my neighborhood - this weekend

We in Old North Knoxville hope you can attend the 16th Annual Victorian Holiday Home Tour.

When: Saturday, Dec. 4th from 4 - 9 p.m. and Sunday, December 5th from 1 - 5 p.m.
Where: Old North Knoxville
What: 10 homes and 1 church representing late 19th and early 20th architecture
How: Buy advance tickets at area Kroger stores. Tickets now are $8 a piece.

On the days of the tour, the price of tickets is $10 a piece and must be purchased at the booth in the St. Mary's lot on Woodland Ave. Trolleys will be provided to take on the tour and will stop at each home and the church so you can get out and go inside to tour. Trolleys leave from and return to the St. Mary's parking lot.

There are also three door prizes that you can register for.

The Fulton High School Choir will be singing Christmas songs and will be dressed in period costumes.

You can also purchase a Christmas ornament featuring the Brimer House Inn, the first bead and breakfast in an historic neighborhood in Knoxville.

For further details, call 523-HONK (4665) or visit www.oldnorthknoxville.org/hometour.htm.

no sale

Trying to sell writing is hard work. It also involves a lot of rejection. In fact, I would say that being able to accept and then shake off rejection may be the most critical business skill a writer can have.

I was rejected this week by a major publisher that had shown strong interest in a book proposal my agent has been trying to sell for about a year. I'm disappointed, but not crushed. I just don't think this book was meant to be, so I am moving on to some other ideas.

But early on in my writing career, this would have kicked my ass. Now I can shake it off and there's something satisfying in that.