An award, woo-hoo!

So um...cool!

Julianne at Writing the Renaissance (my submission buddy) has awarded me an Excellent Blog award! I hadn't heard of this before, but it seems to be an organic award bloggers give to each other, in recognition of blogs they like. I'm honored, Julianne, thank you!

The second part of the deal is to choose 10 blogs that I enjoy regularly to award in turn. Not difficult at all--there are so many! Here are my ten, in no particular order:

1. Janet Reid. http://jetreidliterary.blogspot.com/ I'd hang out there daily even if she wasn't my agent. Wait, I DID hang out there daily before...

2. A Novel Woman http://anovelwoman.blogspot.com/ For breathtaking pictures and funny stories.

3. Motherhood is Not for Wimps http://damomma.com/ The best Mom/Life blog I've run across. I've been reading Elizabeth's posts for years!

4. Jackson Pearce http://watchmebe.livejournal.com/ For the vlogs especially!

5. Melissa Marr http://melissa-writing.livejournal.com/ I love Melissa's books, and her blog gives a wonderful glimpse of a professional writer's life.

6. Jo Bourne http://jobourne.blogspot.com/ For the technical writing tips particularly...Jo rocks.

7. kc dyer http://kcdyer.blogspot.com/, who blogs about her incredibly busy life writing, promoting, AND running the Surrey conference.

8. Simply Elise http://www.elise.com/recipes/ My favorite cooking blog EVER. Okay, the only cooking blog I read.

9. Diana Peterfreund http://www.dianapeterfreund.com/blog/ I've been following Diana's publishing adventures for a long time now.

10. Lottery Girl http://lotterygirl.blogspot.com/ She hasn't been out there a long time, but what she does have kicks ass. :)

Enjoy!

Obama update

So...Barack Obama. Likely {fingers crossed} next President of the United States. In my town, on the 4th of July.

Really?

Proof:

That's me, right there, in the hat. Holding Child. An AP photo. WOW.

See, that's why I haven't blogged about it since it happened. All I have to say is WOW.

Originally, Barack was going to march in our parade. However, the Secret Service (see at least 2 of them in the photo) nixed that idea. So instead, he watched the parade for a bit, with his family, and then hosted a picnic on the Montana Tech campus, for those lucky few (okay, 1700) who could get tickets.

We got tickets. That's two scores: 1, live in the right place at the right time. 2, we got in line just in time--we got the last batch of tickets. Yay! I could barely sleep the night before. (okay, there were fireworks going off too...)

We showed up for the picnic with our chairs, blanket, hats and water, and little else. We had to pass through a metal detector and through some fencing, but it was all well organized and easy. They'd set up well. We arrived about an hour before Barack did, and there were already people getting food, sitting at the picnic tables, and playing with the huge beach balls they'd tossed around the lawn. We picked a likely table--not TOO close to the stage, since those were already all taken, and started to plop our stuff down...

when we were chosen by a staffer to go sit in the restricted area, "on camera" (she said), where Barack and his family would be speaking (and eating). Score 3.

It was a bit hectic when Barack and his family actually arrived in their big bus, what with all the Secret Service people and staffers hovering, and most people directly disobeying the request not to rush him for a handshake line. But once he settled in, it was awesome. Our senator spoke, then our governor, then Michelle Obama, then Barack. We were RIGHT THERE, standing and cheering. It was overwhelming, amazing, awesome. I've supported the man for a long time now, but in person he really is inspirational, and charming. Bonus: it was his daughter Malia's tenth birthday, so there was an extra-special celebration for that. There was a cake, and the crowd, both in the parade and at the picnic, sang her "Happy Birthday."

After his speech he took the time to shake everyone's hand he could reach, both inside the barricade and along the fence. Including mine.

WOW.

Then he managed to go and grill some hamburgers for himself and some lucky folks in the crowd, chat with people a bit more, and then disappear.

I love this, too. He scheduled some private family time, so his family could celebrate the 4th and his daughter's birthday. They hung out at our World Museum of Mining, danced, played hula hoop, and were mostly sans reporters. They spent the night somewhere in town, flying out the next morning.

I am so grateful that I and my family had this opportunity to see him, hear him speak, and shake his hand. It's something I can definitely tell my grandkids about...and my daughter can too. If I can get a bit more coherent about it.

Did I say WOW?

Linkage

When I said I was going to post about Obama's visit today, I meant tomorrow. Wednesday. My brain is not there today.

In the meantime, go watch this. It is full of awesomeness, and is rather how I pictured writing to be too. Go. Laugh.

Heck,if you need diversion, watch all Jackson's vlogs. She always makes me laugh. And the other About Writing authors too...

To sum up: July 3rd

This was such an amazing holiday weekend--stuffed with memorable moments. I'm not sure that I'm recovered, really. For now, I will try to give you an impression of Thursday. Tomorrow, Obama's visit.

Thursday was July 3rd, the day that Butte celebrates Independence Day with our big town firework display over the "Big M". Butte is a firework-crazed town: nearly everybody shoots off their own display, big pro-size rockets exploding all over town, every night, for days on end. Usually on the 3rd my parents, hubby, Child and I head over to a friend's house. We feast, then about 10:30 we pull the lawn chairs out into the alley and watch the Big Show, just up the street. All the neighbor's fireworks stop when the Big Show starts--the whole town pauses during the Big Show--then start up again about 5 minutes after it's over.

This July 3rd our friends were out of town, so we had a feast at my parent's house instead, eyeing the thunderclouds the whole time. We're fairly new-ish here, so we didn't know what would happen if a full-fledged summer storm hit at the same time as the Big Show.

It did. They do it anyway.

We drove up to a hilltop park in the pouring rain, with lightning jagged all around us, and thunder rolling. We parked our two cars next to each other, and about 30 other cars, facing the Big M. The show was a bit late, but they did it, everybody rolling down their windows and oohing and aahing at both the fireworks and the competing (or complementing) show from Mother Nature.

Child was impressed for about 10 minutes and then fell asleep on my lap. She does every year.

Some things change, some stay the same. The trick is to love them all, right?

Quick update

We're all running around getting ready for Obama's visit (tomorrow!) and 4th activities. And I'm trying to get my writing in. Melody is going really well...

Later, gators! Have a wonderful 4th if I don't get another chance to post!

Happy Canada Day!

Happy Canada Day to all my Canadian friends!

WOW.

News just broke--at least here--that Barack Obama is going to walk in our 4th of July parade.

Here. In Butte, Montana. In our parade.

In which I am going to be dressed in Huck Finn-ish clothes and riding on a truck.

Hmmmm. *wild emotion swings*

Whew

And yay, made my monthly goal on MELODY. Now I may eat cake.

Okay, a second piece of cake. Stolen from the kitchen. The end piece. :)

The winner!!

And the winner of a signed copy of My Lord and Spymaster, through the services of random.org, is...

Lori Benton!!

Congratulations, Lori! Send me an email at susan dot adrian@yahoo.com, and we'll get your copy to you!

Are you ready? Are you? Are you?

Drawing in 5 minutes.

RANDOM drawing, Beth and Stephanie. {cough}

Dates, argh.

As someone pointed out, my date for Monday is incorrect--Monday is actually June 30th. AND I've got an appointment Monday morning, so I wouldn't be able to draw for a while.

So, we'll push it back, but only a tiny bit. I'll do the draw at NOON Monday JUNE 30. See ya then!

Joanna Bourne: Interview! Contest!

Joanna Bourne writes excellent books. You don't have to take my word for it--check out just about any review of The Spymaster's Lady. And then read it yourself, if you haven't already. You'll thank me.

Jo's new book, My Lord and Spymaster, is officially coming out on Monday, though the sneaky booksellers have been filling the shelves with it early. To celebrate the fantabulous release, I roped Jo into an exclusive (somewhat wacky) interview, and we're giving away a Signed Copy! Check the end of this post for contest details. First, the interview:

Susan: Congratulations on the wonderful reception of The Spymaster's Lady, and the release of My Lord and Spymaster! I can't wait to get my hands on it.

JO: Thank you so much.

Susan: Now, the interrogation. Annique, the heroine of TSL, was a strong, crafty--but somewhat naïve--French spy. Tell us about Jess, the heroine of MLS.

JO: Jess is a slum-born Cockney. Guts, luck and brains got her out of the grim rookeries of London and a life of crime.

Now she's headed back to those mean streets. They're more dangerous than ever. She left unfinished business behind her, and dangerous enemies, and chunks of her soul.

Guess she still needs the guts, luck and brains.

If Annique is juggling the fate of nations, Jessamyn is fighting on a different, more intimate, scale. She has to save her father, and the man she's falling in love with. Maybe that soul, too.

Susan: The rumor is (and I am totally making this up) that you love to write about spies because you were, in fact, a spy. True/False? (or if you answer, will they send someone to wipe my computer after?)

JO: Oh, good heavens, no. You would have to see me. I'm this dumpy, little round woman with glasses.

I am perfectly willing to pretend to be a spy, though, if that lends authenticity to the series.

Jess is a master merchant. I'm not actually a merchant.
(Jo tries to assume the mien and demeanor of commercial genius.)

Susan: Over at the Compuserve Books & Writers Forum you're renowned--some might say worshipped--for your detailed posts about the craft and mechanics of writing, featuring Myrtle the Vampire. Any chance Myrtle could come out and play for a minute? (question for Myrtle: illustrate the difference between show and tell with an example)

JO: Worship like with incense and chanting, or worship as in turning me upside down like Ganesh?
Ah well.

TELL:

Myrtle pretended to be a spy, a sensual Mata Hari, a vamp, instead of a vampire.

She'd hope Bond would think she was interested in death rays, instead of corpuscles. Maybe he'd lock his secrets up safe and bare his neck.

Bad choice for him, if he did.

SHOW:

"Tell me about the MS-27." Myrtle unhooked the back of her dress and let it slither to the ground. Then she did some slithering herself, approaching. "You know you want to."

"I think not." Bond considered her cleavage. He was shaken, but not stirred. "Shall we discuss the weather instead? I'm British."

She licked his sternocleidomastoid. Yum. Yum. "Have you ever made love to a dead woman?"

"Not that I know of."

Susan: Perfect!! Seriously, thank you for the massive hours you must have spent over the years teaching and mentoring other writers. Who do you consider your mentors?

JO: Diana Gabaldon is endlessly helpful and supportive to everybody at Books and Writers. Darlene Marshall and Pam Patchet are beautiful comedic voices. I've learned a lot from them.

Susan: I know you've been at this crazy writing business for a while now. What has your journey to publication been like?

JO: When I was six, my mother took all five of us kids and drove through Mexico in an old woody-sided stationwagon. It had a bullet hole in the side (but that's another story), and was not entirely reliable in the radiator and oil pan departments. One time, we drove off and left my little sister behind at the border crossing. Once, we got stopped by what was either a zealous community watch organization or bandits, and I got amoebic dysentery.

Oh. Flat tires. Lots and lots of flat tires.

That's what my journey to publication has been like.

Susan: {recovering from belly-laugh} Hokay. Serious Face. Is your approach to the writing any different now that your books are on the shelves? How?

JO: The major difference is that now I have deadlines. That appalls me and fills me with dismay. I do not think deadlines make me write any faster. They just make me miserable.

I also have book reviews. The bad ones confound and devastate me. Or puzzle me. The good ones always feel like they must be about somebody else's book.

Susan: Any final bits of advice for aspiring writers?

JO: Write what you love. Love it so much you don't care whether you get published or not. Listen carefully to advice. Ignore most all of that advice.

-------------------
Ah, Jo, you rock. Thank you again.

The CONTEST: Add a comment to this post, including your name somewhere. You have until MONDAY JULY 1st! Monday morning whenever I get into work, I'll do a random drawing and select one winner. The winner will receive a Jo-signed copy of My Lord and Spymaster. Ready? GO!

Impending Contest Alert!

Guess what??

My esteemed friend and inestimable writer Joanna Bourne has a new book coming out--and to celebrate, tomorrow I'm going to post an interview with Jo and host a contest for a signed copy of her new book, My Lord and Spymaster.

Yay! Jo is an amazing person and one of my mentors. I am so happy to help get this book in more people's hands.

Viewer/Reader Satisfaction: The Story Arc

Last night I finally got to see Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

I. Loved. It. Several times during the movie I said "YES!" to myself (under my breath). I walked out grinning like an eedjut.

But being an aspiring storyteller myself, I couldn't let it go at just enjoying it. I had to analyze WHY. Why was the film so satisfying? I've been an Indiana Jones fan since the beginning (well, except for #2--but did anyone like #2? Really? The monkey brains and all?), but it wasn't that simple. This one had to be Really Good, to succeed. And it was. It left me with a feeling of completion, that satisfied sigh of closing the last book in a good series.

Why?

Because George Lucas and Stephen Spielberg know how to do a story arc.

(warning: SPOILERS)

If you look at the whole series (which I intend to, once this comes out on video), this fourth movie picks up themes and bits that were touched on throughout (friendship and betrayal, fathers and sons, the folly of greed, love) but it is most closely tied to the first one.

Most obviously there's the reappearance of Marian, Indy's love interest in #1. I hoped hoped hoped it was her when they mentioned a "Mary" in the beginning, and I was thrilled when it was. Indy's never had a connection with any other woman--on screen--like Marian (and he says so). Tie-in to problem set up in first movie, resolution. Bing! Viewer satisfaction.

There was the reappearance of the warehouse from the end of #1, and the tantalizing glimpse of the Ark (ha). There was the reference to Indy's famous not-swordfight ("don't bring a knife to a gunfight") and a parallel with the Russians seeking world domination here, through an artifact, just like the Nazis did in #1. The ending also mirrored the theme of that original movie: too much knowledge, the greed for knowledge, is a dangerous thing. In #1 Indy and Marion survived because they kept their eyes closed. Here the Russian woman was destroyed because she kept her eyes open. At one point she tried to shut them, but couldn't. Reference to first movie, resolution. Bing!

There was the tie up and passing on of the baton, from father to son. In #3 we saw Indy's relationship with his father, and here we see him relating to his son. There is a clear implication at the end that the story is not over, really, but will pass to the next generation (when Mutt almost tries on Indy's hat). Bing!

(Oh, and I love the reference with Mutt's name. Anyone else remember "Indiana was the dog"?

Okay, so I think you get the point that the Indy movie was satisfying. But how does this relate to your book, or series, as an author? How do you get readers to feel that same satisfaction?

• Play on their inside knowledge. Readers will feel knowledgeable, and special, when you throw in little references to things they've seen throughout your book or series. If it's a series, readers who haven't read the whole series may not get those references--but your devoted readers will. And will feel a kinship to the story and to you when they get them.
  
  
• The final chapter of a series, or even just a book, should tie in to the first chapter. Yes, your character's been through a heck of a lot, and hopefully they're not at all the same person. But for that emotional satisfaction there needs to be a tie-in, a resolution, to the first problem. That gives readers an "aha" moment, and a feeling that the story is complete.
  
  
• If you're doing a series, and you've covered a lot of themes, the primary theme resolution in the final book should be the same or similar theme as the first book. Emotional satisfaction.
  
  
• Bring up long-lost characters. Resolve long-forgotten threads. Show the reader that it was important to pay attention all the way through your book or series, and reward them for it. Use a detail you planted in Book 1 or the first chapter and never used.
  
  
• Watch the Indiana Jones series. And take notes.
  

Today's conversation

Angel on shoulder: Oh, goodie, it's almost lunchtime. You can crank out your wordcount on Melody.

Devil: The Lee Child book is in your backpack, right there, only a zipper away...

Angel: No, no. You must spend your hour on your own writing. Otherwise, how will it ever get done? Slacking does not a novel finish.

Devil: Just for a little while. You can read some while you eat.

Angel: You know it doesn't work that way. Crack that puppy and you're gone for the hour. Hmm, crack. Lee Child books are like crack. Resist!

Devil: C'mon, it's summer. Prop your feet up. Relax.

Angel (stern): You have not been making your wordcounts lately.

Devil (waggling a little pseudocopy of Lee Child over my head): You know you want this.

{sigh}

Winner to be determined momentarily...

And the winner was Angel--got my wordcount in. Though I also got 15 minutes at the end to read. :)

Twitter

I'm playing with Twitter.

Why?

(a) because I can
(b) because I'm supposed to be doing something else.

Of course.

Keywords

Okay, I have to do one of these, just because of the RANDOM searches people have been using to find my blog. These are actual phrases people used in google. I'm glad they came here (welcome!) but poor people, most of them were likely sadly disappointed.

belle underwear

what? How on earth does a "belle underwear" search land on my site?

george collen thomas the tank engine

Carlin. It's George Carlin. But cool that you're looking him up.

how the brain works while driving

Um. The same way it works when you're not?

pixie dust stencils

Well, that's cool. I'd like pixie dust stencils too. Sorry, I'm no help with that, though.

what does ribibe mean

I had to look back on this one--apparently this was one of my medieval words of the day. (Medieval Word of the Day: ribibe: An opprobrious or abusive term for an old woman.) Hey, now I'll get more hits for that.

last name Friday

Like Robinson Crusoe? Wait, that was "only name Friday", right?

model in bikini

Yeah, that one is totally my own fault for talking about America's Next Top Model AND bikinis. I deserve all the searches I get for that one.

Picture Tuesday!

Evidence that I wasn't lying about Spring. Oh wait, Summer! Well, it still looks like Spring around here--these are from our yard this weekend. (with the good camera! yay!)

I loved ya, George.

Because not only were you funny as hell, but you were willing to ALSO read stories for Thomas the Tank Engine. You rocked.

Now that's what I'm talkin' about. Much better.



After Child understood that I required a crown for this morning's "discussion", she crowned me and took my picture. Aaaahh.