1. Speaking of getting up early...I'm going to have to either get up at 5 a.m. all summer to write or stay up late.
2. Tis nearly impossible to write coherent sentences with three boys awake in the house.
3. I have some HUGE writing goals this week and, of course, it's one of my busiest weeks:
*Working two to three shifts
*Three separate award ceremonies at the kids' school - on different days, none of them back to back
*Two end of the year picnics - different days, different times
*Running the Scientist up to Nashville Wed. morning for pre-tonsils-are-coming-out labwork
*A dr.'s appointment
*My children's insistence that I drive them on the last day of school so all they have to do is run into their classrooms, pick up their report card and leave
*A Girl's Night Out
*And a trip to the Renaissance Festival.
4. Piece of cake.
5. Not that I eat cake anymore.
6. I am surprised and a bit annoyed at how many aspiring authors whine about getting a form rejection.
7. Does it really matter why an agent said no??
8. Dust yourself off and move on.
9. I love all things peach.
10. I do not appreciate jelly beans that look like Buttered Popcorn flavor but in actuality are Rotten Eggs.
11. Thank you J.K. Rowling.
12. I did laundry this weekend which means I got the unenviable job of cleaning out the pockets of my boys' pants.
13. I'd go into details on the wierd items they found necessary to shovel into their pockets and leave for their unsuspecting (but fortunately, strong-stomached) mother, but I don't like to dwell on it.
14. Please do not give your main character a love interest named "Bubba" and expect me to take you seriously.
15. Likewise, please do not name your main characters after weapons, emotions, or kitchen appliances and expect me to read your book without constantly rolling my eyes.
16. I saw a preview this weekend for what could possibly be the dumbest movie idea ever. Actually, the synopsis of the movie looks pretty interesting for kids but the trailer is one of those what were they thinking? moments.
17. I am reluctantly giving up my flannel sheets for the summer.
18. I introduced my hubby to the joys of Dean Koontz's ODD THOMAS this weekend.
19. I have a stack of books to read - from Koontz to Frost to some new-to-me authors but I have to finish my own writing before I will read any of theirs.
20. Reader question: What is your favorite kind of villain in a book?
#16 - Ouch.
ReplyDeleteI like intelligent villains, the ones who creep me out because I'm afraid they have what it takes to beat the protagonist.
Not a fan of the mindless "madman". Not nearly as scary as the Mr. Brooks kind of killer who could be living right next door and you'd never know it.
I agree with mayberry, intelligent villains are my favourite, or even 'misunderstood' villains, the ones who under different circumstances may have been the hero.
ReplyDeleteI love a villain who is unquestionably evil but whom you like despite yourself.
ReplyDeleteThat's hard for an author to pull off but when it's done right, I really enjoy it. It's such an uncomfortable sensation, rooting for the villain and the hero at the same time.
I like a villain who thinks s/he is right but is still tormented by the actions necessary to complete the mission. Someone like Ablow's "Psychopath" that dude was messed up and horrifically evil, but the reader could almost see his point. Pure evil is entertaining, but there has to be an element of sympathy towards the villain for the book to be a huge hit with me.
ReplyDelete(BTW - Do you know how nerve wracking it is to write a post on a blog where you know hundreds of writers will read it!? I can see the red edit pens working overtime already!) :-)
Oh these are all good ones!
ReplyDeletePoor Grayback...does it help that many of those writers have wandered over to your blog and think you are incredibly sweet and supportive of me?
But yes *ahem*, you do have a run-on sentence... =D
LOL!!!!!! I knew the red pen would strike quickly and without remorse.
ReplyDeleteOh, you mean that blog that I am supposed to keep current, but somehow manage to avoid it for weeks, ok...months, at a time?
That's the one!
ReplyDeleteDon't worry...I didn't marry you for your grammar.
I married you for your cake.
And all this time I though it was because of my vast riches and stunning good looks. :-)
ReplyDelete*snorts tea...chokes...flails helplessly*
ReplyDeleteAh, err, I mean...
YES!! That's it exactly!
(There, I said it. Now you owe me $20)
NO CAKE FOR YOU!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteI throw icing in your general direction.
Do not turn away from me while I am taunting you, or I will taunt you a second time!
I am going to make a peach pie now...
You. Get. None. :-P
Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries... =D
ReplyDeleteAh, wait...listen closely...
Do you hear anyone ice skating in hell today??
Then you must not be making peach pie.
Well we know it's not YOU ice skating in hell! :-)
ReplyDeleteI'm not dead yet!!!!!!!!!! I'm feeling better. I think I'll go for a walk.
I'm giving your piece of the peach pie to some watery tart! :-)
See the post above. Enough said. :)
ReplyDeleteThis was fun. :D
At the bakery we tend to apply the icing to the perpetrator's butt with a spatula when they aren't looking. The aforementioned spatula is then put into the dishwasher and with luck the helpless victim wanders around the store with a hideous glob of icing perched on their posterior.
ReplyDeleteWhat was the question? Oh! Yes! Villains!
I like the villain who comes from a wounded place, is terribly cynical, and has at least one person who sees past all of the evil to the person inside. There are so many possibilities there. He can be redeemed. He can be destroyed. He can be completely and utterly evil in spite of all this.