Jumping Off the Cliff

That's what my boss calls it, anyway.

The time has come, since I haven't made the announcement official yet in the blogosphere (though, if you're my friend on FB, this may not be news to you).

I'm pregnant, having a boy, due March 16th.

While I'm super excited (and not at all ready, so I'm glad I still have three months), I'm also trying to be practical. This involves wanting to finish reading work by my author friends before then, finish some heavy editing on my own work, and even possibly start querying before March. I think *fingers-crossed* if I can get my novel in good shape by March, querying can happen at, um, SOME point while the baby's super tiny. Then, if an agent actually picks me up, I'd be willing to bet it wouldn't be while the baby's still so little and I'm so exhausted that I can't open my computer.

Right? *whimper*

So in the next few months, I'll be slashing and burning a minimum of 5K (hopefully closer to 8K), critiquing, blogging, and fitting in as much as (if not more than) physically possible before I jump.

Any suggestions on how to juggle babies/small children and writing and jobs would be both helpful and gratefully accepted.

Temptations Involved in Self-Publishing

If you saw my semi-ranting book review on Tuesday, you may remember that the book in question was self-published.

Now, don't go jumping to conclusions. I've read plenty of self-published books in my time, and several of them are quite good. Sure, perhaps they shouldn't be judged the same way as one would evaluate a traditionally-published book (although some indeed can, e.g., Michelle Davidson Argyle's Cinders), but they tend to be good...

...if the author puts in the proper amount of time, energy, and possibly money.

I think there's a strong temptation these days to hop too quickly into the self-publishing route. I know I've thought about it, and I'm sure I'm not alone. There can be several factors involved in not having a book accepted by an agent or an editor that have nothing to do with the quality of the work: it's not the right time; the market's already flooded with similar stories; there's no market for similar stories; the agent/editor was in a bad mood that day; it got lost in the slush pile; etc. But, we all know that sometimes it IS the quality of the work that's the problem.

For many of us, we go back to the drawing board, edit, slash, burn, revise, repeat.

Some, though, may go the self-publishing route.

Again, I'm not saying this is a bad option. It's hard to get a break in this industry, we all know. But with self-publishing comes heavy responsibility to make sure that your book can attempt to stand among the more traditionally-published books.

Taking that book that never sold and publishing it as-is on CreateSpace is not the way to go. And just because you're best friend/spouse/neighbor/mother/sibling/cat think it's the best story ever written doesn't mean the general public—a.k.a. those people who don't know you from the annoying neighbor who doesn't clean up after his/her dog—will agree.

So, what needs to happen in the route of self-publishing? Here are my top three recommendations.

First, good critique partners. I suggest people you don't know in the real world, i.e., people who won't be afraid to tell you the truth. All of my critique partners, I've met online through blogging, and with most of them I don't even discuss my personal life. It's all about the words. Keep the relationship professional and potentially brutal. It's the best way to get honest opinions. They should spot technical and factual errors, comment on awkward phrasing, and tell you when the pace slows, when they're bored, or when you've strayed too much from your original story. Take those opinions and edit, slash, burn, revise, repeat.

Second, after you've ripped and shredded—which you might think you did before querying, but, hell, do it again! what could it hurt—hire a professional editor. You may think you know grammar, but this professional, if properly doing his/her job, will make you question how you managed to pass elementary English. This editor should have strong opinions on the Oxford comma (either pro or con, doesn't matter, as long as it's a strong opinion—and here's mine) and a sharp eye. S/he should not only cover your manuscript in so much red ink that it makes your HS English teacher blush, but this person should also once again be reading for factual and technical errors in the content. An editor that only edits for commas and typos isn't worth the money, unless you specify (and, dear God, why would you?) that that's all you want. A good professional editor is worth his/her weight in gold nuggets, so be prepared to shell out accordingly. In the end, it's worth it.

Finally, don't let your 12 year old design your cover. You may firmly believe in his/her talent, as do your spouse and the 7th grade art teacher, but, again, the rest of the world is full of brutal cynics like me who will take one look at the cover and decide never to read the book. Paying for a professional artist who has experience in cover design is worth the money. Don't think you can cut costs on this just because your brother's best friend's ex-girlfriend's roommate had a minor in art in college ten years ago. Just pay the cost.

Do you have any experiences in self-publishing? What do you think of the self-publishing option these days? Have you ever considered it? Would you?

Back from the Brink

Oh, boy, folks, have I had a crazy few weeks. Grab a cuppa coffee/tea/wine/beverage of your choice and let me tell you all about it.

So I needed a mini break of blogging because I hadn't quite figured out how to manage my writing, my "new" job, family, life, and blogging all at the same time. I think I've figured it out now, so we're gonna try a trial of me blogging on Tuesdays and Saturdays for a while, and see how it works. Please bear with me as I reintegrate myself into the blogosphere.

This is your brain on editing.
Any questions?

Then there was the writing. In late October not only was I trying to manage some pretty intense revision on my novel (currently listed on my WIPs page as FIGHTING FATE, though I plan to change the title to IN FLAMES). I wanted to get a full round of revision finished before NaNoWriMo started, while also juggling my NaNo prep. That took a LOT out of me, and I edited until my brains turned into liquid goo. Seriously. It was messy.

My own personal NaNo shield

On November first, having finished that round of editing, I was happy to accept my NaNo fate. I greeted it with a warm, strong handshake. And on the fateful afternoon of November 1st, I had an extra meeting with my boss, wherein he asked me to work overtime in preparation for our display at an upcoming conference (I work for a small, specialty academic publisher). And in my inner ear, I heard my NaNo plans go *squish*. My boss and I negotiated trading the days in early November for days around Thanksgiving, so not all was lost, but it put some stress on my NaNo plans nonetheless.

As of November 12th, one-third of the way through the month, I had only written about 14K over the course of 4 authentic writing days. Ouch.

On the morning on November 13th, as I'm leaving my house to pick up a friend, I grab my phone to let her know I'm coming, and see that I have a missed text message from my boss--who, I might add, never sends me text messages. It said, more or less, that he was in the hospital, post-surgery after having had a heart attack. Everything okay. Call to talk about conference prep. SERIOUSLY. My boss is in the intensive care unit on a Sunday morning and wants to talk about conference prep. Now, granted, the conference started on the 17th. My boss isn't really all that Type-A, but we did still have a lot of work to do, and that essentially took the editorial side of our house from 3 to 2 employees doing the bulk of the work (we have a few work-study students, but regular employees, we are three). So now add more overtime work to my schedule over the next three days, making the first day of the conference (Nov 17th) day 5 for writing. Not a good sign.

See how the Jell-O powder gets all goopy with a little water?

Not to mention that on the 17th and the 18th I was about as worthless a writer as an uncooked box of Jell-O, from working 10hour days three days in a row, and the emotional turmoil of talking to my boss on the phone while he was doped on morphine and falling asleep. Yup, powdery Jell-O.

Somehow, though, I managed to pull a few days writing between 5-6K. Don't ask me how. Perhaps some superhuman feats of strength that even kryptonite couldn't squelch. Who knows? But I have to attribute at least a little of my success to Hart Johnson and her stupendous idea for hour-long sprint-writing sessions. I think those were ultimately my saving grace. Coordinated over Facebook, I would periodically join Hart, among others, on these sprints, and both the time and the community support helped a ton.

And, imagine, through all of that, I actually won!

Granted, according to my word verification, I only have 50,002 words, but I don't care! I'm 2 words over what they need (although, according to my Scrivener file, I have 50,019), and that's what matters.

Anyway, now it's December. A little over two weeks until the holiday break comes, which will entail lots of time with family, friends, and fruitcake. I'm already celebrating by eating too many sweets and listening to Christmas music while I cook and bake. And, dangit all, I am MAKING these cookies if it kills me. I just have to find some sweet rice flour first...

Be seeing you around the blogosphere!

Interview with Jessica Bell

It's my extreme pleasure to have Jessica Bell, author of the new novel String Bridge, to my blog today. First, a brief introduction:

Jessica Bell is a literary women's fiction author, poet and singer/songwriter who grew up in Melbourne, Australia, to two gothic rock musicians who had successful independent careers during the '80s and early '90s.

She spent much of her childhood traveling to and from Australia to Europe, experiencing two entirely different worlds, yet feeling equally at home in both environments. She currently lives in Athens, Greece and works as a freelance writer/editor for English Language Teaching publishers worldwide, such as HarperCollins, Pearson Education and Macmillan Education.

In addition to String Bridge, Jessica has published a book of poetry called Twisted Velvet Chains. A full list of poems and short stories published in various anthologies and literary magazines can be found under Published Works & Awards, on her website.

From September 2012 Jessica will be hosting the Homeric Writers' Retreat & Workshop on the Greek island of Ithaca, home of Odysseus.

So, without further ado, please welcome Jessica!

Rosie: First, congratulations on your novel coming out. I really enjoyed it.
Jessica: Thank you! I’m so glad.

Rosie: Can you tell us a little how this novel came to be? What was your inspiration in bringing this story to life?

Jessica: Even though music doesn’t define me as much as writing does, it is still a big part of my life. And the idea for the book came about when I was thinking about a time in my life when music was all I ever wanted to breathe. Even though my priorities had changed, I still wanted to write about the power music has over someone who is so passionate about it. But I think music could be replaced by any sort of passion in String Bridge, because basically the story is about needing something more than you need yourself.

Rosie: How long did it take you to write String Bridge? From inception to its current state?

Jessica: I spent about five years writing it because it went through about seven different revisions. Although it wasn’t the first thing I’d ever written. I was still learning along the way. And you know what? It still doesn’t feel finished to me. Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night with ideas on how to improve it. That can be a bit annoying actually, because now it’s impossible. Ha!

Rosie: Like Melody, the novel’s MC, you yourself are an Australian ex-pat living in Greece. What brought you to Greece in the first place?

Jessica: My step father is Greek, so I’ve pretty much grown up with the best of both worlds (Australia and Greece). I’ve been coming here since I was two years old.

Rosie: Tessa, Melody’s daughter, is so well written. As you wrote this, you seemed to really understand and connect with the minds of young children. How much time do you spend with children under the age of five?

Jessica: I used to teach 6-7 year-old kids in an English school here in Athens, but overall my time spent with them was not more than 45 minutes at a time, a couple of nights per week, over the time frame of about a year.

I remember quite a lot about being that young, so I think my own experiences as a four-year-old, mixed in with a few instincts helped me to create Tessa. For those who don’t know, I don’t have kids, so I sometimes doubted whether Tessa was going to be a successful character. I’m so happy she is!

Rosie: Throughout the novel, Melody struggles to balance her love life, her parenting, her music, and her career. As a writer and a musician, you must also have similar struggles in your life. How do you find balance between all the different facets of your life?

Jessica: I don’t think I struggle too much in comparison to those that have families. Sometimes I complain that there isn’t time to do everything I want to do, but I think that’s because I want too much. So it’s not a matter of balance for me, it’s a matter of slowing down and giving myself some quiet time where I don’t have to do anything. I find I really need those moments to revive the stamina and keep up with my day job and my novels, poetry, and song writing, and of course, spending quality time with my partner.

Rosie: There are several songs written within the text of the novel. Do these songs appear on the album that you recorded to go with String Bridge? Are there other songs on the album? How long did it take you to write the songs to accompany this novel?

Jessica: Yes, the five songs that appear in the book are on the album, plus four extras that I wrote for it to become a full-length CD, rather than just an EP. It took me about a month to write them all. Mind you, I didn’t work on it every day and some songs took me days to perfect and others about ten minutes. It’s up and down like that with song writing.

(an interjection: You can access the soundtrack through iTunes, Amazon, or Amazon UK)

Rosie: Can you tell us a little about your experience working with Lucky Press? And how did you come to connect with them?

Jessica: This is a whole other blog post. Luckily, for those who are interested, I’ve already written one about it! Just go to: http://thealliterativeallomorph.blogspot.com/2010/11/why-i-believe-small-presses-are.html

Rosie: I saw on Facebook a few weeks ago that you’re considering forming a band. How would you describe the music that you play?

Jessica: Visceral atmospheric grunge I think is the best way I can put it.

Rosie: What kind of upcoming projects do you have planned? Either musical or literary?

Jessica: My second novel, Bitter Like Orange Peel, is about a twenty-five year old Australian archaeology undergraduate named Kit, who doesn’t like to get her hands dirty. She feels misplaced and comes to the conclusion that meeting her father, Roger, will make some sense of her life, despite him being worth the rotting orange rind in her backyard. Well, at least that’s what she’s been conditioned to think of him by the three women in her life: Ailish, her mother—an English literature professor who communicates in quotes and clichés, and who still hasn’t learned how to express emotion on her face; Ivy, her half-sister—a depressed professional archaeologist, with a slight case of nymphomania, who fled to America after a divorce to become a waitress; and Eleanor, Ivy’s mother—a pediatric surgeon who embellishes her feelings with medical jargon, and who named her daughter after intravenous. Against all three women’s wishes, Kit decides to find Roger, but in doing so, discovers he is not the only rotten fruit.

My third novel, Muted, is set in Arles, France, in a totalitarian society where it is illegal to wear clothes. In some streets, it's also illegal to sing without accompanying instruments. Concetta, a famous Italian a cappella singer from before “the change,” breaks these laws. As punishment, her vocal chords are brutally slashed and her eardrums surgically perforated. Unable to cope with living a life without song, she resolves to drown herself in the river, clothed in a dress stained with performance memories from her hometown, Milan. But Concetta's suicide attempt is cut short as someone grabs her by the throat and pulls her to the surface. Is it the busking harpist, who encouraged her to feel music through vibration, acting as saviour? Or a street warden on the prowl for another offender to detain? From this moment, the reader will discover how Concetta came to be in this position, and what will happen to her after the suicide attempt.

Muted will explore a variety of themes such as overcoming loss, coping with mental illness and disability, dealing with discrimination, loss of freedom, inhibited self-expression, motivation to succeed, escaping oppression, expression through art and music, self-sacrifice, channelling the thoughts of the deceased, and challenging moral views and values.

Hopefully I’ll create a soundtrack for this one too.

Rosie: And one random question: If you were a bumblebee, what kind of flower would you most like to hang out in and why?

Jessica: Um … I don’t like flowers much because I get really bad hay fever … Aaachooo!!! You know of any flowers with an air filter installed?

Thanks, Jessica!

If you're interested in Jessica's novel, be sure to stop by on Nov. 18 for my review of novel, String Bridge. Would you like a teaser? Check out her book trailer.

Interview with Michelle Davidson Argyle and MONARCH Giveaway!

I can't begin to tell you how excited I was when I signed up for my first ARC—a copy of Michelle Davidson Argyle's debut novel MONARCH. When it came in the mail, I was giddy with excitement. And, honestly, since then I've read the novel twice because I enjoyed it so much (come back next Wednesday for my full review). So, to be able to interview Michelle as well is a great, exciting honor for me.

Also, because this novel is so fabulously amazing, it HAS to be shared. Want to read it? Keep reading below for more information on how YOU could win a copy of MONARCH!

For those of you who don't know her, let's start with a brief introduction:

Photo and biography courtesy
of the author's website

Michelle graduated from Utah Valley University with a Bachelor's Degree in English/Creative Writing in 2002. Her short fiction has been published in the University of New Mexico's national literary journal, Scribendi, 2002, the Rose & Thorn Journal, 2010, Suspense Magazine, June 2011, and Stories for Sendai Anthology, 2011. She served as the editor-in-chief of Utah Valley University's literary magazine and has won awards for her short stories. She is also an editor/publisher of “The Literary Lab Presents…” series of anthologies.

Michelle is a mother, artist, and writer who lives in the Rocky Mountains with her sword-wielding husband and energetic daughter. She writes contemporary, literary, and fantasy fiction. Cinders and Monarch are two of her published novels. The Breakaway will be released in 2012 by Rhemalda Publishing, and Bonded (which includes Cinders) will be released in 2013 by Rhemalda Publishing, as well.

Michelle likes peanut butter and tomato sandwiches. And cheese. Lots and lots of good cheese.

(Can I just say, me too! You can never have enough cheese!)

So a warm welcome to Michelle. *applause*


Rosie: First, congratulations on the release of MONARCH. It's a wonderful novel.

MDA: Thank you! And thank you for interviewing me today.

Rosie: So much of MONARCH is influenced by monarch butterflies, and there's even information at the beginning of the book on how the reader can learn more about them. Is this a personal interest that you've had for awhile, or something that developed while writing the novel?

MDA: I’ve always loved butterflies, but the idea to include them as the main theme in a novel came about when I was reading Annie Dillard’s Pilgrim at Tinker Creek. She has a section in there all about the monarch butterflies, and it’s absolutely brilliant and beautiful and it touched me in a way that really stuck. I got the idea to include monarchs in a novel, and of course I decided to include spies into the mix because I like to shake things up like that.

Rosie: One of the main characters, Nick, has worked as an undercover CIA agent in Brazil. How much research did you put into living the CIA undercover life?

MDA: I did quite a bit of research on the CIA, but there’s only so much you can find out about the CIA online! They’re kind of secretive about some things. So I turned to some biographies from former CIA officers. I loved one in particular – Blowing My Cover: My Life as a CIA Spy by Lindsay Moran because it was personal and entertaining, but full of some really great information.

Rosie: MONARCH is an edge-of-your-seat thriller, and I couldn't put it down. This doesn't happen to me very often. Unless it's a secret you'd rather not reveal, how long did it take you to write MONARCH, and how many rounds of revisions did you go through to get it to its current (amazing) state?

MDA: From conception to publication, Monarch took me seven years to complete. Actual writing time, however, is probably more like a year. I began the book in November of 2008 for National Novel Writing Month and submitted it to Rhemalda Publishing in October of 2010. That’s two years, but a good portion of that was also spent writing and self-publishing my novella, Cinders. Monarch  then went through edits with my publisher. I must say, however, that Monarch was a bit of a challenge for me. It was a complete disaster after I finished it in 2008. After a few revisions I chucked it all and rewrote the entire book from scratch. I’ve learned a lot from writing Monarch!

Rosie: One of the suggestions to writers seen around the internet these days is to write scenes that contain no more than 4 people. However, your climax scene not only has several important players, but it's also done so well that it doesn't feel crowded or confusing. Do you have any tips on writing group scenes?

MDA: As I always like to say, I don’t believe in rules like only including four people in a group scene (although I can understand that from a new writer’s perspective). Still, talk about limiting your storyline and storytelling skills. I tell the story how it needs to be told and the scene you are talking about in Monarch that meant including more than four people. It wouldn’t have worked otherwise because the entire point was to bring everyone together for that climax.

If I have any tips on group scenes I’d have to say plan everything out in every possible way you can imagine. For this group scene I drew out a picture of where everyone was, where they moved during the scene, and where they are at the end. I then had my husband help me figure out the fighting sequence (yes, I had to make it more complicated with fighting, hah!). I also told the scene from three different points of view over the course of several chapters, but that was what I had done for the entire book, so it worked.

These kinds of things in writing are completely dependent on the author’s skills, the point-of-view of the storytelling, the style of the novel, and other such factors. I don’t think there’s any magic formula for it except for practice and experience.

Rosie: What authors and/or books would you consider your strongest influences?

MDA: I adore The Awakening by Kate Chopin, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, and I also like Dostoevsky, Virginia Woolf, and Flannery O’Conner. Those are the classics I love that have influenced me. As far as contemporary, I’d say Marilynn Robinson, Tom Clancy and John Grisham. I’m kind of eclectic, can you tell? I’ve slowly been opening my door to more fantasy and I hope to add some of those to my favorites list.

Rosie: This is your first novel with Rhemelda Publishing. Can you talk a little bit about how you came to work with them?

MDA: I found Rhemalda Publishing when one of their authors, J.S. Chancellor, contacted me about reviewing my novella, Cinders, soon after it was released in 2010. She adored the book and when I looked up more about her I found her publisher and decided they might be a good fit for Monarch. After some intense revisions I submitted the book in October of 2010 and voila! Here I am. If only it was as quick and easy as I make it sound. *laughs*

Rosie: What upcoming projects do you have in the pipeline?

MDA: My young adult/new adult novel, The Breakaway, will be coming out next year (2012) from Rhemalda — hopefully late spring. It’s the story of a girl kidnapped by a family of jewel thieves. In 2013 my novella collection, Bonded, will be released by Rhemalda Publishing. This collection contains my novella, Cinders and two other fairy-tale inspired stories – Thirds and Scales. After that, I’m not sure. I currently have an idea for a young adult historical (possibly considered paranormal) novel set in Scotland. I don’t stick in one genre, can you tell? I hope that this project will release late 2013 or early 2014.

Rosie: And a random question to keep you on your toes: If the all the world were set up like Pangaea and all you could road trip anywhere, where would you go and why?

MDA: If all the world were set up like Pangaea I’d have to choose to visit anywhere by the coast! I dearly love the ocean.


Thank you so much to Michelle for letting me interview her. Once again, I'm very excited about MONARCH, and I want everyone to read it. Of course, giving away a copy to everyone would be an incredible (or incredibly expensive) feat. But, I can at least offer one copy for a lucky reader to win.

Want to win a copy of MONARCH for your very own? Leave a comment below. Want to be eligible for more entries? Tweet, Facebook, Google+, and LinkedIn links will all give you one extra entry toward winning. Just be sure to leave me links in the comments section, and feel free to tag me in any posts.

Entries close at 8PM EST (US) time on Tuesday, October 11. The winner will be announced here on October 12.

Good luck :)

A Pseudo-Hiatus

Hi folks.

This picture will never die
because it says so many things.

You may have noticed my absence last week. I almost wrote a post about the week that swallowed my soul (because, really, it did) and then spit me back out, but I didn't think you wanted to read all about my worries and woes. So I kept it to myself.

Unfortunately, I'm still in recovery. While I love blogging, and miss you all terribly, some things have to give. So I'm taking a pseudo-hiatus for a little while.

What does that mean? Well, it means I will be blogging irregularly—probably once a week—through the end of October. I have a few blog posts promised for various reasons, and those will happen. But I'm not sure I can handle more than that.

To Campaigners in my groups, I owe you an apology. I didn't realize how hectic things were right now, and I probably shouldn't have signed up. I will still come visit you (if I haven't already), but I can't be the active Campaigner that I had hoped to be.

So, the bottom line is that I'll be around, just not as much as I'd like. Here's hoping things settle down a little more by November, so I can NaNoWriMo again!

*hugs*

Interview with Will Boast

I've recently had the pleasure of reading Power Ballads, a collection of short stories by Will Boast. I'm very excited to welcome Will to talk to us today about his new collection—now available—and life in general. Stop by on Friday for my review of the collection. But first, a brief introduction.

Photo courtesy of willboast.com

Will Boast was born in England and grew up in Ireland and Wisconsin. His story collection, Power Ballads, won the 2011 Iowa Short Fiction Award. His fiction has appeared in Best New American Voices 2009, Narrative, Glimmer Train, The Southern Review, The American Scholar, and Five Points, among other publications. From 2008-2010, he was a Stegner Fellow in fiction at Stanford University, and, this fall, will be a Charles Pick Fellow at the University of East Anglia in the UK.



So, without further ado, I'd like to welcome Will Boast.

Rosie: Congratulations on winning the Iowa Short Fiction Award. Can you tell us about the process of your being considered and how you found out about the award?

WB: Thanks! The Iowa Short Fiction Award has been around for about twenty-five years and, along with the Flannery O'Connor Award, is considered one of the most prominent book contests for story collections. In my experience, readers of literary fiction love short stories, but the publishing world, mostly based in New York, perceives them as a tough sell to a larger audience. (Mention your story collection around an editor or agent and watch how fast their eyes glaze over....) My agent felt that trying to publish my stories wouldn't be a good first step for me, so I decided to take matters into my own hands. I got lucky, because the Iowa Award was the very first place I sent my manuscript! The nice thing about the Iowa Award is that it's read blind and is juried and judged by writers. So, their primary concern, really their only concern, is the manuscript itself and whether it's a good and satisfying read.

Rosie: Which authors would you say have most influenced your writing? In what ways?

WB: Tough question! A few years ago I discovered (along with all the rest of the American reading public!) Roberto Bolano's novels and stories. I haven't tried to emulate him--because mimicking such a distinctive writer is probably a bad idea--but I love the way he creates an alternate world for himself in which all of his fiction takes place. His world is populated with writers and poets (mostly failed, failing, and distinctly minor writers and poets), some real, many more invented. So maybe I borrowed that approach for Power Ballads, but reduced the size of the world to something more like Sherwood Anderson's Winesburg, Ohio. 

Rosie: Your short stories focus on different aspects of the life of musicians. What made you want to write about the music industry?

WB: I spent a couple years in Chicago playing music, going to see shows, working with musicians, and drinking with musicians. In college, I played a lot of music (too much, really), and when I moved to San Francisco, I became involved with the music scene here as well. The musicians I've met have all been dreamers, and their desires and obsessions almost always put them in compromised positions--financially, artistically, romantically--even the ones who have ended up having a lot of success. I knew that, for the most part, I didn't want to write about rock stars, because I find that story pretty boring. The musicians I most admired were the obscure and deeply uncool ones, and I wanted to write a sort of fan letter to them. That said, I don't really think of Power Ballads as ultimately being about music or musicians. Music is maybe just the way, the entry point, to address other things.

Rosie: Several of the stories in Power Ballads revolve around two characters, Tim and Kate. Have you ever consider expanding their story/stories into something longer? More of a novel format? In fact, 7 of the 10 stories directly or indirectly revolve around Tim and or Kate's lives. Why did you decide to include these stories in this collection, instead of focusing more or less on Tim and Kate?

WB: I think that Power Ballads is that longer thing! I'd been thinking about writing stories about journeyman musicians for a while and had a couple stories that more or less fit that bill kicking around. It was somewhat accidental that Tim found his way into as many stories as he did, and Kate came in even later. It seems like a story often has a life of its own, and you just end up following whatever thing seems the most vital or interesting or fun at the time. That said, both Tim and Kate appeared in "The Bridge," one of the oldest stories in the book. Something about Tim as a narrator continue to resonate for me, and several more stories revolving around his obsessions and short-sightedness ended up coming out in fairly quick succession.

Rosie: What other kinds of projects do you have lined up?

WB: I'm working on a novel and a memoir. I'm also trying to make a start in narrative journalism.

Rosie: Where else can we read your work?

WB: There's a list of publications and links to online stuff at willboast.com. Recently, I've had stories out in the American Scholar, the Literarian, Narrative, and ZZYZZVA.

Rosie: And a random question, just to keep you on your toes: If you could be any insect, which one would you be and why?

WB: Not being the most insect-friendly of people and despite the fact that getting stung is a bummer, I'd have to say a honeybee. No other insect goes to such obsessive extremes of behavior--forming a colony, building a hive, making honey, serving the queen. As a bee, you'd know your place in the world, and you'd get to feel useful.

Thanks so much, Will, for joining us today. If you're interested in Will Boast's book, again be sure to stop by on Friday for a review of Power Ballads or click on the link below.

First Campaigner Challenge

I normally post MWF, but we're heading out of town tomorrow, so I thought it would be best to put this up now. I won't have any post tomorrow.

As I'm still struggling with my writing mojo, I'm not sure if I love this flash fic or not, but here goes nothing. It's exactly 200 words (yup, I'm a geek like that.)

As always, I'm open to any and all comments you may have. And thanks in advance for reading.

The door swung open, and Samantha stared into the darkened study room. She'd planned to meet her friends here at seven before grabbing dinner. Just the three of them. No crowds, no hoopla. Just dinner and quiet company.

But the room was black, empty.

Something felt wrong. Lewis was as punctual as a tightly wound watch, and Cheryl thought "late" meant arriving twenty minutes early. So where were they? Her imagination whirled. Had someone or something attacked them?

Was it still there waiting for her?

Inside, carpet fibers rustled. Samantha narrowed her eyes, searching in the darkness while refusing the cross the threshold. What made that noise? What was in there?

It felt wrong.

While her impulses told her to run, her feet wouldn't move. Curiosity plucked at her attention. Against her better judgment, she reached inside for the light switch. Blinding florescent lights flickered to life.

"Surprise!"

Swear words ran through Samantha's mind as hands gripped her arms and dragged her inside. She spotted Lewis and Cheryl at the center of the crowd. She had felt more comfortable thinking her friends were hurt.

Trapped. Now she was trapped. She glanced around, searching for an escape.

The door swung shut.

Welcome to my first post for the Insecure Writer's Support Group. And, if you're new, welcome to my blog.

This is something I've written about a lot lately because, well, it's apparently something that's been bothering me.

Recently, we moved. For the record, we did it all ourselves, with no packers or movers. Several weeks of packing, days of moving, a week of homelessness, a day of moving, and weeks of unpacking. To say the least, it was difficult to find the mojo to write during all of this.

Now I'm back to work, writing every day in the morning and working part-time in the afternoon. I started with major editing of my WIP. And I found that editing wasn't helping get my mojo back.

So, this is my concern. Once I actually regain my mojo, will editing and revision still kill my writing mojo? Does anyone else have this problem? I know that some people really enjoy the editing and revising. But if not, how do people manage their writing thrill and the revision process?

Struggle and Persistence

I have a relatively new crit partner, and in addition to trading work and brainstorming with each other, we've also been trying to keep each other accountable on weekly goals. Last Sunday when I sent her my goals for the week, I was horrified to see that I had 15 rather serious goals to achieve. She challenged me to completely mark 5 off my list. I'm happy to say that I crossed off 10 (which included writing this blog post).

One of my goals was to write for at least an hour per day on my new project. This proved to be harder than it seems.

My permanent desk muses:
one of my cats and the PowerPuff Girls

Saturday in particular was a day of writer's block. I struggled, staring out my window, messing with my cat, hoping that the PowerPuff Girls would save my from my strife. I stared at the words I had already written and though, "Eh. Who cares?" It was a rough day.

Then I came across this blog post from one of the fellow Campaigners. It helped me remember that my first draft doesn't need to be perfect. No one else has to see it. As long as I keep at it and keep working, it will come together in the end. And then I can come back and cut out that superfluous scene where they're watching a movie, right? :)

As long as I remember to edit the life out of it before I start sending it out to my poor crit partners. *innocent whistling*

We all have those days when it's hard to get the words out. But on a first draft, it helps to turn off the perfectionist inside. Let's just hope I can keep it up.


What do you do when you run into writer's block? How hard do you try to polish the first draft? Do you edit while you write? Or revise everything later?

Thanks and Welcome

Image Credit

First, I want to say thanks to everyone who had great ideas and encouragement last week on how to get through my writing funk. I've been able to get my butt in the chair and work a few times since then. In addition to my editing on Fighting Fate, I've also gone back to an old, shelved project and dusted it off. The combination of writing something "new" and editing/revision something has been extremely good for me. I feel revitalized. I'm even excited to get to work in the morning, and not as interested in procrastinating.

The encouragement from all of you, old friends and new, has been amazing. I love the blogosphere! You're all great. Thank you again.

And a warm welcome to any more Campaign group cohorts. I'm very happy to meet you. Glad you could stop by :)

Writers' Platform-Building Campaign

For those of you who don't know, Rachael Harrie is running the third Writers' Platform-Building Campaign (formerly know as the Crusade). The purpose of the Campaign is to provide a way to link those of us in the writing community together with the aim of helping to build our online platforms. You can visit her Campaign information (also here) to find out more details and sign up.

Yup, I joined. I hope it was the right decision, since I want to be able to dedicate enough time to it. This will be my first time, so I hope I can make a good impression on all my new campaign-cohorts. After a month off from writing and working, I'm back to both, and having trouble juggling in the blogging as well. But I'm here to try. Feel free to nudge me :)

Welcome to all in my Campaign groups. I'll be by soon to introduce myself.

Getting Back in the Swing

Boy, oh boy, does taking a month off put a dent in ones momentum. Getting it back has been quite a process, and, well, it's not back yet. This counts for writing, editing, and blogging.

So I'm working on weekly goals. One of my crit partners and I are trading weekly goals and trying to motivate the other to stick to them. I've gotten through some of them, although my reading goals are falling behind—which is bad, since they're ARCs and I have deadlines to meet.

This may be the most versatile picture
I've ever taken :)

I don't know how people with real 40hr/wk jobs juggle writing, editing, blogging, reading, family, friends, life, and sanity. I just don't. I'm struggling right now because my job upped my hours to 25 per week. That's nothing, right? And yet I can't seem to get in the hours they want while also getting the writing-job requirements fulfilled at the same time.

It's probably because I've just started. This is week two. Add to this my month hiatus from everything.

But... but... shiny new writing office should make everything better, right?

*sigh*

Any suggestions on how to get back in the writing groove? Other than just to do it? Because, really, I'm trying. It's just so SLOW!

Pronoun Usage and Same-Sex Characters

Image courtesy of FreelanceWritingGigs.com
and Comedy Central.

I learned something today. (Cue cheesy end-of-episode South Park music.)

It's probably something obvious, and it's little, but something I hadn't noticed before.

Sometimes it's difficult to decide which pronouns to use. I'm specifically referring to a close 3rd POV narrator in a scene with another character of the same gender. When do you use "he" and "she" (or "it", depending on your genre of choice)?

In this latest draft of Fighting Fate, I followed my linguistics training, adhering to supposed rules of pragmatics to dictate when I used "he/him/his" or "she/her/her" instead of proper names.

An example:

Roger took several steps toward her. Marcus tried to followed, but Roger’s hyper-awareness picked up on it right away. He paused and glanced over his shoulder at Marcus. Even if for a second, it made Marcus stop.

Here's the breakdown. In the second sentence, I used "Marcus" because, according to pragmatics, "He" should refer to Roger as the subject of the previous sentence. After "but" I used "Roger" again, because "he" would refer to Marcus. In the third sentence, "He" is Roger, being the most recent available subject to refer to. Then we get "Marcus" again, BUT it's in a prepositional phrase, so the last sentence repeats "Marcus" because the most recent SUBJECT to refer to is "Roger".

I don't think this is wrong per se, but it's clunky. Do you feel the clunky? I felt the clunkiness even while writing it, though wasn't sure how to fix it.

I sent it off to a crit partner of mine, and this is how it came back (some suggestions hers, others I adapted based on what I'd learned from several of her line-edits). Because it's a little out of context, please note that the close 3rd POV narrator is attached to Marcus in this scene.

Roger took several steps toward her. He tried to followed. Roger paused and glanced over his shoulder, his hyper-awareness tipping him off. Even if for a second, it made Marcus stop.

Less clunky, no?

But is it clear?

So the dilemma continues. I've rewritten it again, because another crit buddy was confused (and I can't say I blame her). I've changed the second "he" back to "Marcus" because pragmatically the reader is going to assume "he" to be "Roger" otherwise. Right? Or not?


So what's most important? Ditching the clunky or maintaining it for the sake of clarity? How do you deal with a close 3rd POV narrator and multiple people of the same gender in one scene? How do you use pronouns? Any advice to the poor, recovering linguist that is moi?

Holidays, Moving Trauma, and July

First, if you're a yankee, Happy 4th. If not, I hope your Monday's going well. May we all eat well and enjoy the day. I, poor patriot that I am, don't even know if the city's setting off fireworks tonight or if they did it last night. We have, however, hears all the fireworks they're setting off at the nearby lakes since Wednesday.

*bad segue*

Moving is stressing me out. In fact, anything with a brown cardboard box is stressing me out. It started on Thursday when my boss called me. Now, for the record, I work for a small, niche publisher at my university that puts out books related to Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and Russia (former Soviet Block). I work in editorial, preparing manuscripts for print, occasionally dealing directly with the printer in lieu of my boss. So when he called and asked me help do the beginning-of-the-fiscal-year inventory, I can't say I was thrilled. And I sure wasn't ambivalent. But I agreed because the "team" is a little short-staffed right now (long story, but temporary), and my boss was kind enough to hire me through the summer when I'm leaving the university as a student.

Courtesy of Future Perfect Publishing.
Our stacks don't look that neat.

Friday, July 1. Seven hours of doing inventory. This did not include the back room full of boxes of books. This did not include going to the warehouse to calculate our holdings over there. Nope. This involved me standing on a step stool, reading off three digits from the book's ISBN, counting the number of books on the shelf, and reporting the number to my cohort with a clipboard, who then checked off the number on a spreadsheet. Oh, and at four, we moved on to some "donated" boxes of our books (another long story) that then involved finding each ISBN (not as clearly marked as they are on the shelf) and adding +1 to the total. *sigh* I didn't get home until 6:30.

Saturday was moving day for some good friends, so I went to help. I hadn't planned to originally, but I'm glad I did, because when I got there, it was the couple and one other person, trying to load the couple's life into a 10ft Uhaul. A couple more people joined the team over time, but we never had more than six active players. Three Uhaul trips and some "3D Tetris", as my friend coined it.

So we're in July. Soon comes August. My husband and I officially have 4 weeks until our lease ends and 5 weeks until our new lease begins. We have to box up our lives and figure out where to store it all for a week. Can we say, not fun? I'm thinking the easiest thing at this point is to rent a POD, but one-month's rental costs more than one-month's rent for my apartment (the old one, anyway), and I don't think that's reasonable. We're looking into other options, such as short-term storage, keeping various boxes in friends' garages, etc.

Seriously, boxes are stressing me out right now.

I'm trying to keep my head above water in terms of managing blogging, writing, working, and general family duties. I suppose this is nothing different, but I don't have a set schedule for myself, and I can't really create one when we'll be packing and scrounging up a place store everything.

Anyway, happy 4th again. We're grilling in the backyard.

What are you doing this fine Monday, July 4? 
Do you have any create space ideas for me for a week's worth of homelessness?
Any ideas on what I can do to make the boxes less scary? :)

The Migraine Saga

My husband loves a good rain storm. He's from Arizona, from desert where trees have green bark and the skies come in multi-hued tones. But there's no weather except for the monsoon season, which lasts about a month in July and August. Otherwise, the weather forecaster on the local news has a pretty sweet gig.

For me, though, weather means instant disaster. Changes in pressure result in massive migraines. This has been me on and off for the past several days.

I'm not looking for sympathy. I'm just stating the facts.

Here's the problem: all I wanted to do on Monday was write, but I couldn't move. For half the day I didn't even want to open my eyes. I was so close to being done with my latest revision of Fighting Fate that the sweet flavor mingled on my tongue with the bitterness of personal defeat.

Yup, there's no good, rational reason for it, but I felt defeated. Defeated by my own head, the same location from which all the great ideas for my fiction stem (or "where all the great ideas of my fiction stem from"—you be the judge).

On the bright side, I was 98% pain-free on Tuesday. Admittedly, I write my posts early, and it's actually Tuesday night as I write this, so I have no idea how my Wednesday will shape up. If you leave comments and you don't hear back from me at all, the odds aren't in my favor.

I'm tried of taking my medication for the migraines and am now searching for alternatives. I'm getting a Reiki treatment, I'm looking into acupuncture. Really, I'll take anything that doesn't involve putting more chemicals in my body. I'm not anti-med, but the Triptans I take drug me out so that, even when the pain is gone, I'm not functional. I resemble a drooling zombie, except that I still have refreshingly pink flesh and don't want to eat brains. I just want to smack the crap out of MINE.

So, oh blogity friends, any advice? I'm so far investigating Reiki, acupuncture, and renewing my commitment to yoga and meditation. But, seriously, anyone know of any home remedies?

Blogfest... Interrupted

Today I'm participating in Blogfest...Interrupted, hosted by Sasha Conte. Thanks, Sasha, for hosting. 

On Saturday, June 26th, post a 500-1000 word scene of your characters being interrupted - doesn't matter what they're doing, doesn't matter what's interrupting them (end of the world, knock on the door, little voice in their head...), they just need to be interrupted.

So, here we go. This is an excerpt from my WIP, Fighting Fate. It's raw, not super well edited, and rather first-drafty. But, nonetheless, people are getting interrupted. All comments are welcome. Hope you enjoy it :)


Marcus arrived in his suite and glanced around. Of course he had maid service, but he still straightened a few pillows on the couches. He walked into his bedroom, making sure again that he had tidied it enough. He hadn’t felt this nervous going to Anabelle’s home. Why was he so restless now?

Finally the door to his suite opened and then shut again. He heard voices, “Is it okay now?” “Yes.” “No cameras?” “No cameras.”
 

Anabelle and Lily began to materialize, at first translucent, until the invisibility subsided.
 

“Marc?” Roger’s voice sounded from nowhere.
 

Of course. It was Marcus’s spell, so he had to be the one to remove it. It disappeared faster than Anabelle’s spell had, and from top to bottom as if a sheet had fallen off.
 

Once he became visible, Lily smacked his elbow. “You scared the frut out of me. How dare you sneak up on us all invisible like that.”
 

“What else should I have done?”
 

“I don’t know, but not that.”
 

Roger glared at her for a moment before turning to Marcus. “Something’s a-buzz. I kept getting calls on my headset, but couldn’t respond. I need to go check in and see what’s going on.”
 

“Fine,” Marcus said. “Go. We’ll be here.”
 

“Great,” Lily said. “Leave me behind as third wheel.”
 

Roger shut the door a little too hard behind him.
 

“You’re not third wheel,” Anabelle said.
 

As she spoke the words, however, her eyes told a different story. Marcus couldn’t believe how lucky he was that this beautiful commoner had had enough gumption and enough personal magic to find him, even if she hadn’t wanted to meet him. And here she stood in his suite again. Fate had played in his favor this time.
 

“Can I give you a brief tour?” he asked.
 

“I’d like that,” Anabelle said.
 

Lily rolled her eyes. “Oh, give me a break.”
 

Anabelle slipped her hand through Marcus’s elbow and he led her around. He had three more rooms off of the main sitting room: his den, Roger’s office, and his bedroom. He showed her the rooms in that order, ending in the bedroom. He slipped the door shut behind him.
 

“It’s very big,” she said.
 

“I’ve heard that before.”

She shoved his chest playfully, and he grabbed her hands, pulling her close. He loved the feel of her body against pressed against his, her lips against his. Pressure hit him in two solid points against his chest where she had the stones tucked inside her bra. How had he gone so many years without her embrace? He couldn’t imagine—

A heavy knock beat against the door. “Marc! Get out here. Now.”

She pulled away. “Is that Roger?”

He would so lay into Roger later. What could be so important as to interrupt them? And so rudely?

The knock came again, louder this time. “Marc!”

Marcus felt his nostrils flare. “Coming.” He inhaled deep into his lungs before leading Anabelle out into the sitting room. “What?”

Roger and Natalie stood outside the door. Natalie said, “You are in some serious kruk right now.” Roger shoved something against his chest. Marcus took it and unrolled the newspaper—tabloid, really—until he saw the cover photo.

Any guesses as to what's in the photo?

Getting to Know Your Characters Blogfest

Welcome to my entry for the Getting to Know Your Characters Blogfest, hosted by Elizabeth Mueller and Jeannie Campbell. Thanks to both of them for hosting and the great idea behind it.

Rules: Pretend you are your MC and answer all three of the following questions.

Preface: (by Rosie)

Anabelle fought me on this. She did not want to answer these questions, and she didn’t want to feel psychoanalyzed. She just wanted to get on with her life and pretend like everything was normal instead of talking about fears and accomplishments and regret. I hope I’ve persuaded her, and she’s not jerking me around here.

Name: Anabelle Michelle Lindsky

Age: 19

Question 1: What is your greatest fear? 

Being alone and being abandoned. In my life, I only have two people, my mother Betsy and my best friend Lily. My father died when I was a baby, or maybe before I was born—my mother’s never been very clear on the matter, and I can’t ask her about it because it’s too hard for her to talk about. I see the pain she goes through every day after having the love of her life snatched away from her, and I know I can’t endure what she does. I try not to let people into my life, though that got turned on its ear and I’ve had no choice. All I can hope is that I withstand the coming events without losing my loved ones.

Question 2: What is your biggest accomplishment?

Ha! Okay. This is great. Lily and I got to start wearing bras in fourth grade, whether there was anything to hold in place or not. Nothing was more important than wearing one, at least among the girls. The boys made fun, of course, because that’s what boys do. And there was this guy, Lionel Davis. He told all the other boys that I had let him see my bra during recess. The next day a bunch of boys from our class cornered me on the way outside after lunch, asking to see my bra. I sucker punched one in the gut, and refused. Of course, if Lionel had gotten to see it, why couldn’t they? I ran away.

No, that’s not the accomplishment. Hold on!

The next day I was so angry. The boys kept teasing me, loud enough for the teacher to shush them. I wanted to die, I was so embarrassed. At lunch, I found a pack of Hostess cupcakes in my lunch, and felt the peck of inspiration, and then made the fateful mistake of whispering the idea to Lily. She found it so hilarious that when I hesitated, she dared me to do it. “What?” she asked, “Are you chicken?”

Lionel sat two tables away. I stood, a cupcake in each hand behind my back, and marched over. I told him to get up, that I had something to show him, which inspired lots of ooooohhs and aaaahs from both the girls’ and boys’ tables. The girls behind me could see what I had in my hands, but the boys couldn’t. Lionel stood, a huge grin on his face. In retrospect, he probably had a crush on me, but it wouldn’t last long. When he faced me, I shoved each of the cupcakes against his chest, smearing brown cake all over his white polo shirt. I mounded the cupcakes as best I could and stood back. “Looks like you need your own bra,” I said, “so quit trying to look at mine.”

I got suspended for three days. My mom wouldn’t talk to me for days without yelling. She had to take off work one day because she couldn’t afford a babysitter. I felt horrible for disappointing her, but something had to be done.

On the other hand, that was the first dare I’ve ever taken from Lily. I’ve never refused a dare since. I just try to make sure my dares don’t affect my mom the way the first did.

Question 3: What is your biggest regret?

This is hard one to answer because I have quite a few. I regret not using magic on Lionel Davis to make those brown cupcake mounds stick, because they fell off before the principal arrived. I regret going to prom with Sammy Gilespie because of his grabby fingers and post-prom expectations. I regret turning James Bunnell down when he asked me to prom because Lily had wanted him to ask her (but so had I, and then neither of us went with him).

But, I guess if I have to pick just one, my biggest regret would be not enjoying time with my mom as much as I should. I love my mom, of course, but when I was in high school I didn’t think it was cool to hang out with her. Now that I’m in college, I don’t see her much even though I live at home. I just wish I’d appreciated my time with her before my life turned upside down.


Don't forget to check out the other entries in the Blogfest. Go to Elizabeth Mueller's blog for a list of all the participants.

What about you? What are your characters' biggest fears, accomplishments, or regrets?

The Return

I've managed to find my way back after my sabbatical and have lots of updates for you.

First, if you check out my BuNoWriMo counters to the right, you'll see that I've had great success in the writing department. If I can finish my latest draft of Fighting Fate and get 10K on Seer, I will have written 50K in June. I'm keeping my fingers and toes crossed, but I think it's possible.

If you'd like to see the first 250 words (well, more like 280) of Seer, it will be posted on Carol Rigg's blog sometime today. Go over, help critique, make comments, or just read and tell me how awesome (or horrible) it is :)

Now that I've had some time away, I feel rejuvenated in the blogging department. In addition to having several fun blog posting ideas in my brain (see below for a few examples), I've also reorganized my Google Reader to help me visit my peeps more often. I'm still working on catching up with all my new followers from A-to-Z, so bear with me. The blogging front, though, looks quite promising.

In the next couple of weeks, I have some exciting things planned.

• On Friday, I'll be participating in the Getting to Know Your Characters Blogfest, hosted by Elizabeth Mueller and Jeannie Campbell. 
• On Sunday, Sasha Conte is hosting the Blogfest... Interrupted.
• On Monday, stop by to read my review of Veiling in Shadows by fellow blogger Al Russell. 
• Coming sometime in the month of July I will post my review of A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan. I've joined the Goodreads bookclub for it, and can't wait to dig in. 
• I'm also planning (tentatively) a review of the Millennium series by Stieg Larsson. The popularity of these books drove me to read them, and as I've developed as a writer and read other comments about them on Goodreads, I have discovered lots of things I want to say about them. 

I also have ideas for non-review posts, so stay tuned.

Finally, I returned from my trip to find this in my mailbox:

EEK! I'm so excited. My first ARC. I'm participating in Michelle Davidson Argyle's book tour to celebrate the release of Monarch in September. I can't wait to dig into this one, either.

Oh, and the reunion? It was great. We had fun seeing all kinds of family, and getting outside a bit. Here's a tidbit, straight from the land of corn :)

How have you been? Any fun things to share? What have you read lately, or what do you have lined up next?

PS--Today is my hubby's and my 9th wedding anniversary. I love you, J!

Sabbatical

So much for being back to regular posting...

Ever notice how your mojo slows down? Even when you find the muses again, it feels like you're wading through chocolate pudding (both in the sense of slowing down and in the oh-man-I-just-want-to-eat-chocolate sense)?

How do you deal with these situations?

My plan right now is to recharge by unplugging for a while. That's right. I'm going somewhere untouched by the internet (though it does have satellite TV). Partially, it's a family reunion, but that will be over by the weekend.

My husband and I have decided to stay longer for a self-induced work retreat. He's polishing his dissertation at the moment, and went up to visit this part of the family a few weeks ago--with stellar success. So now, he wants to try and regain that momentum, and I need to get some with my writing and my freelance editing working.

All that being said, I will be on sabbatical from the blogosphere starting today until around the 22nd. Hopefully the time off will help me recharge my blogging batteries, get a jumpstart and/or finish the first part of my BuNo challenge, and get some significant hourly time in to make some summer moola.

See y'all in a couple of weeks.