Holiday Greetings

Betsy is doing so much better. She's still pretty uncoordinated, but she can walk and almost run. She's the one in the back. Molly, her mom, is in the foreground. The Christmas decorations are faux, applied to the photo at pikipimp.com. I don't dress up my dogs in clothes. But CGI is okay for Christmas.

I promised myself I'd finish the latest short story by Christmas. I got close, but then I thought it might work to extend it quite a bit more. I like the characters and I think I can continue with their adventures. Something to think about.

Happy Holidays!

Doggie news

On Halloween morning, it was a Tuesday, our two dogs got out of our fenced yard by digging under it. One of them got hit by a car. It was bad. At first she was paralyzed from the neck down.

No broken bones, but swelling around the spinal cord and possible nerve damage. She was in the hospital two and a half weeks (quite a vet bill!) and is now recuperating at home.

She's on Prednisone, a corticosteroid. She's improving but it's slow going. She has a lot of spirit though, and we hope for a full recovery at some point, although we know it could be months and months.

Needless to say (funny how we say that before we feel the need to say something anyway) I haven't done a hell of a lot of writing. I did some work on that short story that I've been stuck on since forever. And I started my autobiography. Actually, not the full story of my life, and it'll be published under a pen name with names changed so that I can tell the juicy details. I'm having fun with that one.

Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah, folks.

And a Happy New Year!

The Prodigal Returns

The Prodigal Returns

About a month and a half ago, we adopted two adult dogs, older dogs, both females. Molly is around six or seven and is the mother, and Betsy is three and is her daughter. They're both mutts and absolutely beautiful. Large dogs, gentle, wonderful. So most of my time has been spent with them. It's like having a couple of two year olds around the house! So rambunctious and playful. So fun. We just love them like crazy.

So I haven't done much writing on the Green Wool book. I do have plans for it though and I think I'll soon be back at work on it.

At The Lake is selling slowly on amazon. My efforts at publicizing aren't doing much good yet. Hopefully, word of mouth will help. So far, everyone loves it.

Winter is coming. We had our first bit of rain today here in the desert. Just a sprinkle. And it's pretty cold out there. Around sixty. Brrrrrr. I've got a space heater running here in my office.

Holidays are coming. I've already started my Christmas shopping. It's not even Halloween yet. lol. Hooray for online shopping.

I'll try to post more often for the three of you who might have stumbled across this blog. ttfn.

Another Sunday

Another Sunday

I don't know why but this week I decided to try my hand and mind at writing haiku. I've done three and quite like them so I'm going to do two more and include them in Green Wool.

I didn't hear back from any of the newspapers so my press releases might have gone into the circular file. Oh well.

But sales are going nicely on amazon. I've sold a dozen or two so far. And there are reviews on amazon and b&n besides Jeff Cohen's. They seem to really like the book. Hey, I'll never get rich on this thing but that's okay. I just want people to enjoy it, maybe get something out of it.

Happy Sunday, folks.

Press Releases

Press Releases

I'll be sending press releases via email and fax today to our local newspapers, one of which is an eight page weekly (one of the reasons I love living out here.) I hope some of them will run the story, or better still, call me for more info. Wish me luck.

Got Distribution

Got Distribution

Thrilled to report that my novel, At The Lake, is available on amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com. And author Jeff Cohen gave it a very positive review on amazon. Very cool.

Passing

Passing

Right after returning from Vegas, my dear friend Lois got a call that her father had passed away. Needless to say, the next couple of weeks were intense. But at our ages, we know we'll be losing those near and dear to us. Among my friends, very few have parents still living. We're a bunch of middle-aged orphans.

I finished that difficult short story yesterday. Got misty as I typed the last sentence. It was a hard one to write, and emotional (because of the content.) I'm glad it's done. The next one will be humorous, if I have any talent in that direction. I'll find out soon enough.

Back From Vegas

Back From Vegas

Arrived home last night. Had fun. Only gambled away $20 on one machine. That's usually enough to get rid of the urge to splurge.

Having a tough time getting back into the writing mode of thinking. Maybe another day or two of rest before I open up Word and start again.

Website done

Website Time
I was able to finish my site yesterday and it looks good. Just a few pages with a few links. I like the style. It looks "Lou-ish."

Worked on the story some more. Seems I need to do a section at a time, meaning a segment of his life. I'm trying to carry a theme through this (subltly) and yet show his growth as a person. Yet I still need to keep each segment brief. The idea is that this is his life flashing before his eyes just before he dies.

So I do a few sentences and then go away. It floats around in my subconcious for a while and then the next piece pops into my head. I mull it for a while and if I think it works, I head for the keyboard. In case I haven't mentioned it, this is a difficult one. I've never done a story like this before, not the subject nor this particular structure.

Off to Vegas tomorrow.

Flashbacks

Life Flashing Before Your Eyes

I've never written something like this in prose before. In a screenplay, I can write a "series of shots" or a "montage" of shots which can visually convey someone's life flashing before their eyes just as they're about to die. Doing something like that in prose is challenging, to say the least. I don't want to do "shots." I want to do "scenes" complete with dialogue and emotion. I'm working on it. I have a few pages done and so far, it feels like this will work.

Technical Aspects

Technicalities
So far today, I've been struggling with setting up this blog so it will look like I want it. I still haven't figured it all out, but it's good enough for now.

Next, my website. The link is here but there's nothing on it yet. I've been thinking I'll just put links to where my books are on sale. Or not.

Will try to write later today.

Story Time

Story Time
Once upon a time... I'm having difficulty with my latest short story. It's a deeply personal story, but not my story. A young man, dying in war, whose life flashes before his eyes. I'm a woman. I've never been to war. How can I possibly tell his story? But something inside me insists that I do.

Intro

I bid you welcome. I'm a writer first and foremost. My background is in the entertainment industry. I spent a dozen years in and around Hollywood as a script consultant. I worked to improve the screenplays of novices and professional screenwriters alike. For six years, I was also publisher and editor of the industry's only trade paper entirely dedicated to screenwriting, Hollywood Scriptwriter, giving me a unique perspective on the art, craft and marketing of scripts to television and film. Also giving me insight into storytelling that I hope to demonstrate in my fiction work.

I currently have three books at lulu.com/lougrantt. One is fiction, At The Lake, and is set in the 60s. I'm working on a book of short stories now, mostly set in the 60s and 70s. I'll be blogging my progress as often as I can.

Please feel free to message me with comments at any time. Thank you for visiting!