The Obligatory List(s)

Welp, tomorrow is New Year's Eve, which means anyone and everyone will be counting down their Top (insert number) (insert things) of 2011, and who the hell am I to buck a trend? We'll just do a few.

The Top 3 Books I've Read in 2011:

1. Divergent by Veronica Roth: This book is numero uno for a reason, namely It Rocked. Strong heroine (like real life strong, not stereotypical strong)? Check. Fast paced plot? Check. High stakes? Check. Artfully drawn world with real characters who surprise you in the best and worst ways possible? Double freakin' check. A gorgeous dystopian that pulls no punches. This is a YA book, but really, if you haven't read YA lately (and by lately, I mean the past six or seven years), you don't know what you're missing. Fantastic.
2. Sandman Slim by Richard Kadrey: Okay, here's the deal. I like all genres of fiction, from romance to literary to horror, but my preferred stomping grounds are fantasy and urban fantasy, pulp/noir, horror, and light sci-fi. Any authors who can whip a little black comedy on the aforementioned genres shoot straight to the top of my list, which is how Mr. Slim arrives at numero dos. This violently funny noir urban fantasy mashup is one of the most fun reads I've had in a good long while, and sequels have not disappointed. Highly recommended.
3. 11/22/63 by Stephen King: Another recent read. I'm a huge King fan, so to those who know me, this is no surprise. What may be a surprise is that this isn't a typical King horror novel. Horrifying things happen, to be sure, particularly when King takes his readers back to Derry. However, the novel is more of a meaty exploration of greater and lesser evils and the lengths to which we'd go to uphold our ideals. A tremendously thoughtful novel.

My Top 3 Favorite Blogs for Writers: 

1. Nathan Bransford's Blog: Former agent, current writer, all around font of literary knowledge. Really, if you can't find it here, you can't find it anywhere.
2. Miss Snark's First Victim: An excellent site where Authoress (our hostess) single-handedly provides a multitude of opportunities for critique, as well as monthly agent contests. A great resource and fantastic community.
3. Query Shark: Because you need to learn how to query properly somewhere, why not in the deepest waters around? 
4. Runners up: Writer Beware, Terribleminds, Pub Rants, Bookends, LLC, and, though it's not a blog, if you're a writer and you're not a member of the Absolute Write Water Cooler, what are you waiting for? 

My Tippy Top, Most Favorite Writing Thing of 2011:

1. Scrivener for Windows: Scrivener writing software has been out for the Mac OS for years, and for years, I have been jealous of Mac users. (And not just because I can't afford one.) No longer. Scrivener arrived on my Windows laptop in fully operational capacity this fall, and I am in Love. Love, I tell you. I cannot adequately describe the ways in which I love this software, nor the reasons for that love, without making this one of the Top 3 Longest Blog Posts Ever, so follow the link if you're curious. Just know that, if used to its fullest capacity, it will make your writing more organized than ever it has been before. It. Is. Awesome. Also, I got it half-price with my NaNoWriMo winner's code from 2010 even though the code had technically expired. (They were still beta-testing when expiration time came 'round.) If you've won NaNo recently, you may want to check and see if there's a code you can use. 

I could go on, but I really don't think you want to hear about my Top 3 Favorite Writing Snacks or my Top 3 Favorite Pairs of Writing Sweatpants, so I'll stop here.

Some brief housekeeping to round out 2011. I put purple in my hair. You can barely see it. I am appropriately bummed. However, my fingernails are an energetic shade of reddish pink that goes surprisingly well with my skin tone and warns others of my biting chihuahua, so I've got that going for me. Tuesday: Resolutions!

See you all in 2012. Happy New Year, everyone!

Christmas Coolness

I knew Magnum read the blog, but I had no idea the degree to which he studied it.

Evidence:

The Writer's Digest is a new subscription (Yay!). He tells me that he read in the comments that I'd wanted a subscription after he'd already signed me up and had a little squee moment. (He didn't say squee, I said squee. Magnum would never squee.)

So now I have some My Chihuahua Bites polish and the second book in the My New Boyfriend series (I call it that, everyone else calls it Sandman Slim) and and AND a gift card to my local indie book store. Wheeeeeee! 

He also got me more candy than any reasonable person can safely eat and the newest Twilight soundtrack. Make fun if you want, but what the movie's producers lack in ability to establish on-screen depth of character, they more than make up for in being able to put together a kickin' soundtrack.

As you can see, I was spoiled more rotten than Julie's floorboards.* Magnum got socks. What? He really needed socks. For their part, the children were up to their eyeballs in video games and legos, remote control cars and romper stompers (remember those?). All were well pleased.

How'd you all do? Did you spoil anyone? Or, if you're of the please-just-let-Christmas-be-over ilk, did you stab anyone interesting? Do tell.

*I don't actually know if Julie's floorboards are rotten, but they do sprout mushrooms. Perhaps, like Julie herself, they are merely magical.

Dusty says Merry Christmas

We celebrate Christmas in these here parts ("these here parts" being "my house"). We're one of those obnoxious families who begin the festivities on Thanksgiving weekend. Publicly.

Privately, I have Christmas stuff up all year round. Like this countdown chalkboard.

And Santa.

Isn't he beautiful? I got him in a quilty swap I participated in a few years ago. I loved him so much that he's only taken down for dusting, then he goes right back up.

In the normal course of things, though, we go tree hunting Thanksgiving weekend. We pack the kids in the car and drive down to Massachusetts to the best Christmas tree farm ever. There, we stalk and slay the largest, most shapely tree we can find, have cider and donuts to honor the kill, and come home to decorate.

We have cocoa and cookies and play Christmas carols (Bing Crosby and Dean Martin, not that Mariah Carey and Bob Dylan crap). We put up snowmen and make Dusty the Deer look all spiffy and festive.

It's a ton of fun. Yes, there's much in the way of shopping (not a chore for me) and school activities (a definite chore for me), but all in all, it's my favorite season. I know not everyone here celebrates it, but I'm very much looking forward to this Christmas weekend with my family.

Regardless of your religion or lack thereof, I hope you're all making with the merry merry and the joyful joyful. Or at the very least, that you are surrounded by people you love, and by warmth and contentment.

Merry Christmas, everyone.

All I Want for Christmas...

Totally frivolous post today.

Magnum and I have a strict rule that we're not allowed to buy anything for ourselves before Christmas since the other person might already have purchased what we're buying. Normally, this isn't a problem for me. I don't have need of much. Even if I did, with four kids outgrowing their jeans every other week, I don't have a whole lot of money to throw around.

Christmas shopping can make it tempting, though. Not only am I out frequently looking at all the bright and shinys in the world, I generally have a bit of extra cash in my pocket. (Yes, I know it's supposed to be spent on others. Don't kill the dream.)

Anyway, here are a few things that have tempted me this year.

(This was a pic of some O.P.I. nail polish. You may view it here.)

This is purely an indulgence. I don't buy a whole lot of nail polish, and when I do it's the tiny, ninety-nine cent Bonnie Bell kind, not $8 a bottle nail caviar. Maybe when I hit my next writing milestone, I'll treat myself. Because it's so purty! Plus, this color is called My Chihuahua Bites, and how can you resist that?

(This was Florence and the Machine's Ceremonials album. Check it out here.)

I love Florence.

(A picture of some cool steampunk shoes used to grace this space. Go here to see them.)

Okay, there's no way I'm ever getting these shoes, but their steampunk awesomeness makes me wish for more disposable income. As do their brethren (sistren?) at Funky Pair. As Mike Meyers once said, I am smitten. I'm in deep smit.

I was going to list some quilting fabric here, but I couldn't decide which line. Let's just assume I'd like at least half of Moda's stock and move on.

(There was a picture of a Logitech Wave keyboard here. If you'd like to see it now, I'm afraid you'll have to go here.)

I fiddled with this keyboard while shopping this weekend. It was so uber-comfy I wanted to take it home and cuddle it and name it Linus. (What? My laptop's name is Sally.) Practically speaking, I may actually invest in this some day. Seriously. Com. Fy.

So that's my list of frivolity. What's on your Christmas list? (Or any other holiday you celebrate.)

Technical Difficulties

Okay, so I had this whole post planned out with photos (yes, photos!) and everything. But then last night's usual blogging time came along and I couldn't figure out how to extract the photos from my phone and the camera's batteries went kaplooey and when I got new batteries the light was too low for the camera not to take a fuzzy shot and I started writing these run-on sentences and...oh wait. Uh, yeah. Sorry.

Anyway, not going as planned. We'll have to go with book talk instead.

Remember how I told you I was having a problem involving the second novel and some next-level boringatude? And then I told you I figured out how to fix it? Remember? Well, the fix required me to start again from the beginning. Which I have done. I have also beefed up my soundtrack, and that's what we're going to go with for today.

I give you: The Soundtrack for the Second Damn Novel. Please to enjoy. (Links will open a new window.)

Ties that Bind by Alter Bridge
Watch Over You by Alter Bridge
White Knuckles by Alter Bridge (Nicely angst-ridden.)
One Day Remains by Alter Bridge (Yes, this is really Alter Bridge heavy.)
Metalingus by Alter Bridge (I know, I know. One more.)
Shed My Skin by Alter Bridge (Trust me, they're all relevant.)
Superhuman Touch by Athlete
Gotta Be Somebody's Blues by Jimmy Eat World
Firefight by Jimmy Eat World
Iris by Live
Digging in the Dirt by Peter Gabriel (I have a deep affinity for Peter Gabriel videos.)
Colorful by Rocco DeLuca & The Burden
How Fast by Rocco DeLuca & The Burden (I've no idea what's up with this one.)
The Enemy Within by Rush (Awesomely cheesy '80s video!)
Hunt You Down by Saliva
And It Rained All Night by Thom Yorke (I dig the animation in this one.)
Bullet the Blue Sky by U2 (I'm disappointed to find they never did a video for this.)
A Place to Hide by White Lies (Cuties.)

Ta Da!

I've asked this question before, but new people have joined us since, so I'll ask again. Do you soundtrack your work? What do you look for in a song? Melody? Lyrics? (I'm a 'both' girl.) Do share. I'll be working on getting the photos out of my phone. Damnit.

More Miscellania

It's been busy, busy around here lately. I've been running hither and yon (sort of like this post will be doing), and I'm sure I'm no exception. This weekend my running took me to my writer's group holiday party. There was much food and merriment and geeky discussion and Castle episodes. You can read more about it at the blog of the talented, prolific, and oft published Gregory L. Norris, who hosted our shindig.  There are even pictures.

Speaking of pictures, here's one I took yesterday. This guy came to visit me at three-thirty in the afternoon and stayed long enough to pose for a his bloggy debut. He didn't even fly away when I opened the door for a better shot.

He's a barred owl (aka hoot owl). They're all over the place here. We hear them conversing in the woods all the time, especially during open-window weather, but we rarely see them. I can be particularly nerdy about bird watching, so his visit was a bright spot in my day.

Sunday afternoon, I stole my daughter's nail polish and painted my fingernails a lovely deep, electric purple. Sunday evening, my daughter and I were at the grocery store when the cashier complemented my nail color. I joked that I should put a stripe or two of the same color in my hair. The cashier helpfully informed me that she'd just seen that exact color at Hot Topic last week and I should totally go there. When I came home, I told Magnum about the conversation while stowing my bread and eggs. He asked me if I was having a mid-life crisis.

Here's the thing. I love hair color. I have always loved hair color. If they'd had Manic Panic when I was younger, I'd have had an ever-changing rainbow for a head. Now they have it and I still love it and society has deemed me too old to use it. I feel cheated. I feel like when young girls do it, it's youthful; when old ladies do it; it's spunky; but if I do it, it's mid-life crisis. I also feel I might do it anyway. I'll keep you posted.

If you look at the side bar, you'll notice that today's blog was brought to you by Elbow. I love Elbow. They currently place among my top ten favorite bands, and have for quite some time. No small feat since I change my favorites more than I change my socks. I love them -- their harmonies, their imagery, all excellent. So here's one of my favorites to end the post.



What did you do this weekend?

Left or Right

About a week ago, romance author Jennifer Crusie posted this to her blog:

(Go here to see a lovely, colorful graphic of left brain/right brain theory.)

It says that the left half of the brain rules words and language, while the right half imparts creativity. Being a creative writer, I got to wondering whether I was left brain or right brain dominant. (Okay, I would have wondered anyway. I can't help it. Not knowing stuff gives me mental hives.)

So, naturally, I darted my virtual butt all over the internet looking for quizzes. They're everywhere, but I only took this one. And this one. And this one more. I like a consensus. IMHO, the last one was the most thorough, but it didn't really matter, because they all said the same thing. 

Fifty/fifty. Well, except one that said fifty-one/fifty, weighted toward the left. (No, I'm not sure why, either.) Anyway, now I'm left to wonder if that result means that I'm equally adept at writing and creating or if I'm only mediocre in both areas. Decidedly unhelpful. 

So, I'm throwing it over to you. Which is your dominant side? Take a quiz, let me know. I'll be over here applying calamine lotion to my brain. Damn hives.

What'd They Say?

Last week, during my internet furlough, I squeezed in a bit of extra reading. Which is to say, I stayed up obscenely late to finish 11/22/63 by Stephen King (I dug it) in addition to my planned fare of Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi (so much pretty language!) and Sandman Slim by Richard Kadrey (Stark is my new imaginary boyfriend).

Any of you who've ever read a Stephen King novel will know that he has a tendency to write dialogue with dialect. If his character is a Maine down-easter (which, contrarily, means pretty much anyone north of Penobscot Bay), he writes their dialogue in phrases like, "Oh, ayuh." If his character is from Georgia (as one was in his latest book), he explains that they said "pie," but it sounded like "pah." And on and on, you get the picture.

I love this about his writing, the authentic feel it lends. But I've run into people who hate it. Similarly, I have a niece who has not, nor ever will, read Harry Potter because she can't muddle her way through Hagrid's accent. I absolutely loved being able to "hear" him. Not her. It pulled her right out of the story.

So that's my question for you today. Do you have a problem with accented dialogue? Does it throw you out of the story or draw you in? What about foreign phrases/dialogue? How do you feel if a character speaks in a non-English tongue? What's your take?

Let me know. I've got to go order my new imaginary boyfriend my copy of Kill the Dead.

I'm Back on the Juice

It's here, it's here, it's finally here! A working DSL modem has found its way to my house at last!

I specify "working" because the replacement modem that arrived on Wednesday was not. The one that arrived today, however, was working. Which means that, much like Steven Tyler, I'm back in the saddle again. Or, as Magnum puts it, back on the crack.

He's probably right. It's pretty isolated here in the middle of the woods with only a four year old for company. If I want to "talk" to anyone, it must be here on the interwebz. Also, I actually do need it to get work done (or to pursue the possibility of paid work, which, at the moment, is the same thing).

Plus, all my friends live here.*

In short, it's nice to be back. How was your week?

*Okay, not all.