Over on GalleyCat
And also read her informative posts about evil gnomes.
Friday, July 11, 2008
Wednesday, July 09, 2008
Help, New MeMe, and Winchesters
I've started a new book, and I need some input.
Remember the movie Sweet Home Alabama? Reese Witherspoon wants to marry her rich fiancé but can't until she gets a divorce from her redneck ex. She winds up with the redneck ex.
My book has a certain basis in that premise. The heroine has a past that has come back to threaten her. She dumps the fiancé to protect him and his family but knows she's not safe until she solves the problem, so she goes back to her former flame, who is now a mercenary and the only person she knows who could maybe help her. But the fiancé surprises her and insists on helping. So there are two potential heroes, both of whom defy the labels she has placed on them, both of whom are worthy of her. I don't know who she winds up with yet.
My dilemma is, should I write the book all in her POV (it's third person) or include both heroes' POVs?
Having all three POVs is highly unconventional, even more unconventional than having two heroes in the first place (outside of erotic romance, I suppose, which this book is not). But I think the book would be richer and more emotionally engaging if we saw inside the guys' heads.
So tell me...what would you like to read?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Trish Milburn has started her own meme. Please participate, if you are so inspired!
Famous People Meme — Which famous person in each of the following categories would you like to meet?
Author — My first thought was Jim Butcher, but Trish said JK Rowling and that's a good one, too. Many of my other favorites, I've had the great fortune to have met already.
Movie Actor — Jason Bateman, I think. I still have semi-obsessions with Brendan Fraser, Orlando Bloom, and Joaquin Phoenix, and Jonathan Rhys Myers, but I'm so impressed with Jason's acting, and he seems like the kind of guy who'd sit down and talk to me about writing and acting and the business and stuff, without acting like he's doing me a favor.
TV Actor — Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles, total no-brainer.
Musician/Singer — Jason Manns
Historical Figure — No idea. Maybe Laura Ingalls.
Fictional Book Character — Harry Dresden
Fictional Movie or TV Character — Sam and Dean (from Supernatural, of course)! And also Derek Reese from Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Some of my "friends" have been successfully keeping me (among other people) away from my writing challenge with Winchester videos. As a result, I find Winchester vids peppering the blogs I read. I might as well join in! Here's one of my favorites:
Remember the movie Sweet Home Alabama? Reese Witherspoon wants to marry her rich fiancé but can't until she gets a divorce from her redneck ex. She winds up with the redneck ex.
My book has a certain basis in that premise. The heroine has a past that has come back to threaten her. She dumps the fiancé to protect him and his family but knows she's not safe until she solves the problem, so she goes back to her former flame, who is now a mercenary and the only person she knows who could maybe help her. But the fiancé surprises her and insists on helping. So there are two potential heroes, both of whom defy the labels she has placed on them, both of whom are worthy of her. I don't know who she winds up with yet.
My dilemma is, should I write the book all in her POV (it's third person) or include both heroes' POVs?
Having all three POVs is highly unconventional, even more unconventional than having two heroes in the first place (outside of erotic romance, I suppose, which this book is not). But I think the book would be richer and more emotionally engaging if we saw inside the guys' heads.
So tell me...what would you like to read?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Trish Milburn has started her own meme. Please participate, if you are so inspired!
Famous People Meme — Which famous person in each of the following categories would you like to meet?
Author — My first thought was Jim Butcher, but Trish said JK Rowling and that's a good one, too. Many of my other favorites, I've had the great fortune to have met already.
Movie Actor — Jason Bateman, I think. I still have semi-obsessions with Brendan Fraser, Orlando Bloom, and Joaquin Phoenix, and Jonathan Rhys Myers, but I'm so impressed with Jason's acting, and he seems like the kind of guy who'd sit down and talk to me about writing and acting and the business and stuff, without acting like he's doing me a favor.
TV Actor — Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles, total no-brainer.
Musician/Singer — Jason Manns
Historical Figure — No idea. Maybe Laura Ingalls.
Fictional Book Character — Harry Dresden
Fictional Movie or TV Character — Sam and Dean (from Supernatural, of course)! And also Derek Reese from Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Some of my "friends" have been successfully keeping me (among other people) away from my writing challenge with Winchester videos. As a result, I find Winchester vids peppering the blogs I read. I might as well join in! Here's one of my favorites:
Monday, July 07, 2008
The Great Wii Backfire
In a semi-desperate bid to increase my family's activity level, especially the kids', I ordered a Wii last week. The package had the Wii Sports, of course, plus a stupid Smash Brothers game. I ordered a pro soccer game and carnival games to go with everything. The Wii Fit is still on my radar but still not available anywhere.
I'm sure it surprises no one that the Wii is a big hit all the way around. J hooked it up for the kids on Friday while I was indisposed. Once I felt better I did one game of bowling, two rounds of tennis (best of five), and two boxing matches (KO'd, both times). That little bit gave me a raging shoulder/neckache. And the other three spent HOURS over the long weekend playing. All three of them have been very, very sore.
Number One got left by Number Two mid-tennis match, so Number One played against herself. She won. She found it to be so much fun that she played baseball against herself, too, pitching with one hand and hitting with the other. It's kind of hilarious.
Number Two is the boxing champ. She's ferocious. I'm at level 0. She's nearly at 400.
Unfortunately, the kids are drawn to playing but have been trying to rest their aching muscles, which has led them to discover that Hey! They don't need to stand up to play tennis! They can lie on their backs and flick their wrists!
Not exactly what I was going for.
I'm sure it surprises no one that the Wii is a big hit all the way around. J hooked it up for the kids on Friday while I was indisposed. Once I felt better I did one game of bowling, two rounds of tennis (best of five), and two boxing matches (KO'd, both times). That little bit gave me a raging shoulder/neckache. And the other three spent HOURS over the long weekend playing. All three of them have been very, very sore.
Number One got left by Number Two mid-tennis match, so Number One played against herself. She won. She found it to be so much fun that she played baseball against herself, too, pitching with one hand and hitting with the other. It's kind of hilarious.
Number Two is the boxing champ. She's ferocious. I'm at level 0. She's nearly at 400.
Unfortunately, the kids are drawn to playing but have been trying to rest their aching muscles, which has led them to discover that Hey! They don't need to stand up to play tennis! They can lie on their backs and flick their wrists!
Not exactly what I was going for.
Saturday, July 05, 2008
What You Don't Want to Know
I have a friend who doesn't talk about personal stuff on her blog. I mean, she rants about typical family stuff (shut off the damn lights, pick up your sh**) and personal feelings about the writing industry. And she puts on a really good show. But even if you think you know a lot about her, you don't know a lot about her. I admire that, deeply. Because if I were more like her...
...I wouldn't post about how this week was not so fantastic as last week, primarily because I was sick for two days and spent most of today in the ER.
...I would not post about pain so bad I should have another baby making demands right now.
...I would not post about Number Two telling me "Too Much Information" when I explained about the procedure I'll be having on Tuesday. Yeah, the one with the camera going where no camera should ever have to go. (Even the most common expressions are funnier when they come out of a nine-year-old's mouth.)
I guess that's enough stuff I shouldn't be posting about.
To all those who may ask, I seem to be fine. The ER trip was one of those pointless ones where you find out you're not about to die but virtually nothing else. I'm a little anemic. Apparently not enough to worry about at the moment.
Anyway.
I haven't read through Fight or Flight yet, and a I have a new proofing job this weekend, but I did manage to get some files set up for my challenge next week, so it wasn't a total loss.
I don't know if I mentioned the challenge yet. A group of friends--stay-at-home writers like me--has agreed to challenge each other weekly to help keep us on track this summer. We get points for writing new stuff or editing old stuff, and the person with the most points after the five-day period wins for the week. And we'll all go out to a fancy dinner at the end, provided we have at least tried to meet the challenge. Which we will. We're a group so dedicated we don't really need the challenge.
So, I suppose I should say Happy Independence Day to all my fellow Americans. I kind of forgot it was a holiday, given the circumstances, but we did manage to set off a few legal fireworks in the driveway after dark. I hope you all celebrated appropriately and will enjoy the rest of your long weekend.
And I promise not to describe my Tuesday.
...I wouldn't post about how this week was not so fantastic as last week, primarily because I was sick for two days and spent most of today in the ER.
...I would not post about pain so bad I should have another baby making demands right now.
...I would not post about Number Two telling me "Too Much Information" when I explained about the procedure I'll be having on Tuesday. Yeah, the one with the camera going where no camera should ever have to go. (Even the most common expressions are funnier when they come out of a nine-year-old's mouth.)
I guess that's enough stuff I shouldn't be posting about.
To all those who may ask, I seem to be fine. The ER trip was one of those pointless ones where you find out you're not about to die but virtually nothing else. I'm a little anemic. Apparently not enough to worry about at the moment.
Anyway.
I haven't read through Fight or Flight yet, and a I have a new proofing job this weekend, but I did manage to get some files set up for my challenge next week, so it wasn't a total loss.
I don't know if I mentioned the challenge yet. A group of friends--stay-at-home writers like me--has agreed to challenge each other weekly to help keep us on track this summer. We get points for writing new stuff or editing old stuff, and the person with the most points after the five-day period wins for the week. And we'll all go out to a fancy dinner at the end, provided we have at least tried to meet the challenge. Which we will. We're a group so dedicated we don't really need the challenge.
So, I suppose I should say Happy Independence Day to all my fellow Americans. I kind of forgot it was a holiday, given the circumstances, but we did manage to set off a few legal fireworks in the driveway after dark. I hope you all celebrated appropriately and will enjoy the rest of your long weekend.
And I promise not to describe my Tuesday.
Monday, June 30, 2008
Well, That Didn't Last Long
Remember way back last week when I kept raving about how well everything was going, and how much I was getting done?
Yeah. Not so much today.
Two hours searching for anacharis for the damned crayfish. Most of that spent in bumper-to-bumper traffic. Which meant I didn't get very much work done that I intended to today. I have a galley to proof for Renegade, my mid-July novella release. I also finished my revisions on Fight or Flight last night, which made me feel really good, but trying to print out the damned manuscript is what set off rage of Incredible Hulk proportions tonight (aided, I'm sure, by PMS).
My printer was running low on toner, so I kept having to take the cartridge out and shake it. I thought, last night, that the manuscript finished printing. It didn't, but when I resumed it this afternoon, it f*&%ing started over! And I couldn't get the damned printer to stop f*&%ing printing. Every time I turned it off or disconnected it, when I turned it back on it started over at page 1. I wasted guess how many pages? Almost exactly the number I had left when the toner cartridge stopped completely. So there was a trip to Staples, and the mammoth document is now fully printed.
In the meantime, after I shook the cartridge and put it back in at one point, I forgot to flip up the paper catcher again. That's not a problem for short print jobs, but this one dumped about 50 pages all over the floor. Spread very far and wide, in a near-perfect circle. When I tried to gather them up, there was no rhyme or reason to what had landed where. Page 212, 248, 223, and 237 were all together. That was quite a nightmare to sort.
Add a 100-foot outdoor extension cord that didn't want to coil properly, kids who didn't do as they were told earlier, and bad parents who gave in to a fast-food dinner, and I was raging most of the evening.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
TMI
Getting older sucks. It's an old story--the hair on my head is thinner (I don't have less of it, the hair itself is just thin) and I have almost no eyelashes to speak of. But of course I'm growing a mustache. It's reached noticeable proportions, so for the first time in my life I used hair remover on it.
Yeah. That went about how you'd expect.
I have patches where I apparently didn't apply enough, and I have to wait two days before I can redo them. I plucked a few of the longer ones, which is probably a no-no (I know you can't pluck beforehand). I have a little bristly line right at my lipline that I'm afraid to try to get because the directions say not to get it on your lips. And I now have a brown line along said lipline that wasn't there this morning. The area is, of course, sensitive to the touch, and the remaining hairs feel like boar hide. I'm really afraid of how it will grow in now, too.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Funky Entertainment
We saw Wall*E this weekend, and it was delightful. I love anthropomorphized robots, and the tribute to Apple, Pixar's originator, in the computer launch tone used as Wall*E's signal that his charge is complete, amused me every time they used it.
I didn't really care for the implication about humans' future, but I won't whine about it. I'll just make sure I'm not one of those people, that's all.
I also saw Borat the other day. Didn't live up to the hype. I wondered if Cohen ever broke character to explain to people what he was doing. I also wondered if he deliberately chose a southern route. Southerners were not shown in the best light, though of course they were goaded. Still. Enough bigotry to keep me convinced I want to live no further south than I do right now. Not that, of course, all southerners are that way. I know plenty who are the complete opposite. But if we have as many bigots up here, they are at least more quiet about it.
And last night I watched Knocked Up. Again, not as charming or as wonderful as the critics would have us believe (I'm sure they were all caught up in the fantasy of having a woman like Heigl, with her distracting fake-but-squishy boobs). Ben could not be a bigger loser without being a criminal, and that made it impossible for me to believe Alison loved him when she said she did. The best friends were all a**holes of the first order, and the sister was horrible.
But I like Leslie Mann, the woman who played the sister. She was probably my favorite actor in the movie (with Paul Rudd). Heigl and Rogen were very good, despite the material. And Apatow's kids are totally adorable. They alone are enough to make me see another Apatow movie (provided, of course, they are in it). I was also thrilled to see Alan Tudyk being fabulous, and I loved Kristen Wiig. But really, the extras were far more fun than the movie itself.
Okay, enough whining. Here's hoping for a better day tomorrow.
Yeah. Not so much today.
Two hours searching for anacharis for the damned crayfish. Most of that spent in bumper-to-bumper traffic. Which meant I didn't get very much work done that I intended to today. I have a galley to proof for Renegade, my mid-July novella release. I also finished my revisions on Fight or Flight last night, which made me feel really good, but trying to print out the damned manuscript is what set off rage of Incredible Hulk proportions tonight (aided, I'm sure, by PMS).
My printer was running low on toner, so I kept having to take the cartridge out and shake it. I thought, last night, that the manuscript finished printing. It didn't, but when I resumed it this afternoon, it f*&%ing started over! And I couldn't get the damned printer to stop f*&%ing printing. Every time I turned it off or disconnected it, when I turned it back on it started over at page 1. I wasted guess how many pages? Almost exactly the number I had left when the toner cartridge stopped completely. So there was a trip to Staples, and the mammoth document is now fully printed.
In the meantime, after I shook the cartridge and put it back in at one point, I forgot to flip up the paper catcher again. That's not a problem for short print jobs, but this one dumped about 50 pages all over the floor. Spread very far and wide, in a near-perfect circle. When I tried to gather them up, there was no rhyme or reason to what had landed where. Page 212, 248, 223, and 237 were all together. That was quite a nightmare to sort.
Add a 100-foot outdoor extension cord that didn't want to coil properly, kids who didn't do as they were told earlier, and bad parents who gave in to a fast-food dinner, and I was raging most of the evening.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
TMI
Getting older sucks. It's an old story--the hair on my head is thinner (I don't have less of it, the hair itself is just thin) and I have almost no eyelashes to speak of. But of course I'm growing a mustache. It's reached noticeable proportions, so for the first time in my life I used hair remover on it.
Yeah. That went about how you'd expect.
I have patches where I apparently didn't apply enough, and I have to wait two days before I can redo them. I plucked a few of the longer ones, which is probably a no-no (I know you can't pluck beforehand). I have a little bristly line right at my lipline that I'm afraid to try to get because the directions say not to get it on your lips. And I now have a brown line along said lipline that wasn't there this morning. The area is, of course, sensitive to the touch, and the remaining hairs feel like boar hide. I'm really afraid of how it will grow in now, too.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Funky Entertainment
We saw Wall*E this weekend, and it was delightful. I love anthropomorphized robots, and the tribute to Apple, Pixar's originator, in the computer launch tone used as Wall*E's signal that his charge is complete, amused me every time they used it.
I didn't really care for the implication about humans' future, but I won't whine about it. I'll just make sure I'm not one of those people, that's all.
I also saw Borat the other day. Didn't live up to the hype. I wondered if Cohen ever broke character to explain to people what he was doing. I also wondered if he deliberately chose a southern route. Southerners were not shown in the best light, though of course they were goaded. Still. Enough bigotry to keep me convinced I want to live no further south than I do right now. Not that, of course, all southerners are that way. I know plenty who are the complete opposite. But if we have as many bigots up here, they are at least more quiet about it.
And last night I watched Knocked Up. Again, not as charming or as wonderful as the critics would have us believe (I'm sure they were all caught up in the fantasy of having a woman like Heigl, with her distracting fake-but-squishy boobs). Ben could not be a bigger loser without being a criminal, and that made it impossible for me to believe Alison loved him when she said she did. The best friends were all a**holes of the first order, and the sister was horrible.
But I like Leslie Mann, the woman who played the sister. She was probably my favorite actor in the movie (with Paul Rudd). Heigl and Rogen were very good, despite the material. And Apatow's kids are totally adorable. They alone are enough to make me see another Apatow movie (provided, of course, they are in it). I was also thrilled to see Alan Tudyk being fabulous, and I loved Kristen Wiig. But really, the extras were far more fun than the movie itself.
Okay, enough whining. Here's hoping for a better day tomorrow.
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Some Days are Amazing
I read an entire book yesterday. Not just an entire book: Eileen Rendahl's Un-Bridaled, which is 322 pages long. I started it in the morning, probably around 9-ish, and finished it a little before 11:00 p.m.
That's not really amazing. I'm a fast reader. People used to get disgusted playing Jeopardy! with me on the Sega because I read the questions so much faster than the rest of them. (I know. Sega. Dates me a bit. Imagine if I admitted we had an Atari and a Colecovision when I was ateenager kid!) Lots and lots of people can read a book in a day. My daughter does it every day of the week!
But what is amazing is all the other stuff I did during the day:
I've had busier days, I'm sure you all have, and I'm not really bragging, despite my high sense of accomplishment. What really amazes me is that a day like this can happen, yet rarely does. Usually, if I spend any time in IM or not ignoring my e-mail, I get far less done. My editing and administrative work always takes priority over the writing, and tends to derail me. Even if I make use of down time like soccer practice (which I did yesterday), it's still less productivity than I would have had in the same time frame without being at practice.
So what is it? Is it that Mercury going direct freed something? Is it that I got more disciplined and focused? Is it a weird space-time thing that makes it stretch at the whim of a higher power?
Who knows? Or cares. I'm just going to aim for the same thing today. Here's my list:
And may you all have amazing days!
That's not really amazing. I'm a fast reader. People used to get disgusted playing Jeopardy! with me on the Sega because I read the questions so much faster than the rest of them. (I know. Sega. Dates me a bit. Imagine if I admitted we had an Atari and a Colecovision when I was a
But what is amazing is all the other stuff I did during the day:
- Proofed six marketing pieces
- Critiqued a 59-page short story
- Did an administrative job for a client
- Completed three loads of laundry
- Folded and put away two loads of towels
- Edited 2 chapters of Fight or Flight
- Wrote 3+ pages of The Light of Redemption
- Attended a one-hour chat at TKA
- Took Number Two and one of her teammates to soccer practice
- Read a 31-page contest entry and completed the score sheet
- Various and sundry household things, like cleaning the litter box, feeding the animals, cooking and eating lunch and dinner
- Exchanging IMs and e-mails with colleagues
I've had busier days, I'm sure you all have, and I'm not really bragging, despite my high sense of accomplishment. What really amazes me is that a day like this can happen, yet rarely does. Usually, if I spend any time in IM or not ignoring my e-mail, I get far less done. My editing and administrative work always takes priority over the writing, and tends to derail me. Even if I make use of down time like soccer practice (which I did yesterday), it's still less productivity than I would have had in the same time frame without being at practice.
So what is it? Is it that Mercury going direct freed something? Is it that I got more disciplined and focused? Is it a weird space-time thing that makes it stretch at the whim of a higher power?
Who knows? Or cares. I'm just going to aim for the same thing today. Here's my list:
- Blog
- Finish administrative project, phase 1
- Take Number Two to the orthodontist and go to the library, comic book store, and grocery store
- Edit three chapters in Fight or Flight
- Work on my Romance Wiki
- Write some new pages on The Light of Redemption
- Judge another contest entry
And may you all have amazing days!
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