Numb Butts, Chocolate and Rejection

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As far as New Year’s Resolutions go, I haven’t started yet. I haven’t posted on LJ, or exercised, and I’m sure I didn’t put ‘eat more chocolate’ on my list, but that’s exactly what I’ve done.

However, I am going blind each day, and my butt is numb from my nights, hunched over this here machine. I cherish the time after work, when the house is empty, and the nights, after the kids get to bed and hubby falls asleep in front of the TV.

I’ve found new ways to fix my story, before I send out more queries. I’m now into the 70,000 range for word count! This is very exciting–my first draft was over 110,000 words.

My daughter just experienced her first creative rejection–she auditioned for a musical at a community theatre, but didn’t get a part. She sang part of a song from Mamma Mia the Musical, read from a script, and had to play/banter with the director. All in front of about 30 people, and judges sitting at a table “American Idol” style. I was so in awe of her. She performed really well. I could never, ever, in a zillion years do anything like that, and I felt so proud of her, it made me cry 😦

Feeling that rejection with her stung more than any of the agent rejections I’ve recieved.

She got over it quick. Tears for five minutes, and the off to play the Wii.

She’s 9. 🙂

New Year’s Resolutions

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Time to post my resolutions for the New Year! I’ve always written them down, but this is the first time I’ve posted them in public. Sort of scary:

1. Finish current WIP by April Fool’s Day, and be ready to start editing. Then I’ll have written two books in one year! (well, two stories, since they aren’t books yet)

2. Keep polishing first story (girl and her guardian angel)until it sells!

3. Sign with an agent by the end of 2010.

4. Blog three times a week. And better blogs too, like the blogs the rest of you write!

5. Eat less sugar, and be more careful of avoiding the wheat and gluten that is poisonous to my health. Also no eating after 7:30 pm.

6. Commit to exercise regularly, rather than spatters and splutters here and there.

7. Go to church more.

8. Be a better mom, wife, sister, daughter, friend, teacher.

For once I didn’t list ‘lose weight’. Hoping this will happen if I follow numbers 5 and 6. Okay, I still have a few days before my resolutions take effect. Enough time to polish off all of the naughty food in my house, sneer at my elliptical machine, and lay on the couch with my new Snuggie, reading new books! If I think of anything else, I’ll post it!

Happy New Year to all of you!

Shannon

Angels

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The past few nights I haven’t done much writing because I’ve been on the couch, watching my favorite Christmas movies. It’s a Wonderful Life, and The Family Man are two of my favorites because of the angel characters.

I love angels, who doesn’t? The YA story I finished writing at the end of summer, the one I am still querying, and still editing, is about a girl and her guardian angel. When I started writing it, I was clueless to the other angel stories out there, and worried that angels weren’t popular enough to write about. There was an angel craze about 15 years ago–angels everywhere, angel stories, etc., that I never got over. I’ll always be crazy about them, and I am happy others are too.

So, imagine my happiness discovering an article in the Sunday paper written by Anne Rice–the queen of vampire stories–and her new book with an angel character! I am so excited to read it, along with Hush Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick. More than that, I am just excited that people want to read about angels.

Hope the popularity of these authors’ stories inspire more agents and editors to pick up more angel stories, especially my little story!

Merry Christmas to everyone if I don’t get to post before then!

Customer Service Rant

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Sorry, I just have to let off steam, after returning from Walgreens-a store which makes me feel claustrophobic due to the volume of stuff in there.
What happened to customer service? What happened to the customer comes first? Prices keep going up, yet service in many stores is down. Oh wow, I sound like an old lady.
Anyway, I was at the store trying to find an ear-cleaning kit after my equilibrium nearly knocked me backwards on my butt at Costco the other day. (A store with awesome service) I waited at the counter, politely allowing the two, dim employees a chance to finish their personal conversation. They didn’t finish, but looked at me and kept chatting, before I interrupted them with my ear question. The look on their faces clearly told me I had inconvenienced the heck out of them. Grrrr.
I used to work retail, and I know December is no picnic. But come on! We were preached to, on a daily basis that the customer comes first. You stop what you’re doing to help them. Their presence means you have a job.
Have they changed their minds?
Anyone else sick of it? Can they give us a discount for crappy service, or a crappy service coupon? I’d like that.
Target, Macy’s, Costco. All=great service, well except for Black Friday and the incident my sister (who is divawriter, and I can’t figure out how to put her LJ link in here) and I encountered with a Target employee.

I am feeling like this guy:

Blessed

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Typing through tears as I listen to the memorial on TV for the four police officers killed in a coffee shop here in Western Washington last week. It’s been a really sad day around here, and this morning as I drove to school, a procession of police cars with flashing lights only, no sirens, passed by on the way to the memorial. The sight was overwhelming.

Today, my sister and I found out that the mom of one of my daughter’s classmates from last year, died last week. She has two beautiful boys, was a hard-working single mom who devoted her time off to helping at school. She was amazing, and this is all too sad.

On the radio this morning, the local country station had a guest-Joel Osteen-a preacher from Texas, who I absolutely adore, and try to watch on Monday nights if I remember. I am not a holy roller, and barely get my Catholic butt to church on a regular basis, but I am spiritual in every way, and believe there is a reason for everything. Anyway, Joel said on the radio ‘if God gave you breath this morning, then He isn’t done with you yet. If He was then He would’ve called you home.’

I loved that, and will do my best to live by it daily, because I have a lot to do. Bless all of you.

Breast Cancer Awareness on You Tube

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Okay, I just got this message from a friend. Here is the message along with the video link. Pass it on:

Our daughter-in-law, Emily (MacInnes) Somers,
created, directed and choreographed this in Portland last week
for her Medline glove division as a fundraiser for breast cancer
awareness. This was all her idea to help promote their new pink
gloves. I don’t know how she got so many employees, doctors and
patients to participate, but it started to really catch on and
they all had a lot of fun doing it.

When the video gets 1 million hits, Medline will be
making a huge contribution to the hospital, as well as offering
free mammograms for the community. Please check it out. It’s an
easy and great way to donate to a wonderful cause, and who hasn’t
been touched by breast cancer?
Ann Somers

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEdVfyt-mLw

Christmas Distractions

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The Christmas tree and the neighbors’ sparkly lights are distracting me from writing. I need a good, full, quiet day to kick myself in the tushy and get somewhere on my WIP! So many distractions this time of year! It also doesn’t help that the weather, and darkness by 5:00, make a person want to snuggle up in bed with a good book. Excuses, I know.

Sent off another query today. Waiting on a partial, which gives me that ‘report card’ feeling. Anyone else? Feels exactly the same!

Anyone finished with shopping? Anyone baking or doing fun crafts?

Christmas Cards

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How many of you are sending Christmas cards this year? For the first time since my teens, I am not sending out cards. I feel a little bad about it! I recieved my first one in the mail yesterday, and felt so guilty I almost went out and bought some. I’d rather spend my time writing, and save a little money. Plus I am feeling a little lazy. I am sure, eventually, the pressure will send me to Hallmark for a few.

Kindergarten Writing

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My kindergartners are making a Thanksgiving recipe book to share over the holiday. Their writing at this point is picture-heavy, with strings of random letters, and some of the letter sounds they hear (most can write ‘trke’ for ‘turkey’). I had them write their recipes, but here is what two of them dictated to me. The kids crack me up, and it is fun to watch them grow as writers.

Recipe for: Turkey

Temperature: Hot

Cooking Time: 12 minutes

I put milk and sugar in it. it makes it so yummy. I eat it with potatoes. Yummy.

Recipe for: Chicken

Temperature: 9 degrees

Cooking Time: 8 minutes

You get a thing and you put it with the chicken. Then you seal it with happiness. Put it in the microwave 8 minutes. Then you open it and then you get a knife and try to cut the chicken. Then you eat!

Christmas creeps in

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I swore last year I wouldn’t let the stores and commercials bring Christmas into my house too early this year.

I swore the decorations would stay in the basement until after Thanksgiving.  But when I went down there to do laundry the other day, I forced myself through the creepy part of the basement, just to look and say ‘hi’ to our 20 bins of decor. And…one of the musical ornaments was playing.  That spooked me a little, because I was in the creepy part of the basement.  But needless to say, I have that Christmas itch already.

When I visited Hallmark the other day, I was so excited about one ornament I saw.  So excited, you’d have thought I got an agent!  It was from one of our family’s (the adult’s) favorite Christmas movies-Christmas Vacation with Chevy Chase.  The ornament is the nasty, rusted motorhome that the cousins show up in to celebrate Christmas with the Griswolds.  It even plays a line from the movie, although not our favorite line, which would be really inappropriate for a Hallmark shop.

I am going to go buy it today, and then take my kids to see Disney’s Christmas Carol.