New travel website

I'm pleased to announce that a website that I helped create is now up and running!

No, I had nothing to do with the actual web presence of said website, but I did write a lot of the copy. My first web project!

It's called Skipjump, and it's a vacation rental resource. It's pretty cool, in that it borrows concepts from social networking websites (like Facebook) and applies them to the entire world of vacation accommodations, both for travelers, who need a place to stay, and for owners, who have properties to rent. It features free listings for owners, lots of property photos, online booking tools, and traveler reviews. The best overview can be found on the About page.

Writing-wise, it was a really fun project for me. Matt, the developer, was great to work with, and it was exciting to help him take Skipjump from bare-bones to launch over a few months. Special thanks to my cousin Shelly's husband, Steven, who, after designing the Skipjump logo, put me in touch with Matt.

Check it out -- and if you have a vacation property to rent, give it a try. It's free, and Skipjump is running a contest for the first few months. Owners could win a weekend booking!

Mum's the word

Sometimes I feel like I'm not a very good autism mother. This is different from feeling like I'm not a very good mother, which I also sometimes feel, but that's another -- several other -- blog posts.

Autism mothers are different. They schlep their kids here and there for therapy and social groups. They have their state reps on speed dial and march on the State House whenever there's important autism legislation in the works. They become advocates in the best sense of the word -- fighting not only for their children, but for the larger, more noble cause of improving the lot of those with autism, raising money, educating, finding a cure.

Some autism moms do all that and write passionately and eloquently about it, too, like Susan Senator and Judith Ursitti, both of whom I admire very much.

I've done my share of schlepping. I've even emailed my government representatives now and again. But it is beyond my capability and strength -- and truthfully, beyond my interest -- to take on Autism with a capital A.

It's not that I don't care. I want to make the world a better place, too. I even have a bit of a platform, with the writing opportunities I've gotten over the past year or so. But I can't seem to throw all my energies into Autism with a capital A. I just don't have it in me to write consistently about the big picture.

Of course, because autism is part of my life, it does find its way into my writing. I welcome the opportunity to educate and even to inspire, if my words can do that for someone. I guess I'm just struggling with feeling like I ought to do more for the cause, and I'm resistant to that.

Maybe if I mostly write about my family as if it's normal, it will feel more normal to me. Maybe if I don't acknowledge the autism elephant in the room, it won't really be there. Maybe if I crack a joke about it or pass off some of my kids' behaviors as mere idiosyncrasies, others will let it slide and not think that there's anything different about my children, or me.

The truth is that I just get tired of it. When it's a part of my day-to-day existence, it becomes too hard to read every single issue of the Schafer Autism Report. I don't want to take my children to a special community outing for kids on the spectrum. I cannot bring myself or my children to participate in yet another research study.

I just want autism to leave me alone.

Thank goodness there are other autism moms out there who won't leave it alone.

Latest family column

My family column, Just a Minute, ran in today's Patriot Ledger and a few other GateHouse papers. Here's a link to the Carthage Press, a Missouri paper that picks up my columns and features pretty regularly.

Busy at Breugger's

I decided this morning that I was going to take my office on the road, specifically to Breugger's. I figured I'd have breakfast there and get some work done in a place where I couldn't hear the Halloween candy calling to me from the kitchen.

I've gotten a lot done this morning, although I do have a bit of eye strain. It's really bright in here, and my laptop screen only goes so bright, so I keep losing my cursor. I'll need to find a wi-fi-enabled coffee cave somewhere when I do this again.

Anyway -- I brought my to-do list and was able to cross off several items, including brainstorming interview questions for a couple of upcoming assignments, querying a magazine editor (well, really just following up on an introduction by a PR contact) and nudging another PR person who is arranging one of those interviews.

I may seem like I live and die by my to-do list, and I guess I do. I can be very organized but I have to have it in writing; if I rely on my memory to tell me what needs to be done, I'll often draw a blank. I'm very motivated by the prospect of crossing items off the list.

It's been a good morning. Off to pick Timmy up from school. That one wasn't on the list, but I'll do it anyway.

Debt reduction seminar article, column

My religion feature about a church-sponsored debt reduction seminar ran in today's Ledger.

It's Just a Minute weekend, too. Watch for the next installment in two weeks.

Added in the afternoon: I just noticed that Just a Minute is a featured story on the GateHouse News Service website. Cool.

Religion feature

My article on the hopeFound shelter BBQ series ran in today's Patriot Ledger.

And, my dad arrived the other day! It's great to have him and Mom here for Abby's birthday.

Column debut!

Here it is! My very first (hopefully) regular column, Just a Minute, was launched in this weekend's Patriot Ledger. I might be more nervous now that it's actually in print! This link is for the page-view version, which will take you to the front page. The column is on page 101, or you can search for Fay and it will bring you to the right page. If the single-story link comes up later I'll post that, too.

There's an editor's note at the end of the column, soliciting feedback to features@ledger.com. If you liked the column, please feel free to let the editors know, even if you don't get the Ledger in print. And of course, I'd like to hear from you, too.

If you didn't like the column, please feel free to keep that to yourself. :)

Marathon article and more

I interviewed four runners for a piece on the upcoming Boston Marathon for the Milton Times. All those years of reading Runners' World paid off! Here's the story with two photos.

I had to laugh when I saw the Times yesterday. At right is the front page photo, featuring Brian! He's pictured with some of his preschool classmates and their wonderful teacher, Mary Beth Callahan, who is being honored with a professional recognition award for her excellent work in early childhood education. Brian is in the green striped shirt in the front...not looking at the camera, of course.

I had another story in the Times about a recent teen drinking forum, which I can't find on the website. And Earl was quoted in an article about a recent school committee meeting. Too bad Abby and Timmy weren't in the paper somehow!

I did it!

I've wanted to start submitting to magazines for some time now, but haven't done anything about it, until yesterday. (Not including the submission to that one magazine that turned sour.)

I had picked up a copy of Good Housekeeping and actually had time to read it, and found that I enjoyed it. (Part of me fears what this might say about me, but I am the target demographic, after all -- a married "new traditionalist" with children.) So I broke open my Writer's Market and saw that GH takes queries, of course, but also submissions for the "Blessings" column on the back page. And on Saturday, I thought of a piece I had written last year -- unpublished -- that could be a good fit for that column.

So I printed my piece, wrote a cover letter and sent it off to New York with a prayer and a self-addressed, stamped envelope. I included the former, that it might be published, and the latter, that I will know if it won't be.

Womyn Zone article

Here's my profile of local radio talk show host Jeanne White, which ran in the Womyn Zone section of today's Patriot Ledger.

Money, money, money

Money isn't everything, but it ranks right up there with oxygen.
-- Rita Davenport, motivational speaker and Arbonne International president

Money has been on my mind lately. Being married to a financial adviser, I have someone else to take care of the day-to-day fiscal operations of our family, and I like it that way, for the most part. But every so often, something that takes a lot of money bombs its way into my consciousness and I'm consumed by the particular financial conundrum it presents.

The latest is my discovery of a program I think would be very beneficial for Abby, my 6-year-old who has a mild form of autism. I'd love to have her take part, and am in the process of completing applications for participation and financial aid. But even if we were awarded some scholarship money for her to go, chances are we'd still need to come up with a few thousand dollars on our own.

I've been brainstorming ideas for coming up with some cash. Here's what I've thought of so far:

1. Writing until my fingers bleed. This was my initial plan, until I figured out that no amount of newspaper articles would create the kind of income I need to generate in the time frame. So that made me think (again) of...
2. Magazines. A couple of weeks ago I wrote in this space that I would be writing a query letter, and then got sidetracked. But after a big nudge from a colleague today, I'm proud to say I did send off an article proposal to one magazine and am in the process of fine-tuning a query to another. Magazines pay more than newspapers, but I'm a pretty new freelancer, and it's a competitive world out there. Still, it doesn't hurt to try.
3. Cake sales and yard sales. These ideas are courtesy of Diana, my hairdresser. I don't think I could rely on them to pay for the program entirely, but they might rake in a couple hundred bucks. Particularly if I baked for a week and then hauled all the possessions we no longer need out into the yard and ALSO had the goodies set up for purchase. But this sounds like an awful lot of work for the potential return.
4. A benefit concert (benefiting me, of course, so I can pay for this program for Abby.) It's been seven years since I've given a voice recital, and I know so many more people now that I might be able to pull in a decent crowd and make some money, even after expenses. Of course, the kind of program I'd like to do wouldn't necessarily be a crowd-pleaser (an evening with Richard Strauss, anyone?) but if I did some of my favorite repertoire and some lighter stuff, like musical theater, it could work. Maybe. Can I realistically set aside the time to prepare for this, musically? If I'm also trying to pitch magazines and keep up with my other writing assignments?
5. Putting ads on my blog. I need to check out other blogs to see how it looks, but this might be a painless way to generate a little money, too. Very little, I'm sure, but every dollar helps, right?

If anyone out there has any brainwaves on this subject, drop me a line. I'm open to suggestions.

Milton Times article

My profile of Gillian Najarian ran in yesterday's Milton Times. Gillian does some fascinating work regarding the science of child development, which I found interesting as an educator and as a parent. She's very articulate, and a lovely person, besides. I enjoyed talking with her.

Home again and column

Abby and I are back home. I'll write more about my trip another time, but the Cliffs Notes version is that it was fun, relaxing, and restorative, for both of us. And I was so happy to see Brian and Timmy when we got back that I got all teary in the car.

I had the Broad Sides column in the Womyn Zone section of today's Patriot Ledger. Much to my surprise -- I opened the paper and there it was.

Off to do my other job -- I have a piano lesson to teach in 10 minutes. But my brain is still in Texas, if not my heart.

Deep in the heart of Texas

I'm here in sunny Houston, where it was the same temperature yesterday as in Boston. So much for a warm winter getaway! But it's a toasty feeling, basking in Kathleen and Freddy's hospitality in their spacious, gracious home.

Abby did wonderfully well on the trip. She listened to a couple of CDs, read books, and played ponies and Polly Pocket on the plane. She handled the airport, the people, the delay and everything else with aplomb. When the lovely gentleman who sat in our row commented on how well she did, it was all I could do to hold back from telling him, "and she has autism, too!" But I realized that he didn't know, couldn't tell, never would have guessed, and I didn't have to clue him in. A delicious feeling, to have a secret like that, and the luxury of keeping it.

Kathleen, Freddy and I went out to dinner last night, and left the kids with one of their regular babysitters, and again, Abby did great. I'm really proud of her.

I'm writing a piece with a deadline of Monday, and wasn't looking forward to working on it here. But I decided to get up early to write, as is my habit at home, and discovered I love it just as much on vacation as I do in real life. Mornings with coffee and words -- it doesn't get any better than that. Except when someone else makes the chocolate chip pancakes, for a change, and I get to eat them while they're still hot!

She blinded me with science

I'm working on an article that, while disguised as a personal profile, really is all about science and child development. And it's fascinating. But I'm not writing for a scientific audience, and am trying to cram all of this good information about the person and the work she does into 800 words by tomorrow night. And it's not flowing. At. All.

The actual deadline is Friday at noon, but...drum roll please...I'm flying out to Houston to see Kathleen that morning! Abby and I are going (I'm sure Kathleen will be working on the arranged marriage between Abby and Patrick all weekend) and I am excited but as yet unprepared, because of this article AND another one I need to get done before I go.

Darned snow day on Monday. Having Abby and Brian home all day really threw me off.

Back to the salt mines. I'll get it done. I may be up at 4:30 tomorrow, but I'll get it done.

LIFT article

My feature on LIFT ministries ran in the family section of today's Patriot Ledger. I really enjoyed working on this story, but wished I had remembered to bring my earplugs to the service. It was rock-the-rafters loud, and I'm the type who wears earplugs at the movies.

Decibel level aside, it was an interesting evening, wonderful in many ways, and I can see how it would really inspire people seeking a more modern approach to worship.

To borrow a slogan from another Christian denomination -- God is still speaking, and He speaks in different ways to different people. Just don't expect Him to use His indoor voice at LIFT.

Call in the reinforcements

"I wrote for twelve years and collected 250 rejection slips before getting any fiction published, so I guess outside reinforcement isn't all that important to me."
--Lisa Alther, author

Unlike Lisa, I'm all about reinforcement, both as the reinforcer and the reinforcee. Of course, there's the ABA approach to managing my kids' behaviors -- m&m, anyone? There's my piano teaching, too: the Suzuki method relies heavily on reinforcing small successes, very similar to ABA. And we all work for the reinforcement of a paycheck.

But a beginning freelancer doesn't get a big paycheck from anyone, so the reinforcers have to come in other ways. Certainly, a byline is better than an m&m, any day. And recognition from friends and colleagues feels wonderful, not to mention the occasional email response from a random reader, or a nibble from a new editor.

While the phone call from the magazine editor last week was wonderfully reinforcing, I've also been obsessing a little about it. I haven't heard anything more from her, despite my having sent her several story ideas and another complete submission within 24 hours after the call. I'm feeling slightly sad about it, even though I'm also telling myself that there's still hope; editors are very busy and I can follow up (gently) in a couple of days. But that hole I shot in my foot isn't getting any smaller.

So along with the obsessing comes the analyzing, and I've been wondering why I'm so panicked about this. Yes, it's a prestigious magazine, and yes, it has a huge readership. It pays very well and I will jump at the chance to be published there, if and when another chance comes. But the sun does not rise and set on this one publication. There are other books on the rack.

So I broke open my Writer's Market book yesterday, for the first time in months. Last August I had marked a few magazines I had in mind, but hadn't done anything about them because I didn't have very many clips. But now, I have quite a few published articles, and I'm thinking about putting out some feelers. And it might be a good time to do it, since I'm not drowning in assignments at the moment.

So today I will query a magazine or two, and hope that some reinforcement comes out of it eventually. And in the meantime, I'll be proud of myself for doing it. Maybe I'll even have an m&m.