Never knew schizophrenia could be so much fun.
First, I want to say that my headline for today's blog is in no way meant to make fun of people who do suffer from schizophrenia. It's a difficult life and I don't mean to imply otherwise. But that word seems to be the common term that other people would describe what happened today.

I had one of those weird writer moments that I love, the ones that remind me, if I ever have forgotten, why I do this. And this is going to be a little tough to describe, especially considering my no-talking-about-current-projects rule, but bear with me. (Or, don't, but then you'll have no idea of the story behind the headline, hee hee!)

Writers fall into two major categories, it seems to me. You have those who plot out every move in advance, figuring out exactly what happens each twist and turn of the way. Then you have the crazy ones, and I don't mean that in the bad way because I count myself among them. I say crazy, only because it sounds crazy when you try to explain it to someone else. See, the crazy writers, the group I ascribe to, don't write about characters. The characters come and tell them what happened, the same way you would tell a friend about what you did over your weekend. They show up and start talking and I love it!!! It sounds completely insane, hence my headline. And at first, I tried to rationalize it, but quickly realized I couldn't. It simply was. And I felt so lucky that they would choose me to talk to (I know, I know, it sounds nuts). I also quickly found out that if I tried to make them do stuff they didn't want to do (like I had a scene in mind or a particular plot twist that I thought would be fun and they didn't agree), they could make my life very difficult. Sometimes, when they feel I'm not listening well enough, they just leave. Stop talking entirely. Sometimes it takes me a few sentences or pages to figure it out, before I realize I'm all alone on the page. And then I have to go back and figure out who I made angry, where I went wrong, where I stopped listening to them.

Like I said, I know it sounds nuts, but when they're really talking to you, opening up to you and spilling out all this stuff you never knew...it's so freaking fantastic. I love it. There is no better feeling than that. Thank you God for letting me experience it.

So, today, I've been kind of wrestling with the beginning of a project that I still need to revise. I'm pretty happy with the project as a whole, but not sure about the existing beginning. So, I've been driving myself (and apparently everyone else) a little nuts about it as well. And today, she, the character I've been wrestling with (not literally, for more reasons that one), just suddenly showed up and started talking about different stuff. Things I didn't know. Things that don't actually affect the current project but happen much farther down the road. Because to her, the current project is already done, it's already happened. We know how it turns out, let's focus on the present here. You're driving me nuts, focusing on all this crap that's already happened. I need to tell you what's happening now.

It was so great!!! A gift that I feel so lucky to get every single time it happens : ) It just sets off that deep contented feeling inside of me. Cheesey, huh? But true!

All right. So again, I know it sounds crazy, but please do not go out and call your nearest mental health professional. I am fine. And even if I'm not, there are lots of us out here doing the same thing. We love it!

And finally, on a more normal note, for those who were curious about the quote from earlier this week, I believe this is a quote from Pretty in Pink, when Ducky is thrown into the girls bathroom by the tough 80's jock-looking guys. Good call, Mike B. However. I do have a tendency to get Pretty in Pink mixed up with 16 Candles, the whole Molly Ringwald factor, so you, Heather, could also be right. Does anyone know for sure? I may just have to force myself to watch the movies this weekend to find out : )

Talk to you Monday (if not before)!

Just in case...

If you try to find GalaxSHE today by searching through YahooGroups, just wanted to let you know that I guess it takes a few days for it to be listed in the directory. So, you won't be able to find it right away. However, if you're desperately interested in signing up immediately : ) , let me know by sending me an email at sklemstein@msn.com. I can send you an invite and then you'll be able to join.

I expect GalaxSHE to be listed on yahoogroups sometime this week. Sorry for any confusion!

Sign up for GalaxSHE!

Woohoo! GalaxSHE is out there on yahoogroups and available for people to sign up! Just visit yahoogroups.com and search for GalaxSHE and it will come up.

Some of you may receive an email from me through yahoo. It just means I put your email address on the invite list for GalaxSHE. It does NOT mean that your email address has been sold or shared or anything. It's just an easy way to sign up.

So, please, if you're interested, sign up. It's very easy to unsubscribe if you decide you're not getting what you paid for (ha! it's free, another reason to sign up).

That, plus, I'm the only member right now as well as the owner. So, if no one signs up, I'll just be sending messages to myself. And while I wish I could understand myself better sometimes, I think this delves into philosophical territory best left alone : ) Yes, I'm just being weird. It's one of my things. That and movie quotes, like this one..."So this is what the girls bathroom looks like. What, what is this? A candy machine? We don't have a candy machine. And doors on the stalls?"

That's not an exact quote (I can usually only do that with Ghostbusters and Star Wars, sometimes), but I bet you someone out there will get this one.

Talk to you tomorrow!

More newsletter stuff.

Tomorrow, I plan to register GalaxSHE (thanks again, Heather, for the title!) with Yahoo Groups. I didn't hear anything from anyone on my whole "she" self-centered fear so I'm guessing that means I was just being paranoid again : ) But just to be sure (see, that paranoia's at work again) I'm going to run the description by you guys before I submit it to Yahoogroups for registration.

Title: GalaxSHE: Candya$$ heroines need not apply.
Description: Tired of wimpy, screaming female characters? Then, this is the newsletter for you! GalaxSHE is a monthly newsletter for readers and writers who love strong heroines. Features include: rants and raves about fictional heroines, writing/publishing tips, contests and giveaways, and book, tv, and movie recommendations for those seeking more examples of kicka$$ heroines. Plus, the latest book and event news from author Stacey Klemstein -- www.staceyklemstein.com.

_______________________

What do you think? It's just a rough draft, so changes are definitely not a problem. Send me an email -- sklemstein@msn.com.

Talk to you tomorrow!

No longer nameless!

So, I have a favorite newsletter name. I also have a dilemma, but more on that in a minute. The name sort of depends on what I'm including in the newsletter. So, I decided to list all that out and see where that took me.

-Latest book news and upcoming events, etc.

-heroine rants and raves (as in about heroines, not from heroines. That would be weird...and plagiarism most likely.)

-monthly guest column (fabulous friends of mine, be warned, you will likely be asked to contribute!)

-writing/publishing, tips, things I wish I'd known before learning the hard way, etc.

-Fun stuff. Contests, giveaways, etc. Out of this world column--the best something around. The best hamburgers (Culvers. No question). The softest pajamas (pajamagrams. I kid you not.)

-Other good books to read with strong kicka$$ heroines.

-Little known facts. Odd little bits of information about The Silver Spoon, things that are just kind of weird and/or things that didn't make it to the final cut. (For example, for those of you who have read the book...Nevan had a daughter in the first draft. Her name was Heidi -- she chose her own name from those on Earth. An unwitting spy for the bad guys.)

But here's my dilemma. When I looked at the newsletters already out there on Yahoogroups, most of them have a little description of what they are. For example, Sfronline, which I subscribe to, describes itself as a list for the members of science fiction romance online, a newsletter providing helpful articles for writers, yada, yada yada. You get the idea.

For my newsletter description, I would want it to say something like it's a fun source for the latest heroine rants and raves, etc. Plus the latest book news from author Stacey Klemstein. (Okay, that was really cool to write author in front of my name--big doofy grin on my face--I'm such a dork!)

But the name I love -- Thank you to Heather Bernhard for this one! -- is GalaxSHE: Candya$$ heroines need not apply. Here's the thing... do you think the "She" part of GalaxSHE would be misunderstood to be me? In other words, do you think people would think I was being completely self-centered and referring to myself as the "she?" That's totally not the case. It's referring to the kicka$$ heroines that we all want to see, read about and hopefully, for those of so inclined, create.

Let me know what you think. I really, really, really want to use GalaxSHE. So, if there's a way to work around the whole potential misunderstanding issue, like if it all depends on how I write the description or maybe I'm just being paranoid about the whole thing, let me know!!

Thanks to Ed, Stacy G. and everyone for their ideas! Heather, you've got your pick of promotional tchotchkes, as soon as they're created. I know, it's just like winning the lotto, right? (ha, ha!)

Thank you also to my brother, Mike, for helping me identify the movie my "epiphany/apostrophe" quote from last week is from. "Hook," the Peter Pan movie from a few years back. Also, Thursday's quote was from Star Wars for those who were wondering : )

Talk to you tomorrow!

And the ideas just come rolling in...

Wow. Thanks you guys! I've gotten way more suggestions than I ever imagined. And some very cool ones at that. Here's a quick sampling:

GalaxSHE: Candyass heroines need not apply.

Cans open. Worms everywhere.

The Write thing.

I need to do some thinking on this. But man, all of you should be starting your own newsletters. You already have ideas for the hardest part -- a cool title!

Meanwhile, my IPod fever has abated slightly. My computer completely froze up again this morning. It does this now about twice a week when I'm trying to save to disk. So, I have the feeling I'm heading the route of a new computer. Though probably not until we move into the new house, which isn't for another few weeks. So, hopefully my computer will stick with me just a little longer. "Hear me baby? Hold together." Can anyone name the movie? : )

Sorry, I love quoting lines from movies, as most of you probably know. I know that's typically an annoying guy trait, but I can't help myself! Give me any line in Ghostbusters, I can give you the rest of the conversation. Hint: the movie line quoted in today's blog is not from Ghostbusters, if that helps.

One more thing...the brochure for the University of Wisconsin-Madison's Writer's Institute is up and online. I'll give you the link. This is an awesome writer's conference. The professors and faculty who run it do an excellent job in lining up useful programs and speakers. Plus, they're so helpful. When I got my contract from RuneStone earlier this year, I contacted one of the professors at UW-Madison and he looked it over for me and made sure everything was okay. So, if you're looking for a writer's conference, this is a great one, definitely worth the money. It's also pretty reasonable cost-wise, which helps.

If anyone is interested in going but has questions, let me know. I'd be happy to share any info I have. This is my third year going. My first year, I entered the first page of The Silver Spoon and won third place in their Poem or Page contest. So definitely plan on entering the contest if you have something that fits the categories they offer. It's a fun and non-threatening environment to get your feet wet on sending stuff out.

Talk to you tomorrow!

"Tell him about the Twinkie."

That's my favorite line from a movie. Ghostbusters, of course. And one of the names that I'm considering (sort of) for the newsletter. Stacy G. has also provided a list of excellent alternatives. Send me your thoughts...Also, I'm a little scared that someone might read "twinkie" as some sort of double entendre, if you get my drift.

Obsession:
Okay, I'm including this, mainly to show what a freak I can be. Something I'm sure you wanted to know : ) As you probably remember, I've been complaining about needing a new computer for weeks. This one is slowing down on saving and retrieving documents. It's five years old, so not entirely unexpected. So, I've been trying to decide, do I want to spend the money, or hang in there until it crashes entirely. Now, my generous husband is willing to give me a new computer for our anniversary (or most of one, anyway. I still need to get a monitor.)

And here's the dumb thing. He told me he first thought about getting me one of those mini IPod things. It's an MP3 player, which allows you to create lists of your favorite songs and carry around all this music without actually carrying the cds. Pretty cool, huh? But I don't really need it. I have cds for that. And a computer is way more practical and useful. But darn it all, if I don't want that stupid mini IPod too. And I don't even like Apple computers!

But the idea of being able to carry around all my music with me at once. To organize lists based on whatever project I'm working on...that would be so cool. Like I told you guys before, I kind of create soundtracks to help me work on writing. This way, I'd actually be able to create the soundtracks and have them all with me at once. I could sit at the beach this summer (okay, more likely, lay in bed) and work with my alpha smart (laptop word processor) and listen to just the music I want at the right moment rather than messing with changing cds.

Okay, I know it's stupid, right? The computer is way more practical. And who knows what the quality of sound is like on these ipod things anyway? That plus the fact that I'm trying to spend less so I save more so I can get out of Corporate America that much faster. Oh, but they're so cute...and I would get to pick the color.

*sigh* I think I'm hopeless.

Please write me and tell me horrible things about the ipod so that I no longer want it. Please!!!

Talk to you tomorrow.

Newsletter?
So, creating an email newsletter is one of the things on my to-do list. It's also in my marketing plan. I've got content pretty much covered (if you've ever wanted to see your name in print, this is your newsletter, especially in the wimpy/kicka$$ heroine section. I'll be asking for people to write in with their vote for heroine of the week). But I need a name for it. Originally, I was going to focus the newsletter purely on heroines, what tv shows, books, movies to avoid because of wimpy ones and which ones to view because of strong, kicka$$ women. And that's still going to be a section of it. But not everything falls into that category. Some of it will be book news, fun stuff, contests, guest columns, etc.

So, I need a name for the newsletter. Because The Silver Spoon is sci-fi, the temptation to do something space-related is strong, but I also have plans to have my mystery published too (I hope!) And I'm thinking that running multiple newsletters is probably something that I can't do very easily. So I pretty much want a newsletter name than can cover all that stuff.

So, here's where the fun comes in (again, I hope!). Send me potential newsletter names, please?!? I can't register the newsletter with either yahoogroups or topica until I have a name. Plus, I just plain stink at naming things (ask my buddies at Corporate America, they'll back me up on this : ) )

Send as many names/suggestions as you want. If the judges (me and whoever else I can rope into giving their opinion) select one of the names you sent in, you'll get...some kind of cool prize. Definitely a BIG thank you in the first issue of the newsletter. And perhaps some kind of tchotcke (spelling?), t-shirt, key chain, something like that, as soon I have them made. Which I'm hoping to start soon!

Please, please help me with this! I can't emphasize enough how bad I am with things like this. If you don't, it'll just be Stacey's Newsletter, or something equally boring!!! Or maybe you think I should stick with the heroine focus. The original thought for the title of the newsletter was, No More Wimpy Heroines Unite. What do you think?

Random thought of the day:
How do actors who kiss on television know when it's supposed to be French kiss instead of a regular kiss? I'm serious about this. Watch for it. Sometimes they do, sometimes they don't. Sometimes one person of the couple does and the other doesn't. Does it actually say in the script who is supposed to do what? Or is this something actors are allowed to improvise? I mean, seriously, is the director in the background shouting, "more tongue, please!" Sorry, didn't mean to gross anyone out, but I'm really intrigued by this. I mean, imagine if you're an actor on this show and you go in for a regular kiss but the hotshot actor or actress you're kissing decides to go for it. Are you offended? I mean, this is someone you might not even know well. I just can't figure out how that would work. If anyone knows for sure, or knows an actor they can ask, let me know the answer, will you?

Okay, you really can't get more random than that random thought of the day. : )

Talk to you tomorrow! Please send me newsletter names!!! sklemstein@msn.com

Kicka$$!
This is not necessarily directly related to writing, but I wanted to share this news anyway. As some of you know, I started taking kickboxing a little over a year ago. I began simply to do research for the Zara Mitchell series. Basically, if Zara didn't learn how to defend herself to some extent (you can't really defend yourself completely against aliens that have you way outpowered, but she could at least learn to hit hard enough or smart enough to trigger a connection, if need be. For those who haven't read the book, this won't make any sense. But it will when you read it!), she was going to spend the rest of the series getting knocked around by everyone and their stasis tank mates.

So, I signed up for kickboxing to understand the basics and be able to represent some moves on paper in a way that would make sense for her and seem real to the reader. It was a no contact class, so I wouldn't have to worry about being beaten senseless. As a rather clumsy person naturally, I was worried about that possibility. What I also liked about kickboxing was that it seemed to be a good fit for Zara. It's very straightforward, kicking and punching. And I think there's something very empowering about a woman throwing a real, loosen your teeth punch. And Zara's not all about the fancy moves at this point. She just wants to survive.

So, that was a year ago. It took me a good part of that year to get comfortable with what I was doing. If you know me, you know I can be a bit of a perfectionist. I worried a lot about proper form and getting it right, which meant I was slower and not as hard hitting as some other people in class. The breakthrough for me in comfort level finally came about four months ago when I was really angry about something at work, I don't remember what (with Corporate America, who knows?!?) And I came to class ready to hit something and not think quite as much as I had been. Since then, it's been awesome! Following through with the body on punches, making the pads give up that cool *thwump* noise when you score a good kick. It's fun! And this is coming from someone who hates to sweat.

So tonight, my instructor (who is this totally buff and strong, Linda-Hamilton- in-T2-type person) approached me and said they were considering adding to the program and needed new instructors. And would I be interested?!? Can you believe it? She said I had good form!!!

Now, this may not seem like so much to some of you out there, but you have to understand, I'm the person who can injure herself just by walking into a room. I get bruises from bumping into furniture that's not even in the way. I once injured my knee, giving myself a giant green and purple bruise in concentric circles, by ramming my elbow into while trying to follow along to an aerobics tape in my apartment. It's sad.

But I love kickboxing! It feels so good to exercise and enjoy it, rather than just doing it because I ate two bagels for breakfast and feel guilty, which is my normal motivation. And I'd love to teach it. It's so much fun to see people get things that they didn't before. And if I could show someone how to enjoy exercise, the way my instructor has taught me, all the better. Plus, this would really work well with some of my plans for book promotion. Not to mention, a little more cash coming in that wouldn't be from Corporate America. : )

So, I have to think about it. It's another night away from home. And I've got a lot going on right now, especially with my new career : ) (It's so much fun just to say that!) But I just wanted to share my good news. I'll keep you posted!

Talk to you tomorrow!

To Do List
In light of yesterday's epiphany, I've created for myself a heck of a to do list. I kept thinking that I really needed to wait to start promoting until my book was actually out. But I'm really thinking that's not the case now. On the top of my list is creating either bookmarks or postcards with the cover on them so I can hand them or mail them to all the nice people who ask for them or details about my book. Nice people, please ask for details. : )

I'm also working on updating this website, which you won't see until everything is finalized and I'm ready to publish the site again. My friend, Ed, has offered his services, thank goodness, to help me do that once more when I'm ready. Thanks Ed!

More good news...registration is now open for my creative writing class! The description is posted on the Bloomingdale Park District's web site. Click on the text link "online brochure" and then under the "Adult" section, select "General." I'm hoping enough people will register (at least four) so the class will be able to take place. If this goes well and there's interest, I may do an online version of the class through email sometime later this summer. So, if anyone's interested, let me know, sklemstein@msn.com.

Okay, it's a beautiful Friday and I have a huge list of things to do : ) But for once, I'm excited about doing all of them!

Talk to you on Monday!

"I'm standing in the middle of the desert, waiting for my ship to come in..."--Sheryl Crow

I've had a revelation today. An epiphany. An apostrophe (I think that's a joke from a movie, but now I can't remember which one. Someone help me out if you know.) And here's how it happened.

Today was yet another sucky day in Corporate America. People that I know and liked lost their jobs. I'm an employee of the nineties, I came to work in the internet boom, so I've never had this happen to me before. At least not to this extent. And today, more than ever, as we met with the survivors of the fallout, it occurred to me so clearly that I just don't belong there. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad I still have my job and I can do good work for them. But it's not where my heart is, like seems to be for so many people in that room today, who were really excited about these changes.

That I don't belong in Corporate America is not a new discovery for me, but as usual, whenever it is brought to my attention, I was depressed and feeling trapped. I like what I do and I certainly like the paycheck but it doesn't call to me the way that writing fiction does. And right now, I can't (and I'm not sure I'd like the pressure of doing this) pay all the bills with my fiction writing. This is all old news to those of you who've read this blog before, but stay with me, I'm getting to my revelation : )

So, this afternoon, after everything had calmed down a little, I took the opportunity to tell my manager (who is now not my manager) about The Silver Spoon getting published. I had not said anything to him up to this point because I was afraid that it might somehow negatively impact my job, not by him but by the higher-ups making the decisions. People hear book contract and they think you're spending your evenings stuffing your mattress will all the extra cash you've got laying around. So not true, my friends. I have a very generous contract for a new author, but they don't hand six figure deals out to just everyone. So, because I like and respect my now former manager (he's taught me a lot about writing, even though we had very different perspectives sometimes and that made me crazy at some points), I wanted to tell him.

He was sincerely impressed and happy for me, which meant a great deal. I went on to explain the reasons why I'd kept it quiet from him for so long. And he joked, "well, you don't need this place then, do you?" Meaning Corporate America, of course. I kind of laughed and said, "It's a small press," which I said not because I'd rather have a large press (there are definite upsides to that, but I'm LOVING the experience that I'm having working with people who know and care about my book as much as I do) but because I wanted him to know that I still needed my salary, that I wouldn't be making enough money off my writing right in the beginning to quit, though that is my eventual goal. And he looked right at me and said, "You could be."

Then it was like this heaviness that I'd been carrying around in my heart just lifted. One, because this person that I respect believed in me enough to say that and two, because I realized he was right! All money that authors make is based on sales. Advances are based on sales estimates and royalties are an author's percentage of actual sales. All I have to do is sell a book that I believe in, that I love. That's it. That's all that is standing between me struggling in Corporate America and me having a job I love. It wouldn't happen all at once, but it could happen. It is a possibility--isn't that freaking amazing?!? All I have to do is work for it.

I can't tell you what this has done to give me a new outlook on things. I truly do believe that God speaks to you in all kinds of ways, trying to help you out, as long as you're listening. So, thanks God. Thanks Jack. And thanks to Greg, who looked at me like I was crazy for not realizing this before : )

Woohoo! I feel like there's light at the end of the tunnel and it actually might not be a train!!!

Talk to you tomorrow.

Woohoo!
For those who might possibly have missed my mass emailing, my cover is now up at RuneStone. Here's the link, if you want to take a look: www.runestonepublishing.com. I'm thrilled with the cover art. Gina, the artist, did a great job. And my thanks to RuneStone for allowing me to be involved and give feedback on the cover and the back cover copy. I think both are excellent!

I'm home today, having the new garage door opener installed. (We're having the worst luck with stuff breaking since we put our house on the market. One of the garage door openers failed, the sliding glass door handle broke and last night, Snostorm scratched up a door frame.) Which is great because that means I have most of the day to myself to focus on writing stuff. I just make some tea and throw myself into the chair behind my computer, still in my pajamas. I never turn on the television or allow myself to check email first. If I do, I'm done for. Days off are pretty rare and days off where I don't have to be somewhere else, doing something else, are even more rare. So, if I don't watch it, the temptation to spend an extra hour or two in bed will take over. It's not like writing is an unpleasant task--I love it--but it is work. And staying in bed is a lot easier, though it leaves me feeling much guiltier : )

So today, because my pink heart pajamas are not appropriate clothing to greet the garage door repair guy in, I had to get up and put my staying at home clothes on. Slightly less comfortable than pajamas, flannel sleep pants and an old Valpo sweatshirt. Again, anything that keeps me from turning that computer on first thing brings more temptation to do something else instead. Like watch television, or read a book. But I didn't give in today. Partially because I stayed at the computer in my pajamas until the repair guy called and said he was on his way.

So, now that I've got some work done on my current project, I can work on other stuff this afternoon. I need to finish up the results for the Valpo Wordfest short stories. I'm really impressed by the talent they've got going on there, as well as the variety of stories. It will be difficult to choose, especially because no matter how I look at it, I will still like something about the stories that won't make it.

I also desperately need to update this website. I haven't forgotten! The blog gets update daily (most of the time!), but the rest needs to have new info.

Plus, I've got my next project waiting in the wings. I love all parts of the writing process (except rejection, of course, but even that can be used to learn new things), but this is probably my favorite part. Nothing is down on paper yet, so you have all these ideas freefloating in your mind, playing like movie clips. And you refine and focus on different bits of them until you can figure out exactly what's going on and why. Once you start putting it down on paper, it automatically becomes harder. It's impossible to capture the vividness of those mind movie clips. But I think that's what keeps writers writing is trying to get that much closer to what they see in their heads. I just love it! And I'm so grateful that I'm being given the opportunity to do it : )

Talk to you tomorrow!

The Passion
Some of you who know me know my feelings about movies. They have to have happy endings and entertainment value for me to consider going. I hate "real-life" endings because I think that life is often difficult enough. I don't want my "escape time" to be complicated and draining as well. So, I have to say that while we intended to go see The Passion of The Christ on opening night, a few weeks ago, we didn't make it there and I didn't push to see it. Honestly, I was worried. I kept hearing about all the violence in it and while I'm of the mind that the reality of it was probably no less violent, I was worried about being able to sit through it. I think I was also worried that the movie wouldn't be good enough. That good old Mel would try to squeeze in some Christian propaganda or cut corners to make it more "movie-like."

But we decided to go Thursday night, Maunday Thursday. I actually felt dread in my stomach about going. But the thing is I'd heard so many positive things about it, as well as negative, that I felt I needed to see it for myself to judge. As for the violence, well, my thought was that if someone could suffer through that actually happening to them on my behalf, I could at least summon the strength to watch it happen.

And while this is not specifically writing-related, I do want to share my thoughts on the movie. To do that, I want to say up front that I am Christian, Lutheran, in fact. Plus, I'm the daughter of a minister. So my view on this may be very different from some one who is not any of those things.

First, I have to say that for those who thought the movie was anti-semitic, I disagree. But I can see how that conclusion could be drawn. The high priests definitely wanted Jesus dead in Mel's telling of this story. They went to great lengths to make it happen. And Pilate, a governor of sorts put in place by Caesar, the one who actually gave the order to crucify Jesus (the priests were not allowed to condemn someone to death, per their religion) was portrayed as being the guy who was between a rock and a hard place. There would be an uprising if he let Jesus go and he was under warning from Caesar for the last uprising. So, even though he didn't agree with the priests, he was forced to kill Jesus.

Now, whether the priests were that adamant in real life or Pilate that wishy washy (he was reportedly quite the iron-fisted ruler), we don't know. And I can see why the claims of anti-semitism came about. But in fact, the majority of the violence was done by the Romans. And the Jewish high priests never laid a hand on him (from what I recall). And there were so many instances of positive images for the Jewish people. One of the priests asking where the rest of the council was and why the meeting to condemn Jesus was held at night and in secret. Simon Cyrene, the man pulled from the crowd to help Jesus carry the cross. He was not a follower of Jesus at all, but he was clearly shown as a good man. Plus, I think it's easy to forget that Jesus himself, his followers and his family were all Jewish. The last supper is Jesus and his followers celebrating Passover, not communion. His mother, Mary, gives the opening lines of a sedar (I'm not sure if that's how you spell it) at one point in the movie. It seems to me that Jesus was not trying to start a new religion, but reform the one he belonged to: Judaism.

All that aside, the movie was beautiful. It was a spectacular and moving experience, showing the life of one man, as a man and as more. The most emotional scenes were not those of the extreme violence, though those were difficult to handle, but the scenes in which you see how Jesus' destiny affected his life. His mother rushing to him while he falls, bloodied and beated on the road to Golgotha, and remembering how he fell as a little boy. Jesus, about to be whipped, seeing a man working with wood and remembering the pleasure he'd taken in building furniture. The depiction of evil, an actual separate figure, was both beautiful and terrifying all at the same time.

The real point of this movie, I think, was that no matter what or who Jesus was on a higher level, he was also a man. A man who loved his mother, enjoyed his life, his work and his friends. And he died for us. Whether you believe in Christ or not, that doesn't change the fact that he died to save you. He could have walked away, gone back to the life he loved. But he didn't. How many people do we know that would suffer through that for someone (or many someones) who might not even be appreciative of what that sacrifice meant?

I often think about what things I would miss from life. And they are usually the simple things. The feel and smell of clean sheets. A hot shower. Warm food. The feel of my dog's fur under my fingers. My family. My friends.

And someone walked away from all that, willingly gave all of that up for me. If nothing else, Mel Gibson's movie brought that home to me. I encourage everyone to see it. It is an amazing story, whether you believe or not. If nothing else, it shows you the dramatic sacrifices that are made when someone truly believes they are worth making.

: ) End Sermon
*hopping down off soap box*

Please feel free to agree or disagree, send me emails: sklemstein@msn.com. If you've got a different point of view, let's discuss!
Talk to you on Monday!

The sun is out, it's warm outside...
Meg Cabot has a hysterical journal entry today about traveling and book tours. See it here www.megcabot.com

Other news...
-On my end of things, I know that RuneStone is working on the back cover copy, which they said they will share with me, yea!

-I haven't checked home email yet (was obsessively vacuuming yet again last night so that potential buyers will fall in love with our spectacularly clean house and buy it immediately) so I don't know if anyone has sent anything in. But I will check tonight.

Talk to you tomorrow!

Final Cover Art!
I think the cover is final, yea!!! And you guys, it looks awesome! I'm hoping they'll have it up at Runestone soon. Or else, I might see if it would be okay to post a link to it here. I don't want to violate whatever agreement Runestone has made with Gina, the cover artist who did a fabulous job!

Music
So, I'm shopping for new music now. One of things I like to do is find music or songs that remind me somehow of whatever I'm writing, whether it's lyrics or just the sound of it. It helps me stay focused on the "world" I'm inhabiting. Plus, it's an awesome way to get work done during the commute. I put in the cd of whatever seems to represent what I'm working on and then just think about things. Unfortunately, this occasionally results in good ideas that then have to be jotted down. I have a notebook and pen with me always, but digging it out of my enormous bag while driving 70 MPH isn't always an easy or smart thing. I used to have a mini tape recorder in my car, but I found that writing it was better for me. For one, I'm too self-concious about the sound of my voice, and two, it's easier to keep going with a thought on paper than it is out loud, at least for me.

So, usually, I create soundtracks for whatever I'm working on. Not literally, of course, my poor beleaguered computer is barely equipped for playing cds, let alone burning them. But I keep the discs with the pertinent songs in my car and play them to and from work. It sometimes means I'm playing only one or two songs on a cd over and over again (fortunately I'm alone in the car), but I like it.

Another odd thing, harkening back to the whole quirk discussion, I can't ever tell anyone what cds I'm using while I'm using them or else it doesn't work for me anymore. So those of you who ask to borrow cds and then wonder why it takes me so long to get them to you, now you know! But after the fact, when the book is finished, it doesn't matter so much. I don't know why.

But the only way I find new music is through the radio and by people telling me that stuff is good. I love music but don't keep up with it, for some reason. So, I'm wondering...for those of you that have read The Silver Spoon, do you have any music suggestions? I mean, I'm going to be writing more books in this series (I hope!), so I'm going to need more new music. For the first book, I used:
-soundtrack to Buffy the Vampire Slayer
-soundtrack to City of Angels
-soundtrack to Spiderman
-Dido (the first cd, I can't think of what it was called)
-Linkin Park, Hybrid Theory
-Saliva, "Pretty Girl" is the name of the song.
-"Back Off" I can't remember the name of the artist but this song was on the radio.

And there's more that I can't think of right now. I'll check when I get home. One of the features I want to include when I update my website (I know, I need to order the software) is a specific soundtrack with the exact songs from those cds.

But if you have any suggestions that you think might help...send them to me at sklemstein@msn.com

Talk to you tomorrow!

Nothing in particular...
But a lot of stuff in general!
-I saw revised cover art this morning--it's awesome! It's so eyecatching and sexy. In fact that was my fear with the first round of art was that it was a little too sexy. I was afraid people might mistake it as more of a romance and/or erotic novel. But this new round is great--definitely hits the sci-fi angle without losing out on the "hot" element. Can't wait for you guys to see it!

-The short stories for Valpo's Wordfest judging are on their way to me. I'm really looking forward to reading them.

-The creative writing class will be starting up in a couple months. I think registration starts this month. I hope that people will want to take the class!

I'm so excited about all of this. I feel very fortunate to be able to participate in all of this : ) I love it! I know I'm going to be crazy busy for a long while now (especially with moving to a new house) but if it's doing all this kind of stuff, I don't care. I'll take on as much as I can because this is the opportunity I've been waiting for, for pretty much my whole life! Yeah, that's not scary and thrilling all at the same time.

On the other hand...
I had some time to think about my blog that I wrote yesterday. Really, even if long term space travel was possible, I'm not sure I could or would do it. In addition to all the things that I mentioned yesterday, I forgot to say that I'm claustrophobic. And did I tell you that I'm afraid of heights? And flying? Throw a bird in there (Please God not literally) and you have all my major phobias. Not to mention the fact that I can't remember if I've closed the garage door three seconds after I've pulled out of the driveway. Can you imagine worrying about stuff like that when you're in outer space for six months or more at a time? "Damn. I forgot to feed the cat."

This bit of weirdness brought to you by a long Monday at the office. Have to get going now, to make kickboxing on time. Though, usually, if I time it just right, I can miss the first five minutes. That's jump roping. I HATE jump roping. *Sigh* But I love punching stuff, so I suppose it all evens out in the end : )

Talk to you tomorrow!

Space...the final frontier.
Today, while I was babysitting the house--we had our second open house today--I found Star Trek: First Contact on one of the movie stations. That's one of my favorites. It's the one where they go back in time to find Zephram Cochrane (spelling?) and stop the Borg. It's also the one with the beautiful and yet slightly slimy female leader of the Borg. It also has, as I recall, a great scene in which Counselor Troi is getting schnockered on real alcohol instead of synthehol in an effort to get some information from Zephram Cochrane (I think that's why, I actually missed that part today, so I'm pulling that from memory).

Anyway, as I watched the end of the movie, the Borg were defeated (of course) and the Vulcans landed to make first contact, I was sort of sad. I know it sounds strange, but ever since I was a little kid I always thought the Enterprise (or a ship like that) would be an awesome place to live. Always exciting, never knowing what would happen next, meeting aliens, getting to visit other planets, worlds. And no real danger, of course, unless you're one of the guys in the red shirts (old Star Trek) or yellow shirts (new Star Trek). But the fact is, even with President Bush's grand plans to build a lunar station and have a manned mission to Mars, getting even to take a ride to another planet, let alone wander around a newly discovered planet, won't happen in my lifetime for me or anyone like me. I know that sounds dumb, I mean, who would expect to be able to do something like that, right? But think about it...to know for certain that no matter how long you live, you will never live long enough to have something like that happen...it's just sort of sad.

On the other hand though, I have to admit that reality is probably nowhere near as good as imagination. In that, the Enterprise, let's face it, looks a little more like a luxury liner than a battle ship. I think it will take even more time to get to the point where you can have something like that in space. And I sort of like having regular bathrooms, with real showers. Not to mention the fact that anyone who gets to go out there to explore will most likely have to be military. I mean, that's what they are on Star Trek, though somehow that always seems to get lost. And I'm really not so good at taking orders. Plus, I'm also not good at change and going new places (ask my husband about the move to the new house and that's in the same state!). So, I'm probably not an ideal candidate for long term space travel even if it were possible.

So, really, the imaginary world of space travel is probably a far better fit for me. A book in most ways is a passport to a different kind of life, to be anyone you want, anywhere you want. And most of time in a book, if you catch a bad case of the rigellian flu, there's a Doc McCoy to fix you up. I have a feeling in the real world, it's going to be a lot more complicated. But I'm looking forward to seeing as much of it as I can!

Other news...
I saw the first round of cover art for The Silver Spoon. And I really like the direction it's taking! I'm also thrilled with how open the artist and my publisher are to my thoughts in the process. I'm very lucky to be able to be this involved.

I'll keep you guys posted and hopefully you'll be seeing a cover soon. It's unbelievable how amazing it feels to see my name on an actual book cover! I have big smile on my face every time I think of it.

Talk to you tomorrow!

Fun reading
A short blog today. Just a little too much going on. But for those of you who are looking for something fun to read in the paranormal/horror genre, try Kelley Armstrong. She has two books out now, Bitten and Stolen. The main characters are werewolves in those, but really cool ones. They live and work in the same world we do and have to hide their "condition" from general society. She has a great female heroine, Elena, who kicks butt on a regular basis but isn't the odd she-man type of character that often results from that combination (woman and strong). And she, Kelley, has a new book coming out at the end of this month, Dime Store Magic. The main character in that is a witch : )

I love the way she writes and her website is awesome. Tons of free stuff, fun things to read, like two different e-serials (including a new one that just started last month!) Plus, she has regular contests to give things away! So check it out...www.kelleyarmstrong.com
Hopefully a longer blog tomorrow, Friday. Yea!!

Talk to you tomorrow.