Friday, December 14, 2007

Ready for podcasting? Testing, testing, 1, 2, 3...

I'm venturing in to the unknown today. I'm pretty sure I need to do something to shrink the size of this file, and I haven't figured that out yet. But it is an mp3 file which should play.

Here is the link to Chapter 9 of Molly O'Malley and the Leprechaun: Three Wishes.

Try it out!

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Baby Steps

This is my first blog, ever. Actually I think I was blogging several years back on our church web site where there was a forum to express opinions - and there were a lot of opinions - but this is my first modern blog.

I am a writer. I plan to share my writing with you. Feel free to comment, make suggestions as to what topics you would like to see in a book or story, share your own writing on the blog. My goal is to make the best writing available to anyone who wants it, and listen to what people are sharing.

I also participate in a couple of writer's groups. Yes, writers need some one else to share their woes, too. :) My local writer's group in Blue Springs is sponsored by Parkside Books. Parkside Books has a newsletter which hosts some of our group's writings. I'm going to share my humble article that was featured in the December newsletter. Let me know if you would like to see more!

December Magic

The early morning sun glinted off the ice crystals that clung to the old oak tree. In the hollow between two great branches, water warmed by the sun trickled down to pool and freeze again. As the sun rose higher it made the tiny frozen pool sparkle, and a sliver of ice quivered in the warmth. Another sliver fluttered, then another, until Acorn was fully roused. The little frost fairy sat up in her treetop sanctuary and yawned.

“December already?” she murmured, stretching as she stood up. “Marvelous! That will make up for that horrid early Spring we had!”

Setting a dainty foot confidently on the gnarled branch, she pushed off and slid down its length, hopping over knot holes along the way. When she reached the end she leaped out into space, her wings spread wide to catch her. With a glorious lazy spiral she glided to the ash tree next door.

“Poco! Poco, wake up! The first frost has come!”

A second fairy, curled up in a crook of his tree groaned in reply. “Go away, Acorn! I’m dreaming about a lovely blizzard, and you’re not in it!”

“That’s not fair!” Acorn pouted. “I want to be in the blizzard! Anyway, the first frost has come, and it’s time to get up! I want to play, and paint pictures on windows, and make the grass stiff so it crunches when people walk on it!”

Poco sat up, blinking his blue eyes under his tousled hair. “When we grow up, can we make a blizzard?”

Acorn laughed and shook her head. “Then who would make the frost? Come on, everyone is waiting for us to put the bugs to sleep, and make their breath float like clouds, and make their noses and cheeks rosy so they feel good when they get warm again!”

The boy fairy climbed to his feet and shook his wings. “People are so strange. Who wants to be warm? Let’s go have some fun while we can!”

The two friends flew off, no more than reflections from the sun to the casual observer. They would freeze flagpoles and paint snowflakes and chill everyone around until the warm days of Spring would lull them into slumber again.