My Summer List (a work in progress)

1. Lover Mine by JR Ward
2. Cape Refuge by Terrie Blackstock
3. Southern Storm by Terrie Blackstock
4. River's Edge by Terrie Blackstock
5. Breaker's Reef By Terrie Blackstock
6. Under the Dome by S. King
7. Covet by JR Ward
8. Notes from a spinning planet: Ireland by Melody Carlson
9. ????? 
10. ?????

This is, like I said, a work in progress. I'm still digging through the stacks, trying to norrow down by top 10. It's like trying to pick your favorite piece of candy in a huge candy dish. ARG! I'll keep you posted.

This is a little video I found so funny. I don't know why really. Maybe it's because I find Ian McKellen so charmingly distinquished or maybe it's just that I find humor in the wierd and childish. On any count, here's my funny for the day! Enjoy

It's Memorial Day weekend! The official start of summer. With the grand opening of summer, several sites are listing their summer reading lists, recommendations, and even a few challenges. I've never participated in a reading challenge of any kind. I didn't want to break into the wonderful world of reading challenges with no experience at all. So what is there for a novice to do? Start her own. Well, start my own for myself. I decided that I would create my own challenge to practice with.

First step: What kind of challenge do I want to give myself?
There's as many different kinds of challenges as there are genres and books. Do I simply want to set a certain number of books to read? That sounds kind of boring or plain or just down right too simple. Do I want to pick a genre? or multiple genres? That sounds good.

Second step: What's my personal time frame?
Summer Reading Challenge should consist of, well, summer. Since this is the weekend that officially starts summer I'll pick Monday, May 31st to start with. To finish it off with the same "theme" I'll finish it out with the closing of summer which is officially Labor Day Weekend. That's Monday, September 6th. Now I got a time frame: of almost a hundred days. WOW! 99 days...

Third step: What's my plan?
This is where I'm lost. I got my days set. I know I want to read different genres but how many books can I read and enjoy in that time frame AND still enjoy the family and they enjoy me?

Here's my choices...

Plan A: Read 10 books from 10 different authors
Plan B: Read 10 books from 10 different genres
Plan C: Read as many books as I can in by one author in a HUGE series
Plan D: Read 10 books, 10 genres, and 10 different authors
Plan E: Read 10 + books from the plethora of books in my TBR list.

That's the one...Plan E! As I've said before, I have a huge addiction to buying  books and now that Amazon has free Kindle downloads it's even worse than before. I'll just have to go through and pick out my top 10 I want to finish this summer and then go from there.( Usually 10 books in a summer is a piece of cake but I'm also taking 2 classes this summer so I need to be realistic.)

So what's your summer reading plans? Are you joining a challenge? Have you created a list to get through this summer? Or if you have any suggestions, please comment and let me know what your ideas are. I could really use some help.  

Happy Memorial Day! Stay safe, have fun, and happy reading!

I have a tendency to start something in the middle. I get an idea (an image or whatever) and I run with it. 99.999% of the time it starts in the middle of something.  Now I have over 5000 words and since I started in the middle, I decided to stop, then decided to find the start of my new make believe world. Sounds like a solid plan doesn't it?

Wrong! I am finding myself in the midst of two separate character types. My original heroine was confused and thinking she was going crazy. My second one is a control freak and large and in charge. Now I'm wondering what I should do with these two very different people. They could stand on their own but I wonder how to tie them together. You know, the whole, strong woman turns soft, then finds true strength thing? Or should I just cut them apart and let each woman have her own story? The weaker one is my main focus. The story line is there, laid before me in all its splendor. I just have to figure out how to free these two into their proper places. (Side note: their love interests are what's really messing with me. One is more controlling and the other is more of an equal. Not much of what I was headed for with these women but sometimes my Muse has ideas of her own.)

So what do you do when your literary personalities fight amongst themselves as to what they should be, should do, should say? Do you let them fight it out and fix the broken pieces later or do you fix them now, give them separate "rooms" and walk dignified into the battle field of writing to create to separate but equally balanced worlds?

These are the ramblings of woman trying to keep up with her Muse who once again has created her own agenda. Ain't life grand?

I've said it before, I'll say it now, and I'll say it again some other day...I write well when things aren't right. Well, I'm not right. No surprise there though. I've battled allergies for the past week. Determined to beat them I've doctored myself and not let them get in the way of my to-do list. They slowly seemed to turn to a cold which it's summer time that's expected from me. Everyone around seemed to decide to cut hay, rake hay, bail hail, mow the grass, and oh yes mother nature even decided to have every single fence row on the Ridge cover itself with the most beautiful Honeysuckle blooms. Of which, I am highly allergic to. I didn't let any of this stop me. We even cooked out in the woods this weekend. A mock camping trip of sorts since the boys didn't get to go on their camp out because of the weather. Honeysuckle was everywhere. Yet I persevered and stuck it out. I even sat in the park with blooms everywhere on Sunday so Little Bit could play softball with the youth at Church. I didn't take anything since I was driving and I'm a cheap medication drunk. I did nearly everything that was required of me (ran kids to and fro etc etc).

But my undoing was last night. I finally admitted I was sick. Truth be told I was ready to give up Sunday night but I was trying to be strong. Finally I went to the doctor this morning. Apparently, I decided not to just have strep or an ear infection or a sinus infection. No I have to be Gun ho and have it all. Docs words " You're a sick little girl!" Great. Now that she said I am sick officially. I even have an infected ear gland??? What the heck is that? Painful let me tell you. Best part is that the treatment causes some of my favorite side effects: nausea, diarrhea, stomach cramps, upset stomach, shall I go on? Lovely. Just lovely.

However, since I'm "not right" physically my mind in its fevered state has been very creative and I've got a lot of work down on paper. Well virtual paper and even some actually reality papers. It just amazes me how when I'm perfectly well I can stare at a screen or piece of paper and produce drivel. Give me a raging fever and I can create a master piece. Well, maybe I should wait until the fever is gone to see if any of it makes sense. Yes, i suppose that would be a wise choice.

As for now, I've popped every over sized, over priced pill they gave me and I will now either fall asleep, puke my guts out, or write until the fever breaks and I realize I've produced nothing but a twisted IFC style masterpiece. Hey some people like that right? Ha! ha!

To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

I love this quote. I have to admit that I hadn’t even seen it or read it until this morning. It was hanging in a simple frame on the wall next to the bathroom in the restaurant I had breakfast in. Actually, the truth is my mother spotted it and came back to the table to get me so she could show me. It’s amazing how things, er, rather how God seems to reveal things in his own perfect time. As a writer and an emerging human being, I am a work in progress. I am constantly looking for who I am or what direction I want to go in. I am also realizing I am more than what the mold of my station in life is. That sounds so harsh I’m sure but I simply mean that I do not fit into a neat little category. I am a mom.I am a student.I am a Christian.I am a daughter. A friend. A lover. A learner. A teacher. A follower. A leader. A speck in the cosmos. A boulder. I am larger than life. I am smaller than the dust. I am so much more than a label can contain. I am limited. I am limitless. I am encompassed. I am all encompassing. I am love. I am loved. I am laughter. I am laughed at. I am old. I am young. I am needy. I am needed. I am. To be myself I must be what the wind has made me today and what the rains will bring tomorrow. I cannot be the things of a category; a demographic; a quota. I am me. As I’ve said so many times before. I am me…whoever that is.

I have a major book collecting addiction. I have books everywhere and they aren't just limited to the physical forms that encase the place I call my room. With the addition of the Kindle app on my iPhone, I now have a plethera of books at my disposal at all times. Especailly since Amazon.com offers free books weekly. So at this moment I have more books than I can possibly read this year with a list of books to be released this year that I really want to read. Add to that the fact that I am taking classes and have tons of required reading, I'll never get through it all. So how do I stop myself? I need a 12 step program for book buying/getting addiction. Unfortunately, I know of no such thing and with my luck they'd have books to go along with the program and I'd be right back at square one. I'll continue my semi-fight to literary freedom (well, truthfully no I'll continue to aquire more than I can handle)...Meanwhile, here's a list of the ones I've picked up of late:




























































There's a bunch more but I won't bore you with the long list. In any case, I'm either going to have to drop off the planet and read for the next year, quite all together, or find some kind of middle ground to live my life, read, and stay on top of my want to read list. Life is such a burden. ha! ha! Happy Reading!

This blog was intended to be a platform for my ramblings about writing and even display some of my archaic works. The title, however, leads me to believe that perhaps this blog is much more than another want to be writer pushing herself out there to the world. It's the words that compose Cat. Composing Cat is my platform for me. So what's the big deal? I have a self discovery. I've discovered something I truly love. First, the boring background. I am a middle aged woman who is pursuing a degree. I do not put faith in sheep skin to make me all knowing and all wise. Unfortunately, because I like to eat and do not wish to do the same job forever nor do I wish to trade it for an equally minimal position, I feel the need and desire to get that all powerful parchment that will say to the world I am persistent enough to get a degree. I used to joke and say it didn't matter if I had a PhD in Pottery Making as long as I had documentation that I was college educated I could rule the world.

I am now drawing close to finishing my Associates in Arts. It's only be a 20 year journey. Oh sure, there's been obstacles i.e. having a family, working, not taking classes. The little things, you know. Luckily, I'm afforded a wonderful opportunity to now work at a Community College that allows us to take 6 credit hours free. Ya! This December, Lord willing and the creek don't rise, as they say around here, I will be not only the first high school graduate in my family but also the first to attend and graduate from College. But wait! There's more!

I'm not stopping. Not that it'll get me anywhere in life but I am continuing on transferring to one of our states larger Universities through a distance learning program, you know, online, weekend, etc. I have not chosen an English Major. While this is what most want to be writers would pursue I march to my own drum. Well, actually, not even a drum. Mine  is more like a MP3 player in need of Ritalin. As I said earlier in the post, I've fallen in love with....wait for it...wait for it...Communications. The study of how we communicate is fascinating to me. After all, we all do it...daily, hourly, with each blink, with each clearing of the throat, and even with the things we do not do. We communicate...there is just no way around it.

Tonight, while studying I had an epiphany. I have not only a desire to write (which learning to communicate couldn't hurt) but also to teach others how to effectively communicate. I live in a rural area. I'm not originally from here so I can look at this as an outsider but I've also been here close to two decades so I can also see it from an insider's view point as well. People do not treat others very well if they do not communicate "properly". What a shame too. There are so many people in this area who are so wise but discounted because they don't know how to effectively get their point across or even just present themselves in an understandable way. I'm not just talking about people sound "hick". I'm talking about people being able to stand up for themselves and being able to present themselves in a positive light so that they don't have to settle for the bare minimum.

I have so many ideas pumping around my brain tonight. While I'm a million years away from having a piece of paper that qualifies me for officially helping someone by teaching, I'm one step closer to the very thing that has been driving me for so long but I was unable to see it. I've always felt a pull to help people. It's in my nature. I come from helper people. No better than anyone else. No worse either. It's a great feeling though to know that I have a direction. A goal. Now perhaps even the words that I desire to fill the pages of my make believe worlds will flow a bit better...now that I've cleared one small hurdle. I've found a direction and a map to lead there. I'm sure there will be detours, road blocks, and even roads that will close altogether. Yet I feel a sense of accomplishment by just know that I have a passion for something that is dear to my hear and can possibly help so many others.

Good night all.
Cat

I haven't forgotten this blog nor have I forgotten how to read. I'm using this year to cram the last of my AA degree in and I've spent months with my face in text books. This summer appears to be no different. I have been rereading some books I've already passed through but nothing yet to spark some witty lines or anything to say You gotta read it. I will return with my odd assortment of reading materials. I just had to let some of you know I haven't dropped off the planet. Now I'm headed back to my Communications Mosaic book...(yes I find THAT fun and interesting)

Happy reading!
Cat

I tend to write by emotion. I write best when I'm over emotional. Unfortunately, things have been pretty positive. Now that's not something you say very often but I've found that my writing is more fluff than substance. That's actually pretty sad that I do my best writing when I'm miserable. But I think emotions open the door to our creativity. It let's us open up to the raw power and let words fill in the painful gaps in our psyche.

When I write positive things they tend to be humorous and while that's all well and good I feel silly about it. I suppose because it makes me a little more human and real than the serious stuff. Plus, it makes me feel less productive. I don't know why because writing is writing. Words come out to communicate. To tell a story. To entertain. To educate. To heal. Some of my best healing comes from laughter - especially the laughter I get from my kids. They are the funniest and coolest people I know. How on earth they got that way despite me is beyond my imagination. But for all its worth I have to step out of my dark, gloomy, thought provoking comfort zone and just write. After all, I don't write to publish the next great American Novel (although we all secretively want to) I write because well, that's what I do. It's part of who I am and what I will be. Just like air, water, food, writing is a necessity for me. It makes me feel complete even if no one else sees it. If they do see it, it doesn't  matter. I didn't write it for them. I wrote it either for myself or because the voice, the Muse within me, said to. I write to give life to the world that lives within me. I write because that is who I am.

I wrote this a while back during what I thought was a negative life altering moment. I was wrong. It was positive. More positive than I could have ever imagined. This goes to show that those in power may see more of the picture than anyone in the trenches can see.

Silent Mourning

It takes only a moment; a look; a word to change the course of your life. You become accustom to a certain way; a certain place in life. You let your guard down, feel comfortable, invincible even. You toil; expend energy that could be used for your own personal interest to better someone else or something else. You strive to be the very best at what you do. You sacrifice vacation time; family time; only taking off when it’s best for everyone else; when it won’t inconvenience those around you. You care for the people you serve wholeheartedly. Their best interest your mission, your goal, your reason for being. You invest your soul into your job. You make it part of your identity. It becomes you and you become it. A mingling of thing and life. You breathe life into the thing.


One day the machine sees a different direction; a new way. It has a purpose; a plan; a mission of its own. Your energy and devotion invisible. The machine moves forward devouring; chewing up the very life you created. Spitting out the parts it does not need; does not want. Defecating the bits it wants; it needs into dark and lonely places.

What can you do? Fight the machine? The all knowing; all powerful machine? But ah, that is not your nature, not in your make up, not in your will. What is there left to do but endure the masticating machine, tolerate every chew, every bite. Await your landing and reform yourself into its mold. Upon which you will smile; you will remain positive, even if only outwardly at first; and await the machine’s inevitable return, forever changed.