mary e. pearson

~ Banned Books Week begins tomorrow.  More info about Banned Books Week can be found at the ALA website. 
Here is a post I wrote a few years ago about banned books that still reflects my feelings.

~ It always comes in threes.  I hope that is true.  Broken dishwasher.  Broken electrical circuit.  Broken car battery.  I should be all clear for a while.

~  Trying to finish article on setting.  Pray that breaker is fixed and electricity doesn't go out again.

~ Yesterday there was a review for The Miles Between in the LA Times!  I know that The Miles Between is kind of an odd book, and they say as much in their review--because it is odd--but it was wonderful that the reader got it.  And there have been some film nibblings.  I can so picture it being filmed in that quirky, larger than life vein of The Big Fish.  I loved that movie.

Have a great weekend all.

Yesterday I was working on my new book and a cello has surfaced as one of those details that just sort of present themselves, and so I thought I had this brilliant idea of downloading some itunes cello music to listen to as I wrote.  Sounds simple.  (can I insert hystercial laughter here?)

The thing is, it has been at least a hundred years since I downloaded any itunes music and itunes says that unless I updated my software, it was a no go.  Okay, no big deal, right?  (more laughter)

Three hours later (I won't even go into the nasty details) I have the music I want, but my playlists are wiped off my ipod.  I don't even want to know how to fix it at this point.  Do you ever get to the point where you are just done?  But I did get some gorgeous music:  Classical New Age Piano and Cello Duets.  Tres magnifique even if it cost me my playlists.

But the afternoon went much better.  The yin and yang, huh?  Much better.  My editor sent me the cover of my new book The Miles Between.  You'd think I would open her email the second I saw the subject line of  "The Miles Between Jacket."  But no, my stomach did a little squeeze and I ran to my bedroom to get dressed.  See, I had just gotten out of the shower (to wash away all those itunes miseries) and still had a robe on and I felt I needed to be dressed.  I don't know why.  Maybe in case I had to run out into the street screaming in horror?  So, dressed and prepared I opened it and . . .

LOVED IT!  Whew.  Whew, again. 

It captures the feeling of the story perfectly without giving anything away.  What do you think?

There really are very FEW sounds in nature that I find annoying.

But I have been chained to my desk all day, doing bills and paperwork, and there has been the almost nonstop cawing of a raven outside my window who I believe is all in a dither over the eggs or babies it is sitting on.
Or maybe it's the babies making the sound? Cranky babies.

Nonstop. And it ain't a pretty.

yep, my very own troll in the trees.

I think even a rooster at 4 am sounds better than this.

What do you feed baby trolls to get them to be quiet?!

I was recently talking to friends about stereotypes in books. Of course, we all try to avoid reading them and writing them, but it always seems there are some that are just too convenient or at least keep rearing their heads again and again. One that we talked about was the jock who is either dumb or a bully. I've know plenty of jocks who are smart and nice. hm.

Another stereotype that I get so weary of is the evil or stupid religious person/pastor/priest. Aren't there any smart people of faith out there?

And are all nerds brilliant? Aren't some just kind of average?

Is there a stereotype that wears on you?

oxymoron:

CUSTOMER SERVICE

Really? I just got off the "customer service" line of a local store that had the MOTHER OF ALL VOICE TREES on it. What part of customer SERVICE don't they understand?

Breath deep, Mary. Breathe deep.

Actually there is one voice mail that we sometimes call twice just because it is so funny. Our local pharmacy has a fellow who is a dead ringer for Huckleberry Hound. I swear. I can't reorder meds without rolling on the floor laughing. I'd give you the number but then their phone lines would be jammed with all of you calling for a good laugh too.

Maybe that is what other store voice mails need to do--get a voice that people find entertaining. Can you imagine if you heard Clint Eastwood, or Joan Rivers, or the Govenator, or Elvis on the other end of a customer service line?

Yesterday the freezer compartment of my new fridge stopped working. I am reading directions and playing with controls to see if it is something I can fix before I call the appliance store.

Yesterday I also happened to receive my first issue of Real Simple. I don’t need another magazine to read but I am a sucker for 12 year olds who are selling magazines and trying to earn enough points for a snow cone machine.

So serendipity steps in. The first article I read is about things you can always count on. Well, obviously I know what I can’t count on: my month old refrigerator to keep my bleepin ice cream frozen. So it was good that I should shift gears and think about the rock solid things I could count on. The author of the article created a list of old-faithfuls. So shall I.

People and things I can always count on:

1. Man of my dreams to make me laugh–even if I am spittin mad. (Oh, that makes me mad!)
2. Losing a sock in the dryer.
3. Not playing bunco with my bunco friends.
4. My sister and I acting silly together.
5. Two glorious cups of coffee in the morning.
6. Junkmail.
7. Finding something in the last place I looked.
8. Two wagging tails greeting me when I walk in the front door.
9. Poop on the lawn (hey, at least it’s predictable)
10. Christmas lights making me smile. Every time. I’m a sucker for those too.

Phooey on that freezer. I feel better already. Consider yourself tagged. What can you always count on?

If I had $25 dollars burning a hole in my pocket, and I just HAD use it right at that moment, I can think of a hundred things to do with it before I would plunk down a single penny on the OJ perversity (I really can not call that a book). . .

1. Put $25 down for a root canal I don't need
2. Tip the IRS agent $25 for auditing me
3. Use it for kindling to light a fire on the BBQ
4. Tape 25 one dollar bills together for novelty toilet paper

I'll let you fill in a few. What would you do?

Yesterday I posted about spring victories, and in the interest of full disclosure, I would like to come clean about some losing battles. Sometimes in life you just have to resign yourself to the fact that you win some and you lose some.

So with that said, please meet my polka dot lawn:



And to be even more honest, right now it is looking good. You see, it is a victim of Pee Wars. It wasn’t always this way. Once it was a green carpet that you would happily lay down on–but that was when we only had one dog. Then we got two. Their greatest joy in life is over peeing each other. So one small spot in a vast yard to choose from becomes the chosen spot–over and over and over again. I know that the male species–from human to canine–has weird peeing habits, but why didn’t anyone ever tell me about Pee Wars?

Here are the culprits:



Yeah, they try to act innocent, but don’t be deceived. As soon as I snapped this shot they were off wizzing again.

But you have to choose your battles, right? And a polka dot lawn is well worth the sloppy kisses. I think.

Other losing battles:

1. That last five pounds
2. Sleeping through the night
3. Writing a book without agonizing over it (Office Depot “easy” button perhaps?)
4. Drifts of dog hair (hm, back to dogs again . . .)

What are yours?

Are You a Mosquito Magnet?

Yes, I am, thank you very much. And now that I know they travel 40 miles to feast on me, I can almost feel flattered.

I've been meaning to post about this for quite a while, and after reading thunderchikin's most recent post, I am stewing again about . . .

Cell phone idiots! There are lots of pet peeves, but one of mine is the recent plethora of hands-free cells. You know, you're walking down the aisle at the grocery store and someone is pushing a cart coming toward you and they start talking. You think they are talking to you, but then you notice it is all babble and they add a laugh and you think they forgot to take their meds, and then finally--after giving them wide berth with your cart--you realize they have a cell earphone and are sharing their private drivel with the whole grocery store. C'mon folks, the hands free technology is for the CAR. If you absolutely must use it outside of the car, at least have the courtesy of putting a big orange cone on your head or something like that which will warn others and make you look less stupid.

So what are your pet peeves? Where should cell phones never be used? How and when should they be used? When should users be ticketed for pete's sake? Let's come up with some do's and don'ts!

I just wrote at least 40 pages about my trip to South Carolina, and just as I was about to press "send" my whole computer shut down. Kaput! Zip! Gone! #@! Sigh. I will try to recapture some of my thoughts and memories of all the wonderful people I met in more bits over the next few days, but suffice it to say at this late hour, I loved South Carolina.

Tomorrow I am off to San Diego to meet with first graders and talk about reading and writing. Most of my school visits are for middle or high schoolers so this will be a major shifting of gears. I know they will keep me on my toes. I need that ; )