The Day After and A Few Weeks Before

It's November 1st, the day after Halloween and all the M&M's and lollipops and the candy corn are 1/2 price -- like my fat arse really needs more candy. Turkey Day is just around the corner and I have no idea if I'll have company or not. Regardless, I'll be roasting a turkey, making dressing, green beans, mashed potatoes and gravy and baking a pumpkin pie. The Iron Bowl is 17 days away and I shall be cheering for #1 son's alma mater. And it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas with tinsel and garland side-by-side with the 1/2 price candy and the big foil pans used for roasting turkeys. I've been looking at trees since my old one is (1) about 15 years old and (2) looks like a sapling in my great room since the tree is 7 feet tall and my ceiling is 12 feet.

It's also the beginning of our month-long birthday celebration at the Writing Playground with our prize-a-day giveaways and lots of fun. Can I get a "Squeeeee?"



Twelve months ago there was no Writing Playground except in the minds of five women. We'd brainstormed the idea at our RWA chapter retreat and developed the theme for the site, the different sections and our nicknames. We'd decided on ground rules, came up with a contest schedule and had several photo sessions to get our photo gallery together. Like any well-run project, each member had assigned tasks and responsibilities, and we all pulled together to make it happen. On November 14, 2005 the Writing Playground debuted in cyberspace -- both the website and this blog.

When we began, our blog comments were pretty much from each other with the Mavens popping in when they could. Now we have a band of merry followers including some lurkers (Hey you! Come out and play!). We've gone from doing all the blogging ourselves to having several guest bloggers pop in and enlighten us with their wit and wisdom. What a difference a year makes.

I'm sure during the upcoming month we'll take some backward glances to see where we were and how far we've come in the past twelve months, both in our cyber presence and in our personal writing journeys.

And that brings me to today's giveaway. It's a "backward glance" with 4 older books by several friends of the Writing Playground: Breathtaking by Rhonda Nelson, Lady in Red by Debra Webb, Jinx and Tracy by Sabrah Agee and Angel at Large by Peggy Webb. I sure hope they don't mind me dragging out some of their older work, but I've enjoyed reading books from earlier in their writing careers to see where they began and to appreciate how far they've come because I certainly know their successes have not come without hard work.

And to show you just how far romance has come in general, there's also a Mills and Boon Romance originally published in 1960 called Nurse Templar by Anne Weale.

So start commenting and tell me what have you enjoyed about the Playground site and blog over the past year? What would you like to see in the upcoming year? What's your favorite Halloween candy? Have you started Christmas shopping yet? Are you roasting a turkey for Thanksgiving or having something else? Auburn or Alabama?

One lucky commenter will be selected to receive the 5 books mentioned above plus a beaded bookthong to mark your place when you absolutely, positively have to put the book down and do something like roast a turkey or address Christmas cards.