It's been another whirlwind month. Mobile Writers Guild events and planning meetings, field trips and social outings for the kidlets, plus my own milestones.

Last week I sent the complete Corroded manuscript to Laurie Halse Anderson. It arrived at her address Saturday the 15th. So the waiting game is on to hear her critique.

In an attempt to keep from thinking about my story being in the hands of one of my writing heroes, I treated myself to a free concert at the National Shrimp Festival in Gulf Shores Saturday evening.
And, of course, I had another experience!
I was able to meet the members of Firehouse before and after the show. The other guys signed the “vintage” flier that C.J. Snare signed at the show on October 12, 1991 (the last time I saw them—20 years ago!) as well as a CD booklet I brought along and the new CD I bought at the show. C.J. still has his voice, Bill wailed on the guitar, Michael hammered the drums, and Allen played a mean bass. They rocked harder than ever!

Love music, love great people! Hang with me if you want to catch Fantabutitus!

September Madness

"The Month of Madness" is what September 2011 shall be known as in my life.
The month when this homebody was away as often as home during regular hours.
The month that forced this shy lady into several public speaking events.
The month my kids cried because I left them so often.
The month the grandparents were taken advantage of for free childcare. (Thanks, Nana and Grandpa!)

And right in the middle of the month the little princess celebrated her third birthday with a yard full of friends for an “Easter” party. Egg hunt, duckies, butterflies... and frilly dresses, too! I'd post pictures here, but, yeah, you know. I don't do that at this point.

Reading has been a lifesaver, once again. You can tell how crazy my life is by how much reading I'm doing. The only way to escape and unwind. I have to read myself to sleep, otherwise I'd just think myself into a frenzy every night. Anxiety sucks but it is good for increasing my reading progress.

A Need so Beautiful was a loaner book from a good friend. It took me a while to get into the character/voice, which isn't unusual for me—it just took over half the book instead of a few chapters this time. Loved the ending.

I reread Summer of the Swans, a classic Newbery winner. Loved it, once again. Most of my favorite novels are “middle readers”, usually the 10-14 age range.

And because I wanted to read more Joan Bauer books (see last post) I checked out Squashed and Close to Famous (her newest—still reading this one) from the local library.

I've also been reading Homeschool Your Child for Free (great purchase) and The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin (thank you Mobile Public Library) during the daytime, when I'm not running the roads. Which has been next to nothing this past week.

September 24 is the start of Banned Books Week. Search my blog for previous posts on this topic.

If you're on Facebook, you can find a public fan page for me and my writing. http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#!/pages/Carrie-Cox/182006808539156 But if you know me personally, I'll accept you as a friend on my “private” page. And feel free to link to my blog whenever. I appreciate all 20 of the listed followers here!

A Month, Revisited

The past few weeks have been filled with home, family, friends, and literary adventures. Just like Mary Weber, the main character of Corroded, I've been expanding my comfort zone by participating in new experiences. And with each new merit badge of life I earn, the anxiety over the unknown lessens.

Examples—aren't you curious to see what I consider adventurous? Probably second hand to most people, but for this anxiety-prone wallflower these things are a big deal:

My first belly flop!
A diving board was NOT part of it, but it counts, right?
And the fact that I was standing in an above-ground pool... but it was a big one...
Hey, this is from the girl that could never do a Slip-N-Slide because I couldn't make myself fall down!

Taking all three kids downtown for a field trip.
Yes, I did meet a friend and her three kids at the museum, but I had to park and walk the block to the entrance alone with my kids. We even crossed streets twice—one of them Government Blvd—to look at cannons and read their historical markers.

Creating a public “fan” page on Facebook for me/my writing.
Might be premature, but some of you out there care enough to “like” me. :)

Conducting my first public meeting for the Mobile Writers Guild.
Me. Public. Speaking.
Those that know me from church have witnessed my teaching and speaking engagements before. Get me in front of a group of kids and I'm fine. Add more than half a dozen adults to the mix and I turn blotchy red. I pace, wring my hands, and my nose sweats. But this went better than I expected. Yes, I fumbled over words, my eye-contact could have been better, and my nose still sweated. But I wasn't red (or purple or splotchy) and no one ran from the room screaming. Not even me.

Sharing Corroded with family members.
Yes, I'm finished! Just waiting for two more critique group sessions for the group to finish it before sending it off to Laurie Halse Anderson for a critique.
I first offered the manuscript to my sister-in-law, then my eldest sister, and finally my mother. They are all avid readers. I've heard back form my s-i-l that the first two chapters already had her sucked in. And, of course my mother thought it was “really good” (she read it all yesterday afternoon) but she immediately wanted to know how much of it was true. Yes, it was inspired heavily by my own junior year in high school, but it is not an autobiography.

And, of course, I've been reading. This is my list from the past month:

A Joan Bauer kick. I read Hope was Here about a year ago and loved it. Found these books on the bargain tables at Books-A-Million over the past several months and decided to read them all back-to-back. Her books are thoughtful, beautifully simple coming of age novels. Everything I hope my own stories can be.

Then I moved on to a new writer friend's debut novel. I met Israel through a neighbor of his who I'm friends with when she sent him in the direction of the Mobile Writers Guild. The Anne Marie is a great story for readers, especially dog-lovers, ages ten and up.

Yesterday I finished another MWG member's book. It's out of my normal reading genre—adult romantic comedy—but the characters were multidimensional and the information about trichotillomania was interesting. Joyce and I have been in critique groups together the past two years, so I've read her WIPs as well as one of her other published novels. Write on, Comma Queen!

Reading by the Numbers

This morning I went out with the kidlets and friends on an alligator hunt and spied three gators.

It's always fun to see animals in their natural habitat—especially from a safe vantage point.

This was our first week of summer break. Although I'm not officially starting back to homeschooling until mid-July, I've started the middle child on learning to read and the eldest with typing skills. It's been a little slack these first few days, but I think we all needed some off time to refuel.

On a literary note, I've done next to nothing in the past three weeks on my WIP. My goal for this weekend is to get back on track. I need to finish the last tidbit of the first draft so I can better home into the poignant scenes in the beginning.

My reading the past few weeks:

Very insightful!

Fluffy fun--already passed on to a friend.

Still digesting this one. Full of GREAT information and advice. (Thanks for the loan, Joyce!)


Lately, I've been analyzing my reading habits and book collection. Though I'm not huge on numbers, I do love a good pie graph. Thanks to mathwarehouse.com for the pie making abilities.

These are my firm TOP TEN contemporary writers—authors who I've read five or more books by that have had new books out within the past decade. Otherwise I'd add in Beatrix Potter, C.S. Lewis, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Louisa May Alcott, Jane Austen, Beverly Cleary... you get the picture!

Middle Readers: Richard Peck (he might have some “teen”, but nearly all are middle readers that I know of), Gail Carson Levine (?), Susan Cooper (?), Katherine Paterson (but not exclusively—she's written early readers and picture books, too...)

Young Adult: Laurie Halse Anderson (no, she does picture books and middle readers also...), Shannon Hale (NOPE- sometimes she's found in middle readers—hello, Newbery Honor—and she has two adult books which I adore), Sarah Dessen (might be the only single genre writer on my list)

Adult: Terry Brooks (though many teens read his fantasy books), Beverly Lewis (no, wait... she does picture books, middle readers, and teen, too!)

Cross-overs: Madeleine L'Engle is all over the literary map—in a good way—but then again... it looks like 90% of my favorites are!

What would your pie graph look like?


To gather my thoughts in a parting gesture, I'd like to use a quote the lovely Léna Roy used on her own blog today, which was spoken by her grandmother:

“You have to write the book that wants to be written. And if the book will be too difficult for grown-ups, then you write it for children.” -Madeleine L'Engle

Spring n Things

I hope everyone has enjoyed the celebration of rebirth. Oh, to be able to experience pure forgiveness and mercy—such a blessing in trying times!


Life's been, well—life, so my blogging is lacking. Some things are too personal (or boring) to post about. But I have passed a few sharable milestones this past month—breaking over 45,000 words on Corroded and completing 165 days of official homeschooling. Only fifteen more days to go for this “school year”. Woohoo!

There's a bit of a writing shake-up happening for me, too. After I finish this draft of Corroded, I'll be dropping my current critique group to be in a new group just for writers of young adults. (I might need to stretch them to middle reader level for future projects—so be warned, W.C.)

But I'm straddling the two groups for the time being. I've been with the established group for a year and a half so I won't drop them when I'm within sight of the ending. All the members have added to my knowledge and growth and I wouldn't trade the experience for anything. They've stuck with me through Corroded (and several small projects) over the time we've shared at Panera and the hours we've spent reading/writing/editing before the meetings. I'll miss the ladies, but hopefully we'll still get to visit at the Mobile Writers Guild events.

It does make more work for the weeks I'm doing double duty. I'll be reading the submissions from two groups as well as rewriting/editing the beginning of my own WIP before I'm at the end. It'll be worth it to have a new eyes reading who are focused on the YA market, though.

On that remark, I best close so I can get back to writing/editing.

Oh, and here's the visual for my good reads since the last blog:

Past Due

Yep, still here.

I was blessed to be able to help watch over and care for the matriarch of our family, my great-aunt—who was the eldest of our four generation household—during her last weeks on earth. We took a week off from homeschooling so we could spend more time with family. Overall, it's been peaceful, even during the peak of the bustle. Still lingering sadness. We all miss her.

(Taken at the princess's first birthday.)

My personal duties have been neglected but my brain's been running full-throttle. It's difficult to remember what I've been doing—probably be easier to tell you what I haven't accomplished, of which writing would be at the top of the list.

I've read several books—always a good escape—but I can only remember Moon Over Manifest (this year's Newbery winner) which I loved.
It incorporates two things I enjoy: historical fiction and story within a story.

And The Summer of Skinny Dipping by Amanda Howells, which I just finished two nights ago and will return to my friend who was kind enough to loan it to me. The ending surprised me, which is rare.

Now I'm reading the final book in The Luxe series by Anna Godbersen.

I started the first one around Christmas and just have to know how it all ends.

Five Second Rule

I've been in the midst of a transitional period for the past few weeks. Once again, it's necessary to play the part of a juggler as my responsibilities shift, the weight of new expectations ruining the balance of my old schedule.

I tossed the objects into the air one at a time. Family first, of course. I wouldn't feel the need to find the harmony of a well balanced life if it wasn't for my family. I like to think I'd be a happy hermit among bookshelves, somewhere that the air is crisp and the scenery predominately green. Alas, family demands me to live in a hectic here and now.

Then came homeschooling, which is a different aspect of family—or rather the core of having children in the home. The more I teach, and the more I learn, the more I love it. The added bonus: it's a good excuse to acquire even more books.

Of course, there was also Thanksgiving and Christmas preparations that needed attention. I even managed to finish a scarf for myself, so I can move on to the next project to be gifted. And I didn't give up reading. Here's a sampling of the past month:

(I was lucky enough to meet Laurie on November 18th—for the second time—while she was on tour to support this new release. She's wonderful!)

Next came the earth ball of the juggling world: serving as Primary President (Jr. Sunday School) for my church's local congregation. This is something I've done for many years, but have enjoyed a lovely 23 months hiatus while serving as the building's librarian. In the library there isn't much take home work to do—the bulk of my calling was fulfilled during church hours on the Sabbath. But now I'm working more than twelve hours a week, both the time at church—caring for the needs of over fifty children and a dozen fellow workers—plus the planning, pondering, and praying that goes along with it. The benefits are wonderful, though. Volunteer work is fulfilling on many levels and church duties are no exception, especially when children are involved! Once the new leadership (that's counting myself) settles into a routine, and the plans for switching classes in 2011 are arranged, the time involved will reduce by about half.

But for over a week I've neglected to pick-up an important ball.

It's down and rolling away.

But I just stopped it with my foot and am ready to pop it back into the air like a hacky sack. The ball is writing and my WIP, Corroded, is smudged from neglect. Time to stretch the five second rule to a ten day rule and juggle for my own sanity.

Turning a New Page in Life

My somber previous post has scared me away from blogging. But there's now a (leaky) cap on the gushing BP oil well, so that's a bit of an improvement. Enough said, there isn't much Pollyanna in me about that issue. But here is a link to a haunting song by Mithril, inspired by the oil spill. The images on the video are all from better days gone by on local beaches. (My three kids each have a picture included.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UhlEV6xoPo




This week marks my first attempt at homeschooling my twelve-year-old son. He has a Neuro Immune Dysfunction, which causes autistic behaviors and has been receiving special services through the public school system since he was three. But there is no way I am going to send my sweet, innocent boy into the whirlwind of middle school. I've known I was going to homeschool him for the past year—and have been studying all I can on the subject and networking as much as possible for this socially awkward mother—but I spent most of my free time (amid numerous events and sick children) last week charting out an actual weekly planning page—a hybrid of a dozen I've looked at—and choosing the first week's goals. And, I must admit, I also zoned out on Free Cell several times. I wrote absolutely nothing on my WIP and barely logged one journal entry in my notebook.

There is a time and a season for everything, and right now I need to restructure my day to fit it all in. I need to decide if I'll write in the morning before the kids wake, which has been my exercise time, or attempt writing at night, when my mind is mostly mush, since quiet time might need to be used for one-on-one with the eldest. It's a good thing Laurie Halse Anderson's WFMAD is next month—I need some motivation!

Back to the homeschooling experience. Day One=Field trip!
Community experiences at the post office, pediatrician's office, pharmacy, and mall. Walking the mall was the fitness time for the day, too. At home, we took turns reading two books about farmers and pigs, and I let him flip through a third. Our unit study/theme is farms, which is something he loves. He copied twelve spelling words (taken from the farm books) three times and did thirty-five addition problems as part of a math review. And there were no meltdowns—success!

I praised him throughout the day and before bed I asked him if he liked doing work at home. He said yes and smiled. A warm fuzzy!


On a personal note, I've finally gotten around to some lighter--but deep--reading.













as well as





Still many more books on my library list and on my own shelves to read.


In honor of the fiftieth anniversary of To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee I'm closing with one of a series of five poems I wrote for a freshman high school report. Each poem had to be from a different character's perspective. Give me a break, I was only fourteen....


Personal Guide

Watching you grow up,
that's what it's all about.
Teaching you,
watching you learn.
No matter what you do,
I'll always be here for you.

I was put on Earth to guide you.
So come, little children,
stay close to my side.
It's a wicked world
and I don't want to lose you
to its powerful influence.

But don't be afraid,
I'll help you..
If there is any doubt in your mind,
just stay close, my child.
That's what I'm ere for;
a parent is a guide.

So Much to Read, So Little Time

Most of my down time lately has been spent reading. Studying is more like it. Up to my ears in non-fiction reading. Here's a sampling of titles, all from the local library:


Secret Lives of Boys: Inside the Raw Emotional World of Male Teens by Malina Saval
*Graphic language at times—the first chapter has it the heaviest.*
Over-all, a fascinating read. Boys are a lot like girls when it comes to worries/fears.



Exiting Nirvana : A Daughter's Life with Autism by Clara Claiborne Park
It's refreshing to find a book dealing with an older child on the spectrum. And one that's artistically inclined, like my son. Since I have so many informative books to read right now, I'm using this one as my light/nighttime reading. As interesting as it is, I look forward to some fluff.


1001 Great Ideas for Teaching and Raising Children with Autism or Asperger's by Ellen Notbohm and Veronica Zysk
Lots of good ideas: some old, some new. Taking notes...



The Everything Homeschooling Book by Sherri Linsenbach
Need I say more?


On a good—possibly pathetic—note, I've written over twelve chapters of Corroded. Eleven of those (89 pages) have been through the mill in the awesome critique group I'm in. Thank you, QuillMasters!
My main character is based on me as a teen, but amplified. The more she stretches her limits, the more fun (and harder!) it is to write. It's almost like reliving high school, thinking about all the “what ifs” and if I had that chance, would I have been brave (or stupid) enough to do or say something... For the most part the answer is no. And, an enormous NO for ever wanting to actually go back and live through it again.

Speaking of me as a teen: back by popular demand (well, all four people who voted wanted to see more) is a random poem from a seventeen year old me.

Lost

Crashing waves against the sand.
The tempest whirls in my head.
A soul
dragged down
by Satan's grasp
Has left the world
victim of the
sacrifice.