Monday, May 11, 2009

It's Frosty Around Here

Quite literally.

I woke up to crystallized grass and roofs, and hugged my fleecy housecoat to me as I shot to the thermostat to figure out why the inside of our house felt like it belonged outside. A balmy 18 degrees greeted me. It's been colder when the furnace has conked, but never in spring.

Hubby says it's something to do with the pilot light and a service call is in order. Yes, I'll get right on that in the midst of baking, cleaning, and trying to edit, as well. Don't you just love the unexpected?

Anyway, once again I'll be a little sparse in the cyber world this week as I continue releasing sweat smells into our house through the fun job of baking treats for my niece's wedding weekend ahead. (Whew, you can take a breath from that sentence now.)

Hey, has anyone else read How To Write A Damn Good Novel by James N. Frey? I'm working through this one now, and I must say, it's motivating me and offers great examples of how to boost your prose. If you're not reading this one, do you have another good writer's manual you'd recommend?


Surrendering to Him,

Eileen

16 comments:

Jessica Nelson said...

Eighteen degrees????
YIkes!!!

LOL It's at least eighty here.

No, I haven't read that book but I'm so jealous that you're baking. Did you know I have a super sweet tooth? MMmmmmmm, I'm smelling your goodies right now...

Eileen Astels Watson said...

You're jealous of my baking? Man, I'd love a little of your 80 degrees, Jessica. The oven is helping a veeery little.

Erica Vetsch said...

brrrrrr! That's chilly.

I'm reading Fire in Fiction by Maass. So far, so good.

Cindy R. Wilson said...

18 degrees? Oh boy. The thermacouple (or whatever you call it) broke on our furnace a few months back right in the midst of a snow storm. No fun! But all is well. It's too warm today to think about the furnace. Keep baking!

Jeanette Levellie said...

Eileen:
I have not read that book.
One of my favorites is "Writers on Writing" by James Watkins. It has articles on everything from writing, editing, proposals, and speeaking, all by successful Christian writers. It's a treasure of help.
Jen

Tana said...

OOOh Thank you for the suggestion! I'm going to check it out,

Terri Tiffany said...

Brrrrr--send me some cooler weather-we are breaking records here!

Jody Hedlund said...

Hi Eileen,
Hope you're having a good "break" from the writing world as you enjoy baking and other real life things! I have the book you mentioned, but haven't looked through it in a while. Now I'll have to dust it off and review it!

Jennifer Shirk said...

Eeep. Too cold for me!

I did read that Frey book a looooong time ago. I'm reading "How to write a selling screenplay" by C Keane. It's AWESOME, because it really breaks down your story elements in simple and interesting ways.

Jill Kemerer said...

It got chilly here last night too. I'm glad I didn't plant my garden yet!
My favorite writing craft book is Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Renni Browne and Dave King. It's soooo good.
Have a little cookie sample for me!

Keli Gwyn said...

Eileen,

Wish I could send you some of our nice 70ยบ California sunshine. At least having the oven on will help warm the house some--and those baked goodies will make it smell delish.

Katie Ganshert said...

Whoa! No fun! I'm also looking for good books on writing. I've read Writing the Breakout Novel, Self Editing, Plot and STructure, and the First Five pages... looking for more really good ones! So please share your findings!

Sherrinda Ketchersid said...

Glad I'm not around while you are baking...my sweet tooth would goggle up all your work! I've been reading Fire in Fiction by Donald Maass and have really been enjoying it. I've got a lot to learn!

Amy DeTrempe said...

18 degrees - ugh. I am not sure I would have gotten out of bed. Or, maybe just long enough to grab my laptop and get back under the covers. Since that isn't an option I hope you stayed real close to the oven today.

Georgiana Daniels said...

Brrr. I love tasty treats! You must have incredible self-control, because I'd be snacking my way through the day.

Eileen Astels Watson said...

Wow, some great titles presented here. I have many, but just added a few more to my wish list. Thanks everyone!

And, once again, I did fail at staying away from the taste testing. I made scorr bars and cookies yesterday. Today, I'm working on Tiger bars, and more scorr bars. My youngest has a bake sale to provide for at school. Scorr bars are her pick. I'm going to be sick of them by the end of this bake-off.

Oh, and hey, the furnace guy is supposed to be around some time this afternoon. Thankfully the sun is out and we have a gas fireplace to keep the main living area warm. But, my, the bedrooms are mighty chilly after two nights without heat.