| Bathing beauty |
[Dec. 15th, 2009|05:39 pm] |
My dog, who is not cute enough to have his photo grace this blog, due to the unfortunate circumstance of his fur growing back in a weird patchy way after his summer buzz cut***, needed a bath.
I gave him one. He gave me one.
I think he won, but at least he is no longer stinky.
***He looks like he has mange. He doesn't, but he looks like it. |
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| A trio of books |
[Dec. 9th, 2009|12:44 pm] |
Not many books got read during National Novel Writing Month, so now I’m making up for it:
Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice by Phillip Hoose--I had this book on reserve at the library before it won a National Book Award for Young People’s Literature, and it certainly deserved it. It’s chock full of Civil Rights Movement history, but told in an accessible way, through one courageous teenage girl’s eyes, with lots of illustrations and photographs that lets kids understand what was going down. We still have racism in this country, but 1950s style racism, not so much, thank goodness. There are still miles to go, but many more to look back upon, and this book lets you do it.
The Global Achievement Gap: Why Even Our Best Schools Don’t Teach the New Survival Skills Our Children Need—and What We Can Do About It by Tony Wagner--This was a book club pick (not mine), and at first I feared I would fall asleep, but it’s actually an interesting book about what’s wrong with American high schools with some suggestions for sensible revolutionary change. The author is going to be in Tucson next year, so maybe I’ll get to hear him speak.
Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict by Laura Viera Rigler--This is a companion book to Rigler’s Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict which I haven’t read, but intend to, forthwith. If you like your Jane Austen with a froth of time travel, as I do, you may appreciate these novels, Dear Reader. |
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| Things I'll remember about November |
[Dec. 3rd, 2009|07:41 pm] |
I wrote 32,292 words, which is a novel draft. I needed 50,000 words to become a certified National Novel Writing Month winner, but I’ll take the draft, even if it is full of plot holes (which are like pot holes, especially if you hit them at full speed). It was a fun experience, and I will do it again. I enjoyed the camaraderie and the pep talks from bestselling writers that landed once a week in my email in-box.
I think I could have made the word goal, but it would have meant not paying any attention to my family over the long Thanksgiving weekend. Since I finished the draft, I decided it was all good.
Next year, though, I will know to get lots of words down during the first half of the month, and plan to be done before Thanksgiving. I think that's the key. |
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| NaNoWriMo four days in... |
[Nov. 4th, 2009|12:15 pm] |
It's halfway through the day, and my total is 5,175 words. I am a little behind, but not terribly so. Am I having fun? YES!
Sorry, I am not reading anyone's blog entries, or commenting at all, although I occasionally pop up on Facebook. |
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| Welcome to National Novel Writing Month, otherwise known as November |
[Nov. 1st, 2009|04:41 pm] |
So, I'll mostly be writing a novel this month, because like a lot of other writerly people all over the world, I signed up for National Novel Writing Month (www.nanowrimo.org). I've never done NaNoWriMo before, but here it is, Day 1, and I am psyched or psycho. |
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| I be denyin' all, matey |
[Oct. 28th, 2009|02:35 pm] |
So there was a pirate at the library last night, brandishing a (plastic) cutlass at a jumping-on-and-off-couches-type boy.
It wasn't me. |
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| A tale of soup |
[Oct. 21st, 2009|11:00 am] |
Last night I attended a party thrown by the Altrusa Club of Tucson to benefit their projects. I had to make a speech on behalf of MAKE WAY FOR BOOKS--I was sooo not expecting that, but it turned out fine. One of my fellow board members was there and she said I did a good job and hopefully she was not just being polite. If she was just being polite, she needs to make the speech next time.
The Altrusans had a photo display by the check-in disk, with a picture of me and my mom in the center. I was the tall one in the monkey suit. Besides supporting us financially, the Altrusans also volunteer at our Story Town event each year.
For the record and for Angela, I did not wear the Curious George costume to the party. I wore a pretty top, black pants, and high heels. About an hour into the party, I decided that the high heels could have been used by the Spanish Inquisition to torture Galileo.
One of the Altrusans had seen me speak at the Reading Rainbow Writing Contest Awards ceremony in the Spring, and was excited to make the connection between me as an author and me as a MAKE WAY FOR BOOKS board member.
The only bad part--besides those high heels I wore that hurt my toes--is that I bid on some silent auction items and I won several things because no one else bid on them, so I spent too much. But in a good cause, so it doesn’t count.
My husband didn't think the pressed glass bowl was any big deal, but the covered soup tureen and soup bowls with saucers for 12 people? He thinks those are kind of weird, but I think that is mostly because he thought they were cups and saucers designed by a drunk person for giants. If you know they are soup bowls, they are perfect. He still thinks it is peculiar that soup bowls come with saucers. They are an old English ivy type pattern. If you are curious, you can see them here. Click on the round covered vegetable bowl, because that’s what it is, not a soup tureen at all. See, pretty! They had been donated to the good cause by a woman whose mother had owned them, and who liked to entertain a lot. She was very happy that I bought them.
I pointed out to my husband that I only spent $30 on the Dorothy memorial soup stuff. He pointed out that I need a place to put it. (I think he might want me to put it on eBay.)
I think I have to have a soup party. With vegetables. So that I can say, “Would you please pass the vegetables in the Crown Ducal English Ivy covered vegetable bowl, please?” Or, “Would you like more soup in your Crown Ducal English Ivy soup bowl with the saucer that will catch any wanton drips?”
In any case, I will use them at Thanksgiving, just because. |
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| Reading, punctuated by sneezing |
[Oct. 20th, 2009|02:13 pm] |
I have been recovering from a cold—thankfully, only a cold—and not writing much. But I still managed to read, slowly, ponderously, the way I imagine a plant-eating dinosaur would read if she couldn’t breathe through her nose.
Probably plant-eating dinosaurs don't have access to Pseudofed or hot rum toddies, but both proved to be very useful, as did the humid air by the Sea of Cortez.
Anyway, it's a short list.
12 Again by Sue Corbett—A novel with a bit of a Freaky Friday scenario going on; a 40-year-old woman turns 12 again, leaving her family behind to deal with her disappearance. How will she get back to her right age? How will her family cope? Magical elements aside, I found this believable, true to the emotions of all the characters.
Ecstatic in the Poison by Andrew Hudgins—This is a collection of (mostly) narrative poems. Some are breathtaking, some are funny; all are worth pondering.
The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery—read for Book Club. I am excited that there is a prequel of sorts, Gourmet Rhapsody with some of the same characters! If you like your novels dense and literary, and character rather than plot driven, this book will entrance you.
It’s All Too Much by Peter Walsh—I listened to this on the treadmill at the gym, and Walsh really cuts to the chase about decluttering your belongings; you only get to keep what fits comfortably in the space you have. He also points out the consequences of clutter. Good for the packrat in your life. |
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| You'll know her by the books she reps |
[Oct. 13th, 2009|11:53 am] |
Erin Murphy, principal agent at Erin Murphy Literary Agency, has posted a list of her clients’ book at Indiebound. Actually, there are three lists, sorted by age—think picture books, middle grade novels, and young adult novels. Fun to browse! |
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| Time to lay in supplies |
[Oct. 7th, 2009|08:02 am] |
Yesterday I was thinking about National Novel Writing Month, and what supplies I would need to lay in (preferably non-fattening) for motivational purposes. I was thinking along the lines of the prizes one gets in Summer Reading Programs, only cooler. Leopard print binder clips. Dark chocolate M&Ms (they're so tiny they can't be fattening). You get the idea.
Today it looks like I'll be needing sickroom supplies first. The purple-haired one may have the flu.
She didn't miss a single day of school last year. Yesterday, she went to the school nurse, said she had a sore throat and wanted to go home. She had no fever, and the nurse gave her a cough drop and had her gargle with salt water.
She made an against school rules call to me on her cell phone, begging me to spring her from the joint, which I did.
Today she's in bed with fever, cough, and sore throat.
See you on the other side! |
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| Carded in a good way |
[Oct. 6th, 2009|03:55 pm] |
"Are you shopping for a kid?" the cashier asks, as she rings up the gently used children’s books—seven Edward Eagers, Owl in Love by Patrice Kindl, and Emma Bull’s Territory.
"No, they're all for me."
I get a quizzical look, so I explain. "I write children's books."
She says, "You get a discount if they're for a kid."
"Well, I'm kind of a grown-up kid..."
She gives me the discount. |
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| I [heart] book panels |
[Oct. 4th, 2009|02:09 pm] |
Okay, my idea for a perfect Saturday afternoon may not be yours, but I had one yesterday. A.S. King (author of The Dust of 100 Dogs), Lisa McMann (author of Wake), and Janni Lee Simner (author of Bones of Faerie) were all on a panel discussing YA fantasy and science fiction. I bought autographed books and I was going to give them to the purple-haired one for Christmas, but then that seemed like an awfully long time to wait before I got to read them--because I can't read them first if I'm giving them as a gift--so I gave them to her already.
I really love panels because they allow insight into the writer's process, more so than at a reading. And one person's answer sets off another's train of thought. I suppose they're more informal, although readings usually aren't formal. There are lots of laughs, and you can ask anything you want.
You see that the squirrelly way you happen to write isn't any more squirrelly than what other people do.
You learn that you can make choices that will make writing more viable, that will allow you to keep at it, to have the time necessary as you master craft.
As I said, a perfect Saturday. |
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| Silly season in Hollywood |
[Oct. 3rd, 2009|01:32 pm] |
Terry Teachout’s article in the on-line Wall Street Journal, “Hollywood Justice: The rush to support Roman Polanski shows how isolated the entertainment industry is from the rest of the world” is well worth reading.
No matter how good an artist Polanski is, no matter how much sympathy he garnered when the Manson ‘family’ murdered his pregnant wife, he pleaded guilty to a heinous crime. Many in Hollywood seem to have forgotten that he drugged and raped a then 13-year-old girl. That’s not okay, anywhere. He needs to serve whatever sentence a judge imposes on him. |
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| My faith in humanity takes a hit |
[Oct. 1st, 2009|02:34 pm] |
My daughter's high school got vandalized. Someone or several someones went wild with the spray paint. Fortunately they left their cans behind--there should be fingerprints and DNA type evidence to help convict them.
Because it is a hate crime to pair a Jewish child's name next to a swastika. |
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| In case of emergency |
[Sep. 29th, 2009|02:17 pm] |
This morning, in the center of the computer's desktop, I found a word document labeled "IN CASE OF EMERGENCY."
Cautiously I clicked on it, and instructions for foiling a crocodile attack appeared. If you want to know, you are supposed to push out the crocodile's eyeballs with your thumbs. The crocodile will immediately stop gnawing on you.
I suspect my (currently) purple-haired child. Her computer log-on is password-protected. She knows me too well to risk retaliation, although I am grateful, because I will know what to do in case of crocodile attack.
But what if it's an orca? |
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| Five authors read to benefit Owl & Panther |
[Sep. 25th, 2009|09:30 am] |
YOUNG ADULT AUTHORS BENEFIT FOR OWL & PANTHER
Calling all teens, kids, teachers, librarians, and aspiring authors!!
Please join us at Antigone Books on Friday, October 23 at 7 p.m. Five fabulous authors will be reading. Twenty percent of the sales will go to Owl & Panther, a group that helps those affected by trauma through creative writing and counseling. Owl & Panther especially seeks to treat trauma associated with torture, dislocation, refugee status, or family problems.
Robin Brande will read from Fat Cat (Knopf, $16.99), a funny, thoughtful novel that explores how girls feel about their bodies, and the ways they can take care of their most precious resource: themselves.
Juanita Havill will read from Grow: A Novel in Verse (Peachtree, $14.95). This novel, written from the perspective of 12-year old Kate, shows how an inner-city community garden brings neighbors together.
Marge Pellegrino will read from Journey of Dreams (F. Lincoln, $15.95). A modern-day Underground Railroad during conflict in Guatemala forms the center of this wonderful and stirring novel told from the viewpoint of a 13-year-old Mayan girl.
Janni Lee Simner will read from her novel, Bones of Faerie (Random House, $16.99). The war between humanity and Faerie has devastated both sides. When 15-year-old Liza discovers she has the Faerie ability to see into the past and future, she finds what may be the key to healing both worlds.
Jennifer J. Stewart will read from her novel, Close Encounters of a Third-World Kind (Holiday House, $6.95). When 12-year old Annie's father announces that the family will be spending the next two months in Nepal on a medical mission, Annie’s not so sure about this adventure. But when she meets Nirmala, a girl close to her own age, the real adventure begins.
This event is supported by Poets & Writers, Inc.
The reading will be followed by a question and answer period.
Refreshments will be served.
Antigone Books
411 N. 4th Avenue
Tucson, AZ 85705
(520) 792-3715 |
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| The life of a writer is sooooo glamorous |
[Sep. 17th, 2009|02:25 pm] |
The dryer broke. Yes, you can picture towels draped everywhere to dry, because my homeowners association does not allow outdoor clotheslines. We are going to cheat until the new part arrives. Please don't tell on me.
The dog has diarrhea. Don't picture that.
Fortunately, some writers' lives *are* glamorous. I'm raising a virtual glass to Juanita Havill. Do picture her accepting the Carol D. Reiser Award today for Grow! |
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| Well said, Garrison Keillor |
[Sep. 16th, 2009|10:18 am] |
In his column, “67 y.o. patient reflects on health,” which ran in the Arizona Daily Star this morning, Garrison Keillor does just that, and closes with this:
And now we must reform our health-insurance system so that it reflects our common humanity. It is not decent that people avoid seeking help for want of insurance. It is not decent that people go broke trying to get well. You know it and I know it.
Time to fix it.
Amen. |
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