Five for Thursday

1) A little birdie told me that a certain Catherine Denton is posting her hacky sack ethnic musical challenge today. Here's the link so you can go check it out, because, knowing Catherine,  it will be all kinds of awesome.

2) I won THE FALSE PRINCE from a contest on Augusta Scattergood's blog. My eleven-year-old daughter read it in less than two days and can't stop talking about it. She's bringing it to school tomorrow to show everyone. (FYI: Augusta Scattergood is the author of the amazing middle-grade novel GLORY BE. My daughter also read that one very quickly and immediately said, "Mom, you have to read this. You'll love it!")

3) My kids started school on Tuesday. They came home with big smiles on their faces, declaring their teachers to be "the best in the world."

(I love my children desperately, but I had forgotten how quiet our house could be during the school year. And how I can actually pick things up and they stay picked up ... at least for a little while. And how I'm actually getting writing done again. Amazing.)

4) My cats are awesome.

I couldn't ask for two better felines. They never scratch or bite. They let the kids lug them around the house. They never hiss or get spooked. And they are best friends. I love finding them cuddling in the oddest places, and licking the crap out of each others ears. #simplepleasures

5) I'm participating in the What I Did Last Summer: Fact or Fiction blog hop next week, hosted by Emily R. King & Melodie Wright. My stories are percolating and I'm having to refer to some old journals for inspiration. Are you in?

What's new with you?

In Which I Embarrass Myself in the Name of Hacky Sacks

First of all, please please please check out my partner in mischief Janet Johnson's Ethnic Musical Challenge video, because hers is WAY better than mine. She raises the bar on Hacky Sack video challenges by incorporating Bollywood and tying it into writing & blogs. Plus, she's an amazing dancer and actually EDITED her video. It's a MUST SEE.

And now, on to the challenge.

I have chosen to enlighten you all with my amazing Chinese opera skillz.

I'm singing a couple little snippets from the third scene of the famous Yueju opera, BUTTERFLY LOVERS.

This is a very short snippet and is in fact two different parts of a scene that I've mashed together for the sake of brevity. I'm supposed to have someone singing another part at one point, so I just hummed it.

(Many thanks to my videographer-daughter, Olivia.)

Performing in China with my teacher, Zhang Laoshi.

After the performance with my tiny kids.

And this is only for the VERY interested among you. I found scene three of an actual BUTTERFLY LOVERS performance on Youtube (Whoot!). The part I learned with my teacher was from the beginning through about the six-minute mark. Now you can see how truly bad I am by watching the professionals!


Would YOU like to join the Hacky Sack Club and make embarrassing videos of yourself? OF COURSE YOU WOULD! Join, join, join! Let Janet or me know if you want to post a video and we'll add you to our Hacky Sack Club Wall of Fame. Come on, you know you want to!

Have you ever watched Chinese opera before? Do you like it?

Inspiration (or Lack Thereof)

I'm waiting for some inspiration.

My shiny new idea has a few things going for it:

• a fantastic setting (Hong Kong!)
• great characters (this protag cracks me up)
• an intriguing problem (someone's gone missing)

But it's lacking something very important:

that high concept hook that pulls everything together!!!

Until I work that part out, I'm sort of stuck. I can't move forward until I know what's bonding these characters to one another.

I've had a few horrible ideas:

• dreams (over-used?)
• e-mails or letters (too weird)
• dance (huh?)
• visitations (I'm not sure I want this to be a ghost story) 

I know I'm being very cryptic, but the point is I NEED INSPIRATION. I'm terrified that all my ideas for that big, overarching HOOK are coming from other books I'm reading. *shudders*

Have you ever been stuck like this before? Where do you find inspiration?

Hacky Sack Club is Back!

The Hacky Sack Club is back with a new (optional) challenge! And this one is even more embarrassing.

Janet Johnson and I have committed ourselves to the Hacky Sack Club's

Ethnic Musical Challenge!

We'll be posting embarrassing videos of ourselves doing something ethnically musical on Monday, August 27 (so you can all laugh at us be in awe of us on Labor Day).

If you'd like to join, let one of us know. Then when you post your video, also let us know so we can let all our followers know (so everyone can visit your blog and join in the mirth).

Remember, we're not laughing AT you, we're laughing WITH you!

No, we haven't done anything wrong that deserves punishment. We at the Hacky Sack Club simply believe that life is too short to waste being normal.

We also believe that part of a fun community is breaking down barriers and being silly every once and awhile.

If you have already joined the Hacky Sack Club, you do not need to take part in this activity, but we'd love it if you did.

That is all. No stress. No hacky sack skillz or even hacky sacking required. Visit our Hacky Sack Walls of  Shame Fame (Janet's and mine) for more details. 

Handling Hot Buttons

Recently, a friend asked about a book I was reading.

She said: "I've heard that it has parts that are really anti-(insert persuasion/lifestyle/religious affiliation here). Have you reached that part yet?"

I hadn't noticed anything like that in the book yet. But as I continued reading, I came to THE PART that this friend was talking about.

In the book, a main character's friend was trying to make her feel better by insulting a rival-girl. Yes, she used derogatory language to describe this girl. No one in the text set her straight. No one said, "Oh, you shouldn't say that about other people or make a joke of them because they're THIS WAY."

The scene didn't bother me. But I knew it was the part that my friend's friend had been bothered by.

Do we expect all characters in literature to set good examples about how we talk about people of other persuasions/belief systems/lifestyles? Do we at least expect them to be corrected for their behavior if they do make generalizations or derogatory statements? How do characters' belief systems reflect on the author?

I'm being vague here on purpose because I don't want to launch a big angry debate on hot-button topics. The specific issue here isn't the point.

When I read I don't automatically conclude that every character's opinion will reflect the author's. Not all my characters agree with my opinions and belief systems.

But it seems like some readers are quick to think that every character (even if that character is set up as a majorly flawed person) reflects the author's thoughts and beliefs exactly. This worries me, because when I write characters my goal is to include different perspectives. I'm trusting my readers to pick the good from the bad and make up their own minds. Am I expecting too much?

What are your thoughts? Should all our characters think the way we think, and if they don't, should they be corrected?  

Photo credit: rezdora70 from morguefile.com

The Truth About Ash & Beauty

I love this photo because our cat Beauty has folded herself into a tiny shoe box. Her brother Ash, because he can't bear to be away from her but can't quite fit himself in the shoe box with her, has his front leg draped along her back.

Until a few days ago Ash's name was Ashlily. Then my aunt came to visit, took one look at his nether regions and told us the undeniable truth.

Ash whispering in my aunt's ear: "Please tell them I'm not a girl!"

Ashlily's name needed to be quickly and irrevocably shortened to Ash.

And I will be calling the vet immediately to make arrangements for these two so that we don't end up with a lot of extra cats running around the house!

Life is full of surprises, isn't it? Have you had any surprises lately, pleasant or otherwise?

I Met Kimberly Derting!

Today our public library hosted its first ever Young Adult author, Kimberly Derting, who wrote THE BODY FINDER series. Her first book of a new trilogy, THE PLEDGE (a dark, dystopic fantasy), is out now.

Of course I went. And ate pizza. And tried not to embarrass myself by saying anything stupid. Kimberly was so nice and down to earth. I had a great time meeting her and absorbing as much of her writerly wisdom as possible.

Here are a few nuggets I took away from the time (paraphrased, of course):

• Kimberly stopped listening to books on CD on car rides because she realized it was stunting her creativity. She needed that down time when driving to let her mind work through new ideas. I could absolutely relate to this. Anyone else?
• Kimberly made sure we knew that there was no right answer to the "How should I write a book?" question.  She writes books without an outline, but with linear plot points in mind. But she has friends who write "schizophrenically" -- one scene here, another there, and in the end it seems to magically gel as a book. Others write outlines that are so detailed they're almost novellas. Some friends edit extensively as they write. Others write without ever looking over their shoulder. She told us to pick what works for us and throw everything else out. Never believe someone who might claim to have THE ONLY working writing process. Good advice, yes?
• Kimberly writes two books a year (wow!). Usually, she works 6-7 days a week, 10-13 hour days (wow!!). A lot of this time is spent writing, but she also spends time social networking. She has found that publishers do in fact expect (especially YA) authors to be social networking, and they'll even use tracking programs to check up on their social networking activities/influence. Interesting, yes? 

Do you enjoy meeting authors and hearing about their writing lives?

Space to Dream

We writers come in all shapes and sizes and stages of life.

Some of us are married, some aren't.

Of those who are in relationships, some have their biggest cheerleader and most awesome critique partner in their significant other, while others work quietly on the home front alone.

My dashingly handsome sidekick is amazing, but he's a scientist, not a writer. He reads non-fiction and sports columns and geology magazines, not kidlit.

Do I love him? Absolutely.

Do I feel supported by him in my writing? Yes. But quietly supported. Sometimes I'm telling him about my WiP and he gets a look on his face that's probably similar to the look on my face when he's trying to explain rocks to me.

We love each other, we support each other, but we have a lot of different interests.

We went to the ocean on an extended family vacation recently and I brought the laptop along. My goal was to finish my edit BEFORE the vacation, but it didn't happen, so I worked on my book at night when the kids were in bed and the adults were playing board games in a different room.

I didn't mind missing out. I'm not a big game-playing person and I needed the relaxation that comes from writing and, because I'm an introvert, the space.

Still, I don't think the DHS quite understood why I was choosing to write instead of being involved with the family. We worked it out, but I know my writing takes its toll on him sometimes. He'd rather I be involved than hiding away with my laptop. I try to be careful with the time I spend, but you know ... there's only so many hours in the day.

That's why what happened this last week meant so much to me.

My laptop went out.

The battery has been dead for a while, so it had to be constantly plugged in. And then the power cord went out.

For the few days of waiting for a new power cord and battery to arrive, I decided to take a break from writing.

I told the DHS about this decision.

A couple days passed and, toward the end of one day he asked, "Did the new cord come for the laptop yet?"

"No, not yet."

"Oh, that's too bad." He seemed genuinely sad for me.

I didn't know if he was just being polite, so I added facetiously, "Why? Because you miss me writing my book SO much?"

"No," he said, smiling. "Because I know how much you enjoy it."

My heart did a little skip when he said that. It's nice to feel supported, to feel like you have the space you need to pursue a dream.

How about you? Do the people in your life understand your passion and encourage you in it? 

Photo credit: wax115 from morguefile.com

An Interview ... With Moi!

That title sounds a little like Miss Piggy talking, doesn't it?

I promise I'm not getting all big headed and sticking my snout in the air....

But I'm just so excited because Kimberly Gabriel over at The Art of Infiltration actually asked to interview me and it's up today!

So, please don't comment here (I'm actually disabling comments) -- but skip on over to Kimberly's blog if you have a moment. Even if you don't like my interview, you'll have to check out her blog because it's lovely and very useful for the aspiring writer.

Have a wonderful Thursday! 

 Photo credit: demondimum from morguefile.com