I'll be Back

It's Monday, but I'm all tied up.

No, I'm not on the run from a hostile alien cyborg sent from the future to kill me before I have a baby who may or may not end up being his own grandpaw.

That part's a little fuzzy in my memory.

A silly work situation's requiring all my hours through today. It's part of the reason I haven't been able to make the rounds since Thursday.

I'm sorry.

But I'm thinking of you, and I miss your funny thoughts and insights.

In the meantime, say a little prayer, send some positive vibes, etc., this way. I'll update you ASAP!

Until Thursday, if not sooner~  <3

Always and Forever...

So I write contemporary young adult romance, right? Well, how many of you have seen a teenager these days who wasn't texting? I'm not sure how many are Facebookin it. Email? Myspace? Doubtful.

My point is, we're all aware of the glacial pace of book publishing and the lightening-fast speed of technology.

With that in mind, I try to avoid new slang in dialogue as much as possible--opting for the established, "cool," "hot," etc., over whatever they're saying on iCarly or Victorious. (I know some of you clever kids make up your own slang...)

But what about technology? 

In the book I'm currently shopping, all the characters have phones that they use both to talk and to text. Otherwise, technology is not in the story. (Actually, now I'm wondering if they should be using iPod Touches like all the kids running around here, but jeez, I don't even want to get that specific.)

I think it works, but I'm curious. What do you guys think? How are you handling this?

* * *

In other news, my friend Matt Rush is helping my other friend (and Super-critter) Carolyn Abiad with her query letter today at The Quintessentially Questionable Query Experiment (link).

Carolyn has written this amazing adventure story Burnt Amber that's set in Turkey--and in the realm of genies. It's got a strong female MC, a hot male protag., sword fights, spells, alternate realms. It's awesome! And she's a great writer. And a good friend.

Her blog Serendipity (link) is sort of a companion piece to the book, so check it out and start following her. Most of all, please run over to Matt's and help her out! Or at least give her some encouraging kudos.

Finally, THANK YOU to all my bleeps who've recently given me awards. I love you all, but specifically Dezzy (our Hollywood Spy), Angela, Tara, Jeannie, Gideon... oh, and everyone else over there on the right --->

(((BIG hugs))) and have a great weekend, reader friends! Til Monday~ <3 

Random

I wanted to give you something inspiring today, but it's been crazy over here. I'm sorry. (I always feel like I should stockpile posts for days like this.) Or I should've done Alex's blogfest...

Of course, the minute I post this, I'm going to think of all the things that have been rattling around in my brain the last few days.

Like how the cover of Entertainment Weekly is about gay teens on television (my finger = on the pulse), and how my good friend, a single dad in his early 30s, told me there's a new show on SciFi starring a vampire, a werewolf, and a ghost all living together. He said it's really good, and I should watch it. I dunno...

He also said (just like JRM did!) that Black Swan is just a remake of Showgirls. I never saw Showgirls, but I did see Black Swan and really liked it.

I thought it was an interesting, artistic portrayal of an obsessed dancer's descent into madness.

I also had this lady sitting behind me in the theater LAUGHING (loudly) at every (supposed to be) creepy or disturbing scene. No joke.

The part where she's *a'hem* on a journey of self-discovery and she sees her mother in the room? BWA-HAHAHA!!!

The part where she hallucinates a friend in her bedroom--BAH!!! The part ... well, I won't spoil the movie. You get the idea.

Naturally, I snorted and started giggling along with her. I'm like Dolly Parton in Steel Magnolias: Nobody laughs or cries alone in my presence.

Over the weekend, I was again thinking about how much I enjoy writing for sheer entertainment value. And if I were to characterize myself the way they characterize musicians, I'd say I was a Pop Writer. (You?)

My ultimate goal is to make readers laugh, cry, scream, and beg for more--all with multiple exclamation points.

In conclusion, I feel like my silly cold's back. And yesterday I was feeling so overwhelmed, I had to run down and stare at the waves until I finally relaxed. Decisions, man...

Have a great week, reader-friends! I'll try to be more thought-provoking on Thursday~ <3

Significant Other Blogfest

Talli (link) & DL (link) had this fun idea for us all to unveil the men and women behind our writerly curtains. So without further ado, I give you J. Richard Moore, the man who I did not consult in Sept. 2009, when I decided to start staying up late into the night furiously typing away on Debut Novel.

I was embarrassed to tell him what I was doing, so naturally he asked me if was having an online affair. (LOL!) I came clean, making him the first person I told I was trying to become a novelist. Our lives haven't been the same since.

First, about JRM & me:

• He's the son of educators and avid readers--his mom taught 5th grade math 30 years and his dad was a principal at all grade levels.
• In HS, JRM was in the fictitious band, Cruel Abdul & the Camel Jockeys. They had a hit song, "Multiple Humps," and he would put up fliers around his school for their pretend gigs. 
• We met as freshmen at Louisiana State University, where we both worked in the English Dept.
• My sorority sister Rita Leger, who also worked in the English Dept., introduced me to JRM. Richard, in turn, introduced her to her husband Jason Rush. We're all still speaking.
• Although we were both dating other people, JRM would go home every summer to Ruston, La., and write me long, hilarious letters (on paper!) that I still have. The second summer one of those letters was a love letter... (I still have it--*swoon*)
• When he returned to LSU that August, before the start of our senior year, at the Thirsty Tiger in Downtown Baton Rouge, I suggested we break up with those other people and start going out.
• He said No.
• After graduation (he graduated cum laude w/degrees in English, political science and women's studies--nerd!) he moved to Nashville to attend Vanderbilt Law School.
• In law school, JRM was in a real band, Thunder Skunk.They're still available for bookings.
• We never dated until 2002, when I moved to Indy. We were married six months later in a fever... (OK, not really. In a guerilla-style wedding in Holliday Park).
• He still plays guitar and writes songs today with titles such as "Keifer Sutherland's Mother" and "That Dog'd Bite You."
• We're now the very proud parents of the two most gorgeous, hilarious little girls on the planet, Catherine Grace and Laura Carroll, who are both writing songs and books of their own.

That's our history in a nutshell, now for the Q&A with JRM:

LTM: So tell the bleeps (and keep it short--everybody hates long posts) your favorite genre and top three favorite books of all time.

JRM:  Favorite genre = non-genre fiction.  Favorite books of all time = All The King's Men (Warren);  Great Expectations (Dickens);  Quicksilver (Stephenson).

(That sets up my next question. My writing genre is YA romantic fiction along the lines of Sarah Dessen, Robin Palmer, Deb Caletti. Clearly testing the strength of our relationship, I always make JRM be my first beta.)

LTM: DL wants you to tell everyone if you read my stuff, and if so, what you think are my strengths and weaknesses--he clarified with "What gets under your skin the most about my writing?"
JRM:  Yes; strengths are character expression and development. You are really good at this, and giving your characters, especially the ones you care about, a credible and strong voice,is your most awesome writing talent.  Your main weakness is "plotting," i.e. following through on realistic character response to plot stimuli and/or underwriting situations because you are eager to get the story told.

LTM: (DL also gave me this one) Do you feel I don't give your opinion of my writing enough weight because you're my hubby?  Being biased and all?

JRM:  No.  I'm a doctor, not a critic.

LTM: Did you ever think I'd pull a stunt like this? (Try to become a career novelist, I mean.) 

JRM:  Yes.

LTM: (again, I'm curious) How has this experience changed me? (DL put it: Can you see the stress of seeking publication bleed into my day to day life?)

JRM:  This has changed you by making you a better, much more experienced, impressive fiction writer.

LTM: Here's a mandatory question--What food or drink is guaranteed to return me to a good mood, even after a bad day writing?

JRM:  I dunno.  .  .  Cava?

LTM: One more--What one thing would you change about your others writing habits?
JRM:  This is almost English, I think.  Are you operating this interview from Sri Lanka?

LTM: And the last one--How hard is it to sit by and watch someone you care for struggle to attain a dream, knowing there's very little you can do to help?
JRM:  It is almost as hard as quartz, and much harder than cypress.

LTM: This blog was another thing I sprung on you that takes up a lot of my time. What do you think of my blog?
JRM:  Clearly you were lying to me in the preface to the previous question.  Despite your mendacity, I respond as follows:  Your blog is a truly masterful combination of the feelings you showcase via your countenance and a view of the inner workings of your spirit.  You can be quite moving with what you write, without just giving vent to unrestrained emotion.  Your blog is extremely well done.

LTM: When we first got married, you wanted to be the foremost living expert on Richard Nixon. Now you've got what I think is an even better idea. Tell the readers the idea for your novel. (I think it's awesome.)
JRM: Malcolm Andrus Jones goes to work for the Nixon Administration straight out of the University of Maryland.  He wants everyone to call him "A.J." and find him to be a strong and efficient, but lovable, authority figure.  Instead, he falls in with Howard Hunt and Gordon Liddy, who call him "Mutt," and unwittingly masterminds the Watergate burglary, the collapse of the Administration, and the stature of the American Presidency for the rest of our lifetimes.  Snap.

LTM: Would you rather I sing, dance or neither.
JRM:  Both simultaneously.  Right now.

LTM: Final thoughts?
JRM:  Like, my last thoughts before I die?  OK:  "Wow, I probably shouldn't have said that."

***

So there you have it! And if I'd been thinking, I'dve opened the comments section to questions earlier in the week. Since I didn't, I'll let you guys do that now!

If you have a burning question we didn't address, put it in the comments, and we'll answer it here.

Have a great weekend, reader-friends! Til Monday~ <3