Killing Two Writing Assignments with One Pen…and a Few Pictures

So much writing to do… so little time. As most of you may know, each week I write a Sunday column for the local newspaper, The Rocky Mount Telegram.

I’m also working on the rough draft of another cozy mystery, tentatively titled Love and Death in Narrow Creek. I used to post on my author Facebook page, where I commented on what I’d been reading—sadly, this has fallen off my writing radar.

And then there’s this blog that you’re now reading, that I don’t want to neglect as I have my author FB postings. But as you can see, I’m pulled in a lot of writing directions.

This past weekend, though, I had a brainstorm. The kind where the lightbulb comes on. Why not tie the blog into my weekly column? Often I wish I could submit pictures with my columns, and guess what—a blog is made for just that thing.

So here’s how it’ll work. I’ll give an abbreviated version of the approximately 525-word column that’s in the newspaper, along with a picture or two. Or I may talk about what inspired me to write a particular column, again using visuals. Or I may give an update on a column I wrote a few weeks before, with pics.

Then, dear reader, if you’re interested in seeing the newspaper column, I’ll provide the link right here in the blog. You won’t even have to click on the tab I have on my homepage that says, Patsy’s Columns! How exciting is that? So let’s get started.

Do you have a problem with email clutter? I do. I find it hard to delete most email, especially if it’s a message with a time or place or some other nugget of information I may need in the future. I’ve never been slick enough to figure out how to store email I think I might need and brave enough to delete the others. Before I know it, I’m swamped.

As you can see, as of this minute I have 4,649 messages. That’s not counting the thousands of promotions and social emails, held under separate tabs. Shameful, I know. What can I say, I’m an email hoarder. If you share my problem or want to feel superior to a tech dummy like me, click here to read more: