Category: Random

Author Update: Milestone Moments (Part 1)

In the months since I last posted an update, I’ve experienced a few milestone moments and thought I’d share. Some have been related to general life stuff, but some are exciting and relate to writing. Both merit some words. This is part one of my milestone moments update. I’ll get you caught up on the exciting writing-related stuff in part 2.

General Life Milestone: This is the Year I Get Readers

According to my eyes, I’m officially becoming Sophia Petrillo from the Golden Girls. Or, my 8th grade math teacher, who–come to think of it–looked a lot like Sophia Petrillo.

First, Let’s Back Up a Bit, to 1992

Since middle school I’ve been nearsighted with astigmatism. I actually remember the day I found out I needed glasses. It happened during 8th grade math. It was it’s own milestone moment. The school nurse was doing the hearing and vision tests, calling kids out of their classes in small batches. You know, I’m sure. You probably remember it yourself.

So, I was in math class with totally normal vision, following along with what the teacher was writing on the chalkboard. The nurse called me down to get tested. I ran through the vision test and she told me I needed glasses.

Uh, no I don’t, I thought. My eyes are fine. You don’t know what you’re talking about, Lady.

But when I got back to math class, I could no longer read what the teacher was writing on the chalkboard without squinting. I was horrified and furious. Clearly, the school nurse had cursed me because my eyes were fine until she told me they weren’t. That’s how I remember it, anyway, and we all know how trustworthy memories are. Take it with a grain of salt. Anyway…

Jump to 2020

Me looking happy in my glasses, mask free.

I switched from wearing glasses to wearing contacts when we all masked up. As a teacher, the mask combined with teaching/talking equaled breath-fog clouding up my glasses all day. So, contacts.

Had my eyes dilated when I was fitted for contacts

They worked great, until…

Fall of 2022

I found myself squinting to read the text on my computer screen. The font seemed ridiculously tiny and out of focus. Leaning in closer to the screen almost helped, but it was still a struggle to read the screen. By the end of the day my eyes were literally tired. I’d never experienced that sensation before. Tired eyes. Huh. Who knew it was actually a thing and not just a turn of phrase.

Hoping the issue would resolve itself, I switched back to glasses to “wait out” the strange phenomenon. At first, everything was fine again. All I needed to do was take my glasses off and then I could read the screen no problem… Well, the text still seemed smaller than I remembered it being. But if I zoomed everything in to 125%, I could read stuff no problem with my glasses off.

Winter of 2022

At some point in December, however, I came to the startling realization that I’d fallen into the habit of not only taking my glasses off but also leaning in ridiculously close to whatever screen I was trying to read.

Have you ever seen an “old” person with their glasses hanging off the tip of their nose, their chin dipped to their chest, phone screen three inches away from their face as they tried to read the tiny print with their “old” eyes? If you have, I bet you’ve had the same thought I did. I am never going to let myself do that. Joke’s on me. I’d been doing it for months and not noticing.

Odin help me, I thought. Do I need reading glasses?

Turns out, yes.I do. Because I’m old. Which is fine. What’s not fine is how flipping expensive it will be to get bifocals. (Which have been rebranded, apparently? They’re called “transition” lenses now. Because that sounds less “old” than bifocals, I guess.)

My question is this: Why does insurance in this country cover the cost of finding out you need glasses to see clearly, but then you’re on your own if you want to actually buy said glasses? Who decided that clear vision is nonessential for good health? If I buy a new pair of glasses (frames and lenses) from my optometrist’s office, it will cost me almost $1000 dollars! If I use an online service or go to a Target or Walmart place, I can likely cut that down to $500, but still. What the heck! I cannot afford to pay $500+ dollars to see clearly.

And so, for the past several months, I’ve been living with my glasses dangling off the tip of my nose while I hold my phone three inches from my face to read my text messages and AP News articles.

Spring of 2023

My beloved partner-in-crime recently suggested I swing by Walgreens and pick up a set of readers from the spinny rack next to the pharmacy counter.

“Great idea,” I said sarcastically. “How about I pick up a couple of dangly neck straps, too, so I can look just like my 8th grade math teacher.”

A pair of readers hung around her neck on a bejeweled strap while she wore a pair of distance glasses. Each time she turned back to the chalkboard to write something, she’d switch between them. When she turned back to the room, she switched again. Just like her, I’m sure I’ll be switching back and forth between sets all day, so like her I’ll need not one but two dangly glasses straps. And just like 14-year-old me thought my math teacher looked ridiculous with her two pairs of glasses, I’m sure my 14-year-old students will think I look utterly ridiculous, too. What goes around, comes around.

Actually, there’s an oddly comforting symmetry to this year’s milestone moment. A cycle of some kind is completing itself. It feels karmic and proper, if inconvenient. I’m getting old. My eyesight is failing me. I can’t afford a proper pair of bifocals, so…

This is the year I get readers.

Which is good. I need them. I’ve been spending a lot of time at my computer this year, writing. And, if this year is any indication, I’ll be spending a lot more time at my computer moving forward, too. Exciting things are finally starting to happen. I’ll tell you more about them in my next post.

Thanks for stopping by, and as always, happy writing!

May 21, 2023
Boskone 2018 – A Phenomenal SFF Writers Convention
It’s the day after the 55th Annual Boskone Convention wrapped up, and I just realized I haven’t written a post for some time. To commit my thoughts and observations in the “permanent” annals of the internet, I thought I’d talk about my experience at my very first writing convention. I met and heard from some amazingly talented authors, editors, and agents in the fantasy and science fiction genre.

What Is Boskone?

No one I knew had ever heard of Boskone and, truth be told, neither had I until my Fantasy and Science Fiction professor at Lesley University told me about ReaderCon, which happens every summer in Quincy, Massachusetts. In researching that, I stumbled upon Boskone. Right there on the homepage, I saw enough to get me to register: Mary Robinette Kowal and Tamora Pierce.

Mary–the charismatic co-host of my favorite podcast, Writing Excuses, and Tamora–one of the best YA fantasy writers ever! Done. I’m there.

Then, I kept finding bonuses as I perused the long list of program participants. I kept getting more and more excited, but I really had no idea what to expect. I’ve never been to a writing convention before. Heck, I’ve never been to any kind of convention before.

In early January, they posted the schedule for the weekend, and I started picking out which panels I most wanted to go to. Odin knows, I had trouble choosing. More often than not, several fascinating panels were happening at the same time. I kept having to remind myself that this wasn’t the one and only convention I’d ever get to attend in my life. No, this was just the first (of many, I hope).

Where was Boskone?

You can click the link for their website, but I’ll tell you that, at least for this year, it took place at the Westin Boston Waterfront hotel, right next door to the Boston Convention Center. Boskone was in the hotel, though, not over in the convention center. The New England Boat Show was happening over there.

The Westin was beautiful… what I saw of it. I didn’t stay there. Living just 30 miles north, I couldn’t justify spending $200+/night for a room when I could walk and train it to and from for $15.00 a day. But, based on some of the hotel patrons I observed while sitting in the lobby wishing I was better at striking up conversations with people, I’m willing to guess their rooms were equally beautiful.

Boskone events occupied all the conference and banquet rooms in the hotel’s east (north?) wing on all three floors, which were reasonably sized and clean. I was impressed with the quality of the mic systems the hotel provided for the event. The shrink wrapped carpets in the Galleria (in and around where snacks were put out each evening) amused me.

The Social Scene

To all you people who go to conferences more often than I do, or who are perhaps published authors who attend conventions as participants: how do you talk to each other?! I’m not referring to asking questions during panel discussions. That’s easy because that’s a venue with limits and expectations and rules for conduct, etc. I’m talking about striking up casual social conversations that might allow me to actually meet other established or aspiring authors.

I spent most of my time between panel discussions watching groups of people mingle and chat and laugh with each other. I saw so many authors in the halls with whom I desperately wanted to strike up a conversation, but all I could do was smile and manage to whimper out a feeble “hello.” How do you all do it?! I’m in awe and completely jealous of folks with, you know, social skills.

Is there some secret handshake I don’t know about? Do the folks who attend conventions all know each other from elsewhere? Same for the authors; do they all know each other already?

Friday evening, there was an art show and refreshments opening event that I went to. My beloved went with me for moral support and to see the art. At one point, we were standing up on an elevated level that looked down on the rest of the floor, packed with people. And everywhere I looked, people were sitting together at tables or standing in clusters with authors mixed in. All happy, all chatting. I felt very much like an outsider, but I just couldn’t must the courage to march up to a bunch of people I didn’t know and start talking.

I randomly struck up a conversation with K. Stoddard Hayes while looking at beautiful art, but she was alone and we were admiring the same painting simultaneously. She was so nice, by the way! My claim to fame is now that I lent K. Stoddard Hayes a pen so she could bid on a painting at Boskone. Great as that was, I can’t hope for that kind of happy random encounter over and over again!

Event Highlights for Me

Okay, I’ll start with the two people who initially drew me to the convention: Mary Robinette Kowal and Tamora Pierce. I did get Mary Robinette Kowal to sign my copy of Ghost Talkers (fantastic book), and struggled to form coherent words and sentences while talking to her at the autograph table. Hope I didn’t come off as too much of a bumbling weirdo.

I also got to listen to Mary’s Guest of Honor interview (she was interviewed by an Astronaut, by the way. I’m not kidding!). She is articulate and well-spoken (shocker since she’s an audiobook narrator as well as author and professional puppeteer) and charismatic and genuine. She even broke out one of her puppets during the interview! Her parting thoughts at the end will stay with me for a long time. “Don’t be ashamed of your voice.”

I was not able to get my copy of Tempest and Slaughter signed by Tamora Pierce, sadly. The line was ridiculously long and I naïvely thought that if I just slipped out of the “Ensemble Casts and Continuing Characters” discussion panel at 4:40, I’d have 20 minutes to get down to her autographing session and get my book signed. Pshaw right!

Ah, well, as I kept reminding myself and will continue to remind myself, this was just the first writing convention I’ve been to, not the only one I’ll ever go to. At least I got to hear her talk about her thoughts regarding sex in YA fiction. Her thoughts (and I’m paraphrasing): what’s the big deal? It happens. She was smart and funny!

The art, people. Thor Almighty the art! Absolutely fantastic. Jaw-droppingly good stuff. I didn’t take pictures, because I feel a bit dodgy about posting photos of someone else’s art online without getting explicit permission, and most of the artists weren’t around during the multiple times I ambled through the galleries. You’ll just have to take my word for it. The art was amazing.

The panels were incredible, too, and I wish I could have gone to them all, but alas, I haven’t yet managed to steal the Time Turner. Anyway, here are some of the great takeaways that I jotted into my notebook during various panels:

“The teen libedo longs to escape and run free. That’s just a biological reality.” – Darleen Marshall during the It’s Not Always About Sex panel.

During the Sex and Romance in YA Fiction panel, Barry Goldblatt said there’s a strange hierarchy of what kind of sex on the page is okay and what isn’t. Rape? Fine. Masturbation? Deal breaker. I find that utterly bizarre! What does that say about our culture in America that we’re okay letting teens read about sex that’s violent and painful and damaging but not a sexual act that is safe and pleasurable and private?

“If you want your secondary characters to be memorable, you have to give readers something to remember!” – Kenneth Schneyer during the Ensemble Casts and Continuing Characters panel.

“All the members of an ensemble think they’re the protagonist and they all get time on the stage to show their story.” – E.C. Ambrose during the Ensemble Casts and Continuing Characters panel.

During the Governmental Structures in SFF panel, Nik Korpon pointed out that SFF authors tend to gravitate toward totalitarian/dictatorial/monarchist systems of government because they’re easy to write, and I understood what he meant, but then Susan Jane Bigelow pointed out that in reality, those structures are inherently fragile and difficult to maintain and so the systems created by those in power to hold onto their power are actually incredibly complex. All the panelists agreed and agreed that authors rarely address much beyond the big, bad overlord villain and his closest henchmen.

“Agents want to see what’s there ‘in the rough’ for a manuscript. They want to see what you produced, not what you and a professional editor produced.” – Richard Shealy during the What Good is an Agent panel.

“My agent works for an agency that gets 40,000 queries each year. So, don’t get discouraged if you don’t land an agent in the first 10, 20, 100 queries.” – Hillary Monahan during the What Good is an Agent panel.

During the Forgotten Topics in YA panel, the panelists all listed off topics that they didn’t see being addressed in YA fiction but needed to be: non-romantic formative relationships, interracial couples, and voices of the impoverishes/severely disenfranchised.

“The Ultimate theme of all YA stories is Person versus Self (coming of age stories).” – Carlos Hernandez during the Forgotten Topics in YA panel.

“Each book needs to be a story in its own right, with its own compelling arc, but each book also needs to fit into the multi-book arc of the series.” – Marshall Ryan Maresca during the Ending a Series panel.

Those were just a few of the many gems that caught my attention.

I’m not sad it’s over. I’m happy it happened.

Sure, but I’m still a little sad it’s over because while I heard from and (in very rare circumstances) spoke to and connected via twitter with a bunch of interesting and talented people at Boskone this past weekend, there were many more with whom I didn’t.

I’ve already go my sights set on ReaderCon in July of this summer.

Here are all the folks who struck me as particularly cool people, which is not to say that all the other participating authors/agents/editors/etc aren’t also cool people; I just didn’t get a chance to experience them this time around.
Final Thoughts

I am so happy that I decided to push myself outside my comfort zone and attend a writing convention. I’m even more happy that my first experience with a writing convention was Boskone.

If you get a chance, you should get to Boskone56 next year. You won’t be disappointed. It’s the longest running fantasy and science fiction convention in New England and worth traveling to experience. Maybe I’ll see you there!

Did you attend Boskone55? If so, what was a highlight moment for you?
February 19, 2018
Great Gift Ideas for Writers

As if I haven’t already read about 50 blog posts on this very topic, here I am throwing up a blog post about great gift ideas for writers. Why? Because it is after Christmas, and now the pressure is off and the sales begin.

If people I know are anything like me, they flew out the door on the 24th for a frenzied, unpleasant, angst-ridden gift-buying binge and hated every moment of it. (Oddly, I got all my shopping done this year with a full week to spare. Who am I?!) The last thing most people I know are going to want to do is to head back out and “hit the sales.” I know that thinking about doing that sort of thing makes me start to sweat and not in a good way. However, it’s the season to be thinking about gifts and buying stuff, so while it’s fresh in my forebrain, why not use this blog post to generate a list that I can direct people back to later on in the year at other appropriate gift-giving moments?

Do remember that “great” is a relative term here. This is MY list of gifts that, as a writer, I would love to get any time of the year on any occasion for any reason! The list is not arranged in order of preference either. I’m creating it as things come to me.

Quick disclaimer: I am not sponsored by or getting paid by anyone for recommending or for using any of the products I put on this list. These are entirely my own thoughts and ideas.

1) Fountain Pens (for old-school writers)

The Pilots are the four on the left of this picture.

You had to have seen that coming. I continue my obsession with fountain pens. Most writers like quality writing implements, but not nearly enough of us own a fountain pen. I own many, and I write with them all the time. I’m also not rich or really anywhere even close to that descriptor, so I can’t recommend an expensive pen, although I’m hoping to treat myself to a gorgeous retractable fountain pen as a grad school graduation gift this summer.

Anyway, I recommend the Pilot Metropolitan fountain pen as a gift for the writer in your life. These pens have metal casings and a nice weight in the hand. The caps post well. They come in a variety of attractive covers. The disposable ink cartridges are inexpensive and easy to find, and if you’re cheap like me or are equally nerdy about inks like me, the disposable cartridges can be rinsed out and then refilled with other inks using either a plastic pipette or a glass eye dropper.

2) Notebooks (for all writers)

I find a certain pure joy in the sight of a crisp, blank notebook.

This is another obvious choice for a writer friend. I caved and bought myself two new (super cheap) notebooks for myself at Five-Below this year, because I have a teensy obsession with notebooks (see previous post here). I also found a few with pre-generated writing prompts. I got several identical copies of these and am going to be giving them to members of my long-distance writing group. The idea is that we can partake in a story-swap. I’m envisioning it a little like a book club, where once a month we all take the first prompt in our notebooks and write a piece of flash fiction off of it, then send it to each other. It’ll keep us all writing, keep our creativity-muscles in good shape, and keep us connected. Win-win-win, and whatnot.

3) Faux Old-Fashioned Typewriter Keyboard (for whimsical writers)

Come on! A wireless, digital keyboard for a tablet that pays homage to its own humble beginnings?! Fabulous.

Part of me knows this is sort of a stupid gift, but that doesn’t change the fact that I grin like an idiot every time I look at this adorable if impractical device. My dad owned an ancient, high-backed Underwood typewriter when I was a kid. He showed me how to use it and then left me to play school, and secretary (sad, I know), and then to start typing stories on that old machine. Therefore, this high-tech-low-tech gift pushed my nostalgia button hard. In practice, it would probably end up annoying the heck out of me due to how small the keyboard is, and it doesn’t look all that easy to transport without snagging the keys and popping them off on stuff. But, seriously, just look at it! Isn’t it cute?

4) Gift Card to a Hip, Local, Coffee Shop (for… hip writers?)

Odin, hear my prayer, please no more gift cards to Dunkin Donuts or Starbucks or Panera Bread. Okay, Panera Bread, maybe, but not the other two. Ask your writer friend where they like to go to write and, assuming their answer is a coffee shop of some kind, hit up that spot and get them a gift card for MORE THAN ten dollars. Come on people; make it worth it, please.

4) Books (for humans)

Duh! This is the absolute no-brainer. And, by the way, books are just about the best gift idea for anyone, anywhere, at any time, for any occasion. Giving someone a great book kills so many birds with a single stone. Reading will improve the receiver’s brain, give them an awesome extended experience, and give them something great to talk about to other people. Books as gifts support the creative person or persons who wrote the book, designed the cover, etc. Also, buying books sends a message to the marketplace that books are a product worth creating, and maybe that will have a trickle-down effect for all of us. Maybe? That last bit could be a naive thought on my part.

Now, please, don’t just take a shot in the dark. And don’t buy them a book that YOU would like to read and so you figure they would, too. Take the time to find out what books they want. If they have a Goodreads account, check out their “Want to Read” list. If that isn’t a possibility, how about you just flat out ask them? You might be thinking, “But then they’ll know what I’m getting them for a present,” allow me to speak on their behalf for a moment: They don’t care. They will love the gift even if it’s not a total surprise because it’s something they WANT.

5) A Contigo® Travel Mug (for environmentally conscious writers)

This ties back to the gift card to your writer friend’s favorite haunt. Give your writer a way to nourish their caffeine habit in an environmentally friendly way.

Specifically, I adore Contingo® travel mugs.

This is the model I have, but in green.

Testimonial – This past year I made myself a cup of tea to sip out of my Contigo® mug on my drive to work at 7:00 am. It was scalding hot, so I set it in a console cup holder to cool and completely (I mean completely) forgot about it. That afternoon, at 4:45 pm, I rediscovered it when I got into my car to go home. The tea in the travel mug had cooled just enough so that I could sip it without burning myself. Now that is an impressive mug!

I learned a lesson that day, too. I now make my tea, then add four ice cubes as I’m heading out the door so that I can enjoy my hot beverage on my actual drive.

6) A Coffee Bean Grinder (for coffee drinking writers)

If writer friend likes coffee, this is a great gift idea. Freshly ground beans make for significantly better tasting coffee than preground beans do. Also, it opens up the possibility of them trying out (or being gifted) unique gourmet bean blends. I own both a hand grinder and an electric grinder. Confession, I use the electric one more than I use the manual one, but only because it’s quicker and more convenient. The manual grinder does a better job of grinding the beans evenly.

Regardless, whenever I find myself in the rare and luxurious position of being alone in my home with a few hours of isolation available in which I can read or write, one of the first things I do is brew up a rich, quality cup of high-end coffee.

7) Noise Canceling Headphones (for writers with children)

Bose makes a $300 pair; I saw them in the Apple store and just about choked at the price. But you know what? I tried them on and, by Freya, those suckers were incredible!

Just look at her, being all productive and creative with her noise-canceling headphones on!

As a writer who struggles to close out the world when I’m writing, this gift would be fantastic! There is literally a hole in the wall above my writing desk through which the dulcet tones of my playing/bickering/crying/screaming children echo to me as I attempt to immerse myself in another world. Noise canceling headphones would be a much-appreciated gift. But beware, not all “noise canceling” headphones do a good job of actually canceling out noise. If you’re going to commit to this gift idea, pay for ones that work!

8) Magazine Subscriptions (for writers of short fiction)

In what genre does your friend write? You should know this, but if you don’t, find out. Also, ask your aspirational writing friend, “In which magazines do you dream of getting published?” The pinnacle, prestige publications. Buy them a subscription to any and all of them.

The first step toward them achieving their dream is to read from those magazines often. However, yearly subscriptions can be pricey. I have a bucket list of amazing magazines in which I dream of one-day publishing, and I’d be delighted if someone bought me not just an issue but a whole year’s subscription of any of them. That would be incredible.

9) A Wicked Good Bag (for on-the-go writers)

Aren’t they sleek and lovely?

I have owned both backpacks and messenger bags. I personally prefer messenger bags. Not sure why. Just do.

My current bag came from Barnes and Noble. A pretty good bag considering the price, and I’ve loved owning it for three years now. It’s just… starting to look its age, I guess. The heavily stained, frayed-at-the-edges canvas exterior has lost some of its attractiveness. It’s still quite functional, though. I would be so hesitant to spend money on a new one. I mean, who cares if it’s starting to look like something I found half-buried beside an abandoned set of train tracks, right?

This bag just begs for adventure!

Anyway, a woman who coaches in the same Science League that I coach in was sporting just about the best bag I have ever seen in my entire life. It’s by a company called Peak Design

Pause: Leather satchels that look like they’re meant to be perched across the back of some gorgeous adventuring archaeologist are my ultimate fantasy bags. My fantasy bags would not hold up to real life practicalities, however. The Peak Designs bag would, though, and you have to admit that they are also gorgeous in a completely different way than the Indiana Jones bags.

10) A Writer’s Retreat or Convention (for all writers)

“The Writers’ Retreat” by Grant Snider, an illustrator and cartoonist who draws the online strip “Incidental Comics.”

The gift of a retreat would be a huge gift, a truly grand gesture. It would be (in my opinion) the penultimate gift you could ever possibly give to a writer. It’s like buying someone a cruise. Heck, I know of several writers retreats that ARE cruises. So… just sayin’.

What’s great is that there are retreats suited for all types of writers. What’s sad is that while most of us will yearn and pine and dream of attending a writers retreat, most of us will never follow through and go.  There are logistical issues to attending a retreat. Circumstances must be taken into account. Childcare? Time off from work? Travel considerations? Before offering up this diamond ring of a gift to the writer in your life, make sure it’s something they both really want to do and could logistically do. If you’re not sure about how to “shop” for the perfect retreat, check out this excellent post: Making the Most of Your Writing Retreat by Janalyn Voigt over at LiveWriteBreathe.

If my beloved surprised me with a week-long writer’s retreat, I would probably get as excited as the day I… well, never you mind. Let’s just say I’d get very, very excited.

So there you go. A few ideas of fantastic gifts you could get that special writer in your life and have it be very genuinely appreciated.

Your Turn:

Think long and hard. What would you love to get as a gift in the context of you being a writer? Share in the comments. Ideas are more than welcome.

Happy writing to you!

December 25, 2017
Rapid Fire Book Tag

I saw this book tag on K.L.M. Moore’s site and thought it was pretty cool, so here goes:

1. Ebook or physical books?

Physical book. I do own a Kindle paper white, and I have quite a few ebooks loaded onto it, but my brain does a much better job processing, synthesizing, and remembering information when I read from a physical book than a digital screen.

2. Paperback or hardback?

Day-to-day reading would be paperback. However, if I love a book, like really love a book, I’ll seek out and purchase a hardcover edition. For example, I own not one but three copies of the Hobbit and LOTR, and one of my sets is a gorgeous illustrated hardcover edition. Same with Cressida Cowell’s How to Train Your Dragon series. My children and I have all read that series multiple times over.

3. Online or in-store book shopping?

There is something magical about a bookstore for me. I get a little giddy when I enter one, so I prefer in-store shopping. More specifically, I try to get my books through a small, local, independent bookseller.

4. Trilogies or series?

Hmmm… this is a tough one. I do love a good series, but not because it’s a series. The characters must be awesome and the world has to be awesome. I think I might actually prefer stand alone books the most.

5. Heroes or villains?

Villains, all the way. No question. Antiheroes, too. Not that a hero can’t be great. (I love you, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III).

6. A book you want everyone to read?

A Darker Shade of Magic by Victoria Schwab. Just go read it. You’ll understand why.

7. Recommend an underrated book?

Wonderbook by Jeff VanderMeer. One of the most amazing craft books I’ve encountered. Even if your preferred genres aren’t fantasy or science fiction, this book is worth a look-see.

8. The last book you finished?

The Last Star by Rick Yancey. This is a bit of a fib. I’m aiming to finish it up tonight. I’ve got about 30 pages left to go.

9. The last book you bought?

In print: The Scar (Bas-Lag) by China Miéville. Audiobook: How to Train Your Dragon, Book 11 (David Tennant narrates these books. Enough said.)

10. Weirdest thing you’ve ever used as a bookmark?

A parking ticket.

11. Used books: yes or no?

Gods, yes! I live for the Salem book swap!!

12. Three favourite genres?

Young Adult (though I struggle with calling it a full-on genre), Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror.

13. Borrow or buy?

Both! My house isn’t large enough to hold all the books I’d love to own. I’m a true-blue bibliophile. My dream home contains a library that would rival Alexandria’s. But, given space constraints, I’m a regular patron of my local library.

14. Characters or plot?

Honestly, both. I’ll admit that I enjoyed Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code despite the paper-thin characters. I also liked Matthew Pearl’s The Dante Club.  That said, if I had to pick one over the other, it would be characters. I fell in love with Stephen King’s work for his characters, not his plots. I’ll stick with fascinating characters through a mediocre plot. To stay with mediocre characters, the plot has to be highly entertaining, and that doesn’t happen all that often for me.

15. Long or short books?

Short. I’m a very slow reader.

16. Long or short chapters?

I honestly don’t think I have a preference, as long as the chapter lengths are working for the story I’m reading.

17. Name the first 3 books you think of.

This question should have come earlier in this list. I’ve biased my response by listing all those others above.

18. Books that made you laugh or cry?

Bridge to Terabithia was the first book that made me sob. I cry every time Gandalf falls to the Balrog. I laugh my way through The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy every time I read it.

19. Our world or fictional worlds?

I’m not yet convinced there’s a difference. Currently, however, fictional worlds.

20. Audiobooks; yes or no?

Is this even a question? Yes!

21. Do you ever judge a book by it’s cover?

All the time. Sorry.

22. Book to movie or TV adaptations?

With a few notable exceptions, please, no.

23. Movie/TV show you preferred to its book?

*snorts derisively* Yeah, right.

24. Series or stand-alones?

Stand-alones, though that doesn’t mean I don’t read series, too.

Well, now you know a bit more about me. Your turn!

November 9, 2017
You Know You’re a Writer When…

Whenever someone asks me what I do for a living, I always balk at the idea of saying, “I’m a writer.”

The reason is that I don’t make a living by my writing. I aspire to, of course, but if we’re basing things on paychecks, and most people do, then I’m a teacher. However, were I to die mysteriously, and the cops came to my home to investigate, the lead detective would undoubtedly proclaim, “Well, she was a writer.”

Now, isn’t that a heartening thought?

This morbid notion popped into my head yesterday as I was avoiding work by tidying up my writing nook. So, how would said detective figure out my secret identity of “Writer?” as she searched my home?

#1: Writers Tend to Collect Notebooks

Let’s start with my stack of five beautiful notebooks, most still empty, that I’ve collected over the course of this past year. Don’t roll your eyes at me. Five is a fantastic example of self-restraint, people! I could easily have bought so many more.

Haven’t you ever caught sight of a notebook, sighed as you picked it up, caressed its cover and flipped through the blank pages, tracing your fingers down the perfect lines printed therein to feel the grain of the paper? No? Huh. Weird.

What is it about notebooks that I find so irresistible?

Maybe it’s the potential of an empty notebook that attracts me. So many pages to be filled. So much potential fun to be had in the process of filling said pages. Obviously, I write on a computer (ahem), but whenever I’m feeling blue or restless or romantic or nostalgic or anxious, I turn to the comfort that comes with grabbing a beloved writing implement and making marks on paper in a notebook. Every morning, I journal three pages of whatever dribbles out of my brain before my day gets going. (That’s a tiny lie. I grind the beans and ready the french press and pour myself a mug of coffee first). It’s wonderful, and for my morning pages I have a favorite fountain pen dedicated to that activity and no other.

That brings me to the second piece of evidence that the detective would use to identify me post-mortem as a Writer: my collection of fountain pens.

#2: Writers Tend to Collect Pens

I doubt there’s a writer alive who doesn’t understand my love affair with notebooks. I mean, I can’t go into a store and not wander until I find the office supply aisle so I can check to make sure they don’t have a fabulous notebook that must be rescued and taken home. And if it’s an office supply store? Forget about it.

But not everyone knows the secret joys of a good fountain pen. I’ve written before of my pen obsession in my post about Scrivener. The pen affair started with me watching the Quentin Tarantino film Inglorious Bastards.

Uh… you fell in love with fountain pens watching a movie about killing Nazis?

You bet I did! Early on in the film, there is a quiet and yet hyper-intense interrogation scene in which Christoph Waltz’s character pulls out a 1940’s era fountain pen, disassembles it, inks it carefully, reassembles it, and begins to record information. The scene wasn’t even over before I thought to myself, “I have GOT to get a fountain pen!”

So, I did. After a bit of online research (unsurprisingly, there is a thriving online community of people even more obsessed with fountain pens than I am), I settled on a Pilot Metropolitan in a respectable black finish.

Note that my gold pen is NOT there. The gold pen is private.

That’s not the pen I journal with, though.

See, I loved that first fountain pen so much that I bought another one with a silver finish to match it. Then I bought one with a gold finish. That third pen turned out to be my favorite, and it’s the one I journal with every morning. Then I bought… more fountain pens.

I’m up to nine now. When I finish my master’s program in creative writing at Lesley University this summer, I plan on treating myself to a gorgeous retractable fountain pen that I tested out at the Bromfield Pen Shop in Boston. It’s a little pricier than my $20 Metropolitans, but it’s SO going to be worth it.

The thing about fountain pens is this, though. They require the proper paper to be truly enjoyed.

#3: Writers (sometimes) Know Way Too Much About Paper

You can’t just grab any old notebook and write in it with a fountain pen. The moment you try, and I’m speaking from direct personal experience here, you will discover (perhaps for the first time) that not all paper is the same. In fact, most paper in most notebooks is crap. The second you touch even an extra fine fountain pen nib to a sheaf of paper, the quality of that paper will be revealed by how much bleeding and feathering of ink you get. Bond weight is a thing I now ask (hapless) salespeople about, as is paper finish and fiber blend.

And what I now know is this: there is NO relationship between the price of a notebook and the quality of the paper within.

Moleskin? Bleck. Those lovely leather bound tomes of blank pages adorning the shelves at Barnes and Noble? Ugh. You’d better choose a subpar writing implement if you’re going to use those babies to record your deep thoughts or your next best seller. The 25 cent, one subject, spiral bound Staples brand notebooks? Glorious. The paper handles a fountain pen like a dream.

Which is why, when madam detective moves from my writing desk adorned with my stack of lovely notebooks and my somewhat ridiculous collection of fountain pens (and inks. So many inks, but I won’t go there), to open the office closet, she will stand and gape at the stack of almost forty 1-subject Staples brand notebooks that I’ve hoarded there. Hey, you never know when Staples stops making those bad boys or changes the paper they use in them.

In conclusion, I pay the bills by teaching, and so I’m prone to telling people that I’m a “Teacher.” In my heart (and my psyche), however, I am a Writer and I’ve left plenty of evidence to prove it.

Do you have a favorite pen that you love? Are you a sucker for a blank notebook with a pretty cover? Come one, I know I’m not the only one with this affliction.

October 1, 2017
Chuang-Tzu, Things with Wings, and the Writer’s Life

At some point between 369 BCE and 286 BCE, western philosopher Zhuangzi (Chuang-tzu) wrote what is commonly known as The Butterfly Dream Parable. Here’s an excerpt:

“Once upon a time, I, Zhuangzi, dreamt I was a butterfly, fluttering hither and thither, to all intents and purposes a butterfly. I was conscious only of my happiness as a butterfly, unaware that I was Zhuangzi. Soon I awakened, and there I was, veritably myself again. Now I do not know whether I was then a man dreaming I was a butterfly, or whether I am now a butterfly, dreaming I am a man.”

The butterfly parable popped into my head today as I stood at my kitchen sink, gazing out at my back yard with unseeing eyes. This morning’s writing session was a darned good one. I’d written just over 1,200 new words and wrapped up a lengthy scene in one of my two current WIPs.

For weeks, I’ve been banging my head against this particular project. The first third of the story had its own set of wings. I mean, the story just flew out of my brain. It was great. Then… it stopped being great. I hit the dreaded “middle” of the plot, and mental quicksand sucked me down. What was the point? Where was it going? Ugh.

So, for weeks I ruminated and whined and avoided trying to write anything. The one scene I did write was absolute trash. I’m convinced it won’t survive the second draft. Frustrating? Oh, you bet.

Then, someone posted something on Facebook about Mary Carroll Moor and the idea of writing “islands.” The general idea is to abandon the process of writing a story chronologically from scene to scene when you run up on writer’s block. That’s the moment, this person said, that one might benefit from writing whatever scene happens to bubble up into your mind without worrying about where it would fit into the story, or even whether it will end up being part of the finished product. It’s a form of discovery writing, I guess. Since I discovery-wrote that first smoking hot third of my WIP, I figured I’d give the island writing thing a try.

A few night’s ago, a flashbulb scene popped brightly into my brain, of my characters attempting a hairy river-crossing. The scene in my head was only a few seconds long, but it was incredibly vivid. For the past three days, I’ve been writing that scene. Today, it sprouted wings, caught an updraft, and took off. I disappeared into that scene completely.

When I returned to myself near midday, I felt a little hazy, like I was in that half-awake-half-asleep place. Which brings me to my moment at the kitchen sink and Chuang-tzu’s butterfly parable.

As I stared out into my back yard, it occurred to me that I have spent very little time in the outside world this summer. Sure, there have been a few days when I’ve set up camp at the teakwood table in the shade of our massive maple tree. Even then, though, I was elsewhere. I was inside my writing, my other world.

It can be easy for writers to disengage from the real world, to forget about it as they immerse themselves in their self-generated fictional worlds. On the one hand, it’s a wonderful feeling when the writing comes alive so vividly that you don’t want to leave it. On the other hand, my doctor informed me at my July physical that I have a vitamin-D deficiency.

My back yard is gorgeous. We’ve had a good amount of rain this summer, so the lawn has stayed green, and all of our flowers and fruit trees are lush and vibrant… and I’ve barely noticed any of it. Maybe I should take a moment to wake from my fictional world and spend some time in my non-fictional world.

So, I spent a bit of time outside today, and I took some pictures of all the beautiful things I’ve been missing. Here they are.

Have you had the experience of vanishing into your writing? Do you ever struggle to come back from that place? How do you balance your two worlds as a writer?

August 15, 2017
Life: It Happens to the Best of Us

It’s been my experience that a creative person’s goals–fragile, beautiful little things that they are–frequently crash headlong into the mercurial realities of life.

This morning, as I sit at my kitchen table to do my morning pages, I can’t help but catch sight of the wall calendar opposite me and notice that August 28th is a mere sixteen days away. Time appears to have sprung a leak this summer. Just a moment ago, it was June 16th, and I was attending the end-of-year faculty party.

Ah, summer vacation. The kids would be in camp all day. Hubby would be hard at work with his stuff down in his studio. I’d have two

A visual representation of my mental image of summer in all its leisurely, creativity-inspiring glory.

months crank out as much work for my graduate studies as possible. Heck, I might be able to knock off every third-semester assignment before the end of August when I had to return to my full-time job of teaching science to high-schoolers. The future looked bright.

Now, I have less than three weeks before I’m back in the classroom and my creative endeavors become relegated to a dimly lit, neglected corner of existence. What the heck?!

Scottish poet Robert Burns wrote in 1785, “The best laid schemes of Mice and Men go oft awry.” Isn’t that the truth?

Now, sitting here, faced with irrefutable evidence that yet another blissful summer of writing has snuck by me, shielded by the dust kicked up by the mocking chaos of reality, a couple of thoughts spring to mind.

First, I spend perhaps a bit too much time cursing J. K. Rowling for thinking up that damnable Time Turner from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Why, J. K.? Why did you have to tease me with that thing? I’ve never been good at math, but even if I were a genius with numbers I still wouldn’t be able to count all the times I’ve wished for things that don’t exist: the ability to fly, a non-evil and therefore helpful clone, a sable-coated prehensile tail… and now, I can add a time turner to that list. Garr!!

Additionally, I find myself thinking yet again of the first episode from the 1980’s reboot of the Twilight Zone. In “A Little Piece and Quiet” (directed by Wes Craven), a housewife with way too much stuff in her life and no time for herself digs up a necklace/amulet in her flower bed that gives her the power to stop time completely. It’s fantastic until nuclear war breaks out, and then it’s not fantastic anymore.

There she is, realizing that her fabulous discovery has just ruined her life.

Hey, it’s the Twilight Zone. Nothing ever ends well in the Twilight Zone. That’s what I loved about it and still do. The thing is, I first saw that episode as a rerun when I was fifteen or sixteen. That was… a very long time ago, yet it’s still with me. A magical necklace that can stop time! Not unlike that half-alien chick from the TV show of the same era, “Out of This World” (which, in stark contrast to the Twilight Zone, was terrible) who could stop time by touching her fingers together. The time-stopping amulet was way better because of its mysterious and potentially sinister origins.

Anyway, I think about Hermione’s time turner and that doomed housewife’s time-stopping amulet all the time. If only…

Well, I’ve finished nursing my cup of coffee. The tea kettle just whistled to let me know the water’s hot and ready for my post-coffee cup of Constant Comment. The kids are awake and ravenously ready for breakfast. And the home-repair project that ate up my entire day yesterday sits waiting to be finished. If I’m to be honest with myself, this day is probably already spent, and I shouldn’t get my hopes up regarding being able to sneak in any creative writing. That said, you never know what might happen. I could be picking roofing nails out of the lawn and stumble across the uncovered corner of an ancient rune-encrusted box containing a mysterious golden amulet. Hey, a girl can dream, can’t she.

What do you dream about in the harried moments when life devours your creative goals and spits out their shattered little bones at your feet?

August 12, 2017
Coincidence and Coffee

I had an interesting day yesterday. After going way too long without visiting a dentist (and I do mean WAY too long), I finally found a great place and got the whole family in for a cleaning and general check-up. My new dentist made my day when he informed me that I had no new cavities, something of a miracle in my mind. I had, unfortunately, lost a filling at some point and that needed replacing.

After dropping the kiddos off at camp, I needed to find a place to park myself for a couple of hours until my late morning appointment with the drill (and laser–turns out dentists are “drilling” teeth with lasers now). That’s how I found myself in a delightful little coffee shop in Ipswich, Massachusetts. I’d never been before, but it was close to my dentist’s office so I decided to give it a try.

About an hour into my stay (thank you, coffee shop people for letting me hang out in your fantabulous establishment after purchasing a single regular coffee), I got up to buy a refill. Guilt had nothing to do with it; I drink far too much coffee, that’s all. As I approached the counter, the current customer turned around to leave and, low and behold, it was a former student of mine whom I hadn’t seen since she graduated twelve years ago. (I’ll keep her anonymous by calling her Jane.) Jane is on my short list of students who left a big impression on me, big enough so that I’ve thought about her on more than one occasion over the years.

So, BAM! There’s Jane, and we’re both looking pretty stunned to see each other. Her, because she was home visiting family; she lives out in the western part of the country these days. The night before, she’d stumbled across a bunch of old science papers and lab reports she’d done for me as a sophomore, tucked away in a box in her mom’s attic. For my part, I was stunned because I had never before set foot inside Zumi’s until that day, and to have picked the one day she was in town to give that coffee shop a try left me a bit flabbergasted. The coincidence of it all was remarkable.

We did the speed-dating version of catching up with each other. She was good. I was good. I’m still teaching at her old high school. She’s director of education out west. I have kids. She doesn’t. we didn’t chat for long. Both of us needed to get back to our now completely separate and busy lives, but it was a marvelous surprise to see her again.

Sometimes, life throws unexpected but delightful moments like that our way. This was one of those, so let me take this moment to say Thank You to the Universe. I try to keep myself open to the world and take whatever it gives me. Yesterday, it gave me a new scene in my current WIP and a bit of nostalgia.

Have you ever experienced an uncanny coincidence? Was it positive or negative? What did you take away from it?

July 27, 2017
Who am I and what’s this blog all about?

Hello world! Here is my very first post for this project. Yes, I’m calling my blog a project. Deal.

Let’s start with the second question. What’s the point of this blog? Ugh, you may be thinking. Yet another author’s blog, another blog about writing. Sort of, I guess. It’s definitely not an author’s blog, not yet anyway. Maybe that will become a part of it one day, if I am so lucky as to get something published. And this blog isn’t specifically about writing, though as a writer that is my primary lens.

You won’t be finding a bunch of sanctimonious writing tips, or click-baity crap about “secrets to writing great [x]” or “ten mistakes that will get your book turned down” or anything else like that. What the heck do I know about that stuff? I’m in no position to be giving tips to anyone, about anything. You might as well ask the pigeon to drive the bus. Besides, there are a gazillion websites and blogs and author’s pages out there that already give you that stuff. This is one I find particularly entertaining (though the language is definitely NOT kid friendly).

This blog is about creativity, about being a creative person. The up’s, the down’s, the genuine difficulties of trying to be a creative individual living in a consumption-focused world.

And, you should know that this blog is mostly for me. If that sounds selfish, too bad. It is selfish. Last summer, I started up a masters program at Lesley University in creative writing. My focus is on writing for young people, because I have kids and they are my target readers (now and in the future). I love them. They’re great. They drive me nuts.

After sixteen years of teaching high school science and writing fictional stories in my spare time as a hobby that I loved very much, I decided to jump the shark in my life and try to pursue creative writing more intentionally. I’m a novice writer, just like every writer is at the outset of their* writing career.

I’m jammed full of ambition and excitement and enthusiasm and ideas and nerves and anxieties and doubts and frustrations; I’m a hot mess. It’s great. It’s terrible. I’m sure it’s a familiar state of existence for anyone bold enough to live a creative life.

This is some scary stuff I’m trying to do right now–switch things up, climb out of my rut, do something new and different. Most of my family, friends, and colleagues don’t get it. Not really. Sure they smile to my face and nod politely. Some of them even refrain from asking backhandedly (or openly) discouraging questions. But I’m doing this anyway, and I thought it would be nifty to document this phase of my life via a blog that others might potentially stumble upon as they peruse the vast digital spaces of the internet.

Like I said, it’s tough trying to be a creative person. It can be intensely frustrating and difficult. Creativity is, on the whole, undervalued by pretty much everyone. But I identify myself as a creative person. My husband is a creative person, too. We support each other. That’s what creative people have to do. We have to support each other. So, maybe by putting my own experiences and thoughts and mental musings here, I can in some way offer support and affirmation and encouragement to other creative-minded individuals. You don’t have to be a writer. You could be a painter, a sculptor, a photographer, and woodworker, a glass blower, a potter, an oral storyteller, a teacher, a librarian, a musician, a composer. You name it; the list goes on. If you value art and the act of creation, I applaud you. Keep creating. We need you.

Now, as for that first question. Who am I? Well, you’ll have to read my blog posts to figure that out. Heck, I’m still not sure of the answer myself. For now, let’s just say that I’m a work in progress, a WIP if you will, and leave it at that.

July 26, 2017