She Said Eleven

I was at my local bookstore today when I ran into an old client of mine and her young daughter whom I hadn't seen in a long time. She told me that they were living overseas for the past three years and I told her I've been writing children's books. I asked the daughter how old she was and she said eleven. I asked about the books she liked, and she mentioned the book series School of  Fear and another series I can't recall because my head was reeling after she listed The Hunger Games and mentioned she had seen the movie twice! Eleven, really?? I do understand that no two eleven year-olds are alike, but  would you allow your 10,11 or 12 year-old to read this trilogy? Are the kids & parents today just numb to violence because of what they see on television and the Internet? I liked the books, they were well written, but gratuitous violence holds no meaning, so it was no surprise that I soon found the violence tiresome. Back to my revisions-nothing violent or dystopian, I'm happy to say.

The Wind has Died

Right when I thought my book was about to set sail, the wind died. I had a great phone consult with my editor friend, Joyce, on my book. She and I wrote a script together years ago, and it was awesome to experience the play of ideas again. Love the way we bounce things off of each other. I was toying with changing a few things on my first page, just wasn't sure what. Joyce triggered some new ideas that I'm excited to bring to my story, but at the same time, dreading it also. The past week I've been formulating it in my head and now's the time to write it. Once again, it's revision time. It's like getting the nerve to jump into the cool ocean. When you finally do it, the chill of the water shocks the system then you acclimate and discover playing in the waves is fun and exciting. When you leave the sea to lie on the warm beach, a sense of satisfaction rolls through you.