Doree Anderson

And again, the ball has dropped. Yes. I like so many other enthusiastic believers that a new year is a fresh beginning sat in my easy chair and witness the dropping of the ball, the end of the old and the welcome to the new. How exciting. Ah, but is it? Exciting. So many people will spring up from their beds this morning (at least those not swearing 'they'll never drink another drop, God, if you'll just let me live)all excited to start their...... fill in New Year's Resolution here. Diet ? And I will, I promise. (next year) To be more Organized ? Well, yeah. But it's going to take me a year to get organized before I can be organized, sheesh. To be a better person? I always thought I was but I'll smile more often, yeah that'll do it. Give more to Charities? One can only donate blood some many times before they need a transfusion themselves. (but - it does make you feel good. I'm giving platelets on Monday. If you're feeling good, join me won't ...

Sizing up the he/she in your novel. When writing a novel a writer should create living people; people not characters. Character is a caricature. –Ernest Hemingway In my thoughts, I know a soul and with my eyes I see him standing there. But, without the words to paint for you, his acquaintance you’ll never share. –Doree Anderson 1) Setting up the interview. a) Allow plenty of uninterrupted time. You need to concentrate, observe and document constantly. b) The setting or meeting place should be comfortable. 1) the couch, kitchen table, the park or the lounge chair on the back porch. 2) supply ambiance with background music and candles. c) Offer refreshments Who are you? Who, who are you? –Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey 2) Getting a glimpse into their mind. a) It’s not just the words they use. b) hear the passion and tone of voice. 1) does he/she put emphasis on certain words in a sentence, use their hands to highlight their point. 2) are slang words utilized often? The creations...

Hey, yeah! I think I do remember you. Aren't you the oldest son to my mother's youngest sister? So what, you're twenty, twenty one? 40! No way, why I remember just a few years ago that you like... Do you remember me? Cause, evidently, I don't remember you-. I spent this past weekend in Henderson at my Aunt's "Celebration of Life" and thought about all the interesting faces that I reacquainted my self with. Cousins that I haven't seen or spoken to since the death of my Grandmother about fifteen years ago have changed. Go Figure! They grew up, got married, had children, oh my! They went on about their lives without me. And here I stood, realizing that I had done the same. My daughter and grandson were with me and were strangers to a lot of them. We say this is a small world yet we let time speed by before we reaquaint ourselves with family so how can we say that we stay in contact with friends? We don't. I mailed out somewhere around sixty five Chris...

NANO time again! Writers: get ready, get set and go. For the month of November, hundreds, maybe thousands of writers will put themselves to the test and write a 50,000 word novel. That's right! 30 days of story telling through the fingers and tracked, each word at a time. It's fun. Write! You don't edit, that's for next month. You don't worry about spelling, let the machine underline it and we'll get back to that next month as well. This month is just for the opportunity to test your self and your ability to capture a story in one month. So, during the month of October, I spent time interviewing and getting to know the characters that will be brought to life in my novel. Screening places and ideas for story boards and putting it all together so that when November 1st comes around, I'll be ready... Well, here it is and so far, I'm having a blast. The kids are enjoying themselves as they tentatively get to know each other and will eventually fall in love. ...

URWA Conference turned out to be absolutely wonderful. The attendance was fantastic, the workshops were top nosh and the networking was phenomenal. An enjoyment to the very end. Christine Witthohn from Book Cents Literary Agency and Amanda Bergeron from Avon/Harper Collins were a lot of fun. (the picture to the left is taken in Park City. br. Me and Mary Martinez, fr is Kim Finnegin, Christine Witthohn, Amanda Bergeron and Lisa Williams-Cox in front of the miner's statue). The pitches went down and some excellent results followed. I, for one, am happy with the request that I received and the valuable information that Christine gave me. Hook? Oh yeah, the hook. We'll lets just say that the hook was asked for and not given. Yet, Christine still gave a request and I couldn't be happier than a bear with a new roll of Charmin. Since then I've been polishing up my synopsis and getting ready to send it out with my first three chapters. My fingers are crossed and my hopes are ...

Hey, Howdy, Hiya, Posting on our first night here at Deer Valley, Utah's The Lodges. Where Utah's Chapter of RWA's (Romance Writers of America) conference for 2009 starts...now. Holly heaven, Batman, this place is class. We're talking ala beautiful place. Everything is so gorgeous, done in huge white pine logs, fireplaces, full kitchens, laundry closets in each suite. The suite that we are in is a two bedroom, 3 bathrooms, full sized living room and kitchen with a large 6 person dinning table. Absolutely beautiful. Flip a switch and you have a nice and cozy gas fire in the fireplace, the chairs are big and comfy. Wonderful. The weather is perfect, crisp fall foliage, the golds, yellows, oranges and reds, a slight nip in the air and traces of a recent snowfall on the ground. Sweater and thick jackets seem to be the appropriate attire. Of course, our cute Mary is wearing flip flops :-) Our first course of action today was assisting Kelli Ann with the gift bags for the co...

Please...for me! This week, I am saying goodbye to my Aunt. A courageous woman who has fought a long, painful struggle with cancer. Twelve years ago, she went in for her annual mammogram and was told everything looked good. But, they made her another mammogram for six months. One of those, 'just in case' appointments. We'll refer to that as the 'something is there but frankly I have a waiting room full of women and a lunch date, so I'll just cover my butt.' Six months later, she goes in to have her follow-up mammogram and low and behold, what's this? A lump. You say you mentioned it six months ago. Are you sure? Because, the tech had to have surely seen it and requested an ultra-sound. Hummm. Well, lets do an ultra-sound now. I'm sure there is nothing to worry about. And the verdict is two, not one now, but two suspicious masses in the left breast. The soonest we'll be able to do that biopsy is.... three weeks. But, no need to worry, it's probab...