Lisa M. Lilly's Blog, page 15
March 9, 2016
A Hundred Ways To Look At Hillary (A Favorite Books Post)
This book generated the most book club discussion.My clearest first memory of Hillary Clinton is from 1992. She reacted to criticisms of why she'd worked as a lawyer even while having a child by saying, “I suppose I could have stayed home, baked cookies and had teas.” She went on to point out that her work as a professional and a public advocate had been aimed at ensuring women could make choices, “whether it’s full-time career, full-time motherhood or some combination,” but that aspect of her comment wasn’t widely reported.While I wasn’t excited about her husband’s candidacy, Hillary intrigued me. I’d grown up in a world where only one of my friend’s moms worked, and when other parents talked about it, they whispered she works as a hushed aside, the same way people said she has cancer. That was always followed up with speculation that her husband’s business must not be going very well. Because of that, much as I loved the cookies and cakes my mom baked (which I often traded for store bought Ho-Hos we couldn’t afford), I liked Hillary’s unabashed statement. My mom, along with her baking, also got involved in local politics, served on boards of non-profits, and volunteered on a regular basis with various organizations, so she provided me an example of a strong, smart woman who got things done. But Hillary said unequivocally, yes, a woman can be a professional, a woman can pursue a career, and there is nothing wrong with that.
When Hillary Clinton ran for president in 2008, my women’s book group read a book that sparked more discussion than any other: Thirty Ways of Looking at Hillary. Normally, I’m not a fan of books of essays. I love novels, particularly suspense and thrillers, and I read them all the time (and write them), but I have to push myself to read essays and non-fiction, other than business and finance books. But these essays I love because they run the gamut. The writers not only address Hillary Clinton as a person and politician, examining her past, her aspirations, and her actions, they consider what her life and choices—and the widely varying endorsements and critiques of them—say about our world. The essay titles alone fascinate me, from The Yellow Pantsuit to All Hail Betty Boop to Cheating to How Hungry is Hillary? (For my thoughts on how commentary of her wardrobe reflects the extra effort and thought women must put into being seen as professional, see Do The Clothes Make The Woman?)
Now that she's completed one presidential primary campaign, served as Secretary of State, and is once again seeking to become President of the United States, there is more and more to say about Hillary Clinton, but one things remains the same: she sparks strong feelings in everyone. So my main goal for the primary season, other than avoiding as many political ads as possible, is to reread Thirty Ways of Looking at Hillary.
March 2, 2016
Will The Real Lawyer, Writer, [Insert Your Profession Here] Please Stand Up?
When The Awakening appeared on Best Sellers in HorrorWhen I worked as a paralegal and was nearing the end of law school, I talked with an attorney about a lawyer position I'd been offered. It didn't involve much trial work, and I said that in my mind a real lawyer was one who tried cases. He told me that though he tried a lot of personal injury cases, he felt he wasn't a real trial lawyer because he'd never tried a murder.That feeling that whatever we do is not quite the real thing is sometimes known as the “imposter syndrome.” I recently shifted from full time lawyer who is writing on the side to full time author who practices law part time. This change has caused me to think more about identity and work, including what factors might affect the imposter syndrome.
Who feels it?
In the articles I read, the experts estimated that as much as 70% of the public experiences the imposter syndrome at one time or another. In fact, the New York Times quoted Maya Angelou, the late author and poet who spoke at President Obama's Inauguration, as saying she felt with each new book that people would find her out and realize she wasn't as accomplished as she was reputed to be. While some studies suggest women are more apt than men to feel like imposters, some U.S. presidents (obviously all men to date) have reported feeling that way on their first day in the Oval Office. Also, the two lawyers I spoke with about this were men. The first was the one mentioned above. The second was a male prosecutor. He'd been practicing about three years when we had the conversation, the same amount of time I had. I told him he seemed more like a real lawyer to me because he was in court more than I was. He said he thought I was more like a real lawyer because I often researched and wrote briefs (written arguments to submit on paper to the court) and analyzed and argued complex legal issues in ways more similar to what we’d learned to do in law school.
As Seen On TV
I suspect that professions frequently shown in television shows, books, and movies are more apt to trigger imposter feelings. Pop culture depicts the most exciting parts of any profession, leaving anyone who actually does those jobs feeling like they're the only ones doing the drudge work.
When I was practicing law full-time, a typical week went like this: get on an hour long conference call; read a document my opponent filed with the court; research cases in a legal database; write a legal brief; email clients and other lawyers; and rewrite that same legal brief four or five times. Maybe 15% of my work involved trials, hearings, or appellate arguments, but usually if I went to court, it was for all of fifteen minutes to an hour to argue a motion. In other words, the video would show: work at my desk, work at my desk, work at my desk, walk two blocks to court, sit, talk, return to my office and work at my desk. Even the criminal lawyers I know who try a lot of cases—making their jobs more like what’s on television—typically spend at least half their time sitting in court waiting for their cases to be called, trying to collect fees from clients, and driving from courthouse to courthouse. Likewise, I suspect most doctors don't find their lives nearly as exciting as those on television.
What's Money Got To Do With It?
How much we get paid or whether we get paid at all matters. Yet how much a person makes, especially in the arts, often has little to do with the quality of work. I've seen plays in various cities in the United States, including New York, and in London. The ones I’ve thought were the most amazing were at small storefront theaters in Chicago where many of the actors, directors, and other artists involved needed to have other full or part-time jobs. Likewise, most novelists, with notable exceptions like Stephen King and Mary Higgins Clark, take on other work to help pay their bills. All the same, not making a full-time living at what you do can make it easy to feel you’re not worthy of calling yourself an actor, author, designer, artist, etc.
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As an author (and a lawyer), getting paid matters to me because it means I can spend my time doing work I love rather than working only with the goal of surviving. Equally important, it means there’s a demand for what I do. On the other hand, commercial success doesn't always leave people feeling satisfied or "real." The movie Birdman focuses on an actor with tremendous commercial success who feels the need to do "serious" work in order to feel like a real actor. Similarly, I know independent/self published authors who make a better living than authors published by traditional print publishers, but they still get asked whether what they truly want is a "real" book deal.
Longevity and passion often matter as much as money when it comes to identifying ourselves with our work. If you’ve been writing poems for twenty years, whether or not you show them to anyone or publish any, you probably feel like a poet. Similarly, if you love your work for a non-profit medical clinic treating homeless people, that may be less important to you than whether you could earn three or even ten times more as a plastic surgeon. For myself, I try to balance all these factors and focus on the best parts of my writing life and law practice.
Beware The Shifting Bar
Viewing goals as unimportant or easy to achieve once we’ve met or surpassed them adds to the feeling of being an imposter. For many years, I never called myself an author, as opposed to a writer, because I hadn’t had anything published. Then once I’d had poems, short stories, and articles published in magazines, I still wouldn’t call myself an author because those publications paid very little or nothing at all. I felt that way even though many literary magazines and trade journals don’t pay their authors, and even though before I had those pieces published, getting into any of those publications seemed like a high hurdle. Years later, when I started publishing my thrillers, my goal was for the first one, The Awakening, to appear in the Top 10 on the Kindle occult or horror best seller lists. When that happened, I was very excited, particularly since it appeared alongside a Stephen King novel and stayed on both lists for many weeks. I printed out the horror list the first time and framed it (see above--this is in my home office). But within a week or so it didn't feel as significant. In retrospect, it seemed easier to have achieved, and it didn't feel like the stamp of approval I'd once imagined it to be.
All the same, I believe in setting new and larger goals all the time. It keeps life and work exciting and compelling and keeps me moving forward. But I try to remember how hard certain goals, like the first 10,000 downloads or the first $1,000 in sales were before I rush to the adjust the bar.
What about you? Do you feel like a "real" [insert your profession here]? Why or why not? Would you like to feel differently?
February 24, 2016
Busy Week With Joss The Bird Whedon, The Conflagration, And A New Website
I can't believe another Wednesday is here already. During the past week, I finished rewrites to The Conflagration (Book 3 of 4 in The Awakening series) based on comments from beta readers. Yesterday I printed the full manuscript to review once again. I'm hoping I'll be satisfied enough to make minimal changes and send it off for final editing/proofreading early next month.In the meantime, I've been working with Don Herion of The Sorcerer's Workshop on a redesign of my author website (and by "working with" I mean driving crazy with changes and questions that betray my lack of understanding of web design). Don created stunning book slides for the home page, as well as adapted and updated the previous site for Wordpress to make it easier for me to edit and for others to read on their phones. If you're reading this post on Blogger and would like to check out the new design for the site, click here. If you're already on the new site, hey, take a look around.
Last but not at all least, I've been keeping up with a new friend, Joss The Bird Whedon, Joss for short. He's pictured in the photo above perfecting his high wire (or is it side wire?) act. Yes, he is named for the creator of Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Angel, Firefly, etc. Unfortunately, Joss has been under the weather for the past couple days, so I'm taking him to the vet tomorrow.
Why am I telling you all this, other than to have an excuse to post a photo of a cute baby parakeet? Well, that's reason enough, but it's also to explain why I'm writing such a short post this week. Hope you'll stop by again next Wednesday.
Stay tuned.
February 17, 2016
The Cost Of A Car And The Cost Of A Home (Thoughts After A Trip To The Auto Show)
This past Monday I went to the auto show. I love looking at the new cars, the different tracks where they are test driven on various terrains, and the promotional videos and displays, which get more stunning every year. The show also gives me ideas about the characters I write about, as the car a person drives says a lot about that person's choices and circumstances.I don't own a car. Living in Chicago makes owning a car a hassle (it's a struggle to find parking), and it comes with numerous unnecessary expenses (again, for example, parking--where I live and wherever I go for work or fun). I prefer to have more money to spend on my home rather than a car and to simplify my life by walking, taking public transportation, or renting a ZipCar when I need one.
That didn't stop me, though, from enjoying the Auto Show, including the super cars (see photo above). According to the Auto Show website, a super car, also known as "an exotic car, is a $100,000-plus ultra-high-performance sports car or grand tourer."
One of the characters in my Awakening series, Erik Holmes, owns at least one Rolls Royce, though it hasn't made an appearance yet. He also owns a black Jaguar and a silver BMW Series 7. These cars say a lot about who he is, how he spends his money, and how much of it he has. My main character, Tara Spencer, drives a used Saturn her parents own.
In real life, I lost track of how much the cost of cars has gone up until recently when one of my nephews told me his car payment is higher than his rent. Granted, he has a brand new Mustang and he lives somewhere with much lower housing costs than Chicago's, but that's still significant. At the Auto Show, the Rolls Royce in the photo was listed at $548,700 (see sign at right). For perspective, in downtown Chicago, the the median home price last year was $295,000, 54% of the price of the Rolls Royce. In Englewood, which is low income, the median price for a home, according to truvia.com, was $45,000.Our country includes people who can't afford a $45,000 home and those who can buy a $548,700 car. Economic circumstances certainly aren't the only ones that matter, whether it comes to creating fictional characters or understanding real people. But this trip to the Auto Show gave me some perspective on one of the reasons many people can hold such radically different views of the same political candidates or the same political/economic/social ideas.
February 10, 2016
How To Peek At Other People's Bookshelves And Win Autographed Books
One my bookshelves with autographed favorite novels.If you love books the way I do, you probably have book titles that friends recommended to you typed into cryptic notes on your phone or written on scraps of paper you put in your pocket, forget about, and find again in shreds after doing the laundry. When I make the effort track down a book, though, usually I love it, and I buy or borrow all the author's works. Then I wonder how many other great recommendations I've forgotten. Which is too bad because I depend on suggestions from others to sort through all the wonderful novels out there. I find television shows the same way, which is how I became a steady viewer of Mad Men, The Killing, and, more recently, The Flash.A couple years ago, a friend from a book group sent me the perfect solution to my book problem. (Thanks, Andrea!) She invited me to join Goodreads.com.
What's On Your Friends' Shelves?
One of my favorite things about Goodreads is I can check out what other people have put on their shelves when I am trying to decide what to read next. I also created separate shelves for types of books I've read or want to read, including Wiscon 2014, which lists books recommended at the conference panels I attended; mystery-and-private-eye, a genre I love, so these are books I've already read and reviewed; and books discussing Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Most of the Buffy books are on my actual shelves, too. I created the virtual shelf to make it easier for other Buffy fans to find them.
Detailed Info On Likes And Dislikes
I find Goodreads reviewers tend to be more specific than readers on other sites about what works and doesn't for them. Once toward the beginning of Doctor Sleep by Stephen King (the sort of sequel to The Shining), I felt less interested than I'd expected. I didn't like the main character much, and I wasn't sure I'd finish given the many hours I was working at the time. But enough people on Goodreads said they'd felt the same at the start but ended liking the book that I continued. It still isn't my favorite Stephen King novel--that's The Dead Zone--but it was worth finishing Doctor Sleep. I've also occasionally bought a book based on a negative Goodreads review because I figured I'd like exactly what the reviewer did not about the novel.
Free Autographed Books
Periodically, publishers and authors offer giveaways of books on Goodreads, often autographed ones. (If you list a book on your To Read shelf, sometimes Goodreads will email to let you know a giveaway is happening.) Right now, as part of preparing to publish Book 3 in my Awakening series, I'm offering 10 autographed trade paperback editions of The Unbelievers (The Awakening, Book 2) to readers in the U.S.
For a chance to win, sign up here by February 13, 2016.
Enter today, as the giveaway is only open until February 13, 2016. Watch this space for announcements regarding Book 3 of 4 in The Awakening series, The Conflagration, and/or connect with me on Goodreads. Happy reading!
How To Peek At Other's Bookshelves And Win Autographed Books
One my bookshelves with autographed favorite novels.If you love books the way I do, you probably have book titles that friends recommended to you typed into cryptic notes on your phone or written on scraps of paper you put in your pocket, forget about, and find again in shreds after doing the laundry. When I make the effort track down a book, though, usually I love it, and I buy or borrow all the author's works. Then I wonder how many other great recommendations I've forgotten. Which is too bad because I depend on suggestions from others to sort through all the wonderful novels out there. I find television shows the same way, which is how I became a steady viewer of Mad Men, The Killing, and, more recently, The Flash.A couple years ago, a friend from a book group sent me the perfect solution to my book problem. (Thanks, Andrea!) She invited me to join Goodreads.com.
What's On Your Friends' Shelves?
One of my favorite things about Goodreads is I can check out what other people have put on their shelves when I am trying to decide what to read next. I also created separate shelves for types of books I've read or want to read, including Wiscon 2014, which lists books recommended at the conference panels I attended; mystery-and-private-eye, a genre I love, so these are books I've already read and reviewed; and books discussing Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Most of the Buffy books are on my actual shelves, too. I created the virtual shelf to make it easier for other Buffy fans to find them.
Detailed Info On Likes And Dislikes
I find Goodreads reviewers tend to be more specific than readers on other sites about what works and doesn't for them. Once toward the beginning of Doctor Sleep by Stephen King (the sort of sequel to The Shining), I felt less interested than I'd expected. I didn't like the main character much, and I wasn't sure I'd finish given the many hours I was working at the time. But enough people on Goodreads said they'd felt the same at the start but ended liking the book that I continued. It still isn't my favorite Stephen King novel--that's The Dead Zone--but it was worth finishing Doctor Sleep. I've also occasionally bought a book based on a negative Goodreads review because I figured I'd like exactly what the reviewer did not about the novel.
Free Autographed Books
Periodically, publishers and authors offer giveaways of books on Goodreads, often autographed ones. (If you list a book on your To Read shelf, sometimes Goodreads will email to let you know a giveaway is happening.) Right now, as part of preparing to publish Book 3 in my Awakening series, I'm offering 10 autographed trade paperback editions of The Unbelievers (The Awakening, Book 2) to readers in the U.S.
For a chance to win, sign up here by February 13, 2016.
Enter today, as the giveaway is only open until February 13, 2016. Watch this space for announcements regarding Book 3 of 4 in The Awakening series, The Conflagration, and/or connect with me on Goodreads. Happy reading!
February 3, 2016
Five Ways To Relax and Why You Should Try One This Week
Today we can do so many things more quickly and easily than was possible in my parents' time. We can send and receive texts and email in an instant, cook entire meals in a microwave, and watch movies and television shows on our own devices at the touch of a button. Yet it often seems life has become more frantic and busy. With so many choices and options come more demands on our time, as well as the feeling that we ought to fill every available minute. Not to mention, many people at all ends of the income spectrum feel they are working harder and longer than ever. When we do have time to relax, it seems almost impossible to unwind. But the benefits of relaxation, a few of which are listed below, are tremendous. I suspect that's why lately I see so many coloring books available for grown ups. Using art—no particular talent required—is one of five ways I’ve found to relax.
An artist creates a painting during a concert at Tavern of Fine Arts in St. LouisThe Benefits Of Finding Ways To Relax
Easier Problem Solving: Have you ever spent days or weeks struggling with a work or personal issue, only to have a solution come to you as you drift to sleep at night or take a long shower? The creative part of our mind needs to be relaxed to pull together the analytical work we’ve done to help us solve problems. That’s why after spending hours or days researching a legal issue or gathering information for my next novel, I take a break. Time away from the problem almost always ultimately saves time, as I find a solution more quickly than if I kept slogging away.
Better Health And Happiness: Increased alpha waves, which are the brain waves associated with relaxation and meditation, have been linked to better overall health and well-being. For most people, increasing alpha brain waves lowers blood pressure, boosts the body’s immune system, and increases serotonin, the brain chemical that can help counteract depression.
More Success: Artists and other people in creative fields tend to experience alpha brain waves more often than other people. Interestingly, so do top performing athletes. In the moment before the perfect golf shot, tennis stroke, or home run, the best performing athletes relax, let go of all they’ve learned consciously, and immerse themselves in the moment. This is what's known as being "in the zone." It feels wonderful, and it’s linked to high performance.
Traveled to St. Louis & saw a Chicago band, SwitchbackBy now you're probably thinking that all sounds fine, but who has time? Fortunately, you don’t need to sit on a pillow and count your breaths for twenty minutes a day to relax.
Five Enjoyable Ways To Relax
Music: Listening to music is a great way to relax. You can listen to audio or attend a live performance. A live performance often provides more relaxation because it prevents you from feeling you ought to be simultaneously doing something else while listening to the music. I get great ideas for my novels while attending concerts. When I visited St. Louis recently, I saw Chicago band Switchback in concert. The songs had nothing to do with the mystery series I'm planning to write, but as I listened and tapped my foot, ideas about my new main character flooded my mind. Practicing an instrument, regardless of skill level, is another great way to give the analytic part of your mind a break. As you learn chords, practice scales, or immerse yourself in rhythm, you can let go of all your other stresses and concerns.
Coloring And Other Art: You don't need to be an artist to use visual art as a way to relax. Coloring books for adults offer all types of images, including gardens, animals, and geometric patterns, to color, whether inside or outside the lines. You can find a sampling of them here. Coloring gives you a chance to focus on something immediate and enjoyable. When you’re finished, you have a feeling of accomplishment, but there’s no need to show anyone else if you don’t want to, so there’s no added stress from outside regarding whether the art is “good.” If you prefer looking at art, museums can be a great way to relax. The images and art objects there offer your mind something new and different to consider and temporarily wipe away other worries and concerns.
One of the winter views from the Amtrak from St. Louis to Chicago.
Riding The Train: I recently took Amtrak from Chicago to St. Louis and back. I did some work on the train, revising the third book in my Awakening series. But I also spent time simply looking out the window. Looking at nature, whether it’s during a walk, through a window, or in a picture relaxes people. The train is a great way to do that while you travel. Unlike when you’re in the sky on a plane, you’re close enough throughout the trip to see the countryside. And unlike driving, you don’t need to pay attention to directions or operating a vehicle. If normally drive or fly on vacation or for work and it's feasible to take a train, give it a try and see how you like it. Or take a short train trip just for the experience. You'll relax and, who knows, you might find something fun on the other end.
Walking: The rhythm of walking lulls the mind into the same sort of contemplative, relaxed state that occurs during sitting meditation. The key is to simply walk, not listen to music or audio or rehash your latest worries in your head. Let your mind wander. Let yourself feel bored if necessary, and soon your muscles will relax and your mind will rest. Walking also has the advantage of being a means of transportation. In Chicago, it’s often quicker and easier to walk a mile than to drive it, and it’s always cheaper, as it doesn’t require insurance, paying for parking, or filling the gas tank. If you're not used to walking, start with the equivalent of a few blocks. Or add a very short walk—say from one side of your office building to the other or from the farthest parking spot to the entrance—several times a day. If you don't live somewhere conducive to walking, consider driving to a park or indoor track once a week.
The Book House in St. LouisReading: Studies show people in hospital waiting rooms are less stressed or upset when they read novels than when they do anything else. Fiction allows us to jump into another world and leave our own behind. If you're not used to reading or you feel like reading is a waste of time, try setting a timer for 15 minutes before you open the book. This reassures you that not too much time will be used. It also helps you persist if initially you don’t find the writing engaging. A great time to read fiction is right before you go to sleep. It helps your mind transition away from the day’s events. When I'm able to read at least half an hour before going to bed, I sleep better and wake up more refreshed. Goodreads is a great site for book recommendations. And if you like books in the mystery, occult, suspense, or thriller genres, you can subscribe to my M.O.S.T. e-newsletter here for monthly reviews and recommendations.
I hope the above options help you become more relaxed and happy! Feel free to comment on your favorite way to relax below.
------------------------------------------------------------
Lisa M. Lilly is the author of the occult thrillers The Awakening and The Unbelievers, Books 1 and 2 in the Awakening series. A short film of the title story of her collection The Tower Formerly Known as Sears and Two Other Tales of Urban Horror was recently produced under the title Willis Tower. If you'd like to be notified of new releases and read reviews of M.O.S.T. (Mystery, Occult, Suspense, Thriller) books and movies, click here to join her email list and receive free a short horror story, Ninevah, published exclusively to M.O.S.T. subscribers.
An artist creates a painting during a concert at Tavern of Fine Arts in St. LouisThe Benefits Of Finding Ways To Relax
Easier Problem Solving: Have you ever spent days or weeks struggling with a work or personal issue, only to have a solution come to you as you drift to sleep at night or take a long shower? The creative part of our mind needs to be relaxed to pull together the analytical work we’ve done to help us solve problems. That’s why after spending hours or days researching a legal issue or gathering information for my next novel, I take a break. Time away from the problem almost always ultimately saves time, as I find a solution more quickly than if I kept slogging away.
Better Health And Happiness: Increased alpha waves, which are the brain waves associated with relaxation and meditation, have been linked to better overall health and well-being. For most people, increasing alpha brain waves lowers blood pressure, boosts the body’s immune system, and increases serotonin, the brain chemical that can help counteract depression.
More Success: Artists and other people in creative fields tend to experience alpha brain waves more often than other people. Interestingly, so do top performing athletes. In the moment before the perfect golf shot, tennis stroke, or home run, the best performing athletes relax, let go of all they’ve learned consciously, and immerse themselves in the moment. This is what's known as being "in the zone." It feels wonderful, and it’s linked to high performance.
Traveled to St. Louis & saw a Chicago band, SwitchbackBy now you're probably thinking that all sounds fine, but who has time? Fortunately, you don’t need to sit on a pillow and count your breaths for twenty minutes a day to relax.Five Enjoyable Ways To Relax
Music: Listening to music is a great way to relax. You can listen to audio or attend a live performance. A live performance often provides more relaxation because it prevents you from feeling you ought to be simultaneously doing something else while listening to the music. I get great ideas for my novels while attending concerts. When I visited St. Louis recently, I saw Chicago band Switchback in concert. The songs had nothing to do with the mystery series I'm planning to write, but as I listened and tapped my foot, ideas about my new main character flooded my mind. Practicing an instrument, regardless of skill level, is another great way to give the analytic part of your mind a break. As you learn chords, practice scales, or immerse yourself in rhythm, you can let go of all your other stresses and concerns.
Coloring And Other Art: You don't need to be an artist to use visual art as a way to relax. Coloring books for adults offer all types of images, including gardens, animals, and geometric patterns, to color, whether inside or outside the lines. You can find a sampling of them here. Coloring gives you a chance to focus on something immediate and enjoyable. When you’re finished, you have a feeling of accomplishment, but there’s no need to show anyone else if you don’t want to, so there’s no added stress from outside regarding whether the art is “good.” If you prefer looking at art, museums can be a great way to relax. The images and art objects there offer your mind something new and different to consider and temporarily wipe away other worries and concerns.
One of the winter views from the Amtrak from St. Louis to Chicago.Riding The Train: I recently took Amtrak from Chicago to St. Louis and back. I did some work on the train, revising the third book in my Awakening series. But I also spent time simply looking out the window. Looking at nature, whether it’s during a walk, through a window, or in a picture relaxes people. The train is a great way to do that while you travel. Unlike when you’re in the sky on a plane, you’re close enough throughout the trip to see the countryside. And unlike driving, you don’t need to pay attention to directions or operating a vehicle. If normally drive or fly on vacation or for work and it's feasible to take a train, give it a try and see how you like it. Or take a short train trip just for the experience. You'll relax and, who knows, you might find something fun on the other end.
Walking: The rhythm of walking lulls the mind into the same sort of contemplative, relaxed state that occurs during sitting meditation. The key is to simply walk, not listen to music or audio or rehash your latest worries in your head. Let your mind wander. Let yourself feel bored if necessary, and soon your muscles will relax and your mind will rest. Walking also has the advantage of being a means of transportation. In Chicago, it’s often quicker and easier to walk a mile than to drive it, and it’s always cheaper, as it doesn’t require insurance, paying for parking, or filling the gas tank. If you're not used to walking, start with the equivalent of a few blocks. Or add a very short walk—say from one side of your office building to the other or from the farthest parking spot to the entrance—several times a day. If you don't live somewhere conducive to walking, consider driving to a park or indoor track once a week.
The Book House in St. LouisReading: Studies show people in hospital waiting rooms are less stressed or upset when they read novels than when they do anything else. Fiction allows us to jump into another world and leave our own behind. If you're not used to reading or you feel like reading is a waste of time, try setting a timer for 15 minutes before you open the book. This reassures you that not too much time will be used. It also helps you persist if initially you don’t find the writing engaging. A great time to read fiction is right before you go to sleep. It helps your mind transition away from the day’s events. When I'm able to read at least half an hour before going to bed, I sleep better and wake up more refreshed. Goodreads is a great site for book recommendations. And if you like books in the mystery, occult, suspense, or thriller genres, you can subscribe to my M.O.S.T. e-newsletter here for monthly reviews and recommendations.I hope the above options help you become more relaxed and happy! Feel free to comment on your favorite way to relax below.
------------------------------------------------------------
Lisa M. Lilly is the author of the occult thrillers The Awakening and The Unbelievers, Books 1 and 2 in the Awakening series. A short film of the title story of her collection The Tower Formerly Known as Sears and Two Other Tales of Urban Horror was recently produced under the title Willis Tower. If you'd like to be notified of new releases and read reviews of M.O.S.T. (Mystery, Occult, Suspense, Thriller) books and movies, click here to join her email list and receive free a short horror story, Ninevah, published exclusively to M.O.S.T. subscribers.
January 27, 2016
Living On The Cusp
My life changed in an instant. One moment I was outgoing and sociable, impulsive and carefree, bordering on irresponsible. I was an optimist operating on blind faith, the type who jumped in first and worried about consequences later. A moment later, I became someone who preferred solitude to the point of being reclusive. I was careful and methodical and my view on life was realistic, if not pessimistic. What changed in that one moment? My sign. As I switched from one website to another, I transformed based on the differing dates the websites indicated matched astrological signs. Such is life when you're born on the cusp.
Once more (as I did last week when writing about True Believers), I looked to miriam.webster.com for clarity. Not only in astrology but in life, a cusp is "a point of transition (as from one historical period to the next)" or the "edge" or "verge." My birthday falls on the cusp of the astrological signs of Sagittarius--the characteristics of which I described first above--and Capricorn--the second. While I'm not a believer in astrology, I find the cusp fits much of my life, starting in childhood.
I have two brothers who are over 7 years older than me and no other siblings. My parents were in their 40s when they had me. This combination of circumstances has left me feeling always a bit out of step with my peers. When I was in high school I listened to the music my brothers and their friends liked: Creedence Clearwater Revival, the Beatles, Neil Young, Crosby Stills and Nash, Pete Seeger, Arlo Guthrie. Many of the books my brothers read when they were in high school, I read at the same time, so I was introduced to ideas and philosophies that were not on the minds of most fifth and sixth graders. Being raised by parents who lived through the Depression, my attitudes toward money differed significantly from that of most people my age. (That actually came in very handy in the years leading up to the recession that began in 2008.)
If you are interested in astrology, I found this book on Amazon all about being on the cusp.
Also, having siblings so much older than me made me in some ways more like an only child. I conversed more often with adults than with children. I had my own room, and I still tend to like a lot of space. Yet, I had the advantage of having siblings who generally liked me when I wasn't annoying them. They came up with a connect the dots approach to teaching me how to draw shapes, made games out of learning to tie my shoes and do arithmetic, and tried to teach me how to play softball. They were never too successful with that last one. They stopped when I batted the ball into my own nose. There's a reason I make my living as a writer and a lawyer, not an athlete.
The trend of being out of step age-wise continued in law school. I attended school at night and worked full time. Most other night students were (a) recently out of college and attending at night because they needed to work full time to afford school or (b) in their forties and up and changing careers from other professions. I was 30 when I started law school, and 34 when I became a lawyer. The attorneys I started at a large firm with were 8 years younger than me, and most people assumed I was of a similar age and had a similar lack of professional work experience.
------------------------------------------------------------------Click here to Join Lisa M. Lilly's M.O.S.T. (Mystery, Occult, Suspense, Thriller) Readers Group and receive Ninevah, a short horror story published exclusively for subscribers, free.
------------------------------------------------------------------There were definite pluses to that assumption. The clients paid the same rate for me as they did for other brand new lawyers, but I'd worked full time for years in several different businesses and one law firm. I knew how to write business letters, conduct interviews, write motions, research efficiently and undertake other tasks that involved a steep learning curve for some of my colleagues. That meant my work was in demand, and I more quickly got more responsibility. In other ways, though, I felt perpetually behind. The 35 year olds at the firm were partners, not brand new associates, and I measured myself against them rather than against lawyers who'd just graduated law school. I was also less willing to devote endless hours to law for as many years as some of the twenty-somethings were. I think that's healthy, but large firms tend to prefer those attorneys who spend several years of doing nothing but working before they start asking themselves whether they might want to have time for other aspects of life.
As a writer, I live on the cusp of groundbreaking changes in the publishing world. When I was writing horror and young adult novels in the 8 years after college, the only real option for a writer to sell her novels was to query agent after agent and publisher after publisher, hoping to become the one new writer out of hundreds of thousands that year whose work was pulled out of the stacks of manuscripts on an intern's desk. When I began writing supernatural thrillers after practicing law for 7 or 8 years, I discovered a wonderful thing. If I believed in my writing and was willing to put my own effort behind it, I could publish my own work, becoming an entrepreneur as an author just as I had as a lawyer. The great part about having lived in both worlds is I developed good habits when querying agents and editors. Because I knew grammar errors and uneven writing would get my query or sample chapters tossed immediately, I learned to be vigilant about producing carefully edited prose. That's served me well as the quality control supervisor of my own publishing enterprise. It also means I'm used to spending significant time and effort putting my work out into the world. And the rewards are so much more immediate and tangible with indie publishing because I can see sales within days and royalties within months rather than waiting six months to a year to hear back from a single agent.
As a whole, despite the occasional uncertainty I feel at not firmly belonging within any one world (or one astrological sign), being on the cusp has been a wonderful way to live. I like to think I can take the best of each place I've been and can make more conscious choices than I might if I fit completely within a particular category.
What about you? Are there ways you live on the cusp or that you fit right into a particular category? What are the pluses and minuses you've found for either?
------------------------------------------------------------
Lisa M. Lilly is the author of the occult thrillers The Awakening and The Unbelievers, Books 1 and 2 in the Awakening series. A short film of the title story of her collection The Tower Formerly Known as Sears and Two Other Tales of Urban Horror was recently produced under the title Willis Tower. If you'd like to be notified of new releases and read reviews of M.O.S.T. (Mystery, Occult, Suspense, Thriller) books and movies, click here to join her email list and receive free a short horror story, Ninevah, published exclusively to M.O.S.T. subscribers.
Once more (as I did last week when writing about True Believers), I looked to miriam.webster.com for clarity. Not only in astrology but in life, a cusp is "a point of transition (as from one historical period to the next)" or the "edge" or "verge." My birthday falls on the cusp of the astrological signs of Sagittarius--the characteristics of which I described first above--and Capricorn--the second. While I'm not a believer in astrology, I find the cusp fits much of my life, starting in childhood.
I have two brothers who are over 7 years older than me and no other siblings. My parents were in their 40s when they had me. This combination of circumstances has left me feeling always a bit out of step with my peers. When I was in high school I listened to the music my brothers and their friends liked: Creedence Clearwater Revival, the Beatles, Neil Young, Crosby Stills and Nash, Pete Seeger, Arlo Guthrie. Many of the books my brothers read when they were in high school, I read at the same time, so I was introduced to ideas and philosophies that were not on the minds of most fifth and sixth graders. Being raised by parents who lived through the Depression, my attitudes toward money differed significantly from that of most people my age. (That actually came in very handy in the years leading up to the recession that began in 2008.)
If you are interested in astrology, I found this book on Amazon all about being on the cusp.Also, having siblings so much older than me made me in some ways more like an only child. I conversed more often with adults than with children. I had my own room, and I still tend to like a lot of space. Yet, I had the advantage of having siblings who generally liked me when I wasn't annoying them. They came up with a connect the dots approach to teaching me how to draw shapes, made games out of learning to tie my shoes and do arithmetic, and tried to teach me how to play softball. They were never too successful with that last one. They stopped when I batted the ball into my own nose. There's a reason I make my living as a writer and a lawyer, not an athlete.
The trend of being out of step age-wise continued in law school. I attended school at night and worked full time. Most other night students were (a) recently out of college and attending at night because they needed to work full time to afford school or (b) in their forties and up and changing careers from other professions. I was 30 when I started law school, and 34 when I became a lawyer. The attorneys I started at a large firm with were 8 years younger than me, and most people assumed I was of a similar age and had a similar lack of professional work experience.
------------------------------------------------------------------Click here to Join Lisa M. Lilly's M.O.S.T. (Mystery, Occult, Suspense, Thriller) Readers Group and receive Ninevah, a short horror story published exclusively for subscribers, free.
------------------------------------------------------------------There were definite pluses to that assumption. The clients paid the same rate for me as they did for other brand new lawyers, but I'd worked full time for years in several different businesses and one law firm. I knew how to write business letters, conduct interviews, write motions, research efficiently and undertake other tasks that involved a steep learning curve for some of my colleagues. That meant my work was in demand, and I more quickly got more responsibility. In other ways, though, I felt perpetually behind. The 35 year olds at the firm were partners, not brand new associates, and I measured myself against them rather than against lawyers who'd just graduated law school. I was also less willing to devote endless hours to law for as many years as some of the twenty-somethings were. I think that's healthy, but large firms tend to prefer those attorneys who spend several years of doing nothing but working before they start asking themselves whether they might want to have time for other aspects of life.
As a writer, I live on the cusp of groundbreaking changes in the publishing world. When I was writing horror and young adult novels in the 8 years after college, the only real option for a writer to sell her novels was to query agent after agent and publisher after publisher, hoping to become the one new writer out of hundreds of thousands that year whose work was pulled out of the stacks of manuscripts on an intern's desk. When I began writing supernatural thrillers after practicing law for 7 or 8 years, I discovered a wonderful thing. If I believed in my writing and was willing to put my own effort behind it, I could publish my own work, becoming an entrepreneur as an author just as I had as a lawyer. The great part about having lived in both worlds is I developed good habits when querying agents and editors. Because I knew grammar errors and uneven writing would get my query or sample chapters tossed immediately, I learned to be vigilant about producing carefully edited prose. That's served me well as the quality control supervisor of my own publishing enterprise. It also means I'm used to spending significant time and effort putting my work out into the world. And the rewards are so much more immediate and tangible with indie publishing because I can see sales within days and royalties within months rather than waiting six months to a year to hear back from a single agent.
As a whole, despite the occasional uncertainty I feel at not firmly belonging within any one world (or one astrological sign), being on the cusp has been a wonderful way to live. I like to think I can take the best of each place I've been and can make more conscious choices than I might if I fit completely within a particular category.
What about you? Are there ways you live on the cusp or that you fit right into a particular category? What are the pluses and minuses you've found for either?
------------------------------------------------------------
Lisa M. Lilly is the author of the occult thrillers The Awakening and The Unbelievers, Books 1 and 2 in the Awakening series. A short film of the title story of her collection The Tower Formerly Known as Sears and Two Other Tales of Urban Horror was recently produced under the title Willis Tower. If you'd like to be notified of new releases and read reviews of M.O.S.T. (Mystery, Occult, Suspense, Thriller) books and movies, click here to join her email list and receive free a short horror story, Ninevah, published exclusively to M.O.S.T. subscribers.
January 20, 2016
Is It Good To Be A True Believer?
I'm currently revising Book 3 in my supernatural thriller series. In the first quarter of the story, one character takes a swipe at another for being a "true believer". (The characters are Eric Holmes and Cyril Woods for those who are following the Awakening series.) I run into this phrase in my other profession, law, as well. Typically I defend companies or corporations against lawsuits, and on a few occasions my colleagues and I have referred to the lawyers on the other side as true believers, meaning attorneys who express a passion for or conviction about an issue that goes beyond the specific case they are handling. In the presidential primary season, too, one is apt to hear candidates professing to be the most devoted to their party's values. All this got me thinking about what it means to be a true believer and whether it’s a good thing.
According to Merriam-Webster.com, a true believer is "a person who professes absolute belief in something" or is "a zealous supporter of a particular cause." Synonyms listed are crusader, fanatic, and ideologue.
On social issues, it’s almost always true believers who spearhead change. They are the ones with the passionate conviction to face universal disagreement and, at times, physical violence to achieve changes such as women’s suffrage or an end to slavery. On that front, most of us tend to admire those who crusade for causes we favor, but may be at a loss to understand those on the other side.
Sometimes I agree with the results of a true believer’s action even if I don’t share an “absolute belief.” The summer I studied for the bar, I did a legal fellowship with the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless. The non-profit believes “housing is a human right in a just society.” Seeing housing as a right raises questions for me, such as who is required to build the houses to which other people have a right, and how will those workers be paid? Or will they be forced to work for free? Nonetheless, I believe it is a worthy goal for a society that all of its people have a safe place to live. I admire the results the Coalition obtains, particularly in ensuring homeless children have equal access to education. I don't need to be an ideologue or a true believer to support the organization.
------------------------------------------------------------------Would you like to receive Lisa M. Lilly's e-newsletter with M.O.S.T. (Mystery, Occult, Suspense, Thriller) book and film reviews?
Join here and receive Ninevah, a short story exclusively for subscribers.-------------------------------------------------------------------
The lawyers I know who fall into the true believer category, as with any person performing any job, have strengths and weaknesses. On the plus side, they persist long past when other lawyers might get discouraged, and this sometimes means they win cases that seemed unwinnable or help change the law in ways they believe are vital. On the downside, true believers often can't see the flaws in their own arguments or the merits of the other side. If you can’t see your weaknesses, you can’t address or correct them, and if you can’t understand the other side’s argument, you’re much less likely to know how to counter it. These downsides are at the heart of why lawyers are advised not to represent themselves.
Absolute belief on a personal level can result in an unwillingness to consider new information. An acquaintance of mine is certain white males have no advantages in the job market. First, he says that once discrimination in employment based on race became illegal, there was no more discrimination, and second, he says he has never been afforded any preference based on his gender or race. I shared with him my experience working for a small business when I was in my early twenties. I sat in on interviews for a person being hired to do a similar job to mine. I liked one candidate, and the manager agreed the young woman had more relevant experience and presented more professionally in the interview than did the other woman being considered. But because the candidate I wanted to hire was African-American, the manager thought she would be a bad fit. Everyone else at the company was white, and some of the older male employees often said racist things. I pointed out that the answer to that was to tell the other employees to cut it out and that it was against the law to hire or not based on race. The manager still hired the young white woman instead.
The acquaintance who heard this said flatly, “I don’t believe that.” He’s not required to believe me. But in the ten years I’d known him before that, he’d never accused me of lying about anything or even of exaggerating or having a poor memory. This article in the New Yorker might explain why this time he did. The research cited within it showed that when new information contradicts a long-held belief that is intrinsic to a person's concept of self, the person generally rejects that information. It doesn’t matter if it’s an emotional appeal, a personal story, or a series of studies, the person simply doesn't accept the contradictory information.
I took an on line survey recently that was meant to evaluate the survey taker’s reasoning style. Mine showed as Skeptical. Perhaps because I am skeptical by nature, I wondered how accurate a twenty-minute survey could be. But I did identify with the description of skeptics as people who subject their own views and the views of others to scrutiny. My inclination when told about a study, regardless of its findings, is to look at who conducted it and why and what sorts of controls there were. When I feel strongly about a topic, I try to read and listen to the other side and think of an example where I might disagree with my initial position. When I hear a politician say something, I consider also what words the person chooses and what that person is not saying, no matter who that politician is.
Probably that tendency to look at all sides is why true believers fascinate me. I envy their certainty. To be absolutely convinced you are right must offer a great sense of purpose and clarity. All the same, always questioning and exploring new ideas and facts has served me well as a lawyer and as a writer, so I’ll stick with my own approach. Though I can’t say that with absolute certainty.
------------------------------------------------------------
Lisa M. Lilly is the author of the occult thrillers The Awakening and The Unbelievers, Books 1 and 2 in the Awakening series. A short film of the title story of her collection The Tower Formerly Known as Sears and Two Other Tales of Urban Horror was recently produced under the title Willis Tower. If you'd like to be notified of new releases and read reviews of M.O.S.T. (Mystery, Occult, Suspense, Thriller) books and movies, click here to join her email list and receive free a short horror story, Ninevah, published exclusively to M.O.S.T. subscribers.
According to Merriam-Webster.com, a true believer is "a person who professes absolute belief in something" or is "a zealous supporter of a particular cause." Synonyms listed are crusader, fanatic, and ideologue.
On social issues, it’s almost always true believers who spearhead change. They are the ones with the passionate conviction to face universal disagreement and, at times, physical violence to achieve changes such as women’s suffrage or an end to slavery. On that front, most of us tend to admire those who crusade for causes we favor, but may be at a loss to understand those on the other side.
Sometimes I agree with the results of a true believer’s action even if I don’t share an “absolute belief.” The summer I studied for the bar, I did a legal fellowship with the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless. The non-profit believes “housing is a human right in a just society.” Seeing housing as a right raises questions for me, such as who is required to build the houses to which other people have a right, and how will those workers be paid? Or will they be forced to work for free? Nonetheless, I believe it is a worthy goal for a society that all of its people have a safe place to live. I admire the results the Coalition obtains, particularly in ensuring homeless children have equal access to education. I don't need to be an ideologue or a true believer to support the organization.
------------------------------------------------------------------Would you like to receive Lisa M. Lilly's e-newsletter with M.O.S.T. (Mystery, Occult, Suspense, Thriller) book and film reviews?
Join here and receive Ninevah, a short story exclusively for subscribers.-------------------------------------------------------------------
The lawyers I know who fall into the true believer category, as with any person performing any job, have strengths and weaknesses. On the plus side, they persist long past when other lawyers might get discouraged, and this sometimes means they win cases that seemed unwinnable or help change the law in ways they believe are vital. On the downside, true believers often can't see the flaws in their own arguments or the merits of the other side. If you can’t see your weaknesses, you can’t address or correct them, and if you can’t understand the other side’s argument, you’re much less likely to know how to counter it. These downsides are at the heart of why lawyers are advised not to represent themselves.
Absolute belief on a personal level can result in an unwillingness to consider new information. An acquaintance of mine is certain white males have no advantages in the job market. First, he says that once discrimination in employment based on race became illegal, there was no more discrimination, and second, he says he has never been afforded any preference based on his gender or race. I shared with him my experience working for a small business when I was in my early twenties. I sat in on interviews for a person being hired to do a similar job to mine. I liked one candidate, and the manager agreed the young woman had more relevant experience and presented more professionally in the interview than did the other woman being considered. But because the candidate I wanted to hire was African-American, the manager thought she would be a bad fit. Everyone else at the company was white, and some of the older male employees often said racist things. I pointed out that the answer to that was to tell the other employees to cut it out and that it was against the law to hire or not based on race. The manager still hired the young white woman instead.
The acquaintance who heard this said flatly, “I don’t believe that.” He’s not required to believe me. But in the ten years I’d known him before that, he’d never accused me of lying about anything or even of exaggerating or having a poor memory. This article in the New Yorker might explain why this time he did. The research cited within it showed that when new information contradicts a long-held belief that is intrinsic to a person's concept of self, the person generally rejects that information. It doesn’t matter if it’s an emotional appeal, a personal story, or a series of studies, the person simply doesn't accept the contradictory information.
I took an on line survey recently that was meant to evaluate the survey taker’s reasoning style. Mine showed as Skeptical. Perhaps because I am skeptical by nature, I wondered how accurate a twenty-minute survey could be. But I did identify with the description of skeptics as people who subject their own views and the views of others to scrutiny. My inclination when told about a study, regardless of its findings, is to look at who conducted it and why and what sorts of controls there were. When I feel strongly about a topic, I try to read and listen to the other side and think of an example where I might disagree with my initial position. When I hear a politician say something, I consider also what words the person chooses and what that person is not saying, no matter who that politician is.
Probably that tendency to look at all sides is why true believers fascinate me. I envy their certainty. To be absolutely convinced you are right must offer a great sense of purpose and clarity. All the same, always questioning and exploring new ideas and facts has served me well as a lawyer and as a writer, so I’ll stick with my own approach. Though I can’t say that with absolute certainty.
------------------------------------------------------------
Lisa M. Lilly is the author of the occult thrillers The Awakening and The Unbelievers, Books 1 and 2 in the Awakening series. A short film of the title story of her collection The Tower Formerly Known as Sears and Two Other Tales of Urban Horror was recently produced under the title Willis Tower. If you'd like to be notified of new releases and read reviews of M.O.S.T. (Mystery, Occult, Suspense, Thriller) books and movies, click here to join her email list and receive free a short horror story, Ninevah, published exclusively to M.O.S.T. subscribers.
January 13, 2016
The Frightening World Of Work
I've been thinking a lot about work lately. Specifically, how work affects quality of life. Last year was one of change for me. I shifted to writing fiction full time. Before that, I practiced law full time, and before that, I worked in various office jobs and later as a paralegal, always writing on the side.
The Willis Tower, one setting for my urban horror.As an attorney, I've never, ever, been bored. I learn new things every day—about my clients’ businesses, changes in the law, new courtroom technology. My first year as a lawyer also was the first time I can remember not being worried about money. That was a really great thing. I also remember feeling happy to have a professional title and a certain amount of respect.(I discovered this respect in a roundabout way. When I worked as a paralegal and told people I was writing novels, they usually rolled their eyes and joked about my pie-in-the-sky aspirations. As soon as I became a lawyer, others assumed I’d sell all my novels and asked if when that happened I’d continue practicing law. (Yes, I would.)). At the same time, the transition to large firm lawyer carried new stresses. Juggling matters for multiple clients, dealing with a vast range of personalities and work styles among coworkers, superiors, and opponents, and always being "on" and switching tasks so I could respond quickly to anything that came my way.
And so I wrote horror stories. Mostly about law. In The Mirror , an attorney who desperately wants to advance at his firm attends a summer recruiting event at an evil amusement park. His envy of people who succeed where he fails and his frustration at how others see him are reflected in the frightening things that occur as the park’s attractions spin out of control. In The Red Stone , a lawyer on the brink of partnership struggles with his ambivalence over how many hoops he'll jump through to prove himself. His travails include battling a boss/mentor who becomes an actual monster while wining and dining a hard-to-please client. And The Tower Formerly Known As Sears addresses the inevitability of change in the locked world of attorneys trapped within the former Sears Tower during a tornado.
------------------------------------------------------------------Click here to Join Lisa M. Lilly's M.O.S.T. (Mystery, Occult, Suspense, Thriller) Readers Group and receive Ninevah, a short horror story published exclusively for subscribers, free. ------------------------------------------------------------------
When I wrote these stories—which you can find in The Tower Formally Known As Sears And Two Other Tales Of Urban Horror for Kindle and Kindle apps (free January 12-14, 2016)—I didn’t see them as personal. None of the characters are me in disguise. All the protagonists are men, and none of the plots reflect my personal experiences except watching from the inside of a large firm as it went through growing pains to become global. More personal to me, at least in that I share the main character’s gender, is Ninevah , a short story published exclusively for my email list subscribers, where a woman executive struggles with whether to stay or go when her company is swallowed up by a larger corporation. While I never climbed the ladder in a corporation, Joan Voichek’s fears and desires strike a chord with how I felt when contemplating transitions—first, when deciding whether to break away from a large law firm to start my own practice, and years later, when I decided to shift away from a busy practice to focus on fiction writing. While Joan frames the questions in her mind in terms of finances, her real fear is the loss of her true self if she goes along with the corporate program. Of course, because it's a horror story, staying is much more dangerous than she ever imagines.
Looking at these plots together, it hit me how much they reflect the ambivalence I felt as my law practice grew busier and busier over the years. I was grateful there was a strong demand for my work, and I kept growing as a person and a lawyer. I enjoyed and did well at arguing in court, giving presentations, and interacting with other attorneys and clients, things I might not have known had I followed my earlier inclinations to close myself in a room and write and read fiction. But working 55+ hours a week at law didn’t leave me enough time to recharge by reading, writing, meditating, or doing yoga. I often felt disconnected from what I thought of as my true self, the one that, in the years immediately after college, worked for a few weeks at a time, then took off 1-2 weeks to write. That self was financially pretty broke, not surprisingly, but far more peaceful and content.
Now, as I wrote about in the Beauty Of Being Fifty, I feel I’ve reached a wonderful place in my work life. I’m happy for the many years of intense hours practicing law, and I’m happy for the chance to let that be a smaller part of my professional life while I write. Perhaps that’s why my work shifted over the last few years to my Awakening series, which fits better into the supernatural thriller genre than horror, and why my next series idea is a more traditional mystery/detective one. Then again, who knows, after another five years of writing full-time I may be writing horror stories about that.
If you’re curious about what’s frightening in the world of work, you can get The Tower Formally Known As Sears And Two Other Tales Of Urban Horror free for the Kindle or Kindle app from Wednesday, 1/12/16, through Friday, 1/14/16, or for $0.99 after that, and it’s always free to Kindle Unlimited subscribers. Also, once a month, I send a monthly MOST newsletter with book and film or television reviews in the Mystery, Occult, Suspense, and Thriller genres, and an occasional email about my new releases or appearances. If you join here, you will receive Ninevah, which was published exclusively for MOST subscribers.
------------------------------------------------------------
Lisa M. Lilly is the author of the occult thrillers The Awakening and The Unbelievers, Books 1 and 2 in the Awakening series. A short film of the title story of her collection The Tower Formerly Known as Sears and Two Other Tales of Urban Horror was recently produced under the title Willis Tower. If you'd like to be notified of new releases and read reviews of M.O.S.T. (Mystery, Occult, Suspense, Thriller) books and movies, click here to join her email list and receive free a short horror story, Ninevah, published exclusively to M.O.S.T. subscribers.
The Willis Tower, one setting for my urban horror.As an attorney, I've never, ever, been bored. I learn new things every day—about my clients’ businesses, changes in the law, new courtroom technology. My first year as a lawyer also was the first time I can remember not being worried about money. That was a really great thing. I also remember feeling happy to have a professional title and a certain amount of respect.(I discovered this respect in a roundabout way. When I worked as a paralegal and told people I was writing novels, they usually rolled their eyes and joked about my pie-in-the-sky aspirations. As soon as I became a lawyer, others assumed I’d sell all my novels and asked if when that happened I’d continue practicing law. (Yes, I would.)). At the same time, the transition to large firm lawyer carried new stresses. Juggling matters for multiple clients, dealing with a vast range of personalities and work styles among coworkers, superiors, and opponents, and always being "on" and switching tasks so I could respond quickly to anything that came my way.And so I wrote horror stories. Mostly about law. In The Mirror , an attorney who desperately wants to advance at his firm attends a summer recruiting event at an evil amusement park. His envy of people who succeed where he fails and his frustration at how others see him are reflected in the frightening things that occur as the park’s attractions spin out of control. In The Red Stone , a lawyer on the brink of partnership struggles with his ambivalence over how many hoops he'll jump through to prove himself. His travails include battling a boss/mentor who becomes an actual monster while wining and dining a hard-to-please client. And The Tower Formerly Known As Sears addresses the inevitability of change in the locked world of attorneys trapped within the former Sears Tower during a tornado.
------------------------------------------------------------------Click here to Join Lisa M. Lilly's M.O.S.T. (Mystery, Occult, Suspense, Thriller) Readers Group and receive Ninevah, a short horror story published exclusively for subscribers, free. ------------------------------------------------------------------
When I wrote these stories—which you can find in The Tower Formally Known As Sears And Two Other Tales Of Urban Horror for Kindle and Kindle apps (free January 12-14, 2016)—I didn’t see them as personal. None of the characters are me in disguise. All the protagonists are men, and none of the plots reflect my personal experiences except watching from the inside of a large firm as it went through growing pains to become global. More personal to me, at least in that I share the main character’s gender, is Ninevah , a short story published exclusively for my email list subscribers, where a woman executive struggles with whether to stay or go when her company is swallowed up by a larger corporation. While I never climbed the ladder in a corporation, Joan Voichek’s fears and desires strike a chord with how I felt when contemplating transitions—first, when deciding whether to break away from a large law firm to start my own practice, and years later, when I decided to shift away from a busy practice to focus on fiction writing. While Joan frames the questions in her mind in terms of finances, her real fear is the loss of her true self if she goes along with the corporate program. Of course, because it's a horror story, staying is much more dangerous than she ever imagines.
Looking at these plots together, it hit me how much they reflect the ambivalence I felt as my law practice grew busier and busier over the years. I was grateful there was a strong demand for my work, and I kept growing as a person and a lawyer. I enjoyed and did well at arguing in court, giving presentations, and interacting with other attorneys and clients, things I might not have known had I followed my earlier inclinations to close myself in a room and write and read fiction. But working 55+ hours a week at law didn’t leave me enough time to recharge by reading, writing, meditating, or doing yoga. I often felt disconnected from what I thought of as my true self, the one that, in the years immediately after college, worked for a few weeks at a time, then took off 1-2 weeks to write. That self was financially pretty broke, not surprisingly, but far more peaceful and content.
Now, as I wrote about in the Beauty Of Being Fifty, I feel I’ve reached a wonderful place in my work life. I’m happy for the many years of intense hours practicing law, and I’m happy for the chance to let that be a smaller part of my professional life while I write. Perhaps that’s why my work shifted over the last few years to my Awakening series, which fits better into the supernatural thriller genre than horror, and why my next series idea is a more traditional mystery/detective one. Then again, who knows, after another five years of writing full-time I may be writing horror stories about that.
If you’re curious about what’s frightening in the world of work, you can get The Tower Formally Known As Sears And Two Other Tales Of Urban Horror free for the Kindle or Kindle app from Wednesday, 1/12/16, through Friday, 1/14/16, or for $0.99 after that, and it’s always free to Kindle Unlimited subscribers. Also, once a month, I send a monthly MOST newsletter with book and film or television reviews in the Mystery, Occult, Suspense, and Thriller genres, and an occasional email about my new releases or appearances. If you join here, you will receive Ninevah, which was published exclusively for MOST subscribers.
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Lisa M. Lilly is the author of the occult thrillers The Awakening and The Unbelievers, Books 1 and 2 in the Awakening series. A short film of the title story of her collection The Tower Formerly Known as Sears and Two Other Tales of Urban Horror was recently produced under the title Willis Tower. If you'd like to be notified of new releases and read reviews of M.O.S.T. (Mystery, Occult, Suspense, Thriller) books and movies, click here to join her email list and receive free a short horror story, Ninevah, published exclusively to M.O.S.T. subscribers.
