Ellyn Oaksmith's Blog, page 14
July 22, 2014
The Rosie Project -- The Perfect Summer Read
There is usually a hot summer song by Rihanna or Katy Perry or some random lucky band that seems to hit it just right — that is playing on the radio every summer. And it seems like there is a book you see more frequently on the beaches. The same book that appeared in women’s magazines in the spring that some savvy publicist has promised will make your vacation that much more fun and boy, you’d better read this sucker or your life will not be complete.
Take it from someone who is emphatically not a publicist but rather a slightly jealous writer who wishes she’d written this book because it’s so smart and funny and delightful that I read it in two days. Had I not needed to drive back across the entire state of Washington after dropping my daughter at camp I would have stayed in Pullman and finished the book.
The Rosie Project is the kind of book that begins in the right place, ends leaving you feeling totally charmed and wishing there was just one more chapter. And you tell all your friends to read it.
Don Tillaman is a genetics professor who seems to have much in common with the Asperger syndrome patients he studies: few social skills, trouble relating to other people’s emotions, an obsessive need for order and rules and a single-minded ability to focus for long periods of time. His brain in a sponge. Lonely and forty, he approaches finding a wife with the methodiocal logic he applies to every area of his life: he creates a questionaire for the perfect mate. Much like the romantic comedies Dr. Tillman studies for clues into the social norms of romance and dating, a free spirited cocktail waitress named Rosie comes into his life. He mistakes her for someone who has filled out his questionaire and ends up helping her, using his skills as a genticist, to help her find the identity of her father, whom she has never met.
Seeing the world through Don Tillman’s eyes is to be a tourist in another world in the company of an endearing, heartbreakingly earnest man who is often perplexed by his fellow humans. He stumbles into what he belatedly realizes is love with Rosie, opening his constrained life to the messy, confusing and often painful world of love.
The journey is funny, heart-warming and utterly delightful. What fun to be re-living the plots of the world’s greatest romantic comedies while reading a book that follows their formulas with great success.
We’re in the middle of summer. Do yourself a favor and pack this book along with your sunscreen and your flipflops. You won’t regret it.
July 18, 2014
Hallmark Cards I'd Like to See
Sorry you lost your Chihuahua. You’ve made an eagle very happy.
Sorry about your break up. We all hated him anyway.
Congratulations on your pregnancy. Your life will get back to normal never.
Wishing you were here. No I’m not. I need a break from you.
Happy Halloween. You scare me.
Congratulation on your new job. I hope this one lasts.
Congratulations on your engagement. You could totally do better.
Here’s a link to my funny book: http://www.amazon.com/Divine-Moves-Ellyn-Oaksmith-ebook/dp/B00H1ZC8UW
July 17, 2014
Favorite Summer Moments -- So Far
Okay, so no, this is not my daugher and I although if you look at the blond dog, she is a bit scabby and more gnarled, so maybe that’s me. Anyway, this represents one of my top moments of summer so far — #1 singing along to Taylor Swift in the car with my daughter on a very hot day. We were on our way to Home Depot of get spray paint for some wicker chairs and a bench. Ahead of us was a hot day and five cans of spray paint. The sky was blue. Taylor was belting her heart out. And I was in the moment. Super happy.
#2 Drinking a nice sized Chopin martini at Milagro with my handsome husband beside me on another super hot day. The bar was cool, the icy drink was perfection. We’d met after work and on the way there I thought how happy I was to be still so in love with the same man I’d known for 20 years.
#3 Leaving the library with a bag full of books. Always a happy moment.
Have your own happy moment with a good read:
July 2, 2014
So I'm a little accident prone
Don’t Google the words Image and Accident Prone together. Yuck. Not good. Just be happy that I did it for you.
So I’m accident prone. The tally for this year: a concussion and massive contusion that is 4 months old on my hip from a ski accident, a bruised tail bone from a bike accident yesterday, untold cuts and burns from kitchen accidents, a chipped kneecap from a slipping on wet pavement in my super cute and super slick soled boots and wait, that’s not really all that bad 7 months into the year. By this time last year I’d broken my arm.
There is a picture of me as a ten year old, grinning happily from my perch on a bar stool. My knees and shins tell another story. They look like camo, with their bruises in alarming shaded of purple, blue, yellow and black. Back then I probably did what I do now: rush around heedless of my limbs, my mind on other things as I navigate stairs, furniture and sports. I once broke my toe jumping up to answer the phone. Another time I stood up from putting on my shoes and knocked myself out on the open cupboard door right above my head.
My husband normally finds it amusing, once he’s ascertained that no, we don’t need to go to the ER and no, I’m not in pain. He’s gotten used to calls at the office that start out, “I’m alright but I just cut my finger.” Or tripped or fell off a ladder. Or tried out my nephew’s skateboard which is much harder than it looks.
One would hope that with age comes a certain amount of wisdom and dignity but at 50 I’m fresh off my latest accident and wondering when the wisdom will kick in.
Maybe I need to slow down.
Ha! Like that will happen.
June 27, 2014
Review of Middle Reader Book - Dreamwood
From the first scene on a train when we meet Lucy Darrington, we can tell she’s made of stern stuff, determined to find her missing father in the deeps woods of Sadaarthe. At every step of the way Lucy encounters great obstacles — giant sea snakes, native people who zealously guard the land, animals with dangerous magical powers. The closer Lucy gets to her goal the more dangerous and complicated her world gets. Will she find her father? Will she survive even as grown men are dying on this expedition? What exactly happened to the settlement of people on Devil’s Thumb, the haunted outcropping of land where Lucy seeks her father? As the story expands, so do the plot twists and mysteries.<br><br>This is a rollicking adventure with a lovable heroine who is both prickly and serious, not afraid to push for what she wants.<br><br>Both boys and girls will enjoy this adventure story as will the parents lucky enough to spend their time reading this story aloud. I loved it and recommend it for all ages.
June 20, 2014
Ten Life Lessons from a Navy Seal
Did I get your attention with the photo? Now read the attacked link. Very inspirational.
http://www.lifebuzz.com/10-lessons-from-navy-seal/#!
Where to Jump In?
So I’ve been looking for a new agent. When sending a manuscript out the first chapter has to jump out and hook that agent in the cheek, drag her (usually it’s a her) kicking and screaming into the boat of my story where hopefully we’ll both sail off into the happily ever after of a long and productive relationship that includes the words best and seller smooshed together.
Agents don’t want a new client unless the manuscript is extraordinary because selling books is tougher than ever with the compeition from self published authors, Amazon and heavily discounted backlist e-books. An agent won’t represent a book they like or find amusing. They have to love it.
Where to start that first chapter is crucial. My manuscript, Fifty Acts of Kindness is about a selfish, career obsessed woman forced to live with her mother, a self help author who runs a nudist colony. It used to start with the main character getting fired. I thought that was where the story should have begun. But when I wasn’t a getting a great reaction from agents, I took a second look at the first chapter. Maybe seeing her get fired and why she got fired made her seem too mean and unsympathetic. She screams at a pregnant woman, berating her for making some pretty terrible mistakes but still, it’s the first time we meet her. And she’s a bitch.
So I lopped off the first three chapters. Now the book starts with her on the train platform as she comes home. She hasn’t told her mother she’s arrived. She doesn’t know that her mother is running a nudist colony and she doesn’t know how her mother will react. I have to layer in all in the information from the first three chapters into the rest of the book.
Will it work? I haven’t finished the re-write. My kids are home for the summer and writing time is limited. But I’m plugging away. So stay tuned for details.
June 3, 2014
A not so funny topic. Depression.
So I write comedic books that deal with people in traumatic situations. I also struggle with depression. I’ve never said this publically before so here it goes: My name is Ellyn Oaksmith and I struggle with depression. Clap. Clap. Clap. Most of the time I’m sickeningly high on life but there is always this dark side, which is funny, usuallly, to me.
But sometimes this grey fog of lethargy and disinterest in life sneaks up on me for untold reasons. What normally gives me joy seems “eh.” Digging for meaning I try praying but my conviction is pathetic. I’m a cliche: a depressed writer.
Oddly enough I don’t have enough energy for anxiety. Oh for the days when I worried about everything. It meant I cared.
True depression is a sinkhole into which reality cannot shine. Right now I am exhausted, leaving food in weird places, my memory is worse than ever, and I want to hibernate through summer.
In my 20’s there was a serious deep dark pit of a depression which I dug myself out of through therapy (thank you mom and dad) and medication (thank you large drug companies.)
When I look at the facts of my life: great kids (albeit normal teenage drama/attitude) fabulous husband (who does heroic things to make the unfixable better) and great writing career I should be tap dancing and thanking my lucky stars. But I can’t.
What I can do is help other people (Mark Twain said the best way to cheer youself up is to cheer up someone else) keep working out, eat well, don’t drink too much wine (a depressant) and drag my butt into a therapist’s or doctor’s office if the fog doesn’t lift.
Contrary to the cult of cheerfulness, it’s okay to be depressed. Unless of course you feel like harming yourself or someone else. In that case — go on red alert and get help.
So if you struggle with depression, take courage, watch comedy or read a funny book for distraction (I humbly suggest: Divine Moves or Adventures with Max and Louise ) and seek help if the fog doesn’t lift.
May 30, 2014
New Summer Reading List -- Maya Angelou Style
Click on poster to hop. To win a prize, click on Ellyn Oaksmith Books and LIKE me. Prizes: summer reading basket with my book, DIVINE MOVES, straws, lemonaide and reading journal.
1)
This book has offered me peace, wisdom, courage and solace in times of death, loss and…
May 28, 2014
New Summer Reading List -- Maya Angelou Style
Click on poster to hop. To win a prize, click on Ellyn Oaksmith Books and LIKE me. Prizes: summer reading basket with my book, DIVINE MOVES, straws, lemonaide and reading journal.
1) 
This book has offered me peace, wisdom, courage and solace in times of death, loss and triumph when I am not sure I’m up to the challenge. Can’t say enough about this little volume. Get it!
2) 
A joyful continuation of Angelou’s life, which, as always, reads better than any fictional tale.
3) 
The book that started it all. The pain of her childhood combined with the joy of love, family and discovering her gift — stories. An amazing book that changed my world when I was in grade school. An unforgettable book.
4) 
Not by Maya but another masterpiece. Science fiction for people who don’t like science fiction. It pulls you in as surely as the moon the story that revolves around the eery story of lovers who may or may not ever meet. Stunning.
