Happy Holidays!

I am taking a blogging break this week for the holidays.

See you next Monday! Enjoy your time off!

Gaffes

Have you ever been so tired you made social gaffes as a result of your fatigue?

I never have. HA!

I should never leave the house when I am overly tired or overly caffeinated. These two opposite chemical states cause me to make social gaffes at two polar extremes:

OVERLY FATIGUED

When I've had too little sleep, my gaffes tend to be of the dreamy, disconnected type. I act like a typical blonde from the jokes. I don't notice things that should be obvious. I call friends by mistake occasionally. I also may say things that are very random, as my brain goes on its deep sea diving trips and resurfaces with odd junk from the sea floor: leather boots, rusty hooks, a sand dollar or two. When I turn to my nearest acquaintance and say, "I wonder if iron rusts faster or slower in water than in air," I get some very strange looks. I also have trouble judging my boundaries when I'm tired, and may be overly personal--or a little distant because I'm worried in my vague, tired way about being too emotional!

OVERLY CAFFEINATED

I'm thankful that this one doesn't happen very often, as I regulate my caffeine intake pretty strictly. As you might expect, getting wired on coffee makes me focused. TOO focused. You can imagine the results, for someone with strong verbal inclinations. Verbiage. I talk too fast, I joke a lot, and I'm jittery. I can solve many problems at once--in my juiced-up head, at least. :-) From what I can tell, people find me amusing in this condition, and I laugh at it myself. But it's not normal behavior, and it can be a problem if I need to get serious or slow down. I also have to be careful because I respond very strongly to caffeine (as to most chemicals) and even two strong cups can push me over the edge into coffee mania.

Do you have states in which you should not leave your house? Ever had coffee mania? C'mon, share some social gaffes!! :-)

Waiting...

Just in case anyone else is wondering...no word yet.

I'm beginnning to suspect that more stuff has to happen AFTER the meeting before a decision can be made (number crunching).

As a friend suggested, however, I would also guess that our friends in the publishing industry would be taking off for Christmas break on Monday.

So who knows? "They" had said that I could have an answer by Christmas, but it may take longer.

Printing Press

No word yet, but as publishing is on my mind this week, I thought I would share some pithy words from Neil Postman about the invention of the printing press:

The printing press captures, domesticates, and transforms time, and in the process alters humanity's consciousness of itself.

Printing links the present with forever. It carries personal identity into realms unknown.

Postman is a brilliant writer who foresaw way back in the 1970s many of the deep cultural changes that are now transforming our society with breathtaking speed. The book from which I took these quotations is called The Disappearance of Childhood. Can you see that happening around us? I believe I see it.

Now, we face the disappearance of PRINTING.

I suspect we are losing that connection of the present with forever that printing brought to civilization, and that as a result those who grow up in a TV/internet dominated society will be so bound by the lure of the present moment that they will essentially slide back into barbarism.

This doesn't bother me too much, as I have no control over it. Our lives here are temporary, but we go on to something eternal.

What do you think? Do you hear the barbarians at the gates? Or is your outlook a little rosier?

A Watershed Week

Hey everybody,

I am running as fast as I can to catch up after the children's program this weekend, so I hope to get back to all the blog rounds later today.

In the meantime, I wanted to let you know that this is a very important week for me.

My novel is going before the full pub committee at a major publisher. This is the meeting that will decide whether or not my novel receives a contract.

You know what's funny?

I am pretty calm about it, in many ways.

Jody Hedlund's example has been very helpful to me as I consider the two potential outcomes of this meeting.

Through Jody's transparent description of her own journey towards publication, I have learned that signing a multi-book contract will change a writer's life.

For those of us who are moms, that is a big, big deal.

Before signing a contract, we are free to stop writing for a while if we decide that we need to prioritize other parts of our lives. After signing a contract, we are professionals. We are employed by a publisher to write to certain deadlines.

Though, like most writers, I want to publish, the realization that my life will change substantially if I get a contract has given me great peace about the outcome of this publishing decision.

My prayer is always that I will get a book contract from this company if that would be good for me and for my family.

Some of you know that my first novel received some consideration from another major publisher, but did not make it all the way through to a contract.

In retrospect, I see that getting a contract for that first novel, at that time, would have been bad for me and for my work. I wasn't ready.

Now, I think I am ready. But only God knows whether I'm really ready, and whether this is the right time for me and my family.

For I know the plans I have for you," says the LORD. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, plans to give you a future and a hope.

And On Earth, Peace

My Favorite Christmas Poem

My favorite Christmas poem is not often used as a Christmas poem...but it should be.

Our children's Christmas program will take place this Sunday. I designed it to open with this poem, though I have altered some of the words to make it more comprehensible to today's diverse audience. (Romantic Era friends, please do not throw tomatoes in disgust! :-)









One preschool boy costumed as a LAMB stands alone center stage.

ADULT MALE VOICE: (on microphone)

Little Lamb, who made thee?
Do you know who made thee?
Gave thee life, and bid thee feed
By the stream and o'er the mead;
Gave thee clothing of delight,
Softest clothing, wooly-bright;
Gave thee such a tender voice,
Making all the vales rejoice?
Little Lamb, who made thee?
Do you know who made thee?

(Fifth-grade girl enters and addresses LAMB)

READER ONE:
Little Lamb, I'll tell thee;
Little Lamb, I'll tell thee:
He is called by your name,
For He calls Himself a Lamb
He is meek, and He is mild,
He became a little child.
I a child, and you a lamb,
We are called by His name.
Little Lamb, God bless thee!
Little Lamb, God bless thee!



I get very enthusiastic about Christmas programs. I just wish I could go see more of them! To me, music puts the holy in holiday. I especially like traditional choral performances by large and small ensembles, but I enjoy almost anything that's heartfelt. Are you or your children in Christmas programs or nativity pageants this year? What's everybody going to be? What artistic or musical program do you enjoy most at the holidays?

Cover Art Quiz

A random quiz to find your taste!

If you were to read an inspirational historical romance, which of these covers would attract you most? If you've already read any of the books, try not to let that sway your decision.

First there's the style I have dubbed "heroine stripe." By this I mean that there's a heroine in the top part of the frame, a stripe or division in the middle, and some kind of historical image in the lower frame.







Next comes the style I call "dress," for what may be obvious reasons. :-) They come in "dress no head" and "dress with head." Do you like my technical terms?





Then there's "girl in dress with dude and/or building."





Then we have the style of "big head" plus background object.





So can you tell me which style you like best? Or which single cover you like best?

Diamonds

This weekend, I read a manuscript for a friend.

I had the privilege of observing the very beginnning of a writer's journey.

As I told him, he has a lot of potential. His sensory description is unusually vivid. His plot is very commercial, so he doesn't suffer from the beginning writer's frequent problem of under-plotting.

First novels will almost inevitably be diamonds in the rough. Mine certainly was! The task of writing is just too complex to be mastered in one try.

There's a special thrill, however, in reading through a first manuscript from a writer with native talent. In the midst of the craft problems, those diamonds come winking through, tiny little sparkles that hint at what lies beneath that unwieldy mass of rock.

When you're beginning to write, no one can really explain to you how painful it is going to be to cut down to that diamond. Only as you begin to hammer and chip do you realize that the rock that gives way under your tools is your own spirit, and that getting down to the jewel inside hurts.

My first novel is still a few diamonds in my hand, cut down out of the rock, but not yet in final form.

My second novel, by contrast, is finished.

When we finish novels and we know we have done our best work, they become a part of us. My second novel is now an intimate piece of who I am, like an engagement ring, except that it can't ever be lost.



That's the reward for the long solitary hours of chipping away at the rock.

Anyone know what I mean?

The Pizza Question

One of my favorite surprises about my daughter is her sense of humor.

It's not that my husband and I are humorless genetic specimens: we've both been funny upon occasion. But when a six-year-old pops out with some observation that is truly humorous and dry, it's unexpected fun for Mom and Dad.


Tonight, my daughter and I went to Target for our traditional teatime after her tap class. We sat in the little eating area next to the snack bar while she ate her hot dog.

"Mom, what's your favorite kind of pizza?"

"You mean, who makes it?"

"Yes."

"I really liked New York pizza when I lived there," I said.

"What kind was it?"

"Just cheese, but it was really good cheese. So I guess my favorite is Papa John's, because they use really good cheese." I took a sip of my tea.

"Mine too. I like Papa John's." She paused for just a moment. "Look at that pizza box over there."

I turned to look at the box on the next table that held a personal-sized Target pizza.

She almost smiled as she delivered her observation. "It says 'America's Favorite Pizza."

I grinned. "Do you think that is America's Favorite Pizza?"

"No."

We both chuckled.

Dread Beginnings!

Remember how I dreaded making my outline for my next project?

Here's the weird thing: I did it, and it wasn't so bad.

This outline is actually better than my initial outline for the second novel.

That doesn't get me over the hump, however.

I've now drafted my first chapter twice.

Neither opening is right.

Oddly, my second chapter is fine, and just needs some tweaking.

That opening chapter needs a third draft, and I need to GET GOING.

Sigh. Ah, sisters, I think we all know what the holiday season means for most women. We will do the majority of the preparation and we will (mostly) enjoy it. We will make it special for our families, because holiday memories are not disposable, and we never know how many Christmases we may be granted with any of our loved ones.

But it sure makes it harder to write!