Merry Holidays!

Hard to believe another year has passed–and so quickly.  I’ve been here (off and on) sharing my life as a writer with all of you.  And it seems sometimes that writing and editing and revising is a non-stop job.  But in the end, it IS a job and at this time of year I’m especially reminded that other things are more important.  Family.  Friends.  Time to relax and reflect.  Time to laugh and love.

So, rather than a post on writing, this week I’d simply like post my best wishes for you and your family.  Whatever holiday you celebrate, may it be full of joy.  A peaceful and safe New Year to us all, and to the world in general.

The Best Things that Came From My Worst Experiences

It’s been a week of worsts—and that’s been a good thing! :-)

Today I’m wrapping up My WORST Blog Tour.  I had a great time launching my new middle grade novel, Audition & Subtraction, by reliving some of my own middle school memories.  Thanks to everyone who jumped in with comments, and shared stories.  Most especially, thanks to my wonderful hosts:

My job is to announce the winners, but before I do that, a final few thoughts:

The Best Things That Came from my Worst Experiences.

Lessons of a First Year Author

On May 10th, 2012, OyMG officially debuted.  Hard to believe that it was one year ago today.  So much has happened..so much has changed…maybe me most of all. In honor of the day, and the anniversary and the journey of a debut author, here is just a few of the things I’ve learned.

I LEARNED: It’s always a thrill to see your book on a shelf or in someone’s hands–that doesn’t change in a matter of (365) days.

I LEARNED: You may be an author, but you still have to be a writer.  That means writing every day.

What Goes Up…

During the past week, my book received a wonderful award, got panned by a thirteen-year-old, and then I saved a woman’s life and wasn’t good enough to make the finals of a playwriting contest.

Just your typical week. :-)

UP

On Monday, I had an email from The Sydney Taylor Book Award Committee:  OyMG had been selected as Notable Book for Teens, 2012.

 

DOWN

On Tuesday, I had another email.  An online site was going to review my book but the editor contacted me to tell me the thirteen-year-old reviewer had written something less than glowing.  Did I still want him to run it?  (Uh…NO!)

Living in the Before

The other day I got one of those reminder postcards in the mail from my doctor.  You know, the ones they have you address yourself at the end of your visit so they can mail it out in a year to get you back in?

So there it was in the mailbox, and it was supposed to remind me to call for an appointment, but instead it reminded me that a year had passed since I’d filled it out.  Not just any year, but a momentous year with the debut of OyMG.

Can you Spell Optimism?

Life dealt me a bad hand.

Okay, not really.  It was WORDS with FRIENDS that dealt me the bad hand.  (For those who don’t play, WORDS is a game of Scrabble that you can play against your friends either on the computer or on your phone.)  Right now, I’m in a heated battle with a number of worthy opponents.  It’s a lot of fun, and a nice way to de-stress.   But did you know WORDS can teach you a little about life?

Well, neither did I.  Until a few days ago when I opened up a game and looked at my seven tiles.

The Good and the Could be Better

Resolutions are great things because they spur us to be better.  But they also point out the areas where we feel we’ve failed–either ourselves or others.  Which got me thinking.  Why do we spend all this time and energy thinking about the ways we could be better and all the things we did wrong– rather than celebrating all the things we did RIGHT?

So, I’m going to do both.  Here is my personal celebration of 2011 and my hopes for 2012:

I Rocked:

My Characters are Killing Me

My hubby wants to know what’s wrong.  I seem cranky…a little distracted…possibly miserable. What do I tell him?

Here’s the truth:  I don’t know if Tessa should kiss Noah, if Tessa’s mom is having an affair or why Cassie is being so evil.

But none of those people are real.  They’re the characters in my Work in Progress.  I’m cranky, distracted and miserable because my story isn’t coming together.  Because people I’ve made up are not behaving in ways I imagined and I’m not sure what direction to go in next.

One Argument for Never Putting Books on Sale

Just a little fun for a Friday. :-)

 

 

In honor of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, I’m going to tell you something I’ve never told anyone before:

When I was eleven years old, I saw a girl named Julie steal a candy bar during the Days of Judgment.

For those who don’t know about the Days of Judgment, these are the 10 days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, our Day of Atonement.  I was taught that during these 10 days, God is watching extra closely because it’s during this time that he decides to seal you in the Book of Life for another year or…well, or not.  In other words, this is life and death.