Changing Editors

I've had a couple more indicators that for me 2011 will be the Year of Change. Earlier today I was at the doctor's getting a follow-up check, and while his nurse was taking my blood pressure she kept frowning.

"Can't find a pulse again?" I asked her (my BP regularly runs very low, and I have a heart murmur, so I routinely scare the daylights out of people using stethoscopes.)

"Actually it's a little on the high side. For you, anyway." She pumped up the sleeve again. "Any reason you might be feeling some stress?"

I thought for a moment. "My new novel is being released today, and everyone is already saying great things about it, something that in Publishing never goes unpunished. Last night one of my editors asked me to synopsize two hundred years of a character's backstory from a book I'm not actually writing until 2012. I have to electronically correct a set of proofs for another book before my mother visits next week, but I don't think that editor is going to send them until Friday afternoon. And right before I came here, my agent e-mailed to tell me the editor I've worked with longer than any other in my career is quitting the business, possibly before she finishes editing my current novel, and I have to decide on a new editor. So now I have to pick who I want to work with on the bestselling books of my career until 2013 in the next twenty minutes before I call the agent back."

"Uh-huh." The nurse stopped taking my blood pressure. "When does Mama arrive, and how much house cleaning have you done?"

"Next Wednesday. We just renovated one of the bathrooms." I hung my head. "The rest of the house looks like the North Pole after an Elf Kegger."

"Poor thing." She patted my shoulder. "I'll have the doc write a scrip for some more chocolate-covered Valium."

So as I've already admitted to the cosmos, change is good. For 2011 I fully intend to be a good sport and willingly embrace it. However, it would be helpful -- and a little less stressful -- if all the changes the universe is going to throw at me didn't have to happen in the first week.

If you stay in the business long enough, you will probably have to change editors. Just like any other biz pro, editors are routinely promoted, laid off, or shuffled to another imprint or division. Older editors eventually retire; younger editors often get pink-slipped or jump ship to take a better job at another house. Occasionally some leave Publishing behind entirely; one of my editors quit the biz to go to law school.

Losing an editor can be extremely stressful for a writer, especially if you've worked together for a long time. After a few years you both know each other well and have settled into a workable routine. Even if you didn't particularly like your old editor, s/he is the devil you know; the replacement is the one you don't.

If you're given the opportunity to choose your next editor, and you haven't been collecting info about other editors at your publisher (most of us veterans do that in anticipation of editor changes), you should (discreetly) check out the candidates first versus blindly choosing one or relying on an agent or senior editor's recommendation (remember, they don't have to work with the new editor, you do.) You can go info-gathering on the internet (editors talk a bit about their professional experience in interviews, and they also sometimes list other publishers they've worked for in bios), contact other authors who have worked with them, and ask your agent what s/he knows about them.

Everyone has different expectations and desires, so you have to tailor your investigation to suit your needs. I always look at experience first (as in, where have they worked, how long have they been in the biz, and how many houses have they worked for. Also if possible I like to know how often they've changed jobs; I prefer to work with editors who don't jump ship a lot.), I also consider what's on the editor's plate: which authors are they editing, which genres are they handling and how many titles they're putting out a year. The more info I gather, the better guess I can make as to whether or not we'll be a good match.

When you have to change editors, your new editor is generally aware of how stressful the situation is for you, and will try to fill the huge gaping hole space left behind. In my experience most do a terrific job of this, so it's worth giving them the benefit of the doubt (and some time to prove themselves.) It's always a roll of the dice, but you shouldn't expect the worst upfront.

Some writers say you should always meet an editor in person before you agree to work with them, but I don't agree. At times it can even be counterproductive. The last editor I met in person back in 2003 was so young she had barely gotten through puberty -- she sounded a lot older on the phone -- and was so "on" for the conference we were at that I couldn't get a genuine handle on who she was as a person (something that later resulted in a major clash during production that I might have avoided if I hadn't met her and assumed she was -- as she behaved at the conference -- all sunshine and happiness.)

One more thing about asking around the writing community: a writer who doesn't know you is probably only going to say good things about their editor. 99% of the time this is because the writer doesn't know you well enough to depend on your discretion to keep the truth confidential. 1% of the time it's because the writer thinks their editor sent you to find out what they're saying about them. It really depends on how neurotic and paranoid the writer is.

Tomorrow I should hear whether or not if I can be moved to the editor I want to work with; tonight I'm going to think about a few alternatives if I can't. While I put together a 2012 novel notebook for the notes from the 200 year character backstory synopsis. And clean the guest bedroom -- twice. And see how chocolate-covered valium taste crushed and sprinkled on top of a big honking banana split . . .

Lilah Arrives

Frostfire hits the shelves today, and one of my duties as its author is to tempt you into purchasing it.

If it were a car, I could pop the hood and invite you to admire its gleaming engine while I regale you with details of its many innovative features. I could point out the care with which I designed and built it, and mention some of the pleasures involved in taking it for a ride. For once even the exterior on this one is pretty neat (God bless the factory paint job people.) You won't find anything else like it on the market, I'd say, and it wouldn't be a lie. Too bad it's not a car.

Perhaps I could go for the emotional blackmail approach like James Patterson. I noticed he did another of those Buy my book or I'll kill my protagonist TV commercials during the holidays. It's true that novel royalties are my sole income, and healthy book sales assure that I remain employed, which is ammenable to you, yes? Okay, maybe not. I need to employ someone who no one will want to suffer, which isn't me . . . maybe the new puppy?

Not a hair on my dog's head will be harmed whether my book sells or not; let's just be very clear about that upfront.

But imagine little Skye looking up at you with her sad and beautiful dark puppy eyes, while a sign around her neck reads in wobbly lettering: Please, buy my human's book. She's so small and helpless and entirely dependent on me for buying her growth assistance food, paying for her vet visits and restocking her supply of toys. Only she's too busy playing tug-of-war with Cole and the stuffed toy candy cane that squeaks. I want to kill that candy cane; does that count? Probably not.

I could do the artist thing and talk about the novel's new world-building (Frenchman's Pass and the Ahnclann), the unusual characterizations (alternately dreamy and nightmarish to write), and how three of the cast constantly tried to steal the story for themselves. I could tell the story behind the dedication and the lucky dictionary thing between me and author Larissa Ione. Or mention that one, spooky line that came out of nowhere; so perfect and so unexpected and shook me up so much I actually had to stop writing for a couple hours so I could process what had just happened on the page. Like any writer, I'm certainly capable of boring you with all the details. Willing to? Not especially.

We'll just have to go with the standard. So:

My new book Frostfire is being released nationwide today. It's a book about the Kyndred, third in the series, but more of a standalone this time around. For those of you who liked Samuel Taske from Dreamveil, he's part of the story, as are Nick and Gabriel from the fourth Darkyn novel, Night Lost. If you have a bookstore gift card or some cash left over from the holidays, I hope you'll consider checking it out.

Or if that doesn't tempt you, look into these eyes:

Blog Check Ten

Last year the suggestions everyone made to use the extra pages Google gave me for the blog were very helpful, and did a lot to declutter the main page. This is why I'm here to bug you again about the blog.

PBW-ise I know I am pretty resistant to change. Although in the past Tom tweaked the colors and the fonts, I've used the same template for six years. I still dodge getting involved in things like blog tours, interviews, author or publisher promo and the like, which definitely will not change. Social media and I also remain quite happy avoiding each other, so no twits, facebooking or whatever is the new phone app this week.

Still, I'd like to do what I can to make PBW a fun and helpful spot to visit, and the cosmos is whispering that c-word in my ear this week. So with that in mind, here are:

Ten Things About PBW You Want/Don't Want Me to Change

Biz Posts: Most of what I do now are sub ops; I've given up on the trades. I don't get involved in NetPubLand's endless debates and same old tired arguments about the industry, but is there something more I could write about the biz?

Content: PBW is still mainly geared toward writers, but I try to write about books I like and other topics of interest to readers. How's the mix working for you? Anything I should add, subtract, stir up?

Excerpts: If I want to post an excerpt I generally put it over on the stories blog and just link to it. This is because I personally don't care to read excerpts on other writer blogs; they're usually too long or hard to pick up and follow out of the blue. Should I stick to this practice, or try another approach?

Features: Aside from twice-weekly updates during NaNoWriMo, I've gotten away from doing any regular features. I always liked doing the Friday 20, but after a while I felt like everyone got tired of it. I've noticed other writers do those day-named meme features (Thursday Thirteen, Saturday Snippers) but the linking to other blogs involved always made me leery because I couldn't preview the content I was linking to (and yeah, that kind of thing worries me because it can come across like an endorsement.) Would you like to see some sort of regular feature return to PBW?

Giveaways: 99% of the time I give away books or BookWishes because that's how I support the industry and those colleagues out there who are writing fabulous books. Is there anything more I can give away that would have equal or more appeal to you writers and readers out there?

Guest Bloggers: Except for my kid writing a review of her favorite book and some tech announcements from Tom, I've never actually had a guest blogger on PBW. Should I keep it that way, or would you like to see someone else at the helm? If yes on the guest, who would you like to see?

Humor Posts: I think I've exhausted poor John and Marcia, but I could put more energy into penning some parodies, funny bits and so forth. Or do I write enough already? Inquiring blog hosts want to know.

Promo Posts: I feel like I already do too many of these (there's one coming at you tomorrow for Frostfire.) But this blog is my only web presence, and readers have complained -- loudly -- that I don't talk about my books enough here. So what's your take on my self-propaganda? (and no, you won't insult me if you say I do too much already.)

Template: It pains me to think of letting go of Ye Ancient Template, but Blogger does have some very attractive alternatives available now. Should I try on some different looks for PBW, or keep her in the same old vintage skin for as long as Google will let me?

Writing Posts: This is one area blog-wise where I feel I'm not falling down, and that I do come up with some fresh ideas on a regular basis. But I could be deluding myself, too. Is PBW working as a writer's resource?

Of course I don't expect everyone to comment on all ten things or anything at all, but if you have the time and an opinion to share, please do let me know what you think in comments.

Graphic credit: © Yellowj | Dreamstime.com

By Chance or By Change

While we were fiddling with the computers on New Year's Eve, I noticed for the first time that the date for the first day of 2011 was 1/1/11. I'm not superstitious about numbers or dates, but seeing all those ones lined up seemed like a poke from the cosmos: Pay attention, this is important. Or maybe it was just the universe's way of nudging me to watch The One movie again. Been meaning to do that; I love Jet Li.

Rather than get all wrapped up in the concept of one (the cosmos is never that obvious) I decided to be on the lookout during New Year's Day for four things that would inspire me. Using the world as a creative navigator is one of my favorite things to do, and I thought it would be fun to see what directions the universe thought I should take for the next year.

The first one came as I went to file a bookmark I'd made for my readers. I put it together from a photograph I'd taken of one of our pines, and a haiku that I wrote on Christmas Day. I was pretty pleased with how it turned out, so I wanted to save it. Then I opened the filing cabinet and found that my 2010 poetry folder was empty. While the haiku wasn't the only poem I wrote last year, it was the only one I thought was good enough to print out, share and save. I know poetry makes me a better writer, and one resolution I'd been thinking about was making a conscious effort to write more verse in 2011. Looked like the universe agreed with me, so #1 -- Write more poetry went on my list.

The first project of 2011 my guy and I had planned is to renovate one of our bathrooms, and that morning we went to local home improvement store to pick up some things we needed. On the way to the check-out we passed a magazine rack with all the usual how-to gardening, painting and other home stuff, when I spotted the Dec/Jan issue of Fine Cooking. Generally I don't see many cooking mags in home improvement stores, so that struck me as odd. So did the gorgeous towering dessert featured on the cover, which was one I'd never tried to make (and mentioned that here on the blog.) The message couldn't have been plainer if they'd printed it on the cover: #2 -- Don't be afraid to try things you think you can't do.

Then came the third inspiration, almost as soon as we got home. We've been hustling to get ready for Mom, our first visitor of 2011, who was due in on Monday. While I always love having company, after the holidays I'm a little wiped out, and prefer to have some downtime to regroup, shop, straighten up, etc. (who wants their mother to visit when the house is a mess?) On my desk is pile of writing work that I wanted to get a jump on, but family comes first, so I had already resigned myself to some late nights playing catch-up. Until Mom called that day and unexpectedly rescheduled her visit for mid-January. This never happens with my mother, who is the acknowledged Queen of Planet Scheduling & Punctuality, so I saw it as another kick in the backside: #3 -- Be more open to the unlikely and unexpected; it isn't always a bad thing for you.

Nothing more sparked my imagination that day, and I thought I might have to go with three inspirations versus four. We happily tired ourselves out working on the bathroom, and as a reward ordered take-out from our favorite Chinese restaurant. During dinner we talked about our new year's resolutions (no one had made any) and then finished with our take-out ritual of passing around the fortune cookies and reading our slips out loud. My cookie yielded this dour advice:



At first my fortune seemed like a universal slap on the wrist: Bad girl. No cookie for you. The more I thought about it, though, the more it tickled me. I got this cookie purely by chance; and it was telling me not to depend on that (I love a good paradox.) But I felt the fortune wasn't condemning chance, it was simply telling me not to rely on it to improve my life -- that I had to do that myself by following through and taking action. It's something I completely agree with, too. So the final addition to the list was #4 -- Make the changes you need in order to make life better.

Now that my list is complete, and I know what I'm going to do about it, I feel more centered and ready to take on 2011. How about you guys? Any new year's messages from the cosmos land on your doorstep? What's one thing you're planning to change this year?

Wishing You

It Figures

Sorry I'm late posting; due to some connection problems we're currently on dial-up only, and will likely remain that way until my guy figures it out, or the cable company sends someone to check out our equipment (at this point, looks like Saturday.)

In the meantime, please be careful out there tonight. Stay home if you can, or if you're planning to go out to party, decide in advance on a designated driver who can see to it that everyone gets home safely.

Best of 2010

Toward the end of December I always catch myself thinking about what sort of year I've had. There are landmarks like my blog and my work backups that chronicle my writing journey, which is ever an interesting one. Often I count the number of personal art and writing journals I fill up in twelve months to measure how often I needed to retreat and work things out in private; I used twenty-three for 2010 (about average; a bad year can result in forty or more.)

In some ways it was a year of losses (something we're supposed to get used to as we get older, but I don't really see how one does that.) We lost another brother to cancer, and two more family members became gravely ill. We sent one kid off to university, and while that is exactly as it should be, it's been a difficult adjustment. I joined in NaNoWriMo, but losing my sweet boy Jak hit me very hard, and I didn't finish my November novel.

While I won't call it a loss, I finished StarDoc, the foundation series of my writing career, with the release of Dream Called Time in August. Not everyone was happy about the end of the series, but it was quite painful for me to let go, too. You won't find many midlist science fiction writers who are able to publish a ten-novel series; support from my loyal StarDoc readers gave me that privilege, for which I will always be grateful.

One of them more vile events of the year was when a reader alerted me to the fact that Scribd.com was using my work without my permission as part of their scam to swindle readers into paying for something I've provided for free for the last ten years. Even here on the blog I was ridiculed for going public with this information, but as it ultimately caused Scribd.com to back-pedal and allow their users to opt out of the scam, I think it was worth it.

On the upside of 2010, I wrote five novels, sold three more, moved into a new genre and will be writing new stories of the Darkyn, the bestselling series of my career. A generous reader turned one of my free e-books into an app; another created a beautiful and haunting video envisioning my characters. My German publisher has been producing a constant stream of gorgeous cover art for my work, and made the very first publishing video for my work. The cover art gods have also smiled upon a couple of my upcoming 2011 releases.

That, together with all the laughs, surprises and other bright spots helped keep me moving forward instead of wallowing in despair. Maybe the most valuable thing that 2010 taught me that there is always something to get you through, as long as you take the time to look for it, and appreciate it, and make it part of your daily life. PBW is one of those things, thanks to you guys.

I've gone through the archives, and here are what I think are the best posts from the blog for 2010:

January: Wordling Poetry, Ten Things That Indicate You and Your Story Should Part Ways, and Why God Must Be a Writer

February: Mash-O-Matic, Where's the Mothership?, The Backstory Cafe, and Is This Your Query?

March: Ten Things You Might Catch from Other Writers' Books, and Lady RaRa's Rules for Self-Promotion

April: Ten Holidays for Writers That We'd Like to See, Ten Things Writers Say About Their Books (and what they really mean), and Your Writing Horoscope

May: Coyote Con Chat Questions, and Character Therapy

June: Ten Things You Will Not Find In Dreamveil, In Character, and Ten Things I've Resolved to Do

July: Write Noise and Cloud Profiles

August: Ten Things I've Never Told Anyone about StarDoc

September: Six and a Half Weeks and Follow the White Rabbit

October: The Ten Grave Precepts of Writer Zen, e-Pestered, and Runaway Trains Part I and Part II

November: Hold the Apps, Please, Writing Gremlins, and Ten Things I Don't Want for Christmas

December: Ten Things Writers Say, and What They Really Mean (Holiday edition), Holiday Karma, and My Holiday Wish

I thank you all for stopping in to talk shop, share the laughs and keep me motivated even in the darkest times. My wish for all of you in 2011 is that you move forward, try new things, and help each other when you can. Look for the light, and wherever you are in your writing, your career and/or your life, it will find you.

Cool Calendars

I admit, I'm a calendar junkie. Every year I go out and buy a year's supply (I wait until after January 1st so I can get them at a discount) for the entire family. They are not as vigilant as I am about keeping them updated -- the slackers -- but it satisfies my ever-constant need for organization. If you're going to the brick and mortars, BAM and B&N always seem to have a nice selection, and Borders usually offers theirs with excellent discounts after January 1st.

I have found if I get calendars with themes that appeals to my victims loved ones, they are more apt to use them. So I look for nature or beach scenes for my guy, puppies for my daughter and anything Asian for the college kid. For myself I buy some type of quilt-themed wall calendar -- this because they almost always come with free patterns -- a purse-size pocket planner and a lay-flat, desk-size notebook type for my office desk.

I've never before made my own calendar, though, so in keeping with my "try new things" outlook for 2011 I decided to see how hard it was to put one together. Not difficult at all, as it turns out. Microsoft Word 2007 allows me to access and download online templates from their site, so I found a simple one to use. I inserted a blank page between each month and on those inserted an interesting photo from my collection.

The whole thing took about thirty minutes, and the resulting calendar came out great, as you can see here. I was just playing, but I think doing something like this for readers would be an excellent New Year's gift from an author, especially those of you who do a lot of booksignings, conferences and that kind of thing (I'm thinking you could also mark upcoming release dates with a cover thumbnail inserted into the appropriate calendar date block, although I haven't tried that myself.)

One suggestion: I didn't resize the photos I used for the example calendar, so most of them are really too hi-rez for printing (they also make the file over 4 MB in size; rather huge for a 25-page document.) If you're going to use digital or scanned photos for a calendar you want folks to print out, resize them first to an easily-printable resolution before you insert them in your doc.

Other calendar resources:

The simple but wonderful Chaos Manager freeware designed by Martin Bresson was such a huge help to me in 2010 I'm going to keep using it as my virtual calendar/reminder program for 2011. I've got my guy hooked on it now, too.

Veranda Magazine's February 2011 issue comes with a lovely free calendar featuring their amazing photography; I'm putting this one in the kitchen because it's attractive, not too big and yet it has decent-size blocks to write on.

Calendar Freeware fom the Freebies page: 1 year * Calendar.exe * Calendar Magic * Calendars & Planners * Chandler * Easy HR Popup Calendar * MiniMinder * Multi-Reminders * Rainlendar Lite Remind Me Please * Sunbird * TaskPrompt * TKexe Kalendar

Works for Me

The thought of making a New Year's resolution for 2011 has me once again waffling. I think change is good, but I resent having to decide and initiate the change by January 1st. I'm too tired after the Christmas holidays to work up the proper amount of enthusiasm; I'd be more receptive to something like a Valentine's Day Vow or maybe a Saint Patrick's Day Pledge.

Tradition keeps poking me, though, so I went over and rifled through the sidebar links over at The Generator Blog to find an online resolution-maker (because Gerard has a generator for everything) and of course I found one that led me here. This was the first thing the generator suggested:



Hopefully that doesn't mean a musical instrument. I'm tone-deaf.

Seriously, I would like to take more time to play. I have another idea for a year-long virtual art project similar to PBWindow, but I don't know if I have the time or the nerve to attempt it. Have to brood on that a bit more. My work schedule is pretty packed, but I wouldn't mind experimenting again (I might save this impulse for NaNoWriMo 2011.) I'd also like to try something I've never done, like make a video for fun.

I've got a few more days to think about it, so that's probably what I'll do. How about you guys? Are you making a New Year's resolution, are you undecided, or are you going into 2011 unresolved?

BAM Ten

Ever wonder what writers do with those bookstore gift cards? Here are:

Ten Things I Bought with Mine at Books-a-Million



Blank Books:

1. Piccadilly spiral-bound blank journal (butterfly front, discounted.) I picked this up on impulse; the cover is fetching and it's large enough to make into a daily art journal.

2. Write Ideas "Dance Floor" large flex journal. I don't like the cover on this one, but it's huge, the page lining is nice and wide, and it has a pocket and a ribbon marker. I'll probably redo the cover with an interesting fabric.

Bookmarks:

3.& 4. "Go with all your heart" and 5. "The Spirit of Flight." Two are to give away and one is a replacement for me (I gave my original to a friend.)

Fiction:

6. Angel at Dawn by Emma Holly; second in her latest Upyr trilogy. The first one in this trio was terrific, and I think this installment continues the protagonists' story, which is even better.

7. My Immortal Assassin by Carolyn Jewel. I'm pretty sure this is the third in her paranormal romance series; definitely the newest. It's been a while since I read the last one so I may have to go back and reread the early novels to pick up the story again.

Magazines:

8. Quilting Arts Magazine Dec/Jan issue. This is not for me; I'm taking it to a quilter friend who is recovering from back surgery and can't get out to the store. Looking forward to bickering with her over adding metal to quilts (she's dead set against it; I'm all for it as long as the quilts aren't to be used for bedding or handled by children.)

9. Somerset Studio Gallery Magazine Winter '2011 issue. I tried to walk past it, really I did, but Angela Cartwright has an article in this one about watercolor photo art, and that I couldn't resist.

Nonfiction:

10. Zen in the Art of Writing by Ray Bradbury. I've never read it, and since I'm into Zen anything, thought it was about time I did.

(the above list is thanks to my guy, and the gift card he never forgets to give me every Christmas)

Celebrating

I hope everyone is keeping warm and enjoying their holidays. Our college kid made it home Christmas Eve night, which was all my guy and I wanted from Santa. The next day was quiet but relaxing, with the weather keeping us all inside to hang out with the kids, play with the dogs and take naps on the couch. We expect to do the same today, so it's been pretty much the perfect Christmas at Casa PBW.

We finally found something our fearless and feisty new pup is afraid of: wearing jingle bells. Because I'm becoming that classic old lady who dresses her pets, I got a little velvet collar with tiny bells to put around the puppy's neck (Cole got a more manly John Deere neck scarf.) Skye skittered around, tail between her legs, until finally she crawled onto my daughter's lap and refused to budge. So now I have a very nice velvet and bells ornament for the tree.

Cole has been missing his friend, the neighbor's toy poodle (earlier this year she went to live with her brother at their grandparents) so we found a little stuffed replica of her for him. I thought he might have forgotten her, but no, he carried the poodle around with him all day and even curled up with it last night.

What I didn't expect to find in my stocking was a shiny new 20" monitor for my work computer, which will allow me to see everything on the screen without scrolling back and forth (and replaces the monitor I've been using for the last six years, which was six inches smaller.) This will also be invaluable now that I have to do all my copy-edits electronically, as I can see the page and the editor's comments at the same time without reducing the size of the page. My guy also gave me a beautiful new steel filing cabinet, which sounds dull but for me is the same as getting a diamond bracelet is for other women.

The biggest chuckle of the day came from my mom, who is spending Christmas with my sister and her family. I groaned as soon as I unwrapped it and saw the color of the T-shirt she sent as my gift; she is determined to get me over my hatred of pink. Then I unfolded it and laughed along with everyone else at the caption on the front:



Did Santa surprise you this year? Let us know in comments.

My Holiday Wish

The Publishing Fairy and I had a long talk last night, during which I presented her with my wish list.

As she read it, she began shaking her head over what I'd written and making comments:

"Not within my wand range."

"Bill Gates's Fairy is meaner and more powerful than me."

"When pigs fly, honey."

"Are you kidding? You are kidding. Telling me you're kidding."

"That's sweet. Tragic, misguided, and completely out of the question, but sweet."

"No."

"Santa doesn't do that."

"Or that."

"Especially not that."

Finally she got to the red-circled item on my list, the one thing I really wanted for Christmas. At which point the Publishing Fairy threw down the list. "You're crazy."

Of course I was, but I also tried to look deserving.

"Don't give me the sad writer eyes. They never work on me."

I ducked my head.

"All right. But this is only because you were a good girl and didn't touch that huge box of chocolate your editor sent you." She sighed, handed me back my list, stood up and waved her wand over me. "Wish granted."

In my hands appeared a long list of names, all of whom (thanks to the PF) are the winners of the Holiday Wishes giveaway, and they are:

Jessica ~ Jaye Patrick ~ ♫♥LovLivLife Reviews♥♫ ~ Robin F ~ Stacy M ~ Paranormal and Romantic Suspense Reviews ~ Jackie Uhrmacher (yes, even if you're getting a review copy) ~ Anonymous (winterfall333) ~ Amalia ~ L in Oz ~ mofo8727 ~ Charlene Teglia ~ Shiloh Walker ~ Elizabeth ~ Michelle ~ Karen Mahoney ~ Melissa ~ Diane ~ ableskiver ~ bluebamboo ~ s7anna ~ B.E. Sanderson ~ Denise ~ Lisa ~ Darlene Ryan ~ necole p ~ sandy l ~ Deb Salisbury ~ Margaret S ~ Krystal ~ Liz B ~ JJ ~ Tammy S ~ Cid ~ Julie Doe ~ Cricket ~ Sari in Michigan ~ Cybercliper ~ Erin KEndall ~ Cheena ~ Keita Haruka ~ The Red Angel ~ Lorinda ~ Marianne Arkins ~ ten ~ ilona ~ darkreader ~ Anne Velosa ~ Jane ~ Rowan ~ Diane M. ~ Alice ~ SandyH ~ donnas ~ Dawn Montgomery ~ Steena Holmes ~ Margaret Claire ~ Jennifer and Jeff ~ LauraP ~ Abigail [All Things Urban Fantasy] ~ Anne V. ~ Leslie ~ Laura ~ Karen W. ~ Atropa Rainwater ~ Caroline ~ Rebecca ~ Jonathan B. ~ Sheila ~ Becca ~ Pamk

Just in case I missed any names as I was transcribing them from comments, everyone who commented yesterday is getting a signed copy of Frostfire. Now go, enjoy your holiday, your weekend, and when you have time after that, please e-mail your full name and ship-to address to LynnViehl@aol.com. Of course I have to order the extra copies of the novel, and sign all of them, but I should be able to get everyone their books in a week or two.

In the meantime:

Holiday Wishes

It seems the Publishing Fairy is in town for the holidays, and she just called to say she's going to stop by Casa PBW tonight to deliver some early copies of this:



Since I have no more room under the tree, I thought you all might be nice enough to take them off my hands. So if you're interested in helping out, in comments to this post make a holiday wish (or if you're wish-undecided, just toss your name in the hat) by midnight EST tonight, December 24, 2010. I will draw five names at random from everyone who participates, and send the winners a signed copy of Frostfire by Lynn Viehl. This giveaway is open to everyone on the planet, even if you've won something here at PBW in the past.

Brittle Monster

Yesterday I made candy for the first time: honeycomb toffee brittle. My mother makes candy (her fudge is to die for), and so do all the other women in my family; I've never tried. This is because I am occasionally clumsy in the kitchen, and in the past the thought of handling substances that are liquid and not far from the melting temperature of tin has always discouraged me. Besides, I can buy candy any time.

I wanted to make this one recipe, though, ever since I bought Simply Christmas by Carol Field Dahlstrom. Each November I'd take out the book, open it to page 80, and stare at the picture, which as you can see is scrumptious. The recipe only called for five simple ingredients. How hard could it be?

Not really that hard at all. The instructions are barely a paragraph long, and every time I read them, I imagined myself making it. Butter a cookie sheet, okay. Combine sugar and syrup in medium saucepan, no problem. Bring to a boil, can do, until the mixture reaches the temperature of molten lava . . . .and I'd stop right there, and carefully put the book away, and go make Toll House or sugar cookies or something else that didn't make me think of skin grafts and burn units. No candy in the world is worth that kind of grief.

That's how it went, until the next year I would take out the book, and stare at it again until my fear of being burned by the brittle monster made me put it away. I've done that for ten years, until yesterday, when the girls and I were baking, and I went to get a Cooking Light issue that had a lovely little chocolate-hazelnut cookie recipe. I saw the book, saw the picture that is now branded on my brain and heard something inside me whisper, "You wimp."

I handed over the chocolate hazelbut recipe to the girls, and got out a medium saucepan. The looming spectre of the brittle monster made me start bargaining with myself: I won't make it because I know I don't have all the ingredients on hand. But no, a check of the pantry revealed that I did have all the ingredients. I won't be able to find that candy thermometer mom sent me six years ago. But no, I found it in the I-never-use-this drawer. The thermometer is so old it'll be broken. It worked fine.

I was actually okay while the molten lava brittle mixture was simmering, mainly because I didn't have to stir it for twenty minutes. That allowed me to keep at a safe distance while the temperature on the candy thermometer crept up closer and closer to 300°F, the first time I would have to stir down the monster. I held my breath while I did, and escaped unscathed.

Me - 1, Monster - 0

I cleared the counter for the final and most difficult part of the recipe, transferring the mixture to the buttered cookie sheet. Then all I had to do was wait for the latest reason to visit the emergency room mixture to reach 390°F. The brittle monster in the pot seethed and roiled, just waiting to get at some unprotected limb.

I love my kitchen; it's really the heart of our home, my favorite room in the house, and the one place I'm never scared. I didn't want to get burned, and while I watched the temperature on the candy thermometer pass 350°F, I was a bit shaky. Then I remembered all the things I've made here, that have been enjoyed by my family and friends, and all the things I still want to make. I am not an amazing cook, but I'm competent, and I knew I could do this if I just stopped being so scared of what might happen. This weird calm settled over me, and by the time the thermometer reached 390°F, I was ready to make candy.

I did make the girls stand back and protected my hands and my workspace before I touched the pot. Caution, never a bad thing in my opinion. I also had a wobbly moment when I stirred in the baking soda and the brittle monster in the pot foamed up to within a quarter-inch of the rim. But I kept a firm grip on my mixing spoon, and stirred it down, and quickly poured it onto the sheet. All of this I did without getting a drop on the counter, the floor, or me.

I'd slain the honeycomb toffee brittle monster. All by myself.

A half-hour later, when the candy was cool enough, I broke it into pieces and passed it around. My daughter didn't care much for it; her best friend thought it was amazing. As for me, well, it melted in my mouth, and was so rich and carmel-chocolatey that it made me shiver. It also stuck to my teeth, and had a trace of baking soda taste to it, and from the dense texture I think I stirred it too much that last time. I also know I've never enjoyed a piece of candy so much in my life.

There is this recipe, though, for a French dessert that I've never attempted. It's like a tower of orange-flavored cream puffs studded with citrus stars and veiled with sugar spun into gossamer strands. The kind of dish that makes people's eyes pop. And you know, I look at the recipe every New Year's Eve, and think, No, that's too hard, I could never do that . . . .

Journal, Wrecked

Back in October I mentioned that my daughter, her best friend and I had started a group writing project involving Keri Smith's Wreck This Journal. My goals were to show the girls that journals and diaries don't have to be boring, and to try out a little creative destruction myself.

To give you some perspective, here is a typical entry in one of my own journals. I write about my family, friends, books, music, art, world events, my job, and all the ordinary (and probably boring to anyone else) things that go to make up a life. After getting into art journaling a few years back, I also regularly paint or sketch something and then write a short passage about it or some topic that relates to it.

Keri Smith's journal demanded a different approach: a destructive and messy one. Before I go into details, I think overall this was a good exercise for me, as I am kind of a nitpicky person about cleanliness. Okay, my bathrooms sparkle, you can eat off practically any surface in my house, and I can produce three different kinds of hand sanitizer at any given moment (and my guy is just as bad, and even cleans the bathrooms for me; another reason I adore him.)

Every other page in Wreck This Journal listed instructions of what to do on that page or to the page, i.e. "drip something here (ink, paint, tea) close the book to make a print" and "tear this page out, put it in your pocket, put it through the wash, stick it back in." I dutifully followed the instructions, going so far as to spend a half hour reconstructing the page my washing machine turned into mush.

As I progressed through the journal, I used the blank pages for daily entries, spaces for photos and so forth, as I would any journal. But then I started reaching instructions I truly didn't want to follow, like licking pages, chewing on pages and smearing pages with things bacteria and mold love, like candy, food, dirt etc. I love books, but I simply don't put my mouth or food on them; if that makes me uptight so be it.

Because the author noted that the instructions were open to my personal interpretation, I tried to get away with some creative substitutions. Instead of using one page as my dinner napkin, I taped one of my dried paint rags to it (art is soul food, right?) My favorite page -- "Make a mess, clean it up" -- I was able to interpret with a visual parody (later in the journal Keri instructed me to give it away, which I did.)

I did things I've never done with journals, though, lots of them. I sewed a page, picked up the journal with my feet, played golf with a page, slept with the journal under my pillow (now there's something I didn't do even when I was a teenager) and covered two pages with office supplies. I also added bird feathers I found in the yard (safely and sanitarily encased & sealed under clear packing tape) and made a drawing using my own hair.

Nine times out of ten it was fun, and the few times I did draw the line at following the instructions exactly I made a creative substitution or wrote down why I decided not to follow them. Some, like jumping up and down on the journal, were not physically possible for me (the bad knee does not permit jumping.) Mainly I baulked at doing anything that would make the journal unpleasant or hazardous for someone to handle.

Toward the end of finishing the journal my aversions made a light bulb go off. I've always believed that I write my private journals for myself, but maybe subconsciously I want them to be read by someone else someday. After thirty-six years of keeping a daily journal, you'd think I'd have realized that, but honestly I hadn't.

As with altering books into art, I don't think creative journal destruction is my thing. Respect and love for books is deeply ingrained in my personality; I winced every time I had to deface or destroy a page. But this was a fun project, and it opened my eyes to my own journaling habits. Despite my failure to get oral with certain pages, I think Keri Smith helped me loosen up a bit, too. Any time you can expand your horizons as a writer or an artist, you get a chance to increase your range. I definitely will be doing some new things with future journals.

Guided journals often prompt us to vent our worries and explore our imaginations, but Keri Smith invites us to rethink our attitudes toward the journal itself. Through her zany instructions she reminds us that a journal can be more than a thought depository or a sketch book; it can become a golf ball, a pull-toy, a bulls-eye, and just about anything else we want to play with.

As for the girls, they've both have told me that Wreck This Journal is the most fun they've every had with any book. I think it is a terrific gift for adults as well as kids ages 10 and up (younger are okay, too, but should probably be supervised by an adult while following instructions involving glue or other substances that can deface and/or stain more than the journal.)

Screen Time

While I don't watch broadcast television, I do buy movies and a select few TV series on DVD as rewards for meeting my writing goals. I also swap them with friends as reciprocal gifts for birthdays and the holidays, which is fun because we don't tell each other in advance what we're swapping.

The Proposal with Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds was one of my rewards for finishing my last novel, and features Sandra as a demanding NY Publishing senior editor about to be deported back to Canada, and Ryan as the male assistant she strong-arms into becoming her fiance. I'm generally not a fan of films that portraying powerful women as demanding, heartless harpies from hell because it caters to misogynistic attitudes, but I like Sandra's movies, and as I expected she plays her role as smart and funny versus offensive and insulting. The screenwriters also did a nice job with the back story that actually supports her characterization.

Most of the story takes place in Alaska, during a visit to meet Reynolds's family, and gets pretty goofy at times, but there's enough drama to keep it from becoming utterly silly. Betty White (who plays Reynolds's 90 y.o. grandma) obviously had the best time with this project; she practically steals every scene she's in. The logical but realistic end wrapped up the movie neatly without sending my blood sugar through the roof or ticking me off, something that tends to be a problem for me with romantic comedies. I wonder, though, does Ryan Reynolds have a lazy eye, or maybe is a tiny bit cross-eyed? There were a couple of times during the movie that I swear, his right eye just didn't seem to be staying in sync with the left. Anyway, see the official trailer here.

Chuck Season One: This was a birthday swap gift that I received from a friend who (thanks to me) is now completely hooked on Burn Notice. I think I'm hooked on Chuck now, too; if you're looking for pure farce, you don't get much better than this. Chuck is a computer repair tech/geek/lonely guy who works at a big electronics chain store. He lives with his sister, he got kicked out of college, and he's basically every poor slob who could never get a date in high school. All that changes when via synaptic download Chuck accidentally becomes the government's most valuable intelligence asset.

The characters really make this show, and Adam Baldwin, who plays one of Chuck's handlers, is really priceless as brutal/humorless gung-ho patriot. He deadpans so well that I swear, every time the guy raises a steely brow I crack up. I'm charmed most by Zachary Levi, though, who plays the title role and in every episode grabs your heart with his awkward but sweet and surprisingly deep portrayal of the character; a true prince with principles and a pocket protector.

What I'll be watching over the holidays:

Castle Season One -- Another swap gift, one that came in for Christmas (our theme was favorite on-screen genres, and my pal got the SyFy Channel's Dune and Children of Dune mini-series in return from me.)

I'm a bit nervous about this one. I rarely watch movies or shows about writers because (inevitably, I suppose) they never get it right, or they make us into some idiotic variation of the wonderfully rich, helpfully curious old gal author from Murder, She Wrote (yeah, there's some heavy-duty realism for you.) About every ten years one comes along (ala Author! Author! with Al Pacino, Impromptu with Judy Davis, and Finding Forrester with Sean Connery) that is entertaining, but mostly I avoid them.

That said, I think Castle might be okay for three reasons: 1)It stars Nathan Fillion, who I think is an amazing actor, 2) Nathan plays a mystery author, one genre I don't consider personal territory, and 3) I got my friend (a devoted SF-hater) hooked on Frank Herbert enough to ask to borrow the first book, so this is like swap karma. I'll let you know how it goes, but in the meantime, here's the trailer for season one.

Down to the Wire Ten

Ten Things You Can Make as Last Minute Gifts

Collaborative or Family Cookbook: My mom is making a family version of this for my nephew's new wife: ask your friends and/or family for their all-time favorite or most famous recipes, type them up or photocopy them, and put them into a booklet or binder divided into sections (appetizers, entrees, side dishes, etc.) Add your own recipes and hints about holiday celebrations, photos of past friend/family get-togethers, etc. To add a special note, present it in a basket with all the ingredients to make one of the recipes.

Cozy Evening Bag: In a large recyclable gift or shopping bag put a warm throw or lap quilt, fuzzy socks, a CD of holiday music, a book you love to curl up with, a coffee mug, something to make a hot drink (like tea bags, hot cocoa mix, small jar of instant decaf coffee) and some snacks (cookies, candy, nuts, etc.)

Custom CD mixes: Have fun with your music collection and create playlists with interesting themes, i.e. holiday classics, road trip tunes, music for a bubble bath, rock out blasters, romantic nights, etc. Burn your playlists onto CDs and design your own mix cover art for the cases spotlighting the theme (if you can use pictures of the recipient that relate to the theme, even better.)

DVD Exchange: This is a reciprocal gift I do with friends every year that is great fun because it is always a surprise. Agree to exchange DVDs of your favorite movie or TV show of the year, or if you prefer a particular genre use themes like "Best SyFy Channel Show" or "Must-See Mini-Series." Present yours in a bag with some microwave popcorn and classic theater treats (like Twizzlers, Raisinets, M&Ms.)

Freebie Reads Bundle: Download some e-books that are in public domain or that the authors have posted for free on the internet (links to all mine are here) and burn them on CD, or print them out and place them in a binder. This works well as another reciprocal gift.

Holiday Pomander Basket: A pomander is a natural air freshener, and for this gift you'll need fruit (oranges, apples and/or lemons work best) studded with whole cloves, a basket, fresh greens (twigs from a pine tree with green needles look nice, so do any small branches you've trimmed from your Christmas tree.) Line your basket with the greens and make the pomanders (that artist woman blog has good directions on how to insert the cloves here.) Place the pomanders on top of the greens. Add little touches like candles, cinnamon sticks or other fragrant bits to add to the aroma.

Memory Album: I'm doing this for several people on my list who don't realize how often I've photographed them (being sneaky with the camera helps.) Go through your photos for the year of your recipient, print out the best and put them in chronological order in a small brag book or photo album. Add funny captions along the top or bottom border, or note the time/event on the back side. My mom made one for my college kid that shows him at age three -- and has photos of everyone else in the family at the exact same age.

Sampler Stocking: Fill a stocking with samples of anything your recipient might enjoy: granola bars, diet drink mixes, 100 calorie packs, gum, mints, etc. It doesn't have to be food, either - I like to buy sample sizes of things like hand lotion, shower gel and body spray so I can use them on road trips and in my guest bathroom, so I always a bag of them in the closet. An assortment of these along with a bath sponge or scrunchie would be fun.

Scrumptious Shortbread -- Scottish shortbread is the simplest of all cookie recipes, as the usual formula is three parts flour, two parts butter and one part sugar (tip: I find unsalted butter works best.) Here's a simple recipe that you don't have to chill or form, just press in a pan, bake, cool and cut into wedges.

Snap Crackle & Pop: Requires a box of Rice Krispies, a bag of marshmallows and a couple tablespoons of butter or margarine; takes about 5 minutes to make them into Rice Krispie treats (recipe can be found here.) You can form the mixture while it's still warm into balls, snowmen or other holiday shapes, or cut and wrap squares after mixture cools in a brownie or cake pan (tip: make your squares bite-size, wrap in foil and present in a canister or candy jar.) I've never met a kid who didn't like them.

What are your favorite last minute gifts to make? Let us know in comments.

Give Us This Day

This may look like a loaf of bread, but it's not. It's a gift. A delicious, homemade, still-warm-from-the-oven gift. Someone couldn't wait to taste it and nipped an end piece the minute it touched a flat surface in the kitchen. Okay, it was me, but I live with another crust lover. If I don't nick one for myself my guy will eat both.

My next door neighbor first made and brought over this bread for us on the day we moved into this house, and has made a loaf as a Christmas gift every year since. It's a simple but lovely gesture, one I return usually by baking a pie or a strudel for her and her family, although this year I might do a basket of cookies (I can never decide on one thing and stick to it; I'm too restless a baker.)

Exchanging gifts of food is really old-fashioned. Today no one has time to bake; it's certainly easier to send a basket of stuff from a catalog or pick up something from the bakery in town. My neighbor and I are both insanely busy women, and rarely have time to do more than chat for a minute now and then, and usually about car pooling the kids. This year has been particularly hectic; I can count the number of times we've talked on one hand. I certainly never expect the gift of her bread, just as I know she never expects anything from me.

We're very different people,my neighbor and me -- different backgrounds, jobs, schedules, hobbies, friends and so forth. But we live side-by-side; our kids go to the same schools. We share tools and repair tips, rescue stray mail and packages, and keep an eye out for any wild critters that cross our properties (we even caught our neighbor's horse when he got loose one New Year's Day.) When one family goes out of town, the other watches their house, and when the rare emergency happens, we're there for each other with whatever is needed. I couldn't ask for better neighbors.

So when I look at this loaf of bread, I don't see something simple or humble. I see a gift I'm given every day, living in my neighborhood and knowing this family. I see friendship, and trust, and community. I see all the days I've been here, and look forward to the times to come.

Every time you stop in here and talk about books and writing and share some laughs with me, you do the same thing as my neighbor. You give me a little part of your day, your words, your thoughts. You talk about the books you love, the stories you wrestle and the hopes and dreams you hang onto. You are my colleagues and readers, my virtual neighbors, and I'm sure all very busy with lives of your own, and still you make time for me. I think that may be the greatest gift you can give anyone.

Tomorrow I think I'll make soup to go with the bread. Or maybe a stew. The other wonderful thing about this kind of gift are all the possibilities that go with it.

Generate Some Cheer

Make your own Christmas and holiday cards with this online card generator (click on card to see larger version):



This one is for the kids: have them drag-n-drop lights and ornaments to decorate this virtual Christmas tree, then tell them to click on the on/off switch directly below the decoration palette and watch what happens to the tree and their decorations (Christmas music will also play when you turn the tree on):



Upload and turn your favorite photo into a virtual Christmas ornament (actual size):



Have you been invited to too many parties but can't think up reasonable (or other) excuses to dodge them? Try the Holiday Party Excuse Generator (click image to see larger version; also warning for those at work ~ this site plays cute music in the background):

Winners

I's great to know so many of you are giving books as gifts, and what a terrific range of titles you mentioned in the 2 Magical Holiday Reads giveaway -- Santa would be proud.

We de-iced the magic hat, and the winners are:

Bethany K. Warner, who is giving the "first two Rachel Caine Morganville vampires books."

The Bonz, who is presenting a lucky niece with "a gorgeous set of illustrated LOTR hardcovers."

Cora, who is giving away a pile of books, including a novel from one of my favorite series "Nightlife by Rob Thurman."

Bunnie's Mom, who is hoping her guy will "go to the book store and gift me an actual book."

Claire Cherven, who gives "Borders gift cards as well as gift certificates to the Clinton Book Store."

Winners, when you have a chance please send your full name and ship-to info to LynnViehl@aol.com so I can get your books out to you. My thanks to everyone for joining in.