I hate to go and leave this pretty sight

It is time to say farewell. I've neglected this site in favor of shorter posts on Facebook and Twitter but it's time to get back to blogging!  That said, it feels like it's time to start over.  I'll leave this blog here and will come back and visit but it needs a renovation which right now, feels overwhelming!  

I will come back and do some remodeling, some redecorating, update the links and touch base once in a while.  I'm not selling this home but I am moving to a new one!

Feel free to stop by and visit, anytime at loraynecupero.com!  I'm still moving in and decorating but it's shiny and new! 

An open window

Sometimes you just have to sit back and listen.  Often, you need to pray.  Some days, all it takes is opening a window.

I did not sign up for the first class of the day, today but at the last minute thought I'd try to run over there.  By run over there, I mean last minute shower, grab a cup of coffee and pray I had time to make it over to the House of Seven Gables.  (Those of you who know me, know that this is how I operate even though it rarely, if ever, works out successfully).

By the time I got my coffee, I realized I had 4 minutes.  Still not feeling 100%, trying to run (with coffee) clearly wasn't worth it.  I checked out the library board, went back to my room, opened the window and realized how to make the old draft (the one I'd shelved and resolved to let go) work.

Months ago, I saw this Tweet from Donald Maas: "It is THE event of the year for fiction writers, space is limited.  Registration opens today.  Go.  Just. Go." with a link to Writer Unboxed.  I was pretty certain he was talking to me, specifically and I signed up.  I thought I was meant to attend his workshop but perhaps I was just meant to be here.

*Side note: I write historical fiction and am loving this hotel.  If in any doubt however, you know you're staying in an older hotel when you open a window and find you could get out through it! ;)

The UnConference (Part 1)

There is nothing like a writing conference to re-charge your creativity.  Attending an "Un-Conference" is, so far, even better!

Unfortunately, I've been sick on-and-off since it started so I only imagine the level of awesomeness for attendees who attended all of the sessions, today!  More to come...I'm here all week!

If you would like to follow along all sorts of writerly advice, go visit over on Twitter:
@Writer Unboxed
#WUUncon

Summer Reading List

     On the other side of Labor Day, it feels like summer should be over.  My kids have been in school for three weeks so our collective Summer Vacation ended a while ago.  It flew by far too quickly, of course.  I expected living in a hotel for the summer would slow our summer down.  The situation has made it easier for the kids to reach out and touch each other, breathe on each other, look at each other...but routines and getting up early still came too quickly.

     I have been out of school for quite a while but I still operate under the illusion that I will have more time to read during the summer and feel an obligation like I should be reading over the summer.  My TBR list grows but I don't accomplish half of the reading I planned.  I did manage to fit in a few!

     Tiger Hunting by Tracy Million Simmons had been sitting on my shelf for far too long.  I "met" Tracy years ago, online, as part of a Kansas writers' forum back when I was one of those.  I purchased a copy of her book as soon as it was available.  I don't know why I waited so long to open it up but I brought it along on our flight in July.  It was the perfect time to read her story.  Along with searching for a white tiger in Kansas, her book is about finding your lost voice.  I finished her book as we were landing in New Orleans which was exactly where I'd left mine.  I started a new story while we were there but hers is finished and lovely and has circus folk.  Go take a look!

     Someone Else's Love Story, by Joshilyn Jackson, is her best yet.  Yes.  I know.  If you've read this blog for a while, you know that I say that each time I pick up her latest book.  It's still true.  If you have read her books, you know what I mean. If you haven't read any of her books, are not sure where to start or if you aren't sure you have the time to commit to another whole novel right now, you are in luck!  Two of the main characters in SELS also have parts in a separate short story, my own miraculous.  You can get the e-book version for ninety-nine cents.  Go read it now.  You will then purchase Someone Else's Love Story.  It's like trying to eat one potato chip.  Once you get a taste, you will not be able to stop and you will have to read more about Shandi and her extraordinary son, Natty.    I have a vicarious crush on Walcott.

     The Rent Collector is a book I've read over a period of many months.  This doesn't sound encouraging as you're looking for a book that you can't put down and I'm admitting I did.  Lessons build upon each other however and this story was no less powerful read a few chapters at a time versus all at once.  We've all had countless vicarious journeys as we read to "escape."  This story is an excellent reminder of how learning to read is a true means of escape for someone who can't, otherwise.  Camron Wright has set beautiful stories, some familiar, amidst the stinging smoke of a trash dump in Cambodia.  Well worth the read.

     How to Have a New Kid by Friday.  You've heard of this one.  If you need it, you've probably already read it.  If you haven't, it's stuff you already know, but written in a step format so you can read a little each day and put it all together at the end.  (Of course, this is the one I read in one two-hour sitting).   I'm guilty of giving too many choices and too many chances so my own mom recommended this one to me too many times.  If you have the time, it has plenty of good reminders.  Otherwise, say what you mean, once and mean it.

     It is a "teacher in-service" day which means my kids have today off, giving them a nice four-day weekend to recover from the last three full weeks of school.  Looks like rain.  Maybe I'll get some writing in.  I have to, as that is the only way I feel like I've earned time to read.  I said I wasn't bringing many to the hotel but I still have a decent stack waiting to be opened.  Next on the pile is The Invention of Wings!  What are you reading this month?

Pocketful of Sunshine

Packing up "the library"/aka "my room" has been a slow, work-in-progress.  Each time I try to fill a box, I find a book I've not yet read, a draft of a novel I never finished or a box of photos I swore I'd scan or, at least, organize.  I've mentioned, I have a tendency to keep EVERYTHING.

Every so often, that makes it worth it.  Determined to finish this room tonight, I finally got to my file folders.  And I found artwork by and photos of Natalie and Christian from years ago.  Much, much too cute!

Under those were some more novel drafts.  Why didn't I finish those?  Under those--my answer.  A folder stuffed with "Volunteer Appreciation" certificates.  Each and every time someone takes the time to print one out, I shake my head and swear that I don't volunteer in order to receive any recognition whatsoever.  And I mean that.  I don't.  I don't need the certificates or thank-yous or gifts.

That said, I was tired from a busy day plus tired of packing and tired just thinking about moving and then to find so many things still unfinished...I will say it made my day to find a folder full of "thank-yous."

As it turns out, just because I don't have a folder full of finished products/novels/projects, that doesn't mean I haven't seen things through.  I am just a little better at finishing things you can't really see.  But for those who took the time to notice anyway, it's my turn to say Thanks!

Sit still

I've tried to take some time this year to refocus--spending more time in prayer, or meditation or just sitting still.  I don't have a job outside the home, I am not an overly ambitious person but as you know, life is busy.  Lately, I have had to schedule quiet time to make it happen but it has made all the difference.  It is amazing what happens when you take the time to sit still.

I signed up as an Adorer for Perpetual Adoration. For those of you that I just lost,  the host, the body of Christ, is on the altar in the chapel.  People sign up for an hour to ensure He is never left alone.  I have to say, this is easily one of the best hours of my week.  Once there, I am not required to do anything for an hour except be there.  I pray, sometimes say a Rosary but most often I just sit.  I sit and listen.  It is perfectly quiet in there, of course, but I have learned more about myself, my faith and my place in the world by simply sitting still and listening.  Sometimes I jot down a few notes/thoughts that come to me that I didn't expect.  (A friend of mine once told me that her friend started taking a notebook with her to Adoration, started writing a book while there and is now a successful, published Christian author!)

I'm usually running to get in there!  I have it on my calendar each week, else I would never get there but I still try to fit one more thing/task/chore into my day, right before I go.  Whether you believe it is God, the universe or your subconscious that guides you, it is so hard for most of us to find the time to just sit quietly and listen.  Put it on your calendar!

Of all of the books I've read to my children over the years, one of my favorites is It's Hard to be Five, by Jamie Lee Curtis and Laura Cornell.  Of course, my youngest doesn't want to hear it, anymore as he is SIX.  The struggles are real for any age!

I stepped out of my comfort zone a week ago and attended a weekend retreat at church.  I wasn't going to go; I have been avoiding it for years.  In my quiet hours at Adoration, I kept hearing a voice telling me that I should go this year but I attributed it to my "guilt voice" as I knew I probably should go but really was not interested.  Finally, just days before, after enough separate people had asked/encouraged/suggested that I go, I relented.  It was lovely, of course, to meet new people and learn more about my faith but what I did not expect was to have quiet time, alone.  This was exactly what I needed and never experience on a normal weekend!

I try to go to Mass on the days the kids have "All School Mass."  It is nice for the kids to see that I go, too and my youngest still enjoys having me there. ;)  But I'm rushing in the mornings, to get them all off to school, give the husband a kiss on the cheek and still make sure I have matching shoes on in time to get there.  Today I was a few minutes late.  Since then however, my day has gone so smoothly.

 So many friends of mine who are also mothers say that they purposely get up very early to make sure they have quiet time for reflection before getting everyone else up and on their way.  I haven't been able to do that, yet.  I am not a morning person. I stay up far too late and know that I can send up a few prayers when I finally lay down to sleep.  But the voices and the thoughts and the schedules all assault my brain at once and then it's tough even to fall asleep.  But making time during the day--even if it is running into Mass in the morning, going to Adoration after lunch or just sitting somewhere in my parked car for a few minutes with the radio off--has made all the difference.  Now, once I get to bed, I fall asleep immediately.  I know if I would go to bed a little earlier and get up a little earlier, our mornings could start off much more smoothly.  I am working on that.

Take some time to sit still, today.  Enjoy!

Two steps (or days) behind!

I was not going to sign up for NaNoWriMo, this year.

I am writing.  I need to write.  NaNo makes me write but I wasn't going to sign up because I felt guilty about not finishing the last thing I was going to write.  But I really do love that NaNo status bar! ;)

So....I signed up today (late) to pressure myself (and gain access to that status bar) to add 50K to the book I need to finish.  It is cheating as it isn't a new idea.  I already have 13,000 words.  Note: I did not say 13,000 good words.  Just words.  But 13K isn't anything.  So if I can 50K this month, that would be approaching something.  So...here we go!

Are you in?  How's it going?
(If you're in and are looking for buddies, I am "LoryKC" there, too!)

Parental Guidance

Switching gears for a moment to review a non-fiction book (although the cynic in me suspects a few of the "correct" examples given in this book were fictionalized a bit).   Having said that, the examples of what to say and do were invaluable to me as most of the "what not to do" scenarios are exactly what I might say or do on any given day!

Getting to Calm, by Laura S. Kastner, Ph.D. and Jennifer Wyatt, Ph.D.  belongs on every parents' bookshelf!  My copy now rests in a very easy to reach/consult spot, snuggled between  T. Berry Brazelton's Touchpoints and Christie Mellor's The Three Martini Playdate.  As this book offers strategies for dealing with tweens and teens, I've come to it a little late but after reading it from cover to cover, I feel reassured that I may not be TOO late.  (If you have younger children, get this now and read this now--before you are in the midst of some of these scenarios.)  My two older children are 14 and 12 years old, and many of the chapters in this book apply to our situations today.  (The authors suggest keeping this book to refer to the appropriate chapters when needed--when these issues arise--but I found at least 11 of the 14 chapters useful NOW and the other 3 were still worth reading.  I WILL need them!)

I am still working on the calmness.  The authors detail a four-step plan to achieving the calm.  The stories/examples they provide in each chapter offer invaluable instruction as you witness parent/teen interactions.  Some go swimmingly well and you see WHY.  Some plummet quickly and things go horribly wrong and you see WHY.  Changes have been implemented in our house and more are coming.  And now, when I yell and nag, I understand where I've gone wrong much sooner.  It's a process. ;-)

Speaking of where I've gone wrong however, the book made me feel better.  Written by a professor of psychiatry and a psychologist, the authors show where parents go wrong without laying blame.

I usually use this space to discuss reading or writing fiction but once in a while, there are a few other must-have books out there that you should know about.  This is one.  If you are a parent, give yourself this book.  If you are not a parent, give this book to someone else in your life--somebody needs it!

History repeats and it's a blast!

I am praying for the Russians who were in or near the recent blast but was also intrigued by some of the comments in this article.

"We would expect an event of this magnitude to occur once every 100 years on average," said Paul Chodas of NASA's Near-Earth Object Program Office at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.

The only novel I have actually pitched begins in Ukraine and Russia, one day before the Tunguska event in 1908.  This blast was not in the exact same location but globally speaking, not far at all and roughly 105 years later.

Reminders for the New Year

I haven't kept up with this blog as I should but had to take the time to share this with you, today!  So take a break to visit this site--then get back to work! ;-)

Good luck and Happy New Year!


http://www.upworthy.com/there-are-a-lot-of-quotes-about-creativity-heres-one-thats-actually-useful

I Can See Clearly Now

It is time to accept that the Mid-Life-Conflict is a battle I can't win.

In other news, the resolution and clarity on both my laptop and phone are amazingly clear.  Who knew?

Wild

“You must do the thing you think you cannot do.” ~ Eleanor Roosevelt

I must go camping.  Outdoors.  I don’t want to do it but I suspect, deep down, that I cannot.  I wonder if I should give it a shot.  As I began reading Cheryl Strayed’s “Wild,” I compared her experience level at the beginning of her journey to my own. I thought if she could hike the Pacific Coast Trail from the Mojave Desert to the Bridge of the Gods on the Oregon-Washington border, I could possibly survive a few days out there.  Probably.

The memoir is exquisitely written, covering the author's physical and spiritual journey on the Pacific Coast Trail.  We're about the same age--she is one year older.  Cheryl left her home, her family and her marriage behind in the first week of June, 1995 to head down to Mojave, California and hike back up to the Pacific Northwest.

I was headed there myself that week, albeit in a car.  I did not leave my marriage behind--though just two months earlier I'd vowed to let it leave without me.  By the time June arrived, I'd decided to go with my husband and we each drove a car over 2,500 miles from New Orleans to Tacoma, taking turns chauffeuring the dog.  

In 1995, I remember thinking that I should have already finished a novel--the same thought the author has during her hike.  

I could publish a novel.  I want to do it but I suspect, deep down, that I cannot.  I wonder if I have truly given it a fair shot.   I finished reading “Wild.” I compared Cheryl Strayed's writing style to my own and am both inspired and humbled.  There is still a chance I could make it as a hiker.

Cover reveal: "The Burning of Isobel Key," by Jen McConnel

 How was your summer?   I didn't mean to take such a vacation from blogging but am happy to be back!  The kids are back in school, we are falling into routines and I have time to get back to writing, editing and blogging!  Of course, just when I think we are settled into our schedules, I realize that it is Tuesday.  Tuesdays are always our crazy days but today we added one more activity to the calendar and I became an Aunt again!

The good news keeps coming!  The cover for Jen McConnel's novel, "The Burning of Isobel Key" was released today!  Finish all of your "beach reads" now so you'll be ready to dive into this one!

When Lou travels to Scotland, she’s a mess.  She’s twenty-six, unemployed, and unsure of herself.  It doesn’t help that she’s traveling with Tammy, her best friend, who is everything Lou is not.

At first, the trip pushes Lou towards the brink of depression, but then she meets Brian, a handsome local tour guide.  When Brian tells the tourists about the countless witches burned in Scotland, Lou starts to listen.  And when she discovers information about Isobel Key, one of the victims of the seventeenth century, Lou finds renewed purpose.

She sets out to learn the truth of the condemned witch, but she isn’t prepared for the knowledge that waits for her.  Lou must face her demons if she has any hope of righting the wrongs of the past.

More about the author:

Jen McConnel first began writing poetry as a child.  Since then, her words have appeared in a variety of magazines and journals, including Sagewoman, PanGaia,and The Storyteller (where she won the people’s choice 3rd place award for her poem, “Luna”).

She is also an active reviewer for Voices of Youth Advocates (VOYA), and proud member of SCBWI, NCWN, and SCWW.

The Burning of Isobel Key is her first novel.  She also writes YA fantasy.

http://isobelkey.com/
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6451403.Jen_McConnel
@ProDeaWriter
jennifermcconnel.wordpress.com
http://www.facebook.com/jenmcconnelauthor

Food for thought

I just logged on to begin a post about inspiration at this time of year and found this one--still sitting in my drafts from the week after Thanksgiving.  It appears that I have been working on the same idea for a month now.  (I'll post the new one tomorrow).  Happy Monday!

I pray; I attend church; I find the Bible fascinating though I'll admit I don't open it on a regular basis.  I have taken enough women's bible study classes to know that I would not care to attempt what this woman did.  Sure--I could try but it would be like trying to sit through algebra class again.  You know, it would be HARD.

During a recent homily, a priest suggested we treat Advent more like Lent.  (He admitted he did not expect anyone to find this Homily popular.)  Rather than enjoying the Christmas season now, he suggested we use it as a time of preparation, contemplation and repentance.  Then, on Christmas Day we would be ready to celebrate the birth of Jesus and continue to celebrate for the following eight days.  (His suggestion to the children that they request presents for eight days in a row DID seem a bit more popular!)

Finishing my book is important--to me.  The universe has bigger issues to worry about.  You have bigger concerns.  The book is important to me but not as important as family.  More interesting but not as important as getting dinner on the table tonight.

I knew completing a NaNo novel this year would be nearly impossible but absolutely impossible if I did not try.  I quickly decided to use NaNo as a way to get many more needed words into the WIP I am revising and watch the little blue bar move to the right, at the same time.  Even with that cheating mentality, I did not get enough words into the WIP let alone start a new project.

This time of year is busy enough.  Every year I say I need to let something go but end up doing everything halfway.  So I took the laptop with me on a trip to Florida for Thanksgiving with my kids.  (I had a fantasy about leaving my kids with their cousins and finding a Starbucks in my hometown.)  Instead, I let my son play games on the computer (the one computer he is never allowed to touch) and watched my youngest play in the dirt.  Aside from my son's time on the laptop, it was a mostly unplugged, unscheduled weekend with family.  It wasn't perfect but it was perfectly good.  Twenty years from now, my son won't remember if I finished my book this year or not but he might remember playing football with his cousins in the yard.  He will remember the pie.  Sweet Mercy, there were so many different delicious pies!

I have worked on the WIP.  It still isn't done.  It is not ready but it is better.  I am learning to slow down and listen more (and if a main character in the book learns that lesson along the way as well, that's just gravy).

NaNo or No?

It's that time of year again!  Gearing up for Halloween, my youngest's birthday, Thanksgiving and...NaNoWriMo!

For my non-writerly friends: NaNo is National Novel Writing Month, in which in a frenzy of frenetic writing, you attempt to compose 50,000 words in 30 days.  (See?  I'm already warming up, using wordy phrases rather than simple explanations like, "you write fast.")

One of the highlights of the SCWW conference was finding an agent who likes the idea of my book.  I pitched him the basic story, he asked several follow up questions and said he would be interested in reading  the first 30 pages -- after the book is closer to 90,000 words and "good."  Which means I still have at least 10,000 to 15,000 "good" words to write.

I did not meet my 50K goal for NaNo last year but did begin a new novel that I love.  Unfortunately, that one is still languishing in my hard drive at 30,000 words.

Can I write a novel in 30 days?  No.
Can I write 50,000 words in 30 days?  Yes.

Should I sign up for NaNo?  Probably not.  I just have a hard time resisting, even if it is just for that blue status bar and the pure joy I feel watching it creep to the right.

Looking back

It has taken far too long to tell you about Karen Abbott's American Rose.  I was lucky enough to win a hard copy of this book!  (That makes this delay inexcusable but please forgive me and go out and buy this book.  Now.)  The book is the story of New York as much as it is the story of Gypsy Rose Lee.  I am so glad I read this book before my trip to New York in August!  It helped me to see so much of the city in a new way, especially Times Square.  I love history and it never ceases to amaze me how little human nature differs, over time!  It was a great read I won't soon forget.  (I can't!  My daughter is enamored with the show "Toddlers and Tiaras" and there is a stage mom in every episode that reminds me of Rose, Gypsy's mother!  Almost 100 years have passed since Rose was pushing her daughter, June, along the vaudeville circuit claiming that her daughter was destined to be "somebody."  I hear the same words in my living room today, but vaudeville has been replaced by reality television.)

I am sure you read The Help long ago.   I have been meaning to read the book forever but just got around to finishing it last week.  Though wonderful reviews abound, I knew I had to read the book when I read about it in Food & Wine magazine.  (They featured many of the recipes from the movie.)  Kathryn Stockett's writing was wonderful.  I love southern writers and southern writing but so many writers slow the story down by trying to capture dialect.  I have had to stop and re-read so many words so many times to understand what the characters are supposed to sound like.  Ms. Stockett's writing is spot-on.  Perfect.  Her characters in this novel are unforgettable, the writing is compelling and the food sounds delicious--though it will be a while before I enjoy chocolate pie again!

Registered!

After much indecision, wavering and stalling, I decided not to go to the writing conference in October.  As I sat down to compose a post about my reasons, I found a similar post I'd already written and posted three years ago.  THREE YEARS ago.

I realized that I have no choice.  I try not to accept excuses from my kids and it is time to stop allowing them, myself.  I am going to the conference.  Part of my hesitation was that my draft isn't "ready."  But is much closer than it was last year (when I said it wasn't "ready.")  It is not perfect.  Of course, if it was perfect, I wouldn't need feedback.

So I have submitted pages for critique.  I signed up for a pitch session and query session, as well.

So now you know.  And now, I have to go revise other pages and forget that I have already sent some to complete strangers before I curl up into the fetal position and start sucking my thumb.