I awoke to the wonder of a sunny sky and a plowed street. Yay! The downside, of course, is that Sailor Boy and I both seem to have caught some kind of crud, and neither of us feel like spending hours shoveling out to said plowed street. Rio, however, is once again interested in visiting the outside world, and our visiting dog has decided to grace us with her presence (she spent all of yesterday hibernating upstairs).
I just want to lie around drinking soup and watching Emma on PBS. I’m enjoying it, though years of watching the Gwyneth Paltrow version makes it all seem to be moving super slowly. It’s like every offhand mention of anything occurring in the book requires an entire scene in this film. Mr. Knightley tells Emma that Robert Martin came to see him? The film shows several scenes worth of Robert Martin coming to see him: Robert Martin approaching the estate, Robert and Knightley talking, and then, you know, just so we get the full and complete picture of the situation, Robert Martin leaving the estate.
Seriously?
Also the casting is giving me fits. I can’t really picture Johnny Lee Miller as anything but the kid from Hackers (and the imagined image of him and a young Angelina Jolie getting married in blood spattered t-shirts is indelible), and Romola Garai is the chick from the Dirty Dancing sequel. Didn’t like her in that, either. I wish she’d close her mouth every once in a while.
I think the problem is that I don’t much like Emma. I think it’s probably fourth or fifth on my list of Austen, and while my two favorite Austens (Pride & Prejudice and Persuasion) are among my favorite books of all time, I’ve discovered that I’m not going to fall all over an Austen just because it’s an Austen. I feel the same way about Mansfield Park. There are parts of it I really like, but Fanny never did it for me, and her relationship with her cousin? (I mean, aside from all the squicky cousins-raised-as-siblings-still-in-love thing that was apparently appropriate in Austen’s day.) Meh.
But I’m only through part 1 of 3, so we’ll see. I did find the Emma/Knightley romance arresting as a teenager, but now I don’t think I can handle the patronizing way Knightley treats Emma. I find their age difference more unsettling now.
Okay, I think I’m feeling a little better now. Time to get up and see about shoveling that driveway.
Perhaps you caught me on television yesterday. I appeared on the syndicated show Better, which airs in 54 cities, talking about RAMPANT.What gorgeous production values they have there at Better!
I do not usually review books this soon before the publication date, but I am just so excited about Rampant. I have to share how awesome Rampant was with the entire blogosphere! If ever there was a book to question my loyalty to team zombie, it would be Rampant.
Then the review goes on to say some really nice things about my hero, Astrid, and the other characters:
Astrid was a very emotionally complex character. Throughout much of Rampant Astrid struggles with her role as a unicorn hunter. This was one of my favorite things about her character and about Rampant. I just loved Astrid! Astrid’s older cousin Phil also had issues with being a unicorn hunter. Phil is a vegetarian who is at odds with unicorn hunting. It was fascinating to see how both Phil and Astrid handled their roles as hunters. In general, all of the unicorn hunters came from a variety of backgrounds. It was refreshing to see such a diverse set of characters.
And then she announces that she’s giving away her copy of the ARC. So if you want a very valuable, very rare Rampant ARC (seriously, I don’t have any), head on over there!
Thing the Third
I’m still buzzing from the awesome signing down in Tampa this weekend. Great fellowship, great turnout, and lovely hospitality from the folks at the Dale Mabry Borders (they even brought us fresh cookies!) You can see a few write ups of the event on Roxanne St. Claire’s post at Murder She Writes, on Terri Garey’s post at Writers at Play, and at the Examiner (this last one took, shall we say, a few “liberties” with facts about me — to start with, the first short story I ever tried writing for publication was in March of 2009).
And look who I met! Patrick the Spacelord! Isn’t he a cutie? He drove all the way over from the other side of the state to come to the signing, then vanished before I had a chance to talk to him — or introduce him to Roxanne St. Claire, who lives in his neck of the woods and would be very happy if the Spacelord were to show up at a Spacecoast Authors of Romance meeting one of these days soon (hint, hint, Pat).
I also met Trish Doller and her lovely daughter and mom (and boy, that picture turned out bad, for all of us, so no way you’re going to see it), as well as Brooke of Brooke’s Reviews.
Thing the Fourth
I’m kind of super-excited about an unexpected turn my manuscript took yesterday. Like, really excited. And scared. Scared, but excited. However, this will mean heading out to buy a new color of post-it note for my plot board.
I enjoy reading Lee Goldberg’s blog, though I don’t always agree with him. He had an interesting post up recently called “People Stop Watching Shows that Suck” in which he responded to an EW query about why SF movies are doing so well in the box office, while SF TV shows seems to be failing left and right.
First of all, I don’t know if SF TV shows are failing in any greater proportion than sitcoms, etc., but Lee makes some really good points about how SF shows have to bring in a greater audience because they are significantly costlier to produce than one of those “this is our living room, this is our coffee shop/bar/diner” sitcoms that have no special effects.
And of course, the comment thread turns into one of those “Firefly was the best show ever produced yadda-yadda-yadda, all shows before or since have sucked compared to its scintillating brilliance” mud pits. This is basically what happens at every TV show post where people are trying to have an honest discussion about the state of TV and show cancellation and whatnot.People bring out their Firefly bongo drums and beat the hell out of them.
Guys, Firefly was canceled seven years ago. Isn’t it time to move on? I get that you loved the show.
I’ve never seen The Sarah Connor Chronicles, though Justine tells me I’d love it and it’s totally going on my Netflix queue. But it is possible there were some quality issues and even the fans lost interest. I never saw it, and The Terminator is one of my very favorite movies of all time, and I totally loved Queen Gorgo in The 300. And yet, I still never saw it. I was still pretty angry over the horror that was the third Terminator movie and thought my husband wants to see Salvation this weekend, I’ve put my foot down about it.
(And all the reasons I’ve given — the movies are about time travel, and SARAH, not John, Connor and blah blah blah — are all reasons hat Justine has been thumping me over the head for not watching Chronicles, but I digress.)
As I’ve said before, it is rare for me to watch first-run television. In fact, in the past five years, the only shows I’ve seen first run are The Dollhouse (all on Hulu), Heroes (1st and second season), Veronica Mars (after falling in love with the first season on DVD), and How I Met Your Mother (ditto).
But I also really, REALLY love television. however, if there were some kind of Netflix “if you liked this, try this” matrix out there trying to figure out my television tastes from my favorite television shows, I have no idea what they’d come up with. Behold:
Diana’s Favorite Television Shows of All Time (not in order):
The X-Files
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
The West Wing
Arrested Development
Veronica Mars
How I Met Your Mother
The Wire
Avatar
And you know what? I didn’t even like or even SEE every season of those shows. The X-Files should have quit while it was ahead, somewhere around 1999 or 2000. I pretty much only like Buffy up until the end of season 5 (the musical episode was good, though). The third season of Veronica Mars blows, except for the part where Logan smashes the police car. Arrested Development started getting a little weak at the end, I didn’t even like The Wire untile the second season, and The West Wing I actually haven’t watched after the first season after Aaron Sorkin left the show.
Other shows I’ve liked recently include:
The first season of Heroes (1st season ONLY)
Dexter
The Gilmore Girls (first two or three seasons ONLY)
Star Trek: The Next Generation
And though I’m brand-loyal, in the sense that I will try a new show by a creator/star of a show I’ve loved previously, I’m not going to just sit around and wait it out in hopes that it will someday become the thing that I previously loved. After having seen The West Wing, I watched Sports Night. I liked Sports Night. I could see the West Wing DNA and I think the West Wing was a much better venue for Sorkin to say those things in. Then I tried to watch the truly execrable Studio 60. It wasn’t funny. It was trying to be The West Wing, and though I could buy how important it was for the people running the country and saving lives and creating jobs to be all up themselves and whatnot, I have a hard time when I’m supposed to be watchign the makers of a comedy sketch show giving us a Very Special Episode about McCarthyism. Click.
I loved Buffy, but I never really liked Angel, probably because I actually never liked the character of Angel on Buffy and the character I did like, Cordelia, they changed completely until she was no longer fun. Firefly was okay, but certainly not the second coming its die-hard fans want me to think it is. The movie was very cool in some places, and utterly sucked in others. My Buffy goodwill, I have to admit, is wearing thin. Dollhouse has both Whedon and Eliza Dushku, but very little else to recommend it. I don’t like the characters, a lot of the acting, and most of the episodes I’ve seen. Is he making a statement about human trafficking? Is he trying to horrify us with our inexpected sympathy for the temptation the human traffickers/victims/investigators face? It’s manipulative and glossy, and I am not buying it.
This is why I think my hypothetical “what show will Diana like next” matrix is in for a hard time. For instance, I like genre, I like epic, I like interesting characters, I like science fiction, I like strong females… but I hated Battlestar Galactica. I liked Buffy, but I didn’t care for Alias. I was utterly unconvinced by Mad Men, and even my well-documented adoration for Jason Dohring and the general vampire genre could not make me suffer through another episode of Moonlight. I feel like I’ve tried a lot of the obvious, “Oh, I should like this,” shows only to find the next great show to love (most recently, it was Avatar) in the most unlikely of places (kids cartoons) in the most unlikely of ways (I read about the race issues surrounding the casting of the upcoming live-action movie).
I’m nearing the end of my Netflix queue of tv shows to watch, and I’m starting to get worried. Will there ever be another show to discover on Netflix that I love as much as The Wire or Avatar? (Okay, Avatar is my favorite television show of all time. At least, it has been that way for the past few months. Veronica Mars, season 1 is still my favorite season of television, and Buffy episodes comprise most of my list of top ten episodes of television.) Are there any other shows that good? Has the bar been inexorably raised by the sprawling, modern, Dickensinian The Wire or the expertly crafted fantasy epic Avatar?
Is the reason I think How I Met Your Mother is so much better than Friends because it really is funnier and more realistic, or just because it’s about people my age who are much more like me than the inexplicably affluent high-rise dwelling 20 somethings of the early-90s Friends? Pretty much every episode of HIMYM includes something that has either happened to someone in my group of friends, or they say something that has been spoken by someone in my gorup of friends. It’s eerie and hilarious, and I’m glued to the screen.
And, most importantly, with only two seasons of ST:TNG to work through left, what in the world should I watch next?
I just read an article about nine companies who have never had layoffs. Lately, it seems like every time I turn on the news, they are talking gloo and doomand irresponsible CEOs driving their businesses into the ground and screwing over their workforce so they can throw enormous parties for their wives on the company dime with dancing midgets and champagne waterfalls. So it’s nice to read about companies that are fiscally conservative, who care about their employees. A pattern that emerged in the article is that most of this companies are family or privately-owned. That makes a lot of sense to me. Too often the people who are in charge of making financial decisions for the company don’t know or care more about it than its stock price.
As the sole employee of my own company, I’m free of the layoff conern, but not of the “going out of business” one. I’ve been reading lots about how to survive in bad economic times, and it’s nice to read something that doesn’t scare the pants off me about the impending apocalypse.
Speaking of saving the world, does anyone else (other than me and Julie) love the animated show AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER? I just discovered this (sadly, due the to the controversy over M. Night Shyamalan casting the live-action version entirely with white people, depsite the fact that all the characters on the show are recognizably Asian and come from distinct and recognizable Asian cultures) and I LOVE IT. It’s funny and exciting and creative and the world it builds is such a beautiful blend of fantasy and borrowing from legend and culture. (Those of you who know more about the unicorn series are already aware that I’m a huge fan of that sort of fantasy creation.) For example, one character, Aang, is the “Avatar” of the title. According to the legend, the Avatar is the one person in all the world who can learn to “bend” all four elements (earth, air, fire, and water). When the Avatar dies, he is born into the next of the four tribes of the world in a particular pattern. They recognize the avatar because, as a child, he will pick up the belongings of the previous avatar, which is a tradition of Tibetan Buddhist lamas as well. (Aang has the appearance of a Buddhist monk — he wears saffron robes and shaves his head). I’m about halfway through the first season now, and the other two main characters are from the “water” tribe, who seem similar to the Inuit people. (By the way, they cast “Jasper” from Twilight as the Inuit boy, which, ::goggle::). The coolest part so far is that all the different “bending” styles are based on different types of martial arts. I’m no martial arts expert, and I woudn’t think you’d be able to do this in cartoons, but you can totally see how different the fighting styles are. It’s amazing.
Anyway, I’m totally loving it. It’s available on DVD if anyone is interested.
Maggie Stiefvater, who once made waves online with her “I just don’t get romance” post and then a year later sold a big fat werewolf romance to Scholastic (releasing this fall!) has put up a very thought-provoking post furthering her thoughts on love and romance. I think it’s safe to say that Maggie’s opinions on the matter have shifted somewhat in the past year and a half. However, I don’t agree with her current thesis that large gestures don’t work, and only by writing around romance do you get romance. (Updated to add: Maggie has amended herself to “earned” big gestures, which I agree with absolutely — see below.)
For instance, the scene in The Village that she points out as an example of a “small gesture” of love is, in reality, anything but. Here we’ve got Joaquin Phoenix’s character, as stoic and silent as ever a character was, finally breaking through after half a movie’s worth of teasing and being told he’s in love for the “things he refuses to do” and revealing a concrete example of his love — GRABBING her hand, not “refusing to catch her” which she claims he’s done for years. Then he admits in a moving, impassioned, grand speech a few scenes later:
“Why can you not stop saying what is in yours? Why must you lead, when I want to lead? If I want to dance, I
will ask you to dance. If I want to speak, I will open my mouth and speak. Everyone is forever plaguing me to speak
further. Why? What… good is it to tell you you are in my every thought from the time I wake? What good can come
from my saying I– I sometimes cannot think clearly, or- or do my work properly? What gain can rise from my telling
you… the only time I feel fear as others do, is when I think of you in harm? That is why I am on this porch, Ivy
Walker. I fear for your safety above all others. And yes… I will dance with you on our wedding night.”
These things work in tandem with each other. We believe the impassioned speech and we thrill at the big hand grab because of the small gestures that lay the groundwork. And those small gestures all build up to what romance fans like to call “the gut punch moment”: the declaration, the realization, the proposal or the reconciliation, or the love scene, the kiss on the dock in the rain or the “you pierce my soul” letter or “I know” before being lowered into carbonite or any of the thousands of grand gestures that leave the audience breathless and elevated in every romance ever told. You need ‘em both. You need ‘em all.
Shanna Swendson actually has an excellent seriesof posts on this, in which I think she gets to the heart of why “you complete me” doesn’t really work (for Maggie and me, at least). It’s not that it’s the “big gesture” — it’s that it’s the big gesture without the small one. Tom is a shit to Renee, who loves him because, I don’t know, he’s got some kind of idealistic outlook on life that attracts her? His last-minute realization that she actually is worthy of his affection, and not just her kid, is false and hollow, because no “small gestures” accompany it. In fact, the “you complete me” shot is even cropped so that you can’t see Tom is doing the sign language for it as well, which would be a sign that he at least PAID ATTENTION to something Renee showed him once upon a time. Shanna’s point is all about romantic comedy filmmakers focusing on these big gestures without the small ones, or thinking that if you line up the right order of events and a big misunderstanding, you’ll wind up with a romance.
Maggie’s other point is an interesting one, about how the reader is dying for two characters to make a romance happen, and that is, I think, why filmmakers can get away with crap like 27 Dresses and, to an even greater extent, Prince Caspian. Hey, look, we have two attractive people who are not related to one another in this film. Let’s put ‘em together! People will buy it. We don’t have to work on that.
Ugh.
I am always surprised by the attempts made to ’ship my characters. After Secret Society Girl, people were all after a romance between Malcolm and Poe. Lately, I’ve been hearing rumblings about one between George and Jenny, which, I’m sorry, is about as likely to happen as Malcolm and Poe. But the point is that people like it when characters fall in love. But that doesn’t mean that storytellers should just go ahead and toss any old random people together, Because then you end up with, well:
WRONG! Ewwwwwwww…..
Now, this can get a little sticky, because I’m also a huge believer in following chemistry, which is, of course, indefinable. Some people may see massive chemistry between two characters where others don’t. I don’t know how much chemistry the actors in Prince Caspian might have had to whoever made that stupid, stupid decision, but there certainly wasn’t enough to overcome the canon of “eww” that accompanied their romance. I never found there to be any chemistry between the leads in the short-lived TV series Moonlight, which probably accounts a lot for why I found the show lacking. But other people completely loved that romance. On the other hand, I applaud show runners like Rob Thomas for following the chemistry of Logan and Veronica to its natural and delicious conclusion on Veronica Mars. I really don’t think they imagined a romance between those two, but when it became clear that she and Duncan were flat as pancakes on screen, while she and Logan crackled like summer lightning — well, where do you go?
And different types of romance are necessary for different characters. For instance, Maggie derides “common interest” as a reason for romance, and yet, in some cases, it’s why we are rooting for two characters, particularly in stories where you meet each character on their own long, long before they ever encounter the other. I still remember my first reading of Lord of the Rings. When I got to the part where Eowyn (bless her shield-maiden soul) kicks the Witch King’s enrobed hiney and falls into a magical coma, I remember exclaiming, “No! She can’t die. She must live and marry Faramir!” Sailor Boy, reading in the next sleeping bag over (we were in a tent in Australia at the time) was all, “Wait, she doesn’t even know Faramir and is in love with Aragorn.” But you can’t fool this romance reader. Eowyn is awesome and all, but Aragorn is a demigod. It was never going to work out. Meanwhile, Faramir is equally awesome, equally noble, equally mortal, and equally in need of someone to try a little tenderness. They needed to live happily ever after and root the orcs out of Ithilien. You knew that they would be perfect for one another when they finally met and a big part of that was their common interest. they were twin souls, serving twin purposes in their respective cities (the young, intelligent, brave noblemen who pushed the leaders of their city to betterness). They belonged together.
So before I wrote SSG, I wrote four romance novels, none of which were published, and one of which received a rejection letter praising my characterization and writing, but regretting the lack of , well, romance. Ah well, I was still learning the ropes. And perhaps the editor in question didn’t find my romantic gestures (grand or otherwise) as romantic as I do. For instance, I find it profoundly romantic that Poe saved the mouse because Amy said she liked it. I like even more that she doesn’t find out about that for months and months. Now, not a lot of people think of mice as romantic, so…
Right. My point was…something. It was that I wasn’t such a huge success at writing romance novels, but I wrote novels that were not shelved as romance novels and received heaps of reviews praising what RWA likes to call the “romantic elements” of my books.
The last three books I’ve written have been more blatantly romantic than the first two. In Rites of Spring (Break), Amy’s love life goes front and center in the plot line, and I remember half-joking with my romance writer friends that the structure of the story maps to a romantic suspense. Rampant, killer unicorns aside, is a love story. And those of you who have read the first chapter of Tap & Gown in the back of ROSB know that the question of Amy’s spring break romance looms large. But those were vastly different projects, in both conception and execution. In SSG, I had a very different denouement to the love story in mind, but those two crazy kids were like magnets. So I just went with what felt natural — though actually, ridiculous chemistry aside, it took a whole book to make it work in any rational manner (and their trials aren’t over, because these two have a HUGELY rough row to hoe if they really want to date). In Rampant, I had always intended on a love story to get in the way of Astrid’s duty, but I had to “cast” her love interest several times before I had the right kind of chemistry. The first time, he wasn’t interested in her. The second time, she wasn’t interested in him. But then I landed upon Giovanni, and they clicked, and it was gorgeous. It was also really interesting to write, because Giovanni is a markedly different kind of hero than any I’ve written before, and way, way different than Jamie. Oh, Giovanni. I’m a little bit in love with him.
Yes, I just finished writing a big scene between Astrid and Giovanni for KU2. Why do you ask?
Unfortunately, I can’t really talk about their “small gestures” vs. “big gestures” or “common interests” though their romance is the one on my writerly mind, because no one has read that book yet and I am spoiler-averse and it’ll be months and months (and months and months and argggggggh… don’t mind the crazy author in the corner). But I can talk about Rites of Spring (Break) — look away if you have not read the book yet. Look perhaps, to this page, and order yourself a copy (my shameless plug of the day) — and mouse over white text to read ROSB spoilers:
In ROSB, we’ve got this slow-burn romance going on for the first half of the book, but I keep it on the DL, even from the narrator. She has no idea what I’m doing to her. In fact, she’s under the mistaken impression that I’m getting her together with some other guy. Poor girl. Meanwhile, Poe keeps popping up, starting in the first chapter, and showing that the events of Under the Rose have permanently changed their relationship, and that a lot of their antagonism is more based on the fact that they are used to it, rather than actual negative feelings or even disagreements. In fact, they are pretty much on the same page — they have the same sense of duty about the society, the same concerns and insecurities about their future, etc. Who knew? (Ahem. me.) The events are a prelude, meant to disarm and discomfit her around him. Long looks, tete-a-tetes, and odd moments of tenderness — none of which add up to anything taken on their own, but set the stage for Amy’s upcoming “duh” moment, which happens when Poe, after saving her life, drops her off at the cabin. “Big gesture” alert: Amy looks out the window and what should she see? Poe pacing in front of her cabin, undecided between coming back and saying — something, but what? — to her, and leaving, letting things stay as they are.
Unbeknownst to Poe, his indecision is moot. Amy instantly grasps what he would be saying were he to come back, and knowing that is enough to change things. Poe likes her.
And really, knowing is half the battle. Because Amy? Not so much with the pretending. She can’t go back to her former antagonist relationship with him. Not given what she knows. So she needs to confront Poe either way: tell him no way is that shit going down, or okay, you’re cute, let’s make out in the sand. (Which they do — “big gesture again”.)
The interesting thing about how their relationship played out, though, to me, is that the power dynamic was not what I expected. Adolescent understanding of a power dynamic is that the person who knows how the other person feels is the one with the power. (This is why you kept your crushes a secret in high school.) Amy knows Poe likes her, therefore, she should be the one in control. And she is for about one chapter. It’s in her hands if things go any farther — if they have a date, if they kiss. After that, the power shifts rather dramatically, and I wasn’t expecting it, though I felt that, in the end, it made for a much more mature romantic storyline. Poe wasn’t going to be embarrassed to be “discovered,” as Malcolm was sure he would. He was going to own it.
I remember seeing an interview with Kristen Stewart, where she was talking about her vision of Bella in the Twilight movie, and how she had the power in that relationship because there was no question of what she wanted; Edward might be torn, but she knew. She wanted to be a vampire and to be with Edward. Well, Poe wanted to be with Amy, and once he thought there was a chance of that happening (which he didn’t back at the cabin, but with the date and the making out, well, he went for it), he had all the power. The power of conviction and of clarity. Yes, he could still be rejected, he could still be hurt by her, but there is a core of strength to honesty that can’t be touched by those things, and it’s a core that Poe hadn’t often had a chance to display in the series. He’s sneaky and manipulative, but not, apparently, when it comes to love. And it trumps any card that Amy attempts to play. I really, really liked that. He could be a deeply flawed person and he could even be wrong about their relationship, but he was absolutely forthright about his own feelings, and that’s incredibly powerful, especially compared to Amy’s wishy-washiness. Honestly? She didn’t stand a chance. He had to be rewarded for such a big step for his character, though also in keeping with his character, who despite his manipulative nature, is very blunt honest and dedicated. And those were all small gestures, but together, they were a tidal wave.
But because of that, in the end, Poe didn’t have to do a lot of “winning” of Amy, and it was Amy who had to go to Poe’s house for the big romantic gesture and reconciliation. And, if I’ve accomplished my goal, you believe her (and Poe believes her, which is a more difficult prospect) because of all her small turning points coming up to that — how she looks for Poe, and thinks of Poe, and is deeply, deeply, fundamentally hurt when she thinks Poe doesn’t trust her — which hurts even more because of how nakedly honest he’s been to her– so hurt she makes herself vulnerable to Darren. That what is going on here is something more than gratitude, and might need to be explored.
Which brings us up to Tap & Gown, where the story is far from over.
I feel that I’ve perhaps wandered far from the original purpose of this post, but what can I say? I’m a hopeless romantic. I love it all, the character perfection and the gut punch moments and the big romantic gesture and the tiny, infinitesimal moments that add up to a love story.
4. Figuring out the correct usage of “each other” versus “one another” because according to Tap & Gown copyedits, I never, ever, ever get it right.
5. How I Met Your Mother. Seriously, it’s become comfort food in our house, We watch it all the time.
6. Figuring out what else I can make with my food processor.
7. This animation. I miss World of Warcraft, which I haven’t played since August and which I now can’t play on my computer, because I don’t have enough space to download the patches, let alone upgrade to Wrath of the Lich King. Also, this story utterly rocks! Oh, would that I had the power to create visual art as gorgeous as this…or, you know, at all.
I’ve been off my computer and off the internet for the past week. It’s actually been quite a freeing experience. The last month was an incredibly stressful one, professionally, so removing myself from the merry-go-round/echo chamber/take-your-pick was actually quite relaxing and recharging. I’ve been able to think quite a lot about my work, especially the second killer unicorn book, which is shaping up nicely. I don’t really talk about it much on the blog, but that’s primarily because nothing i say will make sense to people who haven’t even read the first one. There are more killer unicorns.
(In passing, the winner of the box o’ books giveaway is LIVIANA.)
I’ve also been able to reflect some on the year that’s passed, which I had not taken stock of in the slightest. This has been a huge year for me,and one in which I’ve always, always been playing catch up. I have never not been behind in some major way. I hope to change that pattern next year.
So, 2008…
On January 1st, Sailor Boy and I left for a research trip to Europe. It was a miserable trip. SB was sick for the first half of it (like, “perhaps we need to find a hospital here in Naples” sick) and I got an unrelated illness by the end of the trip, resulting in the most uncomfortable plane ride of my life (I begged him to put me out of my misery the entire way back over the Atlantic, during which my ears did not pop in the slightest), and two weeks of “in bed, do not want to get up” abject misery. Scene from my birthday, which occurred a few weeks after:
SB: What do you want to do for your birthday?
Me: (sniffling) Um, get me some nice takeout and a very special movie from Netflix?
It was BAD.
However, I don’t regret the trip. The research I was able to do for Rampant brought the book alive in a way I hope shows up on the pages. Location scouting, man. It’s a blast. It’s actually quite funny to look at these pictures now, since I spent so many months putting them into a book. On one level, I know this (left) is the cloisters at the Basilica of San Giovanni in Laterano, the cathedral of Rome, but in my heart it’s the Cloisters of Ctesias, which in Rampant is actually just down the hill. Discovering this cloisters, especially given how many in-cloisters scenes I’d already written, was a truly incredible gift. It was like seeing my book come alive. The second great discovery of the trip was Cerverteri (pictured above). I’d already planned on setting a big scene there, but visiting it gave me the ability to interact with the setting a good deal more and really dig in there
Sadly, a research trip was unnecessary for book 2.
I got better by the end of the month, and flew to Florida for a writing retreat with TARA, whereupon I discovered a bit of a mix-up between when I thought my next book was due and when my editor did. Cue panicked fevered writing and editing for the next three months. (I also managed to squeeze a NINC conference in there somewhere.)
I finished up just in time to attend another writing retreat, this one with my critique partner Carrie Ryan. Lots of drinking with Kresley Cole and Amanda Brice ensued. (No wonder Sailor Boy doesn’t trust that I work at these things!)
On a personal note, SB and I spent a good amount of time that spring looking for houses. No luck.
And, just like that, it was summer. Summer, the relaunch of my website, and the release of Rites of Spring (Break). I did three signings (one with Nora Roberts!), and had a lot of fun with my promotional Rose & Grave tattoos. Reviews of the book were generally good, and I made a best of summer list with none other than Salman Rushdie. My favorite part, however, was seeing all the comments appearing on the ROSB discussion page. This book was a huge turning point in the series, and I was pleased to see it connect with so many readers. I also got my first fan art.
Also, I got to see my first two foreign editions released, as Secret Society Girl came out in Russia and Brazil.
In July, Sailor Boy and I found a house. More whirlwind, as we barreled toward closing and all that entailed (finding a mortgage, home inspectors, packing, moving, etc.) compounded by the fact that SB was studying for his bar exam.
July 29-30: SB takes exam.
August 1: Close on house.
August 2: Leave for honeymoon.
August 15: Return from honeymoon, move into house.
During this time, we also managed to get ourselves a puppy, whom we picked up on August 17. Of course, you all know and love Rio, the ersatz star of this blog. I can’t believe how big she’s gotten since this picture was taken. Of all the amazing, extraordinary things that have happened to me this year, I really think the addition of this dog into my life tops the list.
Anyway, back to work. As the whirlwind of house and puppy-acquisition drew to a close, I threw myself into finishing up Tap & Gown, the last SSG book. I felt so nostalgic about the characters, I started the secret story project. I received the cover of my first YA. I received the cover of T&G.
I did a LOT of dog-walking.
With the fall, came the election, and I grew obsessed. I practically lived on fivethirty-eight.com. I settled into our new neighborhood, SB settled into his new job, Rio settled into life as a pampered puppy. I also got sick. Very, very sick. So sick that I tore a muscle in my ribs coughing. Twice in one year. I’m apparently a sickly person. SB and I had our first anniversary around this time, too, and I was well enough to go out for that.
Two couples close to me had babies. I did revisions for Tap & Gown and first pass for Rampant. I received the ARCs of Rampant. December rolled around, and life settled in enough for SB and I to buy some furniture and start really getting the house set up (it’s an ongoing project). We chose a design aesthetic and are slowly incorporating it into all elements of our home.
My family came for Christmas. Rio turned 6 months old on Christmas Day. I spent an entire week cooking. No, really, the whole week. Now my family is gone (sniff) and I am planning out my next few months of writing, spending quality time with SB, and cuddling Rio.
So that’s my year in review. Personally, it was a huge one: new house, new family members, major lifestyle changes. Professionally, it was more of an even keel. I didn’t sell any new contracts (a few foreign rights sales, though), though I did write two books and see three releases. This is the first year in a while there hasn’t been a major turning point in my career. In 2005, I sold my first book. In 2006, I saw my first release. In 2007, I sold my second and third contracts, one of which was my first YA. 2008, professionally, has been more about transitioning into a mature career – no longer a debut,no longer a sophomore effort — as well as gearing up for 2009: my first YA release, the conclusion of my first series, my first year with two book releases.
In terms of art consumption, I have to admit I’ve been generally more impressed with my television watching experiences than my book reading. The first half of the year was generally disappointing in terms of reading. I read a few historical romance novels I really liked (The new Madeline Hunter, the Sherry Thomas debut), which was great and renewed my interest in them (I’d been growing a little bored with historicals recently that weren’t also paranormal like Colleen Gleason’s series or Libba Bray’s). But I also read a bunch of hugely hyped books that were a let down. This fall, I hit a great streak of fabulous YA novels: Disreputable History, Gamer Girl, the Hunger Games, and Graceling, and 2009 is going to be awesome on that front, I just know it! (Mostly because I’ve read a lot of the books already.) I think in 2009, I’m going to have to go back to keeping a list of books I read, because I honestly can’t remember a lot of what I’ve read this year. Sailor Boy and I bought season tickets to a local theater, though the shows we’ve seen so far have been mostly duds, with the pleasant exception of THIS BEAUTIFUL CITY, a “documentary musical” about the evangelical Christian community in Colorado Springs. But my favorite art this year have been the TV shows: How I Met Your Mother, The Wire, Dexter. Movies? Eh. I’m having a hard time even remembering movies I saw this year. I liked Wall-E well enough, but it was no Incredibles. It’s hard to love a movie where you spend 75% of the time thinking to yourself, “If they kill this little robot, I’m going to march up to Pixar and slap John Lasster right in the kisser.” There’s emotional manipulation (with which I am more than familiar) and then there’s emotional manipulation. To be honest, I think my favorite was the documentary of the making of the Cirque de Soleil/Beatles show, LOVE.
So that’s it. My year in review. It was a very challenging, very busy, very life-changing, very fulfilling year. I enjoyed it a lot, and I’m really looking forward to 2009, in which:
I turn 30.
Barack Obama becomes the President of the United States
I finish my office
Rampant is released
Tap & Gown concludes the Secret Society Girl series
Rio turns one
I write a book I’ve been excited about for a long time but haven’t had the chance to devote time to yet
As for goals… well, you just saw two of them. There are others, and other tentative plans, but they aren’t blog-ready yet.
She graduates from puppy school with flying colors (doesn’t like her cap, though.)
I am seriously considering using this photo as a tag for Tap & Gown announcements.
Bad things about having a puppy:
Her tail caught Pantalaimon’s cord today and dragged Pan off the coffee table. Pan survived (thank goodness!) but the cord did not. Hello, trip to the Mac store. Hello new $83 dollar cord. Wah.
Speaking of T&G, I’ve been asked to hold off on posting the cover until we get a few minor tweaks in. But I really love it, and I hope you will too.
In writing news, I’ve finished up the synopsis of the second killer unicorn book and I’m jumping into 70 Days of Sweat with both hands on my keyboard. Are you signed up? Come join us!
The weird thing about book publishing is that the author is always a book or two ahead of her readers, so if you’re writing a series, you always have to remind yourself that whatever you are thinking of is not where the story is for most people. For instance, I’ve finished writing Tap & Gown, and it’s so difficult to not mention the fact that in the final book in the series, Amy has a sex-change operation and runs off with Jenny, while George drops out of school to open a hot dog stand and Poe starts a ska band. These are the types of things I always have to remember to keep under wraps.
And of course, no one has read Rampant yet. so as I struggle to help the characters deal with the aftermath of the events in that book (as they pertain to the second, still-untitled book), there’s so much I can’t really talk about on the blog, for fear of causing spoilers.
The weather was gorgeous this weekend, as you can see from the previous post of Rio in the creek, but I’m still suffering from a cold I’m pretty sure i got standing int eh rain at the polls all day last Tuesday, so I spent a lot of time indoors watching movies. And here’s my verdict:
Made of Honor: Yawn. Like, seriously yawn. Maybe this movie was supposed to coast on the charm of “McDreamy” but as I’ve never seen the show, I wasn’t exactly rooting for the womanizing, jobless-rich jerk (reminded me so much of Hugh Grant’s aimless rich boy character from About a Boy, except he actually grows up and is forced to confront his wretched lifestyle over the course of the film) who has been stringing the fascinating, beautiful, hard-working (she’s fixing art on a Sunday!) woman along for ten years,who then goes to great length to destroy her wedding to the fascinating, interesting, fabulous Scottish nobleman who sweeps her off her feet. Wait, I take that back. The woman was a dud, too. What kind of woman has been “dreaming about [her] bridal shower since [she] was five years old?” Her wedding? Okay, fine. But her bridal shower? Are you kidding me? Blecch. The Scotsman can do way better than her. Also, I have a thing about movies where people are supposedly getting married but don’t want to and we’re supposed to root for that person? Blecch. That’s why I loved My Best Friend’s Wedding and am very iffy on this season of HIMYM.
Sex in the City: I kind of fell off watching it that last season, so I wasn’t clear on everything that had been going on, but I liked where they took the story. It felt like a super, super long episode. (REALLY long, I had no idea!) I was kind of surprised Steve cheated, though. I really like where Charlotte’s life has taken her, and I like that they didn’t compromise on Samantha being Samantha. Carrie always kind of bugged me, so this felt no different, and I felt like they wasted Jennifer Hudson yet again. I did love the apartment redesign, though!
Get Smart: I thought it was hilarious. I love Steve Carrell, I’m always impressed by Anne Hathaway, The Rock is fun to watch, and I was a HUGE fan of the show as a child, and felt like they really did capture its spirit (though it was a lot more action packed than I remember the show being –Sailor Boy said the final car chase scene reminded him of The Matrix Reloaded, and it reminded me of the ridiculousness in The Island, but other than that…) I felt like 99 should have put two and two together earlier about the identity of the villain, however.
Iron Man: Sigh. Seriously, what happened? Halfway in, I was positive this was the best superhero movie I’d ever seen. Robert Downey, Jr. was incredible, the script was tight, the special effects were fun, Gwyneth Paltrow failed to annoy me (no, really, I thought she was good), I wanted to marry Terence Howard, and I bow at the feet of Jon Favreau,who obviously knows my cinematic preferences — and then the whole thing fell off a cliff. I honestly do not understand the ending of the film. At all. I watched it again, because that’s how little sense it made to me, and I still don’t get it. I don’t understand how the battery thing could fail at the rate it was and still work as long as it did (or work after being encased in acrylic, but whatever), I don’t understand why the villain didn’t just kill Tony when he had the chance (and let’s not even talk about the stupid Glowing Keychain of Death trope so popular in sci-fi these days — yes, Firefly, I’m looking at you), I don’t understand why if the Glowing Keychain of Death works on some kind of sonic frequency thingamabob (the reason the villain wears earplugs to avoid it) that when it is aimed into a man’s ear who is holding the cell phone, the person on the other end of the cell phone doesn’t also feel the effects. I don’t understand how the villain and hero can catapult themselves in battle through several city streets then up into the air for a big aerial fight, then free fall and still manage to magically land on the roof of the building they originally came from. I don’t understand how a blue death ray blast can safely blow the hero out of harm’s way while simultaneously incinerating the villain, who is standing much farther away from it. I don’t get it. And not in a “I don’t understand how the Death Star can explode without killing all the Ewoks with a nuclear winter” way — in an “I’m watching this and it’s impossible and makes no sense right at the moment that the images enter my ocular cavity” way. It’s bizarre. Jon, baby, what were you thinking?
That was disappointing. I’d heard it was so good, too.
We also got the first season of Mad Men, which I’ve heard only excellent things about. So far, I’m enjoying it (two episodes in) though I can’t stop thinking of Zoe from The West Wing as Zoe from The West Wing, and Connor from Angel as Connor from Angel. I am, however, getting over Saffron from Firefly.
