I've Been a Bad Girl

Hello!  Is there anybody out there?  You still there?

As I sit down to write this post, the old Hall & Oates song keeps playing in my head:

You're out of touch

I'm out of time!

I can't believe it's been a year since I've posted here. I've been out of touch with you because I was out of time--the time to blog.  Professionally and personally a lot went on during the past year, some of which was bad and required my time.  We'll leave that in the past where it belongs and focus on the good things that have happened since I was last in touch and the good things on the horizon (hint, hint -- a NEW BOOK!!!).

I continue to write for the website PopularPittsburgh.com, creating a lot of interesting content.  One of the things I love about writing for the site is that I'm always learning something new.  I recently did a piece on Andrew Carnegie--what a fascinating, complex man.  Like most people he was a mixture of good and bad.  I think the important thing when looking at anybody's character is what is the ratio of good to bad.  I hope when my character is weighed, the good tips the scale like an elephant on one side of a seesaw and my bad like a kitten on the other.  

Also, I've done some more articles for St. Anthony Messenger; one that was particularly timely focused on the Franciscans in the Holy Land who are charged with tending the holy sites there and with helping the remnant of Christians still living in Jerusalem. 

I've been to several book clubs and appeared at speaking engagements as well, and I was also a guest on the Cookspeak podcast hosted by Tom Totin.  This was my first live broadcast, and I was worried when he asked me to be on, wondering how we would fill the air time.  If you listen to the podcast, you will know that we could have gone on for hours, and that is to Tom's credit.  He's a professional, gifted host and could give Jimmy Fallon and the like a run for their money.

But the best news of all is that I've finished my fourth novel!  It is called Most Highly Favored Daughter and is another "woman in jeopardy" type of romantic suspense. Instead of publishing it immediately, I have entered it for the Tuscany Prize, a competition for Catholic literature.  To whet your appetite, I'm posting the first chapter here and on my website. 

Writing is a bit like giving birth.  When I'm finished writing a novel, I'm all tapped out and don't think I could go through that again.  But already, the pain is fading and the urge to create is growing.  I'm getting the itch to write a short story about Janetta, Anne's friend and roommate from my first novel St. Anne's Day.  Many of you have told me that you wanted to read more about her.  Right now I see her in the opening scene and I see her at the conclusion, which will be very dramatic and beautiful.  Now the task is to just get her from the beginning to that end.  

Anyway, like bad breath in the morning, I'm back and click here to read the first chapter of Most Highly Favored Daughter.  I hope you enjoy it!