A to Z Challenge post is about the masked man, Zorro.  I’m thinking it’s a great way to end this month’s challenge and I kind of wish that I could make my own “N” slashes on this blog to celebrate the month – it’s been amazing!

When I first got the idea to take this challenge, my only goal was to get back into the habit of writing everyday.  It was a goal that I could achieve after just thirty days, so a quick win, that would help propel my writing after that.   What I hadn’t counted on, and what surprised me the most, was how much I enjoyed going back to my “roots” of writing.  Rereading stories that drove my love of writing when I was little really gave me that creative push to keep me going; you know what I mean?

This month has had a couple of great wins, and I’ll announce more of those later…but, I’m going to take this opportunity to also announce that I’m continuing to challenge myself in the month of May. *woo hoo*

I’m going to be publishing a short story at the end of May.  During the month, on Friday’s, I’ll be posting a small snippet of the story I’m working on for your thoughtful reviews and comments. 🙂  Wednesday’s blog posts will be themed, and you’ll see that later.  I’m really looking forward to sharing this new story with you – it’s been percolating in my mind since about mid-month.

I hope everyone had a great April and I look forward to seeing you all during May! *throws confetti in the air; passes out champagne*

Hi everyone!  I’m sorry my post is late today, had some appointments this morning.  How’s everyone’s Friday going?

Have you ever heard the song, “Yankee Doodle“?  It’s a funny sounding song that has it’s origins sometime during the early parts of colonial American history.  The tune for this song frequently get’s stuck in my head and I’ll find myself sometimes whistling it, and I’m sure our founding fathers probably wouldn’t care for that.

I often wonder if our founding fathers could talk to us now, what would they say about the state of things today?  What would George Washington tell the newest Presidential candidates about running a country? (Honestly, I’m often curious if they are watching from above and shaking their heads at us.)  Do you think that Benjamin Franklin would have gotten along with Steve Jobs?   It would make an interesting lunch, I think.

One of my favorite periods in history is the beginning of our nation.  I loved studying Colonial America because I think it was a brave time, where a lot of different choice could have made a huge impact on our reality today.  If I could use Bill and Ted’s time machine, I would head back to watch the Continental Congress and hopefully get a chance to speak to people like John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. (My geek side is showing here.)

If you could borrow the time machine, what time in history would you visit?  Who would you like to talk to?