L.M. Pruitt's Blog, page 24
August 10, 2011
Writing Wednesday--Too Many Pots in the Kitchen?
Alas, this will be a super short blog - because I'm tired and I need a nap before doing the other things I must do before I can go have grown up play time. And wow, that entire thing sounded like it should be coming from a five year old.
Whenever you're cooking, whatever it is you happen to be cooking, there comes a point where you look at your stove and your counters and you think to yourself: "Self, what the hell is going on here? Why on earth do I have so many pots and pans and thingamajiggers?"
Sometimes, writing is like that. I'm currently in the upload/prep phase for the release of Shades of Gray , as well as doing stuff for the blog tour kicking off next week. There's two pots. I'm also editing Shades of Desire , in an effort to have it out by Halloween. Add another pot. I'm also doing my best to squeeze in time on my WIP, Taken, since I love the story and the characters and they're very loud. Add another pot. But then last night, my super secret may very well be my magnum opus started whispering to me last night. Add another pot.
Clearly, I have a lot of pots. So how do I decide which I need to front burner and which I need to back burner? And which needs to marinate a little more?
I'd like to say there's a method, but I'd be lying. With the two WIPs, it's pretty much whichever I'm going to get words on at the time. The things for SoG have to be done, so they're on constant front burner. SoD edits get done once or twice a week, as many chapters as possible, until my eyes start to cross. Hopefully by next week SoG will level out and I can devote more time to the other three, but I'm not counting those chickens until they hatch.
In other words, is it possible I have too many pots in the kitchen? Yes. Is there anything I can do about it but pray for a bigger stove and a sous chef? No. Until I can actually afford a sous chef (aka, personal assistant) I'll be manning the stove solo.
Good thing I come from a restaurant background.
Whenever you're cooking, whatever it is you happen to be cooking, there comes a point where you look at your stove and your counters and you think to yourself: "Self, what the hell is going on here? Why on earth do I have so many pots and pans and thingamajiggers?"
Sometimes, writing is like that. I'm currently in the upload/prep phase for the release of Shades of Gray , as well as doing stuff for the blog tour kicking off next week. There's two pots. I'm also editing Shades of Desire , in an effort to have it out by Halloween. Add another pot. I'm also doing my best to squeeze in time on my WIP, Taken, since I love the story and the characters and they're very loud. Add another pot. But then last night, my super secret may very well be my magnum opus started whispering to me last night. Add another pot.
Clearly, I have a lot of pots. So how do I decide which I need to front burner and which I need to back burner? And which needs to marinate a little more?
I'd like to say there's a method, but I'd be lying. With the two WIPs, it's pretty much whichever I'm going to get words on at the time. The things for SoG have to be done, so they're on constant front burner. SoD edits get done once or twice a week, as many chapters as possible, until my eyes start to cross. Hopefully by next week SoG will level out and I can devote more time to the other three, but I'm not counting those chickens until they hatch.
In other words, is it possible I have too many pots in the kitchen? Yes. Is there anything I can do about it but pray for a bigger stove and a sous chef? No. Until I can actually afford a sous chef (aka, personal assistant) I'll be manning the stove solo.
Good thing I come from a restaurant background.
August 9, 2011
Teaser Tuesday!
Whew! I honestly didn't know if I was going to get this up for you--today was like a Monday, but worse - first the car wouldn't start, work was slow, then found out had to replace the car battery, then came home to do uploads which I suck at apparently. And after this, I still need to work on stuff for the upcoming blog tour (more on that on Thursday). I'd like to say I'll get some editing and writing done, but I try to save lying for major occasions, like saving the world.
Speaking of saving the world, I just finished the Fever Series by Karen Marie Moning. Yes, I'm late. I read the first book a few months ago, and just couldn't get into the series. But I happened to be at the library last Thursday and they had the other four books and so I said, "Why not?" Thank God I did. I'm not sure if I'll buy the series, because as much as I loved it Mac did get on my nerves, but with Borders going out of business, I may get them on the cheap.
And speaking of the library, I also picked up the first three books in the Iron Fey series. (Thanks, Bookish Snob!) I actually plan to start reading as I'm getting into bed, so this teaser is way beyond random for me.
Speaking of saving the world, I just finished the Fever Series by Karen Marie Moning. Yes, I'm late. I read the first book a few months ago, and just couldn't get into the series. But I happened to be at the library last Thursday and they had the other four books and so I said, "Why not?" Thank God I did. I'm not sure if I'll buy the series, because as much as I loved it Mac did get on my nerves, but with Borders going out of business, I may get them on the cheap.
And speaking of the library, I also picked up the first three books in the Iron Fey series. (Thanks, Bookish Snob!) I actually plan to start reading as I'm getting into bed, so this teaser is way beyond random for me.
"Human?" The girl cocked her head the other way. I caught a glimpse of pink gills under her chin. "My sisters told me stories of humans. They said they sometimes sing to them to lure them underwater." She grinned, showing off her sharp needle-teeth. "I've been practicing. Want to hear?"So, clearly, I have no idea what's going on. But it sounds downright interesting.
August 8, 2011
Media Monday--Old Is New Again
Hopefully, you're actually paying attention, and you noticed the new title for Monday--Media Monday. I could, potentially, rattle on and on about music, but after a while it would get more than a little boring. By switching to media at large, it opens up movies and television as topic options. Which works well, since I'm not feeling musically inclined this morning, but I am in a movie mood.
Somehow, and don't ask me how since I actually don't know, my sister's four kids have been entrusted to me this morning. Don't get me wrong, I love them, but I planned on doing a lot of work, and four kids all under the age of ten do not exactly do "be quiet" for more than a few seconds. On top of which, I also don't have a lot of kid-friendly food, so they really don't do "be quiet". And yet, I have both the time and the brain function to write this blog. How, you might ask?
Robin Hood: Men in Tights
They've never seen this movie before. Ever. I'm torn between smacking my sister upside the head and thanking her, since the kids are enthralled with it. Granted, some of the humor goes right over their head, but for the most part they're cool. I felt the same way around 20 years ago when I first saw RH: MiT . I didn't get some of the humor, but I got the Robin Hood story, funny parts like ears being thrown, people falling off horses, those kinds of things.
And now that they've seen the movie, they'll remember it. Maybe not the exact name, but the funny parts. And chances are, in two or three decades, they'll be desperate and need something to distract the kids and will remember the movie their aunt showed them one day when they were driving her up the wall. And they'll either put in a DVD or a Blu-Ray or whatever new fangleled bit they're using and breathe a sigh of relief when the kids are entertained.
And so, everything old becomes new again, given enough time--and enough crazy kids in one room.
Somehow, and don't ask me how since I actually don't know, my sister's four kids have been entrusted to me this morning. Don't get me wrong, I love them, but I planned on doing a lot of work, and four kids all under the age of ten do not exactly do "be quiet" for more than a few seconds. On top of which, I also don't have a lot of kid-friendly food, so they really don't do "be quiet". And yet, I have both the time and the brain function to write this blog. How, you might ask?
Robin Hood: Men in Tights
They've never seen this movie before. Ever. I'm torn between smacking my sister upside the head and thanking her, since the kids are enthralled with it. Granted, some of the humor goes right over their head, but for the most part they're cool. I felt the same way around 20 years ago when I first saw RH: MiT . I didn't get some of the humor, but I got the Robin Hood story, funny parts like ears being thrown, people falling off horses, those kinds of things.
And now that they've seen the movie, they'll remember it. Maybe not the exact name, but the funny parts. And chances are, in two or three decades, they'll be desperate and need something to distract the kids and will remember the movie their aunt showed them one day when they were driving her up the wall. And they'll either put in a DVD or a Blu-Ray or whatever new fangleled bit they're using and breathe a sigh of relief when the kids are entertained.
And so, everything old becomes new again, given enough time--and enough crazy kids in one room.
August 5, 2011
Food Friday!
You know, until I started talking about food, I never realized how much we manage to say through food without actually saying anything. Yes, I'm aware the sentence doesn't make the best of sense, but just give this a few minutes. There's a nine out of ten chance I'll get where I'm trying to, even though I'm lacking a map.
When you hear Jell-o, what do you think? Me, I'm automatically transported to Ghostbusters 2, and the conversation about hating Jell-o, which I thoroughly agree with. It's just so... wiggly. Gives me the heebie jeebies. And it's also a firm reminder of elementary school lunches, which are tolerable at best and disgusting at worst, or at least that was the case back in the day.
I've rhapsodized about potato salad previously, so you're aware of my love for the dish. If you've been reading (which I hope you have), you'll also know that no version, at least to me, is quite as good as my mama's potato salad. When I'm eating it, I'm reminded both how much she loves me and how much I love her and how lucky I am in that relationship.
Fresh biscuits spread with a mixture of peanut butter and cane syrup will always, until the day I die, remind me of my grandfather and after dinner snacks on his knee. Grilled cheese? The first thing my grandmother ever taught me to cook, something I experimented with dozens of times, while she shook her head and asked me what on earth I was eating.
Ice cream? My friend Sam, who always gets Oreo, while I vary depending on the season and my mood. Ketchup? My friend Fili, who puts it on EVERYTHING. We've shared some moments, both hysterical and harrowing, and I won't ever look at either food without having some memory tug at me.
Which brings me back to the point I attempted to ellucidate above, before the trip down culinary lane. We, humans, we're messy, what with all our emotions and our links and our memories. I think if we had to spell out every emotion, live every memory repeatedly, we'd all go insane. So someone or something gave us the ability to link our emotions, our memories, with everyday things--like food.
You know if you come through the door and your mom or spouse or significant other has your favorite meal on the table that they were thinking of you, that they cared. And when you sit down and eat and relax and enjoy, they know they were appreciated, that their gift didn't go unnoticed. At the end of a long day, you can hold an entire conversation without ever saying a word.
Kind of makes you ponder your next food choice a little, doesn't it?
When you hear Jell-o, what do you think? Me, I'm automatically transported to Ghostbusters 2, and the conversation about hating Jell-o, which I thoroughly agree with. It's just so... wiggly. Gives me the heebie jeebies. And it's also a firm reminder of elementary school lunches, which are tolerable at best and disgusting at worst, or at least that was the case back in the day.
I've rhapsodized about potato salad previously, so you're aware of my love for the dish. If you've been reading (which I hope you have), you'll also know that no version, at least to me, is quite as good as my mama's potato salad. When I'm eating it, I'm reminded both how much she loves me and how much I love her and how lucky I am in that relationship.
Fresh biscuits spread with a mixture of peanut butter and cane syrup will always, until the day I die, remind me of my grandfather and after dinner snacks on his knee. Grilled cheese? The first thing my grandmother ever taught me to cook, something I experimented with dozens of times, while she shook her head and asked me what on earth I was eating.
Ice cream? My friend Sam, who always gets Oreo, while I vary depending on the season and my mood. Ketchup? My friend Fili, who puts it on EVERYTHING. We've shared some moments, both hysterical and harrowing, and I won't ever look at either food without having some memory tug at me.
Which brings me back to the point I attempted to ellucidate above, before the trip down culinary lane. We, humans, we're messy, what with all our emotions and our links and our memories. I think if we had to spell out every emotion, live every memory repeatedly, we'd all go insane. So someone or something gave us the ability to link our emotions, our memories, with everyday things--like food.
You know if you come through the door and your mom or spouse or significant other has your favorite meal on the table that they were thinking of you, that they cared. And when you sit down and eat and relax and enjoy, they know they were appreciated, that their gift didn't go unnoticed. At the end of a long day, you can hold an entire conversation without ever saying a word.
Kind of makes you ponder your next food choice a little, doesn't it?
August 4, 2011
Random Thursday!
Random thoughts running through my head:
Headlights: Is it really so impossible to make headlights that don't burn out? I mean, we have light bulbs that will last for years now--why can't we do the same thing with headlights? I ask, because it's super annoying having to replace them, especially when they cost a helluva lot more than just your regular light bulb.
Box Rentals: Are they great, or are they the devil in disguise? It's easy to forget that every dollar adds up, and even easier to forget that they add up quite a bit faster when you have multiple dollar-spenders floating around. Don't get me wrong, I love having the option--I don't love paying extra for "hot titles", or having a super limited selection, or a super early return time. But it's still better than NetFlix, at least for me.
Lack of Sleep: This ties into yesterday's post about books/movies that put images in your head and stay there. Considering this, it's probably not the best of ideas to reread Feed and Deadline. And yet, I'm seriously considering doing it. I'm already hardly sleeping due to Mark Reads and his reviews--what's a few more days without a solid sleep routine?
That, my friends, is all for the moment. Now, it's back to the grindstone--wish me luck!
Headlights: Is it really so impossible to make headlights that don't burn out? I mean, we have light bulbs that will last for years now--why can't we do the same thing with headlights? I ask, because it's super annoying having to replace them, especially when they cost a helluva lot more than just your regular light bulb.
Box Rentals: Are they great, or are they the devil in disguise? It's easy to forget that every dollar adds up, and even easier to forget that they add up quite a bit faster when you have multiple dollar-spenders floating around. Don't get me wrong, I love having the option--I don't love paying extra for "hot titles", or having a super limited selection, or a super early return time. But it's still better than NetFlix, at least for me.
Lack of Sleep: This ties into yesterday's post about books/movies that put images in your head and stay there. Considering this, it's probably not the best of ideas to reread Feed and Deadline. And yet, I'm seriously considering doing it. I'm already hardly sleeping due to Mark Reads and his reviews--what's a few more days without a solid sleep routine?
That, my friends, is all for the moment. Now, it's back to the grindstone--wish me luck!
August 3, 2011
Writing Wednesday!
This didn't post earlier because I actually needed time to mull things over in my head and get a coherent picture. And because I was tired, but that might have been due in part to the mulling.
Yesterday I recommended a site, Mark Reads, after going through his entire series of reviews on Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games. One of the reasons I was beyond excited about this is because while I loved the books, recommend them without pause, and will go see the movie on release day--I can't read them again. I honest to God can't. I read the series in 2 days and had disturbing dreams verging on nightmares for, oh, a week or so. Having read the reviews, I was reminded why I love the series--but I've also been blessed with those disturbing dreams again.
I had a similar experience a few months ago after reading Feed and Deadline by Mira Grant. I've never been one for post-apocyloptic novels, especially when you throw in zombies. And yet Grant's books sucked me in--I was actually a little annoyed that it was my birthday weekend and so I couldn't just hole up and devour them. When I came to the last sentence in Deadline, I literally--and I do mean literally--had chills and goosebumps all over me. The final book in the triology comes out May 2012 and I can't wait. At the same time, I could barely sleep for three or four days, and when I did, I did not have pretty dreams.
Now, before someone gets the idea that I'm just a total scaredy-cat, let me take this moment to say I'm a horror movie fan. Love them, whether they're good or bad or even awful. Does this mean I don't jump or I laugh at them? Not by any means. But nine movies out of ten do not affect me after I watch them. The two to three which have--The Blair Witch Project (1 &2) and Paranormal Activity--really did their job. I woke up in the middle of the night after watching Paranormal Activity, absolutely terrified, and had to call my mom before I could go back to sleep.
Grant and Collins, writing for different audiences, with different premises on the end/beginning of the world, heck, with totally different writing styles, managed to achieve the same effect on me. How?
In the same way the movies listed above did. They took the most basic of human emotions--love, fear, hatred--and blew them up. Blew them out of the water. I will never forget any of those books or movies because they made me feel to such an extreme as to be absolutely haunting.
If, just once, I have someone say the same thing about anything I've written, I'll know I've done an amazing job.
Yesterday I recommended a site, Mark Reads, after going through his entire series of reviews on Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games. One of the reasons I was beyond excited about this is because while I loved the books, recommend them without pause, and will go see the movie on release day--I can't read them again. I honest to God can't. I read the series in 2 days and had disturbing dreams verging on nightmares for, oh, a week or so. Having read the reviews, I was reminded why I love the series--but I've also been blessed with those disturbing dreams again.
I had a similar experience a few months ago after reading Feed and Deadline by Mira Grant. I've never been one for post-apocyloptic novels, especially when you throw in zombies. And yet Grant's books sucked me in--I was actually a little annoyed that it was my birthday weekend and so I couldn't just hole up and devour them. When I came to the last sentence in Deadline, I literally--and I do mean literally--had chills and goosebumps all over me. The final book in the triology comes out May 2012 and I can't wait. At the same time, I could barely sleep for three or four days, and when I did, I did not have pretty dreams.
Now, before someone gets the idea that I'm just a total scaredy-cat, let me take this moment to say I'm a horror movie fan. Love them, whether they're good or bad or even awful. Does this mean I don't jump or I laugh at them? Not by any means. But nine movies out of ten do not affect me after I watch them. The two to three which have--The Blair Witch Project (1 &2) and Paranormal Activity--really did their job. I woke up in the middle of the night after watching Paranormal Activity, absolutely terrified, and had to call my mom before I could go back to sleep.
Grant and Collins, writing for different audiences, with different premises on the end/beginning of the world, heck, with totally different writing styles, managed to achieve the same effect on me. How?
In the same way the movies listed above did. They took the most basic of human emotions--love, fear, hatred--and blew them up. Blew them out of the water. I will never forget any of those books or movies because they made me feel to such an extreme as to be absolutely haunting.
If, just once, I have someone say the same thing about anything I've written, I'll know I've done an amazing job.
August 2, 2011
Teaser Tuesday!
First, let me remind you to go and purchase Cold Vengeance, which came out today. I will be doing the same when I get off work, and I believe it will be full of awesomeness.
Second, in lieu of a teaser, I'm going to direct you to one of the best review/snark sites I've come across. Mark Reads is, like the book I plan to read, full of awesomeness. To further explain, I just read every review he wrote of Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games. I'm reminded why I loved the series and why I cannot read it again. Sitting in a restaurant, surrounding by people, tears streaming down my face--and that's just from the review.
Mark also reads other things, such as Twilight, Harry Potter, etc. The reviews are on a chapter by chapter basis, and posted on a regular basis. Whether you're new to a series, or just looking to be reminded (such as myself), it's a great site.
Mark Reads
And now--off to buy/read Cold Vengeance!
Second, in lieu of a teaser, I'm going to direct you to one of the best review/snark sites I've come across. Mark Reads is, like the book I plan to read, full of awesomeness. To further explain, I just read every review he wrote of Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games. I'm reminded why I loved the series and why I cannot read it again. Sitting in a restaurant, surrounding by people, tears streaming down my face--and that's just from the review.
Mark also reads other things, such as Twilight, Harry Potter, etc. The reviews are on a chapter by chapter basis, and posted on a regular basis. Whether you're new to a series, or just looking to be reminded (such as myself), it's a great site.
Mark Reads
And now--off to buy/read Cold Vengeance!
Blog Tour--e-Reading on the Cheap
After all that talk about men, you have to follow it up with a good kiss! Join me at e-Reading on the Cheap and find out about Jude and Theo's first kiss!
August 1, 2011
Music Monday!
Monday--also known as laundry day, hence the lateness of this post. And the fact I'm thinking about changing the day to Media Monday, so I have more options to explore. Decision later this week.
No grand statements this week, simply what's spinning on my iPod. Which this week is:
Adele--Turning Tables
Beyonce--Best Thing I Never Had
Taylor Swift--Fearless
Travis Tritt--Anymore
Shinedown--If You Only Knew
and finally....Melissa Ethridge--Come To My Window
The last one more so because I read a great line about someone being Melissa Ethridge-d when someone did, in fact, come to their window than any other reason.
Happy Monday!
No grand statements this week, simply what's spinning on my iPod. Which this week is:
Adele--Turning Tables
Beyonce--Best Thing I Never Had
Taylor Swift--Fearless
Travis Tritt--Anymore
Shinedown--If You Only Knew
and finally....Melissa Ethridge--Come To My Window
The last one more so because I read a great line about someone being Melissa Ethridge-d when someone did, in fact, come to their window than any other reason.
Happy Monday!
July 28, 2011
Random Thursday--New Cover!
It's here! I'm super excited about the new cover for Shades of Gray, out mid-August. Here's a look at it:
My promotional blog tour kicks off on August 17, and I'm already gearing up for that. We've got interviews, book excerpts and guest posts all lined up and I can't wait. In the meantime, check out Hole in the Wall on both Smashwords and Goodreads for free. It's an exclusive e-book featuring Jude and just what she was up to the night before everything went haywire.
As always--happy reading!
My promotional blog tour kicks off on August 17, and I'm already gearing up for that. We've got interviews, book excerpts and guest posts all lined up and I can't wait. In the meantime, check out Hole in the Wall on both Smashwords and Goodreads for free. It's an exclusive e-book featuring Jude and just what she was up to the night before everything went haywire.
As always--happy reading!
