Double bling

October and November have been busy months for this word nerd! Along with writing, I've added a new passion to my list of loves. Paper flowers. Who knew this was something I'd be good at. I've been quite busy growing the paper-flower hobby into a business. I've posted about my art and Etsy store before. I've spent the last month and a half perfecting my techniques, developing the business, and preparing for a craft fair that happened yesterday. It was my first, and hopefully the first of many. Want to see some of my paper blossoms? Check out my latest post at Closet Full of Crafts.

Six words that mean so much

Of course, nothing can replace my deep love for writing, so no matter how busy I get with other things, I'm still always writing and/or thinking about it. Earlier this month, I learned that I was included in a new book by Larry Smith (mastermind of Sixwordmemoirs.com [SWM], a component of Smith Magazine). I've been a contributing member on SWM for a year now. It's a fun site with lots of opportunities for writers. For example, I've been the memoir of the day, known as the MOTD, 11 times, had more than 30 six-word memoirs end up as editor's picks, I've been a contest winner twice, and now I can say that I have been included in their latest book called The Best Advice in Six Words. To be part of something so cool and so big is simply euphoric.

Freedom with writing 

Before I had a chance to come down from that high, I got another email of congratulations a week later. An essay I had submitted back in August was accepted for publication in an e-book anthology called The Paid & Published Writer: 13 Stories of Paid Publishing Success. I seem to have the best luck with essays, so I plan to keep working on those. I love you, fiction and journalism, but essays are my hot button right now.

Freedom With Writing is another excellent site. The editor Jacob Jans is great! He sends out lists of writing opportunities with detailed information about the best places to submit work, which publications pay the most, or pay at all, and the link to submission guidelines to publications you might not even know exist. I absolutely love this site and highly recommend it.

So there you have it, a couple months of high productivity and some great writing credits earned. I'm looking forward to more of that and to the glorious holiday season!

Wishing good times to all.