A VERY MERRY UN-BIRTHDAY SF!!!!!!!!!!

Today is a milestone over at Plot This. SF has hit the BIG ONE!!!!!!!!!!! And to begin the celebration (which is lasting a full week) I am having a tea party for her this morning at my house.

For this special event, we (her writing group) are recreating her picture book, TEA PARTY.

It's a Burton-esque masterpiece for a budding little goth girl.

Many pics and commentary will arrive shortly. This is the table. Notice the melted candles, stuffed squirrel, cobwebs and bugs! Not to mention the eleven dead roses hanging upside down from the chandelier. She is gonna freak!

HAPPY BIG ONE SF!!!!!!!!! I love ya!
This is me with black goth dripping from my eyes. Gotta go get ready! More pics to come!!!

WHAT A DAY!!

Yesterday, Katie and I had quite the day!  

First, we attended our friend Julie Cantrell's book signing.  She has written and designed two precious books (that are now my five-year-old's absolute faves)  that were published by Zonderkidz.  Her writing is beautiful in its lyrical simplicity.  And, I should have taken a picture of the line because it was snaking out the door and onto the sidewalk. Congratulations 

Julie!  

Then, later that afternoon, we met with about fifteen other women and Sarah Brokaw (Tom's daughter).  She is a therapist in L.A. and New York and is writing a book about women in the transitional phase that takes place between the ages of 35 and 45.  Her working title is Forty-tude, and she saw the need in the market for a positive book for women in this phase of life.

What she has discovered in her research and therapy sessions with clients is that across socioeconomic and geographical lines, women all seem to be going through a similar journey.  We began our session by looking at a list of words and marking five that resonated with us personally (she warned us--if you hear someone else's voice saying what you should say, then ignore it).   The words were things like beauty, competition, achievement, adventure, spirituality, sensuality . . . and she has discovered that women everywhere tend to choose the same five words to define themselves at this stage in life.   [those are not actually the chosen five words--some of them are, but you'll have to buy the book . . . ]

She also asked each of us to walk into a book store and notice the three places that we tend to go to first to figure out our true interests.   Katie and I talked about this later--we know what we're interested in and are lucky to be so focused on our goals, but neither of us have really looked at what was motivating us.

She acknowledged that we each have unique life experiences that shape us, but her focus was on how we are all alike in our basic desires.   Then, she stressed that we should all be vigilant in our pursuit of discovering our true selves and interests--embracing our differences with the acknowledgment that we are all starting from the same place.

Be sure to watch for her Oprah appearance (apparently it's in the works), and you never know, one of her "anonymous" quotes could come from Katie or me. 

sf

I'd like to add that it was the first time that being "almost 40" felt cool and really special. Thanks Sarah!
Katie

RANDOM PANIC - number two.

I told you I might have a few of these Panic posts. But seriously, is this going to be me, at age 80? Still writing my book, and still trying to sell it?? Please say no. Please say no. HAHA
She does kinda resemble me in my leather chair at the coffee shop...

So, lately, I decided that perhaps what I need is a good read of my story. Specifically the first 75 pages. So last week, after "Random Panic - number one," and before "Random Depression," (oh, we are sick) I emailed drafts to three people. The following day I received a call from Critiquer number one. She had so many great ideas and changes that I felt sick and overwhelmed with just trying to figure out where to begin. Because I really loved a lot of her ideas!

But then, within minutes, I got a call from Critiquer number two. (you gotta love these girl’s speed!) Her take on my story was almost the polar opposite of number one! Yikes! What to do? Panic set in fast. I decided to take a day off, and just think. But lately this is hard to do, because all I want to do is WRITE, WRITE, WRITE. What do you do when you have such opposite advice??

After pacing the house a few hundred times, I got another call. It was my precious neighbor and long, lost, best friend. She said, “Hey Katie, I haven’t seen you in so long that I miss you! How 'bout you come over tomorrow night for a glass of wine?”

Ahhh - I thought. That’s what non-writer friends are for :-) a glass of wine and mindless chatter. SURE! THANKS!!!

P.S. I have since received a review from C3, and she had even MORE ideas. My brain is feeling heavy and explosive.

P.P.S. I got an iphone, and it is helping with the chaos :-) I highly recommend one!