Joyce Magnin's Blog, page 19

Veteran's Day

Here's the thing, I miss my Dad today. He was a world war 2 vet, a decorated officer, and present and just about every major battle from being one of the first to land at Normandy on Omaha Beach to the the Battle of the Bulge. Dad loved to tell war stories and I loved to listen. When I was about fifteen or so I discovered a drawer full of pictures, little tiny B&W pictures of my father's tour of duty. He had taken a little Brownie camera with him and documented pretty much everything from boo...

A Sneak Peek at My New Novel

Here's the thing, My new novel, Charlotte Figg Takes Over Paradise is not releasing until next Fall. But here's a little look. Let me know what you think.

Welcome to The Paradise Trailer Park where softball is queen, the pie is tasty and the secrets must be told.
Here's a short little teaser synopsis.

Newly widowed Charlotte Figg purchases a double wide trailer, sight unseen and moves to the Paradise Trailer Park with her dog Lucky. Unfortunately, neither the trailer nor Paradise are what Charlo...

The One-Legged Bird

Here's the thing, my mother never turned away a stray animal. I could bring anything home and keep it. Among my many pets there were, dogs, cats, birds, snakes, miscellaneous hamsters, guniea pigs, fish, frogs, turtles, gerbils, mice and even a flying squirrel we named Rocket J. And as many of you know, Flossie was the orginal pet whisperer. I swear the woman could communicate with animals. It was eerie. One day I found a baby bird and brought him home. "His leg is broken," Mom said. Then she...

Wrting vs. Cattle Ranching

Here's the thing, writing is hard work. So is cattle ranching. At least, I imagine cattle ranching to be a difficult job, having never ranched cattle in my life. I did however attempt to ride a cow one night. She wasn't very happy about it and scared the bejeebers out of me when she turned her head and looked at me with her giant cow eyes and mooed and the farmer started shooting buckshot over my head. But that's not important. What is important is that writing is hard work. Yet, I love it an...

National Raisin Bread Month is Here

Here's the thing, November is National Raisin Bread Month. Now I like rasin bread as much as the next fella but honestly, does rasin bread really need its own month. I mean what are we supposed to do to honor this. Eat rasin bread, I guess. But I got to thinking about it and had to wonder who was the first person to toss raisins into bread dough and what was going through her mind when she did it? Well, I did some research and discovered a few little known facts about rasiins. For one thing ...

Stranger Than Fiction

Here's the thing. I am still getting over this nasty sinus infection. Geeze. It jsut will not go away. But, even in my misery I was able to write a new column for Christian Fiction Online Magazine. So, fo today's post I am sending you over there for a glimpse into the types of experiences that cause a young girl to grow up to be a writer.

Go here.

On another note I am excited to say that I have turned in my new novel, Charlotte Figg Takes Over Paradise. I hope my editor likes it.

Oh, Deer

Here's the thing. I've been sick with the Piglet Flu, not a full hog-on swine but certainly close to it. So, that's my excuse for not blogging this week. I am so sorry my faithful fans. But I am happy to say that I'm feeling better, my brain is back to it's usual abnormal, twisted self and I am here to post. So yesterday, I had to drive out to West Chester University (it's not far) to bring my daughter some supplies when I changed lanes and found myself following the truck in the picture abov...

Why I Love Baseball

Here's the thing, I like baseball and for a Philadelphia fan the last couple of years have been pretty awesome. The Phillies won the World Series last year and are on their way to a repeat this year. It doesn't get any better. But being a Phillies fan or Phan is not so easy. They drive me nuts and at times I have to leave the room when they're playing because I just can't watch anymore, especially when Brad Lidge is on the mound. All he needs to do is strike out two batters and what does he d...

How do you say it? How do you play it?

Here't the thing, the other night I instructed my young son to turn out the light in his bedroom and found myself correcting what I said to "turn off" the light in his bedroom. I mean he really is only fliping a switch. It's not like he needs to blow out a lantern. And that got me thinking. How do you say it?
Do you say:
Turn out or turn off the lights?
Do you call
in or out sick?
Do you stand
in or on line?
And then the other day Adam told me he was going out to play and said he would "knock up" f...

Pulpwood Queens

Here's the thing, The Pulpwood Queens Book club, the largest tiara-wearing, book-loving, book reading book club in the world has chosen The Prayers of Agnes Sparrow as thier Bonus book selection for November. I am thrilled and honored and hoping that some of them will choose Agnes and/or that some of you other book club people will choose to read Agnes. If you do please let me know and I will will provide copies of the gorgeous map of Bright's Pond to everyone in your group. The map, suitable...