Thursday, April 28, 2016

A Day Early Or A Week Late?











I know it's not Friday, but I'm celebrating two interviews and a road trip, along with the fact that I've finished 15 chapters of my rewrite. I've passed the halfway mark, yippee!

Last week I was interviewed by blog hosts, Geri Schear and Don Smith, about writing in general and my interest in Sherlock Holmes in particular. It was fun to answer their questions, and I also became interested in following their blogs, because they interview a lot of authors and explore all things Sherlock.

You can read Geri Schear's Interview HERE: and Don Smith's interview HERE:

The road trip was to Asturias, a part of Spain known for its cheeses. Lovely scenery and charming little villages all along the way. (As you can see by the pictures above.)


This Celebrate the Small Things blog hop is co-hosted by Lexa Cain at: Lexa Cain,  L.G. Keltner @ Writing Off The Edge , and Tonja Drecker @ Tidbits Blog. You can go to any of these sites to add your name to the links, if you want to participate. I recommend it, because it's always fun to see positive news that others are celebrating, and to share your own as well. 



How about you? Are you a Sherlock fan? Do you like to travel? What is your favorite country (away from home)? And, now that I think about it, do you do interviews?

26 comments:

Dixie@dcrelief said...

Have fun on your road trip!

Karen Baldwin said...

Thanks for your comment on my blog. I know...11 novels in a year! It obviously was a rigorous schedule. And phew...a rewrite! Is it a positive or negative experience? I'm rewriting one of my manuscripts and somedays it's fun, other's...work!

Karen Baldwin said...

...and a roadtrip. Can't say I ever heard of Asturias. Did you eat lots of different cheeses? It looks like a peaceful place to live.

Elizabeth Varadan, Author said...

Thanks, Dixie. I'm still re-living it, so to speak.

Elizabeth Varadan, Author said...

Hi, "Em" - for the most part I'm enjoying the rewrite, mostly because I've thought about my critique group's comments for a long time before doing anything, and now i have a pretty good road map in my head for how to address certain concerns. The first time through (for me) there's not road-map, and even in later revisions, I'm still feeling my way. But now, it's really a matter of tweaks, nips, tucks, small details, etc.

Elizabeth Varadan, Author said...

I wasn't aware of Asturias, either, before traveling to Spain. What's nice for us is that we have several friends here in Northern Spain who travel around on road trips of their own and then tell us about them. Yes, we did sample every cheese one night at a little cafe/restaurant that presented a cheeseboard with 16 different local cheeses. (That probably took care of our cheese quota for the rest of the year!)

Sandra Cox said...

How lovely. You take awesome trips.
Have a great weekend, Elizabeth.

Suzanne Furness said...

I love travelling and seeing new places. Hopefully a trip to Spain this summer for me too. Have a great weekend.

Rachna Chhabria said...

I have always wanted to go on a roadtrip. I don't think I have heard of Asturias. The pictures are amazing.

Elizabeth Varadan, Author said...

Thanks, Sandra. We can thank our Galician friends for these trips. They are from England, but they live here year round, and they discover these places and then tell us about them when we come, often taking us on a trip like this one. You have a good week-end, too!

Elizabeth Varadan, Author said...

That's great, Suzanne. Where in Spain are you going? Every place is so different and so beautiful, I'll look forward to seeing your pictures.

Elizabeth Varadan, Author said...

Hi, Rachna. Well there are some amazing places in India, as well. I have enjoyed the temples my relatives have taken me to and seeing the contrast in parts of the country. India is full of awesome memories for me.

Tonja Drecker said...

Yay! To getting through so many rewrites. The pictures are gorgeous.

Elizabeth Varadan, Author said...

Glad you like the pictures, T. As for the re-write, I'm starting to see light at the end of the tunnel, to use an old cliche. I'm hoping to finish next week.

Anonymous said...

I'm a fan of mysteries, including Sherlock Holmes. I enjoyed reading your interviews. I particularly liked where you said the fifth graders liked the historical mysteries better because the sleuths didn't use technology. That surprised me, but I was glad to read that not all youth obsess over technology. I do like to travel. My favorite country outside my own is Scotland. And yes, I've done a few interviews. The challenge is in making them all a little different when your asked the same questions. Lovely photos, by the way. Have a great week!

Elizabeth Varadan, Author said...

Hi, Lori, thanks for stopping by! Yes, I was surprised, too, that the kids preferred historical mysteries. But, when I thought about it, it made sense. When everything is solved by technology, the mystery goes out of the story, and it's not as interesting. As for interviews, you are so right: They are fun to do, but some of the questions are the same, and it's a challenge to find new ways to answer them.

Donna K. Weaver said...

Such lovely pictures! I get so busy sometimes that I forget to get out more. Congrats on both the interviews and getting through rewriting over half your book. Woohoo!

Elizabeth Varadan, Author said...

Thanks, Donna. The countryside around here is really so restorative and so welcome after hours hunched over the computer! The finish line is in sight. :-)

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

Beautiful pictures. I'd love to go there one day.
And yay for the halfway point!

Elizabeth Varadan, Author said...

Hi, Lynda, glad you liked they pictures. And thanks for the support. I hope to finish it this week.

Sandra Cox said...

Hi Elizabeth, Sounds like you're as busy as always.
Have a great one.

Elizabeth Varadan, Author said...

Hi, Sandra, thanks for stopping by. Yes, busy is the word around here right now. I love everything I'm doing, but I'll be ready to do some pure relaxing once the rewrite is finished. Have a great day.

Gail M Baugniet - Author said...

My home state of Wisconsin is cheese country, and I've traveled to Spain. But I never thought of Spain and cheese in the same sentence. Paris, France is my little obsession although I've only been there once.
Congratulations on completing the rewrite of your first 15 chapters, Elizabeth. I am on the final edits of my WIP so I know how time-consuming the work is. Best of Success to you.
Thank you for mentioning Lexi Cain's blog hop. It sounds interesting and I will check it out.

Elizabeth Varadan, Author said...

Wisconsin Cheddar is so famous! Yes, I never would have though of Spain as being cheese country. The part we go to, Galicia, though, has very good cheese, and we've discovered Manchebo cheese, which is our favorite. Good luck with your own WIP. I love rewrites, but they do get rather intense toward the end. I'm in what I would call the "home stretch" now. And then I'm looking for readers for one more "beta-read-through", preferably those who haven't seen it before and would have fresh eyes. I'm sure you know how that goes: after awhile, the story is almost as familiar to your group as it is to you.

Natalie Aguirre said...

Awesome how many chapters you got revised. That's a huge accomplishment.

Elizabeth Varadan, Author said...

Thanks, Natalie, I have a few more, but I'm really almost finished -- with this draft, anyway. But it's a pretty good draft. I'll be looking next for new eyes to read it, and then, with one more rewrite, I think it will be ready to send out.