WNW: Please Trash?

Last winter, our family took a trip to the Happiest Place on Earth. Because I'm a nerd and can't entirely shut off my editor brain even on vacation, I couldn't help but notice a recurring grammatical problem on the trash cans in Disneyland and California Adventure.

While I took plenty of pictures of the kids, I found myself snapping pictures of trash cans and other things that made me laugh. Soon my husband was in on it too. (My sickness appears to be contagious.)

Let's take a look.

The folks designing the cans for recyclables did an okay job. Note this can, with the polite request to recycle:

We could argue that they could have added a comma between the two words, making it RECYCLE, PLEASE, but at least the request makes sense.

The receptacle standing right next to this one, however, uses the same type of phrase, including please, but they ended up with an unintentional humorous meaning:

Now obviously they don't want park goers to throw things around and otherwise waste stuff. No, what they're asking is for people to put their waste in the can. But that's not necessarily what the can says. Because waste can be both a verb (don't waste your money) and a noun (garbage = waste), the two-word phrase could mean either, "Please put your waste here," or, "Please do waste the park." 

The problem was compounded by the fact that its twin, the RECYCLE PLEASE can, used a verb first, making it all too easy to assume that the other can also has a verb in its almost-matching phrase. Look at the cans side by side, and you'll see what I mean.

Jiminy Cricket wasn't the only one with the problem. We found the very same issue in Frontier Land.

It became a chronic problem everywhere we went day . . .

and night. 

Interestingly, at least one time, Jiminy and company found a way to make the request in a full sentence (minus the period). They totally should have done this elsewhere:

Monsters, Inc. added only into the mix, but that didn't help; the resulting phrase could have meant "Do nothing but waste," as well as "Put nothing but waste here."

Here's a case where they changed up the phrase on one can. They kept the request structure, but here (hooray!), the actual request is clear: KEEP IT CLEAN.

After seeing so many problems on trash cans, I thought that maybe the problem was solely in the rubbish division. But then I spotted this door at the Muppet theater, and I shook my head, sure someone had messed up again. Didn't they know that if something or someone is alarmed, it can mean more than one thing?

But I should have trusted that the Muppets knew what they were doing. I walked closer and noted the smaller text in the the brown rectangle:

Oh, yes! Woohoo! The person who made this sign is smart, knows their grammar, and has a killer sense of humor.

After a great trip, we flew home. But as we rode the airport shuttle to the parking lot, it happened again; I laughed at another sign. This one seemed to be an attempt to sound official, but it sounded rather silly.

In English, we often create objects by adding ee to the end of a word. For example, I've heard a tutor call the person they teach a tutee. Not a real word, but we know what it means: the recipient of the tutoring.

So what in the heck is a standee?

As is often the case in public typos, this is probably a case of over thinking it. The sign-maker people could have used the exact same number of letters by simply stating: NO STANDING.

And for the fun of it, as proof that we did Disney, here's a family photo of Splash Mountain, wherein we're inwardly freaking out but purposely looking bored.

Wix's Life Lessons for 8th Graders

As the school year winds down (and my oldest child graduates from high school!), I wanted to share a cool list made by my daughter and her classmates. For the past two years, they've been in a special advanced program for English and social studies (nicknamed "Acad," short for Academy), and this year they had the same teacher for both classes.

This teacher (nicknamed "Wix") combined the two subjects. For example, when he taught about the Civil Rights era, the class followed that unit by reading and discussing literature about race issues. He integrated both subjects seamlessly, and as a result, the students learned more in his class than any other in their lifetimes.

Wix taught my daughter how to be a critical thinker. Wix challenged her in ways few junior high kids ever are. He made her grow and stretch and do more than she thought she could.

Wix is retiring, so this is his last set of students ever. As a going-away gift, my daughter had her classmates share favorite Wix-isms, things he'd taught them. Even in a public school setting, he managed to teach them values.

My daughter typed up the Wix lessons and framed them as a parting gift from their class. Some are clearly inside jokes that I'll have to learn about sometime. Some are silly, funny, or painfully true ("I want to hug you, but I can't"). And still others are profound lessons.

Here's to another great year of school gone, a great summer ahead, and to taking the lessons we've learned with us. Thanks to Mr. Wix and so many other great teachers out there.

All We Need to Know We Learned from Wix

Forgive one another | To keep a cow from exploding, stab it | For whatever reasons . . . | Alcohol is the stuff to drink for those of you it hurts to think | Ask questions | Don’t wake up hibernating bats | I’m telling you straight up |The world isn’t black and white | There are two kinds of people in the world | There is no such thing as a stupid question | Knowledge is not the same thing as information | Pay one extra payment on your house yearly | Appreciate real beauty | Bugs are part of any healthy diet | Palm trees can be dangerous | All knowledge is equal | Read your scriptures | I love you | There is always more than one way to spell a word | Dingbat is a language | Not all chocolate is equal | Are you ready? | Everyone is a child of God; treat them that way | You cannot worry about the speck in your neighbor’s eye when you have a beam in your own | Honor your parents . . . even if they are Republicans | I want to hug you, but I can’t. | Always hug Noah | Everyone can win in the end | Reality is a misconception fostered by the imaginary need to feel important | Failure is good | Remember the Rondas in your life | What’s the point of education if I can’t force you to be miserable? | I’m not reading too fast; you’re listening too slow | The basis on which you judge others will be the basis on which you will be judged by God | Never talk to someone in English if they are listening in Dingbat | Love cannot be explained in words | Don’t judge head hunters | Beauty is in the eye of the beholder | You can always lie yourself through college | Sometimes education can get in the way of your learning | One day the girls will notice you |You don’t want your last memory to be Wix giving you mouth-to-mouth | Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana | Only follow the rules that don’t matter | That which is essential in life is invisible to the eye | The difference between intelligence and stupidity is that intelligence has its limits | Some people are harder to love than others, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t love them anyway | Step out of your bubble | We have reached a bizarre moment in life | Love your neighbor | Stand up for yourself | Being gifted is a gift, not a curse | Take risks | A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth gets a chance to put its pants on | I love you.

From Your 2012–2013 Wix Kids

We love and will miss you

My Current Writing Life

Thought I'd post a few pictures of what I've been up to lately.

In September, I went up to the League of Utah Writers Round-up conference. Due to mommy commitments, I wasn't able to stay the entire time (next year, I hope!). I did some one-on-one manuscript critiques for Precision Editing Group. At the hotel, Josi, Heather, Julie and I wrote, laughed, ate snacks at a bakery, and ultimately buckled down to go over mutual scenes from the Newport Ladies Book Club series to make sure they all match.

(We had to finish that over the phone Saturday night, since I was no longer at the hotel.)

Saturday morning before my critique sessions, I spent some time with my laptop. I literally kicked off my heels and typed away. Unbeknownst to me, Josi snapped a picture.

I believe this is the only photo in existence where I'm drafting something involving the military wives from Band of Sisters. Here, I'm working on the sequel (as yet unnamed). The book is about the re-entry time after the husbands come home.

Above: Me, hanging out with Marianne.

Later in September was the triple launch party for Josi, Sarah, and Mel. Because I'm smart like that, I didn't get picture of them, but here's one of some of us who were there:

Pictured: Mindy and Sheila from the LDS Women's Book Review

and novelists Becca Wilhite and Julie Wright, with me on the end.

Then on October 6th was a day my entire critique group has been waiting for: the release party for Robison Wells' Variant at The King's English bookstore.

First we gathered in a small room to hear Rob speak. It was super inspiring and totally awesome. Here I am right before Rob spoke, with critique group member Michele Paige Holmes.

(Image from Krista Lynne Jensen's blog.)

After Rob spoke, we had yummy refreshments and an insanely long line to get books signed, plus lots of friends and writers to chat with (I'd name drop, but I know I'll forget someone). I even got to meet Rob's parents, who are seriously cool people.

Here I am with Rob at his launch with my very own signed copy of VARIANT:

I actually have two signed copies, one for me, and one that I'll use as a giveaway sometime in the future.

Coming in about a month: I get to attend the Authors Incognito writing retreat. If I can keep up my drafting goals this month, I should be able to finish the BofS sequel at the retreat. Then it'll be time to get it hammered by critiques and alpha and beta readers, revision, and, soon after that, I hope, submission.

Of course, I have several other pots in the fire as well, but that's my biggest focus for now.

Also:

Something for local writers out there to be thinking about: in the first quarter of 2012, Precision Editing Group will be doing another live critique workshop like the one we did in August. Be sure to watch for the date announcement and registration information. It was a great experience last time, and you won't want to miss out.

Here's a picture of my workshop table from last summer. They were awesome, and we had a great time!

Collaboration, Trail Mix, and Sleep Deprivation

Around a year and a half (or more) ago, Josi Kilpack and Julie Wright went on a fabulous book promotion trip together.

Somewhere along the way, on the open road, they were struck by brilliance. They asked me and Heather Moore to have breakfast with them one morning at a restaurant, where they laid out the idea:

What if we created a series that actual book clubs would enjoy reading?

What if we did that by coming up with four great characters, each with her own set of problems, and throwing them together?

What if the four of us each wrote one book in the series, which featured an actual book club?

What if the books could stand alone but had stories that intersected?

By the time I finished my omelet, we already had a general idea of who the four characters would be, which of us would write which character, and what their main problems would be.

Over the course of the next few months, we played around with time lines and story ideas. We all had other things we were working on, and we had to put those projects "to bed" before tackling our book club idea, but eventually we reached the point where it was time.

Since January, we've had several writing weekends, where we get together at a library, write most of the day, take a break around 3:00 for a late lunch/early dinner, check into a hotel, write our brains out (with snack food alongside so we don't have to leave) until we can't keep our eyes open any longer, go to bed, write in the morning, then check out.

During that time, we pause to pick one another's brains. We throw out ideas. We ask one another questions about characters, back story, and geography. We smooth out time lines (each book covers the exact same period, and each book features some scenes that show up in others). We do Internet research. We consult maps.

And . . . we get addicted to trail mix. Walk the halls of the hotel in pajamas to stretch our legs. Laugh. Lots. And go home with lots of new words on our laptops.

In between those weekends, we do a lot of emailing back and forth, sending one another scene clips, details we need from each other, corrections to scenes, and so on.

As of last Saturday, I finished drafting my contribution to The Newport Ladies Book Club series, called Paige. Each book is titled after that book's main character, and they're all written in first person.

The four books are all either drafted or almost so. We're entering the stage of swapping manuscripts for editing and revision (and for flow and accuracy between books) before submission.

It's an exciting project, something totally unlike anything I've done before, and something I couldn't have done with just anyone. The series works entirely because the four of us are friends and have already worked well together professionally. And because we get each other. I don't know how many other groups of women who hang out this much, working so hard, with so much give and take, and still love each other to pieces at the end. It's been an amazing ride.

I can't wait for the final result and for when readers, too, will get to learn about Athena, Paige, Livvy, and Daisy. I hope readers will come to love these fictional women like we do and discover how they impact one another's lives.

Each book will be able to stand on its own, but readers will only get the full braided story by reading all four, although you can do that in any order, so it's not a "series" in the typical sense.

To keep up-to-date on The Newport Ladies Book Club, check out the series blog.

In the meantime, I get to celebrate the completion of a shiny new draft with a little chocolate!

Random Thoughts on Disneyland

I've been absent from my blog of late. I meant to schedule some posts for while I was gone, but obviously that didn't happen. I can say that in the interim, my writer brain was all a-flurry, and I couldn't help but think of funny Facebook status updates or tweets, stuff I wouldn't be posting during the trip.

This was my kids' second time to Disneyland. The last was four and a half years ago, long enough for them to have forgotten a lot and for the youngest to grow so tall that there was only one ride she couldn't go on. (To her dismay; she really wanted to ride Screamer. She's maybe an inch too short and might have slipped through with her shoes on, but Mom is paranoid and wouldn't let her try.)

Much like I did after spending weeks doing Costco book signings, I couldn't help but observe Disneyland and find several amusing things about our time there. A sampling:

I Can't Turn off My "What If" Button

In one shop, the kids made Disney-themed stamped pennies, where the coin is stretched out and pressed with an image. Glass encases the machine so you can watch it happen. As the cylinder rolled across one penny, I couldn't help but picture what would happen if a finger got caught in there and the cracking, oozing damage that would ensue.

I made the mistake of mentioning it to the kids. "Ew, Mom! Stop it with the writer imagining stuff already!"

Sticker Shock Is Relative

When I first passed a churros stand and later a cotton candy stand, I about choked at the $3.50 price tag. And we won't even discuss actual meals, whether in the park or out of it. If I wasn't careful, I could blink and spend a week's worth of groceries on a basic meal for our family of six. But by the third day in the park, spending forty bucks on a few ice cream cones (and on a brand found in our local grocery store) no longer fazed us.

Families that Laugh Together Have the Most Fun

Sure, we had our moments of groaning, eye rolling, and siblings vying for their own space ("She stepped on my toes!"), but for the most part, we had fun. Somehow we hit the Grizzly water rapids ride in California Adventure at just the right time two days in a row, riding it a total of five times. We laughed harder as a family during that one ride than any other.

Mom's a Child at Heart (And Sometimes Has Good Ideas)

I haven't been to Disneyland nearly as often as some people, but in the few times I had been there, I'd never attended the parade. This trip, I insisted we go to one. The announcement elicited eye rolling from the older kid crowd. I persisted. We got a decent spot and waited.

And it was awesome.

My youngest was tickled over and over again when princesses and other characters waved at her (or at least looked like they did). Ariel in particular did notice her, stroked her own red hair, then pointed at my daughter's matching red hair, smiled and waved. Made my girl's day.

When it was over, all four kids agreed that the parade was totally worth seeing.

Souvenir Choices Improve with Age

Last time we went, I cringed when the kids chose lame souvenirs like an electronic toy that mimicked a cell phone and had a calculator, a photo album (never used), and a squeezy plastic thing that oozed worms from a brain. This time, each child wanted to take home something meaningful, and in every case, that ended up being something they'd actually use that would last and they'd have fun memories from.

Dorothy Was Right

As fun as the trip was, when it was time to go home, we were ready. I drove the leg that went through Death Valley and eventually to St. George. Entering the gorgeous landscape of southern Utah sent a sweet surge through me. Home.

Part of the feeling could have been the fact that Death Valley is so dang ugly, but I have to say, southern Utah is gorgeous. (Oh, and I got to see the St. George Temple, which always brings me warm fuzzies for obvious reasons.)

SO MUCH happened on the trip; I could write post after post about it, including all the inside jokes that developed, but I'll end with this, my favorite "what the crap?" moment:

The Masochistic Woman

By day three, my hips, knees, and feet were killing me. (Note to self: call the chiropractor ASAP.) As we boarded the Jungle Cruise, I noticed a woman behind us that didn't seem to fit in. She wore a flowing, plum-colored dress. That alone seemed odd. Who wears flowing gowns in an amusement park?

Worse, the dress was held up by nothing more than a strap around her neck. Hm. Few rides are conducive to dresses, let alone fancy ones like this. And the California sun isn't particularly forgiving on backs and shoulders that are totally exposed to UV rays, which they were thanks to both the dress and her fancy up-do hair.

Huh. I thought. Odd.

Then the kicker: She wore four-inch heels.

My feet were protesting the seemingly endless miles I'd traversed (and the hours I'd waited in lines) in my comfy shoes. Why in the name of Dr. Scholl's was she wearing torture devices on her feet at Disneyland?

It wasn't until I noticed who she was with and how she behaved that the likely reality dawned on me. She and her daughter were with a man and his daughter. Both girls were about the same age. They looked so different from one another, it was clear whose child was whose. Based on body language, the couple didn't know one another that well. She flirted and cooed and at times looked unsure of what to say or do. And both had bare ring fingers.

Eureka.

I'm betting it was a date, and she was trying to impress the guy by looking hot. I'm curious: Did he buy into it? Or did he realize that she's a few Mickey ears short by wearing a get-up she could have attended a wedding in?

People-watching is research. It's a writer's excuse to spy, wonder, and, at times, walk away totally bewildered. It's fun to think of motivations and personalities and wonder why someone does what they're doing.

So I had to think: What if the location of the date was a surprise? Maybe the guy just told her a time, and she got gussied up, only to find out they were heading to the Magic Kingdom. Then the guy was the idiot for not telling her how to dress. So many options.

I was on the verge of blisters and tears with my good shoes. So her poor, poor feet! I'm wishing I could find her and ask if she was hobbling an hour later.

And, more importantly, whose brilliant idea it was to wear such a ridiculous get-up when it was bound to make her one of the most miserable people in the happiest place on earth.

I'm a writer . . . I'm sure I can use that somewhere.

WNW: The Appendix Podcast

Cheating, sort of, for Word Nerd Wednesday.

How about Writer Wednesday?

For the next few weeks, I get to be a guest on The Appendix podcast. The regular hosts are some great friends: Robison Wells, Sarah M. Eden, and Marion Jensen.

The first episode is up today, with fellow guests:

Howard Tayler

Josi Kilpack

Krista Jensen

Listen to us playing a bunch of goofy writer/storytelling games.

(I add cross-dressing to a bad romance story.)

Lots o' fun.

Listen to this week's episode HERE.

The Absentee Blogger

Bad, blogger. It's been a whole week, and nothing from me!

Not for lack of trying or lack of inspiration. Just lack of time and stuff piling faster than I can get rid of it. (Much of it good stuff, like extra freelance work, but still.)

A couple of bits until I post again:

• Last Friday, I guest-posted at Christine Bryant's blog about the joys (and constant mistreatment) of being an English major.
• On a similar topic, in November, I get to speak to a class of freshman English majors at BYU. I took that very class (more years ago than I care to admit) and now get to be on the other side . . . published, just as I hoped. COOOOL!
• Today I posted over at Precision Editing Group's Writing on the Wall blog about the crazy timeline that is publishing.
• A couple of weeks ago I got to speak at the UVU Book Academy. The next day I had a book signing at BYU Bookstore, where I handed out fudge samples. One of my daughters was my sample helper. Catch photos of both at Krista Jensen's blog.
• Last weekend, I spoke at the AF Arts Council conference. Got to hang with one of my bestest friends ever, Josi Kilpack, meet John Brown, chat with writer buddies I've met through events like this (like The Damsel and Taffy), and met lots of other new writers.
• I have no book signings this week for the cookbook, but I have TWO next week at the Lehi/AF Costco. Watch my sidebar for details.
  
  Now, back into the fray! (Read: go vacuum, empty the dishwasher, and sort laundry. The glamorous life of a writer . . .)

In Honor of Chocolate and a Certain Cookbook

As we're only a few weeks out from the release Chocolate Never Faileth (squeee!) I decided to give a sneak peek into part of the book.

No, not into the recipes themselves (although maybe I'll post one or two in the next couple weeks, just for kicks).

I thought that showing some of the other elements of the book, the in-between stuff, would be fun. The book has lots of trivia, facts, and anecdotes I dug up, all centered on, of course, chocolate.

Below are four of many from the book. (Remember that you can now PRE-ORDER Chocolate Never Faileth through Deseret Book!)


True Story #1, about Lynn:
After being admitted at 18 weeks of pregnancy and spending over one hundred days in the hospital, Lynn broke the record for the longest stay at that hospital’s neonatal unit in hopes of saving the life of her unborn baby. Her daughter was finally born, nine weeks early—young but alive and with a good prognosis, weighing in at 3 lbs, 2 oz. Exhausted, Lynn returned home, craving a giant bag of peanut M&Ms. She ate the whole thing in a day . . . then picked up the empty bag and realized with a tad of horror that it had contained . . . 3 lbs, 2 oz. The exact weight of her baby.


Anecdote from Delyana:
A good piece of chocolate has about 200 calories. As I enjoy two servings per night, and a few more on weekends, I consume 3,500 calories of chocolate in a week, which equals one pound of weight per week. Therefore . . . In the last 3 ½ years, I have had a chocolate caloric intake of about 180 pounds. I weigh 165 pounds. Without chocolate, I would have wasted away to nothing about three months ago!

I owe my life to chocolate.


A Bit of Trivia:
A few years ago, Mars. Inc. stopped marketing the Mars Bar candy bar—but they didn’t stop making it. In its place, the company now sells the exact same bar with a new name. It’s now Snickers Almond. Did you realize it’s the exact same candy bar?

But in Europe and elsewhere, the same candy bar is sold as Mars Almond.

Confused yet? Let’s make it worse.

A candy bar marketed to Europeans and others outside the U.S. as the Mars Bar is called the Milky Way here in the U.S.

Wait. What?

And finally, a gem from my dear friend Luisa:

Elga called it a dessert when she gave me the little handwritten index card [with the recipe], but I know she must have been kidding, because, um, see, Elga, it doesn't have any chocolate in it.

IMPORTANT NOTE:

I get to be part of Ladies Night at Deseret Book's flagship store in Salt Lake City on Saturday, October 2! (Woohoo!)

I'll be there signing cookbooks . . . and giving out samples. Please come!

Casual Blogger Conference 2010!

I'm probably the last person around to post about the conference, but I gotta. Especially 'cause I've got a couple pictures.

Thursday night was the speakers' dinner. I got to meet all kinds of people I've known only online, like Shelle (the conference photographer), Lolli (sat next to her at dinner!), April, and many, many more.

Each speaker stood and introduced themselves and their blog title, and when I did, I heard a squeal on the other side of the room. (Ego stroke? You betcha.) Turns out it was the totally awesome MommyJ and InkMom, who are these lovable blogging sisters I adore from North Carolina. I was thrilled to meet them. (And they're JUST as great in person as I could have hoped.)

Motherboard, MomBabe, and Julie did a fantastic job getting everything ready and rolling. The speakers got amazing swag bags (I spent a good hour after getting home slapping my daughters' hands and saying, "No, that's MINE!")

Here I am with April Durham, who designed my Tower of Strength button (scroll down; it's still on my sidebar. I love it).

Just about everyone else got to head to the Girls' Night Out at the Hilton Garden Inn, but I went home to my kidlets, so I have no pictures of getting my toenails painted or memories of a massage.

The next day the conference began in earnest. As is to be expected, it rocked. For me, one of the highlights was having dinner with Jillybean and Amberlicious, plus several gals who looked oddly but very familiar. I see a lot of people online and at various conferences, so I assumed it was because, well, we're at a blogger conference, so of course they look familiar.

But we got talking, and turns out that nope, the familiarity wasn't due to blogging. We all went to the same high school at the same time. How weird is that? We talked about favorite teachers and goofy things that happened during those delightful and somewhat hellish years.

Then Like Swimming and I compared notes and clued in on each other's maiden names. Turns out that yes, we went to high school together, but check it: our dads are practically best friends. Or, well, they worked very closely together for many years and really liked each other. Same thing. I've heard oodles of great stories about her dad, and vice versa.

[Cue Twilight Zone music.]

I got to ride to and from dinner with Jillybean and hear all kinds of great Max stories. (I know you're jealous. If you aren't, you totally should be. It's thanks to Max that my kids are Journey fans. Seriously. Remember this post?)

That night was a great concert in the main hall, but after a spell, my head started yelling at me. DeNae and I tried talking (we'd met in passing in April at the LDStorymakers conference but never got to TALK).

But it was a little loud for that, so we headed into lobby for some quiet. Next thing we knew, we'd drawn a lot of others around for a good old blogger chat, including Crash, MommyJ and InkMom. (Apparently, in the process, we missed out on seeing Annie shaking her pregnant belly as she danced during the concert. Bummer. Although I hear you can see a video of it on Shelle's blog.)

We kept scooting around the benches and finding more chairs. It was so much fun just talking to people in real life who you've known only online.

That night my body didn't cooperate (thanks, fatigue- and noise-induced headaches and funky medication side effects!) so I didn't get to the opening of the conference Saturday morning. Everything I did see, though, from the vendors to the classes to the people, was awesome.

Lunch (sheesh, you'd think all I think about is food or something) rocked. I ate in the hallway with Crash and T. and Alexes and others.

As you can see, I can't sit still without waving my hands about.

I'd already met the darling Annie at a previous bloggy thing, but I hadn't seen her this pregnant. She's gorgeous pregnant. Somehow, I love her anyway. I don't know what she was doing in this picture, but I have to post it, because it brought me joy. (Since I missed her dancing at the concert, this is the next best thing, right?)

I taught a class about how to get published, since so many bloggers have discovered that hey, they like this writing gig and then want to get published . . . now what? We came within a hair's breadth of disaster when the projector didn't work, but then, after Mr. Techie dude spent 10 minutes trying to figure out the functions on my laptop, he realized that the projector wasn't plugged all the way in to the wall.

Gotta love low-tech solutions. Phew.

The class went well, I think (and people left with prizes . . . so they have to be happy, right?).

Dinner was with some of my favoritest (that's a word) bloggers ever, including Shanna, Annie, Crash, DeNae, Kristina, and Amber.

(I KNOW! It's like the blogging elite or something! How did I get invited? No clue. Actually, it's because DeNae is a sweetheart and took me under her wing. I think I owe her Diet Coke for that.)

It was fun. It was exhausting. I learned a ton. I met oodles of awesome people and got their cards so I can find their blogs. I signed on to Blog Frog so I have my very own community where my readers can talk to one another. (See the widget over there? Click on it.)

For more pictures (including one of me chugging Mtn. Dew), visit Crash's post about the conference and Shelle's Flickr conference page.

Here's Where It Gets Fun

Word has it that Band of Sisters will be shipping to stores on Monday. At what point it reaches shelves is yet to be determined, but we're almost there! Yippee!

The journey for this book began with that magazine article the summer of 2007, so Band of Sisters has been nearly three years in the making. In many ways, this release means more to me than many of my others. I'm not sure why.

Maybe it's because the topic wouldn't be shaken off until I wrote about it. Maybe it's because I felt so invested in the lives of my characters (and had more main characters than in any other book). Or maybe it's because the process simply took so much longer than usual.

Whatever the reason, I'm thrilled that the book is almost here for readers to get their hands on. Yesterday I got feedback from a reader/reviewer who received a PDF copy. I believe she's the first actual reader to see the whole thing (versus my early beta readers, critique group, editor, etc.).

Turns out . . . I made her cry. Yay!

(I'm a sadist!)

Some upcoming Band of Sisters fun:

A week from today (FRIDAY, MARCH 5), I get to be the "I Need Friends Friday" guest over at Sarah M. Eden's blog!


Her interviews are always a blast to read, and I was thrilled to be part of the weekly tradition. I'll be sure to link over Friday, but for now, be sure to check out her blog. Sarah's a total riot as a person plus an excellent writer. I was first introduced to her work when her book Seeking Persephone was a Whitney finalist last year. (A much-deserved honor, by the way. I loved that book.)

Her newest novel, Courting Miss Lancaster, is about to be released with Covenant. And here's the really, REALLY cool part:

This book is REGENCY ROMANCE! That's right! It's not "LDS fiction."

It's for readers who love the Regency time period but cringe at national titles with a bunch of smut. Now Covenant is (hooray!) providing clean (well-written!) Regency Romance for their readers. (Can we hear a hallelujah?!)

I adore Sarah's work and can't wait to get my hands on this one!

BOOK LAUNCH PARTY!

And here's the really big, fun news: TWO WEEKS from today (FRIDAY, March 12, from 6-8 pm), I'll be at the new Orem Deseret Book by University Mall for a ginormous launch party.

Best part: I get to share that launch party with two other great novelists with their own brand new books out with Covenant:

Both Sarah M. Eden AND Julie Coulter Bellon!

(I think my coolness meter just went up several notches.)

Seriously, folks . . . this is going to be fun! Be sure to mark your calendars NOW so you don't miss out. We're already rounding up door prizes and making fun plans for that night.

THREE authors, THREE genres, THREE new books! How awesome is THAT?!

I've been squealing ever since the launch party was confirmed yesterday.

And I believe I'll be squealing for the next two weeks.

Please come--and tell your friends to come too! All three of us would LOVE to see you!

Motherhood: Rocking It Out

There's a reason my children know all about Ed Grimley, Footloose, Anne of Green Gables, and so many other parts that make up the mother they know and love.

(It brings me no end of joy that my two oldest daughters adore Hitchcock. Hitchcock! I could sing!)

I show them older (as in 80s) TV shows, movies, and even YouTube clips under the guise of "educating" them so they'll be culturally literate. It's proven helpful for them when watching other shows or reading books and they get the inside joke, when none of their friends did, all because two months ago, Mom showed them whatever movie was referenced.

Totally rocks. (Kinda makes me look cool in their eyes, which doesn't hurt.)

And in some ways, it's made a difference with school: they see the point of studying Greek mythology and other subjects, because those things are referenced all the time in other things, and to "get" them, you have to know the original source.

My kids' first contact with musical indoctrination was with ABBA. I believe they all heard ABBA Gold in the womb. Recently my 9th grader had a teacher who offered a prize for any student who could name the song he was about to play on CD.

Within a couple of bars, my son's hand shot up. No one else had a clue, but he knew immediately not only that the group singing was ABBA, but that the song was "Voulez Vous." Had there been a piano in the classroom, he could have played it from memory (not even almost kidding).

He won the prize. (See, son? Cultural literacy totally pays off. Also, put your nose back into that geography textbook.)

The classic rock group Journey was their next big musical experience. It came in the form of Max singing "Lights" on Jillybean's blog. (GO NOW to listen to it. SERIOUSLY. NOW. SO WORTH IT. Then come back.)

To have my kids fully appreciate Max's rendition, however, they had to know the original first: Steve Perry. Trusty YouTube did the job. We found a video there with Journey performing "Lights" and Steve Perry crooning out his classic tenor soul.

Since then, my kids have been Journey fans. They were amazed to realize that a lot of songs they recognize are, yep, Journey songs. Somehow they missed the fact that on and off for their entire lives, Journey's Greatest Hits CD has been playing in the minivan.

They noticed that Randy on American Idol talked about being in the band. Then Glee made "Don't Stop Believin'" a return hit. And suddenly Journey was everywhere. My kids love, love, love Journey.

And then . . . the other day, my 5th grader came home from school ready to pass out with excitement.

One of her teachers had told the class about the time she had a backstage pass to a music group that she was sure the students had never heard of: Journey. Mrs. Miller had even gotten to talk with the lead singer, this great guy with beautiful long hair named Steve Perry.

My daughter gasped. She cried out that she knew who Steve Perry was, but Mrs. Miller didn't hear. Instead, she continued her story about what she and Steve had talked about, blissfully unaware that one student was sitting in her seat, frightfully near hyperventilation.

"Steve Perry, Mom!" my daughter practically yelled when she got home. "Mrs. Miller got to talk to STEVE PERRY!"

Moments like this make me realize that you know, I'm doing okay on this motherhood thing. My kids are learning the really important stuff.

Ahem.

Bad Blogger!

I've totally slacked off. I'm aware. I apologize.

I had a way cool idea for a post for Monday. Didn't have time to write it, because I was doing things like, oh getting ready for things like that big holiday that's coming next week (oh, and tackling that pile that suddenly multiplied in the laundry room).

Monday night I spent time with my family making pulla, a sweet Finnish bread flavored with cardamom. It's something we've had in the house at Christmas since I was a little girl, and I make it every year with my kids. (To see what it looks like, here's a post from last year with a picture.)

Tuesday night I had a ball taking some pulla to a Relief Society activity in my parents' ward (the same one I grew up in!). The young women were invited, so my oldest daughter got to come, and my two sisters were there as well. After treats and talking (and getting shushed . . . we were seriously SHUSHED! Okay, fine. Luthy women tend to be loud) my mom spoke about some Finnish Christmas traditions. So no blogging Tuesday.

I had a great idea for a Word Nerd Wednesday. Instead of writing it, I spent the day finishing an edit for a friend that I should have (and would have) finished earlier if it hadn't been for that pesky (albeit totally awesome) thing called Thanksgiving and then all those great Christmas preparations and other things like dishes and laundry that keep me getting sidetracked.

Bad blogger. Bad, bad blogger.

The good news is that I've still been lurking, even if I haven't been commenting much. And I already have Friday's post written (good thing, because no WAY would I have time to get it done otherwise).

Oh, and today I was mentioned at the Frog Blog because I'm SUCH a nerd. Thanks, Stephanie! (I take these things as compliments.)

Talk about a random post.

To round out the randomness, I'll add one last bit: my getaway last week rocked. I got a ton of revisions done on my current WIP (that's "work in progress" for non-writer folk). I also finished reading one novel and started another.

Oh, and I had room service for dinner and breakfast. Never did that before. It was seriously fun. (Who cares if that chocolate milk shake was four bucks? It was delicious. Plus, I didn't make it or clean up after it, and someone brought it to me while I was in my pajamas.)

One more thing: Thursday is my debut on the AML blog. I'll link over in the morning.

I'm smelling popcorn. I'm going to find out who made it and eat some . . .

Writing Journey: I'm Skeered and Other News

Today, I'm in the mood for a list. Therefore:

1) Edits for Band of Sisters are done and turned in. They were pretty painless. To make things even better, Kirk's a riot. He kept inserting funny comments along the way that made me laugh. (I've mentioned that I'm glad he's my editor, right? Just a few times?)

2) I had a phone call on Wednesday that lasted nearly an hour and a half with the man behind an amazing charity that I will be partnering with soon to help families of deployed soldiers. I know that a lot of people want to do something for families in that position but simply feel helpless and don't know what they can do that would make a difference.

Here's something anyone (yes, you!) can do that can make a significant difference in a family's life. Details will be forthcoming as the release of Band of Sisters gets closer. Let's just say I'm totally stoked for this!

3) I've taken on a new blog job. Sort of. I'm apparently either really brave or a total idiot. Time will tell. The Association for Mormon Letters has started a brand new blog, Dawning of a Brighter Day, with several bloggers. I was asked to be one of them. I was honored/ smart/stupid/brave/stunned enough to say yes. I feel almost like I've been invited to a party with the Doctors Crane and don't know what to say or wear, and I just know I'll end up looking like a buffoon.

Regardless, I'm jumping in and will do my best to hold my own with the academics and intellectuals hanging out there (many of the other bloggers are literature professors . . . um, yar?). My monthly posting day will be the 17th. That means my first post is due THIS COMING THURSDAY. No clue yet what it'll be about. Yeah, I'm a tad nervous. In the meantime, go visit the blog and check out the posts so far.

4) Hooray for the pre-posting feature! As I type this, it's actually Thursday night. On Friday, I'm taking an early birthday present trip for myself and will be cutting myself off from the Internet for a couple of days. I'll be heading to a hotel writing, reading, editing, eating, and sleeping to my little heart's content. I hope to finish reading the novel I'm on and get some serious headway on the next manuscript I need to be turning in soon. Plus eat and rest and just have some down time alone.

5) Remember that a week from tomorrow (December 19th) is my book signing with Heather (HB) Moore and Julie Wright in Spanish Fork from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm. We'd love to see you there!

Have a great weekend! (I know I will!)

Word Nerdiversary!

Image courtesy Daily Clip Art

It's been a YEAR since I started doing Word Nerd Wednesday!

So far I have personally had a ball talking about some of my personal favorite topics, whether it's been pet peeves on holiday gift cards, Grimm's Law, or when to use parentheses versus brackets and italics versus quote marks. (Those last two posts are ones Googlers regularly land on. Never expected that.)

Technically, Word Nerd Wednesday's anniversary is November 26th, so tomorrow is the anniversary, but tomorrow isn't a Wednesday, so we're cheating by celebrating today. (Sue me.) Let's just say the party is a day early, a bit of pre-Thanksgiving joy.

The celebration will have TWO PARTS:

FIRST: I'm going to share three fun words that have some history for me dating back to my teens.

SECOND: we have a giveaway. This one requires nothing but a comment to enter. No Tweeting, Facebooking, blogging, or anything else. Just leave a comment so I know you want it. This time it's my way of saying thanks for hanging out with the nerd side of me each Wednesday!

First, the three words:

xanthic: Of or pertaining to yellow.

I have no idea why my bestest teen bud (and future bride's maid) J.J.-Panda and I latched onto this one, but in high school, it became our catch-all word for anything we loved. If we liked something, it was xanthic. If it passed muster, it was xanthic. It was such a random word, but it was lots of fun, especially since no one else knew what the heck it meant. (I'm pretty sure she's the one who taught it to me. I wasn't nearly that creative.)

The technical definition is more along the lines of "certain compounds that produce substances of a yellow color," but we liked our simple definition better.

plethora: Over-fullness in any respect; a superabundance, an excess.

We loved using this one. We used to drop notes in one another's locker on a regular basis, and I'd guess that 90% of them included plethora in some context. (I'm sure a good 75% included xanthic.)

melancholy: Depressed, sad, gloomy.

This one has more of a story behind it. I was a huge L. M. Montgomery fan (okay, I still am), so I knew full well what melancholy meant, since LMM used the word a lot. But I'd never heard it spoken.

It wasn't until my 9th grade honors English teacher, Miss Jarmon, had the class taking turns reading a short story aloud that I heard it for the first time . . . about two students in front of me. The girl who said it correctly ended up as our valedictorian.

The word is pronounced roughly (since I don't really have the right symbols here): meh-lun-KAH-lee

I was mentally saying it as: meh-LAN-kuh-lee

Sooooo glad it wasn't me reading it aloud. Katie H. saved my bacon.

GIVEAWAY TIME!

I thought it appropriate to give away a copy of There, Their, They're: A No-Tears Guide to Grammar from the Word Nerd on Word Nerd Wednesday's Nerdiversary.

To win, simply drop a comment below so I know you'd like it. (Or, if you win and already own a copy, you can have it shipped to a friend. Consider it a Christmas gift!)

I'll pick a winner NEXT Word Nerd Wednesday.

This isn't a requirement, but I might be fun if, in your comment, you mention a word that impacted you in some way like xanthic, plethora, and melancholy impacted me.

It'll count toward your giveaway entry, and we'll all get an extra treat to boot!

Good luck!

(Have a xanthic Thanksgiving. May you enjoy a plethora of food and never for a moment feel melancholy.)