December 2008 UPDATE: What began in October 2007 as a short story has morphed into a novel, a draft now of 102,000 words, shaped by dreams, research, and simply writing every day. I finished the first rough draft of about 90,000 words by September 2008; I'm deep in revision now, no more daily word count (though once in a while I peek). Writing goal: Finish revisions by December 2009.
Overview of Standing Stones. Set in Scotland in 1846, the MacDonnell family (four brothers and a sister) struggle with the radical changes brought by the Industrial Revolution, the clearances, and the potato famine. One by one, the family disbands. Dougal and Colin join the Hudson's Bay Company and travel to Fort Vancouver in the Pacific Northwest. Moira, six months pregnant and abandoned by her husband, and Jamie, her ten-year-old brother, search for work in the newly industrialized cities of Inverness and Edinburgh. And, Mac, the leader of the MacDonnell clan, faces charges of treason, work on a prison hulk, and transportation to Australia, with his sweetheart following him on an emigrant ship.
In August 2008, I attended my first writer's conference (the Willamette Writers' Conference in Portland), an A+ event.
Other writing projects: My other writing projects are not as intense. I try to participate in Sunday Scribbling every week (mostly poetry). It's a lovely, nurturing online writing community. See Beth and Writing for my poetry blog.
Before Standing Stones, I was working on a collection of short stories, but this has now been set aside. Nearly every culture around the world has a story to tell about mermaids. So often, stories about mermaids are about abandonment, fear, and violence. My stories so far have been set in Oregon, Mexico, the Artic, and Russia. I'm slow to send these out.
- Rusalka (accepted 2/08)
- The Tower and the Net
- The Mermaid Quilt
- La Sirena
- Sedna's Gift
- The Siren's Song
I may be working on travel articles with a South American setting later in 2009. Although I've taught techical and research writing online using Blackboard, I've never participated in a writers' group online. This Fall 2008, I discovered The Internet Writing Workshop. What a wonderful collection of critters and writers.
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