Friday Five: Cooling Down

1. Woke up this morning, and it's chilly outside. When you've had an exceptionally hot summer, 60 degrees feels cold. The kids' wore jackets to the bus stop with their shorts, and every time I've gone out it feels a little cooler. I'm so happy because fall is one of my favorite times of the year. I love the way the colors change on the trees, I love that I do not need to run the air conditioner or the heat for about two months. I love the smell of wood smoke outside. I love that it gets dark earlier so my kids go to bed better. I

2. I didn't write last week because my mom was in town and we went to Great Wolf Lodge with the kids. It was a lot of fun, and everyone was worn out by the time we got home. My kids loved it, and they had a good mix of stuff for the older kids and my youngest who didn't want to go on the biggest slides. We also discovered Magiques, which involves running around the building with wands and completing missions. The kids ate that up. When we go to Myrtle Beach in a few weeks, we may have to visit the official Magiquest center and pay for them to play there.

3. The kids have completed a few Magiquest adventures at home. My husband has plotted out clues and things to collect and acted out parts in different areas of the house. He is hilarious to watch and I love the way that he actually gets down and plays with the kids on their level. It also made me think about how I'd have fun writing adventures for a similar game or idea. I'm not a gamer (though hubby is) and I've never really thought about the story lines in games. It's funny because one writing conference I went to I had Tracy Hickman lead my workshop group, and he got his start writing manuals for D&D or a similar RPG company. It was a good conference.

4. Well I entered my query for Lexy in a query workshop at Bookends back in February. I wrote the query as soon as I figured out the plot for the book, so I wouldn't have the query problems I had with Isis. It was critiqued on Wednesday. I got some great feedback. You can go check it out if you want. It'd also give you an idea on the world I'm living in right now.

5. I'm on the lookout for some good books to read. I've read everything recommended to me that's already out, and I know there are some books I'm super excited to read in the next few months like Lola and the Boy Next Door, and After Obsession, but I'd love something to hold me over until then.

Happy Writing!