Random Line Friday

 “Mmmmm Hmmmm.” She made the noise her mother made on long phone calls with friends. Annie had been waiting to try it out. 

I like the way children test out adult behaviors on each other.  They are little social scientists.  Like walking around the corner and hearing two little girls having a tea party while discussing cholesterol very seriously. 

Annie wonders what Mmmmm Hmmmm does.  When she tests it out on Titus she discovers that it gets people to keep talking, even gets them to spill their guts.  She loves the power of that sound and Titus falls for it every time.  

This week's random line is brought to you by Titus and Annie Book 2 and by my new desk chair.  Do you think this chair is funky enough to break my crippling habbit of sitting cross legged in an office chair?

Smilodon trying to figure out how to nap on such a funky chair.

Art Web Update

Catherine has the week off and plans on spending the whole time painting. She's also lined up a place in Hendersonville to hang some of her work. More details to follow. Catherine also teaches at Design with Wine (http://www.designwithwine.com/ ) in Greenville, SC. Her next class is October 25^th, Night Reflections.

Lisa went through 50lbs of clay this weekend but she's not stopping there. It's art show season for her. Time to load the kiln then load the van.

I stopped by her last kiln opening. She did some utensil jars with a circle pattern and a bit of color that I just love. Can't wait to see where else that new pattern and delicious blue color pop up.

As for me, I'm done with querying for a while. Titus and Annie Book One is making the rounds. Titus and Annie Book 2 is done and even got to go out on one little query of its very own.

Time to start the next book. Titus and Annie Book 3: C is for Centurion will be a fun project. Part of me can't wait to dive into that story. It's always fun to start en medias res with Annie mad at Titus. But as tempting as this is I am going to focus on Leo and Arnold for a while.

Leo and Arnold are cousins who live in the same vinyl village. Their first mystery will be The Stolen Swarm.

For me, the hardest part of a new project is the names. Blank page? No problem. Framing a plot arc? Getting easier each time. Conflict and action in the first chapter without the albatross of too much exposition? Easy peasy. Naming the characters? Eeeeeek.

I am notorious for simply naming every character Meg and forging ahead. Why Meg? Honestly, I haven't a clue. I hoped that actually naming a character Meg in Billington would get the name out of my system. Alas alack. No such luck.

So, I enlist help. My children named Titus, Annie and Julia. My husband helped me come up with last names for families who move to the neighborhood in Books 4 and 5. My sister used her lyrical ear to come up with their first names.

To kick start Leo and Arnold, I invited friends Kym and Nicholle over for coffee last week. We were fortunate to have Catherine with us that morning. It was a lot of fun building family trees and naming neighborhoods. An excellent brainstorming session with fresh new perspectives. On my own this process makes me eat Tums like M&M's. With friends, we laughed and smiled the whole time. Much better.

Putting the names down on paper plants the seeds. Now time for my favorite part of a project: organic growth. The plot arc has been mapped out for months but I don't necessarily know how those characters will get from point A to B and I haven't gotten to know their personalities yet.

In order to get to know my characters I like to start a notebook titled “Things I know about . . .” I carry it around with me everywhere, jotting down whatever comes to mind. It's a lot like lingering at the dinner table with friends long enough to hear new stories about each other.

Eventually, the notebook can't hold the story any longer. That's when I hit the computer. I highlight passages whenever I pull from the notebook. Not everything will make it in but it is nice having a home grown resource to fall back on when the blank computer screen becomes daunting.

Keep your eyes open for more Leo and Arnold updates plus pictures from Lisa and Catherine.

Random Line Friday

Today's Random Line is brought to you by Annie and is more of a random paragraph:

Annie was ready.  She put on her winter coat the minute the street lights flickered on.  Then she pressed her face against the window so hard she could feel the cold glass all the way to her gums and settled in to wait.

Have a great weekend!

Random Line Friday

Titus did not say that anyone riding an invisible bicycle upside down while wearing a gigantic blue tutu and swim fins in December clearly needed some help. 

  

Today's Random Line is brought to you by Titus and Annie, book 2.  Annie is having a dilemma.  She doesn't know if Santa is real or not and her social status (big kid/little kid) has become wrapped up in the issue.  When Titus offers to help, Annie naturally responds that she didn't know she needed help.  

Titus has grown up a bit since Book 1.  Three months of friendship with Annie has been a crash course in socialization.  He now knows when to apply his internal filters.  

I hope this line brought a giggle or two and I hope everyone has a great weekend.

Behind on the blog . . . again.

You all know the rules by now, right?

Random Line Friday?

Illustration by Catherine Gurri

Perhaps this is not the best place to showcase new illustrations.  It's not exactly a random line.  More like a random thought brought to life by my illustrator and collaborator Catherine.  But Friday's are for having fun, even if the resolution is wonky. 

Catherine visited last weekend and brought a sheaf of new drawings.  I'm so excited.  They look wonderful.  The Clone Trooper vs. Centurion will not make it into the final draft but I still had to share.  Forgive my impetuous nature and rinky dink scanner printer combo.  I vow to wait for a flat bed scanner and proper jpegs before sharing any other illustrations.

The kids and I are heading to Tryon, NC this weekend.  Grandma and the kids can play.  I will harvest this year's honey and work with Catherine on illustrations and rough drafts. Labor on labor day weekend but I am looking forward to it.

Titus 2 is almost done.  Progress stalled a bit on Chapter 10 so I spent yesterday mapping out themes and conflicts.  My neighbors must think I'm nuts because I spent the day outside reading out loud while making notes with colored pencils.  One more chapter to go this morning.  Fingers crossed that this, plus a pot of coffee, puts enough fire in my belly to finish the first draft. 

Have a great weekend.

Making Mud Pies

One of the greatest things about being an adult is being allowed to use portland cement.  I love cement.  It brings back all the joys of making mud pies.  Mixing up a batch is time consuming and methodical, just right for mulling over a troublesome transition or dialogue that just isn't flowing right. 

I hadn't mixed up a good batch of cement since we lived in Florida.  Then, this past Spring, I helped my daughter's Girl Scout troop make some paving stones for Mother's Day.  I've been making word bricks ever since.  My daughter helps out with the spacer bricks. 

Phase one of the Word Walk.

Once the kids went back to school I was able to place the first section of my Word Walk.  To keep the ants away and to stay environmental I prepped the ground with 20 Mule Team borox and diatomaceous earth topped with a thick layer of newspapers.  Before I put down the leveling sand I added one more layer of borox and DE.  I hate ants almost as much as I hate pesticides. 


The path curves so I will have to sink wooden spacers every few feet.  The spacers also let me work in small sections at a time.  This is a long process so I don't want a huge swath of red clay open to kids and dogs. 

The first quote is one of my favorites from A. A. Milne:  One of the advantages of being disorderly is that one is constantly making exciting discoveries.  This could be my personal motto if it wasn't too long and awkward to translate into Latin. 

Everyone needs a favorite A. A. Milne quote.

Then there is the ubiquitous Tolkein quote: 

All that is gold does not glitter,

Not all those who wander are lost;

The old that is strong does not wither,

Deep roots are not reached by the frost. 

 

 Waiting to be set in the next sections of bricks is the opening line and title of my favorite Gerard Manley Hopkins poems:  As kingfishers catch fire, dragonflies draw flame.  This stuck in my head the moment I read it in college.  It reminds me of growing up on the Indian River lagoon and all the time I have spent near water and marshes. 

Some of my "words" have made it into the word walk as well: Billington, Titus, Nessie, Annie, Lavender Scented Lake Monster,and Garden of Good Intentions. 

While serving as my editor and collaborator, Catherine has taken a few words away from me:  smug and really.  I have dutifully listened to her but out of stubborn sisterly spite I set them in the Word Walk. 

I am looking for a good quote about curiosity to put on the outside of the gate.  Any suggestions?  I would like something less menacing than "curiosity killed the cat."  

What would you put in your word walk?