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.

Sunday dinner with my family is a big part of my life. I am so lucky to have my children and at least some of my grandchildren living close enough to continue this family tradition. Today we dined on barbequed ribs and chicken with homemade sauce, boiled rice, two veggies and oreo ice cream pie for dessert. But it isn’t the food that matters. The important part is taking time to reconnect with one another, to share the news of the week gone by and our plans for the one to come. To strengthen the bonds that bind us together to celebrate the successes and to commiserate with the hard times.
The other day someone told me that Sunday dinner is “Old Fashioned.” Their tone of voice seemed to imply “out of fashion” as well. I guess it isn’t the norm for the average family of today, but I don’t think it is, or will ever be, out of fashion for families who care – about tradition and one another.

Now there’s a title with more than one meaning. There are the winds of change and the wind-whipped flames destroying Atlanta. By the end of the book everything Scarlett had is gone. Perfect title, don’t you think?
A perfect end-of-summer day here today. Warm sunshine, blue sky and puffy white clouds. The school bus made two practice runs up and down our road. Must be a new driver learning the route before school opens next week. The crickets sang with gusto all day and the squirrels harvested acorns in my backyard. Tomorrow I sign books at the Erie Canal Village Harvest Festival. Another sign of autumn.

This article, written by Jacob M. Appel for the September issue of Writer’s Digest, offers 7 tips to nail the perfect title for your fiction. Some of the tips were known to me, but some were very useful. For example, did you know that a title requres strong prose, a distinctive voice and a consistent point of view? Another hint is intriguing: Craft Two Meanings. Now that’s what I want for my work-in-progress. A title that will interest a potential reader when they first pick up my book, and then show its hidden meaning when they have read the last word. Does anyone else have any tips for picking a great title? What titles made you read your latest books? Did you find a hidden meaning when you finished the last page?