It is All in the Name

So many of you have such cool names for your blog. They define you as a person, a writer, mother, father or interest. When I set up my blog I simply used my pen name, which is actually my maiden name so there was no imagination used there. The reason I decided to write using my maiden name was simply because it is less common. I married a Williams. While there is absolutely nothing wrong with my husband's last name, I preferred to have a more unique name on the cover of my books. Besides, when I actually make it to a bookshelf (notice I didn't say "if"), "D" is a lot closer to the beginning of the alphabet than "W". When looking for a book and not sure what I want, I tend to start at the beginning and a lot of stores stock by authors last name. Therein lies my logic.

While I like my name, I think it is too boring for the title of my blog. But, I am not sure what I should use. What defines me?

Well, I am: A Christian, Wife to a wonderful man for the past 23 years, Mother of three fantastic and talented children, Daughter, Sister, Author - historical fiction (inspirational and sweet), Paralegal (during the day), Teacher (Sunday School), Lead a Christ Care Group, Chair either makeup or costumes on various community theater shows, Love romance novels.

So, how do I come up with a title for my blog out of all of that?

As I began this blog to connect with other writers and readers, I decided to focus on the romance. When I hit a deadend I asked my critique group and Michelle came up with the prefect title (hope it isn't used). My favorite eras span from the American Revolution through the Regency Period. I do read outside of those times, but I write within them. And, since I believe love is timeless, I've decided to rename my blog to "Timeless Romance".

What do you think? Have you ever wanted to go back and change a beginning months after you started something?

Teaching Sunday School is Hard

I've taught most ages over the past twenty years, taking breaks occassionally to be with "adults" during the Sunday School hour. To me, the younger ones are the easiest. They accept everything with an open heart and an open mind. And no matter what question you ask, they always answer. "Because Jesus loves me." At least that seemed to be the answer to everything for a three and four-year-old.

For several years I taught sixth graders. For some reason most teachers shied away from this age but I loved it. We had great conversations and they were starting to understand the Bible and God's Word in more depth, and could see how it actually did apply to their life beyond church and in the home.

Now, I am teaching 4th graders. They are a great group of kids, but you can tell they are starting to think a little deeper. Our lesson today was how our earthly father protect us just as Joseph protected Jesus when he took him to Egypt, which moved on to how God protects us all and that by sending his Son we can all be assured of forgiveness.

Then came the question: "Where did God come from?"

I wasn't prepared and certainly not qualified to get into a deep discussion with the children, but I make an attempt. I am supposed to be the teacher, right? "God is God. He has always been and always will be." I know, it was probably a bad answer. Another child pipes up. "But he had to come from somewhere, didn't he?" The questions continued until we all decided that God is so wonderful, so powerful, so amazing that our brains cannot begin to really comprehend all that God is and all that he does for us, but because of faith we are assured of His protection and love. I also encouraged them to talk to the pastor for surely he could answer this question far better than I.

How would you answer the question?

After today I think I am ready to return to the three-year-old classroom where most questions can be answered with my favorite answer - Because Jesus Loves Me.

My Conference Experience - the Begnning

It is hard to beleive that a week ago today I was in Washington, DC at the Romance Writer's of America Conference. I think my mind is still sorting through the information and experience. I would have posted sooner, but I had some issues with my laptop and didn't get it back to full running capacity until a day or so ago. Not sure what the cause was, but I am certain dropping it on the hard floor at the airport didn't help. I now have to fight to open the DVD drive. Oh well, it could be worse.


I arrived on Tuesday afternoon and after checking into my gorgeous room at the Omni Shoreham, I left to meet up with my critique partners. Until that day, I had only met two of them face to face. It was wonderful to get to know Jerrica, Kelli, Michelle, Heather and Julie in person and see Jodie and Tammy once again. We enjoyed a delicious Italian dinner and I swear I pulled stomach muscles from laughing so hard. This evening set the tone for the entire conference. I am really not sure I have laughed so much in my life, or at least not in recent memory.


Wednesday night we attended the "Readers for Life" Literacy Autographing. There were more than 500 authors waiting to sign books. The room was loud and invigorating. The proceeds from this event went to ProLiteracy Worldwide and local literacy charities. I forget the amount of money raised, but it was in the tens of thousands of dollars. Our next stop was the Beau Monde Soiree, where an array of delicious desserts were offered (this is not the time or place to even be thinking about a diet). Several attendees were dressed in period clothing and it was fun to watch the dance master teach the steps to a Regency Era country dance.


Thursday morning was the official opening with Janet Evanovich as the speaker. I was unable to attend the General Meeting but did attend the luncheon where Linda Howard was the keynote speaker. Both of these authors were enjoyable and inspirational to listen to. I am embarassed to admit that I have not read the books by either of them. However, after listening to them speak, they have been added to my ever growing of list of books and authors to read.


Following lunch, the workshops began. As this is already long, I will write about what I learned in a separate post.

Counting Down

In just 4 days the RWA Conference begins. I've been looking forward to this since I left the conference last year. However, I am still undecided on which workshops to attend. It seems I change my mind almost daily. Do I attend the craft workshops so I can improve my writing. Or, do I attend the carrier workshops since my book first book is now published? Oh, decisions, decisions. So far, the only one that has remained consistent as one of my choices is "Merging Inspiration, Romance and More: Writing for the Inspirational Market".

Have you been to the conference? Is there a workshop that is a "must attend"? I would love to hear feeback on conferences you have attended. It doesn't have to be the RWA Conference. What were your favorite parts or what workshops did you learn the most from?

Celebrating

It is a rainy 4th of July here. I hope it clears before darkness falls, but I am beginning to doubt it will happen. Whether it rains or shines, small and large events will still continue around the country to celebrate. I thank God that I am blessed to live in this wonderful country. And, I thank the men and women who fought and continue to fight to keep our country free.

I've been gone from my blog longer than planned. The days have been spent with the kids, working, getting ready for my trip to attend the Romance Writers of America Conference, and preparing for the opening of Suessical.

And, on top of my wonderfullly, crazy scheduled Loving Lydia was released. It was so exciting to see my book on both Amazon and my publishers website - secondwindpublishing.com.

It is a glorious day, despite the rain, and I plan to celebrate. I hope everyone has a wonderful 4th of July.