Reading, Writing, Raisin' Boys

SQEEEEE!!! Look what surprise came in the mail today...

2012-02-10T15:40:00.000-07:00

It's the ARC for Kate Kaynak's Operative - book 5 in the Ganzfield series! I am so excited - what a fantastic way to celebrate Valentine's week coming up with reading about Maddie and Trevor. I have missed them!

With the semester in full swing, I'm going to have to do some serious time management to sneak it in. Hmmm, I can pencil in next Tues morning, next Thursday morning and during my long break between classes on Friday and DEFINATELY tonight........Can't wait!

If you have not read any of the series, you have GOT to grab a copy of Minder - you will not be able to wait for the second book. I promise. (click here to read my raving review of Minder)

Thanks so much Kate for remembering me!

The birth of a muse.......

2012-02-09T08:30:00.000-07:00

I love learning where authors get their inspiration. This week I was reading on From the TBR pile about how Susan Kaye Quinn was working on writing an amazing paragraph for a contest. And that paragraph became the starter for Open Minds which I just started and am blown away by page nine.

I know my inspiration is out there, just waiting to catch me off guard. Some day I'm going to write an amazing children's fantasy. I just need to crack that door to my imagination. Maybe I just needed someone to make me stand in front of that door. My art class instructor assigned us a mask making project. Not just to assemble cardboard and paint it but to explore its purpose and meaning. While I was painting and gluing, I couldn't help but create a personality for her and a back story. Here's a snippet from my presentation.

Introducing:

the Fairy Queen of What-if-ia.

She creates and spreads adventurous tales. Within the cloud of fairy dust spread by her magic pencil, she sprinkles the minds of children with wonder and speaks to the infantile-hearted with a whisper when she reveals the answers to their “What if’s”

The reason I created her is because most of the surroundings in my life are symmetrical and I wanted to explore an asymmetrical shape. Also I wanted to represent my dream of writing fictional stories for children. I struggle with releasing my creative ideas and thought that a mask would protects my actual self from judgment and allow my creative side to flow.

Maybe she'll get me started on that first book..............

Who or what is your muse?

How to take a trip...Lit-er-ally!

2012-02-04T06:26:00.000-07:00

One of the benefits of being a college student is the requirement of Technology Education - I get to have professional instruction in everything tech - WAHOO! Last class, our instructor brought out his finest tools for us to learn to use for our future students and all you lit-lovers out there are in for a treat.

How would you like to take a walk through your story? Story happens in England it 1700? That's okay, you can walk through the modern day Google Earth and see many of the same streets and monuments in the story. Want to get the layout for Homer's Oddesy? Or maybe you want to shock and awe your kindergartner with your own story-time adventure. You can do all that on Google Lit Trips and more. Want to see older images of that area? Want to see what the lighting is at that time of day? Check it out! http://www.googlelittrips.org/.

Some of these trips are created by students using GoogleMaps. Some are created by adult lovers of literature who have even included study guides and activities, video clips and links to purchase a copy of the book. The setup instructions are very well written,easy to follow and best of all, FREE.

Someone please send me to my room.....

2012-02-01T06:30:00.000-07:00

...in my dreams!

You know you watch a lot of Sci-Fi when........

2012-01-30T06:30:00.000-07:00

....your nine-year-old finds a cat hair in his dinner and comments,

"Someone's DNA is in my food!"

Bad reviews

2012-01-15T13:51:00.000-07:00

What is it about bad reviews that gets my attention? Is it just curiosity like when you pass a car wreck? Or is there something more? Why do I care if someone didn't like a book? I try to read books that readers I'm familiar with recommend (Goodreads/Blogs/Friends). I usually LOVE the books I read. But once in awhile, a book takes a wrong turn or just isn't coming together for me and I wonder if it was me.

Did I just not get it? Did others love it and only I missed the point? That's when I find myself digging into reviews to see if anyone else noticed something was off. What's to be gained from it? I guess in the interest of writing someday, knowing what went wrong is a valuable tool. If I really, really hate the writing, I won't blog about it - there's nothing to be gained in the blogging world when someone tears a writer apart. I will write about ones I'm on the fence about or ones that had some really good aspects and some I didn't care for.

Still, when I see a one star review written by someone I respect, it gets my attention. What about you?

Book Review: Radiance by Alyson Noel

2012-01-05T06:30:00.000-07:00

     This is one of the strangest books I've ever read! It's an odd mix of shimmery clouds, dark experiences, disconnected loved ones and new friendships. The story takes place a year after Riley Bloom dies and watches her parents cross over into the Here and Now and her sister returns to the Earth Plane to continue living.

     When Riley finally crosses over into the Here and Now, she's sorely disappointed. Although there are radiant beings, mostly there are people like her. The saddest part is that they fail to welcome her and leave her feeling lost and alone until Bhodi offers to be her guide.

     Bhodi takes Riley to guide a soul that's been resisting for over a hundred years and Riley believes she's up to the task. If she succeeds, she gets her wish to tour London and be among the living for a time - the one thing she thinks will soothe her discontent. Surprisingly, another soul is waiting in London, but this time she has to conquer her strong impulse to interfere.

     While I enjoyed Riley's plucky character and loved her strong will, Radiance gave me a very bad, lost feeling - like there was no reality, only experiences. It gave me a huge case of separation anxiety for the characters. I give the author credit that if that is what she was trying to convey, she succeeded. She certainly is original and creative in depicting the afterlife.  One inconsistency that the author addresses in the story is the language fluctuating from pre-teen to college level vocabulary. While it may offer something for older and younger audiences, it just felt a bit off to me. I did love the inclusion of the dog in the story and the ending left me hopeful that the characters are in a good place and ready to lead a good solid adventure in book two, Shimmer.

I give Radiance three stars!3 stars

When is the writing good?

2012-01-02T06:30:00.000-07:00

Reading the comments on Elana Johnson's post about taking a short break from writing got me thinking. She talked about focusing on things that make you who you are and then coming back more equipped for your next writing. One of her commenter's, L.L. Muir said, "Write while the writing's good," and mentioned 8pm to 2am. I have to agree that is the BEST time for creativity to flow.

     I may not be writing a novel, no, just planning for when I finally do, but I write many, many papers for school and other random outlets.
     I find that concentrating on the topic, starting an outline and then sleeping on it yields inspiration in my sleep. What? I write in my sleep? Actually, yes! I go to sleep thinking about tying these difficult topics and sources into a meaningful paper - aiming for a high score and working to analyze everything discussed in class prior to the paper. Then I sleep on it, but find myself waking every few hours and mulling over main points, weaving together sources and quotes. Sometimes it's a little less serious, like funny things I want to share on my blog.
     I am fully aware that I've crossed over into some land of the strange-minded, but it works for me and I hope it helps me write my first novel once I find my inspiration.
     What about you? When do you write? When you have your best pen? When you have your favorite pajamas on? When you are fully awake? When you are done watching some emotionally exhausting drama and in touch with your deepest feelings? After you get off the phone with a friend that makes you laugh until tears are sneaking out of the outer corners of your eyes? What works for you?

2011-12-27T06:05:00.000-07:00

Whether or not you are an Inkheart fan, this quote from the plaque on Mo's bookbinding workshop strikes a chord for book-lovers....

Some books should be tasted
some devoured,
but only a few
should be chewed and digested thoroughly. - Cornelia Funke

This not only gives readers freedom to put down those books that only need "tasting" but to revel in the books that were worthy of "digesting".

Yummy book-cake

What books can you fit in those categories?

Just waiting for the Mad Hatter....

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-24T06:30:00.000-07:00

....And Happy New Year!!!

Anything is possible

2011-12-23T06:30:00.000-07:00

.....You can climb that mountain if you want to!

Start climbing......

When I started my journey back to college in my (very) late thirties I questioned if I could do it. Could I measure up to all those shiny new 19 year old brains who just stepped off the high school education bus? What I learned my second semester was that older brains have more "synapses". It's a fancy word for brain connections - what does that matter? It means we older students have more previous experiences to connect the new knowledge to. It helps us recall new things we are learning. Like, "Oh, that explanation of the Korean War reminds me of M*A*S*H!" Connect that to actual accurate history and you have a recall reminder vivid enough to pass exams!
The other factor is dedication. When the instructor says read chapter 10 before Tuesday - you read ALL of it even if you have to read during your lunch and between classes. Why? Why not fake it? Because the class discussion will be about it and you will have zero input and will have a lot less connections going on in your brain. You probably won't remember what a classmate said as an answer to a question but you will remember what you said - and that's how you will pass your final.

That's how THIS happens:

*Undergraduate - Semester Course work*
CRN	Subject	Course	Section	Course Title	Campus	Final Grade	Attempted	Earned	GPA Hours	Quality Points
21592	BIOM	103IN	001	Unseen Universe: Microbes	MSU-Bozeman	A	3.000	3.000	3.000	12.00
22461	EDU	211D	003	Multicultural Education	MSU-Bozeman	A	3.000	3.000	3.000	12.00
23421	HSTR	102IH	001	Western Civilization II	MSU-Bozeman	A	4.000	4.000	4.000	16.00
23944	TE	250CS	002	Technology and Society	MSU-Bozeman	A	3.000	3.000	3.000	12.00

.....and take them along on your journey

The dedication it took made people look at me funny, like I was crazy. During this semester, along with my husband - we parented four children including sports events, concerts and illnesses stretching 10 days. Sadly, we lost two dear pets and my father. I averaged 20 hrs of work - 4:30pm-1am shift. I toted along a 9 year old twice to class - including a 2 hour essay final (which he will probably never want to endure again!). Add the personal control it took NOT to pick up my fav's from my TBR(to be read) pile, ugh! Enduring is possible if you remember your goal - Mine is to have a career in the school system where I can align our schedules and hopefully help provide for college, real family vacations and not have to live with them when they are adults!

So if you are out there wondering if you could do it - face a huge challenge or go to college, if your teenager doubts his or her ability - the answer is in the question "Am I dedicated?"

What challenges are you considering?

All I want for Christmas is....

2011-12-22T09:22:00.000-07:00

...my Amazon Giftcard

I'm so excited! I just learned about Amazon's Textbook Buyback. What an awesome way to treat yourself after a gruelling semester! I forgot to bring one of my books back to the college buyback day and would be stuck with it until the end of next semester in hopes of selling it back - that is IF they didn't switch to a newer edition. A friend at work told me that Amazon buyback prices are better than the schools as long as you don't mind receiving an Amazon gift card instead of cash - what? Mind? Bring it!

So this morning I gave it a shot and the online trade in was so simple and had free shipping pick up. I took a minute to check out their other trade in options for regular books, but it looks like unless you have a boxed set most are only worth a dollar or two.(darn) But, if you are a student they even have an app for you to buy, sell and compare prices of textbooks by scanning in the bar code with their phone. No more wondering if you are getting ripped off in the campus book store!

I can't wait for my giftcard to arrive - I feel like Santa's going to pay me a visit this year, too!

What other great ways are there to swap books? Paperback Swap, Goodreads, any others?

Tweaking Traditions......

2011-12-21T08:49:00.000-07:00

     Traditions are those events that give us stability. If your Christmas isn't getting off to a great start, all you need is one successful tradition to set it right - say, drinking Eggnog while watching Charlie Brown's Christmas. Sometimes we become blinded by the structure, not realizing that something is really in need of change. For us this year there are two - first is, the tree.
     The years of children forcing ornaments by their loops onto its already aged artificial branches have yielded to what look like pipe cleaners sticking out of any branch three feet and lower. The boys are growing up and it was time to start the "go get the tree" tradition. ie:drive forty-five minutes, tromp through knee deep snow and saw down the nearest best looking pine with a straight trunk.
     I am very excited to have this tradition get started with the boys. So much more fulfilling than "get the tree out of the basement and spend three hours straightening it and THEN be jolly while decorating it." After all - we do live in Montana and should take advantage of its bounty.

Yes, perfect shape from a distance, but....

the "getting" of the tree is the important part!

The second - gift placement. Kids can't help it, they want to shake and count every gift and then compare who got more, who is sure they got the remote control Hummer, etc. In an effort to avoid that and to prevent the cat from tearing off all the paper I started "The Shelf"

And of course, they got binoculars to check tags!

This year the kids and cat are old enough (I think) to handle having gifts actually under the tree to be mauled, shaken, counted, etc. Still a little intervention is needed. I have created the....

.....Numbered Gift Tag tradition! You bet: count and shake away kids. Assigning a number instead of the actual name will ensure no pouting before Christmas or disappointment in not seeing a certain shape of gift under there for them. There will be equality on Christmas morning!

What traditions have you tweaked?

If you can't hide it, paint it red

2011-12-15T08:48:00.000-07:00

Or in my case - those who can't draw or paint - there's always symbolism......

     This isn't a good picture but here's my Final Project for my Multicultural Education class. We had a student art show Wednesday night for our final and mine is an "interpretive arrangement".We had a week to come up with something we learned from the course. It makes sense to the people who took the class but for someone who didn't here's an explanation:

     The watering can, decorated with flags of different countries and gender identities, is showering the two vases with the aspects of different cultures.The flowers represent people in all their variety of shapes, colors and fragrances. The drops have tags on them that have symbols and flags from different countries, religions, signs for hearing impaired, signs for man/woman, etc). I also had a soundtrack of rain showers playing.
     The white flowers (representing white people) have a clear umbrella blocking the droplets (because we often fail to see that we sometimes we think and act like everyone should be like us and focus only on our own culture). Do you notice that all by itself, the white flowers are pretty but look like they are missing something? But the big mixed colored bouquet (representing different ethnicities, religions, abilities, genders and ages) is absorbing the shower-being nourished -and all of the flowers together make a gorgeous, fragrant mix. If I had a larger budget I would have given each student a white flower and have them place it where they thought it should go.

So, what should become of the white flower?

T minus four hours......

2011-12-15T08:00:00.000-07:00

Four more hours until my last final!!!!!

Early Christmas Gift from Author Lisa Grace

2011-12-13T14:25:00.001-07:00

Who doesn't love Angels? Who doesn't love free ebooks? Who doesn't love to read the book before the movie?
Lisa Grace is giving away her ebook Angel in the Shadows for the next three days at Amazon to celebrate her movie deal - Congrats Lisa! She is also entering download customers into a drawing to win an Ipad2 as soon as she reaches 10,000 downloads. If you want to read my review of Angel in the Shadows just click here.

She's already written a sequel

Angel in the Storm

Thanks Lisa ! Loved the book, can't wait for the movie!

I'm dreaming of a white.....

2011-12-10T11:28:00.001-07:00

page of a book! Like the kids excited for their Christmas gifts, I am giddy with the excitement of winter break! To recover from reading Freud and Karl Marx and devouring the TBR (to be read) pile that's been pouting in the corner .

....On Dasher, On Dancer, On Donner and Blitzen, On Lore , On Johnson , On Noel, On Quinn...Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

Are you treating yourself this winter break or you anxious to get those traditions underway? Cookie baking perhaps?

Symbiotic or Symbolic?......you be the judge

2011-12-04T10:49:00.001-07:00

Even though I received high scores on my paper on Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, I was disappointed that the teacher's aid edited my paper in a way that changed the entire meaning of a main point. I'm sure that all you authors out there experience this when your editor returns your mark-ups. Even though I met with him on it and he stands by his changes - I still stand by my original wording. I decided I'd just put it out there and let the bloggers decide if he was right.

I was discussing the relationship between a character who violently and ruthlessly acquired ivory and rubber in the Congo in exchange for money from England, but more importantly, he received the status and recognition that fed his ego and healed deep emotional wounds he received by the middle class rejecting him. It was more than just a give and take - it was his sustenance. I described this relationship as "symbiotic". Imagine a clown fish in an anemone. He receives shelter in the anemone and in return he feeds it. It may initially sting him, but he will continue to live in it and eventually become immune to the sting.

My TA said I can't use a scientific term when writing about historical literature. He crossed it out and put "symbolic" in its place. I did not MEAN it was symbolic. I could use the term but would have had to add an explanation as to what it symbolized. Isn't it better to just use the descriptive word "symbiotic" and let the reader make the connection?

Readers - waddayathink?

2011-12-02T18:12:00.001-07:00

We're sorry, we seem to be experiencing technical difficulties.......

Pray for me until finals are over!

The Spirit of Christmas is...Cleanliness...Wha?

2011-11-23T07:00:00.000-07:00

I rarely look at the negativity at Christmas. I try to focus on the real meaning of giving to loved ones, spending time together and reminding my kids what it's all about. I try to keep the marketing angle from ruining our special holiday. That's why - I cannot believe Walmart. If starting off the Christmas season before Thanksgiving was bad enough, their newest hourly radio ad really got me going.

It goes something like this, "Think Santa isn't judging how clean your house is this year? Think again. He's got that white-glove test.....stock up on Clorox wipes and paper towels."

Errrr, excuuuuuse me - Jesus was born in a BARN!

School Apps Rock!

2011-11-21T10:00:00.000-07:00

Some of my kids are fantastic about getting their schoolwork done and turned in, others have some sort of portal they send their half-completed work into called "Idontknow". This place of Idontknow must be overflowing with assignments, half-finished posters, and reminders about school picture day.

Then comes the privileges - parties, sleepovers, Saturdays spent at friends' houses. Those privileges I look back at and think, "Why, oh why, did I let him go do all that when all this work was being marked as missing at school?" It's really hard to keep in contact with busy teachers that have tiny windows of time to talk to parents and align your time with theirs. After awhile, I feel like I'm just annoying the teachers asking if his work is turned in.

Enter:

After a major computer crash and near report card-less quarter last year, the school built an entirely new system for students and parents. I can now sign in - even on a cell phone - and look at all four of my boys' progress, future assignments and ultimately know on the spot if they are up to date or just fudging that, "Um, yeah, all my work is done - can I go now?". I LOVE THIS APP!

.....because inquiring mom's want to know...............

Brawl of the Wild this Saturday

2011-11-15T14:40:00.001-07:00

MSU Bobcats are #1 in the Nation
Congratulations Bobcats!! Can't wait to see you beat the Griz this weekend and once again become State Champs!!!!!!!

2011-11-11T07:00:00.000-07:00

SOME DAYS YOU'RE THE TOP DOG........

SOME DAYS...NOT SO MUCH....

Somebody needs to invent.......

2011-11-08T08:05:00.002-07:00

a peanut butter and jelly maker! We are up to 6 PB&J's per day (including mine) around here. Even though I had the kids making their own lunches, they seem to be having "emergencies" every morning (just remembered a homework assignment - no time to pack lunch, etc) So here I am, getting that "didn't I do this yesterday?" feeling on a daily basis. I think this calls for an appliance. I want to stick in a loaf of bread, jar of jelly and jar of peanut butter, push a button and "ding" out pops six sammys! And just because we love PB&J's so much.....This one's for Josh - who was this guy for Halloween:

Now tell me you won't be singing THAT all day!............Peanut Butter Jell-AY....Peanut Butter Jell-AY.............Peanut Butter Jell-AY

PBJT!

Anyone care to discuss....

2011-11-04T06:30:00.000-06:00

The Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad???? I am writing a lengthy paper on it and just can't put my finger on a topic relating it to European history. Circa 1902 - some may know it by the movie starring Marlon Brando.