It’s Wonderful Wondering Wednesday and I’m awaiting your questions. I do reserve the right not to answer it, but would love to hear what you’re thinking.
You can ask me here or via email at sonjadanielson.com.
Are you wondering about The Fairies of Carlow series, or Guinness the Therapy Dog, Lucy the Wonder Dog, The Voyage, or something else?
I tend to say everything in my posts, but if I missed something that left you wondering, I will address it.
Tell me what you want to know! Sonja
Since Guinness the Therapy Dog was adopted into our family close to his second birthday, we didn’t know him as a puppy. So, this transformation shows him throughout the past two years with us.
The only changes he’s gone through growth-wise while with us is that his neck and head have widened (which is normal for the breed). That meant a new collar.
He wasn’t a good leash walker and would lunge and pull with all of his 95 pounds. After a few weeks of training, he was able to walk nicely and made our neighborhood walks very fun. Before, it was a trial (and a workout!).
I probably wrote about this during a post about how Guinness became a therapy dog. I’m so proud of him!
I’m so thankful that he is in our family. Sonja
I found an online site that offers ~1,500 free classes and wanted to share it with you. (This isn’t a sponsored post; merely information). Open Culture offers classes that are taught by universities around the world. I attached the link to the above site name. It should open in a new window so you can explore the list of classes.
The opportunities presented by this service are astounding. Are you interested in history, sociology, math, etc? You can watch classes or listen to them as MP3 files whenever you want. The site offers free classes if you audit or choose ‘no certificate.’
Or you can choose to pay for the classes and get credit or a certificate.
There aren’t enough hours in the day!
I hope you find something you like. If you have a good site for free online education, please leave the info in a comment, or send it to me at sonjadanielson@gmail.com.
Enjoy the time that you have to become a lifelong learner! Sonja
So, when you look at Lucy’s expression do you see the impending eye roll?
What was happening was this:
She was in a highly anxious mood and wouldn’t come out from under the table. I didn’t want a picture of her with her ears laid flat against her head (her typical ‘I’m anxious’ look), so I was squeaking a high-pitched tone to get her ears to perk up.
It worked but, clearly, she thinks I’m insane.
Well, her ears are perked but the expression doesn’t make for a great picture.
Oh, well! Sonja
@real_guinness_the_therapy_dog is his Instagram handle. He would love to count you amongst his followers! Guinness the Therapy Dog posts every day and gives a little peek into his antics when he’s not ‘on the job’ and bringing happiness to others.
Guinness the Therapy Dog has a wonderful follower from Japan who paints pictures of him. She uses one of his posted pictures as a model and always adds a pretty flower. This week she painted a picture of Guinness balancing a treat on his nose!
I think it would be fun to showcase art featuring Guinness the Therapy Dog at the back of my future books. If you want to be included, paint or draw a picture of Guinness the Therapy Dog, send it to me at sonjadanielson@gmail.com within the message (not as an attachment, please) and include information that you would like included (first name, age, where you’re from-nothing too specific, please.) Also, write that you give permission for the artwork to be published in perpetuity so there are no questions about if it’s able to be in a book, or how often/when it appears.
I hope you enjoy reading about Guinness the Therapy Dog! Sonja
Here’s another look at the journals I keep for each story. The photos show the journals for the Fairies of Carlow series.
I keep one journal for each book, with the pages divided into several sections: main characters, settings, events, chapter summaries.
They help keep continuity while I’m writing the book, and any books that may share characters or settings. (I’m a big fan of series’!).
By using a journal I can make sure the eye and hair colors of each character are consistent as I write. Sometimes, these things get lost inside my head and I can’t remember if I made someone a blonde, redhead, or a brunette. Also, I include height, preferences, things they hate/love, etc. Some characters get a full page, others get a half-page. It depends on how much I need to know about them.
For the Fairies of Carlow books, I found journals with covers that match each fairy’s signature color. (Confused? Now’s a good time to buy the books and find out what I’m talking about!)
I happen to love journals and tend to buy way too many of them. I have a stack of blank journals and a ton of pens that I need to find a use for. Did I mention my love of pens?
I have found that I don’t like gel pens… and try to find anything but those these days! I don’t know, the ink smears, it bleeds when you drip tea on it… But I love ballpoint pens and feel so posh when I use a fountain pen. I was given a Mont Blanc decades ago and feel so special when I use it. (But talk about wet ink and bleeding under drips of tea!)
Anyway, consistency is the key to good writing. Floor plans need to make sense. The barn needs to stay in the same place. And the sun needs to set in the same direction every evening.
Write on! Sonja