I am so excited!

My mother was going to visit my abuela (grandmother) in Spain so I sent her with a video recorder and a few pages of questions. The questions were about her life just before, during, and after the Spanish Civil War. I also included questions about my abuelo (grandfather) and their storybook romance.

I was worried that my mother would not take the time to make the recording for me. Luckily my brother went on the trip as well and set up the camera and made her comply with my request.

My mother is now back and the video tells an amazing story. I am planning on visiting my abuela in September during Fiestas. I can hardly wait! I have so many more questions to ask and stories to hear. Did I mention she still has all of the love letters my abuelo wrote to her? My mother said she read a few and they are beautiful and poetic. I plan on scanning them for possible use in my book. I am sooooo excited about this "project". I may never sell a single copy but I will have
recorded a wonderful piece of family history.

I think i have changed the name of my book from Love In La Mancha to Life and Love In la Mancha.

What genre exactly would my book fall under? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Progress is relative...

I have cleared off and organized the disaster of my desk and surrounding area. That is progress!

I have researched writing tips on websites, have purchased more books on writing, and have purchased books similar in genre to my book in progress. I also purchased a DVD about the Spanish Civil War.

Writing Nonfiction - Turning Thoughts Into Books

Dearest Ones - A True WW II Love Story

Napoleon and Josephine - A Love Story

Historic Spanish Civil War Films -DVD

Web sites I visited for useful information. Some sell products, but at this point I am just gathering information:

Suite101.c0m writing and publishing articles - very helpful information

Writer's Digest.com

Book Coach Press.com

eHow

Ezine @rticles

Free e-book How To Write An Autobiography

Great Life Stories - How to Write a Great Biography 50 Questions Guaranteed to Help You Uncover Amazing Life Stories

Now I will be reading, reading, highlighting, taking notes, and did I mention reading?

Paint

"If you hear a voice within you say, 'You are not a painter,' then by all means paint…and that voice will be silenced."

— Vincent Van Gogh

I knew it would be hard to write...a book that is.

Wow! So I have been researching how to write a book and it is not an easy task. At least if you have any plans to have it published and sold it requires work. I have bought several books just to learn the process (and believe me it is a process):

The Authors Toolkit - A step-by-Step Guide to Writing and Publishing Your Book (Great resource)

How to Sell, Then Write Your Nonfiction Book (this is my plan, you do have to actually do some writing)

Telling True Stories - A Nonfiction Writer's Guide (advice from prominent journalists and nonfiction writers)

Nonfiction Book Proposals Anybody Can Write -How to Get a Contract and Advance Before Writing Your Book (like it is sooooo easy....we'll see about that)

I have also searched many Internet articles on the subject. Sit back and watch me learn.

So many ideas.........so little time

This is something we all say. I have so many projects in mind aside from my blogging, reading, gardening, mothering, daughtering, and wife-ing.

Here is my short list:

*Serger reconstructing/destructing clothes (I got a serger for Xmas...Yahoo!)

*Make kaleidoscopes (I LOVE kaleidoscopes) I have some materials and great ideas

*Scan all of my old photographs and parents old photographs (this is long tedious project)
maybe I can enlist help from the kids......I can only hope.

*Learn to make stained glass projects (this can be used in kaleidoscope making, I got a whole
super duper kit with grinder, tools, glass, etc for my birthday)

*Write a memoir/biography of my grandmother's awesome love story.

*Paint my dining room...not the funnest project ever.

*Learning to take better photographs.

Today I planted, blogged, and researched articles on how to write a memoir/biography.

Cooper is a Boy Scout

Make a Smilebox slideshow

My "little girl" rocks the court

Make a Smilebox scrapbook