Maryann Mercer's Posts - CrimeSpace2024-03-28T20:13:29ZMaryann Mercerhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/catsmomhttp://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/60987774?profile=RESIZE_48X48&width=48&height=48&crop=1%3A1http://crimespace.ning.com/profiles/blog/feed?user=catsmom&xn_auth=noAnother New Year...tag:crimespace.ning.com,2009-01-07:537324:BlogPost:1754072009-01-07T15:55:23.000ZMaryann Mercerhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/catsmom
The only resolution I kept last year was finishing my book...now I'm in the throes of editing so I can pitch at my next conference. The writing part is defnitely fun...editing not so much. It's a buckle down, ignore the phone, avoid the tv and all fun thingd task and drives me crazy. Still it has to be done if I want someone to want the story, right? Newest resolution...get the edit done, pitch successfully and keep my fingers at the keyboard no matter what! Happy New Year all!
The only resolution I kept last year was finishing my book...now I'm in the throes of editing so I can pitch at my next conference. The writing part is defnitely fun...editing not so much. It's a buckle down, ignore the phone, avoid the tv and all fun thingd task and drives me crazy. Still it has to be done if I want someone to want the story, right? Newest resolution...get the edit done, pitch successfully and keep my fingers at the keyboard no matter what! Happy New Year all!New Years Resolutions and suchtag:crimespace.ning.com,2008-01-03:537324:BlogPost:1104832008-01-03T17:18:58.000ZMaryann Mercerhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/catsmom
<p>As I get older, I give a lot of thought to making promises...especially to myself. Those are the ones I tend to keep the least, rationalizing that there's always time to restart a project, get better in the fitness department, read more, write more, travel more, and on and on. While the rationalizing assuages my conscience for a time, the blunt bare truth is I get caught up in everyone else's promises and put my own so far back on the stove that most of them boil dry. No more.</p>
<p>2008 is…</p>
<p>As I get older, I give a lot of thought to making promises...especially to myself. Those are the ones I tend to keep the least, rationalizing that there's always time to restart a project, get better in the fitness department, read more, write more, travel more, and on and on. While the rationalizing assuages my conscience for a time, the blunt bare truth is I get caught up in everyone else's promises and put my own so far back on the stove that most of them boil dry. No more.</p>
<p>2008 is the year of one resolution...Keep the promises I make to myself. Perhaps that's not as catchy as "The Secret" (which seems to be all about the power of positive thinking in yet another guise) or as inspiring as Norman Vincent Peale, but I can live with it. And more importantly live it. I know where I want to be one year from today. If I keep my promises to me, I'll be there.</p>
<p>As simple as that? Yes. As long as I keep my resolution. I'm not discounting the unexpected or the possible obstacles. Things happen. Life throws a curve ball now and then. All the cliches in the world don't change that. BUT that curve ball can be a base hit, perhaps even a home run if we see it in the right light. That's part of the promise-keeping.</p>
<p>Check back with me. I'm determined and I'm ready. Happy 2008!</p>Falltag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-09-12:537324:BlogPost:716142007-09-12T01:30:22.000ZMaryann Mercerhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/catsmom
<p>Fall is in the air here in Central Illinois. I know because I woke up this morning to a crisp chill breeze floating through the open window in my bedroom. I smiled. Fall is my favorite season for a number of reasons, not the least of which is the departure of allergies and the emergence of gold, red and all the colors in between on the neighborhood trees. There's football of course, although baseball is still around, and the occasional (and illegal inside city limits) smell of burning…</p>
<p>Fall is in the air here in Central Illinois. I know because I woke up this morning to a crisp chill breeze floating through the open window in my bedroom. I smiled. Fall is my favorite season for a number of reasons, not the least of which is the departure of allergies and the emergence of gold, red and all the colors in between on the neighborhood trees. There's football of course, although baseball is still around, and the occasional (and illegal inside city limits) smell of burning leaves, but my favorite part of fall is cool nights and clear crisp days. Sweatshirts and jeans are my wardrobe of choice for the weekends, and I dig out my vests and sweaters with a sense of satisfaction, knowing that I look better in them than I do in summer crop pants. Air conditioning is no longer a necessity, but the furnace doesn't kick in until the temps drop really low...somewhere in November. Walking is more fun, kicking the leaves on the sidewalk, feeling the nip when the wind picks up, and watching the kids in their sweaters play in the piles of red and gold parchment nature creates. Apples, freshly picked from the local orchard, taste crisper, look redder (or more golden depending on what we choose) and pumpkins are already on sale for carving.</p>
<p>Some of the summer die-hards will claim there is still plenty of time for warm sun and high temperatures before the end of the month, and they may be right. It is after all only September, with no hard freeze in sight. I however felt the first of fall this morning and welcomed it with open arms.</p>
<p/>Are You Ready For Some Football?tag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-09-07:537324:BlogPost:699222007-09-07T01:13:36.000ZMaryann Mercerhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/catsmom
<p>I love football. Sometimes I don't understand the nuances, but I love to watch the game. I can't tell you why exactly, since sometimes it can be deadly dull. There's nothing slower than slogging through mud and rain in search of those ten yards using only running plays; especially when those plays don't seem to be doing a darn thing. Pass! I scream (in the stands, at the big screen TV, at the radio). Throw the damn ball...there's a receiver wide open in the end zone! Of course, no one…</p>
<p>I love football. Sometimes I don't understand the nuances, but I love to watch the game. I can't tell you why exactly, since sometimes it can be deadly dull. There's nothing slower than slogging through mud and rain in search of those ten yards using only running plays; especially when those plays don't seem to be doing a darn thing. Pass! I scream (in the stands, at the big screen TV, at the radio). Throw the damn ball...there's a receiver wide open in the end zone! Of course, no one listens to me. I didn't major in the sport, or coach the sport, I just know better than the people who do. I'm the dreaded armchair quarterback! Growing up in the Chicago 'burbs, I knew who Da Bears were, of course. Moving to a university town after my wedding, I soon learned who the Fighting Illini are. They're my team, even though I didn't attend the University of Illinois. It was inescapable. I went to a game or two and was hooked. Now I bleed orange and blue (which also happen to be Chicago's colors...convenient, no?) and still have the Super Bowl Shuffle on vinyl next to the Illini 3 in 1.</p>
<p>I'm not just a Bears/Illini fan though. I cheer on the Colts, the Pats, the Packers, and the Saints(who can't love that team?) When they play each other, I root for whichever side has the ball. It makes for interesting viewing, and I end up hoarse. They could play football all year...I'd watch.</p>
<p>Don't get me wrong, I like the other sports too. Baseball was a childhood passion (go White Sox) and soccer is a new one, but there's just something about the nip in the air, the bratwurst on the grill, and the thrill of the "thunk" of well-conditioned bodies as they battle over an inch or so of artificial turf. You know, I think there's a game on right now!</p>If it's Sunday, it must be meat loaf!tag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-08-26:537324:BlogPost:670382007-08-26T21:03:41.000ZMaryann Mercerhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/catsmom
<p>We've fallen into a rut when it comes to Sunday's main meal. Every other week or so, my husband and I actually manage to be in the same place at the same time. When we are, I make it a point to ask what he has a taste for when it comes to dinner. The last few times, his answer has been predictable. Meat loaf. He always prefaces the choice with 'your wonderful' or 'world famous', which is intended to flatter me. Now I like meat loaf as well as anything, and I have a favorite recipe, but I…</p>
<p>We've fallen into a rut when it comes to Sunday's main meal. Every other week or so, my husband and I actually manage to be in the same place at the same time. When we are, I make it a point to ask what he has a taste for when it comes to dinner. The last few times, his answer has been predictable. Meat loaf. He always prefaces the choice with 'your wonderful' or 'world famous', which is intended to flatter me. Now I like meat loaf as well as anything, and I have a favorite recipe, but I occasionally like to think of things like pecan-crusted tilapia or roast chicken or even take out Chinese as alternatives to a seasoned ground meat mixture molded into an oblong shape and basted with tomato sauce before being baked in a 350F oven for about an hour. And served with green beans and potatoes. Especially every two weeks! On the up side, there ARE leftovers, when we remember them, and it IS rather therapeutic to mush all the ingredients around in a large bowl until you can't tell the bread crumbs from the beef. Maybe tonight I'll surprise him with corn on the cob and some cucumbers in sour cream. And next week, we'll have that tilapia :o)</p>
<p>I'm procrastinating of course. I have writing to do as well as meat loaf to make. I've taken on the task of trying out a story in first person, and it's different from my usual approach. Ranting a bit about the meat loaf is so much easier!</p>The Friday Night Not-So Bluestag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-08-25:537324:BlogPost:666522007-08-25T04:09:46.000ZMaryann Mercerhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/catsmom
<p>I love Friday nights...the work week is over (well, there is the Saturday shift at B&N but that's fun, not work), and I can throw the business attire in the closet for two days in favor of cropped pants and a tee-shirt. Tonight I made myself some red beans and rice and popped Second Sight with Clive Owen into the DVD player. Not so much writing done this week between work and real life projects like kitchen cabinets, but Saturday and Sunday are blank slates to be filled with (hopefully)…</p>
<p>I love Friday nights...the work week is over (well, there is the Saturday shift at B&N but that's fun, not work), and I can throw the business attire in the closet for two days in favor of cropped pants and a tee-shirt. Tonight I made myself some red beans and rice and popped Second Sight with Clive Owen into the DVD player. Not so much writing done this week between work and real life projects like kitchen cabinets, but Saturday and Sunday are blank slates to be filled with (hopefully) some good words and forward motion. The rains came this afternoon and broke the heat bubble, so we're less humid and a few degrees cooler. Illinois in the summer :o) Sweet corn festival tomorrow; craft fair, entertainment, and steamed ears of Illini supersweet...and the students are back... a minor reason to be blue, since they tend to make traffic more of a snarl, but that's life in a university town; balanced by some fine theater on campus and off, and a great mix of cultures.</p>
<p>I'm really just rambling a bit here, just to set something down and share a bit. Weekends are wonderful things, especially since they begin on Friday nights :o)</p>
<p/>Pictures and a thousand wordstag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-08-21:537324:BlogPost:652972007-08-21T02:48:07.000ZMaryann Mercerhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/catsmom
What can I say? I had this really nice picture of me raising a glass of 'the creature' in Edinburgh but somehow my 'helper' uploaded this one of me ready to tackle Balloch Country Park near Loch Lomond. For the record, I do have hair (brown), and the cap says "New Orleans" Maybe I'll get that whisky picture on somewhere else on this page :o) Until then, at least I've gotten rid of shadowy creature guy!
What can I say? I had this really nice picture of me raising a glass of 'the creature' in Edinburgh but somehow my 'helper' uploaded this one of me ready to tackle Balloch Country Park near Loch Lomond. For the record, I do have hair (brown), and the cap says "New Orleans" Maybe I'll get that whisky picture on somewhere else on this page :o) Until then, at least I've gotten rid of shadowy creature guy!Better Late Than Nevertag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-08-20:537324:BlogPost:644592007-08-20T18:07:00.000ZMaryann Mercerhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/catsmom
<p>The above truism seems to be my mantra these days. While I've always written, even did a column for the high school newspaper back in the day, I take rejection very seriously. Too seriously according to my fabulous and talented daughter. She maintains I would have been a great children's writer if only I had forged ahead despite those early" we're not looking for a story in this vein" form letters. Me? Not so sure. After all, there are only so many ways to tell the story of a bunny who…</p>
<p>The above truism seems to be my mantra these days. While I've always written, even did a column for the high school newspaper back in the day, I take rejection very seriously. Too seriously according to my fabulous and talented daughter. She maintains I would have been a great children's writer if only I had forged ahead despite those early" we're not looking for a story in this vein" form letters. Me? Not so sure. After all, there are only so many ways to tell the story of a bunny who wanted tennis shoes, right? Subject closed. Wrong! As a gift (Mother's Day I think but that's not important) she gave me a year's tuition to an online writing site. My first class was a freebie-flash fiction for the new millenium. First assignment--introduce yourself by way of your character. Assumptions assumptions. I HAD no character. Well, I did, but he was only a backstory. Meet Alex Morales, Cuban-born, Miami raised, small town Pennsylvania detective. Lots of baggage. (I love flawed characters)</p>
<p>Alex would have stayed a class assignment except for three women who talked me into joining an online writing group. I think I was the token mystery writer :o) We dubbed ourselves the Wacky Wonderful Women and vowed to send two chapters into the ether each month for critique. Right. I had NO chapters.So, I wrote. Finished the story in about a year. Edited it, then sent it to professional. Tears...it took me six months to get past her comments, and I'm still working on it. In the meantime, I've considered changing viewpoints, changing the main character, all the good hard things.</p>
<p>Then I took a cruise to Alaska for my sister's wedding anniversary and ended up with another idea...set in Portland Oregon with a guy named Phil and his twin brother Sam. Working on that too.</p>
<p>Since I have a day job, and a second one part time, my writing hours are sandwiched inbetween and on weekends. Plus, I believe in the benefits of writers' conferences and go to those I can. I always learn sometehing new and meet the best people. Now I've discovered this wonderful site, and web neophyte that I am, I'll spend time here as well. Life is sweet. Can you hear me chanting my mantra?</p>