Pooh-on-Pooh?

"This novel is not to be tossed lightly aside, but to be hurled with great force."
Dorothy Parker, referring to Winnie-the-Pooh. She also was reported to say-"It made me want to thwow up" in a baby voice. You think that was a review? How did A. A. Milne feel about that?

Interesting tidbit, my stepdaughter may come to stay for a little while, could liven things up, one way or another. (Help) Had a pissy close-encounter-of-the-physician-kind and so one physician in town won't ever see any business from me or anyone I can warn away. Don't mess with my kids.

I'm almost done with Privy edits, the first 50 pages and will get it sent off. Done with a first run through on Agatha Ann. Making progress. I actually like what I'm reading.

News Flash

"Sometimes I wonder if men and women really suit each other. Perhaps they should love next door and just visit now and then. --Katherine Hepburn--

For Memorial Day weekend, I spent Saturday on Privy and Agatha rewrites, more rewrites on Sunday and a family gathering with aunts, uncles, cousins and food. No music and dancing which I think would liven things up. Yesterday Lori and I went to Paseo Arts fest, art, music and fun in the hippy-dippy arts district in OKC. Always fun, and this year, cool and cloudy. Lori and I then went to the mall, each got a henna tattoo, had a great shrimp,tomatoe, avacado, cheese, bow-tie pasta salad. We bought a Godiva chocolate each and went to watch the third Pirates of the Carribean movie-loved it. A little shopping, a seizure detour, but a fun day.

Rachel Vincent is officially published as of today and even holding a contest for a tee-shirt. If you go to her site, http://urbanfantasy.blogspot.com you can find the rules, more about the bood and the author. Her book, STRAY, is on the bookshelves as we speak. If you love urban fantasy and good writing, order now. I have a picture of the cover, totally interesting, on this site, just scroll down and look to the right. You can order it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.


Writing Prompt:What was your favorite toy as a child? Explore that in a journal entry.

Poetry Monday

Picture This



Should a new day start

With lines of bad poetry

allusions to the obscure

illusions of grandiose dreams?

or

Should I trumpet my promise

to write lean and mean

keeping words to a minimum

metaphors clear and clean?

maybe

If I try really hard

I can break the habit

of stringing words into pictures

only I can see.

I wrote this about a pet peeve when I read other peoples poetry who have images that only they can see. I have this thing about communication. If something fails to communicate, why write it?

Writing Prompt: Choose a favorite picture book from your childhood. Pick an illustrated page and compose a poem about it.

Invisible

"And then, not expecting it, you become middle-aged and anonymous. No one notices you. You achieve a wonderul freedom. It is a positive thing. You can move about, unnoticed and invisible."
--Doris Lessing, English Writer--

Well, at my age, I certainly don't turn heads. If someone describes you its "The fat old lady." or worse, "That elderly woman." I hate when newspapers and ads descrube everyone with grey hair as elderly. I'm not elderly. In my head I haven't really changed since I was about 40. But people who don't know me don't get much past the physical thing.

However, its easier to observe. No one thinks its a come-on. You can watch and listen, invaluable for a writer. Like lurking, only in person. Do it with a computer or sketch pad and no one really pays attention to you. You can pick up all kinds of conversation, dialogue tidbits, character description.

Now, enough play. I have to edit Privy, work more on Agatha Ann. Busy, Busy.

Men Lurking

"Beware of the man who denouces women writers; his penis is tiny and he cannot spell.
-Erica Jong-

This quote ticked me just because, and if any guys are reading this blog and haven't ever posted to let me know I have male readers, you deserve it if you are lurking. Besides, it happens all the time, the sexist thing among male writers who think women belong in the Romance Genre only, certainly not in serious literary writing.

One of my many pet peeves and soap boxes is men thinking women can't do it, whatever it is. Of course there are women who have a problem with other women who "don't know their place." That's even more irritating and is maybe because the controlled, repressed women who denegrate others are simply jealous and afraid to admit it. Then there are women bosses who eat employees (not mine, someone elses.)

Don't let me get started on women's rights, choice and etc. or we'll have a liberal diatribe going on instead of a blog about writing. Speaking of which, I received my CP comments on Privy and now have to get busy cleaning up the copy to send off. It's always amazing what other eyes can find and wonderful to have a friend who can see what you're try to do.

For the long weekend, rain predicted here but I'm going to at least try to make it to the Paseo Art Fest, my favorite one of the year. I keep planning to show, get side-tracked by writing and don't finish enough pictures for a good show. Oh well. Been saying that for years.

Writer's Happen.

"Writer's will happen in the best of families."

A quote I love. Families kind of hope we'll find a "real job" or "stop spending so much time on that silly hobby."

Of course we continue to write anyway, submit in spite of rejection and get published in spite of all the "good for us" advice from others. That's how it should be. Not always easy, but when the goal is accomplished, what a rush.

When you hold the book in your hands, have a contest to give away the book and people actually enter, how fun is that.

I began reading Agatha Ann and actually like what I'm seeing, so that's a good thing. Privy will be sent off shortly. Making progress and ignoring the urge to start over again. Like I've said before, it's like knowing when a painting is finished and not over-working everything into mud.

Journey

"It's good to have an end to journey towards, but it is the journey that matters in the end.
-Ursula Leguin-

That's what writing is for me, the journey. I'd like to see the fiction published in the end, but it's the fun of the writing that works. Same with painting. A finished painting is cool, but the relaxation and meditation come with the painting itself, the playing of the music, not the having played the music.

Now for the fun

Answer all questions using only 1 word (unless you cheat like me and hyphenate):
1. Where is your cell phone? purse
2. Relationship? Huh?
3. Your hair? multi-colored
4. Work? too much
5. Your sister? classy
6. Your favorite thing? grand babies
7. Your dream last night? weird
8. Your favorite drink? wine
9. Your dream car? Lexus
10. The room you’re in? office
11. Your shoes? comfortable
12. Your fears? TNTC
13. What do you want to be in 10 years? alive?
14. Who did you hang out with this weekend? daughter
15. What you’re not good at? watercolor
16. Muffin? blueberry
17. One of your wish list items? Ireland
18. Where you grew up? Dallas
19. The last thing you did? get dressed
20. What are you wearing? silk shirt
21. What aren’t you wearing? sparkles
22. Your pet? cats
23. Your computer? my friend
24. Your life? busy
25. Your mood? good
26. Missing? sister
27. What are you thinking about right now? sister
28. Your car? Impala
29. Your kitchen? big
30. Your summer? busy
31. Your favorite color? red
32. When is the last time you laughed? yesterday
33. Last time you cried? yesterday
34. School? nope
35. Love? family

Tag you're it-Amy-you know you want to.

Retire???

Sunday was a beautiful day. As I sat out on the patio, drinking coffee, writing in my journal, I thought how wonderful to be retired and do this every morning. It's only the 120,000 time I've had that thought. But, besides the money issue,(we will not go there.) would be the procrastination issue. I can put off anything. If I had unlimited days to sit outside and drink coffee, I'd sleep late, fiddle around outside and not even begin writing until after lunch, when I'd be too sleepy to write. So much for dreaming. But I do so love pretty morning with birds.

I did get my cover letter and synopsis in order. Once I get edits back I will get Privy sent off and tackle Agatha Ann.

Poetry Train and ...

Mind Candy

Poetry, what's that I say?

Words thrown out the door to play?

Letters tossed into a row

With hope like Topsy they'll grow

And sprout pictures for the mind

leave the writer far behind.

Not profound but fun. I seem to write short and really into rhyming all of a sudden. I think I must have heard some rhyming on Poem for Today when I listened to NPR.

Sent Privy off to be read by friends before I send it to the agent and then we'll see what the agent has to say. Always the danger that your baby will be ripped to shreds, or worse yet, ignored and sent home with no explanation. Now, I need to read through Agatha Ann and the Spider Wizard to see where it stands and get it sent off. I do need to see if the synopsis for Privy is in decent shape, but is a synopsis ever in decent shape? Is there such a thing with that beast?

Almost forgot, my short story, Mam, has been accepted by the online magazine, World of Myth for June. Once it comes out I'll let everyone know. First horror kind of thing published. Fun Stuff

Finally

For some reason blogger hasn't wanted to let me post, or my computer is being lazy or something. Today, I think I'm going to the festival of books at OCU, even though I should just be writing, but it's free and it's books and a workshop on mystery writing. Don't think I can stay away. Tomorrow Full Circle has a writing workshop on tension that I want to go to. I printed out Agatha Ann yesterday so I can work on it too. Overcast and cool here today. I want sun and warmer but when it hits hot, I'll whine about it.

It amazes me, when I'm editing chapters that have already been edited, how much stuff I missed the last couple of edits. I wish I could just do such a super clean first draft that I wouldn't see so much clean up to do, but I don't think that will ever happen. I will always write lousy first drafts and always need to clean things up and that's the way it was just meant to be.

Call for submissions

For the writers out there, Samhain publishing has a call out for open submissions of a cat-shifter novella to be published both singly and in an anthology. They want 20,000 to 30,000 words with 2-3 page synopsis by Aug 1. See http://nicemommy-evileditor.com/blog/

Tag for random facts.

I like braunschwieger and sweet pickle sandwiches.

I like to play rock music loud and sing along in the car, considered weird at 65, at least by my grandchildren.

I like to dance to anything and am not afraid to do it in public and embarass my friends and family.

I like jewelry, the bigger the better, but anyone who knows me, knows that.

Feel free to chime in with weird facts about you or me because I'm thinking slow this morning.

CP Anyone?

Do french fries come with that? I keep hearing about CP, which I think means Critique Partner. What I'm not sure of is how to make that a formal relationship. Do you need one who writes what you write? What if no one else writes what you do? Do they have to be published? If they are, won't they be too busy or too afraid of being accused of stealing etc.? Just musing here. Is a group a CP?

Watched "Night Skies" last night, suitably creepy/cheesy version of UFO abduction and lights in the sky over Phoenix. Interesting, a couple of familiar faces, not extraordinary acting. But loved "A Good Year."What's not to love when you have a combo of Russel Crowe and Provence wine country?

Doing revisions on Privy for the agent submission. How did I miss all those things the other three or four times? Don't know but typical. Loved working at the new space, and totally wish to be home working at that space 24/7.

The Good and Bad of it.

Good things. My new desk was delivered. When I get a picture scanned in, I'll post it. Loved putting everything in place and looking at it. Now, of course, I have to do something like sit at it and actually work, write, put the butt on the chair. What's up with that.

Besides Yasmine Galenorn's Otherword series, "Witchling", "Changeling" and the Butcher, "Wizard for Hire" series, I have found another writer I like. I'm sure her erotic she writes for Elora's Cave is excellent, but she has started a new series. The first one is "I'm the Vampire, That's Why." Desperate Housewives meets Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It's too funny. The next one is "Don't Talk Back to your Vampire." Humor and horror. What more could you ask for. Yes, I'm on an urban fantasy kick, so what? I'm old enough to read anything I want. Besides it's fun. I also have the Witch for Hire, Kim Harrison series stacked up and hear from Rinda they are good. Just haven't started yet.

The bad. You knew I'd get to it. ER docs think Lori has Sarcoidosis, an auto-immune, connective tissue disease. They first thought it was pneumonia after a chest x-ray but after the CT, now they think Sarcoidosis. Hers appears to be pulmonary and skin, but we'll know more after she sees her PCP and a Pulmonologist. She really needs another diagnosis to go along with Lupus, Bi-polar, Epilepsy, Asthma etc. The saga continues.

To end on a good note, the weather has turned beautiful and I hate being indoors all day. Can't wait for the weekend so I can have coffee on the patio and listen to the birds.

Bitch, Music, Diversity, not necessarily in that order.

First, Poetry Train

Seasons

When I see the flowers bloom
and think about the spring,
I picture a weaver's loom
Where colored threads will fling
themselves into a riot
That screams, come look at me.
Abandon winter''s quiet
Open your eyes and see.
Children's faces sweet and wild,
Blossoms ever changing.
Nature's paletts sharp and mild
Portraits re-arranging.
Summer fades into the fall
Winter over-shadows
Sun will come, cover all
Again to paint the meadows.

An exercise in rhyming.

On the way to work this morning I had random thoughts about almost everything. One thing that struck my eye, or eyes was a couple of drivers in front and beside me. Next to me was the almost typical OKC sight of a nondescript Nissan pick-up, in a bland navy, flag decals on each side of the back window, driven by a young man in a baseball cap. Nothing unusual except for the contrast with the person in front of me, who drove a red convertible sports car, wore all white with his silver hair and in the back seat was the biggest black poodle ever. OKC diversity. Not that I haven't seen more startling things, remind me to tell you about the transvestite diversion in the Mercy ED some time.

Next subject, music. I admit I'm an NPR junkie, love the classical stations, as long as they play my kind of classical. I'm a snob. Some classical music written in the 20Th century rely more on tone than tune. Atonal pieces with full orchestra irritate my last nerve first thing in the morning. OK, any time. Give me Vivaldi, Mozart, Bach. Something you might be able to hum along to. Or even earlier, Renaissance music.

Next, the subject you've been waiting for. No, don't deny it. You couldn't wait to hear about bitch. Well, just so you know, not only am I a bitch, I am now the Queen Mother Bitch, in sparkles, and have the pins to prove it. My daughter, Lori, gave me a pin that spells out Queen Mother in rhinestones. My friend, Amy, had given me a pin that spells out Bitch in rhinestones (She writes cat and dog books, is an animal behaviorist and knows that bitch is an acceptable term.) So now, in my opinion, I out-rank both her "#1 Bitch" pin and Sherrie's QB title since when I wear both pins together, I AM the Queen Mother Bitch.

Sunshine

"Sunshine on my shoulders makes me happy. Sunshine ..." OK, OK, I'll stop. I can't sing anyway, just glad to see that light outside. Hope to actually be out in it some this weekend, even if it's just to have coffee in the morning.

Hey, I just figured out I'm not up with the news. I haven't heard anything more about the Paris Hilton goes to jail fiasco. The kid needs a dose of reality. She's been so insulated her entire life that she doesn't know anything about real life, in spite of, or because of her intellectual abilities. No common sense resides in that brain. Can you imagine her dealing with people who don't care how much money she has? I feel so sorry for those people who never see or deal with the real world, bills, poverty, violence, all things that happen to people she will never even think about much less know. The rest of America, to her, is just another third world country that she won't visit.

She could be doing so much good with her money and influence, but no. Not in her vocabulary.

My rant for the day.

Nature etc.

I just read the blog "This Fish Needs a Bicycle" A great example of having a wonderful writing voice, good sense of humor and putting it to work for their writing. This blog has now been picked up and has a national following. Besides, its fun. Kind of Sex in the City meets Mary Tyler Moore. Check it out.

Right now, here, can't get out and enjoy nature too much, too soggy, too noisy at night. Becoming sleep deprived from storms waking me up. I know storms, tornados, floods elswhere are worse, but dang, getting tired of it. Not that I won't be whining in July when everything is too dry.

Big news, I bought a new desk, or will Friday, one of those solid wood, heavy, too big things that I've always wanted. May not fit the decor, but I don't really have a decor, just a conglomoration of things I like. This will give me a workspace the size I want and I can use the laptop there, in front of the window. I will enjoy it in spite of not being too practical. It's blonde wood, old fashioned looking-like 30's esque.

Monsoon

Here in Oklahoma we are having a monsoon. Torrents of water to plow through to get to work. Sheets of water slamming into your windsheild, and that's just the water from other cars, doesn't count the walls of water coming out of the sky at an alarming rate. Flash flooding everywhere. Oh well, the July drought won't seem to bad this year.

I looked at everything new that came up during conference and realized I had a ton to do. Feast or famine. So much for feeling so good about finishing the first draft. Now I have to actually get some work done like revising Agatha Ann and Privy to Murder and finishing the book proposal for AWOC. Then, I have to SEND THEM OUT. Eeeeeek. Better get my schedule going again.

Poetry Train and Contest

Wake –up Call

Marsh bird songs pull clouds across days last light.
Red sun sneaks under water’s edge to send out colors, caress the sand.
Hidden winds crush the waves. Green light replaces red sun.
Black water mirrors the moon’s cold sky.
Night peace makes way for morning’s chaos.
Bird songs drag home day’s first reluctant light.

My poem for a Monday. Love writing about nature, especially when I can do it on the spot, at the edge of the lake the way I did this one.

Just got back from a two day OWFI writer's conference. Have an agent who is interested in seeing the first 50 pages of my mystery novel, Privy to Murder, a publisher who want's to see a proposal for a writing book that I have, and an editor who want's to see "Agatha Ann and the Spider Wizard." Busy and exhausting meeting, exciting, had fun with friends and with wearing sparkles. I only have one or two occasions a year to do that. All in all a great weekend except for my whining about the effect barometric pressure has on my arthritic joints.

Love

I'm in Love! No, not what you think, remember, I'm old and crotchety.
I just recently discovered the Dresden Files TV series and just finished the first book last night. Fantastic. Butcher does such a good job with the voice of the character and I love the fact that for every use of magic there is a consequence. Bob does seem a little more raunchy in the book than on TV. And, I have nothing against romance, but I like the emphasis being more on magic than romance, even though are are touches of romance also. Evidently critics like it also since the new one made it to the NY Times bestseller list. If you like urban fantasy, you'll like the Wizard for Hire series.

Getting Ready

Conference is in two more days. I'm ready. It will be exhausting but fun. Now I need to get two book blurbs done, tell about each book in 25 words or less. So that's my task for the next two days, plus looking at my pages for the book doctor and deciding whether or not to take the synopsis and first three chapters of either book with me since most editors and agents don't really want to schlep manuscripts back with them, in their suitcases.

Got sleep last night and it makes such a difference in my outlook.