Floods!

How heartbreaking are the images of devastation in newspapers and on TV at the moment. It's impossible not to be moved by the survivors' stories and the tales of loss.
At the same time, the stories of courage, generosity and survival are uplifting.
If you, like so many others, are keen to help financially, here's a new way you might be interested in -Authors for Queensland.
Authors have donated books, artwork, school sessions, manuscript assessments, plus more all of which are being auction with all funds raised going to the Premiers Relief Appeal.
Check out the website and start bidding. There's something for everyone!
 http://authorsforqueensland.wordpress.com/

And, while we're on the topic, how amazing is Premier Anna Bligh?  Each day, her leadership and compassion shines!

Happy New Year!

The last few months have been amazing in so many ways.
We headed to Europe, which was incredible! Everywhere we went - Rome, Florence, Milan, Lucerne, Paris and London - were amazing, but if I had to pick a highlight, at gunpoint - Rome! The noise, people, humour, traffic, age, style - WOW! Probably has something to do with my Italian ancestry.
Learnt a few things overseas too!
1. Always cross roads in Romes with locals, or nuns. Nuns = best option.
2. Don't step on the grass at the Vatican.
3. Italians love noise. (That's my excuse for being loud!)
4. Smoking in Europe is very common.

5. Hawkers in Paris are very fast runners when pursued by police on bikes.
6. Escargots make sixteen-year-old dry retch.
7.In conflict between lift and tour guide - lift wins.
8. Motorbike riders in Malaysia are more dangerous than Roman traffic.
9. Haggling is not fun.

Vatican

10. I can't wait to go back!
Now to finish my work in progress!

Not Doing NaNoWriMo Officially But...

Many of my friends are doing NaNoWriMo. http://www.nanowrimo.org/. Each morning when I check in with Facebook (part of my pre-writing day ritual...along with Spider Solitaire if I have story issues) I'm impressed by my friends' dedication. Status updates are filled with figures - word count aims for the day and totals for the previous day. Go you good things!

So why am I not joining the craze? Well, I kind of am, just not officially as commitments from Nov 20 will slow my writing flow. My project is more a NaNoWriTwoAnAHaWe - National Novel Writing Two And A Half Weeks. Each day, I set a figure, and write like crazy intending to complete my work in progress. So far so good. November has resulted in 5,000 words ! 2500 per day, with time out for a Melbourne Cup Lunch  - I'm happy.

So, back to it. No Spider Solitaire today - during my morning walk, a new character formed and has added another level to my work. Gotta love those 'pop-in' characters!Ummm - can I use my blog as part of my word count?