ELUSIVE SANITY

Countdown to Grapemo

2012-01-29T21:44:25Z

We have less than 48 hours till the start of GRAPEMO--hurray! If anyone still wants to join us for a month of non-stop writing/editing/revising or whatever it is you need to accomplish, let me know in the comment section of this box (along with your personal writing goal) or send me an email or private message.

I know how hard it is for some of you to find time to write, what with jobs and school and families and other obligations. Trust me, I’ve been there. In fact, I’m STILL there. I work 32+ hours a week, and often, on my days off, all I want to do is veg out. It’s so easy to fall into the trap of thinking "I'm tired" or “I’m not in the mood” or “I have nothing to work on” or—worst of all—“What’s the point?”

The point is, we are writers—and we are only truly and completely happen when we’re WRITING. Some of us have families who understand this. Some of us may not. In the latter case, it’s a struggle to balance that fine line between making yourself happy and alienating those you love. If you’re lucky enough to be able to write full-time, you usually have the luxury of writing at your convenience. Others have to sneak in an hour here, an hour there; write when the kids are in school, or asleep, or zoning out in front the kind of movies you swore you’d never let them watch; type away with a baby on your lap; stay up late after your spouse falls asleep; beg family members to cover you for dinner or send out for a pizza; sneak off to a café after work for an uninterrupted hour or two; set your alarm an hour early to write before dawn; scribble long-hand on a legal pad; write during study hall or lunch break, or heck, even during class, etc. I think all of us have done this. I swear I've done them all. :-)

When I’m seriously working on a manuscript, I pretty much give up any kind of social life. I’ve been known to miss parties and family gatherings, or only make a brief appearance. I make a point not to turn on the TV or the radio, and I let the machine pick up the telephone calls. I've worked this way long before I was published. Why?

Because if you want to be a writer, you have to think of writing as a JOB. Without some kind of structure, even if it’s not a set schedule, it’s extremely hard to get anything done. You can’t afford wait till you’re in the mood. You can’t wait for inspiration. If I waited till I was “in the mood” to go to my real job, I'd be living in a refrigerator box under a bridge. Seriously. Because I wouldn't go.

Most of you already have your PWGs for the month. It’s now up to you to take advantage of every spare moment you have to get the job done. Cleaning can wait. No one likes to live in a pigsty--though I have to admit my family has adapted to this quite well--but neither should you be dusting and vacuuming and farting around ironing your husband's boxer when YOU, as a writer, should be WRITING, period. Your life will not fall apart if you don’t scrub that floor or clean out that garage or mow the lawn during that one hour you have free because that time could be spent hammering out your story.

Don't believe for one minute that, because you've never been published, your writing is not important, that doesn't count--and do NOT let anyone else, no matter how much you love them, tell you that, either. Your writing counts. Your writing is part of YOU.

Today, decide what your priorities are. Of course you don’t want to miss your best friend’s wedding or your child’s school function—but you don’t have to read that particular book right now or watch that particular show. You may have to go to work, but you don’t have to go out drinking afterward. You may have to go to school, but you don't have hang out with your friends every night. If you're addicted to the internet, either learn to exercise some self-control (I'm stamping that on my own forehead) or, if you have a laptop, find a place to write with no internet access. If such a place exists.

Writing itself is often the easy part; it’s finding the time and the place to write that often causes the most grief. Though GRAPEMO lasts a month, it’s a short month—and it’s a month of writing you won’t get back if you don’t take advantage of it in every possible way.

DON'T LET YOURSELF LOSE SIGHT OF YOUR GOAL.

Now, take some time now and make your plans. When will you write? How will you write—in hours-long marathons or in short, frequent spurts? How will you say no when someone demands your attention when you know fully well they don’t need your attention, they simply want it because they see you doing something else? How will you the tell difference between the must-dos and the can-waits?

Motto for GRAPEMO 2012: ME FIRST. For twenty-eight days, you absolutely deserve this!!!

Hey Guys!

2012-01-29T19:01:10Z

Just a reminder that GRAPEMO starts February 1st (Wednesday) so please get your PERSONAL WRITING GOALS to me as soon as you can. I will post these on Tuesday. Thanks!

PARTICIPANTS so far (it's not too late to sign up!):

afraclose
anywherebeyond
boothyisawesome
Cari D
edgyauthor
fandoria
inknbeans
Jean D
Kathie C
kbaccellia
Kim V
lalam
melissawyatt
newport2newport
njnelson
onegrapeshy
rosefiend
warriorofworry
x_think_twice

GRAPEMO 2012 PERSONAL WRITING GOALS

2012-01-29T18:57:57Z

THANK YOU to everyone who sent in your PWGs. Keep 'em coming! (see previous post)

afraclose plans to write 1k every day.

anywherebeyond needs to get 50k or complete MISTWALKER in February!

boothyisawesome has a personal writing goal “to write 15,000 words in my novel by the end of February.”

Cari D plans to write three complete chapters of her YA paranormal.

edgyauthor plans to add 5K words to her YA fantasy and complete another round of edits for an old WIP.

inknbeans will work on editing her NaNo story.

Kathie C plan to “have two POLISHED chapters done on my book on aging by the end of February.”

Kim V's PWG is to "sketch out a rough draft of a new novel," an historical fiction with a paranormal twist

lalam plans to outline a YA novel.

melissawyatt is “setting a five chapter goal on a new project.”

newport2newport will finish up a round of revisions/chapter rewrites.

onegrapeshy: a completed first draft of a new YA novel.

x_think_twice has 22K completed on her WIP and is “aiming to hit 40K on draft 2.”

REMEMBER:

2012-01-27T17:06:26Z

I'm still waiting for a few PWGs. I'll be posting the list between noon-1:00 p.m. TODAY. If you don't see your name then, drop me a note and I'll add you ASAP...which means after midnight b/c I'm working 3-11, have no internet access at work, and my new-non-al-qaida-but-still-semi-POS phone won't let me into LJ.

EXCITED?

Yep!

GRAPEMO 2012 GUIDELINES

2012-01-27T16:04:39Z

Hey peeps! Thanks to everyone who signed up so far, and remember--muuahahahaha!--it's not too laaate! If you still want to sign up, leave a comment to this entry. Anonymous comments are screened but accepted. Just be sure to tell me who you are.

GUIDELINES

PERSONAL WRITING GOALS:

Sometime between today and January 30th, please send me your PWG. For LJ users, these can be sent to me via PM (MUCH preferred so I can keep your handles straight) or e-mailed. Non-LJers can e-mail these to me at sassenach43 (at) aol (dot) com.

1. Be sure to write “PWG” in the subject heading so I won't miss it. No,it doesn't have to be red, haha.
2. Do not put your PWGs in a comment box. E-mail or private message only. LJ rarely notifies me of new comments in spite of my settings (ARE YA LISTENING, LJ?) plus PMs and e-mails are easier to keep track of.

WEEKLY PROGRESS UPDATES:

1. How'd you do over the past week? How many words/pages, etc. did you write/revise/edit/whatever? How much progress did you make toward your PWG? These will be posted on Mondays (usually by noon) which means I need to receive them by Sunday night. I'm kind of flexible and I will add late ones, but it's difficult because I work afternoons and I can't do it from there.

2. Again, PM or e-mail with something in the subject line to tell me what it is ("progress" "weekly update", etc.)

3. In the past I've edited these reports for clarity, length, to delete personal info, etc., before posting them. I'm up in the air about doing this again, but I'll discuss this in another post...

4. Though I encourage writers to stick with their original goal, as we all know: shit happens. If you do need to change your PWG to one that may be a bit more attainable, please DO and just let me know. Better to revise a goal--and never feel bad about it--than to give up completely!

TEASERS:

THIS is the fun part! Same as last year, each time you send me a “teaser” of your current project, you’ll automatically be entered into a drawing. One teaser, one chance…five teasers, five chances, etc. TEASERS will be posted on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

1. Up to 300 words, give or take.

2. TUESDAY TEASERS are due Monday night, THURSDAY TEASERS are due Wednesday night.

3. Once these are posted, I won't be adding to that entry. Teasers received too late to post will automatically be posted the next Teaser day.

4. E-mail or PM these with "TEASER" in the subject line.

5. Remember to include a TITLE (or "untitled") and your name (especially your LJ username if e-mailed)

6. Teasers will not be edited for any reason other than format, so proof-read carefully..

7. Teasers are for our reading enjoyment ONLY (i.e. not to be critiqued) so don't be shy--share your work!

SPECIAL NOTE: if you send a TEASER, a PWG, an UPDATE, or whatever, and you don't see it posted, please let me know. I've been known to miss stuff in the past. Ask...well, just about anyone here. :-)

Any questions??????

"So what's your PWG?"

Jen's January Books

2012-01-26T17:21:54Z

PEARL by Jo Knowles

Well, of course I loved this book about Bean and Henry and their whacko moms. Then again, this talented writer could scribble me a note on the back of a I-Hop bill and I'd be raving about it for the rest of my life. Thank you, Jo, for another touching and oh-so-real story.

BLOOD WOUNDS by Susan Beth Pfeffer

Willa's life is blown to bits when her estranged father murders his second family and then heads her way...

THE FUTURE OF US by Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler

If I could've seen my future on Facebook before it was actually invented, I'd be filthy rich by now...but I'm not a teenage. A fun read!

THE LAST DAY THE DOGBUSHES BLOOMED by Lee Smith

A word about this particular gem: it was originally published in the sixties and I first read it as a very naive eighth-grader, OMG. Bad move (adult themes). Year later, as an adult, I tried to find it in the library, but had no luck. Now that it's been revived as one of Louisiana State Press's Voices of the South, I ordered a copy from Amazon and devoured it in one day. Set in the deep south, the book has a YA "feel" to it though the main character is only nine, and is written in a swift, yet dreamy style. Disturbing, unforgettable, and highly recommended by MOI.

THE UNQUIET'S First Text Review on Goodreads...

2012-01-25T19:01:18Z

...from LAUREN'S REVIEWS:

Garsee's newest novel, a truly unsettling ghost story, also features a complex and compelling protagonist: Rinn finally has control of her Bipolar disorder with the help of medication, but she's haunted by the things she did while in the grip of manic phases. Fans of horror movies will love this spooky thriller with an M. Night Shyamulan (circa "Unbreakable") worthy ending - the perfect book to read under the covers!

Thank you, Lauren! :-)

Grapemo SIGN UP

2012-01-25T15:45:30Z

GRAPEMO begins one week from today!

If you are interested in signing up, please leave a comment to this post or e-mail me at sassenach43 (at) aol (dot) com. Think about what your Personal Writing Goal will be because I'll be asking for them at the starting gate.

Not this starting gate. I mean, jeeeez--just look at these poor little guys with their stiff plastic legs...that is SO not us.

Anyway, here are the participants (aka Grapenuts...please don't sue me, Post) so far. I will add you to this list as soon as I hear from you.

afraclose
boothyisawesome
Cari D
edgyauthor
fandoria
Jean D
Kathie C
kbaccellia
Kim V
melissawyatt
newport2newport
njnelson
onegrapeshy
rosefiend
warriorofworry
x_think_twice

THE DEVIL INSIDE belongs in a Red Box

2012-01-19T17:03:25Z

As a huge horror movie fan, I couldn't wait to see THE DEVIL INSIDE

The first half was intriguing, mainly because of the argument: are people possessed by demons or merely psychotic? The scene in the hospital room chilled me to the bone. Whoever played the possessed mother deserves an Oscar nod simply for "acting" like some my patients.

As for the rest of the movie...well, this sums it up:

The original EXORCIST is still a thousand times better. Lame ending, too. Wait for cable.

GRAPEMO 2012: Gearing Up!

2012-01-18T01:41:57Z

YES, it's true: GRAPEMO 2012 begins on Feb. 1st.

This will be our FIFTH Annual Grapemo Writing Month--can't you believe it? For those of you who have no clue what I'm talking about, let me give you a little background. Grapemo (dubbed that by the brilliant ophelialaughs) is based on National Novel Writing Month. NaNo is awesome, a great way to jumpstart a writing project--but a lot of writers, put off by required 50k word count, often drop out. Myself included. Not in a million years would I ever knock NaNo--both THE UNQUIET and SAY THE WORD started out as NaNo novels--but it can be overwhelming.

Hence: GRAPEMO!

The "rules" are simple.

1. Instead of a goal set by someone else, you set your Personal Writing Goal (PWG).
This can be whatever you choose. Though many people like to stick with the word counts, whether it’s X number of words in 30 days, it can also be X number of chapters or pages. No goal is too small!

Your PWG can be an entirely new work or you can continue to work on something you're already working on, dig out an old project, work on revisions, editing, an outline, a synopsis, world-building, a decent query, a short story, an essay, etc. Illustrators are also welcome! The idea is to pick one goal and stick with it throughout the month. However, nothing is carved in stone; if you feel the need to revise your original goal as the month progresses (because all of us know how Life looves to interrupt us) that's fine, too. The main thing is to WRITE! To accomplish something!

2. You need to send me WEEKLY UPDATES on your progress, which will be posted on this blog.

3. Though not required, everyone is encouraged to send snippets of your work (up to 300 words) which I will post weekly (or bi-weekly, depending on the response) in a TEASER post. These teasers are not for critique, they are for everyone's enjoyment. :-)

Just so you know, you do NOT have to belong to LiveJournal to play (though it's free to join and we have a great YA community here). Just send me an e-mail at sassenach43 (at) aol (dot) com, tell me who you are and what your PWG is. LJ members can send me this information either e-mail or private message (preferred). Please don't send me any information, updates, teasers, etc. in any comment sections--it's too confusing for me. You CAN, however, let me know in the comment section here if you're interested in joining us and I will add you!

GRAPEMO is fun, laid-back, and a wonderful way to get some serious work done! Though NOT a contest in any way, shape, or form, there will be a random drawing at the end...and a token of my appreciation

I'll give more specifics very soon, e.g. when and how to submit goals, updates, teasers, etc. Please, please consider joining me for a month of writing, fun, comradery, camaradarie (however you want to spell the damn word) and inspiration!

When asked, "How do you write?" I invariably answer, "one word at a time."

A quote from

Tuesday 5 (since I blew it off last Friday)

2012-01-17T21:24:07Z

1. Shorted a day this pay period on my schedule, I decided to go in Sunday night and work 3-ll. Then, naturally, they asked me to work a double, so I stayed till 7:30 the next morning. Monday was a blur. Today I'm refreshed and trying to get some writing done. I don't know what I'm trying to write, but I'm writing...sort of.

2. The temperature rose, so I went from having 6 inches of snow in my back yard to having a LAKE within 24 hrs. No water in the house so far, but Eli is such a wimp I have to take him out front on a leash. He's totally offended that I expect him to do his business out there.

3. Speaking of Eli, his friend Doakes, a six-month-old Doberman, came over to play the other day. Doakes is already bigger than Eli, who weighs 65 pounds. Hubby freaked out with all the snarling and growling, though they were playing--ttrust me, I know the difference. The play date was cut short. Hubby is recuperating from the trauma of two massive beasts rolling around in his (small) sacred space.

3. Anyone know how to BLOCK numbers on your cell phone?

4. We had Grandma over for the holidays. Again, once the gifts were opened, she totally forgot it was Christmas. Getting her up and down the steps to the john has become a nightmare, plus Eli ate all her extra Depends. Another play date cut short. She's still a riot, though. :-)

5. We are expecting another baby this summer...which will--YIKES!--make me a GREAT-great-aunt.

Yep, just sitting here waiting for the big day...

GRAPEMO, ANYONE?

2012-01-17T15:08:39Z

We are halfway to February and you know what that means? TWO WEEKS TILL GRAPEMO!

Details coming...

Wordless Wednesday

2012-01-11T18:32:36Z

PEOPLE MAGAZINE: A Look Back

2012-01-03T16:09:05Z

Ohhh-my-god, I'm currently in GOSSIP-HO HEAVEN thanks to The Complete PEOPLE MAGAZINE Archive.

PEOPLE came out when I was in my late teens. I distinctly remember buying the Very First Issue at Tower City (before it was even called Tower City) and reading it on the rapid transit on my way home from nursing school.

This was the issue--

--and the stories inside included interviews with Patty Hearst's parents, Lee Harvey Oswald's widow, and William Peter Blatty whose novel The Exorcist had recently been made into a film that caused moviegoers to pass out, puke in the aisles, and--allegedly--have themselves voluntarily committed.

Looking back at these covers from the first year alone was like stepping into a time machine for me.

I remember when 12-year-old Ted Kennedy Jr. lost his leg from cancer:

When 10-year-old Tatum O’Neal won an Oscar for Paper Moon:

When Pat Nixon kept her mouth shut about her I-Am-Not-A-Crook hubby:

When Mary Tyler Moore flipped her knit cap into the air every Saturday night at 9 p.m.:

When Paul Newman anticipated his 50th birthday:

When Burt Reynolds hooked up (gasp!) with the much-older Dinah Shore:

When Cicely Tyson was the first black actor to win an Emmy for a "lead role in a miniseries or Movie" (The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman):

When Prince Charles, at 25 (TWENTY-FRIGGING-FIVE!) was the World’s Most Eligible Bachelor (and never answered my love letters):

Other 1974 covers announce that Raquel Welch is 33, Dustin Hoffman is 37, and Gloria Steinnem 40. Forty seemed ancient to me then. My parents were in their forties!

And Hugh Hefner, as you can see, probably had no need for Viagra even if it existed back then:

The vast majority of the celebrities who graced that first year's cover, including John Wayne, Katharine Hepburn, Gerald Ford, Jackie O, Ari Onassis, Johnny Carson, Bing Crosby, Richard Burton, Charles Bronson, Rock Hudson, Telly Savalas, and Jack Lemmon have since passed away. Having subscribed to this ~~gossip rag~~ magazine for several decades now, I'm sorry I didn't hang onto these old issues.

Even if you're not a PEOPLE fan--check it out. :-)

Now, if you'll excuse, kiddies, I've gotta grab my cane and hobble over to the ice box for some prunes...

onegrapeshy @ 2011-12-31T12:22:00

2011-12-31T17:22:28Z

Hello?

If You're Editing...and You Need a Laugh....

2011-12-23T22:54:10Z

Lips from Hell (and other disasters)

2011-12-23T22:48:24Z

OMG-WTF-Plastic-Surgery-Gone-Wrong Sure, the article is a year old, but my morbid fascination with this stuff never ceases.

A Christmas Friday 10

2011-12-23T22:00:11Z

Nope, haven't blogged for a while. For those of you who saw my locked post a couple of weeks back, dealing with that threw me out of the loop for a while. But here I am. With Christmas two days away, I'm happy to announce that:

1. I finished all my shopping and managed to navigate every store without one single physical or even verbal altercation.

2. I wrapped every item (up till 3 a.m. last night doing it) and could actually climb up off the floor by myself without calling 9-1-1. My knees, however, may never be the same.

3. I found a happy medium between "cheap" and "extravagant." Well...I'm happy with it, anyway.

4. I'm officially flipping the bird to anyone out there who says gift cards are a crummy idea. I think they're a better idea than lottery tickets unless...yanno...it's a Guaranteed Win.

5. I'm loving my Nook and seriously hoping that Santa will be kind enough to load it up for me.

6. I ordered clothes for Grandma from some geriatric online "boutique" and literally shrieked in horror when I opened the package. DUDE! When I am that old? Please do NOT attempt to dress me in flowered dusters, dammit!

7. For the first time in several decades, because I am working, I will not be home on Christmas morning. *sniff*

8. Do you realize there is not ONE SINGLE TOY I can buy Elijah for Christmas that won't end up in his lower colon within 24 hours?

9. If nothing else, at least my hair will look spectacular for the holidays. :-)

10. The best thing? I have another Christmas to celebrate on January 7th and a whole 'nother paycheck on January 6th!

HAVE A WARM, SAFE, AND HAPPY HOLIDAY, EVERYONE!

If You're Wondering What Happened to Martha...

2011-12-14T06:05:03Z

...here she is, on the cover of another book:

Original:

It's kind of like running into an old friend, isn't it? :-)

AFTER OBSESSION by Carrie Jones and Steven E. Wedel

2011-12-01T18:14:15Z

AFTER OBSESSION by Carrie Jones and Steven E. Wedel.

INVITATION: When you ask him in,
INFESTATION: When he destroys your home.
OBSESSION: When he destroys your body.
POSSESSION: When there is no coming back.

This story almost stopped my heart more than once. It's riveting (and scary!) and the dual POVs are beautifully done. Congrats, Carrie and Steven--what an awesome team!!!!

From Amazon:Aimee and Alan have secrets. Both teens have unusual pasts and abilities they prefer to keep hidden. But when they meet each other, in a cold Maine town, they can't stop their secrets from spilling out. Strange things have been happening lately, and they both feel that something-or someone- is haunting them. They're wrong. Despite their unusual history and powers, it's neither Aimee nor Alan who is truly haunted. It's Alan's cousin Courtney who, in a desperate plea to find her missing father, has invited a demon into her life-and into her body. Only together can Aimee and Alan exorcise the ghost. And they have to move quickly, before it devours not just Courtney but everything around her.

Loved it, loved it! :-)

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY (because we know it's coming...)

2011-12-01T17:03:25Z

Snow Monsters of Japan

:-)

2011-11-24T13:57:22Z

Whining and Bored

2011-11-20T17:05:51Z

I sincerely hope I never come down with a fatal disease. If I am THIS CRABBY with a simple head cold, I can't imagine how I'd behave if I were really sick.

I took a high-powered cold tablet at 1 p.m. yesterday. Next thing I knew it was dinnertime. I woke up feeling 100% better...and at midnight I was still awake. I finally went to sleep (after watching RED DRAGON for the sixty-eleventh time) and woke up at nine this morning feeling almost as crappy as I felt yesterday morning at this time.

I rarely get sick. In fact I brag about this on a regular basis. People can be dropping like flies all around me and I won't have so much as a sniffle. I always believed that working as nurse for so many years has given me an immune system of Herculean proportions. I've never had the flu in my entire adult life. This simple cold, however, has knocked me on my ass. Being knocked on my ass means I am bored beyond belief.

I don't do well with boredom, either. I once quit a job because I could pass meds on 45 patients without ever having to look at a chart.

So this morning I took a "non-drowsy" cold tablet instead. I swear if I sneeze one more time I'll splatter brain matter out my ears.

BOO!

Smoking, Blubbermo, Etc.

2011-11-20T16:34:14Z

Remember BLUBBERMO?

On this end it's been a dismal failure. Not only have I not lost weight, I've most certainly gained. Though I understand this is pretty common when someone quits smoking, the sad fact of the matter is that I did little to prevent it. Instead of smoking, I ate. And ate. And ate. Even substituting Nicorette gum doesn't less the desire to eat something, anything. As someone who has always had trouble maintaining a reasonable weight, after a while it's easier to simply go with the flow.

Unfortunately that's how people end up being cut out of their homes by the fire department.

Giving up cigarettes has really opened up my eyes--more than ever--to the struggles of those addicted to drugs. Not a day goes by that I don't want a cigarette. Not an hour goes by that I don't think about smoking. Though it's been six-and-a-half months, the craving is still there. Every day is a struggle, though I tend not to discuss this with anyone, or internally dwell on it.

I watched WHEN A MAN LOVES A WOMAN the other day. IMO it's one the best portrayals of what it's like to be an addict (as well as an enabler). Meg Ryan's character confesses at one point that she doesn't know how to do anything without a drink.

It's the same thing with smoking: I pick up the phone and I want a cigarette.

I start my car and I want a cigarette.

I'm stressed out at work and all I want to do is hit that elevator and run down for a smoke.

I wake up at three in the morning and I want a cigarette.

I write...and I want a cigarette. Every. Single. Minute.

Smoking was always a huge part of my writing. First I was a non-smoker, and struggled miserably. It took me eight years to finish my first novel.

Then I discovered cigarettes, at an age when most smokers are trying to quit. I'd get stuck on a certain scene, go out and have a cigarette, and two minutes later it'd become crystal clear. Need some snappy dialogue? Go out and smoke. A plot point that just wasn't coming across? Go out and smoke. It wasn't simply an excuse to smoke. The results were real. I wouldn't make this up.

For a solid three months after I quit, I wrote next to nothing. I upped the dose of the Nicorette gum, and--gradually--writing came back to me...but I'm still not back to baseline. Gone are the days when I could sit down at my laptop and write up to five to six thousand words in a single afternoon. With nicotine flowing freely through my system, I used to do this regularly. Now I'm lucky to write a page or two. Needless to say, I have not fared well with NaNoWriMo. I do have a good start to my wip, but it goes without saying I won't hit that 50K mark by the end of the month. Even 20K would be a minor miracle.

Obviously, at this point, I'm not going back to smoking--although, as with drugs or alcohol, it's always going to be "one day at a time" for me. I joke that if I live to be seventy, the first thing I'm going to do is run out and buy a carton. Maybe I will, maybe I won't. Cigarettes weren't just a "habit"; they kept my mind sharp and clear, improved my concentration, and relaxed me when necessary. I miss it like hell. I doubt that will ever go away.

So, back to Blubbermo: the original goal was to lose 25 pounds by Thanksgiving.

Though I've failed miserably, I know others have succeeded--one of my co-workers lost approximately 50 pounds and she looks amazing. If anyone else has lost weight, I would love to hear about it! I need some outside inspiration.

Anyone care to share?

Friday 5

2011-11-11T18:05:52Z

1. THE UNQUIET is available for pre-order on Amazon.

The official pub date looks like July 17th. :) :)

2.

3601 / 50000 words. 7% done!

3. Birthday party tonight.

4. SCBWI brunch tomorrow.

5. Q: How do you tell the difference between a gall bladder attack and a heart attack?
A: When you wake up in the morning, you know it wasn't your heart.
Ow, ow, ow.