Ann Benjamin's Blog, page 258

Sunday Sentence.

I went looking for a Grinch quote (because, y’know it’s that time of year), but none of them spoke to me, so I ended up with this one instead.

On the exciting topic of business cards.

If you can visualize it, it will happen (eventually), won’t it?  Looking at just 6 weeks until my sabbatical starts, I have a few small projects I want to prepare as part of my great experiment.  I think we have clearly established I think visually, so I’ve been toying around with the idea of ordering business cards.  OK, it’s a total vanity project, but it’s my money, so I can spend it on silly things like this if I want to.  Moo.com was recommended by two very trusted individuals and so I recently designed the following (feedback welcome — not sure if the Ann Benjamin typewriters are too on point):

The first (and definitely not the last) bad review for Life After Joe.

Being an author is such a curious thing – so much of what we do is private, involving almost no one else.  We write, edit, rewrite ad nauseam before we send our precious manuscripts out into the world.

It is unrealistic to think every person who comes across our work will enjoy it, after all, there is no ‘universal novel.’  Still…  With my free download activity, I have been frantically checking to see if and when my new audience will update me with their feedback.  For the most part, it has been completely rewarding and wonderful – that people have taken the time to contact me or leave positive reviews has been nothing short of fantastic.  Still… I knew better and this morning I got exactly that!

Spoilers for Life After Joe ahead.

“The book ends with the author starting a new relationship. I am getting very, very tired of books in which a sad woman gets over her problems by being “saved” by a man.”

That is one opinion.  Mine is quite different.  Liz’s struggle with grief ends in reconnecting with someone from her past, but the overwhelming majority of her journey is alone – working through things good, bad and ugly on her own.  In the end, it is not just Adrian who ‘saves’ her.  From the beginning, I always wanted Liz to save herself.  Throughout the novel, she has help from friends and family, but the struggles and triumphs Liz had were hers alone.

Sigh.  Goodreads absolutely does not want authors to comment on reviews, so this is me (hopefully) not coming off too whiny and too ‘someone didn’t like my book and now I’m going to cry about it.’  I feel strongly about my characters, so I’ll try and leave it at that.

Life After Joe, aesthetic.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

And just like that…

I started writing again!

Queen B channeling my emotions.

Not sure what happened this week, but some switch turned on and I decided it was time to slowly start working my (fictional) writing muscles again.  If you care to follow my progress, I’ve decided the best venue for my drabbles (100 word scenes) is on WattPad.  Why post these publicly?  Well, of course, I’d love to gain an audience, but it’s also a way for me to stay honest.  I could tell all of you I was completing a drabble a day, but how could I prove it?  I think from time to time I might even share some of them here.

Anyway, off to finish today’s scenes!

 

Pop Sugar 2016 Reading Challenge.

I love reading, so naturally, I enjoy challenges like this one.  Also, as an author, I like to see which of my books I can suggest.  #alwaysbehustling 

With above, Life After Joe is a perfect fit for ‘A book about a road trip’ (or a ‘book with a protagonist who has your occupation’ if you happen to be an elementary school teacher).

Which of these challenges looks the most interesting to you?

From a good friend…

Last week, via social media, I let friends and family know that I will be ending my employment at the University (effective January 28, 2016).  I know a lot of great people and a friend from many years ago sent this image through telling me how proud she was of my decision.

Whether or not the quote is specifically from Ludacris, I don’t care, the message is a very strong one and one I am definitely on board with.

I’ve been working on the railroad…no, seriously.

Has this come up on my blog before?  Apparently only briefly (but I was published about my experience here).  A friend and former co-worker of the American Orient Express posted the above video recently and I had to share — I think mostly because there are some things I’ve done in my life where I look back and wonder, “Did that really happen?”

In the days before Facebook (gasp!), I rode the rails for two summers, getting paid to see the States from remote and crazy locations few people will ever get to see.  I survived the Norovirus of 2006 and the new ownership in 2007.  I made friends for life and worked harder than I can ever remember – physically and mentally exhausting myself on a daily basis – but still finding the energy to go out drinking if we were overnight in a city for more than 2 hours.  I shared a room the size of a closet and loved every second of it.

As I look forward to a new adventure next year, I hope it will have some of the same wonder, stress and feelings of accomplishment that I had while on board the only dysfunctional luxury train in the United States.  RIP, AOE.

Sunday Sentence.

“A great sorrow, and one that I am only beginning to understand: we don’t get to choose our own hearts. We can’t make ourselves want what’s good for us or what’s good for other people. We don’t get to choose the people we are.”

― Donna Tartt, The Goldfinch

I reviewed this book earlier, and still highly recommend it.

A reminder.