Another beautiful day at the beach. Thank you Jesus–and Happy Easter!
 The above is a water color by Patti Blacknight. Patti is the owner of The Mermaid’s Purse in Surf City and a very talented artist. She does some funky stuff with what is called Steam Punk–anyway–Patti is designing Poseidon, a sort of character in THE MERMAID DID IT. I’m now 1/3 of the way through my little mystery–hoping it will be ready by the end of July.  Lev, Don, Paula, Carrie, and some more good guys and bad folk are turning out to make this one hell of a story. FUN, FUN, FUN!

QUOTE: “If you presume to love something, you must love the process of it much more than you love the finished product” John Irving.

WRITING TIP: I think Mr. Irving is correct– I do love the writing process, it takes me to another land. The idea of never going there again is unimaginable. I love what I get to do–and though I’m rarely wholly satisfied with the end product, it is so worth the journey.

A foggy and misty day, good time to be working on THE MERMAID DID IT (the 4th book in the Topsail Island Murder series). Here’s a little exerpt:

 I just received a photo from Jeff Wenzel who is providing the cover for THE MERMAID DID IT- it is just as ominous and foreboding as Estelle seems to be.  Jeff is the guy who does the fantastic aerial photography in our area–so very cool.

QUOTE: “There’s someone in my head, but it’s not me”- Pink Floyd
WRITING TIP:  Add a little of this, a little of that, and see where your imagination takes you. It’s all fodder for the pen.

The back cover for my newest book PELAGIC. I had a wonderful time today at the Sneads Ferry Book Club. This was my second visit. Thank you so  much to my readers-I’m go appreciative of your interest in my books. PELAGIC is one of my favorites-it was a labor of love, but well worth the experience.
The best I can figure is two people came to Topsail long ago–one said, ‘hell, I can make a bunch of money off of this place.’ The other said, “what a lovely untouched place where I can live life simply enjoying the beauty.’ That’s kind of how I see things–I think the former person sucked the life out of our island and the latter loved it for its simple beauty.  Oscar Wilde put it more eloquently when he said “Now days people know the cost of everything and the value of nothing.”

Great day on the beach yesterday–a little windy, but still lovely.
Tonight Creative Writing class at CFCC was outstanding. We delved into PLOT in literary fiction. This 6 weeks it seems most of the students are trying their hand at that genre. Literary fiction is quite a bit different when it comes to plot-its not as simple as with mystery or romance. Inner struggle, coming of age, self awareness–all the things that make us human are  on display/questioned/exposed./examined. There is rarely a solution, more of a turning or realization. Putting that sort of thing on paper can be difficult. But we made headway tonight and opened some doors and avenues of thought. Yippee! Thank you students, you made my day.

What a beautiful day it has been today. Surely Spring has sprung.  Warms my heart too to browse the beautiful displays of art at the Mermaid’s Purse. Yep, we have some fine shops on the island. Y’all come check them out. Visited Quarter Moon last night and listened to some fine live music–ahh– great ambiance there. Two very cool places to spend some time on Topsail AND they both carry my books!

QUOTES: “Music has charms to soothe the savage breast”- William Congreve

“Life beats down and crushes the soul and art reminds you that you have one.”-Stella Adler

WRITING TIP: The arts, in any form, refresh my soul and keeps me writing. Stuck in a slump, play some music or spend a couple of hours contemplating your favorite art form.

I’ve been keeping you up to date with my adventures in writing. Thank you, my readers, for following. I enjoy any and all feed back. I’m asking you to please follow me on my Facebook author page https://facebook.com/authorcarolannross
I look forward to hearing your comments and ideas. Thank you so much, Carol Ann Ross

Just a few years ago! Ha!. Twisting to the Beatles in the early sixties-I WANNA HOLD YOUR HAND-if I remember correctly. I’m in the background-Debbie Schafer is in the front and for the life of me I cannot remember the name of the two boys. Notice the knotty pine paneling of this ocean front home. Wow–good times.
Working on THE MERMAID DID IT and Joey (one of the characters-a dog who just happens to have the same name as my own ankle biter) is in the way so Carrie says get back Joe to the tune of the old Beatles song and so i think of the Beatles and that makes me think of Debbie Schafer and the beach. And so it goes-one thing reminds me of another and my little fingers get to typing.

QUOTE “If I waited for perfection, I would never write a word.” Margaret Atwood
WRITING TIP: Just begin–you can and most likely will change that beginning.

The daffodils are in bloom! The harbinger of  spring and of hope. I love the daffodils.

Starting new book, THE MERMAID DID IT. Just a few thousand words but it’s on its way. Big bad Estelle is being her usual nefarious self. But there are new characters to fall in love with and to despise. I’ll keep you posted as the book moves along. Thank you for reading!

Quote: 
“For oft when on my couch I lie
 In vacant or in pensive mood
 they flash upon that inward eye
 which is the bliss of solitude
 and then my heart with pleasure fills
 and dances with the daffodils”  William Wordsworth

It’s that time of year again-daffodil season! The jocund flower that brightens the heart and tells us that if spring has not sprung it is getting ready to. This flower always brings a smile to my face and hope to my heart.

excerpt of the poem By William Wordsworth

Enlarge this photo and see what Surf City looked like in the 50s. This is Surf City fishing pier. In the back ground you can see the old WWII warehouse that was the “community center” for the kids. Sometime in the 60s basketball hoops were set in place, but before that old WWII military vehicles were inside. We used to climb all over them, pretend to drive them–hey, it was fun.

QUOTE:”If you love life, don’t waste time, for time is what life is made up of.” Bruce Lee
WRITING TIP: Paint the picture in your mind with words.