Pictured with GR musician Ray Townsend and Emma Chavent of France at The Masquerade New Year’s Eve Ball at the Water Tower Grill and Smokehouse.
Ray was really awesome; he played both the guitar and saxophone. He also showed us how to do the Moonwalk.
The food was exquisite so was the company. People were dressed up, and dancing.
It was my best New Year’s Eve ever.
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Mark your calendars for Dec, 16 for the tasting of our @Moravian Sons Distillery spirits from 3 pm to 7 pm at The Book Nook & Java Shop in Montague.
Come and enjoy the holiday atmosphere with authors Ingar Rudholm, Emma Palova, H. William Ruback and Maries Lapres.
These authors will talk about various aspects of writing, such as the pros and cons of self publishing, writing historical fiction, memoir and graphic novels.
The distillers will explain the distilling process from fruit ferments into fruit spirits 100 % made in Michigan.
https://nanowrimo.org/winners-circle
Not a big writing day today, mainly because I had to catch up on social media posts with all the upcoming holiday events. I made the NaNoWriMo winners’ circle for the second year since it started in 2022. Check out the winners above.
Don’t miss out on these holiday podcasts on your favorite podcasting app or on https://emmapalova123.podbean.com
Dec. 8 Author Cassie Veselovsky
Dec. 13 or 14 Books & Spirits special at The Book Nook & Java Shop in Montague
Dec. 22 Author Kenneth Harmon
I will make this Czech eggnog for the upcoming holiday tastings of Moravian Sons Distillery with our apple spirit. Don’t miss out on this unique opportunity to experience Czech culture at its best. Our next tastings are on Dec. 7 at @Bricks at Campau Corner from 4 to 6 p.m., Dec. 8 at @HomeRun Liquor Beer & Wine, and Dec. 16 at The Book Nook & Java Shop in Montague from 3 to 7 p.m. Books & Spirits. Happy Holidays.
#moraviansonsdistillery#authoremmapalova
We will have real Czech eggnog made with our @Moravian Sons Distillery apple spirit. Don’t miss out on this unique opportunity to experience Czech culture at its best.
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Feature photo courtesy of @Tres Bohemmes.
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Ok, I am back at it pounding the keys on a wintery afternoon embarking on an adventure to finish the first draft of the new novel. I logged in 1,246 words. We got a mixture of rain and snow for a soggy day and a muddy gravel road with potholes. I ended up jumping on the treadmill instead of going on the trail.
I reaped the winner goodies this morning and entered the Winner’s Circle with other writers and authors. Sometimes, I feel like a kid back in school or a college student. I have to get all these rewards to continue on.
My badges and more, once I locate it all. The first one on the left is the winning badge for writing 50,000 words on or before Nov. 30, the second one is for writing daily, and the third one is for participating in this year’s challenge.
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On the last day of the 50k-word challenge, I logged 1,302 words for a grand total of 53,796 words, two days after I reached the finish line.
The last day of the challenge came full circle as I went out on the trail on a sunny November day. It was 46 F and mild, and a runner was ahead of me. We passed the frozen lake without ducks on the left and crossed the small bridge. I felt good.
My author friends and I went into the challenge after I posted a special episode of For the Love of Books Podcast on Oct. 31. It carried me through and through. I kept repeating the words, “Keep pushing through.” If you hit the wall, skip to the next chapter. It was priceless advice. Thank you, my friends. Out of seven authors tackling the challenge, two of us finished, which is pretty good, because the average rate of finishing the challenge is 10 to 15 percent. YAY!
To listen to it go to https://emmapalova123.podbean.com
I am looking forward to the festive holiday episodes with authors Cassie Veselovsky, Barbara Kompik, and Kenneth Harmon. Currently, I am scheduling January. All recordings are on Zoom on Thursdays at 5 p.m. To sign up go to:
Copyright (c) 2023. Emma Blogs, LLC. All rights reserved.
Still writing past the 50k-word finish line to complete the first draft of my new novel. I logged in 2,022 words today for a total of 52,499 words. Tomorrow Nov. 30 is the last day of the challenge. So keep on writing until midnight.
I drove to the Cannonsburg post office and then to the ski area. The Cedar Lounge is now open for a beautiful view. We have to check that out.
Also made reservations for the Masquerade Ball on New Year’s Eve at Candlestone. Will keep you posted on this one.
Starting out writing with Miserere Mei, Deus as the supporting character realizes his dire situation. More to come.
On a freezing November day, I logged in 2,027 words in the 50k-word challenge for a total of 48, 472 words, after filing a story about comedian Heywood Banks aka Toastmaster General for The Lowell Ledger.
I love Banks’s “About” page on his website. Not only was Banks born on April Fool’s Day in 1950, but he didn’t apply himself (whatever that means), he sang on the street, and never had a “B” plan.
Then he came out with his famous “Toast”. The story of the song goes back to 1986 when he was browsing at a Salvation Army store for props for his act. He bought an old toaster, thinking he would make toast during his act. Later his wife said she was looking forward to having toast the next morning, and Banks started improvising about toast while playing a bongo.
General Strike, Nov. 27, 1989
On this day, 34 years ago, I marched along with one million people on Wenceslas Square in protest of the socialist regime in former Czechoslovakia. The Velvet Revolution led by students and artists culminated with the General Strike that toppled socialism in the old country, and gave way to the formation Czech Republic and Slovakia in 1993.
I feel privileged that I had written about it in “Greenwich Meridian Memoir” where East meets West. The book is available on my website at
https://wordpress.com/pages/emmapalova.com
Books make great Christmas gifts. Please check out my book page with the PayPal button.
Copyright (c) 2023. Emma Blogs, LLC. All rights reserved.
As I logged in 2,146 in the 50k-word challenge for a total of 46, 445 in two writing sessions, I lived a normal Sunday going to mass at St. Pat’s and even cooking festive dinner.
I paid attention to the sermon given by Vicar David about the good sheep and the bad goats. Doing bad stuff is just as despicable as doing nothing at all. I regret how many times I have been just an observer rather than acting, except for the Velvet Revolution in 1989, when I walked into the streets to manifest against the socialist regime.
I’ve been touched by the church’s prison ministry and the need for women’s underwear in the county jail. This time, I took action, I bought underwear, reading glasses, and socks, and put a book in the prison package. I have to get out some travel-size toiletries from the hotels, that I had forgotten to take.
We also stilled the plum ferment, but the yield is half of last year’s, which is not good. It must be due to the low content of sugar, which is a result of not enough sun when the fruit ripens.
For more info go to:
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The writing went good on this dark November day as I logged in 1,840 words for a total of 44, 299 in the 50k-word challenge. I moved the story ahead with an action-packed chapter putting the main characters on center stage.
The whole word challenge still seems unsurmountable from day to day, even though the word count helps, and the stats. Did I hit writer’s blocks or walls like the proverbial Marathon runner? You bet ya, many times.
I used the advice from the For the Love of Books Podcast special NaNoWriMo episode; it truly helped me get through. I hit both high and low points but averaged 1,795 words a day.
https://emmapalova123.podbean.com/e/nanowrimo-special-panel-advises-to-keep-on-writing/
I am looking for the challenge to be over since I had to live around it and keep the momentum going. And I am still writing and plotting. The weather outside helps me stay inside, but I feel the deprivation from oxygen. I don’t know how many trail mixes I have consumed over the last 25 days. I flipped back and forth between Harmony with Himalayan salt and Second Nature Keto Crunch, and consumed endless teas, both black and herbal.
I still had to perform for both our local Lowell Ledger Newspaper, sell my books at Christmas through Lowell, do the laundry, and Thanksgiving. Is the challenge doable?
It depends a lot on how you approach it. Does your story matter? Of course, it does. If didn’t I wouldn’t be writing this.
To be continued.
Copyright (c) 2023. Emma Blogs, LLC. All rights reserved.
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