Wish me luck

And perseverance. And discipline. And focus.

Kids at day camp this week. Must hunker down. Will see you when I re-surface for air.

Mare's War

I am, as usual, late to the party. (Can you see my beetroot face?) But you probably already know about the launching of Tanita Davis's new book:

Mare's War

In fact, you've probably been over at her blog, participating in the events she's been hosting. If not check out her blog, and more importantly, check out her book.

Book Review: Shift by Jennifer Bradbury

One of the first things writers are told is

write what you know.

But does it mean we need to have experienced everything we write?

Jennifer Bradbury knows a thing or two about bicycling cross country. But she probably doesn't know first-hand what it means to be an eighteen year old boy. Yet she writes from a first person POV of one.

The story is about friendship. About being on the cusp of adulthood. About figuring out who you are. About loss and hope. About human decency and frailty.

I'll bet she has experienced all of these. Not in the details, but in the actual feeling and thinking and questioning and observing and understanding. The authenticity comes through, and that makes the book moving and engaging.

Write what you know.

But not in the narrow literal sense.

In the sense that the essence of the book is first-hand truth.

Isn't that why we love fiction?

A slightly more coherent and objective look at last week's stream of consciousness

Or what made me pick the books I did.

The Chinese Handcuff: After a friend loaned me Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes, I was so taken by Chris Crutcher's writing and his compassion and honesty, I looked for more.

Shift: and since I now trust Crutcher, I was willing to read a book he recommends.

Gregor the Overlander: recommended by a fellow writer friend.

Ranger's Apprentice: Nathan Bransford says he was going to read it, so I thought I should check it out as well.

Blue Fingers: soft spot for all things martial arts. Although I have to say "Oooh Ninja" alone wasn't enough to keep me engaged.

Archer's Quest: Loved Linda Sue Park's Kite Fighter and A Single Shard. Plus connection to another writer friend.

Jumping the Scratch: Again, liked the author's first book. Willing to read another.

Sisters Grimm: Daughter liked the first in series, so finishing all the books is inevitable. (True for my own reading as well: enjoyed the first few of Five Ancestors so much, I was willing to go on two detours unexpectedly thrown in by the author.)

Series of Unfortunate Events: ditto.

The reason for this exercise? To find out how one book lover chooses books. And for me, it boils down to the matter of:

Trust.

Trust in a friend's recommendation. Trust in other book lovers' tastes. Trust in an author whose other works I've enjoyed.

How does that translates to my goal in getting people to buy my book? (Okay, okay, finish that thing and submit it and get it published first. I hear ya! I'm trying, I really am!)

• Get people to like it enough so they'd recommend to their friends.
• Get someone with clout (like Christ Crutcher) to like it so they'd recommend it.
• Get enough people to like it so subsequent books, whether in a series or other wise, would get a chance based on earlier works
  

Or

• Write a book about ninjas.

So that was an easy problem to solve.

Stream of consciousness at the library

Let's see, I need to find Chris Crutcher's The Chinese Handcuff again so I can write a review. Drats, no copies left. Oh, but here's a book Crutcher endorses: Shift by Jennifer Bradbury. Looks good. Gotta get it. Any other Crutchers? No.

No. 2 on my list: Gregor the Overlander. Where's Book 1? Book 1....There it is. Check

No. 3: Rangers Apprentice: Book 1 wasn't available last time... still not here.

No. 4: Oooooh! Ninja! (Grab Blue Fingers by Cheryl Whitesel.)

Where did I put the list? And what was No. 4 before I got distracted by ninjas? Ah well, I'll just browse. Ooh, Linda Sue Park. Which one is this? Archer's Quest. Don't know it. Let's see what the front flap says: Modern day kid interacting with ancient character. I wonder if my friend, whose story is about a pair of siblings interacting with an ancient cat/professor, knows about this. I'll read it and let her know.

Here's a new book by Sarah Weeks, author of So. Be. It. Jumping the Scratch seems to be in the same vein: a look at someone with mental issues with compassion. Put in bag.

Daughter needs books 3, 4, 5, 6 of Sisters Grimm: only found Book 6. Last book of Unfortunate Events. Check. A new Ally Finkle book by Meg Cabot. Grab.

Son would like this Time Travel Soldiers book about Samurai. And this one about the human digestive system, simply titled Guts, with its many full-paged, colorful pictures. And here's one about animals found in US National Parks. What beautiful water color paintings.

Bag getting too heavy. Time to go.

Can't sit still to write? Get your carpets cleaned

I was getting all stressed out about life intruding on my writing: the weeds that exploded in my garden due to the unusually wet spring; the soil on one side of the house that needs to be re-graded; the carpets that need to be cleaned etc.

The carpet cleaner came today, and I was cordoned off in the kitchen, which has wood floors. I couldn't step onto the carpet as it's being vacuumed and spot-treated and shampooed and deodorized and sanitized and scotch-guarded.

[Linear by D'Arcy Norman]

So I wrote. Seven pages, long hand.

Life is good. It provides opportunities when I least expect them.

Revise, rewrite, revamp, torture

...whatever you want to call that process: that's what my writing time is all about these days. To help keep me planted firmly in my chair, fingers on the keyboard (instead of the mouse). and mind on the book, I've joined the Summer Revision Smackdown hosted at the Brimstone Soup by YA author Holly Cupala. I am easily persuaded and influenced; put a word like "smackdown"in the title of an event, and I get scared immediately into doing what I'm supposed to be doing.

My goals are not lofty; it's summer and the kids are out of school, remember? But I do want to get this book polished before I send it out. Soon.

I am almost to the end of this arduous task. Now if only those new passages will stop having that new-car smell, and fit more smoothly into the rest of the book, I'll be good to go.

If the word "smackdown" isn't scary and you need some straightforward questions to ask yourself as you revise, The Most Helpful And Polite Agent Nathan Bransford has put together a list. Ever democratic, he's even included suggestions by his legions of fans.

[Resistance by Mesaj]

Now back to our regularly scheduled program. The above was brought to you by Revision XMA 3000, a new generation of persuasion equipment developed by the Borg Company.

Day One: a report

So on Day 1, I already to had to break the summer schedule. I had my weekly online chat with my critique group followed by Tae Kwon Do class (I wonder if I'll get my book published first or earned my black belt? Bets, anyone?) and I "used up" the kids desk time and screen time. I did get in some revision done at night after they went to bed; I was still fairly awake and coherent.

I did, however, do two things I haven't been able to do with my kids during the school year, due to lack of time: teach them Chinese and piano. And we got to play board games and run around the block and just hang out.

A good first day.