http://melanienilles.com/blog1 A place for my thoughts Wed, 20 Aug 2008 04:18:59 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en I've started serious training on Beau now.  No more just playing around when I get on his back for a few minutes.  Now it's saddle and bridle (with cavesson) and riding for 15-30 minutes (any more and I'll max out his patience--I've learned his limits--which is when we have explosions ... http://melanienilles.com/blog1/2008/08/20/beaus-progress/ jiggity jig. We're back from GenCon.  In case you missed it, you can find daily posts of what I liked and didn't like on my livejournal. I won't repeat what I already wrote, except to say that Michael A. Stackpole is not only a good author but a gracious and entertaining person.  ... http://melanienilles.com/blog1/2008/08/18/home-again-home-again/ Yay!  Friday is almost done.  So, what comes next? VACATION!!! Next week, GenCon.  It'll be a long road trip, but it'll just be me and DH.  Hooray!  No kids, but I'll miss my girls, even the four-legged furry ones with whiskers.  Along those lines, I'll also miss my boy.  It's going to ... http://melanienilles.com/blog1/2008/08/08/friday/ (x-posted from my livejournal) It was only a local schooling show, but Beau earned a 69% in his in-hand class.  He only rated a 6 (out of 10) in his conformation, but some of the comments will change as he grows and matures, and widens (narrow chest--whatever.  he's only two).  The ... http://melanienilles.com/blog1/2008/08/04/beaus-first-show/ Okay, for all the dragon fans out there, check out my series page for some new PDF downloads of the world of the Legend of the White Dragon.  I put it all together into one file--all the world-building info to introduce you to the major races, creatures, and history of ... http://melanienilles.com/blog1/2008/08/01/download-dragon-freebies/ I see that the character interviews and appendices are still quite popular for downloads.  If anyone is interested in further downloads of information, I'd be happy to provide them as PDFs. It may be some time before the actual canon story is published, now that I'm searching again for a publisher.  ... http://melanienilles.com/blog1/2008/08/01/white-dragon-interest/ In providing daycare for various kids, I've seen it plenty of times--the coddling and comforting of even the smallest emotional outburst.  I can't stand it! The truth is that around one year of age children begin to realize that crying or tantrums are a way to elicit attention.  Don't fall for ... http://melanienilles.com/blog1/2008/07/31/how-to-raise-strong-kids/ I had a revelation this morning about a story I had started, which had died several deaths.  I suspect a lot of that had to do with the fact that I wasn't sure about an ending.  I finally realized it was meant to be a short.  After starting the process ... http://melanienilles.com/blog1/2008/07/29/endings/ I must admit, that seeing that anyone has read the ebook version of Dragon Prophecy is exciting.  But to see on fictionwise that the ratings lean to the "poor" end of the spectrum is not unexpected, although it is disappointing.  I always felt that the story could have been stronger ... http://melanienilles.com/blog1/2008/07/23/expected-disappointment/ It's done.  Dragon Prophecy is out but the others will not be from the same publisher.  You've probably noticed that all the books except DP have been taken off my website.  When I find a new publisher for the rest of the series, I'll be sure to post about it.  ... http://melanienilles.com/blog1/2008/07/23/dragon-series-update/