Welcome to Scarlet Thread Sunday! Today’s post is to explain why I am choosing this name for my Sunday posts and ROW80 updates.

When fishing around for a blog name that goes well with my personality and purpose, I came up with plenty of ideas. I could play off my love of my home state of Texas with a Lone Star theme of some kind or try to intimate something specific about what kind of books I write (young adult and mystery) or tell something about myself.

When I re-read the story of Ariadne’s thread, that struck a melodious chord in me. Greek mythology has passed on the story of a Minotaur (half-bull/half-man) who was kept in a labyrinth away from the people. Ariadne fell in love with the man chosen to be sacrificed to the Minotaur and provided him a ball of thread so that he could go in, kill the monster, and return safely.

My personality is a combination of Ariadne and her beloved: Labyrinths (or mazes) intrigue and delight me. I’d enter one in a heartbeat, even if I knew I could get lost for hours inside. However, I would take notes, try to learn something from the experience, share what I discovered when I emerged from the maze. In essence, I would thread the labyrinth.

Ariadne’s thread is often illustrated as being red, although I couldn’t find a reference to color in the story itself. So why scarlet?

Now let’s head to another story–a true story–of a woman named Rahab and an army camped outside her city. In the famous Old Testament story of Joshua and the city of Jericho, the Israelites send spies into the city to check things out before they attack. They find lodging with a woman of ill-repute, Rahab.

In turn for her hiding them from authorities, she asks that the invading army to save her and her family. They oblige, telling her to hang a scarlet cord (often referred to as a scarlet thread) out her window and the soldiers will then have a sign not to harm those inside. Rahab is indeed spared, merges into the community of Israelites, and becomes an ancestor of Jesus Christ.

I’ve always liked that Bible story because it’s also about using the knowledge you have and changing your life around. Rahab is in a bad city doing bad things and getting bad results. She has the smarts to realize that the Israelites will win, that she can align herself with the victors, and then to turn her life into one with lasting impact.

Throwing out a scarlet thread through a labyrinth or hanging it out the window as a sign are both about using your knowledge, connecting with others, making life better. That’s what I want to share on Scarlet Thread Sundays.

Perhaps you’ll let me toss out a thread now and then and share something I’ve figured out. See if you agree or disagree with me as I give my take on writing, books, culture, people, ideas, life. Leave your own take in the comment thread!

ROW Update

Editing

• Complete full rewrite of SHARING HUNTER. Received notes from beta reader. She was thankfully tough on me, and I nodded through everything she said. So helpful because now I know what I need to do! Starting some replotting this week.
  
• Work with editors on short story for Orange Karen Anthology. Cleared the content editor, and waiting to hear from copy editor.
• Revisit GRACE & FIRE (1st novel) and run through one more round of edits. Edited through only two more chapters. Head cold this week knocked out my brain cells for this one.

Writing

• Write one full short story.
• Write blog posts for Sundays (including ROW80 updates) and Wednesdays. Posted What I Suck at and #ROW80 on Sunday and Banish These Words and Phrases! on Wednesday.
• Start plotting sequel to GRACE & FIRE (working title: HOPE & ASHES). Read more fire forensics material and watched a documentary for research.

Reading

• Read and work through Empowering Character Emotions by Margie Lawson (lecture packet). Finished early in round.
• Read and work through The Art of War for Writers by James Scott Bell. Working through two short chapters each day. 5 days x 2 chapters = 10 chapters this week.
• Read at least eight fiction books. In previous weeks, I read Hush Now, Don’t You Cry by Rhys Bowen, The Yard by Alex Grecian, and Your Spiritual Personality by Marita Littauer, and The Ruth Valley Missing by Amber West this weekend. This week, I finished The Twelve Clues of Christmas by Rhys Bowen and Frosted by Wendy Sparrow–thumbs up for both. I think I should increase my goal to at least 10 books.
  

Non-writing goals

• Exercise twice a week. Walked all over Las Vegas last weekend, including Sunday. If only I had worn a pedometer! Then I got home and promptly picked up a head cold which knocked me down for the remainder of the week.
  
• Take a true Sabbath–no working and time with God and family one day a week. I spent all of last weekend hanging out with the hubby and relaxing. Hey ladies, there really are some awesome husbands out there. Lucky me, I have one.

So how was your week?