Detachment

Tibetan monks have been coming to my town yearly for the past couple of years. They set up in one of our local churches where they ceremoniously create a sand mandala within a week. The last day the monks chant as they destroy it with a paint brush. The philosophy behind this: Nothing on this earth is forever-detachment is the path to peace. I was there for the last day and each of us got some of the sand and followed the monks to the beach to release into the ocean. This resonates with me now as I detach to outcomes- being published, growth in my business, and all things in the future. I have put energy into my passions and now I choose to simply enjoy the process, overcome the challenges, and live in the moment.

Happy Pugaltine's Day

I hope this made you laugh. I've never been big on Valentine's Day and neither was this Pug, as you can tell! Scratch that, there was a time. It was in grade school when you celebrated V-day eating cupcakes that a fellow middlegrader's mother actually baked, and giving and receiving Valentines (20 in a box) that mom bought from the supermarket. Ah yes, and the giggles over the sayings on those little heart candies. Now, it's a day without cupcakes, but maybe a little dark chocolate, and knowing expessions of love can happen every day.

Wondering the Internet Sea

Last Saturday I decided to take a surfing break in between my edits. As I sailed across the Internet sea, bugs being the topic, I discovered this little treasure: a Green Orchid Bee. Stunning, right? I wondered for hours gazing at exotic, gem-like insects. I eventually got back to my editing.
My rewrites landed, one submission set sail, and a new course has to be mapped for my PB after receiving a wise critique from my children's book librarian friend, Rebecca today. This evening I read the latest newsletter from Children's Book Insider that gave me some great tools to implement when I dive back into my YA tomorrow. And beyond the horizon, an outline for my middle grade novel's sequel awaits.

Calm waters and creative waves

Calm day at the beach at the end of 2013. With the calm waters, comes clarity. After my last meeting with my critique partner, I've made a decision on my middle grade novel. The holidays took me off course into a new "cea"  of creativity. A first draft to an ocean-life inspired picture book and an outline for another. You never know what those tides will bring in. It was a nice break from my endless editing, and I even got out my drawing pad! Now the deadline wave for submissions is about to crash. Gotta kick-out to catch that wave.

Made-up Words Swaying like Seaweed

My middle grade novel revision is completed-almost. My made-up words are swaying like seaweed-back and forth with the tide. I have two worlds in my book, human and anamorphic. My critique partner says to keep the the made-up words in the anamorphic world . I've gotten great advice from Laura Backes, Co-founder of  Children's Book Insider (CBI). From the sentences I submitted, she said they worked assuming the world is not realistic. If your a children's book writer, I highly recommend subscribing to CBI online; they offer a treasure trove of information!

My dilemma is the worlds co-exist. They're not separate like in Harry Potter. More world building? Axe some of the made-up words? Or all? Back and forth, back and forth until the water becomes still.

Ocean of Revision

Lost at sea- Cea of revising, reading and organizing and I'm finally back. Happy Hallows Eve! 

SCBWI OC Editors Day is always a great event. This time I got a critique on my MG along with my one page synopsis which I had to further edit due to the double space request-Arghh! Joanna Cardenas, assistant editor for Viking Children's Books, gave me a lot to work with. She gave a great presentation as well. Kate Bryzozowski, assist.editor of Thomas Dunne Books, gave a worthy piece of information on series: include a short synopsis for book 2 & 3. This means I'll have to map it out and that's like being tossed into a riptide for an organic, right-brain writer. Something to work on after I've sailed across the ocean of revision. My latest challenge: sending some fringe characters to their watery grave.  

 

YA Summer Reads and Mine Adrift

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin is a YA that I finished last week. A paranormal genre that had moments of Carrie in it, but with mystery and intrigue. It definitely drove home the idea of your thoughts become reality so, careful what you think, especially in Mara's case! Loved her "love interest," Noah-intelligent, sweet with a few secrets of his own. I was disappointed by the ending because it wasn't the end. It's a trilogy.

The other YA was the infamous 13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher. A brilliantly woven story: a string of characters, a suicide, tapes, and a POV that goes from Clay to Hannah, the dead girl. I'm someone who has to re-record my voicemail message several times before I get it right. When it came to Hannah's recordings, it was flawless. I had to suspend reality there along with her being so calculative. If she lived, she could have created a challenging, devious, teen version of the game, Clue. Jay Asher truly drove home how destructive rumors can be-I hope teens continue to read this book.
As for my YA, still adrift on chapter three, but I'll be swimming out to it soon.