she wanders from the path

I've been doing some thinking lately, about my life and about my priorities and about what I want to be doing with my time. And I've realized that in the last couple of years I've placed way too much importance on my job and my freelance work. Sure, the money is good from the freelancing. Sure, I feel a moral obligation to get all my work done. But I feel that for the last couple of years I have really been working myself to the bone, and for what? A few more dollars? The occasional "thanks for your hard work"? I understand that the industry I chose to get into is chronically overworked and underpaid. But I need to start taking care of myself. I got this job so I would have a career I enjoy while writing and trying to get published. I did not get into it so my life would revolve around it. And I'm never going to get published if I don't take time for more writing! So I'm making myself a promise right now. No more overtime. No more constant freelancing; I will only take projects that interest me. No more working through my lunch break. It's time to reset those boundaries. What's important to me is my life, not my job. It's my family, my friends, my partner-in-crime, my writing, my music. And I need to get back to that level of living.
So here goes! This summer is officially the summer of ME. More time for me, more writing for me, more reading for me, more everything for me. I think it's necessary. I know it'll be hard to change my habits at first, but I must. I must.

she's lost in her own time line

Well, April is just flying right by. It's been a busy, busy month. Got back into freelancing after taking March off. Did make some forward progress on the superhero novel (I suppose I should do an updated honeydew list at some point here). My band concert is this Saturday, so I've been practicing regularly. I've also had some sekrit extracurricular stuff going on, which sucked up a fair chunk of my time. And, I've been meeting with a group of people about writing an urban fantasy radio play! So, life as usual I guess. Lots of things going on. Hopefully in the new future I'll have some exciting news to share; we'll see about that!
I wanted to share this post by Catherynne Valente. She's a writer I've been curious about for quite a while; I really should give in and buy some of her novels. What do you guys think about the concept of Skinny Buddha and Fat Buddha? Do tell. I'd love to have some good conversation about this, because the concept of focusing solely on one thing versus having a multitude of things going on is something I struggle with on a regular basis.
A quickie book to tell you about: 19) Giving Up the Ghost by Hilary Mantel. It's her memoir. I thought the beginning was great and the ending was great. But I felt that the section about her childhood dragged on for too long. And the big reveal left me a little disappointed. Part of it was how it came about, part of it was just the fact of what it was. Not a keeper for me, even though her writing is beautiful. I'll definitely check out her fiction. If anybody really enjoys memoirs, I'd say give this a shot.
And now, back to work I go. Happy Wednesday, everybody, and have a good afternoon. I hoep some of you make it outside to enjoy the sunshine!

books

I'm falling behind on my book-blogging. Here's four new books for you to consider:
15. Dying Bites by D. D. Barant. This first book in urban fantasy series The Bloodhound Files is quite good. It's about an FBI officer named Jace who finds herself catapulted into a parallel universe where the world is overrun by vampires and werewolves. Humans make up less than 1% of the population. And she's been taken there to track down a human madman. Now, there's loads of this sort of noirish, gritty urban fantasy out there these days. A lot of it is mediocre, in my opinion. But this one is not. The characterization of Jace is good; her struggle to adjust and adapt, her feelings about it, her inner conflict about who she is working for versus who she is hunting. Good stuff. I'm definitely going to pick up the next book in this series.
16. Song of the Silence by Elizabeth Kerner. Yes, it's epic fantasy. Which I don't read much of these days, frankly. It takes a darn good epic fantasy to hold my interest. And this one did it. It's about a woman named Lanen Kaelar who has dreamed her whole life of finding the dragons of legend and speaking to them. And then sets out to do just that. Lanen is a refreshingly competent character, bold and selfless, and her adventures are worth reading. For those of you skeptics out there, this epic fantasy contains no elves, no singing swords, no princesses. The dragons are the big trope, followed by some demons and some magic. But this is a confident, well-written debut, and I'm looking forward to reading more of her books.
17. Iron Kissed by Patricia Briggs. What can I say? I love the Mercy Thompson books. Smart, sassy, and interesting. This one shows Mercy trying to solve a spate of Fey murders, with disastrous consequences in her own life. I laughed and cried over the course of this book (and swore a few times). Ah, urban fantasy, I love you. Seriously, everybody should read this series.
18. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. I've heard so much about how brilliant this book was, that I was frankly a little skeptical. But you know what? I think the hype was right. This book is great. Extremely well done, with characters that grab your attention and don't let go. I read the whole thing in two or three days, around work. Katniss is a really fascinating character: she's smart, and clever, and prickly, and quite adept at taking care of herself and her family. She understands the politics of the situations she ends up in. This is a book where you really suffer along with Katniss, and make no mistake, it's a brutal piece of fiction. But it's shot through with moments of grace and beauty, and it's pretty breathtaking to watch Katniss go through her trials and tribulations. I've got the sequel, Catching Fire, borrowed from a friend in my office, and I can't wait to get to work on Monday so I can start reading it on my commute home that afternoon.
I feel like I've missed one that I read. Well, I'll have to ponder that.
In other news, I bought a plane ticket to go home for a good friend's wedding in July, and I think that'll be a fun trip. My partner-in-crime won't be joining me, as he can't afford to take the time off, which is a shame. But it'll be good to see family and friends.
Also, some big news is looming on the horizon. You'll find out in a couple days, readers. Be patient with me!
Anyway. I've gotten behind on my writing this week so I need to get back to it. 1300 more words to write today in order to be caught up by the end of tomorrow.
Happy weekend, everyone!

too busy for her own good

This week is, as my title disclosed, a little more busy than I'd like it to be. My own fault, I suppose, but I can whine a bit, can't I? Anyway. Some of it is exciting stuff, some of it is boring stuff. Some of it is just everyday little nothing stuff that has to happen at some point. (Cleaning out the fridge is on my list for tonight. Now doesn't that sound exciting?)
I've been reading more, and there are a couple books to post about, but not now. I'm just not really feeling it. Instead, I'll post about a book that I started to read, but rejected. National Book Award Winner by Jincy Willett. I picked it up because I've heard rave reviews about Willett's work from multiple people. And the writing, in the short section I read, was good. She's obviously adept at what she does. The problem I had was the characters. I just couldn't bring myself to care about any of them. Especially the main-character-in-absentia. I just didn't feel like any of them deserved my continued attention. And after 30 pages, you'd thing that one of them would've caught me by now! This is not the first book I've come across that elicited this sort of reaction, and it really makes me sad. Especially if I think the writing is really good. I want books to be about people I can empathize with and care about. Not people I despise. Who wants to read about that sort of character? So, I put it down. Hopefully the next book goes a little better!
Back to work I go. Busy busy little bee . . .

oh, friday!

Thank goodness it's Friday night. It's been a long week. Tonight after work I went to a yoga class for the first time since my wrist got messed up a year ago. It felt so good! And I'll totally be sore tomorrow. So what will I do? Go for a run. I've decided it's past time to make an effort to get back into shape. I'm tired of feeling squidgy. And yoga? I didn't realize how much my body missed it until I went back tonight.
Without further ado, my goals for this summer:

• Yoga once a week
• Running twice a week
• Two short stories
• Superheroes draft 1
• clarinet lessons

I think that's doable. Especially with summer Fridays looming in the near future. Well, nearish.
I've read a couple books since the last time I blogged about any. 12. Rebel Angels by Libba Bray. Sequel to A Great and Terrible Beauty. SO good. I love this kind of book. Historical paranormal fiction. The characters, especially Gemma, are easy to empathize with. The writing is lush and beautiful. The storyline is great. Really, everybody, if you haven't read this trilogy, go out and buy it now! (And yes, the whole trilogy is out, I just haven't gotten to book three yet.)
13. Moomin: The Complete Tove Jansson Comic Strip Book Two. Just as good as the first collection. I love the whimsy and the freewheeling attitude of the Moomins. Please, go and read the comic strips. Or the novels. The Moomins are so great!
14. A Giant Problem by Holly Black and Tony Diterlizzi. Second book in the Beyond the Spiderwick Chronicles series. Good stuff. I have to say, I like the original Spiderwick Chronicles better than the second set so far. But it's still quality writing, a good storyline, and great illustrations. Totally worth reading.
To close, the Hipster event on Wednesday night was a lot of fun. Pretty funny in parts, and a full house, which is great for the book (and the editor, who's a friend of mine). I had a really good time. And now, back to my boxed wine. Maybe I'll do a little reading for fun. I suppose I should be freelancing, but who wants to do that on a Friday night?

the move

Well, it's all done. Last Saturday I moved most of my belongings into storage and the rest into my partner-in-crime's apartment. Sunday was spent organizing, and Monday we cleaned my old place and returned the keys. (And got my whole deposit back! Yeah!) So that's that. We live together again.
It's going well so far. Some little snits here and there about nothing big. It's just the adjustment of learning how to share a space all the time again, and I think we'll be fine. My desk area looks GREAT, I'll have to post a picture soon. There's a TON of food in the kitchen, especially baked goods, so I know what I'll be doing this weekend. . . . It's a pity the KitchenAid went into storage!
Anyway. It's nearly time to go. There's mac and cheese in my future, followed by a comedy show at UCB to celebrate the release of Look at This F*ucking Hipster. Sometime in the next couple of days I'll write about some books I've read and some dreams I've had, and possibly about a short story kicking around my brain. But for now, have a good night!

she dreams of dreaming

My weekend was a little crazy! It involved catching a cold, packing half of my apartment, and attending a surprise party. And culminated in a great dinner at Mojave followed by a surprise kitty visitor at my partner-in-crime's place. His name is Gato, and he's the sweetest, lankiest tabby I've met in a long time. He hung out all evening! Pictures hopefully to come, if my partner-in-crime took some as instructed.
So. I've got to run to band rehearsal, but I wanted to point out this interview with Neil Gaiman in the New Yorker. I think that man is so brilliant! I also wanted to point out the irony of me stumbling across this article about resting regularly.
So. Happy Monday, and Happy Ostara yesterday! Blessed Be!