Caribbean Memories - the Bahamas

Before going to Antigua I'd only been to two islands in the Caribbean - the Bahamas and Anguilla. I thought I'd reminisce a little about those trips before I tell you about Antigua. Maybe doing this will help get my Antigua thoughts in order.

I've been to the Bahamas twice. Once for a three-night stay back in spring of 2003 and then again as a port of call on an NCL cruise last year.

Visiting the Bahamas on a cruise doesn't really give you a taste of the island because for the most part all anyone does is touristy stuff. On our stop in Nassau, my husband and I went to Atlantis. Of course it just happened to be a cold, rainy day and so we didn't get to partake in any of the watery fun, but we walked through their small aquariums and ate lunch and had a generally nice afternoon. But I wouldn't say that we were actually in the Bahamas or experienced the Bahamas that day.

I did get a little feel for what the island was actually like in 2003 when I went there by myself.
I had gone for two reasons -- 1.) I needed to get away from a bad time in my life and 2.) I wanted to prove to myself that I could travel alone.

I stayed at an all-inclusive on what I think must have been Paradise Island. It was a budget all-inclusive. I don't remember it as being very nice, thought it wasn't a dive either. I remember that I didn't like eating in the dining room because I was alone and at that point in my life I was not comfortable eating alone in front of other people. So the only place I could really get food was the poolside cafe, which had light food and I think I must have had chicken fingers for lunch and dinner at least half my stay there.

I had some good experiences there and proved to myself that I could do things I never knew I could. For instance, I walked from the resort to Nassau. That's a pretty long walk, requiring going over this very large bridge that bridges the distance between Nassau and Paradise Island. I remember that the walk there didn't feel too bad. I don't remember too much about what I did in Nassau though I'm pretty sure I went to a pirate museum.

When it was time for me to come back I was tired and was not thrilled about the long walk home. I remember going to look for a taxi, but the forwardness of some of the younger taxi drivers did intimidate me a little and when I asked how much it would cost, I did not have enough money. One of the drivers told me about the Jitney buses, which cost much less and are how the locals get around.

I won't lie. I was scared to try the local system, but I really didn't want to walk and for once in my life I didn't want fear to stop me from doing something. I can't remember whether I found a Jitney in town or flagged one down, though I think I remember starting to walk and getting into a Jitney outside of the town.

I do remember that the Jitney was only able to take me as far as the bridge and then I had to walk over the bridge. Thankfully, the resort I was staying at was pretty close to the bridge on the Paradise side.

I also remember that I was the only white person in the bus, that the driver had me sit up front with him and that we talked about me and where I was from and him and his life. But the thing that stands out most for me on that ride was that he was eating some local fruit, a berry/orange type of thing, and that he offered me one. Now I don't usually like fruite and I've read that eating local fruit is sort of like drinking local water. It could make you sick. But in that moment I wanted to be worldly. I wanted to be like all those people I've read about who are able to insert themselves into a "strange"world and adapt to it. So I took one of his fruits and ate it. It wasn't my cup of tea, but it wasn't terrible and I was able to finish it, smile and say thank you. I think he really appreciated that. Appreciated that I didn't just reject his offer, a taste of his local culture. And I was proud of myself for doing it.

Another stand out moment on that trip, was going to swim with dolphins. Funnily enough the actually swimming with dolphins wasn't the most amazing part -- although it is pretty awesome getting a kiss from a dolphin! I was the only person who wasn't with someone on the excursion, and people did look at me a bit oddly, or at least I thought they did. I remember sitting on the dock waiting for the boat to arrive that would take us to the dolphin center. I remember the sun beating down on my shoulders and sitting there apart from everyone and thinking "Wow, I'm by myself. I'm doing all of this by myself and it's really not so bad."

I think that was one of the most important moments in my life. Although the trip was a lonely one in some ways, realizing I could be by myself in a new place, that I could get around on my own, and feel relatively comfortable was monumental. This was the first time I had ever truly traveled by myself in a totally new and different environment.

It was on this trip that I made a decision that changed the rest of my life. It was while sitting by the pool on my last day, writing in my journal that I decided to leave everything I knew, everything that was familiar to me behind.

I was going to go on walkabout (see my next blog entry for more on this concept). I was going to find myself. And while I had been considering doing this for some time until that moment I had been thinking I would be gone for only three months. But after proving to myself that I could travel alone, and realizing on a practical level that being gone for three months was really the same as being gone six or nine or 12 months, in terms of job hunting and all that, I decided right then and there that I was going to go away for longer. I'm not sure if I settled on a year right then and there, but I did decide my walkabout would be longer than three months.

Though I don't think there's really that much to see and do in the Bahamas, other than real touristy stuff, the Bahamas will always hold a special place for me because in one very major way, my first trip there changed my life.

Fitting It All In - Part II

It's been almost two weeks since I wrote about trying to fit it all in and I thought I'd give a little update on what my progress has been.

Obvious to anyone who follows my blog, I haven't yet managed to fit writing three to four blog entries a week into my schedule. Last week I managed only one blog entry, and I was thrilled I'd managed even that. This week my goal is two entries! This is one and I intend to write a second on my bus ride into the city on Tuesday. I said it here -- so now I have to do it!

As for my novel, I haven't written a single word. I'd say its probably been over a month now since the last time I worked on my novel. I do intend to change that this week. My goal is very modest -- I'd like to finish the week having written at least 500 words. Even if I only write 100 a day, I should reach my goal.

I have, however, been pushing up my wake-up time. But what I've been doing with the extra time has not been the writing I had originally planned for. Instead, I've been exercising. Each day I've gotten up a little bit earlier and each day I've exercised on my elliptical a little bit more. I've finally reached my daily goal (40 minutes every morning) so now as I continue to get up a little bit earlier each morning, the extra time can finally go to writing. It won't be as much as I had wanted but it will be something, and I'll be feeling healthier, which I believe will contribute to better writing in both my personal and professional pursuits.

Although I'm not there yet, I refuse to feel discouraged. Each day I am making progress in the direction I want to be going. Eventually that progress will once again include working on my novel, but no matter what I'm moving in the right direction. How can I feel discouraged about that?

Two weeks from now, I will again post about my progress. Between now and then I pledge to have written at least three more blog entries and begun working on my novel again. You can hold me to it.

A Recent Delta Air Lines Experience

As I posted last week, I recently was away on vacation in Antigua. We made the plans back in June and bought our tickets, using frequent flier miles, on Delta at that time. We had booked non-stop fights between New York's JFK airport and Antigua, and were scheduled to leave on Wednesday, Nov. 25 (the day before Thanksgiving).

The Sunday before hand, on a whim, I decided to check our itinerary to make sure our seats were assigned and see if the times had changed at all. I log in and at the top in red letters it says that one or more pieces of our itinerary have been changed. As I look down to see what the new times are I notice something pretty amazing -- the only flight listed is my flight coming back from Antigua to New York. There is NO flight to Antigua.

Well, suffice it to say, I flew into a tizzy. How could they not alert me to the fact that they'd canceled our flight down to Antigua!! I immediately get on the phone to call Delta. Three hours later I'm still listening to elevator music and the message telling me they're experiencing higher than normal call volume. Let me say that again -- THREE HOURS LATER.

During that time, I do some online searches to see what my options might be. Delta has NO flights to Antigua on the day we're supposed to leave or the day before or the day after. Nor, do they have flights to other Caribbean islands (just in case we could maybe switch our resort). American Airlines has a couple of flights with seats left. United has one flight. There are no other available flights within that three-day period.

Then, I screw up. I have my phone on speaker phone so that I don't have to keep it to my ear for three hours. When I suddenly think I hear a real voice get on the line, I mistakenly hit the button to turn the phone off instead of just turning speaker phone off. I'm ready to start crying at this point. I'm ready to spend a couple thousand dollars to get us tickets to Antigua. But everyone is telling me Delta will put us on another flight so I should wait. Of course, I still have to get through to Delta!

The second time I call Delta I skip the 800 number and call the actual area code number. Within five minutes I'm talking to an actual person. She tells me that the earliest she can get me on a Delta flight is the 27th. I tell her, okay, put me on another carrier. At first she wants to put me on an American flight that leaves from JFK, flies to Puerto Rico where we'd have to wait 6 or 7 hours(!!!) before flying to Antigua and arriving late at night. Screw that! I tell her I want to be put on the American flight that leaves from Newark, flies to Miami, where it leaves less than 2 hours later and gets us to Antigua only 2 hours later than we were originally scheduled to arrive.

She looks it up, says she can do it and books it for us.

Ok, that's taken care of. I await my e-mail confirmation from Delta. When I get it I look at it to make sure everything is in order. Wait - the date of departure says Nov. 24, the day before we were supposed to depart.

I call Delta back (again using the area code number and not the 800 number). I get a different sales rep. I tell her what happened. She looks up the American flights and says, American doesn't have any seats on the flights departing on the 25th. Well, why didn't the other sales rep tell me this? The lady I'm talking to tells me she can put me on the Puerto Rico flight if I want. No, I don't want. I'd rather fly down a day early. Thankfully, I'm able to get the resort (St. James's Club & Villas) to let us come down a day early for a minimal fee.

In the end I suppose we should say thank you to Delta since we got to go down to Antigua a day early, and even avoided the day before Thanksgiving airline rush. But we were lucky we had the flexibility to do that. A lot of people wouldn't have. And it doesn't change the fact that Delta never even bothered to tell us the flight had been canceled.

When I got back from my vacation I sent them an e-mail with my complaint and was told their records showed they had tried to call and e-mail me way back on Oct. 8.

Unless their idea of trying to call is ringing once then hanging up, or getting voice mail and not leaving a message, there is no way they tried to call. I'd have noticed a message saying my flight had been canceled. And as for e-mail, I got the original itinerary via e-mail, I got the new itinerary via e-mail, I get all their advertisement e-mails and frequent flier monthly reports but I never got an e-mail telling me my flight had been canceled.

They can tell me their records tell them they contacted me until dooms day, they are lying. They made no effort to contact me -- and I'm an Elite flyer with Delta.

And to top it all off, when we got back one of our suitcases was soaked in fish juice! Don't even ask me how that happened. Luckily enough everything inside was okay, but the suitcase had to be thrown out. I included this incident in my e-mailed complaint. They didn't even mention it in their response.

I told them loud and clearly that they had lost me as a loyal customer. Given any choice at all, I will avoid Delta. I used to like them, now they definitely top my Worst Airlines list.

Delta doesn't care about its customers. They continue to make this very clear. Because of their size they know people usually won't have a choice and will have to fly them, so they put no effort into customer service, no effort into customer care.

Let me say here quickly, I do not mean the flight attendents who, as with any airline, can be either really good or not so good. I mean Delta Air Lines, the company, considers its customers to be worthless, as worthless as the bags they casually toss into the cargo hold of its planes.

If you have a choice, send Delta a message -- I am the reason you exist and if you won't treat me with the respect and service that I deserve, then I will take my business elsewhere.

Fitting it all in

As I said in my last post its been awhile since I've written for my blog. There are two reasons for my absence. The good one, which I mentioned a couple of days ago, was my long, long-awaited vacation to Antigua. The second reason – I got a job.

Now here's the tricky part – I should be jumping up and down for joy and I guess a part of me – the part that likes a regular, decently-sized paycheck – is very happy. But part of me is completely resentful. Though I am currently an independent contractor for the company I am working full time, that means 7 to 8 hour days – that means no more extra time to work on my novel, or my blog.

And that's where the disappointment and resentment comes in. I was enjoying writing my novel, I was enjoying making progress every day, seeing the story take shape and even starting to get a feel for my main character. My first reaction to realizing I had a fulltime job was fear. Fear that I was going to have to give up my dream of being an author. I've made more progress on my novel since I lost my job than before. I don't want to go back to making no progress.

So now I'm back to where I was before, at my old job. I can't write in the evenings because I can't write when my husband is in the house. He's just too distracting. And, I'll admit I also like evening TV. On the couple of evenings I have nothing to watch I try to get in some reading --- I have a book review due at the start of January and I haven't started reading the book yet.

In the first two weeks of this new job I've written not one single word for my novel, and until two days ago, I hadn't written a single blog entry since mid-November. I felt like I was starting to see my dreams dissolve.

And then I read a thread on the Sisters in Crime Guppies listserv about trying to fit it all in – work, family, writing. And reading how other people are managing was both inspiring and helpful. It helped me look at my life and my schedule and figure out how I can get it all in.

So I've decided a few things. First of all Saturday mornings before my husband wakes up will be writing time. I should be able to get in 2 to 4 hours before he gets out of bed. Second, every other Tuesday I go into New York City to visit my newborn niece. On the ride to the city I'll write blog entries (guess where I'm writing this??). I'll also try to write at least one blog entry every weekend. That should keep me at 3 to 4 posts a week, which is fine with me.

But most importantly I will start getting up earlier on the weekdays (I work from home so have no commute time) and write for an hour before starting work. Even if I only get 1000, 500 or 200 words written a day, that will be forward progress and that's all I can ask for.

I will not give up my dream just because I have to work a full-time job. Most authors work full-time jobs and are still successful writers. If they can do it, so can I. It's not going to be easy, it's going to take hard work – but as I've said before, writing IS hard work.

And I feel ready to tackle the challenge.

How do you fit it all in?

Cool Antiguan Waves

As some of you may have noticed, I haven't been blogging lately. There are several reasons for this. The best reason, which only accounts for 9 days of absence, was a long-awaited vacation to Antigua. I'll have much more to say on our trip later, but for today I thought I'd share a little video of what the waves were like our last few days there. Impressive, especially for the Caribbean (there was even a small group of surfers who took their boards out), but because of the rough sea we couldn't go in the water or enjoy the kayaking or pedal boats. But they were fun to walk around in, though afterward we had sand all over everything!

More on the Carnival Dream

Any time I’ve been on a Carnival cruise ship I’ve always felt like I’ve stepped into someone’s schizophrenic dream of multiple personalities. I’m truly curious to know if some psychologist has ever tried to analyze Joe Farcus, the man who has designed the interiors of virtually all, if not all, of Carnival’s ships, based solely on his interior designs. And though the new Carnival Dream is actually the most subdued I’ve ever seen – FOR A CARNIVAL SHIP – I still had that strange feeling as I moved from room to room that this ship just doesn’t know who it is.

I’ll give you a perfect example of what I mean. In the middle of any large cruise ship, you’ll find the elevator banks. On either side of the elevators are two stairwells. On the Dream, if you use the stairs on one side (I don’t remember which was aft and which was forward), you’ll find artwork at each landing that is surreal, storybook-like or fantastical. There was no rhyme or reason to the art, each was distinctly different from the others. OK, fine, there’s a theme there. BUT, if you then switch to the other staircase, the artwork is 20s- or 30s-era slightly cartoonish Hollywood-esque paintings. Similar images, though not the same, line every cabin corridor. Separately, I liked the two themes, but together they just don’t make any sense. There is no way for me to relate them to each other, and so I’m left feeling like two different people, with widely different tastes, chose the ship’s décor. I can’t help it I find it confusing.

And that feeling pretty much sticks with me any time I move through a Carnival ship, there’s just no way to make sense of the interior designs.

With that said, the Dream is the most staid of the three Carnival ships I’ve sailed on. There is glitz, glimmer and burnished metal, it really wouldn’t be Carnival without it, but there’s less of it. And I wasn’t the only one who felt that way. I spoke to several travel agents for an article who said pretty much the same thing. They were surprised by the ship, that it wasn’t as over the top as Carnival ships usually are. Pleasantly surprised.

Of course, as with any Carnival ship, there are lots of places to get a drink (they’re not known as booze cruises for nothing) and lots of activities to partake in. It is a Fun Ship, after all. One of the coolest things on the ship is the new water park, the largest on any cruise ship. Of course I barely got to see it as it was rainy and cold during my few hours on board the ship. But the water park has lots of water slides, splash zones, spray toys and the longest corkscrew water slide at sea. I wonder who will use it the most? Kids or adults?

One of the things I liked the most on the Dream was a new breakdance troupe that the cruise line has brought aboard, both for onstage entertainment, and as a roving troupe in the evenings teaching people basic breakdance moves. I gotta say, watching a drunk 40-something white guy trying to break dance is pretty funny!

The Carnival Dream Naming Ceremony

Carnival Cruise Line's newest, and largest, ship the Carnival Dream made its US debut yesterday in New York City. In a laid-back ceremony designed to be fun, since Carnival is the "fun ship" cruise line, guests were treated to a performance of hip-hop acrobatic troupe "Fun Force" and entertained by Carnival's blogging senior cruise director John Heald. Finally, ship godmother Marcia Gay Harden swung an official Yankee bat, signed by A-Rod himself, at a larger-than-life champagne replica, thereby christening The Carnival Dream.

A chance to win a Travel Writing Scholarship

Have you ever wanted to try your hand at travel writing? Do any of you who know me ever get jealous when you hear about the latest trip I've gotten to take? If you answered yes to these questions and you think you've got it in you to be a travel writer, then pay attention to this contest I came across.

WorldNomads.com, in conjunction with Rough Guides, Intrepid Travel and Hotels.com, is offering aspiring travel writers the chance to win a travel writing scholarship and write their way around Tokyo, all-expenses paid.

To apply entrants must write a travel-focused essay of no more than 500 words based on a personal experience and written around one of the following themes: A Journey that Changed Lives, Responsible Travel, Adventure in an Unknown Culture or A Memorable Experience Involving Food in a Foreign Country.

Candidates can be students, emerging and non-professional writers and lovers of travel looking for a career change. The prize is the chance to travel, all-expenses paid, to Tokyo where you will first learn some tricks of the trade from Rough Guides travel writer Simon Richmond, then travel around on your own for seven days researching, reviewing and updating essential travel info (accommodations, bars, restaurants, shopping, tours, transport, etc) for the Tokyo section of The Rough Guide to Japan. After you've completed your research and writing, the winner will get the chance to relax and enjoy a four-day Flavors of Tokyo independent tour with Intrepid travel offering a cuisine-focused insight into Japanese culture.

The application deadline is Dec. 21, 2009. Applicants must be available between Feb. 15-26,2010 to participate in the Rough Guide to Japan writing assignment and Flavors of Tokyo independent tour.

Other requirements: excellent writing skills with a high degree of proficiency in written English, comfortable traveling on your own, 18 years or older, a current passport, and a lust for adventure travel, plus a strong desire to be a travel writer.

The winner, along with the best entries received will be published on the WorldNomads.com Website on Jan. 8, 2010.

For full details and the online entry, visit http://worldnomads.com.

Stay tuned for a report on the Carnival Dream's inauguration

I'll be attending the inaugural ceremony and festivities for the Carnival Dream this Thursday evening. It will be my first cruise ship inaugural ceremony. The Dream's godmother will be actress Marcia Gay Harding, and all the cruise line bigwigs will be on board.

I will be writing about the occasion, and posting pictures from the event on my blog. I hope to get some of it up by Thursday evening but that will depend on if there's Internet on the ship. Otherwise I'll have stuff up on Saturday.

The Carnival Dream is supposed to have some cool new features, like a water park, so I can't wait to see it.

Stay tuned for my report!

Is there such a thing as too many notebooks?

On the file cabinet next to my desk is a pile of loose notebook pages covered in my scribbled notes from the Poisoned Pen virtual conference several weeks ago. I took lots of notes during several online video and audio sessions -- all good stuff, important stuff, stuff I should know and take to heart in order to be a better writer.

But what am I supposed to do with these notes? Do I try to read and re-read them until I have my notes memorized? Do I stick them into a folder and file them away until the day I realize my file cabinets are too full and throw everything away?

How do I retain all this knowledge others have imparted to me in an orderly way, that I can refer back to?

I have the same question about all sentences I underline in books. For instance, I'm reading On Writing by Stephen King right now and I've underlined a lot! All well and good, I know I've read something good and so I underline it but now what? Tomorrow I'll have forgotten what I underlined? So how can I retain that knowledge?

I've been thinking that one idea would be to buy a notebook and transcribe all my notes, and all the underlined passages into the notebook. First of all, transcribing is a great way of reinforcing information. At least for me, when I re-write things I'm more apt to remember them.

I like this idea but then I think to myself, I'm going notebook crazy. I've already got one notebook that I write all my daily gratitude lists in (and I've got lots and lots of old notebooks with old gratitude lists on my bedroom bookshelf), plus I have another notebook for keeping track of my freelance and contract writing -- articles, hours, pay, etc.

Now I'm going to add a third notebook to the pile?

Oh, and actually I've got two other notebooks lying around that I use for taking notes when I'm doing interviews for articles or taking notes when I go to events. Those notebooks get smaller and smaller over time as I tear pages out.

But still, that means I'll now have five notebooks on my desk.

Oh wait! I've got another notebook tucked into a hanging file divider with essential facts about my characters and story ideas.

So that's six notebooks.

Is that crazy? Is that too many?

Do you use notebooks for keeping track of your life and/or work? What's in your notebooks?

On reading Stephen King's On Writing

I've just started reading Stephen King's book On Writing, which he wrote partly as a memoir and partly as a book about writing. I'm only on page 32 and I'm already blown away by his mastery of written language.

For any of you wanting to reach out and smack me with a loud "Duh," I've never really read Stephen King before, as I'm not into horror. I know I read the short stories upon which The Shawshank Redemption and Stand by Me were based, but that was a long time ago, when I didn't really pay attention to the words and structure an author used, just the story.

So, as I was saying, I'm blown away. His choice of words leave me speechless and breathless with jealousy.

Let me give you an example. He writes about being stung by a wasp when he was about two years old. "The pain was brilliant, like a poisonous inspiration." I don't know about you, but I get an immediate sense of what his pain must have been like. And to put poisonous and inspiration together, I think is just genius.

I think I can safely say I never would have put those words together. It just wouldn't have occurred to me. Not only is it genius, it's poetic.

It's funny because I think most people, well literary snobs anyway, think of truly great writing as being done only by authors who write high-brow literary fiction. But I think a truly great writer is able to immediately evoke an image or a feeling in an explosive manner in which its impossible for the reader not to see or feel what's being written about. A truly great writer pulls his or her reader into the story, making it just as real as everyday life.

People read Stephen King to get a thrill, a real sense of fear that keeps them from turning the lights out when they go to bed. Only a truly great author could accomplish that.

I find reading On Writing to be both enjoyable because it's always a treat to read great writing, but also depressing because I know that even if I were to practice and work on my writing skills for the next 50 years I don't think I'd ever be as good as Stephen King. Sometimes it makes me want to put the book down, delete my unfinished manuscript and give up writing. Just go back to being a voracious reader who appreciates good books.

I doubt that's what Stephen King had in mind when he wrote this book though. I don't think he wants to discourage anyone, but instead inspire us. I find it amusing that I think, in part, he wanted this book to show his readers that he's really just like everyone else -- puts his pants on one leg at a time, he says in the book. But just the way he tells us he's like everyone else already sets him apart from everyone else. But again, I don't think that's what he really intended.

As I continue reading, and I will read this book through to the end no matter how much I want to throw it away in despair, I will try to keep in mind that he wants me to be inspired, not discouraged. I will try to pull out whatever insights I can and if I can apply even a one-hundredth of what he has to say to my writing, I will be a better writer for it.

But I still can't get over just how good he is. Maybe I should pick up one of his fiction books. Any suggestions?

Have you ever read an author who just blew you away? Someone's who's mastery of words, or characters or plot left you wondering how they got to be so good?

Gratitude lists

When life is going really wrong, there is always something to be thankful for. At least that's what I tell myself even when I'm at my most depressed. Not only do I tell myself that but I force myself to write a list (at least five or six items strong) of things I'm thankful for. Believe it or not, it makes a difference.

As part of my morning routine, ever single day, I write a gratitude list. The idea was introduced to me by a friend who is very into self-improvement and I'm extremely grateful to her (ha ha) for bringing this important activity into my life. Waking up and being grateful very early on in my day helps me to get the day off to a positive start, no matter what else is going on around me.

Now, I won't lie and say it erases all the bad shit. It doesn't, it just helps me deal with it better. Nor, is it particularly easy on bad days. I often struggle to find something to be grateful for and I often resort to what I call comfort gratitudes such as "I am grateful for a warm sweater on a cold day," or "I am grateful for the soft comfort of fleece." They may be minor things, but when everything seems to be bad, it's nice to have a few good things.

On days when I'm in a good mood, gratitude lists really get my juices flowing and I'm more productive. They also help me to be accountable to myself. I like writing in my gratitude notebook, "I am grateful for 1000 words written yesterday," so I keep that in mind when I feel like pushing the computer away and blowing off writing for a day. I don't want to disappoint myself; I want something to be proud of the next morning when I write my gratitude list.

Gratitude lists can be small or long, about physical things or emotional, about day to day stuff or life issues, whatever you feel grateful for on any given day.

Here's my Gratitude list for yesterday:

I am grateful for five days junk food sober.
I am grateful for spending time with my sister and niece yesterday.
I am grateful for this day to finish my sixth article for my publishing outlet.
I am grateful for time alone in the apartment today to knock items off my to-do list.
I am grateful for the support of friends and family.
I am grateful for a well of patience within me.
I am grateful for a good night's sleep last night.
I am grateful for discovering and re-discovering music I like.
I am grateful for $15, for a mystery review I wrote, towards the 40th birthday safari trip I'm planning.

What are you grateful for?

And the winner is...

The winner of the October raffle is ALR. He won a hardcover copy of the new book "Sand Sharks" by Margaret Maron.

November's raffle will be for an advance uncorrected proof of Lisa Bork's debut mystery "For Better, For Murder." You can read my review of the book as it appeared in Mystery Scene Magazine here. To enter, you just need to leave a comment on my blog at some point during the month of November.

Good luck!

Why can't verbal tricks work in written language!

I've been working on an article for a publication about the psychology of selling. It's been very interesting. I'm amazed at all the ways psychology plays a part in the sales process, and in communication in general. And even more amazed at the ways we can manipulate (which is not necessarily a bad thing) language to be more effective communicators.

For example, all people experience the world through their senses, and most people are more oriented toward one sense than another. In the US most people are either auditory based or visually based. By listening to people speak you can actually determine which one they are and then when you communicate with them you can choose your words so that you're more likely to make a connection with that person and get your message heard.

For instance, a person who is auditory will say things like "I hear what you're saying," or "That sounds good to me." And a person who is visual might say "Let's see what we can do," or "That looks good to me."

There are relatively few feeling (or kinesthetic) people in the US. But they would say things like "I sense this is going to work out," "This feels right to me," or "That's a real weight off my shoulders."

So once you identified which sense a person most identifies with you can use "their" language to communicate more effectively with them. So if you want to get a visually oriented person to really understand what you're telling them, you should say "I'm going to paint you a picture." for an auditory person, you'd say "I'm going to tell you something."

All these phrases are tricks of the sales trade and can increase a salesperson's success. As I've been writing the article, I've been thinking how great would it be if there were similar tricks for written language. But unfortunately, as far as I know, there aren't. Because there's no way to pinpoint who your readers are, and the truth is your readers are most likely going to be all types.

However, what a writer can do is make their characters one or the other and have them talk consistently in that manner. If you change it up so that one character is visual and another auditory, each character is going to connect with some of your readers.

The character that uses a lot of visual language will resonate with your visually oriented readers. And the character that speaks in auditory words will resonate with your auditory oriented readers. And throw in a kinesthetic character, so that the few feeling oriented readers will have someone to connect with as well.

Who Stole the Cookie From the Cookie Jar?

In honor of Halloween I thought I'd write a short mystery about a missing treat. Enjoy!

“Who stole the last cookie from the cookie jar,” I yelled upon discovering the Oreo cookie I’d been dreaming about all day was gone.

My husband looked up from where he was reading the newspaper.

“Was it you.” I stood, hands on hips, nodding pointedly at the glass of milk in front of him.

“Wasn’t me. I’d never get between you and your Oreos.”

“Hmph,” I replied turning back to the scene of the theft. I spied a small crumb on the corner of the counter, and another one on the floor. Aha! The thief left a trail for me to follow. Down the hall, past the bathroom and into the guest bedroom, I followed the crumbs.

“Grandma! You stole the cookie from the cookie jar.”

“Who me?”

“Yes, you.”

“Couldn’t be,” she said, pointing to the half-eaten blueberry muffin on the desk. “You know I don’t like cookies. They’re too sweet.”

“Then who?” She shrugged her shoulders and took a bite of her muffin.

Back to square one, I returned to the kitchen. Who else could have stolen my cookie? I picked up the jar and turned it over. A smear of red caught my eye. Finger paint!

I tiptoed to the den. I could hear my kids, three year old Jenna and seven year old Max, laughing. I peeked around the corner. Max had clearly been teaching Jenna how to finger paint. Briefly I noted he had remembered to spread out newspaper, so that the mess was easily erased. Was that worth my last Oreo though? I think not.

“I’m ho-ome,” I sang ala Jack Nicholson in The Shining.

“Mommy,” Jenna jumped up and ran to hug me. I held her back for a moment. “Let mommy take a look at you. I missed your pretty face today,” I said searching the corners of her mouth for tell-tale signs of chocolate. Nothing.

“You didn't steal mommy's cookie from the cookie jar, did you sweetie?”

Jenna leaned toward me, pushed my hair out of the way, and whispered into my ear. "Max took your cookie, mommy."

"Max took my cookie from the cookie jar?"

Max wiped his sleeve across his face, leaving a touch of blue paint on his cheek. "Whoma," he gulped. "Who me?"

"Yes you!"

In reply, my son smiled at me, all that was left of my Oreo spread across his teeth.

Breakthrough!

I had a breakthrough today. I realized that because I kept telling myself that I didn't want my main character to be too much like me, I was actually pushing her away from me and so couldn't get a grip on her. What I realized was because the book is in so many ways based on my own experiences with the travel industry, it would be impossible to separate myself and my experiences from her and her experiences. Trying to do so left only a vacuum and a very flat one-dimensional character.

So I began to think about what parts of my own backstory I could give her and what parts of my personality I would want to change and suddenly she started to become alive.

I don't know if this makes me a weaker author or not, but I now realize, for me at least, I can't create a character that doesn't have parts of me in it. I can't just pick a backstory I think sounds interesting and some character traits and create a main character who feels genuine. Maybe I could if the story line were completely seperate from my own life, but not when its somewhat based on my own experiences.

Abi's not complete yet. I still have to try writing her and see what happens and I need to do a new character sketch but I can feel her inside me for the first time.

I've never been pregnant but I'd hazard to say that it's like I can feel the first few kicks, the first glimmers of a living being inside of myself. And for the first time, I'm excited about her.

I've been excited about my plot. I've been excited about some of the secondary characters but I've never been excited about Abi before.

Now that I'm feeling some life from Abi, and after the positive phone call I had with the editor a few days ago, I'm feeling pretty good about this mystery novel of mine!

Some good news, some bad

So I had my very first "meeting" with a book editor on Saturday and it went much better than I expected. Oh, I did learn that my main character is totally unlikeable and a real bitch and that I need to rip apart the first chapter and re-write it, but neither of those criticisms were a total surprise to me.

Not a TOTAL surprise I said. I've been saying for awhile that I'm having a hard time getting my characterizations down pat, and I've known, or thought, that my main character was too flat. I didn't realize she was unlikeable. Which, perhaps, is better than flat. I mean she did elicit a response from the editor, right?

And while I knew the pacing was off in my first chapter and that perhaps there was not enough tension, I didn't realize the whole thing would need to be scrapped.

Apparently I introduced too many characters all at once, which I'm guessing may be a novice writer's mistake. Throw everyone in the mix all at once and see what happens. Apparently, that's not the way to do it. Ok, now I know.

Also, while big gala parties are fun in real life, they're not so much fun to read, at least that's what I was told. Do you agree? I kinda liked the description of my party. :(

Oh, there was a bunch of other things I've got to work on and fix and re-work on and re-fix, but I still came away from my meeting feeling pretty good.

First of all, the editor told me I should just finish writing the book before I even begin to do any of the edits, which takes a lot of pressure off. Of course, I kind of ignored the advice (just a teeny bit) and already made some edits because I want to submit my first 50 pages to a mentorship program and don't want to get back the same critique.

But the main reason I feel pretty good is that overall, this editor thought I had a lot of talent and had done a pretty good job for what is my very first attempt at writing a novel. She had some other nice things to say but I don't like to toot my own horn so I'll stop here.

But I will say its so nice to have a "real" person (i.e. someone in the book publishing business, and not, say, my dad) read some of my manuscript and have mostly good things to say about it. That just makes me want to keep writing!

Wish me luck

I have exciting, and terrifying news. I have a phone appointment tomorrow with an acquisitions editor from an independent publishing house tomorrow. I won the appointment in a lottery held by that publishing company as part of an online mystery convention they're hosting, also tomorrow.

I'm excited, especially because she concluded her e-mail to me with the fact that she's looking forward to reading more. But I'm also terrified because I know all the weaknesses my book has and it's going to be hard to hear it from someone else.

But you know what scares me the most? If this editor really does like the idea, and likes the writing she read in the first 13 pages I sent her, she will want to read more, and eventually will want to read the finished (and polished) manuscript. That means I actually have to write the book!

Well, duh, you're saying. Of course I have to write the book, and yes I've slowly been doing so since last January. But really I'm not taking it all as seriously as I should be. In fact, I should be working on my next chapter right now -- not writing an entry for my blog!

I always find ways to procrastinate. I get easily discouraged when the words don't come easily or the flaws in my writing are glaring back at me from the page. I'm quick to close MS Word and find something else to do.

But if this editor tells me she wants more, I can no longer make excuses and quite frankly that scares the you know what out of me!

Of course I want her to want more. I want her to like it so much she wants to read the finished product as soon as I can get it done. But at the same time, I don't know how I can actually get it done. I think in such short terms. My goal is always to get the next chapter done, forget about the whole book!

When I think about actually writing the whole book, then going back and editing it and re-writing it, I can feel my heart start to pound. It's overwhelming.

It's funny because when I work as a writer for a publication, while deadlines do stress me out, they also get my juices flowing. I sometimes think I write some of my best stuff when I'm under deadline. Partly because those pieces are leaner (something all good writing should be). Of course, the pieces I've written under deadline in the past have never been more than a couple thousand words -- not 100,000 words!

It'll be interesting tomorrow. To find out what she likes about the book (I'm assuming she'll find something to like) and what she doesn't like (I KNOW there'll be stuff she's not into). It'll also be interesting to see how I react, to her criticism and to what she wants, especially if that includes a finished book!

It's scary. It's exciting. Wish me luck!

Misery loves company or I'm not alone!

I don't know if something's in the water or if October is self-realization month but around the same time I blogged about my biggest writing weakness being characterization, two other authors blogged about their own writing weaknesses.

While of course I know logically that all authors have their own weaknesses, as a newbie writer its easy to tell myself that my weaknesses are worse than others, than in fact other writers are exaggerating their own weaknesses. And that when I read a book I like, with all the pieces well-put together, that author probably never struggled a day in her life with her writing skills. Creating coherent scenes, believable characters, well-paced action and a satisfying ending just come naturally to those authors.

So it's nice to read about other authors, especially ones I like, speaking about their own struggles. For instance Leann Sweeney, the author of a fun cozy called The Cat, The Quilt and the Corpse, recently wrote on her blog (Writers Plot) about how she has a hard time getting humor into her books, and a hard time with criticism. She blogged about crying while reading her editor's comments and listening to her book group's critiques. As I'm sure I'll probably be hysterical the first time I get a rejection or really tough criticism (at my first staff writing job I used to go the bathroom and cry after my managing editor tore apart my articles) from anyone, its nice to know that I won't be alone.

On the Women of Mystery blog Laura K. Curtis (a so-far unpublished writer) blogged about having trouble with writing love scenes. This from a woman who writes romantic suspense! That's a pretty important aspect to struggle with! So once again, I feel reassured. If a romantic suspense writer can find a way to write love scenes, even though its hard for her, then I can find a way to make my characters believable!

As both writers said in their blogs -- and I've said it before -- writing is work. It's hard and its grueling and its frustrating and it knocks all the confidence out of you. But...

But when you've managed to slog your way through all of that, and all the pieces finally come together, it's magical.

Or at least that's the carrot I'm holding out in front of me since I've never reached that light at the end of the tunnel. But reading about other people's journeys and knowing they did reach the light, I have to have faith it'll be there for me too.

A writing contest for kids

I've noticed lately that a lot of contests out there are for kids, especially the ones that have prizes I would like to be able to win. Since it's been more years than I care to remember since I was a child, I guess I'm going to have to wait until my niece is old enough to participate in these contests. And should she win, I'll also need to figure out how to coax her to choose me over her parents as her guest on the trip she wins.

In the meantime, all the other kids out there pose no competition to me so I see no reason to let others know about cool contests with even cooler prizes.

A new contest is now being offered to budding writers. It's sponsored by Adventures by Disney and HarperCollins and is called "The Search for Flat Stanlety's Next BIG Adventure." Now I've never heard of Flat Stanley and no nothing about any of his adventures but apparently he's pretty well-known among children's literature. So assuming some of you know who he is and have kids who like him, this contest is for them.

Young writers and artists are invited to create their own 150-word Flat Stanley story. Children must be between 7 and 12 to enter and the winner will be awarded an Adventures by Disney vacation. Entries must be recieved by Nov. 30.

Entries will be judged in three age groups: 7- to 8-year olds; 9- to 10-year olds; and 11- to 12-year olds. One winner will be chosen in each age group and each winner can choose one of Adventures by Disney's 19 worldwide vacations for their prize.

Parents, kids and teachers can check out www.FlatStanleyBooks.com/AdventuresbyDisney for Official Rules and complete information on the contest.

Do you know who Flat Stanley is? Have your kids been on an adventure with him? I'd love to hear more about him.

A Harry Potter Halloween in Ireland

I like to play a game called "I have all the money in the world." The game goes like this. I get a catalog in the mail, maybe for clothing or jewelry. Or for kids' educational toys, or for just about anything. I settle myself comfortably on my couch and begin to flip through the catalog picking out the things I would buy if money were not object.

I'm not sure why I enjoy the game so much. I mean I'm not a window shopper. I hate going to stores if I'm not going to buy anything, but somehow doing it with catalogs doesn't bother me. I find it fun to pick out things I would buy if I lived another life.

As a general rule I don't play the same game with travel because that does get me down. Pretending I have the money to take a two-week Caribbean cruise is a lot more depressing than pretending I have the money to buy a pair of earrings.

But recently I got an e-mail advertising a trip that is kinda fun to think about "what if." Maybe because its a bit over-the-top in price with very little value attached that I know I probably wouldn't do it even if I did have all the money in the world.

It's a two-day Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry Halloween trip to Ashford Castle in Ireland.

Although the 13th century castle has nothing to do with Harry Potter or wizardry, it's fairy-tale feel, secret rooms, hidden alcoves and mystical setting easily conjure up the fantastical world of Harry Potter, creating a perfect Halloween destination.

The special 2-night Hogwarts Halloween program includes:

Day One:
* A visit to the hiding place of Dingle, Ashford Castle's resident owl
* Afternoon chamber of Witchcraft & Wizardry (I'm not sure what that means exactly)
* Kid's dinner in the Dungeon
* George V Table d'Hote dinner for adults
* Harry Potter movie evening

Day Two:
* Isle of Innisfree passage to Inchagoill Island via boat
* Hidden garden treasure hunt
* Kids' dinner in the Dungeon
* George V Table d'Hote dinner for adults
* Harry Potter movie evening

The two-night package is priced at approximately $690 per night for two adults and two children (under the age of 12) sharing a deluxe queen room. See what I mean by a bit over-the-top in terms of expense! Of course, I think I would feel like I was in a fairy tale if I ever got to stay there.

Just in case you want to know more about Ashford Castle, you can visit its Website at www.ashford.ie.

Writing a Twitter story

A few months back Gotham Writers' Workshops ran an online Twitter story contest. To enter you had to write a short, short story in 140 characters or less. The prize was a free 6-week writing class.

I thought that was a pretty cool idea. How do you create a story with a character and a real desire in just 140 characters. I thought about for awhile and tried a few different things.

Eventually I entered the contest with the following:

Kitty looks up at me with begging eyes. Her tail lashes. Where's the crazy light I like to chase? I sigh and press the button.

I liked it. It's exactly what happens when I buy a laser pointer and bring it home to my cat. She can't get enough of it and begs me (well actually bugs me) to keep playing with her.

Unfortunately Gotham Writers' didn't agree with my evaluation. I didn't win, nor was I a runner up.

I did like the winner's entry though. Written by a woman from New Hampshire, the winning Twitter story was:

Wanting marriage, my niece sobbed, "I'd hate to be Ken's 50 year old girlfriend." At 69 and alone, Id love being 50 and Ken's girlfriend.

There were three runners up. I liked one of them and thought two weren't good at all.

The one I liked was written by a guy from Georgia:

This is agent Nix with the CIA. We've been listening to your phone calls for the last 8 months. Is this a good time to speak with you?

The two others I didn't like were:

I knew she wasn't to be trusted by the scars between her toes. Those scars had seen the worst of life, and learned to keep it all a secret.

Still and silent, until the store closes, then a snack from aisle four, some TV in aisle nine, and I try to forget about being a mannequin.


So what do you think? Want to try your hand at writing a Twitter story? Leave a comment with your attempt.

Struggling with my characters

I've been struggling with my writing lately (hey, what else is new!). As I write I become more and more aware of my faults as a writer, especially as I'm also reading other mysteries at the same time and see how well other writers do the things I'm having difficulty with.

One of my weakest skills, if not my weakest, is characterization. Most of my characters feel flat to me, not quite real. And I'm not sure how to make them better. I've read the books, blogs, articles about creating compelling characters and I've tried to use some of what I've read, but they just don't seem to be clicking.

Except for one. I do have one character, Major, who feels real to me. I'm not sure why he's been my most successful character. When I first wrote him, I didn't realize he was going to play an important part in the story. But I quickly grew to like him very much and wanted him to be a bigger part of the story.

But my other characters, and especially my main character, Abi, just seem to fall flat. In my mind I know what is supposed to drive Abi but on paper I haven't been able to communicate that properly yet.

It's depressing because I read how other authors begin to see their characters as living, breathing entities. The characters tell them what works and what doesn't. I don't seem to feel that, except with Major.

There are these exercises a writer is supposed to do where I write out all the little characteristics about my main character in order to know her as well as possible. Like, what would she wear to a party, what does she like to eat, what curse words does she use when she gets angry, etc. And while it's easy to simply fill in anything you want, I've found that doesn't work for me. I simply draw a blank when I see these questions. I don't know what Abi would wear. I don't know what Abi likes to eat. I don't know what curse words she uses.

I do know she tugs her hair when she gets stressed or nervous. I do know she snaps at people when she's scared or angry. I do know that she hates crossword puzzles and mystery novels, but can't keep her nose out of other people's business. I know she's always surprised and upset when she's confronted with the fact that life isn't fair.

Is that knowledge enough? Would knowing what food Abi likes to eat and what she wears to a fancy party make her seem more real to me? I don't know. All I do know is that right now she's still two one-dimensional and it's driving me crazy.

Maybe I just need to practice, or most likely I just need to keep writing and eventually she'll start to emerge more and more, like a fictional butterfly trapped in the pages of my writing, just waiting to break free and fly on her own. I just wish she'd do it sooner rather than later!

I've always wanted to try the message in a bottle thing

Has anyone ever seen the TV movie "Mermaid?" (No, I'm not talking about the Cher/Winona Ryder movie!) It's about a little girl whose father has died and she's having trouble accepting it. Her mom has told her he's in heaven but she wants to know when he's coming home. Her grandmother suggests she write him a letter, which of course she addresses to Heaven. It gets returned to her as undeliverable and she's even more upset. Then someone suggests that she tie the letter to a balloon so it can float to heaven. She gets a balloon at a local fair that has a mermaid on it, ties the letter to it and lets it go. By the way, she's in Maine (I think, it could be some other New England state).

Sweet right, a different twist on the message in a bottle story. Of course someone has to find the balloon right? Yep. A few days later the balloon has managed to travel thousands of miles (without getting damaged) to Prince Edward Island, Canada to a small community called Mermaid. A hunter sees the balloon, notices its got a mermaid on it (remember, the name of the community he lives in) and goes to check it out and of course finds the letter. He takes it home to his family, where they open the letter, read it and are so touched by its contents that they respond. From that moment on the little girl begins to recover from her father's death and a life-long friendship begins.

The skeptic in all of us is probably saying, how nice, very sweet, but please, really? The balloon travels thousands of miles without popping? It just happens to land in Mermaid? But get this... the story is actually true! Of course, from what I understand a few liberties were taken, but overall the main facts are true.

Makes you think, doesn't it? I mean is it just random or was something guiding that balloon?

Just a few days ago there was a similar story in the news, though this one had a bittersweet ending. Every year, since 1991, on her birthday Ann Hernandez and her boyfriend would drink a bottle of champagne on an island somewhere off the coast of Massachusetts. Afterward, she would write a little note, tuck it in the bottle and her boyfriend would throw it out to see. The note always said something like "Ann Hernandez is a lighthouse keeper on Thacher Island - Cape Ann Light Station and had a birthday there on [whatever the date was]. Drop her a card at home.’’ The message included her year-round Illinois address.

Neither Ann nor her boyfriend ever really thought anyone would find one of her bottles, but this year someone did. A French couple found the bottle bobbing along the coastline near their small French village and plucked it out of the water. The letter inside was dated 2003. The couple quickly wrote a postcard and sent it off. But the postcard came back undeliverable. Their curiosity about the woman piqued, they contacted the Thatcher Island association to try and find her. The president of the association had sad news. Ann Thatcher had died suddenly at age 61 the year before.

The couple were put in contact with Ann's boyfriend and have slowly begun to form a friendship.

There is something about these stories that touches the soul, but I don't know why exactly. But there's something very compelling about them. As if magic exists, or as if sometimes, wishes do come true.

What do you think?

Cruisin' to the '50s

When I was a kid, after seeing the movie "Stand by Me," I became obsessed with the '50s and listened almost exclusively to '50s music (at the time CBS 101.1 was the channel of "oldies"). Even though that fad faded quickly for me, I still have a soft spot for lots of things '50s. One of my new favorite eateries is Cheeburger, Cheeburger, which not only has great turkey burgers but features a great '50s era Malt Shop ambiance. So when I got an e-mail a few days ago from Carnival Cruises about their latest theme cruise, my attention was immediately caught. The Malt Shop Memories cruise will bring together a group of musicians from the '50s and '60s to entertain passengers for five days.

In partnership with a company called Sixthman and inspired by Time Life's Malt Shop Memories collection, the five-day cruise sails May 13-17, 2010 onboard the Carnival Inspiration, traveling roundtrip from Tampa, Florida and featuring one stop at Cozumel, Mexico. But what makes this sailing so special is the collection of musicians gathered onboard including Frankie Avalon, Bobby Rydell, Little Anthony & The Imperials, Lesley Gore, The Original Drifters, The Platters and Lou Christie.

In addition to the non-stop music, passengers will get to interact with the musicians and will enjoy other '50s and '60s era activities including sock-hops, beach parties, dance contests and more.

If you want to find out more information about the cruise, including the cost, visit www.MaltShopCruise.com.

Lucky kids!

My husband is European and so a big soccer fan, so of course over the course of our relationship I have also become a soccer fan and would love to attend the World Cup someday. I'd especially love to go to the 2010 World Cup, which will be in South Africa, because then I could see soccer and wild animals and what could be better!

But alas, I can not afford to go and though I keep looking for World Cup contests to enter I have yet to find one. But I did recently find a World Cup related contest that will bring the winner to South Africa before the World Cup for some World Cup-inspired activities. But of course, I don't qualify as its only for kids! How unfair is that?

But since I can't enter, I figured there's no harm in spreading the word about this contest, especially since it is a pretty cool one. It's called the "Diski Dance Video Contest" and to win a youth soccer team will have to demonstrate its Diski soccer skills.

What are Diski soccer skills, I know everyone is asking. South African soccer has developed in a unique way combining traditional soccer skills with a little rhythm and dance. It's called Diski. In the spirit of this style of playing and as part of the World Cup marketing, a special dance was created called teh Diski Dance. It's a lot of fun to watch, and even more fun trying to watch other people trying to learn it.

With this in mind, South Africa Tourism has partnered with World Cup sponsor Coca-Cola, as well as U.S. Youth Soccer, to launch a Web video contest. The contest is a nationwide "dance call" to youth soccer teams to get them to feel the rhythm of South Africa by performing the soccer-inspired Diski Dance.

The competing teams must submit their creative video interpretation of the dance for a chance to win the grand prize of a trip to South Africa for the entire team. South Africa Tourism will transport all 12 players, plus the coach AND one parent for each player, to South Africa during the months leading up to the World Cup. While there the team will get to play an exhibition game against a group of South African youths of similar age -- like I said, pretty cool!

To learn how to do the Diski Dance, and this is for anyone not just the soccer kids, go to www.southafrica.net/dance where you can find tutorials of the five moves that make up the dance. You'll also find the official World Cup 2010 commerical featuring people in all walks of South African life doing the Diski Dance. I LOVE this commerical. The music and the dance never fail to give me a chill of pure happiness when I see it.

And the winner is...

The winner of the September raffle is Theresa. She won a paperback copy of "The Camelot Caper" by Elizabeth Peters and a gift bag of Archipelago Botanicals bath products.

October's raffle will be for a hardcover copy of the new book "Sand Sharks" by Margaret Maron. You can read my review of the book here. To enter, you just need to leave a comment on my blog at some point during the month of October.

Good luck!

A few good travel offers

I thought I'd pass on a few great travel offers that came across my desk recently. If you've got some time left this year and a little money saved up there really are some great travel deals out there right now.

For instance, want to go on a Caribbean cruise? MSC Cruises is offering last minute deals on select Caribbean cruises with prices starting at $249 per person for a five-night cruise from Ft. Lauderdale. The cruises are aboard the line's new ship, the MSC Poesia.

The $249 cruise departs on either Nov. 5 or Nov. 15 and visits Ocho Rios, Jamaica and Georgetown, Grand Cayman, with two days at sea.

The line is also offering special prices on a few 10-night cruises as well. The "Remarkable Rainforests & The Panama Canal" 10-night cruise features pricing starting at only $599. The cruise departs only on Dec. 10. Stops include Grand Cayman, Columbia, Panama, Costa Rica and Mexico.

Also priced at $599 is the 10-night "Tropical Splendors, European Charm" cruise which visits Puerto Rico, St. Kitts, Barbados, Martinique, St. Maarten and the Bahamas. This cruise also departs on Nov. 30.

One thing that should be noted, these prices do not include the additional fees like government fees and taxes, which could be another hundred or more dollars. To book these cruises you must use a travel agent and you must book and deposit $100 by October 31.

The next offer I came across is more pricey, but in some ways much cooler (at least I think so). It's for a Disney vacation in Orlando -- I know there are more than a few adults out there who think that sounds like fun! For a short time, Disney is offering people a chance to pay for a four-night Walt Disney World Resort package (including room and tickets) but stay for seven nights, OR pay for five nights, stay for seven and get a few extras thrown in like free park tickets.

These offers, called Magic Your Way packages, include accommodations for seven nights and a seven-day Magic Your Way Base ticket, and are available for travel between Nov. 1 - 20, Dec. 10 - 24, and Jan. 3 - March 27, 2010. Bookings must be made by Dec. 20.

As with the MSC Cruises offers, you must book your travel with a travel agent to take advantage of the special pricing.

Just how much do the airlines bring in with all their fees?

I think by now you all know how I feel about the airlines and their fees! So you won’t be surprised that a recent report once again had me seeing red. According to the report, released by IdeaWorks, a Wisconsin-based market research firm, airline fees have risen by 345% since 2006! And more fees are expected before the end of the year.
In 2008, airline fees brought the airlines $10.25 billion – that’s a lot of changed itineraries and checked bags.

Of course, the airlines want us to know that the industry is expected to lose $9 billion this year due to the recession and fuel costs, but according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA) the US airline industry will actually make a small profit. A result of all the fees, of course.

The US airlines have become so fee crazy, that for the first time a US carrier, Allegiant Air (a Las-Vegas based airline), out-charged Ryanair (the low-cost European airline famous for charging all kinds of crazy fees) bringing in 22.7% of its revenues from extra fees. In just the first half of 2009, Allegiant has brought in $85.9 million in fees, over a total of $56.3 million in all of 2008.

But the report also showed the growing importance of these fees to the larger airlines as well. American Airlines now brings in 9.3% of its revenue from fees; United brings in 7.9% and Delta brings in 6.6% from fees. JetBlue brings in 10% of its total revenue from the extra fees.

So while the airlines make money, flying continues to be a miserable experience for passengers. And passengers never know what the next fee will be and when it will suddenly pop up. It seems that every week an airline is imposing a new fee. The report concluded that eventually all carriers will at the very least charge bag fees for all coach passengers. I’d be willing to go a lot further and say that eventually, coach passengers (both domestic and international) will be charged for everything except the air they breathe and the right to use the bathroom.

Survey finds Americans still traveling despit the recession

I love surveys. I don’t know why, but I just find them fascinating. I love being part of surveys and I love reading the results of surveys. I love the statistics, the bullet points, the conclusions that people draw. I love seeing myself in the surveys and comparing myself to others.

So when a press release for a new travel survey came across my e-mail, I just knew I had to compare myself to the results and share the information. The survey was done by a travel agency franchise organization called Travel Leaders. The company has store-front agencies all around the country bearing the Travel Leaders banner. Their new survey revealed the travel behavior of travelers throughout the United States, including the fact that 84% of those polled have already taken at least one leisure trip in 2009 and more than 88% plan on taking at least one leisure trip between now and the end of the year.

Pretty interesting results, considering the country is in one of its worst recessions in decades. But not surprising really. People are not willing to give up their vacations because they need vacations. Most people need to get away from all the stress the recession is causing. And thankfully, most people still have the means to take a leisure trip, even if it’s just one or two nights away from home.

I can happily say I fit into both of the statistics cited above. I have already taken two leisure trips this year and have another planned for November.

Knowing I have that trip ahead of me to look forward to is sometimes the only thing keeping me going forward on a day-to-day basis. That’s how important vacations are. Do you agree?

The survey also showed that 65% of those polled indicated the trip(s) they’ve either taken or are going to take are within the United States and further than a bordering state. That’s me again! My first and second leisure trips of the year were several states away. Even though one of the trips was just for one night, the fact that I was far from home provided the escape I needed. Not that I think you need to go several states away to escape. I live in New Jersey and I’m sure a few nights at the Jersey shore would offer a very nice escape! Thirty percent of survey respondents agreed, either having taken or planning a trip within their own state this year.

Only my first two trips of the year fit the non-bordering state statistic. My November trip will be out of the country. A little more than 40% of those surveyed by Travel Leaders also said that at least one of their trips was or will be international.

One statistic that my behavior differs from dramatically is what my average spending on leisure trips in 2009 was/will be. Nearly 75% of those surveyed said they would be spending the same or more (the actual number saying they were spending more, and not just the same, was only 27.3%). Instead, I fit in with the 16% who said they would be spending somewhat less this year.

Here's where, unfortunately, the economy and unemployment have had to impact my leisure trip plans. Not only am I spending less on the trips I do take, I am taking less trips. Last year my husband and I took several weekend trips. This year we’ve only taken two and I do not see how we can afford a third one. But like I said, I’ve got one big trip to look forward to and that’s all that really matters!

Finally, I thought the key reasons for taking leisure trips in 2009 were pretty interesting. Just over 70% said they needed rest and relaxation, while 48.9% said they needed to get away. It seems to me the two are almost the same, though I guess I always think “get away” before I think simply “rest and relaxation.” Also related to these two answers, were the 25.9% who said they take a leisure trip for the benefit of their mental/physical health. A little over 50% of respondents said they take a leisure trip every year (also true of my husband and me).

Where do you fit into these survey results? Have you taken at least one trip this year? Are you planning a trip for sometime between now and the end of the year? Are you spending more or less?

I see clues everywhere...

I was reading a book the other day and I read a passage where the protagonist and a friend went to the apartment of a potential suspect to ask some questions. Early in the scene, the author says that the elevator seemed to be stuck on a specific floor, so the two characters had to take the stairs.

Aha! I said to myself. Something is going to happen on the elevator, or maybe the suspect is already dead on the elevator.

As it turned out the elevator had little to do with anything, and was never mentioned again. I realized, that I've started seeing clues everywhere I look when reading a mystery novel. Because, as a writer of mysteries, I'm acutely aware of the fact that most everything I put in a book is there for a reason.

If I mention an object, chances are there's a good reason for mentioning the object. But the reason is not always going to be "clue." I may mention something to describe a situation and create a mood or feeling. I may use an object (like an elevator) to speed up or delay action -- in the case of the scene I read the author needed the characters to take longer to get to the apartment.

And of course, there are the red herrings, when I purposely mention something or someone to make it seem like it's related to the mystery in order to misdirect the reader's attention. I suppose every time I read something and immediately expect it to be a clue, and then it turns out not to be, I can tell myself the author meant it as a red herring. But I'd be lying to myself.

And then sometimes an object mentioned, is just that. An object. Maybe used to describe a room a character is in. Maybe to show what kind of "things" the main character likes, as a way of painting a picture of the character.

But I forget all about those "other" reasons for mentioning objects or people when I'm reading and I automatically assume everything mentioned is important and means something.

And it's frustrating. I can't simply sit back and read a mystery and relax and enjoy the book the way I used to before I started writing. Instead I'm constantly alert, looking for clues that aren't there. Making up scenarios that don't happen.

I'm curious if this happens to other mystery writers when they read? Are they able to turn off the writer part of the brain when reading? Or do they also see ghosts, er clues, everywhere they look?

Hell is writing and sending queries

Queries are the reason I am not a freelance writer. I do not like to write queries. I do not like to send queries. I do not like having to wait to hear back from people I have queried, especially knowing that in this day and age, unless my query has been accepted, chances are I'm not going to get any response.

When I first got laid off I was going through all my contacts at what had been "competitor" publications trying to find freelance work (I knew there were no jobs to be had.). When I e-mailed one particular contact, she told me she was surprised I was putting so much time into finding work with one of the trade publications. She said I'd be better off sending out dozens of query letters a day to the consumer pubs.

Can I say, I didn't even consider it for a moment! Sure I'd love to write for a consumer pub, and maybe if I have a great idea and know the perfect match, I'll send out one query letter. But dozens of queries a day. No way! Call me lazy if you want, but its just not my cup of tea.

As it is, I still have to write query letters to the editor of one of the trade publications that did offer me some freelance work. Thankfully, they're not full-fledged query letters. Instead, they're quick e-mails with a few story ideas that I hope she'll either like, or will trigger another idea that she'll then offer to me.

And like with all query letters, the minute I hit the send button on that query e-mail, I'm on pins and needles waiting for an answer. If I don't get a response right away, I start becoming afraid of new e-mail notices. Is it a response to my query? Did the editor like my idea? Hate it? Did I just blow my chance of ever getting another freelance article again?

Totally irrational, I know. But that's what query letters do. They mess with your brain. So imagine that on a scale ten times larger. I'm sending one or two queries a month, not dozens a day. I think I'd be a trembling, quivering mess if I sent that many queries in a day.

Does that make me less of a writer? I think a lot of writers (i.e. freelancers) would say so. But every writer is different and as much as I love the travel industry and am determined to stay in the industry, my path for doing so will not be through becoming a freelancer. I do write on a freelance basis, but I am not and never will be a freelancer.

The scary thing is, while I've managed to escape (or run away from, if you prefer) the query monster in my professional life, when it comes time to try and get my mystery novel published, I'm not going to have any choice but to face querying head on. That's the ONLY way to get an agent or publisher.

But just thinking about it gives me the creeps! Thankfully, that's at least a year away or more. So for the time being "out of sight, out of mind" is my motto!

Unemployment inertia

It's happening. I can feel it. Every morning when my alarm goes off at 8:30, it strikes. Unemployment inertia.

Why bother? What's the point? Not another day of nothing. I think I'll just go back to sleep.

For the first seven weeks or so of my unemployment I got up religiously at 8:30, or earlier, every morning. I treated each work day as a regular work day. Start work at 9:00 and finish up at 6:00 or 7:00. Around the seventh week, that schedule began to change, and is still changing on a daily basis -- except for early in the week. Mondays, and usually Tuesdays, I can still get up at 8:30 without a problem, it's as the week progresses that the problems begin.

At first it was just the snooze button. The alarm when off at 8:3o and instead of jumping up out of bed, I hit the snooze button. Then I began hitting the snooze button more than once. I've now gotten to the point where my alarm goes off on a Wednesday or later, I hit the snooze button. When the alarm goes off again, I re-set the alarm for anywhere from 15 minutes to a half hour later. At this point, when the alarm goes off for the re-set time I am dragging myself out of bed, though I'm becoming more and more reluctant to do so.

My working days are ending sooner too. By 5:00/5:30 I'm basically done. And even worse, instead of "working" five days a week, I'm down to four -- though I'm usually heading into New York City one day a week to take care of other things, so I guess I can excuse that.

The thing that frightens me is that I'm only just a little over two months unemployed and already inertia has set in. I have to force myself to work on my novel sometimes, force myself to check the job boards, force myself not to just drop onto the couch and give up for the rest of the day. Each day my apartment feels smaller, more like a prison. Each day my computer looks more and more like the enemy. So you want me to work, do you? All right damn computer, show me a job I can apply to for f***'s sake!

And if this has happened after only two months, where am I going to be a month from now?

I want my term of unemployment to represent freedom, a time to do things I have been wanting to do for months or years but have never had the time before. I do not want to let inertia past the front door, but boy is it a sneaky devil. Just when I think I'm feeling motivated, it rears its tired head, begging me to put it all off, despair of a better future and just vegetate.

Maybe I need some sort of charm to ward off inertia. Perhaps there is a spell to banish it from my dwelling? Or maybe I just need to take my own advice to a friend who tends to wake up in the middle of the afternoon -- when the alarm goes off, just get out of bed. Don't think about getting out of bed; like the Nike ads have told us for years, just do it.

Pet peeve

Just a short post today to express my frustration with mystery writers who give away the endings of previous books in their latest series book. It is not always possible to read a series in order. Very often a reader is introduced to a series by picking up a book that either comes someplace in the middle of the series or is the most recently published book in the series. If the reader enjoys the book, the characters and the author's way of writing, most likely she or he will decided to read the earlier books in the series.

BUT! But if the author has already told the reader how the previous book(s) ended, what's the point in picking up the book? The whole point of reading a mystery is to try and figure out whodunit? So if I already know, what's the point in reading the book?

For instance, I'm reading a book called A Charmed Death by Madelyn Alt. It's the fourth book in the Bewitching Mystery series. I didn't realize it was the fourth book when I bought it, only when I picked it up to actually start reading. I figured I'd read it and if I liked it I'd buy or borrow the earlier ones. Then in the middle of the first chapter the author suddenly tells me who died in the last book (the third in the series) and who the killer turned out to be.

I was immediately turned off. There is almost no point in reading the third book now. Maybe, and that's a big MAYBE, I'll go back and read books one and two, but no matter what the author lost me as a reader, and potential buyer, of the third book.

As an aspiring writer, I hope that everything I do as a writer will be to get readers to read each and every one of my books. I don't want to chase anyone away from even a single book. That's seems completely counter-intuitive to the goal of writing books.

Now, I realize there are some things that will be given away in new books. For instance, romances. If in book three the main character gets married, then clearly if I start reading book two and that character is having romance problems, I already know how that's going to end. But that's a subplot and that's ok. I still have the juicy mystery to try to work out.

But don't give the whodunit away, please. Chances are I'll want to read earlier books, but not if I know who the killer is.

First bite!

I came home from a day trip into New York City yesterday to find that I had a message on my voice mail from a potential employer!!

This is the first time since I was laid off a little more than two months ago that I have gotten a call to discuss a job opening. And if that's not thrilling enough, I didn't even apply for the job that's open. The company saw my resume on CareerBuilder.com and thought I looked like a match, so they called me!

I know that getting a call doesn't mean I'm going to get the job. Getting an interview doesn't mean I'm getting the job. But after two months of no one being interested, no one even acknowledging my applications, it's so nice to just hear from someone.

I think that's one of the worst things about applying for jobs in these times. Because so many people are applying for the same job, the chances of getting a call in response are minimal. So you keep putting yourself out there and no one replies. It's like you don't even exist. And that's totally disheartening.

So to have someone call me and tell me they're interested in me, well, that gives me my existence back. And gives me hope that I may actually get a job again someday.

As if fees weren't enough

In his Sept. 7th New York Times column On the Road, Joe Sharkey discusses the airlines' newest method of saying "screw you" to their customers.

Numerous fees for every thing under the sun are no longer enough. Now in an effort to get people off the planes as quickly as possible and then clean the planes even faster, so they can be turned around for another flight, some airlines are prohibiting people from putting anything in the seat pocket in front of them!

In other words, you may not put your paperback book in the seat in front of you. You may not put your pack of tissues, your reading glasses, the magazine you bought at the airport, nothing, nada, zip, zero. Whatever you have with you either goes in your bag under your seat or in the overhead compartment. Screw you if you need them and can't reach them because the seats are too packed together so you can't reach under your seat or there's a bit of turbulence so you may not stand up to get to the overhead bin.

The airline Sharkey experienced this wonderful new rule on was SkyWest, one of the many regional airlines that operates as a subcontractor for some of the large, legacy airlines including United, Delta and Midwest. What's more, the flight attendent who enforced the rule with frigthening efficiency claimed the rule was a safety precaution. Since clearly my pack of tissues and People magazine pose no danger (I can't think of a single circumstance where they might), the "safety" rule is a ruse for some other reason. I can't help but wonder if this flight attendent actually believed she was ensuring the safety of her passengers by enforcing this inane new rule.

Sharkey goes on in his column to say that so far this rule has only been encountered by his readers on regional airlines. He adds that after speaking with the other airlines, they all said that by banning personal belongings in the seat pockets the airline can speed up the cleaning process.

But while this rule so far seems confined to the regional airlines, Sharkey brings up a valid point. Many people who fly regional flights actually booked their tickets with a major carrier, which then subcontracted a route it did not feel warranted one of its own planes to a regional carrier that specializes in the area. These fliers booked a ticket with the major carrier, they paid the major carrier, they expect the rules and regulations that are listed on that major carrier's Web site to prevail. But they don't, nor does the major carrier stick up for its passengers and demand that the regional airlines treat their passengers the way the larger airline would.

I find this hard to believe and once again I'm amazed at how the usual rules don't apply to airlines. If I go to a deli in New York City and order a bagel and that bagel has a piece of glass in it when I bite into it, the deli is responsible for my injury -- even if the deli didn't bake the bagel itself but instead bought the bagel from a bakery. So even though technically they subcontracted the production of their bagels to another company, because I bought the bagel from the deli, they are responsible. How come it's not the same with the airlines?

Is it because airlines offer a service, not a product. Is the company that does the subcontracting not responsible for service provided by the subcontractor it hires?

If I pay Airline A, if they are getting my money, then shouldn't I be subject to their rules? Shouldn't I get all the amenities they offer? Why is it o.k. for them to put a disclaimer in saying, we're not responsible for anything our subcontractors do?

As usual, the airlines leave me with a bitter taste in my mouth, praying for the day when the consumer is finally in a position to say "screw you" back to the airlines.

An interview with the founder of the Love Your Job Search classes

For women, especially young women, looking for a job is a frightening prospect, especially when so many women aren't aware of what their own strengths are or what job would bring them the most fulfilling life. And even for those women who know what they "want to be when they grow up," finding the right job is difficult, especially during these tough times. But help is available. Suzanne Grossman, the founder of Love Your Job (LYJ), a blog and job search class, offers the expertise she has gained from years of working with young women to empower them in our world, as well as the knowledge and know-how her own job and self seeking experiences have taught her.

Gink's Thoughts recently spoke with Suzanne about LYJ and what makes her uniquely qualified to teach women about finding a job they'll love for the rest of their lives.

What is LYJ?

LYJ stands for Love Your Job. LYJ started as a group blog I began with like-minded friends and colleagues. It came about after a group of us were talking, writing and thinking about topics related to career and how having a life that was fulfilling through your work was important and possible. Around the same time, I was putting together career topics for my CUNY students and I realized this information would be equally helpful to women job seekers outside of the university setting. So earlier this year I launched LYJ Search, which is a five week class for women jobseekers in New York City. A version of the class also will be available in Washington, D.C. in October, taught by my colleague Alyssa Best.

What types of skills LYJ Search students learn?

The class incorporates important job seeking skills including resume writing, interviewing, networking and salary negotiation.

Because I don’t believe anyone should be doing a job search without first having a clear idea of what they want to be doing and where, I also take my students through a series of thoughtful exercises through which they envision their ideal work setting and focus on their strengths in order to develop clarity on where they should be directing their job seeking efforts.

I also work very hard to match each woman in the class with professional acquaintances who can be helpful to each woman’s job search.

How did you get involved in the creation of LYJ Search?

I have a significant background in teaching leadership to women, including having worked at the Institute for Women’s Leadership at Rutgers University and the Woodhull Institute for Ethical Leadership. My efforts at both organizations helped me to develop a variety of skills related to job seeking and helping women reach their full potential. Along my journey, I’ve learned the importance of a solid resume and how informational interviews can lead to jobs that I can then pass on to the women in my classes.

I, myself, did many of the same exercises that I use in the class and came to see that one of my strengths is helping others find jobs and encouraging them to aim for work that is truly going to make them happy. I realized I could put this to good use, especially at a time when so many people are struggling with unemployment.

Who can benefit the most from LYJ Search?

The class tends to draw women in their twenties and thirties who are unemployed or ready for a change from their current situation. Having been in the working world for more than twelve years, I can help this demographic the best, partly because I relate to the particular challenges they are facing.

However, I also believe the LYJ Search class can benefit women with more experience in the working world because the skills the class addresses apply universally to any jobseeker. I also am open to working one-to-one with male clients, though for now the classes are for women only.

What do you like best about LYJ, the blog and the Search class?

I enjoy having a space for women to come together and support each other with their job searches. As one participant said before the class, she felt like she was alone against the world with her job search and that can be an overwhelming feeling. With LYJ each of the women in my class receives positive encouragement not only from me but also from each other.

Where can people find out more about LYJ and LYJ Search?

To find out more, visit http://lyjnow.wordpress.com/ or http://lyjnow.wordpress.com/lyj-search/.