Sorry peeps, didn't mean to make it sound all doom and gloom the other night. 1 am will do that to you. In the morning light, everything looks a bit brighter I think.
We had a snow storm yesterday, not the big horrible one they were predicting, but a good hefty dump of snow. Everyone acted shocked. Snow? What? And yet it's mid-December here in Canada and we'd been headed straight for a brown Christmas yet again. It might be kind of nice to have a Christmas with snow once again.
So remember we adopted two cats? Yeah, they are awesome. Every morning they are happy to see me, that's more than I can say for my kids who want to sleep in! ;0) But these two wind their way around my ankles, purring and meowing (or m-ow-ing as E would say). On mornings like this when I get to sit, ensconced on my couch, the big one tries to lay across my laptop. He succeeds in pinning down at least one arm and I almost don't want to make him move because he's warm and sweet.
The best thing at the moment is.... drumroll please.... my book is up on Amazon! (And Chapters in Canada!) What do you think of the cover? I love it, love, love, love it! From what I understand, the cover illustrator entered in into the annual for the Society of Illustrators and was accepted.... now I don't know much about that but my publisher seemed really excited!
Unfortunately it won't be out in time for Christmas as it has a Spring release date, but I'm thoroughly excited to see it OUT THERE.
According to the recent Publishing Syndicates newsletter, the Chicken Soup anthologies have been sold to an East Coast publisher. Publishing Syndicate has always had a great reputation, they pay on time, they are good to their writers, they have been writers themselves.
Now they are getting set to announce a new anthology:
Publishing Syndicate is proud to announce a new anthology series. At this time, we are discussing this series with several publishers and for this reason cannot release the name of the project just yet.
This book series is the brainchild of friend Kathleen Partak. With the changes in Publishing Syndicate’s direction, Kathy’s idea for a book series is now becoming a reality. Of course, Kathy will have top billing, followed by the two of us, and Publishing Syndicate will act as the managing entity.
Even though we can’t share the name of the series with you at this time, we can give you a sneak peek at the structure: It will be an anthology series (with stories from you!) combined with interviews from experts, inspiration on par with that found in books such as The Secret, and how-to tips and advice, similar to the Dummies series. These books will allow our readers to “read, identify, and do” and become an active participant.
So make sure you have their web site bookmarked and stay tuned!
I've just started a new book. Conflict-Free Living by Joyce Meyer.
I know, family and friends, brace yourselves...... I am sometimes involved in conflict. But lately I have been calming down. So calm in fact that some of my co-workers have asked what's wrong with me when my righteous indignation doesn't kick in when they expect it to. It's like my own personal overdrive... when things get too tough, I get gritty.
Well, it doesn't work so much for me any more. I feel that I'm called to be peaceful. Shocking, I know.
What I like most about Meyer's book so far is her honesty. Can't have a good Christian self-help book without a hefty dose of honesty. We want to know that the writer knows of what she writes.
Which gets me to thinking... what is my story? What story can I tell? Is it a story of overcoming? Of resuce? Of pain or of joy?
What is your story?
No matter what we think our story is, what matters is what we choose to write right now. Whether or not you are a writer, you are writing your story each day. Every moment is a sentence and a string of them make a paragraph. Every morning a page, every evening the end of a chapter.
Half my book is due to my editors on Friday and I'm endlessly fiddling with it because what? You want to see half of my book in the half-written stage? Why don't you just ask to see my underwear? Or in a bathing suit in the middle of winter after not shaving for a month?
I think my favorite thing about being a writer is having an overwhelming desire to know the backstory of the books I read. That's the part that the writer knows in her head, but doesn't necessarily put on the page. A bit might show up here and there, but for the most part it's all the history before page one.
(And we all know not to put any backstory on page one, right?)
Recently J.K. Rowling revealed that the Harry Potter saga was inspired by Christianity. This is no surprise, really, if she'd said different I would have had to call bull pucky. It's the great battle between good and evil, the forces gather on each side, alliances are formed, there are betrayals, innocent ones die.
And then she announced that Dumbledore was gay. And for some great reason, I was not surprised. It fit just fine the way she'd written it in the book. He's an old, single man and the only real infatuation we read about is with a young man from his past. It fit.
Now you're probably wondering why a Christian like myself is so fond of not only a book that some say promotes witchcraft, but also of a gay character.
I have no good answers for you other than a) I don't think it promotes witchcraft and b) if God wanted me to worry so much about homosexuality, I think he might have listed it in the top ten.
But back to Rowling.
I think the reason that I was not surprised by either is because that's the beauty of well crafted backstory. It's there, but you don't see it, it's woven so faintly into the tapestry like a pale blue thread, that you only pick up on it when held up to another blue cloth. Then you see it there and think "oh yes, of course that fits perfectly".
Now, as an aside. I find it very interesting how different sites reported this.
'My truthful answer to you...I always thought of Dumbledore as gay.'
Which, despite being reported from the exact same event, differs from how the Associated Press reported it:
"Dumbledore is gay," the author responded to gasps and applause.
Now why is that, do you think? I've seen similar "massaging" of quotes before. Most recently with Doris Lessing's Nobel Prize retort. Some quoted her verbatim while others shortened her words up just enough to make her sound really snotty.
Personally, I think she is just a quiet older woman who is used to being lambasted in public for her views and she was surrounded by cameras and microphones while trying to climb out of a car from a shopping trip. We writers are not known for our improv skills, otherwise we'd be speakers, not writers. Even Churchill, one of the most amazing writers and speakers was first a writer. All those witty retorts? Written and memorized.
I just got my copy of CS for the Working Mom's Soul - my essay appears on page 237. This marks the second time I've been in a Chicken Soup book.
Chicken Soup essays don't pay a huge amount, but they pay enough, in my books. I will often sit down and write some personal essays just for the heck of it. I might turn them in to blog posts or I might hang on to them. Both of my CS essays have come about this way. So when I see a call out, I remember an essay I wrote and I submit it. So far I'm 2 for 2.
I think being a working mom is probably the toughest job in the world. It can be very hard to leave being a mom at home and leave work at work. I'm lucky to have great family support and one wonderful babysitter. Plus, my son is having a much better year at school this year, so I worry far less than I did last year.
But still, there never seems to be enough time in the day to do everything I want to do. Blogging and writing are scheduled in for the 3 pm - to 10 pm time at home. At work I think I'm the most efficient because I have one thing to focus on: my job. Now it seems that when I'm at home, I'm doubly distracted. Supper-homework-diapers-writing-friends-phone calls-after school... it all gets squished in to seven hours in the afternoon evening. Sometimes I feel like I am not doing everything as well as I could.
My daughter is benefitting from more one on one time with her dad. He is with her a lot during the week while I'm at work. He doesn't work at home, which means that he has a lot of time to focus on her. She's thriving! Part of me feels a little guilty, she wasn't as talkative and easy to interact with when I was home because I spent a great deal of time distracting her so I could get some writing done.
That's the gist of my essay in CS for the Working Mom's Soul. How to balance being at home for your kids and being *there* for them too.
Last night I finished reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
I cried through the last 100 pages or so. Even having to stop at one point because I couldn't SEE the pages. Chapter 33 was especially hard because the very thing I wanted and wished and hoped to see happen since book one ... happened.
Now THAT is a series.
Part of my infatuation has been that I read all seven books in about seven weeks. I have even started having Harry Potter dreams since I read every night before bed. He's kept me up until almost midnight some nights. And I get up at 5 am, so that's saying something!
I have decided that I love series books. I adore series books. The Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon and the Harry Potter series are my most favourite. There's something about being on a long journey with someone. You feel like you are going through the experience with them. The good authors can ask you to suspend your belief for a moment and climb into their world. The good authors know their world so completely that they immerse you in the characters' lives flawlessly.
I don't know what I could possibly read next. I may take a reading break.
