Friday, December 31, 2010

I've not read a Koontz book in awhile, and since I know he's a dog lover (has he written a book that didn't have a dog in it?), I figured I should read a good-scary-dog-loving-book by Koontz. I have plenty to choose from, because several years ago my husband asked me what I wanted for Christmas, and I said, "As many Koontz books as you can afford." I gave him a list of the ones I'd already read and sent him on his way. I think he and the kids gave me about 15 paperback books that year for Christmas. Nice.

He asked me the other day if I'd read them all yet (I am an avid reader, but I read a lot of different authors now, not just Koontz!). I told him I still had a few to go but that I wanted to stretch them out so I'd always have a Koontz on hand to read! ...Did I mention the kids usually get me the newest Koontz releases for birthdays and Christmas gifts still? So, I actually have a nice stash of them on hand... haha!

So, anyhow, I looked through my unread Koontz books and selected FALSE MEMORY. Now, if you've read it - don't give anything away - because I'm only on page 192. But it is AWESOME! I keep re-reading passages thinking, HOW does he do this? His metaphors blow my mind. I wish I would've marked one page so I could quote the line here, but it said something like: no one could turn more heads unless they were a coven of chiropractors. HAHA.

Here's the page I did mark to share with you:

"Dogs possessed so many admirable qualities, in fact, that Dusty sometimes wondered if God had created this world expressly for them above all other creatures. Human beings might have been put here as an afterthought, to ensure that dogs would have companions to prepare their meals, to groom them, to tell them they were cute, and to rub their bellies" (page 174).

Nice.

Are you reading a great book right now? Are you on Goodreads.com? (My favorite book review site.) Friend me if you are, and if you aren't, there's a link on the side bar to visit Goodreads - - check it out.

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Isn't Life Interesting?

Sometimes I wonder if writers find life more interesting than other people.

As a writer, I'm constantly wondering... like:
* where are those people flying to in the plane overhead, and are they looking out the window at me on the ground, or are they busy talking to the person next to them?
* if an earthquake (an-epic-movie-making-earthquake) happened in the middle of the day, where would my family meet up again? at home? at church? We'd all be coming from different directions; could we get back together?
* was it coincidence that my family decided spur of the moment to open all of our presents Christmas Eve instead of the traditional Christmas day; and then our Christmas day was consumed with the death of our awesome dog Pennie? Coincidence? Inspired?

I wonder.

Life is interesting.

Pennie the dog always told us when she and/or Sabbath (our other dog) needed to go outside. First, she'd sit and stare at me until I took notice and recognized her cue and let them out. If I was preoccupied and didn't notice her cue, she would moan at me until I did notice her. Sabbath never gave the cue. It was always Pennie.

All day, Tuesday, Sabbath came to me and sat directly in front of me. I asked him, "Outside?" and he jumped up and ran to the back door.  He'd never done that before. He has to now, because his best friend and care taker is gone.  He's also only peeing in one spot now. Before, he used to always wait for Pennie to pee, and then he would pee directly on top of her spot on the lawn.

Life is interesting.

My friend went to water aerobics Monday morning and from what I understand, her aorta separated from her heart. They were able to get her to the hospital and notify her family very quickly. Her family was able to gather and say good bye before she passed away.  I feel sad for her husband. They were best friends.

We've been letting Sabbath sleep with us since Pennie passed away, so he won't feel so lonely with out her. Or is it the other way around? So we won't feel so lonely with out her. We've slipped several times, forgetting that Pennie is gone, expecting her to come around the corner or put her head on our knee or come in from the backyard.

Life and death are both interesting, but I'd rather experience life.

Try back again tomorrow, and I will do my best to post a more cheerful commentary on the topic of writing.

In the meantime, do you think writers wonder more about the details of life than a typical person? Or do you think everyone considers the ins and outs of every possibility?

Saturday, December 25, 2010

Pennie the Dog passed away on Christmas Day

As some of you may have noticed, the posts stopped this last week. Of course, I was busy with last minute Christmas preparations, kids getting out of school, and relatives coming to visit... but I was also very preoccupied with my dog's declining health.

Sadly, she passed away on Christmas Day.

Sigh.

What else can I say? It's been a heartbreaking day for our entire family.

Saturday, December 18, 2010

Fun with Puns ... I Love Words!

So, I've been pretty busy working outside the house this week, and I haven't had as much time to dedicate to blog hopping, posting, and such; and so when I received an email from my mother-in-law this morning, I just had to post it. I love words! My personal favorite? Number 25. HA. Hope you enjoy the fun:

1. The fattest knight at King Arthur's round table was Sir Cumference. He acquired his size from too much pi.

2. I thought I saw an eye doctor on an Alaskan island, but it turned out to be an optical Aleutian .

3. She was only a whiskey maker, but he loved her still.

4. A rubber band pistol was confiscated from algebra class, because it was a weapon of math disruption.

5. No matter how much you push the envelope, it'll still be stationery.

6. A dog gave birth to puppies near the road and was cited for littering.

7. A grenade thrown into a kitchen in France would result in Linoleum Blownapart.

8. Two silk worms had a race. They ended up in a tie.

9. A hole has been found in the nudist camp wall. The police are looking into it.

10. Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.

11. Atheism is a non-prophet organization.

12. Two hats were hanging on a hat rack in the hallway. One hat said to the other: 'You stay here; I'll go on a head.'

13. I wondered why the baseball kept getting bigger. Then it hit me.

14. A sign on the lawn at a drug rehab center said: 'Keep off the Grass.'

15. The midget fortune-teller who escaped from prison was a small medium at large.

16. The soldier who survived mustard gas and pepper spray is now a seasoned veteran.

17. A backward poet writes inverse.

18. In a democracy it's your vote that counts. In feudalism it's your count that votes.

19. When the cannibals ate a missionary, they got a taste of religion.

20. If you jumped off the bridge in Paris, you'd be in Seine.

21. A vulture boards an airplane, carrying two dead raccoons. The stewardess looks at him and says, 'I'm sorry, sir, only one carrion allowed per passenger.'

22. Two fish swim into a concrete wall. One turns to the other and says 'Dam!'

23. Two Eskimos sitting in a kayak were chilly, so they lit a fire in the craft. Unsurprisingly it sank, proving once again that you can't have your kayak and heat it too.

24. Two hydrogen atoms meet. One says, 'I've lost my electron.' The other says 'Are you sure?' The first replies, 'Yes, I'm positive.'

25. Did you hear about the Buddhist who refused Novocain during a root canal? His goal: transcend dental medication.

26. There was the person who sent ten puns to friends, with the hope that at least one of the puns would make them laugh. No pun in ten did

Friday, December 17, 2010

WARNING: This post uses the word BARF several times. Read at your own risk.

The dogs love their new dog beds!

We bought new couches in October, and now the dogs never sleep in their old (but nice) doggie beds. 

 I thought I should post this picture today because I've been so worried about Pennie (the chocolate lab). We took her to the vet this afternoon (Thursday) because she hasn't eaten in about three days. We've tried everything to get her to eat... including giving her a peanut butter sandwich (which she did eat, but barfed it up later). And then, this morning, I woke up to a LAKE of barf all over the hard wood floor. It spread clear from the hallway, through the front room, and to the laundry room. Oh my.

I asked Pennie what was wrong (YES! Of course I talk to my dogs.) She hung her head and simply said she didn't feel good. I kept a close eye on her for a couple of hours, and she just became lethargic. EEK.

So, I called the vet and made an appointment.

The vet wanted to keep her and put her on IV antibiotics and run a bunch of blood tests. Well... you see... we love our dogs SO MUCH... They live in the house with us, sleep on our couches, barf on our floors... we love them. But it just so happens, our money tree is not in bloom... and the vet is expensive!

So, we went with option B: the vet said we could feed her chicken and rice, give her $40 worth of antibiotic pills, and control her water intake (only one cup at a time). He said if she doesn't improve in two days we have to bring her back for the IV and tests. We said okay and wrote him a check for $117.

Good News! Between the antibiotic and the chicken and rice (she loved it!) she is already feeling much better! She's up and about, wagging her tail, and fetching her KONG for us to play with her.

Phew. Granted, we're not out of the woods, yet; but I am so relieved to see the spark back in her eyes. She is the first dog to whom I've ever fully committed myself (my mom used to always give our pets away after a few months), and I can't imagine what it would be like to lose her. ACK. She's been a part of our family for almost six years now.

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

An Exact Replica of a Figment of My Imagination by Elizabeth McCracken

Prior to Saturday's Speech Competition, I had never heard of this book or this author. I don't read many memoirs - it's outside of my preferred genres (YA and Horror!).

After watching a very dramatic young woman present her interpretation of this book, I feel I must read it. And, not only read it, but select it as my next book club pick (hopefully my fellow book clubbers aren't reading this post - I want it to be a surprise - ha).

At first, I didn't even catch the title of the book when the young lady started her delivery - - it's too long and complicated, and then I got the feeling her dramatic presentation was going to be about a mother's miscarriage. Frankly, I thought, how can a teenager (sorry, I did it, I looked "down" at her momentarily) begin to understand such an emotional experience of a mother miscarrying a baby? But, I'll tell you what... if this young woman has never had a miscarriage, then she has some sort of ability to channel the spirit of a mother who has.

I almost did an ugly cry and choke thing right there during the presentation. Instead, I forced myself to stop breathing for a few moments while a tear rolled down the young lady's cheek. I thought if I sat frozen I could control my own emotions.

Because, remember, I was a judge and there were five other young ladies (and one of their mothers) watching my reactions.

Holy Crap. She was good. I ranked her first.

I can only hope the book is half as good as her interpretation!

Are you in a book club? What are you reading? Have you ever picked up a book because of someone else's recommendation and regretted it?

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Serious Interpretation

My sixteen-year-old son chose the "Humorous Interpretation" category to compete in for the speech competition - - so, before judging the SERIOUS Interpretation category for the first time on Saturday, I felt like I was familiar with the category.

Except I wasn't.

I had watched my son prepare his interpretation of THE CANDY SHOP WAR by Brandon Mull.

It's a fun book with fun characters, and to watch my son present it - - was FUN! (Which as I mentioned in yesterday's post, he took FIRST place in his category!) I'm a mom... bragging is sometimes required.

The idea is to select one or more scenes from the book that represent the book and then deliver it in a compelling way. Competitors are judged on their poise, quality and use of voice, physical expression and especially the ability to interpret characters correctly and consistently, using full body movement.

So, then, fast forward to the SERIOUS Interpretation category. I had six young women competing in the round I judged (there are multiple rounds with different judges).

And, interestingly enough, two of the young women in this round selected the same book for interpretation.

IMPULSE by Ellen Hopkins.

To be honest with you, I've looked at the book several times on the shelf at Borders, and each time I've decided not to purchase the book. One reason is topic (too depressing), and the other reason is style. The text looks like one long poem - written in verse.

But, to hear two very different young women present the verse verbally - it blew me away. And, now I need to read the entire book.

It was interesting, the first young woman appeared as though she had practiced her presentation a lot, but she was very nervous, and so many of the words came out monotone. She stood very still for most of her delivery, but tried to move to emphasize the moments she thought were most important. I didn't hear many of her words because they got lost in the monotony, none-the-less, she did a fine job.

I had no warning that two ladies were interpretting the same book.

When the next young woman got up and spoke the same opening words AGGRESIVELY and with physical movements, I didn't even recognize the words... until she got to the four last lines. At that point she had already reached into my chest and ripped out my heart.

I had to keep control of my facial expressions and emotions because the first competitor was watching me closely, probably comparing my reactions to the ones she received earlier from me.

But frankly, I wanted to cry. Or yell. Or pound my fist on the table and say, "Oh. My!"

Sometimes, it is all about the delivery. The spoken word can transform the meaning and the emotion behind the written word.

Here are the words that both competitors opened with from the book IMPULSE (pages 3 and 4):

Wish

you could turn off
the questions, turn
off the voices,
turn off all sound.

Yearn

to close out
the ugliness, close
out the filthiness,
close out all light.

Long

to cast away
yesterday, to cast
away memory,
cast away all jeopardy.

Pray

you could somehow stop
the uncertainty, somehow
stop the loathing,
somehow stop the pain.

Act

on your impulse,
swallow the bottle,
cut a little deeper,
put the gun to your chest.

...To hear these words uttered from the mouths of two very different young women, made me want to do something...

1. Buy the book
2. Reach out to teenagers
3. Talk with my own teenagers around the dinner table

Have you been moved by the spoken word? Do you think the spoken word can change the meaning of the written word or merely enhance it?

Come back tomorrow for the review of the competitor I awarded the first place ranking to in this category - - and the book that I now want to select for my next Book Club Book! If you love books as much as I do - be sure to friend me on goodreads.com! :)

Monday, December 13, 2010

Why I love to judge speech competitions...

Ever since I decided to be a YA author, I've watched the teenagers around me more closely. I love them. (Most of the time.) I love watching the way they interact with each other and listening to the way they speak with each other.

I took advantage of the opportunity to immerse myself in teenage culture this weekend, when I judged an all day high school speech competition. LOVED IT. Really.

But, adults look at me and ask, "Why would you want to do that? Do you get paid? Do you get to judge your own kids?"

Answers:
1. In the past I have been paid a significant amount of money to speak in front of audiences of 600+ people. I love public speaking. (Freak of nature?) And, so I really enjoy judging younger people who are striving to improve their own public speaking skills. I love writing comments and advice that will hopefully help them. But, besides that, I love watching youth. I feel like I'm conducting research for my writing.

2. I don't get paid monetarily, but I feel I get paid in other ways. I feel very rewarded "giving back" and I feel like I am accomplishing a lot of research! ha.

3. I don't get to judge my own kids. DaRn It! I am actually not allowed to judge anyone from my children's high school. Keeps it all on the "up and up!" However, I'm thrilled to tell you that my youngest (14) placed sixth in her speech category and my middle child (16) placed first in his speech category. So, that was great fun (and very rewarding) to watch them receive their awards at the end of the competition. YAY.

If you're a writer - what do you do to immerse yourself into the culture of your chosen genre? Do you work with teenagers (YA Writers)? Do you visit the morgue (Mystery Writers)? Shop a lot (Women's Fiction)? Okay - kidding on that last one (kind of )... let me know what you do for your research!

This post went a different direction than I originally intended, so be sure to check back tomorrow when I post about the BOOKS I have to read now because of one of the speech rounds.

Friday, December 10, 2010

Borders Reports a 74.4 Million Loss in Q3


Dear Santa,

Please buy me a brand new book for Christmas. Not a used book. A new book. Purchasing new books helps support the wonderful publishing industry which I so badly want to be a part of in the near future. But, if people stop buying books... what will happen to my bright future as an author? Please, Santa, all I want for Christmas is a brand new book.

Sincerely,
Margo

Borders Reports a 74.4 Million loss in Quarter 3

Picture from: http://www.allaboutyou.com

Thursday, December 9, 2010

Writing in Third Person

Frankly, I think writing in FIRST person point of view is MUCH easier than writing in third person. Why?

Here's my number one reason:

When referring to parents, do you write:
1. Abby's mother
2. Her mother
3. Mom

According to "Uncle Orson's Writing Class" you should use Mom (basically). To quote: "You refer to the parents by the names or titles that the point of view character would use."

But... according to http://www.megchittenden.com/writingtips/?pid=8 you should use her mother (basically). To quote: "She was getting sick of her mom yelling at her for something that wasn't her fault."

What's your vote? I think I'm going with Uncle Orson. Back to the revisions...

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Should Visually Impaired People be Allowed to Drive?

This would be one of those "ranting" posts I mentioned last time... read on at your own displeasure!

My seventeen-year-old visually impaired son passed his driving test yesterday and will get his driver's license today. Does that scare you?

It does me, but not necessarily more than having any other teenager driving on the road.

Actually, I think my son *might* be more careful on the road than most teenagers (I know... I'm biased and maybe even looking through rose colored lenses). But why do I think this?
1) He knows this is a privilege.
2) He knows that he doesn't understand his limitations... so he errors on the side of caution.
3) He knows that his vision is already impaired - so driving in snow, fog, and/or rain really does complicate the situation.

I know a lot of other mothers have concerns about my son being on the road. People have said things like, "Should he really be driving?"

Maybe he shouldn't.

But maybe your son, or grandmother, or father, shouldn't be either.

My son has one good eye, no depth perception, and is considered functionally blind.

But he passed both the written and driving tests to get his license. And no, we didn't tell the testers ahead of time that he was functionally blind. :)

Go ahead, tell me... do you think the testing process should be more strict to keep visually impaired people off the roads? And, if you say, "YES!" should we also make the tests more strict to keep airheads-ADD-texters-road.ragers-drinkers-and.other.irritating.drivers off the road as well?

Monday, December 6, 2010

Do People like YOUR Blog?

I came across a great post about blogging by Rachelle Gardner: http://cba-ramblings.blogspot.com/


Several of her tips caused me to pause and consider my own blog:

1. Ranting - I do it sometimes... No apologies. You can skip those posts if you want to, but my ranting tends to be more about daily life issues, not the publishing industry.

2. Irregular and Infrequent posts - I'm getting much better at this since I figured out the "post options" and now know how to schedule future posts. I know some blogs have a "theme" for every day they post. I can't do that. I'm too ADDOS for that. (What is ADDOS you ask? Attention Deficit Dis- *head jerks up to the flying object in the sky* OH SHINY!)

3. An unfocused blog that doesn't know what it's about - OH I KNOW. Look at my header! It's about reading, writing, and eating... not necessarily in that order!

Do you follow a check list for your blog? What do you think makes a great blog?

Sunday, December 5, 2010

A Hateful Wench!

How do you respond to criticism? Frankly... sometimes... I LIKE IT!! :)

Saturday, I worked retail selling sewing machines all day, and there were a LOT of customer "issues" (that's an euphemism for annoying problematic people... 'cause you just never know if a specific person might be reading the blog - so better to speak in "code"). ha.

So, after a long day, the final customer left the store, and one of the employees from the fabric side of the store hollered across the room to me, "Margo, you've been quite the hateful wench today." I thought for a moment, considering the source and the intent, and reflected on my behavior throughout the day.

I hollered back, "You could be right... because if I'm NOT a hateful wench, I'd have to be the opposite. And, what exactly would the opposite be? A loving virgin?" ha. That I'm not. At least not in public. bwahahahahahaha.

I'm only half-sure this other employee was teasing - - I certainly hope I didn't come across to the customers as hateful. That was NOT my intent. While patience is not one of my talents, I tried to nod and smile while dealing with everyone that day. And... I sold several machines. So, I must've done something right! :)

I love words. I loved being called a hateful wench, and I love typing the words out on the screen.

And, one of the things I love most about being a writer is the freedom to either kill off those annoying problematic people or at least give them bad acne in a plot line... and not suffer real world consequences for my actions (in the written word of course).

:)

Friday, December 3, 2010

SPEAK by Laurie Halse Anderson

I know I blogged about this book the other day, but here's my "official" review. If we're not already - let's be friends on GOODREADS (link on sidebard). I love that site!

Oh. My. Gosh. This book was amazing. I started reading it while on an airplane, and had trouble stopping when the plane landed. The "voice" was so strong, that as I walked through the airport terminal, I found myself thinking in the "voice" of the main character. I couldn't wait to get back to the book. I finished it the same day.

I had wanted to read this book for quite awhile, but recently when many people were talking about the push to have the book banned from schools, I had to move SPEAK up on my to-read list. The reason some people argued that the book should be banned was because it was pornographic.

... did those people read the actual book? I don't think so! There was nothing inappropriate in this book!

The book contains a rape scene - but I have read other books where I didn't know there was going to be a rape scene, and I was reading fast and before I knew it, I had digested an awful violent event. Blech. I don't enjoy that.

So, when I read SPEAK, I read it slowly, because I knew somewhere there was going to be the "scene" and I didn't want to be caught off guard. But, I tell you what... the scene was not written in great detail and was not written in any way that offended me.

I thought the whole book was written beautifully. There was no bad language, no bad scenes, and I want my fourteen year old daughter to read it.

It was amazing. I recommend it to everyone. And even though I read it slowly, it was still a quick read.

Thursday, December 2, 2010

Irons in the Fire

Do you ever feel like you have too many irons in the fire?

I've heard the phrase a million times, but looking at this picture, I'm wondering how this phrase came to mean what I understand it to mean ... too much of too many different things to do!

So, I googled it, and while many answers popped up, here's the one I liked best:

"One reference says it has to do with the blacksmith trade. A skilled blacksmith has "a well-trained apprentice who maintains such control of the bellows and the placement of the irons that each is ready in turn at the anvil and hammer ...'Too many irons in the fire' would mark an inefficient smith or one with an unskilled apprentice. Figurative use of either saying takes us back only to the middle of the sixteenth century." From "2107 Curious Word Origins, Sayings & Expressions from White Elephants to a Song and Dance" by Charles Earle Funk (Galahad Book, New York, 1993)."
from: http://www.phrases.org.uk/

So, here's a more accurate picture now:


So, from the quote above: "each is ready in turn at the anvil and hammer" ... I interpret this to mean that if we have too many irons in the fire (aka too many jobs or tasks at hand) then we won't be able to properly finish each job/task when it nears completion.

Ah ... I'm having a brain spark.

My problem is ... I love SO many things and want to help so many people ... I have a hard time limiting what tasks I take on. But, right now I feel like I have too many jobs (ways of earning money), tasks (chores around the house, responsibilities outside of the house), and hobbies (the way I spend my limited leisure time).

So, what do I eliminate? I suppose a priority list is required first. What are my most important goals? Because if the less important items interfere with the polishing and finishing of a major goal ... then that clearly is a sign of an "unskilled apprentice."

You'd think at my age, I wouldn't still be an apprentice. ha.

Do you have too many irons in your fire? If not, how do you find proper balance? If yes, what do you plan to do about it?

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

The VOICE in Your Head

So, while flying today (Wednesday), I read about 150 pages of SPEAK by Laurie Halse Anderson. Talk about VOICE. She's got it nailed. ... oh wait ... no pun intended (hahaha - speak/voice - get it? hahaha) ...

I even kept reading up until the point where people undid their seatbelts and started piling into the aisle of the airplane. Then I put the book away and headed into the terminal.

An interesting thing happened while I walked... maybe it was just because I had to pee so badly... but maybe it was because the writing was so great.

I realized the VOICE in my head matched the-style-the-flavor-the-feeling-the-tone of the book I'd been reading. I may have laughed out loud at myself. I thought it was pretty funny. Or scary. Maybe I'm just a crazy person who thinks too much.

But, I thought, WOW! That's great writing if the voice carried over into my own thoughts after the setting the book down.

I love to read. I know many times, characters from a book stick with me for quite awhile but I think this is the strongest a voice has ever carried over into my head.

How about you? Have you had a certain book with such strong VOICE that it influence your normal thought process? Tell me! :)

MANIFESTED, chapter one

Hmm... check it out:

http://www.margokelly.net/

I've posted the REVISED revised revised (etc.) version of MANIFESTED chapter one. This was a HARD revision - - still not quite sure if it's just right - - but I switched it from first person p.o.v. to third person and expanded the first chapter to include more information than the original version.

Check it out and let me know what you think. And, if you read the original version, let me know how you think it compares. :)

I off to SLC.