Another blog asked its readers to submit their six word memoir. Six words that tell your story. Here’s mine: “One skate on a dirt road.” What’s yours?

To see pictures from some of my book related events, visit my Author Irene Uttendorfsky facebook page.

Hand Weaving by Laura Sawyer at the Canal Museum

Any fan of Richard Peck, especially those who have read his award winning books, A Long Way From Chicago and A Year Down Yonder, know Mrs. Dowdel. A Large, resourceful, self sufficient grandmotherly woman who is rightly feared by those who are tempted to trespass on her property and take advantage of a helpless old lady. In Peck’s most recent release, A Season of Gifts, Mrs. Dowdel sits out in her melon patch well into the night with her shotgun across her knees, ready to protect her ripe melons, squash and pumpkins from the local vandals. What does that have to do with me? My sister’s recent illness has made it necessary for me to spend my nights at her house for a while. At night, as my sister sleeps peacefully, I am perched on the recliner in her bedroom, armed against her four cats with a spray bottle of water. Sammy, the blue-eyed innocent-looking mischievous Persian, is relentless in his plan to shred the new chair. His henchman, Blacky, the large, blundering domestic shorthair, is his able assistant. Blacky looms in the darkened doorway, looking a lot like the incredible hulk, and then lurches into the room. One well aimed squirt of water stops him, but then he makes an end run. Several more blasts of water propel him around the back of the chair. I whirl and let loose another shot as he shoots past me. Suddenly, I am wishing for a Giant Soaker Water Pistol. After the first few days the feline attacks dwindled. But I’m still taking my spray bottle of water to bed with me just in case. And I can’t help thinking of Mrs. Dowdel as I sit there waiting for their next attempt.

My apologies to anyone who has been waiting for me to write something, anything at all, for some time. A sudden family illness has held my time and creative thoughts hostage for the past two weeks. My sister fell, and then came the Intensive Care Unit, a nuclear stress test with alarming results, an emergent trasfer to a higher level hospital, Cardiology Consult and Cardiac Cath. Now, with a diagnosis of Coronary Artery Disease and 1st degree heart block, she is back at home still needing more care and more time. Slowly, but surely, she is regaining her strength and some independence. And I have just managed to lift my head up to scan the horizon for my lost joy – my writing. Today I prepared my second status query for the publisher who is still considering my middle grade novel. Soon I will have enough time to get back to work on my primary work in progress. And, so much more. I feel my muse stretching, awakening, yearning. I can hardly wait for us to write those lyrical words together again.

A fierce 3 day Nor’easter that dumped 21 inches of snow on Boston and the south shore of Massachusetts. A state of emergency was declared for 3 days after the storm. It took all three days for us to clear out our driveway. Well, it was a big driveway. Big deal, right? No! Last Wednesday Lake effect snow buried us here in upstate NY. Over 2 feet of steady snow blanketed the area. The whole county had a snow day. Except for the shoveling, shoveling and shoveling, it was great. Hot chocolate by the blazing fireplace and a little extra time to edit and rewrite the first eight chapters of my current WIP. But the garden gnome that merrily swings from a branch on the plum tree summer and fall has now become the weather gnome.
Here he is on the day of the storm.
Brrrr! The wild turkeys also braved the storm to forage under our bird feeders.

weather gnome

lake effect lunch

I came across some great E.B. White words of advice in the October issue of Writer’s Digest. Yes, I am a little behind in my reading.
Here is the excerpt, taken from E. B. White’s personal correspondence in Stylized: A Slightly Obsessive History of Sturnk & White’s Elements of Style by Mark Garvey:
It comes down to the meaning of “needless.” Often a word can be removed without destroying the structure of a sentence, but that does not necessarily mean that the word is needless or that the sentence has gained by its removal.
If you were to put a narrow construction on the word “needless,” you would have to remove tens of thousands of words from Shakespeare, who seldom said anything in six words that could be said in twenty. Writing is not an exercise in excision, it’s a journey into sound. How about “tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow”? One tomorrow would suffice, but it’s the other two that have made the thing immortal.
Now, isn’t that heartening advice in light of all the voices urging writers to cut every “unnecessay” word?

The 14th annual Glens Falls Chronicle Book Fair,
Sunday, Nov. 1, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. At the Queensbury Hotel in downtown Glens Falls.
Admission is FREE!
Info: 792-1126 or email to chronicle@loneoak.com
This year’s headlining author is John F. Ross, author of the ground-breaking new book War on the Run, The Epic Story of Robert Rogers and the Conquest of America’s First Frontier. Mr. Ross will give a talk at 1 p.m. in the Warren Room of the Queensbury Hotel, and he’ll be here all day to sell and sign copies of his new book.
Of course, that’s far from all. Again this year, we have approximately 120 authors, booksellers, publishers, non-profits and other groups signed up to attend the Book Fair.
We’ll fill the downstairs of the Queensbury Hotel with all-day author readings, book signings, children’s activities, demonstrations, slide-illustrated talks and more. Offerings include children’s books, regional history, travel books, Adirondack titles, hiking guides, photography, poetry, mystery and detective novels, science fiction, cook books, antique and used books and much more.
Presenters include Adirondack photographer/authors Carl Heilman II, Mark Bowie, Paul Gibaldi — each with a new slide-illustrated multi-media show.
Venerable retired ob/gyn “Dr. Dan” O’Keeffe’s new memoir about of his experiences as a physician in Glens Falls.
Gail Fraser, author of the hugely popular Lumby series of mysteries, set in a small town in something like Washington County.
The Warren County Historical Society will be taking pre-orders for its brand-new History of Warren County, due later in November.
Teri Gay’s new history of the Suffrage movement in the North Country.
Judy Lake’s high-quality hand-crafted lampshade crafts.
New and favorite titles from The Adirondack Mountain Club, Adirondack Life, and North Country Public Radio, as well as the Chapman Historical Museum and the Hyde Collection art museum.
Children’s author-illustrators Sheri Amsel, Bruce Hiscock, Tatine Rehm, Frieda Toth and Marika McCoola, Marlene Newman, Irene Uttendorfsky and many more.
Bill Gates and his numerous histories of Bolton Landing and Lake George
Chronicle friends and family including Sandra Hutchinson (Leaping Off Cliffs, humorous essays on family life), Mark Frost (the classic Scattered Frost), Mark’s brother Richard Frost (walking tours of the North Country) and Chronicle Outdoors writer Dan Ladd (his guide to deer hunting in the Adirondacks).
And that’s just a very small sampling!
The full program and schedule of events will be printed in the Oct. 29 issue of The Chronicle.
Please call Chronicle managing editor Cathy DeDe with any questions – 792-1126
The Chronicle
Northern New York’s Leading Newspaper

I am re-reading Hattie Big SKy by Kirby Larson, 2006 Newbery Honor Book. Two of my favorite sentences from today’s reading:
“Across the flat prarie, the church sailed into view, a small ship of salvation on the buffalo grass sea.”
“We will sing ‘Love Divine All Loves Excelling.” Mrs. Martin crashed out a semblance of the tune on the careworn upright piano. The choir lurched and stumbled somewhere near the proper melody.
I’m also reading Night by Elie Wiesl, a stark, compelling story of the author’s terrifying experiences in a concentration camp.
Here’s my favorite quote from yesterday’s writing of my WIP: Fire erupted; crackling, smoking, angry, hungry flames that quickly mounted the wall and reached for the roof timbers.
Of course you know what happens to favorite sentences. Snip, snip, snip.

My to-do list just keeps growing. I peck away at it a little every day, but I never completely catch up. Does anyone? I know, I know. But this is the season to hurry, The passing days always start to pick up speed right after Labor Day here and, like the local bears, I feel a sense of urgency to prepare for winter. Of course I don’t plan to hibernate, nor do I plan to eat myself into obesity before the first snow flies. But I do feel the need to complete any planned research travels before I am snowbound. Right now we are enjoying a typical north country autumn, my favorite season of the year. Today I made the first of many apple pies from the Wolf River apple tree. Mmmmm! Maybe the bear is on to something.

Although I am busily researching and writing my latest historical fiction, my muse takes over whenever my mind wanders. She patiently looks over my shoulder while I wade through historical timelines, check carefully for accuracy and search for the perfect voice. But the minute I stop writing she takes over. No matter what else I have planned to do she is there, working through the plot, setting and characters for the next Adirondack Mouse Book. She’s even got me arranging for a field trip to the planned location and setting up an interview with a local expert. Don’t get me wrong, I love her enthusiasm and her inspiration. But I’m only a mere mortal who likes to finish what I’ve started before moving on to the next work in progress.

Had a great day under the tent at the Adirondack Reader in Inlet yesterday. The Author’s Fair was well attended despite a few sprinkles and book sales were good. The best part? Chatting with my friend, Nancy. We’ve been friends since before Kindergarten, but we don’t often get a chance to get together anymore. It was so good to see her and so much fun to remember the “good old days”.
Tomorrow it’s back to my WIP. Time to finish up the latest edits and move the plot forward.