Joyce Magnin's Blog, page 25

Allergic to mice and blackberry!

Now that's weird. But very possibly true. I went to the doc on friday. Nothing spectacular, just routine and I am happy to report that everything is fine. Even my cholesterol is good. I don't deserve it. Good genes I suppose. But the other reason, the real reason I went to see my wonderful doc is because my ears hurt. I thought at first it was swimmer's ear or some such malady. But no. She looked inside and pulled and poked but no, no infection. Just some redness. "Could it be my cell phone?" I

Post-It Notes. How do I love thee!

The decision to blog might or might not have been such a wise choice for me, because like most things in my life I agonize over it. What should I blog about? Will anyone read it? Does anyone care? If Joyce blogged in the forest would she make a sound? Um. Anyway, this morning I woke up and the first thought in my brain was, "OMG, I need a blog post."

So after a cup of coffee I proceeded to think on it. Like Winnie the Pooh. "Think. Think. Think." I looked around my terribly sloppy, paper, book,

Agnes Sparrow Receives Pulpwood Queen Seal of Approval

I'm not sure exactly how it happened but a few months ago I discovered The Pulpwood Queens--the largest tiara wearing, book sharing book club pretty much on the planet. The Pulpwood Queens was founded by the astonishing Kathy Louis Patrick--a true missionary for books and literacy. And someone authors and book club people need to know. She is a dynamo with a heart for books and people like no other. Begun in her beauty parlor, Beauty and the Book, the Pulpwood Queens now have chapters all over t

Thunderstorm

It's Tuesday, so this must be Emily Dickinson day. I chose this poem today because it's kind of a nice summery poem about a thunderstorm. Enjoy. My favorite line is "The leaves unhooked themselves from the trees." It is the word unhooked that brings the surprise here, the unexpected twist that is so important to good writing. The word conveys motion while providing a stunning visual without even trying.



The wind begun to rock the grass
With threatening tunes and low, -
He flung a menace at the

4th of July Bright's Pond Style

I had a hankering for the simpler life this week so I headed on up the Pennsylvania Turnpike to celebrate the 4th of July in Bright's Pond. There is no better place on earth to recharge my batteries and reconnect with what is truly important in life—mosquito repellant, smiles, hand churned peach ice cream and slow moving traffic.
And I am happy to report that once again, the Bright's Pond Fourth of July celebration was a resounding success. The weather was perfect. Crystal clear cerulean skies w

Egg By Egg

I've been saying it for a while. I have a parakeet who thinks she's a chicken. Perhaps you scoffed at this but it's true. That's her in the picture with one of the many egg she has laid. It all started about ten months ago and at first I thought it was just some weird thing birds did. Of course there is nothing viable in the egg what with no daddy bird around, at least that I know of, unless there is some don juan bird sneaking in at night but the likelihood of that is silly. So my bird is prod

Falling in Love Again

It happened yesterday. I fell in love with my characters. This is not as crazy as it sounds. It is a good thing. A very good thing. It's hard to say why it all of a sudden happens but that's the truth. True love is like that. I can start a new novel and know in my guts that it's a good story, that the characters have appeal but it isn't until I start to love them that I can relax and let them tell their side of things. The writing becomes easier.
I can tell you exactly when it happened yesterday.

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Most folks who know me know that one of my all time favorite poets is Emily Dickinson. Her image, a Barry Moser original, hangs above my writing table. I even named my second daughter for her. I discovered Emily when I was young and although I didn't quite understand most of what she was saying, I fell in love. I knew there were secrets and sneaky meanings wrapped around each carefully chosen word and couplet. I knew she was trying to tell me something. And although I've learned to read poetry b

Fiction with Curlicues

People have been reading my novel. Ha! What a blast. I'm so excited because up until now it has only been read by friends. Now don't get me wrong, I love hearing how much my friends enjoyed my book (I respect them enough to know they're truthful) and most of my friends are people, but hearing it from strangers who don't have any stock in my life whatsoever is all the more tasty. My favorite morsel is when someone says, "I actually laughed out loud." Or, "I cried when Vidalia . . ." Well I won't

The Sisters of Chuck

In case you haven't noticed I have not been the most diligent of bloggers. But I am really, really going to try and change that. So here goes. I wanted to tell you all about my most fabulous weekend with a group of writing sisters in a cabin in the woods in a room with a coyote named Chuck. I was privileged to spend time with my most excellent editor, Barbara Scott and a few of the other Abingdon authors. I will admit I was nervous at first. The thought of being holed up in a cabin, in the woods