Sandra Tayler's Blog, page 152

Listening to the voices in my head again

Why does it matter? What do you write for? Why would anyone other than you want to read it anyway?

These thoughts come in the wake of two months when the only writing time I find is after I've already burned out my creative energies on book layout or parenting crises. In the middle of it all I had a pounding certainty that it was time for me to begin the query process. I felt I needed to get moving on submitting my book to publishers. So I put together a query and gave it to a friend to ...

Patch Contemplates his Future Part II

This morning Patch got ready for school with time to spare. He sat down with paper, pencil, and the boxes from his Halo toys. I watched as he began to draw. Then erase. Then draw. Then erase.

He looked up at me. "Mom, this isn't as easy as I thought it would be."

"Yeah. May be you should work on practicing drawing Halo dudes and worry about making comics later."

Patch nodded. "Or I could just practice drawing Lego guys. Maybe I'll make a Lego comic instead."

I gave him a hug. "Just...

Patch Contemplates His Future

Patch climbed out of bed and approached me with a serious look on his face. "Mom, I've changed. Now I am thinking ahead. I've been thinking about how my life is going to be. Making Halo comics."

"Oh?" I answered.

"Yeah. I need to start practicing now while I'm a kid to get good at my things. I need to practice until I'm good enough to make comics."

"And what things do you need to practice?" I asked.

"Drawing Halo guys from toy boxes. I need to get more Halo sets so I can look at the...

Thoughts on my front steps

I sat on the front steps, pavement warm against my feet. The grass needed its first mowing of the year, green only in patches, but beginning to grow. The scent of daffodils and hyacinths wafted around me, speaking happiness to my back brain. I love spring flowers. I looked down the bed of flowers next to the house. I planted most of them myself. I did not plant the weeds. Those showed up without permission. But this early in the season the flowers are blooming and the weeds have...

Kid perspectives on what we do

I was carrying five large boxes to the curb one at a time. They were full of books which are getting shipped to Penguicon in Michigan. (Howard and I will be there in three weeks. Stop by if you're in the vicinity.) As I was making the trips in and out of my house, I became aware of Gleek talking to the neighbor's babysitter.

"Oh yes." Said Gleek "Those are full of books. Our fans buy them."

My mind stuttered to a halt to hear Gleek talking about "our fans." I sometimes feel...

It's all about the cell phones

Patch: "I know why you and Dad make comic books."

Me: "Oh really? Why is that?"

Patch: "It's for your cell phones."

Me: "How are comic books about cell phones?"

Patch: "You make comics to get money. Money pays to keep cell phones connected. Cause if you don't pay money then the only number you can call is 911."

Mirrored from onecobble.com.

A better day

Last night I prayed that I could make today better, that I could get my priorities in the proper order. I did. Unfortunately that does not mean everything was smooth sailing. It does mean that we ended the day with the house more orderly. More important, half of us now have a much clearer understanding of the other half of us. It was a bit of an emotional tangle to get there, but we arrived.

The day also included hours of time spent outdoors, baths for everyone, and a haircut for Gleek. ...

Frazzled Today, better tomorrow

I have achieved frazzled. I've actually been there ever since yesterday afternoon when I got an email reminding me of some artwork we had promised to a convention which I had then forgotten to actually supply. Fortunately we had plenty of art to hand off to them and the problem is now solved, but the jitters have remained.

Howard has kicked into high gear, and is thus thinking 10 miles per minute. He's drawing that fast too. The last pieces are coming together. The tweaks we're making on ...

Didn't I say I wasn't going to do this again?

I'm having deja vu. Last year Spring Break was rainy and I was under high pressure to finish a book before the end of the week. This meant I had little attention to give to the kids and they were all trapped indoors.

Guess what today was like.

Forecast says there will be sun later this week. I'm hoping for work to be done too.

Mirrored from onecobble.com.

Longshoreman of the Apocalypse Nominated for a Hugo

Schlock Mercenary: The Longshoreman of the Apocalypse has been nominated for a Hugo in the category "Best Graphic Story." Howard and I are both very excited. Howard will be going to Australia to participate and pick up his shiny nomination pin. We're not sure yet about the extent of his stay, but he'll definitely try to do some signings outside of the convention. The kids and I will be staying home, but we are not forlorn. We have tickets to the Timpanogos Storytelling Festival. We...