The Cat in the Blog

I'm so glad to be back here again Under the Tiki Hut. I've missed the ocean breezes, the drinks, and the cabana boys :)

And, of course, I've missed all of you!

Tell me what you've been doing while I was playing hard at work. Any important news I missed?

My goal while I was away was to immerse myself in my writing project. I did. And when I finish the chapter I'm currently working on, I will have accomplished what to me is an amazing 104 pages. I'm pretty sure I'll complete it on schedule now.

But that's not all I did. I may not have been chatting away with all of you, but I've been busy.

First, I've done a little blog work. I updated my profile and moved things around in the sidebar.

You may - or may not - recall me talking here a while back about my poet friend who sends me a new poem every day. I know . . . I find it totally amazing, too. Anyway, right before I went on break he sent me one about the Tiki Hut. I asked if I could permanently post it in the sidebar, and he said Yes! So you can read it, too. It's over to the right, at the top. It didn't format out as he wrote it - not sure what's going on between my fingers and the screen, but the words and the spirit are there.

Speaking of not formatting correctly ... not sure what happened with my photo either. I'll continue trying to get it to normal size. Maybe I forgot everything I knew about Blogger while I was away.

Wednesday we start a new round of guest bloggers. This time it will be their characters who visit Under the Tiki Hut. I'm looking forward to all these guest posts. I've read the first one. You'll like it!

And lest you're thinking all I did was keep my derriere glued to the chair ... not so. In the middle of my blog break - which turned into pretty much a break from Facebook, Twitter, and Google+, too, I attended MWA-U in New Orleans.

If one comes to your area - even if you don't write in the overall mystery genre - I highly recommend attending. Presentations are geared toward newer writers, but even if you're published, I guarantee your money won't be wasted. Presenting authors change depending on location. Ours were Jess Lourey, Vicki Stiefel, David Morrell, Julie Smith, Reed Farrel Coleman, and Hank Phillippi Ryan. The day offered a lot of interaction and great feedback.

Live-In Handyman tagged along and we took an extra day to enjoy The Big Easy.

This art gallery with Posing Cat was a block from our hotel:




It's good to be back!

= = = = = = = = = = = =

Forgot to say that I'll be straggling around to your blogs at odd times for the next month or so. Gotta stay on top of my manuscript. So if you see posts from me at midnight, that's why.

Comments

Unknown said…
Welcome back, Carol. You've been busy.(: Congrats on completing the first 104 pages of your book. I'm impressed by your dedication.

Just returned from the James River Writer's Conference in Virginia. I gathered a lot of useful info for us new writers. A post on this will follow sometime next week (hopefully). In the meantime, I'll be polishing my MS., until it shines. An agent requested the first thirty pages and I want to make sure they are pristine before sending em off.

Again, welcome back. Looking forward to seeing you round the bloggersphere.
Linda Kage said…
It's been awful here in blogosphere without you! Don't ever leave again. We missed you so much.

Okay, honestly, nothing new in my world. Love the cat and the poem. Glad you're back.
Linda G. said…
Welcome back to the blogosphere! Good to see you here again. :)
Joanne said…
Welcome back, and congrats on the writing goals met! I'm looking forward to your new series, sounds very intriguing ...
Luanne G. Smith said…
Welcome back. So glad to hear you got some good writing done.

Love the picture of the cat in the window.
Julie Flanders said…
Nice to have you back, Carol, and I'm glad your break was a good one!

I'm looking forward to the upcoming guest posts, great idea to have the characters come and visit. Love the cat in the window! :)
Carol Kilgore said…
Andrea - Congrats on the partial request! I know you had fun at the conference.

LKage - You DO write fiction! LOL :)

Linda G - Thanks - glad to be here.

Joanne - Thanks!

L.G. - I'm glad about that, too.
Anne Gallagher said…
Welcome back. I joined you right before you left, but then you went away. I thought it was something I said. hee hee.

I'm glad you had such a great time at the conference. Love the cat.
Carol Kilgore said…
Julie - Great! I love that cat, too.

Anne - LOL! This is pretty much a free-speech blog :)
Jan Morrison said…
Welcome back dear Carol! I am green with you know that you went away and wrote. Kudos to you. I think I need to steal some time too. A week or two in a place without internet would be swell.
Talk to you soon under the hut!
Southpaw said…
That's fantastic news on your manuscript.

As for me, I've been busy messing up my blog and my feeds. I think I forgot how blogger works too!
Janet, said…
Welcome back! It is hard to keep up with our writing and do blogs and facebook, too. Sounds like you accomplished a lot and had some fun along the way.
Emily R. King said…
Your blog looks great! It's so purty. : ) Nice to have you back.
Wow! You have been busy. Welcome back and congratulations on being so productive.
Donna v.
Jo said…
Welcome back, Carol and congratulations on the 104 pages. I love the cat in the art gallery. (I love cats so will always say I love something like this!) Have a great day. Happy writing. Jo, Kenya
julie fedderson said…
Glad to have you back, and it sounds like you had a productive time. The poem is a perfect introduction to the Tiki Hut!
Carol Kilgore said…
Jan - I'm amazed by how much I accomplished. I wanted to do more, but it didn't happen.

Holly - I'm going to mess with it again next weekend. Frustrating.

Janet - It is hard. And when you add real life to the mix, there's not much time left over.

Emily - Thanks. Nice to be back :)

Donna - Thanks.

Jo - I love cats, too, but I'm allergic. So the pane of glass was purr-fect!

Julie F - I love that poem. It express exactly what I want the Tiki Hut to be about.
Glad you're back! That was really nice of your friend to write a poem about your blog. Me, I'm just gearing up for next February!
Mason Canyon said…
Welcome back. Sounds like you were busy but did manage a bit of time for yourself, which is always good. Very nice poem about The Tiki Hut and cute cat photos. Glad to see ya.

Mason
Thoughts in Progress
Freelance Editing By Mason
Golden Eagle said…
Welcome back! :)

I love the poem.

Congratulations on your writing! And it sounds like it was a great event.
Carol Kilgore said…
Alex - I think so, too. I was really surprised when it arrived in my inbox.

Mason - Yes, it was a good break. Loved the kitty :)

Golden Eagle - Good to be back. The event was awesome.
VR Barkowski said…
Congrats on that amazing page count and welcome back! This is the second set of pics of I've seen from NOLA today. I'm getting very homesick for the City that Care Forgot.
Welcome back. Your blog looks great!
Anonymous said…
I love your blog's new look, Carol.

And it's awesome that you got so much good stuff written. I had to slow down with blogging too so I could spend more time on my writing projects. I'm blogging once a week right now and posting an excerpt each time from the memoir I'm ghost writing for a friend. When you get a minute, stop by and take a look.

Keep writing!!
Ann Best, Author of In the Mirror, A Memoir of Shattered Secrets
Carol Kilgore said…
VR - I love New Orleans.

Karen - Thanks!

Ann - I will get to your blog today or tomorrow.
Manzanita said…
Happy to see you back. Nice poem to splash around in with your creative juices. Don't know if that came out the way I wanted, but you know what I mean.
Have you ever read "Confederacy of Dunces?" Old book but a fun study of New Orleans. Dated but still one of my favorites.

Manzanita@Wannabuyaduck
LR said…
Welcome back! I missed the tiki hut and the pina coladas. :)

I'm attending my first writers' conference in November. Yay.
Carol Kilgore said…
Manzanita - Of course I know what you mean, my Scorpio Sister :) I've never read the book, but I've heard of it.

LR - Great about the conference! You'll have a wonderful time. Afterward you'll be energized and bone tired at the same time.
Anonymous said…
Welcome back Carol! Looking forward to your Friday Top 10 once again.
J.L. Campbell said…
Glad to have you back, Carol.
Carol Kilgore said…
Stephen - Ooh, I'm glad :)

J.L. - Glad to be here!
Michelle Fayard said…
The changes to your blog look classy, Carol, but then your blog always has an attractive look. And congratulations on hitting that three-digit number with your manuscript! I was reminiscing just this evening with my mom that I didn't think I'd ever hit 10,000 words, so I know just how you feel. :)
Unknown said…
Welcome back! Congrats on nailing all those pages too.

I love the posing cat. Very classy. :)
ManicScribbler said…
Glad you are back, Carol and a very high five on nailing those 100 plus pages.
You know what they say 'The first hundred...' - or maybe not :)
My cat grudgingly approves of your gallery cat btw. She thinks there should be more cats featured in blogs!
Carol Kilgore said…
Michelle - There's something special about those nice, round numbers :)

Shirley - I should have called the cat Classy Cat :)

Lyn - I'm with your cat...I think so, too!
Unknown said…
Welcome back! Your blog looks terrific!

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