Dear John,   Dear John:   Dear John;   Dear John?

Recently I was having a conversation with a friend of mine (who happens to be a published author) about grammar and how, even as a writer, it can be a bit daunting.  Most writers are not editors as well.  We WRITE.  We don’t really think about where the semi colon should go or when it’s appropriate to use an emdash instead of an ellipsis.  In truth, starting out, many of us don’t even know what an emdash is!!!

Friends Don’t Let Friends Perfuncturate Punctuation

(I know you’ll look it up if I don’t tell you.... Per*func*tu*rate\, v. t. To perform in a perfunctory manner; to do negligently.)

So...here’s the catch, I do edit for this friend of mine.  Each week he writes a newsletter to send out to his readers, I edit it before I let him send it (because friends don't let friends abuse grammar).  Since I began editing for him, the newsletter has gone out once before I was able to work my magic. It wasn’t pretty.   (It was also redistributed after I got my hands on it.)  I say all of this to get to this point...

I have decided to create an addition to my blog I’m going to call GRAMMAR 101.  The first subcategory will be PUNCTUATION 101.  I think we will start with the :::drumroll:::

Emdash ( — )

The emdash is a versatile little bugger.  All the functions of the comma, semicolon, AND colon! 

It can be used to create pauses, join two independent or dependent clauses, or introduce a list.  

It's a less formal version of the aforementioned marks which are typically preferable in more formal writing—luckily for us, we aren’t that formal around here and the emdash is right at home.

In narrative writing, I think of it as more vivid and more invisible than those marks all at the same time.

While it is long enough to create a pause, there generally aren’t any spaces around it, and therefore your text will have a more continual flow.  

Because of this it can easily be used for scenes where you want a flow unbroken by real stops, especially in stream-of-consciousness writing or action scenes:

(I’ll use characters from my book for examples because—well—I can.)

Aedan reached one hand for the door—Halle dangling lifelessly in his arms—he stretched with all he had toward the handle—but it was too far.

Compare that to:

Aedan reached one hand for the door, Halle dangling lifelessly in his arms; he stretched with all he had toward the handle, but it was too far.

Ok, so the second example is most likely more correct from a formal standpoint, but the emdashes cause the reader to slow down which makes it more dramatic.  On the flip side, the first example is probably too dramatic, so I would recommend balancing the scales between the two:

Aedan reached one hand for the door, Halle dangling lifelessly in his arms.  He stretched with all he had toward the handle—but it was too far.

In this last example, the emdash creates a brief pause just at the peak of suspense:  Will Aedan get the door open in time? And then the dash's length drags that moment out until the question is answered for us.  

A semicolon would’ve been wrong there (aka incorrect grammatically), and a comma or colon just wouldn't have had the same feeling of suspense.  Personally I love dashes if for no other reason than the dramatic effect they can create and their flexibility.  It’s not quite an addiction (that would be the ellipsis . . . which we will get to) but I probably overuse them in spells.  So, if you share my tendency to use them, keep in mind, like all highly dramatic marks, they should be used sparingly or they lose their punch.

If a period is a stop sign, a semicolon a rolling stop sign, then the emdash is the yellow light you pause at, then speed through.  

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But wait....there’s more... (I’ve always wanted to use that line)

The emdash can also be used to highlight interruptions.  It doesn’t matter if this occurs within a sentence or at the end of it, still works.

The unconscious Hellion—the only somewhat tolerable kind, as far as Halle was concerned—lay motionlessly on the concrete floor.

Matt, I swear, I have no idea what you’re—HEY! What do you think you’re doing?

For those parentheses addicts out there...yes, parentheses could be used in these examples just as easily, BUT keep in mind that parentheses create a little commentary world off to themselves, closed off from the rest of the world – I mean sentence, in my opinion the emdash doesn’t cause as long of a pause.

**Practical Tip for Authors**

Character Q is talking and Character Z interrupts her, it is highly useful to end Character Q’s speech with an emdash to indicate Q’s getting cut off mid sentence.

She attempted to mask the sound of her voice failing and her words came out in almost a whisper.  “What is it that I need protection from, Dad?  Because I can’t imagine anything more than – ”

“Me, Halle.”  Noah interrupted. 

Why is an emdash called an emdash you ask???  Excellent question!

My studies tell me there are actually three kinds of dash marks when it comes to typesetting:

1. hyphens, like so: - , hyphens join two words into one closed compound
2. endashes, which came about during the time of hand-typesetting using two hyphens (the length of an “n”, hence the name), and are used to join open compounds (like “the North Carolina–Virginia border”; “North Carolina” is an open compound because it is one word with a space in it) or to replace the word “to” (as in “1999–2010,” or “our Australia–Ireland trip”)
3. and emdashes, well, they are composed of three hyphens (the length of an “m”), and we’ve already covered all the fun they can have.

Word on the street is that writers are typically not expected to know about endashes – which is probably good for most of us!  My research also tells me that if you have a pretty decent understanding of how to use hyphens and emdashes correctly, most editors aren’t going to thrash you with the red pen on the endashes, they will leave those to the copyeditors.

Join the clan! It’s fast, easy, and oh yeah....FREE!! 

To keep up with the latest on PUNCTUATION 101 sign up as a follower in whatever way works for you.  There will be more coming soon.

Ideas for Marketing Your Book: Part 1

Ideas for Marketing Your Book: Part 1

Ok...so you’ve written what you are sure is the next NY Times Bestseller, you have a publisher (either traditional or self), now you need to market it. Let’s face it, all the thousands of hours you spent writing it and getting it published was EASY!!!  

The work is in the promotion!! Over the course of the last two years, I’ve collected ideas from hence and yon, as well as come up with a few of my own, that I think would be an excellent help to any author from any genre. 

There are a LOT of ideas, so I won’t drown you with them all at once.  If you are like me, too many ideas means feeling overwhelmed. Feeling overwhelmed means friends will finally come and check on you after days of you not returning phone calls only to find you staring at your computer screen and mumbling incoherent jibberish under your breath while rocking slightly back and forth in a mindless state. 

I don’t want to be responsible for that. 

So...without further adieu...(feel free to imagine a drumroll here)

List # 1 – Oh the places you’ll go....

1.      Donate a copy of your book to your local library...and maybe any local library within a short driving distance.  (Word of mouth is still the best advertising method).

2.      If your book is geared toward children or teens...donate a copy to school libraries in your area.  (Again...word of mouth & we KNOW how teens like to talk.)

3.      BONUS:  If the local school in #2 happens to be a school you attended...set up a “Meet the Author” night with the PTA or one day with the librarian...have a Book Signing while you’re at it. 

4.      Send a copy to your local newspaper OR the regional paper in your area along with a press release.  (Better yet...send it to BOTH).  Be sure to send it to the Attention of the Arts and Variety editor or Local Interest section.  If you aren’t sure who that is...Google it or call the paper, they will point you in the right direction.

5.      Speaking of newspapers... Send a copy to at least one national newspaper (I’d send it to as many as you can afford to send books to) along with a press release.  Again, to the attention of the Review Editor.

6.      Bookmarks!!!  I know...it sounds s little odd, but have bookmarks made with your book cover, title, website info & so on to leave at libraries (local & school), bookstores (they might put them in the bags of purchases for you for free if you ask nicely or at least let you leave them on the counter), any place that might relate to your genre or topic (like churches for religious books) or keep some to hand out like business cards when people ask about your book. They're inexpensive.

7.      Waiting rooms.  If you find books in your doctor’s office, dentist’s office, at the hospital, or any other waiting room you’ve frequented (or choose to stalk for this sole purpose), why not “conveniently” leave one of your own books there in the mix? You never know who will pick it up. (Remember...word of mouth)  This is an excellent opportunity for anyone who wrote a book specific to a field too, such as: nursing biographies, doctor advice, dental, self-help, etc.  (I’ve been in waiting rooms, and I would have LOVED to find something to read besides things related to the office I was in...don’t let that stop you from leaving a fiction book in a doctor’s office).  Heck...leave some bookmarks in these places too!

OK....those should keep you busy for the next week (or so).  I’ll bring List #2 out when you’ve had time to let this one sink in good.  Until then....

Happy Marketing!!!

Good Reads on Good Friday

Let them eat cake!!!

Chocolate cake for breakfast = weight loss!. (Please please please please please let this study be true?!?)

I’ve said for years that chocolate is clearly a vegetable. I mean...hellooo...cocoa BEANS!!!  Need I say more? Now, there is scientific evidence to prove I’ve been right all this time.  Everyone make a note...this is one time I can say (whole heartedly and with feeling) I love science! 

Oh...and there is a sentence in there somewhere that says it can be psychologically damaging to avoid sweets entirely. Yeah...THAT explains a lot. I know a few people who should avoid dieting for this reason alone.

True Facts about Bottled Water that Science doesn’t want you to know

And we’re back to hating science! 😆 Yes...short lived, I know.

This information was released by the True Facts Institute of America, so it’s gotta be true! Right?!?  From now on, I will only drink water that originates in Heaven.

Thanks again, Internet.

Extreme Parenting 101 : Why you shouldn’t shoot your daughter’s laptop

Ok...I’ll be the first to admit...there have been times I was pushed to the edge of chunking my laptop out the front door while screaming explicatives loud enough for all the neighbors to hear...and my neighbors aren’t that close. But seriously...firearms never crossed my mind. Really!  But hey....to each his own, right?

Snails....They’re not just for lunch anymore!

I’m sorry...snails remind me way too much of leeches with shells to allow this to happen.  Much less to PAY them to do it. I mean...can’t they just find snails out in the woods somewhere and try it at home...for free? Just weird.

An employee gives a medical-cosmetic massage to a client using African snails at a beauty salon in Russia's Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk March 23, 2012. The beauty salon is the only one in the region using the snails' method, which is believed to help in speeding up regeneration of the skin, eliminating wrinkles, scars and traces of burn marks, according to the owner Alyona Zlotnikova.   REUTERS/Ilya Naymushin

I had NO idea Obama was a cat person!

Sooo many headings I could put on this picture...sooo little space

MOSCOW - President Dmitry Medvedev reassured Russians on Wednesday that his cat Dorofei was safe after reports that it had run away made him an object of satire on Twitter.  - 28 Mar 2012

Ok...I would love to hear the captions you come up with for this photo.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As for a few Good Reads that will carry you through the weekend, here are a few books that might be something to check out.

If you're up for a real life "haunting" I recommend:

220 Fifth Street by Patrick Meechan
A terrifying true story of a seemingly ordinary house in a small mid-western town, 220 FIFTH STREET rivals the all-time great novels of its genre. This time however, there is no Hollywood hype. The story is entirely true and will have you on the edge of your seat, rethinking what you thought you knew about the spiritual realm. Finally, a haunted house story of truly Biblical proportions!

For a feel good, love is in the air but no one wants to acknowlege it story, I recommend:

Bloom by Julie Anne Lindsey
(I plan to read it in its entirety this weekend.)
In a town filled with her past, she never expected to find her future….
Seven years ago Cynthia left Honey Creek with a broken heart. Three years ago Mitchell arrived with one. Now Cynthia’s come home, and these two hardened hearts can’t stop arguing. If they’d only take a break long enough to find some common ground, they might be surprised to find love can grow anywhere.

If they let it, love will find a way to Bloom.


And...as if this book isn't already popular enough...

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
(It really is better than the movie!!!)
In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV. Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, regards it as a death sentence when she is forced to represent her district in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before-and survival, for her, is second nature. Without really meaning to, she becomes a contender. But if she is to win, she will have to start making choices that weigh survival against humanity and life against love.


So....that concludes my Good Reads for Good Friday post. I've been blessed beyond what I deserve, and I hope & pray each of you are as well on this Easter weekend.  

Happy Easter!!

Talk is cheap...Results are priceless

The other night I was in bed, oddly remembering a scene from my past life. No, not like a different lifetime ago...don’t wig out, from a few years back. YES...that was a different life, I assure you!  

Anyway...back to the scene. I was TRYING to go to sleep and the past life husband was there with his handy dandy notebook (yup, I just made a Blue’s Clues reference) brainstorming…LOUDLY… about a blog he wanted to start for the money pit, I mean race team he and his brother had. So, there I was…half asleep, spouting off half-witted blog titles for him, trying to ignore the ones he was bringing to the table when out spouted something so profound that I actually woke myself from my uncommitted slumber. Don’t ask why I was remembering this...who knows why we think some of the things we think??? The mind is a strange creature. 

Now...for those perceptive few of you reading this (which would be approximately all of you since there are most likely only a FEW) you may have figured out my sleep induced epiphany by now. Yep…it’s the title of today’s blog.

Talk is cheap…results are priceless.

I need to truly take my own advice on this one and stop running my mouth and get serious about my, thus far, half a** efforts to make my dreams a reality.  This is supposed to be a commitment to myself. I don’t know why I continue to sabotage my efforts or let those around me sabotage them unknowingly. I mean...I didn’t used to be such a slacker. 

So....it’s time to put my money (what little I have of it) where my mouth is. Talk is cheap. I need to start seeing some results....after all...I said so myself...they are PRICELESS!!!

Thoughts for the day:

Why doesn't onomatopoeia sound like what it is?

If the #2 pencil is so popular, why is it still #2?

What NOT to do

Ok...this blog is a little different than what I typically have been throwing at you. It’s about friendship. It’s about being there for someone when they need you.

I've been writing about friendship. And I have friends. And something sparked this thought this week, so here goes. 

Ask yourself this....

Have you ever had a friend in crisis?  Didn’t really know how to react, what to say or do for them? I’d bet we’ve all been there and could really use some pointers on what to do in those situations. Unfortunately, I don’t have any straight forward answers, but I do have some insight into what NOT to do and how to learn from that. 

These “what not to do” moments of clarity have come from personal experiences and can also be found abundantly in a rather popular NY Times bestselling book a lot of people like to call The Bible.  More specifically the Book of Job. (pronounced "Jobe" , rhyming with globe or robe

Ok, here’s the scenario (which can be found in Chapters 1 and 2 of Job in case you'd like to see if for yourself). There’s this guy named....well...Job. Job lost everything: his children, livestock, even his health. So, Job has these friends. These “friends” decide they are going to give him some advice, try to cheer him up, you know…a little friendly intervention. Now, I’m guessing in their minds these friends had good intentions and all, but boy were they hitting the head of that nail just a bit left of center. Without a doubt, these friends had a questionable view of friendship, and I’m not even going to mention their excruciating lack of tactfulness…ok, maybe I am. They really needed a little sensitivity training.

So, these friends are “cheering” him up, but they made a couple of mistakes in their attempt to do so. Their first mistake was one we all make at times. They assumed they could relate to Job’s losses. AS IF! I mean, this guy just lost EVERYTHING. Not just his home, not just his ten children at once, not just a part of his health... ALL OF THESE THINGS…EVERYTHING! And these friends acted as if they understood. 

I don’t know about you, but I’m pretty certain I wouldn’t know how Job felt. I wouldn’t even be able to begin to imagine how it would feel to lose everything.

On top of that, they made light of his pain. Seriously?!?! These friends tell Job that if he would just repent to God then maybe he would be vindicated. Wow. Really??? So, essentially they were just telling Job that they KNEW he had to have done SOMETHING to bring this upon himself. What kind of friends were these people?  They may as well have just said “Job, stop lying. You know you screwed up, just admit it so God will forgive you already.” 

Is this something you’d want YOUR friends to say to you? Yeah, me neither. If I had been Job, I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t consider any of them a friend after all that. 

Which brings me to the phrase: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” 

I would dare say they are words to live by. In my house, they are words to live by (I find myself sounding like a broken record repeating them to my kids sometimes). In my Mom’s house, they were words to live by. And if I were a betting gal, I’d be willing to bet they are words to live by in homes the world over. That many moms can’t possibly be wrong, can they?  (Kids...you aren’t allowed to answer that until you have your own children.)

I guess the point I'm getting to is this…as friends we will never be perfect. After all, we ARE human. However, we CAN treat our friends the way we would want them to treat us in a similar situation. With love, compassion, understanding and a strong dose of sensitivity. Probably a little humor and sarcasm if you're my friends. 

There will be times when we're faced with a friend who is suffering, a friend who is hurting, a friend who has lost something or someone and maybe we can’t truly relate. Maybe we can’t know how they really feel…but we can be there for them. We can pray for them and with them. We can show them the kind of love that God shows us when we need comfort and understanding. Take a lesson from Job’s friends (a what NOT to do lesson, that is) and do for that friend what you would want a friend to do for you. Making the world a better place really only starts with one small act of kindness.

Thought for the day:

True friends develop a private language that outsiders find utterly baffling. You can communicate everything from extreme boredom to a desire to escape a social situation using nothing but a micro-expression, a slight eyebrow twitch, or making weird eye contact from across a room.

Life....does it get in OUR way, or do we get in it's way?

Apologies for the light (ok, ok...nonexistent) blogging lately. I've been preoccupied with personal matters and haven't been able to give much attention to this blog -- or, unfortunately, my writing in general.  Sometimes, life runs perfectly...just like you imagine it should (maybe not MY life...but I’ve heard it happens. I think this is how Urban Legends get started). Sometimes...life can be chaotic at best -- kids need a little extra attention, the dog decides to go off the deep end and drag everything not bolted down in the neighbor’s yard to your porch, you have 200 errands to run and only 2 days to run them. You get my point. Then, throw in the roller coaster that your emotional life can turn into and you just don’t know how to make the danged thing stop. 

Thing is...I love roller coasters. I remember a trip with the youth group at church to Bush Gardens one year....it was late in the season, the park was fairly empty (which is the best time to go) and the Loch Nest Monster coaster was a free for all. You got off the ride, walked around and got right back on. It was GREAT! 

Life isn’t always like that.  Sometimes, the coaster is just not so great. Though, I can see how life works that way.  You get off the roller coaster....sometimes maybe a little sick to your stomach, maybe a little dizzy from the ride....but you have to walk around and get back on. You can’t let the side effects of the loops and turns keep you from riding.

I honestly don’t know how people do it when they don’t have God to lean on though. I know I haven’t mentioned my faith much in my blogging thus far, but I am who I am. I believe what I believe. We are all entitled to that. I don’t judge anyone for their beliefs...as a Christian, that sooo isn’t my place. But if you don’t have somewhere to lean, someone to lean on...what do you do when life feels like it’s just too much? When the roller coaster feels like it isn’t ever going to stop long enough for you to catch your breath, get your bearings, and get ready to get back on? 

Anyway...I’m catching my breath, getting my bearings and preparing to get back on the roller coaster...hopefully for a more enjoyable ride. I’ll be back to posting soon. Until then....

I pray your roller coaster is going at just the speed you like.

Character Development - Hold on Loosely

Recently I began taking a writing class.  Because you know...I just had sooo much free time on my hands, I felt like I needed to fill it with something.  Actually...I wanted to take it way more than any of the college courses I’m taking.  Helloooo...it’s a WRITING class.  I LOVE writing.  Biology...not so much.

Anyhow...It’s being taught by author Candace Havens (you should absolutely check out her work!  http://www.candacehavens.com/  ) & I am only a week into it, but I can tell it’s going to really give me a push in the right direction with my literary endeavors.  (See...using professionally sounding verbage already)

Our assignment this week partially focuses on character development. Now, as we all know, I am not yet a published author...heck, I’m not even finished with the first manuscript...but I am an avid reader, and for me...the characters pull me into a story quicker than the plot does. I’m easily fascinated by a complex character. Characters can make or break a novel.    

One of our questions this week was “What do you want your characters to say to the reader?” My first response was that I want my characters to say “I am real.  I exist.”  I want them to get in the reader’s face and say “Do you get it yet? Don’t you want to know more?” In other words...I want the reader to feel so engrossed by my characters that they think of them as a REAL PERSON. Someone they know. Someone they can relate to.  I want my reader to become emotionally involved. To me, THAT is what will make my characters come to life, make my readers want more.

The truly great characters aren’t the perfect ones. They are flawed. They have limitations to overcome. They have to grow into who they are meant to be. If they were perfect...well, they’d just be completely unrealistic and boring. I don’t like boring. Not in real life and not in my writing. Besides, perfection is highly overrated.

So, in order to try to keep my characters as imperfect as you and me...I use the character development tools that I’ve acquired and refined over the past year or so. I have a few that help me flesh out the deep, dark complexities of my fictional entourage. The one I always start out with is my Character Development Sheet (click the link to download it & use it yourself).

I’d love to be able to give credit where it’s due, but the truth is...I got ideas from so many different places, Frankenstein would be jealous. Some thoughts are mine...some are from other minds far, far away. (Susan...be nice...I can hear you from across the state line – my mind isn’t THAT far away) Regardless of the sources...hopefully, the final product will be useful.

Planning your characters out is super important. You need to know how their personality factors into the story, how they will move the story along. Just like in life...it’s hard to know which way to go to get where you’re going if you don’t have some direction. Your character needs direction. However...don’t smother them. Hen pecking your characters will only turn them into teenager-like mutineers who roll their eyes at you and make faces behind your back when you try to force them in a direction they don’t want to go. You have to let them be free to express themselves and find their own paths sometimes too...much like teens. Hold the reins too tight...you’ll lose them.

Thoughts to ponder...

If a cow laughed would milk come out of its nose?

If a turtle doesn't have a shell is he homeless or naked?

Disclaimers and Victoria Secret Models

I’ve been giving some thought since I started writing the blog as to what I should write about next  (I realize for those who know me well it’s a stretch to comprehend me thinking about something aside from my book for more than 24 hours) and it occurred to me…I should probably be thinking about what I’m going to write about from here on out. 

After all…I realize everyone could eventually get bored with my constant rambling regarding the unfair state of vegetable classification (I still say chocolate is a vegetable...it IS derived from beans)  and how if we were all TRULY created equal either I’d consistently be a size 5 or all Victoria Secret models would look like me.  That’s right...think about it.

So  what have I come up with?  This should be a blog about more.  Not just my struggles and victories, but yours too.  Not just topics that will help me, but topics that will also help all those who venture to read…at your own risk of course.  My skilled team of lawyers say I should probably print some kind of disclaimer spouting off about how I can’t be held liable for any actions, comments or likely heated discussions this blog may, at some point, initiate between the reader and any significant others.

In other words…

Ladies - it’s not my fault if your man begins a downward spiral in relevant conversation when you bring up the blatant  inequality between real women and Victoria Secret models.

Men (I highly recommend you heed the following advice closely) – if you have even an ounce of sense and decency the words “Victoria Secret models” will never fall from your lips in the presence of female company.  Never.  (when it does...don’t say you weren’t forewarned)

With all that said…I’m off to think about the next topic of discussion.  If anyone has anything they have questions about, would like more information on or just want to comment…please feel free to…well…comment. J

Until next time, phrases to ponder....
   Gag a maggot
   Try to relax and enjoy the crisis.
   Everyone has a photographic memory. Some just don't have film.
   Why is it called lipstick if you can still move your lips?

Back to the Grindstone

Don't you just LOVE old sayings?
No?
Ok...I can respect that. 

Half the time I don't know what they mean or where they came from anyway.  And, like my food, I like to know where things came from.  I mean, you wouldn't eat a slice of pizza if you were a little bit leery of its origins....would you?  I'm banking on anyone reading this NOT being that creepy kid who would eat anything at the lunch table (or anywhere else for that matter) for a dollar.  Actually a disturbing mental movie just began playing in my mind from junior high....but I won't go into detail.  One - because I'd really like for you to keep reading and two - if I started naming names and some of those "characters" from the mental movie were to read this...there would be some explaining to do. (Not by me...by them...to their current spouses most likely.  I don't want that hangin' over my head.  Especially since I think I'm friends with most of their spouses...hmmm)  Anyway...I digress.  Old sayings.  That's where I was.  The grindstone.

I chose that saying because I took some time off.  Yes, I realize it was over a month, almost two.  But hey, you dealt with the holidays too.  You know how it is.  So it's time to get back to "work."  And obviously...I didn't make that whole ridiculously short deadline.  Guess God just didn't mean for me to enter that one this year.  Anyway...

I had a few adventures since we last met.  Ok...really only one...in Florida.  Key West to be precise.  It involved a scooter...but that deserves a blog post ALLLLLLLL it's own.  Trust me.

I've been rewriting the book too.  I'm a few chapters into the "rewrite."  I'm thinking I will post the first few chapters at some point.(for all 5 of you that have been reading.)  ..just not right now.  I want to make sure I won't be changing them....again.
Meantime...I do hope and pray that everyone's 2011 has gotten off to a blessed beginning.

**************
Before I go...a bit of fairly useless knowledge.

Merriam-Webster offers the following info on Grindstones.

Definition: a flat circular stone of natural sandstone that revolves on an axle and is used for grinding, shaping, or smoothing  (don't know about you, but I seriously can't say I've ever used one of these...much less gotten "back to it".  I think I need a new phrase.)

First Known Use of GRINDSTONE :  13th century

Rhymes with GRINDSTONE  (I had no idea there were so many types of stones.  Frankly I'm a bit shocked they didn't name every bone in the body.  You're humming it now aren't you?  "The hip bone's connected to the thigh bone"...yep.  You're humming it)

agon, aitchbone, alone, atone, backbone, Bastogne, bemoan, Blackstone, bloodstone, bluestone, bondstone, Boulogne, breastbone, bridge loan, brimstone, brownstone, calzone, Capone, capstone, cell phone, cheekbone, chinbone, cogon, cologne, colón, condone, copestone, corn pone, curbstone, cyclone, daimon, dapsone, debone, depone, dethrone, dial tone, disown, Dordogne, downzone, dripstone, drop zone, drystone, earphone, earth tone, end zone, enthrone, estrone, fieldstone, firestone, flagstone, flowstone, flyblown, footstone, freestone, free zone, full-blown, gallstone, gemstone, Gijón, goldstone, gravestone, greenstone, hailstone, halftone, handblown, hard stone, headphone, headstone, hearthstone, high-flown, hip bone, homegrown, hormone, hornstone, impone, ingrown, inkstone, in stone, intone, jawbone, jewel tone, keystone, León, life zone, limestone, lodestone, long bone, Maidstone, milestone, millstone, moonstone, mudstone, nose cone, oilstone, orgone, ozone, pay phone, peptone, pinbone, pinecone, piñon, pipestone, postpone, potstone, propone, redbone, red zone, rhinestone, sandstone, shade-grown, shinbone, siltstone, snow cone, soapstone, splint bone, strike zone, T-bone, tailbone, thighbone, time zone, toadstone, tombstone, touchstone, touch-tone, tritone, trombone, turnstone, twelve-tone, two-tone, Tyrone, unknown, unthrone, war zone, well-known, whalebone, wheel-thrown, whetstone, windblown, wishbone, Yangon