Gae Polisner's Blog, page 22

Friday Feedback Rides Again! :)

After a brief hiatus *coughs, shut up* I've decided to bring back Friday Feedback.

I'll wait. Let me know when you're done jumping up and down. :)

For those of you who never participated in Friday Feedback, I'll tell you the rules, and, then, in this first return post, I'll (sort of) break them. Hey, it's my blog. I'll do what I want to. You do what you want on YOUR blog.

Seriously, though, if you're here, reading, and, moreso, chiming in, I'm happy and grateful, so thank you. Especially if you're a teen or young adult, since that's what I post and write about here -- young adult fiction.

So, what is the point of Friday Feedback? To get and give feedback (with some rules).

Sometimes, I'll invite you to critique a piece of my writing (and offer the opportunity for you to post your own excerpt in the comments and receive critique from me or any of my writer or non-writer friends who might stop by), and sometimes, I'll have a guest author host the spot, posting their work and giving feedback (though I'll usually chime in. :)).

Why do I love this feature? Writers often write in a vacuum.

not THAT kind of vacuuum... >:(
As such, you'll often hear us commenting that we have no idea if something we've written is great, or if it's crap. I mean, you'd think we'd know, but sometimes, honestly, we just don't. Sometimes, the chasm of doubt we stare down is just that gaping and wide.

If you don't believe me, here's a quote I love from an interview with one of my all-time favorite (and hugely prolific) authors, William Goldman (his novels include Marathon Man, The Color of Light, The Princess Bride, and more movie screenplays than we can count on our combined fingers including Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid – don't tell me if you're too young to know it, it will break my heart), and IMHO, one of the greatest writers and storytellers of all time:

"One of the things I love to do when I work with young writers is to disabuse them of the notion that I know what I'm doing. I don't know what I'm doing. . . as we are speaking, I am looking at my computer, tearing out my hair, thinking, well, is this horrible, or is this going to work? I don't know. Storytelling is always tricky."


Isn't that awesome?

Okay, having said that, let's get started. Together. In the dark. Friday Feedback.

Here are the RULES:


I would like the following feedback (and will offer the same to you between Friday and Monday if you post an excerpt for me to read in the comments -- see further rules regarding that below):

• Does the piece "hook" you enough to make you want to keep reading. If yes, why? If no, why not?

• What else works for you, and why?

• What doesn't work for you (if something doesn't) and why?

See? Simple. :)

Now, here's how you can also get some feedback : If you are working on something, and would like the same feedback, please post your excerpt after your feedback (in the same comment or a new one).

Please post between 3 -5 paragraphs, and no more . If there's more, I may only read the first 3 -5 paragraphs (5 if they're short, 3 if they're long). If the comment gets too long, feel free to reply in two separate comments. If you are a student from a particular class, please identify yourself as such. If not, let me know how you found me.

And, remember, we are all trying to be constructive here. So be honest, but be kind, and expect the same in return.

Okay?

Yay!

So, without further ado, *deep breath* (er, the deep breathing was for me…), thanks for participating!

Here we go!

Oh, and remember I told you I was going to break my own rules a little bit today? Today I'm going to post two excerpts, because I was looking over old Friday Feedbacks and saw how much the opening to Frankie Sky -- my novel out on submission now -- has changed since the last time I posted it here. I thought it might be kind of cool to see. Feel free to compare and contrast what you like or don't like from the switch from the old to the new.

Thanks for reading and commenting. Look forward to see YOUR stuff!

- gae


Frankie Sky, current opening:

          It's not even noon in not even July, yet already the sun bakes down hot and steady making the air in front of me waffle like an oily mirage. I hate summer, and it only makes it worse that I'm here at the Lawrenceville Country Club pool on some crazy whim, and without Lisette because, since school ended, she's never around.

I sit up and adjust my bikini top, trying to stretch it across the spots it barely covers. It's snug only because it's one of Lisette's old hand-me-downs – and not for better reasons. Lisette lent it to me last spring for a school carwash, and I grabbed what I could this morning. It's not like I have a fresh supply of bathing suits.
I yank the strings around my neck for maximum boost and re-tie them, letting my eyes dart to where Peter Pintero towers across from me like King of Summer atop his LCC lifeguard throne. His eyes catch mine and he squints funny, like he wants to know what the heck I'm doing here.
Well, it's none of his business what I'm doing here. Besides, I'm not sure I even know.  ***


And, here's the original opening (they're way different, eh?):


          The first time I see Frankie Schyler, he's diving into the Lawrenceville Country Club pool, which is only the first of many coincidences that will make me question everything I know about life, death, and the nature of our existence during the short eight weeks of summer.

          It's not so much coincidence as stupidity that Frankie marches to the edge of the coping, arms raised above his mop of blond curls, and purposefully plunges himself headfirst into the water, but rather the coincidence is that I am here, too, staring at the very same water, wondering if I might walk over and slip myself in, then sink to the bottom and disappear.

          Or, maybe that's not a coincidence either, since I've spent much of the past four years thinking about ways to disappear.

***

One of Those Truly Meaningful Days

Lately, I've been talking a lot about what it means to matter. If not here on this YA Blog so much, then on my women's fiction blog, Trying to Stay Afloat...

For me, so much of my self-worth feels tangled up with my writing career, and what it means to be successful there.

And in this publishing climate -- where being commercial can be more important than being good -- it's a tentative place to rest one's self-esteem.

Sometimes, I worry too much about what I haven't achieved yet, instead of what I have. Some of that is ego, sure. But part of it is truly the desire to leave some small, indelible mark on this world that actually matters.

So, while another day passed without an email in my inbox announcing a book deal for Frankie Sky (I don't matter! I don't matter!), I spent the afternoon at a local high school in a "shaky" lower-income school district, not too far from my home. When I got home, I emailed this note to a few of my close author friends:

"If I ever complain again, remind me of this day."

The rest of this blog post is extracted from the remainder of my note to them:

"I got to the school and there were posters all over.

The teachers, librarian, and principal were there to greet me, and were all so excited for my visit. The school had ordered 50 copies of my book this past fall after one of its awesome teachers had heard me do a reading at a bookstore and thought it would be a good addition to the curriculum, as the school teaches Of Mice and Men.

The students came in -- they had stayed after, by invitiation only, for extra credit, and there were 50 of them, one for each copy of the book that had been temporarily distributed in connection with the unit.

The kids were smart, engaged, warm, funny, and respectful, and completely enthralled with the book.

I talked about my journey to get published and how subjective criticism is. And, how to persevere when rejection keeps flowing in. I applied this concept to sports, art, and life in general. As I spoke, faces paid attention and heads nodded. As I spoke, I reminded MYSELF to heed my own words, if I meant them. And, I did. I meant them.

After, we talked about Nick, Jaycee and the Scoot. The kids asked endless (smart, amazing!) questions about the book. They wanted me to sign everything. Their tickets, pieces of scrap paper, bookmarks. They wanted to know if there's a sequel coming. They want a movie. And, most importantly, they want
my next book NOW.

I read aloud from the opening of Frankie Sky, and they went nuts for it. Even if no editors, yet, are. . .

At the end, the principal stood up and announced that, given the amazing display of enthusiasm he had just seen, he had decided to let the kids keep the books -- that the kids could take the 50 school hardcover copies home with them, if they wanted. It blew me away, but cheers actually erupted. I'm not kidding. As they ran up to get them signed, the principal held the late buses for 15 minutes...

Not a single copy of the book was left behind.

After the students left, the teacher who originally brought the book into the school told me she actually got teary-eyed at her principal's gesture, though she was not surprised by it because it is the kind of administrator he is. "These are not kids that are just given books, or that get to meet authors and talk with them . . . " she said.

As we walked to my car, she told me that the book stuff was all fun and cool, but that she was most grateful that I had talked about the subjectivity of art, and about rejection and perseverance. She said she could see the kids' faces taking it in, and internalizing it. She said she hoped that, if they took nothing else from the day, it would be that one thing, because it was a message they so badly needed.

Me, too, I kept thinking, me, too.

As for the book's future in the school next year, the principal assured me he'll be ordering 50 new copies for the fall.

Man, talk about your "shaky: districts. ;)"

I drove home elated, trying to memorize the feelings swirling in my heart and brain, reminding myself to hold onto the more important aspects of what I do.

I might not ever have the huge success I'm hoping for (whatever that is), but today, to a few kids, and a few teachers, for a few short hours, what I do mattered. To them, and to me.

- gae

Sunday Shadowing on I-94: What We Know vs. What We Bring to the Table as Readers...

These awesome peeps are teachers Colby Sharp and Jen Vincent:
Colby Sharp & Jen Vincent pretending to fight over my book.For the past three weeks they have been generously fighting over my book, The Pull of Gravity. You can meet Jen and Colby, and read an introduction to the series, Sunday Shadowing on I-94 by clicking on these words.

During week #1, they discussed Nick's relationship with the Scoot and the general themes of friendship in the story. During week #2, they talked about Nick and Jaycee's romance. And, last week, week (#3) I joined them through the magic of Google Docs to chime in as they talked about Nick's Dad.
This week, week #4, they finish up their month-long series with the second part of our Google Docs chat which focuses on Nick's mom. You can read here at Colby's terrific site, Sharpread, or here at Jen's terrific one, Teach Mentor Texts. WARNING: THERE ARE SPOILER ALERTS!!
So, if you read The Pull of Gravity, and struggled with your feelings about Nick's mom and/or dad, here's your chance to commiserate, get feedback, or throw your two cents in!
I want to say a heartfelt thank you to Jen and Colby for their TPoG love, and for spending four Sundays talking about it, and giving it such a warm, cozy space on their blogs. It's been amazing to eavesdrop, to chime in, but mostly to read things like this: 
"JEN: If I encounter someone who is in this situation in real life, I know I'll think back to this book and try to be understanding."


Words like that are writer's gold. Truly.

- gae

Sunday Shadowing on I-94 - Part 3: No love lost for Nick's Dad?

Colby Sharp & Jen Vincent pretending to fight over my book.So, here's Sunday #3 in Jen and Colby's series on The Pull of Gravity. You can meet Jen and Colby, and read an introduction to the series, by clicking right here.

During week #1, Jen and Colby discussed Nick's relationship with the Scoot and the general themes of friendship in the story.
During week #2, they talked about Nick and Jaycee's romance.
This week -- oh boy! -- they talk about Nick's Dad.

By far, the Dad is the most controversial character in the book. He's the most obviously flawed -- outwardly and inwardly. To me, he is also sympathetic. But not all of my readers agree. For instance, while finding the dad's actions wrong, Colby struggled to relate a little:
"COLBY: If I lost my job as a teacher, I could totally see myself ending up like Nick's dad. It would be so hard to lose your identity like he did. I'm not sure if I would gain 100 pounds or lose 100 pounds, but it would not be pretty."

 while, we had to, um, delete Jen's cusses:
"JEN: WAIT! I have to clarify something before we go on... (spoiler deleted from here but not from the actual post) . . . Because after that I can only think of him as a really big (use your imagnation). I know people make mistakes but some things are just wrong. I don't see that as being Nick's fault..."And, both are great with me! Really! I love it! That's part of what makes reading so personal. We bring to it our own values, our ideas of what's right and wrong.
We also read things into the text that often aren't there. We make assumptions. We read these assumptions into the story as rote.
And, I love this too: that, as a writer, we don't know what a reader will bring. We take a reader as they come to us, and we must give them room to breathe. But it's an interesting thing to see play out. It makes each reader-writer experience we encounter richer and more unique.
Continued thanks to Jen Vincent at Teach Mentor Texts and Colby Sharp at Sharpread for the tremendous honor of this series.
- gae

And, the Award Goes to. . .

That Wee Bit Heap . 

*

Still waiting for anyone
to tell me what the title means.thunderous applause erupts as she rises from her seat and makes her way through the drunken Globe crowd to the stage* <---- Yes, that is, too, what happened.

Okay, fine. Maybe not. But it is kinda cool to get my first blogger award ever (thank you, Katia!), although, as is fitting, it created the need for me to drop everything and write another blog post, too. *sigh*

Do any of you who don't blog know how much time it takes to write a decent blog post? The answer is, anywhere from fifteen minutes to two hours. At least for me. And I maintain two.

This one, That Wee Bit Heap, is my "YA" or Young Adult writer blog, where I mostly talk about things writing and book related. The other, Trying to Stay Afloat in a Sea of Words (where I will cross post sometimes, including today), is more a women's fiction blog which is not always wholly appropriate for kids and teens. There, I talk about more gorey things like love, parenting, aging and marriage), as well as provide a sort of chronicle of my life through open water swimming. Staying Afloat is a much more personal blog.

In choosing my blog as one of her favorites, Katia described it, saying:

"This very versatile blog is run by one of my favorite authors: Gae Polisner, who wrote "The Pull of Gravity," one of those YA books that turn me into a gushing, stuttering fan. Gae is fun and honest when she talks about her various moods, her publishing ups and downs, her strange habit of swimming in the cold ocean off of Long Island, her love of board games and many other fun things."

which leads me to believe that she may be actually describing a little bit of each of my blogs and it takes both to live up to the award. Okay by me, they are both a part of me.

Indeed, it's funny to me to think that I do put so much of my private life out there. If you told me ten years ago I would, I couldn't have imagined it then.

I ran across this cartoon the other day on my friend and writer Lena Roy's page, and it seems so true:


I think, despite the glut of blogs out there in the world, they still find readers because they offer up glimpses of ordinary, private lives to us, and allow us to feel less alone.

At any rate, I'm honored that Katia included my blog(s) and now I must do the oh-so-stressful winner duty of passing on the Versatile Blogger award. Hard to do when so many of my friends are writers and run magnificent blogs.

Seriously, I could now sweat this task for hours, but do not have the luxury as I am steeped in revisions that must get back to my agent... so what you get is a sort of Monday morning free association, the first 6 of many amazing blogs that come to me this morning.

By the way, you heard me. I said 6. I was planning to do 15, but am breaking the rules (I wonder if they will send me to blogger jail for this <--- *seriously, now sweats this*) and only listing six blogs because this has already taken me nearly an hour and a half... you will see in the rules that we are supposed to pick 15, so may the blogger gods and award-bestowers please forgive me.

So, without further ado, here we go! In no particular order, I hereby bestow the Versatile Blogger Award on the following blogs:

When you receive the award, the rules are – a) you blog about it and you include this lovely badge:

b) you share some cool tidbits about your life with your readers and c) you nominate another 15 blogs for versatile awesomeness.

1. Okay, this one is easy peasy, because it is my one must-go-to blog.
The Middle Ages ("two friends, different ages, different husbands, different opinions") where Barb and Deb make me laugh or cry (or both) on almost a daily basis;

2. Conscious Creativity ("an exploration and manifestation of creativity and consciousness"), where Lori shares ideas on art, life, meditation, yoga, and creativity, and, if you're uber lucky, will share a dream poem or piece of her art;

3. Confessions of a Watery Tart ("a digressionary journey of a writer") because -- come on! -- Hart had me from the title, and her blog is funny, prolific, poignant and unbelievably reliable, to boot;

4. The Green Bathtub ("writing instead of housework"), Not only because Amy is lovely and adorable and interesting, but because that little tagline alone describes my life;

5. Christa Writes (funny, poignant stuff about life and writing) <--- my lame tagline, not hers, because I couldn't find one); because, well, because she blogs funny, poignant stuff about life and writing, and, btw, the link is to an older blogpost of hers which was particularly funny...; and

6. Lena's Lit Life ("Léna (me): Lit, as in literature, Lit, as in light, Lit, as in a little kooky: Life.") <--- raw, honest musings on a writer's life, including feeling the wings and shadows of a famous grandmother.

What are some of your "award-winning blogs?

- gae

Sunday Shadowing on I-94 - Part 2

Colby Sharp & Jen Vincent pretending to fight over my book.So, last Sunday, I told you about these two awesome teachers, Jen and Colby, who are doing a February series on The Pull of Gravity.

You can meet Jen and Colby, and read an introduction to the series, here.

Last week Jen and Colby discussed Nick's relationship with the Scoot and the general themes of friendship. Links to that discussion on each of their sites, can be found in the introduction.


This week they talk about Nick and Jaycee.

And, while Jen, of Teach Mentor Texts somehow manages to make comparisons to how she felt when she read Romeo & Juliet (!):

"It was just as fun to read about their relationship developing as when I read Romeo and Juliet, maybe even moreso..."

Colby, of Sharpread, brings comparisons closer to home:

"I think at Nick and Jaycee's relationship was my favorite part of the book. Nick reminded me a lot of myself in high school. Believe it or not, I was not exactly a ladies' man in high school."

Oh, I've seen you jumping up and down about Babymouse, Colby, so that is totally impossible to believe. ;)

Anyway, it's been such an honor to have Jen and Colby discussing my book every Sunday (so, thanks guys!), and next Sunday is a real treat. Because yesterday, I joined in on the chat in Google Docs for over an hour -- on the extremely heated subject of Nick's dad.

And, let's just say that Jen had strong feelings on the subject, and happily, she didn't mince words. ;)

Colby, however, may have deleted a few of them.

Stay tuned next Sunday, as Colby and Jen read on I-94.

-gae

Dear Teen & Future Me (plus TPoG giveaway!)

So, two of my favorite, funny, adorable virtual writer peeps, Amy Sonnichsen, still aspiring - but, oh, she will, she will! - and Christa Desir, with her first YA book deal just secured for TRAINWRECK, Simon Pulse, 2013, are hosting me on their blogs today, and they're giving away a copy of THE PULL OF GRAVITY.

So, of course, those of you who follow me know that I don't usually do my own blog post to highlight a guest post, but the one they asked me to write, really resonated.

It was actually very hard to write.

Indeed, it was so hard, that I panicked, and went back to them and offered to do a (pantsless) vlog instead. I mean, what's more entertaining than vlogging pantsless? And, I'm all about the entertaining here.

But, alas, they pushed me, and we ended up with these:


Christa's Blog: Dear Teen Gae ;
and


Amy's Blog:  Letter to My Future Self .
I love and admire both these women AND their blogs, so if you stop by, please take a few minutes to look around, and leave a comment (bloggers LOVE comments). How bout maybe a brief note to your teen or future self?

- gae

Sunday Shadowing on I-94

That is Jen Vincent.

And this ----------------------------------------------------> is Colby Sharp.

(yeah, I did that arrow thing because I can't get my blogger photo arranging to cooperate with me today. So be it.)

Jen and Colby are teachers. The are also super, awesome

NERDIES!  

Clap your hands if you believe in Nerdies.

Okay, fine, whatever.

Colby and Jen both have terrific blogs in their own rights (Sharpreads and Teach Mentor Texts, respectively) but they also do a feature together every month called Reading Along I-94. In Colby's own words,

     "Each month Jen and I read a book together. We take turns selecting the book. About once a week we chat together in a google doc about the book. Sometimes we are in the doc together, and sometimes we type in the doc alone and then let the other person know that they can respond when they have time. We post our discussions on our blogs. It is super fun and VERY nerdy:)"
This month, Colby picked The Pull of Gravity for their I-94 feature:

Colby and Jen, fighting over TPoG.and I am a (crazy, stalker) fan of his, and incredibly honored, so I've decided to follow along.

Btw, if you want to know why I'm a crazy, stalker fan of Colby's, this is basically all you need to know:


And, while I don't crazy stalker girls, Jen is pretty darn amazing, too!

So, anyway, here's the link to Colby's introductory post on TPoG, or if you don't want to read it (sigh, I know, I know, it's Sunday and the Giants are playing today: Go, GIANTS!), this is the takeaway from what he had to say:


"I can't help but wonder how my life in high school would have been different if I would have had great books like The Pull of Gravity to read instead of books that made me want to jump off a cliff."

Macmillan, if you're reading, I think that's a great blurb for the cover of the paperback!!!

So, without further ado (because that was quite enough ado already up there, don't you think?), here here are the links to Part 1 of Jen's and Colby's Reading Along I-94 posts (this week's posts are not done in Google Docs, because Jen wasn't available, but the following three Sunday's will likely be :)).

Jen's, in which she shares the awesome word, HAMARTIA (I still don't know if it's real): http://www.teachmentortexts.com/2012/02/read-along-on-i-94-pull-of-gravity-part.html

and

Colby's, in which he sees fit to post a sweaty and unmade-up photo of me from after yoga two weeks ago in my Nerdy Book Club t-shirt: http://sharpread.wordpress.com/2012/02/05/1118/.

I warn you there are SPOILER ALERTS in the posts. And, if you want to hear what I had to say, check the comments!

Until next Sunday shadowing along I-94. . . HUGE thanks to Colby and Jen.

*adjusts rear-view mirror, and takes off*

Don't text and drive.

- gae

Stalled, but not out. ;)

It's that time of year.

I'm at a standstill.

Stalled.

Okay, fine, drowning in freaking quicksand. 


I think it's partly just the time of year. The high of the New Year -- the energetic attack of the list of resolutions -- wanes, and you're left with time constraints, a chest cold, and a certain winter lethargy that keeps you from moving as fast as you should.

Or maybe that's just me.

But it's also a run of parenting bumps ("You're only as happy as your most unhappy child") and, I think, even more than that,

this endless, damned, out-on-submission thing.


*breathes*

It is hard to keep answering the questions about when my next book is coming out.

The answer is, I don't know.

Much to my dismay, Frankie Sky has not been picked up yet, and (whine alert ----> ) for the life of me, I just don't get it.

First of all, I've had two separate agents LOVE the manuscript, and my few test readers liked it more than The Pull of Gravity, including some teens and a trusted blogger (who I barely knew before her read who was (and still is) a huge champion of TPoG. As she wrote in one of several emails to me, "I think I love Frankie Sky. Please don't tell the Scoot.")

And yet.

And yet.

AND YET!!!!!! >:(

*sigh*

Have I mentioned this book business is hard?

So, now that I'm done whining, I thought I'd take a moment to focus on some more important things.

First of all, The Pull of Gravity continues to get picked up by schools, and I am grateful. It is really more than I could ever have asked for. I'm skyping with an 8th grade class in Indiana in February, where the teacher has used it as a read aloud. I'm visiting two Long Island schools in February and March who are both using the book in and around the classroom. And a New Jersey school in April where the visit will be televised as part of a public television program called Classroom Close-up.

If you had told me three years ago, I'd have a book read in schools, it would have floored me. It would have been totally surreal. And, trust me, I promise you, it still is.

Ah, my old friends, Nick and Jaycee :)And, I continue to get reviews like this one from teachers and educators, which surpass my wildest dreams:

http://sharpread.wordpress.com/2012/02/01/reading-along-i-94-the-pull-of-gravity/.

And, btw, 4th grade teacher Colby Sharp, who wrote that review (and doesn't usually even read YA) is one of my new favorite people (not just because he liked my book, but because his blog/review site is awesome and funny and good). So, while you're there (you're going there, right?) you should totally look around.

But, second of all, more than my own successes (or failures -- glass, are you half full or half empty??? *takes sip, shakes glass upside down hoping liquid rushes out*), other people have sh*t going on that is way harder and more important than anything going on in my life. . .

Whether you like dragons or not (I am neutral), an awesomist is a totally awesome thing to be.
Take my friend Max, who is a terrific writer, and also just a good person. His son was just diagnosed with an agressive form of leukemia. Having just been through the most minor of health scares with my own kid, I can't even begin to imagine.

And, yet, there they are. Everywhere, people are suffering.

Our mutual friend Eden has put together this fabulously generous campaign to try to help Max and his son Josh out with his exorbitant medical costs through Indiegogo and I hope, especially if you are an aspiring writer or avid reader, you might check out some of the items up for bid (including, of course, a signed hardcover of TPoG and some other writerly services I have offered). Max needs you. And, more than that, Josh does.  
CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE CAMPAIGN!!!!
So, there you have it. I'm stalled a bit, but not out. In fact, today is the day I get my ass back in gear.

Life is short. Go get it.

*grabs yoga mat, swim suit, and opens newest manuscript on screen.*

- gae

Pantslessness and Other Minor Excitement

FML, it's the end of January already.

How the eff did that happen?

I know, I know, this is my YA blog, the one where I behave, and don't say the f word, and act all teen-author appropriate. But, really, sometimes you just have to let it all go.

I've been in a mood lately. A bit silly. A bit depressed. A bit manic. A bit adventurous. A bit lazy.
And, go ahead and sue me, a bit pantsless.

(Don't panic. I'm not really pantsless. That part is all in my head.)

There's just something funny about not wearing pants. Or at least pretending not to. Although, for the life of me, I'm not sure what it is.

Here. I'll show you. This is me last fall when I forgot my pants after a swim:

Posterized for propriety's sake.
See? Funny.

Why?

No pants.

I mean, even though I was at the beach (where it is a perfectly acceptable social norm to be without pants), and had a plain old, sporty, unsexy bathing suit on under my sweatshirt, it was still somehow funny (and scandalous) that I had no pants when I needed them. 

So, yeah. With all the angst that's been going on with my (damned) manuscript STILL (endlessly) out on  submission, a health scare with my kid (mostly resolved, phew!) and a few other minor dramas and traumas, is it any wonder I'm seeking some comic relief?

But here's the thing: Now that I've found it in pantslessness, I seem sort of stuck on the theme.

For instance, take my rather important Skype visit the other day with some (movie) guys in LA.* Here I am right before it, set on remaining (fake) pantsless:


Or, take the perfectly nice blogger lady who asked me if I was willing to write a sweet and sentimental author post and I answered by suggesting instead a pantsless Vlog. . .

. . . and then tweeted accordingly:

"Is it wrong that I'm actually contemplating whether a pantsless Vlog would help or hurt my reputation?"

Hurt, Gae, hurt, geesh!

And, yet . . .

I must admit, I'm hardpressed to believe the whole world won't share my endless amusement over faking that I'm not wearing pants.

If this is wrong, I don't want to be pants'ed up and right.

Anyway, there you have it. What I've been up to, with or without pants.

Now then, carry on. I'd better go shave my legs and lotion them.

- gae

* yes, yes, I just slipped that (movie) thing past you to see if you were paying attention. Eyes up here, people. Not on my naked legs. ;)