Review -- N.J. Walters's THE WAY HOME

The Way Home is a classic marriage of convenience book -- the hero Jake has inherited his orphaned niece after the death of his brother and sister-in-law, and he needs a wife. The heroine Rebecca has loved her best friend Jake for years and sees the marriage as a chance she can't turn down.

However, just as Jake's proposal isn't what Rebecca had always dreamed of -- a business-like proposition rather than a hearts & flowers offer -- the marriage throws her for a few loops. Jake's not immune from the emotional turmoil either, as he tries to adjust to sharing his home and life after years spent alone.

Like I said, a classic MOC plot, but once I started reading, I couldn't put the story down. I love watching a rather clueless hero come to his senses about his feelings, and Walters delivers that in Jake. He's not perfect, and his tendency to speak before considering Rebecca's POV results in his hurting her more than once. But he redeems himself quite well as he realizes his love for her, how close he's come to losing her through his own actions, and sets out to make it right.

Rebecca is a quietly strong heroine, and Walters paints her with very realistic strokes -- I could envision myself responding much the same as Rebecca does in several situations.

The pacing of the book drags some at the beginning, with backstory revealed through chunks of character thought, and I would have liked to have seen more of Jake's feelings for Rebecca layered in during his early POV scenes . . . however, as a whole, The Way Home is a fantastic read, earning three stars on this teacher's grading scale.

It's All Sharon's Fault . . .

. . . that I'm behind in writing. She keeps pointing me toward great books to read!

My current wish list:

The Way Home by N.J. Walters

72 Hours by Shannon Stacey (this one sounds GOOD!)

Hunted by Amilia Elias

Hmmm . . . where to begin?

Tag, I'm It!

Courtesy of Elisabeth:

1. A song by the first band you liked: "Skyhigh" by Jigsaw. (My older sister had their LP. I think I was six.)

2. A song that makes you think of your best friend: Ack. Some dance mix. Heard it on the radio yesterday, can't think of the name!

3. A song by the first band you saw in concert: Foreigner - "Juke Box Hero"

4. A song that reminds you of college/school: "Parents Just Don't Understand", Will Smith, UGA!

5. A song that makes you think of a boyfriend/girl (love) past or present: "When You Say Nothing At All", anything by the Eagles

Tagging . . . YOU! What musical memories will you share?

What Makes You Go, "Augh!"

I bought a bad book.

Now, you have to realize I very rarely meet a book I don't like. But I bought a stinker this time. $4.45, because I liked the cover and because I'd heard good things about the author and because the first couple of pages along with the blurb caught my attention.

So I'm out the cost of a tropical latte with whipped cream from the Java place, when I could have had another book from my wish list.

Gah!

What makes you go "augh!"?

I think I'm going to go watch Bridezillas.

We're Home

500 mile round trip.

Husband has boat.

Husband is thrilled.

Monsters are thrilled.

I'm exhausted.

More later.

Today's Post

Is at Romance Worth Killing For.

(And Anonymous? Of course I know who you are, AC!)

Oh. My. God!

I had a post all planned out for tonight . . . definitely saving it for tomorrow now!

A few minutes ago, I got up to set up the coffeemaker for the DH (in exchange, he doesn't wake me up when he leaves for work).

I kept hearing something munching in the kitchen, and I figured it was the cat, although it was very noisy munching.

I walk in my kitchen . . .

And there's a POSSUM eating Kitty Baby's food!

A POSSUM!

In my KITCHEN!

I was not a happy camper.

Heck, I'm still not a happy camper.

I chased him out, didn't wake the DH (hey, he has to work tomorrow).

But I left him a big note on the fridge about how we really need to further secure the bathroom with the torn out floor, so POSSUMS don't come through there, climb over the partially removed wall in the laundry room and eat the kitty's food.

I bet Amie had something to do with this! She's sending me possums!

(And oh, my Lord, my mama warned me about "something" getting in through that floor. Now I have to tell her she was right. Hmmm. Maybe I just won't tell her!)

Following The Rules

If you're following all the rules, you're missing all the fun. -- seen embroidered on a towel at a gift shop today.

I love that, and it got me thinking. I'm pretty good at deciding which "rules" of writing I want to flout. As a teacher, I like rules . . . although I use them more as "guidelines for behavior." My students call me a comfortist, and I'm sure they're right. I don't like conflict, and following the rules can help one avoid that.

After browsing the gift shop with my best friend, we went to the new local coffee shop, run by the parents of a former student of mine. It's in a historic building, and the proprietors did most of the renovation work themselves. Renovating took months, but the shop is absolutely gorgeous. It gives me hope for my own house. (BTW, I've been taking photos of the in-progress renovations this week, and I'll be posting those soon.)

The funny thing was, the combination of that "rules vs. fun" towel and seeing Joe and Patty at the coffee shop helped made a recent nebulous realization concrete. For months, no visitors except my mom and dad have been allowed into our home. I freaked out last week because I cut the corner of the kitchen to find my DH's best friend in the living room, borrowing a tool. He'd actually allowed Mike into our house, the way it looked!

Later on in that same week, Monster #1's best friend invited him over to play. He went, with me assuring friend's mom that we'd reciprocate with an around-town activity and apologizing at the same time for the ever-growing evidence of renovating at our house. Renee laughed -- she and Mark just spent three years doing what we're doing now. She understands how I feel, but she also said that even though they're not completely finished (they're down to finish trim and some electrical stuff), she'd told her son that Monster #1 could come over for a sleepover soon, with the realization that kids didn't care what the inside of their friends' homes looked like.

And you know, she's right. Both of my Monsters have newly renovated, decorated rooms. Their bathroom is also newly madeover. Their end of the house is clean and attractive. The living room is full of boxes and furniture from rooms we're working on, and we pulled the carpet up months ago and are walking on plywood, but who cares? Would their friends look at the plywood, the plastic-and-duct-taped hole in the ceiling where we ripped out the fireplace, and judge us?

Lots of people would, but my kids' friends? Surely not.

Then I thought about my best friend, who loves me dearly. About my sisters, with their lovely homes, who've been banned from my home because I was ashamed to let anyone see the chaos.

Did Mike think less of the DH because there were tools and pieces of paneling scattered across the living area the day he came to borrow a hammer? Probably not.

So what am I so worried about?

A rule, that's what. An old ingrained, Southern rule that anything less than a perfect house isn't fit for company (a high school friend's mom used to say it wasn't convenient for anyone to die when the house was a mess . . .). And believe me, my house was and continues to be a mess . . . probably will be for at least six more months.

If you're following all the rules, you're missing all the fun.

So for the next six months, until the house is finished, here's the deal: the house is relatively clean, despite the chaos. It isn't the prettiest thing ever (in fact, right now, it's pretty darn ugly still.), but I love my sisters and my friends more than having a perfect house. I want my children to have their friends over. I want the DH to be able to have his friends come in without my having a duck fit afterwards.

I'm thinking I may break that "a less-than-perfect house" rule. I'm tired of missing out on the fun. And if anyone wants to think less of me for walking on plywood right now, well, who needs him/her, right?

What rule are you ready to flout? C'mon, you know you have one. Share.

The Story of My Life (This, That and the Other)

My best friend and her DH have this ongoing power struggle . . . if one of them spends money, the other has to spend an equal amount, or more. My DH and I tend not to have this struggle, because most of the time, all of our extra funds go into the Monsters' tummies.

We've been baaaaad the last week or so, though.

Over the weekend, the DH bought THAT:




Buying That involves a 500-mile round trip to pick it up. That's when IT decided not to cooperate. So I spent a lot of $$$ on parts. Didn't help.

Although I love IT, i don't think IT loves me.

So since we needed a second vehicle again anyway, we went shopping today.

I came home with THIS:

This is my first-ever-in-all-my-life brand-new-off-the-showroom-floor car. I've never had one before. Somehow, I think I got the better end of this deal. What do you think?

Well!

Now how am I supposed to stalk Karin's blog when her bandwidth is exceeded?! Obviously, other stalkers had the same idea I did.

Splitting Hairs

I like words. Obviously, right? I like the connotations of words, the shades of meaning within similar words.

I've been tinkering today with a new template for my business cards. When my laptop crashed last week, I lost the old ones. (PSA -- Back up all your stuff, now!) I loved the old ones, which my friend and CP made for me. They had this cool reddish double line, my name, and beneath that the title novelist.

Webster defines novelist this way:

"one who writes a fictional prose narrative of considerable length, typically having a plot unfolded by the actions, speech and thoughts of the characters." (By the way, "novel" comes from Latin, novellus, which means "new.")

Yep, that was me. I wrote all that. Still do. So I'm a novelist.

I pondered that while playing with the new design of my business cards.

There are others who would call me a writer. I tend to call myself that more than novelist, although novelist sounded pretty darn good on the business card.

Webster defines writer thusly:

"1) one who has written (something specified): the writer of the note. 2) an author."

But wait. I can't be an author! Only people who've published something are authors, if you are to believe the scuttle abounding on blogs and lists everywhere. Or even more specifically, only if you've sold to a large print house. Maybe a small print publisher. (<-- that's me being facetious, which my students could tell you is defined as "mildly sarcastic" or "flippant.")

I had to check out this whole author thing.

Flipped through Webster's. Found this definition:

"1) The writer of a literary work; a writer. 2) The beginner, originator, or creator of anything."

Hmmm. Yes, completely splitting hairs on the connotations there, but to me, sounds like I'm a novelist, a writer, and yes, even an author.

So what do you think I should put on the new business cards? ;-)

First the Dog, Now the Cat . . .

Have I mentioned I have a psychologically damaged dog? Her name is Sallie. I didn't want this dog. Our beloved lab Hunter had died, and I was adamant we were not having another dog. Nope. No more dogs.

(Unless, maybe, a cute little Schnauzer . . .)

So this stray dog had puppies in our yard. I found homes for all but one, and then mama dog got hit by a car. Hence, this sad little lonely orphaned puppy, which my son named Sallie.

I was still swearing that we were not keeping this dog. No way, no sir, no how.

Guess what? We ended up keeping the dog, she fell in love with me, I fell in love with her, we all live happily ever after, right?

She has separation anxiety issues.

She chews things. Not small things. Big things. Drags them right in front of my porch and chews them up, makes a nest. We're home, no chewing. Leave her alone, chews everything.

I solved that by making sure she had a comfortable, secure kennel so I can pen her while I'm gone and she won't destroy everything (Did I mention she shredded the mosquito netting on my new garden gazebo? And the seat off DH's bike? What's next?!).

Obviously, it's not enough that I adopted one mentally damaged animal. Nooooo. Now the cat is in on the act. Her name is Kitty Baby. Our neighbors gave her to us. We love her.

I think she has agoraphobia.

She's always been an in-out kitty. She comes in at night, goes out in the morning, stays in the yard, she's a happy kitty.

Except some feral cat had kittens over at the empty house next door and keeps trying to run in our house to steal her food. She doesn't want to go outside, so she hides in the bedroom and sleeps all day.

And now she's borrowing tricks from Sallie's book . . . when I went to put my pj's on earlier, after hearing major thumping from the bedroom, I found said Kitty Baby in the middle of the floor . . . eating my navy Old Navy flip flops!

I now have cat saliva and teeth marks on my navy flip flops. Do you know how hard it is to find navy flip flops at Old Navy this time of year?!

Did she attack DH's ratty tennis shoes? Noooo. My shoes.

Darn cat.

Does anyone want to recommend a good pet therapist? Maybe one who gives group rates?

Today's Post . . .

Is at Romance Worth Killing For.

Back Up!

First, consider this your friendly reminder to always back up your work. My laptop crashed and burned over the weekend, and fixing it required reinstalling everything . . . which means I lost everything not backed up.

The weird thing is, I didn't lose much of my writing. But teacher-wise? Oh, my heavens. I keep a paper copy of everything, but I realized this afternoon that all my performance standards files are gone, as well as my rubrics file, and all of my teacher web resource links.

If you've emailed me in the last few days and I haven't replied, I'm not ignoring you -- there are over 300 emails in my inbox and I'm trying to make sure I don't delete something important without reading it first.

Anyway, the good news, before said computer crashed, is that I had written the first four pages of my new WIP -- and even though those pages didn't get backed up and are now gone forever -- I have a handwritten copy so I can (pretty much) recreate them.

So go back up your work. And anyone have suggestions for me on more convenient ways to keep my work backed up, just in case?

My Reading Buffet

My new favorite place to read, since I've been displaced from the bedroom by construction, is in the gazebo by the pool. I do a lot of reading for school and also quite a bit for writing/research purposes.

The weird thing is that I don't read a lot in my genre -- romantic suspense. Now, I know authors who only read in the genre they write. I can't do it. I get bored easily (I also tend to read more than one book at a time, as well as a daily newspaper and several magazines a month), and I want variety in what I read.

So just for fun, here are the last ten books I've read (two I'm finishing now, so I'm putting them here) along with the author and genre. (I also didn't include any school or research-related reading -- this is just-for-me reading).

1) The Handmaid's Tale, Margaret Atwood -- literary fiction
2) Going to Ground: Simple Life on a Georgia Pond, Amy Blackmarr -- nonfiction
3) Seducing Simon, Maya Banks -- contemporary romance
4) Sweet Mercy, Jean Brashear -- contemporary (category) romance
5) A Family of Her Own, Brenda Novak -- contemporary (category) romance
6) Memoirs of a Geisha, Arthur Golden -- literary fiction (?)
7) The Untelling, Tayari Jones -- literary fiction
8) Cell, Stephen King -- horror/suspense
9) Derailed, James Siegel -- suspense
10) Pompeii, Robert Harris -- historical fiction/suspense

What's next on my reading plate?

1) A Break With Charity, Ann Rinaldi -- historical fiction
2) The House of Gentle Men, Kathy Hepinstall -- literary fiction
3) The Mermaid's Chair, Sue Monk Kidd -- literary fiction (actually, I read part last year, put it down, and now I'm going back to it)

I have some reading to do for school as well, but right now, I'm reading for me.

What's been on your reading buffet lately? Anything I should add to mine?

Building from the Ground Up

For the last year or so (oh, heck -- thirteen months to be exact), I've been involved in the complete renovation of our home. Every room we tackle ends up giving us unexpected and pretty much unwelcome surprises -- more work to be done, hidden problems beneath the walls and floors. There have been times when we've been tempted to just give in and give up, go for the huge mortgage and build from the ground up.

The last day or so, I've been looking at my planned revisions on HOTM with the same eye. It's the book of my heart, and the characters have been with me forever, it seems. I believe it has potential, and I've spent the last month or so identifying the structural problems with it.

The problem is that every time I sit down with a hard copy and try framing it (my preferred method of revision with a completed manuscript), I can't do it. It's too much; I get frustrated and put it aside. Instead, I started outlining revision notes within my much beloved Carribbean-blue notebook, where I also keep my budget notes, promotion notes, and renovation ideas. That's helped me stay focused by streamlining what needs to be done.

And it pointed out one very scary reality: I'm going to have to build HOTM from the ground up. Again.

That means instead of working within the original manuscript, I'm writing a new book. Starting with a blank document, old ideas blended with new ones. It's the only way to make this monster work. For the most part, I have to pretend the 411 pages that I've already written about Tick and Cait don't exist, and you know, they really don't -- with the new backstory line I'm looking at, Tick and Cait have both changed. They're different people. Hopefully stronger people. Their story will be different.

Only the ending, that shimmering promise of an HEA, will remain the same.

I guess I need to go lay a foundation.

Today's Post . . .

Is at Romance Worth Killing For!

Just One of Those Days . . .

I was busy today (heck, when am I not busy?!). Laundry, cleaned out the fridge, cleared yesterday's demolition debris from the yard (Monster #2 was quite impressed -- "Mama, you're strong."), vacuumed the pool, etc.

So while I was busy today, Monster #2 gets ahold of a can of shaving gel. Okay, you'd think at some point we'd move beyond shaving gel disasters, right?

Oh, nooooo!

I walk into my bedroom, where there's no furniture anymore, and shaving gel is oozing out of the wall where DH has disconnected the outlet boxes. Huge, oozing amounts of green foam.

I sigh. Call Monster #2, because I know who did it, into the bedroom. Ask him, because I really want to know at this point, what he was thinking.

He covers his eyes, sighs bigger than I did, and says, "I wasn't."

Smart kid + High impulsivity = some of the stupidest actions I've ever seen.

What was he thinking?

Missing Girl

The daughter of author Marjorie Jones is missing. Please visit the link below for more information and contact details.

http://www.marjoriejones.com/staci/missingx.html

Marjorie, my thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.

Almost Afraid to Say It Aloud

But I wrote this tonight. A whopping 116 words, the beginnings of my revisions to HOTM.

Where it goes, I have no idea.

***
It wasn't a matter of him kissing her or her kissing him. One second, she was staring into the dark depths of his eyes; the next, his mouth was on hers, and she was lost, melting into his lean form, soaking up the warmth and contact she'd hungered for since he'd walked out of the nondescript hotel room sixteen months before.

He pulled back, sudden anger blazing in his gaze. "No."

An immediate chill filtered through her. Move. Now. She couldn't, though. Her legs refused to work.

"Not this time, Cait." He stepped away with a deliberate motion and ran a thumb over the corner of his mouth. "I'm not letting you suck me in again."
***

116 words. Wow. Can't wait to see where tomorrow takes me . . . 120? 130? Whoa . . . what if I manage 200?!

I don't think I could stand the excitement.

My Other Newest Hobby

Now that the remaining lines are up at Karin's blog, I'm still stalking . . . marveling at how awesome some of those second lines are and seeing who I know!

D'Ann is there.

So is Kristi -- loving the bubble bath hook!

Saw Jan Kenny, from Writeminded, there, too.

Can't wait to see who else shows up!

But first, I have to go clean out the laundry room. Sigh . . .

My Newest Hobby

Stalking Karin Tabke's blog, seeing if the 45 finalists in her first line contest are up.

I lead a sad, sad life . . .

Writing Dangerously

An issue I've struggled with the last few months has been a deep-seated sense that something was wrong with my writing. Not the technicalities of it -- I've got a grasp on the mechanics of grammar, thanks to my day job, and I've never had difficulty stringing words together to fit my voice. However, every single time I began toying with something new, I'd end up stopping dead. I couldn't go back and rework old manuscripts, I couldn't move forward, and it seemed I was forever destined to stay in this one place.

A place I didn't want to be.

I couldn't write.

In the end, there were many factors at play, some having nothing to do with writing, keeping me in that place. I'm just beginning to move out of that holding pattern. But I've come to the realization that one big problem was I was trying to write safe.

Last night I read Lydia Joyce's blog on "dangerous" writing, and it resonated with me. From the beginning, I've wanted to write with gritty realism, to create characters who were real people, to formulate situations that weren't always wrapped up cleanly.

No problem, right?

Well, at first I was targeting SIM, which is an excellent line and reads I've always enjoyed. However, that meant toning down the grit and reality, and when I was lucky enough to have a very talented, multi-published SIM author read one of my manuscripts, the one I thought was my it book, she was very quick to point out that the hero's defining moment, his choice, would probably have to be changed before SIM would look at it -- the choice placed him in the position of being unheroic.

Aren't we all sometimes?

That encapsulated my choices for me -- write safe for the line I'd researched endlessly. Follow the rules. Be safe.

Or be me. Stretch for the dangerous. Write real people with real problems. As Jennifer Crusie says, write my good book.

Let the rest take care of itself.

I feel better about writing now than I have in a long time. I'm feeling eager again.

And that is a great place to be.

Today's Post . . .

Is at Romance Worth Killing For.

All the Comforts of Home

We've retreated to a local motel for the night. Why?

Renovations from Hell!

For the last month of so, I've had no A/C. No biggee -- it's been temperate and I can use window fans.

Last week, we lost the hot water. Well, it's hot, so a cold shower isn't much of a trial.

Today? Lost the electricity. Won't be fixed until tomorrow.

So I'm ensconced in a rather nice room, with air conditioning, lights and yes, hot water!

I'm a very happy non-camper.

Writing Process: Thinking

The mountain of laundry has been reduced to one sheet, a pair of khaki shorts, and one brown T-shirt. Those will have to wait until they have matching loads to be washed.

I've been busy, busy, busy the last couple days -- laundry, packing things up for Goodwill, discarding other items, getting ready to paint furniture.

And believe it or not, the whole time I've been immersing myself in the writing process at the same time. A large part of my process is thinking about the book. Or, in this case, thinking about the revisions.

I started with thinking about how the changes in backstory and external plot would change things. It changes a lot, with the most significant change being in the hero's characterization and reactions to the heroine's presence. The plot changes will hopefully tighten up the external structure of the book (hey, I'm telling you -- that whole distance and perception thing works for me).

Today, I've been thinking about scenes -- or rather, visualizing scenes. Listening to the dialogue. Getting into the characters' heads. I finally, finally feel like I'm getting somewhere.

Maybe soon I'll be putting words on paper!

What Inciting Event?

I finally settle on a summer progect -- revising an existing manuscript. Completely changing the backstory. I think it will make for stronger conflict. Working on strengthening the external plot as well, making it more unique.

I might as well right a new book.

Want to know where I'm hanging up?

The inciting event.

The problem is that if you write romantic suspense, you have two plots -- the suspense/mystery and the romance. Hence, two inciting events.

Now I don't know if scene one needs to be inciting event for the suspense/mystery plot or the inciting event for the romance plot.

Suggestions, anyone?

Whoo-hoo!

Sharon has great news! Go congratulate her!

Distance and Perception

Ever notice how events and passages in our lives seem like horrible trials at the time, but as we gain distance and a different perception, they often turn out to be the gifts and blessings? I've already blogged here about how I believe not selling to a large house last year turned out to be the best thing for me, as I know I would have messed up the opportunity with everything going in my life then.

For various reasons, I spent the last ten months cursed with a crippling inability to write. I tried all the tricks to jump-start my process, and nothing worked. I. Could. Not. Write. I was devastated.

And now I'm beginning to see, I was blessed.

While I struggled with not being able to create, rejections on HOTM trickled in. I got one on TAC, too. The nasty little plot word kept cropping up in those letters, forcing me to look at my entire concept of plotting. I mean, I thought I knew how to plot. But what did it matter anyway? I couldn't get words on paper, so obviously plotting was the least of my worries, right?

Well.

Not being able to write kept me from falling into the trap of continuing to write and continuing to make the same mistakes.

Not being able to write compelled me to go back and look at my existing work and really analyze pacing and plotting.

Not being able to write urged me to read, in different genres, and compare the various ways authors plotted.

Not being able to write didn't solve my issues, but it's given me a new perception, along with some uncomfortable, enforced distance from my own work.

I'd call that a gift. Wouldn't you?

101 Must-Read Books

Filched from Lydia -- the ones I've read are in BOLD.

1. Bastard out of Carolina, by Dorothy Allison
2. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, by Maya Angelou
3. The Handmaid’s Tale, by Margaret Atwood
4. Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen
5. Waiting For Godot, by Samuel Beckett
6. Farenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury
7. Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte
8. Wuthering Heights, by Emily Bronte
9. The Baron in the Trees, by Italo Calvino
10. The Stranger, by Albert Camus
11. Breakfast at Tiffany’s, by Truman Capote
12. Cool Salsa, ed Lori M. Carlson
13. Alice in Wonderland, by Lewis Carroll
14. The Cherry Orchard, by Anton Chekov
15. The Awakening, by Kate Chopin
16. The House on Mango Street, by Sandra Cisneros
17. Heart of Darkness, by Joseph Conrad
18. The Inferno, by Dante
19. A Tale of Two Cities, by Charles Dickens
20. Poems, by Emily Dickinson
21. Ragtime, by E.L. Doctorow
22. Crime and Punishment, by Fydor Doestoevsky
23. Invisible Man, by Ralph Ellison
24. The Beet Queen, by Louise Erdrich
25. As I Lay Dying, by William Faulkner
26. The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald
27. Diary of a Young Girl, by Anne Frank
28. Grendel, by John Gardner
29. Unsettling America, ed Maria Mazziotti Gillian and Jennifer Gillian
30. Lord of the Flies, by William Golding
31. Mythology, by Edith Hamilton
32. A Raisin in the Sun, by Lorraine Hansberry
33. Tess of the D’Urbervilles, by Thomas Hardy
34. The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne
35. Catch-22, by Joseph Heller
36. A Farewell to Arms, by Ernest Hemingway
37. The Holy Bible
38. The Odyssey, by Homer
39. Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neale Hurston
40. Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley
41. A Doll’s House, by Henrik Ibsen
42. Rhinoceros, by Eugene Ionesco
43. The World According to Garp, by John Irving
44. Daisy Miller, by Henry James
45. Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, by James Joyce
46. The Metamorphosis, by Franz Kafka
47. The Liars’ Club, by Mary Karr
48. Schindler’s List, by Thomas Keneally
49. On the Road, by Jack Kerouac
50. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, by Ken Kesey
51. Annie John, by Jamaica Kincaid
52. The Painted Bird, by Jerzy Kosinski
53. Angels in America, by Tony Kushner
54. To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
55. Angela’s Ashes, by Frank McCourt
56. The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, by Carson McCullers
57. One Hundred Years of Solitude, by Garbriel Garcia Marquez
58. In Country, by Bobbi Ann Mason
59. Death of a Salesman, by Arthur Miller6
0. In Search of Color Everywhere, ed E. Ethelbert Miller
61. Beloved, by Toni Morrison
62. Harper’s Anthology of 20th Century Native American Poetry, ed Duane Niatum
63. The Things They Carried, by Tim O’Brien
64. The Complete Stories, by Flannery O’Connor
65. Long Day’s Journey Into Night, by Eugene O’Neill
66. 1984, by George Orwell
67. Metamorphoses, by Ovid
68. The Bell Jar, by Sylvia Plath
69. Tales, by Edgar Allan Poe
70. Hunger of Memory, by Richard Rodriguez
71. Earth Shattering Poems, ed. Liz Rosenberg
72. The Ghost Writer, by Philip Roth
73. The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger
74. No Exit, by Jean-Paul Sartre
75. Hamlet, by William Shakespeare
76. Macbeth, by William Shakespeare
77. A Midsummer Night’s Dream, by William Shakespeare
78. Romeo and Juliet, by William Shakespeare
79. Pygmalion, by George Bernard Shaw
80. 100 Best-Loved Poems, ed Phillip Smith
81. Maus: A Survivor’s Tale, by Art Spiegelman
82. The Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck
83. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson
84. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, by Tom Stoppard
85. The Joy Luck Club, by Amy Tan
86. Walden, by Henry David Thoreau
87. Anna Karenina, by Leo Tolstoy
88. Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain
89. Candide, by Voltaire
90. Cat’s Cradle, by Kurt Vonnegut
91. The Color Purple, by Alice Walker
92. The Double Helix, by James D. Watson
93. Ethan Frome, by Edith Wharton
94. Leaves of Grass, by Walt Whitman
95. The Importance of Being Earnest, by Oscar Wilde
96. Our Town, by Thornton Wilder
97. The Glass Menagerie, by Tennessee Williams
98. This Boy’s Life: A Memoir, by Tobias Wolff
99. Mrs. Dalloway, by Virginia Woolf
100. Native Son, by Richard Wright
101. The Autobiograpy of Malcolm X, by Malcolm X with Alex Haley

Today's Post . . .

Is at Romance Worth Killing For!

Dreams

I'm very much the realist. I do, however, not only believe in dreams, but in the wonder of achieving a long-worked-for goal.

Tonight, I've been watching the premiere of Last Comic Standing. I don't watch American Idol, but I imagine the concept is pretty much the same -- many talented people make the show, many talented people do not, you end up with one winner who gets a step closer to achieving a dream. Along the way, LCS gives you glimpses of those people who attend each and every open mike call -- those who refuse to give up.

I like those people.

One of my most favorite students of my entire teaching career stopped by to see us today. He left school earlier in the year, took his GED, and he's preparing to leave for a major city to pursue a career in ballet. He knows he has a long, very hard road before him, and realist that he is, he knows achieving his dream is not guaranteed. However, he has the drive and the courage to try, and I couldn't be prouder. Besides, how many teens get the opportunity he's undertaking?

Because that's the funny thing about dreams . . . even if you never achieve the dream, would you want to miss the journey?

It's Here!

Summertime is hovering on the horizon . . . school's out and we have three days of post-planning, then I'm free until the beginning of August. Well, kinda/sorta free. I still have department head stuff to do, mainly tweaking my unit plans and making inventory/order lists and other menial, mind-numbing yet necessary tasks.

But with the teacher hat temporarily shelved, I have room for my other roles.

I blogged Friday at Romance Worth Killing For about my rather sketchy promotional plans, and I need to begin putting those into play. First up is updating my website and my links here. Then I think I'll plan out an online read to be used for promotional purposes.

I'm also sketching out a mom-plan -- stuff to do with the Monsters to keep them from going berserk with boredom (because, you know, boredom + really smart kids = chaos).

On the homefront, I'm still obsessing about the house. I've been laying out floor plans for the furniture placement in the living area and designing the armoir I want the DH to build to house our television. Next week I start painting furniture!

Off to do laundry. Check in often . . . I'll be here much more regularly this summer!

Today's Post . . .

Is at Romance Worth Killing For!

Countdown

Three more days of school.

Two more exams to give today.

Forty discussion exams to grade by tomorrow.

Graduation tomorrow night.

Summer with all its glorious freedom is almost here!

Ever Feel Like Screaming?

Augh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I feel better now.


Well, not really.

Being Non-Productive

I had plans for the weekend. I have approximately 40 poetry books to grade. Know how many I've touched? One. I was going to clear the living room and get the furniture ready to paint. Know how much of that I got done? Nada. I did get Monster #2 moved into his newly renovated room, and I completed around eight loads of laundry.

So what got in the way? Life.

Saturday morning, 4:46. Phone rings. It's my mom, telling me my dad, who runs a local morning paper route, had had a wreck (he'd hit a cow, in Mama's new car). She was on her way, but I was closer. I toss on clothes, jump in the truck, run out the rural highway, not nearly as fast as I'd like to, because, well, there could be more than one cow.

I knew Daddy was talking and said he was okay, but at the same time, I wasn't prepared for my first glimpse of Mama's Alero either. The hood was crumpled, the windshield smashed and twisted inward, the roof was dimpled and crinkled. When Daddy hit the cow, after dodging 5-6 others, it went over the roof of the car. Daddy could easily have been killed.

He has one scratch. One. On his hand.

He was irritable because I was fussing over him, and of course, his first worry was that his customers wouldn't receive their papers on time. Mama's car is totaled. But it could have been so much worse.

I did manage after that to do laundry and move Monster #2 into his room. Today, I had a three-hundred-mile round trip to do, driving the DH and a friend of his to pick up new trucks. Six hours or so on the road. Didn't get any poetry books graded.

So . . . tomorrow I have to be productive.

But there are only five more days of school! Whoo-hoo!

Today's Post . . .

Is at Romance Worth Killing For.

By The Numbers

Days of school left: 8

Poetry Anthologies left to grade: 15

Poetry Books to be turned in Friday: 37

Exam papers to grade next week: 110

Pages I'll manage to write in the next two weeks: 0

Unless you count those exams I have to make out so I can give them next week . . .

I'm giving two exams next Wednesday. The last one ends at 1:00. My grades are due by 4:00.

Not giving a seventh period exam so my drama kids will all go away and leave me to grade 37 exams? Absolutely priceless!

The Details

There isn't that much to tell . . . you know how once you begin writing seriously you have all those fantasies about The Call? Well, I didn't get The Call. I got The Email.

It was still pretty cool, though.

Last Friday, I went to dinner with the DH and the Monsters. Dropped by the movie store, rented a couple of DVD's, hit WallyWorld for a few items. Came home. Watched television. Decided right before bed to check my email.

Saw Jessica Bimberg's email address in my inbox. Thought, "Here it is . . . another rejection for the file."

Open the message. Read:

I absolutely loved What Mattered Most and I'm happy to offer you a contract . . .

No screaming, no jumping, no crying, like I'd expected. More of a "Oh, wow, this is cool . . . it's not a rejection!"

Walked into the living room, grinned at the DH, said, "I sold." His reply, "You're kidding." Monster #1 immediately starts writing his own book while DH and I talk about the contract and company and stuff.

So. There's the story of my The E-Mail moment. All the nitty gritty details. I've signed the contract and mailed it, so I guess it's 99% official . . . soon I'll be published with Samhain Publishing.

More details to come . . .

Today's Post . . . And a Cat out of a Bag . . .

Today's post is at Romance Worth Killing For.

Oh, and about that cat in the bag . . .

Did I mention I SOLD?!

Down to the Wire

Twelve more days of school. Seven actual class days. Three days of exams, softball day and honors day. That's it.

And I am so ready.

I love teaching, but I love summer, too -- staying up late, sleeping in, lazing around on the front porch reading, hanging out with the Monsters, catching up on the stuff I let slide during the school year.

I'm looking forward to summer for another reason this year . . . I'm finally feeling that tingling itch to write once again, and I'm hoping that the summer will bring with it relaxation and inspiration.

I've started plotting on a new WIP, and that's going well so far. I have revision plans for another book, and it appears the Muse is dragging her lazy self off the couch, giving up the Cheetos and donning her diaphanous robes yet again . . .

Now if I can just get the renovation stuff to fall into line, too!

Wish Me Luck!

I have to speak in front of a crowd tonight. Yes, yes, I know . . . I do it every day, right? Except tonight I have to speak in a front of a crowd of adults. Somehow, it's not the same.

I'm afraid.

Maybe this year I won't fall on the steps again!

26 Secrets to Happiness

A friend gave me these. Thought I'd share.

***

1) Live beneath your means.
2) Return everything you borrow.
3) Stop blaming other people.
4) Admit it when you make a mistake.
5) Give any clothes you haven't worn in three years to charity.
6) Every day do something nice and try not to get caught.
7) Listen more; talk less.
8) Take a daily 30-minute walk in your neighborhood.
9) Strive for excellence, not perfection.
10) Be on time.
11) Don't make excuses.
12) Don't argue.
13) Get organized.
14) Be kind to other people.
15) Be even kinder to unkind people.
16) Let someone cut ahead of you in line.
17) Take time to be alone.
18) Reread a favorite book.
19) Cultivate good manners.
20) Be humble.
21) Understand and accept that life is not always fair.
22) Know when to say something.
23) Know when to keep your mouth shut.
24) Try to go 24 hours without criticizing anyone.
25) Learn from the past and plan for the future.
26) Don't sweat the small stuff.

I Feel Fizzy, Oh, So Fizzy . . .

You know that great deep-down giddy feeling you get when good things are going on?

I have that feeling today. :-)

Plus -- there are only fifteen more days of school! Summertime is on its way!

Lists, Lists and More Lists

I admit it -- I'm a list maker. I like seeing things on paper -- goals and budgets and TTD lists. I need that visual reminder of what I need to be focused on. I make plot lists for books as I write. I make lists of future book ideas. For the renovations from hell, I have a master list as well as a budget sheet and a prioritized list for each project.

I make TTD lists for my students so they know what step to go to next in a project or assignment. I make school and home TTD lists daily and weekly. I make lists for what the Monsters need to accomplish during a week -- chores and other responsibilities, things I need to do for them.

So when we started planning the changes to our home, I knew that for my office I was going to need a huge bulletin board -- a place to put all those writing and teaching lists. I found what I wanted in a Better Homes and Gardens magazine -- a home office redo where the homeowner made her own wall-length bulletin board (she's a freelance photographer -- I bet she has lists, too!). Now I'm making a list of materials I need for that project.

Last night I started another list, one I've been dreaming about for a long time. Planning for. I'll share more later this week, hopefully. So check back. :-)

So . . . are you a list maker? Or do you find them constricting? If you do, what's on your TTD list?

Review -- Sweet Mercy, Jean Brashear

A week or so ago, I went looking for Amy Knupp's Superromance. I didn't find it, but I did find Sweet Mercy by Jean Brashear, also a Superromance release. I'd seen an ad for it in a magazine while waiting for my Monster's to get trimmed, and I'd been intrigued, wondering if the ad campaign increased sales.

Anyway, I picked the book up, read the blurb, paged through, and ended up taking it home with me. With a heroine named Jezebel and a hero named Gamble, how could I resist?

Once I started, I couldn't stop reading, either. Jezebel and Gamble both have troubled backgrounds -- she was orphaned at an early age and grew up on the streets; he lost a beloved wife and his unborn child. All she wants is a place to call home. All Gamble wants is to forget the home he made for a family gone forever.

Brashear does a fabulous job of painting a pair destined for one another. Gamble is my kind of hero -- a tortured soul. Jezebel is a strong woman, a positive woman, who doesn't back down from a challenge, which Gamble certainly is at times. I'm not giving away more of the plot, but the emotion and need is palpable and the attraction between the two sizzles. It's a story of home and healing, and I strongly recommend you find a copy soon!

Today's Post . . .

. . . is at Romance Worth Killing For!

Changes

A few weeks ago, after yet another rejection from H/S, I was talking with Elisabeth and she asked, "If SIM had said yes, what would be different?" At the time, she meant my infuriating inability to get any words on paper, but the question has stuck with me, resonating on a much different level.

I pondered the question while sitting on the beach back in April, and this week I've had a ton of time to think about it while proctoring state testing. If I had sold already, what would be different?

Well, for one, I'd probably be in a world of hurt. I even came to the conclusion that I'm glad I haven't sold in the last three years since I came back to writing after a long sabbatical. Why?

I wasn't ready for it. Trust me, although I thought I was, I wasn't. If I'd gotten the call, the opportunity, I'd have messed it up, for a variety of reasons.

Now, here's the weird part . . . yes, my life will change somewhat if I sell. How could it not? Deadlines and copy edits and promotions . . . we're talking a complete full time job here.

I already have a career I'm passionately dedicated to. This last year, while learning a new state curriculum as well as working with a prep that was completely new to me, I couldn't have handled being a published author as well. I'm okay with that. I'm okay with not selling yet. Because when it does happen, I want to be able to mesh the career I love, the teaching, with the career I dream about, the writing. I know a lot of writers who have a primary job, one that pays the bills, and I know many who long to quit that job, to write fulltime. I can't see walking away from my classroom and the fantastic kids who fill it and make up a big part of my life. Already, I'm blessed with having a profession that I enjoy, one I (most days anyway) go to cheerfully, motivated to take on each new challenge.

Which is why when someone finally does say "yes," I can tell you the day job is one thing that won't change.

Tagged

Sharon tagged me days ago and I'm just now getting to this (actually, I've been thinking about it. Er, yeah. That works!).

So . . . six things about me:

1) We posted a 100% pass rate on the Georgia High School Graduation Test this year. 68% of those kids posted a pass-plus score in English/Language Arts. You're right . . . not really about me . . . but they're my kids, I've taught them for three straight years and I'm proud of them!

2) I know how to roof a house. And I've done it.

3) I was once involved in a high speed chase on 1-75 in Florida.

4) In two years, I will have been married exactly half my lifetime.

5) I'm not very well-traveled. I've been to . . . Alabama, Georgia and Florida.

6) I'm afraid of snakes. Get the willies from looking at photos of them. Ick.

Okay, I'm not tagging anyone . . . I know you're busy . . . but I'd love it if you left six things about you in the comments section!

Obsession

Hang around me long enough and you realize I tend to be a tad on the obsessive side. Usually, the obsession revolves around teaching (hey, what can I say? I'm passionate about my chosen career!), my Monsters and writing. Or rather, it used to revolve around writing. The well has been quite dry lately, and I must admit I've been most worried.

Except I think I figured out why.

And you're gonna laugh.

My waters of creativity are being siphoned.

I figured that out this week while proctoring the state end-of-course tests. To me, proctoring is actually harder than teaching -- I get bored. I mean, come on . . . all I'm doing is walking around the room, making sure no one is on the wrong screen, in the wrong section of the test, cheating, etc. So I usually let my mind wander to whatever story I'm working on. This time last year, I was immersed in Anything But Mine, and characters and ideas were bouncing around in my head.

Not this year.

This time, while watching kids panic over the Biology EOCT (my heavens, that test was hard!), I found my mind wandering creatively, except the images in my head had nothing to do with creating scenes.

Want to know what I've been up to mentally for the last couple days?

Arranging furniture in my soon-to-be-renovated living room. Planning paint colors for said furniture. Trying on different types of curtains.

Yep, I'm virtually decorating. I'm having a blast, but it's like having an alien life form sucking your brain out. No room for writing-related matters right now. I have to decide -- am I painting the coffee table red? Or a more sedate ivory? Brown, maybe? Heritage blue? See, I've waited longer for these renovations than I have to sell a book, so maybe it's only fair that for now I'm obsessing about making the most of them. It's kind of the way I feel when I'm writing -- I need details hammered out before I put words on paper (I'm a polished first draft kinda gal, after all!), and I need the same attention to detail focused on the rooms where I'm going to live.

So.

There you have it -- my current obsession.

Any suggestions on how to get the house obsession to take a back seat to the writing obsessions again?

Stuff and Nonsense

James came home this week and we're hoping to see him back at school next week. We're very grateful. :-) My classroom has been quiet without his slightly smart mouth.

I have a book and movie review I want to share with you this week -- a Superromance by Jane Brashear I found while looking for Amy Knupp's book and Elephant, a movie recommended by one of my juniors.

We have state testing this week, and I have no planning period, so if I'm scarce, you know why. :-)

So what do you want to hear about first -- book? Or movie?

Aftermath

Tuesday and Wednesday, I was okay. Shocked, a little upset, relieved, grateful.

Today? I've had this low simmering anger that just won't go away.

I don't think it will for a while.

Monday afternoon, one of my students was biking on the rural highway I live on. He trains for triathlons and does this regularly. He's a smart, savvy kid, a very personable kid, one teachers love.

Someone hit him.

We were blessed that despite the fact he wasn't wearing a helmet (although he owns two) and despite being knocked into the air and slammed into the asphalt face-first, he survived with no broken bones.

He survived. We're all thankful for that. I've reminded his upset classmates repeatedly that it's going to be okay, that he's going to be okay, that things could have been so much worse.

But today I woke up angry. Furious. The knot of anger stayed at the back of my neck all day. Now it's pounding at my temples. I'm angry that this kid I like, who is such a good kid, got hurt.

I'm furious that the person who hit him paused long enough to go around him after he'd hit the road and then left the scene.

Left.

How do you do that? How do you strike a human being with your car and drive away? How do you see the results of your actions, however accidental, and leave a child -- yes, a fifteen-year-old child -- bleeding in the road?

I'm so thankful this particular boy will be back in my classroom soon.

I'm very grateful for the teachers from another school who witnessed the accident and stopped to care for him.

But today . . . I'm very angry with the unknown person driving that gray minivan. I think I will be for a very long time.

Today's Post . . .

is at Romance Worth Killing For.

Do You Know . . .

What happens to Styrofoam packing peanuts when they're shoved into a window fan?

I do.

Monster #2 decided to find out while I was outside mowing the lawn. Needless to say, it can snow in Georgia in April . . .

Where I've Been . . .

Dauphin Island, Alabama

I'm Home!

Had a fantastic trip (although the drive over was rather trying -- it's four hours and took us nine -- I'll tell the story later this week).

Now I'm going to be swamped by "coming home from a trip" life instead of "getting ready for a trip" life.

You don't even want to know how many unread emails are sitting in my inbox. Eek!

I'm Tired . . .

Been catching on grading.

Adjusting to the idea of being suddenly, basically agent-less.

Trying to get my mind wrapped around revisions on an existing work. It's kicking my butt, freaking me out a little.

Counting down days to spring break.

What are you up to?

Where I've Been . . .

Being held hostage. (Actually, administering the high school graduation test for four days.)

Yesterday was errands.

Today was laundry and housework. It was supposed to be grading papers, too, but I didn't get that far.

Last night was fun . . . I judged a small-town beauty contest. I'd never done it before, but it really was interesting. I went with a friend and her aunt (we were the judges). They fed us finger foods (which I love) and we talked, laughed, had a good time. Judging was interesting -- difficult at times (we had three ties) but fun. The best part was I got paid a little bit (enough to buy those shorts from Old Navy I've wanted but wouldn't let myself splurge on, plus enough to buy my new bathing suit.)

And we got a goodie basket. That was the best . . . like Christmas morning. We weren't expecting that, and we received some really cool things. I have to write a great thank you note for both the experience and the gifts.

What have you been up to?

My Latest Post . . .

Is up at Romance Worth Killing For.

I'll be back here more regularly now that state testing is almost over. Pinky promise!

Today's Post . . .

Is at Romance Worth Killing For!

Oh, Wow!

Steph and Larissa have more news. Go congratulate them!

Sigh . . . I can say I knew them when. How cool is that?

I'm Tired!

Today has been one of those great "work around the house" days. I didn't go anywhere, didn't put on makeup . . . I just cleaned, did laundry and cut the grass. It was nice.

But I'm tired.

And my feet are green from mowing the lawn while wearing flip-flops.

I think I'll take the first shower tonight . . . and use all the hot water.

Ever Had One of Those Days . . .

You know the ones -- where you know worse things could happen, but the small bad things keep coming and coming so it's more like a tsunami than a gentle tide of daily irritations?

I have so had one of those days. Nothing huge, nothing life-altering, but by 2:30 this afternoon, I was thinking, "What else can possibly happen today?"

Tomorrow . . . well, tomorrow should be a better day.

After I make a phone call and straighten out one of today's little unpleasantries.

If my kid decides he's going to cooperate and have a good day at school.

If the other kid's immune system shakes off the cold or virus currently trying to attack him.

If all 110 teenagers I teach suddenly develop great attitudes and stop whining.

Yeah. That would be nice. :-)

Creating a Monster

My husband did it. At least, I'm blaming him.

The Monsters' bathroom renovation is finished. That means we have two rooms completed, and again I can see what the potential of what our "new" home will be.

The room is gorgeous.

And it's clean.

I tried banning everyone from using it. I mean, it's pretty. As I told DH yesterday afternoon, I've never had pretty before. I've always had functional and practical, so pretty was different. Totally cool.

And I didn't want to share.

He did finally convince me tonight that no, we couldn't just look at it, and yes, at some point I did have to let the creatures I gave birth to actually use the room.

The tub.

The toilet.

Shudder.

I gave in. But I rinsed the tub after they bathed, and woe be to them if someone doesn't ring the toilet.

My dad knows how to build an outhouse.

You Win Some . . . You Lose Some

Well, SIM doesn't want TAC. I'm okay with that, surprisingly. A little confused as to my writing direction right now, but okay. Weird, huh?

On the plus side, I can now say I've coached a region champion in Literary. Whoo-hoo! This is a first for me, my Literary team, and our school. We're excited.

Friday's Blog . . .

Is already up at Romance Worth Killing For.

Sigh . . .

I had this great post planned. I even had a title: "He Said What?!"

Alas, Literary competition is Friday, grades are due Tuesday, and I'm grading a set of essays on The Crucible.

Obviously, very few of my juniors know what a comma is or care to learn how to use one. I would make some crack about how someone never taught them English, grammar, etc.

Except I've been their English teacher for three years.

More obviously, maybe I haven't taught them anything. That's sobering, with state high-stakes testing a mere eleven days away.

Back to read more. Talk later.

The Busy Stuff

I love this time of year -- it's warming up, the days get longer, it's only a few months until summer vacation . . .

It's also testing season, and I'm swamped. Grades are due next week, I'm trying to make sure my kids are prepared for the graduation test and the end of course test. Literary competition is coming up and another of my competitors dropped today. I'm really thinking of coaching only the drama team next year and letting someone else have literary. It's just not my calling, I don't think.

I'm wading through essays and Julius Caesar tests. Preparing to teach transcendentalism -- what fun!

So if I'm scarce the next few days, you know why. But I will have a post up Friday at Romance Worth Killing For.

Joan's post on success is up today. Go take a look!

Things Are Looking Up

I have energy again. I started running again.

Man, my legs hurt. Actually, they tingle.

But I feel good. :-)

Tomorrow's post will be at Romance Worth Killing For. Go read Elisabeth's and Joan's posts while you wait.

Too Unreal!

And too cool, too!

First Larissa.

Then Steph.

Now Cece! Whoo-hoo!

Go congratulate her.

And how do I get a drink of that water, girls?

Positive Thinking

I stole this from Jen -- she calls it "participation positives." My grandma would have called it counting my blessings. I still count Jen as one of mine -- if not for her, I might not be writing.

Anyway . . . here are my +'s:

1) Tomorrow's payday -- and I have money left over after paying my bills.
2) Monster #1 needed prescriptions today -- and I didn't have to decide between paying the light bill, buying food or getting him his medications.
3) The ugly cabinets are gone from the kitchen . . . and new ones will be there soon.
4) Both Monsters are feeling better.
5) I have sick leave days banked.
6) I didn't have to find my own sub.
7) I wrote today.
8) My desk is clean.
9) My friends.
10) My refrigerator is clean.

Either I'm really blessed in a wonderfully ordinary way . . . or my life is dull.

I think we'll go with blessed in a wonderfully ordinary way.

Could This Be Cooler?!

First, Larissa sold.

Now Steph sold to Blaze!

Go congratulate her!

Sisters in Secrecy

First it was Larissa.

Now, Steph's in on the plot to drive us all insane.

Go nag them.

I have Julius Caesar tests to grade. I'm so excited.

Bits and Pieces

In case you haven't noticed, Larissa has an evil, teasing side. And it's showing.

It's been one of those drizzly, nasty days here. No renovation work going on. Spent the day hanging out with a friend -- went to the bookfair, where it was BOGO. What fun! Both Monsters got books (Monster #2 is sick -- he perked up some over his non-fiction selections).

Then I spent the afternoon camped on the couch, reading Stephen King's new release Cell. Now, we all know I think ol' Stephen is the master writer, and I enjoyed the read (well, obviously -- I mean, I read the whole thing in one sitting).

But.

I adored The Stand. I'm of the opinion that novel is one of his finest. And all while I was reading Cell, I kept feeling like I was reading the short version of The Stand, with the cellphone-induced Pulse taking the place of the Superflu, and the Raggedy Man standing in for, um, evil-leader-guy-whose-name-I-can't-remember from The Stand. There were other parallels and if I'd been able to shake those while reading, I'd have enjoyed the book more. I'm not crazy about reader deja vu.

Now I have Ann Rinaldi's novelization about the Salem Witch Trials to read. As I'm fascinated with that event in American history (and just finished teaching The Crucible), I'm looking forward to that, too.

Oh, and it's seven weeks until spring break.

If anyone besides me is counting. ;-)

Today's Post . . .

Is at Romance Worth Killing For.

Whoo-hoo!

Go congratulate Larissa, who has VERY good news!

That "G" Word

I hate to even mention it, because it always seems to jinx me.

I blame Sylvia Day. And Steph for pointing me to her site to start with. Not that Sylvia and Steph aren't both lovely people.

It's that whole "G" thing.

You know the word.

Goal.

That's the one. Whenever I set one, I might as well be slitting my throat, writing-wise. Not sure if she still does, but Sylvia used to do a writing-goal challenge on her message boards. January of last year, I set a goal of 60 pages for that month.

Easy-peasy, right? I mean, I was a five page a day writer.

Oh. My. God.

You have no idea how long it took me to write those sixty pages. Something like six months, I think.

So I said no more goals. It's kinda like no contests. I know what I'm doing. I mean, my writing mo-jo doesn't need no mo' jinxing, y'hear?

But.

I have a target. That's not quite the same as a, well, you know.

(Stop laughing, E. It's NOT the same.)

One measly page a day. That's it. If I do more, great. If that's all, fine. Less . . . well, we'll see.

Just don't call it a goal.

Okay?

'kay.

Ding, Dong, the Kitchen's Gone!

And oddly enough, it looks better with everything ripped out than it did with the off-kilter cabinets and nasty old sink. What does that say?

I'm very excited. Every bit of progress brings me much closer to my "new" house.

Today's Post . . .

Is at Romance Worth Killing For.

To E or Not to E . . .

That is the question. Whether 'tis better for the mind
to suffer the zings and questions of uncertain rejection
or by taking up keyboard and the send key, end them?

Can you guess what I'm teaching this month?

Ever want an answer to something, but we're afraid to ask? I'm wondering if I have a big, fat R in my agent's office, and at the same time, I don't want to email. I'm like, surely she'd tell me. Right? I've been trying to just fade into the background and not think about it.

You know -- playing ostrich.

I think I'll just wait. :-)

What do you think?

I'm It.

Tagged by Sharon. (Gee, thanks, hon!)

current clothing: pink pajama pants (with cute shoes on them!), big white T-shirt, green sweatshirt, slippers
current hair: Down, messy
current refreshment: Diet Pepsi
current annoyance: One of my lit classes
current avoidance: writing
current smell: New flooring/wallcovering
current thing you ought to be doing: writing a unit plan, catching up on crits
current thing or things on your wall: none.
current IM/person you're talking to: No one
current jewelry: None
current book: The Mermaid Chair by Sue Monk Kidd
current worry: EOCT, GPS implementation, the house renovations from hell
current favorite celebrity: Matthew McConnaughey
current obsession: Aforementioned renovations from hell
current love: DH
current longing: a clean, organized, decent place to live
current disappointment: see current longing
current lyric in your head: Theme to Spongebob
current music: see lyric above
current favorite book: Leaving Atlanta by Tayari Jones
current favorite movie: None
current wish: See current longing
current happy thing: none
current undergarments: Victoria's Secret (Body by Victoria.)
current desktop picture: Microsoft "Bliss" -- the field with the blue sky and clouds
current plans for tonight/weekend: None. And it's my anniversary/birthday. How sad is that? ;-)
What are you currently doing? Listening to the Monsters fight over the chessboard.

So . . . I'm tagging: Carol, Elisabeth, Kristi and Joan. Come on, girls. You wouldn't want me to have ALL the fun, would you?

We're Live!

Check out Elisabeth's excellent post on plot braiding over at the new collaborative blog ROMANCE WORTH KILLING FOR.

See you there!

New Blog! Check It Out!

Just in time for Valentine’s Day: ROMANCE WORTH KILLING FOR, a blogging
collaboration by three romantic suspense authors: Elisabeth Naughton, Joan
Swan and Linda Winfree.

All writing-related topics, all the time. With eight collective years of
serious writing between us, the subjects will range from back-to-basics
grammar and GMC, through the submission process, obtaining an agent and
beyond. Posts scheduled Mon/Wed/Fri with surprises planned in between, so
check back often.

Quiz-Happy

Scarfed from Steph:

You Are The Star

You represent the ultimate in truth and purity. Insightful and illuminating, you provide guidance for others. You also demonstrate unselfish, unconditional love. You posses many spiritual gifts, including the ability to heal. Your fortune: Your future is looking brighter by the day. The near future will be a time of both hope and healing. Luck is about to come your way, perhaps the best luck you have ever seen. Life is about to get a lot easier and much better!

What Tarot Card Are You?

Now, I ask you, does that really sound like me? Didn't think so.

This is more like me:

Slow and Steady

Your friends see you as painstaking and fussy. They see you as very cautious, extremely careful, a slow and steady plodder. It'd really surprise them if you ever did something impulsively or on the spur of the moment. They expect you to examine everything carefully from every angle and then usually decide against it.

How Do People See You?

This is me, too:

Your Five Factor Personality Profile

Extroversion: You have low extroversion. You are quiet and reserved in most social situations. A low key, laid back lifestyle is important to you. You tend to bond slowly, over time, with one or two people. Conscientiousness: You have high conscientiousness. Intelligent and reliable, you tend to succeed in life. Most things in your life are organized and planned well. But you borderline on being a total perfectionist. Agreeableness: You have medium agreeableness. You're generally a friendly and trusting person. But you also have a healthy dose of cynicism. You get along well with others, as long as they play fair. Neuroticism: You have medium neuroticism. You're generally cool and collected, but sometimes you do panic. Little worries or problems can consume you, draining your energy. Your life is pretty smooth, but there's a few emotional bumps you'd like to get rid of. Openness to experience: Your openness to new experiences is medium. You are generally broad minded when it come to new things. But if something crosses a moral line, there's no way you'll approve of it. You are suspicious of anything too wacky, though you do still consider creativity a virtue.

The Five Factor Personality Test

This one nailed me:

You Are Likely a Second Born

At your darkest moments, you feel inadequate. At work and school. you do best when you're evaluating. When you love someone, you offer them constructive criticism. In friendship, you tend to give a lot of feedback - positive and negative. Your ideal careers are: accounting, banking, art, carpentry, decorating, teaching, and writing novels. You will leave your mark on the world with art and creative projects.

The Birth Order Predictor

And if I have time to take all those quizzes, I'm either addicted to blogthings or I have no life.

Ever Read a Book . . .

That was so bad, you were annoyed you'd actually spent money on it? I'm regretting a recent paperback purchase.

Bad, bad, bad.

Baaaaad.

Really bad.

On a brighter note, some of our kids have started publishing a school newsletter in their computer applications class. It's kinda cute -- poking fun at the dress code, interviewing a student every week, showcasing poetry. The student body loves it, especially a little column called, "They Didn't Really Say That!" Our science/social studies teacher makes note of the unthinking things the kids say and turns the list in to the paper, and the editor chooses a couple to print each week. Even the kids getting zinged love it ('cause they know we love them). The funny thing is that the kids quoted are usually our best and brightest caught in a not-so-bright moment. Here's the best three from this week (all names have been disguised to protect the not-so-innocent):

L.D.: "Mr. Gabe, how do you spell IOU?"

J.G.: "So you're saying Africa and South America are the same place?"

After a student showed up with hair that was jet black in the front and brown in the back:

Mr. G: "N., your hair is two-tone."
N.B.: "Yeah, I straightened it this morning."

Now what I'm waiting on is the kids to start writing down the stupid things WE say in the classroom. Guess who mispronounced medieval today?

Still MIA . . .

But checking in.

I'm behind in my grading and midterm is a week from today. It's that darn grammar/vocabulary test where I made them correct the sentences and write examples for the words. What was I thinking? Oh, yeah. I wanted them to have to show me what they understood. Temporary insanity, obviously.

My mother is happy. I made my doctor's appointment for this Friday. I know she's worried because she keeps coming over while I'm at work and cleaning. If my mom is taking care of me, I'm not hiding things well. That's scary.

The DH scared me worse. DH thinks I'm Superwoman Who Can Do Anything. He didn't a clingy Southern bride, and he didn't get one. But. We had not much to do this weekend, and when I wasn't doing the little we had to do, I was sleeping. Hours of it. Not so much because I was tired, but as an escape mechanism. Not good, as one of my favorite students says. So. Yesterday, he makes me promise that I'll follow through on making the household journal -- the one with all the bill due dates, the user names and passwords for paying said bills, what he'd need to know about our Monsters on a daily basis. I'm like, What? At the same time, I'm grousing about having to take a half day to go to the doctor -- sub plans are a big B. And he gives me the look and says, "Lin, look. It's either a half day now or several days later. Your choice." I know what he's getting at. He thinks I'm going to hit the wall and need one of those "exhaustion" breaks that actors and musicians take. And if he's worried about me? That's worse than my mom worrying about me.

So. I'm gonna grade papers. That's my focus. And see the physician on Friday. Get some sleep in the meantime. And not worry that I feel numb, rather than all the other emotions I've had roiling around the last few months.

And I'll work on returning to active duty here.

Soon.

M.I.A.

My CP accused me of this the other day, and I guess she's right. Although, I think I'd call it Mentally Inattentive rather than Missing In Action. I'm just not with it, and I'm just not good company for anyone right now, either.

But I'm working on it. ;-)

Hopefully soon, I'll be on active duty again.

What I'm Reading

1) The Mermaid Chair -- Sue Monk Kidd
2) This article -- it's amazing what the mind can do that we're unaware of.
3) Julius Caesar
4) Romeo & Juliet (actually, kind of skimming over it)
5) Nonfiction that spans the development of American literature -- I need to buckle down and focus on Thoreau and Emerson

What's on your list?

You Know That Garfield Cartoon . . .

The one where he's bemoaning the fact he's been attacked by several Mondays at once? I'm feeling that.

Actually, I'm feeling the trip out of town, the laundry done, the time spent helping seniors on research papers, the trip to the grocery store, etc.

Monster #1's academic team had a tournament two hours away yesterday, and we left Friday afternoon to spend the night before, after a whirlwind of haircut appointments and packing. I never really got the whole concept of an academic tournament until I let a colleague rope me into being a reader for the big bash tournament he throws at our school every year. Now I totally see it! And I'm excited my kid participates. Watching the kids -- all of them -- is so funny! They're so serious and such good sports as well.

While I was moving Monster #1's team from room to room in a charming 1930's era schoolhouse, the DH took Monster #2 to a rather large swamp park to ride in a boat and see alligators. Afterward, Monster #1 wanted a trip to. Okay, even though I'll often vie with Elisabeth for the worst mother award, I think I deserve mom kudos for not only going to see the alligators but walking through the park in two-and-a-half-inch heels (blue suede pointy toes, too!).

Got home late Saturday night and crashed (I did all the driving -- but I did stop for a Starbucks. Yum!).

Worked with some of the seniors from my homeroom this afternoon on their research papers for the college class they're taking through our campus (our plan is for our kids to graduate with up to four college courses completed). I'd forgotten that some college professors don't really, um, teach the way high school teachers do -- they lecture. Let's just say some of the kids were caught in a quagmire of confusion and procrastination. I don't teach these kids anymore, so it was kind of fun to sit and work with them again (I know you're not supposed to have favorites as a teacher, but I loved this group).

So . . . after laundry and hanging with my kids and finishing Pompeii (oh, gosh, I'm out of reading material . . . must go to bookstore!) . . . I'm off to crash again.

Talk later.

Wipe Out

Or rather, wiped out. I had a teacher workshop today (assessment, feedback and Georgia Performance Standards).

Have I ever mentioned I can't sit still?

There's a reason you never come into my classroom to find me sitting at my desk. I'm up, in the middle of my students. I might be sitting in a student desk if I'm conferencing or perched on a stool or the top of a student desk if I'm teaching, but usually I'm moving around.

So eight hours in one chair, listening to a presenter? Oh. My. Gosh. I'm exhausted, and I feel like I've been run over by a truck. We did walk to lunch (have I ever mentioned my affection for high heels? My calves hurt now.). And I went for a walk with a friend while the Monsters were embroiled in an extracurricular activity. So I worked off the pent-up excess energy, but I'm still feeling the hours spent having to be attentive in that chair.

And before you remind me my students do this every day . . . they get to change classes and I provide lots of opportunities for movement in my class (I had two kids batting a balloon around the other day during group worktime. Me: "What are you doing?! W.S.: "Brainstorming. For our poster. We're tossing around ideas." Sure enough, they were. It's an awesome poster, too.)

Looking forward to my normal routine tomorrow . . .

A Good Thing

Ever have one of those days that's special simply because it's not? I've been a little lazy today -- sleeping late, working in Monster #1's room (which looks great, btw), cleaning the living area, working with the dog, reading the paper, reading a little of Pompeii. No writing, no teacher stuff. Just being. It's been nice, too, and I feel recharged, ready for next week (although, cripes! I haven't done my homework for my Wednesday workshop yet.).

I think I'm going to just hang out with the Monsters for a little while tonight and continue my just "being."

Talk to you soon.

The Good Stuff

I know you all probably think I'm the world's greatest pessimist (well . . .) or mired in negativity or whatever.

But.

I love the good stuff, love it when good things happen to others, when I get an opportunity to witness the good that often comes out of adversity.

I'm thrilled for friends of mine who recently discovered they're expecting their second child. I'm ecstatic for a colleague and her husband who've waited years for a baby, experienced a failed adoption and recently adopted a beautiful baby boy. I've had the opportunity to watch our students at their best this week, enfolding and supporting a classmate who suffered a devastating personal setback. I'm proud of them.

And today, I'm just taking in the good stuff.

Huh?

Scarfed this from Larissa:

Possessing a rare combination of wisdom and humility, while serenely dominating your environment you selflessly use your powers to care for others.

Even the smallest person can change the course of the future.

Galadriel is a character in the Middle-Earth universe. Duh-huh?

A Glimmer of Light

At the end of the tunnel. (Or it's a train set to run me over.)

But . . . I did manage to write two pages this morning. I'm trying for a couple more before Monster #1's dental appointment. I have some quizzes to grade tonight, but no real "teacher" work since my kids are working this week on a performance task and I'm serving as the facilitator instead of the instructor. (Have I mentioned I love performance tasks? I'm thinking once I polish up all my units from this year, I should post them online somewhere.)

Elisabeth will be pleased to know my two pages dealt with a certain hero dealing with his past and his possible clairvoyance.

Off to scarf a quick lunch and put laundry away. Talk later.

Miscellaneous Meanderings

Well, I'm up, I've had my coffee, and I'm feeling better. Not Pollyanna positive, but better. Today, I need to get the beginning of AFF off to author Melissa James for the critique I won in Larissa's auction. I'm kind of low-key excited about finding out what she thinks of it. I'm still not in a "let's jump in and write!" mood, but I'm feeling less of the urge to dump and delete everything and run off to Cedar Key where there are no phones, no cars, no problem.

Realized also that I haven't offered a submission update lately. HOTM is still out at four houses (hmmm, so far I'm 0 for 6, LOL). TAC is still at SIM. I try not to let the waiting and wondering stress me out, but you know I do.

Our renovations at home have stalled out as a result of the holidays, but I'm hoping February will have us back to work on that. I won't let anyone but my mother in the house right now because it looks so bad, and some days, letting her in is iffy. I will be so glad when we're done, at least with the main living area so I can have friends over again. My friend Pam thinks the upheaval of renovation -- being unable to keep things organized and really clean, feeling isolated because it's such a mess all the time -- coupled with a little teacher burnout and the writing stresses is at the core of how I've been feeling the last few months. She may be right. In the past, I've always handled stress well -- but I wonder if I've overloaded my coping ability this time around. I do know that things that would never have bothered me before now tend to make me very edgy and that the moods tend to have a spiral effect to them. I find it difficult to pull myself up from the down moods (and I know I'm driving the wonderful CPs insane -- I'd dump my whiny self if I were them. But I'm working on less whining and moaning and feeling bad, out loud at least. I swear.). However, I've started exercising again -- walking with a friend a couple nights a week and I'm trying to work the treadmill back into things -- and that's helped somewhat. Did I mention I get addicted to the exercise high?

We're planning a trip later in the spring, and I'm looking forward to that. There are only four more months of school, and I'm really looking forward to that. Even better right now -- no school Monday. I get to sleep in again tomorrow. And I'm most looking forward to that!

Parallels

I'm reading Pompeii by Robert Harris. (Along with an anthology of short stories by Joyce Carol Oates and The Untelling by Tayari Jones.)

Anyway, at the point where I'm reading Attilius, an engineer in charge of the Aquaduct, is trying to figure out why it's failed, why the water has stopped flowing.

I can so relate to that. For the last six months or so, writing has been a chore. I can't remember the last time I had that "Oh, my gosh, I love this idea, this story, these characters and I can't wait to get to the keyboard" feeling. Usually, I'm looking for anything at all to do to avoid it. I've even noticed that, for a myriad of reasons, my posts here are falling off, getting shorter and shorter.

And there's stuff lately that's making the feeling worse. I have doubt demons (big ones) out the whazoo. So it's not necessarily that I need to "fill the well," but that I need to find a way to generate self-confidence. I have to do it.

Why is that such a scary thought?

(I think I'm going to go veg out and read. I think I make a good ostrich. I could cross-stitch. I've already been painting today. Anyone else have avoidance strategies they want to share?)

Struggling

So I'm struggling with this and I thought I'd toss it out there for y'all to answer. I'm obsessing over something and I can't seem to get my mind wrapped around it.

How do you use conversation and scenes to move the plot forward? I thought I was doing that . . . but I guess not. :-D

If I Ever . . .

. . . say the words "teaching research skills" again, someone please reply, "Historical narrative."

What was I thinking when I dreamed up this unit, anyway?

Ugh

Lots of nasty weather moving through -- rain, wind, hail. A tornado already on the ground. My parents have had a lightning strike.

And it's just beginning. According to Kent the Weatherman, we're in for this all day.

Great.

I'll check in later.