Author Introduction, Alberta Ross

Hi folks, today I want to introduce you to an author whose work I have read, reviewed, and thoroughly enjoyed. Please welcome Alberta Ross. 

Now Alberta, tell us about your fascination with fairy tales.

Fairy tales eh!

How many of us developed our love of words, imagination and desire to read on the strength of those folk tales gathered, collected and read to us as small children. For some of us the desire to read translates into writing, to create our own worlds of fantasy.

Six decades plus ago my fairy tales were truly horrendous, not just in the content but the, sparse, illustrations in our books were, on the whole, black and white reproductions of wood cuts.  Disney had begun to dress favourite tales up in pink gossamer but he hadn't reached my neck of the woods in any real way.  I cut my teeth on grim and loved every word.

But, and there is always a but in my life:)

Downer + an Interview

I am working through the downer these days. The downer? That’s what I go through after I have just finished a major project. First comes the euphoria of ‘I did it!’ and then comes “So now what do I do?” That’s where I am today. I just finished and validated my NaNo project.

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/252723

Assassin is now ready for the editor, new cover, and final name. I will leave the most of it on Smashwords for a few more days if you want to read the first draft.

It’s Starting!

The madness has begun folks. November is drawing to a close and December is almost upon us. The shopping bug has bitten many people already and even now if you go into the city you can feel the stress building in the air.

Fortunately for me, I often start my Yuletide gift works in January and plug away at it all year long. Usually I am somewhat prepared by the time December arrives and this year is no different. I usually make most of the gifts I give. Here is a small sample of this year’s efforts.

Getting There

Hey folks, it’s time for that Friday NaNoWriMo report. Things have been going really good so I took the day off to go to the city for some shopping. Silly me, I wasn’t aware that the madness that grips Americans on what they call Black Friday had infected my fellow Canadians. Dear gods, I haven’t seen traffic like that since I was last in downtown Vancouver on a Friday afternoon before Christmas. It’s enough to give a gopher the heartburn.

Cooling Off

These past few days the weather has been cooling off at last.  It was warm and rainy for a number of weeks and my poor old joints didn't like it at all. They do, however, seem to enjoy the cold dry air.  That’s a good thing, for it has allowed me to catch up a bit on my work.  

Fan Mail

Hi folks, 

I've had my head down over the keyboard working on the NaNo thing this past few days. That’s about all I can say, except that today I found a couple of sweet fan letters in my e-mail. Actually they were comments on my blog, but they count. I’ll share them with you.

Nose to the Grindstone

Okay, it’s Friday and time for another NaNoWriMo check-in. I've had my nose to the grindstone for days now, and I am seeing results. Good productive results that I can be proud of.  I have just crossed the 33 thousand word mark and I am pleased with the way the story is going. So, here’s me hard at work…

Taking a Break

Hey folks, I’m about to take a break and indulge myself in one of my favorite pastimes. Knitting. November is always a tough month for me and NaNo doesn't help the stress any. I've been chained to the computer for days now, so today I decided to give myself a brain break.

First some fresh air with family.

Treadmill

Ever feel like you’re on the treadmill of life and some joker keeps turning up the speed? It can get like that sometimes. In our modern world, we seem to be a lot busier than the folks of previous generations. The more labor saving devices we collect the more work we seem to have to do.  I’m retired for pity sake; I’m supposed to have time to smell the roses.

Playing Catch-up

A personal NaNoWriMo update.

I can’t help it; I love a challenge, perhaps too much. I was ill for weeks in October, and just starting to feel better when I got the brilliant idea to sign on for NaNoWriMo.  Okay, easy enough, just click a few buttons, blab to your friends, and away you go. There was just one problem. I had no idea what to write about, then a friend told me it is okay to start in the middle, just write 50K words or more. Bingo.

Revival!

Okay, for the past few posts I've been whining about my cold. Well it seems to be fading away and I’m back to top form once again. This means I've chained myself to the computer to try and catch up on NaNoWriMo a bit.  I’m working on a sci-fi project and here is the interim cover.

The Witch and the NaNo

Hey folks, I’ve been struggling with a cold these past few days, so I may have been MIA. Actually I slept for two days and lost a lot of time. All I managed to do was sign up for NaNoWriMo.

Say what? You did what? Yeah, well, it seemed like a good idea at the time. (Perhaps that was the cold meds talking. Tee hee) I will start to post NaNo check-ins later this week, perhaps on Fridays.