May 22, 2007
When I was twelve, my mom bought me copies of Anne McCaffrey’s Dragonflight and Dragonquest at a flea market. They were stripped copies but this was twenty years ago; what did we know?
I may not have known the first thing about the book business back then — hey, I was only twelve — but I knew good characters, and it didn’t take long before I’d fallen in love with F’lar and Lessa. They were as real to me as the friend who lived three houses down, who I’d get together with almost every day that same summer.
I wanted to be part of F’lar and Lessa’s lives; they seemed so real, so easy to envision. I knew they were fiction, but oh, how I wished I could be fiction, too, and have a place in the Weyr with them. I wanted to live a dangerous, exciting life. I wanted to be among the group of heroes who made a difference.
Eventually, I grew up. Found other things to read. You know how it goes. But every now and then, I’d return to those Pern books, particularly when my life was in tumult. I remember staying up all night after I was married, looking for solace. The Tour Manager’s ex-roommate had blamed me for his wife’s insecurities, and he hadn’t exactly been kind about it.
I read, and I read, looking for the way to cope with what felt like a neutron bomb that had gone off inside my life. I was looking for wisdom, for guidance, for escapism. I found it all.
A year and a half ago, or so, a friend pointed me to Miss Snark. I needed to read her, she said.
At first glance, I was put off. But then, I laughed. And finally, I was hooked.
It wasn’t just the things I was learning from her. I mean, heck. I’d been around the publishing block once already. I’d had an agent. I knew that glitter and neon pink paper weren’t such great ideas. I knew about twelve-point font and SASEs and to follow the damn directions.
Of course, there was plenty to learn. After all, I’ve only been around the block once. Maybe I didn’t get the whole way around, since my wonderful agent didn’t make me a sale.
What hooked me wasn’t the content; it was the writing. Snark didn’t just dish out her own advice, she took it and whoever created her did so pretty completely. She was her own person, a work of fiction who was as well-rounded and clearly drawn as any of the best fictional characters out there. She had a voice. She had inside jokes. She had a love for shoes and a disdain for cats. In some ways, I knew Miss Snark better than I knew my own best friends.
She wasn’t real. I knew that even as I exchanged e-mails with her and tried not to get excited that someone who could afford Jimmy Choos would actually deign to speak to me. There was room in Snark’s world for all of us, so long as we weren’t total nitwits — or could laugh at ourselves if we were. We took that risk by e-mailing her questions for the blog or submissions for her writing contests. We knew that, but we risked it anyway.
Part of the reason was that she was trustworthy. The one time when I had a situation on my hands that I truly didn’t know how best to handle, she came to my rescue. Didn’t even call for the cluegun, either, but then, I know I’m not a nitwit. Every now and then.
That’s the part of Snark I’ll miss the most. Yes, I’ll miss the jokes and the occasional times when I’d scream with laughter or put my water glass down before clicking on her name in my feedburner. For me, the power of Miss Snark was knowing that I always had someone I could turn to when I needed it. The only expectation either of us could have was a thank you; there were no obligations of sending gifts or making sure you followed the proper etiquette. The only etiquette was to have a clue, and the longer you hung around, the bigger your clues got.
She’s gone now, as pretty much the whole world knows. I have no idea what I’ll do if I land a contract with an independent publisher and need a referral to an agent, just for the purpose of the contract. And my feed reader will probably never again threaten to explode with the 100-plus Crapometer entries.
In a way, it’s like closing the cover on my bedraggled copy of The White Dragon, knowing it was a great ride and I’m a better person for having spent time here. The site remains in case I have to dig through the archives yet again. Just as the books sit on the same shelf with my stuffed bison and Animal the muppet.
I am one of those people who is always looking forward, toward the next adventure and the next person who’ll touch my life. I pretend I don’t look back, but I do. In those quiet times, when I can’t sleep or am driving somewhere and the music lulls me into letting my guard down. I’ll look back on it all with a bittersweet laugh.
Just as it was eventually time to leave my beloved Dragonriders on the shelf, now it’s time to move through the publishing world without my tart-tongued guide. Always grateful for the interesting things I’ve found thus far, but always ready to check out — if cautiously — the next thing that comes along. Certainly, because of Miss Snark, I’ll be the savvier for it.
To the men and/or women who created her, thanks. I hope I never find out who you really are. If I do, I’m afraid I might look at you the same way I look at Casey Kasem now that I know he voiced Shaggy on Scooby Doo.
Some things, I’m better off not knowing.
Let Miss Snark remain her perfectly imperfect fictional self.
I’m sure George Clooney will sleep better for it.
May 18, 2007
Check out what my friend Breeni is up to!
Click HERE.
Other odds and ends:
1. The promised outtake featuring Val and her kitchen, to tie into this week’s Thursday Thirteen, is still forthcoming. But you all need to see the interview before I bury it under fiction. *grin*
2. Details on the summer reading contest are starting to come together. Be prepared to join in by the end of June.
3. I’m up to more than just a summer reading contest. Stay tuned; we’ll make a small difference in the world together.
4. I did a good peanut gallery impersonation the other day and won the “most creative” award for it. Check it out.
5. It’s a really cool feeling when you’re standing with a small group of people and before you can break into the conversation to introduce yourself, literary agent Jenny Rappaport reads your name tag and says, “Oh, Susan! Hi!” You’d think we’re old friends. Given how much we have in common, separated at birth might be more like it.
There it is, folks. The power of blogging at work.
May 16, 2007
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| In keeping with the theme I began two weeks ago, when we looked at Mitchell and Kerri‘s kitchen and its contents, this week, let’s take a look at Daniel and Val‘s kitchen. For those of you too lazy to follow the links, Daniel is ShapeShifter‘s drummer and Val, his long-time girlfriend who trained as a chef but quit the restaurant business when it got too much.
Look for a new outtake featuring Daniel, Val, and their kitchen over the weekend. And for you meme lovers, another one I’ll let the band answer. 1. A sourdough starter 2. a windowsill herb garden (that overflows onto the patio, in ever-expanding pots) 3. A wide variety of teas 4. Phone numbers for three butchers 5. ten kinds of chocolate and/or cocoa, not counting hidden candy bars 6. A variety of wines, ports, and other highbrow alcoholic delicacies that you wouldn’t expect a rock star to know a thing about. Mostly, he doesn’t. Val, however, does. She’s not a rock star, so your expectation here was met perfectly. 7. Locally produced clover honey 8. chick peas, tahini, lemons (for juicing), and garlic 9. Phone numbers and schedules for the local CSA 10. Ping’s Soy Sauce. Lots of it. 11. Bodacious Sauce. Not quite as much of it. 12. organic cranberry granola bars (Daniel’s favorites. Eric‘s too, come to think about it) 13. One of those undercounter TVs that’s hooked up to the cable in case Daniel starts to go through CNN withdrawal. And because the voting’s not closed yet…
Yes, I’m totally going to torture you with this until the voting closes on May 22. So go vote, will ya? If you’ve already voted, why not register under another e-mail address? You’ll get to vote again that way! |
The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!
View More Thursday Thirteen Participants
May 15, 2007
Recipe for Susan’s now-famous Dark Chocolate Brownies
(in easy-to-follow steps)
1. Go to bank.
2. Ask for three five-dollar bills. They must be brand new. The serial numbers must not be sequential.
3. Trade the bank teller something of equal worth for those three five-dollar bills. You’re not the thief in this scenario!
4. Go home.
5. Get notebook.
6. Get pen.
7. Choose previously blank sheet of paper.
8. Write: Dear Susan. Please send me a batch of dark chocolate brownies.
9. Sign your name to the note.
10. Include an address for me to mail brownies to.
11. Rip sheet of paper out of notebook.
12. Fold sheet of paper neatly into thirds.
13. Carefully place the three brand new, non-sequentially numbered five dollar bills into the middle of the note. Do not fold the five dollar bills. If you must, repeat steps 6 through 13 on a standard size sheet of notebook paper.
14. Place packet into #10 envelope.
15. Seal envelope.
16. Address to Susan Helene Gottfried at West of Mars.
17. Place Forever Stamp in upper right-hand corner.
18. Deliver to postal worker, dependable mailbox, or best friend who is headed to the post office.
19. Mail.
20. Sit back and wait. Brownies will arrive within a week, unless postal workers between here and there open box and partake.
Failure to adhere to any of these directions will cause your brownies to mysteriously vanish into the gut of one Tour Manager, who will then have to bike many miles to be thin again. Please, if you’re not going to follow the directions (okay, you can ask for my real address), just make a cash donation here instead.
Okay, now that you’re laughing, go to the Bloggers Choice Awards and vote for me. I’m too lazy to cut and paste the code yet again. Must be post-brownie syndrome.
May 12, 2007
Now, I’m TOTALLY not complaining that I seem to get tagged in spurts like this. It makes it much easier to answer these tags and still have room for fiction.
Therefore… let’s get on with the meme…
Both Erica and Red tagged me for the eight random things meme, but Erica explicitly asked for a band member’s eight things, or eight things about the official ShapeShifter band mom, Sonya Voss.
It took awhile before anyone fully stepped up to the plate. Kerri is Sonya’s daughter-in-law and was afraid she’d be seen as being a kiss-up if she said too much. Trevor didn’t want to say anything nice in public, of course. Amy‘s busy with a patient. So that left… Good Old Dependable Mitchell.
Or, as Trevor calls him — for good reason — The Big Idiot.
Eight things about Ma:
1. She knows I only call her Ma to get under her skin. And since she knows that, she’s always ignoring it. But I do it anyway ’cause now I’m stuck doing it.
2. She used to send us care packages on the road. She’d even fill the boxes with rubbers and underwear, especially on that last tour before I met Kerri, when the girls we’d let into the dressing room decided it was fun to steal our underwear when we dropped them.
3. She let us practice in the basement. We’re a loud band, but she never complained, even when we weren’t around. She’d just tell people she was glad she knew where we were.
4. Sometimes, she’d complain. If we were working on a song that sucked, she’d tell us. Every now and then, she had suggestions to make the song better. Not enough to turn herself into a pain in the ass, but when she said something, we’d listen and follow. It usually worked, too.
5. When I conned Kerri into meeting her, Ma treated Kerri like she was already a member of the family. Kerri was the first girl I ever did more than sleep with; that was probably all the tip-off Ma needed.
6. Ma and Dad used to come to all our shows. I mean ALL. They never missed a damn show. Sometimes, they were the only people in there. Now that we’re big, they still come whenever we’re in town. Even when we play Wolf Whistle shows. We have to save them two spots, even when we don’t want to.
7. No one’ll talk about it, but I think it was Ma’s idea to let Trevor come live with us. She was always fast to tell anyone that she always wanted a second boy and that Trevor was better than a baby ’cause she didn’t have to deal with his diapers. Trev hates it when she says that; he thinks he’s too cool to have ever needed diapers. Amy says he probably didn’t get out of them until he was seven. She might be right.
8. This is how cool Ma is: whenever she has the family over, she makes sure the entire band comes. With steady girls, if we’ve got ’em. And when I’m on the road but Kerri’s at home, Ma makes sure Kerri comes to dinner a few times. She’s sorta like Val; she likes to cook for the people she loves. Val’s the better cook, of course, but don’t tell Ma that. She might get a complex, but for a cook who didn’t go to cook’s school, she’s damn good.
As for who to tag, here are the rules:
1. Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
2. People who are tagged need to write their own blog about their eight things and post these rules.
3. At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.
4. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.
Hey, notice how you don’t have to link back to anyone? Well, let’s fix that. Feel free to link back to me, okay? I love new groupies!
And next to share… Karen, Milan, Dewey, she, Claire, Breeni, Nimrodiel, and littlebirdblue. Yep, a lot of book friends you may not be familiar with. Why aren’t you?
I only get to hound you for ten more days with this. Aren’t you glad? I am.
And if you’ve missed it somehow, Just a reminder… go vote for me!
Yes, I’m totally going to torture you with this until the voting closes on May 22. So go vote, will ya? If you’ve already voted, why not register under another e-mail address? You’ll get to vote again that way!
(PS — I’ve got my first sunburn of the year. I’m not happy about that. *sniff*)
May 11, 2007
Come hang with me at Working Stiffs today. Or just leave your comments here. I’ll keep an eye on both spots.
May 9, 2007
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| If you’ve been here during the first part of this week, you know that I wrote two interlinked outtakes in honor of a comment Rashenbo made about last week’s TT, Thirteen Things in Mitchell and Kerri‘s kitchen.
If you haven’t read the outtakes yet (and why not?) but want to read the Thirteen before you do, let’s just suffice to say that they take place very early in the band’s career, when they are a little more dependent on the kindness of others — but what sometimes seems to be kindness backfires. Anyway, since it’s summer and since it ties in so nicely, here’s Thirteen Things To Eat While RoadTripping 1. Mountain Dew Happy trails, everyone! And because the voting’s not closed yet…
Yes, I’m totally going to torture you with this until the voting closes on May 22. So go vote, will ya? If you’ve already voted, why not register under another e-mail address? You’ll get to vote again that way! |
The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!
View More Thursday Thirteen Participants
May 5, 2007
It seems I can’t turn around and write some fiction without you guys tagging me for things. I’m flattered by this; it’s a good feeling to be important. Just remember to bring your friends around for a visit or two — whatever it takes until they get hooked.
So, first off, Andrew tagged me with a new (to me) one: the goals meme.
I can’t say that I have between five and ten crazy goals or dreams I want to achieve in my lifetime. I only have one: to be a successfully published author of Trevor and his friends. (What? You thought I was done with these guys once Trevor’s Song gets published?)
Therefore, let’s turn things over to Trevor…
Five goals, Trevor Style
1. World Domination by ShapeShifter, of course. I mean, why else form a band? I didn’t need those wankers to get girls.
2. Get Rusty permanently out of Mitchell‘s life. Not to mention mine. Not in that order, though.
3. To love back every woman who already loves me. Maybe I’ll love her front, too. And sides; why stop when you’re on a roll?
Rolling’s fun, too.
4. To be called “Mr. Wolff” when I check in at some hoity-toity hotel, and not get eyed up ’cause they think I’ll trash the place. Why does everyone expect me to do the cliched shit?
5. Respect.
Ahh, poor Trevor. Above and beyond all else, he only wants one thing in life. Just like me; it’s our goals that are different, though.
Which brings me to meme #2. The way cool Amy Ruttan tagged me with my third Thinking Blogger Award. Wow! Three of them!
Here are the rules, for you newly tagged folk…
How participation works:
If, and only if, you get tagged, write a post with links to 5 blogs that make you think. Link to this post so that people can easily find the exact origin of the meme.
Optional: Display the ‘Thinking Blogger Award’ with a link to the post that you wrote.
Okay, time to tag some new friends…
Ready?
This is loooooooooonnnnnnngggggg overdue, but it’s time to tag a few of my book blog friends:
Karen
Breeni
and
Janelle
Have fun, guys!
Oh, and lest you think the kudos have stopped there, just a reminder again… go vote…
And because the voting’s not closed yet…
And if you’ve missed it somehow, Just a reminder… go vote for me!
Yes, I’m totally going to torture you with this until the voting closes on May 22. So go vote, will ya? If you’ve already voted, why not register under another e-mail address? You’ll get to vote again that way!
(So when do literary agents and publishers catch on to what you guys already know and give me THEIR awards in the form of contracts and advances against royalties?)
May 2, 2007
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| Last week, I created Mitchell and Kerri‘s farmhouse for you, but didn’t do it totally Cribs style, by showing you what’s in their refrigerator. By popular demand… not just their fridge, but foods found in their pantry, as well.
Here you go. 1. orange juice, beer, and Mountain Dew (Mitchell’s drinks of choice, in order of preference, by and large) 2. pancake mix (This is important in the opening chapter of Trevor’s Song.) 3. coffee (Yeah, Kerri goes for it when M’s not around.) 4. brownie mix, as seen here 5. apples, oranges, grapes, and pears 6. Dragon Food — a box of catfood that Kerri recovered and that she uses to threaten him with when he shapeshifts from his usual, mild-mannered self into the dragon his fans know and love. 7. jarred mushrooms, as seen here 8. Salad fixings — varieties of lettuce, bell peppers, cucumber, carrots, broccoli, celery, cauliflower. Most of these make convenient snack foods, too. 9. bread that Val made by hand (no bread machine for her) and gave Kerri, who’d just finished the loaf she’d put in her bread machine. (You think an artist has time to knead dough?) 10. six kinds of balsamic vinegar, as seen here 11. random sketch pads and pencils that Kerri leaves places — the pantry, the kitchen table, the counters 12. potato chips (ever notice how Mitchell’s always eating them? They also have a part in the current WIP.) 13. ice cream, chocolate sauce, and other things that leave the sheets a disaster but are darn fun at the time. And because the voting’s not closed yet…
Yes, I’m totally going to torture you with this until the voting closes on May 22. So go vote, will ya? If you’ve already voted, why not register under another e-mail address? You’ll get to vote again that way! |
The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!
View More Thursday Thirteen Participants
April 25, 2007
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| A few weeks back, we took a closer look at Mitchell’s desk and the stuff on it. Last week, we were pondering the issue of rock stars and their names.
One thing I’ve always wanted my fiction to stress is the way in which my rock stars are normal people. Sure, not all of the stars in real life are normal (and not all of the stars I create here at the Meet-and-Greet or in book-length fiction will be), but it’s more fun to relate to real people who are living our dreams than it is to try to relate to some diva who clubs her assistants with her cell phone — and then makes them go buy her a new one. When I first envisioned Kerri and Mitchell, I couldn’t see them — Mitchell especially — living in one of those houses featured on MTV’s Cribs. So I created the farm house. Here you go. A glimpse inside (not very Cribs-style, I’m afraid, but if you really want a look inside their refrigerator, ask. It could be fun.)… 1. It used to belong to Mitchell’s parents’ friend Wayne. 2. Wayne sold it to Mitchell for, effectively, peanuts. 3. The house sits on 3 acres on top of a rather steep hill. 4. The land below it used to be farmed, back when Riverview was first founded. It wasn’t particularly good farmland, and was more valuable for its proximity to the growing downtown. 5. The other houses on the street are owned by corporate executives and other rich types (including a few of the Riverview Otter baseball players). 6. When Mitchell bought the house, an old barn remained behind the garage. It was Kerri’s idea to convert the barn into a guest wing that they’d attach to the house. One bedroom for each band member. 7. The kitchen still had a rustic feel and needed to be modernized. Val designed it, and as a wedding gift, stocked it with everything Mitchell and Kerri could possibly need — and a lot they don’t. (Like Mitchell, who hates coffee, would use an espresso machine?) 8. The attic had already been turned into living space; maid’s quarters, to be exact. Mitchell converted it to studio space for Kerri and chopped holes in the roof to install skylights. 9. Wayne had fenced the property, so his dogs could run loose. Mitchell and Kerri decided that would make good fan control. 10. In what had once been a formal parlor, Kerri painted a life-size likeness of the band on the longest wall. The rest of the room is treated as a trophy room, and the room is rarely used. 11. Mitchell and Kerri had the original hardwood refinished. It is in the TV room, kitchen, and front entry. 12. Kerri hates the front entry; it’s too dark and the steps are too close to the front door. Even painting the walls a bright yellow didn’t help open it up. 13. Mitchell’s office is part of the old-barn addition. It’s his retreat and the only reason he can stand doing most of the business stuff the band demands of him. And because the voting’s not closed yet…
Yes, I’m totally going to torture you with this until the voting closes on May 22. So go vote, will ya? If you’ve already voted, why not register under another e-mail address? You’ll get to vote again that way! |
The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!
View More Thursday Thirteen Participants
April 24, 2007
Whoa. Sophisticated Writer tagged me for probably the scariest meme that’s ever been invented. Even worse, the meme originator, Urban Monk, is going to donate up to $500 to charity for each link back to him.
Here’s the concept:
Bloggers: The blogosphere is coming to an end.
You have one last post. What is it going to be?
What is the final summary of your blog?
What is the one last gem that you want to leave with your readers?
I’ve been having a hard time with this one. Yeah, there needs to be a TON of thanks to all you guys for all your support, especially you guys with the pom-poms and strong belief that I’ll find myself a major publisher who’ll help get Trevor the attention he craves.
However, I don’t like endings. And I’m the woman who created Trevor Wolff, a rebel sort. I’m also the woman who created Kerri Voss, the woman who manages to move across the country and find a way to finance an art school education. Add in Mitchell Voss, whose dedication to his dream had him working his rear off.
Put all that together and I think my final post would be something along the lines of a Trevorish, saucy wink and the words, “Meet you over at West of Mars.”
Just because blogs are ending doesn’t mean the fun has to. I’m not done yet.
(note: I’m not tagging anyone directly ’cause this is a scary concept and no one needs this kind of stress and panic. So I’m handing down the challenge to all of you: Are you tough enough to face this? If so, make sure you tell me so I can come visit.)
And because the voting’s not closed yet…
And if you’ve missed it somehow, Just a reminder… go vote for me!
Yes, I’m totally going to torture you with this until the voting closes on May 22. So go vote, will ya? If you’ve already voted, why not register under another e-mail address? You’ll get to vote again that way!
April 22, 2007
It’s all Wylie’s fault.
If you’ve been following the Walter saga, you understand the history here, such as it is. The short version goes like this: Wylie was musing about names.
Now, she’s got me doing it, too.
Only, where she was wrestling with first names, my issues lie with last names. This has always been a thing with me, a detail I never overly cared about. I kid you not; I dated guys whose last name remained a total mystery to me even after we broke up. Makes you understand why none of them lasted more than three weeks (although the Tour Manager’s early intrusion into my life deserves most of the blame for that).
Surnames are something we’re born into, maybe even more than a first name. After all, our parents sometimes anguish over first names. They fight. Hopefully, they don’t come to blows and hopefully, they don’t name their child after the first thing they see (Plexiglass, anyone? Know who was named for Plexiglass?) But a surname… forget it. We girls are sometimes lucky, in that if we like our husband’s name, we can take it and shuck off our old name. But the guys, by and large, are stuck. As are we all, at least until we’re 18 and can face a judge and explain why Heffenshitzel isn’t such a great surname.
(This is where I point out the irony that the band ShapeShifter was named for Trevor’s surname — Wolff. And that I named Trevor before a friend, whose maiden name was Wolfe, named her son Trevor.)
So, of course, when Wylie asked about rock stars named Walter, I went with what she’d given me — a rock star named Walter. It didn’t dawn on me until after I’d posted the first Thursday Thirteen list that Walter had no surname.
Fortunately for me, this realization came at one of my favorite times for letting my mind wander: 4:30 in the morning, which seems to be my latest time to wake up for a potty break during the night. And which seems to be when I’ve been doing some really cool envisioning of scenes that get written out over the following few days.
Even more fortunately, Walter’s surname popped into my head immediately. Cicewski. Pronounced “Chi-Chev-ski.” You can tell a bit about the area in which I live if that name and pronunciation came together so easily.
So Walter’s got a surname. He’s got an outtake featuring a few familiar faces, too, but not for a few days yet. Sheesh. I’m still trying to get you guys more Pam, who didn’t have a surname for years.
She was just fine. Never got cranky about it. So why did Walter?
It’s all about character, huh?
And if you’ve missed it somehow, Just a reminder… go vote for me!
Yes, I’m totally going to torture you with this until the voting closes on May 22. So go vote, will ya? If you’ve already voted, why not register under another e-mail address?
April 18, 2007
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I was debating this week about pulling out my soapbox and blathering about how important it is for us to be a community, whether online or in our neighborhoods or whatever. But actions speak louder than words, so here’s the story:
I gave my good friend zzz Thus… 1. Walter was born because Wylie asked if a rock star could be named Walter. How could I not rise to that challenge? 2. Walter is fifty. He’s been rocking for over thirty years. 3. He’s a guitar purist and innovator. Think Joe Satriani. All guitar, all the time. What can it do? What are the bounds of the instrument, and how can those boundaries be pushed? 4. Walter may have thinning grey hair, but what’s left gets worn back in a ponytail that makes him look more like a hippie than a rocker. 5. Walter has pretty bad arthritis and a really good doctor who keeps his hands limber through advanced pharmaceutical use. 6. Walter has a companion, Lila, who’s been with him for twenty years. 7. Walter’s had a number of gold and platinum records over the years. He’s played for as many as 20,000 during the peaks in his career — and as few as ten during the dips. 8. Grizzled road veteran… that pretty much says it all, right? 9. I think you have to have a certain level of smarts, savvy, and luck to have this sort of career. 10. And good people around you. 11. Hopefully, Walter expands on your idea of a Rock Star. Does a rock star have to be someone who shines all the time, like Mitchell and Trevor? Can you be a star if you’ve never reached the pinnacle? 12. The outtake I’ll post over the weekend may actually be the start to my exploring Walter and writing a novel about him. Be sure you stop back and tell me what you think. 13. So… Wylie and others… from what little you’ve seen so far, CAN a rock star be named Walter? Lest the Thinking Blogger award fun be over so fast, I’d also like to give it to Colleen Gleason. Read the outtake carefully once I post it and you’ll see why. And if you’ve missed it somehow, Just a reminder… go vote for me!
Back to Thinking Blogger stuff: Here are the rules, for you newly tagged folk… How participation works: If, and only if, you get tagged, write a post with links to 5 blogs that make you think. Link to this post so that people can easily find the exact origin of the meme. Optional: Display the ‘Thinking Blogger Award’ with a link to the post that you wrote. |
The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!
View More Thursday Thirteen Participants
April 14, 2007
Wow. Every time I check in at the Blogger’s Choice Awards, I see that some smartass has nominated me for more. Best blog design? Hottest Mommy Blogger?
Well, *I* may not think I belong there, but you guys apparently do, and I’m not going to argue. No way, nuh-uh, for-get it.
Instead, I’m going to say thanks and to let you in on a secret: I’m working on something that I think you guys will really dig. Yeah, okay, there’s an outtake in the works that’ll have you Mitchell lovers going nuts. Anyone who laughs until they cries will get a special award from me, even.
But there’s more. So stay tuned. Tell your friends to stop by and visit. And most of all, keep voting! I’ll admit it: if I can’t win, I at least want to be on the first page, for maximum exposure. Let’s flood this joint with groupies.
Trevor will be a very happy boy.
And a big thanks to our blogging/author goddess, Colleen Gleason. I won a copy of The Rest Falls Away and not only did it arrive yesterday, Colleen’s got a way with an inscription. Wow!
April 13, 2007
First off, come hang with me today at Working Stiffs. I sort of like it there; hope you do, too. (but not more than here! How dare you?)
Secondly, my buddy Claire nominated me for a Blogger’s Choice Award. Please go vote for me.
That’s it for now, but isn’t that party-worthy? No? Then try this on for size: Penguins. Sid the Kid and the Wonder Twins in the post-season for the first time.
And some really great confections from my favorite baker to go along with them. Let’s go Pens!
April 11, 2007
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| If you didn’t check in yesterday or earlier today, you may not have seen my Oh So Rock and Roll Moment. (scroll down, or, if you’re viewing via your reader, click through and then scroll down.)
Since these sorts of things never happen to my ultra-cool cast of characters, and since Trevor’s been pitching a fit lately because the book’s all about him but he’s been rather absent around here lately, I decided to let him talk up his life. Here you go: 1. Being able to say, “I’m in the band” instead of “I’m with the band.” 2. Reps from guitar, bass, and drum companies — not to mention the occasional renegade luthier looking to make a name for him/herself — who offer us free gear. The best of the best gear. The shit we couldn’t afford until now, when they want to give it to us. 3. The ability to look cool wearing leather pants and to not ruffle feathers when it’s eight in the morning and I show up someplace wearing the pair I put on last night. Still. 4. Even ugly fucks like me and snots like Eric turn into chick magnets. We’re still no threat to Mitchell 5. The chance to prove Hank and Jenny wrong and actually be someone. 6. The bragging rights of having travelled around the world even if most of what got seen was the inside of airplanes, busses, and concert halls. And bathrooms. Don’t forget the lovely variety of bathrooms we get to see while on tour. Very few of them are the type any sane fuck’d write home about. Some smart asshole might want to set a few horror flicks in them, though. 7. Those neat Gold and Platinum Records that one day, I’ll get around to hanging on my walls. Yeah. Uh-huh. Hang shit on the walls. Riiiiigggggghhhhhttt. 8. Having the money for cool cars and homes. Not that I feel any need to move out of my place on top of Decade, but you know. Daniel and Mitchell felt the need, even if Mitchell still drives that God-awful Bronco. Good thing I’ve got the Vincent. It more than makes up for that thing. 9. The end of the speculation that because the band had to sleep in Mitchell’s Dad’s Bronco (later Mitchell’s) on the first tour, we were all gay. Refer back to #4 for the absolute proof as to that one. 10. We never have to be alone. There are always people around, wanting to do shit for us, even if it’s bring me beer I won’t drink or buy us more cigarettes. They don’t care; they’ll do it for the bragging rights. 11. Tickets and backstage passes to any and every concert out there. Especially bands I can’t stand; why are they always the hottest to meet me? 12. Restaurant people who fall all over themselves to give me weird food you didn’t order, rip up the check, and have a busboy pull around the car that Mitchell self-parked. 13. Respect. Links to other Thursday Thirteens! |
The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!
View More Thursday Thirteen Participants
April 10, 2007
Way Cool Belt at Roberta Weissburg Leathers: $88
Keeping your pants from puddling at your knees: Priceless.
Best of all, the jeans in question are a size too small. Explain that.
I am so very rock and roll, aren’t I?
April 8, 2007
Mondays are the slowest day in the entertainment business. But don’t tell that to Lil’ Duck Duck, who’s hosting a carnival of Family Life (#49, in fact!). Go check it out; you might recognize a familiar face and an outtake you may have missed.
Mondays aren’t slow around here, though. Even though it’s been a few days since this happened, I’m still in shock.
Robin, of Around the Island, was amazing enough to tag me with The Thinking Blogger Award . Not just for one post, but my entire body of work here on the blog. I am flattered and touched and pleased and thrilled — and proud. Any writer loves to hear that you make people think, and when I got the e-mail from Robin telling me to check her blog, I was in a funk. The timing was absolutely perfect.
In keeping with the rules of the Thinking Blogger Award — no one have a heart attack; I do occasionally follow the rules! — I get to pass this award on to five other nice people. So here they are…
To She at the Screaming Pages for this post about her recent India adventures. Like many a traveller before her, India (and the Philippines) this time had a life-altering effect on her. And I’m not talking about the food poisoning, but what came when she got home: she took a deep breath and stepped off the edge of the world, quitting her job. That, woman, takes guts.
My good friend Milan always makes me think, especially when he does his Thursday Thirteen posts. Here’s one that really illustrates how much effort he puts into them and how hard he stretches my brain. He may not post a 13 every week, but I’d sure argue that he’s a valued member of the 13 community.
Of course I have to nominate Erica. The woman, the blog, the whole ball of wax. She juggles being a mom, a blogger, an aspiring writer, and a full-time employee. She’s always up on the latest fads — screening them for me, I joke with her — and her enthusiasm shines on through even the rough spots. I’m proud to be her partner in the Debut a Debut contest, as well as the upcoming summer reading contest.
It may be really tacky of me, but I’d like to give the award back to Robin, for this post. If you’ll read the comment trail, you’ll see that my son has a friend whose behavior is similar to Robin’s daughter’s. This post gave me new insights into my son’s friend and while I may not be in a position to help my son’s friend, at least I have some insights that help me be a better guardian when he’s here playing.
I’m going to stop at four, not because I want to buck the rules but because now I’m going to start nominating all my friends who write book blogs — karen!, Antheras, Cheesygiraffe, CheriePie, Breeni, Ace and Hoser. And on. And on. You’ve seen me mention them all here before, you’ve seen them in my comment trail and as entrants in my various contests. These guys are my friends above and beyond blogging, even though I’ve yet to meet any of them face-to-face. They inspire me to new heights of writing and other fun ideas, and they are quick to stop me from doing something dumb or pointless. As much as all of you readers inspire me, these guys are my front lines. Check them out; I don’t doubt you’ll be nominating them for Thinking Blogger Awards.
Here are the rules, for you newly tagged folk…
How participation works:
If, and only if, you get tagged, write a post with links to 5 blogs that make you think. Link to this post so that people can easily find the exact origin of the meme.
Optional: Display the ‘Thinking Blogger Award’ with a link to the post that you wrote.
One last note… those of you who read me in a feed reader have noticed a bunch of posts lately. Most of them are old posts; I’m catching up on my labels and tags. Read, have fun, comment away. Just be sure to click through and check the posting dates!
Catch you guys in a bit…
April 4, 2007
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My good buddy Erica at Writing Aspriations tagged me for the balance meme. You know, Lillie Amman’s meme about how to achieve balance in your life, especially when you’re juggling being a writer, a blogger, a literary agent shopper, a mom, a wife, a classroom volunteer, a gym rat, and the mom of a cat with irritable bowel disorder. But it’s not me Erica wanted to tag. Rather, it was my “delicious fictional characters” she wanted to hear from. Not that I blame her; they’re way more interesting than I am. That’s why so much of this blog is devoted to them. (what? Did you think I was trying to sell you something? There’s no book to buy yet!) So, to combine the fun with my weekly Thursday Thirteen, here you go, Erica. one two three four five six seven eight nine Ten eleven twelve thirteen Kermit ends the conversation here as Trevor takes off running, Mitchell hot on his heels. One last note, now that you’ve reached the end: Don’t forget to scroll down to the Buy a Friend a Book Contest. And happy birthday to my blog! It’s one year old today, Wednesday April 4. Links to other Thursday Thirteens! |
The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!
View More Thursday Thirteen Participants
April 2, 2007
The ultra gorgeous Sanni at Coffee2Go tagged me last week with the music meme: what seven songs are you currently into?
Well.
Seven SONGS.
SONGS?
What are you, nuts???
You really expect me, music-lover extraordinaire, to pick seven songs?
That’s like asking my fictional character Trevor Wolff to pick his favorite seven women. Or asking my fictional character Mitchell Voss to pick his favorite guitar. Or asking my fictional character Chelle LaFleur to pick the seven best shows she’s been to in her lifetime. (If you don’t know or are too lazy to use the CAST tab at the top of the page, Chelle’s a music critic and goes to lots of shows.)
In a sense, it’s like asking someone to pick their favorite author based on single books. Yeah, I loved Lalita Tademy’s Cane River, but does that mean I’ll love everything she wrote? (and no, I haven’t gotten my hands on Red River yet. But hey, it’s Buy a Friend a Book Week, isn’t it?)
Besides, my favorite song changes based on what’s playing at the moment. Really. Truly.
Thus, I’ll compromise with you guys, who are probably rolling your eyes at the way I’ve managed to tie books and music together yet again. Here are my seven hot bands of the moment:
Okay, those two are probably always and forever choices. Too bad if you don’t like it. More for me. (Anyone seen the great bike jerseys in the Metallica store? I’ve got a birthday this month, you know… Wear a medium…)
3. Flyleaf
4. Linkin Park (new stuff May 15! Single just out!)
5. Godsmack
Those are really good, solid bands. I have high hopes for the future of Flyleaf, especially, and I’m hating life because I won’t be able to see them when they’re in town next week. I really like how Godsmack’s songwriting is maturing with them. You can tell they learned a lot from their recent tour with… guess who (see #1 if you’re not sure).
And then two bands who I always flip to when I see them playing on my XM Online:
6. Iron Maiden
7. Queensryche
Just some classic rock and roll with an attitude. Speaking of Iron Maiden and books, I never managed to get my hands on Bruce Dickinson’s fictional attempt from the early 90s. One of my <a href="http://www.serge.org/MusicMorsels/2003_05/industry.htm"<record label reps at the time (back during my radio days) told me he did NOT want me to see it. He wouldn’t give me a reason, and I always honored his … uhh… directive. But now, Jim won’t return my e-mails to see how the hell he’s doing, so bring on The Adventures of Lord Iffy Fairbarn, or whatever the frell it was called…
As for who to tag next, go for it, folks. Talk music to me and amongst yourselves.
Back in a few to answer Rashenbo’s latest tag, all about balance.
