October is my birthday month and I promise to include a picture of myself every day. It might be at the end of the post, but it’ll be here. And to begin the embarassing photos…how about some Halloween fun?

~~Angi

Don’t forget to enter the HOLD UP THE COVER contest on my website for HILL COUNTRY HOLDUP (on shelves now): AngiMorgan.com

 Taken Thanksgiving week 2007 in southern California. Clouds, rays of sun breaking through…  enough said.

~~Angi

Don’t forget to enter the HOLD UP THE COVER contest on my website: AngiMorgan.com

I finally got to watch the season premeire of FRINGE. Love the show and the concept. Of course, I loved the non-gross episodes of the X-FILES, too.  Anyway…Fringe made me think of this picture. It was taken from a Harbor Cruise in 2005. Very nice week in NYC. 

A reminder that Liberty and Freedom have to be earned. We should never take them for granted. 

~~Angi 

Don’t forget to enter the HOLD UP THE COVER CONTEST on my website: AngiMorgan.com 

My parents…

Awesome picture. Love the wet pants.

I learned a lot about love from them. I quote my dad all the time: “People don’t FALL into love. Love is a choice and a lot of hard work.”

Ain’t that the truth?

~~Angi

In a mad rush to take some photos for an upcoming conservation newsletter, I snapped this photo on my back patio. It wasn’t until the published newsletter arrived in my mailbox that I really looked at the photograph.

This is a common dragonfly, an Eastern Pondhawk (Erythemis simplicicollis), seen all up and down the East Coast. Since it’s a common species, it should be easy to describe, right? Wrong.

I sat down with a copy of this photo, a pen and some lined paper. It took forever to come up with the words that truly described this insect. Was the body blue or the periwinkle blue of a house faded by years of sun and wind? Were the wings brown or the color of sunlight filtered through amber stained glass?  Were the eyes green or the opalescent green of a rare opal?

Description can make or break you as a writer. While it’s easy to assume readers know exactly what you’re describing, maybe they don’t.  It’s very important to learn to observe carefully and use the exact word in the exact context in order to create a true and telling description.

As writers we must be as precise as visual artists. We must paint with our words.

We can’t just say dragonfly. It simply doesn’t capture the essence of this insect.

Lateia Elam Sandifer is the president of South Carolina Writers Workshop. She is also the co-chair of the 2010 SCWW Conference in Myrtle Beach. She blogs regularly at http://scwwblog.blogspot.com

THANKS Lateia for being my first blog guest. This picture is absolutely amazing.

~~Angi

CONTESTS: Don’t forget to check my websites for the Hill Country Holdup  debut contests. Lots of prizes if you get registered.

Last spring our yard was over-taken by dandelions and clover. To my grandchildren, the purple, yellow, and white colors were amazing. They loved picking the “flowers” and giving me bouquets. My husband showed them how to blow on the dandelions and make wishes, explaining that each little piece of white fluff was a wish being carried into the wind.

The reality was each little white piece of puff is a seed. And even though the “flowers” were pretty, they had to be dug up to protect the grass. The kids didn’t like it, but we made a game of who could get their pile of weeds the biggest.

Wishes are nice, but hard work cleared that yard. I was quick to point out later in the summer that the kids were walking on smooth grass instead of dried-up stickers. Playing with their slip-n-slide worked a lot better.

How does this relate to my writing? Well…putting in consistent hard work PRIOR to submission makes the editing process at the end of the book much easier. Learning the craft of writing, putting in your time volunteering prior to the sell… well THEN you have the support you need when your wish becomes a reality.

Anyone have an interesting story about wishes?

~~Angi

CONTESTS: Don’t forget to check my websites for the Hill Country Holdup  debut contests. Lots of prizes if you get registered.

My husband and I went to a balloon launch this weekend. The balloons are beautiful, the sky was perfect, the air already warm. The balloons launched and floated into the air without a hiccuup.  

 I love the awkward moments of life. Those moments that cause us to “hiccuup” and keep the memory. Have you noticed that it’s the camping trips where it rains that get the fondest laughs? 

 QUESTION: Do you have any “awkward” photos in your life that make you laugh today? 

Don’t forget to send your picture for the HOLD UP THE COVER contest running this month. Details on Angi’s website: AngiMorgan.com