Hotlanta

Happiness... it lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort.
-- Vincent Van Gogh (1853-1890) postimpressionist painter

Today is my birthday. Yes, I'll admit it. AND, I can say I'm 39 and not be lying about it. Really.

This weekend's tournament is in Atlanta, so we'll be taking off this afternoon and driving south. I have oodles of things to do to get ready. So, I'm sitting here ... why??

If I can manage an Internet hookup while I'm gone, I'll be back tomorrow. If not, I'll be back Sunday night.

In the meantime, read a book. Or three.

=) JB

Wake-Up Call

I am a writer because writing is the thing I do best.

-- Flannery O'Connor (1925-1964) American author

We have a 13-pound tabby whose favorite thing to do is paw on things at four AM. Venetian blinds, the dresser. Me. He's been doing it for years, and I've tried everything to get him to stop. It's always the same. Anywhere between 3 and 4 in the morning, he'll start mrowring and pawing on whatever, until I get up and go out to the kitchen to check the food tower. There's always food in it. Always. But he has to have me check. Why is that?

Every so often I like a cup of cappuccino (French vanilla, of course) in the morning. You can buy a one-pound cannister of cappuccino mix at Aldi for next to nothing. And it's perfect. I don't even have to put anything in it except hot water. Yum.

Yesterday afternoon I discovered a major plot hole in the book. Major. Plot. Hole. Awful. So, today I have to work on plugging up the hole. It's a challenge we writers enjoy tackling because it gives us a sense of accomplishment once it's done. Kinda like writing the book in the first place.

Fellow writer Pari Noskin Taichert, when told that you're going to read her [Agatha award nominated] book, says, "Thank you. If you like it, tell your friends. If you don't like it, tell me."

How savvy is that??

Read a book. If you like it, tell your friends!

=) JB

Birthday Butter

Happy Birthday, WMVR! Today is my friend's birthday. We thought it was funny when we met that her birthday is two days before mine. We're a lot alike in some ways - both military brats, both love books and music, both love to laugh. She's different from me in a lot of ways, too. She's been through a lot in her life and has come through it all with grace and aplomb (there's a word for you). As a single Mom, she raised two terrific daughters. She's smart and she's funny and I'm glad she's my friend. Happy Birthday, T! The WMVR's family had a tradition when she was growing up that whoever's birthday it was got his/her nose buttered first thing in the morning before they got out of bed. She has four brothers, and they all got it, too. I think even now, decades (I won't say how many for the sake of decorum) later, they still try to pull that one on each other. Too funny! Today looks like it's going to be one of those pretty spring days that you just can't help but breathe in, enjoy, and thank God for. So go do that! And take a book with you. =) JB

Spring Has Sprung...

... the grass has ris', I wonder where the birdies is? My friend the world's most voracious reader (WMVR, as she's calling herself now) used to say that a lot. I need to remember to ask her where it came from - I'm thinking someone from our grandparents' generation? The answer to that question is that they're all on my front lawn, digging for worms. My azaleas are blooming a little, too. And the temperature here keeps bouncing up and down from the 40s to the 60s and back. These are all sure signs that spring is in the air. The Tall One and I are going out of town this weekend (she plays club volleyball and there's a tournament), and I'm trying to figure out how to take A) the book; and B) the blog with me so I can work on both while we're gone. Guess that's what the laptop's for, right? Provided, of course, that the hotel where we're staying has cable hookup so I can connect to the Internet. Do they all, these days? This week is McCartney's final lesson for obedience training. We're supposed to get a certificate and our picture taken. Yay. (Hear the dripping sarcasm?) I hate having my picture taken. I've kept the same picture for my PR stuff and book covers for the past five years because it's one of the best that's ever been taken of me and I don't relish the idea of sitting for another one. And I still look like that. Sort of. Read a book. And if the weather's as nice where you are as it is here, take a walk. Do good for you things today. =) JB

Today's Top Ten

I can't remember when it was that I made this list up, but today I felt the urge to share it with you. I think it's because the WGH is at the moment guilty of #7. He counts as a child sometimes (he'll say I do, too, and I'll concede that). Top 10 Reasons Pets Are Better Than Children 10. Pets don't talk back to you. 9. Pets don't argue with their siblings. 8. Pets don't fight over the remote control. 7. Pets don't change the settings on your computer. 6. Pets don't laugh at you when you dance to their music. 5. Pets don't mind if you kiss them in front of their friends. 4. You don't have to buy your pets $100 sneakers, and their coats don't wear out every year. 3. Pets will eat just about anything you put in front of them without turning up their noses. 2. If your pet stays out past curfew, you don't have to worry about where he is, what he's doing, or who he's doing it with. ... and the #1 reason pets are better than children: 1. If your pet throws up in the middle of the night, you can wait until morning to clean it up. Read a book. Hug your kids. And your pet. =) JB

In Other Words

The Boy and I went to the barber shop this morning to get his hair cut, only to have the barber tell us that there wasn't anything he could do. You see, The Boy's hair is longish and he likes it that way, but apparently to keep it the way he wants it requires the expertise of a stylist rather than a barber. We live and learn. On the way home, The Boy invented a game for us to play. He called it the "Thesaurus Game". I'll think of a word, he said, and then we'll take turns coming up with synonyms for that word. A fun exercise for a writer, I thought. He chose the word "good". Do you have any idea how hard it is to come up with synonyms for "good" off the top of your head? Go ahead, try it. I'll wait. Okay, so, it's harder than you thought, isn't it? You get about four or five and then after that you're scrambling. Now, utilizing the miracle of modern technology we call a word processor, I type in the word "good" and hit the thesaurus function. It spits out eight different meanings (high-quality, decent, enjoyable, skillful, helpful, nice, well-behaved and benefit). Each of those eight different meanings offers anywhere from five or six to ten different synonyms. When I write I try not to use the same words over and over again. I actually have two hard-copy, paperback thesauruses on my desk that I use in addition to the one on my computer. Peruse a tome. It's enjoyable and beneficial. =) JB

Three Dog Night

No, I'm not talking about the band. Although "Joy to the World" is quite possibly one of the most fun rock-n-roll songs of all time. Heavens, where is my Classical Thunder CD? I can't write my suspense/chick noir with "Jeremiah was a bullfrog..." running through my head. Our neighbors to the west (that is, behind us) have two dogs - Molly, an Irish setter, and Murphy, a golden lab. Yesterday morning, McCartney (an English shepherd, btw) was barking, as he is wont to do, and I looked out through the deck door into the back yard to see what had his attention. Molly and Murphy were in the northeasternmost corner of their fenced-in run, staring in the same direction as McCartney, and I figured it out. Our neighbors to the north (next door) have a cat, a big (BIG) black thing who slinks through the yard and the little wooded area behind the house and annoys/taunts/thumbs (paws) his nose at the dogs. With a chuckle at the pure chutzpa of Mr. Whiskers (not his real name), I return to work. It took me all day yesterday to get a scene right. The moment of clarity came at 11:30 last night, which is waaaaaay past my bedtime, so I'm going to have to pull it up this morning and look at it with fresh eyes, see what kind of drivel I actually wrote in the waning hours of my work day... Read a book. It's good for you. =) JB

Writers' Group

My writers' group is the awesomest bunch of women on the planet. Okay, "awesomest" probably isn't really a word, but it's apropos. This is how things work with us - some or all of us bring copies of 10 or so pages that we've written from whatever we're working on. We read our pages aloud to the group and everyone critiques. There are seven of us altogether. I write romantic suspense. J.T. writes thriller/suspense. Then we have one who writes short mystery fiction, one who does women's fiction, one who writes humorous mysteries, one who writes mysteries with an element of the paranormal, and one who already has a published mystery series, a published paranormal mystery series, and is working on some nonfiction as well. They're all terrific writers, and because of having so many different perspectives, our critiques are fun, constructive, and sometimes thought-provoking. Last night, five of the seven of us brought pages, and it was a great night. I introduced my group to my new character. They seemed to like the changes I made. J.T. said I "nailed it". She does a lot to boost my ego and my confidence. Insert wide, self-satisfied and immodest grin here. Sorry, but I get excited about the writing. This is why we do this! Today, I'm going to let the momentum carry me into finishing this book. Because of the extra Wednesday this month, I have three weeks until the next meeting. I can get a lot done in three weeks. The finished product reflects the process. Read a book and enjoy the fruits of our labor. =) JB

The Influence of Music

We are a family of band geeks. And I say that proudly, of course. I started playing the clarinet in the 6th grade, picked up the bassoon in 7th and the saxophone my junior year in high school. My band directors had great influence on me, and I have a much deeper appreciation for music thanks to the mentoring of a man named David King. Mr. King was the ultimate high school band director, a strict disciplinarian who inspired his students to appreciate music even if they didn't love it. The WGH and I met in our college marching band. At practice on the morning of the last game of the season my sophomore year, he tried to run over me with his snare drum. I knew at that moment that he was the man I was going to marry. (Okay, time for the collective, "Awwwwww....") Cheesey, I know. But it's the truth, I promise. So is the fact that two years later the assistant band director announced our engagement to the entire band during a rehearsal - nothing like sharing the news of your impending nuptials with 325 of your closest friends. Our oldest daughter used to play the trombone. I think that's her grandparents' fault (they were both brass players, too). She gave up band when she discovered her athletic talent, which we can't find in the genes anywhere and consider a totally spiritual gift. Our son, hereinafter referred to as The Boy, plays the sax like me, only he's much, much, much more talented than I. The Boy has the perfect band geek personality - he's very cerebral (gee, wonder where he gets it), has an I-don't-give-a-blank attitude about what everyone thinks of him, but still has an image. Our youngest daughter is a percussionist - Daddy's little drummer girl. And she's built like a brick wall, so woe to he who says a girl can't play the drums. At the moment Mozart is filling the study with Piano Sonata No. 11. I have commandeered The Boy's CD player - maybe the WGH will buy me one for my birthday (that's a hint, honey). The writers' group meets tonight. I'm going to introduce them to the new character J.T. and I created and confuse the pee-willies out of them. Read a book. Or listen to some music. Or do both. =) JB

Mornings

The WGH likes to sleep in on the mornings he doesn't have to go to work early (or if he has the day off, as is the case today). I'm an early to bed, early to rise kind of gal, always have been. So it's seven-thirty in the morning, he's out cold and I'm in the study, ready to accomplish something. So what's on our plate today? Actually, I have some business things to attend to. I'm the president of the Sisters in Crime - Middle Tennessee chapter (look at me, I'm turning into a name dropper - the worst kind of vermin, ick!). I have a list of writers to contact about appearing at our monthly meetings, and they've been waiting to hear from me, so that's #1 on my agenda. (Okay, #2 after this posting.) The WGH is a donor. In the Red Cross multi-gallon club, even. He's going down later this morning, which will leave me alone to get some writing done (remember the whole inverse proportion principle?). After spending over an hour on the phone with J.T. yesterday we finally figured out the missing link in this book. Murders take place, and I had no one working them. (J.T. gets credit for that revelation.) Well, duh, me! For those of you who write, you're shaking your heads at me right about now. For those of you who don't, suffice to say that it's important. Really. So I've created a new character, and I discovered yesterday that once I gave him a name and started fleshing him out he took on a whole new personality. I'm actually starting to like the guy a lot. Some writers say their characters come to life and start directing how the story is going to go. I'm one of those writers. Character-driven. Did I mention this is the fun part? Yes, as everyone will tell you, writing is hard. But it's days like yesterday that make the hard work worth the effort. Read a book. Someone else worked hard on it, and it was good for them, too. =) JB

New Year's Resolution - the List so far

My best fellow writer friend (her name is J.T. Ellison, by the way) tells me I should list the books I'm reading as part of my New Year's Resolution project (see earlier post). She's a smart lady, so I listen to her.

I have managed to stay on track so far (this is week #12, and I am on books #12 and #13), and here are the books I have read to date:

Now You See Her, Cecelia Tishy
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, Ann Brashares
Running Blind, Lee Child
The Second Summer of the Sisterhood, Ann Brashares
Understudy, Carole Bellacera
Girls in Pants: The Third Summer of the Sisterhood, Ann Brashares
And Only To Deceive, Tasha Alexander
Legacy of Masks, Sallie Bissell
Dating is Murder, Harley Jane Kozak
Hissy Fit, Mary Kay Andrews
Sex, Lies and Online Dating, Rachel Gibson

Currently on the nightstand are Better Off Wed by Laura Durham and Speak Softly, She Can Hear by Pam Lewis.

So far I've enjoyed them all and recommend them. Happy reading!

=) JB

It's All About Character

Our entire state is covered with rain. Really. You pull up the radar images and the whole area is green with patches of yellow and red. I like rainy days when I can stay in the study and work. Not so much when I have things to do that require getting the Mom-mobile out of the garage. I could stand to go to the grocery store, but I'm thinking we might be scrounging up something for dinner tonight. Creme Puffs v. Carrot Cake: I gave a talk recently to my oldest daughter's Creative Writing class at her high school. There was actually one young person in the class who had never had carrot cake. Ergo, this analogy was completely lost on him. If you've never had carrot cake, go ... right now ... to your nearest local diner and order a piece. Eat it and think of me. I'll be tooting my own horn in the next paragraph, but at least by having tasted the cake, you'll understand what I'm talking about. I have a friend who is one of the world's most voracious readers. When she actually lived here and we worked in the same office (prior to my "retirement"), she was my first reader. One day, we were discussing character development, and we had both read a book that shall remain nameless, in which the characters seemed empty and lifeless. I said they were dry. Sawdust on the pages. (Harsh, yes.) She says this is the difference with my characters. Her exact words (well, perhaps slightly paraphrased as I've slept since then): "Her characters are like creme puffs with no filling. Yours are like carrot cake, with nuts and raisins. And an inch-thick layer of cream cheese icing on top." I try. Some books are plot-driven. Some are character-driven. Guess which category mine fall into? ;) Read a book. And eat a piece of carrot cake. They're both good for you. =) JB

Church

I have discovered that I know more than I thought I did. About a lot of things. My best fellow writer friend, who has just returned from vacation, is helping me to not panic about my latest book. I'm thinking major rewrite, she's saying minor fixes. I feel better already. A few weeks ago in Sunday School, our teacher was having me write some things on the dry-erase board (title of the lesson, Scripture references, etc. - that's my job in our class), and the title of the lesson was "The Fellowship of the Mat." I said, "As in the one they lowered through the roof?" The teacher smiled. "Exactly." I sometimes think I don't know a lot about what's in the Bible - sometimes I retain information I've read and sometimes I don't hang onto it very well. But I was kinda glad that story stuck with me. (If you don't know it, look it up - Mark 2:1-12). It's about friends stepping up and helping each other in tough situations against tough odds. I'm applying it to my writing - my friend and I help each other get through our tough patches, like writer's block, where am I going with this plot. My POV issues. It's Sunday morning, so we're off to church. The WGH plays in our church orchestra. He's a multitalented individual. Tomorrow: As promised, Creme Puffs v. Carrot Cake. Read a book. It's good for you. =) JB

The Dog-eluia Chorus

The WGH and I try to walk in the mornings. Two laps around our subdivision is 2-1/2 miles. We take McCartney on the first lap and leave him home for the second. Our neighborhood has lots of dogs, and their life's greatest ambition is to out-bark the dogs in the next yard. Or the ones on the other side of the street. Or the ones on the other side of the subdivision. It's time to shop for a prom dress. At the local mall, it's pretty much the same story as walking around our neighborhood. Lots of barking and whining. We are at a distinct disadvantage because my oldest daughter is tall. We're not just talking "tall", we're talking, "dang, she's tall" tall. Taller than her basketball coaches tall. Well, except for the one who's three inches taller than she is. Now HE'S tall. My child has grown gracefully into her height, though, and carries herself well. Proud of her height. She even wears heels occasionally. (Not for prom, though, because the boyfriend is shorter than she is.) Read a book. It's good for you. =) JB

Distractions

Today is the last day of Spring Break, and it's going to be a Harry Potter movie marathon day for the kids and me. Confession - I'm an HP junkie. All six books are sitting on my bookshelf and all four movies are in the DVD rack. It's not just the whole phenomenon, really. I read the books with a writer's eye, and J.K. Rowling just flat knows what she's doing. The WGH is not into Harry Potter. Rolls his eyes and everything. I respond in a very mature manner by sticking my tongue out at him. Thought for the day: "A person who has not done one half his day's work by ten o'clock, runs a chance of leaving the other half undone." (Emily Bronte) I made one New Year's resolution this year - to read one book per week for the entire year. It's turning into averaging one book per week, and I'm getting off track a bit but catching up. There are lots of good books out there. Go read one. =) JB

Getting to know you...

I like my coffee light and sweet. That means you dump sugar and creamer (french vanilla or irish creme is preferable but I'll take regular in a pinch - maybe some half-&-half - never milk) in the cup until you think it couldn't possibly get any closer to syrup, then add a touch more. Perfect.

The dog's name is McCartney. Yes, after him. It's a thing with our family, the music stuff. The World's Greatest Hubby has a music degree and all the kids either play some type of musical instrument or used to. Me? I play CDs. Classical, jazz, anything instrumental, really. So all of our pets (past and present) have been/are named after famous musicians or composers. [We even had a little stray Siamese cat take up residence outside our old house and the WGH named him "Sibelius" ("Sibby" for short). Unfortunately, Sibby had a full-blown case of feline leukemia so we had to do the humane albeit heartbreaking thing. Sigh. We're convinced someone dumped him in our neighborhood because of it. People can be so cruel.]

A good piece of music is like a really good book. When the storylines blend together, the outcome is quite satisfactory. Aesthetically pleasing, if you will. My music of choice when I'm writing depends on either my mood or the scene I'm working on. Something dramatic calls for... well, something dramatic. We found this great CD called "Classical Thunder". It starts out with Strauss and ends with Tchaikovsky and there's nothing but tympani and fabulously blaring horns and ripping strings in between. Inspiring. On mellow days I like Vivaldi and Vaughan Williams.

Character Exercise: There are six other lovely and talented ladies in my writers' group, and the book I'm working on currently is a major exercise in characterization and the one thing I struggle with most in my writing - point of view. My cohorts want me to work on making my characters more "real", which I usually do pretty well (sometime I'll explain the whole creme puffs vs carrot cake thing) but am having trouble with in this book because there are just so darn many of them. Hence the POV issues. It's hard to focus on the story when there are so many people around to tell it.

The blessing is that I've found something that might turn out to be the biggest help yet. Have you ever received one of those emails from your friend where you're asked a bunch of questions about that person to see how well you know him/her? I got one of those the other day, and as I was skimming through the questions it occurred to me that I should do one of those profiles on each of my characters. This has been the most fun I've had in weeks. It's helping me with my issues.

Well, the writing ones, anyway.

Read a book. It's good for you.

=) JB

The World According to J.B.

I've been pondering the question: to blog or not to blog? Lots of my friends/fellow authors blog. Publishers blog. Agents blog. (Even my nephew blogs - he's 22 and lives in Hawaii. Yeah, poor kid.) So I thought, why not me? We'll see how it goes. I'm new at this. So, what you'll get are the random musings of a writer who is struggling to make the whole "I-quit-my-job-to-pursue-my-writing-career" thing take off. And no, that wasn't the only reason I quit, but it was a big part of it. As I told my boss, I'm too young, too smart and too talented to be this stressed out. Hey, I can whine with the best of them, but really, the job was killer, and not in a good way. A little about me: I have two books "out there" (see my website) and am in the process of searching for an agent (and thereafter a new publisher) for the third book in the series. I've written another novel (not in the series) that I'm in the process of polishing. I'm currently writing a standalone novel that my writers' group has dubbed "chick noir". I also did the NaNoWriMo thing (see their website) and have an incomplete draft of a book that will be the fourth in the series. Plus I've started yet another book that might someday turn into a series of its own - chick litty kind of stuff. Yeah, I know - I write a lot. But that's okay, because that's what I do (in my spare time). And yeah, I can start things but have a hard time finishing them. We're working on that. The "soccer Mom" thing: Three kids (16-1/2, 15 and almost 12). 'Nuff said. Today's activities will consist of dog training (obedience classes at the local PetSmart) and writing. The kids are on Spring Break. I've discovered that the amount of work I get done on any given day is indirectly proportional to the number of people who are in my house at the time. You guessed it. More people = less work. But that's okay, too. So, here's my first foray into the blogging world. When I get my act together, you'll know. Read a book. It's good for you. =) JB