...and I'm not going anywhere.  BUT since the book was published, and my bio specifically mentioned my website, it did seem prudent to get it updated and running.  And I really, really, REALLY want to use my pen name for publishing.  Not Beth Anne (you didn't really think my name was Gracie, did you?)  I chose it for good reasons, I like it, I want to use it.  So you need to 'meet' me.

This is only the barest skeleton, because meeting the November 30 deadline matters more than really fluffing up the pages....but here you go:

http://blog.elizabethvirdon.com/

That will take you to the blog page, and there are others, and more to come. 

Now, back to Cooper and Maggie....

CHECK IT OUT, baby!  What a great day....and may I say, while this time I am listed among a very talented group, one of these days, soon, you're going to see my name alone as the author.

Watch me.  (And please buy our book.  Thank you.)

I'm stepping away from Where I've Been, Part Three (and you'll see that soon enough) because I am so jazzed right now I can hardly stand myself.  Well, that's not completely true, I actually feel so good about so much that maybe the REST of you can't stand me.  That's probably more accurate.

It's just that....you've all seen me declare "Watch me" at certain times.  You've seen my poetry.  You've read my working out all the details of who I am and what I want to do, to be, and know--if you've read me even occasionally--that writing is as essential to me as breathing.  And even though my blog entries have been pretty sparse this year, I've been writing more than ever, hours each day, effortlessly.

I was working on a poem last week (still am, it isn't quite right, but it will be) when suddenly these two characters presented themselves to me, and said 'hello.'  I've learned that their names are Cooper and Margaret (although he calls her Maggie, or Meg, or, when teasing her, NutMeg) and they are very, very much in love.  I know what they look like, where they come from, how they met and how long they have loved each other, and where they want this love to take them.  They've just returned from a vacation together, as a matter of fact.  And they have made it clear to me that I will write their story.

I've had poems knocking against the front of my face, as if someone was tapping at the door.  I've been working on a novel about my first marriage for some time now, knowing it would be slow going because it means returning to some dark, dark places....and yet, I know I will finish it, and that I need to.  There needs to be something out there for others who have survived all that I have, the ones who would never, looking at me, know I had indeed lived in those dark, dark places...and emerged stronger in the light, a woman who is not filled with hate but overflowing with the most tender heart and so, so much love.  I've even had times when I got out of bed at 4 in the morning, to come here, writing an entry that poured out so quickly I could barely type it fast enough.  So I know how powerful my muse can be, and how demanding.

But this book, well...I've never had so many details laid out so clearly in advance.  I've never met my characters before.  I've also never 'known' my characters the way I know these two.  I like them.  I can't wait to see where they take me, what they tell me, for I am only their scribe, and not their creator...yes, it's that strong.  I had coffee with a friend this morning and told her all this, and she smiled--she has such a beautiful smile--she said that the writers she knows have told her that's when something really good happens, the best work.  She told me she believes I can do it, and I told her better even than that, for me, is the knowledge in myself--my self--that I will do this.

So here comes National Novel Writing Month.  And I ask Cooper and Maggie, is this why you're here now? so I can't put you off, can't set you on the shelf and mull you over for a while, but have to just jump in with both feet and get soaking wet all at once?  There's a lot to be said for that; a friend commented on Facebook that she'd thought about it and just didn't have the time.  And I don't, either, not really, but I know with all clarity that I never will have the time, and so I must take it.  I can hardly wait to begin.  I've been preparing to do just that for several days, making notes, rereading certain books, ordering two new ones that I think will be wonderful to have by my side....which is also where Cooper and Maggie are now.

I'm not telling you any more than this....but watch me, and get ready to meet Cooper and Maggie a month from now.  I think you'll like them as much as I do.