Other Articles to Write

Currently, I am writing articles for a local news' website.  I seem to be completing about two a week for them.  My first publication date isn't for another month.  They are fun to write and it helps with my research methodologies.  The first article took about three hours to complete from research to finished product not including edits.  The one I completed today only took an hour.  So I'm getting better.
I plan on working on a new short story for Yahoo! Voices this weekend.  There's this idea about a girl's academy on the Mississippi Gulf Coast that is a little strange that has been floating around in my head for a while.   My last short story for Yahoo was declined because of length.  I also need to rework that one so that it can be published.
I also have to complete two genealogy articles tomorrow.
And, I need to start work on my second Portia Andrade novella.  I am thinking I can combine two novellas into a print book and the third one can be a novel.  That's my grand plan anyway.

First Draft Done

I've completed the first draft of my Portia Andrade mystery novella and it's horrible.  I will spend the weekend fixing what I can and will send to a good friend to read over the next few weeks.  In the meantime, I will complete some genealogy articles and a short story for Yahoo Voices.  And anxiously await my friend to finish reading and tell me not to quit my day job.  Ughh!

Portia Andrade and Her Stories

One night, I imagined Portia Andrade. I could see her clearly in my mind.  She wasn't Gigi and she wasn't me.  She was the combination of our Fears and our Strengths.
I could see her traipsing through the French Quarter and dining at the best spots with her hair done, not a tinge of gray nor a hair out of place.
I could see her standing in a darkened courtyard and telling her future boyfriend - "You like me, Professor Mounier. You like me a lot."  The professor blushed not knowing how to respond to the woman who stood on tiptoe before him, reading his hidden thoughts.  Portia had mercy upon him and sauntered off into the night not waiting for an answer.
I could see her whole life before me. So I wrote her down.  The first attempt was a short story.  This wasn't quite right.  But I'm getting closer.

Writing for Examiner.com

My foray back into writing on a regular basis was an examiner for an online publication called Examiner.com.  I write as the Garland Genealogy Examiner on all topics pertaining to family history research.  I am hoping to publish at least two articles a week during the next year.
This is going to take more work than I first realized because it is becoming increasingly difficult to find interesting topics.  Over the next week, I won't be publishing at all.  Instead, I am in the process of creating a list of the things that I like about genealogy from speakers, to record sources to blogging and websites.  I will let this be my writing guide for the rest of the year.  I am hoping to research and write at least four of the articles over the next week and that will put me two weeks ahead my year end goal!

The Rebirth of Gigi Perone

In college, I had an alter ego.  Her name was Gigi Perone.  Gigi had a penchant for funky shoes and dancing on pool tables until a security officer would lift her gently back down to the dance floor.  She would laugh, tossing the long strands of her wig over her bare shoulders and continue her evening unfazed. It was Gigi who joined Casa Samba and danced for seven miles from City Park to the Superdome during an Endymion Parade.  She then danced for a few more hours at a local bar in her bare feet.  It was Gigi who served the Prince of Monaco a drink in her role as cocktail waitress during a private party for the Rolling Stone's Voodoo Lounge Tour through New Orleans.  It was definitively Gigi who later made out with a member of the Prince's security detail.
As the years drifted from college to working life to marriage and motherhood, evidence of Gigi disappeared. So did her flair for the dramatics and her willingness to take chances. Writing also slipped away.  I hadn't written anything except emails since a one-act play in 2003.
Why am I writing again?  Why is Gigi again in my thoughts?
Judy Ann Pace, one of my oldest and closest friends died.  She ceased to exist one day.
During the days leading up to her funeral, people asked about Gigi and my writing.  I had to tell them that those things had to cease to exist as well.
While, I will miss my friend for the rest of my days, there is something I can revive.  I decided to write again, to revive the spirit of Gigi Perone.
Now, as a mom and a wife, I will not be dancing on tables in bars or making out with strangers.  However, I have started to write again.  Welcome to my journey.