Sun Oct 16 2011
The main event of our trip to Charleston was my cousin’s wedding. It was held at a small plantation home on the river, with broad, sweeping trees and a great view of the marshes. We ate the best catered food I’ve ever had. The mosquitoes ate us.
Sometimes it feels like Andy and I have been to a million weddings and should, as a different cousin once said, be “married by proxy.” Sometimes it feels like we are.
Of course there’s no way to know exactly what the future holds. We can only hope and dream and talk and plan. And when things change, we adapt. Together. That’s how we’ve gotten through 6+ years. It isn’t magic.
Or maybe it is.
Fri Aug 26 2011
If you couldn’t tell from the last couple posts, my friend and I took a bajillion pictures in Nashville. Even pictures of taking pictures! How very meta of us.
I have to admit, it got a bit tedious to stop and pose and smile every five minutes. But I’m so glad my friend made me, because now I have a wonderful record of all the things we did and saw. And for someone with a lazy lousy memory, that really comes in handy!
I’m also glad I wasn’t the only one carrying a camera (as I often am). My friend managed to capture several great shots of me and Andy, something I always wish we had more of. In fact, I’ve told him before, even though we don’t want a “real wedding” (in the hundreds-of-guests, big-poofy-white-dress sense) I most definitely do want engagement and wedding photos. Fancy ones.
These will do for now though.
Mon Aug 22 2011
On Thursday night, Andy and I drove to Nashville to visit one of my best friends. For three days we enjoyed good food, live music, and great company. As much as I love writing, and am looking forward to finishing my manuscript, it’s always hard to come back down to earth after a fun, carefree weekend like that.
What helps, though, is how inspired I was by the trip. Big softie that I am, I actually cried a bit at the Grand Ole Opry. They showed clips of Blake Shelton and Carrie Underwood being invited to join the Opry family. They led us through the artist’s entrance, over to the dressing rooms, and then onto the stage. Standing on the infamous center circle, looking out into the auditorium, I imagined what it might be like as a young country singer. To see a full house. To hear the thundering applause. To feel all that history paired up with all those years performing for free in smoky bars, sending out demos to record labels, eating nothing but ramen, writing song after song at three in the morning. And then, if you’re lucky, to be singing at the Opry. A dream come true.
Later that night we went to the Bluebird Cafe. It was like going back in time, to those smoky bars I was talking about. (Except there was no smoke, and I think these guys get paid.) Four songwriters, plus an amazing accompanist, played “in the round” — an unmarked circle in the center of the cafe. We sat close around them, practically elbow to elbow, while they took turns sharing their songs and their stories. Again I was struck by the passion, the heart, in their music and their words. It reminded me of my own journey, my own heart.
From L to R: Shannon Cain, Bill Maier, Robert K. Wolf, and the accompanist, who I think is named Jack Otts. Unpictured is the fourth singer/songwriter, Michelle Hemmer.
They sang of love and laughter, of heartbreak and regret. They sang from a place of honesty. The clarity of their vocals, the purity of their guitars… Genuine emotion poured out of both the musicians and the audience, like so much magic.
That’s what I want to do with my writing. I want to stand on the Opry stage, and I want to sing at the Bluebird Cafe. I want to achieve my dream without forgetting where the passion started. I want to bring readers in the round with me.
Fri Jun 3 2011
The giveaway winners are Jon, for THE YACOUBIAN BUILDING, and Mari, for A THREAD OF SKY. I’ll contact you shortly for mailing addresses. Thanks to everyone who entered, and congrats to Jon and Mari!
…
I’ve been in a romance mood lately. Maybe because when I was back in Houston a couple weeks ago, I reread a bunch of my favorite Nora Roberts books. Maybe because I’m in the middle of some intense action/fight scenes in my own manuscript, so I’m looking for a contrast. Or maybe because my Hollywood boyfriend Michael Fassbender has a new movie out today, and he looks/sounds positively scrumptious in it!
(I’m trying to convince my real life boyfriend to go see the movie with me. He says it depends on the Rotten Tomatoes score.)
Whatever the reason, I’ve been looking for some good, tingle-inducing love stories to read. I picked up PERFECT CHEMISTRY by Simone Elkeles a couple days ago, since Amazon had it on sale as part of their “Sunshine Deals” for Kindle. I’ve also got a Lurlene McDaniel book that I won in a giveaway, and though the cover looks like a super-cheesy adult Romance title, it’s actually about a teenage girl with a brain tumor. (Who falls in love with a fellow patient, so it still fits the bill.)
Do y’all have any other recommendations for a good love story? Something sweeping and powerful. Something that should be made into a movie starring Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling. Something that will make me hit Andy on the shoulder and say, “Why can’t you be more like {insert name of the hero here}?”
Wed Apr 13 2011
I don’t recall when exactly, whether it was before or after we arrived in the Galapagos, but I remember asking Andy how weird he thought it would be if something major happened while we were on vacation. Like Americans who were abroad during September 11th. How disconnected and helpless they must have felt. How clueless we would be without phone or email.
After a quick discussion, I’m sure neither of us gave it much thought — until the early morning hours of our fifth day. Andy woke me up saying, “There’s been a massive earthquake in Japan, and now we’re under a tsunami warning.”
The National Park Service forbid anyone from going ashore and evacuated everyone already on land to higher grounds. Our entire day of activities was canceled, and we moved out to deep, open waters to wait out The Wave. For hours we were glued to the ship’s staticky TV, trying to translate reports from Japanese to Spanish to English. But understanding didn’t require words. The images were devastating, and getting worse every minute. Eventually we changed the station, left the room, tried to think about something else.
Since then, Japan has been hit with two more earthquakes, not to mention all the aftershocks, flooding, nuclear troubles, and more. Thousands are dead; thousands more homeless, penniless, starving. The only thing more amazing than the destruction they have suffered is the outpouring of support they have received.
In December, with the help of readers and friends who spread the word, TWENTY-SOMEWHERE and “The Eraser” raised over $100 worth of proceeds for the It Gets Better Foundation. Now in April, I’m donating all proceeds to the Red Cross relief efforts for Japan. Hopefully we can raise as much if not more.
(Note: The stories have nothing to do with Japan, but as of right now they’re the only revenue stream I’ve got.)
…
My absolute favorite thing about the online writing community is their generosity. Whether helping to critique a query letter, or just reaching out to offer support during a difficult time, I’ve been astounded by how caring everyone is. So I’d also like to recognize a few other fundraising efforts for Japan, all of which have root in the writing community.
Current (as of this posting):
- Pirene’s Fountain is planning to sponsor an anthology of poems, flash fiction, essays, etc. about what is going on in Japan. Interested submitters can make a statement, show love and support, speak about Japan’s importance to the world, its culture, loss, recovery, whatever they wish. Paste in body of email to pirenepublisher (at) gmail.com, along with an idea for a title and brief bio. Deadline: November 1, 2011. Any/all proceeds will go toward relief efforts.
- KidLit4Japan is a children’s and YA literature auction to benefit the victims of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. This is the final week!!
- The 2:46 Quakebook project started with a tweet. Now it’s a rich collection of essays, artwork and photographs submitted by indivdiuals around the world, including people who endured the disaster and journalists who covered it. Sales from their cover poster alone have reached over $15,000. The book is available on Amazon.
- Added 4/19: Author Barbara G. Tarn is giving 100% of her earnings on Barb & Masayo’s Stories to the Japanese illustrator she collaborated with.
- Added 4/19: Stories for Sendai is accepting submissions for their anthology to benefit Japan. They are looking for works that show the strength of the human spirit. Deadline is May 15th.
Closed (as of this posting):
Les wrote a lovely post on Japan and listed some more relief efforts there. So did Amanda. I’m sure there are many more writers and bloggers who want to help — and please, if you know of any or are doing so yourself, let me know! I would be happy to add to the list.
My humble contribution pales in comparison to some of these efforts, but I believe that every bit counts. I’m sure the people of Japan do, as well.
