Ang Shaef Writes

And this is why when Jill's character gets criticized, I sometimes take it personally.  

Just signed up to my first in-person writer's conference! Writer's Digest Annual Conference, 2023 We were planning on being in NYC that weekend anyway  because Courtney got us tickets to The National. (I LOVE that we have an apartment there!)  And thanks to the #DeepDiveWS I did every Tuesday night from January - March, I actually know two of the presenters. Tiffany Yates Martin and Hank Phillippi Ryan Both were guests on the workshop and so warm and encouraging. Like they actually believed we had entertaining stories to tell. On that note, I'm crossing my fingers this conference is equally as motivating! 

Today is my daughter Courtney's 28th birthday.  Two weeks ago I got to be in the room as she defended her dissertation,  and in May she'll be graduating from  Columbia University with a PhD in Mechanical Engineering. So as a mom of a scientist (pinch me!) I couldn't help but love  Lessons in Chemistry, by Bonnie Garmus.  I read it while we were on a family vacation in Hawaii last February and  told Courtney and Lizzie, my daughter-in-law, and our three sons, it was a must read for women in science, women in general, and all the people who love them. Thankfully, we've come a long way since Elizabeth Zott had to defend herself with a pencil in 1952. Courtney's experience included mentors, men and women alike, supporting her research and guiding her path and believing in her ability to succeed. And in like manner, Courtney has always taken time to encourage, teach and be a friend to the students rising up behind her. She's creating a beautiful legacy. Happy Bi...

Did anyone else dream of stuffing your mouth with the magical goodness of Turkish Delight, after reading The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe in 4th grade?   But what exactly was it? And could I get it in a store   within a 10-year-old's biking distance? I’d have to keep it a secret from my mom because she didn’t allow us to eat sweets. Last summer when we had real handmade nougat in Aix en Provence, i t was sweetened with honey and made with all natural ingredients.  It came in a variety flavors lightly colored and loaded with nuts or dried fruit.  It was sticky but not hard and as you chewed it filled your mouth with sweetness,  but didn’t pull on your teeth or glue your jaw shut. It was like eating heaven, and after 45 years, I thought I'd finally found the source of Edmund's temptation. Until last week when I found Turkish Delight in five different flavors at @TheNutsFactory on the UWS. Edmund sold out Mr. Tumnus and his siblings to the White Witch and endl...

 Happy 31st Anniversary to us! Two years ago when I asked if he'd take over making dinners so I could focus on writing,  he agreed without hesitation.  Thanks, Dan for valuing my dreams as much as your own.  I'd choose you all over again!

Some days I'm relieved to have an excuse not to sit down and write. And there are days that I'm so frustrated because I didn't get a chance to sit down and write. Writing is hard work. But fun, hard work. But revisions, them's another story.  

 I read Still Life , the first in the Armand Gamache series by Louise Penny, in less than 24 hours. I thought I was starting a fun mystery and ended up page turning until I finished at 4:00 a.m. My sister-in-law was a fan of the series and for Christmas we swapped -- I gave her my favorite mystery books, the Jackson Brodie series, by Kate Atkinson  and I got the first two Louise Penny books from her.  Even after staying up all night reading, I was dying to see what happened next. I started #2,  A Fatal Grace, committed to stopping at bedtime. After turning out the lights at midnight, I laid awake wondering what happened next. So... two books in two days. I didn't dare start #3 for months afterward. As for the Jackson Brodie series, I picked up Started Early, Took my Dog because of the title.  I love a good fragment that makes you wonder who, what, and where. I think I read the whole thing before I discovered it was #3 in the series. And I still loved it. ...

If you've never had a potty mouth (jr. high doesn't count), the impact of those well-timed &!@*% bombs are that much sweeter. Five stars for The Dictionary of Lost Words, by Pip Williams ,  the story of Esme growing up in the workspace which was nothing more than an old garden shed converted to a space with desks and "pigeon holes" where a small group of men attempted to create a record of every single word in the English language.  Process took years to sort through submissions, hand written, hand mailed with references from hard back books read by people, not Googled in a search engine.  And after all that, they had to decide what words were worth saving and which weren't. They tugged at the philosophy that some words would be better-off forgotten.  I remember when my son was a third-grader got in trouble for using "douche" in school. It would be impossible to track down the trail of where he learned that word. It's been swirling around since ...