Rita Arens's Blog, page 28

Right and Wrong

The billboard flashed by from the side of the road as I struggled with the glare of a dusty summer and using leftover diaper wipes on the inside windshield of a top-down aging convertible.

CHIEFS.

There is a guy I pass sometimes while jogging in my neighborhood with silver on his temples. He runs wind sprints up this hill in a way that makes me wonder if he didn't used to play.

CHIEFS.

He waves at me as I shorten my strides to get up the hill without walking. He's nice.

CHIEFS.

I've never played...

Young Adult Novels, Ahoy

In a few weeks, I'm going to be participating in my first ever YA scavenger hunt with sixty other young adult authors. Each of us is offering a book, so you could essentially win an entire young adult library doing this thing. Here's the explanation from the organizer, author Colleen Houck:

I'm very exited to reveal to you the 60, count 'em 60 authors that will be featured on the Fall 2013 YA Scavenger Hunt! That means that not only do you get access to exclusive bonus material from each one...

So Let's Celebrate the Existence of the Art

This week I'm finishing up my shitty rough draft of THE BIRTHRIGHT OF PARKER CLEAVES to send to my beta readers, and I'm pretty sure it sucks and they will think less of me for reading it. Yesterday, I tried to list THE OBVIOUS GAME on a discount site, but it wasn't accepted. I suspect it's a little heavy for their genre-heavy readership, which I totally get, but it was disappointing because I could use the boost in visibility on Amazon. This year I've watched other blogger anthologies rising...

Turning Up the Heat

"Mama, why does heat make you so tired?"

We crossed the street and headed into the art festival. We're heat-hardy, my daughter and I, indiginous to the sultry Midwest summers like goldenrod and cone flowers. The 105-degree temperature didn't stop us from wanting to look at paintings until we hit the pavement, where temperatures had to be even higher. And the humidity, thick like a washcloth, making it hard to breathe.

"I'm not sure, exactly. Maybe so you'll be forced to slow down and it will...

The Red Leotard

The little angel has graduated to Level 2 at her ballet school. They are very formal there. Parents are neither allowed to watch class (except for very special parent watch nights) nor even exist on the same level as the classrooms while the children are learning their steps. The boys wear black pants and white shirts. The girls wear leotards, color determined by level.

She started out pink.

Then she was light blue.

And now she is red. This leotard has spaghetti straps, not the short or long...

It's Horrible, I Feel Horrible About It, But I Wish We Would Leave It Alone

All weekend I've been torn over Syria.

The little angel caught some headlines as we were out and about and asked a bunch of questions. They were hard ones to answer.

I don't know why people would hurt children.

I don't know whether we'll do anything about it.

I don't know know if we should do anything about it.

I agree, the whole situation is just terrible.

When it comes to policing the world, I'm ambivalent. Of course I'd love for a strong country like America to be able to help the world's...

Maybe It Was the Teddy Bears? Or Maybe It Was the Black Woman.

Y'all, I totally didn't watch the VMAs. a) I didn't realize they were on b) I have really never cared about music videos, even when MTV first came out -- I think it was the newness. I can't remember the last time I wanted my MTV. c) I hate awards shows, too.

So it wasn't until Monday morning that I realized Miley Cyrus had quite the bizarre performance. Such a performance that we actually created a series on BlogHer to house all the reactions. Now it's Friday, and I think it's taken me an ent...

Studying the Work of Others, Hoping It Will Rub Off

I'm almost to the shitty rough draft stage with THE BIRTHRIGHT OF PARKER CLEAVES. It's about 10,000 words too short, but I don't know which 10,000 they should be. Also, I don't know the answers to certain questions myself, and those questions need to be answered in the draft. Finally, it's the clay and not the sculpture -- most of it totally sucks.

I spent about two weeks going through a printed-out version from StoryMill and trying to write connecting tissue because I'd written everything el...

Internal Monologue During The Warrior Dash

[Editor's Note: Prior to running the Warrior Dash, the blogger thought she was a badass. Also note: the blogger used a waterproof disposable camera, but it got "sent off" and will take two weeks to be developed, just like it's 1984, so she's relying on spotty memory of obstacles and their order.]

Oh, look! The starting line shoots fire! That's totally cool. FIRE FIRE FIRE

I probably should've trained on grass. Grass with lots of shale and sticks in it.

No problem. I am doing awesome. I am goi...

The Right Way to Turn 40

We leave tonight for Iowa to run the Warrior Dash in honor of Beloved's 40th birthday tomorrow.

Hopefully will have pics on Monday, provided I can find a waterproof disposable camera!