I WAS A GUEST BLOGGER ON MORGEN BAILEY'S WRITING BLOG JUNE 18

Today I am the Guest Blogger on Morgen Bailey's Writing Blog in the UK. The topic is "Location, Location, Location."
    When writing, locations are important whether the book or story is light and funny or technically detailed. Get it wrong and you have a problem.
    There is an interesting irony in this. When I wrote "Confessions of a Cougar" the locations were all from my memories of several trips to England including ones after the experiences in the book. To be sure I double checked everything that I referred to by searching the internet.
 The book got a sort of snarky one-star review on Amazon, while the others were 5 star. One of the things the reviewer said was, " I'm wondering if the writer did any actual research on England, because it sure sounds like she didn't ever visit."
   This really gave me a chuckle and made me think that perhaps that reviewer had never been there or was British and didn't like my descriptions for some reason. I've made about 8 trips to England and visited many parts of the country plus double checking everything in my memory to make sure I hadn't garbled details. Oh well, like the saying goes, "You can't please all of the people all of the time," but I sure gave it the old college try. That's what I mean. 
   Even if they're wrong, some people must find things to complain about, so read the article and be very diligent in getting location descriptions and ambiance right.

   VISIT THE BLOG AND READ THE ARTICLE http://morgenbailey.wordpress.com/2013/06/18/guest-post-location-location-location-by-morgan-st-james/    
   FIND 39 Chapters about Writers Tricks of the Trade in my book, Writers Tricks of the Trade: 39 Things You Need to Know About the ABCs of Writing Fiction

I AVOIDED CARMAGEDDON BY STAYING IN LAS VEGAS

Well, the worst has just about passed, and early Monday morning the Carmageddon panic will have subsided. Just to be safe, I scheduled my time in Las Vegas to avoid it, but how would it have affected me if I stayed?

Since I didn't have commitments in the Valley for work or entertainment, at the worst I would have been confined to my side of the hill. Not so bad. Marina Del Rey isn't such an awful place to be with its beaches, cafes, entertainment venues and more. It might have been rough to venture downtown, but then I really didn't have a compelling reason to go there. Many events were rescheduled in view of the impending closure which lightened the traffic load for those who had to traverse the Santa Susana mountains.

Okay, call me chicken for fleeing town, but actually being in Las Vegas was a bonus. I was able to drop by the Public Safety Writers Association conference yesterday and join them for lunch.

It was fun seeing many of the people I met last year, and even though I couldn't stay because of other commitments, I was glad I went. In the process, I donated a copy of my new upcoming book, Writers' Tricks of the Trade: 39 Things You Need to Know About the ABCs of Writing Fiction as one of their drawing prizes. I'll mail an autographed copy to the winner when it is released.

Back to Carmageddon. As with similar concerns when the Olympics were held in L.A., the traffic many thought would be a nightmare was much lighter than normal. According to the news---yes, it made the Las Vegas news--- as Los Angeles entered the second day in the shutdown of the 10-mile (16-kilometer) stretch of Interstate 405 — one of the country's busiest highways, work was so far ahead of schedule this morning that officials were planning to reopen the freeway later in the day.

They were elated that the public appeared to get the message to avoid "Carmageddon" by staying off the roads, though some were concerned the lack of gridlock would make drivers complacent and spur them to return to the road before Monday's scheduled reopening.

Isn't it amazing what efficiency is possible with some cooperation and a threat of a $72,000 penalty for every hour the repair work lagged behind schedule?

Special note to Congress - Hey guys---This is what working together means! Quit jockeying for political position and work out the current debt ceiling crisis instead. This isn't about how it will play in 2012 or which party will prevail. It is about addressing the impending Government shutdown as the intelligent lawmakers we hoped we elected.