Daily Writing Tips is sponsoring another short story competition for all genres at a 1000 words or less. Round one of the voting began yesterday and my story was among them. If you have a moment could you take a look and vote for me if you like the story? I don’t want any mindless voting, and yes, I know that this is how people win contests on the web, but I would prefer you voted only if you thought my story was good.

Generally, I don’t do well in contests, but I thought I would give this a try. I have been so swamped between the memoir, book reviewing and 50 something Moms that I haven’t been working on any short fiction for submissions. I plan to do that next month while I take a breather from the memoir (which is 80,000-ish words and I have just two months left of the time period I am chronicling – so maybe another 4 chapters to go).

Also, I have two pieces up this week at 50 something Moms, and if you don’t have the site on a reader yet, you can find them here and here. They are light-hearted and not at all creepy and I even mention that I have kids. All firsts for me apparently.*

My review of Breathing the Ghost Out will be up on Friday, and I am hard at work on The Vigorous Mind for a review at the end of the month. I also got my copy of Matrimony and couldn’t resist reading a few chapters, but I am not sure what I think about it yet. It’s woman fiction written by a guy, so I guess that makes it man fiction. 

I also got Midori by Moonlight, which is the giveaway this week, and had to read some right away. I flew through the first four chapters and find it quite engaging. There is a distinct feminist undertow but it’s not preachy. The main character, Midori, is left stranded on a fiancée visa after her American husband-to-be brings her to San Francisco and promptly dumps her for an old girlfriend. Midori is 29 and an old maid by Japanese standards but isn’t at all interested in her culture’s view of women, marriage and the way things should be if a person wants to “fit in”. Fascinating look into Japanese culture too. So, you still have until Friday to get in on the giveaway.

Went to my first spin class in quite a while today. I tried spin when I joined my first health center back in Iowa in 2003. I dislike spin because you don’t move. There is all this effort and absolutely nothing by way of going anywhere, so different from running. Even on a treadmill, I feel like I am moving.

But I didn’t fall off the bike, faint or throw up. All good things. On the down side women in their sixties were kicking my ass without mercy. I can only improve, right?

New yoga instructor at the new studio in town this morning. She studied with my old instructor whose Monday class I am still taking. I am finally past the inertia feeling of yoga. At first it seems as though it is all new age mumbling and nothing at all is going on in your body. Not true. My massage therapist is quite impressed with the progress yoga has made in me. My shoulders and neck are finally free despite still being prone to tension knotting, and I am able to really let time pass during the more still exercises now.

So, this is the weekly update a bit early. Tomorrow’s song lyric is the last. I am thinking I need to experiment with vidcasting and perhaps Thursday is a nice day. Opinions?

Let’s jump the hump and get on with the week, shall we?

*I was rolling my eyes as I typed that just so you know.