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This past Saturday, I was honored to share the stage with fellow Austin author, Mari Mancusi, to celebrate the release of our recent young adult novels, SOLSTICE and SCORCHED. Austin peeps turned out in droves to help support us, and words can't express how grateful I am for such a wonderful community.
Mari and I and a couple of darling dragons, showcasing our books.
From L to R: Me, Austin author Nikki Loftin (The Sinister Sweetness of Splendid Academy), Mari, a baby dragon, Austin author Cory Putman Oakes (The Veil), and a young goddess
A beautiful display of our books in the front of BookPeople...
...and in the teen section
And no party is complete without food and drinks.
Cupcakes from Austin cupcake shop Cupprimo.
Thank you all for the support! May you read many amazing books.
And thank you for the pictures, Cynthia Leitich Smith and Shelli Cornelison!
Happy Summer! Just a few events I wanted to let you guys know about. In the event anyone can stop by, I would love to see you! Seriously! And thank you for the support!
Events!
July 25, 2013, 5:30-6:45 pm I'll be presenting at the Teen Summer Reading Program
Jackson Country Memorial Library, Edna, TXJuly 26, 2013, 6:30 pmI'll be on a panel and signing SOLSTICE with
Joy Preble,
Mary Lindsey, and Martha Wells
Murder by the Book, Houston, TXJuly 27, 2013, 2:00 pmI'll be reading from and signing SOLSTICE
Alamosa Books, Albuquerque, NM
***** Signed Books!
In case you're looking for a signed copy of SOLSTICE, they are available from the following wonderful bookstores:
The Book Spot, Austin, TX
BookPeople, Austin, TX
Hooray for Books, Alexandria, VA
Arboretum Barnes & Noble, Austin, TX
Woodlands Barnes & Noble, Houston, TX
Altoona Barnes & Noble, Altoona, PA
Tysons Corner Barnes & Noble, Tysons Corner, VA
Books-a-Million, Potomac Mills Mall, VA
Hey There! I hope you all are having a wonderful week! Just a few things to share on the SOLSTICE front...
Libraries rock!
I want to give a huge THANK YOU to Austin Public Library for featuring SOLSTICE in their "WHAT'S HOT" section of the website! Woot! Libraries rock!
Signed Books!In case you're looking for a signed copy of SOLSTICE, they are available from the following wonderful bookstores:
The Book Spot, Austin, TX
BookPeople, Austin, TX
Arboretum Barnes & Noble, Austin, TX
Woodlands Barnes & Noble, Houston, TX
Altoona Barnes & Noble, Altoona, PA
Books-a-Million, Potomac Mills Mall, VA
Events!Also, this coming weekend, I have events after which more signed books will be available.
July 13, 2013, 3:30-5:00 pm - "Love & Legend" YA Author Panel, SOLSTICE Signing, with Diana Peterfreund, April Lindner, and Bennett Madison, Hooray for Books, Alexandria, VA
July 14, 2013, 4:00 pm - SOLSTICE Signing, Tysons Corner Barnes & Noble, McLean, VA
SOLSTICE Blog Tour Update!In case you missed them, here are the remaining blog tour posts for SOLSTICE!
SOLSTICE Blog Tour, DAY 4, TEAM MYTHA Peek inside the Elysian Fields in SOLSTICE!SOLSTICE Blog Tour DAY 7, TEAM MYTHEverything you wanted to know about me and didn't realize!SOLSTICE Blog Tour Day 8, TEAM DYSTOPIACurious about how the characters got their names in SOLSTICE? SOLSTICE Blog Tour Day 9, TEAM MYTHMy Top 4 Mythology Inspirations for SOLSTICE! SOLSTICE Blog Tour Day 10, TEAM MYTHAll about the ASPHODEL MEADOWS in The UnderworldSOLSTICE Blog Tour Day 10, TEAM DYSTOPIAAll about The Drag in Austin in SOLSTICESOLSTICE Blog Tour Day 11, TEAM MYTHMy Top 5 Favorite Stories from Mythology (and they aren't all Greek!)SOLSTICE Blog Tour Day 11, TEAM DYSTOPIAMy Top 5 Favorite Dystopian Stories (including Logan's Run!)SOLSTICE Blog Tour Day 12, TEAM MYTHLearn all about Tanni from SOLSTICE and how creepy she really is!SOLSTICE Blog Tour Day 12, TEAM DYSTOPIAAll about Reese from SOLSTICE!SOLSTICE Blog Tour Day 13, TEAM MYTHIt's the Official TEAM MYTH SOLSTICE Playlist!That's it for now! Thank you for reading and for all your support!
Thank you all so much for participating in my SOLSTICE release contest!
The winners are listed in the Rafflecopter widget below.
Please contact me through my website to let me know which prize pack is your preference (list first, second, and third choices) and I will do my best to make it work out. :)
a Rafflecopter giveawayThank you again, and I hope the summer is going great for everyone!
Happy Summer! I hope you all kicked off the official start of summer in style!
I had a blast this past Sunday at the Woodlands, TX Barnes & Noble participating in a YA Paranormal/Texas panel with authors Joy Preble (THE SWEET DEAD LIFE, Soho Teen, June 2013) and Mary Lindsey (ASHES ON THE WAVES, Penguin, June 2013).
These gals are a hoot and Barnes & Noble CRMs Bryan Young and Natalie Collins were wonderful hosts. And the crowd turnout was beautiful! Thank you all for coming.
From L to R: Joy Preble, Me, Mary Lindsey, Bryan Young, and Natalie Collins
Our panel! Mary, Joy, and Me with beautiful displays of our books behind us!
Lunch beforehand with the wonderful Houston blogger and writer community! Thank you to Maria Cari Soto for organizing! I was honored!
***** SOLSTICE Blog Tour Update!Thanks so much for following along on the SOLSTICE Blog Tour! Don't forget that Tor Teen is offering up 25 copies of SOLSTICE as part of the tour. You can find the Rafflecopter entry form at the bottom of any of the blog tour posts!
New posts in the blog tour include:
SOLSTICE Blog Tour, Day 4, TEAM DYSTOPIAAn inside look at The Botanical Haven.Any guesses as to what real life place it was based on?SOLSTICE Blog Tour Day 5, TEAM MYTHMy favorite, creepiest myth excerpt from SOLSTICE!SOLSTICE Blog Tour Day 5, TEAM DYSTOPIACrazy global warming woes in my favorite dystopian excerpt from SOLSTICE!SOLSTICE Blog Tour, Day 6, TEAM MYTHMeet Melina and find out who she was based on!SOLSTICE Blog Tour, Day 6, TEAM DYSTOPIAMeet Chloe, Piper's best friend!SOLSTICE Blog Tour, Day 8, TEAM MYTHMyths and Realities of the Writing World!*****
And in other places you can catch me...What my last book taught me Wednesday!I talk about a few of the fun things I learned while writing SOLSTICE!The awesome Book Marketing Buzz Blog interviewed me about SOLSTICE!*****
That's it! Thank you again, and I appreciate your support!
The true summer solstice seemed the perfect day for a book release party, so we decided to host a party at the house, on the actual summer solstice. It was the perfect excuse to get the kitchen remodel finished at last, get the house in order, and have a party!
I'll recap in pictures, but I want to offer a huge thank you for the amazing group of friends who came to help me celebrate the release of SOLSTICE. I am awed by your friendship and support, and I cannot thank you enough! You guys are the best in the world and I am so fortunate to have each and every one of you in my life!
And now on to the pics!
I happened to have a fun Greek column (plant stand) that Danny Woodfill from The Book Spot turned into the perfect SOLSTICE display stand!
And SOLSTICE was written up in the Sunday Austin American Statesman, so I laminated the article and hung it on the wall above.
Me with SOLSTICE!
So this was our first party where we hired a bartender, and it was THE BEST THING IN THE WORLD! Above is Bartender James, all set up and ready for the people.
Along with Bartender James was his wife, Melody, who was like a superwoman. She manned the wine, took drink orders, filled food trays, and cleaned up. Seriously loved this woman!
Cupcakes were care of Cupprimo here in Austin! They made up three special kinds, two featuring pomegranate, and one that was chocolate with cutout covers of SOLSTICE on top! And here is the full dessert table. I forgot to take a picture of the snacks and sandwiches, but we had tons and tons of food. I always tend to overestimate this kind of thing.
Also, thank you to Jessica Lee Anderson for the GAPS/GLUTEN-FREE treats!
And with pitchers full of candy, you can never go wrong :)
Danny built a Greek temple of copies of SOLSTICE!
A huge thank you to Danny and Julie at The Book Spot for coming out and selling books at the event!
OMG thank you to everyone who brought flowers and wine! You guys are amazing, and I love having the flowers to look at. They make me smile :)
While decorating for the party, I found the perfect thing for my art guy to hold!
I forgot to take any more pics at the event, but here are a few I snagged off Facebook and Twitter.
Me with Ariane Felix who drove up from San Antonio for the event!
And me with Jessica Lee Anderson!
L to R: Gene Brenek, Tim Crow, and Greg Leitich Smith
Thanks to Cynthia Leitich Smith for the pictures!
L to R: Mari Mancusi, Madeline Smoot, and Jo Whittemore
E. Kristin Anderson and Stephanie Pellegrin
Cynthia Leitich Smith and Shana Burg
And the finished kitchen! I am so happy it finally all came together! A party is a good motivator.
Thank you all for such a wonderful SOLSTICE Release week!
So what did I do to celebrate the release? Let's see....First, I went with my pal, Jessica Lee Anderson, to Mehndi Time get Mehndi done. This is me waiting for it to dry.
And no, it is not permanent. It lasts 10-15 days.
Next, I headed to Cupprimo (best cupcakes in Austin) and got this delicious cupcake. I took a bite before remembering to take a picture.Italian Creme! Delicious!
Next, it was a tasty lunch. Sadly they were out of Soylent Green.Chisholm Trail Icehouse! Great food. Great atmosphere!
Okay, then it was time to seek out my book around Austin and sign some copies! And Danny at The Book Spot made this Greek temple out of copies of SOLSTICE! BookPeople had SOLSTICE prominently displayed along with some rock star books! And here, of course, is the necessary picture of me actually signing books at BookPeople! And yes, I also had to get a picture of me signing copies at Barnes & Noble :) *****
In case you want a chance to win SOLSTICE, here are a couple places you can check that have giveaways going on, including my blog tour which is giving away 25 copies of SOLSTICE! The odds are great!
Joy Preble is offering up a signed copied of SOLSTICE! My blog tour has 25 copies to give away. Scan to the bottom and look for the Rafflecoptor! *****
I have a few interviews to mention, too!Manga Maniac Cafe InterviewThe Enchanted Inkpot Interview What 3 things do you need to survive a dystopian adventure? And my favorite cupcake!My teen pic today on Dear Teen Me cracks me up every time I see it!*****
And as for Blog Tour Posts, here's what we have so far!SOLSTICE Blog Tour, Day 1, TEAM MYTH.Find out all about Shayne!SOLSTICE Blog Tour, Day 1, TEAM DYSTOPIAFind out all about Piper!SOLSTICE Blog Tour, Day 2, TEAM MYTH Myth Depicted, featuring my puppy!SOLSTICE Blog Tour, Day 2, TEAM DYSTOPIADystopia Depicted, featuring Pok-E-Jo's BBQ!SOLSTICE Blog Tour, Day 3, TEAM DYSTOPIA
The scoop behind the SOLSTICE cover!*****
That's it for now! Thank you all, and I hope the Summer Solstice is good to you!
It's almost here! In honor of the release of
Solstice , I have an amazing blog tour planned! Huge Thank You to
Mod Podge Blog Tours and Tor Teen for coordinating this fantastic line up. And a huge thank you to all the book bloggers taking part in the tour. You guys are the best in the world, and I really appreciate you!
Since
Solstice is heavy in both mythology and dystopia, the tour is split down the middle. Half the posts will focus on the mythology aspects of the story, and half on dystopia. Bloggers will be either on Team Myth or Team Dystopia! How fun is that :)
Each day there will be two posts, one for Team Myth and one for Team Dystopia. And here are the tour details!
I'd love for you to join me on this super-fun tour! There are all sorts of cool posts, like my favorite myths and the path to publication for
Solstice.
And before I forget, thank you for all your
Solstice support!
Would you be Team Myth or Team Dystopia? :)
*****
Solstice
by P.J. Hoover
Summer 2013
June 18th-30th
Team Myth:
29th Character Spotlight: Tanni @ Leanna
Team Dystopia:
24th Author T-Shirt Addiction Guest Blog @ Addicted Reader
*****
See you there!
So I finally got around to updating the book trailer for SOLSTICE! Woot!
Enjoy! And thanks for watching :)
IT'S THE NEXT BIG THING!
What is?
Well, it's an awesome meme that encourages authors to talk about their next big thing and then pass on the love.
I've been tagged by two awesome authors, both Texas gals:Joy Preble, author of the DREAMING ANASTASIA books and the upcoming
THE SWEET DEAD LIFE (Soho Press, May 14, 2013), and
Jordan Dane, author of a bunch of books (so many I can't even name them) and the brand new, now available,
INDIGO AWAKENING (Harlequin Teen, December 18, 2012)
Thank you, guys, for the tags!
*****
Rules for The Next Big Thing Blog Hop if you’re tagged:
1. Use this format for your post
2. Answer the ten questions about your current WIP (work in progress)
3. Tag some other writers/bloggers and add their links so we can hop over and meet them. What is your working title of your book?
*****
Where did the idea come from for your book? For
SOLSTICE, the idea came from mythology.
SOLSTICE isn't a myth retelling. It's more a "what happens next." I've always loved the ideas of the gods and goddesses and would love to know more about what they are doing now. So I wrote a book and told my own story!
What genre does your book fall under?Paranormal/Dystopian/Mythology/Romance Teen Young Adult
(which I realize is not one genre)
Which actors would you choose to portray your characters in the movie version of your book?Seriously, I have no idea. This is why I'm not a casting person. People get paid lots of money to decide this very question. And anyway, all the actors I like are like a billion years old by now.
What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?I kind of like how my agent summarized it in the PM deal announcement:
SOLSTICE is a near-future global heating crisis and a Texas teen who uncovers the strange untold ending of the Persephone myth, only to find that she is part of the story -- and that her choices in love, in family, and in friendship will determine the destiny of her world.Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?SOLSTICE is being published by Tor Teen (editor Susan Chang) and was represented by my agent, Laura Rennert.
How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?18 days! This is crazy short, but the story really flowed well. It was kind of magical.
What other books would you compare this story to in your genre?SOLSTICE is like what happens when
MATCHED meets
THE LIGHTNING THIEF.
Who or what inspired you to write this book?I'm going to go back to sixth grade and say that the book
MYTHOLOGY by Edith Hamilton inspired me to write
SOLSTICE!
What else about your book might pique reader’s interest?Well, the official jacket copy is pretty enticing, so I'll go with that:
Piper's world is dying. Each day brings hotter temperatures and heat bubbles that threaten to destroy the earth. Amid this global heating crisis, Piper lives under the oppressive rule of her mother, who suffocates her even more than the weather does. Everything changes on her eighteenth birthday, when her mother is called away on a mysterious errand and Piper seizes her first opportunity for freedom.
Piper discovers a universe she never knew existed—a sphere of gods and monsters—and realizes that her world is not the only one in crisis. While gods battle for control of the Underworld, Piper’s life spirals out of control as she struggles to find the answer to the secret that has been kept from her since birth.Tag, you’re it, MADELINE SMOOT! Enjoy!
This is the poem I wrote for
Diane Mayr for the Winter Poem Swap that
Tabatha organized. (click to enlarge) Tabatha prompted us to
Write a twelve-line poem in which the first word of each line starts with the same letter (e.g. all of your lines start with "A") and the last word of each line starts with the same letter (e.g. all lines end with words that begin with "B").
As you can see, I didn't manage to hit the prompt right on the nose!
Tonight I will celebrate the Solstice with close friends. We will eat Navajo stew and sage bread, and the Kachinas, who left at the Summer Solstice and took light and life with them, will come back bearing gifts and the promise of spring.
Our Solstice Poetry Friday Roundup Hostess is Heidi, at
My Juicy Little Universe.
Speaking of Summer Solstice, we need to line up Poetry Friday roundup hosts for the first half of 2013! Leave your choice of Fridays in the comments -- I'll update the calendar on Saturday.
January4
11
18
25
February1
8
15
22
March 1
8
15
22
29 Mary Lee at A Year of Reading
April5
12
19
26
May3
10
17
24
31
June7
14
21
28
So I've been kind of busy with revisions the last couple weeks which is why I haven't posted as often here.
(repeat after me: REVISIONS ARE GOOD!)
Anyway, in the meantime, here are a few quick links to share!
*****
Today on THE ENCHANTED INKPOT, I've interviewed J. A. Souders about her brand new book!
RENEGADE by J. A. Souders (Tor Teen, November 13, 2012)*****
Over on THE TEXAS SWEETHEARTS & SCOUNDRELS, our Featured Sweetheart is LUCY KUBO!*****
And finally, SOLSTICE is featured today for DYSTOPIAN DECEMBER over on CLAIRE READS! SOLSTICE by P. J. Hoover (Tor Teen, June 18, 2013)*****
Happy Wednesday!
Woot! Woot! The time is finally here! I am so excited to share the cover for SOLSTICE (Tor Teen, June 2013) with you guys!
“Solstice is one red-hot read—it intrigues, sizzles, and satisfies.” —Cynthia Leitich Smith, New York Times bestselling author
I'm guest blogging over on
Tor.com today, talking about my inspirations for
SOLSTICE that made it onto the cover. (Yes, some are totally nerdy, but did you expect anything less?) By the way, do you guys read
Tor.com? The place is filled with the best posts ever, and I am super honored to be guest blogging there today!
I want to offer up a special thank you to the bloggers who are helping me spread the word about
SOLSTICE today! You guys are seriously the best, and I owe you all margaritas!
About
SOLSTICE:
Piper's world is dying. Each day brings hotter temperatures and heat bubbles that threaten to destroy the earth. Amid this global heating crisis, Piper lives under the oppressive rule of her mother, who suffocates her even more than the weather does. Everything changes on her eighteenth birthday, when her mother is called away on a mysterious errand and Piper seizes her first opportunity for freedom. Piper discovers a universe she never knew existed—a sphere of gods and monsters—and realizes that her world is not the only one in crisis. While gods battle for control of the Underworld, Piper’s life spirals out of control as she struggles to find the answer to the secret that has been kept from her since birth.Yes, I also want to share the full dust jacket of
SOLSTICE because I can't stop looking at it :)
I admit to being a total dork. My editor sent me some beautiful copies of the cover, and I couldn't help but take this picture while at my local Barnes & Noble. Any guesses as to which book I covered up to take the picture? :)
Solstice, not yet published, but already in the wild!
Thank you all so much for all your support! And what better way to celebrate than with a contest? How about three awesome prizes:
2 sets of five books each for US residents, and a
$20 gift card to the online bookstore of your choice open to everyone (so long as I can easily buy it for you if you are international).
10 BOOKS
$20 GIFT CARD
THREE WINNERS!
PRIZE PACK #1 (US only):
An ARC of
MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH by Bethany Griffin (Greenwillow, April 24, 2012)
An ARC of
CODE NAME VERITY by Elizabeth Wein (Hyperion, May 15, 2012)
An ARC of
THUMPED by Megan McCafferty (Balzer & Bray, April 24, 2012)
An ARC of
ILLUMINATE by Aimee Agresti (Harcourt, March 6, 2012)
An ARC of
FALL FROM GRACE by Charles Benoit (Harper, May 8, 2012)
PRIZE PACK #2 (US only):
An ARC of
GLIMMER by Phoebe Kitanidis (Balzer & Bray, April 17, 2012)
An ARC of
THE INFECTS by Sean Beaudoin (Candlewick, September 25, 2012)
An ARC of
ECHO by Alyson Noel (St. Martins Press, November 13, 2012)
A Paperback of
THE WOOD QUEEN by Karen Mahoney (Flux, February 8, 2012)
An ARC of
IMMORTAL CITY by Scott Speer (Razorbill, April 3, 2012)
PRIZE #3 (US and International):
$20 GIFT CARD to the online bookstore of your choice
*****
It's easy to win! Two things to note...1) This giveaway is open until 12:01 am on September 29, 20122) Book prizes are US only. Gift card is international.To enter, fill out the Rafflecopter form below.a Rafflecopter giveawayGood luck, and thank you all! Okay, do you mind if we look at the cover just one more time?
xxx-ooo
I absolutely can't wait to share my cover for SOLSTICE (Tor Teen, June 2013) with you guys! I've been seeing some pretty awesome sketches over the last couple months, but the final cover is actually here!
So please stop back by on Monday at noon EST! I'll be doing the cover reveal here along with some other awesome, fantastic blogs around the Internet (did I mention how much I love book bloggers?). And because the cover makes me so happy, I'll also be hosting a giveaway of massive proportions (or something like that)!
So until Monday, you guys can gaze upon my dummy cover for a final few days...
Hope your weekend is filled with all things awesome! Me? I'm looking at copyedits, chainmail, and hopefully a little bit of Wizard101. :)
Here's your chance to get your hands on a Solstice Swag Pack from PJ Hoover! Check out my interview with her below and fill in the giveaway form at the end to enter. Good luck!
Where Mythology and Dystopia meet...
Piper’s world is dying. Global warming kills every living thing on Earth, and each day brings hotter temperatures and heat bubbles which threaten to destroy humanity. Amid this Global Heating Crisis, Piper lives with her mother who suffocates her more than the chaotic climate. When her mother is called away to meet the father Piper has been running from her entire life, Piper seizes an opportunity for freedom.
But when Piper discovers a world of mythology she never knew existed, she realizes her world is not the only one in crisis. While Gods battle for control of the Underworld, Piper's life spirals into turmoil, and she struggles to find answers to secrets kept from her since birth. And though she’s drawn to her classmate Shayne, he may be more than he claims. Piper has to choose whom she can trust and how she can save the people she loves even if it means the end of everything she’s ever known.
SOLSTICE is P.J. Hoover's debut YA novel and is the first front-list novel to be independently published by an Andrea Brown Literary Agency author.
Thanks, PJ, for answering a few questions for us today! I totally loved SOLSTICE. It’s a unique twist on the whole dystopia theme. What inspired you to use Greek mythology in your story?
Thanks for the opportunity to be here! I love talking about SOLSTICE and the world it’s set in. So great question! I enjoy trying to pinpoint those things that spark my ideas. So many of my other stories, I can identify exactly what it was, but for SOLSTICE, it’s more nebulous. I think it came about as I was hearing about fairy tale retelling after fairy tale retelling, and sure, I love fairy tales. But what I love more is mythology, and I thought how cool it would be to work on myth retellings. And this is when I decided that I wanted to write a myth retelling for the young adult market.Ok, I have to know. Reese or Shayne? Which one was your favorite to write?
Reese! First off, he’s the more dangerous of the two guys. Reese likes to break the rules. Reese is more willing to do anything to get what he wants. It’s not like Shayne is perfect. He has plenty of flaws. But there’s something about writing characters that walk on the dark side that makes the words flow easier (at least for me).The world of Piper is fascinating and also frightening. Did your engineering background help with the research on the compound where Piper lives?
Thanks! I had fun developing the dystopic world Piper lives in. I started out with the world being pretty undeveloped, but as I
while listening to Ganesh Baba on my iPod...
Some notes and thoughts, October 12, 2008
Some editing and additions, December 4, 2010
We must become more familiar with the essence and structure of consciousness, because it is out of consciousness we come and to consciousness we return. Ganesh Baba, “The Rochester Raps,” recorded by Ira Landgarten, 1981.The cosmos is created out of consciousness vibrating at different frequencies, visible to our limited senses as a fractal world created from rainbows and scales:
The eight broad categories, matter, energy, space, time, life, mind, intelligence and consciousness, all operate within the human psyche, but the physical body operates only in the first three dimensions: matter, energy and space. The fourth dimension, time, we can barely conceive; it is like a baby moving around in the womb trying to understand the outside world. GB
Intelligence = Divine Wisdom, Sophia,
BuddhiThe subtle world creates the material world. As Swami Armitananda once said, "It is obvious that mind controls matter every time you lift your arm," and science has long shown that the material world disassembles as our understanding of it becomes subtler and subtler.
We misunderstand the subtler worlds when the mind claims greater wisdom than it has, and it sees exactly the opposite of what is. The infinite fractal world of scales and rainbows is reduced to limited patterns conditioned by experience. Consciousness appears to flip and become its opposite: Mercury, in flight between worlds.
The möbius twist.
Thoughts, inhabitants of the world beyond space and time, take on a life of their own whenever they get the chance. Potential archetypes, progenitors of the world in which we live, arise with every word we say, with every intention, with every mood, with every thought we have (conceive: give birth to, create), whether conscious or unconscious. Some thoughts, conceived in the unconscious, take on the dark aspect of things not understood; and others, born in the light of consciousness, bring wisdom and understanding.
We fear what we don't understand - and we project our fear outward onto others and into the future.
Jung knew. The darkness is coming into the light now, willy-nilly. GB
How relevant this is now - during the darkest days of the year, as we near the Winter Solstice. In fact, these are the darkest days of darkest times in my lifetime, in most of our lives, if not in the life of our civilization, and possibly our planet.
The quality of each individual's consciousness, whether receptive or resistant, high or low, subtle or dense, with which we receive and respond to the darkness determines our experience. Our experience, in turn, creates the lens through which we focus our consciousness.
The focusing mechanism of the lens of experience is attention. We can choose what we pay attention to, what we shed the light of consciousness on.
Life,
I didn't go overboard with the cooking this holiday season, but I wanted to share a few of my favorites - and all of them are easy so they're good everyday food. Sorry - I forgot to take any food pictures.
Salty, crispy pretzels, creamy caramel, sweet chocolate, nutty pecans - the perfect combination. Jo and I made these fabulous (and super-easy) candy creations from the post here from Angry Chicken. We made them early in the season for gifts and then we made them again because we gave away all of our first batches. These are so good and so easy - they may become a year-round treat.
Fresh Brussels sprouts braised in heavy cream. I love fresh Brussels sprouts and when I saw them in the grocery store last week I bought three pounds - just for me because no one else will eat them. I braised the first pound in heavy cream with the recipe from The New Best Recipe from the folks at Cook's Illustrated magazine. Heavenly! Even Jo liked them and she usually turns her nose up at all vegetables except corn.
And I saved the best for last. Raffy's Turkey Sausage and Chestnut Stuffing - as seen on Everyday Italian, my favorite Food Network show. This is chock full of everything I love. Sweet apples, tart apples, caramelized onions, a splash of white wine to deglaze the pan. Off to a delicious start! Add dried cranberries and yummy roasted chestnuts, cornbread, and sweet Italian sausage. I love the smell of the fennel seed when the sausage hits the hot pan. Toss in a couple of pinches of red pepper flakes for warmth, and a handful of Parmesan (because everything is better with Parmesan) and you have one very tasty dish. I want to make this one all winter, but I know my grocery store will stop selling chestnuts soon. Maybe I could try pecans instead? I'll have to experiment. . .
The tradition: Jo always gets a new pair of jammies on Solstice Eve.
The challenge: I forgot to make them before Jo's school vacation started.
The solution: Alan had a meeting in town on Wednesday. One other attendee was bringing her kids, so it was ok for him to bring Jo.
The problem: They would be gone for less than an hour.
So I did some power sewing. I did everything I could before they left. I made sure I had a bobbin wound. I threaded my machine. I altered last year's pattern to fit this year's body. A little tricky without matching the pattern up to an actual Jo, but I closed my eyes and visualized how snug her old pants are across the butt, and what depth water she could wade into without getting the bottom of the pants wet - and then I reminded myself that these are jammies and they don't have to fit like a dream (hee hee) - and I guessed on all the alterations. Jo likes to hang out with me in the sewing room, but only after I've gotten the fabric out so it wasn't hard to do this without answering tricky questions. Alan and Jo headed out the door and I headed to my sewing room. I was pressing the fabric by the time they were headed down the driveway.
Everything was going well. Too well. I got the pants put together (French seams and all - I really love French seams) and then - aaack! - where's my hem gauge? Where's my hem gauge? WHERE IS MY HEM GAUGE? I need it to hem the pants and do the elastic casing. I can guesstimate it, but I really like to make those even. I do NOT have time to turn my room upside down looking for this tool and I'm not about to use a yardstick. I was ready to wing it when inspiration struck. I dashed to my sewing machine and sewed a line of stitching at 1/2" and another line 1" from that. Guidelines! I did the same thing around the legs for the hems. This made it SO easy to press the hems down - and I burned my fingers less than I usually do with the hem gauge. Ha Ha! Ten minutes later and I was done.
I realize I've probably just reinvented the wheel and this is a little sewing trick that EVERYONE uses and I'm the only one who never heard of it - but still. It was so easy and I think it will make for really smooth turns on curved hems so I'm going to keep doing it. And I'm going to brag about it. I still haven't found my hem gauge but I don't even care anymore.
While I'm on sewing tricks, here's another little thing I do. Kids learn which way to put on store-bought clothes by putting the tags in the back. Well, most of Jo's clothes don't have any tags so I always put a little loop of ribbon in the back of pants and skirts. If I ever get around to putting some hooks up in her closet this will also make it easier to hang up clothes for future wear. You know - instead of leaving them in a pile on the floor. . .
I love French seams so much that I thought about writing a tutorial for them, but then I found an excellent one here. In case you don't know - French seams are an awesome (and super easy) way to get nice finished seams - no loose threads that feel like spiders crawling up your legs.
And while I'm on sewing tips and tricks - these are the best pattern weights ever.
They're exactly what they look like - little ziplock snack bags filled with aquarium gravel. Plop them down, shape them around curves - they're perfect.
And here are the finished jammies. For the top I just used a plain white T-shirt, cut out a motif from the pants fabric (with pinking shears) and appliqued it down.
Doesn't Jo look . . .super? Sorry - I couldn't resist.
This is the shortest day of the year - a very, very good day to reflect and write.
Looking back on my 2007 goals, here is what I accomplished:
1. No melanoma, no cancer. Yes!!
2. Finish CHAINS. YES!!
3. Blog regularly, don't let it take over. Check.
4. Finish first draft of YA due in early 2008. (Working on 2nd draft today!)
5. Do more fun things. (Canning! Knitting!)
6. Don't waste time on stupid websites. (I got rid of a lot of bookmarks and keep a real book next to my computer when I feel the need for distraction.)
Here is what I almost accomplished:
1. Run consistent 9 minute miles by December (I am running consistent 9:15 minute miles.)
2. Exercise at least four times a week. (This was ruined during book tour and spring travel, but I am back on track now.)
3. Complete plot outlines for next two historicals. (Still doing the research.)
And this still needs work:
1. Website overhaul.
2. Deal with fanmail more efficiently
3. Run half-marathon and 10Ks (I did a couple of 5Ks, but didn't get in enough mileage for longer races)
4. Read more for fun.
5. Ski. (didn't make time or room in the budget for it)
Unexpected challenge: my brain was so tired in August I could not write. Don't want to get that tired again.
Unexpected joy: The trip to Poland was incredible. Still thinking about it.
(There are a couple of more personal items, too, but I don't have to tell you guys everything.)
From now until New Year's I will ponder next year's energy and where I want to spend it. The rest of the day for me will be writingwritingwritingwritingwritingwritingwritingwritingwritingwritingwriting.
I leave you with this. Solstice always makes me think of Stonehenge and this is lovely.
Last year we put a small tree in Jo's room for the holidays and surrounded it with other little trees we had - a ceramic tree that belonged to my grandmother, a tree with lights that Alan made when he was a kid, and a few others. Jo loved it and we bought her a tin tree of her very own to add to the collection. This year she was very happy to assemble her forest again. When I saw Stephanie's button trees featured on Whip Up I knew I had to make one to add to Jo's forest. So cute! The velvet was NOT fun to sew, but I loved digging through all of my red buttons and I think it fits right in with the other trees.
Looks like a great time was had...and a tasty one at that from the spread in that last photo :-)
LOL, Angela! Yes, it was tasty and fun!