It is a gorgeous Sunday morning. Here it is February and in the 70s. I love it.

My brother and I spent most of the day yesterday going through pictures for the Haunted book. It is due next month, and I am looking forward to having the whole kit and kaboodle finished very soon. It has been an interesting process, and it is one that I will emulate for future books. We have visited a lot of places and been on many fascinating tours. I am fascinated by how much history I have learned as well that I didn't know before I started on this journey.

I am writing today to get caught back up on the rest of the counties that are left. It has been hard working full-time and trying to write. I only have about three hours each evening to do what I need to stay ahead. Hopefully, all that hard work will pay off very shortly. It takes time and patience to go through all the stories and all the pictures and match them up. We are getting there, slowly but surely!

Hope you are having a wonderful day, and I will talk to you next time.

Happy Saturday!

I have been told as a nurse that if you don't enjoy your job, you should probably keep looking for the right niche. I found the OR and fell in love. I love being able to help patients feel comfortable before a big procedure. It can be quite scary as I have faced them myself. It also helps in providing fodder for my horror stories at times.

With writing, it is the same. A wise man named Charlie Finley told me the same thing. If it is not fun, why do it? I have found that to be true of the stories I have written. Sure, you get that feeling of excitement seeing your name on a book cover, but are you really enjoying the process? It has taken me almost 10 years to get three short stories published. You have to have patience as well as talent sometimes.

If you are a beginning or struggling writer, don't give up. You will get there. It may not be today or tomorrow, but your time will come. I think all writers today are proof of that. Don't stop and keep writing.

As another writer, David Robbins, once told me: Just because someone says NO, it doesn't mean NEVER. It just means not this way. You have to find a way around that block and onto to the next road. I have remembered this every time I received a rejection letter. I also remember that JK Rowling got around 13 rejections for Harry Potter. So to me, no just means try again.

Keep up the good work until next time!

I just posted on Facebook about trying to sleep in for the weekend. It is not happening. I have been up since 5AM trying to research and write on the Haunted Book some more as it is due next month. It has been a great year of visiting the different locations and taking many pictures of the sites. I have enjoyed talking to the many people involved, and I hope I can do all their stories and tales justice.

It has been a huge undertaking, but I am almost done. My brother and I are going through the pictures and adding those into the mix as well. I just have to finish the last pieces and get them formatted correctly on a hard drive. It will be a relief to have it turned in at last. More on that later!

I also had a great idea for another story which I thought of when a friend of mine sent me a picture of a haunted house. I will get to work on that when I am done with the Haunted Book.

Hope everyone is staying warm in this part of the country. It is cold out there and very windy. I felt like I was being blown all over the highway yesterday on the ride home. Hold on tight to that wheel. You just never know when it may be ripped from your hands.

I am hard at work on my Haunted Charlottesville book which is coming up due soon in March. I am getting quite excited as I think I have some great stories matched with my brother's great pictures. It is going to be a collaboration of stellar proportions. I hope you guys enjoy it as much as I have writing it.

I have learned so much about Virginia's history that I did not know. The neat thing about it all is the interconnectedness of the whole thing. One thing leads to another which leads to another. It is simply amazing. I have had so much fun researching and visiting the places included. I may have to do another one, but first, let me finish this one. Hopefully, it will be printed this year. I will keep you posted on all developments as they occur.

Well, back to writing and editing. Enjoy your Saturday!