Writing, Reading, and the North Wind

Last night I did something very frivolous. I ordered the NaNoWriMo travel mug, all for myself. *guilty grin* I had considered it before, but it seemed wasteful. But last night, I just did it. So there. I am not under a law to never buy nice liquid-holding containers. Well, but wouldn't a NaNoWriMo T-shirt be better, I pondered? It sounded more excusable. But I decided - Nope. A mug will be far more useful to me, and more fun. This is an amazing mug. I plan to make it pay its own way over many, many years of supplying me with warm caffeinated fluids.

Today I wrote for work most of the morning and a little into the afternoon. Then I did some dishes and a tinsy bit of housework while listening to Adventures in Odyssey, and then I settled myself on the floor with pages of story spread out, reviewing story bits I barely remembered and trying to make sense of a decent plot out of it all. Not there yet! This is one reason I so regret not finishing my first NaNoWriMo story. Once you loose the flow and forget where you were going, it's immensely difficult to pick it back up and finish the thing. At least for me. Especially when I tried a while back...meaning I now have at least three different versions to sort through. It could take a while.

Then the rest of this evening, while eating some amazing vegetable soup made by my lovely Mother, I have been swept away in Worlds Unseen, a fantasy novel by a young lady named Rachel Starr Thomson. She is a bit older than I am and still lives happily at home with her family. She has become a very inspiring example to me of the both dependence on family and of the energetic productivity a young lady can thrive in, instead of just sitting around waiting for life to start at marriage or diving off on her own lonely career. I have grown to respect and admire Rachel over the years, first through her thoughtful posts on Boundless, but also on her own blog, which I link to in my sidebar.

Rachel's book, Worlds Unseen, is amazing, and the first book is free to download. Beware, though. If you like well-writen fantasy from a Biblical worldview, it will suck you in! I already know I will be buying the second book (and possibly a hard copy of the first).

The air has been still and warm most of today and this evening as we all waited for the predicted cold front. No wind, no wind... But a few minutes ago, I heard it. The trees rushed as the North Wind came sweeping through branches and fences, proclaiming in wild and familiar voice the coming of cold. It was a thrill to recognize it's coming. I forget... How I forget!

More writing tomorrow, hopefully of both work and fun, and perhaps I'll finish the marvelous story about Maggie and her assorted friends, and the strange and wonderful and frightening world she lives in.

Oh, and tomorrow...er, today (I need to go to bed!) is exciting for another reason, too. Can you guess? Find out in my next post! Here's a clue: it has to do with a two literary characters who share something.