Changes, Updates, and Alterations...

I'm working on some changes to the blog and hopefully, will have them finished by the end of October. I've been trying to figure out what direction I would like to take with my Rona Shively series and after lots of careful consideration, have come up with something I think will be great! If you haven't had a chance to get Keeping the Faith yet, by all means get over to my website and order your copy today. I have also completed the fourth book in the Rona Shively series and it is due out in February of 2010! I'll be posting more information about this book in a few weeks.

Stay tuned to Benston Blogs for more information about the newest books in the series as well as my other projects. And remember, Tea & Mystery is not just for libraries and book clubs, it's also a great way to spend a few hours with your mystery-loving friends. I'll be posting some new information about Tea & Mystery on my website later today, so be sure to check it out. If you'd like to book a Tea & Mystery event, please e-mail me here.

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Cold Pizza and Coffee...

Sometimes, things just don't go together. Or maybe we just think they shouldn't because that's what someone else told us. Say for instance, a writing career and some other full-time endeavor such as being a mother or a wife. Now, don't get all huffy. Give me a moment to explain. It's often difficult to see where one role should end and the other should begin. And sometimes it's impossible to see them ever working together in perfect harmony. If we aren't careful, the two roles may find themselves at odds with one another and one or both may suffer. Unless, of course, we find ways to bring the two roles together into something that not only makes sense, but makes you feel like you've accomplished what you originally set out to achieve.

Years ago, I would never have imagined that I would be writing mysteries while also working at a "day job" and being a wife and mother. If you had asked me six years ago where I pictured myself in the year 2010, I would have said that I'd be working in some non-profit agency, fighting unfair changes in policy and being nearly completely miserable with my life while watching my life pass unsatisfyingly in front of my eyes. And you would have said, "Is unsatisfyingly even a word?" Yes, it's in my dictionary. The one I intend to publish later, but that's another story.

In any case, I would never have thought that I would be an elementary school librarian, a mystery writer and the mother of a five and a half year old daughter. These three things actually do go together in lots of ways, however; sometimes when I'm in the midst of it all, I can't see the connections very clearly. When I'm trying to think of all of the things I need to have finished for my students each day as well as the homework I'll be helping Mya with and the corrections I need to make to my manuscript, it all appears very incompatible. How in the hell can I ever get all of these things to work together?

This morning as I was looking around the kitchen, the answer to this question came to me as I filled my coffee cup and then remembered that there was some cold pizza in the refrigerator that I really wanted to eat for breakfast. Of course, many people wouldn't approve of my choice and some wouldn't think it made sense at all. But for me, it was what I wanted. It was what sounded like a great idea to me and it certainly wasn't going to hurt anyone. So what if I'm mixing breakfast with dinner? Who gives a big shit? Unorthodox? Well, sure. But I'm not hungry anymore and I'm wide awake. So, I achieved this morning's goal.

You're probably thinking, "That still doesn't make much sense." Well, okay. My point is this; what may not seem to make sense to others may be exactly what you need in your life. You are the only one who can make that call and you shouldn't worry about what others might think of your choices. Ultimately, you're the one who will suffer the heartburn and so if it doesn't work out well for you, you take responsibility for your actions. Sometimes our goals don't fit into what others may see as where we should be spending our time or expending our energies. To that, I say, "Too bad for them." If I want pizza with my coffee, that's my business. Let them eat eggs.


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Tea & Mystery

I'm getting ready to leave for Michigan in a few hours to present a Tea & Mystery program at the Allen Park Public Library. As the summer months come to an end, I am extending a special offer to any library, bookstore or book club who invites me to do a Tea & Mystery program. Schedule your event before August 15th and I will donate a copy of my newest book, Keeping the Faith: The Rona Shively Stories to your collection. In addition, I'll take $25 off the total cost of the event! And for all libraries who schedule an event by August 31st, I'll enter you into a drawing where one lucky winner will receive a copy of the entire Rona Shively series!

So, if you're looking for a great program for your patrons or if your book club is looking to do something a little different during its monthly meeting, throw in a little Tea & Mystery! We'll discuss the mystery genre as it pertains to books, movies and television series. You'll have a chance to share your favorites as well as take a stab at guessing whodunit when I read a selection from my book of short mysteries, A Little Bit of Murder. E-mail me today to schedule your event. Visit my website for more information about Tea & Mystery.

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De-Cluttering Project: Day 45 I think....Where the hell am I?

You would think it would get easier after thirty or forty days. But, unfortunately, that's just not the case. I began this project thinking that I would reach the end of my summer break with the most organized house in America...or at least in Springfield. Instead, I have a house that looks much like the one I started with at the beginning of the summer. Only now I have a big stack of books about de-cluttering sitting on my shelf, taking up space instead of offering advice on how to tame this monster.

It's not all negative, though. In the process of reading up on de-cluttering techniques and tips for organizing your home, I found that clutter is not necessarily my main problem. It has much more to do with a lack of space and money than my lack of organization. For example, I've mentioned before that I'm working with only about 800 square feet of space. Not nearly enough to house three people, three Yorkies and a suitable office area.

Another problem is that in order to do all of the nifty little organizational things that would help me make better use of this space, I'd have to spend hundreds of dollars on shelving units, storage bins, and other gadgets that help hide everyday clutter from view. In Good Housekeeping's Clutter Rescue, most of the tips involve spending money. Not that this is a terrible thing, but one hopes that straightening up their living area wouldn't necessarily require out-of-pocket expense. Especially when one is extremely cheap.

I've also been reading a book called, When Organizing Isn't Enough: S.H.E.D. Your Stuff, Change Your Life, by Julie Morgenstern. It's a pretty good book that deals mainly with understanding when something isn't working for you. For instance, one of my favorite quotes from this book is this one by William Morris, "Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful." You'd be surprised at what this particular principle can cover. I have a tendency to hold onto things, long after they've proven useful or even beautiful. That's why it takes me so long to throw out broken knick-knacks. If someone gave me something, chances are I still have it somewhere. That begins to be quite cumbersome after thirty years or so.

The best part of this book so far has been in Chapter 3 where Morgenstern sites the Zen parable about a wanderer who comes upon a washed out bridge and spends several days making a raft. He could not swim and was afraid to try and wade across. He made a strong raft that carried him safely across the stream and was reluctant to leave it behind once he made it across. He said to himself, "This is a good raft--if there's another stream ahead, I can use it." He ends up carrying the raft for the rest of his life. The point being that although the raft had been useful for one particular task, it wasn't necessary for the man to carry it around for the rest of his life. He didn't need it and would have been better served by tackling each future issue as it happened instead of carrying the baggage and with that, some inkling of dread that comes with always anticipating a problem.

Too often, we forget that just because something worked for us in the past, that doesn't mean that the same solution will always fit the problems in our future. We grow and change and become different people and so will need to adjust the way we deal with our problems to fit the person we become. Carrying around trophies of our past struggles is not as uplifting as we would like to believe, and in fact, can become a symbol of wariness which will hold us back and prevent us from going ahead unencumbered in our future endeavors. If I've learned nothing else from this project, I've come to the realization that getting rid of the clutter will somehow free me to do more good in my life without always running back to my arsenal of crutches for support.

Stay tuned, I'm almost finished with this mess. Just sixteen more days until I see the light at the end of the tunnel.




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