Living With Abandon
July 10, 2008 by A Slice of Orange in category Archives
Within moments, they were back. This time Battu was the one in the lead. She leaped onto the ledge of the open-arched window leading from the entryway to the living room, touching down lightly before landing on the carpet. Kiki followed, however her jump wasn’t as true. The loud thud told the story. I peered through the opening to see Kiki sitting on the floor shaking her head after colliding with the wall instead of ending up on the window sill. She sat for a few minutes with a bewildered expression before joining in the game again.
How many times have I been going blithely through life, only to be brought up short by a sudden impact? In my writing, the harsh criticism of a reader or editor can be grievous. In other areas, thoughtless remarks can cut deep and bring me up short.
I try to be like Kiki, allowing the hurt for a moment before shaking it off and starting in again. Collisions may be painful, but living, and writing with abandon is worth doing.
It’s Worth It
July 9, 2008 by A Slice of Orange in category Archives tagged as It's Worth ItGETTING READY FOR CONFERENCE
by Kitty Bucholtz
Can you believe how time flies? The RWA National Conference is only three weeks away! I’m not ready! I haven’t booked a flight – oh wait, I’m driving up with my friend Lori. I haven’t booked a hotel room – oh wait, Lori already did that. Can you tell I’m used to doing everything myself? So if everything is in place, why do I feel a little stressed about it?
Thinking about it for five seconds, I realize it’s not the conference so much as the fact that I’ve been doing a lot of traveling in the last several weeks and I’m tired. And more than anyone at the conference, the one person I really want to see lives in a suburb outside San Francisco – and is only a couple months old! Once I iron out a time to see little Grace, I’ll probably be much more relaxed about the whole trip. ☺
Taking that bit of stress out of the picture, my mind suddenly goes into tentative “play†mode. The last few conferences I’ve attended I’ve been one of the presenters. I love teaching, but it does make for an exhausting weekend. This time I’ll be able to go to any class I want, spend as much time as I like talking to anyone I run across, free of the ticking clock telling me where I have to be and when, free of anyone approaching me in the bathroom with something they want me to read. When I think of it that way – WOO-HOOOOO!!! Now I’m really beginning to look forward to it!
If you haven’t been to a writers conference yet, I highly recommend doing a bit of research and picking one. As writers, we need to continue to be both teachable and willing to teach others, and writers conferences are often a wonderful way to do both. There is always something you can learn, even if it is only to be reminded of something you once knew, and there is always someone who can use your advice about something.
If you don’t know how to pick a writers conference, or how to prepare, or what to expect, check out my class, “Getting Ready for Conference.†It’s an online class with lectures and interactive discussions on everything relating to conferences. Only $15 for two weeks, the class starts this Monday, July 14. See you there – or see you at a writers conference! They’re worth it!
Kitty Bucholtz writes romantic comedies because, well, she lives one! She wrote her first book in the NBC cafeteria, the second snowed in at a Reno hotel, and the third from a tiny apartment in Sydney. Even though she loves talking about, writing about, and teaching about writing, she’s pretty sure she knows at least three people who aren’t writers.
It’s summer, I must be reading…
July 8, 2008 by A Slice of Orange in category ArchivesWhat’s the best thing about vacation time? Uninterrupted, guilt-free reading!
About now, I’m starting to look at that enormous stack of unread books on my nightstand, on my floor…in my office…the living room…and for the first time in ages, they’re more than a twinkle in my eye. I will read some of these books! Soon!
I’m going to tell you some of the vacation reading I have lined up, and I hope you’ll tell me some of yours.
Three to Get Deadly, by Janet Evanovich – I read some of the later Stephanie Plum novels, but only recently read books one and two. Which means I now need to read book three.
Nature Girl, by Carl Hiaasen—I love his books!
Beauvallet, by Georgette Heyer—it’s not a vacation unless I read a Georgette Heyer. I haven’t read this one before, so I’m looking forward to it, even though it’s not the usual Regency style story, going by the cover blurb.
Mulberry Park, by Judy Duarte—bought this a while back, heard good things, haven’t read it yet.
A Thousand Splendid Suns, by Khaled Husseini—I’ve had this a while, but need a decent chunk of time to sit down and read it.
Good at Games, by Jill Mansell—looks like a fun romantic comedy.
Secret Dreamworld of a Shopaholic—this one will be a re-read, it makes me laugh every time.
Might pick up a new book by Rhonda Pollero. Cindy Kirk has one out I’m wanting to read. I’ll get the latest in this year’s Harlequin NASCAR series (all linked stories, so far all great) and a few Superromances. Might buy a Jan Karon if I see them in the shops—the last one I read in the Mitford series was Out to Canaan, can’t remember which one comes next – hopefully it’ll say in the front of the book… On my wishlist: A new Susan Elizabeth Phillips, but I don’t think there’s one planned.
That ought to keep me busy…but if you think there’s something I must read, tell me! Or just tell me what you plan to read.
Abby
THINGS THAT MAKE ME GO MMMRUH!
July 8, 2008 by A Slice of Orange in category Archives tagged as Things That Make Me Go Mmmruh 
What You Don’t Know
by Geralyn Ruane
“Have you ever read anything about Bigfoot not
being able to drive?†from“Bigfoot Stole My Wife†by Ron Carlson
Does Bigfoot exist? How about ghosts? Love at first sight? Angels? Rodents Of Unusual Size? God?
There are tons of people out there who will tell you that Bigfoot is a myth. Others who will say there are no such things as ghosts or angels. Some will claim R.O.U.S’s don’t exist and still others who will fashion elaborate arguments to disprove the existence of God. And I’ll never forget that Shakespeare class in college in which scores of students were jumping in to snort that “Come on! There’s no such thing as love at first sight.â€
But how do all these naysayers know?
Are they truly omniscient? Or are they playing the odds, deciding that an idea is simply too preposterous to credit? But how preposterous is “too preposterous?†A hairy man-beast bushwhacking through the woods of the Pacific Northwest? Heavenly creatures helping out those all across the prairie, from sea to shining sea? A black man running for president?
If you stop thinking you know so much for a sec, isn’t it wonderful how many things in this world are possible?
Maybe ghosts and God and angels and Bigfoot and unicorns and ESP do exist – maybe they don’t. I honestly don’t know. I believe in some of them, not in others. But I’m not going to turn my beliefs on others and allow my ideas to morph into The Truth, into The Way It Is.
Suppose all those people out there who believe in Bigfoot turned this belief into The Truth – The Bigfoot Is Real Party. Then suppose the Bigfooters decided to disenfranchise, imprison, torture or kill all those people who didn’t believe in Bigfoot, because universal belief in Bigfoot was so very important to them. What a mess. And like Bigfoot would even care.
It’s the very fact that others are free not to believe in Bigfoot and to live their lives as if Bigfoot does not exist that keeps the beliefs of the Bigfooters safe. The idea that reiki might be good for Sasquatch may be considered silly by some, but allowing for the possibility is what keeps liberty alive.
When she was growing up, Geralyn loved drawing horses and nurtured a huge crush on three members of Duran Duran. But to keep from seeming too painfully cliché, she pretended that she did not like reading the magazine Young Miss. These days she co-hosts the radio show Better Times After 50 on AdviceRadio.com. Her short story “Jane Austen Meets the New York Giants†is published in the New York Times Bestselling anthology The Right Words at the Right Time, Volume 2.
So Many Book Events, So Little Time!
July 6, 2008 by Linda O. Johnston in category Pets, Romance & Lots of Suspense by Linda O. Johnston, Reading tagged as Berkley Prime Crime, Linda O. Johnston, Silhouette Nocturne
I also attended Malice Domestic this year, which I have done for the last several years. It’s for cozy mystery authors and fans, and it’s held near Washington, D.C. Right afterward is the Mystery Lovers Festival in Oakmont, Pennsylvania, just up the river from Pittsburgh, where I grew up. Of course I go there annually, too. It’s a good excuse to visit family. I was dismayed, though, that Malice conflicted this year with the L.A. Times Festival of Books, which I wound up missing. They’re different weekends next year, though, so hopefully I’ll get to both.
This year the Romantic Times BOOKClub annual conference was also in Pittsburgh, a couple of weeks before Malice. I’d considered attending, but figured I’d be better off, time and money-wise, choosing one.
As a mystery writer as well as a romance writer, I find there are a lot of really appealing conferences annually. Next year’s Left Coast Crime, in February, is in Hawaii. I’m definitely tempted. This year’s Bouchercon is yet to come, in Baltimore–near Glen Burnie, where my husband and I have a vacation home. But I’m unlikely to make it this year because of some other travel plans. I did attend the Printers Row Book Fair in Chicago since it coincided with my future daughter-in-law’s bridal shower in the area–an excellent excuse! It’s always great when there are additional reasons to choose a particular event. However, I won’t get to the West Hollywood Book Fair this year since that’s the weekend my older son is getting married.
Some day, I want to attend ThrillerFest. And to attend the Edgar Week celebrations of the Mystery Writers of America in New York City. And then there are the fun-sounding mini-conferences held by RWA chapters all over the country. And by Sisters in Crime chapters. And–
Well, for this week, at least, I’ll take a deep breath and be glad to stay home!
Linda O. Johnston
www.LindaOJohnston.com
www.KillerHobbies.blogspot.com
Linda O. Johnston is the author of 14 romance novels as well as the Kendra Ballantyne, Pet-Sitter mystery series from Berkley Prime Crime–and has 2 Silhouette Nocturnes and a Nocturne Bites upcoming!
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