Month: May 2008

2008 maiden voyage

So, we took the canoe out today. Or more accurately, Bob and Andrew took the canoe out. Kyra and I acted as support (really, not as much fun as going down the rapids backwards, but more on that later).

First, if you’re taking the canoe out, you have to clean it.

We drove up to the headwaters of Minnehaha Creek, which sounds exotic, but is only a few miles away. We launched the boys, then Kyra and drove back to wait for them.

Kyra with Lake Minnetonka in the background.

Canoeing is no laughing matter. It is serious business.

The launch. Let’s wish them luck.

Not even an ice cream from Dairy Queen can compensate for being left behind.

The mighty return.

It was at this point where they decided to go further and it was just after this point they nearly met their match with the rapids. I’m sure raising their paddles in the air had nothing to do with it. There were rocks, spinning around, and going down the rapids backwards. Discovery: Our canoe is more of a lake canoe.

Second discovery: Going down the rapids backwards = bragging rights.

I am Latte Girl

I am Latte Girl. I conquer my opponents, not with strength, but with the subliminal suggestion they must flee to the nearest Starbucks for something hot and overpriced.


What Your Latte Says About You

You don’t treat yourself very often. You find that indulging doesn’t jibe with your very disciplined life.

You can be quite silly at times, but you know when to buckle down and be serious.You have a good deal of energy, but you pace yourself. You never burn out too fast.

You’re addicted to caffeine. There’s no denying it.You are responsible, mature, and truly an adult. You’re occasionally playful, but you find it hard to be carefree.

You are complex and philosophical, but you are never arrogant.

What Does Your Latte Say About You?

Quiz first seen at Marianne’s. Quote from my story Speechless, coming … uh … nowhere to a screen near you. I haven’t found a home for it. Of course, I haven’t tried. That would be part of the problem, not the solution, no?

Editing brain

So, I did a Google search on editing brain (don’t you ever search on strange combinations of words just to see what comes up?). I found these gems:

Editing is a transparent art form.

And:

Editing is very mechanical and technical, but at the same time, it’s very artistic and emotional.

The writer was talking about film editing, but I think it applies to writing. Right now, I have serious editing brain. It would be nice if I could think of other things besides my book. I could get back to (okay, start) writing scintillating blog posts. I could cook dinner without burning it. (Okay, I didn’t really burn dinner. But. We all know it could happen.)

And I could think of a clever way to wrap up this entry.

Nope. Isn’t happening.

California dreaming

So, the excitement = building for San Francisco this summer. At the end of July I’ll head out there to the RWA National Conference with … wait for it … the kids in tow.

They’ll stay at my sister’s during the four days of the conference. I’ll be in the Marriott.

(Insert maniacal laughter here.)

Seriously, I’m pretty sure positive they’ll behave. I’ve already read them the riot act about it.

Never mind the Golden Gate Bridge, Chinatown, or even the Jelly Belly factory tour, Andrew nearly fainted when he found out my sister owns not only Guitar Hero, Dance, Dance Revolution, but Rock Band. Add in the nearby swimming pool, and we pretty much have instant vacation. Excited doesn’t begin to cover it.

I haven’t been to this conference since 2003. This time, I get to wear my “first sale” ribbon (Note to self: let RWA know you need first sale ribbon.). I don’t have to work myself into a panic over pitching to editors/agents. I can relax, go to parties (Chick Lit, Golden Network), and attend workshops, like these:

Building Buzz in YA (CAREER)– Tera Childs, Heather Davis, Simone Elkeles, Tina Ferraro, Marley Gibson, Stephanie Hale, and Dona Sarkar-Mishra

From Cinema to the CW: Using Pop Culture in Your YA Novel (RESEARCH)– Trish Milburn and Julie Linker (Trish is a Noodler.)

10 Things We Love About Writing YA Romance (CRAFT)– Shelley Adina, Carol Grace Culver, Kelly Parra, and Jennifer Jackson

Doddering Butlers, Pert Housemaids, and Faithful Retainers: Busting the Servant Myths (RESEARCH)– Janet Mullany (I haven’t written an historical … yet, but Janet is another Noodler and she’s hysterical.)

And then, after the conference, I’ll take a few days downtime at my sister’s. I’ll need a few days of downtime.

But! If anyone is headed out to San Fran, let me know. I’d love to see you.

Random thoughts on invisible babies and Enchanted

So, despite claims that Miss B did not miss her brother this weekend (who was away on a Boy Scout campout on an island–how cool is that?), she invented several invisible siblings to keep her company.

Somehow, I birthed all these invisible babies this weekend, along with taking Miss B to ballet, vacuuming up all the dog hair (not as easy as it sounds), editing fifty pages of MacKenna, and so on. Can I multi-task or what?

We started out with Makayla, added Jake, then Rosie and Sarah. Miss B was the proud and busy big sister.

And you know what? Invisible babies are still a lot of work. And I kept sitting/stepping on them, too. (Mommy! No! That’s where Jake is!)

Then Andrew came home and the babies faded to the background. Kyra still denies missing her brother.

We also watched Enchanted this weekend. Okay, it’s probably just me, but I was underwhelmed. It got great reviews. Parts were cute/funny. I really enjoyed the Central Park dance number.

But. It seemed like that’s all it was: cute/funny parts that somehow didn’t make a satisfying whole. Plus, I felt Patrick Dempsey underplayed his part. McDreamy? More like McComatose.

But you know, Miss B, the born romantic, was also meh about it too. She didn’t understand the ending, and she has a fairly sophisticated sense of story for a five year old. I mean, she understood Roman Holiday and that Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn couldn’t be together. Oh, sure, she leaned against me and sobbed for a bit (told you she was a born romantic), but she understood.

Enchanted, not so much. And she didn’t seem to care, either. Again, I’m sure it’s a me/us thing, and we’ll be soundly beat about the head and shoulders for not liking it. Bring it on.

Geek is the new black

You want one. You know you do. Okay, so I want one (and recently ordered one). Darcy and I were thinking this might make a pretty snazzy promo item for when The Geek Girl’s Guide to Cheerleading comes out next summer.

What do you think?

(And if you crave one and can’t wait for us to start giving them away, you can always get your own here.)

Snippets from our week

The batteries in the programmable thermostat finally gave out, after possibly a year of the message: Replace batteries soon! It’s the sort of thermostat you can pull off the wall, which I did only to hear a gasp behind me and Kyra saying: “Mommy! What have you done?”

Andrew made a terrific Pirate #4 in the sixth grade musical version of Treasure Island. They had four performances, two casts (the cast that doesn’t perform sings in the chorus), and a very busy week. Kyra has seen three of the four performances (the last one’s tonight). She keeps referring to Long John Silver as “Long Jeans.” When the chorus sings: “Eat, drink, and let’s be merry,” she sings her own version: “Eat, drink, and let’s get married.”

There’s a downside to tossing your manuscript in the air. When you’re done, you have to put it back in order again. Actually, it’s not that bad, but for continuity and sanity’s sake, I’m putting the pages in numeric order before I start keying in the changes. Would I do it again? Without question. It was a great exercise and a great way to edit.

I’ve published twenty books this week, some of them multiple times, some of the multiple times in the same day. I’m telling you, technical writer = nonstop fun.