Happy Holidays!

If you follow me on Twitter, first of all, thank you!  Secondly, you may have noticed that I've been entertaining myself (and others, apparently) by celebrating random holidays.  I was asked to add this to my blog, despite the fact that it has NOTHING to do with writing or tips or anything of that nature.  I was told by a few coworkers and colleagues that while they enjoy reading about my progress as an aspiring author, they feel like the world is missing out on my unconventional randomness and that it would be great if I shared this entertaining part of my work days with the world to fill in the gaps while I work on my literary masterpiece.  (Ha ha ha, eh, if you say so.)

So let me offer a shortened explanation of what started all of this.  My coworker made the comment last week that 'Christmas would be here before you know it.' The very thought of that nauseates me.  (I mean, I still have so much shopping left to do!)  So I made the proclamation that I was going to forgo the holidays that stress me out this year, starting with Christmas and Valentine's Day.  (But I'm keeping Halloween, because I like free Chocolate!)  Jokingly I said that I would be celebrating all of the lesser, overlooked holidays instead. My other coworker--let's call him Freeman because, well, that's his name--thought this was a great idea and jumped on the bandwagon to help me spread holiday cheer around the office everyday.  Then, the conversation took a rather silly turn.  (That's right, because it wasn't silly enough already.)  And long story short, I have now been instructed that I must recap our weeks of celebration for all the world to see and pass judgment on.

So, without further adieu, for those of you who are still with me after that pointless rambling, allow me to bring you up to speed on the holidays YOU all overlooked.

We kicked off the festivities on Wed Aug 1st with....National Spider-man Day!  (Seriously, look it up.)  Now this excited me as I have loved Spider-man since I was a kid, waaay back since the days of The Electric Company (gotta love public television) and long before anyone had ever heard Toby McGuire.  So to commemorate this hero, Freeman and I changed our PC wallpapers:

At lunch, while killing an hour in the park, I contemplated trying to climb a wall.  However, there were no walls in the park.  I would have had to settle for the ballpark's announcer's stand and I just didn't think it would be the same.  Also, there was no one around to call the paramedics when I severely injured myself.  (Not that that would have happened.)

On to Thurs, Aug 2nd--National Ice Cream Sandwich Day
I mean, is there really any question as to how to celebrate this one?  Freeman enjoyed his ice cream sandwich.  He enjoyed it right in front of me.  For once I was able to find the will power to ignore an excuse to eat a dessert in the middle of the day.  But I did graciously offer my own ice cream sandwich to another coworker who looked hot and in need of a tasty snack.  And my phone runs on the ice cream sandwich operating system, so I really celebrate it every day.

Fri Aug 3rd--National Watermelon Day
My initial intent was to pick one of my own home grown from seeds watermelons from my garden to take to work for everyone, just so I can brag about yet another mad skill that my husband insists I don't have.  (He's in denial and very jealous.)  Unfortunately, none of the watermelons were ripe for the taking, so Freeman and I settled for watermelon flavored Sour Patch Kids instead, which honestly, I think I enjoyed more anyway.

We shared.  That's all that matters.  Now here's the thing.  I was told that the local radio station was discussing the fact that it was Watermelon Day.  I personally think that they knew that because they read it on my Twitter shortly beforehand because what are the odds that more than two people would actually know that, right?  At least, that's what I'm going to tell myself for now.

So until next week, when I bring you more exciting holiday adventures...um, celebrate something or make up a holiday.  Or help me think of a more witty ending next time.  (Or send me pictures of YOU celebrating holidays to mjstafford@rocketmail.com and I'll share them with the world too!)

Uh-oh...Disaster

Things are looking a bit grim for this chick.  For the past year, I’ve been under the impression that my power cord was shot.  Last night, 3 power cords and a trip to Radio Shack later, it’s looking like the problem is not the cord, but my computer itself.  Unfortunately, the infernal machine is holding about 2/3 of my book hostage because I, of course, failed to back any of my files up elsewhere.  (Which I honestly thought I had done.)  So now the frantic search for hidden files begins.  Between my editor and digging through my emails, I’ve managed to find several chapters.  I know (or at least hope) that worst case, I can have the hard drive recovered to get the rest, but I’m really REALLY hoping it won’t come to that.  Aside from being what I imagine to be a costly task, at that point I’ll have to face the need to buy a new computer—the thought of which makes my stomach queasier than that nachos and ice cream I gorged on for supper last night in an effort to drown my frustrations.

Lesson learned for this gal:  Back up your stinking files!  In more than one place.  

Big Easy Recap

Well, needless to say, I survived another trip to New Orleans.  What can I say?  It's a magical city that you either love or hate--either you get it and it's part of you, or you don't.  Either way, it's a unique experience.  Unfortunately, I did not win big at the casino, so it's back to the real world, I'm afraid.  The trip did refresh my excitement about many of the elements and characters that I've incorporated into my book.  Just what I needed to get the creative juices flowing again.  Here are a few "inspirational" photos from the trip.

Creepy tombs in St. Louis Cemetery No. 1.

Outside LaFitte's Blackmith Shop.  This place has a facinating history--if you've never heard of it, do a little research and add it to your "must visit" list.

Currently Reading

Just wanted to give a quick update to share what I'm currently reading:  Rapture, by Lauren Kate.  It's the fourth book in the Fallen series.  I would strongly recommend it for anyone who likes YA books with elements of the supernatural.

Luck be a Lady

Time and time again, I get the advice to "write what you know."  It's good advice.  I find that when I follow that golden rule, I enjoy writing more and overall am happier with the end results.  That being said, it's hard to to if you don't "know," first hand, what you are trying to write.  When that happens, I try to get that experience first hand when at all possible.  Point in case:  A very crucial part of my story takes place in New Orleans.  So I took my first trip there last summer--a trip which I will be repeating in a few short weeks.  What I was imagining and planning to write was no where near the experiences I actually had.  It was so much easier to incorporate what I actually knew, places I actually saw, people I actually encountered.  While there, I made my first trip to a casino, which also plays a crucial part of not only the current book I'm working on, but those to follow as well.  I recently made another trip to a casino in Mississippi--strictly for research purposes, not at all to feed my addiction to Texas Hold 'Em (cough, cough).  What I found when comparing the two, is I made some pretty serious errors in writing that portion of the story that I'm pretty sure anyone who has ever set foot in a casino would pick up on pretty quickly.  While I am sticking to my vow NOT to go back and rewrite anything else until I finish the entire story, I know that there are definitely some things I'm going to go back later and correct.  

And the last important lesson that I learned while "researching" is that although I can think of few things I would enjoy more, I probably do NOT have a promising career as a professional poker player, so I better stick to writing!  But hey, who says you can't have a little fun in the process, right? 

Status Update

Just wanted to give a little update as to where my project stands.  I am happy to say that despite STILL being sans power cord (really, getting a replacement should NOT be this hard) I have made a good deal of progress in the past few weeks.  I have finished my rough outline for--drum roll please--the REST of my book.  I estimate I have around 6-7 chapters left to wrap things up.  Still trying to push having it complete in time for Killer Nashville in August, but sadly I'm also a realist and know that's probably a very lofty goal.  In any event, the creative juices are flowing, which means I'm in full swing tormenting my poor characters.

In the meantime, a book I have been anxiously awaiting hit shelves this weekend.  If you have followed my blog before, or checked out my suggested reading page, or been anywhere within a 5 mile radius of me recently, then you are probably already aware of how obsessed I am with Cassandra Clare's The Mortal Instruments series.  The 5th book was released this week.  I cannot wait to get started on it as I'm sure it will not disappoint!

Update of Sorts

Well, it seems like Blogger has changed stuff around and made the format all wonky, so I'm not sure how this is going to turn out, but here goes nothing.  Summer is here (as far as I'm concerned) and a lot of extra activities have wrapped up for me.  Hopefully in the near future--near being this week even--I'll have more time to write instead of keeping the roads hot!  In the meantime, here's what I'm currently reading:  Angel Fire, by L.A. Weatherly.