Lisa Hendrix

They’re good kids. Really they are. I love them very, very much. They’re even old enough I don’t have to pay attention to them every minute.

But it snowed Sunday night, enough that the district cancelled school yesterday, so they were home all day. Wanting to talk. Wanting to eat. Wanting to play video games. Wanting to *breathe*. I don’t know about other writers, but I have issues with people who breathe while I’m writing, or at least when I’m starting a project. Until my characters manifest fully and are so clear in my head that they refuse to go away until the story’s done, the presence of other people in the same vicinity rips me out of the zone (Twilight Zone, Writing Zone, whatever). I need not just privacy, but solitude.

So, you say, that was yesterday. I have my solitude back today. Why am I bitching?

Because it’s snowing again. Big, floofy flakes right out of the last scene of White Christmas. Gorgeous. I should be smiling. Instead, I’m thinking that if it keeps up, they might cancel school again tomorrow.

Sigh.

Lisa

UPDATE! (Weds, 30 Jan 08) — Yep. They’ve closed the schools, and in the nastiest possible way. At 7am when I checked, there was only a 2 hour delayed start. Then at 8am, one of the kids’ friends called to say it had changed to a full closure. That makes 4 days off in the last 8. (A holiday and an inservice day last week, and 2 snow days this week. So far).

Sigh

I have no idea who wrote the following, but with Valentine’s Day coming, I felt posting it was a public service to husbands everywhere. [g]

A husband walks into Victoria’s Secret to purchase a sheer negligee for his wife. He is shown several possibilities that range from $250 to $500 in price, the more sheer, the higher the price. Naturally, he opts for the most sheer item, pays the $500, and takes it home.

He presents it to his wife and asks her to go Read the rest of this entry »

I came back from Portland totally jazzed and full of ideas for improving Immortal Outlaw, the next book in the series. Deb Dixon is full of insight on things like the Big Black Moment (another workshop she gave to the group), and my brain just kept clicking over new possibilities, both during the workshop and later, on the long road home (I live about 6 hours from Portland).

The big thing I realized Read the rest of this entry »

Three critical elements of a good story. Also, a terrific book by romance and women’s fiction author Deb Dixon.

And finally, the title of Deb’s workshop, which she’s giving this weekend for Rose City Romance Writers, the RWA chapter in Portland Oregon.

I’m headed that direction tomorrow, laptop in hand, ready to learn. But also, to play. It is Portland, after all.

Portland: Bridges and riverfront parks. The casually threatening Rimsky-Korsakoffee House (home of the Church of Craft). Excellent mass transit. The incredible pastries of Papa Haydn. And of course, Powell’s books.

Aaaah. Civilization.

Lisa…smiling blissfully.

Is all the news about the death of the independent bookstore just so much media hype?

That’s the question raised by Seattle bookseller JB DIckey in a letter to the Seattle Times. Dickey, owner of the Seattle Mystery Bookshop notes that when local independent M. Coy Books closed recently, the Times did a big gloom and doom article on the death of an industry. However, when SMB moved to a bigger space a couple of years back because they were doing so well, the Times utterly ignored their press releases.

To excerpt from Dickey’s letter: “If you want to know how independent booksellers really are doing, Read the rest of this entry »

I finished IMMORTAL WARRIOR on Monday, then spent a few days catching up on life (paying bills, cleaning house, restocking the fridge, getting my hair cut, talking to my children –- all the things that went by the wayside while I was in deadline mode). I hate letting life get quite so out of control, but that’s what tends to happen at the end of a book. And it was especially bad this time, because Read the rest of this entry »

Okay, so January 1st marks the official start of the new year, and everyone else is blogging about their resolutions and plans.

Not me.

Not yet.

I’m finishing up (this week) the final draft of Immortal Warrior, and until that’s done, I can’t expend brain cells on future planning. Yes, I know what’s coming next. Yes, I will write about it.

But not today.

Instead, I invite you to post your Top 3 Goals for 2008 in the Comments section. Make them SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Timely), and then check out this LifeHacker article on various free web apps to help you track your progress

I’ll fill you in on my plans as soon as I get this puppy to Fed Ex.

Lisa