Memorial Monday

Happy Memorial Day, reader-friends!

Where we are, it's a big race weekend. Next year, maybe we'll go, but this year, we're just thankful JRM's getting closer to the end of being on crutches.

Summer's here!

Talking to my daughters yesterday, I asked if they knew what Memorial Day was all about. One said it's where we thank grandparents for being in World War II. (Actually, for her, it would be great-grandparents, most of whom are no longer with us.)

I agreed. We should always be grateful and say thanks for our World War II vets.

Memorial Day actually began as a way to remember all the Americans who died during the Civil War--Union and Confederate.

President Lincoln has been in the public eye a lot lately, and it's highlighted what a dark time that was in our nation's history. But we have many, many military service men and women to thank today.

I guess the most impressive thing I wanted them to understand was this holiday is about people we don't even know, who leave their homes and families to defend and serve our country. It's pretty impressive if you think about it.

It's cool to imagine a day when we don't need such brave folks risking their lives for us every day. In the meantime, a HUGE Thank You to all our military personnel.

Have a lovely holiday; I'll be back tomorrow with a new Dragonfly teaser~

Just in Time for Summer: The Girl Guide is OUT!

Great writer-friend Christine Fonesca writes amazing fiction (see her Requiem series, which I loved), but she's also an educational psychologist, who writes super-helpful nonfiction books as well!

Her new book, The Girl Guide, is perfect for parents of girls approaching the middle school years. 

I know I can't wait to get my copy. Here's the scoop:

The Girl Guide is all about finding yourself and your unique voice in the world. And what better time to start on that journey than summer! 

On Amazon

Summer is a great time for renewal. The days are long, the weather, perfect, and the vibe – magical. So, as you’re taking a break from school or work, catching up with friends and family, and venturing out for a special vacation, why not add a little “inner” journey to your adventures and spend part of the summer discovering the “real” you?

Journeying inwards, like any trip, requires a map, some supplies, and an adventurous spirit. Fortunately, these things are easily acquired. A journal can become an ideal map to the inner you. Use it as you spend a little time each day reflecting on your dreams and hopes. Take stock of what you’ve accomplished so far, and plan where you’d like to go in the future. Then, once you have a good sense of your inner dreams and desires, make a plan for the future. Add new experiences, read different books, complete projects you’ve previous abandoned. In doing these things you can begin to cultivate your own authenticity.

And don’t forget to pack an adventurous spirit as you journey inwards. Embrace the you that lives within. You may be surprised the “you” you can get to know this summer.

Reviews:

"The Girl Guide is a game-changer and should be in every girl's backpack." ~ Ali Cross, author of the Desolation series

"The perfect remedy for a world obsessed with airbrushed perfection. A must read for every girl who has ever wondered what it means to be strong. Girls who can find beauty and strength within should be--and can be--the new normal, and The Girls' Guide is there to show the way." ~ Danyelle Leafty, author of The Fairy Godmother Dilemma series

"It's easy to understand, professional and relevant without being preachy, and really delves into the situations and emotions that girls out there are experiencing...I highly recommend this book."

~ Michelle McLean, author of Homework Helpers: Essays and Term Papers (Career Press 2011) and To Trust a Thief (Entangled Scandalous 2013)

"It's like an older sister and a mom rolled into one helpful book, all with the intent of helping me discover the best "me" there is. Definitely something I'd recommend to girls who are feeling lost...or just overwhelmed"

~ Shayna, High School Junior

"The Girl Guide is an easy-to-read, profound book that allows teenagers to understand it's the world that is different, not the teenager. I'm picky about the type of books that I introduce to my kids and I must say, this is one of the superior ones." - A Reader's Refuge

"For those parents, librarians, teachers and counselors who have teens that are struggling to find their own identity, or even that enjoy getting to know themselves better. Definitely a delicious pick!!" - Novel Nutritious

Finding your unique voice in a noisy world can be hard—very hard. But not if you have a great guide! TheGirl Guide: Finding Your Place in a Mixed-Up World is a must-read for girls in grades 6–8 as they enter the tumultuous world of adolescence. Packed with fun worksheets and quizzes, as well as stories from older girls and women, The Girl Guide covers everything a teenage girl needs to know on the journey toward her own identity. Proven strategies for dealing with stress management, confronting relational aggression, being safe online, navigating the changing mother-daughter relationship, and more make this the ultimate guide for any girl to get through the teen years and discover her unique point of view in the world.

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound | Book Depository | Prufrock Press | Target

* * *

Last week of school for us, so I'm pushing it to make deadlines--Have a super week, reader- and writer-friends~ 

Happy Mother's Day... Character edition!

First, Happy Mother's Day to my own mother!

She said I'd write books when I was just a little kid. I argued she was wrong for about 30 years and finally gave in and started writing. I haven't looked back. Love you, Mom.

So what's this about Characters?

Well, literary agent Mary Kole back in (I think) 2010 first noted the high mortality rate of parents in young adult literature.

I kind of scratched my head (and worried) at the time, because all my characters had parents. Some were more present than others, but they were there.

Whether it's the idealistic, leader-parents of The Truth About Faking, whose ideals manage to get them in hot water and embarrass their daughter, main character Harley, to no end.

Or the kind but somewhat oblivious parents of Anna in the Dragonfly series, who (justifiably) trust their daughter, but have no clue all the drama she's juggling.

Today, I'm highlighting my favorite mother-daughter relationship--that of Ashley and her mom Gretchen in The Truth About Letting Go.

They both tragically lose a man they love and idealize before the story opens, and they deal with it in very different ways. Ashley fights; Gretchen withdraws.

Ashley, despite her anger and fighting, finds Jordan, her promise of a future love. Gretchen doesn't have that promise--although I threw in the potential in the figure of charming, understanding Eric (never Rick) James.

So here's the picture excerpt taken from Letting Go. I hope you enjoy it, and consider picking up a copy of the book and letting me know what you think!

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iTunes | Kobo

Print copies on Createspace | Amazon

Have a wonderful day, reader- and writer-friends~ <3

Kids & Writing by Dr. Q

First, let me say a heartfelt Thank You to all the men and women in uniform who've given their lives to keep us safe and free. Have a wonderful Memorial Day holiday.

And since this blog is also about being a mom, I'm super excited to welcome great bloggy friend Dr. Susan Quinn (link) who has a brand new book out (see below) and is guest posting on how to get your kids writing.

A great potential summer activity!

So without further ado~

Ten Ways To Get Kids To Write

by Susan Kaye Quinn

Getting my kids to write was slightly less painful than delivering them into the world, but a lot more frustrating. Because it goes on for years and years and years ...

When I tell people that my 13 year old son Dark Omen wrote a novel and is now working on the sequel, they give me this knowing look, like, Well, of course! What did you expect? You're a writer!

If they only knew.

None of my boys (ages 8, 11, 13) enjoyed writing when they were younger (in the case of 8 year old Mighty Mite, we're still in that nooooooo stage of the writing experience). But I'm a patient mom (er, sometimes), and in the spirit of my Twelve Tips for Reluctant Readers post, I've pulled together Ten Ways to Get Kids to Write:

When the boys were little, we had a mini-easel that was chalk on one side and marker on the other. It spread chalk dust like crazy and we were always having to clean it, but having writing materials easily available (Way #1) meant we could stop and draw letters or cats (lots of cats) at any time.

Later, when they were in school, there was lots of writing time during the year, but during breaks and summer, I stapled together pages of writing paper with a construction paper "cover." This "book" was theirs to decorate, but they had to write a sentence (or paragraph or page, depending on the age) in it every morning, setting a regular time for writing (Way #2) - interestingly, Dark Omen still does most of his writing in the morning.

Sometimes I gave writing themes (Way #3), like Christmas lights or going to the pool, but mostly I let them write whatever they wanted (Way #4), even if it was only "I hate writing." (They thought this was the height of funny.)

When they were older and could write longer passages, I enlisted the help of writing workbooks (Way #5) - get the good ones, they're worth it - with worksheets on grammar as well as narrative writing. To mix it up a little, I also gave them assignments (Way #6): write a letter (from a list of our relatives), write a poem, write a song, write a recipe.

Here it helped to have a variety of writing supplies (Way #7), from index cards to fancy stationary. The most inspiring writing materials were consistently any notebook or writing material of an odd shape or texture or origin (Way #8), whether tiny spiral bound notebooks or giant sized, cardboard-latched binders.

My boys even spent one hilarious night writing secret notes on the backs of fortune cookie slips.

As long as they were writing, I was happy.

Note: most of the time I was not happy because they were not writing. I tried to give them a journal (Way #9) - not a diary - but that was met with scorn.

My final Way is not really a technique, but an attitude: cultivate patience and don't give up (Way #10).

Kids all develop at their own rates and it may take time (a lot of time, years worth of time) before they reach the milestones you want. But just like reading, writing is an essential skill that will wither if not actively encouraged.

Now, I have to pull Dark Omen away from his spiral notebook that he relentlessly fills with words and characters and stories. I have to tell him to eat breakfast before writing, to make sure it gets in him before he has to run to the bus and Junior High. And if I had told my younger-parent-self  that my oldest son would some day be a novelist, I would have had a good laugh.

And I probably needed it, too.

If that's not enough ideas to keep you from tearing out your hair, Imagination Soup has ten more writing activities for kids.

May the Odds be Always in Your Favor.*

*Getting kids to write isn't quite as brutal as the Hunger Games, but somehow the analogy seems apt.

What ways have worked for you?

~~*~~

Closed Hearts (Mindjack #2)
$2.99 at Amazon, Barnes and Noble (ebook and print)

When you control minds,
only your heart can be used against you.

Susan Kaye Quinn is the author of the bestselling YA novel Open Minds, Book One of the Mindjack Trilogy, which is available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and iTunes. The sequel Closed Hearts has just been released. Susan's business card says "Author and Rocket Scientist," but she mostly plays on Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest.

In my head, zombie

My youngest daughter is hilariously extreme. I'll give you an example.

I'll be brushing her hair and hit a snag. She'll cry out, "Ow!" Then pout, "You love to hurt me." Or she'll make a statement of fact, like, "It's hotter here than in south Alabama," and I'll say, "Well, not really. It just seems that way today." Her response? "You just think I'm stupid."

The first time she did this, I was alarmed. Was my child suffering from a horrible low-self-esteem issue? I didn't see any additional evidence of that. She had friends, did well in school...

The second and third times, it was funny, and I'd hug her and tell her to stop being ridiculous. After a while, it became incredibly frustrating because it was like she simply shut down and didn't want to learn or work with me.

She's just a little kid, so my goal is to help her grow out of it. But then I catch myself doing the same thing!

OK, I'm not going around declaring everyone thinks I'm stupid, but I'll catch myself, when met with criticism of a piece of writing or a particular scene thinking, "This is just stupid, I should just trash the whole thing. I'm the worst writer ever."

It's Laura--and she's in my head! Like that "Zombie" song by The Cranberries. (Wasn't that the worst thing? Talk about a message getting stuck in your head, and what did it even mean?)

Anyway, am I the only person who does this?

I can say (with help) I've learned to push back on those mental messages that I stink and I should stop wasting time every day and start pounding the pavement and get a Real Job and etc., etc., but occasionally they'll still pop up.

When my daughters are playing together, my oldest will sometimes yell downstairs to me, "Mom! Tell Laura to stop being ridiculous!"

That makes me laugh because my oldest is a true mini-me. I have to watch what I say, because it will be repeated back to me. In the same tone of voice even.

So I'm telling myself (and any of my reader- or writer-friends out there who might be in the same boat as me): Stop being ridiculous. Just because you get a bit of criticism or a helpful suggestion, take it. Don't close up shop or believe you stink.

And if you're hearing the same message over and over, look at what it's saying. Maybe its an area that needs a little focused attention.

Wow. Some unexpected inspiration for the weekend--have a great one! Til Monday~ <3

What we think we know

I read The Joy Luck Club in one sitting on a flight from New York to London.

Doesn't that sound romantic?

Truth is, I was in college, and I was helping a friend's mom "chaperone" her high school English students on one of those 10-day guided tours of London and Paris. It was a fun experience.

But back to the book.

I was hooked from the start by the story of the goose and the feather and the mom wanting to use it to tell her daughter all her stories.

Then Amy Tan goes immediately to the days after the mom's death, and her daughter casually remarks that she doesn't know anything about her mother.

That sets off her mother's friends who instantly begin regaling her with "Remember this?" and "Remember that?" They insisted that she did know her mother, and the implication is they fear their own daughters don't really know them.

I remember when I read this book in college, I related completely with the daughter. I felt like I didn't know anything about my mother--at least not as an actual person who'd had real life experiences.

In a way, I still feel like that sometimes. Just a little.

Now we're here, and I see my little daughters struggling with the stress of the biggest move in their lives (so far). My youngest daughter, the one who broke down crying at the news we were moving 850 miles due north of the only home she'd ever known announced today that she's having a wonderful time!

She loves it here!!!

My oldest, the one who was so excited to return to the city where she was born, who couldn't wait to see snow, and who told her little sister not to be afraid, "it's going to be an adventure," announced yesterday at breakfast she wants to go home.

I feel all torn up inside.

On the one hand, I understand exactly how my eldest feels. She wants familiarity. She wants to know that today when she goes to school, she's going to see the same faces, sites, and sounds she's been seeing since she was old enough to remember.

I get that.

But I keep telling her to hang on. The longer we're here, the longer we'll have been here. The more familiar it'll be, the more faces she'll recognize. Just hang in there.

I want to tell her my story of coming here for the first time ten years ago. Back then she was my little feather, a secret in my womb, and I held onto her as I willingly gave up everything I'd ever known and my life quietly began to change.

I planned to wait until she was old enough to understand, but now I fear that day will never come. That as time passes, feelings change. And memories sound different out loud, in the present than they do in one's heart, in the past.

This feather may look worthless, but it comes from afar and carries with it all my good intentions...

Do we ever know people the way they want us to know them? Do people ever know us the way we want them to?

It's a thought that's buzzing in my head now that I'm out of the cave. Maybe it's time for a new opening paragraph.

Til Thursday~ <3

Eat, Pray, Live, Laugh

I haven't read the book Eat, Pray, Love, and I'm not knowledgeable about the author who wrote it. So it's not fair for me to say it looks like the story of a spoiled little rich... *a'hem* grown woman whose boyfriend broke up with her so she took this amazing trip to the Far East.

Plus that would reveal an unpleasant, green-eyed attitude I try to resist... ;o)

The movie trailers do make me think about food, though.

I was in Baton Rouge last weekend, and I have to confess. Growing up in south Louisiana, *I* was very spoiled. I had no idea that the fact that any schmo off the street can whip up a delicious dinner for you at the drop of a hat was unique.

It's not that hard. Just take three ingredients--OK, four: butter (or olive oil), onion, bell pepper, and garlic. Add anything to that with some tomatoes and a touch of cayenne pepper, and it always comes out right.

Looking back, all the good times in the 30 years I lived there centered around big, delicious meals. A high school friend recently asked me if I was homesick. LTM: always.

But there are problems back home. The schools have changed, the population has changed since Katrina, and I think when you live somewhere and have a golden time there, moving back to recapture it... well, it never really works out, does it?

JRM and I had this conversation about Indy a while back. As many happy memories as we have of being there, it's not the same now either.

So life moves on.

You live places, you share a lot of laughs with people you love. You stay connected (hopefully--I know I'll get some feedback on that right now...)

Also while we were in Baton Rouge, my youngest daughter turned seven.

My dad and I were charged with getting her cake, which we did. She wanted a big cookie with purple icing that said "Happy Birthday, Laura!"

I tried to prepare her--we hadn't actually planned this (I have a big party planned for both daughters next week), so we might not be able to find that exact thing...

And then we did. We found exactly what she wanted.

Then I got sidetracked looking at something, Dad tried to help me, and he dropped the cake. Naturally, it landed upside down.

For a moment we stood there staring at it, stunned until we carefully picked it up and...

The nice thing about cookie cakes is if you drop them just right, they don't break. This one only had a little smudged icing that was easily fixed.

And then I started to giggle... Before long we were absolutely cracking up. We laughed the whole way home, and all day whenever I thought about my poor dad's face right after the cake hit the floor I chuckled again.

Anyone who doesn't know my dad won't understand that he's always been a tad on the klutzy side... (it's where I get it from!) And my daughter's named for him, so she tends to be his little sidekick.

I don't know about you guys, but it's been a tough year. And I don't get a trip to India to make it all better... or some semi-hunky French dude.

But I'm happy that looking back, there's no way I can feel sorry for myself (or be sour-grapesey with the author of EPL).

Lately I've been praying all the time. And I'm trying not to be selfish with it. I pray you see the ways you're so blessed and lucky, too.

Have a great weekend, reader friends! Book review Monday~

A Kidseye View

It's one of those mornings where the sky's a bit overcast and the bugs--I think they're cicadas--make that sound that starts soft and then grows very loud, then tapers off and goes soft again. The air's all hot and heavy. It's like living in one of those jungle movies--Papillon or Bridge on the River Kwai.

Catherine and I went to see Airbender last night. It wasn't so bad, but it was a let-down for me. My primary response was that I don't know how anyone who hasn't seen the show as many times as we have (the girls watch it constantly) has any idea what's going on or why.

My almost eight year-old daughter loved it. She was bouncing in her seat, calling out the names when her favorite characters appeared, and then she talked about it the whole way home. She would give it an A+++. THAT made it a great movie for me.

It also made me remember how I responded to movies at her age. I wasn't so judgmental about how skillfully the acting was done or how true it was to the original story or how real the special effects looked. If I saw characters I liked doing cool stuff, I was happy.

We walked out of the theater and the moon was that little crescent with Venus at two o'clock. It was gorgeous. Even Catherine exclaimed when she saw it.

As we drove back to our house, the sky flashed white with heat lightening the whole way. Catherine sat in the back gazing out the window at the sky. Every now and then she'd say, "Look, Mommy!" or "Did you see that?"

I wished I could pull the car over and just sit out somewhere and watch it with her. I also mentally noted that as small as our little town is, there's not a lot of places to pull off the road and just stare up at the heat lightening.

We were driving on U.S. 31. JRM told me once that you can take that road all the way to Indianapolis where it becomes Meridian Street.

I remembered driving on Meridian many times in Indy with her in a car seat less than a year old. She liked the Dixie Chicks, and she'd cry when I had to stop at red lights.

Time's passing fast, but so much never changes. Last night I glanced in the rearview mirror occasionally at her little strawberry head and remembered when I used to sit in the window staring at the heat lightening.

I always thought it was pretty cool, too.

***

Earlier this week, Katie (a.k.a., Creepy Query Girl) gave several bloggers and me awards at her BLOscars. I had two responses. The first from the Monkees: "I'm proud, and a little bit humbled..." the second from Sally Field: "You like me! You really like me!"

Since I'm the guerilla comment lady, I took the supportive commenter award:

And a big THANK YOU! to Katie. It was both unexpected and encouraging and I appreciate you very much~

Clean teen

So I'm writing these books for YA readers, and I've so far chosen to stick with realism. Light romance, a little humor, situational comedy.

But about half-way through Book 3 of a series I've got going, the main female and male (teen) characters... well, let's just say they've got great chemistry.

What was that movie with (I think) Meryl Streep where she was a novelist and they would have real actors play out what her characters were doing while she watched? Or was that Nicholas Cage? Or... wait a minute... was it John Candy?!

Anyway, there I am happily typing up a scene, (teen) male lead and female lead embrace. They've finally declared their love! They kiss. They kiss a little more... that's pretty good, so they get a little closer when...

Hello! Where are those hands, mister? Missy?

I picture it something like this. I'm in my glasses with a pencil stuck in my hair and a stern look on my face with these two (naturally) great-looking teenage kids panting in front of me.

LTM (frowning): You two are not mature enough for this sort of thing.
Male lead looks guilty; female lead glares in defiance.

Yep, those are my literary babies.

So I've got those two cooling their jets in the "drawer" (it's really just a file on my computer) while I think about what to do with this.

I know it's a common concern because just yesterday I read a post about it on another writer's blog. The issue of sex in YA novels and how to handle it.

I suppose if I weren't a mom, I'd have a different reaction. I know much has changed for me since I gave birth. Whereas I used to laugh at Faye Dunaway's Mommie Dearest, now I cry, "Stop beating little Christina!"

Still, my characters are real kids, and in the kind of writing I aspire to make a living at, authenticity is everything.

I have characters who curse occasionally, although I've left out the F-bomb. I know, I know. Kids say it, but I'm not writing an episode of the Sopranos. I also haven't decided to write strictly inspirational fiction.

I've noted how some writers handle it. They'll have the chemistry kids "on break" from other relationships, and they're too honorable to "cheat" on their holding significant others.

That's good, but you can only use it so many times.

In Brand New Novel, I handled it two ways. First, the chemistry kids were separated because female lead was determined to date someone else. Then when they finally did get together, it was a natural place to end the book.

Yay! We're together now--kissy kissy, close curtain.

But that won't work in Book 3. And I'm sure I'll run into this again if I keep writing.

Even in the inspirational fiction I've been reading, I see authors grappling with this. It's not realistic for kids to get married at 17, but if you set up this dynamic... well, it's not realistic that they just hold hands either.

But good Lord, you can't go around romanticizing teenagers having sex. That's completely irresponsible.

I know! So show the potential consequences, right?

Well, that's just an enormous buzz kill. I'm trying to write for entertainment over here.

So what's the answer?

Eureka! Male lead's a 150 year-old vampire who can't have sex with female lead or he could kill her!

Wait...

No, it's a tough one. And it's going to test my creative mettle.

Let me go on the record saying I don't think it's OK for teens to be having sex. But I appreciate that being a teenager is hard. And not because I buy the whole "they're exposed to more sexual images these days" line. (Read my "Madonna Earth" post for more on that.)

I'd really appreciate hearing what other writers think about this issue. Even parents of my potential readers (i.e., parents of teens), or any teens brave enough to venture into these waters. (Lord knows I played dumb on the subject at that age around adults.) Or just anyone who has an opinion. You know I'm easy.

Hey--not like that.

Madonna Earth

So Happy Earth Day! The girls and I'll be at the Rave at 4:45 p.m. watching Oceans, and I cannot wait! I know, Nerds Unite (again). But it's really not like that. OK, it is, but it's more a tradition that started last year.

I love love love movies, right? And I would live in the movie theater if I could, but that's ridiculous. Still, I'm always looking for something good the girls and I can see. In that spirit, I don't know if anyone remembers last year Disney made a big deal about their movie Earth. If you went to see it on Earth Day, they'd plant a tree for every ticket sold.

So naturally we went. It was gorgeous and beautiful, and ... there was a circle of life moment that took us a few hours to get over. Wah wah waaahh... I felt bad about that.

When I was a kid, grown ups were always showing us movies like Bambi and Old Yeller and Dumbo and Where the Red Fern Grows, and I swore that I would never, NEVER! watch another movie that starred an animal again as long as I lived...

Well, we got over Earth, and before the Diary of a Wimpy Kid movie, they had a trailer for Oceans. Now I gotta tell you guys, I like the earth, but I LOVE the ocean. So I'm totally psyched.

I'm also hoping it'll be harder to get emotionally attached to a squid than say, a bear. (Of course, they'll probably make it Flipper or something. I'll let you know.)

Bonus: For every ticket sold today, Disney's donating a dollar to save the coral reefs. So... looking for something fun to do?

As for Madonna, well, you might've caught this week's Glee, which was devoted to her legacy. Richard said some of his secretaries were surprised that they were uncomfortable letting their kids watch it because it was too provocative.

At first I was empathetic and wondered if maybe there should've been more warning. But then I thought some more, and c'mon, people. This is Madonna we're talking about. Remember her? The one who got kicked out of the Catholic church by His Holiness himself? The name should've been warning enough.

Richard wondered how much she got paid for allowing them to use her songs. I wondered how much she paid them for making it look like there was actually a method to all her exhibitionism.

I was in middle school when Madonna was really getting big, and my parents were super strict. I mean, they worked hard to shelter us, bless their hearts.

I love my parents. And I knew every word to every Madonna song ever released. Even some that weren't released. And of course, I saw all the videos.

I try to remind myself of this as my little ladies creep closer and closer to their tweens. You can only protect them so far. And then they leave you and go to school/dance/art/friends'/etc.

Sigh.

When you think about it, parenthood is just one long journey into never sleeping again. Seriously. They're born, up all night. They move to "big girl beds," up all night. Even now.

Richard and I were having this big discussion last night about whether it's fair to attribute positive social change to Madge and all her silly antics when in walks Catherine--who'd been tucked in an hour before, mind you. She saw a UFO from her window.

I had to let Richard take that one. He's the SciFi nerd.

Then they'll start dating and driving, holy cow, no sleep. Then college... 

And that's how it goes, teenage girls. If that isn't an abstinence lesson in and of itself, I don't know what is.

OK, I'm just kidding. I don't know the magic formula. Is it right to shelter kids from sexual messages? Or should they be viewed as conversation starters. Of course, it all depends on maturity level, I know. Ultimately, while that Glee episode did push the envelope (much like its subject), the overall message was positive.

There's a lot of talk that kids are exposed to too much sexuality today. I grew up with Prince and Madonna and Duran Duran... My parents had the Rolling Stones and the Doors, Woodstock and Studio 54... my grandparents had Marilyn Monroe and Rosalind Russell...

So I'm not sure it's fair to say that.

I wasn't a sexually active teen, but some of my friends were. And we all knew what each other was doing and talked about it. (Ugh! Did I mention parenthood equals no sleep?)

Get me outta here. On a more positive note, I finished the new book!

Now before you spray coffee on your computer, it's not completely finished. The story's there all the way to the end, but I really pushed through it fast. Now I'm going back and filling in details at certain spots. And I really like it!

I'm also super excited that I actually came up with a completely new, standalone work that isn't part of the previous series. It's very encouraging. I just might be a novelist after all. Now if I could just get somebody in the publishing world to agree...

Still waiting on that front. Have a great weekend, guys. Next post, Monday~

Getting Started

It's funny, no matter how much time passes, I don't think you ever forget the tension of breaking into a new field. It's frustrating and difficult, and often you wonder why you're putting yourself through all this. What was wrong with what you were previously doing?

I was in college at Louisiana State University when I discovered that there were paying jobs for people who simply "liked to read and write." Jobs besides teaching or newspaper reporting, I mean.

I was a student assistant for Dr. Jim Borck when this epiphany occurred. "Jimbo" as we affectionately called him was director of graduate studies for the LSU English Department and general editor of the Eighteenth Century: A Current Bibliography.

The ECCB. Talk about a snoozer! It's actually a reference book published annually listing books being written today on the eighteenth century. Confused yet? It's apparently really helpful if you're one of the 50 college professors who specialize in that time period in literature.

But content notwithstanding, working in that office with all those cool, creative nerds who shared my interests, and then getting that published copy of Vol. 12, I fell in love with the whole process.

I enrolled in graduate school and took "The Business of Book Publishing" taught by Katherine Fry, who was the director (I think) of LSU Press. She was a really great teacher. And after finishing that class I promptly switched my focus to public relations. Not really.

Back to my first thought--breaking into the business. Despite the fact that I decided to become an editor, I still lived in the petroleum and engineering capital of Louisiana. And other than LSU Press, a very, very small academic publisher with an astonishingly low turnover rate, or the Advocate, there weren't many jobs out there. Almost none, actually. And quite a large number of nerds just like me fighting to get them. (LSU grads tend to like staying in Baton Rouge.)

So as I wasn't planning to move to a major city, I had to figure out some way to distinguish myself from the other penguins. By sheer luck (and bugging the crap out of Dr. Jay Perkins in the LSU J-school), I managed to get one clip in the Business Report, which was extremely helpful. Then I just had to wait for the occasional want ad that would appear from time to time for that rare local businesses that needed an editor.

Months later, I finally landed my first job as Director of the Editorial Department at Insurance Achievement, Inc. It was a tough job working for a punishing boss, but I stuck it out. And I met some amazing, cool writers and editors who became part of my circle of friends back home.

Nine months later, I landed one of those coveted editorial jobs in the ranks of the LSU "unclassified" employees. The salary was pretty meager, but the benefits were top-notch. College holidays, two weeks "free" vacation at Christmas, ginormous-group healthcare plan, access to that gated parking lot right across the street from The Chimes...

It took a few years to get there, but it happened.

Then I moved to Shreveport and then to Indianapolis, where I became a mom, left the editorial game and focused on freelance writing alone. For a year covering 2008-2009, I went back to editing for Baldwin County Parent magazine, which is now Baldwin County Living. And then Fall 2009 the unthinkable happened. I sat down and wrote a book. Two and a half, actually. A series.

Knock me over with a feather.

Now I'm trying to break into another new field, and I tell ya. It's tough. Possibly as tough as landing a job as an editor in Baton Rouge pre-Katrina. But I'm encouraged when I remember it eventually happened and how many cool, nice people I met along the way.

I'm currently in the process of finding an agent, and it's overwhelming to say the least. If you're in the same boat as me, Nathan Bransford has an incredibly helpful blog that you should check out immediately! Don't send Query 1 before doing so. Learn from my mistake.

Try to take your time. I've learned the hard way, e-querying is not my friend. It was probably better than I'll ever know that those editorial ads appeared months apart when I was trying to break into Field #1. I had no choice but to wait, stare at my "query letter" for weeks, play with it, polish it, talk to people, do reasearch. All of those things are vital in this game.

It's hard, but I'm reminding myself what I've learned: Patience, little donkey.

And while I wait, I hope to connect or re-connect with some amazing, cool people out there doing what I'm doing--editing, writing, trying to get published, being a mom, contradicting your mom and then realizing your mistake...

Here we go~