Taking stock, answering questions, counting to 100

I am feeling an enormous, cranky rant coming on, but I was raised to believe that before you complain about something, you should take stock about what is working in your life. So today, I am digging for the good stuff. (But I swear I will rant tomorrow.)

To start with, the ALAN online chat was a blast. It was like a giant IM session with everyone able to see all posts. At one point, so many people were trying to get on the board, the server crashed and we were all booted off. That was a pain, but also kind of cool. Thank-you to everyone who participated, and David Gill and CJ Bott who set it up. I think there will be a transcript of the discussion at some point. When I hear about it, I’ll let you know.

One of the participants kindly sent me a few of his questions about TWISTED that I didn’t have time to answer.

Q: did you intend the eroticism that i and my friends found pretty prevelant in the first part of the book? (mostly in repeatedly describing how well built tyler is, and ongoing comments about his erections) my gay/bi friends and i loved it on that level and on the deeper more significant levels as well.

A: Wow, I never thought of it as eroticism; I felt it was an accurate reflection of the kinds of things teenage guys think about. If anything, I toned it down. I don’t see how anyone can write about older teens without working in some mention of sexuality. It’s a core component of their existence. They don’t have to act on it, but they think about making themselves attractive to people that they find attractive. A lot. That’s part of being 17 going on 18.

Q: this may make me sound stupid, but what was the point of the duct tape on yoda’s ass? just to pull hairs when he had to remove it?

A: You are describing the very ugly locker room scene in which a secondary male character is attacked. I don’t know that there a deep significance other than the removal of the duct tape will cause more pain and shame. This kind of assault is way too common. I want to help make it go away.

Q: will bethany’s family ever level out? will bethany become more selfconfident/less slutastic as time goes on? will chip realize that he doesnt have to be an ass to have “friends?”

A: There would have to be a massive internal earthquake to change anything in that family. They are very unhappy people, despite all the expensive trimmings in their life, and they have no clue how to change things. My heart goes out to them. (“Slutastic” is a wonderful word, btw.)

OK, what else am I grateful for today? That local libraries have air conditioning (we don’t and fans can only do so much). Our kids are all healthy; that is a blessing. My knee, which has been acting up so much I’ve had to take a break from running, is responding to time on the elliptical machine. Blueberries still in season. I have eaten so many my mouth might be permanently stained. JK Rowling seems to be getting her life back; that’s nice. (Thanks for the link, Shelf Life.) That I finished HP Book 7 without being exposed to any spoilers. That people are talking about Robert Heinlein, whom I still grok.

Image and video hosting by TinyPic The drawings came from St. Peter Celestine School. They were sent to my publisher in January. Seven months ago. They were forwarded to me yesterday. The mail departments of publishers operate with a different sense of urgency than the rest of us.

Image and video hosting by TinyPicThe second graders were paired with eighth-grade buddies. They read the book together, then drew these pictures and wrote me letters.

Image and video hosting by TinyPic This one is a representation of the “superhero” page, I think. Gotta love it.

2 Replies to “Taking stock, answering questions, counting to 100”

  1. > I was raised to believe that before you complain about something, you should take stock about what is working in your life.

    It is probably a Good Thing that you were raised that way, because the scientist-types decided this month that excess complaining makes people unhappy. (Reference)

    I really like the drawings. xD

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