The queen is dead. Long live her memory.

Connie Shillingburg died this weekend. She was a red-headed spitfire who taught history and English in several schools. We met at Edmond Memorial High School when I was a student teacher. I was fortunate enough to work with her and share the same book club, but I was most fortunate to call her a friend.

She inspired me. I loved that she loved traveling, reading, and laughing. Before she retired I asked her what she wanted to do post-high school. Aside from spending time with her grandchildren and traveling, I don't remember any other solid plans. She had always had fun in the classroom and dressed up in costume. I suggested she come to my English classes as Queen Elizabeth I. After all, she knew the history and shared a lot in common with the matriarch. Both ladies were witty, bullheaded, and highly intelligent. For several years, she visited my classroom and others. Among other tales, she regaled us with nursery rhymes about Queen Elizabeth and phrases we use today that originated in Elizabethan times. She made the queen real and made the people of her time--including Shakespeare--that much more attainable. For a couple of years I ran a Renaissance Festival for the ninth grade with the help of Creative Writing Club and Shakespeare classes. The queen reigned at the event. My ninth graders always seemed to be a little in awe of her. Even the representative sent to determine if our school was a Blue Ribbon School was enchanted by her. The woman had a list of classes to observe, but when she came to mine Connie was there, so she stayed for most of the hour!

Connie added to her repertoire and traveled around the country as Queen Elizabeth, Queen Victoria, and most recently Lydie Marland. (I think she impersonated another great lady or two as well.) In 2006 I had the pleasure of co-writing and performing a short play with her. I played the ghost of Mary Queen of Scots, and she played an Elizabeth I on her deathbed. Not only were our costumes spectacular, but also it was a good time. For Oklahoma's Centennial celebration, she conjured Lydie Marland. I wrote a feature article for Distinctly Oklahoma. Working with Connie was always a pleasure.

She is missed.

Home again

We've had a little time to recuperate from the trip, but we're both still exhausted. Our big plans of going on an adventure this weekend have been set aside in favor of being lazy. After Garrett brought me home from the airport I went straight to bed. I even slept on the plane, which is really saying something about my sleepy level because I'd just purchased Janet Evanovich's Fearless Fourteen.

We have new neighbors. First of all, there's Vincent the friendly guy who moved in downstairs while we were away. He said, "Hey, it's nice to meet youse guys." Yep, he really did. For those of you familiar with Evanovich's books, he looks like my idea of Morelli. He lives alone and I noticed passing by his window that his furniture looks remarkably bachelor-ish; however, he drives a modern station wagon. So, he kind of fits the Morelli mold in that respect, too.

Our other neighbors are quieter and furrier. A family of bunnies lives in the bushes below. Plus, there's a family of chipmunks in the same hedge. I told Garrett I wasn't sure if I'd recognize a chipmunk and he said, "They look like mice with fluffy tails." Not long after he offered that visual, one shot across the street and back again. A tiny bird was on the ground, and I noticed they're about the same size. The red squirrels outside our window continue to entertain us.

The wildlife in NJ isn't what we'd expected.

Old Friends

The end of my two week stay in eastern Oklahoma was capped off with dinner at PF Chang's in Tulsa with three of my oldest friends. At one point or another, we've all lived in different states. Now, Ange and Amanda (the ones on the ends) live in Oklahoma, Katie lives in Minnesota, and I live in New Jersey. We haven't all been together in five years, but the stars aligned and we got to visit for an evening--in between knock-knock jokes from Katie's eldest little girl! (Hey, some of them were even funny.) It was a nice way to end my visit.

HAWK workshop

The workshop went well last weekend. As always, Bill Bernhardt and the HAWK staff created an environment catered to the previous year's requests and critiques. Authors of HAWK books, a tv personality, a lawyer, a marketing director, and more offered workshops for attendees. It was a full two days.

A couple of years have passed since I've had a shot at teaching, so getting back into the groove was fun. I wholeheartedly approached my Indiana Jones theme by taking a bullwhip and throwing snakes (not real!) into the audience. Indie has a lot to teach writers about revision. Hopefully, the attendees learned something because I certainly had a good time. When my book comes out on November 18, I look forward to the opportunity of teaching/speaking engagements. If you know anyone who is interested, just send me a line.

Here are some worthy comments from the speakers:

"A pile of rejections doesn't spell doom if it's a pile of rejections from the wrong people."--Melissa Flashman, an agent at Trident Media.

This comment should inspire writers to not only research the genres agents like but to also keep trying. When discussing a hook for a query letter or pitch, she said that clever words don't interest her, but genre does.

"Smaller press can make you a priority on a list. A book that sells 10,000 copies will sell that many no matter who publishes it. If that’s the case with your book, consider that because people look at your numbers. It’s often the ones with the big advances that have difficulty selling the next book because the numbers are in the red." Paul Taunton, an editor at Random House

Not only am I thrilled to work with HAWK, a smaller house, but Paul's words reassured me that HAWK was the right house for my book. They really have made me a priority by allowing me to have a say on everything from final edits to book design. Where else can a first time writer get that sort of respect?

Below is a pic of some of my writing friends--old and new--who were at the workshop.

Baby Shower

When some friends learned I was in in the state for the last time before baby Max arrived, they quickly organized a baby shower. In addition to some adorable, easily packable things, they were thoughtful in considering how I'd have to get it back to NJ, so they gave us a generous gift card. Garrett and I are really blessed with good people in our lives. Thanks, girls.

I doubt the waiter had ever waited on so many pregnant women, but he fit right in because he is expecting his baby boy to arrive within the month. I think five mommies-to-be sat at the table. One of them delivered a baby girl this week. Congrats, Larra!

Here's my mom cutting the cake.

Not only was the cake adorable, but it was the only cake I've ever tasted that I thought was as good as my wedding cake. It was delicious. They said it was from Brown's Bakery.

My mom carefully cut around the booties. She tried to save them because she thought they were so cute. We met friends for lunch the next day and she'd hoped to show them. However, even though we stuck the cake in the fridge immediately, when we opened the box at lunch the next day, we were shocked. The top of the cake had absolutely no icing at all. Still, it tasted great!

There were several blue balloons at the table, but I took this one with me to the three different hotels I stayed in for the rest of my trip. It brightened each room and made me smile.

It's hard being away from so many friends and family--especially during pregnancy--but you girls really made me feel happy.

Pics from Brett's wedding weekend

Many of you wanted to see pictures from my brother's wedding, so here they are.



Lisa wanted to get married outside. Due to unpleasant Oklahoma weather (no shocker there!), her wish was unfulfilled, but I took this picture of the couple in the location where she wanted the wedding. Pretty, huh? It's their backyard! (When it comes to making things grow, my brother got all of the good genes. I've been known to kill a cactus.)

Here are my mom and dad at the rehearsal dinner barbeque. After watching the wedding video, my dad said he was going to shave his beard because he didn't recognize himself. My mom claims he's working on being the "town character."Notice Garrett made sure I had a nametag on my belly for Max, too.An hour before the wedding, Lisa noticed her garter was missing, so I went to a store that sold them. They didn't have blue, but it seemed to do the trick anyway. Here is her beautiful and aromatic boquet, basket for the flower girl, pillow for the ringbearer, and garter.

Lisa did a very good job in making the wedding elegant. However, she surprised Brett with a few special touches. After the vows, they turned to walk down the aisle. The music? Star Wars. The groom's cake was also a nod to their love of cinema. That's Boba Fett and Padme Amidala.

Lastly, here's a pic of the couple as they cut the cake.They returned from their honeymoon today. I hope it was fabulous--and that they don't mind me posting all these pics. Just know that if you're my friend or relative, I may very well put your picture on this blog!

Tummy pics

I've been out of town, so I've not downloaded/uploaded any pics in a while. Tomorrow will be week 29, so I'm bigger than these pics show. I feel silly posting these, but since many of you requested them, here goes...

WEEK 25
This one was taken right before my new sister-in-law's bridal shower on June 9. Garrett and I were at Lake Tenkiller.

WEEK 26