October 31, 2017
10:03 p.m.

One year ago tonight I sat down with a lot of handwritten notes, genealogy stories from my own family, an outline of sorts and a plan to write 50,000 words of manuscript in the next 30 days.

You may or may not have heard about something called NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). Somehow or other I caught wind of this group made up of both aspiring and seasoned successful writers who challenge themselves to complete 50,000 in the month of November each year. You accept the challenge and begin your journey with lots of other writers who are there not just to write, but to cheer you on as well.

I had tossed this idea around for awhile, hemmed and hawed, fidgeted and delayed...you get the picture. NaNoWriMo was a way to kick myself into gear. But I never quit. I re-wrote, and re-worked scenes and I researched like a mad woman.

I spent time thoroughly disgusted with religious bigotry, racial bigotry and warmongering. This was actually made much worse for me in light of the last year in the good old USA. It is appalling to me that we've come so far in so many ways but remain steadfastly ignorant in so many others even though three centuries have passed by. 

No, no, no. No politics tonight.

Anyway, I looked up tribal customs and Catholicism in the 1600s and LDS migration from Britain to Boston, and all sorts of good historical data, and by the time I was finished with the first draft and all that it entailed. several months had gone by.

Then it was time to edit. Anyone who has ever read my blog knows that I love editing other people's writing and hate doing my own. Thank goodness for first readers--they catch all the silly things I overlook after having read my work so many times.

It's done! It has been a year, and the book is live on Amazon tonight. And I can hardly believe it--a year, man! A whole year!

And tomorrow it's November again. Guess what? Emma, book 2. 50,000 by November 30th.

Yikes!

amazon.com/author/paulashablo

Here's a link to my author page and book listings. I sure hope you'll check it out!
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10:50 p.m.

Tonight I got to give out candy to trick-or-treaters. Haven't done that for years! I never get any kids coming to my house in Colorado. I guess I need to do Halloweens in Wyoming.

It's funny that I enjoy kids coming to my door all dressed up in costumes, because when I was a kid, it was the last thing I wanted to do. I would rather stay home and watch horror movies. I couldn't muster up much enthusiasm for it even knowing that there would be an abundance of candy at the end of the night! (And I LOVE candy!)

And nowadays? I dress up as Annie Wilkes and parade around Comic Con. Hmm.  What's up with that?

Anyway, it was fun to see all the little ones dressed up and excited, and it was even better that the weather was cooperative. I remember hauling my kids out in snowstorms. Yuck.

Happy Halloween, everyone.
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And to all a good night!