I’ve been a little bit skittish since my agent told me she occasionally reads my blog. I’m afraid she’s going to wonder why I’m not spending more time writing. *looks left* *looks right*
I’ve been multi-tasking and trying to plan promotion activities and materials as well as get ready for my first workshop at the New England conference in two weeks. I’m waiting for the “back to school” nightmares to start because I’m already getting the lesson planning jitters.
But I do want to take a moment to say, it’s nice to have friends who have done this before. Reason #104 why I’m glad I joined RWA.
Kimberly Killion’s website has been heaven sent. I have to give her a shout out. I’d really suggest any aspiring authors or soon to be pubbed authors go there. She’s gathered so much good information. Plus she writes some pretty sexy Scottish medievals if you’re in the mood!
Also my Little Sis comes through again. I’m trying to format excerpt booklets for printing to use as handouts at NECRWA. With her background in print production, she’s been able to de-mystify all these formatting issues for me and help me lay everything out. I really owe her a scone or two, with clotted cream and everything. (Though I did make about 50 delicious crab cakes for her 30th birthday party. I’m sure it all balances out.)
And then of course there’s my CP and writing buddy Amanda Berry. I was gushing about all the promotional materials I’ve been creating and her response was a dry, “And you’ve been avoiding writing.”
But, but…It’s just been slow going, that’s all.
I did make a banner for her upcoming June debut. Time suck #310. I loved that they got the Hollywood sign and the building in back that looks so L.A.
Not a great picture, but I wanted to show the actual envelopes I’ll be giving out this year.
2010 is the Year of the Tiger. Last year, hubby and I spent New Year’s in California at Mum’s. She always reads us our horoscope or fortunes for the year. For 2009, she said I was supposed to get good news in July. Mum was hoping that would mean baby news, but I’m counting The Call and the Golden Heart win as that happy news. She’s quite disappointed.
Unfortunately, she told hubby he’d have money troubles and to watch out for health issues. Those predictions came true as well. He insists that we never go to Mum’s again for New Year’s. Or, if he does go, he won’t get his fortune read. To that, Mum sniffed and insisted this stuff is going to happen anyway. Knowing it helps you prepare.
I’m not superstitious, but I do like when good predictions come true. No fortunes this year. Just a brunch date with my cousin Kimmy and her husband who happen to be in town. I’ll get to hand out some more red envelopes. I do believe karmically that your year will be better if you are open and giving from the start. I chalk it up to psychology and personal outlook and not to cosmic forces.
Oh, and is anyone else quite delighted that Valentine’s and New Year’s are on the same day this year? Both have traditions of handing out red envelopes. What’s better than receiving valentines with money inside?
I’ve been a lot less avid about checking my website stats since my webmistress Liz took the site of StatCounter. (Thank you Liz. I might not have gotten those two manuscripts whipped into shape if it weren’t for you!)
But I still check the new SiteMeter stats once in a while to see what’s bringing people to the site. So far, the most referrals come from queries for “Jeannie Lin” or “Butterfly Swords” which, frankly, still makes me giddy every time. But the second most frequent referral comes from a link on Google images to Rhino.
I just saw the cartoon again last night and I do love the little creature. His wild, frenetic enthusiasm is unstoppable. So should I use this conincidence of events? Cross-promotion opportunity? Rhino the Kung Fu Hamster. Hi-ya!
There is definitely one part of me that is channeling Rhino right now. The part when he’s anticipating finally getting out of the trailer park to become a superhero alongside Bolt: “Let it begin! Let it begin!”
I don’t do these often. If you blink you might miss it.
I went to the bookstore last night with my critique group. Checked out the new releases section. All the male authors’ books were bigger (i.e. taller) than the books by female authors. I kid you not.
Maybe it was because most of the female authors were women’s fiction/romance? I’m not counting the larger trade paperbacks, just the mass market paperbacks.
Really, go check it out at your local bookstore and tell me if I’m off my rocker. Paperback new releases. That’s my rant.
I was discussing with hubby the other day that everyone needs to have a crappy job some time in their life and have a bucket of bolts for a first car. Why? he asked. He had plenty crappy jobs and also spent plenty of paychecks to fix his clunker so he could drive himself to said job, yet he didn’t quite agree.
For the stories, I argued.
It builds character when you have to stick your hand into one of those giant industrial dish wash-o-trons to pull out twisted silverware and broken glasses. And skills like changing flats and duct taping broken lights — these are life skills they don’t teach in school!
On a related note, I’ve been having a back and forth on LinkedIn with a former co-worker. We worked together in college in the Rieber Hall Dining Services. From his online resume, he’s a pretty successful technical guru type now. He jokingly told me he did some of his most meaningful work at Rieber. Hey, come to think of it, so did I.
Here’s the scenario: Doors close at 9:00 and you want to clean up and get out of there as fast as you can so you can either stay up all night studying for that Chemistry exam or go hang with the college buddies. You’re competing against every other team to get to check out first. There’s a limited number of mops, brooms, and carts to get the job done.
Cue Mission Impossible theme. I had every task mapped out in my head. I put people where they were best suited and planned around those liability newbies that could slow you down. I remember showdowns between myself and other TLs (team leads) as I tried to corner the right stuff to get my team out fast.
Go ahead and laugh. I’m sort of laughing now.
It’s been a long time since I’ve had to mop floors and refill ketchup bottles, but I learned something about efficiency and putting your head down and getting your hands dirty. I learned how to negotiate and collaborate and coerce. That has to somehow, somewhere, translate into leading a team of professional types in the day job today.
I also have great stories to tell. Not everyone can empathize with the difficulties of learning different system architectures or of writing fiction, but almost everyone knows what it means to have that crappy job and that crappy first car. So my final argument was that when you’re sitting in front of someone in an interview or you’re out there networking, that connection might just pay off.
But going to the top schools and rubbing elbows with Ivy Leaguers and the upper crust from the beginning would help even more, hubby argued. If you could get there by skipping all the hardship, wouldn’t that be better?
Many blogs are doing a review of the year and who am I to buck the trend? Despite what all the news channels keep on saying about everyone being glad 2009 is over because of the banking breakdown and the jobless rate and the swine flu — I still want to say 2009 was a very good year.
Not because it was the year I got an agent or sold. As much as I’d like it to be, it’s not always about me.
It was a very good year in the sense of the Frank Sinatra song: “When I was 17, it was a very good year…”
Another year is done. I’m alive and healthy (except for this cold I’m fighting). I have a decent job and a wonderful husband. My Little Sis is happily married and she has a new house and an orange-striped cat. I’ve made some very good friends and I’m living one of my lifelong dreams by getting a book published. It can’t be all that bad. In fact, I have to say it’s been pretty good. That’s what I always took from that song. When Franky looks back, they were all pretty darn good. It’s better to remember them that way.
I’m hoping when I’m 35, it will also be a very good year.
A bit material, I know, but I would be lying if I said it wasn’t all about the goodies!
I was nursing a cold which I took as license to sit around sipping tea and eating butter cookies all day in my PJs. Hubby surprised me with a couple of adorable gifts. First of all, this chickie was waiting among my gifts. Umm…we like chickens. It’s a family thing.
Second, he also gained a bunch of brownie points with a ruby-slippered cookie cutter. Now I’m on the hook for baking cookies for RWA National conference next year.
My big score would have to be a copy of Lisa See’s Peony In Love from my Little Sis. I’ve been eyeing this for a while. At first I found it to be less accessible than Snow Flower since it takes a journey into the spirit world and touches on very deeply cultural beliefs about life, death and family as well as the ties between the living and our ancestors. On top of that, the story centers around the fall of the Ming dynasty, the role of women during the upheaval, and the literary culture of that time. Let me qualify the “less accessible” comment by saying I read it in one sitting.
But I keep on thinking of the story and the power of it. Lisa See takes a 17th century text and the lives of three women who wrote it and turns it into a haunting and compelling retelling that brings the women and their work back to the light. It was overwhelming for me to discover these works — you can’t help but feel this connection between the past and the present, within the story and then beyond it in your own mind even once you’ve stopped reading.
It’s a story that’s bigger on the inside than on the outside. (I’ve been watching Dr. Who. Can you tell?) In any case, I’ll be thinking of it for a long time.
So glad to finally be home. I made a casual mention of duck before jetting off and I came home late last night to find a duck in the fridge and apples and wild rice waiting to become the dressing. (more…)
I always wondered in that proverb whether it was supposed to be good to gather moss or not? Is gathering moss akin to being well grounded, putting down roots, and becoming enriched? Or is the moss the gook and baggage you don’t want to pick up?
Well, I feel a little bit like a rolling stone. I have a trip to Norcal and then Socal. The good thing is I can visit family and friends in Los Angeles, but it takes me right up to Christmas Eve. Hubby and I even decided against a tree this year because I was going to be gone. I did buy a little potted pine because I was feeling melancholy about it. Then I came up from the office the other day to see him stringing lights around it. What a sweetheart!
So tonight, I’m packing and loading up the e-Reader for a long flight.
By this time tomorrow, I’ll be in California with Little Sis. I have plans to see Red Cliff since it’s not showing in St. Louis. Other than that, I still need to shop for Mum. I know exactly what we want to get her. Just haven’t gotten my hands on it yet!
Not a great picture, but I wanted to show the actual envelopes I’ll be giving out this year.
I’ve been a lot less avid about checking my website stats since my webmistress Liz took the site of StatCounter. (Thank you Liz. I might not have gotten those two manuscripts whipped into shape if it weren’t for you!)
I was discussing with hubby the other day that everyone needs to have a crappy job some time in their life and have a bucket of bolts for a first car. Why? he asked. He had plenty crappy jobs and also spent plenty of paychecks to fix his clunker so he could drive himself to said job, yet he didn’t quite agree.
