Shanna Swendson's Blog, page 173
August 13, 2014
Dragon Hunting
And another day with kindergarteners survived (barely). The shy girl has become rambunctious and barely shuts up (but is still hit or miss on actually participating). There were some clingy tears this morning when one boy didn't want his mother to go, but he eventually got over the pouting. The crisis of the day was the search for Toothless. One kid had brought his How to Train Your Dragon toy with him yesterday (even though he'd been told not to -- apparently the dragon stowed away), but the toy didn't make it home, and the mom asked if I could keep an eye out for it. Because the toy frequently got in the way, I knew for sure the last time I'd seen it, so I started tracking it from there and narrowed it down to two places it could have been left, but didn't find it there. It turned out that his big sister (one of my choir kids from a couple of years ago) was also on the lookout and spotted it first, so big sister saved the day and there was much rejoicing. I got thanked for looking for it and apologized to for it having come with him to cause so much trouble.
It does make me feel old when I've got the kids I remember as diaper-wearing toddlers who gazed enviously into the choir room when I had their older siblings. Funny, but they're a lot less eager when it actually is their time. I have a couple of kids who would have eagerly stayed and gone to choir when they were two and their big sisters were in my choir, but now they cling and cry for about five minutes after their mothers leave (maybe it won't be so bad when regular choir actually starts).
Now I just have to get through one more day of this and one more potential director audition night tonight (but we know this particular candidate, so the event should be highly entertaining).
The bad thing about having a choir rehearsal every evening is that it makes every day feel like Thursday, and then it's disappointing when it isn't. But tomorrow really is!
I spent yesterday giving info about the book to the cover artist. Now I need to get back to revising/editing. It's hard to do that when I'm so tired, but I really want to get it done so I can move on to something else. I've got a short story brewing that I'm pretty sure won't turn into a novel because I tried writing this basic idea as a novel and it just felt stretched out. I think it might actually work better in a shorter form where I can focus on the one main thing that's happening instead of trying to build too much around it.
It does make me feel old when I've got the kids I remember as diaper-wearing toddlers who gazed enviously into the choir room when I had their older siblings. Funny, but they're a lot less eager when it actually is their time. I have a couple of kids who would have eagerly stayed and gone to choir when they were two and their big sisters were in my choir, but now they cling and cry for about five minutes after their mothers leave (maybe it won't be so bad when regular choir actually starts).
Now I just have to get through one more day of this and one more potential director audition night tonight (but we know this particular candidate, so the event should be highly entertaining).
The bad thing about having a choir rehearsal every evening is that it makes every day feel like Thursday, and then it's disappointing when it isn't. But tomorrow really is!
I spent yesterday giving info about the book to the cover artist. Now I need to get back to revising/editing. It's hard to do that when I'm so tired, but I really want to get it done so I can move on to something else. I've got a short story brewing that I'm pretty sure won't turn into a novel because I tried writing this basic idea as a novel and it just felt stretched out. I think it might actually work better in a shorter form where I can focus on the one main thing that's happening instead of trying to build too much around it.
August 12, 2014
Energy Vampires
I made it through day two of music and art camp. Some things improved -- the shy girl participated, the kids who yesterday cried and didn't want to stay when their mothers left today came eagerly, with no tears. But on the other hand, once the kids get a comfort level, the behavior tends to go downhill as they get louder and rowdier. But only two more days to go.
I've decided that children are energy vampires. I went to bed early last night and woke up before my alarm went off this morning, which means I was well-rested. By noon, when the parents came to get them, the kids were still running around like maniacs, and that's after twenty minutes on the playground and a twenty-minute "movement" session (dance and movement-oriented games to teach things like coordination, balance and rhythm). On the other hand, I'm now fighting to stay awake. I think they sucked all the energy out of my body. And I still have a short choir session tonight (an audition rehearsal for a music director candidate) and a ballet class. If I get the most urgent work done today, I may allow myself a brief nap.
We got to do a run-through of the duet for Sunday last night, and it looks like it will be a tricky one because it goes back and forth pretty quickly, which takes some mind reading with the duet partner to come in at just the right time. Half the song, the soprano line is essentially doing a descant that has very little to do with the alto line other than coming in as a kind of echo, but with different notes and rhythms. It's not just singing along, but popping in from time to time. This song is in cut time, and a lot of the soprano lines start after an eighth rest at the beginning of a measure. That's not even a rest, that's a stutter. I'm really good with pitch, but rhythm isn't my strong suit. I can keep a beat, but counting can be a struggle, and when it comes to complicated counting, I mostly just have to get a feel for it and go by instinct. With this piece, my instincts seem to be about half a beat behind. So, I have work to do. Fortunately, I found on YouTube that there's a version that's just the piano accompaniment and the soprano line. It's for the four-part choral version, but the soprano part and the accompaniment are identical. Maybe if I get the entrances nailed against the accompaniment, I can sing better with the alto.
On the bright side, I do have the notes nailed, including the octave jumps and the bizarre intervals.
Now to see if I can describe a book in a way that will help an illustrator give me the cover image that I didn't even realize I wanted.
I've decided that children are energy vampires. I went to bed early last night and woke up before my alarm went off this morning, which means I was well-rested. By noon, when the parents came to get them, the kids were still running around like maniacs, and that's after twenty minutes on the playground and a twenty-minute "movement" session (dance and movement-oriented games to teach things like coordination, balance and rhythm). On the other hand, I'm now fighting to stay awake. I think they sucked all the energy out of my body. And I still have a short choir session tonight (an audition rehearsal for a music director candidate) and a ballet class. If I get the most urgent work done today, I may allow myself a brief nap.
We got to do a run-through of the duet for Sunday last night, and it looks like it will be a tricky one because it goes back and forth pretty quickly, which takes some mind reading with the duet partner to come in at just the right time. Half the song, the soprano line is essentially doing a descant that has very little to do with the alto line other than coming in as a kind of echo, but with different notes and rhythms. It's not just singing along, but popping in from time to time. This song is in cut time, and a lot of the soprano lines start after an eighth rest at the beginning of a measure. That's not even a rest, that's a stutter. I'm really good with pitch, but rhythm isn't my strong suit. I can keep a beat, but counting can be a struggle, and when it comes to complicated counting, I mostly just have to get a feel for it and go by instinct. With this piece, my instincts seem to be about half a beat behind. So, I have work to do. Fortunately, I found on YouTube that there's a version that's just the piano accompaniment and the soprano line. It's for the four-part choral version, but the soprano part and the accompaniment are identical. Maybe if I get the entrances nailed against the accompaniment, I can sing better with the alto.
On the bright side, I do have the notes nailed, including the octave jumps and the bizarre intervals.
Now to see if I can describe a book in a way that will help an illustrator give me the cover image that I didn't even realize I wanted.
August 11, 2014
Music Week
It's music and art camp week, so I'm out in the mornings Monday through Thursday. I have kindergarten this year, so I'm getting a sneak preview of the kids I may have in choir this year. I already knew most of the kids in the group, and then I also have my ballet teacher's son, which makes me feel old because she was pregnant with him when I first started taking ballet classes. I really could use a nap, but I have a busy day ahead of me, with a lot of business stuff to deal with, a book to finish revising, and then a choir rehearsal tonight. And then I'm singing a duet Sunday morning, so I have music to learn and practice. I actually know the song and have sung it before in the choral version (we're doing the soprano/alto version that was probably written for a boys choir, which is just about identical in the soprano line), and that may actually be the problem. It's an earworm of a piece, and even though it's been years since I last sang it, it pops into my head from time to time, but over the years of not having heard it or seen the music, the version that pops into my head and that I find myself singing around the house has mutated. Now I find myself having to re-learn the real music and force the mutation out of my head.
My Friday-night birthday surprise turned out to be seeing the Dallas Theater Center's production of Les Miserables, which is apparently making news around the world because it's the first non-traditional staging of the musical. They haven't changed the text at all, but instead of it being set in the actual historical period, they've put it in a very near-future dystopia. So the clothes are mostly modern. The soldiers are wearing police riot gear. The student revolutionaries are hanging out in a coffee shop, with paper cups with those cardboard sleeves and plastic lids, and there's a laptop on the table. It actually works pretty well. It's also a very intimate staging, in a fairly small space with a thrust stage, so the stage is mostly surrounded by audience. We were on the second row, and it was amazing to see this show in a setting where you're making eye contact with the actors. They even interact with the audience. The revolutionaries go into the audience to pass out leaflets during the "Do You Hear the People Sing?" number, and some of the people on the front row got propositioned during the "Lovely Ladies" number (and in this version, not all the "lovely ladies" were actually female). It definitely worked to make me notice the show in a new way even though I have it memorized. It's a good thing I was dragged out of the house to go because it would have been a shame for someone who's as big a fan of the show as I am to not have seen this one rather avant garde production of it.
Now off to take care of a bunch of stuff.
My Friday-night birthday surprise turned out to be seeing the Dallas Theater Center's production of Les Miserables, which is apparently making news around the world because it's the first non-traditional staging of the musical. They haven't changed the text at all, but instead of it being set in the actual historical period, they've put it in a very near-future dystopia. So the clothes are mostly modern. The soldiers are wearing police riot gear. The student revolutionaries are hanging out in a coffee shop, with paper cups with those cardboard sleeves and plastic lids, and there's a laptop on the table. It actually works pretty well. It's also a very intimate staging, in a fairly small space with a thrust stage, so the stage is mostly surrounded by audience. We were on the second row, and it was amazing to see this show in a setting where you're making eye contact with the actors. They even interact with the audience. The revolutionaries go into the audience to pass out leaflets during the "Do You Hear the People Sing?" number, and some of the people on the front row got propositioned during the "Lovely Ladies" number (and in this version, not all the "lovely ladies" were actually female). It definitely worked to make me notice the show in a new way even though I have it memorized. It's a good thing I was dragged out of the house to go because it would have been a shame for someone who's as big a fan of the show as I am to not have seen this one rather avant garde production of it.
Now off to take care of a bunch of stuff.
August 8, 2014
Build Your World, then Use It!
I had a rather low-key birthday mostly spent working, though I did make a nice dinner and allowed myself dessert (a chocolate cupcake, fresh cherries and chocolate ice cream). In addition to the mail organizer, my other present to myself was a new teapot. Not that I really need more teapots (I have two functional ones and two decorative ones), but this one was too pretty to resist, and it's a small two-cup size, for those occasions when I don't want a whole pot of tea. It's white and has little sculpted porcelain roses on it. There was a matching creamer I was tempted to get, but I'd picked up more things than I planned and couldn't physically carry one more thing, and I didn't want to go back for a cart. But I may get the creamer later if they still have one, for when I want to have a really nice, fancy tea and not just pour the milk straight from the jug. Strangely, the matching teacups weren't cute at all. But that's the joy of white china -- you can easily mix and match it.
Though I really shouldn't buy more stuff that's not of an organizational aid nature when I'm hoping to move within a year. I'm supposed to be getting rid of stuff. Still, pretty teapot! And it makes me happy.
Anyway, I mentioned that I've been marathoning Once Upon a Time. On paper, this is basically the series that was written just for me. We've got fairy-tale mashups -- Snow White and Red Riding Hood are best friends! The Evil Queen (Snow White's stepmother) and Maleficent hang out and swap spells! We've got fleshed-out fairy tales that go beyond what's in the tales and tell the "real" story -- Snow White becomes a badass fighter and bandit after she's exiled by her wicked stepmother, her Prince Charming turns out to be a farmboy whose twin brother was taken by Rumpelstiltskin to be raised as a son by an evil king, and then when he gets himself killed, the farmboy twin is forced to step into the role of prince. And we've got a crazy juxtaposition of the real world and the fairy tale world when the Evil Queen casts a curse that transports the people of the fairy tale realm to our world, where they end up in a small town in Maine (probably just down the road from Haven), unaware of who they really are until the curse is broken, and even then, they're stuck in Maine, aware of who they are but also with memories of living in our world. It's basically the story I wish I could steal, then go back in time and write it myself and do it right before they get to it (because the things I like are a bit too specific to be able to get away with filing off the serial numbers).
But at the same time, it can be very frustrating to watch, especially if you're a fantasy novelist. For one thing, they utterly fail at world building. It's clear that they're making up the world as they go, and there's no "system" behind their magical system. They keep throwing out and then disregarding the rules they establish for magic, depending on the needs of the plot and which character is involved. They keep saying "magic always comes at a price," but the bad guys (and semi-bad guys) can do just about anything with a wave of a hand, with no cost at all. They don't run out of power, they don't get tired, it doesn't sap their life force. They're pretty much invincible. They may be warned about the consequences of something they're going to do, or if they're on a redemption path they may make a sacrifice -- but then those consequences don't come about and they get back the thing they sacrificed. The guest villains, who are on for a half-season arc, are just about untouchable until about the next-to-last episode in the arc, when suddenly they're defeated pretty easily by the same people who were helpless against them up to that point. Meanwhile, the good guys who have never been villains (there are a couple of main characters who are villains who kind of function like heroes most of the time, but that's a subject for another rant and I'm just getting warmed up) have all kinds of rules and limitations on what they can do, and most of them have no access to magic at all. Those who do have magic are usually in a situation where they can't use it or where their magic doesn't work. Basically, it comes down to the magic working a certain way unless it doesn't.
But I think my real world-building disappointment is that they don't really use that juxtaposition between our world and the fairy tale world. For most of the characters, it's not a real fish-out-of-water situation because the curse gave them fake memories of having always lived in this town, and they retain those memories as well as the real memories of having lived there, so they know how to use things like cars and phones. But we don't really get any reaction from the fairy tale people to our world. You'd think there would be some comparing and contrasting going on. The Evil Queen set herself up as mayor through the curse, but after the curse was broken, there was one brief moment when she's ousted by the angry townspeople, and then she's right back in office, with no one questioning her. Is that because the writers forgot or because the people haven't wrapped their minds around the fact that they now live in a democracy? Would they try to re-create their way of life in a modern American town or embrace the new life? They've done a few little things -- Prince Charming in our world becomes a deputy sheriff, and he wears a shoulder holster with a gun and carries a sword -- but they really don't let themselves have fun with the premise of fairy tale characters in our world.
Even when they get temporarily sent home, we don't get to see their reactions to the change. Is there something from our world they might try to establish in theirs? For instance, when the curse takes Snow White to our world, she has a short pixie haircut, but in her home world, she has long princess hair. We don't know what she thinks of this -- is she horrified by losing all her hair and trying to grow it out, or does she discover she loves how easy it is to deal with? We don't know, other than that she doesn't cut her hair off when she gets back home.
Even when they do have a character who's a fish out of water, who doesn't have any cursed memories, we don't get to see them interacting with or reacting to our world. Captain Hook has traveled back and forth via portal, and his only reaction to dealing with modern America is being a bit baffled by hospital Jello. Now, some of that is in character, as he's very clever and observant and also not one to let on that he has any weakness, so he'd figure things out as he goes and not let anyone see him react with shock, but still, you'd expect at least something from a guy who's not only in a different world, but who's out of time even in his own world (thanks to a long sojourn in Neverland), and it mostly comes across as the writers forgetting that this one character is in an entirely different situation from the rest of the cast.
There's so much potential here that they've forgotten about or neglected entirely, mostly because I get the impression that the writing staff has the attention span of toddlers with ADD who've eaten too much sugar, so they're always rushing off to the next shiny story idea before they finish adequately telling the previous one. I do recognize the impulse when you get the shiny new idea midway through a story, but it really is like the moment they get a shiny new idea, they handwave a quick resolution to the current storyline and then jump to the next one.
And then there's the wonky morality, but that's another rant entirely.
Though I really shouldn't buy more stuff that's not of an organizational aid nature when I'm hoping to move within a year. I'm supposed to be getting rid of stuff. Still, pretty teapot! And it makes me happy.
Anyway, I mentioned that I've been marathoning Once Upon a Time. On paper, this is basically the series that was written just for me. We've got fairy-tale mashups -- Snow White and Red Riding Hood are best friends! The Evil Queen (Snow White's stepmother) and Maleficent hang out and swap spells! We've got fleshed-out fairy tales that go beyond what's in the tales and tell the "real" story -- Snow White becomes a badass fighter and bandit after she's exiled by her wicked stepmother, her Prince Charming turns out to be a farmboy whose twin brother was taken by Rumpelstiltskin to be raised as a son by an evil king, and then when he gets himself killed, the farmboy twin is forced to step into the role of prince. And we've got a crazy juxtaposition of the real world and the fairy tale world when the Evil Queen casts a curse that transports the people of the fairy tale realm to our world, where they end up in a small town in Maine (probably just down the road from Haven), unaware of who they really are until the curse is broken, and even then, they're stuck in Maine, aware of who they are but also with memories of living in our world. It's basically the story I wish I could steal, then go back in time and write it myself and do it right before they get to it (because the things I like are a bit too specific to be able to get away with filing off the serial numbers).
But at the same time, it can be very frustrating to watch, especially if you're a fantasy novelist. For one thing, they utterly fail at world building. It's clear that they're making up the world as they go, and there's no "system" behind their magical system. They keep throwing out and then disregarding the rules they establish for magic, depending on the needs of the plot and which character is involved. They keep saying "magic always comes at a price," but the bad guys (and semi-bad guys) can do just about anything with a wave of a hand, with no cost at all. They don't run out of power, they don't get tired, it doesn't sap their life force. They're pretty much invincible. They may be warned about the consequences of something they're going to do, or if they're on a redemption path they may make a sacrifice -- but then those consequences don't come about and they get back the thing they sacrificed. The guest villains, who are on for a half-season arc, are just about untouchable until about the next-to-last episode in the arc, when suddenly they're defeated pretty easily by the same people who were helpless against them up to that point. Meanwhile, the good guys who have never been villains (there are a couple of main characters who are villains who kind of function like heroes most of the time, but that's a subject for another rant and I'm just getting warmed up) have all kinds of rules and limitations on what they can do, and most of them have no access to magic at all. Those who do have magic are usually in a situation where they can't use it or where their magic doesn't work. Basically, it comes down to the magic working a certain way unless it doesn't.
But I think my real world-building disappointment is that they don't really use that juxtaposition between our world and the fairy tale world. For most of the characters, it's not a real fish-out-of-water situation because the curse gave them fake memories of having always lived in this town, and they retain those memories as well as the real memories of having lived there, so they know how to use things like cars and phones. But we don't really get any reaction from the fairy tale people to our world. You'd think there would be some comparing and contrasting going on. The Evil Queen set herself up as mayor through the curse, but after the curse was broken, there was one brief moment when she's ousted by the angry townspeople, and then she's right back in office, with no one questioning her. Is that because the writers forgot or because the people haven't wrapped their minds around the fact that they now live in a democracy? Would they try to re-create their way of life in a modern American town or embrace the new life? They've done a few little things -- Prince Charming in our world becomes a deputy sheriff, and he wears a shoulder holster with a gun and carries a sword -- but they really don't let themselves have fun with the premise of fairy tale characters in our world.
Even when they get temporarily sent home, we don't get to see their reactions to the change. Is there something from our world they might try to establish in theirs? For instance, when the curse takes Snow White to our world, she has a short pixie haircut, but in her home world, she has long princess hair. We don't know what she thinks of this -- is she horrified by losing all her hair and trying to grow it out, or does she discover she loves how easy it is to deal with? We don't know, other than that she doesn't cut her hair off when she gets back home.
Even when they do have a character who's a fish out of water, who doesn't have any cursed memories, we don't get to see them interacting with or reacting to our world. Captain Hook has traveled back and forth via portal, and his only reaction to dealing with modern America is being a bit baffled by hospital Jello. Now, some of that is in character, as he's very clever and observant and also not one to let on that he has any weakness, so he'd figure things out as he goes and not let anyone see him react with shock, but still, you'd expect at least something from a guy who's not only in a different world, but who's out of time even in his own world (thanks to a long sojourn in Neverland), and it mostly comes across as the writers forgetting that this one character is in an entirely different situation from the rest of the cast.
There's so much potential here that they've forgotten about or neglected entirely, mostly because I get the impression that the writing staff has the attention span of toddlers with ADD who've eaten too much sugar, so they're always rushing off to the next shiny story idea before they finish adequately telling the previous one. I do recognize the impulse when you get the shiny new idea midway through a story, but it really is like the moment they get a shiny new idea, they handwave a quick resolution to the current storyline and then jump to the next one.
And then there's the wonky morality, but that's another rant entirely.
August 7, 2014
My Exciting Life
Happy birthday to me! I plan to celebrate by doing very little, though there is some shopping I want to do. I may also pick up some flowers to put on my patio, since I'll actually be home for the next couple of months and we may soon be back with the kind of weather that allows for going outdoors without bursting into flames (soon=the next six weeks or so). The real celebration of my birthday will come tomorrow, when I have plans with a friend. And then I'll see more friends on Saturday, though that's not technically about my birthday. I can just pretend it is. Next week is going to be absolutely crazy because I have music and art camp in the mornings (I'm volunteering, not attending) and then in the evenings we have audition "rehearsals" to find a new choir director (the candidates have to conduct a rehearsal with the choir, and then we evaluate them). I have a feeling that at noon on Thursday when I'm done with music and art camp, I will come home and barricade the door and not leave the house again until Sunday morning. I will be in serious need of unscheduled time by then.
Meanwhile, I'm more than halfway through this round of revisions on the book and my living room is mostly clean. The bar top that tends to be a dumping ground is fairly clear, and I'm going to get a mail organizer thingy to put on it to corral the incoming mail I have to deal that doesn't just get shredded right away. I was going to make a sarcastic remark about how exciting my life is, but then I remembered that at this time last week, I was on my way to New York. My problem at the moment is that my life has been a little too exciting.
In other news, I believe I have successfully cut myself off from Under the Dome. The first couple of episodes were fun, then it became fun to snark about, then it became full-on hate watching to really snark about. And then I missed an episode and found that it didn't at all detract from snarking about it. It's just as much fun to read the snarky recaps and forum posts, and I don't have to go through the frustration of watching all the too-stupid-to-live antics and terrible writing. Really, I should have given it up when the doorbell worked. The electricity has been cut off by the dome and people are surviving on generators (with a limited supply of fuel), and this was a central plot point in an episode. Then in the next episode, someone goes to someone's house and rings the doorbell, and it works. I can see making sure your refrigerator is running off a generator, but a doorbell is electric, and who would bother running the doorbell off a generator? Wouldn't you have other priorities when you have limited resources? And in a town with no electricity, who would ring a doorbell instead of knocking? That, right there, sums up this terrible show. And I am free of it, other than reading recaps and enjoying the fact that I'm no longer subjecting myself to it. The dome is probably saving the rest of the world from those idiots.
So instead of that dreck, I finally have the DVDs for Once Upon a Time and have been marathoning from the beginning, watching most of these episodes for the first time since they originally ran. I have such a love/hate relationship with that show, so be prepared for some epic rants. What they do right, they do very right. What they do wrong, they do oh so wrong and in very disturbing ways.
Meanwhile, I'm more than halfway through this round of revisions on the book and my living room is mostly clean. The bar top that tends to be a dumping ground is fairly clear, and I'm going to get a mail organizer thingy to put on it to corral the incoming mail I have to deal that doesn't just get shredded right away. I was going to make a sarcastic remark about how exciting my life is, but then I remembered that at this time last week, I was on my way to New York. My problem at the moment is that my life has been a little too exciting.
In other news, I believe I have successfully cut myself off from Under the Dome. The first couple of episodes were fun, then it became fun to snark about, then it became full-on hate watching to really snark about. And then I missed an episode and found that it didn't at all detract from snarking about it. It's just as much fun to read the snarky recaps and forum posts, and I don't have to go through the frustration of watching all the too-stupid-to-live antics and terrible writing. Really, I should have given it up when the doorbell worked. The electricity has been cut off by the dome and people are surviving on generators (with a limited supply of fuel), and this was a central plot point in an episode. Then in the next episode, someone goes to someone's house and rings the doorbell, and it works. I can see making sure your refrigerator is running off a generator, but a doorbell is electric, and who would bother running the doorbell off a generator? Wouldn't you have other priorities when you have limited resources? And in a town with no electricity, who would ring a doorbell instead of knocking? That, right there, sums up this terrible show. And I am free of it, other than reading recaps and enjoying the fact that I'm no longer subjecting myself to it. The dome is probably saving the rest of the world from those idiots.
So instead of that dreck, I finally have the DVDs for Once Upon a Time and have been marathoning from the beginning, watching most of these episodes for the first time since they originally ran. I have such a love/hate relationship with that show, so be prepared for some epic rants. What they do right, they do very right. What they do wrong, they do oh so wrong and in very disturbing ways.
August 6, 2014
Writing Conference Tips
I got to see the preliminary cover for the YA steampunk book, and it's absolutely gorgeous. When I get the go-ahead, I'll share it, but I'm very excited. This is one I'll want to blow up and frame.
After several weeks of travel, it's time to get back to writing posts, and since my last trip was to speak at a writing conference, I thought I'd offer a few tips on what to do -- and not to do -- at a conference.
1) Keep an open mind -- but not too open
All writers and all careers are different, so not everything you hear will apply to you. On the other hand, no matter how much you think you know, you don't know everything and can probably learn something. Listen to the sessions with that attitude. If something clicks for you, give it a shot, but don't force yourself to do anything a speaker tells you is absolutely necessary. It may have been essential for that person, but it may not be right for you.
2) Be wary of advertisers and exhibitors
There will usually be people at conferences wanting to sell you stuff, and their sponsorship helps make the conference happen, but not all that stuff is essential or even helpful. Industry magazine subscriptions and professional organizations, maybe. Services to help you find an agent, utterly useless. Self publishing services, generally iffy. I've found that the people who are really helpful (copyeditors, designers, artists, etc.) are freelancing, so they're probably not sponsoring conferences and spending the day sitting at a booth. Look at the displays, but don't be seduced by the sales pitches or convinced that you can't get published without their help.
3) Don't mob the presenters at the front of the room at the end of a session
When attendees who didn't get their questions answered or who want to "network" rush to the front of the room at the end of a session to talk to the presenters, it can throw off the conference schedule because that presenter can't get out of the way so the next presenter can get set up. It also makes the presenters feel trapped. At least let the speakers get away from the podium or panel table before you approach them. Most conferences incorporate some social or networking time for you to talk to presenters. There may be fewer opportunities at conferences in New York with industry speakers, where the speakers dash over from their offices for their sessions and then get back to work, but then again, what kind of impression are you going to make if you're delaying them while they're trying to get back to the office? I can pretty much guarantee that you're not going to sell your book by grabbing someone right after they speak at a conference. If you have a question that wasn't answered during the session, many of the speakers provide contact info, so try e-mailing it.
4) Don't ask anyone to read your book
There are often formal pitch session in which it's implied that you're asking an editor or agent to look at your manuscript. Otherwise, this is a big no-no. Outside a formal pitch, an editor or agent may ask you about your book, but you shouldn't be the one to bring it up. You can ask questions like "What do you have coming out that you're excited about?" or "What big trends do you see coming?" or "What are you looking for that you're not seeing?" and then if it fits, you can say, "Oh, that sounds a lot like my book." Then they may ask you about it. It's really, really bad form to ask people to look at your book and give you feedback, unless maybe you hit it off with one of the other attendees and agree to critique each other.
5) Don't use a Q&A session as the opportunity to pitch your book
The thinly veiled "question" that's obviously designed to make the speaker say, "What a brilliant concept! Please send me your manuscript immediately!" will only make people roll their eyes. Ask a question if you've got a question. Use your own work as an example if you must. But if you're only asking a question as an excuse to pitch your work, don't bother.
6) Don't just assume that the speakers are the only people worth networking with
Your fellow attendees could have a lot to offer. A conference is a great place to make friends with other people who have similar plans and goals. You can form support groups or critique groups, and you never know where these connections could take all of you. Really, you're seldom going to sell a book just because you went to a conference. Go there to learn and to be around like-minded people and you'll get a lot more out of your conference experience.
After several weeks of travel, it's time to get back to writing posts, and since my last trip was to speak at a writing conference, I thought I'd offer a few tips on what to do -- and not to do -- at a conference.
1) Keep an open mind -- but not too open
All writers and all careers are different, so not everything you hear will apply to you. On the other hand, no matter how much you think you know, you don't know everything and can probably learn something. Listen to the sessions with that attitude. If something clicks for you, give it a shot, but don't force yourself to do anything a speaker tells you is absolutely necessary. It may have been essential for that person, but it may not be right for you.
2) Be wary of advertisers and exhibitors
There will usually be people at conferences wanting to sell you stuff, and their sponsorship helps make the conference happen, but not all that stuff is essential or even helpful. Industry magazine subscriptions and professional organizations, maybe. Services to help you find an agent, utterly useless. Self publishing services, generally iffy. I've found that the people who are really helpful (copyeditors, designers, artists, etc.) are freelancing, so they're probably not sponsoring conferences and spending the day sitting at a booth. Look at the displays, but don't be seduced by the sales pitches or convinced that you can't get published without their help.
3) Don't mob the presenters at the front of the room at the end of a session
When attendees who didn't get their questions answered or who want to "network" rush to the front of the room at the end of a session to talk to the presenters, it can throw off the conference schedule because that presenter can't get out of the way so the next presenter can get set up. It also makes the presenters feel trapped. At least let the speakers get away from the podium or panel table before you approach them. Most conferences incorporate some social or networking time for you to talk to presenters. There may be fewer opportunities at conferences in New York with industry speakers, where the speakers dash over from their offices for their sessions and then get back to work, but then again, what kind of impression are you going to make if you're delaying them while they're trying to get back to the office? I can pretty much guarantee that you're not going to sell your book by grabbing someone right after they speak at a conference. If you have a question that wasn't answered during the session, many of the speakers provide contact info, so try e-mailing it.
4) Don't ask anyone to read your book
There are often formal pitch session in which it's implied that you're asking an editor or agent to look at your manuscript. Otherwise, this is a big no-no. Outside a formal pitch, an editor or agent may ask you about your book, but you shouldn't be the one to bring it up. You can ask questions like "What do you have coming out that you're excited about?" or "What big trends do you see coming?" or "What are you looking for that you're not seeing?" and then if it fits, you can say, "Oh, that sounds a lot like my book." Then they may ask you about it. It's really, really bad form to ask people to look at your book and give you feedback, unless maybe you hit it off with one of the other attendees and agree to critique each other.
5) Don't use a Q&A session as the opportunity to pitch your book
The thinly veiled "question" that's obviously designed to make the speaker say, "What a brilliant concept! Please send me your manuscript immediately!" will only make people roll their eyes. Ask a question if you've got a question. Use your own work as an example if you must. But if you're only asking a question as an excuse to pitch your work, don't bother.
6) Don't just assume that the speakers are the only people worth networking with
Your fellow attendees could have a lot to offer. A conference is a great place to make friends with other people who have similar plans and goals. You can form support groups or critique groups, and you never know where these connections could take all of you. Really, you're seldom going to sell a book just because you went to a conference. Go there to learn and to be around like-minded people and you'll get a lot more out of your conference experience.
August 5, 2014
Airplane Reading
I got to do a lot of reading while spending several hours on an airplane two days in a row, so I finally have books to discuss!
I pulled a couple of books off my to-be-read shelf. At least one of them had been there possibly since high school or college. I think a friend gave it to me, and I just never got around to reading it. The other, I'm not sure where it came from because it doesn't look like the sort of thing I would have chosen to buy, mostly because of the really bad 1970s cover. Maybe it just spontaneously appeared on my bookcase. If that's happening, it would explain a lot about the condition of my house. I can't help the overflowing bookshelves if I somehow attract books.
Anyway, one of them was worth talking about, The Silver Sun by Nancy Springer. This was a very traditional, old-school fantasy drawing upon Welsh folklore (particularly The Mabinogion) as source material. I believe it was published in the very early 1980s. When I was craving old-school fantasy but wanted something more intimate than epic not too long ago, this was the kind of thing I was looking for. The heroes are really, really good people, no real shades of gray or angst or real temptation to the dark side. The villain is offstage for most of the book and we just see the effects of his activities. There's a war later in the book, but most of the book is about the quest of two young men, not for an object, but for discovery and alliances. One of our heroes knows he's a prince (no apprentice farmboy who discovers he's the Destined, Chosen One) but hates his evil father and is trying to put together alliances to help him hold the throne against his evil father's minions when the time comes, so he can set things right in the kingdom. I will admit that as much as I like good good guys, the main characters in this were sometimes a bit much for me, but I think some of that has to do with conditioning because it's so different to read now in the age of "only the villains are interesting, so we'll make the heroes more like the villains" writing. I'm not sure this book would get published today, though. I think if I had read this book as a teenager, I would have fallen madly in love with both heroes and possibly become obsessed with this series.
Then I finally found the second book in the Rivers of London series in the bookstore in Grand Central (my library is missing book 2 in the series and I haven't found it in any store around here). The clerk at the store mentioned that I was the second person that day who'd bought a book in that series and asked me about it. That's why I love Posman Books. You get the feeling their clerks read, and they aren't snobs about it. They were also really supportive of my books. Moon Over Soho by Ben Aaronovitch continues the story of police constable and apprentice wizard Peter Grant, who works in Scotland Yard's equivalent of the X-Files unit. This time, he's investigating mysterious and sudden deaths of jazz musicians. Meanwhile, there are hints that there's a powerful dark wizard and possibly an apprentice out there, doing some twisted things with magic, and Peter and his mentor need to track this down. I may have liked this one better than the first book in the series because the world is already established and we can just plunge into the action. I think what I enjoy most is the narrative voice and all the witty asides or clever descriptions and references. There are a lot of geek in-jokes where you have to be a bit of a nerd to catch all the cultural references. The author is a former Doctor Who writer, so there are a lot of related jokes. In general, it was the perfect thing to read on an airplane because the time passed quickly while I was off tracking down jazz vampires in London. It was almost a rude awakening to land in Dallas.
I pulled a couple of books off my to-be-read shelf. At least one of them had been there possibly since high school or college. I think a friend gave it to me, and I just never got around to reading it. The other, I'm not sure where it came from because it doesn't look like the sort of thing I would have chosen to buy, mostly because of the really bad 1970s cover. Maybe it just spontaneously appeared on my bookcase. If that's happening, it would explain a lot about the condition of my house. I can't help the overflowing bookshelves if I somehow attract books.
Anyway, one of them was worth talking about, The Silver Sun by Nancy Springer. This was a very traditional, old-school fantasy drawing upon Welsh folklore (particularly The Mabinogion) as source material. I believe it was published in the very early 1980s. When I was craving old-school fantasy but wanted something more intimate than epic not too long ago, this was the kind of thing I was looking for. The heroes are really, really good people, no real shades of gray or angst or real temptation to the dark side. The villain is offstage for most of the book and we just see the effects of his activities. There's a war later in the book, but most of the book is about the quest of two young men, not for an object, but for discovery and alliances. One of our heroes knows he's a prince (no apprentice farmboy who discovers he's the Destined, Chosen One) but hates his evil father and is trying to put together alliances to help him hold the throne against his evil father's minions when the time comes, so he can set things right in the kingdom. I will admit that as much as I like good good guys, the main characters in this were sometimes a bit much for me, but I think some of that has to do with conditioning because it's so different to read now in the age of "only the villains are interesting, so we'll make the heroes more like the villains" writing. I'm not sure this book would get published today, though. I think if I had read this book as a teenager, I would have fallen madly in love with both heroes and possibly become obsessed with this series.
Then I finally found the second book in the Rivers of London series in the bookstore in Grand Central (my library is missing book 2 in the series and I haven't found it in any store around here). The clerk at the store mentioned that I was the second person that day who'd bought a book in that series and asked me about it. That's why I love Posman Books. You get the feeling their clerks read, and they aren't snobs about it. They were also really supportive of my books. Moon Over Soho by Ben Aaronovitch continues the story of police constable and apprentice wizard Peter Grant, who works in Scotland Yard's equivalent of the X-Files unit. This time, he's investigating mysterious and sudden deaths of jazz musicians. Meanwhile, there are hints that there's a powerful dark wizard and possibly an apprentice out there, doing some twisted things with magic, and Peter and his mentor need to track this down. I may have liked this one better than the first book in the series because the world is already established and we can just plunge into the action. I think what I enjoy most is the narrative voice and all the witty asides or clever descriptions and references. There are a lot of geek in-jokes where you have to be a bit of a nerd to catch all the cultural references. The author is a former Doctor Who writer, so there are a lot of related jokes. In general, it was the perfect thing to read on an airplane because the time passed quickly while I was off tracking down jazz vampires in London. It was almost a rude awakening to land in Dallas.
August 4, 2014
New York
I'm actually home on a Monday morning! It's very exciting. And I should be home all week. I had to restock the cupboards and fridge yesterday because I had to resort to mac and cheese from a box for Saturday dinner when I couldn't face another restaurant meal. But now I have good, nutritious food and maybe I can shed a few of the pounds I've discovered I put on this summer while eating out way too often.
The trip to New York was wonderful -- just long enough to feel like I was there, but not so long that I had time to totally wear myself out. The bus/subway thing for getting into and out of the city worked brilliantly, other than a few unexpected delays (they were doing some construction on the railways at one point that slowed things down and kept the express trains from running), but I think it was still faster than a cab would have been if there had been even the teeniest bit of traffic on the roads. I had to fly Spirit on the way there, and it was like flying on Greyhound, so I won't willingly do that again. It's not so much the airline as that it seems to attract people who don't fly often, so everything takes twice as long. Like, getting off the plane took forever and I wasn't even that far back.
I had lunch with my editor at a little French place just down the street from the Flatiron Building, then after checking into my hotel I went uptown to the Museum of the City of New York, where they had an exhibit on Gilded Age New York (research!). From there, I visited the Conservatory Gardens in Central Park, then did some general park wandering, ending up at Bethesda Terrace, which is one of my favorite places in the world. I'd been thinking of heading down to one of my favorite Italian restaurants for dinner, but I was tired and hungry and had been walking too much, so I splurged on dinner at the Loeb Boathouse overlooking the lake in the park. I had a salmon dish that was to die for and totally worth the money. It was also a lovely atmosphere, though the tables were so close together that I felt like I was a fifth wheel in what seemed to be an early-in-the-relationship date going on at the adjacent table about six inches away. They were holding hands across the table, but he seemed to be working way too hard to impress her and seemed to be hinting at wanting the relationship to be more than it was, while she was a little aloof, other than the handholding.
And then I went back to my hotel and crashed. I was staying at the Roosevelt, which is a 1920s hotel very near Grand Central. The lobby was spectacular, and the room wasn't bad for an old hotel in New York, though definitely wasn't the kind of hotel room that it's relaxing to lounge around in.
I spent Friday at the conference, where I picked up a few ideas, though the conference was aimed well below my career level (otherwise there would have been no point in having me speak). I think my session went well, but it was hard to get a sense of the crowd response. The session was in a gorgeous Jazz Age ballroom, so it may have been the most beautiful place I've ever spoken.
Then my flight home was delayed by weather, so I got in very late. I startled the parking shuttle driver, who thought the airline had lost my luggage. He couldn't believe that I had all my luggage, even if it was just for one night. I did acquire one book on the trip since I finished one of my airplane books on the plane and the bookstore in Grand Central had a book I've been looking for. Good thing, too, since all the delays meant I finished my other travel book before I got home.
And now I may actually be home for a while. I have a lot to get done this month, but I've told myself that if I accomplish the to-do list, I get to take an extended Labor Day weekend "staycation."
The trip to New York was wonderful -- just long enough to feel like I was there, but not so long that I had time to totally wear myself out. The bus/subway thing for getting into and out of the city worked brilliantly, other than a few unexpected delays (they were doing some construction on the railways at one point that slowed things down and kept the express trains from running), but I think it was still faster than a cab would have been if there had been even the teeniest bit of traffic on the roads. I had to fly Spirit on the way there, and it was like flying on Greyhound, so I won't willingly do that again. It's not so much the airline as that it seems to attract people who don't fly often, so everything takes twice as long. Like, getting off the plane took forever and I wasn't even that far back.
I had lunch with my editor at a little French place just down the street from the Flatiron Building, then after checking into my hotel I went uptown to the Museum of the City of New York, where they had an exhibit on Gilded Age New York (research!). From there, I visited the Conservatory Gardens in Central Park, then did some general park wandering, ending up at Bethesda Terrace, which is one of my favorite places in the world. I'd been thinking of heading down to one of my favorite Italian restaurants for dinner, but I was tired and hungry and had been walking too much, so I splurged on dinner at the Loeb Boathouse overlooking the lake in the park. I had a salmon dish that was to die for and totally worth the money. It was also a lovely atmosphere, though the tables were so close together that I felt like I was a fifth wheel in what seemed to be an early-in-the-relationship date going on at the adjacent table about six inches away. They were holding hands across the table, but he seemed to be working way too hard to impress her and seemed to be hinting at wanting the relationship to be more than it was, while she was a little aloof, other than the handholding.
And then I went back to my hotel and crashed. I was staying at the Roosevelt, which is a 1920s hotel very near Grand Central. The lobby was spectacular, and the room wasn't bad for an old hotel in New York, though definitely wasn't the kind of hotel room that it's relaxing to lounge around in.
I spent Friday at the conference, where I picked up a few ideas, though the conference was aimed well below my career level (otherwise there would have been no point in having me speak). I think my session went well, but it was hard to get a sense of the crowd response. The session was in a gorgeous Jazz Age ballroom, so it may have been the most beautiful place I've ever spoken.
Then my flight home was delayed by weather, so I got in very late. I startled the parking shuttle driver, who thought the airline had lost my luggage. He couldn't believe that I had all my luggage, even if it was just for one night. I did acquire one book on the trip since I finished one of my airplane books on the plane and the bookstore in Grand Central had a book I've been looking for. Good thing, too, since all the delays meant I finished my other travel book before I got home.
And now I may actually be home for a while. I have a lot to get done this month, but I've told myself that if I accomplish the to-do list, I get to take an extended Labor Day weekend "staycation."
July 30, 2014
Plans
I'll return to the Wednesday writing posts next week when I'm back home for a while. Right now, I'm too scattered to think of good material, and I'm sure I'll pick up a few ideas at this conference.
I found my new purse yesterday -- just the right size, good side pockets for things I might need to reach for often without having to open the main section where the wallet goes, both handles and a detachable shoulder strap. I might even be able to fit a slim paperback book in one of the side pockets. And while I was out, I found a new dress I couldn't resist. I hadn't even planned to go into that department, but I did just on a whim, and there it was, a knit dress of the roll it up and throw it in a bag variety, my favorite color, a really interesting design and in my size. So that's what I'll be wearing for the conference. I'll wear the black knit dress I was planning to wear to the conference to travel on Thursday.
Next week, I plan to get to work on those book revisions that got put on hold by travel and copyedits. Then I have a week of music and art camp, but in my spare time I plan to engage in a cleaning, decluttering and organizing frenzy. And then I'll get some repairs and replacements done, like the dishwasher and the upstairs toilet. I'm looking at giving myself a "staycation" extending over the Labor Day weekend.
But during this time I have some plans. One is to try writing a short story. For real this time. I want to have something new to read at FenCon, and if it's any good I may even try submitting it. I've been reading a lot of short stories during travel (all those Fantasy and Science Fiction magazines I keep getting at conventions are good for that -- if there's a story I want to keep, I can tear it out, but otherwise I can toss the magazine when I'm done with it), so I think I'm starting to get a sense of the pacing. And then I have some non-fiction plans that tie into promotional activities. The Plan for World Domination may get some updating. And then I'll start brainstorming and researching the sequel to the steampunk book.
In other news, my viewing (and snarking) of Sharknado 2 will have to wait for the weekend (or later) because I want to get to bed early tonight and be rested for tomorrow, and I don't think that impossible weather events in the city I'm heading to will be conducive to that. Not really for nightmare reasons, but for mental rewriting reasons.
I found my new purse yesterday -- just the right size, good side pockets for things I might need to reach for often without having to open the main section where the wallet goes, both handles and a detachable shoulder strap. I might even be able to fit a slim paperback book in one of the side pockets. And while I was out, I found a new dress I couldn't resist. I hadn't even planned to go into that department, but I did just on a whim, and there it was, a knit dress of the roll it up and throw it in a bag variety, my favorite color, a really interesting design and in my size. So that's what I'll be wearing for the conference. I'll wear the black knit dress I was planning to wear to the conference to travel on Thursday.
Next week, I plan to get to work on those book revisions that got put on hold by travel and copyedits. Then I have a week of music and art camp, but in my spare time I plan to engage in a cleaning, decluttering and organizing frenzy. And then I'll get some repairs and replacements done, like the dishwasher and the upstairs toilet. I'm looking at giving myself a "staycation" extending over the Labor Day weekend.
But during this time I have some plans. One is to try writing a short story. For real this time. I want to have something new to read at FenCon, and if it's any good I may even try submitting it. I've been reading a lot of short stories during travel (all those Fantasy and Science Fiction magazines I keep getting at conventions are good for that -- if there's a story I want to keep, I can tear it out, but otherwise I can toss the magazine when I'm done with it), so I think I'm starting to get a sense of the pacing. And then I have some non-fiction plans that tie into promotional activities. The Plan for World Domination may get some updating. And then I'll start brainstorming and researching the sequel to the steampunk book.
In other news, my viewing (and snarking) of Sharknado 2 will have to wait for the weekend (or later) because I want to get to bed early tonight and be rested for tomorrow, and I don't think that impossible weather events in the city I'm heading to will be conducive to that. Not really for nightmare reasons, but for mental rewriting reasons.
July 29, 2014
Home For a Moment
I'm home from ArmadilloCon, but not for long. Late Thursday, as I was wrapping up that day's work, I got an e-mail asking if I was available to speak at a conference in New York a week from then -- and they'd pay my airfare and hotel. Hmm, let me think .. Yeah, I'm a little tired of travel right now, and it's been a long time since I spent an entire week at home, but it was hard to pass up the opportunity to speak at a Writers Digest conference in New York (and get to attend the conference) without having to pay the airfare/hotel. It'll be a whirlwind trip, though, flying up Thursday morning (with just enough time to meet with my editor that afternoon), the conference on Friday, and then leaving soon after I speak to fly home. It's too short a trip to even use my new "weekender" tote bag. I've got a knit dress that rolls up into a small package that will fit nicely in my businesslike tote bag. Since there is a time crunch and my flights leave early in the morning and return late at night, I'm going to splurge and park at the airport -- not at the terminal since I'm flying on two different airlines and that would actually be more of a hassle, but at the express parking where the van picks you up at your car and takes you straight to your terminal.
I may, however, try something new for getting back to the airport in New York. Since it will be late on a Friday in the summer, a cab can be really slow because it has to use roads at the same time as everyone else. But there is a way to catch the subway to Queens and then take a special bus from there to the airport, and it looks like it cuts the travel time in half. I may actually try that on the way into the city because it looks like it's faster than being on the roads and the train from Queens goes straight to my publisher's office (well, actually I'd want to take the express, then change at Herald Square to the local that goes straight there). Car is not a fast way to travel in Manhattan.
My other splurge is going to be a new black purse. My standard black purse is more of a handbag, not great for hands-free operation. Then I have a huge messenger bag that gets heavy and that's starting to look its age or a small clutch-sized bag I usually stick into my tote bag to get past that "personal item" limit, but that only holds my wallet and phone. So I need to find a nice medium-sized shoulder bag that will hold my wallet, phone, sunglasses and reading glasses.
I'm going to try to have lunch with my editor on Thursday, if my flight's on time and things work out. Then I may do some research/sightseeing. I'll have had a very early morning and will have to get up early for the conference the next day, so I doubt I'll be doing any nightlife or trying to hit a show. I have a feeling I'll be out cold by about ten.
As for ArmadilloCon, I had a really good weekend. I feel like all my panels were well-attended, and I heard a lot of stuff that got my creative juices flowing. I also got to revisit some familiar places from my college days and see a few college friends. I don't know if it's a sign of age or maturity or what, but I found that I could revisit that stuff and acknowledge the good times I had at that point in my life without having a strong urge to go back there and relive it all.
But before the next trip, I need to get the copyedits shipped off, I have to review some e-book files and cover copy, and I probably need to do laundry.
I may, however, try something new for getting back to the airport in New York. Since it will be late on a Friday in the summer, a cab can be really slow because it has to use roads at the same time as everyone else. But there is a way to catch the subway to Queens and then take a special bus from there to the airport, and it looks like it cuts the travel time in half. I may actually try that on the way into the city because it looks like it's faster than being on the roads and the train from Queens goes straight to my publisher's office (well, actually I'd want to take the express, then change at Herald Square to the local that goes straight there). Car is not a fast way to travel in Manhattan.
My other splurge is going to be a new black purse. My standard black purse is more of a handbag, not great for hands-free operation. Then I have a huge messenger bag that gets heavy and that's starting to look its age or a small clutch-sized bag I usually stick into my tote bag to get past that "personal item" limit, but that only holds my wallet and phone. So I need to find a nice medium-sized shoulder bag that will hold my wallet, phone, sunglasses and reading glasses.
I'm going to try to have lunch with my editor on Thursday, if my flight's on time and things work out. Then I may do some research/sightseeing. I'll have had a very early morning and will have to get up early for the conference the next day, so I doubt I'll be doing any nightlife or trying to hit a show. I have a feeling I'll be out cold by about ten.
As for ArmadilloCon, I had a really good weekend. I feel like all my panels were well-attended, and I heard a lot of stuff that got my creative juices flowing. I also got to revisit some familiar places from my college days and see a few college friends. I don't know if it's a sign of age or maturity or what, but I found that I could revisit that stuff and acknowledge the good times I had at that point in my life without having a strong urge to go back there and relive it all.
But before the next trip, I need to get the copyedits shipped off, I have to review some e-book files and cover copy, and I probably need to do laundry.
