Conundrum. That’s what I have. Maybe you can help.

I wrote a book that is set to be published the first week of August. There’s just one problem. I’m not crazy about the title. It’s a book about an old Sunday School teacher who gets a bit miffed when she realizes the number of her former students who no longer go to church. She decides to track them down. I love the thought of a Sunday School teacher tracking down her students. I mean, think about it.

Anyway, she and her cousin (everyone needs someone who makes trouble more fun) find themselves in places they would not otherwise be but for this “project”. There are some subplots, of course: a town parade she has to chair (she lives in a town with some admittedly quirky traditions), a shady businessman involved in some unscrupulous dealings, and a little family trouble. Oh, and there’s some found money involved.

The main character’s name is Cathy Covington. Her cousin’s name is Andi. I initially titled it Mrs. Covington’s Sunday School Class. I know. Not terribly riveting. Naming things is not one of my fortes. My publisher is thinking we’ll call it Mrs. Covington Calls Roll. If that title isn’t going to change, at least you have something to do on your snow/cold day.

Here’s something you need to know. When you sign a publishing contract, the publisher gets to make the big decisions. You can put in your two cents, but those final choices belong to the company store. However, I’d love to hear from you if you have any brilliant ideas for a title. I mean, really. Any readership that hits a high mark for my 2014 post entitled In Defense of Juan Pablo is admittedly in touch with popular culture.

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to think of a title that will make this book jump off the shelves! This blog will self-destruct in five seconds. Good luck.

Quotes and youtube clip: Mission Impossible, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MA2KmJMKFrQ

Labor Day was initiated to celebrate the laborer, to give the hard-working person a day off. I wonder how many of us use the long weekend that is a result to catch up on the work that we don’t have time for because of other work (work, in the non-scientific, cultural definition being something most people would say is doing something for monetary payment)? And then there are times when the work done is not paid in dollars, may not be noticed at all, and may not be defined by some as work, but is time spent to help someone or some group and is noticed only by the angels – a labor of love.

The project I’m sharing with you today is certainly not a paid project. However, it is time spent to make life a little more interesting for those around me. Some years ago, I painted a checkerboard on our picnic table. Years passed, rain and snow fell, little animals scampered, and it grew in obvious need of a little facelift. Ha. I’d forgotten the math involved, which makes this work even more a matter of love than it was originally. So here is my little labor of love from last week. I hope you find one to do, too; even if the only witnesses are the angels.

I’m loving you right now because you’re reading this post written by a person I will generously describe as a non-crafter. My art teacher made sounds like exploding bombs when he looked at my drawing using perspective. I was in 7th grade. I haven’t changed that much. We all have our own aptitudes, but, you know, it’s good to stretch horizons, isn’t it? Let my weaknesses be your inspiration!

I bought a sander. I know, I can’t believe it either; but it was so helpful in sanding the original paint from the picnic table! I then measured the length and width of the table to get an idea of how big to make the checkerboard since I wasn’t sure I trusted the notes I’d taken before I began the project, and I’d sanded the other one off. *Welcome to my world.

I concluded I’d make a twenty-five inch square. Ta da!

Okay, this is where it gets tricky, and to make it even trickier, I inadvertently threw away my notes before I wrote this blog entry *, so if you actually want to try this, you’ll have to do the math yourself. However, maybe this will help: I marked every 3 1/8 inches. Then I taped with masking tape in order to make a checkerboard. In other words, along your border tape, mark every 3 1/8 inch.

I measured for 3 inch squares, 8 across and eight down. I decided to just leave the squares that would be black on an original checkerboard unpainted. This is a picture after I moved the tape to accommodate the painting of squares the row down from the ones painted. The width of the tape must be taken into consideration when marking for painting. No, I can’t explain what I just said any better. You’re on your own. We’re supposed to be sitting by a fire talking here (see “welcome” page), so let’s leave specific project details to crafters, shall we? I’m not a visual arts genius (see “about me” page), so none of us should be surprised here. (Sing Kum Ba Ya and then continue.) The first time I did this years ago, I used a brush. This time I used a sponge. It looks better this way.

Here it is: my labor of love, otherwise known as a checkerboard painted on our picnic table.

I painted twelve rocks red and twelve brown, turned them over and painted a cross on the other side to use as the king. Make your own religious conclusions here.

There you go. A labor of love to enjoy on warm summer evenings and cool autumn days. King me!

Just because you’re late to the party, doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy it.

Growing up, I just naturally wrote poetry, like some people like to tinker with things or others like to cook or draw. I’d put my poems on tag board and tack it to the wall or write in a little notebook or on scraps of paper. All eventually were lost or thrown away, though a few are still in my memory. When I had children, I’d make up stories for them. Those stories got told and retold. Eventually, I wrote some of them down. Much later, in my 40’s, I started writing novel-length stories.

I eventually began submitting book proposals and got some form letters and other encouraging, lovely rejection letters. It’s neither lovely nor encouraging being rejected. Then I would just give up for a while, but I kept writing. There are many good stories in this world that never get published.

I recently submitted a book again and had two publishing houses still considering my book when I was offered a publishing contract by a third publisher.

I’m pleased, so pleased to announce that my contemporary fiction novel will be released on August 3, 2015!

I am learning things about marketing and technology that are more than a little daunting to me, but I’m hopeful I’ll get over it. If you’d like to do a book review (it never hurts to start thinking ahead), let me know. I will keep you updated about this new journey either on my Facebook Author page or here on my blog. In fact – and let’s put this in the ‘you’re never done being surprised’ column – Like me on Facebook! 🙂 I invite you to join me in this journey. Soli Deo Gloria. Get HAPPY!!!

P.S. Go ahead and clap, snap, or dance. No one’s watching. Most of our dreams are awaiting heaven’s arrival to take shape, but you have here and now to think about some crazy dream you’d like to chase. Dreams are crazy only to those who don’t share them.

video: https://www.youtube.com Happy by Pharrell Williams