Falling Upstairs

Posted on by Beth Hull

The funny thing about toddlers is they fall. All the time. Sometimes it’s tragic, and my daughter’s screams just make me want to weep with pity. Other times it’s freaking hilarious and I stifle laughter while wiping away her tears. I mean, really–running into the doorway? Or listening to her say, “Run, run, run, run….” BOOM! Priceless.

Yesterday, though, I was starting to feel like a toddler myself. Not falling so much as accident prone. Clark the cat, bless her, tried to jump on my lap, missed (okay, I moved at the last second), and scratched/punctured me knee. Ouch.

Then Z thumped into my lap to read a book and crunched my finger. Ouch again, but I recovered quickly and went on to read Baby Bear’s Books (Jane Yolen) through gritted teeth.

Finally, during Five O’Clock Disco Dance Breakdown, I did the electric slide onto a small pink prism for the shape sorter cube. I truly thought my dancing days were over. Husband had to work late, so I limped around for the rest of the evening, giving Z her bath [UPDATE: She now takes her bath in the bathtub proper, and the infant tub is stored in the garage, waiting for Z’s hypothetical sibling] and getting her ready for bed. I thought of using my practically broken foot as an excuse not to exercise today, but I couldn’t even trick myself, so I guess it’s not that bad.

Still hurts, though.

Today has been better. I walked behind Z as she climbed upstairs and watched her take risks. She let go of my hand, then let go of the railing, then twisted sideways, gallumped up two steps, paused on the third. She gave a sort of hop. Fine of course, no falls. Toddlers fall down frequently, but the beauty of it is they have something adults grow out of: resilience and fearlessness.

My foot still hurts, and I’m going to be extra vigilant when “clearing the dance floor” in the future.

[Further UPDATE: The vertical blinds ARE GONE! Husband read my entry “The Land of Dull Knives and Duller Wits” and I think something spoke to him. Next time I’ll complain about the macabre drapes in the front room. It will be magic! I write, and they disappear!]

Black Magic Sanction by Kim Harrison

Posted on by Beth Hull

The first book of Kim Harrison’s I read was Every Which Way But Dead. And I was blown away. Like Kelley Armstrong, Kim Harrison was one of the first women in the horror genre to actually get my attention. Yeah, Laurell K. Hamilton got my attention too, but the first book of hers I picked up was Cerulean Sins, and it got my attention more in the way a train wreck gets a person’s attention. Or, perhaps more accurately, in the way unexpected and distasteful pornography gets a person’s attention.

Kim Harrison made urban fantasy cool. Her world is so real, from the descriptions of all the Inderlanders (nonhumans) mingling with the humans, to the church her main character, Rachel, lives in, to the very idioms used by her characters. It’s such a thoroughly written setting that I feel like I could live there. Black Magic Sanction keeps the world alive. The characters, the creatures, everything is there.

***weak spoiler here…close your eyes, D-Chan***

Holy. Elf. Can you believe she makes herself pixy-sized and gets to see the inside of Jenks’s house/stump? I would read the whole book again just for that one description. This is where Harrison absolutely impresses me, because I never would have even explored the idea of going inside the pixy stump. I mean, Rachel is a human (well, a witch, but human-sized. You know what I mean), and way too big. But in this novel she has to get inside, for reasons I won’t divulge, and wow.

***spoiler over…you can open your eyes now***

The only problem I had with Black Magic Sanction was the issue most longer series get into: too many characters. There are so many memorable people in Rachel’s world, and that mirrors life exactly, because we all interact with many people on a daily or weekly basis (unless we are introverts who finally get our wishes and just get to stay home for a few days. Without toddlers. But I digress). This is where literature should not mirror life, and Black Magic Sanction could have benefited from a smaller cast of characters.

I keep waiting to read a Kim Harrison book in which Rachel has simply gone too far in her journey, where she’s hit the limit of her character growth and there’s nowhere else for Harrison to take her (again, not trying to rip on LKH, but see what Anita Blake is doing? If you do, you’ll understand why I get a little skittish once a series gets past book 5 or 6).

That hasn’t happened yet. Rachel is still learning and growing, and I’m thrilled to watch it all happen.

For Kim Harrison’s blog, click here. For her website, click here.

First NiFtY Author Interview: Seven N. Blue

Posted on by Beth Hull

For my very first NiFtY (Not Famous…Yet!) Author Interview, I give you Seven N. Blue. I met Seven through the Sacramento Writer’s Group and we clicked immediately. Not only are we both highly intelligent, creative writer mamas, but we have written our young adult fantasy manuscripts in tandem. Seven has incredibly fascinating ideas as well as the ability to construct convincing and endearing characters. Without further introduction, here…she…is!

BH: Where do you get most of your ideas and inspiration?

SB: From music, music videos, and artwork. Sometimes video games.  I don’t really play them, but there are some gorgeous video games out there (Still Life, Silent Hill) those are two of my favorite aesthetically speaking – I played Silent Hill just to watch the scenery. And music.  I love music of almost any era. I consider music a time machine and a doorway to the imaginary world I spend a lot of time at.

BH: Do you have a set writing schedule, or are you more of a “when the mood hits” kind of girl?

SB: Must have a writing schedule. I have a toddler!

BH: Can you compare Myla, the main character in The Innocents, to anyone you know in real life?

SB: There is a little of me in Myla, but then again, there is a little of me in almost every character I write. I had an interesting teen life. I did things that, well, most teens would not.  Like getting married at 16, for example.

BH: Wow, 16! I never knew that about you. Are you willing to share anything about that?

SB: Yeah, it lasted 11 months! I was divorced  living on my own by the time I was seventeen.

BH: Can you share any details about your current WIP (work in progress)?

SB: Oohhh! That is top secret! At least right now!

BH: (Well, without spilling anything to the audience, I will whisper: I know a little bit about it, and trust me, it’s gonna be great.)

What does your writing workspace look like?

SB: This is funny.  Right now I am sort of “in the hallway” of life.  In “between places”.  My Red Dell Laptop on a very cluttered desk (the desk is not mine, but the laptop is!).

BH: You’ve just finished a young adult (YA) novel, and your WIP is a YA novel. Any plans to write for other age groups?

SB: I don’t know.  It’s hard to say. I feel like I will always be seventeen inside. Maybe I can do early twenties, like in five years…when I emotionally grow up!

BH: What is your favorite YA novel of all time?

SB: I am going to have to say two authors here, because they both blew me away.  Definitely The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. That book was amazing.  Not just the story line but how incredible Collins was at juxtaposing the feelings in her characters.  For example, the main character really liked her partner…a lot…he saved her life…but she had to kill him. I also love love love Holly Black and her bad girl protagonists.  Valiant is one of my favorite books ever because of her unforgettable characters like Sketchy Dave and Lollipop and a plot where injecting fairy dust can make mortals perform magic – think of the possibilities for story with that plot!

BH: When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?

SB: When I was six and my father raved about a short story I wrote.  I won every writing contest in elementary and junior high (I still have the trophies! Well, they’re in storage now while I am in the “hallway” of life).

BH: Are you currently seeking an agent’s representation? What are you looking for in an agent?

SB: I am looking for agent representation.  I just want a good agent who will do what they say, and I hope we both can have a lot of fun, be productive, and achieve our dreams together.

BH: What is the best advice anyone has given you with regards to your writing?

SB: Grow a thick skin, believe in your dreams and keep on writing.  Don’t wait for inspiration, sit your butt in the chair and believe in the process of writing. It will develop, the ideas will come and they will amaze you.

BH: You’ve always struck me as a very positive, upbeat person when it comes to your writing. I think all aspiring novelists can use a bit of the positive in their lives–any tips on how to keep the hope alive, even when the query rejections try to smother it?

SB: This is funny, I am there right now.  I think I have received about thirty rejections so far, along with some great feedback from the ABNA reviewers (The Innocents made it to the top 5% Quarterfinals for 2010) to alleviate the pain.  I also have a partial out right now and I am waiting for feedback.  My advice would be to realize that it is a power greater than yourself who is writing through you, and you must keep going.  You will be tested to see how badly you want it, and you must persevere.  It is all part of the process – growing a thick skin through rejection letters is what prepares us for when we are published and half the folks love us while the other half hates us.  I think rejections are all part of the process of becoming a professional published writer.  We all have to go through it and we should welcome them with open arms because all they is that we are that much closer to our dream agent, and our book deal.

BH: What is your experience like, balancing writing and motherhood?

SB: Wow.  Yeah, not easy.  I have a writing schedule I abide by.  I write no matter what during the allotted time.  When I am supposed to be spending time with my son, then I spend time with him wholeheartedly and not worry about my writing because I know I have a schedule.  A schedule is the only way I can function!

There you have them: wise words from my pal and critique “pardner” Seven. She might not be famous…YET, but with her talent and dedication, it won’t be long. Special thanks to Seven for being my very first interviewee!

On Seven’s website you can read everything from book reviews, to advice on writing, to musings about family and motherhood. And today, as an added bonus, she has interviewed me as well!

The Land of Dull Knives and Duller Wits

Posted on by Beth Hull

A year and five months ago I proudly showed off my new home to a couple of friends. “Wow, this place is great!” they said. When we reached the family room, the tone changed. “OMG you have to get rid of these vertical blinds.”

The family room is a fabulous room. Funky wood floors, an old wood stove, big windows, and three doors to the backyard. Doors covered in…vertical blinds! The blinds were supposed to be white once upon a time, or at the very least cream colored, but now they have a sort of sallow, yellow look. If a paint company needed a name for this precise shade, they might choose “malarial yellow*.” And because the family room has two sliding doors and a french door, there are three sets of vertical blinds. It’s practically all you see when you walk in.

Yeah, I know. Ew.

But we move a little slowly in this house, not only when I’m on the elliptical machine, but also when it comes to getting things done, and while we have finally actually looked at various options for the blinds, we haven’t found anything we like…at least that we can agree on. This slow relaxed pace doesn’t only apply to large-ish jobs like window treatments. We usually start off with, “It would be so much easier to find things in our closet if we had some kind of storage system.” (Piles of shoeboxes and stacks of folded shirts continue to topple out every time we open the door.) Or, “Hmm, maybe we should you know, clean the scum out of the bathtub so our toddler can graduate from her infant tub.” (She’s still in the infant tub.)

Frustrated when trying to carve the turkey last Thanksgiving, Husband’s parents gave us a knife sharpener for Christmas. Five months later, we have sharpened two (2) knives. Even really simple chores, like replacing the sprinkler heads so our lawn doesn’t turn brown, get shuffled to the end of the to-do list in favor of a) reading, b) writing, c) sleeping, or d) just about anything else.

How I wish I could blame it on Z. She was the perfect screaming scapegoat when she was four months old and permanently attached to my chest. I could barely take a shower, much less manage to vacuum or unload the dishwasher. Now that she’s older and can play on her own for up to an hour, I’m fresh out of scapegoats. The truth is, we’re just not the type of people who enjoy productive pursuits.

Sometimes I fantasize about going back to Jane Austen time, when people could dabble in painting, learn languages, and embroider because they had nannies and gardeners and cooks and maids.

Then I remember: not every person had those perks, because somebody had to actually be the nannies, gardeners, cooks, and maids. So while I’m nostalgic for a time I’ve never known, I end up wondering: would I have been Elizabeth Bennet, touring the countryside and popping up at Pemberley, or would I have been Hill, catering to every freaking complaint of Mrs. Bennet?

It’s not a risk I’m willing to take. I’ll manage my own child, garden, sandwiches, and laundry, thanks.

– – – –

*Yes, I realize malaria is not the same as yellow fever. Creative license, dears.

Lettuce Have a Moment of Silence

Posted on by Beth Hull

Not for anything you know, like, serious. My winter garden is far, far past its prime, and I’ve got to tear up the lingerers.

The Few, the Proud, the Romaine

The sad thing: I don’t know if you can see the little reddish bits in the background, but those are my red-leaf lettuce seedlings, looking super-scrumptious. But I just learned that lettuce doesn’t do well here in summer, and it’s hard to learn that something I’ve nurtured might not thrive. (Like my first novel. But when I actually think about that one, all I really feel is relief.)

But so much that I grow does thrive. I’ve got more tomato plants than the fields down the road (this is an exaggeration. Sort of), and carrots doing their carrot thing below the soil, and strawberries sunflowers and anything else I can make room for. It’s work, but it’s fun work. And Z loves the strawberries. Sometimes a little too early.

Mother’s Day is Sunday (in case you’ve been hiding under a rock and haven’t noticed all the cards, flowers, and the bombardment of advertisements thrown at you in every medium). I’m looking forward to having Saturday off, and then Sunday to enjoy my family. And yes, I’m hoping for a present. A little material recognition of how well I take care of Z, and how I keep our house tidy and the dishes done (okay, maybe not those last two).

At the same time I’m really grateful for Z. Sure she can be an Unholy Terror of Screaming Proportions. But she makes me laugh all the time. I’d get her a present in honor of Mother’s Day…except it would just be another thing for me to avoid picking up when I don’t clean the house.