Celebrate the Small Things 13-11-26

 

 It's the end of the week so it's time to celebrate the small things!

So what am I celebrating this week?

My back is much better,  Not 100% right yet, but so much better.  I think I'm even going to try riding my bike into work this morning to test it out.

I've done a little writing this week too, with not being able to teach at the gym.  Not really stuff I can add to the book, but some flash fiction to keep that part of my brain working.  I'm probably not going to get anythng done on the book this week either because I'm away for work and have a brand new class to learn for the gym next week as well.  

Maybe next week...

What are you celebrating right now?

Books I've Read: On the Savage Side

Tiffany McDaniel is a gorgeous writer.  This is the third of her books I've read and her powerful and evocative prose has impressed me every time.

Based on the true story of women murdered in Ohio, this book follows twins, Arcade and Daffodil through their lives. Brought up on their grandmother's stories and their own vivid imaginations, they live in a world outside the hardship and poverty of their small town.  They have big dreams for themselves and are cetain they wont fall prey to the addiction that has consumed everyone aroud them.

But dreams are the thing of youth and as they grow up, they find they can't escape the teeth the town has i them.  And as the women close to them begin disappearing ad dying, the fight is no longer to get out, but just to survive.

This book was deeply depressing.  The lives described here are deeply awful and I'm sure, very realistic to the way deprived people in these towns actually exist.  The mystery was never quite as compelling as the ret of the story - the friendships, the imagination, the dreaming.  The desperation and the stark need to survive everything was palpable, but I wouldn't call this book enjoyable.

So, I'd recommend it if you like reading beautiful writing and don't mind too much that the story is bleak enough to make you feel down for a few days after closing te cover.

But don't jus listen to me. Here's the blurb:

Six women--mothers, daughters, sisters--gone missing. When the first is found floating dead in the river, it reveals the disturbing truth of a small Ohio town. Inspired by the unsolved murders of the Chillicothe Six, this harrowing and haunting novel tells the story of two sisters, both of whom could be the next victims, from the internationally-bestselling author of Betty.

Arcade and Daffodil are twin sisters born one minute apart. With their fiery red hair and thirst for an escape, they forge an unbreakable bond nurtured by both their grandmother's stories and their imaginations. Together, they create a world where a patch of grass reveals an archaeologist's dig, the smoke emerging from the local paper mill becomes the dust rising from wild horses galloping on the ground, and an abandoned 1950s convertible transforms into a time machine that can take them anywhere.

But the two sisters can't escape the generational chaos that grips their family. Growing up in the shadow of the town, the sisters cling tight to one another. As an adult, Arcade wrestles with these memories of her life, just as a local woman is discovered drowned in the river. Soon, more bodies are found. While her friends disappear around her, Arcade is forced to reckon with the past while the killer circles ever closer. Arcade's promise to keep herself and her sister safe becomes increasingly desperate while the powerful riptide of the savage side becomes more difficult to resist.

Drawing from the true story of women killed in her native Ohio, acclaimed novelist and poet Tiffany McDaniel has written a powerful literary testament and fearless elegy for missing women everywhere.

Weekly Goals 9-11-26

 After having my entire weekend scuppered by my bad back, I'm seriously behind on everything.  My back still isn't 100%, but I can move a little better than I could yesterday, albeit with a distinct lean to the right.  I think I should be okay to go to work though, if I'm careful.

This week's goal. should be to write and try to catch up on all the writing I didn't get done over the weekend, but we have concerts this week and I'm going away on Saturday (assuming my back will let me) so I don't think that's going to happen.   I have a plan to take three days off at the end of the month, once all the main concert tours are done and before the regional tour, so hopefully I can knock out a good number of words then.

So, the main goal for this week is to keep getting my back better so I can get through all the stuff I need to do for work.  If I get any writing done on the side, that's a bonus.

What are your goals this week?

Celebrate the Small Things 6-11-26

 

 It's the end of the week so it's time to celebrate the small things!

So what am I celebrating this week?

Not a lot actually.  I put my back out really badly two days ago, so I'm in a lot of pain and very crooked.  Luckily there's a physiotherapist upstairs from my work and I managed to get in to see him the day I did it, and again the next day.  I have a bunch of exercises to do to help and thankfully it's the weekend, so I have a couple of days to rest and try and recover.

Unfortunately I had a lot planned for this weekend including a dinner to celebrate our anniversary (postponed), a party (won't be going), tuition at the gym (definitely won;t be going) and seeing my parents (still on hold).

So annoying!  Especially since I was also planning to get some more writing done this weekend, but I can't really sit for long without the pain becoming to much.

I also got a rather upsetting rejection this week, so I'm kind of licking my wounds over that one too.

So, cheer me up!  What are you celebratign this week?

ISWG - November

 It's the first Wednesday of the month, so it't time for the Insecure Writer's Support Group!

The Awesome co-hosts for the November 4 posting of the IWSG are Kalpana, Kim Lajevardi, Rebecca Douglass, Jennifer Lane, and Cathrina Constantine!

This month's question is an interesting one:

As a writer, do you have favorite themes that you like to explore in your stories? If so, what are they?

If you'd asked me this question a few years ago, I don't think I could have answered it.  I would have said that all my books are different and have different themes and ideas behind them.  But as I'm settling in to write my 20th (I think)  novel this November, I'm realizing that all my books are really about finding a place to belong.

Obviously they're all different stories with different characters and how and where they find this elusive thing is different each time, but overall, I think that's a strong theme through all my work.

Which isn't that surprising.  I write YA and a huge part of being a teenager and young adult is finding out who you are and where you might fit in the world.  Add to that, the fact I grew up as a diplobrat, moving to a new country every two or three years and never really feeling at home anywhere, and it's pretty easy to see why finding a place to belong might be an underlying theme to my work.

Whether it's literal like Harley trying to find a home to call his own in A Stranger to Kindness, or Arlo and Devon creating their own family on the street in Street Smarts, or Blue desperately trying to find a safe place for himself and his brothers in Standing too Close, or more subtle as in An Unstill Life, The Sidewalk's Regrets, Guide Us, Chasing the Taillights or Stumped, I think you'll find the theme of belonging somewhere in all my work.

And even now, as I'm beginning to piece together my new book (I'm tentatively calling it Truth and Dare at the moment) I can see that the theme will run through this one too, mainly in the form of friend groups and cliques in high school.

What themes do you keep returning to in your work?  Can you identify them?  And can you figure out why these are the themes you keep returning to?

Weekly Goals 2-11-2026

 It's November already!  How did that happen?  It will be Christmas before we know it and then 2027 will loom over us.

I have a lot to do before the end of the year, especially since I'm taking an extra two weeks or so off over the Christmas break to try and use up some of my leave and other days off I'm owed.  So, I'm going to knuckle down and do my best to get all those things done over the next two or three weeks.

I've also set myself a pretty ambitious writing goal for the month to try and knock out a first draft of the new book.  I'm hoping to be able to take a day off next week, and maybe two or three the following week to give myself a chance to do some big wordcount days.  I doubt I'll get much, if anything, written during the week, and next weekend is already looking pretty busy and the one after I'm travelling for work.

But, I'll snatch whatever time I can get.

My boss is leaving and Friday is her last day in the office, which is sad.  I've really enjoyed working with her and we don't know who her replacement is going to be yet.  Probably won't happen until next year, now, since the holidays are so soon.

And, that's about it for goals this week.  What are you hoping to achieve int he next seven days?

Celebrate the Small Things 30-10-26

 

 It's the end of the week so it's time to celebrate the small things!

So what am I celebrating this week?

I went to a gig on Thursday night, an old grunge band I saw the first time in someone's basement in 1991.  I'd kind of forgotten how awesome it is to get sweaty in a mosh pit and jump around to some really loud guitars.  It was fun!

I haven't had time for much writing, but plan to do some over the weekend.  I've signed up for a writing marathon on Writing.Com, the writing website I use for prompts and my crit group.  It's like NaNo, but instead of a strict 50K, you can choose the word count that you're aiming for.  I have a lot on this month, so I'm not sure how much I'll be able to do, but I've set a 50k goal.  I wrote 20k in four days recently, and there's probably an opportunity to take a day off here and there during the month, so I'm planning on that.

It's my 29th anniversary with my partner tomorrow, on Halloween.  Crazy right?  And to celebrate, our son who hasn't lived at home for two years, is coming back.  Which means I lose my writing room.  Back to writing in the kitchen, I guess...

what are you celebrating this week?