Lorijo Metz's Blog: ScifiWritermom, page 6

What’s on your “Must Do Before The End of the World” list?

I was in a bit of a panic this past week. For some reason I was under the impression that the Mayan End of the World was due to occur on December 12, 2012, which would have been—TODAY![image error]

(If you’re reading this, clearly, I was wrong.)

The panic resulting from this misunderstanding was that I was going to be alone on December 12th.

“WOOF, WOOF!”

[image error]Well, except for Henry, my dog.

I honestly don’t believe in the whole Mayan End of the World thing, but still…you never know. What if it is true?

I don’t want to be alone!!!!!!!

Would you?

That said, I’m relieved to say the date officially predicted as the end of the world by the Mayan calendar is not, as I had thought, today; but rather, Friday, December 21st. A day in which I will be surrounded by Henry, my husband, my daughter and her boy friend.

Whoosh! I’m so relieved!

Granted, my son has other plans that day, but I know he will be in good company…so all is well. (Hummm, maybe I should invite my mom and dad over for coffee?)

Which leads me to another thought: My “To Do” List. Specifically, my “Must Do Before The End of the World” list.

Think about it! Assume, for a second, the world really is going to end on December 21st, 2012. What would be on your “Must Do” list?

I thought about it. I thought about all the goals I currently have such as:

Complete the 60-day Insanity workout program (I want my 6 pack!)
Write, edit and publish another novel
Sell home, move to Indiana
Finish reading Wool 5 – The Stranded, by Hugh Howey and listening to Insurgent by Veronica Roth

And, you know what—none of them made my “Must Do” list. Nope! Because after I thought about it, I realized the only thing I’d absolutely have to do if the world truly was going to end on December 21st was to tell all the people I love; my family, my friends…and yes, even Henry, that I love them. (Although finishing Wool 5 and Insurgent would be nice.)

I know. Sappy! Super Sappy! But it’s true. Like the song says, “All you need is love.”

What’s on your “Must Do Before The End of the World” list?

 

After the Hobbit…

[image error]I’ll keep this short and sweet. Three movie trailers. Three great reasons to mark your calendar. Three movies to look forward to after the Hobbit. Enjoy! (*after a truly rational complaint, I had to add one more.)

Opening February 1, 2013: Warm Bodies (Hot Zombie Romance)

Opening in May 17th, 2012: Star Trek Into Darkness (Is it me, or does the narrator on this trailer sound like Jean-Luc Picard????)

Opening November 1, 2013: Ender’s Game (A classic sci-fi finally making its way to the big screen)

*OOOPS! Did I say three? I meant four…

Opening June 14th, 2013: Man of Steel (Sorry Becky!)

Flying, Flew…Flu?

I took off for New York at peace with the idea I was going to leave my best friend at home. The one I spend 70% of my days hanging out with. The friend who gently, but firmly, corrects my spelling and delivers my email. The friend who not only listens to my every imaginative outburst, but also records each word (brilliant or not…usually, not) for posterity. I’m talking, of course, about my BFF, MacBook Pro—or Mac, as I call him.[image error] We log a lot of hours together.

New York, however, was reserved for my other BFF. The friend I don’t spend nearly enough time with—nor, is he always so worried about being grammatically correct—and truthfully, I’m pretty sure he doesn’t always listen to me. (He definitely doesn’t remember everything I tell him.) I’m talking, of course, about T-Metz, my husband. New York not only gave me a chance to check off one of my bucket list items, attendance at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, more importantly, it was a great city in which to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary.

So, Mac was not invited. (Although his buddy iPad came along.)

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High Tea at The Russian Tea Room

Needless to say, after an amazing week, which included a trip to the Guggenheim to see the Picasso exhibit, High Tea at the Russian Tea Room, three Broadway plays (one staring Tom Cruise’s ex-wife, one with Pirates & one with men in platform shoes and spandex) and one Off Broadway play, not to mention the Parade and all those magnificent giant balloons, I was ready to get home, off my feet, and back to my Mac.

What I wasn’t ready for was the flu.

Flying, Flew…Flu?

Now, more than a week after returning home, Mac and I are finally back together. I had planned to write a post about my New York/Macy’s Parade adventure last week, but today will have to do. Enjoy the pictures. I’ll be hanging out with Mac.

Sigh…I have so much to tell him.

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Front Row, Off Broadway

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BIG Smurf

Three Great YA Books to read over the holidays

Let’s be honest, during the holidays, I am too easily distracted by turkeys, big balloons, holiday lights, and snowmen to be much of an effective writer. One thing I am good at is making myself a cup of hot cocoa and curling up with a good book to read. Thus, today I am bringing you three great book recommendations if you’re looking for a holiday read.

[image error]#1: Wool, by Hugh Howey. Actually, Wool is a story that’s been broken down into a series of smaller books, each published separately. If you want to read them as one, buy the Omnibus Edition.

Wool was another one of those free kindle books I’d downloaded and forgotten about. Then, one day, I started reading it and couldn’t put it down. I’m currently reading the fourth book in the series. Each book is short, so reading the Omnibus edition is like reading one normal length book.

What makes Wool so special is the writing. It’s a dystopian, sci-fi, which reads like a literary novel. Howey’s characters, no matter how short of time they inhabit his story, are distinct and fully developed. They feel like real people.

In addition, the plot keeps you on edge wondering how all these people came to be living where they are. I won’t say more because I don’t want to give away any of the plot. (Plus I’m only on book 4) Just read it!

[image error]#2: Open Minds, by Susan Kaye Quinn. In her Mindjack Trilogy, Susan Kaye Quinn has imagined a world where most people have evolved (or mutated…I not sure which) into communicating by reading each other’s minds. She takes it a step further, though, and makes life infinitely more complicated by having some people evolve into mindjackers, or people who can control other people’s minds.

What I really liked about Open Minds is that the teenage heroine, while gifted, behaves like a real teenager. She makes decisions that don’t always please my adult mindset, and I could easily imagine her as the neighborhood babysitter. (Maybe that’s because the setting for Open Minds is Gurnee, IL—the town I live in!)

Open Minds is a fun, YA read, which will definitely leaving you wanting to read the rest of the books in the series.

[image error]#3 Divergent, by Veronica Roth. (I saved my favorite for last!) I was on a road trip with my husband and had already listened to eighteen chapters of Divergent, when I decided to start the book over so he could listen along with me. It was a great decision. My husband loves Divergent as much as I do and is now listening to Insurgent, book two, on his iPhone.

The tension in Divergent is absolutely heart pounding. Honestly, Veronica Roth should give master class on writing tension. I am in awe of the main character, Tris, and sick with jealously over how Veronica Roth could create such a complicated, intriguing character. Tris’ love interest, Four, is pretty spectacular too. And before I forget, the world they live in—a not so pleasant Chicago, IL of the future, where everyone is divided into factions based on the virtues of honesty, selflessness, peacefulness, intelligence, and bravery—is not only interesting, but leaves you thinking about just what faction you’d fall into. By the way, if you’ve read the book, my husband says I’m definitely Candor. He’s right!

If you’re going to read Divergent, I highly recommend the audio version read by Emma Galvin. She’s so talented a reader, I almost wonder if I’d be as gaga over the book without her.

So there you are, three great books for you holiday reading pleasure. Enjoy!

 

Writing moments that count

I’d never heard of a the term bucket list until the movie, The Bucket List, starring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman, came out. After that, of course, I had to sit down and make my own bucket list. What I discovered is that I’d already accomplished most of the items that, well, had I not accomplished them, would have been on my bucket list. For example, I’d:

Sky dived and been parasailing
Visited China and hiked the Great Wall

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It was exhausting climbing up all those steps!

Climbed to the top of a pyramid
Traveled to Australia and scuba dived the Great Barrier Reef
Sang the lead in an Opera (as well as several plays)
Drank coffee in Austria and backpacked through Italy
Had a picture book published and completed a sci-fi novel…

…to name a few of my bucket list items.

This coming Thursday (a.k.a. Thanksgiving 2012) I’ll be checking off another bucket list item. I’ll be attending the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade! Woo Who! I can hardly wait, even though I’m pretty sure it’s going to be crowded, cold and one of those things (like sky diving) I won’t want to do more than once.

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Rafting in Seattle is a bucket list worthy item

Anyway, thinking about my bucket list made me realize that while it’s cool to think I’ve done all those things…in the end, they are far from the most important moments in my life. In fact, bucket list items are like the settings in a book. Important, yes, but without people to experience them with, empty. I do not feel strong emotions when I look over the bucket list items above. However, when I recall moments, such as the time I returned home, having blown an audition for a part I really wanted, to find my husband and children waiting in the hallway for me with flowers (because they were sure I’d gotten the part), I realize those moments and the people I shared them with, are far more precious and important than anything I could ever accomplish.

Recently, I’ve been cleaning out my office, ridding myself of, among other things, copies of my novel, WHEELS, which I’d printed out to edit. Like most writers, I live in fear of someone finding a printed copy of my manuscript and publishing it before I do. I know, I know—ridiculous! Nevertheless, I’ve been holding onto them. But, now that I’ve published WHEELS, and more important, we are putting our house up for sale, it is time to let go. And, I have. I have gotten rid of every single, marked up, edited edition except one: the copy my daughter read. The copy with her dear little handwriting edits on it and her one page note taped to the cover telling me how much she loved my book. Once again proving it wasn’t the goal of writing a novel that was important; rather, it was that someone I loved…loved me enough to read it.

You can’t put those moments on a bucket list, because they are almost, always, unexpected. However, as an author, you better have a few of them (along with some really cool settings) in your book!

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Traveling through Italy and Greece, with his girlfriend, made my son’s bucket list.

Which Fellow Scribe would you invite to dinner?

Here’s something for all you NaNoWriMo writers to contemplate when you need to take a break from your frantic writing schedule.

Last month, Erica Wagner, a columnist for the Wall Street Journal, asked J.K. Rowling “…which fellow scribe, living or dead, she would most like to meet and have dinner with.” After considering, among others, P.G. Wodehouse and Jane Austen, Rowling chose Charles Dickens. (See link at the conclusion of this post.)

So, while you’re frantically trying to complete your novel in a month—one you hope will be the next best seller—take a quick break and choose which fellow scribe, living or dead, you would have dinner with. (Think of it as a celebratory dinner once you’ve completed your 50,000 words)

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Neil Gaiman (for dinner)

My choice, hands down, would be Neil Gaiman. He’s pleasing on the eyes and he has that great British accent. Plus, he’s funny. Although…it is too bad he’s married. (Then again, so am I.)

 

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Mark Twain and his cigar

Hummm, Mark Twain would be amazing to dine with. He’s funny, he’s fascinating and I probably wouldn’t have to talk at all…although I might have to pay for our dinner. Then there’s his nasty smelling cigar. Never mind.

 

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Ann Rand – INTENSE!

What about Ann Rand or Ursula Le Guin! Can you imagine the deep conversations we’d have? Oh dear, I’m exhausted just thinking about it.

 

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Clive Barker (I think those are real)

Okay… I can say with complete certainly I do NOT want to have dinner with Clive Barker. Love his writing—He terrifies me. I can also cross Stephen King off my list. Stephenie Meyer too. (Please, no coffee or wine with our meal!)

Apparently, I’m going to have to get back to you later. Got to go—more words to write!

(Find out more about J.K. Rowling’s choice HERE)

Trouble in Twitter Land and other Maladies

I just read two blogs that made me feel a bit better about my own woes this past week. I know, I don’t live in New York or New Jersey, so I shouldn’t be complaining (Though I will be attending the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade this year, but that’s another post). Also, I shouldn’t feel better because of someone else’s woes…but it do! (Sorry)

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Trouble with a capital “T” and that rhymes with “D” and that stands for…

The first blogger (who happens to be one of my favorite writers) noted on her blog that she was falling woefully short of her NaNoWriMo goals. I too am finding it difficult to meet mine. In fact, I finally decided last night that enough was enough—I’m just not enjoying the journey. I need balance in my life. Now, more than ever, as my husband and I get ready to put our house on the market and move—a huge step for someone who’s lived in one state all her life. Anyway, forcing myself to churn out copious amounts of words when in the back of my mind I have a to-do list a half mile long is, well—it’s screwing with my creativity! So, I’m ditching NaNoWriMo and switching to a writing schedule that demands time, rather than words. Time I can schedule between packing, organizing and cleaning.

The second blogger (and another wonderful writer) announced her blog had been hacked. Sigh…

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I need balance!

My blog hasn’t been hacked, but I’ve had twitter troubles up the wazoo. First, my account was suspended. One day, everything’s coming up roses. The next day, Your account has been suspended! Yikes. Why???? The good news is that everything was back to normal four days later. The bad news is that last night I got an email from Twitter saying they’d changed my password because they suspected someone had hacked into my account.

What is it with hackers? What can they hope to gain by hacking into the account of a children’s writer? Honestly—get a hobby! Or, rather, get a new hobby.

That’s it. I’m off for a walk, a little coffee and friend chat, and then back to my desk for a few hours of writing. After that I’ll attack one or two of those household/moving chores I’ve been putting off. Have a great day, and if you see any strange tweets from me (stranger than usual, that is) ignore them.

Ready, Set, Write!

Day 2 of Nano, Nano Write (As I can’t help thinking about it! Hey, I grew up with Mork and Mindy). I’m revved up and ready to go–again!

[image error]I began my NaNoWriMo adventure yesterday by attending an inspiring lecture on writing given by Kat Falls, author of the science fiction adventure, Dark Life.

While there, I was lucky enough to meet YA, sci-fi writer, Susan Kaye Quinn, author of the Mindjack Trilogy, who is not only nice, but shared some wonderful writing advice.[image error]

Then it was back home, let the dog out, prep the nibbles (I nibble while I write), and make sure the tea station was well stocked. After that, there was only one thing left to do–WRITE! I met my goal and plan to do that again today.

Happy writing to all you writers out there participating in NaNoWriMo 2012!

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Creative Fuel for NaNoWriMO

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NaNoWriMo Tea Station

Perfection Unleashed, by Jade Kerrion

Jade Kerrion wants to know:

“What would you do if you came face-to face with perfection,

and it looked just like you?”

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Jade Kerrion, author of Perfection Unleashed

Personally, I’d be quite surprised. All kidding aside, I just finished reading Perfection Unleashed, by Jade Kerrion, book one in a series I’d describe as a brainy, emotional X-Men-like adventure. Honestly, I didn’t know what to expect, but I was intrigued by the idea of a sci-fi take on perfection—one that wasn’t based on creating the perfect android. Before I go any further, here’s the description from Amazon:

Two men, one face. One man seeks to embrace destiny, the other to escape it.

Danyael Sabre spent sixteen years clawing out of the ruins of his childhood and finally has everything he wanted–a career, a home, and a trusted friend. To hold on to them, he keeps his head down and plays by the rules. An alpha empath, he is powerful in a world transformed by the Genetic Revolution, yet his experience has taught him to avoid attention.

When the perfect human being, Galahad, escapes from Pioneer Laboratories, the illusory peace between humans and their derivatives–the in vitros, clones, and mutants–collapses into social upheaval. The abominations, deformed and distorted mirrors of humanity, created unintentionally in Pioneer Lab’s search for perfection, descend upon Washington D.C. The first era of the Genetic Revolution was peaceful. The second is headed for open war.

Although the genetic future of the human race pivots on Galahad, Danyael does not feel compelled to get involved and risk his cover of anonymity, until he finds out that the perfect human being looks just like him.

[image error] What I liked about Perfection Unleashed, is that rather than populate her story with comic book characters, Jade created characters with abilities that, at least to me, I can easily believe will be part of the next round of human evolution. Whether they are humans we can imagine having evolved naturally, such as Danyael Sabre, an alpha empath; or humans created through genetic engineering, such as my favorite character, Xin; a computer genius and clone of a “Twelve hundred BC queen, military general, and high priestess from ancient China,” Jade ensured each character and their uniqueness felt plausible. The time she spent delving into the mind of Danyael, the alpha empath, left the reader feeling, ironically, not only empathetic, but also fully aware of the danger Danyael’s ability could pose to the rest of humanity.

Perfection Unleashed is only the beginning of what promises to be an exciting series. While the action is almost non-stop, from the break-in at Pioneer labs and escape of some genetic mutants gone wrong, to the final action-packed escape scenes, the primary purpose of book one, it seems, is to introduce us to the characters and set up the coming conflict between humans and their derivatives.

While a few things, such as whether mutants like Danyael were a result of genetic manipulation or simple evolution confused me, I truly enjoyed Perfection Unleashed and look forward to the next two books in the series, the newly released Perfect Betrayal and Perfect Weapon. I’m also eager to find out more about Galahad, Danyael’s genetic twin (only physically, as Galahad is not an empath). While scientists created Galahad to be the perfect human, exactly what traits were engineered into him and why, are only hinted at in book one. Looks like I’ll have to read Perfect Betrayal to find out more.

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Perfection Unleashed!

One last note—Daniel Craig. That’s right, Daniel Craig, as in James Bond. While reading Perfection Unleashed, I imagined Daniel Craig playing the role(s) of Danyael/Galahad. He not only possesses the perfect body, but more importantly, the ability to display emotional pain while looking gorgeous. However, after I finished reading Perfection Unleashed, I stopped by Jade’s website only to discover she had another actor in mind for the role. (It just goes to show, authors are not always right). Anyway, if you’d like to hear Jade defend her selection, as well as answer a few other intriguing questions, be sure to stop back on Dec. 12 when I’ll be hosting an author interview and book giveaway with non other than award-winning author, Jade Kerrion!  (I’m hoping we don’t come to blows over the whole actor thing!)

National Novel Writing Month Starts Tomorrow!

Just a quick post to let my readers know I’m ALL IN for NaNoWriMo 2012. That said, my posts and reviews will be shorter and my butt (Sigh…) bigger from sitting in my chair, hunched over my computer, attempting to write 50,000 words (that resemble something of a 1st draft of my new novel—a YA, Dystopian, Fantasy) during the month of November.

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Warning! There’ll be lots of coffee, a little cussing and whole lot of hair pulling around my house. Though my husband may leave me and my dog may hate me, come December I hope to be well on my way to having a new novel sketched out for next year. (Hey, suck it up – writing takes sacrifice!)

In celebration of my last minute decision to join NaNoWriMo 2012, I leave you with my favorite Monty Python writing sketch.