From the Mind of E.J.Meyer, Author
A rainy day in autumn
Thunder and lighting and flooded streets on a Monday morning.  Even with an umbrella I got soaked just walking from the apartment to my car, a distance of about about a hundred feet.  It certainly woke me up, getting wet like that, and then surviving the adrenalin surge from driving through flooded streets next to people who refused to slow down, even though the visibility was poor and our cars were slogging through four inches of water in low-lying areas.  Everyone in Dallas always seems to be in a hurry, even on a rainy Monday morning.  (That is, unless I'm in a hurry and behind someone who isn't!)

How dare these people drive on my streets? 

October has become a special month for me.  Not only is it the perfect fall month, when the weather gets cooler (80 degrees instead of 90-something during the day) but we're not yet into our pitiful-excuse-for-a-winter here in Dallas, but I've also made it my own private writing month.  In 2005 I wrote 50,000 words while participating in Nanowrimo.  Last year I didn't write that many words, but I jumpstarted some projects.  This year I have two completed and hopefully soon to be published novels finished, and I'm working on a new novel and a new short story.  I'm also reading a lot and listening to books on CD.  I borrowed Blood of Angels by Reed Arvin from the library, and couldn't wait to get into my car to listen to it.  Thumbs up!  It's a great audiobook and well read by actor Michael Tucker.

I recently discovered a new (to me) author, Shana Abe, and read her brilliant novel, The Smoke Thief.  It's a book about "shape-shifting dragons" and falls into the category of paranormal romance, but please go out and buy it.  She is a brilliant author, and I would never have discovered her work if I hadn't attended Librarian's Day at the Romance Writer's Convention in Dallas, where I received a complimentary signed copy.  Her use of language is exquisite, and I couldn't put the book down.  It has stayed with me, and as much as I read, that's not always true of the popular fiction I inhale regularly. 

Tonight I'm planning to attend The Writer's Guild of Texas meeting at the Richardson Public Library.  I'm in a small critique group called Dreamweavers, and two other members will also be attending.  Afterward we are going out to celebrate Marty Tidwell's recent winning entries in a short story contest -- she entered two stories and took first and second prize, and they will be published in an anthology.  Whoo--hoo!!  Way to go, Marty!  Remember that name, she's going to be famous some day!
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Posted by EJMeyer at 10/15/2007 2:31 PM | View Comments (0) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (0)
The Writing Life

8/13/06

The kids are back in school and I've got homework, too, even though I'm not officially a student.  Even though it's 100+ degrees in Dallas, and you could fry eggs on the sidewalk, it feels like autumn in my head.  This is the time of year I like to re-examine goals, revise the old ones and/or set new ones.   My webmaster, Natalia Pollack (www.npollack.com) is helping me achieve something I've been visualizing for a long time...a professional-looking website.  

Meanwhile, I'm following the antics of the characters in The Triplex:  Fred's Chronicle with a sense of amazement.  How can fictional people I've created on paper start to lead their own lives right in front of me, despite my best-laid, logical outlines?  How in the world will I handle the plot twists they develop without my permission? 

What I love about books, and writing, is that you can go anywhere, see anything, do anything, and meet people who illuminate your own life.  Don't we all remember characters in books who stay with us forever?  From Anna Karenina to Harry Potter, from fairy tales to mysteries, when we read our imagination soars far beyond our own limited lives.  

No matter how tied we are to our computers (I certainly am!), our cell phones, iPods, and Blackberries, nothing can replace the pleasures of reading a good book.  Soon, in the parts of our country where winter reigns, the weather will cool.  Go ahead, cuddle up with a quilt and a good book.  In Dallas, I won't need the quilt, but I'll be able to sit outside on my little patio without turning into a puddle of sweat - maybe. 

I'm reading Ireland by Frank Delaney.  I'll let you know if it's good...
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Posted by EJMeyer at 8/13/2006 10:00 PM | View Comments (0) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (0)
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