I'll be taking a few days away from the internet to spend some time with our family and celebrate Christmas. (And, I hope, to finish up these lingering edits!) No matter what holiday you celebrate, I hope you find yourself happily ensconced among loving family and friends with lots of good food within easy reach.
: ) Stacey
Friday, December 23, 2005
Wednesday, December 21, 2005
Gifts purchased: Some
Cookies baked: None
Christmas cards sent: Yeah, right.
All right, so I'm thirty pages from the end of the sequel, and I'm at a pivotal point. Not just for this book but for the story that follows. I really didn't want to be thinking this hard about book three yet. I wanted to take a little bit of a breather. But I suppose the fact that the end of book two wants to tie in so closely to book three is actually probably a good thing.
I'm sure you're wondering why, if I have a complete draft of book two, am I encountering issues like this? The simple answer is, I chickened out. I knew the conversation (the one I mentioned the other day) would be difficult--one that would leave us teetering on the edge of "is this really going to work out okay in the end?"--and I didn't want to deal with it right then. Zara had just slogged through conflict after conflict, essentially alone, and I thought we didn't want to deal with another one from someone who shouldn't be giving us grief. Except, apparently, I was alone in this thought. So, we plunged in headfirst into the conflict this time around and the trouble is, this repercussions of this conflict are big enough to potentially follow us into book three. Which is okay, except I haven't had a whole lot of time to think about this and sort of test the water to see which way everyone's going to go. And the area this conflict touches upon is more than just a delicate relationship between two people but also the culmination of the series' theme.
The kernel of truth at the heart of the series is the question, what do you do when you're called to be something more than you thought you could be? Something or someone you don't necessarily want to be? Something that will involve sacrifice and pain and making difficult decisions and being selfless. Zara does not want to be the one in charge of our little band of rebel Observers. She feels that she can barely keep her human life under control, how can she be responsible for the fate of others, possibly even the whole world? She just wants to be a good person and have her life go the direction she thought it would. In my mind, it's sort of a twisted version of the story of Moses. Except instead of burning bushes that talk, you get hot aliens with visions and psi abilities who are directing Zara toward her higher purpose. I hope that's not sacriligious. I don't mean it to be. It's just a different sort of interpretation.
Okay, I wrote more on this but had to delete it as it was very, very full of spoilers for book two. Basically, you'd know the end. Probably not the best thing to publicize before the book has even been finished, let alone published. I've got a few days off coming up in the next week or so and I hope to get through this last little bit of editing!
Anyway, here's something fun to do. Go to Barnes and Noble online and check out the list of bestsellers in the upper right hand corner. Yeah. It freaked me out for a second, too. But unfortunately, my book is not published by Phaidon Press, nor is it a cook book. But it's kind of fun to look at, right?
Cookies baked: None
Christmas cards sent: Yeah, right.
All right, so I'm thirty pages from the end of the sequel, and I'm at a pivotal point. Not just for this book but for the story that follows. I really didn't want to be thinking this hard about book three yet. I wanted to take a little bit of a breather. But I suppose the fact that the end of book two wants to tie in so closely to book three is actually probably a good thing.
I'm sure you're wondering why, if I have a complete draft of book two, am I encountering issues like this? The simple answer is, I chickened out. I knew the conversation (the one I mentioned the other day) would be difficult--one that would leave us teetering on the edge of "is this really going to work out okay in the end?"--and I didn't want to deal with it right then. Zara had just slogged through conflict after conflict, essentially alone, and I thought we didn't want to deal with another one from someone who shouldn't be giving us grief. Except, apparently, I was alone in this thought. So, we plunged in headfirst into the conflict this time around and the trouble is, this repercussions of this conflict are big enough to potentially follow us into book three. Which is okay, except I haven't had a whole lot of time to think about this and sort of test the water to see which way everyone's going to go. And the area this conflict touches upon is more than just a delicate relationship between two people but also the culmination of the series' theme.
The kernel of truth at the heart of the series is the question, what do you do when you're called to be something more than you thought you could be? Something or someone you don't necessarily want to be? Something that will involve sacrifice and pain and making difficult decisions and being selfless. Zara does not want to be the one in charge of our little band of rebel Observers. She feels that she can barely keep her human life under control, how can she be responsible for the fate of others, possibly even the whole world? She just wants to be a good person and have her life go the direction she thought it would. In my mind, it's sort of a twisted version of the story of Moses. Except instead of burning bushes that talk, you get hot aliens with visions and psi abilities who are directing Zara toward her higher purpose. I hope that's not sacriligious. I don't mean it to be. It's just a different sort of interpretation.
Okay, I wrote more on this but had to delete it as it was very, very full of spoilers for book two. Basically, you'd know the end. Probably not the best thing to publicize before the book has even been finished, let alone published. I've got a few days off coming up in the next week or so and I hope to get through this last little bit of editing!
Anyway, here's something fun to do. Go to Barnes and Noble online and check out the list of bestsellers in the upper right hand corner. Yeah. It freaked me out for a second, too. But unfortunately, my book is not published by Phaidon Press, nor is it a cook book. But it's kind of fun to look at, right?
Monday, December 19, 2005
One more down...
Another chapter is finished. That means only three to go and I'm already working on one of them, so really only two after the current one. Yea! On Saturday, I managed to get through a difficult conversation between Zara and Caelan that I'd ducked out on in the previous draft. I told myself that she'd let a particular remark slide, due to the surrounding circumstances not being right for a giant discussion, but she has overruled me. : ) And the scene and chapter are better for it. So, I'll keep working away. I'm excited to be this close to the end. Getting through that difficult conversation was a major hurdle for me, so I'm feeling good that's done.
ButI don't have any Christmas gifts purchased, Christmas cards are a distant dream on my to do list, and I have a cookie exchange tomorrow for which I've baked no cookies. *sigh* Yeah. This week is going to be a little tricky.
Here are some fun links to check out:
-Woolly Mammoth Park. It could happen. I'd probably even pay to visit, as long Newman wasn't in charge of security and all. Best quote in that movie?
Dr. Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum): "God creates dinosaurs. God destroys dinosaurs. God creates man. Man destroys God. Man creates dinosaurs..."
Dr. Sattler (Laura Dern): "Dinosaurs eat man. Woman inherits the earth..."
-I read somewhere recently that in order to attract their target audience (women, primarily), the marketing folks for Brokeback Mountain looked at movie posters for 50 of the most romantic movies of all time for inspiration in creating their movie poster. Titanic, it turns out, was a huge inspiration. I, despite having seen that movie and wept over it despite my irritation with the end (hello?!? An entire ship went down and there was only one person-sized, floatable piece of wood out there?), could not remember what the poster looked like to save my life. So, I did a little research. I found it interesting to see what similarities the marketing folks picked up on and how they chose to use them. I mean, most people wouldn't even probably notice the likeness, but I wonder if it has a subconscious effect. I bet it does. So, here you go, have a look for yourselves:
Titanic movie poster
Brokeback Mountain Movie poster
-Also, am I the only one willing to admit a junior high/early high school obssession with the works of V.C. Andrews? Oh, goodness, they were like soap operas in print. People sleeping around, sometimes with siblings (Ick!), evil or absent parents, tragic pregnancies and even more tragic miscarriages--I'm sure I'm glossing over the weirdness of them, but for some reason, I was utterly entranced by these novels. Flowers in the Attic was the first one I read. And yet, knowing exactly what happens in that book, I was totally squicked out by the new cover I saw on it at Target the other day. Here is the old cover you might be familiar with. Here is the new cover. Chris and Cathy are siblings, people. As in, incest! Am I the only one weirded out by this new romantic cover photo being used to sell incest as romance?!?
ButI don't have any Christmas gifts purchased, Christmas cards are a distant dream on my to do list, and I have a cookie exchange tomorrow for which I've baked no cookies. *sigh* Yeah. This week is going to be a little tricky.
Here are some fun links to check out:
-Woolly Mammoth Park. It could happen. I'd probably even pay to visit, as long Newman wasn't in charge of security and all. Best quote in that movie?
Dr. Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum): "God creates dinosaurs. God destroys dinosaurs. God creates man. Man destroys God. Man creates dinosaurs..."
Dr. Sattler (Laura Dern): "Dinosaurs eat man. Woman inherits the earth..."
-I read somewhere recently that in order to attract their target audience (women, primarily), the marketing folks for Brokeback Mountain looked at movie posters for 50 of the most romantic movies of all time for inspiration in creating their movie poster. Titanic, it turns out, was a huge inspiration. I, despite having seen that movie and wept over it despite my irritation with the end (hello?!? An entire ship went down and there was only one person-sized, floatable piece of wood out there?), could not remember what the poster looked like to save my life. So, I did a little research. I found it interesting to see what similarities the marketing folks picked up on and how they chose to use them. I mean, most people wouldn't even probably notice the likeness, but I wonder if it has a subconscious effect. I bet it does. So, here you go, have a look for yourselves:
Titanic movie poster
Brokeback Mountain Movie poster
-Also, am I the only one willing to admit a junior high/early high school obssession with the works of V.C. Andrews? Oh, goodness, they were like soap operas in print. People sleeping around, sometimes with siblings (Ick!), evil or absent parents, tragic pregnancies and even more tragic miscarriages--I'm sure I'm glossing over the weirdness of them, but for some reason, I was utterly entranced by these novels. Flowers in the Attic was the first one I read. And yet, knowing exactly what happens in that book, I was totally squicked out by the new cover I saw on it at Target the other day. Here is the old cover you might be familiar with. Here is the new cover. Chris and Cathy are siblings, people. As in, incest! Am I the only one weirded out by this new romantic cover photo being used to sell incest as romance?!?
Wednesday, December 14, 2005
Snowing...again
This is the time of year that I always question my choice of living here. More snow. Ugh. It's pretty and I love it...as long as I don't have to go anywhere. But snow inevitably falls during rush hour, either to or from work and in some cases both. Sure, Hawaii has the occasional lava flow but I'm thinking if that affects your commute, you probably need to move a little farther away from the volcano. And possibly start looking for some help from Pierce Brosnan...
Anyway as a distraction from the crummy weather, I found a couple of fun things--
Meg Cabot's opinion on seeing Brokeback Mountain, which made me laugh:
"I will be breaking my long-standing policy of not seeing movies with purportedly tragic endings in order to watch BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN (aka the “gay cowboy movie”). I urge you to see it as well, and not just because it co-stars THE PRINCESS DIARIES’s Anne Hathaway and RANDY QUAID. Even though, as my brother Matt put it this weekend, there is only one “crying show” allowed per week--and that show is, of course, EXTREME HOME MAKEOVER--I think it’s very, very important to support movies in which hot guys kiss each other.
Especially if one of them is Heath Ledger."
She also hates stories with talking animals. Finally, I'm not alone!!! I can't watch most of the Disney movies anymore because they insist on making animals talk. Now, that being said, my husband loves to point out that my two favorite Disney movies, The Little Mermaid (which I know is so wrong from the original fairy tale but come on, she has red hair!) and Beauty and Beast (Belle loves books!) have talking fish, crustaceans and normally inanimate objects like teapots. But that, somehow, is acceptable to me. I believe he thinks I'm splitting hairs at this point, but I stand firm : )
Also, Megan Crane has pinned down exactly what makes revising a book so difficult and why writers feel compelled to keep writing. Check it out here. I love finding this stuff, especially when it so perfectly describes how I feel and it's from an established, successful author (two books out, third on the way and I believe writing is her full-time job). Makes me feel less alone when I'm out there chasing the elusive perfect book that's in my head. What she says is absolutely true. The book in your head has so many exciting possibilities, so many scenes that will never make it to paper or to the final draft. That's probably why I always end up writing books in a series. I can't let go after just one. : )
Sorry you're not getting very much original content these days : ) I'm still struggling with the last few chapters of the sequel and I'm pretty sure everyone is tired of hearing that same sentence over and over again. Unfortunately, that's the main thing dominating my attention at the moment. I promise a return to new and original thought (well, as much as there ever was here to begin with) as soon as this @#$#@$% book is done. *beatific smile*
Anyway as a distraction from the crummy weather, I found a couple of fun things--
Meg Cabot's opinion on seeing Brokeback Mountain, which made me laugh:
"I will be breaking my long-standing policy of not seeing movies with purportedly tragic endings in order to watch BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN (aka the “gay cowboy movie”). I urge you to see it as well, and not just because it co-stars THE PRINCESS DIARIES’s Anne Hathaway and RANDY QUAID. Even though, as my brother Matt put it this weekend, there is only one “crying show” allowed per week--and that show is, of course, EXTREME HOME MAKEOVER--I think it’s very, very important to support movies in which hot guys kiss each other.
Especially if one of them is Heath Ledger."
She also hates stories with talking animals. Finally, I'm not alone!!! I can't watch most of the Disney movies anymore because they insist on making animals talk. Now, that being said, my husband loves to point out that my two favorite Disney movies, The Little Mermaid (which I know is so wrong from the original fairy tale but come on, she has red hair!) and Beauty and Beast (Belle loves books!) have talking fish, crustaceans and normally inanimate objects like teapots. But that, somehow, is acceptable to me. I believe he thinks I'm splitting hairs at this point, but I stand firm : )
Also, Megan Crane has pinned down exactly what makes revising a book so difficult and why writers feel compelled to keep writing. Check it out here. I love finding this stuff, especially when it so perfectly describes how I feel and it's from an established, successful author (two books out, third on the way and I believe writing is her full-time job). Makes me feel less alone when I'm out there chasing the elusive perfect book that's in my head. What she says is absolutely true. The book in your head has so many exciting possibilities, so many scenes that will never make it to paper or to the final draft. That's probably why I always end up writing books in a series. I can't let go after just one. : )
Sorry you're not getting very much original content these days : ) I'm still struggling with the last few chapters of the sequel and I'm pretty sure everyone is tired of hearing that same sentence over and over again. Unfortunately, that's the main thing dominating my attention at the moment. I promise a return to new and original thought (well, as much as there ever was here to begin with) as soon as this @#$#@$% book is done. *beatific smile*
Monday, December 12, 2005
Stacey blah, blahs about current projects...and fun stuff (at the end!)
Another chapter completed in the sequel edit! That means I've only got four more to go, and I'm already working on the next one. I knew these would take the longest. With the one I just finished, I ended up only keeping a little bit of the original text, so that meant about twenty pages of rewriting.
I've been trying to teach myself techniques to move more quickly from book to book, as some other writers do. But I find it difficult. Half the fun for me is not knowing what's going to happen, so if I plan or analyze too much, it ends up being more of a chore than anything else. Unfortunately, writing without planning means I find my footing about halfway through the book and the end does not really resemble the beginning of the story in anyway. So, therefore, I consign myself to extensive rewriting and revising on nearly every book. The only exception to this has been the manuscript for Bitter Pill. That one originally came up very short, under 100 pages, and I knew it would. I could see where there were gaps in the story. So, going back in and adding subplots and scenes was relatively easy.
Don't get me wrong, I love the sequel, but I'm eager to move on to something fresh and new. I have a new Rennie idea that I'd love to explore, but I'm thinking I should put that on hold until I actually sell the first book in that series. Honestly, I haven't really tried. Sent out only four query letters, and then got preoccupied with the sequel. Plus I realized revisions were needed. But I already have a draft of the second book in the series completed (also needs revisions), so writing a third at this point might not be the wisest use of my time--though, I will do it eventually because I just love visiting Morrisville : ) What do you think about the twist of referring to her as an obituary writer (which she is) versus just a freelance writer (which is also true. She's a freelance writer who spents most of her time writing tribute articles, which are basically expanded obituaries)? I'm thinking obituary writer might have more of a hook to catch potential interest. What do you guys think?
Mystery project is up next for revisions, and that's another one that's likely going to be tough to revise. Ugh. I'm working on bits and pieces of an outline, but since the idea involves very familiar types of characters, I'm working very hard to make sure these characters are different enough from what's already out there.
I've also got a fun idea for a YA novel, but we'll see where that goes.
And now...the aforementioned fun stuff:
-Check it out--Pat Kirby and Crissa Chappell have both responded to the meme from last week. You may have to scroll down to reach it. As always, I'm not prompt with my linking.
-Has anyone seen Brokeback Mountain? It may not be out until next week, I can't remember. I'd like to see it, but I've heard that ending may not be a particularly happy one. Therefore, I need to judge whether it's worth going to see and getting all upset over it : ) I don't like movies with unhappy endings unless they're really, really good movies and even then, I will only ever watch the movie once. So email me and tell me about the movie, but especially the end so I know what I'm getting myself into.
-New Battlestar Galactica episodes return on January 6!
-Check out this new book, Valiant, that I found on Barnes and Noble. Sounds kind of interesting but I'm hesitant to spend the money on a hardcover for an author I don't know. Anyone read this book or this author before? (The link I'm providing is to the excerpt which is pretty interesting, I think.)
-Also, when you have a second or you're bored at work (I'm sure that never happens to you!), check out this site: happynews.com. It's only happy news. After weeks (well, let's be honest, months) of surfing cnn.com and msnbc.com on a daily basis, this site was a relief. And it's a cool idea, I think.
I've been trying to teach myself techniques to move more quickly from book to book, as some other writers do. But I find it difficult. Half the fun for me is not knowing what's going to happen, so if I plan or analyze too much, it ends up being more of a chore than anything else. Unfortunately, writing without planning means I find my footing about halfway through the book and the end does not really resemble the beginning of the story in anyway. So, therefore, I consign myself to extensive rewriting and revising on nearly every book. The only exception to this has been the manuscript for Bitter Pill. That one originally came up very short, under 100 pages, and I knew it would. I could see where there were gaps in the story. So, going back in and adding subplots and scenes was relatively easy.
Don't get me wrong, I love the sequel, but I'm eager to move on to something fresh and new. I have a new Rennie idea that I'd love to explore, but I'm thinking I should put that on hold until I actually sell the first book in that series. Honestly, I haven't really tried. Sent out only four query letters, and then got preoccupied with the sequel. Plus I realized revisions were needed. But I already have a draft of the second book in the series completed (also needs revisions), so writing a third at this point might not be the wisest use of my time--though, I will do it eventually because I just love visiting Morrisville : ) What do you think about the twist of referring to her as an obituary writer (which she is) versus just a freelance writer (which is also true. She's a freelance writer who spents most of her time writing tribute articles, which are basically expanded obituaries)? I'm thinking obituary writer might have more of a hook to catch potential interest. What do you guys think?
Mystery project is up next for revisions, and that's another one that's likely going to be tough to revise. Ugh. I'm working on bits and pieces of an outline, but since the idea involves very familiar types of characters, I'm working very hard to make sure these characters are different enough from what's already out there.
I've also got a fun idea for a YA novel, but we'll see where that goes.
And now...the aforementioned fun stuff:
-Check it out--Pat Kirby and Crissa Chappell have both responded to the meme from last week. You may have to scroll down to reach it. As always, I'm not prompt with my linking.
-Has anyone seen Brokeback Mountain? It may not be out until next week, I can't remember. I'd like to see it, but I've heard that ending may not be a particularly happy one. Therefore, I need to judge whether it's worth going to see and getting all upset over it : ) I don't like movies with unhappy endings unless they're really, really good movies and even then, I will only ever watch the movie once. So email me and tell me about the movie, but especially the end so I know what I'm getting myself into.
-New Battlestar Galactica episodes return on January 6!
-Check out this new book, Valiant, that I found on Barnes and Noble. Sounds kind of interesting but I'm hesitant to spend the money on a hardcover for an author I don't know. Anyone read this book or this author before? (The link I'm providing is to the excerpt which is pretty interesting, I think.)
-Also, when you have a second or you're bored at work (I'm sure that never happens to you!), check out this site: happynews.com. It's only happy news. After weeks (well, let's be honest, months) of surfing cnn.com and msnbc.com on a daily basis, this site was a relief. And it's a cool idea, I think.
Wednesday, December 07, 2005
Sometimes, I get all hamstrung trying to think about what to write in here. I have so many things that I can't talk about (for various reasons), which are, inevitably, the things I want to talk about. I hope to be able to talk about those things eventually, but not yet. And there are things that I'm sick of writing about, mainly because I'm tired of hearing myself whine about said things.
So, here is just a list of good things that have happened in the last few days:
-Bonnie Vanak tagged me with the book meme yesterday. It made me remember how much fun RT was last year and realize how much I'm looking forward to seeing Bonnie and everyone else again. It sounds dumb, but sometimes being a writer is lonely and hard. Not the fun stuff, like signings and book release parties--those are great but not nearly as frequent as one would like! I'm talking about the toiling away day after day on a book or story that may or may not ever be good enough to be published, and even if it is, it may not earn you much, if any, money. Sometimes you just need to be around other people who are infected with that same strain of craziness. : )
-I tagged Megan Crane (among others) with the meme and she responded with answers that are as cool and interesting as I suspected they would be. Check it out here... Scroll down to yesterday's entry.
-My husband made pancakes on Sunday morning and woke me up to join him in the eating of them.
-Meg Cabot wrote a touching and still funny entry about the death of her grandfather, telling a WWII story about him, which reminds me of the WWII story (I think, it might also have been Korea, I'll have to ask) about my grandpa. He signed up for additional flight hours with another crew that needed him (he was a bombadier, I believe), and therefore, had too many flight hours when his own crew went out. So, he had to stay behind. His crew ended up crashing and dying. My grandpa, by helping out that other flight crew, saved his own life.
I miss my grandpa. He always made Christmas fun. He used to pretend to forget my name. "That's right, uh, Henrietta!" "No, Grandpa." "Oh, oh, it must be Georgina, right?" "No!" It would get howls of laughter from me, especially with the wackier names he came up with. This is also the man who told me I should eat my toast crusts because "it'll put hair on your chest." *grin* He had three sons. I was the first granddaughter.
-There's a new Veronica Mars on tonight!
-I read a fun new book over the weekend, Revenge Gifts by Cindy Cruciger, while relaxing in the sunshine in my favorite reading chair. It's a harvest gold, velvet (or velveteen) living room chair that my in-laws gave us to help us in our quest for furniture when we were first married and that I now refuse to get rid of or reupholster because I love the texture of the fabric so much. I would take a picture, but eh, you guys know how that'll go.
-I hemmed my own pants this morning! My boot heel pulled the old hem out and I've been meaning to fix it for weeks. Now, deciding to do so about fifteen minutes before I'm due to leave for work probably wasn't the brightest idea, but I'm fairly proud of myself.
-The Triangle doesn't suck. At least, the first part didn't. Though, being an SG-1 fan, I had their mysterious theory behind the existence of the Bermuda Triangle pegged within the first fifteen minutes, but oh, well. : ) Also, Ed, I saw an episode of Family Guy the other night and laughed hysterically. I think I finally get what you've been talking about.
Okay, I think I'm tapped out. : )
So, here is just a list of good things that have happened in the last few days:
-Bonnie Vanak tagged me with the book meme yesterday. It made me remember how much fun RT was last year and realize how much I'm looking forward to seeing Bonnie and everyone else again. It sounds dumb, but sometimes being a writer is lonely and hard. Not the fun stuff, like signings and book release parties--those are great but not nearly as frequent as one would like! I'm talking about the toiling away day after day on a book or story that may or may not ever be good enough to be published, and even if it is, it may not earn you much, if any, money. Sometimes you just need to be around other people who are infected with that same strain of craziness. : )
-I tagged Megan Crane (among others) with the meme and she responded with answers that are as cool and interesting as I suspected they would be. Check it out here... Scroll down to yesterday's entry.
-My husband made pancakes on Sunday morning and woke me up to join him in the eating of them.
-Meg Cabot wrote a touching and still funny entry about the death of her grandfather, telling a WWII story about him, which reminds me of the WWII story (I think, it might also have been Korea, I'll have to ask) about my grandpa. He signed up for additional flight hours with another crew that needed him (he was a bombadier, I believe), and therefore, had too many flight hours when his own crew went out. So, he had to stay behind. His crew ended up crashing and dying. My grandpa, by helping out that other flight crew, saved his own life.
I miss my grandpa. He always made Christmas fun. He used to pretend to forget my name. "That's right, uh, Henrietta!" "No, Grandpa." "Oh, oh, it must be Georgina, right?" "No!" It would get howls of laughter from me, especially with the wackier names he came up with. This is also the man who told me I should eat my toast crusts because "it'll put hair on your chest." *grin* He had three sons. I was the first granddaughter.
-There's a new Veronica Mars on tonight!
-I read a fun new book over the weekend, Revenge Gifts by Cindy Cruciger, while relaxing in the sunshine in my favorite reading chair. It's a harvest gold, velvet (or velveteen) living room chair that my in-laws gave us to help us in our quest for furniture when we were first married and that I now refuse to get rid of or reupholster because I love the texture of the fabric so much. I would take a picture, but eh, you guys know how that'll go.
-I hemmed my own pants this morning! My boot heel pulled the old hem out and I've been meaning to fix it for weeks. Now, deciding to do so about fifteen minutes before I'm due to leave for work probably wasn't the brightest idea, but I'm fairly proud of myself.
-The Triangle doesn't suck. At least, the first part didn't. Though, being an SG-1 fan, I had their mysterious theory behind the existence of the Bermuda Triangle pegged within the first fifteen minutes, but oh, well. : ) Also, Ed, I saw an episode of Family Guy the other night and laughed hysterically. I think I finally get what you've been talking about.
Okay, I think I'm tapped out. : )
Tuesday, December 06, 2005
Book Meme--I've been tagged!
My friend, author Bonnie Vanak tagged me for a book meme. I'm so excited! I'm supposed to give you fifteen facts about me and books. By the way, I don't know if I ever mentioned this before, but if you love historical romances, you will LOVE Bonnie's books. I'm very particular about the historical romances I choose to read (mostly because I'm a sci-fi/paranormal gal these days, though that wasn't always the case), and I thoroughly enjoyed The Cobra & the Concubine. If you want to see for yourself, check out the love scene excerpt on her web site. Wow. *grin*
Okay, so fifteen facts about me and books:
1) I get nervous and/or edgy when I don't have a "next book" lined up to read. It can't be just any book lying around my house and believe me, there are plenty. It has to be the right "next book." Don't ask me--I just know when I find one that feels right. Sometimes, in order to encourage myself to write more of my own stuff, I deny myself a "next book." At least until it starts to get to me and then I cave. : ) Seriously, there are times when I'm jonesing for a book so badly I will actually buy one at the Jewel!
2) My very first favorite book that I can recall was Go, Dog, Go. I loved the dog party in the tree.
3) Most of the time, I buy books because of the author, not the story. Occasionally, a new author will sneak in there because I've heard good things (Megan Crane is a recent example), the back cover blurb sounded interesting or the cover caught my eye. But most of the time, I'm looking for someone I already know I can trust to take me away and bring me back safely...if that makes sense. That doesn't mean bestsellers always or even usually. Nor does it mean that it's the same five people. I've got about a hundred "favorite" authors. *grin*
4) In my pre-teen/early teen years, I used to sneak into the basement where my mom kept her pile of romance novels and seek out the Silhouette Intimate Moments and Harlequin Temptations (I think those were the specific lines) just to read the "good" parts. : )
5) As a kid, I so wanted to be Trixie Belden. She had moxie. I liked Nancy Drew, too. She was the first character I remember reading about who had red hair. At least, once I figured out that's what "titian" meant.
6) Thanks to reading so many books and my subsequent lack of social interaction (ha!), my vocabulary often outpaces my pronunciation skills. My family still likes to tease me about my childhood pronunciation of lingerie, facade and soldered (ling-eree, fa-kade, and sol-dered).
7) I read very quickly, especially when I'm enjoying the book. I can, and have, finished two books (200 or 300 pages each) in a day. I don't do this very often as it gets very expensive!
8) I cannot read more than one book at a time. You can imagine how well this worked when I was an English major in college. If my interest is caught by another book while I'm still in the middle of reading the first, then I never finish the one I was reading to begin with. I have more than a few that have just stopped at a certain point.
9) Jane Austen kicks ass. 'nough said.
10) When I was younger, my favorite romance novelists were Kathleen Woodiwiss, Judith McNaught, Jude Deveraux, and Barbara Delinsky.
11) 99.9% of the time, I have a book with me. Even if you can't see it, I have it. It's in my bag or in my coat pocket or in my car. My husband loves to tease me about the time in college when we drove to the grocery store for something and he busted me with a novel sticking out of my coat pocket, like I thought there'd be time to read in the check-out line!
12) For me, the feeling of a good book just waiting to be read feels like anticipation of an amazing meal. It's like a sensation of fullness and satisfaction before I've even opened the cover. Unfortunately, when it's finished, that's when you're hungry for more!
13) Confession time...I did not read very much traditional sci-fi as a kid, or even now. Not much Asimov or Heinlein or any of those guys. To me, they never had the people aspect I was looking for. I like character stories. And romance. Real romance where it's a part of the story, though not necessarily the whole thing. As a kid, I loved Star Trek novels, however, and totally committed myself to geekdom by reading them openly in high school. My favorites were by Peter David, who is hysterical. Well, if you like and understand Star Trek, he's hysterical. I'm not sure it translates to so-called "normal" people. *grin* Linnea Sinclair does an awesome job of creating character-driven sci-fi romance, so that's who I read these days!
14) I do not crack the spine or bend the pages of a book. Any book. Even ones I don't like. Apparently, this makes people very nervous to borrow books from me. : )
15) Books that do a heavy and detailed lead up to a sex scene and then consummate the relationship in a very generic sentence or two drive me crazy!!! In some books, a detailed sex scene isn't appropriate. It just strikes the wrong tone. But there are others, ones where they've built up such momentum in moving toward this moment that it seems like the author chickened out when it ends so anti-climactically (ha!) Writing a sex scene can be difficult, I know that, but I hate it when a book takes the easy way out.
Okay, so now I'm going to tag other authors, which is, I think, how this is supposed to work. I'm picking people, some of whom I know and others I only know through their journals, but they're all people I'm interested in reading what they have to say. We'll see if they respond. : )
Pat Kirby, Crissa Chappell, Megan Crane and Marianne Mancusi--come on down!!!
Okay, so fifteen facts about me and books:
1) I get nervous and/or edgy when I don't have a "next book" lined up to read. It can't be just any book lying around my house and believe me, there are plenty. It has to be the right "next book." Don't ask me--I just know when I find one that feels right. Sometimes, in order to encourage myself to write more of my own stuff, I deny myself a "next book." At least until it starts to get to me and then I cave. : ) Seriously, there are times when I'm jonesing for a book so badly I will actually buy one at the Jewel!
2) My very first favorite book that I can recall was Go, Dog, Go. I loved the dog party in the tree.
3) Most of the time, I buy books because of the author, not the story. Occasionally, a new author will sneak in there because I've heard good things (Megan Crane is a recent example), the back cover blurb sounded interesting or the cover caught my eye. But most of the time, I'm looking for someone I already know I can trust to take me away and bring me back safely...if that makes sense. That doesn't mean bestsellers always or even usually. Nor does it mean that it's the same five people. I've got about a hundred "favorite" authors. *grin*
4) In my pre-teen/early teen years, I used to sneak into the basement where my mom kept her pile of romance novels and seek out the Silhouette Intimate Moments and Harlequin Temptations (I think those were the specific lines) just to read the "good" parts. : )
5) As a kid, I so wanted to be Trixie Belden. She had moxie. I liked Nancy Drew, too. She was the first character I remember reading about who had red hair. At least, once I figured out that's what "titian" meant.
6) Thanks to reading so many books and my subsequent lack of social interaction (ha!), my vocabulary often outpaces my pronunciation skills. My family still likes to tease me about my childhood pronunciation of lingerie, facade and soldered (ling-eree, fa-kade, and sol-dered).
7) I read very quickly, especially when I'm enjoying the book. I can, and have, finished two books (200 or 300 pages each) in a day. I don't do this very often as it gets very expensive!
8) I cannot read more than one book at a time. You can imagine how well this worked when I was an English major in college. If my interest is caught by another book while I'm still in the middle of reading the first, then I never finish the one I was reading to begin with. I have more than a few that have just stopped at a certain point.
9) Jane Austen kicks ass. 'nough said.
10) When I was younger, my favorite romance novelists were Kathleen Woodiwiss, Judith McNaught, Jude Deveraux, and Barbara Delinsky.
11) 99.9% of the time, I have a book with me. Even if you can't see it, I have it. It's in my bag or in my coat pocket or in my car. My husband loves to tease me about the time in college when we drove to the grocery store for something and he busted me with a novel sticking out of my coat pocket, like I thought there'd be time to read in the check-out line!
12) For me, the feeling of a good book just waiting to be read feels like anticipation of an amazing meal. It's like a sensation of fullness and satisfaction before I've even opened the cover. Unfortunately, when it's finished, that's when you're hungry for more!
13) Confession time...I did not read very much traditional sci-fi as a kid, or even now. Not much Asimov or Heinlein or any of those guys. To me, they never had the people aspect I was looking for. I like character stories. And romance. Real romance where it's a part of the story, though not necessarily the whole thing. As a kid, I loved Star Trek novels, however, and totally committed myself to geekdom by reading them openly in high school. My favorites were by Peter David, who is hysterical. Well, if you like and understand Star Trek, he's hysterical. I'm not sure it translates to so-called "normal" people. *grin* Linnea Sinclair does an awesome job of creating character-driven sci-fi romance, so that's who I read these days!
14) I do not crack the spine or bend the pages of a book. Any book. Even ones I don't like. Apparently, this makes people very nervous to borrow books from me. : )
15) Books that do a heavy and detailed lead up to a sex scene and then consummate the relationship in a very generic sentence or two drive me crazy!!! In some books, a detailed sex scene isn't appropriate. It just strikes the wrong tone. But there are others, ones where they've built up such momentum in moving toward this moment that it seems like the author chickened out when it ends so anti-climactically (ha!) Writing a sex scene can be difficult, I know that, but I hate it when a book takes the easy way out.
Okay, so now I'm going to tag other authors, which is, I think, how this is supposed to work. I'm picking people, some of whom I know and others I only know through their journals, but they're all people I'm interested in reading what they have to say. We'll see if they respond. : )
Pat Kirby, Crissa Chappell, Megan Crane and Marianne Mancusi--come on down!!!
Monday, December 05, 2005
Monday
A random assortment of things...
-Meg Cabot wrote an awesome entry on Friday about the 58% happy ending, a theory I completely subscribe to. Which you probably already know. I also love what she has to say about literary fiction. The reason she doesn't read it is the same reason I don't (i.e. real life is tragic enough, why would I want to read about more sad/bad/depressing stuff?) You'll have to scroll down a little to find this entry on her site (Friday, December 2) because I'm not as prompt in my linking as I should have been. Also, she has a couple new books coming out at the end of this month that look like such fun! Size 12 Is Not Fat and Avalon High. Sadly, no excerpts for either as far as I can tell.
-I had to honk at three people today. Once, when a car turned left in front of me. And then twice more at two different intersections when someone sat there and sat there and sat there at a GREEN light. I don't actually like honking, except in life-saving instances, obviously. But today, apparently, no one would be able to tell that.
-Have you ever noticed how certain words suddenly come into vogue and then you're hearing them everywhere? This is the one I've been hearing and reading lately. Most recently, on Desperate Housewives last night. I swear, I'd never heard this word until probably the last month or so and now I see and hear it everywhere. And I consider myself fairly Yiddish-aware. Huh. Anybody else noticing this phenomenon?
-My day job has apparently decided that Janet Evanovich's website is too tawdry to be viewed during daylight hours. Funny, too, because it's my friend and fellow author Bonnie Vanak's blog that always has me frantically scrambling for the downsize button on my browser when I'm at work. She puts pictures of scantily clad men in her blog entries--can't go wrong there, I guess! : ) (The link is to her website, which is acceptable for workday viewing. Click on her blog at your own risk *grin*)
-Anybody going to watch The Triangle on Sci-Fi tonight? I'm a sucker for shows like this, particularly if it involves finding eerily abandoned or submerged planes or boats. Plus, it's directed or produced or something by Bryan Singer, the guy who brought us X-Men and X-2, which I liked. The second one particularly. Sadly, though, he will not be at the helm for X-3 because he ditched the mutants for another movie about the most famous alien superhero.
-Good progress was made this weekend on the mystery project. I am, however, still stuck on the plot. Which kinda sucks. I also finished editing another chapter of the sequel. Only five more to go!
-I'm also a little concerned about this. Wearing vials of blood and Billy Bob Thornton aside, I've kinda liked what I've read about A.J.'s parenting theories. She's adopted internationally twice, which I think is a terrific thing to do and would love to do at some point in the future myself. Plus, I remember there being a to-do about some interview last year or the year before where the media made a big deal out of how she said she handled relationships with men as a single mother. Basically, what she said was that she didn't want to bring a string of dates home and, um, entertain them overnight as she feared that might cause hurt and confusion to her son. So, instead, she'd meet these dates out somewhere and address her, uh, needs away from her home. I thought this actually seemed like a fairly responsible and grown up way to handle this issue, though clearly not an option for most single parents who don't have full-time nannies or whatever to care for their children at the drop of a hat. So, you know, I hope she's maintained that sensibility and plans for some kind of permanent relationship with Brad. Otherwise, any respect I had for her will just be gone...well, whatever respect was left after watching the Tomb Raider movies. Eesh.
-Meg Cabot wrote an awesome entry on Friday about the 58% happy ending, a theory I completely subscribe to. Which you probably already know. I also love what she has to say about literary fiction. The reason she doesn't read it is the same reason I don't (i.e. real life is tragic enough, why would I want to read about more sad/bad/depressing stuff?) You'll have to scroll down a little to find this entry on her site (Friday, December 2) because I'm not as prompt in my linking as I should have been. Also, she has a couple new books coming out at the end of this month that look like such fun! Size 12 Is Not Fat and Avalon High. Sadly, no excerpts for either as far as I can tell.
-I had to honk at three people today. Once, when a car turned left in front of me. And then twice more at two different intersections when someone sat there and sat there and sat there at a GREEN light. I don't actually like honking, except in life-saving instances, obviously. But today, apparently, no one would be able to tell that.
-Have you ever noticed how certain words suddenly come into vogue and then you're hearing them everywhere? This is the one I've been hearing and reading lately. Most recently, on Desperate Housewives last night. I swear, I'd never heard this word until probably the last month or so and now I see and hear it everywhere. And I consider myself fairly Yiddish-aware. Huh. Anybody else noticing this phenomenon?
-My day job has apparently decided that Janet Evanovich's website is too tawdry to be viewed during daylight hours. Funny, too, because it's my friend and fellow author Bonnie Vanak's blog that always has me frantically scrambling for the downsize button on my browser when I'm at work. She puts pictures of scantily clad men in her blog entries--can't go wrong there, I guess! : ) (The link is to her website, which is acceptable for workday viewing. Click on her blog at your own risk *grin*)
-Anybody going to watch The Triangle on Sci-Fi tonight? I'm a sucker for shows like this, particularly if it involves finding eerily abandoned or submerged planes or boats. Plus, it's directed or produced or something by Bryan Singer, the guy who brought us X-Men and X-2, which I liked. The second one particularly. Sadly, though, he will not be at the helm for X-3 because he ditched the mutants for another movie about the most famous alien superhero.
-Good progress was made this weekend on the mystery project. I am, however, still stuck on the plot. Which kinda sucks. I also finished editing another chapter of the sequel. Only five more to go!
-I'm also a little concerned about this. Wearing vials of blood and Billy Bob Thornton aside, I've kinda liked what I've read about A.J.'s parenting theories. She's adopted internationally twice, which I think is a terrific thing to do and would love to do at some point in the future myself. Plus, I remember there being a to-do about some interview last year or the year before where the media made a big deal out of how she said she handled relationships with men as a single mother. Basically, what she said was that she didn't want to bring a string of dates home and, um, entertain them overnight as she feared that might cause hurt and confusion to her son. So, instead, she'd meet these dates out somewhere and address her, uh, needs away from her home. I thought this actually seemed like a fairly responsible and grown up way to handle this issue, though clearly not an option for most single parents who don't have full-time nannies or whatever to care for their children at the drop of a hat. So, you know, I hope she's maintained that sensibility and plans for some kind of permanent relationship with Brad. Otherwise, any respect I had for her will just be gone...well, whatever respect was left after watching the Tomb Raider movies. Eesh.
Friday, December 02, 2005
Good news...
In my effort to be as depressing as possible earlier this week (I managed even to annoy myself with that one), I totally forgot to share some good news. A couple of weeks ago, I contacted the organizers of Writers' Institute at UW-Madison. I love this conference. I've gone every year for the last four years, and I always learn something new and come back feeling re-energized and ready to write. I submitted a couple workshop ideas to them, and they accepted! I'm so excited!!! Not just because it's the opportunity to teach, which I love, but also because it's for this particular conference, one that has done so much to help me. I don't know yet which class/session will be offered, but I'll post it here, when I know.
I also received an email this week, inviting me to speak at the Arlington Heights Library in March or April. Yea! More details to follow...
I also received an email this week, inviting me to speak at the Arlington Heights Library in March or April. Yea! More details to follow...
Tuesday, November 29, 2005
Trying not to panic...
So, I'm feeling rather blah lately. I think it's because I've been pushing so hard to get this book done and while I'm sooooo close, that actually makes me feel worse. It feels like I should be able to just push through, tuck my head down and sail through it. But no. I'm in the last 91 pages of editing or so, and here's where it all falls apart. Well, not really, but it's where most of the revising/rewriting is needed. Mainly this is because when I was writing it, I was so close to the end of the story and on such a roll, I didn't want to stop to reason some things out. The last 100 pages or so are right in terms of the events that happen, but sometimes I didn't take the time to explain why certain characters are where they are or why they're doing what they're doing. I knew and that was enough for me at the moment. *sigh* Now that is no longer the case.
It's like running a marathon that never ends. You keep passing milemarkers, but the finish line is still hanging out there like a mirage in the distance. I know this isn't true, but I'm having a glum day.
I'm also still working on the outline for the mystery project and while I've been making good progress, I think that's part of my problem. It's hard for me to be in the same stage with two different books at the same time. Granted, with the mystery project, I'm still trying to get the major events in the book in order and making sense, and I'm much farther along than that with the sequel. But they're both still in the revising/editing/rewriting stage--which is the stage that is the hardest for me because in the process of trying to make your work better, you're also picking it apart, finding all the weak spots and the things you don't like. Every book has some problems that need to be fixed--that's okay--but when I'm in this stage of analyzing and testing everything to make sure it holds water, so to speak, it feels like the whole book is nothing but weak spots and things that need to be fixed. In order to find and fix the bad, you sort of stop seeing any of the good bits. And with two of them in this stage...ugh!
It's most fun to start a new project while I'm in the editing/revising/rewriting stage of another project because the high of the new writing balances out the low of revising. But that's how I got myself into this mess. And I promised myself I would not continue this mess. I've got four (4!)manuscripts* at home in various stages of completion, thanks to my previous habits. I don't need more in that pile. Those are all just revisons/edits waiting to happen.
Also, I just checked my goals that I wrote for 2005 and found that with just over a month to go, I haven't completed any of them!!! I was supposed to get the sequel finished and to RuneStone by the end of 2005. Well, that one, depending on how these final chapters go, I might be able to still make. The others,which included revising Bitter Pill and sending out query letters to find an agent, I haven't even come close to. I did, however, write a nearly 400 page long book (the mystery project) that wasn't even on the radar at that time in January. So, maybe I can cut myself a little slack there. I also wrote a 300 page Bitter Pill prequel that was supposed to be only a short story (yeah, that's why I don't write them) that I hate so much I haven't even looked at since I finished it--and yes, I finished the draft, I'm compulsive that way. My thinking was originally just to provide some new content, then as the story grew longer I thought maybe it would be good enough to actually be the first in the series instead of Bitter Pill. But it's not. It's kind of forced and yucky because I knew who the murderer was from page one and that always spoils it for me.
So maybe the problem isn't the goals being too optimistic but rather my own ability to stick to them instead of getting distracted. Hmm.
And finally, last night at Big Bowl, I got an empty fortune cookie!!! And I'd actually looked at it before opening and thought, "I hope it says something good." Ha! And please don't send me emails about how people who get empty fortune cookies have bad things happen to them because I just don't think I can take that right at the moment : ) I'm trying very hard to remember that I'm faithful and not superstitious--though, I'm probably getting what I deserve for looking for kernels of wisdom and/or support from a slip of paper tucked in food.
Blah. *sigh*
*The four manuscripts are the as-yet-untitled Sequel, Bitter Pill (A Rennie Harlow Mystery), Sleep Tight (A Rennie Harlow Mystery), and the mystery project. Oh, and if you include the Rennie Harlow prequel that sucks, that would be five, I guess. Shoot.
It's like running a marathon that never ends. You keep passing milemarkers, but the finish line is still hanging out there like a mirage in the distance. I know this isn't true, but I'm having a glum day.
I'm also still working on the outline for the mystery project and while I've been making good progress, I think that's part of my problem. It's hard for me to be in the same stage with two different books at the same time. Granted, with the mystery project, I'm still trying to get the major events in the book in order and making sense, and I'm much farther along than that with the sequel. But they're both still in the revising/editing/rewriting stage--which is the stage that is the hardest for me because in the process of trying to make your work better, you're also picking it apart, finding all the weak spots and the things you don't like. Every book has some problems that need to be fixed--that's okay--but when I'm in this stage of analyzing and testing everything to make sure it holds water, so to speak, it feels like the whole book is nothing but weak spots and things that need to be fixed. In order to find and fix the bad, you sort of stop seeing any of the good bits. And with two of them in this stage...ugh!
It's most fun to start a new project while I'm in the editing/revising/rewriting stage of another project because the high of the new writing balances out the low of revising. But that's how I got myself into this mess. And I promised myself I would not continue this mess. I've got four (4!)manuscripts* at home in various stages of completion, thanks to my previous habits. I don't need more in that pile. Those are all just revisons/edits waiting to happen.
Also, I just checked my goals that I wrote for 2005 and found that with just over a month to go, I haven't completed any of them!!! I was supposed to get the sequel finished and to RuneStone by the end of 2005. Well, that one, depending on how these final chapters go, I might be able to still make. The others,which included revising Bitter Pill and sending out query letters to find an agent, I haven't even come close to. I did, however, write a nearly 400 page long book (the mystery project) that wasn't even on the radar at that time in January. So, maybe I can cut myself a little slack there. I also wrote a 300 page Bitter Pill prequel that was supposed to be only a short story (yeah, that's why I don't write them) that I hate so much I haven't even looked at since I finished it--and yes, I finished the draft, I'm compulsive that way. My thinking was originally just to provide some new content, then as the story grew longer I thought maybe it would be good enough to actually be the first in the series instead of Bitter Pill. But it's not. It's kind of forced and yucky because I knew who the murderer was from page one and that always spoils it for me.
So maybe the problem isn't the goals being too optimistic but rather my own ability to stick to them instead of getting distracted. Hmm.
And finally, last night at Big Bowl, I got an empty fortune cookie!!! And I'd actually looked at it before opening and thought, "I hope it says something good." Ha! And please don't send me emails about how people who get empty fortune cookies have bad things happen to them because I just don't think I can take that right at the moment : ) I'm trying very hard to remember that I'm faithful and not superstitious--though, I'm probably getting what I deserve for looking for kernels of wisdom and/or support from a slip of paper tucked in food.
Blah. *sigh*
*The four manuscripts are the as-yet-untitled Sequel, Bitter Pill (A Rennie Harlow Mystery), Sleep Tight (A Rennie Harlow Mystery), and the mystery project. Oh, and if you include the Rennie Harlow prequel that sucks, that would be five, I guess. Shoot.
Tuesday, November 22, 2005
Happy Thanksgiving (a little early)!
Just a quick note...I'm going to be taking a break from the internet for a few days to celebrate the holiday. Your regularly scheduled blog will return on Monday, most likely : )
Sequel update...I'm finally finished with most of the dreaded Chapter 15, editing-wise. I was stuck there for almost a week, going in circles. Most frustrating. I've got roughly eleven chapters to go. The ones toward the end will probably hold me up the most as I've got the most revising to do there. I didn't think Chapter 15 needed that much revising, so it caught me by surprise. However, the chapter and the book are now better for it, I believe. I've also started work again on the mystery project again, just trying to make all the major plot events fit. I threw in a bunch of subplots in the first draft that will probably end up in another book, or so I hope!
Enjoy the holiday and safe travel to everyone who's going somewhere!
Sequel update...I'm finally finished with most of the dreaded Chapter 15, editing-wise. I was stuck there for almost a week, going in circles. Most frustrating. I've got roughly eleven chapters to go. The ones toward the end will probably hold me up the most as I've got the most revising to do there. I didn't think Chapter 15 needed that much revising, so it caught me by surprise. However, the chapter and the book are now better for it, I believe. I've also started work again on the mystery project again, just trying to make all the major plot events fit. I threw in a bunch of subplots in the first draft that will probably end up in another book, or so I hope!
Enjoy the holiday and safe travel to everyone who's going somewhere!
Monday, November 21, 2005
Unleashing the inner Asha and A Rant on Author Etiquette
I'd hoped to have photos to go along with this entry, but we're still working on the getting them from the camera to the computer process. Hopefully, if you're reading this tomorrow (Tuesday) there will be a photo or two to accompany this entry.
Holiday Book Bash Details
For those who are interested in such things, I wore black pants (the wide-legged kind with cuffs, made of this really smooth, flowy material), a v-neck camisole and a black v-neck mini-sweater with a black fake fur collar. As soon as I saw the sweater in the store, I knew I had to try it on. It totally reminded me of something Asha would have or wear. For those who haven't read The Silver Spoon (and why not I ask you?!?), Asha is the very powerful, somewhat ethically-challenged and kind of scary/sexy leader of the rebel Observers. That's another one of the tricks I've learned over the last few years of writing. If you're trying to get into a character's head, dress like they would. It works, sometimes to a frightening degree. Of course, this does not mean that you'll be seeing me in leather pants any time soon. *grin*
All the authors I met were very nice. I ended up sitting next to Rich Lindberg, who knows someone I work with at my day job! He writes about crime in Chicago among other things. I bought his book, Return to the Scene of the Crime: A Guide to Infamous Places in Chicago. Very cool!
Rick Kogan, host of WGN Radio's Sunday Papers, sat on my other side. He invited me to be on the radio! I need to send my book and a note to follow up with him.
A Rant on Author Etiquette
I've met quite a few authors over the last couple years, mostly as a fan of their writing and sometimes in the context of being a fellow writer. And it's interesting to note that most of them, including the really, really famous ones, have been very nice. They smile politely, answer your questions, thank you for buying their book, make a little small talk as they sign your book and generally leave you with a positive feeling about your experience.
I think it's about honoring the people who spend their hard-earned dollars on your creative work when they could buy someone else's. Or buy a DVD instead. So, I've always endeavored to make people feel welcome when they come to a signing or event that I'm attending. I appreciate them taking a chance with me, spending their $16.50 on a new, unknown author, and I try to let them know that. Whether it's taking the time to chat with them, asking them a few questions about themselves or just straightforwardly telling them I appreciate the opportunity to share the world of Zara and Caelan with them. Even with little old me, some people, believe it or not, are nervous to approach and get their book signed! It takes maybe three minutes to make them feel comfortable and convey my gratitude.
That's why I was really dismayed and a little irritated at the behavior of one author in particular. And no, I'm not going to mention a name. I'd waited until the end of the event (so that the crowd would die down) to get a book signed by this particular author, one I'd heard of and shared a YahooGroup with. Now, I did not, by any means, expect this author to know me as a writer or treat me any differently than any other fan of his/her writing. But if this is how they others were treated...I wouldn't buy any of this person's other books. I'm having trouble talking myself into reading the one I bought, just because of this!
When I approached the author, (I'm going to refer to the author as T.A. from here because the author is really tiresome to keep writing out) T.A. was deep in conversation with another writer at the next table. I waited politely to be acknowledged, which I was, with a wave forward. I approached, and handed T.A my book. T.A. made a brief comment about the spelling of my name (which is something I always do when signing a book for people whose name can be spelled a half a million ways--Stacey, Stacy, Stacie, Staci, Stacee). Just as I opened my mouth to talk about being two Chicago authors on a certain Yahoogroup, T.A returned to her conversation with the writer at the next table. T.A. finished signing my book and shoved it back across the table to me without a break in the conversation or even looking in my direction.
Seven words. Not a one of them was "thank you" or "nice to meet you" or anything of that nature. I didn't even rate eye contact! I couldn't believe it.
Laurell K. Hamilton, who has sold way more books than T.A., has always been very nice to me and as far as I can tell, all the fans who are fortunate enough to meet her. Not that being famous is an "out" for rude behavior either, but it might help explain it (too many fans, too little time, etc.)
I didn't have to spend money on T.A.'s book and frankly now, despite the fact that the book itself looks interesting, I'm kind of sorry that I did. Of course, a portion of the money from that night went to support writing scholarships and journalism internships, so that's good, at least. I remind myself though that you don't have to like the person to like the book. There are authors who you expect to be at least a little like their main character and it's jarring when they aren't. Usually because you know that the main character would be awesome to hang around and have fun with and the author...isn't.
What do you guys think about this? Do you think I'm overreacting? Possibly because I have expectations for how I treat people and how others have treated me? Or, maybe T.A. was just having a bad day. Just curious...
Holiday Book Bash Details
For those who are interested in such things, I wore black pants (the wide-legged kind with cuffs, made of this really smooth, flowy material), a v-neck camisole and a black v-neck mini-sweater with a black fake fur collar. As soon as I saw the sweater in the store, I knew I had to try it on. It totally reminded me of something Asha would have or wear. For those who haven't read The Silver Spoon (and why not I ask you?!?), Asha is the very powerful, somewhat ethically-challenged and kind of scary/sexy leader of the rebel Observers. That's another one of the tricks I've learned over the last few years of writing. If you're trying to get into a character's head, dress like they would. It works, sometimes to a frightening degree. Of course, this does not mean that you'll be seeing me in leather pants any time soon. *grin*
All the authors I met were very nice. I ended up sitting next to Rich Lindberg, who knows someone I work with at my day job! He writes about crime in Chicago among other things. I bought his book, Return to the Scene of the Crime: A Guide to Infamous Places in Chicago. Very cool!
Rick Kogan, host of WGN Radio's Sunday Papers, sat on my other side. He invited me to be on the radio! I need to send my book and a note to follow up with him.
A Rant on Author Etiquette
I've met quite a few authors over the last couple years, mostly as a fan of their writing and sometimes in the context of being a fellow writer. And it's interesting to note that most of them, including the really, really famous ones, have been very nice. They smile politely, answer your questions, thank you for buying their book, make a little small talk as they sign your book and generally leave you with a positive feeling about your experience.
I think it's about honoring the people who spend their hard-earned dollars on your creative work when they could buy someone else's. Or buy a DVD instead. So, I've always endeavored to make people feel welcome when they come to a signing or event that I'm attending. I appreciate them taking a chance with me, spending their $16.50 on a new, unknown author, and I try to let them know that. Whether it's taking the time to chat with them, asking them a few questions about themselves or just straightforwardly telling them I appreciate the opportunity to share the world of Zara and Caelan with them. Even with little old me, some people, believe it or not, are nervous to approach and get their book signed! It takes maybe three minutes to make them feel comfortable and convey my gratitude.
That's why I was really dismayed and a little irritated at the behavior of one author in particular. And no, I'm not going to mention a name. I'd waited until the end of the event (so that the crowd would die down) to get a book signed by this particular author, one I'd heard of and shared a YahooGroup with. Now, I did not, by any means, expect this author to know me as a writer or treat me any differently than any other fan of his/her writing. But if this is how they others were treated...I wouldn't buy any of this person's other books. I'm having trouble talking myself into reading the one I bought, just because of this!
When I approached the author, (I'm going to refer to the author as T.A. from here because the author is really tiresome to keep writing out) T.A. was deep in conversation with another writer at the next table. I waited politely to be acknowledged, which I was, with a wave forward. I approached, and handed T.A my book. T.A. made a brief comment about the spelling of my name (which is something I always do when signing a book for people whose name can be spelled a half a million ways--Stacey, Stacy, Stacie, Staci, Stacee). Just as I opened my mouth to talk about being two Chicago authors on a certain Yahoogroup, T.A returned to her conversation with the writer at the next table. T.A. finished signing my book and shoved it back across the table to me without a break in the conversation or even looking in my direction.
Seven words. Not a one of them was "thank you" or "nice to meet you" or anything of that nature. I didn't even rate eye contact! I couldn't believe it.
Laurell K. Hamilton, who has sold way more books than T.A., has always been very nice to me and as far as I can tell, all the fans who are fortunate enough to meet her. Not that being famous is an "out" for rude behavior either, but it might help explain it (too many fans, too little time, etc.)
I didn't have to spend money on T.A.'s book and frankly now, despite the fact that the book itself looks interesting, I'm kind of sorry that I did. Of course, a portion of the money from that night went to support writing scholarships and journalism internships, so that's good, at least. I remind myself though that you don't have to like the person to like the book. There are authors who you expect to be at least a little like their main character and it's jarring when they aren't. Usually because you know that the main character would be awesome to hang around and have fun with and the author...isn't.
What do you guys think about this? Do you think I'm overreacting? Possibly because I have expectations for how I treat people and how others have treated me? Or, maybe T.A. was just having a bad day. Just curious...
Friday, November 18, 2005
Just a quick note...
The Holiday Book Bash went really well! Kendall College, where the event was held, was spectacular. Food was awesome, too : ) I met a bunch of new people and made some good contacts. My husband took a picture of me in my new outfit, which I will try to post here over the weekend or early next week.
Wednesday, November 16, 2005
Shopping
All right, tonight I'm braving the retail world in the hopes of finding something suitable to wear to the Holiday Book Bash tomorrow. Thank you for helping me with the definition of "dressy casual."
I'm at page 242 in editing on the sequel--yea! That's just over halfway. The book, as it stands now, is about 415 pages or so. Quite a bit longer than the first, but a lot has to happen! I'm off work tomorrow and hope to accomplish more editing tomorrow and over the weekend. My goal is still to get it to first readers in November. It's just going to be a lot closer to the end of November than I would have liked. Oh, well.
In assembling a Christmas list last night for family, I discovered that Serenity is going to be out on DVD by December 20!!! So, those of you who never made it to the theater to see the movie (for shame!) will be able to buy or rent it in a little over a month. I'm so excited to see it again. It left the movie theater so quickly, which is probably why they were willing to release it on DVD for Christmas.
Okay, I hope tomorrow night goes well. I'm nervous! Wish me luck : )
I'm at page 242 in editing on the sequel--yea! That's just over halfway. The book, as it stands now, is about 415 pages or so. Quite a bit longer than the first, but a lot has to happen! I'm off work tomorrow and hope to accomplish more editing tomorrow and over the weekend. My goal is still to get it to first readers in November. It's just going to be a lot closer to the end of November than I would have liked. Oh, well.
In assembling a Christmas list last night for family, I discovered that Serenity is going to be out on DVD by December 20!!! So, those of you who never made it to the theater to see the movie (for shame!) will be able to buy or rent it in a little over a month. I'm so excited to see it again. It left the movie theater so quickly, which is probably why they were willing to release it on DVD for Christmas.
Okay, I hope tomorrow night goes well. I'm nervous! Wish me luck : )
Monday, November 14, 2005
Holiday Book Bash--Clothing Advice Needed!
So you know I'm one of the authors at this big event on Thursday, and I'm having a major girl moment here. I don't know what to wear. I've been told "business dress (after work) or dressy casual." But I don't know what that means exactly. Being one of the few fiction writers there and not a famous journalist (as most of the other authors are), I really don't want to stand out in a bad way, you know? I don't want to go over the top, but I also don't want to look like a slob.
I've got a black cocktail dress (always makes me think of Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman when I use this phrase), but I would never wear this to work. Ever. I have a nice pink sweater and black pants that I wore to the reading at Twilight Tales last winter. But that doesn't seem dressy enough.
Any suggestions on what dressy casual might mean in terms of specific wardrobe pieces? I'm not opposed to buying a new outfit. I just don't know what to buy!
I've got a black cocktail dress (always makes me think of Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman when I use this phrase), but I would never wear this to work. Ever. I have a nice pink sweater and black pants that I wore to the reading at Twilight Tales last winter. But that doesn't seem dressy enough.
Any suggestions on what dressy casual might mean in terms of specific wardrobe pieces? I'm not opposed to buying a new outfit. I just don't know what to buy!
Thursday, November 10, 2005
Oh, that was kinda dumb.
Most of you have already heard me ranting about query letters. They're like a super intense form of a cover letter, except instead of trying to interest someone in hiring you, you're trying to interest someone in buying your book.
All kinds of theories abound as to how to make the query letters more attention-getting without being annoying. This includes coming up with a catchy hook, displaying your dazzling fiction credits, mentioning authors who've generously agreed to give you a blurb, any awards you've won...and famous writers that you've studied under. That's where the big "duh" on my part comes in.
My senior year at Valpo, I took a seminar in creative writing, which was more like an independent study type thing. We worked on a major piece of fiction--novella or a series of short stories--and the professor would provide feedback. My professor for the class was Walt Wangerin. Okay, I know he's a pretty famous writer, but at the time, that didn't really register with me. Then, later, when I started sending out query letters for The Silver Spoon, I considered mentioning it, but since he writes more religiously-themed works and I was writing sci-fi romance, I thought I might be stretching it a bit.
Yesterday, I read this article on CNN.com about Anne Rice's new novel about Jesus (which I've read the first few pages of and it sounds really interesting). It mentions that Professor Wangerin also has a novel about Jesus coming out. It also happens to mention that he's a National Book Award winner. The National Book Awards are like, in my opinion, the Emmys or the Oscars but for books instead. (Stephen King took home the big prize a couple of years ago, which I believe he totally deserves because no one can scare the pants off you better and still come up with amazing character-driven stories like Shawshank Redemption and Stand by Me, and there was a large discussion about commercial versus literary fiction and which is more worthy. Which is total bullsh*t. If it's a good story, that's all that should matter.)
Anyway, after reading this, I decided to investigate what Professor Wangerin won his National Book Award for. 1980, The Book of the Dun Cow. Category? Here's where the duh part comes in--SCIENCE FICTION!!! Technically, I think it's more fantasy than science fiction and mentioning it probably wouldn't have made a difference, but still. To say that you learned from a National Book Award winner is probably a good thing to mention.
Duh, Stacey.
The funny thing is that to me, it didn't matter one way or the other. I learned in his class just as I learned in all my other writing classes. All of my professors, in one way or another, made me a better writer. But this business aspect to the business--name dropping, etc.--that's something I'm still trying to get a handle on.
*sigh*
All kinds of theories abound as to how to make the query letters more attention-getting without being annoying. This includes coming up with a catchy hook, displaying your dazzling fiction credits, mentioning authors who've generously agreed to give you a blurb, any awards you've won...and famous writers that you've studied under. That's where the big "duh" on my part comes in.
My senior year at Valpo, I took a seminar in creative writing, which was more like an independent study type thing. We worked on a major piece of fiction--novella or a series of short stories--and the professor would provide feedback. My professor for the class was Walt Wangerin. Okay, I know he's a pretty famous writer, but at the time, that didn't really register with me. Then, later, when I started sending out query letters for The Silver Spoon, I considered mentioning it, but since he writes more religiously-themed works and I was writing sci-fi romance, I thought I might be stretching it a bit.
Yesterday, I read this article on CNN.com about Anne Rice's new novel about Jesus (which I've read the first few pages of and it sounds really interesting). It mentions that Professor Wangerin also has a novel about Jesus coming out. It also happens to mention that he's a National Book Award winner. The National Book Awards are like, in my opinion, the Emmys or the Oscars but for books instead. (Stephen King took home the big prize a couple of years ago, which I believe he totally deserves because no one can scare the pants off you better and still come up with amazing character-driven stories like Shawshank Redemption and Stand by Me, and there was a large discussion about commercial versus literary fiction and which is more worthy. Which is total bullsh*t. If it's a good story, that's all that should matter.)
Anyway, after reading this, I decided to investigate what Professor Wangerin won his National Book Award for. 1980, The Book of the Dun Cow. Category? Here's where the duh part comes in--SCIENCE FICTION!!! Technically, I think it's more fantasy than science fiction and mentioning it probably wouldn't have made a difference, but still. To say that you learned from a National Book Award winner is probably a good thing to mention.
Duh, Stacey.
The funny thing is that to me, it didn't matter one way or the other. I learned in his class just as I learned in all my other writing classes. All of my professors, in one way or another, made me a better writer. But this business aspect to the business--name dropping, etc.--that's something I'm still trying to get a handle on.
*sigh*
Wednesday, November 09, 2005
Texas residents--I have a question! Soda or pop?
Hello, friends and family in Texas! If you guys have a minute, can you shoot me an email or post a comment here and let me know this: Do Texans refer to soft drinks as "soda" or "pop"? Does it matter depending on the region? If so, I'm talking about West Texas.
I suppose it's just a small thing and probably doesn't matter that much because Zara is pretty much anything but native to Texas, though she has spent most of her life there. But I know this is one of those hot-button language issues that might jar someone out of reading the story long enough to say, "Hey, they don't say 'soda' in Texas!" Like if she wanted to get a drink out of the bubbler or something. No, I'm not making fun of Wisconsinites for their word choice. After all, I'm from Illinois and we refer to it as a water fountain, which I'm told is supposed to refer to things like Buckingham Fountain.
I think my friend Ed used to have a map of the U.S. outlining which states said soda and which ones preferred pop. And which ones were really unusual and used "Coke" to refer to all soft drinks : )
Anyway, here's a fun little language quiz on this very topic (how vocabulary varies based on location). Please don't be offended by the whole Yankee/Dixie thing. I don't know that anyone would be, but just in case. It's just about language, not anything else. I took it once and ended up right in the middle (50%, A Dixie but barely) and then I took it again, thinking more about my answers and ended up at 47% which made me a Yankee. I'm not too surprised that it's not clear, as I spent a few years living in the Carolinas when I was young. Plus, southern Illinois can be really Southern. I also lived there for a few years as well.
Other language things I think about...what's the difference between a sofa and a couch? Why do some people use one word over the other? Is it regional? Generational? I believe I've also heard it referred to as a davenport or a divan. This has nothing to do with the sequel. This is just me, thinking too much : )
I suppose it's just a small thing and probably doesn't matter that much because Zara is pretty much anything but native to Texas, though she has spent most of her life there. But I know this is one of those hot-button language issues that might jar someone out of reading the story long enough to say, "Hey, they don't say 'soda' in Texas!" Like if she wanted to get a drink out of the bubbler or something. No, I'm not making fun of Wisconsinites for their word choice. After all, I'm from Illinois and we refer to it as a water fountain, which I'm told is supposed to refer to things like Buckingham Fountain.
I think my friend Ed used to have a map of the U.S. outlining which states said soda and which ones preferred pop. And which ones were really unusual and used "Coke" to refer to all soft drinks : )
Anyway, here's a fun little language quiz on this very topic (how vocabulary varies based on location). Please don't be offended by the whole Yankee/Dixie thing. I don't know that anyone would be, but just in case. It's just about language, not anything else. I took it once and ended up right in the middle (50%, A Dixie but barely) and then I took it again, thinking more about my answers and ended up at 47% which made me a Yankee. I'm not too surprised that it's not clear, as I spent a few years living in the Carolinas when I was young. Plus, southern Illinois can be really Southern. I also lived there for a few years as well.
Other language things I think about...what's the difference between a sofa and a couch? Why do some people use one word over the other? Is it regional? Generational? I believe I've also heard it referred to as a davenport or a divan. This has nothing to do with the sequel. This is just me, thinking too much : )
Tuesday, November 08, 2005
Whining again. Please feel free to ignore.
Whenever things get a little stressful, as they happen to be at the moment, I start yearning to be some place fictional. Not all that surprising, I guess, considering I've spent the majority of my life with my nose buried in a book, either mine or someone else's. Just lately, though, as I've been working through the last of the Silver Spoon sequel, I find myself yearning to write a new Rennie story. I love that little town, Morrisville, which is based on this real little town. The real town, though, I think probably lacks the hot, former-rebel-turned-morally-upright sheriff, and probably also the very high body count that exists in Morrisville. Kind of a bummer about reality, I guess : )
But what I love about Rennie's world is that it's predictable in some way. It's a mystery series. Someone's dead, and you just know poor Rennie is going to stumble over the corpse. There will be quirky townspeople and the sheriff's utterly hateable and yet somehow strikingly pitiful (in that you can't help but feel sorry for her a little bit...or so I hope) wife will do something awful. But nothing quite awful enough to convince Sheriff Bristol that he'd be better off without her...at least not yet.
But the first book in that series isn't even published yet. Wait, scratch that, I haven't even finished revisions in it to try sending it out. I've been told it doesn't have enough of a "hook" to stand out in the crowded mystery market. That may be true, but that doesn't make me love it any less. I've got a draft of the second book written and ideas for at least book three and four. *sigh*
I was told (not by anyone here) that I should make it a paranormal story. It does have leanings that way anyway. Rennie is always finding dead bodies in Morrisville--not all of them, mind you, but more than the average citizen. She doesn't have any particular gift, other than bad luck and the inability to mind her own business. But it's not like an actual power or anything. It's just Rennie. That's how she is. Some people win the lotto. She finds dead bodies. Some people just have a knack for reading people's expressions. Rennie has the knack of knowing when an unanswered knock at the door means trouble instead of someone's just not home.
True, there may be some paranormal element involved, but I don't want to get into her having a "power." Because then you have to worry about what the power feels like, and how does it feel different when someone dies naturally versus being murdered, and how close in proximity does she have to be to be able to "sense" a death. Ugh. The whole first book came about because I needed a break from all that stuff in writing The Silver Spoon. I wanted to write a book set in this world, with this world's rules. Rennie is just a normal person with keen observation skills and a knack for finding trouble. Sort of like a grown-up Nancy Drew. Only not as annoying (Nancy was a little overconfident at times for someone who kept getting chloroformed and her head stuffed in a bag) and with a much hotter and forbidden love interest. Surely, I can't be the only person who wants to read something like that, right?!?
I want these stories to get out there. I do. I know that changing them might make them more marketable, but I think it would also change what I love about them. I don't even know why I'm worrying about it now. I've got to finish edits to about twenty more chapters in the sequel and then the mystery project is also needing some serious attention. I guess I'm thinking about it because I'm remembering how much I loved writing those books (not that I didn't love writing the others but this was pure, write-in-bed-with-the-alphasmart-late-into-the-night-trying-to- type-quietly-so-as-not-to-wake-my-husband-while-giggling-with-delight joy!) I write for myself first, of course, but it's hard to feel torn between the Rennie books and ideas I have that I think might sell well. Of course, it's times like these that I remember Ron Moore's advice, which was advice from some other guy that I can't remember, "Don't whore yourself." Which I take to mean, do what you love and don't sell out. But "don't whore yourself" sounds much snappier, right? : )
Done whining now. Thanks. : )
But what I love about Rennie's world is that it's predictable in some way. It's a mystery series. Someone's dead, and you just know poor Rennie is going to stumble over the corpse. There will be quirky townspeople and the sheriff's utterly hateable and yet somehow strikingly pitiful (in that you can't help but feel sorry for her a little bit...or so I hope) wife will do something awful. But nothing quite awful enough to convince Sheriff Bristol that he'd be better off without her...at least not yet.
But the first book in that series isn't even published yet. Wait, scratch that, I haven't even finished revisions in it to try sending it out. I've been told it doesn't have enough of a "hook" to stand out in the crowded mystery market. That may be true, but that doesn't make me love it any less. I've got a draft of the second book written and ideas for at least book three and four. *sigh*
I was told (not by anyone here) that I should make it a paranormal story. It does have leanings that way anyway. Rennie is always finding dead bodies in Morrisville--not all of them, mind you, but more than the average citizen. She doesn't have any particular gift, other than bad luck and the inability to mind her own business. But it's not like an actual power or anything. It's just Rennie. That's how she is. Some people win the lotto. She finds dead bodies. Some people just have a knack for reading people's expressions. Rennie has the knack of knowing when an unanswered knock at the door means trouble instead of someone's just not home.
True, there may be some paranormal element involved, but I don't want to get into her having a "power." Because then you have to worry about what the power feels like, and how does it feel different when someone dies naturally versus being murdered, and how close in proximity does she have to be to be able to "sense" a death. Ugh. The whole first book came about because I needed a break from all that stuff in writing The Silver Spoon. I wanted to write a book set in this world, with this world's rules. Rennie is just a normal person with keen observation skills and a knack for finding trouble. Sort of like a grown-up Nancy Drew. Only not as annoying (Nancy was a little overconfident at times for someone who kept getting chloroformed and her head stuffed in a bag) and with a much hotter and forbidden love interest. Surely, I can't be the only person who wants to read something like that, right?!?
I want these stories to get out there. I do. I know that changing them might make them more marketable, but I think it would also change what I love about them. I don't even know why I'm worrying about it now. I've got to finish edits to about twenty more chapters in the sequel and then the mystery project is also needing some serious attention. I guess I'm thinking about it because I'm remembering how much I loved writing those books (not that I didn't love writing the others but this was pure, write-in-bed-with-the-alphasmart-late-into-the-night-trying-to- type-quietly-so-as-not-to-wake-my-husband-while-giggling-with-delight joy!) I write for myself first, of course, but it's hard to feel torn between the Rennie books and ideas I have that I think might sell well. Of course, it's times like these that I remember Ron Moore's advice, which was advice from some other guy that I can't remember, "Don't whore yourself." Which I take to mean, do what you love and don't sell out. But "don't whore yourself" sounds much snappier, right? : )
Done whining now. Thanks. : )
Monday, November 07, 2005
Grey area
I watched Grey's Anatomy last night. Great show. Love that show. It is the only reason I look forward to Sunday nights, and I do now look forward to Sunday nights. Also, watched Desperate Housewives. Another interesting show, if not as much a favorite for us (my husband watches DH too) as it was last year.
But what occurred to me as I watched both of these shows was this: Wouldn't it be nice if we had voice-overs in life like they do on both of these shows? Cool, calm, collected statements at the beginning of each day that would hint if trouble was ahead, and wry summaries at the end of the day to help remind of us of the lesson learned from the day's events, just in case it wasn't particularly clear. You know, stuff like: "It's not the destination but the journey" and "_________ realized that fear, as much as it helped her achieve, kept her from truly experiencing life."
Some of this desire for a voice-over in life, I would suppose, is actually desire to know if I'm heading in the right direction and learning the lessons I'm supposed to be learning (rather than the ones I choose to glean from certain circumstances) along the way. In some ways, it would be a lot easier--and not necessarily as boring as it sounds--if life were scripted.
Being the socially inept type in high school (I'm not sure that now is all the different *grin*), I used to try to script dialogue ahead of time for social situations. It's not as hard as it might sound. I'd just think of something to say to someone and try to predict their response and then mine in return. I'd usually get pretty close because my high school was small and I generally knew enough about the person to guess how they'd respond. This person loves shopping--ask about the new Von Maur store (this was a very big deal when I was in high school). This person loves sports--talk about the Bulls game last night. This was when the Bulls were cool and I'd happen to be in the room, reading a book, when the game was on and would therefore know enough to fake my way through the rest of the conversation the next day.
Plus, in high school, as awful as it sounds, people stayed pretty close to the stereotypes they projected...or wanted to project. You had the cheerleader-types, the jock-types, the cool smart people, the dorky smart people...you get the idea. I fit in none of the categories and so therefore found myself having to find ways to make conversation with all kinds of people.
I still do this now, scripting in my head. When I'm nervous or angry or pretty much any strong emotion. I'm fairly sure that I didn't have a single conversation with my very first boyfriend (summer between freshman and sophomore year in college) that wasn't in some part scripted by me ahead of time--and if that didn't signal doom for that relationship, I don't know what did. *grin* (I met my husband shortly after that and knew he was the one because neither one of us could shut up!)
With writing, bits of dialogue are usually what come to me first. I hear a character long before I ever see him or her. I love that : )
But life, real life, seems less and less scriptable. In high school, it was easier because 11th grade is inevitably followed by 12th--short of dropping out and/or becoming a teenage parent (both of which happened in my school way more often than you'd think--small town in central Illinois, what else is there to do?). Now, it's like the whole world is open with possibilities...which is great, unless you're lost and trying to find your way, or want to make sure that the way you've chosen is the "correct" one. Occasionally, a properly-timed voice over could be very helpful.
This truly in-depth navel gazing session brought to you by...a truly fabulous and funny book by Megan Crane, English As A Second Language. I read it this weekend (click on the link to read an excerpt) and loved it. It totally brought back memories of college, which made me all nostalgic. It's about a woman who hates her job but has no real direction in terms of what she'd rather do instead so she decides to enroll in grad school in England...because an ex-boyfriend said she'd never get in. She's an English major, of course, (is it still a major when you're in grad school?) and I loved how she described the somehow miraculous appearance of a paper when it feels like all you're doing is floudering and flailing on the page. I remember that!
It's a hysterical book. I laughed out loud so many times and I also found more than a little truth in the story, which is what makes a good book in my opinion.
So...anybody want to go to grad school with me? Just kidding...I think.
But what occurred to me as I watched both of these shows was this: Wouldn't it be nice if we had voice-overs in life like they do on both of these shows? Cool, calm, collected statements at the beginning of each day that would hint if trouble was ahead, and wry summaries at the end of the day to help remind of us of the lesson learned from the day's events, just in case it wasn't particularly clear. You know, stuff like: "It's not the destination but the journey" and "_________ realized that fear, as much as it helped her achieve, kept her from truly experiencing life."
Some of this desire for a voice-over in life, I would suppose, is actually desire to know if I'm heading in the right direction and learning the lessons I'm supposed to be learning (rather than the ones I choose to glean from certain circumstances) along the way. In some ways, it would be a lot easier--and not necessarily as boring as it sounds--if life were scripted.
Being the socially inept type in high school (I'm not sure that now is all the different *grin*), I used to try to script dialogue ahead of time for social situations. It's not as hard as it might sound. I'd just think of something to say to someone and try to predict their response and then mine in return. I'd usually get pretty close because my high school was small and I generally knew enough about the person to guess how they'd respond. This person loves shopping--ask about the new Von Maur store (this was a very big deal when I was in high school). This person loves sports--talk about the Bulls game last night. This was when the Bulls were cool and I'd happen to be in the room, reading a book, when the game was on and would therefore know enough to fake my way through the rest of the conversation the next day.
Plus, in high school, as awful as it sounds, people stayed pretty close to the stereotypes they projected...or wanted to project. You had the cheerleader-types, the jock-types, the cool smart people, the dorky smart people...you get the idea. I fit in none of the categories and so therefore found myself having to find ways to make conversation with all kinds of people.
I still do this now, scripting in my head. When I'm nervous or angry or pretty much any strong emotion. I'm fairly sure that I didn't have a single conversation with my very first boyfriend (summer between freshman and sophomore year in college) that wasn't in some part scripted by me ahead of time--and if that didn't signal doom for that relationship, I don't know what did. *grin* (I met my husband shortly after that and knew he was the one because neither one of us could shut up!)
With writing, bits of dialogue are usually what come to me first. I hear a character long before I ever see him or her. I love that : )
But life, real life, seems less and less scriptable. In high school, it was easier because 11th grade is inevitably followed by 12th--short of dropping out and/or becoming a teenage parent (both of which happened in my school way more often than you'd think--small town in central Illinois, what else is there to do?). Now, it's like the whole world is open with possibilities...which is great, unless you're lost and trying to find your way, or want to make sure that the way you've chosen is the "correct" one. Occasionally, a properly-timed voice over could be very helpful.
This truly in-depth navel gazing session brought to you by...a truly fabulous and funny book by Megan Crane, English As A Second Language. I read it this weekend (click on the link to read an excerpt) and loved it. It totally brought back memories of college, which made me all nostalgic. It's about a woman who hates her job but has no real direction in terms of what she'd rather do instead so she decides to enroll in grad school in England...because an ex-boyfriend said she'd never get in. She's an English major, of course, (is it still a major when you're in grad school?) and I loved how she described the somehow miraculous appearance of a paper when it feels like all you're doing is floudering and flailing on the page. I remember that!
It's a hysterical book. I laughed out loud so many times and I also found more than a little truth in the story, which is what makes a good book in my opinion.
So...anybody want to go to grad school with me? Just kidding...I think.
Friday, November 04, 2005
How cool is this?
Last spring after my visit to Valpo, an alum contacted me and asked me to take part in a charity event next November (meaning now). I said yes because it sounded like a neat event for a good cause (writing scholarships, internships for journalism students, etc.)
So, now it's that time and I've been getting more and more information about the event. It sounds like it's going to be great! The really cool part is that I'm one of only like 30 Chicago authors participating (we're being called 30 of Chicago's top authors--hee!) and I recognize a lot of the other names. Other Chicagoans probably will too. Ilyce Glink--financial reporter for WGN, Rick Bayless--celebrity chef, Terry Savage--nationally syndicated columnist for The Chicago Sun-Times, and more. I'm especially excited to meet chick-lit author, Stacey Ballis. : ) We are the only two "Stacey"s in Chicago on the gigantic Chick lit Yahoo group list serv.
The Chicago Headline Club Holiday Bash will be held on November 17 at Kendall College. There will be an appetizer and dessert buffet. You can get your food, watching a cooking demonstration, and buy a whole bunch of great books and get them signed. There will also be a raffle for ten boxes of books, each worth $150.
I'm going to try to paste the flyer itself in this entry, so you'll be able to get more information. But you can also visit their website at www.holidaybookbash.org. Tickets are $65 a piece, but the money is going for a good cause. And if you can get a group of ten to go, you'll save $15 per ticket. Email me if you want to go and I'll start putting together a list. If we get ten names, everyone saves $15!
I'm also guessing, given the number of famous journalists attending, that we'll probably get some good media coverage--awesome! And I'll be one of the few fiction authors in attendence and the only sci-fi author, as far as I can tell. Yea! I think. Unless it would be better to have a lot of sci-fi authors so you can be sure to draw a crowd of sci-fi fans....hmm. Not sure about that. But either way, I'm excited.
It sounds like it's going to be a cool event. So, if you're looking for a fun night out in the city, consider this, won't you please?!?
So, now it's that time and I've been getting more and more information about the event. It sounds like it's going to be great! The really cool part is that I'm one of only like 30 Chicago authors participating (we're being called 30 of Chicago's top authors--hee!) and I recognize a lot of the other names. Other Chicagoans probably will too. Ilyce Glink--financial reporter for WGN, Rick Bayless--celebrity chef, Terry Savage--nationally syndicated columnist for The Chicago Sun-Times, and more. I'm especially excited to meet chick-lit author, Stacey Ballis. : ) We are the only two "Stacey"s in Chicago on the gigantic Chick lit Yahoo group list serv.
The Chicago Headline Club Holiday Bash will be held on November 17 at Kendall College. There will be an appetizer and dessert buffet. You can get your food, watching a cooking demonstration, and buy a whole bunch of great books and get them signed. There will also be a raffle for ten boxes of books, each worth $150.
I'm going to try to paste the flyer itself in this entry, so you'll be able to get more information. But you can also visit their website at www.holidaybookbash.org. Tickets are $65 a piece, but the money is going for a good cause. And if you can get a group of ten to go, you'll save $15 per ticket. Email me if you want to go and I'll start putting together a list. If we get ten names, everyone saves $15!
I'm also guessing, given the number of famous journalists attending, that we'll probably get some good media coverage--awesome! And I'll be one of the few fiction authors in attendence and the only sci-fi author, as far as I can tell. Yea! I think. Unless it would be better to have a lot of sci-fi authors so you can be sure to draw a crowd of sci-fi fans....hmm. Not sure about that. But either way, I'm excited.
It sounds like it's going to be a cool event. So, if you're looking for a fun night out in the city, consider this, won't you please?!?
*****
The Chicago Headline Club presents its first
Benefiting the Chicago Headline Club Foundation
Great food, better drinks, terrific entertainment, and the chance to meet and mingle with some of Chicago's top authors and journalists.
November 17, 2005 • 6:00-9:00pmKendall College, 900 N. North Branch Street, Chicago, IL
60622
Cost: $55 Chicago Headline Club Members/$65 non-members (in advance)$75 after Nov. 10.
Admission includes appetizer and dessert buffet, plus cooking demonstrations from the School of Culinary Arts at Kendall College and Celebrity Chef Rick Bayless. Cash bar (one free drink included with admission).
Register online now at www.holidaybookbash.org.
Holiday Book Bash RafflePrizes include 10 boxes of “Mystery Books,” each valued at more than $150.Raffles are $2/ticket or $10 for 10 (best deal)Drawing to be held the evening of the Holiday Book Bash.
Proceeds benefit the Chicago Headline Club Foundation, which supports journalism literacy efforts at area high schools, provides college scholarships for journalism students, and awards stipends for unpaid internships at top media outlets in the metropolitan area.
Get a jump on your holiday shopping by buying books written (and personally autographed!) by these Holiday Book Bash authors...
Jon Anderson, City Watch: Discovering the Uncommon Chicago
Stacey Ballis, Sleeping Over
Rick Bayless, Mexican Everyday
Melda Beaty, My Soul to His Spirit: Soulful Expressions from Black Daughters to Their Fathers
Steve Bogira, The Reader Courtroom 302: A Year Behind The Scenes in an American Criminal Courthouse
Rich Cahan, Real Chicago Sports
Kevin Coval, Slingshots: Hip Hop Poetics
Carolyn Crimi, Henry and the Buccaneer Bunnies
Doug Cummings, Deader By The Lake
Jonathan Eig, The Luckiest Man: The Life and Death of Lou Gehrig
Elizabeth Flock, Me and Emma
Hillary Frank, I Can’t Tell You and Better Than Running At Night
Al Gini, The Importance of Being Lazy
Ilyce Glink, 100 Questions Every First- Time Home Buyer Should Ask (3rd Ed.)
Barbara Joosse, Mama, Do You Love Me?
Stacey Klemstein, The Silver Spoon
Rick Kogan, America's Mom: The Life, Lessons and Legacy of Ann Landers
Rich Lindberg, Return to the Scene of the Crime: A Guide to Infamous Places in Chicago
Ted McClelland, Horseplay: Life at the Track
John Mullin, The Rise and Self- Destruction of the Greatest Football Team in History: The Chicago Bears and Superbowl XX
Ron Rapoport, The Immortal Bobby: Bobby Jones and the Golden Age of Golf
Terry Savage, The Savage Number
Troy Taylor, Weird Illinois, Ghosts of the Prairie
Michael Warr, Powerlines: A Decade of Poetry from Chicago’s Guild Complex
Sam Weller, The Bradbury Chronicles: The Life of Ray Bradbury and Secret Chicago
Sandra Yamate, Ashok by Any Other Name
Holiday Book Bash sales handled by The Book Stall, Winnetka.
Holiday Book Bash Committee Members
Ilyce R. Glink, ThinkGlink.com
Rob Hess, HurricaneNOW.com
Sylvia Ewing, WBEZ
Molly McDonough, ABA Journal
Howard Dubin, Manufacturers’ News
Steve Rynkiewicz, Chicago Tribune
Ben Bradley, WLS-TV
Tim Jackson, WGN-TV
Ellen Fiedelholtz, WGN-TV
Holiday Book Bash Advisory Committee
Rick Kogan, Chicago Tribune
Richard Roeper, Chicago Sun-Times
Alex Kotlowitz
Sponsors
The Book Stall, Winnetka
HSBC - North America
Kobrand Corporation
PR Newswire Chicago
The Chicago Headline Club presents its first
Benefiting the Chicago Headline Club Foundation
Great food, better drinks, terrific entertainment, and the chance to meet and mingle with some of Chicago's top authors and journalists.
November 17, 2005 • 6:00-9:00pmKendall College, 900 N. North Branch Street, Chicago, IL
60622
Cost: $55 Chicago Headline Club Members/$65 non-members (in advance)$75 after Nov. 10.
Admission includes appetizer and dessert buffet, plus cooking demonstrations from the School of Culinary Arts at Kendall College and Celebrity Chef Rick Bayless. Cash bar (one free drink included with admission).
Register online now at www.holidaybookbash.org.
Holiday Book Bash RafflePrizes include 10 boxes of “Mystery Books,” each valued at more than $150.Raffles are $2/ticket or $10 for 10 (best deal)Drawing to be held the evening of the Holiday Book Bash.
Proceeds benefit the Chicago Headline Club Foundation, which supports journalism literacy efforts at area high schools, provides college scholarships for journalism students, and awards stipends for unpaid internships at top media outlets in the metropolitan area.
Get a jump on your holiday shopping by buying books written (and personally autographed!) by these Holiday Book Bash authors...
Jon Anderson, City Watch: Discovering the Uncommon Chicago
Stacey Ballis, Sleeping Over
Rick Bayless, Mexican Everyday
Melda Beaty, My Soul to His Spirit: Soulful Expressions from Black Daughters to Their Fathers
Steve Bogira, The Reader Courtroom 302: A Year Behind The Scenes in an American Criminal Courthouse
Rich Cahan, Real Chicago Sports
Kevin Coval, Slingshots: Hip Hop Poetics
Carolyn Crimi, Henry and the Buccaneer Bunnies
Doug Cummings, Deader By The Lake
Jonathan Eig, The Luckiest Man: The Life and Death of Lou Gehrig
Elizabeth Flock, Me and Emma
Hillary Frank, I Can’t Tell You and Better Than Running At Night
Al Gini, The Importance of Being Lazy
Ilyce Glink, 100 Questions Every First- Time Home Buyer Should Ask (3rd Ed.)
Barbara Joosse, Mama, Do You Love Me?
Stacey Klemstein, The Silver Spoon
Rick Kogan, America's Mom: The Life, Lessons and Legacy of Ann Landers
Rich Lindberg, Return to the Scene of the Crime: A Guide to Infamous Places in Chicago
Ted McClelland, Horseplay: Life at the Track
John Mullin, The Rise and Self- Destruction of the Greatest Football Team in History: The Chicago Bears and Superbowl XX
Ron Rapoport, The Immortal Bobby: Bobby Jones and the Golden Age of Golf
Terry Savage, The Savage Number
Troy Taylor, Weird Illinois, Ghosts of the Prairie
Michael Warr, Powerlines: A Decade of Poetry from Chicago’s Guild Complex
Sam Weller, The Bradbury Chronicles: The Life of Ray Bradbury and Secret Chicago
Sandra Yamate, Ashok by Any Other Name
Holiday Book Bash sales handled by The Book Stall, Winnetka.
Holiday Book Bash Committee Members
Ilyce R. Glink, ThinkGlink.com
Rob Hess, HurricaneNOW.com
Sylvia Ewing, WBEZ
Molly McDonough, ABA Journal
Howard Dubin, Manufacturers’ News
Steve Rynkiewicz, Chicago Tribune
Ben Bradley, WLS-TV
Tim Jackson, WGN-TV
Ellen Fiedelholtz, WGN-TV
Holiday Book Bash Advisory Committee
Rick Kogan, Chicago Tribune
Richard Roeper, Chicago Sun-Times
Alex Kotlowitz
Sponsors
The Book Stall, Winnetka
HSBC - North America
Kobrand Corporation
PR Newswire Chicago
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