Reminder/New blogs!

Don't forget to move your links or feeds over to the new blogs:

Julie Kibler

What Women Write

I'm not a very persistent blogger yet at my personal blog, but my first post is up today at What Women Write:

Signs you MIGHT be a writer!

What's happening

Just in case you wondered if I fell off the face of the earth --
I didn't.

What I am doing is working behind the scenes on a new blog with a new focus and (gasp!) a new identity. You'll be the first to know when I launch it.

As I get closer to publication (every day is closer to publication, no matter how far in the future or what happens between now and then, right?), I'm thinking about branding and considering how best to present myself as a writer.

I'm starting with my blog. I'd like to put a little more focus on the issues I'm exploring and a little less focus on my bellybutton. To that end, I'm taking a short break as I figure out the best way to do it. I'm getting there, and I think you'll like it. Just to give you a hint of one thing you'll find, I'm planning interviews not only with authors who write about families in crisis, but with real-life ordinary people who've faced extraordinary dilemmas.

I can't wait to show you the new digs, and I hope you'll stick with me and tolerate the silence until then.

~Julie

Sticking my head out of the sand

What I've been thinking about lately:

1) Work. Putting the finishing touches on my manuscript. It's currently with a lawyer friend getting the once over to be sure I didn't commit any major offenses against legal procedure in the story. When she returns it, if I haven't failed too miserably, I really and truly will be querying agents. (Yeah, I said that a few times already, but I forgot to account for this step in the process. Silly me.) Also working on synopses of varying lengths so they're ready to go when the time comes. I had to rename a character today when I realized I had too many similar names. I went through the 900 most popular girls' names in 1992 and finally settled on one I didn't like as much as the original, but it had to be done.

2) My treadmill. Yes, my new treadmill that sits proudly in my family room and will until or unless I stop using it for exercise and start using it as a clothes hanger. Let's hope that doesn't happen any time soon. I've discovered two things. First, I exercise better when distracted. My computer sits nicely on a built-in shelf on the console and I can get about 45 minutes of walking in while I read email and blogs first thing in the morning. (My morning, that is.) I've done this three out of three days so far this week. Whee! Second, I think I'm like a reverse addict when it comes to working out. I know in my heart of hearts and from past experience that if I skip a day, I'm about ten times more likely to quit. So, I get up, and I get on the treadmill. I don't take the first drink. :) I'm not sure how things will work on the days I truly can't do this (i.e., I have to be somewhere early), but I'm not going to think about that yet.

3) Blogging and focus. I read here and there how a blog needs a focus that keeps people coming back. I see the proof of this even in author blogs. Those that are simple journals don't necessarily have high traffic. Those that take a particular focus generally have a high level of traffic and interraction in the comments. It doesn't matter so much at this point in my life, but if I'm eventually published, it will become more important. So I've been thinking about this.

And in the interest of brevity, I'm quitting here for now!

My sidekick

My cat likes to help me work. She also likes reading blogs over my . . . knee. Yep, that's my knee. I was sitting cross-legged and Yentl decided to join me as I read Lisa's December book blog.

Speaking of brevity ...

So, this is my problem. I am unblocked. Need to reblock.

Reblock Yourself the Polly Frost Way!

Freakin' hilarious.

And of course, I had to come blog about it immediately. But look how FAST I did it!!!

A little bit of this, a little bit of that

If you're still hanging in with me on this blog, I appreciate it. It's been a full couple of weeks, and I've seriously fallen off the blog wagon. I've been thinking about other things, like . . .

My manuscript is finally out with my expert. (Did I already mention that? I might have.) I'm eagerly awaiting her remarks. Or her rotten fruit?? (Hope not.)

Band. Color guard. Band. Band. Color guard. Band. Did I mention band? Or color guard? My daughter is in the throes of contest season, and in Texas, that basically equates to, hmm, carry the three, add the six--about 10 hours of academics and 50 hours of marching band/colorguard practices/games/contests per week. It's a beatin'. And I'm not even in it.

Oh, and the minor news of a trip to the UK soon approaching. Whee! It'll be my first trip overseas other than Hawaii. Very exciting. I realize November is not the best time to visit, but when the circumstances are right, you just have to do it, okay? I got my passport (including a birth cert replacement, because durnit, it was *not* where I thought it was!) in 7 days. Amazing. And handy. I'm not going to post the details here because if you're a creeper, I don't want you to know them! :) Email me privately if you know me and really want to know. I won't think you're a creeper.

I hope to begin querying my manuscript when I return, and THAT is exciting.

I'm playing with a new concept for an interview of sorts with several of my favorite blogger authors. Perhaps one of these days I'll let them in on it and post it here!

I'm reading an interesting novel called The Girls (Lori Lansens) about conjoined twins. It's a vivid story about what it might be like to be conjoined, and also quite a poignant story of sisterhood. So, I often find myself dreaming about whatever I'm reading or writing, especially if it's heavily occupying my daytime thoughts. Last night, I was so tired and so needed to sleep, and I told myself before I fell asleep I was not going to dream I was a conjoined twin. But, of course, I did. I wasn't really sleeping soundly, and every time I needed to turn over, I would postpone it because I knew it would be really difficult--because it wouldn't be just me. How interesting is that? I hope you won't think I'm making a joke of it, because I'm not. It's just an another example of how powerful the written word can be in showing us what it's like to live in the shoes of someone not like us. Here is a good review of the book.

And speaking of word power . . .

I have been meaning to blog for days about something from a church service I attended a few weeks ago. The subject was the power of the tongue, which is always a good topic, because we can always use a little reminding about how powerful our words are. I don't usually get into religion or politics on this blog, although I enjoy engaging in intelligent email conversations about such things. (And yeah, every now and then I pop my head up on my other blog. Hehe. Then I duck fast.) But, ANYWAY, that day there was this, for your consideration:

Proverbs 21:23. Keep your mouth shut and you'll stay out of trouble. (The Message translation)

Well. At first glance, this has always appeared to say, "Keep your mouth shut. You'll stay out of trouble." But I took a second gander that day, and saw it in a whole new light. Here's my new interpretation:

"Open your mouth, and you're sure to get in trouble." (The Julie translation)

Huh. That seems portentous for a writer, doesn't it? We are going to open our mouths, thus we are going to get in trouble. So, guess what? Make sure you have your trouble prioritized. Then make it worth it.

That's all for now.

"What is correct?" she said tongue-in-cheekily.

Anyone else think that looks funny?

I'm in one of those quandaries that's really just a timewaster, and it's making me glum.

You know the kind.

~The perennial prologue debate. (Agents say they hate 'em, yet they're in almost every recent book I pick up.)

~That that thing. (Five SIX(?) in this post. I think that they're all okay. Except the one I just typed to make my point.)

~Show, don't tell. But please, tell me how to REALLY do this. Better yet, show me!

~To exclamation point or not. (I kinda liked the one in that last point. I also like parentheses. But for the sake of publication one day, I leave them out when I'm not blogging. I snuck ONE set of parens into my manuscript sneakily last night, and boy, did I feel like I was living on the edge.)

~Unfortunately, I must also mention the overuse of adverbs.

But, today's quandary: Asked vs. said.

(Which leads to the whole dialogue tag discussion, but I'd prefer to stick with this one today, thanks.)

Ray Rhamey over at Flogging the Quill mentioned in a flogging today that "____ asked" is irrelevant if you've enclosed a question in quotation marks. You can go ahead and say, "____ said."

But, I googled it a little (for extra points,what are the two glaring errors in that phrase? Wait, three.), and found conflicting advice. We were not surprised.

It's a wonder any of us get to the point where we actually query a manuscript. Hmm, I wonder if it's a conspiracy.

If we build more rules, only the truly diligent ones will come.

Or ... maybe the brave ones. The ones who throw caution to the wind and exclaim mightily, "Pick me! Pick at my prologue! Pick at my dialogue tags! Pick at whatever you like, but, please, pick me!"

Does this make me look fat?

Revising is a little like shopping for new clothing or glasses, which I did several times this week and last. You try things on. You see how something looks. How it feels. A little too loose? A little too tight? Too long? Too in your face? Too ... PINK? Is this really me, or am I trying too hard?

You walk to a new stack and start over.

You can spend too long. Finally, you have to say, "Okay, this is the best I can do," and hand over the credit card. Yet still, sometimes, you get home and you realize you didn't get it right. (For instance, I can't stand my new glasses.)

I'm so ready to hand over the credit card, but I'm still just not quite sure whether my story makes my butt look fat.

My little obsession

A writer's musician (and if you want to see what I mean, just look here at the notes from his recent release):



And a source, for me, of much inspiration, both personally and in my writing. (That's a lot of commas.) Yes, I'm proud to admit I'm a card-carrying member of the cult of David Wilcox. ;)

See him a couple of times, and he'll get to you. And to your family. My 15-year-old (15!!) daughter's wish for her birthday? A ticket to the upcoming DW concert here in DFW. My son's requested and granted 19th birthday wish last year? A ticket to the DW concert. These are teenagers, people. Listening to a folk singer pushing 50. With their parents.

Besides, how can you resist that laugh?

Fall has sprung and school has begung

Wait, that's supposed to be spring, but it just doesn't work here as well as fall. I just like to pretend I'm a poet occasionally.

But, indeed, although the calendar does not reflect that it's fall just yet, school has started and I am enjoying the first week of quiet during the day. When the kids get home, it's another story. Chaos reigns and panic ensues as we contemplate the remaining number of emergency forms to complete and supplies to purchase.

Yet, for the moment, I'm ensconced in my favorite coffee shop for the first time since school ended in June. Can you believe that two entire buildings appeared while I was gone? Well, maybe the foundations and frames were there, but they are now mostly finished, and the skyline of this tiny corner of suburbia is forever altered. By this time next year, I'm sure it will be new again.

I did finish Kristy Kiernan's Catching Genius and highly recommend it--all the way to the end. There were a few moments where the scenes regarding the main character's separation and pending divorce felt so real and painful (and slightly familiar), I felt a bit sick to my stomach. Some might consider that a bad thing ("Julie, why do you LOVE depressing books so much?!" Ha, just wait 'til they see what I'm writing!!), but I love a book that draws me in and allows me to experience the emotions along with the character. It's always nice when the story ends with great hope, though, and this one does.

Working on a self-imposed deadline on my manuscript so I can send it off to my expert, so I better get to work! How's back-to-school working for you? Seems like everyone feels the excitement, even when they don't have kids at home to remind them. It's just a frame of mind, I guess.

We interrupt this silence for an update

Sorry for the radio silence lately. I've had family in town and was too busy having fun with them to think about blogging. I think that is a good thing. :0)

School starts next week and I'm gearing up to have the middles of my days free again for thinking about nothing but writing. Yee haw! I've received a partial critique and a full critique of my manuscript back from two critique partners and have my work cut out for me over the next week or so before I send it off to my "expert." Let's hope my hands aren't too weary from filling out the myriads of forms the schools require during the first week ... that are populated with exactly the same information as last year. Sigh. At least I only have two piles of them this year, much as it hurts my ego to admit I have a child in his second year of college. (I had him when I was five, of course, so I'm only 25. Snort!)

Awesome critiques received, though, with plenty of positive feedback, too. (YAY!) That light at the end of the tunnel is getting brighter.

Speaking of positive feedback, I've been reading some books lately. Not like that's anything new, but I couldn't think of a better segue.

So, one I read last week totally flabbergasted me. Well-known author I've been fairly impressed with before, fascinating subject, and you'd think it would have been a great read. Not so much! This always puzzles me. It doesn't happen that often, but when it does, I really have to wonder what was going on with the writer during the writing and editing.

The writing itself really came up short. Seemed like every other sentence started with a ... um ... gerund phrase? Is that the right terminology? I can't remember what it's called, but it sure drove me nuts every time I saw it. You know, the "Looking out the window, she ..." or "Checking her watch first, he ...." thing. And ten bonus points goes to the reader who notices I started this very paragraph EDIT: section (sorry!) with one. Hehe! But gosh, this is just a blog, right? Besides the gerund crimes, the story just plain dragged, and the characters were pretty flat, IMHO.

Not naming any names, though. I'm giving the author the benefit of the doubt, and I checked it out from the library, so I didn't lose any money except for a fraction of a penny of taxpayer contributions, right? Let's hope the next one is a home run.

BUT ... (big but), there is this OTHER book I'm reading now. I'm only about 2/3 through, but I'm totally loving it. I checked it out from the library, too, but I would have gladly paid for it. It's the author's first and her second just came out, so I'll likely shell out the bucks for the new one.

The author I'm referring to here is Kristy Kiernan, and the book is Catching Genius. It seems like a lot of books about sisters or twins, their mysterious secrets, and strangely, MATH, are popping up these days, so when I first read the cover copy, I was like, "Hmm, another book about sisters, secrets, and math?" but I told myself to shut up and read it anyway, and I'm so glad I did. I started reading Thursday at 11, and by the time I finally switched off my tiny flashlight at 1:30 (cuz yeah, my husband actually has to get up in the morning and go to work, poor thing), I was half through. Haven't had much time to read since then, but I'm picking it up in any spare moment I can find. The writing is gorgeous, the story is mesmerizing, and darnit, I just can't stop turning the page!

I'd been reading Kiernan's blog (I think she's even commented here before) and have been marking time until her new release, Matters of Faith, came out, but Catching Genius was in at the library, and I'm so glad I went ahead and picked it up. I've rambled on long enough, but I think you should find it and read it, too. Great debut novel, and I can't wait to find Matters of Faith.

Best books for boys

I just received an email. "Amazon's Best Books of the Year ... So Far"

We've had this discussion, but still, it rankles. Sixteen books listed in the body of the email, one written by a woman. A children's book.

Who's picking these books? That's what I'd like to know, but I have my suspicions. When you go to the web pages to see "more," one woman author is listed among the ten additional fiction picks. A Shannon wrote the first one listed, but he's a guy.

Needless to say, the nonfiction books were all by men. In best hidden gems, a female co-author (probably the main writer, but not the "expert") gets a nod.

And, of course, five of the ten total books for children/YA were written by women. Because we're so good at that.

My mom liked it, and other stories

One of the cardinal sins while querying agents and editors is telling them, "My mom liked it." I'm going to avoid that sin by just doing it here. After all, it's my blog, right? :-D

A little more than a week ago, I sent my mom my manuscript by email. She read a little at her volunteer job the next morning (in which she answers phones and does other things as needed, so she has lots of time where she's just sitting, waiting) and when she got home she asked me to set up my old laptop where she could read more. She read all afternoon and evening and finished around 10 p.m. Yeah. My manuscript is about 425 pages at this point. I knew she was a fast reader, but seriously?

I asked if she read that fast to get it over with because she was falling asleep and bored out of her mind or if she actually liked it and couldn't stop reading. I am proud to say she answered the latter.

Since, I've heard her brag to a few people that it was really good. Now, I know what you're saying. It's your MOM, Julie. Of course she's going to like it. Well, yeah, of course she is, but at the same time, I do highly value her opinion. You are free to smirk here. :)

See, I come from a family of writers. Mom's greatest joy and my greatest trial as an adolescent were the stories she had published in national magazines. About me. Learning to drive. And other embarrassing moments. I'm taking revenge by blogging about my children in my other blog. At any rate, Mom was always attending some writing conference or another, watching the mail for those lovely rejection slips and the occasional acceptance check, going to critique group, and so on.

My brother has aspired as a novelist, screenwriter, and in more recent years, he's written and performed standup comedy on a regular basis. (And I get to edit his routines--now THAT is satisfying payback for countless years of sibling torture, let me tell you.)

When I approach Mom to read something I've written, I hold my breath because I know she's going to give me the lowdown. Always in a positive manner, but not 100% positive feedback.

When I sent her the manuscript last week, she knew nothing about it other than one of my main characters was a deaf teen. She knows exactly what you might know from reading my blog, because she gets her info the same place you do. It's been more than a year of living in the same house while I worked on this story, me sitting in the living room with my light shining into her room as I wrote and revised into the wee hours, and I was nervous about telling her about my story.

Apparently, it was nothing at all like she expected, but still ... she liked it. Wheeee! Well, other than the (few, non gratuitious) sex scenes, which normally wouldn't bother her at all, but apparently gave her the heebie jeebies because she knew I wrote them and that was just too weird to wrap her mind around. Heh. Sorry, Mom. (Hey, for the record, they gave me the heebie jeebies, too. So, ha.) Of course, she gave me lots of other feedback as well.

But, I proudly say here, where it doesn't really matter who smirks at me, My mom liked it.

I've noticed in Jodi Picoult's acknowledgements she always mentions her mother, Jane Picoult, as one of her first readers. Apparently, it hasn't hurt her. :)

In other news ...

1) I'm winding down the current set of revisions and maybe, just maybe, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Which is good, because I am sick and tired of this story, let me tell you. I'm brewing a new story in my brain and I'm eager to get started on it physically, but I really can't until I'm ready to query B/O.

2) I am excited about having identified an "expert" to vet the world building I've done for my deaf and Deaf and hard-of-hearing characters. (You'll understand why I state it like this once you've read my book or if you do a little research on your own!) I'm even more excited that she has agreed. And, of course, now I'm a nervous wreck and madly trying to be sure I've done my homework because I don't want to waste her time. She is *truly* an expert in the field and I'm humbled.

3) I can so identify with Carleen Brice's blog post from one day last week. I believe there are three main periods during the writing of a novel that are emotionally exhilarating, but also emotionally draining.

First, the honeymoon period: the initial state of euphoria when you are writing a new, exciting story, when you live, eat, and breathe the story and it makes you oh, so happy. In other words, the first 100 pages. :)

Second, when you are so close to the end, you can almost taste it, and you are racing to get there and you think of little else.

Third, and I'm there right now. The intense period of revisions. You've had a few people read your story, you know what needs to be done to improve it, there are some hard issues to work through, and you're sick and tired of these people who live in your head and ready to kick them out, but their lease hasn't expired yet. Too much togetherness, as I like to say.

It becomes difficult to do anything, including sleeping, showering, or something as simple as taking a walk without the story haunting you. Yes, literally haunting you, and not always in a pleasant way. There's been speculation about Heath Ledger's death and how much he took on the roles he was playing, and I can see a connection there between writers and actors. (Don't worry, I'm not in that deep.)

Carleen wrote last week that as writers, it's too easy to train ourselves to work 24 hours a day, even in our sleep--after all, we love what we do. But sometimes it's not healthy. She took a much needed break this summer because it was literally affecting her physical health.

Anyway, I find that this is most likely to happen during these three time periods. I'm ready to be in between for a while.

4) I did get my hands on a copy of the Lace Reader and I'm reading when my own characters give me a little break.

So, what about you? Does your mom like your story? Are your characters taking up all your oxygen? Are you simply a reader and worrying about my sanity? (Hi, Brenda.) Are you reading any good books?

Have a great week!

No Trailer Trash

I was going to blog about one thing (me me me!), but I got distracted.

I'm not a huge fan of the book trailer. I should back up one step. I'm not a huge fan of the movie trailer. I do love previews in a theater, in fact, they're one of my favorite parts of the whole movie experience, but I rarely click on a trailer online to determine whether I'm going to see a movie. I'd usually rather just read the reviews and other promo info. On the other hand, if I really like a movie, I might go watch the trailers after I see it. (Once, anyone?) Gives me the warm fuzzies, sentimental fool that I am.

I've seen a few book trailers I thought were done well (Diane's Before the Storm trailer, for instance), and I'm sure others will improve over time as they become more and more a critical part of an author's promotion plan. Most of the ones I see now, though, honestly make me want to lie down and nap. They're usually too slow and just don't give me the kind of information I want to know when I'm considering whether to purchase.

But tonight, I went to the site for a book that released this week, The Lace Reader, and got chills as I watched the trailer. Now, I also watched another promo video on the site about the author, and the deal in Publisher's Lunch intrigued me months ago, so I was already engaged. The premise of the story seems an out-of-the-park home run, if you'll excuse me for using a sports metaphor for a story about lace.

Go watch it, and come back.

Something about the completely appropriate music (was this written specifically for this trailer?) and quick images combined with a sustained one, and just a hint of the story was pretty mesmerizing. (On the other hand, the next click to enter the website was not as intriguing. I don't like slow loading sites, no matter how pretty they are.)

What do you think? I'll be reading this book as soon as I can get my hands on it.

Who me? What? Where?

I submitted a short memoir piece to a literary e-zine a few months ago. Friday morning, I woke in the wee hours thinking I ought to go check the site out because I hadn't heard anything and knew their current issue released last week. I hadn't really thought of it for several weeks and was curious what pieces they selected instead of mine.

Imagine my suprise when I went to their news blog from July 9, scrolled down the page, and saw my name and title in their announcement of the new issue's contents.

I booked on over to the e-zine and sure enough, there it was. I've been floating around for a few days feeling all bubbly and such, and realized tonight I should probably blog about it!

So, check it out ...

Perigee: Publication for the Arts

Click on "Current issue" at the bottom of the page, then "Memoir" on the left, and then my story is ...

Final Sale on Tires by Julie Layne. (It comes up in Flash--hope you have it)

This certainly can't hurt on the query letters. Whee! Perigee has had several Pushcart prize nominees, design awards, and various other honors in their six-year history, many recently, so I feel honored and humbled to have a simple story about my Grandma and her influence on me appear in the pages of this issue.

Got the RSS blahs?

So, my experiment in RSS has truly changed my internet habits in the last three weeks. I'm not sure they're all for the better, though mostly that would be a matter of opinion.

I'm spending way less time surfing, which means more time to do other things, and thus, have gotten a decent amount done on revisions--though not sure how much more proportionately. (It's summer, the kids are home ...) But I also feel a weird sense of "disconnectedness" (is that a word?) from the folks whose blogs I've frequented over the months or even years in some cases.

It would seem, then, that doing this might increase productivity, but decrease a sense of relationship. Both of these are important things for a writer. All the books say to limit your time online to increase your productivity, but be sure not to isolate yourself from the world. Sure, I realize the point is to actually get OUT and see real people, talk to them, observe them, get your senses working, and so on. Because, how can you write a book about the world if you don't live in it? I get that.

But, there are also a limited number of writers in my "real world," and I miss that interaction. The element of surprise when I browse to a fellow writer's blog and see they've updated. My tendency to read their post with a sense of expectancy--there will be something I want to say back at least half the time. Not to exclude blogs of those who aren't writers, because I usually have a similar reaction. But, these are my "co-workers," my partners in crime, the people who "get" me, and believe me, there aren't that many of those people in the world if I do say so myself. :)

So, what's a girl to do? Right now, I feel like I'm reading a blog magazine every day. A magazine that magically gets new articles periodically throughout that day, but a magazine nonetheless. Magazines don't have names and faces that feel quite as tangible as a person's blog page. I can't "hear" the conversation that goes on after I read a magazine article like I can after I read a blog post that piques my interest, where I go to the comments and check them out. (I don't seem to do that as much, even though I can click to the actual post from the RSS delivery.)

I will have to think on this. What's the balance?

Are you finished yet?

Finally finished my contract work and can really get back to into the swing of writing again. And blogging, even! Here's how my poor cat, Yentl, looked today while I was ignoring her for the fourth or fifth day in a row. I had to sit in a different spot in my house because I needed to be able to hear clearly from a recording, and she followed me, as always. I think she enjoyed watching for lizards outside the window, but she was trying to bite me tonight, so I think she's ready to get back to our old spot in the family room.

To see how my children dealt with it, go to my other blog.

Flying beneath the radar

I finally got with the program and subscribed all my favorite blogs to the RSS feature that comes with Outlook 2007. In case you don't know what that means, basically my email program searches each time it checks mail for updates to the list of internet sites I've subscribed to, and delivers the item to my inbox, to a folder with subfolders for each site.

I notice it slows my computer and Outlook down a bit while it checks--about half a second for each blog, I think. That means for about 15-30 seconds every 10 minutes or so, my computer does a little extra thinking. Doesn't seem noticeable while I'm working. I wonder if there's even an option where I can have it check RSS feeds only once or twice a day.

The point is productivity and distraction. I anticipate seeing each day who has updated their blogs, what you had to say, and so on. As a work-from-home person, it is a way to have a bit of community during the quiet days. I feel I've gotten to know many of you bloggers pretty well this way, and with the added interaction of the comments, it even seems like I have "coworkers" many days. It's not a perfect system, but it beats total isolation for this writer, who loves quiet, loves working alone, but still gets lonely sometimes.

The miracle of RSS, though, means I can let my software do the checking. I'm not wasting big chunks of time several times a day clicking through my links and favorites to see who's put in an appearance, and that translates into more time to actually ... WRITE. Can't be a bad thing, right? I can also save entries that look interesting but I don't have time to read right then for later. I can also COLLAPSE the folder and ignore the fact that there are a bunch of new postings waiting for me to read until I give myself permission.

I think this will be a good thing. Of course, maybe every time I encounter a new blog I like, I'll add it to the feed and then I'll have five hundred gazillion entries to read every single day and it'll become counterproductive. But, I choose to think it's going to be positive.

So ... if you are a psycho stats checker and like to see where your traffic's coming from (cough, cough, I never do that, cough, cough), rest assured I'm still reading your blog, I'm just not showing up on your stats. If you are in the list on the right, you have a cozy new home in my Outlook folders. And not to worry, I love to leave comments, so if something strikes my fancy, I'll mosey over to the real thing and leave a praise, suggestion, deep thought, or snide remark. :)

That said, I'm curious how many folks read my blogs through RSS. Do you? Drop me a comment or email if you do and you aren't shy.

Now, back to work. I received the gift of a promising new critique relationship last week, and I've got work to do! Oh, yeah, and there's that contract work giving me ugly, jealous looks, too. (Go 'way!! Leave me alone! ;)

The Journey
by Mary Oliver

One day you finally knew
what you had to do, and began,
though the voices around you
kept shouting
their bad advice--
though the whole house
began to tremble
and you felt the old tug
at your ankles.
"Mend my life!"
each voice cried.
But you didn't stop.
You knew what you had to do,
though the wind pried
with its stiff fingers
at the very foundations,
though their melancholy
was terrible.
It was already late
enough, and a wild night,
and the road full of fallen
branches and stones.
But little by little,
as you left their voices behind,
the stars began to burn
through the sheets of clouds,
and there was a new voice
which you slowly
recognized as your own,
that kept you company
as you strode deeper and deeper
into the world,
determined to do
the only thing you could do--
determined to save
the only life you could save.

---
Wow. Kerplowie. I am reduced to nonsensical words because I am so awed.

Back in the saddle

But the brain hasn't arrived yet. Still waiting on the delivery. Post-vacation brain is a nightmare sometimes!

So, just a few tidbits. I am certainly glad Kristen and I went to California last week and not this. We enjoyed days in the low 80s. My brother is now "enjoying" the heat wave in the high 90s and low 100s. This seems normal in Texas, but it would have been horrible walking around Disneyland and other places in that.

I did find out I made it through the first round of judging in a flash fiction contest I entered last month. Not sure where that puts me as far as the total numbers of entrants go, but I was nonetheless ecstatic. Crossing my fingers I'll at least be a finalist/honorable mention! The guest judge is an agent from an agency at the top of my wish list, so if I rank high, that will be a plus for querying--which I hope I'm ready for by late summer. I've set August 1st September 1 as my goal, but that might be optimistic. (Edit: I forgot August was vacation month in publishing land.)

On a funny note, we saw LeeLee Sobieski (Joan of Arc, Eyes Wide Shut, The Glass House, Never Been Kissed, 88 Minutes) while checking in at LAX last week. I'm assuming she was on her way back to Chicago where she's filming Public Enemies with Johnny Depp. (Johnny Depp!!) The guy with the big camera on the other side of the cordon didn't phase me while we were waiting to go through security. I was too busy watching this tiny dog wandering around on the conveyor belt while waiting for its owner to go through. Then I was too busy waiting for my daughter to re-emerge from a stall in the restroom to recognize the pretty girl with the huge smile and quick laugh emerge from the one next to her right before I went in. Yes, stars do pee, apparently. (And dare I say, I thought it was kind of funny the other night when I realized I went in right after her? Ok, never mind. Forget I said that.)

So, I realized who she was just after she walked out. I pointed her out to my daughter as we passed the gate for the Chicago flight and said, "That's LeeLee Sobieski, an actress," and my daughter said, "Oh, that's the lady whose dog kept wandering around under my feet while I was in the potty."

HAHAHA!!! That explains the big smile and little laugh. I just thought she was really friendly. I also wondered if she thought I was stalking her while I stood outside the stall for ten minutes waiting on Kristen. Alas, it was just a harried mom who was a little slow on the uptake. And to think of all the other times I had my camera in hand the preceding eight days. Naw, I would have left her alone in the potty.

Anyway, it was kind of interesting to see that she was acually much prettier in real life than in photos and on the screen. I think sometimes it's the opposite.

Still just working on revisions. Have passed my story to reader number 2, and hope to widen that circle soon.