Closing Shop for a While

Quote of the Week:

If being sane is thinking there's something wrong
with being different....I'd rather be completely fucking mental.
~Angelina Jolie

Current Local Weather:
Showers of too-much to do, followed
by sanity storms rising
out of the west.

Currently on my IPOD:

Crazy Bitch
~Buckcherry

Dear John,

Its been great. No, its not you, its me. Really. Don't take this the wrong way, it wasn't your mother, or your cooking, nor was it the way you acted the last night we were together after drinking twenty-two martini's.

It's just that I think you're fat. Really fat. And I also think you could stand to get a nose job, a tummy tuck and probably stand to move to another part of town because of the way you smell.

Actually, its the fact that I have TWO books going on, three if you count the follow up to the first fiction one, a retreat business to run, a household, a few billion pressing issues like dinner, dishes and the floors need to be swept, a few billion reads/interviews/reviews, matron of honor fun...

...and I'm in love with someone else.

The person I am in love with is witty, smart, charismatic, playful, writerly and is more often than not the person I should be. Instead, I have turned into a stressed out ball of red hair and tears more nights than not lately. I just need to finish up some projects, get things moving in the right direction, which they are going in now, just at an amazingly sluggish pace. So, until this side of my personality returns, I will be MIA.

Sure, email me. I have no problem with that.

Go to the retreat site: Writing Away Retreats and if you are compelled, which I think you should be as it is going to be wonderful, sign up. Upcoming retreats are going to include award winning authors, editors, agents etc. And you will have ample time for feedback and working on your craft.

I'll be back when the storm settles and my commitments have waned. Promise. I always do return. Right?

right.

Hopefully, the next time you will hear from me, I'll have an agent, a finished final draft and my sanity.

Yours in Overly Frazzledness, Over-cooked Eggs and Only One Life--Gotta Make it Right,

Cicily

My Town Monday-Cold Stoned Stupidity

Yet another pictorial My Town Monday Blog from Cicily:

Except this one is in third person POV because Cicily is too angry to write in first.

Cicily has been sick. Too sick to eat for a while. Her tummy has been wanting to revolt against her due to mutant bacteria from healthy food that was probably undercooked at a restaurant in Atlanta that has decidedly taken up permanent residence in her gut. But as of the last few days, Cicily's appetite is back. After losing almost 20 lbs. she is finally eating again. And although she is taking it easy, today Cicily decided to eat something not so healthy, but rather something tasty...

So she went to the local Cold Stone Ice Cream Store.

For some Cake Batter with Brownie Chunks and maybe a little Marshmallow Cream.

And found this instead.

And this...

Cicily at the moment, hates her town. Cicily is now going to clone herself and protest.

As a matter of fact, Cicily is so angry she is going to clone her children and have them go to the public auction and raise hell in front of public officials...


There is another Cold Stone in Cicily's town but it also closed. I think I am going to adopt Travis's mindset from now on and only eat meat...wait a minute, wasn't he just in the hospital too? Alright, never mind, I'll stick to water.

Yours in Frickin Idiots, Finding My Way Down the Ice Cream Aisle and Fudge,

Cicily

New Pics of Horse Mountain Lodge/Writing Away Retreats Lodge

This is where you could be sitting and working on your MS or journal or short story collection in October 2008 or May 2009....Read on....
What did you do today??? I got into the car with a very nice person whom I had never met, who is interested in the retreat , who happens to live in my hometown, and drove almost four hours each way to reach out and literally touch my dream... and it looked like this...

And this...

And this...
Literally, this was a breathtaking dream come true. I started to cry. I was overwhelmed with the beauty and the thought of being able to welcome writers into my world and help them achieve their dreams in this fabulous and too good to be true setting. Although I had seen pictures of the lodge on line and the Realtor once expressed the beauty of the lodge over the phone, there were, for once, no words to express what I touched, smelled, or laid eyes on in person. It was quite different than what I had expected. I'll start with the Realtor's directions. She stated that after driving 2.6 miles off the road, a log cabin would suddenly "appear" on the right hand side. At first, a small kinda dumpy little house (No, not the one above, this is the actual one) appeared on the right...yeah, I was thinking I had been fooled. One of those looks better online than in person things. Kinda like a personal ad for a single guy: Looking for life-long commitment, looks don't matter, I'm tall, dark, handsome with six figure income and he turns out to be short, pale, skinny and older than Stonehenge living in a trailer park with his even older mother, their twenty five shaggy dogs and surviving, just barely, I might add and on welfare...not that there's anything wrong with that.

But she was right.

Against a deserted mountain setting, a BEAUTIFUL log cabin appeared, seemingly out of nowhere. Another thing she was right about was the fact that once people come to this cabin, they don't want to leave. I tried pulling the old toddler addage: YOU CAN"T MAKE ME...she said, oh yes I can. I could call the police. Yeah, I guess she's right about that.


Lining the path to the house are many, many Aspen trees. In the fall and spring, they promise to be beautiful. The house is...indescribable. A true retreat and I think if enough of us protest or pitch in maybe we won't have to ever leave. But, what I can promise is a true get away, a true retreat of luxury, peace, quiet and nothing around but surrounding nature, good company and time to hone in on your craft. If you have any comments, questions or well....anything at all, please do not hesitate to contact me at any point. Thank you for being a part of my dream. I hope to make this a memorable experience for all of you. Come and see us this October or next May at Writing Away Retreats!

Yours in Nature, Not Knowing What to Do with Myself and Never Wanting to Wake up From this Dream,

Cicily

Enjoy the pictures. But trust me...they don't even begin to tell the story...



YOU MAY FILL OUT THE FORMS TO SIGN UP FOR THE RETREAT AT ANY TIME ON THIS
SITE:

http://www.freewebs.com/literaryretreat4couples

My Town Monday-Cicily Style

Quote of the Week:

Deliver me from writers who say the way they live doesn't matter. I'm sure a bad person can write a good book. If art doesn't make us better, then what on earth is it for?

~Alice Walker

Current Local Weather:

Glorious Sunshine, Warmth and Showers of
Long Lost Friends Who Finally Paid
Us A Visit

Currently on my IPOD:

Leader of the Band

~Dan Fogelberg

Dear Friends and Family of Friends and Everyone else,

Alright Travis, I joined your bandwagon...are you happy? I thought I would spice things up a bit and show you my version of My Town Monday with a pictorial blog.... Enjoy!

In my hometown aquarium (Atlanta), we can teach our children how to walk on water...



In my hometown we run into fish who claim to be Angelina Jolie's mother



We like to go for rides on the E.A.C. with Dudes from Finding Nemo

Pig Boy Doug Crandell lives in my hometown...I hung out with him and interviewed him for Art Nouveau Magazine...Weird angle for both of us. I look huge in this pic...But of course, we had pork bbq...We questioned what Cornhole tournaments were and Oh, and if you ever want to know how Doug got me lost in my hometown, just ask...Although I hadn't lived there in over twelve years, he managed to get me lost in under half an hour. Good thing both of us are laid back and good natured.



Assessed the damage the tornado's caused in downtown Atlanta...
Yes, those are all broken windows.



Where I live now, the deer have no fear! They take over large observatories by climbing over the roofs and the sides. they really don't care if its the USAF Academy. They don't even have the proper ID!

They were everywhere. I got within five feet of the deer. They
could have cared less that I was there.



People here regularly breach security and use their super human powers to stand a bunch of
airplanes end on end at the USAF Academy
(actually that's the chapel)

It's usually cold but sunny. I love to bask in the sunlight at the
Garden of the Gods under layers of sweaters and t-shirts.



If you want to have fun here in Colorado Springs
One must pay close attention to park signs...


Apparently you aren't allowed to bring scrambled eggs to the parks anymore...
Back in my day...We could scramble all we wanted, but kids these days ruined it for all of us!

This is Pikes Peak, and I was making sure it was still intact and where it should be. Everybody
in this town uses it to give directions to newbies. Like...where is the car dealership row?
Well, you head towards the mountains...and then take a left after you pass under the highway.
Where's the downtown area. You go away from the mountains and then take a right after you pass under the highway...You can never really get lost in this town. Now my real hometown...Atlanta, yep, you can get lost there in a heartbeat. Just ask Doug.

Thanks for getting me on board for this Travis and I hope you feel better soon!

Yours in My Town Mondays, Making it Something Cool and Mostly Having Fun,

Cicily

Writing Away Retreats Announcement

Hey Guys...Just a quickie today. Wondering if any of you could please repost this blog in support of the writing retreats. I really appreciate any help and support I can get for this. First five people who repost this blog on theirs will get a 10 dollar gift certificate to Amazon.com. Thanks for your help! Email me at cicily@ryanjanus.com with the link to the blog post.

Thanks for your help!

WRITING AWAY RETREATS!

WRITING AWAY RETREATS

All-inclusive, luxurious, and intimate retreat
nestled in the mountains of Vail, Colorado
MS consultation and coaching sessions included in price.

Join your host, fiction and non-fiction writer: Cicily Janus
Award Winning Author: RA Nelson
Senior Acquisitions Editor for Champaign Books and Author: Lee Ann Ward
and
Life/Creative Coach: Lisa Gates

Join us for an unforgettable writing experience
against the backdrop of the Rocky Mountains.

Come Write Away with us!

Sign up now for our retreat in October.

Space is limited to ten people.
Couples welcome and offered discount.
October 17th-21st, 2008
*Early bird special until August 1, 2008*

We hope to see you there!

Yours in Retreats, Resting and Really Doing What I Love,

Cicily