Elise Allen's Blog, page 6

The Girlfriends Cyber Circuit Presents Melissa Walker!

Today’s Girlfriends Cyber Circuit Q and A is with Melissa Walker.  The scoop on Melissa?

MELISSA WALKER is the author of Small Town Sinners, the Violet on the Runway series and Lovestruck Summer. She has worked as ELLEgirl Features Editor and Seventeen Prom Editor. Melissa manages I Heart Daily, an e-newsletter and blogs for ReaderGirlz, an online community for teens. A Chapel Hill, NC native, Melissa now lives in Brooklyn, NY.  www.melissacwalker.com

 

Melissa’s latest book is called Unbreak My Heart, and ever since I heard that title, I can’t get the Joe Cocker version of that song out of my head.  Happily, while I’m not a huge Joe Cocker fan, I do like the way he does that song… which is neither here nor there.  Back to Melissa’s fabulous book!

Summer will be the season for Melissa Walker fans to fall in love all over again. UNBREAK MY HEART is told in alternating chapters that chronicle the year that broke Clementine Williams’s heart and the summer that healed it. Inspired by Melissa’s own experience sailing with her family as a teen, this is the perfect beach read for fans of Sarah Dessen, Deb Caletti, and Susane Colasanti.

Usually Clem would dread the idea of spending an entire summer sailing with her family—two parents, one annoying little sister, and no internet, all on one tiny boat; however, right now escaping her life on land sounds pretty good. Clem did something bad during her sophomore year, even though she didn’t mean to. She fell for her best friend’s boyfriend and thought that he was falling for her too. Now the school year is over, the truth is out and he’s been excused while she’s been exiled, leaving her with no friends and zero social life.

When she and her family set sail the last thing Clem is looking for is another romance, but perhaps it found her anyway. His name is James. He’s cute, funny, and best of all, doesn’t know anything about her past. He and his dad are sailing the same route as Clem and her family for the summer and he’s just the distraction Clem needs. Can he break down Clem’s walls and unbreak her broken heart?

Now, let’s chat with Melissa!

Me:  So, Melissa, if you had no other responsibilities and could take off on a retreat to your dream place to write, where would that be, and what would your dream daily schedule be like?

Melissa:  I would love to be in a tiny town in Southern Spain, along the beach. I’d write for 2-3 hours in the morning and then spend the rest of the day taking a siesta, walking on the beach and eating olives at various tapas places.

Me: Is there a character you thought would be in the book, but who landed on the cutting room floor?  Conversely, is there a character you never expected to appear, but turned out to be intrinsic to the story?  If so, tell us about him/her.

Melissa: I didn’t cut any characters, but I beefed up the scene time for Olive, Clem’s little sister. I just ended up loving her and wanting her around more than I anticipated.

Me: Writing rituals: do you have any?  If so, what are they?  If you don’t follow them, do you find it harder to write?

Melissa:  Yes! I write 1000 words a day before lunch; I can’t eat until the words exist on the page (but they don’t have to be great, just there). If I don’t write in the morning, it won’t get done.

Me: Ever gotten a piece of fan mail, or had an experience with a reader that really stands out in your mind?  Tell us about it!

Melissa: I ran a contest for my first novel, Violet on the Runway, and a few readers made a video acting out scenes from the book. That was SO fun to see!

Me: Let’s reach back to school and describe your book in a single… HAIKU!  Three lines, five syllables-seven syllables-five syllables.  Ready?  Go!

Melissa:

The year the broke her.

The summer that healed her heart.

A dual love tale.

(That’s close to the tagline, so I kind of cheated, but I really like it!)

Excellent answers, Melissa!  Thanks so much — can’t wait to read the book!

 

Northern California, Here I Come!

Super excited because I leave in the morning for Northern California, and another tour with Stages on Pages!

These appearances are terrific — last time around, when we spun through the New York area, not only did I get to meet some wonderful booksellers and readers, but I also got to hang with writers like Stasia Kehoe and Gretchen McNeil, both of whom I adore.  Stasia and Gretchen will both be on this jaunt, plus I’ll get to meet fellow tourmates Kim Culbertson and Katherine Longshore.

Stasia is the mastermind behind these appearances, and you never know what she’ll plan.  Come join us and you’ll definitely get some fun, honest chat about books, writing, and the performing arts; but you also might find Gretchen singing opera, raffles for swag and other cool gifts, yummy treats, local performers… every stop’s a little different, but they’re all a great time.

Check out my Appearances page for a full list of NoCal events, and for even more Stages on Pages updates, come visit the tour’s Facebook page.

Hope to see you soon!

 

 

Pajama Party?

The other day I had a Twitter conversation I want to bounce off you.  I noticed someone I follow said it was mid-morning, she hadn’t showered, she was still in her PJ’s, and she wasn’t happy about this.  Here’s how the conversation went from there:

Me:  See, I DO like to be in PJs all morning!

Tweep: I don’t feel like the day has truly started until I’m showered, dressed, & wearing make-up… even if I don’t leave the house!

Me: Do u follow FlyLady? That’s their philosophy too.

Tweep:  I imagine that’s most people’s philosophy, LOL.

The conversation ended there, and I have to turn it to you because it got me thinking… is that most people’s philosophy?  I ask because if I don’t leave the house all day, there’s no way I’m putting on makeup, it’s quite likely I won’t get dressed, and it’s even possible I won’t shower.

Even when I do get all dolled up and leave the house, you know what I do the minute I get back home?  I “slip into something more comfortable,” by which I mean pajama bottoms or pajama-style shorts and a tank top.  That’s what I’m wearing now (note the picture… and the lack of contact lenses).  In fact, allow me to take you on a tour of my habiliments of the day:

5am to noon, in pajamas, unwashed, writing.

noon to 1:30, in gym clothes, heading to the gym, running 5 miles on treadmill, back home

1:30 to now (5pm), after a shower, change into pajama shorts and tank top

I did put on a little makeup and hair goo because I made a video to help save the arts programs in Upper Darby PA (a great cause — check out the video that explains it — not the one I made), but otherwise I wouldn’t have.  I even cheated it for my video — I didn’t put in my contacts, I just took off my glasses and pretended I could still see.

So here’s my question: if left to your own devices, do you need to get dressed and made up to start your day, or do you stay comfy, and get dressed only when you’re heading out for human consumption?

My Team Starkid Mistake

I’m a huge Harry Potter fan, I loved A VERY POTTER MUSICAL (which Margaret Stohl put on my radar), and as we’ve discussed, I have a hugely inappropriate crush on Darren Criss.  So when I heard Team Starkid  was doing their APOCALYPTOUR here in L.A. at the House of Blues, and Darren Criss was joining them onstage… no brainer!  Of course I’d go!

I invited two of my friends from college, both of whom love music, comedy, and theater, and we set out last night for what I knew would be an awesome evening of brilliance.

Well…

Here’s the thing.  What Team Starkid did, they did exceptionally well.

I just thought they’d do something else.

Starkid has four shows in their repertoire besides A VERY POTTER MUSICAL.  I haven’t seen any of them yet, but I’d read that APOCALYPTOUR was basically a clip show of their greatest hits, which sounded perfect!  I’d get to see bits of the shows I didn’t know, plus some of AVPM live on stage — awesome!

I really should have done more research.

Instead of performing little chunks of their shows, Team Starkid performed their songs basically in revue form, one after the other, with nothing to put them in context.  No costumes, no makeup… nothing.  I get the makeup part — obviously there wasn’t enough time to do quick changes in and out of this — but without even the littlest hints of a costume (a superhero cape, a Gryffendor tie maybe) there was no way to tell if a particular song was being belted by Batman, Ron Weasley, or a Giant Bug From Outer Space.

Even when I knew the context, seeing it staged without just wasn’t as funny.  The duet between Voldemort and Quirrel in A VERY POTTER MUSICAL is one of the most hysterical things I’ve ever seen.  The two actors doing the song in safari costumes, sandwiched between two songs from other musicals, with no setup to establish who they’re now playing… well… it was a little… meh.  Meh for me, and I know the piece.  My two friends who knew nothing about Team Starkid before the show?  Bored out of their minds.

All that said, I am in the extreme minority on this.  House of Blues was packed with people, mostly girls, mostly between the ages of 16 and 25, mostly squealing and screaming and signing along with every word as they strained to maybe, hopefully, blissfully touch one of the performers.  Team Starkid kicked butt for these rabid fans, singing with incredible energy and commitment.  My quibble isn’t with Starkids’ talent, it’s with the show concept.  To me, the no-context revue format takes away the very thing that makes their songs so brilliant.

Would I see them on stage again?  In a heartbeat… if they were doing one of their actual shows.  Otherwise not so much.

Which brings me to a question: have you ever gone to see a play, movie, or concert that you knew you’d love… only to find it wasn’t at all what you expected?  What was it, and was the change in direction for the better… or for the worse?

 

 

The Genius in My Midst… I Missed!

I just read a book that blew me away, and I really want to tell you about it.  But first a little history lesson, because the way I discovered this book is a lesson in keeping your eyes open, so you don’t miss something incredible right in front of your face.

Okay, the lesson’s for me since I did not follow that advice.  Case in point:

As I’ve mentioned here on the blog, my first job in the entertainment industry was answering the phones for Saved by the Bell: The College Years.  When that show ended, I worked as a writer’s assistant for a live show (and met Lily Tomlin — don’t get me started on the level of geekoutery involved on my part), then came back to Bell-land for a stint as a writer’s assistant on Saved by the Bell: The New Class.

The head writer on New Class was a man named Bennett Tramer, who had been at Bayside High since before Saved by the Bell had a colon in its title.  He ran the room of writers, who pitched and parried ideas while we assistants kept our fingers flying on the keyboard to make sure we captured every word.

Bennett was great to me — my very first produced TV script was an episode of New Class, and as head writer he helmed the whole process.  As assistants, we spent a lot of time with him, and among the things I remember most was how much he talked about his wife, Sonya.  He raved about her — they’d been married forever, but clearly, the man was still smitten.  He practically glowed when she and their kids came to visit the set.

I remember hearing things about Sonya’s creative accomplishments… there was something about art… something about writing… but I was just out of college and all about television, so the random creative exploits of the boss’ wife really went in one ear and out the other.

Cut to an absurd number of years later.  Elixir had come out recently, Populazzi‘s release was still months away, and I was heading to my first event with the LAYAS, the Los Angeles Young Adult Authors.  It was a Christmas party, and I was freaking out because I didn’t know anyone, and I was convinced I’d end up getting shy and neurotic and having meaningful conversation with a potted plant all night, but I forced myself to walk into the house…

…and there was Bennett Tramer!

How could that be?

Uh-huh.  Remember Sonya?  Turns out she’s Sonya Sones, award-winning poet/author of several young adult novels-in-verse.  I had no idea!

I loved catching up with Bennett and properly getting to know Sonya after so many years, and told myself I’d read her books immediately.

I didn’t.  The TBR pile got in the way.  Even last June, when I saw her at ALA and got a signed copy of her first “grownup” book, The Hunchback of Neiman Marcus, I didn’t read it right away.  It languished on my bookshelf, and I sadly forgot about it… until two days ago.  I picked it up, started it…

…and couldn’t stop.

The book is brilliant.  Incredibly honest and real.  It’s the journey of Holly the year she turns 50 and everything seems to cave in on her.  She hits menopause, her only child heads off to college, and her mother takes dangerously ill.

Sounds like a party, right?  But Sonya delivers Holly’s roller coaster ride in poetry that’s hysterically insightful.

Oh yes, poetry.  The whole novel is in verse, which is the main reason it stayed on my shelf unread for so long.

With the exception of The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, I’ve never been much for poetry.  Then I read Stasia Kehoe’s Audition, which is also in verse… but it doesn’t read like the cliche of “poetry.”  It’s not inscrutable.  It is in fact remarkably scrutable.  Reading it, I realized that when done well, verse is the perfect window into a character’s head.  Who thinks in perfectly linear prose?  The string of uniquely crafted images in poetry is a far more accurate portrayal of how we perceive the world.

Sonya Sones doesn’t just do poetry well, she’s a poetry expert.  I couldn’t put it down.  I sat on the couch with Miss M for hours, Miss M reading her book, me reading Sonya’s.  Miss M kept looking up at me and saying, “Mommy, you’re crying again.”

Of course I was; Sonya’s beautiful, hysterical, honest poetry had me flashing forward ten years to Miss M leaving home for college, and the combination of agony and elation I know I’ll feel.

This book is a must-read.  I absolutely loved it, and recommend it without reservations.

So the moral of the story?  If your boss goes on and on about his super-talented wife?  Don’t tune him out!  She’s probably someone you’d really love to know. 

 

 

 

 

Diversity + Acceptance = Tolerance, A Study of One

I love Glee (and I have a completely inappropriate crush on Darren Criss, especially after seeing A Very Potter Musical).

Though Miss M was too young to watch the show when it started, Pre and I always let her watch the musical numbers.  This week I showed her the episode where they go to Nationals, and before one of the numbers, she caught some of Unique in full makeup, but before he put on his wig.  For those who don’t know, Unique is the female alter ego of male transgender character Wade.  Miss M thought Wade looked “weird,” but then got completely wrapped up in Unique’s fantastic performance, and didn’t say anything more about it.

Later, Miss M asked me why “that guy was in makeup and dressed up like a girl to sing.”  I said he did it because even though he was a boy, he felt like a girl inside, so that’s how he expressed who he really is.

Miss M scrunched up her face.  “I don’t like that.”

“It’s different,” I said, “but that’s how it is for some people.  Remember in preschool?  You were good friends with Tiffany, and even though she was a girl, she felt like a boy.  Remember how all the boys and girls were paired off for the graduation dance, and you danced with Tiffany?”

This is true — there was one girl in her school who absolutely self-identified as a boy.  The first year Tiffany (not her real name) and Miss M were in school together, Tiffany’s parents fought it.  Tiffany wore dresses, had long hair with ribbons and bows… and spent the year silently glowering.

Then one day, Tiffany came to school with super-short hair, wearing boys’ shorts and a T-shirt.  She had a huge grin on her face, and was suddenly the most engaged, active, vibrant kid you’d ever want to see.  Not only did Tiffany look like a little boy, whenever the kids were separated by gender for any reason, Tiffany chose to stick with the boys.

The school handled the whole thing perfectly, by not “handling it” at all.  It was simply a non-issue.  Tiffany was Tiffany, a great kid and a much-loved member of the school community.  The teachers let her be who she was without making any kind of a fuss, and the other kids did the same — none of them batted an eye.

Graduation for this preschool involved a big to-do, with girls in dresses and boys in suits and a big choreographed boy-girl dance number.  (We’re not talking Astaire/Rogers boy-girl dance number; it was more like a Ren Faire gaillard.)  No way was Tiffany getting into a dress for this shindig; she wore a suit like all the other boys, and just like them she was partnered with a girl: Miss M.  Miss M was thrilled; she and Tiffany were great friends, so partnering with her only made the dance more fun.

That was three years ago though — an especially long time if you’re only 7.  Yet when I reminded Miss M about Tiffany, I got the “Oh yeah!”  Then she smiled and shrugged, no longer concerned.  “Okay.”

That was it.  Once she thought about Tiffany, a friend she’d known and loved, the Unique thing didn’t bother her anymore.  It became a non-issue, just as it should be, and Miss M moved on to something else.  The whole conversation took no time at all, but I loved that it was a microcosm of why “diversity” and “acceptance” aren’t just buzzwords — they truly can conquer hatred.  With Miss M, I saw the whole thing play out in instants: an ignorance about something (“that’s weird”) jumped to a prejudice (“I don’t like it”), which was immediately vanquished by experience as she remembered her friend (“Oh yeah!  Okay.”).

And since we’re talking about the Glee finale, can we discuss the “Paradise By The Dashboard Lights” performance?  I thought it was fantastic.  If you haven’t seen it, check it out:

Writing Nut Tag… I’m It!

You might recall that not so long ago, I was tagged by the fabulous Nutschell, a.k.a. The Writing Nut.  Well, she’s done it again, in this post, where she tags me and several other bloggers with a nomination for the Versatile Blogger Award.

Fun!

So here are the rules:

1. Share 7 completely random pieces of information about myself.

2. Nominate 15 fellow bloggers for The Versatile Blogger Award and inform them of their nomination by posting a comment on their blogs.

Okay, I can do that.  Don’t know if I’ll get to fifteen nominees — that’s a lot of people — but I’ll do at least a few, and I can certainly come up with 7 random pieces of information, such as…

Random Fact 1: When I was 14, my little brother accidentally burned off a third of my hair.  I was pattern-bald for most of my freshman year of high school.

RF2: I’m currently studying Pimsleur’s French and Italian on CDs in my car.  I’m highly amused because their teaching conversations all sound like bad attempts to pick up on the opposite sex.

RF3: When I was a kid, I tried to microwave a can of soup… still in the can.  I had a feeling the house might explode, so I rallied my little sister and the cats and we prepared to evacuate while we watched the timer count down to our assured doom.  (Doom didn’t happen — I came to my senses and turned off the microwave first.)

RF4: One of my hobbies in 7th grade was learning and singing the words to popular songs… backwards.

RF5: Last time George Michael went on tour, I saw him in both L.A. and N.Y., ponying up for floor seats to both shows simply because he’s George, and he’s worth it.

RF6: If I’m on the phone with my sister and need to use the bathroom, I have no problems bringing the phone along and continuing our conversation.  She is the only person in the world with whom I’d dream of doing this… which she finds a dubious distinction.

RF7: I met my husband on a blind date… arranged by an ex-girlfriend of his who thought I’d be such a hideous disaster that he’d immediately slingshot back to her.  Oops.

Now for the nominees — I won’t do 15 — I’ll stick with 5.

1. Jen Klein

2. Susan Case

3. Elizabeth Towns

4. Stephanie D’Abruzzo

5. Skinny Emmie

Anyone else out there got any fun random facts you want to share?  Comment away!

Industry Scoop: The Rolodex Walk of Fame

When I worked on MTV’s Undressed (yup, totally just said that), one of the production assistants had a rolodex that awed me.  It was filled to bursting with the names of Hollywood’s elites — major box office stars… and their addresses, phone numbers, email addresses… all of which she had legitimately, from a previous job in which she dealt with these people regularly.

I’m no stalker (with the exception of Billy Joel — have I told you that story?), and I’m usually far more excited by the out-of-vogue luminaries of my youth than anyone currently featured in Us Weekly (why why why did I never get to meet Charles Nelson Reilly before he died???) , but that much star power in one place was daunting.  I’d take breaks from writing just to perch on the edge of Sari’s desk, flip through the cards (with her permission and under her watchful eye, of course), and drool.

I never tried to take any of the information — I would never do that, and even if I were the type who wanted to, Sari would never let it happen.  I’m fairly certain the cards were booby trapped, possibly with anthrax.

There was one person on the staff who did try to steal the info, to the point where Sari had to lock away the rolodex (except when she kindly took it out for my flip/gasp/gape sessions), and while I was disgusted that he would try to take these personal details that weren’t his to know, I was also fascinated.  What did this guy think he was going to do with these addresses and phone numbers?  He wasn’t the sell-to-the-paparazzi type; he clearly wanted the digits to try and enhance his career.  But did he really think someone like Tom Hanks would respond to a cold call asking if he’d read this guy’s screenplay?  Did he think a Steven Spielberg would appreciate him popping over with muffins to talk about potential joint projects?

So here’s my question.  If you were around this magical rolodex, what would you do?  Would you find it completely uninteresting?  Would you be like me and flip through it just to see the staggering array of megastars?  Would you be tempted to take any of the information?  And if so, what would you do with it?

 

 

 

Jessi Kirby and The Girlfriends’ Cyber Circuit!!!

I am insanely honored and excited because I’ve been invited to join the Girlfriends’ Cyber Circuit.  The GCC (everything’s better with an acronym) is an amazing group of YA authors who bring to life new YA releases and the authors behind them with unique, fun interviews… now including one here on this blog!

My first GCC visitor is Jessi Kirby, whose new book, In Honor, is now available.  I have some questions for Jessi (and I love her answers), but first, a little about her:

Jessi Kirby is the author of Moonglass, published in May 2011 by Simon and Schuster. She is also a wife, mom, English teacher and former librarian, beach bum, runner, and lover of Contemporary YA, strong coffee, and dark chocolate.

For more information, find her on Simon and Schuster’s Official Author Page, at www.jessikirby.com, and/or on Facebook and Twitter.

 

 

As for her latest book, In Honor, here’s the scoop:

Honor receives her brother’s last letter from Iraq three days after learning that he died, and opens it the day his fellow Marines lay the flag over his casket. Its contents are a complete shock: concert tickets to see Kyra Kelly, her favorite pop star and Finn’s celebrity crush. In his letter, he jokingly charged Honor with the task of telling Kyra Kelly that he was in love with her.

Grief-stricken and determined to grant Finn’s last request, she rushes to leave immediately. But she only gets as far as the driveway before running into Rusty, Finn’s best friend since third grade and his polar opposite. She hasn’t seen him in ages, thanks to a falling out between the two guys, but Rusty is much the same as Honor remembers him: arrogant, stubborn. . . and ruggedly good looking. Neither one is what the other would ever look for in a road trip partner, but the two of them set off together, on a voyage that makes sense only because it doesn’t. Along the way, they find small and sometimes surprising ways to ease their shared loss and honor Finn–but when shocking truths are revealed at the end of the road, will either of them be able to cope with the consequences?

It sounds pretty fantastic, right?

What’s also fantastic was getting to do this interview with Jessi, whom I’ve yet to meet in person, but already love because she’s a fellow runner and Californian, so of course I’m  trying to finagle ways to convince her to run a marathon with me.

Big thanks to Jessi for all her answers and for visiting the blog as part of the super-fab GCC!  Now without further ado…

ME: If you had no other responsibilities and could take off on a retreat to your dream place to write, where would that be, and what would your dream daily schedule be like?  (For example, would you write in several sessions, broken up for yoga and walks on the beach?  Would you work for a solid block in the afternoon, then party like a madwoman all night long?)

JESSI: Ooh, all of the above?  That sounds lovely! Hm, when I think of a peaceful writing place, I think of mountains AND the beach, and Big Sur has both, so that’s where I’d go! My day would start off with a run and a good breakfast, then I’d work for a few hours, take a break to soak up the scenery and the inspiration, then get back to it until dinner time.  I’m kind of past the partying like a madwoman, but I’d definitely finish the night off with a good glass of wine and hang out time with other writer friends.

ME: Is there a character you thought would be in the book, but who landed on the cutting room floor?  Conversely, is there a character you never expected to appear, but turned out to be intrinsic to the story?  If so, tell us about him/her.

JESSI: For IN HONOR, the answer to both of these is no.  But in MOONGLASS, there was one minor character who was a friend of Anna’s dad, who ended up being cut because he didn’t do much else besides sit around in scenes and play his guitar.  The funny thing about that is, he was based on a guy I know in real life, who does just that!  Luckily when I told him about it, he was quite entertained.

ME: Writing rituals: do you have any?  If so, what are they?  If you don’t follow them, do you find it harder to write?

JESSI: I don’t know if this would be a ritual, but I write best when I’ve gone for a run or done some sort of exercise first.  Besides getting moving, I listen to the playlist for whatever I’m working on, and it gets me in the frame of mind I need to be to write it.

ME: Ever gotten a piece of fan mail, or had an experience with a reader that really stands out in your mind?  Tell us about it!

JESSI: Definitely.  The most recent was a girl I met who came up to me after a signing, introduced herself, and told me that she really wanted to read IN HONOR because she had a brother who was killed overseas.  That moment got me because the story I wrote is fiction, but to her that experience was real, and all I could think was that I hoped I did it justice.

ME: Let’s reach back to school and describe your book in a single… HAIKU!  Three lines, five syllables-seven syllables-five syllables.   Ready?  Go!

JESSI:

Letter from brother

Road Trip in his Impala

With his ex best friend

 

Thanks again, Jessi!  So excited to read In Honor!  And, you know, to meet up for a marathon somewhere here in SoCal.  Half-marathon?  Just tossing it out there…

 

 

 

 

Ohmmmm My Gawd!

I grew up a cynical east coast girl, but after almost two decades in L.A., the west coast crunchy spiritual thing has clearly taken root because a few days ago…

I started seeing a “holistic healer.”

For real.

It’s not that anything’s seriously wrong with me, but I’ve got some random issues, like a tendency to get migraines.  I’ve seen regular doctors, and I have hard-core meds for when the headaches come, but I’d rather go for prevention.

Cut to me on a hike with a friend who tells me the most astounding story about her visit to this healer — because of a groupon, no less! — and how the healer “intuited” every issue she had, without even looking at her paperwork.  Then the healer changed my friend’s diet, did acupuncture… and a month later, my friend’s symptoms are gone.  Gone!

I found the whole thing very exciting, and I have to say, the first appointment didn’t disappoint.  I filled out reams of paperwork listing every teeny issue I have with my body and my health, but the healer didn’t read them right away.  Instead she looked at my tongue, at the way I stand, the way I made small talk… then she plopped onto a bench, stared me in the eye, and told me with 95% accuracy everything I wrote on the paperwork.

Coincidence?  Sure, could be.  A good carny could probably do the same thing.  Doesn’t take an intuitive healer to guess things like stress and anxiety.  As for pinpointing my headaches and other minor issues, I’m in a healer’s office — probably most people who walk through the door are dealing with similar less-than-urgent symptoms.

Still.  I was excited.  And when she started telling me which of my chakras were blocked, I was riveted despite myself.

Next came acupuncture, front and back.  I’ve had acupuncture before, and while it’s an odd thing to say about someone sticking you with needles… I love it.  Sprawled on the table like a pincushion, I zone into this trancelike state that’s the closest I’ve ever come to meditating.

I go back tomorrow.  My homework before then is to journal about the chakra blockages.  Some were apparently caused by “giving my power away,” and “putting up barriers to creative bliss.”

I know, I know, it’s all so “I forgot my mantra” from Annie Hall, and I have no idea why I’m so eager to embrace it… but I’m all over it.  I think tomorrow there will be more acupuncture, plus she’ll give me her tips on what I should and shouldn’t be eating (first tip — no more adding salt at the table).

Is it weird that I’m totally looking forward to it?

I’ll keep you posted about what comes next.

How about you?  Have you ever done anything in the alternative medicine realm?  Anything holistic or new agey that seemed completely scoff-worthy… but worked?  Or didn’t work — have you jumped into something that seemed kooky but worth a try, and had it fall flat?

My blocked chakras and I look forward to hearing all about it…