Road Trip!

This might make me kind of weird, but I love road trips. Now usually a road trip is no more than ten hours, and I am never the driver, so perhaps my statement is more understandable if at first you were like, “Why?”

To be fair, I’m not sure why road trips appeal to me because I’m usually not one for small enclosed spaces and I love to be able to stretch out my legs, but something about getting in a car and going somewhere far away, and having everything you need in the back, from snacks and water to books and gadgets – it’s just so fun, or at least it is once in awhile.

I think one reason I’m so excited is that we haven’t been on a road trip in a long time. Like almost three years of a long time. Plus I get nervous flying, and who likes going to the airport, waiting in all those lines, going through security and then having your ears pop like crazy during takeoff and when you land? I don’t. Also, I don’t have to package shampoos and conditioners and such super carefully or worry about ounces or any of that nonsense. It’s so NICE.

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A New Resolution: I Want/Need To Read More Blogs

I have a new resolution, even though we’re a quarter into the year: read more blogs. I don’t not read blogs… There are blogs that I follow, and I read them pretty regularly (once or twice per week), but the number of new blogs I’ve given a chance to, or the time I have spent searching out blogs that interest me… I could do better.

I have known for almost a year that I should be more active in the blogosphere – not as a writer, because at four blogs per week, I’m about as active as I (or anyone else) can stand, but as a reader, and participant, someone who leaves comments and adds to the discussion. There are so many wonderful blogs and wonderful voices out there – why haven’t I already done this?

Well, the answer is lame, because it feels like nothing more than a bunch of excuses. I’m busy. I read tons of books for work/research/book reviews, I can’t keep up with the two magazine subscriptions I already have (I’m always four months behind), I run a business, practically run a house, I have personal obligations, health issues, and I am working on two manuscripts, hoping to get one of them (or both!) ready to submit to potential agents and publishers. Basically, I really am busy, and that’s no joke. But the reason it feels like a weak excuse is that I can always find time for something that matters. So really, I just need to make it a priority.

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My Pacifiers: I Might Have A Book Problem

My husband often teases me about how I can never leave the house without at least two books and a magazine or two. They’re my safety. And it’s always been that way, wherever I go, I have something to read. Or really more than just one something to read, because what if I finish? What if I’m in the mood for something else? Even if we’ll be gone less than an hour, I have to be prepared. I mean every other reading fiend, literary nerd, bookaholic and writer knows my pain, right? Or at least every person who could be classified as these things and is always riding shotgun can (I don’t drive).

When I was a wee little person (I was seven) I wanted to take two library books on some errands with my parents. They were both Encyclopedia Brown books, and I had just started the first one. Both of my parents gave me the hardest time, “You’re never going to read both of them. You’re not even going to finish the first one.” And a heated discussion ensued culminating in a bet. I could bring both books, and if I finished the first and started the second they would give me $100 and never question me about bringing two books again. If I lost, I would be limited to bringing only one book with me for the rest of time. It was on!

I am happy to report that I did finish the first book, and finished the first mystery of the second. My parents quizzed me on the book after investigating it themselves to make sure I actually read it, and didn’t just say I had. I passed, and while I never did get the money, not even in a college/savings account, they never gave me a hard time when I wanted to bring two books with me, ever again. (Of course three is another story…)

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Confessions Of A Bookaholic – Guilty Pleasures Edition #72 – Sweet Valley High Super Star #2 – Bruce’s Story

An entire book focusing on Bruce “Asshat” Patman – I wasn’t sure I would make it through, but the book wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be – here’s to that! 😉

“Bruce’s Story” (Super Star)

svh_bruces_story

Sweet Valley Scale: 4 out of 5 Twins

The license plates on Bruce Patman’s Porsche read 1BRUCE1, and that is exactly what he thinks of himself – as Number One. Handsome, rich and arrogant, Bruce is used to getting everything he wants. Bruce’s cousin Roger, who lives with the Patman family, is nothing like Bruce. In fact, the boys only have one thing in common – their grandfather, who is one of the richest men in California. A shrewd, hardworking businessman, Mr. Patman decides to have a contest between Bruce and Roger. The winner will inherit their grandfather’s entire estate including the controlling interest in the family company. The war is on – and Bruce will do anything to win!

Bruce Patman’s grandfather, Alexander Patman, is coming to Sweet Valley for a visit – for six whole weeks! This is a fact that Bruce can’t get over because his grandfather is a very difficult man and that’s putting it mildly. He is always criticizing, lecturing and no matter what Bruce does, he can never seem to please him. His grandfather is looking forward to meeting Bruce’s cousin, Roger, for the first time, who was his other son’s illegitimate son. Roger hopes that his grandfather isn’t as bad as Bruce is making him out to be, but it soon becomes clear – the old man is even worse.

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Writing Conferences, Reunions And Trying To Focus: Getting Ready For AWP 2015!

I’m super excited. And nervous. And a little crazed, from feeling both overwhelmed and so, so behind. But I’m mostly excited – I think. I’m going to my first ever AWP (Association of Writers and Writing Programs) Conference. It’s next week. I’ve heard about these conferences for the past nine years, but I haven’t ever attended. There was always some medical or financial reason why I couldn’t. And I’m not one to sit and fixate on something that isn’t going to work. Once I know that something can’t happen, or namely I can’t participate in something, I don’t think about it and move on. But this year I’m going…

I’m super psyched for so many reasons: reunions with friends, writing classes, networking, learning, and just being immersed in that creative collective that happens when a bunch of writers get together in one place – I can’t wait. I am going to see a lot of people that I haven’t seen since I graduated with my Master’s (so, seven years). When I think back to graduate school, I was mostly happy. I had reached the point where I was finally comfortable with myself and in my own skin. And then in 2009, after dying, and going through all kinds of medical crap, I find myself in a new skin that I am still trying to get used to. But the people I went to school with were part of the reason it was so wonderful and I felt so comfortable, and I am going to see a lot of them again. And this is a big deal because they’re like family, and also, a bunch of kick ass writers that I respect.

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