Happy T-Day

Happy belated Thanksgiving. I hope everyone had a wonderful, fun, food-filled holiday. I spent my holiday taking a hiatus from writing and work. I didn't intend to do that...I lugged my computer and manuscript all the way to Colorado with me. It's just when I got there, I decided adoring my nephew and hanging with my brother and sister-in-law would be a much better use of time.

I arrived with Hurricane Loehr, and the rest of the familial storm blew in over the course of the next few days. We did all sorts of good Colorado stuff, like skiing and hiking, and wandering around the Pearl Street Mall in Boulder. The kids got to bond, and the adults got to watch. Jake made his theatrical debut when he was yanked out of the crowd by a street performer. Needless to say, he upstaged the guy and people from the crowd gave Jake money when it was over. His first paid acting gig. He was very excited. Maya, his manager, demanded 50%. He gave it to her.

Now I'm home, going through kid withdrawl, wishing someone would cook me a huge breakfast. Amazing how quickly one can get accustomed to being waited upon hand and foot. The kitties, however, are totally uninterested in making me eggs right now. At least 3-year old Adam would crack the eggs and pour the oatmeal.

Some writing stuff did happen. Dad read the first draft of my mystery and had some very valuable feedback. Of course, the feedback requires major rewriting and some restructuring, but he had a few ideas that I think could be great if I can figure out how to do it. So...back to work with me!

Excuses, Excuses

Oops...I forgot to post my weekly note yesterday. Totally, completely, it never even entered my brain, forgot. Is there a good reason for this? Yeah. Of course there is.

Harry Potter opened yesterday. Duh.

I spent the early part of the day being excited about the movie, the mid part seeing the movie, and the remainder of the day thinking about it. There was simply no room for anything else.

Was it worth forsaking my faithful friends who check in on this little blog every week?

Yeah. I enjoyed the movie, and seeing what made it to the screen and what did not. I loved watching the seven children in our group refusing to sit with us, throwing popcorn at each other, and generally behaving like teenagers. I got a huge kick out of hearing all the moms gasp with delight when Harry derobed for the bath scene, and then giggle nervously when they all realized they'd just oogled a child. Very amusing.

I will spend my time today wondering how my books will be adapated for the big screen.

How the Frog was Born

I met a guy a few years ago who was not only was arty, cool, and cute as could be, he told me he'd written a novel and had an agent who was shopping it around. I was impressed, and not just with his emerald green eyes. Here was this young, cool, fun person who somehow found the motivation to sit down and write an entire a book. Being able to do that seemed like an insurmountable task to me. I gushed and prattled endlessly on about how amazing that was, and how great he was for doing it. I wasn't even trying to win his heart--the awe was genuine. For his part, he seemed a little shy about it, not wanting to talk about how epic his accomplishment was.

Three years later, I'm the one who tells people I've finished a book and am trying to get it published. And they're impressed, gushing and prattling on about my accomplishment. Then I become a little shy, saying it's nothing really. The shyness comes from two sources. The first is knowing writing the book is just the beginning. I still have to get published and people have to read it.

The second is I know the process I used. It wasn't glamorous, so I'm not sure it counts. When I started writing my book, I wasn't thinking, "I'm writing a book now." I was thinking, "I've got some time to kill before Friends comes on, maybe I'll write down that funny story about the bachelorette party." After six months of doing that, I had a book.

There's the truth. I never thought I could write a book. I just did it. It is a very cool thing and I am proud of it. And I'm even more thrilled now when I hear someone has done it because I know what it takes.

So what are you waiting for? You've got fifteen minutes before Friends starts.

The Joy of Playing Games

I'm so late posting today. Do I have a good reason? Of course. I was playing Attack of the G-Nome. This evil, wonderful game is available on the Disney Channel web site. Evil, evil, evil. Fun, fun, fun. Really, blowing up peanut monsters is very gratifying.

I haven't made much progess with my fiction this week, although I've made it up to 35 levels/260,000 points on the video game. My day job has been so busy and stressful that I really need to blow stuff up in the evening. This need will pass, and I'll return to the murder and mayhem in my Ellie story.