My Other Creative Outlets

Sometimes I get distracted from my writing by other interests. Sometimes it's on purpose. For instance, my dear friends down in New Orleans have two beautiful children that needed gifts made for them. For Christmas I made my own sweet children superhero capes with their very

own logos that I designed. I found a pattern and tutorial on how to make capes over at apple cyder. Molly makes some beautiful things, so check her out. For Gabriel I made a cape in LSU

colors because he's a rabid Tigers Fan. Cecelia is only 5 months old, so she needed a dainty

pillow-case dress. The pillow case dress is the perfect sewing project for people like me who don't know how to sew well, but just kinda fumble through it :)! You can find all kinds of instructions on the dresses all over the internet, or if you don't sew there are some talented women on etsy.com that are dress-making goddesses.

I've also been indulging myself in what others might call "light" reading. I am referring to my love of Gothic romances. My teenage years consisted of a heavy diet of Victoria Holt and Barbara Michaels. I still love a good Gothic tale: a run down house, mysterious master, insane family members... (you get the picture). It's been over 150 years since the Bronte Sisters made the stories of mad, tortured, tragic lovers so damn captivating, but the story line still works! Use the moors as a back drop to a tragic love story, and you've piqued my interest.
The book I read is not classified as Gothic romance, the book's spine says it's a mystery, but trust me, the author must have been on the same teenage diet I was on. Silent on the Moor by Deanna Raybourn is set in Yorkshire, complete with a tumbled down mansion on the moors, a crazy, incestuous family and gypsies (applause). It's the third book in the Lady Julia Grey series. I enjoyed all three, but this latest one was definitely the best.
Lastly, if you can't tell by now, I also love gardening. Recently, I attend a series of classes through our county parks on composting . It was an excellent series. I learned so much (but I swear I'll never compost cat poop), and received a free composting bin at the last class. The kiddies and I had a lot of fun filling the bin up over the weekend. Now they love to eat their fruit outside so they can go throw their banana peels or apple cores in the bin. Maybe I'll write a story about how my children love to compost!