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We’re about to have our first big winter storm of the season. Around midnight, the white stuff is supposed to start falling. By tomorrow afternoon we should have 2-4 inches. This may not sound like a lot to people who live up north, but in the south such forecasts send people into a tizzy. We go to Walmart and clear the shelves of bread, milk, and eggs. We cancel school. We listen to the meteorologists’ predictions of doom and shiver uncontrollably.

The impending storm has made us more fearful than normal after the ice storm of the century hit here in January ‘09. We were without cell phone service, landline phones, electricity, heat, water, gasoline, you name it, for more than a week. Most people were without electricity for 2 weeks or longer. I can no longer burn scented candles. When you burn 15 of them every night for 12 days, the smell gets sickening.

I’m well prepared for this upcoming weather event. It’s doubtful we’ll lose power, but there are things you need to be comfortable during the blizzardy conditions. So here is a list of the essential supplies I’ve stocked:

• Diet Coke
• Bacon
• Chocolate
• Cheez Nips
• Toilet Paper
• One pink Snuggie (which my BFF bought me for Christmas. Hubby doesn’t need a Snuggie, though. Real men don’t wear pink Snuggies.)
• Laptop with Internet access
•  Cat food and treats (for the cat, of course)

In my neck of the woods, there are about 3 hours left in 2009. Then we’ll have a brand new, fresh and shiny year.

As I look back on the year, overall, I’m pleased with what I’ve accomplished and had some great experiences along the way.

Since this blog is mainly about my writing life, I’ll focus on what I consider to be my successes this year.

 Though my blog suffered from extreme neglect during the final three months of 2009 (due to family issues, increased SCBWI responsibilities, an intense revision of my WIP, and a hectic work schedule), I managed to update it fairly reguarly the other nine months. I’ve Tweeted on and off and really enjoy it (especially the Kidlit chats), but I’ve also found that it’s the first thing to get pushed aside when life gets too busy. While I’ve read comments by social networking gurus that writers should maintain a Twitter presence and use it to grow an audience, I’m not convinced it’s crucial to the well-being of my career. Facebook, however, seems to be easier for me to keep up and I enjoy the interactions there. The newspaper I work for started a Facebook fan page this year and it’s been a fun way to connect with readers.

I only got to attend one writer’s conference this year, but what a conference it was! The 2009 SCBWI-Midsouth conference was two days jam-packed with inspiration and information. I gleaned some great tips for my WIP, and thanks to a presentation by editor Cheryl Klein, had a couple of a-ha moments that led to major changes in the manuscript.

I also attended the Southern Festival of Books in Nashville. I heard Kate DiCamillo speak and got to hang out with some of my writer and illustrator friends. I also made the difficult and painful decision to relinquish my volunteer role as organizer of the SCBWI-Midsouth booth at the festival. As much as I’ve enjoyed doing it, I have too many other responsibilities now and it’s time to let someone else enjoy the blessings of serving in that capacity.

I can’t say I’ve set any goals for 2010 — at least not yet. I have a couple of WIPs I’d like to finish; both are novels and I’d like to complete both drafts and have one polished by the end of the year.

The best part of 2009, when it comes to my writing life, has to be the friendships that have deepened and the new acquaintances I’ve made. I am so blessed to know so many talented people from all over the world!

I raise my Diet Coke to you, 2009, and take a sip in honor of 2010.

Best wishes to all!

SCBWI-Midsouth will have a booth at the Southern Festival of Books in Nashville this weekend.

This is our fifth year to participate in the festival. It’s a wonderful weekend! There are author presentations, panel discussions, book signings, musicians, food, children’s activities and more.

And, of course, there are lots of books for sale.

If you’re around the area, stop by our booth and say hi!

If you’d like to keep up with the goings-on at the SCBWI-Midsouth Conference, you can follow the live conference blog here.

Final conference tip:

Bring lots of money to purchase some great books at the booksignings!

When I think of the pressure/obligation/necessity writers feel about social networking/blogging/cyberconnections, I think of a t-shirt I saw once that advertised a famous “31 flavors” ice cream shop: “So many flavors, so little time.”

It’s not easy managing multiple Internet presences. I have this web site and blog to express the children’s writer’s side of me. I now have a work blog, where I must chronicle my adventures as She-Ra, Princess of First-Amendment Power.  I have a Facebook page that started out dedicated solely to AuthorWorld, but somehow my persona from The Daily Planet got sucked into its orbit — now its connecting friends from the fiction side of me and the people I’m acquainted with on the fact-finding side. (Or as Merle Haggard might say, the fighting side of me.)

I want my fiction-writing life to be prevalent. But the part of my life that ’s my job seems to take up (and suck dry) more and more of my mental resources.

Basically, what’s happened is that my brain has turned to oatmeal. And not even the Quaker Instant Oats kind that has that yummy maple and brown sugar flavor added. It’s more like the kind you get served when you’re a patient in the hospital. It’s bland and watery and not even good for wallpaper paste.

Web site, blog, Facebook, Twitter — I can’t do it all. And because Twitter feels as though it’s the least-tangible and worthwhile of these communicative forms, at least for me, it’s the easiest one to let go. I’m still going to keep the account, for now. Maybe I’ll pick it up again when I have more time.

In 1923, William Carlos Williams wrote about a  red wheelbarrow, rain water, and white chickens, using 140 characters or less, and it’s still considered a work of poetic genius.

I wonder if folks would consider it worth retweeting today.

The idea for today’s post comes from a comment sent by Julianne.

(By the way, If you’re looking for your comment, Julianne, you won’t find it. That’s because I accidentally clicked “delete comment” instead of “accept comment.” Drat. Fortunately, I still have a copy of the e-mail from WordPress, notifying me of your post. Thanks for being so sweet!)

Anyway, I’ve been asked this question by others and decided I should try to give a thoughtful answer.

Julianne said: “I’d love to know what you think about the Twilight series. I tried to read the book but just couldn’t get through it. Not sure what all the hysteria is about.”

If she’d said the Twilight ZONE series, the answer would have been easy. LOVE IT. So what if it’s half a century old? Rod Serling,  may he rest in peace, is one of my all-time favorite writers.

But Julianne’s asking about THE Twilight series, the teen/vampire love story written by Stephenie Meyer.

So here’s my reply, and here’s hoping bullet points will make my ramblings appear like organized thoughts.

• I haven’t read any of the books, so I can’t offer any judgment about the stories. I’ve heard good and bad comments from all sides.  The truth is that Twilight isn’t the type of story that interests me. I like fantasy, but I’m not a vampire fan. I’m not into romance and, generally, I prefer to read middle-grade novels over YA. (Examples of middle-grade novels would be Newbery Medal or Honor books; could be anything from Charlotte’s Web to historical fiction to Harry Potter. I enjoyed the first four books of the Harry Potter series, but when I got to the fifth, I lost interest.)
• I hear a lot of criticism about Meyer’s writing. I also hear people say they get so caught up in the story they don’t notice the writing. It sounds to me like Meyer is probably a good storyteller. A book’s prose may be perfect, but if it’s a boring tale, no amount of style is going to keep a reader turning the pages.
• Anything as visible and popular as Meyer’s series is going to generate positive and negative talk.
• As for today’s news that LDS bookstore chain Deseret Book stopped carrying Meyer’s books (Meyer is LDS) … Booksellers are businesses, they cater to their customers and can choose to stock whatever books they wish. I’m LDS, and Deseret stopped selling my books a long time ago. Back when my books were in print, I asked some local bookstores to carry them and was politely turned down. Where I live, there aren’t many people who want to buy books that feature Latter-day Saint characters, and the publisher’s no-return policy didn’t help matters. (At least that’s what I was told.) I was disappointed, but … 
• … I would be concerned if a public library refused to stock Meyer’s books or my books or anyone else’s books. (My library was happy to put my books on their shelves, and I occasionally hear from locals who have read them.)  Libraries provide free and open access to information for everyone.  They shelve ideas, not products, and protect the rights to free speech for all. If you don’t want to read a particular library book, don’t check it out. For every book you might want to ban, it’s a safe bet that someone else finds a book you cherish offensive, or wants to ban the books that are most meaningful to you.
• However, I do believe that parents have the right to monitor — and restrict, if they believe it’s warranted – what their minor children, especially little ones, read or watch on TV or in movies.

(UPDATE: Just an additional thought here — there’s been no direct statement, at least that I know of, from DB that it has chosen not to stock the book because of its content. I’m more inclined to believe that the books don’t sell well at DB because DB charges more  for them than Amazon, Borders, Barnes and Noble or WalMart.)

In case you haven’t noticed, the path from point A to point B is rarely ever a straight line.

Often, you end up visiting unexpected places, stopping for unexpected amounts of time. You meet, and make, unexpected acquaintances along the way.

You may believe you know your character or have a handle on the plot for your next novel. Yet from the moment you pick up the pen until you punctuate the final sentence of a project, the only thing constant about your work is that it will change.

This is even true with nonfiction writing. Many times I’ve kicked off an interview, fully supposing the lead of a story to be X, when the subject innocently makes a quote-worthy statement about Y that causes me to re-think my opinion of the whole darn alphabet.

We often talk about the constraints of writing. We swear by style guides. We agonize over grammar. We memorize proper manuscript format. We seek the magic formula to create a killer query letter or synopsis.

In our frustration to get it right, we complain that the devil is in the details. Yet it’s those same restrictions that add polish to our work, and may even save us from the slush pile.

Format and language constraints free us to create stories and share information in unique ways, much like a tailor uses a pattern to construct a suit or a contractor uses a blueprint to build a house. The steps are the same for everyone; it’s the properties of the materials and the way in which we combine them that allows our individuality to shine.

So, while the path from point A to point B may be clearly marked, who knows how many interesting detours and distractions you may encounter along the way. In order to find out, you’ve got to follow the map.

Whatever the case, the most important thing is to enjoy the journey. Serendipity, like lightning, may not strike in the same place twice. Adhering to the pattern, however, may heighten the odds.

This morning, I opened the garage door to back out my car and was surprised to discover that overnight, the world shed the browns of winter and unfurled the greens and blues of early spring. The warm air smelled like daffodils and moist soil. The birds chirped a celebratory chorus.

It was tough to concentrate at work, shut up inside a gray concrete room, when the colors outside were so vivid and enticing.

According to the calendar, we can’t announce the official start of spring until Friday. I’m convinced, however, it was born today. After such a cold hard winter, I’m glad it chose to arrive 72 hours early.

The earth wasn’t the only one dressed in green for March 17. Almost everyone wore green striped or solid shirts or green jackets. Most of the greens were that gorgeous, bright lime green that I love. I have a fave lime-green shirt but for me it’s still too cool to wear short sleeves.

Though St. Paddy’s Day ends in a few hours, I think I may leave the ducky site theme up for a few more days. After all, it’s the season for fresh starts.

Here’s a convenient link where you can go to read reviews of my books:

http://www.mormonletters.org/Reviews/Author.aspx?id=2561

I did it. I signed up on twitter.

Was this a good idea or not? We’ll find out soon!

Meanwhile, you can follow me here.

… it could be worse.

This is me, on a diet.

I want chocolate.  Lots of dark chocolate.

A 100 percent angus beef cheeseburger with mayo.

Nachos with extra sour cream.

Chocolate iced, cream filled Krispy Kreme donuts.

A loaded baked potato.

Fried okra.

Homemade macaroni and cheese.

A chocolate-dipped strawberry waffle bowl sundae from Dairy Queen.

Sigh.

These pictures don’t tell the whole story of the Kentucky ice storm, only the effect the ice had at my house – but take a look and think about it. Nearly an entire state looked like this for about five days:

My driveway, after the second wave of ice hit. We couldn't get out!

We were surrounded by a tangle of wood and ice.

A side view of my house. It looks as if it's being devoured by a huge, tentacled ice-monster!

My heart was broken when I woke up that morning and saw my beautiful trees ruined.

It’s been about two weeks since the storm, and there are still thousands of people in our county without electricity. The ice toppled utility poles and snapped many of them in two. I never imagined ice could do so much damage.

Electricity was finally restored to my house Saturday — 12 days after it was knocked out by a massive ice storm. Two inches of ice on everything can sure do a lot of damage! I’ll post some photos soon, but until that time, here’s a list of things that are so much better “amped up:”

Laundry: The first thing we did Saturday was hook up the washing machine. I’d worn all my clothes at least twice (this tells you how skimpy my wardrobe is). It was wonderful to wear clean clothes to work for a change! And no more hand-washing stuff and hanging it in the garage to dry. When temps are near zero, those hand-washed towels take days to dry!

Food: My refrigerator hasn’t been this clean in years. Four days after the power went out, I emptied everything out of the fridge and my stand-alone freezer. We tried keeping some stuff in a cooler, but after a while it got kinda stinky in there. Once local restaurants were back on the grid, hubby and I ate our evening meals out (which we do a lot anyway, but with the power out, we did more so than usual). Once the power came on and we waited to ensure the appliances didn’t get fried from a surge, I went to the supermarket. It’s great to live in an age where we can eat fresh salad greens year-round, and they’re already washed and cut for you!

TV: When the power came back on, the first thing hubby did was turn on the tube. The satellite dish found its signal, and wah-lah, we had service! I watched an infomercial for some cheap-0 Pilates equipment, just because I could. I used to say I rarely watch TV, and it’s still true that I don’t watch a lot. I do, however, have it on for the background noise. I like a quiet house sometimes, but without electricity, it was just too quiet all the time.

I’ve created a special blog to honor Miss Snark on the anniversary of her retirement.

Thousands of Snarklings were devastated when the divine Miss Snark, the literary agent, announced her retirement from the blogosphere last year. The special blog and the Snarklight are a way to let her know that we still miss her, still laugh at the good times, and hope she and Killer Yap are enjoying long walks in Central Park.

Please feel free to pass the link along to your friends. The blog has a Snarklight that you can download, and all Snarklings are to post it on their blogs May 20, and on that date the Snarklight blog will be open to comments from all who wish to post their best wishes to Miss Snark. In fact, I’ll post the Snarklight here, too, so you can see it. You are welcome to download it from this site, too.

My hope is that she will see the blog and, for a moment, know that she brightened many otherwise lonely days at the keyboard for a lot of struggling writers. 

Stylized 3D illustration for an article about swearing at work.

More at Sevensheaven.nl

Radio 3's The Verb will be up for another five days. You can get the link to the show and who's talking at at http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/theverb/ or listen directly to the one with me in (until Friday) at http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/aod/radio3_aod.shtml?radio3/theverb.

I don't think we talked about North and South poetry, which is how it's advertised.

You can hear me read the first page and a half of THE GRAVEYARD BOOK, though, and talk about writing and blogging, and listen to lots of other discussion about language, poetry and literature and words.

My favourite conversation about language and words was before we went on the air, when Ian told us not to swear (as Radio 3 is only allowed one serious swear word per show) and also not to answer any question with an enthusiastic "ABSOLUTELY!" (which is apparently what writers tend to do). And when I said that I thus presumed that "absofuckinglutely" was right out, Deborah Cameron (Rupert Murdoch Professor of Language and Communication at the University of Oxford) enthusiastically explained to me that swearing is the only example of infixing in the English language and I was happy, for I had learned something.