Archive for March, 2009

Dead barn cat: A eulogy…kind of

March 29, 2009 at 1:54 pm · Filed under Martha's Vineyard, island life

Last night, the Sweetened Water Farm barn cat finally lost its fight with suicidal pothole napping. In memory, I thought I’d share a story of my most vivid recollection of the cat, which might illustrate my belief that karma was going to get that sucker some day.

One day, I was driving down the dirt road to my parents’ house, past the split rail fence of the pastures where the horses graze. On top of the fence sat two birds. Robins, perhaps? My father can attest to the fact that I am inept at bird identification. Anyway, the two bird buddies were sharing a conversation that went something like this:

Bird 1: Tweet, tweet, tweet?

Bird 2: Tweet, tweet, tweet!

Then along skulks the fat orange feline, and POUNCE! Bird 2 is ripped from his perch and pulled to the ground, maimed and killed in cold blood while his buddy looks on, screaming. I kid you not: Bird 1 sat on that fence screaming. It was so sad.

So to you, barn cat, I say adieu.

And to the birds, it is now safe to come out of your hiding places. The reign of terror has ended.

Comments (3)

Big girl pants

March 24, 2009 at 3:07 pm · Filed under inspiration

When I was a junior in high school, there was a boy I liked and I really wanted to call him but was too scared. So I called my friend Yoda instead.

Yoda said something that has stuck with me to this day, and right now as I consider letting yet another day go by without working on my manuscript or sending out query letters because I’m just too damn scared, her words come back to me. They went something like this:

“Remember when you were a little girl and you wanted to do big girl things? Stop peeing your pants and do it already!”

I wrote her advice down on a piece of paper, which I stared at as I shakily dialed the cute boy’s number. And it worked! I called! And I don’t remember it ending badly. So I’m going to try it again, right here:

STOP PEEING YOUR PANTS AND DO IT ALREADY!!!

Leave a Comment

Blog addiction: Publishing insiders

March 17, 2009 at 11:57 am · Filed under blogs, inspiration, writing

I originally thought I had put off writing the second in my series of blog addiction posts out of sheer laziness. That is, until this weekend, when I discovered the list was not yet complete, as it was not until Saturday that I discovered Maureen Johnson. Who is HILARIOUS. She has written a ton of YA books, all of which I am so pumped to read once I’ve made a dent in this:

photo

I wrote about Neil Gaiman’s blog a while back (here). His writing is just lovely, first of all. Besides that, he answers readers’ questions, sometimes giving good advice about writing. There is also this kid-in-a-candy-shop vibe lately since he won the Newbury for the Graveyard Book that is so exciting. For example, yesterday he was fired up about his spot on the Colbert Report. As you should be.

Another favorite: Meg Cabot. She’s hilarious! And upbeat! And listens to Beyonce! And reminds me of all my college friends in an odd way – like if she were to hang out with us, she’d get all the jokes without any explanation.

I love Jessica Faust’s blog for the BookEnds, LLC literary agency. Her posts are the perfect length, the information is so succinct and clear and, without trying to be, the spirit of the posts is always positive – constructive, but positive.

So there you have it. These are the publishing blogs that invoke a quiet “Yippee!” from me to computer when new entries show up in the reader. Enjoy!

Still to come: LADIES OF THE BLOG, FRIENDS OF THE BLOG, HILARITY….

Leave a Comment

Blog addiction: Advice columns

March 11, 2009 at 2:25 pm · Filed under Uncategorized

Sada* has been asking me for a while now to share with her some of the blogs I’ve been following. I figured if I was going to compile a list for her, I might as well keep my other 12 readers in the loop.

So this week, I’m sharing some of my faves. When these guys come up in Google Reader, I get excited, because I know I’m going to smile, or I’m going to learn something, or maybe I’ll be provoked to talk to my computer, which really confuses the dogs who are wary enough of the computer as it is.
Read the rest of this entry »

Comments (1)

Why I hate January, corporate taxes, and the ides of March

March 3, 2009 at 2:49 pm · Filed under life

I have to get a groove back with the writing. I lost the groove post-NaNoWriMo what with the wedding spectacular of a BFF, followed by the holidays, followed by January. Let me tell you a little something about January. She’s a deceptive and tricky bitch, she is. I always expect by then that life will sloooow down. The holidays have passed, around here the stores are all but boarded up, the people start taking vacations and even the ~15K winter population dwindles as people rotate in and out, the weather forbids you exit from your domicile lest your face fall off, etc. It should be a period of forced hibernation, really.

But oh no.

Because with January comes my most dreaded and stress-laden task of the year: tax preparation.
Read the rest of this entry »

Leave a Comment