Random stuff to entertain you...

Still working away on revisions, so limited blog time again. : )

 

But here are a few things I found interesting and wanted to share...

 

First, my friend Becky, an avid traveler, read about my experience with de-icing and wrote the following:

 

Stac, I had to email you about your latest blog and de-icing. As a traveler (especially from northern MI), de-icing is a ritual that we live with on every flight. So I chuckled at your comments. It never occurred to me that people who don't fly may be off put a bit by being de-iced, and not realize it's a COMMON happening during the winter months. Did you know that the de-icing liquid (which comes in pink and orange varieties) is actually the same thing as inexpensive shampoo? Basically you are making the wings too slippery for water to build up on and freeze. Also, because de-icing is only good for 13 minutes, you want to be on the plane when it happens. That's also why planes generally are delayed in the winter. It takes time to de-ice a plane, and you don't want to do it until the plane itself is within 13 minutes of taxiing down the runway. It causes a backup, especially at large places like O'Hare. See, I'm a plethora of de-icing information. :) So, next time you are on a plane being de-iced, breathe easy dear friend...it's good. (Actually, if you are on a small prop-job plane like we get up here, don't breathe easy, breathe shallow - that stuff stinks!)

 

Thanks for the info, Beck. Fascinating stuff. I LOVE random bits of fact like this. : ) Never know when the smallest detail (like the de-icing stuff being pink or orange) can be used in a scene to add that touch of veracity.

 

Second, check out Barbara Vey's blog entry with Margie Lawson, a kinesics specialist, on body language. This is incredibly useful information for writers when you're trying to convey emotion without being direct or obvious. Or, when you're trying to convey an emotion that the character doesn't want to acknowledge he or she is feeling...if that makes sense! So, check it out. There's even a quiz!!!

 

Finally, Barbara also has an excerpt from Diana Holquist's blog on the issue of posting e-books for the world to read (ala Napster) without the author or publisher's permission. Diana, in the excerpt, explains it beautifully. It's not just about the money. It's about sales. Publishers LIVE by the numbers, therefore writers must as well. If a writer does not sell enough copies, he/she may not be offered another contract, regardless of quality of writing, story originality, fan response, etc. That means, every copy counts. E-books are an especially tricky thing because, unlike paperbacks, when you "loan" copy of an ebook, you're actually duplicating it. You get a copy and the person you're sending it to gets a copy. I thought it was good information and a passionate plea for understanding from Diana.

 

Also, just a note, this same idea doesn't really apply to paperbacks, obviously. Most of us use libraries, borrow from friends and even visit used bookstores. But in each case, the author has been paid for that copy of the work. Multiple people are reading that copy, but that's okay because it's not duplication. I, for one, think it's great to borrow, lend or buy used. People are far more likely to take a chance on a new author at a library or a used bookstore. : )

 

Okay, back to work now!

Florida Trip, Part One

Sad to say, but I'm back in Illinois now. It's good to be home, safe and sound, but I had SUCH a good time at Linnea's house. I didn't want to leave. Seriously. I wanted to just hole up in a closet somewhere, emerging only to write by the pool and drink watermelon Cosmos (Linnea's husband, Rob, makes the most DELICIOUS Cosmos ever--strong ones, too!) Somehow, though, I think they would have noticed. : ) Especially if Rob had to keep making watermelon Cosmos!

I know I'm a midwestern girl and have been for the vast majority of my life. But when I was really little, there were those few years there on the Carolina coast that must have made quite the impact on me. I love sunshine, palm trees and warm, sunny beaches--and Florida has all of that in spades!

We got into town late on Wednesday night, weary and salt covered. Literally. It was snowy and slushy when we left Chicago, so the back of my jeans were stiff with salt about 4 inches up my leg. Also, we were late by about two hours. Our plane was delayed for de-icing, which is a uniquely terrifying thing to have announced when you're already on the plane feeling rather vulnerable and trapped. Greg and I joked about watching for the guy to come clean off our window with a car scraper. It wasn't anything that funny or scary for those who have never been "de-iced." It's just a bunch of orange liquid they squirt all over the plane. But me being the disaster-freak that I am, I'd just watched a special on how some airline trained employees in de-icing by giving them the answers to the required multiple choice test...while said employees were actually taking the test! Yeah.

Linnea and Rob were waiting at the airport to meet us, which was awesome! It was so good to see her again. I don't get much opportunity to gab about books and writing here in my regular life, and I just knew we'd have a blast catching up and sharing news. We left the airport and I drank in my first gulp of air that was not frigid but humid. My hair immediately frizzed, but I didn't care. I was warm!

They have a fabulous house--of course--with the coolest swimming pool area I've ever seen. It's completely screened in and it's HUGE. So you can sit out there at the table, working on the laptop with no bugs or birds (*shudder*) flying by your head. It's awesome.

We hung out poolside (yeah, I know, don't bother hating me though because I'm back here with the rest of the people-sicles) on Wednesday night, drinking and talking and eating. Rob introduced us to Lemoncello, an Italian liqueur that he'd made at home. Very powerful stuff. Tastes like liquid lemons but sweet, not sour.

I also met Daquiri that night. He has the biggest tail I've ever seen and the clearest green eyes. He's a cat, by the way, not a drink. Actually, I'm pretty sure he's a person, masquerading as a cat. : ) As I was not someone he knew, he did not deign to pay me any attention that night. But by the end of my visit, he was taking treats from my hand. Though, I apparently committed a grave offense by only giving him two treats--I was thinking like a dog owner--and after that, I'm pretty sure he thought less of me. Though, he did let me scratch behind his ears.

The four of us stayed up incredibly late on Wednesday night--2:45 a.m., I think--talking about books, career plans, writing, everything. At least, that's what Linnea and I were talking about. We left Rob and Greg to their own devices by the pool!

Thursday was a work day, but it was great. I set myself up in Linnea's kitchen to work on EOB edits. Greg was out by the pool, wheeling and dealing as he is wont to do in the course of his real estate day. Linnea went to her office to get some work done, and Rob went to the golf course. (He's a professional golfer--isn't that so cool?) I seriously cranked on the edits, and Linnea was standing by when I had questions or was dithering between two word options--that was incredibly helpful to be able to get a second opinion. So many times, I'm too close to what I'm working on to see it clearly. Also, I'm apparently in love with the word "but," especially putting it at the beginning of the sentence.

After a quick break for lunch at the club house--no, seriously, they have a clubhouse in their subdivision where you can go for lunch and dinner everyday, I'd never cook again and I'd weigh like 5,000 pounds--we took a tour of the neighborhood, enjoying the sunshine and the palm trees. Oh, and I forgot, we met the Muscovie ducks that live in Linnea's back yard! Also, she has an egg she rescued and is incubating--duh--in an incubator in her office. It was so cool to be able to see the duckling moving around inside the shell. It's not a Muscovie duckling, though. I think it's Mallard.

A few more hours of work and then we were off to downtown Naples and dinner at Tommy Bahamas. I had the Sanibel Chicken, and it was the best chicken I've ever tasted. It had a parmesan cheese crust and it was filled with more cheese and red peppers. I kid you not, my mouth is watering at the memory. And you know I'm not much of a meat-eating person. We also had fun watching tourists get embarrassingly drunk and dance to this sort of awful one-guy band (he had a keyboard that created the sounds of many different instruments).

 

Back at home, more Cosmos and Orangecello this time! So good.

 

Friday, we hit the beach! Something about being that close to the water--salt water, lakes don't count--just makes me feel peaceful inside. First, though, we took a little tour around Naples so we could check out the amazing houses there. The part that kills me is that most of these are "part-time" residences. Meaning the owners are probably there only a few months or even weeks out of the year. Sheesh.

 

If I lived in Florida, I'd get myself all bonded and insured to be a house-sitter. That would be awesome! I'm sure it's not nearly as much fun as I imagine it to be. Nor do you probably get to live at these fabulous houses for weeks at time "sitting" them. It's probably just dropping by every few days. Still, very cool.

 

More on my Florida trip, specifically on the hockey game (go Blades!) and the Donald Maass seminar, to follow....

 

 

under deadline again

I haven't disappeared off the face of the earth or abandoned Illinois for Florida again...though that last one is tempting! I'm working on revisions to another project, and I need every second I've got to pull everything together in proper fashion. I know...perfectionist, much? Can't help it. It's me! So, I expect to be a bit scarce over the next couple of weeks while I finish up.

 

Meanwhile, first part of my Florida trip should be up later today, sans pictures. Haven't had time to get that part organized yet!

 

: )

Weird

I did something last night I haven't done since college: I fell asleep while writing.

 

Not typing, mind you. Oh, no, I've done the head bobbing downward toward sleep at the keyboard plenty of times over the years since then. But last night, I was writing with a pen and notebook--yeah, I'm old fashioned that way sometimes.

 

I was sitting in the big comfy chair in my office (mistake one) with my feet up (mistake two), taking notes on some revisions I'm going to make. I'd been at a conference all weekend, getting up early and staying up late (not a mistake, but a contributing factor for sure). And it was 11:30 at night and I was in my new flannel pajama pants and fleece shirt (exactly how was I planning to stay awake is now my question).

 

Anyway, I was doing the head bob thing and feeling that momentary blast of adrenaline that comes when you wake yourself up after those little micro naps, so I convinced myself I was still awake enough to keep going. Until, during one lucid moment, I looked down and saw that I'd written words that made no sense in the context of what I was doing. I was dream writing or something.

 

In my notes on a story, I'd written "Creating RWA..." without any recollection of doing so. Unlike college, however, where notes I took in an 8 a.m. history class often resembled a failing EKG readout, these were perfectly legible and normal words. RWA was even all caps as it's supposed to be.

 

RWA is Romance Writers of America, an organization I belong to. I'd spent some time talking with various other members over the course of the weekend. No idea what the "creating" was all about. The weirdest part was, like I said, I had no memory of writing the words or even what bizarre dream thoughts triggered such words.

 

Anybody else ever dream write? Is that even a real thing? I'm just making up terms now. : )

 

Should have Florida post(s) and pictures up soon. This weekend at the latest. I really want to go over my Donald Maass notes and post the relevant thoughts/points. Not just because it might be helpful to someone else out there, but also because it'll make it easier for me to find them later when I inevitably misplace the notebook I wrote them in. : )

 

Hope you all are surviving your February so far. We've got about eight inches of snow on the ground. Actually, it's less now that it's started to rain, thunder and lightning. My mom says their forecaster called this "thundersnow." I told her I felt pretty certain "thundersnow" was a sign of the coming apocalypse. But we're under a winter storm watch tomorrow evening for another 6 inches or more of snow. I'm awfully darn sick of this.

 

It's crazy this week...

Hey guys, just a quick note to let you know we're back safe and sound from Florida. I personally would have preferred to be marooned there for several years, but alas, that was not the case. : )

I'm working on a full trip report. We had so much fun! I've got about half of it written, but I want to include pictures and I haven't even written yet about the Donald Maass seminar. We did a lot last week!

Anyway, at the moment, I'm attending Love Is Murder, having a blast and meeting lots of new people. Tonight I met a bunch of members from RWA (Romance Writers of America) Chicago North chapter. Thanks everyone, Deb Gross in particular, for being so friendly and welcoming and just plain great.

I also had the pleasure of meeting Barbara Vey who writes a great blog over at Publishers Weekly. Be sure to watch this weekend as she'll be posting pictures of the conference, and there are some terrific ones, particularly from the crime scene panel tonight. I'm also in one with two other authors, so keep an eye out! : ) Barbara also had a very interesting entry on reviews, which turned out to be a very hot topic with a lot of people. I've only recently come to the notion of not reading reviews before going to see a movie. I suspect, otherwise, I might not have enjoyed 27 Dresses as much as I did. I thought it was cute, fun and funny, but boy, the critics did not agree. And you know what? I respect their right to have an opinion, as much as I respect my right to make up my mind for myself without first being tainted. So, no more pre-movie reviews for me.

Anyway, check out Barbara's blog and contribute to the conversation, if you like. : )

More later...I met Tess Gerritsen and Lee Child this weekend as well. It's a star-studded conference all around!