In which I discuss new beginnings of many types

Happy 2011!

Where have I been for the last 10 days?  Well, purging my house and cleaning like a house cleaning mad thing on mad house cleaning tablets.  Seriously, it's awesome in here.

Which is good, because I'm about to start working from home.  How do you like them apples?  I like 'em just fine, especially with a little caramel to dip them in.  It's a good news, bad news thing--as these things so often are--because the reason I'm about to start working from home is I went ahead and lost my not-at-home job.  (Such a weird expression, like my job slipped out of my pocket on my way home, or I'll turn it up next time I pull of the sofa cushions).  But I digress...

The query hunt has been fruitful these last few weeks.  I'm running at about a 30% request rate for all the replies I've gotten thus far, and that my friends, is nothing to sneeze at.  (And speaking of weird expressions, do people sneeze at things they disdain in real life?)  I'm really hopeful that this is going to be THE ONE that lands me an agent.  We'll see, won't we?

The red ones make it look
like the tub is bleeding, too,
which is fun!

The other night I was in the shower when an idea struck me like a bolt from the blue, as these things so often do in the shower.  So now I have a new tip for you from one writer to another:  If you do not have children, or your children are grown, you should STILL have bath markers in your shower, because you can make notes all over the wall while your brain is full of suds and steam and all other good things shower-related.  Then you can take pictures of them with your trust iPhone and never worry you'll forget what came to you in the shower again.  So there you go.



Finally, I would like to pimp four blogs to you.

1.  My friend Jane is new to the writing world, finding her way and feeling a bit of a fool for not knowing what to do with this on-line world of writerliness.  Feel free to stop by and give her some newbie lovin'.

2.  This is the story of someone in my family's death and subsequent illegal burial.  I will be no more specific.  And don't worry, it happened a long time ago, so I'm not looking for sympathy.  Quite frankly, it's HIGH-larious.

3.  Speaking of HIGH-larious.  Hyperbole and a Half's latest blog is a story I could so picture happening in my family, specifically to my son, in fact, that I had to share it.

4.  My critique group, the erstwhile Inkslingers, have started a new project--tiny little writing prompts that we're all going to answer in a very tiny way every few weeks.  It's a casual affair, but I'd love you all to play along!  Everyone is welcome.  See the rules, written by yours truly, to join us.

How's by you, blog followers and casual readers?  Anyone else got some new beginnings to share for this cold January night?

- Liz