Wish I were in Denmark right now

Here's the Danish cover for The Penny Tree, which came out Jan 9/09. I love the cover art, though I've no idea what salgsomslag means! I tried to translate it online but got nowhere. Maybe it was intended it to be a subliminal marketing message that didn't come out right in the print process. You know the kind, right? Like how movie theatres were once accused of flashing buy popcorn / buy popcorn / buy popcorn at lightning speed across the screen during previews, only this was supposed to say buy this book / buy this book! *LOL*

On a final note, I just finished reading two novels I've been meaning to read for years. The first was The Dogs of Babel and the second The Bell Jar, an iconic novel that tackles the serious issue of depression and mental health. Both were beautifully written. Have a great weekend everyone :)

Calling in sick to play frisbee golf? Really?!

Until I get my current manuscript signed off, I'll only be posting here once a week. I just have way too much on my plate right now. I've been teaching, helping a handful of other writers with their novels (while neglecting my own) my husband's traveling again and I'm playing the role of a single parent.

That said, yesterday afternoon I took the beast (aka Sully) for a long walk. I needed a break and he'd sure earned one, watching me write all morning. I followed a path down to the river and like most days lately, it was gorgeous (not a cloud in the sky) other than the minus 18 degree weather!

Seconds after taking this snapshot for my stepdaughter (who hasn't seen Sully for a while and misses him) he suddenly lept through the air and flattened me on the snow-packed ground, thinking I was playing some kind of game. (Ever been flattened by a 165 lb dog? Trust me, you feel like you've been hit by a linebacker.)

Winded, I stayed where I was, trying to catch my breath. Then I heard a faint whi-z-z-z-ing sound and an orange frisbee sailed through the air above me in a perfect arc, only to disappear somewhere off to my left.

Of course, like a beacon he couldn't NOT respond to, Sully took off after the frisbee just as a group of people (laughing like crazy) came thrashing through the bush next to me, equipped with the requisite snow pants, hats, gloves and boots.

Here's the interesting part... All through the bush behind where I live are metal chain-like contraptions like this one (some are on the edge of trails, others stuck back in the bush where you can barely see them.) I'd heard they were used for a sport called frisbee golf, though I'd never actually seen anyone use them. And yet here was a group in their thirties, deep into a competitive game... in the middle of winter! And no, they weren't drinking.

After we managed to wrestle their now almost unrecognizable frisbee back from the beast (which took the better part of five minutes because Sully thought we were playing some kind of game) they sheepishly admitted they'd called in sick that morning to play, something they did once a month, no matter what the weather was like.

At first, I thought they were nuts. Frisbee golf? In the middle of winter?! And yet as I watched them tear off after that now-horribly-chewed frisbee, you could tell they had a passion for it, so who am I to judge? Maybe this once-monthly-game helps get them through the winter without popping pills for depression. Maybe their jobs are boring as all get out. In some ways, I guess I can relate. Try taking away my writing -- the one passion that gives me more fulfillment than I can put into words -- and I'd be calling in sick, too.

Book talk, Camel Rides and IQ Tests

I spoke with a book club from Tampa tonight who went for drinks before we connected (who doesn't love celebratory readers, hmmm?) and after questions about The Penny Tree dried up here's what they asked:

Q: There's nothing more appealing than...?
A: A gentleman. I can't stand men with bad manners.

Q: Something you've always wanted to do but haven't is...
A: Ride a camel. No idea why, but I've spent years wanting to.

Q: Something my husband doesn't know about me is...
A: ...that for three years I've put the same IQ TEST IN A BOX in his stocking at Christmas and each year he says, "This is great!" then puts it aside and forgets I gave it to him. I'll keep re-gifting it until he says something. I'm aiming for five years straight.

Q: Books you've read recently that you enjoyed/admired...
A: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
(a NYT bestseller, represented by my agent Liza Dawson)
The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga (Winner of the Man Booker)
Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson (A true story)
Mr. Pip by Lloyd Jones (Finalist for the Man Booker Prize)

Wouldn't it be nice?

I've been busy fulfilling a commitment I made to sponsor a writing competition, including teaching creative writing to a group of teenagers. After yesterday, the teaching part of that commitment is now done. Whew! I also finally activated my dormant facebook page after letting it sit for a year with nothing on it and now plan to stay active here and there as well (gulp) so stop by if you're on facebook -- I'd love to see you!

Back to today's post... I'd like your opinion. Don't you think it'd be nice if someone were to charter a bus for a group of authors to tour together for 2-3 weeks one summer? I think readers would be more apt to show up at an event where (for example) six authors arrived together to talk about their novels instead of one, don't you? I also think it'd be easier to get media exposure. All we have to do is round up six authors who could get along for 2-3 weeks. Hmmm... sounds like it also might make a good reality show, don't you think?

The little darlings that drive a story forward...

Here's a topic that was a reader favorite during my book club chats in 2008 -- character creation. Do you find it hard to think up characters for your stories? Are they based on people you know? Do you have favorites?

Each character I've created to date (protagonists, secondary characters, even walk-ons) has, for the most part, arrived fully formed. Of course, before they showed up in my creative process I'd spent months (or in the case of the novel I'm writing now, years) thinking about the story before I began writing it, including the kind of characters I felt would best drive the story forward.

Once I know who the characters are and what role they'll each play, I think the best way to describe them is how they behave. I really don't like to go overboard with physical description. I prefer to give them beliefs or behaviors or characteristics that set them apart instead.

Yes, there have been a few rare cases where I've "fashioned" a character after someone I know (ie., Tommy in The Tin Box) but I don't typically do that. As for favorites, I have soft spots for Tommy and Lexie in The Tin Box, Erna in The Penny Tree, Louie in The Silver Compass, and a man named Jack in the novel I'm working on now.

Moments for the archives

I'll do a writing related post later this week, but for now humor me while I get back into a work groove...

In an email to my sister last week (she forwarded it to me) my oldest son had this to say: "BTW I know Santa actually doesn't exist. I figured it out on my own and then clarafide it with Mom that its just my parents. Don't tell my brother though. I think the truth would kill him."

Last night, when I told my youngest it was back to school this morning, this is what he said: "Are you kidding!? Learn, learn, learn! Why can't we just stay home for three months straight with our parents? Maybe so many of em wouldn't dee-vorce then cuz they'd have stronger families."

After taking our kids to see Marley and Me, our youngest said this while sniffing and wiping his eyes: "I don't understand why you and Dad put me through stuff like this."

Whoop! 2009 is finally here

A fresh start. Time to kick away the stool and take some risks. Time to focus on what's ahead vs. the puddles we may have had to jump in 2008. If you're a reader, I hope you're in the middle of a gem of a book you didn't see coming. If you're a writer, I hope the characters you dream up this year make your WIP stand out from the masses. And for everyone else, I hope 2009 is a year you'll never forget, in the best possible way.