What a week. One bird and two frogs used my car to commit suicide–all on the same day. My eye doc recommended trifocals. My skin doc cut something off of me and sent it for evaluation. My husband ate the last of the homemade tamales. We bought twelve. I got three. I made sure he understood not to make this mistake twice.

On the “good” side of the tally page, I joined a local critique group. Talk about a huge plus! Writers read from their current WIPs and received the wisdom of those who listened. And the responses were valuable, not restricted to “change this word” or “put a comma there,” but serious, helpful criticism.

One of the members, who will soon be leaving our area, took the time to read from the sequel to her MG chap-book, The Sack. Miss Gwen’s work is beautiful and symbolic, but not over the heads of the kids she writes for. It was an honor to meet her and hear her read from her draft.

Speaking of MG and YA books, I met an 8th grade English teacher at the dermatologist’s office. Since the doctor was running behind, we had a wonderful talk about whether kids read, what they read, how well they comprehend what they read. It was an eye opener for me. One of the things I learned is that kids love books centered in the world of sports. Anyone writing about a kid or a young team overcoming odds to become victorious is in good shape.

Earlier this week, I learned a tidbit from a woman I grew up with. So thankful we reconnected! Anyway she told me how she used to know every author who’d impressed her and became a fan of certain ones, buying whatever bore their names. But with her Kindle, she no longer knows who she’s reading. She rarely sees the cover again after she has purchased the book, and without a header on the page, isn’t reminded of the writer’s name. That’s an interesting–and sad–downside of having your library loaded into a device whose cover is the only one you see regularly. I’m new enough to e-publishing that I wouldn’t have a clue how to keep my name in the reader’s mind with every reading session. Maybe someone has ideas?

I arrived at my optometrist’s office a full forty-five minutes early, which took me by surprise. But that’s okay, I said, because I brought my book (well, I brought my Kindle). The receptionist asked me what I was reading and next thing you know, we were talking about me being an author–and I sold another book. Love when that happens!

The best news of the week, though, involves this picture. Remember him? I’d written that I wanted to do a literary piece based on this picture. Well, meet Clancy Gallagher, baseball star of 1908. The piece is a short story set in 1937-38. Some day I’ll post it here, or at least tell you how you can get it. A friend is urging me to sell it, but I wanted to enter it into a contest or two. Just need to cut some words out of it. If I wanted to enter it into the Writers Digest short story contest, I’d have to cut it in half, and I don’t think I can do that. But the Lorian Hemingway competition may be the ticket for 2015. We’ll see . . .

Next week is Mom time again. If I get a burst of ideas and energy today or tomorrow, I’ll write my posts for the week. Otherwise, you may find a rerun or two. I’m allowed.