Focus . . .

My word for 2009 is going to be "focus".  

One reason for my choice is that I seem to be saying it to myself over and over and over these days like some sort of obsessive mantra as I'm trying to force myself back into a normal routine after the holidays.  The second reason is that my life is full of noise, chaos and distractions--all things that are detrimental to getting into the writing zone.

As a mother of three children, I have lots of external things pulling me away from my writing life. I find myself volunteering for things out of a sense of guilt and obligation and I consider my writing an "indulgence".  So, not only do I need to focus on the task at hand and tune out distractions, I also need to refocus how I view my creative life.  My writing and artwork are not hobbies or indulgences.  They are lifeblood and necessities.

So, focus . . . . focus . . . .focus . .  . dammit! 

The Screenplay

In addition to getting agents, selling both KISS AND TELL and PAPER TIGER, and finishing our new WIP's (Katie's YA and SF's MG) SF and I are also going to finish revising and sell our killer screenplay this year!!!

Just sayin'

(Cracking knuckles)

2009 is going to be a monumental year. I can feel it.

P.S. I totally stole that "cracking knuckles" comment from Suzanne. 'Cuz I thought it was funny :-)

Balance. . .

A couple of my friends picked words for 2009. Mantras if you will. Things that they hoped would define their year. Shelli picked "Breathe." Irene picked "Listen." And while I loved reading about their words, I had no real desire for one of my own.

Then last night I went to yoga. The HOT kind. Bikram. And I realized that I haven't enjoyed yoga in months. I have had my mind too full of other stuff. Emotional stuff. And it has robbed me of the joy of single minded yoga.

So I am claiming a word... Balance.

This year I hope to balance my time between writing, and playing, and working, and talking, and cooking, and laughing, and planning, and crying, and dancing and loving and everything else. So that no one thing sucks too much of my mental energy and robs the rest of my life of peace.

Namaste :-)

P.S. That pose is NOT me. But this one is :-)

Get to WORK!!!!!

Well, here it is . . . the day before my three girls go back to school.  I'm frantically trying to purge the house of all evidence of Christmas--tree droppings, garland, ribbons, glitter, and that dorky little elf that flies to Santa's workshop every night during December only to return to our house each morning in a different hiding place.  If I ever meet those women who wrote that elf book, I just might . . . nevermind.

We've had a crazy, fun holiday season with lots of friends, family, and drop-ins.  I feel like I've been on some kind of crazy spring break binge for weeks (and our house looks that way, too--except it's mostly littered with juice boxes and crushed candy canes instead of beer cans and cigarette cartons).

My WIP has been simmering untouched for a good month now, and I'm itching to get back to it. I can see it, completed, shimmering like a star out there in the big black sky.  I'm so close.  I know exactly what's going to happen.  I know how my characters are going to react.  I know how it's going to end.  I just have to flesh out some really important, really emotionally poignant parts of the story.  Yeah, I "just" have to do that.  

So, HAPPY 2009!  Let's get to work.

SF

Black-Eyed Peas

HAPPY NEW YEAR Y'all!!!!!!

I am officially declaring 2009, The Year of the Unsold Book. That means everyone who hasn't sold one, will.

Today, I shall eat some black-eyed peas in our honor. Oh! With greens. Isn't that the thing you're supposed to do on New Year's Day? Are the greens required? (SF?) Maybe this is just in the South. Hmmm... If it is, please write in and tell us what your New Year's traditions are.

I am getting ready to mail KISS AND TELL to a spectacular agent, so I am going to add a few killer scenes to it today. Then I might go to Zumba if they are having it, and since my mom is in town from Virginia, I'll probably hit the grocery store to concoct a large and beautiful supper.

And SF, we'll pop over if you're home :-)

Love to all!

Katie

Be afraid. Be very afraid.

I thought, perhaps, I should blog about the severed Barbie head photo that I put up on Facebook.  She has created quite a stir--and probably caused terror ridden nightmares for a few of my close friends.  She even inspired a blog post written by my friend Christy Raedeke.  

This head belongs to one of my childhood Barbies which was given to me in a huge batch of Barbie paraphernalia by my babysitter.  Notice that she has real eyelashes--she's from the sixties (and in pristine condition probably would have been worth some $$).

How did she get in this eerily disturbing condition?  Anyone out there have a big brother? Well, I do.  He is five years older than I and spent much of his childhood figuring out ways to psychologically torture me.  My brother had GI Joes complete with jeeps, guns, and a giant orange surveillance tower. Whenever I would be happily playing with my Barbie Star Stage and Galleria, my brother and his friends would carefully plan a strategic ambush of my hot pink world.  They would storm in and kidnap as many Barbies as they could fit into the jeep.  Then they would strip them down, cut their hair and hang them naked from the top of the GI Joe tower.

Here, you see the sole survivor of these torturous raids on Barbie-land.  I'm not sure what has happened to her body.  The last time I saw it, it was covered in teeth marks and planted by our swing set.  

So, I ask you, is it any wonder I have written and illustrated a creepy picture book full of spiders and headless dolls?  And, should I be worried that my five-year-old actually enjoys playing with the severed doll head??

sf

Katie's Ski Trip

Hey there! I am back. We had a spectacular ski vacation but sadly, I can't get any pictures to upload? You can see them all on Facebook.

I can't think yet about writing except that I was STOKED about my killer new book idea that involves snowboarders. So I read snowboarding magazines all the way home to get cool with their lingo. And it cracked me up! I can't wait to write about it.