There is a guilty pleasure in reading. On a beautiful day when everyone should be playing in the sunshine, there can be a magnetism to the printed word that precludes joining “everyone.” You sit inside and read.

There is also that perfect day to tackle the dreaded project that has waited for weeks. Sorting files, cleaning a closet, or organizing the pantry. You have time, no looming deadlines, and energy for the work. It’s also the day that you must finish a book. One you can’t put down even though there will be consequences for procrastinating chores.

I confess to both of the above. But guilt never seems to win!

This weekend I read a book by Salley Vickers. I picked it up at the library on a whim. I share a family name with this author and that caught my attention. I knew nothing about Salley Vickers, but I do now and am quite sure I will be reading more of her work. Check out her website: https://www.salleyvickers.com/

The book I read is titled The Cleaner of Chartres (https://www.salleyvickers.com/aphrodites-hat/). The story holds all of the right characters, enough intrigue and mystery to keep me reading without guilt, and twists and turns that offer surprise and wonder. Not unlike other complicated plots, this book has a few quick turns of events that feel a bit “suspicious,” but none bothered or interrupted the likelihood that they could have happened. The historical aspects of the novel are presented well, and all of the usual suspects create a bit of mystery.

The writing conventions forced me to reread lines for clarity, but my own writing is challenged by required style manuals. UK vs. US publication, perhaps?

Overall, The Cleaner of Chartres is a book worth reading, even if you do procrastinate a project or two!

I stumble when people ask the simple question what are your books about? I’m not good with canned answers, even though that’s what authors are told to do – find one or two sentences that summarize their books.

You know the elevator summaries, like this from The Hustings: A Family Web:

When a family estate is split between an only child and an estate worker, lives take interesting turns and good mixes with evil. Ronnie Husting Simarillo Whatton learns what happiness really is when she is left to navigate through a family web that is filled with more secrets than even she knew existed.

This one is from The Hustings: Ronnie’s Resurrection:

A haunting past is resolved when Ronnie confronts visions from heaven, faces evil that devastated her family, and supports unthinkable actions to reconcile past wrongs.

I’m not good at summing up a story that follows a wealthy woman who is born into a dysfunctional family in 1945, raised by the family estate staff, acts like she is royalty of the 2000s, and just can’t get her life right until she’s losing everything that matters to her.

Did I just answer that question, what are your books about?

The first book follows the main character, Ronnie Husting, for seventy years, and a lot can happen in that amount of time!

Rather than worry about the elevator speech, I’d rather be telling people that The Hustings novels are intended for readers who don’t want a heavy analytical work to plow through. They are for readers who want to see themselves in books they enjoy. I prefer to write fiction to entertain, to give readers something engaging and thought provoking.

Readers will relate to the challenges families face when they bury secrets, cross the lines of traditional propriety and morals, and are faced with consequences that are devastating.

Get to know The Husting family:

You won’t be disappointed in the pace, intrigue, and relationships of characters that develop in A Family Web.

The Hustings: A Family Web (book 1 of 2)

In Ronnie’s Resurrection, religious belief systems are challenged as characters are pushed to reconsider their own long-held beliefs about relationships, the afterlife, and more.

The Hustings: Ronnie’s Resurrection (book 2 of 2)

Books are available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, and many other outlets.

Signed copies can be ordered HERE.

If you enjoy one or both of these titles, please leave a review on Amazon or here.

Happy Reading!

It’s time to prepare for the glories of spring. Events for book sales, creating new inventory, and preparing sales have kept things busy!

New quilts include interesting designs and colors that fit with country, lake, or mountain cabins. All those places that we retreat to for summer weekends and where evenings require bonfires, s’mores and a jacket will be cozier with a book and a quilt.

Other inventory available includes summer colors and designs that are great for the beach or picnic in the park. You’ll even see some Christmas designs on sale for Christmas in July preparations.

Online March Into Spring Sale

Check these out with either of the two links!

DLGollnitz Store

ETSY

Isolation or Inspiration?

Time is always at a premium making it very difficult to write, read, organize, talk to friends and family on the phone, or just to sit and think. With COVID19, some of the time constraints may have been lifted.

Free hours have not been a bonus for everyone. People who are managing day jobs remotely have been experiencing very long work days.

Even with all of the challenges brought by stay-home orders, there is hope that the hurdles being managed are creating inspiration for present or future work.

Look for the Humor

In the stress and frenzy of working from home, everyone is learning a great deal about human nature. The capacity to manage deadline-driven tasks while learning how to apply technology for productivity can be tested from time to time. Think of the potential for laughter in all of these trials. It is abundant!

Here are a few prompts to get those fingers flying, at least to jot down thoughts for another day:

Get creative, create insanity out the moment, and help others laugh. Everyone can use a little levity.

Happy Writing!

Simple Ideas to Remember

The more a writer reads, the greater his or her chances are for improved writing.

That statement seems to be universally accepted. Suppose, for just a moment, that the writer is distracted by the reading material. What if the material is outside the comfort zone and knowledge base of the writer? How, then, does that reading increase the chances of improved writing?

Continue reading “Writers Reading”

Writing Amidst the Buzz

It’s that beautiful time of year. There is much noise in our lives as we prepare for holidays and celebrations of all kinds.

The buzz in the air can be a distraction to any serious writing that often happens on the fringe of the day. One suggestion for mining inspiration is to allow yourself to feel the buzz and funnel it into creativity.

Continue reading “Finding Seasonal Ideas”

When you have written your characters into a corner and your mojo is leaving, how do you keep the production rate steady?

Think about a writing ASSIGNMENT that you had to complete at some point in your life. It could have been an essay for a history class, a chemistry lab report, or a literary analysis essay of your favorite classic novel.

Against your own druthers, you completed the work. You had to push forward, muster all of your writing energy, and just compose.

Continue reading “When Writing Motivation Wanes”