Heavenly Weirdness

A nebulous flying saucer, its death ray aimed at the Blue Ridge?

A transmogrified contrail?

Observed and photographed Monday at around 7 pm.

My September Goodweather Report is up HERE.

Dear Thomas the Tank Engine, I miss you.

I was checking out the daily deal at Woot yesterday and ran into a familiar face.

Oh, Thomas the Tank Engine, how I've missed you!

The sturdy wooden bodies, the fun magnetic connection and even the creepy little faces...

they were once a staple in my household.

My boys played with trains for years.

I used to have trains in my car and in my purse...

and always on standby for a boring moment or a necessary distraction.

 

Every night before bedtime, my boys used to watch an episode or two

set on the Island of Sodor with a cheery little moral.

 

So wholesome to play with and easy to share.

 

Now my boys play video games where they get to be soldiers in a war zone...

or prefer shooting at targets with air soft guns...

They've grown up.

But I've held on to those little trains,

and the memories that cling to them long after their paint fades.

Thank you, Thomas, for all the good times.

How Long Is It? - FAQ

Forensic portrait of Jane Austen by Melissa Dring

Q: I am afraid to ask this, but, HOW MANY WORDS did it take to finish ART'S BLOOD?

Is there a particular stopping point for you, or is the word count important?  That's a scary thought!

A: My books tend to be around 110,000 words.  I've tried to make them shorter but it just doesn't happen. In general, for fiction and for a debut novel, something around 70-80 thousand words would be a good ball park figure to keep in mind.


Yes, word count is important.  See Fiction Factor , an online magazine with good advice for writers. They have a fuller discussion and explanation of why editors like a certain word count HERE.

Q: I am presenting my book, chapter by chapter, on my web page, mainly to see if it is enjoyed and what comments I can benefit from where my reader's feedback is concerned .

I assume this isn't wise?  Now I'm worrying about the need for a copyrighted blog, and if there IS such a thing. 

A:  I referred this question to my agent and this is what she said:

"The author doesn't need to worry about copyright because the minute you create something it is automatically copyrighted.  As for an agent or editor being interested, well, if the author could claim she had 10,000 followers, that would create interest.  But if she has less than a few thousands, that's nothing to either an agent or an editor.  Is it a wise idea?  I don't think so -- why would anyone pay for a book they could read for free?  Why would an agent try to sell a book that had already been read for free?  But if you had over 10,000 readers, that would show people liked what they were reading and would indicate a wider audience could be reached.

Personally, I don't see any benefit in what she's doing -- a few chapters, okay, maybe create some interest.  But a whole book?  I don't see why it's worth doing."

Which was what I suspected.  But, you say you're hoping for useful feedback? What you want is a small  critique group, made up of knowledgeable folks interested in the genre you're writing.

Remember, I'll add this to the FAQ over on my DAY OF SMALL THINGS blog.  And if you have a writing-related question, email me or ask it in the comments.  I'll do my best to come up with an answer.

These are a few of my favorite apps.

I wanted an iPhone for a long time, and then I finally got one for Christmas 2009.

I've found some strange apps for the phone,

but these are the following FIVE applications that I use every single day on my iPhone

(not in any particular order):

1. Facebook - It's so easy to update my status while waiting in line somewhere. Most my family and friends are on Facebook and it's so fun to keep up with people when I'm too busy to talk.

2. We Rule - This game is so much fun! You own a castle and build houses and businesses (a tavern, a bookstore) and grow crops (magic aspargus!).

3. We Farm - Very similar to We Rule, but you own a farm, raise animals (cows, chickens, ostrich) and grow stuff (lettuce, tomatoes, eggplant).

4. Words With Friends - It's similar to Scrabble and you can play anyone who has an iPhone! I have 7 games going right now with friends and family.

5. Email - I have my gmail account connected to my phone and can check mail wherever I am.

6. Maps - Ok, I don't use this every day but the times I do use it, indespensible!!!

7. The Weather Channel - I need to check the 10 day forecast regularly.

8. Messages - This is where I text everyone, and it formats the texts like a conversation. Unlimited and extremely useful.

What are your favorite apps?

Do you have an iPhone?

Do you want an iPhone?

Full Disclosure

In the interests of full disclosure (this is for you, Friko,) most of the tomatoes I showed yesterday came from Justin's and Claui's amazing garden.  They have around 200 plants and were happy for me to come pick. (My thirty-some plants have been hard hit by blight and wild turkeys.)

And continuing in the disclosure mode -- when I process tomatoes, whether to can or to cook into sauce that will go into the freezer -- I don't blanch and peel my tomatoes.

If I were entering a competition at the county fair, I would.  But this is food for my family and none of us are put off by bits of tomato peel from our unsprayed tomatoes.  And I save enormous chunks of time and energy.
 

The way I prepare eggplant for the freezer is simplicity itself. Wash, slice, put on baking sheets with olive oil and seasoned salt, bake at 350 F till softened. I put these slices into freezer bags to resurrect for a moussaka or eggplant parmesan.  I can also chop them and add to pasta sauce. Or blend up with garlic and tahini into baba ganoush. Yum!

Really Racetrac? Not the best ad campaign.

Racetrac is one of my favorite gas-convenience stores.

However, the most recent ad campaign I've seen in their stores has been a strange one.

They have signs up in their stores saying,

"Beer because you never got that pony." 

(Or something along those lines.)

Who buys the most beer?

Men or women?

Because to me, that kind of advertising leans towards women.

Men don't want ponies when they are little boys, do they?

Or do they?

It's an odd ad campaign.
Does it inspire you to want to buy beer?

Or a pony?

I'm perplexed.




On a side note: Racetrac = Best frozen (Numbskull) Dr. Pepper drinks ever!

Home Grown Tomatoes ...and Okra .. and Pears

 
Send “Homegrown Tomatoes” Ringtone to Cell Phone
Ain't nothin' in the world that I like better
Than bacon & lettuce & homegrown tomatoes.
Up in the mornin', out in the garden

Get you a ripe one, don't get a hard one.

Plant `em in the spring, eat `em in the summer,
All winter with out `em's a culinary bummer.
I forget all about the sweatin' & diggin'
Everytime I go out & pick me a big one.

Homegrown tomatoes, homegrown tomatoes,
What'd life be without homegrown tomatoes?
Only two things that money can't buy:
That's true love & homegrown tomatoes.

You can go out to eat & that's for sure
But it's nothin' a homegrown tomato won't cure;
Put `em in a salad, put `em in a stew,
You can make your very own tomato juice.

Eat `em with eggs, eat `em with gravy,
Eat `em with beans, pinto or navy.
Put `em on the side, put `em in the middle,
Put a homegrown tomato on a hotcake griddle

If I's to change this life I lead,
I'd be Johnny Tomato Seed
`Cause I know what this country needs:
Homegrown tomatoes in every yard you see.

When I die don't bury me
In a box in a cemetery;
Out in the garden would be much better
I could be pushin' up homegrown tomatoes.


 

Win a free ticket to BlogHer 2011!

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Take this online survey to enter!

That's it!  No blood, no signing over your firstborn.  It's that easy.

Silent Saturday

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We've been saying it wrong

Did you know that we've been pronouncing Dr. Seuss's name wrong?

The correct prnunciation actually rhymes with "voice."

"You’re wrong as the deuce

And you shouldn’t rejoice

If you’re calling him Seuss.

He pronounces it Soice."

I recently discovered he has a lot of great quotes:

"I have heard there are troubles of more than one kind.

Some come from ahead and some come from behind.

But I've bought a big bat. I'm all ready you see.

Now my troubles are going to have troubles with me!”

I love his art.

And, this is one of my favorite quotes:

“The more that you read, the more things you will know.

The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.”

“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes.

You can steer yourself in any direction you choose.

You're on your own. And you know what you know.

You are the guy who'll decide where to go.”

The Great Chicken Masssacree - Part 1

I'm going to lull you with pretty pictures while I tell you that I spent most of yesterday butchering chickens. (Ah, the glamorous life of a writer...)

This was our first time to do this in quantity -- a dozen birds -- and it went amazingly well, due to John's advance prep. We took our time, cleaning everything after each bird with a good wipe-down of bleach and water solution and keeping everything covered to avoid attracting flies and yellow jackets.

And then in the  evening we sat on the porch, listening to an NPR report about salmonella  and the recall of a billion eggs and the not-so-great conditions on factory farms. As we listened and sipped our gin and tonics, we enjoyed the tantalizing aroma of roast chicken.

There's a web album below for those of you interested in picture of the process.  Click on the picture to view.

And here's a LINK to a website with very complete instructions, should you want to try this at home.

The Great Homegrown Chicken Harvest

FAQ - Distractions and Submissions

Q: How do you deal with distractions when you're writing?

A: Oh, boy, I'm not sure I've got a good answer for this. I'm surrounded by distractions and to some extent they feed my creativity. In summertime, the distractions are many and pressing and it's hard to get a lot done when the garden is demanding my attention.  I don't have the luxury of someone to cook and clean (though my husband helps out here) so that I can do nothing but write.  And, frankly, I'm not sure I'd want to spend all my waking hours writing.


The best I can say is that I attempt to find some chunks of time -- usually late at night because I am not good at getting up before daybreak -- and make the most of that time.  Generally, once I'm well into my story, I don't want to stop.


The  internet, of course, is another distraction, right there at your fingertips, even late at night.  One could and probably should, turn off email and stay away from Facebook, Mr. Google, and blogging.  This is a whole separate class of distractions which I think I'll talk about in another post.

 Q: How are manuscripts submitted anymore? Surely not on paper?
A: If you are submitting to an agent, you find out what their preference is. Ditto, an editor or publisher.

My first 3 or 4 books were submitted as printed out manuscripts and a disk copy.  Recently I've emailed the whole thing as an attachment and the publisher has printed it out for my editor and then the copy editor to make their marks on.

I think a lot of people still prefer the hard copy -- it's up to you to make sure you're doing your submission in the preferred form.