I should clarify that the following is concerning a novel I'm writing, not my blog. I'm pretty carefree about my blog and will be happy if people considering reading a post even once! ; )

The other day when I told my friend that I had some books on writing in my cart at Amazon, but that I was hesitant to spend the money whereas I wouldn't be if it were fabric for quilts, or wool for rugs, she emphatically told me not to buy them. She was worried that if I read about writing it would mess up my writing.

In response to what crossed my face she said, "That's not what you wanted was it? You wanted me to encourage you to get the books." I only replied, "No. It's not that."

What I was thinking and didn't voice was, it's not the stories, it's the sentences.

I want my sentences to sing.

What has caused me to give place to those thoughts here, now, are the words I read this morning by Francine Prose in her book, Reading Like A Writer:

"...to talk about sentences is to have a conversation about something far more meaningful and personal to most authors than the questions they're more often asked..."

I want to write beautiful sentences. I want my stories to captivate, but I want my sentences to evoke a pause or a sigh, a second or third reading, and a longing for more.

Barn To Be Wild ~ Or At Least Pretty

This year's theme at the Kenai Peninsula State Fair (or biggest little fair in Alaska) is Barn To Be Wild. Mermaids have nothing to do with barns, but they are born to be wild, not domesticated and definitely NOT kept as pets. Or are they? (That quilt isn't finished yet.)

This quilt was auctioned off as part of the annual fun raiser, and is going home with Angela, or perhaps to Angela's business as her logo is a mermaid.

I actually took her to the fairgrounds before getting pictures. That's how excited I was about the event. It was our second year having a celebrity waiter dinner. It went great thanks to the wonderful waiters, the generous people who donated desserts for the silent dessert auction, and the guests who freely spent their money to support the fair.

But back to the mermaid... She was caught decorating her hair with fish eggs. Don't judge - different culture, different standards of beauty. Besides, I like to think she's doing her part for environmental diversity by keeping some of the eggs protected. :) Here's a close-up, though sadly, since I had to make do with the lighting at the event, the fish eggs don't show up very well.


(Click on any picture to see a larger view.)