Twitter & Facebook Links

Recently, I've been active on both Twitter and Facebook. You can access my posts at the following link. You can also follow me on both services if you have accounts with them. 

https://twitter.com/#!/idowrite

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100003157538795

The Dumbing Down of Grammar

As someone who spent 36+ years in the corporate world as an accountant/budget & financial analyst, a significant portion of my time was spent composing reports and memos. I found both internal and external communications to often be lacking in proper grammar. The following three articles support my observations. I believe these lessons are pertinent to any writer who offers their submissions to agents, editors, and publishers.

http://www.dailywritingtips.com/every-company-is-a-publishing-company/

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303410404577466662919275448.html?mod=WSJ_LifeStyle_LeadStoryNA
 
http://www.addictinginfo.org/2011/10/29/dumbing-it-down-the-pursuit-of-intellectual-mediocrity-in-america/

Weekly Update - w/e 6-23-2012

The final rewrite of Mystery at Little Bitterroot is now 20.2% complete.

I've submitted my piece for next Saturday's writers group meeting.

I've come up with names for future characters: John Claire, Shelby Brewer, Lyle Dupré, Ben Kettering, Shane Doyle, Ruth Bane, Leonard Styles, Bonnie McAskill, and Moon Winter.

Weekly Update - w/e 6-16-2012

Attended my bi-monthly writers group meeting. Even though we met twice this month already, we scheduled another meeting for June 30th.

Have begun outlining my 4th novel. It will be a sequel to my 3rd and will bring back antagonists from my 1st and 3rd novels.

I now have an agent. Hope to receive more good news later this year.

The final rewrite of Mystery at Little Bitterroot is now at 12.1%.

Jim Buchanan's Scouting Report

As you may know, the protagonist in my novels, Jim Buchanan had a football career from high school to college and finally to the pros. I've created statistics to support his drafting position when he entered the NFL but what I've now done is to create a draft profile comparable to what the NFL uses in evaluating college talent. Basically, a scouting report. Using the standard Pro Football college player evaluations, here's what I've created:

 

DE-DT JIM BUCHANAN, #92

Montana                                                                      GRADE: 8.25

Ht: 6-5½      Wt: 280      Sp: 4.68      Arm: 35¼      Hand: 11½

Notes: Native American who did not begin playing high school sports until his junior year. Played high school ball at Taylor High in Montana where he won a football state championship and pitched on the baseball team. Accounted for more than 3,000 all-purpose yards and 31 touchdowns as a senior halfback. Had arthroscopic surgery to remove a torn meniscus and bone spurs once the baseball season was over. Committed to then-head coach Mike Chapman and the Montana Grizzlies and spent a relatively quiet freshman year as a 6-3, 210 pound backup fullback/outside linebacker while rehabbing his knee and playing in all 12 games in ’80, gaining 128 yards on the ground and scoring one touchdown while recording 15 tackles (11 on special teams). Back to full health, started all 12 games as a 6-4, 240 pound inside linebacker in ’81 and tallied 49 tackles, five batted passes, three sacks, one blocked FGA, and two interceptions, including a 76-yard return for a touchdown. Moved to defensive end in ’82 and was a disruptive force at 6-5, 270 pounds, leading the team in tackles with 89. Added seven sacks, eight batted passes, two blocked kicks, and three forced fumbles in 12 games. First team All Big Sky Conference, second team All-American. Moved inside in a 4-3 scheme in ’83 and posted 123 tackles, eighteen sacks, twelve batted passes, seven forced fumbles, three blocked kicks, and two interceptions in 12 games. Incredibly, was occasionally used to drop into coverage. Returned one interception, 24 yards for a touchdown and scored a hat trick plus one vs. Montana State (sack, forced fumble, fumble recovery, 87-yard scoring play). Big Sky Conference Player of the Year, first team All American, Outland Trophy winner.

Positives: Natural talent has vines for arms and meat hooks for hands. With only 5% body fat, looks like he was weaned on a Nautilus machine. Intriguing size-speed ratio, can flat-out fly. Rare movement skills, balance, change of direction, and agility for his size. Can grab and toss with ease. Uses his quickness to get under the pads of offensive linemen. Extremely gifted, athletic, spins off blocks, able to adjust and redirect, can slide along the line. Eyes and instincts are superior – quickly locates the ball and fights through clutter. Directs the defense, changes schemes based upon what he sees at the line. Is rarely wrong and out of position. Outstanding production, motor, effort, and hustle. Has proven he will play through injuries (knee) and has a high pain threshold. Physically tough, highly competitive, solid personal and football character – hardworking, outgoing, and well-respected, team captain, a coach's dream. Aggressive when he needs to be, under control at all times. Just scratching the surface and is loaded with potential, tremendous upside.

Negatives: Durability is a concern. Could be stronger at the point of attack. Appears in game film like a man among boys tossing blockers aside like trash, so competition has to be considered. Lacks experience locking horns with top-flight offensive linemen. Does not have the size or bulk for a NFL defensive tackle, will have to play outside. Needs to adjust to the speed of the pro game.

Summary: Has upfield speed to roar off the edge and the bulk and weight-room strength to fight in the trenches. Strong, long, quick, athletic, productive, instinctive, powerful disruptive force who really came onto the scene as a junior and possesses the position and scheme versatility to warrant top-five consideration. May serve him best working in a rotation as a rookie. Limitless upside, can have a lengthy pro career as long as he avoids major injury. Perennial Pro-bowler. Once in a lifetime player.

NFL Projection: Top-5 talent. Could be the first player drafted overall by a team that needs that final building block.

Hook

I've come to realize that a hook is needed for each of my novels. Not just any hook but because my novels involve a mixed blood sheriff, his interactions with Native American ancestry, customs, friends and relatives, the hook needs to involve that aspect of his life. In my first novel, Montana Harvest the hook was Alma's path toward becoming a shaman and her life and death utilization of what she had learned. In Mystery at Little Bitterroot, the hook will be a fictionalized legend. It is these hooks that will drive and compel the plot twists that I believe add a sense of mystery to my novels. My intent is to create multifaceted layers to my plots and if I do that the reader should say to themselves at the end of the novel, "Now I know why they did that" or "Now I can see why that happened."

Wisdom

I suppose wisdom can be defined as learning from one's mistakes or heeding the advice of others. If so, then I've incorporated wisdom into my novels. One thing I've learned from my trip to Montana is that because it is such a small populated state, I needed to fictionalize the locations in my novels. I created Cedar County with Taylor (pop. 65,167) as its county seat. US Route 228 (this highway does not exist anywhere in the USA) dissects Taylor. Some other towns in the county are Horace, Spaulding, Mallory, Big Stump, and Bryce Hollow. There is even a fictionalized ghost town named Louisiana City. Within Taylor are Taylor University and the Taylor University Medical Center. I also placed an office of the State Crime Lab in Taylor with Hank Kelly as the Chief Medical Examiner. Creating these fictionalized locations and establishments allows me to freely use them without offending or upsetting anyone.

Short Stories

I'm currently working on a number of short stories for my writing group's 2nd anthology.

They are:

• Threes – the clock, remote, and camera
• The Others – part 2 (part 1 was in my writing group's first anthology)
• A Medieval Tragedy – a story about a prince & princess
• Brooklyn Alley – Jonathan’s story
• Kill the Squeaker – a dog story

The second anthology is projected to be finished by the end of this year with publishing shortly thereafter. If you haven't purchased the first book, you can buy it by clicking on this link:

Tales From Half Moon Room

For those of you who have read the book, a customer review posted on our book's Amazon.com page would be much appreciated.

Link to my website

I've placed a permanent link to my novels' website on the home page of this blog. It appears just below the main page's picture of East Glacier Park.

What I've been doing

It's amazing that this is my first post for 2012. No, I haven't dropped off the face of the Earth. I've been busy working on a half-dozen or so short stories for inclusion in my writing group's second anthology later this year. I've also been busy attending my writing group's bi-monthly meetings. Finally, I've begun the fourth novel in the Jim Buchanan series. It will be a seamless transition from the third novel but will stand on its own while introducing a major character to the series. I can't say too much about it now but what I will say is that this new character's first name is Axe. I'll let your imagination run wild from there.

I am a published author

My writing group, Jordon's Twelve, has published an anthology titled Tales From Half Moon Room.

I have contributed the following short stories for this book: The Lost Relics of Mount Quarantania, Forever Without End, Dogs are People Too, The Others, Attila circa 2525, In My Life, and Union Station Angel.

There are thirty-three separate pieces in this 230 page anthology. If you don't have the time to invest reading a full-length novel yet are looking for an interesting and enjoyable read that you can easily put down when life gets in the way and then return to it when you have the time, then give this book a shot.

In Tales from Half Moon Room, you will find stories about growing up, romance, relationships, travel, adventure, fantasy, comedy, tragedy, and drama. In short, everything that makes up our human experience.

These are stories written from the heart in ways that demonstrate how we as individuals interact with one another in all the many inspiring, heartbreaking, and fascinating ways that people do and how we mature because of our experiences.

If you wish to purchase a copy of this book click on the title of this post and you will be directed to the bookseller's website or you can order a copy directly from me. If you do purchase a copy, I would be happy to autograph it for you.

My Montana Trip

I left Connecticut on September 20th via Amtrak for a trip to Montana. I arrived in Whitefish and then traveled to Thompson Falls, Missoula, Butte, Helena, back to Butte, Bozeman, Billings, Big Timber, Great Falls, and then returning to Whitefish for my trip back home.

I met so many wonderful people and interviewed sheriffs, a coroner, a Montana highway patrolman, a police chief, and an organization that works with Native Americans.

I saw Kootenai Falls, the Swinging Bridge, Ross Creek Cedars, the Continental Divide, the Cathedral of Saint Helena, the Museum of the Rockies, Virginia City (a working ghost town), Pictograph State Park, the Rimrocks, Little Bighorn National Battlefield, the Crazy Mountains, the Missouri Breaks, Marias Pass (elevation 5,216 feet), and Glacier Park.

The picture on the home page of my blog is one that I took while at the eastern portion of Glacier Park. More pictures can be found on my home page in the slide show titled, "My Montana Photos".

I returned to Connecticut on October 14th with over 1,500 photos, dozens of video clips, hundreds of memories, and a lasting impression of the land where my novels take place.

News

Much has happened since I last blogged. My novel Montana Harvest is very close to publishing and I am preparing for a very special adventure that is related to my novels. All will be revealed in due time.

The Jim Buchanan Novels

I've created a website for my writing and will be updating and adding new elements. Click on the title of this post to go directly to the website.

Acaraho Otaktay

One of my recurring characters in the Jim Buchanan Novels is Acaraho. He is part Cherokee and part Crow but I struggled with giving him a last name. Rather than go with his current last name which I won't mention here I have decided to use Otaktay as his last name. Otaktay is a Souix name so Acaraho will now be part Crow and part Souix and a relative of Willie Otaktay, another recurring character in my novels. Acaraho is Alma Twofavors' boyfriend and in Montana Harvest he is instrumental in saving someone's life. Then in The Killing Zone he is falsely accused of murder. In the Crow language the definition of Acaraho is "Mountain" and in the Souix language the definition of Otaktay is "Kills Many".

US Copyright Office

This weekend I received hard copy certificates of registration from the United States Copyright Office signed by Maria A. Pallante, the 12th United States Register of Copyrights, for my three novels, Montana Harvest, Mystery at Little Bitterroot, and The Killing Zone.

The effective date of registration for all three is February 14, 2011. The significance of this date of registration is that twenty-three years ago on February 14, 1988, Valentine's Day, I proposed to my wife whom I credit for nurturing my confidence to write and providing me with the ongoing and unselfish support for my passion.

5 Free E-Books Every Writer Needs

This article is relevant to all authors

It takes a strong spine to be a publisher - appeared in the Willimantic Chronicle of 5/24/2011

By MICHAEL LEVIN Commentary The publishing world gathers next week in Manhattan at BookExpo America, its annual trade show, but the one subject attendees won’t be discussing is the coming collapse of publishing and the inevitable disappearance of books.

It’s not just that books are going to Kindles and iPads. It’s that books are going away, and the publishers have no one but themselves to blame.

The traditional New York publishing busi­ness model — publish a ton of books, fail to market most of them, and hope that somebody buys something — worked well when publish­ers had a hammerlock on the distribution and marketing of books. Publishers essentially faced no competition and enjoyed complete control of what books people could publish and sell.

In today’s world, however, anyone from John Grisham to John Doe can put up a book online with Smashwords, Lulu or Kindle Direct and bypass publishers — and bookstores — all together. Authors can use Google AdWords or social networking strategies to market their books far more effectively than publishers ever could. So who needs New York?

Yes, Kindle and iPad are game-changers. When you read books on a device, a few things change. You’re moving into an envi­ronment where you typically don’t pay for content — almost everything online is free. So publishers won’t be able to charge $10 or $12 for an entire book when people only want a chapter’s worth of information. So much for e-books as a revenue stream for the publishing houses.

Publishers can also blame Amazon for the collapse of their industry. When you went into a bookstore, you typically browsed and bought a handful of books, each from a dif­ferent department. Amazon killed browsing. You go on, you find the book you wanted, you pay and you leave. So instead of buying five books, you buy just one.

But the real reason why books are going to vanish is the remarkably un- businesslike busi­ness model of the publishers. Think of General Motors — decades of inefficiency but without the federal bailouts.

In no other industry do producers actu­ally wait passively to see what products are suggested to them, instead of doing market research to see what people really want to buy. Yet publishers seldom generate book ideas; instead they wait for literary agents to submit proposals. Houses decide which book to publish based on little more than a gut feel­ing that says, “I think we can make money selling this” Yet the books that publishers choose are almost entirely of zero interest to actual bookbuyers. After 9/ 11, there were a ton of books about 9/ 11, which nobody bought. Same thing with the Iraq War, the rise of Obama, the economic meltdown and the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Or the books are rehashed business lessons, religious truths, sports clichés, motivational babble, exercise fads, weight loss techniques or pandering to the political left or the right. Who wants these books? Almost no one.

Most of the major publishers today are owned by international conglomerates who, at some point, will awaken to the realization that English majors in their employ are spending millions of dollars on books that no one wants to read.

As a result, few trade books earn real money for the publisher (and certainly not for the author). That’s because the publisher bears the entire risk of buying, editing, printing, and shipping copies of the book to bookstores all over the country on a 100 percent returnable basis. If your local Barnes & Noble doesn’t sell a particular book, it goes right back to the publisher, at the publisher’s shipping cost, for a full refund. Especially in the Internet era, you can’t make money putting books on trucks and hoping someone buys them.

At the expo next week, the attendees will solemnly discuss the latest trends, discuss how to get 70-year-old authors to use Twitter, and generally party like it’s 1989. But for traditional publishing, the party’s over. They just don’t want to realize that it’s time to turn out the lights.

Levin is a best-selling author and a former member of the Authors Guild Council.

How to Break the Rules and Get Published

I saw this article on Writer's Digest. It seeks to balance writers' efforts to seek publication without compromising their artistic qualities.

Agents

I sent my latest query letter to an agent and received a request for the first chapter of my first novel. Apparently the promise in my novels' synopses did not translate to a favorable evaluation by the agent. I was rejected for not having a good enough hook.

In discussing this with my editor, she said, "Don't be discouraged. It's a good book. I know you'll find a home for it!"

I reworked the first chapter of the first novel and sent it off to another agent.

Writers Workshop

I attended a writers workshop today at the Hartford Public Library. Agent Jan Kardys presented an all-encompassing review of the publishing world from sending a query letter to agents through self-publishing as an option. I learned some new and interesting information and hopefully it will help me in my quest to become a published author.

Query Letter Out

I mailed my query letter to an agent on Monday pitching the three completed novels in the Jim Buchanan Series. Now I have begun working on my fourth novel in the series, Secrets of the Bob Marshall Wilderness.

In this latest novel, the rumor of an abandoned gold and silver mine brings together a group of young friends in search of lost riches. However, greed, misplaced trust, a murder, an early winter storm, and a 19th century legend lead to their downfall. Jim risks his own life to find and save them, sort out the evidence, and pull all the pieces together.

Query Letters

Today I'm mailing my latest query letter. I met with an agent last year at a writers conference hosted by the Connecticut Authors & Publishers Association. She said I selected the right agent and offered positive feedback on 'Mystery at Little Bitterroot' which I used to finalize that novel. With all three novels now professionally edited I am extending the courtesy of letting that agent review my novels before I query other agents.

What I've been up to and future plans

I've written four short stories this year, have a couple in the rough draft stage, and a few more in the planning stages. At least one or two will be entered in writing contests.

I will be preparing query letters to send to agents by the end of this month for the novels 'Montana Harvest' and 'Mystery at Little Bitterroot'.

I am also working on the suggested changes for the professionally edited novel, 'The Killing Zone' and hope to have that completed before the end of May.

Unicorn Writers Conference

I attended the Unicorn Writers Conference where Carol Higgins Clark was the keynote speaker. I also met with an agent who provided me with feedback on my work. He complimented me on my dialogue saying that I present it in a natural and believable manner. Unfortunately, the conference planners did not hook me up with an agent who specializes in mystery/suspense novels. I met some very interesting people and listened to some terrific speakers and presenters.

The Killing Zone

With the professional edits of 'Montana Harvest' and 'Mystery at Little Bitterroot' completed and both novels ready for publishing, I will begin completing the suggested professional edit on 'The Killing Zone.' This novel, the third in the series, currently stands at 104,180 words encompassing 400 pages. Again, like the first two novels, the size of this novel will be whittled down to a manageable level without sacrificing plot or style. What will go will be scenes, dialogue, and prose that either does nothing for the story, slows the action down, or is redundant. The professional edit will result in a tighter and more dramatic novel.

Mystery at Little Bitterroot

I have completed making the professional edit changes to 'Mystery at Little Bitterroot'. This novel topped out at 73,882 words and 301 pages.

Here is a recap of the statistics for the fully completed novels in the Jim Buchanan Series:

Montana Harvest - 58,558 words, 247 pages

Mystery at Little Bitterroot - 73,882 words, 301 pages

I will now prepare Mystery at Little Bitterroot for presentation at the Unicorn Writers Conference in April and will bring along manuscripts for both novels.

Now I will work on final edits for my two short stories for my writing group's book project. Once that is completed in early April, I will begin work on the editoral changes for 'The Killing Zone.'

Mystery at Little Bitterroot

My editing progress on 'Mystery at Little Bitterroot' has resulted in reductions of total word count to 76,535 and total page count to 311. I have approximately 47 remaining pages to edit. I should have this novel completed and ready for publishing by the end of this week.

Editing progress on 'Mystery at Little Bitterroot'

I've completed the editorial suggestions on 162 pages of 'Mystery at Little Bitterroot.' This weekend I will make an extra effort to complete the remaining suggested corrections. The total pages of this novel currently stand at 331 and the word count is 83,449. Expect these totals to decrease as I near the finished product.

Mystery at Little Bitterroot

I've begun making my editor's suggested changes to 'Mystery at Little Bitterroot'. I'm on page 95 of 342 pages. The total number of pages will shrink as I go forward with the edit as will the word count. It was originally over 92,000 words but now stands at 87,299. My aim is to finish this edit by the end of this month so that I can bring two completed manuscripts to the Unicorn Writers Conference in April.

Mystery at Little Bitterroot

Today I will begin the process of making my editor's suggested changes to my manuscript of 'Mystery at Little Bitterroot'.

Final Edit Completed

I've finished making the changes to 'Montana Harvest' as suggested by my editor. The novel topped out at 58,559 words covering 248 pages. I've submitted the first 48 pages to the Unicorn Writers Conference for a one-to-one session with an agent. I will also begin the process of mailing query letters to agents.

Progress on 'Montana Harvest'

I've completed my editor's suggested corrections on 187 of the 259 submitted pages of my final edit for 'Montana Harvest'. I plan to finish the remainder today and then will submit the first 40 pages by Saturday to the Unicorn Writers Conference for review by an agent. This writers conference is in April and if it proves not to be fruitful then I will send query letters to other agents. One way or another this first novel will be published this year and available for purchase.

New Short Story

I've completed a new short story for the book project with my writing group. The title of the story is 'In My Life' and it is a story of lost love with a Beatles twist. I still need to complete a final edit on this story as well as the prior story that I have written.

Copyrighted Novels

I've registered 'Montana Harvest', 'Mystery at Little Bitterroot', and 'The Killing Zone' with the US Copyright Office. It was an easy process and for you fledgling authors out there it only costs $35 per novel.

The Lost Relics of Mount Quarantania

The title of this post is a short story that I wrote for my writing group. We plan to collect short stories from our members and submit them in book form for publication. Although I will not divulge my short story or describe what it is about in this blog, what I will say is that it is a story in the 'Dan Brown' mold (The da Vinci Code).

This group book will be an assortment of short stories and poems some of which I have read as a member of the writing group. I can honestly say that these stories will be both exceptional and entertaining. The individual members of the group are all talented writers. I expect that this group book will be published around mid-year. It will be available on Amazon.com and through bookstores as an on-demand order.

Progress

I have sent 'Montana Harvest' to my editor and I've finished my short story which will be included in our writing group's book compilation. The title of my short story is 'The Lost Relics of Mount Quarantania'. I also plan to submit a few poems for consideration as well.

Poems

One of the suggestions from my writing group for our book project next spring is to intersperse poems throughout the book. My editor and writing instructor, Eileen Albrizio introduced me to to three forms of poems, Triolet, Haiku, and Tanka. Without describing the poetic form in detail here are my examples of each:


TRIOLET

I stare at her crossing the room
and long for her when I'm alone
I see her face at the sound of a familiar tune
I stare at her crossing the room
I remember the day we met in June
and the hours we spoke on the telephone
I stare at her crossing the room
and long for her when I'm alone

© 2009 Felix F. Giordano


HAIKU

Snow falls
on mountain cliffs
feeding glacial melt

© 2009 Felix F. Giordano


TANKA

The dead of winter
when trees have shed their leaves
branches sway in the wind
reaching up to the sky
in praise of Creator

© 2009 Felix F. Giordano

Montana Harvest

Montana Harvest is complete! I finished a final edit on the novel yesterday and sent it to my editor for a professional edit. Two significant changes occurred in this novel (chronologically the first in the series) which will have a bearing on the next two novels in the series. I won't detail what the changes are but be assured that one has to do with a relationship and the other with a vocation and both are linked.

Writing Group

On Thursday evening I met with three of my former writing class members to discuss the short story compilation that we intend to self-publish and our future writers group meetings set to begin in January.

Almost December

It's almost December. I've been remiss in posting lately. I can arrive at excuses such as family matters, home projects, illness, pet issues, etc. Actually, I've continued to work on a final edit of 'Montana Harvest' (when I can squeeze in the time) and have 183 of 229 completed pages. I'm on target to send the manuscript to my editor by the end of next weekend. I have high hopes for this novel and believe it will be a good read for those interested in a mystery/suspense thriller.

BUSY, Busy, busy

I have been busy with many things and many issues too numerous to mention and have not posted in a while. The inspiration phrase for this week (found below the main picture on my blog) reminded me of why, since I retired, I try to spend time with my mother. It is the bond of life. It is why a tree drops its seed and why it grows into a sapling and then another adult tree. I often wonder what is in store for us ... when we leave this world. I haven't the answer and I hope it takes a long time to get there but I know it will be an experience to revel in. An opportunity to learn everything there is to know, to meet friends long since departed, and for us to decide upon the next step in our eternal journey.

Passing

A friend and one of my writing classmates passed away this week. It is always difficult to experience the loss of someone but my friend was someone who clearly helped improve my writing. He was always willing to provide constructive criticism and point me in the right direction. Fred, you are missed but in your wonderful novels about the theater your voice continues and it is as strong as ever.

The Lost Relics

Last month my MCC writing class and I took our teacher out for brunch at the Marlborough Tavern. One topic we discussed was for each student (there are ten of us) to submit a ten-page short story to be included in a self-published compilation. I have finished a draft of my short story and have sent it off to one of my classmates for critique. It's titled 'The Lost Relics' and is a story in the realm of a Dan Brown (Da Vinci Code, Angels & Demons) mystery. The plan is for all of us to have final edits of our short stories ready by January and then submit them to Booklocker.com. With this compilation and my three novels planned for publication, 2011 will prove to be an exciting year.

Amazon Kindle

Today I received my new Kindle 3G Wireless Reading Device. It works on the 3G network as well as WiFi. I downloaded Montana Harvest and using the speech to text function, I listened to the first eight chapters. Listening to my novel allows me not only to hear my writing out loud but it will also help me edit my work.

Tomorrow's Powwow

Tomorrow is the 17th annual Wolf Den Powwow in Pomfret, Connecticut. We are planning to attend early and enjoy our time there. I do plan to take pictures and will look for some Native American products (jewelery, prayer mix, sage, fry bread, buffalo burgers, etc.). Last year I purchased a prayer mix, some sage, and a beautiful, hand-made blanket. I am really looking forward to this.

I find that when I am at powwows, I feel most relaxed with the sounds and smells that embrace me there. I often look up at the sky and sense a smile from above guarding us all who are there. In Native American culture no symbol is more important than the circle.

From the shape of the bottom of a tipi, to the shape of a drum to the shape of a dream catcher, they all describe the endless boundary of existence. The meaning of the circle explains everything from the spheres of the sun, planets, and the moon to the circuits of the seasons, to even our own bodies' circulatory system. Everything must return from whence it came. It is the cycle of life and it is expressed most profoundly at a powwow where everything sacred can be found in the circle.

UPCOMING POWWOW

In the past, this is the best Powwow I have ever attended. There are over 25 vendors, plenty of buffalo burgers and fry bread, music, singing, and dancing for all.

Many of the products offered are authentic Native-made and are not cheap knock-offs that you may see passed off at other venues. Such things as smudge sticks, sage, prayer mixes, blankets, pipes, flutes, and jewelery, are of a very high quality and are hand-made.

If you wish to purchase Native-made products, this is the place to support the Native hands that made these wonderful items.

As Jim Buchanan's grandfather (Chief Soaring Eagle) once said, “Little Hawk, the beauty isn't in the beads on your neck, or the pipes we smoke, or the moccasins we wear; the beauty is in the hands that made them.”

October 16-17

Wolf Den 17th Annual Powwow, Wolf Den State Park, Jct Rte.44 & 101, Pomfret Ctr., CT 860-428-7271

Montana Harvest

Last night I completed Montana Harvest. Today I printed my manuscript for a final review before I send it off to my editor. It settled out at 59,745 words on 222 double spaced pages and these will likely change after my own once-over and then my editor's suggestions. If everything plans out as expected I should have it ready for publishing in January.

Now you can turn your blog into a book!

What a great idea! Now for a relatively inexpensive price they can publish your blog in book format. One may ask, why? Well, to keep a record for posterity or to share with those friends or relatives of ours who don't have computers or Internet access. I think this is a wonderful option and I plan to take advantage of it.

Turn your blog into a book!
Blog2Print from SharedBook turns your blog into a soft cover or hard cover book. You pick the cover, add an optional dedication, then preview and you're done. Prices start at $14.95.

Powwow this weekend!

Fourth Annual Intertribal Powwow  September 18 & 19, 2010  For 2010, Sweetwilliam Farm is proud to have Native Directions be a part of Fifth Annual Intertribal Powwow.  All proceeds will be going to this wonderful non-profit organization.  Please visit their website at http://www.nativedirections.com  The weekend is filled with Native American Tradition; Drumming, Dancing, Singing, Regalia, Story Telling, Flute Playing, Food, Genuine Native Gifts & Craft Vendors, Traders. During the day there is a blanket dance, pumpkin dance for the kids, and other dances in which the general public may dance too! This is open to the public.  Groups are are welcome.                       Schedule (same for both days):10:00am = Vendors open for business 11:00am - noon = Native American Story Telling, Hoop Dancing, Flute Concert noon ish = Grand Entry, traditional opening ceremony 2:00pm ish = drums take lunch; Native American Story Telling, Hoop Dancing, Flute Concert 4:00pm  (ish) Closing Ceremony 5:00pm - Vendors close for business Details: Saturday = 10am- 5pm Sunday = 10am - 5pm Parking = $5.00 per car Please note, most vendors accept cash only, some do take credit cards... The 2010 Powwow will be held at the store lot.  Please follow the posted signs to designated parking areas in the back of the farm.

2007 Powwow  The Honor Guard is has joined us this for our 2007 Powwow. They are carrying with them one of the flags flown on the World Trade Center,when it destroyed 9-11-01.  There is a special ceremony during the grand entry honoring the flag. (around noon) The flag will then be on display for the rest of the day.  This is a fantastic honor for us at Sweetwilliam Farm! Follow this link to view pictures from our 2007 powwow: http://www.flickr.com/photos/9357252@N02/sets/72157602680603474/