Okay, look. I'm not a huge TWILIGHT fan. I didn't hate the first one; liked it enough to read NEW MOON. I wanted to shove Bella off a cliff myself by the end of that one, but after a pause I went ahead with ECLIPSE. That surprised me in that I liked it best, I think, enough to read BREAKING DAWN.
And it all fell apart like a wet paper sack.
I'm not a hater. There were things I liked about all of the first three books. She obviously has some talent and is telling a story that people want to read. Her writing is simple and easy to follow, descriptive enough in places that I get a good image. It was entertaining and I've definitely read worse. I don't want to bring down the wrath of Twi-hards here. I'm only speaking as a reader and author, and not bashing the story itself, which has merit. My problem with BREAKING DAWN is that it failed to live up to the expectations the author set out for herself and her readers. Let me explain, and I will be spoiling the book, so if you haven't read it and don't want to be spoiled, stop here.
The wedding: Once again, Bella gives in to whatever her family wants to make them happy instead of making herself happy. It's a character flaw that has bugged me since the beginning. I can't really complain, though,because it was in character for her to do that. I guess I can't fault that too much, but it was annoying.
No real stakes: Okay, so there WERE stakes for Bella and her baby. Bella could have died either by childbirth or the wolves. But we knew she wouldn't, because Edward would save her and then the wolves wussed out (though I did like it when Jacob took over as Alpha. That was cool). She's the POV character, it's not a great leap to think she would live. I really never had any doubt, and I SHOULD have, I think. But let's move on to Bella's transformation into a vampire. She knows what it feels like to have the venom inside her, after James bit her in TWILIGHT. It was excruciating and I believed it then. This time? It was glossed over and weak, to be precise. I wanted her to scream, I wanted to feel her blood burning in her veins like fire. But the author took the cheap way out by having her paralyzed with morphine. Really? It's like she didn't want to hurt her characters, a theme in this book.
No consequences: Bella's a vampire. She's ready to be a newborn-- a bloodthirsty, raging monster with unequal strength. But no, not our Bella Sue. She wakes up like a princess in a fairy tale, ready to greet her new life with open arms. UGH! I would have liked to have seen her dive at someone. Give me a reason to CARE, to make her fight for this new life. Bella can resist, like magic, the lure of human blood, even when she's been drinking it for weeks (ugh again). So Bella never has to deal with the consequences of her actions. She's like a decades old vampire as a newborn. Please. Let her bite one human (make up a red shirt!) and let's see how she deals with it. MUCH more interesting.
Nothing bad happens: I have done horrible things to characters. I've had them nearly eaten by Minotaurs, almost dropped off of buildings, died and come back to life, set on fire, and stabbed. Think about all the stuff that happens to Kat in THE HUNGER GAMES. You are rooting for her because everyone loves the underdog. NO ONE loves the person who gets everything they ever wanted without trying and without trials. Bella has NO TRIALS. Life is perfect, the end. There are no hurtles, no obstacles to make us pull for her to win. Except the Volturi, and I'll get to that.
Likewise with all the characters. Bella could have-- SHOULD HAVE-- broken one man's heart into powder, and then both would have had to heal. We LIKE THAT. But the author copped out again, creating the imprinting bond between Jacob and Renesmee (*snort*), so that Bella was completely off the hook and Jacob could just *poof* let go of her with
The first week of my Virtual Book tour is over! Today's stop is ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif?v=3)
kbaccellia 's blog, with an interview. I think we're also doing a giveaway, so comment on the blog post and you'll get a signed copy of THE MIRROR OF YU-HUANG, and a Chinese prize pack, including Chinese rubber duck, a beaded bookmark, and some other cool stuff!
There was a lot of hullabaloo about William and Kate's wedding last week. Yeah, remember that? News moves fast in this day and age, blink and you'll miss it! I admit that I was caught up in the fervor, not for any reason other than it's one of those events that happen infrequently. Oh, all right, who am I kidding? I'm one of 'those' girls - I read fairy tales all the time and Disney Princess were my heroes. Who doesn't love a gorgeous dress and a great wedding?
And Kate's dress was FABULOUS. She looked beautiful, everything was perfect. I was only 9 when Di and Charles got married, too young to participate in the purchasing of memorabilia. But I DO have the TIME magazine from the wedding, and I dug it out. I am on the hunt for the matching Will-and-Kate edition. I also never got a Diana doll, kind of wish that I did, because they were all so pretty. I'm was kind of a doll person when I was younger; my mom taught me about antique dolls and what to look for, and she bought me a few that have never come out of their boxes. My hubby bought me the Kate Middleton porcelain doll for Mother's Day. It won't be here until Fall, but I will squee with delight when it gets here.
Anyway, a friend of mine was commenting on FB that MY wedding was more dramatic than the royal festivities. I don't really think that's true, but it was...unconventional. Or non-traditional, or something. I've scanned in a few pictures and I'll let you decide.
This is the outside of the church where I got married. I wish I had a good shot of that big stained glass window from the inside with the sun behind it, because it's spectacular. This is the inside:
Which is all pretty standard, I guess, though not as flashy as Westminster Abbey. THIS is where it makes a left turn-- here's what my wedding party looked like:
I realized yesterday, scanning the pic, that Hubby and I have plants growing out of our heads. Kind of adds to my headpiece though. My sister and I made all the dresses, and my nephew's vest and shirt. The men's stuff was rented. And I know you want to see the back of my dress:
It does have a train--my sister and I added that on. I made the veil myself too. And just so you think we weren't the only ones dressed up, guests came dressed too, and helped out a little:
My uncle (in the kilt on the left), made the swords from sheet metal. I have a matching shield too. Later on, at the reception, those swords would come out in a swordfight made more enjoyable by the imbibing of copious amounts of alcohol. No one got hurt, but it was funny.
Unlike Kate and Will, we did not have carriages, horses, or trumpets, and I kind of wish we did. What do you think --more fun than a royal wedding? LOL!
Today the Virtual Book Tour stops at The Writer's Life, for an interview!
Enjoy!
Today I'm giving an interview over at Literarily Speaking (and the link thingy is working again, yay!) - stop by and say hi! Thanks to those who dropped by The Book Bin yesterday and left a comment!
My Book Tour starts TODAY! The first two stops are below - check them out!
THE MIRROR OF YU-HUANG review at YA Books Central:
Enjoy!
My virtual book tour starts tomorrow! I'll try and keep up and post the links, but I think there are five or more stops a week, so if I miss one, please forgive. I've got a lot going on in May - getting ready for my new job, going to the Maryland Faerie Festival. School is done for the summer, fortunately, so at least that pressure will be off. I was going to try and take summer classes, but it didn't work out - they only have one course that I need to take offered, and I need to take two for financial aid - but in the end I'd rather have the time to ease into my new job and the summer to get that all together and write.
Yes, I watched the royal wedding. I was up at 5:30, not 3am, but it was just in time to see William and Harry get to the church. I watched the whole thing on BBCA, then watched the coverage when they started over again to see what I missed. Kate's dress was gorgeous, they looked so happy.
I was 9 when Charles and Di got married. I loved watching it, but was too young to buy memorabilia. I have some clippings and the Time Magazine from the wedding, I think (I have to find them). I'll have to run out and buy Kate and Will's Time tomorrow, so I have a matched set. But I want...the doll.
I'm going to try and scan some of my wedding pics and post them, so you can compare my wedding with Wills and Kate. Mine was...different. But I didn't have carriages and horses or trumpets. I think I could have used them.
So many people ask me where I'm from, mostly because I don't pronounce the clear liquid like a piece of lumber. W-AH-TER, not WOOD-ER.
But here's proof I actually sound like where I live!
Mid-Atlantic. This is what everyone calls a Philadelphia accent although it's also the accent of south Jersey, Baltimore, and Wilmington. Well, everyone that lives near there, that is. Outsiders can tell you talk differently from them even though they can't tell what your accent is.
If you are not from there, you are probably one of the following:
(a) A New Yorker who, unlike most New Yorkers, rhymes "on" with "dawn"; or
(b) A Yat from New Orleans.
You are probably not from Eastern New England or the Great Lakes area, and certainly not from anywhere in the West or Canada.
Take this quiz now - it's easy!
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* My Virtual Book Tour Page is Up! There are over 20 stops on the tour, and I can see that one is not on the list, but I'll try and keep up and direct you all to where I'll be along the tour. May is going to be busy!
*I can't start my job until the state paperwork red-tape is cleared up. So not next week, hopefully by mid-month. The admin. offices at the board offices are CLOSED all week this week for break, so I can't go up and do all the paperwork until next week. Which stinks timing wise, but what can you do? They sent me the application for the Emergency Cert, and I've got everything I need to send it in, just have to run up next Monday and get it in. If the state doesn't drag their feet (and sometimes they don't) I can have the cert sooner rather than later.
*Still working on the last revisions of SMOKE & MIRRORS. Down to the last 40 pages, and included in that is a major event I need to add, and some tweaking, because I'm still finding the climax falls a little flat.
*Writing loft is coming along. Electric is done, but the plywood might have to wait, so I've begun the process of moving stuff up there. All that's really left is my table and its stuff. We've had a taste of summer these last couple of days, and it showed me that I really need climate control up there or it will be unbearable when full summer hits. Talked to the heating/ AC crew that I have on staff, and tapping into the existing system might be possible. Have to do that soon.
*I managed to get myself into doing a presentation this summer at Stockton State College, for a Young Adult and Adolescent Literature Seminar. It's a week-long seminar, and I'll have 2-3 hours (including a break) to do my presentation on one of the days.
I have no idea what to present. I need to work it out, because I will need to give them an abstract for the syllabus. I'm used to speaking for 45 minutes to 4th graders about writing, and I could do a presentation about my writing process, but the organizer liked that I had both the fantasy genre and media literacy/library studies background, so I think I should do something about that.
Topic suggestions?
*woah, I just remembered something that psychic I saw in February said, about me doing something different this summer and that I was the person who could teach writing because I see all sides. I thought she meant my new job, but this unexpected seminar just jumped to mind. That's pretty spooky. She's good.*
I went for a visit to my new school yesterday. Camden's Early Childhood Development Center. The school is brand new, pretty much, and beautiful. The library is...small. BUT since most of the classes don't come TO the library (only the Kindergartens come down), it's okay. The idea behind me going to them is that 3 & 4 year olds don't transition well and it's easier to just blend in with what they are doing. Which, having known many groups of 3 & 4 year olds, I agree with the idea wholeheartedly. They DON'T transition well, and we'd spend half the day getting them from one activity to the other if we tried.
The library opened a little over a year ago, and ever since they've had a sub - an "Interim Librarian". I don't know what her qualifications are, but she's managed to hold it together for all that time, so good for her. I didn't really get to examine the media center closely, but from what I can gather, there is a LOT of work to be done. The facility is gorgeous, and designed around their Pre-K curriculum, meaning I don't spend the whole time teaching, but there are centers the students can use - listening, drawing, tactile. Which is good, because trying to keep the attention of 15-30 5 year olds for 45 minutes is near impossible. There's a SmartBoard, which I can use to show streaming videos or power points or pictures or whatever. And some computers that I THINK are Mac? Which I've never used, so that will be an adventure.
There's still a lot of work to do.
I got a glance at the collection, and it looks...thin. Shelves half full. Apparently, according to the principal, there WERE more books, but since there was no one to catalog and keep track of them, teachers 'borrowed' many of them and never returned them. I'm making a list of 'must-haves' so that I can check and see what's there and what I will need to order. Over time, because I'm sure this will be an ongoing process.
Kindergartners also do not check out books, something I hope we can work to change, especially if K classes in other district schools ARE checking out books, because I'd like to keep them on track with the rest of the district and not get lost when they move to their elementary schools. Part of being in Kindergarten Library, to me, means learning about how the library works. Something I can take up with the principal, who seems really happy to have me there.
So in many ways, I'll be building this program from the ground up, but I'm starting with some GREAT tools to do it. Once I start, in May, there will only be about 7 weeks left in the school year; I think most of this time will be getting used to the place and into their groove, and I'll spend the summer working on plans for the program and doing my best. Little steps.
All next week will be reading curriculae (I have copies) and coming up with lessons. Something simple to start with, I think, a 'getting to know you' book to read, until I get on my feet.
I know I've alluded to the Something that is Coming, but then forgot to tell you what it is! No, I didn't forget, was just waiting until it got closer, so it would stick in your head.
THE MIRROR OF YU-HUANG is going on Virtual Tour in May!
I'm doing this through Pump Up Your Book tours. If you click the link and scroll down, look to the right, you'll see me listed on the page under May authors on tour. I don't have a Tour page yet, but when I do I'll plaster it all over. I have done a few interviews and guest blog posts already, but if you have a blog and would like to jump on the tour for an interview, guest blog, or review, please let me know! I will have to pass your info on to Dorothy, the tour coordinator, so she can tell me what dates she has open for me.
I feel so glamorous now, going on a book tour that I didn't organize myself. Because I have to say, I did a blog tour once, and it is A LOT OF WORK. Dorothy organizes tours for dozens of authors a month, and I don't know how she keeps it all straight.
Busy week! The time I have off now, between work days, is spent trying to get it all together before I start my new job and have NO weekdays off. Yesterday was spent finishing my final project for Instructional Media and catching up on my YA lit class, organizing for the book events of the week, going to the doctor for my pre-employment physical, picking up the house and cleaning up after cats.
I enjoyed the annual Meet the Authors event put on by the local libraries. Didn't sell any books, but it was nice to see friends. Now and then that happens. The Philadelphia Book Festival on Saturday will hopefully be MUCH better.
The plan (because I have one), is to spend much of next week, when the schools are closed, working on my revisions. I find having a plan is best, so I don't stress myself out over not working on writing. I get everything else done first. I still need to make an appointment for my car to have its tune up/maintenance, and I have those medical procedures on Tuesday. I have a good idea how to implement the last of the revisions, and maybe I can cut a few words at the same time, and by Easter I hope to have it ready to go. Queries will go out maybe Tuesday morning, since I'll definitely be home.
In between revising, I'll move stuff to the attic so the writing loft project can continue. I carted a couple of things up yesterday as well, and there's not much left, but I need to go through stuff on the working table, because it's a total mess and it's a good time to purge. The plywood probably won't happen until the summer, but I need to get up there so that Boy can have the whole space downstairs. Yeah, cleaning that place up will take a whole weekend, I think. It might also wait until summer...
Let's hope this week is a little smoother than last week, shall we?
*Hubby's home from the hospital, not really any more sure about what's wrong. The medicine they gave him in the hospital took away the nausea, but as soon as he was home it started coming back. They didn't prescribe the stuff he had in the hospital to take home either, which sounds dumb to me. But he's got to see the family doc this week, and have a stress test, and more bloodwork. He's just happy to be out of the hospital.
*My stomach pain, on the other hand, seems to have completely resolved itself. So I'm still having the endoscopy, just to be sure, but I doubt they'll find anything.
*The electricians have gone. I have 1) a new, much prettier front porch light, 2) all my knob and tube wiring gone and everything re-wired, 3) my basement lights all on one switch instead of multiple pull-chains. The basement lighting is better now too. 4) Boy has a ceiling fan in his room, which we've been needing to to for years; the room gets hot in summer and cold in winter; 5) a new bathroom fixture, though it wasn't planned for - the old one's wires were fried. How we didn't have a fire, I have no idea. and...
I have lights in the attic and a single switch downstairs that turns them on. All of this means that we can start the next phase of the Writing Loft project, which will require plywood and screws. But that probably won't happen right away, so I will be moving some things up to the space, a little at a time. And I have to figure out how I'm going to keep it cool up there, because in the middle of summer, even with the reflective insulation, it gets rather warm. I don't do warm.
*It's class registration day. Of course my internet is acting wonky. I need a new phone jack.
What can I possibly say about this week? It started out well enough; two days of subbing in two different libraries. There I am cruising along, liking the new service I'm working for, taking off on Wednesday so I could work on my final project for my Instructional Media class.
Then the whole thing fell apart like Charlie Sheen's stage act. See if you can keep up.
*Hubby had a doctor's appointment Wednesday afternoon - a follow-up for the digestive pain and issues he's been having for nearly two months. She sends him to the ER.
He's still in the hospital. So far I have yet to hear what, exactly, they think is wrong with him, but they've run plenty of tests. First they thought it was fluid around the heart, but there isn't. His heart is doing some wonky thing, but the cardiac specialist says it's not a big deal. (Uh, okay.) His stomach is feeling better and they've taken him off the liquid diet. Hopefully tomorrow he will be home.
*About half an hour after Hubby called me to say he was going to the ER, the school district I interviewed with last week called and offered me a full-time job. A full-time teaching salary and all the trimmings, working in the one-year-old Media Center, complete with new Smartboard and brand-new technology, at the Camden Early Childhood Development Center. Pre-K and Kindergarten. The babies, as everyone in the HR department calls them.
I said yes.
*So, for those playing along at home: no work on Wednesday, no work on Thursday, since Hubby was in the hospital and I had to help Boy out at his Book Fair, since we missed Family Night on Wednesday night because after his soccer game (they won!) I had to go to the hospital. No work today, because I had to go and pick up my pre-employment packet, including the stack of paperwork you need to fill out before you can start working. I start May 2, and hopefully will be able to schedule a time to visit the school before that.
*Of course, while I was out on Wednesday night at the hospital, the electrician called and wanted to start work on, what else? Friday. So as long as I had to be off from work, I said come on over.
He's about half done, so the Writing Loft project is finally moving forward once again. With more money coming in, maybe next year I'll be able to actually finish the attic properly. And get a new deck. Or a patio or something. Save up for a real vacation maybe.
*And somewhere in the middle of all that, my beta reader finished with the revised SMOKE & MIRRORS, so someday I need to make the final tweaks on that, because I need to send it out again.
*Oh, and new job means I can afford to go to NJSCBWI in June. I can just squeeze it out before the deadline, which makes me happy, because there are a bunch of workshops I want to attend and friends I want to see that I only get to see at stuff like this.
Waiting and waiting and then....BAM. Sometimes life happens all at once.
It's been a very long week. I actually squeezed in a day and a half of actual work, but also went to the dentist and had a job interview. Finished (sort of) a LONNNG revision. SMOKE & MIRRORS that started at 90,000 words, after adding a prologue and rewriting the storyline, ended up at around 104,000. Over 300 pages. But they're GOOD pages; I'm sure there are probably places I can cut some words; thought I was going to end up cutting more by removing old scenes and adding new, but new scenes ended up being longer. It probably wont' stay that long.
Now I'm doing the waiting thing, for my reader to work her way through the pages and give me notes, before I send it out again. I honestly love the story now, but I'm kind of sick of looking at it too. And now that it's done, I'm still buzzing from that story and can't seem to switch gears to work on anything else. I need to finish the next Library of Athena book, but I think I need a couple of days of downtime. That book is up to 17 chapters and 53,000 words, and there's a lot of story left to go, and I'm exhausted just thinking about it. I'm going to work on some schoolwork for a couple of days, I think, and get some distance before I write again. My plan as of now is to finish the LoA book over the summer.
The job interview went well, I think. Unless my instincts are way off, I got a good vibe from the interview committee, smiling and nodding at my answers. There's always the issue that I'm not finished with school, but this district has several openings in elementary and middle school libraries. I'm not sure how many people they had apply - there were only three other people there to interview with me. So we'll see. It would have advantages and disadvantages, like any other job, but it would be a job. I've talked to several people who know other people who work in this district or did student teaching there and they all really liked it. It's not the schools themselves, but the neighborhood that worries some.
Winter is over, sort of, which means the end of my hibernation. As soon as the weather gets warm, I'll be wanting to be outside more. Got a new canopy for my gazebo, ready to get out the lawn furniture and ride my bike. It also means I have some events coming up!
April 13th I'll be at the Monroe Township Public Library, Williamstown, NJ for the annual Meet the Authors event. I think this is the fourth or fifth year I've done this event, and it's better every year. Then that weekend, on Saturday the 16th, I'll be at the Philadelphia Book Festival. I think we're on the Ben Franklin Parkway; I'll be in a tent with several other authors, signing books.
I still have the Something that is Coming, but I'm still organizing for that, so I don't want to announce it yet. Make you wonder :P
Have a great weekend!
I have been playing with my camera, using the tripod and self-timer, getting all dolled up and taking some new headshots. Part of this is necessity, relating to the Something that is Coming. After taking about 30 shots, I got one I really liked, then cleaned it up with Photoshop (or Paint.net, my freebie open source software, which I am learning to use much better now).
One is my userpic, this one:
The other is the same pic, but played with a bit, using the Soften Portrait tool:
And I have this one, but I don't think it's as clear a shot, even after I reduced the noise:
Really can't decide which I like better. The first is on my website now, but I might switch it to the portrait or the other. I'm willing to entertain opinions - which do you like best??
For some reason, LJ has not been sending comments or replies to my email. I have no idea why, but I switched my email account, so we'll see it that works.
If not, and I fail to reply to a comment, it's not you, it's the techno gremlins.
don't know when(but I really do), but it is gonna be greeeeeaaaat.
The aiiiiiirrrrr is hummin', and
Something greeeaaaaattt....is comin'
(Yep, I'm a twirlie. Everything is a song cue, and I love West Side Story. So sue me.)
Nope, not finished revising. Nope, don't have an agent yet. I'm working on some promotional things for a book already in the world. Once it's all set, I'll do a big reveal. :) It will be fun!
I had one last query out to an agent; she had asked for three chapters. I had sent her the prologue and three chapter of the revised version. Today I received her response. It said that normally she's not the agent who can read a partial and make a decision. Until me.
She loved the writing. She loved the voice. She loved the premise. She loved everything.
But she passed. Why? She didn't think she could give the book and me the time and energy it deserves. Which comes off sounding like one of those "it's not you, it's me" lines that people give you when they're breaking up with you. BUT, she added that if, by some chance, I still don't have representation by summer, to send the full manuscript. And she added that she really couldn't imagine that I wouldn't have one by then.
I've heard about these kinds of rejections, but never actually seen one in the wild. Now I have one!
So it was a no, but also one of the most encouraging no's I've gotten. Not a no because of the book, but because of the timing. This personal rejection thing is becoming a habit. Next stop is a yes.
I've been doing this for awhile, and it came up in discussion the other day, about what works and doesn't when promoting our books. Some have click-through ads on Facebook and Goodreads, with varying success. I say that ads may work, but the best promotion is the stuff we do for free - tweeting, being on Facebook. Giving away stuff. Blogging.
And that got me thinking - what do the best author blogs have in common? What topics do readers want to see? I blog about a lot of things, not just writing, or my books, because personally I think if it's all about that all the time, it's like a 24 hour advertisement, and I don't want to read that. And I don't mean writing about the process of writing, or about rejections. I mean, I know people that only blog or put something up when there's a link to an award, or a review, or something. That's not my thing.
But I think I want to change the tone of the blog a little, I don't want it to get stale. I want to find out what READERS want me to blog about. Or rather, what you find to pique your interest in a blog that makes you return to read. I don't ALWAYS want to post about the process, because I think that gets boring too. What topics make you stop and read? Is there a certain tone that makes you read more than others? I think that a more conversational tone is nice, but don't know that everyone else does. Do you like reading about an author's life outside the words they write? Do you like multimedia more than straight words? Do you think an author's blog will make you buy their book, or do you already have their book when you look for the blog?
All opinions welcome thanks!
Sends us to the doctor's office.
Met with the specialist today, and I have an appointment for both 'procedures' next month, a two-for-one special. I feel like car that needs her 50,000 mile checkup. But hopefully we'll find out why my stomach keeps rebelling, and at the oddest things. Peanut butter I can understand, but baked potato chips? And it's JUST the chips. I've had both baked Cheetos and Doritos, with no ill effects.
Maybe it's only things that start with P :).
Been using time productively this week. Started and finished video project for Media class (audio project garnered an A, thank you), and bibliography project for YA Lit. Still reading like a madwoman, but we're up to the SF/Fantasy week, so I'm totally in my element. Compared to last semester, this is a total vacation!
Next week is my "Spring Break", but since all my paperwork is turned in for the sub service, I should start working for them next week. Which was kind of my plan, to get as much work out of the way, clearing the schedule for work that pays in actual money instead of just satisfaction.
Meanwhile, I have spent two entire days working on this single scene from SMOKE & MIRRORS. It's a pivotal scene, right before the whole thing goes to hell in a handbasket, and I've rewritten it...oh, I think this is the third time. At some point last night I decided to shift one tiny thing earlier in the story, which totally affected this scene, so I had to go through AGAIN and make it all fit.
I can't wait until this scene is done. There's still a long way to go - the whole third act, in fact - but I know what I want it to be, just need to actually, yanno, get there.
So, back to work, head down, tappity tap tap on the keys. Must have next section done for beta reader when she's finished with what she's got now...
Revising still. Taking editor's notes to heart. Right now, MC's are riding in a newly-invented motorcar, being chased by a locomotive.
THIS IS THE BOOK I WANTED TO WRITE IN THE FIRST PLACE.
That is all.
Let's see, catch you up...
I'll be working for a new substitute teaching service soon. The service isn't new, just new to me. But it'll give me more latitude when it comes to working, because I can't stay home all the time. I knew the pickins' this school year would be slim, because with cutbacks they just aren't doing as many teacher training days. So we're going for volume. I'll be added to three other districts nearby, and one that's a bit of a hike. I just need to feel like I'm doing SOMETHING.
What else - oh yes, I took a trip to the ER on Friday. I had been having really horrible stomach pain all week, about 2 hours after I eat. Finally I went to the doctor on Friday, and it happened to coincide with the worst attack I'd had all week. So she sent me straight to the hospital, since I would need tests and quite frankly I was in bad shape, I needed those tests ASAP.
If people with Celiac Disease feel as bad as that, I AM SO SORRY. I've had a baby and broken a leg, and this was ten times worse. I describe it as feeling like "that guy at the end of Alien, where the thing was trying to break out of him." The pain radiated straight through to my lower back. Ridiculous pain.
So at 2pm, I head to the hospital, just a short drive (thank goodness, I almost didn't make it), all the while texting a friend of mine to see if her hubby was on duty that day. He was, and his wife and my doctor phoned ahead so he was waiting for me. Sometimes it really is who you know - I was out of there by 6pm, after bloodwork, an ultrasound, and X-rays. By now the attack had passed, thank goodness. And fortunately it was nothing immediately serious. But I have two medications and orders to go back to the doctor and then to the gastroenterologist for more tests. If we're placing bets, I'm going with peptic ulcer.
So I'm probably going to get a really cool endoscopy very soon. Doesn't that sound like fun? But it's still gotta be better than this pain, which isn't completely gone, but manageable through the meds. Though last night I ate something that totally muscled those meds to the ground, and me too, because I was curled up on the couch contemplating another trip to the ER. You know it's bad then, because I almost NEVER go to the doctor.
Other than that, it's been business as usual. Reading like crazy for YA lit (can't believe the semester is half over already!), revising SMOKE & MIRRORS, trying not to eat anything that tastes good, because it'll set of my stomach. Yanno, normal stuff.
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