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At long last, winter blows in

As I type this, the sun is crawling up in the east, turning the 10 inches of snow we got yesterday the color of platinum. It is -3 degrees outside. The air is perfectly still; the birds are huddled in their nests and the squirrels have taken the day off. Not me. I have the coffee pot going and breakfast is minutes away.

It is such a relief to finally have some winter weather. I need seasons.

Spent yesterday with an awesome history professor who wrote a very important academic book that relates to my WIP. She graciously shared some of her research with me and let me talk through another plot knot. It was a terrific day and went by way too fast. I think I have figured out how to cut out a chapter and will work on that today. Given that the outside temperature won’t reach much beyond 19 degrees, I am going to abandon my office and write downstairs in front of the fireplace.

Thank you EVERYONE for delurking and semi-delurking and just saying “hi” yesterday. I will finish responding to comments today.

Looking for a procrastination device? Speak pops up on YouTube.

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How we start summer in the country

Now that all danger of frost is gone (not that it is ever truly gone up here), what did we do with that beautiful hot day yesterday? BH, Son & I split, hauled, and stacked seven cords of wood that we will burn next winter. We did it the modern way, with a nice hydraulic splitter (thank you, Honda) that we rented for the day.

I apparently passed my picking up sticks apprenticeship because I was allowed to run the splitter. The fun part was watching the sharp thingie snap the wood in two. The not-fun part was wrestling massive blocks of wood up on to the splitter. I’m moving very slowly today. My back, legs and arms have all gone on strike in protest of yesterday’s activities. But we got it done. I feel like a pioneer.

Woke up at 5 am – BH and I both thought we heard someone crying, but it wasn’t in our house. Then a thunderstorm struck. Maybe it was the spirits awake in anticipation of the storm.

Watched X-Men III on Saturday. I really enjoyed it except for one nagging thing. In the scene where the guy in the funny hat moved the bridge – was anyone else annoyed by the time shift that was unaccounted for? The scene starts in bright sunshine and daylight. It wasn’t even sunset. And it did not seem like the moving of the bridge itself took hours, but “suddenly” by the time the bad guys invade Alcatraz, it’s night time. In one shot, looking back on the bridge, the car all have their headlights on, which they didn’t earlier. The drivers of the cars had fled or fallen off. Did Funny Hat’s minions all say, “Wow, for safety reasons and better lighting, we should turn the headlights on”? Or maybe one of the mutants had special Headlight Power.

That bugged me. But I liked the rest of the movie a lot, and I am notoriously fussy about movies so that’s saying something.

Picnic with friends and relatives today. I’ll be the one sitting very, very still.

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We have a winner!

Packing one last time tonight! I leave tomorrow for Goshen, IN where I will spend Wednesday speaking at Goshen High School.

Why?

Because that is where the winner of the PROM contest goes to school. I’m still waiting for releases to post the names and writing samples of the winner and runners-up, but I guess it’s OK to tell you the winner goes to Goshen. When I’m done in Indiana, I head for Washington, DC, to BEA, the massive conference for booksellers.

Why?

Because the very nice people at BEA have invited me to give a speech. Wish me luck (taking a look at who else is giving speeches at the same function and you’ll understand.) I won’t be there very long – arrive Thursday, leave Friday, but I am really looking forward to this. It is a fantastic way to end the current travel/speaking “season”. (If you are a bookseller and you see me there, please let me know you read this LJ!!)

Thanks for all the input on the jacket photo. I am bowing to public opinion and choosing Photo #1, but I’m sure Theo will find some use for the others on the website.

BH & Son picked lilacs for me yesterday. Now our house smells like them, and the apple trees down the road are in bloom like young girls in pretty skirts. Life is good.

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Calling time-out

First – major congrats and humble bows to Gerry Mac who put the entire Syracuse community on his back last night and won the game against Georgetown. It was amazing.

Next – we had robins in our yard this morning. Of course, it is supposed to snow later this week, but we’ll take hints of spring where we can find them. The farmers down the road are tapping their maple trees. The earth is waking up.

I have loved reading all of the haiku you guys sent in. Wow! I hope the prompt got your muses busy.

That’s what I need right now – a busy muse. So I am calling a Creative Weekend. No more hotel reservations, no more email or taxes or anything that is not fictional or creative. My muse is hungry and it is time to feed her.

See you Monday.

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about contests and the promise of snow

Lake effect snow bands are circling our house, taunting me. I have a stack of library books, plenty of pencils and wood for the fireplace. And hot chocolate. And emergency stores of oatmeal and raisins. Snow, ye wretched clouds, snow!!

I am still on the phone trying to straighten out Mom’s insurance. Literally. I am on hold as I type this.

A winner has been chosen for the Baker & Taylor PROM fanfiction contest. As soon as I am allowed, I’ll be posting the winner’s information and story online. We are also working on the LJ contest that you’ll read about here. Prize will be a DVD of the movie version of SPEAK.

I have a lot of fan mail that has backed up – will try to get to it later this week. The touring season is almost upon me again. At the end of February I’m flying to Bellingham, WA to visit a school and a conference, and the following week I head to Spartanburg, SC.

Loved the Superbowl last night, but I would have loved it more if it hadn’t been for some really crappy calls that went against Seattle. It made it hard to feel like Pittsburgh had earned an honest victory. And I must admit – I was disappointed in the Rolling Stones. Mick should have spent less time prancing and more time actually trying to sing. Yeah, you’re still in shape and you can still move, Mr. Jagger. We got that. Now, the song, please? At least he spared us the view of his chest.

Fact du jour: George Washington liked corn cakes with melted butter and honey. …. so do I.

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