The wonderful month of August! First off, Willamette Writers’ Conference starting this evening. I love volunteering for the Willamette Writers’ Conference. I’ll be doing Manuscript ER Friday, Saturday and Sunday afternoons in the garden room. It’s so exciting to see what other writers are working on, and to help them tweak their work at the last minute before they chat with an editor or agent. I’ve been happily surprised at the polish and quality of the work people bring to me to help them make sharper, better, clearer, edgier… whatever it needs so it’ll shine when presented to a top-notch professional. Ir’s probably one of the scariest things a writer can do – converse with a New York or L.A. agent or an editor from their dream publisher – so I consider the authors’ trust in me at this vital moment a supreme honor.

Then next weekend the owners of the local art gallery where I have my books and a hundred cards from my greeting line is having a first-anniversary, “thank-you” party for their artists, in Portland’s west hills. I’m really looking forward to this event to meet the other artists.

The weekend after that is Portland’s second annual PDX GearCon, Steampunk confab. It was mind blowing last year, with art, authors, belly dancers, an aerialist, contortionists, magicians, musicians, workshops on all things steam and style, as well as a full-on, breath-taking fashion show that could stand up to any catwalk, IMHO.

With all this fun going on, I still have to find the time to write! I’m working on several exciting projects at the moment. One of my nonfiction books is another in my “Save Your Life” series – Save You Life with the Elixir of Water, and my favorite fiction project of the moment is a steampunk YA. It’s a delight to throw myself into that alternate, dream-like world. I hope to share both of these new works with you, my dearest reader, before long….

In the meantime, dream your August dreams!