Open Mic Wednesday 8/24/11
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
It’s Open Mic Wednesday. What’s on your mind?
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Books by Kaye Dacus
Novel in Progress
Follow the Heart*
Book 1 of The Great Exhibition Series
Due May 1, 2012
first draft completion goal date: 01/31/12
*working title
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Middle Tennessee Christian Writers
Who do you consider to be one of the greatest musicians to have ever lived?
(Instrumentalist, vocalist, composer/songwriter, etc.)
I’m so not a music expert but I know what I like. Josh Groban!!!! Michael W. Smith, Point of Grace, Casting Crowns (listening to Lifesong right now.) I know that doesn’t exactly answer the question since they probably wouldn’t be considered ‘the greatest’ — but I love ‘em and they’re music moves me so that makes them great in my books.
Frank Sinatra.
So many!!! Glenn Miller is way up there. Ruth is right – Frank Sinatra rocked, as does Harry Connick, Jr. Others I love: Sandi Patti, Kristen Chenoweth, and others.
Tchaikovsky. And Irving Berlin, Bing Crosby, Ella Fitzgerald, Scott Joplin, Glenn Miller. Alan Menken when paired with Howard Ashman.
Walter Hawkins. Gifted singer, songwriter and pianist.
I’m not that knowlegable about music, but — I have just discovered a current violinist that I’m crazy about now. David Garrett. He was on PBS and I just had to buy a few of his CDs. I liked one so much that I’m ordering another one to give my son for Christmas. He owns and plays on a Stradavarious. Improvises on classical music with a modern beat. Super.
My all-time favorite musician is composer extraordinaire John Williams.
When do you feel most alive/energetic? Is there something special you do to help yourself feel that way?
After a really good workout!
uh….I forget.
In cold weather.
When it starts to cool down, and the leaves begin to change. Besides the weather, great worship music and a talk with God always revs me up!
This question comes at my low energy point of the year, the dog days of August. I want Fall. Please. October is my answer. Or between 9 and 11am most days.
I feel most alive when I am working in my garden even if it is hot and sweat is poring off my forehead. Then I can rest on the deck and admire all my hard work. Very rewarding.
As far as time of day–it’s usually between the hours of 10 p.m. and midnight. For time of year, it’s autumn.
What have you accomplished since last Wednesday?
Weeeeelllllll….got caught up on my zzzzzzz’s, does that count? I read about six books!!!!! Worked diligently on my wip every single day!!!!!!!! Managed at least an hour a day in the garden weeding (yes, it was that bad…parts of it still are), caught up on snail mail correspondance, followed ever blog I’m supposed to be following most days…Can you tell I’m on vacation?
Hmmm. Read 2 books, went to a writer’s group meeting, attended two soccer games, went to a musical, went to church, decided to send my manuscript to an editor, fixed my chapter headings, wrote a chapter in my WIP . . . and I’m sure more . . .
Oh, and I did work most of those days . . . .;)
Edited two chapters of the novel, deleted two scenes and completely rewritten the opening scene, landed some paying work, finished The Frontiersman’s Daughter, and drooled over a book Father Chad gave Elizabeth, from the Victoria and Albert museum.
Thoroughly cleaned one of the bathrooms, changed shower curtain, washed window and washed curtains, even cleaned out the medicine cabinet and replaced outdated meds. Plus finished three books on Sherlock Holmes. He wasn’t into show vs tell, but I enjoyed them anyway. He still has a cult following.
not alot. finished a couple of books, done some study. been rejected for a couple more jobs whoops guess thats not an accomplishment.
What have I accomplished since last Wednesday? So glad I asked.
I got a job! (See my Facebook page for more details.)
What is your favorite day of the week?
Sunday. Not only because of church, but I really make it a day of rest. It’s the only day of the week I don’t work. I have a full time job and a part time job so I work six days a week and some evenings as well. Yawn. Sundays are sacred in more ways then one.
At one time in my life, it was Thursday. Maybe that was when Remington Steele came on on Thursdays . . . but now, I think I look forward to Saturday – especially if I’m not working!
Saturdays when the kids aren’t in sports. Don’t have to get up early and don’t have to go anywhere unless I choose.
I plan my week to have one day when I do something special that I enjoy outside of the house, like going to the Frist or trying a new restaurant with a friend.. Usually it is Wednesday.
saturday as i can sleep in (in theory) dont have to do anything much and I get to do as I like.
Saturday! Especially the second and fourth Saturdays of each month when I go to my Middle Tennessee Christian Writers meetings!
What is one thing you miss about being a child?
Someone else making my decisions for me. LOL. I hated it when I was a kid and now I sometimes wish some all knowing person would take me by the hand and guide me through each day. I’d even let them choose what I should wear. Okay — it would probably get stale really fast, but I’d enjoy being a ‘puppet’ for a while anyway.
Sitting down to eat whatever Mom fixed for supper. I hate coming up with food choices.
My favorite too,
Feeling as though I had control over my time.
Not having to plan and cook meals!
well if we go back to before I was 8 having a healthy father.
Having someone else provide financial stability and pay all the bills.
That’s what I miss too.
College Football starts this weekend. What, if any, team do you root for?
Geaux Tigers!
Now if you’d said Figure Skating competitions were starting up again I would have been screaming my fool head off and jumping up and down…but football? What’s that? (Can you tell I’m Canadian?)
You know I would be screaming right along with you over figure skating.
I’m hopeless with sports teams. Usually when people start talking which team they root for I have to ask them what SPORT they’re talking about.
Nebraska Cornhuskers!
Murray State Racers!
Sooie pig pig pig!
And Geaux Saints!
My team doesn’t actually play until next weekend, but there are some early games on this weekend and next week, so I’m going to be watching as much as I can, even teams I don’t care about.
What’s your favorite job you’ve ever had?
In retrospect, the summer factory jobs I had in college were wonderful for the complete lack of any kind of responsibility. I don’t think I liked them that well at the time though.
school librarian — won over hotel chambermaid hands down!!!!
Scheduling clerk at Murray State’s student union building – the Curris Center.
Head archivist at Kent House. There is very little in this world better than getting paid to spend my days researching life on an antebellum cotton plantation.
I would love that!
Raising my two sons has top priority and has been the most rewarding.
But for outside employment I loved working at Belmont College. Our offices were in one of the old dorms and I could take a college course free each semester. I loved that place. Took the minutes of the President’s Cabinet and the Faculty meetings. Gave me an inside track on what was going on. Being a Baptist college the staff had weekly devotional meetings. .
What I treasured most were the classes. I took all the literature classes I could, plus World History, Art Appreciation, and PE.
My first babysitting job. it was before christmas and was more to just help out while the childrens mother worked as a hairdresser (it was by their house) they had a pool so we spent time in the pool. did some cooking and had lots of fun and I got a whole $10 this was in 1977 so it was huge. Oh and I got a bee sting. but it was really fun. it wasn’t really like working.
The best work environment I ever had was when I worked full-time at the publishing house. But I have a feeling that my new job may turn out to be my favorite ever!
What’s your superpower?
Mine is the ability to fall instantly and madly in love with an actor or model and immediately come up with a character based on him, as well as at least a partial storyline. And then be able to do it all over again the next day.
Dog whisperer. This does not mean they listen to me, it just means we connect and I get them. I can be walking down the street and a perfectly well-behaved pooch will suddenly bound over to me pulling his hapless owner behind so we can say hi. LOL. Does that count as a superpower?
Staying calm in a crisis. If it’s important, I can literally slow down and take a deep breath. If it’s NOT important? I may fall apart! LOL
To get so lost in the fictional worlds in my head that I don’t notice anything going on around me.
And also the ability to have up to a dozen windows open on my computer and not lose track of what I’m doing in any of them.
God.