Retirement Home for Cats & Dogs

Recently my family moved to Washington state and we are staying with my parents on acres of gorgeous plants and towering Evergreen trees. It's enough to make any writer smile.

A lot has changed in the seven years since I last lived in WA, but something particularly noticeable to me is the three older animals now residing on my parents property. When I left they were full of energy, sprinting past trees and digging up bones. Now they walk a little slower and their muzzles are sprinkled with gray and white.

I've lovingly named the property the Retirement Home for Cats and Dogs. Of course we still have a few young animals to liven the place up, but it's the older, more mature pets that make me want to sit on the porch and enjoy the warming sunbeams with them. Gone are the issues of chewing and potty training; now we deal with blindness, hard of hearing, hip problems, and sadly even an inoperable tumor.

Regardless of health problems though, there's just something special about older pets. Maybe it's that spark of life in their eyes despite the cataracts, or how they insist on doing what they enjoy (sniffing around the property) even though they have a bad hip. They live life differently; they appreciate the loving affection of their owner in a deeper way and realize that pouncing on visitors isn't always necessary.

There's a lot to be said for "retirement age" pets, and a lot that they can teach us if we're willing to slow down, lend them a lap, and rub their ears while we listen.

Here's The Question:
Tell me about your older pet. What's his/her name? How old is she/he? And tell me something unique about him/her.

I Sent It!

In May I sent my full manuscript to an agent who had requested it. In August she responded with a very sweet and helpful email. She told me that she liked the story; it was well-plotted and entertaining. The problem, and her decision to decline representing it came from the fact that that characters lacked depth. She said they felt emotionally distant. She was right.

Thankfully, at the end of her email she mentioned that she'd be happy to take another look at my work at some point. Now, from what other authors have told me, the fact that an agent didn't send me a form rejection letter was a big deal; the fact that she told me what needed to be changed was an even bigger deal, and the fact that she offered to take a look at it in the future was a huge deal! I didn't view her response as a rejection (well, lets be honest, I did until two published authors educated me on the matter). I saw her response as a push to do better. Maybe even a test to see if I was the type of author who would recoil in anger and mutter to myself of how great my writing was and that no one understood. Maybe she wanted to know if I'd take her advice under consideration and work on fixing the issues she found. Either way, I listened to her as well as the published authors.

In October I emailed her to let her know how thankful I was to her positive and helpful response and then I asked her a simple question. I wondered if she'd prefer that I query her again once the rewrite was complete, or just shoot her an email letting her know. Again, she responded. The answer? Email her when I completed it.

Yesterday, I sent that email. Today I wait.

Here's The Question:

Have you had any sort of correspondence with a literary agent? If so, how did it go? If not, what are your aspirations/ fears when it comes to literary agents?

Ode to Friends

I adore the blessing of close friends. I love how once-in-a-while (in some cases once-in-a-lifetime) a super special person takes a genuine interest in who you are and loves you for what they see -the bad and the good.

Over the course of years your two paths intertwine and although you live very separate lives, you feel like you're climbing the same mountain together. You encourage each other to push on -to focus on the leafy, vibrant greenery rather than the sharp, menacing rocks.

When you're tired and need a break your dear friend accompanies you to the nearest waterfall where the two of you stand at the edge and look down to see where you both began while marveling at how far you've come together. She shows you a different view -from up top, the rocks are smoothed by the water of time, and now you can appreciate how the brown and gray stones make the bushes that much greener.

Of course, you both know soon it'll be time to leave the waterfall and continue your journey up the mountain, but it's during those waterfall breaks together when you can truly fall in love with the climb.

Why this love song to friendship? I guess I'm standing at the edge of a waterfall right now with my best friend and wondering how I got so lucky.

Goodbye, My Favorite Library

I'm going to start this post with a fact; I'm moving. No, not to a new house across town, but to a familiar state a bit north from here. Washington. It's my home state, and where all my family reside so to say I'm thrilled is an understatement. Maybe in the future I'll write a post on why we're moving, but today I wanted to write about the library here. I know, I know, this isn't the first time I've written about it. I don't even think it's the second time. I just love the Farmington library and will miss the place so much!

I think the library has been my favorite building in this town. How many of you feel at ease near rows of shelves of books? I do. In fact, I always have two full bookshelves in my bedroom because of the relaxation they bring. The feeling of gently allowing my fingers to flow from book spine to book spine calms me in a weird way. I can't explain it.

When we were between homes, living with friends, I could take my girls to the library to sit and read stories together of far off places and familiar cartoon characters. Then we ended up renting a house directly down the street from the library which meant that at least once a week, the girls and I pursued the many familiar and colorful rows the library had to offer.

No matter what difficulty we were facing, or how often it felt like things had been turned upside down on us without our permission, the library welcomed us with serene continuity. When it felt like everything was changing for the worse, the library stayed the same.

Now, I realize it's just a building with paid government employees, but what makes it so special is that this government building is not only huge and beautiful, but filled to the brim with books. Amazing, colorful, calming, story-filled books. And because of that fact, I'll miss this government building very much.

What's your favorite book-filled building?

Done, but is it Complete?

I'm Done. I've finished. But is it complete?

Last May I queried an agent that I really wanted to represent me. She replied by asking for the manuscript. Three months later, in August, she emailed me to tell me that I needws to add depth to my character. I freaked out for a few weeks, and then eventually emailed her back and asked if she wanted me to let her know when the rewrite was done. She said "Yes". That in itself was a reason to jump up and down!

Fast forward to today.

I'm done. Today I finished the rewrite, but I can't take a sigh of relief yet. My critique partner read up to chapter 9 (page 50) and then had to care for a sick family member. Thankfully her family member is doing much better, but she's found herself busier than she'd expected and unsure if she can finish critiquing my manuscript. I'm wondering if I should just go ahead and email the agent that I'm done, or if I should wait until I can have someone critique the whole manuscript.

Nevertheless it feels great to be finished, except that I miss Eva (my main character) already. :( That's okay, she'll be back in the sequel.

Here's the question: What would you do? Let agent know it's done or wait for a second opinion?

Resolution to Have Resolve

It's January -the month of resolutions. I personally love January's. To me the month itself says "fresh start". And who doesn't love a fresh new beginning?

Now, I was going ask what your New Year's Resolutions were, but that question is kind of old and the theme today is new. Also, my friend tells me that she doesn't tell others of her resolutions because she may not be able to keep them. Which made me think.

Out of your whole, potentially long list of resolutions, which one do you know will happen in 2011? Without a doubt you know, that you'll either stick to it, or make it happen, or it's just going to happen because is has to. Tell me that one. That one resolution that doesn't have the option of not happening.

Okay, I'll go first. I want to say that I will most certainly get an agent this year. I want to say that, but I'm not gutsy enough. I know that no matter how hard I try, an agent isn't guaranteed. So, I'll move onto my next resolution. Yes, this one I can decide to follow and make happen. This one rests solely on my shoulders. Here it is, I WILL loose my chocolate editing weight. You see, editing is painful, and chocolate helped ease the thousands of little pricks as I deleted favorite scenes and explanations. Unfortunately, it took more than a few sweet treats to ward off the evil edit monster and although my book is successfully whittled down to about 95,000 words, I'm feeling (and seeing) the effects. I don't have a goal weight, just the goal to fit back into my jeans comfortably.

So, what's yours? Tell me the one resolution that you know WILL happen in 2011!

The Shower

Shower.

What pictures or thoughts from that one little word, conjure up in your mind? To new mother's maybe solitude and peace? To a child, possibly frustration over an unnecessary and unwanted nightly routine?

To me, when I think of a shower, four different images, four different experiences pop into my mind.

Why four you ask?

Because in the last four months, my family has been moving and transitioning and I have lived in four different homes and therefore showered in four different showers. Granted, they all got the job done -they spouted warm water from above my head in an effort to cleanse me, but each had it's own unique quirks.

The shower I now have, one that I plan on having for a while, is wonderful. The water pressure is strong, and the droplets fall in streams (unlike one shower head that pushed the water out in a painful spray). My current shower has seats in it, seats! And is larger than the cramped quarters of the past.

I know this is a silly topic, but it's rarely discussed and incredibly important. And, I just enjoy my shower now that I had to tell someone. Or lots of people.

So, tell me about your shower. What do you like about it? What do you wish you could change? What have you already changed? Do you prefer glass doors or curtains? These are all important things you know. :) Inquiring minds want to know!