C. Lee McKenzie's Blog, page 83

Monday Moods--Friday 13

Friday 13!!!! Psssst.Oh my gawd! Friday the thirteenth came and went and I didn't even notice. I usually remain quietly at home, (That's more difficult now that I know home is where most of the accidents happen.) waiting for the toll of midnight that announces the "all clear."I'm excessively superstitous about thirteen of anything, but Friday the thirteenth is the worst. So, how come I had a normal, possibly dull, day last Friday ? Hmmm. 



BEWARE OF ANYTHING LADDERY
I even went back to see if I wrote anything that might be bad, terrible, really rotten on that day. I didn't. Do you suppose my paraskevidekatriaphobia has gone away?  And if that's the case, does it mean I can treat the 13th like any other day? This is a whole new world for me. This inspires me to write poetry. Please don't sigh like that, okay? 

Ode to Friday 13

At last your ghastly power wanesI'm freed from all those yearly pains.No longer will I duck and hide     when number 13 doth abide.No longer will I garlic strew     when doors I open onto you.No longer will I cringe and cry    when feline black comes at my side.Those ladders, yes, bring them on    I prepare to scale those all anon.One reservation still I hold. Submitting stories I am told,   to agents, editors is too bold.When 13 is the page and day   my better judgement has the sway.I'll wait for 14 to arrive   then query quickly all my five. Ah, dear Friday please leave me be   I'm writer-weary as you can see.      There. That wasn't so bad, was it? Please say no or lie.

  





Sliding on the Edge, C. Lee McKenzie, WestSide Books, Spring '09

Monday Moods

This is a new year with all kinds of promise, yet as I enter the second week I'm already amazed at how my calendar is filled with the usual boring stuff.  You know this kind of thing:



1. Reorganize recycling bins in garage.

2. Check rain gutter for leaks.

3. Return giant stuffed Panda to Toys(backwardR)Us.





At the bottom of January I do have, "Edit That #!@** manuscript," but I can't remember which one I meant at the time.



And here I wanted to start 2012 with balloons and confetti and parades and maybe a touch of glamour. Maybe it's not too late. What do you think? And what kind of glam thing should I choose? Here's what I've thought might put some zip into that list of mine.



1. Buy a plane ticket to ___________(fill in the blank).

2. Sign up for Zumba.

3. Buy a new Jaguar for a road trip across the U.S.

4. Take that scuba gear and explore the Mariana Trench--not too deep, okay?

5. Go to Hollywood and get a job as a movie extra. Maybe I could meet Andy Garcia. That's kind of glam.







Does any of that sound like a good idea. I could still squeeze in tidying up the recycling bins and that other stuff. Not sure about editing, however.



What would you do if you were out to add a bit of sparkle to your new year before it became your old one?Sliding on the Edge, C. Lee McKenzie, WestSide Books, Spring '09

The Insecure Writer, Me

Courtesy of Michael Scott
Well, here we are at the first Wednesday of the month in our new year. Wednesday is a great day for posting about Writerly Insecurity--a Wildly emotional experience. Woden who was the chief Anglo-Saxon/Teutonic god was kind of a wild guy.  A leader of the Wild Hunt, his name comes from wod "violently insane" + -en "headship." And if that's not enough to make this day perfect for this check in,  his association with the god Mercury should be. We all know how old Mercury used to speed off hither and yon, an erratic-unstable dude if there ever was one.



Based on my experience in the writer world, a lot of it involves Insanity and Erratic-Unstable behavior: DEADlines (not the most uplifting term and definitely not the most stabilizing for me), the Mercurial process of creating believable, captivating characters and the Insane one of sending these treasured creations off to strangers who are looking for the best way to say NO THANK YOU to them. That's their job, after all, while ours is to keep them from doing so. Talk about speeding hither and yon! My mind is always chasing after the perfect characterization.



So how do we deal with all of this Insanity and still set down captivating prose? I've adopted several strategies, but here's one that always works for me, and it only takes a minute or two.



I call it creating my BALANCE ZONE and when I feel that bit of that Insane-Erratic-Unstable behavior creeping in I put this strategy into play and STOP. (My thanks to yoga and to Lisa Dale Miller for this idea.)



S: Stop. Close your eyes.

T: Take a slow, conscious breath. Make sure it starts in your abdomen, then rises to your chest. It can't     be shallow.

O: Observe how that breath enters your body. Pause at the top of that breath, then release it slowly. Pause at the bottom. Repeat until all you're thinking about is that breath.

P: Proceed with your writing. 





Here's to balanced, secure writing throughout 2012! And don't forget to pop over to Alex Cavanaugh's INSECURE WRITER's SUPPORT GROUP. We need all the support we can get.





Sliding on the Edge, C. Lee McKenzie, WestSide Books, Spring '09

Happy New Year--Goodbye 2011--Welcome to 2012

[image error] January is the beginning of a new year and the ending of an old one. It's appropriately named after the god of the gates, Janus.  Now's when we can look back through this brief portal of time to that year we've just left and consider what we did or didn't do in those 365 days. Then we can look ahead to the year we've entered and be excited about the possibilities of those next days yet to reveal themselves. 



I love the idea of a fresh start and I wish I could tidy up the old year so that I there were no loose ends to attend to, but that isn't how life works, is it? Life is a bit sloppy, so as I start out in this first month, when I look back through the gate there are a few unfinished items I'll have to carry forward with me.



Here's what I didn't finish in 2011.



I haven't finished writing that book the way I intended.

I haven't read the twenty-five books I have on my list.

I haven't cleaned the tile grout.

I haven't written to all of my friends to tell them how important they are to me.



[image error]





I don't make resolutions anymore, so I can't make a list of all that I WILL do in 2012, but here's a wish list.



I wish for health.

I wish for strength.

I wish for the ability to accept, not judge.

I wish for someone to clean that tile grout.













What are you carrying forward into 2012 from 2011? Do you make resolutions? What are they? Or do you have a wish list? Share if you can and if you have any tile grout help, please send that to me.




[image error]
Not really my grout . . . not yet!










 Sliding on the Edge, C. Lee McKenzie, WestSide Books, Spring '09

Monday Miscellany-Apres Christmas

Apres Christmas we have Happy Boxing Day. How it began, what it means, who celebrates it? It's not as straightforward as you might imagine. The best explanation came from this TIME article. It's a tad slow to load, but interesting. Here's another shorter, more entertaining piece about Boxing Day.





Kwanzaa starts today. A combination of "fruit harvesting" celebrations, this relatively new holiday had it's beginnings after the dreadful Watts Riots in L.A.



5 Days to 2012. Here's wishing all of you a wonderful end of 2011 and a fantastic beginning in 2012. My New Year writing tips are: Write what you love. Read what you love. Enjoy doing both!Sliding on the Edge, C. Lee McKenzie, WestSide Books, Spring '09

Wrapping Up 2011

The winners of the giveaway were chosen by my crack crew. Here they are again just to remind you that all entries were carefully considered by serious and conscientious minds.







So congratulations. Here are the winners.

Signed copies of The Princess of Las Pulgas



Beverly Stowe McClure

Jessi E. Elliott

Carrie Butler





These people will be getting signed ARCs of Sliding on the Edge:



Kelly Hashway

Lynn Nerd Kelley

Lisa Gail Green

Margo Kelly

Theresa Milstein















The First Time, an eBook goes to Darby Karchut and Bish Denham



Thanks to everyone who entered. If I could I'd send everyone who stopped by a copy.



Here's to a wonderful Christmas, Hanukkah, Solistic celebration and a fabulous 2012!Sliding on the Edge, C. Lee McKenzie, WestSide Books, Spring '09

Monday Miscellany

I write likeJane AustenI Write Like by Mémoires, journal software. Analyze your writing!



Yep that's what the analyzer had to offer up from my writing sample. I used the first paragraph from a piece of fiction I'm working on right now. How they came up with Jane, I'll never know. Give the analyzer a shot and tell us who you write like.





More Miscellany: This is December 19 and we only have five days until Christmas. So I'll send my holiday best wishes to all my friends and fellow bloggers and hope that during this holiday season you all share beautiful moments with the ones who mean the most to you.





Don't forget to ask for a present from me. Here's the POST in case you missed it. I have books and ARCs to send off as well as an eBook with short stories, so let me know if you want one.







My favorite quote for today is: "Talent hits a target no one else can hit; genius hits a target no one else can see." Schopenhauer



Here's three things to keep in mind while you're creating those stories. I love them because they're simple, easy to understand and effective.



1. Take your characters to a dark place. ASAP

2. Have your characters make the wrong decision. BAD is GOOD--HORRIBLE is BETTER

3. Give your characters a secret. What do they have under the bed? What don't they want anyone in the world to know? YUMMM. Love those secrets.Sliding on the Edge, C. Lee McKenzie, WestSide Books, Spring '09

Belle

There are book and then there are beautiful books. Here is one of those beauties. And the title says so right up front. Please welcome Mary Lee Corlett and Belle to the Write Game. 



Belle: The Amazing, Astonishingly Magical Journey of an Artfully Painted LadyWritten by Mary Lee Corlett Illustrated by Phyllis SaroffPublished by Bunker Hill Publishing, 2011



Also available on Amazon.comBook trailer (Just in case this trailer link below fails)   •    I have to say that is one beautiful cover and one fabulous book trailer. Now can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

I have lived in the Washington DC area for over 20 years, but I was born and raised in the suburbs of Cleveland, Ohio.  My mother and three sisters still live there.  I earned my M.A. in art history from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, and my first museum job was at the Cleveland Museum of Art, where I was a teaching assistant for the Saturday children's classes offered by their education department.  (I taught 4 and 5 year-olds in an activity class called "Mini-Masters!") Later, I worked in the registrar's office.  After I earned my M.A, my husband and I moved to Washington so that I could pursue curatorial and research work.   I joined the staff of the National Gallery of Art in 1989.  We've lived in the Washington suburb of Falls Church, Virginia, for about 13 years, and we have a 15 year old daughter.

    •    This is your first children's book?



Yes! And it is such a thrill to see it in print!  I have been interested in writing for children for a couple of decades and I have a file drawer full of manuscripts (and rejection letters )  to prove it.  I joined the Society for Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) in 2004 and in 2007 I submitted Belle for a manuscript review at my regional conference.  The author who reviewed the book was so enthusiastic; she kept me from getting discouraged in my hunt to find the right publisher. The Editor-in-Chief at the National Gallery also loved the book when I showed it to her, but sadly, we don't have a children's book publishing program at the National Gallery.  Ultimately, though, it was she who put me in touch with Bunker Hill Publishing. 



    •    What or who inspired you to write Belle?



The short answer is – my daughter!  I used to bring her down to the National Gallery for the wonderful family programs offered by our education department, but I also wanted her to enjoy a simple walk through the galleries with me.  I searched for a book based on the Gallery's collection with the thought it would help spark her interest in doing that, but I quickly discovered the kind of book I had in mind didn't exist! I wanted a fun-to-read, fictional story that featured a variety of paintings from the National Gallery's great collection and focused on the magic of the museum and the 'art experience.' So when I couldn't find that book, I decided I'd better write it!





    •    You obviously are someone who loves art.  Can you tell us how you chose your paintings for Belle?



I have been fortunate to research and write about some pretty terrific artists while on the staff of the National Gallery – Roy Lichtenstein and Romare Bearden, for example – my field is American art.  I love writing about art and artists and of course, I love just looking at art. Yet ironically, when you work in a museum, you often don't carve out the time to just wander through the galleries. So writing Belle was the perfect excuse to do that!

It was on one of those walks through the galleries at the end of the day, with the idea of this book on my mind, that the butterflies in Jan Davidsz de Heem's canvas [Vase of Flowers]   just popped out at me!  I think the yellow Brimstone caught my eye first.  He was so delicately alighted, there on the edge of that tulip.  He just looked to me as if he might flutter away at any moment.  But Belle (the Red Admiral) was up there quietly hovering in the corner.  It occurred to me that she'd been hovering there for over 300 years, a quiet observer, and I thought – SHE must have some stories to tell!  Once I discovered those butterflies, I never looked back!  The story began to take shape and soon it had a life of its own.

I wanted to present their journey more or less chronologically through art history.  That's why there are no works from the Middle Ages or the Renaissance in the book.  Works from these periods are certainly represented in the Gallery's collection, but Belle and Brimstone were painted in the seventeenth century, and I felt it was important to have their journey take them steadily forward through time, rather than jumping back and forth through the centuries.  And, of course, I needed a villain! I thought there was something comical about having the butterflies' avian nemesis come from such a tiny little painting [Circle of Jan van Kessel, Concert of Birds]

The worst part of the selection process was discarding favorites! I wanted to select works that would be particularly fun to look at and to imagine blending into. And of course, the colors had to be right.  Brimstone chooses the Vermeer with an ivory-colored ribbon [A Lady Writing], while Belle looks to the one with the red hat [Girl with the Red Hat].

    •    Is there something else you are currently working on?

I would love to make Belle into a series, so I am currently working on a manuscript that takes her on a journey to another museum.  Art travels all the time for touring exhibitions – the perfect set up for another adventure! 

I am also working on a manuscript that features the art of the National Gallery's wonderful outdoor sculpture garden.  This book would have completely different characters, and I am envisioning it for a younger audience (ages 4 to 8 years). 





Well, you've captured my attention Mary Lee. I love the concept and I'm certain your younger readers are going to be captivated by Belle and her adventures in the art world. Congratulations.



Sliding on the Edge, C. Lee McKenzie, WestSide Books, Spring '09

Monday Miscellany-Some Favorites & A Giveaway . . . just in time for Christmas.

The minute I say I'm going to ONLY post on Monday, some of my favorite authors pop up with super books, and I just can't say no.  Hope you've enjoyed the visit with Kai Strand author of The Weaver. Jo Ramsey stopped in as well to talk about RUMORS and her two books Cluing In and From the Ashes. Their books are amazing, and I hope you'll read and review them.



I'm trying to get around to reading and reviewing all the authors I host here. I don't have room for all of their covers, but here are a few and maybe before the end of January, I'll put up more. Many I've reviewed, some I still haven't. Where do those days go? Tell me.


Whew! I need to get cranking.



Here's my favorite quote for the day and it's by one of my favorite authors, Margaret Atwood.

"Wanting to meet an author because you like his books is like wanting to meet a duck because you like pate."



Now one of my favorite things to do at holiday time--anytime really--is to give books to people. As some of you might know I have two young adult books out and one short story titled "Premeditated Cat" in the eBook anthology, The First Time. I'm giving some copies of these away starting today ending December 23.



Three copies of Princess of Las Pulgas are up for grabs and five copies (ARCs just recently received from my publisher) of Sliding on the Edge. Sorry to limit these to US only, but the postage is starting to mount! I'll also be giving two copies of The First Time (Kindle Edition). Of course, this is open to anyone no matter where they live. Bless those eBooks.



So favorite people--stop by, say hi and tell me which book you want. One per reader, okay? Got to spread the presents. As always, my crack crew will select the winners. I have no idea what they're looking for in the way of winning comments, so good luck with that! Oh, here they are. Sweet, right? And maybe just a bit wacky.



They are looking at you! Enter and Win. Enter and Win!
Sliding on the Edge, C. Lee McKenzie, WestSide Books, Spring '09

The Insecure Writer, Me

See these nails?  I stopped biting them just in time to save the fingertips and why? Because I'm an INSECURE WRITER; I need those fingers for the keyboard.









This is me when I was an INSECURE ACTRESS, biting my nails.  (Ignore the caption. Marilyn was always trying to get the spotlight away from me. I think she might have been more insecure than I was.)





I don't know which is worse, my insecurity on stage or what I'm enduring now. But I no longer look like the picture above. Here's a more recent one.



Writer on the Verge . . . but of what?




Oh, I have me ups and downs. There have been days when I've seen myself with the Nobel prize for literature clutched in my nibbled fingers. I once thought I'd craft a Newberry Award acceptance speech just in case . . . you know the phone rang. But when a call came through on the day the award was decided, it was the vet telling me I could pick up Buffy.





This is my INSECURE WRITERS REJECTION week and I'm celebrating by joining the blog hop of other angst-filled-creative-finger nibblers. At last a support group.







Alex J. Cavanaugh

If you feel like hopping on board just click on the link above and join in the angst and the insecurity. It might be fun.
Sliding on the Edge, C. Lee McKenzie, WestSide Books, Spring '09