Megan Chance's Blog, page 29
May 9, 2013
Grass Update
Yes, that is a bright greenish haze on the meadow. My visions of picnics on my sprawling green lawn are coming true at last!
May 8, 2013
Good Friends
Here I am at Kristin Hannah's booksigning for her latest, Fly Away, last night. The booksigning was put on by Liberty Bay Books in Poulsbo, WA--which happens also to be the bookstore that handles autographed copies for me (if you're looking for an autographed copy of my books, this is the place to contact).
I'm with fellow authors Kimberly Fisk and Jill Barnett. It was a lovely day and a great signing.
Left to right:
Kim, Jill, Me and Kristin.
I'm with fellow authors Kimberly Fisk and Jill Barnett. It was a lovely day and a great signing.
Left to right:
Kim, Jill, Me and Kristin.
May 7, 2013
50,000 Copies Sold!
Surprised and pleased today to find this on my front porch--from my publisher, with congratulations for selling over 50,000 copies of Bone River!
I am going to hide in a corner and eat every one of them before my children get home.
I am going to hide in a corner and eat every one of them before my children get home.
May 5, 2013
Sunday
This is what my Sunday is consisting of:
The only good thing about this is that I don't need the computer yet so I can sit outside on this stunning 80 degree PNW day.
And speaking of sitting outside:
Do you see grass yet? Because I DO NOT see grass.
Happy Sunday!
May 4, 2013
Spring Meditation
Another gorgeous spring day--the kind that exist to show you how glad you are to live where you do.
I have no idea what the noble beast is looking at, but he's still and peaceful, which is rare enough.
And it's Kentucky Derby day, also known in my house as The-Day-of-Cursing-and-rapid-Mood-Swings. My husband usually wakes us up on this day by playing the Rolling Stones "Dead Flowers" (is that the title? I'm terrible at remembering stuff like that, even with my favorite bands) at full volume, followed by "My Old Kentucky Home"--sung by Paul Robeson. This is the original version of the song, with lyrics as they were written by Stephen Foster. (Look up the original lyrics sometime).
Now off to sit outside and reacquaint myself with the YA manuscript, as my editor's notes arrived, and it's been awhile since I looked at it. It feels like a long-lost friend. Diving in...
I have no idea what the noble beast is looking at, but he's still and peaceful, which is rare enough.
And it's Kentucky Derby day, also known in my house as The-Day-of-Cursing-and-rapid-Mood-Swings. My husband usually wakes us up on this day by playing the Rolling Stones "Dead Flowers" (is that the title? I'm terrible at remembering stuff like that, even with my favorite bands) at full volume, followed by "My Old Kentucky Home"--sung by Paul Robeson. This is the original version of the song, with lyrics as they were written by Stephen Foster. (Look up the original lyrics sometime).
Now off to sit outside and reacquaint myself with the YA manuscript, as my editor's notes arrived, and it's been awhile since I looked at it. It feels like a long-lost friend. Diving in...
April 28, 2013
Special Offer
Amazon is including Bone River in a special deal today--it's one of 20 books available for $20 with a free voucher.
Here's the link: Amazon
Here's the link: Amazon
April 26, 2013
Here in the Pacific NW the sun is shining, the day is the...
Here in the Pacific NW the sun is shining, the day is the perfect temperature, and I am sitting on my porch watching a spider spin its web.
Posted via LiveJournal app for iPhone.
Book Review: What Maisie Knew
What Maisie Knew by Henry JamesMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
How exactly does he do it? How does Henry James take weak-willed, deeply flawed people and make me root for them, even knowing that he never, NEVER redeems them in any wholly satisfying way? James's characterization--his strength always--is just as strong here as it always is. His usually long-winded but completely on-point skill at depicting the intricacies of human behavior is also beautifully accomplished here. The biggest plus? It's short, which means there's little time for the gelatinous wading through words of some of his other works. If you've never tried Henry James, this novella (or Aspern Papers, which I liked even better, or Turn of the Screw or Washington Square) is a good place to start.
View all my reviews
April 16, 2013
Speaking Engagement
I'll be speaking at Aberdeen's Timberland Library this evening at 6:30, and signing copies of Bone River. Tonight's topic: How the Library Saved my LIfe. Details here.
April 9, 2013
Frustration
In the interest of keeping myself semi-sane, I have decided to list my frustrations for the week, so everyone can share in my misery.
1) Spending an entire day getting excited for the newest Vampire Diaries episode (and this after wondering why Twitter was not filled with spoilers, as it always is on Thursday afternoons--to the point that I have had to actually stop following the actual Vampire Diaries twitter feed, because--hey people, I am on the west coast. I am three hours away from the show you have already seen), and blithely settling down with wine and a salted butter cookie (seriously, you have GOT to try those) to watch Klaus suffer, and ... wft????!!! A rerun. It happened to be one of the shows where Klaus is actually suffering quite a bit, so it was at least redeemable. But still, there are few things so frustrating as looking forward to something and having that expectation cruelly crushed. CRUSHED, I tell you.
2) Attending College Previews with my teenage daughter, who is so anxious to put high school behind her and actually attend college that she is a bit annoying in that Yes-these-are-my-parents-please-ignore-them-they-have-no-relevance-to-my-life kind of way. Which is, I guess pretty common for teenage girls, regardless of whether they're anxious to begin their lives hanging with too many irritating roommates in tiny rooms and eating pizza at 4 in the morning (not that it's a BAD thing) while watching the rising sun peeking through darkened windows surrounded by cement blocks.
So there were two college previews.
First one: pretty good until my husband lost his glasses somewhere on campus and spent two hours searching for them while my daughter and I tried vainly to enjoy the experience. At one point, my husband released an incredibly long and loud spiel of invective (not that I am particularly averse to long streams of invective, you understand. I have been known to indulge in such things once or twice myself, but this was on a private Catholic-school campus--there is a place and time for everything) that had every passing person staring at all three of us in horror and contempt. Yeah. Special.
Second campus preview: POURING DOWN RAIN with no umbrellas. Yeah, that was a fun campus tour.
3) Spending the entire morning today dealing with the Auto Body place and the Rental Car place.
My husband: why are you complaining? It will only take about 20 minutes to drop off the car and get the rental.
Me: twenty minutes? In what world are you living? It's going to take an hour and a half.
Husband: You're always exaggerating.
How long did it take? You guessed it: AN HOUR AND A HALF. Which gave me approximately 2 hours to work on the editing of the new ms., because I had other appointments this afternoon.
Stressed out? Why yes, how did you guess?
So today, I managed to edit ONE scene. ONE. And you know what? I call it victory.
I feel better now. You're welcome.
1) Spending an entire day getting excited for the newest Vampire Diaries episode (and this after wondering why Twitter was not filled with spoilers, as it always is on Thursday afternoons--to the point that I have had to actually stop following the actual Vampire Diaries twitter feed, because--hey people, I am on the west coast. I am three hours away from the show you have already seen), and blithely settling down with wine and a salted butter cookie (seriously, you have GOT to try those) to watch Klaus suffer, and ... wft????!!! A rerun. It happened to be one of the shows where Klaus is actually suffering quite a bit, so it was at least redeemable. But still, there are few things so frustrating as looking forward to something and having that expectation cruelly crushed. CRUSHED, I tell you.
2) Attending College Previews with my teenage daughter, who is so anxious to put high school behind her and actually attend college that she is a bit annoying in that Yes-these-are-my-parents-please-ignore-them-they-have-no-relevance-to-my-life kind of way. Which is, I guess pretty common for teenage girls, regardless of whether they're anxious to begin their lives hanging with too many irritating roommates in tiny rooms and eating pizza at 4 in the morning (not that it's a BAD thing) while watching the rising sun peeking through darkened windows surrounded by cement blocks.
So there were two college previews.
First one: pretty good until my husband lost his glasses somewhere on campus and spent two hours searching for them while my daughter and I tried vainly to enjoy the experience. At one point, my husband released an incredibly long and loud spiel of invective (not that I am particularly averse to long streams of invective, you understand. I have been known to indulge in such things once or twice myself, but this was on a private Catholic-school campus--there is a place and time for everything) that had every passing person staring at all three of us in horror and contempt. Yeah. Special.
Second campus preview: POURING DOWN RAIN with no umbrellas. Yeah, that was a fun campus tour.
3) Spending the entire morning today dealing with the Auto Body place and the Rental Car place.
My husband: why are you complaining? It will only take about 20 minutes to drop off the car and get the rental.
Me: twenty minutes? In what world are you living? It's going to take an hour and a half.
Husband: You're always exaggerating.
How long did it take? You guessed it: AN HOUR AND A HALF. Which gave me approximately 2 hours to work on the editing of the new ms., because I had other appointments this afternoon.
Stressed out? Why yes, how did you guess?
So today, I managed to edit ONE scene. ONE. And you know what? I call it victory.
I feel better now. You're welcome.
