One More Dance . . .

Can't eat 'em, can't lock 'em in a closet till they're eighteen!

Okay, I got tagged for this meme by azang.

But I have a small problem: You are supposed to pick up the closest book and open it to page 123, look for sentence number five and then type in the next three sentences and comment on them.

Sounds easy, right?

Um, the closest books to me are two of my own manuscripts, both of which I am currently editing (And while they are still unpublished I clearly regard them as books!), and a synonym finder, then the MS Office for MAC, and after that a book on writing fundraising materials and a stack of research materials on Ancient Egypt. Beyond that is an entire bookshelf, mostly filled with books on writing, etc. (I just realized that I am always surrounded by books.)

So, I'm going to go grab the novel I'm currently reading, WARLORD by Jennifer Fallon.


"Heads I take Highcastle, tails, the Widowmaker." The coin spun in midair before Adham caught it and held it out for the others to see. "Tails," he told them.

These lines provide the reader with insight into the character's nature. It's obvious he doesn't take things too seriously.


BTW--Tag, you're all it.

Hey! It's National Poetry month. Come on out and support the next generation of poets!

I will be hosting Anthology's Mesa Voices of Youth Poetry Festival Event today.

When: 1pm

Where: Main Library
64 E. First St.
Mesa, AZ 85201

Teen poets will compete for slots in the main event that will take place at Bookmans in Phoenix on April 28th.

Today's winner will receive a $25 gift certificate for Bookmans and a chance to compete for the grand prize of $100 in Bookmans credit!

And, of course, bragging rights as this year's Voices of Youth Champion.

Today was a "free" day on Ni90 and the gauntlet was thrown down to write something in the world of our stories that would introduce others to our characters and 'verse.

I aimed for something light and silly, but, as usual, my characters decided on another course.

Here is my offering (in 750 words).

( My Story Realm )

That's right!

I finally completed the first draft of my MG novel, The Forgetful Ghost (working title).

WC tally before beginning revisions: 46,888.

How did I finally get enough BIC time to complete the first draft of my current WIP?

By joining the amazingly supportive LJ group: novel_in_90.

Requirements: Write 750 words every day and report your total WC daily for 90 days.

Consequences for not hitting the daily WC goal: Unbridled Mockery

I like the community so much, Ill be hanging out there again for the next round beginning April 1st. Instead of a daily WC goal, I'll be reporting my revision progress each day.

For writers who need a little motivation to get that BIC time, it's the perfect place.

So, my writerly friends, will I see you at novel_in_90 on Tuesday?

In honor of St. Patrick's Day and to celebrate my awesome ancestry, I give you a classic ballad sung by some of my favorite performers. Enjoy.

Whose wicked stepdaughter is the 2008 East Valley Boys and Girls Club Youth of the Year?

Yep. Mine!

The dinner was actually really good. I expected the usual rubber chicken, but I got a delicious filet cooked medium rare as if I'd ordered it special, and a couple of lovely prawns. We had to move because they had sat us at the wrong table to begin with, but no big.

The evening moved along at a good speed. With plenty of thank yous and recognition, but no long droning speeches.

There were pictures and videos of the participants, and the four top finalists got up to give their speeches.

Then Harmony gave the most incredible speech and took the room by storm. People were standing, people were turning to one another saying, "Wow!" Some people were even crying. (More than just her dad and me.)

But the judging had taken place ahead of time, so we still didn't know if she had won. (Though, of course, we knew she deserved to.)

Then they announced her as the 2008 East Valley Youth of the Year and the room erupted.

She has worked hard to get to this level and she earned every award and every bit of the applause and recognition she received tonight.

She'll be interviewed on radio and television next week. And then she'll be going on to the State level competition.

I am a very proud Wicked StepMother. ::sniff::

(Photos tomorrow. Going to bed now.)

Been busy moving from the back room to my new office space. I have been sorting out my TON OF CRAP, which included such critically important things like documents and thank you notes from customers and bosses in 1982. Right, because I still might need to prove how good I was at Biomedical Field Service Engineering.

We also made the trek to IKEA this past weekend to buy beds and other such furnishings. After much some-assembly-required time, the Nelsonnettes now have their own rooms and are very excited. But it has been a huge amount of work.

Oh, and we're almost finished with our taxes. Gak!

I have written a grand total of about 813 words on my current WIP. But I am almost finished with my new office digs. Now, there is just that little matter of the sewing/craft room to deal with. ::sigh::

Does the pack-rat label offend me? Nope. 'Cause if the shoe fits, I'm sure as hell not going to throw it away!

Which God or Goddess are you like? Your Result: God Zeus   You are Zeus. You are fierce and stong, and you like to throw lightning bolts at people who deserve it. You are fearless when it comes to fear, and harmless to nothing. You have the guts to take on anything and never look back. Congratulations!! You are God!!
You are your own God or Goddess
Satan
Goddess Sekhemet
Budha
Goddess Bast
The Christian God
Jesus
Which God or Goddess are you like? Make Your Own Quiz

Attended Anthology Nonprofit Volunteers' Meeting.

Went to Home Depot and picked up new ceiling fan, fresh mud, and paint.

Removed old track lighting from kitchen and installed in laundry room.

Repaired large area in ceiling under where track lighting had been and where an old vent used to be.

Installed new fan in laundry room (with help from hubby).

Wrote 813 words on current WIP.

32896 / 77207 words. 43% done!

MG Fantasy Novel: A young girl moves into a haunted house and becomes determined to help a forgetful ghost.

25578 / 77207 words. 33% done!

Thanks to unforth, you may now address me by

My Peculiar Aristocratic Title, which is: Venerable Lady Sharon the Ineffable of Mellow under Trollness Get your Peculiar Aristocratic Title

Pretty much suits me, don't you think?
:-P

I have coined a new phrase for the parenting of teens.

Teen-herder.

Yep.

Teen-herding: (v.) the act of herding, or rather attempting to herd, teenagers in a positive direction.

More challenging than cat-herding, more frustrating than taxes, more entertaining than silly string, more gratifying than a two-dollar winning lottery ticket.

I found this on Lit Soup and just had to share it.

Amazing editing.

Top ten things I like about New Year's Eve.

10)It's a good excuse to make a top ten list.

9) It means the xmas season is finally over and I can go back to shopping in the stores without being run down by someone whose current objective is obviously much more important than mine.

8) Traffic will begin to return to some semblance of normalcy.

7) School will be starting again soon and I will have some at-home time to myself again.

6) It's a reminder to reconnect with folks I may not have emailed or spoken with since earlier in the year.

5) It's one last chance to procrastinate on the current writing project, because tomorrow I resolve to write daily. Again.

4) My inner child gets to say, "See you next year," a whole lot.

3) It gives me a sense of closure and the feeling, however false, that I get to make a fresh start.

2) Lots of well-wishing takes place.

1) It's the only time of year that dropping the ball is a good thing.

I am now trying to track my reading/audio book listening each year. Here is the list for 2007 (to the best of my abilities to have remembered to keep adding books as I finish reading/listening to them).

Some of these were books I read long ago and reread this year for various reasons. Several I just could not make myself finish. And a few are definitely rated NC-17.

My tastes are pretty eclectic. So this year, I may try to track genre and intended reader (i.e. YA, MG, adult).

 

Anderson, M.T.  Whales on Stilts(*DNF)

Anthony, Piers    On a Pale Horse

Atwood, Margaret    Oryx and Crake**

Avi    Wolf Rider

Beddor, Frank    The Looking Glass Wars 

Bell, Hilari    The Goblin Wood**
                The Wizard Test
                A Matter of Profit

Black, Holly    Ironside

Bray, Libba    Rebel Angels

Capote, Truman    In Cold Blood

Conroy, Pat    The Lords Of Discipline

Cornwell, Bernard    The Last Kingdom

Coulter, Catherine    The Penwyth curse

Colfer, Eoin    Artemis Fowl

Creech, Sharon    Walk Two Moons**

Davidson, MaryJanice    Undead and Unappreciated
                        Undead and Unreturnable

DiTerlizzi, Tony & Holly Black    The spiderwick chronicles, 
                                  books 1-5

Estes, Clarissa Pinkola    Women who run with wolves (DNF)

Fallon, Jennifer    Medalon
                    Treason Keep
                    Harshini
                    Wolfblade

Funke,  Cornelia    The Dragon Rider**

Gaiman, Neil    Anansi Boys**
                Stardust

Hahn, Mary Downing    The Old Willis Place

Halse Anderson, Laurie    Fever, 1793

Halstead, Lauro S.    Managing Post Polio Syndrome

Hamilton, Laurell K.    Seduced by Moonlight
                        A Stroke of Midnight
                        Mistral’s Kiss
                        Danse Macabre

Harris, Charlaine    Dead Until Dark

Hart, Erin    Haunted Ground

Hartwood, John    The Ghost Writer (*DNF)

Haydon, Elizabeth    Rhapsody: Child of Blood 
                    (Almost DNF)

Hill, Napoleon    Think and Grow Rich

Koen, Karleen    Dark Angels
                T hrough a Glass Darkly

Le Guin, Ursula K.    Wizard of Earthsea
                      Tombs of Atuan
                      The Farthest Shore
                      Tehanu: The Last Book of Earthsea
                      The Other Wind

Love, Kathy    Fangs for the Memories

Lukeman, Noah    The first five pages

MacGregor, Kinley    Sword of Darkness**
 
Maisel, Eric     Deep Writing

Maltz, Maxwell     The New Psycho-cybernetics

Marr, Melissa    Wicked Lovely**

Martel, Yann    Life of Pi

Meyer, Stephanie    New Moon**
                    Eclipse

Mlynowski, Sarah    Bras and Broomsticks (Almost DNF)

Munsat, Theodore l.    Post Polio Syndrome

Napoli, Donna Jo    Breath**
                    Zel

Nix, Garth    Sabriel

Oshinsky, David M.    Polio: An American Story

Pattison, Darcy    The River Dragon
                   Nineteen Girls and Me
                   The Journey of Oliver K. Woodman

Patron, Susan Coleman    The Higher Power of Lucky

Rees, Celia    Pirates!**

Rhodes, Jenna    The Four Forges

Rowling, J.K.    Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Silva, Joseph    The Silva Mind Control  Method

Stott, Rebecca    Ghostwalk

Whittemore, Jo     The Silverskin Legacy: Book One

Winkler, Henry & Lin Oliver    Hank Zipzer: Holy Enchiladas!

Yep, Lawrence    The Tiger’s Apprentice

Yolen, Jane  &  Robert Harris    The Queen’s Own Fool

Zinel, Paul    The Pigman

Zusak, Markus    The Book Thief**

(And a whole slew of Grant Writing and Fundraising Books.)




*DNF=Did not finish.
** Top picks of the year.

This was sent to me by a writing friend, who found it on a writers loop, and I just had to share it.



THE NIGHT BEFORE A WRITER'S CHRISTMAS
By Petrina Aubol
(With the usual apologies, especially to the poets out there.)

'Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, only me and my mouse.
The family snuggled, all ready to dream.
Me, I just struggled with my electronic machine.
"Should I use tockety tick or tickety tock?
Now which goes better stocking or sock?"

My thoughts got knocked out by noise on the roof.
Those pigeon pests sounded like each had a hoof.
Shaking my fist, I inserted ear plugs,
Picked up my beer and chugged a few lugs.
And with a resoluteness hardly ever seen,
I returned my attention to that dratted blank screen.

When all of a sudden banging on the door,
Penetrated my earplugs which I threw on the floor.
"Go to hell," I shouted to the intruder outside.
"I'm writing an opus in which I take pride.
My hero's heroic, my heroine's a dream,
The villain is the worst rascal ever seen.
My conflict's conflicting, it's all in my head,
But 'twill be in the computer before I hit the bed."

"Open up!" hollered a jolly voice in the hall.
"I've brought you some presents, both big and both small."
"Don't want any, go 'way," I told him with a roar.
But at his insistence, I opened the door.
There stood a fat clown dressed in fur and in red
With a white beard and pointy hat on his head.

A sack full of packages flung over his shoulder,
He stared me down, couldn't have been bolder.
I remembered my subplot that needed a boot.
What a great hook, an old joker in a red suit.
"Come in sir," I said flinging open the door.
"Sit down and please tell me what you're here for."

"No time to sit, writer, I've a long way to go,
But you sit down, I've goodies to show."
Speechless I sat in my desk chair pushed back,
And watched the old guy go through is sack.
He flipped me a card, "An appointment in New York City,
With a literary agent who'll read your new ditty.

Here's a Random House contract for you to sign,
Six-figure advance, put your x on that line.
Next is the route of your book tour with paid fare,
And your own eager publicist, who'll accompany you there.
Here's a brand new printer, thirty pages a minute,
With a lifetime supply of top grade paper in it.

Here are some cartridges and if you need more,
Staples will send them, pre-paid from the store.
His sack was lighter but more goodies he did find,
"A brand new thesaurus and dictionary combined.
A tape recorder so you can write and then jaw,
And a word processor program that works without flaw.

And last but not least from the Times of New York,
A book review claiming that you are no dork,
But a literary genius of the greatest acclaim,
Whose work will be bought out as your rise up in fame.
I'm taking your first draft which I will critique,
And leaving my life story which is most unique.

Then you can ghost write it, I'll finish it quick.
But we must use my by-line which of course is Saint Nick."
"I believe in you Santa," and in spite of myself.
I hugged the geezer, "You're the greatest old elf."
"Merry Christmas, Writer," he exclaimed as he left my sights.
"I'll be back next year to discuss Movie Rights!"

Yep.

As of yesterday, I am one year older. A big thanks to all of my LJ well-wishers for thinking of me on my special day.

In honor of this auspicious occasion, here is my new tag line:


There are many days when I feel my age, but I try never to act it!

How about a snowball fight?