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Hey rillie and Rillie, it's great to read your blog again. Hard to believe six months just whizzed by, huh? I love the pics of your cats. Those are great shots. They're a couple of hams! I've been sleeping a lot too. Can't write if we don't get our muse sleep, right? I think it's great that you've been so busy with your writing that you haven't had time to blog. That's a good thing. It's also wonderful that you're letting everyone know your good news. I mean, come on, shout it to the world! GOOD THINGS ARE HAPPENIN'!
Keep everyone posted on your progress. This is an exciting time in your life! Congratulations! Break out the bubbly!

Well, I agree with rilla, it's about time !!!! Nice to see you awake and blogging again. I missed those silly, bickering voices. Welcome back, rilla and Rilla, and congratulations on the good news. Sending lucky vibes to hopefully help SOME much awaited good news come your way real soon, now.
Katia

WHOO HOO!
Let's meet up at SCBWI LA!!!Steph

hey there lynnerd,
it feels so good to be back! thanks for all the wishes. bubbly...if only. darn diet! you're right about that muse sleep, can't get enough of it. the cats are definitely rubbing off.
and of course, i wouldn't have any good news if it weren't for the support and critiquing of you and the group so...group hug ;)

Hey there Katia,
yeah, rilla and Rilla are at it again. Can't believe you could miss their silly squabbles! Thanks for the wishes. Thanks for the good vibes. Wouldn't get far without them. Just hope we stay awake long enough to get the good news, if/when it comes ;)

Hey there Colorado Writer,
so good to see you here. Of course we should meet at the meetings! It'll be so good to see you again. Are you getting into costume like last time? I haven't thought about it much. But it was such fun.

Hey Rilla. Great to have you back. Missed you bunches. Do you have any idea why your friend J hasn't been posting? Me neither. Well at least one of you is back at it
J

Hey nice to see you - I mean read you - again. I've been wondering where you both were!

Congrats on the Highlights sale and agent interest!

Hey there J,
I'm sorry you haven't been posting either. It's a lonely world out there without our blogging buddies in the warm fuzzy blogosphere. I hope, now that things are going so well for you, that you will come back to blogging as well and tell us more about what's happening to you! Looking forward to it.

Hey CK,
great to see you too, or your shoes that is. Congratulations to you on your first novel coming out in such a short time. I can imagine that what others call a 'short time' is a nail-biting, hair extracting, excruciating wait for you! But September will be here before you know it. Are you attending the LA conference this year? Would love to meet you.

Speaking of shoes, my Doc Martens crapped out on me while in Dublin two weeks ago - and here I thought they were supposed to last forever!

Thanks so much for your good wishes! I'm not sure if I'm more excited or angst-ridden about the book coming out, to tell you the truth. But it's definitely cool to think people (hopefully some!) will read it.

No L.A. conference for me. I don't get to do air travel very often and when I do it's mostly to Ireland. Plus my highly introverted self would spontaneously combust after about 7 minutes at a conference, I'm sure. I'm shockingly anti-social!

Hey CK,
I think you're supposed to be able to repair your doc martens for free forever or receive a replacement pair. I wouldn't chuck them out just yet ;)

What's in Ireland that keeps you going back? Family? Inspiration for your stories?

I know what you mean about angst. This is an angst-ridden profession. If we're not tearing our hair coz we haven't heard back from an editor, we're tearing it out coz we have heard back and it's not what we wanted to hear. I even have friends who tear their hair out because it is exactly what they wanted to hear....crazeeeeeee. OK, I confess, that last one is me too.

You know, I'm shy except around the people I know too. But I love the writers' conferences. In LA, there are so many people that nobody notices you. You can walk around the place as if invisible and yet you are constantly uplifted by the amazing author tales and the deep inner secrets revealed by editors and agents. The place is filled with the few people on earth who might actually understand what makes you tick! I was so nervous before the first time I went, but now even though I still get nervous, I'm even more excited. Well, that's my pep talk for the evening. And I know you ain't buyin' a syllable!

P.S. CK, I loved your last post, 'Spit-take time' and I've put your book on my Amazon shopping list, so you can rest assured people will be reading it ;)

Hey, welcome back, r & R! Sounds like you've been holding out on us ... congratulations on the sale and on the interest! Now, don't keep us in the dark for another six months on this, y'hear?

Welcome back, Rilla! So good to see your photos and hear your "voice" again. Congratulations on the Highlights sale and the agent interest! Fingers crossed for you. :-)

And I know you ain't buyin' a syllable!

I think you've got my number, Rilla! Weirdly (maybe) I don't even really like to talk/think about writing that much. It feels somehow claustrophobic seeing as that's already the thing I spend so much of my time doing. I dunno, maybe I've already overdosed on publishing blogs/sites. I know, I know, I shouldn't be so curmudgeonly before my first book has even come out. Oh dear.

But it would definitely be cool to meet you so if it ever does happen that I'm at a conference I will most certainly look you up! And thanks for being so kind about my book. I so hope you like it!

As for Ireland, it has a hold on me in a couple different ways. I went over there to live for a few years after I graduated and had kind of a love/hate thing with it that I still haven't been able to get out of my system. Then I got involved with an Irish guy, married him and got totally homesick. He very sweetly offered to move back to Canada with me but his family (and there are many of them!) are still back there and so is one of my best friends.

Really though, there's something about Dublin itself that I feel attached to, even as it's radically changed since I first visited in 1990. I wish I could go back more often!

Our bonehead Prime Minister up here drives me nuts! I don't know how he and his cabinet continually get away with scandal after scandal and stomping on human rights & environmental issues. Sometimes it seems like the only hope we have of being free of him is if he's kidnapped by aliens. Here's wishing you guys better luck with your November election - we sure could use some inspiration up here!

Hey there Linda,
Thanks for the good wishes! Will try not to go dark for such a long time again. It was a dark time for me, but I'm feeling pretty light-headed right now with all the warmth coming my way from blog land.

Hey there Natalie,
So good to hear from you. I'm delighted your blog is so healthy. Always good for a laugh. I hope I can rescucitate my 'voice' as well as you did.

Hey CK,
I've always wanted to visit the Emerald Isle. Growing up in India, we were fed a diet of British literature and poetry and I always supplemented it with mythology and fairy tales. I have a thing for stone circles, crumbling castles and going round churches widdershins. Well, someday.
Yeah, I think it's pretty impossible not to have a love/hate relationship with a country you move to, especially if you marry one of the locals ;) Glad you get to go back so much.

G'day Thrilla

Got everything crossed for you re: the agent. Love the pics of the kitty cats. Have almost finished my War and Peace like response to your email. There will be photos too!

Michele xx

Hey there, Onella!
Can't wait for the epic volume of what's going on in your life. About time too. Adding the photos might just appease me...might just...OK, who am I kidding, it took me almost six months just to post this blog!
Still waiting...Thrilla

I don't always agree with you, but I see that you are objective in your
postings. Despite the differences I still enjoy reading your posts and I
often learn even when our viewpoints are different. :-)

Hey John,
Thank you so much for taking the time to read my ramblings...or should I say...our...ramblings... can't afford to tick that Rilla off... she's a bit prone to yelling. Delighted to hear you call me objective...high praise indeed in a time when insult throwing and hate mongering are part of the daily weather forecast. I will try to live up to that standard. Thanks. And keep visiting ;)

rilla, rilla, rilla ... haven't you heard of the "elevator pitch"? You're supposed to be able to describe your ms in a few quick sentences ... this would have been the perfect opportunity to use one!

I, on the other hand, would never have said "Blub, blub, blubbity, blubbity." Confronted with Arthur Levine in an elevator, I'm sure I would have managed to say, "It's, um, well, like, a story. For kids. A mystery, really. With puzzles. Word puzzles, in fact. And a kid who solves them. And the mystery, too, of course. Blib, blib, blibbity, blibbity."

Chin up! Despite your far inferior networking skills, I'm sure your writing WILL speak for itself! Good luck with the submission!!!

Hey Linda... blib blib sounds a better than blub blub I must say... definitely would have made the cut... sigh... you're right... my elevator pitch needs a lot of practice... got an elevator I can borrow?

First: My thoughts are with you and your loved ones in your homeland.

AND:

No freaking way! You had a brush with destiny in LA? Good luck with your query.

PS. As you know, I was hob knobbing with Jay Asher, but each time I was around Mr. Levine, Julie Strauss-Gabel and Mark McVeigh I never once said A THING ABOUT MY WORK. NEVER. When I was around Arthur I only smiled. I said something really dumb to Ms. Gabel on the elevator, and Mark invited me to Rodeo Dr. because he had a car and I didn't, and I went to the Golden Kites instead.

Like the goofy dork that I am I missed all opportunity to do the elevator pitching...

(sigh)

Hey Colorado Writer...
you too huh? You gave up a ride on Rodeo Drive with Mark McVeigh...????

sigh... well, look at me... here I an in an elevator with Arthur Levine thinking 'I sure hope the power cord to my laptop works on his computer...' and the other half is thinking... OMG OMG... and he asks me about my writing... and I'm thinking... no... this is not right... to offer to help him out and then talk about my work?... but then I'm thinking... wait a minute HE ASKED... that's when I go into total meltdown and it sounds like blup blup... and you know the sinking feeling that goes along with that...
OUCH
There's no recovering from blup blup...ever...

Oh Dear ! Fist, I open your blog, and what do I see ? My own self, all wrapped up, sitting on a big brass canon ! You have to send a warning, woman ! It WAS cold, wasn't it ? You know that we'll have to do that several times, now that you're coming. Second, your post reminded me of my own elevator ride with Louise May, last year. I mean, SHE was one of the main reasons I went to LA. I love what they do at Lee and Low, and, no kidding, I was alone with her in that elevator on the very first day. First, I was totally mute. No voice. And when the little bell rang and I saw she was about to leave the elevator, I thought : if I don't say something now, I'm going to kill myself, and I won't do it gently. And so,I sputtered precipitously that an author whose books she has published had asked me to say hello to her - which was true. She was really nice, looked at my tag, and the door had opened already, and she was gone. But you know what, the contact was made. And I used that when I wrote to her - she actually considered Ifeanyi - after the conference. I don't think pitching a book in the elevator is necessarily the best thing to do. What matters is that you have a connection. A. Levine WILL remember riding the elevator with you and your being ready to lend him his power cord. He may even remember that you didn't jump all over him, trying to sell him your book. The quality of your work will do the rest. And at least, it gave you material for a fun post on your blog. Not to mention the adrenaline rush, no doubt :)) Boy, children's writers have to have heart, and a strong one at that, don't they?
On a much sadder note, school was supposed to start today, but the town is under red alert because of the bombings on Saturday night. No school for two days. Big sigh. Whenever I think about all these people going on on a fun family outing, on Saturday night, and finding themselves in the middle of that nightmare, I feel so many conflicting emotions. Sadness, anger, anxiety, fear... What is this world we are living in?

Hi Rilla!
I'm very sorry to read about the bombings.

And I'm totally laughing that you got an object lesson in the necessity of having a prepared "elevator talk"!!! And IN an elevator, too!!!

NEXT time, you'll be prepared, I bet!!
-Laini
(PS-thanks for the mention!!)

Really cute, Rilla...but I was there and I know the REAL story! (Ha Ha) Loved the photo of Katia, too!
Seriously, my heart goes out to you, and to Katia. How dreadful...right in your own town. Will the madness every stop?

Marge

The real story ? What real story? I thought THIS was the real story. Now, I want the REAL story. OK, I'll wait until you get here. Hi, Marge !

Hey Katia,
You are so lame...;0 thank goodness for you... I'd feel so pathetic if I weren't in good company with the likes of you and Colorado writer...we specialize in cotton mouth and sleepy brain... and hey... it's who we are... so break out the champagne anyway! OK... so I'm not very coherent.. but would you be if you had blue butt syndrome. Can't wait to see you girl... hope you still have that blue scarf...

Hey Laini,
that elevator stumps me every time...what are we going to do..?
You still in Flat City? I see from your blog and the DMs blog that you've been skipping out of there as often as possible... ;) Now why would that be?

Hey Marge...
the REAL story...? I thought we had an agreement..................!

Hi Rilla,

I'm so sorry about the terrorist attacks in your hometown. Such a tragedy and we'll never know how many lives it messed up. This gives new meaning to the saying "too close to home." It's so sad. My heart goes out to you and all those affected by the violence.

On a happier note, I sure enjoyed reading about your adventure with Arthur Levine. You should have asked him if he actually ever read that clever letter you sent him a year or so ago. I hope you save a copy of it. You should update it and send it to him again!

I'm just like you, Rilla. I wouldn't have made a pitch. I'm better with the written word than the spoken word. But maybe if you'd had a few more glasses of wine, you could might have come up with the perfect pitch without even thinking about it and charmed him into wanting to see more than the cord to your laptop. Don't let your mind go there. I'm talking about your wonderful ms. Anyways, it would require at least three Bloody Mary's for me to spiel a pitch. I wonder if Mr. Levine would be turned off by a slurred pitch? Yeah, nevermind the bubbly. I agree that the manuscript speaks for itself. So cheers! Good luck with the submissions.

By the way, I love the way you kept us in suspense while telling about the night Arthur Levine came to your hotel room. Good going!

Yep, still have the blue scarf. Waiting for you to get it out. And the way you keep going with these pics, I'd say that you're already half way here. Bubbly in the fridge...

Hi Rilla-

Well...that was probably just your first brush with Arthur Levine. The next time you have a great ice breaker, "remember that time when..." You will have rehearsed it so many times that you won't have to stress about what to say- by that time you'll have your revisions done and so much more to show- everything works works out...Plus you CAN say that he was in your hotel room!

Sorry to hear about the madness in your hometown.

XO

Ste[h

I'm apparently having typing issues...too much coffee- yes, that's what I'll balme it on- coffee...

I'm so sorry to hear about the bombings in your hometown, Rilla. So sad.

And I wouldn't worry about being tongue-tied around A.A.--you've made a connection (albeit not of the laptop variety) and he's sure to remember you. Get that manuscript out there!

Hey Rilla,

Cool as always. I am so sorry about you home. I pray that soon people wil learn to say what they mean instead of such wasteful, violent behavior.

I'm sure you're busy packing and arranging all of the things you need to do before you leave. I pray that you are kept safe throughout your journey and that all goes well with your mother.

Don't forget to take a moment to eat all of the things that you can't find here in the States. And have a blast while you're there.

Come back soon and safely.
J

Thanks for sharing... :)

I wonder where I can buy some of that bum blue. Sounds like it works!

Great postings, Rilla. You've really done a super duper double wooper job. Very impressive and informative and helpful.

Not "bum blue," but "gum blue" -- or, no, no, I meant "bum glue." I must be more fatigued than I thought I was because when I first read the posting, I thought it said "gum blue" and I was wondering what the heck that was, and then I reread it and it's pretty funny - "bum glue."

Very cool!

And, GREAT picture!

Hey Colorado Writer,
I'm always amazed at how willing published authors...famous, award-winning published authors are so giving of themselves, their time, their support and their warm wishes to the wannabe masses to which I belong...it's got to be one of the best communities one can be a part of...I feel so LUCKY!

Hey LynNerd,
You're so right...my bum is blue...after sitting in my chair non-stop since I got back from the conference...bum glue does work...but it has side effects ;P

Hey LindaBudz,
Wish you could have been there...but no...you had to go do fun stuff in pretty places, surrounded by your family...instead...

Hey Rilla!

Thanks for recapping what sounds like a fantastic time. One day I'll get to L.A. for that conference, and I'll ask for your autograph. :-) Can't wait!

Hey Natalie...
Would be great to see you in LA and we can sign each other's books! Hope you are having a wonderful vacation and hope you had a great 40th! Here's some cake coming your way ;)

How interesting. Last year, I skipped this part. I think I'm a little afraid of crowds. I don't feel comfortable. And asking for an autograph, or walking up to an author, a celebrity, always makes me feel weird. I'm afraid to bother them. Too shy, maybe. Hearing you, I'm missing out. If I go, next year, I'll stick to you like blue gum :) Blum glue. Blue glue. Whatever :))

Hey Katia,
I am shy of crowds too...but the one place I feel comfortable in a huge group of people is when they are all children's authors and illustrators. It is so much fun to line up for the signatures and as you can see the authors and illustrtators go out of their way to give of themselves...I wouldn't miss it...would love to have you stick to me...but can it not be at the bum...I already have blue bum syndrome and it's not pleasant ;) But it's OK if the blue is glue...sorry, if the glue is blue ;) What a great way to live life...savoring the last SCBWI conference while already looking forward to the next one...

OK, I'll just perch on your shoulder :) Come to think of it, maybe I could sit behind a table and sign my own books. Or is it only for established authors with several books under their belt? Because, come to think of it, that would be much easier. I can play "let's pretend I'm an author". I'd bet it's easier to be generous and giving and gracious from that place... You better keep that blue bum of yours on that chair, so you can sit next to me at the signing, signing your own book. How is that for a deal?

Fabulous deal, Katia...my bum is very blue 'coz I just FINISHED MY LATEST NOVEL! Now to send it out before I come to your part of the world. Wish me luck... p.s. I think in order to sign books at SCBWI you need to be on that year's faculty...I think... also... they seat authors alphabetically, so we will either have to change one of our names or knock off all writers between J and N so that we can sit together ;0 See ya soon.

Mm, I don't see myself as a faculty. Ha ! Let's be serious. OK, another idea : you get there, and I'll sit on your lap and hold your pen for you, Indian style, you know, like when you go to the hair salon and one person holds the blow dryer while another holds the brush? And, CONGRATULATIONS on finishing your novel. Rilla, I'm proud of you. Hurry to get your blue butt here so we open a bottle of champagne.
Katia

Hey Katia,
THANK YOU!! The blue butt was worth it!!! Champagne yippee.... here I come...

You are so sweet Rilla! Thanks for the link!

Hey Colorado Writer...loved your write-up of your trip to LA...what a special thing to happen to you...trusting loads more will come your way ;)

Thrilla

How are you? Love the costume! Looks like you had a blast at the conference. :)

Michele xx

OMG, Rilla, Thanks for posting these pics! I'm partial to the one of you and me! Wish we lived closer!

CW (Stephanie)

great pics!!! the tags are out of order though. i thought, 'the pink-haired lady is jay asher??' hee

*heidi

Hey OneL!
Doing great, mate! How's the great down unda treating you? What's happnin with Kook?
Had a great time at the conference not to mention the prep. Costume took days to make! But I'm glad I got up the courage to wear it -- with a little help from my friends -- coz it was so much fun.
When will you be floating this way again???

Hey Colorado Writer:
Yeah, you should be partial...it's one wonderful pic, hey! Would be great if we lived closer. But in the big scheme of things, Colorado isn't that far out...we should plan something. Will send you pics via email...

Hey Heidi,
Glad you liked the pics...wondering about the tag out of order thing though. They show up fine on my machine...do you work on a mac? That's really wierd...need to figure it out, coz though I think Jay would look great with pink hair...I wouldn't want to steal Laini's thunder! The pink hair really works...

Hi, Rilla! Just back from vaca, and soooo happy to see your pix! Looks like a great time, I'll bet you came home inspired!

PS, great costume!

Look at YOU strinking a pose girl friend!!

Linda! Welcome back! Hope you had a blast in the Poconos. As you can see, LA was all glitz...oh and just a giant load of inspiration, tips, motivation, energization...and hangovers ;0
Hope to see you there next year ;)

Hey there roomie,
what can I say...one needs to do something different to be noticed around the awesome likes of you! It was just too cool to be there when you won your big prize...about time too!

Rilla, fabulous posts and pictures. Your costume looks awesome. I'm so happy for you - green with envy, too. I definitely have to fit a trip to LA into my schedule, next year. Surely it must be possible to get LA somewhere on the way from India to France to Haiti... with a little imagination... and no sense of direction... should work ;)
SEE YOU SOON :))))
Katia

Hey Katia,
missed ya...next year sounds good...lack of direction can be a wonderful thing...very useful for arriving at surprising destinations...great for novel writing ;0
See you soon...

Rilla, it was so great to meet you, and hold your camera for you while you showed your stuff to the judges. I didn't know Laini sold a book while there - how cool is that? She's a fellow Oregonian.

Anyway, have fun floating around. Make sure you get some writing in, writing and floating go well together.

Hey Lisa,
Thank you for holding my camera while I er...strutted...er...drunkenly swayed...er...spun...wobbled...wiggled...stumbled...across the stage in my costume, by the light of the silvery moon. Will post the fab pic you took of that memorable...er...totally forgettable...instant in part two ;)

It was great meeting you too. And, you're absolutely right...floating and writing go hand in hand...er...foot...feet...?
Go OREGON!

It was soooooo cool to meet you and hang out. There was not enough time together!

Steph

Hey Steph,
It was wonderful meeting you. You looked fab by the light of the silvery moon! Wish there were more time to hang out. Sorry I didn't make it down Monday night, I was so pooped, I kinda collapsed in a heap and my feet refused to walk out the door again. But, I know we will meet at more such wonderful events! Good luck with your agent and keep us all posted on the progress of your book... that is... as much you are allowed to to do ;)

the pink hair was laini taylor!! i had no idea!!
great meeting you all. =)

*heidi

Hey Heidi,
Yeah, the pink hair is so cool. Would love to try it sometime, if I weren't scared of all the bleach that goes in before hand... OK... I'm scared of more than the bleach and of course it would NEVER look as good on me as it does on Laini.
Great to see you at the conference. Next time you should stop by for a glass of wine ;)

GREAT photos, Rilla!! You are a master photog!
BUT...I thought you were going to call your conf. blog 'The Night Arthur Levine Came to My Room'????

Marge

P.S. It was real, and it was fun...real fun :-)

Hi Rilla,
So glad you had such a great, informing, and inspiring time. I've only been once and that time I was so overwhelmed that I could hardly take anything in. I plan to go again, if not next year, then the following. Maybe by then I will be able to hear what people are saying and get up the nerve to have a critique done.

Your writing and imagination are sooooo awesome. I am totally jazzed, but not surprized, that the editor asked for your work. Keep at it

Hey Marge!
What a blast it was! So good to be able to go to such an event with one's own critique group buddies. Glad you like the pics. Thanks for the great foreshadowing on one of my future blog post titles ;)

Hey J,
Really do think you should come to the one next year. The princess rocks and would love to be critiqued...can't wait to see what an editor will say about Kandake!

Hey Rilla,

Missed you today. Sounds like you really enjoy and excellent read. The lines you posted are an example of someone who has mastered the craft. Reminds me of your writing.

J

Today the clouds came, the thunder and lightening made a big deal of themselves, the wind blew and it smelled like rain, but no rain came.
A poetic descritption that came to mind after reading your current entry.

Hey j,
I missed out on an excellent meeting, didn't I? Will be there next time...after the conference. I did enjoy Laini's book immensely. I think you'd like it ;)

Hey anonymous,
Sure sounds like the weather here. Love that thunder and lightning, don't you?

Might just have to break down and read this one, even though it sounds as though there's nary a portal to be found (lol!).

Seriously, it's great to see Laini getting some good press, and thank you for sharing your perspective on her book!

Hi Rilla and rilla,

Wow, those lines that you quoted are super good. I read them and then re-read them. So cool. I'm going to write them down in my "word collection journal." Those are inspiring lines. I agree with J. Laini has certainly mastered the craft.

Hey LindaBudz:
Yeah, I loved Laini's book and I'm not normally big on fairies and imps, but she sure has a sense of humor and one wild imagination. Let me know what you think ;)
Are you going to be at the SCBWI conference later this week?
Would love to meet...

Hey LynNerd:
Yeah, you rub off...I got the idea of quoting the lines I love from your reading out your faves all the way to Temecula for the Writer's Retreat in March! Laini sure has a way with words...you want more lines...read the book. Let me know if you want to borrow it.

HA! I WISH! The conference coincides every year with my family vacation in the Poconos. A week of quality time with my parents, sisters and brother (and their spouses) and most of all, my nieces! Who are growing up so fast!

Some year I'll make the choice to miss the Poconos for the conference, but it'll be tough.

Have a fantabulous time and post pictures!!!

Aww Linda...will miss meeting you. Poconos sounds like fun too, but maybe one of these years you can postpone the Poconos and not have to make such a tough choice. Will post pictures...looking forward to it...tomorrow!

I love fantasy and sci-fi. The Oz books were my favorites as a kid. How many people do you know who don't like the Wizard of Oz? Sci-fi is cool, but I don't like the scary, horror stuff. I remember reading years ago that with fantasy you have to set the rules, the limits, the boundaries, within the fantasy world you are creating and work within them. So what you quoted goes along with what I heard. Yes, the story needs structure even if it is fantasy.
When I finish Digits, Bus, and then Storm House, I'm going to revise my fantasy novel. First thing I started writing years ago. It comes out of the drawer every few years to get tweaked, rejected again, and back in the drawer. But someday I'll be reading the revised version (hundredth revision?) at the critique meetings! And I'm looking forward to hearing the end of book one in your triology. It's got me hooked.

Hey LynNerd,
I'm not into horror either. Funny thing, I was as a kid...couldn't get enough of it...now...let's just say I have an over-active imagination ;)
Didn't know you'd worked on a fantasy novel. Would love to hear it now that Digits and Bus are almost done...what is Storm House?

LOVE LOVE LOVE. Can't imagine life without it! Can't imagine writing without it. I think a lot of people "think" they don't like fantasy, but if they're exposed to the right books, they DO. If it's quality, well-written fantasy. And, "literary fantasy" is happening now too, the kind that's okay for snobs to read -- Time Traveler's Wife, The Historian, Jonathon Strange & Mr. Norrell. And I love that too!

P.S. Laini, hope the arms are better...

Yay, Laini! The score in favor of fantasy just shot through the roof ;) I agree with you about what people think of as stereotypical fantasy and write off the genre as a whole. I hope to change that...just as you are doing so successfully.

Thumbs up for fantasy. Have read Tolkien's Rings trilogy at least three times - not up on more recent stuff though except the inevitable Harry Potter.

Woohoo, another weigh in for fantasy! Fantasy rocks! I've read the trilogy about ten times and The Hobbit at least as many...

I think I'd have to go with "none of the above." Cuz I generally prefer plain old contemporary fiction, but I could name lots of fantasy (and to a lesser extent sci fi) I have enjoyed (The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe; Wizard of Oz; HP; The Hobbit;etc.)

Hey there Lindabudz, if you've loved even one book, you count as loving fantasy ;) And if you enjoy Ratatouille...there's no looking back !

I'm going to say indifferent (mostly) but funny you should mention The Handmaid's Tale because I absolutely love that novel - and Oryx and Crake too.

I happily watch sci-fi and fantasy (just saw Sunshine, which was fantastic and two of my favourite movies are Children of Men and Gattaca) though. I just don't read much of it. The minute I read something that doesn't feel as if it could happen right around the corner, I feel sort of disengaged, not lost in the story like I want to be.

Love the blog idea by the way!

Hey C.K.
Thanks for weighing in on the debate. I have the opposite problem that you do. If a story doesn't carry me far far away to a reality so different from my own I can completely lose myself in it...I lose interest fast. Of course, good non-fantasy can do that as well. I guess some of us need to escape this world just a little more than others ;)
Love your article on cyber harassment of women. The more the sexist racist bigoted minority gets its back up against a corner, the nastier it is going to get. You are right, we must continue to stand up for our rights whether it is in cyber space, my space or my home...good on ya.

I'm all for escaping too. I guess we just have different modes of transport, huh?

I'm glad you liked the Star article (thanks for linking to it!). The stuff I'm running into on the net lately is just burning me up and you're right, I think it's going to get nastier. Hard to believe it's 2007 sometimes!

I just realized that most of the fantasy I like (in fact, three of the four that I named) starts out in the real world until the MC is transported into a fantasy world via some sort of portal. So the reader gets to experience the fantasy world via the POV of a character who is discovering it along with the reader. I think that makes it more accessible to me.

Hey C.K.
Yeah, it's hard to believe we're in 2007. We seem routinely to leave some parts of our population in another era. Leave me in fantasy land and I'll be happy too ;) BTW, I was thinking of your article when I wrote the next post.

Hey LindBudz,
Good point. It is a great way to make the introduction to a fantastical world easier on the reader when the protagonist is discovering it simultaneoulsy.
In other books, like the Hobbit, even though the protagonist is a strange unheard of creature, he has such human characteristics and lifestyle that you relate to him immediately. And the real fantasy part of the book, seen through his POV, is new to him as well.
Hey, my middle-grade adventure uses the first device and my YA trilogy, the second...maybe you'll love them ;0

Hi rilla and muse,

That is a really cool description of your muse. Wow, and it turns out it's Rilla. So all this time you've been blogging, you've been connecting with your muse. I must say your muse sounds very powerful. Love the descriptions. I hope it takes you on lots more adventures. Sounds like you might need a whip to tame it every so often! Great blog entry. I enjoyed it.

You can really spin a tale out of anything, Rilla. I love how you come full circle, in this post. The two personas, the muse and you, and how it turns out to be so fantasy like. Perfect. See? It all makes sense :)
And Debra Garfinkle is not the only one who's not big on fantasy, remember ? It doesn't mean we are bad people, though...

Hey Lynnerd,
this is all because of you. Never thought of giving my muse a persona, but the more I thought of it, the more true the balrog rang. Yes, I need to find a whip ;)

Hey Katia,
you would have loved my Dad. How I wish you could have met him. He could spin a tale out of anything, and the best part, for you at least, and Debra ;) was that it was NEVER fantasy ;) He loved children and they loved him. Most of his life's work was in the villages and slums trying to improve the lot of India's impoverished kids. Would have been a great children's writer too.

Even though I don't like to read fantasy, somehow I ended up writing fantasy--my time travel book Stuck in the 70s and my children's series The Supernatural Rubber Chicken. Very strange, eh?

Hey Debby,
That is funny. So do you read the books you write ;)

Great post! And lucky you ... every writer should have a fiery, whip-cracking muse!

Also, great picture!! My dad worked at Longwood Botanical Gardens (Kennet Square, PA) for 28 years until he retired. And he was in charge of the lily ponds for a number of those years!

Hey Linda,
lucky you! Your dad worked in a Botanical Garden...I'm jealous ;) Whenever we visit a new city, we try to get to the botanical garden. Some amazing ones around the world. My fave of course was Sydney.
If your muse doesn't have a whip...buy one ;0 They seem to work...

Hi rilla,

I think your muse needs to have a heart to heart with Rilla. She's not being a very good influence on your writer's journey. Tell her to take a chill pill and give you some space. If you are writing every day, that's super. No wonder you've written two whole novels in such a short time. Perserverance is a necessity, so that will work in your favor. Can't wait to hear the end of Kalpa's story. Keep writing. You have so many good stories in you. As far as having ten things out there at one time, are you talking about ten different things or one story out at ten different places? I don't have ten things polished enough to be sending out. Seems I can only concentrate on one at a time, put it away, pull another one, shuffle them around, and then finally after a long period, I have something ready to send out. Then when it gets rejected, I put it away again until I feel like revamping it. Which is the wrong thing to do. I need to follow your lead and write every day and get my stuff sent out. That's the part I don't like. But I guess no one else is going to do it for me, huh?

Good luck with the critique on the ms you sent in for the conference. I hope you guys get lots of bang for your buck and some good connections that will pan out for you.

Hey Lynnerd,
You're right. There's days I want to pound Rilla over the head. I can say that because she's taking a walk right now and won't here me.
About the ten things...it means ten different places. It could be the same thing...but obviously better if it's more than one. Pam Zollman told us that at a Writer's Day and I do try to make it happen. Been slipping a bit lately.
Thanks for the good wishes. I'll tell Rilla about them when she gets back.

Yeah, she won't 'hear' me either, because she's not 'here'.