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Just Chillin' on a bench eating red licorice.
Where else is a perfect place to wear cowboy boots and a hat than on a ranch in Idaho. Unfortunately, I don't have a picture of my favorite moment on the whole trip. My dad was leading around Jessica and her cousin Ben on the same horse. He was getting pretty tired of walking circles in the dirt, so he gave the lead rope to me. I was riding a magnificent, docile and obedient horse, but I was still a little nervous. Apparently, though, my horse was the lead horse and the kids and DJ's horses were more than happy to follow mine. Anyway, I led them around and listened to the conversation of the cousins (3 and 4 years old).
Ben "I want to be a carver some day. A really good one." (He had been watching my dad carve)
Jessica "Well, I want to be a Daddy when I grow up."
then "You could be a Daddy AND a carver!"
Ben "No, my Daddy doesn't carve..." and so on.
It was just so fun to listen to them nonchalantly riding a horse and discussing their career plans. And yes, Jes wants to be a Daddy when she grows up.
Kelsi was a doll. There is a great advantage to your child being on the shy side- they don't leave your site at a reunion full of strange people. My favorite was when I walked in the first time, I went up to a group of people to say hi to my Grandparents-her Great-Grandparents. Kelsi held onto the backs of my pant legs and peeeeeeked around one side, then peeeeeked around the other side. The second day, she ran right into the yard excited for the day, but still didn't get that far before coming back by me. She also cried when I tried to take her near the horses, which was fine by me. On the second day, she took a fantastic almost 3 hour nap in the house which is when we stole away to ride horses.
This picture was while the girls were waiting for Daddy to come home so we could pack up the car and leave. They were excited. And yes, Kelsi's pajamas are on backwards. That is the BEST trick I've heard.
So another story with career aspirations. A few days after the reunion we went to the SWEET'S Candy Factory out by the airport with Kelley, her boys and my mom, which was really fun- especially if you like the show "Unwrapped" on the Food Network. After "Candyland" as Jes called it, she was talking to me in the car. She told me that she wanted to be a "Candy Land Tour Dad." Apparently, her favorite job was the tour guide.Jessica is a Monkey. I have known if for a while, but recently she has discovered a new favorite past time: climbing Mr. Dipper as she calls the tree in my in-laws back yard. It is a small, but a perfect climbing tree, except for the cement and rocks at the base... She actually got pretty high. The only problem is that Kelsi is also a monkey, but 2 years younger and does not have the same skill set, so she attempts to do everything her sister does, which scares me to death. The other day Jes jumped off the playground equipment onto the wood chips, and Kelsi followed right behind and fell flat on her face. Poor girl. I felt SO bad.
I decided to give the girls and in-between birthday gift since their birthdays are just a month apart and this easel was for both of them. It was a hit!
With a new week comes a new batch of annotations and a new podcast. In the most recent annotation, I reveal a bit of background on TenSoon and MeLaan. There's been a lot of speculation out there among the fans, so this should help clear some things up.
And in this week's Writing Excuses, Dan and Howard and I talk about what the writers of the recent STAR TREK movie did well, and what you can learn from it even if you didn't like the movie. (When the episode first went up there was an audio issue, but that's resolved now, so download away.)
I've been dying to use these pictures of Mikey and Elyse. I love that they're both wearing masks!!!
TRC had his first swimming lesson today, and he thoroughly enjoyed it. They just did the basics--worked on blowing bubbles, walking like alligators, kicking. I'm afraid he might have inherited some of my lack of coordination, but I think he'll be able to pull through just fine. :-) Here's a picture of the happy boy.
In other news, my bathroom is now officially painted. It took an entire Saturday, but I'm very pleased with the result. On the other hand, I also discovered a leak in my rook that night, and I have to fix it today. Should be an interesting experience--I'll try not to fall off. I'm allergic to large falls. :-)
Do you like vampires? I know you do. Not as much as werewolves, sure. But you know, vampires can be okay. (And the werewolf anthologies will start coming out next year, trust me.) How about 476 pages of juicy vampire stories by, like, everybody (ok, not everybody, but lots)? I give you By Blood We Live, edited by editor extraordinaire John Joseph Adams.
And yes, it has a story by me: a reprint of “Life is the Teacher,” the story about Emma that appeared in last year’s Hotter Than Hell. So if you didn’t pick up Hotter Than Hell here’s a second chance to grab the story, along with stories by folks like Stephen King, Neil Gaiman, Sergei Lukyanenko (who wrote Night Watch), Anne Rice (of course, I mean duh) and way too many others to count. I can just about guarantee that you’ll find new and different takes on vampires here. I’m about to start reading myself…
Also, it looks like audiobooks of the first couple of Kitty books are on the way. Amazon has Kitty and The Midnight Hour with a release date of August first, as an unabridged CD. The reader, Marguerite Gavin, also does Kim Harrison’s books, and I’m told she’s good. I’m afraid I don’t have much more info than what’s on Amazon. (Have I mentioned that the author is usually the last person to find out about things like this?) This is something I’ve gotten a lot of questions about, so I’m glad to be able to finally say, Yes! There’s an audiobook!
The Writing for Charity Event, a workshop for aspiring children’s book writers (age 13 and up only), will provide participants with professional advice and the opportunity to have their work evaluated by one of the event’s participating authors. The event includes the opportunity to purchase books and have books signed. Participants can also purchase drawing tickets for great prizes, including signed books and a book bag signed by all of the participating authors.
All proceeds from the event will benefit the non-profit Treehouse Children’s Museum and its award-winning Family Literacy Programs. Writers of children’s picture books should bring a full manuscript (fewer than 1,000 words), and chapter book authors should bring the book’s first page for the critique. Participants are not required to bring work sample for the critique session.
All this for a mere $50 - $45 if you register before August 21. Go here for all the info and a registration form.
In other news:
- It's Fashion Week at Teen Fiction Cafe, where today I post about my shopping failures
- Over the weekend my post on Walker Percy's The Moviegoer went up at the National Book Foundation's 60 Years of the National Book Awards blog.
A little brain-fried this morning. I did another 6000+ words on the rewrite over the weekend, which left little time for coming up with brilliant blog ideas. (On the bright side, after a year on the book and with less than a month until deadline, I’m getting closer to actually figuring out Red Riding Hood’s character…)
So today, ya get links:
The anthology Gamer Fantastic came out while I was on vacation. This one includes my story “Mightier than the Sword,” which marks Smudge’s triumphant return to a SF convention.
My Facebook buddy Pablo Ramos has created one of the most entertaining costumes I’ve seen in a while. He had already put together a delightful Big Boy costume. Now he’s created something even better: the Big Boy Jedi. (I copied the thumbnail over, but you’ll probably need a Facebook account to see the details.)
The NCADV/Mermaid’s Madness auction is up to $105, which means in addition to the Mermaid ARC, the winner will also receive another of my books. (Winner’s choice.)
Tempest challenges a long-standing and frustrating trend at Realms of Fantasy. (Alternate title: Tempest demands more man-butt.) Add my voice to those who are tired of the boob/cleavage emphasis. Realms is a good ‘zine and deserves better.
And … um … that’s all I’ve got. So I’ll make this an open thread. If you’ve got a project or link you’d like to share, here’s your chance.
Mirrored from Jim C. Hines.
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Heading back to Ohio today. Thanks, California, you were fun. Let’s do it again.
I’ll update when I’m back at home. Keep it together until then, okay? Excellent.
It’s true. Wes was 3 lbs 15 oz at birth and so small you could pretty much hold the trunk of his body in [...]
Nikon D3
Nikkor 17-35mm f/2.8D
ISO 200
F8, 1/200 second
Provo, UT
An old run down building on center street in Provo.
I'm only going to be in the Provo/Orem area for one more month. If anyone has any requests for things you want me to shoot while I'm still here, let me know and I may be able to post it up this month.
Once we move to Murray or Midvale, I won't have much reason to come back down to Provo.
Sarah
A simple cause-and-effect relationship might, if diagrammed, look like this:
A → B
Here, A (the cause) causes B (the effect). This seems easy to understand. You poke me, I feel pressure. You poke me hard, I feel pain. Your finger into my arm, my shoulder, my leg. Where A equals your poke and B equals my reaction, we get A → B. And I might get a bruise. I bruise kind of easy.
I’ve been thinking about causality, this A → B relationship, because I’m not sure anymore what it means to be either a cause or an effect. Trying to figure out why something happens—what triggers something, what causes it—is difficult. This is the daily work of almost every profession I can think of: auto repair, business, education, medicine. We try to figure out what’s causing the squeal, why the potato puffs aren’t selling, what’s keeping Johnny from learning to read, what’s growing this cancer and how can we stop it.
I’ve become skeptical that we can meaningfully do this. Educational anthropologist Harry Wolcott said the truest thing he learned in all his years of research was that “human action is overdetermined.” In other words, we do B not because of only A but because of A and C, D, E, and F, maybe F1, maybe F2, F3, F4 . . .
A + C + D + E + F + F1 + F2 + F3 + F4 → B
Usually when we do something, we have a good reason. And if one isn’t enough, we have plenty of reasons more. (For instance, Wolcott’s house was burned down by a young man he’d (1) wooed and (2) exploited for research. You could say Wolcott felt the blunt end of a little overdetermination.)
I often say I have eighty voices in my head. I don’t think I’m crazy. But when I approach a decision or need an opinion, the voices weigh in. They align, they congress, they argue. Sometimes it’s fifteen to sixty, with five keeping quiet. Sometimes it’s seventy-nine to one, but that one is sticking with its guns. Sometimes we’ve got consensus, and then it’s a pleasure and a joy to act. Yes, I’ll watch a movie with you! Yes, I’ll go to your party! No, I won’t do drugs! But sometimes, most times, it’s like fifty-five in, all for different reasons, and twenty-five arguing hard (or not at all) in some other way. So how—how could I ever isolate one of my voices that is the reason, is the cause, for any thing I do?
Good thing I’m not a super villain. The hero’s-about-to-die reveal moment would last freaking forever.
Nikon D3
Nikkor 28-70mm f/2.8D AFS
ISO 1600
F2.8, 1/60 second
Orem, UT
A bin from the post office. (Becca uses these for mailing stuff off at work all the time)
Tonight I had what amounted to an interview with both Link and Gleek. I asked them about the things that worried them or made them sad. It was like I'd pulled out the cork plugging the hole in the dam. Sadness poured out. In both cases the sadness is magnified by this being late in the day when they are tired, but there is definitely real sadness there. I listened carefully to what they would like to be different, trying to distill the true causes so I can solve them. There were lots of words and requests, but the essence of them is that the kids need more of my focused attention. They need me to be more present on a daily basis. They need me to provide more order in the house and in their schedules. They need me to spend more time as an active listener.
Today is not a good day for this particular leaf to turn over. Tomorrow is not a day that I can actively demonstrate a change to the kids. Tomorrow has to be a business day because I have Tracy and Curtis Hickman coming to sign 1000 books. During the signing I can not be focused on kids. At the end of the day I am going to be tired, but I am going to have to find the energy to give to my kids. There has to be a family home evening and there has to be a stable bedtime routine. Both of those things have been much absent lately. The rest of the week is not ideal for focusing on the kids either. Shipping weeks are always business heavy. This is exactly the problem. Almost all of my weeks have been business heavy since sometime in March. After all the shipping, I will have exactly one week to try to stabilize the kids before handing them off to my brother while I fly to Worldcon.
Once I am back, I am done with major business for awhile. Once I am back, the kids will go back to school and I can better segregate the business and parenting parts of my life. I can see that things are on the edge of being better. I tried to tell this to the kids, but I am afraid they did not believe me. Why should they? Busy Mommy is so normal now that they hardly know how to believe in anything else. Besides, they don't want things to be better in a few weeks. They want it better now. I have to make it better for them. I have to.
So we took a little mini-vacation to Mr. Fob's sister's house in Saratoga Springs for the weekend. We had already planned to sleep over Friday night because she was watching the kids while we partied with friends in Salt Lake. We ate yummy Greek food and then watched the new Harry Potter movie (surprisingly good, I thought). Saturday morning we were pleasantly surprised by sleeping in late. Then we had a nice barbecue with some of my former roommates. It was great to see some of them after many years. Saturday night we headed back out to my sister-in-law's, but not before stopping off for a fund raising dinner by the Spanish-speaking ward in her stake. That was one of my favorite fund raising dinners ever; not your usual spaghetti at all. The food was abundant and the music was loud. We enjoyed empanadas, pupusas, and our absolute favorite from Peru: papa a la huancaina. Today we hung out all day in her cool house, and she even made us chocolate cake for dessert after dinner. Thankfully this weekend ended up being fun and relaxing after all and hopefully by tomorrow night things will be comfortable in our home again.
I told JB about some things and she told me that she would be wanting updates, so here we go.
I have decided to emulate Marilyn Monroe. Before you scoff, or say she is unworthy, or say I'm incapable of such a thing, let me explain. You may not be surprised that she was a high school drop out. But did you know she read? A lot? She had hundreds of books on varying topics, economics, psychology, history... most of which had her handwritten notes in the margins. Granted, I don't have that many books yet, but so far we are similar. High school record, and a love of learning. There are some physical things as well, but I likely will not go into those so publicly.
The other similar things are more along the lines of what she did, and what God has told me to do but I have not yet implemented in my life. I have basically been told to keep to a rather specific time schedule. Have I done it? No. It involves scripture study at night, and different focused scripture study in the morning, and study of non religious stuff for an hour every morning as well. A few other things, but that is the gist of it. I have also asked something pretty big of God, and I had been told previously what I need to do to get it. One thing is to lose weight. Have I been diligent about that recently? Um, no. No I haven't. And what did Marilyn do? Oh, that's right, she went for a jog every morning, before running/jogging was a common daily activity among non athletes. And lastly, well, while keeping my morals strong, who wouldn't want to learn from her in regards to interactions with men?
And just to make this post longer, I will share bits of another thing. There is something I do when I really like a man. First, I do nothing. May talk to him and whatnot, but don't really put myself out there. Flaw? Yes. Far more often than not this results in nothing happening between us. So very soon after I develop feelings for him, I start to wonder (while still liking him myself) which girl I know that would be a perfect match for him. It has happened again. I've liked someone for a while (see May 23rd and Jan 11th). It was just a mild little thing, but recently I have liked him more. I heard that he recently went on a date with a girl I know. I have no idea how the date went, or what either parties feelings were about the other, that said, I thought (and said) ooh, I could totally see them together! And I was genuinely happy to know that he had at least gone out with such a wonderful woman. That said, I still like him. And most of all, I pray that he will be happy and that he will clearly know what God wants him to do (not just dating, but all of life), so he can do it.
This is the day the girls got their new gecko!! The gecko is in the little white container Faith is holding. I love the big gecko rock they are sitting on! We've gotta get one for our front yard :)
My brother said a few days ago that she's going back home to Minnesota this weekend, where she'll be heading to the Mayo Clinic (thank heaven for good medical care for such drastic conditions! can you see why I'm so up in arms about health insurance? what if she didn't live near the Mayo Clinic?) to have surgery to fix the original problem that caused all this. From tests, they're actually not sure what exactly caused it, but they have suspicions about her aortic valve or something. Apparently the CT scans and other tests just didn't clearly show the problem. Hopefully, the experts at Mayo will be able to pin it down more accurately.
At any rate, thanks all for your thoughts and prayers. There's still a journey ahead -- I'm sure the surgery is serious and she'll have some definite recovery time from that as well -- but they're finding solutions and we're all hopeful. Not exactly a fun way for a ten-year-old to spend a summer, but I'm glad they're finding a solution.
| Originally published at Stacy Whitman\\\\\\\'s Grimoire. |
This is what I was doing yesterday: getting all dressed up and taking part in a wedding. I was a groomsman rather than the officiant this time, and it all went off without a hitch, and now my friends Monica and Kevin are married. Well done, them. Today we hang out more and then head back toward the airport for flights tomorrow. Having a good time. How are you?
Before it was time to open presents, I heard the boys discussing who was going to open the presents. They agreed that they would open them together. In one of my videos Lorelei is even helping unwrap one with them. It makes me happy to see them share with each other. I did stop Joseph from blowing out Derek's candles lol. I guess I can see why people ask me if the boys are twins- they often act like it.
Derek asked me for a strawberry cake, so naturally I made a vanilla cake with red food coloring added. I promised myself and Frank that I would watch my daughter carefully while the cake cooled on the counter. At some point in the afternoon Joseph came in crying from a bleeding wound by his eye. I took him to the bathroom to clean it up and came out to find that Lorelei had struck yet again. I showed the cake to Derek and thankfully he didn't seem to care. Maybe Derek is just super nice, or maybe he's smarter than me and accepts incidents like these to be inevitable. .......... yep, most definitely smarter than me.
And here's a picture of my present that finally came :)
Yesterday, we hit the Waterfront and just scooted into Poor Richard's in time for breakfast. Then, we roamed the utterly charming Manteo Farmer's Market. I talked with the Jam Sisters (as I call them) for quite a while re: their lovely jams and peppermint tea. One of them wore a vintage Jem & the Holograms tee which had me rolling. Bought cantaloupe and assorted veg, talked for a long while with a couple who farm with horses down by Edenton. Wandered into all the shops I'd yet to visit--among them Endless Possibilities, a nonprofit organization that weaves rugs, chair bottoms, placemats, purses, etc., out of thrift shop clothes to benefit our local battered women and children's shelter. They have 14 looms and you can learn to weave and volunteer to make things for the store. I'm thinking I might do it. The notion of weaving new, beautiful things out of old, tattered ones really appeals.
We ended up at The Stockade General Store, where I found...*cue trumpets and angelic chorus*...Peach Nehi in the bottle. There was great rejoicing.
Also went to the library and (couldn't help it) grabbed an armload of YA/MG books I've been longing to read. (Despite having a veritable armload both in my inbox and on my lone, overwhelmed book shelf). Started reading one of said books which received huge buzz and still can't decide whether to TBR it. (No, I will not tell which book). I am not sure when the notion of strong female character came to equal bitch, but I find it obnoxious. Perhaps what I'm really most aggravated with here is that the chance to have a female fighter with some depth (which I rarely see) has been utterly squandered. Despite this character supposedly being so strong and independent, it takes a male character to come along and prop up her role and *give* her depth. Hmm. That seems not so strong to me. Maybe what I'm really complaining about is not the misrepresentation of strength, but a cardboard character.
Hmm...it appears this subject has hijacked my happy post. Will have to do another some time to really discuss this, because there are many different kinds of strength. Physical and fighting strength doesn't make you "strong" or naturally interesting, imo. But more on that later...
Suffice to say yesterday was a lovely, much-needed break. Time to get back to the routine.
PostSecret is an ongoing community art project where people
mail in their secrets anonymously on one side of a postcard.
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Whenever I see those, in addition to being stressed out, I imagine that right as the timer hits zero....the world will explode.
See more secrets. Follow PostSecret on Twitter.
-----Email Message-----
I didn't learn to ride a bike until I was 28 years old. I'm 34 now and just learned how to swim. You're not alone.
(Click on any card to enlarge it.)
-----Email Message-----
I wish I could believe in God god because I feel like I am missing out on a lot of potential happiness or comfort. Unfortunately, as good as it may make me feel in some ways, the part of me that I respect most is the part of me that won't allow me to believe.
-----Email Message-----
I'm a Christian, but I stopped praying because I was guilty for only doing so when I wanted something.
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Our problem is that we ended up with a series of amazing opportunities all within a short span of time. We have been running ourselves ragged trying to use them all. We reached the point where we realized that we simply have to pass some of them by. It is like passing by the free couch, not because we couldn't use it, but because we simply don't have the means to bring it home. And yet we walk away from the opportunity full of thoughts of how wonderful that couch would be if only we could carry it. We have been sorely tempted by some of these opportunities we had to turn down because we're already overloaded. And I regret the missed chances. Regret can be very heavy indeed.
Opportunity only knocks once, or so goes the old adage. But I've realized that is a misleading statement. It is true that if I don't take this free couch someone else will take it and my chance is gone. But this is not the only free couch in the world. Free couches are listed regularly on craigslist or freecycle. This missed couch does not mean that I will never have a couch. In fact I can be doing things that make acquiring a free couch highly likely and in ways that provide for the couch to be carried to my home. We can make opportunities. Howard and I have the opportunities we have now because of all the work that went before. This is part of the regret for missed chances because in my imagination I also miss all the other chances that might have resulted from this missed chance. And so I become the girl counting chickens before they hatch. The truth is that missing one opportunity is not the end of anything. I can reach out for a similar opportunity again on a different schedule. This chance is not my only chance. I have to believe that.
Public Enemies
What a pleasure to watch a visually artistic, beautifully-shot movie. It seems like all I’ve seen this summer are big explosion movies, which are fine (if done well), but they’re not exactly artful. So this one was just really nice to watch (the opening scene outside the prison especially caught my eye), and feel like I fell into the 1930’s for awhile. The story was a bit perfunctory. I found myself thinking at one point, “Ah, this is the start of the third act, and since it starts with Billie we’re going to get a scene with Billie at the end, after Dillinger is dead.” So, it was almost a little too well plotted, if I can notice the structure like that.
Oh, and the actor who (briefly) played Pretty Boy Floyd is the actor playing Duke in G.I. Joe!
Harry Potter and the Angsty Teen Romance
I actually thought Draco Malfoy was the most interesting character in this one. And is it terrible of me to think, “Well, thank goodness there’s only one more.” Then someone told me they’re covering “Deathly Hallows” in two movies. Really? So they really are going to film all 800 pages of camping? Oh dear…
I don’t think any of the Harry Potter actors are in G.I. Joe.
Real conversation had after the movie:
Me: I could have done without all the angsty teen romance. Did they really need all the angsty teen romance?
Friend: Carrie, look at who their target audience is.
Me: (Looks around at a theater crammed full of giggling post-adolescents.) Wait a minute. Are you telling me they’re not actually targeting fantasy movies to me anymore?
Friend: (nods)
Me: (cries.) Oh yeah? Well we didn’t need angsty teen romance in fantasy movies when I was a kid! We had David Bowie in tights! So there!
Tyler suggested I get out of the house and go to the movies by myself. I know, I know I'm weird, but I much prefer going to the movies myself than going with anyone else. so I did. I went to see Harry Potter. It was really nice and very refreshing.
I have to say, I can't give a real critical opinion because unlike every other person on the face of the entire Earth, I haven't read the books. I made it half way through the first one and gave up. I can see that they are great quality, well written books that have single handedly burst the doors wide open for children's literature, but for some reason, they just aren't my thing. I do like watching the movies though. That is backwards from my usual--like the book better than the movie thing. One of these days, I may get back to the books and fall in love, who knows. They are the kids books I most wish I loved.
Anyway, that said, I really liked this movie. I think it is my second favorite after the Prisoner of Askaban (I have know idea if I'm spelling it right, but you know what I mean). I think the Askaban one was a bit better as far as being a well put together narrative and a fully formed story, but this one just looked so cool! Seriously, I may go out after this and look at craft stores for vials and make my own magic sets for my Esty shop. I just loved the way those memory...um...glass...bottles...with paper lace labels...things looked in that cool...shrine-like...lancet-shaped..gold.
I have to say, when the sad part happened, which I won't say what it was incase there is another person on the planet who hasn't read the books, the big burly guy sitting next to me wept out loud. I think the story was well done and the film itself was very visually appealing and very fun. I'm glad my kids haven't seen it yet so I have an excuse to see it again.
To the craft store!
My ditl for July 9, 2009. I think my favorite photo is of Faith peeking in the window of the stove checking on the muffins!
It’s not bad.
I’m mildly amused to read the comments yesterday concerning whether all y’all should be guessing where I am and tracking me down, etc. The short answer is that it’s probably not impossible to figure out where I am (or was, at least, since I’ve moved on since yesterday), but, you know, I’m on vacation. This is a personal trip, not a professional trip.
Not that I think any of you would show up at my doorstep, etc; I suspect you’re all grownups, with grownup senses of boundaries. But even if you did, I wouldn’t have time for you — the days are just packed, as they say, with people and things to do. Hope your days are similarly packed.
The only other thing of to report is that I am unbelievably sunburned; my head is currently the shade lobsters get around the time to bring them out of the pot. Aloe lotion and sunblock for me today, as I have to go back out into the sun; also, I’m not sure what my forebears were thinking when they decided to be so pale. Because, really, it’s not working out for me.
So. What’s up with you?
I’ll be heading off to San Diego next week for the San Diego Comic-Con. I’ve been attending science fiction/fantasy conventions since I was old enough to drive, but this will be my first Comic-Con and I’ve been told by many that SDCC is a completely different animal. I’m used to thinking of WorldCon as “large”, i.e. ~5,000 people or so. From what I understand, attendance at SDCC is somewhere around 125,000. (Holy shit!)
I’m getting in on Tuesday so that I stand a chance of actually getting to see some of the area before diving into convention stuff. But, if you’re looking for me at the convention, here’s what I currently have scheduled:
THURSDAY
PANEL 10:00-11:00 Escapist Fantasy— What are the pluses and perils of adding magic and monsters to our world? Panelists Juliet Blackwell (Second Hand Spirits), Marjorie Liu (Darkness Calls), Jackie Kessler & Caitlin Kittredge (co-authors, Black & White), Diana Rowland (Mark of the Demon), Sina Grace (Cedric Hollows In Dial “M” For Magic), Seanan McGuire (Rosemary & Rue), and Harry Connolly (Child of Fire) weigh in on the options. Moderator: Maryelizabeth Hart, Mysterious Galaxy. Room 10
SIGNING 11:00 am–12:00 pm (immediately after the panel)
Juliet Blackwell, Marjorie Liu, Jackie Kessler, Caitlin Kittredge, Diana Rowland, Sina Grace, Seanan McGuire, Harry Connolly
AA1
SATURDAY
SIGNING 4:00 – 4:30 p.m.
RandomHouse Booth #1128 Diana Rowland (Mark of the Demon) FREE BOOKS (while supplies last)
The rest of the time I expect to be either wandering around in a nerdgasmic daze, or recovering in a nearby bar.
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pixiechick_sw has put together. I came home energized after meeting and talking to other writers. I loved the open and supportive atmosphere. They made me believe I could do whatever I need/want to do with my writing. It was empowering and inspiring. Thanks!2. Successful week for my son. He received his AP scores and found out he'd passed all three tests he took: Chemistry, Biology and American History. He also completed his health credit that he's been working on at home. (To make up for the Colorado class he took that the school here wouldn't accept). He's also playing in the championship soccer game for the Cache Valley Cup Soccer Tourney tomorrow. He's had an incredible week.
3. Monday morning is my youngest daughter's birthday party. She's so excited that I hope she doesn't burst before then. A lot of her friends are out of town and there are a few we haven't heard from, so I hope she's not disappointed in the turnout. I only know of two girls coming for sure out of the seven we invited. She has it all planned out in her mind exactly as she thinks it should go...hope we're successful. I finished all her birthday shopping today! Yay!
4. I'm still struggling with the same scen of my WIP...I've rewritten it so many times now I can't even remember which way it goes. I keep thinking I have it worked out, but when I get it down on paper, it's just not right. So I've decided that I have the basic gist and I'm moving on. I'll come back when I get a little further and try again. Hopefully then it will click. Tonight I was thinking about it as I drove home and decided maybe I have the wrong character in the scene -- I might try switching characters around. I know what happens next, so I'm going on. :)
5. It's turned hot. I spent the morning at the pool with my daughters and their friends. Our garden exploded this week with the change in weather. Last week we hardly had any produce. This week, I picked 6 squash and 5 zucchini plus a few peppers and tomatoes. (Those were the ones that had to be picked). The beans are going to be on any day now. So it's really summer!
Happy Weekend Everyone!
- Mood:
creative
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