Tera Lynn Childs

Happy Holidays!

2009-12-25T14:13:00.001-06:00

Daisy and Pepper, originally uploaded by Tera Lynn Childs.

I'm in Missouri for Christmas with family and we've got a pretty frigid white Christmas outside. So I'm staying warm inside! Here's a fun picture of my new puppy Daisy (on the right) meeting her cousin Pepper for the first time. They get along ... for the most part.

Hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday season!

Hugs,
TLC

Buzzing About Favorite Things (Part 1)

2009-12-22T08:55:00.000-06:00

We're doing a special two-week event over on Books, Boys, Buzz... to celebrate the holiday season. Check out my teaser post today, guess the answer to two questions and you could win buttons and/or a book!

Hugs,
TLC

Buzzing About Daisy

2009-12-15T10:39:00.000-06:00

This Tuesday on Books, Boys, Buzz... I'm talking about the newest member of my family: Daisy. Come meet her on the Buzz blog.

Hugs,
TLC

A Holiday Playlist

2009-12-13T01:10:00.002-06:00

Jingle Bells., originally uploaded by shutterberry.

While I'm working on beating the sequel to Forgive My Fins into shape I've been jamming to my collection of Christmas music. Here are some of my favorites, old and new.

Christmas Eve (Sarajevo 12/24) by Trans-Siberian Orchestra
Grown Up Christmas List by Amy Grant
Santa Baby by Eartha Kitt
Sleigh Ride by Garth Brooks
Do You Hear What I Hear? by Whitney Houston
(It Must Have Been Ol') Santa Claus by Harry Connick Jr.
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer by Jewel
The Gift by Aselin Debison
I Saw Three Ships by Sting
It Came Upon a Midnight Clear by Ella Fitzgerald
Little Drummer Boy by The Temptations
What Child Is This? by Vanessa Williams
Last Christmas by Wham!
Winter Wonderland by Etta James
All I Want For Christmas Is You by Olivia Olson

Your turn to share some of your favorite holiday music.

Hugs,
TLC

Three Great Holiday Movies

2009-12-12T06:00:00.001-06:00

Every Christmas season there are a few standard traditions: decorating the tree, pulling out all the holiday tchotchkies with mom, baking tons and tons of treats. But one of my favorites (which, coincidentally, requires the least amount of work) is watching Christmas movies. I've got several on DVD, but here are my absolute faves.

1. White Christmas

This is such a holiday classic. It's just not Christmas until I've watched White Christmas, and I'll usually end up watching it more than once over the holiday season. My favorite bits are Mandy (see pic above), Count Your Blessings, and Snow. I could watch this one again and again and again.

2. Holiday in Handcuffs

I absolutely adore this movie. And not just because of the shirtless Mario Lopez scene (although that is a major bonus). I also love Melissa Joan Hart and her quirky character is just so ... her. I'm also a fan of the "innocent" kidnapping plot, and love the twist that it's the girl doing the kidnapping. This is a fun little movie with a lot of heart and soul.

3. The Holiday

There are so many reasons to love this movie. Cameron Diaz and Jude Law. Kate Winslet and Jack Black. A tiny cottage in England and a huge mansion in L.A. The best of all possible worlds. This is the only one I don't own. Yet.

So tell me, what are your favorite holiday movies? Am I missing any great ones?

Hugs,
TLC

Tonight's To Do List

2009-12-11T18:32:00.008-06:00

(Updated at 9:28pm, 10:36pm, 12:11am, and 1:42am.)

(No, these are not my cookies. Mine are secret.)

Between the holiday season and trying to finish the sequel to Forgive My Fins and getting ready for a tree trimming party on Monday and preparing to get a new dog, well, things have been a little scattered. So I'm going to post my to do list for tonight so that, hopefully, I'll actually get it all done.

~~Do dishes from last night's cookie decorating~~
~~Make batch of~~ royal icing for tonight's cookie decorating
~~Decorate last of gift cookies~~
~~Do dishes from tonight's cookie decorating~~
~~Mourn the fact that there is no White Collar tonight~~
Fix holes in post-it wall of Forgive My Fins sequel (now I just have to fix them in the manuscript)
~~Put away clean laundry~~
~~Clean dirty laundry (discovered there is not enough to do a load)~~
~~Answer a few critical emails~~
~~Start on new crafty gift project (by-product of otherwise necessary trip to Hobby Lobby)~~

Hugs,
TLC

A FORGIVE MY FINS Advent Calendar

2009-12-01T14:13:00.002-06:00

Since it's the first of December, I have advent calendars on my mind. (For any non-Christmas-celebrators out there, an advent calendar is basically a countdown to Christmas day.) In honor of the season, I've made a fun e-advent calendar from the FORGIVE MY FINS cover.

Instead of a little piece of bad chocolate, each day you'll get fun facts about FORGIVE MY FINS. (Try not to cheat and look ahead. Getting a prize a day is the whole point.) On the last day there is a contest to win fun mermaid prize pack.

Find the hidden advent calendar here.

Hugs,
TLC

PS--I'm also talking about advent calendars over on Books, Boys, Buzz... today.

Buzzing About Winter

2009-11-24T09:58:00.000-06:00

It's Tuesday, so it must be my day over at Books, Boys, Buzz.... This week I'm buzzing about what I love about winter and my new motivation for finishing FINS2.

Hugs,
TLC

Before You Write a Word (Part 2)

2009-11-23T06:00:00.092-06:00

Last week I posted the first part of my advice for aspiring writers, about how important reading it to developing your skill as a writer. But your writing skill is only a part of what it takes to become a published author. The writing business is about writing great books, of course, but it's also a business.

Now, I don't know about you, but when I first started writing I had no clue about the business of publishing. I had these romantic images of women in silk robes and maribou slippers or men in rumpled clothes with a hefty drink in one hand and a pen in the other. They would send off their manuscripts to their hard-nosed agents and ... ta-da, a few months later their books would be on the shelves.

Only that's not exactly how it happens.

Thankfully, before I took my first big step into this career, I knew that I need to know more. That I would stand a better chance of actually getting published if I knew more about the industry.

Here's where Before You Write a Word advice part two comes in.

Step Two: Research

If you're reading my blog (and, I guess, that we can reasonably make that assumption) then you have access to the greatest research resource ever made: the internet. When I was trying to educate myself about the intricacies of the publishing industry, I lived approximately in the middle of nowhere. But (thankfully) the internet had already become a tremendous reservoir of information about writing, publishing, agents, organizations, and anything else you could possibly need to know to begin your career.

Now, that reservoir is even bigger. Agents and editors and even copyeditors are blogging. Organizations, big and small, are active on Twitter. Bestselling authors are on every possible social network. Meaning that all this information is instantly available to you.

The sheer volume of these resources can be overwhelming. Never fear. I have compiled a list of the very best (in my opinion) online resources for aspiring writers.

Loads of Tips and Articles

Gabrielle Luthy -- Billions of great links, organized by categories like "Beginning writers" and "Dialogue" and "Rejection" (which, trust me, you'll need).
Charlotte Dillon -- More focused on romance writing in particular, this site was one of my favorite resources when I was first writing.
Teen Author Challenge -- My friend and fellow author Kay Cassidy's year-long series of blogs for aspiring writers, featuring weekly tips, quotes, advice, and exercises.
Writer Unboxed -- A multi-author blog about all topics on the craft and business of writing. They have terrific interviews with industry folk.

Agent and Editor Blogs

Published Author Blogs (there are billions, of course, but I'm highlighting some of my faves)

Organizations and Loops

Romance Writers of America -- A terrific organization for any writer, even if you're not writing romance. RWA is focused on educating authors in all aspects of the publishing world, from craft to contracts to promotion and everything in between. The monthly Romance Writers Report journal and numerous online, members only resources make it a great group to join.
Young Adult RWA -- The newly-formed young adult (teen fiction) special interest chapter, focused exclusively on young adult literature within RWA.
West Houston RWA -- My home chapter, with a great membership pool, a lively online loop, and some of the best workshop programs around.
Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrations -- More oriented at picture books and middle grades authors, SCBWI produces a wonderful monthly magazine and a great only resource library.
Teen Lit Authors -- An extraordinarily active loop for all writers (aspiring and otherwise) of teen fiction. This loop has several hundred members, tons of whom are published, and any question is sure to get plenty of answers.

Now, go do some research.

Hugs,
TLC

Very Exciting News

2009-11-19T16:37:00.001-06:00

I know I've been keeping everyone in suspense since my Tweet last night, but I've finally got the go ahead, all clear to announce my news.

On Friday the 13th (eek!) I sold a brand new trilogy to my wonderful editor at Katherine Tegen Books (HarperCollins)!

I can't give away too many details yet. (Must actually write the books first!) But I can tell you a few fun facts:

The high concept pitch is Buffy meets mythology.
The first book should be out in Fall 2011.
I had a working title for the series, but that'll change.
It's about three sisters with a mysterious mythological past.
It's set in San Francisco.
If I had to imagine a cover it would be black and gray with highlights of silver and hot pink.

I also have to say, with no disrespect to my other books (which are awesomely fun and you should read them all), that I am more excited to write this trilogy than any other book I've ever written. As soon as (the still untitailed) FORGIVE MY FINS 2 is put to bed, I'm diving into this one. Woohoo!!!!

Hugs,
TLC

Before You Write a Word (Part 1)

2009-11-18T06:00:00.068-06:00

One of the most asked question that I--or probably all authors--get asked is, "Do you have any advice for aspiring writers?" And you know what? I do. I do have advice. Loads of it. More, probably, than anyone would ever want to hear. (Just get a writer talking about writing and you'd better pull up a chair.)

Okay, so if you're looking for advice we might as well start at the beginning, before you ever put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard. Before your write a word of the story that's churning around inside you, begging to be told.

Step One: Read

One of the main reasons I started writing is because I was a ravenous reader. (I wasn't always so keen on reading, but that's a topic for another blog.) It was the inspiration I found in the words of others, of writers like Johanna Lindsey and Julia Quinn, Meg Cabot and Ellen Raskin, Agatha Christie and William Shakespeare. Their words, and the emotions they conveyed with those words, made me want to put together my own words and tell my own stories. To draw emotion from readers as those authors had drawn emotion from me.

But even more than inspiration, reading the writings of others--whether it's the classics or romance novels or magazine articles or blog posts like this one--teaches you how that particular author uses words to convey emotion, thought, and action. Writing is kind of like trying to explain a dream to someone else. You're taking something entirely inside your head and hoping that someone else will understand what you mean exactly. That kind of expression takes practice, but a great first step is studying how other writers use words to express their dreams. (This is what we call the author's "voice"--which is just a vague way of saying "how you speak to readers".)

Here are some great examples from authors with strong, unique voices:

Two months ago I capitulated to nonconformity-conformity and had my hair bleached white and then dyed stop-sign red. It cost sixty dollars and it pissed off my mother, but it didn't work. I'm still ordinary. ~ Fly on the Wall by E. Lockhart
"There are even a couple of police here right this minute scouring the school for gas leaks, which includes my brother Brian ( I don't mean my brother Brian is a gas leak, he's a cop), so I'm hoping they'll get to the lead in time and patch it up, maybe a bit of Blue Tack or chewing gum, whatever you do in an emergency. ~ The Year of Secret Assignments by Jaclyn Moriarty
In the fall, a few brave souls sneak into the woods to harvest apples. But always in sight of the Meadow. Always close enough to run back to the safety of District 12 if trouble arises. “District Twelve. Where you can starve to death in safety,” I mutter. Then I glance quickly over my shoulder. Even here, even in the middle of nowhere, you worry someone might overhear you. ~ The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
If there was a criminal escaping on water skis with a satchel full of priceless diamonds, I would certainly not chase after her in any way. What I would do is yawn and be glad that they weren't my diamonds because for one thing, I don't have any diamonds. My dad has a lot of valuable paintings, but if an evil crook carried them off across a tightrope, it would be no big deal because he's a famous painter and he'd just paint some more. No death-defying pursuit necessary. ~ Lulu Dark Can See Through Walls by Bennett Madison

Read those passages (read those entire books, actually--and all of Jaclyn Moriarty's blog, too, because she's my hero) and study how those authors each use words in unique ways. No one could ever confuse a Jaclyn Moriarty book with an Suzanne Collins. Bennett Madison has a distinctly different voice from E. Lockhart. Why? How does their use of words create a completely different feeling, a different conversation between you, the reader, and the characters in the story?

This is a very important concept. A critical first step for an aspiring writer. Until you can figure out how they do it, there's a pretty good chance that you won't be able to.

Hugs,
TLC

FORGIVE MY FINS Trailer by YABookNerd

2009-11-12T06:00:00.001-06:00

The always wonderful Jennifer Rummel (aka YABookNerd aka fabulous YA librarian for Otis Library) made this awesome trailer for Forgive My Fins.

My official trailer will be coming early 2010, but for now this one definitely fits the bill. I love it! Thanks, Jennifer!!!

Hugs,
TLC

The Magic Stopwatch Method

2009-11-11T21:38:00.003-06:00

As I've mentioned on Twitter (over and over and over) I'm under deadline. I mean really under deadline. Between moving to the next state up, helping out the family with a big to do, and battling allergies and viruses off and on I'm going to be cutting it close to the wire. I needed a way to churn out pages. Then I remembered something my friend Shana Galen told me....

(Before she had a baby) Shana wrote ten pages every morning. Like clockwork. The trick was, she told me, was knowing how long it took her to write a page. She had timed herself and knew it took X minutes to write a page. Then, every day when she started to write, she also started a stopwatch. Once she started writing she couldn't stop to go to the bathroom, get a drink, or succumb to any other distraction because it would throw off the timing.

The Stopwatch Method

With the Alphasmart at the ready, I open the stopwatch on my iPhone and click start.
If I need a mental break (usually after about 25-30 minutes) I stop the timer for a few minutes.
Then I click start and dive back in.

I've done this twice now and here are the results:

Day 1
Time: 1:25
Pages: 14

Day 2
Time: 1:15
Pages: 13

That's like NINE pages an hour!!!

I'm trying not to think about how I managed to waste all that time before--daydreaming, people watching, doodling, brainstorming. Blah, blah, blah. I could have written twice as many books in the same amount of time.

Why Does it Work?

I think it's knowing that the clock is ticking. It's like a race and, as a former competitive swimmer, I know all about racing to beat the clock. It encourages me to stay focused for those short(ish) bursts of time.

Will it work for you? I don't know. It might not work for me tomorrow, or on the next book, or five years from now. But it's working for me now. And with my deadline screaming closer, I'll keep trying until I have to click send. Fingers crossed.

Hugs,
TLC

A Bad Spam Moment

2009-11-03T23:14:00.000-06:00

Okay, I have my author email set up to feed into my Gmail account so I only have to check in one place. My Gmail account has been really good about filing actual Spam into my Spam folder. I usually just click the Spam folder, do a quick skim, and then click Delete All Spam. (Because, really, who wants Spam? Well, maybe the canned meat, but not the email.)

Anyway... Have you ever had one of the moments where you clicked send and, as the email was going, you realized you had: a) said something wrong, b) forgotten an attachment, c) replied a snarky remarked to the person you're snarking about? Well, today, when I clicked Delete All Spam my eye skimmed over the titles as the Spam went away ... and saw a subject line that read: Really Big Fan!!! I did a double-take, saw that it had come from my website contact form, and then cried ... because the "Spam" was gone. And you can never get it back. :-(

The moral of this story is: If you sent me a message from the contact form on my website in the last couple of days PLEASE resend, because Gmail failed me. I won't absently Delete All Spam again anytime soon.

Hugs,
TLC

The Journey (Part Three)

2009-10-30T22:17:00.000-05:00

Ooops, I almost forgot to post today! (Okay, to be honest, I should have pre-posted this last night, but I did forget.) Whew, I'm skating in just under the wire.

When I left off, I'd just headed out of Austin in the direction of Ft. Worth. Why? To visit darling author Rosemary Clement-Moore, of course! She lives right on the way between Austin and Oklahoma City so we thought, "Why not have a RITA winners' sleepover?"

So, I made my way in the rain to her house. After much talking (because writers do love to talk almost as much as they love to write--almost) we headed out to IHOP to meet some over her local writing peeps. It was a loud and raucous gathering and I'm sure the IHOP staff was glad to see us go at 1:00am.

Then, you know what? Rosemary and I stayed up even longer talking. Until 4:00am!!!

Did I mention I was already on the verge of sleep-deprived?

Anyway, we finally went to bed and I crashed instantly. I got up ... when I got up. And, after yet more talking (and yummy banana nut bread) I said goodbye and headed up the road.

Along the way I saw a truck pulling and Alfa Romeo--my dad's favorite car--and I had to (carefully) snap a pic.

The rest of the drive was pretty boring because, frankly, the road between DFW and OKC is made of boring. A few short hours of grass and horses and cows later I made it to my parents' house. Then we immediately turned around and headed north to Guthrie, where we ate at Granny Had One--I'm not sure one of what--where they had very cools stuff on the floor. Like whales and jellyfish--very FORGIVE MY FINS-worthy.

Then we went to see the Pollard Theatre's production of Rent. Quite wonderful. I never saw the show on Broadway, but I have to think this production came pretty close.

Finally, after my trek to Katy and then Austin and then Ft. Worth and then Guthrie, I got to go home. So glad to be here. (At least for a little while.)

Hugs,
TLC

The Journey (Part Two)

2009-10-29T06:00:00.001-05:00

I know, I know. I'm tormenting you with this blogventure, drawing it out over several days. But there's just no way I could cram everything into one blog post. It would be twenty pages long! So, the adventure continues...

Leaving Houston (or Katy actually) I headed for Austin to speak at Cedar Park High School. After dinner at Austin's famous Kerbey Lane restaurant (I had yummy migas) and spending the night at a friend's (playing with her son's hilarious dog Joey) I headed out early for Cedar Park.

It was drizzling, which I love, and thankfully I had an umbrella in my overstuffed car. A friendly office aide walked me back to the library where this was waiting for me:

Along with a break room full of delicious treats--the Rice Krispy Treats were especially wonderful--and an eager staff. How cool is that?

My day consisted of speaking to a creative writing class, a Latin class, and several English classes. (I might be biased, but I think the creative writing class made the best audience.) I told them a lot about my writing process, how I became a writer, how writers make money, and my three top tips for aspiring writers. When I discussed tip number three, Become an Observer of Life, I used a mysterious bruise on my forearm as an example. (Sadly, that bruise has faded to a small, faint, hickey-like mark, so I can't share a pic.)

The day was a blast, I had lunch with head librarian Chris Kay at a fun Mexican restaurant, and would definitely trek that way again for another visit.

When school let out I headed on down the road to my next stop: Arlington, Texas--aka a Ft. Worth suburb. Guess what? Tune in tomorrow to find out about my time in DFW. (I know. Torture.)

Hugs,
TLC

The Journey (Part One)

2009-10-28T06:00:00.001-05:00

When we left off yesterday, my car had been fixed and I was spending my last night in my Houston apartment. I woke up and, after carry a bazillion last-minute loads down to my car, my apartment manager came by, checked everything out, and I was on my way.

Farewell, Apartment 2036.

My first stop? My friend Sharie's house in Katy. (She writes paranormal romances under her own name, Sharie Kohler, and historical romance and--coming soon--young adult under her pen name, Sophie Jordan. Her first YA, Firelight, will be out next fall.) We went out for dinner at Wing Stop and had our favorite garlic parmesan wings. Yum. Then we ran up to Katy Budget Books and picked up a couple last minute books just as the store was closing.

The next morning we headed to Starbucks (aka the Katy branch office) and worked for a few hours. I gave Pat the Librarian one of the very few ARCs of Forgive My Fins. Then, when I couldn't put it off any longer, we said our goodbyes and I headed out of town.

My destination this time? Austin. Find out why tomorrow.

Hugs,
TLC

Oh, the Car Drama....

2009-10-27T06:00:00.000-05:00

When we left our heroine (me) yesterday, she was leaving El Vaquero Mexican restaurant with her parents when things suddenly went wrong with her car. Here's what happened....

My car started like normal. Turned the ignition, backed out of my parking spot, and pulled out onto the street. Then, when I stepped on the accelerator, my car kind of went, "Roo roo roo." And did nothing.

Panicking--and very thankful that no other cars were on that road--I turned the car off and back on. Everything seemed to be fine. The check engine light came on a little while later, but the car was otherwise fine.

Still, my parents were leaving with the truck in the morning and I was making my way (via a few stops you'll read about over the next few days) to Oklahoma City, so Dad wanted to get the car checked out.

We got up early and, after a few tries, the car ran okay. Heading for Pep Boys, we stopped to get gas before pulling onto Houston's Westpark Tollway. (Which, if you don't know, is a raised highway with narrow shoulders and no possible way to escape.)

The car, of course, died completely about a quarter mile down the road.

Thankfully we made it over the hill and onto a safe stretch of shoulder. Just as I was calling AAA (not very promising this early on a Sunday morning) a Harris County Constable pulled up behind us. He called for a tow truck and, after waiting about twenty minutes, we were in the cab of the truck and on our way to Pep Boys.

What is most amazing about this is the fact that, because the tow truck driver is part of the county's Safe Clear program, we didn't have to pay a cent. (We tipped the driver, of course, because he took us more than ten miles for free!)

Pep Boys checked the car out and, after a mini-expedition to Burger King, we learned something truly appalling. Apparently, when Jiffy Lube had changed my air filter a couple weeks earlier, they had neglected to tighten down the bolts on my air filter cover. Did you know that when your air filter cover comes off YOUR CAR CAN'T RUN?!? Neither did I.

Anyway, Pep Boys fixed us up, didn't charge us for fixing the air filter cover (Jiffy Lube, on the other hand, is refunding some of what I paid for that service) and did charge us for a new battery (which my car aparently needed).

Whew! My car was good to go. My parents headed out with the truck. I stayed one last night in my apartment before my travel adventures began.

Tune in tomorrow to find out where I went first.

Hugs,
TLC

OMG, Where Have I Been?!?

2009-10-26T08:45:00.000-05:00

I bet you thought I was lost from the blogosphere forever, huh? Nope, just ... moving. (It's a lot harder than it seems when you first think, "Ooh, it'd be fun to move.")

Here's Part One (aka Getting Out of Houston):

My parents flew down to help me (thank goodness) on Friday, October 16th. They got in at 7:50am which meant I had to leave my apartment by 7:00am. Which meant I needed to be up by 6:30am. Which was bad considering I couldn't get to sleep until after 3:00am. Blech.

Anyway, so after picking them up we stopped for breakfast at IHOP before heading back to my apartment to finish packing. (Because, well, I'd been a slacker and very little of my stuff was packed.) We picked up the truck at noon, spent a little more time packing, and then headed downtown to have drinks with Danny, my dad's former student and carpenter at the Alley Theatre. Then we had dinner at the fabulous Greek restaurant, Yia Yia Mary's. (Which you might notice sounds a lot like Phoebe's grandmother, Yia Yia Minta. Yeah, I kinda stole that.)

Saturday was mostly devoted to packing and stressing about packing and loading the truck. (Full disclosure: We hired guys to load the truck. My apartment was on the third floor and there was no way we were trekking my furniture down all those stairs.)

Dinner that night was at "Rice and Beans" (officially named El Vaquero) which is a terrific hole-in-the-wall TexMex joint with fabulous nachos. I spent many wonderful and crazy evenings there with my friends and their families, so it was only fitting for one of my last dinners in town.

The car drama started when we left El Vaquero.

Tune in tomorrow to find out about the car drama and whether I actually made it out of Houston. (Hint: Obviously, I did.)

Hugs,
TLC

Forgive My Fins Amazon Update

2009-10-15T11:46:00.004-05:00

I've been a very absent blogger (moving will do that to a girl) but I did promise to update you as soon as the right Forgive My Fins showed up on Amazon (as opposed to the library binding which nobody but librarians should want--plus it's almost a dollar more). Well, I just checked and it's up now. You can go ahead and wish list or pre-order it now.

Also, check out the adorable countdown timer I made. (Over there. On the right.) Eeek! I can't wait for Lily and the gang to head out into the world!

Hugs,
TLC

On Moving

2009-10-08T06:00:00.003-05:00

I've mentioned lately that I have an upcoming move. (In less than two weeks now!) Growing up we moved a lot. A lot. Until I reach high school I didn't attend the same school for more than two years.

And, no, before you ask I was not a military brat. I was a theatre brat.

Anyway, the point is that ... I kind of love moving. Not so much the packing up everything into boxes and carrying them down three flights of stairs part, but there are other parts that more than make for that.

Here are two things I love about moving:

The fresh start. Starting over in a new town and a new house is like getting a chance to be a whole new you. When you walk into that empty house it hasn't accumulated any of the mess or disrepair or bad memories of your old place. With the boxes still in the truck, you can see a clean, organized, happy house where everything has a home and you have nothing but good memories. (We know it won't last, but at this point we can still dream.)
The decluttering. When you pack up and move you have to lay hands on every object in your house. You have to wrap it up, transport it, and then unpack and find a home for it in your new house. That certainly makes you reevaluate whether you actually want or need that object. Do I really need the pair of Buffy-esque boots that I have never ever worn? Or the dress shirts I haven't worn since I taught full time? Or the piles of unused craft supplies I've dragged around for several moves? Donating those things lightens my load (physically and mentally) and helps out someone who might be looking for just those things.

So, what about you? Have you moved a lot or have you lived in the same town, the same house your whole life? Do you like moving or dread it like the plague? If you could move anywhere in the world, where would you move?

Hugs,
TLC

Buzzing About Book Trailers

2009-10-06T09:00:00.001-05:00

I plowed through some of my to-be-read pile recently. Wanna know which books I've been reading? Head over to Books, Boys, Buzz... to find out.

Hugs,
TLC

Banned Books Week: Challenge

2009-10-03T06:00:00.001-05:00

It's the last day of Banned Books Week 2009. All week I've been talking about Banned Books Week and why banning books is bad and what you can do and blah, blah, blah. But the truth is, that was just talk. Talking doesn't do anything (until you're coming up with brilliant idea about how to change the world, but even then nothing's going to change until you do something). In other words, I'm a big fan of action. And now it's time to act.

First, a confession. You know all those books I mentioned in my last post? Those classics and contemporary books that top the banned books lists? Well, I haven't read most of them. And the ones I have read... it was in high school. A looong time ago.

I want to proudly use the I Read Banned Books icon next year.

So, rather than just be someone who talks a lot about banned books, I'm going to do something about it. I'm issuing a challenge to myself (and anyone else who wants to participate) to actually read banned books.

I have a few on my shelves already, so the first banned books I plan to tackle are:

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
Looking For Alaska by John Green

I swear I had TTYL by Lauren Myracle somewhere, though I can't find it. But I do have:

The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman (audiobook)
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling

There you go. The first six books in my Banned Books Challenge.

Which banned books will you read?

Hugs,
TLC

Banned Books Week: Books That Get Banned

2009-09-30T06:00:00.002-05:00

All week I've been talking about Banned Books Weeks, some of the things that are going on and why you should care. (You should, you know.) But what I haven't talked about yet are actual books. So today I'm going to share some of the most banned and/or challenges books in America, according to the ALA's Office of Intellectual Freedom.

The ten most challenged classic books are:

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
The Color Purple by Alice Walker
Ulysses by James Joyce
Beloved by Toni Morrison
The Lord of the Flies by William Golding
1984 by George Orwell
The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner

Seriously? The Great Gatsby, The Grapes of Wrath, and To Kill a Mockingbird? Too bad the general public (and kids in particular) are too feeble to read about the excesses and immorality of the rich in the 1920s, the hardships experienced by average families during the Great Depression, and the appalling reality of racial injustice in the early half of the 20th century. Thanks for protecting us from that, censors.

And, if that weren't bad enough, new books are challenged, too. (Shocked, aren't you?)

Here are some of the more recent books on the challenge list:

And Tango Makes Three, by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell
His Dark Materials trilogy, by Philip Pullman
TTYL; TTFN; L8R, G8R (series), by Lauren Myracle
Gossip Girl (series), by Cecily von Ziegesar
Uncle Bobby's Wedding, by Sarah S. Brannen
The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini
Flashcards of My Life, by Charise Mericle Harper
The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things, by Carolyn Mackler
What My Mother Doesn’t Know, by Sonya Sones
Captain Underpants (Series), by Dav Pilkey

Oh, the horror of gay penguins, bored/spoiled/overindulgent rich kids, and a fantasy world of parallel universes are totally going to warp me into some kind of misfit. Here's why not: What does it matter to me if two boy penguins want to shack up? I'm never going to be rich enough to do overindulge that much. And I'm pretty sure my beliefs can stand strong against the influence of a fantasy novel.

Jeesh, I mean what do censors think is going to happen? A kid reads The Golden Compass and then their soul suddenly pops out of their body and takes the form of a parrot? Really? If that happens, I wanna know about it. Because that's news.

Okay, I think I'm done with the snark for now. Later.

Hugs,
TLC

Buzzing About Banned Books

2009-09-29T13:09:00.002-05:00

I'm talking about Banned Books Week over on Books, Boys, Buzz... today. Click over to read my mom's favorite saying about freedom of expression.

Hugs,
TLC