Random Honesty, volume 1

We have been awarded the "Honest Scrap" award by the two lovely bloggers, Ms. J and Shannon O'Donnell!!! Thanks, Girls! We love us some awards :-)

So now we have to tell you ten honest things about ourselves.

KATIE:

1. I have serious comma issues. I have no idea, where to put them. See?
2. I rarely watch TV and am jealous of Lila's knowledge of all things Bravo. But, I do watch movies. And it is truly a sickness. Anytime I even have a glitch of writer's block, I instant download a movie. And not a scary, or faced paced, or even popular one, usually. Yesterday, it was Kate and Leopold. You remember that one? It probably got crummy reviews, but I will happily watch it again and again and again. I adore it.
3. I know SF and I talk about southern food a lot, but I seriously love it. When we lived in Orange County, we almost went buck wild trying to find mashed potatoes and BBQ. It was impossible to find.
4. I love public speaking. I sometimes day dream about it. But it also makes me nervous, and I sometimes cry mid speech.
5. Just like my character, I am a makeup fanatic. I don't wear a ton but I have always owned a bunch and used to think Sephora was as good as Disney World.
6. SF will be funnier on these and make me second guess all of my answers :-(

SARAH FRANCES:

Ooooo! The pressure . . .

1. I hate confrontations (sad that I used to be a lawyer). I hate them to the point that I nearly have a panic attack complete with nausea, heart-racing, and crazy convulsions. It's embarrassing.

2. I also hate public speaking--Katie, I'll tag you for help with my, ahem, KEYNOTE! (sorry about the private joke shared by our LA SCBWI crew--I'd try to explain it, but like most private jokes . . . ya had to be there, and it just wouldn't be funny).

3. I am currently addicted to Weeds which stars Mary Louise Parker as a pot-dealing soccer mom. I'm way behind the curve and still on Season One, but it is my favorite guilty pleasure.

4. I have a gigantic crush on Jack Nicholson. Huge.

5. I'm buying lavender bath salts at the Walmart (Dr. Teal's), repackaging it with raffia and cute bags . . . maybe a seashell as a scoop. And, I'm going to give these to all of my friends for Christmas, swearing that I got them at some fabulous spa in Chicago when I was there last month.

6. Uh. Maybe I shouldn't have spilled that last one? If any of our readers are also on my Christmas list, just know that your gift was packed with LOVE. Besides, if you've never tried Dr. Teal's lavender bath soak, you should. His eucalyptus one is dreamy, too.

My Secret Weapon

I firmly believe that you can't write a book without a highly qualified support team. I have blogged about KISS, Inc. before, but it's true - without the support of a large group of friends, family and other authors, I feel that no one can write a good book. Keep in mind, within this group, I also count those supportive peeps who give kind and helpful rejections. Yep, I am more thankful for these people than almost any. Any, that is, except for one...

... My Secret Weapon.

The main weapon in my arsenal of tricks, is none other than my mother.

Having just finished reading my book for the umpteenth time, she is not only encouraging and persistant in her good advice, but, she's a grammatical genius, helping me locate rogue commas and overused words that pop up like evil terrorists. Her background in poetry and English makes her an indispensable tool for getting my manuscript in tip top shape before it ever even crosses my agent's desk. Mom has single handedly made me a Revision Goddess, a title I flaunt proudly.

Dear Mom,

I could never have done this without you. And for this reason, when I DO sell this sucker, it will be dedicated whole heartedly to you. Thank you so much! I love you :-)

Katie

Speaking of good food...

I took the chickens to my beloved Chevron for lunch today. That's right, you heard me - the Chevron gas station has some killer food - old country kind of food.

Occasionally, when I tell my yankee friends (which my husband thinks is anywhere outside of Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee and Louisiana) that we're lunching at the gas station, they laugh at me. But today, while paying the lady for my gas/food, I noticed the cover of Bon Appetit magazine, sitting up in a frame on the counter, in which my dear Chevron was written up as a hot spot for food :-)

I said to the lady, "Well isn't that cool!"

And she said, "We were in that Gentleman's magazine a couple of months ago."

"GQ?" I asked.

"That's the one," she said with a smile.

So there, distant friends, I'm not crazy :-)

OH!!!!!! I forgot to mention the fact that Coach O mentions my Chevy in the new movie The Blind Side too!!! Which, by the way, is utterly fantastic! And great for the entire family. RUN, don't walk to see it! It's incredible!!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

HAVE A GREAT THANKSGIVING!!

See you next week!

SF and Katie

Competitive Yoga??

In yesterday's New York Times, there was an article called "Is the Spirit of Competition in the Soul of Yoga?" It seems that the Choudhurys, the couple most famous for creating Bikram style yoga, are trying to promote yoga as a competitive sport here in the U.S.--with hopes that it will be included in the Olympics someday. Whhhhaaaaaaaaaat??

My favorite quote from the article is this:

“We are not trying to judge any kind of spirituality when they are out there,” Mrs. Choudhury said.

Well Mrs. Choudhury, that's good news. Could you imagine? Ten points for the perfect downward dog. Ten points for an excellently executed side crow. Five point deduction for the slightly spotted aura. Sorry, hon. You must work on your karma if you want to make the 2020 Olympic team.

This whole idea of yoga as a competive sport sends me spinning. Isn't yoga about INNER peace? Isn't the focus on what your body can do--not on what your body can do as compared to everyone else in the room? Doesn't this notion run counter to the entire premise of yogic practice?

As I sat in my kitchen enraged by this article, I realized that by taking this very deliberate step with my writing--the step towards becoming a published writer--I am treating my art the same way. Haven't I introduced competition and the marketplace into my world of quiet introspection and self exploration?

Most of you who are reading this blog are either seeking publication or are already published. So, how do you keep your zen and stay true to your art in the face of the realities of competition and the cut-throat realities of the marketplace?

I guess it's all just a matter of focus and intention--cultivating an ability to keep the art and the marketing separate. Thoughts?

Ohm.

sf

Passing Time

Well, as today is my birthday *happy giggles* I am torn between wanting time to stop, and time to fly by. Why? Because I, of course, don't wanna be 39 (Great Balls of Fire!!!) But I also REALLY want to see this - which means hurry up Friday! Bring on New Moon!

So at least that's done . . .

So, I spent Sunday decorating for Christmas.

No. I'm not one of "those" people--you know the ones who send out their Christmas cards the day after Thanksgiving and have their shopping finished in June. I am the crazy person who has agreed to let her house be on tour for the Jr. Auxiliary's Christmas Tour of Homes. And, today a local magazine came over to take some photographs of our dining room mantle.

As I was climbing down from the attic with an armload of whatever was on top of my rubbermaid bins marked "Christmas", I looked by our back door. This is what I saw:

Yes. It is leftover from last year. I never put it up.

So, at least that's done. The mantle has to be reworked when I get all of my stuff out--I just stood in the dark attic and grabbed at random and (in the words of Tim Gunn) "made it work." But the doormat can stay. Maybe even for another year.

And, surely I'm setting myself up for some good karma in the world of children's books. All of the proceeds from the tour go to projects that help children. It's all for a good cause. Keep repeating that to yourself, sf. It's all for a good cause . . .

sf