mary e. pearson

It's out in the world now!

As of yesterday, the hottest new tween book is on shelves and ready to be snatched up!
If you have a tween on your shopping list, no need to look any further!

It's no secret that I enjoy off-beat music, and when it comes to Christmas carols, I enjoy an array of songs. You might even say I have an eclectic taste in holiday music. Mixed into the 12 or so hours of Christmas music on my iPod, I have everything from Fall Out Boy to The King Singers, Brandi Carlile to 98 Degrees.

Here are a couple of my favorite Alternative Christmas songs:

"Winter Wonderland" by Phantom Planet
"Snowfall Music" by Carbon Leaf
"I Won't Be Home for Christmas" by Blink 182
"Oi to the World" by No Doubt
"Christmas Only Comes Once a Year" by MxPx
"All I Want for Christmas Is You" by My Chemical Romance
"Yule Shoot Your Eye Out" by Fall Out Boy
"Alone This Holiday" by The Used
"Let Me Sleep" by Pearl Jam
"Ex-Miss" by A New Found Glory

And my new favorite CD is Let It Snow Baby...Let It Reindeer by Relient K. Well, this CD has been out for a couple of years now, but I just discovered it last week and I can't stop listening to it.

What are some of your favorite holiday tunes?

E and I just got home from the very busy grocery store and I think *knocks wood* we are READY for the holidays. Here is our tree:


We are hoping Santa puts some good cat toys in Fred and George's stockings, as they have both gained THREE POUNDS since their last check up. Ugh. Beasts. They don't seem to notice their rotundity, and think they should still be able to fit in their basket (clearly they are mistaken):



Oh Fred. If only you would be INTERESTED in cat toys. *sigh*



Hope you're all enjoying the holiday season!

Peace and love,

Jo

The Creature With Fangs Elfed yesterday.



My Beloved Husband Elfed yesterday.



Queen Louise Elfed yesterday.



And I did, too.



A most merry time, indeed!

Revision Tip #23

I rarely have the image systems of my books in mind when I start writing. But by the end of the first or second draft, some image (symbol for Eng lit majors) has cropped up and I realize that I can riff on that symbol throughout the book to tell the larger story. In a subtle way, I hope.

In SPEAK, it was the image of the tree. There was only one mention of it in the early drafts. When I realized the power of it, I wrote in all the art class scenes, and made the tree into a year-long project for her.

WINTERGIRLS was interesting. The first paragraph of the first draft of the book was this:

"The crows stalk me, wings folded neatly behind them, hungry yellow weighing my soft spots. They circle around me once, twice, three times, claws scarring the stone floor of the church.

I curl up on the frozen altar. They flutter close, black feathers filling my mouth and eyes and ears."

I really don't know where that came from; I just wrote it down, plus a bunch of other stuff. The reference to the "frozen altar" is what got me thinking about ancient religions and mythology, which in turn led me to ponder if there was a mythological story within Lia's story. Of course there was: the story of Persephone. That became a central image system for the book, with references to pomegranate seeds and the death that is winter, along with mother/goddess figure at her wits end, trying to pull her daughter back from the grasp of hell.

(For the record - that opening paragraph wound up migrating to page 264. It fits much better there.)

Is there a small detail in your draft that could be expanded into a central image system?

* FYI for those of you in the United States: my university's holiday special, "Christmas at Belmont," will once again be airing nationally on PBS this year. This time it will include performances by 400 students and faculty from our School of Music and be hosted by alumna (and three-time Grammy Award winner) Trisha Yearwood.The program is scheduled to air across the country today, on December 23. Check your local listings for the time.

* The holiday episode of StarShipSofa: The Audio Science Fiction Magazine is now live, and it includes my dramatic reading of Jeff Carlson's "A Lovely Little Christmas Fire," as well as an introduction by the author himself. The story (which runs about an hour long) was a pleasure to read, and if you listen, I hope you enjoy it! You can download it or listen to the episode here.



* I've just finished reading a fascinating novel called Peace Under Earth: Dialogues from the Year 1946 by Beatrice Warde. First published in 1936 (as The Shelter in Bedlam), this dystopia looks with remarkable foresight a decade into the future and imagines a world in which the inhabitants live underground in bunker-like shelters to avoid bombing raids by their enemies. I was intrigued by the premise, and I didn't even realize until I was reading that it is a Christmas tale. It's quite poignant to follow an uncle as tries to explain the nativity story to a child who simply cannot relate to its concepts; he eventually substitues "garage" for "stable" and "factory workers" for "shepherds," for example, and has to explain that a heavenly voice might be something other than the shouted "Magnavox Advertising Slogans" that routinely assault the citizens. It was an intriguing read, with an especially moving meditation on what "Good Will" means in an atomic age, and I'm glad I came across it with such perfect timing for the season.


"Because they'd seen a light in the sky, and heard a sound...."

"Oh Uncle, please don't have an air raid in this story. I don't like it. Even when they're all shot down in flames, I don't like it. PLEASE."

"What makes you think it was an air raid?"

"What else would it be, at that time of night, up in the sky?"

- from Peace Under Earth by Beatrice Warde

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/nWvm/~3/RxjB6GyCzAo/secret-science-alliance-and-copycat.html

The Secret Science Alliance and the Copycat Crook
by Eleanor Davis. Bloomsbury. 2009. Review copy supplied by publisher. Official Secret Science Alliance website. All ages. Graphic novel.

The Plot: Julian Calendar, eleven, outwardly looks like a nerd and inwardly is actually an ultra nerd. He's smart, he's inventive, he cannot help or hide it, even in his attempts to make friends at his new school. When he stops pretending, he meets Greta Hughes, outwardly a bad girl, and Ben Garza, outwardly a dumb jock. Greta and Ben are ultra nerds like him, and together they form the Secret Science Alliance.

The Good: This better be the start of a series! We get the origins of the SSA, including what has to be one of the best top secret laboratories and workshops in the hideouts. It's full of stuff (including a bathroom!) and is neatly hidden from view because it's the forgotten basement of a long-ago torn down house on a vacant lot.

What's not to love about three kids who are outsiders who are brought together by their love of science, invention, and fun? The last part of the book involves their loss of their Invention Notebook, and plan to recover it and stop a criminal that is an Oceans Eleven caper for smart tweens. Bonus points because it's three kids, using all their smarts and invention and science skills.

See that cover? Diversity; and diversity that is included throughout the book. Any picture that is depicting the kids at school or other crowd event? Equally diverse, in terms of not only skin color, but also size and ability. Some kids are in wheelchairs; how often do you see that? Not often. The diversity also carries over to economics; one family lives in an apartment, one in a house, one in a duplex/twin.

The kids are eleven and twelve; and I'd call this an all-ages book. It has appeal for just about everyone, is fun, smart, and entertaining. Some of the jokes are for older kids (and grownups), such as Julian's name and the names of his siblings.

The artwork is full of details; you can see sample pages in the links given above for the official book website. It's also full color.

And finally...if MotherReader was using this for her Ways to Give Gifts posts, she'd say match it up with a chemistry set or any type of inventors set.

I'll be adding this to my favorite books read in 2009.


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© Elizabeth Burns of A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy

Exactly four years ago, I sold my first book to Simon & Schuster, and I wrote this in my journal:

If I had to say my greatest wish, for myself at least, it would be exactly what I’m doing now:  working with a wonderful agent, getting the opportunity to work with an editor at a major publishing house.  To know I’m going to be published:  I feel like I am accomplishing the thing I was meant to all along. 

The book that I knew was going to be published was SINCERELY, SOPHIE, originally slated for publication in early 2008.  Then a bunch of things happened – my editor resigned, I was assigned a new editor, I wrote a couple more books – and the publication date for SINCERELY, SOPHIE was pushed back a bit.

But it’s finally coming out from Simon & Schuster this June – June 8, 2010.  It’s being packaged as a two-for-one:  both SINCERELY, SOPHIE and its companion, SINCERELY, KATIE, are being published as one volume.  The front cover features eleven-year-old New Yorker Sophie Turner, and the back cover has her California pen pal, Katie Franklin.

I love the cover so much.  I was so nervous about it, because I thought I would never love a cover as much as POSITIVELY.  The SINCERELY jacket is so different, but so perfect. 

I can’t post the whole jacket because I only have a pdf version, but here is the front cover.



It’s a drawing by Tuesday Mourning, my new favorite artist.

Teen had two friends over last night. At 6 a.m. I realized they were still awake. I had to insist they go to sleep. They were teaching themselves how to count cards. Yes, Teen has a future in Vegas.

Meanwhile, I am on day five of being sick. The days are tolerable, but at night I can't sleep. First it was my throat hurting, now it's a non-stop tickle cough. If anyone has any suggestions, I'm open. Last night I tried sleeping with a cough drop in my mouth, frequent drinks of water, tenting the blankets over my head, and sometime in the middle of the night, a stiff gin and tonic.

I got maybe a total of two hours of sleep, in increments of five or ten minutes.

May We Always Believe
by Lisa Schroeder, Dec. 2005


’Twas the week before Christmas
and with so much to do,
not a Schroeder was sleeping.
They were frazzled, it’s true.

The cookies weren’t baked
and the gifts weren’t yet bought.
But with Target dot com,
surely all was not lost.

The boys topped their lists with
Nintendo DS!
Mom’s heart started racing
from Extreme Price Tag Stress.

“Why do you need that?”
Mom tried to outwit.
“You have a fine Gameboy.”

“But the new games don’t FIT!”

“Santa will bring them,”
G said, “Yes he will!”
Dad nodded and smiled
while Mom felt quite ill.

Visions of Kirby
danced in the boys’ heads,
as they drifted to sleep
in their warm, comfy beds.

“How did we get here?”
Mom asked with a sigh.
“What happened to dump trucks,
and to blocks built so high?”

Just for a moment,
Dad closed his brown eyes.
“They grow up so fast.
It’s been quite a surprise.”

“Wait!” Mom exclaimed.
“Did you hear what G said?
SANTA WILL BRING THEM!
This is nothing to dread!”

When Christmas Day came,
Santa left quite a loot.
He ate all the cookies,
left a mark with his boot.

“I told you, I told you!”
G squealed with joy.
Mom and Dad wiped their tears
at the sight of their boy.

“Will you always believe,
in that old Santa Claus?”
“I will!” answered G,
without nearly a pause.

Big brother S
well, he didn’t say much.
Except, “Santa’s great.”
Ah, what a nice touch.

And so Mom and Dad
watched the day, what a thrill.
And they found themselves wishing
time would stop. Just stand still.

Thank you, dear Lord,
for good girls and boys.
May we always believe,
and know life’s greatest joys.

***

Merry Christmas to all who celebrate!!

Wishing you peace, love and joy.

~Lisa

Stick Man and Christmas Book Picks by Esme Raji Codell from The Planet Esme Plan. Peek: "if I could have one Christmahanukwanzaakah wish, it would be that children's books wouldn't go out of print quite so quickly, and publishers would back artists instead of titles." Read a Cynsations interview with Esme.

Agent Lauren Macleod Strothman Agency by Kathleen Temean. Peek: "Looking for: Contemporary YA & MG, narrative nonfiction for young adults, graphic novels, YA Dystopian with strong world-building..."

An Interview with Rabbi Jacobs from Jewish Books for Children with Author Barbara Bietz. Peek: "The Two Kings book series actually evolved from a play we performed for many years in front of tens of thousands of youth in Israel."

An Interview with Marilyn Singer from Children's Author David L. Harrison's Blog. Peek: "Poems to me are about capturing moments in time, answering questions I ask myself, exploring emotions I feel, or, if I’m writing narrative poems, capturing the essence of characters. They're also about playing with language in ways that are impossible to attempt in prose." See also Marilyn on What Makes a Good Young Picture Book? and What Makes a Good Poem? and What Is a Short Story?

Children's Books: Alarmingly Bright Futures by Rich Cohen from the New York Times Sunday Book Review. Peek: "The book, which explains the whys and hows of Day-Glo and is illustrated with tremendous Pop Art verve, began with [Chris] Barton's perusal of The New York Times’s obituary page, proving that the dead really do tell the best tales." Read a Cynsations interview with author Chris Barton.

17 Reasons Book Manuscripts are Rejected by Laurie Pawlik-Kienlen from Quips and Tips for Successful Writers. Peek: "These 17 reasons book manuscripts are rejected are from a panel of editors, literary agents, and publishers at the Surrey International Writers' Conference in British Columbia, Canada."

Holiday Survival Guide for Introverts by R.L. LaFevers from Shrinking Violet Promotions. Peek: "If your time is too frazzled to actually make progress on your manuscript, consider personal journaling or maybe even character journaling."

Steal These Books by Margo Rabb from the New York Times Sunday Book Review. Peek: "At BookPeople in Austin, titles displayed with staff recommendation cards are a darling among thieves. 'It's so bad lately that I feel like our staff recommendation cards should read: 'BookPeople Bookseller recommends that you steal ________.' Apparently the criminal element in Austin shares our literary tastes, or are very prone to suggestion," Elizabeth Jordan, the head book buyer, wrote in an e-mail message." Read a Cynsations interview with Margo.

Attention Shoppers

Books Make Great Gifts from IndieBound. Find Austin Children's-YA Authors & Illustrators at IndieBound. See also my IndieBound page.



Shades of the Season by Kelly Starling Lyons from the Brown Bookshelf. Peek: "...what if you're looking for a tale that celebrates the season and African-American culture? Here are 10 picture books to consider adding to your holiday book list that salute Christmas, Kwanzaa and New Year's Day." See a video below, celebrating Shante Keys and the New Year's Peas by Gail Piernas-Davenport, illustrated by Marion Eldridge (Albert Whitman, 2007).



Check out this book trailer for Fallen by Lauren Kate (Delacorte, 2009), suggested to fans of Eternal (Candlewick, 2009). Note: more on Fallen in 2010.



More Personally

Look for the paperback edition of Eternal (Feb. 2010) in the spring-summer 2010 Candlewick Press catalog! See page 108.

A Gift for Readers and Writers by JoAnn Early Macken from Teaching Authors: Six Children's Authors Who Also Teach Writing. Note: JoAnn kindly recommends my main website. Peek: "The massive Children’s & YA Literature Resources section includes interviews, bibliographies, and links to additional valuable resources: information about censorship, diversity, children’s book experts, guides for readers and teachers, state and national awards, recommended books, and writing for children and teenagers."

Look for the illustrated reader's theater, "A Real-Live Blond Cherokee," adapted by Christy Damio, on pages 4 to 9 in the Nov. 9 to Nov. 23, 2009 issue of Scholastic Action Magazine.

The reader's theater is an adaptation of my YA short story "A Real-Live Blond Cherokee and His Equally Annoyed Soul Mate," which appeared in Moccasin Thunder: American Indian Stories for Today, edited by Lori Marie Carlson (HarperCollins, 2005).

Thanks to Christy for asking great questions and thoughtfully applying my answers. It's a treat, too, to see these YA short story characters brought to life in the illustrations. I'm especially loving the Wonder Woman boots and cowboy boots up front in the first one.


I've been busy revising Blessed (Candlewick, Feb. 2011), trying to get as much done as possible before leaving for the Vermont College of Fine Arts winter residency. Sometimes I move around the house to get a new perspective. Here's my set up earlier this week in the guest room, with Mercury (gray kitty) and Blizzard (white kitty).

Meanwhile, Greg was working on a novel of his own down in the kitchen. Aren't those bangs hilarious in this picture?

But just because we're busy doesn't mean that there's no seasonal cheer to be found. Cynsations will be taking a brief holiday hiatus and resume posting on Dec. 28.

But first, here's a peek inside my house. Below is one of my newest ornaments, created by children's book illustrator Joy Fisher Hein--an angel kitty reading a book (does she know me or what?). The rest are self-explanatory. Enjoy and happy holidays!



Giveaway Reminder

Enter to win one of three signed copies of Watersmeet by Ellen Jensen Abbott (Marshall Cavendish, 2009), one of three copies of The Pillow Book of Lotus Lowenstein by Libby Schmais (Delacorte, 2009), and/or one of three signed copies of Ninjas, Piranhas, and Galileo by Greg Leitich Smith (Little, Brown, 2005)!

To enter, email me (scroll and click envelope) with your name and snail/street mail address and type "Watersmeet" and/or "The Pillow Book of Lotus Lowenstein" and/or "Ninjas, Piranhas, and Galileo" in the subject line (Facebook, JacketFlap, MySpace, and Twitter readers are welcome to just privately message me with the name in the header; I'll write you for contact information, if you win). Note: one copy of each book will be reserved for a teacher, librarian, or university professor of youth literature; those eligible in these categories should indicate their affiliations in the body of their entry messages. The other two will go to any Cynsations readers!

Deadline: midnight CST Dec. 31.

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/nWvm/~3/ET5z6tJOY94/steal-me-once-steal-me-twice-steal-me.html

Steal These Books, Margo Rabb's essay in The New York Times, explores people who steal books from bookstores -- sometimes, even, it is the author of the book who does the taking. I think my favorite part is the title of the most-stolen book.

No, I'm not going to tell you! Click through and find out.

Oh, and apparently? There is a hip factor to stealing book. Must be the reason I haven't stolen one.

Inspired by Rabb's essay, The Paper Cuts Blog at the NYT asks people what books they have stolen in Out Stealing Books. So far, 31 people have fessed up.

What intrigues me about the conversation at the blog is the people who mention stealing library books. Yes, it's always wrong to steal. Stealing from the bookstore is bad; if cuts into the profits of the store itself, and takes away from the royalties for the author twice (once because you didn't buy that book, twice because you prevented someone else from doing so.) It's a bit sad to read people happy to get back at "the man" with their book stealing. Or to read how they believe its OK because they like to read. I wonder who they think is to blame when stores go out of business, or book prices are increased to take into consideration such theft?

But stealing from a library means that you are now preventing so many other people from reading that book. What a selfish act, to think "my ownership is more important than your reading." With a bookstore, at least, the person who wants to buy that book will probably end up finding another copy or asking the bookstore to track down another copy. While at a library, chances are you took the only copy; it's out of print; and doing an ILL costs the library money. (No, really. See all the library news that mentions ILL in budget cuts, either eliminating or reducing the service or adding and increasing ILL fees).

By the way, Margo Rabb visited Tea Cozy back in 2007 when promoting her book, Cures for Heartbreak, which was one of my Favorite Books of 2007. And her 2008 NYTimes Essay, "I'm YA, and I'm OK," is a great essay about reading and writing YA books.

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© Elizabeth Burns of A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy

I came home from my writing group Monday night and smelled evergreen. While I was gone, my husband, our daughter, and her friend Zach had not only picked out a tree, brought it home, and decorated it, but did marathon wrapping, so even presents were beneath. I heard the unmistakable laughter of our friend Steve mixing with James Taylor music. Here are Em and Zach with our dog, Louis.



My husband is calling this our Fugitree as this year we decorated with Fugitiod toys that are just out, based on a comic he wrote and drew with Kevin Eastman long ago. Fugitoid has always been one of my favorite characters of theirs: a cute, sweet robot with a poignant back story. The tree was the idea of Emily, whose internship at a toy company was extended to a part-time job doing PR: she picked up some silver balls at Target to augment the glitter.



Now it’s a day of baking, with some writing and knitting by the tree. I showed Emily and Zach the first hat I ever knit. There was a stretched out “ohhhh” as the air wobbled with their trying to catch a balance between honesty and kindness. Then I took out my scarf, and they breathed in relief that truth and compassion weren't so spread apart: “THAT’S nice.” Okay the hat, which you may note is not pictured. I’m not claiming it as a thing of beauty, but it’s recognizable as something that goes on a head. And a reminder that we learn by our mistakes, even though, hey, I already remembered that. The hat marked the end knitting class, but as we left yesterday we said we hoped to see each other in what the yarn shop calls drop-ins, but I referred to as Knitting Rehab. Emily wants a Harry Potter scarf and I bought the yarn yesterday for her okay on Gryffindor colors.



Onward to baking, and slipping in writing during quiet moments. And reveling in having family around. (But why isn’t Liz in Massachusetts? And Ben and Kelly, we hope to see you and Ian soon!) Happy holidays to all my friends!

Moving along with the PBs. I have 3 and they are tight, but I’m not sure if they are any good.  I have surprised myself by having the MC go through a revelation at the end.  Maybe that is good.  I got some quick feedback from my online group and I seem to know what I‘m doing.  Again they inspired me to revise and that is always great when you are at a wall.

 

Still writing about 5 or so blinks a week. Dementia ensuing.

 

Getting to know my MC for BF more and more and getting deeper into what the book is about.  I’m a good 20k words in, which is almost half the length.  I predict this to be about 40-45k words. The action is moving along –

 

(just got an idea to foreshadow the tension later in the book.  Sorry I just blanked out with it.)

 

I seem to be doing that lot in this draft, for the first half, foreshadowing tension and conflict instead of kicking off with the main conflict. I’m wondering if that is a bad.  Yeah, you should get a sense of forward motion, and I think I’m doing that.  The MC is active, she’s facing changes, but is she active in a way that I want her to be or in a way that the reader expects her to be.  Know what I mean?

 

I feel like I’m stuck in three different expectations.

 

1)      How I expect the character and story to unfold.

2)      How the reader expects the character and story to unfold.

3)      How teachers/manuals expect the character and story to unfold.

 

Now I know what you are thinking.  2 and 3 go hand in hand, right?  I don’t think so.  I think a reader can forgive a lot more than what teacher/manual can accept.  Vonnegut said that one of two things must happen in the pages of the book: we either move the story forward or learn something of the character as it pertains to the story. 

 

I try to not follow 3. I don’t like mapping, as I said before.  I prefer to be spontaneous and let the characters surprise in their actions. I strive to be original, and I don’t think you can be original by strictly following what a teacher/manual says is original.  Doesn’t that make for a cookie cutter novel?  Plus, aren’t characters deeper by not going with expectation? Like, if a character did something bad, that would make them more real, right?

 

I may just be whining here.  I’ll get off the ego for a sec.  First draft anxiety passing.

 

Again, I ran into the same problem about my first chapter.  But I thought I had it handled and maybe I do.  I still need more people to give me feedback on it.

 

I had one reader tell me that I could state the MC’s sex and sexuality earlier in the chapter.  At this time it is stated by page two.  Earlier?  I don’t know if I can. I spend the first page drawing out the action as to portray the character’s future struggle, their wants and whatnot; trying to let you get to know the MC from the inside before we deal with the outside. 

 

To remind you I am writing first person, female, lesbian. The story is not about being a lesbian or being a female.  That is not what she is struggling with.  Every one is cool with it. Now those two facts are dramatized in the first chapter, so it is there, but how soon should they be stated.  Line one?

 

So I went back and read a few pages to the beginning of other 1^st person novels, also novels written by women who have male MCs.  A lot of them don’t state the MC’s sex until page two at least.  Maybe I’m ok for now, right?  I mean other authors are doing it.

 

Then I think: is it because the reader knows I’m a man and reader expectation states that if I am a man then I should be writing main characters that are male?  It would make sense.  It’s an easy expectation.

 

Further, when I was checking out those other books, the reader already has an expectation of what sex the main character is by just reading the jacket flap.  So they are clued in and maybe they don’t have to think about it.

 

Ah, but wont an agent or publisher who is reading the book throw it away because I didn’t state the sex of the character on the first page throw it away? I would think that the query letter states it all, much like a jacket flap, that they wouldn’t.

 

So what should I get out of this in the end? Always key the cold reader into the story before you give them the pages? Maybe not write in first person so that the reader can see the character’s name on line one and get the easy answer to life’s great mysteries?

 

I don’t know.  I don’t have much of an answer.  I guess that is why I use M.E. Purfield for my novels instead of Mike Purfield.  I want that kind of freedom to challenge myself with the writing. 

Yesterday's Urban Dictionary word of the day was santaclaustrophobia , a fear of too many Santa Clauses. Too many. As in more than one. But, but...you say. It's true, there are singular Santas that can be quite frightening. Like here and here and here. But that's not what we're talking about with santaclaustrophobia. We're talking red suits and white beards galore. Jolly, jolly times a thousand. Sound like just the stuff of nightmares? No, no. Take a look:





Santa Con!! Wikipedia explains this nonsensical event here. Santa Con happens in many big cities usually around the 10th of December.

The above pics are from Santa Con NYC--taken a few years ago. Though I was also lucky enough to catch it this year on my way out from critique group. I love, love, love, love Santa Con. Almost as much as I love reuniting with my NYC critique group, but not quite. Because you gotta admit the awesomeness of a ladybug reunion is well, darn near jolly overload. Now that I live in Boston, I take the bus to NYC every few weeks for critique group. It rocks. So much that if I asked them to, they would dress up as Santa for me so I could get my fix. Ladybugs, Santa can have wings!!

Because whatever the opposite of santaclaustrophobia is, I have that. Get a pile of Santas in the room, and Edith jolliness will occur. 2010 resolution, attend Santa Con as actual Santa. Ideally as a Santa with a book deal. 'Cause you know, top of the resolution list is to kick the pre off my pre-published status. Kick it to the curb! Thunk. So, who's in? Who wants to be a Santa with a book deal?

It's the day before Christmas Eve, and I have to say that I feel like I am finally getting into the spirit. Sure, there's still a level of stress and craziness as I try to juggle everything to do and everyone we have to catch up with. Also, both my daughter and husband have come down with this wicked cold, so I am doing all I can to rally my immune system so I don't go down as well. I really thought we'd get a pass on being sick for Christmas this year, after the debacle that was last year, when we all came down with a throw-up bug on Christmas Eve. THAT was fun. If I have to pick, I'd much rather have a sniffle and a cough than that. Although not being sick at all would be, like, the best gift ever. I'm putting out extra cookies and milk for Santa in the hopes he'll deliver.

Meanwhile, last night I had two of my best girlfriends over for pigs in a blanket (tofu pups for Dana) spinach dip, pizza, wine and Love Actually. It was just what I needed to mark what I decided was the official beginning of my vacation. When you are self employed, and in the midst of a tricky novel, it's REALLY hard to just stop working, even when you know you should. And I should, because my house is so incredibly messy, and none of my gifts are wrapped, and I'm totally exhausted and surrounded by sick folk. Plus, holidays are supposed to be relaxing, right? Please say yes. Anyway, so after having two great work days in my new office---which is so great, I can't even tell you---I'm stepping back. Clocking out until at least next week, and hopefully the new year. It will be good for me, and hopefully for the book as well.

I know it will be good for my house and the clutter that is piled up everywhere. I'm about to grab a garbage bag, put my hair in a ponytail, and get down to it. But before I do, I just want to wish all of you, wherever you are and whatever you happen to believe in, the happiest and healthiest of holidays. It's been a crazy year, busy and fun and stressful (at times) but I would not change a thing. I'm so grateful for all your support, for the fact that you don't judge me too harshly for watching so much TV (hello, Jersey Shore!) and that you read this silly blog so faithfully. You are my co-workers, in a lot of ways, the folks around my water cooler, who make those sort of lonely work days so much more fun. Thank you for that. It means more than you know.

Okay, off to clean. Maybe I'll chug down an Emergen-C first, though.....

Have a great a safe holiday, everyone!

Time for my favorite Christmas poem:

The Sheepdog       

U.A. Fanthorpe

After the very bright light,
And the talking bird,
And the singing,
And the sky filled up wi' wings,
And then the silence,

Our lads sez
We'd better go, then.
Stay, Shep. Good dog, stay.
So I stayed wi' t' sheep.

After they'd cum back
It sounded grand, what they'd seen.
Camels and kings, and such,
Wi' presents - human sort,
Not the kind you eat -
And a baby. Presents wes for him
Our lads took him a lamb.

I had to stay behind wi' t' sheep.
Pity they didn't tek me along too.
I'm good wi' lambs,
And the baby might have liked a dog
After all that myrrh and such.

Amen.
Peace to all, and see you in the New Year.
Stacy

 

  It's seriously sugary at my house. 

Yesterday, my daughter and I made sugar cookies. We have a funny tradition with those.  A few years ago, my daughter decorated them in a way that they looked like they were from the movie, "Flashdance."  So now we make "Flashdance Bears" every year in addition to the stars, angels, trees, etc. 

"I'll make some bears, too," I told her yesterday. "Ones that we can. . . um."

"Admit to?" she asked, grinning.

"Yes, exactly!" 

Tomorrow my sister, her family, and my parents are coming to my house for a Christmas Eve party. We always got together at my parents' house, but since they moved this year, we're shaking up our traditions. They're all coming to us in Maine.

We're having many of the foods that we've always had, but every year my mom made a Boston Cream Pie. I've never made one of those. So I was going to make pies and cookies.

But then yesterday, I was buying a present for my sister's pug, Pete (because Pete always buys Milo something! Pugs are thoughtful that way). . .and I saw this.

It won't be Mom's. But today, I'm going to bake my first Our Family's Christmas Eve Boston Cream Pie. Wish me luck :-) And Stonewall Kitchen, don't you dare let me down!

Did you know that Boston Cream Pie is the official dessert for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts? I don't think Maine has an official dessert (Do we?). If we did, it might be blueberry pie.

But if I were in charge of the Maine State Dessert committee, I'd be lobbying for what my best friend from high school mailed us yesterday.



( Let's OPEN IT!!!!!!!!!!!!! )

 Congratulations! It's a bouncing book-baby!

Name: Magic Under Glass

Date of Birth: December 22, 2009

Weight: 240 pages

Proud Parent: Jaclyn Dolamore (fabulousfrock)

Godparents: Bloomsbury USA Children's Books

Rob and I have returned from seeing Avatar.  His verdict? It’s just bad.  Mine?  It’s very silly, with horrifically bad science and yet, if you are a visually based person, it is worth seeing on the big screen in 3-D.

If you are a logic based person, then skip this film.

Question: If every life form on the planet has nostrils in their necks and six limbs, why do the Na’vi have noses like we do and only four limbs?

Question: Where do the feathers on the bow and arrows come from since we never see a feather creature, ever.

Question: Kiss? What is this thing you call kiss, James Cameron? I mean really, there are HUMAN cultures that don’t have kissing.

I could go on. That said, it’s some damn impressive CGI.

Comments? -- Link.