October promises many things. Let's hope October keeps such promises. The first Friday of October will be my last day of chemo. Thank the stars. I've had fewer side-effects than many. I'm lucky. This has been week ten of Taxel. The nurse told me that the 10th week is the most common week for neuropathy …
Category: The Plum Tree
The blogs and websites of writers and artists who one way or another are involved with Plum Tree Books.
Getting Closer
A few years ago, I dressed as rejection for Halloween. I pinned all of my rejection letters to my jacket and a red, paper, broken heart to my jacket's lapel. I wrote "No!" and "Go away!" on the palms of my hands. I took my son's toy collapsable knife and pretended every so often to …
an ever-changing novel excerpt
Nodding, Fran stepped into the circle. She took a deep breath and lay down in its center. Staring up at the stars, she thought about the dirt pressing into her hair and the bugs that might be nearby. She didn’t believe in Milla’s ideas, her rituals, or chants, and she sometimes thought Milla was close …
Cover that Novel!
Wow. My publisher has finished the cover of my novel. After writing, submitting, and waiting, it is hard to believe my novel is actually going to be out in the world. Not out because I handed a copy to a friend, but out for anyone to read. My novel is leaving me. We'll see …
That First
Today, I read this article--Why Stephen King Spends 'Months and Even Years' Writing Opening Sentences. Of course, then I thought about the opening sentences of my novels and short stories. Some of them I have written over and over again, and the longer the story stays with me, the more I stare at its first …
Questions, Anyone?
I'm working on illustrating another book for my publisher, Plum Tree Books. I'm also working on getting this site to look like a proper site. Publication requires readers, obviously. And even more obviously, I can't get attention all on my own. I can't get in my car and travel the country to pitch my novel. …
I can talk to the dead.
Well, not really. And I'm not someone who tries to talk to the dead because I don't think they're listening. But anyway, Plum Tree Books wrote about poetry and death--two things often seen together--and the post suggested trying to write a poem with the title I Can Talk to the Dead. I am not a …
Websites and Housecleaning
I don't know who created this Neil Gaiman meme, but I need it pinned in every room in my house. But once the story ends, it wishes to be read. The story can't hide in a file, right? Anyway, I'm changing a few things around here. Cleaning and polishing. Getting things ready for when my …
Home
I grew up in the Florida boondocks. A few feet from my side bedroom window grazed cows. Looking out the back windows of the house, we saw our backyard, more cows, and highway 27. A field of overgrown grass stood between us and our neighbor. Our property, divided in half by the road, extended down …
This Solstice
Today was the summer solstice. A year ago today, we had our housewarming party to celebrate moving into our very first house. A week from today I'll have my fourth chemo treatment (12 more to go after that). Before I'm done with chemo, I'll have another book out that I've illustrated. Soon after I finish …
Marta Bacon 