ilenaholder's Xanga

Singapore National Library bought a copy of my book!

Mon, 01 Apr 2013 13:06:42 GMT

Just was notified that the Singapore National Library, one of the 10 largest in the world, bought a copy of my time travel romance, Fade to Grey! whoo hoo!

Loved Honor More

Thu, 07 Feb 2013 10:50:18 GMT

just received a copy of Loved Honor More by Sharon Wildwood to review. let me tell you, it was a great post-Vietnam book. I highly recommend it to any veterans or anyone likeing a good romance.

helen gurley brown

Wed, 15 Aug 2012 11:29:22 GMT

from "Rube to rubies" was in one article I read. didn't know she was from Arkansas.

won a prize basket at a health food store!

Mon, 13 Aug 2012 11:45:13 GMT

here is my short story I submitted to be in the running for a health food store Goody Basket! Just got notified that I was the winner!

“Every Fourth of July we pull out the old Jimmy Cagney movie, "Yankee Doodle Dandy." That movie, and the song of the same name are always favorites of our family. We like to barbeque a lot of typical foods outside on the grill and bring them inside to eat while we watch Cagney sing and dance to really great old tunes of George M. Cohan. We always have cheeseburgers, corn on the cob, baked beans, and ice cold watermelon as some of the dishes. The table is naturally set in a red-white-blue patriotic theme with matching paperware. A centerpiece of red and white carnations sits in the center of the table with a small American flag jutting out from each corner of the bowl. Hooray for the Fourth of July!”

busy busy busy

Mon, 13 Aug 2012 11:18:18 GMT

I have been sort of stalled on my writting lately. I know, there is no excuse for this! First off, I am awaiting rejection/acceptance on a story to a major woman's magazine. it is a pins and needles feeling. I want the acceptance so bad ! Second, I am next in the queue for some book edits. This is a slow painful process for me. At least this will just be a novella not a full novel length work. Then I have also started typing some stories for True Confessions again. Sometimes I need to take a break just to churn up new ideas.

went to a fun writing seminar last week Joshlyn Jackson

Tue, 07 Aug 2012 12:53:45 GMT

went to a fun writing seminar last week with a friend. It was facilitated by Joshlyn Jackson. We had 3 hours of instruction and a short writing exercise we had to share with a little group of 3 people. It was good, something different. On a lighter note, I finished cleanout out of the TV room at home. YAY. this involved totally cleaning out a closet and boy, did I find stuff I hadn't seen in years! Today I am wearing a T-shirt from 1999 I think! It is brand new! There is also a ton of old clothes I am hauling off to Goodwill this week. In the past, I used cardboard boxes to store stuff. you know, the kind you try to get that have good tight lids. this time I went to Home Depot and bought 3 huge (clear) 106 quart Sterlite plastic tubs with locking lids. that is the way to go! I stuffed everything in them and still had lots of room left over. As a finishing touch, I made a packing list for every tub and placed it facing outwards on the long end. This way you can look at the list and see what is inside the tub without having to open it up.

Living in California

Sat, 23 Jun 2012 19:11:18 GMT

when I was a kid I always wanted to grow up and live in California. One reason was all the major tv shows seemed to be set there. And it looked like such a cool place to live! Sometimes I get sad and wish I had lived there, even for just a short time in my life. Maybe I will before I die.

my new goals

Sat, 23 Jun 2012 18:57:12 GMT

from now on, I am going to strive to crank out three #novels in a year. I used to be bothered by the fact that I type a #book soooo slowly. And I thought, "how can I do better??" I heard one #RWA member say back in 2011 that she had 10 novels accepted in one year. My gosh, how fantastic! How did she do it? I never got the chance to talk to her in person, but I evaluated my own #home business. I decided on a plan that was workable for me. Instead of 50K books, I would strive for novella-length. Say 25K. This was an attainable goal. And so far this year, I have had 2 #novellas accepted. So my plan is working. As long as I receive an #ISBN for a book, I am happy. Am I cheating anyone, or even myself? No. Many people now like shorter length books to read. It is June and I am working on submission #3. I think I will have it completed by July.

big news for me!

Fri, 25 May 2012 17:44:45 GMT

I have an announcement-- I have been given the green light to co-write a UFC fighter's biography! This is very exciting to me and I am searching for sports publishers. more details on this as they develop!

a drippy day outside.

Sun, 08 Jan 2012 19:30:21 GMT

I have winter weather. all this drippiness, rain, mud, and general cold.