Thoroughly Modern Me

For all my love of Rock & Roll and all things shiny, I'm a rather tweedy person. I've always wanted a beautiful, well-stocked home library, for example. You know the kind: fireplace, two cushy, over-stuffed chairs, an antique Regency desk, wood paneling, and floor-to-ceiling bookshelves. The only thing that could make it better is one of those wheely ladders so that I could reach all of the shelves. I'm only 5'3" you know, and it's getting hard for me to climb on chairs and counter tops these days. Oh, and add one of those little tables for the crystal decanters and heavy-bottomed leaded crystal glasses. Yeah, that would work for me.

I've spent a lifetime collecting books, just in case this dream ever came true. Not "collector" books, mind you, but books that I've actually read or used for research and study. That all kind of went out the window when I lost over 1500 books in The Big Dump of 2001. I now own only about a hundred books. If you're a Libra, you can understand the pain this still causes me when I allow myself to think about it.

Anyway, the point of all this is, I like reading books. Bound books made of paper. I like worn, leather covers and I like glossy paper covers. Doesn't matter to me, I love books! I don't know if I will ever own a Kindle, although I like to think I'm pretty modern, and I certainly like most of the other gadgets that are on the market. That I can't afford them is beside the point.

So how did I spend my weekend? Learning how to format and convert my book, With A Dream, to Kindle. Blame Nettl. She started it when she learned that Amazon remits 70% royalties (her book, So Faithful A Heart: The Love Story of Nancy Storace and Wolfgang Mozart, is now available on Kindle). When an author I know told me that she sells about 300 Kindle copies of her book each month, I thought, "Sod aesthetics. I'm doing this too."

When mine has completed the publishing phase it's in, I'll post a link to it. Should be within the next 24 hours.

Just In Case

Sometimes, y'know, you just feel like a frickin' genius. You get an idea, or a flash of enlightenment comes to you that you're sure no one before you has ever gotten. It's all yours and you hate to share it because someone else might use it and ruin things for you. But deep inside, you're pretty certain it isn't new--it can't be--that some brilliant writer before you discovered it and did so much more with it than you ever could, and that's why you blog about it in 2nd person. You don't want to be caught thinking too highly of yourself, right? Just in case. But it changes everything for you and, really, that's all that matters.

The Art of Taking a Break

With Book One in the can, as it were (it will be available at Amazon and in Kindle format very soon), I find myself wondering how to spend the little bit of time I need before plunging headlong into Book Two. Yes, a lot of it is already written, but I feel the need to take a small break all the same, to step back so that I can gain a fresh perspective on the story.

Trilogies are interesting things. Sonatas, really. Little wonder that I'm drawn to them. As a trained classical composer, my creativity has been honed to function in terms of A-B-A. The 3 within the 3 and all that. But there is always that pregnant pause between movements that gives your ear the opportunity to cleanse itself--like eating a bit of ginger between sushi courses. And that's what I need just now. But how to spend that break...

I've thought about setting some of the lyrics in Book One to music. Not a bad idea, but that might be a bit too heavy. I've considered working on another book that I started a couple of years ago--a light, romantic comedy, but I know me. I'd only thrown myself into that and lose the momentum I've built up for Beyond The Bridge.

At last, I come to it! Why not just get back to blogging? I'm really amazed at the impact blogging has had on my writing through the years. The demand of writing an entry a day has been a terrific exercise, so I thought that I'd get back to this poor, neglected blog while I'm between books. And you. You've been more than patient and I thank you, sincerely. I miss blogging every day, besides.

So here I am once again, sitting in bed with coffee, the cat, and you. I'm looking forward to it! Of course, this means that I'll also be spending more time reading your blogs, and leaving comments...

With A Dream is Published!

At long last, With A Dream, Book One of Beyond The Bridge, A Rock & Roll Trilogy, is published and available for purchase. Right now, you can order your copy HERE. In about a week, it will be available at Amazon.com.

Here's the blurb:

Spanning the musically innovative years between 1966 and 1991, the Beyond The Bridge trilogy follows the lives of a group of colorful, diverse characters who are inextricably linked through music and fame, most notably, brilliant British guitar icon, Gordon Hammond. Weaving her characters’ lives amongst those of actual legendary personalities, SK Waller takes the reader on a magic carpet ride through the most creative and revolutionary decades the musical world has ever known. Book One, With A Dream, begins in 1966 in Swinging London at the height of the British Invasion. A young, rather naive Gordon forms a band called Tuppence and, due to his genius as a visionary songwriter and the group’s innovative sound, they skyrocket to the top of the charts. When Gordon meets supermodel, Felicity, his entire life changes as he begins to learn that “fame and fortune” and the forfeit it demands, is no respecter of persons.

And now, to enjoy a bit of wine...

New Trailer for With A Dream

Book One will be available sometime next week!

Final Cover

No, it's not large enough for you to actually read the back cover (although clicking the image will reveal a larger version), but here is the cover in all its final glory. I love it!

And now, to print! One down, two to go...

Update: Okay, so some of you can read it. So much for my poor eyes!

Who Cares?

Seems to me that there's giving, and then there's giving. The first kind comes from a sense of obligation--giving a gift to someone, not because we care about them, but because we feel we have to for the sake of holidays, birthdays, etc. In fact, this kind of giving is almost always between two people who really don't even like each other. This kind of giving goes nowhere, does nothing, and begets nothing. The second kind of giving comes from the heart. Often, it is totally unexpected, and sometimes even anonymous. "Paying it forward", as it's currently called. That kind of giving attracts all kinds of good things for everyone concerned because it brings us together in the joyful space between giving and receiving.

Today, I met a woman who went to school with Nettl. They hadn't seen each other in 30 years, and she came to Stillwater to take Nettl out to lunch. Bonnie has become a friend of not only mine, but also Ville's via Facebook, so she also made plans to stop by and meet me, then swing by Ville's house before heading back home to Tulsa. I liked her immediately I set eyes on her and, when she handed me two large bags of groceries, I nearly cried. We've been pretty broke recently, as you may know, and we were down to nearly nothing, with no money in sight until the first of February. All I had to give her in return was a play one-million dollar bill that I'd stuck to the fridge door as a joke, so I handed it to her, telling her that I hope her generosity will attract more prosperity and goodness to her life. I said that it was my hope that one day I'd be in a position to help others as she had done. Ville desperately needed a coat; when Bonnie went to meet her, she had a coat to give her. Later, she posted a note in Facebook. I asked her if I could post it here, and she agreed, so here it is.

Today, I met a new friend in person. I have been "talking" with this wonderful person via FB for many months now, and I couldn't wait to meet her in person and hug her neck. I knew right away that we would be friends. After spending only a few minutes with her, I could tell that she had a heart of gold. We talked about many things, but our conversation turned to events and attitudes that have caused us to think about ourselves and those around us more closely.

One thought that surfaced was our society's lack of charity, in an altruistic manner, thinking of ourselves as somehow more important than those around us -- a perception that seems to pervade our selfish, egocentric humanity. She talked about helping others, and said, ' you know, people used to care about one another. It's something we seem to have lost along our way.'

She said she often donates to local charities, and that has always made her feel like she has done her part to help "those less fortunate," but realized that she is surrounded by friends and loved ones who are "the less fortunate", who struggle every day with making rent, paying bills, or buying food to feed their families. It struck a chord with me. I am surrounded by many who face that same reality each day, as well.

I am one of the lucky ones. I have a job. My husband does, too. We have a nice home. We know that when we turn the key each morning, our cars will start. We have health insurance, and we can go to the doctor when we are sick. We dine out several times each week. We are members of not one gym, but two. We don't have to choose between paying for heat or paying for milk. Though we are far from wealthy, we are able to live comfortably. We no longer live paycheck to paycheck, as we once did.

We have the resources to live well, and to share better than we do. We are richly blessed.

Cynic that I am, I have never made a resolution to begin any new year. But this year, I will be different. I will resolve to help others more. Not generally, or even anonymously through some faceless charitable organization, but personally connecting with those God has placed in my life and around my life.

We have created a society that selfishly hoards material wealth, and selectively ignores, persecutes, and dismisses the least of its citizens. And we excuse our despicable behavior by flippantly shouting with our words and our deeds, "Who cares?"

I cannot change others, nor is it my place to condemn or condone. I will simply change what I do. I will stand up and say, "I care."

Will you?

Thank you, Bonnie, dear new friend, for caring.

We Have Covers!

Here are the mock ups for the covers of my trilogy. Knowing me and my obsessive-compulsive behavior drive for excellence, I fully expect these to change a bit. At last, the first book will go to print in a couple of weeks.

"Oh, Nice."

In the words of Onslow, "Oh, nice."

Just what I need. Just one more thing to distract me from daily life in the "real" world.

Actually, this is pretty cool. It's called Word² (WordSquared) and is through Twitter, although you don't need to be a Twit to play. Touted as "the world's first Massively Multiplayer Online crossword game," it pits wordcrafters against one another in real time on an infinitely large "Scrabble" board. Players rack up high scores by building the longest chains of words while everyone else plays alongside each other. The point is, it's completely addictive for logophiles like me.

You can find the gameboard here.

And you can thank our Lauren for getting me addicted to this game.

Ohnotthisagain

I know what bullet lists really are. They're what happens when you have so many things to blog about, but you're too lazy tired to go into any great detail about each of them. They're an avoidance of deeper thought, analysis of a subject, and the fear of losing all of those opinions you think the world is just waiting to read. Can't fool me.

• Have you ever lost track of a blog that you really liked, but didn't realize they weren't in your blogroll until a long time later? And then you spent about an hour hunting them down in Google? Yeah, me too.
• I seriously think I'll never get these Christmas desecrations taken down. I think it's going to be like painting the Golden Gate Bridge: once I reach the end of it, I'll have to go back to the beginning. I just don't have the energy, and I have web work to do and my book(s) to write. Some days life feels like Mt. Everest. Today is one of them.
• Outside of driving a city bus, I can't think of a job I'd dislike more than painting the Golden Gate Bridge. No sense of accomplishment, cold, windy. I guess you can't beat the view though.
• Jacquandor, at Byantium's Shores, asked a question of his readers that I'd like in turn ask you: How did you find this blog?

New Year's Revelations

With the increased attention I've been paying to my inner life, I've come to some eye-opening understandings of who I am and why I do some of things I do. This kind of mirror-gazing is never comfortable and, often, I'd rather pull back into who I was prior to September when I wasn't so diligently scrutinizing my thoughts and motivations.

One of the greatest challenges is my habit of being less than compassionate and forgiving with myself. I don't know when this began, exactly. It may have always been there. I do know that it's directly related to the abuse I experienced as a child, but that's no excuse. I'm nearly 60 years old. Grow the feck up.

Of course, this self-abuse spills over into other parts of my life. One of the more visceral points of evidence is that I bite my nails, which I've begun to work with. Again. But on the internal (and more destructive) level, I tend to believe that I'm really not very talented and that people are bound to find out that I'm just a no-talent slug with visions of adequacy. That, too, must stop. It's a little harder than simply popping a piece of gum in my mouth when I feel the urge to consume myself, however. Still, I fully understand how one begets the other.

Over the holidays I had the chance to read a book that's similar to mine in that it is a modern fiction in a musical setting. Now, I don't like to compare in this manner, but it made me look at my own writing in a much better light. "Hey, my stuff's not so bad!" You know what I mean. I was able to open up that Word doc and read the recent additions to the second book of my trilogy--and really like it. I could believe that it's worthy of print and that other people will like it as well.

It seems to me, to really know who we are and what we believe, we must first like who we are and what we believe. That done, we can move on and create the life we wish to live. We can make miracles happen. But the first step (for me, anyway) is to turn off the "Little Inquisitioner" that's constantly undermining that self-acceptance, self-affirmation, and self-empowerment.

In my case, he needs to be defrocked and executed.

Why I Love Ventura #8: This Says it All

This is a beautiful video that was made by Jim Martin. I think the music perfectly sums up Ventura's laid back attitude. Enjoy the amazing piece.

No Buzz Words in 2011

Lake Superior State University has issued its yearly list of words that need to be banished from the English language. The tradition started in 1976 with the phrase, "at this point in time", when used instead of the more practical--and, frankly, less pretentious--"now".

Here are a few of the words and phrases that were nominated. The first two are the words that were banished.

1. Epic
2. Viral
3. Fail
4. Wow factor
5. Aha moment
6. Back story
7. BFF
8. Facebook and Google (when used as verbs. I am, sadly, one of those that uses "Google" as a verb)
9. Man up

I'd like to see the following be blown to smithereens as well:

• Counterintuitive
• Random (when used instead of "spontaneous" or "faceted", as in, "Are you a random person?")
• Yadda yadda

Source

Happy New Year

It was a low-key but fun party last night.

(My sons Micah and Joel)