Do you want to know a secret?

So, another thing my friend Pam Asberry did in her blog was give me an award.

While I failed in my miserable existence of passing the award on to other bloggers (most of the ones I follow are the ones she chose anyway), I need to follow the other requirement of telling you ten things about me that you wouldn't know. They're not really secrets, but I made you click and read, right?

1. There are certain songs that make me cry. Every time. If I ever had to perform them, I would have to practice a bazillion times. But, I love them and always stop what I'm doing when they come up on the computer or on the radio and I've worked them into my novels, with my characters performing them (Rob used to be in a boy band and they do various charity and fund-raiser shows). First is Warren Zevon's "Keep Me in Your Heart" which he recorded right before he passed : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMTKb-pgxGI  Next is one I've referenced here before, Edwin McCain's "I Could Not Ask for More": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPXRJkla7fI Finally, one I haven't heard on the radio in a long time, England Dan & John Ford Coley's "Love Is the Answer": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pH8PVPel15M&feature=related There are others, but those three come to mind right now.

2. In one of my previous lives, I ran a bookstore. It wasn't always the dream job that everybody thought it was. I worked 65 hours the week of my wedding. I spent many late nights finishing returns and strip lists (for mass market paperbacks). But, I got to meet many super people, including my husband and doubled my library with my employee discount.

3. In that capacity, I got sued by the local group, Citizens for Decency. Actually, I was named in the suit against the store, because we carried a little book called Joy of Lesbian Sex. The woman minister who was so outraged about it didn't say anything about Joy of Gay Sex or More Joy of Sex, but they were right next to the religion section. The suit was dismissed, but the entire chain was rearranged, with the Sex Ed books going on the other side of the store next to the nature books. (Truth) Oh, I also got interviewed by The Gay & Lesbian Alliance, where I gave the quote, "I have something to offend everyone in this store."

4. Since 1995, I've been obsessed at various levels with counted cross-stitch, spending waaaay too much money on patterns and supplies.

Wedding sampler I did for one of my Framing Goddesses.
5. Since about 2008, I've been obsessed at various levels with beading and jewelry making. Oh, good. Yet another expensive, time-consuming, sedentary hobby.

6. Back in 2005, when my husband and I boxed all the books so he could refinish the floors, we had 65 boxes. Let's add another 40 in the intervening years. So little time....

7. I'm the biggest fangirl. There are pictures out there of me in a "Star Trek" costume and video of me "filking" (singing with science fiction lyrics substituted).

'Nuff said. Geek.

8. I was in dance squad and flag corps in high school, then on several drill teams in grade school and Job's Daughters (Masonic organization). Oh, freshman year in college, I took Arthur Murray Dance Studio lessons.

9. Speaking of Job's Daughters, I am Past Honored Queen and Majority Member of Bethel #74 (now defunct), International Order of Job's Daughters. I gave my doll and charm bracelet to my niece.

10. I graduated from DePauw University in 3 1/2 years because of classes I took at the local junior college during high school. Good thing, they cut my financial aid for my senior year. I did not go to my class reunion this year and I'm not telling you which one it is. I will tell you, Jane Pauley, Erma Bombeck and the CEO of IBM at the time spoke at our graduation.

Thanks, Pam! We live to amuse, so I hope you all enjoyed. Tell me a secret about you in the comments, please!

Goals and catching up on business

I still consider myself new to this blogging thing and I'm not as regular about it as I would like. My apologies. I don't post at scheduled times and I'm not as active checking in with other blogs as I should be.

One person who has motivated and inspired me is a high school buddy that I've reconnected with on Facebook, Pam Asberry. She has her personal blog called Sometimes It's Cloudy, Sometimes It's Clear:

http://pamasberry.blogspot.com/

And she's started a new project with some of her fellow romance writers down in her home area of Georgia:

http://writerslipp.blogspot.com/

Love the lips!

Plus, she works with her Georgia Romance Writers of America group and contributes to their blog AND at least one other I know of. My head hurts. While I was The Queen of the 300 Word Essay for my local writers group and SF club back in the day, that was still only one per month for each.

So, a few weeks ago, when Pam posted some of her goals for the rest of the year, motivated by a non-fiction book she read, I wrote down my goals on some scrap paper. I promptly put them in the drawer of the desk and forgot about them. That's how I roll and I don't even have the excuse of antibiotic brain now! Anyway, I thought I'd better get my act in gear, having just applied for A Real Job that IF I were to get it would scare the @#$% out of me.

Sorry I don't have the cool video embedded, like she did. As I said, I'm still learning and to be honest, I have the link somewhere, but I need to spend some time cleaning up my notes. *sigh* Another thing I'll put on the goals list, promise. I do remember that the goals, in order to be more effective, need to be "I will..." statements and have a definite date attached to them. Simply by writing them down, they are more likely to be accomplished, right? They need to be doable, which means I need to get off my fat @ss and stop playing Jewel Quest III all afternoon, while watching bad TV.

So, here are some goals for the remainder of 2011:

1. I will finish one large needlework project by 12-31-2011. I love stitching and have several that would only require a little more effort to finish.

2. I will be more active and watch my diet to lose at least 10 lbs. by my doctor's appointment the first week in September (let's say 9-1-2011). Really. It's not that hard, Julee.

3. I will get the boxes of cross-stitch magazines and craft stuff that I no longer have need of or want to the place that sells them on eBay for me by 9-1-2011. I've made several hundred dollars so far this year off of stuff that had been in boxes in the garage, not seeing the light of day for years.

4. I will clean and organize the dining room, kitchen and living room so that we can host a Christmas party this year, say before 12-23-2011. The dining room has been a storage room for the past year. I will include re-upholstering the six chairs I spray painted black last year.

5. I will find full-time employment I enjoy by 10-1-2011. The TV station my husband works at is being sold, so this is an issue.

6. I will finish editing Seven Days by 7-31-2011, so it can go to my beta readers.

7. I will finish writing at least one other novel-length manuscript by 12-1-2011. Shouldn't be a problem, because I pretty much have Seven Months done, except for putting it in first person.

8. I will research and query at least three agents by 9-31-2011.

9. I will research and make a decision about self-publishing by 10-31-2011.

10. I will get my writing notes re-organized and get at least five notebooks transcribed into the computer and saved on flash drives by 10-31-2011. 

How 'bout them apples? All reasonable. I've got them written in my purse notebook and on a card I'll keep by where I write. Only 4 and 5 depend on others--my husband has to finish the bookcases in the dining room and a total stranger has to decide to hire me. So, these are my mid-year resolutions. How are you doing?

Movies we watch at least part of every time they're on, part 1

Okay, there are some movies that every time they are on, we have to watch. Maybe not the whole thing, but definitely some of the scenes. These are the ones that recently have been obsessions of my husband and me. Please list yours in the comments section! I've given the link to wikipedia, then Internet Movie Database, then the movie or DVD cover for each. Discuss our perversion amongst yourselves.....Nah, go ahead and put in the comments!

1. "Zack and Miri Make a Porno"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zack_and_Miri_Make_a_Porno

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1007028/

 We especially love (Chris just turned up the volume) the "Granny Panties" scene and the scene at the high school reunion with Brendon Frasier and Justin Long. 'Nuff said. Oh and the scene where they're making the porno in the coffee shop and forget to lock the door. And watch at the end of the credits (Jermaine Stewart's "We Don't Have to Take Our Clothes Off" is a fave), when they have the painfully hilarious ad for their new services.

2. "Fanboys"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fanboys_(2008_film)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0489049/

 "What's up, my nerds?" Basically, a road trip movie with too many great cameos and "Star Wars" and "Star Trek" references to name here. We seem to watch the scenes in Vegas and at George Lucas's ranch every time. Oh and the encounter with Jay and Silent Bob at the gas station. Noted for THREE Seth Rogan cameos. I KNOW these people.

3. "The 40 Year-Old Virgin"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_40-Year-Old_Virgin

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0405422/

Man, we know this guy too, at home with his action figures, painting his wargame miniatures and dealing with the weirdo coworkers at the electronics store. This one has Seth Rogan and Elizabeth Banks as secondary characters (Zack and Miri oh and the owner of the coffee shop where they work is hilarious in this one too), along with Jane Lynch ("Glee") and Paul Rudd ("Role Models" "Knocked Up" and a major crush of mine). The scene with the condoms and the "How do I know you're gay" scene are two that immediately come to mind.

4. "Inglorious Basterds"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inglourious_Basterds

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0361748/

Okay, this does not have Seth Rogan in it. It does have Brad Pitt. Does that count? And it's not really a comedy, though there are a few moments that will make the sick $%#@s like us laugh. Christoph Waltz puts in an amazing performance and we felt deserved his Best Supporting Academy Award. We love the subtle horror as the movie theater owner realizes she is sitting next to the Nazi officer who killed her family, Pitt as he tries to get the Nazi soldier to tell him where the cannons are, the alternate history barbecue of the High Command and the final scene in the forest. 

As Chris said, "Only four?" What are your must watch scenes and/or movies?

Creative procrastination and counted cross-stitch

The Greek Cross, from Stitchin'spiration and Sally Rudkin

There was a period of time when I did a ton of counted cross-stitch. It was an obsession, where I think I really believed that "she who dies with the most patterns wins." What I didn't realize at the time was I'd still be dead and someone would have to deal with all my s#it. A friend told me he remembered me stitching while watching movies or visiting and I'd have two or three projects going at one time. Actually, I usually had about ten or more projects going at one time. We called them UFOs or UnFinished Objects and our purchases when we visited a good XS store S.E.X, for Stash Enhancement eXperience. As in, "I had some really great S.E.X. yesterday."

There was a wonderful story about a woman who dies and is led into a room with every pattern she ever wanted, all the best fabrics, all the embroidery flosses (even the special hand-dyed, like what was used on the piece here) and a comfortable chair with a fancy Ott lamp (true-color light--these old eyes swear by them!). She's happy, because she finally will have eternity to stitch to her heart's content. She says, "Thank you! This truly must be heaven!"

The person transforms to the devil and says, "No, welcome to hell. There are no needles." A bunch of us on the XS boards made a pact that we'd be buried with a packet of needles.

But, I have a bunch of pieces I've finished and have spent a small fortune framing. I used to do all my own finishing, spending a couple hours lacing or pinning the fabric to the acid-free foam core. The hardest part for me was always centering the piece and stretching it evenly. A buddy and I entered some pieces in the competition at the National Counted Cross-Stitch Festival that they used to hold at Rockholm Gardens, an Amish facility in Rockholm, Illinois. I remember being docked points because one side was two threads higher than the other.

As I've lived and learned through the years, I can either make it perfect or I can get it done. I used to try to be perfect all the time and I used to have ulcers. It's that whole adult child of alcoholics thing. Finally, I let it go and allowed myself to enjoy the experience of stitching, knowing to an untrained eye, it's still impressive. The piece above is technically blackwork, which is instead of making an "X," backstitching. I finished it in 2007 and bought the frame, matting, glass, foam core, backing, etc., from Michaels Craft Store probably in 2009 or 2010. It sat in the bag until last week when I found out that for $18.21, they would put the damn thing together for me. I was doing The Happy Dance, usually reserved for finishing a piece, when I found that out and I happily took it back in and gave them my credit card. The fine folks did a great job, it's ready to hang and even better, I didn't have to do it myself. I could spend the time writing, editing and playing Jewel Quest III. I also ruthlessly culled through my patterns and sent five boxes of stuff to a store that sells craft stuff on eBay. I've made several hundred dollars (no where near what I spent originally) that I've used to enter writing contests and for my RWA membership.

I've given my love and talent for cross-stitch to my heroine in my novel Seven Days, Lizzy/Elizabeth. The hero, Will, is the man for her when he shows an appreciation for a piece she's working on and asks if she would ever do a project for him. She knows it would have a place of honor in his office and wouldn't be sold for $10 at a yard sale. True story--I would kill. Honestly.

I've also given another trait of mine to Will. He shows Lizzy his office/library and admits he hasn't gotten a lot of his books up on the shelves because he has what he calls, "creative procrastination." Turns out, those books he did get on the shelves were smoke damaged (he gives up smoking for her), but the ones still in boxes weren't. I've learned, sometimes not getting something done is A Good Thing. In a previous job, something would tell me to procrastinate on a report and lo and behold, my boss would say we didn't have to do it.

So, I don't know why I procrastinated on framing The Greek Cross, from Stitchin'spiration and Sally Rudkin. Maybe, Michaels lowered their price on their framing service recently. Maybe, I just needed to see that I didn't have to do every bit of a project and do it perfectly to have the satisfaction of having finished it. Maybe, it was simply that I needed to get my s#it together and get it taken care of, so I could clean out that section of the room it was in and get it hung on my wall. But, I'm glad to share it with you and move on to another project. I'm almost finished with several pieces that I'll say Elizabeth did and I have another almost dozen pieces finished to frame. Writing and stitching makes a wonderful life!

Blog ideas and WD Dear Lucky Agent contest

Sorry, I haven't been posting as much recently, but I've been collecting things to talk about. As I've searched "the interwebs" and Facebook, I've cut and pasted articles, quotes, web links, etc., into a Word document. So far, I have over sixty pages. And that's in less than two weeks.

I'm trying to focus on writing and editing my own fiction and getting notes from my 35 plus notebooks into a computer file. That and Chris has been on vacation, so I've had to share the computer a little more. While I've been fighting another case of the creeping crud, the doctor took some gunk samples and they're at the lab. Hopefully, we'll find out what we're dealing with soon. That and getting through the Hidden Quests in Jewel Quest III. My bad.

So, opening one of my blank books at random, I see notes I scribbled while watching a gardening show on our local PBS station on daffodils/narcissus/jonquils. One of my characters is an expert gardener, so I find myself discovering things here and there. Did you know deers won't eat daffodils or their bulbs? The show recommended planting a swath of them about 5 feet from your garden, as a kind of fence. Also, after they bloom, you need to fertilize and bundle the foliage, but don't cut, so the bulbs will grow and split for next year. The show featured a high school that sold bouquets as a fundraiser and I can just see my character, Mary Margaret, helping with that and with a church summer social fundraiser booth, selling plants. There are over 13,000 hybrids, so choose several types so you'll have blooms over a six week period.

I also took some notes on a cooking show where they made a bread pudding out of a loaf of cinnamon raisin bread and put some canned pumpkin in the custard. Cinnamon is Mary Margaret's favorite flavor and smell, so I'm always looking for good recipes. She and her family are vegetarians, so I have a bunch of notes and recipes to sprinkle through the books. Heaven knows, my husband thinks the only vegetables are potatoes and corn, so I would only be fixing them for me in real life.

On another page, I noted that on March 3, 2011, my manuscript for Seven Days was 584 pages. By 5-8, I got it down to 512 pages. I have a lot to cut out of Saturday (starts Monday night), because a good chunk is told from the secondary characters' POV (Mary Margaret and Rob) and that will be the beginning for the second book, Seven Months, which is their story. I really love keeping track of my edits. In this notebook, have about eight pages of a young adult novel I want to do, told from the POV of the daughter of the characters (Will and Elizabeth) in Seven Days and about five pages of story for a separate novel (most in another notebook) that was originally a subplot in a third book, that involves two injured Marines from the SD hero's unit.

So, there are decades worth of ideas, many would serve as separate blog topics, that I need to get into the computer and flash drive, to be inserted into my manuscripts or just to serve as back story research. It's fun to go through the blank books, which I've been keeping since 2006. There are a lot of things I'd forgotten I wanted to do and a lot that I've changed. Originally, for example, Will had a dog, but it wouldn't work out in the story.  He will have a cat later, a Manx who will choose him, because that is what Manxes do.

And as I mentioned above, he will be a father. While my father passed almost ten years ago, I do have a wonderful father-in-law that I'm going to make a big batch of beef vegetable soup for his son to take over tomorrow. Here's a picture of me with my dad, who loved to read and even loved to read romances. He preferred the big family historical sagas, but would read a Sandra Brown or Janet Daily on occasion. I know Dad would be proud of what I'm doing and I think I've been channeling him a little for one of my characters later on in the story.

Also, I'll be entering the Writers Digest "Dear Lucky Agent" Contest and I have to submit the first 150-200 words of my book. I also have to post it here, so part of that I think is by telling you all I'm doing it, I'm committing myself and I will publicize it a little more. Here's the link:

Guide to Literary Agents - 9th "Dear Lucky Agent" Contest: Women's/Upmarket Fiction

And the top three winners get a critique by an agent of the first ten pages AND a free one-year subscription to Writers Digest. How cool is that? Deadline is the 26th, so if you meet the requirements (women's/upmarket fiction), please consider entering.

On Reading Darkness and Light

In response to: “Darkness Too Visible: Contemporary fiction for teens is rife with explicit abuse, violence and depravity. Why is this considered a good idea?” by Meghan Cox Gurdon in The Wall Street Journal, Sherman Alexie wrote “Why the Best Kids Books Are Written in Blood.”  Alexie is the author of The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian and winner of the 2007 National Book Award in Young People’s Literature, so he is an excellent choice for the response.

And here’s the quote from the essay that made me put this young adult book on my TBR list:

“As a child, I read because books–violent and not, blasphemous and not, terrifying and not–were the most loving and trustworthy things in my life. I read widely, and loved plenty of the classics so, yes, I recognized the domestic terrors faced by Louisa May Alcott’s March sisters. But I became the kid chased by werewolves, vampires, and evil clowns in Stephen King’s books. I read books about monsters and monstrous things, often written with monstrous language, because they taught me how to battle the real monsters in my life.

And now I write books for teenagers because I vividly remember what it felt like to be a teen facing everyday and epic dangers. I don’t write to protect them. It’s far too late for that. I write to give them weapons–in the form of words and ideas-that will help them fight their monsters. I write in blood because I remember what it felt like to bleed.”

Now, since it’s summer, I’m harkening back to all those summer vacations I spent reading my way through the Mt. Carmel Public Library. Sounder made me sob. I wondered if I could be as brave as the girl in The Island of the Blue Dolphins. I had to put Black Beauty aside for a day, after reading the scene where the horse was beaten.

In fact, I’m thinking that while the “young adult” readers these days may have more graphic choices, we should be doing some serious celebrating that there are still kids reading out there. Next to Alexie’s article, was a picture of the cast of the latest “Twilight” movie at the MTV Movie Awards. I’m happy there is such a vigorous market for 450+ page books about weighty issues, like the Stephanie Meyers’ books and the “Harry Potter” series. There was also a poll at the end of the article, asking, “Are dark themes in youth fiction helpful or harmful to teenagers?”  As of June 11, 2011, 88.8% felt they were helpful.

God bless my parents, who while they were alcoholics and pretty much let me raise myself after my brother died when I was nine, always encouraged me to read anything and everything. While I am not a parent (and I don’t even play one on TV), I believe that as long as there are forums for discussion and responsible caring adults to help tweens and teens along the way, it’s extremely important for us to get any and all books in the hands of readers.

What were some of the books you read that influenced you as a teen?

Link to Gurdon’s original article:  MEGHAN COX GURDON

Link to Sherman Alexie’s website: here.

Link to Alexie’s original article: http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2011/06/09/why-the-best-kids-books-are-written-in-blood/

This is your brain on antibiotics

Okay, in the past couple of weeks, I've made some colossal blunders. I'm blaming the second round of Minocycline from my ear/nose/throat doctor. To be fair, if I survive this and it works properly, I won't have to have surgery on my upper sinuses, which appear to keep re-infecting me. Doesn't mean I have to like it or its affect on my life and my writing.

Among the clusterf@cks:

1. I missed my dentist's appointment this morning, despite having the reminder notice taped to my door and the reminder phone call. I know exactly why and I told the receptionist after I apologized and rescheduled--I was convinced it was on Tuesday, not Monday. *sigh* Again, Dr. Bath and the staff, please accept my humble apologies and I WILL see you tomorrow at 11am. (Watch Julee as she quadruple checks where she wrote it on the note, remembering she also has to swap cars at the mechanic's.)

2. I got mixed up between my Maggie Award entry (Georgia Romance Writers contest) which is due this week and the stuff I sent for the Molly Award entry a few months back.
        a. Well, the first entry, I attached a screenshot of the PayPal receipt for the payment, but I'd saved it as an rtf file and it was too big, so it wouldn't send.
        b. The second entry, I sent to the address for the Molly Award coordinator at like 3am, after too little sleep. Again, please accept my humble apologies and thank you for letting me know so I could send it correctly before the deadline. (Watch Julee as she quadruple checks the Sent Mail file for my Gmail account.)

3. I risked my unemployment payments by posting on the State job search website that I was currently self-employed as a writer, member of Romance Writers of America, working on several manuscripts, entering contests, etc.
        a. I did this because several employers in our area WILL NOT consider your application if you are currently unemployed. They do this by requiring you to input your current work phone number (I put my cell phone number) before you continue with the application process and by setting their searches to look at dates of employment.
        b. I told the truth to the woman from the Unemployment Office that I have not sent to an agent or editor, I am still in the writing/editing stage and so I am not really self-employed, but had to put something down to even have my application considered. She sounded sympathetic, though repeated that I should not do that. (Watch Julee as she edits her resume for the fourth time to make her writing sound like an outside activity. *sigh*)

So, if you notice I'm posting a few too many cute kitty pictures on Facebook or I don't respond right away to an email or post, please smack me upside of the head, virtually or physically, because I'm probably distracted by the bright, shiny objects in my stoopid antibiotic brain. I always joked the meds lowered my IQ by at least 20-30 points. Good thing I normally qualify for Mensa. Please accept my humble apologies. I should regain my normal mind in approximately eight to nine days. Unless, I have to take another round for surgery......