In My Husband’s World

I sometimes wonder about the inner workings of a man’s mind. I picture monkeys banging on rocks or a lazy hamster only half-trying to keep his squeaky wheel moving. Sometimes, I imagine Homer Simpson scratching himself.

I’d like to believe that my husband is more evolved than these clichéd images. That, somehow, I’ve married better than that.

However, I have to admit that sometimes his brain just works differently than mine. He’s funny (both ha-ha funny and weird funny). So, in writing my acknowledgements, I decided to conquer that brain of his, to climb inside for just a moment or two, and take a stab at what they might have looked like if he’d been allowed to write them for me.

I think this is what my editor might have opened:

This book is dedicated to my beautiful and brilliant husband, if it weren’t for him I would probably be waiting tables in a diner in Nowhere, USA. I owe everything I am and ever will be to him. I bow down to him, for he is not only all knowing but is my personal gift from God. He is the wind beneath my wings!

(*cue sappy music*)

Note: Some other people helped me figure out the technical aspects related to search and rescue, and the cooperation that occurs between Police and Fire.

DONE!

By the way, not even close.

Sorry, Josh!

Rock the Vote!

Apparently, my attempt to put a poll into my blog post was an utter failure!

I got two votes and then it stopped tallying. Like Florida. It was all hanging chads and absentee ballots.

But, unlike the Sunshine State, I don't think there'll be a recount!

What kind of writer are you?

I’m wondering how other writers go from Point A to Point B as far as getting their stories out of their head and onto paper.

I, personally, believe that the hardest part of writing is sitting my ass down in the chair when there are so many other things that I could be doing. Like, lunch dates with my friends. Or housework. Or root canals.

So, I tend to “reward” myself with treats on those days when sitting down to write feels like a monumental task (something akin to having said root canal without the anesthesia). And those treats always seem like a really good idea, like dangling a carrot in front of a horse, until about twenty minutes later when I’m coming down off my sugar high and jonesing for my next big fix.

But as far as actually putting the words on paper stuff, here goes: I AM NOT AN OUTLINER. (There, I've said it)

Instead, I’m a jump-right-in-and-see-where-this-thrill-ride-takes-me kind of gal. Which is not to say that outlining isn’t a valuable tool. It is. Or that I don’t know where my story is going. I do. Sort of. And I’ve probably even written it down, kind of, on a scrap of paper that I’ve stuffed into a folder marked: “The Novel I’m Working on Right Now”. Which is…somewhere.

I do, however, use Plot Points. My story has a plan, and I know that, along the way, certain things are going to happen at certain points. It’s the filler in between that’s a surprise…the how I’m going to get from one point to the next, that just kind of evolves.

My problems with outlining are these:

1) I generally have my best ideas while I’m working. I’ll get to a pivotal scene, somewhere in which I haven’t figured out exactly what is going to happen next…and I’m there…and I’m in it…and AH-HA! Just like that, I’ve got it all figured out. And generally, that changes the direction of where I might have thought I was heading, even if only a bit.

2) I’m just not that organized.

3) I feel like I’m stuck once I’ve outlined, like that is the story that I MUST tell. And what if it isn’t? What if I’ve gotten to one of those Ah-Ha moments, and I want to stray? Then what? Throw away the outline? Are you kidding? It’s already written down. On paper. I’m not sure I can do it.

So, essentially, I sit down, open my Word Document, and start pounding away at the keys. Or spinning in my chair. Or checking my email. Or my blog. Or eBay…

1. Does anyone else need a treat right now?
   

Confetti and Streamers...

I've finished the first draft of Book Two!!!

(let me celebrate a bit before I dive into editing)

WOO-HOO!!!!!!!!!

Being a Good Girl...

I have been a very absent blogger lately. And with good reason. I’ve been hard at work on my second book. My goal: To finish Book Two (and to come up with a dag-blasted name for it!) by the end of January.

That is to say, to have a really rough first draft that I can start to work on in February, molding into something semi-literate that I might be able to submit to my agent sometime in the near future.

This has kept me busy. Very. Very. Busy.

As have blogs. Not mine (obviously), but yours. And others’. Time sucks. I wasn’t joking when I said that I’m a Blogoholic.

So, certain rules have been put into place. Time limits, so to speak, to limit the number of minutes that I lose every day perusing the annals of Blogdom. I am now permitted to check blogs in the morning, before the kids have left for school, which quite possibly means that I may actually forget to feed one of them in favor of reading something witty I’ve stumbled across. Hopefully they will learn the amazing powers of Poptarts for sustenance. In the evening, I can check them again (the blogs, not the kids), after I’ve finished writing for the day. Email will abide by a separate, but equally painful, set of rules. My cell phone shall be set to stun…er, I mean, silent.

Strict Rules = No Distractions!

(Why can I not write that with a straight face?)

Here, let me try again: Strict Rules = No Distractions!

(Nope...still laughing!)

Seriously, who am I trying to kid anyway? I run a household of five people, I’m the mother of three, and I’m married for crying out loud. There are dishes to be washed and laundry to be folded (we all know what happens when the hubby tries to help with that!). And let’s face it, those Poptarts and Lunchables are not going to buy themselves!

So, I apologize if I appear a bit…well, if I tend not to appear at all for a while. It’s just me, trying to follow the rules.

Hi. My name is Kim, and I'm a Blog-o-holic...

So, I found the link to this article on Nathan Bransford's blog today, and I cracked up because this is SO me.

(Disclaimer: This is a re-posting from Polly Frost's article in the Atlantic. I did not make this up, people. These are real-life scientific terms made up by a real-life journalist. This is serious!)

DO ANY OF THESE SYMPTOMS FIT YOU?

• Blogaholism. Do you plot out your day so that it will generate as many blog postings as possible?

• Twitteritis. Did you Twitter this morning as you made your morning coffee? And then later as you trimmed your toenails?

• Reviewing Addiction. Do you spend every lunch hour pumping up your ranking as an Amazon reader-reviewer?

• RSS Dependency. Did you simplify your life by subscribing to RSS feeds only to discover yourself spending more time than ever commenting at blogs?

• Status Update Disorder. Have you made plans to self-publish a collection of your Facebook Status Updates?


I don't have time to go into the rest of it right now, I have blogs to read and people to poke. But if you want to read the rest of the article, click here.

And if you need to reach me, you can email me, check my website, my MySpace, Facebook, Tweet me on Twitter, see what I'm reading on Goodreads, Shelfari, or LibraryThing, or just check back multiple times per day at my blogs (Blogger OR LiveJournal).

Seriously. If you think I'm joking, just check the links...

A Feast of Awesome!!!

Okay, so I have just been invited (after sending an email begging them!) to join the super-amazing 2009 Debutantes (“A Feast of Awesome”) Group over on LiveJournal!

They are this fantastic group of authors who all have their first books coming out this year (yep, just like me), and I feel honored to be included among their illustrious ranks. In fact, most of the books on my ’09 Reading Challenge are from their site. (I have a feeling I’ll be adding a lot more of their books after perusing the full list of their titles.)

If you get a chance, come on over and check us out. That’s right, I said “us”. I’m an us!

Thanks, Debutantes!!!

'09 Reading Challenge

I don’t usually participate in Reading Challenges, mostly because I end up feeling like a failure if I don’t actually complete them. It’s a lot of pressure for me.

But this is one that I just couldn’t pass up.

The Story Siren is sponsoring the ‘09 Debut Authors Challenge. And, well, as a 2009 debut author, how could I possibly resist?

Here are just a few of the books that I will start my list with (I’ll post them all on my sidebar later), and I’m sure that these will change (and grow) over time:

Wondrous Strange by Leslie Livingston (actually released on December 23, 2008, but I’m reading it now, so I’m counting it for ’09)
September Sisters by Jillian Cantor
Prada and Prejudice by Mandy Hubbard
The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan
The Season by Sarah MacLean
Wings by Aprilynne Pike
The Prophecy of the Sisters by Michelle Zink
Shadowed Summer by Saundra Mitchell
Fairy Lust by Cyn Balog
Spell Hunter by RJ Anderson
Eyes Like Stars by Lisa Mantchev
As You Wish by Jackson Pierce
Doc Wilde by Tim Byrd

I’m sure I’ve forgotten, like, a gazillion others (and the ones I’ve listed are in NO particular order)!

So, what do you have to do if you want to join the challenge? Just head over to The Story Siren’s site and sign up. Easy as that!

Oh, yeah, and don’t forget to add The Body Finder to your Challenge list. I’ve already read it…more times than I can count.

All I can say is, so far, people, 2009 is shaping up to be a pretty amazing year!

My New Toy

A lot of people have been posting about the new things they picked up over the holiday season, so I thought I’d share my favorite gift. And it didn’t come from my husband, or from my kids, but from a commenter to my blog (that’s right, Laura, I’m talking about you!). She emailed me to tell me that she hadn’t seen The Body Finder on Goodreads yet, and would I mind if she posted it there.

Goodreads? Goodreads...

Huh.

“Sure”, I email back casually as I race over to their website to see what it’s all about…

…and OMG…it’s like social networking heaven. For book nerds. Like me.

So, a lot of you already know about Goodreads, I know this because I’ve since met you there. But I know for a fact (Tamara) that several of you do not. And those who don’t must run (and I mean RUN) on over to check it out!

What is it? It’s like an online book club. A big one. Huge. And you can mark books you want to read, review and rate the books you have read, “friend” people, read other's reviews before you decide to pick a book up, join groups with others who have like interests, and even virtual-meet the authors behind some of the books you love. (And you can add The Body Finder to your “to-read” list…hint-hint.)

I LOVE THIS!!!

How did I not know about this sooner? How do I have MySpace, Facebook, and even Twitter, and yet Goodreads failed to even blip on my radar? I honestly don’t know, I can’t explain it, but now that I’ve found it, I’m hooked. Like crack. I’m a Goodreads-junkie.

You should be a Goodreads-junkie too.