Crazy Lady, Reporting for Blog Duty

I have nothing productive to contribute to the blogosphere today, so I thought I'd let you in on all the wonderful things I learned while I was unplugged.

1. I do my best thinking in the bathtub. Not really sure why.

2. Being unplugged actually increases my desire to read blogs. So, maybe I peeked at a few... ;)

3. The first 3/4 of my first chapter is unnecessary, so guess what? I'm rewriting it. Again. I know you're all super shocked. :P

4. Querying + Other Stress = Ultra Super Neurotic Crazy Lady --No, I'm not exaggerating. All the sane people in my family keep shaking their heads and refuse to look me in the eye, so it must be true. ;)

5. Since my husband has implored me to hold off on all things writerly until after the holidays, I have this overwhelming urge to write. All kinds of unexpected ideas have been popping into my head. Why do you suppose that is?

6. And I can't leave out NaNo. Poor neglected NaNo. Yes, today is the last day. Unfortunately, unless I can come up with another 41,000 words before midnight, I'm not a winner. Bummer. Maybe there's some correlation between this one and #5. Hmm.

So, my question for today is: Where do you do your best thinking?

Happy Monday, everyone! Good to be back!

Maybe it's True...

Agent Janet Reid* posted this quote on Saturday—almost as if she was reading my mind and knew exactly what I needed to hear, right at that very moment. Spooky.

Don't let the judgment of any editor (or agent) poison the intense, intimate, and necessary relationship that you have with your own work. Keep the two things scrupulously separate. The self that writes may need to be a delicate and protected creature, but the self that submits to magazines (and agents) ought to be as tough as a rhino's butt.

Christian Wiman, editor, Poetry
"Poets & Writers" May/June 2009

The fact that Janet Reid may have mind reading capabilities doesn't do much to dispel the myth that literary agents are superhuman ninjas. Great quote, though. ;)

Also, I will be unplugging for the rest of the week. Have a fabulous Thanksgiving, everyone!

*For the record, I've never queried Janet Reid. She doesn't rep what I write.

What I got from New Moon

I'm not a huge Twilight fan. Nevertheless, I did drag my husband with me to see New Moon yesterday morning. Read whatever you want into that.

Here's what I got from the movie:

1. It was definitely better than Twilight, though not as funny. Yes, I realize neither was supposed to be funny.

2. I was a little surprised by the variety of people there. An older man (close to my grandfather's age) was sitting in front of us, alone. Since we went in the morning, we didn't have the screaming girls like I've heard about from several people that went to evening and midnight showings. There were several men with their wives/girlfriends/whatevers, and all seemed to groan (and I'm guessing, roll their eyes) at all the same points as my husband.

3. And third, I am unconditionally and irrevocably in love with Victoria's (Rachelle Lefevre) hair! ;) I want her hair. So jealous!

4. I've never claimed a team before and never thought I would. After reading the books, at least through Eclipse, I felt like Bella should be with Edward, but would've been okay if she ended up with Jacob. But after seeing New Moon, I'm pretty firmly on Team Jacob. Sorry, but there was absolutely nothing appealing to me about Edward in that movie.

Anyone else see it? Any thoughts you'd like to add?

It's Not Hot All The Time. Really.

Since I'm too brain dead to come up with my own idea for a blog post, I'm borrowing a page from Tere's playbook and giving you a little bit of info about the setting of my book. It's mostly just pictures, but I said I was brain dead, so you can't expect much from me right now.

As some of you already know, my novel, Embrol, takes place in Arizona--most of it in the Phoenix area. I'm not really sure why I picked Arizona, especially since I've been wanting to move north (way north) for years. I would love to have seasons--not just hot and less hot. :) Despite my desire to get out, there are some things I would miss.

We have the most incredible sunsets.

This one's my favorite. At first, I was annoyed that those water spots on the lens showed up in the shot, but then I started thinking it had kind of a cosmic look to it, so now I love it. It works for my sci fi theme. ;) Click on the photo for a larger view.

We don't get hurricanes or tornados, but we get some pretty insane storms. A few years ago, a miroburst hit our area. It lifted our trampoline from our backyard, carried it over half an acre (over our house and both our vehicles) and dropped it in our front yard, where it basically exploded. Plus, I was drenched within seconds of stepping outside.

Rarely does it sprinkle here, and the rain doesn't often last long, but when we get it, we get a lot. This picture doesn't really show how much we get, but it's the only one I have. I wish I'd thought to take a pic of our 4-wheel drive Tahoe stuck in the river wash when the concrete culvert was washed away by a storm. The whole body of the truck was resting on the ground, front and back tires either buried in the mud or completely underwater. We had to wait until the next day, when most of the water had drained away, and dig it out. Fun times! Still, I love the rain, and I love when it's cloudy all day long--even better when it lasts for several days in a row. Makes me smile. :)

My characters have to go further north to see snow, but these pics are proof that it does get cold enough in the valley to snow, though rarely. I can only remember a couple of times in my whole life, and it's never cold enough for it to stick, but it has happened.

This is the view of the Superstition Mountains from my front door. The snow was completely melted after only a couple of days.

That's it. Very exciting, I know.

So, where do your stories take place, and how do you choose your settings?

NaNos and Partials and Crits, Oh My!

Not much to say about NaNo except that it has turned into NaNoNoWriNoMo. Say that five times fast. :) It's not NaNo's fault the story isn't working. I have too many non-writerly distractions right now. I'll get back to it later, after the craziness that is my life dies down. This is the kind of craziness that goes away, so I'm not just procrastinating. Seriously. Okay, so maybe a teensy bit. Don't tell.

In the good news arena, I got my first partial request this week. I'm trying not to get too worked up about it, but it is my first, off the first batch sent out with my shiny new query, so yeah. I can't help it. I'm totally freaking out. :) Woohoo!

And my friend and uber awesome crit buddy, Tere Kirkland, is in need of fresh beta eyes (preferably, still attached to living people) for her very cool YA Paranormal, EVANGELINE. If you're interested, head on over and give her a holler. You might as well follow while you're over there. Then you can say you were one of the first. :)

Sorry I've been so absent lately. I'm still trying to check in when I can, but my life really is all kinds of crazy right now. I hope you're all doing well, and I'd love to hear about your progress or good news or whatever you'd like to share.

Happy Wednesday! :D