In Which I try to Recap SCBWI, but really I just talk about a Toilet

Hey y'all.


It's good to be back. It's also bad to be back, because I had such a good time in L.A. meeting with friends and like-minded people (read "other crazy writers") and being inspired by such literary greats as Judy Blume, Richard Peck and Libba Bray. 


Also, just a warning, I took all of two pictures at the conference, and those two pictures were of the toilet in our hotel room. 


There's a reason for that. The toilet had two flusher buttons on top of it:

We figured out that the left flusher was sort of a "half-flush" option, I guess to be more environmentally friendly and less water-wasting. 


For the first couple of days, I pondered each and every trip to the bathroom, asking questions like, "Does what I accomplished in here warrant a larger carbon footprint?" and "Will the half-flush option be adequate?"


Then I would warn my roommates: "Just so you know, I half-flushed." Then I would warn strangers in the hallway: "Just so you know, I half-flushed."


Sometimes I would use the half-flush option, and then I feared that it wasn't enough, so I would half-flush two more times. 


By day three, I was tired of passing judgment on my trips to the bathroom. So I flipped the bird to the environment and full-flushed every time. 


And it felt good.


And yes, I did just spend the first half of the post talking about a toilet. 


Some other highlights:


*I was this-close to Judy Blume!

That lady looks like she's about to karate-shop Judy's arm.

*During dinner with my agent, I sat two tables away from Kyra Sedgwick and Kevin Bacon. I now count my degrees away from Kevin Bacon in "tables". 


*I heard Laurie Halse Anderson (SPEAK) speak.

She encouraged us to ask ourselves, in the words of T.S. Elliot, "Do I dare disturb the universe?"  


She also said, "Your muse is you." This makes it even more annoying when my muse doesn't show up for work. 


*Bruce Colville reminded writers: If you don't jump, the wings will never come.


*The amazing and eloquent Richard Peck spoke. 

He said: Unless you find yourself on the page very early in life, you will spend your life looking for yourself in all the wrong places. 


I love Richard Peck. At my first SCBWI conference two years ago, I told him my first book was currently on submission. And he asked, in his regal voice, "And what are you doing in the meantime?"


I thought about the answer he was looking for. I said, "Writing my next book."


He said, "That is the right answer."


So, directly after that conversation, I started actually writing my next book, because I didn't want to lie to someone like Richard Peck. That book was EVERNEATH. 


*I went to lunch with some awesome writers. 

(from the left) Josephine Angelini (Starcrossed), Bree Despain (The Dark Divine), Brodi Ashton (Everneath), Lindsey Leavitt (Princess For Hire),  Lani Woodland (Intrinsical), Leigh Fallon (Carrier of the Mark), Morgan Shamy (writer), Alexandra Monir (Timeless), Gretchen McNeil (Possess).

I stole this picture from Leigh Fallon's blog. She mentioned how the pic looks eerily like the Last Supper. It really does. But I prefer to think of it as the First Lunch. 


Okay, this post is getting really long. I'll have more stories about my toilet on Friday. 


But for now, I ask you, do you dare disturb the universe? Well? Do you?

Find Me at SCBWI and You'll Get a Surprise! hint: It's EVERNEATH swag!

Tomorrow, I leave for the SCBWI conference in L.A. 


I can't wait.


To celebrate, I have some special EVERNEATH swag for anyone who finds me there and says, "Hello."


Remember that awesome DEAD ELVISES logo my friend sent me? 

www.tarlsscribbles.com

Well, I have had it rearranged and printed on... guitar picks!

An actual Dead Elvis strummed with this guitar pick. I guarantee it.

They've got the DEAD ELVISES on the front, and EVERNEATH on the back, with the release date of January 2012. 


These awesome little commemorative doohickees will be in my purse, and if you come up and say hi to me, you'll get one! Whether you like it or not. No, seriously, even if I think you just happened to glance at me from across the room, I will leap frog over the other conference-goers and shove this pick into your cold dead hand.


I don't know why you are dead in this scenario. How did it get so dark in here anyhow? 


The point is, you can either take the picks nicely, in your hands, or you can take the pick between your eyebrows, chinese-star style.


Wait. Sam says that is not the point. Hold on one second... lemme see if I can locate the point...


Here it is. The point is, introduce yourself to me! And you'll get a treat! But not in a creepy way. Why did I need to clarify that? 


Argh! Does someone have a crash-course in appropriate self-promotion that I can take? 


Anyway, I'm easy to spot. I have blond hair, a red scarf, and I'm always looking off to the side.

And I usually have a zombie finger with red nail polish on my shoulder.

People have asked me what this finger is doing on my shoulder. I tell them it is the finger of my muse. She likes the red nail polish.


So, the point is, say hi to me at the conference, or I will sic my zombie muse on you. She will in turn shove the guitar pick down your...


Wait. Sam says that is not the point.


Ah, here it is. The point is, hope to meet you at the conference!

Kid C snores at the Shakespeare Festival... and the best perk to being an Author

Hey y'all. 

So, today marks one-month until the sequel to EVERNEATH is due in to my publisher. 

I'm not freaking out. Mostly because my editor reads my blog. (Hi Kristin! Nothing to see here!)

But I will say you can read my stress on my chin. I pick at my chin until it starts to bleed, then I wait for the blood to dry up, and then I pick it some more. And like any self-respecting addict, I say, "This is the last time I pick it. The last time. I am in control."

And then I pick it again. 

Yes, I have just spent the first half of this blog talking about picking scabs. There are so many places to go from here. 

1. When I turned eight, my parents took me to the Shakespeare Festival for the first time. Since then, with few exceptions, I've gone every year.

Kid C and Kid B at the Globe replica in Cedar City

Now Kid C is eight, so I took him to his first play, expecting it to be as magical as my first play. 

Here's how magic it was for him:

To sleep, perchance to dream...

And he was on the front row. The actors were practically tripping over his feet. And yet, he slept...

2. Look at what I got in the mail today!

UNDER THE NEVER SKY by Veronica Rossi

INCARNATE by Jodi Meadows

SLIDE by Jill Hathaway

Undoubtedly, the best perk to being an author is being able to read books before they come out! But the worst part is getting these books in the mail on the day that marks one month before my sequel is due... 

And... we've come full circle. 

So, what do y'all plan on doing for the last month of summer? Anyone going to the SCBWI conference in L.A. this week? If you are, look for me!

How Bree and Brodi Saved the Writing Retreat

Last weekend, my critique group went up to Midway for a writing retreat.

The Six. Not at the retreat, but I just really like this picture.

When we got there, we realized the air conditioning wasn't working. If there's one thing I've learned about my writers' group, it's that we can put up with a lot of things... except a broken a/c. 

So, as the pioneers of yore would've done, we called all the local repair shops. But since it was a Saturday AND a holiday weekend, we struck out. Although there was one repairman who said he'd come out for $130 an hour. 

I'm sorry, I don't have $130 an hour. But it did make me rethink my career choice. 

So Bree Despain and I did some investigating. 

Did you know there are two parts to an air conditioner? An inside and an outside? Well, the outside part - the air condenser - was vewy vewy quiet. It was clearly not working.

Not the actual air condenser. I forgot to take pictures.

To make a long story short (too late) we ripped a chunk of the fusebox out and took it to the hardware store, where I asked the hardware guy to replace all the little parts.

When we got back, we drew straws as to who was going to put the new part in, upon risk of electric shock. I drew the short straw.

Thinking of my safety, I was all, "Do we have rubber gloves anywhere?"

And Bree was all, "Oh yes! I could use those in case I have to pull your charred remains away from the fuse box!"

And I was like, "I meant for me!"

There were no rubber gloves, but I did find a dish rag. And Bree was all, "Excellent! All the better to clean up the bits of Brodi that will surely be scattered about."

To make a long story short, I put the new fuse doohickee in the fuser-mah-thingee and... it worked! And I wasn't electrocuted! And Bree stood there with her towel at the ready, looking disappointed.

I was so excited, I shouted at the top of my lungs, "I am the GODDESS of AIR CONDITIONERS!" That might be the first time anyone has ever screamed that sentence.

The rest of the day was spent recounting the heroic story of "The Day we Saved Air Conditioning" to friends and family and basically anyone who would listen. 

We couldn't stop talking about it. It was as if we had actually given birth to the air condenser. We described each labor pain in detail, and every once in a while, one of us would spontaneously shout, "Girl Power!"

I told Sam the story over the phone, and when he didn't show the appropriate level of awe, I handed the phone over to Emily Wing Smith to give her version, and then to Sara Bolton for yet another perspective.

Trust me, the next time I tell Sam about my awesomeness, he will be appropriately amazed.

How about you? Have you ever had a moment of triumph like this? I felt like I could do anything. ANYTHING, I tell you!

Next, I'm going to build a car, using only a gum wrapper and belly button lint.

How You Can See some of my Pioneer Heritage in EVERNEATH... and The Dead Elvises have a Logo

Hey y'all. 


Sorry about the blog silence on Monday, but for those of you out of Utah, Monday was a state holiday where we celebrate the Pioneers...

This pic would be more accurate if it showed people dying. The plight of the pioneers was not a pleasant one.

... and the dude who looked over the Salt Lake Valley and said, in a large booming voice: "This here's the place. Let's put up some tents."

Brigham Young. And his sidekicks.

That guy in the middle is my great great great grandfather. Once a year, the Daughters of Brigham Young get together for lunch, and we divide ourselves up according to which wife we are descended from. 

I always sit with the other descendants of the "Third Wife from the Left"

If you've read EVERNEATH, you may notice a similarity between the Daughters of Brigham Young and another group in the book. There's some behind the scenes trivia for you!


To celebrate Pioneer Day, we set off firecrackers, just like the pioneers would wish us to do. Sometimes we dress as pioneers and walk down State Street.

Sometimes we dress as Bumble Bees.

You can almost hear the whispers of our ancestors saying, "That'll do, Pig. That'll do."


So, these are just some interesting tidbits about me and where I come from. 


A couple of things to mention:


1. My first ever podcast is up! 


Robison Wells (VARIANT from HarperCollins) and his cohorts Sarah Eden and Marion Jensen invited me to record two of their weekly podcasts at The Appendix.


In the first one, we discuss perseverance, editing, and other funny stuff. Shenanigans ensue. So, take a listen!


2. EVERNEATHY stuff:


In EVERNEATH, the immortals are part of a band, called THE DEAD ELVISES.  Well, my cousin's hubby drew me this:

www.tarlsscribbles.com

I heart it so much, I think I'm in love. In love long time. I keep thinking of all the things I want to do with it! T-shirts? Stickers? Tattoos? Toilet Paper? 


The possibilities are endless. 


What do you think? Isn't it cool? And... which wife are you descended from? 

Guess what I got in the Mail? I'll give you Four Hints

I got something in the mail yesterday. 

It's skinny...

It's got shiny parts...

It's got pretty words...

It's got a high-tech doohickee...

I don't know what this means. Is it a map of the Underworld? Is it a hidden message from the Cybermen?

Can anyone guess what I got in the mail?

It's an actual jacket cover! 

I believe if you stare at the app bar code long enough, you might be transported to the Everneath. Or maybe I don't understand apps. Or bar codes.

So, what's everyone doing this weekend? Are you going out of town? Are you going to stare at the app bar code until you see a hidden image? If you do, tell me what it is!

The Power of a Picture Book

It may look like just a book...

OH, DADDY! by Bob Shea

But it's not. It's really magic.


Because this kid...

Kid B. Pulling a "Bieb". 

...loves OH, DADDY! Loves it.


And every night, as Sam is tucking him in, Kid B reads some of the words in the book. 


Like: 


"Is THIS how you eat carrots?"


"Oh, Daddy! No, THIS is how you eat carrots!"


I hide in the hallway outside his room and listen. Because if you're familiar with Kid B, you know how rare it is to hear him speak.


Often during the day, he is unsure of the right words, and even more unsure of how to put them together. And too soon, he becomes frustrated. Hopeless.


But at night, he is confident in these words. And he speaks them loudly.


It's heaven. 


Do any of your kids respond to a book like this?