I should be sleeping . . .

But I woke up in the night at 3 am:
1. having to pee-that's what pregnancy will doing for you
2. having to eat-also what pregnancy will do to you

3. unable to stop thinking about Louise Plummer's thriller Finding Daddy that I started at 7:30 the night before.

So finally, I crawled out of bed trying not to wake my husband (success), grabbed my cell phone and Louise's book, and headed for my favorite reading chair in our living room.

I won't tell you about the book, except to say that if I'd read one more chapter last night I would have had to read it to the end before I could fall asleep. What can I say, as a totally unbiased student of Louise-she is AMAZING. It also freaked me out a little that it was written for her granddaughter that died at 4 months so I have to admit I looked up her obituary to make sure it wasn't from the causes written in the book (it's not).

Then I got online, because, well, it was 4:30 and I usually get up around 5:30 in the morning to start writing. No alarm guys, my crazy body just wakes up and I use this precious quiet time to get in my mandatory 1000 words a day. I shoot for another 1000 or so as the day progresses, but this morning time, well it's sacred. And since I was early, I had to read Taryn's Post because it's about our critique group. The best thing I took from WIFYR was an incredible critique group. There are 5 of us girls and Taryn, the most experienced, youngest one of all wrote about us on her blog last night.

Here I am with Tayrn. I shamelessly took pics on the last day with our entire class so that one day, when they're all famous I can prove that I know them- and that just maybe I helped them be a better writer:)

This is my longtime friend AND the one who got me started writing my book: Kathyrn Purdie

 Emily with Kathryn. Emily was everyone's new best friend and has an awesome reading voice to boot. She lives in sunny CA too, but in Northern CA, so she's just as far as my Utah writing friends (boo). And I had to add the link to her kindle post. I've just gotten a kindle (finally with my b-day money from Jan.) I kept dreaming about one, but then fighting them because I love holding the thick books, turning real pages, enjoying their crispness or their library use, imagining all the people who had read the copy before. And in the back of my mind always was Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451. Honestly, did this book hold back any other kindle interested people? Here's her post: Ahem. Public Apology #1.

 Ilima (with me) Isn't she gorgeous? and her book-well I just got to read the entire manuscript (on my new kindle) and I'm so excited for her. She's already working on the sequel. AND she homeschools. I am in awe, complete and utter awe.

Well, that's my group. Thank you girls for your inspiration, your knowledge, and your ability to tell me when my writing is awful and when I'm getting it right.