Monday Meandering

My crazy busy September responsibilities is almost at an end.

Last weekend I attended another writing retreat, only one night. But I was one of the keynote speakers. It was humbling experience and an honor to have  been asked. I only put one person to sleep, that I could see. Or maybe she was checking her eyelids for holes.

View from the front of the house

The house we stayed in was amazing, and I had an opportunity to discover a beautiful little valley in northern Utah.

I understand Morgan is the only incorporated city in Morgan County. You drive through a canyon that opens onto a valley. Lots of farm fields and horses. Beautiful homes.

We got a little lost (missed a sign) so we took the scenic route. This is the only town I've seen where the elementary school, junior high, high school, and the university extension are all on the same block.

There was a pool and hot tube in back. Rough life, I know.

View inside the house.
Lots of bedrooms and open areas to write.

This is one of my speaker gifts. I love a sense of humor.

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This week's final challenge is work related, giving a presentation on minutes and open meetings law. I've been working on the PowerPoint presentation for forever. I found this awesome video on how to avoid death by PowerPoint. I've implemented his suggestions. Here's hoping it works. 

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Hubby and I have tickets to see The Maze Runner tonight. So excited! I loved the book series by James Dashner. It was awesome to see the film take the top spot at the box office this weekend.

What did you do this weekend? Did you see The Maze Runner?

Reality vs Fiction ... And Some Fun

This whole thing is beyond enough. I'm firmly convinced that if I tried to write this as fiction, few would believe it.

I've posted several times about this plagiarism issue. Having been kind of behind the scenes as the story has unfolded, it's been a sad and fascinating journey.

As a further update to the drama, Rachel Nunes (the author who was plagiarized) reported that she had been in contact by Army veteran Chase Weston about the article he wrote that Rushton also plagiarized (you can see details in John Dopp's post here).

The Westons were appalled to discover what had happened. Mrs. Weston wrote an open letter to Tiffanie Rushton and asked Rachel to post it (you can see it here). It's heartbreaking to read.

And if that wasn't bad enough ...

Last week I posted an update that included a list of plagiarist Tiffanie Rushton's sock puppet names. You can find the post here. Someone who appeared to be a parent of one of Rushton's students posted in the comments that the names of the sock puppets were children from Rushton's class!

I notified Rachel, and they were able to check the school's yearbook and, sure enough, they were. At the request of that parent in a subsequent post, I redacted the surnames of the students. John Dopp, when he found out about it, did the same on his post.

I understand that Rushton--finally--has been put on administrative leave by her school district. Once again, a plea to everyone not to attack the woman. It's in the hands of the court now. Others could be taking action against her too.

I hope this raises some discussions at family dinner tables about plagiarism and identity theft.

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On a happier note, I spent the weekend at the iWriteNetwork writing retreat. Something fun that we did was do the "beats" from Blake Snyder's Save the Cat while we watched the movie Iron Man.

View from the front

Kitchen and One Gathering Area

Hot Tub and Grill - Yum!

Gathering on First Night

Almost the entire group.

What did you do this weekend?

Wiped Out

I went to the iWriteNetwork writing retreat this weekend. It was a wonderful experience. Great people, informative classes, and scrumptious food. And the digs weren't too bad either.

This is where we held the classes. Rough life, I know.

One of the open areas.

Nice large kitchen for meal preparation.

There were several common areas where people could gather to write. We had sprints, classes, a brainstorming session, prizes and even watched a movie where everyone got to figure out the beats from Blake Snyder's Save the Cat.

Good luck to everyone who starts A to Z tomorrow. I'm taking a pass. Maybe next year.

"Spinster's Folly" by Marsha Ward . . . and a NaNo Update

Ever get little snippets about a book in the works that make you excited to read it? That's the way I feel about Spinster's Folly by Marsha Ward. I'm not usually into western reads, but I do enjoy historical books and (of course) I love romances. 

I'm always game to try new things, so I can't wait to read this one.

Marsha Ward was born in Phoenix, Arizona, and currently lives in a pine forest in central Arizona. Marsha is an award-winning poet, freelance writer and editor whose published work includes four novels, two collaborative non-fiction books on writing, a collection of prose and poetry, and over 900 articles, columns, poems and short stories. Her novels, The Man from Shenandoah, Ride to Raton, Trail of Storms, and Spinster’s Folly have received rave reviews from both readers and reviewers.

I know Marsha because she was the founder of the American Night Writer's Association (ANWA), an organization I belong to and from which I have found wonderfully supportive friends.

Here is the description of Spinster's Folly:

Marie Owen yearns for a loving husband, but Colorado Territory is long on rough characters and short on fitting suitors, so a future of spinsterhood seems more likely than wedded bliss. Her best friend says cowboy Bill Henry is a likely candidate, but Marie knows her class-conscious father would not allow such a pairing. When she challenges her father to find her a suitable husband before she becomes a spinster, he arranges a match with a neighbor's son. Then Marie discovers Tom Morgan would be an unloving, abusive mate and his mother holds a grudge against the Owen family. Marie's mounting despair at the prospect of being trapped in such a dismal marriage drives her into the arms of a sweet-talking predator, landing her in unimaginable dangers.

This fourth book in the Owen Family Saga is infused with potent heart and intense grit.

You can get the book early at Smashwords or wait until Saturday on Amazon.

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I started out NaNo by going to a writers retreat. What an awesome group of wonderfully creative and supportive women! I broke my personal daily record (which isn't impressive, since I'm a bit of a plodder--a couple of women write over 30,000 words each that weekend!), but I managed to crank out 13,000+ words in three days. I can live with that. I'm already sad I can't go next year--dang day job.

As of this posting, I'm at 19,022 words, and I'm having fun with the story, which is a companion novel to my book A Change of Plans that comes out in June with Rhemalda Publishing.