What I've Been Up To... Reprise

 

I find it funny that just two posts ago, I wrote about begin a writer and hoping to blog more consistently. Then almost 3 years of silence with just a post about pumpkins in there. This is what my journals always look like, too. “I’m going to start journaling regularly” they invariably say every few years. I used to journal regularly… when I was stuck in school every day with pen and paper. But since then, I tend to journal only when I’m stressed or sad. Future journal finders should take that into account when reading them. I don’t want you to think I had such a bad life, overall.

 When I got married, my husband asked me to keep a journal for us. I began writing several times a week. Then I went down to just Sundays and then I fell back into my “when I feel stressed” mode. So, definitely take that with a grain of salt because my marriage overall has been wonderful! I’m sitting at my desk looking at our journal right now.

So, here I am with an update. I’m sure you were all on tenterhooks (all 3 of you) to see what I’d say next. Sorry about the long wait. I will admit, I even though was pretty busy (as you will read), the hiatus is mostly due to slow internet. It was nearly impossibly to upload pictures at my old place, which I’m pretty sure I’d mentioned before. 

Old place? Yes! We have moved! But not, as we had hoped for so long, away from Texas. That is for another post. Our new place is just outside of town on a little under 10 acres.

 Other than that, what else has happened to us since 2019? Here’s a quick list, but some of these will be their own posts later:

- moved

- visited Michigan 7 times

- survived a pandemic

- seen all of New England in one week

- began to homeschool full time

- survived the end of Legacy Academy

- returned to choir

- kids joined choir and orchestra

- several concerts including the girls’ first symphony

- changed music studios

- resurrected crochet club and MEK

- taken on renters

- added two in-laws on the Hamilton side

- added two nieces to the family

- got my first smart phone

- took a hiatus from news

- discovered you tube and podcasts

There have been other adventures, but these are the ones that stick out to me right now. Look forward to telling you more about them!

What I've Been Up To Pt. 2 AKA: Things I Need to Finish

I am a writer.

Technically, all those who blog are writers. But I'm not sure my sporadic blog posts would qualify my bold statement. I AM a writer.

I'm still on the fence about what to do about it. I participate in NANOWRIMO (National Novel Writing Month) and have "won" almost every time (there was one year that I did not, but I won't make my excuses here). I have several unfinished books because of these ventures and it bothers me, not that I have so many stories to tell, but that I have not been diligent enough to finish any but one.

Writing is a discipline. It takes time and effort to write well. And there are seasons when writing comes more easily than others. Two of my earlier posts were about seasons of life. I wrote a bit about what is in this season of my life, how busy I am and why I have blogged so little in the last 2 years. But...

I feel transition coming.

I'm not sure what that transition is. It could be a move or a job change or just a new season of parenting. It could mean a new focus or new goals. But whatever the change is, I want to be prepared. It may be that I will have time to focus on writing again. So, I'm working on making a writing schedule and on keeping up with this blog, for starters.

You can help me with this!

To follow is a list of books that I have been working on over the past decade or so. I need some focus, so I'm asking you to tell me which appeals to you most. What would you read?

1. A Good Read

I know, this is a bold title. This was my first NANO book and the only one I have "finished." I wrote it in November 2010 and edited it in February 2011 to enter into a contest. I did not win. I didn't even make it past the pitch stage and no one actually got to read the book. I did hand it out to a few friends and a professional author. She gave me no feedback at all (probably didn't want me to feel bad) and my best friend said that she could hear my voice some of the time and some of the time forgot that I was the writer because she was so into the story! That was a compliment for sure!

But this book is still really a rough draft. Although I self-published it and could probably get some copies if I wanted to, it is still not "good." It isn't what I want it to be. It needs a good edit.

The premise of the story is that a young teacher plans to skip school the day after the newest book by her favorite author is released. She stands in line at midnight, when she gets a call from her mother asking her to dog-sit. No problem! She can dog-sit and read at the same time. But life has a funny way of throwing off your plans. For this one, who wants her reading life to be full of adventure but her real life to be quiet and normal, she is about to find that you can't always get what you want- nor should you.

2. The duAler Mysteries

I began writing this book the summer I got married. It began as an interesting thought exercise about the mystery of marriage itself and quickly turned into a corny sci-fi. If I have enough material (and after 10 years, I probably do), I will make it into a series.

This book is set in Muskegon, MI. Dr. duAler is a physics teacher at the community college there. His wife, Beatrice, works from home. They have a nice little property that is based on a real property my husband and I scoped out when we were interviewing at a college in that area. But there is a very odd connection between them. Within a few weeks of marriage, they discovered this connection but after 2 decades of marriage, they still don't know what it means. I'm not sure how much I want to give away, but it turns out this connection is something that others want and are willing to do maniacal things to get. Kidnap, rescue, "chases, escapes, true love!"

I have worked on this story sporadically over the course of my marriage but it isn't fully fleshed out yet, nor is it anywhere near fully written. This is kind of an effort of love, though, as I feel very connected to the semi-autobiographical characters.

3. May Flowers

This is a story that I began writing after my last break up (I started dating my future husband later that year, so no more break ups for me! Or is it "breaks up"?). That was 2003 and the story came to me fully formed. May is an only child but has a huge extended family. There are traditions and norms but each household is unique and hard to navigate if you are not an insider. After an accident in which May loses both her parents, she moves in with each of her extended family for awhile. Do you remember the first time when you realized that not everyone believes the same thing? That not everyone has the same dinnertime or does chores the same way? That even if you are related to them, people can be entirely different? May discovers this and more. 

This story is special to me because it speaks of insecurities that all young girls have, even those like me who can hide them well. It was also formed in a time of mourning and self-doubt. I have worked on this for 2 NANOs and am still only partially finished. And a student told me last year that she has read a book similar to this one before. Still, I think May has some universal truths that I hope to address in a unique way- in my own voice.

4. Yarn Over

I live in the south now and I have noticed that there are a lot more people who do yarn crafts down here than most other places I have lived. I mean people of all ages. But this story came to me when I gave my daughter a baby blanket made by my grandmother. 

In Yarn Over, there are many different characters but they all have one thing in common- they are all over 50. I won't call them old, as I find 50 to be younger and younger the closer I get to it, but they are definitely on the other side of the "hill." It is not a coming of age story, but it is a story of never being too old to learn new things and to change your life for the better. ______ is in her 70s, set in her ways, quiet, shy, avoids strangers, and loves to crochet. She discovers that friendships can be found in odd places and can be forged with people with whom she had no idea she has so much in common.

I have to put on my best Louisiana old lady hat while writing this, but one of the main characters is modeled after my best friend. 

5. Women Rising

I was talking to a young man at school today about NANO and a story I started about 2/3 of the way through November last year. After reading a three sentence description, he said he thought a good title would be "Women Rising." My working title was Levitating Rocks, just because I couldn't think of anything better, but his title was extremely appropriate.

Kira lives in a harsh world where men can take what they want and women are only useful for bearing sons and giving pleasure. This world is not bound to one planet or even one star system. But not matter how far it has spread, she can bring a stop to it. From the first woman she remembers, who is not her mother, she has gained a strength that will drive her on, through years of living a secret life to seeking a past she cannot find in her mind. Kira is strong, inside and out, and she finds that when she combines forces with other women, she can do almost anything. 

This story was inspired by a dream. There are bits of ideas of Firefly, Thor Dark World, and friends from Michigan in it. My husband read the first two chapters and commented that it was dark. Interesting, as I was not feeling "dark" at the time. This year I am, so perhaps I should pick it back up.

6. Secret Sauce

I'm actually cheating a bit here, because this story is a new one that I have not actually started. But when I did my first NANO, I planned to work on May Flowers or the duAuler's series, as those were stories I had already begun. I ended up doing A Good Read because it was a story that came to me almost fully formed one night. This one is kind of like that (although, I took notes about it in my book ideas list in 2010, so maybe it counts).

Think "National Treasure" meets "Fan Boys" meets "Oceans 11." 

This story is just a funny gag after another and came to me while I was desperately searching for a lost recipe of dressing from a now closed down restaurant chain. Four college friends decide to become master thieves in order to unearth the secret recipes of popular foods. One is an idealist who thinks that nothing should be secret. One is a foodie who wants to make the recipes. One is a nutritionist student who argues that he cannot do his job well without knowing what is in our food. And one is along for the ride because why the hell not.

These boys take a road trip, break into vaults, discover interesting characters, and bond. It's something light and fun like my first NANO novel and would work well as a screenplay.

So, I need feedback! Comment below or on the Facebook post. Which would you read? Which sounds unique to you? Which is something close to your heart? If none of these sounds great, I'd love that feedback, too. 

And then take another step. Everyone has stories to tell! NANOWRIMO is a great time to think about your stories. You can write anything- fiction, non-fiction, autobiography, anything! If you do decide to do NANO this year, look me up! I'll be your writing buddy. And go ahead an steal this pic for your own status. 

The Star Trek Experience

Disclaimer: I did not take this photograph

In my post about Keoina's visit, I alluded to an event in our past that we like to call "The Star Trek Experience." K and I tell this story in tandem and it is best told in person. But if you can't get us together in person, which is getting more and more difficult these days, you can always hear the story from me... and now, you can read it here. We always begin with "We were beamed on board the Enterprise!" But that isn't where the story begins.

Let me give you a little background first. The Star Trek Experience was (oh, how I wish this verb were present tense) an exhibit at the Las Vegas Hilton. It opened in 1998. I can still remember the first time I saw the commercial for it as I watched Star Trek: The Next Generation (TNG). Although, as I recall, the commercial ran quite a bit before '98. I hate when Wikipedia trumps my memory. Anyway, the exhibit was half museum, half interactive "ride" and half Quark's Bar. The two main "rides" were "The Klingon Encounter" and "The Borg Invasion 4-D." The exhibit closed in 2008.

Also to understand this story you must know that Keoina works in geriatrics as a CNA. She loves old people more than she loves babies. "This you must remember or nothing that follows will seem wondrous."

Those are the facts. But here is our story.

My aunt and uncle live in Phoenix, AZ. In 2005, they generously flew me and my best friend, Keoina, down for spring break. The trip happened to be over my 31st birthday, so they also took us to Vegas! The moment I knew we were going to Vegas I knew I had to see the Star Trek Experience. I had been wanting to see it for almost a decade! Keoina and I are both huge Star Trek fans, as TNG was on TV when we were in Jr. high and high school. Keoina was also a big fan of Deep Space Nine (DS9). We were totally geeked to be going after so long. 

The morning of my 31st birthday, we all had champagne brunch at the Mandalay Bay- excellent nosh! Then we headed off the strip to the Hilton. We left Jonny and Lucy in Quark's Bar where they shared some chili cheese fries and green beer (Romulan Ale). K and I spent a great deal of time going through the museum and laughing at stuff, but we were most excited about the rides! 

In the Klingon Encounter, we were led into a square room with white walls and a black floor. We were told to stand arms length apart from each other and wait for the doors to open for us to enter the "ride." Then, without warning, the lights all went out and we felt air rushing from beneath us. Keoina was so surprised (read this as "frightened") that she reached out her arms to touch my shoulders. When the lights came back on, we were standing on a transporter pad! The walls were now concave and black and the floor we had been standing on was white with circles! We had been beamed on board the Enterprise-D!!  To this day, I swear that K and I share some molecules or something because she touched me during transport.

Once we were on board, we were led into a turbo lift. This was really exciting and I was one of the last ones onto the lift, so I got to stand next to the red shirt and the turbo lift control pad. I reached out a hand to touch it and was scolded by the red shirt. I sheepishly put my hands in my pockets until we reached our destination- the bridge! We were led onto the bridge and stood around the communications and security posts. Then we listened to Riker and Geordi talk to us from another ship. While on the bridge, I touched some of the controls and was glared at by the red shirt. Then we were told to go back into the lift to get to the shuttle bay to escape the Klingons who were after us (one of us was Picard's descendent and they wanted him/her). Once on the lift, the Enterprise was attacked! The red shirt grabbed the controls of the lift but we were rocking and shuttering anyway. We began to fall, but he got the lift to level out in time. Then we were ushered onto a shuttle and after the doors were closed a voice on the loud speaker said, "Ma'am, don't touch that!" I wasn't touching anything, I swear! K scolded me anyway. Then we were chased by Klingons through a rift and we crash landed in the elevator shaft of the Las Vegas Hilton and dropped to the basement where a janitor found us and ushered us through the gift shop.

Then came the ride we really wanted- The Borg Invasion! Now, the Borg are, in my opinion, the scariest thing invented by man. You can argue with me about Dalek all you want. You are wrong. Borg are scarier. Resistance is futile! When I saw Star Trek First Contact in the theatre, I almost had a heart attack a few times and saw a good deal of the film through my fingers.

Anyway, we were led down a hallway to a large TV. There was a very large group of us considering it was off season. The cutest elderly couple stood in front of us. In my version of the story, the woman had a cane, but I'm not sure that is accurate or if I just added it in the hundredth time I told this story. The holographic doctor (not a real hologram, just on a monitor) told us that we had been chosen for some tests because we might have the gene that makes us immune to Borg implants. Then, the space station was boarded by actual Borg!! We were told to run!


Keoina took this order seriously, or she took the idea of a Borg invasion seriously, at least. She ran. She did not stop or swerve. She just ran. Ran like the wind. Or, rather, ran like a black woman being chased by a machine out of a horror film. She ran... right over the little old lady with the cane.


Now, K and I have been friends for over 20 years and during that time she has had many opportunities to apologize for my behavior. This was the first time I have had to apologize for hers! I helped the woman up from the floor and then went to scold my dear friend.


"Keoina! You totally ran over that old woman back there. Didn't you see her?"


"Um, they said to run! Didn't she hear them? I can't help it she wasn't fast enough. When someone tells you to run from the Borg, you better run or get out the way!"


I'm not exactly sure this is what she said, but it saw something along those lines. The rest of the ride was a series of crazy Borg-ness: people getting sucked into ceilings and walking stiffly down the hall after us. We were then ushered into a large theatre that was supposed to be a shuttle. We left the station only to be trapped in a tractor beam of a Borg cube and taken inside it. Luckily, Voyager comes along to save the day and we are returned to the station unharmed except for a few pokes.

This is not a Borg, but this is kind of what Keoina looked like when she was running from them. Well, this is obviously acting and the other was probably not. Nothing but intense fear could send Keoina into, over and through an old woman.

This is the cool shirt I got from the gift shop that we were then ushered through again. It was a great birthday!