Juggling Acts

Lately I've been doing so much juggling, I may as well run away to join the circus! But this was mostly juggling my writing, my day-job, my family and friend obligations. Now I've tossed an extra ball (or perhaps a running chainsaw) into the mix!

I've got a half written wip I've been (very slowly) working on, and a Shiny New Idea that my agent sees a lot of promise in, and I'm going to try to work on both of them at the same time. O_o!

While that may not sound like a big deal to some of you, my normal workflow has been to only start on the Shiny New Idea when I've finished a first draft of a Not-so-Shiny Old Idea. I've never worked on two rough drafts simultaneously before, mostly in the interest of getting things finished.

And while my main focus for some time now has been my "aetherpunk", my SNI is completely different. Both are first person povs set in the past, but that's where the similarities end. I'm worried that it will be difficult for me to switch back and forth without losing momentum.

Then again, having my agent be much more aware of my progress on this SNI will probably be a great motivator. I won't be able to spin my wheels and procrastinate as much when I have, not a deadline, per se, but someone who is expecting to see results in a timely manner. Deadlines are good for me, actually. They keep me in line, and keep me honest.

Do any of y'all work two rough drafts at the same time? How do you keep the creative juices flowing for both works? Any tips on staying motivated when you find you enjoy writing one over the other? I'd love to hear them!

Happy Mardi Gras! And the Winner Is...

Okay, I know I said I wasn't going to get excited about Mardi Gras this year (and now that my husband twisted his ankle, it's gonna be a pretty tame one for both of us regardless) but I drove by some parade floats on the way to work this morning and that Mardi Gras Madness just ticked on in my brain. It was like a little mini-memory of the commotion, the raucous crowds, the music, the smell of smoke and food and horse manure...

I wish I could distill that into a box of carnival for my winner (sans manure), but I hope she'll settle for some beads and coffee and hot sauce and stuff. ;) And that winner is...

Shannon O'Donnell!

Congrats! Send me your snail-mail address asap, and I'll try to get it out today!

Mardi Gras is February 3rd next year, so look out for this contest mid-January 2013.

Happy Mardi Gras!

Happy Valentine's/Villain-Loving Blog Chain Day!

Happy Overly Commercialized and Capitalized Upon Excuse to do things you should be doing anyway for the people you care about Day!

All right, I'll stop hating on Valentine's Day. It's just that my husband and I just don't celebrate it. The chocolate in those heart-shaped boxes never tastes good, and as cute as they are, conversation hearts might as well be made of chalk. (Not to mention that we're usually broke or busy due to Mardi Gras around this time of the year. Priorities, you know.) Our anniversary is in April, which is when we like to do something special, on OUR DAY, not one we're sharing with hundreds of other couples, sitting crammed elbow to elbow next to other mushy two-tops in restaurants with sickeningly romantic dessert specials for two written in pink on the specials board.

Which puts me right on track for Amparo's blog chain post:

Since Valentine's Day is around the corner, I think it's only appropriate to pay homage to those we love. But instead of our better halves, family members, and friends, this blog chain will be all about loving the haters: write a love letter to your favorite literary villain/villain-ish character. It can be short, long, serious, funny. You can use song lyrics or poems instead. Choice is totally yours :)

See what Michelle had to say on the subject here, and don't forget to check out Margie's post tomorrow!

If I were an arch villain, maybe I could figure out a way to destroy Valentine's Day. But I'll need help.

Dear Grand High Witch of England,

I know that if anyone can help me with my troubles, it's you. I mean, you single-handedly conceived of a plot to turn all the children of the world into mice, so I know you can help destroy Valentine's Day forever, too. I don't mean to gush, but you scared the ever loving daylights out of me when you were a kid, with those evil purple eyes and your magnificently bald scalp.

Together, I know we can sweep the shelves of those nasty Conversation hearts, wither the flowers in their bouquets, and erase all the dinner reservations in the world!! I mean, only a witch as delightfully devilish as yourself would be played by Angelica Huston in the film. ;)

Get back to me soon, I'm hatching a devious plan, but it will only be possible with your help.

Kisses,
Tere

PS, Don't forget to enter my Mardi Gras Giveaway!

It's Carnival Time!

Get your feather boas on and grab your favorite er... soda. It's Carnival Time! Krewe du Vieux was Saturday, officially kicking off carnival. Eh la bas!

The thing is... Mardi Gras just won't be the same this year. You see, my very good friends recently bought a cute little house near the bayou, which is great for them. Perfect for walking their dog, and right near the park.

But they moved off of Saint Charles Avenue, away from the parade route. They have some wacky former-neighbors who will still let us use their bathroom, but this is the first time in seven years we won't be making a big deal about Mardi Gras.

No more smoked pig and giant crawfish boils, or late nights hanging out on their porch facing the Avenue, watching people stream toward and stagger away from the Quarter. No more cramming shoulder to shoulder with friends and strangers to fight over bits of shiny plastic and fluff. No more spending hundreds of dollars on food and drinks and supplies, of reeking of barbeque smoke all weekend. Of being so exhausted by Monday I need to stay home Tuesday just to recuperate. Lord, I need to rest just thinking of it. *fans self*

This year we're debating leaving town for the big weekend, but that doesn't mean YOU can't have Mardi Gras in your own town this year!

All you have to do is comment below and you'll be entered to win an awesome Carnival Prize package of beads, krewe throws and assorted N'awlins goodies. It's pretty sweet, if I do say so myself.

For additional entries:
Blog post +3
Tweet (up to five times for +5 entries) +1
Sidebar +2
Recommend me a good book to read instead of partying all weekend +1

For a grand possible total of 12 entries (i think. you math types can feel free to correct me)

I'll draw a winner on the morning of Friday the 17th, so check back here to see if you've won! And Happy Mardi Gras!

Blog Chain: Snippets of Me

Kate, who like me, is inspired by the photos and quotes and memes people post online, started this blog chain with a fun topic:

Post pictures, songs, movie clips, poems, or novel excerpts that make you feel. Feel what, you ask? Feel anything. Happy. Sad. Angry. Nostalgic. Hopeful. Hopeless. Jealous. Joyful. 

I have read in several different places that YA novelist John Green said of his latest novel, The Fault In Our Stars that he wants to make his readers "Feel All The Things." I would love that someone could go through this blog chain and through what we all choose to post have that same Feel All The Things feeling.

Cool, huh? Michelle M's post is here, and Margie will post after me. Now, here come the feelings in a nostalgic tidal wave of unicorns...

"The unicorn lived in a lilac wood, and she lived all alone. She was very old, though she did not know it, and she was no longer the careless color of sea foam, but rather the color of snow falling on a moonlit night. But her eyes were still clear and unwearied, and she still moved like a shadow on the sea..."

The Hideaway I long to read this amazing book again in...

The hideaway I can afford (sans fireplace, gold teapot and pricey bolsters)...

Thinking of that makes me a little sad. But not as teary-eyed as this makes me:

"Sometimes, when I clean a kill, I feed Buttercup the entrails. He has stopped hissing at me.


Entrails. No hissing. This is the closest we will ever come to love."

Even sadder...

And now, to turn your frown upside-down (not mine, but my sweet Greynell looked just like this once upon a time):

Another childhood favorite (without the drawings of Quentin Blake, Roald Dahl's work just wouldn't be as memorable for me):

Just for snarfs (and to boldly speak the harsh, rubberized truth):

To be fair, I need to counter that with this:

I suppose that includes Crocs. Hmph. ;)

Finally, just in case you were wondering what tea you should be drinking (since tea always makes me feel joyful)...

Streamlined... Well, A Little, Anyway

Lately I've been focusing on streamlining my life. Sort of a New Year's Resolution, only I can't call it that or it won't get done.

Anyway, I've noticed that little steps lead to lots of saved time in the long run. Over the years, I've frittered away more time than I can imagine, just trying to navigate the blogs I follow.

I use the Blogger Dashboard, which is great, but makes it difficult to find a particular blog... well, it does when you discover you're trying to scroll through 360+ blogs. O_o? Being the time waster that I am, I figured it would be interesting to see just how many blogs I could drop, for one reason or another. (anything to procrastinate to keep from writing, right? :P )

So I clicked on manage followed blogs, and systematically, and with the judicious help of extra internet tabs, discovered that many of the blogs no longer existed. Yes, I was as surprised as you are. At least a dozen of them were just gone.

Another large chunk hadn't posted since the third quarter of 2011, and posted sporadically before that. If it was a blogger I had no rapport with, had never exchanged emails or couldn't remember any of their previous posts, I unfollowed.

Another reason I unfollowed certain blogs was that they were now invite only, so in the interest of time and ruthless streamlining, I hit unfollow. I didn't remember any exchanges I'd had with any of these bloggers, so I just didn't sweat it.

By the time I'd finished the alphabet (Wish I would have realized that my blog would be lumped with the T's instead of the L's when I named it. Duh.), I was down to 315. So some 50 blogs were just clogging up my reader, when I only really regularly read about a hundred. Not a huge number, but close to a sixth of the blogs I was reading, which seems like a lot more.

Now if I could only apply this streamlining to the rest of my life. Need to start using my phone to remind me of things, like I always swear I'm going to do (like blog-chain posts). Or maybe change my outgoing voicemail message to something with my voice, instead of that scary computer lady reading my phone number back to you. But first, maybe I'd better clear off the huge pile of mail that's accumulated on my desk. It's mostly junk mail, anyway. ;) Baby steps.

What about y'all? Have you done anything to help streamline your life lately? Even if it's only a little thing? They do add up!

Blog Chain: The Spaces we Remember

This Blog Chain post was started by Jon, who asked...

Imagine the home(s) where you grew up, and start drawing a floor plan. As you draw, memories will surface. Grab onto one of those memories and tell us a story.

You see, the thing is, we moved around a lot when I was a kid. Like, every three years. So my homes were always different, but somehow, always the same. Army housing all starts to look alike after a while. But the school I went to when I lived in Germany was an old building with a ton of twists and turns and a huge, romantic library. A building that always pops up in my imagination when I'm reading, and sometimes when I'm writing. Its halls have doubled for Hogwarts, stood in for myriad halls and castles from Elizabethan England to Middle Earth.
 
Halloween was the best, when the teachers and parents would create a haunted house that sprawled throughout the library and down a high-ceilinged hall. My mother and I were both vampires on the year that most colors my memories. Somehow cheap polyester spiderwebs and black plastic had transformed my school into an unrecognizable house of horrors, with scary music and floating wisps of smoke. I held my mother's hand tighter, despite how strange it felt in the white gloves she was wearing. Bats, rats, snakes, all closed in around us.

Something moved in the shadows and something huge and black lunged toward us. A man with a white face and a shiny black cape. I screamed, and hid my face in my mothers arms and she laughed and told me not to be afraid. Then she carried me all the way through the haunted house and no one else bothered us. I thought she was invincible, and nothing could harm her. I was six. ;)

See what space Christine posted about before me, and what Margie posts next!