Somethin's Gotta Give

I apologize to those of you who take the time to find me out here in cyber world, but it's a non-blog week. DH and I tackled the 800 square foot deck this week. Sanding and staining has been a time-consuming task. And, when I'm not knee-deep in Cedar tone #2053, I am busy with the revision.

However, I don't want you to leave disappointed. I give you the girls for your viewing pleasure. See you next week!

You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view. —Harper Lee

Stop the presses! Not that they've actually started, but it's a line I've always wanted to say and have never had the context to use it. Well, now I do. Sorta. I am slamming the breaks on querying Cutting to the Chase for a few weeks.

One of my author friends suggested I write it in the first person point of view (POV). Now, to be honest, she encouraged me to do this quite some time ago. I resisted. I've never written in first person and was overwhelmed at the prospect of a full rewrite in a POV that did not come naturally to me. The story is told in close third POV, so it's almost the same thing. Right? (Insert irritating disqualifying buzzer here.) Wrong.

Her suggestion niggled at me as I continued to read a plethora of young adult novels—all of which are written in the first person. And, I have found myself drawn in, immersed. Unbeknownst to my conscious mind (Because, had I recognized I was doing this, would I have begun to query at all?), I started absorbing how to do it. And, shortly after hitting send on a few queries, I sat down and played with chapter one.

I learned two things immediately. First, I can write in first person. Second, and more importantly, it's worth the extra work. I am really getting into Lizzy's headspace. Scenes that were previously fine are now more than that. They are stronger. They pop.

I love writing so many different kinds of stories but, right now, young adult hums for me. It feels familiar, comfortable, like coming home. It taps into years of work in education and, in a way, helps me remain connected with youth, something I miss now that I have left the field. As for the work that is currently going into switching POV? It is part of the thrill of writing—you never stop learning.

 

I suppose with any good writing and interesting characters, you can have that awfully overused word: a journey. —Alan Rickman

I am sending Cutting to the Chase out into the big wide world. It is difficult to let it go. When writing a story, I am immersed in the world and the characters become very real to me. It is difficult to say goodbye to them. I believe it is why I think of my stories in clusters. Raven's Path, my historical fiction, is the first of a three-part saga. Love Denied, my Romance, is one of an interconnected series dealing with taboo subjects of the Regency era. And, Cutting to the Chase introduced characters that are screaming for their own stories.

I am currently knee-deep in Mags' story, who I met in Cutting to the Chase. I talked in an earlier post about how difficult it was for me to throw her off the cliff, but I did and we are now currently climbing out. Not a quick scale, mind you. There is a lot for her to figure out before there will be any resolution or peace in her life. I am full of angst as I write, but we're in it together, Mags and I, and we will come out on the other side.

Becky's storyline is beginning to blossom too. What started out as snippets and scenes is quickly evolving into a full story arc. I am trying to keep her quiet while I focus on Mags, but she is one determined girl and keeps pushing into my thoughts. So, I capture snapshots to pacify her and hope that she backs off for a bit and gives me some space.

That's two connected but very different stories sprouting from Cutting to the Chase, and I have been quite satisfied with the situation. I mean, three is the perfect number, right? Well, it seems that Stu doesn't think so. He has started to tap on my shoulder and remind me that he too has a life. I've explained to him that writing from the point of view of a teenaged guy might be a bit much for me. He just takes off his cap, runs his hand through those ridiculous curls of his and winks. Says I'm up to it. He's got his own file now, because who am I to argue?

 

 

Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies. —Aristotle

Today is our anniversary. I love. I am loved. Unconditionally. It's why I believe in happy ever afters.

You kissed me

And I didn't know

That in that moment

That singular spectacular moment

My life changed for the better

Forever

My heart, my life, my Keev.

 

(For those curious about our anniversary song...Cathy, Sadie...this year we have chosen Over and Over Again by Nathan Sykes.)

It is not how much we have, but how much we enjoy, that makes happiness. —Charles Spurgeon

I live in a bubble, I really do. I'm not sure when that happened. It wasn't always that way. I am no stranger to life's trials and heartaches. None of us are immune. Yet, more and more I cannot help but think I am the luckiest person on the planet. Although, perhaps my happiness stems from recognizing and celebrating the good things in my life rather than dwelling on the not-so-good things? I have come to believe that negatives can be undermined by positives. So, that means you have to put your positives in the spotlight in order to keep the negatives in the wings…or better yet, to toss those negatives into the gutter behind the theatre of your life.

I used to keep a "grateful" journal. Each night I'd write three things that I was grateful for that day. Eventually, I internalized it and, while the journal still resides in my nightstand, I rarely write in it. Instead, I say it out loud. To my husband. To myself. To the universe. I thought I'd share some things in my life that I am grateful for, that make me want to do a happy dance just thinking about them.

1.       My good health. I begin every day with a thankful nod to it. For, without it, my bubble might pop.

2.       My husband. Best friends, we tell each other "I love you" every single day. More importantly, we mean it.

3.       My two little dogs. They make my heart swell with love and maternal instinct, and they make me laugh every day.

4.       My home. Pastoral, mountain and ocean views, it is an ever-changing watercolour outside my living room window. It reminds me every day that I am but a small part of something bigger, and that helps keep things in perspective.

5.       My writing. The artist in me craves creativity and writing feeds that part of my soul. Add to that 100% support from DH and the time to pursue it, well, how lucky can a gal get?

6.       My friends. Old and new, near and far. They don't allow me to slip into an insular writer's world. Instead, they insist that I come out and play and always reach out when I am MIA too long.

7.       Books. I stinkin' love books. From romance novels to picture books to atlases, surround me, submerge me, freakin' drown me in books. I adore the look of them, the feel of them in my hands and I love, love, love getting lost in them.

8.       Champagne. It's a good thing I am not rich. I would live on the stuff. Mind you, even in my quiet little life there is always a reason to pop a bottle of bubbly.

9.       Chocolate. We enjoy a piece of chocolate every day. It is decadent and delicious.

10.   Gardening. I have always loved planning a flower garden. Now I have seven raised beds waiting for my exploration into vegetable gardening…and a climate that makes this new endeavour oh so exciting.

I urge you to make a list and to focus on the great things in your every day. To the best of our knowledge, we only get one chance at this thing called life. Let's kick up our heels a little and celebrate all things good.

"The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go." ― Dr. Seuss, I Can Read With My Eyes Shut!

It is easy to find articles that put forth the doom and gloom of a failing publishing industry, of closing bookstores, of declining readership and of the lost souls of writers desperate for sales. While these cries echo the crisis/panic approach to all things that seems to be the media norm now, there are always some nuggets of truth hidden in the dramatic claims.

Publishing companies have had to navigate the waters of the digital age and there were some rough currents along the way. And, there is news again this week of another seemingly successful publisher closing down. But, many have found a balance between offering digital and hard copy and are doing well. The dearth of independent bookstores is slowly being refilled with a small resurgence of demand for more intimate and personal environments away from the conglomerate chains. If these things are true, then readership must be on the upswing and, by default, authors beginning to see light at the end of the tunnel.

But, we must not be complacent, we lovers of the written word. We must support the industry if we want to have access to a wide selection of affordable reading material. How? First of all, buy books and read. Then, buy more books and read. Repeat.

What else? Tell people about what you are reading. If you love a book, say so. Get on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, whatever your choice of media, and tell people about the book. Comfortable expressing your opinion in written form? Review it…on a blog, on Goodreads, on Amazon…wherever you can. (Reviews, on online bookselling sites, put those books on the radar and up their rankings for searches.) If you belong to online forums, chat it up. Or join a live or online book club and share it. Tell your local bookstore how much you enjoyed it. If they hear that enough times, they'll start recommending it. Speak to your local librarians. They can support through purchasing and recommending.

And, if you are so inclined, reach out to the authors and let them know you enjoyed their books. Most have websites, Facebook and/or Twitter feeds. Yes, they need to put food on their tables, but who doesn't like to be told they've done a good job?

I try to do these things as much as possible. I share, I praise and I promote. Not because I write, but because I read. There is nothing sweeter than curling up with a good book. I am doing my part to ensure that always remains a possibility.

 

 

“A truly great book should be read in youth, again in maturity and once more in old age, as a fine building should be seen by morning light, at noon and by moonlight.” ― Robertson Davies

Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird was required reading in high school. I was always a voracious reader and I recall enjoying it and the discussions that ensued. I don't remember adoring it as so many others have but, since I remember it well all these years later, it clearly did resonate on some level. The brouhaha around her "discovered" novel did not move me enough to want to read it. But her death urges me to reread To Kill a Mockingbird to see where it fits in my schema now that I'm all grown up and have seen a thing or two in my life.

I've never been big on rereads. There are so many books and only so much time. Yet, lately, I seem to be drawn to check out how I would react now to books read long ago. Can they stand up to the test of time or do they belong to where I was in that moment? I suspect there's a bit of both. I have reread Outlander and thoroughly enjoyed it each time. But, there was only about six years between those readings—not a whole lot of change in my world or psyche in that time.

Last week, I mentioned that I had reread Mary Stewart's Wildfire at Midnight. It is a good story but, truly, it is her Merlin series that I fell in love with. So in love, that I wrote her a gushing fan letter begging her to continue. And, she answered. A measure of her worth as a writer, and of the generous power she yielded to make this young girl feel valuable, lies in the fact that I still have her letter many moves and 38 years later. Her writing has, and will always be, an inspiration for me both as a reader and a writer.

Rest in peace Harper Lee and Mary Stewart. You may be gone, but you will not be forgotten.