The Girdle of Melian

While devouring - er, reading - An Echo in the Bone , I find myself in Cambridge , MA... " Listen my children and you shall hear Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere ..."

22 September is: a) the Autumnal Equinox in the Northern Hemisphere and the Vernal Equinox in Southern Hemisphere; b) the day on which 100 days are left to the end of the year; c) Oktoberfest in Munich; d) Bilbo and Frodo Baggins’ birthdays; e) my Frodo (aka Chirpy)’s birthday; f) the day in 1653 when Marguerite Bourgeoys landed at Quebec with de Maisonneuve and 100 soldiers; g) car-free day in Montreal ; and ...drumroll, please... h) the release date for Diana Gabaldon's An Echo in the Bone !

Marsha had a recent post about how September sometimes feels more like a New Year than 1 January does - at least in the Northern Hemisphere, what with back-to-school-shopping et al. - and summarized her writing life for the past two years. I've turned her post into a tag! Mine covers the period since I joined the Compuserve Books and Writers Community , which was almost exactly three years ago. If you're reading this, consider yourself tagged (though it needn't be about writing, of course, but whatever project you've embarked on). Drafts written : About 4 for The Face of A Lion (YA novel), 3 or 4 for my short story He Ain't Heavy, 2 YAs currently started Books completed : 1 (The Face of A Lion) Books published : Ha ha. Not even an agent yet! Rejections received : Hmm... I think I'm at 40 (from agents). Though I did just participate in CANSCAIP 's Blue Pencil contest and received some very favourable comments. Wine consumed : No wine, and unfortunately no wh

Only one and a half days left in Writer Appreciation Week , hosted by agent Nathan Bransford. Say something nice about a writer, and make their day a little brighter (erm, cheesy rhyme, I know). I'd like to thank Nathan for hosting such a detailed and interesting blog, and shout out to all the writers and readers on the Compuserve Books and Writers Forum! My greatest thanks and appreciation to all the YA authors out there, past and present, as well as authors not labelled YA but whom I read regardless (starting with Tolkien and Lewis), all of whom made my childhood a little bit more magical... Meanwhile, it's the first anniversary of Outlandish Observations !