Jaye Wells

Fall has officially arrived in Dallas. After weeks of torrential rain, the skies have cleared and leaves are dancing on crisp autumn breezes. Can you tell this is my favorite season?

This weekend, Mr. Jaye had a big project at work, so Spawn and I were left to our own devices. We had a massive shopping trip at Target in preparation for an upcoming camping trip the boys are taking. Please note I said “the boys.” That’s right, my friends, this coming weekend, I’ll have three days to myself. As of right now the plan involves a spa, a street fair, a girls’ night and lots of writing.

We also bought our pumpkins on Saturday. I like freaky pumpkins. The grey pumpkin, which I’ve dubbed “the zombie”, is mine. Spawn insisted the dog needs his own pumpkin this year, so the small one up front is Oscar’s. The plain orange one is Spawn’s, which will be carved closer to Halloween. The grave is reserved for people who give me bad reviews telemarketers.

On Sunday, Spawn and I headed to a nearby nature preserve for a walk and some playground time. Of course, we also couldn’t resist hitting the creek for an impromptu stone skipping lesson. Now, it should be said, I am not the most coordinated individual. Spawn found this out the hard way when a stone I tossed ended up hitting him in the face. After some manly tears, we regrouped–with Spawn out of firing range–to resume out lesson. Besides the creepy guy who watched us from an overhead bridge, it was a delightful way to pass an afternoon. Here’s a picture of the spot:

Now it’s Monday and after a long weekend and Spawn being sick last week, I’ve got a lot of catching up to do work wise. I’ve been doing research for Green-Eyed Demon. A lot of the book will take place in New Orleans, so I’ve been trying to resist a major urge for a trip back to the Big Easy. Resistance is pretty much futile though, so Mr. Jaye and I are in talks about taking a trip in the next month or two.

In addition to all that, tomorrow night, I’ll be speaking to a class of aspiring writers. What’s fun about it is I took this same class about four years ago when I decided to stop talking about wanting to write fiction and actually do it. I’m friends with my teacher now and she asked me to come back and talk about my path to publication. I joked about having the power to crush dreams, but the truth is I always love encouraging aspiring authors. You’ll never find a more passionate and determined group. There’s something very cool about seeing someone pursue their dreams. It’s the fire in their eyes. Maybe they won’t all get published, but I guarantee they’ll learn something about themselves in the pursuit.