7 Wonders of the World by a Child

Simple. Beautiful.
Thank you, AMS.

7 Wonders of the World by a Child.

Editing…and Other Things That Require Me to Focus my Time

I do not want to edit.
I do not want to revisit my novels.
I want them to magic themselves into readability and loveability.

Oh, right. That is not going to happen. So sad.

I have three manuscripts that need love and attention. They’re good. They’re not great. It makes me sad that I am sitting here, frittering away time that I REALLY need to use to do IMPORTANT THINGS (yes, that’s how those words look in my head–except they are also an angry red), including calling the mortgage company to find out if they are going to fix the mess they have made of my credit, my joint bank account, and my mental state. I swear they drove me into a seizure a few weeks ago. The doctor had to up my meds. (No, I’m not crazy, even though it feels like that sometimes. And, since I am officially neurologically broken, many people seem to think that means crazy. Boo.)

So there are many other things I need to do today before and after I edit. (Yes, I know I can’t edit all three books in one day–maybe parts of all three if I start feeling closed-in–that WOULD be nuts.) But first, I need to actually do something. I have my computer on. My legal-size notebook with yellow paper (so I know it is not “finished manuscript” material and, therefore, not needing to be perfect yet) is open next to me, and my purple pen is sitting on top with its cap off. I have hidden my phone.

So I should be all set, right? …Right?

Well, no. Today I am nervous. Yesterday, I was nervous. I was also nervous two weeks ago. I will probably be nervous forty years from now, when I’m half-senile and cannot remember why I’m nervous. (It runs in the family, but at least we all seem pretty happy when we’re off-planet. So there’s that.)

Fortunately for me, though, today I found a blog entry that really motivated me. Check this out:

http://lukeromyn.com/blog/2012/01/17/wasting-is-such-a-wasteful-waste/

First off, that’s an outstanding title. Second, if anything can get a girl moving, it’s reading something in a tone that is no-nonsense, yet humorous. We (as a people) often forget how good we have it. Even though, right now I am broke, broken, and sick (and nursing a 12-year-old whose sinuses and nose are so congested that he’s become a mouth-breather), I can take a step.

I can say: “Forget you, Feelings-of-Craptastic-ness! Forget you, Despair and Lethargy! I will accomplish these things!” And then I will write myself a list, so I do not forget what I am to accomplish today.

First on the list: Re-read Book One of the determined-to-be-a-trilogy, so I can make sure my characters are consistent. That would help.
Second: Fuss some more at the mortgage people who don’t know how their systems work. They like it when I call. I can tell.

But first: Open up Yellow Flags and get that puppy re-read!

Hooray, productivity!

Oh, Mortgages… (Or, Why Did I Decide to Own a Home?)

Dear M & T Bank,

Please return to me the $1195 you stole from my checking account. Please do not make me go to the State’s Attorney General. Please honor the agreement set up by Bogman before they thoughtlessly sold my mortgage to you. Please apply the mysterious $5500 to my account. Quit letting it earn money for you and not me. This is unacceptable.

Thank you for your time.

Love,

An Extraordinarily Dissatisfied Customer.

PS: Just supporting the Ravens is not an acceptable answer for your ineptitude in business matters.

Legends of Fantasy

Goodbye, Anne McCaffrey.

May you always fly free.

Read-a-thon Update

So after much distraction (two kids, three cats, one very needy husband), my finished Read-a-thon books are thus:

Demon Fish (very informative and well-written)
A Man in Full by Tom Wolfe (that one almost killed me)
I’ve Never Met an Idiot on the River by Henry Winkler (awesome book by the Fonz–who kind of looks like my dad; weird)
Kitty and the Midnight Hour by Carrie Vaughn (very good light read)
Elantris by Brandon Sanderson (2d time, so that’s kind of cheating, but it’s just SO good)
Blood Rites by Jim Butcher (love him!)
and finally…
Nocturnes by Kazuo Ishiguro

I’m hopeful that next year, I’ll be able to prepare ahead of time for the Read-a-thon. That way, I’ll have a stack ready to go. And I’ll have been able to prepare my family ahead of time like I do for NaNoWriMo, so they won’t be expecting me to be on Earth.

Thanks for all of your support while I was reading like a crazy person!

Read-A-Thon

So, today I’ve decided to participate in the Dewey’s Read-a-Thon.

Link here:

First up: Demon Fish by Juliet Eilperin. So far, it’s a very good book.

Quick Update

I will not be making a long post today. My back hurts too bad to spend much time sitting, or standing, or lying down, or walking.

Going to have to learn to fly.

Slackerific

Drat.

I missed a day in blogging schedule. Boo. Hiss. I’d blame the ant invasion (and by ‘invasion’, I mean INVASION of millions), but that would skim the point. I should have made time for my blog moment. It was poor prior planning on my part.

The ants and the really odd exterminator are only scape-goats.

So, here’s me, rededicating myself to creating a new blog every day, until the end of the year.

Electricity? Or the Internet?

What a strange comparison.

Without electricity, could there be an internet? Doesn’t the internet require electricity? And why do I keep trying to write internet with 2 t’s? What’s up with that?

Technically, neither are truly crucial to our lives. Living without electricity for several days after a hurricane taught me that, while convenient to avoid food spoilage, electricity is not an absolute necessity. We played Risk just fine in the candle light.

Review: Finger Lickin’ Dead

I love to read, and I’ll try to read anything once. That said, gimmicky mysteries don’t usually do it for me. You know the ones: The kinds that involve cats or other critters solving cases. Or ones that use “authentic” recipes to add flavor. (See what I did there…)

However, the other day at the library, I decided to broaden my literary experience. I saw this–and who doesn’t love barbeque, really? Or blues music? What kind of heathens are those? So I picked up this little book.

At first, I liked it more than I thought I would. Then I liked it less. Let me break it down real quick.

First, what I didn’t like.
1. Cardboard characters. None of the characters showed any growth. And the murdered villain was a caricature.
2. By the numbers “eccentric” character. The lady who always wore a helmet should not be considered “quirky”. She should be institutionalized.
3. Deus ex machina ending. No good. It came out of nowhere good, and it went nowhere good. But at least everyone got to eat more.
4. Does anyone hug every three seconds in public? I’m glad I don’t know those people. Seriously. Every three seconds.
5. Way too many suspects–especially some that are obviously not the murderer.

Now, the good.
1. An enjoyable protagonist. Lulu is a sweetheart who seems to get dumped into unpleasant situations. She reacts the way I like to think most people would under those circumstances.
2. A nice little twist in the middle.
3. At least everything ties up fairly neatly.

This is apparently one of a series. As far as that goes, it is worth a look. Especially if you are interested in mysteries. It is a short, quick read, and if it makes you hungry, it leaves the recipes at the end.