I got a comment the other day which asked if I was going to do play by play coverage of Worlds this week. While I'm gratified that someone was interested enough to ask, I must confess that I have a BAD case of busy this spring. I barely have time to watch skating much less spend hours watching every skater while typing reports.
Presently, I am working hard on the second edition of my Google book. My co-author and I have roughly four weeks to finish and we are already three weeks behind. I am preparing taxes again this year for the AARP TaxAide program two days a week. And we are moving again... by CHOICE. I can't believe that last one! But we are. I'm struggling to clean and pack and sort and get the mortgage crap done and so on.
This past week has been about my third week in a row where I have EIGHT days of work to complete in five days. I'm pretty much worn out. So if you are looking for Worlds coverage this year, my apologies. It's not happening. I just don't have any time and I have less energy. Maybe next year.
On a brighter note. Props to my favorite obscure skater Tomas Werner! I have loved Tomas for several years now--as far back as when he was skating for (was it?) Germany. Werner skated the lights out in his long, landed two BEAUTIFUL quads, and ended up fourth at Worlds after being like 19th last year. Go Tomas! On the other blade, sighs for Evan and tears for Johnny. I haven't watched any of the other coverage, and probably won't. I am falling into bed exhausted at relatively early hours and don't get to watch much TV.
Figure skating is my life, but sometimes work gets in the way.
Saturday, March 24, 2007
Monday, March 05, 2007
What kind of programmer are you?
Ah, my survey jones thirsts for useless online "tests!" This one, supposedly based on the Myers-Briggs personality survey tells you what kind of programmer you are (my myers-briggs is SCARY balanced, BTW). Apparently, as a programmer, I'm a:
DLSB
You're a Doer.
You are very quick at getting tasks done. You believe the outcome is the most important part of a task and the faster you can reach that outcome the better. After all, time is money.
You like coding at a Low level.
You're from the old school of programming and believe that you should have an intimate relationship with the computer. You don't mind juggling registers around and spending hours getting a 5% performance increase in an algorithm.
You work best in a Solo situation.
The best way to program is by yourself. There's no communication problems, you know every part of the code allowing you to write the best programs possible.
You are a liBeral programmer.
Programming is a complex task and you should use white space and comments as freely as possible to help simplify the task. We're not writing on paper anymore so we can take up as much room as we need.
If you want to see all the personality types, they're here.
DLSB
You're a Doer.
You are very quick at getting tasks done. You believe the outcome is the most important part of a task and the faster you can reach that outcome the better. After all, time is money.
You like coding at a Low level.
You're from the old school of programming and believe that you should have an intimate relationship with the computer. You don't mind juggling registers around and spending hours getting a 5% performance increase in an algorithm.
You work best in a Solo situation.
The best way to program is by yourself. There's no communication problems, you know every part of the code allowing you to write the best programs possible.
You are a liBeral programmer.
Programming is a complex task and you should use white space and comments as freely as possible to help simplify the task. We're not writing on paper anymore so we can take up as much room as we need.
If you want to see all the personality types, they're here.
Friday, March 02, 2007
The B I B L E... and other amusements
So, I was wandering the blogosphere and came upon this interesting quiz. I haven't indulged my survey jones in a while so this looked like a good opportunity.
I am Catholic. We RCs are not known for our encyclopedic knowledge of the Bible, but I'm also not your average Catholic. For about 3 years in elementary school, I attended a "Christian" academy run by the Southern Baptists. For the first year it was okay, but by the third year, I was getting told I was going to hell because I was Catholic.
Yeah, that sounds REAL Christian to me, too.
But as a result, I memorized the books of the Bible in 2nd grade (and lots of verses, too) and actually read the book (it has some great stories). Alas, I can no longer rattle off all the books of the old and new testaments. I can recite the 40 most common prepositions (courtesy of Catholic middle school).
Old reprobate that I am, who probably hasn't cracked a Bible since I was 10 (okay, a LITTLE in college where I used to annoy the fundamentalists in Bible study just for cussedness).
So color me amused.
You know the Bible 95%!
Wow! You are awesome! You are a true Biblical scholar, not just a hearer but a personal reader! The books, the characters, the events, the verses - you know it all! You are fantastic!
Ultimate Bible Quiz
Create MySpace Quizzes
Friday, February 16, 2007
How could I have forgotten to tell you!
So the last time I posted about The Barunian Incident, I was 70 words short of half finished. And then I forgot to update again!
I FINISHED!
On January 24th at 5:40 PM, The Barunian Incident clocked in at 87,543 words.
And since the muse refused to be silent, I wrote 12K words of the sequel Tavilis Rex!
And then, of course, as she often does, the muse went back to Tahiti. I got stuck somewhere in chapter 5 of the new book. I'm not really worried about it. I say this with a nod to Mr. T Wanker, "the passion will return." In the meantime, I have work to do.
I sent the MS to a friend to read. Still waiting to hear what she has to say. She did say that she's in the middle and enjoying the book. So that's good.
I'm not really looking forward to the editing process, if the truth must be told. I joined a critique site that produced good advice during the test I made with the prologue. But it's still going to be a HUGE amount of work to send it through critique because for each chapter iIsend through, I have to crit a chapter of someone else's work. And then I have to read all the commentary and decide what revisions to make.
I did read the book again last week, and it still seems like a pretty good book. Maybe not enough sword fighting and too much love making. I've been keeping track of revisions I want to make. There are about three major ones and ten minor ones. I did at least one revision suggested in the critiques of the prologue. The shuttle launch was too much like the US space shuttle, and it shouldn't have been. That made a lot of sense to me since the book takes place like 5K years in the future. But some other things... dunno.
I'm also not looking forward to the marketing process. I've been trying to write a kick ass query for the book. My query for On the Edge got my foot in a LOT of doors (which were subsequently slammed in my face), but hey! It got me in those doors and even got a "what a fantastic query" from Ethan Ellenberg (who didn't want to read it, not his genre). I also have to do a synopsis... <funk> I hate synops. I hate them with a PASSION (see, Wanker!)! I am not looking forward to rejection after rejection. I got my fill of those with OTE. On the other hand, this isn't a skating book, so it is quite possible that it might actually SELL, which OTE didn't really have a snowball's chance in hell of doing no matter how well written it was.
Anyway, I have gotten past the delightful hours of drafting and now comes the hard work of critique, revision, and polishing, marketing and pitching, and taking rejections in stride... and the not giving up. I am going to try... not to get demoralized with this novel. If it doesn't sell, I'll write another one. Maybe even work on Like Chocolate and Cayenne (a foodie chick-lit that Natalie R Collins is always bugging me to write). I keep trying to convince myself that I SHOULD write it because it would sell... even when my heart isn't in it.
Oh dear.
I've just exposed myself as the consummate NON-professional.
I still want to write what my heart is in. With fiction, I allow myself that luxury. I spend a lot of time writing what I have to. On my own time, I write what I want to. And the truth of the matter is, if I write a foodie chick lit and it sells, The Powers That Be will want me to write another. And I don't want to. The future of foodie chick lit novels stretches out before me like an endless moving walkway at the airport. It's intolerable to go in a direction I don't want, to get on a plane I don't want, to take a trip I don't want... to get to a place that maybe I want to be. Alina Adams wrote 20 category romances before TPTB would let her write a skating novel (it sold like 25K copies too). I'm not sure I can do that.
See, JulieAnn, we don't disagree after all.
I FINISHED!
On January 24th at 5:40 PM, The Barunian Incident clocked in at 87,543 words.
And since the muse refused to be silent, I wrote 12K words of the sequel Tavilis Rex!
And then, of course, as she often does, the muse went back to Tahiti. I got stuck somewhere in chapter 5 of the new book. I'm not really worried about it. I say this with a nod to Mr. T Wanker, "the passion will return." In the meantime, I have work to do.
I sent the MS to a friend to read. Still waiting to hear what she has to say. She did say that she's in the middle and enjoying the book. So that's good.
I'm not really looking forward to the editing process, if the truth must be told. I joined a critique site that produced good advice during the test I made with the prologue. But it's still going to be a HUGE amount of work to send it through critique because for each chapter iIsend through, I have to crit a chapter of someone else's work. And then I have to read all the commentary and decide what revisions to make.
I did read the book again last week, and it still seems like a pretty good book. Maybe not enough sword fighting and too much love making. I've been keeping track of revisions I want to make. There are about three major ones and ten minor ones. I did at least one revision suggested in the critiques of the prologue. The shuttle launch was too much like the US space shuttle, and it shouldn't have been. That made a lot of sense to me since the book takes place like 5K years in the future. But some other things... dunno.
I'm also not looking forward to the marketing process. I've been trying to write a kick ass query for the book. My query for On the Edge got my foot in a LOT of doors (which were subsequently slammed in my face), but hey! It got me in those doors and even got a "what a fantastic query" from Ethan Ellenberg (who didn't want to read it, not his genre). I also have to do a synopsis... <funk> I hate synops. I hate them with a PASSION (see, Wanker!)! I am not looking forward to rejection after rejection. I got my fill of those with OTE. On the other hand, this isn't a skating book, so it is quite possible that it might actually SELL, which OTE didn't really have a snowball's chance in hell of doing no matter how well written it was.
Anyway, I have gotten past the delightful hours of drafting and now comes the hard work of critique, revision, and polishing, marketing and pitching, and taking rejections in stride... and the not giving up. I am going to try... not to get demoralized with this novel. If it doesn't sell, I'll write another one. Maybe even work on Like Chocolate and Cayenne (a foodie chick-lit that Natalie R Collins is always bugging me to write). I keep trying to convince myself that I SHOULD write it because it would sell... even when my heart isn't in it.
Oh dear.
I've just exposed myself as the consummate NON-professional.
I still want to write what my heart is in. With fiction, I allow myself that luxury. I spend a lot of time writing what I have to. On my own time, I write what I want to. And the truth of the matter is, if I write a foodie chick lit and it sells, The Powers That Be will want me to write another. And I don't want to. The future of foodie chick lit novels stretches out before me like an endless moving walkway at the airport. It's intolerable to go in a direction I don't want, to get on a plane I don't want, to take a trip I don't want... to get to a place that maybe I want to be. Alina Adams wrote 20 category romances before TPTB would let her write a skating novel (it sold like 25K copies too). I'm not sure I can do that.
See, JulieAnn, we don't disagree after all.
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Utter nonsense
I have been having a completely awful last-7-days. I was away on business last week in San Fransisco. It rained the whole time and I was in constant pain from my arthritis (which the medical plan won't pay for a medication to control, but will pay for something cheaper which leaves me in constant pain). I did get to see a lot of people I care about, but it is just so much fun when you're sore and tired every moment of every day. Then I come home to disaster after disaster—I'm not even going to go into them—the worst of which was my oldest daughter getting the stomach flu AND appendicitis at the same time. And needless to say, I'm in a FUCKING BAD MOOD.
So, a dear friend who means well sent me the following poem "so you want to be a writer?" Go ahead. Go read it. I'll wait. And it just sent me through the roof. What utter and complete nonsense!
Writing is HARD. Writing IS rewriting. Writing is writing when you don't wanna. Writing is being critiqued. Writing is putting food on the table. Writing is not sexy and not glamorous and not always fun, expressive and a delight. Sometimes it's just damned hard work.
So this is my response:
The Professional Writer Responds to Charles Bukowski
If you can write when it's not flowing,
you're a professional writer.
If you can write when your heart, mouth and gut are dry,
you're a professional writer.
If you write despite how HARD it really is,
you're a professional writer.
If you do it for money,
you're a professional writer.
If you do it so you have a bed to sleep in and a roof over your head and a spouse to share it with,
you're a professional writer.
If you have the guts to sit and rewrite over and over and over,
Celebrate! You're a professional writer!
If you do it despite how hard it is to think about it, if you can write in any style any time,
you're a professional writer.
If you can write even when the roar of inspiration is muted,
you're a professional writer.
If you first read it to anyone and you take their critique with equanimity and incorporate their suggestions,
you're a professional writer.
If you're dull and pretentious enough to make a living instead of being a starving artist,
you're a professional writer.
The poseurs of the world have cried themselves to sleep wanting to be YOU.
Add to it.
Do it.
It's not rockets, madness, murder and suicide.
It's professionalism. Do it.
When the sun does not burn and the neither does the gut,
do it.
If you wait to be "chosen" you will waste your life and your talent and your drive.
Do it.
There is no other way.
There never has been.
So, a dear friend who means well sent me the following poem "so you want to be a writer?" Go ahead. Go read it. I'll wait. And it just sent me through the roof. What utter and complete nonsense!
Writing is HARD. Writing IS rewriting. Writing is writing when you don't wanna. Writing is being critiqued. Writing is putting food on the table. Writing is not sexy and not glamorous and not always fun, expressive and a delight. Sometimes it's just damned hard work.
So this is my response:
The Professional Writer Responds to Charles Bukowski
If you can write when it's not flowing,
you're a professional writer.
If you can write when your heart, mouth and gut are dry,
you're a professional writer.
If you write despite how HARD it really is,
you're a professional writer.
If you do it for money,
you're a professional writer.
If you do it so you have a bed to sleep in and a roof over your head and a spouse to share it with,
you're a professional writer.
If you have the guts to sit and rewrite over and over and over,
Celebrate! You're a professional writer!
If you do it despite how hard it is to think about it, if you can write in any style any time,
you're a professional writer.
If you can write even when the roar of inspiration is muted,
you're a professional writer.
If you first read it to anyone and you take their critique with equanimity and incorporate their suggestions,
you're a professional writer.
If you're dull and pretentious enough to make a living instead of being a starving artist,
you're a professional writer.
The poseurs of the world have cried themselves to sleep wanting to be YOU.
Add to it.
Do it.
It's not rockets, madness, murder and suicide.
It's professionalism. Do it.
When the sun does not burn and the neither does the gut,
do it.
If you wait to be "chosen" you will waste your life and your talent and your drive.
Do it.
There is no other way.
There never has been.
Monday, January 29, 2007
More Silly Quiz Results...
Why do I do this?
I have yet to figure this out, peeps. I like taking silly quizzes, but at the same time, the results are sometimes of use and often of no use at all. For example, I recently took this quiz about whether "this guy" is my soulmate—yeah, I'm dripping sarcasm too.
The quiz asked some interesting questions, like "how's your sex life?" Of course, none of the answers really fit so I chose "comfortable." Hey, screaming orgasms are comfortable! No dice for choosing "sometimes blah, sometimes 'wow,' sometimes AWOL," it wasn;t one of the choices. Overall, I'd think my sex life is pretty good. The quiz does NOT approve.
Or it asks me what we talk about after work. And for some reason, talking about what he did and what I did during the day is the wrong thing. I mean, like we're supposed to passionately discuss politics (a bad idea since we are a purple marriage) or art or something. Hey, I want to know what he did! DH tells some pretty funny stories. It's a nice way to connect after a day slaving away at the computer. It's far from a boring recitation.
The other thing that bugs me? Apparently, I'm wrong that I don't depend on DH to be my bestest friend. We're not soulmates because I get emotional support from other women instead of from him. I guess it's not wise, that I figured out a long time ago that you can't grow watermelons from tomato seeds. DH is a GUY and I like him that way. I don't ask him to be a woman and nurture me in the ways the my women friends do (or kick me in the butt like they do either). Okay, sometimes, it's difficult, but he is who he is. We're more buddies than best friends. That's cool.
So anyway, here's the upshot:
Your Results:
He might be your soulmate... here's how to tell
You have a good relationship with your guy, but you don't seem to be connected to him on a deeper level. Maybe he's kind, loving and can offer you financial security. But your romance is lacking that extra spark that can only come from being with someone who truly understands you. But don't throw your relationship away just yet. Your guy could unknowingly be your soulmate, and it may be that you just aren't allowing yourself to fully open up to him. Instead of automatically reciting the events of your day when you get home, talk to him about the subjects you're truly passionate about. Enrich your conversations and make them more meaningful, and then see how he responds. Even if he doesn't share your passions, does he understand why they mean something to you? Does he still encourage you to pursue them? If so, you just might have to dig a little more for a deeper connection. More than anything else, you should know in your heart of hearts if he's really the "one" and worth fighting for. So don't settle for "good" relationship—set your sights high and seek out the passion, intuition and soulful connection that you deserve.
So he might be my soulmate.
Darn! And we've been married for 12.5 happy years.
I have yet to figure this out, peeps. I like taking silly quizzes, but at the same time, the results are sometimes of use and often of no use at all. For example, I recently took this quiz about whether "this guy" is my soulmate—yeah, I'm dripping sarcasm too.
The quiz asked some interesting questions, like "how's your sex life?" Of course, none of the answers really fit so I chose "comfortable." Hey, screaming orgasms are comfortable! No dice for choosing "sometimes blah, sometimes 'wow,' sometimes AWOL," it wasn;t one of the choices. Overall, I'd think my sex life is pretty good. The quiz does NOT approve.
Or it asks me what we talk about after work. And for some reason, talking about what he did and what I did during the day is the wrong thing. I mean, like we're supposed to passionately discuss politics (a bad idea since we are a purple marriage) or art or something. Hey, I want to know what he did! DH tells some pretty funny stories. It's a nice way to connect after a day slaving away at the computer. It's far from a boring recitation.
The other thing that bugs me? Apparently, I'm wrong that I don't depend on DH to be my bestest friend. We're not soulmates because I get emotional support from other women instead of from him. I guess it's not wise, that I figured out a long time ago that you can't grow watermelons from tomato seeds. DH is a GUY and I like him that way. I don't ask him to be a woman and nurture me in the ways the my women friends do (or kick me in the butt like they do either). Okay, sometimes, it's difficult, but he is who he is. We're more buddies than best friends. That's cool.
So anyway, here's the upshot:
Is He Your Soulmate?
Your Results:
He might be your soulmate... here's how to tell
You have a good relationship with your guy, but you don't seem to be connected to him on a deeper level. Maybe he's kind, loving and can offer you financial security. But your romance is lacking that extra spark that can only come from being with someone who truly understands you. But don't throw your relationship away just yet. Your guy could unknowingly be your soulmate, and it may be that you just aren't allowing yourself to fully open up to him. Instead of automatically reciting the events of your day when you get home, talk to him about the subjects you're truly passionate about. Enrich your conversations and make them more meaningful, and then see how he responds. Even if he doesn't share your passions, does he understand why they mean something to you? Does he still encourage you to pursue them? If so, you just might have to dig a little more for a deeper connection. More than anything else, you should know in your heart of hearts if he's really the "one" and worth fighting for. So don't settle for "good" relationship—set your sights high and seek out the passion, intuition and soulful connection that you deserve.
So he might be my soulmate.
Darn! And we've been married for 12.5 happy years.
Thursday, January 25, 2007
My baby won second place!!!
Okay, so it's not figure skating, but I had to share this because I am absolutely going CRAZY with joy! Both my big girl GG and my middlest Akey tried out for the talent show this year. They only took 13 children and Akey beat out two older girls singing the same song to make the show. And then she went and won SECOND PLACE in the PK-4th Grade division. I took the following videos and pictures with my cell phone (Quicktime required to view).
Oh, and I forgot! Last night, right around 5:40 PM, I finished—YES FINISHED, The Barunian Incident. It clocks in at 87K words. I am delighted to be finished, even if it is just the draft. Now, to critique. To editing. To querying! Well, really, to a drawer for about a month so I can approach it with fresh eyes. I already have a list of about 10 things that need fixing.
Oh, and I forgot! Last night, right around 5:40 PM, I finished—YES FINISHED, The Barunian Incident. It clocks in at 87K words. I am delighted to be finished, even if it is just the draft. Now, to critique. To editing. To querying! Well, really, to a drawer for about a month so I can approach it with fresh eyes. I already have a list of about 10 things that need fixing.
Monday, January 22, 2007
Figure Skating costume sewers beware
Well, peeps, today is a sad day. I'm a Walmart shopper. You can judge that as you may, but it's been a necessity to get as much bang for the buck as possible. We're not rich people and most of my adult life, we've struggled.
That said, I've been sewing since I was 6. And Walmart has been the primary source of fabric for my family for the last decade or so. So today, when I went into Walmart of length or royal blue ribbon, I was dismayed to find the fabric department GONE. An assistant manager was kind enough to explain to me that "corporate" is changing the way Walmart sells fabric. Instead of having bolts of fabric cut to the desired length, they will have precut lengths.
In other words, one will only be able to buy fabric that is too LONG or too SHORT. Buy too much or too little. F*ck you very much, Walmart.
What IDIOT thought this BRILLIANT plan up?
One who doesn't SEW, I bet.
But, I also bet that if Walmart gets enough complaints from avid sewers, they might just rethink their idiotic "new plan." (Have you noticed the shoe department has been reorganized to make it HARDER to buy shoes?) Apparently the stores are already fielding a lot of vociferous complaints from fabric buyers who ALSO think this is a dumb idea. They are also, BTW, "re-doing" the craft departments nationwide. You can bet that THAT will also be a dumbass redesign. So if you do crafts, be afraid. Be very afraid. Stand up for sewers, because crafters are next.
If you shop at Walmart (and even if you don't). Could you take a moment to send some feedback to Walmart Corporate about this situation? If you sew, or know someone who sews, maybe post this request to your blog (leave a link in the comments) so that your readers might also give Walmart a heads up that they are doing something dumb and we customers DON'T LIKE IT.
Contact Walmart here: http://www.walmart.com/catalog/catalog.gsp?cat=542393.
Click "Email Us." You will have to choose your store and then fill out a short survey about cleanliness etc. Then you click "Send email feedback" (or something like that) on the return page and they will allow you to send a letter.
Please! Take a couple minutes to lend a hand. Costuming is a fair sized part of skating. I learned to sew making my own costumes (helping mom, really). Affordable fabric is crucial for many, many sewers.
On the other hand, my husband will be CHEERING. He hates me buying fabric anyway.
That said, I've been sewing since I was 6. And Walmart has been the primary source of fabric for my family for the last decade or so. So today, when I went into Walmart of length or royal blue ribbon, I was dismayed to find the fabric department GONE. An assistant manager was kind enough to explain to me that "corporate" is changing the way Walmart sells fabric. Instead of having bolts of fabric cut to the desired length, they will have precut lengths.
In other words, one will only be able to buy fabric that is too LONG or too SHORT. Buy too much or too little. F*ck you very much, Walmart.
What IDIOT thought this BRILLIANT plan up?
One who doesn't SEW, I bet.
But, I also bet that if Walmart gets enough complaints from avid sewers, they might just rethink their idiotic "new plan." (Have you noticed the shoe department has been reorganized to make it HARDER to buy shoes?) Apparently the stores are already fielding a lot of vociferous complaints from fabric buyers who ALSO think this is a dumb idea. They are also, BTW, "re-doing" the craft departments nationwide. You can bet that THAT will also be a dumbass redesign. So if you do crafts, be afraid. Be very afraid. Stand up for sewers, because crafters are next.
If you shop at Walmart (and even if you don't). Could you take a moment to send some feedback to Walmart Corporate about this situation? If you sew, or know someone who sews, maybe post this request to your blog (leave a link in the comments) so that your readers might also give Walmart a heads up that they are doing something dumb and we customers DON'T LIKE IT.
Contact Walmart here: http://www.walmart.com/catalog/catalog.gsp?cat=542393.
Click "Email Us." You will have to choose your store and then fill out a short survey about cleanliness etc. Then you click "Send email feedback" (or something like that) on the return page and they will allow you to send a letter.
Please! Take a couple minutes to lend a hand. Costuming is a fair sized part of skating. I learned to sew making my own costumes (helping mom, really). Affordable fabric is crucial for many, many sewers.
On the other hand, my husband will be CHEERING. He hates me buying fabric anyway.
Monday, December 18, 2006
Figure skating and bad news
I haven't figured out why when I have some novel news, I don't just post it. Maybe because in the throes of dealing with bad news, I don't much want to dwell on it. Anyway, I had sent On the Edge to Thompson/Gale's Five Star line on the recommendation of a published author friend of mine last summer. They read it mainly on her recommendation. And for the next three, she told me again and again how she was sure they would buy it. It was a good book. Gale is a library subscription publisher (rather than a bookstore trade publisher). They would buy it.
Yeah, right.
What does that mean? Well, basically, it means that On the Edge is dead. It's been queried to pretty much every possible agent in NY. It's been read by half of the people queried. It's been agented. It been shopped. It's been dumped. No, I'm not putting it out through Lulu or iUniverse. But I will be self-publishing it under the Private Ice imprint when I get around to making it happen. The question remains if I will then try to sell Desperate Times to NY or not. I suppose it depends. But if you love me, buy the book, okay?
~~~
Of course, with bad news, comes good news. For the first time in 2 years, my muse has come for a winter visit. Normally she just sends post cards from Tahiti. But I've been writing for three solid weeks now, and I strongly suspect that if I pace myself, she'll stay the winter. I've written about 25,000 words on The Barunian Incident, which brings the total to just 70 words under 40K. I am SEVENTY words from half done. I don't know whether to celebrate or run screaming through the neighborhood in frustration.
I'm sure, if the muse hangs out, you shall all be treated to the travails of trying to get The Barunian Incident published. I suspect this one might sell. It's sexy. The characters are sympathetic. It's got explosions and sword fighting (and a heroine who KICKS ASS). So far, both my husband and my 11 year old like it. Cross your fingers. The Barunian Incident has been in progress for nearly 5 years. I did the treatment based on a dream I had in 2001 and have worked on it sporadically since. I just want inspiration to hang around long enough to finish.
Oh, and it has NOTHING to do with figure skating.
~~~
On the professional front, I am now blogging for Ars Technica's Infinite Loop, a Macintosh blog. Things are things at Newsforge. I picked up a new client, Off the Record Research and that did nicely paying for Christmas. I'm also in negotiation with two new local clients, both of whom should mean regular income. We'll see. More on that when it happens.
~~~
And to feed my survey taking jones—because I watched return of the King THREE TIMES this weekend (more for boredom than enthusiasm, though the man candy is truly excellent)—here's which LOTR Hero I am:
Yeah, right.
Thanks for your e-mail, and for submitting your novel On the Edge to us for consideration in the Five Star Expressions line. While we think that your novel is very well written, I'm afraid that it skews too much toward the YA-fiction genre, and therefore, I'm afraid that it is simply not right for our Expressions line, which skews toward a more adult tone and theme (I was hoping this might be the rare exception that could have fit into our line, but I'm afraid that wasn't the case). I thank you for your patience while we reviewed your novel, and wish you the best of luck in placing it elsewhere.So, if I'd HAD any hope to begin with, I would have been crushed. As it was, I didn't dare hope, because I knew that I couldn't face another rejection. Losing my agent just about killed me. I couldn't face it again. I didn't hope and as such, I was less disappointed. But it's still a big bummer.
Thanks again, and please let me know if there is anything else we can do.
What does that mean? Well, basically, it means that On the Edge is dead. It's been queried to pretty much every possible agent in NY. It's been read by half of the people queried. It's been agented. It been shopped. It's been dumped. No, I'm not putting it out through Lulu or iUniverse. But I will be self-publishing it under the Private Ice imprint when I get around to making it happen. The question remains if I will then try to sell Desperate Times to NY or not. I suppose it depends. But if you love me, buy the book, okay?
~~~
Of course, with bad news, comes good news. For the first time in 2 years, my muse has come for a winter visit. Normally she just sends post cards from Tahiti. But I've been writing for three solid weeks now, and I strongly suspect that if I pace myself, she'll stay the winter. I've written about 25,000 words on The Barunian Incident, which brings the total to just 70 words under 40K. I am SEVENTY words from half done. I don't know whether to celebrate or run screaming through the neighborhood in frustration.
I'm sure, if the muse hangs out, you shall all be treated to the travails of trying to get The Barunian Incident published. I suspect this one might sell. It's sexy. The characters are sympathetic. It's got explosions and sword fighting (and a heroine who KICKS ASS). So far, both my husband and my 11 year old like it. Cross your fingers. The Barunian Incident has been in progress for nearly 5 years. I did the treatment based on a dream I had in 2001 and have worked on it sporadically since. I just want inspiration to hang around long enough to finish.
Oh, and it has NOTHING to do with figure skating.
~~~
On the professional front, I am now blogging for Ars Technica's Infinite Loop, a Macintosh blog. Things are things at Newsforge. I picked up a new client, Off the Record Research and that did nicely paying for Christmas. I'm also in negotiation with two new local clients, both of whom should mean regular income. We'll see. More on that when it happens.
~~~
And to feed my survey taking jones—because I watched return of the King THREE TIMES this weekend (more for boredom than enthusiasm, though the man candy is truly excellent)—here's which LOTR Hero I am:
Saturday, November 04, 2006
Figure Skating through Halloween.
I really enjoy Judith Warner's blog Domestic Disturbances at the NY Times. She's so delightfully imperfect. I am far from the perfect parent. My kids always have dirty faces and the house is never just so. Normally, I am right there with her when she complains about over parenting, or overly perfect parenting. But on this particular day, I couldn't have disagreed with her more. Here's a comment that I posted on Judith's Hapless on Halloween entry. After I wrote it, I thought, "you know, I want to put this on my blog too." So I did. Skate America conflicts with Halloween almost every year and that's always a problem for me since Halloween is my favorite holiday. This year, I ditched skating for candy and blue dogs.
You know what? I LIKE Halloween. Okay, so my kids don’t have the greatest costumes–and when they do, my mom makes them. She’s retired, has time, and was always a fantastic costumer. But I carve the pumpkins–we always have the best ones in the neighborhood because I love carving pumpkins. I’m teaching my oldest to carve. She is decent enough with a knife not to cut herself, but very ambitious and oft comes to grief. I make sure they’re dressed and warm and then Daddy takes them from door to door.
And while they are trick or treating, I sit on my front lawn in a sling chair with our bichon frise Killer which we have dyed blue for the holiday (Blues Clues? Blue Dog Democrat, anyone?). And I sit there and remember all the great Halloweens from my past. The one where mom made my brother a frog head and he went as a frog prince. There was the year I was an alligator and won a year’s pass to the skating rink for best costume. There was the fun of running pell-mell from house to house in the cold, spooky dark, shrieking all the way–no matter what we were wearing.
When I fade back from memory into reality, there’s candy heaped high in an antique wooden bowl–the same one we used when I was a kid. It’s bliss to hand out handfuls to the ever dwindling clumps of children–there are fewer ever year.
And it breaks my heart.
Most kids who trick or treat in our neighborhood come up from the poor inner-city places, where drugs, crime, and hopelessness, lack of opportunity and yes, downright laziness, have made it too dangerous for a child to walk up to a house and say “trick or treat.” Too many tricks down there. Some people might say they don’t belong here. But they make no trouble and something in me wants to scream how these kids deserve just as much as mine to have fun on Halloween. They deserve to have fun running gleefully from house to house, parents trailing along behind. They deserve a handful of candy from someone who thinks Halloween isn’t a chore. They deserve to be children.
And for one night in October, so do I.
You know what? I LIKE Halloween. Okay, so my kids don’t have the greatest costumes–and when they do, my mom makes them. She’s retired, has time, and was always a fantastic costumer. But I carve the pumpkins–we always have the best ones in the neighborhood because I love carving pumpkins. I’m teaching my oldest to carve. She is decent enough with a knife not to cut herself, but very ambitious and oft comes to grief. I make sure they’re dressed and warm and then Daddy takes them from door to door.
And while they are trick or treating, I sit on my front lawn in a sling chair with our bichon frise Killer which we have dyed blue for the holiday (Blues Clues? Blue Dog Democrat, anyone?). And I sit there and remember all the great Halloweens from my past. The one where mom made my brother a frog head and he went as a frog prince. There was the year I was an alligator and won a year’s pass to the skating rink for best costume. There was the fun of running pell-mell from house to house in the cold, spooky dark, shrieking all the way–no matter what we were wearing.
When I fade back from memory into reality, there’s candy heaped high in an antique wooden bowl–the same one we used when I was a kid. It’s bliss to hand out handfuls to the ever dwindling clumps of children–there are fewer ever year.
And it breaks my heart.
Most kids who trick or treat in our neighborhood come up from the poor inner-city places, where drugs, crime, and hopelessness, lack of opportunity and yes, downright laziness, have made it too dangerous for a child to walk up to a house and say “trick or treat.” Too many tricks down there. Some people might say they don’t belong here. But they make no trouble and something in me wants to scream how these kids deserve just as much as mine to have fun on Halloween. They deserve to have fun running gleefully from house to house, parents trailing along behind. They deserve a handful of candy from someone who thinks Halloween isn’t a chore. They deserve to be children.
And for one night in October, so do I.
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