My darling, dear husband took the Short One off my hands completely for the day! (Shorty wasn't so hot on the idea, until Dad took him to a new park - then it was the best idea ever.)

It was a wee bit agonizing, but with the room to 'float' (my word for daydream with no distractions) I was able to get over a hurdle and bang out 4,000+ words.

I've had to get very mean with my I.E. (inner editor). I bound and gagged, then threw her in the closet, but she still kept shouting things at me. "Page two still STINKS - go back and fix it, you numbskull!"  Finally to appease her, I turned one of my major characters into a big jerk and made him leave his wife. "Good job! Now she can marry the handsome prince at the end."  (Dont' be too mad - I was going to kill him off at first!) 

So -  at the moment, my word count stands at just under 14,000 words. Not where I'd hoped to be, but a darn sight farther than I was this morning!  The goal is still very reachable, even if the stretching does get a little uncomfortable.

Well, it took six days for me to get behind.  I'm down, but not out  - this isn't that kind of whine.

It's this kind:

How come when you are doing something that is important everything under the sun happens to prevent you, or at least discourage you, from doing that important thing?  (Yes, I know that's a run on sentence - stop editing!)  Seriously - it happens to me every single time something good is coming. It's the calm before the storm, only in reverse. And it's really, really annoying!

NaNoWriMo started on the 1st of the month - and here's what's been happening in that last week:

Shorty and I saw the doctor - we both have had the respiratory flu, and now we have the stomach flu to go along with.  I'm just coughing a lot and mildly nauseated. Danny, on the other hand, has been puking up his heels every evening. It's a little hard to write and hold a little boy who's guts refuse to stay put. (How I can actually DO that is a whole other topic - God gives mothers superpowers, I just know it!)

My husband and I ended up in a huge argument that lasted all day and part of the next. It was stupid. I was right, he was a jerk. (yeah, okay, so that's not really true - it was six of one, half dozen of the other. Hey, I never claimed to be perfect.)  I can't write when I'm mad - it just comes out as bad words and complaining.

I sprained my thumb somehow. At least I think I did - I was standing in a second hand shop today and my hand went into this massive cramp.  That five hours ago - and I still can't move my left thumb without excruciating pain. Happily it's just my thumb, but that's my space-bar digit, so it slows down the typing a bit.

My nephew (you know the one with the three kids that went on the cross-country adventure with me?) had another crisis. So I spent a while in tears. That's always conducive to writing - if you're working on a Shakespearian tragedy, but not for my current work in progress.

Add to this all a dog that has to be taken out once in a while, a cat that likes to sit on my keyboard and tries to escape every time I take the dog out, having to run interference between dog and boy, dad and boy, boy and anything that might possibly bruise him, dog and anything that might bruise me and the presence of a very necessary bottle of nasty tasting cough syrup and box of kleenex...  well, you get the picture.

Once I did sit down to write this evening, with the boy in bed, the dog on the couch and the cat sprawled all over the living room floor - I can't for the life of me figure out how to get the king to the place he needs to be to meet the heroine of the story. He's very nice, but he's very reserved, not the kind of guy to jump off the page and talk to me. What does he need, anyway, an engraved invitation?  Where are my voices???  I have no voices in my head - and that, for a writer, is frightening!

exxxxxhhhhhhhhhhhaaaaaaaaaaaaaallllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllle.

I ought to just go to bed, get a good night's sleep, and start fresh in the morning. Oh, wait - that won't work. I have to pick my husband up from work at 11 pm. And tomorrow, he works a ten hour shift starting early, so it'll be poor sick me, poor sick, bored little boy, ADHD dog, and escape artist cat all day long.

I should be at 10,000 words. I'm sitting at 7,440. That's not too shabby, all things considered.

I shall overcome.

No, maybe not - but I shall write!

I knew it! I just knew it!


NaNoWriMo is going to be good for me!


The first day of NaNo is well underway, and I've exceeded my goal by 100 words.  Count for today? 2,101 words!


Yay NaNo!  Yay Me!!  Yayyyy - WORDS!

Dred died not knowing that his undying courage led directly to the election of President Abraham Lincoln and the emancipation proclamation.Dred Scott's inspiring and compelling true story of adventure, courage, love, hatred, and friendship parallels the history of this nation from the long night of slavery to the narrow crack in the door that would ultimately lead to freedom and equality for all men.

There are so many things to be said about this book, it will be hard to narrow it to a helpful review!

For history buffs, which I think most people who pick this book up will be, this is a must have. It should be the staple of a historian's library, especially for those interested in the Civil War. I can see, and would highly recommend, Am I Not A Man being put to great use as required reading for college, or even high school, American History courses. The detail included of such a confusing time in US history is astounding.

I am not a history buff. And the entire thought of slavery ever being allowed in this, the home of the free, sickens me.

This story was almost agonizing for me to read. Not because of the writing style, which was excellent, but because this is a true story. Mark Shurtleff captured the person so well that you get to know these people, and this man who took the name of Dred, and it is almost as if it's happening to a dear friend!

Knowing that Dred died before the complete tale was told worried me when I first started reading. How can you possibly have a happy ending in that case? You can't really. The end may not be happy, but it is triumphant, and in this case, I think that is the better of the two options. Dred Scott's life, his persistance and determination to oppose the law peacefully instead of turning to violence, affected an entire nation. I am glad that his story was told, and not allowed to fall into obscurity, as I'm sure many, many others have done.

So - did I enjoy the book? Not exactly, but I am glad I read it.

Good for kids? Not remotely. There is nothing inappropriate in the writing, but the subject matter, and the cold, hard facts of what Dred and his family endured, are too much for young readers. Give this to history buffs, teach it in college classrooms, that is where it will do the most good!

Would I recommend it? HIGHLY.

Am I Not A Man? by Mark Shurtleff

Publisher: Valor Publishing Group; 1st edition (November 3, 2009)
ISBN-10: 1935546007
ISBN-13: 978-1935546009

Available to purchase at Amazon.com - Follow THIS LINK.