Jessica Ferguson

Author, Writing Coach, Speaker

Deadly Storms in Oklahoma

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By now, you’re all watching the horrific results from the tornado that hit Moore, Oklahoma yesterday. From watching my Channel 9 weather app on my iPhone, the area had two days of tornados. Thankfully, I was in Louisiana, enjoying our monthly visit and celebrating our daughter’s 30th birthday–early.

Yesterday (Monday) we traveled back to Yukon. We always travel Highway 69 out of NE Texas to Gainesville and get on I-35 toward OKC. A couple of months ago, a friend told us about a ‘short-cut’ turning off I-35 on Hwy. 9 and heading toward Newcastle so that we don’t have to drive through Norman or OKC. Traffic is always terrible so we’ve enjoyed trekking the back roads.

When we came through yesterday, we knew Oklahoma was expecting more horrible weather. Once we got through Ardmore, I turned on my weather app and we listened and saw the tornado hit Moore. We came through Paul’s Valley not long BEFORE a tornado was sighted there too. We drove through Newcastle AFTER the tornado hit there.

Living in Oklahoma has been a blessing in many ways: I have many writer friends. We have a wonderful church. It’s also been terrifying–especially when you read about its history of tornados, and see what happened in Moore yesterday.

Homes and businesses were destroyed. Schools were hit. Children died. How does one ever recover from losing a child in such a horrific manner?

If you’d like to help people in Moore, Oklahoma, you can text the word FOOD to 32333.  A ten dollar donation will be sent to help the victims and that ten dollars will be added to your cell phone bill. If you’d rather not do that, then pray. That’s the best thing you can do for the people who have lost loved ones and everything they own.

As I write this, it’s hailing here–thundering and getting dark. We’re expecting storms all this week. 
All prayers welcome.

Social Media, Writing & Proofing & Tornadoes!

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I’m dragging my feet when it comes to blogging. Sorry. I’ve just completed a great class on Social Media for the Writer taught by  Cindy Carroll. On Cindy’s website bio, she says the only thing she knows is banking and bartending. She’s wrong about that. She knows social media and the ins and outs of it. And she has so much patience; she’d make a great kindergarten teacher! I’ve taken a couple of social media classes and this is the B.E.S.T. best. Cindy didn’t give up on any of us. She worked with us until we “got it.” I highly recommend her to anyone who doesn’t have a handle on how to set up FB pages, Google+, or any of the other sites.

I’m not 100% certain I’ve done any of it right, but I have her fantastic lessons printed and I’ll be reviewing them over and over and over again. In the meantime, if you hang out on FB, then go to my Jessica Roach Ferguson page and LIKE me. It’s a little bare, but eventually, it’ll come together. I hope.

Also, follow me on twitter @jessyferguson and bring me into your circle of friends on Google+. I’m also on LinkedIn under one of those names.

Didn’t I tell you I’d be turning over a new leaf in Oklahoma. Reinventing my writer-self.
I’m almost finished with my novella.

I’m proofing a wonderful 400 page novel for a good friend who plans to go POD and eBook with it. I’ll be tooting her horn for her when the time comes.

I read and offered some suggestions on a great short story for another friend about a mountain climber. How in the world she came up with such an idea is amazing to me. I guess my mind just doesn’t think like that. Her characters seem so real, so sad, so alive, so emotionally tortured! I’m SO impressed!

On top of all of this, we’re still dodging tornados: look at the pics I took last night. We went to the closet only once. We heard hail pummel the TV station while our weatherman talked. He’s holding hail in his hot little hands! And he’s promised MORE tonight.

Relocation

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Remember when I told you we’d be moving to Columbus, Mississippi? Didn’t happen and not going to.

2012 will be spent in Oklahoma. Dodging tornados. Hopping over cracks caused by earthquakes. Slipping and sliding on icy roads. I don’t even own a coat because we don’t need them here in SW Louisiana.

The way it looks now, we’ll be relocating sometime in January.  The job will actually be in Yukon, about 17 miles west of Oklahoma City. Don’t know yet where we’ll live.

In case you aren’t familiar with Yukon, it’s the home of Garth Brooks but best of all, one of my favorite old cowboy actors lives there. Remember Dale Robertson, Tales of Wells Fargo? He’s around 88 now. And yes, I will definitely look for him and recognize him. No one had a smile or voice like Dale Robertson. Surely he meets up with a bunch of pals for coffee. 

When we face a relocation like this, I can’t focus on anything else. So many unanswered questions. All I know about Oklahoma would be a drop in a thimble. I have a writer friend there—but of course, she lives just far enough away that we won’t be able to have daily meets. We have family in the Tulsa area. That’s more than an hour away.
There are many, many writers, writer groups, and conferences all through Oklahoma so why can’t I get excited about this?  Yeah, yeah, I know it’s a new adventure, but I’m past the age for really enjoying new adventures–unless it’s coffee with Dale Robertson.

Any of you live in the Yukon-Oklahoma City area?