I'm on a mini-vacation this weekend for my 25-year high school class reunion. I've been looking forward to this trip for about 6 months now, and I think I was grinning on the whole drive up here. (Makes people look at you funny on the interstate, though.) I know it sounds silly, and I can't explain why I'm so giddy, but I feel like I'm taking a trip back in time.
See, it's been about 20 years since I spent any quality time in my little hometown. Which is why I came up early and am making a weekend of it. Last night when I got in, I hooked up with one of my best friends from school for dinner - and a whole lotta laughter, which is always good for you - and today we're meeting another one of our 'posse' for lunch at one of our favorite old hang-outs. After that she's taking me on a refresher tour, of sorts, around town.
The class reunion planners made a weekend of it, too - tonight we're going to our high school's football game, kicking it off with a tailgate party, and tomorrow morning we're taking a tour of the new high school and then having a dinner banquet tomorrow evening.
In between the tour and the banquet, I'm going to get the opportunity to spend some time with the BF and her mom. As any long-time Lunch Roomer knows, I only get to see the BF once a year, so this is an extra treat.
Long story short, I have plans for a nice-busy-relaxing-exciting weekend. It's the best kind of thing to recharge the ol' tired batteries. And this morning, I'm going to get back to the writing. What better way to spend a rainy Indiana fall morning than sitting at the laptop, working on the next manuscript? I think I've died and gone to heaven. Really.
And to start the day off right, when I went down to the hotel lobby this morning for the free continental breakfast (you know I gotta have my OJ), I got into a conversation with a couple of nice ladies who were experiencing technical difficulties with the waffle maker. Turns out they're both avid readers, and they ended up walking out with my name, directions to the Lunch Room, and my autograph on a little piece of paper one of them snagged from the front desk. How much fun is that? (And in case you're reading this, hello to the lovely ladies from Ohio, and safe travels home!)
I'll pop back in at some point in the not too distant future to let you know how the weekend went. There may be too much to tell, but then again, I am a writer - it's my job to tell stories, right?
Enjoy your weekend. Talk to an old friend. And read a book!
=) JB
9.25.2009
9.09.2009
Lunch Room Surprises - Robert Fate Returns
I am ecstatic beyond reason - my pal Robert Fate has graced us with his presence here in the Lunch Room yet again. Bob's fourth Baby Shark book, Jugglers at the Border, is now available at your favorite bookseller.
Bob and I sat down and had a conversation about the Baby Shark series, and I learned a lot of really fascinating things I didn't know before about Kristin, Otis, and the story behind the stories. The iced tea's fresh and cold, so grab a seat and 'listen in.'
JB: Thanks so much, Bob, for coming back to the Lunch Room again – it's always so great to have you here!
We're going to talk about Jugglers at the Border, but first let's give our guests a quick rundown on Baby Shark's history. Tell us a little bit about Kristin, where she came from, and how she became Baby Shark. Sans too many spoilers, of course. ;)
BOB: J.B., I am so delighted to be here – let me put my menu down and pay attention. I agree with you – a little in front info about Baby Shark is a good idea. So – Kristin Van Dijk was born in the mid 1930s in a small rural town on the outskirts of Oklahoma City. Her father was "off at war" for a large part of her young life and her mother died of cancer when Kristin was in high school. She dropped out of school to be with her father and spent eighteen months "on the road" with him, traveling around Texas, sometimes living in his new Cadillac, as he made his iffy living hustling pool. Kristin and her dad actually spent more time parked beside the road reading books than shooting pool – and from Kristin's point of view, being with her father was more important than anything else happening in her life. When she was seventeen, their vagabond, pool-hustling life caught up with them. In one tragic event in a roadside pool hall out west of Abilene, Kristin's life was changed forever. That story is told in Baby Shark, book one in the Baby Shark Crime series.
Now, as to how Kristin became Baby Shark – well, that's because of her pool shooting ability. Like father, like daughter, Kristin became a pool hustler. Her nickname had always been Baby, but after she began cleaning out pool halls all over west Texas, she became Baby Shark. Also, after she trained for a couple of years at "taking care of herself," the name seemed particularly appropriate. Baby Shark carries knives and guns and knows how to use them.
Let's see – Kristin is five-eight, weighs 130, and has platinum blonde hair. In Jugglers at the Border, the most recent book in the series, she's 23 years old. She doesn't think of herself as pretty, but people say she is. She turns heads, so she probably is.
I hope I didn't just run on here, but I think you have the essentials now.
JB: Run on as much as you like – we can't get enough Baby Shark around here!
Since Jugglers at the Border features Kristin's partner, Otis Millett, so prominently, let's talk a little bit about their relationship. Otis pulled a lot of strings to get Kristin licensed as a P.I., which speaks to how highly he values her and her abilities. Considering this is 1950s Texas and she's female, this is a bit atypical of most men in that time, but Otis strikes me as a bit atypical anyway. Now that we know more about Kristin, can you tell us a little more about Otis? Obviously they make a great team, but what advantages did you see in putting these two characters together?
BOB: Okay – how about a quick sketch of Otis first?
Otis was born in a rural East Texas community in the early part of the twentieth century – twelve pounds at birth and over six feet tall by age fourteen. Fully grown he weighed 280 and was six five. He was raised on a dairy farm and could wrestle a heifer to the ground by the age of twelve. He was in grade school during World War I and during the Great Influenza Pandemic and had a clear memory of death happening all around him. He also remembered riding in horse and buggies when he was little, and how motorcars and trucks replaced that form of transportation. He rode to school and delivered newspapers on horseback, and recalled sleeping on his way home from those pursuits secure that his horse knew the way. He wore overalls during the week and knickers and long socks to church. He was one of three children. He had an older sister and a younger sister and a father that encouraged him to protect them. He told Otis, "The only fighting at school I'll put up with is if you are protecting the good name and honor of your mother and sisters." The Millett girls didn't marry until their brother left home, because every boy in the county was afraid of Otis.
After the Great Depression, Otis moved up to Dallas/Fort Worth and got into police work. He was in his twenties, tough as nails, and seriously honest; he made a good policeman. He was in his early thirties when he joined the Army. He was a Master Sergeant by the time he landed in France on D-Day. He was wounded at the Siege of Bastogne while single-handedly destroying a Nazi pillbox. He spent six months in a hospital in London, and returned to the Dallas PD in 1945. Less than a year later, he had earned the rank of Detective.
Otis was a married man. The first four books in the Baby Shark series each tell some part of his relationship with Dixie Logan, the Dallas Firecracker, as she was known on the Texas strip tease circuit. So, I won't repeat it here. Suffice it to say, his marriage to Dixie was the major turning point in Otis's life. She took him by storm, and he never got over her.
It was Otis' mother, Hattie May, who encouraged his addiction to caffeine and cigarettes. She smoked a pack a day and was a ten-cup-a-day coffee drinker. She outlived her husband and siblings and died with her boots on while striding to the milk barn at the age of 92. Otis adored her.
Otis entered Kristin's life shortly after her father's murder, and was instrumental in assisting her in locating the killers and making them pay for their vicious attack on her, her father, Henry Chin, and Henry's son Will. That was from 1952 to 1954. Shortly after that, Otis asked Kristin to be his partner at the Millett Agency. He saw in her the makings of a first rate detective and wanted to be her mentor. She was nineteen and he was in his late forties. Perhaps – though it's not easy to see into a man's heart – he may have thought Kristin needed a strong, positive male figure in her life.
But let's be honest, Kristin had several strong male figures to influence her after her father's untimely death. There was Henry, Harlan, Sarge, and Albert besides Otis. Each of these men helped shape her, each of these men helped blur the lines for her between law and justice. I think you could say that without them, she would not be the Baby Shark we have come to know.
JB: Yes, I think you could say that. In your third book, High Plains Redemption, we see a little bit more of Kristin's coming to grips with who she is and how she handles the necessary evil of killing people that she faces nearly every day. Let's talk a little about the progression of that into Jugglers at the Border. The killers she faces in the fourth book are a lot different from the ones she's faced before. Did that make it easier for Kristin to justify what she had to do?
BOB: The first killer Kristin faced in Jugglers was a cold-blooded sociopathic thief, a man who found it more expedient to kill and rob than just to rob. Taking life was of no concern to him. Kristin got the drop on him and tried reason, tried to talk him down, but he wasn't having it. From his point of view, she was just another problem that could be solved with murder. She realized her position was deteriorating and moved to control him by shooting him in the shoulder. The wound rendered his right arm useless, but didn't change his mind about killing her. The next few seconds – because these things seldom take more time than that – saw an exchange of gunfire that finalized their disagreement in Kristin's favor, but afterwards, it was clear it could have gone badly for her had he not made a mistake.
Kristin viewed killing the sociopath as self-defense. Lt. Lynch of the Fort Worth Police agreed with her and ruled the killing justified. However, Otis and Lt. Lynch both felt that Kristin was quick to the trigger. Then – Otis, just being himself, confused things by being proud of her killing skills.
Kristin's real problem is that she is good at what she does. She was an excellent student when she was being taught to kill and, when she is put in the position of having to decide how to act in the face of danger, her instincts take her to the extreme. She has said that she will never be taken advantage of again and that any fight she has is a fight to the death. She is working with her tendency to "overreact," but it is an uphill battle.
JB: I love how intimately you know your characters. Have you always known them this well or have you come to know them over the course of writing the books?
BOB: I remember thinking, before deciding to pen novels, that it was a truckload of bull when writers said their characters often told them what was correct to say or do. But four books into the Baby Shark series and I must admit Kristin, Otis, Henry, et al, have many times straightened me out about who they are and what they will and won't do or say. Henry, for instance, has worked too long and hard at learning English – especially mastering the idioms – not to expect his speech to improve from book to book, from 1952 to 1958. There are other examples like that one. Characters grow and change.
My writing habits contribute in a meaningful way to the surprises I confront at times in my stories. As you know, my story outlines are rudimentary at best, more just a mental list of events in a sequence that is often fluid. I also think about times, places – that is to say, scenes – and what I want to see accomplished by that point in the happenings. I couldn't prove it, but I think everything that happens is in the service of a distant goal, an ending that I hope for, that always seems to magically come to pass. One of the more peculiar things is how the correct length of the book happens without any conscious effort on my part. Somewhere around 280 pages, give or take a few, the story has been told. This was a page total that was suggested by my publisher for his own reasons. I agreed to it and have never thought about it again. Like I say, it just happens.
Reading the above, isn't it easy to believe what I have always contended – that is to say that I don't write these books at all. It's another guy. A guy who shows up and does all the work while I'm in alpha state. "Are you working?" my wife asks when she sees me staring out the window. I tell her yes, but in truth I'm doing nothing. It's that other guy who has his shoulder to the stone.
So, let's see – your question. Getting to know them is a process, I think. You know how I prefer allowing Kristin to tell the story so that she and the reader discover things at the same time? First person, it's called. Well, it's like that for these folks. We all kind of get to know them as we go along – you know Otis was raised in a rural Baptist house by parents who brought him up to respect things many people today not only don't respect, they don't even know they're supposed to respect them. A different world, you know? When Kristin becomes Otis' partner and he removes the words painted on the door to his office, it was because he was sensitive to something most people today wouldn't notice or even think about. Maybe you remember this little narrative from Kristin in Jugglers–
Do you remember in High Plains when Otis is in the hospital and Kristin tells him the baby girl he helped to birth has been named after him?
So, to get back to your question again – it's a process. The characters are constantly introducing themselves. I don't know from one day to the next what they're going to say, but you can trust they are who they are.
You know what the problem is? You make it too comfortable in your lunchroom, the coffee is too good, and the atmosphere is so congenial. It's your fault I ramble on.
JB: Oh, I'm so sorry about that. I'll have to slack off a little bit from now on.
And now the last – and probably most burning – question, the one your fans are on tenterhooks over. Are we going to be seeing more of Kristin and Otis in the future?
BOB: Did I mention before that I am writing a standalone? There is a story I want to tell about a guy who makes a mistake without knowing he's done it, falls on the bad side of a mobster, and ends up on the run. I'm calling it Kill the Gigolo, a contemporary, third person tale with a male protagonist. This book is half finished, so things can change, but right now here is what the back cover would say–
Be honest. Will slipping in the standalone book between Baby Shark books four and five make you totally bugnuts from the wait?
JB: Probably. But to paraphrase an author I know, talking about another author – "I'd read anything written by Robert Fate." Kill the Gigolo sounds like it'll be great too.
Thanks so much for taking the time to talk with me today, Bob. It's truly a pleasure, as always, to be allowed to spend time picking that fascinating brain of yours!
Well, folks, that's the end of the Lunch hour for today. Don't forget to visit Bob's website to keep up with what's going on in Kristin's world, and we'll keep you posted on new Robert Fate books in the future. Thanks for hanging out with us today, and come back soon!
=) JB
P.S. - Read a book. It's good for you!
Bob and I sat down and had a conversation about the Baby Shark series, and I learned a lot of really fascinating things I didn't know before about Kristin, Otis, and the story behind the stories. The iced tea's fresh and cold, so grab a seat and 'listen in.'JB: Thanks so much, Bob, for coming back to the Lunch Room again – it's always so great to have you here!
We're going to talk about Jugglers at the Border, but first let's give our guests a quick rundown on Baby Shark's history. Tell us a little bit about Kristin, where she came from, and how she became Baby Shark. Sans too many spoilers, of course. ;)
BOB: J.B., I am so delighted to be here – let me put my menu down and pay attention. I agree with you – a little in front info about Baby Shark is a good idea. So – Kristin Van Dijk was born in the mid 1930s in a small rural town on the outskirts of Oklahoma City. Her father was "off at war" for a large part of her young life and her mother died of cancer when Kristin was in high school. She dropped out of school to be with her father and spent eighteen months "on the road" with him, traveling around Texas, sometimes living in his new Cadillac, as he made his iffy living hustling pool. Kristin and her dad actually spent more time parked beside the road reading books than shooting pool – and from Kristin's point of view, being with her father was more important than anything else happening in her life. When she was seventeen, their vagabond, pool-hustling life caught up with them. In one tragic event in a roadside pool hall out west of Abilene, Kristin's life was changed forever. That story is told in Baby Shark, book one in the Baby Shark Crime series.Now, as to how Kristin became Baby Shark – well, that's because of her pool shooting ability. Like father, like daughter, Kristin became a pool hustler. Her nickname had always been Baby, but after she began cleaning out pool halls all over west Texas, she became Baby Shark. Also, after she trained for a couple of years at "taking care of herself," the name seemed particularly appropriate. Baby Shark carries knives and guns and knows how to use them.
Let's see – Kristin is five-eight, weighs 130, and has platinum blonde hair. In Jugglers at the Border, the most recent book in the series, she's 23 years old. She doesn't think of herself as pretty, but people say she is. She turns heads, so she probably is.
I hope I didn't just run on here, but I think you have the essentials now.
JB: Run on as much as you like – we can't get enough Baby Shark around here!
Since Jugglers at the Border features Kristin's partner, Otis Millett, so prominently, let's talk a little bit about their relationship. Otis pulled a lot of strings to get Kristin licensed as a P.I., which speaks to how highly he values her and her abilities. Considering this is 1950s Texas and she's female, this is a bit atypical of most men in that time, but Otis strikes me as a bit atypical anyway. Now that we know more about Kristin, can you tell us a little more about Otis? Obviously they make a great team, but what advantages did you see in putting these two characters together?
BOB: Okay – how about a quick sketch of Otis first?
Otis was born in a rural East Texas community in the early part of the twentieth century – twelve pounds at birth and over six feet tall by age fourteen. Fully grown he weighed 280 and was six five. He was raised on a dairy farm and could wrestle a heifer to the ground by the age of twelve. He was in grade school during World War I and during the Great Influenza Pandemic and had a clear memory of death happening all around him. He also remembered riding in horse and buggies when he was little, and how motorcars and trucks replaced that form of transportation. He rode to school and delivered newspapers on horseback, and recalled sleeping on his way home from those pursuits secure that his horse knew the way. He wore overalls during the week and knickers and long socks to church. He was one of three children. He had an older sister and a younger sister and a father that encouraged him to protect them. He told Otis, "The only fighting at school I'll put up with is if you are protecting the good name and honor of your mother and sisters." The Millett girls didn't marry until their brother left home, because every boy in the county was afraid of Otis.
After the Great Depression, Otis moved up to Dallas/Fort Worth and got into police work. He was in his twenties, tough as nails, and seriously honest; he made a good policeman. He was in his early thirties when he joined the Army. He was a Master Sergeant by the time he landed in France on D-Day. He was wounded at the Siege of Bastogne while single-handedly destroying a Nazi pillbox. He spent six months in a hospital in London, and returned to the Dallas PD in 1945. Less than a year later, he had earned the rank of Detective.
Otis was a married man. The first four books in the Baby Shark series each tell some part of his relationship with Dixie Logan, the Dallas Firecracker, as she was known on the Texas strip tease circuit. So, I won't repeat it here. Suffice it to say, his marriage to Dixie was the major turning point in Otis's life. She took him by storm, and he never got over her.
It was Otis' mother, Hattie May, who encouraged his addiction to caffeine and cigarettes. She smoked a pack a day and was a ten-cup-a-day coffee drinker. She outlived her husband and siblings and died with her boots on while striding to the milk barn at the age of 92. Otis adored her.
Otis entered Kristin's life shortly after her father's murder, and was instrumental in assisting her in locating the killers and making them pay for their vicious attack on her, her father, Henry Chin, and Henry's son Will. That was from 1952 to 1954. Shortly after that, Otis asked Kristin to be his partner at the Millett Agency. He saw in her the makings of a first rate detective and wanted to be her mentor. She was nineteen and he was in his late forties. Perhaps – though it's not easy to see into a man's heart – he may have thought Kristin needed a strong, positive male figure in her life.
But let's be honest, Kristin had several strong male figures to influence her after her father's untimely death. There was Henry, Harlan, Sarge, and Albert besides Otis. Each of these men helped shape her, each of these men helped blur the lines for her between law and justice. I think you could say that without them, she would not be the Baby Shark we have come to know.
JB: Yes, I think you could say that. In your third book, High Plains Redemption, we see a little bit more of Kristin's coming to grips with who she is and how she handles the necessary evil of killing people that she faces nearly every day. Let's talk a little about the progression of that into Jugglers at the Border. The killers she faces in the fourth book are a lot different from the ones she's faced before. Did that make it easier for Kristin to justify what she had to do?BOB: The first killer Kristin faced in Jugglers was a cold-blooded sociopathic thief, a man who found it more expedient to kill and rob than just to rob. Taking life was of no concern to him. Kristin got the drop on him and tried reason, tried to talk him down, but he wasn't having it. From his point of view, she was just another problem that could be solved with murder. She realized her position was deteriorating and moved to control him by shooting him in the shoulder. The wound rendered his right arm useless, but didn't change his mind about killing her. The next few seconds – because these things seldom take more time than that – saw an exchange of gunfire that finalized their disagreement in Kristin's favor, but afterwards, it was clear it could have gone badly for her had he not made a mistake.
Kristin viewed killing the sociopath as self-defense. Lt. Lynch of the Fort Worth Police agreed with her and ruled the killing justified. However, Otis and Lt. Lynch both felt that Kristin was quick to the trigger. Then – Otis, just being himself, confused things by being proud of her killing skills.
Kristin's real problem is that she is good at what she does. She was an excellent student when she was being taught to kill and, when she is put in the position of having to decide how to act in the face of danger, her instincts take her to the extreme. She has said that she will never be taken advantage of again and that any fight she has is a fight to the death. She is working with her tendency to "overreact," but it is an uphill battle.
JB: I love how intimately you know your characters. Have you always known them this well or have you come to know them over the course of writing the books?
BOB: I remember thinking, before deciding to pen novels, that it was a truckload of bull when writers said their characters often told them what was correct to say or do. But four books into the Baby Shark series and I must admit Kristin, Otis, Henry, et al, have many times straightened me out about who they are and what they will and won't do or say. Henry, for instance, has worked too long and hard at learning English – especially mastering the idioms – not to expect his speech to improve from book to book, from 1952 to 1958. There are other examples like that one. Characters grow and change.
My writing habits contribute in a meaningful way to the surprises I confront at times in my stories. As you know, my story outlines are rudimentary at best, more just a mental list of events in a sequence that is often fluid. I also think about times, places – that is to say, scenes – and what I want to see accomplished by that point in the happenings. I couldn't prove it, but I think everything that happens is in the service of a distant goal, an ending that I hope for, that always seems to magically come to pass. One of the more peculiar things is how the correct length of the book happens without any conscious effort on my part. Somewhere around 280 pages, give or take a few, the story has been told. This was a page total that was suggested by my publisher for his own reasons. I agreed to it and have never thought about it again. Like I say, it just happens.
Reading the above, isn't it easy to believe what I have always contended – that is to say that I don't write these books at all. It's another guy. A guy who shows up and does all the work while I'm in alpha state. "Are you working?" my wife asks when she sees me staring out the window. I tell her yes, but in truth I'm doing nothing. It's that other guy who has his shoulder to the stone.
So, let's see – your question. Getting to know them is a process, I think. You know how I prefer allowing Kristin to tell the story so that she and the reader discover things at the same time? First person, it's called. Well, it's like that for these folks. We all kind of get to know them as we go along – you know Otis was raised in a rural Baptist house by parents who brought him up to respect things many people today not only don't respect, they don't even know they're supposed to respect them. A different world, you know? When Kristin becomes Otis' partner and he removes the words painted on the door to his office, it was because he was sensitive to something most people today wouldn't notice or even think about. Maybe you remember this little narrative from Kristin in Jugglers–
The Millett Agency was painted in black letters on the frosted glass door of our office. When I became Otis’s partner, he removed the two words that had been lower on the glass.
Otis felt that Suspicions Verified conjured up lascivious acts that would be inappropriate now that he had a female partner. I appreciated his sensitivity and was glad to see the words go, but for a different reason. I thought they narrowed our expertise.
Exposing infidelity might make up the larger portion of our business, but it hardly described everything we did.
Do you remember in High Plains when Otis is in the hospital and Kristin tells him the baby girl he helped to birth has been named after him?
"There was a baby girl," he said.
"They named her after you. They call her Millie."
It was just humming machinery for a stretch of time while he gazed at me. I was afraid he didn't understand until tears came to his eyes.
He said, "She's gonna get a good education, Missy. That's how gals go places and get what's theirs. Education."
So, to get back to your question again – it's a process. The characters are constantly introducing themselves. I don't know from one day to the next what they're going to say, but you can trust they are who they are.
You know what the problem is? You make it too comfortable in your lunchroom, the coffee is too good, and the atmosphere is so congenial. It's your fault I ramble on.
JB: Oh, I'm so sorry about that. I'll have to slack off a little bit from now on.
And now the last – and probably most burning – question, the one your fans are on tenterhooks over. Are we going to be seeing more of Kristin and Otis in the future?
BOB: Did I mention before that I am writing a standalone? There is a story I want to tell about a guy who makes a mistake without knowing he's done it, falls on the bad side of a mobster, and ends up on the run. I'm calling it Kill the Gigolo, a contemporary, third person tale with a male protagonist. This book is half finished, so things can change, but right now here is what the back cover would say–
Erik Lamar, a smooth-talking ladies' man, is on the run. Gangster Al Foley has a grudge to settle and only Erik's head will even the score. The Irish Mob is given an assignment: kill the gigolo.
When the mutilated corpse of Erik's friend, Freddy, is found dumped in the street, Erik gets the warning – what happened to Freddy was a Girl Scout demerit compared to what is planned for him.
But first, they have to catch him. One step ahead of Foley's thugs, Erik flies off to Mexico, thinking he has traded terror for a life of leisure. But it's not so easy: Lies and deceit become his way of life in the tropics. In no time losing his head becomes the least of his worries.
Be honest. Will slipping in the standalone book between Baby Shark books four and five make you totally bugnuts from the wait?
JB: Probably. But to paraphrase an author I know, talking about another author – "I'd read anything written by Robert Fate." Kill the Gigolo sounds like it'll be great too.
Thanks so much for taking the time to talk with me today, Bob. It's truly a pleasure, as always, to be allowed to spend time picking that fascinating brain of yours!
Well, folks, that's the end of the Lunch hour for today. Don't forget to visit Bob's website to keep up with what's going on in Kristin's world, and we'll keep you posted on new Robert Fate books in the future. Thanks for hanging out with us today, and come back soon!
=) JB
P.S. - Read a book. It's good for you!
8.13.2009
The Cat Ate My Homework
Allow me to introduce you to the newest addition to the family.
This is Merlot. Actually, this is what Merlot looked like when he first came to visit us ... last November. Long story short, The Tall One was engaged - briefly - to a very nice but rather odd young man. During the planning stages, they decided to get a kitten. All went well until the breakup, and then we had a minor custody battle. Merlot stayed with the Ex for a while, but we finally determined that the best place for him would be with us, so he has come to live here until The Tall One is out of school and on her own.
And this is what Merlot looks like now. For the sake of reference from this point out, we are going to call him Demon Child. He's actually quite adorable, when he's sleeping or in lovey-dovey mode. But when he gets frisky, he is one holy terror.
He has this thing about needing to be where I am. If I'm in the kitchen, he's sprawled out comfortably in the middle of the rug (which is, of course, in the middle of the kitchen). If I'm in the bedroom, his post is either by the bedroom door or next to my nightstand, where he has a clear view of both the bedroom and bathroom doors.
His favorite place to be with me is in my study. When I'm working at the day job desk, he likes to lie on my writing desk. When I'm at my writing desk, he'll be on the computer station to the right of my desk. And he's not a fan of stacks. If there's a stack of anything on any flat surface in my study, he's always kind enough to clear it off for me. I think he learned that trick from Sebastian.
He also likes to chew on things. Doesn't matter what it is, if it's anything he can get in his teeth - paper, cardboard box, my hand - he will tear it up.
Now, I told you that story to tell you this one. As you've probably figured out by now (since those of you who actually read my blog know me personally), the cat is out of the bag, so to speak, about my new pen-name. Ta-ta-ta-taaaaaa! Anyway, now that Jennifer Brooks' first manuscript is on submission, she is - er, ahem ... I am hard at work on getting the second one ready. To do this, I'm taking a manuscript I wrote a while back and am revising and updating it, making it better, more suspenseful, etc., etc., blah-blah-blah. Anyway, to do this, I printed it out so that I could make notes and revisions on paper before implementing them into my electronic file. (This is a trick I stole from my fabulous and invaluable Wonder Twin.)
You've been paying attention, and you see where this is going now, right? Yep. Demon Child discovered my printed manuscript on my desk and decided it looked good enough to eat.
Now, don't panic. He didn't actually EAT it. He just chewed on it. A little. And only the first two pages. I showed this to The Tall One, and she laughed. Cackled, actually.
I promise you, this is not staged. Something tells me I'd better get on the stick about editing the rest of this book before DC starts chewing again.
I have a couple of books on the TBR pile that are screaming to be read. And a whole lotta other stuff on the to-do list ...
Enjoy your day. Read a book. And would someone please pass the salt?
=) JB
This is Merlot. Actually, this is what Merlot looked like when he first came to visit us ... last November. Long story short, The Tall One was engaged - briefly - to a very nice but rather odd young man. During the planning stages, they decided to get a kitten. All went well until the breakup, and then we had a minor custody battle. Merlot stayed with the Ex for a while, but we finally determined that the best place for him would be with us, so he has come to live here until The Tall One is out of school and on her own.
And this is what Merlot looks like now. For the sake of reference from this point out, we are going to call him Demon Child. He's actually quite adorable, when he's sleeping or in lovey-dovey mode. But when he gets frisky, he is one holy terror.He has this thing about needing to be where I am. If I'm in the kitchen, he's sprawled out comfortably in the middle of the rug (which is, of course, in the middle of the kitchen). If I'm in the bedroom, his post is either by the bedroom door or next to my nightstand, where he has a clear view of both the bedroom and bathroom doors.
His favorite place to be with me is in my study. When I'm working at the day job desk, he likes to lie on my writing desk. When I'm at my writing desk, he'll be on the computer station to the right of my desk. And he's not a fan of stacks. If there's a stack of anything on any flat surface in my study, he's always kind enough to clear it off for me. I think he learned that trick from Sebastian.He also likes to chew on things. Doesn't matter what it is, if it's anything he can get in his teeth - paper, cardboard box, my hand - he will tear it up.
Now, I told you that story to tell you this one. As you've probably figured out by now (since those of you who actually read my blog know me personally), the cat is out of the bag, so to speak, about my new pen-name. Ta-ta-ta-taaaaaa! Anyway, now that Jennifer Brooks' first manuscript is on submission, she is - er, ahem ... I am hard at work on getting the second one ready. To do this, I'm taking a manuscript I wrote a while back and am revising and updating it, making it better, more suspenseful, etc., etc., blah-blah-blah. Anyway, to do this, I printed it out so that I could make notes and revisions on paper before implementing them into my electronic file. (This is a trick I stole from my fabulous and invaluable Wonder Twin.)
You've been paying attention, and you see where this is going now, right? Yep. Demon Child discovered my printed manuscript on my desk and decided it looked good enough to eat.
Now, don't panic. He didn't actually EAT it. He just chewed on it. A little. And only the first two pages. I showed this to The Tall One, and she laughed. Cackled, actually.
I promise you, this is not staged. Something tells me I'd better get on the stick about editing the rest of this book before DC starts chewing again.I have a couple of books on the TBR pile that are screaming to be read. And a whole lotta other stuff on the to-do list ...
Enjoy your day. Read a book. And would someone please pass the salt?
=) JB
8.12.2009
Jugglers at the Border
Great news, Lunch Roomies! Bob Fate's Baby Shark's Jugglers at the Border, the fourth book in his fabulous series, will be released next month. I've read it, and it's the best yet. You can read my review on it here. No spoilers, I promise.
If you haven't read any of Bob's books yet, you need to. My alter ego is going to put them on the shelf over at Brooks on Books, so you can put them all on your TBR list.
The even better news? Bob will be visiting with us again, right here in the Lunch Room, very soon. So stay tuned!
In the meantime, read a book (see above). It's good for you.
=) JB
If you haven't read any of Bob's books yet, you need to. My alter ego is going to put them on the shelf over at Brooks on Books, so you can put them all on your TBR list.
The even better news? Bob will be visiting with us again, right here in the Lunch Room, very soon. So stay tuned!
In the meantime, read a book (see above). It's good for you.
=) JB
7.30.2009
Mile Marker 20
Today is The Tall One's birthday. It seems a bit strange to me that I have a child who is no longer a teenager. She was gracious enough to remind me that I am by no means old - the WGH and I are actually somewhat younger than some of our kids' friends' parents - before she left to get on a plane to go visit friends in Maryland for her birthday.
I've been rattling around the house by myself for most of this week. Little Bit is at band camp, and the WGH and The Boy are on a fishing trip. So it's been me and the cats, working on the ongoing to-do list. It's been quiet and peaceful, and I've thoroughly enjoyed my solitude, although I will admit that I'll be glad to see them when they get home. I have managed to accomplish a few things while everyone's been gone, so now I'm allowing myself a little down time.
I did receive a pleasant surprise in the mail today ... the ARC of a new book by Brant Randall (Bruce Cook). On my to-do list is reading Robert Fate's latest Baby Shark (this being book #4 of the series - Jugglers at the Border), and Bob is going to grace us with his presence here in the Lunch Room soon. After that, we'll read Bruce/Brant's Tommy Gun Tango, and we'll have more surprises coming up in the next couple weeks.
I have a Netflix DVD on the nightstand, too - an intriguing looking film called The Darjeeling Limited. So my week of alone will be topped off with some entertainment of the best kind ... curled up on the bed with the kitties, a couple of good books and a movie. Ahhhhh ...
Enjoy your weekend. I'll be back by soon. In the meantime, you know what to do.
=) JB
I've been rattling around the house by myself for most of this week. Little Bit is at band camp, and the WGH and The Boy are on a fishing trip. So it's been me and the cats, working on the ongoing to-do list. It's been quiet and peaceful, and I've thoroughly enjoyed my solitude, although I will admit that I'll be glad to see them when they get home. I have managed to accomplish a few things while everyone's been gone, so now I'm allowing myself a little down time.
I did receive a pleasant surprise in the mail today ... the ARC of a new book by Brant Randall (Bruce Cook). On my to-do list is reading Robert Fate's latest Baby Shark (this being book #4 of the series - Jugglers at the Border), and Bob is going to grace us with his presence here in the Lunch Room soon. After that, we'll read Bruce/Brant's Tommy Gun Tango, and we'll have more surprises coming up in the next couple weeks.
I have a Netflix DVD on the nightstand, too - an intriguing looking film called The Darjeeling Limited. So my week of alone will be topped off with some entertainment of the best kind ... curled up on the bed with the kitties, a couple of good books and a movie. Ahhhhh ...
Enjoy your weekend. I'll be back by soon. In the meantime, you know what to do.
=) JB
7.04.2009
A Few Thinks
Since I changed my schedule a month or so back, I'm technically supposed to be working right now. However, at the moment there isn't anything for me to do, so I'm taking a quick break to pop in to the Lunch Room and say hello ...
And, since time is short, I thought I'd just leave you with my thoughts from last year's Independence Day: Let Freedom Ring. It was, in my humble but honest opinion, a sentiment worth repeating.
The kids are scattered hither and yon today, so the WGH and I are going to spend the afternoon at the lake with his parents. I like going to the lake, although my own parents think it's a bit on the dull side. For me, getting away to a place where there is nothing to do but sit and commune with nature is the ultimate in relaxation.
And don't we need that every so often?
I'm taking a book with me (again), as I've resumed doing reviews for RTE, at least on a limited basis. The laptop is also going with me, more out of necessity than anything ... so much to do, so little time - as always.
Happy 4th, everybody.
=) JB
And, since time is short, I thought I'd just leave you with my thoughts from last year's Independence Day: Let Freedom Ring. It was, in my humble but honest opinion, a sentiment worth repeating.
The kids are scattered hither and yon today, so the WGH and I are going to spend the afternoon at the lake with his parents. I like going to the lake, although my own parents think it's a bit on the dull side. For me, getting away to a place where there is nothing to do but sit and commune with nature is the ultimate in relaxation.
And don't we need that every so often?
I'm taking a book with me (again), as I've resumed doing reviews for RTE, at least on a limited basis. The laptop is also going with me, more out of necessity than anything ... so much to do, so little time - as always.
Happy 4th, everybody.
=) JB
6.19.2009
A Mouthful of Science
Proud Mom Moment. Attesting to the fact that I am a terrible mother, The Boy graduated from high school 3 weeks ago today. Salutatorian of his class. And did I say a thing about it here? No.
His speech - the program's 'closing remarks' - was brilliant. It lasted all of 3 minutes and included some words that my college English professor would've been proud of. Half the audience was left with their mouths hanging open, scratching their heads. I loved it.
Sigh. That's our son. Child #2, getting ready for the next phase of his life beginning in the fall - college. He and the WGH went this past week to the orientation and registration program at his college, and came home with a definitive major on the record. We knew he was going Pre-Med (as of this week, he wants to be an anesthesiologist), but he wasn't sure which field he was going to study. Now we know (drum roll, please): Chemical Engineering with a Biomolecular Concentration.
That's a lot of ... well, see the title of this post. You get the idea. Now, I am not a science person. We have an understanding at our house - I am English and History, the WGH is Science and Math. And never the twain shall meet, except in our children, who have a smattering of all those elements in their systems, and do quite well with them, thank you very much. Hence the contents of the commencement speech and the intended major. One of my own high school classmates said something to the effect of the apple not falling far from the tree, but I think the apple, in this case, might just be a bit smarter than the tree from whence it fell.
Various and Sundry. I'm trolling a bit today, here and elsewhere, and found this, definitive proof that the Wonder Twin and I are ... um, twins.
Music! In keeping with the theme of Sister's post from last week (see link above - are you not paying attention?), the CD player is cranking once again. For me, as you are (nauseously) aware, it's anything and everything Harry Potter. Think I'll pop in the Prisoner of Azkaban soundtrack and see where it takes me. I've been writing new scenes for the manuscript, and have been taking advantage of my collection to proffer my muse a bit of inspiration. So far it's working quite well.
I also found an old post of mine where I swore upon all that was holy that I would never give up my Fridays off. Well, I have. In exchange for my Mondays. The good news is I have officially gone back to part-time (I may have mentioned this already), and now have much more freedom to work on the things that I truly need to be working on.
All in the name, of course, of my regenerated writing career.
Do wish me luck, won't you?
And read a book. It's good for you.
=) JB
Music is the wine that fills the cup of silence.
-- Robert Fripp, English guitarist, composer and record producer (1946 - )
His speech - the program's 'closing remarks' - was brilliant. It lasted all of 3 minutes and included some words that my college English professor would've been proud of. Half the audience was left with their mouths hanging open, scratching their heads. I loved it.
Sigh. That's our son. Child #2, getting ready for the next phase of his life beginning in the fall - college. He and the WGH went this past week to the orientation and registration program at his college, and came home with a definitive major on the record. We knew he was going Pre-Med (as of this week, he wants to be an anesthesiologist), but he wasn't sure which field he was going to study. Now we know (drum roll, please): Chemical Engineering with a Biomolecular Concentration.
That's a lot of ... well, see the title of this post. You get the idea. Now, I am not a science person. We have an understanding at our house - I am English and History, the WGH is Science and Math. And never the twain shall meet, except in our children, who have a smattering of all those elements in their systems, and do quite well with them, thank you very much. Hence the contents of the commencement speech and the intended major. One of my own high school classmates said something to the effect of the apple not falling far from the tree, but I think the apple, in this case, might just be a bit smarter than the tree from whence it fell.
Various and Sundry. I'm trolling a bit today, here and elsewhere, and found this, definitive proof that the Wonder Twin and I are ... um, twins.
Music! In keeping with the theme of Sister's post from last week (see link above - are you not paying attention?), the CD player is cranking once again. For me, as you are (nauseously) aware, it's anything and everything Harry Potter. Think I'll pop in the Prisoner of Azkaban soundtrack and see where it takes me. I've been writing new scenes for the manuscript, and have been taking advantage of my collection to proffer my muse a bit of inspiration. So far it's working quite well.
I also found an old post of mine where I swore upon all that was holy that I would never give up my Fridays off. Well, I have. In exchange for my Mondays. The good news is I have officially gone back to part-time (I may have mentioned this already), and now have much more freedom to work on the things that I truly need to be working on.
All in the name, of course, of my regenerated writing career.
Do wish me luck, won't you?
And read a book. It's good for you.
=) JB
Music is the wine that fills the cup of silence.
-- Robert Fripp, English guitarist, composer and record producer (1946 - )
6.08.2009
What I've Been Up To
My apologies. I disappeared again.
Fortunately, this time it was not for health reasons. In that respect, I'm doing spiffingly. No, this time it was because I've just been so darn busy, and haven't really had much to say other than I'm still alive. Rest assured had that not been the case, you would have heard something from someone before now.
At any rate, things in the JBTAuthor study are swimming along ... I've started doing a bit of freelance writing, I'm still editing (and available for new clients), and have recently taken on a couple of other projects (writing-related, more or less) that have been keeping me hopping. Not to mention I'm still working on the manuscript and am on the verge of plunging into the submission process again.
The WGH made the comment last night on our way to church that my plate was getting kinda full. I said, yes, but it's a fun full.
I'll be around and about the Lunch Room, and will pop in with updates when I have something interesting to say. I hope that will be more often than not. For now, I'll leave you with my latest efforts courtesy of Suite101.com in the hopes that you will enjoy them:
Movie Review - Stage Beauty
Becoming Jane - Movie Review
Wit - Movie Review
Oh, and read a book. It's good for you.
=) JB
Fortunately, this time it was not for health reasons. In that respect, I'm doing spiffingly. No, this time it was because I've just been so darn busy, and haven't really had much to say other than I'm still alive. Rest assured had that not been the case, you would have heard something from someone before now.
At any rate, things in the JBTAuthor study are swimming along ... I've started doing a bit of freelance writing, I'm still editing (and available for new clients), and have recently taken on a couple of other projects (writing-related, more or less) that have been keeping me hopping. Not to mention I'm still working on the manuscript and am on the verge of plunging into the submission process again.
The WGH made the comment last night on our way to church that my plate was getting kinda full. I said, yes, but it's a fun full.
I'll be around and about the Lunch Room, and will pop in with updates when I have something interesting to say. I hope that will be more often than not. For now, I'll leave you with my latest efforts courtesy of Suite101.com in the hopes that you will enjoy them:
Movie Review - Stage Beauty
Becoming Jane - Movie Review
Wit - Movie Review
Oh, and read a book. It's good for you.
=) JB
4.03.2009
Getting Down to Business (or T.G.I.F.)
Today my Wonder Twin shares her thoughts on creativity. I found an old post I did back in '07 that's pretty much along the same lines (Arts & Crafts), which I wish I'd reread before I commented on Sister's essay. What I did say was that to me, "creativity is digging down into the deepest part of your soul and turning it inside out, so that what comes out is the most unique part of yourself. After that, it's your choice whether to share it with the world."
That's original. It took me a few minutes to come up with that. And yes, you can quote me.
The day job has been a little thin on work lately, so that I've had to set aside a few hours on Saturdays to catch up a little on time served. I'm okay with that once in a while, but I steadfastly refuse to give up my Fridays, the one day each week where I am alone and free (at the same time - which is a rarity in this house). This is the day to which I stake my claim with a big red flag that screams, "Writer at work - enter at your own risk!", hole myself up in the study and get creative.
Music of the Moment: The CD player is back to cranking, this morning with the Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl soundtrack. This is music that will get your blood pumping, which is what I need, as I am working full tilt on a rewrite of this manuscript. I've had my coffee (decaf, thank you) and Dunkin' Donuts and am ready to rock and roll ... er, swashbuckle. That's Captain Jack Sparrow.
Enjoy this beautiful Friday, and I hope you weathered yesterday's storms without incident.
And read a book. It's good for you.
=) JB
"And since you know you cannot see yourself, so well as by reflection, I, your glass, will modestly discover to yourself, that of yourself which you yet know not of."
-- William Shakespeare, English dramatist & poet (1564 - 1616)
That's original. It took me a few minutes to come up with that. And yes, you can quote me.
The day job has been a little thin on work lately, so that I've had to set aside a few hours on Saturdays to catch up a little on time served. I'm okay with that once in a while, but I steadfastly refuse to give up my Fridays, the one day each week where I am alone and free (at the same time - which is a rarity in this house). This is the day to which I stake my claim with a big red flag that screams, "Writer at work - enter at your own risk!", hole myself up in the study and get creative.
Music of the Moment: The CD player is back to cranking, this morning with the Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl soundtrack. This is music that will get your blood pumping, which is what I need, as I am working full tilt on a rewrite of this manuscript. I've had my coffee (decaf, thank you) and Dunkin' Donuts and am ready to rock and roll ... er, swashbuckle. That's Captain Jack Sparrow.
Enjoy this beautiful Friday, and I hope you weathered yesterday's storms without incident.
And read a book. It's good for you.
=) JB
"And since you know you cannot see yourself, so well as by reflection, I, your glass, will modestly discover to yourself, that of yourself which you yet know not of."
-- William Shakespeare, English dramatist & poet (1564 - 1616)
4.02.2009
Eighty-Two Percent
Did I not say it? Any team can defeat any other team on any given day. So here I sit, with two of the teams I picked to go to the Final Four going home instead. What unbelievable games last weekend. College basketball at its best. Man, I love this game.
Up to that point, I hadn't been doing too badly: 27/32 in the first round, 14/16 in the second, and 6/8 in the third. I think it all started going south when Villanova beat Duke in the East region semifinals. I should've known at that point that my Final Four picks were in serious trouble. Although I can't say I'm sorry to see a Big Ten team in the Final Four, thank you very much. Go, Spartans!!
As of Sunday last, out of 60 games, I have picked 49 correctly, for a correct/incorrect ratio of 82%. So, how are you doing so far?
Today, we work.
Tomorrow, we play.
Of course, play for me is work.
You have to know me really well to get that. If you don't get it, don't worry. You will someday.
Read a book. It's good for you.
=) JB
"Read the best books first or you may not have a chance to read them at all."
-- Henry David Thoreau
Up to that point, I hadn't been doing too badly: 27/32 in the first round, 14/16 in the second, and 6/8 in the third. I think it all started going south when Villanova beat Duke in the East region semifinals. I should've known at that point that my Final Four picks were in serious trouble. Although I can't say I'm sorry to see a Big Ten team in the Final Four, thank you very much. Go, Spartans!!
As of Sunday last, out of 60 games, I have picked 49 correctly, for a correct/incorrect ratio of 82%. So, how are you doing so far?
Today, we work.
Tomorrow, we play.
Of course, play for me is work.
You have to know me really well to get that. If you don't get it, don't worry. You will someday.
Read a book. It's good for you.
=) JB
"Read the best books first or you may not have a chance to read them at all."
-- Henry David Thoreau
3.26.2009
The Sweet Sixteen
For those of you who don't care a whit about basketball, stop reading now. If you're as much an addict as I am, then press on, MacDuff ...
So, how did YOU do in your picks last weekend? I was 27/32 in the first and second rounds, and correctly picked 14 out of the Sweet 16. I'm sure there are those of you out there who did better than I, but really, did anyone get them all? Other than my husband, did anyone pick Western Kentucky to defeat Illinois? Did anyone expect Cleveland State to knock off Wake Forest? Maybe one or the other, but not both, right?
Funny thing about Cleveland State - they've only been in the NCAA tournament twice in history. The last time they played? Defeated Indiana in the first round. They were seeded #14 and we were #3, and CSU won 83-79. The WGH and I were still in school then - he actually went to Syracuse with the band for that game. Everyone expected them to stay for the whole weekend. It was a dismal 14-hour bus ride home for the pep band, he tells me.
That was in 1986; Indiana went on to win the National Championship the following year. The really crazy thing is this - I discovered a couple of rather interesting similarities between the 1981 and 1987 championships, an uncanny coincidence that may never happen again, at least in my lifetime. In both cases, the National Champion was the same for the previous year - Louisville (1980 and 1986). And, both the games that we won in '81 and '87 were played on my birthday. How's that for weird? I've been waiting 22 years for this pattern to repeat itself, but so far it hasn't happened.
It's rainy and cool here in the South today. A perfect day for staying in and getting some things accomplished.
Read a book. Or watch a game. It's good for you.
=) JB
"If A is success in life, then A equals x plus y plus z. Work is x; y is play; and z is keeping your mouth shut."
-- Albert Einstein, US (German-born) physicist (1879 - 1955), Observer, Jan. 15, 1950
So, how did YOU do in your picks last weekend? I was 27/32 in the first and second rounds, and correctly picked 14 out of the Sweet 16. I'm sure there are those of you out there who did better than I, but really, did anyone get them all? Other than my husband, did anyone pick Western Kentucky to defeat Illinois? Did anyone expect Cleveland State to knock off Wake Forest? Maybe one or the other, but not both, right?
Funny thing about Cleveland State - they've only been in the NCAA tournament twice in history. The last time they played? Defeated Indiana in the first round. They were seeded #14 and we were #3, and CSU won 83-79. The WGH and I were still in school then - he actually went to Syracuse with the band for that game. Everyone expected them to stay for the whole weekend. It was a dismal 14-hour bus ride home for the pep band, he tells me.
That was in 1986; Indiana went on to win the National Championship the following year. The really crazy thing is this - I discovered a couple of rather interesting similarities between the 1981 and 1987 championships, an uncanny coincidence that may never happen again, at least in my lifetime. In both cases, the National Champion was the same for the previous year - Louisville (1980 and 1986). And, both the games that we won in '81 and '87 were played on my birthday. How's that for weird? I've been waiting 22 years for this pattern to repeat itself, but so far it hasn't happened.
It's rainy and cool here in the South today. A perfect day for staying in and getting some things accomplished.
Read a book. Or watch a game. It's good for you.
=) JB
"If A is success in life, then A equals x plus y plus z. Work is x; y is play; and z is keeping your mouth shut."
-- Albert Einstein, US (German-born) physicist (1879 - 1955), Observer, Jan. 15, 1950
3.20.2009
Sproing-g-g-g!!
Spring has sprung, although it's a cool 36 degrees in our little burg at the moment. Brrrr ... may wait an hour or so before I take my morning walk. It's not like I don't have 12 other things on the to-do list to keep me busy until it warms up enough to stuff myself into the walking clothes and set off. This is one of them (really - it says "blog", right there on line 9).
I've had a lot of things on my mind lately, so I'm probably going to muse on them all here. In all likelihood, there will be no rhyme, reason or point to this post. You'll just have to forgive and bear with me.
Junk mail. For about a week, I didn't clean out the messages that found their way into my 'junk mail' folder and kept track of how many I was getting every day. Don't ask me why I did this - I was just curious, okay? I was astonished at the results - 33, 25, 26, 11, 28, 32 and 14. That's 169 pieces of garbage cluttering up my Inbox from people I don't know, don't want to know, and don't want bothering me. What is up with junk mail, anyway? Do people actually get paid to create and send junk to every Tom, Dick, Harry and Sally on the planet? Why? How can this be productive? I can think of so many things that would be of greater benefit to mankind. I know of the old saying, "One man's junk is another man's treasure." Pfft. When it comes to junk mail, I just don't get it.
There are no hedges in Phoenix. The WGH is an eBay junkie. I could list a gazillion things he has in his garage that he purchased online. In the last couple of weeks he decided we needed hedge trimmers. So he goes to eBay, finds a gas-powered hedge trimmer that's very nice, bids on it and wins it. Woot. So this package is coming and he's tracking its progress ... turns out the seller was in Phoenix. Now, I don't know about you, but the first image that pops into my head when someone mentions Phoenix? Not hedges. Cactus, maybe. Granted, it's been a while since I visited the area, but still. Hedges? I talked to the WMVR about it. She obviously thinks a lot more reasonably than I do most of the time. She said that the person probably had hedges where he lived before, but had just moved to Phoenix and as he no longer needed the hedge trimmer, he sold it on eBay.
Okay, I'll buy that. But still, wasn't your first thought, "There are no hedges in Phoenix"? With the same inflection Tom Hanks used in A League of Their Own when he said, "There's no crying in baseball"?
Tournament time again. As most of you know, I love love love basketball. On any level. So my blood really gets pumping around March Madness time. Sadly, our poor alma mater had a less than stellar season, but with Coach Crean at the helm I feel confident that in a few years, Indiana will once again be a force to be reckoned with. Bring back the glory of the Knight era, only softer (Coach Crean is a much calmer man on the sidelines).
The WGH and I printed out brackets and filled in our picks. I actually took the leap and went all the way to the championship game this time (normally I go round by round). My Final Four: Louisville, Duke, UConn and North Carolina. I picked Louisville and Duke in the final game and Louisville to win it all. Call me crazy. I don't really put much stock in picks, anyway, because I firmly believe that any team can defeat any other team on any given day. Case in point - #12 seed Western Kentucky's defeat of #5 Illinois last night (although I should mention that the WGH did pick WKU to win that one, and I'm 13/16 so far in the first round). That's okay. I don't think the Hilltoppers will get past Gonzaga in the next round. I could be wrong. It's happened before.
Paint. One of the items on my to-do list for this, the first weekend I haven't had to work the day job in about 6 weeks, is to prep and paint the foyer and the living room. The WGH had a painting accident a couple of weeks ago - slipped and wrenched his ankle - so he's out of commission for a while, at least as far as getting on a ladder. But that's okay. He wants to do yard work. It's a fair trade - I hate yard work and like painting, and he hates painting and likes yard work. Isn't it convenient how that works out?
A writer's life. One of the other things on my list, of course, is to get this manuscript into shape and start submitting again. It's really almost there. I know what you're thinking - it was there last summer, and it was. Kinda. I did submit it a few places, but when some very kind and constructive comments came back from several agents, I decided it needed a little more tweaking. The BMWs have helped with that as well, and it's an even better book now. So don't hold your breath, but do keep your fingers crossed, pray, and send good vibes my way. We'll be there eventually.
Since the to-do list won't check itself off, I'm working on it. Number 9 is now complete.
Read a book. It's good for you.
=) JB
"I feel within me a peace above all earthly dignities, a still and quiet conscience."
-- William Shakespeare, English dramatist and poet (1564-1616)
I've had a lot of things on my mind lately, so I'm probably going to muse on them all here. In all likelihood, there will be no rhyme, reason or point to this post. You'll just have to forgive and bear with me.
Junk mail. For about a week, I didn't clean out the messages that found their way into my 'junk mail' folder and kept track of how many I was getting every day. Don't ask me why I did this - I was just curious, okay? I was astonished at the results - 33, 25, 26, 11, 28, 32 and 14. That's 169 pieces of garbage cluttering up my Inbox from people I don't know, don't want to know, and don't want bothering me. What is up with junk mail, anyway? Do people actually get paid to create and send junk to every Tom, Dick, Harry and Sally on the planet? Why? How can this be productive? I can think of so many things that would be of greater benefit to mankind. I know of the old saying, "One man's junk is another man's treasure." Pfft. When it comes to junk mail, I just don't get it.
There are no hedges in Phoenix. The WGH is an eBay junkie. I could list a gazillion things he has in his garage that he purchased online. In the last couple of weeks he decided we needed hedge trimmers. So he goes to eBay, finds a gas-powered hedge trimmer that's very nice, bids on it and wins it. Woot. So this package is coming and he's tracking its progress ... turns out the seller was in Phoenix. Now, I don't know about you, but the first image that pops into my head when someone mentions Phoenix? Not hedges. Cactus, maybe. Granted, it's been a while since I visited the area, but still. Hedges? I talked to the WMVR about it. She obviously thinks a lot more reasonably than I do most of the time. She said that the person probably had hedges where he lived before, but had just moved to Phoenix and as he no longer needed the hedge trimmer, he sold it on eBay.
Okay, I'll buy that. But still, wasn't your first thought, "There are no hedges in Phoenix"? With the same inflection Tom Hanks used in A League of Their Own when he said, "There's no crying in baseball"?
Tournament time again. As most of you know, I love love love basketball. On any level. So my blood really gets pumping around March Madness time. Sadly, our poor alma mater had a less than stellar season, but with Coach Crean at the helm I feel confident that in a few years, Indiana will once again be a force to be reckoned with. Bring back the glory of the Knight era, only softer (Coach Crean is a much calmer man on the sidelines).
The WGH and I printed out brackets and filled in our picks. I actually took the leap and went all the way to the championship game this time (normally I go round by round). My Final Four: Louisville, Duke, UConn and North Carolina. I picked Louisville and Duke in the final game and Louisville to win it all. Call me crazy. I don't really put much stock in picks, anyway, because I firmly believe that any team can defeat any other team on any given day. Case in point - #12 seed Western Kentucky's defeat of #5 Illinois last night (although I should mention that the WGH did pick WKU to win that one, and I'm 13/16 so far in the first round). That's okay. I don't think the Hilltoppers will get past Gonzaga in the next round. I could be wrong. It's happened before.
Paint. One of the items on my to-do list for this, the first weekend I haven't had to work the day job in about 6 weeks, is to prep and paint the foyer and the living room. The WGH had a painting accident a couple of weeks ago - slipped and wrenched his ankle - so he's out of commission for a while, at least as far as getting on a ladder. But that's okay. He wants to do yard work. It's a fair trade - I hate yard work and like painting, and he hates painting and likes yard work. Isn't it convenient how that works out?
A writer's life. One of the other things on my list, of course, is to get this manuscript into shape and start submitting again. It's really almost there. I know what you're thinking - it was there last summer, and it was. Kinda. I did submit it a few places, but when some very kind and constructive comments came back from several agents, I decided it needed a little more tweaking. The BMWs have helped with that as well, and it's an even better book now. So don't hold your breath, but do keep your fingers crossed, pray, and send good vibes my way. We'll be there eventually.
Since the to-do list won't check itself off, I'm working on it. Number 9 is now complete.
Read a book. It's good for you.
=) JB
"I feel within me a peace above all earthly dignities, a still and quiet conscience."
-- William Shakespeare, English dramatist and poet (1564-1616)
3.01.2009
A Fond Farewell - Barbara Franchi
I learned today that Barbara Franchi, publisher for Reviewing the Evidence, the mystery review site I contributed to for a couple of years, passed away last night after a long battle with cancer. Barbara was a kind and funny woman, and her loss will be felt by the entire mystery community.
Janet Rudolph has a very nice piece on Barbara, as does Ali Karim at The Rap Sheet.
My heart goes out to Barbara's husband Rudy and her children, as well as to Shaz, Yvonne and the rest of the RTE crew, and our thoughts and prayers are with them all.
Janet Rudolph has a very nice piece on Barbara, as does Ali Karim at The Rap Sheet.
My heart goes out to Barbara's husband Rudy and her children, as well as to Shaz, Yvonne and the rest of the RTE crew, and our thoughts and prayers are with them all.
2.28.2009
Happy Happy Joy Joy
I thought it would be nice to have a more lighthearted post today to contrast the last one. After all, life is full of both happy and sad moments, and you can't have one without the other, right?
The Project. We've lived in this house for just over 5 years now, and we finally decided that it needed a bit of an overhaul. So we're painting. Now, the WGH loves to paint about as much as I love to go shopping. Ranks right up there with cleaning up dog barf at midnight, having a root canal or having someone jab you in the eye with a sharp stick. But it needed to be done, and we're working on a room or two at a time. It's the same answer as the one to the question, "How do you eat an elephant?" (One bite at a time.)
So here we are in the paint department at Lowe's, looking at every Valspar Signature series color sample under the sun. I never knew there were so many different shades of green, beige and pink. We bring the little cards home, prop them up on the baseboards and door frames and spend some quality time with them until we find the color we like the best. After several trips, we finally found a combination we really like.
It's a work in progress. And the more I look at the parts that are finished, the more I love them. Sometimes you just need something fresh and new to perk yourself up. And what better way to do that than to spruce up your surroundings a bit? My study, sometime in the near future, is going to brighten up from this very neutral and *yawn* passive shade of beige to a gorgeous color called Oxford Pink. I know what you're thinking - ewwww, PINK???? But believe me, this color is luscious. It's warm and rosy and cozy and I can't wait to see it on my walls. The recliner and my writing desk chair are both of a rather burgundy-esque color (bought at two different places at two different times and they're almost identical - how lucky was that?), and the pink walls will be a perfect complement.
The part that I'm looking forward to the most is being able to sit in here and just soak up the positive energy and turn it into a blast of creativity. It's all about the chi, yes?
Work in Progress. The other thing I'm working on again is the manuscript - slowly but surely. My recent five-month break did not include much writing, so I'm back after it. Unfortunately, the day job takes up most of my days, so I'm relegated once again, as I was so many years ago when the kids were small ... er, young (have you SEEN my kids?), to working on the manuscript in the evenings. Thank God for DVR and a husband who finally caved and ordered the service. ;)
It's finished, for the most part. The story is down. It's just in the tweaking phase once again. I finally figured out what was bugging me so much about the story, that one little plot point that just wouldn't gel quite properly, and once I did that the edits seemed to just start flowing. I have a legal pad on the desk where I've jotted some editorial notes, things I need to fix overall, which I'll get to as soon as I'm through the first pass, taking care of notes from the BMWs (most of which I've discovered have already been done - I told you it's been a while since I've looked at this thing). But the group is about 2 or 3 chapters from the end, and once that's in hand I'll make sure everything's nice and tight, and then ... well, you writers know the drill. The rest of you probably don't care much - you just want to read the book, right?
Soon. I promise.
Music, music, music. As you know, I have a pretty decent collection of CDs full of classical and orchestral and jazz music, which I must, must, must have playing in the study while I'm working, either at the day job or at the writing desk. Right now there is silence in my little room because The Boy is still asleep next door. It's early at our house for a Saturday. The WGH will be up and painting soon, and I have to spend a few hours chained to the day job desk, but this afternoon ... look out manuscript. The music will be blaring and I will be tweaking away.
It's a little on the rainy gray side today. A perfect day to stay indoors and accomplish something.
Read a book. It's good for you.
=) JB
"Action is eloquence."
-- William Shakespeare, English dramatist & poet (1564 - 1616)
The Project. We've lived in this house for just over 5 years now, and we finally decided that it needed a bit of an overhaul. So we're painting. Now, the WGH loves to paint about as much as I love to go shopping. Ranks right up there with cleaning up dog barf at midnight, having a root canal or having someone jab you in the eye with a sharp stick. But it needed to be done, and we're working on a room or two at a time. It's the same answer as the one to the question, "How do you eat an elephant?" (One bite at a time.)
So here we are in the paint department at Lowe's, looking at every Valspar Signature series color sample under the sun. I never knew there were so many different shades of green, beige and pink. We bring the little cards home, prop them up on the baseboards and door frames and spend some quality time with them until we find the color we like the best. After several trips, we finally found a combination we really like.
It's a work in progress. And the more I look at the parts that are finished, the more I love them. Sometimes you just need something fresh and new to perk yourself up. And what better way to do that than to spruce up your surroundings a bit? My study, sometime in the near future, is going to brighten up from this very neutral and *yawn* passive shade of beige to a gorgeous color called Oxford Pink. I know what you're thinking - ewwww, PINK???? But believe me, this color is luscious. It's warm and rosy and cozy and I can't wait to see it on my walls. The recliner and my writing desk chair are both of a rather burgundy-esque color (bought at two different places at two different times and they're almost identical - how lucky was that?), and the pink walls will be a perfect complement.
The part that I'm looking forward to the most is being able to sit in here and just soak up the positive energy and turn it into a blast of creativity. It's all about the chi, yes?
Work in Progress. The other thing I'm working on again is the manuscript - slowly but surely. My recent five-month break did not include much writing, so I'm back after it. Unfortunately, the day job takes up most of my days, so I'm relegated once again, as I was so many years ago when the kids were small ... er, young (have you SEEN my kids?), to working on the manuscript in the evenings. Thank God for DVR and a husband who finally caved and ordered the service. ;)
It's finished, for the most part. The story is down. It's just in the tweaking phase once again. I finally figured out what was bugging me so much about the story, that one little plot point that just wouldn't gel quite properly, and once I did that the edits seemed to just start flowing. I have a legal pad on the desk where I've jotted some editorial notes, things I need to fix overall, which I'll get to as soon as I'm through the first pass, taking care of notes from the BMWs (most of which I've discovered have already been done - I told you it's been a while since I've looked at this thing). But the group is about 2 or 3 chapters from the end, and once that's in hand I'll make sure everything's nice and tight, and then ... well, you writers know the drill. The rest of you probably don't care much - you just want to read the book, right?
Soon. I promise.
Music, music, music. As you know, I have a pretty decent collection of CDs full of classical and orchestral and jazz music, which I must, must, must have playing in the study while I'm working, either at the day job or at the writing desk. Right now there is silence in my little room because The Boy is still asleep next door. It's early at our house for a Saturday. The WGH will be up and painting soon, and I have to spend a few hours chained to the day job desk, but this afternoon ... look out manuscript. The music will be blaring and I will be tweaking away.
It's a little on the rainy gray side today. A perfect day to stay indoors and accomplish something.
Read a book. It's good for you.
=) JB
"Action is eloquence."
-- William Shakespeare, English dramatist & poet (1564 - 1616)
2.19.2009
A Somber Anniversary
My life has been on another one of those runs of busy lately. This morning I was on a cleaning binge (a rarity) and for some reason I started thinking about an old friend of ours with whom we have recently reconnected - after 18 years. He was one of my very best friends in high school, we ended up at the same college, and he was the one who actually introduced me to the WGH. We tell him - 20 years and 3 kids later - that it's all his fault. We've all come to grips with it. ;)
But thinking about that friend - and so as not to confuse you, we'll call him Band Bud - made me think about another friend, the third member of a trio that included Band Bud and myself when we were in high school. These two guys were like my big brothers, I their bratty little sister who was always tagging along. It was rare to see one of us without the other two, especially if you happened to walk into the band room at any given moment. Our friendships lasted through college, and then, as adults sometimes do, we all went our separate ways and lost touch with each other. But I thought about both of them often, and even tried a few times to reconnect with them, without much success.
As I mentioned, the WGH and I have recently reconnected with Band Bud, and he may never know how much being back in touch with him means to me. I love him dearly, always have and do still, and I'm one of those firm believers in the value of good friends and in obeying the promptings of God when He says, "You need to talk to this person again."
By now you've probably guessed what my point is. Our dear friend, the third member of our trio, passed away a few years back. He was 38. When I heard the news, I was devastated. It was hard for me to explain why the death of someone I hadn't talked to or seen in 16 years still hit me as hard as it did, but a close current friend explained it to me with a compassion and understanding that only someone who truly knows me could have done. He said, "You don't have casual relationships. You love your friends with such a deep capacity and a fierce loyalty that they will always be your friends, regardless of how much time passes." And he's right. One of the reasons my BF has been my BF for over 30 years, even though we can't see each other as often as we'd like.
It hit me while I was cleaning this morning - it was 5 years ago today that our friend died. And in my mind I played the conversation that hasn't happened yet, the one between Band Bud and me, the one that I've dreaded for the past 5 years. He didn't have any way of knowing whether I knew. I assumed he knew but couldn't be sure. Both of us afraid to make that call. And what do you say? How do you make up for time lost? It's not possible. So we grieve, we cope, and we move on. Together. Being there for each other in case one of us breaks down along the way.
And maybe if he's reading this, we won't have to have that conversation. We'll just know the other knows we know and we'll take comfort in the fact that we have grieved together in spirit, if not in person.
I will always be grateful to God for the many dear friends He has brought into my life - current and past. They're in my heart, whether we're in touch or haven't made contact in years. And that's important. So very important.
When I finally get another book published, in addition to my usual acknowledgements, it will contain a dedication to our friend - I wrote it 5 years ago, in loving memory of him, "who taught me the value of friendship by simply being my friend."
Love your friends with all your heart. Life's too short not to.
=) JB
"Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth." (1 John 3:18, NIV)
But thinking about that friend - and so as not to confuse you, we'll call him Band Bud - made me think about another friend, the third member of a trio that included Band Bud and myself when we were in high school. These two guys were like my big brothers, I their bratty little sister who was always tagging along. It was rare to see one of us without the other two, especially if you happened to walk into the band room at any given moment. Our friendships lasted through college, and then, as adults sometimes do, we all went our separate ways and lost touch with each other. But I thought about both of them often, and even tried a few times to reconnect with them, without much success.
As I mentioned, the WGH and I have recently reconnected with Band Bud, and he may never know how much being back in touch with him means to me. I love him dearly, always have and do still, and I'm one of those firm believers in the value of good friends and in obeying the promptings of God when He says, "You need to talk to this person again."
By now you've probably guessed what my point is. Our dear friend, the third member of our trio, passed away a few years back. He was 38. When I heard the news, I was devastated. It was hard for me to explain why the death of someone I hadn't talked to or seen in 16 years still hit me as hard as it did, but a close current friend explained it to me with a compassion and understanding that only someone who truly knows me could have done. He said, "You don't have casual relationships. You love your friends with such a deep capacity and a fierce loyalty that they will always be your friends, regardless of how much time passes." And he's right. One of the reasons my BF has been my BF for over 30 years, even though we can't see each other as often as we'd like.
It hit me while I was cleaning this morning - it was 5 years ago today that our friend died. And in my mind I played the conversation that hasn't happened yet, the one between Band Bud and me, the one that I've dreaded for the past 5 years. He didn't have any way of knowing whether I knew. I assumed he knew but couldn't be sure. Both of us afraid to make that call. And what do you say? How do you make up for time lost? It's not possible. So we grieve, we cope, and we move on. Together. Being there for each other in case one of us breaks down along the way.
And maybe if he's reading this, we won't have to have that conversation. We'll just know the other knows we know and we'll take comfort in the fact that we have grieved together in spirit, if not in person.
I will always be grateful to God for the many dear friends He has brought into my life - current and past. They're in my heart, whether we're in touch or haven't made contact in years. And that's important. So very important.
When I finally get another book published, in addition to my usual acknowledgements, it will contain a dedication to our friend - I wrote it 5 years ago, in loving memory of him, "who taught me the value of friendship by simply being my friend."
Love your friends with all your heart. Life's too short not to.
=) JB
"Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth." (1 John 3:18, NIV)
2.03.2009
The Long-Lost Desk
I have found it once again!
Every so often - like, every four to six months - I have to conduct a major cleaning project on my study. This latest adventure started over the weekend. Long story short, on Saturday I found out there's actually carpet in here. And today I discovered that my desk needs desperately to be repainted.
Of course, because it is now free of piles of books and papers and file folders and old paid bills and bank statements and receipts from six months ago, Haydn has decided that it is safe to once again perch his furry butt on one corner of it. However, he does not pick the corner that is totally free and clear of all extraneous clutter. No. He sits on the one thing I have left on the corner of the desk, a small box of books that I haven't opened yet. (Don't ask me when it was received; I think the bill is around here somewhere, long overdue.)
The upshot of this is that with my study in order, it's a whole lot easier to clear my mind and relax, which is what I need to do to get down to business.
The name of the game is writing, folks, and I'm back off the injured reserve list. ;)
Read a book. It's good for you.
=) JB
"The things that one most wants to do are the things that are probably most worth doing."
-- Winifred Holtby, O Magazine, September 2002
Every so often - like, every four to six months - I have to conduct a major cleaning project on my study. This latest adventure started over the weekend. Long story short, on Saturday I found out there's actually carpet in here. And today I discovered that my desk needs desperately to be repainted.
Of course, because it is now free of piles of books and papers and file folders and old paid bills and bank statements and receipts from six months ago, Haydn has decided that it is safe to once again perch his furry butt on one corner of it. However, he does not pick the corner that is totally free and clear of all extraneous clutter. No. He sits on the one thing I have left on the corner of the desk, a small box of books that I haven't opened yet. (Don't ask me when it was received; I think the bill is around here somewhere, long overdue.)
The upshot of this is that with my study in order, it's a whole lot easier to clear my mind and relax, which is what I need to do to get down to business.
The name of the game is writing, folks, and I'm back off the injured reserve list. ;)
Read a book. It's good for you.
=) JB
"The things that one most wants to do are the things that are probably most worth doing."
-- Winifred Holtby, O Magazine, September 2002
1.23.2009
There's a rock band in my basement ...
I'm not kidding. The Boy and a few of his friends have descended upon the WGH's studio - one of them (and I'm not sure which one, but I think it's my son) is on the drum set, two on guitars, and one on our old clunky antique baby grand piano.
The studio is downstairs, of course. Which is why I am not. I haven't heard much but a lot of noise so far, but whoever is playing lead guitar is actually quite good - every so often I'll catch a familiar lick (pretty sure I heard something from Beat It a few minutes ago).
Meanwhile, it's a mild and pleasant 60 degrees here, so I've shut off the heat and opened the windows for a bit. My plan was to enjoy a nice quiet afternoon, get some writing done, and then kick back and relax with a good book. Sigh. So much for the quiet afternoon. But the "band" apparently won't be staying too long, so perhaps I'll get my opportunity later.
Tomorrow I get to tag along with JT for her gig at the Smyrna Library's Winter Reading Program. I love going with her to these things. She's such a star (not a diva, mind you, but an honest to goodness, gracious, lovely, and entertaining speaker), and she really shines when she's in the spotlight. Okay, that might have been a little too adjectivey and cheesey, but you get what I mean. She's just fun to watch and fun to be with. So Little Ol' Me likes it when she drags Me with her.
Speaking of my Wonder Twin, our mutual pal Timothy Hallinan did a guest spot for her over at Murderati today with some great thoughts on "what not to do." My writer visitors should check it out (you might check it out even if you're not a writer).
The band is in full swing and I can no longer concentrate, so off I jaunt ...
Read a book. It's good for you.
=) JB
"If music be the food of love, play on; Give me excess of it, that, surfeiting, The appetite may sicken, and so die."
-- William Shakespeare (Twelfth Night, Act 1 scene 1)
The studio is downstairs, of course. Which is why I am not. I haven't heard much but a lot of noise so far, but whoever is playing lead guitar is actually quite good - every so often I'll catch a familiar lick (pretty sure I heard something from Beat It a few minutes ago).
Meanwhile, it's a mild and pleasant 60 degrees here, so I've shut off the heat and opened the windows for a bit. My plan was to enjoy a nice quiet afternoon, get some writing done, and then kick back and relax with a good book. Sigh. So much for the quiet afternoon. But the "band" apparently won't be staying too long, so perhaps I'll get my opportunity later.
Tomorrow I get to tag along with JT for her gig at the Smyrna Library's Winter Reading Program. I love going with her to these things. She's such a star (not a diva, mind you, but an honest to goodness, gracious, lovely, and entertaining speaker), and she really shines when she's in the spotlight. Okay, that might have been a little too adjectivey and cheesey, but you get what I mean. She's just fun to watch and fun to be with. So Little Ol' Me likes it when she drags Me with her.
Speaking of my Wonder Twin, our mutual pal Timothy Hallinan did a guest spot for her over at Murderati today with some great thoughts on "what not to do." My writer visitors should check it out (you might check it out even if you're not a writer).
The band is in full swing and I can no longer concentrate, so off I jaunt ...
Read a book. It's good for you.
=) JB
"If music be the food of love, play on; Give me excess of it, that, surfeiting, The appetite may sicken, and so die."
-- William Shakespeare (Twelfth Night, Act 1 scene 1)
1.10.2009
The Lasagna Experiment
On Thursday, I had the pleasure of spending the evening with my Wonder Twin and the lovely Laura Benedict both at and after their joint signing at Davis-Kidd Booksellers here in Nashville. While I was there, the WGH did the dad thing and fixed lasagna. It's become a bit of a running gag at our house – I'm not a big fan of lasagna, so he'll make it for the kids when I'm going to be out for the evening. The other day when I told Little Bit that I was going to be gone Thursday, her immediate response was, "Is Dad making lasagna?" The WGH was hesitant, but when The Boy chimed in with, "Dad, you should totally make lasagna," he relented.
It turned out to be a little different from what he normally makes ... a little extra cheese of different varieties, some spicy sausage that Little Bit picked out ... when I got home I found the leftovers in the casserole dish in the fridge, covered with a length of foil upon which Little Bit had written the words LASAGNA EXPERIMENT. When I saw this, my rather warped sense of logic melded these two unrelated concepts into a moment of lucidity.
JT's third Taylor Jackson novel, Judas Kiss, was released just before Christmas. In describing the writing and research process for this book, she talked about how with a series you have an established cast of characters, and the fun of writing the book is coming up with new situations in which your characters show you what they're made of. This is, of course, a point of debate amongst our circle – some writers say they have complete control over their characters; some, like JT and I, have no earthly idea what they're going to do until they do it. For the sake of argument, let's take the Wonder Twins' point of view; to wit, sometimes you have to throw some unusual things into their paths and then sit back and watch how they react. Vis-à-vis the lasagna, when you add different "ingredients" to your story, the end product can be a gloriously delicious thing.
This morning I was reviewing the notes from the sermon our associate pastor delivered last Sunday, and I came across a verse that sparked something in my brain with respect to this post. In Mark 7:21-23 (NIV), Jesus tells his disciples, "For from within, out of men's hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and make a man 'unclean.'"
Is this the perfect recipe for a villain or what? Just like your story, your characters have ingredients too – personality elements, quirks, attributes and flaws that comprise who they are and drive them to do the things they do. Your villains, for example, can be as evil as you want to make them – imagine taking all of the characteristics described above and putting them into one person. That would be one killer lasagna. Um, pardon the pun.
Think about your heroes, too. All the good guys aren't completely good – the most interesting ones are inherently good but still have some sort of flaw, a tiny chink in their armor that makes them more real to your reader. More human. Easier to identify with and believe in. And root for. What's better, not all the good guys are the same, either. They all have a different mix of ingredients that blend into something we can sink our teeth into, something special and tasty that keeps us coming back for more. There's that old saying, "Think about how boring life would be if everyone were the same." I may have paraphrased, but you get the general idea. It's a solid truth. This isn't Pleasantville (the black and white part), and it isn't 1984.
Most of you know I am a great fan of Shakespeare, and he has drawn some of the most intriguing villains I've ever read – take MacBeth, Don Giovanni and Claudius, for instance. Each committed heinous crimes to further their own agenda. Even Don John wasn't such a swell guy, though his 'crime' was more of a cruel prank – maybe there has to be a lighthearted element to the evil that men do in comedy?
All people – real or fictional – are made up of different ingredients that make us palatable (or not, in some cases). Our world – both literally and literarily – is full of fascinating characters. I hope you have a plentiful supply to keep you entertained. So what kind of lasagna do you like – who are your favorite literary villains and heroes, and what makes them so?
It's good to be back, and I'm glad you've come round to see me again. Pull up a chair and relax for a few minutes – the iced tea is cold, and today's special is ... what else? Lasagna.
Read a book. It's good for you.
=) JB
"And thus I clothe my naked villainy With old odd ends, stol'n forth of holy writ; And seem a saint, when most I play the devil."
-- William Shakespeare (King Richard III)
It turned out to be a little different from what he normally makes ... a little extra cheese of different varieties, some spicy sausage that Little Bit picked out ... when I got home I found the leftovers in the casserole dish in the fridge, covered with a length of foil upon which Little Bit had written the words LASAGNA EXPERIMENT. When I saw this, my rather warped sense of logic melded these two unrelated concepts into a moment of lucidity.
JT's third Taylor Jackson novel, Judas Kiss, was released just before Christmas. In describing the writing and research process for this book, she talked about how with a series you have an established cast of characters, and the fun of writing the book is coming up with new situations in which your characters show you what they're made of. This is, of course, a point of debate amongst our circle – some writers say they have complete control over their characters; some, like JT and I, have no earthly idea what they're going to do until they do it. For the sake of argument, let's take the Wonder Twins' point of view; to wit, sometimes you have to throw some unusual things into their paths and then sit back and watch how they react. Vis-à-vis the lasagna, when you add different "ingredients" to your story, the end product can be a gloriously delicious thing.
This morning I was reviewing the notes from the sermon our associate pastor delivered last Sunday, and I came across a verse that sparked something in my brain with respect to this post. In Mark 7:21-23 (NIV), Jesus tells his disciples, "For from within, out of men's hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and make a man 'unclean.'"
Is this the perfect recipe for a villain or what? Just like your story, your characters have ingredients too – personality elements, quirks, attributes and flaws that comprise who they are and drive them to do the things they do. Your villains, for example, can be as evil as you want to make them – imagine taking all of the characteristics described above and putting them into one person. That would be one killer lasagna. Um, pardon the pun.
Think about your heroes, too. All the good guys aren't completely good – the most interesting ones are inherently good but still have some sort of flaw, a tiny chink in their armor that makes them more real to your reader. More human. Easier to identify with and believe in. And root for. What's better, not all the good guys are the same, either. They all have a different mix of ingredients that blend into something we can sink our teeth into, something special and tasty that keeps us coming back for more. There's that old saying, "Think about how boring life would be if everyone were the same." I may have paraphrased, but you get the general idea. It's a solid truth. This isn't Pleasantville (the black and white part), and it isn't 1984.
Most of you know I am a great fan of Shakespeare, and he has drawn some of the most intriguing villains I've ever read – take MacBeth, Don Giovanni and Claudius, for instance. Each committed heinous crimes to further their own agenda. Even Don John wasn't such a swell guy, though his 'crime' was more of a cruel prank – maybe there has to be a lighthearted element to the evil that men do in comedy?
All people – real or fictional – are made up of different ingredients that make us palatable (or not, in some cases). Our world – both literally and literarily – is full of fascinating characters. I hope you have a plentiful supply to keep you entertained. So what kind of lasagna do you like – who are your favorite literary villains and heroes, and what makes them so?
It's good to be back, and I'm glad you've come round to see me again. Pull up a chair and relax for a few minutes – the iced tea is cold, and today's special is ... what else? Lasagna.
Read a book. It's good for you.
=) JB
"And thus I clothe my naked villainy With old odd ends, stol'n forth of holy writ; And seem a saint, when most I play the devil."
-- William Shakespeare (King Richard III)
1.01.2009
2009
Happy New Year, everybody!
I'm pleased to announce that the Lunch Room will be reopening soon. I hope you'll stop in for a bite every once in a while. You may notice some changes around the place, but the atmosphere should pretty much be the same.
I hope you've all been blessed with good things over the past few months ... has anyone had anything REALLY exciting happen while I've been away? Or anything you just want to share? I'd love to hear - the comments section is open.
Here's hoping 2009 is your best year yet. I'm counting on it to be for me.
I'll be back soon. In the meantime, happy reading!
=) JB
"I am a true labourer: I earn that I eat, get that I wear, owe no man hate, envy no man's happiness, glad of other's good."
-- William Shakespeare (As You Like It)
I'm pleased to announce that the Lunch Room will be reopening soon. I hope you'll stop in for a bite every once in a while. You may notice some changes around the place, but the atmosphere should pretty much be the same.
I hope you've all been blessed with good things over the past few months ... has anyone had anything REALLY exciting happen while I've been away? Or anything you just want to share? I'd love to hear - the comments section is open.
Here's hoping 2009 is your best year yet. I'm counting on it to be for me.
I'll be back soon. In the meantime, happy reading!
=) JB
"I am a true labourer: I earn that I eat, get that I wear, owe no man hate, envy no man's happiness, glad of other's good."
-- William Shakespeare (As You Like It)
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