Graduation Day!

In about twelve hours, my daughter will be graduating from the eighth grade. Eighth grade!!! I can't believe she's going to high school next year. I can't believe how fast the years have passed. Just nine years ago, she was going off to kindergarten, excited about dragging her book bag full of school supplies down the sidewalk into Kingdom Preparatory Academy. She couldn't wait to get to work and learn new things. Now school is the center of her social circle, where all things good --and bad --radiate. It's a wonder I have any hair left on the top of my head from all of the teenage angst she's put me through this year. Now don't get me wrong! She's not a bad kid and I know this age is a time when most kids struggle to find/make a place for themselves in their social arena. But boy, I'll be glad when this stage is over!

I'm proud that she's made it this far and wish nothing but the best for her in the future. As she embarks on her summer break (30-day break for mom!), I pray she has a safe journey and fun in the sun. Hopefully she'll use the time she has this summer to be more introspective (as much as a hard-headed teenager can be!) and will develop the growth and maturity needed to begin her life as a freshman in high school.

I love you, Courtney Brianna!

Critiquing Mode

I'm dedicating my time this month to getting back into the critiquing mode. My to-do list is piled high with chapters I owe to my friends Zaynah, Chelle, and Jennifer. Denise, I can't wait for what you have coming down the pipe.

More blogging to come next week........

AJ

Catching Up!

Well hello, folks!

Happy Thanksgiving, Happy Birthday to me, Merry Christmas, Happy Kwanzaa, Happy New Year, Happy Inauguration to President Obama and pretty soon Happy Valentine's Day!

Once again, I've been missing in action for a long time but that doesn't mean that life's been uneventful. The holidays were loads of fun, including a surprise 40th birthday party for me thrown by my younger brothers. (Way to go, guys!)

For now, I'm recovering from all the fun: neck pain, numbness in my legs and hands and fatigue! It's kicking my butt! I can't seem to shake it but I know that with rest and patience with myself that I'm going to be fine.

So, to all of you who have been waiting for new chapters and critiques from me, please be patient as well.

Later!

It's Nice to be Missed

Hello fellow bloggers, critique partners and friends,

It's amazing how many of you have noticed that I've been missing in action for a while. I've received a few emails and phone calls asking where I'd been.

Well I'm still here! What's been going on with me? Well, for short, not a lot of writing. My muse has simply packed her bags and moved out. And she didn't leave a Dear Angie letter nor a forwarding address. I've been searching for her everywhere, have practically been arrested for stalking, but she just won't come back to me. For weeks, I wrote her love notes, dreamed about some of the ideas she's given me in the past and even tried the Internet to see if I can "re-build" her. No luck! In fact the stress and frustration of trying to write may have even contributed to the MS attack that I suffered recently. After three days of IV steroids, I felt like I've been run over by a truck. No fun, let me tell you!

So finally I decided to live by the old "if you love something, set it free" adage and just chucked the whole search for a little while. I have all the confidence in the world that my muse will return once I relax and give myself the permission and time to appreciate the pleasure she brought to my life rather than continue to work myself into a lather over the fact that she just up and abandoned me without saying goodbye. The little diva!!

AJ

The Summer is OVER!

The summer of 2008 is unofficially over with the passing of Labor Day and I'm both happy and disappointed.

I'm happy because that means the schools reopen and my daughter can get off the couch, out of my refrigerator and get back to the books. I was a bad mommy this summer because I gave in to her plea to do absolutely nothing all summer. No summer camp, no dance camp, no math review workbooks, no eighth grade prep books, no nothing! She got to be lazy all summer and capped it off with a 5-day cruise to the Caribbean just before school started. She came back looking like a crispy critter!



I'm disappointed because I used the eventful days of my summer as an excuse to do hardly any writing. OK, no writing. Instead of writing about romance, I experienced some romance of my own. The details are too precious to post in cyberspace. Let's just say that the fall and winter are looking to be very toasty indeed.



It's good to be able to kick back and bask in the admiration of someone who's genuinely interested in you on so many levels. To be able to laugh at someone's corny jokes, to flirt outrageously via text messages, to cook for someone other than the kid who only wants chicken nuggets and french fries, and to be excited about the prospect of every phone call and the mysteries of the future.



Now, it's time for me to put my nose to the grindstone and get back to work. Yeah, I know. You've heard it before, but I'm serious this time. Of course, I'm not gonna pressure myself to compete with anyone else's goals or achievements which I think was at the root of why my creativity had been stifled. I'm just gonna relax and fun. Write when I feel good and have the energy and take care of my health when I don't.



How was your summer?





AJ

One-Word Survey

I'm piggy-backing off my girls, Patricia and Denise and giving one-word answers to this fun questionnaire. Feel free to answer too! REMEMBER, ANSWERS MUST BE ONE WORD ONLY!

1. Where is your cell phone? Pocket
2. Your significant other? Cute
3. Your hair? Relaxed
4. Your mother? Retired
5. Your father? Walker
6. Your favorite thing? Books
7. Your dream last night? Scary
8. Your favorite drink? Tea
9. Your dream/goal? Published
10. The room you’re in? Office
11. Your ex? Gone
12. Your fear? Failure
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Virginia
14. Where were you last night? Home
15. What you’re not? Dumb
16. Muffins? Blueberry
17. One of your wish list items? Peace
18. Where you grew up? Richmond
19. The last thing you did? Walk
20. What are you wearing? Shorts
21. Your TV? On
22. Your pets? None
23. Your computer? Old
24. Your life? Interesting
25. Your mood? Calm
26. Missing someone? Aunt
27. Your car? Fly
28. Something you’re not wearing? Shoes
29. Favorite store? Book
30. Your summer? Typical
31. Like(love) someone? Daughter
32. Your favorite color? Orange
33. Last time you laughed? Morning
34. Last time you cried? Yesterday
35. Who will re-post this? Unknown

Not too bad!
AJ

Peaking Out of the Rabbit Hole

Once again, I've fallen off the writing radar because of life's interruptions and all-around doldrums and just wanted to take a moment and poke my head out of the rabbit hole.

How's it going out there in the romance publishing world? Several of my friends have finished manuscripts and gotten publishing contracts and even seen their first debuts. To say that I'm not envious would be a lie, but I have no one to blame but myself. Now don't think this post is about beating myself up! I'm simply taking stock as I do every three months of so and being pragmatic about my efforts, or lack thereof.

The good news: it's summer time.

While she's out of town visiting her dad, I get a break from running back and forth, transporting my daughter to school and weekend activities. I can stay up all night (when I'm the most productive) working on my stories and doing critiques and then sleep late in the mornings. With me eating at odd times, maybe I can lose the weight I need to get into that bathing suit this summer. Of course, I want to take a much needed vacation somewhere. After the year I've had so far (thank goodness mom and dad are both recovering well), I need it.

So don't fret, y'all! I'm still alive and kickin'!
AJ