Mainstream

 

"A great book should leave you with many experiences, and slightly exhausted at the end. You live several lives while reading it."
William Styron

photo: Nessie at the Caledonian Canal
©LK Hunsaker - All Rights Reserved

I have recently been looking at definitions of genres. I'm switching mine, at least what I call it. The term  "literary" scares readers, many of them. And it sounds a bit pretentious, I suppose. What I do is more mainstream than literary, by definition ... but then, it depends which definition you read. They vary.

One site equaled mainstream novels to "blockbuster" fiction. Hm.

Mainstream, to me, equals "all of the rest of us" -- meaning, all of us not easily categorized and making lots of noise as to "what" we are. Genre fiction is like the term "Republican" or "Democrat" or "Activist" or "Hippie" or "Goth" or "Emo" or "Prep" or "Shy" or "Outgoing" or any other term that defines narrowly. Genre fiction is romance that has a basic plot with a happy ending. It's a mystery that is solved at the end. It's a horror that has more fear than understanding. Society's versions of genre fiction are the activists who yell to have no drilling of oil in our country, the goths who see everything as black and negative, the hippies who think no weapons is the only answer, the republicans who are all white and wealthy business people, the democrats who live in city apartments and fight for underdogs.

The problem with genres is that they are limited. They are important. They pick up the basic issues and expand on it. They choose an aspect and dig deeply into that one aspect. But, they are limited. There is always so much to the story that remains unseen.

They get the most attention. Those following labels and staying within the realm of their chosen aspect are louder, better seen, more vocal. But there is more.

Mainstream: all the rest of us who don't fit neatly.

We're the moderates. We're part shy and part outgoing. We're part prep and part emo. We don't focus enough on one thing that everything else is lost. We wander. We meander into different genres, using parts of several, expanding into other things, other paths, smelling the daisies along the highway, going to small-town parades just to hear the band. We have many interests and if you stick with us long enough, you're bound to enjoy the ride.

We're the backbone of fiction (Irving, Robinson, Hemingway) pointing out true life in all its shades. We're also the backbone of society, blending the genres, making little noise and pulling little attention, but standing stalwart and steady.

We're Mainstream -- in the middle of everything. We're opposite of Blockbuster, although some of us do stand out now and then. We aren't looking for quick and easy and get-rich-quick. We focus on the art of it, the gritty, unglamorous work of it. And we may be fairly silent, but we won't be silenced.

We have things to say. Listen closely and "see the wood through all the trees..."

["see the wood" lyrics quote from Steadman: Come Alive ©2000]

Technorati Tags: fiction,novels,authors,books,mainstream,literary,genre,writing,society,culture

Rehearsal: The Highest Aim -- preorders!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   Infinity Publishing 2008

With rising fame comes rising tensions and decisions that build relationships or destroy them.

Susie, Duncan, and Evan lead Raucous through the music world jungle heading toward the top. Along the way, family secrets are revealed and new additions come along, and the friends must redefine themselves within their new roles. While making sacrifices and reconsidering relationships, they’ll have to choose between clinging to their current worlds and letting go to explore new possibilities.

The Highest Aim is the second in a series of four.

~~~~~

Now available as a pre-order through:
http://www.elucidations.us/store.htm
for a discounted price. Discount ends when the book is released. Expected date is the end of July.

Find the first book of the series, with reader reviews, excerpt, & trailer  here: 

http://www.lkhunsaker.com/DifferentDrummer/main.htm

from the publisher (also with reader reviews):
http://www.buybooksontheweb.com/Product.aspx?ISBN=0-7414-3267-6

~~~~~
EXCERPT
(warning: this is a bit of a spoiler for Rehearsal: A Different Drummer)

28 July 1974

Grabbing an amp from the storage compartment beneath the rumbling bus, Evan straightened and jerked sideways enough for his guitar case to return to hanging over his back. Susie chastised him for overdoing the load, her eyes still sparkling from the excitement of the proposal. He assured her he was fine in the gentle tone he used only for her. Engaged. She was getting married. Evan couldn’t quite let it register in his brain and tried to let the strain of his muscles distract him from the strain of his thoughts.

It wasn’t supposed to happen that way. Or maybe it was, as happy as Duncan made her. Still, it left Evan drifting in the confusion of losing his life-long expectations.

His mom echoed Susie’s protest about carrying too much at once. It irritated Evan in a way Susie hadn’t. With a polite glance to say he heard her, he pushed on toward the apartment building, through night’s darkness and a cool breeze slapping his face. Janet held the door, mentioning how she enjoyed the lavender scent in front of the apartment building. Evan never cared for the herb before Susie planted it the previous spring, before he noticed how she loved it. Last year, they often sat on the steps to talk, enjoying the Massachusetts summer evenings, the freshness of nature, and each other. They hadn’t needed anything else.

He didn’t answer Janet, not wanting his girlfriend’s thoughts to invade his memories.

Voices swirled around the hallway and followed him into the basement while the band unloaded their equipment. Despite it being nearly one in the morning, they were all still talkative. Stu especially wouldn’t quit. He kept discussing the wedding, teasing Susie and Duncan about whether they would at least be engaged as long as they had dated. Janet countered with the necessity of waiting longer than that; four months wasn’t enough time to plan a wedding.

Unloading the amp onto the floor against the wall, Evan turned to see Duncan grimace while setting part of the drum set down. His ribs weren’t healed from the attempted mugging enough to carry much of anything yet. Wondering how Duncan got past his girlfriend … fiancée … in order to do so, Evan glanced around the basement. He didn’t see her. Amazing. He expected her to be glued to his side until they parted for the night.

Evan stopped him. “If Susie had seen the pain in your face I just did, she’d be all over you.”

“So do no’ tell her.” Duncan threw a grin.

“Deal, but only if you stop now. You can’t heal that way.”

“Ev…”

“I’m not backing down on this one.” Evan watched his friend’s face. There was a trace of wanting to tell him to back the hell off, as Duncan normally would, but mostly it was calm, relenting.

“So y’ are no’ pissed at me?”

“About what? You think I didn’t know you would push yourself too fast? How long have we known each other?”

“That is no’ what I meant. Y’ have no’ said anything about it yet, other than in front of everyone.” He looked over at voices in the distance, and returned the gaze. “Should I ‘ave told y’ I was going t’ propose?”

“Why would you need to tell me first?”

“Because she is closer t’ you than to anyone else. I did talk t’ her dad, but maybe I should ‘ave said something t’ you.”

“You asked John’s permission?” Evan couldn’t hide his surprise. No one did that anymore. Or maybe they did in Scotland? In 1974? Evan rather doubted it was the norm there, either.

“His opinion matters t’ her. I wanted t’ know it would no’ cause more trouble.”

“Who are you?” Evan grinned at his friend’s raised eyebrow. “I don’t mean that as an insult. But I’ve been so focused on how Susie has changed that I think I’ve missed something. Since when do you ask permission to do anything?”

Duncan looked across the room when Susie’s laughter cut through other voices, studying her a moment as she stood talking with Kate and Alison. “Y’ know I am lucky she will have anything t’ do with me. I do no’ know why she does or why she accepted, but I do not want t’ screw things up now.”

“Lucky?” Evan shook his head. “You’re good for her.” Despite himself, he had to admit it. “Duncan, if you had asked me, I would have told you I have never in my life seen her as happy as she is now. People screw up. Hell, I screw up all the time and she hasn’t walked away from me yet.” Evan glanced over and caught her eyes; she knew they were talking about her.

Commotion caught his attention – Stu trying to carry too much at once. Setting a hand on Duncan’s shoulder, he knew he had to say more. “You don’t need my approval, but you have it. I meant my congratulations sincerely.”

“Then y’ will stand up with me? Be my best man?”

Duncan’s best man, while he married the love of Evan’s life. Something was rather unjust about the idea. “You’ve been planning this for a while?”

“Since the day she said she was in love with me. I only waited t’ be legal so I knew I would no’ be makin’ her choose between me and her home.”

Making her choose. Except she already had. Susie would choose Duncan over anything, or anyone. Evan stifled his thoughts. “I would be honored to stand up with you.”

Accepting a handshake and thanks, he went to help Stu and to finish unloading. Walking past Susie, he paused to mention her fiancé was having a hard time not letting himself carry equipment, knowing full well Duncan had followed and was listening.

“Oh? Well, I think he’s not going to.” She smiled at Evan and set a hand on Duncan’s stomach, her other arm wrapping around his back. “I’m still in charge.”

Duncan raised an eyebrow. “Are y’ now?”

She kissed him.

Evan continued toward Stu.

Technorati Tags: writing,novels,literature,bands,music,authors,books,romance,literary,relationships,excerpt

Who Says Authors Are So Smart?

 

 

 

 

 

 

A quote by a best selling author:

"I don’t want to sound like an ad, a public service ad on TV, but the fact is if you can read, you can walk into a job later on. If you don’t, then you’ve got, the Army, Iraq, I don’t know, something like that. It’s, it’s not as bright. So, that’s my little commercial for that."

Before revealing the author, if you don't know already, I have to comment on the quote. There are so many things wrong with this statement, I’m not sure where to start.

First, the most obvious: the Army is NOT full of the uneducated/illiterate. Trust me on this. I know LOTS of them. And, being in the Army (or any other military branch) does NOT mean you can’t or won’t read! This author is largely supported by the military, in fact, since his books are one of the staples of their free time while living in tents in the desert away from their loved ones. That’s much of what they do: they read. Tons of books are shipped over to help fill their downtime when they get it and to help them escape from where they are. Books are highly requested items.

Second, people do not join the military, especially nowadays when they know they’ll be going overseas, just because they can’t get anything else. Not true. They sign up because they have the brains to know how important it is to support your country and because they have the guts to do it. (I’m quite sure that author wouldn’t make it in the Army. He would never even get through boot camp.) Many of them actually sign up in order to help pay for college because they are bright and determined to make something of their lives and are willing to work hard for that college money instead of sitting around asking for free government handouts. Very bright, indeed. Top of the line Americans.

Third, even besides the military viewpoint, what makes him think he has the right to degrade those who are not good at reading/language? Seriously, does he think that’s the only sign of intelligence? It isn’t. We all have our strong points, but being better at one thing as compared to another does not make that group smarter. Not at all. Some of us are good at language, others good at science or math, others can build anything you need built and learn how to use any tool/machine someone can create. Is one more important or does it put those people above others? No.

I have very good language skills, I’m a good editor, and I’ve been told I have a way with words. But give me something to build from scratch and ... you better stay out of the building because it’s not likely to stand. And don’t try to ask me how tall or long something is unless you give me a ruler. Mechanics? Forget it? I can’t grasp the concept. So, between me and the person who can measure in his head and build houses from ground up or rebuild an engine and make it run better than before, which of us is the more intelligent? Can’t tell? Neither can I.

A good command of language does not make you smarter than anyone else. I know authors who really aren’t all that smart, which apparently includes the author of that quote.We, as authors, are part of the entertainment industry, as much as I hate to admit it. The entertainment industry as a whole needs to take a step back and realize their place in society. They are not the end all and be all. They are ... entertainment. Not that it isn’t important. Of course it is. At the end of a hard day of real work, people deserve to have some entertainment to help them unwind. However, it doesn’t come first. First, they need food, shelter, and safety. Without those three NEEDS, entertainment means nothing. Without all of those laborers (farmers, manufacturers, retailers, secretaries, mechanics, and of course our military), entertainment would be nothing but a joke. Who needs a novel when you don’t have clothes to put on your back or food to eat or a safe place in which to read it? Seriously, let’s remember what’s important, here.

My husband was a soldier. He fought in Desert Storm. The rest of his twenty years of career service, he did such a vast array of jobs I can’t begin to imagine being able to do. Bright? Very. He can figure out how to make anything work. I’m constantly impressed and humbled by his abilities. Try putting that author in charge of millions of dollars worth of weaponry and figuring out how to get a whole group of soldiers and all of the equipment to training and back again with not one piece of equipment unaccounted for, not to mention being in charge of a group of soldiers and training them well enough to get them all home again safely. Actually, don’t. What a fiasco that would be!

Yes, I have a good command of language, have two books published, am an avid reader, have a bachelor’s degree, and ... and nothing I have ever done can stand up to what he has done. I’ve been called a wonder woman (hm?) while he is the one in the background doing the daily hard labor that allows me to do what I do. At least I’m not arrogant enough to think I’m more intelligent or that my work is more important. It’s not. It can’t touch the importance of his work. In all reality, we work FOR them, not the other way around.

That author’s work, even though he’s a best seller many times over, does not come close to the importance of what our military is doing. He’s more arrogant than intelligent.

For those arguing that he didn’t mean it the way he said it, read his memoir/writing instruction book. Yes, he meant it. It wasn’t a one-time slip. He has a very low opinion of our military. I would love to be able to ask him how, if he thinks they are all illiterate morons, we have the world’s strongest and most powerful military. It isn’t because of the leaders, guaranteed. It is because of each one of our troops, because they are strong and smart and educated in so many ways we can’t begin to understand. And they are protecting us from having to live under Bin Laden’s rule, or Hussein’s, or Hitler’s, or whoever else would decide to walk in and take over if not for our military. Consider that, Mr. King. Try writing under those circumstances.

"We need a very strong military to protect the freedoms we do have."
Jerry Bruckheimer

"I’m inclined to think that a military background wouldn’t hurt anyone."
William Faulkner

"If everyone who graduated from high school was required to do some form of public service, you would have enough people in the military."
Montel Williams

"Successful organizations, including the Military, have learned that the higher the risk, the more necessary it is to engage everyone’s commitment and intelligence."
Margaret J. Wheatley

** I posted this on my writing blog earlier today and a couple of things said in comments need to be included:

1-- Today's military uses very high tech weaponry that takes a fair amount of intelligence and skill to use. The illiterate would never make it in to any service branch. These are not people who were drafted. They are volunteers who have to pass tests to prove they can do the jobs. If they can't, they get kicked out.

2-- This author's former multi-drug use (to the extent he says he barely remembers writing at least a couple of his books and had no idea what he was writing part of the time) helped to fuel the wars our soldiers are now fighting. Where do you think those drugs came from? They support our enemies. Illegal drug users are helping to fund their fight against us.

I would love to know what actual value this author has been to his country. He provided entertainment. Great, but if people weren't reading his books, they would be reading someone else's. *shrug* What real USE have you been to us, Mr. King? Try asking the same of any service member. They have an answer.

 

Technorati Tags: writing,books,authors,military,Army,Stephen King,fiction,essay,opinion,literature,entertainment,intelligence

A small matter of quality

"I think all of us like to do things to the best of our ability and it has nothing to do with the competition factor, it has to do with quality."
Jerry Bruckheimer

 

I think too many of us have forgotten the definition of quality, or we've stopped caring.

In the quest for more and more and faster and faster, we've lost this important attribute. We all know we have. We all complain about the lack of quality in items we purchase. We fuss if our 'fast food' meals takes more than 15 seconds to receive and then fuss when the quality isn't there. How much quality should we expect to get in food prepared in 15 seconds?

As much as I would like to believe Jerry Bruckheimer's quote, I have a hard time doing so. I believe most of us just want more and faster, and cheaper. The cheaper things are, the more things we can buy. Never mind if they fall apart quickly or are less than truly satisfying; we have more of it.

*sigh*

I see it in my own profession, as well. I've read excerpt after excerpt of new books coming out. I browse bookstores and read the first two paragraphs from new authors, or at least new to me. It becomes rather disparaging as I continually find weak openings, incomplete sentences not used purposely or for effect, repetition to the point where I want to scream, "Enough already! I get that's she's busty and he's well built! Okay!"

I see a flux of adverbs used instead of strong verbs. I see sentence structures and paragraphs that fourth graders could write (no offense to fourth graders).

I've read the first 25 pages of a book where nearly nothing happens and what does happen is cliche and ... repetitive.

I see authors bragging about having four or more books published in a year and I have to wonder how they have time to rewrite and edit and rewrite again when they're producing so quickly.  And ... when do they find time to study the craft in between selling it? I see them say they don't have time to read. Then, how are they learning and improving?

Maybe I don't have room to talk about producing since my most recent book was supposed to be out last fall and still isn't, and since I have only two books out since 2003. One of them is 3-4 times as long as most of the 4-book-a-year novels and I have been working other jobs in between, so I'm sure those are both factors in the difference. I'm sure some writers see my producing stats and roll their eyes. Still, much of the time in between, I've been continuing to study the craft: reading, reviewing, perusing how-to articles and books, and going back to rewrite and edit several times.

I do believe it should be about the quality, not the competition. How many matters less to me than actual content. I prefer a nice sit down dinner even if I have to do it less often than numerous 15 second meals.

Although I've been trying to stretch into the many contemporary writers, I find myself falling back into my beloved classics when quality still mattered. They tend to take longer to read, but oh, how much more I get out of them!

"You can't fake quality any more than you can fake a good meal."
William S. Burroughs

Amazon and PODs

The buzz is flying furiously. No, the bees aren't out again yet, not here, anyway, but POD publishers and authors are being stung by Amazon's new policy.

If you didn't know, Amazon bought Booksurge, a POD company, back in 2005. Although Booksurge was not one of the better names in the industry, with inferior printing being charged by some of the authors, Amazon's name helped to make it one of the better known companies, and they say the quality has improved.

Now, Amazon has taken a new direction with their POD plant by insisting that all POD books must be set up through Booksurge in order to have "Buy it" buttons on Amazon listings, or they must go through Amazon's Advantage program.

What does that mean to authors and other POD companies? It means extra setup fees. Authors going it their own instead of through traditional publishing companies already pay fees to whatever company they find that best suits their needs. This policy means they will also need to pay set up through Booksurge, unless, of course, they simply decide to abandon their chosen company and work only with Amazon's company. It means Amazon is trying to pull a monopoly on the POD business.

Now, they say they are trying to make the shopping experience better for the customer because they can provide faster "one box" shipping if they print the books themselves and lower transportation costs by not needing to ship the books in. Here's their statement:

http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=176060&p=irol-printondemand

There are several problems with this statement:

1) Even when a customer orders several items using their free super saver all together shipping (one box, supposedly), it often comes in separate packages, even when the customer has stated no shipping rush and if they come one day apart. My last order included 3 items, super saver shipping, no POD books, and all 3 things came separately.

2) If publishers use their Advantage program, which means selling on consignment for a large discount, they have to ship their books to Amazon's distribution services, anyway.

3) When LSI (the printer for most all POD companies) prints books for the companies that are sold from Amazon, they ship them directly from their own distribution center using Amazon boxes and Amazon sales slips. There are no additional transportation fees and there is no additional waiting time.

So what does it really mean? Authors and companies using POD and not using Booksurge are getting screwed for no reason except Amazon first makes money printing the books and then makes money selling them.

I will no longer be buying from Amazon until this policy reverts, and my 'buy it from Amazon' links will be removed from everywhere I advertise my own books.

This is a blow against indies and individual choice in favor of big business monopoly and I won't support that.

You can order my books, as well as any book with an ISBN,  through any independent bookstore. Find your local store at Booksense. A link is to the left.

--Source:
Angela Hoy at Writer's Weekly

Technorati Tags: amazon,booksurge,pod,writing,publishing

It was a...

Earlier today, I was taking part in a conversation at Coffee Time Romance [http://www.coffeetimeromance.com] about what readers need in a novel to hold their interest and whether or not they would give an author a second chance if the first they read wasn't very good.

It reminded me of another conversation at Author Nation [http://www.authornation.com] recently where a genre writer was cursing "literature" (meaning literary fiction) and said he couldn't tell anyone why "It was a dark and stormy night" was not a good opening line.

Personally, I'm not interested in reading work by an author who does not know why it isn't, regardless of their genre. That was one thing I pointed out in the first discussion.

I realize the writer's point was that much literary fiction is overdone and pretentious. However, the generalization that it all is and that authors shouldn't have to study the craft well enough to be able to write pretentiously makes me shake my head. Yes, they should. No matter what genre an author writes, the craft should be studied and the rules learned, even if they are broken.

What do you think? How many of you readers and writers know the problem with that opening line? How many think I'm crazy to think it isn't a good way to start a novel?

The rest of my answer as to what I need for a novel to hold me:

1) Characterization -- they have to have real depth
2) Writing quality -- beautiful, deep characters will mean nothing if the craft of the story is poor

Oh, and watch the adverbs.

Romance Chat!

Come on over to my message board and let's virtually chat about romance, books, authors, heroes, heroines, writing, or anything else romantically art related! I'll be in and out all day..

http://www.voy.com/198742/

Book Review: Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

"Faith is an oasis in the heart which will never be reached by the caravan of thinking."
Kahlil Gibran

At the end of Anna Karenina, this quote by Gibran seems a good summary of the novel that many call the world's greatest.

It took me a fair amount of time to read the sprawling epic set in Russia before her revolution. As a writer, I often thought it could be enhanced by better editing. The repetitions in it served to make it longer than necessary while not adding to the story line, and at times, it seemed an impossible task to get through.

However, I love character-driven stories that show "why" more than "what." Anna Karenina is all about the "why" the characters act as they do. Set in Russia before its Revolution, Anna Karenina is a true psychological study of not only the Russian people and their society, but societal and personal issues of all mankind.

Following the story of a married woman disenchanted by her dull life and marriage who steps out of bounds to seek passion, Anna Karenina shows the effects not only on herself, but on those she left behind and on all those who love her. At the same time, we have a story of the wealthy class versus the laborers, and the faithful versus the faithless and the searching. We have views of the government from the inside and out, of the arts, of philosophers, and of both men and women.

Tolstoy puts himself in the novel as one of the characters, with much of the story imitating his lfe. He was writing what he knew. Levin's thoughts are his. Many of the events are real events, fictionalized. This, somehow, makes it feel all more legitimate. The swaying emotions of the story are so passionate and true that it does have a tendency to exhaust the reader at times. Still, we remain pulled in by the unending action, the closeness of the characters who are vivid enough to be as real to us as they were to Tolstoy, and the truths revealed along the way.

Tolstoy was a well-educated man, but he did not stop at book learning. He went beyond, pondering the difference between book learning and real life experience, and laying all of that pondering out for us in the novel. There is no moral slapping us in the face and no judgment of any of the characters. They are who they are and we learn from who they are and how it affects their lives.

This is a story of love, of society, of faith, of doubt, and of truth. It should be required reading for all high school seniors before they enter the world where their decisions will be affecting all of us.


My favorite quotes from the book:

In the discussions which took place between the brothers on their views of the peasantry, Koznyshev was always victorious, precisely because he had definite ideas about the peasant -- his character, his qualities, and his tastes -- while Levin had no definite and fixed views on the subject, and so in their arguments Levin was readily convicted of contradicting himself. (pg.258)

The better he knew his brother, the more he noticed that Kaznyshev, and many other people who worked for the welfare of the public, were not led by an impulse of the heart to care for the public good, but had reasoned out in their minds that it was a right thing to take interest in public affairs, and consequently took interest in them. (pg.259)

God gave the day, God gave the strength for it. And the day and the strength were consecrated to labour, and that labour was its own reward. For whom the labour? What would be its fruits? These were idle considerations beside the point. (pg.297)

Levin maintained that the mistake of Wagner and his followers lay in trying to make music enter the domain of another art, just as poetry goes wrong when it tries to depict the features of a face, which is the function of painting. (pg. 717)

I assume that a salary is a payment for value received, and should conform to the law of supply and demand. If that law be ignored when fixing a salary -- as, for instance, when I see two engineers leaving college together, both equally well trained and efficient, and one getting forty thousand while the other is content with two; or when hussars and graduates of the law schools, having no special qualifications, are appointed directors of banking societies with gigantic salaries -- I conclude that these salaries are not determined in accordance with the law of supply and demand but simply through personal influence. And this is an abuse of great gravity in itself, and one which has an injurious effect on the Government service. (pg.754)

So it is with the unanimity of the Press. It's been explained to me: as soon as there is a war their circulation is doubled. How can they help considering that the fate of the people and the Slavonic races ... and all the rest of it? (pg.844)

When Levin puzzled over what he was and what he was living for, he could find no answer and fell into despair; but when he left off worrying about the problem of his existence he seemed to know both what he was and for what he was living, for he acted and lived resolutely and unfalteringly. (pg.824)

I was in search of an answer to my question. But reason could not give an answer to my questions -- reason is incommensurable with the problem. The answer has been given me by life itself, through my knowledge of what is right and what is wrong. And this knowledge I did not acquire in any way: it was given to me as it is to everybody -- given, because I could not have got it from anywhere. (pg.832)

-- Note: page numbers refer to the 1978 edition by Penguin Classics entitled Anna Karenin, London, England.

2008 and Today

Today is my first official full day back to work this year.

I work from home, so I suppose it would be hard to tell, but I have been putting family and the house first (a new house that needs personal-touch upgrading) over the holidays while circumstances made it the right time to do that, pushing aside much of my own work until the right time came to return to it steadily. Part of me always resents the intrusion into my work time, even when the intrusion is enjoyable. Breaks are good, however, as long as they don't become too extended.

One of my goals this year, since I do goals now instead of resolutions, is to write every day, on break or on holiday notwithstanding. It may be no more than a couple of paragraphs given the day's circumstances, but it will be something -- something other than blogging and email, something creative. So far, I have done that, and yes, there have been days it was only a paragraph or two, but it was new and creative. Art is like anything else; it must be routinely practiced to have a 'building' effect that causes improvement.

So far, I have finished a short contest entry entitled "Dear Me" -- a letter to myself about what I want to accomplish during the year; I have started a new short story about one of my favorite novel characters to delve more deeply into a time of his life that isn't included in one of the novels in my series; and maybe most exciting, last night I finally finished the complete rewrite of the novel fans are asking for ... the second of the Rehearsal series. It has only taken me a year and a half to do the rewrite. Only. Yes well, it is somewhere close to 200,000 words and in between I've done several short stories and the first 60,000 words of two other novels along with my online job, kids, and moving to a new state.

Today I start the major editing of it. I may be in the minority, but I love the editing process. I love going back and grimacing at some of the strange sentence structures that came from a tired brain and reworking them until they have just the right effect. I love being able to let myself highlight whole sections that aren't really necessary and clicking the delete key. I always save each complete draft, which makes that less scary. Mainly, I love seeing something rough sharpen and lighten and become more for the reader than for me.

Today, as well, my oldest child started college. It's an exciting time (never mind the tuition/books bill) that takes me back to my own college days and all of the vivid memories. It also means she will be out of the house not only for her variable part time job hours but for a set time two days a week that I can count on as being "mine" and mine alone.

Today, my husband is back to work after a long, well-deserved holiday break.

Today, I pushed further into an affiliation with a new organization I am proud to be associated with: Books for Boots.

Today, I also start the revamp of my website to include the info on this association.

Today ... is full of possibilities.

What are all of you doing with your todays?

P.S. I Love You (no spoilers review)

Gerard Butler and Hillary Swank

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P.S. I Love You

Scotsman Gerard Butler came to the forefront in Hollywood with Phantom of the Opera, starred in Shattered (among others), and picked up speed in 300. Anyone who has seen him on Letterman or Craig Ferguson knows he is a true, all-or-nothing, high adventure, charming and seductive Scot. It was said that his newest movie shows the true Gerry. If so, it must have been a lot of fun on the set of P.S. I Love You. Can you tell I'm a Gerard Butler fan?

I'm actually a new fan who was less than impressed with some parts of his rendition of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Phantom of the Opera. It wasn't the voice that bothered me. It was the fact that some of it was out of his range -- the fault of the producer/director, not the actor. He tried, and otherwise it was pleasant and the acting of it was beautiful.

He also sings, this time with acoustic guitar (my favorite way to listen to a nice voice), in his newest film. I was actually quite impressed. I tend to be a music snob. I like many genres but they have to have true music quality, not only cute faces or pounding beats. I would love to have the full versions of Gerry singing the songs he did bits of in the movie. Very nice. Very smooth. Very sensual. Alas, they are not included on the soundtrack, so I will not be picking that one up.

As for the movie, it was nicely done, filmed both in the States and in Ireland, featuring the Emerald Isle's incredible scenery. With most films, I can guess the ending within the first ten minutes. I didn't with this one. I like that about it. I like the true-to-life emotions that weren't overdone or underdone. I like the points made about life and love and loss and moving forward. I loved the fun playfulness of Gerard's character and the way he portrayed it. I liked the bits of Irish customs that were real, not characterized or cliched. And I liked the music.

I write literary romance and that's how I would describe this movie. It's romance, yes, but it has such a nice story and realistic, likeable characters who matter to the audience. It has culture, psychology, relationship issues of different kinds, and a suitable (not sappy) ending. This is a romance at its best.

The only thing I didn't quite understand is what Hillary's character was living on financially. It makes a point of showing how tight money is, but she doesn't seem at all constricted once she's on her own. That point threw it off just a bit for me, as I'm a realist type, but it wasn't a big issue.

All of the actors did a nice job. Hillary Swank portrayed a confused artistic-type wife trying to fit into society's expectations and the world of 9-to5 jobs quite well (which is hard for business types to truly understand), and Lisa Kudrow is always enjoyable, but Gerard Butler made the film worth buying. I will be buying it as soon as it's available.