Thanksgiving Weekend 2019

Hello...

(a series of "hellos" echo into the never-ending void of the internet)

I hope you enjoyed your extra long weekend of Thankfulness. And I hope the coming year gives you even more for which to be thankful.

It was a wonderful weekend for the Bradford family... but it was bittersweet too. Emily visited us for the whole week! But the time flew by so fast. She left this morning on an early flight to Portland. We already miss her!

Our Thanksgiving feast took place at a friend's house in Acton... and it snowed!!!

We also watched the Opening Night of ELF at the Canyon Theatre Guild. (Get your tickets, ASAP, Santa Clarita... they are selling out fast!)

In between rainstorms, we met with Mia, an amazing photographer, and she took pics for our upcoming Christmas card...

(Don't worry... These are photos I took of the photography session... Mia's are much better!)

The Christmas lights are up on the roof (thanks to me) and the inside of the house is all decorated (thanks to Cheri).

Let's see... What else did we do???

Oh, Emily got her very first tattoo!!!

Oh, and to fulfill a promise I made to her over four years ago, I got my first tattoo as well... But that's a story for another blog post! 

Seasons Greetings!!!

NanoWriMo Update: I Finished My Second Draft -- I Wrote a Novel, Now What?

NanoWriMo Day 23: I Am Way Behind

+30 YEARS OF REJECTION: My First Query Letter & My First Rejection Letter

In the Thick of It...

*sigh*

The days are packed. Mostly with grown-up stuff. Grading essays. Going to and from work. Walking those desperately needy dogs.

There's also been a lot of good stuff going on. Mackenzie turned 21!!!!

My agent likes the first five chapters of my novel!!!

We have an improv show this Saturday!!!


Yet, around us, there's been bad things happening. Today, a 16 year old murdered two students and injured several others. This happened at Saugus High School, about ten miles our neighborhood. So, we've been feeling sad and subdued today.


I'm thankful to be alive. I'm thankful that my family is alive and well. It's not fair that today there are other families that cannot say the same thing.


But here I am, doing what I do. Typing on my blog. I'm sitting in my office at Moorpark College, and as soon as I'm done writing, I will attempt to grade my daily quota of six essays. It makes me think of that sad Robert Frost poem, "Out, Out--"

Little --- less --- nothing! -- and that ended it.
No more to build on there. And they, since they
Were not the one dead, turned to their affairs. 

Revising My Novel: Tips for Sensational Second Drafts

I'm continuing my YouTube Journey... If you'd like me to keep on making these videos, you can help me out by Subscribing to my channel!

If you are writing a novel for NaNoWriMo -- I wish you all the best. Leave a comment and let me know how it's going!

ADVICE FOR NEW NOVELISTS: 4 Tips to Help You Write Your Book

I've been very ambitious with my YouTube videos lately.  The last couple have been playing for laughs, but I really did want to offer some genuine advice and encouragement to newer writers who have decided they would like to write a novel.



I'd love to keep making these sorts of videos, but starting on Monday I'll have another batch of essays to grade!  We'll see what that does to my creative output!

How to Increase Your Word Count (Stephen King Method)

NaNoWriMo Day 1: Writing Tips