I just flipped my paper calendar from May to June. It seems more important when I change the months on my colorful kitchen calendar than when I click on my digital Google one. So month six has arrived–June from the Roman goddess Juno, patroness of marriage and the well-being of women. I’m expecting a lot of good this month, but when I add up the + and -, it’s a wash.
- In California, we get to unmask as the 15th! *Score one on the bright side.
- Our vaccination percentages are still on the rise–over 55% *Score two.
- We’re facing a major drought and already the farmers’ water allotment has been dramatically cut. Watch those food prices go up even higher. *Oops. Subtract one bright side for June.
- We’ve been in the fire season since May, very early. *Alas, subtract another.
My personal half-year recap:
I’ve just signed a contract to publish a new book, so to celebrate that I’ll be doing a special GIVEAWAY. To win a signed copy of this book, you can follow my Weekly Wednesday posts here and on Facebook starting this month about the characters you’ll meet in the story. I’ll give a book to anyone who comments (50 book limit) and answers a simple question that will be at the end of each post. Hope you’ll join in and play the game. I’ll try to make it fun.
And now for the rest…
- After I finished my round-trip from San Francisco to L.A. (mileage count, not a real trip) I kind of flaked for a few weeks, then started walking again. I’m not as rigid in my 4 miles/day anymore, but sometimes I walk longer. My longest day walk so far is 10 miles.
- I’ve received a lot of feedback on one of my WIPs, and I’m going through the comments before I tackle my next edit on that manuscript.
- I finally chose to get vaccinated. There are a lot of things I want to do, starting this month, and to do them, it’s easier with proof of vaccination.
- Maybe the big news is my cherry pie success. The cherries are here after a long winter wait. My mouth watered for a fresh-baked pie, so I made one. Here are my Before and After shots. I intend to eat it all.
Now for the First Wednesday of the Month News!
Submissions are open for the Seventh Annual IWSG Anthology Contest.
SWEET ROMANCE
For submission guidelines, list of judges and their bios, click HERE.
Let’s rock the neurotic writing world!
Our Twitter handle is @TheIWSG and hashtag is #IWSG.
Every month, we announce a question that members can answer in their IWSG post. These questions may prompt you to share advice, insight, a personal experience or story. Include your answer to the question in your IWSG post or let it inspire your post if you are struggling with something to say.
Remember, the question is optional!
June 2 question – For how long do you shelve your first draft, before reading it and re-drafting? Is this dependent on your writing experience and the number of stories/books under your belt?
The awesome co-hosts for the June 2 posting of the IWSG are J Lenni Dorner,Sarah Foster,Natalie Aguirre,Lee Lowery, and Rachna Chhabria!
I’m afraid I don’t have a great answer to this month’s question simply because I don’t know the answer. Some first drafts sit on my C Drive for years, others a few weeks. My writing experience doesn’t seem to help me out in deciding when to re-write. Wish it did.

Another special thanks to Susan Kaye Quinn for her exciting and unique idea that has engaged so many authors and will send their books on a fabulous journey.
Quote of the Month: “How did it get so late so soon? It’s night before its afternoon. December is here before its June. My goodness, how the time has flown. How did it get so late so soon?” – Dr. Suess